#Calliope and the Corinthian

[rriavian]

For a prompt from @windsweptinred for the flower prompts we're doing with @bobbole. Still unfinished but I already had a short wip that the prompt worked really well with, and it was the kick I needed to get going with it a little more. Still very very rough but thought I'd share :) Hope you like it! <3

The Corinthian and Calliope: Rose, yellow, A murderer's confession, Prompt Jealousy—

After his failure to persuade Ethel Cripps to work with him the Corinthian seeks out another who might have cause to seek revenge against Dream.

Calliope surprises him.

-

Calliope knows the Corinthian, of course.

She had met Dream’s masterpiece while she was married.

She had heard of him long before, an impression built by Dream’s soft smile, the excitement glittering subtle in his eyes as he told her of his latest creation, a design he traced in sand as if proud to show off even an outline. Calliope has not seen the Corinthian since—to be expected, given both how she’d parted ways with Morpheus and the reality of her current situation—a surprise when she hears the door to her room open, sees a bloodstained knife glitter in the light. Next it catches in golden blond hair, scatters from the gleam of teeth; a memory in that too, of Oneiros and his painstaking hunt for exactly the right shades, his dedication to it, unwilling to give anything less than his very best to every single thing he made.

Calliope must admit she still admires him for that.

Then her eyes find the changes, the additions, the soft cream of the Corinthian’s coat, the dark opaque sunglasses hiding biting mouths. There is a deliberate slowness in how he now cleans the bloodied knife, how he wants her to watch it, to think about what must have happened to the only other occupant in Richard Madoc’s house. Calliope can feel that her captor isn’t dead, can feel it in the chains that keep her trapped here, knows exactly why this nightmare has approached her like this.

The Corinthian is a story stood close enough that she can read her former husband’s writing in the blurb, a compliment to the Corinthian’s own script when she reads further to find his finely printed prose.

He wants leverage.

“Corinthian.” Calliope greets calmly. “It has been some time.”

“Fancy finding you here.” The Corinthian replies with a sharp, mocking grin, not even bothering to pretend this wasn’t planned. “An oddly poetic coincidence, given what’s happened to Dream.”

He thinks to lure her into asking.

Calliope won’t.

“Do not speak to me of poetry.”

The Corinthian pauses. “You already know, don’t you?”

“That Oneiros has been captured? Yes.”

It amuses her that the Corinthian thought to tell her, thought to begin the game with the upper hand. The Fates had filled in more details, had gloated when she’d called for help, but even before that Calliope had known that Morpheus was missing. Of course she’d known, how could she not?, how could any immortal remain unawares to the disappearance of Dream of the Endless?

"He's free now." The Corinthian replies, leans against the door frame as if a slouch will make the words less targeted, throws hope at her and watches for a flinch. "Do you think he'll come for you?"

Calliope must admit that makes her stiffen.

"Do you think he will if I call him?"

A shrug.

There's tension though.

There's a minute grimace trying to twist the Corinthian's lips, a page torn out before Calliope can read it. The grin remains. He stays smug, grounds himself to it, more than a little overconfident because he’s gloating far too soon.

“I did it, you know. Strengthened the trap.” The Corinthian says slyly, watches her from where he's still leaning in the doorway, watches how Calliope sits on this bed in Richard Madoc's house while a few feet a way a door has long since stood unlocked. “It’s my fault he was there for so long.”

Now it's Calliope's turn to shrug. “So?”

The Corinthian seems entertained by her tone, even as it confuses him, even as he tries to get his teeth around it. “I want to ensure he’ll be gone a lot longer.”

“Then I wish you well in finding the luck you are hoping for, because you will certainly be needing it.” Calliope replies coolly.

“C’mon,” The Corinthian has been lazily circling his point like a vulture, like a wolf guiding prey towards a favoured terrain, now still as he prepares to lunge. “Aren’t you the least bit tempted?”

“By what?”

“Revenge.”

He’s said it because the Corinthian thinks it's something of what she wants. He thinks it’s bait that isn’t possible to resist, thinks it because there is a similar desire in him, sitting unrealised in his chest like a stone. Calliope wonders what her former husband did, wonders if it even matters, because she also knows that revenge is a second, a flicker, a blink in response to a blinding. It’s too fast, too instant to really register for someone as long lived as her; she cannot feast on something so small.

“Is that what this is to you? Revenge?”

He laughs. “Well, not only.”

“Tell me what else.” Calliope commands. “If you want my help then tell me why.”

The Corinthian thinks faster than hesitation can register.

He switches plans at the same smooth speed, and it’s a truth he’d not wanted to lead with, bait he was saving only for a moment suited to the greater power of its sting. “I won’t go back to the Dreaming. I quite like it here, and so it’s not just about revenge. It’s about freedom.”

How like a nightmare to dream of a concept even humanity longs for.

How like a nightmare to think the guarantee of it can be found in their world. 

“If you can only be so when Morpheus is trapped,” Calliope says; sat there on this bed in a thin nightdress, chained to a mortal by the laws of her own kind, chained to a man who ‘needs’ her gifts to give him the life he thinks he deserves. “If your own freedom relies on the imprisonment of another—"

She shrugs.

“Then can you really say you’re free at all?”

#dream of the endless #the Corinthian #Calliope #flower prompt #Calliope and the Corinthian #the sandman #fic progress

[alexxuun]

Endless chemistries…yet…

#alexxuun #the sandman fanart #the sandman #dream of the endless #hob gadling #lucienne #lucifer the sandman #lucifer morningstar #lucienne the librarian #the corinthian #johanna constantine #calliope #nada #nada the sandman #dreamling #morphienne #lucid dreaming #corintheus #dreamingstar #dream x lucifer #dream x calliope #dream x johanna #morphanna #dream x nada #kai’chul

[timorpanico]

Another round of Sandman doodles ❣️

#the sandman netflix #the sandman #sandman #sandman netflix #the corinthian #lucifer morningstar #calliope #timorpanico

[imironstark]

Do you know who I am?

#the sandman #sandmanedit #thesandmanedit #dcedit #dream of the endless #tom sturridge #lord morpheus #morpheus #dream #lucienne #the corinthian #johanna constantine #death of the endless #hob gadling #jed walker #unity kincaid #calliope #hob #ts #my gifs

[phantomstatistician]

Fandom: The Sandman (comics vs TV show)

Sample Size: 1,301 (comics); 4,048 (TV show)

Source: AO3

NOTE: Do not compare colors between charts

#dream of the endless #morpheus #hob gadling #the corinthian #lucifer morningstar #calliope #desire of the endless #destruction of the endless #modern johanna constantine #johanna constantine #the sandman #sandman #fanfiction #ao3 #statistics #phantom statistician #dream x hob #hob x dream #morpheus x hob #hob x morpheus

[thevelvetgoldmine]

THE SANDMAN character tropes

#the sandman #thesandmanedit #sandmanedit #netflix sandman #dream of the endless #lucienne #hob gadling #rose walker #death of the endless #desire of the endless #the corinthian #matthew the raven #calliope #johanna constantine #series #ctropes #20s #myedit #fantasy #drama

[windsweptinred]

The fact that Dream had to deal with the Greek Pantheon as his family in law is both horrifying and absolutely hilarious. Did the poor naive soul walk into that thinking it couldn't be any worse then his family? ... There's I'll do anything for my beloved wife to be and dealing with Lord grope first, think never as your father in law. Yeah sure Dream, live separately from your wife to 'keep it special'. I'm pretty sure that's code for, keep your entire family of chaotic neutral rabbits way way... Way over there where I don't have to see, speak or hear them. Ever! Wow, think of the mutual family gatherings. At some point, Desire and Aphrodite shared the same breathing space and yet the world somehow surivied past the hellenistic period. Amazing!

#You're telling me Zeus took one look at Dream and didn't try and cop a feel #And had to deal with the Corinthian personally overseeing his nightmares for the following decade #Dream dealing with the embodiment of fuck around and find out as extended family #Poor dream #He never has it easy in romance #He's like a hot blonde teenager in a horror movie #Doomed #Mind I still heartily approve of the chthonic gods 'adopting' him #Hypnos took one look at that soggy Endless and decided the poppy was strong with this one #dream of the endless #Morpheus #calliope #the sandman

[queenoftheimps]

The Sandman as Reductress headlines

#sandman #the sandman #reductress #dream #the corinthian #rose walker #calliope #unity kincaid

[evenmyhivemindisempty]

Perfect When You Run

Newly freed from captivity, Calliope asks for a favor.

The only thing the Corinthian remembers is how hungry he is.

(art by a brilliantly talented anon friend, used with permission!)

#calliope #Corinthian #Calliope/Corinthian #Sandman #Dream of the Endless #boyd holbrook

[exeunt-fool]

Morpheus interacting with anyone ever:

#it’s a personality trait at this point #the sandman #sandman #sandman morpheus #morpheus #sandman lucifer #desire #mazikeen #sandman mazikeen #despair #hob gadling #corinthian #johanna constantine #lucienne #sandman desire #the three fates #sandman despair #calliope

[nim-lock]

The current roster of Sandman prints on my shoppe! (●'◡'●)

#the sandman #the corinthian #dream of the endless #calliope #fiddler's green #despair of the endless #my art #shop update #post date: Nov 16 2022 #bless u tumblr only site where transparency actually works #at least on desktop

[cuubism]

hello friends. despite my 9 million existing dreamling wips i'm feeling the need to branch out a bit for the sake of my mental variety. what pairing other than dreamling should i write a little something for? could be romantic or platonic

other way of phrasing i guess: any pairings you really want to see more fics for in the fandom?

#i actually do have one someone asked me for ages ago i've been meaning to get to so i'll try to do that too #bonus points if it still involves dream bc you know i love dream XD #probably wont do any romantic pairings /between/ the endless because well yeah #but open to exploring pretty much anything else... feel free to send whatever if you want. dont worry about if i'll like it #if i can't vibe with it or find it uncomfy i just won't write it no harm no foul #not me soliciting little prompts fully knowing that motivation is a fickle beast and who knows if i would get to writing them XD i want #to though! or like. idk. if anyone wants to share headcanons about their favorite pairings i am happy to receive them #the sandman #a couple that are bouncing around my head already: #rose meeting desire. this could be really interesting i think (they are of course her grandparent) #calliope and lucienne post-calliope's imprisonment: i think their dynamic could be interesting since they both have/had close relationships #with dream. but of course calliope's relationship with him fell apart. i think lucienne with whatever context of it she had would probably #be sympathetic to calliope's perspective but still staunchly On Dream's Side so the speak bc she is ultimately very loyal to him... could b #an interesting convo. #additionally - calliope and johanna. both suffered things recently. both had curious interactions with dream where they recently saw both #his vicious side AND a kinder more understanding side of him... [dream gave rachel a peaceful death at johanna's request etc] #but they've come out of their suffering really differently (granted it was different types of suffering. but) #wow here i am asking for people's ideas and then just coming up with my own XD #anyway #wait two others: i'm fascinated by the potential dynamic of lucienne and the corinthian they only had like one short scene together in the #show but can you imagine. spending eons being loyal to dream and then going opposite directions with that loyalty. being among dream's inne #circle so to speak except lucienne is her own entity while corinthian was /created/ by dream. they have the most fascinating venn diagram o #personality traits and narrative positions... #secondly. and this is kind of crack. but like. imagine johanna and corinthian in the same room XD 'hi i'm an exorcist and this is my pet #serial killer' 'yeah my lord gave me a vacation to go kill some demons' why doesn't he try to kill johanna? bc she tried to destroy him #first time they met and he can't help but respect it XD

[endlesshistoriesfest]

Something is in the works.

Something amazing! Something phenomenal. Something…historical.

Coming from one person’s desperation to invade all the fandoms and spread their love for Historical AUs.

After all, what is history but endless stories of people making their way through life and shifting the tides of society along the way?

And isn’t The Sandman essentially a story about stories, and the Prince of Stories?

What if we took our favourite characters and tossed them into different historical contexts? How would they act?

Can you imagine Johanna fighting in the American Revolution? What about Lucienne and Gault throwing bricks hand-in-hand at Stonewall? Can you see Dream writing romantic poetry in the 19th Century? Maybe Calliope is the writer, creating stories under a pseudonym?

You hold the answers to all of these questions should you choose to sign up for “The Endless Histories Fest”.

Follow this blog for more information, FAQs, and a tentative schedule for the event.

Sign ups open in January!

Hope to see you there!

#endlesshistories #endlesshistories2024 #the sandman #dream of the endless #lucienne the librarian #lucienne the sandman #death of the endless #desire of the endless #johanna constantine #matthew the raven #the corinthian #Rose Walker #hob gadling #calliope the sandman

[thirtysomethingwolf-blog]

The Sandman + random text IV

#the sandman #dream of the endless #the corinthian #lyta hall #death of the endless #matthew the raven #lucifer morningstar #cain and abel #calliope the sandman

[lucienne-thee-librarian]

More Lucienne Fic Recs

Part 2 to Morphienne and gen Lucienne centric fic recs, this is a non-exhaustive list of other Lucienne rarepairs!

Gaulcienne

This is Why I Don't Leave the House by @zorawitch has to be one of my most revisited and beloved fics not just for this pairing, but for this fandom ever. It's the one that actually hooked me for this ship, it's a human au but everyone is written - just spot on and it's both romantic as hell but with some serious drama too, the entire family is in this, even Despair actually gets moments to shine which is rare it seems. Dr*ml!ng is in it but very very briefly, like it's objectively the Side Pairing Where One Is On the Phone For 5 Minutes in the background for once, also contains very side (but weirdly cute) Desunity. I seriously want to turn this fic into heroin and put an IV to inject it right into my veins. I love it so much (Obviously) and you'll see why if you read it. Descriptions: A+, dialogue A+ character work A ++++.

In Places No One Will Find by starsniper explores the grief of losing Jessamy from Lucienne's POV and Gault is the Best as per usual. This broke my heart in all the best ways, it needs SO much more love.

Obliterate All Prior Things by The_KickIt_Domain is. It is one of the most beautifully written fics I've ever SEEN. Everything about the way Lucienne and Gault are written and the sense of history between them is 10/10. The yearning and the tenderness is off the charts. Definitely a favorite

Daydreams by james is a sensual and beautifully written snippet of domestic Gaulcienne and I adore it.

Beautiful by melime tender fluff with lush description.

"This is my wife..." by @honeyteacakes is just. Short but so so sweet and feels like a look into Matthew and Lucienne's bond as well as hers and Gault's relationship. They also have a bit of fun at his expense lol

dreaming weather by Anonymous way too short but HOT and poetic smut.

Sea Changes by Cafephile FLAWLESS addition to monsterfuckertober. Gault brings back an old nightmare form with tentacles for fun and a good time is had by all:) hot and lovely.

Calliene (Calliope and Lucienne)

@two-hands-toward-the-sun is literally carrying this ship tag on their shoulders and all of their Calienne fics are good but here's some highlights:

I carried this for years plus it's sequel, I can feel the sun whenever you're near are just. *chefs kiss* absolutely great exploration of them trying to deal with their trauma and sometimes competing needs together.

you love each other until the city becomes beautiful , heart of my heart, come my way and stay my honey are all pure quality fluff. Shoot this serotonin straight into my veins.

Corinthienne (Cori × Lucienne)

I haven't read much fic for this pairing so its gonna be short lol, but I couldn't pass these by

Insatiable by honeyteacakes is incredibly tragically steamy and beautifully written.

Quiet in the Library by starkraving is just. MWAH. Very smutty and full of Feelings, it packs such a good punch I can't oversell it.

Just Between Us by onyourleft084 Lucienne tries to domme the Corinthian into behaving and staying in line and it works...for awhile. Honestly I don't feel like I'm selling it right though, just by that simple description. You will feel things about this and them by the end, I promise. At least I did.

#gaulcienne #callienne #calliope x lucienne #corinthienne #lucienne #gault the sandman #calliope #the corinthian #sandman fic recs

[morpheusbaby3]

Do you have different and/or perhaps controversial opinions about The Sandman (Netflix or HQ)???

#the sandman #dream of the endless #lord morpheus #lucienne the librarian #matthew the raven #nuala the sandman #nuala of the faerie #calliope sandman #the corinthian sandman #corinthian #hob gadling #sandman #johanna constantine #nada sandman #nada the sandman #titaniasandman