So since there's no official Kinktober this year, I thought it would be fun to put together a few unofficial prompts for some Sandman shenanigans. Whatever pairing you'd like to do, whatever prompts you'd like to choose - even if it's only one of them, or all of them - it's completely up to you! This is really meant as a little inspiration in the hope that the wonderful Sandman community will create some fun and kinky content! Please feel free to reblog this - and it would be lovely if we could tag stuff with #Sandmankinktober to share the debauchery, too!
I know we tend to (understandably so) focus on the “you look gorgeous, Gault” moment when we look for a basis for a deeper relationship between Lucienne and Gault, but actually the scene that sticks out to me the most in that regard is when Dream banishes Gault.
We see how defensive Lucienne can get about Dream when she and Corinthian encounter each other at the end of "Imperfect Hosts," but there's absolutely no hint of any similar animosity when Lucienne addresses Gault in this scene
and as Lucienne watches Gault and Dream argue with each other, I'd say she looks...quietly distressed, like it pains her to watch these two particular people go head to head.
It would also make this scene more upsetting for Gault herself, since Lucienne--a former friend or lover--seemed to be siding with Dream instead of her, and of course Gault wasn't present to see Lucienne later stick up for her.
Then there's the way Lucienne disagrees with Dream's decision to banish Gault and directly tells him so. That can definitely be chalked up to just Lucienne's innate moral compass, but it would add an extra dimension to that conversation if Lucienne and Gault actually were close at one point.
The @sandman-rarepair-fest is this weekend, and I'm so excited to take a look through the tag! There are still quite a few rarepair wips that I've not yet finished (got thrown off a little by real life this week!) but I thought I'd put together a list of the fics I have written for rarer pairings, just in case anyone was interested in having a read :)
Rare Pair Fics
Calliope/Dream of the Endless
A Song Once Known - Calliope is invited to visit the Dreaming following the events of season one.
Lucienne/Dream of the Endless
Astronomers - Dream takes Lucienne stargazing.
Scared Simplicity - Lucienne gives Dream a paper wedding ring.
Gault/Lucienne
First Flight - The last time Gault saw Lucienne she stole a kiss.
Daniel Hall/The Corinthian
Transmutation - In the days leading up the The Wake, Daniel tries to discover what—and who—he is. The Corinthian faces a similar struggle.
First -Daniel wants a kiss.
Platonic/Gen Fics
Dream of the Endless and Orpheus
Lead the Way - It's the end of the school day, and so Dream and Orpheus must now tackle the familiar task of crossing the roads they encounter on their journey home.
Delicate Negotiations - Orpheus doesn't want to go to sleep. Dream offers an irresistible incentive.
Calliope & Daniel Hall
Evergreen - Calliope meets Daniel for the very first time. It is not the first time she's met Dream.
I love Lucienne and Gault being sweet to each other, Gault and Jed having adventures together in the Dreaming, and Rose and Barbie if you want (I set them up as a pair in my fic, Life is But a Dream, but then didn’t go any farther with them).
Happy writing!
Sixth prompt of the day!
I initially tried to write a ficlet with all of the above, but couldn't figure out what I wanted to go with it. If you're curious, the general premise I had was Rose teasing Lucienne about when she planned to propose to Gault while they were all in the Dreaming. Gault was off flying around Fiddler's Green with Jed while Lucienne, Rose, and Barbie lounged on a picnic blanket on a hill.
But! Instead, I wrote a thing focusing on Gault and Lucienne since the words for that flowed more. I'd like to finish the other idea I had eventually since I do think it'd be cute, but hopefully this also works!
Thanks a ton for the prompt!!! This was a lot of fun to write. It's vaguely in the same universe as A Waking Nightmare, but just in the sense of "this is how these two got together".
Relationship: Gault/Lucienne
Words: 1587
Warnings: None
Ao3 Link
“When was the last time you left this place?” Gault asks, trailing behind Lucienne while the former raven snags the misplaced books from shelves and tables. The library of the Dreaming was expansive and ever shifting, though Lucienne never seemed to have issue navigating it. Even Gault, as a Major Arcana, a spot that put her as close to their Lord as a Dream or Nightmare could be, struggled with finding exactly what she wanted in this place.
Lucienne had explained it to her once. She claimed that her role as the Librarian of the Dreaming allowed her control over it to some degree. As Dream was the Dreaming, Lucienne was, partially, the Library as well. When she retired from her position as a Raven and took up the new role as Librarian, their Lord had bestowed upon her a small fraction of his powers so that she could wield this space to it’s fullest potential. And wield it, she did.
“Frequently,” Lucienne replies, pulling one of the misplaced books from her cart and slotting it between it’s brothers on the shelf in front of her. “I do often bring reports to Lord Morpheus, after all. I am not confined to this space, you know.” She hears Gault’s sigh behind her before she sees the flash of color to her side. Gault follows her, walking backwards beside the cart. Lucienne shoots her a look, raised brow and all, wile she continues her duties.
“You know,” Gault says, picking up one of the abandoned books and turning it in her hands. “Doing tasks for our Lord wasn’t what I meant. When what the last time you left this place on your own accord?”
The answer, Lucienne knows, is a very long time. So long, in fact, she’s unsure when exactly that was. Not nearly as far back as her position as raven, but not much sooner than it, either, she suspects. She blinks, refusing to look upon Gault’s knowing expression, and instead focuses on her work. She slots a book into position, her finger trailing along the spine as she pushes the hardback into place.
She just catches the roll of Gault’s eyes as she wheels the cart forward. They descend, expectedly for Lucienne, unexpectedly for Gault, who stumbles over her feet at the sudden shift in elevation. She falls over, her back colliding with the now stable flooring of the Library. Lucienne smirks as she wheels past the prone Nightmare.
“Did you do that on purpose?” Gault called from her spot on the floor. Lucienne looks over her shoulder, a face of perfect innocence.
“Me? Never. The floor was always that way.” She turns back as Gault huffs and pushes herself up off the hardwood floors. They’ve made their way into one of the offshoots of the main library. Here, the hallway is narrower and the ceiling reaches just a head taller than their Lord’s usual form size. Torches line the walls, illuminating the corridor in golden, flickering light. If Lucienne was being truthful, it was these smaller sectors of the Library that she enjoyed the most. They were rarely visited by anyone, dream and nightmares or dreamers alike. This particular hallway was devoted to the finished collections of Swedish Shower Thoughts circa 1940 to 2040.
“If I asked you to join me for a scroll through the gardens, would you say yes?” Gault’s voice echoed against the stone ceilings. The grip on the book in Lucienne’s hand tightened. She looks down, eyes trailing over the leather bound edges. A stroll through the garden, inherently, wasn’t a bad idea. The weather was fair as their Lord was in a decent mood as of late and she knew that Mervyn had recently completed the renovations to the pergola beside the pond which would make for a most excellent sitting spot. No, the garden wasn’t the thing that made Lucienne pause.
Gault was. Or rather, what Gault wanted was the cause for her hesitation. It was clear, after the numerous visits she had made to the Library in recent months, that there was something more than simple friendship under the surface. Lucienne wasn’t blind to the clear flirting or prolonged looks. And she would be lying if she said there weren’t times her own eyes lingered a touch too long. Mutual attraction wasn’t the problem. The problem was that it existed in the first place.
Lucienne was the Librarian of the Dreaming. She was a former raven to Dream of the Endless and, most critically, was kept nearly as busy as her lordship was. And Gault… Gault was a jovial spirit who completed her work with artistry and efficiency. She helped care and raise the young dreams and nightmares and saw such beauty and potential in both this realm and the Waking. Gault was worthy of her title as Major Arcana. She was the best of them. And what Gault needed was not someone who has been compared to Lord Morpheus in more ways than one.
No, she should deny her request for the stoll in the garden. She should deny any such requests in the future until Gault takes the hint and finds someone more compatible, more deserving of her. She sighs, slotting the book in place, before turning to meet Gault’s gaze.
“Okay.”
The gardens, as expected, were wonderful out. The flowers were just starting to bloom and the air was clean and crisp. Lucienne couldn’t help but notice the tension in her shoulders began to dissipate as they walked through the rows of flowering hedges.
They chatted while they walked, mostly of work, though Gault did tell stories of the most recent nightmares she’d partaken in. Apparently, there had been some debate on who was responsible for a string of serial nightmares: herself or the Corinthian. Lucienne did not envy Gault for having to deal with that mess. The Corinthian, while an effective Nightmare and particularly favored by their Lord (though Lucienne knows well he would deny such claims), was not fun to work with on a professional level.
Gault stopped just beside a section of flower, a variety of Daisy that exists solely in the Dreaming, and plucks one from it’s stem. Lucienne watches as she raises the golden flower to her nose and sniffs. She hums, clearly pleased by the scent, before turning to face Lucienne. She stares for a moment, her eyes flicking between the side of her head and back to her gaze.
Then, it clicks, when Gault leans forward and slots the flower between her ear. Lucienne can’t help the shiver that runs down her spine as Gault’s touch. She is warm. Her fingers are warm as they caress the side of her face once the flower is secured.
“There,” she says, letting her arm fall back to her side. “Something pretty for someone pretty.” Lucienne smiles, shaking her head as he looks away. She can feel heat in her cheeks.
“Is that the best line you have? You are trying to woo a librarian, after all.” She replies, gazing down at the junction of stone and grass beside their feet.
“Guess I’ll just have to study some more. Is there a book on good pick-up lines somewhere in that expansive library of yours?”
Lucienne looks up, her eyes meeting the soft gaze on Gault’s face. She feels her heart skip in her chest followed immediately by a heaviness, a lead weight of guilt inside her. She doesn’t realize she’s speaking until it’s too late.
“You should not want me,” she nearly yells. “I will not have the time to devote to you as I would like. As you would deserve. I will put our Lord and the Dreaming above us, above you and above me. I cannot be the spontaneous partner or even, truly, a most affectionate one. I have only know my work, my books, and my Lord for so many centuries that I do not know how to know another. You deserve more than me, Gault.”
She is silent, staring down at Lucienne with such sadness in her eyes that she is certain she has some to the same conclusion as herself. That a relationship between them would be pointless. Instead, she slowly raises her hands and cups Lucienne’s cheeks.
“Good think I’m more than fine with just following you around while you work,” Gault says, leaning forward to press a feather light kiss to Lucienne’s forehead. It is the most touch she has experienced in so long. She only realizes she has whimpered when Gault chuckles against her skin. “We have all the time in the world. I can learn to wait while you figure it all out. As a friend or as more. I just want you, Lucienne.”
She lets out a shuddering breath which quickly turns into a shaky, teary laugh. Gault wraps her arms around her form and pulls her close to her iridescent chest. They are a perfect height, Lucienne thinks, as she feels Gault’s chin rest on the top of her head. She winds her own arms around Gault’s waist, letting herself enjoy the moment. There’s a steady thrum from under her skin. Not a heart, not truly, for most of the dreamthings here do not have hearts, but rather the core of them. It pulses with power, hers even stronger than most for her status as an Arcana.
“Okay,” she finally says, her voice muffled against Gault’s body. “Just… be patient with me?”
like let’s get this straight gault and lucienne are diametrically opposed and lucienne stood witness at gault’s execution without a word of complaint until after it was over. whatever they’ve got going on is fucked up and in no one’s best interest. regardless,
Oooh you mentioned a Lucienne x Gault meta coming! They are my otp! Would you be willing to tag me when it’s done? Here’s a gifset in case you haven’t seen it yet!
Hey! Oh yay im glad that it has some interest! I will def tag you know worries. Thanks for the gifset! Feel free to tag me in any Gaultienne content you come across as well honestly there isnt enough and i really wanna support anyone making stuff for this gorgeous ship.
Gaultienne may not have much time together, but I love the idea of them bonding in the Dreaming, of them working together to implement change and make the dreaming better.
But yes I must finish it!! The support is much appreciated!
