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themirokai · 8 months

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@windsweptinred had this lovely post which got me thinking about Rose and Gault and then I couldn’t stop thinking about Rose and Gault and then I rewatched Gault’s scenes and then I wrote this story. It’s about 2,500 words, most of it under the cut.

“Gault. Lucienne tells me that you have asked for an audience.”

Gault shivered at the feeling of her creator’s voice in her head. The last time he had spoken to her in this manner was before his imprisonment, when she had been a shapeshifting nightmare. Through the painful episode of her capture and punishment, as well as her joyful resurrection, there had been others present and so he had spoken to her out loud. This felt strangely intimate and viscerally reminded her of why she had requested the audience: she had, after all, inserted herself into someone else’s mind.

“Yes, my lord.”

“Then come.”

The space in front of her twisted and was suddenly the throne room. Gault swallowed and stepped forward.

Lord Morpheus was standing on the third step of the staircase, hands behind his back, wearing a cloak of shadows and fire. From beside the stairs Lucienne smiled at her warmly. Gault had hoped that he would see her on the shores of creation or… anywhere else in the Dreaming, really. She hadn’t been here since her punishment, and though his face was calm now, she couldn’t help but picture the cold fury with which he had beheld her on that prior occasion.

Gault took a breath and bowed.

“Speak, Gault,” Lord Morpheus said out loud.

“My lord, as you know, in the time that I was … gone … from the Dreaming, I was living in the dreams of Jed Walker.” She knew it was dangerous to bring up what he likely still considered her insubordination, but she had no choice. His face revealed nothing. “In that time, I became very attached to Jed … and so I wished to ask you if I might be permitted to visit him when he is in the Dreaming.”

“I am aware of your feelings for the boy and this request is not unexpected,” Lord Morpheus said solemnly. “I fear, however, that it may anger Rose Walker, which I am loath to do.”

Gault felt her stomach drop and her wings droop. She looked down at her feet. Of course Rose would only see her as a nightmare who wore her dead mother’s face.

“I will speak with her, little dream.”

Gault gasped and looked up at him. “Really, lord?”

He nodded, glacially slowly. “While I do not condone all of your actions, ultimately you showed the child great kindness. And. The dream you created for him … was … amusing.”

They had never spoken of it. The … dispute over her nature had taken precedence. But the fact remained that she had taken a vulnerable, hurting child, and to make him feel strong and happy, she had given him a ruby and a bag of magic sand, and helped him to fight monsters and protect the innocent. She had given him the names of the creator who had abandoned her.

The creator who was even now staring into her soul.

“More than amusing,” Lord Morpheus said quietly. “It was very touching.”

Gault lowered her head, no longer able to meet his eyes.

“I will let you know the result of my conversation with Rose.”

“Thank you, lord.”

There was grass under her feet again. The throne room was gone.

___

Dream willed himself to the portion of Fiddler’s Green where Rose Walker was chatting with Unity Kincaid. Rose’s eyes immediately snapped to him and she frowned. Unity noticed him as well, but her expression was far more amused.

“Ladies,” Dream said, “please pardon the intrusion.”

“What do you want?” Rose said icily.

“Rose, dear,” Unity said gently, placing her hand on the young woman’s arm, “cut him some slack, he’s not that bad.”

“He killed you, Unity.”

Unity rolled her eyes. “It’s more complicated than that and you know it, dear. And besides, now he pretends not to notice when I visit my husb- spouse.” She gave him a bright smile.

Fondness for Unity outweighed his always-simmering anger with Desire, but it was a near thing. “Crossing between the realms of the Endless is impossible for a human, Unity. … And it is easier to not notice something when it is not directly brought to my attention.”

“See?” Unity said to Rose. “He’s sweet.” She turned back to Dream. “What do you need, Morpheus?”

Dream shifted, clasped his hands behind his back and addressed Rose. “You are a child of the Endless, Rose Walker. You have set boundaries around yourself and your brother Jed. I respect those boundaries. Recently, one of my dreams has asked if she may visit your brother. I told her that I would speak to you on her behalf.”

Rose frowned. “Why would a dream ask permission to visit Jed?”

“She was a nightmare when you met her. Gault.”

“Gault?” Rose asked, incredulous. “The shapeshifter who impersonated my mom?! No! She can’t see him!”

“As I know you are aware, your brother was being badly abused by those charged with his care. Gault provided him a respite in his dreams and came to deeply care for him. She was not a nightmare to Jed. She was a source of comfort when he had little else. And I have since transformed her permanently into a dream.”

Dream could feel Rose softening. She crossed her arms over her chest.

“And what would happen if I say yes?”

“Gault would meet Jed here in the Dreaming. Under your supervision if you prefer.”

“And if I say no?”

“Then I will ensure that she continues to keep her distance from both of you. She … is very skilled at being a dream. She has inspired many people since she was transformed.”

Rose sighed and glanced at Unity who raised an eyebrow and shrugged. She turned back to Dream. “I’ll talk to Jed about it in the morning. Send Matthew to check with me tomorrow and I’ll tell him what I’ve decided.”

Dream inclined his head. “As you wish.”

“But no matter what, she is never allowed to impersonate my mom again, do you understand?” She jabbed a finger at him.

“I understand.”

___

Gault waited in the middle of one of Fiddler’s Green’s meadows. Apparently Rose was comfortable here and trusted Gilbert to ensure that Gault did nothing nefarious or nightmare-ish.

“They are coming.”

Of course, Gilbert wouldn’t be the only one watching. But it wouldn’t do to mention that to Rose.

And then Rose and Jed were walking towards her through the field, holding hands. Jed was taller than when she last saw him (a growth spurt undoubtedly fueled by getting proper nutrition for the first time in years) and he looked more grown up and mature. Gault felt her eyes fill with tears. They stopped a few yards in front of her.

Jed’s head tipped a bit to the side as he studied her. “Did you always have wings?”

Gault shook her head quickly. “No. I got them when I was transformed from a nightmare into a dream.”

“Why did you pretend to be my mom? Did you know she was dead?”

Gault sighed and sat down cross-legged in the grass in front of him. “I did not know your mother had died, Jed.” She looked up at Rose. “I am so sorry for that.” Gault turned back to Jed. “I just picked a shape that I thought would bring you comfort.”

“Our mom wasn’t a ‘shape’.” Rose’s tone was bitter.

Gault nodded and looked down at the grass. “I know. She was important. I’m sorry.” She swallowed and kept talking, still looking away from them. “I found you when I was running away. I felt abandoned by my - by the -“ Gault sighed. “I felt abandoned. And I didn’t know if I was more afraid of… things going back to the way they had been or continuing to be alone.” She looked up at Jed. “And when I found you … you felt a little like … what I had lost.” She knew now that it was his Endless blood. At the time she hadn’t needed a reason. “I knew that you were alone and hurting too. I wanted to help you. And I hoped that in helping you, I could help me too. Or at least I could try to be the kind of dream I wanted to be.”

Jed sat down in front of her. “What about the thing with the rats?”

Gault’s heart twisted at the memory but she kept her voice steady. She could do that for him. “The rat was climbing on you in the waking world, and you brought that into the dream. I tried to get you to shake it off and stay asleep but when it bit you, you had to wake up and then I couldn’t help anymore. I’m sorry.”

“You say ‘sorry’ a lot,” Jed said, narrowing his eyes at her. “I don’t think you need to do that so much.”

Gault chuckled. “Thanks, Jed.”

“Why did you ask Morpheus if you could see him?” Rose, still standing, asked.

“I missed him,” Gault told her, then turned back to Jed. “I wanted to hear what kind of adventures you’ve been having.” She winked at him.

“I live with Rose and Lyta and the baby now!” Jed told her excitedly. “It’s so good! I can eat as much as I want!” He sobered a bit. “But Rose only keeps healthy food in the house. And she worries all the time.”

“I’m sure your sister is working really hard to take care of you,” Gault said gently.

“School sucks,” Jed said. “I’m behind in everything and the kids aren’t nice.”

Gault opened her mouth to ask if he was being bullied but he continued.

“I miss dreaming with you. My dreams are all boring now.”

Gault looked up at Rose. “Jed, do you think your sister and I could talk for a couple minutes?”

Jed frowned. “But you’re my friend!” He paused, as a thought occurred. “You are my friend, aren’t you?”

“Yes, of course I am, Jed,” she assured him. “But Rose is responsible for taking care of you. When I was in your dreams before, the people responsible for you were … well. But now that someone who loves you and is caring for you the right way is in charge, I can’t just show up in your dreams anymore. That’s why I need to talk to Rose.”

From a little ways across the meadow, Fiddler’s Green’s human form appeared and waved. “Ah! Young master Walker! I am so glad you’re here! I wonder if you might tell me more about this … ‘mine craft’ you were describing on your last visit?”

Gault realized that she and Rose were pressing their lips together in matching attempts to hide smiles.

Jed jumped to his feet and waved back. “Hey, Gilbert!” He ran towards the figure.

“That was kind of Fiddler’s Green,” Gault said.

“Gilbert’s a good friend,” Rose said, and sat on the grass beside Gault, so that they could both watch Jed and Gilbert. She sighed. “He knows some of the dream vortex stuff, but he’s had so much going on that I haven’t wanted to drop all the supernatural stuff on him. I haven’t told him about my detente with Morpheus.”

Gault nodded. “I figured as much. There is plenty of time for supernatural stuff when he’s had more time to recover.” She smiled at the sight of Jed gesticulating wildly and Gilbert throwing his head back to laugh, then turned to look at the side of Rose’s face. “You have had to make many difficult decisions. And I certainly understand your reticence with Lord Morpheus. Probably better than most.”

Rose turned to look at her. “You do?”

Gault nodded, looked down at the grass. “He… punished me. After he pulled me out of Jed’s dream. He’s since changed his mind,” she fluttered her wings, “but you’re not wrong to be cautious.” Gault knew the odds were good that Lord Morpheus was listening, and perhaps she should have sought another way to gain Rose’s trust. But she would not say anything false.

“How do you punish a dream?” Rose asked. “Like he did with the Corinthian? He told me he ‘unmade’ him.”

“From what I understand, he completely destroyed the Corinthian,” Gault said. “And good riddance. Lord Morpheus did something similar to me. He… sort of disassembled me and put me back into the dreamstuff, but I was still conscious… was still myself. I was just… hanging in the void.”

“Like solitary confinement?” Rose asked.

Gault considered this. “Something like that.”

“That’s horrible! Was it because of what you did with Jed? You were helping him!”

Gault found Rose’s righteous anger on behalf of a being she had so recently been wary of, incredibly endearing.

“Lord Morpheus was angry that I didn’t return to the Dreaming once it was restored,” Gault told her, “but he was more angry that I wanted to be something different than what he made me. He created me as a nightmare and he was furious that I wanted to be a dream instead.”

Gault half expected Rose to disappear from the Dreaming or for her to find herself in the throne room facing an angry dream lord. But nothing happened. She couldn’t even feel his presence particularly strongly. Perhaps he wasn’t watching after all, and she reminded herself that she only spoke the truth.

“But he changed his mind?” Rose was looking at her intently.

Gault nodded. “I think you may have helped with that. And Lucienne.”

Rose gave a tentative smile. “Is being a dream like how you thought it would be?”

Gault felt herself beaming as she nodded. “I had some experience with Jed, but I love it.” She gave another flap of her wings. “I teach people to fly!”

Rose giggled. “That sounds really nice. Maybe you can teach me sometime.”

“You’re Endless,” Gault told her, “not to mention a former vortex. You hardly need me to teach you. But I’d be happy to help you discover what your soul already knows.”

Rose smiled at her then turned back to look at Jed, who was showing Gilbert a dance move. “Jed told me what you did for him,” she said quietly. “For years the only time he had any happiness was when he was asleep.” Rose faced Gault again. “I am grateful for that. Thank you.”

Gault felt the pressure of tears in her eyes and she smiled warmly. “I was happy to do it. Jed is a wonderful child. He deserves so much better than he got. I’m so relieved that he’s back with you now.”

“Me too,” Rose said. “Though I have no idea what I’m doing most of the time.”

“From what I understand, that is a very common state for parents and others caring for children. What matters is that you love him, and you try to do what is best for him.”

Rose looked at the grass, swallowed and nodded, then turned back to Gault. “Will you come dream with him again?”

Gault knew her smile stretched from ear to ear. “Nothing could make me happier.”

Rose smiled back and turned to Jed, calling, “Hey Jeddy, did you know Gault can teach you to fly?”

A look of wonder spread over Jed’s face. “Really?!”

Gault got to her feet as he ran back over to them. “Really.” She affected a serious expression. “But we’ll need to come up with a new hero name for you. ‘Sandman’ is taken.”

“Oh! I have some ideas!” Jed’s eyes were wide.

Gault put her hands on her hips and grinned. “Okay, let’s hear them.”

~~~

I haven’t quite figured out how we get there yet, but eventually Jed decides that - given the wings - Gault is his fairy godmother.

Thanks so much for reading!

#I hope people don't reach the conclusion from this story that I'm a morpheus hater #I'm absolutely not #but #how he treated gault when he punished her was monstrous #and I think it would have had a lasting impact on her #even though she's now a dream #gault #gault the sandman #rose walker #jed walker #dream of the endless #the sandman #the sandman netflix #mirokai writes #miro does sandman

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imminentinertia · 1 year

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I'm not going to start a spreadsheet tracking Win's roots to establish in what order they filmed which scenes. I'm not.

#i'm absolutely not #i signed the collective agreement not to notice the roots but i'm not a strong person #and sometimes i can't deny that i'm noticing #but there will be no roots spreadsheet #between us continuity #(btw i'm watching the not quite amazing swimming too but signed every collective agreement not to notice things)

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anarchopuppy · 9 months

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I, a hearing person who likes subtitles just as a preference, shouldn't have to read a subtitle that's obvious nonsense, go back a couple seconds, and listen again in order to figure out what's going on. An accessibility feature should not be the most half-assed part of a professionally made production. Scripted media has absolutely no excuse for not having subtitles or having subtitles that aren't perfectly verbatim. Professional captioning services should be ashamed of the shoddy work that they put out. Captions should be treated as a part of the production, just like filming, editing, audio balancing, etc - and anything that releases with missing or bad captions should be seen as unfinished

#the subtitle mistakes i've seen are absolutely fucking embarrassing #subtitles should make something easier to understand not harder #and i can hear just fine so i'm lucky!#i've seen the kind of mistakes that would make an entire video unintelligible to someone who doesn't have the audio for any reason #it's unacceptable

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talaricula · 5 months

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Things I've seen tumblr memeing about James Somerton doing à la "How did no one see how bigoted he was!" as if those things haven't been a significant part of tumblr culture for over a decade :

Presenting untrue and bordering on conspiratorial versions of (queer or otherwise marginalised) history without any sources

Completely disregarding and disrespecting any expertise on socio-cultural topics/humanities and distrusting academics and historians (incl. acting as if no academics or historians could be queer or marginalised)

Downplaying the role misogyny played in the historical oppression of queer women and concluding that queer men must have been more oppressed than queer women

Bi women are, at best, not as queer as "real" queer ppl, and at worst, simply equivalent to straight women

Despite nominal trans inclusivity, transmasculine ppl are functionally women when convenient (combined with the above, bi transmascs are functionally straight women)

Despite nominal trans inclusivity (bis), shamelessly attacking, threatening and actively endangering any trans woman who questions them or smth they find important (often by unfairly presenting her as violent or as a threat)

Having absolutely fucking wild and reductive takes about ace ppl, the oppression they face and their place in the queer community

Stating that marriage equality is an assimilationist fight while completely ignoring its direct roots in the horrifying consequences of the AIDS crisis for partners of ppl who died of AIDS

Praising western media creators from the past for queer coding even under censure and in the same breath condemning current non western media creators for being homophobic bc their representation isn't explicit enough

Blaming China for all existing homophobic censoring in western media

Assuming all queer media would be better told by western creators and by western standards

Only out queer ppl get to tell queer stories

Heavily criticising almost all queer media created by women or ppl they see as such (see above points about trans ppl) or involving/starring a significant amount of women for any perceived or real amount of "problematicness", but fawning over and praising and negating criticism of queer media created by and starring mostly or even functionally exclusively men (even when it could be argued that, you know, not involving/seriously sidelining women is a pretty clear example of misogyny which should probably be considered "problematic")

And I'm probably forgetting stuff or there's stuff I have internalised myself and don't recognise as an issue

Like idk but I feel like the takeaway from Hbomberguy and Toddintheshadow's videos should maybe be "be aware of such patterns in your communities bc they definitely exist" and not "this guy is uniquely awful" and I feel like a lot of the discussion I've seen surrounding this has been severely failing at that. Most ppl who've spent any significant amount of time on tumblr prob either have internalised at least one of those thought patterns, have had to de-internalise them, or have had to be extremely vigilant to not internalise them (which is done by, you know, seeking out other sources, which also seemed like an important takeaway from the videos)

#Also I'm saying this as someone who actually watched quite a few of Somerton's videos #And noticed those patterns and stopped watching bc I recognised them from here #and had already learned to unlearn them after being so exposed to them here #And tbh I think anyone who hasn't had the luck or made the conscious choice to seek out ppl who pushed against those narratives #Would absolutely have fallen for this man's bullshit. Like let's not kid ourselves we see takes like this every day on this hellsite #2014 me would have. For sure.#This is next to the plagiarism issue which as Harris points out is an Internet wide issue and this includes tumblr #James Somerton #hbomberguy #todd in the shadows #This brought to you by a conversation with my wife yesterday #So many ppl on here don't deserve to meme or be this self absolvingly critical of this man #The call is coming from inside the house #The man has a tumblr it would legit not surprise me if some of the things he supposedly made up himself he did actually get from somewhere #And that somewhere was a tumblr post

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raggedytiger · 2 months

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this is so bad but i permanently cropped the file so brutally that i can no longer edit it. whoops! also panels 4-7 were fully coloured but it looks better without for some reason. pomni (penny?) is such an ugly crier. i love my horrible failgirl accountant

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phantom-shell · 5 months

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Mizu, in every single episode, without fail:

#I binged the show and I'm absolutely in LOVE #I need season 2 so bad #blue eye samurai #blue eye samurai fanart #Mizu #art #artwork #digital art #my art #fanart

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basshole-astard · 9 months

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PSA: i keep seeing posts about staying cool in extreme heat that include advice like "gatorade is bad actually!" and "don't drink fruit juice it'll just dehydrate you!" and neither of these are true!

regarding fruit juice: there's apparently a misconception that Any Sugar At All will dehydrate you, and that's simply not true. yes, sugar will make you pee more when consumed in large amounts, but 1) the natural sugar in fruits won't do this to you 2) great news! a lot of fruit juices exist without any added sugar in them! 3) honestly even having a glass of the fruit juice with added sugar won't completely dehydrate you as long as you're also drinking water throughout the day. if its hot you deserve a cold treat of a drink!!! can't go wrong with fruit juice!!!

regarding gatorade: maybe this isn't an every day drink, but guess what: if it's 110F/40C or hotter outside, and you don't have AC, or you're moving around a lot outside of the AC, and you're sweating buckets: that's when you drink a gatorade.

gatorade exists to replenish all the electrolytes (salt) and glucose (sugar) that you sweat out. YES it is meant for athletes to drink during intensive work outs and not necessarily for people who aren't doing that kind of exercise. BUT GUESS WHAT! when you're sweating buckets because you had to walk to the bus in extreme heat, that's intensive exercise. please feel free to drink a gatorade after that! that's its intended use case!!!!

no: neither of these drinks should be a total replacement for water. but drinking a lot of water and then treating yourself to a fruit juice with lunch is a good idea!!! drinking a gatorade becuase you just had to walk for 20 minutes in the heat is a good idea!!!

Please Stop Spreading Misinformation About Drinks!!! It's fine if you drink things that aren't water!!!! Yes you should probably always be drinking water but drinking something else As Well isn't going to hurt you!!!! okay!!!! its fine!!!!!!

honestly so long as you are consistently getting Any (non-alcoholic) fluids in you, you're doing great!!!!!! okay!!!! i love you stay safe <3

#also: drinking A Soda or A Coffee isn't going to completely dehydrate you if you're drinking other fluids tbqh!!!#its fine!!!!! its fine!!!!!#drinks #heat #dehydration #this post exists because i'm mad at misinfo but also #this is for my homies who hate the taste of water and struggle to stay hydrated #because people have told them over and over again You Must Absolute Drink Water And Nothing Else and so they just don't drink anything #listen!! hey!!! whoever told you that was lying!!!!#drinking Any Fluids At All (yes even with caffeine!!) is better than Not Drinking Anything #please hydrate!!!! it's okay if that hydration isn't water!!!!#honestly i tried to be extremely non confrontational in this post but im pretty sure i've seen people suggest flavored water packets #but say no fruit juice ever. and that's insane.#it's all fluids baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#so long as you are drinking fluids you are combatting dehydration #YES water is the best option HOWEVER. if you drink things that aren't water that's also okay! i promise!!!!!!!!

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