walk through the walls

Rachel. 27. Has a weak spot for tragic ships, sadistic villains, and beautiful words. Feel free to message me about anything, I don't bite. A_Minyard on ao3

[sargentsblu]

some highlights of these two dummies being impossibly in love and even more impossibly stupid about it

[bundibird]

I'm feelin some feelin's about Gault -- the nightmare who so wanted to be a dream, who tried to save a little boy by giving him the best dreams she possibly could, where his mother was there and he was a hero -- choosing that Jed's hero identity should be The Sandman. She crafted a world where Jed was a hero in his dreams, and the person she based his powers and identity on was Dream. Her creator. Even despite the fact that he made her as a nightmare, a creature designed to inspire fear, and even though he then "abandoned" her and the rest of the Dreaming... and even still, he was the most heroic person she could think of. Being a superhero was a dream come true for Jed and the best superhero she could think of was, in spite of everything, The Sandman. I'm going to cry.

[nat-ong]

The Corinthian walks into a bar..

Bartender: How would you like your drink, Sir?

The Corinthian: Just 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 it.

[asofternezushi]

a softer world

[milfzatannaz]

once upon a time I used to do traditional inking so I decided to bring out the brush pens and draw Morpheus 😌

[pandalandalopalis]

tom sturridge said neil gaiman described dream’s voice like this: “He is the voice inside of your head, he is the voice that invites you to sleep and that guides you through your dreams.” 

no wonder his voice sounds so soothing, it’s intended to be that way. and by god tom fucking NAILED IT

[lizajane2]

I can’t get over the moment Dream stands close to Calliope. It’s living in my head rent free. His whole demeanor changes. All his emotions that he buried before stepping into that room, spilled over. His chest heaved, he spoke in a more gentle tone and looked at Calliope with such agony and adoration. There is so much heartbreak between these two. And you can feel it through the screen.

One more thing, “Hold your tongue.” The fear he instilled in Richard in that moment was so satisfying. Fucker, deserved what he got.

Tom’s acting is phenomenal!! If he’s not given an Emmy for his performance, I will lose my absolute fucking mind.

[klaasje]

my kitty cat was wandering around going ‘mrrph?” so i was like “in here!” he goes “mrrph!” shoves open my bedroom door with his big round head and FLOPS on me. as in hard enough that he made a little “oof” noise when he did it. followed by a category five purring event. there’s good in this world mr frodo etc

[darlingod]

Underrated Cardan moment:

[zinniax]

Underrated things Cardan has said in QON

{Cardan smiling with satisfaction that he knows it’s Jude and not Taryn but doesn’t want her to know that he knows it’s her} Cardan- “As you wish. Then I suppose I will have to examine you alone in my chambers”

<>

Cardan- “… And who did I find in her little dwelling but Taryn? We all had quite a lot to say to one another”

<>

Cardan- “do not touch her”

<>

Cardan- “Your father sent me a message. It was very unfriendly. He seems to blame me for the death of his daughter”

Jude- “Ah”

<>

Cardan- “I assume you weren’t actually trying to shoot me since the note was in your handwriting”

<>

Jude- mortals are fragile

Cardan- “Not you, You never break”

<>

Cardan-“…. And yet {grabbing Randalin throat forcefully🙂} there are still some things I would say to him”

<>

{cardan raises a globlet welcoming all the courts cuts his gaze to Jude}

Cardan- “To you, I offer honey wine and the hospitality of my table. But to traitors and oath breakers, I offer my Queen’s hospitality instead. The hospitality of knives”

<>

Cardan- “Lord Madoc, traitor to the throne, murderer of my brother, what brings you here? Have you come to throw yourself on the mercy of the crown? Perhaps you hope the Queen of Elfhame will show you leniency.”

<>

Jude- “I love you”

Cardan- “because I’m clever and funny {he says smiling} You didn’t mention my handsomeness”

<>

Randalin-”Sire, Surely you have something to say about all—

Cardan- “Silence, Jude was just getting to the  interesting bit”

<>

Vivi-“This is your cash from Bryern”

Cardan-“What did you do?”

Jude-“Beat Grima Mog in a duel”

Cardan-“he ought to have paid you in gold”

<>

Last but not least

{Cardan smiling staring at his wife and found family💕}Cardan-“and scheming great schemes”

[theverytiredghost]

the best part of the calliope bonus episode of the sandman was the absolute care and attention to detail that went into depicting the scary subtleties of men who abuse, exploit, and manipulate women. 

the brilliant casting choice of arthur darvill as richard madoc, a likeable actor who has played likeable characters, someone we would probably never think as a bad guy, to be calliope’s captor. richard madoc’s claims of being a feminist, citing famous female authors as his source of inspiration, using feminism and anti-racism as a marketing ploy to make himself look “woke”, dehumanizing calliope because she’s a muse, because she’s immortal, because he was told not to view her as human. 

the single scratch as a symbol of an unforgivable violence, dream’s acknowledgement that his over a century imprisonment is nothing compared to the decades she spent having men forcefully take from her, calliope’s gentle reminder not to compare their traumas because they are different but both valid, dream asserting that richard madoc still must be punished, calliope’s decision to forgive him in the end not for him but for herself, her setting off to rewrite the laws which imprisoned her in the first place and dream vowing to do the same in his realm. 

every aspect of this episode is so so relevant and it’s handled well at every turn, beautifully adapting its source material, giving its antagonist a punishment from his own mind, giving him an abundance of what he unjustly took from someone else and plaguing him with it until he has nothing left because that is what his actions deserved. 

also just the fact that calliope is played by a greek actress. a small detail that i love. there’s just so many good things and it’s driving me up the walls in the best way possible because i’m so glad we got these bonus episodes, i’m so glad we get to see this. 

[bolairelatthalia]

i want to add to this brilliant post that another great thing about her episode was that after decades of abuse and her agency taken from her, dream didn’t continue the abuse. it was all about what calliope wanted to do. ’let me help you’ a plea, not a demand. so many stories would of had him barrelling in knowing what’s best and doing it anyway, not this one. he asks her permission at every step, something that neither of her captors would have done. it’s all about what she wants to do from the moment he arrives, dream would have probably walked away if she’d changed her mind about wanting his help, not happily mind you, it’s clear he cares deeply for calliope and it would have broken his heart to do so but he respects her as well. it brings to mind for me about consent, about how a yes isn’t blanket permission for everything and it can be revoked at any time. dream could have taken calliopes call for help as blanket permission to come in and punish the bad guy and save the day, except he doesn’t, he asks her to let him help instead of taking her call for him as a right to do what he wants. i just love that. i love the complete difference between madocs interactions with calliope where he talks at her and dreams interactions where he talks with her. it’s just another subtle thing that really adds to the story.

[fuckyou-saidtheraven]

Bruh the fact that you can feel Morpheus’ anger through the screen. You can see him tremble with rage as his voice becomes cold hard steel. We already knew Neil was right about what he said about Tom’s gravitas, but that scene was on a whole other level. Even I was terrified, Jesus Christ.

And you contrast that with how gentle he is with Calliope. How upset and terrified he is for her. How he actually begs her to accept his help, because he cannot bear to see her in this situation a second longer. How scared he is she’ll refuse out of pride as he did, because he’s been there and he knows the regret that comes after, and because he sees her imprisonment as so much worse than his. Because he knows Calliope, and it horrifies him that something like this has happened to her.

And at the end, you can really tell how part of him still loves her, and regrets so much about what has happened between them. Because like all his lovers, he’s given her a piece of his heart, and that will never change as the millennia go by. And for chrissake, their relationship lasted long enough for him to marry her, to father a son with her. To raise him and watch him grow up and be there with her and the rest of the Endless on Orpheus’ wedding day. And for Morpheus, even after thousands of years of bitterness and sorrow and regret, to come to her aid and demand she be freed, and to tremble even as she talks of forgiveness and presses her forehead to his cheek.

[sizzypheanloop]

Us: Oh, Dream is such a pathetic meow meow, we love him ❤️

Netflix: Surprise! Here's an episode in which Dream appears as an actual cat.

Us:

[its-your-mind]

I feel like neil gaiman’s regular presence on this hellsite is like… an unintentional secret that we all have. I never question it, and yet it’s just like… on your right you will see the queer podcast fandom. on the left you will see author of coraline and good omens and the sandman. yeah he’s here. yeah sometimes he’ll appear in your notes or respond to a shitpost when you least expect it. it’s fine.

[mycabbagesbitch]

Even though Calliope’s story was written in the 90s, man does it hold up for the current day, frighteningly so, post #MeToo where people are seemingly more willing to examine the canon “great [male] writers” and interrogate the ways they used, abused, and took advantage of the women in their lives. The way Ric Madoc doesn’t really think he’s done anything wrong because his abuse of Calliope has resulted in his best work yet. The way he uses progressive politics to further his image, (the name dropping during the interview, using the diversity of the staff for his movie as a marketing gimmick.) The way he calls himself a feminist, (and probably genuinely believes in it to,) and yet is wholly unable to examine the harm he has caused. Because you can care about and believe in pushing against harmful systems but still perpetuate them to reap the benefits they give you. The way the story decimates the lone genius archetype with one foul swoop, showing how it’s a poisonous ideal passed down through generations of men who care more of the quality of their art than that of their character. How the story itself is called “Calliope,” and continuously centers her pain, her humanity, refusing to give the spotlight to the wet napkin of a man who technically functions as the story’s protagonist. I could go on!!!

[hargreeving]

Cat of Dreams

[thewickedking-s]

Cardan: Jude, what are you doing?

Jude: The Court of Teeth wanted to know what kind of weapons we have in our armory and I'm just letting them know it's private information.

Cardan: *reading over Jude's shoulder* This just says fuck around and find out in calligraphy.