[Before I took a break, I’d kept my meta on track with our community reread. And while that reread has officially stopped, I still want to base my topics at least loosely around reading the comics in sequence, and maybe also feed in the show where it fits. The last issue we discussed was #34 (“Bad Moon Rising”)—I will still post a little recap with all the related “A Game of You”-stuff, but you’ll also find some of it here.]
It might be surprising that my main focus for issue #35 is Nuala, because she only appears in a few panels. But it ties in so well with the themes that are central to A Game of You, and The Sandman in general:
“Beginning to See the Light” isn’t just a title. It’s a motto. It’s about declaration of self and Barbie’s (proverbial and ultimately real) awakening, and how she reclaims agency even though it initially doesn’t look like it. The whole of The Sandman is based around the theme that growth requires change/destroying parts of who we once were. And that’s true for Barbie (and literally everyone else in A Game of You, at least to a degree), it’s true for Dream/Morpheus, and it’s also true for Nuala. So forgive me for my choice of header, but I couldn’t resist, because we begin to see Nuala’s growth in A Game of You.
Comics vs Show: The Agency Debate
I’ve been thinking about the differences between comics!Nuala and show!Nuala for quite some time, and it also seems to spark quite a bit of debate in fandom, especially where it comes to Nuala’s agency. She basically neither has agency in the comics nor in the show during the Season of Mists arc, but I personally also don’t quite see that comics!Nuala doesn’t develop agency during later arcs.
comics!Nuala begins her journey in a fairly powerless position (much like in the show—the fact that she is framed as a General does not change her loss of agency through being given as a gift). comics!Nuala’s choices become more apparent as the story progresses, but she already starts to exercise agency in A Game of You (“Lullabies of Broadway”)—it’s very clear that she didn’t really “follow orders” and pretty much used her own judgement from these panels:
This is even more important because she risks Morpheus’ ire by admitting what she’s done. She tells him nonetheless.
Different Subtexts, Same Constraints
Yes, she is shown to be more meek and a bit flustered compared to the show, but I think that’s also down to the fact that her backstory and subsequent stay in the Dreaming has different undertones. show!Nuala’s main defining trait was never her beauty (that’s where her new show background comes in), and she is almost relieved when she is asked to (not made like in the comics) remove her glamour. Because that glamour was more or less a requirement foisted upon her by Titania she never felt truly comfortable with from all we can tell. But comics!Nuala was famous for her beauty (even if it was a glamour), and men were falling head over heels for her. And she was never weak or meek then, but presumably rather cold (“Ice Maiden”, “La Belle Dame Sans Merci”/The Beautiful Merciless Lady):
So we really have very different subtext. I’m not saying it’s a better or worse one (because women are still reduced to their looks today, by men and other women alike—that’s not a particularly 80s/90s thing. Hating it doesn’t make it less real, neither does it make it a bad narrative device per se if it is used to make a point), it’s just different.
comics!Nuala also makes choices in The Kindly Ones and exercises agency within her constraints (and we really can’t say that show!Nuala isn’t constrained when she’s back in Faerie), well before her final meeting with Morpheus (we obviously lost a bit of that in the show due to the streamlining).
Upon her return to Faerie, this is the initial glamour Nuala chooses for herself:
Later, she drops it completely. It’s only then Cluracan forces his glamour on her right in front of Titania’s face. The transition is slower, but to me, that maybe makes it even more meaningful because we clearly see someone’s growth process. show!Nuala already rests in her identity more comfortably to start with. Again, not necessarily better or worse, just a different portrayal of an IMHO somewhat different character.
So the text clearly shows Nuala actively making decisions (even if they are subtle or constrained by her circumstances). And more importantly: It shows slow change and growth (and she has that in common with comics!Morpheus, whose change was also a lot slower than that of his show counterpart. Does that make it less meaningful?). Gone is the Ice Maiden who attracts men but never lets them close. She experiences and learns the true meaning of unconditional love, and again: she’s not unlike Morpheus in that. Love changes both. It seemingly also breaks them, but in both, it is also the catalyst for change (and for Nuala, it’s not any less complicated than for Morpheus).
The Blame Game
One point that often comes up is the idea that comics!Nuala is somehow blamed for Morpheus’ death on a narrative level, while show!Nuala is not. Personally, I don’t find that interpretation intuitive, but other people’s mileage may vary. In the comics, Death explicitly calls Morpheus out for trying to shift blame to Nuala, and after some back and forth, he acknowledges she’s right and that he doesn’t blame her. It’s text:
I also don’t see the author blaming Nuala to be honest, not even during The Wake (that Nuala herself feels guilty and says so doesn’t mean that the narrative suggests the same. It just means a character grapples with her feelings). I mean, I have a couple of problems with the source and have talked about them long before we found out about NG, but the text supposedly blaming Nuala is really not one of them. It is quite clear in the comics, especially from Brief Lives onward (but honestly, we already get hints right off the bat in Preludes and Nocturnes), that Morpheus made his decisions with open eyes and accepted the potential consequences.
In the show, the way Nuala’s boon functions is different; it frames his summoning as something he couldn’t resist, whereas in the comics he more or less chooses to respond because he made a promise (the good old “rules and responsibilities”):
Personally, I think that difference is significant because it affects how much agency Morpheus retains: He couldn’t do anything about being called by Titania, at least that’s how the show seemed to portray it. I could say now that Morpheus would never imbue a boon with the power to summon him against his will after he’d been captured for decades, but of course one could argue that he did exactly that to give himself no way out (again, not a reading I’d personally find intuitive because he had no way of knowing in advance if and when exactly Nuala would call him). Whichever way you turn it, show!Morpheus is a different beast compared to comics!Morpheus, and we can love it or loathe it. But it just is.
What I’m trying to say: The way the boon functions in the show is totally different from the comics. comics!Morpheus chose to heed Nuala’s call instead of just being whisked away from the Dreaming when it mattered most. And he chose for a very clear reason, and Nuala calls him out on it (they gave that line to Johanna in the show):
What Is Nuala’s Role Then?
Ultimately, I think Nuala is definitely not a narrative tool to absolve comics!Morpheus of responsibility; rather, she actually highlights that his choices are entirely his own. She also embodies the theme that love, even pure and selfless love, can undo those who have built their lives around its absence, whether consciously or subconsciously. This idea also resonates throughout The Sandman, from Morpheus’ relationship to Nada, Orpheus to Nuala herself (and there are others I guess 😬).
On a surface level, comics!Nuala seems to be mainly defined by her love for Morpheus while show!Nuala seems more defined by her love for the Dreaming. But none of this is better or worse in my view. It’s just that one works in the comic’s context and the other in the show’s. And the fact that comics!Nuala was tasked with attending to Thessaly during her time in the Dreaming, and being given the pendant by her when she left Morpheus, to then later let him imbue it with power, added a dimension to the comics that was layered and deep.
Maiden (Nuala), Mother (Lyta) and Crone (Thessaly) were really deeply connected in the comics. We unfortunately lost a lot of that in the show, but it would have been a more complicated story, and it would have also required more time to tell it…
Still unspoiled, still haven't read anyone else's takes. Have only watched through 2x9.
Earlier reaction posts:
Reactions to 2x7, Time and Night
Reactions to 2x8, Fuel for the Fire
Under the cut: some reactions to 2x9, The Kindly Ones. Pretty all over the place, tbh. Show spoilers through 2x9. Heavy comics spoilers for everything, including comics ending.
Also I am very tired idk how coherent any of this is.
So first of all I rewatched 2x8 and I liked it even more the second time around. 2x8 is my favorite of Vol 2 so far. I also like 2x7 a lot.
As for 2x9.
I really don't know about this episode.
Mad Hettie: What? How? Why? Hettie?? The Three sent her to find Lyta? She works for The Three? Why? What?
The Corinthian and Johanna finding Daniel:
The Corinthian: Time to take him back to the Dreaming
Jo: No I promised to take him back to his mother
The Corinthian: No I can't disobey Dream. Ok I can. Take him back to his mother.
Me: Well this will be good at least, Jo can bring Daniel back to Lyta and Jo can also use magic to wake Lyta up in the circle
Johanna: Ok take him back to the Dreaming
What?? Why??? Why did she just change her mind? Literally: why?
The Boon: I literally thought: "yikes I can't believe Titania has the necklace oh well obviously it was a gift/boon for Nuala it's not like it's transferable lol- oh apparently it is transferrable???" What? And this boon/summoning didn't even give Dream a chance to respond, it just yoinked him over from the Dreaming against his will? (Listen. I know in the comics this entire thing is a complicated suicide. He hears Nuala calling for him and he chooses to go to her "because it is his duty" and "because he cannot break his word" - but also- because he is (consciously or subconsciously or unconsciously) looking for a way out, and answering Nuala's boon gives the last domino a chance to fall into place. And: I do not like it. I freely admit that in the comics I do not like it. But at least it hangs together narratively? (That part at least?) Now having him be defeated by some super-summoning-boon that he apparently physically can't say no to, it's not really the same thing? And it is possibly also... a little bit stupid?)
Maybe I am just being cranky or overly critical now, or maybe I need to think about this more, but I just have a bad feeling that they're: changing so many things so that the ending doesn't really hang together or make sense anymore - but then leaving the ending in place anyway? (It reminds me of some of the issues with vol 1, when they changed Dream to make him SO much more sympathetic, but then left in a bunch of dialogue of other characters harshly criticizing him, and it just made things kind of incoherent?)
I just don't know about any of this. (I understand that the most popular reading of the comics ending is that it is a complicated, cleverly orchestrated suicide by Dream himself. But the show - I think - is thoroughly stressing that Dream is not suicidal? So how/why are we hitting the same story beats anyway? And does it... work?) I just. I really don't know.
At least Puck and The Corinthian have had sex, that's good.
I'm sorry, I still can't get over this, Hettie?? She likes Dream. She was happy to see him back from his captivity in s1. Why is she possibly using Lyta to ensure his destruction for the murder of Lyta's son that she knows he didn't commit? (Or- does she know that?) I'm just confused. And I'm sorry to say but it just seems a tiny bit like... "we need someone to put Lyta in the circle and send her to the furies ok Hettie can do it." Like- does it make sense? Or is it just something that's happening?
Idk, I don't mean to sound overly critical, I did enjoy many parts of the episode. I'm just confused about some decisions. Maybe some of this will become more clear with the next 2 eps. Or maybe I'm just tired and I'll rewatch this ep later and like it more. Idk.
This part of my review focuses mainly on episode 3 - More Devils Than Vast Hell Can Hold.
Spoilers for episode 3 below
This is actually one of my favourite episodes of the first part of Season 2, which could partly be due to Season of Mists being my favourite story in the comics, but also because some of my favourite moments take place in this episode. Nada slapping Dream around the face and the entire end of the episode where she utterly destroys him with her powerful words, Cluracan getting railed by Anthony, Lucifer calling God a Cunt, Dream capturing Azazel, the entirety of A Midsummer Nights Dream with Dream and Titania's obvious sexual tension, Nuala basically living out every teenage girls favourite fanfiction trope from the early 2010s... its a bit of a chaotic episode there is no way to deny that, which is probably why most peoples reactions to this part of the season have been to express that the Seasons of Mist arc just isn't as strong or as engaging as the Brief Lives arc that follows it. A sentiment I definitely agree with from a story stand point, but this episode remains my favourite nevertheless.
Azazel and the Decision for the Key
The main conflict of the Season of Mists arc concludes with Azazel threatening to take over the Dreaming if he isn't given the key to Hell. As with the second episode I do enjoy the changes to Azazel from season 1 mostly as I think having an actual actor play him was a good call. The special effects are far more realistic and gruesome than the more cartoonish Azazel from season 1. The only thing I wish is that they had made his voice more monstrous when he was in monster form. Not that it takes away from him being a threatening presence though.
I always love the way Dream outsmarts Azazel in the comics. In the comics Azazel renounces Dream's hospitality and it is because of that that Dream is able to trap him. I think the scene could have been a bit longer in the show, and made this point clear with Dream stating that, but ultimately we still got some great visuals and a very cool "Oh Azazel" from Dream which I loved.
Nuala and Cluracan
Have I mentioned how much I love these two? I love how this show is not afraid to be a bit bold. Nuala being kept awake by her brothers sexual escapades was a hilarious transition following Dream's sombre conversation with Lucienne. But most of all I love how much she is living in a much loved fanfiction trope (I say this with utter respect for the show. Nothing wrong with a fanfiction trope when it works!) She is walking alone admiring the beautiful palace at night time in her sweeping nightgown, only to find the King also roaming the staircase, so they can have a rare private conversation. There is nothing here from the comics, but it is the perfect way to introduce A Midsummer Nights Dream from Nuala's perspective. When Dream tells her "I'm glad to have met you." I MELT.
Nuala's place in the story has already been massively expanded. She not only gets given more agency and made an ambassador of Fairie in her own right, but it is her intelligence and diplomacy that leads to Fairie's tithe with Hell being abolished. Nuala also gives Dream the idea to "hold a mirror up to those who would impose Hell upon you" and I think in doing so, inspires him to give the key to Heaven. Since Hell is Heaven's reflection after all.
(side note: all this talk of mirrors and reflections and there being so many characters who are "mirrors" to Dream in this show is itching my brain and making me want delve deeper into this, but I know where this story ends and I refuse to speculate at all as I have been burned far too many times before.)
When Nuala is revealed to be a gift from Titania to Dream I love how awkward it is.
"She's yours now Sire, to do with as you will."
I know this is directly from the comic, but it is SUCH a fanfiction trope and I love it and I do hope that everyone starts shipping Nuala and Dream after this. Because the idea that she is a gift for Dream to do with as he pleases has such overt sexual undertones (though its worse in the comic for sure) even though it is so clear that Dream would never use a woman in such a way where it was clearly against her will said with the caveat that 10,000 years ago he might have considered differently.
I also love that in the show Dream asks Nuala to remove the glamour rather than just stripping her of her glamour before she has time to consider (I really didn't like how he treated her in the comic at that point and thought it was a bit gross). Is the glamour a bit pointless if the actress is still beautiful with shorter brown hair and no makeup? Eh, perhaps being Irish is the real horror? I jest! I jest! (Do I happen to think the Irish accent is one of the sexiest in the world? Yes. Yes I do. Along with the Scottish accent. It's very upsetting that my two favourite accents and peoples globally both absolutely loathe my own people (the English) though they are sadly justified in that.)
I think it is painfully clear how taken Nuala is by Dream already, and I really hope that their relationship gets a chance to blossom and even become romantic in part 2 beyond what is in the comics. (Nuala's love for Dream is very very canon. Dream is an idiot who can never see when people love him and instead tends to pine over those who don't.)
I also really hope that we see more of Cluracan in part 2. If he comes to collect Nuala again once Fairie hears that the Dreaming is under attack, and she refuses to go back, hopefully in this version of the tale he will step up and agree to help (bonus points if he decides to join the Corinthian and Matthew on their journey to the waking world to find Loki and Puck - because who better to hunt down Puck than another fairy?! Also because I have shipped The Corinthian and Cluracan since season 1 and I need to see them interact. JUST IMAGINE IT!!!)
A Midsummer Nights Dream
I really enjoyed this even if it was a really quick sequence. Nuala being the introduction to this tale was really clever and I love that she was there. Its beautifully done. When the Wendel Man opens the doorway I gasped. That was spectacular. I think the main focal point here is Dream's strained relationship with Queen Titania right under Oberon's nose. Do you think the Fairy King doesn't know that his wife clearly counts the Dream Lord among her ex boyfriends? (Though actually I think the subtext is implying that they had an affair under Oberon's nose. Tut tut Dream.) I do love the sexual tension between them. I hope Titania will come back in part 2 and reveal more of what happened between them. Though she never does in the comics. Fun fact: although Titania is present among Dream's lovers at the Wake, she refuses to reveal anything about their relationship. It is only in the Audible book that explicitly states that they "lay together" as lovers. They reminise on their love affair during the play. (I had to go back and check the comic when I first heard that part and it was indeed added for Audible!) So I guess because of that I was hoping for a bit more revellation in the show, but they appear to have gone the other way and left us with mostly subtext.
Puck was a fun character to see brought to life. I look forward to his team up with Loki in part 2 which I really hope will be very gay but we shall see.
Nuala is so cute when she begs Cluracan to introduce her to Dream. Girl you have it so bad I really hope you get to have your Dream King before he takes his final bow. You deserve it after having to put up with Cluracan for so long!
Dream and Loki
I find Loki so intriguing in this episode. Knowing what happens and what he does, I can't help but view this conversation through the lense of what happens next. Loki does not like to be indebted to anyone, especially not someone like Dream, and Dream is just as clever as Loki and would know this well. He would know that Loki is likely to double cross him. When Loki says "Free us both!" referring to both him and Susano, I think someone who themselves feels trapped would hear it differently. Knowing the ending, its hard not see how the fragments of a very grand plan could form from a conversation like this one. Whether Loki knows that or not. "What does Dream dream about?" he asks in the previous episode. I wonder if Loki had been thinking about the answer to that question all along.
I also love how once again we have a character who has oodles of sexual tension with Dream. "I'll do anything." he says "Whatever you ask." It's amusing to think that in the space of 2 episodes through subtext we can count maybe 3 almost propositions (Cluracan, Nuala, and Loki), 1 very obvious ex lover (Titania), maybe 2 if you want to view Dream and Lucifer in that way, and all the time he's only thinking of Nada, who out of all 6 characters is the only 1 who given the choice, would actually reject him! (They've done well in making up for not giving us the scene from comics where he is actually propositioned by Lady Bast!)
Lucifer and Dream
Lets talk about mirrors again!
Lucifer sits on a beach. Dream visits them. "God's a cunt." They say. (my favourite line from the whole show). Ironically it seems all the big powers in this universe are cunts. Because I have no doubt when we meet Father Time and Mother Night we will hate them just as much (in a love to hate them kinda way because I plan on worshipping the ground Mother Night walks on and I'll have no criticism on this decision I have made lol)
"If I can begin again, perhaps you can too."
I know this is supposed to be in relation to Dream's relationship with Nada, but given what happens next and how he clearly does not "begin again" and let Nada go (like he does in the comics) for the sake of plot flow, this only makes sense in relation to later events. Basically this is huuuuuge foreshadowing. Whilst sitting on a beach... in an episode with all this talk of mirrors and reflections and who is truly Lucifers dark mirror? Lucifer with their blonde hair and light coloured coat? Believe me that "God's a cunt" line is gonna be ringing in my head when we get to the Night and Time episode because Dream and Lucifer are very VERY similar.
Forshadowing!
Dream and Nada
Now for the fun bit. How to destroy a Dream Lord in 6 easy steps.
Force him to apologise to you. Whilst in the comics he absolutely needs to, this falls a bit flat with the crappy watered down version of Tales in the Sand we get in the show. I wonder if maybe they initially had a Tales in the Sand that was closer to the comic version and were asked to water it down because it made Dream too unlikeable? Because the conversation between Nada and Dream here, along with the conversation he has with Death in episode 1, really don't make sense given everything we learn from the show version of Tales in the Sand alone. I know people may be on the fence on this one, but imagine for a moment an AITA reddit ask about this? AITA for condemning my girlfriend to Hell for 10,000 years? Which then goes on to say that (a) we had consensual sex after I proposed to her. Nothing remotely dubious about it. (b) a random meteor hit her town and killed everyone, which she kinda blames on us having sex but its all a bit vague, might have been a coincidence. (c) she holds massive guilt about her people dying (she might have died too not sure?!) and thinks she should be condemned to eternal suffering for that. (d) I suggest she instead comes and be my Queen in my realm instead of that. (e) she rejects me on the basis that her duty is to her people (guilt?) and that worse things could happen if she stays with me? so (f) I let her go to her eternal suffering like she chose. But since then, everyone including me have convinced me that this was totally my fault and she didn't go to Hell by choice, but that I sent her there instead? So AITA? Anyway, I can complain about Tales in the Sand all day but I won't to spare you all from my rambling. Lets just assume for arguments sake that Tales in the Sand was indeed the awful version from the comics and Dream totally did send her to Hell against her own wishes. Therefore this amazing showdown makes total sense so I can enjoy it like i so want to do. Morpheus is just as horribly bad at apologising as he is in the comic. Gods he's so pathetic I love him.
Slap him hard (could have slapped him harder tbh) lol. Even with the crappy watered down version of Tales in the Sand I still cheered for Nada. Dream being all "you struck me! No one may strike me!" like a petulant child. Hilarious. This show is a comedy actually to me.
Choose the Waking World over Him I mean you already chose Hell over him so this isn't as bad as that I guess, but in the original comic Nada asks to be reborn again and live a new life, which was an excellent send off for her. In this version, to serve the Thessaly plot device, Nada chooses to remain as she is (I guess Dream either invokes a favour from his sister or has the power to give Nada a human body again somehow? They don't quite explain that bit, but I'll try not to nitpick.) He asks her if he can go with her and she dismisses him. "More treachorous than Hell?" its fun to twist the knife!
Tell him his kind are incapable of love - this one is gonna really hurt. Clearly this is the one that sticks with him as its the one he asks Lucienne about in the next episode. This one also is the trigger for what will be a huuuuuge theme in the next story arc and I think will be a key factor in part 2 of the season when we get to it. Because whilst Nada is justified in thinking this herself, she is very very wrong here.
Invoke the name of his most contentious sibling Desire. If step 4 dug the knife in, this one twisted it hard. "I think perhaps you merely want what you cannot have. That is not love. That is Desire" Can you imagine Desire watching this scene play out and cackling loud?
Make it clear that you do not love him. As if twisting that knife wasn't bad enough, this one shatters his heart and brings on the storm clouds. Its painful watching, but also very very fun. Poor Dream. The skies go dark, the thunder growls in the distance, his eyes glow scarily. Someone please gif this moment. We are witnessing not a Dream, but a Nightmare.
All in all a fantastic episode. Dream takes a beating, but I do love to watch it. I think this end scene with Nada breaking him like that was far better than the mystery break up in the comics that we don't ever get to see. It's nice to get a real understandable reason why he is so upset. But more on that in my next review.
I am reviewing previous sessions (Intake | Insomnia | Nightmares | Emotions | Parents | Siblings | Nada) when I notice it is already 2:58 PM. I feel slightly concerned. He isn’t late yet, but he is usually very early. Then again, he was on time yesterday. It is just that he seemed out of sorts…
And then he materialises in the chair. I didn’t hear him coming in; my receptionist didn’t let him in. He simply… is there, as if he'd been sitting there all along. Maybe I was too distracted. Did I fall asleep? Never mind…
DT: You came. (I notice I still sound a bit startled.)
Dream: I nearly… called. (His voice seems hushed.) You gave me your number. You said if I needed to talk, I… but I thought it best to wait until today.
DT: I meant it when I said you could call. (I need to clear my throat. Shit, I forgot to fill up my water.) But you are here now. Can you tell me how you have felt since yesterday, since you contemplated contacting me? Are you feeling well?
Dream: Well… (It seems he can’t quite grasp the word’s meaning.) I have… existed. And I think I find our conversations useful. (He hesitates). Naturally, merely because the perspective of mortals can be illuminating at times…
DT: (I allow the silence for a bit until I am fairly certain he is not going to break it.) Would you like to latch on where we left off yesterday? I think it was helpful to talk about Nada. (I’m not sure if he snarls, or whether he is about to cry.) Would it be helpful to discuss the other romantic entanglements you mentioned?
Dream: (I notice tension): I would not call them "entanglements." They were… connections. Or rather moments of proximity. (He falls silent again and stares at his hands.) I have been… thinking. About what you said. About patterns.
DT: What kind of patterns?
Dream: The women I have… loved. If what I felt can be called love.
DT: (Oh. Oooohhh. Did he say “connections” and “love”?) Tell me about them.
Dream: (I notice slightly uneasy shifting in his chair. He looks out the window.): There was Killalla. She was…
DT (The silence lasts for three minutes. This will be like pulling teeth. But we have time. Hopefully. You never know when he decides to just up and leave.): What was your relationship like?
Dream: Brief. (I notice a drop in both volume and pitch of his voice.) Passionate. She burned bright and then just… moved on. To other worlds. Stars, rather. (He waves his hand, and I notice the practised ennui that fails to hide agitation—his foot is tapping.) I thought I understood cosmic indifference until I loved someone who embodied it. (He looks at me and all of a sudden shakes his head violently.) That is not true. She was not indifferent, and it was not entirely her fault.
DT: Whose fault do you think it was?
Dream: (I notice a face like thunder) Desire’s.
DT: As in “lust” (He flinches at the word. He didn’t strike me as prudish previously), or as in “my sibling”?
Dream: Both. They are one and the same. (He stares at me for a moment and then actually proceeds to roll his eyes at me.)
DT: (That’s me told I guess.) Okay. How did it feel when she left?
Dream: Like watching a supernova from the inside.
DT: (What’s up with the cosmic metaphors?) That sounds like you were in a lot of pain.
Dream: (He seems genuinely surprised.) I… yes. I think I was? (I give him time to process the realisation. This time, the silence only lasts for two minutes.) Then there was Alianora. (Moving on already, I see.) She was… kind. Yet strong. She gave up much to… (I note he is searching for the right words and have an inkling he is avoiding the full truth.) …be with me.
DT: That sounds different from Killalla.
Dream: It was. She asked nothing of me but my presence and love. I gave her everything I could. Until I… (He looks at me through his lashes.)…could not.
DT: And why couldn’t you?
Dream: (I notice a hardening of the voice.): I have responsibilities. Duties. (He straightens in his chair.) And perhaps, nothing lasts forever. Apart from me. But in the grand scheme of things, even I do not.
DT: (We are back to the cryptic allusions to immortality. I pay them no heed. For now.): So what happened?
Dream: I gave her a place of her own where she could exist in peace. Away from me.
DT: (I am going to try something because I can’t help but think of his strained relationship to his parents. I hope it won’t backfire.): Did you ever consider the possibility that you make yourself emotionally unavailable because you are afraid of being abandoned?
Dream: (I notice defensiveness.): It was not abandonment. It was… inevitable.
DT: Okay. If we assumed that were true…
Dream: It is.
DT. Not always.
Dream: It is not? (He seems genuinely confused.)
DT: No. (I let him sit with that for a minute.) But let’s just entertain the thought that ending relationships were inevitable. Do you think that would make what you had less true? The love you felt less real?
Dream: It obviously would. Because it ended. (He stresses the word like I’m very slow on the uptake.)
DT: So what you are saying is that, as an example, a parent’s love for a child was never real just because one of them died?
Dream: (I think he winced, and his eyes turn wet. What did I say? He looks away and silently stares out the window for five minutes.) I… I never thought of it that way.
DT: How does it feel to think about it that way?
Dream: Painful. Also, irrelevant.
DT: That makes no sense.
Dream: It does to me.
DT: Would you like to explain it to me?
Dream: No.
DT: (I take some notes. One of them reads: Further explore defensive mechanisms.) Okay. Would you like to talk about your other relationships?
Dream: (I notice a sigh that sounds like I am getting on his nerves again.) Titania. Our relationship was a diversion. Perhaps built on mutual fascination, but ultimately built on politics.
DT: What attracted you to her?
Dream: She challenged me? (He stares at me for a moment, and it feels like a… challenge. But I’m not playing games, and I look away to take further notes. Or at least I pretend to.)
DT: And?
Dream: I think we mostly tried to prove to each other that we were rather… independent.
DT: Did you love her?
Dream: What a strange question.
DT: Why?
Dream: Because I just tried to explain to you… (He huffs.) Never mind… I liked the idea of her. But she was not available since she was married to another.
DT: That doesn’t answer my question, though. Did you love her: Yes or no? Whether she was “available” or not doesn’t change feelings.
Dream: (He leans back in his chair, spreads his legs, rests his chin on his thumb while running his index finger over his lips and looks me straight in the eye.) No. I did not love her.
DT: (I have done this job for a long time, and I recognise faux alpha male behaviour when I see it. I also recognise if someone tries to rattle me.) And Calliope? You mentioned in a previous session that she was your wife. Is it okay to go over what happened?
Dream: (His voice is so quiet that I need to strain to hear.) I guess we were… happy. For a while. When she laughed, new stories were born. When she sang, everyone listened.
DT: Would you say you loved her? (D’uh!)
Dream: Yes. (I notice a sudden hoarseness in his voice). We had a son together. Orpheus.
DT: Had?
Dream: (The silence lasts for a good two minutes): He died. (Oh. That explains so much. Another three minutes of silence follow that I finally choose to interrupt.)
DT: Do you want to talk about the loss of your son?
Dream: No.
DT: Okay. (I scribble down some notes, and he rolls his eyes.) What happened between you and Calliope after the death of your son?
Dream: She blamed me. Perhaps she was right to do so. We went… our separate ways ever since.
DT: Do you still love her?
Dream: (I notice a hard swallow). Perhaps.
DT: Yes or no?
(No answer is forthcoming. His eyes stay fixed on my paperweight instead.)
DT: Was there anyone else since you two split up?
Dream: (I notice discomfort.) Thessaly.
DT: Are you still together?
Dream: No. She... She never pretended and was honest about… using me.
DT: How did that make you feel?
Dream: Even honesty can become a kind of cruelty. She told me exactly what I meant to her. Which was apparently very little.
DT: That must have hurt?
Dream: I… yes. Even when you know something is temporary, when it ends, it…
DT: It still ends. (He nods almost imperceptibly). Can I ask you a question?
Dream: In case you had not noticed: You do that all the time.
DT: You have a point. (He really does.) Do you think you prepare for abandonment or push your partners away because you expect them to leave anyway? (The silence, during which he stares at the paperweight again, lasts for four minutes this time. I choose to interrupt it.) Do you think it’s safer to end relationships, or to provoke their ending, than to try and risk being hurt again?
Dream: Perhaps. But I do not feel I am really ending them. It is just that… (He stops himself and leaves me hanging. Or himself. Hard to tell sometimes.)
DT: What would it look like if you truly believed you were deserving of love? Not the perfect, transcendent kind. Just… imperfect love?
Dream: (The silence lasts for roundabout 30 seconds, and I prepare myself to wait for ages again when he suddenly clears his throat. It sounds really weird.) Terrifying.
DT: Most good things are also that. At least to a degree.
Dream: I trust our time is up?
DT: (Ah, not today, my friend). No. And no “taking your leave,“ just yet. I’m not going to let you off the hook this time.
Dream: (I notice the usual knitting of the brows that gives me a headache) I was not aware you ever did.
DT: You have no idea.
Dream: What if I did and just pretended I did not? (I notice a raised eyebrow.)
DT: Then I would wonder what you were trying to achieve and come to the conclusion it wouldn’t change my approach anyway. At least not on that particular matter.
Dream: It wouldn’t?
DT: No. (He opens his mouth to retort something that he undoubtedly hopes will throw me off, so I get in my piece quickly.) I want to ask: How are you feeling right now? In this moment? And please answer truthfully and don’t avoid the question in any way. (I am bracing myself.)
Dream: Like… (He frowns and seems to think really hard.) Like I have been carrying something heavy for so long, I forgot it was possible to set it down.
DT: (Oh. I expected the strangest of replies, but I didn’t expect that one.) That's a start. (Meh, I could have come up with something better here, but I am genuinely slightly baffled.). Do you still wish to leave?
Dream: Yes. However, will you let me?
DT: I am generally not in the habit of keeping prisoners, you should know that by now.
Dream: (He closes his eyes briefly and inhales deeply.) And for that, I am grateful. (He gets up and prepares to leave.)
DT: (Why do I have the feeling something is going on here that he hasn’t disclosed yet?) Same time next week then?
Dream: (I notice mild confusion.) You deem weekly sessions sufficient?
DT: Yes. For now anyway. You don’t?
Dream: I trust your expertise.
DT: The real one, or the delusional one?
Dream: Whichever one works for you. (He actually smiles for the first time today.)
DT: Ah, but I don’t think it has to work for me.
Dream: (He is still smiling, but he rolls his eyes at me before he begins to walk towards the door. When he is just about to open it, he pauses for a moment, but he doesn’t turn around.). Thank you. For… seeing me. (And then he opens the door and leaves.)
I wonder for a minute if he stressed the second or third word of that last sentence and then write down the following notes:
Crisis intervention protocols may be stepped down, but continue monitoring. Patient exhibited increased emotional accessibility compared to previous sessions. Demonstrated capacity for self-reflection regarding relationship patterns. Notable themes:
Fear of abandonment manifesting as preemptive withdrawal
Conflation of duty with emotional unavailability
Grief regarding loss of child. Significant unprocessed trauma
Pattern of choosing partners who reinforce his belief in his unworthiness
Patient begins to recognise defensive mechanisms. Showed a degree of vulnerability in discussing ex-wife and son.
Next session: Continue exploring grief regarding son. Address possibility of forgiveness (self and others).
I thought I’d make a new post for this since I didn’t want to spam someone else’s post, @littlegirlblue14-blog
So as for the difference between Titania’s and Morpheus’ relationship in show and comics: I think the show is more ambiguous, but I personally still think they did (definitely room for differing opinions though).
As I already mentioned in the comments in the other post: In the comics, it’s definitely strongly hinted at that they were an item at some point, simply because all of Morpheus’ former lovers congregate together, and Titania is one of them. Even reborn Nada is in the frame. The only one that’s missing is Alianora, but we see her later during her eulogy, and she is one of the mentioned “dead”, so I think maybe that’s the reason why she didn’t stand with the lovers who are still amongst the living, so to speak. You can scrap Killalla because Endless Nights wasn’t written at that point (although definitely in “mental development”, because we get a reference to her), but she would have been amongst the dead either way, so probably same thing.
In the show, we simply don’t know, but whether they were an item or if the love was unrequited: it can definitely be assumed that Morpheus is not interested in her anymore while she still pines for him—so much is clear. Not much different from the comics either.
I’m just thinking: We don’t know much about the origins of his relationships with Calliope and Titania (as in: how they first met). We know that more or less about Killalla, Alianora, Nada and Thessaly: All four have in common they met him in dreams/the Dreaming first. I’m not sure about Titania and Calliope. Calliope is a muse and the only one he stayed with long enough to have and raise a child (he might have been with Alianora longer, but we just don’t know what “a goodly while” means, plus the narration is unreliable, simply because it’s he who tells the story to Hope as a fairytale. All other relationships we know of were short). They are connected by what they are—epic poetry and story. That’s a much more balanced relationship from the start, although there’s no such thing with him really, it’s still his domain (and gods are born and die there, too). But there’s still a difference between a dreamer who meets him in his centre of power, and a goddess who insists on spending time in her own realm even if she is married to him in my view. And Titania is not a random ass faerie—in folklore, she is the equivalent of a goddess, and I think she’s also to be understood as that kind of very high spirit in both comics and show.
Plus: A Midsummer Night’s Dream is not a random choice. Even if we are told by Auberon that the story “didn’t happen thus”: There is a lot, and I mean *a lot*, in the way it’s interwoven with the Theseus myth in AMND that’s worth a very sharp look. The Greek and Fae realms mingle in that story, and that’s not for nothing. I think it could be assumed that they really did, and that Titania’s and Morpheus’ history reaches *at least* as far back as his history with Calliope. And there’s even textual proof in the comics that she at least was around at the time and remembers Orpheus:
💬 1 🔁 6 ❤️ 23 · Titania and Ancient Greece… · I guess for most of us, Titania is the quintessential fairy queen, and it’s really somewhat
Quick detour: Well, there were The Books of Faerie (somewhat Sandman Universe because it’s a spin-off of The Books of Magic, but not written by NG), and they made Titania born human in the Middle Ages, then tempted to Faerie, where she quickly became the favourite of the reigning fairy queen. And she put on her first glamour to appear fae when she got married to her first husband (and never took it off since), who was killed by Auberon later. Auberon was the rightful king of Faerie though and took Titania as his wife to reunite the kingdom, but she never really took to him and basically had one affair after the other. So she could always be assumed as stepping out on her husband, on the regular.
You can choose if that’s canon for you, but that’s how DC chose to frame her. I’m somehow not seeing that as NG’s intention if I’m honest, and I really don’t think that Titania was ever seen as basically a human wearing a glamour in The Sandman, but you could of course let that speak to you if you thought that’s what explains her obsession with glamours. I personally think it’s complete and utter bullshit 🤣 (like a lot of later stories of the Sandman Universe, sorry). Not least because of what I wrote in the other meta: Titania in The Sandman was around before the Middle Ages.
Anyway, we always hear that Faerie and the Dreaming are neighbouring realms (even if the Fae left the mortal plane), in the sense of also being connected via story. I think this is deeper than we think. And I also don’t think that Titania coming across as incredibly vain necessarily means she doesn’t have depth. We *know* there’s more to her than that, and we get glimpses of it, too. In both comics and show. There’s something underneath her façade that I wouldn’t find impossible for Morpheus to be interested in to start with. But either he fell into his usual pattern, found out he’s not interested *enough*, or she asked him to make up his mind/a choice of sorts (she is a ruler of a realm, just like he is. And she is not unlike Nada in that way) and commit in a way he didn’t want to or couldn’t. I mean, from all we know, she was already married to Auberon when her relationship to Dream soured, so maybe she wanted to escape that marriage and had hoped Dream would be “the one”. But you know how he is with his rules and responsibilities, plus she’s a strong character who probably wouldn’t have been okay with not having some sort of influence in the Dreaming had she been his queen. And he was probably like, “Nope!” 🤣
In short: She mostly strikes me as stubborn, just as he is, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the reason his name wasn’t allowed to be uttered was not as straightforward as “he didn’t like her advances and she took that badly”. He did reject her in the end, but I personally don’t think he did so from the start.
Alas, we’ll never know what exactly transpired, it’s all headcanon territory. I just don’t think it was simple, and I also don’t think that the affection wasn’t mutual, at least for a while.
[I think some of the reasons why at least parts of fandom will think Morpheus wouldn’t have touched her with a barge pole also reverts to the pattern of, “She harmed my blorbo, unleash the unbridled hate,” just like with Lyta. But I think it’s unfair in both cases. show!Titania wanted to save him, even if she made a mistake. Also: I’m still salty they took that away from Nuala, but I guess they were too busy with creating her new badass image for the show they didn’t want to jeopardise 🙄🤣]
This is for today’s Fairy Tale prompt of the @sandman-rarepair-fest but it would have also fitted day 3’s Flower prompt—I just couldn’t make up my mind where to put it. As previously, I’m not sure if poems are a thing for this, but since they were accepted last year, I’ll do it again.
I chose Titania and Dream because we still don’t know what happened between them, so I’m aware I’m skirting the line between head-canon and true AU. Which then makes me say: This of course isn’t what happened (but it also totally is 😉), not least because Dream would never dance. But at least you’ll know why…
|.
Dream of the Endless has never been good
at loving things
that move and change.
Some of his siblings say
he holds on too tightly
to stories that want to evolve,
to love letters written in sand.
But Titania of the Fae
moves like lightning
deciding where to strike.
She is older than the wild wood’s memories,
more dangerous than some of his nightmares.
And when she laughs,
winter changes to spring.
||.
They meet
when the boundaries between realms grow thin
even for the Endless.
She finds him in the Dreaming,
sitting by his fireplace,
reading poetry.
Naturally about love.
“You’re shorter than I expected,”
she says and scoffs.
“The stories make you sound ten feet tall.”
“I am exactly as tall as I need to be,”
Dream replies, not looking up
from his book of poems.
“And you are trespassing.”
|||.
But gods, she is beautiful.
Not in the way mortals are beautiful,
soft and temporary and heartbreaking,
but beautiful like a raging fire,
like the moment before thunder,
like every dangerous thing you want to touch
despite knowing it will hurt.
Her hair is like coal
that refuses to burn to ashes.
Her eyes are the green of deep forests
where children
lose their way
and come back
speaking in tongues.
|V.
“I came to make you an offer,”
Titania says, settling into the chair
across from his.
The leather turns to moss beneath her touch,
and blooms with the smallest white flowers.
“My court could use a storyteller.
Your realm could use an ally.”
Dream finally looks up.
His eyes are the black
of space between stars,
and for a moment,
just a moment,
Titania remembers what it feels like
to be surprised.
V.
It lasts three seasons.
In autumn, she teaches him to dance
the old dances, the ones that summon rain
and make the earth remember
how to be wild again.
His feet, used to walking on sleeping minds,
learn the rhythm of awakening.
For the first time in a long time,
He moves without purpose,
without destination,
his body learning
the language
of joy
for its own sake.
In winter, he shows her his collection of dreams within dreams,
the recursive stories that fold into themselves
and make no sense but to him.
She laughs until snow
turns to flowers
as delicate as her fingers
tracing the angles of his face.
V|.
Spring comes early that year.
Even the other Endless notice.
Delirium paints her hair
the colour of new grass,
and even Despair creates a blossoming garden,
if only for an hour each day.
Because what could be sadder than losing it again?
“You’re different,”
Death tells Dream.
“Lighter. Like someone opened
all the windows in your head
and let in some air.”
Dream says nothing,
but his silence says enough.
V||.
The end begins, as all endings do,
with something small.
A mortal child dreams of flying,
and Dream, distracted
by the way Titania’s laughter
echoes through the Dreaming,
lets the dream become too real.
The child wakes with wings.
Of course Dream undoes it, but the balance tips.
“I cannot serve two masters.
I have to choose,” he says,
standing in his throne room.
Titania’s dress changes to the colour of the setting sun when she asks,
“Between your duty and your heart?”
V|||.
Dream chooses duty.
Of course he does.
He is Morpheus,
Lord Shaper,
King of Dreams and Nightmares,
and he has never learned
how to choose both.
“I am bound to the Dreaming,”
he tells her. “I cannot leave.
I will not abandon my function.”
Titania nods like she expected this,
like she’s been practising this particular goodbye
a thousand times.
In vain.
|X.
“I should have known,” she says,
and her voice turns sharp
as a rose’s thorns.
“Love was never something
you could choose freely.
Everything with you
is duty first, heart second.”
And then her eyes flash with the kind of anger
that turns fertile fields to salt,
that makes flowers close their faces to the sun.
“You talk about function like it is sacred,
but all I hear is fear.
Fear of wanting something
more than your precious rules.”
She doesn’t kiss him goodbye.
Instead, she turns,
and when she reaches the door she pauses.
“I hope your duty keeps you warm,
Lord Shaper.
I hope it loves you back
the way I apparently never could.”
X.
He never dances again.
And when mortals dream of dancing,
their feet stumble,
their partners fade away mid-song,
and they wake with the strange certainty
that rhythm is just another word
for heartbreak.
The other Endless notice, of course.
Delirium tries to teach him
new steps she’s invented,
ones that involve floating
and spinning until you forget which way is up.
But his feet stay firmly planted on solid ground.
Even in the Dreaming.
“I do not dance,” he tells her.
“I have more important concerns.”
But sometimes, he still hears
the songs that Titania hummed while braiding flowers into her hair.
And Dream stands perfectly still,
and his semblance of a body remembers
what his heart refuses to feel.
Dream knows
that somewhere in the Faerie Court,
Titania has forbidden the mention of his name.
She says the Prince of Stories
is like all princes:
Beautiful from a distance,
but cold as the winter wind.
Epilogue
Millennia later,
when Dream has loved, lost and still grieves,
and he truly understands the meaning of the saying
“Love is not possession but release,
not holding on but letting go,”
he finds a small white flower
pressed between the pages of a book of lamentations.
And he remembers
that some loves are not meant to last forever,
but to teach us
the price of choosing
safety over surrender,
stillness over dancing,
and duty over heart.
[screencapping this made me once more aware how DARK the show is, as: in terms of lighting. So I didn’t just brighten them, but I also had a bit of fun with giving them colour schemes, tone and temperature. Green is her colour! 🤣 Attribution for flower shots in ALT text].
