𝐄𝐗𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒, 𝐄𝐗𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒, 𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒 𝐐𝐔𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒.

All sentences here are taken from different medias about exes with complicated feelings, exes that are still lovers, jealousy, complicated feelings and the game of chase and catch. You can change names, pronouns, locations and more as you see fit. Some of these are suggestive and others are a little foul, so beware.

Every time I thought to, I wrote about you.

Actually, I hadn’t thought of her for a long time.

Are you waiting for your lover? Do you know that's the only reason anyone comes to a place like this in the middle of the night?

Is that why you're here?

You can go pick another spot. I found this one first.

If you hadn't stolen my bride away in the night, I would not have been forced to take such drastic measures to get her back.

What do you want? An apology? For me to crawl back into your bed and play nice, little wife?

Why should I want spoiled goods returned to me?

You're gone and you left me. My heart has dissipated. The only thing I can feel is the blood rushing through my veins and the strings that hold my fragile heart together.

When you truly love someone, it doesn't go away.

I don't want to forget what we had.

Everything is moving so fast. Before long everyone we know will be scattered across the country, the world even. 

Have I lost you love?

Why would she wear a dress like that? Is she doing it just to torture me?

You need to change clothes now. Everyone is looking at you.

You don’t control what I wear or who I wear it to.

For someone who looks after hearts, you can be careless. You know you broke mine, don't you?

You can't hold on to things just because of the memories.

Yes, I made the mistake of falling in love with a man without any feelings.

You're with him?

You’ve always enjoyed people fighting for you.

The best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.

I will never blame Barry for falling in love with you but I will blame him for considering himself eligible.

Don’t torture me any more, I can’t stand it.

Whatever there is between you two I don’t want to know about it.

Just shut up. I need to not to think and you need to think less. We need this.

He is in love with you. I read the fucking letters.

Where the hell have you been?

I don’t need your permission.

Oh, but I do care and you do need my permission. You’ve become very forgetful, my sweet—I’m your husband, remember? Take off your clothes.

I’m jealous, and I find the feeling not only novel, but singularly unpleasant.

Do you love her?

You pushed me away.

Do you want me then, to deceive and entrap you?

It often gives a lady a pleasure to giver her lover a pang.

You're jealous because I actually go after what I want, and I get it.

I'm afraid my jealousy is a beast I find difficult to tame.

I’m not obsessed with her.

It is possible to care about a woman without wanting to bed her.

If girls could spit venom, it'd be through their eyes.

She's a fucking rat trying to humiliate a queen...She's nothing.

That's none of your concern.

I'd like to know who's been giving rings to my council.

But just out of curiosity, how do you feel about getting my name tattooed on your forehead?

You don’t need to worry about Reece.

You are doing all of this on purpose. To get a rise out of me.

Perhaps it bothers you that I am not longer yours to keep and play with.

I chose not to follow your advice. Ned is a very nice person. Handsome, personable—a perfect escort.

Fuckin' my man in my bed. You got some goddamn nerve, girl.

I know you'd react negatively if I approached a make. You're... possessive.

Sugar, I'm way past possessive.

You like jealousy. You like knowing people want you.

I don't get jealous, I get even.

I am not yours. I stopped being yours, you have no right to keep me away from others.

It has been years since you seen me and you still behave like this.

She is my girlfriend, I can do whatever I want to her. 

You know my heart, It’s yours. But I’m done.

I want you to be in my arms again. I don’t think I can live without you.

Every day is hard and the nights are so cold without you here. 

Don’t look away. Look me in the eyes and tell me you no longer feel anything for me. That you don’t think of me. 

This is the reason I need to go away. I can’t be around someone I can never have. 

I am over you, but my heart is still under the spell of the relationship that was. I miss you.

You’re still my person, even if I’m not yours.

I have seen you give him looks and smiles this very night, such as you never give to—me.

I don’t mind you think of someone else, soon I will be the only one in your mind.

Do not worry, I will make you forget everything and everyone. 

This is your punishment, for your little trick tonight. 

You have to stop doing this. Bring me to your bed, making me want you. 

Realistically, Ned knew that he couldn't drag Edward back to his horde and keep him there for all time. Not only was it simply not feasible given his horde's location in Shadowfell, but he also imagined his boy would not be nearly as sweet after being locked away with nothing for entertainment but Ned and treasures.

Though Ned would keep him entertained. Mm, a lifetime of fucking his greatest prize atop his piles of gold, skulls of his enemies, and treasures of magnificent history sounded wonderful. Hm. No. Not feasible, no matter how lovely it sounded.

Ned couldn't bring Edward to his horde, but he could bring his horde to Edward. His boy already had jewels, finery, and artifacts galore from Ned, but Ned wanted more, a claim far more visceral even if most didn't realize. Other dragons would realize. Other dragons would know Edward was owned, was horde and not to be touched unless they wanted to face Ned's wrath.

A roll of his eyes at Edward's words, busily straightening the finely crafted, beautifully embroidered under armor on their body. Of course, it didn't look like any sort of armor, but the soft fabric was heavily enchanted with protection runes and vitality enhancements. Amused, he murmured, "Hush, love, this isn't even the great gift I've been bragging of."

Content with the way the fabric had settled over Edward's form, he turned away, reaching behind a silken changing screen to pull the armor stand out of hiding. Mouth pulling into a smirk, he pushed it closer to Edward, settling his chin upon the shoulder blade of the armor. "This is the gift I've been bragging of."

Upon the stand, an armor unlike any other: sleek, surprisingly light, near entirely black excluding a series of shining gemstones encrusted for decoration. He imagined Edward might not have seen a set of armor like this ever before - not many had. Thick scalloped iridescent black plates of various differing sizes all woven together to make a cohesive piece of protection that no blade or arrow could pierce without serious effort.

Perhaps one of the rarest things in the entirety of Faerun: dragon scale armor.

"It's powerful." Ned preened, bragging by proxy of his own abilities, imbued within the scales of the armor, "Wearing it, you'll have high resistence to necrotic damage and complete immunity to fire damage. And you'll gain increased stealth in the shadows - with increased resistance to nearly all damage types while you're hidden away." He tried to control himself, but he knew his grin was mostly teeth, was perhaps unsettling, but there was something deeply satisfying, primal, purring in his chest at the thought of Edward adorned in his scales, claimed as his, "It's nonmagical, but tell me what you wish to imbue it with and I shall enchant it myself or find a master enchanter to do the deed if I cannot."

𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐘 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐁𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐆𝐈𝐅𝐓, 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐃 & 𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐈𝐌. soft fabric of a sort he had never felt before, that carried a certain, stunning sheen to it. it was plush and a deep plum in colour, complimenting their own natural skin tone beautifully. it was inlaid with intricate patterns woven of gold, the magic of which was imbued to protect him. there was a comforting sense of warmth and vitality the moment he donned the material. a generous gift by its own right, as had been the various jewelries and trinkets ned had bestowed them with of late.

but there was more. something edward could hardly believe real when they first laid eyes upon it. ❛ ned, what ❜ words began in a breathless rush as they drank in the sight. the other's voice rolled in like a fog, heard but hardly processed. he was plenty distracted by admiring the craftsmanship, the power, the aura of the armour before him. a half step forward, taken absentmindedly, as if drawn toward it without thought.

❛ do i like it? what kind of a question's that, ❜ disbelief and gusty laughter in their tone as ned settled in behind him. they melted into his touch on instinct, soothed by his very presence as they leaned back into the solid weight of his chest. a hand rose to touch, fingertips grazing gently over the spiked tip of a pauldron, catching on sharp, angular scales. his palm settled atop its shoulder, thumb grazing a path along the ridge of its collar. it was oddly warm beneath their touch, and seemed to grow hotter still where their hand made contact.

it was a dark shade, black as pitch. so much that ed felt like he might fall into its depths if he leaned too close, though the temptation to do so was too strong to ignore. ❛ ned, it's fucking gorgeous ! of course i love it, thank you. ❜ they turned with some reluctance, unwilling to drag their eyes from the stunning piece, but able to do so in gratitude. arms flung round the other's neck at once, clutching at his nape and drawing him in close as their lips met in a surge of passion. a pleased little sound breathed into ned's mouth as they licked their way inside, slow and deep, sighing with content. he pressed flush, eager, and only broke the kiss when his lungs burned for air.

❛ yes, i want to try it on ! hells, i'm never gonna want to take it of. ❜ the slow curl of a smirk found his lips as he cradled ned's face in their palms. ❛ guess you'll just have to fuck me in it. ❜ they stole another swift kiss and withdrew to face the armour once more.

It was an understatement to say Ned was feeling high strung, perhaps a bit panicked. Of all the cracks in the universe they could have fallen through, of course this accident had to lead them directly into Shadowfell. One of the only realms that would actively harm his comrades by sheer existence of them being within its bounds.

He'd unthinkingly ushered them along to his horde, well hidden and well protected from all but those who had Ned's invitation - which, to his surprise, was apparently every member of this little party of oddities. He wasn't certain when that happened, but it wasn't something to examine now, not when he was considering the best way to plane shift back to Faerun.

It didn't help that he had to flip between considering that difficult conundrum and smacking Silver's thieving hands away from the rarest of treasures in his horde - the bastard had unerring sense for which gold chalice was a gold chalice and which gold chalice was a priceless one of a kind magical artifact. And it wasn't even the thief alone that was filling his pockets with Ned's horde, despite his contentions that it was unwise to steal from a dragon's horde, that it could result in their entire party being hunted by a dragon, he only got laughed off and waved away.

Reckless, arrogant creatures. He hated them all.

Problem at hand. He had to focus on the problem at hand. He could shift planes himself, but he'd never brought others along with him. He had no doubt he had the power to do it, but the question was whether he could explain it away. He found it unlikely that lesser beings like high elves could manage it, so how could he explain such an ability without giving away his true nature? Perhaps he could - -abruptly, he was jarred completely from his thoughts by Edward's words.

Edward liked his horde.

"Really?" he blurted, trying to hide his unexplainable pleasure and failing spectacularly, all but preening with it - he hadn't had such problems regulating himself and his emotions since he was a juvenile, many, many centuries ago. Yet, Hlal, draconic goddess of tricks and pleasure, seemed to have cursed him to turn the fool around his boy.

𝐄𝐃𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑𝐒 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍, 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐍 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐋𝐘. stranded in a foreign plane, hostile to them all by nature, without an obvious means of return. they all ought to have been terrified, or in the very least wary of safe havens filled to the brim with riches and all manner of pretty things. a hideout that seemed entirely too good to be true ; an obvious dragon's hoard. but only ned among them seemed to hold any reservations.

but it was difficult for edward to remain on guard in this place, stunning as it was. so terribly beautiful that it disarmed him a moment upon entering, and the feeling of awe hadn't left since. in fact, it only seemed to settle deeper. an odd sense of calm and belonging that made a home in their lungs, their heart, seeped into their very bone marrow. sleek, shimmering walls of dark stone that appeared nigh on iridescent in the glow of jackie's dancing lights cantrip. they illuminated the space and caught on sharp, natural gemstones within the stone itself, throwing the space into glittering, ethereal light.

the thought of pocketing treasure had occurred to him, certainly. but for the moment, he was more caught up by the impressive array of skulls lining the walls as clearly prized trophies. what a powerful beast must live here, to have taken so many trophies.

they couldn't help but express their feeling of kinship, and it was ned who whirled round in surprise. he looked ... oddly pleased. perhaps at the reminder that ed too fancied the dark and deathly. a grin broke out across his face, broad and bright with a flash of sharp canines, as he was crowned. ❛ mm, you think so? ❜ they too sounded pleased, as they adjusted the circlet in place and admired his own reflection in the jagged plane of a inlaid jewel at the wall. ❛ maybe i'll stay here while the rest of you cowards tuck tail an' run. ❜ a tease, to be sure, though his temptation to remain was obvious. ❛ if this is a dragon's hoard, they have good taste. maybe they'd think me pretty enough to join their collection. ❜

he stepped over to a skull, huge and hulking, it's gaping maw lined with teeth nearly as long as edward was tall. perhaps a tarrasque? a hum of approval slipped from him as a palm dragged cross the crest of its brow. ❛ how fearsome they must be ... ❜ muttered to themself alone, beneath their breath. thumb caught at the tip of a tooth. still sharp, it cut and drew blood, but they were undeterred.

Feeling the magic of Jack's spell washing over him, hopefully washing away his bubbles, tentative, he spoke, "I had better never hear a story from you about this." Ned warned, relieved when the words actually came out instead of bubbles.

A shake of his head, offering Jack a half hearted glare and grumbling, "I wish I could tell you what is happening to me." A sigh, "My magic has been acting...odd, as of late. Casting extra spells that I don't know. My hands going skeletal. Now the bubbles. It is almost like wild magic surges, but that only happens to children, and even then those usually only happen to sorcerers, not wizards." Magic users who just stumbled their way into magic, not those who actually studied and practiced.

Let alone fucking dragons.

By Tiamat, Ned could just imagine the ridicule he'd receive from any other dragon if they heard of this situation. It wasn't as if he was some mad mercurial dragon or even a trickster faerie dragon. This ridiculous chaos wasn't supposed to happen to him.

Still, he'd take advantage of this moment - with Jack here to oversee, perhaps he could do some testing before the others awoke. Leaning back, he reached into his bag, flipping out a dagger and casting green-flame blade, wreathing it in sickly fire. Tentative, he spoke, "The effects seem random." No bubbles, thankfully - and seemingly no effect at all. "Perhaps it is only spells, not cantrips." he acknowledged, letting the flame extinguish.

Thankfully, he had at least one spell that wouldn't be a total waste to use at the current moment. Reaching back into his bag, he gathered materials, casting find familiar and summoning Desdemona, the raven landing upon his shoulder in a flurry of feathers. "And yet, it isn't every spell. I simply don't understand it." Frustration obvious, since no obvious effects had happened from that spell.

𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐋 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐍𝐄𝐔𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐋, 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐂. truly, he did. unfortunately for ned, he'd truly had it coming. the idea of such a practiced mage with a perpetual stick up his ass devolving into wild magic surges ... well, they couldn't have written a better tale of poetic justice than that.

a grin broke out cross their face, unable to keep it at bay. they flipped their quill and flicked the feathered end over the tip of ned's nose. ❛ stumped, are you? oh, isn't that adorable. ❜ pitched high and needling with another teasing little flick before he let it drop the quill, but certainly not the topic. the feather tapped to his own chin once, twice in thought. a contemplative hum as they listened, mulled it over, and nodded. gaze flit cross the wizard's features, searching for any hint of illness or lingering aura.

eyes met with desdemona's briefly as they stroked the back of a single digit down the back of her head. ❛ hello darling, aren't you lovely this morning, ❜ purred in greeting to the creature before returning to the task at hand.

❛ well, i'd imagine a curse of sorts could amount to something of this ... unique nature, ❜ another twitch at the corner of their mouth, but a true bout of chuckles was stifled. certainly not for their friend's sake : ned would receive more ribbing later. but for the moment, his own inquisitive and intellectual nature were piqued. ❛ something attached to an item, perchance? did you pick up any mysterious bounty in our last little dungeon dive? or a misguided gift from your pretty little tiefling? ❜

a pause, then, for the sake of airing out possibilities, jack shrugged. ❛ i've also heard tell of bouts of sporadic spell surges in times of personal conflict or heightened emotion. ❜ an idle thought, tossed out to join the fray. no sooner had it left his tongue did jack hear more stirrings in their periphery. edward seemed to have awoken, no doubt having felt their bedroll gone cold without the presence of his lover. well, one of them anyhow.

ed made his way out from ned's tent, still half asleep and barely half decent. clad in nothing more than a black satin lounge robe cinched at the waist and inlaid with intricate golden patterns ; far too fine a thing for the wilderness and for their possession at all. stolen from ned, naturally, and a bit too short because of it. his long, dark mop of hair fell in a mess over one shoulder, still very much bedheaded. he emerged rubbing the sluggish tiredness from his eyes and yawning. a flash of sharp canines in the process.

❛ mornin', ❜ their voice came out low and scratchy, still rough with sleep. ❛ mm, what? now i don't even get a wakeup kiss before you're rushing out here to gossip? rude. ❜ ed was always most romantic, most clingy, in the mornings, before they'd truly woken up and allowed their hackles to raise back up. though, even that had been less and less lately, for all the group but especially jack and ned. even now, he stepped over to the two spellcasters and snaked an arm about the wizard's waist. head tipped, chin resting atop his shoulder with a little blown kiss to desdemona and a sweet murmured greeting to her. then, they pressed a lingering kiss to ned's cheek. ❛ what're you two doing, anyway? ❜

Letting the tiefling run out of steam, rant himself quiet, "Are you quite finished?" he drolled, and, not waiting for an answer, tugged Edward down into his lap, taking out his knee with the foot hooked round his calf and dragging him forward with the suddenly biting grip on his hip. Free hand reaching up, curling in their hair, and pulling, Edward's head tilting back at a near painful angle.

"Apologies, my patience waned. You always say the same things when you whine at me. Pretentious, arrogant, etcetera, etcetera." Ned sighed, almost lazily leaning forward to lick a stripe up Edward's throat before continuing, "Lie to me all you like, but don't lie to yourself - you only came here tonight for one reason and it wasn't to complain at me." Hand moving from their hip, he curled their ever so content little tail around his forearm, once, twice, hand settling low near the base, grip tight, "Enough having a temper tantrum. It's time to be a good boy." Dragging Edward's head forward by the hair until he could smash their mouths together, instantly pushing his way inside, tongue laying claim to the delicious taste of the boy once again.

He had intended to let Edward come to him, give in and asked to be fucked, as he had the first time, but he hadn't been lying - his patience had waned. It was one thing to draw out the moments of pleasure when he had Edward's face twisted up in ecstasy before him, another thing entirely when they were still playing cat and mouse.

Drawing back from the kiss after a long moment, leaving them both breathless, he hummed, "Yet, in the nature of fairness, I suppose it best I air my grievances in return, no? You're a prideful boy with more stubbornness than sense. You're constantly insulting to me, your better, when you should be showering me with respect and praise." A tsk, disappointed, "Always acting the bad boy, when you're so much sweeter good."

Ned would have loved to speak, loved to snap back - hells, would have loved to have responded to Jack's cheerful little greeting with something other than a sullen glare and avoid their snippy little retort

Did he even attempt to share the ignominy of what had happened to him, first thing come this morning? Surely, his issue was likely gone by now, but he still had no explanation as to why it happened in the first place. See, Ned had experienced a difficult morning. While he was rather accustomed to 'roughing it' now - which was embarrassing enough - Ned had woken up early, crawled out from under Edward's arm and cast a small little ritual spell to purify them all some drinking water. An easy spell. Child's play. And yet, something had happened.

He'd been looking at Edward as he casted - again, simple spell which needed none of his attention - amused by the way his mouth was dropped open wide in sleep, eyeing the sharp glint of his teeth with interest, mentally preparing what tease he'd throw the boy's way about the state of his bedhead - the very beginnings of a smile pulling at the corner of Ned's mouth. And the spell had gone off without a hitch, Ned knew that much. It was after that was a problem.

It was when he went to go wake Edward, opened his mouth to speak, when he couldn't say a word, and instead just an oh so adorable little array of pink bubbles burst out of his mouth instead of speech. He'd clapped a hand over his mouth in an instant, mortified, but thankfully, Edward was still asleep and none others close enough to see.

It was magic, and he suspected it was his own magic, as much as he'd prefer it to be some foolish little practical joke by one of the others. Yet, it wasn't the first time something odd had happened with his casting. He'd casted mirror image after blighting a bounty hunter that had the audacity to go after Edward yesterday - a useful spell, certainly, but also a spell he didn't know. The day before that, casting his tower into existence so that he could finally have another night alone with Edward in opulence, the act had left his hands skeletal. Only quickly shoving them into his sleeves had hidden them from the others, and blessedly, they'd returned to normal after a minute.

The point was something was happening to Ned's magic.

He was the epitome of control. That shouldn't be possible. He was going to figure out what was happening and fix it before he gave anyone reason to question his abilities. This was a fluke. It hadn't happened ever before in centuries of life and it was not going to continue. It simply wasn't.

Knowing he needed to somehow respond to Jack and certain that his bubble problem had faded quickly now just as the skeletal hands had before, Ned said, "I'm always cranky compared to your obnoxiously chipper self." Or rather, he would have said that if there weren't pink bubbles floating in front of his face instead.

𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆. 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐄𝐃, 𝐈𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐋, with a tent as crowded as theirs. he'd been sharing with charles more often than not lately, shunting a rather grumpy anne from his side, but their brother didn't seem to hold the same courtesy. at least, not when he was pouting and brooding about edward sharing a tent with their resident necromancer. of course, with that lovable oaf barging his way in, anne would hardly suffer being ousted, and had ended up right back in their midst.

thus, he'd untangled himself from the pile of limbs overtop him and risen with the sun, tired but cheery enough. the night's chill certainly hadn't touched them, at least.

they were perched atop a fallen log by the still-smouldering remnants of a campfire by the time ned emerged, looking worse for wear. a quick glance, and jack chalked it up to the telltale exhaustion of a night well spent. but then ... a double take had him instantly questioning that assessment ; men who had spent their evening getting off with a pretty little thing like edward tended not to look quite so put out come morning. not unless they'd had a fight, that is.

jack had made the comment idly and expected little more than some arrogant retort. in fact, they hadn't even bothered to look up from their lute, still tuning the instrument and plucking away at taut strings in the beginnings of a sweet little melody, when ned turned their way. it was the silence that alerted them to something amiss, more than anything. hells, they'd already been crafting their own retort and were ready for a lovely bit of back and forth. when nothing came, he looked up just in time to see a slew of pink bubbles floating idly about ned's face, before they popped and he was left dumbfounded.

❛ oh, that's just perfect. ❜ they couldn't begin to mask the delight from their tone, nor did he try. the sheer dismay on ned's face said everything : those bubbles were not some attempt at a joke, they were certainly not intentional, and they were not unexpected. jack's lips curled slow to a telling smirk, lute practically tossed aside and all but forgotten in favour of drama.

he rose from his perch at once and approached the wizard. ❛ having some troubles, are we? a bout of performance anxiety, perhaps? my, my, how terribly frustrating that must be. ❜ their words were commiserating, but their tone was anything but. perhaps he ought to hold more concern for his friend's safety, or for that of the crew's with a primary spellcaster compromised. but such concerns paled in comparison to gossip. ❛ or, did some spell of yours backfire? oh darling, how embarrassing. ❜ laughter clung to their tone, even as jack approached and drew a quick illusory sigil in the air between them with the tip of his quill.

So many years of marriage, of endless love and affection, of unshakeable trust had mellowed Jack's most volatile tempers, but there was still a kindle of fire in his chest at the thought of Ed with that man - making him feel like a jealous boy again. He exhaled slowly, snuffed the flame to an ember. By the time Ed returned to the cabin, Jack was settled himself, just waiting for their return to check in on them.

If he'd had doubts before, now Jack was certain Ed had jumped ship over to the Rose Pink. His expression was odd, not something Jack could completely place - a surprise, given how well they knew one another - but then, Ed had always been odd around Low. Those big brown eyes were flat, so cold they almost looked lifeless, and that more than anything prompted him to comment.

Ed moved almost like a ghost, disconnected and detached, each move almost mechanical. Concern welled up unbidden, disliking it immensely in his normally so vivacious, full of life husband. He had to wonder what Low had said to get under his skin again after all these years - wonder if Low had ever really left or had just been an ever present shadow they both ignored for too long.

"He's alive?" Jack asked evenly, noting the bloody knife with a passive sort of interest. Killed now, killed later, Low was a dead man walking. He just needed to know if they had to contend with a pissed off Flint come the morrow. Still, he didn't really care right now. More concerned for Eddie's state, and after a moment, added, "No judgement if not. You deserve that kill more than most."

𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂, 𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐂𝐊 𝐁𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 & 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆. some terrible sensation thrummed beneath their skin. it made him feel restless, itching, uncomfortable in their own body. he needed to get the shirt off his back, to bathe in boiling water, to flay himself alive and get that feeling out for good. maybe slitting ned's throat tomorrow would help, but they somehow doubted it. somehow knew the hot spray of blood on their face would replay in their mind en loop til their own grave.

❛ he's alive, ❜ echoed in that same sort of distant, lifeless cadence. they heard their own voice like it came from underwater. only jack's voice was clear, crisp, and cut through the din of their thoughts like a knife. his hand was warm. it soothed that buzzing feeling where their skin met in an instant, even if it persisted elsewhere throughout his body. ed leaned into his calming radius at once and let out a slow breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

one, two squeezes to jack's hand, still joined with theirs. fingers thread together, thumb tracing an idle path back and forth along the other's knuckles. only then did they have the strength to continue. ❛ for another night, at least. ❜ a pause, then, ❛ he wants me to be the one to do it. i promised him i would. ❜ god, it sounded foolish when he said it aloud to someone other than the man in question. how had they let themself be entranced so easily? oh, how willingly had he risen to the promise of violence. maybe ned was right, and that's just who he was after all.

a long moment of silence stretched out between them as he deliberated. eventually, they disentangled their hand from jack's and retreated to their own lap. leaned away and looked down, eyes trained on the dried smear of blood standing out stark against tanned skin. had to withdraw, because he couldn't bear the feel of his husband pulling back from him at the next admission.

DARKNESS HAUNTS YOUR NARRATIVE

UNSETTLING SENTENCE STARTERS FROM VARIOUS SOURCES THAT WILL SEND SHIVERS DOWN YOUR SPINE AND LEAVE AN OMINOUS FEELING LINGERING IN THE ROOM.

CHANGE gendered words and in-universe phrases as needed.

SPECIFY muse for multimuses.

“   I’m deep inside your mind. There is no escape for you. ”

“   You save everyone, but who saves you? ”

“   The power inside of me — it’s terrifying. ”

“   Power belongs to those who take it. ”

“   You’ll be the ruin of me, won’t you? ”

“   You weren’t meant to save the world — you were meant to destroy it. ”

“   You didn’t break me; you built me. All you did was make me ruthless. ”

“   You have no power over me. ”

“   I am terrified by this dark thing that sleeps in me. ”

“   All the greatest loves end in violence. ”

“   I don’t think you’re truly mean. You have sad eyes. ”

“   In theory the prophecy could still come true. ”

“   One day, your empathy is going to get you killed. ”

“   We are masters of our own destiny. ”

“   Never trust a survivor until you find out what they did to survive. ”

“   The horror that you have seen is not who you are. ”

“   A little too much anger, too often or at the wrong time, can destroy more than you would ever imagine. ”

“   Your scars are not your shame; they are your story. ”

“   I will never turn my back on people who need me. ”

“   Isn’t it scary to be ready to die at such a young age? ”

“   Your mind is a weapon. Keep it loaded. ”

“   Are you hearing those voices again? ”

“   It scares me sometimes. The emptiness I see in your eyes. ”

“   You may not be interested in the war, but the war is interested in you. ”

“   Haven’t you taken enough from me? ”

“   You collect scars because you want proof that you are paying for whatever sins you have committed. ”

“   It is okay to be angry. It is never okay to be cruel. ”

“   I hope that what you did to me haunts you. ”

“   The price of freedom is high. It always has been. ”

“   When you talk, I can hear the revolution. ”

“   Do not pretend that you are some meek, pathetic little girl when I can see that vicious mind working behind your eyes. ”

“   Your new life will cost you your old one. ”

“   Watching someone you love suffer can teach you even more than suffering yourself can. ”

“   Some people are in your life to test you ”

“   Fear makes men more dangerous than magic ever could. ”

“   At what point do you think i'll become the wound itself and not simply the bearer? ”

“   We are made of all those who have built and broken us. ”

“   All power demands sacrifice and pain. ”

“   Some things buried deep need to stay that way. ”

“   You and I are going to change the world. ”

“   I wonder which will get you killed faster — your loyalty, or your stubbornness? ”

“   Something’s made your eyes go cold. ”

“   If I am not a weapon, then what am I? ”

“   Your chains are broken, but are you truly free? ”

“   You were alone before they left you. ”

“   You can love a monster, it can even love you back, but that doesn’t change its nature. ”

“   It’s awful not to be loved. It’s the worst thing in the world … it makes you mean, and violent, and cruel ”

“   We can simultaneously be both human and monster. ”

“   I have this strange feeling that I’m not myself anymore. ”

“   You laugh like a little girl and think like a martyr. ”

“   Grief taught me inhumane things. ”

“   You will always be a monster. There is no turning back from it. ”

“   I know there’s a villain, and I’m worried it’s me. ”

“   I can’t stand the bitter thing that I’ve become. ”

“   People will never bleed enough to fulfill your vision of justice. ”