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thenightling · 3 years

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I’ll be your mirror (A Sandman fan fiction)

This story is a shameless Fluff piece written while listening to “I’ll be your Mirror” by The Velvet Underground on repeat. This is sort of Dream of The Endless working through an existential crisis.

I’ll be your Mirror

The pale figure of Daniel Hall moved through the empty private chambers of The Castle at the heart of The Dreaming.

This ancient, and stone-looking, fortress was a monument to pure creativity, pure imagination. Sometimes known as Ghost Castle it seemed fitting that that the current aspect of Dream (who often answered to the name Daniel) actually resembled something of a ghost. He was pale white, as white as milk, and his hair was just as white, just as soft and cloud-like, as the rest of his ethereal form. His hair was curly and untamed, much like the black hair of his predecessor, the now deceased aspect of Dream, Morpheus. Daniel’s eyes were black as pools of midnight water, with two twin star pupils. He could have been the boyish and more youthful looking twin of the previous embodiment of dream. Daniel wore an egg-shaped emerald amulet, the only sign of color upon him. Otherwise he was a mostly white, and wispy entity wandering his private chambers. He moved silently and with some private sense of purpose. Dream of The Endless is something like a great, faceted jewel. And each facet is a different incarnation- an aspect, an autonomous entity that is both connected to, and yet separate to the whole.

Daniel knew he was only a fragment and not the whole of what is Dream of The Endless and yet there was no real sense of comfort to that strange loneliness that ate at his all-too human-like heart. He often felt he was too human. Had his predecessor dealt with such a burden? He tried to recall. Yes. Why, yes he had. But only toward the end… You would think the link to that old, deceased, aspect of Dream of The Endless would be gone but that was not necessarily the case. Not only had Daniel inherited all of his memories but he had done something, something that he was fairly certain most did not know about… Daniel had been conceived and gestated for over two years in a mortal woman’s womb in The Dreaming. Though his mother had some divine aspect within her, and was considered something of a “metahuman” herself, Daniel had seemed human enough at the time of his birth, despite the peculiarities of his gestation and his poor, naïve, father having been the manipulated soul of a deceased human… Where had the other aspect of Dream been during Daniel’s gestation? Well, for most of it he had been imprisoned in a crystalline cage in a mortal’s cellar. In his early form Daniel had appeared to be a normal human baby. Blond haired, blue eyed, with a peach-tone flesh that wasn’t as it was now, this milk-white. The only one who had recognized him for what he truly was had been Himself, that is to say, the active aspect of Dream, Lord Morpheus. Now looking pretty much nothing like that mortal baby, the adult and distinctly non-human Daniel Hall, this aspect of Dream of The Endless, recalled well their first psychic communications with one and other. It was the only time he truly felt a deep and profound bond to another, when he stared into Morpheus’ eyes and felt that link there between them. Of course there had been some connection to his mortal-esque mother but this was different. What he felt toward this other aspect of self was like staring into a reflection of his very soul. When he “Spoke” with Morpheus it was like communing with his own subconscious. There was such an understanding and appreciation for the truth that it comforted him to know he was there. Though to tell which had been comforted by the other’s presence was difficult to say.

When Morpheus had “Died” as Dream of The Endless, Daniel rose to power, taking his predestined form and his mind flooded with the repressed, and hidden knowledge and memories of over ten billion years of consciousness. Now he felt like the very heart of an intricate web, he knew each fiber as it stretched from himself and through The Dreaming.

He had a psychic link to every sentient entity he had ever created within The Dreaming, including ones created by his previous-self (whom he could recall having been, like a human reincarnation).

The loneliness had been terrible in those first few moments as Lord of The Dreaming, despite his sudden psychic awareness and knowledge. And one of the first things he did was something others might find unspeakable…

��Meanwhile, in another part of The Dreaming…

“I walk across the dreaming sands under the pale moon: through the dreams of countries and cities, past dreams of places long gone and times beyond recall.”

In his darkest and strangest hours, when Morpheus had thoughts he scarcely would admit to himself he wondered that perhaps Loki, Lucifer, and all the other iconoclasts of the various pantheons were right in their rebellion. They wanted to leave and so they did. There was no dramatic final exit. They didn’t dread abandoning responsibilities as he did. If only he had the bravery or selfishness and carelessness to do as they had done…but these thoughts were along the lines of words he would never dare utter, not even to himself. He was dead now, right? What did it matter? He had escaped his role in the most absolute fashion possible…

Morpheus walked along the beach of Hob’s dream in the perpetual eventide. This was, for him, his Heaven, his sanctuary. And almost every night he would walk and speak with his friend who always steadfastly refused Death’s gift. How he admired Hob’s fortitude. And how he, himself, liked it here. He was at peace here. Eternally residing in the dream of a friend wasn’t the worst way one could spend an existence after being an Endless. And yet sometimes he felt certain old aches, like a mortal who had lost a leg and missed it terribly. His existence as Dream of The Endless was over but Morpheus had been recreated as a Dream Entity. Now free from the burden of being Dream of The Endless, he did not envy the self that had to reign in his place. In fact he found himself pitying him. And sometimes he felt that his new purpose, his new reason to be, was to simply reassure Daniel as no one had for himself- to remind him that he understood. That he knew how he felt. That he was not alone. And most importantly, perhaps, that he forgave him for all his faults and short comings…

Daniel walked to the mirror mounted over the vanity table in his private rooms. The door to the room vanished behind him. He wanted to be alone with his brooding thoughts. Daniel stared into the mirror, trying to decide who or what he was. Who was he? And where did he belong? Was he the boy Lyta Hall had cradled in her arms or was he the man who would govern The Dreaming for eons to come and who had always governed The Dreaming? He felt world weary and weak. He doubted himself and his abilities as Dreamlord. He sighed heavily. Sometimes he just wished he was that innocent child once more simply so someone would hold him and comfort him and tell him everything would be okay. A figure stepped behind Daniel, soundlessly and as shadowlike as Daniel was ghostlike. Daniel was only briefly startled by the sudden presence of his deceased self in the chamber with him. He knew better than to ask how Morpheus had come to be there. Morpheus might have been deceased as Dream of The Endless but as a dream-entity he was very much free from that burden and knew his way around The Dreaming and especially his old castle. And he knew how to enter where only Dream would enter. The two – the living Dream of The Endless and the “Dead” Dream felt such a relief in the other’s presence as if all pressure had been lifted. But each was too proud to admit how much he needed the other in that moment. “What am I?” Daniel asked in his lingering sense of personal uncertainty. It was the question he would never ask anyone other than himself. “You are you. You are Dream.” Morpheus assured him as if that was all the answer he needed. Daniel nodded. He seemed a little shaky but the other figure placed a bony hand on Daniel’s narrow shoulder. Daniel’s garments wavered, shifted. And his white robes became a fine, gauzy, white, toga, just as Morpheus’ own gothic, wizard-like robes shifted into an identical black toga. The two looked like matching halves of a yin-yang standing there in front of the great oval mirror mounted over the vanity table. “I am here.” Morpheus assured him in his own imperfect way of trying to comfort himself. “I am here.” He did not begrudge his posthumous existence. He knew why Daniel needed him. The silent need that they both had, it was that same need that had invited a certain cat that had been mistaken as another aspect of Dream, to come save the universe. That was a different adventure that both knew in their heart but could not actually, consciously, directly, remember, not really. “I will be for you what was never there for me.” Morpheus assured him. Daniel took a ragged breath. “I didn’t… I wasn’t sure you would…” “That I would forgive my own existing? Daniel… It was my plan. I knew I had to change or die. I chose both. I knew what you would do because you are me. How could I begrudge it?” Daniel turned his head. Morpheus had released his awkward grip on the shoulder of his other self. “This is where we both belong.” Daniel said. It was a statement but it was also a plea, a secret, hidden plea. He feared being rejected by himself. “Perhaps.” Morpheus said, knowing Daniel understood what he meant. “We are all things within The Dreaming.” Daniel said. “The wind, the rain, the sunset, all of it. It’s us. And I don’t actually –need- anyone.” He lied and he knew his other self knew he was lying. “But there is a difference to be able to talk and hear a voice respond that has felt and knows your burden.” “I don’t want to be alone.” Daniel said. “You’re just going to leave again, retreat back into your dreamscape and leave me to bear it… We’re not the same. You’re free where I am not.” Morpheus’ expression darkened, his frown deepened. “No. No, I’m not as free as I thought I was. You are my burden now. I am my own burden. Because… No matter where I go… there I am… And you need me. I… am responsible.” Daniel looked at him, uncertainly, blinking his black, glassy eyes. “You would… stand with me? So I don’t have to be alone?” “I am here, am I not? Yes… I have died. And …changed.” He loathed admitting that more than once. “But things are different now. There are two of us… We need not stand alone any longer.” Daniel looked at him, at his other self, and there was no resentment. There was no sense of old guilt for forcing him to exist. He knew that he understood why he had done it. They forgave each other. And they were both home.

“No one else would ever accept me if I showed them all of who and what I am.” Daniel confessed. “Not even… Not even my mortal mother. She could never understand. There’s so much darkness in me... And it has always been there. Always, even before I was Daniel Hall. I am so very afraid of …of my own darkness.” Morpheus gave him a trace of a bitter smile. “You are afraid others might see your mind, your secret heart, and judge you for it? You are afraid they will see the corruption, cruelty, and unkindness?” “Yes…” “Daniel, I was far crueler than you ever were. Don’t burden yourself…” “But sometimes I-“ “Shhhh.” Morpheus said. “It’s what you do, not what you think that defines what you are. You don’t bear that darkness alone. It’s what you choose to do despite the darkness that matters. Pretend to be kind- and act on that pretended kindness. Behave the way you think a kind creature should act. It is good enough to pretend, to play the part. You are good enough.” “How- how can I do that? I barely know how to be you.” “’Me.’” Morpheus corrected. “How to be ‘me.’ You are not my shadow.” Daniel shook his head and raised his hands to his face, placing his palms over his own eyes.

Morpheus was not very good at physical intimacy except with lovers and even then there was some question as to his ability to express affection but when it came to himself he made the exception and reaching out he took a hold of each of Daniel’s hands, cupping his hands with his to gently ease down his hands. “Please put down your hands. Don’t worry. I see you for what you really are. You are not something terrible. You are Dream and you are …beautiful. Surely you see it?” “How can you possibly see good in me when you don’t even see it in yourself?” Daniel asked. Morpheus was taken aback by the question as if Daniel’s very words had slapped him. “I…” “I have done terrible things. I have hurt people.” Daniel said. “Why do you think I am so much better than you? Why? How could I be better than you when I AM you? At least you never killed except in defense of The Dreaming! I… I killed and it was for malicious reasons. I thought I was being honorable but I was just being cruel.”

Morpheus knew what he was talking about. He had always known. He knew about Daniel’s lover, Ivy, Rose Walker’s daughter. Desire’s great granddaughter. And he knew that when a bachelor party, besotted by alcohol, had made lewd comments about Ivy, Daniel had driven them all, in a pleasant dream-walk, into the ocean…

It had been cruel. It had been brutal. It had been something Morpheus had thought beyond his own capacity but he sometimes surprised himself. And he also knew he had to forgive himself. Daniel had been burdened with being Dream of The Endless all alone and it was effecting his mind. Daniel clenched his hands into fists. He looked so vulnerable to Morpheus, so tired, and so frail. “Damn you! Damn you for leaving me here and making me be you!” Daniel said with his head bowed. Their thoughts were shared between them as they had been when Daniel had his mortal, infant, form.

Morpheus slowly walked from Daniel and the vanity mirror that had reflected them this entire time. Now Daniel’s was the only image in the mirror as Morpheus walked to a sofa that had not been in the stark room a moment before. He sat down slowly, heavily, despite his slight build. “I should never have done this to you… It was wrong of me.”

Daniel was surprised. “All I did was subject another self to the same burden that I fled from in allowing you to become Dream of The Endless, and letting myself die. I see now there is only one way to rectify this wrong…” Daniel blinked several times and walked over to the sofa. He sat down next to him. Daniel knew what he meant to do. “Are you certain? After all you went through to extricate yourself?” Morpheus nodded slowly. “Yes, I am certain. I must do this. It will just be an endless cycle unless…” Daniel placed a hand over Morpheus’ “Unless we share the burden… together. Support one and other… be there for each other…” Morpheus looked at him. “Balance one and other.” When Daniel lifted his hand there was now something in Morpheus’ palm. It was the ruby dreamstone amulet he had re-created shortly before his own destruction. He looked down at it with a nod. With an almost ceremonious act of raising it, Morpheus lifted the jewel pendant up, and over his head. He lifted it over his mop of black, wild, hair and let the amulet hang from his neck, lightly against his chest. Now Daniel offered the pouch of dreamsand. Morpheus saw it had been exactly duplicated though which was the duplicate, the one he would claim, or the one Daniel kept, it was impossible to tell.

“Ovid wrote of three Oneiroi.” Daniel said. “But I think we have both had enough of three-in-one. And perhaps two is enough. Don’t you think?”

Morpheusn as Morpheus was done securing the pouch to his hip Daniel took his hand again. He liked holding his hand and he knew Morpheus liked it too even if they were both too proud to admit it out loud. “Promise me,” Daniel said, “promise you will help me through my own darkness.” “I will try. I’m not sure I can.” Morpheus said, uncertainly. “You can,” Daniel said “Because you already are. We… already are… for each other.” “Which one of us is the reflection of the other?”

“Does it matter?” “No. Not anymore.”

The End.

#I'll be your Mirror #The Sandman #Sandman fan fiction #The Sandman fan fiction #Sandman #Daniel Hall #Dream of The Endless #Morpheus

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trisscar368 · 7 years

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So, Billie got an upgrade. I have feels.

SPOILER WARNING FOR Sandman by Neil Gaiman (which is not going under a cut. Look, it’s 20 years old, statute of limitations has expired....)

If anyone was paying attention back last week when I was happily hypothesizing over the Empty and it’s relationship to Death and Amara, I brought up Sandman and the facet analogy. And now I’m another pile of flailing fangirl, because they actually went through with it for SPN.*

Sandman is the story of Dream of the Endless. Dream (or Morpheus) is a cosmic entity, anthropomorphic personification, or Eldritch Being, however you want to classify him. The Endless are... well, Endless. They can die, but if they do there will be another personification that comes into focus; there will always be a Death, or a Dream, or a Destiny. A lot of stuff happens in the course of the comic’s run, but at the end, Morpheus ends up making the decision to die.

In the course of the story, there’s a child named Daniel Hall. Daniel spent years inside of the realm of Dreams, while his mother was held there during her pregnancy. When Morpheus makes his choice, that he’s done with life, Daniel ends up becoming Dream upon Morpheus’ death. He inherits the mantle of Dream, but it’s more than that; unlike a kingdom receiving a new ruler, Daniel is Dream.

He remembers everything the old Dream knew, he recognizes his friends and family and has the same feelings for them, he knows every moment up until his death; in no uncertain terms, he is Dream of the Endless. At the same time, he’s new. He’s nervous about meeting his siblings for the first time, because the old Dream was... someone else. Cosmic Beings are not simple. This is where Gaiman used the facet analogy in describing the Endless: that each personification of Dream is a temporary view or perspective of a greater Being, and that no version of Dream is the whole. (In fact, Gaiman has a lot of fun with this concept in Sandman Overture where he essentially has Dream talking to a few hundred versions of himself. Really beautiful character designs there.)

So. Back to SPN.

Billie in 13x05 was very clearly still Billie; same form, same personality, she remembered things before her death, she had the same basic attitude towards humans (and the Winchesters). But she was also very much Death.

“That’s not the Dean Winchester I know and love.”

That isn’t something Billie would have ever said before her promotion; but the old Death, he had a fondness for the Winchesters. Billie became Death; there’s enough differences to argue that she became something a little more than just a more powerful version of herself; that like Daniel, she became a new aspect of something a little more Endless.

*in case anyone is wondering why the heck I think Sandman is arguably relevant; Sandman is one of the seminal works where Cosmic beings are concerned, and the SPN writers have admitted in the past to being influenced by both Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s works.

#s13 spec #this is not meta #this is fangirl flailing #everyone who tags this as meta owes me a cookie #o death #sandman #billie the reaper #eldritch monstrosities #long post #spn 13x05

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thenightling · 4 years

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What the Hell IS Daniel Hall?

There seem to be some people on Tumblr very confused about what Daniel Hall is. I guess someone is going to have to try to explain him. Please note: I do not have the annotated Sandman. This is purely from my own observation while reading Sandman.

Okay, very simple answer. Daniel is Dream of The Endless.

He is not still “only twee-years-old.” He is not Morpheus’ “son.” He is not Morpheus’ heir. He IS Dream. We are literally told this in every single comic he has appeared in.

Let me try to explain...

If you’ve read American Gods you know there are multiple versions of Odin based on the different ideas of him. And how the Icelandic Odin is not Mr. Wednesday even though both are Odin, that’s sort of what this is like.

To begin we need to discuss Daniel’s conception. Daniel is the son of Hector Hall and Lyta Hall. Hector is the son of Carter Hall, whom many of you may know as Hawkman. Hector gets reincarnated and so does his wife. And every time they reincarnate, at some point (usually in adulthood) they regain the memories of their previous life . Keep that in mind.

Hector was tricked by Brute and Glob into believing he was The Sandman. Gifted with some of the Sandman powers Hector. There’s just one problem. Hector was dead. Hector is a ghost.

And Lyta, though originally from a defunct (now AU) timeline had at one point been Wonder Woman’s daughter (again, now defunct continuity / AU continuity) which gave her a direct link with The Furies (The Kindly Ones).

Lyta lived with Hector in a false version of The Dreaming inside a boy’s head, in a hazy dream-state. This went on for years. Still pregnant. Any normal child would have been born already but two years had passed and she was still very much with child.

Eventually Morpheus unwraveled the great scam and forced Hector’s spirit to move on.

So the baby conceived in dreams, possibly by a ghost, (as in Sandman lore it’s unclear if Hector was alive when he impregnated Lyta) was born. From the very start Morpheus could sense the child was of The Dreaming and it was clear this was no normal child.

He was gestating in dreams for over two years. That child is more dream than flesh.

When Daniel is finally named, he names himself. This isn’t some cute “Morpheus speaks baby” moment. This is a psychic communication between him and Daniel.

Notice how Morpheus puts his fingertips to Daniel’s forehead there. This is how they psychically communicate. In the Kindly ones he mentions how he and Daniel have “spoken” and this is later confirmed by Daniel, himself in his more mature / True form.

Morpheus did not name Daniel. Daniel named Daniel.

Daniel isn’t a name chosen at random. Daniel picked it for himself because Daniel is the Biblical Oneiromancer. Daniel is the Dream prophet or Dream Scryer of the Bible. He was the prophet who had visions and prophetic dreams foretelling the future and communicating with God. Daniel in Sandman chose this name for himself because he knew who and what he truly was.

Even Lyta (despite her resentment toward Morpheus) knew the name was right for her son and smiled when she repeated it.

Later (though still appearing very human) Daniel is revealed to be what some might call a dreamwalker. A dreamwalker is someone who can lucid dream and enter the dreams of others at will- what is supposed to be a very rare ability. Daniel lucid dreams his way to The House of Secrets and stays for story time.

The striped pyjamas are no accident. This is a nod to Toby in the fantasy film Labyrinth. In Labyrinth Jareth, The Goblin King, does choose Toby as his heir and does plan to turn him into what he is. There is a similarity in that Morpheus knows Daniel will take his rightful place in his realm but he did not pick a human child at random as an heir. Daniel was born into Dream Magick. He literally gestated in it. This is no normal baby.

Now we come to the explanation of what Daniel is.

Morpheus attempts to explain being Dream of The Endless to Matthew, and how all anthropomorphized incarnations of Dream of The Endless are just “aspects” of a greater whole, he uses the metaphor of facets of a giant jewel.

During Sandman: The Kindly Ones, Puck and Loki burn away all that was human from Daniel. Daniel (as a being) survives this transformitive fire because he is clutching a phoenix feather. But he is now transformed. The human part (what human there was) is gone now.

Puck and Loki did not give him that feather. They didn’t even know what he had in his hand at first.

Now here’s where things get weird... er. Before even this, Cluracan has a brief vision of Daniel in his true adult Dream of The Endless form. It’s similar to the illustration of Daniel’s Dream of The Endless form previously shown in Destiny’s book.

Notice here when Morpheus shakes hands with Daniel, we see Daniel in a pose that is most assuredly not a normal pose for a toddler. He is posed like a noble greeting another noble. One hand cupped behind his back as he stands up straight and shakes Morpheus’ hand.

When Morpheus “Dies” Daniel comes into his own. He physically becomes Dream of The Endless corporealized- with all the powers and memories that go with it.

This scene can be interpreted as Daniel finally taking his true and proper form as Dream. Also notice the dreamstone is shrinking. Each dreamstone is made from a piece of Dream’s very soul. Daniel is absorbing that soul fragment into himself and becoming wholly who and what he is supposed to be. He IS Dream of The Endless. That is not a title. That is who and what he truly is.

This is further solidified when in Sandman: The Wake Daniel tells Matthew that HE was the one who stopped The Corinthian from killing him. And that was while Daniel was still in the form of Toddler-Daniel, making it clear that even at that point he wasn’t truly a normal toddler.

Daniel, himself, tries to tell the reader that he IS Dream of The Endless. He’s not Morpheus but he IS Dream. Dream of The Endless isn’t a mere title. It’s WHAT he is. It’s who he is. He’s a facet of this great crystalline entity.

This is made more clear in Sandman: Overture when we see Morpheus meeting the other aspects of Dream. He acknowledges that they are all “him” yet they are autonomous to each other. Self-aware and self-contained yet linked.

Daniel isn’t some human baby that Morpheus randomly chose as his heir. Daniel IS him. Both are shards of the same being. But here’s the thing. Facets of Dream of The Endless CAN exist autonomously from each other. This is how Morpheus was tricked into thinking the cat (Desire) was another aspect of Dream (another shard) in Sandman: Overture.

So you see, when I “Ship” Morpheus with Daniel I speak of two pieces of a greater whole finding a balance, kinship, and understanding with one and other. I speak of two adult aspects of a greater whole. Not a man and child. Not a man and his heir. Not a child who was groomed by a supernatural being. But two supernatural beings with the same knowledge, power, and (for the most part) memory as each other- pieces of the same soul corporealized. Both connected by being facets of the great jewel that is Dream of The Endless yet autonomous to each other.

Even if Daniel had been human he would be pushing thirty-years-old right now. Characters in Vertigo Comics were aging at real-world speed (until they switched over to DC Black label, which was only a few months ago). This is no three-year-old, folks.

Now for a hypothetical.

Morpheus would be the younger of the two as in my “shipping” of the duo requires Daniel to have resurrected Morpheus as a dream entity. As a dream entity Morpheus would no longer quite be Dream of the Endless anymore but free from that role in his own “death” as Dream of The Endless.

I feel this is what happened- that he became a dream entity posthumously. Notice his appearance in Hob’s dream in Sandman: The Wake. He was there with Destruction. Hob did not know who Destruction was other than a random street artist he saw once. he did not know Destruction’s connection to Morpheus. There is only one explanation for that dream he had of them. The only explanation is that it truly was Morpheus in his dream, brought back as a dream entity but dead as “Dream of The Endless.”

If Morpheus exists as a dream entity now, that’s Daniel-Dream’s doing. And therefor Daniel is technically the older of the two now, as Morpheus had to be recreated to become this dream entity. (Sort of like how Matthew became Dream’s raven.)

Morpheus may have his ancient memories and knowledge (as Daniel does as well) but in his current state (as a dream entity) Morpheus would technically be the younger, at least in that form.

There. That’s the best way I can explain it.

I hope I have that right.

#Neil Gaiman's The Sandman #The Sandman Universe #The Dreaming #Daniel Hall #Morpheus #Dream of The Endless #Neil Gaiman #Neil Gaiman's The Sandman Universe

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thenightling · 4 years

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Enough is enough!

Headcanon is okay but it’s NOT okay to headcanon falsehoods to make other people in a fandom look like perverts.

This below image was shared by @sandman-headcanons from another blog. And though I agree with the basic message, the reason for it existing is rather disturbing and attacks a fandom because of a very bad misinterpretation passed off as headcanon.

That image was created by someone who is part of a faction of very new Sandman fans who have decided Daniel is still a child, Morpheus is his father. And anyone who says otherwise MUST be a pervert. That is the problem.

There are people “headcanoning” (And thoroughly believing) that Daniel (the character in that image) is still a child and Morpheus is his father and therefor imagining Daniel doing anything grown up i.e. having a relationship- must be a pervert.

Imagining / headcanoning that Daniel is a child and Morpheus is his father would be okay (though contradicting of actual established canon...) except they have deemed that anyone who images Morpheus and Daniel (as canonical adults) together- even just in an intellectual / emotional relationship is a pedophile who is pro-incest.

They are treating any Sandman fan who doesn’t see Daniel as a perpetual toddler as a potential pedophile.

I was even told that I “ship a three-year-old with some old dude” by a complete stranger who isn’t familiar with Sandman (but took someone else’s word about it) because of this post that I wrote over a year ago.

https://thenightling.tumblr.com/post/171750432893/why-ive-started-the-crackship-of-morpheus-and

(Ironically one of the first likes of that post is Neil Gaiman, himself...)

And I was harassed for refusing to delete that post.

It’s NOT a sexual post! I don’t post that sort of thing anyway.

Enough is enough!

Do I really need to tag Neil Gaiman, himself, to ask him to please ask you to refrain from righteously harassing and LYING about half the Sandman fandom!?

If you can’t grasp that Daniel isn’t a baby and Morpheus is not his Daddy, go ask Neil Gaiman about it. You know he’s here on Tumblr. Maybe Neil Gaiman can explain it better than I can. I have tried.

There’s a limit to what counts as “headcanon” especially if the headcanon requires contradicting the lore and slandering half the fandom.

1. We are literally told they are both aspects of Dream of The Endless. It’s like Odin and Mr. Wednesday in American Gods. Morpheus, himself, compared it to facets of a jewel.

Personification shards of the same being. This is a major plot point for The Sandman: Overture to even work. This isn’t my “interpretation.” It’s a literal requirement for the story to even happen. It’s the only way the scene where Morpheus meets the other aspects of Dream works and the only way Morpheus can mistake the cat creature as another aspect of Dream.

These aspects of Dream can exist so autonomously from each other (despite technically being the same entity) that Morpheus was tricked into thinking the cat creature was another aspect of Dream.

The Sandman: Overture cannot happen without what I’m saying being taken as canon. It’s not merely my “interpretation” as some of you seem to think.

The very reason Daniel knows what to do and when in The Sandman: Overture is because he has eight billion years of knowledge and memory.

2.. Time moves in Vertigo at the same speed as the real world. The baby Rose was pregnant with in The Sandman: The Wake (when Daniel became the dream lord) is the woman on this cover in Daniel’s arms. She is canonically in her mid-twenties now.

Hell, simply even mentioning who Ivy’s great-grand-parent is has gotten some people accused of being pro-incest. But... Desire being the great grandparent is canon. We have no say in the matter. That’s the established lore. acknowledging it doesn’t mean you agree with it.

3. When Daniel was conceived MORPHEUS WAS STILL IN THE GLASS CAGE! He cannot literally be his father. We’re directly told in issue 12 that Lyta was pregnant for years. YEARS. Morpheus had only been free for about eleven months at that point. It’s simple math.

This isn’t headcanon anymore. This is harassment based on false information and it needs to stop, now!

Tagging those who may want to see this nonsense in action.

@zal001 @sorry-for-the-chocolate @missghostlymoonshadow @vagaryhexxx, @deathlyendless @endlessemptynight @treebrooke79 @deathlyendless @good-times-bad-food @watertribe-enya @everthewildeone @lamb90 @artwinsdraws @winterbirdybuddy @jr4cats

This is what I’m talking about.

I do NOT condone pedophilia. I am strongly against pedophilia and incest.

I never will condone it. But you need to stop twisting a false narrative in order to pretend half the fandom are perverts!

Ironically some of these same people headcanoning that Daniel is still a child (thirty years into his ruling of The Dreaming) and bullying, shaming, and antagonizing anyone in the fandom who doesn’t share this canon-ignoring interpretation, are now discussing erotic fantasies about the new character, Ruin. A literal new-born Nightmare. Adult body and adult mind, yes, but technically he’s actually a newborn.

By the way, Neil Gaiman had also liked this post, wishing Daniel a happy 30th / 10 Billionth birthday so...

https://thenightling.tumblr.com/post/190343770213/happy-30th-10-billionth-birthday-to-daniel-hall

You can access Neil’s liked list from his blog.

#The Sandman fandom #The Sandman fan dumb #We could really use a little help right now #This is getting bad #This was such a sweet little fandom too

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thenightling · 4 years

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An argument for Dream co-existence:

I realize that one major theme in Sandman is change or die but another theme is balance and duality. What if Morpheus and Daniel are meant to live in tandum. In Greek mythology Morpheus was just one of many Oneiroi. Only three names are remembered today. Morpheus, Phobetor, and Phantasos. They were the children of Nyx (Night).

Much of Greek mythology is used in Sandman, right down to making Night Morpheus’ mother. We know there are many aspects of Dream- just as there are facets on a jewel- and also just as there were many Oneiroi (Oneiroses?) in Greek mythology, even if only three names are known today.

We already know that two aspects of Dream can co-exist. That’s why Morpheus was so ready to accept the cat that he thought was another aspect of himself. Not only can they co-exist in tandem but they can exist in tandem autonomously to each other. So autonomous that Morpheus did not know what the cat was thinking until the cat was deliberately protecting his thoughts in telepathic conversation- nor did he realize the cat was actually Desire in disguise.

Through the course of Sandman Morpheus had been seeking a companion like himself. Night even tried to tempt him with this idea.

Every relationship he ever had he sought ...well, aspects of himself, small fragments of himself.

Alianora - The hero of her own story. And here we have the Prince of stories.

Killala of The Glow - A creator whose very will gives her the power to create, much like Morpheus’ dream weaving.

Nada - A Queen and a Dreamer. Just as he is a king and Dream incarnate.

Calliope - A muse, one who inspired art and literature just as dreams inspire.

Titania - A powerful magical queen. Just as Morpheus is very powerful in his own realm. And she is an aspect of “the Queen” as Morpheus is an aspect of Dream of The Endless.

Thessaly - A powerful and ancient immortal witch who seems cold and self-absorbed. Tragically Morpheus, himself, doesn’t realize that his own colder persona has melted away to something more compassionate and even Thessaly sees this. She represents what he was, not what he had become.

Hero, Creator, monarch, inspiration, an aspect of something greater, a cold, vengeful and powerful immortal- These are things, for better or worse, he sees of himself.

Though he has latched onto particular traits I think Morpheus had been seeking his own equal but opposite half. His soulmate. Not necessarily a lover but someone whom he can confide in, an intellectual and emotional equal, one whom balances him out. It would fit he themes of duality.

Perhaps that soulmate was born in Morpheus’ own “death.”

Not only would this reflect the theme of duality and hope but I think it would resolve certain creative issues. When Daniel isn’t written by Neil Gaiman he tends come off as incompetent or cruel, crueler than Morpheus in his darkest hours. In The Dreaming he even drowns some men simply for cat calling Ivy. It’s almost like the writers resent Daniel because they would rather use Morpheus and in present day and not merely flashbacks.

So, there you have it. This is part of why I want Morpheus back. Let his loneliness be absolved, his burden shared, let the DreamS live on.

Note for anyone “Confused”: Daniel has been the lord of dreams for thirty years now with over ten billion years worth of knowledge and memories. Vertigo comics have always followed real world time. No matter who did the writing that has always been a rule. Even now that its moved over to DC Black that rule is still in play, real world time has passed. Ivy (Daniel’s romantic interest in The Dreaming) wasn’t even born yet at the end of the original run of Sandman. Rose was only pregnant with her at the end of The Sandman: The Wake.

I had to put this explanation in there because some people have “headcanoned” that Daniel is still three-years-old and have used posts like this to accuse me of some weird perversion.

#Neil Gaiman's The Sandman #Neil Gaiman's The Sandman Universe #The Dreaming #Daniel Hall #Morpheus #Dream of The Endless

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thenightling · 4 years

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Happy 30th / 10 Billionth Birthday to Daniel Hall!

This is a Happy Birthday message for the character of Daniel Hall in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman.

As there seem to be some Sandman fans who might still think Daniel is three-years-old, (because you might be used to regular Marvel and DC comics characters not really aging much) let me attempt to sort some things out for you.

Daniel Hall was born in 1990. (The Sandman: The Doll’s House, we see Lyta ready to give birth. Slightly after issue 12).

Issue 12 of The Sandman: The Doll’s House was published in January of 1990. That’s thirty-years-ago this month.

Lyta’s pregnancy was unusual, as she carried a baby in her womb for two-years, in a pseudo-version of The Dreaming, and Daniel’s father was (at that point) a ghost endowed with a mild version of Dream of The Endless’s powers.

As he was gestating in a “dream dome” This made the baby arguably slightly more dream than actual human child.

We see Daniel at several months old (to a year old) in 1991 (The Sandman: Season of Mists part 1, issue 23 of The Sandman). In this scene Daniel and Morpheus have some sort of telepathic communication where Morpheus is able to relay to Lyta that his name is Daniel.

Some have mistakenly taken this to mean Morpheus named him, despite the elaboration on them “speaking” in Sandman: The Kindly Ones. That comes much later, mind you.

We see Daniel at two (or three) in 1992 (issue 40 of The Sandman, The Parliament of Rooks,)

Then we see Daniel at three or four-years-old in The Kindly Ones (1995). This is also the year Daniel loses most of his human substance and is revealed as an aspect of Dream of the Endless.

Dream of The Endless is a multi-faceted entity. Each facet is an incarnation, a persona, a “point of view” as Abel says in The Sandman: The Wake.

You see all of these aspects of Dream of The Endless co-existing as nearly totally autonomous entities during Sandman: Overture.

Morpheus comes to not like some of his own personality traits reflected back at him with these other “selves.”

If one of these “aspects” of Dream “dies” another aspect takes that one’s place.

They are so autonomous that Morpheus is tricked into believing a cat creature is another aspect of Dream of The Endless and therefor “himself.” It was Desire of The Endless in disguise.

When Despair later asks Desire why they did this, Desire mentions that Dream (Morpheus) would not listen to anyone other than himself.

Daniel Hall “grew up” very abruptly in The Sandman: The Kindly Ones part 13, issue 69 of The Sandman. He lost the form of a toddler and took on the form of an adult, white haired, Dream of The Endless.

Though Daniel is suddenly gifted with roughly eight to ten-billion-years worth of knowledge and memory, personally, I probably would not consider shipping Daniel with anyone at this particular point in his timeline. I don’t like when children are magically aged up, no matter the circumstance.

However, as you may have noticed, Daniel was physically aging in sync with real world time. Vertigo Comics did that (until all their titles moved to DC Black this very month).

That’s part of why John Constantine looked so different in his Vertigo version compared to his DC proper version. John was aging in Vertigo but not in DC. Now all versions of Constantine have merged so it doesn’t really matter anymore...

In Sandman: The Wake (published in 1996) it was revealed that Rose Walker was pregnant.

In The Dreaming (2018) Rose’s now adult daughter, Ivy, was introduced. Ivy is the child she was pregnant with in 1996.

Had Daniel been human, he would have been roughly five-years-old (possibly six) when Ivy was born. Ivy is canonically twenty-four-years-old right now in the comics.

If Daniel was human, and aging like a human, he would currently be thirty-years-old.

I believe, according to The Sandman: Overture The deluxe edition (published in 2017) in the Q and A with Neil Gaiman, at the back of the book, Morpheus roughly represents himself in his thirties. Daniel is closer to himself in his twenties.

Here’s something else for you.

This is hypothetical: Going with the theory that Daniel Hall resurrected Morpheus as an entity of dream (free from being an aspect of Dream of The Endless) (Note: See Hob’s Dream in issue 73 of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman) than if that is the case, it’s safe to assume Daniel is now technically older than Morpheus even though both have roughly ten-billion-years of knowledge and memories, because Morpheus would have to have been re-created as that dream version of himself in 1996.

This would make Morpheus officially younger at technically being (now) only twenty-four-years-old, even if he doesn’t look twenty-four-years-old and his own memories and soul are much older. Isn’t that weird?

So anyway, whether you’re counting Daniel’s human years (thirty, as counted by Vertigo comics) or his ten-billion-years of knowledge and memory as Dream of The Endless, or even just his first appearance in publication (still in Lyta’s ready-to-pop womb from issue 12 of The Sandman, published in January of 1990) Happy Birthday to Daniel Hall, whose original “human” birth was some time in January of 1990!

#Daniel Hall #Dream of The Endless #Neil Gaiman's The Sandman #Neil Gaiman #The Sandman #The Dreaming #The Sandman Universe

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thenightling · 4 years

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The Bullshit I had to deal with on Tumblr Tonight

Okay, buckle up. This is a long ride, folks.

Some months ago someone posted about having a Discord about The Dreaming (Sandman Universe comic). I reblogged it as a fellow Sandman fan. I noticed in the rules there was an anti-Incest rule. I joked “Whoops, I mentioned Daniel and Ivy. Guess I broke that rule.” Daniel and Ivy are canonically a couple in The Dreaming. Unfortunately they are also technically related as Ivy is the great-grand-daughter of Desire (Daniel’s brother).

Well, the person who created the post blocked me and started to tell people I was pro-incest. Figuring this was a big misunderstanding I tried to reach out to their friends to set the record straight. I don’t even LIKE Ivy!

Then they decided to keep me on block (supposedly) because they felt I was “reblogging everything they post” and “stalking” them. Honestly, I just follow the “Sandman” tag and hadn’t noticed who I was reblogging from.

I let it be for a long time. Then tonight I saw a funny post on sandman-headcanons page that jokingly called Morpheus “Grandpa.” I realized quickly that I couldn’t reblog it. This had happened to me a lot in recent months because the posts in question had passed through the person who had blocked me or originated from them.

I publicly posted about this frustration tonight. That was my mistake. Next thing I know I find out that person was now telling people I ship a “Three-year-old” with an “old man” and they were saying this, out-of-context, to people unfamiliar with Sandman who took the statement at face value. Needless to say, I was horrified.

Here’s the thing Daniel and Morpheus are technically both “aspects” of Dream of The Endless. That means they are two facets or shards of a greater being who is essentially a great big, divine crystal or jewel. They are fragment pieces from the same soul. And I was always speaking of adult Daniel. Daniel hasn’t been depicted as a toddler since the mid-90s.

And here’s what followed after that...

https://thenightling.tumblr.com/post/189892817243/thenightling-thenightling-thenightling

I was given the ultimatum to delete any posts where I “ship” Morpheus and Daniel and they would consider unblocking me. As one of those posts had been liked by Neil Gaiman, himself, (author of The Sandman) I did not want to do that. And I was told “Oh, they already have Neilman on block too.”

(Neilman is a derogatory term used by those who think Neil Gaiman is a homophobe who “doesn’t deserve the ‘gai’ in his name.”)

So I was to choose them or the author of Sandman, Neil Gaiman. Hmm?

I got flustered and tried to explain further (suspecting this person I was talking to in direct mesage was the original person on an alt, based on how they wrote) telling me what my ultimatum was.

And in the process of defending myself and Neil Gaiman I accidentally typed “She” when the person’s pronoun of choice is Xe. I tried to correct myself but it was too late, that became a new subject of their anger toward me. They were convinced I had typed “She” on purpose. I had been using They / them as the pronoun up until that moment and I would never, ever misgender on purpose, even when angry. They refused to accept it was a typo.

Still, I was very upset at the misconception that I “ship a three-year-old with an old man.” That bothers me to no end.

Realizing there was another “misunderstanding” (and this time an exceptionally gross one) I made a post explaining who and what Daniel Hall actually is in great detail. I also provided evidence directly from the comics to confirm what I said in that he is no three-year-old. Not physically, nor mentally.

https://thenightling.tumblr.com/post/189895590768/what-the-hell-is-daniel-hall

They clearly didn’t read this post because they were still referring to Daniel as Morpheus’ “Son” and “heir.” Claiming that Morpheus “groomed” Daniel. And they referred to Morpheus as Daniel’s “predecessor” (which is something literally corrected as being wrong IN the very story that this person said is their “special interest” that they’ve read multiple times...)

Then the “ask” messages started rolling in...

https://thenightling.tumblr.com/post/189895724368/why-are-you-so-damn-obsessed-with-an-18-year-old

https://thenightling.tumblr.com/post/189895819008/just-because-someone-is-bisexual-and-supports

This above one you HAVE to read the notes to get the whole thing. Yet again they accuse me of being obsessed with them, without giving me a chance to even answer. No, I was never obsessed with them (this person). I was just bothered tonight when I couldn’t reblog a post I thought was funny.

I had lost interest in them possibly unblocking me when I found out they had Neil Gaiman blocked too. I realized I was in good company on that blocked list. But I will not stomach being accused of shipping a three-year-old. Especially when that character in canon wouldn’t even be three-years-old right now if he was human. If he was human he’d be thirty-years-old right now. He does not look, nor act three-years-old.

(Does that look like a three-year-old to you!?)

https://thenightling.tumblr.com/post/189895950763/yeah-well-you-are-a-dense-motherfucker-answer-my

https://thenightling.tumblr.com/post/189896055598/im-so-fucking-sick-of-you-youre-so-sure-that-youre

Ironic that they accuse me of bullying while lying about me. Or they were “misunderstanding the lore” (again...) and shaming me for posts the author had liked and trying to force me to delete and renounce those posts...

Here is the post Neil Gaiman had liked on the subject that they were trying to demand I delete.

https://thenightling.tumblr.com/post/171750432893/why-ive-started-the-crackship-of-morpheus-and

You may also notice the post is two-years-old. But this became this person’s new excuse for how they were treating me.

So yeah. @sorry-for-the-chocolate @zal001 @missghostlymoonshadow @endlessemptynight @deathlyendless @watertribe-enya @bazpik @hasturlavista @jr4cats @vagaryhexxx @sunagirl @iknowwheremytowelis

This is what happened to me tonight. If you’re wondering why I’m being so antisocial tonight.

Edit: I just realized the most obvious and laughable part in all of this. “Neil Gaiman is a homophobe!” Followed by “Take down that gay ship post that he liked!” ...And they, as well as their friends, don’t notice anything odd about that?! That’s rhetorical.

Not to mention I never physically shipped Morpheus and Daniel in any erotic way. I’m not some horny teenager. To me it was always about emotional / intellectual connection as equals. Also in the lore I use, it’s required that Daniel had re-created Morpheus posthumously as a dream entity (See Hob’s dream in Sandman: The Wake), which means technically, in that form Daniel would be the older of the two though both possess over eight billion years of knowledge and memory in their adult minds and bodies.

#The Sandman Fandom #Fandumb #Fan dumb #The Sandman Universe fan dumb #The Dreaming fan dumb #Daniel Hall fandumb #Dream of The Endless fan dumb

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thenightling · 4 years

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Why you may not actually want to ship Lyta Hall and Eve

@sorry-for-the-chocolate has alerted me to the fact that there is someone here on Tumblr who ships Lyta Hall and Eve (from Neil Gaiiman’s The Sandman) together.

Usually I don’t judge anyone’s ship. Ship and let ship is what I usually think but this same person, ironically, decided to accuse me of paedophilia for emotionally / intellectually shipping Daniel Hall and Morpheus together. The irony? Daniel and Morpheus literally ARE the same being. They are both aspects (meaning living embodiment of a part of, or incarnation of) Dream of The Endless. That’s not up for “interpretation.” That’s established canon fact.

The person convinced complete strangers and non-Sandman fans that I was shipping a three-year-old and “some old dude” and convinced others that Morpheus is Daniel’s father and named him even though both of these statements are quite incorrect. Morpheus knew Daniel’s name, he did not name him. If anything Daniel named himself. Also we are literally told in issue 12 of The Sandman that Lyta had been pregnant with Daniel for years- meaning he was conceived while Morpheus was in captivity. Morpheus is not his father,

And finally, Daniel has not been three-years-old since 1994. Daniel is a character from Vertigo comics and time moves in Vertigo as it does in the real world. Yes, when he was revealed as being an aspect of Dream he abruptly aged in 1995 but over twenty-five-years have passed since then and as an aspect of Dream, Daniel has over ten-thousand-years worth of memories. This isn’t a matter of “interpretation.” Everything I said has been repeatedly confirmed by the author and can be found in the Q and A in the back of The Sandman: Overture Deluxe edition.

Now, what’s all this about the shipping of Lyta and Eve?

It’s just a typical F/F ship, right? Well...

First we need to go back a bit. Back in the mid-1980s DC had an event called Crisis on Infinite Earths, very similar to the recent TV event of the same name. It merged messy continuities and changed events. It was the first major comic book soft-reboot. Lyta Hall is a remnant of the pre-Crisis DC Universe. In her original continuity she was the daughter of Wonder Woman. That’s why she’s named Lyta. It’s short for Hippolyta, That’s the name of Wonder Woman’s mother.

When the dust settled after the Crisis on Infinite Earths event some characters were left displaced and with broken / old continuities. Lyta was one of them.

Now we come to the Hecatae or The three-in-one. These are The Kindly Ones AKA The Furies from Greek mythology, Wonder Woman’s bloodline... They are also the fates. The three-in-one. As you can see, they acknowledge that Lyta is of their blood despite The Crisis on Infinite Earths event. The maiden aspect refers to Lyta as “Granddaughter.”

When The Kindly Ones attack The Dreaming in The Sandman: The Kindly Ones story arc they opt to leave Eve alone because she is another aspect (another personification) of the three-in-one. Essentially meaning she is the same as they are. A living representation of the three-in-one. It’s sort of like Odin of Iceland vs. Mr. Wednesday in American Gods in that they are both versions of Odin even if they are mostly autonomous to each other. And it’s also like how both aspects of Dream (Daniel and Morpheus) are the brother of the other Endless because they are both aspects of the same being (like facets of a jewel as Morpheus describes it.). This isn’t Headcanon. This is just how Neil Gaiman’s lore works. He can confirm it on his own Tumblr blog if you ask him.

The Kindly Ones literally say Eve is “an aspect of ourselves.” This isn’t just metaphor (though much of The Sandman is metaphor). That means that like The Kindly Ones themselves, Eve would count as literal blood relation to Lyta Hall.

You’ve got to love the irony that someone who accused me of an incest ship because they misinterpreted the lore accidentally promoted an actual incest ship...

This is especially ironic because simply mentioning the Daniel’s canonical relationship with Ivy (who technically is his own great niece) lead the weird assumption that I am pro-incest (even though I don’t even like that relationship) and yet that same person is now perfectly all right shipping Lyta Hall and Eve.

TL;DR?:

Lyta Hall is Eve’s Granddaughter because Eve is an aspect of The Three-in-one, same as The Kindly Ones. One of you just shipped a woman with her grandmother...

@sorry-for-the-chocolate Feel free to share and tag whomever needs this.

#The Sandman #Eve #Lyta Hall #The Dreaming #Dream of The Endless

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