(( currently i am snuggled up on my couch watching the sandman episode 6 watchparty with some of the cast and neil, and per usual i am so emotional about dream. magneto is another character i am extremely passionate about, and i have realized just how much he and dream have in common, at their core. so i might sound delusional, but i will try and explain and list my reasons here. read if you like, but i HAD to get these ideas written out, and out of my head. ))
- stoic, hardened leaders. thatâs the basics, really. dream of the endless and magneto are both seen by everyone as closed off, cold leaders who are addicted to controlling the people they are ruling over. the people who are forced to live under them and follow their rules are seen to become bitter and resentful of them. and in turn, the both of them always say âitâs what i must do, otherwise everything comes crumbling down.â and let me be clear: dream and erik ARE off-putting, tough to be around, stubborn, and cold. but there is so much more to them other than what most see as a need for power.
- scratch beneath the surface, and these two hardened rulers are incredibly traumatized and have gotten so cold and strict because of everything they have experienced. the truth is, they feel things extremely deeply, and are very afraid of their own vulnerability. for those of you who donât know much about magneto - when he was young, he married and had a child after escaping the concentration camps. and while the trauma from the holocaust alone is absolutely nothing to be taken lightly, life continues to treat him terribly. because humans discovered he was a mutant and had powers, erik was stopped from saving his young daughter from a fire in their home and she was killed in the process. erikâs wife leaves him after she sees the revenge he took on the humans who stopped him from saving their daughter. with that in mind, we now can compare it to dream being held captive by humans for over a century. (please know, i am not trying to say that dreamâs experiences are AT ALL the same to the real life situations of the holocaust. just that at their core, these two characters have experienced drawn out trauma at the hands of people who fear them.)
- they have seen firsthand how cruel humans can be. trauma can result in people closing themselves off, ignoring their emotions, pretending that they are not vulnerable so that they can never be hurt again. they have quite literally lost their faith in humanity.
-Â they are powerful beings, given the responsibility of keeping the order and protecting the ones under them. what differs between them is that dream was made for that purpose, where as erik took that responsibility on himself. either way, they are very aware of the darkness and cruelty and pain that the world is capable of. dream sees the entire collective unconsciousness, he knows the fears and terrible capabilities humans have, and that was shoved right in his face when he was kept captive. he watched his raven get killed right in front of him. these two donât want anything like their experiences to happen ever again. so they protect themselves with rules, control, and disconnection.
- erik does far harsher, crueler things than dream does. that is another way they differ. but they are both vengeful, and have the capability to cause real harm when they or someone they care about is put in harms way. that is one thing that is truly captivating to me about them. because of their trauma they lash out, angry and spiteful, but it isnât just when it comes to themselves. they are fiercely protective of the people they love. that hidden vulnerability goes deeper than either of them ever care to admit. they donât let themselves get attached to people often, because of their fear of getting hurt (being betrayed, being hurt, having people taken away etc.).
- but the truth is, both of them are so incredibly lonely. they have big hearts, and want to be loved in return. they want family, they wants friends, they want connection. but they do not allow themselves to have it. the walls they built to keep others out were built to protect themselves, but in return for that âprotectionâ they sacrifice meaningful friendships. they sacrifice family that want to be there for them. they both stand by the excuse that their immense responsibility does not leave room, time, or attention for luxuries such as love. they bury themselves in problems to fix, jobs to do, rules to enforce- duties.
- they have convinced themselves that they are better off alone. that no one will understand them, that friendships get in the way, and that they alone are the ones capable of âgetting the job doneâ. part of it is ego, but a bigger part of it is fear. and who would blame them for pushing people away after being hurt so deeply? their trauma is bent into being the reason they are doing what they are doing, and why they are doing it alone.
- dream and erik are misunderstood- not just by people in the universes they live, but often by the audience as well. we watch morpheus scared to tears when hob confronts him about their friendship, and he lashes out. we see erik so driven to find his missing children and use them for his mission, but over time realizes just how much he wants to protect them. they make mistakes, they hurt people, they are stubborn and cold and full of anger- but they are also emotional, vulnerable, lonely people who are capable of great love and kindness once they start to finally learn important lessons. they are layered, complicated beings. they contradict themselves and backtrack when presented with triggers. they are overwhelmed with emotion, pain, and responsibility. they speak strongly and walk like the world will move if they commanded it. they are confident but so, so afraid. they are hated and they are loved. flawed and learning, beautiful and terrifying. hiding things they hope no one ever sees. reaching for people, even if they would never admit it. wanting to fulfill their purpose and terrified of what will happen if they donât.
- they are characters that i am so, so protective of. you cannot truly understand them unless you dig, and then dig some more, and then keep digging after that. you want to scream and cry and wrap your hands around their throat when they make a wrong choice. and you want to hold them and cry and gently take their face in your hands to make sure they know their value when you see them in pain. you will root for them and you will scoff at their stubbornness. you will want to take their pain away. you will beg them to open their hearts, and feel empathy for the sheer amount of emotion they contain within them. broken leaders with broken hearts, wanting better for the world and sacrificing themselves in the process.
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