I've read and reread @warriorstale001 's amazing fic "One Small Difference" twice now and this image stays glued in my head!! If you haven't already I highly recommend checking out this fic, it may not be complete but it absolutely rips your heart to pieces and is easily one of my favs <3
In my heart Nightmare is so sorry and the very next morning he goes to see Dream and immediately has a change of heart and they both go to therapy and Dream goes to the doctor 🧡
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Greetings!!! So... A thought... you know the OSD Stone Sleep au...
OSDiff Stone Sleep.
Dream in a weakened state in an au seeped in negitivity last time that happened he turned to stone. And this time... well he might not fight it. He can feel it and just lets it happen he's sick, scared and in pain... maybe being a statue isn't so bad after all.
Someone coming in to check on him. One of the boys for guard duty or Nightmare himself only to find Dream laying there nothing more then a statue... he looks... peaceful...
Well uh... Congratulations on finding what must be the one of the most depressing endings that OSDiff could possibly have... Because wow that is a sad idea you have come up with, my friend.
Of course I am very aware of the OSD Stone!Sleep AU by @calcium-cat but an OSDiff version?!
Where to begin...
First off... THE FACT DREAM JUST LETS IT HAPPEN??? Like WHOA that is so angsty and so dang sad... The idea Dream has just completely given up after what Nightmare has done so decides he's better off as a stone statue... YIKES!!! I will say tho that while OSDiff Dream is in a pretty poor state right now in the fanfic, I don't believe he has quite gotten to THIS level of despondence... He has some hope still (believe it or not) it's just buried underneath all the pain of what Nightmare just put him through. But for the sake of this AU, yes I am willing to accept that Dream is at the absolute lowest point he can go and thus decides he's better off as a statue.... The poor thing :/.
I still can't decide whether I'd prefer if its one of the boys who discovers Dream's statue or Nightmare himself. Because the boys discovering it first could lead to a scene where Nightmare is contemplating his actions from the Prologue in his office (think start of Chapter 1) and instead of Cross telling Nightmare he's sick, Dream is already a statue and Nightmare can do nothing but rush down to the dungeon to see for himself. So many emotions go through Nightmare's mind as he sees his statue there, confusion at first, denial and of course anger. This wasn't supposed to happen like this. He wasn't finished with Dream yet! He was still meant to be suffering, but instead he had chosen to turn back into a statue to avoid his wrath?! No... That wasn't fair to him! He had been planning this for so long, yet Dream had to go and ruin it just like that?! How could he do that to him?! Why did nothing ever work out the way he intended it too?! Now he'll never get his revenge on Dream... He'll never find peace or happiness. He stares at the statue for a while, lost in his own spiralling thoughts before he finally moves it to one of his tower rooms, locking the door behind him.
The most important thing to remember about this particular OSDiff Nightmare (and probably one of his most tragic traits) is that in this timeline, Dream's sudden change into a statue doesn't allow him to go through the character growth he would have gone through in the normal OSDiff timeline, meaning he is not yet at the point where he would want to mourn Dream or regret his actions despite what's happened. There is no connection, bonding or talking between brothers in this timeline, which leads this Nightmare to shove Dream to an almost untouched section of the hideout where Nightmare can simply attempt to forget about him. He's buried but still there, shoved to a section of the castle, just like the grief and loss shoved to the corner of his mind. Dream turning to stone is definitely a tragic aspect of this AU, but I also find Nightmare's lack of character growth and the fact he's never able to regret his actions just as tragic. He'd be lucky to ever feel true happiness again after Dream turns to stone in that timeline...
I swear I have so many ideas for this AU, especially because it has so much potential, but I just have no time to write them ugh :'(. If any of you wanna write your take on this scenario, though please feel free I would absolutely love to see that.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Prologue: An Eye for An Eye
In which Nightmare takes revenge against his brother, before realising a little too late that revenge might not be what he really wanted. Neither brother has a good time.
~~~
THE ANGST IS FINALLY HERE =3!!! Here's the beginning of One Small Difference for all of you to enjoy!
I really hope you enjoy OSDiff's prologue but please do take a look at the beginning notes (and tags) to check out the content warnings before reading this first, very angsty part of the story! The prologue will be the darkest chapter of the fanfic though so if you can get past that, then hopefully the rest of the fanfic will be a breeze for you!
Comments for the fanfic both on Tumblr and AO3 would be gratefully appreciated :3!
Thanks so much if you decide to check out the story, but regardless if you do or not, I hope everyone reading this has an amazing day ^w^!
Oh and thanks @calcium-cat for being a wonderful beta-reader, bestie!
Killer & Dust: doesn't like Dream being in the hideout cause its stressing Nightmare out
Dream being a prisoner: I would leave if I was able to... please just let me go I hate it here
Nightmare *visibly stressed out while talking to Dust and Killer*: How many times do I have to tell you both that Dream's presence in the hideout isn't bothering me at all?
Dust and Killer *exchanging looks before glancing back at Nightmare with a 'Seriously?' expression*:
Dream in the background *wishing he could be literally anywhere else right now.*
Well at least OSDiff Nightmare will be facing his denial sooner rather than later because of his actions... Unlike some hehe ;)
A drabble that takes place right after Nightmare returns to the cell after checking up on Horror in One Small Dream Chapter 2 and can be considered the start of the OSDiff story diverging from the OSD story.
Written by both me and @calcium-cat (who kindly gave me permission to use one of the flashback scenes from an OSD drabble of hers in this drabble, as well as the first line below, which is from OSD chapter 2 so I'm able to show where the two stories start to differ).
Warnings for angst (less than the Prologue) and implied torture (again related to what happens to Dream just before and during the Prologue).
Hope you all enjoy ^w^
Nightmare looked down at his twin.
Yes, it seems as though Dream is still lying unconscious as a result of the potion, having not moved an inch from the spot
where Nightmare left him when he went to check up on Horror per Cross’s request.
He nudges his brother’s motionless body with a tentacle, pleased to find Dream’s aura has completely faded from his
body, no longer burning him like it did before.
A huge grin forms on Nightmare’s face as he chuckles darkly to himself. Now he can really get started with his revenge.
But before that…
Nightmare slips a tentacle under Dream’s crown, pulling it rather harshly off of his skull right after. His brother won’t be needing that here in the cell and he certainly doesn’t want to see him wearing it every time he comes down here to punish Dream.
In fact… he should probably just get rid of it altogether, considering his brother lost the right to call himself their tree's guardian centuries ago. He doesn’t deserve to proudly wear the crown on his skull with a smile on his face everywhere he goes…
Nightmare opens a small shadowy portal in front of him that leads to the void, holding Dream’s crown just above it to drop it in. Once he lets go, the crown will be lost in there forever… never to be seen again…
…
He looks from the crown to his brother several times with a slight frown on his face, thinking over his decision to throw away one of Dream’s most precious possessions.
Hmm… maybe it would be better if he hangs onto the crown for now, instead of getting rid of it altogether like he originally intended and not because he has any attachment to the foul object in his hands himself of course…
Nightmare is sure the crown will be a valuable tool that he can perhaps use against his brother later. Then when his brother least expects it, he can dispose of the wretched thing as Dream watches on, powerless to stop him from destroying his beloved headpiece.
Yes… seeing his brother’s despair in that moment will surely make it worth the wait of holding onto in the meantime.
His mind made up, Nightmare closes his shadowy portal to the void and places the crown in his hoodie pocket for the time
being. Once he’s back in his room, he’ll throw the annoying object in the wardrobe with the other one…
He’ll decide how exactly he’ll use it against Dream later…
Nightmare looks down at his unconscious brother again, wondering what else he can take away from Dream to make his
stay in the cell even more unbearable.
The corrupted skeleton’s eye light lands on his brother’s gloved hands, causing a scowl to form on Nightmare’s face. Those
gloves give Dream a better grip on his infuriating bow, the same bow that has shot arrow after arrow into his corrupted body. They also tend to provide his brother’s hands and arms good protection during battles.
But they won’t be protecting them any longer while he’s here…
Nightmare quickly strips his brother of both his gloves, leaving Dream’s arms and hands completely bare. He then tosses these into the void, finding no reason to keep the gloves when he knows he won’t need these to potentially bribe Dream with.
With Dream’s gloves removed he’ll actually be able to see the damage he does to the bones on his arms later during his
revenge.
Now then… there’s just one more thing he needs to take care of before he can start his brother’s punishment.
Nightmare gently grasps Dream’s cape in one of his tentacles before pulling it over his brother’s skull.
Oh how he’s longed to rip his brother’s beloved cape to shreds for centuries, but all he had managed in that time was one large tear in the fabric that Dream had, of course, found a way of fixing when he started wearing his new outfit to their battles.
But now there’s nothing that can stop him from destroying the cape entirely so there won’t be even a thread of it left in
existence.
He holds it between his two hands, pulling a little in preparation to rip the delicate fabric in one strong, swift movement.
Nightmare peers down at the skeleton still lying unconscious on the ground. Dream will be waking up any moment now to see him tearing the cape apart and he won’t stop until there’s nothing left of it, no matter how much his brother begs and screams at him to stop.
It… shouldn’t be too hard to break it surely… just… one small tug should do the trick…
… So why can’t Nightmare move his arms to do the deed right
now…
…
…
Is it because of… that memory…?
“Okay… you can look now.”
Dream instantly opened his eyes, his sunny eyelights expanding in their wide sockets, and gasped.
"Oh wow, Nighty, it's beautiful!" he exclaimed with awed excitement.
"I thought you'd like it," Nightmare smirked as his brother took the blanket from him.
Dream wrapped it around his shoulders and nuzzled his cheek against it. "It's so soft…" he said, then added "Hey, look! It
makes a great cape too, see!"
He started to run in a circle around him, his "cape" trailing behind him in the wind.
Nightmare pressed a hand to his mouth and laughed, "It's not going to stay on."
Dream halted in front of him and frowned. “Oh yeah… oh! Wait-I got an idea…” Dream trailed off as he started fiddling with his
tunic clasp.
When he got it undone, he tried to use it to pin the blanket to his shirt collar and predictably struggled to do so, his browbone furrowing in frustration. While Nightmare thought it was a silly idea, he rolled his eyelights and stepped forward.
“Here, let me do it,” he said, stretching out his hands.
Dream agreed and let him try. It took a couple, but he eventually pinned both the clasp and corners to his brother’s collar. He adjusted the star pendant upright before standing back and giving his fidgety twin his space.
“There. Is that good?”
Dream lifted his arms out and started spinning this way and that, looking over his shoulder at the tail of his “cape” flapping behind him.
“It’s perfect!” he finally exclaimed, and Nightmare couldn’t help but smile at the pure happiness radiating from his brother.
Whether it was a “cape” or blanket, if it made Dream happy, that’s all that mattered.
Suddenly, Dream lunged at him, wrapping his arms in a tight embrace. Miraculously, Nightmare managed to remain upright,
and once the shock wore off, he returned the hug a touch more gently.
“Thank you so so much, Nighty, I love it, I really really love it…!”
…
…
…
As thoughts of the memory fade, Nightmare’s tentacles seem to move on their own, picking Dream slightly off the floor just enough so he’s able to slip the
cape back onto Dream’s shoulders without difficulty where it belongs.
Although a part of him still wants to ruin Dream’s cape… he knows he’s not quite ready to do that yet there’s too many
memories attached to it… and although painful to think about… he doesn’t want them to be destroyed with the cape just yet.
At some point during his revenge, he’ll make sure to take the opportunity to tear it to pieces… but just… not at this very
second… or soon for that matter.
Dream can keep it on him in the meantime… but only because he doesn’t want the damn thing cluttering up his wardrobe… not for any other reason…
As Nightmare fixes the cape so it sits correctly on Dream’s shoulders like before, his brother begins to stir, groaning
painfully as his eye sockets slowly flicker open.
Nightmare retracts his tentacles from Dream’s cape immediately, his eye light wide at the thought of his brother
figuring out what he was doing before he regained consciousness, but the other skeleton is still clearly too out of it to
realize what just happened… or to know where he is right now.
After a moment, Dream’s fuzzy eye lights meet his own, causing a puzzled yet exhausted frown to form on his twin’s
face as he squints up at him.
“N…Night…mare?”
The sound of Dream weakly calling out his name causes a malicious smile to form on Nightmare’s face as he narrows his eye socket to stare down at his brother.
“Rise and shine, Dream~.” Nightmare sneers at his twin, wrapping a tentacle around his waist and arms before shaking the clearly disoriented skeleton in an attempt to wake him up a little.
Dream whines in discomfort before trying to opens his eye sockets a little more, though they remain half lidded and droopy, making it look as if his brother is struggling to take in his surroundings right now. A side effect of the potion perhaps?
Well… that just makes things even easier for him.
His dazed brother held tightly in his grip, Nightmare starts to walk over to the far wall of the cell, where a number of chains have been left lying on the floor in preparation for his brother’s stay.
The corrupted skeleton’s smile becomes truly unhinged as he glances from his brother to those restraints, his eye light
flashing for a moment before he speaks to the other skeleton once more.
“Welcome to your new home for the next week Dream.” Nightmare smirks, making sure to make eye contact with his
brother as he does this and is rewarded when he sees Dream’s more focused eye lights shrink fearfully. “I’m sure you’ll have a dreadful stay here.”
Once he reaches the far wall of the cell, he drops Dream from his tentacles so that his brother falls onto the floor with a loud
thud, causing him to let out a cry of pain.
The sound is music to Nightmare’s skull.
He steps forward so that he’s towering above Dream’s pained and hunched over figure, casting a large shadow onto his
terrified twin.
Backed up against a wall and knowing now that his magic has been rendered utterly useless by whatever he had been forced to drink before falling unconscious, Dream can do nothing but stare up at Nightmare in pure fear. His mind races in horror as he thinks about what this corrupted version of his brother can do to him at this state. Just what does Nightmare have in mind for him here?
“Now then brother…” Nightmare grins widely, forcefully grabbing Dream’s left arm in one tentacle and a restraint in another, all while staring unblinking at his brother the entire time.
He almost can’t believe it…
His revenge…
It’s finally about to happen…
And he’s going to make sure it tastes so sweet.
“…I think it’s time we start having a little fun in here together… wouldn’t you agree...?”
~~~
Hope you all enjoyed!
Like I mentioned before, the flashback scene is from one of the extra drabbles written by calcium-cat for OSD, which I thought would work perfectly here to show why Nightmare just can't bear take the cape away from Dream. Also because the timelines in OSD and OSDiff are meant to be the same up until a certain point, it only makes sense that the flashback of Nightmare giving Dream his cape be the same in both stories.
Hope you're all excited for the next chapter of OSDiff which will be coming out in 9 days (yes, I'm counting down the days, but not just because of the chapter coming out ;3). I'll be sure to release a teaser at some point before then.
Feel free to ask me any questions about this drabble or the prologue over on AO3 if you wish. The ask box is always open ^w^
Thanks for reading down this far! Have a wonderful day!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Throws this chapter at you all HERE IT IS EVERYONE, THE NEXT OSDiff chapter you've been waiting for >:3!!! Its a pretty lengthy one too, so hope you like loooong chapters.
Usually I post chapters a little later in the day (which is around 4/5pm my time/GMT), but today is actually my birthday 🥳, so you're all getting this a little earlier :3. Because what better way to celebrate my birthday than with some good ol ANGST, am I right XD. The fluff can come later XP. I made these for you all too! Hands you a totally normal looking cupcake. I flavoured them with angst and sprinkled some reader's tears on top for a truly great taste uwu =3.
Thank you so much for your love and support on OSDiff <3 (seriously I am being FLOODED with so many new followers recently so hello to all of you ^w^/)! Hope you all have an awesome day!
Next update: February or March sometime hopefully!
