#specials

[lackadaisycal-art]

Six days until the 60th anniversary specials and I cry every time Bernard Cribbins is on screen <3

[timelordgifs]

You told me the name you chose was a promise. What was the promise?

[mask131]

A guide for reading The Sandman: Part 2

So... You have read the full Sandman series. You went from issue 1 to issue 75. From beginning to end. You had all the ten volumes. Congrats!

But I am sorry to tell you, you don’t actually have the full Sandman story. You see, Neil Gaiman wrote and created much more than just the numbered issues. He created a lot of side-stories, side volumes and “specials” whose presence are either exciting and thrilling additions to the Sandman mythos, or key elements needed to understand the plots and happenings of the main story. Don’t get me wrong, if you just read the numbered issues you’ll get the full story without problem. But you’ll still be missing the second part of the complete Sandman world. The “specials”. In French we have a clever word for that: the “hors-séries” (literally means “outside of the series”, it is still part of the world but not inside the numbered series).

Given there is a lot of those specials, I’ll classify them by “publishing order”. You’ll get what I mean. 

    I) The Sandman library

After being released as a series of numbered issues, The Sandman was collected in the ten volumes I described previously. Out of these volumes, one included actually more than just the numbered issues: volume 6, “Fables and Reflections”, added two Sandman specials.

# “Fear of Falling” was originally a story published as its own for a one-shot issue called “Vertigo Preview” whose function, as the name indicates, was to serve as a big preview for most of the Vertigo titles. As a result, the issue contains previews and half-stories for most of the Vertigo titles: Hellblazer, Doom Patrol, Swamp Thing, Shade the Changing Man... It also includes previews for two specials I will talk about later, Death: The High Cost of Living, and Sandman Mystery Theater. But these are all just previews. There is only one full, complete story, which is precisely “Fear of Falling”, conceived originally as a way to give a taste of Sandman to newcomers.

# The Song of Orpheus. Originally it was published as its own as “The Sandman Special”, but it was included into this first collection of Sandman issues due to how important the story is : for you see, it gives the complete backstory of Orpheus, who is an important character in The Sandman. And while just a retelling of the myth, it is still very precious to understand the full impact of the character. 

   II) The 30th anniversary edition

After publishing those ten volumes, DC celebrated the 30th birthday of The Sandman by reprinting them... WITH FOUR BONUS VOLUMES!!!

# The first added Volume, Volume 11, is called “Endless Nights”. This specific volume was originally published as its own under the name “The Sandman: Endless Nights”. Published in 2003, so long after the end of The Sandman, it is a set of seven stories, each centered around a different Endless sibling, and their whole purpose is just to further expand the world of The Sandman, and flesh out more the other Endlesses by showing stories from THEIR perspectives. It is technically an “anthology volume / expansion volume” that is not needed to understand the full story, but makes a nice addition to better understand the scope of the world and the working of the Endless. It does however contains spoilers for “Brief Lives” and further, so... it is at its right place as “Volume 11″. 

# The second added Volume is NOT called Volume 12 as you would expect. It is rather called... Volume ∞. Of its full name: The Sandman: Overture. This volume was originally a six-part limited series created by Neil Gaiman in 2013 (so LONG after the end of The Sandman, and well after Endless Nights). This is the latest and final work by Neil Gaiman in The Sandman world so far, and it was designed as a sort of “grand finale”. Some people will tell you “It is the first work in chronological order so you should begin here”. DO NOT DARE! THESE PEOPLE ARE LYING TO YOU! Beginning here is the WORST idea you can have. If you want to begin The Sandman, you begin at issue 1, like Neil Gaiman himself. 

For you see, “Overture” is a dual story, two series of events tied together that happen, one after the end of The Sandman (so after issue 75) and the other before the beginning of the Sandman (so before issue 1). Overture is both the prologue to The Sandman AND its epilogue. Beginning and end, alpha and omega... Hence the  ∞ symbol. It is without a doubt the best way to end the series.

# The two other volumes are both unumbered and called “The Sandman: The Dream Hunters”. And they both tell the same story. So why are there two volumes? Because one is an illustrated novel, and the other is a full comic book issue.

Originally, Neil Gaiman published “The Dream Hunters” as a novel/novella in 1999 (so three years after the end of The Sandman, but before the publication of Endless Nights). It was a fictional story he invented, based upon and inspired by Japanese folklore and Japanese fairytales. Illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano, it takes place in The Sandman world, though it is not part of the main plot and you can actually read the story with no prior knowledge of The Sandman. It became so popular that for the 20th anniversary of The Sandman, in 2008-2009, the novel was adapted into a comic book, a four part mini-series that became its own Sandman volume. 

Fun fact: when Neil Gaiman published the story, he wrote in it a fake “origin” claiming he was just adaptating a part of Ozaki’s famous “Old Japanese Fairy Tales”. It was a lie, as Neil Gaiman had entirely invented the story, but it fooled a lot of people who sincerely believed it was some sort of secret or missing story from Ozaki’s book. (He notably had to clear up the matter in “Endless Nights”). 

    III) The Absolute Sandman

Now you probably think: wow... this is a lot. But I got everything, right? NO YOU FOOL! DC, seeing the enormous success of The Sandman, decided to reprint a new edition of the compilation: The Absolute Sandman, even bigger than the 30th Anniversary edition. Not ten or twelve volumes, but rather six (five numbered volumes plus Overture), containing everything I talked about above (The Sandman Special, Endless Nights, Overture, The Dream Hunters...). Plus more specials not yet included in compilations! Resulting in five volumes + The Absolute Sandman: Overture + one special volume called “The Absolute Death”. 

# The Vertigo: Winter’s Edge comics. Vertigo’s Winter Edge was a limited series published from 1998 to 2000 celebrating, every winter, the different lines and series of the Vertigo imprint with special stories. It ran for three issues, and each of them has one story created by Neil Gaiman tied with or part of The Sandman universe. One will maybe ring familiar to the viewers of the show: “A Winter’s Tale”, published in the second issue (1999). This story is actually a description of Death’s backstory, answering many questions about her “life” before the events of The Sandman (and also revealing answers to some questions raised in “Endless Nights”, even though it was published AFTER this story). Parts of it were adapted in the first season of The Sandman tv show. 

The other two stories of Winter’s Edge are “The Flowers of Romance”, from Winter Edge 1998 and “How They Met Themselves” from Winter Edge 2000. These stories are fascinating because they actually depict Desire as the protagonist and “hero”. You see, as Gaiman points out, Desire plays an antagonistic role in The Sandman merely because Dream is the protagonist. But here he decided, why not show the reverse, the world where Desire is the protagonist, the “nice” side of Desire: the result are those two stories. 

[ The Vertigo: Winter’s Edge issues also contain stories belonging to “The Dreaming”, a spin-off of The Sandman, but given Neil Gaiman was not involved in those I’ll keep it for a later post]

# “The Castle”. This story was originally published in “Vertigo Jam”, which is basically quite similar to “Vertigo Preview” and “Vertigo: Winter Edge”, just a one-shot issue that was an anthology of various stories, each taking place in a different series of the Vertigo imprint. 

# The Death mini-series. In 1993, the same year as The Dream Hunters, Neil Gaiman wrote a mini-series with Death as the main protagonist. It was called “Death: The High Cost of Living”. This Death-centered story had three years later a “twin mini-series”: “Death: The Time of Your Life” in 1996 (coupled with the return of Hazel and Foxglove from “A Game of You”). These two were then gathered here as a duo in a special volume of The Absolute Sandman called “The Absolute Death” and centered around, you guessed it, lot of Death material. 

# The “educational” Sandman. This “Absolute Death” volume also contains two “PSA material” or “Very Special Episode” issues. One is a story centered around Destruction and called “The Wheel”, which was originally part of a very special DC volume: 9-11: The world’s finest comic book writers and artists tell stories to remember. You can safely guess what the story is about. The second story is not actually a story, but a Death-centered AIDs pamphlet called “Death Talks About Life”. It had been originally coupled with several other issues of DC comics: it was found in the issue 32 of “Shade the Changing Man” (the 1990 series) ; it was also found in the 62nd issue of Hellblazer, and finally in the 46th issue of The Sandman. But it also existed as its own, unique pamphlet distributed in schools to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS. 

# Sandman Midnight Theater. The last of the specials created by Neil Gaiman, and one of the last pieces to The Sandman puzzle. Long story short... There were several “Sandman” super-heroes in the DC Universe. In fact, Neil Gaiman began “The Sandman” as his own personal take on the several Sandmen super-heroes of the DC world. The very first of those Sandmen was Wesley Dodds, a Batman-like vigilante of the 30s that was part of the Golden Age of comics. In fact, Wesley Dodds himself appears in the first issue of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, and is part of The Sandman universe. After the end of Neil Gaiman’s series, the popularity of Wesley Dodds increased again and so in 1993 was launched a “reboot” of the original adventures of the Sandman, a new series around Dodds called “Sandman Mystery Theater”. 

Sandman Midnight Theater is precisely a crossover issue between Sandman Mystery Theater and Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. 

# “The Last Sandman Story”. This is actually not a comic book story. It was a prose story, semi-autobiographical, written by Neil Gaiman for “Dustcovers: The Collected Sandman Covers”, which as the name says compiled all of the covers of Dave McKean (plus I think he also illustrated this specific story?). It a sort of confession story, a text by Neil Gaiman about real-life and his relationship with The Sandman series and the character of Dream. And, as the name says, it was written to be released at the conclusion of the main series, post-issue 75. 

  There you go! These are all the specials created by Neil Gaiman and that are part of the canon and official Sandman series. Of course there is more bonus to talk about: Neil Gaiman gave a lot of interviews about The Sandman in which he reveals all sorts of details and secrets, and they can be found across various books - the Sandman Companion, the Absolute Sandman editions, the Omnibus Sandman editions, there’s plenty of places to look at. 

So... is it done? Is it over?

Yes and no. With this, you have covered everything in The Sandman world made by Neil Gaiman. So this is basically all the “canon”. 

But The Sandman created a lot of spin-offs and side-stories that were not created or that are not linked to Neil Gaiman... as with many comic book worlds, it expanded beyond its original creator. So maybe I will cover all the non-Neil Gaiman Sandman stories in a third part. Maybe. If I have time.

[detco-hell]

can this guy stop putting unknown things in his mouth Please 🙏

[Episode One: The Great Detective Turned Small]

[the-style-look-every-episode]

south park: joining the panderverse

[anlian-aishang]

Kinktober Day 9: Virgin!Levi & First Time

Word count: 1900 Tags: levi x reader, smut, fem-bodied!reader, virgin!levi

The strongest were not born, they were sharpened. It was never his goal to earn that superlative, rather, the world had forced it onto him through its kicks and punches. Levi’s walls were impenetrable, you were the first to show him that there was weakness to that. When he wanted to let someone in, there were no points of entry. Getting to know him - first the friendship, then the relationship - your love was a blade that sawed its way through: act by act of kindness. 

Tonight and its milestone. Was this the completion of your carving? Had you finally stepped through to the other side? 

You had not the mind for that now: in his room, on his bed, bare before the other. Clothed only in moonlight and an entanglement of his pristine white sheets, shrouded in disbelief at the scene you found yourselves in. You never imagined you would get to see him like this. He never thought he would show this side of himself. 

Tearing down that slate, stripping him free from garment after garment, you had gradually revealed the man beneath. Vision honed into his tells. Hands in his lap, holding each other: his grounding technique. Minute twitches in his perpetual flat lip: wavering composure. Those familiar signs helped to decipher those new to you. The flush in his chest and face: blood running hot and fast. Arousal half-hidden beneath the bridge of his hands. Toes curled into the comforter. Heels dug into the mattress. 

Playing witness to his nerves made them contagious. To see unease in a character defined by calm resulted in a shared anxiety. He was the one you turned to for solace. Now, the tables had turned, and he was the one in need of comfort. 

That sense of responsibility filled you with a sudden confidence, a mission. You cupped his cheek in your hand, softly, “Don’t worry, Levi.” You thumbed some sweat from his skin, “I’ll take good care of you.”

Levi closed his eyes and sighed. Foreheads pressed together, he closed his fingers around your wrist, “I know.”

Communicating his trust to you, but convincing himself to have faith. His intuition was remarkable among all, immaculate above all, but some unspeakable irritant kept him tethered to doubt. He found the days you were together uncountable, but knew the times you betrayed him to be zero. Levi inhaled: you’re fine. Then exhaled: and you know it. 

You watched his breathing, not with anxiety, but with adoration. Just watching him be, watching him live, felt like a privilege. The thought of pushing him had not crossed your mind. Palm descended from his cheek to his heart, “You know, we don’t have to -”

“No.” Levi’s gaze snapped open, his breaths regulated, “I want to.” A deliberate swallow, throat cleared of hesitation. He tilted his chin and brought his lips to yours, “I want you.” 

Your eyes widened just briefly before his hand caressed your nape and pulled you to him. Tongue swiped the slit between your lips and prodded you open for his kiss. Your gasp, he drank it, fuel for his venture. Levi explored every part of you, moaned as he savored your taste. Teeth grazed your bottom lip then bit, anchoring you to him. Authoritative and assured. There he is. 

Just as infectious as his angst was his assertion. As he confidently dipped his tongue down your throat, you took control in your climb up his body. Hands on his shins, over his knees, crawling up and up his thighs. Deliberately, you passed over his neediest spot. Lust encouraged you to be hasty in fucking Levi Ackerman. Love reminded you to be gentle as you made love to your virgin. 

Along the sides of his waist, through his sultry groans and your enamored sighs, you both adored the touch: soft grip a lovely contrast to his sharp hip bones. Fingernails traced each muscle of his abdomen. Palms to his pectorals. Right hand ran over and around his throat. Left hand tangoed with his locks. At his undercut, they met: fingers knotted together, a grapple to your ride. 

Your legs landed on the outsides of his, running parallel. Backs of your thighs to the tops of his. Chests apart just enough to aggravate him, make his mind wander about how good it would feel to have your front wholly to his. Mind fucking made the physical version better, but he would learn that eventually. 

Small and slow steps for now. You reached down quickly, but delicately grazed his member. Fingertips to his shaft, base of your hand to his tip. Establishing your hold, not even working him yet - despite your carefulness, Levi clenched his teeth and hissed. The first time he had been held by another. He tilted back against the headboard, loosened his jaw, and sighed. Once again, convincing himself of a fact he knew to be true. It felt good. You felt good. 

Brows narrowed, you lingered for a handful of seconds, surveying his state for a sign of stoppage. Instead, he clutched your arm and began to push and pull your grip - back and forth, up and down his length. Moving as one. Together. With each oscillation, you felt his solidity strengthen, both in his erection and his stability. Mentally comfortable in the pursuit of pleasure, though his strained tendons and exasperated exhales suggested the opposite. 

Circling over his tip, drifting your thumb along his slit, “A’Ah!” Levi squirmed beneath you. Fists bunched in the sheets, bolts to his writhing,“Sh’it…” 

Veins began to make themselves visible. His cock began to rise into a steep arc. It was then that your daydreams came to fruition, recognizing how perfectly that curve would fit inside you, and how even the inexperienced newcomer would reach your most sensitive spot.

You manipulated your movements to bring him just outside your sex. Bent forward, your lips to the cusp of his ear. Eagerly, yet calmly, you cooed, “Just sit back, relax. I’ll take care of you, Levi.”

Taking care as you lowered yourself that crucial distance. Cautious as your hips began to rock. Nervous yourself, but projecting control as you made his pleasure your priority. Hands knotted behind his neck combined with the bend of your knees provided the leverage for it. 

His tip hit your favorite patch. His length filled you up while his girth stretched you thin. The sensation he brought you lured shameless sounds out from in, coloring the air of his room. Swears he never would have expected the first time he laid eyes on you. 

You fluttered your eyes shut and deepened your fucks. From base to top every time. So deep in your warm velvet caress, Levi grit his teeth and cursed. 

The stress in his tone brought you back from your selfish escape. A soft, soothing kiss, you ensured, “Let me know if it hurts, okay?”

He could only tilt his head back and moan. You were correct in translating: it didn’t. Physicalities reinforced those ideas. His passion had begun to leak inside of you. Your arousal started to seep, drenching his shaft. You held your breath in anxious await of your clean freak’s panic, but he did not seem to notice. If anything, the syrup to his voice and ripple of his abdomen suggested he enjoyed it. 

Dangerously sweet. Levi did not have much experience with orgasm, though even that he was ashamed to admit, but his intuition remained keen even as you rocked him. Building pressure in his core caused his floodgates to shake. Legs trembled, failing to stabilize. Arms spasmed, unable to slow your bounces. Lip quivered, incapable of warning you of his symptoms. On top of it all, a blinding headrush of a degree he had never encountered before, a spiral he was helpless to stop.

Levi flushed red in an embarrassed sweat. He had told himself that he wouldn’t cum too fast, not before you, but “Fuck…” Levi moaned, “you feel so good!”

Poor little thing could hardly help himself. His strain was pathetic, but with your infatuation, you dubbed it heartwrenching. Twitches and trembles seized his body, and suddenly, humanity’s strongest was reduced to pure weakness. That’s how good you were. 

Even as your head swelled with that compliment, your concern for him remained steadfast. While delighting in his vulnerability, stronger was your urge to watch his release. 

You withdrew your hands from the back of his neck to the sides of them. Slamming your lips to his, a hard and fast kiss accelerated your movements. You could taste the desperation in his gasps, could feel the surge in his length. His end was near, it was all but spelled out. Having dreamt of this so long, though, you needed to hear it.

“Gonna cum?” You beckoned, “Gonna cum, Levi?” 

Your tone bordered on teasing. The personification of his insecurity in finishing too fast. “N’No…” Levi flung his head to the side, exhibiting stubborn denial, “N’Not… yet…”

You furrowed your brow in confusion. Didn’t he want this? Your memory rang clear: I want to. I want you. You studied his expression: bright red blush, grit teeth, gaze laboriously squint. In that eye contact, you wordlessly understood his refusal to give in. Perhaps more than anything or anyone, you had learned how considerate Levi was. Sacrificing his own time, energy, joy for nameless strangers, let alone you. 

The thought of faking it crossed your mind, and it was not only that you did not want to establish a dangerous pretense, but more so that you recognized how easily he would see through it. And how livid he would be.

In lovely compromise, you intertwined your fingers with his and serenaded, “Go ahead, baby. Cum.” A selfless demand. “Cum for me.”

For you. Only with that pretense could Levi allow himself to give in, and you knew it. In this context and others, if it served you at all, he would strive for it. With how amazing you felt, that strife did not last long. 

With his last ounce of control, Levi squeezed your hips in a white-knuckle grip, jerking you into the places and rhythms that would get him there. All the while, emitting screams that would wake the city and squander any doubt over what was going on in his room. 

“A’Ahhh!! F’uck, (Y/N)...!” A couple of heaving breaths nearly worried you, but the violent slams of his hips and fervent warmth inside actually quelled you. To his loud and repeated melody of oh god - oh fuck - fuck - fuck me - your content hums played harmony. In peripheral vision, you caught a glimpse of the clock and smirked to yourself: record time. 

As his breathing returned to regular, as his eyes drifted back open, you smiled and slowly lifted yourself off his lap and spun yourself to his side. His arm wrapped around your back, hand took a strong hold of your shoulder. Before your eyes, you savored the way his chest rose and fell, the overstimulated nerves that twitched themselves to calm. Most of all - the erasure of his embarrassment, replaced by consideration then determination.

After all, he still had his mouth. 

Kinktober Year 3 Masterlist

[reaperhighsketchbook]

🎄

[riversongsource]

DOCTOR WHO - Last Night // The Husbands of River Song

[rocknroll-stolemyass]

careful

[arundolyn]

sin snack swednesday hd remaster

[eeveryadventuretimes]

s00ep00 : Rumble Jaw - Happy April Fool's

@teethcritter @lobster-lover

[splatreference]

The Robo ROM-en giant bowl

[timelordgifs]

7.13 | 8.13

[cakeboxie]

I’m starting a series of gale pinups so!!

[detco-hell]

move over dork

[Episode One: The Great Detective Turned Small]

[salmonruntips]

Salmon Run Tip #0414

The Reefslider can slide right underneath Steel Eels without taking damage! This tip was brought to our attention by @vulpix-wright. Thanks!