#the-darklings

ISTG Wanderer and Corinthian’s relationship is sooooooo….AKJHFSAHFKAJSKH. No but seriously, in times when Dream just isn’t there, and even when he is, Corinthian is just that soulmate BFF that she needs. It’s hard to describe their relationship, but this is probably one of my favourite scenes of theirs, because Corinthian just casually made something for her and gave it to her like it’s just some random trinket, but the meaning behind it and what it means to Wanderer  is so profound. 

I GENUINELY JUST NOTICED THIS NOW— I knew that Morpheus made Corinthian is Wanderer’s image but OTHERS TOO?!

s i m p .

Anyway—

Onto my favourite scene in this entire fic (so far). I won’t say much, because I really don’t want to spoil this chapter for anyone. 

But this scene gets me everytime. Because to Wanderer, someone who can’t dream or even sleep outside of the Dreaming, this experience is something entirely new to who ever since her curse. 

Not just that, but for someone who sees herself as a plague, the fact that the Dream Lord himself is making her a dream is such a major point in her existence and in the story. She has something in the Dreaming now, something that others will be able to benefit from as well. 

So not only is she helping people in the waking world, but she also gave them a safe space when they’re asleep. 

Writing wise, the description in this scene is beautiful. It really brings out what Wanderer felt at that moment, and to me, it’s probably the most selfless Dream has been in the series. Because during Dreamfall, when everyone dreams, he made sure that the one person who can’t was taken care of as well. He wasn’t just thinking about humanity. He made Dreamfall all about Wanderer, basically. Because in a way, Wanderer represents humans and their stories, so I guess Dreamfall is honouring Wanderer just as much as Wanderer honours humanity.

Which is nice, because this chapter has two very important points in it. One, Corinthian carves a miniature Wanderer, and two, Wanderer now has a place in the Dreaming. This is the chapter that gave Wanderer a chance to be real. A chance to feel human. 

I apologize for the short review, I just really didn’t want to give away a lot of details, especially because we’re reaching some of the most important points of the story hehe.

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(Masterlist)

What I like about this chapter is that we get to see a little bit about Wanderer’s history, even though she doesn’t even know herself. You can also see that Wanderer does actually age, but not like humans. Her experiences, her curse—it wears her out, and you can see it. So you’re able to empathize with the character more, and her character, once again, gets deeper and more complex.

I have nothing to say about that line. It’s just good *chef’s kiss*

Ohhhh and! Now we get to the part where Dream talks about Hob Gadling. 

And I love how Wanderer reacts to it. It hurts her, and I actually felt so freaking sad about this scene because imagine being in her position, knowing that someone else was granted immortality, but is not cursed. 

Hob Gadling loves life, and his immortality provides him more time to keep loving it. As for Wanderer, her immortality takes life away from her. She’s alive, but she’s not really allowed to live. 

Then there’s that line. Wanderer has lived for so long, has been scarred many times, that she instinctively forgets that’s she’s human, too. 

AND THEN THIS:

OH MY GOD HE REMEMBERED—

Oop— that kinda hurt. Because it’s just one line, but you can really see one of Morpheus’ biggest flaws. He separates himself from humanity bc he's a being of great power, and so he can’t understand what Wanderer’s life is like. 

So he presumes that becoming “like him” is good, but to Wanderer, the fact that she’s lived so long, “becoming like him” means she lives more and more with her curse. Morpheus lives with no curse, Wanderer lives because of the curse. 

So the more she lives long enough to become sort of like him means more pain on her part. 

AHHH DREAMFALL— I’ll let y’all read that part if you haven’t. It’s too goo to spoil, so I won’t react to how special that line feels to me. 

The next scene, though, isn’t so happy. But what I like about it is that it kind of drags you back down from the moment earlier. It reminds you what life is like for Wanderer, and that the Dreaming isn’t a place she can be in all the time. 

It reminds you that this story isn’t just about Wanderer/Dream. It’s also about Wanderer’s story as a whole and what it symbolizes in regard to the humans, the Endless, and entities like Corinthian. 

There’s a depth to her character that is just SO GOOD AKDALDHAAKJD

I love how after all she’s suffered, she appears in the Dreaming, giving her the rest she deserves.  And it’s nice to see that the Dreaming’s inhabitant really care for her.

O U C H. 

I’ll say, though, that her saying that isn’t coming from how selfish Morpheus can be and has been. I don’t think it’s about Morpheus, I think it’s about Wanderer not being able to accept that she’s worthy of being accepted. 

All she remembers is being treated like a threat by humans, and because of her curse, she sees herself as someone who isn’t deserving of care, especially by someone like Morpheus. So I think that line is more of a result of her curse than something that was Morpheus’ doing. 

In a future chapter, it gets explained why that word is so important, and why the Morpheus telling her to call for him is important and so meaningful.

I won’t say any more, but please do read this series if you haven’t already. The author can make just one word mean so much. 

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(Masterlist)

Posted on October 1, 2022

I also love how Lucienne literally stayed with her while Wanderer recovered—literally being the MVP here. That scene builds their bond, and you really begin to appreciate her presence as something very personal to Wanderer.

Then she goes and says that Wanderer is under Morpheus’ protection—AKDHALDHA—but seriously, I like the subtle nod towards the fact that he’s starting to actually care. And I like how Lucienne told Wanderer that so she can be reassured.

Literally—the empathy Lucienne shows in this scene is greatly written. 

Then this next scene with the Corinthian:

First off, I like how the author didn’t just randomly make Corinthian a character that most of the readers empathize with. In this fic, he’s given reasons to have turned out the way he did—and his dialogue there explains a lot of it in very few words.

His dynamic with Wanderer, especially in this scene is so good because you can really feel how both of them strive to understand each other, and eventually do, which makes their bond deeper, but also tragic because he eventually murders people when we get to the series timeline. 

I like how this part of the story doesn’t sugarcoat Corinthian’s personality. It’s written around who he is, and how Wanderer accepts that. She sees Corinthian’s flaws, and she recognizes them, but they don’t scare her away because that’s just how they are. The complexity of their dynamic I think shows really well in this scene.

I can’t even begin to describe how much I adore this line. At it’s core, this is who Wanderer is. It’s a big deal that she says this to Morpheus, as well. 

For humans, purpose is good. Humans need a sense of purpose, because they don’t just have one given to them. And Wanderer is human, but she’s spent enough time with entities who aren’t that she’s come to know that what they want is the opposite. 

She’s literally cursed to wander—she can’t exist anywhere and therefore can’t really have purpose, but she’s learned that she can still help, which I think became her own sense of purpose.

But between Wanderer and Corinthian, the common denominator is they both want to be free. Corinthian from his purpose, and Wanderer to be able to simply exist and have the freedom to even want purpose instead of her fate being dictated by her curse. 

AND THE ENDING—I won’t spoil that one, it’s too good, but it’s the first we really see Morpheus kinda empathize with Wanderer, and it’s a beautiful moment. 

Except when Wanderer says “you’re safe”. It’s sad…if you’ve read the part with the future argument about Destruction. 

Yeah. That scene. 

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(Masterlist)

Posted on Sept. 29, 2022

Posted by Sophia

It adds to the mystery—really hooked me into the story.

Also! Throughout ch.1, Dream is overall prideful. There’s this one scene where Wanderer practically forces him to be a little less boring and broody:

That’s as playful as he’s gonna get in a while XD. 

Oh and the last scene is really well-written. Like, really well-written. But I’m not going to attach a screenshot here in case you haven’t read it. 

The honesty that Wanderer has about her curse, the way she’s genuinely interested in Dream and what he does—it almost makes him a little less of a dick, yk? XD. Because he’s getting a first-hand account about what it’s like to be cursed to wander aimlessly and uncontrollably in realms you’re not necessarily welcome in. 

So, while he’s very in character in the entire series so far, you know he cares because of how well the author characterized him in the fic. It’s very show-don’t-tell.

I personally think that this fic deserves more recognition because of how artistic the writing is. It feels very personal—not just because it’s in second person, but also because you get to experience and read about a cursed immortal who only ever wants to be free. 

So far, we don’t know why or how Wanderer was cursed. All we know is that it doesn’t seem like she deserves it, but then again, we have no idea what she did to get cursed in the first place. And I like that it was written like that, because if she did do something terrible, she’s obviously a very different person now.

The story teaches empathy, I think. And it’s very artistic in how the author shows the human experience through an immortal and the span of a thousand years.

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Posted on September 6, 2022

Posted by Sophia