#hob x Destiny

[tiabritana]

For @softest-punk who’s hobhusband verse I read for the thousandth time today and got inspired. Here’s Hob meeting one of his in-laws

————————————————————————

It was one of the rare times that Death was able to get away from her busy schedule for more than a few moments, and Hob was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

They were currently the only two in the flat and were spending time together at the kitchen table drinking some local ale that Moira gifted him over the holidays when a thought popped into Hobs mind. He never really gave it much thought before-assuming that as with most things in the beginning- his gift was from Dream, and that was that. With the arrangement now, and knowing that prior assessment to be false, Hob turned to Death and pondered how to ask his question.

“Yes?” Death asked, seeing his stare.

“I was just wondering how I stayed the same age after all these years.” He started setting his mug down and playing with his fingers. “I just never really thought about it before, but your gift prevents me from dying, so how do I still look young.”

Death was silent for a bit, playing with her own mug, swirling the liquid around as she pondered his question.

“I never really thought of it much,” she finally admitted. “When I first made the wager with Dream, I just wanted him to see the beauty of humans. You all are-especially you-,” she paused and gave him a warm look, reaching between them to gently grab his hand from where he was still fiddling with them, “so full of life. I just wanted him to understand.” She stopped and shrugged, and Hob understood what she didn’t say. By now they all knew that Dream was in a bad place for a long time and was just starting to see that there was more to life than just his function.

“Anyway, if I had to guess I assume that Father had something to do with your preserved form.” She took back her hand to instead cup her mug and bring it to her mouth to take a long gulp.

Hob stared at the column of her neck admiring as he thought about what she said. He never gave much thought to the Endless parents as none of his spouses liked to talk about them. The closest being Delirium’s nonsensical musings about there being a black hole inside her sometimes, and the twins sharing a look.

“Why would he grant my body stasis- for lack of a better word?” He asked. His musings were starting to give him a headache the more he tried to wrap his head around the subject.

Death shrugged again, putting her now empty mug down. Hob pushed his half drunk glass towards her. He didn’t think drinking anymore would help with his burgeoning headache.

Just as she was finishing his mug, Death turnt her head and gazed off into distance with her ear cocked, listening to something Hob couldn’t hear.

“I got to go,” she said as she stood up. Hob got up and leaned towards her to press a chaste kiss to her cheek.

“I’ll see you later love.” And watched as her great wings took her off to her next appointment.

“She’s right you know.” Hob quickly whipped around at the sound of an unfamiliar voice in his now not so empty flat. Standing behind him was a young man with bright red hair-looking just like Destruction. Hob wet his lips, suddenly wishing he didn’t give Death his drink as the man changed forms into a wizen old man. He instinctively knew who was standing before him even though this was his first time meeting the being; and wondered if this had anything to do with the flat being on the border of the the Endless siblings realms.

The being-Time-circled around Hob, making him feel like a sculpture on display. He swallowed down his sudden feeling of inadequacy and smiled what he hoped was a welcoming grin. “Hel-,” he was cut off before he could finish the greeting.

“I suppose congratulations are in order.” His tone not giving anything away as he continued his perusal. Hob fought the urge to wipe his sudden sweat coated palms on his trousers, and instead met his father-in-laws eyes as he finally circled back to the front.

“I don’t like company, even from my own children, but I do keep an eye on them from time to time.” At the last part his lips twitch up, reminding Hob of Destiny when he managed to make him smile. His form shifted again, turning him into a small red headed child, though the intense look in his eyes didn’t change.

“I watched that day Death and Dream made that wager, and knew how important you’d be.” He stopped and stepped closer to Hob, his form shifting again to a baby, small tufts of red hair and a cherub face. Hob looked down and wondered how this didn’t even make it into his top ten list of weird things to happen to him in the last decade alone. “Imagine my surprise when the least likely timeline overwrote what the Fates had in store for Dream and changed Destiny’s Book.”

Hob swallowed, “uh-,” and once again was cut off from whatever he was about to say.

“Thank you.” The words were softly spoken as Time shifted again, his form now a middle again man with white streaking into his red hair and beard. He finally tore his eyes from Hob, who let out an inaudible sigh as the pressure he didn’t know was slowly suffocating the room disappeared.

When he looked back up, a shadow flashed over the man’s face making him look every eon he was. Hob blinked and the being was gone. As silence slowly descended he heard the knob on the door turning and Destruction emerged from the rain, red hair dripping and boots creating puddles in the entry way. He had shop bags in his great arms as he slowly looked a Hob’s gobsmacked face after shutting the door.

“You okay love?” He asked. He walked around Hob to deposit the bags onto the counter, but stopped and turned to face him again when he received no response. Setting the last bag down Destruction walked over to Hob and took his hands into his own larger ones.

That finally seemed to shock Hob out of his catatonic state. “I think your father approves of me.”

Destruction just stared at him as Hob let go of his hands and wandered the few paces to the kitchen counter to peak into the bags the redhead had left there. “What’s for dinner?” He asked unaware of the stunned expression his blasé response brought.

Needless to say, dinner was late after Destruction called his siblings and they all ended up talking over one another, save Destiny who sat on the couch with a small smile on his face as he read from his Book-Hob sitting beside him as he let his soothing presence help his now migraine- and handed him an aspirin and a glass of water.

[lichanicksstuff]

Death just loves little silly immortal romantic comedies and I'm here for it.

She gave a random guy immortality just so her brother can have a date once every hundred years. Now she lets two teen ghost run all over London and a small city in America so they can experience the beauty of falling in love.

Death and Destiny probably eat popcorn and drink the cheapest cola while watching both of these chick flicks in Destiny's domain.

[windsweptinred]

An AU idea that just won't leave me be Hob defying 'death' to bring Dream back.

If Hob and Dream had just found each other, were in the beginnings of a loving relationship, a real chance at happiness. Would Hob truly accept Dream's death? Would he mourn? Or would he fight it? Hob's just the right side of selfish, just that touch too resolved. Would a man who dismissed death lay down to the whims of fate... Or battle againt it? Even if that means returning something to the universe that's no longer meant to be there. Could reality function with two Dreams? Would he be willing to risk that to right what he saw as an unjust death? And most importantly, what would an 'un' dead Endless be?

[spockandthings]

I had the wonderful pleasure to participate in @mr-sadman Spring Exchange and had the lovely LadyFaggot as my giftee! I came up with a very soft and domestic Destiny/Hob for them, I hope you enjoy too!

I swear that I'll be yours forever / Til' forever falls apart (Destiny of the Endless x Hob Gadling)

1.2k words ; Gen ; No Archive Warnings Apply ; Established relationship, Domestic Fluff, Witch!Hob

Destiny visits Hob as the witch is working.

Event's AO3 collection

[zorawitch]

Dont know that anyone is going to care but...

i honestly cannot pick because all of these were and are labors of love and if i make a few of you decide for me, i can work on my other fics in the meantime.

[scifrey]

Hold Tight (6/6)

Status: Complete. Unbeta’d, we die like Hob doesn’t.

Series: The Hob Adherent series.

Fandom: The Sandman (TV 2022) Includes some comics canon, and some cameos from the wider Gaiman-verse, but it’s not necessary to know to enjoy the story.

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Discussions of grief and in-canon character death. Also includes some erotic content. Please curate your internet experience accordingly.

Relationships:  Morpheus | Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling, Past Eleanor | Hob Gadling’s Wife/Hob Gadling (past), Hector Hall/Lyta Hall (past)

Characters: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Hob Gadling, Matthew the Raven, Desire of the Endless, Lyta Trevor-Hall, Daniel Hall, Rose Walker, Jed Walker 

Summary:

Hob is tasked with his first quest as Vassal of the Endless, Morpheus is bad at using his words, Destiny thinks he’s so clever, Desire makes a confession, Rose Walker meets her Uncle’s boyfriend, and Lyta Hall punches Dream of the Endless in the nose. Or, the one where Hob Gadling turns into everyone’s therapist, and honestly, he ain’t mad about it.

Set at the end of Cling Fast - after the premiere of “Elizabethan Manor”, but before the Epilogue.

READ ON AO3 or below:

Chapter Six

A year and a bit later, as the Endless and Immortals reckon "later"…

Rose Walker's debut book tour takes her to London, which means, of course, Hob has to throw her a little party at the New Inn to celebrate. Hob invites his Elizabethan Manor compatriots, Rose’s UK publishing team, and those few distant relatives to the Kincaid side of the family Harri could abuse her position at BBC Historics to track down for Rose and Jed.

Hob had also invited the Walker's granduncles, grandaunts, and grandparent, but asked them to come after dark, when all the normal humans had come and gone.

Lyta and Daniel Hall, enticed with promises of meeting the extended family and a free trip to England, have joined them. Which means the party has become a lax outdoor affair in the private back garden of the Inn, with lots of sandwiches and lemonade, and far too many gift-wrapped toys for young Daniel to gleefully tear open from pride of place on his chequered picnic blanket.

Filled with fizzy pride as he watches Rose and Jed begin to open up to her mother's long-lost family, Hob takes advantage of the guest of honour's distraction to herd Morph into the shaded corner of the garden furthest from the back door. He'd hidden a kraft-paper envelope in the brambles here earlier, and now he risks blackberry thorn scratches to retrieve it for Morph.

"Happy anniversary, duck," Hob says, handing the envelope over.

"Happy anniversary," Morph replies with a sly smile. "Though I believe you are early by two days. It is only the fifth."

"Yes and no," Hob says. "I wanted to give this to you now, because we'll be travelling on the seventh."

"Oh, we will, will we?" Morph challenges playfully, one eyebrow raised in question. "And where will we be travelling, Hob Gadling?"

"Open the envelope and see, Morph Gadling," Hob teases back.

Morph breaks the wax seal that Hob had used in a fit of nostalgia, and slides a packet of glossy photographs and creamy thick paper into his hand.

“What is this?”

"I… bought some land," Hob says, as he helps Morph make sense of the wad of papers. "Well. Re-bought, really." 

He pulls out and then drops an aerial photo onto the top of the pile. It's painted-over with red surveyor's lines, which sketch out the boundaries of a piece of wild woodland, a meadowed slope, and two stone-bounded little fields. If you look closely enough, and maybe turn the picture a little, you can see that what originally appears to be an organic cluster of ancient fruit trees resolves itself into man-made lines of a severely overgrown orchard. And just up the slope from that, the grey-green lumps of tumbled slate walls outline a centuries old foundation for a little four-room cottage.

Hob pulls the deed out of the pile next. It's computer-generated but with Hob's tell-tale signature and handwriting proclaiming the parcel to be henceforth known as New Glade Estate. 

Hob is many things, but a poet is not one of them.

That's his husband's job.

"Hob," Morph says, swallowing hard. "What is this?"

"Ours," Hob says, with a gallic shrug and a tug of his earlobe. "I thought… I built it once. I could build it again. Only this time there will be the two of us. We can do it together. Make it our own little haven away from the city. Give Matthew a rookery. Add a guest bedroom for Daniel, for when he’s old enough to come visit for the summers. Install real plumbing and a drawing room. I could reclaim the orchard from the forest, add in some garden beds, and… well, what do you think?"

Morph looks up at his husband and grins. It is a delighted, carefree expression that Hob has had the privilege to witness on his husband's face more and more since the honeymoon. It never fails to fill Hob with gratitude and relief.

"I think it is a splendid idea," Morph says.

"Thank fuck," Hob says, heaving a sign of relief. "Because I've already spent a tidy fortune to have the land surveyed, and the old forest road cleared and re-gravelled, and the first draft of the blueprints drawn up. Obviously they're not final until you've worked your creative magic on them, but I—"

Morph silences Hob with a kiss, which is par for the course.

What isn't par is the hissed little " Ew, don't do that in front of me," that someone says directly into Hob's ear.

"Gah!" Hob yelps, jerking away from the painted lips beside his face so fast that he nearly topples into the hedgerow.

One red-taloned hand grabs him by the shirtfront and keeps him upright, though.

"Thanks Desire," Hob gulps, heart racing from the surprise as he gets his feet back under him. "I would have preferred it if you didn't scare the shit out of me first, though."

"Oh but I couldn't help it, Handsome Hobsie," Desire purrs. "You're just so pretty when you're flushed and panting."

"Desire," Morph growls warningly. 

"Oh, untwist your panties, Mope," Desire says, waving off his ire. "I'm just having fun. Speaking of fun, swell party, little brother."

"Thanks," Hob says. "Though, I think you're a bit early. I said after dark."

Desires waves that away too, as if Hob's request to keep the Endless and Mortal sides of the Rose and Jed's family nominally separate for the first meeting was just silly nonsense. "I am their grandparent, I deserve first dibs."

"Demand and deserve are two entirely separate things," Morph shoots back. "Will you not give Rose the courtesy to—"

"And who are you to speak of my granddaughter as if you were the protector of her heart—"

"The only one among our family who cared for it," Morph hisses back.

"Hey now," Hob says. "Come on now, we're going to draw a crowd. Let's not throw vitriol around quite so freely.”

"Only because you saw Rose Walker as your duty," Desire shoots back, utterly ignoring Hob's plea for peace. "She would have meant nothing to you had she not threatened the Dreaming."

"As she meant nothing to you until you could weaponize her?"

"Oof, enough guys, c’mon—"

Anger flashes in Desire's honey-gold eyes, strong and sudden enough that it startles both the immortal humans. "Unlike you, Moron Morphy, I am here to accept my responsibilities, not run from them."

"Whoa now," Hob says, putting a steadying hand on Morphs' chest, which was starting to puff up like an angry pigeon. "Where is this coming from?"

"You left us!" Desire accuses, and Hob whips around to check the rest of the partygoers, but it seems like either they're very politely ignoring the shouting, or are magically oblivious to the mounting domestic squabble happening in the back corner of the garden. Well, that's one blessing, at least.

"Yes?" Morph says, tilting his head corvid-like, clearly confused about why that fact should upset Desire two years after the fact.

"You left! Just like Despair, when she died. Just like Delight, transmuting into Delirium. Just like Destruction! Death doesn't like me, Destiny is too busy for me, and now, now you're just … gone!" Desire shouts.

For a moment it seems like that’s where it will end, but then, out of nowhere, Desire’s whole face crumples. Tears as red as blood well in their eyes, rolling down their gaunt cheeks, and they suck on huge gouts of air. They seem as surprised as Hob is to find themselves crying. "Why does everyone leave me?"

Oh, Hob thinks. Oh, poor creature. This has been a long time coming. 

He wraps gentle arms around Desire's shoulders and pulls them into his chest for a tight, grounding hug.

This family really, genuinely, honestly needs some hardcore therapy.

"My leaving was… was not about you," Morph struggles to say, meeting Hob's gaze over Desire's head and very clearly at an utter loss at what to do or say.

"Of course it wasn't," Desire sniffles. "You didn't even consider me. You always thought me lesser. But I am your sibling! I am just as important as you! I am just as powerful as you! And you… you cut me out of your realm, of yourself. But Desires and Dreams, we are so closely intertwined. I was your favourite. You doted on me and I…” 

Morph tips forward, the creeping horror brought on by Desire's unexpected but nonetheless heartbreaking confession moving him to wrap himself around Desire's other side, sandwiching the Endless in the middle of a comforting Immortal group hug. Hob is so, so grateful that Harri has subjected Morph to enough of them over the last year that Morph feels comfortable initiating one.

Hob is reminded sharply of Morph's own tears, not so long ago, when recounting how cruel he felt his sister Death's attempts to understand his own mental anguish had been. One glance at his husband makes it clear that Morph is likely thinking about the same.

"Oh, my sibling," Morph croons into Desire’s ear, petting their destroyed pompadour back off their sweaty forehead. "I am sorry I made you feel lesser. I am sorry I did not treat you with the respect and care you deserved."

Hardcore, super epic, weapons-grade therapy, Hob thinks morosely. As Vassal I can ask favours of my lieges in return. This is gonna be my first one: Group. Fucking. Therapy.

"I'm sorry too," Desire hiccups, like the words are being torn from their guts by a hot poker. "I made a mistake with Killalla, and I admit to it now. It was cruel and malicious of me, but I truly did not understand the consequences of the game. I was young, Dream. I was a child. Her desire was but a toy. Anyone's desire, not just hers and yours. I did not comprehend, then, that desire denied becomes despair. I did not realize that in breaking your toy you would refuse to accept any other I handed you."

"Killalla was not a toy," Morpheus growls.

"I know that! I know that now, " Desire amends, frustrated. They push back from Hob's chest, jaw set with determination to be understood. "But I was young. I was stupid! I was little more than the sum of my Function. You remember what that was like, what it meant to be consumed only by what you were, and not who you are."

Morph hesitates, and then just nods, slowly and sagely, and only once.

"I tried to make it up to you, but you spurned desire. You spurned love. You spurned happiness. You hurt Nuala, and Calliope, and Hob." Desire cuts a hand at Hob, who blinks in stunned confusion. "Over and over again, you spat on my gift! On me!"

"Morpheus never spurned me," Hob protests. "I mean, I never made a move on him. And he barely liked me until the last few decades, right?" He turns to Morpheus, who looks equal parts guilty and hurt. "Wait, right?"

"Oh, Hobsie, you're an idiot," Desire sniffles, wiping their face clean and laughing at him all at once. "I was in that tavern too, that day. In my way. I felt the way he looked at you, the way you looked at him. If you'd both been human, you'd have fucked in the alley behind the White Horse within the hour!"

"You what?" Hob asks, feeling a bit like he's been struck between the eyes with a wet fish. He turns his dazed attention to his husband. "You wanted��me, even then?"

"Physically," Morpheus says. "I see no point in denying it. I found you attractive, in your brutish, smelly, hairy way."

"Oh, gee, thanks," Hob gulps out, wondering if a time will ever come when he isn't going to have his whole understanding of the universe tipped on its head every time he hangs out with a different celestial or infernal or Endless being.

"Animal lust," Morpheus dismisses. "Easily ignored."

"Wow, babe, that makes it so much better when you put it like that."

"Except it wasn't easily ignored," Desire says, hands flying through the air as they describe patterns that Hob could never hope to comprehend. "I could see it all, laid out clear as a star-chart. Robert Gadling, human and so curious, so hopeful, so full of sunlight—streaked in his hair, kissed on his skin, streaming from his soul—"

"Hey now, I'm right here," Hob mutters, feeling his ears burning.

"And you, big brother, too stupid to know a good thing when you saw it. I could see how this would end. Here. Like this. And Death agreed with me. So we—" They snap their fingers. "Destiny took me through his garden, you know, while you and Death were visiting humanity, we walked the labyrinth and he told me of the possibilities. Of what would happen to Dream of the Endless, if Hob Gadling died with a mugger’s sword in his gut on the road to Essex."

Hob's stomach roils. Is that the death that had been meant for him?

"Or, if Hob had been granted his wish, but you two dunderheads hadn't acted on your mutual desire. If Hob remained only your friend, met and desired and resisted every hundred years. It was… it is not a good ending, Dream. It's not a good ending for… for a lot of people," Desire finishes on a contrite whisper. "Instead of leaving, you died. You died stupidly. So Hob was my peace offering. But still you turned away from your desire for him, and from me."

"Wait, you giftwrapped me for him?" Hob asks, his blood running cold all of a sudden. 

"I was, what, a kitten you picked out of a litter and put a bow on? Did I have any say in this? Did you make me fall for him? I… mean, I—"

"Oh, for god's sake," Desire snipes. "I can't make people love where they don't already feel attraction, any more than Death can take you before your time. All that lust you suffered all those years, banked or otherwise, that was all you, Hobsie Baby. Everything you feel now, that's you.”

"That's a… that's a relief," Hob admits.

“All I did was make sure you two simpletons actually did something about it.”

“How?” Morph asks, an adorable look of confusion wrinkling his forehead.

Desires snorts, throwing back their shoulders and preening at their own cleverness. “Did you really think all those flowers spontaneously blossoming all around you without your conscious directive was an accidental��side effect of you realizing you were catching feelings?”

The shock, understanding, frustration, anger, and then acceptance that chase each other across Morph’s face is both amusing and worrying. Hob wonders if he’s going to have to literally get in between them to prevent an all out hair-pulling, claw-raking cat fight. Morph’s expression, however, settles on tender gratitude.

"Then I thank you, my sibling," Morph says, voice a strained rumble. He reaches blindly for Hob's hand, and Hob obliges. He squeezes three times— I love you. Morph squeezes three times in return. "I should hate to begrudge or resent my greatest joy because of your interference, sibling."

"No, no, of course not," Desire hastens to reassure them. "I didn't want that. I've never wanted that. All I wanted is for you to respect me, to respect what I do, to accept the gift of my function the way you forced me to accept yours. You shut yourself away from desire forever and you left me alone to dream about a day when you'd just pay attention to me again.” They huff. “And of course, you took the easy out. Now you’ve left and I'll never—you'll never—"

"Hold up," Hob entreats again. "You're forgetting that Dream of the Endless isn't gone, though. He's right there."

He gestures across the yard to where baby Daniel is gleefully banging together two wooden blocks, to the accompaniment of Harri and Lyta singing a little ditty about a family of sharks. 

"Erasti, what are you…?"

"Look, for my first quest as Vassal, Destiny told me to fix the bonds of family." Hob confesses.  “I haven’t said anything before because I didn’t want to jinx it.”

Morph looks thoughtful. Desire just nods, not entirely sure where Hob is going with this.

"Well, you're part of this family, Desire. You deserve to have a bond not only with the Walkers, but with the Halls, too. Daniel is Rose's godson, which makes him your honorary great-grandchild, as well as your new little brother.” Hob grins, feeling very clever indeed. “In which case, Desire of the Endless, I bet you that you are going to be the best older sibling an Endless could ever want."

So it’s a bit dirty, to challenge Desire to a wager, but Hob thinks it’s totally fair to pull out all his big guns if he’s going to have to keep playing shrink. Forget ‘vassal’, call me Hob Gadling, Family Therapist of the Endless.

Desire's eyes grow wide with understanding, and they whip around turn to stare hungrily at the toddler.

"Dream will need your help, sibling," Morph adds persuasively. "And your support, if he's to avoid our errors, and become a good balance between who he is as a person and the sum of his Function. You must, ah, set him up for success."

"That is true," Desire says, their swaggering self-confidence surging back. “And I will be very good at it.”

The shark song complete, Morph takes the opportunity to break out of whatever protective bubble Desire had cast over the three of them. He sweeps over to the picnic blanket and scoop Daniel into his arms. This causes the little boy to accidentally drop his blocks. Which, in turn, causes Daniel to burst into sudden, red-faced tears.

"Wait, little Prince," Morph sputters. "I did not mean to—"

“You really do have to ruin everything you touch, don’t you Morphy?” Desire teases, sashaying over to pluck Daniel out of Morph's arms. Desire plops inelegantly onto the blanket between Lyta and Harri, legs splayed and baby cuddled close before Lyta can even react.

“Excuse me!” Lyta gasps, “Who are–”

“It’s okay,” Hob says hastily, rushing over to reassure. “It’s okay. They’re one of us. One of them.”

Lyda stops mid-lunge and settles back, sparing a glance at Hob.

He's fine, Hob mouths to her, and she takes him at his word.

Daniel immediately stops crying. His eyes spark emerald in the way that Hob has come to learn means that Dream is closer to the surface of his Waking mind than usual. Clearly Desire catches the spark of Dream surfacing to peer through Daniel's eyes, too, because their chin starts to wobble.

"Oh," Desire says, heartsblood red tears springing up along their bottom lids, absolutely verklempt. "Hello, little Dream." Daniel places his chubby palms gently, solemnly on Desire's cheekbones. Desire sucks in a shaky, hopeful breath. "My name is Desire, and I am your older sibling. Don't tell any of the others, but you, little creature…" They nuzzle their red-red-red lips against his sweet plump cheek and whisper: "You are going to be my favourite."

The End

PREVIOUS | WHOLE SERIES | VIEW FANART | MY OTHER FANFIC | MY BOOKS

[sarcasticamaleont]

This was supposed to be a funny little fic were Destiny got to be a meddlesome older brother that got a good laugh from messing with Dream and now it's over 1k words count and is not even finished.

And somehow FEELINGS sneaked into it and stuff from the comics that I didn't read ?!?

[murphyoftheendless]

Sandman art dump!

[naive-daydreamer]

What if we rewrite the stars... (Say you were meant to be mine).

Type: Fanfic.

Rated: M.

Chapters: 13/?.

Tags: too many to count / as much as ao3 let me.

Part 1 of the series: “To dream is to defy, and to defy is to dream”.

Written by: defianceoftheendless

read here on ao3

What was the saying? Ah, yes, dreaming doesn't cost anything.

Well, what if it turned out that the concept of dreaming was much more than a concept? What if it was, in turn, a man behind glass, and there was once a girl who tried to set him free?

That girl's name was Esther Carrasco, and it turned out that dreaming cost her everything.

•

Where a new entity, known as the Defiant of Destinies, emerges from the spilled blood of a dreamer.

[darjeelinh]

Chapters: 4/4 Fandom: The Sandman (TV 2022), The Sandman (Comics) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Dream of the Endless & Hob Gadling, Death of the Endless & Dream of the Endless, Dream of the Endless | Morpheus & Lucien | Lucienne, Desire of the Endless & Dream of the Endless, Destruction of the Endless & Dream of the Endless, Despair of the Endless & Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Destiny of the Endless & Dream of the Endless, Dream of the Endless | Morpheus & Matthew the Raven, Dream of the Endless & Matthew the Raven, Calliope/Dream of the Endless, Dream of the Endless/Nada, Calliope/Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Dream of the Endless | Morpheus & Orpheus (The Sandman), Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling, Delirium of the Endless & Dream of the Endless, Dream of the Endless/Alianora Characters: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, Dream of the Endless | Daniel, Destiny of the Endless, Death of the Endless, Desire of the Endless, Despair of the Endless, Destruction of the Endless, Delirium of the Endless, Nada (The Sandman), Alianora (The Sandman), Calliope (The Sandman), Lucien | Lucienne (The Sandman), Matthew the Raven, Hob Gadling Additional Tags: The Sandman (Comics) Spoilers, Post-Canon, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, there is a happy ending i promise, Purgatory, Character Study, Prose Poem, Post-The Wake (Sandman) Summary:

In Death’s waiting room sat her brother.

or, after the Wake, Dream is stuck in purgatory. He had to confront his regrets before he could move on.

[tiabritana]

Another Hobsbandverse inspired story. Please check out @softest-punk works.

————————————————————————

Hob turned the knob to his flat and stepped inside. He threw his keys into the bowl by the door- a pottery attempt by Destruction that Hob thinks was supposed to resemble a seashell- threw his coat onto the chair next to the rack- he’d have to hang it up properly later- took his bag and set it on top of his coat and finally took the bouquet of flowers from between his teeth and set them on top of his bag.

He slipped off his shoes, grabbed the bouquet and set off for the kitchen to grab a vase.

“Those are absolutely stunning darling, whoever did you get them from.” A voice purred from the direction of the sitting room. Hob paused in his search to see a pair of golden eyes watching him from the couch.

“My lovely spouse surprised me with them at work today.” He beamed deciding to play along.

“And who might this spouse of yours be, hmm?” Desire slowly rose from their perch on the couch to slink their way to Hob- who had finally located a vase and was filling it with water.

“They have stunning golden eyes, a tantalizing red smile, and can stalk their prey while wearing 6 inch heels.” He turned his head and glanced down at said heels Desire was wearing as they continued to come closer to him, then turned back around to continue filling the vase.

When they were finally chest to back, Desire wrapped their arms around Hobs neck, turning his head again and pulling him closer so that they could claim his lips in a welcome kiss. Hob moaned as Desire’s tongue swiped the seam of his lips but pulled back before the kiss could be deepened.

“The water’s about to overflow.” They whispered in his ear causing a shiver to run down Hob’s spine; before their words registered and he turned back around with a yelp to quickly shut the faucet off.

“Fucking hell” He muttered under his breath as he took the now full vase and set it on the kitchen table. Desire watched, softly chuckling at their husband as he fiddled with the flower arrangement.

“I’m happy my surprise was so well received.” They said as they headed back toward the couch. Hob finished his arranging and followed Desire stepping over one of the ghost cats who was laying in the middle of the room.

“Thank you lovely,” he pecked Desire on the forehead as they sat back down to watch the reality show they had paused, and headed towards the bathroom.

As he approached the door, Hob noticed the paint was a different color than it had been that morning, but shrugged it off as one of the siblings expressing their artistic abilities. When he opened the door however, he had to pause and blink to make sure he was really seeing what was in front of him.

“Uh- Desire? Was Delirium the last one here?” He asked, turning to look back at the blonde. Desire didn’t turn their gaze from the tv before letting out a noncommittal hum.

“I believe she and Despair were the last ones here, but were gone by the time I arrived.” And went back to their show. Hob returned to the scene that was still awaiting him in the bathroom.

Submerged in a purplish-pink viscous like substance the filled the whole room, a zebra-patterned octopus waved a tentacle in greeting. Hob returned the gesture and slowly closed the door, deciding that he could wait to take a shower, and instead walked back over to the couch and cuddled close to Desire. They wrapped an arm around him and let him cuddle into their side, their gaze never leaving the television.

“His name is Simon.” A sudden voice said from his other side. Hob craned his neck from where it was currently under Desire’s armpit to see Delirium now sitting upside down on the couch. Her hair was neon orange curls today that flowed to the floor with feathers sticking out from all sides like some sort of puffed up owl. Some of the slime from the bathroom still lingered on the jacket she was wearing. Hob hoped it would come out of the fabric.

“Don’t you think Simon would be happier not swimming in pink slime love?” Delirium pouted, but from the angle she was dangling it looked like a grin.

“I suppose he can, what’s the word when gravity doesn’t like you and you fly fly fly up to the sky-“ here she spread her arm out wide, “and drift with the clouds?”

“Float?” Hob answered, and she nodded her head and flipped off the couch and smiled in his direction before taking off towards the bathroom.

“Dreamy will probably let Simon float in the streams of the sea of dreams and shore of nightmares.” She danced, wiggling her hips and spinning as she reached the bathroom door. Hob smiled turning back around to rest his head on Desire’s chest, and closed his eyes and just breathed in the chaos that was their flat- and loving every second of it.

[spockandthings]

"Destiny in a snuggie" gripped me by the troath and this was born, enjoy ✨️

Would they wear a dress? Endless siblings edition

(TLDR, yes. All of them.)

Destiny

Will wear a dress but ONLY if it has a hood. I think he casually sports one of these bad boys

Death

Surprisingly most resistant to dress-wearing. She will but not if there’s another option. She enjoys being able to move her legs independently of each other, and has moral objections to fancy clothes.

Dream

He basically wears dresses all the time, but a prerequisite is that the dress must be so ridiculously over the top that it distorts the laws of physics. And also it has to be black.

Desire

Yes.

Despair

She’s just as likely to wear a dress as she is to wear anything else, which is to say of course, not likely.

Destruction

Would absolutely, as he is comfortable in his masculinity given that he is not a human nor a man.

Delirium

She would try, but the dress would turn into a pantsuit then overalls then a swarm of bees then an incomprehensible eldritch horror that makes your eyes bleed. For what it’s worth, she did her best.

[gabessquishytum]

(Human au) Chubby Hob going to meet his boyfriend’s siblings for the first time, and he’s nervous.

At this point he’s quite settled and comfortable with the fact that Dream finds him and his size incredibly sexy, but Hob is fully aware that this is not universally agreed with. He’s worried that Dream’s family will judge him poorly for his attraction to someone like Hob, or even use Hob’s weight as the start of some sibling shit-stirring.

Except when they arrive to the Endless family home, the first one to greet them is Desire, who gives Hob a very blatant once-over, before stating with unmistakable envy “Dream, you lucky bastard.”

That’s the most vocal response he gets, but to Hob’s bewilderment (and Dream’s pride), it’s made clear very quickly that every single one of the Endless siblings also finds him and his size incredibly sexy.

It’s up to you if this visit results in Hob x Endless Siblings, or if Hob simply leaves afterwards having very complicated feelings about the fact that apparently his boyfriend’s attraction to his fat is somehow genetic. Either way, Dream is disgustingly smug the entire time about finding Hob first.

-🪽anon

We love chubby Hob, we love chubby Hob being appreciated!!!!

This is such a nice idea. I'm imagining that at some point, Despair ends up talking to Hob and she's like "yeah I had to educate all my siblings on fat liberation and I swear to god if any of them were fatphobic I'd start smacking them, I just didn't anticipate that my lectures would make them appreciate fat people quite as much as this........ welcome to the family lol." And Hob is nothing but grateful for the fact that Despair has apparently hardwired all her siblings to be very respectful and admiring of his body type.

The best thing is none of the siblings are weird about him being fat. Nobody explicitly comments on his body at all. Which is nice, because Hob has been with people in the past who were attracted to his fatness in an almost creepy way, like it was the only interesting thing about him. The Endless siblings aren't like that at all. They just make him feel desirable and sexy and welcomed, making sure that he has a nice time, that he has lots of nice food and drinks. They all pay him attention in a way that makes him blush... but he's not uncomfortable in the least. He kind of likes how he feels when the siblings sigh that they're all still single, while Dream has found such a gorgeous man...

He feels right at home there on the sofa, with Dream’s arms possessively wrapped around him (and hands sneaking under his jumper to enjoy the soft pillow of his belly). Despair and Destruction are squeezed onto the sofa too and its warm and cozy. Death pats Hob’s head in a friendly gesture as she hands out drinks. Destiny tries to teach Delirium how to play a card game. Desire actually has their head in Hob’s lap, as they're splayed out all across the sofa like a contented cat.

Hob feels safe. And he knows for sure that he is loved. If Dream wants to show him off in the future, well... he certainly wouldn't be opposed to that!

[spockandthings]

Dr_Lecteur's Sandman Fic Masterlist

I have, surprisingly, written a fair amount of different pairings for this fandom, so I thought I would compile what I haven't compiled yet here!

For my Dreamling works : Dreamling Bingo 2023 & Dreamling Masterlist

For my Corinthienne (Corinthian x Lucienne) works : Corinthienne Masterlist

Hoblethros (Hob Gadling x Destruction of the Endless)

AO3 Collection

Know my heart still has a suitcase, but I still can't take it through

3.2k words ; Teen ; No Archive Warnings Apply ; Unrequited Dreamling, Established Hoblethros, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort

"His sand was barely dispersed, the hardwood floors of Hob’s living room coming under his leather boots before a shiver ran down his spine. There, naked with only a towel around his hips, stood Destruction, his long-lost brother, Olethros. The two stood frozen as they made eye contact, their mind spinning around with the questions the other’s presence brought." Or Morpheus comes to realisation that he loves one Hob Gadling, but when he goes to confess to the immortal, he might just find that he is too late.

·

My hands around your throat / Won't leave me alone

952 words ; Explicit ; No Archive Warnings Apply ; Marking, Pain Play, Blood and Injury, Consensual Kink, Size Difference

Hob daydreams about all sorts of (past, present, future) marks Destruction leaves all over his body

·

'Cause I could never hold a perfect thing / And not demolish it

1.8k words ; Explicit ; Graphic Depictions of Violence ; Temporary Character Death, Choking, Relationship Issues, Domestic Violence, Idiots in love

1969 When Destruction learns that Hob plans to leave the country without telling him a word of it, he confronts the man.

Hob Gadling x Destiny of the Endless

I swear that I'll be yours forever / 'Til forever falls apart 

1.2k words ; Gen ; No Archive Warnings Apply ; Established relationship, Domestic Fluff, Witch!Hob

Destiny visits Hob as the witch is working.

·

Black Snuggie 

618 words ; Gen ; No Archive Warnings Apply ; Established relationship ; Domestic Fluff, Teacher!Hob

Hob comes back from a tiring day at work to the sight of his lover in a peculiar accoutrement.

[catdoingblep]

And some more headcanons for this crossover (some mentions of the temporary death and canonical/side permanent deaths):

Eleonor was from Ravka, and she was a tidemaker (and Hob fell for her with the speed of tv Jesper). Robyn was a squaller, but their story still ends the same.

Nikolai Lantsov is a very-very distant descendant of Hob. Not like anyone alive knows it except Destiny.  (Robyn was the only kid Hob was aware of, but he didn’t care for real before Robyn that much, and he had his slut period right after he understood that he became immortal) 

Wylan is Hob's favourite Crow because he reminds him of Robyn. Both in Wylan Wan Sunshine and how-about-I-push-you-in-the-canal moods.

Hob and Jesper are vibing together. And they both have ADHD in my mind.

Randall Burgess was in the Fold because his best friend needed to go throught it, and Randall wasn't ok with his friend taking this kind of risk without Randall on side. They both and everyone who was with them didn't make it.

Inej had a knife that was called Sankta Robert. She broke this during the basement rescue (she may or may not broke it trying to crack a fishball). Hob brought her a new one instead, durast made.

New knife is by Mad Hettie. She do not do all the durast stuff anymore by her own reasons (and these reasons somehow connected to Destiny), but she was owe Hob a favoir. They also have a very strange friendship because you cannot don't interract when you are two immortals in one Ketterdam.

Kaz was really interested by the devil in the basement not because it was connected with Jan Van Eck but because anyone was thinking that it is impossible to steal thing from basement. He had a lot of other plans with Jan Van Eck, but he likes the challenge.

Hob once was in the Hellgate as a prisoner for few days during his worst times after Eleonor and Robyn. He will not recomend anyone Hellgate (0/10 for service), and he killed himself really bruttaly to be thrown out as a corpse. He had a very important meeting in few weeks, so not like he had time to enjoy Hellgate accomodation.

Ethel Crips is a tailor, and Roderic wasn't aware of it, so she run away from Ketterdam and tailored her face. Did she tailor also John's face? Nobody knows.

Jordie was asking Death if Kaz would be alright. She said that he will not die anytime soon.

Dream will definitely be once (or maybe more than once) asked by some drunkards is he related to Kaz Brekker. 

Nina still becomes the Corpsewitch in this universe and sometimes she is able to see Death around when Death doing her job.

Ok, I do not make tumblr posts, but I have this crossover stuck in my brain (and I am having a hyperfixation on the Shadow and Bones rn), so…

Shadow and Bones (TV) x Sandman (TV) crossover, Hob canonically was involved in the slave trade.

Hob Gadling, the new owner of New Inn (a small Inn on the edge of Barel) and your local saint (yes, he is known as Sankta Robert, and he hates this) and fellow Ketterdam immortal in his six hundreds, is trying to live his life in the Ketterdam right after his Stranger missed their meeting.

He was away for a few years after planned meeting (you know, all this “die and return as your nephew from Novyi Zem” things) and just returned to the city when Fold was destroyed. He doesn’t want to interact with any of Barel’s gangs, because it is hard to hide your immortality when someone shoots you in the middle of the street (it happened before. Twice, actually).

He still tries to know all the local rumours, so he knows about Crows, and now his Inn is apparently the Dregs’ territory.

Meanwhile, Kaz is planning how to destroy Jan Wan Eck and heard a rumour about the devil in the basement.

So, whatever it is, Jan Wan Eck is very interested in it and spends a huge amount of money every month to cover the costs of Burgess. And the guards of the basement are so well-payed that no one can buy them. Wylan barely knows anything about it, he only knows that once his father said him that Burgess promised his father to guarantee that his next child will not be an embarrassment (in exchange for the favour that is taking away the Dream bc Alex wants to get rid of the ball). 

(Roderic Burgess was not a grisha himself, but Randall Burgess was a grisha and Burgess was already making a lot of plans for how he will monetize his grisha abilities and how he will use Randall in his barely legal plans before he died in the Fold and Roderick was stuck with useless otkazat'sya second son)

Crows think that maybe this is imprisoned healer because older Burgess was too old to be alive.  

(Alex considered himself “forced through circumstances” after his father died bc he was too afraid of both Dream and Wan Eck telling everybody that is in the basement)

So Crows start some shenanigans to break into the basement, and Burgess or Wan Yek heard about it and hires some killers to take them down. One of the killers? Corinthian.

Corinthian caught one of the Crows (Nina who cannot take him down because he was made from the dreamstuff?) in the side street, but Hob is passing by. And he doesn’t want some kid to be killed on his watch. 

Hob attacked Corinthian and killed him (obviously temporally) but got stabbed in the process. In his heart. With a knife. So Nina tried to save him, but once she took out the knife, Hob comes to life.

And this makes Hob involved in all the things that he tried to avoid because he didn’t want to simulate his death too soon (and these children already saw that he is immortal), and Crows offered him to “forget” about his secret. Price? Help to steal whatever it is in the basement. 

After this someone (Inej who will have very mixed feelings about Hob being a saint? like they already met some saints but no one was a slave trader in the past) understood who Hob is.

All this Sankta Robert stuff that Hob hates. He is not only a saint because he just died and was resurrected with too many witnesses, but he also did this during the period when he tried to destroy his own slavery business after his Stranger’s advice. So years after he was known as a patron of the slaves and the ones who were illegally detained.

The eternal reminder of his own mistakes. He is not a saint, ok? Just an immortal man who made a huge mistake and tried to do something right when he understood that a crime he did.

(And in that life, he was going with his real name for some time, so he cannot use Robert Gadling anymore because everyone knows his name as the name of the saint)

Idk what will be next but it all ended up as Hob saved Dream from the fishball and they got together trope, yes. Same story but with some extra Crows flavour.

(And after the rescue of the Dream he is very amused with the fact that mortals call Hob Sankta Robert. Like previously, he never paid attention to the life of Hob between their meetings, only to the Hob’s stories on the meetings, and Hob did not mention this so he didn’t know).

Hob also somehow “adopt” the Crows because they are just a bunch of youngsters for him. Like they’re in their twenties, they are totally kids for Hob. Have they already saved the world? Not changing his opinion, they are kids! Kaz is trying to resist this but unsuccessfully (he is not so unhappy with this as he shows).

[windsweptinred]

Why I love the idea of a great big Good Omens x The Sandman Crossover Gaimonverse ... (Ineffable Husbands and Dream of the Endless hobnobbing aside).

Gwendoline Christie's Lucifer ruling over the hopeless disasters which are the GO demons... Chef's kiss! Give me a twenty part, workplace comedy. With Lucifer being driven ever closer to a complete nervous breakdown by their shinnanigans. Until they throw Mazikeen over their shoulder, yell 'Fuck this, I'm out!' and rage quit.

The Endless and the Horseman existing in the same universe... Meaning there are tiers of Anthropomorphic Personifications. What does that make the Horseman? Insanely homicidal middle management?

Following Death around like obbsessive little ducklings.

Getting into all sorts of devilment with the Twins like their little chaos groupies.

Constantly checking in with Destiny like,

War: Is it the Apocalypse now?

Destiny: (Turns a page) No

Famine: Now?

Destiny: No

Pollution: Now?

Destiny: Do not make me leave this garden and come down there!

Being one of the main contributing factors in making their direct supervisor (Destruction) become a master hermit.

Most of Hob's down time being spent avoiding/messing with Sergeant Shadwell (This headcanon is stamped across my heart in glowing neon letters).

Adam Young being the bane of Destiny's existence. A reality warping, fate changing... Doodling all over the margins of Book of Destiny in crayola menace!

The image of Anathema and Johanna Constantine as professional associates of the British supernatural community is a thing wonderous to behold.