ext_2314: (introspection in weird moments)
[identity profile] thedeadparrot.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] parrotfic
Title:Natural Blues
Fandom: FMA/Sandman crossover
Pairing: a dash of Roy/Hughes
Feedback: Yes, please. I want to revise this (a lot) more, but I don't feel like I have a strong sense of how everything is working, so please feel free to be critical. (and correct anything that doesn't make any sense.)
Summary: Roy meets an interesting someone in the desert.
Notes: I guess this kinda fits as an AU interlude between the two parts of Masters of War. The Roy here is very much the same.


It is quiet during the day, and today, the air hums with something he can almost taste. Roy takes off his jacket, leaves it on a bench somewhere. The sun dips low in the sky, and in the distance, he thinks he can smell the sand melting on the horizon (even though he knows that's not it, that's not it at all).

A hand covers his and whispers something in his ear, and there are fingers and teeth and hair, and it's all mixed up together. He can remember the eyes the child he burned today, the smell of the families that he has killed, and the thoughts weigh heavy on his heart.

I'm tired, he says, though he can't hear himself speak, and the things blend together, all together. He remembers what it was like to be at the edge of giving up, where all he could see in front of him was blackness. He thinks he can feel it now, dark tendrils curling at the edge of his vision.

He thinks he was walking. From somewhere to somewhere. Maes was here, a second ago, he thinks, but he's not here right now. And there is only emptiness in his place. Sand, he thinks, shifting.

He is walking, he realizes, suddenly. He has been walking across the desert, and he does not know where he is.

There is a speck on the edge of the dune in front of him, and he realizes that it's a man cloaked in black, dark hair, pale skin, empty eyes, but this does not bother Roy, for some reason, any reason.

Who are you, he asks, though his voice sounds dry and parched and raw. He sees that the eyes were not empty at all, but are something else, something different.

Who I am does not concern you, the man says, and his voice sounds as if it were coming from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. I am the lord of this realm, he says, and that is enough.

There was someone with me, Roy says. I don't remember.

The man does not smile, but there are hints of amusement in his not-eyes. He will be joining you soon enough, he says.

Roy laughs, and it rasps hard against his throat. He does not know why he's laughing.

The man holds out a glass of water that wasn't there before (and yet was always there) and Roy takes it thankfully, feels the cool liquid slide down his throat.

Thank you, he says.

You do not need to thank me, Roy Mustang, he says, and that makes complete sense to Roy, even though it shouldn't.

How did you know my name, he asks.

I know the names of all those who are in the Dreaming, and you are mine as you are not that of any of my siblings'. You dream, Roy Mustang, and you are mine.

The sun has dipped below the horizon, and they are lit by the light of the stars. Roy wants his jacket all of sudden, but it's not there.

I want, Roy says, because he wants to explain himself, though he does not know how to put it in words, because it's not just about the jacket. It's about something more than that. I want to..., he says, but there are no words for it, the dream, things that he sees when he closes his eyes. There are no words to describe the twisting, pushing feeling at the pit of his stomach. The way he wants to bend and shape the world.

The man smiles, thin and bare. I know, he says. You do not need to tell me.

Roy nods. That makes sense too. But sometimes it's not enough, he says, pleads. Sometimes I don't think it's worth it.

A raven lands on the man's shoulder and it looks as though it wants to say something, but it doesn't. Why not, the man asks.

It's just a stupid dream, Roy says and buries his face in his hands. He thinks he should be more tired than he is.

There's a flash in the other man's eyes that might almost be anger. Nothing has been accomplished without a dream, he says, and nothing will be accomplished without one. Do not forget that, Roy Mustang. There is no foolishness in dreaming.

His eyes flash again, but there is none of the anger this time. Turn back, the man says, and your companion shall find you again.

As Roy turns around and starts walking, he can still hear the man's voice. Do not forget, he is saying, do not forget that you dream, and that you should not despair, and that death will not take you before your time.

Something shimmers and fades all around him, and the memories slip from his mind.

A hand is on his shoulder, heavy and comfortable, as Roy is shaken awake. He is laying face first on the sand, and it has gotten everywhere, in his shirt, his hair, his mouth, his eyes.

You shouldn't sleep like that, Maes says, laugh in his voice, and Roy leans up to kiss him softly. It's barely there, a brush of lips on lips, but it's still comforting, in its own way.

Bad dream, Maes asks, concern tugging at the edges of his eyes.

No, Roy says. The opposite, I think.

He looks into the morning sky, and there are no clouds, and there is no rain.

And he dreams.


FIN.

Date: 2006-04-19 11:42 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] inane-nana.livejournal.com
wow. beatutiful. I know absolutely nothing of Sandman, and am sure I would appreciate it even more than I do now if I had, but that fic was absolutely great. I really like how you convey Roy's perceptions while he dreams, how things just make sense, when really, they shouldn't. Gorgeous. I'm now adding Sandman in my ' must see' list. ^^

Really nicely done.

Date: 2006-04-21 04:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] inane-nana.livejournal.com
Hmm. Looks like the school's library have the first five volumes, and your summary got me curiouser, so here I am requesting those books. Now, to find the time to actually read the books will be a different story, but I just couldn't help myself. :)
It'll help me understand the situation better when you write the Hughes/Death fic. ^^

Date: 2006-04-22 02:16 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lorei.livejournal.com
Hughes and Death would get along so well :D

Nice fic, I'm not a big fan of cross-overs but the Sandman works with everything ^^

Date: 2006-04-21 02:16 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lizardqueen13.livejournal.com
ok that last sentence was sooo Neil Gaiman. XDDD

beautiful job, and do work on the Hughes/Death fic too.

Date: 2006-04-21 09:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] chiharu-octavia.livejournal.com
OmfrigginG.

That was SO PRETTY that I can't even SPEAK. ;__; I LOVE Sandman, and I read it all the way through to the end. I was so unhappy when it stopped. >_< And this... oh, gee whiz, you wrote it just like Mr Gaiman would. You're SO AWESOME. @_@

And hey... what's this about Hughes and Death? Omg nuuu~! And yet... yes. XD She's so sweet and nice, and I want Maes to feel better about what has to happen. x_x

As for Roy being Dream's... well, he's only Dream's for that moment. I think he belongs more to Destruction at that point. And ah, it's the old Dream! Not the new one!

I wonder what Daniel would say about that... XD

Lovely, anyhow, absolutlely deliciously lovely.

Date: 2006-04-21 11:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cosmicbiscuit.livejournal.com
YES! Someone else writing this sort of crossover!

::ahem::

The only iffy thing about it is that I rather expected Dream to be more...I dunno...tired? 'Cause, if I remember my timelines right, Roy's involvement in Ishbal was roughly 1907ish, and Dream's been captured by Burgess by 1913. I dunno, just a small little nitpick. Other than that, I absolutely loved the pacing of the story, and how Roy was the sort of incredulously matter of fact that you can only get when you realize you're dreaming.

Date: 2006-04-22 12:20 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cosmicbiscuit.livejournal.com
Well, in the actual series, he talks (and the narrator talks) about how he'd been exhausted by some huge somethingorother that was never explained in the series, and that was the only reason Burgess was able to capture him to begin with. So I figured he would either be just finishing the exhausting thing at the time he met Roy, or still in the middle of it. Either way would be massively draining.
(deleted comment)

Date: 2006-04-22 02:48 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cosmicbiscuit.livejournal.com
It's a possibility, but unlikely, considering that there had been large-scale wars, massacres, and falls of empires in the centuries before that, sometimes taking place at the same time, with no mention of it ever having had an adverse effect on Dream. The books list him as returning back from a far off galaxy at the time of his capture, and having been 'tired beyond reckoning and tried beyond all endurance'. Given how many worlds and universes the Dreaming is tied to, I doubt that WWI would have been enough to trigger the sort of exhaustion described.

(And I admit a mistake, Burgess captured Dream in 1916, not 1913)

Date: 2006-04-22 02:54 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] megkips.livejournal.com
(It's okay. I thought I had totally messed up the WWI date, and that it happened in the 20s, hence the deleted post. And you know, that's really bad, considering I have a perfect 100 in my history class.)

That is a really good point, but the mythos doesn't say that such things haven't happened before. (Or did they? It's been a while since I've read the books. I've been reading Fables and Y: The Last Man lately.)

The point about the varied worlds is a really good point too. It might have been a 'supply and demand' sort of deal perhaps. Gaiman was always ambigous about that.

Also, out of curiosity, have you read The Sandman Papers? It's a new publication with collections of various essays about the themes in Sandman. I flipped through it today and it looks really good.

Date: 2006-04-22 03:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cosmicbiscuit.livejournal.com
I'd seen it in B&N, but I'm waiting for my next paycheck before I nab a copy for myself.

Date: 2006-04-22 04:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] megkips.livejournal.com
I'll probably see if I can get it a little cheaper at Comicon in June myself. I spent a while spazzing at Hanging Out with the Dream King. I mean, original pencil sketches for the art in Dream Hunters. So. Pretty.

Date: 2006-04-21 11:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tomiko-the-muse.livejournal.com
Very hinteresting. I think it works very well. Isn't it typical of Roy to dislike dreaming because nothing can be accomplished in them? Ever the ambitious one.

Date: 2006-04-22 12:22 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] evil-kat.livejournal.com
aw, I love it!!

I love Sandman. It's my favorite comic everrrrr, and yOu've done this beautifully.

Date: 2006-04-22 01:37 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] megkips.livejournal.com
1. SANDMAN LOVE! YESH!
2. You captured the style used for the dreaming sequences very well, especially in comparing it to vol. 1 of Sandman.
3. I'd really like to see more from you. I fully support FMA/Gaiman.

Crap, you've reminded me that I need more Sandman LJ icons. The Lucifer ones whore up my icon space.

Date: 2006-04-23 02:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] megkips.livejournal.com
*nod* It's hard to imitate Gaiman's style. I've managed to imitate the style of Hellblazer's Dangerous Habits for a fanfic with Havoc, but that's the extent of my abilities.

That would be because John Constantine is hot. Speaking of which, I must say I love your icon as well. (omg! A Hellblazer fan in the FMA fandom? I thought I was the only one.) Which therefore begs me to ask, do you read Lucifer?

Date: 2006-04-23 02:44 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] megkips.livejournal.com
Mmm. Comic book John. I can't take movie John seriously anymore after watching it with a friend. We made some of the most obnoxious commentary EVER watching that. ("Oh my god, Hell. Not very impressive, eh?" "Looks more like Mexico." "OH MY GOD, MEXICO!")

I'll check that out right now. Squee, Hellblazer and FMA!

I happen to LOVE the Lucifer series, but I'm also a huge theology dork. I'd recommend checking the scans out on [livejournal.com profile] scans_daily. Almost all of the Lucifer entries are tagged (http://community.livejournal.com/scans_daily/tag/lucifer). Helpfully, someone's done summaries for all the trade paperbacks, so you should be able to get a good taste of what to expect. Lucifer also has some of the most gorgeous cover art I've ever seen.I'm also a hopeless Lucifer/Mazikeen shipper. >_>

Date: 2006-04-23 02:46 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] megkips.livejournal.com
Also, Death and Destiny show up in the Lucifer series, in volumes 4 and 8 of the trade paperbacks. And Death vs Lucifer is funny to read.

Date: 2006-04-22 04:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kudo-kid.livejournal.com
I like it!

and a Hughes/Death crossover fic... O.o The world might be doomed... no, that would be Hughes/Delirium...

I need to get the series...

Date: 2006-04-22 07:27 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cornerofmadness.livejournal.com
i've never been much on crossovers but I couldn't pass on Sandman. I loved that comic. You definitely captured the feel of Morpheus. This was fun

Date: 2006-04-23 02:52 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cornerofmadness.livejournal.com
He is. I tried once many years ago with him but I couldn't get him right.

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