#The Corinthian 2.0

[windsweptinred]

When people ask me why Corinthiel?

(Me taking the ship lovingly from the pedestal I have placed it upon and presenting it with a dramatic flourish.) Just look at this poetic masterpiece!

Two beings, brought into the world at a time of transference from old to new. With one foot in past and present. Born under the shadow of a predecessor they struggle to escape from. Both searching for sense of self amongst the ghosts and ruins. The only other being each has who understands that journey. Who see each other for themsleves, rather then a fragment of the past or a recreation of what was. Both walking the same path together. The first two characters in this new chapter.

Daniel, the mortal born king of the Dreaming, the Waking Dream, a drop of humanity in a pool of Endless. A beautiful intertwining of the human and divine. Cori's desires made manifest. A 'dream' almost perfectly crafted for him.

The Corinthian, remade with the sole purpose to find and protect Daniel Hall. Ultimately fashioned by Morpheus to serve his successor, to be Daniel's, not his own. Cori who was young Daniel's protector, the child's sanctuary was in the nightmare's arms. And the beauty of that continuing on after his transformation....Of Daniel's sole haven from the pressures and expectations of his new role being in his arcanas embrace. Of finding understanding and solace in the one who knew him in both lives, the one who was there for his rebirth, the first one to look upon him as Dream. Of always being Daniel, purely Daniel to the Corinthian. Just mwah, chef's kiss.

Look at the beautiful hurt/comfort, fluff but mind the gore, the Corinthian is his own warning. Smut glorious smut tapestry they weave.

So yeah, that's why. 😊🤍💚

Ps.

They can be a continuation of Corintheus (True love never dies, just changes form. A beautiful study of second chances, metamorphosis and finding each other again through rebirth.)

Or along side retired Dreamling (Everyone's a winner. The literal definition of having your cake and eating it. Cue some meaningful character explorations into why Morpheus and Daniel want different things from a relationship. And finding a seperate sense of self in that beyond 'Dream'. )

Or just love them wholeheartedly for themselves.

[writing-for-life]

Soooooo, coming back to this with a fresher mind, @bobbole

It’s them, you know?

Dream 2.0 after being fully self-actualised:

Dream 1.0 battling his Shadow:

That’s just a joke of course… Or is it?

First off: I’m not a Jungian psychoanalyst (therapy has moved on a bit 😉), but I still believe that some of his ideas are interesting when we look at archetypal representations in literature.

So just super brief: In Jung’s model of the psyche, we basically have representations of ourselves that interact with each other, internally and with the external world. Before I blabber about it for an hour, just have a handy graphic instead…

[There are more in-depth representations of this around, but this one isn’t too complicated. Source]

They’re all interesting to look at, simply because all of Dream’s major arcana are also part of him (even if he gave them sentience and they eventually come into their own. Which also makes sense in Jungian terms, because during the self-actualisation process, they develop, too). As an example: Fiddler’s Green is pretty much the highest stage of the animus (Jung calls it Hermes, “the mediator of spiritual profundity”).

But with the Corinthian, we’re obviously talking mostly about the Shadow as a really important part of the Self.

The repressed Shadow…

And this is where it gets deep in the context of the Sandman, because Morpheus endlessly (ha!) rabbits on about the Corinthian being humanity’s black mirror (and of course he is because the Shadow is also based in the collective unconscious). But really: it’s his. Because to Dream, the collective and the personal unconscious are basically one and the same. Which is no coincidence because Jung’s Shadow straddles the line because the collective and personal unconscious—it’s both archetypal *and* personal. The Shadow, to use Jung’s own words, is “the thing a person has no wish to be”.

And woah, is there a lot of repressed stuff put into the Corinthian that would do Morpheus good to confront. In Jung’s own words again: “The Shadow is that hidden, repressed, for the most part inferior and guilt-laden personality whose ultimate ramifications reach back into the realm of our animal ancestors… If it has been believed hitherto that the human shadow was the source of evil, it can now be ascertained on closer investigation that the unconscious man, that is his Shadow does not consist only of morally reprehensible tendencies, but also displays a number of good qualities, such as normal instincts, appropriate reactions, realistic insights, creative impulses etc”.

And think of the Corinthian what you will—he also has some of these good instincts, insights and reactions. And there’s a lot to be said about Morpheus trying to hold a tight reign on the Corinthian (because of course he also knows about his dangerous qualities). But that’s the equivalent to repressing the Shadow until it breaks free in an uncontrolled way. Cue what’s been a long time coming and culminated in the events that precede Overture and have their finale in The Doll’s House.

But what Morpheus also holds a tight reign on is that part of himself, and it’s at least partly (no, wholly—bite me 🤣) what leads him to unravel.

The Integration of the Shadow

Which brings us to the integration of the Shadow—instead of repressing it, you allow it space to be processed. You actually allow it instead of pushing it back into the unconscious or not even doing the work to notice it’s there (I mean, when people tick us off or make us uncomfortable? In Jungian terms, that’s something rooted in our unrecognised Shadow speaking 🤣).

Cue Corinthian 2.0. Because “wiping him” worked to a degree of course, but one could argue not completely (Matt was lucky the Nybbas came along. Or was cued to come along 🤣). Neither was he created as a goody-two-shoes the second time around. He’s still the Shadow, but if you want to be Jungian about it, one on the path to Dream’s self-actualisation/individuation.

There is a lot of symbolism in the making, unmaking and recreation of the Corinthian (and also the “unmaking and recreation” of Dream) that surface readings often don’t engage with:

Dream recreates the Corinthian right before he basically recreates himself. And maybe, just maybe, the relationship between Dream 2.0 and Corinthian 2.0 is a kind of metaphor for a Shadow that isn’t repressed but integrated. You can only become fully self-actualised (aka individuation) with an integrated Shadow—in Jungian terms, there is no other way.

And that’s truly something interesting to explore about Daniel and the Corinthian 2.0:

The actualised Self and its/his integrated Shadow.

Beautiful, quintessential Jungian individuation process…

P.S: Campbell is Joseph of “The Hero’s Journey” fame, @bobbole

About Black Mirrors…

We are reading Collectors in our community, and although I have read the Sandman probably more times than is advisable, I can never get over the words when Dream is unmaking the Corinthian, and how they exactly mirror Morpheus’ own unravelling…

Until now, you have all sustained fantasies in which you are the maltreated heroes of your own stories…

…in which, ultimately, you are shown to be in the right…

No more…

For this is my judgment on you, that you shall know, at all times, and forever, exactly what you are…

The next time I make you, you shall not be so petty, little dream…

I’m awful, I know…

[bobbole]

A trailer obviously isn't enough to understand what the fuck is going on, but I can't help thinking that Cori 2.0 could never address Dream like that! I hope that in addition to the look change they tried to mark the difference between the two Corinthians....

[eyeless-smiles]

Continued from x

@cainevesson One must admire the nightmare's determination to push past its memory-induced fear. Prior intimacies between Cain and the first Corinthian were ever akin to fights; rough, loveless. A means to an end soothing some frustrations temporarily through satisfaction. This is different. Cain's surprise remains silent, conveyed by a crease to his brows alone while he doesn't pull back— because the creature's touch no longer triggers wrath. His gaze flits to Corinthian's lips and back up to onyx shades luckily concealing the hideousness that's a pair of ocular maws.

One hand reaches for the nightmare's neck, palm soon to cup its side and a thumb planted to the underside of its chin to gently tip it upward. " How... brave ", bleed drawling tones past a faint, crooked smile ere Cain lets his bold nature speak and bridges the final gap by inching closer. Lips brushing over lips, feather-light, tentative. The new Corinthian likely hasn't touched anyone before, given its reluctant demeanor. To be the first? Makes it all almost exciting.

It hadn't anticipated Cain to reach out and coax the bridging of the faint gap between them with such gentleness. without a hint of that malice that the Corinthian knows him so well for. Well, that the other Corinthian knew him for. It had been the reason for his reaching out, with hands clasped over rough stubbled cheeks. To try and coax some of that malice forth and add credence to the unsettled fear he felt curling in the pit of his stomach. The Corinthian wanted to hate Cain. He wanted to despise him because then his unease would make sense.

The only thing the Corinthian discovers when the demon reduces the distance between their lips to naught, is that the feeling of his skin on his own is pleasant. It drives him to stiffen beneath Cain's touch. His fingers are warm along the curve of his jaw. Solid and perceptable to the senses. Real.

It is with tentative unease that the Corinthian finally has the courage to move its lips. a flicker of his tongue along Cain's lower lip. Exploratory. Sampling. Determining how the real world differs from that of the Dreaming, and how his predecessor could have become addicted to it.

[werewolfdog]

It's always so much fun taking canon characters to originalize them

[endlcssdesiire]

Send "swat" to swat the tail away [ from the second corinth. he is UNEASY ]

TAIL TIME~!

" so he did change you... " there's a certain poetry in that; the KING OF ALL NIGHT'S DREAMING able and willing to change his creations, but not itself. a sour one, to be clear- and Desire slowly withdraws; both tail and touch from the nightmare they'd once enjoyed the company of.

it's irksome. they curl their claws- not for the poor nightmare, but for their brother.

" you used to be so free, corinthian. . . now look at you. how so VERY LIKE Morpheus- to break what he cannot make love him. "

from nada to nightmare, the cycle is endless.

[ilyasfanart]

Corinthian 2.0 agreed to look after Daniel Hall, thinking looking after a toddler couldn't be any harder than killing people. He's now learned that it isn't harder, but it's certainly messier! For @frostyemma I'm basing Daniel's appearance off the baby we saw in the show in the episode Lost Hearts in Lyta and Rose's final scene, curly brown hair etc. He does have green eyes as he does in the comics.

[roguelov]

Omg just imagine Morpheus softly watching his wife (newly turned immortal human soulmate) interact with the residents of the Dreaming, like she’s super sweet and smiley, and all the residents absolutely love that she’s their Queen. She has a sweet friendship with Lucienne and Matthew, and has bonded with Hob as well, and she honestly just has Morpheus wrapped around her lil human finger 🥹

This is too fucking cute and I’m melting 🥹🥰

You who immediately jumped into the role as queen and was giddy to help. You ask Dream what you can do and although he wasn’t hesitant at first he slowly gave you some of his responsibilities. You help Lucienne almost everyday and talk for hours as you both restock and reorganize bookshelves

You who visits Fiddler’s Green for picnics and having a one sided conversation telling Fiddler about the day and new things in other parts of the Dreaming. Having tea with Cain, Abel and Goldie and they love with you come around (they also love gossiping a bit and Matthew always swings by because he can get all the juicy details and stories). You getting close with nightmares and dreams alike (Corinthian 2.0 becomes a good friend)

When Hob visits you show him all your favorite spots and you both share stories of your immortal lives (and tell funny stories about Dream but don’t tell the king or he’ll be a little upset)

And every time Dream sees you interacting with the Dreaming and his subjects his heart melts. His shoulders definitely don’t feel as heavy now and he has you to thank. When it’s just the two of you he’ll kiss your temple and whisper ‘thank you’ which confuses you at first but you smile and say ‘you’re welcome’

[windsweptinred]

Meanwhile in the current Sandman Universe comics...

[nightmarecountry]

How would the nightmare react to Dream having children? Would it feel the same call to them? Would it be jealous?

fun fact, dream does canonically have a son - orpheus! one day i'll ramble to you about that properly but not tonight. corinth was made before he was born, and i've always written it as being pretty much indifferent to him; it would watch over him if it had to, but felt basically nothing other than "that sure is a small child". granted, that was when the corinthian was relatively young itself (it was never a child but like. it was newer than it is now) and a little bit less of a power-hungry, attention-seeking bastard, at least for the first iteration. it didn't really care that its master had a child any more than it cared that he had a wife; it just was what it was. back then, it just didn't question things that much.

i think if dream had children now, the corinthian (both first and second) would think it was a colossally stupid idea. the first because it remembers orpheus and calliope and everything that followed when things went Bad; the second because it's generally better with people (and things shaped like people) and kind of gets that morpheus is, how do you say, a huge asshole when it comes to relationships, let alone parenting.

the first would probably just avoid them. i don't think it would be jealous per se, but it would be pretty disdainful about their existence. it's good with kids, canonically, and would probably be like. i don't want to say "a cool uncle" because the corinthian is absolutely NOT! part of morpheus' family but like. he's a. he's a cool dog, okay. he's the cool dog all the kids can go hang out with at parties even if he's kind of looking down on them the entire time. it's not like THEY know that.

the second corinthian is better with them in a more genuine way because he's programmed with Protective(TM) instincts in a very different way than the first corinthian was. part of that is because his first ever mission was to retrieve baby daniel, and being completely trusted by that tiny child did something to his nightmare brain i guess. he's the guy at the party who points out that all the adults are ignoring the children and not providing them with enrichment and then he goes to blow up some balloons for them to play with.

also the question of "is morpheus or dream 2.0 having these kids" is an important one too because corinth2 thinks either of them doing it is stupid, but for different reasons. morpheus having kids is stupid because it's morpheus. dream 2.0 having kids is stupid because they've existed for even less time than the corinthian 2.0 has, what the fuck do they know about children?

anyway all of this is to say i think dream and riona's little starlings should ride around on the second corinthian's shoulders while it keeps them from being accidentally eaten by other nightmares.

[bobbole]

@windsweptinred talking about character development!

[eyeless-smiles]

Headcanon that Cori 2.0 is an IRL virgin. Sure, he seduces guys in their dreams, but thats just part of the job description.

[writing-for-life]

Hi bestie, hope you're doing well 💖💖.

I just wanted to say that I've been thinking about Morpheus being a grandpa. I also wonder how he would feel about it, I mean he's old already HAHHAH, but like, that would be a new kind of love in his life. I also think that maybe Corinthian would be the babysitter again and all that would be lovely

Can you just… not do that to me? 😩🫂

I mean, I’ve said this many times: All things considered, he should have been a girl dad, and I stand by that (*if* we assume he should have been a dad at all, which remains to be argued 🤣). I have the weird head-canon he would have been softer and more forgiving with a girl, but that’s totally not grounded in any deeper logic. Just the feelz 🤣

And he would have been a tricky one to convince that anyone is good enough for his girl, so whoever is the dad or other mum would have had to prove themselves so badly. Feeling sorry for them already. But Morpheus would have been secretly racked with nerves (would never admit to it of course) about her, and he would totally lose it emotionally when he sees his grandchild for the first time (would also never admit to that and probably lock himself away to secretly cry in a corner).

And then he’d be with the grandchild as he was with baby Orpheus (from what we know from Calliope), and I’m just like… no let’s not go there 😢

No chance for the Corinthian to be a babysitter I think. He’d want to do it all himself.

Now, if we’re assuming Orpheus had survived… they would have such arguments over how to bring up the kid. Not loud, shouty ones. Just stubborn growling and moping at each other. And that’s where Cori 2.0 would be awesome. He’d just whisk the kid away for ice cream and bring them back when they’re done with their petty squabbling. Better for the child, too.

And this is a total head-canon shitpost based on wishful thinking, because to think about the real implications honestly breaks me a little 😩

So yes, please everyone: Also always feel free to send me head-canon prompt material via my asks. I’m a fic writer, I love this stuff (I’m not the main instigator of the sparkle- and helm crack tags for nothing 🙈). I can’t do serious all the time 🤣

@morpheusbaby3 ask answered

[bobbole]

This is one of the reasons why he reminds me of Tatsu in The Way of the House Husband

not enough people talk about the fact that corinthian has a cat he is a father to his CORE

her name is morgan flynn (goes by just flynn) and he gives her milk and carries her around in a little backpack

[loyalhorror]

𝐃𝐀����𝐇 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 ! ── In honor of International Women's Day, list eight of your favorite fictional women from eight different fandoms, in no particular order. (original characters can count too!)

i'm doing 16 because i wanted eight just for OCs and then eight for canons sdkjfnksdf

Frankie Shaw (my friend Jackal's OC. all of my characters are absolutely insane for her. Jackal and I LOVE having her ruin her own life and also my characters' lives. she's the only person my Corinthian 2.0 like... genuinely cares about, as much as he can care about anyone.)

Lucy West (@infamouscabal's OC. it pains me that i have so little memory of 2018-2022 these days because she's entwined with so much of my characters... Lucy and Red still live rent-free in my head.)

Chime (@phoenixgryphon's OC. she's been in my older characters' lives for eons now KJSNDFJK. i regularly forget that Labyrinth's Jareth is not, in fact, canonically in a relationship with an autumn spirit. whoops.)

Riona (Jordan's OC. I've fucking forgotten her URL. i've watched Riona grow and change over the past... oh, god, nearly a decade, and it's been such a joy.)

Mick (my own OC lmfao. I'm just really proud of how much she's developed as a character in the past year or two)

Jane (the OC of a friend that I've lost contact with... I loved that character SO MUCH, I still think about her regularly. She had a really interesting dynamic with my Silver-who-is-not-Silver and later Raphael too)

King (my roommate's OC. she and Atticus are insane together I love them so much)

Symphanie (gibbles' OC. i can't believe it took me this long to remember her)

and now for the canons

Furiosa (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Crimson (Vampire Therapist)

Shadowheart (BG3)

Y'shtola (FFXIV)

Sadie Adler (RDR2)

Lou (Lou... i dont remember which year this movie came out)

Carol (TWD. i stopped watching after a certain point but she was my favourite. i still think about her)

Anne Bonny (Black Sails)

Stolen From: hi jordan

Tagging: if you're seeing this. do it

[so-i-grudgingly-joined-this-site]

This Ken is the American Dream Nightmare!

Sometimes, I need to take it easy and do a custom project that doesn't require a lot of extreme modifications, and The Corinthian was a great choice for such a project. For the most part, I just had to find a Ken with blond hair and a sufficiently charming/sinister smile, repaint the eyes, and then procure a wardrobe for him.

For the wardrobe, I kept it simple with a T-Shirt look based on Cori 2.0 from the books. The sunglasses, x-eyed smiley face shirt, and jorts were from an official Ken fashion pack--and the shirt felt especially on-theme for him! The American flag beach shorts were a leftover from one of the beach Kens I used as a custom base for another doll. I also made a tiny knife for him out of aluminum foil tape and acrylic paint.

Tagging mutuals under the cut:

@serenityspiral @duckland @violetoftheendless @roguelov @roguedoodles @dotieeee @orionsangel86 @ambercoloredfox @academicblorbo