#modern johanna constantine

[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

[mayapapaya33]

To anyone who wants to replace Thessaly with Johanna Constantine in the TV show... Why would you want to do that to poor Constantine? Firstly, just to inflict dating Dream on the poor woman is bad enough lol. But also you're casting her in the role of antagonist / villain (depending on your pov, unpleasant either way you slice it). Either you haven't read All of Sandman or you've repressed some traumatic memories because Thessaly is part of the reason that Dream REDACTED.

(It's fine if you don't like Thessaly. I don't like Thessaly, she's not there to be liked).

#sandman #sandman spoilers #sandman comic spoiler #a game of you #the kindly ones #the wake #thessaly the sandman #dream of the endless #johanna constantine #the modern one #Not the 18th century one #this goes for any other characters you're trying to shoe horn into thessaly's spot too #you're missing the point!

[romulanslutempire]

#* #the romulan star empire #star trek: the original series #star trek: strange new worlds #sera #liviana charvanek #keras #tal #romulans #au: the sera of romulus from “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” was the ancestor of her #identical modern day descendant à la lady johanna constantine/johanna constantine style #adelaide kane #daniel sharman #poppy drayton #nick hargrove #star trek au #verse: warbirds

[lightdancer1]

Got my first entry up for the Femslash Weekend:

#death of the endless #sandman femslash weekend #meet ugly #death of the endless x modern johanna constantine

[androgymagnus]

if i had a penny for every time jenna coleman played one character in the past who meets an immortal and then later met that immortal again except in modern times as another character with the same name i'd have two nickels which isnt a lot but its weird it happened twice

#this probably isnt worded well nor am i probably the first person to say it #i just think its funny that both as constantine and as clara #she played two versions of the character (in a way) in like. victorianish times and in modern times #ofc its the modern one we get to know #of course its 1789 versus 1892 but still #the sandman #doctor who #jenna coleman #clara oswald #johanna constantine

[dc-comics-or-bust]

Jenna Coleman as Constantine spin off when?

#because i know we still get lady johanna later on #but i want more modern constantine without also veering from the original story #jenna coleman #johanna constantine #the sandman

[aj-lenoire]

no shade to jenna coleman but it would’ve been really funny if they’d cast matt ryan as joseph/jack/etc constantine and just not said anything

#the sandman #johanna constantine #john constantine #jenna coleman #matt ryan #aj abstractions #obviously johanna does appear in the eighteenth century parts but for the modern day bits i would��ve loved ‘joe constantine’ #i LOVED the constantine show #i enjoyed it immensely and matt ryan is superb casting #considering watching legends of tomorrow just for him

[moderndaypandora]

The LAYERS needed in a modern/human Dreamling au.  Some level of Endless family dysfunction, obviously.  Hob's family can be be dead or not, it's all good. Are they old enough to have individually gained the awareness they are off-puttingly intense and should hide it a bit at first, or still in that "no, why would I need to Elsa this" stage?

Option A is both of them trying to play it cool, like "don't scare him off" except they so badly want to go from zero to sixty.

(Death and Desire have ruthlessly drilled Dream with flashcards about how to react appropriately in situations.

Desire: it's your one-month anniversary, what do you do?

Dream: [hesitantly] NOT propose?

Desire and Death, conferring, because that's technically correct but the delivery was suspect.

Death, encouragingly: Good start. And?


Dream: a nice dinner and maybe a walk?

Desire: well done!

Death: and for a three-month anniversary?


Dream: give them a key to my flat.

Desire: [airhorn] NO. RED CARD.)

Option B makes them the classic anecdotal "my grandparents got engaged within seven days of meeting each other and still are happy together".

(Death, rubbing her temples: so you met this guy--

Dream: Hob

Death: -- Hob, and within 1 day you gave notice to the Registrar's Office and figured out the best day to get married. And Hob agreed to this?

Dream: NO.

Death: oh thank go-

Dream: Hob SUGGESTED this.

Death: . . .

Dream: are you going to be a witness or not?

Death, 29 days later in the Registrar's Office, to Hob's witness: Is he sane?

Johanna Constantine, drinking heavily from a large flask: unfortunately yes, by all legal definitions.

Death: fuck

Johanna: [passing the flask over] if your brother's even a tenth as intense as Hob, they'll be fine. Probably.

Death, brightening: Is Hob that bad?


Johanna: You know how sometimes you meet somebody and think "oof, they're a bit much, best give them a wide berth"?


Death: yeah.

Johanna: Hob's like a camouflaged hole in the ground of muchness. Except he's done the hole up all nice and he knows that sometimes you just want to be left alone in the hole to sulk and rattle the spikes for a bit, and occasionally get a F&M hamper tossed in.

Death: [hmmmmmmm'ing approvingly]

Johanna, morose: the bastard.

In the background, Hob and Dream are pressing their foreheads together and basking in each other's presence)

#dreamling #the sandman #it's underappreciated how many red flags hob probably is buried under his amiable exterior #he looked at dream of the endless and went 'yeah' #not even as a 'i can make him better' #very much as a 'i can vibe with his current state and frankly even if he was worse i'd still be like that's my husband [shrug emoji]' #'what am i supposed to do? i knew who he was when i married him' #everybody around them: [extremely done with their shit] STOP ENABLING HIM #hob: he's my goth sweetheart #dream's entire family: he's ten sulking cats in eyeliner and a dramatic coat #hob: i know :D i love him! #johanna constantine is like 'hob's insane' #and everybody's going 'oh no don't be so mean he's just a little boring next to dream' #johanna: he saw dream being dream and went 'i need to stamp my name on him. how do i permanently tie us together' #johanna: he'd never safety pin a condom but i can just see the gears turning in hob's head about how to get to spend more time with dream #johanna: just radiating smug contentment over his insane wet cat #hob: i cannot wait to spend the next 60 years with that man #hob: and ideally die in our sleep together still holding hands #death and johanna: [staring at him over their fourth round of drinks] #dream: [heart of eyes and pink of cheeks] #dream: we should never not be holding hands #hob: okay but what if occasionally we stop holding hands just to then appreciate the feeling of starting to hold hands again #dream: [mulling] acceptable #death and johanna could probably start an entire benefriends or actual romantic relationship entirely based on judging dreamling

[neil-gaiman]

Ahoy, sir.

I know full well it's not going to sound great, but it's a question and you might have the answer, so here we go. It's about Johanna Constantine in Sandman.

I saw a tweet you wrote about Johanna being her own character - it was, i believe, in response to her being cleaner than John. You said she can be cleaner for the simple fact that she isn't John, or at least she isn't a gender-swapped John.

I have a question about that. If she's a different character, why is there so much that she takes from John ? Why giving her a Newcastle (even if it's not quite the same), why not modernize or reinject a version of her story with Pandora's box ? I think it's awesome to see a modern version of Lady Johanna, but I wonder what were your ideas behind keeping so much of John's in her episode, and why she wasn't push more into what makes her character different - money, sure, but also henchmen, guns and magic instead of tricks, to name a few.

I know how it sounds like - I met a few fans ever so annoying about the casting. I'm not trying to complain or bash the work you and so many talented people put behind the Sandman. I like this serie, I want more, I like Jenna Coleman as well as I'm thrilled by a Johanna Constantine in modern setting. I'm just curious about how she was thought about.

I also know you must get a whole lot of asks of the type, and i suppose it ends up souding like I'm asking for some justification. I'm not, I'm just curious - and if it seems to mean anything else, note that I'm sorry and that it's not what I meant.

Thanks, anyway, for all you do and have done, and for your attention ~

Because when you move the life essence of a character from universe to universe you keep some things and you change others. I grew up with DC Comics having Earth 1 and Earth 2, and a Batman and a Superman and a Flash on each. Both Batmans were Bruce Wayne, both Supermans were Clark Kent and Kal-El, but one Flash was Jay Garrick and one was Barry Allen. And these were ways of solving problems of time, of dealing with three decades of continuity. The John Constantine in Vertigo who was in his mid-thirties in 1989 is now a pensioner. And the Morpheus of that world escaped in September 1988.

In those terms, the TV version of Sandman exists on Earth-Sandman, a world that starts three decades on. It's not beholden to 1988 comics continuity, but it uses it when it wants to. The person holding the Constantine life essence in this world is Joanna. She didn't sing in a punk band in the 1970s. Her Astra Logue went to Hell, but it wasn't Joanna's fault in the way it was John's in 1979 in Hellblazer 12. She didn't spend the time in Ravenscar Secure Facility from 1979-1982.

She's smart, not grubby, a lot more like the original dandyish John Constantine who showed up in Swamp Thing in 1984 than the unshaven wreck of a man he became.

And we will get to see a lot more of Lady Johanna in Sandman, if we get future seasons.

Does that help?

#constantines #john constantine #joanna constantine #sandman

[seiya-starsniper]

When the dream touches ground, the demons walk in - HellMuse (AO3)

Rating: Mature | Status: Complete | Chapters 1/1 | Words: 10.3K

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Rescue Missions, Johanna Constantine saves Calliope from Ric Madoc, Imprisonment, Dubious Consent, Johanna Constantine pretends to seduce Ric Madoc, BAMF Modern Johanna Constantine (The Sandman), Angst, Psychological Horror, Johanna Constantine fights against literal nightmares

Summary: When Johanna Constantine is hired to investigate Richard Madoc by a jealous author who suspects he is using magic to help his writing, the last thing she expects is to find a muse locked in the man's bedroom, kept prisoner to give him inspiration. In order to free her, Johanna will have to confront her past with Rachel and come face to face with a power she's never encountered before.

My contribution to @sandmanfemslashfans's Femslash Weekend Event! This fills in the Day 1: Prompt - Meet Ugly

This fic was based off this AMAZING POST by @teejaystumbles, thank you for inspiring so so so many plot bunnies with this post 💖💖💖

#the sandman #johanna constantine #calliope sandman #hellmuse #johanna x calliope #sandman fanfic #sandmanfemslashweekend #seiya writes #seiya writes hellmuse

[rauchendesgnu]

Sycamore, Ash, Moss And Loam

A Sandman fanfic for @the-centennial-husbands-bigbang, with absolutely gorgeous art by @shadowtruthsandashes !

Pairing: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling Rating: Mature Word Count: 53,572 Tags: Hob Gadling saves Dream of the Endless from Alexander Burgess, Mortal Dream of the Endless, Canon Divergence, Hurt Dream of the Endless, Hurt/Comfort, Starvation, Healing, Slow Burn, Pining, Angst, Hurt Hob Gadling, Professor Hob Gadling, Friends to Lovers, BAMF Modern Johanna Constantine, Hob Gadling owns the New Inn, POV Hob Gadling, POV Dream of the Endless, Bad Poetry, Dancing, First Kiss, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary: Hob Gadling doesn't really expect having to save his Stranger from his prison in Fawney Rig. Dream doesn't expect to have his Endless essence ripped from him by a brutal spell that leaves him weak and painfully human. Lucky for him, Hob has gone through many lifetimes and knows how to be human. A fic about being hurt, healing, and learning the true value of accepting your feelings. Featuring (among other things): endless pining, Hob trying to get Dream to dance, hopefully half-decent poetry, the long winding road of trying to be okay, and, with a bit of luck, a happy ending.

#i'm not going to post the entire thing here since it's very fucking long #the sandman #the sandman netflix #the sandman fanfic #dreamling #dreamling fanfic #centennial husbands #hob gadling #dream of the endless #my writing #centennial husbands big bang

[tarotoftheendless]

Sandman Ships

Ok, so since the first season dropped on Netflix there as been a lot of Dream of the Endless love especially with how absolutely gorgeous they made him look thanks to Tom Sturridge already being a beautiful man. And Tom has knack for coming into his projects and serving absolute cunt... and depending on the project, he comes in, serves cunt, has sexual chemistry with everyone, and then either leaves or even just straight up dies. That's Tom for you.

And it wasn't any different in The Sandman. He comes in, serves cunt, looks hella tortured and sad, and then tries to be all dominating when he is in fact just an absolute cinnamon roll that needs a hug and or a decent fuck. Over a hundred years in a glass bowl will make one both touch adverse but also touch starved, so...

Anyway, there are a couple ships that I do get, one ship that I get but is controversial and then a ship I don't get at all because they had no chemistry at all.

First and foremost, Hob Gadling and Dream. This whole friendship is queer-coded. They have a meet cute, a curiosity about one another, flirting, denial, reconnection... it was so romantic it's ridiculous. So, yeah, I am on the Dreamling train for sure. The way they look at each other, the way Hob was super jealous when Dream left him to go fuck Shakespeare (you absolutely know that Dream fucked Shakespeare to "inspire" him), the way Hob came to Dream's defense when 1789 Johanna Constantine came with her men with demands, the way Hob tried to bring up the fact that Dream is lonely, the way Hob looked so sad when he realized he got stood up, the way his eyes lit up when Dream finally came. Yeah, Hob is head over heals in love with Dream. Dream might need some convincing, but he is intrigued and curious about Hob in a way that he can't quite put his finger on but it is not just friendship.

I am still mad that because Dream was captured that we lost out on seeing 1989 Dream... he would've been so goth and hot it would've been criminal. I hope they do an 1980's thing in the show at some point so we can see Tom go all out in a 1980's look and the goth/metal look from that era. Tom would look so good and Hob would just die for it like the rest of us.

The other ship I see with Dream is actually modern Johanna Constantine. I don't see many people talk about their chemistry here on Tumblr but I have seen a few fanfics on AO3, so, some people agree with me. Just the way they spoke to each other, how close they stood to each other, some lingering looks. Johanna is bisexual too, so, I see it. Their chemistry was off the charts. Also, he actually listens to her when she calls him out on his bullshit. She actually gets through to him a bit, it seems, you know. A sign of respect, which all good relationships need, romantic/sexual or not, to be a halfway decent relationship.

Now the controversial one; Dream and Desire. Yeah, yeah. They're siblings. I know. They still had chemistry. Dream pulling their head back? Yeah, that was hot. And they are literally more than gods. If the gods of mythology and lore are always marrying family members, why would more than gods beings not sometimes partake in relations with their own relations? They aren't human and therefore are not bound by the same laws and rules and morals as us humans are. I am not trying to make a case or an excuse for incest as a whole, because I am not, incest is bad, but I am saying that beings that aren't human might not view incest the same as we do when it comes to other beings that are like them.

I have not read the comics fully, but apparently Desire used to be Dream's favorite, like they used to be close, whatever that looked like... and then Dream got with someone and Desire started to fuck with Dream's love life... as far as I know the comics never say how Desire was Dream's favorite, but would it be completely out of left field if they had been romantic at one time? Dreams and desires have very similar functions, they as concepts work well with one another, so, it wouldn't surprise me is Dream and Desire had been intimate once upon a time... and that would explain why Dream and Desire had a falling out after Dream started to pull away and explore other romantic interests. It is just a thought. Like I said, I have not read all the comics yet.

The one ship I do not see and will never see is The Corinthian and Dream. Yes, Dream is a dark and brooding goth twink (I know the term is outdated, but if there is another term I could use to describe him better, please let me know) and then we have our charismatic Southern hospitable gay serial killer man that is one of Dream's own creations, a nightmare... and Dream is the Dreaming and if the dreams and nightmares are Dream's creations and of the Dreaming and Dream is the Dreaming... then this would be narcissistic... though we all know Dream is sort of self important... and Cori (I'm just gonna call him that for simplicity sake), is also very much in his "but what about what I want?" era... so, both have those narcissistic tendencies, but Cori is so fed up with Dream I don't see this ever being romantic or sexual. I didn't see the chemistry, it wasn't there. It is more of a parent child relationship. And whereas I don't agree with Cori going out and inspiring a literally army of serial killers, he is very much like a millennial older child trying to talk to their boomer parent about their own toxicity. Cori is disillusioned with Dream and the way he runs things in the Dreaming. Dream is cold, unfeeling, too focused on the status quo and Cori wants to change all that. This relationship never came off as sexual or romantic, I'm sorry. All the Corintheus shippers out there, I'm sorry, but I don't buy it or see it. maybe the comics it was more prominent but Tom and Boyd didn't play it like that. I know Tom tends to have sexual chemistry with almost every costar he has ever had, but Boyd was/is not one of them.

Anyway, that's all the ships that I have seen in The Sandman show and then the one that other people saw that I just don't see at all. What do ya'll think?

#tom sturridge #tomsturridge #the sandman #dream of the endless #lord morpheus #the sandman netflix #the sandman morpheus #dreamling #dream x hob #hob x dream #hob x morpheus #hob gadling #johanna constantine #desire of the endless #the corinthian #corintheus #shipping #fandom ships #boyd holbrook #mason alexander park #jenna coleman #ferdinand kingsley

[lalaithquetzallicaresi]

What if Hob were Modern Johanna Constantine's dad?

I asked myself that question several months ago, and this was the result:

Hob Gadling never intended to have a child again, couldn’t imagine doing it, having them, and losing them. When little Jo comes into his life though, he couldn’t regret her. He also could have never imagined how insane his life would get, once she’s in it. Then again, it’s not like he was exactly normal from the start, was he?

It's a 4 part miniseries:

Fathers & Daughters

Stranger

A Thousand Years

The Gift

#fanfic #fanfiction #archive of our own #sandman #dreamling #dream #dream of the endless #hob #hob gadling #fanart for fanfic #fanart #digital fanart #fanfic poster #johanna constantine

[writing-for-life]

As It Was Before The Otherness Came

A one-shot fic for #sandmanfemslashweekend (also on Ao3 if you prefer to read there, chapters are linked), chapters only for structure.

Chapters: 13 (3,773 words) Fandom: The Sandman (TV 2022) Rating: Mature  Warnings: Major Character Death  Relationships: Modern Johanna Constantine/Rachel Moodie  Characters: Modern Johanna Constantine (The Sandman TV), Rachel Moodie, Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Dream of the Endless  Additional Tags: Falling In Love, Developing Relationship, Sex, Moving In Together, Break Up, Emotional Baggage, Character Death, Canonical Character Death, Canon Compliant, Canon, Swearing

Johanna Constantine and Rachel Moodie are recounting their developing and failing relationship in short, intercutting scenes. Johanna tells her story from end to beginning (she is starting with Rachel's death), and Rachel from beginning to end (she starts with how they met). There are only two scenes in third person (at the exact midpoint and the very end), the rest is written in first person POV by the individual character.

If you find the intercutting, non-linear structure hard to follow, you could try to read Johanna and Rachel separately before putting them back together.

The song inspiration is "As it was" by Hozier.

Sex in ch. 2 but not particularly explicit language, so I don’t think we need a community label. Let me know if you prefer I put one on.

Chapter 1: Demons (Johanna)

It was pissing down in a way I hadn’t experienced for a while. I mean, it’s London, but on that night, it was something else.

As I stood there, waiting for him, I couldn’t help but think that she really was a good person.

And that’s the fucking unfairness of it all. Would be easier to say I didn’t care about her, and maybe it’s true. Maybe I didn’t care enough. It’s me who isn’t a good person. People just get hurt if they get too close to me. Too much darkness, inside and out.

I let her get close. At least for a while. Until I felt it—the dimming of light. The expectations. The domestic shit. And I told myself that’s all it was—feeling tied down. She wanted the happily ever after. I couldn’t give her any of that. Too many demons. Not the real ones, although they’re part of the problem. Sort of. But the demons I’m talking about are mine, and mine alone. And when she looked at me that final time before I left her with him, I wished I’d never let her close enough to see them. Because once she had, she wanted to get to the bottom of it all, and she kept on trying. But that’s not how it works. It never does because it’s true:

I ruin everything I touch.

The sound of his steps took me out of my thoughts.

“She died in peace. In her sleep…”

Chapter 2: It was all it took (Rachel)

It all happened so fast. And it was clichéd:

She cut in right in front of me like a complete bitch, I said, “Excuse me?!”

The side-eye. The husky laugh. The, “Sorry, love…” mixed with a raised eyebrow.

The glances across tables that finally made me burst out laughing. Her confused look, quickly replaced with an inappropriate grin. Only that I didn’t find it inappropriate.

Her wiping everything off my kitchen table before pinning me down.

My legs around her hips.

That hoarse voice of hers that had been driving me insane for the last couple of hours. “Tell me what you want.”

“Show me what you’ve got…” I put my hands on her hips and began to direct her.

She closed her eyes for a second and exhaled before opening them again. Those brown eyes that were blazing like all the fires of hell.

One of her hands moved down my flanks. When she reached my hip, she ran it between our bodies and began touching both of us.

“Trying to make me come first?” I moaned.

“Is that what you want?”

“I don’t…” I could hardly control my voice.

“Better do something about it, then.”

I ran both of my hands between us and put them on hers.

“Like this?”

“Fuck…” She moved with me, touching me, touching herself. I felt the dampness between us, my own stickiness on my hands.

The table creaked, and its surface was hard and unforgiving. It was uncomfortable, and I didn’t care.

She pulled her hand away and propped herself up on her elbows, cupping my face. No, not cupping. Clasping. Hard. “Keep on doing what you’re doing.”

I bent my knees and pushed my feet into the table. I felt her and myself. I heard her and myself. But alI could see was her. The little frown between her eyebrows. The colour of her eyes that seemed to change from brown to black right in front of me. The mouth I wanted to kiss but didn’t because I was too busy looking at her and feeling her.

Creaking, rubbing, pressing, sensing. My mind was clouded, my body aware. I touched, she pushed. Her breath hitched, her eyes closed.

Speeding up, the sound of her voice, the feeling of her breath.

A moment of stillness, slowing down.

Her hand reached down and rested on my hands for the briefest of moments before she removed them. “Put your hands over your head and let me touch you.” Her voice was breathless.

She finally kissed me while holding my hands in place with her left and touching me with her right. She breathed into me, I breathed into her. It only took her seconds to make me come. It was sweet, it was painful, it made me tighten and open up at once.

It was all it took. I knew I wanted more of it. More of her, even if she hadn’t shown me much. I wanted to find out…

Chapter 3: Save the light (Johanna)

She was asleep. I lay awake. And I had been for the last 3 hours.

I couldn’t take it anymore. The nightmares were worse than ever. Her light would fade if she stayed with me.

I’d tried to provoke her far too many times over the last couple of days, and I hated myself for it. Honestly, I wanted her to break up with me. But she didn’t get the hint. She didn’t mind arguing. She always said it was “healthy”. Fuck no, nothing that involves me is healthy. And that’s why I needed to let her go. And if she wouldn’t leave me, I’d have to leave her to save her light. She meant something to me, whatever it was, and I couldn’t afford that. Neither did she deserve to go down with me.

I got up and got dressed, grabbed a few things and left the rest. For a moment, I thought I should have taken everything I had brought into her flat over the past months, but then she’d immediately know. And I didn’t want her on my back. Or maybe I lied to myself and, for a split-second, thought it was a way back in if I changed my mind.

But when I quietly closed the door behind me, I already knew I wouldn’t…

Chapter 4: Moving fast (Rachel)

She was so beautiful when she laughed, and it’s not that she never did. But it was usually some sort of sneer, a grin with an underlying hint of jadedness, a smile that looked like it was covering up some kind of hurt. But this one was real.

“I should go home soon,” she said, a smile still tugging at the corners of her mouth.

I leaned forward and kissed one corner. “You could stay tonight.” Then the other. “Or you could just…stay?”

She immediately moved back and looked at me like only Jo looks at you. As if you’ve got two heads. As if you’ve completely lost the plot.

“Woah, moving a bit fast, aren’t we?”

And there it was. The sneer. But I was having none of it and just kissed her again. I felt a tiny bit of resistance at first, but not as much as I had feared. She finally gave in.

“Just stay tonight,” I mumbled against her lips. “We could cook together, maybe watch a film, and you could just pretend to be my girlfriend for once.”

She snorted. “I’m not pretending, it’s just…”

“Well, that’s it settled then,” I interrupted with a grin.

She smiled back, and that one was real…

Chapter 5: My nightmares, her dreams (Johanna)

I felt exhausted and drained. Seen things no human should ever see, and it had been a close one. Again.

When I opened the door to her flat, a part of me hoped to find comfort in her arms, felt like talking about what had happened tonight.

Past the point, not her stuff to worry about. What was I even thinking?

And in any case, she was waiting for me with a face like thunder.

“Where have you been?”

“Come on, Rach, not that shit again.” For fuck’s sake, she’d been crying, I could see it in her eyes.

“Well, yes, that shit again. What do you expect me to say if I’m worried sick about you? I can't take the constant worry. And you’re never honest with me!”

“When did I ever lie to you?”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “When were you ever honest when you get calls in the middle of the night, when you just disappear, when you come back stinking of god-knows-what?”

I felt a surge of pain and anger, but I quickly swallowed it. It wasn’t her fault. How could she even remotely understand?

Deep down, I knew she was right. I would never be able to be truly honest with her, not as long as my world was one of demons and nightmares while hers was one of humans and dreams.

So I turned on my heel and just said, “I’ll let you cool off a bit and come back later.”

“Yeah, just run away, like every time things get too close!” she called after me.

And once again, she was right…

Chapter 6: Light is armour (Rachel)

She had this funny little ritual. Every night, before we went to sleep, Jo told me a bedtime story. She was really great at it, spinning tales of adventure and slaying demons—always demons. And of course she was always the heroine of her stories (even if she pretended she wasn’t), and sometimes, she would even save me (even if she pretended it was someone else).

I found it hilarious and endearing—here was the woman I loved, who always seemed so tough, but she was like a little kid when she described epic battles against terrifying creatures that threatened the peace of some random kingdom.

She would talk about wielding a magical sword that could cut through any darkness, and wearing armour made of pure light.

“How does that even work?” I snorted. “You must be butt-naked under that.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “It’s not me!”

“Okay, then whoever she is, she’s still starkers. Light isn’t armour.”

She looked at me, and her expression changed. “Maybe it is.”

And of course I knew they were more than just bedtime stories. That there were struggles behind it all, disguised as fantasy. That Jo had hopes and dreams, hidden under a mountain of fear and insecurity. And I didn’t know how to help her through it all because she still wouldn’t let me.

But right then, as we lay in bed together, wrapped in each other's arms, I felt a sense of peace, and I’m sure she felt it, too.

Chapter 7: Pulling the drawstrings (Johanna & Rachel)

Johanna rang the doorbell and waited. It took Rachel a while to buzz her in, and it took Jo an even longer while to get up the stairs. When Rachel opened the flat door, she was soaking, a towel wrapped around her. It didn’t stop her from leaning in to kiss Jo and getting her wet in the process.

“Oy,” Johanna grinned.

Rachel’s gaze dropped to the bags that lay on the floor. “Moving in?” She smirked.

“Well, I need to keep some stuff close by and might as well just leave it here at the moment.”

“Right.” Rach raised her eyebrow and couldn’t stop grinning. “Come in then. Want me to take any of that?”

“Nah, just get yourself dried and decent.”

“As if.”

Jo rolled her eyes. “I’m serious, I need to unpack a few things.”

Rachel petted her lip in mock-disappointment. “Okay, just get started, I’ll be with you in a few…”

“What’s that?” Rachel asked, dressed in jeans and a jumper, a towel still wrapped around her head.

“I’ve no clue, honestly, It’s some old pouch I got while…” She hesitated. “Can’t remember where I got it, but I never even managed to pull the drawstrings open.”

“Let me…”

Johanna threw the leather pouch at Rachel, who nearly dropped it.

“Careful,” she grinned.

“I always am, aren’t I?”

Chapter 8: Sand (Rachel)

She’d just left me standing there like an idiot. It was the first real argument.

No, it wasn’t even that because we hadn’t exactly been fighting. I had asked questions. Okay, maybe I had raised my voice a little, but I had been sitting at home for hours, feeling worried about her, not knowing where she was. And it hadn’t been the first time. Her phone was always switched off. In fact, it was near always switched off. It was sometimes impossible to get a hold of her. And when I had told her that she wasn’t honest with me, she had completely stonewalled me before running away.

I felt my eyes welling up with tears again, and it annoyed me. So I got ready for bed. I lay there for hours, tossing and turning, and couldn’t get to sleep. I wandered back into the living room and switched on the TV. When I sat down on the couch, the leather pouch on the coffee table caught my attention. We both hadn’t managed to open it, even after trying repeatedly, but I didn’t have anything better to do, so I tried again. But no matter how hard I tried, it didn’t work.

“Honestly, I will just pretend I can open you with sheer willpower and belief, you stupid thing. Abracadabra,” I joked. And believe it or not, all of a sudden, the pouch was open. Just a tiny crack, maybe the size of a shirt button. But it was enough to take a peek. It was hard to tell what it was, so I turned it over gently.

Sand?

I brought my hand up to my face and carefully sniffed it to make sure that’s what it was.

I can’t remember what happened after, but I do remember I woke up the next morning, and that I hadn’t had such nice dreams in ages…

Chapter 9: Just a few bags (Johanna)

I honestly spent a lot of time with her, which wasn’t like me at all. And it just felt so fucking nice to have someone to come home to for once. But was I truly coming home to her?

Emotionally, maybe. But I was still only staying overnight. Well, on the nights I could. Big step for me though.

I second-guessed myself. Too rash? Too cautious? Missing out on something I knew I shouldn’t really allow myself?

For a brief moment, I actually thought, “Shit, Jo, you’re really getting in too deep.”

And the very next moment, she encroached on my mind like a flippin’ vision. Her smile, her laugh, her kindness, her passion.

How we spent time together. Me, doing shit like cuddling on the sofa and cooking. And of course we were fucking each other senseless, but that wasn’t it. I was always able to get that somewhere if I really wanted to. It was the way she made me feel. When I was with her, I was happy for a moment. I took a glance at the shitty photo booth shots of us, and I even looked it.

Was I ready for this?

Not really because it wasn’t just about me. It was about her.

Maybe I was overthinking it, letting fear get the better of me. And honestly, I should have.

It wasn’t moving in to just dump a couple of bags to make life easier, was it?

Chapter 10: As it was (Rachel)

It was okay for a short while. She’d come back, but she became more and more distant. The smiles were sneers again. The bedtime stories stopped.

Well, most of the time, she wasn’t even around at bedtime. If she was, the sex was still great, but I sometimes thought that was the problem. Because everything else had stopped. The real conversations, the watching stupid comedies together, the actual closeness.

I woke up at half past three, and she was gone. Again. And I was so fucking tired of it all. 

Tired and unable to sleep.

The pouch of sand was in the drawer of my bedside table. It helped me sleep. I didn’t have the faintest clue what this stuff was because it honestly just looked like sand. Maybe I just made up things in my mind, maybe it was true what they said about placebos: If you really believe something works, it will.

So whatever this stuff was, it worked.

I took a small amount and probably inhaled a bit too deeply because I immediately knew something was off.

When I came to, I was shaking, but I remembered the dream. It had been of her. Of us in a photo booth, and going on a walk together that ended up having her pin me against a tree, kissing me, letting her hands wander a bit too much and only stopping when a few people passed. 

And while it had been a dream, it was also real. Because that’s what we had done.

And I cried, and I wanted it all back.

I took a bit more sand and held on to the pouch. Maybe if I did it again, I could finally get to sleep…

Chapter 11: Snapshots (Johanna)

I don’t really have good days that often, I admit it. But that day was one of them. I had just decided to take her out. Properly, in a sort of old-fashioned way, because I knew she was into it, and I liked that about her to be honest.

We had lunch, and I, the woman who usually eats like a horse and doesn’t look too dignified while she’s at it, could hardly eat at all. All I could do was stare at her like some idiot, and it was fucking ridiculous.

As we entered the park (she wanted to “walk off the calories”, I just asked, “Why would you even say that?”), we stumbled across a vintage VW camper van that had been converted into a photo booth.

And of course she wanted to give it a try. I said no, probably 20 times, but she ultimately won.

Lots of funky props and costumes, and I honestly couldn’t believe she roped me into that shit—hats and sunglasses, feather boas and tiaras.

“Come on, Rach, let’s at least have a few shots without all the crap.”

“Okay,” she smiled, and we tried to get a few serious ones. Not that it worked.

Anyway, we ended up with a few I really liked and wanted to keep. She, of course, also wanted all the other ones, so we ultimately walked out with two sets of four prints.

When we walked home, I just pulled her off the path and kissed her. Well, maybe something else, too. But I remember clear as day it was the first time I actually felt I liked her a lot more than I wanted to let on…

Chapter 12: Whatever here that's left of me is yours (Rachel)

It hurt.

I couldn't even remember when I last got out of bed.

At first, I didn’t want to. I just wanted to sleep, get over the fact that she really didn’t come back this time. That she had left me without even having the guts to tell me. But it was impossible to get to sleep without the sand. And the more I took, the more I needed. To get rest, and to keep the nightmares at bay. Those nightmares that got a hold of me because of it but would also go away with it.

And then, I couldn’t get out of bed physically. Whenever I tried, the pain was so severe that I immediately had to lie back down. I stopped eating at some point, which didn’t help. But whenever I managed to get rest and dream of her, it didn’t matter. At some point, the hunger just stopped.

It was waking up that was agony, not sleeping. It was not dreaming that parched me, not the fact that I didn't drink.

I couldn’t remember when I’d last been to work. The phone had rung non-stop for a while, but I physically couldn’t answer. Maybe there were people at the door at some point. Maybe I’d let them in, maybe I hadn’t, because I couldn’t remember if I'd even managed to get up at any point. It was all a haze.

I lay there, wondering where it all went wrong. What had gotten me into this state. Why I couldn't breathe, why I was in so much pain. But it would all ebb back when the dreams came.

I counted to 100…

Chapter 13: Stark sights and dark nights (Johanna, Rachel & Dream)

“Jo, is that you?” Rachel’s voice sounded thin and brittle. “That’s such a wonderful dream.”

Johanna stepped towards the bed. “It’s me Rach. It’s going to be okay.” She took her hand, but the mere touch made Rachel whimper in pain. She looked at him. “What’s happened to her?”

“It’s the sand, it wasn’t meant for humans.”

He carefully removed the pouch from Rachel’s hand. The desperation that washed over her was so immediate that Johanna had to close her eyes for a second.

“No, no, no, give it back. Please, it hurts.”

He turned around almost immediately. “We can go.”

“What? We can’t go, we can’t leave her like this!” Johanna called after him.

“We can’t help her, the sand was the only thing keeping her alive.”

“You have to do something. If it wasn't for your sand, she wouldn't be like this!”

His expression was completely emotionless. “I'm not the one who left her with it.”

It was the moment Johanna lost all composure. “What is wrong with you? You want your sand back so you can save all of humanity? Well, here she is! But we're all just like Roderick Burgess to you. All you care about is your sand, your power. What is the point of you?” She swallowed hard and was back in control. “Well, you got your sand back. Why are you still here if you won't help?” And with that, she turned her back on him.

He hesitated before stepping closer to the bed. “Wait outside.”

Johanna looked at him briefly with an almost imperceptible nod.

Rachel was shaking violently, and Johanna sat down on the bed. “Rach…”

“I’m so sorry, Jo.”

She stroked Rachel’s head. “It’s my fault, all of it. I should never have left it with you.” She held and steadied her hands. “I should never have left.”

Rachel looked at her with glazed eyes. “You came back though, didn’t you?

Johanna gave her a small smile. One of the real ones. When she kissed her lightly, it all got too much. She got up and began to make her way out. As she reached the bedroom door, she heard that little voice in her head: 

No matter what he said, you really should stay.

And as always, she was good at ignoring it…

Tagging @sandmanfemslashfans @honeyteacakes @two-hands-toward-the-sun @lucienne-thee-librarian @seiya-starsniper

#sandmanfemslashweekend #johanna x rachel #Johanna Constantine x Rachel Moodie #johanna constantine #rachel moodie #dream of the endless #sandman fanfiction #sandman fanfic #not as in-depth as I would have liked #but i finished it

[tired0artist]

| descendant of hob gadling |

Okay so. What if in 2021 it turns out that Hob has a descendant that can be considered almost his doppelganger!

Something like with Lady Johanna and Modern Johanna.

Of course apart from Robyn, Hob never really kept track if he fathered any children. So imagine how shocked he would be to maybe run into a 20-something collage student that looks way too much like himself.

Better yet.

It’s Dream who runs into the descendant first. He mistakes him for Hob, because why not. So the descendant is just chilling on a bench, unfortunately quite to the New Inn. And then from behind him he just hears an ominous (for a stranger) voice:

Hello Hob.

And the descendant just jumps off the bench and sees a pale, goth standing behind his bench looking suddenly quite confused. He frowns, still a bit startled asking:

Sorry? What? Who?

Then after a moment the goth purses his lips and nods his head:

Apologies. You are not the one I am looking for.

And then, to add a cherry on top, the goth disappears in a swirl of sand. Leaving the descendant just staring openly at the empty spot.

Enter paranoia, when that night in his dream he catches a glimpse of the goth and… wait. IS THAT HIM BESIDE THE SAND GUY??????

So while the descendant is full on panicking, thinking that a demon is trying to eat his soul or whatever. Conjuring 2.O in real life.

Dream and Hob are just trying to figure out when did Hob father a child. They make a game out of it, going as far as Dream taking Hob to visit the descendant’s dreams and nightmares to check out if they find out anything.

What about 17th century?

Actually, I didn’t get around much back then so I doubt it.

Hm. You surprise me, Hob Gadling. You did look rather ravishing back then.

Oh, please dove. You did not see yourself then, you almost made my heart stop when you entered.

Then I suppose, I should try harder.

You want me to have a heart attack?

Perhaps.

I love you.

And I you, my Hob.

After their flirting is done, they get to a conclusion that perhaps they should check in with Constantine, figure something out about the descendant doppelgangers. Or whatever.

And going back to the descendant. Well. He found Johanna as well.

Listen kid, I don’t see any signs that you’re possessed or that something is trying to claim your soul.

You don’t understand! I see him in my dreams and nightmares! Always standing at the edge with myself beside him! He’s obviously sending a message that he’s going to take my soul!

Wait. Your dreams and nightmares?

Yeah!

*sigh* What does your demon look like again?

By the time Dream and Hob visit her, she glances at the immortal and immediately understands and laughs.

You bloody idiots!

The pair share a confused look. While Johanna points at Hob and says:

Your poor poor descendant visited me.

He did?

What did he want?

Johanna calms herself but keeps on giggling as she explains:

Apparently a demon is haunting him. He first met him in a park, then he’s having trouble with sleeping in, and sees the demon in his dreams and nightmares. The said demon always stands ominously at the edge with a version of him. The poor kid was on the verge of loosing his mind!

While Hob looks guilty, Dream huffs without missing a beat:

I am no mere demon.

Johanna snorts:

Tell that to the kid, he’s afraid to go to sleep. Says he’s too young to die.

Hob frowns asking her:

Did you ease his mind? Or help him?

Oh, yeah. Told him to cleanse the apartment and take a bath with some bath salts.

That does not—

I know, but I needed the idiot calm while I contact you or something. He was out right refusing to sleep, so don’t thank me for saving his sanity.

After that they leave the descendant’s dreams alone, simply doing their own little investigation in the Waking.

All is well, until they enter a bar near Hob’s campus and the descendant is there with his friends.

The moment the descendant catches a glimpse of them both at the edge of his vision, his blood runs cold.

Just like Hob’s.

Shit. Okay, okay, we gotta go.

The immortal pulls the endless out of the bar but someone comes after them.

Oi! Wait! I— I know you! You’re that—that demon and you’re— me? No. Wait I’m not old—

Hey! I’m not old! Well. Not physically! I’m like 33!

And I am no mere demon, descendant.

Descendant?

And that’s how my friends the poor descendant has his whole world turned around as Hob explains the whole situation and how the three of them got there.

So… you could be like my… great-great-great with probably more greats grandfather?

Yes?

Okay… and he. He’s like a… god—

I am more than a simple god. I am an endless—

Yeah, sure. So, super god. Cool, cool.

You seem rather… accepting of this?

Hahah… yeah I’m just glad you’re not gonna take my soul or whatever. I’m cool with whatever else, as long as I don’t get cursed or something… I’m not gonna get cursed by you guys right?

Oh no no no! We would never!

If you keep this to yourself—

Dream?!

—you cannot go around spreading information on this matter. Do you understand?

Yeah, yeah jeez I get it. Damn… so. You wanna get a beer or something ? I mean. It’s kinda sick to get to know your ancestor and an… endless?

And just like that, Hob gained a family member and as did Dream in a way. Their meetings at the New Inn now kept one more chair open for the young man to join them from time to time.

#dreamling #dream x hob #dream/hob gadling #hob gadling #dreamling headcanon #lord morpheus

[ml-nolan]

You're Gonna Catch Hell (2116 words) by The_KickIt_Domain

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Sandman (TV 2022) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Johanna Constantine/Mazikeen Characters: Modern Johanna Constantine (The Sandman TV), Mazikeen (Vertigo Comics), Lucifer Morningstar (Vertigo Comics), Squatterbloat (The Sandman) Additional Tags: Organized Crime, Organized Crime AU, johanna is a hitman, lucifer is a crime boss, the consent is explicit, even though there's a knife, Vaginal Fingering, Blackmail, Cheating

Summary:

The woman's eye flicks down where the dagger's point threatens the soft divot over her collarbone.

"Good," she huffs. There's delight, appreciation in her affect. She's got almost a playful air, if you consider getting a knife pointed at your throat playful.

And Johanna didn't think she did, but this woman has an awfully enticing throat, and focusing on it is doing nothing to calm her vibrating nerves.

Johanna Constantine, a gun for hire, is meeting a very dangerous new client at Club Hell. A mysterious woman who spots her right when she enters the club might pose some complications.

#sandman femslash weekend #sandman femslash 2023 #johazikeen #johanna constantine #mazikeen #lucifer morningstar #the sandman netflix