Hi! For the “Give Me a Character” Meme, how about Lord Morpheus himself, Dream? 💭
Oooh boy. Oh boy. Thank you so much for asking this, cos this is gonna be a ride.
*spoilers for the entire sandman comics, long post, be warned*
I consider Dream's character to be a can of worms except some are real worms and some are gummies.
In this post I'll talk about themes of what he was owed, what he owed others, hope, and the inherent agony of his existence.
Thoughts on Dream:
I think he was doomed from the start.
So. Morpheus is a character who I consider to be deeply realistic. Now, this is gonna sound strange, but allow me to elaborate.
Dream was created as an embodiment of hope and wonder in a universe that consistently destroys it. (This is just my interpretation). He's told he's omnipotent but comes to learn there are rules that bind him like any other creature.
But he's hopeful. So he forms relationships, loves, hopes, but the universe is wired against him, his function, and by extension, all the Endless.
So, these experiences make Dream bitter. He hates the universe, the mortals that resemble the ones he used to love, and Desire (we know why).
Now, like so many other beings, he's nearly hopeless. He's heartbroken and vengeful and cruel. He throws himself into his work. I think he's never able to do it fully. This is because he doesn't show himself to mortals, tries not to care about them, when his entire existence is meant to help them.
His work and detachment shows him how powerful he is. He becomes entitled, and I think that some part of Dream, whether that be conscious or unconscious (ha), feels as if he is owed something. Owed a stable function, owed some form of compensation for the agony of his existence.
But his work is what he exists for, he cares about it deeply, obsessively. Then he gets captured. In my interpretation, this imprisonment is when he realizes that he will never get compensated. It will always hurt. He's depressed, and hits the point of exhaustion, anhedonia. He realizes he's not invincible, his work can be compromised, he's owed nothing, and he spirals. He's obsessive again, he hunts for his tools, punishes people.
He jumps from obsession to obsession, trying to ward off creeping grief and apathy.
Through the help of other characters and the reality of who he once was, he begins to believe he can change.
He gets faced with his crimes, like Nada, and is hit with who he once was, and does what he can to fix the injustice he committed against her. At this point, he believes in change, in improving himself.
But then shit hits the fan, and in an attempt to help Delirium and Destruction, to get them what they are owed, he has to kill his son.
Orpheus is a point in his past that carries great grief, but moments - which are rare in Dream's life - of love and happiness. And he has to destroy that part. He gave Orpheus what he was owed.
He has atoned for his sins, and in doing so lost what he loved. Those sins always needed to be atoned for, but there was no other way to do it. Which is why I said he was doomed from the start.
His past sins, his change, his obsession with his function have left him hollowed out, exhausted, apathetic. I think of that Bilbo quote, "I feel like butter spread too thinly over bread." I think that's how Dream feels in the end.
As I've said a lot, Dream represents hope in a way. And he lost his hope continuously.
The universe beat him down, he beat himself down, he beat others down to the point he didn't have anything in him left to hope.
He believed he was owed compensation for his pain. He ended up giving others what he owed them.
(I interpret Daniel as a hopeful version of Dream, solidifying the whole hope message of the serious. But considering this is about the Morpheus aspect, I won't get into that here.)
Onto the thing I said at the start about him being realistic, while of course Morpheus' eternal existence is hard to relate to, I look at him, a being in that much pain with that much power, and be unable to do anything about it, and I think, how could you not be like that?
So, to sum up, a character who was destroyed by the universe, became cruel and vengeful, had to atone for their sins which were near inevitable by the very nature of their existence, then had to give up the unimaginable to atone for them, and in doing so lost everything and didn't care, because that was how much Hope lost his hope.
Dream was doomed from the start.
On that cheerful note, onto the other points!
Who I ship him with:
Dream x therapy
I love Morphienne, like I said before, it's just such a beautiful relationship built on trust and mutual respect and admiration I love it so much.
Dream and Calliope, please, they were so cute together before and during Orpheus, and they need to heal together.
And last but certainly not least, Dream x Lucifer. Now I have no platonic explanation for whatever Dreams description of them during Season of Mists was, but there was several layers of grief in that interaction. Plus they have great chemistry.
Non-Romantic otp:
Basically, all the ships but platonic, except Dream x Lucifer. I'm not picky.
But imma be honest and say Matthew, or, hot take, Bast, if she ever got over that crush. I just think their mutual love of cats would be adorable.
Unpopular opinion:
Even though I listed my ships, those are just wishful thinking. I think before Morpheus gets into another relationship, he needs to do some serious self reflection and improvement. I think canon proved jumping into relationships is something Morpheus' has a problem with. I don't think I'll be able to read a fic that immediately starts as a love story, and disregards Morpheus' flaws. (That being said this is just my opinion, all fics are amazing) His problems won't be solved by another person, no matter how cute they are together. He needs to work on himself.
What I wish had happened in canon:
This is actually difficult, because I genuinely think Dream's story is absolutely integral, and his character arc is mapped out exactly how it should be (in my opinion).
However, I wish there was a scene, maybe several, maybe a plotline, of Dream and Calliope working through their grief together. I would also like a scene, in the Kindly Ones, where Dream says goodbye to Lucien/Lucienne, because I think their relationship was too deep for it to go unsaid.
Well, I hope you liked my very cheerful answers, thanks again for asking!!
Note: everything I said was my interpretation or opinion.