#librarians meta

[queenofglassbeliever]

Jacob has trust issues and it really shows when it comes to his love interests. But that's not a problem he had when it came to Sarina. It's one of the reasons I love them as a couple.

I know that Cass wasn't canonically his love interest, but it's still really obvious how much her betrayal hurt him.

Then there was Mabel who kept secrets and lied pretty much the entire time she knew Jacob.

But Sarina didn't lie to Jacob. Same day they met, she was up front about who she was and why she was at the Team Building Camp.

She admitted to being an undercover journalist, that she'd been fired for writing about magic. Opened up about loosing her reputation. And that she wrote about the Library. She took a risk doing so. She wasn't aware that he was a Librarian and that he already knew that magic existed. She risked someone else believing she was crazy. Risked possibly getting fired from her camp counselor job.

But that didn't stop Sarina from trusting Jacob with the truth. Sarina's honesty separates her from Jake's other love interests. The others had good reasons for their betrayals and lies and none had real malicious intent. But it doesn't negate any hurt they caused Jacob by breaking his trust. Sarina showed Jake that he could trust her by trusting him first. And in return, he trusted her.

She further proved she was trustworthy by pulling her stories about the Library.

It's shown subtly, but a mutual trust exists between Jacob and Sarina. And that is so important.

[dduane]

WIP Wednesday: "Why The Wren is Queen of Birds"

From the upcoming Tales of the Five #3: The Librarian: a fairy tale* of southern Arlen.

***

In the south of our land, in the mountain-wall’s shadow near Dhiil, they tell this tale of the ancient days after the Great Dark was downthrown and destroyed at last.

In that time the Goddess first began to send humankind royal rulers to mediate between the folk of those first realms and the land on which they depended for their lives. And in those days the birds of the world came together in a great parliament and decided they too should have a King or Queen. "For we’re a far older people than the humans are," said some among the birds, "and far more numerous and varied in our kinds. So by rights we ought to have a ruler over us such as the Mistress of the World has given these new young creatures, to show forth our age in the world and our importance in it."

And no sooner had this been agreed than the birds began to squabble over who should be their new King or Queen.

"It should be the strongest of birds," said the great mountain vulture. "It should be the most beautiful of birds," said the rainbow-feathered lyretail. "It should be the bird that sings best, the sweetest-voiced," said the melodious nightingale. "It should be the sharpest-eyed of birds," said the passager-falcon.

A long time the quarrel went on, but no decision could be reached. Finally a hedge-sparrow said, "The owl is said to be wise, and has not spoken. Let us ask the owl." And that seemed a good enough idea that the birds went straight to the great crested owl, who sat in a tree hard by where the parliament had been taking place, dozing the day away.

The birds woke the owl and said, "Wise one, how shall we choose what bird among us shall be our Queen or King?"

And the owl looked south and north, and west and east, and over its own shoulder, seeking the answer. Finally it said, "The deepest truth of being a bird is that one flies. Therefore let the Monarch of Birds be the one who flies the highest."

And this advice seemed good to all the birds gathered there in parliament. So it was agreed and then sung and cried far and wide for every bird to hear, both great and small; from the great dragon-eagle to the tiny wren.

The wren in her holly-bush, when she heard this news, smiled to herself. "There are more truths to being a bird than flight," she said, "and more kinds of wisdom than are owned by owls. I have an idea which bird may yet fly highest!"

So the day came when all the birds of the world assembled, and all flew to see which one might fly the highest. Up and up they went in great waves of flight, so that the sky grew dark with them, and in their dwellings humans looked up in alarm, saying "What devilry is the Shadow planning now?" For the Dark was only a few lives of mankind gone, and humans’ fear of Its malice was greater than their wisdom.

However, the birds cared nothing for the fears of human beings, and only strove to see who would rise highest. The birds of field and hedge dropped away first, and then the birds of the treetops and the tall forests. A while longer the birds of the upper sky rose up together, the hawks and eagles and the mightiest seabirds. But one by one they all fell back and could fly no more through air that was too thin and cold for them; and at last the only one who remained was the greatest of eagles, a Darthene dragon-eagle, grey-pinioned and golden-eyed with a spiky crown of feathers.**

And that dragon-eagle beat his way up and up until it seemed the blue of the sky was starting to go darker and the horizon might to a keen eye be starting to show the shadow of a curve, and even for a bird who was so often neighbor to the great heights, breathing had become hard. And looking around and seeing no other bird had kept pace, the dragon-eagle cried out in triumph and folded his wings to fall back toward the world and his waiting kingship. But as his wings folded down, a tiny grey shape started up from between them and flew, and kept flying upwards. It was the wren, who had hidden herself among the dragon-eagle’s feathers, and now flew higher than he—a tall tree’s worth of higher; two trees’ worth; five.

The dragon-eagle was nigh spent, and could not follow her. He let himself fall back to earth until he knew there would be enough air under his wings for them to bite into. Then he made his way swiftly to the place that had been set aside for the crowning of the ruler of birds. But not too far behind him came the wren, falling as fast as he into the upper airs, and finally to the grove and glade where the representatives of the bird-parliament awaited the winner.

Great was their confusion when the wren came down to perch on a tree-branch in the center of the glade and cry, "I am your ruler, for I flew the highest!" And down in his turn came the dragon-eagle, full of wrath, though he kept his dignity about him. "She flew higher than I," he said. "That much is true. But I flew all the way on my own wings from a treetop perch right up into the great heights where the sky grows dark and the air grows thin. And all that long way the wren hid amidst the down of my back, so that I carried both myself and her all that way. The feat of the highest flight is therefore far more mine than hers, and I am your king by right!"

And hearing these two claims, the birds in parliament began to squabble and argue the merits of each side, until the whole place sounded like a great noisy rookery at sunset. Yet they could find neither answer nor decision; so at last they turned to the Goddess.

As always, where many call upon Her together, there She is, whether She be seen or no. And here, since there was need, swiftly She was seen. To them She looked of course like a bird, mighty and radiant: and all bowed in awe before Her. But the awe lasted only a short while, and in little time the birds began to quarrel before Her over the issue they had begged Her to resolve.

Quite soon, "Peace, my dears, have pity! You’ll deafen me with your noise," the Goddess said, when the commotion had swollen to the point where even a deity might not hear Herself think. "Set out your case, now, so that I may judge."

So they laid it all out before Her, glossing nothing over and leaving nothing out. Then all waited in breathless stillness for Her verdict.

Due consideration She gave their issue; and then spoke and said, "The agreement you all made was that the bird who flew highest should be set as ruler above you. No one said that the bird who flew highest must also fly all the way."

"But that should have been understood!" the dragon-eagle cried in his wrath.

"It may often seem after the fact that many things should have been understood from the start," the Goddess said. "But that is not how it goes. When a game is to be rightly played, all the rules must be agreed first. When the game is begun, and won, it must be judged by what rules were decided before it began: not ones thought of after it’s done." And She looked sorrowful. "I was first to learn that rule. Now, it seems, comes your turn."

And She rose up in Her majesty before them and said, "By the rules of the contest you set for yourselves, the Wren is now your ruler." And as the Wren bowed down before Her, the Goddess reached out a pinion and with one primary-feather brushed the top of the wren’s head, which to this day bears the little gold mark She put there—the sign of its new-made royalty, and the Kingdoms’ first crown.

“Here then behold your Queen,’ said the Goddess to the parliament assembled. And some birds bowed to their new-made ruler, and some did not, grumbling among themselves and glaring at the Wren—as they dared not glare at the Goddess, preferring to think of Her as blameless, and as one who had been befooled, even as the Shadow had befooled Her when the world first began.

And soon enough the Wren began to issue commands to her subjects, telling the ravens, "Your harsh voices were better not lifted in song," and saying to the nightingales, "Your voices are fair but you should be still after dark so that others can sleep," and to the sparrowhawks, "You must cease your preying on small birds and confine yourselves to rats and conies and other such vermin." In short, she put forth many edicts that either seemed to favor her own tribe of birds, or were made to show that she by her fledgling royalty might command what she liked whether there was much sense in it or not.

It was not long before the birds began to chafe at this. And one day the Wren saw a carrion-crow swoop down on a pond, where it snapped up a duckling and swallowed it whole; and the Wren became wroth and cried out, "I pronounce you cast out from among your kind for devouring the living instead of the dead!" And no sooner had the scaldcrow gobbled the duckling down than he stared at the Wren on the willow-branch where she sat, and cawed, "Pronounce what you like, cheating little hedge-peeper; you have no power to make me pay you any mind!"

“I am your Queen, made so by the Goddess, and you must obey me!" the Wren shouted in a fury. But the carrion-crow laughed at her and said, "The only thing I need obey is my stomach, which says you will make a good end to my nunch!" And he flew at the Wren, so that only hardly did she escape from him by diving into a hole in a nearby hedge-bank.

Soon word got about that the Wren had no power to enforce her decrees, and that they only had force when the will of those she commanded allowed it. And quickly she found herself being mocked or ignored, and sometimes attacked and pursued by other birds who hated her and tried to kill her. Some of these said "What fools thought a ruler over us would be a good idea? Let’s have no more of this nonsense, but be free!", and others, "Once this monarch is gone, who knows, the next one may be better."

In no long time the Wren wearied of this strife. At last she took her grievance to the Goddess. "Great Mistress and Queen of the World," the Wren cried to Her, "the birds will not acknowledge me to be their ruler! They hate me because I was cleverer than they."

“It is a hard thing to learn," said the Goddess, “that sometimes cleverness is not enough… or too much.” And She looked sorrowful. “I grieve that you have had to learn it so.”

“All this could be put right,” said the Wren, “if only You would simply give me the power to make them do what I command.”

“That would be a change to the agreement that, unchanged, made you Queen in the first place,” the Goddess said. “My sorrow that your change cannot be made so after the fact any more than the Dragon-eagle’s could be. You’ve built yourself this nest, dear one. Now you must lodge in it and hatch out what chicks you can.” And She vanished away.

And so it is that the Wren is yet held to be Queen of Birds, for though she was never deposed, no other bird was afterward ever found wise (or foolish) enough to hold the office, not even the owl. The only court the Wren Queen holds is hidden away in holes and hedges, to avoid her enemies’ sight, and there she raises her chicks on worms and bugs in a nest no bigger than a child’s goblet. Her only state is the flash of gold on her crest, and in all other ways she goes as quietly as she may—in all ways the smallest and plainest of all birds. Whether she ever came to understand that royalty rightly exercised needs far more than mere cleverness, and needs the heart at as much as the mind, if not more, no one can say. For in this making of the world, even the Goddess who made all things has no power to make even the smallest creature wise against its will. In Her next making, may all things run more smoothly!

So they tell the tale in the high South; and in the low North, where folly resides, who knows what tale they tell? But now this one is done.

*Using the class-name here as the closest match to this kind of story in the Kingdoms, which lacks beings corresponding to fairies.

**On our Earth, Harpia harpyja, the harpy eagle.

[orionsangel86]

Lucienne/Lucien - How the Librarian Became the Chief.

In The Sandman Netflix adaptation Lucienne is a stand out character and second only to Morpheus in importance, screen time, and centrality to the story. Lucienne is Morpheus's loyal Librarian, second in command, ruler of the Dreaming in his absence, and often times a voice of reason and advice for our dutiful King of Dreams. She is so well respected in her position that the other castle residents consider her their boss and would rather go to her for guidance and command than Morpheus himself. She takes care of Dream's ravens and even appears to have the power to create new ravens from newly deceased mortals like she did with Matthew. She is clearly extremely close to Morpheus, and is one of very few people he seems to actually listen to and trust. Lucienne's role in this story can not be underestimated.

So it may come as a surprise to any fans of the show who haven't read the comics to learn that Lucien (as he is called in the comics) is afforded very few of the above traits. In fact Lucien is no where near as close to Morpheus even by the very end of the story, as Lucienne is at the beginning. It is this difference that has fascinated me since I first started diving into the comics after falling in love with the show, and its something I view as extremely important when considering how the story is being adapted into a kinder, more sympathetic universe surrounding our central protagonist.

Lucienne's role is expanded greatly from her comic counterpart, and her relationship with Morpheus is shown to be much deeper. This is evident practically right away at the end of episode one when Lucienne comes to greet Morpheus upon his return to the Dreaming following his escape.

The way she runs over to him as soon as she realises he is back, and lovingly takes his hand and is so pleased to see him is a far cry from the comic where the first thing Lucien does is bow.

So right at the start we see a very different form of relationship here. Where Lucienne is already displaying a level of care and devotion beyond the expectations of a servant, Lucien however, is exactly that.

The servant thing has caused a bit of contention among fandom in the past. I think the confusion could come from whether or not you see Lucien or Lucienne first. Lucien IS a servant of Dream. Lucienne is more like a vice president and royal advisor. Those are two very different things after all and that difference only becomes more obvious the further you go into the story.

Lucienne accompanies Morpheus throughout his return to his crumbling kingdom, helps him as he attempt to repair the damage, follows him to Cain and Abel, and watches over his meeting with the Fates. She is by his side from the moment he returns until the moment he leaves again for the waking world to begin his quest to recover his tools, and she is responsible for Matthew's reincarnation as the new Raven and instructs Matthew to stay with him because of her concern for Morpheus's wellbeing on his quest.

I cannot stress enough how much none of this is in the comics. Lucienne shows a level of care towards Morpheus that just isn't present in Lucien in the comics. After the first meeting with Lucien at the gates of the Dreaming, Lucien doesn't appear again until he is instructed by Morpheus to conduct the census of the Dreaming. He only appears again in the Doll's House very briefly and has no involvement in Morpheus's decisions during that arc, which takes place very rarely in the Dreaming.

That's not to say that Lucien isn't a very trusted servant of Morpheus. He is the closest to Morpheus of all the residents of the Dreaming except only Matthew. But I think a lot of what we see in the show of Morpheus and Lucienne's dynamic is inspired by much later in the comics. I also think that it speaks loudly to the change in Morpheus as a character. Show!Morpheus has people almost right away who care about him and want to help him, whereas comic!Morpheus is extremely isolated. It is clear in the early comic stories that comic!Morpheus keeps himself at arms length from basically everyone. He does not have a bond with Lucien, he did not have Jessamy, and at that early stage, he didn't even have Matthew. All of this of course was primarily to make show!Morpheus a more sympathetic and likeable character - you gotta give your protagonist people who care about them, it helps raise the stakes after all.

Taking Charge - Lucienne is the real boss

One of my favourite parts of the Dolls House episodes in the Netflix show is the conflict between Morpheus and Lucienne due to the other residence and Dreaming servants going to her for advice and instruction first rather than Morpheus. Bearing in mind this only takes place less than a year after Morpheus's return from imprisonment, it speaks volumes as to how Lucienne has taken the role of leader of the Dreaming in her stride.

But it also indicates how Morpheus' change in the show is coming at lightening fast speed compared to the comic. In the comic, Mervyn doesn't make these observations until the Brief Lives arc, and this is indicated at that point to be a very new thing - triggered by several years post fish bowl of having to face his past decisions and mistakes (and a string of scorned ex lovers one after the other ending in a horribly matched rebound relationship with a murderous witch that subsequently rejected him and triggered him literally seeking out destruction). Lucien was only put in charge of the Dreaming when Morpheus left to go on his trip with Delirium. It is during that trip that Morpheus realises how competent Lucien is and capable of running things without problem in his absence.

Mervyn's insights are made clear here:

This is the only time in the comic that anyone dares mention that someone other than Morpheus might be the boss - and it is in no way as directly spelled out as it is in the show. "You're practically running the place" and "you secretly run this place" are quite different statements. The first only makes an observation about Morpheus's current lack of interest (in Brief Lives) in actually running his realm. It implies that Lucien is doing Morpheus' job for him, but does not go as far as to outright call Lucien the boss. Whereas in the show, that's exactly what Mervyn does.

In the comic, Morpheus overhears Mervyn's speech and immediately points out his reasoning for leaving Lucien in charge, for promoting him and giving him more authority.

Because no one ever technically undermines Morpheus in the comic, there is no conflict here. Morpheus trusts Lucien as his loyal servant and gives him the power to rule in his stead (but only when he is absent) and there is no "secretly report to Lucien first" attitude among Matthew and Mervyn. We can perhaps interpret that this might be happening behind the scenes by this point in Brief Lives, or even just before the BL arc when Morpheus was distracted by his rebound murderess, but it is never actually directly stated that this is going on.

The tension between Morpheus and Lucienne in the show is born out of the conflict over Lucienne's position and Morpheus feeling undermined by his subjects, and its storytelling gold. But the only reason such a story works in the show is because Lucienne is so important to Morpheus in the show, because their relationship goes so much deeper than the relationship in the comic. Lucienne is not a servant, she's his god damn vice president and she knows it, and he knows it too. Throughout episodes 7 and 8 specifically he reaches out to her for her opinion and advice on the Vortex situation. He talks things through with her and seeks out her guidance. It is clear that he relies on her and it is only at the end of episode 8 when Lucienne disagrees with his punishment of Gault, that in his anger, he dismisses her.

Lucien/ne the Royal Advisor

Where Morpheus in the show seeks out Lucienne's advice and opinion frequently especially during the Doll's House arc, I have to stress that this never happens in the comic. Comic!Morpheus just does not have that kind of relationship with Lucien and does not seek his counsel at all, even though Lucien does try to give it on occassion, usually when Morpheus is about to do something extremely stupid and probably damaging to himself and the Dreaming. To name a couple times:

Season of Mists - before Morpheus returns to Hell:

Brief Lives - before seeking Destruction:

You'll note that in both these times Lucien's words of caution are completely ignored.

You'll also notice that in both times Lucien is taking a path of polite caution. Lucien very rarely speaks his mind to Morpheus, because he knows it won't get him very far to do so. The only time Lucien truly loses his cool and speaks freely is in The Kindly Ones (spoiler alert)

At this point in the comic story Morpheus has basically all but given up and accepted his fate and its fucking depressing AF. Lucien is well within his right to shake the bastard HARD and snap him TF out of it. I STILL think he was too restrained here tbh!

My point here is that Lucienne already speaks her mind quite freely around Morpheus in the show. She expresses her opinions and thoughts and gives him her advice. This is such a well established dynamic by the point of the argument that it is clear that Lucienne is offended by Morpheus's dismissal of her.

Take this exchange from episode 9:

Lucienne: "Rose is weakening the walls between realms" Matthew: "You gonna tell the Boss?" Lucienne: "No." Matthew: "No?" Lucienne: "It's none of my business." Matthew: "Er, since WHEN?" Lucienne: "Since Lord Morpheus reminded me that I'm merely a librarian and should concern myself with my books from now on." Matthew: "He said that?! What's wrong with him!" Lucienne: "Nothing is wrong with him. He's always been this way. He's just been away so long I'd forgotten. He's determined to deal with the vortex and the missing Arcana by himself. Without anyones help. So any news must be reported directly and exclusively to him."

It's worth pointing out here that whilst this is framed as Morpheus being a stubborn idiot, in the comic, he does in fact deal with the vortex and the missing Arcana by himself mostly and is not so much helped but saved at the last moment by Unity Kinkaid who realises what is happening in a dream and goes to save Rose, which also saves Morpheus from Desire's trap.

In the show, Morpheus has people who care enough about him and his realm to want to get involved and help him, not out of a desire to undermine him, but simply because they care about him. That is a drastic change from the comic at this point. Morpheus in the comic is constantly shown to be struggling under the burden of his own responsibilities and this is highlighted by the fact that he doesn't really get any support or assistance, and is far too prideful to ask for it. Lucien gets the promotion and chance to rule in his absence, but it is never framed as a job he shares with Morpheus - at no point does Lucien take the burden of his responsibilities off of him. This is no Samwise Gamgee "I can carry you" moment unfortunately. Lucien does not have the power nor the bond with Morpheus to undertake such a task because Morpheus keeps him at arms length throughout the comics - but Lucienne? Well, time will tell how that may change.

An Apology from the King

In a shock horror twist that comic!Morpheus would sooner die than do himself (ha) the great emo King of the Netflix universe gives Lucienne an apology for his behaviour (sort of).

Episode 9 displays the tension between Morpheus and Lucienne following their "break up" perfectly. Morpheus is clearly in the wrong, and Lucienne is clearly hurt by his dismissal of her support. Yet even after the fight, he still seeks out her advice in determining the cause of the disturbances in the Dreaming. He goes to her first before investigating himself (something that comic!Morpheus wouldn't even consider doing) and is surprisingly capable in swallowing his pride here even though it is clearly a struggle for him.

Later in the episode, once he realises that Lucienne was right about the disturbances, he seeks her out to tell her so, and to confirm that she was right and he was wrong. This is again something that I can't fathom comic!Morpheus doing, even nearer the end of the story I don't believe he does so, certainly not to Lucien. Fiddlers Green drums this point home when he says this:

Fiddlers Green: "... still his time there appears to have changed him as it has changed me." Lucienne: "How so?" Fiddlers Green: "Lucienne, he came to you and told you he was wrong. It was very nearly an apology. The Morpheus I knew was incapable of that."

This further reinforces not just how much Morpheus has changed in a short time, but also how much he respects and cares about Lucienne and their continued relationship.

Platonic Life Partners? Co Ruler and Closest Confident of the Dream King

When I set out to write this meta, it was with the aim to highlight Lucienne's elevated role from her comic counterpart. To try to stress the importance of her character in the show and what this means for the future of the story in the show. By the end of the last episode, Lucienne is practically granted co-ruler status of the Dreaming while Morpheus works on his creations. He asks her if she can "take care of things while he works" which she agrees "with pleasure".

I just... I can NOT stress ENOUGH how much comic!Morpheus needed this person in his life. Even though Lucien looks after the Dreaming whilst Morpheus is away in Season of Mists and Brief Lives, it is always as a last resort with Morpheus continuing to check in on Lucien during Brief Lives as if he expects trouble, and he always seems a bit confused when Lucien tells him all is fine. As if he can't quite understand how the Dreaming could be okay without him there (and I mean, after the trauma of watching your realm which is also technically a part of you crumble to dust I suppose you would be a bit attached to it!).

Comic!Morpheus constantly struggles under the weight of his responsibility. His entire thing is that he is desperate to step away and not be who he is but he simply does not have it in him to do that. He is far too bound by his rules and responsibilities. For Morpheus in the show to be given someone to support him in his rule as King and assist him with the burden of his responsibilities is actually a hugely mindblowing change to the comic, and could honestly have huge repercussions on the story going forward. Not only that, but the Morpheus in the comics is painfully lonely. He desperately needs companionship but he keeps everyone at arms length. He never allows his subjects to get too close to him, even Lucien. Even Matthew isn't afforded the same level of closeness in the comics as he is in the show. In the comics, the ONLY character who Morpheus is close to is Death. Which says a lot by itself. The second character he gets closer to as time goes on is Delirium. Which also says a lot. Think of the characters in terms of their concepts. Morpheus has no close friends in the comics (even his relationship with Hob Gadling in the comic doesn't have half the impact it does in the show) and keeps all those he interacts with at arms length except for Delirium and Death.

But show!Morpheus? He has a Matthew who is already so very devoted to him, a Hob Gadling who waited an extra 33 years on hope alone that he would return to him, and a Lucienne who rules by his side, offers him support, guidance, counsel, companionship and probably a good helping of love. How can this Morpheus possibly carry the same deep loneliness as his comic counterpart? How can this Morpheus be buckling under the weight of his duties when he already has his Samwise Gamgee right there by his side? It poses an interesting question for how the show will handle future story arcs, though it could all prove to simply make for a much more painful story, where we happen to have many more characters to react and show the deeply painful grief that we all feel at his eventual passing - or maybe, just maybe, this is a universe where Hope never died...

[writing-for-life]

A Collection of My Metas, Fics and Art that Feature the Women of The Sandman

I love the women of the Sandman. I write about them quite frequently, post art about them, write my fics from a female viewpoint (I’m mainly an OC writer though, but I have one-shots and poetry about canon characters).

So since we’ve been talking about them a lot over the past few days, here are all their tags (they contain every meta that features them enough for me to tag them, and both official and fanart), and all my metas, fics and poetry in which they are the main protagonist/character or at least strong focus.

I have posted art for literally all of the women in the Sandman and also written about most of them in one way or another, and you can find the few that are missing via my tags, but it just didn’t feel right to include all of them here. I think it’s normal and fair that we gravitate more towards some characters than others for personal reasons. It’s just the complete erasure of women that often gets to me.

I want to do more, but like every writer and curator, the disinterest in the women of the Sandman is often a bit discouraging. I haven’t given up hope we can change that…

Here they are, in alphabetical order:

Alianora

Alianora’s tag 1 and Alianora’s tag 2

Barbie

Barbie’s tag

Calliope

Calliope and Dream

Calliope’s tag 1 and Calliope’s tag 2

Chantal

Chantal’s tag

Death

Death’s Wedjat Eye: Deeper Symbolism or Random?

Oblivion is not an option—A musical meta about “A kind word and a friendly face”

All the Endless are buckling under the weight of their functions (David Hitchcock art meta)

Comfort (haiku)

Ode to Death (poem)

Requiem (poem)

Sigil (haiku)

Wings (haiku)

Death’s tag

Delirium/Delight

A sacred garden: Death and Delight (Michael Zulli art meta)

Delirium’s tag

Despair

Despair’s tag

Eve

Eve’s tag

The Fates

The Fates’ tag

Gault

Gault’s tag

Hope

Only Hope calls you out like that

Hope’s tag

Ishtar

Ishtar’s tag

Johanna

Thessaly, Johanna and a weird meta about musical motifs

As it was before the otherness came (short fic, Johanna x Rachel)

Johanna’s tag

Killalla

Killalla’s tag

Lucienne

If it is implied Lucien is Adam, what does that make Lucienne?

Lucienne’s tag

Lyta

Lyta’s tag

Mazikeen

Mazikeen’s tag

Nada

Tales in the Sand—Did we find the women’s story?

Nada’s tag 1 and Nada’s tag 2

Nuala

Nuala’s tag

Rose

Rose’s tag

Thessaly

Thessaly in the context of second and third wave feminism

Thessaly’s tag

Titania

Titania’s tag 1 and Titania’s tag 2

Zelda

Zelda’s tag

[themirokai]

I’m having Matthew thoughts (cause when am I not?) and I thought I’d share.

In the comics, Matthew doesn’t show up until Doll’s House so presumably Dream created him sometime after 24/7. I think the decision to bring Matthew in earlier was brilliant (obviously, if my 9 Matthew fics are any indication).

But it does raise the question of how Netflix!Matthew got created. It’s apparent in the show that Dream did not create Matthew, at least consciously (more on that distinction in a moment). While we know that Lucienne was the one who gave Matthew his first directions, there’s no indication that Lucienne has the power to create new dreams, so it is extremely unlikely that she made him.

I think the most straightforward explanation is that the Dreaming kind of spontaneously created a new raven. Dream had returned, the realm was healing, and part of that was filling the raven-shaped void with a guy who just died. But the Dreaming is Dream. Ultimately the Dreaming could not produce a raven if on some level Dream did not want a raven.

BUT the more fan fiction-friendly explanation is that Death made Matthew.

Hear me out.

Death knows that Dream is free and is searching for his tools. She also knows that he absolutely will not ask her for help. And she is worried about him.

But then she goes to take this guy named Matthew and she knows. Just like she knew that Hob was perfect for her little brother, she knows that Matthew is exactly who Dream needs. Death can see that Matthew will stand up to Dream, that he’s brave enough to handle what Dream will be going through to get his tools back, that he’ll say what he thinks, but ultimately he has a good heart, even if he sometimes doubts it himself.

And Death makes a split second decision. Instead of passing Matthew into whatever afterlife is waiting for him, she takes him to the Dreaming while Dream is going to find Constantine. Once there, she channels all her Endlessness, all the parts of her that are most related to Dream, and she speaks to the Dreaming. She says, “Raven.”

Lucienne hears and she thanks her lucky stars that Lady Death thinks the same way that she does and she hurries to give this brand new raven a slapdash orientation and instructions. But before she does, Lucienne and Death exchange a nod and a smile. They’ll never speak of it again.

[atopvisenyashill]

ultimate hater take is that there are two types of targ nation people, there's the rabid twitter people who think every single targ except like three or four (usually aegon ii, aemond, aegon iv, sometimes maegor and aerys ii) are Undisputed Uncomplicated Heroes Of The Story and that the series will end with a targ restoration happy ending. then there's the targ nation people who think basically every single historical targ was a villain EXCEPT FOR dany and she is not only the Undisputed Uncomplicated Hero Of The Story but will absolutely burn/sack both Vaes Dothrak and Volantis but these will be Good Things because she's killing slavers.

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

Gosh I hope Frida's new design means we'll get to see her having a Kaisa parallel arc. I hope we see her building her magic and her confidence like they're one and the same. I hope whatever happened to Kaisa to make her so repressed and insecure, happens to Frida so she gets to take the exact opposite path. Now that she saw what happens when you grow up worried about disappointing the person who raised you and not living up to the expectations of those around you, I hope we see her letting it all go and choosing herself. God, I hope she takes Kaisa's "I'm not the witch you taught me to be" and bends it into "I'm the person I want to be" with her own bare hands. I hope for it so hard.

[two-hands-toward-the-sun]

Besides Daniel, who else could have become Dream of the Endless 2.0?

So, I don't have a full copy of The Kindly Ones on hand right now so I may be remembering incorrectly, but my impression is that Daniel was passed the mantle of Dream of the Endless because of his unique connection to the Dreaming via Lyta being pregnant with him in dreams, and because Morpheus chose him and gave the emerald dreamstone to him (and he likely chose Daniel because of the aforementioned connection). I also like to think these two factors acted in conjunction to each other—the Endless do get to pick who their successor is, but that person has to be someone with an especial bond to their realm.

All that to say! Taking those factors into account, I started playing around with ideas of who else could have become the second Dream, in the context of the Netflix adaptation, and here's three possibilities I came up with:

1. Unity Kincaid

Unity spent over a century in dreams!! She’s a mortal human who spent almost her entire life there—that’s a damn strong bond. Also, when Morpheus was planning to kill Rose, he told her that she could stay in the Dreaming after her death, if she wished. I imagine Morpheus would have extended the same offer to Unity. If she took him up on it, she would have had a double connection to the Dreaming.

There is SO MUCH potential for some really zany humor if we start thinking about Desire’s relationship to Unity. Like. Imagine if your baby mama got reincarnated as your sibling. How weird would that be. Even Desire would be thrown by that, I think. And I can't imagine Unity would take kindly to finding out Desire only seduced her as part of a revenge plot on their brother, and also given how much she ADORES Rose, knowing Desire was just setting Rose up as a sacrifice for their own selfish reasons...oooooh, Desire, watch your fucking back honey. Family dinners were already hilariously fraught, and to add this to the shitstorm? I Would Like to See It.

Also Sandra James-Young would serve cunt in that pirate's outfit Morpheus rolled up in during the Season of Mists family dinner

2. Rose’s unnamed grandmother/Unity’s child

(In the intro I said this post is based on the show and I’ll stick with that for consistency, but this idea would really work better if we mashed comic and show canon so it’s Miranda Walker who’s Unity and Desire’s child, so feel free to imagine as such)

OKAY SO. Daniel was gestated in dreams, and you know who else was?? Unity’s daughter! It would give her a similar “claim” on the Dreaming in that sense.

The family drama is RIFE in this possibility, and you know I’m always a slut for Endless family drama. The kid that Desire sired purely as a revenge plot against their brother…has now taken the place of said brother. And is none too happy about finding out about the truth of why she was conceived.

And! There’s the added fact that Unity’s daughter is the grandmother of Rose Walker—a vortex. An incredibly powerful mortal with the power to tear the Dreaming apart. In the show, Gilbert posits a theory about why vortexes exist at all: “When a human is at the center of the Dreaming, is it not to remind us that we exist because humans dream, not the other way around?” That would be an interesting thing to think about when you become the sovereign of the Dreaming, and your granddaughter was a vortex, and your mother was who the vortex should have been all along.

And that brings us to the last possibility I’ve thought of, and one who is so dear to my heart…

3. Lucienne

*visibly struggling to present my thoughts on my beloved calmly and professionally* So, the two factors: connection to the Dreaming, and being chosen by Morpheus. It’s quite possible that Lucienne is the being who has spent the most time in the Dreaming besides Morpheus himself. “Dream of the Endless always has a raven.” Hell, it’s hard exactly what “always” means to an Endless (Death talks about being present for “the first living thing” and ravens are far from one of the first living things to die or dream—much younger than, say, sea sponges, or cockroaches), but it’s safe to say Lucienne’s been around for a longass time. She was the steward and caretaker of the Dreaming while Morpheus was imprisoned. The residents trust her and go to her for counsel. Her bond with the Dreaming is one of the most powerful save for Morpheus’s own.

As for the “chosen” component…you’ve seen the way Morpheus looks at Lucienne. He’s already chosen her twice: as raven and as librarian. And other than that, he chooses her every day, as his advisor and confidant. I’m thinking here of how Dream says “we have work to do” to Lucienne in Imperfect Hosts, and how she accompanies him to Cain and Abel’s houses when she didn’t technically need to be there: they’re a team, and they’re stronger together.

Also…there’s this added element that in becoming Dream, Lucienne would gain all the memories Morpheus had. Including memories he had of her, of everything they experienced together. She’d know everything he’d been thinking at the time, whereas before Lucienne the librarian could only have guessed. And I think that would be strange and emotional for her.

Conclusion

If anyone made it to the end of this post—thanks for indulging me! Additional thoughts and other possibilities are absolutely welcome. Please feel free to tag me if you make any posts related to this concept! <3

[thesandwomen]

Some Lucienne mutterings…

While I wouldn’t consider Lucienne an adventurer in the traditional sense of the word, I think at her core she is a seeker. She has, in effect, had three lives. First as a mortal human, then a raven, then a librarian. And those latter two, she both chose. Dream tells Matthew in The Kindly Ones that most of his ravens passed on to the Sunless Lands when they wanted to be done as ravens, but if they asked otherwise he would grant it to them (one of them requested to be made human again, which is what Dream did). And Lucienne’s request must have been to become the librarian. I posit that a large motivating factor for her is curiosity. She always has something she wants to look for, to learn. Maybe that’s why she loves books so much? She was curious enough to want to know what being a raven would mean for her, and what being the librarian would mean for her, and that curiosity draws her forward into every new day.

[raspberryjellybrains]

thinking about lucienne doesn't remember a time before they were apart of the dreaming, as a raven then the royal librarian. and about the dreaming slowly decaying around them, more than just the library, but everything around it. everyone leaving, but not them, never them. everything they remember is slowly falling apart but they stayed because they were a raven once and now they are the librarian. the royal librarian of a forgotten kingdom, waiting for the king to come home. biting things.

[ultimateknightbattle]

Round 1 (Group 2)

[aquadestinyswriting]

The Origins of Selene's Name

Ok, so here's something completely different. This isn't necessarily a worldbuilding post or a specific story, so much as it is an explanation as to where Selene got her name. Thanks absolutely must go to @druidx for helping me with the folk tale at the end of this little explanation.

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes, @ashirisu, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch

OK, so, I wrote about Selene's birth family a long while back and realised that Sel's name does not fit the naming conventions of the rest of her family. Of course I came up with Selene years before this part of her backstory, but I wanted to explore a more in-universe explanation.

Selene was born in the equivalent of early January, on the night of a full moon on a crisp and clear night. Her mother, Rosalie, recalled a word her grandmother had used to refer to the kind of moon present in the sky that night, and decided it would make for a suitable name for her newly born daughter should she survive the 4-5 months until her Name Day.

Selene, when she was a little girl, did ask her mother where the name came from, and Rosalie explained that her grandmother had said the name at one point and made mention of an old fairy-tale passed down through the generations that had been mostly forgotten. While the full story was no longer remembered, parts of it were, and Selene was told it was to do with the moon, mid-winter and this name. Skip forward a few more years, and Selene is talking with Yastromo after her arrival at his tower near the Darkwood. Yastromo notes how unusual Selene's name is in comparison to the rest of her family, and Selene tells him what her mother had told her. Yastromo, as much older and very learned man, realised that the fairy-tale passed down through Selene's family, was the same as an old folk tale from a tribe of nomads that had once lived in the area that the little town of Toreguarde now occupied. While the old wizard could not be certain that Selene's family had any connection to this nomadic tribe, he did decide to regale Selene with the full tale, which has been transcribed for your pleasure below:

A long time ago there was a fair young girl with skin as white as freshly fallen snow and hair as silver as the stars. She lived a simple life with her mother and father in a little house on the edge of the forest. One harsh winter night, the girl's mother got sick and the wise man of the nearby camp told her father that the only thing that would cure her was the heart of a pure white rabbit. The girl's father asked the girl if she would go out and look for this rabbit so he could cut out its heart to cure her mother. So, off the girl goes into the woods in search of a pure white rabbit. The girl spends a whole day searching the woods, but does not find a pure white rabbit. When the sun sank below the ground to go to sleep, the girl started to get very tired and hungry and curled up underneath a tree to rest. When she awoke, the night was lit by the soft, silver light of a full moon, and sitting at her feet, cleaning it's little pink nose, was a rabbit with fur of purest white. The girl slowly brought out her knife from her boot, knowing that the only way to save her mother was to kill the creature. But a pang of pity stayed her hand at the last moment. The rabbit looked up, twitched it's nose at her. The girl started to cry, for she loved her mother and did not wish her to die. But neither did she want to kill an animal so innocent and pure. The rabbit sat up and smiled at her, "Little girl, why do you cry so?" it asked. The girl explained her predicament, that she needed the heart of the rabbit to save her ailing mother, but that she did not want the rabbit to die either. The rabbit cocked its head to one side and looked up at the moon. So full and bright was it that it reflected perfectly in the rabbit's eyes. "You are a good and gentle child. If you promise to return home and never again return to this forest, then I shall speak with Selune to see that your mother's life is spared." it said. The girl looked at the rabbit in confusion, "Selune?" she asked. The rabbit nodded, it's ears flopping. "Yes, my mother. She lives upon the moon, you see, and watches all of Titan's children through the night." the rabbit explained. The girl thought for a moment, then nodded, "I promise never to return to your forest and disturb your rest, so long as my mother survives this sickness." she agreed. The rabbit thumped its foot upon the biggest root of the tree, then turned tail and hopped away. When the girl returned home without the rabbit, her father was furious. He took off his belt to beat her, but was stopped when his wife came through the door and asked why he was shouting so. While she was still tired and pale, the mother was in no danger of passing that night. The girl hugged her mother, then ran to the window and smiled up at the moon that gleamed in the night sky. She then told her mother and father of the promises she and the white rabbit had exchanged, and never again did the girl or her family ever return to the forest.

When Selene heard the tale, it resonated with her so much that, once she turned 16 years old, she officially began using the surname Frigidwake rather than the one she had been given by her birth family. The idea of promises kept also resonated, hard, and Selene has a personal oath to never break a promise she's made if she can help it at all. It also means that she can take sincere promises made by others extremely seriously, especially if they're made by friends or those she considers family.

[dduane]

...TFW you find yourself staring at an image (full size here) that's been open in a tab in your browser for the last six months and you can't remember why you've left it there...

[writing-for-life]

You know that one time Neil Gaiman implied that Lucien might be Adam/the first man?

I’m not sure if I’ll make fandom faint with this, but it’s been strongly implied in The Sandman Companion:

NG: But that's not the only direction from which Lucien came. I was also thinking of George MacDonald's book Lilith, which describes a tall man in a frock coat who turns into a raven, and who is actually Adam, the first man. That image always stuck in my mind, and it definitely informed my handling of Lucien, who's dressed in a frock coat and - as is revealed in part 12 of The Kindly Ones - began as the first raven.

Also:

Bit of a family reunion here? Especially considering that Bhartari spoke about eating a special fruit that made him immortal in Hob’s Leviathan (so he ate from the Tree of Life). And I think it’s in the Companion, too that it can be surmised that Lucien/Adam (and Eve) ate from the Tree of Knowledge, which makes him the perfect librarian of course…

Yes, Dream has the metaphorical origins of the creation/evolution of (hu)man(kind) as denizens in The Dreaming—all of them and what they stand for. And it makes total sense, but that just as an aside.

Soooo, if we now have Lucienne, and she also handles the ravens, will we even get Eve? Or is she Eve (or rather what Eve stands for, because none of them are actual “people”—Cain and Abel never were either in that sense; we’re told this in “A Parliament of Rooks”)?

Just sayin’ that Lucienne might be the metaphorical first woman. Just might be (nah, she totally is)…

And now everyone can think about that for a while and also think about why the casting choice is perfect to the tiniest detail, and why Lucienne is so much more important than so many people think. Because she is literally where all of us came from (well, at least in the metaphorical sense). And why she watches over our stories and understands them so much deeper than anyone else…

[orionsangel86]

OMG, the OP that mentioned NualaxLucien 😭😭 The Dreaming is so bad, honestly. If people actually want NualaxLucienne, the show will have to change how Lucienne treats Nuala a lot because that comic was...vile. To both Lucien and Nuala. Anyways, hope you good 💮

You know its funny, I have never read the post Neil Gaiman Sandman comics, any of them. But every new thing I hear about them just makes me sad. It also makes me understand more and more why Neil decided to kill off Morpheus - so that even if DC would go on to ruin all his other characters, they wouldnt be able to get their grubby hands all over Neil's pride and joy The Dream Lord himself.

If the show decides to pair up Lucienne and Nuala I am sure such a relationship would be treated far better than the comics. I have a whole meta in progress (I know I say this a lot... my drafts are a nightmare but I WILL finish them I promise) about Lucien and Lucienne and how Lucienne is a million bazillion times better than Lucien who honestly is one of my least liked of the main dreaming based characters in the comic. That was more than just a glow up, it was like um a magikarp evolving into a gyarados type of improvement and I have a hell of a lot more to say about how significant the changes to Lucienne in the show not just improve it, but completely effect the emotional arc of Morpheus AND the other residents of the Dreaming.

But back to Lucienne and Nuala. When we meet Nuala in the show, I hope they handle her initial storyline better, and I can't imagine that she will feel quite so alone in the Dreaming in the show, not with the residents being so much warmer and kinder than their comic counterparts (i mean even Cain and Abel arent as dark and horrid in the show). So I hope we will get to see plenty of interactions between Lucienne and Nuala and therefore be given plenty of content to play with for shipping purposes.

I think I'll stick to my stance that anything not written by Neil Gaiman is not canon, but that doesnt mean we cant explore what Nuala and Lucienne's relationship would be like and we certainly dont need non canon DC comics telling us who to ship with who anyway!

Thank you for the ask and the further reassurance that I never need to read any non Neil Gaiman Sandman comics ever! 😊

[rriavian]

Hello.

You know, if you wrote a book about your version of Corintheus based Dreaming analysis, I would love to have a paperback edition of that ( i love paperback 💖)

Anyway, i probably have told you quite a number of times that, my favourite moment of Baiting the Trap is Corinthian nibbling Dream's earlobe in the library right before Lucienne. Also, i have stated it enough times that,one of my favourite Corintheus prompt is Lucienne's reaction to the Corinthian-Dream dynamic.

So my question is:

When Lucienne was asked to be dismissed from the Library right after the above mentioned scene- what was her immediate range of feelings? Was she hurt that Dream allowed someone as disobedient as Corinthian to be so shamelessly invading his personal space before her presence? She is the most loyal most sacrificing subject of Dream realm. She deserves to be treated with dignity and decency. And being compelled to watch a private kinky moment like that isn't quite decent for Luci. I am not sure if I could make it clear. In my mind, Lucienne is ace. I assume she wouldn’t be comfortable to witness anyone’s unwarranted private moment. Let alone Dream's. The closest analogy is : an elder daughter being bound to watch her ever so dignified father's new shrewd gf trying to show off a glimpse of what they do in their private moment. So, was Lucienne hurt? Or angry? Or shocked? Or confused? Or all together?

Eventually, what was her personal thoughts about Dream- Corinthian relationship when she overcome the initial shock?

I have two more supplementary questions. I will send them eventually. Answer whenever you want to. Or feel free to not answer at all, if there is an upcoming fic shading light on this plot.

Much love💖💖

<3 oh if I wrote a book there would be so much I’d put into the analysis!

That moment in the library is definitely one of my favourites too, and one of my biggest narrative regrets is that there hasn’t (yet) been more Lucienne in the series. Her reactions to the dynamic are very important narratively, and very very interesting given her relationship to both Dream and the Corinthian. So I was happy to get a question about it! This is also something I’d thought about when I was writing so will probably come up at some point, but at the moment my answer shouldn’t spoil anything :)

The aftermath of the scene in the library links directly to the one between Dream and Lucienne in Courting the King, where there's a bit of tension before it’s resolved. There was worry when she left, some anger (at the Corinthian), but no confusion. I don’t think Lucienne was hurt—maybe a little bit of wounded pride—because while protective of Dream/the Dreaming she also respects his right to decide how to run his realm/respond to an insult against him. I think they both verbally negotiate where the boundary of that is. There’s a balance there and I think Lucienne’s stubbornness can, like any strength, work against her in certain situations.

There’s a wonderful parallel in how both her and Dream are incredibly alike in how they can be very stubborn, very prideful, so in many ways they’ve always understood each other.

What happens in both this scene and the one in Courting the King is that they are examples of Dream’s way of being like ‘I respect you greatly but you need to let me handle this’. It’s not an insult against her capabilities, or her role, nor a dismissal of the worthiness of her opinions (Dream is quick to rebuke the Corinthian when he precedes to insult her). It’s a demonstration of Dream taking his own responsibilities very seriously (I am the King and I will deal with this) while also making it clear that this is additionally a decision of personal agency.

Dream doesn’t need someone to step in and take away his choice of whether to accept what the Corinthian is doing or to punish him for it.

The privacy of the moment is definitely a factor in his decision too. Dream knows very well that the Corinthian is trying (and succeeding) to get a rise out of Lucienne. He knows that the Corinthian is using it as a way to finally feel like he’s won, to get pleasure from the context of how disrespectful it really is, to find a sneaky way to achieve what Dream is still denying him. That links something else too - while allowing this change to a sexual relationship is a decision that Dream has made (and the myriad of reasons within that is an analysis in itself!) that doesn’t mean it’s one any one else has agreed to see, that they’ve agreed to be made a part of.

The Corinthian tried to make Lucienne a part of it here, and Dream dismissed her to protect her, to make it clear that this fight was to remain private.

It was very much done out of respect to allow her dignity. To treat her with care. Dream is refusing to be remiss in his duties as King, as her friend, as someone who loves her dearly, by allowing her to be used as a pawn in a power play. And so Lucienne wasn't hurt because she understood why Dream did what he did even if she doesn't know all of the reasons why.

Lucienne being ace is definitely a reading I like! I’m also ace so that’s an interpretation I very much lean towards, though in some ways I read Dream as ace too haha.

As for her thoughts on the relationship, I think that will need to unfold as the series continues, but right now I think Lucienne is looking at Dream like ‘I support your right to choose sexual partners/forgive criminals even when it’s obvious you have terrible taste in men’. She’s pretty convinced that the Corinthian is going to betray Dream/the Dreaming again and—as shown in that scene in Courting the King—is being very cautious about keeping an eye on his behaviour in the Dreaming.

You are wonderful as always and I hope you enjoyed reading this <3 Feel free to send any questions at any time! Some might take longer to answer than others but I do love answering asks about these things :)