#if you associate this with the dsmp i will cry

[ghost-of-a-vulture]

hi! I just wanted to ask what the “dream situation” is with Tommy and other cc’s. I’ve seen people mention this on twitter and tumblr, but I can’t seem to find out what is actually going on.

Okay so. Dream is generally an asshat. Bad at managing Dsmp, uses his fan base as a weapon, let Niki get harassed and sexualized Tommy when he was a minor, also may have groomed a fan and also made a music video about objectifying women.

In general, not a nice guy.

I dunno if you know about Qsmp so basically: Quackity made a multilingual server so he could play with both his English and Spanish speaking friends (and now more languages have been added) not long after Qsmp was announced Dream announced "United Smp" a server that was a direct ripoff of Qsmp and actually didn't have any members. It was a very obvious cry for attention that led to Dream publicly slandering Quackity (who never responded)

So now for the drama you asked about:

A lot of ex Dsmp members have started dropping Dream bc he is an asshat. Tommy included. A few weeks ago Tommy made a video called "If YouTubers were honest" and it included a short skit about the Qsmp situation involving Dream, and it was very obvious that Tommy was on Quackity's side. And Dream Stans are pissy.

Tommy hasn't really said anything since then. Tubbo, Jack, Slimecicle and a few others who are associated with Dream have dropped his ass.

Also, after the video Tommy made, Dream went on this weird streak of liking posts clowning on Tommy/disliking tweets buy his supporters? Also his bio says "just a little Minecraft guy. Haters dni" which is a really funny thing to have in your bio when you are a sexist asshole who grooms fans.

This probably wasn't the best summary but I hope this cleared things up for you =]

[ravendarkwood]

My Theory about the painting lady I guess? Or two other alternatives

So I watch the clip of the painting lady, and I'll be real for a second I don't think we have enough to figure out who it is. The painting is of a generic spooky lady, so it could be a lot of different people and I had my own theories so I figured I'd throw my hat into the ring.

Hekate

So Hekate is the one that I see people talking about the most, and I can't really figure out why? So Hekate is the Greek goddess of witchcraft, crossroads, ghosts along with other stuff like night and the moon which more falls under other goddesses but she is associated with. Could this be Hekate? Yes, it could be literally anyone, but couldn't see anything that would specifically lead one to think Hekate other than Dapper has mentioned her a couple of times. The only iconography that could link back to Hekate is that she's associated with two torches, and there were some torches and candles in twos beside the painting, but that could also be lighting. She also isn't someone I could see climbing out of a painting and stabbing a bitch. Her most notable role in Greek mythology is cursing people and helping a mother find her daughter, so it doesn't seem in line to me?

Miss Trixtin, Death

So, you guys probably know her better as Kristin or Mumza, but I will be talking about her as Miss Trixtin because that's how I separated the character from the person and I'm not calling someone in their thirties mum when I'm twenty six. Now, despite what some people think Miss Trixtin is canon to QSMP, and I don't just mean in the way that the other goddess wives are. Philza started collecting wither roses early on and started leaving them places, saying that they were proof that Miss Trixtin's presence, and when asked questions by Cucurucho he's answered talking about her. She just straight up is canon. Her symbolism usually centers around the wither rose, and to a lesser extent crying obsidian. The only things that I could see that could match her symbols is the lantern, and maybe the background of the painting. Bad stops running to focus on a lantern for a few seconds, and there is some purple on it, so it does look a bit like crying obsidian? Also, she's just associated with black and purple in general, so the back round of the painting also matches her vibes.

I will also say that Miss Trixtin's hair and skin tone match the painting a bit? I'm only mention this because Bad focuses so much on the hair at the very end, but she does have black hair and tanner skin. Would she jump out of a painting to stab a bitch? I don't know honestly, maybe if she thought it was funny? It depends, we haven't seen a lot of her other than her brief appearance on DSMP where she spookily whispered to Philza, making him think he was crazy, testy because he made the nether portal into a table, but also saved him and Niki from the nuke.

Another interesting thing is that Phil often talks about her like she's a cyclical goddess, like yes she's goddess of death but death leads to new life sort of thing, so she could also be associated with nature. It makes sense with her being a minecraft goddess so like respawning.

So my two additions to this theory:

Nyx

If it's going to be a Greek goddess, honestly I think it being Nyx would be more likely then Hekate? Nyx is the greek goddess of night, and Bad was given the darkness effect when he was stabbed.

Famine

Okay so, Bad has been going pretty hard on the Christian stuff for Bad's backstory, and he is probably either Death the horsemen or associated with it, so this dark figure could be Famine. Famine is the black horseman, so it would make sense for them to be linked with black. Their weapon is scales, not a wand of darkness though so the weapons don't match up, but it does link back to a lot of the sources that Bad seems to be using for his character's backstory

[melandrops]

20 Questions Writer Ask Game

Inspired by @thesymphonytrue

How many works do you have on ao3?

18

What's your total ao3 wordcount?

209,022

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

In published works I have 5:

DSMP/RPF (I count them as the same fandom even though they are tagged differently in my works)

Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse

Stranger Things

Legend of Zelda (BOTW/TOTK)

White Collar

I have wips in probably 2 or three other fandoms including Shadow and Bone, Purple Hyacinth and The Magnus Archives

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Hey Lover (Pavitr/Hobie)

Three Rings (Karlnapity)

I'm not a praying man (but I'll kneel to that) (Pavitr/Hobie)

Dancing Barefoot (Robin Buckley/Nancy Wheeler)

We're Sleeping Together (Dnf)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Very rarely to be honest. If it's a mutual or someone I know or they give a comment that I think warrants a response (request, questions, etc) then I respond. Otherwise, I never know what to say and how to thank them for commenting without sounding like an automated message lmao. But if you have commented on my fics trust me I have happy screamed about you <3

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Love Causes Trouble. 60s/70s era dnf where george gets killed at the end. Very tragic I think.

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the wildest one you've ever written?

Nah, no crossovers. I do have a hunger games/spiderverse idea, but I'm not sure if it will come to fruition.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No, god bless. Which is a little surprising sometimes considering the amount of rpf I've written lmao. But my dsmp writing was never that popular so I should count my blessings.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Sure. I prefer quick and easy fade to blacks which I've done before, but occasionally I write smut.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I would be open to the idea. It would have to be a long fic if I did that.

What's your all time favorite ship?

Oh god. I've never written for it but ngl wolfstar has a soft spot in my heart. But there are so many and for the sake of not providing a documented list of everyone I've shipped before I'll leave it at that.

What's a WIP you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

My Purple Hyacinth fic. I love it so far, but I just got so burnt out in the middle of working on it. And I have trouble picking up fics when I haven't touched them in too long. I still have it outlined and probably like 1/3 of the way done. So I'm holding out a sliver of hope. But realistically, I probably won't finish it.

What are your writing strengths?

Uhhh no idea. Over the years I've definitely seen a lot of improvement in my descriptive style. Showing, not telling. And I think I've gotten a lot better at making my writing compelling. The first time someone told me that my writing made them cry I also cried.

What are you writing weaknesses?

So much. 😭 I find that dialogue often runs away from me and I get sidetracked, or it sounds clunky and unnatural. Also characterization. I tend to want to make my characters 1 million percent soft and huggable and forgetting that they are quite flawed. Also plot. I can write out a series of vignettes like nobody's business but an actual plot is hard. I've only written something with a genuine plot a few times, and only one of those got published.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

It's why I didn't include any of Pavitr speaking in Indian associated languages. I don't want to do a bad job on it, and would be too nervous about accidentally appropriating someone's culture. Or just generally making an ass out of myself by writing something silly. Maybe something to work on?

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Wrote and published? Dsmp. That fic has been deleted (it's for the best) but my first fic on my profile is still a dsmp work. Unpublished, my first fanfiction was probably for the Lunar Chronicles. Specifically Cress and Thorne.

What's your favorite fic you've ever written?

Love Causes Trouble

It is not the most popular of my fics by a long shot, but it's one of my favorites. If I went back and rewrote it there are a lot of things I would change about it. A lot. It's very imperfect but I'm just such a slut for 60s/70s queer love, for artists and writers falling in love and for tragic endings. A bit kill your gays, but I'm at peace with that.

If not for you (I couldn't get off this floor)

I also like this one because it has a few personal ties to me and because it got such a good reception. I got so many comments saying that this helped them process their grief or it was really cathartic to read so it means a lot to me.

I'm tagging a few people but please feel free to continue the game, even if I didn't tag you.

@avi17 @maybeebeee @wulfspyd3r @sunkraken

[that-angry-noldo]

Songs from my playlist and various silm characters I associate them with!

Lonely King by CG5 - Curufin

I See a Dreamer by CG5 - Elros

Injustice by CG5 - Fingon

World's Smallest Violin by AJR - Celebrimbor and/or Elrond

BANG! by AJR - Arafinweans

Curses by the Crane Wives - Finduilas

This Will End by The Oh Hellos - Beor & Finrod

Bitter Water by the Oh Hellos - Finrod & Amarie

Pale White Horse by the Oh Hellos - Morwen

Where Is Your Rider by the Oh Hellos - Fingolfin/Dagor Bragollach

Dear Wormwood by the Oh Hellos - Finarfin

Torches by the Oh Hellos - Edain

Better Than You - Finrod & Curufin

Choven (Boat) by Odyn v Kanoe - Eärendil

Aint No Crying by the Derivakat - Orodreth post-Bragollach

Doomsday by Derivakat - Finarfin

Wings by Halfy Draws - Finwe

I'm gonna win by Rob Cantor - Finrod

Yes I have Many Thoughts. Yes I am ready to go into Deep Analysys over them. Yes half of them are DSMP songs. No I will Not Apologise

[tiredkirisimp]

I would just like to say I have been in the monster prom fandom for a year and a half so for all of you getting into it now bc of ranboo i have seniority.

(Also i’m very happy there are more fans bc this is something i’m very passionate about and have had brainrot of it for as long as i’ve known about it but if you’re on my page please do not associate it with ranboo or the dsmp. i enjoy ranboo except i don’t like the dsmp or when things i’m passionate about or hyperfixate on are linked to it by other people.)

[give-grian-rights]

hey .

No Children by The Mountain Goats is a c!Skephalo (platonic or otherwise) song.

discuss .

[funneyheehooman]

/rp /dsmp

After escaping the prison, do dream and techno really go back to the Syndicate? Quackity already knows where Techno lives, the coords are probably burned into the recesses of his mind since that day, he has the scar to remember it by. No doubt he'd tell Sam where Techno's house is. Especially with two escaped convicts? Sam could easily get the entire server to help him get them back.

No. Instead of going back, they both have to go far, very far away. Phil wants to come with them, he was the one to help them escape anyway, why wouldn’t he join them? He isn’t going to just leave his best friend. 

They go back to Techno’s home, former home, to get supplies before heading away. Away from everything, and everyone. Techno has to carry Dream most of the way, his legs aren’t working, and he’s missing a couple of toes.. 

They can’t take much, even then most of what they need is already in their Ender Chests. 

A moment of silence. Will they have to stay away forever? Will their animals be okay? Will Ranboo and Niki be okay when they find out? Will Quackity and Sam go after them out of association? (Niki should be safe, at least she doesn’t live with them unlike Ranboo). 

Dream struggles against Techno’s arms, he says he can walk just fine, Dream breathes heavily as they walk out into the snowy tundra, the whines and woofs from the dogs, the gentle whinnying of the horses break the silence between the trio. 

Where would they go? That was the question of the night. They had to leave fast, the sirens were probably still going, it wouldn’t be long until the others would reach the tundra. 

As Techno hoisted bags of supplies onto Carl, and while Phil started scribbling onto a piece of paper. Dream stood there, bewildered, ashamed, grateful, tired, overwhelmed, all of these emotions piled in on him all at once. 

Dream glanced away, he looked up at the stars, how long has it been since he’s seen stars, hell, how long has it been since he’s seen the sky? He doesn’t remember. He can’t recognize the constellations anymore. 

He feels warmth on his face. He brings a bandaged paw to his face and feels wetness, the wetness only seems to be getting worse as now his eyes start to blur. He tries wiping at his face but it couldn’t stop, he couldn’t stop. 

How pathetic he was, crying at a time like this, he should be helping the people who saved him. But no, here he was, crying like an infant. 

He snapped out of his reverie from a touch of something on his back, he didn’t notice that his legs collapsed from under him, he sniffled as he looked up to see kind eyes looking down at him (Too kind). 

“C’mon mate, we have to get going, can you stand?” 

Philza holds out a hand, Dream stares at it for a moment. Some part of him wanted to push the hand away, another part wanted to hug the man in front of him. 

Dream grasps the hand, his legs shook in disagreement as he stood up, his tail swishing from the pain. Gritting his teeth, he held onto the bird-like man.

As he was hoisted up onto the saddle by the piglin-hybrid that was his hesitant ally, turned roommate, to possibly now closet companion. One question was burning in his mind. 

When will I wake up? 

The trio rode into the night, the prison guards would be too late, and no one knew where they went. A search party would be sent, but all of it would be in vain. 

It was actually Niki who found the note first. It was a couple days after the escape, and even then, she found herself in the Syndicate’s meeting room. Despondent, but not without purpose, she wanted to find answers. 

(She found a home, she found people who listened to her, who appreciated her for who she was- why was it taken away again?)

There she would find a single note. She would bring it to Ranboo later, and the two of them could only do what the note said. What else could they do?  

“Wait for us, we’ll be home soon” read the last line. 

All they could do was wait.

[emo-and-confused]

au//// When someone’s causes you emotional damage or trauma, thin flowers raise from your skin. Most people have, on average, three groups. The people of the DSMP typically have a few more than the average. However, Tommy has significantly more, and people don’t realise.

Tommy’s first set of flowers raise when he’s only seven years old. Phil neglected him for his oldest brother, leaving Wilbur to raise him. The group of five flowers raise when Phil misses his seventh birthday in favor of going on an adventure with Techno. The flowers are green and white, and cover his upper thigh, raised slightly from the skin, the marks being tender and feeling slightly like a petal. He doesn’t tell Wilbur, even as his brother holds him while he cries. He knows what the flowers mean, and he doesn’t want Wilbur to feel even worse for him. Even when wearing shorts, the flowers aren’t visible.

(A small flower is added to the group of five on his thigh when he leaves for the Dream SMP, Wilbur promising to come and meet him soon, while Phil and Techno don’t say anything. The flower hurts a little more when it grows in, and the green petals have a mixture of pink swirled in. He still doesn’t tell anyone)

Tommy’s second set of flowers is smaller, during the Disc Saga with Dream. Two flowers raise from the skin along his shoulder blade, both a shade of green usually associated with the admin he’s at war with. He didn’t feel too hurt by the war, but he felt enough of it. He understood though, even if Dream had invited him to his land, Tommy guesses he was just too much to handle. But Tubbo kept him grounded, so he didn’t back down from the war. They were his discs anyways. The sleeve of his shirt covers the flowers; he keeps it a secret.

Tommy’s third set of flowers bloom when Eret betrayed them for the Dream Team. Six flowers bloom across his chest, hurting while they raise. He had liked Eret, he had thought they were friends. Now he can barely look at the guy without remembering the feeling of betrayal, the words “It was never meant to be” ringing in his ears as he remembers Dream killing him and taking his first life (a new green flower is added to his shoulder blade). He trades his red and white shirt in for a bigger size, so the flowers don’t show through the shirt.

Tommy’s fourth set of flowers grow when Sapnap kills Henry. It hurt more than when Sapnap killed Harold, because Henry’s death was intentional. He liked Sapnap at one point, but they had an unsteady friendship. Henry’s death caused a single cream coloured flower to raise at the skin on the right side of his ribcage, creating a constant reminder of the death of his pet.

Tommy loses sight of when the flowers start to bloom after that. He stops remembering which grew in chronological order, and instead only remembering why they grew in the first place.

More neon green flowers raise across both shoulders as Dream continues to mess with him, sometimes the colour of his discs showing up at the ends of the petals. He adds length to his sleeves, and makes the neckline of his shirt a little higher. It’s okay, no one needs to know. He’s not weak, he’s not sensitive (he knows the amount of flowers he already has say otherwise).

The flowers from Eret hurt less as time moves, the king redeeming himself slightly. The flowers don’t fade, he doesn’t think he ever will, but the pain is almost completely gone.

(When he comes across the Final Control Room with Techno, the pain comes back. It doesn’t leave for a week.)

Schlatt causes a grey flower to raise on the back of his neck. He was Tommy’s idol, and he really thought they were, or could be, friends. But his and Wilbur’s exile proved otherwise. His hair covers the flower easily; he doesn’t have to try hard to hide it.

Quackity’s betrayal of L’manburg for Schlatt makes two small blue flowers bloom right above Schlatt’s grey one. It hurts but is almost completely forgotten when Quackity joins them in Pogtopia later.

He gains five brown and yellow flowers from Wilbur during Pogtopia, covering the left half of his stomach. Four more are added when he blows up L’manburg, one more is added when he sees his brother begging his father to kill him. A huge green and white flower is added to those on his thigh. He doesn’t wear shorts anymore to keep it hidden. All of them cause him pain.

Techno causes four pink flowers to run down his right arm. His brother told him to die and spawned withers. It hurt a lot, but he continued to hide. The flowers were thinner than the others, and he starts wearing a white long sleeved shirt underneath his iconic red and white tee. It hides them perfectly. No one questions the new fashion choice.

Seven yellow and black stripped flowers bloom across his heart when Tubbo exiles him. His best friend exiled him and sent him away for a mistake that he didn’t mean to make. The prank had gotten out of hand.

In Logstedshire, the green flowers across his shoulder blade multiply and grow darker, and he has to ask Ranboo to get him the red and white hoodie he has stored in his home, back in L’manburg. He prepared for this, he knew he was going to be covered in flowers one day. People just didn’t like him. Ranboo doesn’t ask why, he doesn’t see the dark green flowers through the white shirt sleeve.

Dream finds out about his flowers. He’s the first one to ever find out. Dream manipulates and gaslights and abuses him, and he almost jumps into the lava so many times. When Dream blows up Logstedshire, no new flowers are added, but the preexisting ones burn. He almost jumps off the pillar he made. (He doesn’t).

When he finds Technoblade’s cabin, he starts to heal. His flowers hurt less and less as the days go by, but they never leave. They never fade.

But then Dream blames him for blowing up the community house, and he and Tubbo fight after Tubbo gets his disc from the enderchest. A new black and yellow flower is added to the bunch over his heart.

Then he chooses Tubbo over Techno. His best friend over his brother. Both have caused flowers but Tubbo was always there. He doesn’t feel like he’s betrayed Techno; he never agreed to L’manburg getting blown up. And Techno sides with Dream, causing more pink flowers to be added to his arm. He understands though, he did chose the opposite side. It doesn’t matter if his brother was the first one to hurt him.

Fundy and Niki both cause flowers; Niki’s two purple and Fundy’s two orange ones intertwining with each other on his ankles. Niki burned down L’mantree and Fundy sabotaged their war supplies. It’s okay though; they might want him dead but he fucked up in the past. He understands their hatred of him.

Other miscellaneous flowers are spotted across him, and his gives up on trying to remember who all hurt him. His skin is painted with thin petals of all colors, from so many people.

When L’manburg’s been blown up for the last time, Dream’s TNT running out and Techno’s withers being dead, and Phil standing with the two of them looking at their work, Tommy is tired. He struggles to breathe normally, but he doesn’t cry. He’s past that.

Dream looks at him, his mask lifted up just barely enough to see the smug smile on his face. Tommy looks down, looks at the destruction. He’s so tired.

“How many were added?” Dream asks. Tommy knows what he means. Tommy doesn’t respond.

Everyone is listening, just like they did at the community house. They’re confused, but they let it play out, not intervening. They never do.

Tubbo moves closer to Tommy as Dream does. Techno and Phil just watch with the rest.

“I asked a question.” His voice makes Tommy shiver and represss memories of Logsted. “How many flowers were added since I last saw?”

Tommy’s reply is simple: a shrug and a quiet “too many”.

Dream moves before Tubbo has a chance to stop him, and Tommy doesn’t try and defend himself. Dream’s axe slashes at Tommy’s hoodie, cutting away the fabric and revealing the flowers that cover his arms and stomach and shoulders and back. The axe cuts at Tommy’s jeans, the denim peeling slightly and showing a sliver of flowers at his thighs and ankles.

No one knows what to do, no one knows what to say, as Dream reveals the pain of the sixteen year old. None of them have as many flowers as that. A lot of them have more than three bundles, but no where near as many as those on Tommy’s skin.

Tommy just closes his eyes, and breathes in. He turns around and walks away, hearing Dream’s laugh coat the silence in the destruction of the broken country. It’s not until he’s at the stairs of the Prime Path that he hears yelling, everyone accusing others and shouting for revenge at Dream.

Tommy doesn’t notice when he gets to the bench, he doesn’t notice when he sits down and watches the sunset. He only becomes aware of reality once more when he feels Tubbo’s presence behind him.

They don’t say anything. They don’t need to. The silence is comforting.

[wisebilly]

Hi! I don’t know if you’re still open to answering but for the ask game: sage, chamomile, and papyrus?

sage ⇢ what ‘medium’ of art (poetry, music, fiction, paintings, statues etc.) is the most touching to you? why do you think that is?

for itd probably have to be statues!! similar to figurines n stuff, i think having a physical copy of something that means a lot instead of simply like a file on a pc is rlly heartwarming n sentimental :]

chamomile ⇢ what kind of things do you like receiving as gifts?

this may be a Little cliche/obvious but . stuff that pertains to my current hyperfixation :D like if you were to buy me something dsmp themed I'd probably cry (bonus points if you didnt buy it but made it by yourself) but i also do like getting crystals/gems, pillows blankets or stuffies, and stickers/charms !!

papyrus ⇢ if you put your ‘on repeat’ playlist on shuffle, what’s the first song that comes up? what do you like about it / associate it with?

i dont actually. Have an 'on repeat' playlist, or any playlists at all tbh i keep all my songs in my spotify likes ToT buut if i stroll over there n hit shuffle i geettt- feel better by Penelope Scott!! id say i associate broken bottles/shattered glass, dandelions, and empty nail polish bottles with it!!

[tasmanianstripes]

/rp

Listen, I know y'all expected Tommy to break down in tears once he left the cell and run to Sam and hug him, and just generally that kind of shit, but like...PTSD doesn't work that way?

Some people's PTSD might, but you need to realise that everybody responds to trauma and triggers differently. Some people might cry and hyperventilate, some people might get angry or even get aggressive and lash out at people. From previous PTSD episodes of Tommy, it was kind of clear that he wouldn't be the crying breakdown kind of guy.

The reason Tommy acted like he did to c!Sam is because of his PTSD, not out of malice, and honestly? I don't blame him for blaming Sam. He felt hurt and just left a situation that severely traumatised him, he thought he could trust Sam and that he'd protect him, and from Tommy's perspective that trust was broken. He's not exactly wrong either.

Now, I don't blame Sam completely, mistakes happen and it's incredibly clear that he feels horribly guilty over what happened. We saw Sam blaming himself and hurting after Tommy's death, but Tommy didn't. We have the full picture, Tommy doesn't.

He's right to feel hurt and even lash out and blame Sam for what happened, and although I personally think he isn't 100% morally right in blaming Sam (it wasn't fully Sam's fault but let's be honest, the prison needs reforms) it is a completely natural and expected way for a teenager to act like after just getting out of an incredibly traumatising experience. Tommy isn't going to think clearly, he isn't going to stop and consider what Sam might have felt or think, his only goal at the time is to get the hell out of the prison - the place he associates his trauma with.

I'm just begging y'all to look at Tommy's POV, try to put yourself in his shoes, and stop demonising people with PTSD the second they show any kind of symptoms that don't align with how you perceive a "good" trauma victim to behave like.

(This isn't c!Sam critical or trying to bash artists and writers that depicted Tommy crying and hugging Sam when reuniting with him (I like Sam a lot and this kind of content is good shit 👌), it's more critical of the dsmp fans who shit on c!Tommy the second he looks at some other character a bit funny or breaths in the wrong direction)

[angeloncewas]

Idk if you’d refer to it as an anti to stan thing, but I completely avoided Dream at first. I wasn’t into mcyt at all and I didn’t even hear about him until cryaotic pointed out how his fanart and stuff looked similar one time on stream (before all of that shit went down obviously) and that’s all I knew besides him playing Minecraft. Then when all of that did go down with cry I entirely put him out of my mind until I started seeing dsmp art on here and somehow that convinced me to start watching mc rp.

I still just kind of avoided him though. I don’t think I actually searched for his content or anything until maybe December and somehow I still hadn’t heard anything about him minus his dsmp character and some memes. I don’t even think I had heard about any controversies with him aside from the speed running thing.

It took me a while to get out of his brand being somewhat similar to cry’s, but I’m glad that so far it’s a better situation than that. It still puts me off sometimes how similar they are though.

I don't know if it's "anti to stan," but technically mine isn't either so I think it works. I just think the unconventional paths to this fandom (or Dream specifically, or other ccs) is super interesting since there's so many of us and we were all doing different things before... idk !

I was lucky enough to never be into Cry's content - I knew him vaguely from other people I think ?? - but I can imagine how difficult it must be to shake that association. I didn't know the timelines were so close that he was able to mention the fanart similarities.

I don't know, I've never really been, like, a die-hard fan of a cc that turned out to be bad, but it's definitely happened on a smaller scale and it's something I'm hyper aware (to perhaps a paranoid extent, but I do try to stay optimistic) of when consuming a streamer's content to the extent I do (like, posting about it and stuff.)

Dream once said something like "I'll make sure you don't regret [supporting me]" and I think about it a lot. It was the first time I'd ever seen a cc kind of... acknowledge the way it impacts fans ? Like how embarrassing it is to look back at all the time you spent as a fan of that person harboring an awful secret ? I'm a firm believer in that "no love is wasted" ideology, but it's still awkward and sad, y'know?

Idk what I'm saying ahfdjn. I hope the situation stays good and I'm glad you wandered your way into the dsmp fandom :D

[rosartemis]

Your Phenomenal Dramaturgy DSMP Animatic

Was gonna post a YouTube comment, but then I realized I didn’t want to get eviscerated by the dsmp fandom for having a different opinion, so submitting my interpretation of the lyrics/animatic in regards to c!Dream here instead :P

“But I don’t know a thing, love or losing, see?” I believe references how before Wilbur and L'manburg these kinds of conflicts/wars were never a thing on the server and Dream had no idea how he should deal with it. “So I threw to the side any human in me.” Implies Dream believed he had to make harsh choices to end the conflict, he couldn’t be soft, “No mercy” right? “If I live a lie of shallow words and empty replies, then what am I?” implying Dream keeps his word, but the people of L'Manburg don’t. It’s framed as a response from Dream to Wilbur during the declaration of independence, and makes sense if you consider the fact that Wilbur was scamming everyone out of their own potions supplies and made L'Manburg in part as an excuse to get away with it when the other members of the server got mad (Dream was uninvolved at this point, but he likely heard about it from Sapnap, who was one of the people that had confronted Wilbur and Tommy about their theft). “Then it stuck in my head, gotta run away” Dream and Sapnap getting carried away with burning down the forest surrounding L'manburg. “Playing out like a scene, posing every lead Near the end of the show, waiting in the wing, see?” Not sure about the first line, aside from referencing how everything’s a play and Dream’s the lead actor, but the second line refers to Eret’s role as the hidden traitor “Waiting in the wings”. “Run to front stage, you’re all actors anyway, no one to watch, You’re all part of the play” Dream having to make tough decisions as the de facto leader of the Greater Dream SMP faction during war. He’s planning out strategies with George and Sapnap, but the map turns into a chess game and he hates how he has to consider using them like pawns in the game to win this war. “There’s no one inside me There’s no one that’s hiding Always been me, empty, a body but nobody here to see” Montage of Dream prepping for the battle, there’s a scene in which he’s stepping into an argument between George and Sapnap. He’s steeling himself for the battle ahead. From a meta standpoint, these are all the scenes we as viewers never got to see, but they still happened, and it was still Dream who had done all this for his faction. “And knowing that those eyes are watching…” From the animatic implies that Dream seems to think things aren’t quite over yet, so he’s keeping an eye on things. “Til before we could see, we were monsters in skin ” Dream and his relationship with being called a monster/tyrant/villain continuously by the other members of the server, in particular those that are a part of L'Manburg. Could also be how he hadn’t noticed himself slipping into that role until far too late. “But even if I had tried to move on, why can’t I leave my past?” Same as above, but this time with the bonus of Pogtopia Wilbur manipulating him and convincing him he’ll be nothing more than a tyrant, a villain despite his clear attempts to amend that opinion of him and change by siding with Tommy (and Wilbur), who he thought were the “good guys”. ““Considering it’s you, better give up soon” “Cuz no matter what you do, you will always lose”” Dream talking in reference to Tommy and Wilbur (?). “And then I was alone way before I knew Blocking every little thought that I couldn’t sit through” George leaving the conflict (and Dream) alone to build his own thing. Dream realizing he’s alone/his friends don’t seem to care about him as much as he does them, and trying not to think about it. “All they want now is safety from what’s around Waiting for help but never learning how” Dream constantly covering for George and Sapnap during conflicts they got themselves into without asking for anything in return, and George and Sapnap never learning how to stop causing conflicts/resolve them by themselves. (taking advantage of Dream’s help) “I don’t wanna think now” Doesn’t want to remember the good times he’s had with everyone/his friends. Him swiping away the pieces like he wants to stop this stupid game of chess. “I’ll play dumb anyhow” Reference to Dream losing his godly powers because of the exorcism and being split into 2 (as explained by creator of the animatic) and pretending everything was fine afterwards. “Always been me, empty, a body but nobody here to see” Realization he’s lost his powers and can’t rely on XD to help resolve the Manberg/Pogtopia conflict. Here his mask goes from covering the top of half of his face to covering his entire face, a “loss of humanity”/“empty” (from a circle to being fully molded onto his face covering), and is also when the strings motif starts. Trading chessboards for puppet strings. Very obviously, you can see him slipping and his mental state deteriorating. “So standing at the front line and maybe this time I’ll be there with a flag high” Reference to the Manburg shield hinting at his allegiance and how he’s leading the Manburg “army” during the battle. “Outmatched but easygoing "Never gonna need a script with me”“ Dream surrendering and playing along with their expectations (Pogtopia winning against Manberg). "Oh you too yes yes so take a deep breath "Swear that you’ll see me again” One chance is all I have now And so I better make it count Climatic ending, come see The final act, I’m shaken to my knees" Speaking to Tommy about meeting him for the final confrontation, Tommy realizing this is his chance to take down Dream for good, “climatic ending” the finale Dream’s planned out for them. Dream is determined to see things through to the bitter end. “Yet crying and lonely” But what has he lost to get to this point? (also the juxtaposition of Doomsday Dream with his armor and cloak staring at the sunset atop his obsidian grid, framed by destruction being swapped out for an image of the old Dream, still with strings tied to his hands, but staring up at the softer night sky being framed by trees, is just, so good) “The world that I locked out is nowhere to find The people who mocked me are gone from my sight Emotions and feelings are useless to keep The tears that had fallen were not mine to weep” Hardening his heart against George/the rest of his friends (who later in turn abandoned him/left him), beating down those who had wronged him in the past, letting go of Spirit and the attachment associated with them so they’ll never be used against him again (representing him cutting off the rest of his attachments to do the same thing) despite it being very obviously painful and hurting to do so. (choosing to let go, but finding that doing so hurts anyways. Crying for something you think you shouldn’t cry for.) “The kindness and warmth, I can’t feel them at all The hands that are offered, I’m scared that I’ll fall The hole dug inside me can’t hold any love Instead, you can see me break down from above” Unable or unwilling to form healthy emotional attachments/connections with other people. He’s scared that if he does he’ll just be hurt again, and so he pushes them away, even those who’d offer him their help. He’s lost so much that he’s grown emotionally repressed (his past as Cornelius and how he lost his entire family in a week) and has trouble feeling things like “love”, and starts collapsing under the lose. (his mental health spiraling hard) “Hey, remember when you saw that they were nearing their end? And you looked like you were laughing at the pain they were in But what did you see? Oh really what could it be Well, take a breath ‘cuz you’ll need it, so c’mon saying” Something more happening with Dream behind the front of “big bad villain” that he puts on for the rest of the server, what was he really feeling? What was he really planning? We don’t know. “We’re pulling at the boundary, unseen A curtain dyed in black soon came to be And knowing that those eyes are watching…” The end of a season/the “show”, Dream’s put in prison and the curtains appear to be closing, but there’s still some loose ends that haven’t been tied with the other characters, and Dream’s presence can still be felt all around the server despite him being locked up in a literal torture box with no real power (power that could get him out of said torture box). (also, just loved how you incorporated the chorus! I’ve known about Dramaturgy for a long time but hadn’t realized how well the lyrics just fit with the DSMP plotline XD)

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Wow, thanks for such a detailed response to my animatic :D I’m really glad you enjoyed it enough to type so much out!

I really like your interpretation, you basically got most of the things I was going for. While I yearn to type out something longer, I don’t really want to tell people how to interpret something lol

Thanks again <3

[foryouthegays]

Forming a secret organization [Dream SMP] liveblog and summary!

Good laugh times: 7:40, 1:18:15, 1:19:25

Protect mr philza minecraft from baby zombies (he really went all out on that bit today): 20:35, 32:40 34:45, 1:16:35

Sellout pog: 30:45, 1:00:50, 1:30:55, 2:01:15

Summary:

Techno started the stream in the Nether. He quickly went back to the overworld and to his house, where he meets up with Phil and Ranboo. He mentions that the house smells like gunpowder, and Phil quickly ushers them outside and they continue their conversation.

Techno nudges Ranboo away from the conversation, and he leaves the call. Phil and Techno watch as Ranboo leaves the house, and then Techno tells Phil his news. He talks about how taking down L’Manburg wasn’t the greatest plan, especially as he’s only one person. He wants to bring other people to their anarchist ways.

Phil agrees to form a secret organization for anarchists, because they can’t fight ten to one.

Techno and Phil go to Ranboos house, asking for a feather, and Ranboo asks if he’s getting kicked out. They say no, and then Ranboo says that he has something that might get him kicked out.

He talks about how he sometimes doesn’t remember what he does, and that he was the person who blew up the community house.

Techno asks why, and Ranboo says he doesn’t know.

Phil and Techno agree that they don’t really care about the community house, and Ranboo continues, saying that he has one of the discs. Phil and Techno agree again that they don’t care about the discs at all.

Techno and Phil leave.

Techno leads Phil to a stronghold, which he calls a ‘structure,’ and they cover it with gravel to hide it. They enter the structure, and they find a library, some useless doors, and keep exploring, finding nothing. Techno is confused, thinking that there had to have been a reason for the stronghold's existence.

While looking at a connected Abandoned Mineshaft, Techno finds an enchanted golden apple.

They go into the lower parts of the stronghold, and they find a prison. Techno mentions that the bread he found earlier tasted around 2,000 years old, which gives us a rough (and joking) estimate of when the stronghold was made.

Phil finds a strange portal, and they talk about how advanced the previous civilization must had been, to be able to make unbreakable blocks. They hear a villager writing, and dig up to a strange room.

It ends up being the igluu where Orphans parents lived, and they start laughing, but then, DreamXD logs in. He breaks the portal, and then leaves. Techno begs dream to put the portal back, because it would’ve added to the lore, and that their characters didn’t know what it was, and were going to use it as a table.

Dream logs in again, and puts one (1) portal frame block down, and then leaves again. Phil tells Dream how to place the blocks incorrectly so they wouldn’t form a portal, and he logs in to place them back.

DreamXD hears Techno joking about going to the end, logs in, and then logs out when Techno says he’s joking. Then, Techno explains the difference between DreamXD and Dream, saying that DreamXD has canonical access to creative mode, and is like God, but Dream is just some homeless teletubby. DreamXD logs in, says ‘they actually are I am the protector,” and logs out.

In chat, Techno asks ‘who was that dram fanboy, how did he get whitelisted,’ and DreamXD logs in again, hits Techno with a sword a few times, and logs out.

Techno and Phil decorate the meeting room a bit, and they start talking about what the association should be called. Techno says that he wants it to be the ‘[blank] Syndicate,’ and before they can agree on anything, Ranboos nametag is spotted, and they agree to kill him if he comes into the meeting room.

Techno puts down a sign with the organization's motto, which is ‘Sic semper tyrannis,’ which means ‘thus always to tyrants.’

He starts writing in the manifesto.

“This syndicate is formed to promote anarchy and fight tyranny in all its forms.

“We shall have no Leader; no member shall be compelled to act if they do not choose to.

“No member shall reveal information about the Syndicate to outsiders.

“Technoblade shall serve as the Recruiter to induce new members into the Syndicate with Approval from a Majority of members.”

Phil and Techno leave the Stronghold, and realize that the Igluu wasn’t actually Orphans parents, but instead a different Igluu that Ranboo had been using for Cartographers. They go back to the house, planning to meet with Ranboo, but on the way, they find a strange tower made of stone. Its hollow, but theres no chests or anything inside. They continue and meet with Ranboo, who has gifts for them. Techno gets a Netherite shovel with Efficiency V, Mending, Silk Touch, and Unbreaking III.

He brings them under his house, and we find he has a ‘comfort room,’ made of netherrack, that has several mob heads on the walls, an extra set of armor, and pets sitting next to the ladder. They talk about the map on the wall, and Techno seems concerned, or a bit scared.

Techno and Phil leave the call, and talk about how extremely strange the room, and Ranboo, was. They recount their adventure, and move the villagers into a more efficient layout. Ranboo joins them after a few minutes, at 1:38:00, and they work on curing the zombie villagers and giving them jobs

Liveblog:

I love when technos computer says he isnt streaming so he just rambles about that before it says he does and then he does the starting the streammm thing. Also if u havent heard the starting the streammmm thing u r missing out it is amazin

Techno pls get a new laptop im gonna cry

HE SAID THREE HE SAID THREE if u dont know, techno says three v nicely

“I havent even shown you the secrets, how would you guys be able to snitch??” SIR????

Oh my god is he using his phone to read chat,,,,,i hate him i hate him so much u haVE 5 MIL SUBS AND CANT EVEN GET A SECOND MONITOR WHYY

Ranboo!!! Philza minecraft!!!!! Hi!!!

5:40 ‘why does it smell like gunpowder?’ Techno there is no smell in minecraft. Lore pog?

6:45 AKDFJGLSA RANBOOS FUNDY IMPRESSION IM

8:45 ‘any second now its gonna be 11 percent updated, and thats like halfway done, if you think about it’ adhd autism solidarity right there lmao

I dont think techno can physically pay attention to lore for more than a minute at a time. He just like, sees a dog and zooms in on it while someones talking and its such a mood. All techno know is get distracted, kill orphans, protect philza minecraft, and anarchy. Love him

10:45 he just got COMPLETELY distracted w his laptop im actually crying form laughter

So uh. 17 mins in. Techno (without saying anything). Kills a zombie that was trying to kill ranboo. Thats. Thats a thing he only does for people he trusts. Uhhh

Technos voice at 21:30,,,,,,hhghn why is he like this why is he randomally doing weird voices

26:35 ‘hacker voice: were in’ HGKDFJSL

Ok but techno making fun of doors is so funny tho. Also he rlly did go all out on the baby zombie bit tdoay im actually crying

Techno when phils being chased by two creepers, a few zombies, and skeletons: i do not see it

Techno when phils being chased by one (1) baby zombie: loOK OUT PHILZA MINECRAFT

42:00 god apple poggggg

45:50 techno sir why do u know what 2,000 year old bread tastes like

Dsmp techno :handshake: minecraft story mode techno

Hating doors

Dsmp techno :handshake: smp earth techno

Living right above a stronghold

48:35 ‘dude, they had all this super advanced technology because they didnt waste time trying to figure out how to make doors’ FSKHGJDAL

50:25 UH?? WHAT IS THAT LMAO

OH ITS ORPHANS PARENTS LMAOOOO

GDFJKHSL DREAM HI

51 MINS IN HGJSKDFJASL DREAM PUT IT BACK IT WAS A GOOD TABLE DREAM

56:25 ‘listen, I’ve read a lot of mythology Phil, and nothing bad has ever happened from angering the gods.’ You SURE about that?

I will actually never get over techno making fun of dream its so funny to me 1:01:10

I am so, so extremely queer for technos planning/schemeing voice like when its kinda quieter and deeper n slower? Hhgnn

Also is latin canon in this universe? Pog

Asmr Technoblade makes a cult :)

Ok ok ok ok SO i know that techno wants to make all the members equal (and i do think that hell try his best to make that possible) but bc hes just,,,so FREAKING powerful both in terms of pvp and resources, i feel like his opinion IS gonna matter more, but also im p sure hes the writer of the arc so like. He has more important opinions anyway so unless he is v obviously controlling the other members of the group, i think this could be a fun collab thing. And i am SO excited to see all yalls analysis for what other people think of him ahhHHH i love analysis.

1:17:10 “whose idea was it to make baby zombies stronger? Why are the babies stronger?? Have you ever fought a baby in real life? I have, and it was trivially easy to defeat, Phil.” TECHNO????

Also i can NOT believe that someone thinks techno doesnt use dark humor,,,,have u WATCHED his videos?????

1:25:05 Like literally RIGHT after he makes a joke abt how ranboos shovel’ll be good for digging graves for his enemies, which was taking soooo long before

Ah yes, technoblade, the 21 yr old child 1:28:40

[tklpilled]

Well since you asked >:)

Tommy Eryn and Freddie: going off the last ask. Lab boy Lab baby along with Eryn. Left (or escaped) the lab along with Eryn and ended up in a small village. Met a boy called Freddie and they became friends, the trio made a life off scamming others and grew up on the streets. They weren’t entirely on their own though because there was other scammers and street dwellers that took care of them (other ccs associated with dsmp like Emma Langevin and Timedeo). They were like a strange family, who Tommy very much misses. Sometimes Wilbur who was younger at the time would visit the village and hang out with Tommy. Then they became older and Eryn and Freddie went to explore the world outside their small village. And Tommy was taken in by Wilbur his father Phil and Phils friend(and or wilburs brother this is very flexible) Techno.

Wilbur: raised in a large house at the top of a hill close to the village Tommy grew up in. Didn’t get much attention from Phil (he was away with Techno a lot) so he would go off and Terrorise other far off villages just for Phil to come and clean up the mess every time (basically the 100 player challenges being a big cry for attention from Wilbur in canon). Wilbur didn’t have much interest in the neighbouring village because there wasn’t many people his age to talk too, it wasn’t until he spotted a ship dock into the harbour this was very new to him ships never came here. He quickly went to the village to see the ship to be met with a sailor named Sally. This is also how Wilbur and Tommy met, Tommy seen Wilbur staring at Sally and took the piss out of him.

Tubbo: lived out in the artic with his dad Jordan. Jordan had a very explosive hobby (that his son would soon adopt) and Tubbo always had an interest in it since he was little. Jordan never let him near the dangerous stuff but taught him how to make smaller things like smoke bombs and flares if he was ever in danger. And some nights he would even set up *fireworks displays for Tubbo, who was absolutely enamoured by the colorful explosions. Also couldn’t really find a way to fit it in but enderdragon Sparkelz and Tubbo supremacy

Thats all the main ones i really have :D! I just like fleshing out the characters backgrounds and bringing other ccs into the mix yeno? And i have a big appreciation for the more underrated headcanons. Like Dadtain Sparkelz where most people would go for dad schl^tt. Its just little details that make me rlly happy.

*:)

-🍂

I LOVE THESE ALL I AM 💝💗💓💕💖💝 also if. if the 100 player things were just wilbur being lonely. imagine how happy he must have felt when phil showed up to that one challenge.

[irrealisms]

discussion topic: compare and contrast the mask guy from tgcf with dream (the mask guy from dsmp)

comparison: - favorite hobby is Abuse and Manipulation - helped cause the fall of a country - sometimes they do murders and it's very traumatic for the person getting murdered - a villain but also i want to hug them - good at fighting - used to care about things, realized that caring about things inevitably gets you hurt, decided to swear off caring about things - associated with war - sometimes a character will hallucinate them and it's kinda unclear at first whether it's actually a hallucination or not - m a s k

contrast: - dream is not even a little bit associated with disease as far as i'm aware - dream also doesn't have multiple identities in the same way; there's no "ACTUALLY, [x character] was dream all along!" the way there is for bai wuxiang - bai wuxiang's fixation on xie lian is much more of a hannigram-esque mentorship situation, while dream actively does not want tommy to follow in his footsteps - relatedly: dream has a lot fewer thematic parallels and foils within his story? his character design is much less symbolic. which makes sense if you consider that, well, he's an irl person's blocksona, and all the other characters are other people's blocksonas, they didn't coordinate to incorporate symbolism or anything XD - the ways in which Bai Wuxiang has power and the ways in which Dream had power in s1-2 are almost entirely different; Bai Wuxiang doesn't exclusively have power due to being good at fighting, and Dream doesn't have and has never had any positions of formal power such as Prince or Emperor - also, notice the past tense there! Bai Wuxiang's trauma is all pretty firmly in his backstory, whereas Dream's torture only began after his defeat - dream's mask doesn't frown or cry. :) only, no :'S - white no-face's powers are a lot more.... symbolic? like, his whole thing is revealing the cruelty of average people. meanwhile dream's schtick is large quantities of TNT - also tgcf is, like, finished, whereas the dream smp isn't. maybe some of these will end up being wrong as we get more content focusing on dream and his storyline, or maybe more will be added! we can't know, because the dream smp isn't over. tgcf on the other hand is very much over, and white no-face's character arc is concluded.

in conclusion: - 🎵 that's what the point of the mask is 🎵

[interactive-watchers]

A Silver Apology

Notes: Me and Mod Salem wrote this drabble together! Amaris POV is mine and Salem POV is theirs, this is in the DSMP by the way

The young nymph entered the small forge just by the back side of her cottage slipping on her apron, and tying up her chestnut colored hair with a white ribbon. She threw the ores into the furnace, feeling the hot air of the furnace be released into the air, letting the iron smelt into ingots. A comfortable familiar feeling seeped into her as the heat sent sweat gliding down her face. She allowed the ingots to cool down,eventually becoming more solid, the newly cooled metal showing the reflection of the girl’s slightly soot covered face. A pang of guilt hits her when she remembers why she's doing this, but she shuts the thought down, she doesn’t have the right to pity herself when she made them both feel so much worse. She puts her focus back onto the task at hand and places the iron into the melting pot, letting the iron become liquid. She quietly pours the searingly hot liquid into the sheet mold to let it cool, leaving her a moment to herself. She silently stares at the iron as it solidifies, dozens of thoughts racing behind those hazel eyes. She lets out a deep sigh as she returns back to her work putting the sheet metal onto her anvil to begin hammering it into shape. The metal gleamed a bright orange from the heat as she banged her hammer onto it with strong yet calculated swings. Regret still lingered in the back of her consciousness while her hands worked. Having forged so many times before her body continued reflectively as she got lost in her thoughts.

She should have stayed, or at the very least waited a little longer. Now she was reunited with them both, but their relationships still felt strained. She still remembers that conversation with Salem when they saw each other here for the first time. Though he tried not to show it, Amaris knew Salem too well to not notice they were hurt. Amaris knew he had issues with being abandoned, yet she left anyway. She really was stupid enough to think that a small goodbye would be enough to erase a millena of anxieties and fears. And Aurora, one of the few people patient and kind enough to help her through her issues, all for her to leave her behind. She’s one of her few constants in her life and she couldn’t even return the favor. Gods, she is such a piece of shit. She felt her vision blur and a familiar wetness on her cheeks yet she continued to pound the metal as it began to resemble the head of a throwing axe and a dagger. Her arms begin to tremble, tears streaming down her cheeks now. Yet she continues pounding, putting all of her sadness, guilt, and regret into her work. The loud clanging of the hammer against the iron being the only thing keeping her grounded. As she pounds the metal slowly starts to take form, her breathing begins to even out and the tears begin to subside. Until finally the hammering is done. She silently lowers her hammer and stares at the weapons, her heart beating so loud in her ears as she shakily takes in deep breaths. She stands there in silence for what feels like hours, other than the crackling fire and noises of the forge she’s left alone with her own thoughts, though this silence feels more empty than usual.

Wiping her tears quickly she grabs her tongs and plucks the weapons off the anvil, both orange with heat, and dips them into the nearby water bucket leaving them cool to the touch. Picking up her rag she wipes away any soot or imperfections on the weapons, leaving them with a brighter metallic sheen. She gripped her bench grinder and began to run it down the sides of the dagger, repeating this until it was sharp enough for her standards. She then moved on to the axe head, scraping the bench grinder against the metal’s length. She thought she was making the right choice coming here. Everyone told her their disappearance was “normal” and “just Nare being Nare'' yet her instincts screamed at her something was wrong. That this time was different. Sure, turns out she was right, but the consequences of coming here were far worse than she expected. Now she’s stuck here as well until the gospel court manages to bring that sadistic bastard of a god to justice. She might as well not even be here with how much use she has. She continued to sharpen the axe head, with each stroke becoming stronger and stronger as she worked the metal. She finally held it up blowing off the dust, the cool metal contrasting her flushed skin. Her eyes puffy and her nose red, she rips her eyes away from her reflection. She began to carve details into the axe head, thoughts now pushed aside by her silent concentration. The minutes passed by like seconds as she gently yet firmly marked the axe with engravings, only stopping to wipe the sweat now running down her face. The axe head was almost completely covered in long, curbing lines that joined together near the face, the edges being the only spot untouched by her hand. With a metallic thunk she places the axe head onto the table, plucking a piece of wood from the table and getting to work on making the handle for the axe.

~*~

A traveler with a strange, moth like cloak strode through the woods on the way to the nymph’s cottage. “First My Claimed disappeared to this ‘ell ‘ole than my friends' damn.” They muttered under their breath. They had stopped in a place called ‘Snowchester’ during their travels, and their immortal heart almost stopped at the sight of their favorite claimed, a blonde avian hybrid named Theseus (affectionately called Tommy) with no memory of them and no wings. “Ayy Salem, gotta pull through” They muttered to themselves through gritted teeth. They checked their compass again. They were close to the coords that Amaris’ letter had told them to come too. Then in the distance, there it is, a simple cottage with a small forge on the side, surrounded by beautiful, vibrant wildflowers and a garden. (Salem would never admit it, but they always admired Amaris’ way to keep plants alive. They could only keep their associated plants alive) They pulled their hood down. Better see what they needed. (There couldn’t be any other reason Amaris would want them at her short-term home, they were proving themselves to be a horrid friend and patron. Really Salem, they obviously didn’t want you around. That’s why they left) They quickly pulled themselves out of their thoughts. They had a reputation as one of the two death gods that were actually happy, and they were just standing there, staring at their best friend's property. They briskly walked up the path to the home, and knocked three times (a habit they picked up from Kristen) on the rough-hewn door. Amaris opened the door. “Salem!! My friend!!!,” (She looked like she had been crying) “I didn’t think you’d come!!”

“Of ‘ourse I’d come! ya are my best friend!” Salem said back. (They wondered if she was crying because of them)

Amaris opened the door wider, ushering in her godly friend and leading them to the kitchen table. "Tea?"

“Of ‘ourse.” With that Amaris put a kettle to the stove and then turned to look at Salem. “So.. uh, The server is fucked right? It’s not just me?”

“No It ain’t just ya, I noticed it too. I saw ‘ommy on the way ‘ere, an’ ‘e dinae know who I was!”

Amaris hummed and turned to make the tea. “Uh. I did want to say I’m sorry Salem. You didn’t deserve to get left alone again, but I still left. And that was me being a horrible friend. I really am sorry, and I hope you can forgive me.” Salem sat in silence (what does she mean that she’s the bad friend?) “See, I dinae know why yer ‘poloizing to me lass. I’m the bad friend for ‘ver reactin” Salem answered, rubbing at the back of their neck, fidgeting with the claps on their necklaces. “No Salem. I shouldn’t have left. A simple goodbye will not erase thousands of years of your anxiety.” Amaris sighed, handing the god their cup of tea. “‘anks” they muttered. Amaris sighed again. “OH! I have something for you!! Stay right here!” She ran into another room, letting Salem drink in silence again. She came back into the room, with a parcel, wrapped in simple black fabric. “Ay, wots ‘at now?” Salem laughed. The awkward tension seemed to be gone from the room. “A present!” Amaris answered happily, pushing the package into Salem’s lap. “Open it!” Salem laughed again, Quickly unwrapping the parcel, revealing a beautiful throwing axe, with intricate carvings on the handle, and wrought designs on the head of the axe itself. All in all, hand-made, probably from the forge right outside. “‘OLY SHITE AMA ‘IS IS AWESOME” Salem cackled happily. Amaris giggled. “I’m glad you like it, consider it an apology gift.”

“Well ‘en consider yaself forgiven.” Salem said, pulling Amaris into a hug, like they used too. (I wonder if they forgive me back?) “Soo.. now ‘at the sappy ‘art is over, wot are we gonna do ‘bout the total weirdness of ‘is server? I mean, ‘ommy’s been messed with, an’ Tech won’t talk to me; so Aurora is tryen’ to talk ‘ome sense inta ‘im.”

“I have a theory my friend, and it’s not great. But we will figure it out. I think some people know what is going on, and we are going to get to the bottom of it. Someone is behind this.”