#THE Sandman

[jeopardy-official]

What is a psychopath?

Fuck you, Neil Gaiman.

[writing-for-life]

Fanfic writers, take a breath…

I’ve seen many posts over the last week in which NG-property-adjacent fanfic writers stated they’ll delete all their fics, from either Tumblr, Ao3 or both. And my heart honestly broke a little.

I’ll preface this with: I’m not telling anyone how to process their grief, anger and disappointment, and these are valid decisions. But I’d urge people to at least take a moment before they hit the nuclear option and delete everything without any chance of recovery.

These works come from your minds, derivative of (or inspired by) another work or not. You wrote them, not NG. They are your creative brainchild. You created a world that was yours.

Heck, the majority of fanfics (especially AUs) are so far removed from the original works that you could probably file the serial numbers off and turn them into OC fics, because that’s what they often are anyway if you look very closely.

If you can’t look at them right now without feeling bad, at least make sure you have saved them someplace other than Tumblr or Ao3. Lock those files away, let them rest. Now or forever. But I’d strongly suggest never to delete your creative works because the person who inspired them is horrible. Again: These works came from your minds, not his. And once they’re gone, that’s it.

You don’t need to make any decision right now, when everything is so fresh. I’m sort of old and from a generation that didn’t grow up under the premise of, “post about it or it didn’t happen.” Don’t let peer pressure to do “the right thing” get the better of you. You have time. You can make these decisions without rushing into them. Away from online spaces…

[thewhoreinthian]

Dream borrowed one of Hob’s jumpers ❤️

[kittynannygaming]

Thanks to @amielot for their wonderful HGAU! I had to make this little video, it was stuck in my head!

Don't put your speakers/headphones too loud, but you definitely need the sound.

[quandlesannees]

I think this last post can be viewed as a kind of disingenuous take because, while Gaiman wrote a lot about violence against children and women (minorities in general) by weak and egotistical men (usually), he made it seem like it was a means to draw attention to the cruelty of those situations in a narrative turn that prioritized the victim. He made it seems like he was writing on the side of the abused by deliberately focusing on the hypocrisy, egoism, narcissism, and self-righteousness of the abuser, who believes what they are doing is for the 'greater good'. Narratively, the violence served to cultivate a sense of disgust at the horror that was aimed at cultivating empathy for the victim. I was trying to explain this to a friend a few days ago about why this was so horrifying (as someone who adored the Sandman as a kid. And, yes, I do remember the Calliope episode....I haven't read it in a long time, so I wonder what I'd think of it now) and I said that it was because Gaiman always proposed an "ethos of vulnerability" in his work, that, in real life, he manipulated as a tool to perpetuate his abuse.

I think we need to recognize that there is a new school of misogyny that will become the dominant form in the coming years (especially in Anglophone spheres), as more people become more literate in social movement and therapy language, digitalization, lifestyle movements, a growing horror of direct physical violence (that they don't try to argue is consensual), a vague awareness of the #metoo movement (of which these men are never convinced they are a part, an abuser and rapist). It's the feminist bro misogynist, the 'socially aware' man who champions social movements as a means to draw praise for doing the bare minimum. They always center themselves at the forefront of the conversation, and often try to monetize it/use it to sell something. They think agreeability on major and distant social movements is akin to goodness and authenticity. They dance like a little performing monkey for grapes that are thrown at them, then proceed to abuse people behind the curtain while justifying it through therapy/faux philosophy speech.

What I view as so deeply nefarious in the Neil Gaiman situation is precisely that this ethos of vulnerability was proposed in the spirit of helping victims and vulnerable populations, was merely a tool he used to gain access to real vulnerable people he sought to abuse to feed his own narcissism, exactly like a villain in his book. I think the JK Rowling situation is a little different, not better by any means, but just a different dynamic.

Looking back, it's insane how spoiled we were by J. K. Rowling's unmasking.

The signs WERE all there from the beginning, from interviews to her personal life to the work itself. So when the mask finally came off for good, our eyes were shot open to all the red flags.

And a lot of folks keep expecting that same revelation every single time another beloved artist turns out to be a bastard. But here's the thing; Rowling is an outlier. Most predators are nowhere near as unsubtle. And everyone telling you all these "solutions" to make sure you don't get hurt again are in willful denial of this

"Don't trust charming people", "don't trust people who declare themselves allies of this or that cause", "charisma is a red flag". All of that may be true, but lemme tell ya - it won't save you.

Because here's the uncomfortable truth: there were zero signs. I followed Gaiman for years, both with his work and here on tumblr. Never noticed a single red flag - and looking back, I can't think of a single sign. And the same can be said for all of you.

It is possible to commit no errors and still lose.

[gabessquishytum]

Everyone knows Dream d'Endless - the seemingly indentured servitude to the Burgess dance troupe; the ESCAPE; the flame outs with an increasing number of duet partners; the personal dance company that puts on rare wildly successful & beautiful, but gorilla performances, that are only publicized by word of mouth (or pager?!?) & don't generally have tickets to them ..... Well, everyone in the dance world knows him, and somehow, Mr. Dream d'Endless is the Show-n-Tell/Career Day person for Robin's best friend this afternoon..... Hob is gobsmacked and tongue-tied - Dream is even MORE in person.

Everyone in the Dance world knows Hob too, for his choice to choose family over touring; and how romantic it was that he put his promising ballet career to the side for his El and how sad it was when he lost all but his Robin a few years ago.

Dream certainly knows Hob Gadling.... and not just because he's Orpheus's best friend's father.

This is too cute omg. I have this notion of Dream kind of resenting and looking down on Hob at first, because he chose family over art, and Dream never had that choice! He's mad inside that he never had the opportunity to do such an outrageous thing. Deep down inside, though, Dream thinks that Hob is the most incredible, admirable, beautiful man in the entire world.

Orpheus and Robin are the closest of friends and of course, Robin can't stop talking about Mr D'Endless - a real life actual celebrity! Robin has no idea that his own father used to be a famous dancer too. Hob tried to keep himself in good shape for ballet and tried to stay in practice, but it's pretty impossible as he has a full time job running a pub and taking care of Robin.

Dream still recognises Hob, though. Even though he's tired and out of shape, with a seven year old clinging onto him and chattering, Dream still knows Hob. Their eyes meet across the playground and it's like the overture of a ballet suddenly starts playing in the background.

Clearly its time for a long overdue playdate for Orpheus and Robin! Hob is so nervous he nearly throws up. How can he possibly sit down with Dream D'Endless, a man he's admired for years?! How can he handle the shame of knowing that he'll never be the dancer he once was, while Dream is a more shining star than ever before?!

Meanwhile Dream is asking himself: how is Hob Gadling still the most handsome man in the world, and how on earth is going to handle his massive crush on the man?

[vincentvega0721]

Justice Society Of America

[bludpudding]

had a dream where cori said “why is every version of my life dictated by you? it’s always you” to morpheus and i think that’s a bit much to have me wake up to

[the-uncanny-dag]

[dreamofthemaidenless]

right now on earth there’s a kindly old stray tomcat who just got adopted and he’s receiving enough food to fill his belly for the first time in his entire life and he’s so so so happy and he doesn’t even know that it’s going to be like this forever :)

[liveandbreathemusicals]

Gay people will be like “this is my comfort show!” And then show you the most emotionally devastating, stress-inducing, tragic piece of media you have ever witnessed

[nerdby]

I don't really believe in separating the art from the artist, but I remember how much it hurt when I found out Rowling was an absolutely shit person and so I do worry about the Gaiman fans out there who are in pain because of the article that was dropped today. I hope this helps.

[upon-the-snow]

I can’t believe it took me this long to draw her!

[childofposiden71]

If supernatural can have 15 seasons then Dead boy dectives can have two. So watch. Rewatch tell your friends. Watch it through a thousand times. END THE CANCELLATION STREAK

[tharkuun]

OP's tags: #hob: you got this date wrong in the paper. c-#dream: i like all the misspelled words. really adds personality to the story. A+#hob is the ideal teacher for students whove always gotten good grades easily and need someone to challenge them more#dream is the ideal professor for students who struggle with self confidence and need to feel more capable#hob should only teach 400 level senior classes. dream teaches Intro to Poetry 😂#one time they swap papers to grade and then hob's like 'dream why did you give all my students As' dream's like 'they tried their best 🥺'#hob's like THEYRE HISTORY MAJORS DOING THEIR DISSERTATION AND YOU LET ONE OF THEM SPELL HATE AS 'H8'#dream: why'd you give my students Bs :(. hob: one of them turned in a coffee stain as a poem? wth#dream: everything is poetry hob. it's abstract. oh my god you dont get it at all 🙄#dream's unconventional method does work tho. he has an uncanny ability to get even the most disengaged students to care SOMUCH about poetry

i feel like dream in human aus is usually characterized as being more stoic and stern while hob is more easygoing, but i think it would be funny to have a university au where hob is the professor who's like "no work is deserving of 100%. find 27 more sources and do it again" while dream is just like "they put their dreams into it, hob 🥺 A+! A+! A+! A+!"