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#NebWrites
itmightbeneb · 1 year
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Happy @dreblrtine-gift-exchange to @vicheers!! Hope you enjoy this! (dm me your ao3 username if you want it gifted over there as well ^-^)
Summary:
While Punz is undercover as a member of Sam's royal guard, Dream gets captured. Now he has a new goal, break his prince out. It'll take months, but he has to get him out of there and away from Quackity.
Before they can get Dream out, though, they are invited to take part in one of Quackity's sessions.
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itmightbeneb · 1 year
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Syndicate Baking Club
Summary:
Niki has learnt much from Technoblade, and she intends to return the favour, and so invites Techno over to her underground city to learn how to bake. First lesson: Muffins!
Actual recipe used is included at the end
This was for the @technoblade-gift-exchange for @insomniwillow!
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itmightbeneb · 1 year
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a snippet, as promised, for my latest fic
tw for blood and mentions of torture
The room was a mess, bloodstains covered the obsidian walls and floor, tools of torture lay scattered around the room. There was a single glowstone block for light, in the middle of the ceiling above the only other piece of furniture in the room: a chair. A chair, Punz noted, that had someone tied to it.
Dream lifted his head when the two entered the room, he refused to let on that he knew Punz. His hair was dirty, brown with the lack of sunlight, a long wavy mess. His beard had grown, longer than Punz knew he liked it to be, his skin was pale, his eyes dull green instead of the fiery emerald Punz remembered. His Prince’s sharp edges had been dulled down, broken off, shattered. Punz refused to think about it, this was just another prisoner.
“Brought another pet to do your work for you?” Dream asked, letting a sly smile spread across his face. He looked insane, but then the torture had been going on for months, Punz guessed he must be insane at this point.
Quackity punched Dream in the face. Punz held back a comment on originality. Dream cried out, and as much as it hurt Punz to hear his prince in pain, he schooled his face into indifference. There was more of this to endure, he couldn’t break now, he was so close to getting him out of here.
Punz circled the two, taking note of the obvious injuries Dream had. There would be more, ones that would reveal themselves once these healed, or when he started moving again.
“And what are you looking at?” Quackity asked Punz, who shrugged.
“Never seen a prince before."
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itmightbeneb · 2 years
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Say no to Netherite
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AO3
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12
amazing cover made by @simplepotatofarmer
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itmightbeneb · 2 years
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Say no to Netherite 9
First , Prev , Next
TW: Same as before
Digging had been backbreaking work under Sam, and when Quackity said he was taking over as manager for a project, Dream had at first been thankful; that didn’t last long. Ever since Slime died, ever since Quackity thought that he had let Slime die, Dream’s workload had increased.  He could have saved Slime, he had come so close, but Dream knew his efforts had only made the man go mad in his sorrow. Slime could have been saved, not by Quackity himself, but by the person he hated the most. And even he had failed.
Dream and Foolish had been made to construct a bunker under Las Nevadas, a place safe from Purpled, and any allies he may have. Dream had no choice but to pour hours of his time into the thing.
He had been digging and building one of the many rooms when he heard Quackity talking to Foolish, theorising about who he could possibly be allied with. Chests full of building materials were exchanged for cobblestone as Dream put together the room from the plan Quackity had provided him, written entirely in Foolish’s handwriting. 
“Technoblade maybe?” He heard Quackity say, speaking in a low tone to avoid being heard, unsuccessfully.
“Why Techno?” Foolish asked, also trying to keep his voice quiet, but failing even harder than Quackity.
“He hates governments, and he has a favour he owes Dream.” Quackity snapped back.
“Ahh, yeah that makes sense, actually,” Foolish said, “But, if you don’t mind me asking, why does he owe Dream a favour?” 
Dream smiled despite himself, he could picture the scowl on Quacktiy’s face. But before long, he got back to work, he couldn’t be caught slacking off, not with everything else going on.
Only when it was done did Dream find out its true primary function: housing Slime’s body. 
It was moved into the bunker, one whole room dedicated to the man. Quackity came in to talk to him from time to time, clinging to the theory that he was just in between lives. Dream hoped he was right about Slime not being fully dead, Quackity would really be pissed off if Dream was wrong. His words echoed off unhearing walls. 
The bunker (Quackity’s one, Dream wondered if he should change the name of the bunker he met his allies in to make it easier to remember) had an eerie atmosphere, the knowledge of why it was made weighed the air down, gave it a musty quality that no amount of ventilation could fix. This was their last escape if Purpled came back, if he brought allies. But once it was done, life almost went back to normal. Almost, Dream had been given more shifts, and he could never quite shake the exhaustion from his bones. Late nights and early mornings became his normal routine, enough that Fundy had even tried to sneak him out just to get him some sleep, only to be caught by Foolish, who sent them both back to their posts with a “Be glad I’m not Quackity.”
One other new thing was the increased number of late night entertainment sessions he and Quackity provided. More people had started coming, Las Nevadas was quickly becoming a popular tourist destination. One time Dream had even managed to spot Sapnap in the crowd, causing him to get distracted enough to get hit by the Pillager he had been forced to fight.
The roar of the crowd allerted him to his mistake before the pain hit. Cheers sounded from the plush red velvet chairs as his blood stained the coarse sand. Iron bars dug into his back, he could run away no longer.
Dream jumped, ready to hit a crit, and swung the wooden axe down onto the pillager, then ducked away before the Pilliager’s superior weapon could hit him again. 
He scrambled back towards the middle of the cage, always on the defensive. 
He had to be defensive outside of these cage fights as well, all whilst trying his best to stop whatever Quackity or Sam had planned, trying desperately to find any way out of the hellhole of labour they had made for him. At least he had allies now, that was one thing he could count on. Not just Punz and Techno, but Fundy as well, Phil was happy to help as long as Techno was on board. And while Purpled hadn’t been seen since Slime’s death, and despite everything that had come because of that, Dream was thankful he thought Dream could help at least a little in making Quackity’s life hell. 
The Pillager advanced again, iron axe held up, but this time Dream was ready. He grinned despite knowing nobody could see it, the mandated smile mask hiding his true emotions always, hiding his true intentions.
He knew that despite this, Sapnap would be able to tell, the man who used to be his brother could read him like a book, or at least that’s what Dream had always thought. With recent revelations though, he doubted that was true anymore. But then that had been part of Dream’s plan, it was by design that Sapnap didn’t know him anymore. So Dream acted as he would months ago, when there had just been a few people on the server, when he could have relied on the fiery man to be at his side for anything.
Cocky grin on his face, confidence in his steps, Dream held out his own axe, ready to strike.
The pillager came at him, leaving tracks in the bloodstained sand.
But before it could do anything, Dream hit. One crit to its face, Dream sidestepped the returning attack only to deliver another crit to its side.
The pillager erupted into a cloud of smoke, dropping the iron axe that Dream then held up in victory. 
The crowd booed, as expected. They wanted blood, they wanted him to hurt, they wanted him dead. And while they knew Quackity wouldn’t let him die, not yet anyway, they had been promised a show, a show Dream wasn’t giving them. 
So Dream prepared himself for the next wave of mobs, looking expectantly at the piston door Dream himself had helped build, waiting to give the crowd what they wanted. 
The hiss of pistons sounded, the next wave was about to appear.
But, instead of more pillagers, or skeletons, or even a ravager, there was just a single man. Quackity. Holding a chair. 
Dream took a step back as Quackity walked to the centre of the cage and placed the wooden chair down. 
“Sit down,” Quackity said, his voice low, sounding like he did all those months ago in the prison.
“But-”
“Sit down, Dog,” Quackity commanded.
Dream sat down. 
Rope was tied around his wrists, securing him in place. Dream could only sit and wait for what was to come. 
“Hey fellas!” The crowd cheered, “Look, this man, Dream, the prisoner, has hurt everyone here! He’s hurt everyone! And while I’m sure you’re all very happy watching him get beat up by random mobs,” Quackity paused to let the crowd cheer again, “I think you guys deserve better!” He grabbed Dream by his hair, taking off his mask to let everyone see his fear, “So, for the first time, I want to invite you to enter the cage, I want to invite you to give this tyrant what he deserves. For only a few diamonds, you can have your way with him for a few minutes, rules do unfortunately apply.” 
Quackity walked to the front of the cage, towards where the majority of the crowd were seated, and broke two of the iron bars to get out. Dream could only sit and watch as people came up to Quackity, diamonds in hand. Sapnap was first in line. 
Diamonds were exchanged and Dream watched in disbelief as Quackity gave a small talk to Sapnap, a briefing, instructions. Boundaries set for him, on how best not to permanently injure Quackity’s property. 
“Our first friend is up!” Quackity announced as he walked back into the cage, Sapnap following behind. The crowd cheered as Quackity held his hands out to them, welcoming the energy.
Sapnap just stood there, staring at Dream. They both kept their expressions cold, devoid of anything that could give their thoughts away to the other. 
“The tyrant’s old best friend, Sapnap! They used to be brothers, who else better to introduce Tommy’s murderer to his new life.”
Dream smiled at that, if they wanted a bastard to beat then he’d let them have one. He could be their monster, their murderer, if it helped them sleep at night after everything they did. Sapnap didn’t bother looking at the crowd, but let his disgust show. 
His fist landed in Dream’s face.
The crowd roared as blood trickled down from Dream’s nose, as he laughed. He laughed and leaned as far forwards as he could in his bounds, smirking at Sapnap. The metallic taste of his own blood creeped its way into his mouth as he opened it to speak.
“Long time no see, brother,” he greeted, reminding Sapnap that no matter how much he tried to distance himself from Dream, they were brothers. Everything Dream had done was done in part for him, for Sam, for Quackity even. They had betrayed him, yes, especially Sam, but they were still his family, still worth saving.
Another fist, this time in his stomach. 
Dream gasped as the air escaped his lungs.
This was how it was going to be huh. He gritted his teeth and refused to cry out, refused to give them the satisfaction. He may be their monster but he wasn’t going to go down easily.
Quackity walked behind, holding Dream’s shoulders to keep him back, giving the crowd a better look. He was the show after all, the star attraction, come and see the server’s villain get hurt and ignore the suffering outside.  Sapnap knelt down, becoming eye level with Dream.
“What kind of freak are you? Call me brother again, I fucking dare you,” Sapnap said brother with such disgust, spitting the word out like it was a fruit gone bad.
“To be fair,” Dream started, and Sapnap turned in disgust, “you are my brother, you always will be. You really think anything could change that?” 
Sapnap punched him again. 
Dream finally broke, groaning in pain. And for the first time since he had entered the cage, Sapnap’s expression changed. A smirk of satisfaction, a hint of regret. 
Dream spat blood in Sapnap’s face. 
“Oh you motherfucker!”
Sapnap stood up fully again, looming over Dream. More fists came, more cheers came. The sound of the crowd faded into the background as the roar in Dream’s ears. 
For a moment it stopped, and Sapnap stood back to admire his work. Dream knew how he must look, he could feel a black eye forming and his nose was broken, again.
Dream hurt, his head felt light, he tapped his foot twice, trying to signal to Quackity that he needed to stop, that he had reached a limit. It wasn’t certain if Quackity would listen, but with Dream now an employee it was sometimes more useful to keep him able and moving. 
Quackity stopped holding Dream back, and moved towards the front of the cage again. 
“Fellas, I’m sure you all enjoyed that very much, but unfortunately we do have to keep him alive and going, so could we all give a massive applause to Sapnap!” The crowd followed Quackity’s instruction, “You too can have your chance later don’t you worry! But if you would now all please make your way to the exit while we clean this bitch up.”
Sapnap hadn’t moved. 
Quackity came back to where the two were standing, going to untie Dream. When he was done, Dream slowly stood up, bringing him face to face with Sapnap. His whole body ached thanks to the smaller man, and he was pretty sure he had a concussion. He grinned down at Sapnap, showing off his now bloodstained teeth. 
“What?” Sapnap spat, glaring up at Dream.
“Thank you, brother, you know how much I love putting on a show.”
Dream could do nothing to stop the next punch from landing, his mind already too cloudy, he could do nothing to stop his vision turning to black.
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Quackity watched as Dream fell.
This was going to be a pain, he'd have to start vetting who got to have a turn better. He'd been so excited to see Sapnap have a go, not just for the marketing opportunity but because it had been so long since he had seen his fiancé. The piston door opened and Fundy rushed in. 
"Take him away, he'll need healing," Quackity ordered, not bothering to look away from Sapnap. He looked good with Dream's blood on his knuckles, Quackity wondered if he would look as good in the same position, if he had looked as good. He hoped he did. 
Quackity didn't watch as Fundy tried his best to drag Dream's unconscious body away, didn't watch as Foolish came in to help carry the prisoner, didn't look away from Sapnap until they were the only two left in the room. Only then did Sapnap speak. 
"Hey, uh, sorry for the trouble," he said while scratching the back of his neck. He was so cute when he was nervous. 
"No worries, babe, no worries at all!" Quackity replied, "But where have you been, I haven't seen you in ages."
"We've been at Kinoko, you know Kinoko," Sapnap said, life suddenly coming back, his vacant stare was gone and instead he was looking at Quackity with a mix of excitement and confusion. 
"Hmm," Quackity hummed, he had heard of Kinoko Kingdom, yes, he hadn’t heard why he hadn’t been invited, "I've heard of Kinoko, I didn't know you were there. Come, let's get some air, let me show you what I've made for us."
Quackity led the way outside, via the service exit to avoid the crowd overhearing their conversation, and into the winter night. Cold air and neon lights greeted them and Quackity could see their breaths forming clouds. 
"Us?" Sapnap asked eventually, having paused for the journey outside. 
"Yes! This, Sapnap, all of this for us, all of this for you and Karl," Quackity said, turning to Sapnap. 
"Why didn't you come to Kinoko with us?" He asked. Sapnap avoided Quackity's eyes, was that guilt? or just sheer nervousness? Sapnap shouldn't be nervous around him, Quackity thought, they were going to get married after all. 
"I never got an invitation, I- I didn't know you two were there until today," he lied. 
"Karl invited you!" Sapnap said, becoming defensive, "He must have, it's us two and George, obviously we'd invite you."
Quackity frowned, taking a step away from his fiancé. Sapnap held out his hand slightly, a signal that he wanted to be closer to Quackity, to the man he had barely seen these past few months. Quackity ignored him. 
"Why didn't you come to get me?" Quackity asked, voice quiet. 
"I didn't even know you were here until today!" Sapnap said defensively, "I didn't know Dream was either, how the hell did you manage that? Listen, I don't know what's going on, why he's here, why you're here, but I want you back. I miss you, we already have a house for you in Kinoko. And, like I get if you want to stay here, it looks… amazing, really, but I'd love for you to see Kinoko."
"Did you even try to find me? Or did you leave that one up to Karl?" Quackity asked. 
"Of course I did! I followed every rumour to try and find you." Sapnap said, throwing his hands out.
"Don't lie to me!" Quackity shouted, "Fucking Punz found out about this before you did, Punz! He's never even around anymore, has something going on with that fucking stupid egg Bad's fucking with and is fucking about with that valorant thing."
“Valorant?” Sapnap said in disbelief, “The egg’s gone Quackity, why would that hold him back, you dealt with the egg!”
“I have been here for months, Sapnap, I’ve been here for months while you three did fuck all to find me, I’ve seen George, talked to him even, he didn’t say shit, didn’t invite me to Kinoko. You guys made a new country and didn’t even fucking tell me! I had to bump into George randomly to find out! Not you, not Karl, not the people I’m supposed to be fucking marrying!” 
“Babe, I’m sorry-”
“Don’t fucking babe me, Sapnap,” Quackity interuppted, “You lost that right when you fucking abandoned me!” 
“If that’s how it’s going to be,” Sapnap said, turning to leave, “I’ll leave your country in peace, I don’t want there to be any more bad blood between us.”
Quackity reached out to Sapnap, held him back from leaving.
“You’re not leaving, you damaged my property, you went against my instructions and now you have to pay up,” He had been willing to let it go, had been willing to let Dream take the fall, for Sapnap. But with Dream out of action for a while now, Sapnap had cost him a lot of income, and protection. 
“What?” Sapnap asked, brushing Quackity off with ease.
“You owe me, Sapnap, you owe me for all the money Dream was going to make me. Property damage. Sam’ll be pissed as well and he is not someone you want to piss off right now,” Quackity threatened, walking closer to Sapnap, looking up into his eyes. 
“Fuck off Quackity,” Sapnap spat, before turning away and heading off into the night.
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“... You can do this, you can do this, you can do this...” 
Dream heard a voice as he woke up. It was a familiar voice, a nice one. His head hurt, and he felt nauseous, but then he had been expecting to feel like hell after that shitshow. Still, it was better than prison. 
“Oh he’s waking up, you can do this Fundy.”
Ah, that’s why it was so nice. 
Dream opened his eyes, or at least as much as he could. His left eye was swollen shut, and the harsh light of his room hurt his eyes, he squinted up at Fundy, who was pacing all over the room.
“Hey,” he croaked.
“You worried me, Dream. Here, take some water,” Fundy went to hand Dream a bottle of water, before realising he was in no state to sit up. He put the bottle to Dream’s lips, helping him drink from it. Dream grimaced at the taste.
“That’s got a healing potion in it,” He said with disgust.
“Thought you would like a health pot after that,” Fundy said, dabbing a cloth - soaked in another health pot - at Dream’s black eye.
“Hmm, they’re useful, sickly.” At least the watered down health pot had quenched his thirst. 
“I guess you’ve had too many forced down you to enjoy them now,” Fundy said, to which Dream said nothing. 
“They told me not to feed you,” Fundy whispered, not out of fear of being heard; the weight of the information admitted had quietened him, “Something about you breaking rules.”
Dream nodded, that was to be expected, especially if Sam had heard about this. 
“But,” Fundy started, “Fuck how are you still pretty all beat up?” 
Dream chuckled, although it sounded more pained than happy, a wheezing laugh that hurt his ribs.
“But,” Fundy tried again, “I brought you this?” 
Fundy held out a bowl of beetroot soup.
“Thank you,” Dream said as he took it from Fundy’s hands, letting their fingers brush. 
It would be a long recovery, especially with how much he was going to milk it, but it would definitely be better with Fundy by his side.
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itmightbeneb · 1 year
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I posted 29,024 times in 2022
That's 5,749 more posts than 2021!
1,381 posts created (5%)
27,643 posts reblogged (95%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@yellumina
@tootiredtocares-blog
@blobprime
@tiredfoxtf
@baka-monarch
I tagged 2,782 of my posts in 2022
#dreamwastaken - 110 posts
#dreblr - 63 posts
#discourse - 45 posts
#:p - 27 posts
#dreamblr - 26 posts
#dteamblr - 15 posts
#nebwrites - 15 posts
#mcc discourse - 14 posts
#:o - 14 posts
#😳 - 13 posts
Longest Tag: 139 characters
#not putting this in the post because i can't remember i'd ludwig actually did this but i also have a feeling he was one of the ones to look
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
TECHNODAD I LOVE YOU
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467 notes - Posted November 4, 2022
#4
these are the same image
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484 notes - Posted November 4, 2022
#3
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507 notes - Posted June 23, 2022
#2
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awwww
found on Grian's latest video
1,268 notes - Posted March 16, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
Like to be a Dream stan, rb to be a dream stan
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7,461 notes - Posted March 16, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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itmightbeneb · 2 years
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/rp /dsmp
just a little Drunz for yall
The first time Dream and Punz shared a bed it was to conserve warmth. They had to do something in a snow biome and it went on longer than expected, soon their bones are tired and they’re freezing, they realise they should probably stay there the night instead of trying to make it back to the greater SMP. Digging themselves a small cave to be safe from mobs, they realise there’s only one bed, but that was probably better anyway, Dream had said, they needed all the warmth they could get. 
Punz woke briefly the next morning with Dream hugging him, already awake and waiting. It was warm, Dream’s plan had clearly worked, but it was a comfortable warm, and Punz was certain he’d fall right back asleep if he didn’t say anything right that instant.
“You could have gotten up,” he said, his voice croaky after just waking up. 
“Didn’t wanna disturb your beauty sleep,” said Dream, still not moving.
“Appreciate it,” mumbled Punz as he drifted back to sleep, still in Dream’s arms. Talking hadn’t helped keep his brain active, it seemed. 
He couldn’t see Dream’s soft smile.
The second time Punz woke up, Dream was still there, and he contemplated not saying anything to stay like that just a while longer. Dream, however, must have noticed a change in his breathing.
“Morning sleepyhead,” he teased.
“Morning,” Punz replied.
“Gonna stay awake this time?”
“Maybe.”
Then Dream said something Punz didn’t expect, in a quiet voice, almost as if he didn’t want to be heard but knew he would be anyway, Dream said, “You don’t have to, like having you here.”
“Like being here,” Punz replied, matching Dream’s volume.
Dream scoffed, “You’re such an idiot.”
Punz looked Dream in the eyes, their faces were so close. Punz could feel dream’s breath across his cheek, and their noses were almost touching.
“You can kiss me if you want,” Punz half joked.
Dream chuckled, and raised an eyebrow, “What, you want me to kiss you?”
“Maybe.”
Dream kissed him.
The second time Dream and Punz shared a bed together it was because they chose to.
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itmightbeneb · 2 years
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Dreblr secret Santa
So my secret Santa was @simplepotatofarmer (woo!)
I wrote you a rivals and drunz (is that their name? Punz and Dream) post prison healing arc fic.
word count: 3831
TW: meantions of torture, panic attacks, c!Sapnap neg (from c!Dream’s warped perspective)
Also I heard that c!Punz uses He/They pronouns? So thats what I used for him here :)
@dreamsclock did u also wanna be tagged? if not ignore this sorry lol
The air was cold, crisp. It shouldn’t have felt like a new sensation, in fact Dream had been to this very area, with the very same air, many times before, but after almost a year of nothing but hot and sticky air next to boiling lava, well anything could feel brand new. Snow too, he had forgotten how it crunched underfoot, how walking could include softness instead of hot hard obsidian. The wind was new as well, cold and brisk, blowing his hair (now too long for his liking) into his face. There had been bursts of wind in prison, when Sam had lowered the lava, the boiling air in the cell would get sucked away from him, towards Sam and whoever else was waiting on the other side (usually Quackity), before rushing back in to fill the space it had left behind. Or it had felt like rushing, with actual wind to compare to again, Dream realised it was more of a slow trickle. 
Out of the four members of the syndicate, only two could easily tolerate him, and another was dead. Phil and Techno clearly cared in their own ways (no matter how hard Techno tried to deny it), but Niki was another thing. Niki just didn’t like him, which was fair enough Dream supposed, he had never made an effort to be kind to her, he had almost forgotten she existed after Wilbur had died. That, and the early L’manburg days must have cemented a certain idea of him for her. He was ok with that. She had helped to break him out - however much she hated him couldn’t stop her from acknowledging the conditions of the prison were terrible, and she kept to her morals as an anarchist that all prisons were bad. She kept to her morals despite hating him, he could respect that.
Rationalising who and who not to trust, that was another thing he had almost forgotten how to do. He had known he couldn’t trust Sam, or Quackity, he had known he could somewhat trust Techno, not completely, never completely. He didn’t know if Sapnap would actually take up his promise from the prison, he hadn’t yet, he’d almost let Dream go free and only fought him when Dream attacked. But then again, so much had changed between the two that Dream wasn’t even sure he knew Sapnap anymore. He doubted Sapnap would care to get to know the new him, not that Dream would let him anyway. He needed Sapnap to hate him, he needed to count on his brother’s arrogance and hatred.
Although it was part of the plan, even though Dream had literally told Techno to do so, when he asked for the netherite armour back, it had hurt. But he had complied, he had run away saying he owed Techno a favour, had run away to Punz. And Prime was he happy to see Punz again, even for how short the visit had to be, he needed to keep his friends safe, he couldn’t let anyone else die. Ranboo’s death was unfortunate, even if when he died he didn’t know Dream’s true intentions, it was the Ranboo with full memories that knew, not the Ranboo who had been locked up, not the Ranboo who had died. It was sad that Dream had to leave him in the afterlife; from what he’d heard from Tommy, it wasn’t exactly fun. But then Dream had had to deal with months of torture, starvation and isolation. Ranboo knew the plan, knew the risks, well sometimes he did, he had agreed to it all. Dream didn’t know how he’d react now he did actually get hurt. It hadn’t been part of the plan, for Sam and Quackity to go off the rails, but he’d work around it anyway, nothing ever went entirely to plan, the real skill was working around those hiccups and continuing on anyway, no matter the cost.
When Dream and Sapnap were kids, they would always make treehouses together. When they got a bit older and could take care of themselves more, they’d often run away for a few days at a time and live in badly built treehouses instead of resorting to caves. Often it was just a couple of beds, a chest, a furnace and a crafting table on a treetop, but sometimes Dream would try and make it look prettier, especially when they were on bigger trees with more room. Sapnap always burnt them down by the end of their trip, when they’d finally had enough of each other to get mad over something stupid and come back home to be around different company for a bit. Dream had always tried to help him through it first though, help him when he was feeling down or too angry for his own good. They were brothers, he was always going to help Sapnap, even if it cost him everything. Sapnap had said later, when they had met again after the nightmare armour fight, that Dream had betrayed him, that Dream had betrayed them all. But he hadn’t betrayed Sapnap, right? They had been brothers, had promised each other they’d help each other through everything no matter what. Dream had always been there for Sapnap, had always tried to help even when he thought Sapnap was being an idiot or was acting out of anger, why had Sapnap not been there to help him? Even if he had been in the wrong, even if everything he had had been too much, Sapnap would have pulled him back, right? Dream had forgotten how many fights he had pulled Sapnap out of when they were younger, when Sapnap had been so hot headed and made all the wrong decisions, surely Sapnap would have returned the favour, would have helped him. Why hadn’t he?
He needed new bases, areas where he could hang out and hide when necessary, and so he decided to make one near Techno’s base. Despite herding Tommy there, he felt somewhat safe around Techno. It was dangerous, to let himself feel safer around someone who he didn’t trust not to betray him, but he did anyway. A treehouse he’d make, for old times sake, to remind him of why he was doing all this. Spruce trees were the most common around the syndicate base, unfortunately four by four ones would stick out too much, they weren’t native to the area, but a good spruce tree would do the trick. He chose a tree in the forest outside the base, hidden enough that nobody would find it easily, close enough that he could run to Techno if he needed help. But why would he do that? Dream could handle things himself mostly, he needed help occasionally, but he could handle a fight. Pretending to be helpless before he got taken to prison had been annoying, he could have so easily escaped and fought some of them. Why would he need to run to Techno?
One thing he hadn’t anticipated however, was the tiredness. He guessed his body was finally in a place to fix up and rest, but that meant he was tired so much, some days he was so tired he couldn’t get out of bed. Other times his hands wouldn’t stop shaking, to the point where he guessed even Tommy could fight him and win. He hated it, he needed to be able to work, to fight, to move. He needed to not need help. He was getting better though, as much as he hated to admit it, Phil’s advice to sleep more did help. He didn’t want to sleep, he wanted to train, to gain back the strength he had lost, to become someone who could look after himself. The base near Techno’s became his usual hiding spot, which was bad. He didn’t want to be close to Tommy, now living with the Syndicate as per his plan, or near Techno and show how close they were. But he did need Techno’s help, with him being tired too much, he needed Techno or Punz to help him out with simple tasks. Techno was easier to explain, even if it would set back the plan more in the short term, Punz was trusted more by everyone, he wasn’t the one who broke him out of prison, no Punz was the one who had “betrayed” him and helped put him in the prison to begin with. 
“Well, looks like you’ve finally got a home Dream,” Techno joked at him a few weeks into recovery, after Dream had finally stayed in the same place for more than three days in a row.
“I don’t wanna live here,” Dream replied.
“HEH, what, you actually want to be homeless?”
Dream didn’t want to be homeless, he wanted to not have to rely on them. He wanted to be able to live by himself, work by himself. Relying on others made him feel weak, well he was weak but he wanted - needed to get better. Relying on others had led to him thinking Sam wouldn’t let anyone in to torture him, he couldn’t let that happen again. Besides, he had always had multiple homes, small places stacked with chests and other useful items in a small area, he was never the kind of person to settle down in one place. He always had to be on the move, always had to be avoiding everyone else.
“Living alone would be better than living with your stinky ass,” Dream said, trying to turn the conversation away from being serious, and also Techno did smell like a pig. 
They were in the training area below the bridge between Techno and Phil’s houses, another new addition he had to get used to, one that Tommy hadn’t been let onto so Dream had an area within their base to be safe, where they could act like the friends they were without having to hide parts of themselves. 
Long gone were the days of Techno living in a hut alone in the middle of nowhere, like he had said when he first arrived at the prison, Techno had friends now. Friends who would back him up, even one who had helped him save someone she didn’t like from the Prison, and presumably make an enemy out of Sam in the process. 
The walls were a fake sky, the air was stale, but it was cold, and there was more than just obsidian and lava. Dream felt claustrophobic in contained spaces now, he hated that he felt such a stupid fear. He had tried to hide it, the sweating palms and shaking, when he first arrived, but they had noticed. It was a miracle nobody had used it against him yet. 
But no, they had suggested ways to help, ways to calm himself down. It was annoying, he didn’t want nor need their help. OK, maybe he did need it, considering the panic attack he had almost had just entering the nether for the first time after escaping, but this was short lived, he shouldn’t get used to kindness, kindness towards him wouldn’t save the server.
Techno had a look in his eyes, something akin to sadness, or regret. 
“Don’t fucking pity me Techno,” Dream said.
“Bruhhhhh, my monetization!”
He was having a bad day, a terrible day. He couldn’t get out of bed, he was too weak, too tired, he must have worked too hard the day before. He was trapped again. He had to get out, he couldn’t be trapped again. His room was bigger than the cell but not by much, his bed was smaller. He had to get out. 
He tried getting up, only to collapse to the floor, unable to convince his muscles to move him any further. He was so tired, yet too awake. He needed air, he needed to move, he couldn’t move. 
He managed to get a message to someone, Techno. He hated that he did, hated that he had called for help he really didn’t need. If only he could just walk he would be fine, he would be able to get out, be able to move. Now Techno would have to see him in this pathetic state. 
A hand rested on his back, and Dream used all the energy he could muster to jerk away. He didn’t want pity. Was someone talking to him? He could only just hear something over the blood rushing in his ears. He was drowning, he was going to suffocate. 
Blocks were broken and light cascaded into the room, the cold air hit him and forced itself into his lungs, he could breathe again.
Techno came to sit next to him, helping Dream untangle the sheets from his legs.  
“Let’s help you back into bed,” Techno said softly.
Dream shook his head, he didn’t think he could manage words. He couldn’t go back into bed, the air was helping but he was still trapped. Although, if he wanted to get out he’d have to be carried so maybe it was better to stay. But he couldn’t, fuck. If he wanted to get out, and he needed to get out, he’d have to rely on Techno’s help again. He thought he was past this, he didn’t need their help as much, at least not this much. He was just using his and Phil’s friendliness until he could get away again, he didn’t want to need their help. 
“Needin’ help isn’t a bad thing Dream,” Techno said quietly. He was still sitting on the floor next to Dream, not touching him but there nonetheless. 
“There’s not anyone who doesn’t need help at some point,” He continued. 
And yeah, while Techno was technically correct, but Dream wasn’t a kid anymore. He could do this by himself. Except he couldn’t. 
“Don’t need a lecture,” Dream managed to get out, his voice quieter than usual, softer much to his disliking. He sounded as weak as he felt.
“Yeah but now I’ve got you trapped here I can talk all I want till I need to help with something.” So that was it then, Techno was going to talk at him until he asked for help. 
“You’re using my disability against me,” Dream said, he was slowly regaining enough energy to speak more easily, but unfortunately for him he still didn’t have enough energy to move away from a certain ranting anarchist.
Techno chuckled, before continuing, “I know you want to be independent, we all do, and independence is good in a way, but the thing is, Dream, the thing is no person has ever lived entirely independently. Even after childhood, bro, you didn’t make your own clothes, and if you did you didn’t make the fabric. You don’t cook all the food you’ve ever eaten, or looked after all the crops or animals. You didn’t learn everythin’ by yourself. You see, Dream, you’re a person, and people weren't made to live on their own. We live in communities for a reason, and we should rely on each other to help everyone out. It makes less work in the long run as well. Dream, everyone deserves help, you included. Well, everyone but orphans of course, but that’s another thing,” Techno was rambling, he wasn’t entirely sure where he was going with this talk,
“Your old friends, they should have been there for you, to help you out of the hole you dug yourself, to stop you before you went too far. They didn’t help you, or maybe couldn’t, but don’t think you have to be by yourself just because others failed you. Now this doesn’t mean you can avoid responsibility, you still did all those things, but they should have been there to try and stop you at least. You’re my friend,” Dream refused to admit there were tears in his eyes, “and I'm not going to let you destroy yourself again.”
“Just… take me outside.”
He was waiting at the top of Punz’s tower, not because he needed the guy to do anything, just because he was lonely. He had admitted to Punz that the isolation had gotten to him, and well, maybe it was still getting to him. Not that he’d admit that, Phil and Techno were nice, when they could sneak away, but Punz was his friend, the person who knew about the plan from the start, who had agreed from the start. Dream was hidden, just in case they came back with company, which was unlikely, but still possible. The people of the server never did respect boundaries, and it had been the day Dream had escaped that Punz had managed to get rid of Hannah and a few others from claiming to live at the top of the tower. It had been perfect timing, but annoying to find out nonetheless. Punz did come, it took a while but he did come back to his tower. Dream slipped out from behind the chests, his body sore from staying in the same position for too long. His mask was pushed to the side, allowing Punz to see his expression, a weak smile and too tired eyes. He still wasn’t sleeping well, but it was better, he was getting better, he had to keep telling himself that. 
“Hey man, you good?” Punz asked, seeming worried for Dream. And Dream felt that, for once, he wasn’t disgusted by the worry. 
“Yeah, just,” he didn’t know what to say, he didn’t want to actually worry Punz, “might have to slow down the plan a bit,” he decided, a partial truth to make it look like he was taking care of himself, “it’s taking a bit to recover properly.”
“Yeah sure man, just let me know when you’re ready, ok?” Punz said as they stepped closer to Dream, who was trying to not so visibly lean against the chests, “take it easy, and let me know if you need help.” 
Punz must have seen the face Dream made at that because he laughed, “I know I know, but seriously man, you’ve got me, I’ll take payment if it makes you feel better about it.” 
Dream nodded, he’ll definitely do that, he repays his debts. Feeling a little stronger, his muscles thanking him from changing position finally, he moved to leave.
“I’ll, uh, I’ll let you know when I’m ready to begin the next phase of the plan,” He said, looking back at Punz, who was looking through a chest.
“Yeah man, and wait,” Punz closed the chest and turned towards Dream, “Take this, if I remember correctly they’re your favourite.” Punz dropped a flower on the ground. A poppy. Dream moved forwards to pick it up (he had to throw out some seeds, why did he even have those in his inventory anyway?). A poppy, his favourite flower. He’d once joked with Sapnap and George that he would change the floor of the community house to grass with poppies, had Punz been there? How did he know? Why were there tears in his eyes? 
“I, uh, picked it up the day you went to prison,” Punz said, and Dream refused to look up, refused to let Punz see the tears, he just kept staring at the flower in his hands. He wanted to ask how Punz knew, but didn’t trust his voice not to give him away. He knew Punz could tell something was up, but he was too tired to hide his emotions, too tired of hiding, of pretending to be something he's not, of pretending to break parts of himself to keep Quackity happy, of healing and trying not to heal. 
This time when a hand touched his shoulder he didn’t pull away, no, he had been depriving himself of contact for too long. Maybe he did need a hug. 
Dream pulled closer to Punz, to his best friend, and wrapped his arms around him. Punz hugged him back - not saying anything much to Dream’s relief - and Dream pressed his head into Punz’s shoulder and finally let the tears flow. He cried for the first time in months, probably more than a year. He had held it in through the months playing the annoyingly yet unbroken prisoner, and before that as well, pretending to be the idiot who thought using everyone’s attachments to control them was a good idea. He had kept it in throughout all of that, since Sapnap had abandoned him, he had no one else, he had thought. Now over a year’s worth of tears were finally coming, and he was sobbing into Punz's shoulder, they were hugging tight. Prime, Dream had missed this. He hadn’t had human contact in a long time, well there was Techno in the prison, but they had tried to stay apart to avoid overheating. There had been Quackity’s fists. 
But he wasn’t there anymore, no he was in Punz’s tower, he was safe. He could let it all out, he could finally show his hurt, allow himself to feel hurt. Eventually he stopped, ran out of tears, but stayed in Punz’s arms a little longer. Punz hadn’t said anything, just held him tight and allowed Dream space to let the barriers and walls he kept up to crumble, allowing him to finally be free to show how he actually felt, to let go of everything and let everything come crashing out in one big wave of emotion. And so there Dream stayed, in Punz’s arms, feeling safer than he had in over a year.
Punz had gotten him a poppy. His poppy. Dream didn’t know whether to keep it locked up in his enderchest for safekeeping or to put it in a flower pot to see it in the open, to see it in sunlight and watch it’s petals ruffle in a breeze. To watch it get stolen. No! No, it wouldn’t get stolen. He would get it back, he won’t allow it to be used against him, he won’t let it be Spirit’s leather.
His poppy would be safe. He felt safe in Punz’s arms and his poppy would stay with him. 
The next time Techno visited Dream’s hideout by the arctic base, there was a poppy in a flower pot by the side of the bed. There was also Punz, sitting on the bed next to Dream. When Dream noticed him enter the base, he stood up, a grin clear on his face, mask moved aside. He went up to Techno and hugged him by surprise. Techno chuckled a little, surprised that Dream would so openly show affection, but hugged back anyway. He shot a confused look at Punz, who just grinned and gave him a thumbs up. 
“Thank you,” Dream said into Techno’s chest.
“Yeah, uh, no problem, man,” Techno said back, both confused and happy with this new development, “so, Dream, what's the next step of this plan of yours?”
Dream stepped out of the hug, 
“I’m going to patch things up with Sapnap, if I can.”
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itmightbeneb · 2 years
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/rp /dsmp
Dream never letting himself show weakness, even when trying to recover after prison. He sees showing vulnerability as a threat, that someone will use it against him, betray him again. He can’t go back to the prison. He feels like he can’t trust anyone, and he has to do everything by himself, even if it slows his recovery, even if it means he’s weaker in the short term. To him, he’s stronger without people who can betray him, who can hurt him again.
Techno seeing his friend who’s been hurt by so many who he used to call friends, being patient with him and trying to help him through it. He tries to show Dream that he can trust Techno, that he doesn’t have to do everything by himself. Nobody lives without help despite how much Dream doesn’t want to depend on anyone, and people’s strength comes from their relationships. Community is more important than the individual, but any community that abandons someone as soon as they start to deviate is one to leave. Slowly Dream comes around, he still hides stuff, still refuses to ask for help. He’s had one narrative driven into him for so long it takes a lot to unlearn it. He learns to rely on other members of the Syndicate, he learns to help others. He learns how to not expect betrayal at every turn
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itmightbeneb · 2 years
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Why locking away Dream was never going to change the fate of the server
aka there are no big bad villains
/rp /dsmp assume all names here are their dream smp characters
tw mentions of abuse
So, the final of the disk war, the server's villain, Dream, is captured and narrowly escapes death by clinging onto plot relevance. The server is saved, the abuser has been put away to never see light again. 
However, fast forward a few months and we're seeing the rise of two more abusers (Quackity and Sam), despite putting away the problem, it has recreated itself just with new people. Why? 
Well folks, I'm here to talk to you about individualism and why, in real life as well, there are no big bad villains and in fact it's the systems/cultures that help create these people who then go on to do terrible things. 
First off, let me get this out of the way before I get hate anons: Dream/Quackity/Sam are responsible for what they did and they 100% need to live with (reasonable) consequences for their actions. 
So the server's villain is gone, but more have taken his place, why? Well what they did when they locked Dream away was, let's be real here, nothing. They put him in prison and then forgot about him, he is after all an irredeemable villain who was impossible to get through to and who needed to be stopped. Nobody looked further into it, asked him why, tried to understand why he did what he did, and we still don't know for certain, we only have theories. The characters themselves did nothing, they didn't search for the root of the problem. Basically what they did is they treated the symptom not the cause. 
By doing this, they have assumed (in my opinion, incorrectly) that Dream was a rogue element, that he wasn't representative of a wider problem on the server (the culture of abuse and the cycle of violence), and so getting rid of him was getting rid of the problem. 
However, what they should have been doing to stop something like this from happening again in the future was to look at the culture of the server and the events that lead Dream to where he ended up (an abuser with a "the ends justify the means" mentality) and if anything could have been done to stop it. This way, they may have been able to make changes to the way they acted, in the culture of the server, in order to minimise the chances of there being someone else driven to such extremes. 
By viewing Dream as a one off, as a lone villain, they are acting like the problem lies only within the individual and not the server as a whole, and so have left themselves open to new people to take on Dream's role now that he's gone (Quackity and Sam). They've left the door open for new abusers to make themselves present, to fill the niche in the community that Dream left open, and they're completely unprepared for it. 
The problem is with the server's culture, not just Dream/Sam/Quackity, but people are so used to viewing things as being done by individuals (the hero, the villain) who make big impacts and change the world on their own that we're not used to thinking of things in this way, and some may think that I'm excusing their actions this way but I'm not. 
So let me give a real world example: Jeff Bezos. 
Now all of us (hopefully) can tell that he's not exactly the nicest person, from the abuse at amazon to general billionaire dickery he's a bad person. Now, there is a world where Jeff was taught the importance of unions and of being a compassionate person. In this world, we have saved Bezos from being the horrible person that he is, we've successfully intervened! However this doesn't solve the real issue at hand that is capitalism, if Jeff Bezos never becomes the richest man in the world (or second richest now ig but who cares my point still stands) someone else will. 
Now let's say we kill the current Jeff Bezos, we've removed the problem! Ding dong the wicked capitalist is dead. Now this would change a few things certainly, he is an influential man with lots of power, but the problem still remains. Someone else will still take his place because we haven't solved the root of the cause: capitalism. 
Neither of these things (the fact that he could have been stopped or the fact that the culture in which he lives encourages this behaviour) excuse his actions, amazon should let its workers unionise and Jeff Bezos should redistribute his wealth. 
The same goes for the dsmp and the culture of abuse. People may have been able to intervene, stop Dream from becoming the person he became, but someone else would have simply taken his place. They got rid of Dream, but didn't solve the problem because they thought it was everything to do with him and nothing to do with them, so now Quackity and Sam have taken his place instead. They haven't learnt from their mistakes. Yet this doesn't excuse Dream/Quackity/Sam's actions, it simply helps explain them. 
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itmightbeneb · 2 years
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Say no to Netherite
part 1 | part 2
tw: c!Quackity neg, c!Sam neg, (they get fleshed out later in the series dw), mentions of torture, mentions of starvation
ao3
Inspired partly by @stabbysideblog's guard dog au ^-^
Dream waited in the cell, waiting for Quackity to return. It was hot, but he had gotten used to that, and he was hungry, but he had gotten used to that too.
There wasn't silence, not really, the bubbles of the lava and the scream of the guardians kept the cell from being silent. He wished it was quiet though, he also wished for the sound of a windy night, for the sight of a clear sky, for the feel of rain against his skin, to feel desired again, to be wanted again. But he couldn't hope, he couldn't dream. That was the fastest way to lose morale. He couldn't afford to lose morale.
When the lava opened again, revealing Quackity, he stared across the gap towards his torturer and his captor, expressions forced away from his face.
But there was something new this day, for the first time in what seemed like forever there was something new. Instead of swinging his axe, instead of taunting or yelling, Quackity simply talked.
"I have an offer for you Dream," he said, voice so much calmer than Dream was used to. He was reminded of just how charming the man could be.
"Mutually beneficial, you get to survive, you get to get out even! I will never even know the contents of that FUCKING book," and there was the anger, coming out as it always did, but what Quackity was saying did seem intriguing, "but you will have to work for me, OK?"
Dream looked up at Quackity - he always wanted Dream sitting so he'd have to look up at him - with feigned indifference, although they could both tell it was a lie,
"What exactly do you have in mind?" Dream asked.
"You see, Dream, Sam has made this wonderful little thing," Quackity held up a simple bracelet, a simple silver band, it looked like a single handcuff, "this thing here can stop you from getting any netherite, it will repel it from your inventory, it also works with enchanted items, you'll be unable to properly arm yourself," Dream frowned, what the hell was Quackity planning with that?
"It'll also stop you from going out of an area we will set. You are going to work for me Dream, you'll get access to the sky, to proper food, I won't even hurt you unless you step out of line. In return, you're going to be an attraction," Quackity walked closer and gripped Dream's chin, forcing him to look in Quackity's eyes, "you will be the star attraction of Las Nevadas, the evil green man locked up performing circus tricks for the SMP's entertainment, and you'll occasionally revive any person I want. But we'll heal you up, give you proper food, a place to sleep, a better life, Dream, as long as you're obedient."
Quackity walked back to the entrance of the cell as the lava opened up again, "I'll give you a day to think about it."
Sam didn't feed him that night, he hadn't fed him in a few days in fact, and while Bad had snuck in to give him a sandwich, Dream was hungry. The last of his reserve potatoes had run out and he was left lying on the hard obsidian floor, unable to sleep from hunger. The bubbling of the lava and the screaming of the guardians never stopped, the sounds drilled their way into his head, heard so often that Dream thought that even when he was away, even when he was free he would never stop hearing those screams. Guardians trapped in minecarts travelling back and forth, to make sure everyone was weak all the time, to make sure his muscles wasted away and nobody could break him out. He was pretty certain Quackity was underestimating him, Techno had killed Quackity in only iron armour after all, but he'd need to recover first. He could recover, he could get out. His previous plan to get out had fell through, and Sam and Quackity had been crueler than expected, but he could do it from Las Nevadas. Surely Punz would find out and help him as well.
The next day, when the lava parted and Quackity came over, Dream agreed to his terms. He stood tall, unintentionally towering over Quackity, and offered his wrist for the cuff, for a new beginning.
However, as Quackity snapped the simple metal cuff on Dream's waiting wrist, something changed. He felt different, somehow less powerful, the effects already taking place. Quackity suddenly didn't seem so small.
He was taken out, led by Sam and Quackity, all the way to Las Nevadas. The walk was the most exercise he had gotten in far too long, and he hated the fact that his legs started to hurt by the end of it. One of the first things he'd do is get healthy again, it'd probably be in Quackity's interest as well if he was going to be an attraction, what good was a broken circus performer?
The sunlight, however, made up for it all. It beamed down onto Dream's face - his mask had broken long ago - warm in a way that was different to the lava, feeling like a new experience and an old friend at the same time. He had changed since the last time he had felt the sun's rays, since the last time he had felt the wind through his hair, since he had felt the cold. He had changed in a way he doubted could be undone.
Las Nevadas was cold. Masquerading as a desert, it's environment was as fake as Quackity's smile,
"Welcome to your new home, Dream."
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itmightbeneb · 2 years
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Hi Neb! :D Here is a ‘gift’ for you! <3
/rp /dsmp
“Tell him what you told me.” Dream was kneeling in his cell, his home for the past few months. He was being held down by Sam, looking at the ground, avoiding the gaze of his visitor. He could imagine the uninterested look on Punz’s face, hiding his worry.
“Dream.” The Warden nudged him with the tip of the trident again. Right. Time for a performance.
He straightened up, looking right into Punz’s eyes. He ignored the silent questions hiding in the blues and tried to call his ‘evil smirk’ on. Looking at Punz he could see he wasn’t entirely successful, but it didn’t matter. The message was more important than the presentation.
“I hate you.”
oooh, have a very small drabble i wrote for what happens after. didnt know exactly where to go with this so its quite short sorry 😅
Dream put on the act, the very same performance he had put on for everyone at the vault, the same performance he put on for Sam and Quackity day after day. It was all a fabrication, a lie, too to protect the book, to make sure neither of them died, or got hurt. Not that it had helped much, Sam had betrayed Dream in every way imaginable, betrayed him more than Punz would have if the lie they continued to tell was the truth. Hurt was one way of putting it, tortured would be more accurate. Part of it was his own fault, Dream had to admit, but he thought he could have handled the potatoes, he’d survived on worse before, but he had gotten used to luxury, to steak and a full stomach, to the feeling of safety and the knowledge of freedom. The prison had been a wake up call, a reminder that no matter how strong he became, how powerful he managed to be, he too could be weak. A reminder of where he had come. 
So Dream knelt there, shackled, not quite broken yet, trying desperately to hold onto himself in the tiny cell he now called home, and put on the performance of a lifetime. A broken prisoner wasn’t fun after all, so he couldn’t break, Quackity would lose his fun playtoy and then he’d truly be dead. Uldn’t break, not yet.
Punz played along, smirking, chuckling to himself, “Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?” he taunted, eyes filled with fake satisfaction. Sam was dumb enough not to tell at least. 
Dream lunged forwards, intending to knock Punz into the lava, but Sam’s hand on his shoulder was strong, and Dream was weak, oh so weak, after however long of starvation and torture. Dream was slammed back to the floor, hissing in pain, and Punz just laughed. Laughed at the man he betrayed seeking vengeance that was impossible to obtain, laughed at the evil villian being locked up with the key thrown away, laughed at the man who used to be his friend. The laugh was fake, faker than the disk finale, than Dream’s “obsession” with Tommy, than Dream’s entire persona. And Sam ate it all up.
Dream looked up at him, lying on the floor, unable to get up because of the shackles binding his wrists behind him, eyes filled with fake hatred. 
“You know what, Dream,” Punz said, voice low and threatening as he crouched down to look Dream in the eyes, “I hate you too, but I’m the one with armour and a ticket out of here, so you can sit and stew in your hatred, all alone, while I find better things to do than think of you.”
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itmightbeneb · 2 years
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Say no to Netherite 8
Beginning | Prev | Next
TW: major character death > :)
Also if you enjoy please rb it helps me out a lot <3
When Dream got home, or what he now had to call home for the time being, from helping Sam at the quarry, he immediately went to take a shower. He felt the need to not only wash off the stone dust and ease his aching muscles, but to wash away any memory of working with Sam, of the memories of sleepless nights on hard obsidian floors and meals of raw potatoes. The shower Dream had been given was an odd thing, the shower head was too low for him to comfortably stand under it and the water never came out the right temperature, but it was better than nothing. It was better than a pool of stagnant water in a cell full of blood and grime. He could live with the odd temperatures anyway.
Hot showers were nice, but Dream was used to bathing in rivers and under waterfalls, where the water was crisp and clear, untouched by people before he got there. He had stayed away from people since George’s dethronement, or at least he avoided the more busy parts of the server; he had been far more used to sleeping under the stars than under a roof by the time he got captured. Enjoyed it more too. People misunderstood him, not that he could blame them when he deliberately put on a villain persona, but the trees never judged him. They had seen far worse people than him in their years of life.
Las Nevadas was quickly becoming a bustling city, a hotspot of activity, a place where even if he wasn't who he was, he wouldn't have been able to find peace. He had once been the knight of the SMP, its protector and its saviour, now he could barely stand being in the same room with a few more people he disliked, even bunker meetings had been draining his energy lately, despite Fundy and Punz by his side.
His work for the day was done, until the casino opened later that night at least, so Dream slipped out of the city, hoping Quackity wouldn't think to look for him, and headed towards the bunker. Snow that had yet to be cleared up crunched underfoot, and in spots where it was too bright for snow to settle, damp patches of sand shifted under his weight. An odd combination, but one any citizen of Las Nevadas was all too familiar with.
The small space already held multiple people, Techno was leaning against the wall to Dream's right, Punz mirroring him on his left. Fundy was standing by the ladder down, a perfect place to be right next to Dream. And was that Philza Minecraft? Techno has mentioned getting him involved to take a better look at his cuff, and if Techno trusted the man completely then Dream supposed he could allow Phil to help. Dream nodded his head towards the old man in a greeting, they had worked together for doomsday but he didn’t know the man very well outside of that. Still, he held a soft spot in his heart for Phil, it couldn't have been easy to join the server and immediately find out your son had lied to you and had blown up a country; Dream had given him a trident for free as an apology, not that he was the one that needed to apologise.
The only person who wasn't there was Purpled.
"Heya mate," Phil said, sounding as cheerful as ever, "Want me to take a look at that shackle of yours?" he asked, and Dream could feel Fundy shift uncomfortably beside him. The fox had never gotten along well with his grandfather, although Dream didn’t know much of their relationship beyond that.
Dream walked across the small room and offered his wrist to Phil, who carefully held it and looked closely at the shackle. He ran his fingers around its edges, looking for cracks or openings.
While Phil was working, Dream took off his mask with his free hand and looked around.
"Is Purpled not coming?" He asked. They had met up without him several times, it was almost impossible to get everyone there at once, but he had been assured that Purpled was coming to this particular meeting. At least the rest of the group would know the mercenary’s plans, or at least Punz would.
"He's setting up for later, he’s got something on tonight," Punz answered, giving Dream a look that told him that he wouldn't say any more, at least not in current company.
Dream narrowed his eyes, and looked around the room, noting Fundy’s shifting and Techno’s confused, “Heh?”
"He's more angry at Quackity for a personal grievance than anything else," was all Punz gave in terms of an explanation.
While the rest of the room was talking, Phil produced a small, thin metal tool that Dream had never seen before and started poking at the shackle, pretending to be oblivious to the conversation going on around him. The tool looked somewhat like a spoon but with a hole in the middle of the base, it produced a high pitched whine that Dream initially cringed at before getting used to the small background noise.
When the tool passed over a particular section of the shackle, Dream felt the same electric sensation as he did when Sam forced the netherite onto him.
"Ow," he said, not because the pain was particularly bad, but to let Phil know what had happened.
"Sorry mate," Phil replied, "So that's the area where that's produced," he then continued at a low volume, talking to himself, while continuing to poke around the shackle.
"So how you holding up, Dream?" Techno asked, easing some of the tension that had built up.
"I'm fine," Dream lied, "It's better than torture," he then continued with a grin.
"That's concerning," Techno replied. Dream shrugged, there wasn't much he could do about it until Phil figured out the shackle anyway.
"What are you going to do when you get out?" He asked.
"Destroy Las Nevadass," Dream said, putting an emphasis on the ass. Punz smiled to himself, happy to see Dream going back to his usual antics, and Fundy rolled his eyes.
"hmm," Techno hummed, unimpressed.
"What do you want me to say? That I'll go on a nice walk and forget all my grudges? Let them get away with everything?" Dream was certainly not going to let this slide, Sam had betrayed him and he was going to take revenge. Quackity too, but while he would say that he was going to focus on Las Nevadas, it was Sam’s involvement that had truly hurt him, Quackity’s sadism wasn’t exactly expected but was at least a more obvious outcome. The man had always been power hungry, after all.
"Well I can't really blame anyone for holding onto grudges, but it would be good to take a step away. Maybe go to your home? That you definitely have and we all believe you don't worry." Techno said, his voice teasing.
Dream paused for a few seconds, "I have a house Techno," he said slowly.
"He hesitated," Techno replied.
"I have a house! Not this again, Techno!" Dream found himself smiling despite himself.
Techno grinned, unintentionally showing off his tusks, tipped with gold from where they'd been presumably broken in battles. The gold flickered in the torchlight, reminding Dream that he should really not fuck with Techno, keeping on the piglin’s good side was probably more important than keeping in Quackity’s good graces in his current situation.
"Do you actually not have a house?" Fundy asked, sounding genuine. Dream looked over at him, but before he could say anything Techno spoke,
"No he doesn't," Techno answered and Dream rolled his eyes.
"Yes I do! It's a big house with lots of cool redstone in it, you'll see," Dream replied, humour clear in his voice.
"Mhm Mhm, go show us it then," Techno taunted.
"Well I can't exactly show you guys it now!" Dream said, motioning to the shackle.
"He's lying he totally doesn't have a house," Techno said to Fundy, who was laughing to himself.
"I'm… going to need more advanced tools to have a go at this," Phil interrupted, still looking at the shackle, "yeah this is gonna be a tough one sorry."
"Still, it's progress," Punz said, to which Phil nodded and let go of Dream's wrist.
“We should probably, uh, head off then, Phil,” Techno said, sensing that the others in the room clearly had some plan they were not privy to, “Steve needs feeding and we don’t wanna get spotted here.”
Phil nodded his head in agreement, and as Techno and Phil started to leave, Dream said a quiet, "Thank you," to Phil, who shook his head in acknowledgement.
Punz waited behind, looking down the tunnel to see when Techno and Phil were out of earshot. An uneasy silence filled the bunker with the knowledge of words left unsaid, of secrets kept from their most dangerous allies. Once they were far enough away, Punz turned to Dream and said: "Purpled is planning to kill Slime. I've managed to convince him to help afterwards as well but it's mostly to make Quackity lose everything. He only cares about you as much as it’ll hurt him."
Dream nodded, he had guessed that Purpled may do this, he had always seemed most enthusiastic when they were discussing how to make Quackity pay. He had been the one to suggest taking away any memory of Quackity - erasing his legacy. And Dream had to admit, it was a good plan; he had listened in on enough of Quackity and Slime's conversations to know that the man cared about his legacy, about how he would be remembered and how his life would hold meaning even after his own death. Not that he had to worry about death anymore, not with Dream on a leash by his side.
Fundy shifted uncomfortably, and Dream raised an eyebrow. For a man who had been involved in the butcher army, he was sure uncomfortable about killing innocents.
"What, not a big fan of the idea?" Punz asked pointedly. Dream would have told them to shut up if he wasn't also curious about Fundy's sudden change of morals. And if it wasn’t funny.
"I don't think we should be killing people you know," Fundy said, his voice stronger than Dream expected with how hunched over the man looked.
"Had a change of heart since L'Manburg?" Punz asked, as he stopped leaning against the wall. He was shorter than the fox hybrid, but not by much. He definitely had more muscle. In a fight Punz would win every time.
"That was different," Fundy retorted, voice suddenly sounding small. He fidgeted with his sleeve and looked away from the two of them, avoiding eye contact.
"Why?" Dream asked. They had tried to kill Dream as well as Technoblade, why was his death any different than Slime's?
"Techno didn't die." Fundy tried.
"And Slime isn't dead yet, and it wasn't just Techno you tried to kill," Punz replied before Dream could say anything.
Fundy opened his mouth before closing it again. He frowned, clearly not knowing how to respond.
“I don’t regret it,” he finally said.
“Good,” Dream said before Punz could argue any more, “You thought it was necessary at the time, even if you wouldn’t want to now, even if you think it was a bad decision now, you kept to what you believed in.”
“I tried to kill you,” Fundy said.
Dream shrugged, “And I destroyed your country. We’re even, at least for that,” he turned to Punz, who was still giving Fundy a death stare, “Do you know when Purpled is planning to kill Slime? Or how?”
Punz turned to him, and his posture and face softened. Dream had put an end to the argument, had subtly told him to stand down. He followed Dream’s order.
“I think it’s tonight, a sand lava trap, don’t know the exact details,” he threw a water bucket on the floor for Dream, “Take this, if you’re around you may be able to get on Quackity’s good side. Plus Techno would appreciate not killing him probably”
Dream nodded, it was a good idea. He’d have to keep an eye out that night.
Fundy looked between the two, “Will you be out on the sands tonight?” he asked Dream.
“I got a shift at the casino but yeah probably afterwards,” Dream replied.
Fundy nodded, then looked at the clock, “I, uh, I gotta go,” He said, “Got a shift starting soon.” He turned to one of the tunnels, shooting Dream a quick smile before leaving.
Dream was left with Punz, the air in the bunker was cool, but somehow charged with what had happened at the casino only a few nights prior. Dream had seen Punz since, seen him around Las Nevadas, but hadn’t gotten the opportunity to talk to him, to apologise.
“Sorry for killing you,” Nobody ever said apologies were Dream’s forte.
“Consider it payment,” Punz said, turning to face Dream fully. They were shorter than him, but with how much Dream had been underfed and hurt over the last few months, he looked far healthier. It was good to see Punz healthy, good to see that he was doing well for himself.
“For what?” Dream asked, genuinely curious. He didn’t owe Punz anything, definitely not a death.
“For forcing me to watch Tommy kill you. Twice.”
He had a shift at the casino, nothing too much tonight, Quackity was too busy to supervise any life bets and there were enough people already manning the tables. They had more people working for Las Nevadas now anyway, under the promise of extra lives, so they weren’t short of staff but they had needed to call someone at the last minute. Dream was just security, in unenchanted diamond, he stood tall in his blue armour, presenting an air of cool detachment, all while his mind swirled with the possibilities of tonight's outcome. There was a tension in the air, nobody knew where Purpled was, but the gamblers seemed to be having fun regardless, unaware that the staff seemed to be looking out for someone in particular.
The door was closed, there wasn’t supposed to be a way to tell the time within the casino, but there was a small window Dream could look through. He spotted Quackity and Slime coming back from wherever they had been, he saw Purpled go up to them. It was raining outside, part of the reason why the doors were closed, it looked miserable, it ruined the illusion of a desert. Sleet fell in between raindrops, creating quickly melting sludge on the ground. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled almost immediately, though it was quiet under the noise of the crowd.
Through the window, Quackity looked agitated. Then he and Slime quickly followed Purpled away, running through the rain to an unknown location.
Dream checked his inventory, the water bucket from Punz was still there. He waited a few seconds, letting them move out of sight so he could follow undetected. He sent a look to Foolish, motioning to the door before slipping out.
His mask blocked the rain from hitting his face, but he could feel the drop in temperature instantly. Sticking close to the casino wall, ready to duck away if necessary, Dream made his way towards where the trio had run off to. He couldn’t hear them, the distance was too large and the rain too loud, but he could tell that they were talking. There was a clearing in the sand, a large flat area ready for a new building to be put up. It was close to the edge of Las Nevadas, he could see mountains in the distance, topped with clean snow he could never touch.
Dream watched from a distance as Slime looked in a chest, Quackity talking quickly at him the entire time. He watched as Purpled put a lever on the ground. When Slime closed the chest and turned back, Quackity turned around to Purpled. Even from Dream’s hiding spot behind the hedge, he could tell his boss was confused. Then Purpled pulled the lever, and the sand fell away below their feet. Purpled jumped down after them into the pit.
Dream rushed over to peer into the hole, making sure nobody could see him. The newly revealed room was far bigger than its entrance in the floor of the desert. There was a lake of lava for the floor, with multiple columns of lava falling from the ceiling. At the centre, held up by iron chains, was a carpeted red platform. Slime was crouched by the edge, as far away from Purpled as he could manage. There was a set of armour on a stand that Purpled took and put on. And after a short argument Dream still couldn’t make out, Quackity put on his armour, and brought out his shield and sword. There was going to be a fight.
Purpled shot his bow at Quackity, who blocked his shot. They started to fight, and despite the fact Purpled was clearly the more experienced fighter, he kept on getting caught on fire due to Quackity’s enchanted sword. Still, it was obvious that Quackity was losing.
He tried to talk his way out of the situation, Dream saw Quackity avoiding Purpled’s hits and talking at him. None of his words got through.
He could tell Quackity was getting low, but the man kept talking, trying to worm his way out of a bad situation with words alone. Unfortunately for him words didn’t win sword fights.
The rain and the thunder were still too loud for Dream to hear, his hair was soaked through with cold rainwater that had wormed its way under his helmet, and while he was glad for the protection of the diamond armour, his Quackity mandated dress shirt was also becoming soaked through.
He could feel the heat of the lava below, feel the warmth, it felt just like Pandora's.
Quackity and Purpled were on the opposite side of the platform from Slime, who was still crouched by the edge nearest to Dream. It was a dangerous position, just how Purpled wanted it.
Quackity seemed to have Purpled’s attention finally, the fighting between the two had finally stopped.
But, just as Dream could see the slightest victory grin from Quackity, Purpled turned and pearled towards the other side of the platform.
Quackity tried to run, he could see Quackity running harder than he had ever seen the man run before, but without pearls he was powerless to stop Purpled hitting Slime into the lava and pearl away.
Quackity immediately jumped into the lava for Slime, placing blocks to help him. This was Dream’s moment.
He dropped down with a water bucket, pouring it over the lava in an attempt to save him.
The lava was only one deep so the obsidian didn’t trap Slime, who was able to climb onto solid ground and douse the fire with Dream’s water.
“You’re ok,” Dream said, his voice soft and unthreatening. He took off his mask, Slime may have been being trained by Quackity, but Dream wanted him to know that the man who saved him was actually a person. Slime was too good a person for Quackity.
Slime’s clothes were burnt, and he looked bad, but he was alive.
He smiled at Dream, one of the only staff members to openly care despite all of Quackity’s discouragement.
“Thank you Dream from ma-”
Slime never managed to finish thanking Dream.
He slumped forwards, an arrow protruding from his chest.
Slime fell on top of Dream,
dead.
“Revive him! Revive him now!” Quackity yelled at Dream.
Dream gently laid Slime’s body on the newly formed obsidian, his charred clothes becoming wet and breaking apart with the very water that saved him.
He nodded along to Quackity’s order, looking in his inventory for a book and quill. He wrote the revive book as quickly as possible, punching it against the unbleeding body of Quackity’s protegee, before throwing it into the lava.
Nothing happened.
“Does it take time?” Quackity asked, uncertain.
Dream shook his head, “It shouldn’t. It works, why isn’t this… Did he have any lives left?”
“I don’t fucking know!”
Dream looked down at Slime’s body. Nothing had disintegrated, usually even final deaths had at least some disintegration. He pulled the arrow out, and watched as his body closed up over the wound.
“I don’t think he’s fully dead,” Dream said slowly, not wanting to anger Quackity further.
“What the fuck are you on about?” Quackity shouted.
Dream looked up at Quackity, at his captor as he held Slime’s body in his arms,
“I think he has some lives left, he… I don’t know, takes longer to respawn than a regular human.”
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itmightbeneb · 3 years
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When Dream gets out he gets a clock. He keeps it in his enderchest, somewhere even Sam can't take it away form him. Even when he can't get to it he knows it's safe and will be there.
Then he gets another, and hey, he already has one safe so this one he keeps on his person. He has one to look at every time the line between day and night is straight down the middle. He has one to keep him grounded on his worst days.
Then he gets yet another, and puts it in the room he's staying in, above his chest with personal belongings in. It feels more like a home after that. A little room beneath Technos house, somewhere with protection but also an exit. A place that he can change however he wants, where he can have whatever trinkets he wants. A place that he can leave, where he can keep entertained, where Sam can never get him.
A place where his clock will never burn again. Home.
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itmightbeneb · 2 years
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Having more C!Dream sympathetic characters is a good thing actually
/dsmp/rp
Ok so I want to prefice this by saying that this argument works even if you believe dream to be pure evil and entirely unsympathetic/irredeemable/whatever.
I, personally, do not believe this, but that doesn't matter. I'm just trying to offer an argument for the people who do believe this. I'm not gonna change your mind on the nature of one character, but I dislike how *some* of yall are treating the newer members of the server when they ask why dream is in prison/say more sympathetic things about him.
Ok so let's think of storytelling. We all want more lore streams, right? I'm going to assume yall want stuff™ to actually happen on the server, and with the way the server is at the moment, the majority of stuff happens in lore streams.
Lore streams themselves are a progression of the plot, they're used to move the plot of the roleplay further.
But what is plot? Basically, when writers/roleplayers create plot they're creating conflict, they're creating people with opposing opinions or internal conflicts. No good plot happens without some kind of conflict. Your favourite romance? Should I tell him I like him or not? Can we be together if our families hate each other? Feel good family movie? The kid feels down and feels out of place, that's a form of conflict!
Back to DSMP. Now the Dream SMP has much bigger conflicts than "should I tell him I like him" but, like all good plots, it is made from these conflicts (I've written that word so much it doesn't sound like a real word anymore, it's that important in storytelling!).
If we have some characters who are more sympathetic to Dream, even if he is the irredeemable bastard who some people say he is, then that will create conflict because there are people on the server who don't want the new members to feel this way. There are characters who believe that he should stay in prison forever, and that the new guys shouldn't be asking all these questions about him. Now if these new guys decide to go with the sympathetic to Dream approach, then they're going to have conflict with Sam and Quackity (for example). Where there's conflict there's plot, and an excuse for a lore stream. We can see people questioning the prison and its consequences, we get streams and content!
(also in my opinion its boring if everyone agrees instantly that dream is evil and bad, if someone starts sympathetic to him and then turns against him that's more plot for me to enjoy)
tldr: if we want lore streams we can't have every character agrees with the status quo, we need disagreement and conflict for plot and therefore lore streams.
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itmightbeneb · 2 years
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"It's impossible to get rid of me," Punz chuckled as he put his arms around Dream and pulled him in a hug. The younger one melted into the warmth, a hand pressed to Punz's bleeding side.
You told me to make you cry, so I tried my best within 500ish words ^-^
TW: blood, major character death
“If you die I’m reviving you,” Dream said, his hands covered in blood. He pressed desperately at Punz’s side, trying to stop the flow of blood, trying to save the life he knew was slipping away.
“That wasn’t part of the plan, Dream,” Punz sounded weak, they both knew he was going to die from this, they had planned for him to die from this.
“Fuck the plan, it all went to hell anyway.” Sam hadn’t been part of the plan, Quackity hadn’t been part of the plan, the starvation and torture and staying in the prison for months without escape hadn’t been part of the plan.
“That’s not true you know that, a little setback stopping you? That's not the Dream I know,” and Punz spoke the truth, while the torture hadn’t been expected, the condions of the prison had been. Dream had known a lot of what he was getting himself in for, and the final disk confrontation had worked perfectly, the plan to make the prison his home had worked perfectly, they could make it work, they had to make it work.
“”Well I'm not the Dream you knew,” Dream said, as a way of distraction. But it was also true, Dream wasn’t the person he was before the prison, he wasn’t the person he was before L’Manburg either. He had changed, and part of him understood why Sapnap and George had abandoned him, he was a monster in a hoodie and a mask to cover the hell he had been through. He wasn’t even sure if he knew who he was anymore. He did know, however, that the plan had to be carried through, that they had to reunite the server again, bring things back to how they used to be.
“Don't do it,” Punz said, voice firm but weak. And Dream nodded into Punz’s neck as he put one blood covered hand to their cheek, he held him as he drifted away to XD’s realm, and lay his lifeless body in the grass at his feet. Lilies of the valley populated the area where they stood, their delicate white petals now stained red with blood, and as Dream looked down upon the lifeless body of his friend, the one man who had been with him through thick and thin, the one man who hadn’t hurt him or turned their back on him, he didn’t let any tears flow. He couldn’t let any tears flow.
The now red grass blew with the wind, and the leaves of the large oak trees that surrounded them rustled in the wind, causing red autumnal leaves to fall silently around the corpse. The silence was deafening, with only Dream’s breaths and the wind, the lack of noise from the body below filled the air more than any noise Dream cloud made would. It was cold, Punz’s heat seeping into the cold floor, his friend’s life and light gone. Roses had been crumpled as he had fallen, their thorns clung to lifeless muscle, drawing yet more droplets of blood as their petals fell onto the white hoodie and the floor below. A vision of fire and violence, sleeping peacefully in the flower filled grass. Dream hoped XD would give Punz a kind limbo, or at least kinder than what Tommy had described to him. He fixed Punz’s medallion, the one they always wore, picking it up off the floor and placed it in the centre of his chest, its golden glow dimmed by smudges of blood.
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