SwapDream!Nightmare smokes herbs and tea leaves and Dream smokes good ol' fashioned nicotine ☝️
Although SD!Nm is still older than Dream (I don't think he ever got frozen in stone like he did?) I'd say he'd probably still end up smaller due to the sheer malnutrition of a multiverse seeped in positivity. Feed the poor boy.
(Also, in contrast to SD!Dream's gigantic blocking-out-the-sun ass wings, I like to give SD!Nightmare very small, very clipped wings. You can imagine with how on the run he is that he doesn't get a lot of time to preen either :pp)
I've been absolutely itching to draw SD!Nm he's just such a wet cat. My pretty princess. There's a lot of content of SD!Dream interacting with both Dream and Nm and I've been real sad I couldn't find the same between SD!Nm and the others..
There's some real design tweaks in here now lol, I hope y'all enjoy them as much as I did 👀👀
,,
I fr though just love a Dream with the Absolute worst coping mechanisms. Man has the idea in his head to make the entire multiverse happy— that's prime throw-a-headcanon-at-it real estate.
My last two Novembmare posts will be pretty spread out from here on out, on acc of the two I've chosen are the only ones I can manage lol
I hope one day I can go back and do some of the scrapped ones in the future! I just really love rare-pairing up Nightmare 🤤🤤
as someone Utterly obsessed with Swapdream , i am Incredibly sick of the Infantilization and General Mischaracterization of Swad and his Character . Every time I Seek out swapdream Content , it' s typically done with the intentions of Fetishization -- which is Already Incredibly Common in this Fanbase -- and Needless dumbing down of his character .
( though i will state that some people characterize him / variations Wonderfully [ie. nightwatch by @/thaltro & weepingswap by @/hraeesvelgr ], but that Is Few and Far between )
i Heavily dislike Swapdream' s Canon , and i Despise song_a . that being Said , my Takes do have a bit of Bias behind them .
Some of the most Common Takes i See about Swapdream Dream and Nightmare are as follows :
- Swad is Stupid
- Swad lacks Morality / a Concept of Morals ( some instances of this being Very Severe)
- Swad has / would have Control over Nightmare ( Classic / Dreamtale )
- Swan Likes / Gets along With his Brother
- Swan is Emotionally Immature / "soft" / weak
Below i will Break all of These Down , using my Personal Opinion .
First of All , i Believe that the reason Swad as a Character is so Infantilized / Dumbed Down has to do with General Dream Infantilization . I won't get too into that , though.
stating that Swad is Stupid , in itself , feels like a Stupid Take to me . He is Depicted as a nearly Unstoppable Force very often , as someone who has Experienced Various culture in his Mission to Spread Positivity , of Which has lasted at least a Century . It's Logicless to Claim he' s stupid / Lacks sense it Discards his Entire Background and Mission . He' s smart Enough to pursue what he is Actively and Efficiently . i Believe a lot of this Is Intended to Fetishize him , Make him Easier to Understand / Less Complex to Easily pair Him with Others despite Contradictions .
next , the Constant Emphasis that Swad is Immoral / Would do Various . Heinous things . this is . Solely because of Romanticizing Villains , which i Also do but he Would Not go around killing people Just because they' re negative or . Whatever other reason these People Usually give , it' s literally impossible to Tell because They' re just doing it to Do It.
I Feel like People Constantly Disregard the Fact that Before Swad was ... Swad , He was Dream . i Genuinely Do not Believe that Swad would Just . Disregard who he Was , Sure He would take a Different Persona , a Facade , if you Would , but i don' t think he' d just be Completely Changed like he's Typically interpreted to Be . I' m not Saying the Incident didn' t change him Almost Entirely , it definitely Did , But the Assumption that he Doesn't Know what he' s Doing is Wrong is Heinous to me . How can he Believe that Everything he does is Correct when Signs of Failure are right in Front of him ? How is he Efficient in his work ? There are so many Contradictions with these kind of Characterizations , and It's the Kind that Create massive Gaps in Plot and Understanding for those who try to Understand him beneath a Surface Level . Sure , he may Practice Immoral ways of Spreading Positivity , but i Don't believe he' d just be .. Going Around killing Literally Everyone ? Why would He Even . Consider ? Death brings Negativity , that would be Clear to him . He would Know that .
Ok , THIS ONE Ruffles my Feathers . Because we' re making Swad Stupid , and then Claiming he' s Stronger than Nightmare ??? ?????? ? And in Some i See Swad having Outwit Him ?????? ? Ok . Swad definitely COULD be Stronger than Nightmare , but the way to Go About making this a Present Dynamic is Not to make Nightmare a Pathetic Bitchboy . he would Not Like Swad , He really Wouldn' t . i Believe he would be Extremely Intrigued , But i Don' t think he' d want to Risk any chances of Compromise and Swad wouldn' t even Get Close to him , Especially not without Nightmare being Sure he had the Upper Hand . He is an Incredibly Smart man , He wouldn' t Let Himself be Baited into Something like That . i Also believe that Swad wouldn't Like Nightmare .. At All . Once again , i Could See some kind of Curiosity from him , But he would Never let himself Enjoy the Presence of something that Goes Against his whole " Purpose " or Whatnot . i Do Think that he could Be Weaponized by Nightmare , As the Negativity he Feels from being in his Presence could Become Addicting due to his Altered State of Constant Positivity , But that' s about it .
starting to shifting Focus to Swan , i Constantly See them .. Shipped ? and Also just Generally Paired Together . i Genuinely , Wholeheartedly Believe that Swan would Hate Swad . i Really Do . i At Least Believe that He would be Scared of him , And would be Actively Avoiding Him unless Need be , such As swad Throwing off Emotional Balances & his Mind Control in Places with Large amounts of People . swan Subconsciously Believes that Swad is some kind of Curse , tied to Him , that they're Bound Forever and it is His Fault . Of course he Doesn't Enjoy his presence . this Also comes hand-in-hand with swad .. Chasing him , he Made himself this way , Something Better , for HIM ! to Swad , his State is Both Damning and Divine . sure , His mental state is Obscured and he knows it , but he' s Also something Beautiful . Something Divine . he Protected his Brother , and it Worked ! why Wouldn't He want to See him ? Praise him , Fall at his Feet and Thank him for what he' s done ? of Course , Deep Down , Suppressed and Buried , he Knows why . But the Feeling , The Acknowledgement is .. Distant , Repressed , it's Nearly Impossible to come to Terms with when your mental State is Corroded with Pure Positivity .
in those Aforementioned Depictions where they Act as if they Love each other , That they Get Along so well , swan is often Seen as something cute and Weak , So in the Scenarios where he Doesn' t Necessarily Enjoy his Presence , Swad can Force him into Such a State , or take Advantage of his fear . once More , we See the Massive Problem with romanticization .
i Hate to break it to you all , But Swan is not a weak Pathetic Cute " little guy " . he Is , 1 , a grown Man , and 2 , Actively working Independently for the Greater Good of those around Him . he is Strong enough to Mend quite a bit of Swad' s Damage , if he was so Emotionally Fragile do you Genuinely Believe he' d have the Proper mindset to function so Well ? he is Definitely WEAKER than swad , but He Himself is not weak .
Ok . I think that's all . LOL . i did Not intend this to be So Long . Ok . if you Made it This far , Thanks , Much Appreciated c:
Can you give us a lore dump about any of your ocs?¿ I love hearing about them <3
Nimh technically isn't my original character, but her presence in my swapdreamtale is primordial.
One thing I noticed is the Tree of Feelings isn't exactly mentioned in ANY of the original works of swapdreamtale, or barely appears a background for flashbacks???
The OG Nim is barely discussed already, which is kind of sad considering she is the entity who brought Dream and Nightmare to life???? But at the same time that leaves A LOT of space for headcanons and personal interpretations.
Since swapdreamtale is my current brainrot, I am dibs on the forgotten SwapDreamtale Nim, Nimh.
This post is going to be a bit longer than usual, so before anything, lemme give the credits to the people I need to give it to:
Swapdreamtale by litemong and song_a
Original Dreamtale by jokublog
Nimh, like Nim, is the original guardian of the Tree of Feelings (which I am just calling ''Tree'' to keep it short)
Nimh was the first one. Nobody - not even the twins - know how she was made. Perhaps she was a creation of the Tree just like Swad and Swan, or maybe some person/entity who was chosen to protect the Tree, or even a conscious part of the Tree itself?(I suppose the last one is the most accepted explanation for this, but I am going to keep things up to YOU, fellow reader, to think of)
Regardless being the Tree herself or not, she was the only guardian for ages. Being a god-like creature just protecting a big apple tree for thousands of years in the heart of a very big and dense forest... it is an important chore, but it sure gets boring after a while. Besides, as much as she hates to admit it, her attention spam and overall magic got harder and harder to control properly.
She, unlike Nim, decided herself it was time to "retire" and become one with the Tree for now and always... but to do that, she had to find someone to be in her place. After all, who would protect her and the apples?
That is how she creates the twins - Nightmare and Dream.
The new guardians are taught what to do -more or less, as being fused with a tree has its limitations, you know? She swears she did her best. For years things were peaceful, with the twins doing exactly what she told them to.
Until one day...society starts growing inside the forest, taking down all the nature that served as a barrier of protection to the Tree besides the twins.
It is no secret Nimh thinks of mortals as lowly ones. She never was seen by anyone other than the twins and elder entities ofher past. Ever.
Meanwhile Nightmare is hostile towards the newcomers, Dream is willing to let them stay, kind of curious about them, as he never talked to anyone else but his brother and mother.
Nimh gets displeased by this. It is when she starts preferring Nightmare over Dream - literally just because he refuses to leave the Tree alone.
The more Dream gets along with the villagers, the less she interacts with him, to the point of her only appearing to Nightmare and making sure he won't let his mind get persuaded like his brother's.
Of course, this upsets Dream. He knows why his mother is ignoring him, but at the same time he likes the time spent with the villagers. His relationship with Nightmare gets a bit tight, as he gives Nimh reason - mainly because the villagers bully him, not because of the whole guardian thing.
The very first time Nimh will appear for Dream in years will be in a very, very unfortunate occasion...
