I saw somewhere (here on Tumblr but I don't remember from who) that the creator of Dreamtale apparently wanted Driller to become canon at some point. And, I gotta say, I don't think that relationship would be healthy for Killer.
Here's my thing, Dream is very focused on helping his brother and getting his brother back. And Killer is a paranoid fucker who for very good reason thinks everyone is out to use him.
How would Dream ever be able to convince Killer that he isn't using him to get closer to Nightmare? How would he ever convince him that his kindness and affection don't have ulterior motives?
With Color it's a lot easier because Color isn't really affiliated with Nightmare in any way. Like, I don't think he'd leave him to die if he found him injured somewhere, but I also don't think he'd be going out of his way to try and help him. And definitely not as publicly as Dream does.
Like, how could Killer ever truly feel safe in that relationship? And that's without considering the fact that power corrupted Nightmare, but he started as Dream's twin. Meaning that Dream theoretically has just as much capacity to become corrupted as Nightmare did. And he's powerful (of course, Color himself isn't weak, but, again, his powers are further removed from Nightmare's), would Killer wanna risk ending up trapped simply under a different apple twin? I mean, maybe, he doesn't exactly have that many self preservation instincts. But would he be truly happy with that choice?
I also don’t think it’d help Dream either. Dream is constantly on the move, keeping ahead of Nightmare, trying to keep that last golden apple safe. He cannot provide the stability Killer needs because everyone else is always pulling him in different directions and his duty as the Guardian of Positivity would understandably be placed above Killer. It is important.
Color isn’t exactly known for staying in one spot either, but he is consistent and committed to Killer in a way Dream simply cannot afford to do. Not at the cost of everyone else, Dream has a lot of responsibility, or at least he may feel he does. I wouldn’t doubt he struggles to maintain a “work” and personal life balance, whereas Color does not have this type of responsibility to the Multiverse.
The only responsibility Color has to anyone or anything except Killer is the six human souls. Aka six dead children he has absorbed and will spend the rest of his life taking care of, alongside Killer. This will be a terribly exhausting thing and huge responsibility, and Color understands that, but he’s willing and able to take the commitment. And he has friends to support and help him.
Would Dream be able to handle it or understand when Killer is cued or triggered? Would he be able to understand when he refuses to eat, or manipulates, or acts out, when killer tests and pokes and prods at him. Would he be able to understand willing vs conditioned submission, would he be able to understand dissociation and fawn responses.
Would he rely on his empathy abilities far too much when doing so won’t get him nowhere with Stage 2, and could potentially have effects on Nightmare’s own emotional conditioning of Killer.
Would he be able to understand how killer can be a threat to himself or others—his desensitization and comfort with violence and self mutilatation. Whenever Chara starts whispering and Killer starts feeling watched, judged.
A sense of impending doom if he doesn’t do what Chara wants. A sense that it’ll all be Reset if he doesn’t keep up the Deal, and none of this will matter in the end.
Would he be able to understand the pure intensely of Stage 1’s emotions—which could lead to self destructive breakdowns when he feels like he doesn’t deserve kindness or happiness or safety or even the right to exist.
Stage 4’s inclination towards self destruction at any sign or fear of being restricted from fulfilling the Deal, any sign of failure—which while inevitably happen because Dream cannot allow Killer to go around killing people.
Would Dream be able to understand why Stage 4 will feel it has to—wants to—die if it can’t kill people or destroy worlds—because that wouldn’t make sense to anyone, but that’s what it looks like from the outside.
Stage 4 wouldn’t explain what’s going on internally—it would think Dream should already understand if he’s a handler, or that it is unimportant that he understands if hes not a handler—so long as it’s done.
Would Dream be able to accept Killer as he is without feeling the need to look for something “good” in him all the time. He’s afraid of Killer when he’s in Stage 2—even him going to touch him caused Dream to get scared.
Killer has hurt Dream before, and doesn’t feel remorse and I’m sure Dream can sense that—but he keeps looking for something “positive” and “good” in Killer.
Color doesn’t really care if Killer is good or not, he doesn’t need him to be—and he didn’t need to sense any positive emotion from Killer to tell he needed help or is capable of change or is secretly a “good person” deep down.
Killer asked for help, he asked to be saved, and so Color is helping and saving. He expressed a desire for change, a want to get and be better—but more importantly, that he wanted out.
And of course, Killer will think Dream is trying to use him to get to Nightmare. Stage 2 always does think of himself as something for others to use—a tool, a weapon, a resource.
But whereas Color can easily argue back that he really doesn’t gain any benefit from helping Killer besides a friend and a feeling of happiness/purpose, Dream will always have a benefit from trying to save Killer.
Save Nightmare, find out more about Nightmare, use Killer against Nightmare, take Killer off the field and away from Nightmare’s grasp so he cant be used as a weapon against the Multiverse. These are all noble goals that anyone would understandably have, but to Killer—it’s still using him.
Color is in position to uniquely challenge Killer’s worldview and the time and resources needed to dedicate to him. Dream has a lot more going on, a war to win. A brother to save. People to protect. The poor man will be running himself into the ground taking on more than he can handle.
