#this was such a fun time oh my god I love Lucienne so much and writing this was very cathartic for me

[ennas-aesthetic]

Retired!Dream as a Librarian AU part 2

I am SOOOOOO glad that the reception for the retired!Dream as a Librarian AU was so enthusiastic and sweet! Thank you so much for that (and if you haven't seen part 1 one yet, click here). More snapshots of the AU will be added as we go, because a retired!Dream experiencing the full range of human emotions in a place of community has brought so many stories to tell.

Anyway, a good friend on Twitter asked what happens when Lucienne finds out that Retired!Dream has become a librarian (or at least, a library volunteer) in the Waking World. I DO, in FACT, have a headcanon locked and loaded for that, so here we go:

Sometimes Dream wonders how on earth he has gotten here.

It wasn't like he hates the job. Dream LOVES the local library - loves the staff and the stories and the people. It's the best outcome he could have ever hoped for, really. Like someone has given him a second chance, a renewal. A new purpose where his existence could transpose into a life worth living.

But, OH, the circumstances that it took for him to get here. If only his former subjects could see him now. If only LUCIENNE could see him now.

Dream understands, more than ever, how much painstaking effort goes into even MAINTAINING a functioning library. Running the vastest library he knows in existence WHILE managing the Dreaming when he runs off to brood must have been a herculean feat. Morpheus resolves to be more appreciative of her work over the millennia, if he ever sees her again.

And see her he does. Lucienne comes to the library one day, on the guise of looking for a mislaid book. Her face is wreathed with smiles, looking sharp and dapper in her suit.

"Greetings, my Lord," she beams, eyes alight with fondness and mirth. "You look to be in good health."

"Please," he says, and surprises himself by laughing out loud. Laughing comes easier to him now, he notices. (The first time he did this in front of the library staff it was in response to an incredibly macabre joke he found hilarious. Dream had slapped a hand to his mouth, but the damage had been done: the library staff looked on in ACTUAL suprise, and then they cackled in earnest, delighted that their strange new colleague had a fucked up sense of humor and an absolutely ridiculous laugh. So many more attempts to make him crack up started since that day. Not that he minded.) "Call me Morpheus. I am your lord no longer."

"Hmm," Lucienne says. "Very well. Hello, Morpheus." And all of a sudden she envelops him into a bone-crushing hug.

"That was not a breach of protocol and conduct, I hope," she says, mischievous, as she lets a rather staggered Dream go. "Seeing as I am your librarian no longer."

Dream smiles wide. He does not think he has ever smiled this frequently in his entire existence.

He gives her a tour of the library, introduces her to the people behind the counter. After a few conversations the staff has agreed on one thing: Lucienne may be the BEST librarian there is. Some of them had already asked her to stay. Dream has to interrupt quickly, saying that she is already a hotshot librarian somewhere else, before steering her away from her new admirers.

"They adore you, it seems," he tells her. Lucienne rolls her eyes. Even as his librarian she had always been frank with him, but seeing her be openly candid with Dream, without the barrier of his Nobility and his Lordship between them, pleased him to no ends. If any outsiders could have seen them, they would have thought they are just extremely close friends (and they are. They are.)

"And they are COMPLETELY enchanted by you," she shoots back, grinning, "which is honestly quite the miracle."

She teases him about finally being able to handle his books, and jokingly chastises him about not doing it sooner. Dream, to her (non) surprise, takes this seriously, and admits, rather abashed, that most of his bookkeeping skills are only existent because of her. He concedes that she is still the better librarian between the two of them. Lucienne is very smug over this confession (as she should be.)

"I am forever indebted to you," Morpheus says, and finds himself a little choked up at the last syllable. "You have given me a lifeline, in more ways than one." He shakes his head. "I do not know how I may ever repay you."

Her eyes are overbright, but when she speaks her voice is steady.

"Just live, Sire," she whispers. "That's repayment enough."

It's a blessing, almost. An anointment of old, except his birthright is now renewed. Just live. Dream nods, determined to make the boon stick. To keep the oath for as long as he can.

Before Lucienne leaves she hands him a gift. "To complete the librarian regalia," she winks. And just like that she's gone.

Inside the box is a compilation of all the "Sandman Stories" he has adlibbed for the kids during Story Time Tuesdays. A note taped on the book: 'Matthew is gloating because he gets to be a dragon. Name a raven after me, will you?' Dream laughs out loud.

(Sure enough, on the next Story Time Tuesday a new character -- Lucienne the Raven Librarian -- was introduced. The kids instantly fell in love with her, and the book feverishly codifies the stories Morpheus comes up for her.)

But that's not all. In the box is another pouch - he opens it, and a pair of spectacles tumble out. Another note: 'from one librarian to another.'

Morpheus wears those spectacles till this very day.

---

Want to know more about the Retired!Dream as a Librarian AU? Read part 1 here and part 3 here.

[cuubism]

Dream makes Hob Prince Consort in the Dreaming, but does not tell Hob because why would he ever communicate anything. It's just ceremonial anyway. Right? Right.

Anyway Hob lives in blissful ignorance for several years. Sure all the Dreaming denizens are super nice to him but that's just how dreams are, right? It's cool. Nothing weird here.

Then Dream goes missing. Hob's freaking the fuck out -- the last time Dream went missing was fucking Not Good after all -- and as if that wasn't bad enough, Lucienne comes up to him and is like, so... Lord Morpheus left you in charge of the Dreaming in his absence.

Hob: this better be a fucking joke

Lucienne: no, you're prince consort so according to the royal scriptures of the Dreaming you're in charge.

Hob: hang on I'm WHAT so I'm WHAT

Hob: was Dream AWARE of this when he made me consort

Lucienne: *derisive look*

Hob: but I'm just a GUY I can't run a dream realm *shakes fist at absent Dream* my beloved asshole you can't just drop this shit on me oh my GOD

Lucienne: well someone's gotta do it. To be honest I'm still tired from last time.

Hob: well. Uh. *shrugs* guess I'm running the Dreaming now?

----

A year later Dream returns. Hob's been looking for him the whole time but it was kind of fucking difficult when he also had to run a whole REALM.

Turns out Dream was fine he just went on like, a jaunt to another galaxy for dream inspiration and forgot about time dilation in space travel. No big deal. Anyway.

Dream gets back and he's like oops hope Hob hasn't struggled too much, that was only supposed to be three days... lol...

So turns out Hob is not very good at being a King in the way Dream is but he IS very good at just bringing major Dad Energy to all the little dreams and nightmares, just being like the Cool University Professor of the entire Dreaming. So Dream gets back and Hob has managed to befriend EVERYONE in the Dreaming. He's hosting "family dinner" at the palace? He's doing Forums where people can bring their complaints? He instituted set work hours to create work life balance?

Dream is like What In The Democracy Is This. What have you done to my realm.

Hob's like We're Vibing! :) Come on we're having a blast!

And drags Dream to a fucking party going on at the palace? There are drinks? They're doing karaoke? Is Dream having a stroke?

It's all so foreign that he almost calls down a tornado and just obliterates the palace. But Hob pulls him close and makes him dance to the music, and leans in and says, "You know it doesn't have to be all fire and brimstone and seriousness all the time. It's okay to show them you love them."

And Dream is like "I DO love them they're my creations."

And Hob is like, "I know but it's also okay for them to SEE it."

Dream looks around at the ridiculous party. True to Hob's words, the dreams and nightmares look more relaxed and happier than they've been in a while-- at least, when Dream's been around. He wonders what else he doesn't get to see. What they're afraid to show him.

He says, "I went to the Andromeda galaxy for new dream inspiration, but perhaps I should have been looking in you, Hob Gadling."

Hob's like "aw that's sweet-- hang on you went to the WHERE???"

Dream just chuckles and doesn't elaborate, and Hob gives up and pulls him close again, holds him and dances them to the beat of the swing music one of the Music Dreams has just put on. Dream says, "I see that while your leadership skills are... unconventional... I made the right choice in leaving you in charge of the Dreaming."

"Yeah, about that, next time you're gonna spontaneously make me Prime Minister of some place can you let me know in ADVANCE??"

"Well, you wanted fun. Where would the fun be in that?"

[valeriianz]

For the fic writer asks:

4. Obviously you did research for BitB. I'd love you to ramble about it if you like I'm sure you've got STORIES

5. Did you outline it?

7. How'd you decide it would be Hob's pov?

25-27 I'd love to know a/some favorite lines, details, and any lore you might want to share

omg TJ what wonderful questions! thank you!! this is going to get LONG!

4: Rambling about research!

do you wanna see a screen shot of my bookmarks under my "band au" folder?

man, and that's only what could fit on the screen.

there is... SO MUCH i chose to ignore for this fic. ideas that i had to drop, lines or extra details about the other band members equipment. more logistics, what Lucienne actually does, what Mervyn has to put up with as the new touring stage manager... i realized very early on that i couldn't possibly cram all this (super cool and eye opening) information into the fic and still keep reader's interest and, most importantly, to not stray away from the fact that this is a dreamling fic. whenever i felt myself getting carried away with a side character or job or even social media numbers, gossip, outside POVs, i had to reign myself in and get back on track. there will be time for exploring everything i missed in side stories after BitB is finished. i just hope i still have the energy to write it all.

once, i was so deep into research that after publishing chapter 2, i went into work and when my chef asked what "GA" meant on my prep list, i answered with full confidence, "general admission."

(it means "get ahead.")

the worst part of this entire writing process is im still learning new shit. i havent rewatched or read a lot of what i've saved because, to be very honest, i was feeling a little burnt out. it's why we're kinda full steam dreamling now. it's why ive been glossing over a lot of technical stuff and being vague about conversations amongst the crew/not including it at all. i don't prefer ignoring my research, but at the end of the day i want to still enjoy writing this fic and finish it. even if i can't be as descriptive and detailed and nuanced as i used to be.

5: Did you outline the fic?

(also asked by @hardly-an-escape!)

i wouldn't call what i have a proper "outline," it's more like a 20k word document filled to the brim with notes that i skim at least a dozen times while i'm writing a new chapter (being in my brain is literally hell). i live multichapter life very dangerously. i copy and paste lines or sections (always scattered, never together! augh!) that are meant to go together and plop them in a new document titled "band au ch.#" and then i structure the chapter around what i want to happen.

but to answer this question in the plainest of terms: yeah. i know exactly what's going to happen up until the very end. even if its all in my head and the only concrete shit that's written down are beats/plot points. i'll figure out the rest later!

7: How'd you decide it would be Hob's POV?

i actually never even considered writing it from Dream's POV. this was my first fic in the fandom (which is so nuts to think about lol) and writing in Dream's POV sounded so scary lol. i also just thought Hob's would be easier because i have worked a few backstage shows, back in my college years. i figured eh, i can make this work. and i loved exploring how weird and mysterious musicians can be, from a normie's POV. making Hob a fan first and having him worry about developing a parasocial relationship... it was fun to explore.

25: Share your favorite line

oh god, i have so many haha.

“What are you thinking about?” starting in ch.2 and onward lmao

“It’s–” Dream laughs quietly, bitterly. “I don’t like change.” He says each word with emphasis, eyes trailing down to fixate somewhere past Hob. “And I still hold onto the things I can control, like my instruments–” his eyes swing up to regard Hob apologetically. “Or my clothes or my–” he brings a hand up and wiggles his fingers around his head. “My hair.” ch.4

"His majesty is pleased." ch.5

“You are obsessive,” he states, slow and cool and with a quiet smile cracking through his composure. “Just like me.” ch.7

“You look good.” Hob has to lean in to say so, unwilling to raise his voice amongst the roar of the fans. ch.11

“Del looks like porcelain, but she’s actually made of steel.” Desire swirls the contents of their glass before pushing their shoulders back with a deep breath. “She's tougher than all of us.” ch.11

“Everything. I want…” his fingers tighten in Hob’s hair, pulling him closer, speaking against his lips. “…Everything.” ch.14

26: Share your favorite detail

how intentionally coy Dream behaves. i love keeping him a mystery and deciding when and how much to allow his intentions to peek through has been so fun lol.

Despair is in fact covered in tattoos and piercings! i say this because i feel like sometimes i forget lmao. (but also her and Hob don't interact much so. my bad haha).

Delirium's constant explosion of color in the way she dresses <3

Hob's dedication to his job, Dream, and the people he cares about the most. i don't care if people think i'm making him too soft and good, im gonna project on that man and make him a sweet, sweet simp lmao

and ah, this doesn't matter anymore, and i kinda regret doing it but. i originally had Dream's favorite bass all black but the pickguard was white. so it actually looked like Jessamy. not gonna lie when @designtheendless drew it all black i decided i liked it better that way. and truly i do. that's when i went back to ch.1 and changed it haha. to actually see the guitar with Dream, all done up sparkling black and purple flecks... gosh it's just so him. but then i got up to the reveal that the guitar's name was Jessamy and i was like, "oh, right." lmao. no one seems to care so i'll leave it be.

27: Share a piece of lore you made up for the story

i have a lot lmao. and this post is already so long... im hoping i can get to some if not all of it in side fics in the future. but for now, here's some that's more like headcanons but:

Dream hates flying. he can full on go into panic attacks on the plane if he allows himself to get into his own head.

this was mentioned briefly in ch.4, while Dream was discussing the formation of the band, but Despair was in another band before joining Endless. she is the only character in the fic who gets to keep her English roots (lol sorry) and is the oldest in the band (30).

all of the band members ages: Dream, Desire, and Death are all 28 and Delirium is 22.

Dream can experience subdrop after going too hard during a performance.

Dream paints his own nails, it's very therapeutic.

as an exercise, i explored my own headcanons for Dream in this verse in a word doc, and one thing i will share from it that you might find interesting: If I were to ever give Dream a theological values, I would describe him as a satanist. He is a physical and pragmatic person, nonconforming, and although he is introverted, he enjoys being a part of a community (he loves his band).

also found this in my notes: How Desire and Dream got along was Death making them fight it out. Hob raises an eyebrow “like in a brawl?” He couldn't imagine Desire throwing hands. “No, in a pillow fight that escalated in hair pulling and verbal taunts.”

fic writer asks

[mxcat777]

So what if

Dream is sort of Shakespeare's patron, right? So would that make Shakespeare on of His™? And if so, would he reside in the Dreaming after his death instead of the Sunless Lands?

'cause if so. Consider.

He's still writing. (A lot)

He keeps up with modern literature, but keeps writing (at least mostly) in Early Modern English (that's it, right? Do I have my lit facts straight?). Imagine his recent plays littered with slang, disney references, (un)subtle references to shit that was based on his stuff that he either loves or hates, both are good.

He's kind of a favourite of Dream's. The same way Lucienne and Jessamy and The Corinthian are. He can get away with saying shit, because if he offends Dream he can turn around and start sprouting some poetry at that vain-ass bitch and all is forgiven. (In the worst cases it takes a new play about his royal majesty the Dream King and how generous and benevolent and regal he is)

Fishbowling happens, not sure what Will would do, the plot bunny didn't care.

Dream is back, all is well, he goes to the New Inn, Hob and Dream are now officially Friends.

They meet up more bc friends see each other more often than once a century. Oh yeah friends also know each others' names and such. So Dream tells Hob a bit about himself.

At some point he's like, hey hob u wanna see the dreaming?

Hob's like yES PLz??

Hob gets a tour, and from that point on usually gets the option at night to dream normally or visit the palace.

On one fateful night, Hob decides to take a stroll through the library, goes looking for Marlowe's shelf, because he kind of wonders what other stuff that genius would have written had he lived longer.

Only to (maybe literally) bump into, you guessed it, Will Bloody Shaxberd.

He stares.

Will goes 'hey'.

And then Hob goes somewhat feral.

(no he is not over it, sue him, he's allowed to hold a grudge.)

He goes off on a rant about, see, ofc ur still plagiarizing marlowe he was so much better i can't believe dream left me for you you useless twat you couldn't write shit without him so why did you get the fucking privilege of living with him and knowing him for fucking centuries i had to fight 600 years for his bloody name and i'm guessing you got it right that first meeting hm?

And Will goes oh shit it's you! And then cuts Hob off with a "you're so right! I was an absolute shit playwright before your friend helped me!"

And Hob is... Understandably lost. This was not how it went in his head.

And then Will continues, I was so nervous the time right after that meeting, I knew he was some sort of supernatural being, no clue what though, he's really not good at introductions, is he, so I sort of assumed you were too, and I was waiting for your revenge for stealing your date away, recently found out you're actually human, albeit immortal, and it was not a date, though, speaking of, have you sorted yourselves out yet?

And Hob, quite understandably even more baffled, sort of gapes for a bit.

Before very nervously denying anything of the sort.

Will just stares.

And goes, bruv, you weren't subtle then, still aren't now, spare everyone else the UST, please, for the love of god, you two need to fuck post haste.

And Hob is like, hahaha, eh, yeah, nope, fun seeing you, BYE.

So Will sighs. And goes to see Lucienne, as any sensible person would.

Lucienne sighs as well. At which point Will steps to Dream himself.

"My lord?" "Yes, William?" "Forgive my directness, but so as not to risk any misunderstandings, what exactly is your relationship with Hob Gadling?" "We are friends. Why do you ask? Is that not clear?" "Well, to be perfectly honest, m'lord, I assumed you were... Involved™." "We are not." "But you'd like to be though, right?" "You dare presume to know-" " I dare presume to know what attraction, romance, love, all that looks like, sire. I must do, after portraying it in my plays for over four centuries. After writing several hundreds of sonnets on the topic." "I-" "In my humble opinion, my lord, it is a good match. He understands you, you continue to fascinate each other, he can provide a safe place where you need not be monarch for a moment. And of course, you are quite obviously attracted to one another sexually." "WILLIAM SH-" "Oh calm down! I'm certainly not judging either of you!" "...he is attracted to me?" "..." "Is he?" "YES! Lord give me faith! Kiss him! Go to him and teleport the both of you onto a bed! Or if you want to be sappy go slow and bring him a rose, but please, for the love of the collective sanity, do something!" "But how do you know? What if you misunderstood? What if it is unwelcome? I cannot lose him!"

At which point Will turns around, leaves the throne room, goes back to the library and rant to Lucienne

"I swear I'm going to write a play about them, just to point out how stupid this is. I feel compelled to call it a tragedy, but I think it needs to have a happy ending, otherwise Lord Broodphius would get stuck on the but what if it does end in tragedy, so I suppose a comedy would be fitting, but then again, this is too painful to watch to qualify as a comedy. Tragic comedy? Comic tragedy? I'll figure it out..."

And Lucienne is like, if you'd like to perform it properly I'm sure there are a few dreams who would be more than willing to help out, take on a role.

Hob comes back to the Dreaming a few days later and finds Will up to his elbows in paper, reference books, thesauruses and rhyming dictionaries (handy things those), and empty mugs and the like.

Will looks up, somewhat manic, and is like, Hob! Great! Just the person I wanted to see! Would you help me, please?

Hob's like, sure? Kind of apprehensive, but he gave everything some thought and decided that as long as he could go on dunking on him, he could let go of most of his jealousy (cuz that's what is was, he's mature enough to admit)

Will goes, Awesome! Tell me about you and Morphius! How do you see him, what's your story, I only ever get bits and pieces from his lordship, so I'm in severe need of some context...

And Hob is somewhat suspicious, but he indulges him, and really, telling the story comes too easy, so he gets into it completely and doesn't even notice when he starts slipping into rants about Dream, about how beautiful, and magnificent, and misunderstood, and kind, and way-out-of-his-league-but-god-dammit-he-went-and-fell-in-love-with-the-bastard-anyway he is

And Will takes studious notes.

And then goes like, so some of the sonnets I've written were with you two in mind, you wanna give me some feedback? (Ahem, sonnet 24/29, some others work too, undoubtedly, but I am no Shakespeare expert, unfortunately)

And he does something similar with Dream, maybe citing Hob's dislike of him as the reason he wants to know more about him without having to bother him overly much, like, I want to set things right between us, but I need to know more about him to do that, will you help me, m'lord

And he does

And Will just sits back and takes notes as Dream also spirals into a passion fueled rant about Hob

And all those notes end up in the eventual play

Auditions for the roles happen when Dream and Hob are out on a Not Date™ in the Waking.

There are surprisingly many auditioning for Hob's role, and surprisingly little for Dream's

Until Will points out that Dream would probably be more offended by an unworthy portrayal of his Love that of himself, at which point some of the dreams bow out entirely, bc Will knows how vain their lord is, so they decide not to risk unmaking and tactically retreat

Will is in his fucking element, it's been way too long since he's properly directed a play!

Eventually Will comes up to the Mutually Pining Idiots like, hey m'lord, Hob, I've written a new play, and I've been working with some of the dreams to make it happen, do you want to see??

So they watch. They watch as two absolute fucking idiots stumble around each other, everyone on and off stage can see how stupidly in love they are except for them, and both start sweating profusely when they start recognizing their own words quoted back at them.

The end of the play is something of a direct call-out and a plea from the dreams to please just talk to each other, fuck and get married, preferably in that order, but they're not picky.

Then everyone leaves them alone for the Conversation that is most likely going to happen.

Will stays behing hiding unobtrusively in the shadows tho.

He's not about to let all his work go to waste if these idiots ty to play it off again. He will lock them in a broom closet if he has to, watch him.

They don't.

Luckily.

There are like three sentences total spoken. Then they're aggressively making out.

Will leaves the room very content about his matchmaking skills.

And hey! He got a good play out of it, if he does say so himself!

[roguelov]

I've seen the idea of Morpheus x Matthew's daughter reader before and I love it because "Your chatty raven employee is your father in law and Your emo boss is your son in law" tickles me to no end, and grandpa Matthew babysitting their child would be so adorable, but yk, since my mind is infinitely in the gutter, it could goes like Morpheus is just so naughty and shameless. He loves christening the whole dreaming with reader and he always manages to melt her into a puddle despite her protesting that her dad might walk in on them, assuring her that he would sense Mathew from a distance if he's coming. But for a few time the poor raven nearly catches these two in the act. Morpheus is probably able to remain stoic and pristine, but reader looks very flustered. So Matthew has a very good guess of what they've been up to and reader and Morpheus can infer that Mathew's most likely aware of their activities given his suspicious tone. But they are not gonna talk about it.

Oh my god 😂😂😂 I love this! Dream the king of smugness vs the suspicious father constantly battling it out while you are stuck in the middle silently begging for death

Your back pressed into the wall of this confusing hallway. While, Dream nuzzled his face into your neck. His mouth nibbled along your neck, enjoying the soft breathy sounds you made.

“Dream - ah, oh, okay, wait. Aren’t you supposed to meet with my - ah!” You moaned as his tongue swirled around his fresh bite. Your knees nearly buckled under his teases.

“You worry too much,” he murmured into your skin. “If Matthew comes I will know.”

“Yes, yes, I know you know but -“ His legs slotted between your legs. You gasped at the minimal friction. Your hands latched onto the front of his coat. “Shit,” you hissed.

“Such vile words, my dear, perhaps I will put your mouth to better use,” he teased.

Your heart flipped.

“Boss! You here?”

Only for your heart to drop into the pit of your stomach. An icy chill rushed over your hot, flushed skin.

Dream sighed deeply. He pulled away from you, and straightened out his clothes. His eyes flickered over to you. Amusement twinkled in his eyes. He reached out fixing you while you stared in horror and shock. His eyes dropped to your neck, and a flicker of a smirk tugged on his lips. Clearing his throat, he stepped out of your hiding spot. “Yes, Matthew?”

Matthew swooped over, landing on the floor. “Sorry, boss, but Lucienne -“

The raven’s eyes darted over, catching you not particularly hidden well in shadows. His beady eyes jumped between the two of you. You avoided your father’s gaze. You were an adult, and yet in this moment you felt like a teenager again caught red handed.

“What does Lucienne need, Matthew?” Dream asked, suppressing his smugness.

Matthew ruffled his feathers. He knew what just transpired, and he buried his usual fatherly instincts. “She needed help, talking about a library expansion with the flood of new books and stories being dreamt of.”

Matthew’s tone was short, despite who he was speaking with.

“Of course, thank you, Matthew.” Dream turned towards you. “Shall we continue this later?”

Your mouth fell open. He did not just -

Dream only chuckled to himself before walking off. Matthew looked to you. You continue to avoid his gaze as you crossed your arms hiding your embarrassment behind your anger.

“Come, Matthew.” Dream called out.

Matthew sighed, before flying after Dream. Internally, he debated asking for a bell around his talon to avoid any more of these encounters. His stomach twisted into knots. He didn’t need to know when his daughter and his boss were having their fun.

[two-hands-toward-the-sun]

fic writer asks 7, 17, and 22 👀👀👀👀 i love ur writing and I'd love to listen to you talk about it!!!

AWWW that is TOO KIND 🥺🥺 it makes me so so happy to hear that!! Fuck!!

ANYWAY *unmelts myself so I can answer your questions*

From this ask game; anyone is welcome to send them in!

7. A fic of yours you think is underrated?

OUGH. I’m gonna go with my Mazikeen/Lucifer ficlet “i am singing now while rome burns.” Getting into Mazikeen’s head was a super fun challenge, and I like how all the prose fell into place. I worked hard on getting the characterisation as correct as I could get it, considering it’s just a 400 word story xD. And I’m just??? So into that panel in Season of Mists where Mazikeen and Lucifer tongue-fuck right in front of Dream??? It’s everything to me. That moment, combined with the Everything of Cassie Clare as Mazikeen and Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, should have birthed at least a hundred fics in my HUMBLE OPINION. (Shout-out to @zorawitch who has done so much for the Mazifer nation!!)

17. Have you ever or would you ever write a fic in first person POV?

I certainly have! For about a year I was writing fics for a certain book series (I still have a fondness for it, but there are aspects of it that I’m now uncomfortable with so it shall go unnamed in this post), and they’re written in first person. The POV character has an incredibly distinctive voice and it was SO fun to try to capture it, and I think I did a pretty good job of it generally. Most of those fics were posted to a private series-specific fanfiction site, but now I’m thinking I should cross-post them to AO3 anonymously…

I’d certainly write first person fics again if the opportunity presented itself! Probably only for book series that are written in first person, though.

22. Pick out a random line from a fic you're really proud of

Oh I LOVE this question!!! Thanks so much for asking it!

Let’s see—after some deliberation, I decided to go with: Laughter bubbled out of Lucienne’s throat, and she felt so light; no, she amended to herself, she felt heavy with the weight of the woman she loved and who loved her, and it was glorious.

It’s from my very first Sandman fic, “our place in the sun.” (It’s also the first Lucienne/Calliope fic on the archive hehehe. I love creating ship tags! I’ve done it…three or four times now?) I think this sentence flows very well. Heaviness is often associated with negative emotions and lightness with positive, and I enjoyed flipping that around! Also they’re just ridiculously cute in that fic, my GOD.

Thanks for sending me such a great set of collections and for being generally so lovely about my work 💕💕 it is so, so deeply appreciated. Have a good night or day!

[pinksirensong]

Karma - with Lord Dream!! I love that song so much. And I think we can all agree that Morpheus is a big grumpy cat “Karma is my boyfriend, Karma is god - Karma is cat!”

I love that song too!! Anti-Hero is my fav, but Karma is on my top 5. Hope it's what you thought.

Oh, how revenge was sweet. No, not revenge, it was karma. Dream of the Endless had this karma coming back to him ages ago. He was the one who would always leave her alone to do things at his realm and although she knew he had responsibilities there she also knew that most of its Lucienne could gladly take care of, but he was too proud to ask. If he wanted to act like that Y/N would show him the good old karma.

For the next couple of days she avoided the Dreaming, it wasn’t hard because as Johanna’s friend she had access to means to sleep without dreaming. That would piss him off, because the almighty King of Dreams and Nightmares would rather set the Corinthian free than set his foot at the waking world without needing it. Y/N knew it wouldn’t be enough, she had to go big for that one and once again she was lucky to have Jo at her side.

 - He is definitely going to murder us. – was the first thing her friend said when she saw her outfit.

 - We are going out to have some fun, is it wrong for me to dress up a little?

 - A little? – perhaps she was right, Y/N indeed looked like the own goddess of beauty. If Morpheus was here, she would never leave the bedroom let alone leave the house to party.

 - Well, my friend. Today karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend. – she got her purse and left her house with Jo. – It’s going to be fun, just you and me. Perhaps today will be the day you get drunk enough to call Z, huh? She’s hot and put up with your shit.

 - You are also hot and put up with my shit.

 - Yeah, but I can’t have sex with you while Z can.

 - Can we drop the Zatanna subject?

 - For now, dear Jo. Come on, let’s have so fun. – the taxi was waiting for them, neither noticed that they were being watched. Morpheus was watching everything and didn’t like what he saw. Y/N, his Y/N, going out at night after nights without going to see him? It was ironic he was at his feline form, because sweet like honey, karma is a cat.

The club was full, and it wasn’t a surprise that a ton of eyes were on Y/N, males and females, and it was so fun for her to be desired even if it wasn’t for the one she truly wished would be here looking at her like this. Was it too much to ask to him to make some effort? She was tired of playing this game strictly by his rules, it was her time to command now.

 - Hello, pretty lady. Would you like to dance? – normally she would just ignore it, but today was anything but normal because Y/N could feel him. She didn’t need to see him to feel his stare and his jealous. Oh, today, sweet like justice, karma is a queen.

 - I would love to. – Jo was surprised with her friend’s answer, but after Y/N mouthed that Morpheus was there she understood that their plan was working. None knew if it was a good thing, but alcohol would numb whatever doubt they had. Dream of the Endless could be like a grumpy cat, no wonder he loved that form so much, he was territorial and liked to demonstrate affection and love in his way when he wanted to. Seeing her smiling while dancing with that other man made his blood boil, but perhaps he needed it to understand that things could not go only his way. He could almost hear Desire’s voice at his head saying, “aren't you envious that for you it's not?”, the answer would be yes.

 - Let’s get out of here, babe.

 - Not gonna happen, it was fun but I’m not single. – Y/N hoped that would be enough for her to leave her alone, but that wasn’t the case.

 - Come on, you don’t need to use this excuse with me, let’s have some fun. – he tried to pull her by her arm, but she used her strength at her favour. Not even a second later he was being shove away from her.

 - Morpheus! – she was surprised that he interfered but was so glad for it. He was worried about her and not angry. Dream loved and trusted her, but no other being would ever touch her like that, no one had the right to try force her to do anything.

 - She said no. – her beloved said, if looks could kill this mortal would be dead ten times already.

 - Who the fuck are you?

 - Her boyfriend! – Y/N never heard he use this word about them, they knew of their status and wanted to be more one day, but never once he called himself her boyfriend. She though “Cause karma is my boyfriend, karma is a God” this man would never have one more good night of sleep. Morpheus didn’t wait another second to take his lover hand and leave that terrible place, she only had time to text Jo to warn her that not only she was leaving but Zatanna was arriving to take her home. Y/N, always the cupid. Using his sand at the first opportunity, he took them to her house where he spent the night showing how much he loved her and that he would do anything to make her happy. If he was her karma she would gladly accept and cherish it, because as Taylor Swift once said:

Karma is the guy on the screen, comin’ straight home to me.

[lananiscorner]

The Sandman rewatch - episode 9

So I like to do this thing where, if I didn’t consider a show a complete waste of time and if it does have an actual arc spanning the season, I watch the season twice–once as a binge watch and then once more episode by episode, because it helps me notice things I didn’t notice at first, especially in cases like this where I’m almost entirely unfamiliar with the source material.

Anyway, any and all chronological thoughts and ramblings about episode 9 of The Sandman beneath the cut, because spoilers.

“I don’t know how she did it, but I think Rose just got Lyta pregnant.” That’s a good way to start a convo, Matthew lol.

I love Lucienne’s malicious compliance with her “new” old role. And Matthew is so offended on her behalf. XD

Okay, so we can expand the list of “people the Corinthian is good with and let’s live” from “like-minded serial killers and gays” to “like-minded serial killers, gays and kids” lol.

This “cereal convention” is honestly the best fictional idea ever. Like, it crosses more lines than a bunch of hopscotching kids. Also, as an avid pun lover myself, I appreciate all the murder puns when Jed and the Corinthian arrive at the convention.

The Good Doctor looking at a fellow criminal chatting up Jed: “You may want to advise him to stay clear of the convention areas” lol.

“Where we’re going, we won’t need to defend ourselves” says Rose heading towards a convention of serial killers XDDDD.

Okay… so Lyta’s pregnancy advanced a couple of months in her dreams…

Hector: “Does this look like a nightmare to you?” Lyta: “Not at all.” Giant cracks in the ground: *looming ominously*

Omg, Dream is so fish-out-of-water asking Lucienne for advice/help lol.

Omg, Unity is so sweet it’s heartbreaking. “I’m going to have a life after all.” You’re killing me here, Unity.

Awww, Rose is worried she and her brother may have changed too much to get along. Understandable. That cut to Jed eating chicken fingers in his bathrobe is gold though.

And of course Jed goes looking for trouble the second he’s unsupervised. This is why I will never have kids.

Alright so, taking Hector out of the dreaming after giving him a chance to say goodbye? Fair. Immediately aftwards telling Lyta that you’ll take away her baby eventually? Kind of a dick move, Dream.

Not gonna lie, Rose this-dream-is-over-ing Dream was kind of badass.

Damn, Rose just casually swiping those tags…

I just LOVE this entire montage of Gilbert checking in on those convention panels. You can see he’s mildly confused in the first one (“Make it pay”, which, if you don’t yet know that they are serial killers, sounds like it could be about animal hunting), somewhat perplexed in the second one (“Woman’s Work”, which sounds mostly innocuous until the mention of “brute force” in the end), and then finally the shoe drops in the last one (“Religion”) and he just has a massive “oh crap” moment.

Oh my god, Philip Sitz has to be THE worst ultra-fan ever. Seriously? Promoting your own blog with your own photo and your own RL name on it when you’re trying to infiltrate a serial killer convention? He couldn’t be more set up to get killed if he was called Leeroy Jenkins and wearing a red shirt.

Also, Gilbert’s look of absolute horror when he sees the Corinthian makes sense when you know that Gilbert is also part of the Dreaming.

Awww, Dream admitting to Lucienne that he was wrong… these two melt my heart. In a strictly platonic way, but still, melting.

So Gilbert left because he wanted to experience life in the human world. Can’t blame him, honestly.

Of course Jed walks in on the Corinthian just as he’s about to kill Philip… and runs straight into Fun Land. Talk about the fish jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

Poor Gilbert learning about Rose being a vortex and that he’s now made it easier for Dream to find and kill her.

[calderskillday]

A STARSTRUCK ODYSSEY EPISODE 18 LIVEBLOOOGGGG!!!!!!

ok friends it's time im finally starting it!!!! likely will not finish it today (saturday may 21) but i'm starting it and that's what matters

starting with chaos, just the way i like it! snarf!

(emily in red,,,, yeah)

PRILBUSSS!

love when they bring stuff from the adventuring party into the episode skfjkfg "outliers"

SPICY SJFHJFG

"the girls" IM CRYING that was so cute

hahahaha emily slyly looking around the table to see if anyone caught her chumbawumba joke

lmao brennan is so discouraged rolling these saves for riva, gotta love it!!!!

"cap, good luck!" hahahaha oh No

GAHH ZAC'S PLAN FOILED BY UNCANNY DODGE

BARRY BARRY BARRY

oh let's GO baby

YEAH AURORA NEBBINS!!!!

... what IS the nature of micro ftl jumps,,,,, LOU WILSON

oh my god

LMAO THE CAPTION (laughing in the face of uncertainty)

PASSING THE DICE AROUND THE TABLE TO KISS THEM

oh my god that was such a finale moment

this is INSANE

ally not being able to stop chuckling at "barry 69" is so funny

WHAT IS THAT DJFHIGJGG WHY ARE THEY SINGING I CANT FEEL MY FACE SHAHAMDGKJG,,,, ah yes lmao love those off camera bits

!!!!!!!!! nat 20 on a direction from riva!!!!!!!

"you've cussed at me" HAHAHA

what a fun plan

remember, you don't die till i die... tomorrow 😭😭😭

LOOSE DUKE??!?!?!?!!?!?!

BRENNAN'S TRIUMPHANT DANCE SOFNLDGJG

BARRY ON MY WAYWARD SON

omg i left and forgot to save this draft (rookie mistake) sorry we are missing an hour's worth of thoughts

making deals pays OFFFF BABY

there's so much going on in this combat i love it

lmao sid putting on all the sunglasses 🥺

EMILY SIFJFOG

HAHAHA NOT THE POWDERED IMITATION EGG SUBSTITUTE

YEAH USING GNOSIS TO ZERO EVERYBODY'S MEDICAL DEBTS

"everyone's stunned or dead" nice job gunner channel

lucienne's breakdown <3

let's go skip!!!!!!

oh babey juice it UP

YEAH MURPH NAT 20S ARE GREAT

ELEVEN D6 PLUS 10 WITH ADVANTAGE AND GREAT WEAPONS FIGHTING

OH MY GOD IT WORKED JUST BARELY

right on :))))

oh no i'm gonna cry, skipper giving gunnie co-pilot wings :')

brennan doing servo sam gives me so much serotonin

"it's just like... i did that years ago y'know" LMAO M ARGE

awwww riva 🥺

GUNNIEEEEEE LMAOOOO

WOW WHAT A CAMPAIGN FOLKS!!!!!!!! see you in the stars!!!!!!

[lvcienne]

♡ — ‹ memory › 「 to fall out of love. 」

from when lucienne was in high school & the tragedies that become of it.

     her fingers are curled around a red solo cup as the bass of the music resonates within her. she’s watching clusters of people entangled with each other all around the house of some fraternity -- she doesn’t remember which but she knows that her ‘ friends ’ snuck her into a stanford house and now she’s here with beer warming her insides. what she does remember is her father yelling at her for her most recent B of the marking period and how she’ll never become a doctor if she won’t take high school seriously. she remembers calling her boyfriend and hiding her real emotions in favor of some adrenaline that will distract her of the anger burrowing deep in her stomach. she pretends not to remember how much she hates the inattention that she receives from her father and stepmother and she will pretend that she does not care.

     although her fingers are drumming to the beat that the speakers produce, lucienne is not in the mood for dancing. her eyes are wandering, searching for ian among the dense crowd. he was the one who brought her to the party and it was his car that she snuck out to from her bedroom window. she doubts that her father nor her stepmother has noticed or would care if they saw that she left it open for the curtains to billow. and although she does not want to dance, she simply wishes for his presence.

     luci doesn’t recall falling as hard for anyone as she did for ian. she met him in her english class, only six months ago. she had spotted him -- bright green eyes that spoke of the forests she used to walk through with her family -- and it wasn’t much later before he appeared at her locker and decided to take her out to dinner. since then, she had given her heart over to him with a silent vow to be better than her parents’ no-longer-existing marriage. she would give the universe to him if she could, would give him anything ( she is blinded by this; she will not see the that he will only give her the sun in return ) . she loves him, uses the word so easily, and she knows that he loves her and it is that which she clings to in hopes of feigning that the rest of the world is alright.

     but she can’t find him in this moment and she’s desperate to discover where he disappeared so she finds one of her ‘ friends ’ in the kitchen, one that happened to come along with her and ian. her ‘ friends ’ had prepared this whole operation of infiltrating a frat party and were milling about -- dancing, flirting, drinking. her friend, naomi, has mascara running down her cheeks and her eyes are puffy but there’s a glass bottle in her hands and smears of black on the back of her hand. she’s leaning against the counter and staring at the tiles. lucienne almost asks what’s wrong, what happened, but the unspoken code of the group says not to care too much and she abides by it. she buries her concern in lame comments and self-centered questions.

     “ you have mascara all over you. you should clean up. ” lucienne’s obvious statement earns a blank stare from naomi but her mouth twitches into a smile anyways, the both of them well in practice of hiding emotions and interest in others’ lives. 

     “ i guess i do, ” naomi replies with a small giggle but if lucienne’s senses had not been buried so deep, she would detect that her tone was void of the emotions that were supposed to make naomi sound convincing.

     “ have you seen ian ? ” lucienne inquires with a tilt of her head, a deflection from the real problem. “ i lost him. this party’s way crazier than i thought it would be. ”

     “ i think he went upstairs ? i’m not sure. ”

     “ thanks. ” and so lucienne left her crying friend in the kitchen of an unknown frat because the group had curated her carelessness and she prefers to be accepted by the group than anything else.

     she traverses the staircase and it’s a relief for the music to be muffled upstairs -- she’d have to admit that whoever was picking the music had poor taste. she begins walking down one part of the hallway that the stairs opened up to. there’s only a few people talking or making out. luci turns around, about to give up, when a door swings open and her world shatters. the people talking, the music thumping below, the noise outside the house -- it all becomes muffled to her. the world pauses on its axel as she watches two familiar people -- utter strangers in the moment -- stumble out of a bedroom. they’re laughing and touching and holding hands and walking way too close. lucienne’s eyes are darting back and forth to process it, having to register that yes it is her boyfriend who is holding hands with yes her considered ‘ best friend ’ in the group.

     they haven’t seen her yet and she’s considering all the different scenarios as to why her boyfriend is with someone else and maybe she’ll just ignore it and that she should trust him -- then he leans down to kiss her and her heart is splintered into millions of pieces on a hallway floor. her hands are curled up into fists, but it does nothing to contain any lava beginning to erupt within her lungs. 

     “ what the hell ? ” is her first reaction as she takes two steps back and nearly knocks into someone else, dark eyes widening as every word she speaks now cements the truth she desperately wants to ignore. “ this cannot be happening ” -- she points an accusing finger towards her best friend and then her boyfriend -- “ oh my god. ” tears are beginning to blur her vision and she can feel one escaping out of the corner of her eye, driving a river down her cheek.

     “ i can explain, luci, ” her best friend says, taking a step towards her but luci backs away even farther -- they are both strangers to her now.

     “ no, fuck this, ” ian snaps bluntly and walks right up to lucienne, her eyes just as puffy and mascara just as smeared as naomi’s in the kitchen. “ you know what, lucienne ? the big secret is that you were a bet and that’s all you meant to me. the guys put a bet that i could sweep you off your feet by the end of the school year and guess what ? i did. you fell so hard so quickly -- it’s pathetic, lucienne. ”  

     there is silence that resounds in the hallway and any other conversation that was emerging has vanished. her hands are shaking as she stares at ian with black tears, searching for a sign on his face that resembles the fact that this is a joke, that what he’s telling her is a prank and she’s waiting for the rest of her group to come out and surprise her and laugh it off with her. but of course, it never comes, and she is still as her heart is stepped on by ian, each shard paining her. and then, the final blow that sends it all crumbling:

     “ i never loved you lucienne. so get the fuck over it. ” 

     there are castles that she’s built in her head and every stone in its walls are being blown apart. the explosions are resounding in her ears and the dam in her mind that’s been sealed off is threatening to flood over. lucienne’s eyes flare with anger for only a single moment before she can feel fire in the back of her throat and a crack echoes as the back of her hand connects with his cheek.

     “ you’re a dick, ian, ” she retorts, each word said with emphasis and pounding vexation, his name now poison in her mouth. “ have fun fucking my ex best friend. ”

     she races past them to head for the stairs, her shoulder purposely tossed into her ( ex ) best friend’s arm as more tears are about to spill over. luci doesn’t bother turning her face towards the kitchen and instead heads straight into the california air. the door flings open and the breeze immediately hits her face as she gasps for air. she stalks to the curb and sits down as sobs rack her body, tears spilling without a fuck given because she’s still trying to process what she just witnessed. 

     she's tempted to throw the pieces of her heart into the street for the cars to run over or into the fireplace inside for them to burn. she wants to forget about ian fucking her best friend and it takes some time before the burning sensation in her rib cage simmers and it’s replaced by a flood. 

     she had made so many promises to him, had given him every goddamn piece of her because she really would have done anything for him. she loved him, she loved him, and every thought about him in the past tense was devastating. she clings to the memory of them kissing in crowded hallways and them holding hands at lunch and their dates to the movie theater and savors them as they were before she knew they were only lies. and in the future she’ll call him just for the voicemail and cling to the pre-recorded voice of a time that she’d never thought she’d miss.

     but she does not throw away her heart. she instead takes the pieces and gently stitches them back together. it will never be perfect but she cannot find it within herself to leave her rib cage vacant. she stands up and dusts herself off. she wipes the tears from her face and she doesn’t care about the remaining black residue on her cheeks or on her hands. she doesn’t care that ian left her in the dust and that she had spilled her heart for him and all he did was squash the remains. she doesn’t care that her best friend was no longer trustworthy and pretended to act remorseful. she doesn’t care that her father doesn’t pay attention. and she’ll tell herself that she doesn’t give a damn about anyone or anything because it’s easier to lie. she’ll walk back into the fraternity and dance like hell and down a second cup of alcohol because she doesn’t know how else to deal with it besides distracting herself from her problems.

     lucienne delgado zips up her heart and only revels harder; love has made her grown hard but what she does not know is that she will open up her heart again and it will make her grow soft. she does not know that loving and hurting will be a cycle and she does not know that later she will embrace this. soft hearts are curated in fire and this is only one inferno.

[two-hands-toward-the-sun]

20 Questions For Fic Writers!

Thank you so much for the tag, @honeyteacakes!! I loved reading your responses. This was so much fun to do.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

35! Some of them are locked to attempt to minimise AI scraping.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

44,236 holy shit

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently, I’m pretty deeply embedded in the Sandman-verse. But I’ve also written an AC Odyssey fic recently.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I’m skipping this one because I embedded so many links in this post and I don’t wanna do it anymore. 😂 And people can just filter by kudos on AO3 if they’re interested.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I respond EXTREMELY slowly, but I make every effort to reply to comments when I have the energy to spare. It means a lot to me when people take the time to tell me what they liked about my stories.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oooh. Good question. It’s either “pour the dirt into our bed” (Ranger’s Apprentice, referencing homophobia faced in a queerplatonic relationship) or “if you want voices in the dark, listen to mine” (Good Omens, after a temptation gone wrong.)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I write a fair amount of tender stories, so there are a lot of possible answers to this one! Potentially it’s “our place in the sun” (Sandman, Lucienne/Calliope domestic fluff) which is all about coming to rest and settling into love. Another option is “throw down that spade and dig up the garden” (Good Omens, Ineffable Husbands) which is about…pretty much the same thing, now that I think about it. 😂

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thankfully not. I genuinely can’t understand why people leave hate comments on fics. Sure, there’s a lot of things I take issue with in certain fandoms, but I bitch about that stuff strictly IN MY OWN SPACE, I absolutely do not barge into other people’s spaces to do it. I never will and you can hold me to that.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I WANT TO. I’m working on it!! I actually have a smut prompt ask game queued up for next year, when I’ll have fewer writing obligations. As for what kind, I want to write so much femslash smut. There is devastatingly little in the Sandman fandom.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

OHOHOHO. I have written a Los Simuladores/Good Omens crossover and it is genuinely one of my favorite stories that I’ve ever written. “every morning the same big and little words all spelling out desire” is appropriately zany, hopefully sexy, and seasoned with a dash of angst to balance the flavors.

(Shout out to @jlemonster for writing such a glowing post about it, it makes me happy just remembering it.)

Another crossover I’m working on is Johanna Constantine/Mary Poppins. I PROMISE it will make sense when it’s written. …well, maybe. 😂

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes!!! As part of Fandom Trumps Hate this year I had two fics of mine wonderfully translated into Spanish by @yourneighborhoodneighbor and it was an amazing experience.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope. I don’t know if that would work with my writing habits, tbh. Maybe someday though, if the right idea and right person come along!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Oh GOD. Complicated question!! There are ships I’m currently enamored of, obviously, but who knows if they’ll stand the test of time? I know that Kaz/Inej (Six of Crows) and Irina/Jack (Alias) did something to my adolescent brain that may never be undone, but that’s the closest I can get to an answer to this question.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I’ve got a Good Omens Ineffable Wives AU inspired by Anne of Green Gables that is very dear to me, and has many aspects I’m extremely proud of, but I don’t know if I’ll ever finish it. My interest in Good Omens has flagged of late and unfortunately I don’t know if I’ll complete many of my WIPs for that fandom!

16. What are your writing strengths?

I like to think I have a good grasp on characters’ voices! Also, I think I write tactile and descriptive details well.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

TRANSITIONS ARE THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I have done it once!!! For the aforementioned Los Simus fic. It was so much fun, and a good challenge for me. The dialogue was in Spanish (with very valuable help from @thisisnotjuli) and I loved writing how the two characters spoke in somewhat differing dialects.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Oh, lord. Probably Harry Potter? By hand, in a notebook from the dollar store. I was probably about eight or nine.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

They’re my children. My babies. My beloved frogspawn. I can’t give a definite answer, but…two of the stories that I worried my lip over the most for dread of failing to do them justice, the ones I think I put the most heart and consideration and care into, are “it’s an old song (and we’re gonna sing it again)” (Sandman, Calliope & Dream + healing and rediscovery and intimacy and changed but no less important relationships) and “sister dear, bear me away” (Good Omens, a human AU about gender discovery).

No pressure tags: the usual suspects <3 @pyrocephalus-rubinus @fatcatgospel and Juli, as well as @zorawitch @azi-sings-calliope @cosmictapestry, and anyone else who reads this and wants to talk about their creations!!

[two-hands-toward-the-sun]

Five Comfort Characters

Thank you for tagging me @windsweptinred 💛💛💛 it was fun reading about your “gaggle of glorious bastards” 😁

Let me see…

Joan Watson (CBS Elementary)

God, where do I start with Joan??? In I think Season 4 or 5 a character calls her “one of the most whole people I’ve ever known.” Which is. Goddamn. She’s kind and clever and brave and tough as fucking nails and I adore her. She’s also the best Asian Usamerican representation I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing on my TV!

Lucienne (The Sandman Netflix)

Of course Lucienne is on this list. She has this kind of steadfastness that I absolutely adore. She’s grounded. She knows where she stands, and she is nigh unto unshakeable. I would love NOTHING more than to cuddle up with her in a cosy nook and read together for a while.

Calliope (The Sandman Netflix)

I wanted to only have one character per piece of media, but c’mon. How could I not include Calliope? 😂 I can only be so strong. Something that really strikes me about Calliope is that…she just seems to know herself so well. She’s so centered. She knows who she is, and what she deserves, and she will be unrelenting on that point. I love her so much.

Marilla Cuthbert (Anne of Green Gables Books)

Marilla!!! God. Something that to this DAY just gets me about this book series is that Marilla’s love becomes Anne’s anchor. Young Anne never had an adult that gave a shit about her until she came to Green Gables, and by the time Anne is a young adult herself she is so acutely conscious of “steadfast, abiding love” that always waits for her there. There’s one part in the third book where Marilla thinks about how of her sixty years, she has only lived the ones after Anne came into her life—this child who brought sunlight into her life and showed her a vibrantly different way of living. Marilla’s whole arc after initially-reluctantly adopting Anne is so beautiful.

Hamnet (The Underland Chronicles)

Hamnet…oh. I have so much admiration for the decisions he made, and the strength of the convictions that drove him forward. And he seems like he was SUCH a good dad too???? I wish we’d had more than one book with him.

I tag @anonymousdandelion and @tickldpnk8 and anyone else who wants to do this! <3

[lananiscorner]

The Sandman rewatch - episode 7

So I like to do this thing where, if I didn’t consider a show a complete waste of time and if it does have an actual arc spanning the season, I watch the season twice–once as a binge watch and then once more episode by episode, because it helps me notice things I didn’t notice at first, especially in cases like this where I’m almost entirely unfamiliar with the source material.

Anyway, any and all chronological thoughts and ramblings about episode 6 of The Sandman beneath the cut, because spoilers.

Well, we’re starting this episode off on a lovely note. Rose’s dad can get fucked for all I care.

You know you’re messed up when the anthropomorphic personification of Despair tells you that you’ve gone too far.

Oh, so the whole business with Nada was Desire’s fault too? I guess there’s one in every family…

Rose has guts going straight from “sure, I’ll pay you” to “you’re not hiring by any chance, right?”

It’s nice to see Lucienne actually being wrong about something for a change. Also, I wanna know what’s residing in Abel’s basement. lol

Wow, Dream’s castle is looking nice again. Took him barely any time to fix the place up, huh?

Aww, Matthew is volunteeering to help out Dream by watching over Rose in the waking world.

Lyta and Rose’s banter about the annoyance of getting asked for ID or not XDDD. Relatable.

I remember watching this episode for the first time and being very impressed by the way they had handled setup and payoff in this show, and honestly, I still am. Quick story writing lesson: setup and payoff refers to introducing a plot point/item/character etc. early in a way that doesn’t disturb the plot and immediately scream “hey this is is important—remember this!” in spite of it becoming important later. If done right, the audience will go “oh wait, it’s plot point/item/character X from that earlier scene/episode!” when they get to the important part. This show is excellent with setup and payoff. So many things that may seem like filler/fluff actually make sense later. Good job, writers!

I love how Unity was so worried Rose would just be like “you’re crazy, I’m leaving”, yet the first thing Rose does when finding out that she’s got a great-grandma is hug her. ;_;

Omg the serial killer get-together! I love how this starts out like a totally normal conversation, then they mention the Corinthian and you might think “okay, maybe they’re talking about a different Corinthian or maybe he is like… a super famous chess player or something whenever he’s not murdering people”… and then she pulls out the picture of an eyeless murder victim and calls it exquisite and your brain just screeches to a halt like “what the fuck did I just walk into?”

And I just realize where I remember Rose’s friend Carl from—he was the doppelgänger on The Witcher!

Jesus Christ, the Good Doctor. XDD She’s not crossing the line, she’s dancing back and forth over it.

Oh hey, the fates are back! This can only end in tears.

“Beware dreams and houses”--that’s gotta be the most useless advice ever lol.

Unity just casually dropping the “oh btw, our family is loaded” bomb XD.

Lmfao, Carl here just casually seducing a walking nightmare.

Oh, that’s a picture of the girl from two episodes ago! Judy, I think?

“Any unusual behavior.” - “Said the pumpkin to the talking bird.” Lmao, please don’t ever change, Matthew.

I swear to god, Hal looks exactly like one of my former co-workers. I had to look up his actor to make sure my ex-co-worker hadn’t gone to Hollywood.

Also, I adore Zelda and Chantal. Fun fact: there were exactly two sub culture groups for girls in my middle/high school (in Germany, we don’t separate those two)--you either went with the fake tan bitches, or the goth rock punks. The latter were infinitely more inclusive.

I genuinely do feel for both Rose and the foster care case worker in this scene. There’s only so much you’re allowed to do by law and it’s just an all around shitty situation for everyone.

That said, the moment she mentioned the money, I knew where this was going.

Gilbert is amazing. And so much of his demeanor makes sense once you know who he really is.

Oh great, the Corinthian has found his people. This cannot end badly for anyone, nope.

Rose just casually strolling into Dream’s throne room and you can tell from the look on his face that he’s going “aw damn, so much for her not being an active threat—I might actually really have to end up killing this girl”.

Yep, Jed’s foster father is a piece of shit. Now we know where those 800/month are going.