#fluttadust

Nightmare Sans Lore Rant

When it comes to Nightmare, I have some qualms with his lore. The biggest one is the evil human spirit that corrupted him.

Nightmare being possessed by an evil human spirit never sat right with me, because he never needed someone to push him into eating the black apples in the first place. Nightmare had all the right motives to make that decision himself. He was othered, bullied, depressed, lonely, and was always favored over (and compared to) his brother Dream, which led him to contaminate the golden apples in the first place.

Side Tangent: The guy doesn’t even get his own name. He was only named Nightmare because he was the “opposite of Dream.”

To me, having the evil human spirit manipulate Nightmare into eating the black apples takes away Nightmare’s agency. Sometimes good people make bad decisions when they’re pushed to their limits. Why couldn’t the same be for Nightmare?

Another issue I have with the evil human spirit is that it takes away the tension in Dream and Nightmare’s relationship and replaces it with a traditional good vs evil trope, with the antagonist being a random human guy, who we barely know, wearing Nightmare’s skin.

Having a brother vs brother war would’ve been more impactful because it’s a conflict that runs deeper than the pursuit of restoring the balance between positivity and negativity. It’s personal. Familial.

Seeing Dream trying to reconnect with Nightmare while also trying to save the multiverse would’ve been intense and engaging for me, whether or not he failed. So I’m disappointed that this story element wasn’t in the original comic.

My Take on Nightmare Sans

In case I post more art of Nightmare, here’s a short explanation of my interpretation of him.

The human who killed Nim simply passed away after Nim defeated him. So when Nightmare picked the first black apple from the tree, he never heard a voice coaxing him into eating it. Seeing the townspeople grow angry and hostile towards Nightmare ignited his desire to eat the apple out of fear and anger towards the village.

So when Nightmare ate the first black apple, his being was corrupted by the apple itself. It intensified his negative emotions to the point that they fully consumed him and turned him into a darker version of himself who resented his brother and wanted revenge on the village that made his life a living hell. So Corrupted Nightmare and Passive Nightmare are the same person in my reimagining.

Extras

I like to think that the magical apples can intensify or unlock your truest feelings. So when Nightmare and Dream ate them, it gave them the ability to manipulate people’s emotions themselves.

Also, how did the apples turn into souls when Dream and Nightmare ate them? I never understood how that worked.

What do you think?

Let me know what y’all think. I loved to read your opinions about this. I rarely see people talk about this aspect of Nightmare’s backstory.

WRAITH (REAPER SANS)

Lonely older brother who’s too hard on himself. The only people he hangs out with are Phantom, Alphys, Toriel, and Grillby.

As the God of Death, the other gods find Wraith intimidating, intense, and unapproachable due to his dark aura. They often avoid him, which has made Wraith touch-starved.

Despite being touch-starved, Wraith doesn’t like being touched. It’s overstimulating and reminds him that he can only destroy and not create. Occasional small touches are okay, but prolonged ones are not. This will deeply distress him unless he initiates the act himself. Consent is mandatory; he does not like being surprised.

Wraith has ice powers. His bones are ice cold, and his touch produces a frost/rot effect, radiating a chilling fog similar to dry ice. The magic of his fog can instill fear into your soul and freeze you in place. If you feel an unbearable cold surround you, he is near (hence why people feel cold when they die). Touching him will give you frostbite and gangrene.

Though he can be distant and intimidating, Wraith is kind at heart. He loves to chat with his friends but is mostly a listener.

Despite having a complicated relationship with the concept of life, Wraith enjoys hearing Toriel’s teachings on it. Her garden is his sanctuary from judgmental gods and his favorite place to chat and crack jokes with one of his best friends.

As a nerd himself, Wraith loves to visit Alphys’ laboratory to discuss science-related topics such as biology and physics. Listening to her ramble about her inventions is one of his favorite pastimes.

Whenever a break is needed, Grillby’s bar is the place Wraith often visits to wind down. But only after hours, since his aura tends to kill the mood. Thankfully it allows for comforting and meaningful conversations with Grillby.

He also loves to relax in trees, lie in flower fields, and stargaze when not working.

Wraith is a gentle lover too. Sometimes he has the desire to touch others but often resorts to other displays of affection instead, such as gift-giving and quality time.

He is a very hard worker and can be socially awkward sometimes. Especially when he’s off the job or with someone he likes.

When he opens up to others, Wraith likes to show his playful and mischievous side.

PHANTOM (REAPER PAPYRUS)

Tired younger brother who’s trying his best. He hangs out with Wraith, Undyne, Alphys, and Flowey.

Phantom is an outgoing and kindhearted person. Though people may not treat him with kindness, he will in return out of respect and faith in others.

Phantom tries his best to befriend the other gods but often fails due to his boisterous personality, godhood, and diet. Though he’s considered giving up many times, he refuses! This man is DETERMINED to make friends!

Phantom feeds off of immortal blood. He can eat other foods, but they don’t provide as many nutrients as immortal blood does, which he gets from animals in the god realm. His second favorite food is fruit, especially apples.

He’s also touch-starved, but he loves physical affection and longs for it.

Phantom has fire powers. His bones are scorching hot, and his touch produces a burn effect, radiating an intense heat. The magic of his heat quickens your heartbeat and drains your energy. Ashes surround his body, and if you feel an unbearable heat surround you, he is near (hence why people feel hot when they die). Touching him will give you third-degree burns and melt your skin.

Phantom is a chatterbox as opposed to Wraith and gets even more chatty when he talks about something he’s passionate about.

#1 Undyne fanboy. He deeply admires her and wants to carry out his role as the God of Death with pride like she does, despite how demoralizing his job can be and what people think of him and his brother. He hopes this will instill hope, not only in himself but in Wraith as well. He often spars with Undyne to learn new skills, keep his wits sharp, and have fun. He hopes to befriend her someday.

HUGE Mettaton fanboy. Ever since that nymph made a name for himself through his performances, Phantom has been HOOKED ever since. He’s got a big celebrity crush on Mettaton.

Is fascinated by the concept of creation and often visits Alphys’ workshop for the latest updates on her inventions. He tends to ask her thousands of questions which can be overwhelming for the poor lizard.

Phantom is a passionate lover. He’s loud and proud about how much he loves and enjoys the company of his family and friends.

Loves talking to a special flower about his adventures in the mortal realm. :)

SHARED ABILITIES & RELATIONSHIP

Wraith thinks the world of Phantom and sees him as the "good side of death" because Phantom handles his job with strength, empathy and pride. He doesn’t let his role as a god define who he is as a person, as opposed to Wraith.

Phantom admires Wraith’ patience, gentleness, and composure. He wishes Wraith could see the good in himself, like he can, and does his best to uplift his brother when his spirits are low.

Although Phantom and Wraith’s touch can kill, it doesn’t affect gods, only mortals.

Both reapers take their jobs seriously and carry the burden of it together.

When a soul is reaped, it is absorbed and carried inside their weapons until it’s released into the underworld.

Phantom and Wraith both judge the souls they've reaped. Phantom specializes in seeing the good in people, while Wraith specializes in seeing the bad. Together, they balance each other out to make an objective decision on a soul’s fate. Sometimes there are souls that fall into a gray area that require further discussion, which can lead to heated arguments between the two.

They can create apparitions of themselves to be in multiple places at once when working. This is because death is all around us, so they’re always working and never in one place at a time.

Whenever more power is needed, Phantom and Wraith fight together; otherwise, they work alone to cover more ground.