#cuubism

[magnusbae]

I said it was human au Dream, @cuubism said it was 1589 Hob, and that is precisely right.

#The sandman #Dream of the Endless #Dreamling #hob gadling #Cuubism #buns.hc #buns.all

[mayhemspreadingguy]

How did this happen? @cuubism came up with the incredibly enticing idea to put Dream in the black leather pants. Then @magnusbae dutifully passed this brainrot into my brain. Brainstorming this was so so wild :D.

tiredly stretching in the classroom...

also, after I finished this drawing the pose reminded me of that one Flashdance scene (the chair dance with... the water 😳)

how is he able to squat like that in the skintight thick-leather pants? how did he even put those on in the first place? - and no zippers??

who knows, who knows xD

#silly rabbit au #cuubism #god bless! #magnusbae #sir! you and your gorgeous creative writing killed me - you described the vibes so beautifully #that there was no doubt it's gonna have impact on me! #and those material references that you sent were very useful #don't know it it actually looks like the matt leather tho. you tell me xD #hope a did it justice xD #also cuubism your last SR fic was so so good that it hyped me to quickly finish this :D #dreamling #dream of the endless #hob gadling #mayhem art

[im-not-corrupted]

oooh! trust issues!

Hi hi! This is one I started forever ago, for the Dreamling Bingo, and I just never got around to finishing it. I picked it back up again recently though, so yay! This one's about a Hob who's been looking for a way to contact his Stranger and ends up being among the cultists when Dream is captured, and a Dream who is still angry after 1889 and doesn't know whether to trust Hob yet.

It's quite short at the moment, with about 3k words and nowhere near completion, so I'll post shorter snippets for it.

A jewel, red as blood. A jewel he recognised, one that often adorned one man's outfit. Often the only spot of colour on him, for the rest of him was skin pale as snow clothed in midnight black. It was a ruby he thought about often, when trying to work out just what his Stranger was, when his thoughts often found himself back to the man who offered him immortality.

Back to the man who walked out on him in 1889, the very reason Hob was even here. And now that ruby hung from Roderick's hand. It was different than he saw it last time, an uncut stone hanging from a black cord. Stolen from the body that fell out of the fucking air during a summoning spell that included chanting here in the darkness and I summon you in poison and in pain. Stolen from his Stranger, who might've been Death itself. His Stranger, currently trapped in Roderick Burgess's basement. Fuck.

#the sandman #dreamling #dream of the endless #hob gadling #dreamling fic #the sandman fic #eris writes things #my fic #cuubism #wip title tag game

[embervoices]

With gratitude to @cuubism for letting me borrow Bookstore Cryptid Dream's Library.

The phone rang.

Once he had determined that it was possible to have a phone only ring at certain times, or for certain people, Aziraphale had seriously considered disconnecting the landline for his bookshop in favor of having the number forwarded automatically to the device Crowley had acquired for him.

This sufficiently worried his vintage phone that it promptly began call filtering for him to prove to the angel its continued worth. Aziraphale hadn't so much noticed, as determined that the landline wasn't really enough of a bother to be worth altering.

Thus, when the landline rang well after the bookshop's (admittedly dubious) business hours when Crowley was already sitting across from him in the back room, Aziraphale nevertheless did not hesitate to answer.

"Aziraphale, I need your help!" Anathema explained in a very slightly (read: incredibly) distressed tone.

"Whatever is the matter?"

"I lost the book."

Aziraphale blinked. Anathema's hands weren't exactly audibly flapping, but Aziraphale had no trouble picturing them nevertheless.

"Well, not lost, exactly. I… burnt it."

"You what!?"

"I burnt it!"

Aziraphale's eyebrows furrowed. "I thought it was already burnt in the fire-that-wasn't? I still have the little slip of loose paper from the final prophecy here in my desk."

"Oh! No, not that one. That one is fine. Yes, singed still, that's true, but I have all the index cards so it's ok." She kindly didn't mention that she'd noticed the missing prophecy. She was a touch relieved to know whose hands it had ended up in. "No, what I mean is, the next day a whole second book arrived, and Newt helped me decide I didn't want to be a professional descendant for the rest of my life. So I burnt it!"

"Oh dear."

"YES 'Oh Dear'! Now everything has gone strange again and I don't have the book!"

Aziraphale nodded to himself, peeking out the windows into Soho. "Things have gone rather strange, haven't they?"

Crowley snorted in the background. Aziraphale waved him away with a hand.

"Hmm. I may know a solution. How soon can you get to my bookshop, Anathema?"

She hummed. "Well, I suppose Newt could drive me. So, what, an hour?"

"That will do nicely. He always did keep late hours."

"Who, Newt?"

"An old friend, of a sort. Or a rival."

"Crowley?"

Aziraphale laughed. "Of course not! Well, perhaps he is a bit like Crowley in some ways, come to think of it, but not in any personal sense, anyway. This is more of a professional rivalry. You'll see."

"Okay, we'll be there soon."

Aziraphale hung up the phone, and turned to his beloved demon.

Crowley raised an eyebrow.

"You're taking her to the Library? At this hour?"

"It's not as if his hours are any more coherent than mine."

Crowley snorted, nodding. "So what's she looking for? An impossible grimoire? You know he won't give those out to just anybody."

"And nor should he, considering what happened last time one of them got out!"

"Right. So you're introducing the known, actually-rather-talented hereditary witch to the Library because…?"

"Oh come now, you know she can be trusted. Besides, this is more a matter of family business."

"Whose family?"

"Hers."

Crowley grinned. "Oh, this should be interesting."

Aziraphale gave him a mischievous smirk. "Indeed!"

#good omens #bookstore cryptid dream #cuubism #Aziraphale #Crowley #Anathema #crossover #riffing #side quest

[ladymatt]

Chapters: 19/? Fandom: Shadowhunters (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood Characters: Magnus Bane, Alec Lightwood, Isabelle Lightwood, Maryse Lightwood, Ragnor Fell, Jace Wayland, Valentine Morgenstern, Catarina Loss Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alliance Rune (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Soul Bond, Angst, Mutual Pining, Discrimination Against Downworlders, Developing Relationship, Slow Burn, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Clave Politics (Shadowhunter Chronicles), mentions of canon-typical homophobia, Misunderstandings, Sharing Magic, Devotion, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Protective Alec Lightwood, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Flirting, Battle Couple Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Sharing a Bed, Alcohol, Near Death Experiences Summary:

The ceremony is over. The halls of the Institute are quiet, somber, in mourning maybe. Alec feels alternately completely numb and like his heart is about to beat out of his chest.

And his husband is nowhere to be found.

a Soul Bond/Arranged Marriage AU

#cuubism #Mind&HeartBody&Soul #Malec #FicRec #Chapter19 #SoulBondAU #United they stand

[virgo-dream]

The New Inn trough the ages ✨

circa 1901

during WWI

during WWII

circa 1960

october, 2022

After the wonderful @cuubism posted some photos of the New Inn (and pointed me in the direction of more) I ended up stumbling upon their instagram page, and they had these wonderful photos of the Inn through the ages! Other cool info:

The pub has existed since 1642 and it was originally called The White Hart! Here’s a transcript of the text on the plaque next to the entrance:

“In 1642 the original Inn was known as The White Hart, but when the present building was erected in 1756, it changed to The New Inn.

From 1780 to his death in 1822, it was called The Hobart Arms after the Hon. George Hobart who lived in Ham Common and was related to the Duke of Buckinghamshire.

It has remained The New Inn ever since, and was renowned as one of the best sites for both travellers and local traffic, always employing at least one ostler.

Today, our fine historical inn offers the warmest traditional hospitality.”

All photos were taken from their official instagram, which you can find at @thenewinn_hamcommon. Drop them a follow and visit if you can! ✨

#the sandman #dreamling #the new inn #this was such a cool find #thanks cuubism for inspiring this post!!! #I hope I get to visit someday!

[rainbowvamp]

hob and dream and academia is my favorite flavor of au. can’t get enough of it. everyone write more of it

#directly inspired by cuubism updating their complex maths series #because i hate math actually because it hurts my brain but i love dream doing math actually

[levionok]

sorry, @cuubism for making your post even more hillarious, but it has to be done

#the sandman #hob gadling #dream of the endless #not my idea #levionok

[magnusbae]

I don't even know how to describe the insanity of accidentally discussing the concept of minions in dreams, or worse, minions being escaped dreams or nightmares who REJOICE and scream in delight when Dream returns, rushing over and hugging his legs shouting "Boss!!" and "It's BOSS" and "Boss LA RETURNA" or some other form of gibberish.

(@cuubism I blame you, tbh)

#This shame and lack of dignity is being dragged out #I cannot believe I said the word minion here #BUT FUCK THIS SHIT IMAGINE HOW MANT CHIDLREN AND ADULTS DREAM OF THE MINIONS #THEY HAVE AN ARMADA WAITING IN THE DREAMING #LUCIFER AND HIS DEMONS ATTACK THE DREAMING? BIG FUCKING MISTAKE. #THE LITTLE FERAL THINGS WILL GO INSANSE. #buns.txt #Please put me in the baby jail for a while. #cuubism #I dare not tag it in any way. #It's officially near morning for me #I need to knock myself out cold #cursedMinionDream

[mayhemspreadingguy]

This is where the goth cat belongs.

#dreamling #the feeling when you have a wip of Dream sitting on Hob's lap but didn't finish it yet because there's too much furniture in the background #and instead of finishing that you start another lap sitting sketch but forget that you'll have to add at least one piece of furniture too #so no shading today only the flats because drawing furniture always sucks the life out of me #im sure once i post it I'll see dozen things that I'd like to changexD - as always - but I have to draw the line somewhere. I'm very sleepy #also #her little brother au #the au made me do this xDD #cuubism #magnusbae #(magnusbae you systematically kept feeding me the brainrot so this was bound to happen x'D) #(and I don't know anymore what's canonical to this au and what's not xD) #oh well #just vibin and lovin the two idiots #mayhem art

[im-not-corrupted]

oohh!! seer dream!

Hi hi! This one's my lil fairy tale (kinda) fic about an immortal-human Dream who can see the dreams of everybody and make them come true. He lives in a cabin outside of the woods, and eventually, a Hob whose dreams always comes true stumbles upon him. They adopt a couple of ravens too, it's a great time. Here's a little snippet from chapter two :)

------

He bundles the poor thing up in the cloak, cradling it close to his chest. There is a faint warmth as he brushes a finger over silk-soft feathers, as cold as he imagined they would be, and the bird still breathes. Faintly, but it still does, and he is grateful for that. For the chance to do something to help heal it, to give it a place to grow warm again until it can take to the skies once more.

”What is your name, then?” he murmurs quietly, trying not to think overmuch of the biting cold. He will be home in the cabin soon, and that will have to be enough for him.

The name comes to him easily, a faint whisper in the back of his mind. “Jessamy,” he tries, and—yes. It fits. It fits perfectly, and the bird in his hands seems to respond pleasantly. Jessamy it is, then.

The walk back to his cabin is much slower than he would like. He is cold, breath frosting in front of him, and the winter clothes he wears does little for the chill. Still, the bird seems to enjoy being cradled close to him while bundled up so snugly in the fabric of his cloak--its dreams slowly become a tiny bit brighter, even if its desperation to feel less pain still occupies most of them--and so by the time he reaches his cabin, he thinks it is worth it.

It is even more worth it when he sees the man who stands on his doorstep once more, looking more than a little dejected where he stares at the closed door. It is the stranger again, the one who foolishly dreams of immortality, and Dream startles at the sight of him. Truly, he had not expected to see him the last time--at least, not for a reason as innocent and as lovely as simply wanting to offer Dream stories because he seemed to enjoy them the first time they met--and to see him a third time feels...

It feels impossible. It feels a little too good to be true, somehow. People do not visit him. He made this cabin his, far enough away from any civilisation that he will not be disturbed, because he did not want people to visit him. Because he did not want to be used for his abilities, because he wanted to hurt less, because he wanted to exist without such expectations.

Occasionally, there are some who stumble upon him. He is an unwilling legend in these parts, a story that has passed onto newer generations through word of mouth. He knows how they think of him, what they call him, what they want from him. And sometimes, somebody takes their chances. Makes their way towards his cabin on nothing but desperation and dreams alone in the hopes that somehow he exists, that, for some reason that is beyond him, he will make their dream a reality even if he had not done such a thing in centuries.

Yet this man continues to find him. He does not request his dream come true. He makes no demands. He does not even ask--he has requested only water and Dream's company, so far, and neither of these take energy or magic from him.

It is baffling. It is wonderful.

And still, it is hard to trust. A third time cannot be a coincidence, surely. He must know by now who Dream must be. What he must be. Dream does not think the man would be so rude as to outright demand he grant the dream that hangs in the air around him, one he imagines so fiercely Dream can still feel it without reaching out, but his muscles still tense.

After two nights of his companionship, after sitting by the fire with the man in front of him...After having somebody spend time in his company after so many years of the walls of his cabin closing in around him, he does not think he will be able to turn this man away. Not after all of that.

Immortality would be difficult to grant. It would be painful, and would take much from him. He thinks it might be a worthwhile price to pay. "Hello," he greets. It is...softer than he intends, quieter. The bird in his hand lets out a little sound, still in so much agony, and he brushes a finger over her head once more. It appears to soothe her, and he is happy to give whatever comforts he can.

The man whirls around, so fast Dream fears he may hurt himself accidentally. He remains properly balanced, however, staring at Dream with widened eyes as though he hadn't expected Dream to be there at all. Which is...strange. This is where he lives. Where else would he be?

A smile as bright and glorious as the sun breaks across his face. It is a smile Dream would do much to see again, one he wishes to burn into his memory so he might revisit it again. "Stranger!" he greets in return, and Dream thinks he will never get tired of the joy, the excitement, that shines through in his voice so easily. It has been terribly long since somebody has been truly delighted to see him. "I thought you weren't here for a moment."

"My apologies," he murmurs slowly. The man has not asked anything of him yet. He wonders how he has gotten lucky enough for this man to find him. "I had not been expecting guests."

#the sandman #dreamling #dream of the endless #hob gadling #dreamling fic #the sandman fic #eris writes things #my asks #wip tag game #cuubism #chapter one is going to go up in a couple of days I think!!! #I'm incredibly excited to share it :))

[wordsinhaled]

saw this post by @cuubism and my hand slipped...

-

In all honesty, Dream cannot say that he has ever thought about it until this moment. Yet Hob's expression is open and free of any judgment. It does not seem to matter to him that Dream comes to this with no experience. In fact, if the way his eyes are beginning to sparkle is any indication, Hob would take pleasure in initiating Dream to an act of pleasure he has heretofore denied himself, and only seen in snatches of others' reveries.

But Dream must take too long to respond, because Hob shifts away from him on the couch, as if to concede the matter. It is then that Dream realizes how close together they had come to be sitting over the course of the evening; knows it by the sudden absence of warmth where Hob's thigh had been pressed flush to his own through scant layers of cloth.

"It's alright," Hob says. Is Dream imagining the hint of disappointment in his voice? Or the way Hob's gaze flicks for an ephemeral second down to Dream's lips? "Of course. Just because you haven't—well, that doesn't mean you'd want it to be—"

"I would not be opposed," Dream cuts in.

"I've gone and put you on the sp—" Hob stops short, blinking. "Oh. Really? With me?"

"Yes." Dream smiles. "Indeed." He cannot remember when he last did so. This time Hob certainly tracks the curve of his mouth, and avidly at that. Dream finds himself pleased to hold Hob's attention. The joy that unfurls in him at the knowledge of being wanted is surprising; it has been long since Dream felt it.

And now Hob is grinning back, a roguish tilt of a thing he has never directed at Dream before. "Well," Hob says. "In that case, you should know, Dream, that I've had several lifetimes to think about this rather a lot. "

Dream should know, just as he knows all else that happens in the Dreaming. And yet he does not, for in all the centuries of their friendship he has not once allowed himself to look in on Hob Gadling's nightly wanderings through his realm. "Tell me what you have thought about, then. Or perhaps... show me."

He holds his body quite still, unused to the tension coiling through him. While the sensation of desire is not, precisely, new, the freedom to desire Hob in specific is uncharted territory. All of him seems to thrum at the unexpected promise of it.

Hob moves closer, so that Dream can feel the heat of him again. “Kissing you. Nice and simple, yeah? Could start with that.”

"You may," Dream agrees.

He sounds perhaps more breathless than magnanimous, courtesy of this Waking vessel and its fallible lungs, but Hob's answering laugh as he leans in is grateful and giddy as a schoolboy's, so Dream supposes they are evenly matched.

#*emerges from months of writing hibernation* is this anything #drops this and slinks away #the sandman #dreamling #your honor i still love them i promise #FIRST TIME DREAMLING HAS ME IN A CHOKEHOLD IT'S FINE

[ladymatt]

Chapters: 4/? Fandom: Shadowhunters (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood Characters: Magnus Bane, Alec Lightwood, Isabelle Lightwood Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Human, Sex Work, Sex Worker Magnus Bane, Friends With Benefits To Lovers, parasocial relationships, Past Magnus Bane/Camille Belcourt, Past Abuse, Porn with Feelings, Sex Toys, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Semi-Public Sex, Masturbation, Anal Sex, Sex Tapes, Innuendo, Flirting, Rough Sex, Exhibitionism, Gay Disaster Alec Lightwood, So much smut, Extreme horniness, Bad Decisions, Mutual Masturbation, Mutual Pining, Undernegotiated Kink Summary:

Alec knows he’s in way, way too deep with this. He should not be so addicted to watching erotic videos of some guy who doesn’t even know who he is. He needs to stop. He will stop. It’s just through a screen, after all. Nothing real.

He doesn’t count on running into Magnus Bane in real life.

#cuubism #IRL #Chapter4 #Malec #FicRec

[dailydreamling]

Canon Divergence

My Stranger, My Dream by SigniorBenedickofPadua  (Words: 67,154)

Warning: Non-Graphic Violence

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Roderick Burgess' spell does not summon Death, but someone who has been touched by Death. Hob Gadling ends up in his cellar instead of Dream.

Canon Divergence

your body is an anchor by Ark (Words: 6,792 )

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

"The love of your life," Dream says softly. "That is quite a declaration to make, Hob Gadling, when one considers how many lives you've lived, and how many still await you."

Canon Divergence

in my mind's eye (i create someone i could love endlessly) by youcanseethecosmos (Words: 21,740)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Because home isn’t a place – not for Hob Gadling. It’s quiet conversations and purple and pink galaxies within starlit eyes. It’s glow-in-the-dark stickers and running around barefoot in the rain. It’s stubborn excuses, heated arguments, and the dip in the mattress with whispers of "I’m sorry" through the old creaky bed springs. It’s lifting the blanket and feeling a grounding warmth curl into your chest and letting it stay there long after the morning sun has risen.

It’s jet black hair, gangly limbs, and pale skin. Home is the person who’s holding onto him like a lifeline. Because Hob likes to think Dream sees this as home too – sees Hob as home.

Canon Divergence

A Waking Nightmare by KydrogenDragon (Words: 17,303)

Warning: Implied/Referenced Drug Use

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Hob has started hallucinating his Stranger for the past seventy-odd years. When his Stranger actually turns up, he thinks it's another hallucination. Shenanigans ensue to get the pair on the same page.

Canon Divergence

fly me to the moon by apocryphal (Words: 11,857) 

Warning: Ambiguous Slash, Panic Attacks, PTSD

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Dream discovers that after being locked in a cage for a century, it turns out he's contracted the mortal affliction known as claustrophobia. Inconvenient. He enlists Hob to help him resolve this issue ASAP. Obviously, that goes well.

See below for more recommendations!

Canon Divergence

Metaphysics by Quilling (Words: 3,199)

Warning: Dubious Morality, Canon and Historically Typical Violence

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

In order to perfect humanity’s own dark mirror, one needs not look for evil or greed. In the true heart of darkness lies a sort of ambiguity. Hob taught him that.

Canon Divergence

In Waking Dreams by cuubism (Words: 49,309)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

In 1389, Hob married a man in his dreams, a lover conjured only by his imagination -- or so he thought. Five hundred years later, a mysterious ransom letter has Hob questioning everything he knew about his dream husband, who coincidentally disappeared from his dreams seventy years ago.

Several miles away, trapped in a glass bowl, said husband is really regretting letting his marriage be only a story in dreams.

Canon Divergence

the shape this light could take by bacondoughnut (Words: 12,617)

Warning: PTSD, Emotional Baggage, Trauma

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

In Hob's defense, he doesn't think anyone in the history of people keeping fish as pets has ever been so offended by a standard glass fishbowl.

Canon Divergence

Dream of a thousand kisses by fellshish (Words: 6,335)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Dream wants his reunion with Hob to go perfectly after their big fight so he visits Hob’s dreams to rehearse the moment. During one of those practice dreams, Hob suddenly kisses him.

Alternate Universe - Post The Kindly Ones

Beautiful, Strange and New by Moorishflower (Words: 223,030)

Warning: References to The Kindly Ones, Suicidal Thoughts

Pairings: Dream of the Endless | Daniel/Hob Gadling/Dream of the Endless | Morpheus

On a bright and unforgiving Sunday morning, Hob Gadling, having attended the Wake of his best friend, opens his kitchen door to find...his best friend. Changed. Alive. Human, and carried in the arms of the being intended to replace him. Given one month to decide if life is worth living, Hob and Daniel attempt to convince Morpheus of his worth at the same time as all three of them navigate their feelings for each other.

Alternate Universe - Overture

Forgotten Preludes by Astrophel_Hireath (Words: 6,438)

Warning: Bittersweet, Memory Loss

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

“Fuck it,” Hob mutters, a series of complex emotions tumbling across his face in quick succession to each other - too fast for Dream to log. Fingers tap compulsively at Hob’s side, fidgeting in deep conflict. “I definitely won’t remember any of this?”

Dream’s brows slant. “No.”

"Perfect.” Hob says, only somewhat hysterically, before closing the distance between them in three purposeful steps.

Hob’s Students Fics

WTF is Gadling's Deal, Anyway? (Assorted Theories) by JustJReally (Words: 13,915)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Five theories Professor Gadling's students came up with to explain His Whole Deal (and one time he told them the truth). In which Morpheus is mistaken for a student, Hob is mistaken for many things, and no one is good at spying.

Hob’s Students Fics

Quarantine Debacles by Picture_Yourself (Words: 3,964)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

An examination of what exactly would occur if one were to take an oblivious anthropomorphic personification of dreams, a rant-prone history teacher and a Zoom call filled with queer students and toss them all into one metaphorical room.

Canon Divergence

A Dream interrupted by ColorMeHappy (Words: 30,763)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Meeting Dream had gone from once a century occurrence to every six months, to just every month, then to around once a week, a change of pace Hob would be eternally grateful for, if only people stopped bloody interrupting them.

(Five times someone in Hob's life interrupts him and Dream's meetings (dates) and one time it's someone Dream knows.)

Human AU

would you let me know?/ I could make some time if you wanted by BeatnikFreak (Words: 150,934)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Dr Hob Gadling's been assigned a new colleague to co-teach his second year class, Dr Dream Oneiros, who is both utterly beautiful and completely unable to act like, y'know, a human being. But Hob's nothing if not indefatigable, especially when faced with a fascinating man who probably needs to talk about his feelings more, and who listens to every stupid thing he says like it's the most profound poetry.

Human AU

On Broken Wings by Konstadt (Words: 57,191)

Warning: Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

An AU where they meet on the university campus and Hob gets more than he bargained for when he decides to be a good person

Human AU

Let Me Down Easy by sanyumi (Words: 21,747)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

“... Mr. Gadling will be your photographer today.” Hob hears Morpheus’ shoes scuff and halt on the wooden floor before he turns around, taking a deep breath and holding it as he finally meets Morpheus’ eyes for the first time in five years. Christ, Morpheus looks at him like he’s staring at a ghost. It almost makes Hob laugh.

“Hello,” Hob croaks. He knows this is the part he usually shakes hands with his model, but he doesn’t move his hand. He doesn’t want to touch Morpheus.

Canon Divergence

wouldn't you like to see something strange? by rainbow_shine (Words: 3,629)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Dream looked exactly the same as always. Yes, his coat was longer and his eyes were darker, but that was it. There was absolutely nothing that would indicate that his friend was disguised as something even remotely scary. Hob would even go as far as to say that Dream looked cute. He didn't know why no one else seemed to share his opinion.

Soulmate AU

Passing Stranger! (You Do Not Know How Longingly I Look Upon You) by WyvernQuill (Words: 25,112)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Hob has known that Dream is his mildly star-crossed soulmate since their first meeting in 1389, but believes they have a mutual understanding not to acknowledge it; Dream, meanwhile, was under the impression that the Endless have no soulmates whatsoever, up until their sixth meeting in 1889. Finding out they're wrong comes as a bit of a shock to both of them.

Retire Dream AU

Next to Nothing by Cheshyr (Words: 6,056)

Warning: Angst with a Happy Ending, Insecurity, Emotional Hurt/Comfort

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Dream knew that retiring from Endlessness to live a human life with Hob Gading wouldn't be easy. He wasn't expecting Hob to laugh at him so much though. (In which there are misunderstandings, Dream hides things he shouldn't, and being human is hard.)

Omega Verse AU

lover, be good to me by CinnamonCake (Words: 100,265)

Warning: Past Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Abortion, Hurt/Comfort

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Dream de Endless was suppose to be his family’s most prized jewel, but when he is taken, he loses the last thing the world considered valuable about him. Broken down to his core, he does not expect anyone to want him again. Until Robert Gadling walks into his life

#dreamling fic #dreamling fanfic #hob gadling #dream of the endless #dailydreamling #masterpost #ao3 fanfic #hobmurphy #fic rec #DailyDreamling Fic Recs #dream x hob #dream of the endless x hob gadling

[film-in-my-soul]

Dark | 1,369 | softestpunk / @softest-punk

Summary: Hob wakes to the sensation of being watched by the darkness in his bedroom. He loves it when Dream gets weird.

Werewolf Boyfriends; The Care and Keeping Of | 3,298 | softestpunk / @softest-punk

Summary: There are many benefits, Dream reflects during the full moon, to the keeping of a werewolf for a boyfriend.

Intemperate | 4,402 | cuubism / @cuubism

Summary: Was it like this for humans all the time? Dream wondered. This heavy anticipation in his chest, the bodily attention verging on pain? He hadn’t known it was possible to be so intently aware of another person, but there it was, Hob Hob Hob in the pounding heart he didn’t need, a compulsion that wasn’t intellectual or even particularly romantic, but rather a strained desperation that could only be soothed by touch.

Dust on Trial | 4,655 | Griombrioch

Summary: “And..” Hob pauses, “this was good for you? It’s what you wanted?” Dream closes his eyes and sighs out a breath he doesn’t need, if only to make another attempt at dislodging the rock in his chest. He knew what would happen when he approached his previous lover. He knew their nature, and he’d done it anyway. This is his fault. He just wishes the hole inside of him would fill. He despises feeling so hollow. “Oh,” Hob breathes then, as if understanding some complex problem that Dream himself cannot see, and the frown deepens. “Oh, you’re in a bad drop, aren’t you, love?”

all together now | 5,182 | Moorishflower / @moorishflower

Summary: "You know I do not require this of you," his lover says, and Hob swallows again. This time Dream doesn't even need to look; his eyes are still trained on Hob's throat. "Is it not so that human lovers keep aspects of themselves...apart from their relationships?" "Hiding a thing for obscure fetish pornography isn't quite the same as keeping an entire part of your personality locked up," Hob says kindly.

Please see below for more recommendations!

Handy | 5,612 | softestpunk / @softest-punk

Summary: Dream answers the door one beautiful September afternoon to a man so attractive he can barely keep it together long enough to get his sink fixed. Several weeks later, he runs into the same man in a lecture hall.

and oil for the light | 6,387 | Moorishflower / @moorishflower

Summary: Matthew eyes him with blatant disrespect. "You're one of those," he says. "One of those monsterfucker people. Gets off on tentacles and shit." "Tentacles," Hob says, affronted. "There's never been any tentacles." "Have you asked?"

how longingly | 7,333 | cuubism / @cuubism

Summary: Hob's fingers slip a little higher, just under the sleeve of his coat. He is still wearing his coat, yes, why is that? He feels very warm. "Could find out?" "Are you suggesting I should find some man to bed me?" "Some man," Hob repeats, jaw working. His gaze is hovering somewhere around Dream's collar. "Some man who knows what he's doing, yeah."

I Wanna Hold Your Hand | 7,535 | Moorishflower / @moorishflower

Summary: Hands are such a human thing, Hob thinks. To make, and shape, and create. The elegance of thumbs. Fashioned by thousands of years of slow and careful evolution for the sole purpose of holding. He wants to hold Dream. To rub their fingers together, that singularly human grasp, to push their palms flat, and their chests close, and he's not sure if he wants to hug his friend or cry on his shoulder, because he should have been there. He should have known.

with both hands | 8,596 | Moorishflower / @moorishflower

Summary: Hob whistles, low and impressed, and makes one more turn to admire the extremely obvious handprint on his right arsecheek.

Licking the Spoon | 8,636 | Dira Sudis (dsudis) / @dsudis

Summary: "I have spoons in my flat," Hob added, feeling a little reckless with the surge of probably-unneeded adrenaline. "Loads of spoons." His friend raised his eyebrows at that, and jerked his hand away from the spoon on the table, but he didn't follow it by walking out, so Hob hadn't gone too far.

Ecdysis | 8,647 | Moorishflower / @moorishflower

Summary: The manner in which an animal routinely casts off a part of its body (often, but not always, an outer layer or covering), either at specific times of the year, or at specific points in its life cycle. The door swings open, and Hob looks up, as automatic as a blink or a breath. He’s not expecting anything. It’s been three months and four days, six hours and thirty-nine minutes, and all he had been told was more than once a century. Dream is standing in the doorway. He looks like hell.

Relief | 8,753 | softestpunk / @softest-punk

Summary: "Your daydreams," Dream pronounces, standing there with his hands in his coat pockets, looking Hob's body up and down like it's a fascinating puzzle. "Are exceptionally loud." Oops.

Fell In Love With a Pisces Moon | 10,651 | LikeMmmCookies

Summary: Dream visits Hob 33 years late, but then he keeps coming back and Hob doesn't know exactly why. He finds Dream isn't the same man he once knew, but he's still in love all the same.

just find the feeling, pass it on | 10,784 | ThirtySixSaveFiles / @thirtysixsavefiles

Summary: There is a new temple in London. This is not so unusual. Dream has been…away, as his sister says, for over a century. Even had he not been, he does not map the Waking so thoroughly as to always see these things when they start. Places of love, of devotion, spring up from time to time. He leaves them be; they are not, generally speaking, his business. What is unusual is that this one is shaped like a pub, and it is very much his business. Dream contemplates The New Inn as he approaches.

Scenes from a University AU the Author Did Not Intend to Write | 10,880 | softestpunk / @softest-punk

Summary: Dream and Hob, throughout their time at university together, dancing around one another until something finally gives.

by the minute | 11,267 | issylra / @issylra

Summary: "Why don't you tell me your name?" "Hob." Quite possibly the worst fake name Dream has encountered thus far. There's another pause. "I mean. Not Hob." A punched out breath. "Fuck." "You don't know your name?" "Of course I know my name. But I'm not sure you're supposed to know my name."

Consummation | 11,462 | Moorishflower / @moorishflower

Summary: Cōnsummāre, To perfect, to consummate. Cōnsūmere, To devour, to take wholly or completely. Turns out, shoving all of your repressed desires into a box lined with teeth will spectacularly backfire when eventually you have to open the box up again. Or, Hob Gadling demonstrates his ability to code switch and Dream goes off the rails a bit.

Saint Morpheus | 11,882 | landwriter / @landwriter

Summary: “Kneel,” said Dream. Hob knelt before him. Dream pressed his own thumb to his lips and wet it. He took Hob’s chin in the other hand and tilted his face up. “Some do this with ash. To acknowledge death. Mortality. It would not befit you,” he said, and smudged his wet thumb in a sign upon Hob’s forehead. “Now you wear my mark,” he said. “I have always worn your mark, my Lord,” said Hob. “Then remember you are mine and to me you shall return,” Dream said.

Wolf and I | 12,054 | Moorishflower / @moorishflower

Summary: "Shuck," the beast says. "How quickly the memories of men fade! I am no paltry devil, little red. I am the son of the great wolf Night herself, first and foremost among stories! I am older than the seas and the forests! I am..." "Beautiful," Hob breathes. Hob Gadling, hunter for King Richard, is called to fell the wolf that has decimated the deer of Cannock Chase. He finds more than he bargained for waiting for him in the woods.

On sexual dimorphism in C. urophasianus | 13,177 | Moorishflower / @moorishflower

Summary: "I must court you," Dream pronounces, and Hob drags his attention away from the flowers. Grimaces slightly. "You don't have to," he says. "This will only last a week or two, and then we can go back to being, you know. Normal boyfriends who aren't being driven insane by the urge to put every shiny object in the flat in the bloody bed with me."

Once Upon a Time | 14,055 | softestpunk / @softest-punk

Summary: Hob knows the point of storytime at the library is to give parents an hour’s break and maybe a chance to grab a coffee with some other parents at the library café and enjoy the company of other adults for a little while, but when the moment comes to leave Robyn, he can’t face it. Robyn’s all he has left in the world and he really doesn’t want a break, he wants to keep him in his bloody pocket always. But he needs time to be with other kids, away from his hovering wreck of a dad, and so Hob decides on a mature, reasonable solution. He hides behind one of the bookshelves. Which is why the first he ever knows of Dream is his voice.

Midnight in Bloom | 14,389 | CeruleanHeart

Summary: A peculiar species of flowers is spreading in the Dreaming, maddening its residents and threatening to overtake the realm. When Morpheus himself falls under their spell his only option is to confront all the desires for an old friend he’s had long buried within his heart before his own passion can consume him.

Bloodhound | 15,712 | Moorishflower / @moorishflower

Summary: It's a square gem in an antique gold setting, real antique gold, with the sort of dullness to the metal that tells its age. There's nothing particularly ornate about it. The ruby itself is a simple cut – he’s not a jeweller, doesn’t know what to call it precisely, but it’s square-ish and bevelled at the edges – but it catches the light in such a way that it makes it seem like it has a thousand facets all across the surface of it. The rain creates a stippled effect, and even through two separate panes of glass Hob can see his reflection peering back at himself through the ruby’s deep face. £2500, says a placard set in front of it. Early 1900s RUBY pendant - real!!!

in the absence of memory | 16,089 | softestpunk / @softest-punk

Summary: A freak accident renders Hob unable to remember the beautiful man who strides into his hospital room and declares himself his husband. But oh, does he want to. He knows he's loved this man for centuries, that nothing could make him forget. The best he can do is tell him that, and wait. Meanwhile, Dream of the Endless experiences being Hob Gadling's beloved spouse, without any of their past hanging between them, and agonises over the realisation that Hob could have loved him if only he'd been better.

an allowance of pleasure | 16,860 | softestpunk / @softest-punk

Summary: Even a being as powerful as the Lord of Dreams may have things to learn. Even a human as insignificant as Hob Gadling may have things to teach. Luckily for Dream, Hob's supplies of tea, biscuits, and patience are bottomless.

New Stranger | 20,709 | softestpunk / @softest-punk

Summary: It’s been three months since Hob Gadling attended the funeral of his oldest friend when he walks into the basement café of a bookshop on Tottenham Court Road and sees him behind the counter.

Shelter | 23,345 | softestpunk / @softest-punk

Summary: 1924. Roderick Burgess' continued attempts to control Dream result in a shattered cage, eternal sleep, and one very human, very cold, very hungry, very naked, VERY angry Endless. Several days later, Captain Robert Gadling opens his front door, and said very human Endless falls into his arms.

The Knight of Cups | 25,720 | softestpunk / @softest-punk

Summary: Hob had fought Lucifer, as Dream’s champion, with his bare hands, rushing in where angels would fear to tread, heedless of anything but the desire to protect.

spilled ink and daffodils | 31,625 | issylra / @issylra

Summary: "I love your tattoos," Hob mimics, in an overly lovestruck tone of voice. He bats his eyelashes for good measure. "Do you have more? Can you show me? It's totally okay if you have to take off your clothes, by the way. I just want to appreciate the artistry." Dream fixes him with what is probably supposed to be a blank stare, but Hob can see the way he's biting back a smile. "Are you done?" "Painting for the day? Yes. Teasing you? No, probably not."

By the Laws of Magic | 32,125 | Lenore

Summary: It’s 1959, and Hob Gadling is working at a London auction house, amazing his colleagues with his uncanny knowledge of art and artifacts from the 14th century on. When he gets the assignment to catalogue a family library at a place called Fawney Rig, he looks forward to a working vacation in the country. What he finds is a house with a preternatural chill where odd disturbances happen daily, an ornate carved door with a secret clearly hidden behind it, and visions of his mysterious stranger every time he turns around.

You're the One I Need | 39,086 | Moorishflower / @moorishflower

Summary: "Uh-oh," Delirium says. Dream studies the car, the white smoke billowing out from beneath the bonnet, listening to the alarming clunking noise that the engine is making. On his hip, Orpheus, unusually solemn child that he is, gazes soulfully at the car. "Caw boken," he declares.

A Man of Good Fortune | 43,308 | softestpunk / @softest-punk

Summary: Captain Robert Gadling, a man with a fortune of a hundred and twenty thousand pounds in war prizes, needs a well-bred omega to fulfil his ambition of styling himself a gentleman. Dream d'Endless, a penniless divorced omega with an ancient name, requires an alpha to provide for his son, Orpheus. Their purely practical marriage seems like the best solution for everyone. If only either of them were inclined towards practicality.

grist for the mill | 56,226 | jamais_vu0

Summary: The rumor that Hob Gadling, the human who tricked Death herself into granting him immortality, has finally decided he's lived long enough and consented to die is sweeping through the supernatural community like wildfire. It even spreads to the Dreaming, where Dream handles it about as well as could be expected. It is, to say the least, a bit of a shock to Hob Gadling himself, who is still very much alive- and increasingly in need of rescue.

On Broken Wings | 57,191 | Konstadt / @blueberrymffn

Summary: Hob Gadling has seen the same man sitting still like a statue every day for a week and looking terribly upset, all he really wants is a peaceful lunch break but he can't bring himself to ignore someone in need - especially a very gorgeous someone who looks like they're on the verge of a breakdown. A chance meeting becomes far more, and gives Morpheus a means to heal.

The Uses of Adversity | 65,825 | MonstrousRegiment

Summary: What led Hob Gadling — at the time known as Robert Stranger, because he’d been in a permanent state of pettiness from 1889 to about 1904 and now he was stuck with it — to the dank, cold, and dark basement of the Burgess house on March of 1957 was not so much coincidence or fate as it was curiosity. Yeah. Cats isn’t the only thing it kills.

My Stranger, My Dream | 67,154 | SigniorBenedickofPadua / @signiorbenedickofpadua

Summary: Hob has been around death. Living in London throughout multiple plague outbreaks and fires, as well as making a living soldiering and dabbling in banditry, will do that to you. What he doesn't know is that Death has been around Hob as well. He has no idea that when his Stranger left him that night in 1389 after their first meeting, the woman who came up to him, laid a hand on his shoulder and said, “Good luck, friend,” was Death incarnate. Hob doesn’t know that he is one of few things in this world that has been Touched by Death and lived. Had he known this, he might not have been as confused as he is when his body slams into the floor of a dim, candle-lit cellar and he finds himself surrounded by hooded figures and a gold circle on the floor. That is all he manages to perceive before everything goes blurry and consciousness slips away from him again. Here in the Darkness.

Music When You Speak | 72,075 | The_KickIt_Domain / @ml-nolan

Summary: "I should have asked you earlier, but I don't suppose you'll still be in town tomorrow?" Hob says. "It'd be lovely to see you again." The man truly looks regretful as he says, "We won't." It was worth a shot. They hardly know each other. There's no reason for the sick film of disappointment settling over him. "Ah, well. I'm happy to have met you anyway," Hob says, subdued. "Are you doing anything right now?"

If I Please You | 112,103 | Moorishflower / @moorishflower

Summary: “I’ll guard you for a night,” Hob says, “and say I please you, you can either pay me for a day’s work, or keep me on ‘til you reach where you’re going.” “Do you know the way to Canterbury?” the lord asks, and Hob nods. “Oh, yes. It’s a few days’ ride, not more than three or four, by my memory.” “Then you shall have three days to please me, Robert Gadling.”

would you let me know?/ I could make some time if you wanted | 150,934 | BeatnikFreak / @beatnikfreakiswriting

Summary: Dr Hob Gadling's been assigned a new colleague to co-teach his second year class, Dr Dream Oneiros, who is both utterly beautiful and completely unable to act like, y'know, a human being. But Hob's nothing if not indefatigable, especially when faced with a fascinating man who probably needs to talk about his feelings more, and who listens to every stupid thing he says like it's the most profound poetry.

Master Reclist · Personal Masterlist · Blog Nav.

#dreamling #dream/hob #dreamling reclist #reclist #the sandman reclist #fanfic reclist

[rexwrendraws]

Sandcastles: Year One, A Sandman Fan-Fic Anthology ⏳

To celebrate The Sandman's one year anniversary this past weekend (how has it been a year already!?), I started a self-indulgent project and decided I wanted to take a crack at typesetting for the very first time.

So, I'm very proud to present: Sandcastles, an 180-page digital anthology that celebrates some of my favorite Sandman fics from the past year! Sandcastle collects shorter fics ranging from gen to mature, and is print-ready and available to be downloaded for free. Through this anthology, I hope others can get the same joy from these fics the same way I did over the past year (think of it as a glorified fic rec list)! (And, if anyone's interested, the print-ready files are available for download as well, if anyone wanted to print their own copy of Sandcastles!)

✨ Download Sandcastles here!

Thank you to all the authors for giving me permission to include their work in this anthology! This is my love letter to all of your work! Please check them out and leave a kind word or two!

The fics included in Sandcastles, in order of the Table of Contents, are the following:

Companions - Picture_Yourself (@anthrossandman)

Fridays - hardly_an_escape (@hardly-an-escape)

Warning Sign - issylra (@issylra)

Snacktime - fishydwarrows (@fishfingersandscarves)

Stray - softestpunk (@softest-punk)

Aulon Raid - moorishflower (@moorishflower)

Unbidden Miracles - mostlybuddingthoughts (@mostlybuddingthoughts)

Available - softestpunk (@softest-punk)

Points of View - cuubism (@cuubism)

Fern-Fevered - notallsandmen (notallmaenads) (@notallsandmen)

The Last - secondjulia (@secondjulia)

Scratch a Little Itch - sanyumi (@valeriianz)

Simple Dreams of Comfort - softestpunk (@softest-punk)

The Apocalypse is Nigh! - cuubism (@cuubism)

To Those Who Dare Wonder - Astrophel_Hireath (@mentallyinvernation)

The Perils of Inebriation - Lilibet (@the-slow-arrow)

Touch - softestpunk (@softest-punk)

Passing the Time - Anonymous

I'm Stuck on You (I'm Mighty Glad You Stayed) - hardly_an_escape (@hardly-an-escape)

Hob Gadling vs. The British Museum (Unknown Artist, c. 2022, Oil on Canvas) - TheAllKnowingOwl (@theallknowingowl)

This also counts as my submission for Day 1 of @mr-sadman 's Sandmanniversary 2023 prompts (Collection) :)

_ _ _ _ _ (Post & files updated — 29.08.2023)

#Sandmanniversary #Sandmanniversary2023 #the sandman #dreamling #dc #typesetting #fic rec #rex typesetting #sandcastles anthology #not my fic #no E rated fics bc i keep picturing my roommate stumbling on it if i print it lmao those are between me and my ao3 bookmarks #i also cannot stress enough that this was my first time typesetting anything ever so if there are little formatting or spelling errors -- #-- im sorry!! but thank you for letting me experiment with your fics! #please dm me if any links on this post stops working/needs to be fixed