#The sandman thessaly

[rey-jake-therapist]

I still don't get this very popular idea that if someone dates Morpheus they will probably die because of him and even go to Hell. It happened to Nada, alright. Nada and.... Oh wait, NO ONE.

Killala cheated on him and yet got her happy ending with the Sun, no less. Yes, she died but Morpheus had nothing to do with it. She was a mortal. Sad but true: mortals die. Morpheus didn't send her to Hell, as far as we know.

Alianora was neglected by Morpheus who didn't hold his promise to love her forever, but she died years, maybe centuries even after they broke up, also because she was a mortal and not because Morpheus caused her death. When they broke up he gave her one of his dream stones and a skerry where she would be free to do whatever she wanted. Her spirit remained in the skerry until Morpheus unmade it after Barbie smashed the dream stone... Clearly, she didn't go to Hell.

Calliope was still alive when Morpheus died and even fondly recalled how good he was in bed when they were still in love. He treated her horribly when he refused to let her go back to the Dreaming after she blamed him for Orpheus' fate, but it's not his fault she was later captured and abused for years. Not only that but he helped her to get free from her abuser. No sentence to Hell in sight here either.

Titania was still alive when Morpheus died and she seemed to be in good health. Whatever happened between them didn't turn so wrong that he sentenced her to Hell, apparently.

Oh and Thessaly? Unfortunately, she's still alive and not only she didn't go to Hell, but she managed to get more life from the Fates when she protected Lyta. When she left Morpheus he stood in the rain like a moron and whined. That's it. Hardly the horrible ex girlfriend's killer this fandom keeps bringing up....

Now I think it's very possible that Morpheus had other ex girlfriends we don't know about since he seems to, erm, fall in love quite easily and is literally ancient. It's possible that one of these ex girlfriends died because of him (not by his hands though, he's not a murderer lol), or at least suffered because of him (I wrote a fic that tells such a story uh uh); Desire's words in SOM could make us think that. That said, coming from him it's just as likely that when they asked him if he killed another girlfriend recently, they wanted to get under Morpheus' skin 😏 It's very fun to speculate about all this! However, in the CANON material we've got, there's nothing to suggest that Morpheus is an ex girlfriends' serial killer 🧐

And that's why it always puzzles me when some posts say things such as "I wouldn't want Dream to date x female character because he would do the same to her as he did to Nada"... It seems to me that Nada's case was an exception, and not the pattern, but what do I know? I'm just a woman who read the comics...

[colleendoran]

SANDMAN And THESSALY.

Private commission. Pencil. Click image for larger view.

[fishfingersandscarves]

Soft Fuzzy Man - Lemon Demon | the sandman animatic

or as i affectionately call it morpheus' relationship L compilation

[avelera]

Unraveling Centuries (3754 words) by Avelera Chapters: 1/10 Fandom: The Sandman (Comics), The Sandman (TV 2022) Rating: Explicit (as of ch. 5) Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling, Dream of the Endless/Thessaly (past) Characters: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Hob Gadling, Thessaly (The Sandman), Matthew the Raven Additional Tags: Amnesia, Temporary Amnesia, Witch Curses, First Kiss, Pining, First Time, Hob Gadling Loves Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Good Friend Hob Gadling, Dream of the Endless | Morpheus is Bad at Feelings, Protective Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Fluff, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Betaed, POV Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Memory Loss Summary: After an exchange of heated words with Thessaly, Dream decides to break off his relationship with her at his friend Hob Gadling’s urgings. Soon thereafter, Dream and Hob enter into a relationship of their own. Unfortunately, the only person Dream forgot to tell about his breakup with Thessaly and his new relationship with Hob was… Thessaly. Not one to be so easily set aside, Thessaly takes her revenge by casting a curse upon Hob so that each night, Hob loses another 100 years of his memories. While Dream's court races against the clock to find a cure, Dream watches over his lover and gets a walk down memory lane, reencountering all the many versions of Hob that have existed across the centuries.

---

Wooo, ok I finally posted the first chapter of my Hob Amnesia Fic! It's about 3/4 written at this point and I admit, I am somewhat hoping that having some readers will push me over into finishing it up. Still, it's a fun fic and I do hope you all enjoy!

[rey-jake-therapist]

There's also one thing that strikes me in all these relationships, and it's that none of Dream's lovers accepted him for who/what he was. Idk if it was something that was meant to be noticed or if it's just random, but that's what I see anyway when I look at these relationships:

Killala wasn't sure she was in love with him: it's not said that there's something specific that bothers her about him, but the fact that she felt so uncertain about her own feelings despite Desire's influence tells me he wasn't the lover she was looking for in the first place.

Alianora said her relationship with Dream wasn't what she had imagined: clearly she had expectations that Dream didn't fulfill. Maybe it was because Dream grew cold, but it's also possible that he grew cold because he felt she was disappointed in the relationship.

Nada wanted him to stop being Dream of the Endless and abandon his realm, no less. Of course she didn't deserve to go to Hell for that, something he eventually came to admit himself, but it's besides the point.

Calliope wanted him to go against his own principles (aka abusing his powers to save his son) and got mad when he refused: again, someone who didn't accept him as he was.

Thessaly: errrr this one I have no idea what she wanted from him, but she left him so clearly she didn't get what she wanted 😐

The only interrogation point is Titania : did they even have a relationship? I know it was a strong rumour and she was upset when Nuala told her Dream didn't mention her, but she's a woman who likes the attention an awful lot. Titania's speech was too vague for it to confirm or deny anything.

One thing that's interesting to me about all of Dream's past relationships is that they all perfectly match him, in a way, and that this match is usually what seals the end of their relationship.

Killala of the Glow felt left alone and ignored by Dream. I don't think he'd be particularly thrilled if anyone ever made him feel that way

Alionora wanted to be his hero, spun a story out of her rescuing him. He's the Prince of Storys and the princess rescuing the prince is (at that point in time probably even a pretty noval) twist of a classical trope, it should be right up his alley

Nada put the safety of her people over her personal desire to be with Dream. Don't tell me Dream wouldn't do the same if he had to choose between the good of the Dreaming or his own wishes

Calliope put her art (and Orpheus) over her marriage. Dream does exactly the same with her (maybe sans the Orpheus part)

[writing-for-life]

The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known

Or: Does Morpheus really have commitment issues?

[Bear with me, I’ll get to this panel 🤣]

I’ve read many times that Morpheus supposedly has commitment issues, and it always has me scratching my head a bit…

I personally rather think he is desperate to commit. He so badly craves a serious relationship that he is prone to rush into it and build it on wonky foundations, but he has certainly no commitment issues as we would commonly understand them.

Is it in his nature though to be truly seen and understood when he is [a] Dream? And can dreams ever last? These are the much more interesting questions in my view. Let’s have a look at the romantic relationships we know of…

Killalla: Walked out on him. That wasn’t his lack of commitment. If anything, he came on a bit strong while she was still assessing her feelings for him.

Alianora: He fully committed to her despite basically being bullied into it by Desire. And they were happy for “a goodly while”. For those in doubt: “Goodly” doesn’t mean “a bit”. It means “great, large, long.” And the fact that Alianora couldn’t go back to her own plane because she had stayed in the Dreaming too long corroborates that they were together for a long time. Probably longer than any human relationship ever lasts, because I doubt “a long time” means “a couple of years” for someone who is 12 billion years old.

And now I’ll sandwich the relationship we hardly know anything about between some random (?) panels to also make a point why I think it might sit here in the timeline…

Titania: Who knows. Sounded like an affair, and as if they both had no intention of committing. He was clearly very fond of her though, and I can never shake the feeling that we should look a bit deeper into AMND and find the parallels between Auberon, Titania (not hard, and they are pretty much pictured as estranged) and Bottom. There are many ways to get confused with a jackass, you know? 🤣 Plus, Bottom is the one who gets to play Pyramus in “Pyramus and Thisbe”. That’s the ultimate blueprint for “Romeo and Juliet”: Ill-fated love of catastrophic proportions, people are dead by the end of it. That’s why I often wondered if the affair with Titania was actually pre-Nada, and the inspiration for Shakespeare wasn’t random (it wasn’t random for The Tempest either). I mean, it wasn’t random anyway because it was a parting gift, but I also don’t think it was entirely random with regard to their relationship. Wild head-canon of course, but maybe not that wild (he also says that Wendel’s Mound was already a theatre before humans walked the earth, so there’s that)? And even if he wasn’t committed (we quite frankly don’t know if he intended to but she didn’t or couldn’t), she and the Fae meant enough to him to give them a play as a parting gift.

Nada: Killed herself after one night, but that wasn’t down to lack of commitment on his part. Again: If anything, he came on far too strong, wanted to be with her and was far too pushy about it.

Calliope: We don’t know how long they were together before they had Orpheus. Could have been a while, could have been only a shortish time. But even if we assumed they had him fairly quickly—they were still together when Orpheus, who was mortal, got married to Eurydice, so even if he got married young, we’re still talking something in the realm of +/- 20 years, and that’s the absolute low-ball-estimate. And while they had started to drift apart (considering what we know from Calliope), they were still on good terms and had no intention of splitting up until the whole Orpheus drama caused a rift they couldn’t mend. Again: That’s not someone who has commitment issues. It’s a relationship breaking down over hurt, stubbornness and grief.

Thessaly: Again, she was the one who left him and caused his dramatic interlude in the rain. Were they ill suited? Yes. Did she feel neglected and went into a strop over it? Yes. Did he not get that she felt neglected? Also yes, but that’s not lack of commitment. That’s his not getting that people aren’t mind readers (must be hard if you’re probably one yourself 🤣) and, by and large, need assurances of love. He doesn’t get that these women don’t understand they have his love; he can’t grasp that line of thinking because it is all so clear to him when he loves someone: They have him, what’s the issue? Is that a not so great way of (not) communicating when you’re having a relationship to someone? Absolutely. Is it a commitment issue though? Absolutely not.

I think Morpheus doesn’t really have commitment issues in romantic relationships—wouldn’t that almost be antithetical to his nature? Rules and responsibilities. Yeah, about that one…

What I do think is that he struggles with the mortifying ordeal of being (not) known by his lovers. Because how could he? He is Dream. That is his problem. Dreams cannot be fully known or understood. He is very eloquent but at the same time a very… confusing communicator. I don’t want to say “bad”, because I feel that’s not getting to the bottom of it. Again, it is the nature of dreams to be confusing and strange, open to (mis)interpretation, hard to grasp and understand. And they also stop being dreams once they become real. All of that is true and hence makes relationships both hard for him and those involved. Is he truly not willing to commit though?

I still find that hard to believe…

[bobbole]

Morpheus Ascendant - art by Marcelo Ventura

[five-and-dimes]

A Better Mirror (SNIPPET)

For the Dreaming Bingo FREE SPACE

Rating: Gen

Ship: Dream/Hob- featuring past Dream/Thessaly

Warnings: none

Additional Tags: Human au, self-esteem issues, body image issues, past toxic relationships

Summary: Dream is well aware of his flaws. The one thing he has going for him that everyone loves to remind him is that he's "lucky he's pretty". So if he wants Hob to stay, he has to make sure he never sees him looking less than perfect.

This is just a snippet because I have zero chance of finishing this before the month is over but I want at least one bingo line 🥺. This is one of the flashbacks of how Dream developed his habits :')

Dream is 24, and he’s a little out of breath when he gets to the bar, but at least he isn’t late. Thessaly is strict about punctuality, and this is the first time she has agreed to introduce Dream to her friends. But when he approaches her by the entrance, she simply looks at him and sneers.

“God, you look awful.”

Dream looks down at himself. He is dressed in his nicest jeans and a black button up rolled up to his elbows, nice but still casual. But when he looks back at Thessaly, she’s not looking at his outfit. She’s looking at his face.

“I…” he touches his bare cheek nervously, “I did not put any makeup on. I was running late and-“

“I’d rather you show up late than show up looking like a corpse,” she snaps, “God, you look like you haven’t slept in a year.” 

He is tired. But she doesn’t sound concerned. She just sounds mad.

“I’ll fix it,” Dream blurts out, desperate, “Just, just tell them I’ll be a little late, I won’t be longer than fifteen minutes-“

“You better not be,” Thessaly huffs, turning away to walk into the bar, “If you’re later than that don’t bother coming at all.”

Dream runs. He sprints like the devil is on his heels, bursting into a convenience store and grabbing handfuls of makeup. His hands shake as he stands in the public restroom and layers foundation onto his face to try to fix it. To fix himself.

Ten minutes later he is kissing Thessaly on the cheek and greeting her friends.

“That’s more like it,” she says to him tersely under her breath, “now you just need to not be a freak for an hour. Try to stay seen and not heard, okay sweetie?” Her voice drips with condescension. But Dream knows she’s right.

He keeps quiet. He sits on his hands. He makes sure to always keep spare makeup in his coat after that. Thessaly still breaks up with him on their six month anniversary.

But for six months, he isn’t alone.

[spiraledeyes]

there arent enough sandman fans on tiktok

[lucienne-thee-librarian]

Just to minimize my chances of being genuinely misunderstood OR deliberately misinterpreted, and crucified for something I don't think, How Dare You Say We Piss on the Poor website etc...I'm gonna say this right up top. I absolutely understand why people don't like Thessaly as a character, if anyone does completely unironically stan her as some kind of feminist hero who Did Nothing Wrong uwu, I personally see it as a bit of a red flag. I don't like terfs real or fictional. In a vacuum, I could even completely sympathize and agree with the people who want her cut.

HOWEVER.

It's really something to me to see people clamoring for her to be cut, because she carries and expressed an ugly indefensible prejudice (transphobia) in words towards (1) person. Meanwhile Hob fucking Gadling enacted one of the most violent forms of antiblack racism I can even think of against thousands no, millions of people, the ripple effects of which still affect billions more today. Just a little light idk, profiting off the fucking slave trade and had to be told by someone else that it was bad...and he's a fan favorite.

People are saying Thessally being Dream's love interest reflects badly on him or is somehow endorsement by the narrative (?!?!?!?!?!? Didn't she (SPOILER ALERT AS IF IT MATTERS BY NOW) help participate in his extended assisted suicide? She's not painted as a great person to me just another character what are y'all SMOKING whatever fine. It's fine this is fine.) But shipping Dream with Mr. Former Slaver is not only not verboten or frowned on widely in the fandom but its THEE most popular pairing by far. So...why the difference?

Like where are the same fans who are saying Thessaly shouldn't just be more clearly shown to be wrong, she shouldn't even be in the show at all when it comes to Hobert's crimes??? Yes, transphobia is indefensible. Isn't racism?

And I hear the cries of "it's fiction!!!" Already rallying (if anyone who needs to hear this even sees it lol) to which I say:

HORSESHIT. I KNOW you don't, deep down, really agree because if you did, why get upset about Thessaly being included??? Why does what she said to one person matter if it's Just Fiction You Guyze. Fictional characters are allowed to do bad things and fiction isn't reality sweaty....except when you only apply that standard to fictional racists you like and simp for, but fictional transphobes you don't are SO HARMFUL they shouldn't even be portrayed in fiction.

Like. Give me a big fat BREAK. This looks like bullshit, no? I'm sorry, but I'd love for someone to try and give any other explanation besides one personally offended you or hit home for you, and the other doesn't.

And if that bothers you or you feel like it says something negative about you...idk what you want me to say??? You can't control how other people perceive you and that's how people outside this majority-of-the-fandom bubble see it. You don't need to respond, I just wish and genuinely hope this gives you a moment to think about why fans who ARE bothered by both (and not just paying lip service to being bothered by the one but railing against the other) are so frustrated with people saying everyone is welcome but in practice only bending over backwards for the comfort and emotions of themselves, and people they can easily relate to.

You don't have to like Thessaly (I don't. I find her an interesting antagonist, I don't stan her. And frankly imo likability is not. the point of her character) but you'll pardon me for feeling more than a bit cynical and side eying people's motivations for what seems a...pretty obvious double standard, on what fictional crimes related to real world issues matter to y'all, and which clearly don't. Either actually bring the same energy to the table for fictional people who committed atrocities, even if against a group you're not part of and thus don't feel the need to empathize with, or just carry on, but accept that you don't have the SLIGHTEST room to talk about cutting characters who do immoral things. And you also need to accept that you look like a hypocrite when you do.

[tickldpnk8]

A Morphanna Theory

So it occurred to me as I was rereading A Game of You over the long weekend, that we might have already seen Johanna Constantine replace Thessaly in Season 1.

So bear with me while I put myself at risk of looking like this guy:

What we know

So we know a few things already given the BTS tidbits we've gotten so far.

We know that Season 2 will be significantly compressing the storyline between Season of Mists and Brief Lives. (baring something incredibly surprising such as having filmed a LOT for this season during filming for Season 1 and also filming ahead for Season 3)

A Game of You has to be either cut or significantly shortened/overhauled at this point considering the BTS shots of Wanda's character and the above outline of episode names.

We know (due to @writing-for-life's excellent analysis) that the music themes for both Morpheus and Johanna blend together well.

Pure speculation

So what struck me on this reread (and don't worry: I've got a draft started for my analysis) was just how much the interactions between Thessaly and Morpheus mirror the interactions between Johanna and Morpheus in S01E03.

First we get both women being generally unimpressed by Morpheus' ordering them about. With Johanna, it's in response to Morpheus turning up and demanding she take him to the sand.

With Thessaly, it's over him scolding her for acting rashly in taking the Moon Road to save Barbie.

This one felt more thematic to me than a direct comparison or direct quote.

Next, we get both of them lecturing Morpheus on his inaction where mortals are concerned.

(yes, I did learn how to make gifs just for this post: feel free to use) Johanna's lecture comes when Morpheus is ready to walk away after retrieving the sand...potentially leaving Rachel to her fate. Essentially blaming Johanna for leaving the sand there in the first place.

Thessaly's lecture comes as Morpheus is ready to walk away after removing the Skerry from the Dreaming. Although he hasn't stated his full intention yet, he's clear that he's not going to help them get home or get off the little bit of land that is left.

And finally, you see a bit of them both denying any interest.

(okay, so I made 2 gifs...) When Ric the Vic says that Morpheus is "not unfit", Johanna replies that he's not her man in a tone that makes it sound like she wouldn't consider it.

Meanwhile, Thessaly stews over Morpheus after he scolds her in the panels I posted above, saying that she's not buying his cool act and that he looks too skinny anyways.

So there you have it: scant evidence to be sure, but I found the 3 themes of each of them standing up to him for ordering her around, lecturing him in turn, and then also denying any attraction to be some fun parallels.

Given that we don't see much of Morpheus x Thessaly on-page, it feels like we have ample suggestions of Morpheus x Johanna in comparison. If they do go this direction, I really hope we see much more of it on screen than we did of Thessaly's blink-and-you-miss-it suggestion they were together.

[mayapapaya33]

To anyone who wants to replace Thessaly with Johanna Constantine in the TV show... Why would you want to do that to poor Constantine? Firstly, just to inflict dating Dream on the poor woman is bad enough lol. But also you're casting her in the role of antagonist / villain (depending on your pov, unpleasant either way you slice it). Either you haven't read All of Sandman or you've repressed some traumatic memories because Thessaly is part of the reason that Dream REDACTED.

(It's fine if you don't like Thessaly. I don't like Thessaly, she's not there to be liked).

[colleendoran]

Very old page of SANDMAN sketches. Dated back to the 1990's, on DC Comics paper.

[sandmancentral]

The Sandman Universe Special: Thessaly #1 Out August 1, 2023 Cover by Reiko Murakami • Variants by Skylar Patridge and Jasmin Darnell

[avelera]

Chapters: 2/10 Fandom: The Sandman (Comics), The Sandman (TV 2022) Rating: Explicit Relationships: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling, Dream of the Endless/Thessaly Characters: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Hob Gadling, Thessaly (The Sandman), Matthew the Raven Additional Tags: Amnesia, Temporary Amnesia, Witch Curses, First Kiss, Pining, First Time, Hob Gadling Loves Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Good Friend Hob Gadling, Dream of the Endless | Morpheus is Bad at Feelings, Protective Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Fluff, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Betaed, POV Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Memory Loss Summary:

After an exchange of heated words with Thessaly, Dream decides to break off his relationship with her at his friend Hob Gadling’s urgings. Soon thereafter, Dream and Hob enter into a relationship of their own.

Unfortunately, the only person Dream forgot to tell about his breakup with Thessaly and his new relationship with Hob was... Thessaly. Not one to be so easily set aside, Thessaly takes her revenge by casting a curse upon Hob so that each night, Hob loses another 100 years of his memories.

While Dream's court races against the clock to find a cure, Dream watches over his lover and gets a walk down memory lane, reencountering all the many versions of Hob that have existed across the centuries.

--

Chapter 2 is up! Most chapters probably won’t be posted  quite this fast, but I wanted to get a little more out there. Hope you all enjoy!

[writing-for-life]

Dream and How He Experiences Love

(Or: When the Unreal is at War with the Real, and Finally Understanding Unconditional Love Tightens the Noose Around Your Neck That Has Been There All Along)

And as always: Send me asks about everything Sandman-related!

Let me start this one with a few adjectives from the horse’s mouth (aka: Neil Gaiman said so 🤣) as to what Dream is actually like:

from: Vertigo Chase Card Set

So in short: This is probably the most accurate way to describe Dream in a nutshell, from the author himself, fully knowing that Murphy doesn’t lend himself well to be described in a nutshell.

And of course it’s absolutely fine if we want to head-canon him just being 5 out of those 50 (or none of them at all)—our stories are our own. At the end of the day, we went through a whole year of Tumblrfication (I might have made up that word), and getting back to the series will be tough. So is trying to align what the current prevalent perception of Dream is like in parts of the fandom, and what he is like in both comics and series (show and comics really aren’t that different where it matters, and I’ll die on that hill). I already worry about the fallout if I look at what happened with GO or OFMD, but that just as an aside.

Anyway, Dream in fandom spaces is often portrayed as either a pathetic wet cat who can’t get to grips with anything and constantly needs rescued in one way or another, or as a completely unfeeling arsehole incapable of relating to the human experience and being horrible all around. There are very few shades of grey in how some fans perceive him, when just the list of above adjectives shows us how complex he is as a character.

One thing that obviously comes up regularly are his relationships, be they romantic or platonic. So I just wanted to draw attention to the adjectives that relate strongly to the relational element in him (although they all apply in one way or another):

touchy, sentimental, cold, loving, [elusive], gentle, hurt, deep, intense, solitary, romantic, shy, intangible, lonely

Dream is the unreal. His way of loving relates very deeply to what stereotypical romantic love is: Romance and reality are a contradiction in terms—romanticism is dreaming because it is, at its very core, an idealised view. The intangible dream that comes back to bite us in the arse once reality sets in. And his flavour of love is the prototype of idealised and intangible (=romantic) and can never be anything else by his very nature.

And I’ve often thought that the way he experiences love is also a large part of why his existence is so difficult for him, and why he ultimately makes the choices he makes. Yes, he detests his function, but if he weren't so lonely (and weren't doomed to be so by his very purpose), he might find it easier to bear.

Let me look at, and draw parallels to, the 7 types of love as the Ancient Greeks perceived them [quick note about the image references: I would have loved to give more, but there is a limit. Also: Apologies I have no alt text for the comic panels at this point, I might add them at a later stage if I find the time]…

Eros

That’s both sexual and romantic love (to varying degrees), and it can be fleeting (like a dream) if not anchored in a less idealised view. So there’s your first cue—he totally experiences that kind of love.

The Ancient Greeks also thought it was a dangerous type of love, one that clouds our judgment and one that won’t last if not combined with some of the other types. And Dream himself knows this and probably relates (he detests his sibling Desire for “meddling”, after all). And yet, he is the intangible, the ungrounded, the unreal.

It’s all over every single one of his relationships we witness:

Killalla—“gifted” by Desire. We never get any cue as to what exactly they were up to, but it can be assumed desire, for whatever, played a large part in their relationship. Killalla makes no secret about it either (and is at the same time uncertain whether she truly loves him while being confused Dream might actually love her after what seems a very short time, at least in cosmic terms). Suffice it to say, he has a very idealised view of her and their relationship. Romantic idiocy at its best: He has literal stars in his eyes and is so grateful for Desire’s help he is basically kissing their boots in gratitude.

Alianora—again one of Desire’s gifts. And Dream tried, and I definitely think he was at least romantically (and physically) attracted to her (the art is very hard to interpret otherwise, neither is the context--she was gifted by Desire, after all). But this relationship is generally a tricky one because there is gratefulness and guilt n the mix, and that is sometimes a very unfortunate combination. He also couldn’t fully trust her because of his deep mistrust of D/desire. And lo and behold, of course the relationship soured when romantic and (potentially physical) attraction waned.

Nada—pursuing each other on and off, broadcasting sexy time all over the Dreaming because he's just so head over heels and literally bursting at the seams—need I say more? Yes, he does say to her that her body does not matter to him, which I 100% believe is true. He also says that he will love her as no mortal man can. But everything that transpires is still deeply informed by romantic attraction, because quite frankly: You don't feel love yet after you've barely met someone. It's again a deeply idealised view and that is something inherently romantic in tandem (in this case) with physical desire. Again, because D/desire was involved.

As to the particulars of Nada’s banishment to hell, and why Dream acted so out of character compared to his other failed relationships: You can find all of it here.

Calliope—read her speech at the Wake is all I’ll say. That is someone making romantic love so integral to their whole existence, I don’t even know where to start. He puts the world at her feet and makes sure she always comes first (quite literally) while they are still loved up…

Thessaly—he's the romantic idiot (affectionately) in the rain with his coat billowing in the wind, and referring to her “weighing him dispassionately and finding him wanting”. It was only a handful of months--you don't feel true, stable love at that point. Again, it has the idealised view of romance (and potentially sexual desire) written all over it. He would have given her the world, just like he would have given the world to Nada and Calliope. That is the trope of every freaking romance novel, and that is exactly how he perceives love.

Titania—who knows, she keeps her mouth shut.

Ludus

I think he has a hard time to be flirtatious and playful (at least, we don't really see it. We never really see him during the courting stage, and what went down with Thessaly was hardly "flirtatious". `Then again, bickering like they did in A Game of You is electrifying to some, so who knows. She also said at his wake he was cautious and nervous). And if he comes across as flirtatious (there is a charming on that list of adjectives after all), it’s just because he is so deliberate in everything he does that he might just push someone’s (right) buttons, so to speak. But that’s not the same as “no strings attached”-love, because I honestly believe he’s incapable of experiencing love that way. There is no “casual” with him. He always stays attached to the people/women he once loved, even if the relationship sours. He still loves each and every single one of them, he never stops. But he also doesn’t in a way that’s sustainable, and it’s an unsolvable conflict due to what/who he is.

Philia

Most closely translated as friendship and affection. Platonic love, if you will. It is also a love between equals. He has a hard time with it and only slowly learns what it means through his relationship with Hob. Needless to say: The Ancient Greeks valued platonic love as one of the highest forms of love. Hence, I’m personally reluctant to turn it into something else/slant it towards romance, because that’s exactly what this part of the story is about: His relationship to Hob is important and grows/lasts because it is not romantic in the comics.

Storge

Unconditional love for family, especially children. Based on complete acceptance and potentially sacrifice. Doesn’t need to be reciprocated. You feel it, no matter what, and you act accordingly. And for Dream and Orpheus, that didn’t work until it did. Or, let’s rather say: I don’t want to assume he didn’t feel it. But he pushed it down in his hurt and pride (as did his son in his grief). No further comment, because that one hurts.

Agape

Altruistic, universal, all-encompassing. And that’s so deeply at the core of his being, and so central to his whole conflict that I don’t even know where to start. From not wanting to kill the first vortex (or Rose, for that matter), to telling John Dee he’s hurting the dreamers, and that being his main concern while he himself was writhing on the floor in agony, to “humanity I love you”, to a million other things. He cares so deeply, there is such a deep concern for sentient beings in their entirety that it’s quite literally impossible to call it anything other than love. And it’s also what plays a large part in his demise.

Pragma

Oh, here we go. I honestly believe he likes the idea of committed and long-lasting. And he’s trying. So very hard. Calliope is the best example. Alianora was another one, because it’s not like they broke up swiftly (hard to tell how long they lasted, but since she had stayed in the Dreaming too long to go anywhere else, it wouldn’t surprise me if we’re actually talking a very, very long time. He called it “a goodly while”, and considering how old he is, I doubt that equals only months, or even just a few years, especially since he is fully aware how short his relationship to Thessaly was). And he wanted to stay true to his promise. But he is who/what he is: the unreal. And as the personification of that, love both feels real for him but will also forever stay intangible. It’s heartbreaking really. Again, it has written the contradiction between romantic love (the ideal) and pragmatic love (the thing that is grounded in reality) written all over it.

Philautia

And that’s the most heartbreaking one. He is incapable of self-love and full of self-loathing instead. The Ancient Greeks used to say that you can’t give what you don’t have. And it’s hard to feel compassion for the flaws we perceive in others if we don’t have that self-compassion for the exact same flaw in ourselves. And that one hurts in so many ways, from his not being able to forgive himself (which is mirrored in his relationship to Nada, who also couldn’t forgive herself—she didn’t need his forgiveness, she needed her own) to Orpheus being so much like him apart from one major difference: he’s mortal in spirit, and even immortality doesn’t change that. And Dream struggles with the part of his child that is so like him for a million reasons that would burst this meta at the seams, but again: it’s hard to love in others what we detest in ourselves, knowingly or unknowingly.

So in short: The particular flavours of love Dream feels (Eros, Agape, Philia growing slowly over time) and the ones he doesn’t (Ludus, Pragma, Philautia) are also at the very root of how the story goes.

And when he finally truly understands what Storge/unconditional love is--both in the way he reassesses his relationship to Nada but especially in how he finally submits to his love for Orpheus (with all that entails)--and when he allows it to become real, it’s what tightens the noose around his neck. But that noose has been around his neck loosely all along…