#hob gadling goes on a magical quest

[ginoeh]

For @xenomorphic-warrior for the Dreamling Winter Exchange 2023! I hope I managed to hit enough of your likes, favs and ideas to make this enjoyable for you <3 this was supposed to be 3k. i failed miserably lol

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An Inn and the World's End

~ A Winter Tale ~

Summary: An Inn stands bright and warm in a world of snow and ice and twilight. The Innkeeper is no hero but when Death comes calling, he takes what any hero does - a guide, a companion and a magical weapon - and takes up the task to find the Nightking at the edge of the world.

Rating: T

CW: none

Length: 8.9k

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A curious stillness lies over the Inn. The sounds of howling storms and wolves have fallen quiet. The crackling of snow and ice, part of nature's symphony, are absent.

Hob stands at the counter, swiping off the last few glasses and mugs.

Sometimes feels as if there's never anything else he's doing. He sighs as he puts them into their cupboards and shelves and slings the damp dishrag over his shoulder. The Inn is empty of patrons this far into the night, except for one snoring gentleman by the fire. The glow of the fireplace throws the shadows into sharp flickering relief. The lamplight above the bar cradles the Inn like a warm blanket.

Outside, Hob knows, there's nothing but twilit darkness and the cold. It's always been like that, as far as Hob remembers. So it catches him by surprise sometimes, this yearning for warmth and light, when he has never experienced much of either.

This is a world of snow and storms and wolves, after all.

So why is it still?

Hob's Inn, beyond the muted sounds of the world outside that lose some of their horror as soon as the thick door closes behind any traveler, is made of crackling fire, creaking wood and clinking earthenware. Above that lies the susurration of voices and stories and songs, all bathed in the golden lights of the many lamps Hob never fails to light.

The folk that comes by and tracks puddles of melting snow and despair across his wooden floors, tell him stories of the world outside. They tell him of empty landscapes and abandoned dwellings, of the hunger and the wolves that roam free. Some like Gilbert, an old and long since vanished patron, tell other stories; those tales speak of the Nightking that once was Lord and protector of these lands and who vanished in times before memory. Others whisper tall tales of beasts and monsters that were set free by a cruel and dispassionate King; horrors that rose in the wake of uncaring abandonment.

Hob dislikes these latter stories despite the frequency with which they come up. He knows - knows it in the marrow of his bones as surely as he knows he must keep the lights on in the Inn - that they are untrue, that the lands aren't frozen and uninhabitable due to cruelty.

Still, he serves all folk; he's just the Innkeeper after all, always here, always waiting.

He's not exactly sure what he's waiting for, though. Mabe just the next stranger that comes through the door.

Find the rest on AO3 !

[landwriter]

Flower King | Dream/Hob | 3.5K | General | Complete

Magical Realism, BAMF Hob Gadling, absolutely nothing to lose Hob Gadling, King of Mortal Realm Dream of the Endless, lonely Dream of the Endless, Quest to Save the Kingdom, not so much a winter wonderland as a winter hellscape, curses that remain unbroken, sad dads reaching out to each other, dream is the antagonist but the real villain is loneliness, mentions of the canonical fates of Orpheus and Robyn, rated G in a fairytale sort of way

“Who goes there?” called a voice. It was deep and heavy as all the snow that covered all the land, and the man knew he was speaking to the king. “I was a soldier once,” he said. “I am nobody anymore.” “Show your face, Nobody Anymore,” said the king. He crossed into the king’s chambers and saw a ghastly figure lying on a bed. If it were not the king’s own bed, he would not have thought the man there the same fair king he had once seen at great distance as a youth. Frost latticed his blue-white skin. His black hair was tangled and wild. A fine layer of snow lay over him as it did everything, like the dust of a forgotten room. For a long moment, the king’s form was so still that the man wondered if he was still able to move, or if he was frozen to the spot. Then cold grey eyes opened, and the king slowly sat up with the same sound of trees creaking and breaking under the snow. His golden crown was trapped in a frozen waterfall of ice that flowed down from his head to drape itself across his shoulders in the mockery of a hooded mantle. The king bore the tremendous weight of it like it was nothing. “What do you want?” he asked. He approached the king and knelt. “I was born in the summer, your grace, and I would like to see another summer before I die.”

A fairy tale about barren winter landscapes, burials, and forgiveness.

[Read on AO3]

[aion-rsa]

Sandman Audio Drama Announces Cast

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Audible and DC have announced the voice cast for their upcoming audio drama adaptation of Neil Gaiman‘s The Sandman and it’s absolutely stacked. James McAvoy will star in the title role of The Sandman, aka Lord Morpheus. He will be joined by Michael Sheen as Lucifer, Riz Ahmed as The Corinthian, Kat Dennings as Death, Taron Egerton as John Constantine, Samantha Morton as Urania Blackwell, Bebe Neuwirth as The Siamese Cat, and Andy Serkis as Matthew the Raven. The narrator will be voiced by Gaiman himself.

Rounding out the cast in supporting roles includes Arthur Darvill as William Shakespeare, Justin Vivian Bond as Desire, William Hope as Doctor Destiny, Matthew Horne as Hob Gadling, Reginald D. Hunter as J’onn J’onzz, Sue Johnston as Unity Kinkaid, Paterson Joseph as The Demon Choronzon, Josie Lawrence as Mad Hettie, Anton Lesser as Doctor John Hathaway, Joanna Lumley as Lady Johanna Constantine, and Miriam Margolyes as Despair.

If you know nothing of the Sandman story but recognize some of the character names in that roundup, then you’re in for a wild ride. The graphic novel on which the Audible drama is being based tells the story of Dream/Morpheus, one of the seven Endless (you’ve also got Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, and Destruction). Morpheus rules over the world of dreams (as you do). In The Sandman, an occultist captures Morpheus when he is actually trying to nab his older brother Death. Morpheus is imprisoned for 70 years but eventually escapes, at which point he goes on a quest to reclaim his lost objects of power and rebuild his realm, running into some familiar faces (or, in this case, voices) on the journey.

The audio drama will feature “an unprecedented cinematic soundscape,” says Audible and DC, featuring an original musical score by British Academy Award winner James Hannigan. In addition to his role as narrator, Gaiman is serving behind-the-scenes as creative director and executive producer, and narrator on the project. Dirk Maggs, who has worked on audio adaptations of Gaiman’s Neverwhere, Stardust, Good Omens, and Anansi Boys, will serve as executive producer, scriptwriter, and director. The Sandman audio drama will be available exclusively on Audible in summer 2020. It is now available to pre-order here.

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“Almost 30 years ago, Dirk Maggs approached DC about adapting The Sandman into audio form” said Gaiman in a previously-released statement about the project. “It didn’t happen (although it was how Dirk and I first crossed paths) and I’m glad it didn’t happen, because we are in a Golden Age of audio drama right now, and Dirk and I are much better at what we are doing.”

Gaiman continued: “This is a rich audio adaptation of The Sandman Graphic Novels, brilliantly crafted by Dirk Maggs, with an all-star cast. I’ve loved being there to talk casting, there to read the scripts and offer occasional advice, and there in the studios, watching magic get made and recording the narration. I can’t wait until the world hears what we’ve done.”

More news on the Sandman audio drama as we hear it.

The post Sandman Audio Drama Announces Cast appeared first on Den of Geek.

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