#Orpheus Sandman

[banancrumbs]

calm seas winds alee

[ibrithir-was-here]

Some late night Sandman fluff (and tiny bit of angst) for ya’ll

[butchbarbie-psd]

I made something stoopid

[writing-for-life]

Dream and How He Experiences Love

(Or: When the Unreal is at War with the Real, and Finally Understanding Unconditional Love Tightens the Noose Around Your Neck That Has Been There All Along)

And as always: Send me asks about everything Sandman-related!

Let me start this one with a few adjectives from the horse’s mouth (aka: Neil Gaiman said so 🤣) as to what Dream is actually like:

from: Vertigo Chase Card Set

So in short: This is probably the most accurate way to describe Dream in a nutshell, from the author himself, fully knowing that Murphy doesn’t lend himself well to be described in a nutshell.

And of course it’s absolutely fine if we want to head-canon him just being 5 out of those 50 (or none of them at all)—our stories are our own. At the end of the day, we went through a whole year of Tumblrfication (I might have made up that word), and getting back to the series will be tough. So is trying to align what the current prevalent perception of Dream is like in parts of the fandom, and what he is like in both comics and series (show and comics really aren’t that different where it matters, and I’ll die on that hill). I already worry about the fallout if I look at what happened with GO or OFMD, but that just as an aside.

Anyway, Dream in fandom spaces is often portrayed as either a pathetic wet cat who can’t get to grips with anything and constantly needs rescued in one way or another, or as a completely unfeeling arsehole incapable of relating to the human experience and being horrible all around. There are very few shades of grey in how some fans perceive him, when just the list of above adjectives shows us how complex he is as a character.

One thing that obviously comes up regularly are his relationships, be they romantic or platonic. So I just wanted to draw attention to the adjectives that relate strongly to the relational element in him (although they all apply in one way or another):

touchy, sentimental, cold, loving, [elusive], gentle, hurt, deep, intense, solitary, romantic, shy, intangible, lonely

Dream is the unreal. His way of loving relates very deeply to what stereotypical romantic love is: Romance and reality are a contradiction in terms—romanticism is dreaming because it is, at its very core, an idealised view. The intangible dream that comes back to bite us in the arse once reality sets in. And his flavour of love is the prototype of idealised and intangible (=romantic) and can never be anything else by his very nature.

And I’ve often thought that the way he experiences love is also a large part of why his existence is so difficult for him, and why he ultimately makes the choices he makes. Yes, he detests his function, but if he weren't so lonely (and weren't doomed to be so by his very purpose), he might find it easier to bear.

Let me look at, and draw parallels to, the 7 types of love as the Ancient Greeks perceived them [quick note about the image references: I would have loved to give more, but there is a limit. Also: Apologies I have no alt text for the comic panels at this point, I might add them at a later stage if I find the time]…

Eros

That’s both sexual and romantic love (to varying degrees), and it can be fleeting (like a dream) if not anchored in a less idealised view. So there’s your first cue—he totally experiences that kind of love.

The Ancient Greeks also thought it was a dangerous type of love, one that clouds our judgment and one that won’t last if not combined with some of the other types. And Dream himself knows this and probably relates (he detests his sibling Desire for “meddling”, after all). And yet, he is the intangible, the ungrounded, the unreal.

It’s all over every single one of his relationships we witness:

Killalla—“gifted” by Desire. We never get any cue as to what exactly they were up to, but it can be assumed desire, for whatever, played a large part in their relationship. Killalla makes no secret about it either (and is at the same time uncertain whether she truly loves him while being confused Dream might actually love her after what seems a very short time, at least in cosmic terms). Suffice it to say, he has a very idealised view of her and their relationship. Romantic idiocy at its best: He has literal stars in his eyes and is so grateful for Desire’s help he is basically kissing their boots in gratitude.

Alianora—again one of Desire’s gifts. And Dream tried, and I definitely think he was at least romantically (and physically) attracted to her (the art is very hard to interpret otherwise, neither is the context--she was gifted by Desire, after all). But this relationship is generally a tricky one because there is gratefulness and guilt n the mix, and that is sometimes a very unfortunate combination. He also couldn’t fully trust her because of his deep mistrust of D/desire. And lo and behold, of course the relationship soured when romantic and (potentially physical) attraction waned.

Nada—pursuing each other on and off, broadcasting sexy time all over the Dreaming because he's just so head over heels and literally bursting at the seams—need I say more? Yes, he does say to her that her body does not matter to him, which I 100% believe is true. He also says that he will love her as no mortal man can. But everything that transpires is still deeply informed by romantic attraction, because quite frankly: You don't feel love yet after you've barely met someone. It's again a deeply idealised view and that is something inherently romantic in tandem (in this case) with physical desire. Again, because D/desire was involved.

As to the particulars of Nada’s banishment to hell, and why Dream acted so out of character compared to his other failed relationships: You can find all of it here.

Calliope—read her speech at the Wake is all I’ll say. That is someone making romantic love so integral to their whole existence, I don’t even know where to start. He puts the world at her feet and makes sure she always comes first (quite literally) while they are still loved up…

Thessaly—he's the romantic idiot (affectionately) in the rain with his coat billowing in the wind, and referring to her “weighing him dispassionately and finding him wanting”. It was only a handful of months--you don't feel true, stable love at that point. Again, it has the idealised view of romance (and potentially sexual desire) written all over it. He would have given her the world, just like he would have given the world to Nada and Calliope. That is the trope of every freaking romance novel, and that is exactly how he perceives love.

Titania—who knows, she keeps her mouth shut.

Ludus

I think he has a hard time to be flirtatious and playful (at least, we don't really see it. We never really see him during the courting stage, and what went down with Thessaly was hardly "flirtatious". `Then again, bickering like they did in A Game of You is electrifying to some, so who knows. She also said at his wake he was cautious and nervous). And if he comes across as flirtatious (there is a charming on that list of adjectives after all), it’s just because he is so deliberate in everything he does that he might just push someone’s (right) buttons, so to speak. But that’s not the same as “no strings attached”-love, because I honestly believe he’s incapable of experiencing love that way. There is no “casual” with him. He always stays attached to the people/women he once loved, even if the relationship sours. He still loves each and every single one of them, he never stops. But he also doesn’t in a way that’s sustainable, and it’s an unsolvable conflict due to what/who he is.

Philia

Most closely translated as friendship and affection. Platonic love, if you will. It is also a love between equals. He has a hard time with it and only slowly learns what it means through his relationship with Hob. Needless to say: The Ancient Greeks valued platonic love as one of the highest forms of love. Hence, I’m personally reluctant to turn it into something else/slant it towards romance, because that’s exactly what this part of the story is about: His relationship to Hob is important and grows/lasts because it is not romantic in the comics.

Storge

Unconditional love for family, especially children. Based on complete acceptance and potentially sacrifice. Doesn’t need to be reciprocated. You feel it, no matter what, and you act accordingly. And for Dream and Orpheus, that didn’t work until it did. Or, let’s rather say: I don’t want to assume he didn’t feel it. But he pushed it down in his hurt and pride (as did his son in his grief). No further comment, because that one hurts.

Agape

Altruistic, universal, all-encompassing. And that’s so deeply at the core of his being, and so central to his whole conflict that I don’t even know where to start. From not wanting to kill the first vortex (or Rose, for that matter), to telling John Dee he’s hurting the dreamers, and that being his main concern while he himself was writhing on the floor in agony, to “humanity I love you”, to a million other things. He cares so deeply, there is such a deep concern for sentient beings in their entirety that it’s quite literally impossible to call it anything other than love. And it’s also what plays a large part in his demise.

Pragma

Oh, here we go. I honestly believe he likes the idea of committed and long-lasting. And he’s trying. So very hard. Calliope is the best example. Alianora was another one, because it’s not like they broke up swiftly (hard to tell how long they lasted, but since she had stayed in the Dreaming too long to go anywhere else, it wouldn’t surprise me if we’re actually talking a very, very long time. He called it “a goodly while”, and considering how old he is, I doubt that equals only months, or even just a few years, especially since he is fully aware how short his relationship to Thessaly was). And he wanted to stay true to his promise. But he is who/what he is: the unreal. And as the personification of that, love both feels real for him but will also forever stay intangible. It’s heartbreaking really. Again, it has written the contradiction between romantic love (the ideal) and pragmatic love (the thing that is grounded in reality) written all over it.

Philautia

And that’s the most heartbreaking one. He is incapable of self-love and full of self-loathing instead. The Ancient Greeks used to say that you can’t give what you don’t have. And it’s hard to feel compassion for the flaws we perceive in others if we don’t have that self-compassion for the exact same flaw in ourselves. And that one hurts in so many ways, from his not being able to forgive himself (which is mirrored in his relationship to Nada, who also couldn’t forgive herself—she didn’t need his forgiveness, she needed her own) to Orpheus being so much like him apart from one major difference: he’s mortal in spirit, and even immortality doesn’t change that. And Dream struggles with the part of his child that is so like him for a million reasons that would burst this meta at the seams, but again: it’s hard to love in others what we detest in ourselves, knowingly or unknowingly.

So in short: The particular flavours of love Dream feels (Eros, Agape, Philia growing slowly over time) and the ones he doesn’t (Ludus, Pragma, Philautia) are also at the very root of how the story goes.

And when he finally truly understands what Storge/unconditional love is--both in the way he reassesses his relationship to Nada but especially in how he finally submits to his love for Orpheus (with all that entails)--and when he allows it to become real, it’s what tightens the noose around his neck. But that noose has been around his neck loosely all along…

[chaosclimber]

receptionist

“...for the love of…” Hob muttered under his breath, then glanced back up at the receptionist. “No, I don’t have an appointment, I’m not here professionally. Desire is my sibling-in-law, and they’ve got my child today. I’m just picking Orpheus up. You’ve seen my ID, what can possibly be the hold up?”

“Mx Aeturnus was very clear that they’d receive no visitors today–”

“Because they’re spending time with their nibling!” Hob’s exasperation was reaching a boiling point. “C’mon. Please, ring up and ask them, if you don’t want to just let me in. I promise you, I am not trying to monopolize their creative energies, or do…paparazzi…things…or whatever it is you think I could be doing!”

She sighed audibly, then pressed the intercom button. “Yes, Mx Aeturnus? There’s a….Robert….here to see you.”

“I told you, no visitors, Brenda.” 

Robert.  Dammit, she had to use the proper name. No one ever called him Robert unless he was in trouble. Hell, he doubted Desire even knew that was what Hob was short for. He took a few steps away, and dialed Dream’s number. 

“...Not that I’m not happy to hear from you, Hob, but whyever are you calling?”

“Call or text your sibling, let them know I’m stuck in the lobby of their apartment.” 

There was a moment of silence, the slight crackling of the line the only noise as Dream absorbed the request. “...You cannot be stuck there. You’ve got your ID.”

“We’re not married, yet, love, so my name means nothing to those that care. And when she buzzed up to check with Desire, she just said Robert. Not Hob, not even Mr. Gadling–which, I think Desire would have recognized. Just Robert.” 

The wince was practically audible. “You poor darling. I shall inform my sibling of your arrival. Are you prepared to withstand the indignities of being addressed by your full name further? Desire will weaponize it now that they know it.”

“I don’t suppose I have a choice?”

“None.” There was very much a low rumble in his voice, notes of wry amusement that avoided coming out as laughter. 

“Damn.” Hob smiled lightly even as he said it. “Alright, I’ll let you go so you can pester your sibling on my behalf. We’ll see you when we get home.”

“Alright. I love you. Tell Orpheus I love him, as well.”

“I will. I love you, too.” He hung up.

Exactly three minutes later, the intercom crackled to life once more. “You didn’t say it was Robert Gadling, Brenda. My brother’s paramour is always welcome~” 

Paramour, huh? Well, at least he was welcomed. 

@domaystic

crossposted to AO3

[the-cloudy-dreamer]

Sandman Inktober 2023, Day 3 Paths.

So I wasn’t going to do today’s prompt but I was going through my Sandman comics ( as one does) and was reminded that Orpheus sings a song to open a portal to get to the dreaming! and I thought “hey a path! that’s gotta count, right?” lol

Anyway.

Don’t know if I translated the idea very well and I couldn’t do more detail work on this but I’m happy with what I did in the time work I put on it !! I might re-work it later if I have the time 🖤

[nynevefromthelake]

Orpheus frame redraw

[wolf-and-raven-dreaming]

900 follower gift!

Can you believe it's already 2023? Crazy!

[timesorceror]

Inktober Day 24 - Shallow 💧

Dream held Orpheus’ hands as he carefully waded them out into the surf. Today, the waters on the Shores of Creation were calm, even playful, as they lapped at the ankles of their king and his little prince.

[contrael]

Merry Christmas, Sandman fandom!!

[blackfeather-raven]

Draft WARNING: Vomiting, Attempted murder, and mention of being drugged.

The night was cool and loud, the wind shook the tree and pushed the water against the shores. Orpheus shivered as the wind hit his skin, his hands came up and tried to cover his exposed skin. Goose skin rose up on his arms as he forced his feet forward.

The boy was trying to find his way home, which was not going very well. Orpheus paused looking past the tree in an attempt to find the small house he lived in. Yet all he could see was more darkness and more trees. 

“Maybe this was a bad idea…” Orpheus muttered to the wind, not searching for an answer as he regrets his decision to stay out late. He was feeling strange, 

“What’s wrong pretty boy? Lost?” A venomous voice spoke above the wind. Orpheus froze, his muscles tensed. 

“Aww, look at him, he's all scared!” Another voice closer to him teased. 

A knot formed in Orpheus’s throat, his head twisted around to find more than just two young men behind him. Even in the darkness he could see crooked smiles on their faces. It sent chills down his spine, frightening him more than any nightmare had ever.

“What- What-” A few laughed as his voice struggled. “What do- do you want?” Orpheus tried to sound firm, strong, and yet everything was a struggle against the knot in his throat.

One of the men walked closer to him, making their height and size very obvious. Orpheus was tall for his age, but lean that wouldn’t go away no matter how much he ate. The boy walking towards him was fit, but he was shorter than Orpheus.

“What’s wrong, hm? Come on pretty boy, speak up!” the boy snarled angrily as he reached up to shove Orpheus into a large trunk. Without permission Orpheus’s voice let out a scared whine that made those twisted grins grow larger.

Everything happened too fast for Orpheus’s dazed mind to keep up. One moment Orpheus had his back to a tree, words were thrown at him like blades. His words were caught in his throat as more and more people began to crowd him. Then he was on the grass with pain in his torso, the voices around him were blurring together into hateful noises. Then someone grabbed his hair and yanked on his curls to his feet and pulled him along. 

Orpheus’s eyes were blurring, but he could feel the change from grass to sand. He could feel the change from cool air to frigid water and rocks. His hair was yanked back again the cool air hit his face, before his head was shoved under the water. His nose hit a rock and he felt a sharp pain throb through his face. 

‘Am I going to die?’ A stray somewhat coherent thought went through his mind. ‘Are they going to kill me?” Somehow the fear in his mind became louder and the throbbing of his heart was filling his ears. 

‘I do not want to die- please I don’t want to die! Please make it stop!’ Orpheus' mind screamed as his lung ached. ‘Patér! Patér they are going to kill me!’ His mind cried out as the tirednesses clawed at his brain. 

His head was pulled up again and wasn’t pushed back under again. Instead his body was pulled away from the water and onto the sand. Or at least it felt like sand, he had his eyes closed, he wasn’t sure when he closed his eyes but he couldn’t open them. He also noticed that he couldn’t hear anything other than his pound heart. 

Breathing was just as difficult out of the water as it had been under. His breaths were short and felt like swallowing fire. His head throbbed in pain The only thing that Orpheus could focus on that didn’t hurt was the sand. The sand felt soft under his skin. The sand was the only soft thing he could feel that gave him comfort, until something warm pressed under his chin. 

Something smooth ran over his temples and combed through his hair. Something clattered in his ear, pulling his focus away from the sound of his heart. His eyelids twitched and the weight of them seemed to ease slightly. He cracked both of his eyes open and was greeted by a large white and black blur covering his entire vision. 

The clattering continued as his hair was combed. It took his mind too long to clear, but once most of the heaviness and fizzing faded away he realized. 

Realized the thing running through his hair was a beak and the black and gray blur was not just any sort of bird. It was Jessamy. His patér’s raven hopped back to look at him. 

“Orpheus…?” Jessamy clittered her beak as she spoke. “Orpheus, dearie are you okay?” She hopped closer to run her beak over his cheek. 

“Jess…” He slurred, but immediately his throat clogged. Twisting his head around and away from her, as a burning pain surged up his throat and he vomited up sea water. He could hear worried clicking as she pressed up to the back of his neck. 

Having twisted his head around he spotted movement behind him. Something lanky and dark was hovering over white figures on the ground, he could hear broken sobs coming from that direction too. 

“Pa…?” His voice crooked out, before he felt the burning pain in his throat again. 

The dark figure jerked back and it twisted unnaturally around and bright red dots were staring down at him. It made it easier to see the large jagged pearly white teeth in its mouth. Its face was thin and so black it stood out from the darkness around it. It looked like it was pulling the darkness into it actually. It looked like a creature that one could only see in one's nightmares.

“Orpheus…” The voice sounded like it was under water, but it still wrapped around Orpheus like a protective hold. 

Orpheus-if he had been in the right mind-would have been embarrassed how easily he shattered and let out a broken sob from the one word. In a blink of an eye that nightmare creature was gone. Soon a black haired and pale man that Orpheus knew very well. 

“Hush now my son…” Morpheus soothed as he took a few long strides over to his son. “Those men cannot harm you any longer, they will never look at you again.” There was a hint of anger in his tone, but it was hidden from his expression. The King of Dream’s slowly and carefully slid his hands under Orpheus’s chest and lifted him off the sand and out of his own vile. 

Orpheus whined at the sudden spike of pain in his body as he was cradled in his patér’s arms. Twitching his hand he brought them up and curled them around the black silk of his robe. His tears and blood soaked into the dream made fabric. 

“My son…” Morpheus murmured, panic laced in its edges. “I promise you are safe now… Is it the pain?” Gently he smooths the brown hair on Orpheus’s head. 

“Get him home my lord, Calliope can call Asclepius to help,” Jessamy spoke when landing on her lord's shoulder to look down at his young boy.

“Of course…” He whispered, used his robe to whip the vomit off of Orpheus’s cheek. The sand around them rose from the ground and began to circle the father, son and bird. 

[morpheusbaby3]

I'm watching the Percy Jackson series and I wondered if Orpheus would go to Camp Half Blood in the modern day...

[ibrithir-was-here]

@softest-punk Ok! Here it is xD my best attempt at an 80’s Avon cover (not quite a bodice ripper but I hope it suffices—I would have done a bodice ripper but had to put Orpheus in there too the sweetie and he rather swerved that mood xD )

I tried to incorporate as many visuals as you’d already posted. The suits, the earrings, the settee. And a bit of the Jane Austen cover!

And here’s the back cover with your synopsis:

And the cover without the title and writing

I tried to give it all a vintage/worn sort of feel, like it was a well loved paperback that had been read many times over, just as the actual fic has been :) Thank you for sharing such a beautiful story with all of us!!!

[writing-for-life]

Of all things, they had to shoot this first. I’m not well, that is all…

Welcome to desperate S2 shoot stanning until we move over to actual S2 stanning…

[chaosclimber]

driver

“I’m not doing it.”

Hob grinned a bit–there’d been some gentle ribbing between them on the subject already, and he was happy to slip into the well-worn argument. The kids in question were away, anyway, it couldn’t do any harm. “Dream…come on, you know you’re more qualified than me for this. Besides, do you really want an ADHD-er to try to teach another ADHD-er to drive?”

“I don’t want to be in any vehicle either of our sons are operating. I would prefer they not drive at all, but I know that’s a foolish wish.” Dream swept passed, not bothering to take the pile of clothes he'd been folding. Hob stood and watched for a moment, dumbfounded. The reaction was bigger than he'd expected–he honestly thought the argument was all in fun. It wouldn't be the first playful disagreement they'd had over the kids as teenager-dom posed new challenges for them. 

He started to follow behind, but stopped himself a few steps in. Dream was a very different person than Hob. For whatever reason, this had upset him, and Dream was the kind of person who preferred space when upset. Much as Hob wanted to just go and hug him, that simply wasn’t the best choice. So instead, he veered from the hallway and retreated to the kitchen, pulling out the leftover rice, a few eggs, pre-cooked chicken breast, and a few veggies from the fridge. Homemade fried rice was one of the first dishes Hob had cooked for Dream, and it was a favorite of theirs when a quick meal was needed. Tonight it wasn’t necessarily about the speed, though. He hoped it could be a comfort. 

Dream didn’t emerge from the bedroom until dinner was ready, and when he did, he seemed…withdrawn. Hob held himself back from pushing, from asking immediately what the matter was. He could damn well guess, now that he’d had some time to reflect. What he remained unsure of–more importantly, really–was whether Dream would actually want to talk about it. 

Dream held his silence. 

Well. Hob was never one to disappoint a captive audience. He chattered on–about his day, about his students and their determination to win the little contest he’d set up to let them earn extra credit (find the crudest joke they could in a period piece of literature and deliver it properly when he least expected it. Today’s attempt included the ‘your mother’ joke from Titus Andronicus at the end of class, right as he was taking a sip of coffee. The three who’d done it were the front-runners, so far.), about how his journaling attempt was going (abysmally–it was Friday, and he had managed to actually use the fancy set up he’d spent  over an hour setting up a grand total of once.), about anything that came to his mind. 

It wasn’t until Hob was clearing away the dishes that Dream finally spoke. “...They’re growing up.” The words were quiet, Dream’s already low voice gaining just a bit of gravel, as it did when he had been crying recently. He was still sat at the table, shoulders pulling in and up. In that moment, Dream seemed to transform from a person into the sad, wet cat one just happened to find in a dumpster. 

Hob just wanted to hug him, dammit. He took a breath and resisted, though–he knew Dream tended to actually dislike touch when he was upset, so he would wait until he asked for the contact. “Yeah. Not a fun realization, that one.”

“...I don’t want them to grow up.” He shook his head. “It was not too long ago Orpheus would sit in my lap and beg for story time. Now he’s going to drive. How far will he go from us once he is able?”

“Oh, dove…” Hob paused at the confession. God, he was familiar with that realization. Honestly, he’d been putting off looking at it head-on, himself. At least until he could schedule some time to watch brainless rom-coms with a pint of ice cream (yes, he had the coping methods of a teenage girl dealing with her first break-up, no, he would brook no judgment on that fact). “I get it. But we can’t stop them, you know that.” He sighed. “Look, I’ll teach them both how to drive–I was gonna, anyway, I know you don’t really like driving in the first place. We just…have to have a little faith that they’ll come back. They know they can come back, whenever they need to.” 

Dream sighed, and looked up at Hob. “I…could do with a hug, now. If you are willing.”

And that was all the invitation Hob needed to drag Dream to the livingroom and settle them both in for a cuddle. 

As it turned out, they needn’t have worried. Robyn was a natural at driving–he couldn’t engage in conversation while he was behind the wheel, but that was fine by Hob. And Orpheus was nervous enough about it that he didn’t end up getting his license right away–which was fine by Dream. 

@domaystic All my fills will be cross posted to AO3

[the-cloudy-dreamer]

Sandtober 2023, Day 21 Children

“As the hours passed the conviction grows that there is no one behind him. Alone, he is alone. He has been the butt of Hades joke” Sandman, Song of Orpheus.

———————————-

You didn’t think I would pass the opportunity to do another Orpheus related thing when this prompt is right here, right? Listen my love of Orpheus is no secret and I can’t wait to watch his story on the series! My boy deserves all the love 🖤

( And if you were wondering my go-to reference for Orpheus is Tamino Amir!)

As always thank you @orionsangel86 for all your hard work putting this event together! It’s been so much fun!