#writing this up makes me wanna get that annotated sandman book

[dee-is-for-lots-of-things]

one of the little subtleties in season of mists i love is the subtly different way Dream presents himself to the different ambassadors, like even down to what he’s wearing. he’s slightly different for everyone and i love thinkin about the attention to detail, it would have been so easy for him to be just in his full on dream king mode all the time but instead we get this (sorry this is gonna be long but i love this. its a sandman blog this is what u signed up for lol)

the first one to show up is odin, who offers up a prediction of ragnarok containing a fragment of dream’s soul

dream is in his casual moping outfit, t shirt and probably jeans, but sits above odin. it’s possible this is to sort of remind odin that dream is in charge here, since odin is a trickster and considers tricking dream through basically the whole book. the candles are probably a reference to something smart neil gaiman read but i just think they also add to the neat border, separating odin and dream.

he’s also pretty polite to odin, genuinely considering the offer and generally being nice about it (well. nice for dream lol)

next we cut to jemmy (ambassador for chaos)

this is immediately distinct because she’s stood so close to him. while odin was a little bit away and dream was sat above him, here thanks to the height difference that’s already there i guess he didnt think he needed to bother

dream is much harsher to her than odin (although not the worst he gets) the other think i wanna say is i think the image of dream with his balloon is very sweet

the candles are back when order’s messenger shows up, and he’s put his big dramatic coat on for being big and dramatic in. with the wide shot at the end the candles seem to once again be a barrier, this time against the floating emissary, shielding dream and keeping him in a little circle (whether this is the intention of dream or it’s a fun little bit of imagery to show how isolated dream has made himself, who’s to say)

he’s also a lot meaner again, outright dismissing kilderkin, which shows that he was being very nice to odin at the beginning. maybe he puts on his coat to be scarier after chaos just straight up threatened him

i always enjoy a shift in artstyle to represent the perspectives of other cultures, especially dream in similar clothes that i do not know the name of (sorry) also it’s weird seeing him in blue instead of black, obviously the way they draw black often uses blue to highlight but idk it’s just different and i like it. his words are similar to how he spoke to odin, and the offer is considered on the same level

bast and dream have at least something of a history together (correct me if im wrong it’s a while since i last read brief lives) and are a lot more direct. maybe the short, single word phrases mean he’s slightly taken aback or maybe it means this is the fifth meeting he’s had and he just remembered there’s still more to come and is very tired

also, lovin the collar

matthew interlude! this is very cute. moving swiftly on!

in terms of his physical presentation, i think azazel is the most interesting. for one thing, he’s hovering to match, and his cloak thing idk what to call it has a bunch of layers overlapping much like azazel’s many eyes mouths etc. the fact that azazel is the one one to really take offense with his cautious diplomatic tone is fun but not really unexpected, he’s a fucking demon.

oh also he’s back in his t shirt when the angels come and take the key. worth mentioning but i forgot to get screenshots lol

#writing this up makes me wanna get that annotated sandman book #comicc #season of mists #sandman #the sandman #lily liveblogs #dream of the endless #neil gaiman #long post #sorry but also not sorry

[annalynnaeus]

Lymond playlist

Because this is my life now

Link here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX1j0sgNhs4&list=PLTcxkqgFNIFFfR0CQnR2woOkTM0TKdBd5

Index and annotations below the cut

So this is organized with roughly 3 songs per book.

Game of Kings:

Garbage, Cherry Lips (about Lymond, obviously)

She gave you everything she had But she was young and dumb She'd just turned twenty-one She didn't care to hang around So when the shit came down Why she was nowhere to be found

You hold a candle in your heart You shine the light on hidden parts You make the whole world want to dance You bought yourself a second chance

Johnny Cash, God's gonna cut you down (justice comes for a few people in book one...)

You can run on for a long time Run on for a long time Run on for a long time Sooner or later God'll cut you down Sooner or later God'll cut you down Well, you may throw your rock and hide your hand Workin' in the dark against your fellow man But as sure as God made black and white What's down in the dark will be brought to the light

Celtic Woman, The Voice (IDEK...I just like this song, and wanted to find a place for it. The fixation on national spirit and history might actually fit better with Oonagh. But I think GoK does have kind of a theme of history following cycles, and wheels of luck, sacrifice for a nation, and so on)

I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain I am the voice of your hunger and pain I am the voice that always is calling you I am the voice, I will remain... I am the voice of the past that will always be Filled with my sorrow and blood in my fields I am the voice of the future Bring me your peace Bring me your peace and my wounds, they will heal

Queens Play

Gaelic Storm, Johnny Tarr -- (This is totally about Thady Boy-- a fictional narrative about a fictional Irish stereotype)

Lemme tell you a little story about a man named Johnny Tarr He was a hard drinking son of a preacher, always at the bar Lager from the tap or shots of Paddy from the shelf He could open his throttle and throw back a bottle as quick as the devil himself ... Johnny Tarr! ... Even if you say it yourself, you wouldn't believe, And I wouldn't trust a person like me, if I were you I wasn't there, I swear I have an alibi I heard it from a man who knows a fella who says it's true!

Dua Lipa, New Rules-- (Poor Robin Stewart. Though this could also work for Jerrott, and many other characters in Lymond’s orbit).

One, don't pick up the phone You know he's only calling 'cause he's drunk and alone Two, don't let him in You'll have to kick him out again Three, don't be his friend You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning And if you're under him You ain't getting over him

Ladytron, Destroy Everything you Touch (Lymond, obviously. You know the quote I’m thinking of.)

You only have to look behind you At who's underlined you Destroy everything you touch today Destroy me this way Everything you touch you don't feel Do not know what you steal

The Disorderly Knights

Broken Bells, The Ghost Inside (Oonagh. Watch the music video...the lyrics aren’t super literal, but I think this song is very appropriate for her)

Just like a whiskey bottle drained on the floor She got no future, just a life to endure This good samaritan is shaking her hand Too late to leave here now, the songs in the can

Nickelback, How You Remind Me (So this is down as my Gabriel song. On paper, really sweet and catchy, but then you start to wonder if something so straightforward might be a little...fake)

This is how you remind me Of what I really am It's not like you to say sorry I was waiting on a different story This time I'm mistaken For handing you A heart worth breaking

Lorde, Loveless (JOLETA. This is normally part two of a two part song, but THIS PART IS JOLETA

Bet you wanna rip my heart out Bet you wanna skip my calls now Well guess what? I like that ‘Cause I’m gonna mess your life up Gonna wanna tape my mouth shut Look out, lovers

Pawn in Frankincense

Moby, Lift Me Up (I don’t have much justification for this song, other than that I like it, and wanted more male artists, and it kind of felt right here)

Plain talking (plain talking) Making us bold (making us bold) So strung out and cold (strung out and cold) Feeling so old (feeling so old)

Halsey, Gasoline (This song is for both Lymond AND Marthe. Favorite song in this playlist. The entire playlist could really just be this song, over and over again. I could write a whole essay connecting this song to the plot of PoF)

Are you insane like me? Been in pain like me? Bought a hundred dollar bottle of champagne like me? Just to pour that motherfucker down the drain like me?... Do the people whisper 'bout you on the train like me? Saying that you shouldn't waste your pretty face like me?... Low on self esteem, so you run on gasoline I think there's a flaw in my code These voices won't leave me alone Well my heart is gold and my hands are cold

Beats Antique, Rising Tide (Philippa, to some extent. I was a little tempted to use this song in GoK for Christian Stewart, instead, swapping it with the Johnny Cash, but the beginning of the playlist was already dominated by female vocalists. And I think it kind of does work for Philippa at the end of PoF, going back home to her old life, leaving behind these bizarre and horrible experiences, she’s changed and Flaws Valley is still the same.)

You're an ocean of a girl Surrounding a world with a blackening tide You know that the coming storm is going to be a crazy ride With your alters made of bones The aftermath of disposable wings... I would write you a song that sounds like A faded photograph of your favorite night Just a little something to remember me by

The Ringed Castle

Alice Merton, No Roots (This doesn’t need much explanation)

I like digging holes and hiding things inside them When I'll grow old, I hope I won't forget to find them 'Cause I've got memories and travel like gypsies in the night I build a home and wait for someone to tear it down Then pack it up in boxes, head for the next town running... And a thousand times I've seen this road A thousand times I've got no roots, but my home was never on the ground

Barns Courtney, Glitter and Gold (again, doesn’t need much explanation...)

Do you walk in the valley of kings? Do you walk in the shadow of men Who sold their lives to a dream? Do you ponder the manner of things In the dark The dark, the dark, the dark

Guster, Fa Fa (Ringed Castle just speaks for itself, doesn’t it)

Go and run through the hallways, and find your way to the door You will end up like always, back where you were before Can you look in the mirror, wish you were somebody else But it's still your reflection, you and no one else You were always saying something, you swear you'd never say again

Checkmate

Elefant, Misfit (Lymond and Philippa, to some extent. Also I like the song.)

Tell me your name, tell me your story Cause I'm into it, runnin' through life like a misfit

Sia, Alive (this whole song...)

I had a one-way ticket to a place where all the demons go Where the wind don't change And nothing in the ground can ever grow No hope, just lies And you're taught to cry into your pillow But I survived

Garbage, When I grow up (could have also fit in the GoK section)

When I grow up I'll be stable When I grow up I'll turn the tables... Don't take offense Better make amends Rip it all to shreds and let it go

Additional songs I thought of, but scrapped:

Game of Kings Bad Reputation, Joan Jett I don't give a damn 'Bout my reputation I've never been afraid of any deviation An' I don't really care If ya think I'm strange I ain't gonna change

Joanna Newsom, The Things I Say If I have the space of half a day I'm ashamed of half the things I say I'm ashamed to have turned out this way And I desire to make amends But it don't make no difference, now And no one's listening, anyhow And lists of sins and solemn vows Don't make you any friends There's an old trick played When the light and the wine conspire To make me think I'm fine I'm not, but I have got half a mind To maybe get there, yet

America, Sandman (for Jerrott, or Richard) Ain't it foggy outside All the planes have been grounded Ain't the fire inside? Let's all go stand around it Funny, I've been there And you've been here And we ain't had no time to drink that beer 'Cause I understand you've been running from the man... Ain't the years gone by fast I suppose you have missed them Oh, I almost forgot to ask Did you hear of my enlistment? Funny, I've been there And you've been here And we ain't had no time to drink that beer

Queens play Blink 182 What's my age again "And that's about the time she walked away from me, no one likes you when you're twenty-three..."

Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas, Picture me with you (the bisexual anthem, lol) "I've been sleeping with your girlfriend. I' ve been sleeping in her bed. Don't picture me dead Picture me with you... I've been sleeping with your boyfriend. I' ve been sleeping in his bed. Don't picture me dead Picture me with you..."

Ringed Castle Joanna Newsom, Good Intentions Paving Company "Twenty miles left to the show Hello, my old country, Hello Stars are just beginning to appear And I have never, in my life Before been here"

Checkmate Metric, Satellite Mind "Hold it I'm about to drop off Let me tell you my last thought Drift into a deep fog Lost where I forgot to hold it I can feel you most when I'm alone"

Joanna Newsom, Leaving the City "I believe in you Do you believe in me? What do you want to do? Are we leaving the city? On the black road Through the gold fields While the fiends are plowed Towards what we are allowed"

#Lymond #the lymond chronicles #dorothy dunnett #I'm going to regret posting this because I'll think of fifty more songs that belong here #Do any of you have any recommendations for songs that would fit with one or more of the books or characters? #or lyrics or poetry #talk lymond chronicles to me!