#leave it to lucienne and gault and fiddler’s green

[void-tiger]

This may be caused by Sandman Hyperfixation + Dickens December (and watching Patrick Stewart’s Christmas Carol last night) but:

The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future demonstrate so thoroughly the role and function of nightmares as described by Dream of the Endless.

And hilariously, Dream could also stand to take his own advice and place himself in the role of Scrooge, but he’ll probably never admit it.

[aralezinspace]

hi, i was hoping to request a morpheus x reader from you! i had an idea of reader being a former resident of the dreaming who left during morpheus' imprisonment and eventually forgot their original identity throughout that whole century? morphie in the mean time had come to realize how much he cherished reader and once he breaks free, has reuniting w them at the top of his list. of course angst happens since he doesn't know that they forgot everything, but id love for it to end happy

Remember Me

A/N: I'm soft for the reader character in this one, like I may work on developing the concept for a longer fic. Thank you for sending this, I enjoyed writing it! Hope you enjoy reading it! (I'm working on making a master list and cross-posting all these request fics to AO3)

~~Requests for Morpheus and the Doctor (9-13) are open!!~~

Memories are funny, fickle things. So much of our perception of life is based in memory, recollections that may or may not be accurate. And unless one is Time, one cannot go back to be sure, to see that day again.

Your memory was fuzzy in some places, some details were missing. The empty spaces niggled at the back of your mind, the itch to find the missing pieces ever present. While comfortable and happy in your current residence, you had no idea how you got there, nor could you remember your parents or any of your childhood.

You thought some memories may resurface in your dreams, but no dreams came, just quiet blackness. The more you dwelled on the empty spaces of your life, the more frustrated you became.

You went about your life as best you could, trying not to dwell on the past; it was lost, and in the past. Fretting over it wouldn’t solve anything. It was time to focus on the future.

~~

A century away from anyone’s job would leave quite a bit of work piled up, their space a decrepit mess. Such sentiment held true for Morpheus, but with much higher stakes: a realm in shambles had more of a ripple effect than a messy office.

Once his tools had been found and the realm was in the process of recovering and rebuilding, he turned his focus to bringing back the missing dreams and nightmares. He sat on the stairs leading up to the throne with a heavy sigh. He closed his eyes for a moment to center himself before calling for Lucienne.

His unshakeable librarian showed herself into the throne room, a large, leather-bound book in her arms- the latest census of the Dreaming. “Where do we stand, Lucienne?” he asked softly. Lucienne thought he sounded tired- and he was- but she knew he wouldn’t rest until the Dreaming had been restored to its former glory.

“More dreams and nightmares return every day. However, there are four dreams whose continued absence I find concerning.” Morpheus nodded for her to go on. The librarian sighed and consulted her book. “Gault, the Corinthian, Fiddler’s Green, and Echo have yet to return from the waking world.”

Dream’s eyebrows flew into his hair, each name she spoke more surprising than the last. Especially Echo- he had been particularly fond of them since their creation. Several of his dreams and nightmares had the power to choose a specific memory, or several, to occupy a person’s sleeping hours, rather than prompting unique dreams. Echo was by far the strongest of these. The fact that they had not only left during his imprisonment, but had yet to return, spawned a nervous ache in his chest.

“That is concerning,” he finally murmured, rubbing his chin in thought. “Echo most of all. Their absence cannot continue if the Dreaming is to be stable again.” He hoisted himself to his feet, his long coat gathering itself around him. “It seems I must return to the waking world yet again.” Lucienne looked decidedly nervous. “I will bring them back,” he assured her firmly.

Lucienne nodded; she knew there was nothing she could do or say to dissuade him. “Good luck, my lord.”

~~

Once Morpheus was back in the waking world, he immediately sought a relatively quiet spot to concentrate on picking out your essence from amongst the millions of humans. It was faint; diluted by distance and the amount of time you had spent in the waking world, but he could sense it. You were very dear to Dream; he could sense you anywhere if you were in the same realm, and your absence had left an aching gap in the Dreaming.

A gust of sand brought him closer, your aura was stronger. He could tell your dream abilities had diminished, hidden deeper and deeper inside you as the years went on. The realization gave him pause: if your powers had faded, had you as well? Were you still Echo of the Dreaming? He found himself almost nervous at the prospect of facing you. The nerves were quickly replaced with anger, both at you for leaving, and once again at Burgess for tearing him away from his realm- and you- for a century.

The park he found himself in was pleasantly bustling: families played together, dogs barked, ducks demanded food. His eyes scanned the vista for you, not entirely sure what he was looking for. When you lived in the Dreaming, your eyes had been pure quicksilver, smoke swirling under your skin, just barely visible. Would you appear the same as you did then?

He followed the pull of your aura like a homing beacon, until his eyes found you, and he froze. You looked exactly as he remembered, as if he had just seen you yesterday. The only difference was your eyes: your skin somehow still had a misty, vaporous quality, but your eyes had changed to a light blue, the first hint of blue sky after the sunrise.

You could feel his stare piercing your spine. You’d know it anywhere. A cold lump of dread settled into your stomach; why was he here? You knew him, in your bones you knew him, but couldn’t remember. What could he possibly want with you?

You kept absolutely still as he approached, resisting the urge to fall to your knees at his feet. Lord Morpheus, that was his name.

“It’s time for you to return home,” he declared without preamble once in front of you, hands clasped behind his back. His posture was regal, commanding. Your eyes lowered to the ground.

“I’m sorry,” you murmured, “But I have no idea what you mean.”

It wasn’t often the Dream Lord was caught off guard, but your response took him by surprise. You not knowing who you were was not something he had anticipated. He swallowed hard. “Tell me what you do remember.”

You hesitated, but slowly, the words came out. “I- I remember you, kind of. Feels like I’ve always known you, but don’t remember meeting you. I vaguely remember a stone palace behind massive gates, but couldn’t tell you where I saw it.”

Morpheus nodded; you were describing the Dreaming, the memories were there, just forgotten, like an old book covered with dust and cobwebs. “I see,” he rasped, holding out a hand. “Come with me, and I will restore the memories you have lost.”

You hesitated again. Was it really the best idea to go who knows where with a dark, handsome man you just met but feel like you’ve known for decades? You looked up from the ground. His face was stern, but soft around the edges. Even still, you could tell his words weren’t a request.

Your hand trembled and shook, but none the less you placed it in his open palm. He gave a small nod before a vortex of sand engulfed you both. Moments later, it disappeared, and you were no longer in the park: instead of families and pets and ducks, your field of vision was filled by two massive marble gates, carved with images of mythical creatures and reaching to the heavens.

“The Gates…” you breathed in overwhelming wonder. “I’ve been here before, but…” you turned to Morpheus, who had been watching you closely. “How?”

“Because this is your home,” he replied, voice firm with conviction. “You know who I am: Lord Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, king of the Dreaming and Nightmare realms. And you, are a dream.” Your brow scrunched in confusion, but Dream went on before you could stammer out any questions:

“I created you. You are called Echo, a dream of memory. You are one of my oldest, most powerful, most… treasured, creations. You let humans relive memories in their dreams, let them see old events in new light. Much of the history of my realm resides within your memory. The Dreaming and waking world both need you to resume your duties. Will you?”

You dropped to your knees and sat, eyes glassy with disbelief. There was a cacophony of thoughts raging in your head as you forced yourself to breathe. The most insistent: he was right.

Your hands began to tingle lightly, and your eyes darted to them: your skin had turned MISTY, still firm, still the same color, but with tendrils of smoke swirling gently just beneath the surface.

“I left,” you gasped, memories of the last century slowly reawakening. “You disappeared, and I just, stayed in the waking… and I forgot.” The irony was not lost on you: a dream of memory, forgetting who they were.

The weight of the realization almost made you crumble. You had abandoned your creator and sovereign, abandoned your duty, your home. He had every right to unmake you then and there. “Lord Morpheus, I’m so sorry,” you choked softly, tears burning the back of your eyes. “Wh- what would you do with me?”

For the second time that day, Dream offered you his hand. “I would have you resume your duties in the Dreaming. The realm needs you back… I need you back.”

Now that was unexpected for the both of you, Dream stating that he needed someone. But, after a few tense, heart-clenching seconds, you took his hand and pulled yourself to your feet. Strength returned to your limbs and power filled your entire being at his touch- more than you thought your body could hope to contain.

A tiny but proud smile touched his face. “Your dreaming abilities that faded have been restored. Echo, Y/N…” Your hand was still loosely caged in his, and he gave it a gentle squeeze before placing a firm kiss on your knuckles. “Your dreamers are waiting.”  

[tryan-a-bex]

Fireflies and a Missing Person

For the #sandmanniversary2023! Read it on AO3 Prompts: for Aug 4-6, stargazing, hunt, raven Gen, 1172 words, broken bone, missing person

Lucienne sighed deeply as Gault caressed her bald head and pointy ear tips. There was really nothing so lovely as lying on the grass in Fiddler’s Green, with her head in her love’s lap, watching the stars swirl above them. Gault always joined her in stargazing initially, but was quicker to be distracted, or maybe just slower to lie down on the grass when her neck got tired of craning at the sky. They quietly rehashed their days, each taking comfort in the other’s interest in the minutiae of her life.

Today, Gault was celebrating another trans person who, through the shapeshifting dreams she brought, had realized that he could, if he wanted to, take steps toward having the shape he really wanted on the outside as well as the inside. Gault found him as a she and left him as a he, and it was one of the greatest privileges of her life.

For Lucienne, today’s annoyance had been Mervyn Pumpkinhead. Or rather, the lack of Mervyn. Usually he was around, even ubiquitously, whenever Lucienne needed him to do any little thing. Today, she’d started keeping a list when he hadn’t appeared for a few hours. It happened occasionally that he forgot to tell her about some big project he was taking on, and she wouldn’t see him for a few days.

“Awwwk! Hey Lucienne! Hi Gault! Have you seen Mervyn?” Matthew flapped over to them across the dark field, landing beside Lucienne’s knees.

“I haven’t seen him all day,” Lucienne complained as Gault shook her head in agreement.

“He was going to play poker with us tonight, and he never showed up!”

“Sometimes he gets involved in a big project and doesn’t come around the castle for a few days. But I’ve never heard of him not knocking off at quitting time,” Lucienne admitted.

Matthew hopped sideways and shook his head.

“I have to say, I’m getting a bit worried about him. I’ve been looking all over.”

“Really?” Gault asked. “You haven’t found him? Do you need our help?”

“Would you? Could you help me hunt for him?”

“Of course! Where have you already looked?” Lucienne jumped up and stretched out the magical raven wings Dream had given her, giving Gault a hand as she rose and fluttered her glowing wings as well, and together they leaped into the air after Matthew.

It was quickly apparent that the new moon which had made stargazing so delightful wasn’t helping with an aerial search. They needed more light. Lucienne’s eyes drifted to Gault as she pondered the problem, and the gorgeous glowing lines of her body suddenly gave Lucienne the answer she was looking for. 

“Fireflies!”

“Fireflies?” Matthew asked.

“Ahhhhh!” Gault nodded.

Lucienne, as Steward of the Dreaming, had some authority to ask dreams for help, so it was no big thing for her to summon a dream of fireflies and request that they sweep along the ground before the three friends. With the fireflies lighting the terrain, it was quickly clear that they had not yet found Mervyn. 

As they covered ground, the fireflies flowing over trees and dipping into little streambeds sunken in the landscape, Lucienne also searched her mind for any hints Mervyn might have left, or any parts of the Dreaming he might have found difficult to leave. Wait, hadn’t he been complaining about a tree? And a little stream? 

“He was muttering yesterday about a Tree of Wisdom dream, where the Tree is located at the end of a long, deep ravine, its fruit only accessible after a difficult quest, but he has to go periodically to check that the little stream that waters it has not become blocked by leaves.”

“Oh, I know where that is!” Gault exclaimed, leading them in a more westerly direction.

—

The ravine was deep and dark as they glided along above it, the depths twinkling with the lights of the fireflies. They were nearly to the end when the fireflies started to gather at a certain point, and Matthew, Gault and Lucienne flew closer to see what had caught their interest.

“Took you long enough to get here!” Mervyn’s vociferous complaining reached them before they could see his head. 

“I’ve had the worst day! Had to hike all the way out here, didn’t I? Muck about clearing decaying leaves from that damn little stream. Then the path crumbled on my way back up, dumping me back down here on my ass. And this hell-forsaken rock went and cracked my leg, so do you think I could get back up? No! And you lot! Not even coming for me until after dark! No one cares about the working man.”

Lucienne put an arm around him to help him up, while Gault gathered the pieces of his broken leg. Matthew hopped around, his worried chattering a counterpoint to Mervyn’s ongoing grumbling. 

“How are we going to get him up the hill? His leg is broken and it’s not even flesh, will it heal? Does it hurt? That path looks dangerous even if it wasn’t dark. We can’t fly him home. This is terrible!”

“Maybe the roc?” Gault suggested to Lucienne. Lucienne considered. The open space in the middle of the ravine was barely big enough for the humongous mythical bird to land, but she thought they could make it happen. 

“Yes,” she agreed, “Over there.” She requested the roc’s aid as they began to help Mervyn over the uneven ground to the centre of the ravine. The fireflies continued to light their way.

By the time they got there, the roc was circling above. 

“Do you think you can manage?” Lucienne shouted up to it as it examined the terrain and the broken Pumpkinhead. It dipped its head in acquiescence. As Gault held Mervyn’s head aloft and Lucienne supported his body, the roc dove down to grab him, head in one claw and body in the other, against Mervyn’s increasingly loud protests. Lucienne was pretty sure they were token protests. Anyway, she couldn’t think of any other way to get him out of the ravine. The three rescuers rose into the air after them, Gault with the broken leg once more in her hands. 

—

The poker game was not only later but louder than usual. Lucienne had decided to provide hot chocolate drinks, on the theory that warm chocolate was soothing to people who had fallen into ravines or participated in daring rescues. Mervyn didn’t seem too interested in his. He’d patched up his leg with his tools, brought to him by Matthew, and was proudly regaling the poker group with the (only slightly exaggerated) tale of his adventure. It looked like they were letting him win, possibly. Lucienne wasn’t all that familiar with poker, but he seemed happy about how it was going. Gault brought her cup of hot chocolate and cuddled next to Lucienne on the loveseat.

“Looks like he’s going to survive then,” she remarked. Lucienne leaned on her shoulder.

“All is right in the Dreaming once more,” she agreed.

Thank you to @best-wishes for the great beta read!

Previous Next

Now with art by @ibrithir-was-here!

[writing-for-life]

Hi! I have a sort of strange question about the Sandman that I hope is ok to ask :) I’m waiting for season two before reading the comics so my current fics have all been based around what we’ve seen in the show. Yet I’m also branching out into work that covers more of what the Dreaming is like/how it functions, and aside from my own interpretation I’m trying to research what’s canon while trying to avoid spoilers.

This is a very rambling way of getting to my point! But I was wondering what other dreams/nightmares might appear next season? Or if you have any favourites that might be interesting to look into? As for what the Dreaming is like, I know there are different parts to it, but I’m curious about how much of that we see in the comics/might see in the show.

Thanks for the ask!

Oh, that’s such a tricky question to answer because it is wholly based on assumptions of what S2 will be like. And from all that has leaked so far, I am assuming the following and trying to keep the spoilers vague:

a) We will get Season of Mists

b) We will get parts of A Game of You, strongly altered compared to the comics and probably interwoven with SoM

c) We will get The Song of Orpheus and Thermidor

d) We will get at least the start of Brief Lives

It’s tricky to say what other one shots we might get, so I’m leaving them out just now.

So based on that and with regard to dreams and nightmares: I don’t think any new major ones I’m afraid. The Corinthian will be out until The Kindly Ones if they stick roughly with the comics, so will Fiddler’s Green. It wouldn’t surprise me though if they gave Stephen Fry more screen time, and it would work. He might also have smaller appearances in one-shots like Soft Places if we get them. I don’t think the Corinthian will reappear earlier than TKO though for narrative reasons.

Lucienne, Merv and Matthew will be there obviously. Gault—not sure, if they stick with when Brute & Glob appeared in the comics, that’ll be her arc done.

Cain and Abel will definitely be back, but they’re quite strictly speaking not dreams. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll get to see Eve, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Lucienne at least gets part of her “job”, so to speak.

Alianora might get a teensy appearance in AGoY, but she’s quite strictly speaking not a dream either. She’s a good one for fics though because her and Morpheus’ story is woefully underexplored.

Maybe we’ll get more Martin Tenbones, that’d depend on how they do AGoY. Same goes for other inhabitants of the Land, like Luz and Wilkinson (and the Cuckoo I guess?). I’m really not sure how much of that we’ll get. Also, they’re not much use if you want characters that are anthropomorphic because they’re not.

And then there are obviously minor characters like the Gatekeepers, Goldie, Taramis etc.

But I’m afraid that you’ve already met most of the dreams and nightmares in S1.

You’ll be dealing far more with gods, demi-gods, angels, demons and fae from now on. And you could write about many of them, and some are really interesting and very important for the overall arc.

As for what the Dreaming is like: You’ll get glimpses in SoM, you’ll also get more glimpses in AGoY (again depending on what they decide to give us). Brief Lives is mostly set in the Waking (although there’s some back and forth and scenes set in dreams), so is Thermidor, so is much of Song of Orpheus.

I don’t know if that answers your questions at all, feel free to ask more specific ones if I haven’t answered them.

[ravennightbirt]

I’m sorry I have to!

Hobs reaction in order!

He stares at them for several long minutes before he very carefully say’s yes under two conditions: no biting (he is no idiot he knows it’s addictive) he was a doctor once he will donate and they can each have a cup. And two if they bite other people please bring them to his place instead of dumping them on the street. Which is how Hob became a blood donor for vampires and the New Inn a meeting point for people with a blood kink and vampires

MATE IF I KNEW!

…ok but I wanna watch! (He has met a witch by the name of Agnes before nice lady, she gave him some protective spells that are bound to his bones, this witch is either going to blow herself up if she is malicious or get very damn lucky if she is not. Either way he wants to see and laugh)

No thank you this sounds like prostitution. Which I respect. Im kinky but that’s not one of mine.

Hob really enjoys her singing voice they meet once a month on a Friday evening in her cabin in the woods. By Sunday he is back his feet again and they go to the Inn to drink. (Death would like to let it know that she is NOT amused!)

Hob just laughs at her face and quotes Sarahs Labyrinth speech at her. He immediately gets very popular with a lot of Goblins and does in fact meet the Goblin king who tells him that for the face that Titania pulled Hob will never be bothered by his people again. (He might also have s new regular, a young woman with black hair, who is calles Sarah)

Hob silently starts putting up candles. Not to ward them of but for them, that they are remembered. He also puts shot glasses next to each candle. Takes some time but after a good year and a lot of trial and error each ghost has his own specific candle that he has a lot of spares of and a specific drink of choice. If people ask if something is off which the Inn he tells them straight up it’s haunted. He might have started a fight of two with „Exorcists” whi came to rid him of evil spirits.

They get drunk and lament being in love with people who don’t get it. Fastest and best friendship of his life! He meets Aziraphale at their wedding after the world didn’t end…he brings an original copy of one of Marlowes plays and after that Aziraphale might be more enthusiastic to see him than Crowley. (The Inn is both blessed and Cursed in the same manner which put a lot of people off at first especially his regulars, but they tweak and fix it and it’s fine!)

This one actually threw me! Because I have different possibility for it!

Corinthian which quite honestly they fuck and somehow Hob is just nice enough to not get his eyes gauged out. (It might be in fact an early Curse Crowley put up)

Gault: He inspires her to not give up and reinvent herself. That she can be anyone and nobody is allowed to take that choice from her

Gilbert/Fiddlers Green: He tells Hob of wanting to see how people life just to help them get better. Hob smiles and hands him a walking cane. „You will need that one walking along side people is hard and will tire you out, but it’s worth it!“

I thought about Lucienne but she would tell him what happened and ask for help so she’s out :(

(If this is a reference please enlighten me😊) otherwise Hob takes a deep breath and gives the kid some old school mead. They talked a lot. The kid now work for him and absolutely will beat the shit out of every neonazi, homophobe ect. pp. entering the Inn. Hob might now be part of their hoard.

It happens on campus before his first lecture. His class walks in to him answering riddles of a nice older Lady who looks damn regal in that traditional clothing shes wearing (if that’s greek or egyptian I don’t take either way she’s not white!) they sit down and watch and then leave for class (some of them, thankfully he has the biggest lecture hall all day) it pulls for the whole day which a short break where Hob shares his meal which her. At the end of the day Hob has made a new friend and the Sphinx is contemplating to teach students just to see them work in groups/light ip when they solve a riddle

Hob says no thank you, but buys them a drink and then kicks out an old man who says something about their appearance. Desire leaves cursing and knowing full well that they can’t do shit. They might also be charmed and will kick Dream in the balls if he fucks this up!

Either way Hob sunshine he is makes a lot of friends and helps even more.

The Inn btw is a temple to Dream in this and HOLY FUCK having so many supernatural people in there who are grateful for Hob and just enjoy life? One hell of a trip once Dream actually allows himself to feel it!

Dream is impressed and absolutely appalled at the same time. He leans towards the first because those protection, while not to his standard, are good for Hob. So he’s fine with it.

Thats when Death drops by and nearly drinks Job out of liquor, because I’m giving watching over him back to you. I love you both but I’m done!

(to extend this post about Dream being unable to keep magic creatures away from Hob while in his fishbowl)

In the span of a week Hob meets:

Two vampires asking rather nicely if they could taste his (immortal) blood

A djinn who tries to make him tell the conditions of his “immortality deal”

A witch that pulls one of his hair off to “use it in a ritual”

A group of demons, each offering him more than the other in exchange of his immortal soul and body (a rare pack according to them!)

A Banshee with professional curiosity

A so proclaimed “Fae Queen” with a proposition of King Consort in her realm

A few ghosts - most of them just staring, one or two shooting him disapproving glances…

Another demon with black glasses informing him that “the Angel and him had wanted to meet him for a long time”. The angel is nowhere to be seen as he “disapproved of such an opportunist encounter”

Someone calling themselves a “dream” who’s there out of personal curiosity

A “young” dragon who wanted to meet the only human older than them

A sphinx with a riddle to ask - to see if his long life had brought him knowledge and discernment.  

Some guy introducing themselves as “Desire” who has a lot of suggestions as to how they should spend the evening

[lazycats-stuff]

Morpheus x male reader

Author's note: My first one shot ever here on Tumblr, hope you like it. If there are any grammar mistakes, English is not my first language.

Just some warnings before you continue reading: Vague mentions of a car accident, but there are no details, Corinthian making some threats, mentions of Corinthian's killings.

(Y/N) met Morpheus 2 years ago when one of his nightmares went rouge. That nightmare nearly made him insane, hadn't it been for Morpheus who stepped in. (Y/N) have heard about the Sandman before, but thought he was nothing more than a story. He was proven wrong once he saw him in his dreams.

The nightmare made him live through the car accident he had as a kid when a drunk driver hit the car while his parents and him were driving in. Thankfully, they were all okay, but it stuck with him. Every now and then his mind would recall it and make him remember as a nightmare. And the nightmare that attached itself to him knew what made him tick. The nightmare has been tormenting him for 2 weeks.

Morpheus continued to visit him in his dreams and over time the two bonded. He showed (Y/N) around the Dreaming, he met Lucienne and Mathew the raven and he liked it there. Sometimes he watched Morpheus create new dreams and explain to (Y/N) what they mean. He also told him about his nightmares. Gault, Fiddlers Green and Corinthian. Over time Morpheus asked to court him and (Y/N) were more than happy to accept.

But back to the present.

He was working at the library, just about to finish up when he heard somebody at the front desk. He was in the process of putting books on the shelfs when he heard a southern accent.

" Does (Y/N) (L/N) work here? "

He poked your head to see who wanted to know that information, but froze once he saw the familiar profile. He immediately recognized the Corinthian. There was a picture in the throne room, but made of glass. He quickly retracted behind the shelves and listened. His coworker said no and the men thank her and left. (Y/N) and the rest of the coworkers had a policy here, you don't reveal to unknown people if you work here or not. If family and friends come here, whom you know for sure, then go ahead, but if those are strangers? No go. Unless they are law enforcement.

(Y/N) sighed from the relief as the coworker came up to him.

" Who was that guy? "

" I don't know. I will finish putting these books up. "

" Alright, thanks. "

He nodded and forced a smile on his face. She smiled back and left and his heart dropped. When he was done, he went to get his things and leave. He said his goodbyes and left. When he was outside he called out to his favorite bird.

" Mathew... Are you here? "

He stood in silence for a while waiting.

" I am here. What is wrong? "

" Is Morpheus in the Dreaming? "

" No, he is at the diner with his siblings. "

(Y/N) wanted to cry. He really wanted to cry.

" Can you go there or? "

"No, but lord Morpheus should be back in a couple of hours. Why? "

" Corinthian was here looking for me. "

" Oh shoot. I will let him know as soon as possible. "

" Thank you. "

Mathew gave him a nod and flew off. (Y/N) stood up and took a deep breath to calm himself down. He still didn't have to go home. He still need to do some stuff. So that will buy him some time before going to sleep and meeting the Corinthian.

(Y/N) felt fear seeping through his bones once he realized that Corinthian has found him in his dreams. He was at near his childhood home, where the accident occurred. He felt his breath hitch.

" You are the famous (Y/N), the one who got Morpheus's heart. "

(Y/N) turned around to find the Corinthian wearing neutral colors with his dark shades. (Y/N) could see the his blades. He couldn't let Corinthian see his fear.

" Are you going to kill me? "

" Is that what you heard about me? "

" I heard about a serial killer who takes the victims eyes. And knowing what is behind those shades... "

" So Morpheus told you about me? How sweet. "

" Why are you making your move now? "

" Because everyone found out about you recently. Morpheus made sure to keep you safe and secret. " Corinthian said, taking a step towards you.

(Y/N) took a step back and was ready to run, but a yell behind him made him stop.

" Corinthian! "

(Y/N) turned his head to look at his lover, who was looking rather angry. There was a noticeable shift in the energy of this universe. Morpheus pushed (Y/N) behind him to protect him. (Y/N) was getting overwhelmed due to the location of the dream and the sound of the cars getting closer. Morpheus noticed and he tried to calm him, but (Y/N) woke up. He was gasping in his bed and Morpheus was there next to his bed. He was whispering sweet nothings, trying to calm his lover and it worked. (Y/N) was calmer and he hugged Morpheus tightly.

" I am sorry my love. I came here as soon as Mathew told me. "

" It's alright. I am happy that you came in just in time. And don't feel bad for not being able to protect me. "

Morpheus didn't say anything and simply laid down next to (Y/N). He gently put his lover to sleep and made sure that he didn't have any bad dreams and what he made sure of was that nobody could invade his dreams tonight.

And whoever does that, may God help him.

[infinitedungas]

rewatching sandman already because god is it a good adaptation and i can’t stop thinking about it so i’m going to have a VERY long ramble about it here we go

some of the changes made were necessary in order to streamline the story for a ten-episode structure, like expanding the role of the corinthian to give this season a slightly more focused antagonist, or having lyta be more of a companion to rose and accompany her on her journey. the latter worked especially well for me - the comic is wonderful but if lyta’s story had been adapted as-is it would have felt really disordered. some things, like editing out lyta’s superhero backstory or having johanna constantine in the modern day, were likely due to licensing and copyright of existing characters, but the way they worked around that still paid off in a way that didn’t leave the story wanting.

some changes weren’t necessary but are a marked improvement anyway. i loved that ethel cripps got a little more airtime. replacing brute and glob with gault then giving them room to grow was a nice emotional payoff. lucifer taking choronzon’s place to fight dream ramped up the stakes that little bit further and for a moment it really does look like he’s going to get torn to shreds. john dee choosing to keep rosemary safe was (i think) a wise change from her death in the comic and a necessary moment to show that underneath everything, he’s still capable of empathy.

basically what i’m getting at is they knew what to leave in and what to take out. that’s so rare to see in adaptations these days, i think. it plays close to the source material for the most part but they weren’t so precious about it as to insist on a beat-for-beat recreation.  i was worried they’d cut hob’s role down, or even cut him entirely, but they spent just the right amount of time with him for that little side story to have the necessary impact. “dream of a thousand cats” and “calliope”, in less capable hands, could so easily have been cut for runtime or squeezed into the main run of episodes; but the showrunners recognised that while they have something important to lend to the worldbuilding, the main narrative would have felt bloated if they’d been squashed in there. so they get their own separate little bonus episode, which is where stories like those belong, and it’s a wonderful addendum to the series proper.

also can we talk about casting? spot on. tom sturridge gives the exact flavour of lanky mopey soaking wet emo man i wanted to see in dream “stupid stubborn git” of the endless. kirby howell-baptiste absolutely nails death’s big-hearted no-nonsense sisterly charm and is pure serotonin to watch. vivienne acheampong brings a kindness and sort of pastoral air to lucienne and her long-suffering devotion to dream. mason alexander park was born to play desire and you can tell they’re having the time of their life doing it. razane jamal and kyo ra play off each other really nicely as rose and lyta, especially with their expanded on-screen friendship. stephen fry has always been fiddler’s green in my mind’s eye and it was lovely to see him come to life. boyd holbrook’s cocktail of affable and insidious is great for the corinthian.  and gwendoline christie as lucifer???? hello????? not to be gay but hello?????

TL;DR the sandman is a story (or more accurately a sprawling collection of stories) that is one of my all-time faves and it makes me so happy to see something i love adapted so well and i’m excited to see what they do with the rest of the comic.

[peaxhxhair]

Guess Who? || The Corinthian

Pairing: The Corinthian x Male!Reader

Summary/Prompt: Two old friend reunite at a convention.

Warnings: Mentions of Blood/Death/Murder, Cereal.

Word Count:

Authors Note: This could be romantic or platonic, it's up to you (Btw I'm thinking of making a part two to this)

The Sandman - Masterlist

Consider buying me a coffee! <3

“How many beings are yet to return, Lucienne?” Morpheus asked his librarian. After returning to the dreaming, the king of dreams and Lucienne sought out the rest of the kingdom's inhabitants. Their searches seemed to be in good fortune, and most returned to the dreaming. However, few remain unfound. 

“Four, my lord” Lucienne answered as she reread the notes in her hands. She began to list them off:

“Gault” A nightmare, one able to shapeshift.

“The Corinthian” A nightmare, one that dream had expected. Morpheus knew that the Corinthian would not return unless forced. 

“Fiddler’s Green” Morpheus had been surprised about this one. He had a lot to say about the absence of the dream, but he let Lucienne continue. 

“...Peace” Lucienne finished, cautiously glancing at the dream king for any form of reaction from the names she read out. The scoff he let out surprised the librarian.

“Ah, Peace. Anything but peaceful” He recalled, and Lucienne had a hard time disagreeing with him. Peace’s time in the dreaming made it difficult to contain him. Not a dream, yet not a nightmare. On the fence, if you will. The concept of peace is different for every dreamer, making him difficult to contain. “Leave them be for now. They’ll reveal themselves in due time”

~~~

The cereal convention. Every year, the same people put on the same event. A meetup for collectors who have a strange amount of time on their hands. Collectors who spend too much money on conventions where nothing really happens. Like Peace. 

Peace had been a guest of honour a few years before, after being flagged up as one of the longest lasting killers. A span of over one hundred years of ruthless, drug related killings interested the hosts of the event, and having nothing else to do, he decided to attend. He happened to enjoy the atmosphere enough to return again, and again. Until today. Today was different. This year's guest of honour was the Corinthian, so obviously he had to show his face at the convention again. To see an old friend again. 

He was excited to see a familiar face after all these years. The two hadn’t crossed paths since Morpheus had been captured. So, it should be fun. 

~~~

Peace sighed as he waited in the growing line of serial killers, getting more impatient as time went on. He just wanted to check in and enjoy the convention, maybe sit down too. It was hard, standing on solid ground when he had the ability to float whenever he pleased. Humans don’t do that though, so he had to stand. The line he stood in started to feel like it would take up the entire day, and he began to zone out while he waited, only moving when the line did. His lack of awareness of his surroundings would make it easy for someone to sneak up behind him, especially with so many serial killers around. He only really zoned back in when someone placed their hands over his eyes.

“Guess Who?” He heard the voice behind him say. A familiar voice, one as smooth as caramel and as deep as the ocean. Peace had almost relaxed before he realised whose hands were over his eyes. Still, he decided to play along. 

“Is that you, Morpheus?” He asked, and he could feel the distaste from the man behind him. Peace couldn’t help but chuckle at the scoff the other let out, and swatted the blonde’s hands away as he turned to face him. “Good to see you, Corinthian” Peace said, matching the grin the nightmare had on his face. 

“What is someone like you doing here?” Corinthian asked, and it was peace’s turn to scoff. What he meant is that a dream such as peace really seems out of place at a cereal convention. Of course, the Corinthian knew the answer to his own question, and he knew that Peace wouldn’t answer it. 

“What are you doing with a twelve year old?” Peace questioned, brushing past the previous question with one of his own. The sight of the nightmare with a twelve year old boy was almost impossible to comprehend, even with whatever excuse he was about to give. Peace ignored the answer nonetheless, and turned towards the boy who hadn’t been paying attention, extending a hand out to him. 

“Peace. But, call me M/n” He said, and the kid shook his hand, introducing himself as Jed. Corinthians eyes furrowed at the name Peace had given himself, and he was quick to tell the kid to go away, so that he could comment on it. 

“You gave yourself a name?” He asked, in a quieter tone so that their conversation was somewhat private. “Are you stupid?” He asked again, and M/n huffed at his attitude. 

“Are you?” Peace snapped back, crossing his arms over his chest, leaning slightly closer to the blonde to keep their conversation quiet. “We’ve been here for over a century. You didn’t think to give yourself a name?” He asked in quiet disbelief. M/n didn’t think that Corinthian would be stupid enough to not think of that after one hundred and thirty years. Turns out, the blonde is very stupid. “Besides, it’s not like I have an ID” That comment made Corinthian consider it, but it wasn’t like he would admit that peace was right.

The two stood in an awkward silence for a moment, their conversation having trailed off when the blonde had refused to admit defeat. Even in the short silence, M/n could feel his old friend watching him curiously. Just as he went to tell the other to knock it off, two people approached them. 

“Our guest of honour doesn’t have to wait in line, y’know” The good doctor said, handing Corinthian the same leaflets that Peace had been handed a few years prior. The doctor and Peace shared a look, one that showed they remembered each other. Just as the hosts began to lead their guest of honour away, M/n sighed. 

“Leaving me again, Corinthian?” He called, the blonde being just close enough for peace to hear his low chuckle.

“Until next time, Peace” He said, waving at his fellow creation as if they wouldn’t meet again for another hundred years. M/n’s slight laugh received a playful wink from his friend, before the blonde was gone.

[cosmictapestry]

@leesgotwritersblock the ideal blunt rotation has to have the correct balance of people who are chill and interesting and messy. also, ideally, you have people with diverse life experiences and perspectives. really enlightening stuff. so i mean, you've got death and lucienne and lucifer and fiddler's green, who are all wells of unlimited experience, and are also very chill and interesting and fucking paradigms of messiness and gossip and crude objectivity. gault could be here too but she only smokes cuban cigars and also has a sense of personal identity. john dee has a fascinating tendency to stop whatever he's doing and do little thought exercises for no apparent reason or benefit to anyone. ideal for this situation. rosemary meets every utterly demented statement and situation with empathy and genuine (disordered) desire to be a good person. another necessity. and unity would just have a really good time i think

the worst possible blunt rotation is more complicated. usually you'd think it's just composed of people who are neurotic and oversensitive and mean and horny. but in a situation like this you have chemical reactions. you have lyta and dream with terminal levels of feminine hysteria irradiating one corner of the room. rose is paranoid out of her fucking mind. ethyl and the corinthian are in each other's laps and there's blood. hob is talking about every horrible thing he's ever done and crying about it and hal is like, laughing. desire is leaving to go for a drive.

sandman season 1 blunt rotation

best: death, john dee, rosemary, lucienne, lucifer, john dee again, fiddler’s green, unity kincaid

worst: dream, hal, lyta hall, the corinthian, hob gadling, desire, rose walker, ethyl cripps

[void-tiger]

Dream: why’d everyone leave??

Lucienne: well some tried to find you…

Dream: did they though?

-

Corinthian: yeah I found him ;)

-

Gault: I want a job change

Dream: NO! That’s not allowed! You’re suspended

Lucienne: …

Dream: …but maybe it should be. I’m sorry.

-

Fiddler’s Green: …I didn’t mean to leave but. I needed a sabbatical

Dream: …okay that’s fair. But I need you to come back now.

-

Corinthian: I just wanna eat people!

Dream: NO.

Corinthian: …to fill my function better?

Corinthian: …to feel humanity???

Dream: you’re digging yourself deeper and you know it. (I blame myself.)

[avelera]

Proposed alternate "Sandman" show timeline, based on this post, if I were in charge and trying to clean up the chain of events if I were editing the story. This is part of a writer thought exercise I've been doing, think of it as something of a headcanon as well as a way to address some of what I view to be the most major plotholes, but cleaned up for easier reading. This is show only and does not utilize (much) of the wider comic canon.

??? Years Ago - Dream comes into being, he is a good but strict ruler of the Dreaming, bound by complicated rules of magic and obligation to keep the chaos of the subconsciouses within him in check. This makes him a natural enemy of his sibling, Desire, who thrives on the unchecked subconscious.

10,000 Years Ago - Dream and Nada become lovers. However, Nada breaks an ancient law of magic, necessitating that Dream must have her imprisoned regardless of his feelings for her. He would free her if he could but it is not his decision. Desire cannot forgive him for this because, unbeknownst to Dream, Desire was also in love with Nada, and perhaps is even the reason Nada broke the ancient law. Desire begins plotting a way to take revenge on Dream, with the goal of imprisoning him so he can feel the pain he subjected their lover Nada to all those years ago.

1916 - Desire's plan for revenge against Dream comes to fruition. They set up the circumstances where Roderick Burgess, a man ruled by the desire to resurrect his son, will capture Dream by accident. In order to lure Dream into the world where he can be captured, Desire releases several dreams and nightmares, including the Corinthian, Gault, and Fiddler's Green. Dreams and nightmares are otherwise incapable of escaping on their own. Desire hopes that Dream will need to spend some time in the waking world to recapture all three, leaving him vulnerable to Burgess. Dream, as a good ruler, takes up this task because these beings would be dangerous to his other subjects if he sent them instead. Lucienne is anxious about his choice to do this, however, because it is otherwise impossible for dreams and nightmares to escape. She suspects a trap. Dream agrees, but doesn't see any other way to protect the world and his people other than going himself and trusting he will be strong enough to deal with any threat. Note: Dream's absence doesn't impact the Dreaming, it would not be in danger even if he left for millennia. Rather, his mood impacts the Dreaming. As long as he is content and in control of himself, no matter where he is, the Dreaming is safe.

1916 cont. - Dream is captured by Burgess. Desire, rather than the Corinthian, goes to Burgess after he has succeeded and tells him how to create a prison strong enough to keep an Endless from being discovered by any means, including by other Endless or creatures from Dream's realm. He will be entirely invisible to anyone or anything that isn't a normal human, even if they're in the same room with him.

1916-1926 - Jessamy and Dream's other subjects, siblings, and friends search desperately for Dream. The realm has begun to decay, which means that somewhere they all know Dream is suffering, but no one can locate him. Despite Jessamy bringing others to Burgess's house to show them where Dream went missing, none of them can see inside the summoning circle where he is trapped and Dream cannot see them outside either. The circle was intended to capture Death, it is far too powerful to be overcome. Jessamy continues to patrol the Burgess estate, however, looking for any sign of Dream. She is the only one who refuses to give up, but it is only because she was there when he was captured.

1926 - Jessamy makes a daring effort to shatter the glass ball in the basement on the assumption that Dream is in there. She cannot see him or hear him, however, it is only a guess. This is why she doesn't greet him when she arrives. Dream's ravens are visible to mortals, so Dream can see her, but he doesn't understand why she doesn't speak to him, he doesn't know he isn't visible to her and this is all a wild gamble. When she dies and Death collects her, Death cannot see into the circle either and Dream is unable to see Death outside the circle. This is also true when Burgess dies soon after. Dream tries to call for help to Death, to the other Endless, and to his friends and subjects, but in vain. No one can hear him.

1926-2022 - Dream is imprisoned. Alex offers him freedom in exchange for a vow to never hurt Alex or his family, but Dream doesn't dare accept the bargain. He still doesn't know who lured him to this world in the first place. This could all be a ploy to guarantee Dream can't act against Alex or a member of his family if they do something truly dangerous to the entire world. Dream has called for help in vain, no one is able to find him. But he doesn't dare exchange the long term safety of the world for his own short term freedom. He tries in vain to keep his own spirits up, knowing the damage the torture of starvation, suffocation, isolation and misery is doing to his realm through him, but he eventually breaks. He is unable to stop himself from sinking into despair and far away, the Dreaming begins to crumble.

2022 - Dream finally frees himself. His first order of business is to return to the Dreaming and restore his realm, as well as recapture the lost dreams and nightmares he set out to pursue in the first place. Dream is deeply traumatized by his ordeal but unwilling to admit it. He was a king, an absolute monarch of his realm, and it's unthinkable to him that he could ever lose control of himself. However, Dream represents the human subconscious and can be impacted like the human subconscious. He begins to lash out and behave erratically in a desperate bid to force his world back to normal. He kills one of his own subjects, Gregory, in a desperate bid to regain a scrap of his power as quickly as possible, all while his horrified friends look on but are too paralyzed to intervene. This isn't the king they knew but they can't imagine he would act out of emotion rather than reason, so they don't stop him. He challenges and humiliates Lucifer in front of all their subjects, enjoying the flex of power and not employing his usual caution around not antagonizing such a powerful entity, Dream is just too desperate to win some kind of fight after being helpless for so long. He feels it is confirmed that he made the right choice by not agreeing to spare members of Alex's family when John Dee runs amok, and it's only because Dream ignored the deal to not harm Alex's family that he's able to get John Dee in check. He tracks down the major arcana of dreams and nightmares, not because they defied him, but because they hold the answer to who arranged for him to be captured in the first place. Finally, he is able to confirm that it was Desire all along, in revenge for Nada's imprisonment. A punishment to fit the crime. During the course of his trials, Dream has become a better person, addressed his trauma, reconnected with friends like Hob and Lucienne, learned to temper his own inflexibility towards himself and others, and finally accepted that he has been hurt and needs to heal. He regrets what he has done to Nada and resolves to find a way to free her, acknowledging that in this one respect, Desire was right and he'd earned the lesson, but they went too far in the damage they wrought to the world. Meanwhile, Dream has also made enemies during his period of trauma of entities like Lucifer, and more trials are coming his way.

[alaffy]

The Sandman, Ep. 7 – The Doll’s House (Spoilers)

Episode seven is setting us up for the next story arch and that’s about it.  Still, I found the episode interesting enough that I was surprised when the episode ended; as it didn’t feel like that much time had passed. I’ve heard people don’t like this story as much as the first part, but I’m enjoying it so far.

The episode begins with Desire telling their twin Sister, Despair, about their new plan to bring Dream to heel.  See, Desire has always felt that Dream thought his realm was better than the ones of the twins when, in fact, dreams are a biproduct of desire and despair. Eh, dreams can be born from the two; but not only those two sooo…no.  Anyway, Desire’s new plan involves a mortal by the name of Rose Walker, who apparently is a Dream Vortex (Something that can attract and manipulate dreams.  It also has the power to destroy The Dreaming).

Lucienne has heard the rumors too.  However, she’s more concerned about the latest Census of The Dreaming.  Turns out three of the Arcane are missing (The Corinthian; Gault; and Fiddler’s Greene).  The first two are unsurprising as they are untrustworthy; but the third doesn’t make sense to Morpheus as they are considered loyal.  Lucienne also mentions the rumors about The Vortex; but Morpheus already knows and he knows that it is Rose Walker.  Morpheus knows that he needs to keep an eye on her, but is reluctant to leave The Dreaming as he’s still trying to fix it.  So, he sends Mathew to spy on the young woman.

Now, for the majority of the rest of the episode, we follow Rose Walker.  She’s twenty-one and her mother has just died.  Rose is looking for her brother who is in foster care; but is taking a side trip to the UK (with her friend Lyta Hall) to meet with a mysterious benefactor.  The benefactor is Unity Kincaid, who has a very unique story.  Kincad’s father was one of the wealthy people who followed Burgess and helped trap Morpheus.  Unfortunately, Unity became one of the first victims of the Sleeping Sickness and stayed asleep until Morpheus was released from his prison some eight months ago.  However, in her dreams she had a fantastic life; even married a man with gold eyes and had a child.  Except, when she woke up, she found this was all a dream. Almost.  It turns out that, while she was in the dream, she did have a child in The Waking Realm (and the indication is that the child was a product of her life in the dream; not something sinister that happened while she was in the hospital).  Anyway, long story short, Unity is Rose’s great grandmother.  And now, Unity is going to help Rose find Jed (Rose’s brother).

But Unity isn’t the only one looking for Rose, so is The Corinthian.  However, he has to take a quick side trip as there’s a group of people who’s copycatting his killings in order to get his attention.  It turns out these people are trying to get him to headline their annual Collector’s Convention.  And by Collector’s, I mean Serial Killers (seriously, this is the second show this year….).  The Corinthian likes the idea of a bunch of people in the same room with the same disturbing dream and so he accepts, so long as he can bring The Vortex.

Meanwhile, Rose has traveled to Florida with Lyta.  She meets all of the colorful characters that live in the same boarding house as her. That night, however, something unexpected happens.  Rose is asleep and suddenly she hears voices.  She leaves the room and….

Suddenly, we are in The Dreaming with Lucienne and Morpheus.  See, Mathew has reported back to Lucienne and told her that Rose is looking for her brother.  Lucienne looks up Jed and realizes that she can’t find any trace of him either.  It’s one thing for a mortal to go missing in The Waking Realm, but they should still be connected to The Dreaming.  Lucienne informs Morpheus and also lets him know that the last thing Jed was dreaming about was Gault.  Morpheus is afraid that Gault has severed Jed from The Dreaming.  Suddenly, Morpheus stops talking as Rose enters the room.

Meanwhile, we see Jed trying to escape his foster family.  The question is, is Barnaby (the foster father) somehow possessed by Gault or is he just an abusive man.