#human!dreamling au

[murkycran]

Human!Dreamling AU

Hob is a former soldier turned history professor (original, I know)

Dream is a successful author; he writes under the pseudonym of Morpheus because he likes his privacy

Dream starts sitting in on Hob’s history classes because he’s doing research for his next book

Which would fine and all, if only 1) he had bothered to tell Hob that rather than just showing up one day, and 2) he wasn’t so distracting for the actual students in the class

As it is, Dream just starts showing up after class one day and Hob is like “um?? Can I help you???”

Dream: “your Department Chair said I could be here”

Hob: “well no one told ME that”

It starts off a bit contentious; Dream refuses to tell Hob what he’s writing about, just asks vague questions, and his attitude makes Hob feel inferior or like he’s being judged

In truth Dream is just an awkward idiot who has a hard time talking to people, hence the need for writing under a pseudonym and saving his privacy

Hob, finally reaching his limit with feeling like he’s being judged and deemed inadequate, asks why Dream doesn’t just sit in with the other history professors

Dream, getting huffy and defensive, says “my sister praised your passion and depth of knowledge in your field, but if you truly find me so bothersome, I’ll find someone else”

Hob: “sorry, did you say sister?”

Hob served in the army with Death, who was a combat medic

Death and Hob kept in touch after being discharged from the army, but they both kind of got busy with life and only occasionally saw each other on social media

While Hob went on to get his degree in history and teach, Death got her PhD in medicine and opened her own practice

When Dream complained about needing to do some research on an era of history for his next book to Death, she suggested Hob and talked about how good of a teacher he was. So Dream pulled some strings and got permission from the Department Chair to sit in on Hob’s classes.

Hob is a little embarrassed - he considers himself a pretty average professor and doesn’t have the same years of experience as some of the other professors - but feels honored that Death recommended him so highly

Ofc before he can actually say anything like that, Dream leaves because he’s Offended and needs to sulk

Feeling a little bad about how they parted (only a little bc Dream can be an ass when he wants to be), Hob reaches out to Death again and tells her about it. She’s pretty much like “sigh yeah that’s Dream for you, dw I’ll talk to him”

Cue her calling Dream and calling him an idiot and telling him he needs to use his words more rather than expecting everyone to simply accommodate him.

Death uses Older Sister Voice to strike a blow!! Dream sulks about it some more but realizes she’s right and shows up to the next class Hob is teaching

He doesn’t really apologize but he does say he overreacted; Hob DOES apologize for misjudging Dream, however. He’s still willing to give Dream a shot now that he knows Death specifically recommended him to Dream

Hob tried to ask Dream about the books he’s written before but Dream Will Not tell him what his pen name is; hob also tries to ask what the current book is about, and Dream still won’t talk about it

This is all frustrating to Hob, bc if he knew even what genre Dream was writing he could probably help more than by just giving a basic history lesson. He could be specific about what he tells Dream, give plot relevant info, etc etc.

Dream dgaf tho and plays it all close to the vest bc he doesn’t want someone ‘interfering’ with his writing process. It irks Hob, but he comes to see it as a game, trying to figure out Dream’s pseudonym from little clues in their conversations.

Leading to not only many more classes where Dream shows up (Hob’s students are INTRIGUED bc who is this man randomly hanging around our professor?), but also some one on one meetings either at Hob’s office or at the New Inn over drinks. Dream even offers to pay Hob, but Hob insists he just pay for the drinks when they go out, bc he sees his talks with Dream as a favor to his Death, who saved his life more than once out in the field

What started as a rough partnership evolves into a comfortable friendship over months, as their meetings eventually start to progress past just talking about history to other topics. They get to know each other outside the original context of their meetings by talking about things that, yknow, friends talk about. Food, hobbies, family, past experiences, etc.

I think the tipping point for Hob realizing he’s got a crush on Dream would be him coming into the university building where he teaches one day and seeing Dream talking to another professor.

All the social studies and liberal arts are taught in the same building. Dream showed up early for Hob’s class bc he thought he heard a different professor reciting Shakespeare to their class once. He likes Shakespeare ofc so he thought he’d show up a little early to listen to the Shakespeare class out of curiosity. He ends up in a discussion after the class ends with the professor. The professor, named Will (bc I think I’m hilarious), is an English professor who teaches a class on Shakespearean Literature to third and fourth year students.

On his way to his own class, Hob sees the two of them talking after the Shakespeare class ends, and feels a little weird about it but he has a class to teach so he ignores it

Or at least he tries to. The feeling grows when his class starts and Dream is nowhere to be seen for at least the first 30 min of class. When Dream finally does come in, it’s the latest he’s ever arrived and it bugs tf out of Hob so much he tells Dream after class that they can’t meet that day bc there’s a faculty meeting that Hob forgot about.

Dream is a little surprised and disappointed, but is okay with putting their meeting off for another day. After he leaves, Hob finds himself wondering exactly why he told Dream they couldn’t meet, bc now that Dream’s gone he regrets lying and just wants Dream to come back. Now irritated with both himself and Will the English professor, Hob goes home for the rest of the day to grade papers. If there’s a little more red on the essays than there normally is, that’s only bc his students had a particularly hard time with the recent unit and not at all bc he’s mad.

Hob doesn’t have any classes the next day, but he does actually have a meeting with the Department Chair about next semester’s classes, so he goes to the university. After his meeting with the Chair, he happens to walk by Will the English professor’s class out of curiosity and sees Dream sitting in the back of the class. Hob gets aggravated all over again, stewing outside the closed classroom door (it’s one of those with the window on the door) and thinking not very nice thoughts about Will the English professor when Dream looks towards him and sees Hob at the door. He looks surprised.

Without even thinking about it Hob automatically leaves bc shit! Dream caught him standing outside the class like a creepy stalker! Fuck. Hob drives all the way home mortified and cursing himself before he realizes he’s blushing all over. Cue the realization that hey maybe this is about more than just his friend becoming friends with Will the English professor.

I have more for this AU, but this post is getting a little long for mobile so I’m cutting it off here (for now…)

Now with a Part 2!

#dream of the endless #hob gadling #the sandman #dreamling #human!dreamling au #fanfiction #fanfic #too lazy to write this but it wouldn’t leave my head so here you go

[amielot]

Hot bath

Dream: is.. a cold hose... abnormal?

Hob: ... HOW cold?....

Bonus:

Dream's been clean for awhile. But Hob just keeps pouring hot water because he can tell Dream likes it.

#he hasn't had a hot bath from humans #I drew this on august 12th #that's almost 2 months ago #hob and his little step stool so he can reach Dream #horse girl au #GET BATHED IDIOT #dreamling #hob gadling #dream of the endless #monsterfucktoberbingo #Dream: I don't believe it was.. cold enough to freeze... wait.... #Hob: I AM GONNA KILL BURGESS #the art tag #centaur #centaurs #webcomic #the sandman

[webonchin]

Had a little baby fever so better idea to give my favorite pair a baby, but ,me being me and taking advantage of the interesting things, I decided that the baby would be a little (literal) nightmare, yes

Bonus

Baby's name is Dusk, I use any pronouns to refer to them.

#dreamling #dream of the endless #hob gadling #parents au #fanchild #Hob aka I don't fear the horror i'm fact i'm having a lovely family with them #everyone wants to be a monsterfucker but not everyone decides to raise a child with the creature beyond human comprehension #I think Hob would be a brave one #nightmare child au #would probably use the tag again if I make more stuff #dream x hob #my art

[fishfingersandscarves]

Beach Date - July 1989

(Referenced from Nan Goldin • ‘Bruce and Philippe on the Beach, Truro, MA,’ 1975, Matthew Marks Gallery)

#my art #fishfingersandscarves #the sandman #the sandman netflix #dreamling #dream/hob #hob/dream #dream of the endless #dream (the sandman) #hob gadling #robert gadling #painting #self harm cw #illustration #handwaves- this is a human au

[five-and-dimes]

Human au where Dream's childhood best friend is a girl who lives next door, and they're super close and as they grow Dream realizes he's gay, but also has a crush on his best friend which makes no sense to him?? He's definitely gay, he's confident about that, but also definitely got feelings. What's up with that.

Anyway he keeps said feelings to himself, occasionally narrowing his eyes and "hmm"ing to himself because there's just something about his friend that itches his brain sometimes, but life happens and they both move away for college and lose touch and don't see each other for a long time, and then after like five or six years they reconnect and, surprise, Dream's friend is like "hey so I realized I'm a trans man and I go by Hob now, I hope you can accept me" and Dream understands this is a big moment for Hob but everything makes sense now so he's just like "CALLED IT" and kisses him.

Hob, who's been pining for his best friend for ages, is okay with this.

(based on this post)

#the sandman #dreamling #human au #I just think it'd be fun lol

[linddzz]

My brain is on human Dreamling again where everything is pretty much the same as the Red Flags AU but instead they meet when Johanna forces Morpheus to go to a pub with her because she's sick of being the more emotionally stable one since his divorce and then the crashed and burned rebound with Thessaly. He needs to get social and get his shit together so it can be her turn to have a breakdown damnit.

So she takes him to The New Inn, where she actually likes the bartender and knows the dude would make friends with anything. Hob Gadling is an unstoppable force of chill friendly vibes and charm. Either he is going to get her bitchy friend out of his shell a bit OR it's going to be a fun night watching Morpheus play the confused and alarmed cat being confronted with an unstoppably friendly golden retriever. Win-win.

And she knows...she knows that it's a risk introducing Morpheus to an intelligent person who has a charming smile and big dark eyes. There is a huge risk that Morpheus will find out the bartender is also a history professor who likes Medieval literature, and he's going to get that keen hungry look to him.

But hey, Morpheus only really gets interested in people if they go after him first. And he's pretty but his fucking attitude is great at sending the red flags hot mess signals to every other adult around. Hob's a smart one. He's friendly but generally flirty and charming with everyone, and he's seen enough hot mess types at the bar to know what the signs are. So this should be safe.

Right????

And at first it does go fine! Morpheus has shoved himself into the far edge seat at the bar and been a huge bitch the entire time because he's been forced out by Johanna. He's sneering at every attempt by Hob to engage in friendly chit chat, already stole Johanna's drink, threw a fit and outright said "I am not above making a scene" when she took his phone so he couldn't read one of his e-books (he pulled an actual book out of his bag right after), and is overall being fucking awful. This is a man in his 30s and acting like this. He is a father. All is well. He had surely scared off any initial interest his pretty face got him. Johanna can rest easy that no one is going to make any moves that Morpheus can then fixate himself on and start working himself into spiralling fantasies of soul mates and wistful sighs.

Cue the comedy beat where she turns around for ONE SECOND and when she looks back she sees;

Hob, elbows on the bar and chin in his hands entirely up in Morpheus' space: hey ;)))

Johanna: ......fuck

Morpheus: ...................................*closes his book*

Johanna: FUCK!!!!!!!!!

#GOD FUCKIN DAMNIT GADLING #GADLING NO ITS LIKE FEEDING A FERAL CAT YOU CANT GIVE HIM A SCRAP #I THOUGHT YOU WERE SMART GADLING WHAT THE FUCK #Dreamling #human au #the dynamic with Hob and Morpheus is pretty much the exact same as the hot mess au #honestly they could be melded together and still turn into a '''fake date'''“ scenario

[tringstarruuu]

Dreamling as Howl’s moving castle AU

#the sandman #dream of the endless #hob gadling #dream/hob #dream x hob #dreamling #howl's moving castle #hmc au #a thing abt me is if i have a ship #im obligated to put them in this au #and i already have another one for them ffs #sorry to my ships but #ELDRITCH/COSMIC BEINGS X HUMAN #is my top tier fav ship dynamic #Illustration #digital art #my art

[delta-pavonis]

Fic: Placebo Effect

Dreamling (human AU) || Rated E || 10k words || complete Alternate Universe - human, Hob is minorly Tiktok famous, for his woodworking ASMR videos, Hob is also a doctor, Dream listens to Hob’s ASMR, Dream is a museum curator, Dream needs his fucking lunatic parents to stop harassing him about not being married yet, Hob takes on the holiday shifts for colleagues because he doesn’t have a family to go home to, Hob is really fucking bored and decides to offer to do a fake relationship video call, you see where this is going, fake relationship to real relationship, the entire set of Endless sibs are little shits in the best way, getting together, phone sex, dirty talk, sexting, inappropriate work behavior, sex at work, Dream went to art school, Dream was an unrepentant slut in college, Hob is still an unrepentant slut, frenum piercing, reference to previous toxic relationship, sex toys, anal fingering, oral sex, blow job, anal sex

>> You are no doubt being inundated with such requests, but at the endless prodding of my siblings I decided to try: I would like to take you up on that offer of a holiday meal call as a fake partner. Even my littlest sister and my sibling-who-hates-me have taken pity upon my plight and encouraged me to do this, just so they don’t have to listen to our parents harass me for the entirety of another dinner. I am amenable to discussing terms, but you would probably benefit from some pre-event background on my family’s unique flavor of crazy before you agree to this. He doesn’t even get his phone back into his pocket before it vibrates with a notification.

inspired by a prompt @gabessquishytum got

Read on AO3

#Dreamling #human AU #based on a Tumblr prompt #fake relationship to real relationship (kinda) #Pavonis writes

[hardly-an-escape]

Fluffbruary Days 14-17

gonna try to do a little daily drabble just to get the creative juices going while I work on longer WIPs. no guarantees that it'll be every day.

Dream/Hob • rated M • phone | bubble bath | doll & cord | bakery | honey & neighbour | desire | horse & magazine | tactile | curtains

Hob sighs and leans back in the hotel bathroom tub. At least it’s deep. He’s got a glass of whiskey, which tomorrow Hob will probably regret – not due to the alcohol, just the fact that it’s from the room minibar and costs three times what it’s actually worth – and he’s dumped what might be legally considered a ‘metric shitload’ of bubbles into the hot water, and he can finally, finally relax.

He likes these conferences; he honestly does. It’s refreshing, to connect with people in his field and both commiserate and be reminded why they do what they do.

They’re just also exhausting – even for an extrovert like Hob.

His limbs are feeling pleasantly warm and heavy and he’s halfway through his whiskey when the phone rings.

For some ungodly reason the hotel has put a phone in the bloody bathroom, so at least he doesn’t have to get up, just haul himself far enough out of the water to reach the counter.

“Hello?” he says irritably.

“Hob?” says the voice on the other end of the line. “I have a question about one of your citations in the paper you presented this morning. I was…”

“Morpheus?”

“Obviously. I was wondering about –”

“Morpheus, it’s –” Hob tries to break in.

“– about the research on Jonson that you cite in –”

“Morpheus, it’s after nine o’clock in the evening.”

There’s a long pause.

“Is it?” the other man says uncertainly.

“Yes, you absolute walnut.”

“I… was working. I must have lost track of time.”

“Why on earth are you still working? Don’t you have a flight in the morning?”

“I suppose I have. Nothing better to do.”

Hob doesn’t know Morpheus all that well; they see one another a few times a year, at seminars and conferences. They argue cheerfully about the merits of various Elizabethan playwrights, they – yes, fine, they flirt over cocktails at receptions, occasionally – but they don’t really talk. And yet he can see Morpheus, curled up in an uncomfortable desk chair at the cramped little hotel room desk, papers spread in front of him. The man has a memorable presence and a genius mind. And thin, elegant, fidgety fingers, which Hob imagines wrapped up in the phone cord.

And a dark, velvety voice, which is currently pouring into Hob’s ear.

“I apologize for disturbing your evening, Hob.”

“That’s alright. But you ought to find some way to relax tonight, for goodness’ sake.”

“Oh, ought I?” Morpheus sounds – amused? “And how would you suggest I do that?”

“Well, I for one am drinking a whiskey and having a very nice bubble bath.” Hob splashes deliberately. “And I can only recommend that course of action.”

“From an academic standpoint, Dr. Gadling?” Morpheus asks dryly.

Hob sinks a little deeper into the hot water. “Naturally, Dr. Murphy. From what other standpoint might I recommend it?”

Desire swells and pools in his belly. He can’t help it, with Morpheus’s voice in his ear bringing the man’s image so vividly to his mind’s eye. The sharp grey-blue eyes and even sharper cheekbones, which contrast soft lips.

“I’m sure I couldn’t even begin to guess.” Lord, but that voice is smoother than the whiskey Hob has just polished off.

“Perhaps sometime I’ll have the opportunity to enlighten you,” he says boldly.

“Perhaps.” Hob thinks he can hear a smile. “Good night, Hob.”

“Night, Morpheus.”

A click, and the line goes dead. Hob leans up to hang up his own handset and recedes back into the bubbles.

Morpheus would be a tactile lover, he’s sure of it. His hands prove it; that nervous, artistic elegance. Hob’s own hands drift lower, slip between his legs.

Perhaps sometime he’ll have an opportunity, indeed.

prompt list!

#my writing #dreamling #fluffbruary #fluffbruary 2024 #the sandman #oh my god it's a human au where they're both academics HOW REVOLUTIONARY lol #be the fanfic you want to see in the world

[inennui]

~Sick~ Dreamling Week 2023 hosted by @mr-sadman

#retired dream #human au #You know when you're sick & either shivery too cold or sweaty too hot? #Dream's shivery #Hob's sweltering #the saddest wettest cat #sandman netflix #sandman #dreamling #hob gadling #dream of the endless #dreamling week 2023 #dreamling week #dreamlingweek #dreamlingweek2023 #myart #fanart #morpheus #my art

[murkycran]

Human Dreamling AU (Part 2)

Despite realizing his feelings, Hob very much tries to continue on with life as it had been so far.

For one, he doesn’t even know if Dream likes men. All Hob knows is that Dream used to have a wife.

So a little background:

Both Hob and Dream used to be married. Hob’s wife Eleanor and son Robyn died in a car crash. It happened after Hob finished his master’s degree and had been teaching as an associate professor for a few years, taking a break on getting his PhD until Robyn was a little older and Eleanor didn’t need as much help. After Robyn and Eleanor died, Hob put off getting his PhD indefinitely and sank into a bad depression. Bills went unpaid, the house he planned to raise his family in went into foreclosure, and he became homeless for a short time

When the 1 year anniversary of Robyn and Eleanor’s deaths comes around, Hob is at the lowest point of his life. He’s been homeless for a couple of months at that point and is feeling pretty hopeless. Initially he’s overcome with shame on the anniversary bc of how bad things have gotten (thinking about what Eleanor would think of him). That night, though, he’s approached by Mad Hettie. Almost everyone avoids her, even the other homeless, bc she has a reputation for being Odd.

Hob REALLY wants to be left alone, but he’s still not a complete asshole, so he humors Hettie and listens to her ramblings. She gets worked up talking at him (not to him, AT him), going on and on about how Hob has “been here before” and she knows he’ll recover like he always does, him and Hettie, so similar, they don’t just give up the two of them, they keep going no matter what, and she knows Hob will get back on his feet-

Hob listens and is just like: “what”

He’s PRETTY sure he had never met Hettie until just a couple of months ago

After a few minutes Hettie seems satisfied, finishes with “this isn’t the end, Hob Gadling”, and putters off into the dark.

That night Hob thinks about what she said (at least, the last bit, not the rambling bits) and decides she’s right. It’s not the end. He still wants to make Eleanor and Robyn proud by being the man he would have been if they were still alive.

It’s hard work, but within a year Hob has a small apartment and is interviewing for a substitute teaching position at a high school. (Side note: I’m not trying to make it seem like it’s easy to get out of being homeless. Hob would have resources many people don’t, like presumably veteran benefits, and I imagine he would also have people he could ask for loans to help him get back on his feet. It’s just that he previously didn’t have the motivation to do so.)

After a couple of years of teaching high school history, Hob decides it’s finally time to get back into teaching at the university level. He also starts working on his PhD.

It’s ten years after Robyn and Eleanor’s death that Hob meets Dream.

NOW FOR DREAM’S BACKSTORY

Grew up in a REALLY weird, really rich family. He and his siblings were all adopted as infants by Night and Time. Yes, all of their names are the same as canon. Like I said, a really weird family. No, I don’t know why, and neither does Dream, but it was never really an issue growing up bc they were all homeschooled so it wasn’t like there were any normal kids around to make fun of them or point out how weird they were.

This has kind of led to all the Endless siblings being a bit Odd compared to outsiders (Night and Time fully encouraged the Oddness). They all have really weird sibling dynamics, but are still a family. (Important side note: I don’t think human!Dream would have as horrible relationships with his siblings if they were human as he does in canon *cough*Desire*cough*. For one, the Endless being human takes out all the high stakes of being anthropomorphic personifications in charge of human existence. So. SURE, they have their fights and petty squabbles, but what siblings don’t? So, in other words, the Endless are def more familial in this AU.)

At the beginning of his writing career Dream met Calliope, a fellow writer. Calliope was an upcoming poet and playwright. She and Dream have a pretty short courtship before they get married; I’m talking like less than a year. (Desire makes a point of saying they don’t think the relationship will last, which naturally pisses Dream off. Unfortunately, they’re right.)

Calliope and Dream have a son (Orpheus - the tradition of giving kids weird names continues), but within the first few years of his life Orpheus gets really sick with an incurable disease. He dies just before his sixth birthday. Neither Dream nor Calliope cope well; Calliope refuses to leave the house while Dream starts distancing himself from her and burying himself in his writing. During this time (fueled by angst and anger), Dream writes the novel that would make him famous and kickstart his writing career.

Mutually, deeply unhappy (and resentful on Calliope’s part, bc she feels like Dream abandoned her), they get divorced. Desire doesn’t gloat or anything about it, but Dream is angry enough at the world that it doesn’t matter, he refuses to speak to Desire (but really he’s angry at himself). He never was good at keeping up with his siblings in general, but it becomes even worse afterwards and Dream only regularly speaks with Death (read: Death knows where to find the spare key to Dream’s house and regularly breaks in for mandated sibling bonding).

Dream keeps writing, channeling his emotions into his work. Even though he’s using a pen name, the overwhelming success of his book becomes too much for him to manage alone and he hires Lucienne as his manager, who in turn hires Jessamy as Dream’s personal assistant.

Dream settles into a new normal, telling himself he needs no one, all the while coming to rely heavily on Jessamy and Lucienne (whether he realizes it or not).

If he didn’t already, BOY DOES HE REALIZE IT when Jessamy is involved in a wreck with a drunk driver. (I’m actually not entirely decided on whether or not Jessamy dies; on one hand, there’s canon. On the other hand, she could just become disabled from the wreck, is unable to work for Dream anymore. When Dream refuses to hire another PA bc he feels like he would be replacing Jessamy, she would pick out her own replacement and tell Dream to get a grip. Hm, I’m undecided. Feels like my want to give Dream more friends is leaking into this AU lmao.)

Dream doesn’t make it easy on Matthew. Matthew doesn’t make it easy on Dream either though. He takes his job REALLY seriously, especially after he feels like Dream thinks he can’t be as good of a PA as Jessamy. Jessamy and Lucienne aren’t afraid to call Dream out on his bs, but Matthew straight up *says* “bullshit” to Dream’s face and is a lot more brute force about getting Dream to take care of himself. Where Jessamy and Lucienne use passive aggressive persuasion on Dream, Matthew is just annoying as hell to get Dream to do what he wants.

Okay, that’s enough backstory and exposition for now. Now to the Present again ->

When Dream starts observing Hob, he’s actually between publishing contracts, so there’s no rush or deadline for the book he’s researching. Perhaps that’s why he allows himself to be so drawn in to conversations with Hob.

When they have their first argument where Hob gets frustrated at Dream’s aloofness and says he’d be better off talking to a different, more experienced professor, Dream takes it as Hob saying he doesn’t have the time or patience to deal with Dream’s questions. That’s not what Hob says, but Dream is Dream and takes it that way.

Cue them resolving their issues with help from big sis Death.

After that, the meetings between Dream and Hob are easier and less formal/more relaxed.

Somehow a lot of their conversations circle back to somewhat philosophical arguments. Dream has a pessimistic, darker outlook on humanity and history, while Hob is more optimistic and generally looks more towards humanity’s achievements than the shortcomings.

They also talk about other, more personal subjects. Never getting too deep into explanations, Hob tells Dream about Eleanor and Robyn, while Dream just says he got divorced after their son died. They bond over their loss, but bc they’re themselves, they don’t dwell or talk about it in-depth.

Nonetheless, Dream is quietly surprised at himself for opening up (even if it only was a tiny crack) to someone that didn’t either A) work for him or B) was related to him. When he realizes this, it’s a little easier to admit to himself how much he looks forward to his talks with Hob.

Part 1 of this AU!

Okay, that’s it for now. Sorry it was so much exposition and backstory, but I felt like to properly establish a human AU I needed to cover some stuff. Coming up: more insight to the Endless family dynamics! Some good Dreamling pining! And probably some fluff, too, just for good measure. I’ll be tagging this AU as “human!dreamling AU” btw, so it’s easier to find. I’ll also try to remember to add links to new posts on the older posts as well.

Thanks to everyone who liked, reblogged, and left comments in the tags or on the post!! I had no idea this would be so appealing to fellow Dreamling fans. 😊 y’all are the best.

(As a final side note: someone brought up how I was going to handle Dream’s entrapment by Burgess in this AU. Tbh, I hadn’t thought that far originally bc this started as a cute little idea, but it’s now become a fully-fledged fic plot lmao. I have some ideas of how to handle it, I just may not get around to it next time yet bc I’m still not super sure.)

#the sandman #dreamling #dream of the endless #hob gadling #human!dreamling au #death of the endless #desire of the endless #the endless #i feel like I rambled too much but oh well #sorry about any typos 🙃

[amielot]

Touch starved.

#get pet idiot #gentle ear pets #yep #in which Dream discovers he's touch starved as fuck #and his limited physical contact policy blows up in his face #the sandman #dreamling #horse girl au #centaur!dream #dream of the endless #hob gadling #centaur #centaurs #when you have complicated feelings/dislike towards humans #the art tag

[webonchin]

OoOooooo I've been feeling weird(⁠･ั⁠ω⁠･ั⁠) (bad kinda way) so excuse me

Dreamling daddies as a treat for myself from my nightmare child au, bunch of doodles I had there lying around about their little (literal) nightmare,they grow so fast *wipes tear away*

#la creatura #Dusk probably doesn't like that humans only have 2 arms #the only bad thing about going unnoticed in the waking world #climbing Hob like he's a tree #nghhh i have a weakness about Hob with kids ...let him dilf #enjoy my wholesome art while you can #because I have so many things on mind... #nightmare child au #parents au #dreamling #my art #dream of the endless #hob gadling

[valeriianz]

I've had this Dreaming The Proposal AU sitting in my drafts for a while. Then @voukkake comes out with this art and I figured it was time to brush off the dust and share what I'd written lol. This is seriously all I'm going to write so if anyone is interested I'm begging you to pick this up. I'm dying to read Dream awkwardly interacting with Hob's family (also @valiantstarlights suggestion that Betty White is Destiny?? ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT). Anyway...

------------------

Dream is about to be deported because his visa application has been denied. He is in the middle of a meeting with his lawyers when Hob, his secretary, pops in the room to inform Dream of a very important phone call and Dream comes up with the insane plan to marry Hob to keep his immigration status.

He gestures for Hob to come over and Hob, clueless, wanders into the room and stands next to Dream, who takes him by the arm and tugs him just a little bit further to stand awkwardly close.

Dream announces their engagement and Hob stands there, shell shocked and feels his mouth moving against his will. That yeah, they are getting married. They are in love, sure. It isn’t until they leave the office, following Dream back to his, that Hob’s brain seems to come back online.

“What just happened in there?”

Dream grouses, head down, already back to his work as if nothing happened. Like he didn’t just use Hob as a pawn in his scheme to get around his denied visa application.

“They were going to make Morningstar editor-in-chief.” Is all Dream says, disdain dripping from every word. He still hasn’t looked up.

Hob stands there, still as a statue. His head is swimming with words, with emotions. Anger, disbelief, betrayal… and a small tiny flicker of undeniable interest that he hastily stomps out.

He manages to put the pieces together rather quickly though, while Dream continues sifting through paperwork.

“This is illegal,” Hob manages to croak out, brows furrowing. 

“Oh, please. The government looks for terrorists, not book publishers.” Dream’s head is still down in his paperwork.

Hob blinks, taking a step up to Dream’s desk. “I'm not marrying you.”

“Sure you are.” Dream sets aside a stack of papers and finally gives Hob his attention. “Because if you don't, your dreams of ‘touching millions of lives with the written word’ are dead.” 

Hob’s jaw drops. That was a line, corny as it was, that he’d used in the panel interview for this job. Three years ago.

----------------------

“Were you not in that room? I could get fined, I’ll go to jail over this. If you want me on this deal, you will promote me to editor.”

Without even glancing up from his phone, Dream scoffs.

“Absolutely not.”

“Well then I guess you’re screwed. Buh-bye.” Hob turns with a flourish and has to bite back a grin at how Dream splutters behind him and grabs him by the arm.

“Fine– fine! Editor.” His face seems to go through the five stages of grief. He drops his hold on Hob.

“And You’ll publish my manuscript.” Hob throws in. In for a penny.

Dream’s brows narrow and he shakes as if he’s physically controlling the urge to stamp his foot.

“Sure. I’ll publish your hack manuscript.”

“Good.” Hob slips his hands in his pants pockets, staring at Dream, deciding on one last nail in the coffin.

“Now do it properly.”

Dream cocks an eyebrow. “Do what properly?”

“Propose. Like you mean it.”

Dream’s entire body seizes up, but he manages not to let it show, distracting himself by slipping his phone in the pocket of his expensive slacks and clasping his hands in front of him.

“Will you marry me?”

“No.” Hob, the arrogant bastard, is visibly biting back a smirk. “Say it like you mean it.”

Dream takes a long, steadying breath through his nose.

“Hob Gadling. Will you–”

“And get on your knees.”

Dream absolutely refuses to decipher the thrill that shoots through his body at Hob’s command. Instead he keeps his mask of irritation and indifference on as he scans the crowd around them. They are still outside the courthouse, and the concrete sidewalk is going to potentially tear Dream’s Hugo Boss black wool pants.

So he carefully lowers himself, scowling as the smirk on Hob’s face only widens as Dream slowly settles onto the ground.

Once he’s as comfortable as Dream’s going to get, he clears his throat.

“Hob Gadling,” he glares at his subordinate from under his lashes. “Will you fucking marry me?”

Hob curls his lips in mock consideration, looking up past Dream’s head. He rocks back on his heels and nods with a forlorn sigh.

“Okay.” He still hasn’t met Dream’s gaze. “Could've done without the sarcasm but it will do. See you at the airport tomorrow.” 

And turns and walks away, leaving Dream to fend for himself on the ground.

#dreamling #hob x dream #the sandman #my writing #i guess this is my niche now? #transcribing romcoms into dreamling fodder lol #i cant stop thinking about that *chefs kiss* perfect line on the airplane #when Dream asks Hob what he's allergic to. as a test. #and Hob confidently responds with 'tree nuts. and the whole spectrum of human emotion.' #or Dream cornering Hob at his family's home and getting in his face at how irritated he is by the taunting and teasing and that #Hob needs to step it up #and Hob. sly as ever. throws back: 'oh. thats no problem for me. i can be the doting. sweet. smitten fiance. but it's /you/... #... that needs to be convincing.' #and then he idk offers them to practice kissing in private and Dream is so mortified by the prospect but also. #.. definitely a little (a lot) interested #okay im done lol #the proposal au

[kydrogendragon]

Can I also ask about Blind Date?

Of course!! This one I think will be cute. It was a Valentine's day prompt I hadn't gotten to but had a decent plan of attack for. So here's my notes on since since I don't have any official snippets.

Human!AU. Divorced Dad!Dream w/ Widowed Prof!Hob. Jo's Hob's mate who's drinking buddies with Matthew. Anyways, Dream's been going on a bender, fucking anything that moves and Matthew's tired of picking up the pieces afterwards and Jo's tired of seeing Hob look so sad everything they pass a happy couple so they decide to pit these two together. Dream and Hob do not know this is a blind date. They assume they're meeting their respective friend for dinner to celebrate something (each has their own excuse). Hob gets there first, waiting politely at the table, scrolling on his phone when Dream walks up looking confused. Hob is star eyed at the very very pretty man giving him a thoughout look-over. "You are not who I expected Matthew to choose in a partner." "What?" "Primarily being the fact that you do not look like your name is Johanna." "I'm sorry, I'm so confused. You know Jo?" Matt told Dream he wanted to introduce him to his new girl and also celebrate his newest art sale. Hob, meanwhile, was told to meet Jo cause she'd been craving this place's rolls and was tired to fish and chips. "I think there might be some sort of miscommunication. Here, please, stay, I'll call Jo and she if she knows what's up." Jo tells him to enjoy this and to talk to the guy. Better than moping around. "Right so… apaprently we've both been played. Jo's not coming and im guessing your mate isn't either. Sounds like our two friends have been conspiring behind our backs." "I see…" "I know this isnt what either of us expected for the night." "No…. but at least they chose a spot with good wine." "Cheers to that." So they stay and talk and later, when they end up toppling into Hob's flat after dinner after far too many glasses of wine, well, let's just say neither of them are too mad about it. Especially when Hob wakes Dream up with the smell of breakfast and fresh coffee.

The WIP Title Game

#ky writes #wip game #dreamling #hob gadling #dream of the endless #human au

[linddzz]

Here an assortment of Facts About Morpheus in the Red Flags AU. Where I'm starting to lean more towards the version where they meet and are already into each other before the ""Fake Date"" Incident:

-Jessamy is the raven he took care of when he found her injured outside of his townhome. He now has a room with a window he often keeps open for her to fly into whenever she feels like it. I don't know how legal any of this is in London but tbh it doesn't matter because he also does not know what the laws are and doesn't care.

- His townhome is very dark maximalist in decor, which tends to surprise people at first. There are houseplants and little statues all over, and the walls are hidden behind millions of bookshelves. There is an art studio room and books scattered everywhere. Very recently, hypothetical visitors would notice a lot of child locks and child proofed areas that have a bit of a panicked "I bought every safety thing in the store bc I have no idea wtf I'm doing" energy to them.

- He has a therapist. Yes, the Morpheus that Hob meets is the upgraded version who is actually working on himself already. This is what the improved personal growth version of Morpheus is like.

Anyway, said therapist is Gilbert F. Greene. Because Morpheus going head to head with an unstoppable force of old timey adorable optimism who will also not take his shit is delightful. Dr. Greene insists on going by first names and Morpheus always makes "Gilbert" sound like a slur in retaliation. Some conversations I imagine include:

"Good morning Gilbert, you will never guess who had what you might call a """relapse into self destructive behaviors"""" last night."

"I am very sorry to hear that my dear boy. Let me say though, that I am so very proud of you for calling me! That is a phenomenal step for you and it's wonderful that you are being proactive in your recovery."

"Don't patronize me Gilbert. I will hang up."

(this ended up being super long so I'm just gonna spare y'all's dash. Warning for some lightly touched on mentions of drug use and self destructive behavior.)

- Him getting a therapist was part of the requirements for gaining visitation rights and then weekend custody once a month with Orpheus. The therapy is actually helping, and he's bitter about that.

- His given name is actually Dream, he goes by his middle name. All the Endless siblings have awful names. Desire goes by Adonai because who calls a fucking child Desire???

When Hob meets the rest of the family, Destiny goes "it's good to see you again, Dream" and Hob begins turning to Morpheus like "lmao who tf is named Dream" only to find Morpheus glaring daggers at his brother.

- The Endless parents are rarely around. Some of the siblings still live in the manor and they all use it for family dinners, but it's common for their parents to be off travelling for years at a time.

- Morpheus is an author and a painter who has a bajillion pen names to go with each genre he writes in, so it's hard to figure out exactly how much he's written. Even before becoming a father though, his face and full name is mostly associated with children's fantasy stories that he illustrates himself, and his Art vs Artist vibe is very Miyazaki.

Him and Calliope collaborated on a series of illustrated poetic translations of ancient epics. Their divorce was exactly as messy as one might imagine the divorce between two passionate artist types might be.

- His downward spiral of self destruction started before the divorce but oh boy did it nosedive during and after.

- When she got pregnant after divorce proceedings had started, there was a moment where they were both meeting with lawyers and one asked something along the lines of if this meant they would try for reconciliation and staying together. Calliope said "no" immediately.

It's not like Morpheus exactly thought they would get back together, but the speed and firmness of that hard "no" had his head screaming with white noise and some badly thought out self medication for months, which ended up being why Calliope got full custody and he is just now able to get more involved with the now two year old Orpheus.

- His rebound with Thessaly was also messy. She was just in it for a fun fling and he was... Morpheus. He found out he got dumped when she informed him she was already in the process of moving back to Greece, and Johanna said he needed to be banned from any more beautiful Greek expats from that day forth.

- No one can figure out what the deal is with him and Lucienne. The simple explanation is they're queerplatonic soul mates. Lucienne's wife Gault thinks they're a bit codependent (not an inaccurate assessment), but is more civil with him since the day she yelled at him to go get an actual therapist instead of constantly putting his shit on Lucienne, and he actually did. (It is unclear if this or Calliope demanding therapy for him to get visitation with Orpheus was his wake up call catalyst, but probably a bit of both.)

- Lucienne was originally a personal assistant. She now works as his editor since she seems to be the only person who can keep track of all the shit he's written. She is also the only person who can get away with critiquing his works in progress without sending him into a fit where he might burn all his manuscripts.

- When Morpheus started mentioning this Gadling guy a lot, Lucienne paid a visit to the pub. Not to do anything so crude as to threaten a man's life if he breaks her sensitive friend's heart. What could she do anyway? No no. She's just here to smile with zero trace of humor and ask some questions while looking him up and down through her spectacles. Hob will later describe this as one of the most pants shitting moments of his life, and he felt like he got transformed back into a primary school kid who talked slightly too loudly in the library.

- Morpheus went through a slutty phase during and shortly after University that was less of a healthy and fun exploration of his sexuality and libido, and a bit more "I will take anyone who will have me in any way they will want me and I know that if nothing else, I'm pretty."

- Him and Johanna used to have a game seeing who could get more free drinks in one night. This had to be put to an end when it turned into the catalyst for at least three screaming fights between them.

Fight subjects were

Quality vs Quantity. Morpheus insists his ability to get people to buy him a single glass of wine that costs £50 beats Johanna's cheap beers. Johanna disagreed. loudly.

Is it cheating when Morpheus ran to the bathroom to smudge on some eyeliner and then stole Johanna's lip gloss? Is it further cheating when Johanna realized that his main method of getting drinks was "act like Adonai"? Accusations that he would ever act like his horrid annoying younger sibling sent Morpheus into an absolute tantrum.

Competitiveness DID overcome sibling rivalry enough for Morpheus to go to Adonai for makeover assistance. This backfired because it made Morpheus hot to the point of intimidating, and Johanna won that night.

- After Hob starts flirting with him, Morpheus goes suspiciously into a Romantic, Pre-Raphaelite inspired art era featuring lots of noble knights with dark sunlit hair. A lot of them seem to be lured in by dark haired fae entities all La Belle Sans Merci style. It's disgustingly obvious.

-Therapy has made him juuuuust self aware enough to know that he MAYBE tends to go a bit hard and fast with romance. This makes him a little more cautious with Hob than he usually would be, and he's doing a bit of "Hob is so nice and sweet and interested but I'm gonna mess it up :(((" pining. Everyone around him is fucking sick of it. He is not self aware enough to realize he's still going super hard and fast, but this time he's doing it while sighing sadly and drawing Hob in his sketchbook all the fucking time.

#red flags au #human au #Dreamling #gonna make my pinned masterpost to organize shit later today djdjdksk