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:
