Icon by @ThatSpookyAgent. Call me Tir or Julian. 37. He/They. Queer. Twitter: @tirlaeyn. ao3: tirlaeyn. 18+ Only. Star Trek. The X-Files. Sandman. IwtV. OMFD. Definitionless in this Strict Atmosphere.
In the reaction video to the episode 04 duel that Gwendolyn Christie and Tom Sturridge did, Tom mentioned something about how despite being enemies, there’s a certain degree of affection between Lucifer and Dream, and I’m inclined to agree at least on Dream’s part (because obviously she can hardly stand even the mere sight of him).
I think there’s a sort of “frenemies” quality to that affection? As in, “this person is determined to see my downfall, but she is so mercilessly dedicated to it, she is so resolute, so inventive in her spite, her unbridled HATRED toward me, she will not miss a single chance to royally fuck my life, but it’s such a genuine ruthless loathing that I cannot help to appreciate her efforts with my whole heart”.
The guy spent an entire monologue explaining to Matthew how the devil was this beautiful and awesome powerful angel, then proceeded to respect the fuck out of Lucifer the entire time they were there. Lucifer was being a little shit. Meanwhile Dream was just. Genuinely so respectful???
And then, during this interview, Gwendoline says something like “he’s producing a weird sexual vibe, which I’m not interested in, but I’m interested in messing with him” and since watching this the only thing I can think about is Lucifer trying SO HARD to crush Dream and he keeps on Being Himself, and apparently Lucifer is thinking “wait, is he flirting? Is he seriously flirting with me right now, what the fuck, I want him obliterated-”
Like, this is hilarious, Lucifer hates this guy so much and he has the balls to show up uninvited and appear not only respectful and affectionate, but also flirty??
I stick by the idea that this whole battle was such a revelatory moment for Lucifer that the Morningstar was like, “Well shit, being a dark haired sexy British man with he/him pronouns is working great for Morpheus, why don’t I try it” and that’s how we got the Tom Ellis series.
She’s so committed to her mission, doing all the research and bringing backups and so on while these two just want to complain about the bad caricature.
the best part of the calliope bonus episode of the sandman was the absolute care and attention to detail that went into depicting the scary subtleties of men who abuse, exploit, and manipulate women.
the brilliant casting choice of arthur darvill as richard madoc, a likeable actor who has played likeable characters, someone we would probably never think as a bad guy, to be calliope’s captor. richard madoc’s claims of being a feminist, citing famous female authors as his source of inspiration, using feminism and anti-racism as a marketing ploy to make himself look “woke”, dehumanizing calliope because she’s a muse, because she’s immortal, because he was told not to view her as human.
the single scratch as a symbol of an unforgivable violence, dream’s acknowledgement that his over a century imprisonment is nothing compared to the decades she spent having men forcefully take from her, calliope’s gentle reminder not to compare their traumas because they are different but both valid, dream asserting that richard madoc still must be punished, calliope’s decision to forgive him in the end not for him but for herself, her setting off to rewrite the laws which imprisoned her in the first place and dream vowing to do the same in his realm.
every aspect of this episode is so so relevant and it’s handled well at every turn, beautifully adapting its source material, giving its antagonist a punishment from his own mind, giving him an abundance of what he unjustly took from someone else and plaguing him with it until he has nothing left because that is what his actions deserved.
also just the fact that calliope is played by a greek actress. a small detail that i love. there’s just so many good things and it’s driving me up the walls in the best way possible because i’m so glad we got these bonus episodes, i’m so glad we get to see this.
dream when someone fucks with calliope, hob gadling, his older sister, his librarian, his bird pals, abel, a 21 year old orphan and her missing brother, his cool necklace, his time, his patience, cats,
gotta love the duality of morpheus’s chosen love interests
ex-wife: a literal centuries upon centuries old ancient greek muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry and who looks and speaks like an ethereal wonder
kinda confused over the people calling dream “cold” and “emotionless” because hELLO did we even watch the same show? he literally cries over jessamy’s murder, even chooses to stay captive far longer than he has to, all because he couldn’t forgive her murderer. he grins from ear to ear when he finally sees lucienne’s lovely face again, whispers her name like a prayer, clasps her hand tightly and takes a moment to let go because he’s clearly missed her as much as she’s missed him. he holds grudges like nobody’s business (see: nada). he hesitates to get close to matthew because he doesn’t want another bird to die on his behalf again. he’s just as heartbroken as cain and abel when he has to reabsorb gregory, and is definitely amused when he meets jed walker. and don’t even get me started on his arc with calliope and orpheus. because even in the short amount of time we see them interact, dream is nothing BUT feeling. he seethes with quiet anger over the woman he once loved being used and discarded like a common plaything, he practically begs her to let him help, and at the end, when all is said and done, it’s revealed that he’s still in the process of grieving their only son, so much so that he can’t even talk about it just yet, even after thousands upon thousands of years, and in this essay i will
