#mentioned DS Dream

[asukamood]

Flirts x 2 = Mess

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Previous part — Next part

This post is part of the Bad things happen series

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Ships: Past Hue (Hacker x Blue), Hinch (Hacker x Finch, mentioned), Drueswap (Dream x Blue, mentioned)

Warnings: Nothing I think?

Synopsis: Though as careful and cunning as Blue was, in the end, he too craved affection like anyone else. So before he aimed for the head of the infamous Justice Reigns, he had a couple of boyfriends.

One of them in particular, was quite the character and while their personalities matched, the relationship had gone to mush as both had issues of their own that made them simply unable to have a stable and healthy relationship with one another.

That ex in particular just so happened to be standing right in front of him.

***

It was almost common sense that Blue turned heads his way. Ever since he managed to get out of the endless white of the antivoid to a real place, he had noticed that people usually eyed him in a certain interested way.

Perhaps some would say that it was uncomfortable. To have people watching you in the corner of their eyes while you walked ahead, to have them asking you for your number before greeting you or sometimes even just full on gawking at you as if you were the most beautiful piece of art they have ever seen.

But for an attention-starved man like Blue, it was Heaven. He felt like he was noticed and there, not just a piece of the landscape. Maybe the logic behind that reasoning wasn't easy to get but when was Blue ever easy to understand?

To have anyone know how you behave was weakness, to have anyone being able to predict your next actions was weakness. Blue was perfectly content not to have to worry about any of these things.

Though as careful and cunning as Blue was, in the end, he too craved affection like anyone else. So before he aimed for the head of the infamous Justice Reigns, he had a couple of boyfriends.

One of them in particular, was quite the character and while their personalities matched, the relationship had gone to mush as both had issues of their own that made them simply unable to have a stable and healthy relationship with one another.

That ex in particular just so happened to be standing right in front of him.

“...” Blue stared at him, his eyes wide in surprise.

“...” He stared back, not expecting to run into him too it seems.

“... Aren’t you supposed to be in jail?” Blue questioned at one point, a teasing smile twitching at the side of his lips. The man in front of him returned the smirk.

“I am yes, but Finch somehow managed to convince the big boss to let me out.” Hacker said, making sure not to let the content of the bags in his hand being reviewed by Blue. “Though, I suppose you already knew about that, didn’t you?”

The other, being himself, of course noticed that suspicious behavior and decided that only a fool would challenge him in that way. He was definitely going to know what Hacker is hiding by the end of their conversation. “Of course I did.” He answered as innocently as possible. “Wasn’t really hard to figure out.”

Hacker chuckled a bit. “Yeah, as expected from Mr.Know-it-all. I’m saying that affectionately of course, don’t misunderstand me here.” Oh he definitely knew Blue was onto him.

“No need to worry about that.” Blue said, waving off his concerns with the back of his hand. “So apart from escaping from jail and everything, how are you going?”

Hacker hummed in thought, playing with the bag in his hands. “I think I’m doing pretty good, But well, how can you not feel great after eating Randy’s pancakes?”

“Touché.” Blue and Randy had met a solid three times when he and Hacker got together but each time, the freakishly tall man had been nothing but a sweetheart. So much, in fact, that one would wonder why he was wanted in the first place. Because really, it would be more likely that he was wanted as a father figure than a criminal.

Blue knew why of course but he wouldn’t tell anyone that, it wasn’t his place to do so after all.

“Thinking of it, you haven’t seen him in a while have you?” Hacker suddenly asked. Before Blue could answer, he followed it up with another question. “Wanna go hang out at my place? We’ve got lots to catch up after all.”

He blinked in surprise at that, vaguely thinking that it has indeed been a while since the two of them had the chance to really relax and chat at their heart’s content. Though, there was still a slight problem. “Would that really be okay though?” As Hacker raised his eyebrows, he quickly sighed before explaining briefly or rather, giving a hint on what the problem was. “I mean, isn’t Randy upset with me?”

Their relationship was anything but healthy and as caring as Randy was, he didn’t doubt that the latter would hardly accept someone who had hurt one of his unofficial sons showing up at his house.

And frankly speaking, Blue had no intention of squaring up with anybody and especially not a 6 '6 foot tall person who would probably be able to swing a claymore just fine.

However, the other shook those worries away with a wave of his hand and a shake of his head. A small conflicted smile came up to cover his face. “Don’t worry about having Randy mad at you, all of his hatred has been focused on [Jasper] for a while now.”

“Is that so?” Well, that was a relief, somewhat. Though, he couldn’t blame Randy for being mad at him specifically. Compared to Hacker’s relationship with that guy, theirs were the definition of happy and healthy. “It would be a pleasure then.”

“The pleasure’s mine.” He replied, playfully winking. Blue rolled his eyes with a smile, hitting his shoulder as he did so. Maybe being boyfriends didn’t work out, but that didn’t mean that the two of them couldn’t be good friends!

***

They were both standing on the house’s varanda when screams coming from inside the house suddenly rang out, startling both of them.

“FUCK THAT WIFI!” A certain feral teenager yelled, the loud thud of an object colliding with the wall closely following that shout. Hurried footsteps were then heard before the sound of a door opening reached their ears.

“Language son! Now, what is the issue exactly?” An older man’s voice spoke, soothing the other one. As witnesses, the duo of flirts could only chuckle in vague amusement before Hacker was finally able to turn the keys in the hole and swing the door open.

“I’m home!” He shouted amidst the chaos, not bothering to turn the volume up more than necessary. A distant ‘Welcome home!’ was heard within the halls but no one paid much attention to it, if we don’t count Hacker’s small smile on his face.

“The house didn’t change much from last time I came here, huh?” Blue remarked, plopping on one of the couches of the living room. The same furniture, the same unidentified mound of clothes on the dining chairs, messy but that somehow added to the already very homey atmosphere of the building.

“Yeah, we usually don’t have any visitors so tidying everything up is like, the least of our concerns.” Hacker sat down next to Blue, instinctively reaching for the remote control that was (for once) free from anyone else’s grip. “Fancying watching any movie?”

Blue stared at the empty screen for a little bit, humming, before he shook his head. “No, I think I would rather talk. Plus, turning on the TV is just a wish for Bobby to come out of nowhere and steal the remote.”

Hacker chuckled, throwing it where it belonged. “You’ve got a point there. I don’t really want to deal with him as of right now anyway.” He kicked his feet to the coffee table, slumping a little more as he did so. From the two of them, it was clear by posture alone who was more comfortable in this house. “So, what do you want to talk about?”

“Well, we have so much to tell each other that I doubt we can really choose that easily.” It has been a solid year since they’ve really got to talk face to face after his detention after all. “But I’ve heard that you found yourself attached to someone new?” He asked with a hint of a smirk on his lips.

Hacker scoffed, amused. “Yeah, though I’ve also heard you weren’t bad in that department either. Like really? Dream Von Licht himself? You’re really the only one who would ever think of attempting something like that and actually succeeding.”

“What can I say? I just have that much charisma.” Hacker nudged him with his elbow for that, earning a half-hearted ‘ow’ from the other. “And don’t think I didn’t notice you reaching for high ends too. Trying to get the captain of the Justice Division, a direct subordinate of Dream, while you’re a literal criminal.”

“A criminal, yes, but a hot one!” He replied quickly, performing an exaggerated wink that almost had Blue bursting out laughing. “Besides, we gotta keep that enemies to lovers trope going you know? I’ve been scrolling for a good while online but these are starting to get rare.”

“Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night my friend.” Blue started to relax, slightly leaning a little more on the couch behind him. “I’m quite relieved actually, I would feel bad if I were the only one to find myself someone before our 40’s.”

Confusion passed on the other’s features before realization dawned on him. “Oh right! I almost forgot about our deal. It’s true that we haven’t thought about that possibility. What would happen if only one of us were to find a partner? Because like, we can’t really share, that would be slightly unsettling.”

Blue raised a questioning eyebrow. “Only slightly?”

“... Yeah, you’re right it would be weird as fuck.” Hacker’s face scrunched.

“Have you ever imagined yourself snogging Dream?” At the sentence, the other’s eyes widened as he choked on his spit, doubling over from the shock as Blue started laughing uncontrollably.

“Oh my fucking- sTOP!”

Truly, what good friends they were.

[evilforgood999]

I want to show part of my sketchbook :'D

most of these works (not released as art) were made six months or more ago

my favorite killer Slash and Spider Error. with ink of course

sketches of that comic about a video game

and a more decent sketch of the next animated project (which will not be soon(:)

error playing Vgames and doodles that should be dreamswoop stuff but it will never be finished

[elemous]

A fanfiction, you say? With Dream, Ink and Finch?

HOW DID YOU KNOW!!!!

[isame-allen]

Ok I ran out of angst juice

Do you have any dreamswap angst headcanons that you can share?

Oh oh i definitely have some

Blue had taken drugs before, the hardcore ones as well. He even considered to overdose but he stopped roughly when error left

Cross has anorexia. He eithers throw up after eating a lot or -best case scenario- works out, like very much until he is very tired

Yk how I never draw dream and nightmare with elf ears like many others? Yes well it’s fun to imagine that those two were meant to die like ‘normal’ humans do but since the incident happened they felt like they just had to be alive for as long as possible. They both sometimes have thoughts on how they were meant to live like the people in their village, they have to urge to die right then and there but they can’t because nightmare wants to make sure dreams alright and dream has a duty to fulfill. They hate the curse of immortality

Whenever ink unintentionally insulted someone, he has the feeling to rip out his throat. He has the habit of hardly scratching his throat everytime he regrets saying something because he can’t control the words that come out of his mouth. He would also have the feeling to vomit when his mind just rewind the words he regrets saying

Randy sometimes has an outburst from the past memories of the children he couldn’t save. He blames himself for their deaths and would sometimes consider not letting hacker go to his job because he’s so worried

Although error has recovered from his fear of touch, anytime someone has accidentally touched he scratches the part that has been touched. Sometimes it got so bad that he’ll legitimately scratch himself, like blood is coming out, and he just lets the scar heal on its own

Hacker is just tired man. He would sometimes just ‘shut off’ like some days he would just be a walking corpse and having little to no reaction to anything

Bobby sometimes wish she actually got sacrificed. She would bang her head against a wooden surface whenever she regrets saying something to hacker or randy, she feels like a nuisance to them

Finch has a habit of being petty. He doesn’t physically show it but in his mind, whenever he sees someone having a happy day or just something positive he would feel like vomiting. It doesn’t mean he is jealous of them he has a pretty decent life himself, but he would just naturally be petty to others on the inside

[saturns7ringsinspace]

It Started with a Broken Necklace

Notes: Finch HC: he’s part Navajo. This can interpreted platonically or romantically if you wish. Characters: Finch, Dream, and Ink (mentioned)

It was a rather silent day at the JR castle. Ink was off on a mission, and Dream was doing his usual heaps of paperwork. A knock was heard from the outside of Dream’s office. “Come in.” The CEO said not looking up from his documents. Dream took a sip of his coffee as Finch walked in to report his latest mission. “Ah, Captain. I hope that it all went smoothly?” Dream said with a soft smile and a slightly perched eyebrow. “Yes, my lord. Zero casualties.” Finch bowed a bit out of habit. “Good, anything else to report?” The winged-man asked. “No, sir. Everything went according to plan. Your plan.” Finch made sure to empathize. Reminding Lord Dream that he was the reason of their success. “Yes, well, you carried out the tasks. I suppose we make a good team.” Dream replied, taking another sip of his coffee. Finch gave a little smile at that. “Thank you, my lord. If that’s all, am I dismissed?” Finch looked up, waiting for the taller man’s response. “Actually, I have one more thing.” Dream opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a small envelope  with the captain’s name on it. He slid it towards him as Finch looked on in confusion. “May I ask what this is?” Finch inquired, doing a slight head tilt. “No, you may not,” Dream started with a playful smile. “however you may open it once you are off your shift.” Finch grabbed the envelope carefully. “Yes, sir. Thank you.” Finch racked his brain as to whatever could be inside. “Now, you are dismissed.”  Dream looked back down at his papers, ending the conversation. The captain nodded and turned on his way.

Later that evening, after Finch arrived home, he set his backpack down on his bed, and took out the envelope. He held it for a moment, wondering what could possibly be inside. What if it was a letter firing him? A letter sending him to a different division? Finch began to overthink the whole thing. He started to dread opening the envelope, worried about the details inside. Finally, he forced himself to open it. Inside was a neatly folded piece of paper and a necklace. This necklace happened to be the same one that broke three weeks ago, on a more serious mission. He was touched by the fact that Lord Dream would go out his way to fix it, not even thinking about how he even got his hands on the broken necklace in first place. He gently put the necklace to the side on his pillow. He opened the paper, which was a handwritten letter, most likely from the CEO himself. It read, “Dear Captain Finch, I hope you are happy with the contents of this envelope, considering how dear that necklace seemed to you. I see you wear everyday, and after seeing it broken on your desk, I felt I had to do something about it. So I took it to a repair store that a friend of mine runs. Do not worry about repaying me for this gesture, for it is one out of love. I hope it resembles how the necklace was before. 

Best wishes, 

  Dream

P.S I did not know you had a thing for Navajo culture, it is a beautiful piece of jewelry.”

Finch smiled as he read the heartfelt message. He reached for the necklace and put it on. It now having double the meaning and value to him than it did before. He folded the letter, placed back in the envelope, and put in the drawer in his nightstand. He got up to shower and change out of his work clothes.

The next morning, Dream made himself a fresh cup of coffee before heading to his office. While on his way, he ran into the captain himself. “Hello and good morning to you, captain.” Dream smiled, bigger than he usually did. Finch greeted him back, trying not to blush. “Thank you. For the necklace.” Finch was never the best at expressing himself, but he had to try. Not only because Dream was his boss, but because he had kinder to Finch than anyone had ever been before. Finch smiled, failing terribly at hiding his blushing face. Dream responded simply with a “Of course.” And they went on their way. But Dream turned around and said in a tone quietly but loud enough for Finch to hear. “You mean a lot to me, and I couldn’t thank you enough for your service and friendship.” Finch smiled even bigger and nodded. But that nod told Dream more than words ever could. 

[extremelyputridfishbreath]

I wonder how difficult it'd be to take CPI and cram it into a 3DS

im no programmer but probably more effort than itd be worth; itd probably be better to just adapt it like some of the more lofty homebrew games people have been attempting like super mario galaxy for the ds and such. plus a LOT of gameplay depends on mouse/WASD or touch screen...i think if cpi were to come to a console itd probably need to be a standalone story like the epf ds games (and technically gameday but that was a party game more than a story game)

[moonfurthetemmie]

Potential Meeting of the DS Verses

anyways hi i have writing

Heed the warnings please! Tell me if I need to tag for anything else

This is just like ‘hm what’s a horrible way for DS and H!DS to meet’

Next

Dream looked up in surprise when a security alert popped up on his computer and started beeping loudly. That alert was only for when the Meme Squad had been found inside the castle. It wasn't a holiday, so they hadn't come to make mischief, and none of them had been captured recently.

Now that he had been pulled out of his concentration, however, he could feel a familiar negative aura. He sighed. Nightmare and his friends must've been awfully bored today.

As this man doesn't have a sleep schedule, he didn't realize right away that it was about 5 P.M. He'd be forgiven for not knowing that this is around when the Meme Squad has dinner, but they're almost never seen out and about around this time, and never once in the castle. Even so...

A strange chill went down his spine as he left his office. Something wasn't right. He couldn't put his finger on it, but the feeling gnawed at him from the inside.

He passed guards in the halls who were on high alert. Dream's office was, for the most part, sound proofed so he could focus, but now he could hear the alarms blaring throughout the building. They all nodded to him as he passed, confirming that the area was all clear. It did little to comfort him.

He sensed Nightmare a few floors below him, and made his way to the elevator. As he descended, that feeling grew stronger. He tightened his grip on the sword's scabbard, trying to figure out what was wrong-

He realized what it was, just as the elevator doors opened.

He could only sense three people on the entire floor.

A guard's body feel backwards into the elevator, their expression frozen in horror and confusion. Dream almost gagged at the stench of blood as he stepped out of the elevator. It was completely silent, except for the alarm.

He was no stranger to it. He'd been the head of this organization for decades, and in the beginning had to do most of the work himself. But this was different. This was his home, with people he knew and cared about.

And they'd all been massacred.

Dream's hands began to shake. This wasn't right. Nightmare might've been a criminal, often a thief and frequently a vandal, but he wasn't a murderer. Nor was Error, or Cross.

The few deaths they did have on their hands were self-defense, a result of lashing out in fear. This...

Dream looked around at the corpses. Throats slashed, heads cut off, stomachs sliced open. A handful had been hung, wherever there was something to loop strings around. There were crumbled piles of clothes in dusty piles here and there.

Some of the humans who'd been hung were still twitching and gurgling as they bleed out from the cut on their throat, their faces pink as the blood rushed to their heads. They weakly reached out to Dream, trying to lift their heads to see him properly as they'd been hung by their feet.

This was anything but self-defense.

With practiced ease, Dream smothered his fear. He'd seen scenes like this before. It wasn't pretty, of course, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

His hands didn't stop shaking, but instead of fear, now, it was anger. These were his people. And whoever did this--Not the Meme Squad, he was sure--had slaughtered them. They would not escape justice.

Fortunately, or perhaps not, he could tell that the murderers were fairly close. He paid close attention to their emotions as he made is way towards them, stepping over the remains of his employees (and, and Dream now saw, a few people who'd been in their care. Some victims and criminals who were being rehabilitated. All of them, indiscriminately cut down.)

As Dream got closer, he realized that there was, in fact, someone else on the floor, besides him and the three perpetrators. Their emotions were very weak, but now Dream could sense the terror and desperation. The murderers seemed to be standing around them. Dream could sense their amusement.

His knuckles turned white on the hilt of his sword. He didn't remember drawing it, but having the protection of a weapon was a welcome, if small comfort.

This floor had been full of guards. How had they all been cut down so easily?

For a moment, Dream's mind drifted toward another 'visitor' with a negative aura- Obsidian. That man had all the physical strength of a fully grown lion, and a cruelty and wickedness Dream had never seen before. But this aura was much, much weaker than Obsidian's, and Dream had all sorts of alarms in place to warn him as soon as Obsidian showed his face again, and even he couldn't cause this much devastation in the short time it had been since the alarm went off. If Jet had been with him, it would've been possible, but there was only one negative aura.

Besides...this wasn't Obsidian's style. It wasn't brutal enough. Not enough skulls broken against the wall, or shattered bones. All the wounds were made with a blade, or magic strings.

The strings looked disturbingly like the ones Error employed, but she didn't kill the guards if she could help it, even when she was breaking out her friends.

Dream's mind raced, running through all the possibilities as he approached a door at the end of the hall. The people Obsidian had working for him, some criminals that had recently broken out, a group of interest that had made is displeasure with JR well known. But none of them matched up with the evidence. The only one Dream knew with a negative aura like that was Nightmare, and those strings were very distinctive.

But...Surely, it couldn't be the Meme Squad. Surely.

He could hear voices from the room now. They weren't bothering to keep their voices down.

"...on, hold still. It's just going to hurt more if you struggle."

"It's not like you're going to survive this, anyway. Just let us make it funny."

A much, much weaker voice. Dream realized with horror that it was Finch.

He couldn't make out what Finch was saying, but it didn't matter.

"We- Oh. Wait. He's-"

Dream kicked open the door, interrupting the one who was speaking.

"...Here." The man sighed. "You sure took your damn time, didn't you?"

Dream stared at him. He looked chillingly like Nightmare. But Nightmare didn't have bloodstained boots, or a scar over his eye, or eyes like a predator sizing up his prey.

One of his friends, the one with the strings, who similarly looked far too much like Error for comfort, was using her strings to pull several different bodies into poses, including Finch. She looked Dream up and down, and snorted. "You look like shit."

Finch looked up at Dream weakly. His eyes were hazy. He was bleeding from a wound in his chest, opposite his heart, and his leg was bent at an odd angle, but if Dream could get him out of there quickly he might make it.

Dream was glad he'd called the guards and had been optimistic enough to tell them to bring a healer.

He pointed his sword at the other Error. Seeing his captain so badly wounded fueled his anger, and he had to keep himself from lunging at her.

"Release them."

She scoffed. "What, even the corpses? They won't care." She tugged on the strings, pulling on Finch's bad leg and making him hiss in pain. "Finch Number Two's not going to make it, anyways. Night's spear went right through 'em. I'm surprised he hasn't bled out yet already."

Dream narrowed his eyes. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and moved just in time to block the other Cross's sword.

The force of the impact made his foot slide back, and he grunted. She was much, much stronger than the Cross he knew. She grinned at him, taunting him. The edge of her sword was nicked and uneven, but still very, very sharp. Dream pushed, and unbalanced her enough to step back and swing. She ducked with ease and immediately went for his neck.

Dream barely managed to move out of the way.

"Hey, don't kill him," the other Nightmare called, thought he didn't sound very concerned. "I still want to meet the other me."

'Cross' huffed, and planted the tip of her sword in the ground. "You suck. Fine." She turned her gaze back to Dream, with the same look the other Nightmare had when Dream first entered the room.

Dream glanced at the three of them again. He could sense the guards coming down the elevator, but he didn't know if they'd be here in time.

They didn't seem super interested in hurting him, at the moment. Just curious. But he wasn't sure how long that would last, and he needed 'Error' to stop aggravating Finch's wounds until help could arrive.

"How did you three manage to decimate everyone on this floor in the time it took for me to get down here?" He demanded.

'Nightmare' shrugged, like it was no big deal. "Well, we'd already killed a bunch of the guards and stuff before the alarm went off. We didn't want to deal with too many armed people, y'know? That'd just make it harder." He summoned his spear and twirled it around as he continued. "Pulled one into a closet here, stabbed one and tossed her out the window there. It's pretty easy to thin your numbers and stay hidden. Either your security sucks or you really never thought a few serial killers to sneak in."

"Ehhhh..." 'Error' tied off a few of her strings. One of the corpses was now posed behind a chair, pointing across the table with their mouth open.

"...Yeah, okay, we didn't sneak in," 'Nightmare' said. "We just kinda accidentally dropped in. Scared us as much as we scared him," he said, nodding to Finch. Finch barely reacted. He looked like he was about to pass out.

The guards were close. And the other Nightmare looked towards the door, and frowned. He could sense them too. "Shit, we gotta go guys. He called the guards."

'Cross' groaned. "Fucking killjoy." She dismissed her sword, as the other Error dropped all her strings. She opened a portal, and before Dream could stop them they were gone.

Dream rushed to Finch's side instead, silently cursing as he saw just how much blood he'd lost. He might not make it, after all.

The guards entered with a small squad of healers, who immediately got between Dream and Finch and set to work on keeping Finch stable until they could get him to the medical wing.

One of the guards looked around the room. Her eyes landed on the strings, and the people who were tied up in them. She frowned. "...Isn't that that meme of the two women yelling at that cat?" She focused on the strings. "Those look like Error's strings. What the on earth-."

Dream sheathed his sword, and took a shaky breathe. "I believe," he said darkly, "We have another, much worse Meme Squad to look out for."

[stfu-im-thinking-abt-blorbo]

Manifesting Muramasa: The Demon Blade for the next Nintendo Direct knowing it's not gonna happen.

[asukamood]

Confession

***

Previous part

First part

***

You know, I’ve noticed that I’ve never really made Nightmare properly ask Dream out in the Sweammare mini-series so there we go.

I apologise for any… weird phrasing or so during your reading, I haven’t written in a good month and my brain has been completely fried by exams. Also somehow this came out as a sick fic???

***

Warnings: Homophobia (Heavily implied with execution), past violence and strong language

Synopsis: “Dream was in the middle of changing the towel on Nightmare’s forehead when said man finally deemed the wait enough and called him. He turned toward him as he squeezed the tissue in his hands over a bucket, water escaping from it and dropping inside. He glanced at him sideways. “What is it?”

“I’ve… been meaning to tell you something.” He watched as confusion spread on Dream’s features.

“Alright… what is it?” Nightmare marked a pause.

“I love you.””

***

The villagers now know not to try anything fishy on Dream, that was out of the way at least. However there was still one big problem. How the hell was he going to ask Dream out?

That question had made him stay up all night yesterday (albeit he always stays up) and has been haunting him since then. When he was out with Dream running some errands, he was thinking about it. When he was absently writing a fanfiction about him killing the villagers in a gory way with blood and organs everywhere, he was thinking about it. When he was eating lunch with Dream, he was also thinking about it.

Due to what happened before, he was very reluctant to confess or to be the first one to do so at least. He stared at the man who has been living rent free in his mind as he began preparing dinner, pretty much devouring him with his eyes.

That timeline was different, he knew that. Dream wasn’t acting like he did the last time so he probably wouldn’t have the same reaction as the last one did to his confession. Still, he couldn’t help the anxiety clenching at his chest like a vulture. But at the same time, he knew that if he didn’t do it, Dream wouldn’t either.

He liked to think that despite all that time away from each other, he knew the other better than anyone else could ever dream of (hah). But, funnily enough, this timeline’s Dream was even more predictable than his original Dream, and the fact Dream would rather die than confess first was so obvious that it was physically painful.

So he’ll have to endure some more anxiety it seems.

“Nightmare?” His friend snapped his fingers in front of his eyes, successfully tearing him out of his thoughts. “Have you been listening to me?” His hands folded into fists as they were put on his hips, a questioning look on his face.

God, he was so pretty.

It only made him want to keep him for himself more than he already wanted to.

“No, I was too busy grieving over that cup castle I took a few hours to make.” As if to enhance his pain about this event, he gestured toward the corpse of the monument spread out unceremoniously on the floor, some cups having yet to stop rolling. “The worst thing is that you did this. How could you? What has it ever done to you?”

Not the least impressed, Dream rolled his eyes as he turned away to stir up the content of the pot. “I didn’t mean to destroy it but if it did, then you probably deserved it.”

An offended gasp escaped Nightmare as he dramatically put his hand over his heart. “I beg your pardon? I didn’t do anything wrong, how dare you!”

“Didn’t do anything wrong.” Dream repeated, closing the pot again as it continued boiling. “As if I would believe that, you have the look of someone who stole a cookie jar from the founder of a company and got away with it by distracting them with the sudden arrival of birds.”

Nightmare raised a questioning eyebrow. “That… is strangely specific.” He noticed the obvious way Dream was avoiding to look at him. “Have you done that before Dream?”

“… Listen, it was an accident.” Two seconds of silence passed before Nightmare’s body started to rock with chuckles. Another moment passed before he fell off his chair, holding his stomach because of how much he was laughing.

“HOW DO YOU DO THAT ON ACCIDENT?” He asked between breaths, having trouble looking at him.

A few hours. A few hours and he would tell him for sure.

Then, he'll be truly his and his alone.

***

"Hey Dream." Nightmare called out eventually, his head resting on Dream's lap. Dream looked away from his thriller novel, his attention turning toward his friend. "I'm bored."

"..." He went back to his reading.

A pout was drawn on Nightmare's face as he suddenly sat up, knocking the book out of Dream's hands. The latter blinked in surprise, his hands extended as if he were still holding the covers of the literary piece, but it was too late.

Dream turned his head just in time to see a piece of a cape disappearing around a corner.

"Nightmare!" Dream shouted, jumping onto his feet. "Come back here, you jerk!" He sprinted after the other, his irritation evident. A maniacal giggle was heard in the halls of the tiny house.

That little…

That game of cat and mouse lasted a good hour in which Dream practically lost his voice because of how much he was screaming. Eventually though, Nightmare let the other catch up to him and gave him back his stolen book.

The other sucked in a big breath as he snatched the book from him, glaring at him with flushed cheeks. “That was unnecessary and childish, we’re 18 already Night, you have to stop pulling those sorts of things.”

“Where is the fun in that?” Ah fuck, he was so pretty blushing like that. “Besides, you know you love it!” Nightmare smiled stiffly, an uncomfortable feeling surrounding his brain as goosebumps spread on his skin. What the fuck is that again? It feels familiar but he can’t recall what it was.

Dream scoffed, rolling his eyes at him, not quite noticing his discomfort. “As if! Enough of this childish nonsense, let’s just go to sleep already, I’m tired.”

“You’re already tired?” Nightmare raised an eyebrow before glancing at the clock at the wall. “It’s like, 8 pm-“

The other shrugged, letting out a soft yawn afterward. “Fatigue does not have a set schedule, I’ll be going to sleep anyway.”

“Yeah I guess that’s fair, I’ll stay up a bit more if you don’t mind.” Dream nodded in acknowledgement as he stepped into their common room.

“Do as you wish, try not to sleep too late though.”

A grin spread across his face. “Of course.”

He didn’t say from whose perspective the conception of ‘late’ was, which meant that he could stay up as long as he would like.

The uneasiness grew before he realized it.

***

Nightmare felt horrible.

Well, that wasn’t really unexpected but today he felt even worse.

His lungs felt like they had been set on fire as he heaved for air desperately, thrashing around his sticky blankets. His lungs weren’t the only thing that had been set ablaze, his brain had been too, which was a huge contrast to how cold his entire body felt at the moment.

His head was also ringing and he just wanted to tell the annoying buzzing to shut the hell up but he knew that it would be pointless anyway, nothing was ever that easy. He tried to focus on the numbers displayed on the clock but it only made his eyes burn like the rest of his limbs so he gave up pretty quickly.

He was so tempted to move over to his Dream but he couldn’t get himself to move a single muscle, it fucking hurt. A groan escaped him as he let his head fall on the pillow below him.

He didn’t know how much time had passed but the moment he refocused on his surroundings, he heard Dream’s distant voice calling out to him.

“…mare? … okay?” The other words sounded like gibberish to him, the other’s voice seeming to waver. He did hope that he wasn’t going deaf again, the last time it happened, he definitely wasn’t having a good time.

From the corner of his blurry vision, he noticed a sort of figure coming closer before hovering over him. He felt a cool hand rest on his forehead and he sighed, leaning against it. That cold felt good.

“Ah!… not good… burning.” An entire sentence couldn’t be heard. “… back, okay?” Before Nightmare could try to figure out just what the other was trying to tell him, the hand on his forehead retreated as the figure stepped away, footsteps accompanying the movement.

Nightmare tried to go after him but he just ended up back on square one and lying in bed. As the footsteps started to come closer again, black dots suddenly invaded his vision before hiding everything and sending him into unconsciousness again.

***

When Nightmare opened his eyes again, he was no longer on his bed but Dream’s. A cool towel had been neatly folded and placed on his forehead in order to make his temperature go down a bit, it felt nice.

He turned a bit and ended up staring at the owner of that bed. He had brought a chair to the side of the bed and was currently busy finishing up the book the sick man had stolen from him the night prior, it seemed like he hadn’t noticed him being awake yet, which just gave him even more time to admire him.

Ah right, he was supposed to confess today.

No wonder he felt so sick.

It wasn’t even funny but he ended up chuckling anyway, bringing Dream’s attention to him.

Fuck.

“You’re awake.” Dream said, closing his book and putting it on the nearby nightstand. After he did that, he brought the chair closer to the bed and leaned over the other, studying his face. “How are you feeling?”

Like I want to kiss you.

“Like shit.” Dream hummed, feeling the towel on his head.

“No wonder, I’ve checked your temperature and you were dangerously close to 40°C. I almost had to get you to the hospital.” Nightmare audibly gagged, a disgusted expression painted on his face.

“Yuck.” The other shook his head in approval.

“I know but thankfully we avoided that.” Dream turned away and brought a cup to Nightmare’s face. The latter raised an eyebrow, his pupils' attention switching from Dream to the cup.

“Medecine. Don’t make that face, I know that you don’t like the flavor of it but it’s necessary for you to finish it.” The other hissed, putting distance between him and the streaming cup Dream was handing him.

He sighed in exasperation, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. “Don’t force me to make you drink that. You’re an adult, Nightmare.”

“Doesn’t make it taste better.” He scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “And I’ll be fine, I don’t need it.”

“…” He started staring at him wordlessly.

“… You know just staring into my soul isn’t going to change my mind about that right?” He kept on going. “Dream?” A blink. “Are you seriously ignoring me now?” He looked away from him, still without saying anything.

“Oh my- FINE!” Nightmare snapped eventually, grabbing the cup and shoving the contents down his throat. His nose scrunched in displeasure as the taste invaded his mouth but he kept quiet about it, a smile materializing on Dream’s face.

“See, it wasn’t that hard.” The sick man glared at him, flipping him off verbally. He dismissed his comment with the back of his hand as he stood up, taking the cup back. “I’m gonna be washing that and getting lunch then, I’ll be back.”

“I hope you stub your toe on the way for making me do that 🖕”

“I’m ignoring you.”

***

Dream was in the middle of changing the towel on Nightmare’s forehead when said man finally deemed the wait enough and called him. He turned toward him as he squeezed the tissue in his hands over a bucket, water escaping from it and dropping inside. He glanced at him sideways. “What is it?”

“I’ve… been meaning to tell you something.” He watched as confusion spread on Dream’s features.

“Alright… what did you want to say?” Nightmare marked a pause.

“I love you.”

The other’s eyes widened as he froze, his hands letting go of the towel in his hands. It fell in the water, ripples and waves disturbing the water’s surface as droplets painted the walls of the bucket.

Dream’s mouth opened as he turned to him, several emotions pushing one another in his eyes. He stuttered inaudible words that he didn’t even seem to understand himself. “You… what?”

“I love you.” He repeated, looking as serious as ever. He didn’t let it show but the sheer amount of anxiety he was feeling made him want to throw up, he clearly did not miss that fear of rejection.

His lips quivered a few more seconds before Dream laughed nervously, finally able to look away from the other as he picked the towel back up. “You don’t know what you’re saying.” He said, looking like he was more trying to convince himself than Nightmare. “It’s the illness making you say random stuff. Yeah, that must be it.”

At this point, he had squeezed out the last droplets of water out of the poor tissue he was almost tearing but he had stopped paying attention to it long ago, merely repeating the action like a robot.

Nightmare frowned, leaning toward Dream and brushing the top of his hand with his fingers. The other didn’t try to push him away. “Dream, I’m serious. I’ve been repressing those feelings for a while now but I’m done doing that. You make me happy and I want to be with you, it’s as simple as that.”

He was about to continue until Dream shook his head, a sort of pained expression on his face. “Nightmare…”

His eyes focused on his face as he spoke, contrasting with the way Dream was avoiding looking at him. “You know that I…” He shook his head. “We can’t be together, not like that.”

His heart dropped. “Why?”

“Because if somebody were to find out— Hell, if they even figure out that you said that and I didn’t… report anything then we would both be executed!” He exclaimed, frowning as if the image of them both tied up to burning wood was already engraved in his mind.

Nightmare inched closer to the other, the hand on the other’s brushing past his knuckles to grip his wrist. “I know that but I’m willing to try anyway, if it means being with you I don’t mind—“

“No!” Dream shouted, making him flinch. He pulled his hand back from Nightmare’s, finally looking in his direction. “We can’t—“ He bit his lip before sucking in a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. “We can’t take the risk.”

“Dream—“

“No, listen to me this time, Nightmare. We can’t. If we’re caught, I would lose you and we wouldn’t be able to do anythin—“

“DREAM.” He yelled, gripping his shoulders. That effectively got him to shut up, not expecting that. “Calm down alright? Take deep breaths.”

He listened, still looking like he had seen Death itself waiting at his doorstep. “Good, now listen carefully. They won’t find out and even if they do…” Nightmare’s eyes darkened as he reminisced about that woman he stabbed a few months ago. “They won’t do anything.”

“How… can you be so sure about that?” Nightmare merely smiled, hugging the other.

“Just trust me, okay?”

“… Alright, but let go of me, I don’t want to catch your cold.”

“Dude fuck off, why did you have to ruin the moment? Also hug me back I’m freezing.”

“You’re literally burning.”

“weLL IT SURE DOESN’T FEEL LIKE IT. NOW HUG ME.”

“ALRIGHT ALRIGHT, STOP SCREAMING IN MY EARS.”

[rynwritesreid]

Mind Games~Spencer Reid

Chapter one~Genius 2.O

Chapter summary: You have just graduated from the FBI’s academy and a new member of the BAU’s team. Throughout your time at the academy you had heard so many great stories about the legendary Dr Reid and couldn’t wait to work along side him. However, Dr Reid is not your biggest fan and doesn’t know how to cope with someone being smarter than him.

Chapter warnings: Mention of a case (no details though) Fem! Reader. Angst. Spencer is mean in this and hates reader (though that will change in chapter four).

A/N: This series was requested, and it’s probably going to be the only time I do a requested series “A series where reader works at bau and she's as smart if not smarter then Reid and somehow you pick they end up in a relationship with dom Spencer”. I hope everyone enjoys it, and yes there will be smut in the near future ;).

~mind games masterlist~

~Join the taglist for mind games~

While you were in the academy, you heard all the stories about the genius who worked in BAU called Dr Spencer Reid. He is a man of such high intelligence, with three PH. Ds, an IQ of 187 and an eidetic memory, one who was well known to show of how smart he is and one who did not easily back down. He is the stuff if legends.

 

You, well you, are also the stuff of legends. You didn’t believe in telling people your IQ score, because you didn’t think it really mattered, but it was high, higher than Spencer’s. You had a photographic memory, which many people often compared to Spencer’s one, but you would have to tell them the difference between an eidetic memory and a photographic memory.

 

You watched all your peers around you talk about what division of the FBI they were applying for, many were going for counterterrorism and financial crimes, but you had your eyes on the BAU. You knew all about how it was a close nit family, how Hotch and Rossi were like fathers to the entire group. You wanted nothing more than to be a part of that team, that family.

 

And so, with a determination fuelled by your own exceptional intellect and a burning desire to join the ranks of the BAU, you set out on a path that would lead you down a road less travelled. While your peers were focusing on their chosen divisions, you dedicated every waking moment to studying the minds of criminals, honing your profiling skills, and pushing the limits of your own mental faculties.

 

Your name was everywhere with in bureau, you were being called the newest genius, one who was going to make a name for herself, and one who was going to take the FBI by storm.

 

Unit Chief Agent Hotchner had heard whispers of your brilliance echoing through the halls of the FBI. He had seen your name pop up on his colleagues' reports, accompanied by glowing praise and commendations. Curiosity piqued, he decided to dig a little deeper, intrigued by the prospect of a new prodigy joining their ranks.

 

Hotchner delved into your background, poring over your academic achievements and accolades. He was astounded by the breadth of your knowledge and the depth of your understanding in various fields. Your impressive IQ score and photographic memory only added to his intrigue. It became clear to him that you possessed a unique blend of intellect and intuition that would be an invaluable asset to the BAU.

 

He knew he had to have you in the BAU, he knew that you, Reid, and Garcia would be an unstoppable force. So, when he saw your application to join his team, he knew you were going to get the job.

 

So, when you got the call, telling you your application had been successful, you couldn’t quite believe that you had landed your dream job.

 *

It was your first day, Hotch was showing you around, who’s desk belong to who, where your desk was. It felt surreal, being in this building, been employed by the FBI, knowing you were going to be working alongside Dr Spencer Reid. 

As Hotch led you through the bustling bullpen, you couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement and nervousness bubbling within you. The stories you had heard about Dr. Spencer Reid made him almost mythical in your mind, and now you were about to meet him in person.

Finally, Hotch stopped in front of a neatly organized desk and gestured for you to take a seat. "This will be your workspace," he said, his voice steady and commanding. "Make yourself at home."

You settled into the chair, taking a moment to soak in the atmosphere of the room. Each member of the team had their own unique personality reflected in their workspace. Penelope Garcia's desk was adorned with colourful trinkets and gadgets, her vibrant energy apparent even in her absence. 

Spencer’s desk though, it was almost bare, there were a few files and books, but nothing fun, nothing that showed what his personality was like. You couldn't help but be intrigued by the stark contrast between Spencer's desk and the others. It seemed to reflect his focused and analytical nature, an embodiment of his dedication to the work they did at the BAU. As you settled into your chair, your eyes wandered over the shelves filled with books on various subjects - psychology, criminology, philosophy. Each book seemed well-loved and well-worn, evidence of Spencer's insatiable thirst for knowledge.

Lost in your thoughts, you didn't notice that someone had entered the bullpen until Hotch's voice broke through the silence. "Spencer, I'd like you to meet our newest addition," he said, gesturing toward you. 

You stood up, you almost felt star struck, but Spencer didn’t seem to care. He glanced at you with his piercing gaze, his eyes scanning your face as if studying every detail. There was an intensity in his expression that sent a shiver down your spine, and you couldn't help but feel a mixture of apprehension and fascination in his presence.

"Hello," you managed to say, your voice filled with a nervous tremor. "It's an honour to meet you, Dr. Reid."

Spencer nodded, a slight tilt of the head that conveyed acknowledgement rather than warmth. "Likewise," he replied curtly, his attention already shifting back to the stack of files in his hands.

You couldn't help but feel a slight pang of disappointment at Spencer's aloofness. You had built up this image in your mind of the legendary Dr. Reid, someone who would be eager to share knowledge and engage in stimulating conversations. But here he was, seemingly indifferent to your presence.

Everyone else seemed to love you though, Derek had made a few flirtatious comments, Emily, JJ, and Garcia had invited you to go grab some drinks with them, Hotch and Rossi had told you good coping mechanisms, but Spencer seemed to be annoyed any time you spoke, or laughed, or really did anything. Everyone told you that’s just how he is when he doesn’t know you, but it still hurt.

You were determined to prove yourself to Spencer, to earn his respect and break through the cold exterior he seemed to present. You knew that gaining his trust and acceptance would not come easily, but you were ready to put in the effort.

*

Though the days turned into weeks and then into months, Spencer's demeanour towards you remained unchanged. He continued to keep his distance, always engrossed in his work, rarely acknowledging your presence unless absolutely necessary. It hurt, but you refused to let it deter you from your goal.

You poured yourself into each case, determined to prove your worth to the team. You spent countless hours analysing crime scenes, studying victimology, and delving deep into the minds of the perpetrators. Your keen intuition and sharp analytical skills began catching the attention of your colleagues.

You thought this might change Spencer’s mind about you, but it seemed to make him hate you. JJ had told that Spencer was used to being the smartest, everyone praising him, but you seemed to be smarter than him and that wasn’t something he was used too. But you couldn’t and you wouldn’t change who you are just to make someone feel better about themselves. 

But the tension between you and Spencer continued to simmer beneath the surface, threatening to boil over at any moment. It was as if there was an unspoken competition, an invisible battle of intellects that neither of you were willing to back down from.

Despite the strained relationship, the BAU team continued to function like a well-oiled machine. Cases were solved, perpetrators were apprehended, and lives were saved. But there was always that lingering tension between you and Spencer, like an unresolved chord in an otherwise harmonious symphony.

One particularly gruelling case tested the limits of everyone's mental and emotional resilience. The team had been chasing a prolific serial killer who seemed to always be one step ahead. Sleepless nights and relentless hours of research had taken a toll on everyone, yourself included.

You were at your breaking point, not knowing why you couldn’t solve this case, and Spencer’s attitude problem with you was the cherry on top of the cake. You knew you had to say something to him, because you knew you couldn’t carry on like this.

Taking a deep breath, you approached Spencer's desk after everyone else had left for the night. His eyes were glued to the computer screen, but you could tell his mind was elsewhere. This was your chance to address the tension that had been building between you.

"Spencer," you began, your voice firm but gentle. "We need to talk."

He glanced up at you, his expression guarded but curious. "What about?" he asked, his tone tinged with a hint of scepticism.

“You have an issue with me, and I know you are used to being the smartest person in any room you walk in to, everyone looking up to you as a God. But maybe you should get use to someone been on the same level as you”. 

Spencer's eyebrows furrowed, a mix of surprise and irritation crossing his features. "I don't have an issue with you," he retorted, his voice laced with defensiveness.

You took a step closer, determined to make him see the truth. "You do, Spencer. Ever since I joined the team, you've treated me like an annoyance, like I'm intruding on your territory. But I'm not here to compete with you or undermine your intelligence. I'm here to work together, to bring justice to those who deserve it."

“God, you think you’re better than everyone else don’t you, Y/N. You’re not, you act like everyone should worship the ground you walk on. I bet you were top of your class in the academy, got straight A’s all throughout your school life, but that doesn’t matter now. You are not as clever as you think you are.”

Spencer's words cut deep, slicing through the tension between you with a sharpness that left you momentarily speechless.

“That’s what you think about me? You think I believe I am better than everyone, but I don’t. But I know you do, your outbursts are common knowledge Spencer, or that fact you love to rub it everyone’s faces that you have a doctorate.” You basically shouted this at him.

Spencer's steely gaze locked onto yours, his face a mask of disbelief mixed with anger. "You don't know anything about me," he snapped, his voice dripping with venom.

You felt tears starting to form in your eyes, you knew you couldn’t be around him any longer tonight. Turning on your heel, you made a swift exit from the bullpen, unable to bear the weight of the confrontation any longer. The familiar corridors of the BAU headquarters blurred as tears welled up in your eyes, threatening to spill over. You couldn't help but feel a sense of defeat, the weight of Spencer's words heavy on your shoulders.

As you found solace in a quiet corner of the building, your tears streamed down your face, mingling with the frustration, and hurt that consumed you. The confrontation with Spencer had left you feeling vulnerable and doubting your place on the team. It was hard to fathom how someone you once idolized could turn out to be so cold and dismissive.

There was a small part of you that wished you had never applied for this job, or you had been rejected. You didn’t want to quit, you wanted to prove Spencer wrong, but you knew you couldn’t do that with the state you are in. But this wasn’t over, and you would do everything you could to solve this case, and make Spencer like you, or at least be kinder to you.

~Taglist~

@bitchassbecky691 @iluvreid @drspencerreidsthings @amatheuni@i-heart-mgg @Liidiaaag@wyntersstuff@brilliantreid @donttrustlove@btsiguess-kpop @bellesmith628 @lunaticgurly @Oureternalbond@somethingsmart123

[fawnforevergone]

Quick List of References to Dante's Inferno in "Unreal Unearth" (Part One)

HELLO !!! there is now an updated list since we have now heard the old album so please go check that out instead: [ the ultimate "unreal unearth" reference list" ]

[ PART TWO ]

If I miss anything or get anything wrong, let me know! I'm so interested to know what everyone else thinks, too :]

Another long post, but I simply have too much to say.

THIS WAS MADE BEFORE THE ALBUM RELEASE !!!!

"DE SELBY (PART ONE)" "You take in the blackness of air, the likes of a darkness so deep that God, at the start, couldn't bear." The theme of darkness is a repetitive one in Dante's Inferno, representing sin and it's deceiving behaviour. Particularly in the opening of Inferno, Dante and Virgil have to treck through a thick blackness after entering the gates of Hell.

"DE SELBY (PART TWO)" "Let all time slow, let all light go, I don't need to know where we begin again." DS(P2) is another song that references the absence of light, and would make sense being a continuation of DS(P1). "Let all time slow" references the eternal and infinite nature of a punishment in Hell, and "let all light go", again, show the darkness of Inferno. "I don't need to know where we begin again" is more a repetition of Hozier's own work with his multiple references of death not being the end - "Francesca", "Work Song", "All Things End", "Wasteland, Baby", etc. - but still references the idea of entering a new life after entering Inferno.

"FIRST TIME" "And the soul, if that's what you'd call it, uneasy ally of the body, felt as nameless as a river, undiscovered underground." It appears, in the track list, that we are now moving beyond the threshold of Hell. The mention of "a river, undiscovered underground", is a reference to the river Acheron that runs through Inferno. The river contains a ferry, ran by the Greek Psychopomp, Charon, who escorts the souls of the underworld. Dante is known for mixing different mythologies together in Inferno, so the mentions of "soul" and "river" and "undiscovered underground" all seem to be a reference to Charon and his role in Inferno.

"FRANCESCA" The whole song of Francesca is a reference to the story of Francesca da Rimini, who was sentenced to the second circle of Hell, 'Lust', after caught in an affair with her husband's brother, Paolo. Francesca claims that love has seized her so tightly that she can't stop loving Paolo, not even in Hell. The entire song references this story so I won't pinpoint these lyrics. "My life was a storm, since I was born. How could I fear any hurricane?" The second circle of Hell is plagued by violent winds meant to reflect the passions of reckless love. The winds are so strong that the inhabitants of 'Lust' find themselves thrown around and unable to stay in one spot. Hozier claims to not be afraid of these winds, saying that love has always felt this reckless, even in mortality, and death will not phase him. Whether he is saying this from the perspective of himself or Francesca is up for debate.

"I, CARRION (ICARIAN)" The whole song is very clearly about the tale of Icarus, and even has some mentions to the titan Atlas, "You have held your hands beneath. Once I had wondered what was holding up the ground. I can see that all along, love, it was you all the way down." Icarus and Titans are mentioned throughout Inferno, Hozier again hinting at the mosaic of mythology Dante created. In Inferno, Dante compares his own dread to the plummeting of Icarus, and Hozier now compares his love to the dreaming and hope of Icarus as he flew, making it a fitting song for the 'Lust' circle as well.

"EAT YOUR YOUNG" We now enter the third circle, 'Gluttony', and the song is very overt in its imagery of hunger. As far as I'm aware, the song has more political references than it does direct references to Inferno, but the song is very obviously about Gluttony.

"DAMAGE GETS DONE" The minimal lyrics we have for this song don't give me a lot, but I would say they definitely don't reflect hunger, so I think we have entered the fourth circle, 'Greed'. 'Greed' is categorised as one of the sins committed out of a lack of self-control, like 'Lust' and 'Gluttony'. However, Hozier seems to be fighting this idea in the lyrics, claiming, "But I know being reckless and young is not how the damage gets done." The idea of "damage" also reflects the circle of 'Greed', as the punishment for this sin is that the inhabitants are grouped into halves, and each half are forced to engage in an eternal battle that leaves them so injured, they are impossible to recognise.

"WHO WE ARE" I'll be honest, in terms of references, we don't have a lot for this song, although, as mentioned in the next paragraph, "Son Of Nyx" has to be about the fifth circle, 'Anger', so "Who We Are" is either another 'Greed' song or it's a second 'Anger' song. Although, we do have the lyric, "But it sharpens like a knife", which throws me back to the knife imagery of "Take Me To Church", a very biblical song in terms of imagery, and in the fourth circle, 'Greed', Dante sees varying members of the Clergy, so perhaps "Who We Are" is a similar song to "Take Me To Church", and takes place in 'Greed'. TMTC: "You can sharpen your knife", "My lover's the sunlight", "She demands a sacrifice", "Only then, I am human." WWA: "It sharpens like a knife", "We're born at night", "Darling, we sacrificed", "It's who we are." The biblical similarities could present this as a 'Greed' song, referencing the various clergymen who reside there. "SON OF NYX" Though we have no lyrics, we know the song after this is "All Things End", which is about the sixth circle, 'Heresy', so this song has to be about the fifth circle, 'Anger'. Nyx was a Greek Goddess who was the personification of night, once again referencing darkness in this album. Nyx has many offspring, all presenting various different things. Nyx, however, did inhabit the dark recesses of the underworld, respected and feared by even Zeus. We have no lyrics ( although, perhaps it is just this song renamed ? who knows ), so I can't say for certain how this relates, but a Goddess that resides in the underworld seems very fitting for Inferno.

---

Again, if I missed anything, please tell me! I'm already so obsessed with this album, I need to know if there is content I am missing, thank you soldiers. (ง’̀-‘́)ง

[holylulusworld]

Dumbass stalker (1) - Every step you take

Summary: You’re the worst stalker ever.

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x Plussized!Reader

Warnings: stalking, obsession, possessive/delusional reader, mentions of violence/sex

A/N: Please consider this reader is obsessed with SB. Her behavior is concerning.

Dumbass stalker masterlist

DS - Prologue

It’s art.

Some might call it stalking. You call it mastering an art.

Since the day Vought announced that Soldier Boy is still alive, you are only living for him. Your world revolves around him.

Most of the fangirls scream and annoy their dream man. You mastered the art of following your man. He never sees you or gets annoyed with you.

While the others earn eye rolls and harsh words – you are allowed to admire Soldier Boy from afar.  Of course, you are allowed to watch him. He’s your man after all.

Your man only needs a little more time to realize that you are the woman for him, not the bimbos he bangs to release some tension.

One day and that’s for sure, he will see you, and his eyes will shine, and his heart will beat only for you.

First things first. You sneak around the corner to get a better look at him. He smirks at some fangirls and makes a crude joke.

While the girls scrunch up their noses, you chuckle. They just don’t get his humor. But you do.

Being locked away for so long, trapped by his enemies changed your man. If only he’d be free of Vought so you can take care of him.

“Soon, my love,” you whisper, and take another picture. “You look so good today. If only we could be alone.” You sigh deeply. “What a pity this is another stupid fan event.”

Snapping a few more pictures you smile. Soldier Boy poses only for you. He flashes a smile for the camera, and throws his head back, laughing loudly.

“Soldier Boy here,” one of the girls calls for him. “Do you have a girlfriend?” She asks. You square your jaw at her question. “What do you like in a girl?”

The spell is broken when he turns away to walk back inside the tower. “Stupid bitches,” you grumble. “You had to ruin it for all of us.”

Another day, another chance. You found him easily among the commoners. Soldier Boy leans against a bar counter. His true identity is hidden by a baseball cap and sunglasses. He tries to pretend to be one of the normal people.

Only you know the truth. Soldier Boy is extraordinary. A perfect specimen. Your one and only.

“Another one,” he barks at the bartender. “Fill me up tonight. I only want to forget.”

Your heart clenches in your chest. He looks so tired, and sad. If only you could take him in your arms and make everything better.

It’s not the time. Not yet.

You need more time to prepare for his arrival at your home. Your home is almost perfect for the two of you. Soldier Boy will feel welcome and comfortable the moment he steps inside your home.

“Hey, I was first,” a man barks at Soldier Boy. “Get in line. I’m the next man she serves. After I had my fill, you can have sloppy seconds.”

You scrunch up your nose at the man’s implication. Most of the men you have met in your life are crude, rude, or perverts. Or, if you get really lucky – everything at once.

While you watch your man from afar, hiding in the shadows, a fight starts. Soldier Boy throws the man across the room. You step out of the shadows to snap a few pictures before you flee the crowded bar.

The end is already written. The hero will take the pretty bartender he saved from a creep home and fuck her brains out.

You’ll return home and dream about being in his arms like most nights. One day, he will take you home, you’re sure about it…

[isame-allen]

I lob these two

[pigtailedgirl]

Ray Vecchio.

A cinnamon bun character with a covering glaze of 100% sass, sarcasm, and willful stubborn grumpy ignorance.

And nerd. Did I mention I love all the nerds of Due South!

This isn't your bad guy or jerk. I refuse interpretations that forgo the soft heart underneath that makes the character.

Dude was this soft little boy that had his hope and dreams of what it means to be a good man beat out him by his father and example. Had all the harsh realities of people's lives letdown to muddle through. And you know what his mantra and overall reaction to these lessons is? His core refrain of action, again behind or with the glaze, throughout the series and his life? Try again anyway. Keep dreaming of better. Even when angry and afraid and down.

At heart, he never quits trying to be better. Even if he doesn't know what it is; See the bad examples. Or project feeling it; See bad experiences.

He wants his classic car, pool night with the guys, and a shortie pajama wearing girlfriend who bakes him muffins at Christmastime.

Hee sorry couldn't resist.

He wants loyalty, and respect, and love foremost. The real and honest stuff. To have. To give.

He has wanted to be a cop since childhood, because it's his base impression of a hero. As he references while doing the actual weird and miserable part of the job in the dumpster. Instead of trying to live up to an example like Fraser 's relation to his Dad, it's seeking an example in opposite, but it's the same virtues wanted; Cops are the good guys, they save the day, they help.

The interior meat of him, and to understand the character, you have to realize the fronts he puts up to cover the fear and hurt, the anger at the world, that tells him none of his wants or dreams or this seeking are worthy or achievable. So you get vexed and cankerous and ignorant Ray. But it's clearly a response and a defense. Which doesn't make it goals or good of course, hence he's in the gotta learn better position, in the fool and prove wrong position most times. It's not supposed to be free from critique, more is kinda of there to be, but it does make him layered when you can plainly see that's not his heart or wants either and that he works as a character with that balance of division in him.

To me it's a perfect balance. A humanity and emotional character that you can relate to on either end. The dreamer or screw-up. Cause that feels like a reality.

Ray Vecchio is the everyman of the series. Don't poison that one and keep it a happy series.

The saddest thing or line of his character struggle is the worry or to confirm he isn't worth having those basic wants or fulfilling them. That he'll give in or get given up on. That the outer projection of negative will just be a final reality for him or the outside. Letting his grump or the awful aspects view of the world win or beat him, essentially argues the realities of that is more powerful than DS's hopeful magical realism...and I go ah no!

Because the joy of doing good and helping and overcoming he gets from being with Fraser is a way better reward than glitz or external rewards, even as it's the most challenging too.

Because it's the more self-fulfilling. That reward of the soul.

[thepunchingbag]

I think Atton's jealousy and resentment of Mical goes a lot deeper than "he stole my girl."

Firstly, Mical is roughly 10 years younger than Atton/the Exile. Which means, Mical - while his life path was certainly altered due to the Wars - never had to fight in either the Mando or Jedi Civil Wars. For the most part, he's lived in a post-war society and doesn't have a jaded worldview. Sure, Mical criticizes the Order but there's no hatred; he's simply disappointed in their shortcomings. He very much still has faith in the Republic, because he never really saw how much of a clusterfuck the administration was during wartime. So Atton, right off the bat, sees Mical as this irritating kid who doesn't know what he's talking about. And the fact the kid's a Republic spy (and a diplomatic spy at that, so missions are mostly fact-finding involving politics rather than getting a blaster pointed between the eyes), is just extra salt in the wound. Sure, he's "serving" in the Republic military, just with all the glory and none of the PTSD, lingering medical issues due to combat injuries, and none of the lifelong problems with substance abuse.

Also, I headcanon young Jaq (before getting severely mentally fucked up during the War) as a bit of a wide-eyed "Gee Whiz!" idealist. And now Atton sees this mirrored in this pretty boy wannabe field physician-turned-spy. Except Mical never gets the idealism smacked out of him, assuming the Exile's LS. In fact, this kid seems to be rewarded for his idealism at every turn.

Hell, I bet the fact that Mical's a Republic spy and that's another lightside mirror to Atton being a Sith assassin, just rubs Atton all kinds of wrong.

Second, Mical is perhaps a bit naive (okay, more than a bit) but he's very intelligent. He's openly a bookworm and, say what you will, Mical was the only one to discover Kreia's plan on his own. Even Kreia says he's a "wasted" pawn of the Republic, that he could have been so much more. She, grudgingly, respects him (as much as Kreia respects anyone outside of Revan and the Exile). So, once again, compare this with "the fool", Atton, who is clearly also quite intelligent in his own way. However, nobody really sees that because Atton acts like a dumbass in order for people to underestimate him. This probably futhers Atton's resentment - this snot-nosed nerd gets to flaunt his brainpower, but Atton's always flying under the radar.

Even worse would be if young Jaq had dreams of maybe going to a good university after serving, maybe hoping to use whatever the Republic's version of the GI Bill program was - only for Jaq to be too messed up after the War and not to mention he deserted, so he's probably thrown all chances at getting military benefits out the window.

Now to throw the match into the kerosene-soaked mess of Atton's hatred - is when the Exile potentially starts to grow close to Mical. It's like, of course, Atton feels like garbage not worthy breathing the same air as the Exile. But he'd hoped that perhaps she'd at least never grow close to anyone else. That they would stay in a state of relationship limbo forever.

So... on top of everything else, the kid gets her too?

Atton would be seething, even if he's LS. I think the only reason LS Atton restrains himself from cornering Mical on Malachor and shoving his lightsaber through his eyesocket, is because that would upset the Exile. If Atton's DS, all he feels is his rage, bitterness, and resentment - plus the overwhelming desire to see a Jedi's life bleed out on the floor.

Meanwhile, I think Mical regards Atton with bemused pity. Also he shows him compassion, since Mical is emotionally mature enough to see Atton is a very broken man.

Which of course just pisses off Atton more.

[m-to-z-andbackto-m]

(TLDR at the bottom)

(I FORGOT TO POST THIS AND IT'S JUST BEEN SITTING IN MY DRAFTS COLLECTING DUST 😭)

More DreamTale ramble because it's their birthday and I still don't have their gift finished 😭

DreamTale By Joku 🫶

DREAMTALE is about BALANCE correct?

>:)

>:/

>:(

Okay, yeah I'm not too excited about this one but here we go (That's a lie, I'm hella invested):

Original:

Nightmare - Died once, is a pelvis hole, pretty sure he unalived one of Killer's cats or at least attacked it, being of hate, literally no one should be happy around him (He might KILL YOUR CAT if you are smh)

Dream - Was turned to stone once, definition of a cinnamon roll, authentic Disney princess (Reference), way too kind and hopeful for his own good, literally no one should be upset around him

Okay we got this? Nightmare? Super Uncool. Dream? Super Wholesome.

Right okay so DreamTale having this Balance shtick, I think it makes Sans (Ba Dum Tsss) that in versions where Nightmare is actually likable (DadMare), Dream is... Less likable...

Like canonically that's a load of bull shart and super unlikely to be the case, like, ever

But making one likable (In this case, Nightmare), more often than not, renders the other unlikable (Dream), I've seen it, over and over (Examples):

Rehabilitation Multiverse (I 🫶 Them) (Guys go read Little Assistant on Quotev, I beg, it's so cute, they have a blog on here too <3)

BJTBS and more of Dark's content

That one multiverse where Dream is essentially the embodiment of toxic positivity (Crazed? Dream?) and Nightmare has gotta go around fixing up mishaps (Really liked this idea, it takes the whole thing I'm talking about and multiplies it by 20)

I think Shattered Dreams should count too?

Okay actually those are the only ones I've personally looked into myself (I think DreamSwap by Kai might count too but I haven't looked into DS since... 3... years ago... yeah-) but I've seen it mentioned over and over, whether someone's ranting about a fanfic they read or doodles people make

Due to these observations, I conclude:

Common DreamTale Occurrence: To have a likable Nightmare, you need a less-than-ideal Dream. To keep your pure Dream, you gotta have a hateful Nightmare.

Exceptions:

Both Are Unlikable (Rare?)

Both are likable (but don't see eye socket to eye socket if you wanna keep that conflict, or they vibe together neutrally if you don't care for the conflict)

Redemption Variations

Most Truce Multiverses

Petty/Joke/Non Or Semi Serious Versions

Etc...

Examples of each exception except the first one because I haven't seen that yet:

Both Likable: Nightmare may be DadMare, neutral, hold his own morals that from his perspective are understandable, or secretly still cares for Dream. Dream may be angsty, close to canon, naive, or also hold his side of morals that are still valid I've also seen one where he's been manipulated by the village so any toxic (behavior isn't/beliefs aren't) his fault. (I think it was called RoseVerse, found it on YT, really cool stuff!)

Redemption Variations: This mainly revolves around Nightmare redeeming himself, or the group as a whole, possible P!Nightmare.

Truce Multiverses: Self explanatory, The Stars (Or in this case, mostly Dream) and Nightmare's Group (Again, in this case, mostly Nightmare) agree on a truce

Semi To Non Serious Multiverses: Joke comics can follow the observation but also not since they're not canon anyways, like Roxy's overprotective Nightmare (StareMare!) drawings, or The Worst Smile comic (I think... That was the name...)

Summary: DreamTale's Balance shtick and the pattern of having one Apple Brother likable rendering the other unlikable is so common, I propose it as sort of a common occurring rule(?) that has some exceptions because this fandom is limitless regardless of it's patterns