#dead boy detectives x Constantine

[hannaloony]

Dead boy detectives x Constantine

Like they’re DEAD boy detectives 💜 They have to have their “true” ghost’s forms (Part 3)

[newtmas-supremxcy]

Me : *gets an idea for a fic* I can totally finish this in a week

The unfinished works that have been in my writting app for over a year : 😒

[laiqualaurelote]

Making a masterlist of my Dead Boy Detectives fics, which I will be locking on AO3 soon.

in this city there's a thousand things I want to say to you (E, 4.9k)

post-canon fic in which Edwin has a sexual awakening courtesy of the Cat King and it blows Charles' mind, among other things (nicking this summary from @adventures-in-mangaland); seems to have accidentally manifested S2's First Adult Experience.

the saviour of the broken, the beaten, and the damned (T, 8.5k)

the time travel fic in which Edwin dies over and over again in multiple AUs as Niko tries to find him and stop time from collapsing, ft. Noir!Edwin, JazzAge!Edwin, Professor!Edwin, at least two different war Edwins, and the Niko-is-the-Principal conspiracy theory manifested through Apollo's Gift of Prophecy Dodgeball.

gig officially gigged (T, 13.8k)

the rock band AU ft. punk drummer Charles, classically-trained virtuoso guitarist Edwin, kawaii metal bassist Niko, and disgraced child pop star Crystal over the course of one epic gig; plus the prequel meetcute in which Edwin plays Welcome To The Black Parade on the King's Cross St Pancras piano for Charles.

The Katabasis Job (M, 23.6k)

heist AU! instead of becoming detectives, Charles and Edwin embark on an afterlife of crime. When the long arm of the Lost & Found Department catches up with them, they are made an offer they can't refuse: earn their freedom by stealing from Hell itself. (I cannot believe I planned a whole heist around Dante's Inferno. This fandom has made me do crazy things.)

season of mists (T, 9k)

the bookshop/coffeeshop AU, Edwin is a bookseller, Charles is a barista, it's October, I'd make a joke about 'no time like fall to fall in love' except in the UK one says 'autumn' so I resolutely refuse to make fall puns. This is the cosiest goddamn thing I've ever written and @dont-offend-the-bees made the most beautiful art for it, some of which I append below!

still my heartbeat with your bare hands (M, 4.8k)

Bruv, tell me we still know how to speak of heroes! this is a Beowulf AU. (And I thought the Inferno heist was bad.) Charles is looking for a hall to belong to, even if that means slaying a monster to secure his place. Edwin has some noise complaints.

also here is a tiny workplace comedy AU where Charles and Edwin are co-workers in the Afterlife department. It was meant to be enemies-to-lovers but tbh the enemies part lasted like five seconds

I did not expect to be in fandom this year, and this whole thing has taken me by surprise - but oh, it's given me so much joy and solace to be here.

[inastarlesssky]

I'm on Christmas break now and I've got time to finally pick up some of the WIPs I've stockpiled in my Google docs. Just can't decide which one to start with.

Vote + reblog to get the word out!

Be sure to reblog once you've voted. Thank you!

[simp2537]

Requests are open

My request box is open! I write for a bunch of fandoms and characters that I’ll list below.

Percy Jackson

Character: Percy, Annabeth, Grover and I do the Greek gods and stuff. I might add more characters from the series/show so ask if you’re not sure.

Grishaverse

Character: Aleksander, Alina, Nikolai, Zoya, Genya, Kaz, Jesper, Nina, Inej, Matthias, (I haven’t read the series all the way through but I have seen the show and read the demon in the wood)

Harry Potter

Characters: Golden trio era, Marauders era, and Fantastic Beasts

Narnia

Characters: Caspian, Peter, Edmund, Lucy, Susan

Disney

Characters: Just general Disney, like the Princess, Princes, Disney channel and stuff

Avatar

Characters: Jake, Neytiri, Tsu'tey, Lo'ak, Tsireya, Tonowari, Ronal, Neteyam and Spider

My Hero Academia

Characters: Deku, Dabi, Shoto, Kiri, Mina, Bakugo, Shōta, others

Hunger Games/ TBOSAS

Characters: Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Coriolanus, Lucy, and Finnick

John Wick/ John Constantine

Stranger Things

Characters: Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington, 001/Henry Creel, Billy Hargrove, Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley

Tales of Arcadia

Characters: Jim Lake, Claire Núñez, Toby Domzalski, Douxie Casperan, Krel Tarron, Aja Tarron

Dead Boy Detectives

Characters: Monty the Crow, Edwin Payne, Charles Rowland, Crystal Palace, Niko Sasaki

The 100

Characters: Bellamy Blake, Octavia Black, Clarke Griffin, Finn Collins, Jasper Jordan, Raven Reyes, Marcus Kane, Monty Green,

Twilight

Characters: Bella swan, Edward Cullen, Alice Cullen, Jasper Hale, Rosalie Hale, Esme Cullen, Carlisle Cullen, Jacob Black, Seth Clearwater, Leah Clearwater

And so many others I just can’t think of them right now. If there’s a fandom you’re wondering about just ask and I’ll see what I can do. I do platonic, romantic, Female, Male, neutral, working on yandere stuff, angst, head-cannons, au’s, working on smut. I don’t write Character x Character stuff. Have a lovely day 🥰🥰

[teaboot]

now name as many movies as you can think of >:)

Murder on the Orient Express, Crank, Jumper, Inception, Nope, John Wick, The Lord of the Rings, Monkeybone, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The English Patient, Thumbleina, Cinderella, Ella Enchanted, The Princess Diaries, Red Note, Enchanted, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Anastasia, Journey to the Center of the Rarth, The Lego Movie, Barbie, Oppenheimer, Face/Off, The Fast and The Furious, Bullet Train, Howard the Duck, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers, Captain America, The Hulk, Iron Man, X-Men Origins, Deadpool, Rear Window, The Godfather, Monty Pithon and the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Stardust, Star Trek, Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, Catwoman, Daredevil, Toy Story, Turning Red, Inside Out, It, Requiem, Saw, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Carrie, Evil Dead, The Day After Tomorrow, Planet of the Apes, Jaws, Shark Tale, Pinocchio, Snow White, Ferngully, The Wizard of Oz, Arthur and the Invisibles, Babes in Toyland, The Emporer’s New Groove, Despicable Me, Minions, Rlemental, Frozen, Bad Santa, Blazing Saddles, The Grinch, Fist of Fury, The White Ninja, Crouching Toger Hidden Dragon, Austin Powers, Black Dynamite, Schindler’s List, 1000 Ways To Die in the West, Casa Blanca, Eragon, The Master of Disguise, Holmes, Holmes and Watson, The Land Before Time, Bridge to Terrabithea, The Waterhorse, Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, Happy Feet, Wonder Woman, Kingsmen, Constantine, The Sister Act, Ghost, Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, Ernest Saves Christmas, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Raindeer, Chuck, Child’s Play, Twitches, The Blair Witch Project, 47 Ronin, Trolls, The Mask, The Secret Life of Pets, Sing, Saving Private Ryan, War Horse, Black Beauty, Mad Max, Dune, Water World, James Bond, The Hobbit, Sonic The Hedgehog, Babe, Detective Pikachu, Mulan, Brave, Crazy Tich Asians, Legally Blonde, 50 Shades of Grey, Titanic, Teo-Headed Shark Attack, Sharknado, Antlamtic Rim, Pacific Rim, World War Z, Contagion, Pride and Prejudice, Pretty Woman, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Romeo and Juliet, Hitchcock, I Am Legend, I Am Number Four, The Lightning Thief, Prince of Thieves, Robin Hood, The Frog Princess, Gigli, Rise of the Guardians, Hop, Click, The Transporter, Pineapple Express, Sons of Anarchy, Inglorious Bastards, The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Power Rangers, Rogue One, Interstellar, 2001 A Space Odyssey, Space Balls, Alien, Predator, The Terminator, Robocop, Moonlight, The Tigger Movie, Around The World In 80 Days, The Love Guru, Don’t Mess With the Zohar, The Mighty Ducks, 101 Dalmatians, Cruella, Django Unchained, Rago, Hotel Transelvvania,

The Mummy, Mermaids, The Breakfast Club, sixteen candles, Clueless, Nine, Fantastic Mr. fox, Wallace and Gromit, Hellsing, The Brothers Grimm, Tangled, Arachnophobia, Anaconda, Hansel and Gretel, Hoodwinked, Angry Birds, Kung Fu Panda, Rio, The Muppet Movie, Scrooged, A Christmas Carol, Nightmare before Christmas, The Corpse Bride, James and the Giant Peach, Coraline, Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, Home Alone, Dennis the Menace, War with Grandpa, The Parent Trap, Cheaper by the Dozen, Christmas with the Cranks, Mixed Nuts, Home for the Holidays, Meet The Fockers, Cats VS Dogs, Good Boy, Castaway, George of the Jungle, The Mitchell’s VS the Machines, King Kong, Godzilla, Eraserhead, Frank, Pirates of the Caribbean, Elizabethtown, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Wall-E, Serendipity, Mamma Mia, The Secret of Nim, Brother Bear, Aladdin, Spy Kids, Ready Player 1, Weekend at Bernie's, The Matrix, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Rosebud, Young Frankenstein, Igor, Prince of Persia, Mission Impossble, Chocolate, The Haunted Mansion, Doctor Dolittle, Goosebumps, The Happening, Old, Plane, The Crying Game, 147 Hours, Narnia, Crampus, Pet Semetary, The Ring, It Follows, Teeth, The Human Centipede, Tusk, The Thing, The Blob, The Creature from the Nlack Lagoon, Abraham Lincoln: Zombie Slayer, Sharknado, Sharktopus, Nazis at the center of the Earth, Santa VS The Martians, Space Jam, Final Destination, The SpongeBob Movie, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Mr: Magoriums Wonder Emporium, Willy Wonka, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wonka, Zombieland, The Simpson Movie, War of the Worlds, The Twilight Zone movie, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, March of the Penguins, LILO and Stitch, The Brave Little Toaster, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Dark Crystal, Clockwork Orange, Sully, six underground, The Proposal, The Bodyguard, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Dirty Dancing, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Air Bud, The Silence of the Lambs, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Splice, The Edge of Tomorrow, The Last Holiday, Wet Hot American Summer, Police Academy, American Pie, Revenge of the Nerds, Amelie, La Chorale, Ratatouille, Inspector Gadget, Serenity, Ultraviolet, Annie, Charlotte’s Web, Air Buddies, Baby Geniuses, Catch Me if you Can, Now you See Me, Salt, London Has Fallen, Ender’s Game, The Hunger Games, Little Rascals, Fat Albert, Precious, The Whale, Gulliver’s Travels, School of Rock, Zathura, Jumanji, Flubber, Dead Poet’s Society, Get Out, Us, Piranha, Road Trip, Kangaroo Jack, Crocodile Dundee, Nanny McPhee, The Bee Movie, Ants, A Bug’s Life, The Lion King, The Aristocats, Homeward Bound, A Dog’s Purpose, Mr. poppers Penguins, Blood Diamond, House of Flying Daggers, Dragon Wars, Croczilla, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Life of Pi

[seiya-starsniper]

Six Degrees of Separation - Ch 6 COMPLETED

(Sandman x Dead Boy Detectives)

Relationships: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus/Hob Gadling, Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne/Charles Rowland, Crystal Palace/Charles Rowland (DCU), Johanna Constantine/Jenny Green

Rating: Teen & Up | Chapters 6/6 | Words: 12K

Tags: POV Multiple, Hob Gadling gives live advice to a bunch of teenagers, while helping them solve cases, that's it that's the fic, also he maybe plays matchmaker for his hot mess bestie, fic starts out as crystal/charles and ends with charles/edwin, Mutual Pining, Slice of Life, Hob Gadling adopts the Dead Boy Detectives

Tumblr Posts: Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5

Read Chapter 6 below, or at the above link on AO3

A year after Hob’s adopted three teenagers and a full grown adult as his unintentional, supernatural crime-solving family, a small Japanese girl walks into his pub covered in glitter and blood.

And she's with Dream , of all people. Dream, who looks like someone had run him through a blender and spat him out the wrong way. He’s not covered in the same glittering blood as his mysterious companion, but his messy black hair is even more wild and unkempt than normal, and the exhausted look on his face tells Hob he’s just gotten himself out of one hell of a situation and needs to talk about it. 

Well, at least the pub was completely empty so that made things easy. Which, now that Hob thinks about it, was probably intentional intervention on Dream’s part.

“Hello old friend,” Hob greets Dream with a wave as they approach the bar, where he’s cleaning and drying off some pint glasses. Hob turns his gaze down towards the girl, who for all intents and purposes appears human, but somehow still looks like someone out of a cartoon with bubblegum pink hair that is definitely not wig, and wide, iridescent blue eyes a shade of blue he’s pretty sure does not exist in normal human eyes. “And you are—?”

“You don’t look like you’re over 600 years old,” the girl says bluntly, shocking Hob enough that he nearly drops the glass he’s holding. “You’re not feeding children to a giant snake to look young too, are you?” she asks him. 

“Niko,” Dream growls at the girl and Hob’s brain short-circuits even further as he processes the name. “That is not what I told you.”

Hob gapes for a solid minute looking back and forth between the two of them as Dream and Niko (Niko? Niko?!) start arguing about the semantics of immortality. 

“You said he was immortal, so I was expecting a wise old man!” Niko exclaims, gesturing a glittery blood-soaked mitten in Hob’s direction. “Not a guy who looks like a middle school teacher! Esther had to eat kids to look like that!”

“Hob is not eating children,” Dream replies with an exasperated sigh, resting a palm over his head. “For the last time Niko, my sister—”

“Niko? As in Niko Sasaki?” Hob blurts out, interrupting their conversation because otherwise his brain is going to explode. Both Dream and Niko whip their heads at him in surprise. 

“Niko Sasaki with the weirdly large manga collection?” Hob continues as his brain recounts every single thing he’s heard about the girl in the past year. “Niko who tried to set Jenny up with a serial killer and it didn’t quite go as planned? Niko with the parasite fairies that lived inside her for months?”

“You know who I am?” Niko gasps. She turns to Dream, who looks just as shocked as she does. “How does he know me?” she demands. “Wait!” she exclaims before Dream can even reply, turning back to face Hob. “Are you psychic too?”

“No, but I know one who will be very happy to see you,” Hob answers, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice. “Oh my god, I can’t believe you’re here I’ve heard so much about—oh shit wait! JENNY! GET OUT HERE!” Hob yells at the top of his lungs, remembering belatedly that there was someone in The New Inn right now that would be thrilled to see Niko.

“ Jenny ?” Niko practically shrieks, and both Hob and Dream wince at the high pitched sound. “Jenny’s in London? Wait, why is Jenny in London?”

“Moved over here with Crystal and the boys,” Hob says. “Oy, Jenny!” he calls out again, and this time, the American comes rushing out of the kitchen, looking extremely annoyed but also alarmed.

“What? What’s happening? Are we under attack aga—” she goes silent when she sees Niko. “Niko?” she whispers. 

“Oh my god, Jenny!” Niko cries out, which seems to break Jenny out of her trance. Suddenly, the two girls are rushing towards each other, collapsing into a pile on the floor as they hug and sob. 

“Oh my god is that blood and glitter on you?” Jenny says. “What the fuck? Are you alive? Am I dead? Oh God, I’m dead aren’t I? I can see the grim reaper right over there,” she adds, noticing Dream for the first time as she clutches Niko desperately to her.

Niko giggles. “No silly, that’s Dream. He just looks like that,” she says, gesturing to the Endless, and Hob can’t help but laugh at Dream's dour expression. He’d thought Dream was the embodiment of Death once upon a time because of that face too. “He’s the one who helped me get back to Earth!”

“Back to—where the hell have you been, Niko?” Jenny asks incredulously.

“No, not Hell silly, I was in the Dreaming!” Niko answers brightly. “Although Hell did try to take over, which is why it took so long for me to get back.”

“Hell did what now ?” Hob cuts in, suddenly feeling quite faint. He’s quite glad he’s still behind the bar, else he may have also collapsed on the floor himself. 

“It is,” Dream says with a deep and weary sigh, “quite the tale. It seems you have your own stories to share as well, my friend.”

“I—yeah I do. I’ll close the bar and call the boys and Crystal,” Hob replies. “Best if we get both stories out in one go, I think.”

“Agreed.”

-------------------------

There's a lot of screaming and crying that follows, and Hob is pretty certain he's going to be hard of hearing for the next few days while his eardrums recover. He doesn't mind though. Not when the kids all look so happy.

Niko's soul, it turns out, had been blasted to an entirely different dimension when she’d died, and that had been due to the cocktail of magical essences Niko had been carrying on her person unknowingly at the time. A lucky charm in the shape of a polar bear from someone named Tragic Mick had protected her from the magic that Esther the Witch had used to kill her, but then that magic had collided with the magic of the dandelion sprites. Apparently, when Litty and Kingham left Niko’s body without killing her, they had left some of their essence behind in her body, forging a connection that forced them to go wherever she went. And if all that wasn’t complicated enough, there was also apparently a cursed magic 8-ball! Hob’s really not sure how that played a part in anything, but according to Dream and Niko, the fact that she’d carried it with her at the time was vital to her transformation.

Which is to say, Niko Sasaki was no longer necessarily human. At least, not human by this dimension’s standards. Apparently her hair had once been black, then bleached blonde when the sprites had left her body, and now this newest brush with her own mortality had left her hair bright pink, and her eyes a glowing blue. Apparently it gave her the ability to see in the dark, and also sometimes see the future, amongst other abilities that she and Dream were still discovering.

In short, as she described it, Niko had become “a magical school girl! Without the weird uniform though. But all the cool magic!” 

Dream had come across her when she’d attempted to get back to the reality she knew. Her transformation had given her the ability to dimension walk, though she didn’t know that’s what she was doing when she’d been drawn to the gates of the Dreaming. She’d only walked towards something that felt like home to her, and the gates of the Dreaming, also recognizing Niko as one of its original inhabitants, had swung open easily to let her and the sprites inside. 

Dream himself had not been so welcoming at first. He’d taken Niko’s accidental wandering as intentional trespassing with an intent to invade. Niko and the sprites had tried to explain themselves, but they didn’t get very far before an actual threat to the Dreaming appeared in the form of Lucifer Morningstar and their generals from Hell. Although they were not obligated to, all three joined the battle against Hell, Niko because she felt it was the right thing to do, while Litty and Kingham claimed Hell was no place for faeries. 

In the end, however, the sprites had perished during the battle, giving up their lives and the last of their magic for Niko, which is why she was covered in glittering blood. Apparently, sprite blood doesn’t wash out, but would fade on its own over time. Since Litty and Kingham had died within the boundaries of the Dreaming, Dream had offered them a permanent place in his realm as residents, as gratitude for their sacrifice. They had chosen to become nightmares, which, according to Niko and the others, was entirely appropriate considering their personalities.

Hob’s head is spinning by the time Dream and Niko finish recounting the tale. Edwin and Charles immediately start asking dozens of questions about Niko’s time in another dimension, while Crystal and Jenny bracket the girl on each side, holding her tightly as if she may disappear again if they weren’t around to tether her to this dimension. Johanna shows up at some point to be moral support for her girlfriend too, and further breaks Hob’s brain by confirming she too had been blasted to another dimension due to magic spells gone wrong.

Hob should maybe update his wards to include prevention against interdimensional travel. He’ll figure out the how of that later, though. Right now, tonight was a night for celebrating, school night be damned. It does not escape his notice that he’s the only one of their group that even has to worry about that.

-------------------------

Hours later, Hob finds himself alone at the new Inn with Dream, cleaning up dishes and putting away the chairs for the night. The others had offered at first to help clean up, but Hob had insisted they all go home and rest, but Dream had insisted that he would stay behind to help clean up and well, Hob’s never been able to deny Dream anything. 

Hob hadn’t missed the pointed looks Crystal and Edwin had given him as she and the others had filed out of the pub, nor the curious look from Jenny, and most certainly not the look of abject horror from Johanna. Charles and Niko had been the worst offenders, both giving him two obnoxious thumbs up on their way out. Hob doesn’t even know Niko, this was just getting embarrassing at this point. Everyone seemed to have some sort of opinion on Hob’s relationship (no, not a situationship) with Dream.

Hob really only cares about one person’s opinion though, and he’s currently staring at Hob as he finishes wiping down the tables, the last activity left before he closes up for the night.

“You did a good thing, reuniting those kids,” Hob says to Dream as he tosses his rag on the counter and turns to face his friend. “I've never seen them so happy.”

Dream hums contemplatively. “I hardly did anything,” he replies, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “It was Niko's determination alone that carried her as far as it did, and her bravery that kept my realm from falling. I simply delivered her back to the Waking World.”

“I’m glad she was here, to have your back,” Hob says. “And I’m glad you brought her here. I know you said earlier you didn’t know the kids were here, but did you really not notice?”

“I did not,” Dream admits. “I have been—preoccupied with many things as of late. I simply brought Niko to where I knew for certain that she would be safe. Cared for.” 

“I’m honored,” Hob replies, grinning from ear to ear. “That you’d consider me a good caretaker for her. I would hope you know I’d be happy to care for you too, should you ever need it.”

“I am—aware,” Dream says, his cheeks taking on the slightest hue of pink. Hob briefly wonders if Dream blushes everywhere on his body, or only just on his face. Then he feels his own face heat up as his mind goes off in other directions.  

“Would you like to come upstairs?” Hob asks, trying to distract himself from his wandering thoughts, but then he realizes just how suggestive his invitation sounds and blushes even more. “I mean, I uh, if you don’t have anywhere to be I’d uhm—I’d like to keep talking,” he adds quickly, trying and failing to banish thoughts of what they could be doing in Hob’s flat other than talking . Christ, this was his oldest friend, not some girl he was trying to take to bed for the night. Dream doesn’t respond right away to Hob’s question, only tilts his head at him as if assessing something that Hob cannot see. 

“Hob Gadling,” Dream finally says, his voice suddenly serious. “You are aware I can see into daydreams as well as sleeping ones?”

Shit. 

Well cat’s out of the bag then. Might as well own up to it. Crystal’s never going to let him live this down, Hob knows.

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Hob says, before taking a deep breath to calm the rapid beating of his heart. “I really did want to just talk, I promise. I’m a grown man, Dream I know how to take a rejection. I’m happy for just your company, and friendship.” He means every single word of it too, and if Dream didn’t believe him, he could apparently just read his mind to find out. 

“Hmmm,” Dream replies, before he takes one, two, three wide steps into Hob’s personal space. Hob inhales sharply, tasting petrichor and stars and infinity in that single breath. 

“I have been made aware recently,” Dream continues after a moment, looking up at Hob from his eyelashes, “that I carry a lot of ‘baggage’, as Niko likes to put it.”

“We all have our burdens,” Hob replies, with a shrug. “I'd help you carry yours, if you'd let me. Or well, if I could.”

“No,” Dream says. “I asked another once, if she would be my queen, and share that burden with me. She told me the burden would be too great for her, or any mortal.”

“Dream,” Hob starts, more ready to make his case. “I could—”

“No,” Dream interrupts, shaking his head, his gaze suddenly faraway as he recalls what Hob assumes to be a painful memory. “She was right. I would not ask you to take such a responsibility. It would fundamentally change you and leave you unable to live your life as you have been accustomed to these past centuries.”

“But?” Hob asks knowing there is a but in Dream’s tone. Dream sighs, before he meets Hob’s eyes again, his gaze clearer and perhaps a bit…hopeful?

“But perhaps…maybe coffee?” Dream asks shyly. Hob laughs. 

“Did you learn that from Niko too?” Hob teases him.

“In a way,” Dream answers, cryptic as ever. “If you are willing to be patient with me, Hob, I would gladly cherish you as both a friend and… something more than that,” he adds, and Hob’s heart soars. “There are limitations, however, and I—”

“Dream,” Hob interrupts. “Remember how we started? A hundred years between each meeting? That was enough.” He takes Dream's hand into his and kisses it, then moves his lips across each individual knuckle. 

“I don't know how relationships with anthropomorphic personifications are supposed to work, but I know it won't be what I'm used to,” Hob confesses. “And it's okay, Dream. It's enough for me, just to know that you feel something for me too. We can figure the rest out later.”

“You are too free with your affections,” Dream tells him, but there’s no real reproach in his voice.

“Maybe,” Hob replies. “But I have a lot of love to give, what with living forever and all. Let me show you just how much?” he adds, this time unashamedly letting his daydreams unspool from his mind. The innocent and dirty alike. Dream’s eyes widen as he seems to physically taste Hob’s dreams, before his eyes darken and he squeezes Hob’s hand in turn.

“Lead the way then,” Dream says, his lips quirking just the slightest bit into a playful smile. Hob kisses Dream's hand once more and winks, before leading the Endless upstairs to end the night.

[thepenguinandthefiend]

My F/Os

Since I've decided to become a self-ship blog now, here's a list of my f/os. There will likely be more added later.

Romantic F/Os:

Zatanna Zatara (DC comics) {no sharing} Johanna Mason (Hunger Games) {no sharing} Desire (The Sandman) {no sharing} Elektra Natchios (Marvel comics) {no sharing} Bucky Barnes (MCU) {sharing iffy} Illyana Rasputin (X-Men) {no sharing} Bill Potts (Doctor Who) {sharing ok} Dean Winchester (Supernatural) {no sharing} Mazikeen (Lucifer) {sharing iffy} Remy LeBeau (X-Men) {sharing iffy} Gareth Ritter (Brain Dead) {no sharing} Vanessa Morales (In the Heights) {sharing iffy} Faith Lehane (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) {sharing ok} Elsa Bloodstone (Marvel Comics) {no sharing} Boodikka (Green Lantern) {sharing ok} Felicity Smoak (Arrow) {sharing iffy} Lena Luthor (Supergirl) {sharing iffy} Emilia Rothschild (Jack of All Trades) {sharing ok} Shotzi (WWE) {no sharing} Finn Balor (WWE) {no sharing} Abadon (AEW) {no sharing} Tulip O'Hare (Preacher) {sharing ok} Queen Emeraldas (Galaxy Express 999) {sharing ok} Dr. Kimiyo Hoshi (DC Comics) {sharing iffy} Darby Allin (AEW) {no sharing} Jenny Green (Dead Boy Detectives) {sharing iffy} Bleez (Green Lantern) {sharing ok} Klaus Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy) {no sharing} Harley Quinn (DC Comics) {sharing iffy} Poison Ivy {sharing iffy}

Queer-Platonic F/Os:

America Chavez (Young Avengers) Ella Lopez (Lucifer) Finnick Odair (Hunger Games) Hartley Rathaway (Flash/DC comics) Kate Bishop (Young Avengers) Monica Rambeau (Marvel Comics/MCU) Larissa Duan (Check, Please) Roxie Richter (Scott Pilgrim) Shvaughn Erin (Legion of Superheroes) Bling Mag (Repo: the Genetic Opera) Drew McIntyre (WWE) Yelena Belova (Marvel Comics) Ianto Jones (Torchwood) Benny Lafitte (Supernatural) Carla (In the Heights)

Platonic F/Os:

Kon-El (DC comics) Eliot Waugh (The Magicians) Jonathan Crane (DC comics) Wallace Wells (Scott Pilgrim) Ragdoll (Secret Six) Yukio Okumura (Blue Exorcist) Winn Schott Jr. (Supergirl) Edward Nygma (Gotham) William Poindexter (Check, Please) Jaysen Caulfield (Icebreaker) Onomatopoeia (DC comics) Topher Brink (Dollhouse) Danhausen (AEW) Roy Harper (DC comics/Arrowverse) Beetlejuice (Beetlejuice: the Musical)

Familial F/Os:

Alfred Pennyworth (DC comics) [grandfather] The Master (Doctor Who) [father] Wanda Maximoff (Marvel comics) [mother] Ursula (The Little Mermaid) [mother] Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland) [mother] Bruce Wayne (DC comics) [father] Pietro Maximoff (Marvel comics) [uncle] Lorna Dane (Marvel comics) [aunt] Erik Lensher (Marvel comics) [grandfather] John Constantine (DC comics/Arrowverse) [older brother] Leon Kennedy (Resident Evil) [older brother] Leonard Snart (DC comics/Arrowverse) [older brother] Lisa Snart (DC comics/Arrowverse) [older sister] Kent Parson (Check, Please) [older brother] Dick Grayson (DC comics) [older brother] Jason Todd (DC comics) [older brother] Enjolras (Les Miserables) [twin brother] Tim Drake (DC comics) [younger brother] Damian Wayne (DC comics) [younger brother] Stephanie Brown (DC comics) [younger sister] Cassandra Cain (DC comics) [younger sister] Duke Thomas (DC comics) [younger brother] Billy Kaplan (Young Avengers) [younger brother] Tommy Shepherd (Young Avengers) [younger brother] Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) [adopted brother] Dirk Gently (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency) [cousin] Graham Miller (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) [cousin] Percy de Rolo (Vox Machina) [cousin] Luna Maximoff (Marvel comics) [cousin] 10K (Z-Nation) [son] Lonnie Machin (DC comics) [son] Andrew Wells (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) [adopted son] Giovanni Zatara (DC Comics) [father-in-law] Piotr Rasputin (X-Men) [brother-in-law] Teddy Altman (Young Avengers) [brother-in-law] Sam Winchester (Supernatural) [brother-in-law] Adam Milligan (Supernatural) [brother-in-law] Dream (Sandman) [brother-in-law] Death (Sandman) [sister-in-law] Delirium (Sandman) [sister-in-law] Despair (Sandman) [sister-in-law] Destiny (Sandman) [brother-in-law] The Prodigal (Sandman) [brother-in-law] Luther Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy) [brother-in-law] Diego Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy) [brother-in-law] Allison Hargreeves (Umbrella Acadmy) [sister-in-law] Five Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy) [brother-in-law] Ben Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy) [brother-in-law] Viktor Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy) [brother-in-law/best friend]

Pet F/Os:

Lockheed (X-Men) Dex-Starr (DC comics) Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland)

[crashhole]

My 2024 Comic Reading List

Listed alphabetically, this is every title I read this year. I’ve either read the entirety of each series and/or am currently up to date with the overwhelming majority of these, though a few of them I did drop, and some were rereads. I also didn’t double down on series with the same names (such as Wolverine, Iron Man, X-Men, and other titles that have ended and relaunched this year) but I did include one shots. Almost all of these were read physically and are part of my boyfriend and I’s collection, but a couple of them were read digitally- mostly but not all of the manga. Ultimately, I can say I’ve read at least one issue of every title on this list.

I read 1030 issues from 284 titles this year.

———————————————

Absolute Batman

Absolute Superman

Absolute Wonder Woman

Absolute Power

Action Comics

The Addiction

Age of Bronze: The Story of the Trojan War

Ain’t No Grave

Alan Scott, Green Lantern

Alien

Alien: Black, White & Blood

Alien: Paradiso

Alien: Romulus

Aliens Vs. Avengers

All-New Venom

All The Things We Didn’t Do Last Night

The Amazing Spider-Man

Animal Pound

Astro Baby

The Autumn Kingdom

The Avengers

Avengers Inc.

Avengers Twilight

Barfly

Basic Instinct

Batman

Batman: Dark Age

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees

Beware of the Planet of the Apes

Beyond Real

Beyond the Planet of the Apes

Birthright

Black Widow: Venomous

Blitmap

Blood Hunt

Bloodrik

Blow Away

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex

The Brood

The Boy Wonder

The Cabinet

Cable

Carnage

Catwoman

Cemetery Kids Don’t Die

Chainsawman

Chasm: Curse of Kaine

Claymore

Cobra Commander

Coda

Convert

The Creeping Below

Creepshow

Creepshow Holiday Special

Crocodile Black

Cruel Universe

Cult of the Lamb

Darkstalkers: Jedah

The Darques

Dawnrunner

Dazzler

DC All In Special

Dead Eyes: The Empty Frames

Dead X-Men

Deathstalker

Deer Editor

Deprog

Destro

The Deviant

Devour

The Displaced

Doctor Strange

Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale

Doom

Duke

Edge of Spider-Verse

Epitaphs from the Abyss

Exceptional X-Men

Eye Lie Popeye

Falling in Love on the Path to Hell

Fall of the House of X

Fantastic Four

The Flash

Flavor Girls: Return to the Mothership

The Fog

Gannibal

Gatchaman

Gatchaman: Galactor

Gatchaman: Ken Deathmatch

Geiger

Generation Hope

Get Fury

Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance

Giant-Size X-Men: Magneto

Giant-Size Spider-Man

G.I. Joe

G.O.D.S.

Godzilla 70th Anniversary

Godzilla: Best of Destoroyah

Godzilla: Best of Spacegodzilla

Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons II: Sons of Giants

Godzilla Library Collection

Godzilla: Mechagodzilla 50th Anniversary Special

Godzilla Rivals: King Ghidorah vs Space Godzilla

Godzilla Rivals: Versus Manda

Godzilla Rivals: Mechagodzilla vs King Ghidorah

Godzilla Rivals: Mothra vs. Moguera

Godzilla: Skate or Die!

Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theater

Godzilla: War for Humanity

Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2

Golgotha: Motor Mountain

Gun Honey: Collision Course

Helen of Wyndhorn

Hellhunters

Hello Darkness

Hellverine

Huge Detective

Hyde Street

I Heart Skull-Crusher!

Itchy & Scratchy Comics

The Immortal Thor

The Incredible Hulk

Interdimensional

Into the Unbeing

The Invincible Iron Man

Jackpot

Jackpot & Black Cat

The Jaguar

John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dead In America

Jujustu Kaisen

Justice League Unlimited

Kid Venom

Kill All Immortals

Laura Kinney, Wolverine

Life

Lucky Cap Scouts

Man’s Best

Marvel 85th Anniversary Special

Masterpiece

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return

Minor Threats: The Fastest Way Down

Monsteress

The Moon is Following Us

Morning Star

Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace

Mugshots

The Multiversity

The Multiversity: Mastermen

Mystique

Naruto

Nightmare Country: The Glass House

Nights

NYX

The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos

The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos Halloween Special

The One Hand

One Piece

Our Bones Dust

Paranoid Gardens

PeePeePooPoo

Phoenix

Planetary Expansion

Poison Ivy

The Power Fantasy

The Powerpuff Girls

Power Rangers Unlimited: The Morphin Masters

Precious Metal

Predator: The Last Hunt

Predator Versus Black Panther

Promethea

Psylocke

Ranma 1/2

Resurrection of Magneto

Rise of the Powers of X

Rogues

Roxxon Presents: Thor

Sabretooth: The Dead Don’t Talk

The Sacrificers

Sainted Love

The Sandman

Santos Sisters

Scarlett

Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver

Sentinels

Seven Years In Darkness

Seven Years in Darkness: Year Two

Shaman King

Sheena Queen of the Jungle: Fatal Exam

Shiver Suspenstories

The Sickness

The Six Fingers

Skin Police

Something Epic

Space Ghost

Space Usagi

The Spectacular Spider-Men

Spectregraph

Spectrum

Spider-Man: Black Suit & Blood

Spider-Man Reign 2

Spider-Woman

Spirits of Vengeance

Star Wars Visions: The Ronin and the Droid

Storm

Street Fighter Masters: Akuma vs Ryu

Summer Shadows

Superman

Superman: House of Brainiac Special

Superman: Lost

Superwoman Special

S.W.O.R.D.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles X Naruto

Tenement

The Terminator

Thanos

ThunderCats

ThunderCats: Cheetara

Tom Strong

Toxic Summer

Transformers

Uncanny Valley

Uncanny X-Men

Unnatural Order

Universal Monsters: The Creature From The Black Lagoon Lives!

Universal Monsters: Dracula

Universal Monsters: Frankenstein

Ultimate Black Panther

The Ultimates

Ultimate Spider-Man

Ultimate Universe: One Year In

Ultimate X-Men

Ultraman X Avengers

Vampirella

Vampirella: Dark Reflections

Vampirella/Dracula: Rage

Venom

Venomverse Reborn

Venom War

Venom War: Carnage

Venom War: Daredevil

Venom War: Deadpool

Venom War: Fantastic Four

Venom War: It’s Jeff

Venom War: Lethal Protectors

Venom War: Spider-Man

Venom War: Venomous

Venom War: Wolverine

Venom War: Zombiotes!

Vicarious

Violent Flowers

Void Rivals

W0rldtr33

Washed in Blood

Weapon X-Men

The Weatherman

Wesley Dodds, Sandman

What if…? Aliens

What If…? Donald Duck Became Wolverine

The Whisper Queen: A Blacksand Tale

Witchblade

The White Trees: A Blacksand Tale

The Wicked + The Divine

Wolverine

Wolverine: Blood Hunt

Wolverine: Revenge

Wonder Woman

World’s Finest

X-Factor

X-Force

X-Men

X-Men: Blood Hunt - Psylocke

X-Men Forever

X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse

X-Men Unlimited

Yakub the Father of the White Devil Race

Yu-Gi-Oh!

Yu-Gi-Oh! R

Zatanna: Bring Down the House

Zatch Bell 2

Zawa + the Belly of the Beast

Zenescope Presents Horror & Fantasy Illustrated

———————————————

Any questions? Looking for any recommendations? Hit me up! And have an incredible 2025!

[marvelsgirl616]

Pintrest Icon Board Links.

-- my profile

⟾ MARVEL:

- film icons - tv icons - duo/trios icons

⟾ X-MEN:

- film icons - x-men 97' icons

⟾ DC

- film icons - film villians - animated tv shows / video game icons

⟾ DC TV SHOWS:

- lucifer icons - supergirl icons - arrow icons - the flash icons - constantine icons - titans icons - the sandman icons - dead boy detectives icons - legends of tomorrow icons

⟾ TV SERIES:

- outer banks (obx) icons - the mentalist icons - the boys icons - the rookie icons - suits icons - 9-1-1 icons - game of thrones icons - gen v incons

⟾ FILMS:

- twight saga icons - barbie (2023) - the little mermaid (2023) - misc tv show / film icons

[themysticmd]

dossier

BASICS

name: asa

alias: nightmare, night nurse

gender: female, she / her

orientation: bisexual polyamorous

species: demon

occupation: nurse, handler of the dead boy detective agency, occasional member of justice league dark and task force x

face claim: ruth connell

PHYSICAL

eyes: green

hair: red

height: 5'2

build: slim, petite

skin: pale when appearing human, otherwise, green with ridged, swirling patterns across the high points of her face and body

clothing: generally favours vintage / 40's style well-tailored fashion. has also been seen in a purple nurse's uniform. sometimes wears a medic's armband on her left bicep

MENTAL

alignment: neutral / morally grey

positive attributes: affectionate, charming, confident, curious, disciplined, discreet, efficient, flirtatious, intelligent, meticulous, observant, organised, passionate, perceptive, persuasive, playful, quirky, sensual, sentimental, talented, uninhibited, witty

negative attributes: compulsive, controlling, devious, dishonest, disloyal, gossipy, hostile, impatient, manipulative, mischievous, needy, nosy, oversensitive, pedantic, perfectionist, temperamental, unethical, whiny, workaholic 

likes: sweet treats, self-care, naps, romance

dislikes: paperwork, poor time management, interruptions, giant anglerfish named angie

ABILITIES

healing

any and all medical subfields  /  surgical skill  /  trauma-reading  /  raw healing magic 

immortality 

extended life span  /  complete illness immunity  /  death is unavailable to her

magic

trauma-reading  /  object creation  /  shapeshifting  

EQUIPMENT

ledger

enchanted to show whichever file she happens to be looking for ( headcanon )

scalpels

has been known to conjure them and throw them at constantine ( and others )

WEAKNESSES 

lack of humanity

she doesn't understand the human condition, so she can often come across as unempathetic and cruel when the reality is just that she doesn't get it

oversensitive

though she often sees human emotions as petty, she feels her own ones very strongly. she gets her feelings hurt very easily and is quite often nursing a broken heart in some regard

BIOGRAPHY

asa is a demon and the self-proclaimed healer from hell. her actual age is unknown, but it can be safely assumed she dates back at least a few millennia.

she most often appears as a small, pale woman with ginger hair. she has a soft scottish accent. the exact circumstances that brought about asa's change in career are unknown. however, when facing blight, it was revealed that she was forced to take on her duties as punishment for her previous actions.

her Hippocratic oath is burned onto her should - which was an excruciating process - and is a fundamental part of her character. it exists as an almost constant niggle in the back of her head, making her feel like she has to help out even when she doesn't want to. 

for some time, asa worked as a nurse and housemaid for a woman named alice winter. alice was terminally ill, and asa knew there was nothing even she could do to fix her. as her current body was becoming old and decrepit, asa decided to possess alice instead, taking over her body and inhabiting it herself. she held alice's consciousness prisoner in her own mind, forcing her to lay dormant for years.

meanwhile, no longer trapped on earth tending to alice, asa was relocated to the lost and found department of the afterlife. here, she was essentially a ward clerk; it was her responsibility to ensure all dead children were taken to their proper places and not left to wander endlessly. after a very, very long time in this job, asa became exceedingly pedantic. as much as he hates it, forms and paperwork and processes are her entire life; she was so surrounded by it that it made her almost permanently uptight and stressed.

during this time, she finds herself occasionally involved with the jld and task force x. at one point, alice throws asa out of her body, disgusted at what the nurse had done to her. however, upon realising that she couldn't survive on her own, alice invited asa back in. the two agreed to share and cohabited alice's body for a long time. alice's consciousness was no longer dormant, and asa agreed to let her see and feel everything she saw and felt. alice was, after all, still her patient and this was a way to give her a decent quality of life. this continued for a long time, although eventually alice grew tired. unlike asa, she was just a regular human woman, so her lifespan was significantly shorter than her demonic counterpart's. eventually, alice slipped away entirely, leaving asa alone.

when she was not on loan to the task force or the league, she was almost always in lost & found. her most troublesome charges were charles rowland and edwin paine, commonly known as the dead boy detectives. asa was desperate to get them passed on to their respective afterlives, but when her superior discovered that the boys' work was actually crucial to the success of the lost and found department, asa was reallocated again. she is now the earthside handler of the dead boy detectives; essentially, she is the middle point between the afterlife bureaucracy and the dead boy detective agency.

though she can be very pedantic and highly-strung, asa is also charming and smily most of the time. this can often be a mask that she puts up to protect herself, a guise of professionalism under which she hides. she has excellent bedside manner, though she does lack empathy. she likes it when her patients are so desperate for her help that they'll do anything for her, and she'll take advantage of that when she can/ the majority of the time, she doesn't actually care about her patients; they are nobodies and she just likes that they need her, it's sort of a power trip. she couldn't care less if they lived or died, and she doesn't really understand what all the fuss is about dying anyway. she can be very deceitful and manipulative, especially if it means protecting herself. she's also very emotional and often gets her feelings hurt. she falls in love very quickly, and regularly gets her heart broken. she cries easily and a lot, often just from sheer stress. she also has the ability to see into people\s minds and make them relive their trauma while she watches on.

[hannaloony]

Dead boy detectives x Constantine

[laiqualaurelote]

The den is as they left it, except for the woman sitting on their sofa. She is all in black, and the ankh necklace gleams upon her chest. She has the kindest smile. 

 “Hello, boys,” she says. “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure.” 

 “Yes, well,” says Edwin stiffly, “I hope you will appreciate that we have worked very hard to keep it that way.” 

 “I do appreciate it,” says Death. “I do.”

Chapter 9: The Most Important Thing in the Whole Universe a.k.a. heist heisted! fic complete!

[inastarlesssky]

About Me

Hi! Name's Ella. Pronouns are She/Her. You can call me Ella, Starless or Star. I'm 28, currently studying a difficult foreign language, writing fics in my free time and pining after fictional characters. I'm into more fandoms than are listed here, but these are mostly my main ones. Currently obsessing over The Umbrella Academy.

(Basically the fandoms I'm a part of and my respective ships)

⚜ The Sandman ➵ Dream x Calliope (OTP, I love them, your honour.) ➵ Dream x Johanna Constantine (Doomed to fail but I just love the idea of them, alright. Let me.) ➵ Dream & Hob Gadling (Do I even need to say why I love them?) ⚜ Dead Boy Detectives ➵ Charles Rowland x Crystal Palace ➵ Charles Rowland x Edwin Payne ➵ Edwin Payne & Niko Sasaki ⚜ Doctor Who ➵ Ten x Rose ➵ Ten x Clara ➵ Eleven x Clara ➵ Twelve & Clara ⚜ Good Omens ➵ Crowley x Aziraphale ➵ Eric the Disposable Demon & Muriel (I don't really legit ship them, but come on, they'd be kinda cute) ⚜ Harry Potter ➵ Draco x Hermione ➵ Harry x Hermione ⚜ Marvel ⚜ Pirates of the Caribbean ➵ Will x Elizabeth ⚜ The Legendborn Cycle ➵ Selwyn Kane x Bree Matthews ⚜ Star Wars ➵ Anidala ➵ Reylo ➵ Oshamir

About Me

Firstly, if you're running a blog that's The Sandman, Good Omens, Dead Boy Detectives or The Umbrella Academy and you see among your followers but realize I don't really post any of that stuff, this is my main blog and where I can follow from. You'll see below but I do have seperate sideblogs for those fandoms and am posting stuff there for such content, so just to keep in mind. C: ❦ Tags & Their Uses ❦ It's pretty self-explanatory. Fanart, fic recs are what it says on the tin. I usually tag fandom specific with the particular fandom, so by topic, my tags are: Fandoms - (really it's mostly the Sandman here fyi) The Sandman - #the sandman netflix #the sandman Harry Potter - #dramione #harry potter (though I post about this very rarely now) Personal Stuff - me and life stuff, #my ramblings Art - #fanart (for art from shows, movies etc) #my art (MY art as you can see below)

❦ My Stuff ❦ Fanfiction: I'm an author, so I'll occasionally post links to my works here though I post firstly and primarily on AO3 which can be found here. I always tag my fics with #ella writes stuff and #my fic: [insert title of the fic here] so anything related to a particular fic can be found under that tag. You can also find a list of my current projects organized by in-progress and completed here organized by in-progress and completed. (But that particular spot needs to be updated bc it's been a hell of a long time since I updated it and things have changed since) Art: I use a pencil sometimes when I'm so inspired. I tag that with #ella draws stuff. Meta: I sometimes write this when I have strong emotions about things I've seen or have really big unanswered questions or wonder things. It'll be tagged mostly with #my ramblings and the respective fandom it pertains to, though you'll find it's mostly The Sandman right here. So until I find a better tag, #the sandman meta will be that for now.

❦ My Sideblogs ❦

Good Omens: ineffablenlghtingales

Dead Boy Detectives: ghost-husbands

Pirates of the Caribbean stuff: ofblacksmithsandswanns

The Umbrella Academy: snarkyfivehargeeves

The Legendborn Cycle (mostly stuff about Bree and Sel): kingsmageandlionheart

Star Wars (Mostly Skeleton Crew with stuff from the original movies and a bit of Reylo + Oshamir bc I've started shipping them since finishing The Acolyte): jedisandspacepirates

I do have discord! If we're mutuals, you can definitely ask for it via message. :]

Lastly (if you've come to this point, wow, you're amazing], I am not a minor and I do not take special care with the things I post here. That being said, I don't post much content that's explicitly adult, but if you are a minor, please be aware I am not.

Note: If you'd like to translate my work into another language, I think that's awesome and that would make me super happy, but please do ask first. C: There's currently a Russian translation of When the Day Loved the Night in progress, so I'll have a link to that on the original work on AO3

That's about it. Come say hi if you like, I'm into a lot more fandoms than the ones I've just listed, so if you're curious, ask.

By the way, my messages ARE open, but maybe just gimme a heads up or something or ask before if you wanna chat about any of these above fandoms. Sometimes I get random ass messages and I'm a little bit confused about them...you're welcome to! Don't be afraid, I love chatting about my fixations, just gimme a heads-up, eh? ^^

[dee-is-for-lots-of-things]

An Unnecessarily Comprehensive Sandman Reading Order

Having now read EVERY comic that I could find based on, using characters from, or tying in with @neil-gaiman‘s Sandman series, I thought I should provide what is, as far as i can tell, the definitive list of everything Sandman, in roughly the order of publication, and also what I thought of them. Warning: there’s a lot of it (over 580 issues in two and a half months).

Sandman (1989) #1-28 [Neil Gaiman] (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

Obviously we start at the beginning (I hear it’s a very good place to start) with the first 3 main arcs of Sandman plus some single issue stories. This is where the series really leans into the horror side of “dark fantasy,” and I for one love it. Idk, there’s not really much to say here. This is a Sandman blog, we all love this series here, or at least like it enough to talk about it. Go reread this stuff. It’s fuckin good.

The Books of Magic (1990) #1-4 [Neil Gaiman] (x)

The original Books of Magic series is essentially a guided tour of the DC universe’s magic side. Each issue focuses on a specific part of the universe, most of which are callbacks to comics that, I promise, you do not need to have read. The main three reasons to include this is: a) it’s fun, b) Tim as a character gets his own series which becomes part of the Sandman Universe relaunch, and c) it’s a nice place to learn a bunch of DC magic stuff which might show up later without having to drag yourself through the wiki and or read a thousand other comics. Then again this list is over 570 comics long, so maybe that second part’s not much of an issue here.

Sandman (1989) #29-31, Special #1, #32-50 [Neil Gaiman] (x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

This begins with the Distant Mirrors collection (rather than placing them in the Fables & Reflections TP) and runs all the way to the end of Brief Lives and the Ramadan issue (essentially the end of Distant Mirrors, albeit two years later). Brief Lives and A Game of You are still my favourite Sandman collections, the best examples of what I call “human Sandman,” focused on dreamers and their lives and all that, and “Endless Sandman,” focused on the affairs of Dream and his funky family.

Death: The High Cost of Living #1-3 [Neil Gaiman]

The first Death spinoff! It’s based on the one-day-as-a-human thing she does, it’s a lot of fun, and other side characters from Sandman make an appearance! Look, we all know these are good. I don’t have as much to say about them as I do about the obscure comics from the early 2000s that it feels like only I read.

The Children’s Crusade: The Children’s Crusade #1, Black Orchid Annual #1, Animal Man Annual #1, Swamp Thing Annual #7, Doom Patrol Annual #2, Arcana (The Books of Magic) Annual #1, The Children’s Crusade #2 [Neil Gaiman, Nick Foreman, Jamie Delano, Nancy A. Collins, Rachel Pollack, John Ney Rieber, Alisa Kwitney] (x)

This is a crossover between all the big Vertigo titles, focused on the children of each series. Don’t worry about what’s actually going on in the individual series the annuals are from, but the overall plot (by Neil Gaiman) focuses on what the Dead Boy Detectives (Charles and Edwin from Sandman #25) have been up to since escaping Death. They get more very good spinoff content later on, and apparently they’re getting a tv show soon which should be fun.

Death Talks About Life [Neil Gaiman] (x)

This is the short AIDS educational comic. John Constantine has a banana. I like it, I think it deserves a place in this list. Apparently Neil Gaiman almost got arrested for it which is some king shit honestly.

The Spectre (1992) #19-22 [John Ostrander]

This is a very meh arc of a Spectre series that I have not read anything else of. But Lucien is in it briefly so I did read this bit. And in my opinion? Completionism was not worth this boring comic.

Sandman (1989) #51-75 [Neil Gaiman] (x) (x) (x)

The big finale! Worlds’ End and The Wake bookend the massive 12 issue The Kindly Ones arc, so I think keeping all of them together makes a certain amount of sense.

The Books of Magic (1994) #1-20 [John Ney Rieber] (x)

The start of the proper Books of Magic ongoing series (this series being one of my favourite things I’ve read for this) expands nicely on what we know about Tim from the Neil Gaiman miniseries. A lot of plotlines also get picked up from the Children’s Crusade event, and stuff from there is explained and expanded upon. Look, I love this series so much and I think that, while what the Sandman Universe reboot did with it was entertaining, this is still much better.

Sandman: Midnight Theatre [Neil Gaiman, Matt Wagner]

This explores the golden age Sandman, Westley Dodds, and also gives a look at Dream in captivity. The actual Sandman content isn’t a huge part of it, mostly focusing on character that are presumably a part of Vertigo’s Sandman Mystery Theatre series of which this is technically a spinoff. Still, it’s enjoyable, the art is nice, and we get a nice look at the Order of Ancient Mysteries that we don’t really see in Sandman.

Death: The Time of Your Life #1-3 [Neil Gaiman]

Death spinoff 2! This one focuses completely on Hazel and Foxglove after A Game of You and The High Cost of Living, and is less about Death herself (although this isn’t the Death spinoff with the least Death in it. We’ll get there).

The Books of Magic (1994) #21-32, Annual #1, #33-38 [John Ney Rieber] (x)

More of a transitionary period in the series, Molly gets sent off on her own subplot while Tim wanders aimlessly around America for a bit. The America stuff can get confusing and disjointed and doesn’t quite fit into a compelling coherent narrative, but Molly’s plotline more than makes up for it

The Dreaming (1996) #1-16 [Terry LaBan, Peter Hogan, Alisa Kwitney, Bryan Talbot, Jeff Nicholson] (x)

While the best bits of this series are yet to come, there are some good stories in this first, more loosely connected section. That being said, the first 3-issue arc in particular isn’t exactly a perfect example of what the strengths of this series will be, and really it’s just treading water waiting for a writer to come along with a good overall vision for the series. Don’t worry, that’ll come.

The Books of Faerie #1-3 [Bronwyn Carlton]

This seems like a fairly standard telling of an origin story, but it actually ends up providing insights into Tim’s actual true parentage which was left entirely up in the air in the issue of Books of Magic that this picks up from. Which is nice, because I was kinda confused.

The Dreaming (1996) #17-25 [Caitlin R Kiernan, Al Davison, Peter Hogan]

This is really where this series starts to show what it’s gonna be good at. The arc that begins in #17 is the first to be written by Caitlin R. Kiernan, and introduces characters, concepts, and themes which will become very important when they eventually take over writing the series, as well as just being really fucking good.

Vertigo: Winter’s Edge #1 [Neil Gaiman, Caitlin R Kiernan, John Ney Rieber]

These winter specials are always something of a mixed bag. For what’s relevant here, Neil Gaiman offers a Desire-based story which is confusing and vague and has little to do with Sandman aside from featuring an Endless, the Books of Magic segment is just a short and inconsequential adventure for Tim, and Caitlin R Kiernan clealy shines when they provide a Cain and Abel short which is both a fair bit of fun and establishes concepts and themes which will become very relevant for some of their later writing.

The Books of Magic (1994) Annual #2, #39-50 [John Ney Rieber]

It’s time for a big ol’ finale for the John Ney Rieber run on this series! A whole bunch of characters return! Excitement! Action! Magic! Chocolate! A surprise twist involving a character from very early on in Sandman! What more could you want, really?

Destiny: A Chronicle of Deaths Foretold #1-3 [Alisa Kwitney]

This is essentially a series of historical stories that loosely connect to one character who is somewhat linked to Destiny. It’s good, even if the stuff about a huge plague in the 21st century is a weird read now, and the individual issues are also pretty long. Don’t go in expecting a spinoff starring Destiny or providing insights into how all his shit works. The story is rather built around him, like a lot of Sandman around Dream, or the next-but-one item on this list around Death, and if you take it with that in mind you’ll enjoy it more than if you expect something it’s not.

The Dreaming (1996) #26, Special #1, #27-34 [Caitlin R Kiernan, Len Wein, Peter Hogan]

The Many Mansions arc, beginning with #27, is the first section of The Dreaming that’s felt like it’s really shaken up the status quo, and has taken big risks with the characters in service of the story. One of the main strengths of the series, in my opinion, is the fact that it allows what were simple running jokes, exaggerated horror hosts, or side characters to Dream’s angst a time to shine, both in the sense that they get the spotlight, but also that they are allowed to change, grow, and don’t end up in the same role as the series continues.

The Girl Who Would Be Death #1-4 [Caitlin R Kiernan]

This is a spinoff of The Dreaming and ties in with characters that Caitlin R Kiernan has already established, as well as establishing a few more, rather than being a sequel to Gaiman’s previous Death series. As with much of their writing in this universe, it’s got a brilliant atmosphere and fascinating characters. Also, it’s now canon that Death was at least one lesbian’s gay awakening which I think is the most realistic thing that’s ever been shown in any Sandman comic.

Vertigo: Winter’s Edge #2 [Neil Gaiman, Peter Gross, Caitlin R Kiernan]

The Sandman segment in this one is much stronger in my opinion, pulling on threads that are hinted at and explaining things from Sandman to give a good look at Death as an actual character. The Books of Magic story is the same sort of thing as the previous years, just a nice inconsequential short story with Tim. Again, though, Kiernan’s The Dreaming story is the best of the ones that I bothered to read, setting up things for the future and also providing some down-time to acknowledge the way that the status quo has shifted.

Sandman Presents: Lucifer: The Morningstar Option #1-3 [Mike Carey]

The beginning of another major spinoff line! This one’s fun, and also the start of the Sandman Presents collection of miniseries that came out from 1999-2004. Its plot also sets up the events of Mike Carey’s subsequent Lucifer series, so read this is you want the start of that to make any sense at all.

The Books of Magic (1994) #51-56, Annual #3, #57-63 [Peter Gross, Peter Hogan] (x) (x)

Idrk what to say here, I’ve already talked at length about how much I love this series. The exploration of private school culture is interesting even if it doesn’t last, and the multiversal implications of the Other are also very fun. That being said, sometimes the Peter Gross run does feel like it’s repeating what happened earlier (awful things happen to Tim’s dad, Tim gives away his magic, an imposter Tim takes his place, idk).

Sandman Presents: Love Street #1-3 [Peter Hogan]

I have no idea if this miniseries contradicts any of John Constantine’s established backstory from Hellblazer but personally, I really enjoyed this one. It finds a way to involve itself in the Sandman universe that justifies its Sandman Presents title, even if the fact that it’s a Hellblazer book could have been more clear. It’s also good to see more of the dreaming during Dream’s absence, and show what the dreams themselves actually did then.

The Books of Faerie: Molly’s Story #1-4 [John Ney Rieber]

IF you can get past the fact that this series has the ugliest art out of any comic I’ve read, the story here is really neat and it’s always nice to see Molly back, and any exploration of Faerie is usually enjoyable. Just, give yourself a second to get used to the art. Molly really doesn’t look like herself.

The Dreaming (1996) #35-43 [Caitlin R Kiernan] (x)

The culmination of Echo’s story has a big ol’ pile of transgenderism, and despite what certain other sandman blogs will tell you, the ending of Fox and Hounds is not just a repeat of The Wake and really, I don’t know how one might come to that conclusion. For one thing, it’s not the end, nor is it as grand in scope, and for another, it scratches my brain in a particular way because, on a more meta level, the ending grapples with how the concept for The Dreaming differs from the concept of Sandman, and how that difference impacts the story and the characters.

The Books of Magic (1994) #64-67 [Peter Gross]

While I know that part of the whole point of this series is that Tim can’t really settle down anywhere for long, this little home he makes in these issues is by far my favourite and I wish it had lasted longer than the Peter Gross run on the series. Also, this is where I started my “hey Tim... you ain’t cis” crusade and I need everyone to know that this child is very very queer.

Vertigo: Winter’s Edge #3 [Neil Gaiman, Caitlin R Kiernan, Peter Gross]

Another weird Desire story that I’m not too fond of from Neil, and Kiernan’s Dreaming segment is nice enough, but my favourite is the absolute pure fluff of the Books of Magic part, which crosses over with Sandman again and also seems designed to make me ship Mary and Joh as hard as humanly possible and, believe me, I do.

The Books of Magic (1994) #68-75 [Peter Gross] (x) (x)

Another big finale, and this one actually represents more of an end of an era than #50 did. Gross ties it back in with the very beginning and resolves a bunch of loose plot threads, as well as giving cameos to a bunch of characters from the John Ney Rieber issues so that The Names of Magic can transition to a different sort of story. It’s just a shame that we have to ditch the entire recurring cast again. Ah well.

The Dreaming (1996) #44-49 [Caitlin R Kiernan]

This is just the Trinket arc which resolves, or at least brings back, most of the loose ends to do with faerie, with Cluracan and the Nemesis and Nuala returning, and also brings back everyone’s favourite transphobic witch.

Sandman Presents: Petrefax #1-4 [Mike Carey]

Look, word of warning, there are a lot of slurs used here by a writer who evidently does not know that’s a slur for romani people. Gritting my teeth and putting that aside, when this series actually gives Petrefax something to do that’s relevant to his skills it’s quite fun. But that only happens a couple of times in the whole series, a significant proportion of it is just fantasy worldbuilding I really don’t care about, and also did I mention they keep saying a slur? Because they do.

Lucifer (2000) #1-13 [Mike Carey]

I wasn’t immediately a fan of this series, but once it starts building out its recurring cast and gets into the characters a bit more, this is really fun. I was 100% sold by #4.

The Dreaming (1996) #50-60 [Caitlin R Kiernan, Bill Willingham] (x) (x)

Another series draws to a close, and while the last arc could have maybe done with another issue just to give it a little more time to flesh things out and provide a satisfying conclusion for every character, this series is so good, if you don’t mind it the fact that it all basically gets erased from contuniuty by the time of the Sandman Universe publishing line (I guess due to the New 52 or some other DC relaunch, or at least that’s the excuse that I expect they used) I would absolutely recommend it as a followup to Sandman, especially if you don’t want the shift to modern comic styles that the other option leaves you with.

The Names of Magic #1-5 [Dylan Horrocks]

Since Books of Magic #75 ended with Tim proclaiming that he finally knew who he was, was free from his destiny, and wasn’t going to be looking for someone to lead him, and now he was meeting his future on his own terms, having his first move be “ask for help” and then have him shoved in the direction of school by a bunch of more established adult characters seems kinda antithetical the the whole point of that last series. Still, this sets up the next series neatly and isn’t too annoying to get through.

Sandman Presents: Merv Pumpkinhead, Agent of DREAM [Bill Willingham] (x)

This book is one long extended James Bond joke. I do not care about James Bond. What’s going on? Why should I care? Why did the woman have sex with a pumpkin man? Help.

Lucifer (2000) #14-32 [Mike Carey]

Ahhh, now we get to the good shit. The Lucifer series reaches its first Big Event Where A Bunch Of Shit Goes Down in the Paradiso, Purgatorio, and Inferno arcs. I don’t know enough theology to tell you if most of this comes from Jewish or Christian teachings but it’s interesting and probably at least slightly heretical so I’m down.

The Little Endless Storybook [Jill Thompson]

This is cute. No other reason needs to be provided. Read it, it’s cute. (Also if you can find a copy I imagine it is a much better experience if you have a physical copy)

Sandman Presents: Dead Boy Detectives #1-4 [Ed Brubaker]

If slightly frustrating with its actual detective side, this is a fun series that explores the boys and how their ghost powers actually work, and I look forward to what the next writer decides to do with them (and apparently they’re getting a show!! fuck yeah) (also uhhhh more like gayboy detectives amiright gamerz?)

Hunter: The Age of Magic #1-11 [Dylan Horrocks] (x)

It seems the little nosedive Tim’s story took in Names of Magic was only a short one, because right out of the gate Age of Magic is fantastic. The timeskip is slightly disconcerting, but it means we can skip all the “Tim learns magic” “Tim fucks another girl” “Tim discovers things” stages of his schooling and just have him finish and leave as quickly as possible, after using the setting to establish all that it needs to, and Tim can be free to do his own thing rather than being stuck in a “misadventures at the magic school“ style story.

Sandman Presents: The Corinthian #1-3 [Darko Macan]

This one’s mostly atmosphere, but it’s good atmosphere. It’s nice to see a little of the original Corinthian (rather than the rebooted version from The Dreaming) and how exactly he went bad, and what he was doing while Morpheus was imprisoned. Apparently elements of this (with the Corinthian’s experience in WW1) will be involved in the show, which is good because I can point at the screen and go “ooh! ooh! I know this one!” while my dad’s trying to watch, which is always fun.

Sandman Presents: The Thessaliad #1-4 [Bill Willingham]

I really wish I could like the Thessaly spinoffs. I love the character (despite her being claimed by TERFs apparently) and I wish we got more of her history, more of her being ruthless and cold and calculating, I’d especially love it if we explored how her normal life functions and how she does magic, but no, instead we get comedy hijinks with Fetch, the most annoying character to be introduced so far. Also the art is by Shawn McManus who is by far my least favourite Sandman artist and the only thing I actively dislike about A Game of You.

Lucifer: Nirvana [Mike Carey]

This is one of those fancy graphic novels with painted art and so on, but all that achieves is making it harder for me to focus on the story really. Tethys the Raven shows up which is neat. At least The Dreaming is still canon at this point.

Hunter: The Age of Magic #12-25 [Dylan Horrocks] (x) (x)

Big wrap-up of everything established from Names onwards, and a good end to the series, even if bringing back Molly again starts to get slightly tiresome (just let her live her life away from Tim. She’d be fine).

Sandman Presents: The Furies [Mike Carey]

Some of the Sandman Presents stories are spinoffs, or stories that happen to be set in the universe, but this really does feel like somewhere between a sequel and an epilogue to The Kindly Ones, giving Lyta more resolution than she got in the few pages she showed up in during The Wake. The “fancy graphic novel” problems I mentioned with Nirvana do make it a bit annoying to read, but it’s a good and interesting look at a character who got slightly left behind by the story once she’d succeeded in killing Dream off.

Hellblazer: Lady Constantine #1-4 [Andy Diggle]

I’m sure there’s parallels and references that I don’t get because I’ve only read the first few dozen Hellblazer comics, but this was really fun! Johanna is such a fun character and I loved her dynamic with her kid even if I knew they were gonna snuff it the minute they showed up.

Lucifer (2000) #33-40 [Mike Carey]

The Naglfar arc is my favourite sort of comic arc: every recurring character thrown together on a mission and forced to get along. Also, shit goes down with god and while I’m not gonna pretend to know what the precedent is for all this in the Tanakh or in the christian Bible, I’m enjoying whatever is happening immensely.

Sandman Presents: Bast #1-3 [Caitlin R Kiernan]

This is Caitlin R Kiernan’s last offering to Sandman, and it’s also one of their best. The exploration of Bast as a character and how the death of gods actually works is really good, honestly just read it, I’m not sure what else to say except it’s a shame this is the last comic of theirs in this universe.

Death: At Death’s Door [Jill Thompson] (x)

This one’s just a fun look behind the scenes of Season of Mists with Death, Delirium, and Despair dealing with all the dead that have just turned up. The style is so fun, I love the vibes, and also anything that gives Delirium a lot to do is an instant favourite.

Sandman: Endless Nights [Neil Gaiman]

The first of Neil’s followups, and while some of the more abstract or disconnected stories like Desire and Despair’s feel like they’re just there to fill space and give a chapter to every Endless, the (small) through-line of Delirium’s grief is really nicely done, and, again, this captures the consequences of and provides a followup to the ending of Sandman in more depth than The Wake did

Lucifer (2000) #41-49 [Mike Carey]

This part of the series splits its time, mostly focusing on Elaine and Mona’s fates, along with the rest of the supporting cast, while Lucifer does important overall plot things with the angels. I’m not complaining, though, this series has such a good cast of characters and I’d happily read a spinoff with any of them.

Sandman Presents: Thessaly: Witch For Hire #1-4 [Bill Willingham]

Reaching the end of the Sandman Presents series and this is how the original line of spinoffs ends. Not with a bang, but with an aimless and annoying whimper that really isn’t doing any of the things I want this character to be (except murderous. I do enjoy when she kills people). But I think Bill Willingham is somewhat allergic to writing a story with a dark tone that isn’t filled with constant jokes. Like, yes, having comic relief is important in every story lest it become grimdark edgy nonsense, but I would rather see Thessaly at her most fucked up and evil without a ghost trapped in a mirror doing a Funny Bit every other page. Maybe that’s just me, though.

Lucifer (2000) #50-61 [Mike Carey]

Reaching the endgame of the series, and almost every element that was set up gets involved in the last few dozen issues. Not sure what to say, this shit’s just really fucking good. Go read it!

Dead Boy Detectives (2005) [Jill Thompson]

If your detective story ends with the detectives putting together the clues to solve the mystery and publicly confronting the villain and then the villain explains that actually it was all innocent misunderstandings and they’re not guilty at all, I think maybe you shouldn’t be writing detective stories. Also all the crossdressing jokes got old very fast. This is by far the worst of all of these, and there’s some bad shit on this list at points.

Lucifer (2000) #62-75 [Mike Carey] (x)

The gert massive finale of this fantastic series really doesn’t disappoint. Characters get their arcs resolved in a mostly satisfactory manner, it does what DC did a few decades earlier in Crisis On Infinite Earths with resolving a multiverse in a much neater and less confusing way, and we learn that the god of the DC/Vertigo universe looks like the stereotype of a tory civil servant from the 1970s.

Madame Xanadu (2008) #6 [Matt Wagner]

The way Death is used in this is really interesting. For one thing, according to Death the whole “i give you a __” ritual is just set dressing for the intent which summons the Endless, so either Burgess did something really wrong or Death can tell when it’s a trap and tell when someone just wants a chat (and Dream is too stupid to tell and was also understandably destracted in 1916).

The Brave and the Bold (2007) #1-12 [Mark Waid]

The "Lords of Luck” arc, if kinda confusing, is interesting and brings in the Destiny elements in a cool way, even if the way they write Supergirl is sometimes uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh gross. The “Book of Destiny” arc, by contrast, is just a series of tangentially linked stories and some of the most generic superhero comic stuff I’ve ever read, and the Book itself is only an afterthought in #12. Also, they gave Destiny the fancy Desire font instead of the harsh bold italics. Come on guys.

Action Comics (1938) #894 [Paul Cornell]

Another standalone Death issue within a broader series I have no interest in reading. She’s fun here too, and I always enjoy someone making Lex Luthor have a little bit of an existential crisis. This also seems to be the first significant appearance of Death outside Vertigo since the imprint began, as TBATB is for Destiny and Metal is for Dream.

Sandman: The Dream Hunters #1-4 [Neil Gaiman]

The story that Neil Gaiman accidentally trolled a bunch of academics in a tiny afterward to this story is very funny to me. I read the comic version rather than prose, I’m sure the prose is also very good because (shocking) Neil Gaiman happens to be a good writer.

House of Mystery Halloween Annual #1 [Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham]

Not much here innit just a fun merv story. If I wasn’t going for 100% I would not have even brought this up.

Dead Boy Detectives (2014) #1-12 [Toby Litt, Mark Buckingham] (x)

This is THE Dead Boy Detectives series, it’s the best by far because, amazingly, if you let your detective characters do detective work, the story is more engaging! Also, the series introduces a fantastic supporting cast, and actually delves into Charles and Edwin’s characters and all their masses of trauma from, y’know, being murdered. Also got me excited about the tv show they’re apparently making. Please let it be like this series and not like the shitearse Jill Thompson one. Please.

Sandman: Overture #1-6 [Neil Gaiman]

I have no idea why the reading list on the back of my copy lists this before Preludes and Nocturnes. Like yeah it’s a prequel technically, but if you hadn’t read Sandman before, reading it first would be a very bad idea since it hinges on lore from the series and also spoils the ending if you didn’t know what happened. If you have actually read Sandman though, yeah it’s fucking good idk what to say. It slaps.

Lucifer (2016) #1-19 [Holly Black, Richard Kadrey]

Honestly, I would have enjoyed this regardless of the writing because it has my favourite artist from my favourite Marvel series, Loki: Agent of Asgard (go read it. do it.), but the writing is also fantastic. It’s the perfect example of a followup that on the whole respects the original series, the themes established, and where the characters were left, before bringing things back into the fold in a realistic way to do something new with them, instead of just resetting continuity so that you don’t have to deal with somebody else’s recurring cast, *ahem*, the entire Sandman Universe reboot you do good things but you could leave some of this in canon, *ahem*. (Speaking of The Dreaming, the inclusion of Matthew makes this the first concrete confirmation that the 1996 series isn’t canon any more, which did make me a bit sad). Well worth a read if you’re a fan of the original!

Dark Nights: Metal #1-6 [Scott Snyder] (x)

It’s your usual boring comic book crossover event. Dream shows up and it sort of sets up the Sandman Universe series, but mostly this is about the usual multiverse bollocks that DC always does. "Batmanium” did make me laugh, though.

Sandman Universe #1 [Neil Gaiman, Simon Spurrier, Kate Howard, Nalo Hopkinson, Dan Watters] (x)

Plenty of setup here, but since I have no idea where any of it’s going I think I’ll just... Let my reviews of the series themselves do the work here instead.

The Dreaming (2018) #1-12 [Simon Spurrier] (x)

The issues with the start of this series are a lot more complicated than just “bad writer” or “incorrect characterisation”. In some cases the old characters are spot on, and the new characters are all fantastic, but something about the way Merv and Lucien develop in the first few issues feels a little forced. This series could have absolutely benefited from what the original Dreaming had - short story arcs focusing on specific parts of or people in the Dreaming that slowly, slowly come together to form a larger whole - and just slowed down the breakdown of Lucien and whatever they were going for with Merv enough that we get a good sense of where it comes from. Instead (probably more due to editorial rushing and a need to get the Big Threat of the first arc in the picture by the end of #2 to appease convention in modern comic storytelling, than the intentions of the writer), the political commentary and character progressions end up a bit hurried and I’m left with a feeling of “Yes logically I get how we got here, but like... how did we get here?”.

All of that being said, once it manages to get into the swing of things, this series is honestly a worthy successor to the original, even if I’m still annoyed about it replacing the original continuity entirely. The way that other Sandman characters are slowly brought in is really nicely done, and the development of the central mystery is intriguing and develops at a perfect rate to give answers, but also keep my interest going.

House of Whispers #1-12 [Nalo Hopkinson, Dan Watters]

Now this feels like Sandman. I love the characters, both human and godly, and the Ananse storyline makes me fall victim to my greatest weakness once again: stories that are about stories, that acknowledge that they’re stories, that twist the narrative of the tale it’s spinning and in doing so acknowledge the consequences of the characters existing in a world defined by narrative conflict. That’s my shit! Also I think it’s really cool that a comic published by one of the big two comic companies has a nonbinary character that uses neopronouns who also defines zirself as queer. Ze are iconic.

Lucifer (2018) #1-13 [Dan Watters]

The style and tone of this is very different to the other two Lucifer comics, and it exists outside of the continuity established by them (hence Lucifer having no scar, Remiel and Duma still ruling hell, Mazikeen’s dialogue takes a while to get used to, etc). Instead of being about the end of the universe and Lucifer’s attempts to get out from Yahweh’s rule while also saving the world surrounded by a huge supporting cast of characters we sympathise with instead of him, this series makes Lucifer pathetic in the best way. It’s much more introspective, and focuses on Lucifer, his ex-lover Sycorax, and their son Caliban, and how their relationships evolve. Also, the art is by far the best out of any of these Sandman Unvierse comics.

Books of Magic (2018) #1-13  [Kat Howard]

Again, a very different take on the same character. I’m not sure I like this one as much as Lucifer though. The focus is on the Cold Flame and Rose from the original Neil Gaiman series, although some elements from the Rieber/Gross series make it through, in particular some interesting things are being done with Tim’s dad. This is fun enough, and I’m interested to see where it goes, but I still much prefer the style of the original.

The Sandman Universe Presents: Hellblazer [Simon Spurrier] 

This one-shot spins out of the 1990 Books of Magic miniseries, and explores what the fuck was actually going on in that potential future they showed. I’m sure it also ties into various bits of Hellblazer but, as already mentioned, I haven’t read more than a couple dozen issues of that series yet and it still made sense.

The Dreaming (2018) #13-20 [Simon Spurrier] (x)

The finale to this series is so good! Like I said earlier, the way that the mystery is slowly revealed works so well, and bringing all the threads together slowly is so satisfying when a writer can do it well. Also, the things it does with Lucien as the narrator in a meta sense is very fun.

House of Whispers #13-22 [Nalo Hopkinson, Dan Watters]

The way that this series builds its characters and worlds is so good, the balance between the human and godly characters especially. I’m also a big fan of how weird-looking the Corinthian is, I think some artists forget to draw him like a nightmare who’s slightly out of sync with reality in a “he looks creepy as fuck sometimes” kinda way.

Lucifer (2018) #14-24 [Dan Watters]

Word of warning: you will need to find the 3rd TPB collection if you want to read the actual conclusion of the Wild Hunt arc, because #19 was never published and the next collection was #20-24. I think it had something to do with covid, idk. Putting that aside, the art here is great and I love the way Lucifer works in this series. Probably the best of the initial four Sandman Universe lines.

Books of Magic (2018) #14-23 [Kat Howard, David Barnett]

The second half is much better than the first (as it seems is the case with a lot of these) , and the finale arc pulls in a few other Sandman related characters which are all fun (even if they don’t always make sense entirely). It’s still nowhere near as good as the original Rieber/Gross series, but it’s fun in its own way.

John Constantine: Hellblazer (2020) #1-12 [Simon Spurrier] (x)

I have not read enough Hellblazer to compare it to what came before, but this is an absolutely fantastic series. The tone is brilliantly managed, the supporting cast is endearing, John’s arc is engaging, and the series knows when to be funny, when to be brutal, when to be horrific, when to be tragic, when to be political, and when to force me to look at a drawing of Boris Fucking Johnson.

The Dreaming: Waking Hours #1-12 [G. Willow Wilson] (x)

This is the most Sandman-feeling SU series, and I mean that in a good way. We get a good amount of seeing Daniel in action, the cast of new characters are all fun, and it feels like a good followup to The Dreaming without stepping on its toes - it uses the new characters as a natural part of the universe, and utilises the plotlines left hanging in a good way. My only real problem with it is a problem I have with a lot of comic series that only run for a dozen issues - the wrapup is a bit rushed to fit it all into one issue, we don’t really get time for the characters to settle into their endings before it’s over.

Locke & Key/Sandman #1-2 [Joe Hill]

The first three-quarters of this are very fun, but it does get a bit boring once they go to hell. Lucifer feels out of character, and I do not have any idea what the normal Locke & Key series is about, so there’s no way for me to be invested in these characters. The stuff that actually takes place in the Dreaming itself is fun, though, and I like the look into Fawney Rig during Sandman #1. Also, it’s always very funny to see a series have to write itself around continuity and go “hey hang on, why don’t the various dreams go rescue Dream?” While we don’t get a satisfactory answer to that, it’s not really what they were focusing on anyway so I have no reason to get angry about it like some people might.

Nightmare Country #1-? [James Tynion IV]

This series is only four issues in at the moment so I can’t say anything conclusive, but it’s got some great creepy shit in it (some of it reminds me of Caitlin R Kiernan’s work with the Corinthian in the original Dreaming) and I was convinced enough by it to pre-order the next two issues, which I look forward to reading!

---

I’m probably meant to put a conclusion paragraph here but my English teacher would probably agree when I say I’m kinda crap at them. The best long series to spring from Sandman are Lucifer and Books of Magic, Caitlin R Kiernan was the best writer on The Dreaming, and Waking Hours is probably the best of the Sandman Universe books but you’re absolutely in safe hands with any of them. The Sandman Presents comics are good for the most part, but the quality varies wildly. Every time there’s a non-Vertigo series which involves Sandman characters it’s probably not worth it. Don’t bother with the Dead Boy Detectives graphic novel, read the Litt/Buckingham series instead. And most importantly, don’t tell me that I forgot that one 2008 (?) House of Mystery series. I did indeed forget it, but to be fair I didn’t know it existed until I saw a copy in the library the other day and I cannot be bothered reading it now.

[tryan-a-bex]

I’m going to answer in a reblog because it’s really complicated copying and pasting in tumblr on my phone.

How many wips do you have?

I have three languishing ideas for Dead Boy Detectives, one for The Sandman and one for The Undone and the Divine (deadest of doves), and one I wrote part of for The Sandman. And then 9 written fics for AU-gust waiting for posting on the appropriate day, and one more that I’m developing today and will most likely write tomorrow. (Most of those are Lucienne/Gault/Jed with some Dead Boy Detectives and a pinch of Spy x Family, Doctor Who, and Fuckboi Dream.)

Which are you finding hardest to finish and why?

Some are never going to get past the idea stage and that’s okay. The one I started a long time ago and haven’t finished is about Hob Gadling adopting the Constantine family early on and having family to carry him through the ages. It’s not getting much attention because I’d rather write about Gault and Lucienne and the Walkers.

What does inspiration look like?

I have to have time and space for writing, and then an idea on tumblr or from a friend on discord will set me off. I find turning on my laptop to be a barrier, so I usually end up writing on my phone. (I know!)

Playlists/process:

Music is totally distracting for me in general, though it helps me not to zone out while driving. So no playlists (though I’ve written a couple song fics).

I jot down a plan, turn it around in my head for anywhere from a few moments to a few days, and then sit down and knock the whole thing off. Usually under 2k words. I have a couple longer ones that I wrote chapter by chapter this way.

So yeah I’ll have an idea and maybe a couple more points to include, and then I just throw the characters in there and see what happens. Not completely an outline, but not nothing either.

Thank you for the tag!

Who else wants to play? @wordsinhaled @seiya-starsniper @fellshish (No pressure) And you, if you want!

fic talk! tagged by @cliophilyra!

How many wips do you have currently?

oh god, please don't ask me. at least two BuckTommy fics (which may end up converging into one because they seem increasingly related). a half dozen or so Dreamling stories. a random Witcher fic and a random Stranger Things fic. a long-neglected Clintasha fic. I refuse to do this math.

Which one are you finding the hardest to finish? Why do you think that is?

it's hard to say. I'm a slow writer to begin with, and I (obviously) have the tendency to start new things without having finished previous projects. I definitely struggle more with longer/multichapter fics, and more complex stories in general. would you go along with someone like me? and The Trenches Have Vanished Under the Plough both fit into those categories, and those are the two that have probably given me the most trouble over the past year.

What does it usually look like when inspiration strikes for you?

it usually starts with a single short scene, or sometimes even a single line, that's basically just a vivid daydream until I get it actually written down and expand on it. often someone's tumblr post or headcanon will spark something for me, or a piece of fanart, or some other show/movie I've watched recently will make me think of an AU idea. but it's like pulling teeth to get whatever it is out of the daydream and into a document.

Do you curate playlists for each fic or is your process different?

I've never really gotten into this, but I think it's such a cool idea. I know folks who have particular playlists to get them into the headspace to write certain stories, and I love that concept. but for whatever reason, my brain doesn't really connect stories I'm writing to music in quite that fashion. I do like to have some kind of background noise while I'm writing, but it has to be instrumental (I'll get distracted by lyrics) and fairly unobtrusive.

Do you go balls to the wall and write as you go or are you more organised?

mostly balls to the wall, but I have found it rewarding recently to outline a little bit more. I do it very simply, basically a series of bullet points describing key events or conversations, or sometimes even just a character's reaction or attitude. I do tend to jump around and write non-chronologically, so it can help me visualize what's still left to write and what order it comes in. sometimes I'll go back and drop in a bullet point because I realize I want to expand on a scene or add in a reference, so I can quickly pencil in that note before I lose my train of thought and then flesh it out later. but yeah, mostly I'm just pantsing it!

no pressure tags: @cuubism @valeriianz @peppermintquartz @tryan-a-bex @beatnikfreakiswriting