APPLICATION;
CHARACTER NAME: Dream (Daniel Hall)
FANDOM: Sandman
CANON: After his meeting with the rest of the Family.
WHAT THEY LOST: Upon arrival, he will find his emerald missing--which means he is unable to create whole skerries of dream or personified dreams like The Corinthian or Mervyn Pumpkinhead, along with diminished powers in general. He will still have some control over dreams, but it will be like a puppeteer tugging on strings than a potter molding a clay exactly. This will get rid of his godmod tendencies~
ABOUT THE CHARACTER: Daniel Hall was conceived by Hippolyta Hall and her then-deceased husband Hector Hall in the dreams of Jed Walker, setting the motion for a most singular life. When the dream was finally put to an end by Dream (Morpheus), the personification of dream, he lays claim on the child conceived in his realm and names him Daniel. He says that he will come for the child when the time comes, while Lyta Hall denies him, saying, "over my dead body, you creepy bastard."
On the outside, it seems like he lead a normal enough life as a baby then a toddler, but even then he displayed an unusual connection to the Dreaming; he was lucid when he dreams and he always remembers when he wakes up. He remembers all the tales and secrets that Cain, Abel, Eve and Matthew tell him. He also has a sort of power over the Dreaming, tugging at the strings to save Matthew's life, when near the end The Corinthian was supposed to kill him.
When he turned two years old, he was kidnapped by the Norse god Loki and Robin Goodfellow aka Puck, apparently to drive his mother mad and prompt her to seek the Furies, who in turn will set out against Dream in revenge for her child. Loki and Puck ties him with a silver cord to tie his body and soul together, then sets him on fire to burn away his mortality. It is implied that Dream himself was the one who commissioned this.
He was then located in Svartalfheim by The Corinthian and Matthew, as sent by Morpheus. The Corinthian broke apart the silver cord, therefore severing Daniel's tie to his body. At this point, he is no more a human boy than a ghost, a shadow or a dream. Brought back to the Heart of the Dreaming, he waited there until Dream returned to give him the emerald dreamstone containing a part of his power and to speak to him about his upcoming succession as the next Dream.
Dream then went away to face the Furies that are demanding his life, met his sister Death and committed suicide with her help. At that exact moment, Daniel takes on the role of the second incarnation of Dream, dressed in all white in contrast to Morpheus' all-black attire, and with an emerald for a ruby. Where the previous Dream has collected many names to himself, this second king of dreams only answers to two: Daniel or Dream.
Daniel is Dream, and as such he has all the memories of the previous Dream, but he is another facet of him. He is much like the previous Dream in his manner of speaking, his love of witty banters and stories, his tendency to stop and mull over the tiniest wonders and his obedience to rules and regulations--even though he is more likely to try and find loopholes when it is for the better good. While he is not a moralist by any stretch, Daniel is capable of showing more compassion and mercy than his previous incarnation, as shown by him forgiving Lyta Hall, once his mother, when he has every reason to send her to eternal torment until the end of days for inciting Morpheus's death. Instead, he gives her his mark so that no harm will ever come to her, much like Cain's mark, and tells her to put her life together again.
Daniel is also more willing to empathize and engage with mortals, as shown by his involvement in several issues of the Justice League of America where he aided the superheroes in their fight.
On one hand, he has always been Dream but on the other, he was only a toddler before this. Both young and extremely old. While he still answers to Daniel, whatever was human about him has been burned away while the intangible and eternal remains--his soul. As the new king, he is still learning the ropes and can be seen seeking wisdom and advice from gods and mortals alike, including his brother The Prodigal and Master Li. He is hesitant about his powers and obligations, but he is also more comfortable with them since he is able to do with them what he wants instead of what he must, unlike the previous Dream.
Daniel is eloquent, gentle and polite with his family and subjects. He does want to prove himself worthy of the role he now plays, but he is not desperate in seeking their approval. He can be said to be naive in that he wants to use what he has to do good, to create good dreams and to forgive past wrongs when he can. After his succession to power, Daniel's first tasks were to restore the dreams that were killed or destroyed by the Furies, except for Fiddler's Green who refused to be revived. He also released most, if not all, of Dream's prisoners. This might be because Daniel is more merciful, but it is more likely to be because Dream, in dying, has finally found the strength to change--where Morpheus would chain and imprison and become imprisoned in return, Daniel sought to be released and freed from his own traps.
He says to Master Li, a wise man sent to exile in his old age, "Sometimes I suspect that we build our traps ourselves, then we back into them, pretending amazement the while. That this is the way of life, from the All-Highest down to the meanest creature in creation… But whether this is the case or no, it is still a worthy thing to open cages." He refers quite directly to himself, his previous incarnation.
Like a child, Daniel trusts easily and loves just as easily. He is kind to most he meets, and curious. He is fascinated by his newfound powers and realms and tasks and obligations, with mortals and gods and everything in-between. He has the wisdom and knowledge of endless years, but the attitude of a two-year-old only now discovering the vastness of the universe.
THIRD-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE:
On a narrow street of Vilnius, Juli meets the one who stole from her dreams of her lover. After her lover's death, she cannot see this city of theirs lest she walks its streets in waking, recalling stolen moments in this alleyway and that. The rainstorm had stopped and the city smells of crushed grass and smoke, like the moment they met.
She hasn't seen him in half a century. He stands in her way, tall and white, unlike how she remembered him yet very much the same.
"Greetings, Julija Beniuševičiūtė," he says, the trace of an echo rounding out his words.
"We have met, haven't we?" she says. Her voice has shriveled and crumbled over the years, but before him she finds herself speaking like a young woman once again. In her words is the final defiance of a woman facing her doom.
"We have, Julija. Forty-three years ago. Here," he speaks, the stars and galaxies in his eyes unable to chase the depths of their darkness away. "I have come to settle our grievances."
She recoils, her throat tightening at the mention of her punishment. "Our grievances? Our grievances? The grief has been mine alone," she seethes, imagining her hands wrapped around his porcelain neck. But she knows better than to attempt the murder of an idea. "You stole from me my lover and even the dream of his love."
He places a thin finger on his chin, his skin as white as the rest of his garb. The only color on him is the brilliant emerald that hangs from his neck. For a moment, he seems too young to be the master she once knew, but the moment passes when he returns her murderous gaze with an impassable one. He is older than the suns and the gods and once he had loved her and she betrayed him. "I wish to return to you what I have taken," he says.
Juli remembers. This is not he, the master that gave her everything then took it away. There was the wake, then the funeral. She thought it was a dream, but where else would the funeral of the King of Dreams be held but in dreams? The morning after she wept like a babe arriving at the world for the first time. "My grievance is not against you, child. It is against Dream, and he is now dead."
Stars tremble and flicker in his eyes. "I am he, Julija. Your grievance is against me."
She shakes her head, feeling the sudden weight of grief on her shoulders. She coughs up a mixture of phlegm and spit at the sidewalk. The vagaries of age. "I have loved him in all the days of my youth and never has he forgiven a slight."
He bows his head, wisps of snow white hair tickling the heavy air. In her hopefulness, he almost seems remorseful. Almost. "Grudges are bonds in their own right. Here I am to take away yours," he says, his voice sounding like a young man's, the one she made the mistake of loving, a lifetime ago.
Juli laughs, the sound like bark dragged against the pavement. "What happens now?"
He returns her gaze and she can almost see a smile slowly carving its way into his alabaster features. He seems freed and unburdened, now. "Now you go, Julija, and dream of your lover."
She nods, feeling for once like a little girl scolded, and turns to hurry home. The streets pass like a blur to her, the city already becoming more like a dream than the anticipation of who she might meet tonight: the man she has tried to piece together from fragments, sighs, a strand of hair, the blink of an eye, the ridges on his lips. Tonight, Juli will dream of her lover, and with her final breath throw herself into his arms. Home at last.
Please feel free to leave any and all comments, criticisms or cookies here~
FANDOM: Sandman
CANON: After his meeting with the rest of the Family.
WHAT THEY LOST: Upon arrival, he will find his emerald missing--which means he is unable to create whole skerries of dream or personified dreams like The Corinthian or Mervyn Pumpkinhead, along with diminished powers in general. He will still have some control over dreams, but it will be like a puppeteer tugging on strings than a potter molding a clay exactly. This will get rid of his godmod tendencies~
ABOUT THE CHARACTER: Daniel Hall was conceived by Hippolyta Hall and her then-deceased husband Hector Hall in the dreams of Jed Walker, setting the motion for a most singular life. When the dream was finally put to an end by Dream (Morpheus), the personification of dream, he lays claim on the child conceived in his realm and names him Daniel. He says that he will come for the child when the time comes, while Lyta Hall denies him, saying, "over my dead body, you creepy bastard."
On the outside, it seems like he lead a normal enough life as a baby then a toddler, but even then he displayed an unusual connection to the Dreaming; he was lucid when he dreams and he always remembers when he wakes up. He remembers all the tales and secrets that Cain, Abel, Eve and Matthew tell him. He also has a sort of power over the Dreaming, tugging at the strings to save Matthew's life, when near the end The Corinthian was supposed to kill him.
When he turned two years old, he was kidnapped by the Norse god Loki and Robin Goodfellow aka Puck, apparently to drive his mother mad and prompt her to seek the Furies, who in turn will set out against Dream in revenge for her child. Loki and Puck ties him with a silver cord to tie his body and soul together, then sets him on fire to burn away his mortality. It is implied that Dream himself was the one who commissioned this.
He was then located in Svartalfheim by The Corinthian and Matthew, as sent by Morpheus. The Corinthian broke apart the silver cord, therefore severing Daniel's tie to his body. At this point, he is no more a human boy than a ghost, a shadow or a dream. Brought back to the Heart of the Dreaming, he waited there until Dream returned to give him the emerald dreamstone containing a part of his power and to speak to him about his upcoming succession as the next Dream.
Dream then went away to face the Furies that are demanding his life, met his sister Death and committed suicide with her help. At that exact moment, Daniel takes on the role of the second incarnation of Dream, dressed in all white in contrast to Morpheus' all-black attire, and with an emerald for a ruby. Where the previous Dream has collected many names to himself, this second king of dreams only answers to two: Daniel or Dream.
Daniel is Dream, and as such he has all the memories of the previous Dream, but he is another facet of him. He is much like the previous Dream in his manner of speaking, his love of witty banters and stories, his tendency to stop and mull over the tiniest wonders and his obedience to rules and regulations--even though he is more likely to try and find loopholes when it is for the better good. While he is not a moralist by any stretch, Daniel is capable of showing more compassion and mercy than his previous incarnation, as shown by him forgiving Lyta Hall, once his mother, when he has every reason to send her to eternal torment until the end of days for inciting Morpheus's death. Instead, he gives her his mark so that no harm will ever come to her, much like Cain's mark, and tells her to put her life together again.
Daniel is also more willing to empathize and engage with mortals, as shown by his involvement in several issues of the Justice League of America where he aided the superheroes in their fight.
On one hand, he has always been Dream but on the other, he was only a toddler before this. Both young and extremely old. While he still answers to Daniel, whatever was human about him has been burned away while the intangible and eternal remains--his soul. As the new king, he is still learning the ropes and can be seen seeking wisdom and advice from gods and mortals alike, including his brother The Prodigal and Master Li. He is hesitant about his powers and obligations, but he is also more comfortable with them since he is able to do with them what he wants instead of what he must, unlike the previous Dream.
Daniel is eloquent, gentle and polite with his family and subjects. He does want to prove himself worthy of the role he now plays, but he is not desperate in seeking their approval. He can be said to be naive in that he wants to use what he has to do good, to create good dreams and to forgive past wrongs when he can. After his succession to power, Daniel's first tasks were to restore the dreams that were killed or destroyed by the Furies, except for Fiddler's Green who refused to be revived. He also released most, if not all, of Dream's prisoners. This might be because Daniel is more merciful, but it is more likely to be because Dream, in dying, has finally found the strength to change--where Morpheus would chain and imprison and become imprisoned in return, Daniel sought to be released and freed from his own traps.
He says to Master Li, a wise man sent to exile in his old age, "Sometimes I suspect that we build our traps ourselves, then we back into them, pretending amazement the while. That this is the way of life, from the All-Highest down to the meanest creature in creation… But whether this is the case or no, it is still a worthy thing to open cages." He refers quite directly to himself, his previous incarnation.
Like a child, Daniel trusts easily and loves just as easily. He is kind to most he meets, and curious. He is fascinated by his newfound powers and realms and tasks and obligations, with mortals and gods and everything in-between. He has the wisdom and knowledge of endless years, but the attitude of a two-year-old only now discovering the vastness of the universe.
THIRD-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE:
On a narrow street of Vilnius, Juli meets the one who stole from her dreams of her lover. After her lover's death, she cannot see this city of theirs lest she walks its streets in waking, recalling stolen moments in this alleyway and that. The rainstorm had stopped and the city smells of crushed grass and smoke, like the moment they met.
She hasn't seen him in half a century. He stands in her way, tall and white, unlike how she remembered him yet very much the same.
"Greetings, Julija Beniuševičiūtė," he says, the trace of an echo rounding out his words.
"We have met, haven't we?" she says. Her voice has shriveled and crumbled over the years, but before him she finds herself speaking like a young woman once again. In her words is the final defiance of a woman facing her doom.
"We have, Julija. Forty-three years ago. Here," he speaks, the stars and galaxies in his eyes unable to chase the depths of their darkness away. "I have come to settle our grievances."
She recoils, her throat tightening at the mention of her punishment. "Our grievances? Our grievances? The grief has been mine alone," she seethes, imagining her hands wrapped around his porcelain neck. But she knows better than to attempt the murder of an idea. "You stole from me my lover and even the dream of his love."
He places a thin finger on his chin, his skin as white as the rest of his garb. The only color on him is the brilliant emerald that hangs from his neck. For a moment, he seems too young to be the master she once knew, but the moment passes when he returns her murderous gaze with an impassable one. He is older than the suns and the gods and once he had loved her and she betrayed him. "I wish to return to you what I have taken," he says.
Juli remembers. This is not he, the master that gave her everything then took it away. There was the wake, then the funeral. She thought it was a dream, but where else would the funeral of the King of Dreams be held but in dreams? The morning after she wept like a babe arriving at the world for the first time. "My grievance is not against you, child. It is against Dream, and he is now dead."
Stars tremble and flicker in his eyes. "I am he, Julija. Your grievance is against me."
She shakes her head, feeling the sudden weight of grief on her shoulders. She coughs up a mixture of phlegm and spit at the sidewalk. The vagaries of age. "I have loved him in all the days of my youth and never has he forgiven a slight."
He bows his head, wisps of snow white hair tickling the heavy air. In her hopefulness, he almost seems remorseful. Almost. "Grudges are bonds in their own right. Here I am to take away yours," he says, his voice sounding like a young man's, the one she made the mistake of loving, a lifetime ago.
Juli laughs, the sound like bark dragged against the pavement. "What happens now?"
He returns her gaze and she can almost see a smile slowly carving its way into his alabaster features. He seems freed and unburdened, now. "Now you go, Julija, and dream of your lover."
She nods, feeling for once like a little girl scolded, and turns to hurry home. The streets pass like a blur to her, the city already becoming more like a dream than the anticipation of who she might meet tonight: the man she has tried to piece together from fragments, sighs, a strand of hair, the blink of an eye, the ridges on his lips. Tonight, Juli will dream of her lover, and with her final breath throw herself into his arms. Home at last.
Please feel free to leave any and all comments, criticisms or cookies here~