Curate, connect, and discover
Summary: After Morpheus cruelly dismisses you, you decide that you'll get back at him by staying out of the Dreaming one night for as long as you can. What you don't anticipate is letting your feelings get the best of you and getting very drunk instead.
Or, drunk shenanigans galore!
Word Count: 3.5k
Author's Note: I don't know what this is, y'all. I haven't written anything in more than a month, and it was so tough to even write this, but I wanted to write SOMETHING. As always, hope you enjoyed, let me know your thoughts, and likes, comments, and reblogs make my world go round.
ALSO! Dream logic applies here, in that you're still drunk when you reach the Dreaming.
Listen.
You know that certain coping mechanisms, like, say, going out clubbing with your friends and getting crazy drunk for the first time in a long time, aren’t exactly healthy. But things have been difficult for you lately! You’ve been struggling a lot, in both your professional and personal life. These hardships are only compounded by the fact that the one person (or person-shaped being) in your life that you thought you could count on, your Morpheus, has been too busy to have time for you.
Literally. He said those exact words to you a mere three days ago, when you had found him in his personal study (a study that he almost never used) after what felt like a day spent chasing him around the Dreaming. You meant for it to come out as teasing when you took note of the fact that you hardly saw him around lately and that it felt like he was purposefully avoiding you, but he had sighed and glared at you before saying, “I have much to do, and I am far too busy to entertain you right now.”
You glowered, but, as he said, he was too busy to see it. Fine, you thought as you turned around and stalked out of his study. Leave him to his business.
Cut to today. When your friends asked if you wanted to go out with them, you almost said no, having gotten accustomed in the past couple of months to the routine of going to bed by nine o’clock in order to maximize time spent in your lover’s realm. But then, the more you thought about it, the more you realized that you didn’t want to just continue sitting around in the Dreaming and hoping that Morphues would come out of whatever funk he was in. After all, why should you make an effort when he won’t? You’re not about to beg for his attention.
With that in mind, you texted back that you very much wanted to go out with them and proceeded to get ready for a fun night out.
The plan was to have a couple of drinks, dance for a bit, and stay out of the Dreaming just long enough to make Morpheus sweat a bit.
But then shots had been ordered.
And your friend bought you a drink because they knew you had had a tough week.
And you bought yourself two drinks.
And a group of guys bought you another round of shots, and though you all laughed at the fact that they were not getting anything out of this, you still took them because you weren’t about to turn down free alcohol.
This leads to you and your friends stumbling out of a bar at two in the morning, holding each other up as you do. Definitely not the plan, but what’s that one quote about plans and mice and men?
“What about a mouse?” your friend asks from beside you, making you realize that you said that out loud.
“Don’ worry ‘bout it,” you say.
Somehow, you make it into a Lyft (thank the gods for friends who don’t get carried away), and somehow, you make it into your home. Not without its difficulties–you dropped your keys multiple times on the walk to your front door, and there might be a you-shaped indent in the entryway wall from where you fell into it when trying to kick your shoes off.
When you reach your bedroom, you decide that actually, the floor looks comfier than your bed does. You’re so drunk that the room feels like it’s spinning when you lay down, and you close your eyes to enjoy the ride.
“Fuck, I’m so drunk right now,” you say out loud, laughing at the sound of your slurred words.
You don’t mean to fall asleep, really. You know that you need to crawl to the bathroom to wash your face and find enough dexterity to change clothes before hopefully sobering up just enough that you can make it to the kitchen to grab painkillers and water for the inevitable killer hangover you’re going to have tomorrow. The floor is just so soft, though, and you work yourself into a trance-like state by staring up at the ceiling fan and watching it go around and around and around. On one blink, you’re staring at your ceiling.
And on the next, you’re staring at another ceiling, one that’s not really a ceiling at all, but an entire galaxy above your head.
It’s easy to get lost in the magnificent colors swirling above you (especially in your current state), and you do, until you hear someone calling your name. When you look away from the universe, you see the love of your life looking at you, though at present, he is not reciprocating the heart eyes that you are always looking at him with.
“Where have you been?” Morpheus demands.
“Morpheus, my love!” You throw your arms out and grin. “I’ve missed you.”
“Do you have any idea how worried I have been? I sent Matthew to find you hours ago when first you were late, only for him to report that he could not find you at your home.” You’re a little surprised that Matthew hadn’t managed to track you down; your little raven friend was almost scarily good at finding people/places/things.
“Aw, you’ve missed me?” It makes sense, of course; after all, you’ve missed him, so it’s only natural that he would miss you in return. Still, the sentiment makes you feel all warm and melty on the inside.
It’s obvious to anybody who actually takes the time to know Morpheus—a tiny list of people and beings, two of whom are in the room with him right now—that he’s fighting a war between wanting to scold you and wanting to hold you and check you up and down for wounds. Morpheus crosses the room towards you, and you ready yourself for the inevitable lecture you’re about to get, about how you’re just a fragile little human and he worries every moment that you’re away from him (y’know, now that you have the clarity of a drunk person, you’re actually annoyed that this is constantly coming from the being that’s meant to be your lover).
But that’s not what happens.
Instead, you find his arms wrapped tightly around you and his face buried in your neck. He’s hugging you, not the other way around. He’s never done such a thing before, and you don’t know how to react. What you do know is that any of the residual anger you had been feeling drains out of you like water from an unstoppered bathtub. You really didn’t think that being away for—the math isn’t mathing for you currently, and you don’t actually know how long it’s been—a couple of hours would affect him this much.
“You are the one most dear to my heart,” he mutters into your ear, cognizant of the fact that you are not alone in this throne room. “Of course, I missed you.”
“Oh. When you said you were ‘too busy to entertain’ me, I just kinda assumed you wouldn’t notice I was gone.” Though you don’t mean to weaponize your words, the poison darts make contact with their target anyway, and Morpheus stiffens in your hold.
“Are you alright?” he asks instead, choosing to wait until a later time to have this particular conversation.
“Aw, dream boy” you coo, snaking a hand up to clumsily run it through his hair. “I’m okay baby, swear it! Like, absolutely, one hundred percent fine.”
Morpheus pulls away from you so that he can look you up and down to confirm that you really are okay. “You smell like a pub,” he notes.
“How can you tell that in the Dreaming?”
He ignores your question when a realization seems to hit him. “Are you inebriated?”
“No, I’m drunk,” you correct very matter-of-factly.
“That is–” he stops, choosing instead to just shake his head.
“Oh, dear,” Lucienne mutters from behind Morpheus, reminding you of her presence in the first place.
“Lucienne! Hi! How have you been!”
You crane around Morpheus to be able to see your favorite librarian, but you almost fall over in the process. Before you can tip too far over, Morpheus is there to right you again. When he does, he looks down at you with quite the serious expression on his perfect face.
“Who did this to you?” he asks, ready to punish whoever put you in such a state.
“Vodka. Rum, maybe?” You think back on your drinks for the evening, though it’s hard to think back that far. “Yeah, the second round of shots was definitely rum.”
“You put yourself in this state?”
“Yes?” Has Morpheus never heard of the concept of going out and getting shitfaced with your pals? “To be fair, I didn’t think that my drunkenness would…” You search for the word that you want to use, but it’s just not coming to you! “Uh, carry over?”
“Please tell me you managed to make it home safely?”
You nod. “Sure did! Pretty sure I fell asleep on the floor, though.”
Lucienne slowly begins to back up towards the door, and Morpheus stares at you for a long moment before sighing heavily.
“Are you mad at me?” you ask nervously, starting to get upset the longer the silence drags on. Did you say something that you shouldn’t have? Is there a rule you don’t know about against sleeping on floors?
Instead of answering you, Morpheus waves a hand in the air and says, “This dream is over.”
You’re awake and once again staring up at your ceiling fan, only this time, Morpheus is also in your line of sight. It’s impossible to stop yourself from touching him when you’re sober, so it’s not at all surprising that your hands go up to caress his face now when you’re drunk.
“Hi cutie,” you greet, laughing in delight when he flushes just the slightest amount.
He grabs your hands and kisses the back of both before setting them against your chest. “Why are you sleeping on your floor?”
“Because,” is your simple, childish reply.
“That is not a good answer.”
“It’s the one you get because it’s the one I have.” You throw in a peace sign to be extra spicy, but Morpheus, unfortunately, doesn’t comprehend your 21st-century humor, and instead just segues into the next order of business.
“Might I help you up, so that we can get you properly ready for bed?”
“But I’m comfy,” you groan. Morpheus is not buying what you’re selling, unfortunately, so you sigh. “Fine.”
Morpheus holds his hands out for you to take and helps you to your feet. Too fast, apparently, because the room begins to spin and your stomach tilts dangerously, making you clap a hand over your mouth.
“Oh no. Dizzy, dizzy, dizzy,” you chant, squeezing your eyes shut and laying your head against Morpheus’s shoulder while you try to breathe through sudden nausea. You will not throw up on your super hot eldritch nightmare king boyfriend, you command yourself. Not tonight, and not ever.
“What is wrong?” Morpheus sounds panicked, and you want to reassure him, but you hold up a finger in the meantime.
When the nausea finally passes, you take a deep breath and slowly look up. “Okay, I think I’m good now.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Sometimes drinking too much combined with moving too fast makes people feel sick. It’s my fault, but I’ll be okay.”
“Are you well enough to move?”
“Yes, I promise.”
To prove your point, you let go of his hand and start walking heel to toe as the police require during field sobriety tests (honestly, you’re a little surprised that you can actually do this right now). You can practically feel your lover's amusement behind you, but it proves to him that you are capable. Morpheus lets you walk to the bathroom on your own power, and you think the only reason he doesn’t sweep you off your feet is because he’s worried you’ll throw up if he does. He watches you intently the entire time, though.
You sit on the lip of the bathtub, watching Morpheus move about your bathroom as though he knows where everything is; he probably does, you realize, whether it be from that endless wealth of knowledge about everyone and everything that he possesses, or just his familiarity with your home. After rummaging around for a few moments, he comes back with a washcloth and your favorite pajamas. The sight of the familiar material makes you tear up, and you sniffle loudly.
Morpheus looks up in alarm. “Are you okay?”
“You remembered my favorite pajamas,” you say, trying to not start crying. You can count on one hand the number of times he’s come directly to see you off to his realm, and you’ve probably worn those pajamas twice. Yet he remembered the one-off comment you had made about how they were your favorite because of course he did.
His face softens. “Of course I did.”
You clear your throat and wipe your eyes. “Sorry. I’m okay! Just drunk.”
Morpheus hands you said pajamas before turning the faucet on and letting the water run. He seems to realize something after a moment and looks at you helplessly. “I do not feel temperature as you do. Is the water alright?”
You grin and stick your hand under the faucet, moving the tap just a smidge hotter before nodding at him. “It’s good now. Thank you for asking.”
He begins to run the damp washcloth gently over your face, a barely-there smile appearing on his own when you wrinkle your nose at the cool sensations. Where this situation would be awkward with anybody else, it feels entirely natural with Morpheus. You’ll take these little moments of domesticity with him whenever you can get them, even when you’re still half drunk.
Even if you wanted to, you can’t hold yourself back from saying, “You’re so beautiful, do you know that? Seriously, you’re the prettiest man-slash-anthropomorphic-personification I’ve ever seen in my entire life.” The words are heavy on your tongue, but you’re pretty proud of the way you only barely stumble through ‘anthropomorphic’.
“You are still under the influence,” he notes.
“So? Drunk words equal sober thoughts, right?”
“‘A drunk mind speaks a sober heart.’ Jean-Jacques Rosseau,” he supplies.
“Sure, that. I’d tell you how pretty you are even if I was sober, and you know that.”
“Perhaps.” He says it in that infuriatingly sexy way of his, the one that makes you want to tear his clothes off.
Instead, you’re the one taking your own clothes off, though not for any fun reason. Getting changed is not as difficult a task as it would have been when you first arrived home, with the benefit of time naturally sobering one up on your side. Morpheus still keeps a hand held out, just in case you lose your balance and need something to grab onto, but after you’ve finished changing, that hand slips under your shirt and caresses your side.
“Thought you were supposed to be helping me keep my clothes on,” you say with a shiver, grabbing his wrist and pulling the offending extremity out from under your shirt.
“Apologies.” His tone implies that he’s not sorry at all, not that you would want him to be. “I simply couldn’t resist.”
He looks down at you with so much love in those blue eyes of his that you feel like you don’t think your mortal mind could ever truly comprehend it. Nobody has ever loved you the way that Morpheus has—all-consuming and passionate. He told you once that many of his relationships had ended because he had been seen as too intense, too obsessive in his love. Bring it on, you had told him when he expected you to back down. To date, you haven’t regretted that.
You don’t think you ever will.
Now that you can see the end of your night in sight, tiredness begins to seep into your bones. Though your bed is just right through the bathroom door, it feels miles away. With that in mind, you ask, “Will you carry me?”
“Were you not worried that you would feel sick?”
“Yeah, but I’m tired.” You pout (on purpose because you know what it does to him), and you can practically see his resolve break. “Just be careful?”
“Always,” he promises.
And careful he is, slowly picking you up and waiting until you nod to carry you to your bed. He sets you down gently, You’re thrilled to see a glass of water already waiting for you on your bedside table, Morpheus anticipating your needs before you’ve even realized you have them in the first place.
Crawling under the covers after finishing your water, you motion for Morpheus to sit next to you on the bed. He does as you ask, and you move your pillows so that you can sit up and lean on him. When you’re comfortable, you say, “Thank you for everything tonight. I know taking care of me wasn’t what you had planned.”
“You need not thank me. I enjoy caring for you, no matter the situation.”
Your eyes flutter closed at the sensation of his hand carding through your hair, and you start to feel yourself inching closer to the Dreaming. Something keeps you from truly falling asleep, though, and when Morpheus shifts next to you, you realize what it is: the conversation’s not over. Morpheus is trying to figure out how to say what it is he wants to say.
Finally, he figures it out. “Might I ask you something?”
You open your eyes to give him your full attention and nod.
“Earlier, when you seemed surprised that I had noticed your absence. Did you do this,” ‘this’ being getting very drunk, “because of what I said?”
“No. I mean, I went out because I was mad at you, and I figured that me being a couple of hours late would make you learn your lesson, but I got drunk because I wanted to have fun with my friends and let loose.”
“And did you?”
“Maybe a little too much,” you admit cheekily.
“I apologize for my harsh words the other day. I have been…feeling burdened under the weight of my realm, and I took it out on you for no reason.”
“It’s okay, Morpheus. You’re busy running an entire realm and overseeing the collective unconscious. I shouldn’t be so needy.”
He shakes his head. “It is not okay. I should never talk to you in such a way, and you should never feel as though I do not want you around. I do want you around, always.”
“People say things that they don’t mean. That doesn’t mean they’re not worthy of forgiveness. But you gotta talk to me, okay? When you’re feeling stressed, or when things get to be too much. I’m here for you, and I want to support you however I can.”
“I love you,” he says. The fact that he’s being so open with his emotions is a pleasant surprise; it took him so long to be the first to say it, and even longer to be comfortable with it. You smile up at him.
“I love you, too. Stay with me until I fall asleep?”
“Of course.”
Morpheus turns your bedroom light off without you needing to ask (seriously, you love him so much), and you close your eyes. Then, a thought hits you.
“Hey,” you say, staring up at him in the dark and waiting until he looks at you to continue. “Can you get drunk?”
“No.”
“Why not? I mean, isn’t there special alcohol for preternatural beings? You’d think gods and goddesses would’ve figured out a way to get turnt by now.”
Though he doesn’t want to give in to your rambling when you’re meant to be trying to fall asleep, he can’t help but indulge you. “Gods and goddesses can. We, the Endless, cannot.”
“What? That’s so fucking lame. No. That’s–that’s an injustice! I’m so sorry.
“I promise, it is okay. Now, please go to sleep.”
You nod, but close your eyes for maybe thirty seconds before they snap open again with a realization. “Wait.”
“What?”
“You mentioned other gods and goddesses. How many are there? Are they all real? Is actual God real? I mean, I know the devil is real, you kicked their ass for your helm, but for some reason that’s more believable than–”
“Go. To. Sleep,” Morpheus commands.
“Ugh, you’re no fun!”
“I am not afraid to use my sand if need be.”
“You wouldn’t.” You raise an eyebrow in challenge, and he raises one right back. After a brief stalemate, you’re the first to give in. “You have to understand how world-altering this information is to a regular human like me, I mean–”
You’re asleep before your head hits the pillow.
A messy Dream. Literally messy
Shifting Wings: Before the Raven Matthew, there was Jessamy, and Jessamy came with a little sister by the name of Adrienne. Dream adores his two little Ravens, but after over a hundred years of imprisonment and the death of Jessamy, Dream will find that he has not just lost his companion, but his beloved little Raven Adrienne no longer brightens the halls of his Palace. None of his staff wish to speak of where the Raven has gone, but the silent new resident of the palace is cause for question. After all, she was the one who aided in his release. If none of his subjects would help him find Adrienne, perhaps she could lead him to the whereabouts of the missing Raven. If only the woman wasn’t so flighty and hard to track down.
Warnings: Angst, Language.
To Note: Morpheus/Dream x FemaleRaven!Reader, NAMED Reader (I like the name).
Word Count: ~2.3k
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She has not shown herself to you, because she does not wish to.
Lucienne’s words haunted Morpheus in an Endless pain he felt within his being. He had expected you to seek him out the moment he returned as you had always been faithfully by his side. Not to mention he had made a promise to you that he was not able to keep. Surely you were upset by that. No, he had expected everything to be as it was when he had left. He’d been wrong. Lucienne changed. Cain and Abel changed. Fiddler’s Green changed. It was a naive notion to think that you wouldn’t change. Stewing in his morose thoughts, Morpheus decided he had brooded long enough. It was time he tracked you down, for Morpheus needed your comforting presence, even if you held nothing but animosity towards him. Even if all you’d allow was for the Endless to merely gaze upon you, that would be enough.
Rising from his throne, Morpheus stepped down the stairs and strode for the one place that would have the most clues regarding your whereabouts. Your studio. Striding through the palace, Morpheus pondered your absence some more, disturbed by your lack of appearance. Did you not love him as he thought you did? Had he not made his affections clear to you? Jessamy had certainly threatened him plenty over his intentions towards you. 106 years. How much could a person change in that time? Had your love dissipated and resentment taken shelter? Were you angry? Were you unconsolable? Did you want nothing to do with him and the palace after Jessamy’s death? Did you hate him? Perhaps you did if you refused his company.
He reached the door to your studio and paused. He couldn’t feel your presence within, but several light orbs were softly illuminated indicating that you had been within your studio recently. Opening the door, Morpheus stepped into your art studio and ventured forwards. There were paintings and sketches scattered throughout the studio, you were clearly still painting and drawing… but all of your works now held a darker tone. Your artwork reflected a darkened mind crippled by pain, agony.
Walking around your work bench, Morpheus eyed the luxurious bed, expecting to see your nest of pillows, feathers, and down. But all he saw was a neatly made bed, devoid of indication that anyone used it. The studio was used, yes, but clearly you did not use it as you once had. He looked closer at your sketches, many of which were sketches of Jessamy, beautifully sketched and detailed. Your skill had only increased. It only felt like a night ago in which you were just starting to learn how to draw in your new body.
“You look quite concentrated, little one,” Morpheus observed as he sat for you while you struggled to hold a pencil with your foot and draw his likeness. You growled under your breath and spit out a few curses which made Morpheus’s lips twitch. He doubted you noticed, but you truly came alive when you were focused on your art. The melancholy on your face faded and a spark of determination sparkled within the depths of your black eyes.
“That’s because I still sometimes have a hard time grasping this stupid pencil,” You huffed back, gripping the small instrument in your tiny foot. You hopped several places and flapped your wings. “I can control it pretty well at times but then it get’s away from me and everything starts going awry!”
You let out a caw of frustration and threw the misbehaving pencil across the room. It was much easier to paint, in your opinion, than to draw. You’d taken to the brush much quicker than the pencil, and your frustrations were starting to get the better of you. Morpheus rose from his seat and walked over to where you were standing, trying not to let your frustrations get the better of you.
“Why am I even doing this?” You asked with an exaggerated sigh. Morpheus lifted a finger to your beak and tilted your head up.
“Because you are determined, Adrienne,” He reminded you with a small smile. “And you are not one to give up so easily, your perseverance has brought you this far, has it not?”
You eyed your lord, seeing his provocative eyebrow raise. It ruffled your feathers and you huffed.
“I never said I was gonna give up, I just—I feel like I am not making any progress and it’s been decades.”
“And you have eons more to hone your skill, for I shall always look forward to your creations.” You eyed him carefully. Sometimes you really wished that you had your human body rather than a birds.
Don’t be envious. Don’t be envious. It wasn’t like the dreams and nightmares throughout the realm had the pleasure of painting Morpheus’s portrait with the Endless sitting right in front of them. It wasn’t like the Endless actively sought out their company.
“Fine, fine, sit back down I’m almost done with your general profile.” You ordered, having no issue ordering the Endless around. Morpheus, pleased that you had finally perked up, returned to his seat and watched as you fluttered to where your thrown pencil had ended up. Grasping it in your foot once more, you swooped back up to the easel and focused back on your sketch.
You were not a conventional lover, certainly if your relationship with him had grown more intimate. But at the time your company had been more than enough for him. Now all Morpheus wanted was to hear your comforting voice and see the familiar splash of midnight and pearl. Even if it was only to hear your thoughts of envy and yearning for what you had once had. He also owed you an apology. Not just for the fact that he had broken his promise to return with an hour, but your sister had been killed while in his service. It had been voluntary, but you would still feel betrayed.
Morpheus was about to leave the studio, not having garnered any new information from inspecting your studio, but then caught sight of a brighter light peeking out the trim of the small closet. Curiosity peaked, for why would you have the closet light so bright compared to the rest of your studio? Morpheus drew the slightly cracked door open and found his answer. Compared to the rest of the studio, the closet was far more homely and lived in. Down and feathers littered the floor, and there was a nest tucked in the corner. That was where you slept. But what Morpheus took notice most of all, was the obsessive amount of drawings of Jessamy.
They were everywhere, pinned on the walls, stacked on shelves, stuffed between books on a small bookshelf. He moved over to a stack that sat next to a bowl full of charcoal, clearly being used. On the top of the pile was a sketch of himself with Jessamy, the drawn lines darkened and clear, sharp. His eyes were the only hint of color on the page, an illuminating blue. By far your best work yet, not even Morpheus had seen you draw this beautifully. As Morpheus stared at the sketch, he spotted something at the edge of the page that should not be there. A charcoal fingerprint.
All who knew you, who lived within the palace, knew to never touch your artwork unless permission was given. Who would even think to enter a place so small and intimate, one you took shelter in, and touch your work? Certainly with charcoal on their fingers? Morpheus reached for a journal he had given you, inscribed with your name in gold lettering, and opened it. More pictures of him and Jessamy greeted his gaze. It was just as obsessive, and Morpheus could see your mental breakdown over the years. But even as he witnessed your breakdown through your drawings his eyes kept returning to the fingerprint upon your sketch. So journal and sketch in hand, he strode from your studio and headed for the library, determined to finally get answers.
Lucienne had been speaking with Mervyn about the newly rejuvenated gardens when their lord came striding into the library with a swirl of anger. Her brown eyes saw that he carried a leather-bound journal she often saw you drawing in, and a piece of parchment.
“Sir,” Lucienne greeted, trying to keep herself calm. “Is there something you need?” Morpheus strode up to her and held up a charcoal drawing of him with Jessamy perched on his shoulder. “Ah, I see you have discovered Adrienne’s artwork? She has much improved over the last century.” Lucienne said pleasantly, ignoring the charcoal fingerprint on the edge.
“Tell me, Lucienne, who enters Adrienne’s studio and touches her work when we all know that is an egregious event?” Morpheus asked, his voice poised with a lethal edge of a dagger. Both Mervyn and Lucienne shifted where they stood.
“I— I am not aware that anyone has entered Adrienne’s studio without permission let alone touched her work. We know she does not like it when her work is touched.” Lucienne replied evenly, reverting back to what was well known about you. “Not even to admire…” Morpheus shifted his gaze to Mervyn.
“And have you, Mervyn, witnessed anyone trespassing these halls? Surely you have seen something, as Adrienne does not possess hands.” He was enunciating his words now, his patience dwindling at the lack of information on you. Where were you? Why had you not appeared before him? Did you truly hate him? Did you despise him for Jessamy’s death? Were you in such anger that you would refuse to grace his presence ever again? Mervyn rubbed the back of his head, not knowing what to say. The promise he made to you all those years ago to treat Adrienne as dead was still strong… but lie to his lord? That he could not do.
“Well…” Mervyn sighed dramatically. “No one has gone into her studio who shouldn’t have, I can tell you that. She’d eat ‘em alive if they did… kinda anal about keeping people out actually. She’s gotten mean the past few decades,” He muttered while Lucienne forced herself to not facepalm herself in front of Morpheus. Mean. Adrienne had gotten mean. That was the first piece of true information Morpheus had gotten since coming home. But how could you have turned mean? You didn’t hold one mean bone in your entire body.
“Mervyn,” Your quiet, flat voice shattered the tension between the trio as you came striding into the library. The pumpkin headed janitor looked at you as you came to a stop. Your hair was ruffled and your clothes looked hastily put on. “I retrieved the sprite lantern from the relieving arch.” You announced. “If you want the Hesperides to stop throwing the lantern up there, may I suggest moving it? They despise each other.”
“Move it?” Melvyn repeated, insulted at the idea. “The whole point of having the spite lantern there is because of the water— ah fuck, I’m really gonna have to find a new place for the lantern, ain’t I?”
“Indeed,” You echoed, knowing that the janitor hated when he had to shift the homes of the residents of the palace around. They were quite persnickety about their place of home. You contemplated where the sprite lantern could be moved. “Perhaps the east end garden? I believe Lord Morpheus put in a new pond there.”
“Yeah, yeah, good idea,” Mervyn agreed before glancing at Morpheus. “Speaking of which, you met whitey here?” He asked, jerking his stick thumb at you. “She’s kind of mean and never smiles, not that she can, but is one hell of a worker to have around. She’s kept this place running while you were gone.”
You blinked at Mervyn before looking at Lord Morpheus.
“We have met before, though never the chance to formally speak,” You confirmed, then gave Mervyn an unimpressed look. “And I believe you mistake my frankness for me being mean, because that would imply emotions which you are aware that I do not experience.” As you stared at Mervyn who was scowling at you, you felt Morpheus gaze wearing heavily on your body. “If you will excuse me, retrieving the sprite lantern from the receiving arch is not the only task I have do to this day,” You said before giving your lord a respectful nod. “Lord Morpheus,”
You strode out of the library, heading for your next task. Morpheus stared at your back as you strode away, still feeling like there was something off about you. No, there was. He just couldn’t put his finger on it, and it wasn’t that you lacked empathy. It was something else. Something about you was hauntingly familiar, yet entirely foreign.
“Where did she come from?” He asked, settling his gaze back on Lucienne and Mervyn. They shifted uncomfortably. “She might be a resident of the Dreaming, but I have no memory of her. So tell me, exactly where did she come from? You say she has maintained my palace diligently all these years, yet I do not know her.”
“I just realized that I left the sprinkler on in the desert garden so I’m just gunna…” Mervyn rambled while edging his way out of the library, Morpheus made no comment, his eyes locked with Lucienne’s, who was staring back and trying not to be daunted. A nearly impossible task, even for her.
“Only a creature with wings, is capable of retrieving something from the relieving arch,” Morpheus stated, his eyes now hard. He was done asking questions. Yes, done with asking questions, worrying about where you were, wondering if you hated him, needing you… and would now demand answers. He demanded to know where you were, he demanded your presence. The secrets had gone on long enough. Even if you did in fact hate him, he still demanded your presence. “I expect Adrienne in my throne room tomorrow morning at ten o’clock exactly,” Morpheus decreed, then his eyes glowed silver in warning. “Or I shall summon her directly with my sand regardless of her wishes.” With that he strode away, coat billowing just as much as his anger.
Date Published: 7/5/23
Last Edit: 7/5/23
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Dark!Morpheus x (female)reader, fantasy/medieval AU, 18+
Master List
Dream of the Endless had been promised a bride.
Chapter track: Rainbow - The Temple of the King - Algal the Bard
It has been... a rough couple weeks. But I'm back! Hope you enjoy! Your comments and questions mean the world! Special thanks to all you lovely rebloggers! I'm still trying to figure out how to respond without essentially reposting half a dozen times, but I see you, you make my week!
A knock on the door disturbed her work. It was an hour past midnight, when all but the youngest servants and ardent lovers had retired to their beds with heads full of dreams, a time a wandering mice and cat’s work.
But she wasn’t surprised, even less when she opened the door of her windowless chamber to find a young lady in her nightdress, wrapped in a shawl with wary hope in her eyes and a candle in her hand. Alis Everard. The youngest of a large family, and the only child still unmarried – and a child she was, barely thirteen, and of all the reasons the bard hated the king of Meiren, summoning such young suitors for his Endless guest might be the greatest. Her face hadn’t quite lost childhood’s rounded cheeks, and the seams on her nightgown had recently been let out after a growth spurt.
“I see your father is impatient,” the bard said. Wrapped in her own shawl over her own nightgown, she felt more than ever the noble’s equal. After such a long life, she understood better than most how little rank protected one from life and how much a peasant’s child was like a queen’s. She was the girl’s elder by far, but she’d been young once, and what youth didn’t go sneaking down corridors in the dark during their first trip to court?
“He bid me seek your counsel. May I come in?”
Stepping back, she ushered the girl into her sparse little room. “Of course.”
Once the girl was through, she moved to close the door, but a slippered foot darted through the gap to block it. “Not so quicky!”
The foot neatly kicked the door back open as the bard released it, and a young woman – who was, at least, properly a woman – swept by in a dressing gown of satin and a riot of chestnut curls. “I enjoy midnight jaunts, but not being spied on one.”
The bard did her very best not to smile, but failed entirely. She knew this late guest as well. Eilwyn Alder. The third generation in her family the bard had befriended, and she sat next to little Alis on the bed with the casual grace of someone entitled to it.
“My grandmother sent me for your thoughts, though I’m sure she’ll collect them for herself tomorrow. But I am a dutiful granddaughter, so here I am.” She blinked doe eyes as the door finally fell shut, poised and perfect coquettish grace. “So, what news? Or will I lose my beauty sleep for nothing?”
Pulling out a stool from beneath her tiny desk, the bard said, “I haven’t spent an hour in his presence, and I’ve had a long ride, so forgive me if I haven’t yet taken the full measure of the king’s guest and his schemes.”
Alis wriggled on the bed, twisting her hands up in her shawl. Her eyes bounced between shadows, looking for threats like the Dream Lord’s nightmares might crawl out of the walls to exact vengeance for some imagined slight. Not that they couldn’t, but the bard assumed Lord Morpheus had better things to do with his time than torment one overwrought teenager who didn’t want to marry him.
“What if he eats his bride on the wedding night? Like the Lindworm?”
Eilwyn scoffed, and the bard donned a gentle smile, even if she couldn’t keep the laugher from her voice.
“He’s Endless, not a dragon.”
“What does that mean?”
“Means you’d be better off with a dragon.”
The child curled into the corner of the bed, sinking into the blankets with her shawl swallowing the lower half of her face. Looking for comfort where her companions’ mirth had failed. The bard reached over to pat her knee, taking the opportunity to change the subject. “Honestly dragons aren’t so bad. One of my patrons is a dragon, you know. I was attending my yearly visit to his lair when your great, worried, noble parents called for me.”
A whisper of a promised story lured Alis’s eyes away from visions of doom. She glanced at Eilwyn, like she’d confirm the tale. The older girl gladly took up the role of expert.
“Everyone knows that,” she sniffed.
“Is it…” Alis mulled over the idea, confusing herself with her own bevy of questions. “Is it a… nice dragon?”
“These days he is. But he wasn’t always.”
The hook snared Alis’s attention, and her posture softened, though she didn’t leave the corner of the little bed. In fact, she made herself more comfortable, settling like a kitten, and a stab of rage that anyone thought this little girl ought to be considered as a wife seared through the gathering strands of the bard’s story.
She took a blanket and settled it over the child as she began to speak, shielding her from a king’s machinations, a world too big for little hands, and prying eyes.
.O.O.O.
Dream of the Endless retired to the chambers the King set aside for his use, though he had little use for them at all. He would not sleep. He had no intention of entertaining in the parlor, or writing missives at the richly appointed desk. There was no book on the shelves he did not already possess, and he left the food prepared for him to grow cold and stale on the table.
He did sip the wine, and in the darkest hours he found his amusement in wandered the sleeping minds of the castle. Boredom drove him. Cruelty, even. Vengeance called for the king to atone for his wounded pride, and the decade since the human’s error only gave Dream time to image new and wondrous torments. He wanted to watch the king’s schemes crumble in the dread nightmares prowling the would-be suitors’ dreams. He enjoyed the seeds of hate planted in parents’ hearts, the doubt in subjects who’d been nothing but loyal until this gathering.
The king’s story would be a horror, a kind of tragedy that left wounds in his lands and subjects the turn of generations would not heal. These seven days would be the fuse, a prologue to terror and loss. A lesson none would soon forget, lest they bring such punishment on their own loves.
He drifted, savoring the fears he would shape to his own ends. Until words snared his attention. A half-heard tale of a dragon spinning through recent memories of a soft touch and a smile in the face of inescapable dread.
He found a young mind loosely tethered to the Dreaming, caught in the tides running between the conscious and subconscious, where words and images of the Waking cast strange reflections in the fading thoughts before sleep. She led him to a plain, simple room deep in the castle. A place for high-ranking members of staff, perhaps. Utilitarian and uninspiring. Not a place this noble child belonged. But she was not alone, and as she dozed, Dream borrowed her senses.
Voices. One he recognized. The bard the king so detested. He knew her as he knew all dreamers, and he sensed his sister’s touch upon her.
She spoke of him.
“He’s the Prince of Stories. A bride market is beneath him. This is how political unions for picky lords looking for pretty faces are arranged, not how one of the most powerful creatures to ever live seeks a partner,” the bard said.
She was not wrong, of course. The story weaver spied the loose strings in the tale, the ragged ends that did not match, though she had yet to understand the pattern he wove.
“Whatever he wants, it isn’t love or a warm body in his bed. There’s something else. I just have to figure out if that something is a danger to any of you.”
So, loyalty did grow in the king’s court. Just not to the monarch. Dream felt the peace the bard’s presence brought the dreamer half-snared in her sleep. A quiet, sure thing. The confidence children had in oak trees their parents and grandparents climbed when they were young.
The other voice in the room did not speak as a child. This one was old enough for caution, and it worried for the old oak as well as those who sheltered beneath.
“To us, I should think.”
Did the bard not fear him? Had she stood outside as the storyteller for so long she’d forgotten she could be part of them as well?
“Whatever happens, dear, I’ll survive it.” Her only worry was for those she perceived as in her care. The children of children she’d watched grow. A touch carried through the dreamer’s skin and into their subconscious, a kind voice leading her back to the Waking. “It isn’t time to sleep yet. You must return to your room…”
The fragile link collapsed, and the bridge between the servants’ quarters and the noble guest room dissolved.
Lord Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, sat in his darkened chambers in the court of a damned king, and thought as he sipped from his wine that he would enjoy seeing the bard at work. He must amuse himself for seven days, after all, until the time of the agreement ran out, and she was a surprising creature.
The most surprising he’d seen in some time.
Shifting Wings: Before the Raven Matthew, there was Jessamy, and Jessamy came with a little sister by the name of Adrienne. Dream adores his two little Ravens, but after over a hundred years of imprisonment and the death of Jessamy, Dream will find that he has not just lost his companion, but his beloved little Raven Adrienne no longer brightens the halls of his Palace. None of his staff wish to speak of where the Raven has gone, but the silent new resident of the palace is cause for question. After all, she was the one who aided in his release. If none of his subjects would help him find Adrienne, perhaps she could lead him to the whereabouts of the missing Raven. If only the woman wasn’t so flighty and hard to track down.
Warnings: Angst, Foreshadowing.
To Note: Morpheus/Dream x FemaleRaven!Reader, NAMED Reader (I like the name).
Word Count: ~2.3k
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Your fingers were smeared with charcoal as you furiously sculpted Lord Morpheus’s face upon your sketchbook page. With his image and likeness freshly ingrained within you mind, you were fervently drawing him in crystal clear detail with dark strokes of black and a shimmering cobalt blue that made his eyes come to life on your drawings. You didn’t understand why you felt this compulsive need to sketch him, to keep him in your memory. It was like he mattered to you. A silly notion. He mattered to the Dreaming, but to you personally? Surely you had gotten over your silly little crush on him by now.
The charcoal scratched across the page a few more strokes before you drew back your hand and stared at it. It was trembling. You glared at your limb in distaste and tightened your grasp on the charcoal. Surely you had more control over your body than this! You ground your teeth together, focusing on that needless tremble that you should not have. Perhaps it was a residual expression of your once feelings for the Endless being. How irritatingly needless.
“Cease this needless reaction,” You softly growled, clutching the charcoal tighter. It snapped and the two pieces fell to the floor of your tiny room. Staring at the broken charcoal, your eyebrow arched and you looked at your sketch once more. Lord Morpheus was beautifully sketched, his eyes vibrant with the stars that shone within, and Jessamy was perched on his shoulder… infinitely beautiful and stoic. The perfect raven. “You were always the better raven and sister, Jessamy,” You spoke before tearing the sketch from your notebook and setting it down in the pile of your other sketches, ignorant to the charcoal fingerprint you had left behind.
Standing in the middle of your closet turned bedroom, you looked around at the multitude of sketches you had up. It was, perhaps, obsessive of you to have nearly hundreds of sketches of Jessamy… both in her mortal form and raven form— and yet you couldn’t always control the compulsive urge to sketch her. You merely assumed that it was a side effect of your repressed emotions and shrugged it off. As long as you couldn’t feel the agonizing hurt of her death, you didn’t care what you spent your time doing.
You departed your room and crossed the space of your art studio, heading out to find Mervyn and hopefully, have something to do.
Lucienne had been out walking the sand dunes while you and Mervyn worked on clearing up yet another crumbling part of the palace. You and he kept the grounds meticulously clean from dust and debris, but that didn’t the palace looked any better at a glance. It still looked condemned, abandoned, faded with time. At times it became suffocating so she took walks… but this walk was different than the thousands before it. No, Lucienne could have sworn that she saw the familiar form of her lord, laying in a dune but a few hundred yards away.
So she ran. As fast as she could through the blackened sand until she could confirm with her own eyes that Lord Morpheus had indeed returned to the Dreaming.
“Sir! Sir!” She called out, hurrying to his side and crouching down. Lucienne scanned him for injury while rolling him onto his back. “Oh my goodness.” She breathed out, hardly able to comprehend what she was seeing, feeling. “Sir?” She asked as Morpheus stirred. “Sir, it’s me,” Lucienne reached for his hand as he looked at her. “It’s Lucienne.”
Morpheus gasped and coughed, still feeling utterly drained of his power.
“Lucienne,” He rasped weakly, holding onto her hand. He couldn’t hold back the relieving smile of finally being free and home.
“You’re home, my lord.” She said, feeling her own relief washing through her body. Morpheus was home, the Dreaming could finally heal, and you, Morpheus’s beloved raven that had withered to an empty shell, could finally begin to heal.
“I am,” Morpheus spoke as Lucienne helped him to his feet. The Morpheus took stock of his surroundings. He was beyond the ivory gates, beyond the walls of the glimmering city and palace. It was dead and desolate, there, empty. He was eager to open his gates and view his home once more.
Morpheus placed his palm on the Ivory Gates, feeling their warm and comforting hum of magic, his magic. It was nice to feel that touch once more. The gates began to part, rumbling and groaning from disuse.
“Forgive me, sir, but…” Lucienne didn’t know how to tell Morpheus that his kingdom had crumbled to dust and ruin while he was away. Morpheus stared at her with questions in his eyes. “…the palace, the village” Lucienne sighed. “They are not as you left them.” The gate continued to move, revealing the desolation of Morpheus’s kingdom and palace.
All that remained were bare trees, long since dead, and skeletons of what used to be an extraordinary palace. The bridge connecting the town was crumbled and no longer usable, the lake that surrounded the once grandiose building was almost dried up and wind whistled, stirring up dust and sand. Morpheus was overwhelmed at the destruction his home, wondering what could have caused this kind of ruin. Where were his people? Where were his creations? His Dreams? His Nightmares? Where was Adrienne!?
“What happened here?” He asked, his voice strained with barely contained emotional devastation. “Who did this?”
In the distance a tower crumbled and fell to ruins below. More work for Blanche and Mervyn to clean up. Lucienne cleared her throat.
“My lord, you are The Dreaming,” She explained, regretting the knowledge that for Morpheus to know what had caused ruin to reign in his kingdom, was his absence. “The Dreaming is you. With you gone as long as you were, the realm began to… decay and crumble.”
“And the residents?” Morpheus questioned, his very being aching with physical pain. “The palace staff? Adrienne?” Lucienne bit her tongue at the mention of you, for with Morpheus’s return, he was sure to eventually find what you had done. You could change your appearance and name, but you were the beloved of Dream of the Endless, he would find you.
“I’m afraid most have gone.” Lucienne answered, wincing on the inside in fear of her lord’s reaction.
“Gone?” Morpheus repeated in disbelief.
“Some went looking for you…” Lucienne trailed off, dropping her eyes to the rocky ground.
“And the rest? Where did they go? Where did Adrienne go? Where is she?”
“The others thought, perhaps, you’d grown weary of your duties, as for Adrienne, she—” Lucienne cut off, not knowing how to explain you. Morpheus would take nothing but the truth of your whereabouts. “She remains, my lord, but does not spend her time in the company of others. She chooses solitude.”
“So the others think that I chose to abandon them?” Morpheus questioned in disbelief. “Adrienne believes that I willingly abandoned her, broke my promise and left her without word?” Betrayal was flashing across his face as his eyes burned with tears. “Had they so little faith in me? Did Adrienne believe that I would willingly abandon her with so little thought!?”
“Adrienne’s faith in you has not wavered in the one hundred and six years you’ve been gone,” Lucienne corrected Morpheus. “Do not question her loyalty and lo—” Lucienne paused. Yes, you were loyal to Morpheus, but only as a subject and raven now. The love you had for him you exchanged for a mortal body and the ability to search for him. Yes, Morpheus would not take kindly to hearing that you no longer held the capability of loving him. “She is loyal to Dream of the Endless,” Lucienne carefully replied. “And she is dedicated to being your raven, it is perhaps her deepest fault, she will die for you should it come to that.”
Morpheus flinched. Jessamy had already done so, he couldn’t bear the thought that you would make that a repeated event. Jessamy had been a dear friend and loyal subject. Adrienne was the one whom he loved with everything he had. He would not lose both of you.
“Adrienne, under no circumstances,” Morpheus said, his voice darkening with seriousness. “Is to ever risk her life for me. I forbid it.” Once again Lucienne held her tongue, for Morpheus had no idea what you had become. The only way you would ever accept those words is if Morpheus gave you a direct order. But he couldn’t do that if he didn’t even know he was speaking to you. Morpheus turned back to his decimated kingdom. “I made this realm once, Lucienne, I will make it again.”
Lord Morpheus had returned. You knew that much as you cleaned up the latest rubble pile of the palace. Lucienne had been out on her walk beyond the wall when she had found him. You were pleased that Lord Morpheus had made it back on his own. While you had left the water spicket open, you weren’t entirely sure how long it would take for the magic circle to be broken. Even then you weren’t sure how much power he had left, and didn’t know if he could even get himself back to the Dreaming.
But he had and was now touring the ruin and destruction of his palace while you and Mervyn worked with the Wyvern to clean up what you could. Without his tools and much of his power, Lord Morpheus would not be able to return the realm to its natural beauty. It was merely a waiting game. Sweeping dust and rubble, you glanced up when Mervyn lumbered over to you.
“Just got word, Loosh wants you to pull a few books from what we have, she and Morpheus are working on solving our ruin problem.” You stopped sweeping and raised an eyebrow.
“And how are books to help with that?” You asked cynically. “His power resides within his tools, nothing shall change until he regains them.” Mervyn shrugged at your words.
“Hell if I know, kid, I’ll take over sweeping, run along before Loosh barges over here and starts snapping out orders.” You inclined your head and passed the broom to Mervyn before picking your way across the mostly clear courtyard. Most of the library was already gone, had been for a while, but a few books remained. You weren’t sure what Lucienne wanted from them since it was Lord Morpheus’s tools that he needed, but you knew which books she was going to want.
You fluttered your way to what was left of the library, a mere single bookshelf of only about eight books. You plucked the volume that Lucienne was going to want and held it against your chest. Striding through dilapidated halls, your face remained blank as the subtle and smooth voice of your lord reached your ears. It was as dulcet as you remembered, intense in a way that drew those listening in. You had liked listening to it, had liked it when he read to you. Emerging from a crumbling alcove, you strode over to Lucienne with purpose, ignoring the moping Endless sitting on the ruins of the spiral staircase that once led to his throne and your old perch.
“The book you requested,” You explained, offering Lucienne the heavy leather book while Morpheus stared at you, his eyes focused on the streak of white at your temple. His thoughts of his ruined kingdom shifted to you, the woman who he was certain, had intentionally left the water spicket open just enough to break the binding circle.
“Ah, thank you, Blanche,” Lucienne said, taking the book and opening it immediately.
“If that is all,” You said, taking a step back to leave.
“Will you not stay?” Lucienne probed you, searching your eyes for some semblance of your old self who would have been all over Morpheus the moment he returned. Nothing. You were about to respond when the sound of another piece of the palace breaking off and hitting the ground echoed throughout the throne room. Your head titled to the side.
“I’m afraid I’ve just become quite busy,” You answered flatly before inclining your head. “My apologies, Lucienne.” You then gave your lord a head bow. “Lord Morpheus.” With that you turned on your heel and strode away, planning on finding another broom to clean up the palace’s latest mess.
The moment Blanche departed the throne room, Morpheus was turning his gaze back to his librarian.
“Lucienne, who was that?” He asked, his sharp blue eyes, still ringed with red, observing her closely. “This is the first time I recall seeing her within my domain.” Lucienne cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses.
“That, sir, is Blanche,” Lucienne explained, feeling troubled about lying by omission to her lord, but wanting to respect your wishes for your previous life and name, to remain dead. “You need not worry about her or her loyalty, she has chosen to remain when others have left.”
Morpheus examined Lucienne, she clearly trusted you… but Morpheus was still wary. Very wary.
“She has no empathy, Lucienne, and yet you say she poses no threat to us or our kingdom.” The Endless pointed out.
“Blanche has remained here faithfully, for the last one hundred and six years, helping Mervyn maintain the palace as best as they could when others have left. Yes, she does not feel, but her loyalty to this realm and to you, is unwavering.” Morpheus took in that information. Surely he would have noticed one so loyal as Blanche, certainly with her hair color so remarkably similar to Jessamy and Adrienne’s feathering.
“She was the one who aided in my escape,” Morpheus commented, thinking Blanche over further. “One who I do not know, aided me when my own people could not.”
Lucienne’s heart was breaking within her chest, for all she wanted was to blurt out who Blanche really was, and how Adrienne had done everything she could to find Morpheus and return him home… and she had. She wanted to tell her lord that the one he loved had been relentless in her search for him, and had not stopped until she found him. But how could Lucienne tell Morpheus that the woman whom he loved, could no longer love him back?
Date Published: 6/21/23
Last Edit: 6/21/23
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When invaders threaten your home, life, and people, you, a sirena, strike a desperate bargain with Dream of the Endless to save them all.
Dream of the Endless x mermaid!reader, one shot (for now)
Tags: war, gore, torture, death/murder, mentions of SA, slavery, things that generally come with colonialism
Inspired by the episode “Jibaro” from the Netflix show Love Death + Robots. This one shot draws heavily from Filipino mythology, culture, and history. I ENCOURAGE and INVITE people who don’t come from a Filipino background to read this story and enjoy! There is so much beauty to be had in cultures of color, for everyone. Just as I have read many stories steeped in Greek, Celtic, Norse, medieval England, etc cultures, without coming from those backgrounds, I humbly ask you do the same and entertain this little fic. Thank you. I may write a follow up if there’s interest. Glossary at the end.
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From the banks of your river, you can hear the horses.
Metal plate clangs and screeches against itself, swords jostle in their sheaths, and shields bump where they rest on armored backs so loud that you want to scratch your sensitive ears out, just to make the sounds stop.
Your ates and kuyas hide deep below in the caverns known only to your kind. When you close your black eyes, you feel them tugging at the edges of your mind like little lights in the deep darkness of the sea. They believe that will be enough to save them.
Only you have braved the surface, because only you know what these strange men upon their strange beasts want.
They want the gold in the dark, fertile earth. You don’t understand why - it’s just shiny metal. Only the dwarves under the hills covet it. But the men who ravage your lands and your kin like wildfires, grasping everything and destroying it in the same breath, care very much. They want the never-dying orchids that line the banks and the brilliant emerald green vitality bursting from every leaf and vine that could keep a mortal alive for a thousand years. They want to feed their glory on your broken bodies. They want to take the people you protect for slaves, the women shamed and disgraced and the men subservient and humiliated.
You’ve seen it for yourself.
You’ve tasted the water of streams running red with blood, the iron like acid on your blue tongue.
You’ve swam farther and seen enough to make you hate. Families torn apart, children with their hair cut off and given names in an ugly language, forbidden to speak their own - the same language you speak. Fathers dragged onto large ships, larger than a butandíng, never to return. Altars burned. The men put your red sisters who live in the balete trees, their hair tangled with vines and lovely, fierce, flickering yellow eyes, to the flame. You witnessed their dying howls and curses for vengeance.
Some of the white-haired annani have already begun to clip their pointed ears, tear the crowns of flowers from their hair, and even cut out their tongues so as to lock away the magic these men desire, never to be spoken again. “There is no place for us,” Those tall, graceful elves told you. “We will be gone in a generation, by sword or by starvation.”
They’re coming.
The jungle is quiet as it has never been in a thousand years.
You could no more hide your tail, glittering blue and turquoise, with long, sweeping fins like ferns, than you could hide the long sweep of hair that reaches your waist, or the ink-black lines embedded on your skin, painting your face, your neck, and your arms with the story of your people and your home.
The calls that echoed from the depths of the river have stopped. It seems that your family has accepted that you won’t come back.
You look at your webbed hands, test your claws against your flesh. What is one magindara to a hundred conquistadors?
When the men spear you, they won’t just be slaughtering a mermaid. They’ll be killing the stories you keep. Centuries of stories. Countless names. Each pearl around your neck is a tribe, full of the old songs of grandmothers and the new rhymes of babies. You’re draped in thousands of shimmering strands of pearls.
You may not be the cleverest, or the most beautiful, or the one with the sweetest voice…
But you can be the bravest.
“Lord Morpheus,” You intone, frowning as the syllables ripple wrong and harsh from your throat.
You’ve never spoken to any of the gods beyond your islands before. “Dream of the Endless.” All you can do is hope and pray this one listens and comes to you in time. Will they be kind? Will it be merciful? Will he, or she, save your home?
Perhaps such a god does not exist at all, and you are praying to wind and sunlight, and soon your guts will color the cerulean water purple and black. The strange men will defile your body, no doubt. A week ago, you crawled from your river to cut down the corpse of a long-gone ate from a stake, jagged holes ripped into the tail of her corpse that made you vomit and her dead eyes full of pain.
Once you’d laid her to rest in the water, she dissolved into nothing. “Prince of Stories,” You sing. That is what faces everything you’ve ever loved if you fail.
“I beg you, save us. Save our stories, our dreams. We call for your aid.”
The men bark at each other. Any moment now, they’ll see you, your hands raised and your face tipped towards the heavens, inky flowers blooming on your forehead and cheeks and crocodile teeth tattooed on the sharp line of your jaw.
A new quiet falls over the world. Like nighttime, when things are resting, not dead.
You have called, and I answer.
A being stands on the banks of your river in the shape of a man. His hair is blacker than Bakunawa’s maw and his eyes are filled with gold and silver stars brighter than any you’ve seen before. His pale skin carries no markings.
He is as grotesquely, menacingly beautiful as the razor’s edge of shark teeth, as a great python curling in a tree, as an eagle with its claws stuck in the beating, bleeding heart of a monkey.
You feel the weight of his gaze on your brow heavier and hotter than the sun on the longest day of summer, burning out the truth in your heart. “I would bargain with you, Dream Lord. For my people, and my land, and my home, which I love more than my own life.”
What would you have me do? When Lord Morpheus speaks, his voice pours through your mind ringing like the purest, clearest freshwater.
The many jewels around your throat, pearls, sapphires, rubies, diamonds, plates of beaten gold, click as you swallow nervously.
The dream king stands so tall that he could touch the sky if he reached up. And he doesn’t look away or blink. You can’t read the inhuman planes of his face whatsoever, you can’t find any familiar sign in his long limbs that might bring comfort. For all you know, you’ve spelled your doom.
“Keep them alive. Keep our names and spirits alive. Bring our stories into your kingdom so that we won’t be forgotten. That is what the men want. They want to raze us to the ground and rebuild the world in their image but we will not go.” You pause. “We will never, ever go,” You growl, fierce and deadly, around a mouth full of fangs. In your words you pour the horrors you’ve seen, combined with the beauty surrounding the two of you.
The hot, muggy air, the warm rain, the scent of night-blooming jasmines. Orange mangoes, bursting with sweetness, bamboo sticks clacking as joyful youths dance in and out of them, laughing gaily. Rolling drums. Bright feathers tucked into black hair. A toddling child reaching out to her grandmother with a chubby-cheeked smile, pressing the back of the withered, ancient hand against her little forehead. Love, so much love.
I have not walked these lands before.
You found traces of Lord Morpheus scribbled in the margins of paper and in the back alleys of lost dreams. Your last and only hope.
When you went to Diyan Masalanta, she wept and showed how the soldiers bound her hands. When you cried out to her brother, Apolaki, the sun god called back and said the invaders took his shield.
Bathala is gone. Mayari is gone. Lakapati is dead. The conquistadors stripped her naked, cut her ribs from her chest, and planted her bones in the fields they set their slaves, your people, to work.
“They say you are Endless. You preside over all beings in all places. Please, I beg you, preside over us. Are we not worthy of your favor? Do we not deserve to live in your dreams and nightmares?”
If Lord Morpheus refuses you, you’ll cut your throat before you let your enemies have you.
He tilts his head like he can hear your thoughts. One shining hand stretches out, almost as if to touch your face. You sing prettily, little siren. You draw back with a start. Why is there hunger in his voice? A hollow, all-consuming, terrifying hunger?
You know what it feels like to starve when the fish are scarce. This is leagues away, a typhoon to your trickle of rain. Shadows bloom under his hollowed cheeks. His pupils eclipse his brilliant aquamarine irises.
He’s-
He’s aching.
Morpheus flashes his bone-white teeth as he bends at the waist to examine you further. His gaze traces your tattoos, your large, frightened eyes, and your body beneath the necklaces and bracelets.
As scared as you are, as convinced that you’ll bleed the instant his fingers brush your blue-streaked skin, your numb lips move.
“I vow to you now, Lord Morpheus, before every god and being I know, that should you render us this aid, I will give you anything within my power to grant that you wish.”
Anything?
“Name it, my lord, and it shall be yours.” With that, your eyes flutter shut as you await his judgment.
You can’t hide from him, even in your mind. You don’t see him, but you feel a straining pressure build where he prods at you, pushing on the fragile edges of your being like he’s cracking a duck egg. He claws and scrapes until-
I will aid your people.
You open for him like a sampaguita flower. Dream of the Endless picks through your soul like he’s picking blossoms, you feel how much he wants with every brush, every long moment where he sticks his fingers in and relishes the feel of you. Nothing has ever touched you like this before.
He’s on his knees on the riverbank, the dark soil pressing into his clothes. His hands clench the rocky edge of the bank. Your wet hair sticks to your back as you rise up, close enough that you can count his night-black eyelashes. There’s a dizzying amount of them.
“Thank you. Thank you. Salamat-po. And your price, majesty?”
You’ll do whatever he wants. Does his thirst demand souls? You’ll harvest them by the dozen. You can picture Lord Morpheus unhinging his jaw, swallowing those soldiers whole. Their swords wouldn’t even scrape him going down. Riches? You have no use for them if you’re dead. He can take every speck of wealth to be had.
You. I want you.
Your sisters and brothers wail. They sense the foreign king tearing at the flesh binding you together. They feel him taking a knife to your indigo heart and cutting it loose from your body. Your head tilts back as you gasp for breath and see him hold the organ aloft. Dark blood trails in rivulets down his wrists.
“I-“
There are no creatures like you in my realm. So I shall have you, in every way that I wish, and you’ll obey. Those are my terms.
Your tail lashes in the water as if you fight hard enough, you can swim away. The cavity pulses with searing, unholy pain. You’ve made a mistake. You’ve summoned- He is an aswang, a devil, a soul-eater, you’ll never see your home again, you’ll never touch the water you’ve known since birth.
Lord Morpheus brings your heart to his mouth. His lips are beautifully-formed. You can’t find it in yourself to hate such a wondrous creature. Even your amethyst ichor looks more beguiling when he’s covered in it.
It was never a question. “Yes, my lord. I accept these terms.”
His white teeth stain purple when he sinks them into your heart.
-
Glossary:
Ate (ah-tey) - sister
Kuya (koo-yah) - brother
Butandíng - whale shark
Balete tree - very cool large tree native to Southeast Asia
Annani - elves from the stories of the Ibanag people, who look like humans with pointed ears. They are kind guardians of the forest and often share healing knowledge with humans if treated with respect.
Magindara - mermaids from the folklore of the Bicolano people. Beautiful half human, half fish guardians of rivers/streams/lakes/the oceans, who sing to lure fisherman and warriors to their death but leave children unharmed.
Bakunawa - a great mythic serpent and god/goddess of darkness. Various myths place Bakunawa responsible for eclipses.
Diyan Masalanta - Tagalog goddess of love, war, childbirth
Apolaki - Tagalog god of the sun and war, patron saint of warriors, soldiers, modern day patron saint of Filipino traditional martial arts (Kali/eskrima/arnis) practitioners
Bathala - the Tagalog supreme creator god
Mayari - the Tagalog goddess of the moon, war, revolution, and justice. She fought her brother Apolaki for dominion over the heavens.
Lakapati - the Tagalog goddess of fertility, food, bounty, balance, and prosperity. She represents both male and female and has both male and female genitalia. Patron saint of queer/trans people.
Sampaguita - the Filipino name for sambac jasmine, the national flower of the Philippines
Salamat-po (sah-lah-maht poh) - thank you (utmost respect) in Tagalog
Aswang - overall name for the malicious/demonic/monstrous beings in Filipino folklore. Vampires, zombies, ghouls, organ eaters, cannibals.
I hope you guys liked this! Let me know if you have any questions or want to read more from this.
Dark!Morpheus x (female)reader, fantasy/medieval AU, 18+
Master List
I was serious about trying to update every other day! They will be short chapters, but whatever. At least for the first few bits. NOT EDITED. PRAY FOR ME, LOL Would you like a bardcore song suggestion to go with each chapter? Let me know in the comments. Enjoy!
She walked into a golden scene of candle smoke and gilded lilies with mud on her boots and one stubborn myrtle leaf in her hair.
Hardly fine court attire, but folk she cared for called her in fear, so she rode in haste from the far side of Meiren, and she’d lost any need to impress the court a long time ago. She’d survived the worst they could do before the current king assumed his father’s throne, and it never hurt to remind them all that she was not part of their games or under their thumbs. So she didn’t stop to comb her hair, or dig out the myrtle leaf, or even shuck her stained green traveling cloak.
Hard as she rode, she didn’t arrive before the festivities began, and she spied the king sitting on the high dais beside his honored guest, for whom a second throne had been crafted. Clearly in haste. Probably merely the queen’s old seat altered to be less feminine. It looked cheap and small beneath its occupant.
Dream of the fucking Endless. King of Dreams and Lord of Nightmares.
He sat above the glittering host like the darkness behind the stars. Ethereal, unknowable, frigidly beautiful as only untouchable things could be.
Even seeing him there, in the flesh, she struggled to believe it. She couldn’t believe their fool king would go so far.
The King of Meiren didn’t hide the festivities’ goal in the invitations (threats and demands) he sent to his people. Dream would find a queen among the best and brightest of the kingdom, and the chosen would gratefully accept the honor.
Only ignorant fools courted the attention of the Endless. Her mother had been one such fool, and she only dared befriend the kindest of the seven. Dream of the Endless was far more terrible, and he sought more than a friend in the king of Meiren’s court. Yet mothers shepherded noble children dressed in their finest silks and velvets, the softest, sweetest things welcoming a stranger’s wondering caress. Family heirlooms dripped from ears and gleamed around fine throats, daring the eye to wander lower. Girls smelling of flowers and boys scented with fruit and musk turned the hall into a stinking hell of vanity and hubris.
Then there were her folk – the wiser birds with drab plumage clustering in the dimmest corners, away from the dances and merrymaking. Parents who wanted their children to live. Grandparents who understood some risks simply weren’t worth taking. Young lovers who were bound in heart and mind but not yet by law. The king’s greed would spare none if the Endless chose them. Though she had not received an official invitation, several families who knew her of old called for her help. Officially, she belonged to no fewer than five noble houses’ retinues for the event, but the guards wouldn’t have barred her entry even without their help.
No one turned a bard away from a party.
Though the long trestle tables had been ferried away by an army of servants to make room for dancing, the ghosts of a feast remained. The king planned the celebrations like a royal engagement. Seven wedding feasts. Seven days to inspire a force of nature to grow a heart and stitch it to another. She smelled grease from venison and partridge, the first victims of the king’s folly, and she hoped the only sacrifices. Better a thousand lambs, ducks, and cows than one of the young folk all dressed up for the fire.
She didn’t dither or ask for her charge’s insights before approaching the dais. Truth would always out. The king was not clever, and she trusted her own opinions of an Endless over any courtier’s.
Striding up to the throne, she waited on the verge of the crowd for the chamberlain to announce her. Her name. A few meaningless titles. Finally her occupation. She liked it best when the king was reminded she was a bard. That she carried an ounce of authority in any royal circle.
Neither king really needed any of it, of course. The Endless knew all, and she’d plagued the King of Meiren’s nightmares for decades. But manners were manners, and politics demanded performance.
She sank low, graceful as a willow frond, angling her face so the king would see the barest hint of her smirk. Not entirely mocking. But knowing. Far from a loyal subject’s easy smile or overwrought frown. The smirk made a game of her courtesies, drawing the king low to meet her, even as her knees brushed the floor and he remained in his throne. No threat. No demand. She asked for nothing. She told him what she was, where she stood, and how little power he wielded over her that she did not choose to give.
As a boy he watched his father’s men draw and quarter her. Now he must suffer her freedom in his court.
“Majesties.”
“I hope you do not bring trouble to my court.” The King of Meiren glowered down, playing the dread king. He wasn’t even a dying candle compared to the sun-bright force at his side. Not that he’d ever been a great power even before he dared weave himself into the story of an Endless.
She sprang up as lithely as she bowed. “Your majesty must think very highly of me indeed to think I could bring anything grander or more concerning than an Endless to your throne room.”
The human ruler tensed, but the eldritch ruler at his side…shifted. She’d sparked his momentary attention, and unlike the first king’s attempt to intimidate her, Dream’s look chilled her until it burned. His gaze, however, did not focus on her like a mortal’s would. His starry eyes saw too much for that. They swallowed her, washing her in the loneliness of the night sky.
Unfathomable. Incredible. Cold as stone and livelier than a sea breeze. Entirely inhuman and everything that led a soul to dream. That gaze made her ache for a shield to lift against him.
So. She offered the smallest, polite smile in recognition and returned to the mere human on the throne.
“A shame the years haven’t blunted your tongue,” the King of Meiren said, struggling to reclaim the authority she’d so neatly plucked from the conversation.
“I prefer to think of them as a whetstone, majesty.”
“I do not recall issuing an invitation in your name.”
“And yet I found my place through the names of others. Several houses requested my attendance in their support.”
Gods, he looked so petulant. But she’d laugh later. He wasn’t above sending a guard to run her through in the hall, and while she didn’t fear death, she didn’t enjoy pain. Or ruining good clothes. No need for more drama in this fraught production, anyway.
The best he could do was insult her clothes, eying the mud and bracken. “Clearly you came in haste.”
“But of course, your majesty.” Wide eyes and an innocent expression couldn’t bury the implicit insult entirely – she had not come for him, her very presence was a kind of defiance, and she would never ride so hard or long without care for her appearance to preserve him or his honor – but they did well enough. A little simpering would stay the blade, and any words said sweetly must be born, even if they soured the king’s stomach.
After all, she would outlive him and his kingdom both. She’d carry what stories she chose to the generations that came after, and no threat or sentence in his power to levy against her would give him back control of his legacy. At least he was smart enough to understand that much.
“Perhaps you should retire for the evening, then.” The king looked pointedly at her boots, reminding her they did not belong on his polished floors. She, in her rough clothes and wild hair did not belong. But she’d worked hard to ensure she never entirely belonged in places like these, always a step out of line, a loose thread that escaped the warp and weft of society’s patterns.
Othered and free for it.
“A most gracious suggestion.” Another, shallower, curtsy. Her eyes dipped to the floor but didn’t linger with any kind of reverence. “I take my leave.”
She moved back through the crowd, unable to disappear between the fine people in their fine clothes. A dark look touched her, stayed under her skin as she passed through the doors and turned down the hall, and she refused to name its owner. There was no time to fear him. Or – if she was very careful – reason to. She had plans to make and riddles to solve, and what was she to an Endless?
Her patrons would request her advice in the morning. She did, actually, need to wash the road off her gear. And her lute was in need of tuning. She retired to her work.
This right here is my love
my brain finds this incredibly just njrenvajinbvijebvaiefbvbijfvbjifvvf
This is yes
Summary: After the repercussions of Desire's machinations, Morpheus has yet to face another disturbance in his realm— a thief, stealing books from his library. So what will happen when the King of Dreams catches the book thief? Will he banish them from his realm or will they form an unlikely bond because of books?
Word count: 1.7k+
Morpheus noticed that Lucienne is deeply distressed these days, but still won’t tell him the root of her problems so, he decided to take matters into his own hands and inspect the royal library. As he starts to examine the shelves, he suddenly noticed that there are several missing books in the classics, romance, and fantasy sections – which of course, bothered him because the shelves are always complete and in order. He continued wandering in the royal library and to his surprise, he also saw Lucienne checking the shelves with a list in her hands.
“What are you doing Lucienne?” he inquired. And he observed that his librarian cringed when he asked her.
“M-my lord,” Lucienne replied, hiding the paper behind her back. He stared at her, waiting for her to tell him what is going on with the royal library. There’s something wrong, and he knows it, but Lucienne won’t tell him anything.
“I know that you are busy with other matters my lord…” Lucienne trailed. “But there has been a little disturbance in the library,” she told him, finally giving in.
“And what would that be?” Morpheus asked her, clearly disturbed. It has just been a week since the fiasco in his realm, thanks to Desire, so hearing that there has been a disturbance happening again distressed him.
“The books, sir. Some of them are missing,” Lucienne explained. “I do not know when it started, but as I checked the library’s catalogue, I noticed that some of them are gone,” she continued.
“I tried looking for them, thinking that they’re just probably misplaced. But they’re not and I noticed that there are just more books missing in the various sections of our library,” Lucienne sadly told him.
Morpheus was perplexed by the situation. Who would even dare to steal from the royal library? More so, from his palace and realm?
“Do you have any idea why the books are missing?” Morpheus inquired. After being imprisoned for a hundred years and then going back again to his realm, Morpheus started to value and listen to Lucienne’s input and advice. And even though not always, at least he’s trying to.
“No, sir. But I believe someone is entering the realm without us noticing it,” Lucienne told him.
Morpheus hummed in agreement and started to ponder where should he start looking for the suspicious occurrence that is happening in his realm.
“I shall check on it, Lucienne. In the meantime would you mind taking care of things while I work?”
“With pleasure, sir,” she replied, smiling softly at him.
—
It has been a week since the incident happened, but Morpheus still cannot figure out who or what could even be the reason why the books are going missing. As he flips through the records of the dreamers to see if there had been a clue or an appearance of the missing books, he suddenly saw a figure going toward the royal library. This alerted him since he was sure that it was not Lucienne, and especially not something he created. He silently followed the figure and noticed that it was going towards the romance section of the library. He followed them discreetly, and then abruptly stopped when he saw them halt in front of the shelf and start putting back the books which were missing.
"So, this is the thief who has been stealing books in my library," he spoke coldly.
“What in the actual fuck—” you replied, clearly shocked, causing you to drop some of the books you were holding in your chest because of your surprise. You whipped your head aggressively to look for the source of the voice, and to your surprise, you see a man before you.
“Who are you?” you mumbled in a puzzled manner. You have never met this man ever since you started visiting the library and tonight is the first time you saw him. He was kind of tall, somewhat looking like a human but not entirely because of his mysteriously magical and strange countenance. He is pale, cold, and clothed in all black, and he is staring at you intensely.
“I am the King of Dreams and Ruler of the Nightmare Realm, and this is my domain,” he drawled. Even his voice sounds so cold and strange— very fitting to the place you have been visiting for months now.
“Uhm, greetings?” you awkwardly replied.
“Who are you?” This man certainly has an intense, piercing stare and it is starting to creep you out.
“I’m Y/N, uhm, of the Earth,” you replied. The man in black started going towards you in an agonizingly slow motion, his gaze unfaltering. You gripped the books in your hands so tight and started looking down because you could not meet his stare. He suddenly stopped just in front of you, his hands behind his back. He was so near you that his chest is almost touching your body.
“You are not a dream, nor you are a nightmare,” he concluded. “You’re a mortal and yet you have the guts to steal from my library,” he continued.
Steal? From his library? His accusations are way too absurd, so you decided to meet his gaze bravely. First of all, you just borrowed them and you're returning them right now. Second, there has been no owner in this library since you visited it. And third, he is being so annoying.
"Your library?" you replied questioningly. "And me stealing? I suggest you stop accusing me of something I did not do since I am returning the books right now," you scoffed at him as you waved the book in your other hand to his face.
“You dare... You dare to question my authority in my own realm?” he replied icily. That sentence alone sent shivers to your spine, so you decided to step back to get away from him. He seems to sense what you were doing so he just moved forward to close the distance. You tried walking backward to create more space, but suddenly you felt a wall, that seemed to magically appear, behind your back. There is no space for you to run now since the two of you were sandwiched between bookshelves and there’s a damned wall behind you.
The man in black is now towering over you, hands still behind his back, and his cold stare regarding you from beneath a wild mess of dark hair. He told you earlier ago that he was the King of Dreams. You have read about his existence in novels and fiction, but you never believed that he existed. But with this encounter, you are starting to believe that he is real, and he has definitely a talent for intimidating people.
“Wait, wait…” you scrambled to your feet, gripping the books in your arms even tighter. “I am not questioning anything,” you clarified.
His head slants slightly, still staring at you coldly. Right, he is a king. “Uh, my lord,” you lamely added.
“I am just merely borrowing the books and I have no intention of keeping them myself. As you can see, I am returning them back to the library,” you carefully explained.
“How did you enter my palace?” he replied.
“I do not know, really. Uhm, I just slept and then I dreamt about this place and that’s it,” you immediately answered. “And then I saw your library, by the way, it was wonderful. How did you even collect all those books? Oh, and the rare hardcovers! They are so beautiful! I cannot believe you even have some of the unpublished books of my favorite authors how did you do that?” you rambled at him.
His impassive bearing didn’t even flinch or soften. And his eyes— so cold, ancient, and sad, you concluded distantly as you tried to stare back at him, are still staring at you intently as if he can see right through your soul.
“I am sorry for rambling. But, believe me, I just slept, dreamt, and entered here. I do not have bad intentions or plans on stealing anything from you I just want to read the books,” you mumbled awkwardly. “And I am sorry for borrowing them without your permission,” you softly added.
“Do not lie to me, book thief,” he replied steadily. “You have been stealing books and entering my palace without me even noticing it. Leave now or I will have you removed,” he continued. He did not even raise his voice or show any expression. He is terrifyingly serene— like a calm ocean whose waves will definitely drown you if angered.
“Borrowing,” you corrected him. “I was just borrowing the books and I am not lying!” you exclaimed at him.
“Do you take me for a fool? Return the books now and leave. Do not make me banish you,” he told you, still expressionless, serene, and terrifying.
“I swear I just want to read the books,” you retort weakly as he starts to walk away from you.
“Can I have a question before I go?” you hopefully asked. He paused mid-turn, not speaking. He did not answer you, but you took this opportunity to ask him a question. If he wants you to leave, then you will gladly comply. But he must answer the question that has been boggling your mind first before he kicks you out of his palace.
“Do you hate me?” you asked him, hopeful of an answer. “If you are truly the Lord of Dreams, then why… why did you plagued me with nightmares?” you continued, your voice almost breaking as you tried your best not to cry.
His stoic countenance flinched for a brief second, his pale stare snapping at you as he looked back.
“This dream is over,” he told you, instead of answering your question. In a brief second, you are sent back to the waking world, your chest heaving as you gasp for air. You tried to sit upright in your bed to calm yourself and breathe properly. Your gaze went in the direction of your phone that is ringing loudly and you begrudgingly turned the alarm off.
“Book thief?” you scoffed, as you get out of your bed and recount the events that happened last night. “Then I shall call you an asshole,” you told to yourself. After that encounter, you are convinced that the King of Dreams and Ruler of Nightmare Realm definitely hates you and that you hated him too.
A/N: Here's another Morpheus fic that no one asked for! Part 2 is coming soon. Also, requests are open so you could send some of your requests and I will try my best to write them. For now, enjoy this fic, hope you like it! ♥
dream of the endless you’re such a mr darcy variant