#we know that all worlds used to be connected in the realm of light long ago and i'm guessing that's the case in the realm of darkness

[gummi-ships]

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage - Depths of Darkness

[kalki-tarot]

Channeled love messages 💌໒꒱ ‧₊˚

🤍 Pick a pile | masterlist 🤍

Disclaimer — The images I use to select a pile are from Pinterest, I hope the readings will resonate with you. I'm not responsible for any decisions you make in your life based on my readings. I'm just a beginner and these readings are just for fun and purely based on intuition and tarot and channeled messages.

Pile 1

My desires and prayers were always very less. But god gave me you without asking for you. You entered my life by God's grace. I've got everything without asking. Kind, god has been very kind to me.

I want to take your hands into mine and look in your deep eyes to know what is it that you desire, so that I can fulfill everything you wish.

Just a while ago, I was incomplete. Now that you're here, I'm complete. I can only sleep with you near me. I can only sleep after looking into your eyes.

Nowadays i feel like, you are my only worship, i only have faith in you. And no one else. I don't know, god is very kind to me.

What kind of punishment is this? Why are you in my mind all the time? My nights are sleepless, my heart is racing. What should I do? What should I do about this connection of ours? Yours and mine relation is very old, beyond life and death, beyond births and rebirths.

Now these prayers don't work too. You took away my peace of mind. Whenever I breathe, i feel you. Whenever I close my eyes, I see you. I feel very loving towards you.

Pile 2

Whenever I came near you, I felt peace. The existence of mine, which I've long forgotten, was reminded by this silly heart of mine. Whenever there was a season of sadness, I remembered you. Oh! My heart. I should control it. Whenever my heart weeps due to loneliness, I remember you. My heart doesn't stop from loving you. I can't stop falling for you. I can't stop thinking about you.

I don't know why is this happening. I should stop here, right? I should not cross my boundaries. Right?

Everyday I pass by your house or place in the hope that someday you'll see me. We'd meet and see each other. (Not a stalker vibe, but a hopeless yet hopeful energy).

The whole house lights up when there's a news of your return. The whole house smells of you. Your sweet fragrance enriches the heart of mine. You make my evenings beautiful then my mornings too. I've been thinking about you all night. My heart is filled with your fragrance.

Wherever I go, I see you. I find you in the green, swaying leaves of trees. And even in the flowing water of the river. How can I stay without you? Please stay with me. Please be near me.

Pile 3

This is the truth, The truth love has taught me. My love, you showed me how the world really is. You showed me a place where the storm never ends, you showed me a world where the night never ends.

You took me to the realm(kingdom) of love, With you by my side,l left this world behind.

Every moment l was filled with fear. Every step l took made me more afraid. My love, you turned my day into night. My love, why did you do this to me?

Maybe this was written in my destiny, either I get this world or not. You were on the other side and I was on the other one. There had to be a beginning. Being yours is magical.

Again meeting somewhere else is magical. Time was passing by, we both were sitting near each other. There were many people around us, but only we met eachother. And we've both changed alot since that day we met. There was something unique or special bond between us. That's why we met. Your and my existence is magical. Our meeting is magical.

Just look at my simplicity (?) You made a promise and I believed it. In the state of intoxication, I called you God. Whatever said, was rightly said. Look at the affection and love of mine towards you. The way I respect, love, admire you with plain simplicity. The state in which I'm now is a gift from you to me. I ruined myself in your affection and love. It was a story of a night only, but I waited for you life long.

There were problems in love already, and I created one more. As I'm complaining about this injustice, your eyes are becoming teary. You became sad just by this much? Why are you upset at my condition? Does your heart still love me? Why did you turn your face away? Tell me if you still love me.

Pile 4

After meeting you, I found out what love actually is. I forgot about everything. I don't even remember how the day passes and night comes. In just one meeting, in your company, my colors changed. What did you do to me?

Now I'm just drowning in the heavenly depths of my heart. The emptiness in my heart resides no more, love and happiness bloomed in my heart. After meeting you, I found out what passion is.

I forgot what peace is as I'm in love. My heart races and the fire in my heart keeps growing. I wanto to write letters to you. Be my lovely penpal. We'd write each other letters and talk about our day.

We met in the garden do you remember me? It was love at first sight. I'm the tall one who wears glasses and has a cute smile and silly hair. (This person has a prominent and big smile)

You opened the doors of my heart, the love and emotions are flooding inside my heart. I'd love to comb your hair darling. My love is as deep as the ocean. We'd sit by the firewood and talk for hours. You'd be in my arms. And I'd just adoring the way you speak and smilem

I get tarot readings about you. They say we're already destined to be each other's lifetime partners. Aren't we? My love. Can i have a cute lil kiss?

I wanna hug you. You feel very warm, comforting and home-like. I love being with you. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you. Just one condition, our love will never fade away for eachother.

Comment your feedback!

Please ignore grammatical errors, english is not my first language.

[ancient-and-gauntly]

Owl Post

Sebastian Sallow x Reader Warnings: None Summary: Sebastian notices you are upset about not getting post, so decides to write you a small love letter to brighten your morning

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You sat at the your house table in the Great Hall, a slight frown marring your usually cheerful face. You absentmindedly stirred your porridge, glancing around at the students who were receiving letters and packages from their families and friends. The owls soared gracefully through the enchanted ceiling, delivering messages to eager recipients.

Sebastian, your new long term flame, was sitting a few seats down and couldn't help but notice your disappointed expression. He had overheard you complaining to Poppy about never receiving owl mail, finding the mornings in the Great Hall a bit less exciting compared to others. A mischievous smile played on his lips as an idea sparked in his mind. He decided that he would be the one to change that.

Late that night, Sebastian sat in the common room with parchment and a quill, carefully crafting a heartfelt letter to you. He poured his feelings onto the page, expressing the warmth and admiration he felt for you. He sealed the envelope with a dash of wax and pressed it so it was nice and tightly closed, grinning at the surprise waiting to happen. The next morning, before breakfast, Sebastian carefully made his way to the Owlery to choose and owl to deliver the special letter. He whispered his instructions to the her and watched as it soared off into the early morning sky, disappearing among the clouds.

As you entered the Great Hall that morning, you noticed the familiar fluttering of wings above you. A brown, pleasant looking owl descended gracefully, landing in front of you with a small note attached to its leg. Surprised, you took the letter and untied it from the owl's leg. You could hardly contain her excitement as you recognized Sebestians distinctive handwriting. You look over to him, giving him a questioning look but all he did was shrug and smile, going back to the food on his plate

Curiosity and delight danced in your eyes as you slowly unfolded the parchment and began to read:

My Dearest Y/N,

I hope this letter finds you in the best of spirits, and that the sight of this owl bearing my words brings a smile to your face. I've noticed the lack of owl posts in your life, and I couldn't stand the thought of your mornings being any less delightful than they should be.

There's something magical about the way your eyes light up when you're excited or passionate about something. It's a sight I've come to cherish, and it never fails to brighten my day. I've been meaning to tell you how much I love the way you look when you're lost in thought, a thousand galaxies swirling in your eyes.

Some of my fondest memories involve sneaking on to late night walks with you after curfew on those clear nights when the rest of the world was asleep and finding a nice quiet place to just look at the stars while in each others arms. Stargazing with you is like being transported to another realm, where time stands still, and it's just us against the vastness of the universe. Those stolen moments are etched into my heart, and I find myself yearning for more every day.

And I can't help but mention the small glances we share across the common room. It's as if our eyes have a language of their own, speaking volumes in silence. Those stolen glances, the unspoken connection, they make me fall more and more in love with you with each passing day. It's a love that grows stronger, deeper, and more profound.

For the first time in a long time, I feel at home. Not just within the stone walls of Hogwarts, but within the warmth of your laughter, the gentleness of your touch, and the genuine connection we share. You've become an important part of who I am becoming, and I can't imagine it any other way.

I know we've just started this journey together, and I want you to know that I meant every word I said that first night we spent together. I am planning on spending my life with you. Thank you for believing in me and seeing the potential that no one has seen before. 

Forever and Always yours,

Sebastian Sallow

As you reached the end of the letter, face hurting from the smiling it caused you couldn't help but look over at Sebastian once more, who was watching you with an expectant grin. You eyes met, and a silent understanding passed between the two of you. You mouthed a heartfelt "thank you" to Sebastian, your eyes sparkling with gratitude.

Sebastian just winks, a mixture of mischief and genuine affection in his gaze.

[beskarandblasters]

Was it all a dream?

Chapter Three: But it's not real and you don't exist

Din Djarin x F!Reader

Series Masterlist | Series Playlist

Series summary: You’ve always had vivid dreams, an escape from your monotonous life. But one night, something appears in your dreams that keeps reoccurring; a pair of brown eyes. -Or- Two people, in completely different parts of the galaxy, find each other in their dreams and try to make sense of the strange connection they share.

Series warnings: reader is able-bodied, canon divergent (long live the Razor Crest), switches between Reader and Din’s POV, story takes place in the dream realm and the real world, takes place somewhere between the end of season two/Book of Boba Fett/beginning + middle of season three, eventual smut, line between reality and dreams gets blurred, use of Mando’a words and phrases, no use of y/n

Chapter summary: In your dream, you confront the strange man and find out who he really is.

Word count: 2.9k

Chapter warnings: first date awkwardness

Fic notifs: @beskarandblastersfics Fic recs: @kelbellsficrecs

You 

The brisk wind stings your eyes. The air is thinner, harder to breathe. You look down at what’s beneath your feet; a sharp drop. Bad idea. The world feels like it’s spinning around you, nausea pooling in your stomach.

Stop. Close your eyes and breathe, you tell yourself. 

You try and ground yourself as best as you can, accepting that you’re aware you’re dreaming again before opening your eyes slowly, keeping your gaze outwards instead of below you. 

You’re in the mountains, no idea where exactly. Is this planet even real? Wherever you are it’s beautiful, despite the cold air and the dizziness. The moon is full and bright over the horizon line. The sky is decorated in beautiful shades of purple. And the mountains are graced with a light layer of snow. A pinch of snow lifts off the mountains, carried by the wind. You look over your shoulder and look for a place to go that isn’t at the edge of a cliff. More snow. More rocks. It’s better than falling. For a split second, you wonder what would happen if you just walked off the edge of the mountain. Would you wake up? Would you die? 

That’s a question you’d rather not answer right now, despite the curiosity. You’re the only set of footprints here. Maybe you really are alone for once. 

Carefully you step through the snow, keeping the pressure on your feet light for fear of waking something up or causing attention to yourself. But it seems you’re the only living thing even here. 

Until you hear a sound in the distance. 

You turn and see him, at the forest’s edge. Where did he even come from? Where do you go from here? Do you run? Do you hide? It doesn’t matter because you can’t do anything. You’re frozen with fear. He’s coming toward you and you’re having flashbacks to the last time this happened. 

Run. Get out of here. Wake up. 

But. 

You. 

Can’t. 

And you shouldn’t. You need to be brave and confront him. It doesn’t matter if you’re scared. What’s going to happen here anyway? You’re dreaming. 

“Hey,” the man says softly, grabbing your arm. 

He must see the panicked expression on your face. 

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

“How do I know that?” you say, eyes trailing down to the blaster on his hip.

He follows your gaze and grabs the blaster. You take a step back in fear but he just tosses the blaster over his shoulder, landing with a plop in the crunchy snow. 

“Do you believe me now?”

“…I guess?” you sigh, searching for eye contact but he doesn’t give it to you. Instead, he keeps his gaze on the ground, your hands, or even your lips– never looking you in the eye.

“Do you know where we are?”

“We’re dreaming, that much I know.”

“But you don’t recognize this place?”

“Nope. Do you?”

“No…”

“I don’t understand why we seem to be connected.”

“I don’t either. I asked-”

“You asked someone about this?”

“I did. I take it you didn’t.”

“I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“I asked a Jedi.”

“Wow, you must be important if you know a Jedi,” you chuckle, hoping that he’ll appreciate the self-deprecating dig you just made but he doesn’t say anything. He’s lost in thought, staring off into space with an expression on his face that looks like he’s trying to put the pieces together. 

“…Hello?”

“Her name is escaping me,” he says, snapping himself out of his trance. 

“Oh. Well-”

“She told me I had to talk to you if I wanted to try and understand all of this.”

“I guess? But I’m just about as lost as you are.”

A sharp shiver runs down your spine. It’s impossibly cold, the wind harsh and biting. You look down at your clothes, something you never thought to do until now. You’re wearing a long-sleeved shirt with linen pants. If this is what you’ve been wearing in previous dreams then you don’t remember. Whatever. It doesn’t matter because it’s not shielding you well enough from the elements, not here at least.  

“You’re cold,” he says, not like he cares but more so like he’s stating an observation. 

“Thanks for stating the obvious?”

“What? Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m trying to… ground myself.”

“I get it.”

“This is new for me. I never used to remember my dreams. Let alone be aware that I’m in one.”

“I remember my dreams every night but this is new for me, too.”

An awkward, uncomfortable silence hangs heavy in the air between you, too. You glance over at him, standing in the snow. The wind blows his curls back and the bright moonlight illuminates his brown eyes…. Maker, those eyes. How they used to scare you. But now you’re here with him up close, you can read nothing else in them besides confusion. 

He’s bathed in the purple glow of the sky, looking at his surroundings and trying to ground himself as best he can. It’s hard to do that in a dream where nothing is real. None of this is real. 

Is he real?

“Are you… real?” you blurt out. Probably not the best thing to ask him as he’s in the middle of disassociating but it just slipped out. 

“What? Of course, I am,” he says. His head snaps back in your direction but his eyes look past you. 

“How do I know that?”

“Well, are you real?”

“I think so but now you have me second-guessing.”

“Both of us panicking is doing us no good.”

“Can’t we just wake up whenever we want?”

“Yes, but… I don’t want to.”

“You don’t?

“No, I… need to find out more about this; about you… I want to trust you, I think.”

He folds his arms, the black sleeves tightening with the movement of his biceps. His brows are furrowed like he’s lost in thought, staring down at his feet and trying to piece all of this together. 

“Okay… We’ve established that both of us are real.”

“Right,” he affirms. 

“What’s your name?” you ask. 

He pauses, brow furrowing even deeper at your question. 

“We’re not going to build trust if you don’t tell me your name,” you point out. 

“My name is Din,” he says after a beat of silence.

It’s a start. 

You tell him your name and you feel the tension start to dissipate. But it doesn’t last long.

“Where are you from?” he asks.

There’s just one problem.

You don’t remember. 

“I… I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I can’t remember.”

“That’s odd.”

“What about you? Where are you from?”

He stares off into space before a look of realization hits his face. He can’t remember either. 

“I can’t recall…”

“Then how do we know that we’re real?”

“We’re real. I know we are.”

If he’s real can I touch him? What happens if do that?

“Walk with me,” he says, leading you away from the edge of the mountain and into the forest. 

You walk beside him, wondering where he’s taking you but also not feeling nervous about it. The back of your hand brushes up against his. He’s real even if this place doesn’t feel real. 

There’s a part of you that wants to trust him; that wants to learn more about him. Out of the corner of your eyes, you glance at him as he walks, eyeing the saunter in his step, the way he carries himself, holding his head high. His body language reads as someone who’s confident. But if he’s so confident why can’t he look you in the eye?

Before you have time to ponder the idea any further, he stops at a small stone cave, facing the tree line and illuminated by the majestic purple light seeping in. 

“It’s not much but I can build us a fire here.”

“S-Sure. Thanks, Din,” you say, sitting at the mouth of the cave and watching as he collects small twigs and branches off the trees, aiming for ones that aren’t dusted with snow. He collects a bundle of pine needles, too, before heading back to the cave.

He sits opposite you and arranges the sticks in a tent-like fashion, setting the pine needles down in a nest beside it. He takes a stick and a flatter piece of wood, rubbing his hands together with the stick swirling in between them. Watching him do this makes you realize you’ve never actually built a fire before, not like this at least. There are no trees on Sullust. Everything you know about trees and flora on other planets comes from the library where you go to learn about far-off places that feel like they can actually sustain life, unlike the toxic cloud of gas that is Sullust. The process seems tedious and it pleasantly surprises you that a complete stranger is doing the most to keep you warm. Even in a dream where at the end of the day, none of this really matters. 

Once he gets a small ember he dumps it over the nest of pine needles. He takes the needles in his hands cradling the small and fragile life he just worked hard to create. He places the small fledgling of fire at the base of the tent of sticks. Soon enough the flame catches, growing into a fire steady as a beating heart. And then it’s just the two of you, sitting across from each other with the fire in between, watching the way the light dances on the walls of the cave. It’s silent but not uncomfortable. It feels like you two have known each other a long time yet somehow you forgot the connection you once shared. 

“I know we don’t remember where we’re from but… Do you remember what you do?” you ask. 

“I’m a bounty hunter,” he says, not looking at you but looking at the flames. The fire lights up his already warm eyes, illuminating the brown into a shade of amber. 

“Really?”

“Yes? Is that surprising?”

“To me I guess. Where I’m from everyone does the same thing.”

“And what’s that?”

“We all work in a factory.”

“You can’t remember where?”

“No, but… it’s kind of nice not to. I don’t like where I live.”

“I see.”

“Do you?”

“I guess. I don’t really have one place I stay at lately. I’m usually all over the galaxy.”

“That sounds like a dream.”

“Yes… But it would be nice to have just one place where I could feel at home.”

“Looks like we both have something we could learn from one another.”

He smiles, still looking down at the fire, but it’s a smile that he’s still unsure of. 

“Din?”

“Hm?”

“Are you this shy normally?”

He freezes and you fear you might’ve overstepped. 

“How do you know I’m shy?”

“You won’t look me in the eye.”

“Oh.”

“It’s alright. You don’t have to if you don’t-”

“I don’t look like this normally.”

“No?”

“No, I don’t. I’m not used to this. I feel like I’m out of my element.”

You cock your head to the side and watch as he leans back against the wall of the cave, closing his eyes. Now that you’re not so afraid of him you can admire how beautiful he is. His strong arms strain the fabric of his black shirt. His facial hair is patchy (albeit in a cute way) and his nose is strong— it suits him. His hair is brown and curly, slightly matted down but you don’t know what from. He’s not wearing anything on his head. And his eyes. Maker how you wish he’d look you in the eye. 

“I like how you look,” you say, the words slipping out absentmindedly as you admire him. 

“Really?” he says, his eyes flying open and finally locking with yours. 

“I do. And I know I don’t know what you look like outside of here but I’m sure you’re just as… handsome,” you say. You want to call him beautiful but you don’t know how he’ll react. 

A boyish, lopsided smile graces his face, revealing a dimple you didn’t notice before. He opens his mouth to speak just as a large shiver runs down your spine. 

“You’re still cold,” he says, getting up off the ground. 

“I’m okay. Really-”

“Shh,” he says, sitting beside you and wrapping his arm around your shoulders. 

You can’t deny it feels nice for him to hold you like this. You lean into his touch and try to gauge what he smells like. He smells clean, like fresh laundry. It’s a comforting scent. 

“Tell me more about yourself. What’s life like for you?” you ask, turning and looking at him. 

He meets your gaze and doesn’t stray away from it. Maybe he’s finally building the confidence you know he deserves. 

“Lonely. Ever since my son left it’s been just me.”

“Your son?”

“He’s not mine. I took him in,” he says quickly. 

“Oh okay. Where is he?” 

“Training with his own kind. Before him, it was just me.”

“So you got used to having someone else around and now you’re alone again?” 

“Yeah… exactly.”

“I’m sorry, Din. I know what it’s like. When I’m not at work I’m alone… all the time. It’s nice and all until it’s not…”

“Right. Sometimes it’s nice being able to do whatever I want whenever I want but at night… that’s when I feel it the worst.”

“I get it,” you say, keeping your eye contact with him locked. 

“It’s nice to know that someone does,” he says, leaning into you closer. 

You’re so close to him, feeling his body heat, taking in his scent, looking at all of the details on his face… his lips. Maker, his lips. 

Without thinking you lean forward and kiss him, feeling his facial hair tickle your skin but in a welcoming, inviting way. He’s stiff at first, startled by your sudden move but soon enough he’s melting into the kiss. 

“I’m sorry,” you say, pulling away but still ghosting his lips.

“You’re sorry for that?” he chuckles. This time his warm breath tickles your face. 

“Yeah-”

“Don’t be,” he says, interrupting you and going in for another kiss.

His hand moves to the back of your head, keeping you against his face. The only thing on your mind is to be closer— as close as you two could possibly be. Your hand cups his cheek, brushing your thumb over his facial hair. It tickles him slightly and he lets out a small chuckle into the kiss. Just as you’re shifting positions to straddle him, he slips away from your grasp. You’re falling into inky black nothingness. 

When you open your eyes, you’re met with the ceiling yet again. 

Kriff. Just as it was getting good. 

It all felt so real. He has to be real. There’s no way someone that deep, complex, and… beautiful is just a product of your subconscious. He was so warm, so kind, so gentle with you. It makes you long for someone you’ve never even met in real life. 

But back to the original question… He has to be real, right? He said he didn’t look like that in real life. That alone has your mind racing. What did he mean by that? Does he look different entirely? Does he wear different clothes? Is his hair different? Maybe his eye color?

Or he really does look like that in real life and he perceives himself differently; he’s insecure. 

Regardless, you’re fixating on him, your dreams when you sleep start to slip into maladaptive daydreams. And you fantasize about what he’s like and what it would be like if he were here with you right now and—

Your alarm clock interrupts you. There’s no time for dreaming. It’s back to reality and another shift at the factory. 

Din

He wakes up frustrated, grasping the air at nothing. You felt so soft, so delicate in his lap just now. Your skin, your scent, your lips were so inviting, putting his anxious mind at ease. He too thinks about what it would be like if you were here with him, pressed up against him in the small cot of the Razor Crest. He thinks about what it would be like if your sweet voice was reverberating off the metal walls. He thinks about what your skin feels like and what it sounds like when you cum and—

Don’t get carried away, Din, he tells himself. 

As he gets up for the day reality settles in. He realizes that… he likes keeping you separate from his day-to-day life. As terrible as that sounds, it’s the start of a relationship without any strings attached, no real-life implications or consequences. It’s a secret for you two, not to be influenced by the world around you. If you’re even real, that is. 

That doesn’t mean he won’t fantasize about you, however. And deep down, part of him knows that you do exist, tucked away in a part of the galaxy he doesn’t know if he can find. 

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[7-wonders]

Hopes, Dreams, and Everything In Between (Morpheus x Reader)

Summary: Just when Morpheus finally escapes capture at the hands of the Burgess lineage and begins to make his way back to his realm, his weak connection to his power disappears completely. Left stranded in a world with no knowledge of what has transpired for over a century, no powers, and no clothes, Dream of the Endless must let down his guard and place his trust in a human whose path he was quite literally dropped in the middle of.

Word count: 10.7k

A/N: So! Here we are, with what is arguably the longest oneshot I've ever written. @glitchmeharder had left a comment on a post I made, pointing out that they wanted more fics of Morpheus getting stuck in the Waking World and needing to live with Reader for a little bit.

My mind took this sentence and RAN with it. Like, I apologize in advance for how long this is. I'm pretty pleased with it though, especially for my first Morpheus fic. I hope you're pleased with it too.

(Also, the POV jumps back and forth between Morpheus and Reader, but it alternates every other section and is pretty clear which POV is which)

(Also-also I've been staring at this fic for so long now I don't even know if it makes sense anymore)

Let me know your thoughts! Likes are appreciated, comments, asks, and reblogs make my world go round! My inbox is always open for you guys :)

*This fic uses she/her pronouns and includes the use of Y/n*

Freedom.

After being held captive for 106 long, painful years, Lord Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, King of Dreams and Nightmares, is on the precipice of securing his freedom. The younger Burgess’s lover had erased a small part of the runes encircling his glass cage with the wheel of the old man’s wheelchair, sending little more than a sorrowful glance back towards the prisoner. So this was how he would attempt to secure his safety, by breaking the circle of runes surrounding him. Barely a scuff, really, but it’s enough.

It’s enough for Morpheus to feel the faintest bit of his power return to him.

It’s enough that it’s all too easy for him to influence one of the security guards, waxing poetically about his upcoming beach vacation, to close his eyes for just a moment.

It’s enough for a dream to form, one of sun and sea and sand. Sand that Morpheus is able to gather a handful of, right in front of the horrified guard’s dreaming eyes.

The guard, lost in his dream nightmare, shoots at what he thinks is Morpheus. In the Waking World, he’s shooting at the orb that he’s meant to be diligently watching. A bullet hits, and a crack forms. Another, and another, and another, even as the other guard screams at her colleague to stop.

The glass explodes, and Morpheus fills his lungs with his first huff of fresh air in over a century. He can’t get lost in the joy that threatens to burst like a dam at finally seeing and feeling freedom. Not when he has a job to do, not when he has a kingdom to return home to.

He steps past the broken runes, now useless at keeping him trapped, and towards the two that are commanding him to stop where he is. He does as they ask, standing still in front of them. When the female orders him to open his closed fist, he is nice enough to listen to that command as well, lifting it to his mouth and blowing the sand in their faces.

A portal forms above him, and all Morpheus can think of is home. The Dreaming. He can feel it calling to him, a kingdom beckoning its ruler back. His power lifts him, and Morpheus welcomes the sensation of traveling through realms.

Then, just as quickly as he had his power, he loses it again.

Like a spelunker who’s just had their trusty rope give out on them, Dream finds himself free-falling with no way of stopping or controlling where he’s going. He tries desperately to clutch onto the tendrils of power that have abandoned him, but they refuse to obey.

He lands harshly on cold pavement, weak and disoriented with no idea of where he is. There’s a flash of blinding lights, the sound of rubber squealing, and then…

Darkness.

•••

It’s late at night, late enough that the few traffic lights that you pass are continuously blinking red and yellow. You hadn’t intended to be out so late, but catching up with friends at a restaurant had led to all of you losing track of time, talking and laughing and reminiscing until a manager politely informed your table that the restaurant had closed ten minutes prior.

Large tips had been left as apologies and your group hustled out of the door, leaving one another with hugs and goodbyes and promises to do this again, sooner than the months it had taken to get together in the first place. You got into your car, locking the doors immediately after, and you were happy.

Still, as you watched those you know and cherish depart with their significant others, you can’t help the pang of melancholy that taints an otherwise-wonderful evening. You’re at the age now where everybody that you know is in relationships, getting engaged and married and settling down and coupling up. You, however…are not. And you’re happy with being single, truly; the best company you can have is yourself. But knowing that you’re going to return home to your quiet apartment, where you’ll go to sleep in your empty bed and wake up to eat breakfast alone before repeating the monotonous cycle that is working a full time job and being an adult in general is making you just a little bitter.

You dwell on this as you drive the deserted roads home, even though you shouldn’t be. Shaking your head at your tendency to mope, you decide to do something about it and turn your radio up with the hopes that something good is playing on the random playlist that had begun when your phone automatically connected to the car’s sound system. Hell, maybe even something bad. Anything to get you out of this thought pattern that is quickly attempting to derail your mood.

“Now here I go again, I see the crystal vision

I keep my visions to myself

But it's only me who wants to wrap around your dreams, and

Have you any dreams you'd like to sell, dreams of loneliness?”

Ironic, considering you were just lamenting your own loneliness, but you’ll forgive Stevie Nicks for almost anything, so you let it slide. Tapping your thumbs on the steering wheel, you hum along to the song and stare out at the empty, rainy landscape ahead.

Empty, until it’s suddenly not.

You don’t look away from the road, you know that you don’t. But in the literal blink of an eye, a white figure appears right in front of your car. Slamming on the brakes with a scream, you watch as the figure collapses ahead of you. You don’t hit whatever it is, thankfully, and after lurching to a harsh stop, you peer through the windshield at what your headlights illuminate.

It’s a person, or at least you think it is. They’re pale, paler than any person you’ve seen before. They’re also stark naked, which, for a number of reasons, can’t be comfortable. Should you get out and help?

You bite your lip as you consider this, stories of human trafficking ploys and hitchhiking serial killers appearing at the forefront of your mind. It’s dangerous, and probably stupid, but something in you knows that this isn’t a scheme to kidnap you. Your eyes were on the road the entire time, and this being was literally dropped down right in front of your car. Grabbing your phone, throwing your hazards on, and unhooking the pepper spray from your keys, you cautiously open your car door and walk to the front of your car.

“Are you okay?” you ask, looking down at the man. 

He’s laying on his side, his face tucked into the crook of his arm. A mop of unruly, jet-black hair covers any other facial features that might have made him distinguishable to you. 

He doesn’t answer, and you swallow harshly. Oh God, is he dead? You thought you didn’t hit him, and your car doesn’t have any damage, but maybe you did.

Crouching down next to him, you take note of just how skinny he is when you lay a hand on his wrist to check his pulse (which is thankfully thrumming steadily beneath his near-translucent skin). No, not skinny. The man in front of you looks emaciated. What happened to him?, you wonder as you move your hand to his bony shoulder and begin to shake him.

“Hey, can you hear me?” 

This time, a muffled groan answers you. Okay, that’s better than before. At least he’s semi-conscious. Still, he doesn’t look well at all, and you should probably get him to a hospital to be checked out. When you voice this thought, you finally elicit a reaction from him. Long, ice-cold fingers grip your wrist weakly, and you stare at him in shock as he mumbles something unintelligible.

“What?” You lean down next to his covered face, trying to hear what he’s saying.

“No…” he mutters. “Please…no…hospital.”

He’s delirious, that much is obvious. Still, you find yourself mulling over his request. He really does need some sort of medical attention, but he managed to muster up enough strength to specifically tell you that he didn’t want to go to a hospital. As you think about it, you also start to come around to the “no hospital” idea. 

After all, what are you going to do? Show up at the hospital and dump a naked, starving man on their doorstep while claiming that you have no idea how he got like this? At best, the authorities would probably be called and you’d be questioned for kidnapping. No, it’s probably for the best to keep away from the hospital.

Logically, you know that you’re so stupid for even considering the idea that you’ve had. But really, what is this man going to be able to do to you? Even if he weren’t in and out of consciousness, he’s so frail that you could easily take him down were he to try and attack you. Against your better judgment, you decide what you’re going to do.

“I’ll be right back,” you assure the man, who you’re not even sure can hear you, before you stand up. “I think I have a blanket in the trunk of my car.”

A quick search through your mess of a trunk does reveal a blanket, hauled around at the insistence of your mother who preached needing an “emergency kit” in your car at all times. Now, you silently thank her as you grab it and hurry back to the man, though you definitely will not mention to her what the emergency kit was finally used for.

You haul him to a sitting position, his head falling back limply as you fix the blanket over his shoulders. “Do you think you can stand? I’ll get you to the car, I just need to get you on your feet.”

He makes a slight movement that looks like a nod, so you move his arm around your shoulder and wait until you feel his light grasp on your shirt before slowly bringing both of you to stand. Once you’re sure that you’re not going to drop him, you struggle with him towards your car. He’s lighter than most adult men, but considering he’s dead weight, it’s still tough to walk with him. You fumble with the handle of the car door, nearly throwing it open so that you only have to let go of him for a brief moment.

You cringe when he falls backwards onto the seats, landing harshly across them. It doesn’t seem to hurt him at all, the only sign that he even felt anything is a groan in the back of his throat. Whispering out a “sorry,” you cover his body with the blanket and make sure all of him is in the car before closing the door and getting into the driver’s seat.

Sighing heavily, you think about your life choices as you glance into the rearview mirror to look at the unconscious man in the back of your car. You’re really going to do this, aren’t you? Taking home a naked man that passed out on the road in front of your car so that you can hopefully wake him up and get him well enough to be on his way without killing you?

Yes, you are.

•••

The first thought that crosses Dream’s mind when consciousness finally returns to him is that his limbs ache. They really, truly ache. It’s not often that an Endless has lingering pains, but it does happen. He stretches his legs out in front of him, feeling his muscles twinge as he attempts to loosen them.

The next thought that crosses Dream’s mind is that he shouldn’t be able to stretch any of his limbs, considering he’s meant to be curled up in a glass ball.

His eyes snap open when he realizes this, and he’s bewildered to find that he’s not staring at guards looking at him disdainfully from the table they’re always perched at, nor is he looking at the wrought-iron bars separating the large, underground room from the staircase upstairs. No, instead, he’s looking up at what looks to be a ceiling fan, spinning lazily around and around.

The events of what happened before he ended up here (wherever “here” is) begin to come back to him in fragments. First the runes being erased, then securing the sand from the guard’s dream. The orb shattering, sand being blown, and beginning to make his way home. That’s where his memory becomes muddled.

There were lights, and a voice. He thinks he remembers the vague sensation of being moved, but he’s not too sure. Whatever happened, he ended up here…on a couch, under a number of blankets. Certainly not in the same basement that he had been in for over a century, with its familiar cold seeping through the very glass he found himself trapped in. No, this room is warm and inviting. Comforting, almost.

Wherever he is, it’s not in the Dreaming. More alarmingly still is that he can’t sense the Dreaming at all. After that small glimpse of his power that got him out of the Burgess basement, his power has completely abandoned him. A not-unusual feeling, considering he spent the last 106 years without it, but being “free” and powerless is not something that he’s used to.

He has had a lot of time to think about what his lack of power feels like. After a few decades, the best he could liken it to is missing a sense or losing a limb. It’s something functional, something that he should have, but that he doesn’t. Cruelly, he was granted a taste of what he should have for a mere second before fate or karma or the universe itself decided to play yet another cruel joke on him.

Dream slowly takes in his surroundings, his thoughts sluggish and confused. There’s a table next to the couch he’s laid on, a glass of water placed on it. A black screen sits on a stand across the room, and he stares at his reflection in it for a moment before the sound of humming draws his attention away.

A figure – the person humming, he assumes – comes through a doorway, eyes immediately meeting his own. Curiously, she smiles at him when she notices this. Dream’s muscles tense, on guard in the presence of an unknown being so soon after escaping Burgess. Has he escaped one prison, only to land in another?

“You’re awake!” she exclaims, as though she’s happy to see this. “How are you feeling?”

He ignores the human’s question. “This is not the Dreaming.”

“No, this is my apartment.”

“I must go.” Dream attempts to stand up, but finds that he struggles to just barely sit up. “I need to return to my realm.”

“You’re not going anywhere, look at you! You’re too weak to even move.”

She begins to approach him, but the glower he sends her way is enough to stop her in her tracks. It does not matter that she was stating the obvious when she said what she did, referencing his physicality. He will not be told what he can and cannot do, where he is allowed to exist. Not anymore. “Do not come any closer, mortal.”

“Okay, I won’t.” 

She puts her hands up in the air, presumably to show him that she means no harm. The move reminds him of what one might do in the presence of a frightened animal. In her mind, he is a frightened animal. 

“Have you drank any of that water? I don’t know where you were before I found you, but you look like you haven’t had anything to eat or drink in a while.”

He looks at her warily, but slowly takes the glass that is apparently designated for him. After over a century, he’s more than a little parched. Though he will not show any gratitude before it is earned, he is thankful that at least one of his needs is being met.

The woman waits patiently for him to make the next move, choosing to sit on a large chair near the couch and tap at a rectangle she holds in her hands. Morpheus appreciates not being watched as he greedily drains the water that he’s been offered. Only after he places the now-empty glass back on the table does she look up at him and wait for him to make the first move.

“How did I end up here?” Morpheus asks slowly.

“When I found you, you basically appeared in the middle of the road from out of nowhere. You were passed out, and you only really came around so that you could tell me not to take you to a hospital.” She nervously plays with her hands, which rest in her lap. “I wasn’t about to leave you out there, so I brought you here.”

“Why?”

It comes out harsher than he intended, but considering the only interaction he’s had for so long with other beings involved threats and pleas for immortality, riches, and power, he isn’t expecting much. In fact, Morpheus is preparing himself to listen to her list of demands before acting. Though he’s powerless right now and unable to manipulate her dreams the way that he did the guards at Fawney Rig, he still has millenia of experience to draw on when it comes to escaping a captor.

Contrary to his belief, she looks at him in surprise. “Why?” When he nods, she shrugs. “I guess…because if I were naked and unconscious in the middle of the road on a rainy night, I’d want somebody to help me to relative safety.”

Ah. It’s at this point that Dream realizes that he is, in fact, very much still naked. Though he’s hardly shy about his form, he is aware that most humans have a more puritanical point of view when it comes to the covering of bodies.

“Are you hungry? You look like you’ve been starved, so I’m guessing it’s been a while since you’ve had something to eat.” The woman stands and takes the glass off of the table, musing to herself as she walks to another room. “We’ll probably have to start you on something light so that you can get used to eating again. Maybe toast?”

She doesn’t stop rambling even as she returns and hands Morpheus another glass of water. Though, even if she were to stop long enough to take a breath, Morpheus doesn’t know what he would say. He’s so bewildered at this entire situation that the Prince of Stories himself is at a loss for words.

He’s been left completely powerless in the Waking World, and he would have to fend for himself were it not for this random human whose path he’s been literally dropped in the middle of. A human who, apparently, has no devious intentions towards him, though he finds it hard to believe that all humans aren’t evil and heartless like Roderick Burgess and those complicit in his captivity. He finds it especially hard to believe that the first human he comes across after the Burgess affair would be the exact opposite of those he’s been around for so long.

Destiny himself must surely be breaking his stoic demeanor to laugh at his younger brother’s misfortunes.

“Seriously, when was the last time you ate something?” After a moment of silence, Morpheus realizes she’s asking him a question.

His attention is brought back to the woman, who’s reclaimed her seat in the chair across the room. Lifting his chin, and with what he hopes is a voice befitting the ruler he once was, he says, “One hundred and six years ago.”

She laughs at what she assumes is a joke, until she realizes that the expression on his face doesn’t change. He can see this mortal begin to make the connections in her mind. His mention of his beloved realm, the fact that he called her “mortal” to begin with, the century plus of imprisonment. The Waking World is so quick to dismiss magic and the supernatural as “fairy tales;” if it is beyond their comprehension, then it therefore doesn’t exist.

Yet, even with what they believe to be sound logic, humans just know when they encounter something that they can’t quite explain. Morpheus has always seen it in the way that people back up when he or his siblings or any of the many other preternatural beings that wander this plane walk past. The fear in their eyes as something primal activates within them, something telling them that they are no longer the apex predator.

Even with his lack of powers, he still carries his innate abilities that are woven into his very being. He can hear the woman’s heart beat faster, see her pupils dilate in apprehension. She knows, even if she does not want to admit it.

Quietly, she asks, “Who are you? What are you?”

“I am Lord Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, King of Dreams and Nightmares.”

A long minute passes as she takes in the information he’s given her. She does not run away from him in fright (which has happened to him a couple of times), nor does she call for someone who will attempt to capture Morpheus and use his powers to their own advantage. Instead, she thinks over what she’s heard and nods.

“It’s nice to meet you, Lord Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, King of Dreams and Nightmares,” she smiles after saying all of his titles, apparently finding it amusing to be in the presence of a king, “I’m Y/n.”

Morpheus is not used to thanking others, especially mortals. However, this woman’s helpfulness seems to warrant that he learns how to do so, so he nods. “I thank you for offering me aid in my time of need, Y/n.”

“I’m going to get you some food.” He hardly opens his mouth to make a rebuttal before she’s pointing at him accusingly. “Don’t argue with me, you need food. Then after that, we’ll get you some clothes. Sound good?”

She doesn’t wait for an answer before she’s back through the door, presumably towards the kitchen. Though Morpheus is still wary of relying on anybody, let alone a human, he doesn’t exactly have a choice. Not when he’s this weak, and certainly not when he’s powerless. No, he has no choice but to place his trust in this strong-willed woman who was crazy enough to rescue a stranger in the rain.

Fates help him.

•••

So, the random, naked stranger you saved out of the middle of the road turns out to rule the collective unconscious of all of humanity. And he now lives on your couch for the time being (with clothes, thankfully; you had procured a shirt and a pair of sweatpants for him when he had finally agreed to let you help him), because he’s apparently lost the powers that connect him to said collective unconscious. No big deal.

You didn’t want to believe Morpheus at first. After all, just the mere idea of some being who is eons old and is, in his words, “the anthropomorphic personification of the concept of dreams” sounds insane. But the same sense that told you that it was safe to take him home tells you that he’s telling the truth. And as you get to know him more, you find that that sense was right.

From the way that he talks to the memories of empires long gone and the recollections of those great figures of history that he’s met and inspired, all of which he shares with you as the days go by and it becomes obvious that he can’t just ignore you and hope that you go away, you find it very easy to believe him. He hasn’t given you a reason to not believe him, and until he does, you’ll continue to trust what he tells you.

It’s at least a week before your new roommate is strong enough to move easily around your apartment, though he still looks half-starved. On his second day of staying at your apartment, you had offered to help him to the shower. After all, if you had been deprived of showering for 106 years, it would be one of the first things that you wanted to do. After thinking it over for a long couple of minutes, Morpheus had begrudgingly agreed. The moment he attempted to stand, he had been unable to support himself and had fallen to his knees. This left him no choice but to take your outstretched hand.

It was very obvious that the proud king felt humiliated at needing to use you to support most of his weight as you maneuvered him through your apartment and to the bathroom. You couldn’t exactly blame him, because you’re sure that it is humiliating, especially when you’re a being that’s normally more powerful than a literal god who has to rely on a mere human for help walking a few feet.

According to Morpheus, if he had his powers, he would have recovered at a much faster rate. Since he doesn’t, though, and he’s effectively human for the time being, he has to recover as a human would. When you come home from running a couple of errands one day to find him sitting up on the couch without needing to lean on anything for support, reading a book from your collection, you’re extremely glad to see that his “human” recovery is progressing nicely.

As time passes, though, you’ve found an odd companionship with him. He’s slowly become less wary of you, and you of he, which has allowed you both to trust the other and actually, dare you say it, form a tenuous friendship.

It seems like he’d been expecting you to basically tiptoe around him and ignore him throughout the duration of his stay with you. Considering you don’t want to wake up to a corpse on your couch because you abandoned him in his time of need, and because you’re a person with a conscience, you’ve done the exact opposite, much to his chagrin and bewilderment.

You’re in the kitchen chopping vegetables for a soup, still working on building Morpheus up towards being able to eat actual meals, when he actually comes to you seeking companionship. He hovers at the edge of the kitchen, watching silently as you go through the familiar motions. Finally, he moves just a couple of steps closer, like a feral cat being enticed by food from a human who’s determined not to look at them. It’s not that far off from reality, you realize.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

Though it’s pretty damn obvious what you’re doing, you decide not to be sarcastic with him. “Making soup.”

He nods, leaning against the counter to watch. You feel a bit like you’re on a cooking show with the way that he’s viewing your actions so intently.

“What’s so interesting?” you ask after another moment of unwillingly being on Iron Chef.

“I suppose I’ve never really watched someone cook before.”

The knife pauses in midair, and you turn to look at him. “I’m sorry, what? You’ve been alive for as long as beings have had consciousness, but you’ve never watched someone cook?”

“It’s not often that I have to eat. If I choose to enjoy food, the palace staff typically prepares it for me.”

Oh yeah. It’s easy to forget that Morpheus literally has a castle when he’s standing in your kitchen with bedhead. You would make a joke about him being spoiled, but you suppose that if you were in his position, you also never would have taken the time to actually step inside a kitchen.

“Do you want to learn?”

“How to cook?” You nod. “Are you sure that you want to teach me?”

“I’m literally just going to have you cutting vegetables,” you say with a laugh. “It’s a pretty easy task, even for you, your highness.”

His lips just barely move upwards, and you stare at him, stunned. Did he just smile at you? You didn’t even know that he knew how to do that. You’re about to try and convince yourself that it was just a trick of the light when he says, “Being that I am a king, it’s ‘your majesty,’ not ‘your highness.’”

He did smile! And he made a joke! It’s such a small accomplishment, yet you can’t help but to feel immensely proud of yourself. Hiding your own pleased grin, you step back from the cutting board. “Okay your majesty, come over here so I can teach you to cut vegetables.”

Morpheus definitely isn’t going to be on any cooking shows of his own anytime soon. Actually, you don’t know that you’d even trust him to be in the kitchen by himself anytime soon. He nearly cuts off a finger a couple of times, and he struggles to figure out how to hold whatever he’s cutting so that it can actually be cut. The vegetables he’s been in charge of cutting are uneven, but you can see how proud he is of having completed this task himself. You’re proud of him too; though you can tease him for having never done something like cooking before, it must be hard to learn a new skill after so long.

After this, Morpheus becomes less of an unwilling house guest who’s only putting up with you because he physically can’t leave and more of a friend. It became inevitable that you would have to spend time together, since he’s living on your couch until he can figure out how to get back to the Dreaming, but it’s become actually enjoyable to be in his presence, and vice versa. Though he can still be cold, distant, and haughty, that’s to be expected. Your relationship has changed, and he’s changed.

It takes a couple of weeks, but Morpheus finally starts to feel well enough to re-enter the land of the living. At least, he’s well enough to insist that he can start researching how to regain his powers or go home. Naturally, you join him. Morpheus has long-since given up on asking you why you help him, finally realizing that this is just how you are. If he wanted to be left alone, he should have landed in front of the car of someone who didn’t care about his well-being.

You’re sitting in your local public library with him, one of your now-regular visits as you search through book after book to try and find answers. The both of you are tucked in a corner near a set of windows, enjoying the way that the sun warms your skin. Books from a variety of subjects are scattered all around you; religion and history, mythology and occult. Anything that could potentially give you an idea of how to help an Endless regain the powers that they were created with. Needless to say, there’s not a lot of material written on this topic.

Yet another book with no answers is tossed to the side in frustration, and you begin to just fire off random ideas off the top of your head. Most of them involve seeking the help of any magic contacts that Morpheus has here in the Waking World, which is made difficult by the fact that Morpheus has no way of contacting these beings. Both because of his lack of powers, as well as the fact that he’s not the most open person for one to make a contact with.

(“You? Not friendly? I’m shocked, truly,” you had said with obvious sarcasm coloring your tone. Morpheus simply sighed, turning the page of the book he’s reading harsher than needed.

“Yes, have your laughs at my expense.”)

It’s more than a little discouraging to have absolutely no answers, and you’re starting to get desperate. You tap your fingers against a book you’ve already looked through, hoping that maybe you’ll learn something through osmosis.

“You could…”

You pause, trying to think of a good idea. Your mind is racing as you turn from logical plans that could actually work to the illogical. After all, if you can’t find something that works, you’re at least going to have some fun. 

“Throw me off a bridge, maybe? That’d surely get your sister to show up.”

Morpheus only looks at you. “That is not funny, Y/n.”

“I didn’t say it was!”

“I know your sense of humor well enough by now to know that you find this suggestion of yours at least slightly amusing.”

Your lips twitch, because he’s right. The mental image of Morpheus chucking you off a bridge and then eagerly waiting for his sister, literal Death, to appear while you’re screaming and falling to your end does make you want to laugh. 

“Well, it’s the only idea I’ve got,” you say with a shrug.

“A terrible idea, truly.”

You roll your eyes jokingly and mutter, “Jerk.”

When you first met Morpheus, he would have taken your words and actions quite seriously and been offended at the perceived insults. Now, he simply rolls his eyes right back at you and smirks. Just one of the many things that have changed between you.

It’s here, on the floor of the library, that things majorly change between you. It’s here that Morpheus kisses you for the first time.

You had taken a solo walk around a few of the shelves under the guise of seeing if you had missed any research, but really you needed to get away from the corner of no answers before you started shredding books out of anger. It helped enough that you were able to return to the research with fresh eyes, and it seems like it’s paying off.

In a book about pagan rituals, you find the first promising information that you’ve seen in the last three library trips. You lay your hand on Morpheus’s shoulder to get his attention. “Wait, listen to this! This book talks about summoning the Fates.” 

You point down to the passage. 

“‘It is fitting to begin December with an offering to the Three Fates, the weavers of destiny. Put out three small cups of red wine, fruit and bread, along with three knives. This is a way of honoring the powers that will bring more provisions during the coming year. Have ready three candles, red, black and white.’ It’s not December, but I would think this could potentially be done year-round? We give them an offering, they recognize who it’s coming from, and they give us some answers. What do you think?”

When you look up at Morpheus, you find him already looking at you with his beautiful blue eyes. He’s told you that, when he has his powers, his eyes resemble two stars. With the way that they always twinkle when they catch the light just right, you’d argue that they already do. You smile at him, unable to stop the awkward giggle that escapes you as he continues to look at you with something you can’t quite name.

“What?”

His eyes look from your eyes to your lips and back again. Your breath catches in your throat as you realize what he’s about to do, a mere moment before he leans in and presses his lips to yours.

Morpheus is a really good kisser, which is to be expected since he’s been alive for longer than you can fathom. He kisses you softly and sweetly, and the butterflies that flutter in your stomach make you feel a bit like a teenager receiving her first kiss from a beau. You sigh against his lips, bringing a hand to his cheek while he places one of his on the back of your neck.

Then, it actually hits you what you’re doing. Though you don’t want to (like, you really don’t want to), you need to put a stop to this. What if the only reason he’s doing this is because he feels some sense of gratitude towards you for saving him in the first place? You can’t take advantage of him like that, even if he is a very attractive man that is currently kissing you.

“Wait.” You put a hand on his chest to put some space between you, though you still rest your forehead against his. “I don’t want you to kiss me just because I’m letting you crash on my couch.”

“Do you think that I am incapable of making my own decisions?”

“No, of course not! I just–I worry that you feel like you owe me, or something. You don’t.”

You can feel Morpheus smile under your touch. “It is chivalrous of you to refuse me because you believe that you are taking advantage of me. However, I can assure you that you need not worry.”

“Are you sure? What about, like, power dynamics?”

“Y/n, I’m eons old. If anything, I have all of the power here based solely on that.” Oh, yeah. Before you can actually beat yourself up over the stupidity of that statement, he continues. “I can promise you that I have my wits about me, and there is nothing clouding my decision-making. I care for you, and I would very much like to continue kissing you.”

“Okay,” you whisper, unable to believe that this is actually happening.

He laughs lightly. “Now, may I kiss you again?”

You nod. “Yeah, you can definitely kiss me again.”

Morpheus is more than happy to reclaim your lips with his.

It would almost be embarrassing, how quickly you’ve fallen in love with Morpheus, if it weren’t for the fact that he’s fallen just as fast. You’ve lived blissfully in your own little corner of heaven with him for almost four months now. Though getting him home is still important to both of you, it’s also become less of a priority as you’ve fallen more in love with each other.

(He’s also very happy to be sleeping in bed with you instead of on the couch.)

Laying in bed with him one night, you’re transfixed with mapping out every inch of his skin that you can touch with your fingers and watching goosebumps form in their wake. You don’t think you’ll ever get over just how unreal Morpheus seems to be. You understand, of course, that this is due to the fact that he’s an Endless, that he is physically more than a human, and thus a human form can not truly contain all of him. But to be up close and personal to such a phenomenon really drives home just how ethereal he really is. You can easily see why he’s been mistaken as a god so many times throughout history.

“What’s it like?” you whisper to him, unwilling to fully break the tranquility you’re experiencing.

In the dim light, Morpheus looks at you. “What is what like, beloved?”

Your heart jumps at the pet name, so sweet and unexpected. Fighting to keep your wits about you, you ask, “Your kingdom. The Dreaming.”

“I don't even know where to begin when I tell you that it is the most wondrous place you will ever lay eyes upon.” He closes his eyes briefly and sighs wistfully. “It has been over a century since I have been home, and yet I can still see it as if I were merely there yesterday.”

“If it’s hard to talk about, you don’t have to.” You should have realized that asking him about the home he currently has no way of getting back to would make him upset.

“It does not make me sad to talk about it. Rather, I love the Dreaming so much that it overwhelms me sometimes. I am the Dreaming, you see. It is a part of me.”

“So it’s perfect, then.” You don’t mean to say that out loud, but the way that Morpheus looks away bashfully makes you glad that you did.

“That is what some believe, yes. It’s a vast plane, considering all the universe’s dreamers use it when they close their eyes at night. The area around the palace, my direct kingdom, is stunning. Imagine the most beautiful landscape you can. That beauty would pale in comparison to Fiddler’s Green, with its orchards and valleys and rivers and mountains.”

“Really?”

“Mm. My personal favorite is a small clearing ringed by trees that make it seem as though you’re completely blocked off from the rest of existence. There’s a waterfall there, too, and I believe you’d quite enjoy the mermaids.”

All of it sounds wonderful, but that last word has your mind sparking with excitement. “Mermaids? Like…actual mermaids?”

“Of course. Mermaids are creatures of dreams. And nightmares. They are subjects in my realm.”

“That’s amazing.” You pause for a moment. “Would I be able to meet them?”

“You will be able to do anything you wish when I finally get to bring you to my realm. Though, it may be difficult to get you out of the library once you’re there.”

“I should have assumed you’d have a library.”

“Yes, and it is my sanctuary in the Dreaming. The library holds every book that has ever been written, every book that will be written, and even books that have merely been ideas in the minds of authors. It is overseen by Lucienne, without whom I fear the library would fall into permanent disrepair.”

“That sounds wonderful.” You yawn, your eyes too heavy to keep open for much longer. Morpheus notices this and pulls you closer to him. “Tell me more about it. Then maybe I’ll get lucky and be able to catch a glimpse of it while I sleep.”

It’s merely wishful thinking, considering dreams since the night that Roderick Burgess trapped Morpheus in his basement have been nothing more than fragments of scenarios. But his voice is so deep and calming, and you can tell that it makes him happy to talk of his home. Maybe tonight will be the night that the Dreaming decides to welcome its king back home. And even if it doesn’t, you’ll enjoy falling asleep in your lover’s arms.

•••

When Morpheus first woke up after his captivity, alone and confused and without his powers, he thought that he would never be able to feel anything except anger. Anger at his situation, anger towards those that had captured them. And for a few days, anger was all that he felt. But slowly and surely, Y/n had managed to chip away at the anger that had threatened to harden around his heart. Though he was not looking for love, nor did he expect to ever deserve love again after everything he had done to ruin every relationship he had been in, he had found it with her. The anger became replaced with an incandescent happiness, happiness that threatened to swallow Morpheus whole if he allowed it.

And he was certainly tempted.

It’s been approximately four months since the night he was freed, but it certainly hadn’t felt that way. Where he had spent the past 106 years counting day after agonizing day, four months with his beloved seemed to pass in the blink of an eye; an impressive feat for an Endless. Morpheus has, dare he say it, enjoyed getting to be a human, learning more about humanity and all that he had missed. Though he still lamented the loss of something so integral to his very being as his powers, his realm, he was able to recognize the gift that he had been given in spending the last four months with Y/n.

He’s sitting with her on the couch where it seems as though everything began, reading yet another book in the hopes that he might find a way to regain his powers, while she watches a movie on the television about some sort of battle in space (yet another aspect of humanity that she enjoyed teaching him, modern technology and everything along with it). She had meant to show him this movie, claiming that it was one of her favorites and that she believed every being needed to see this. Of course, it took a total of five minutes before he found himself hopelessly lost among the plot and had turned to the book next to him.

She had pouted for a moment, more to try and make him feel bad than from actually being upset. He had simply smirked in her direction, kissing her forehead before laying his arm around her and drawing her closer to him. Yet another thing that he loves about her, among many things, is that he can just exist in companionable silence with her. It’s rare, at least in his experience, when one finds another where this is possible.

Her head falls against his shoulder, and he smiles down at her when he sees she’s fallen asleep. In moments like these, he wishes more than anything that he was connected to the Dreaming once more. What he wouldn’t give to be able slip into her mind and give her the sweetest dreams that she deserves. As he closes his eyes and leans his head against hers, he imagines that he can feel that link to his realm.

After a moment, Morpheus opens his eyes and jarringly realizes that he can feel it. Her dreams, and the Dreaming itself. After 106 long years, the Dreaming returns to him as naturally as if he had simply blinked. His power suddenly twining through his veins again, something which he had taken for granted nearly his entire existence, has tears pricking at his eyes. Oh, how he has missed this.

Morpheus can return home now to reclaim his mantle and rule the Dreaming once more. He should be thrilled about this. He is thrilled about it. Thrilled, until he looks at the sleeping woman leaning against him and realizes that a decision must be made, and soon.

His power has returned, yet it’s still incredibly weak. Weak from not using them so long, and weak due to his not having his tools–his sand, his helm, and his ruby. Thus, he cannot be at his full strength until he recovers them. Will his power disappear yet again if he waits too long? If he wakes her to relay the good news, to take a moment to say goodbye, will the Dreaming escape from him? If his power does leave again, will he ever have another chance such as this?

It’s something that he cannot risk. And yet, he finds himself unsure, even though he knows what he has to do. This woman, this mortal, has managed to ensnare his heart so completely that Morpheus considers potentially forsaking his kingdom just for the chance to properly part with her in the way that he wants to, in the way that she deserves.

Morpheus takes great care not to wake her up when he moves her off of him to lay down on the couch. His fingers trace the slope of her nose, down to her lips and across her cheeks, mapping out her face. If this is to be the last time he sees her, he wants to remember everything about her. Knowing that he will have to depart without telling her where he is going or knowing if they will be together again grieves him. He has not felt pain of this kind since he helplessly watched Jessamy be murdered in front of him.

He lingers when he kisses his beloved’s forehead, not sure when, or if, he will have the pleasure of seeing her again. If she’ll forgive him for what he has to do, how he has to leave her. He whispers this in her ear, a simple, “I love you. Forgive me.”

Then, he closes his eyes and feels that tug that has always connected him to the Dreaming. He envisions the sandy dunes outside of the Gates of Horn and Ivory, the way they melt into the rolling hills of Fiddler’s Green in the distance. He sees his castle and his library, Lucienne and Mervyn, Cain and Abel, the seas of dreams and nightmares. He places himself there, and when he opens his eyes to see Lucienne leaning over him, when he feels the sands of his realm against his back, he knows…

He’s home.

•••

Waking up on your couch that day with no sign of Morpheus anywhere had confirmed your worst fears. Just as suddenly as he had appeared in your life, he was now gone without a trace. And as the hours eventually turned into days without him, you had to come to terms with the fact that he was really, truly gone.

Life without Morpheus, after having had him as yours for a few glorious months, just felt dull. Literally, it felt as though your senses were dulled now. Colors weren’t as bright, songs weren’t as beautiful, things didn’t taste as good, flowers didn’t smell right, and things that were once soft now felt harsh against your skin. He was gone, and you were alone. Things were as they were before that fateful night when he landed in front of your car.

It’s not even that he left you. Rather, it’s how he left you. Never would you have expected him to just completely abandon you, with no note left behind or anything to explain where he had gone. You assumed he had gotten his powers back, which was wonderful, truly. After all, that was the end game, wasn’t it? But for him to just…leave, after everything you had been through and shared with each other, hurt worse than you could have imagined.

You became intimately familiar with the five stages of grief in those first few days after his departure, cycling through each stage until you would come back around to the beginning and do it all over again. It felt pathetic that you were this heartbroken, but how could you not be? Morpheus had held your heart in his very hands, only to discard it as if the gift you gave him, of your love, meant nothing. You couldn’t even mope for as long as you wanted to, because you just reminded yourself of fucking Bella Swan in New Moon, and god forbid you share any similarities with her.

Eventually, you settled on feeling angry. Angry at him, angry at the circumstances, angry at yourself, angry at the world. You’re so mad, but then you feel like you have no right to be mad, because he got what he wanted! He has his powers and his realm back, which was the only reason he was with you for as long as he was. You both knew that, and still…

You really wish that you could hate Morpheus.

He hadn’t even come to visit you in your dreams, which had really sealed the deal for how little you meant to him. If he had gotten his powers back and returned to his realm, surely he would have spoken to you while you were asleep to at least let you know that he was alright? But no, you didn’t even receive that from him. And so you were left without closure, which made getting over him really difficult.

Still, you try your best to get over him, even though you really don’t want to do so. Two months after Morpheus vanished without a trace, you’re finally returning the last library book from your research sessions with him. You felt silly, holding onto it for as long as you did, but it proved that he had been here, and that what you had experienced was real. It was a tangible link to him; it was your only tangible link to him. Unfortunately, the library has only let you renew the book so many times before needing it back, and today is that day.

You stand in front of the book deposit box in the library, holding onto the book and feeling the cover that you’ve mapped out time after time as you attempt to work up the courage to let go. Let go of both the book itself, as well as the hope that Morpheus will come back to you. It’s obvious that it’s not going to happen, and you’re doing nothing but hurting yourself by continuing to hold out hope that it will. You need to live your life again, even if it means letting go of the best thing to ever happen to you.

Somebody clears their voice behind you to draw you out of your inner monologue, and you realize that a line has started to form. Smiling sheepishly at the grandma waiting for her turn, you whisper “sorry” to her before taking a breath and finally dropping the book inside. The flap of the box closes with a finality that signifies that you aren’t getting that book back. Stepping away from the deposit box to allow the line to progress, you take a deep breath as the finality of the situation hits you.

That’s it. All that you’re left with from your four months with Morpheus now is memories. You were hoping that this would feel more freeing, that you’d feel a weight lifted off of your shoulders and go waltzing out of the library like the main character in a coming-of-age movie as the end credits played to signify that you were turning a corner in your life. Instead, you just feel a pit in the bottom of your stomach, a sickness that this is really it. Now, you have to figure out what to do next.

Even as you turn to leave, you can’t help but think of Morpheus. You glance into the corner of the library that you spent many days with him in, the corner of the library where he kissed you, and you just want to cry. You miss him. You really, truly miss him, and it seems like it’s going to take more than returning a library book to get over that.

You wish you had pictures that you could burn, like every other normal relationship.

As you exit the library, you find yourself making eye contact with the fucking crow sitting in the tree across the street that seems to follow you around now. You’re probably just paranoid, because you don’t even really like birds, but it feels like you see that giant black bird everywhere you go. At first, for a hopeful second, you had allowed yourself to believe that maybe it was a sign from Morpheus. But when you had quietly said hello to it and it just did crow things, you realized that you were being stupid. Of course a random bird isn’t going to be a messenger from the lover that had left you.

Because this is already a terrible day, it gets worse when you harshly knock against someone when you’re walking in the parking lot to find your car. You stumble backwards, nearly falling from the force of it. The only reason that you don’t fall is because the person who you’ve just inadvertently assaulted grabs onto your forearm to steady you.

“Shoot, I’m sorry,” you mumble, squinting against the sun.

“I believe I’m the one that should be apologizing.”

That voice. You know that voice. Could it really be, or have you just finally lost your mind and are imagining what you want to happen?

But then your vision clears, and you look at him, and no. It’s real. He stands in front of you two months after you last saw him, looking down at you like you’re the one that left him suddenly.

Your mouth opens, then closes, then opens again. There are so many things that you want to say to him. After all, how many times have you imagined this exact scenario and all of the things that you would say to him in said scenario? Now you’re here, with his hand around your arm, and all you can think to say is, “Morpheus?”

He looks better than he did even at his healthiest when staying with you, which goes to show just how drained he was without his powers. His lips are lifted just slightly, his version of a smile, and he looks good. His coat fits him perfectly, as though it were made just for him (it probably was). He’s dressed in all black, of course, from the coat down to the black boots he wears. You finally meet his eyes, and you gasp when, for a split second, you see the stars that make up his eyes before you blink and they’re back to the blue you’ve known.

“Hello, beloved,” Morpheus says. The deep timbre of his voice sends shivers down your spine, a side effect of not hearing it every day like you used to.

You want to be mad at him. You are mad at him. He left you with no warning and disappeared from your life without a trace. He had left you so suddenly, in fact, that sometimes in the middle of the night when you were out of tears and hadn’t yet cried yourself to sleep, you wondered if you had simply imagined everything about him. Yet, seeing him again, all you want to do is fall into his arms and tell him how much you missed him. 

When you lunge forward, it’s not to hug him, which is what you always expected you would do if you were to be reunited with him. Instead, you say, “I can’t believe you fucking left me!” and shove at his chest in anger, which, if the look on his face is anything to go off of, he hadn’t been expecting either. 

The shove hardly moves him, but it fills you with satisfaction to be able to physically assert just how upset you are, so you shove and hit his chest again and again. Morpheus, to his credit, just stands there and takes it, hopefully because he knows he deserves it.

Even the patience of an Endless, however, is not endless. Morpheus grabs your wrists with one of his large hands and stops the physical manifestation of your rage in its tracks. You fight him for a moment longer, but eventually the hot tears building in your eyes spill over, and you look up to face him defiantly. If he’s going to make you cry, he’s going to have to see it.

“You couldn’t have left, I don’t know, a note or something? Just to let me know that you were going to disappear without a trace?”

Morpheus looks pained at this, and a sick part of you whispers ‘good, he deserves to feel bad.’ “When I realized that I could feel the Dreaming after you fell asleep that night, I was not sure if that would be my one and only chance to reclaim my throne. I had to make a choice, however difficult it was, to return to my realm through your dreams.”

“But you didn’t think to let me know that you were okay after you made it back?”

“You remember my tools? My helm, my sand, my ruby?” He waits for you to nod. “I had to retrieve those before I could return to you.”

“Don’t forget about the whole ‘dream vortex’ thing after that! Ugh, that was a mess.” You look up when another voice chimes in, only to find yourself looking at the crow that you had been mentally cursing minutes ago.

“Did–did that crow just talk?”

“Raven, and yes.” Said raven flutters down to land on Morpheus’s shoulder, who glances at his corvid companion like he’s a nuisance.

“This is Matthew, my emissary,” Morpheus introduces.

“Uh, it’s nice to meet you, Matthew.” You feel a bit stupid saying hello to a raven, but it’d be rude not to. “I’m Y/n.”

“I know!” Matthew says cheerfully.

“You may return to the Dreaming, Matthew. I no longer require your assistance.” You stifle a laugh at how obviously Morpheus wants his raven, who is apparently enjoying being a third wheel, to hit the road.

“Right, right, you don’t have to say another word. I’m off!” Matthew flies from Morpheus’s shoulder and presumably back to the Dreaming, though you’re not quite sure how the logistics of traveling between dimensions work.

Left alone now, Morpheus stares at you, and you he, for a long moment. He seems to be waiting for you to make the first move, to see if you’re going to react with anger again. Finally, you rip your hands from his grasp and throw your arms around him. “Fuck, I missed you.”

Though slowly, Morpheus returns your hug, pulling you to him and pressing a kiss to your forehead before resting his chin on your head. “I missed you as well. I have ached for you and your presence since the moment I had to leave. Believe me, if I could have taken you with me, I would have.”

You close your eyes, savoring the feeling of actually having Morpheus here and being in his arms. It’s all you’ve dreamed of, for lack of a better term, since he left, and it feels just as good as you imagined it would. You could stay like this forever, and you almost do…until a car honks at you and you remember that you’re standing in the middle of the parking lot.

Sheepishly, you wave at the car and mouth “sorry!” as you grab Morpheus’s hand and pull him towards the actual parked cars. The driver that you’ve now royally pissed off glares at you the entire time that they slowly drive past you, making you giggle nervously. When you look over and see the bewildered look on Morpheus’s face (you would love to know how he would have reacted had you been flipped off), your laughter increases.

Your laughter is cut off when Morpheus leans down and kisses you. Whether that be because he’s trying to get you to shut up or because he actually wanted to kiss you, you’re not sure. Either way, you enjoy finally getting to kiss Morpheus once more.

When you pull away, you look him in his piercing eyes and say, “I’m still mad at you, y’know.”

“You have the right to be so. However, if you are amenable to spending more time with me as I attempt to win back your affections, I would like to show you my kingdom.”

“You wanna take me to the Dreaming?” Morpheus nods, smirking at the way you try to act nonchalant and not excited. “...Can I meet the mermaids?”

This makes him chuckle, a rarity for him. “Yes, you can meet the mermaids.”

The excitement at this prospect wins out, and you grin. “Okay then. Woo me, your majesty.”

•••

Morpheus had feared the worst when he had decided that the Dreaming was rebuilt well enough to receive its (hopefully) future Queen. He worried that Y/n would have taken another lover, or that she would not love him at all anymore. A frequent criticism by his siblings is that he gives too much of himself to romantic relationships, and that very well may be true. But Morpheus knew for certain that, were Y/n to turn him down when he finally reappeared in her life (and he would not even blame her for doing so; not with the way that he left and remained away for so long), it would crush him in a way that no other rejection ever had.

He thinks it would hurt even worse than the Nada affair.

When he finally coaxed his beloved to smile in response to something that he said–a sight which he will never take for granted again–those fears were assuaged. When she agreed to accompany him to the Dreaming, Morpheus allowed himself to hope.

Hope. A word so simple, yet a word that carried so much within it that it could defeat Lucifer themself.

Hope blossoms within Morpheus as he holds out his arm for Y/n to grasp onto so that they can travel safely to the Dreaming, and it turns into a flame when she instead grabs onto the lapels of his jacket and allows him to wrap his arm around her waist.

[clownin44]

I'm probably reaching but

Yk her centipede tattoo??

Do you think it has anything to do with these guys?

This was posted before the episodes were free so there's no more spoilers now :^)

I can't get screenshots for the fast pass episodes, so just trust Ik what I'm talking about

I don't think that the people who kidnapped the kids are necessarily lying to them. They're just genuinely clueless. I think the fungus is a part of it but not in the way they think? Maybe the fungus is what opens / weakens the rift between the two worlds? the same fungus could've been in the woods/building during ashlyns birth as well, which is why the phantom was there. However, i think the paper cranes do know about the monsters or, at the very least, they know about the other dimension. (Side note: I don't think Alex or Mr. Thomas are part of the paper cranes despite Mr. Thomas having a few of them on his desk, since the boss plans on "making him dissappear" later, and Mr. Thomas tells ashlyn that she is, in fact, sick.) They're just a shadier group within the Contamination Facility, yk? I don't think they're all bad

I also think that all the kids we see that are in comas are alive, but they're stuck in the phantom realm after ashlyn and the group go to savvanah, since Jasmine says that the rift was permanently closed afterward

Anyway (deadass forgot what I was talking about) when the kids meet up at the gas station and go back to the graveyard, I can only assume there weren't any roots and vines on the streets due to the reaction they all had when they saw them. My guess is that the constant back and forth between the two worlds is having an effect on the environment. It could also be that now that a few months have passed and the rift is closed, the phantom dimension isn't 100% connected to the real one like it used to be, and is able to grow vines, fungus, and those weird rock pillars without them being present in the real world.

Istg I'm almost done

I think what happens to the kids' injuries is similar to what happens to phantoms when they're around light. They can't actually die from their wounds like how phantoms can't die from lights, but it will still affect their separate bodies (real world and phantom) like how the light makes the phantoms lose their form (idk how to word that)

I have so much to say but I've already yapped enough, I'll probably look like an idiot but I spent too long on this to let it die in my drafts

[bbobpul]

solemn ceremony — yjh

PAIRING. yoon jeonghan x reader SUMMARY. y/n, who was in a six-year relationship with jeonghan, has been attending so many weddings of her friends because they are already at that age to settle down. she starts to feel the pressure because in those six years, not once did jeonghan ever hint about wanting to settle down with her. GENRE. angst W/C. 1.8k NOTE. i miss you jeonghan (⁠ﾉﾟ⁠0ﾟ⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠→ my other works

'it's okay to outgrow those who don't know how to love you,' says bianca sparacino, and this has been the driving concept of every aspect of my existence. it's what i've committed to all my life. i've navigated this world using the catching and releasing mentality. i've felt the pain of losing friends, the missed opportunities, and the irreversible loss of precious time. yet, in all my years, i could never bear the notion of losing you.

i know deep inside me that it wasn’t easy.. but i did it. i outgrew you.

five years ago…

so, there i was, amidst the whirlwind of vows and joyful dances, attending my fourth wedding of the year. you know how it goes—happy times, smiling faces, and love all around. but within that sea of celebration, there was always this lingering question, like a bittersweet voice tugging at my heartstrings: "when will it be your turn?" or "has jeonghan popped the question yet?" those inquiries had a way of leaving me lost in a haze of uncertainty, carrying the weight of unfulfilled desires.

jeonghan and i, we've been on this rollercoaster of love for six whole years. it all started when fate brought us together on a construction project. can you believe it? both of us are architects, drawn to each other by our shared passion. it was during that time, though, that i was going through something tough—a deep loss that weighed heavily on my soul.

in those moments of solitude, i longed for someone to share my victories, to lighten the load of my accomplishments. it's like i was missing a missing piece in the puzzle of life, you know? but then, like a beam of light piercing through the darkness, jeonghan came into my life.

at first, i thought he'd be like the others—a temporary presence who'd leave once the project was done, fading into the background like a distant memory. but boy, was i wrong. he stayed. he became that person i could share my successes with, the one i'd call up at the end of a tiring day, just to share a moment. can you imagine? someone who truly understood and embraced all that i was.

yet, amidst the laughter we shared and the whispered secrets we kept, there's this lingering realization that the world out there doesn't quite get it. people with their curious glances and probing questions, they can't fully grasp the depth of our connection. behind closed doors, doubts flicker like fragile candle flames, casting shadows on the very foundation of our love. the big question looms over us: will jeonghan be the one to take that leap, to bind our hearts in matrimony, or will our love forever remain a fleeting masterpiece, admired but never truly possessed?

as i witness another union of souls, this subtle sadness washes over me, like a gust of wind blowing through abandoned corridors. i try to find solace in the fact that even without the grand ceremony and vows, jeonghan has become an integral part of my journey—a rock of strength amidst all the uncertainties. but deep down, i can't help but wonder if our love story will forever be suspended in the realm of what-ifs, an unfinished symphony waiting for its final crescendo.

the first crack on the glass

“your mom kept asking me earlier..” i started

jeonghan turned his gaze away from me, his eyes devoid of curiosity. “about what?” he asked, his voice void of any tenderness.

“about us, and marriage.”

his lack of interest cut through me like a knife, piercing my heart with its cold indifference. “hmm, and what did you say?” he inquired, still refusing to meet my gaze.

“i couldn’t say anything, and then she just laughed it off.”

“why?” he asked, still not looking at me.

silence hung heavily between us, suffocating the room with its weight. i mustered a faint smile, desperately trying to find the right words to bridge the growing chasm. slowly, i reached out for his hand—the hand that had held mine during moments of overwhelming loneliness, the hand that had offered solace in the face of my turbulent emotions. at the same time, i tried to lock eyes with him, to seek solace in the same loving gaze that had always made me feel seen and cherished. but tonight, those hands slipped away as he abruptly stood up and made his way to the kitchen. and those eyes, the ones that once held so much love and adoration for me, now seemed to avoid my searching gaze.

a sharp pang pierced my chest, a bittersweet ache that defied reason. i knew deep down that my feelings were irrational, almost childlike, but the weight of our six years together suddenly flooded my senses. memories, both joyful and painful, surged through my mind, each one carrying a sting of sorrow. six years of shared dreams, laughter, and companionship now felt like distant echoes, fading into a sea of uncertainty.

in that moment, the realization washed over me like a crashing wave—i could no longer deny the unsettling truth that we were no longer on the same page. our paths, once so beautifully intertwined, now seemed to diverge, leaving me adrift in a sea of questions and unspoken longing.

but i still tried to speak.

"why?" i confronted him, the raw anguish in my voice unable to be contained any longer. "you know damn well why. we've spent six long years together, and not once have you hinted at wanting to marry me. two years ago, when you said you weren't ready, i respected your decision. but now, we're in our thirties, for god's sake! everyone around us is settling down, starting families, and here we are, stuck in this limbo. what's the problem now? is it because of your job? jeonghan, we work in the same place, we have the same damn schedule. so tell me, what the hell is the matter?"

an uncomfortable stillness settled upon them as the weight of my words hung heavy in the air, smothering the room and freezing our souls. the unspoken truth, full of uncertainty and unfulfilled expectations, left a wide hole between us, a canyon filled with shattered dreams and unspoken wants. we stood in that deafening silence, two souls entwined yet miles away, our hearts throbbing with the unspoken knowledge that perhaps our paths had diverged, and the future we had once imagined together now stood on the verge of irreparable split.

for the first time that night, jeonghan's gaze shifted towards me. his eyes, once filled with warmth and affection, now carried a haunting emptiness, devoid of any flicker of emotion. a feeble smile graced his lips, but it held an underlying sadness that tugged at my heartstrings. with each step he took, drawing nearer to me, i could sense the hesitance etching its way across his face.

"we will get there soon, i promise," he whispered, his voice laden with a profound melancholy. his words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken uncertainties. and then, with a trembling confession, he continued, "i... i love you, jo"

the weight of those three words engulfed the room, casting a shadow upon our fragile connection. it was as if the admission carried a burden, a burden that threatened to drown us in a sea of unanswered questions. in that fragile moment, it became painfully clear that our love, once vibrant and resolute, now teetered on the precipice of uncertainty. how could you claim to love someone if you couldn't even see the pain they felt, their subtle unraveling? my face was pale, but you refused to recognise the sickness that had engulfed both of us. the pain was intense, like an open wound, but you chose to ignore our mutual agony.

"you don't love me, han. you just want me here because i'm the only constant in your life besides your job. if you truly loved me, you would understand me as deeply as i understand you after these six long years. with you, jeonghan, my future remains uncertain. i yearn for stability, for the comfort of settling down. i won't compel you to embark on this journey with me, but remember, you cannot coerce me into staying either."

"i love you but you're losing me, han."

present time

thus, it was at that moment that i brought our six-year bond to an end, unveiling the cruel essence of existence—where we are destined to entangle ourselves only to untangle, time and again. i ended it way before the glass broke. we stumble upon unforeseen souls in this voyage, while losing the one we had envisioned eternally. however, let us not believe that life ceases to exist in those instances. it is, in fact, perfectly acceptable to outgrow those who are unaware of the art of loving you, even though, in this instance, he did love me. alas, his love fell short, incapable of constructing an everlasting sanctuary for me.

once again, i find myself standing at the threshold of yet another solemn ceremony—a retaking of vows by someone who holds a special place in my heart. for the past five years, i had forsaken numerous significant milestones in my own life, choosing instead to embark on a journey to greece, consumed by the demands of my career. yet, in this very moment, the individual who extended this invitation holds immeasurable value, surpassing any sentimental card that would reach their hands a mere week after the celebration.

as the minutes crawled by, we remained suspended in anticipation, longing for the commencement of the main event. in that restless moment, a familiar aura engulfed me as someone settled into the vacant seat beside me. to my amazement, it was the very person who had discovered me in the depths of my wanderings, the one who never coerced me out of my secluded refuge. instead, they held a torch aloft, fearlessly delving into the abyss to find me. it was the person with whom i had once woven dreams of everlasting togetherness. it was none other than yoon jeonghan.

"hey," he greeted me with a smile, "how are you?"

"good, life has been treating me very well these past few weeks, you?"

"yeah, you know, nothing has changed. my life is still all about work," he attempted to laugh, although the palpable tension lingered between us. everyone present at the event appeared preoccupied with their own affairs, yet i couldn't help but sense that many were well acquainted with our shared history. thankfully, they seemed content to focus on their own matters, respecting the boundaries of our past.

i observed how his gaze subtly gravitated towards my hand, resting on the table, particularly fixating on my ring finger.

"married?" he asked

"oh, no, no." i shook my head, "not yet."

[blowflyfag]

Pro Wrestling Illustrated: March 2024

“Timeless” Toni Storm is simultaneously a throwback to a bygone Golden Age and, in this contemporary grappling scene, someone rather singular.

HOTSEAT 

AN INCISIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE SPORT’S TOP STARS AND FIGURES 

TONI STORM

The whole place seemed to have been stricken with a kind of creeping paralysis. Out of beat with the rest of the world, crumbling apart in slow motion. A once-grand estate, nestled deep in the Hollywood Hills … a relic from a bygone age in Tinseltown. Back then, they didn’t need dialogue. They had faces. This is where Pro Wrestling Illustrated had sent me, on assignment for an exclusive interview with a woman whose startling reinvention has taken All Elite Wrestling–and the entire wrestling world–by storm, you might say. These days, she doesn’t show herself in public very much, aside from TV tapings and, of course, on the set. So, landing the interview took some doing, but if there’s anything 30 years covering this crazy business has taught me, it’s how to get my foot in the door. 

This time, that foot would be in the door of a palatial mansion that may very well  have once housed Valentino, DeMille, Garbo, or Fairbanks. Walking under the shade of rows of aging palms, past that once crystal-clear outdoor pool, between the cracked pillars of a French facade, I’m greeted by the butler; a loyal, oddly quiet man who brings me inside. Shrouded partly in sharp shadows, by the flickering light on a roaring fireplace, she sits reclining on a chaise lounge… Toni Storm. At first, she is reluctant to break her silence, so I have to win her trust. Part of that means playing along with what can sometimes only be described as  a baffling , yet mesmerizing delusion. In the end it’s working for her; If Toni Storm is crazy, then she’s crazy like a fox.

We chat for what seems like hours, as she relays to me her hopes and dreams, her natural connection with the fans, whether in the stands or watching at home–those wonderful people out there in the dark.

What follows are the highlights of that enlightening conversation. By the end of it, I felt I had developed a real understanding of who Toni Storm is now. I get it. She really is “Timeless.” Perhaps more than that, she is transcendent. 

And she’s ready for her closeup, Mr Khan. 

Brian R. Solomon: Thank you so much for granting me this interview, Ms. Storm. I realize you’re a very busy woman. First, let me say that there are a lot of people, myself included, who would say that right now, “Timeless” Toni Storm is one of the best, most entertaining things on AEW television, I wanted to know how you feel about that.

Storm: Well, thank you very much. I completely understand why you’re feeling that way. I am a very exciting act. I have been a very exciting act for a very long time. And I’ve always blown audiences away, no matter where I’ve gone or what I’ve done. So, you are right to be feeling like this. I am, as the kids say, “killing it.”

Solomon: Nevertheless, having to address your transformation as of late. It’s been very dramatic, to say the least. What do you say to the fans who might be wondering what happened to the Toni Storm that they remembered? Storm: Well, you see, it’s simple, really. I have played many roles all throughout my career. And now what you’re seeing, “Timeless” Toni Storm, is the real me. I’m finally ready to show the world who I well and truly am. And this is it. Over the years, fans have seen others of the numerous roles I've played. For instance, most recently I used to be “Green Goblin #3” of the Outcasts trio. But now, I’m finally revealing myself, Finally revealing my true self, I should say. And that is “Timeless” Toni Storm.

Solomon: That word, “Timeless.” it keeps coming up. Could you help us understand what that word means to you? Storm: How do I put this? Ah, yes. I transcend. Yes, I’m in a different realm. In this realm, there is no time. I just exist. I do not age. I was not born. I will not die. Stars never die. I just am.

[If you ask some of the broadcast journalists at AEW, Toni Storm has lost her marbles. But the “Timeless” one tells PWI She’s just found her true self.]

Solomon: I have to ask–and I hope you don’t take this the wrong way–but did the loss of the AEW Women’s World title to Hikaru Shida last summer on the 200th episode of AEW dynamite have anything to do with what we’re seeing from you lately? Not to mention the fact that it was your supposed friend and ally, Saraya, who pinned you to win the title during the three-way match with Shinda during All In at Wembley Stadium. The reason I ask is that those developments all took place around the same time. And those losses, the way they happened, would cause many people to reconsider the path of their career.

Storm: Alright, I admit it. I’m going to finally admit it here for the readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated. When I lost the title to Hikaru Shida, I absolutely lost it. I fell apart. And I would like to apologize to all my fans who had to witness that. But now, I have risen from the ashes. I am on quite a fantastic winning streak right now, in case you haven't noticed. I have picked myself off the ground. And I'm doing better than I ever have done. This has really ignited the fire inside of me once again. One cannot deny that Hikaru Shida has the heart of a champion. One cannot deny, even, that she has the heart of a lion. And one might say that she was destined to be a champion.  But every destiny comes to an end.

Solomon: I’m sure you’ve noticed this, but there are a lot of fans–and even the television announcers  who call your matches, like Taz and Tony Schiavone–who seem to be very concerned about you these days. Some of them have even spoken about you like you may have lost your mind. How do you take that?

Storm: Well, I’m not going to lie, darling. I don’t know where all of this misplaced concern is coming from, because I have never felt more “with it” in my entire life. I don’t know where people are getting these ideas from. I don't know who is daring to spread these ugly rumors about me. But I am done with it, truly. And you don’t need to worry about me, because I'm giving the performance of my lifetime. I’m doing just fine. I just cannot fathom where they are getting the idea that I've lost it, or why anyone would even entertain such a thought.

[Dressed as if she’s just emerged from her spacious trailer on a Hollywood studio lot, Ms. Storm shares a jaunty laugh with her adoring public.]

Solomon: Well, I think I can tell you one thing that might have been giving them that idea: the smeared makeup. That certainly might be having some people worried. I hope you can at least understand that. And, while we’re on the subject, maybe you could let us in on what that’s all about. 

Storm: Well, you see, I was talking to RJ City, and I had an epiphany…a revelation, you might say. It was then that I realized that I'm “Timeless” Toni Storm. But getting to that realization, leading up to it, was very difficult. And that takes a toll. This whole lifestyle can be very hard, mentally, on a performer. That realization can be hard to bear. And so, once in a while, you can lose control. 

Solomon: I’m not sure I understand.

Storm: Have you ever had a mental breakdown?

Solomon: I suppose I have. Many people have, at one point or another, but that’s not–

Storm: and you’ve never smeared your makeup?

Solomon: No. That, I've never done, no. Mental breakdown, maybe, yes. Smeared makeup? No.

Storm: In my world, where there is a mental breakdown, there is a bit of a smeared makeup job. However, I have a new butler now. And there will be no makeup smears. Everything is taken care of. I fired my stylist. And that was a good move. You won’t be seeing any more smeared makeup on me. I’m going to be immaculate, all of the time. 

[“SPRAYPAINTING THINGS LIKE WE USED TO DO”: Saraya attempts to incapacitate her challenger, who rallies back with Storm Zero piledriver at the Dynamite: Grand Slam taping.]

Solomon: Yes, I did notice the butler right away. He’s hard to miss. But you mentioned RJ City. Let’s get back to him. I’m interested in talking about RJ, because I noticed that he’s been with you now since you’ve been reborn, so to speak. We’d previously seen him doing backstage interviews with Renee Paquette, or hosting his excellent web interview series, HEY! EW. But lately, he seems to really be a big part of what you’ve been doing. How would you describe what your relationship is with him right now?

Storm: The thing about RJ City is he has a bit of an attitude problem. I’m going to let you all in on this. He can be difficult. He’s very cheeky. I would even go so far as to say that he’s a bit of a pest, really. So, you can’t trust him entirely. But he is around me all the time. And he was there when I had my revelation. Now, I just can’t get rid of him. But he seems to always be there to help me if I should need something, I suppose. 

Solomon: So, kind of like a pet?

Storm: Yes, exactly! He’s like my dog friend. Everyone should have one. A trusty, loyal sled dog. Solomon: I’m sure he'll be delighted to read that.

Storm: Hopefully not. I love doing this, even just to annoy him.

[Beneath the catchphrases, dramatic turns (faces!), and somewhat erratic behavior, Ms. Storm is a woman possessed by the desire to return to her former glory.]

Solomon: Now, we talked about previously losing the AEW Women’s title and how you came to these realizations. But obviously, before that, you had been one of the Outcasts, with Saraya and Ruby Soho. Now, you’ve kind of splintered off into your own universe. I’d like to ask if you have any awareness at all of how your former allies in the Outcasts feel about the new Toni Storm?

Storm: Saraya certainly hasn’t seemed very happy with me recently, for some reason. I don’t know why. But whatever problems Saraya has with me, whatever reason she’s upset, I'm sure she'll get over it. As a matter of fact, they'll all be fine. I don’t really know what they’re up to. I’m sure they’re just off, spray-painting things, like we used to do.

[“I need the biggest prize, the biggest trophy … I can’t bear to be seen without it. A lot of my self-worth comes from being champion.”]

Solomon: Are you above the AEW Women’s World championship at this point? Is that even the main goal of your career? Or are you bigger than that now?

Storm: I wouldn’t say bigger than the title, necessarily. It’s more that I need it. It’s something that I need to possess in order to be okay. I need the biggest prize, the biggest trophy. It’s become very much a big part of my art. I can’t bear to be seen without it. A lot of my self-worth comes from being champion.

Solomon: I have to ask you about the show. I mean, I have other questions about your various catchphrases, but I don’t think they’d let me print those in the pages of Pro Wrestling Illustrated. So, I’ll leave that alone, and, instead, I’ll focus on the shoe. What exactly is the significance of the shoe?

Storm: When one needs to defend oneself, one must utilize what one can get one’s hands on. And I've only ever had my shoes on me. Maybe I should invest in some kind of weaponry. But right now, the shoes seem to be doing the trick. 

[WATCH OUT FOR THE SHOW: “Timeless” Toni Storm is ever aware of the camera’s lens and can often be found breaking the fourth wall. But only a fool would dare mistake her eccentricity for weakness.]

Solomon: I would say they are, yes. I honestly never thought I’d be asking anyone this question in an interview, but do you think that maybe you might have been reincarnated? Or is it possible that you perhaps could have been born 100 years too late? Certainly, you seem more at home in the 1920s than in the 2020s.

Storm: You know, I would answer yes to that question. But the truth is, since I’m timeless, my concept of time is not a thing, if that makes sense.

Solomon: Not really, but go on.

Storm: What I mean to say is, I’m an essence. I’m a realm. I’m a mirage. I’m neither here nor there.

Solomon: Hmmm. While we’re on the subject of reincarnation, and flashbacks to a century ago, let’s talk about the short films you’ve been doing. And, by the way, I think they shouldn’t even be in picture-in-picture. They should be on the main part of the show, not during commercials. And I know a lot of people feel that way. But the films are silent, so I guess I understand …

Storm: Now you’re just babbling, darling. Do you have a question?

Solomon: Oh, yes. Do you think that All Elite Wrestling should switch the whole show being entirely done in black-and-white? And maybe silent? Or would you maybe not stand out as much if they did that?

Storm: To tell you the truth, I don't even know what you’re talking about or what you’re referring to. Everything is black-and-white to me. But I have heard about that fancy, newfangled Technicolor you’re talking about. It would be really nice one day to see AEW go live in Technicolor. I hear it’s going to be all  the rage.

Solomon: I have one more important question that I wanted to ask you, and this has to do with things that are even bigger than AEW. We know that a lot of people over the years, but especially these days, have kind of grown disillusioned with modern-day Hollywood. And you represent a timeless version of Hollywood that I think a lot of people are nostalgic for, or kind of miss in some ways–the glamor and the elegance. Could we ever expect to see “Timeless” Toni Storm bringing her timelessness, her elegance, her classic style to Hollywood itself?

Storm: What does that question even mean? What do you mean “bring my timelessness to Hollywood itself”? I’ve been in Hollywood my whole life. I’ve starred in a million movies, in all the major flicks. I’ve been a star my whole life, ever since childhood. I was born on set. Both of my parents were very famous actors, I create art, darling. And you will continue to see more and more pieces of art from me.

Solomon: I’m intrigued to learn of your being born on a movie set. I don’t think that fans are aware of that.That might be new information, broken right here in the pages of Pro Wrestling Illustrated. But didn’t you just tell me that you were never born, that you just exist?

Storm [waves in disgust]: Explain it however you like. Call it whatever you will. I was born into this business. I have been on movie sets my entire life. I am the very definition of Hollywood. All I have ever done is perform. I have performed so much my entire life that I can’t even remember my countless performances.

Solomon: Well, your performances certainly have been making an impression on audiences, as I said at the beginning of our conversation. You’re bringing back a certain something that’s been lost in the business.

Storm: I congratulate you on recognizing the obvious, yes. I just think we needed to bring that back, and that’s why I'm here. There’s been something missing from the business, from All Elite Wrestling. And I'm bringing a bit of the magic back, a bit of the art. It’s no wonder that audiences have been eating it up. I give them something to believe in. That’s what makes me stand out from the rest of the pack. And that’s what “Timeless” Toni Storm is all about. I would say that there should be even more of it–but then, of course, it wouldn’t stand out as much, would it?

[Ouch! Ms. Storm liberates the follicles from poor Skye Blue’s scalp. Tolerant of her “co-stars” until they stand in the path of her goals, Storm’s power ties in her ability to become ruthless at the drop of a hair curler.]

Solomon: No, it wouldn’t. That’s a great point, Ms. Storm. And you’re doing such an amazing job with it. I’m a huge fan.

Storm: as you should be. I appreciate all my fans and admirers. I definitely can’t say I blame them.

As with all brushes with greatness, there was only so much time to say all the things that I wanted to say, to ask all the questions that I wanted to ask. As the interview went on, it almost seemed like she was consumed deeper and deeper into this fantasy of her own making. I dared not challenge her too directly, as one never knows how someone in such a state might react. And far be it from me to shatter what's been so carefully constructed.

[“Now you’re just babbling darling. Do you have a question?”]

Eventually, the butler flashed me that pointed look that can only mean, “This interview is over now.” I politely thanked Ms. Storm and collected my things, thanking her for the gift of her precious time and excusing myself. After leaving the estate, I took one last wistful look back at the tarnished gables and overgrown landscaping that perfectly encapsulated the decadence that has overtaken the mind of Toni Storm. There is no point in debating the finer points of reality with someone like her. When all is said and done, reality is what you make it. And she has made her reality into something unforgettable and grand.

You might call it madness, but there is undeniably a method to it. Whether on the big screen or the same screen, “Timeless” Toni Storm is a big star. 

[ransprang]

thank you to @eldergrim for your support <3 we hope you like your match up

if anyone else wants a match up this is our ko-fi

your match up is....

GALE!!!!

SFW

How you met: You were in the bustling city of Baldur's Gate, a gentle cinnamon roll, finding solace in a quaint bookstore. Lost in the pages of an enchanting tome on witchcraft, you suddenly collided with a mysterious figure. “Apologies, I didn’t see where I was going,” he said with dark hair cascading over his shoulders, and voice as smooth as velvet. The pages of the delicate tome you were holding scattered to the floor. You knelt to gather them, and Gale bent down to help you. As you searched for the pages together, Gale’s light-colored eyes met yours, and in that moment, you felt a spark. Over time, Gale began to visit the bookstore regularly, sharing insights into magic and literature. One day, he surprised you with a gift—a rare edition of a book you'd been longing for. Charmed by his present, you agreed to a date and were happy to note he chewed with his mouth closed. As a result, you agreed to a second date too and the rest was history. 

Dark hair? Chocolate brown eyes? Just tell us you want Gale goddamn. Apart from his looks he treats you and everyone around him like a gentleman with the utmost courtesy. We know it wouldn’t take long for you to fall for him.

You and Gale would love cooking for each other. He would learn all your favorite dishes and cook them for you whenever the party managed to acquire the ingredients. You would help him prepare meals for the camp every night.

You and Gale would spend many cozy afternoons immersed in your shared passion for witchcraft. Brewing potions and practicing spells together, you both would enjoy the occasional fun accidents when one of you accidentally gets turned into a sheep or accidentally ascends into a supreme being. 

One day, when you both are on a shopping errand, in a quiet corner of a magical marketplace, Gale surprises you with a carefully crafted enchanted pendant. When worn, it echoes his voice, whispering sweet affirmations and heartfelt messages. This enchanted gift becomes a cherished talisman, wrapping you in his soothing words whenever you need comfort or a reminder of his affection

Gale would take you on intimate stargazing evenings atop the city walls. With a blanket spread under the vast sky, he would attempt to play a simple melody on his lute, borrowed from Alfira. As the night continued, he would talk about his favorite constellations, and show off his knowledge by telling the story or lore behind each constellation. 

Gale would introduce you to the world of dream interpretation and astral projection. Together, you would explore the realm of shared dreams, where your subconscious selves embark on fantastical and kinky adventures. These dreamscapes would become a sanctuary on difficult days camping in the wilderness and the connection you would forge would transcend into the waking world.

Gale and your love languages would be compatible. He loves receiving gifts, especially magical ones he can consume. He also regularly asks for favours so would enjoy any acts of service too. He would show his love through quality time and words of affirmation.

PLEASE send this man to therapy and take yourself along with him. All the ‘oh my ex was a goddess thing’ surely is not good for him. That isn’t to say that he doesn’t love you, rather that a human-goddess relationship probably took a toll on him. 

Having an arsenal of spells at his disposal, Gale would help you with your gardening. Since he’s a wizard and not a druid, some of your plants and flowers mayyyy not make it. He’d be very apologetic every time he messes up a spell, “Honey, I’m so sorry about this. I suppose I still have much training to do as a wizard. This is a humbling experience. I assure you, you and your plants are in good hands.”

N/SFW

Gale would be a gentle dom in bed. He’d be willing to indulge in your kinks. If any of them involve any form of hurting you like knife play he’d need more convincing, but ultimately would try it once if that’s what you truly want. 

Gale is the master of aftercare. He’d have a sweet dopey smile on his face as he looks at your post orgasm body. He’d run his hand through your hair and pull you into his arms gently cuddling you in his warmth. 

Beautiful hands are what you get with a wizard who has been trapped in a tower and the only heavy lifting done are big books. Gale’s hands are mostly intact minus some paper cuts from spellbooks. He loves putting his fingers in your mouth and fingering you watching you come undone under his touch, “My goodness, you look so beautiful with my fingers in you.” 

Gale starts off the night by gently making love to you before eventually fucking your guts out. He would like to pound you under the stars out in the fields, where you can even see beads of sweat roll down his chest hair glistening with the starlight. 

Gale grunts and groans, he likes to show how much pleasure you can give him. He can sound like a rabid animal if you let him.

Sucking on your clit is his other hobby. He loves to eat you out, it can replace his breakfast, lunch and dinner. Wizard dinner as he likes to call it.

Gale can sprout vines from the ground that entangle you against the wall while holding open your legs, letting you feel the cool breeze. He likes rubbing your folds with his two fingers, spreading the wetness and lubricating you before rubbing your clit with his tip.  

He loves smacking your ass cheeks and tightly gripping and spreading them apart. He loves getting hickeys too, when you start kissing on his neck and moving your way down to his chest, or maybe even give him a surprise suck on his cock.

Gale would get naked and go invisible. Asking you to touch him and guess which part of his body you are feeling.

Gale would also produce alot of precum, especially if you masturbate for him. He likes to watch you touch yourself and rub your sensitive clit.

[acourtofthought]

Contains HOFAS Spoilers

Using Google Translate

About that Cauldron.......

Yes, the Cauldron was stolen by the Asteri.

But it did not originally belong to them as all life in their world originally came from it.

What is NOT canon is that mating bonds were created after the Asteri used it.

What is canon is the characters often speak of mating bonds being created by the Mother / Fate / Urd. Was the Cauldron used to do so? Maybe, but that would have been before the Aster imbued their power into it when you consider that Rhys calls his bond with Feyre a "beautiful, wonderul thing that had come into his life, this GIFT from the Cauldron". Something beautiful and wonderful seems like something the Mother would have granted to the fae, don't you agree?

If the Cauldron tainted mating bonds then how do you explain Nessian's bond? Feysand's bond? Aelin and Rowans bond? Bryce and Hunts bond? Lidia and Ruhn? Especially when half of those were bonds that were created in 2016, long before SJM ever came up with the Asteri storyline.

The reason the Asteri did what they did with the Cauldron is because of the following:

As soon as we left our home world, our powers began to weaken. Too late, we realized that we depended on the magic inherent in our land. The magic of other worlds was not potent enough. But we couldn't find our way back home. Those who ventured here found ways to amplify this power, thanks to the gifts of the land. We gathered our power and imbued these gifts into the Cauldron to work our will. With this the treasures were Made and then, we connected the essence of the Cauldron to the soul of this world. If you destroy the Cauldron, you destroy this world. One cannot exist without the other.

The Asteri didn't seem at all worried about who fell in love with who, all they wanted was an insurance policy, exactly as the Asteri did on Midgard:

"The core is tied to the very soul of Midgard" Rigelus continued. If you destroy it, the entire planet will cease to exist. Bryce felt chills. I might have responded that was nonsense if it weren't for Vesperus' claims regarding the Cauldron.

That E/riels are turning what was a basically the Asteri's version of a horcrux that spanned across two series into a grand scheme to undo the Elucien mating bond.

Seriously???? I love Elucien but the Asteri could not give a fuck about their bond.

You know what E/riels are conveniently leaving out? While there is no proof that mating bonds were created by the Cauldron after the Asteri got their hands on it, there is proof that they created something else..........

"The Asteri's blue eyes looked down at the dagger. "You dare to draw that in front of me? Against those who created you, soldier from night and pain?"

"You don't know how to use it, do you? Azriel pointed his dagger at the advancing Asteri. " Typical of your species. They want to play with our weapons, but they have no idea what they can do " (and no, TTs big power is not that it can "cut " mating bonds 🤦. First E/riels are claiming the Asteri were the ones to create mating bonds then in the next breath they claim TT was created to undo them. Why would they need to undo something they supposedly orchestrated in the first place? There is no sense in these theories.

TT when combined with the Starsword can create realms with no life, revealed later in the book.

A whip of blue magic shot across the world, a ribbon of cobalt piercing the primalux and darkness. She could see every loop and spiral wrapped around Vesperus's neck. Time returned, speeding up to it's normal pace. "Stop!" shouted Bryce, but it was too late. Vesperus brought her hand to her neck as Azriel's blue light dissolved into her skin. She gave a strangled laugh as blook leaked from her mouth. "Still so ignorant. Your power is and will always be mine. Blue magic appeared at her fingertips, absorbed the the Illyrian attack. She wrapped one hand around it like a glove and grabbed the Starswords handle. As if this provided the barrier she needed, allowing her to touch the blade." Vesperus tore away the Starsword and dropped it on the rocks, covered in blood. No…it hadn't worked. The sword and dagger combined did not kill her.

The Illyrians. And Truth Teller. Confirmed as being created by the Asteri.

All their lovely, "adorable' theories about Az giving Elain Truth Teller....and it's a blade created by evil beings. He himself as an Illyrian, a people created by evil beings wielding a weapon also created by those evil beings.

So if Elucien's bond was created by the Asteri...of which there is absolutely no canon evidence, how is that any worse than Elain ending up with someone actually created by the Asteri? Whose power belonged to the Asteri?

[zuvluguu]

Can we acknowledge the importance of darkness in our journey towards consciousness and spiritual awakening? And stop seeing darkness as a problem but more as an opportunity? To finally understand that without that darkness, none of this world we see would exist?

I am always fascinated and troubled by the stereotype of darkness as inherently sinister in modern cultures. Cultures globally have long venerated the light as an ideal of goodness and purity (think of the white virgin) while unfairly banishing darkness to the realm of malevolence and fear. Yet, from a shamanic and ancient perspective, to truly understand the nature of existence, we must dive into inquiries both into light and darkness, seen and unseen, conscious and unconscious, uncovering the intrinsic beauty and wisdom contained therein.

It is fair to assume that our ancestors, observing the ceaseless interchange of day and night, sought comfort in the sun's embrace and mistrusted that which they couldn't see at night and where prey animals and dangers were more present. Fear was an intuitive response to perceived threats that loomed unseen. But the realm of darkness offers far more than the fear of the unknown. Once we move past inherited fears and societal constructs, we can begin to perceive this realm's profound wisdom.

It is clear that we are fascinated by the fire that we domesticated, yet experience an even more profound awe for the dark, starry night skies. At least for me, I feel way more connected and close to the Great Mystery in the dark forest at night, even if my fear arises strongly, than when I am watching a beautiful summer day sky.

Also, is it not evident that we are designed to sleep, going into "nothingness" daily, to heal, restore, rest, and rebirth? Biology needs that darkness and invisible realms to keep us alive. Trees need the hidden life in the dark soil to thrive. Babies need nine precious months in the dark womb to be created. The universe from which we are born contains 85% of dark matter, meaning only 15% of all matter is "normal matter." Indeed, we are designed similarly, with the subconscious processing 27,500 times more data than the Conscious Mind. To say it another way, the brain takes in 11 million bits of data per second, but the conscious mind can only process around 400 of those bits.

So yes, darkness is shrouded in mystery - where unseen, unprocessed emotions and forgotten memories reside, expressions of the human condition that remain hidden in the subconscious. Often, these are those painful traumas, frozen and well protected, becoming invisible burdens we carry and generating the defense and aggressive patterns of division, aggression, hate, anger, and wars.

For anyone who has gone through deep healing, you know it requires a courageous plunge into this darkness, for enlightenment demands that we cast light onto the unseen, the shadowy, and the overlooked. It means making the unconscious conscious and exploring the depths of our psyche to understand and process these hidden emotions and memories.

In shamanic language, we refer to this healing journey as entering the UkuPacha, a realm in Andean cosmology associated with Mother Earth, represented by the snake and the color red, which symbolizes the Earth's blood and ours. Here, we confront our unseen traumas and unprocessed emotions, momentarily living the paradox of being both the subject and object of our healing. We are both the troubled and the healer, birthing a transformative process - much like a snake, reborn and invigorated, having shed its old, restrictive skin.

Embedded within these nocturnal narratives of the universe, a seed's journey beneath the soil, a fetus developing in the nurturing darkness of the womb, is a profound lesson: darkness is integral to creation and growth. It is a metaphorical realm wherein we encounter and reconcile our buried traumas. Ancestors' wisdom echoes - our healing and transformation begin in the embrace of darkness, opening the path to awakening.

Whenever I contemplated my relationship with darkness and the unseen, challenged inherited stereotypes, and disrupted learned fears, I started to recognize its pivotal role in creation, new beginnings, and, most critically, healing.

Darkness will always reveal profound truths if we dare to journey into its depths, not just on an individual level but also as a collective.

When we see troubled individuals, systems, or collective behaviors, when we hit internal pain, there is always an important question to ask:

What unseen legacies, hidden within our own individual and collective subconscious, await our courageous dive into the darkness?

How might our life and societies transform if we embarked on the path of making the unconscious conscious, of trying to explore where those root of darkness started?

The ancient, the mystics, the sage, the shamans always quested in that direction. I feel it is time we remember where to find the answers and new ways we need more than ever to awaken from this broken dream.

[thesimpsbasement]

Request for Mod Betty! Can I ask for headcanons for dating Solomon, Simeon, Barbatos, and Diavolo please?

Sorry this took so long I've been busy and lowkey unmotivated

Fandom:Obey Me

Character: Solomon,Simeon,Barbatos,Diavolo

Author: Mod Betty

Warning/tags: fluff, reader is the MC,I haven't played obey me in forever so I apologize if these are slightly OOC,Slight hurt/comfort on Solomon's part, not proofreaded

Reader is gender neutral

Word count :1,431 words

___________________

-A cheeky motherfucker that's also secretly clingy

-When dating he's usually the one to playfully tease you,the way your face contorts into embarrassment is just too cute! But don't worry he's not the type to make you feel humiliated it's all light hearted

-Despite his mysterious and shady aura he's actually a huge dork

-Whenever he's experimenting with potions he likes to have you nearby, though he'll make sure that you're 100% safe and after each experiment that went wrong will immediately ask you if you're alright

-Also likes to take you on walks where he usually collects ingredients for potions and he'll talk about random things that come to mind

-If you're struggling on a certain task he'll offer to help which is often and he usually says "What are you going to do without me ____" in a jokingly way before continuing with his tutoring session

-When you haven't learnt how to use magic yet , he'll be extra protective of you and always be nearby( not in a weird way)

-He knows how cruel demons are and to them you look like a scrumptious lunch that's just begging to be devoured

-In public he doesn't mind affection,he'll hold your hand or plant a kiss on your cheek

-Devildom is usually cold so he offers you his jacket, it's not like he wears it properly anyway

-In private he lets his walls crumble slowly as he hold you closely

-Some nights he just holds you tightly as he stays wide awake,simply thinking about how events you'll have to depart from this world,a world without you? No he can't have that! He can't lose you! His grip on your body tightened which caused you to wake up

-He really appreciates when you comfort him,it makes him feel less lonely but most importantly it makes him feel loved

-His kisses are usually desperate and needy

-He needs to feel your presence, that you're still there,in his arms.He needs to know you'll never leave him and that you'll always be by his side.

-The sweetest man you've ever met

-He's always gentle with you and makes sure he doesn't overwhelm you I mean you're in a completely different realm where hungry demons live

-He often comes to the House of Lamentation to invite you to Purgatory Hall because he doesn't want you walking alone and possibly getting hurt( the brothers will have his head if he let their precious human get hurt)

-Offers you tea and sweet treats for you and is always glad to hear your thoughts on them

-Also dating Simeon means you also have a child to take care of

-Luke is a ball of sunshine and also has taken a liking to you

-You were like his other parental figure and would always come to you if Simeon was busy or if they got into a small fight

-Luke sometimes helps Simeon with his little tea party dates with you cuz Solomon is uh not a great help

-Likes cooking with you ,even if you're terrible at it he'll help out! I mean your cooking can't be as bad as Solomon's right? RIGHT!?

-Simeon also doesn't mind PDA and often indulges in small touches like interlocking hands or putting his hands on your face before drawing your face closer to his and eventually your lips connect.. " Alright lovebirds we should get going save your romance for when we get back" Solomon said which caused the 2 of you to quickly pull away from the kiss,Simeon's cheeks now being a slight shade of red " R-right"

-He's sorta your guardian angel and magically everything that goes wrong doesn't end terribly. Accidentally tripped? Don't worry he's there to catch you! Feeling overwhelmed when you can't understand assignments? His relaxing aura and soft gestures always manage to calm you down

-His kisses are soft but full of love,he enjoys the texture of your lips on his,doesn't matter if they're smooth or chapped.Everytime he kisses you on the lips,it's usually followed by a " I love you " or " you mean the world to me" and those aren't just sugar coated words, he's ready to sacrifice his status as an angel if it means being able to love you and feel your love for him.

-He's such a gentleman and always tends to your needs

-Don't worry about feeling like a burden about him doing everything! He's a butler and it's his duty to serve,besides he enjoys doing things for you

-Since he's the butler of the future Demon King ,he's usually busy so his way of showing affection is by acts of service so please let him serve you

-He doesn't usually invite you to the castle but Diavolo can sense when Barbatos starts missing you so he invites you to the castle and quietly leaves the room to leave the 2 of you some alone time

-He probably has a 6th sense when it comes to you,like if you're in need of comfort or are in danger or just simply miss him he'll be right at your doorstep

-When he makes treats for Diavolo, he purposely makes more than needed just to give them to you

-He's not much into PDA honestly,maybe hand holding here and there but he usually keeps affection in private

-He's more willing to show his emotions in the privacy of his room

-After a tiring day of butler duties he only thinks about going to bed with you next to him

-Cuddles are usually exclusively to nighttime unless Diavolo gives him a break day

-He likes to be the big spoon,your back pressed against his chest as he holds you protectively

-It's almost an instinct for him to protect you

-His kisses are always sweet that leaves you wanting more

-He always kisses your hand as a greeting and as a goodbye but everytime he kisses your lips,it assures you that you're loved by him and you'll always be safe with him.

-Oh he's just so happy and giddy when you started dating

-He's so used to people fearing him for his status and only being nice to him mainly because he's a future king so when you showed genuine kindness to him he bursted into a happy mess

-He always spoils you rotten and will not take no for an answer

-Please let him spoil you cuz he wants to show how much he loves you and how much he cares for you

-Material gifts aren't his only way he expresses his love for you

-He also loves praising you and getting praise from the Devildom's Prince is a tough thing to get

-If you did well on a test he'd say that he's really proud of you and always makes sure you feel good about yourself

-The whole Devildom already knows about the fact you two are dating so he doesn't see the point of hiding his affections in public but only if you're comfortable ,however he saves the more passionate gestures and words in private

-You two would be cuddling on his bed, his hand on your cheek as he looks in your eyes,oh how captivating they are " Do you know you look absolutely stunning" he asks,a smile on his face " Yeah I mean you mention it at least 3 times a day" you giggle,reaching for his face to mimic his gesture " And you are quite beautiful yourself" you said as you close the gap between the two of you.After your lips parted,Diavolo smiles " And those beautiful eyes of your,more beautiful than any rare gem" he kisses your temple "And such pretty lips and forms a smile that never fails to make me feel warm and fuzzy " he says,kissing the corners of your mouth, another compliment and another kiss

-When cuddling, he has his arms wrapped around your body,pulling you in a snug embrace but not too tightly to hurt you since he is award of his strength

-But he also loves being held! Likes it when you play with his hair and kiss his forehead, it's like you've casted a sleeping spell on his and he knows that everytime you kiss his forehead,he will have good dreams

-Kisses are abundant but full of love and passion.He pours his entire love for you in every kiss,each kiss being treated as the last one. He knows that the world can be cruel sometimes so he wants to have every possible happy moment with you.

[ordon-shield]

The Split/Swapped Triforce Theory

The Link we see in Breath of the Wild, and now Tears of the Kingdom is different to his previous incarnations in many ways, and I’m not just talking about the colour of his tunic. Every other Link that we’ve seen through the series starts their adventure with no expectation of being a great hero, of saving the land from evil. No, they set out to rescue a sister, or some children from their village, or their best friend, or a princess calling out for help. It’s only after they set out that they inevitably have to make a decision— does it have to be them that’s the hero? Couldn’t they step aside, and let someone else, older and more experienced take charge? Once they’ve rescued whoever they set out to save, or someone else has arrived to help, why keep putting themselves in danger? Even if destiny says they have to be the one, that doesn’t mean they’re forced to play that role— but each of them still chooses to, proving their courage.

The Link of Breath of the Wild never gets that moment. He’s young when he draws the Master Sword for the first time, years before the return of Calamity Ganon. He isn’t set out on a quest to protect someone he cares about, but instead given the title of hero immediately, and assigned as Zelda’s personal guard. He grew up knowing what was expected of him, and even when he wakes up in the Shrine of Resurrection, his memories lost? One of the first things he’s told is that he is the light that must shine upon Hyrule, and his first glimpse of Calamity Ganon comes alongside Zelda telling him that its freedom will mean the destruction of the world, and that he must hurry. This version of Link is never given that choice that every other version of him makes at some point, never given the choice to be the hero— and is it really courage to fight when you’ve been told your whole life it’s what you’re meant to do?

Though the Zelda series, the three pieces of the Triforce have been present since the second game, which introduces the Triforce of Courage, and at the same time ties Link to it for the first time. The Link we see in the Adventure of Link gained the Triforce of Wisdom by finding its scattered pieces, the Triforce of Power by defeating its previous holder. The Triforce of Courage however, he is chosen to find when the symbol of the united Triforce appears on his hand, travelling through seven palaces and facing his own dark reflection to earn it. This connection only grew stronger in Ocarina of Time, the fourth game in the series, after the Triforce splits when Ganondorf, someone with an imbalances heart makes a wish on it, transforming the Sacred Realm into the Dark World and cursing the temples of Hyrule, the Triforce of Courage is eventually revealed to rest within Link’s body. Further games only reinforced the link between the hero and courage, with the Link of The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and A Link Between Worlds all carrying the Triforce of Courage at some point. A pattern was formed— Power with Ganondorf, Wisdom with Zelda, and Courage with Link.

The Triforce is never mentioned in Breath of the Wild, but we do see it. While its true nature and name have been forgotten over the ages, the inherited sealing power that lies within Zelda. We see it as she defeats Dark Beast Ganon, her hand outstretched as it manifests before her, a burst of light— much like the one we see in Skyward Sword when Link wishes away the Imprisoned— blossoming out and obliterating the Calamity, once and for all. In the true ending to the game, she says her powers seem to have dwindled after holding back Ganon for so long (in Japanese the specific term she uses is ‘withered’), but importantly, she doesn’t say that they’re completely gone, only that they’re less than what they once were. We’ve seen this happen before, as mentioned above— the Triforce can split into its three parts, with the one who touched it acquiring the part that represents what they desire the most. But is Wisdom what the Zelda we see in Breath of the Wild truly desires? Let me remind you, that her defeat of Dark Beast Ganon isn’t the first time we see her access the power of the Triforce. During the defence of Fort Hateno, she accesses it for the first time, the symbol of the Triforce shining on the back of her hand as we’ve seen it do time and time again for other wielders— yet only after she steps between Link and the laser of a Guardian, unarmed and powerless… in an act of courage, which is followed by her leaving to face Ganon alone after Link falls. Where this version of Link was never given the option to choose to be courageous, this version of Zelda, despite being told her entire life that her role was merely to seal the beast once the hero had defeated it, was the one to stand up and make the choice to face Ganon head-on, keeping him contained by herself for a century. If the Triforce she held did split into its three parts, the one that fits her best, the one she would desire is the Triforce of Courage.

There are still two more pieces of the Triforce left though, one for Link, and one for the corpse-like Ganondorf we see in the trailers for Tears of the Kingdom. When we look at Link in Breath of the Wild, we see surprisingly few references to courage in association with him in the base game (and those references come from characters familiar with the stories of previous heroes), even when they might be expected, such as before or after completing a combat trial in a shrine, but we do see some interesting references to another third, from the Goddess Hylia, the original protector of the Triforce herself. When Link exchanges spirit orbs for a heart container or a stamina vessel, what does she say? “I shall grant the power you seek.” When Link faces the dragon Naydra, corrupted with malice, she asks him to “Show what [his] power can achieve!”. Even in his childhood, he had ties to the concept, defeating adults in combat as a young child according to Mipha. In the eighth memory of the ones he recovers a century later, we see he’d defeated a large group of monsters, including multiple silver lynels, presumably alone, and with only mild wounds. Even when we play as him, Link is constantly breaking even high-quality weapons with the strength of his blows. This link with power can also fit in with the changes to the Zelda formula, and the introduction of an open world. Breath of the Wild is a game that’s all about freedom, about having the power to choose where you go and when, rejecting the linear paths and restrictions that previous incarnations of Link faced. Even in the first Zelda game, the full Triforce of Wisdom was required to face the final dungeon. Instead of being forced to proceed in a predetermined path, this Link is the one with the power to break free from the expectations of his past and the boundaries that held them back, exploring on his own terms. To this version of Link, the Triforce of Power would represent his freedom from both his past role as a knight, something that caused him so much stress he stopped talking, and from the fears that hold back the other people of Hyrule, of the monsters that infest the kingdom‘s roads and the many ruins he explores.

Finally, we get to Ganondorf. We’ve only seen a little of him from the handful of trailers for Tears of the Kingdom, but of the many questions and mysteries surrounding him, this theory can answer at least one— why now? Why is it only after the defeat of the Calamity that he seems to be ‘waking up’ or ‘breaking free’ from the place he’s been sealed away in since 10,000 or more years ago? If the Triforce indeed split when Zelda used it to defeat Dark Beast Ganon, we have our explanation— with a piece of the Triforce returned to his body, he’s been able to slowly recover his strength. If Zelda has Courage, and Link has Power, that leaves Wisdom to him, which seems to be reflected in his actions. Previously only acting as a near-mindless beast, with little in the way of strategy other than targeting the technology that defeated him the last time, this version of Ganondorf has good reason to value wisdom, and accordingly, we see him attempt to take out the three things most likely to foil his plans as soon as he can— Link (and his sword arm), Zelda, and the Master Sword that has been his downfall again and again. Even the monsters we’ve glimpsed in the trailers seem to be more organised, and strengthened by his malice. Even his appearance seems to mirror this change, as we see him dressed in golden jewellery and a loose robe , rather than the dark armour of most other appearances, or the thick formal clothing of his Wind Waker version. This gives the impression that, unless he regains one of his previous forms, this version of Ganondorf will likely focus more on his skill as a sorcerer than physical combat to fight Link, as somewhat of a contrast to his Twilight Princess version, who fights physically, only using his magic to possess Zelda and transform into Ganon. He also seems prepared to heal and boost his servants to help them achieve his goals. This falls in line with what little we know about the Triforce of Wisdom from seeing the versions of Zelda that have held it. Admittedly, this is the weakest part of this theory, just because we haven’t seen much of Ganondorf or his abilities in Tears of the Kingdom yet.

In conclusion, Breath of the Wild was all about breaking the conventions of a Zelda game to make something new, and if Tears of the Kingdom wants to achieve the same, shaking up the holders of the Triforce would certainly be one way to do it. Purely talking from a mechanical viewpoint, Link learning to use the Triforce of Power could act as a replacement for the Champion’s abilities in the previous game— a known ability of that piece is to bring the wielder back from a mortal wound, stronger than before, which could serve as a replacement for Mipha’s Grace to give an example. We could even see something as cool as Zelda wielding a reforged Master Sword— after all, she was the one who heard the voice inside the sword. This all relies on Nintendo being willing to take that leap and change things up even more and I’m not sure they’d be willing to do it.

[pearl-tarotist]

12TH HOUSE STELLIUM BRUSHSTROKES

﹌﹌﹌After feeling extremely tired without apparent reason and after blaming it on my 12th house stellium, I have decided to post a bit about what these placements truly feel like. (My placements are Mercury, Jupiter, Juno, Saturn, North Node...have in mind these will be the most affected aspects).

༊*·˚ What does it mean to have a 12th house Stellium? (In classical astrology) ༊*·˚

It's the House of the Unconscious. Full of Mistery.

The 12th house is associated to hidden enemies and to sorrow, to the unseen realm.... It's also refered as the spiritual house, in more deep, to past lifes and karmic debts. I feel as it is refered to everything you can not see.

╰┈➤How does it feel to have a 12th house Stellium?

In a summary it feels as if you were a really tired twenty-something victorian girl, with a recent broken-heart, who was receipted by a doctor to stay with distant relatives next to the sea to calm your nerves. (Hint: you never do travel next to the sea to calm your nerves). ( I think this condition was called "nervous breakdowns" in the victorian era).

Never opening to anyone, being scared of they using it against you.

Getting so tired after so little action. so tired...😭

Wanting to be alone 24/7.

Feeling frustrated for not being able to show yourself even if you want to after meeting with someone. Feeling as if people did not see the best you have to offer.

No romantic life. (Exclusive to venus 12th house?)

Painting, reading, writing... art being anchored into our soul since we are young.

Brain fog, cloudy mind. Always thinking about what could be and how amazing it would be, but not having energy to do it.

An extreme need to close your eyes and rest your head on a table.

While growing up, feeling as if there was more to what you were seeing. "Is this all? Is this how grown-ups live?"

Having a great intuition to discover people lies or feeling when someone is hiding something from you.

Listening to music late at night alone: earphones in your ears, lights off, calm music. It's a nice feeling. (Extra points if it's something as Lana del Rey, the 1975 or Cigarettes after Sex).

Feeling invisible to a lot of people. People never realizing when you're gone but they realizing when you come. "Oh, you are a ninja".

People cutting you off while speaking, even your own friends that you love and appreciate, they don't even realize.

Being soft-spoken may also have something to do with it.

Having to deal with a lot of family issues since you were young (health problems, inheritances fights...).

Some people may not even appreciate what you do for them, as if they did not notice.

Sadly, I think that having this unseen realm energy makes you a bit invisible.

There are lot of good things too:

An extreme connection to art and in the way it fulfills you. Being able to understand books and characters in extreme detail.

Feeling as if you were special, as if you were part of something bigger than the rest of the world can not see.

Enjoying little things as landscapes, flowers, little touches...I kinda feel as a cat but just when the sun is hitting them.

Just as romantic characters (Jane Eyre, Lucy Snowe... also, the man in the Wanderer above the Sea of Fog painting). Having a strong aura of independence and love for your own values.

I think it's good that we will just become a girlfriend, wife, a good daughter...If the person we unite to is worthy of us and of our values.

Learning to see pain as way of growth.

Knowing there's always something more, something bigger you can not actually point to.

I used to repeat the word "Karma" a lot when I was young (12-14), not even knowing about astrology.

I think I have the karma of my past lives or family, but my own karma has always been good. (As in people that hurt me, people that get hurt).

As the third photo, you feel as if you were kissing the dark... after getting used to it, it's like a long-time friend. It kinda makes you feel as if you were the light it feeds off. (It could also be due to my cancer sun and rising, ngl)

I don't think I would change it .

“I believe in some blending of hope and sunshine sweetening the worst lots. I believe that this life is not all; neither the beginning nor the end. I believe while I tremble; I trust while I weep.”. ― Charlotte Bronte, Villette.

“But solitude is sadness.''"Yes; it is sadness. Life, however, has worse than that. Deeper than melancholy lies heart-break.” -Charlotte Brontë, Villette

¡! DISCLAIMER: These are all my experiences and vibes from the 12th house stellium, feel free to comment and discuss all you want under this post.

[lightlessentwine]

some tidbits and nuances i've wanted to bring light to:

The coffins that you use to fall down the waterfalls and send you to new areas might simply operate on sensory deprivation. the Tarnished could be depriving themselves of their senses before taking a fatal impact which just temporarily kills them. the Tarnished already knows that they can die and come back, even if they don't fully grasp how. the Tarnished gets into the coffins with what feels like predisposed knowledge that they can just hop into one and transport them to somewhere they need to go. Uniquely, there's one coffin that actually transports you upward, with glowing runes on the coffin itself, and more runes channeled vertically through the air, emitting from the bottom, upward through the coffin.

Part of me feels like this is the Tarnished having some sort of knowledge of the realm of shadow that the player is not initially aware of, in the form of this innate, upward coffin transport logic.

Whether the tarnished is aware of it theirself is unknown, but the nature of the rising coffin suggests that it is an incantation that either allows the coffin to be monitored for when someone enters it, or, more likely, acts as a seal in which conditions must be met before it is triggered/broken. the conditions are likely that the coffin must be closed with a person inside of it depriving them of their senses and the outside world.

so my speculation has me trying to answer these questions right now:

-What does it mean that ranni seems to have transported herself via coffin to the Ainsel river and why is she a miniature doll when in Ainsel?

-all of the sunken locations are interconnected by coffins, so what narratively connects to the coffin transport? Nokron goes up to Sunken Leyndell; Sunken Leyndell connects down a long river to Nokstella; one elevator and a trip beyond the lake of rot leads you down as deep as we are aware, which we find an Astel and a Sellian Seal to the Church of Manus Celes.

-How does the upward-rising coffin work and why is it broken upon arrival? your coffin dive into Ainsel seems to leave it completely intact

[dasenergi]

The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters.

I have several beliefs about our souls, where we come from, and where we go when the body dies. One of those beliefs is that we come from the stars.

When two people feel an instant connection or an attraction to each other, when someone feels like home — it is because their soul comes from the same star system. (I also believe we share the same soul, that we are literally one, but that is a different post.)

A Starseed is a soul who knows they are a multidimensional being who has experienced more than just this life here on Earth from a soul perspective. They are awake and believe that at some level their soul chose to be here in this body, on this planet, at this time.

I identify as a Pleiadian Starseed.

Here are some traits common to Pleiadan Starseeds:

Spiritual Awareness: Pleiadian Starseeds have a strong spiritual connection and an innate understanding of spiritual concepts. They may be drawn to spiritual practices such as meditation, energy healing, or channeling.

Seekers of Truth and Wisdom: They have a natural inclination toward seeking knowledge and understanding the mysteries of the universe. They may have a deep interest in science, history, metaphysics, esoteric teachings, and ancient wisdom.

Sensitivity and Empathy: They are often described as highly sensitive and empathetic with a deep awareness of the emotions and energies around them. This ties into their Spiritual Awareness, they know we are more than these bodies, we cross dimensions, and there is more to this world than our bodily senses can perceive.

Connection to Nature: Because they are so sensitive, Pleiadian's have a deep connection to nature and the natural world. They can sense communication with animals and plants and have a desire to protect and nurture the environment.

Creativity and Expression: Pleiadian Starseeds possess creative abilities and a strong desire for self-expression. They feel limited by these bodies and may be drawn to artistic pursuits such as music, writing, or visual arts.

Feeling of Homesickness: Many experience a sense of being an outsider or longing for a place that they feel they belong to, but they don't know where or what that place is. It is always, somewhere else, not here. This is because they have incarnated in realms and planets in places very different from Earth.

You are not alone. We are family. And we have found each other here for a purpose. Trust your intuition.

Now is not the time to long for places other than here. Now is the time to remember who you are, why you came, and truly commit to being here. We all have a part to play in the divine plan.

The world is waking up now and we must stay planted in the Earth. The more rooted we become, the more grounded we feel.

It is really crucial for us to ground ourselves in the here and now, to commit to our human experience, to stay open to the possibility that our soul had a dream and our life is it. We can’t embrace our soul missions if we are forever longing for forever away places; nor can we be at peace if we wish we were someplace else.

Keep working your path. Shine your light. Be a beacon for others. Lead by example. Love.