#the sandman

[avelera]

Was thinking about how Hob and Dream could both be insufferable in some way because, in fairness, Hob comes across as someone who could make friends with bread if left in a room with it long enough.

Then I had a thought:

What if Hob Gadling is just super fucking insufferable to other immortals?

See, Dream is... difficult for mortals to get because he's got his whole eldritch thing going on. But while he's not particularly popular with them, I imagine other immortals at least get and respect his whole deal. Like, he's the Dreamlord. Of course he's weird. But they understand the laws and principles he's referring to at least when he's being weird. He seems to at least have a pleasant relationship with the Faerie Court. It's mortals who can't really connect with Dream and find him exasperating as a result.

Whereas Hob gets along great with mortals, just swell. He's Just A Guy who happens to live forever and people get along with him. But immortals? We don't really see it much but immortals positively loathe this guy.

Dream's reaction to the whole, "I've made up my mind, I've decided not to die!"? Hob tossed out in 1389? That's the teeth-grinding level of irritation Hob engenders in every immortal he comes across (before they have centuries to get to know him) and it is exactly why Death just had to make this man immortal because it would be hilarious.

Why doesn't Hob hang out with other immortals besides Dream? Because the minute he opens his mouth about how great life is and how he's never had even a moment's doubt about how much he wants to live, every immortal in the room starts to make the gagging motion.

You're an immortal just trying to have a bit of a kvetch about Kids These Days and how much times have changed and how it was better in your day, and there's Hob fucking Gadling again ready to throw down about how amazing antibiotics and automobiles and the latest iPhone number whatever are and like, sure, but you were just trying to say back in your day things were better, right? Not objectively maybe but you're just trying to indulge in a bit of immortal nostalgia and Hob fucking Gadling is not having any of it and is ready to argue you into the dirt about it.

You're immortal but haven't quite kept up on today's slang? Hob Gadling will absolutely call you out and he's a teacher now so he's going to be super nice about it but you know he's judging you for saying groovy unironically and thinks you should get with the times already.

You're a vampire living off centuries of generational wealth? Hob keeps talking about how you should get a job and get out of the spooky mansion more, and maybe you wouldn't feel so much existential angst. You like your existential angst!

Hob doesn't have a single ounce of patience for immortals who want to wax poetic about wishing they were mortal again. Diseases, he says, have you ever had diseases? Like even a cold? It sucks. It really fucking sucks. The Plague? The fucking worst. You don't need to be mortal to get involved in mortal life, Hob fucking Gadling keeps pointing out at the monthly eldritch coffee meetups. You can just live as a mortal and share in their problems and enjoy the fact you don't have to deal with the shit parts like getting sick. Completely missing the point of the futile lamentation of regretting one's lost mortality is something you enjoy.

Hob harshes the vibe of every single immortal out there. They are so goddamn sick of him. There's a reason he has no apparent immortal friends or connections to the supernatural world despite (in the comics) seeming to have met other immortals and having the occasional supernatural encounter that he immediately brushes off as dull when compared to what the normal, every day world has to offer.

No other immortal can fucking figure out what Dream of the Endless sees in this guy, and how he can stand to talk to him even once a century without storming off (which, in fairness, Dream has done on 2/7 occasions). Dream, not otherwise known for his patience, is seen as a saint in the eldritch community for even spending as much time as he has over the course of 600+ years with Hob fucking Gadling.

[alexzpaintings]

[nathanwonderwolf]

AU, in which Robert sacrifices himself for Morpheus, but does not die in the usual sense, but falls into Limbo. A place where people's consciousness is in a coma. The dream wants to return its knight, but does not expect to find him...

p.s English is not my native language, sorry

[issylra]

the dreaming + inside the castle

[killocal]

Nightmare is good at lying

[looseinthecatroom]

I’ve been reading a lot of hobrintheus lately

[moresandmanstuff]

Sandman text posts (part 30)

[academicblorbo]

Hob after dream showed up with a bottle of wine to say goodbye

Specially made for @mathomhouse-e and @caberneigh ❤️

[fishfingersandscarves]

danielle and morfea

(and hob)

[magnusbae]

“There are times when I am convinced I am unfit for any human relationship.”–Franz Kafka

[designtheendless]

Dream and Delirium of the Endlesspspsps

Meowpheus Monday! And a little Delirium, as a treat 🫧

Dream’s collar inspired by this from @five-and-dimes

[flaccid-rats]

Dream of the Endless (and Hob) ft. Troubled Birds

[softest-punk]

Hospitals are filled with fever dreams and the exhausted napping fantasies of tired medical students and young ER doctors alike, and in Dream's current mood it is an assault on his senses that he could do without. He is rude to the receptionist, short-tempered and imperious, and he thinks with a pang that Hob would have been disappointed in him.

Hob. The thought sticks in his mind like a lump in his throat as he winds his way through maddeningly identical corridors, the smell of disinfectant seeping into his skin, panic bubbling under the surface until finally, finally, he bursts into a room where a familiar face looks up from the bed.

What would be Dream's heart plummets to what would be somewhere deep in his stomach at the look Hob gives him. He had not realised that smile, that particular smile Hob always smiled at him, was reserved for himself. The look Hob gives him is perfectly pleasant, but there is no familiarity in it.

Temporary, he tells himself. It will be temporary. The human mind is capable of incredible things, and Hob is eternal. He will return to himself.

(Rest on Ao3 >>>)

[stanchett]

I am Anti-Life. The Beast of Judgement.

Lucifer Morningstar, The Sandman

[issylra]

the dreaming + scenery

[wolf-and-raven-dreaming]

I love spamming you guys with my art blog posts. It's a way to tide everyone over until I get the next page out!

Flowing fabric is DIFFICULT! But I love doing these. They remind me of the Renaissance, which I know Dream has made many appearances in.