Thinking about ghost Dream from my recent au [post] again and Sam somehow disabling Dream’s chat and death messages, maybe with XD’s help or perhaps muting Dream’s confiscated communicator, so the server doesn’t know about Quackity’s experiments.
Thinking about Punz being the first to meet the scarred, desaturated ghost Dream as he walks down the path with a light grey sheep at his side. At first, Punz thinks maybe this is a Mexican Dream or Girl Dream situation, but then they come across Quackity and Sam walking toward them and the ghost freaks out. Begging, shaking, crying even though the tears are burning his cheeks. And even though, unlike in the cell, Dream could run away now, it doesn’t even cross his broken mind, instead he just crumples to the ground and wraps his arms around his knees. Punz is so confused until he notices the blood on their clothes and starts to suspect who’s it is. Immediately, he moves in front of Dream, pulling out his sword. The ghost flinches at the blade leaving the sheath but doesn’t move, just simply squeezes his eyes shut. Waiting for the pain to come. To his surprise though, Punz strikes at Quackity instead, sending the unarmored man to see death with one critical blow. (Later, he’ll regret giving the torturer the undeserved mercy of a quick death, but in the moment he didn’t know what they did, not really.) Sam puts up more of a fight, but he’s more used to fighting the helpless and not even his armor can save him from Punz’s skill and fury.
Thinking about Punz finding Dream’s communicator amongst Sam’s loot and renabling the messages. Thinking about the hundreds of death messages that flood everyone’s screen at once making them all gasp in shock if nothing else.
Thinking about Punz throwing up and struggling to keep the tears in before turning back to Dream and crouching down. “They’re gone. You’re safe, now.”
Thinking about the look of doubt and bewilderment on Dream’s face as he stares into Punz’s glassy blue eyes.
Thinking about Punz moving to hug Dream but upon noticing him flinch away, stop and ask first, “Would you like—can I hug you?”
Thinking about Dream nodding, assuming it’s rhetorical or a trick. His shattered mind unfamiliar with a time when touch didn’t mean pain, when ‘no’ mattered, when he had any say in what people did to him.
Thinking about Dream going stiff in the embrace at first, except for the trembling. Waiting for the pain to come. But as time goes by and nothing happens besides a sharing of warmth, Dream melts into it. Nothing can cure the cold of death, but Punz will be damned if he didn’t try with everything he had. Nothing can fix what has been torn apart piece by agonizing piece, but the pieces of his torturers are torn apart in turn and soon the prison is nothing but ruins, Sam’s island is nothing but sea, Sam’s base nothing but rubble, and Las Nevadas nothing more than a hole down to bedrock.
Oh no! The reset happens because the Egg and DreamXD End finale still happen, but Techno and Punz destroy the prison so there is no nuke or whatever situation that happens. Overall, as the first post kinda says at the end, most people leave him alone cuz he’s hardly a threat now and also if they so much as lay an unwanted hand on him, Punz will destroy them and everything they care about. They also don’t really want to face what they let happen so most people don’t seek him out. And most of those that do interact try and treat him like a different person similar to how they did with Ghostbur. Though in this case instead of not remembering the bad, Dream pretty much only remembers the bad, with his time in prison being the main foundation of his memories.
Because of this he actually has an aversion to certain people like Sapnap and Tommy given how they threatened/tried to kill him in prison, which of course is very upsetting for Sapnap. A lot of his memories in general are pretty muddy so while he recognizes the people on the server he doesn’t really remember much about them or their past. Bad is practically the only person he has clear good memories of, so his closeness to Punz and Techno is primarily formed from the present rather than the foggy memories of the past.
So, given his more neutral status as ghost when he’s not just roaming around the server picking flowers, he does hang out with some people (as long as they put away their armor and weapons). Niki teaches him how to bake and make bouquets. Puffy, Bad, and Foolish build cute little colorful statues around the server with him (like the Rat atop Bad’s house and the duck). Techno gets his help feeding the woofs and recounts greek myths to him when he struggles to fall back asleep after a nightmare. And while Tommy just tends to avoid the ghost, Tubbo to me has always seemed more reasonable and I can imagine them playing chess and building a new bee sanctuary with Punz…
Ah yes, that. Well, it is my belief based on the things we get in the lore [post] that Punz doesn’t get the book before prison and therefore can’t bring Dream back. But even if he got the book from Quackity, he still wouldn’t be able to bring him back because as mentioned in the first post, the revival book doesn’t work on Dream anymore, otherwise he’d still be getting killed.
“On death 300, he learned that gods did grow bored.
There was no death 301.
He didn’t come back no matter how many books they burned. Only his ghost remained.” [<>]
Why 300 is the max is unknown. What Dream does know is that on death 200 DreamXD actually shows up, enticed by all the death of course and even participates hence these messages:
Interestingly, 299 is a stand in to prevent crashing when a death message is too long, which I put in there as kinda a nod to XD getting creative out of boredom. But whether or not XD actually created the rule that 300 deaths is the max or whether it was Lady Death, and whether it was preexisting or the gods got bored/took mercy on Dream and created the limit on the spot, remains to be seen. Regardless, Punz did get the book and he did try, but much to his misery he found out from Sam that 300 must be the max and it didn’t matter how many times he also tried he still couldn’t revive Dream…
I had interpreted it as Quackity, who had—in my eyes—grown to be some kind of false god after all the times of giving Dream life again through revival only to brutally take it again, growing bored.
Thinking about it now the literal gods growing bored does make more sense yeah 🤦♀️
Thinking about ghost Dream from my recent au [post] again and Sam somehow disabling Dream’s chat and death messages, maybe with XD’s help or perhaps muting Dream’s confiscated communicator, so the server doesn’t know about Quackity’s experiments.
Thinking about Punz being the first to meet the scarred, desaturated ghost Dream as he walks down the path with a light grey sheep at his side. At first, Punz thinks maybe this is a Mexican Dream or Girl Dream situation, but then they come across Quackity and Sam walking toward them and the ghost freaks out. Begging, shaking, crying even though the tears are burning his cheeks. And even though, unlike in the cell, Dream could run away now, it doesn’t even cross his broken mind, instead he just crumples to the ground and wraps his arms around his knees. Punz is so confused until he notices the blood on their clothes and starts to suspect who’s it is. Immediately, he moves in front of Dream, pulling out his sword. The ghost flinches at the blade leaving the sheath but doesn’t move, just simply squeezes his eyes shut. Waiting for the pain to come. To his surprise though, Punz strikes at Quackity instead, sending the unarmored man to see death with one critical blow. (Later, he’ll regret giving the torturer the undeserved mercy of a quick death, but in the moment he didn’t know what they did, not really.) Sam puts up more of a fight, but he’s more used to fighting the helpless and not even his armor can save him from Punz’s skill and fury.
Thinking about Punz finding Dream’s communicator amongst Sam’s loot and renabling the messages. Thinking about the hundreds of death messages that flood everyone’s screen at once making them all gasp in shock if nothing else.
Thinking about Punz throwing up and struggling to keep the tears in before turning back to Dream and crouching down. “They’re gone. You’re safe, now.”
Thinking about the look of doubt and bewilderment on Dream’s face as he stares into Punz’s glassy blue eyes.
Thinking about Punz moving to hug Dream but upon noticing him flinch away, stop and ask first, “Would you like—can I hug you?”
Thinking about Dream nodding, assuming it’s rhetorical or a trick. His shattered mind unfamiliar with a time when touch didn’t mean pain, when ‘no’ mattered, when he had any say in what people did to him.
Thinking about Dream going stiff in the embrace at first, except for the trembling. Waiting for the pain to come. But as time goes by and nothing happens besides a sharing of warmth, Dream melts into it. Nothing can cure the cold of death, but Punz will be damned if he didn’t try with everything he had. Nothing can fix what has been torn apart piece by agonizing piece, but the pieces of his torturers are torn apart in turn and soon the prison is nothing but ruins, Sam’s island is nothing but sea, Sam’s base nothing but rubble, and Las Nevadas nothing more than a hole down to bedrock.
Oh no! The reset happens because the Egg and DreamXD End finale still happen, but Techno and Punz destroy the prison so there is no nuke or whatever situation that happens. Overall, as the first post kinda says at the end, most people leave him alone cuz he’s hardly a threat now and also if they so much as lay an unwanted hand on him, Punz will destroy them and everything they care about. They also don’t really want to face what they let happen so most people don’t seek him out. And most of those that do interact try and treat him like a different person similar to how they did with Ghostbur. Though in this case instead of not remembering the bad, Dream pretty much only remembers the bad, with his time in prison being the main foundation of his memories.
Because of this he actually has an aversion to certain people like Sapnap and Tommy given how they threatened/tried to kill him in prison, which of course is very upsetting for Sapnap. A lot of his memories in general are pretty muddy so while he recognizes the people on the server he doesn’t really remember much about them or their past. Bad is practically the only person he has clear good memories of, so his closeness to Punz and Techno is primarily formed from the present rather than the foggy memories of the past.
So, given his more neutral status as ghost when he’s not just roaming around the server picking flowers, he does hang out with some people (as long as they put away their armor and weapons). Niki teaches him how to bake and make bouquets. Puffy, Bad, and Foolish build cute little colorful statues around the server with him (like the Rat atop Bad’s house and the duck). Techno gets his help feeding the woofs and recounts greek myths to him when he struggles to fall back asleep after a nightmare. And while Tommy just tends to avoid the ghost, Tubbo to me has always seemed more reasonable and I can imagine them playing chess and building a new bee sanctuary with Punz…
Thinking about ghost Dream from my recent au [post] again and Sam somehow disabling Dream’s chat and death messages, maybe with XD’s help or perhaps muting Dream’s confiscated communicator, so the server doesn’t know about Quackity’s experiments.
Thinking about Punz being the first to meet the scarred, desaturated ghost Dream as he walks down the path with a light grey sheep at his side. At first, Punz thinks maybe this is a Mexican Dream or Girl Dream situation, but then they come across Quackity and Sam walking toward them and the ghost freaks out. Begging, shaking, crying even though the tears are burning his cheeks. And even though, unlike in the cell, Dream could run away now, it doesn’t even cross his broken mind, instead he just crumples to the ground and wraps his arms around his knees. Punz is so confused until he notices the blood on their clothes and starts to suspect who’s it is. Immediately, he moves in front of Dream, pulling out his sword. The ghost flinches at the blade leaving the sheath but doesn’t move, just simply squeezes his eyes shut. Waiting for the pain to come. To his surprise though, Punz strikes at Quackity instead, sending the unarmored man to see death with one critical blow. (Later, he’ll regret giving the torturer the undeserved mercy of a quick death, but in the moment he didn’t know what they did, not really.) Sam puts up more of a fight, but he’s more used to fighting the helpless and not even his armor can save him from Punz’s skill and fury.
Thinking about Punz finding Dream’s communicator amongst Sam’s loot and renabling the messages. Thinking about the hundreds of death messages that flood everyone’s screen at once making them all gasp in shock if nothing else.
Thinking about Punz throwing up and struggling to keep the tears in before turning back to Dream and crouching down. “They’re gone. You’re safe, now.”
Thinking about the look of doubt and bewilderment on Dream’s face as he stares into Punz’s glassy blue eyes.
Thinking about Punz moving to hug Dream but upon noticing him flinch away, stop and ask first, “Would you like—can I hug you?”
Thinking about Dream nodding, assuming it’s rhetorical or a trick. His shattered mind unfamiliar with a time when touch didn’t mean pain, when ‘no’ mattered, when he had any say in what people did to him.
Thinking about Dream going stiff in the embrace at first, except for the trembling. Waiting for the pain to come. But as time goes by and nothing happens besides a sharing of warmth, Dream melts into it. Nothing can cure the cold of death, but Punz will be damned if he didn’t try with everything he had. Nothing can fix what has been torn apart piece by agonizing piece, but the pieces of his torturers are torn apart in turn and soon the prison is nothing but ruins, Sam’s island is nothing but sea, Sam’s base nothing but rubble, and Las Nevadas nothing more than a hole down to bedrock.
Have you ever thought about c!Dream headcanons that don't directly tie into canon? I've gone through your c!Dream index and loved reading about the headcanons you have for him so i was wondering if you had more. No pressure, i'm just curious :)
Hmmm… not directly connect to canon? Umm not sure, aren’t headcanons supposed to be filling in gaps of canon lol?… hmmm…. why is this so hard for me to think of any, I guess I’m just an over-thinker who doesn’t like to color outside the lines or be spontaneous lol. Welp okay here are some I got that I don’t think I’ve ever talked about, not sure if they don’t connect enough to canon or not but I’ve been thinking about this for days and it’s still the best I got…
-I think Dream is ambidextrous because I think it seems fitting with his ability to adapt to his circumstances and his skill and versatility in weapons.
-I think Dream wore lots of rings like cc!Dream and fidgets with them.
-I think he bites his nails, for probably no other reason than I do. That and I imagine wearing gloves with long nails would be annoying, and I think he wears gloves for better grip and especially after prison to cover his scars. Also biting your nails seems like a likely habit that could form in prison isolation (not that he does it much after Quackity removes them).
-I think his hair and nails don’t actually grow a whole lot in prison because of his poor diet not giving him the nutrients needed and the fact that during Quackity’s visits the potatoes’ nutrition are used to just barely heal him, not help his body grow or get energy. Because of that and the fact I imagine he isn’t a guy who can grow consistent facial hair anyways, he doesn’t really have much in the way of facial hair in prison. At the beginning he has some before he starts to get really starved and in bad condition. But on one of Quackity’s first visits he does Dream the service of giving him a shave and the resulting scar tissue further prevents him from growing much hair after.
-I think the Dreamon was real but rather than controlling Dream I think it just heightened his emotions, making him more impulsive, more angry, more impatient, nudging him to be more brash and paranoid. And the less outside voices like his friends Dream has to counteract those feelings, the worse he gets. That’s why he gets gradually worse and worse and how things start to get jumbled.
- I don’t love to speculate a lot on his past since I don’t think you need it to understand him, but I do think that Dream is an oldest sibling. It comes across in the way he’s protective of others, holds authority, hates when people defy it and yet has a caring nature to him. Though I don’t necessarily believe he was raised by Bad or older brothers with Sapnap, I just think they are very old friends with him and maybe he lived with them in his upper teenage years for a bit.
Hmm I think that’s all I got at the moment as far as new ones I haven’t talked about. Perhaps I should make a list of them all of them since they are kinda scattered around in posts… anyways hoped I fulfilled your request adequately. :)
I’ve always viewed a headcanon to be something of your personal, imaginative belief rather then tied to canon. It’s the reason why my ask was worded like that, but looking back I should’ve probably clarified! 🙈
Also thank you for answering! I’ve been wanting to give my interpretation of c!Dream some quirks but couldn’t think of much so I wanted to ask you instead :) Thinking about it now I probably should’ve used quirks instead of headcanon in my ask 🤔
Honestly we just don’t get enough c!Punz for me to master how he talks, not to mention his dynamics with certain other characters. It’s infuriating… it really makes me realize just how distinct c!Techno’s, c!Dream’s and c!Quackity’s speech patterns are compared to just about everyone else. Even c!Badboyhalo and c!Philza have a certain like flow to it, but man c!Sam and freaking c!Punz and even c!Sapnap… they kill me… then again maybe I just write so much more c!Techno, c!Quackity and c!Dream that it’s slightly easier… :]
You can check the quotes section of c!Punz's wiki page, I added many quotes there that could be used as a reference. I also have some more general things written down regarding c!Punz's speech patterns. Maybe these can help?
Ways of speaking:
Gets (secretly) angry at others easily, swears a lot when doing so
Interjects "like" often: "I no longer want to be, like, an official knight.", "I've been waiting for so long, to finally, like, see you again."
Repeats phrases for emphasis: "Yeah, but that's not as fun, that's not as fun!", "We've had the same mindset, we've had the same mindset"
Common phrases when talking to Dream:
"Dude, …."
"I'm sorry X went the way it did"
"Let's go, dude."
"Of course, of course"
"We've definitely…"
General phrases:
"I guess that, …"
"Actually, X"/ "…, actually."
"Guess what?"
"You know, …."
"That's insane/crazy"
"I could literally do X"
"Oh yeah?" (In response to a statement from somebody else)
"What do you mean, X?!"
"Wait, …"
"Honestly, I think/feel this is X"
"Trust me, …"
"Is it not/did it not?" (Instead of "isn't it" or "didn't it")
"This is a joke/This is an actual joke/This has gotta be a joke" (incredulous)
You're welcome! I also have some notes on c!Dream, you might know most of these already, though.
Ways of speaking:
Has many false starts when talking, more commonly when not putting on a villain act
Interjects with "like" often or starts sentences with "like": "We can just, like, say it was an accident or something.", "It's just one giant, like, family, right?"
Interjects with "you know" very often: "You know, the unfinished symphony, right?", "I don't want anyone, you know, seeing us together,"
Repeats phrases for emphasis: "I hadn't bothered you for months! For months", "Look, I own up to it, okay? I own up to it."
Wants to seem reasonable and at the same time emotionally unaffected by what he says
This is great. Thank you. :) Why are your notes so much neater than mine… like mine are just lists of phrases they’ve ever used from different conversations and then sometimes mixed with full on transcripts 🤦♀️…
But uh, if I may add on, here are some other common word usages I’ve noticed from Dream:
Uses “fuck,” “fucking,” and “fucked,” when particularly serious or upset, specifically when furious and occasionally “you son of a bitch”
Uses “Oh god” when in danger, typically physical
When disturbed, shocked or surprised often uses “What the hell?” “What the hell is wrong with you?!” “What is wrong with you?!” “WHAT?!” “Wait, WHAT?!”
Uses “pretty” a lot Ex: “pretty much,” “pretty parallel” and “pretty funny to be fair”
Commonly uses “idiot” and “dumb” to insult though has been know to also use “bitch” and “pussy,”
Uses “fine” a lot Ex: “That’s fine,” “it’s fine,” “Alright, fine,” “you’re fine,” “you were fine,” “you’d be fine,” “you’ll be fine,” “there’s a fine line,” “Fine, fine,” “fine, fine fine,” “okay, fine,” “Fine, I’m” “fine, if you insist,”
Uses the sentence starter of “I’m just like,” “I feel like,” and “I think” Ex: “I think that you would be safer if you’re not, right?” “I think that you should not be on my side,” and “I think you are me if I were a lying pussy”
Uses “little” a fair bit Ex: “I have a little respect for you for saying that,” “it was a little bit funny to be fair,” “stupid little bitch,” “you little shit,” “maybe a little,” “sit you down like you’re my little therapist”
Also uses “well,” “well, I mean,” “Alright, well” and “well, yeah”
And uses “kinda,” “gonna,” and “wanna”
Umm… I think that’s all I got for now, I mean there are probably other things but those are the main ones that come to mind. :)
When you’re trying to find songs to use for an edit, but all you get reminded of is how stupid the (dsmp) fandom can be. WDYM YOU THINK CC!DREAM IS MAGA TF?? 😭
Anyway…
Anyone got a list of good songs I could use for a dreamnoblade edit…? 🙈
Defending LettuceK in the comments is making me have flashbacks to defending c!Dream 🥲 really shows how I always end up liking characters that are similar to each other 💔 two sides of the same coin fr.
If I didn’t have exams to learn I would’ve made an in-depth analysis into LettuceK and how he paralleled c!Dream
I was wondering if you’ve ever heard of “this kingdom is mine” by candlebard on YT. It’s a song centering around the idea of Dream being a ‘hero’.
It’s quite ooc which is understandable, the song was written and uploaded like five years ago when being a c!Dream apologist was as rare as hen’s teeth and those who were indeed one needed to fight tooth and nail to not be crucified 💀
However, despite it being ooc (imo) and the writer not being a c!Dream apologist it actually manages to touch on some subject that comes close to what a c!dream apologist would think. Especially the line:
“You never wanted to see me get better,”
Doesn’t that remind you of the way c!Sapnap acted during the prison arc 🤔 As far as my memory goes I remember c!Sapnap talking about how they could still be friends after everything was over, however no attempts were ever made to actually rehabilitate c!Dream.
I also love how the song points out how the smp is c!Dreams, he had a right to defend it from ‘colonizers’ who started selling drugs on his land and acting like they gave people freedom despite the server itself already having freedom. In my opinion the so called ‘freedom’ they offered wasn’t freedom either as it excluded people (I forgot the specifics, but I do remember that c!Quackity wasn’t allowed to join).
The line:
“And I’m not sure if you know what you’re fighting for,”
Hit me hard, because if you think about it c!Tommy and most of the L’Manburg crew indeed didn’t know what they were fighting for. C!Tommy believed he was fighting for a home—for freedom, but all c!Wilbur was after was power.
The last few lines:
“You twisted my motives and turned me to stone.”
So I’ll be the villain you want me to be,”
Could be applied to how c!Wilbur made the players believe c!Dream was a tyrant which c!Dream then later on picked up, not to gain power, but to bring everyone together against one common enemy.
Also I’m so sorry that these lines aren’t in the correct order, I was going off my memory 🥲
I’d love to hear your opinion about it! As much as I love c!Dream and would call myself a c!Dream apologist I don’t have the knowledge to actually judge this correctly so I’m here to ask for your noble opinion 🙏
[“this kingdom is mine” by candlebard]
Ooo pretty song, it shows I have actually listened to it before, tho I don’t remember lol.
Anyways, kinda funny how a non-dream apologist wrote this song cuz there are some lines that lowkey hit hard. And the fact that it came out before the Manberg vs Pogtopia war is interesting because some of the lines fit well for later in the story. So yeah I'm gonna look at some of the other lines as well if that's okay with you.
Starting off, the first lines are:
"Here we are again with tattered flags and sleeves
I've had some time to think and you've had time to leave"
Which while not intended, could fit well as c!Dream reflecting on things much later. Maybe just after Doomday after their clothes are ragged from war and explosions and a tattered flag waves at the bottom of L'manhole, and c!Dream has been abandoned by c!George and c!Sapnap. Or maybe it's even later, c!Dream gazing down into the L'manhole in his tattered jumpsuit after being abandoned in prison.
"But you've destroyed the place, you're fighting more and more
And I'm not sure you know what you're fighting for
My kingdom is dead and its blood is on your tongue"
Here I agree I think these lines absolutely touch upon both the early days of increasing wars and griefing and destruction, and then the formation of L'manberg. Where you are right, they think they are fighting for freedom but really they are fighting to give c!Wilbur power over them and a nation of laws and excluding anyone who's not European. With the reference to 'tongue' fitting well with Wilbur's lies and propaganda, his charisma leading people to lose their canon lives in the control room of the first L'manberg war.
"I built the earth, the sky, a landmark in our past
I didn't think it would be gone quite this fast
You've taken love and peace and smeared them with hate
You learned you were the villains just a couple wars too late
My kingdom is dead and it's all because of you
I watched as you led it directly to its doom
Tossed it from hand to hand breaking off a piece each reckless time"
The landmark here could be a reference to the community house but also the smp as a whole. That he didn't think the simple times of love and peace - of their community would be gone so fast. With so many people who were once friends now filled with hate for each other. His kingdom being dead here representing the deadness of his server later, with people not playing on it as much and such. The last line summing up how people like c!Wilbur and c!Quackity were reckless with other people's lives as they formed these different factions and broke the server into pieces.
The line about the villains could be (and given the timeline was probably intended to be) a reference to c!Wilbur's speech and his turn to accepting his role as the villain. It could also be a reference to characters like c!Niki realizing that L'manberg wasn't actually as good as it was meant to be. Or maybe even c!Techno becoming a villain to take down the corrupt government. Or given the reference to 'doom' it could be c!Techno during Doomsday, communicating how L'manberg was in the wrong for trying to execute him. We could say it even fits for c!Tommy learning in the finale about how he was a villain in c!Dream's story, literally leading the smp to its doom with nukes.
"You never wanted to see me get better
You lied when you said we were in this together"
I think you are absolutely right, this fits so so well with c!Sapnap and his delusion of saying prison was to make c!Dream better but then not visiting or checking to see if Dream was getting better. Saying they could still be friends and then never coming back. And then there is c!Tommy saying he'll be c!Dream's friend and therapize him in prison. In the end, the server seemed to act like the prison was some means of rehabilitation but it really was just a place they could store c!Dream until they needed the book. In fact, they never wanted him to get better in the first place because they were willing to let c!Tommy end him permanently in the staged finale.
"You twisted my motives and turned me to stone
Till everyone feared me and left me alone
So i'll be the villain you want me to be"
Speaking of staged finale lol. Yeah absolutely, the twisting of motives works well with Wilbur and Tommy twisting Dream's actions to mean things they weren't and label him this villain that only wanted power and to control everyone. Until everyone feared him so much even his friends left him alone and wanted him dead, with the 'stone' being perhaps his grave stone. Which of course leads to the staged finale where he literally acted out the part of being the villain they wanted him to be...
(I'll disagree with you a bit here as I don't think his goal was uniting everyone against a common enemy, something I go over here [post].)
But yeah... interesting how there are pieces that fit and even ones that work for later on after the song was written...
In my eyes united and together meant the exact same thing, but after reading the post you linked in your reply I realized I was indeed wrong and honestly I’m glad you pointed it out! It gave me insight on how words could mean entirely different things despite often being used as a synonym for each other.
I personally didn’t go in much depth while analyzing the lyrics so I’m glad you expanded on the areas I didn’t touch upon :)
Also the tags? You did not need to go there 💔 now I can’t stop imagining it either.
Time passes, empires crumble, people change, and yet some things always stay the same. Dream's family might've left their home a long time ago, but that doesn't mean that the people from Dream's childhood have forgotten about him or his kindness. He just never expected to bump into the said people while being raided by a pirate crew.
(5.7k words)
Here's my @rivalsduogiftexchange fic for @blossomware!! You can read the whole thing on AO3 or read it here bellow the cut. Merry Christmas everyone, hope you're having a good day :D
The smell of gunpowder and sea salt was Dream's favorite combination of aromas. There was just something so refreshing about feeling the soothing humidity and saltiness of air and sting of smoke that burnt his lungs. It was similar to jumping into a snow pile after a hot bath.
Perhaps right now wasn't the best time to appreciate the smell. He was in the middle of a fight, after all.
"Captain!" Dream heard Sapnap scream from the mast. "Captain!"
Seeing that she was on the other side of the ship, fencing with some guy, she probably didn't hear him. "Puffy's a bit busy right now!" Dream replied instead of her, quickly turning the wheel to stir the ship to the left, away from the pirates. Not like it would help that much, considering that some of the pirates already were there. "What d' you want?"
Pirate raids weren't something that happened that often in this part of the ocean. Still, the stories of bloodthirsty outlaws in the north ran like the warm undercurrents at the bottom of the Arctic sea. The only son of an emperor that was killed by a pirate who wore a boar mask. An empire that fell into anarchy. A captain of the red and black ship that rarely attacked, but when he did, there weren't any survivors left to tell the tale of what exactly happened on such raids. Ships that simply disappeared, akin to the one and only heir of the arctic throne.
The point was, dangers lurked in the northern waters. Captain Puffy ordered George to watch out for any dangers while they were sailing here, but it seemed that the guy just fell asleep up here. Honestly, Dream expected that. He wasn't even sure why Puffy thought that it was a good idea in the first place.
"Well, I just wanted to know if anyone needed my— to your right, dude!" Sapnap frantically waved his hands around, but that didn't help Dream with staying on his feet after a swift kick was delivered to his shin.
A deep frown on his face became only more solemn. The whole mood was soured now, and yet, neither of them could feel truly remorseful. Meeting each other, even if for the last time in a long while, was worth it. "Swear on your life that we will meet again."
But he had a feeling that their paths would definitely cross. Maybe in a year, in two, in ten—that didn't matter. He still had to win at least one sparring match after all. "Of course! You're not gonna get away from me that easily," he said with a big toothy smile.
The wood creaked as Dream's body hit it without any grace. He planted face-first into the floor, but thanks to the ceramic mask it didn't hurt that much. When the essential shock left, Dream couldn't hold in a groan.
Sapnap, in his hurry to get to Dream and help him, somehow managed to tangle himself in the ropes holding the sails. He didn't sound as threatening as he probably wanted to when he screamed at the intruder. Who would fear a man that managed to trap himself? "Get your stinky hands away from him, ya pig!"
Of course, it just had to be the infamous Bloodboar who struck Dream down. Being slain by the killer of emperors sounded better than being stabbed by some nameless pirate though. At least it was a little bit honorable. A simple pilot of a merchant ship being on the same list with a royal man.
Too bad Dream didn't want to die right now. Being dead kind of interfered with the plans he had made for the next few years.
So, Dream quickly rolled to the side, away from the sharp saber that cut the floorboard instead of his neck. While the pirate was trying to pull the blade out of the wood Dream managed to get up and retrieve his own two knives from sheath on his right thigh.
"Really? You think those two puny toothpicks would help you?" Bloodboar laughed, lifting his saber and pointing it at Dream. "I almost feel offended by your choice of weapons. Do you have no respect for me, eh?"
Dream's parents didn't raise a fighter, but they also didn't raise a quitter. "Why should I respect a murderer?" Dream bent his knees a little, stabilizing his body while the ship rocked on the waves. "And some thief. I don't respect lawless men."
"Would you believe me if I proclaimed that I do, in fact, have a few laws that I follow?" The movements of the pirate were swift and light. Like the smoke wasn't covering the sky above their heads while crews of both ships were spilling blood. Like Bloodboar wasn't going to cut Dream open. "That I—"
"Eat shit!" Sapnap screamed as he threw something right into Bloodboar's face—or, well, his mask. Sapnap had managed to untangle the ropes while the two were speaking before, and now he successfully hurled a smoke bomb to disorientate the pirate. While Bloodboar was coughing and heaving, Sapnap took the traitorous rope in his hands and started quickly descending from the mast. "Hang in there, bro, I'm comin'!"
"Hurry up!" Dream took a few steps away from Bloodboar to take a shuddered breath. When the smoke got thin enough for Dream to see, he also threw his knife into the pirate. If you can't win in a sword fight, just throw random stuff at your enemy! That tactic always worked out for Dream. If the pained gasp that left the man was anything to go by, then Dream was pretty sure that he successfully hit him. "I don't have nearly enough knives for that crap," he added in a low murmur, quickly grabbing one knife from his left sheath.
Sapnap always teased him about having so many knives on him—saying that Dream would never need four of those—but look at him now! He got the final laugh.
The small victory was very short-lived. "You bastard!" Bloodboar dashed out of the smoke with his saber whistling in the air. Dream barely managed to lift his knives in time to block the hit and stop the blade from cutting him in half. "Can't take me in a fair fight, can you?" the pirate said with a snarl. And, just like Dream though, the knife from before was snugly stuck in Bloodboar's shoulder.
"Well, I kinda don't want to be an overconfident prick and die, you know?" Dream replied with a nervous laugh. He then pushed the saber, making it glide down and away from him. Did Dream anger him?
The pirate didn't respond. Oh damn, he did. Dream managed to block another hit and then quickly sidestepped away from the following one. He tried to stab Bloodboar, but it didn't go well. The pirate turned and hit Dream's knife with the saber. As a result the knife just flew from Dream's grip, falling somewhere into the sea. The sudden loss of his weapon made Dream shuffle back in panic, trying to get the last knife from his sheath. It was a challenge, considering that he had to move from left to right and back every few seconds to dodge relentless slashes.
Bloodboar was merciless, and Dream's hands were sweaty and slippery. When he finally got the damn knife out, Dream was cornered into the railing of the ship. What was worse: drowning in the unruly sea or being stabbed by an emperor killer?
Dream glanced to the side to see if Sapnap managed to get down yet. Albeit it was barely a second of not looking at the pirate, it was enough time for Bloodboar to move his saber and make a vertical slash. Dream's reflexes were quite good, but it still wasn't enough to fully dodge the blade. The saber left a small cut at the side of Dream's head, making him wince and take another step to the right.
Dream's hand flew up to cradle the side of his head that was now bleeding. The sting was distracting Dream enough for him to not even register the sound of ceramic hitting the wood. What Dream did register was a fist that collided with his face. "Oh," fell from his slightly parted lips as the world tilted on its axis.
Or it was just his body failing him. "You'll pay for that!" Sapnap's voice ringed in Dream's ears as he slumped down. His friend managed to pull Dream by the hand and not let him fall over the rails into the ocean. Instead, Dream was laying on the floor once again. The last thing Dream saw before blacking out was his ceramic mask laying next to Bloodboar's boots.
Right. His mask. Well, at least it didn't crack.
It would be stupid to beat around the bush now. The time was ticking, and he had to leave soon, otherwise his parents would worry to death. "Me and my family are moving soon."
"Eh?! Pardon me, what? Where?" He almost fell from the pier as he scrambled up from the edge. He turned around and just stared at his friend with a mix of disbelief and sadness. Was it really happening?
He shrugged, still not lifting his gaze from the cold ocean. Even in the summer the water was barely warm enough to dip the toes in without shuddering. "I dunno. Somewhere south. I... I kinda don't wanna go though." If it was up to him, he wouldn't leave his dear friend.
When Dream woke up he had to spend a few seconds to try to understand if he was still sleeping or if it was just that dim there. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, it became clear that yes, he was wide awake inside a cell. Great.
Dream stood up and quickly patted down his pockets. Empty. The sheathes on his belt were also removed. Here he was, captive on an enemy's territory without his trusty knives. "Good morning, sleepy head," a voice somewhere from the left said.
Dream quickly turned to the source. "Funny hearing it from you, George," he replied with a scowl. Maybe all of them wouldn't have been trapped here if that idiot didn't fall asleep on his post! "Where are we?"
"I think you already know," the man said with a shrug, leaning onto the cold metallic bars. The pirates stripped George of his fancy blue vest and polished leather boots, leaving him to sit in a plain cotton shirt without any footwear. Perhaps they planned to sell those pieces. "Bloodboar ordered to capture us alive. Or, I suppose, the rest of us who were still alive."
"And how many of us are here?" Dream grabbed at the steel bars and tried to push them, but the rods didn't budge. Is that really how he was going to die? In a dark room with the only company being some noble's son that got them caught in the first place?
"In this particular compartment? The two of us and Puffy, but they took her not a long time ago. I have to wonder if they are torturing our captain, but I haven't heard even a peep of hers, so... I suppose they're just taking us out one by one," George explained with a sigh at the end. "Maybe there's more people in the neighboring rooms, I don't know. That's quite a pitiful end for our lives thought."
Was he grating on Dream's nerves on purpose or was he oblivious to the way his words made Dream's blood boil? "And you're just— sitting here? Nonchalantly musing about our death? Mind you, you are the one that got us in trouble! How fucking- how can you be this calm?!"
"What do you want me to do? Scream and weep? There's nothing I can do about our situation, so..." With each word of George's Dream was getting more and more pissed. Maybe George's calm demeanor wouldn't have angered him so much if it weren't for the fact that he was the one who got them in this mess.
Dream was ready to strangle his stupid friend. "Well, maybe if you weren't asleep we wouldn't have been raided! You— you are the one who made this situation happen in the first place!"
"Please, stop screaming, they are—" George tried to shush Dream, but the other was quick to object.
"No, nuh-uh, shut up. I'm not done!" he interrupted George's whispers, gripping the metallic bars and practically growling at George like a mad dog. "How many of our crew mates had died out here? All because of your dumb idiotic ass taking a nap on the lookout, and like the fucking idiot you are you didn't even warn anyone that you were—"
Now, when Dream was cussing out George's dignity, the man seemed far more enraged. "How is it my fault that my organism just falls asleep sometimes?! If anything, it was Puffy's fault that she chose to ignore my reports about my health and that I was unfitted for that role!"
"Well, maybe if you didn't cry wolf all the time when she gave you tasks before she would've listened to you!" Dream argued, accentuating his words with a loud disappointed click of his tongue. "It's— seriously, George, you—"
"I see that you are awake now, my precious prisoners?" A low and almost teasing tone of Bloodboar's voice echoed in the room. Dream and George quickly shut their mouths and looked at their captor. "Oh, don't mind me, gentlemen, you can go on with the arguing. It was quite amusing to listen to your little squabble."
"Fuck off," Dream huffed, staring the pirate down. He was practically a dead man walking now, Dream was sure of that. So, if his fate was already decided, why not make some noise? Dream wasn't going to go down easily. "It's kinda rude to eavesdrop."
The Bloodboar chuckled. He just stood at the door, not leaving, but also not stepping inside the room for some reason. "Considering your volume, I wouldn't even call it eavesdropping. I was able to hear the two of you from the other room."
The pirate would've probably kept on teasing the two if not for a panicked call. "Cap, we're— uh, we're kinda struggling here, she's... Fuck, she bit Philza, cap!" someone screamed from the other side of the door.
"He's weird," George murmured while Bloodboar was distracted by whatever chaos was going on at the ship.
He froze for a second, but then he turned one-eighty and peeked out of the door frame. "Eh? You are letting Captain Puffy bite you?! She's tied to a chair, how is she even able to munch on any of you?" The pirate quickly walked out of the room, closing the door with a slam. That was a rather short encounter with the guy.
"Bloodboar?" Dream leaned closer to the bars to hear George's whispers a bit better. If those walls were thin enough for the pirates to eavesdrop then they had to adapt. "I mean, he's a pirate. All pirates are weird. And stinky."
"But he's— I'm not quite sure how to properly elaborate on that, but... He doesn't sound like a lowborn pirate. How peculiar," he murmured with a long hum. Yeah, that was definitely the best time to sit on their asses and discuss speech patterns of their captor.
"Aww, Georgie, I knew you still had that classist in you even after traveling with us for so long! I'm so proud of you sticking up to the principles of your rich daddy," Dream mumbled, shaking his head with a light frustrated scoff. George didn't have any worthwhile information, and considering that Dream was still mad at him, he didn't want to entertain his pointless babbling.
George wanted to yap about some unimportant stuff? Well, so be it, he could do whatever the hell he wanted. Dream would get out of here without this idiot's help. He once again leaned away from the bars and stood up, returning to his previous inspection of his surroundings.
"That's— you know that is not what I've meant!" George angrily whispered back.
"Well, that info doesn't change anything." The cage looked sturdy and there was no way for Dream to bend any of the bars. A few forceful tugs validated Dream's worries. Next, he moved to the cell's door and tried to look at the lock. "A high status doesn't stop you from being a dick and becoming a sea-rat who steals and kills people."
The most annoying part was that Dream knew how to pick that kind of lock, but the fact that the pirates stole all of his things meant that he didn't have any means to even try. He was, simply speaking, screwed. "I'm not arguing that it changes anything, I'm just noting this detail. I would argue that it is interesting though, considering the infamous story and the timing of—"
Bloodboar wasn't away for long. After barely a few minutes, he returned with two of his crew mates at his sides. "Take the blond one," he said and pointed at Dream. Oh, it was absolutely over.
The two pirates nodded and approached the cell, one of them holding a ring of keys and the other one with a rope in their hands. Dream quickly walked back, as far away from the door as possible as the duo came closer.
Maybe that was his chance though.
Dream glanced back at George. Even if he was angry at him, George still was his friend. Just like Sapnap and Puffy, like others who were chained by those pirates, like others who had died in the raid. As the hinges of the door screeched, Dream gave George a little nod and turned back to the criminals.
He launched at the pirates, managing to punch the one with the keys into their face. The pirate stumbled back while covering their nose.
It would've been good if not the fact that Dream's wrist felt like it was on fire right after the hit. Maybe Dream was a bit overconfident in his fistfight capabilities.
"Was it worth it?" Bloodboar laughed, quite enjoying the show. "You're that bad, huh? I hoped that you would be better at fighting. What a shame."
The pirate with the rope was quick to push Dream into the wall and tie him up. Dream couldn't even lie, that resistance attempt was just plain embarrassing.
Then they pushed Dream out of the cell, forcefully holding his tied hands. Dream almost stumbled over the metallic threshold, but managed to catch himself at the last moment. The added pressure on his hurting wrist made Dream wince and even hiss in pain.
"He— he didn't mean to!" George suddenly exclaimed, jumping up from the floor. "He just... He's just nervous. You can't punish a desperate man for trying to survive, can you?" The key-bearer left the room with curses spilling from their mouth.
"Aww, are ya worried about him, richie?" the pirate taunted, theatrically making Dream bump into the bars. "How thoughtful of you."
"How sweet indeed." Bloodboar stepped away from the door, clearing the path for Dream and the other pirate. "You think we will kill your hot-headed friend? I suppose it's fair to assume so, we are quite famous for that." The captain leisurely rolled his shoulder—the one that had been struck by Dream's knife in the raid—as he turned to George.
The tight grip on his hurt wrist was convincing enough for Dream to just let the guy behind lead him to the exit. Still, even with a pirate breathing down his neck, Dream tried to turn and take one—maybe the final one in his life—look at George.
"So, will you?" George asked.
Bloodboar considered something for a moment, letting out a long dramatic hum, and then shrugged once again. "Eh, you'll see in a few minutes." Before George could even let out a baffled scoff the group left and closed the door.
The pirates led Dream through a narrow corridor which had many doors on each side, probably leading to other prisoner rooms. At the end there was a ladder, but next to it was also a door that was visibly different from the rest. It was wider and was made out of a different type of wood, judging by the lighter tone.
When Bloodboar opened it Dream saw enraged Puffy, stomping and trashing around while trying to escape from the two pirates holding her. They were trying to get her out of a chair with a bunch of tiny belts and tie her with a bigger rope, but she was fighting back as much as was possible.
"Let me go, cowards! Fight me!" she barked out, seemingly too busy to notice the newcomers.
"Captain!" Dream exclaimed. He felt a huge wave of relief seeing her as determined and stubborn as ever. Besides feeling happy that she was alive, Dream also felt easier at the knowledge that the pirates weren't killing anyone in this room. He wasn't going to die just yet.
After hearing Dream's voice Puffy's eyes widened and she turned around. That was an ideal moment for the two pirates at her sides to finally wrap the rope over her middle and bind her hands behind her back. "You dirty rats, I'll cut you into pieces when I get free! I swear!"
"Eh?! She's still here? Get her out!" Bloodboar ordered, throwing his hands up with clear irritation in his voice. "The two of you can't deal with one person, really?"
Puffy looked up at Dream once again as she screamed, "All of 'em are full of shit! They're lying!" A third pirate showed up from the corridor with a piece of cloth in their hand. "Don't listen! Their offer is bullsh—" she got rudely interrupted by a pirate shoving the said cloth into her mouth. The three of them finally managed to drag still struggling Puffy out.
"That took longer than I thought, I'll admit. Your captain is truly something else," Bloodboar said with a sigh. Dream wanted to make some snarky retort, but the pain from bumping into a table momentarily knocked all thoughts out of him.
The pirate who was handling Dream was very rough with the way they pushed him onto the chair. They pressed a knee down on Dream's thigh while fastening a belt over Dream's legs, making him spill a string of foul words. The same knee had been still painfully pressing down on him while the pirate continued their work over his hands. Dream was secured on the chair in less than two minutes, which meant he was finally able to relax a bit and take a few breaths in as the nameless pirate leaned away.
"Thank you, you may go stand guard in the for corridor now." Bloodboar nodded. The pirate gave Dream one final angry glance before making some noise of acknowledgment and walking out of the room. Now it was just Dream, Bloodboar, and an oil lamp on the table between them.
Restrains pressed onto Dream's hurt wrist, not letting him relax even for a moment. The chair on the other side of the table let out a creak as Bloodboar moved it and sat down. He didn't start talking right away, choosing to spend a few seconds on staring at Dream. The latter felt awkward under the intensive stare, especially without his white mask to shield his face from the other's gaze.
"So, uh..." Dream awkwardly cleared his throat. What was intriguing the pirate so much? Did Dream have something weird on his forehead or something?
"How is your cut?" Bloodboar asked. That was unexpected to say the least. Dream's face must've showed his confusion, because the pirate elaborated after a moment of silence, "The one on the side of your head. Does it still hurt?"
Dream wasn't stupid, that wasn't the thing that made him frown. "Yeah, the one you left, I know. Why are you asking?" Dream was pained to admit, but George had been right, the pirate in front of him was kind of weird. Maybe he was trying to get under Dream's skin with those pointless questions.
"Is it illegal now to ask my favorite captives how they are feeling, Dream? I can always just torture you if you prefer that over a simple chatting session, heh." The pirate cocked his head to the right, clearly trying to provoke some reaction out of Dream with his teasing.
Had they met before? "How the hell do you know my name?"
Dream had always been crap at delivering bad news. The fear of disappointing people, not even directly with his own deeds, made sure to keep Dream silent most of the time.
He was always too afraid to tell his parents about any grass stains he got from playing in the field. Too scared to tell his little sister the reason why the stray cat that had lived down the road wasn't waking up anymore when she called it by name.
Maybe that was why he didn't tell his friend about the whole moving away thing yet, even as a whole month passed since his dad delivered the news to the family.
Dream just didn't want to disappoint his strange pier friend. Dream enjoyed playing tag with him, listening as he read stories form big books aloud to him, sparring with him with wooden swords. Even if Dream was bad at fighting, it was still fun, because he was doing it with his friend.
"But good things never last forever" as his mom told his sister once when their family was burying the stray cat. That was just how life worked.
Not saying anything wasn't an option anymore. It would be better to say something now rather than just disappear without a trace with no explanation. Dream owed it to his friend.
So, he took a deep breath in and straightened his spine. Dream had poked his friend's shoulder to make him look up before he finally spoke, "I wanted to tell you something, Techno..."
"What is it, Dream?"
The pirate fell silent once again. This time though the quietness felt more tense somehow. Dream didn't even know it was possible, considering that he was already restrained to a chair in front of the most feared pirate of their age. The most confusing thing was that the question wasn't even that hard to answer. Maybe Sapnap screamed it while fighting, maybe George said it while arguing with Dream.
But here they were, playing a very intense round of a staring contest.
"I'm astonished by the fact that your memory is in such bad condition," the pirate whispered while slowly putting hands on the boar mask on his head. Then, he lifted it. "Or— eh, or you're just stupid. I don't even know which option is funnier, to be completely honest."
"I'll kill you." Dream couldn't hide the pure shock he felt while looking at his old childhood friend. Same bright eyes and a slightly pointy nose, the only difference being that the childish plumpness had left his face. What were the odds of meeting his friend in those circumstances? "I'm seriously going to stab you, Techno. I'm- I'm not even joking."
"Yeah, good luck with that," Bloodboar—Technoblade—laughed. He placed the mask on the table next to the lamp, giving Dream a wide smug grin. "You are still way bellow my skill level. How pitiful, I thought you'll at least improve a bit since being a child, but no."
It was just a plain lie! He had learned a lot since being a kid. "Yeah? How's your shoulder?" Dream let out an annoyed huff. "You're lucky my knives weren't coated in anything."
Perhaps poking a pirate while Dream was tied to a chair wasn't his brightest idea. But, at the same time, it was impossible to be intimidated by a guy who once had slipped on an ice and fell into a small pit and got his butt stuck in there. Dream just knew too many funny embarrassing stories about this pirate who was terrorizing the northern waters to feel anything close to fear.
Techno rolled his eyes, tilting his head to the side. "Oh, please, don't tell me you think that was fair. Your little friend threw a smoke bomb at me beforehand! I would've dodged your toothpick otherwise."
"Excuses, excuses," Dream joked with a smile that quickly fell when he fully processed what his childhood friend just said. "Is Sapnap okay? The guy that threw the smoke."
"Eh, as your captor I probably shouldn't answer this type of questions—" the pirate quickly raised his hand to stop Dream from cutting his words off—"but as an old friend... I can guarantee you that he's alive. Most of the crew members are fine, in fact."
"Why?" Dream couldn't help himself but to wonder out loud. "I mean— don't get me wrong, I'm glad they're fine, but... You and your men are murderers. Outlaws. Sea-scum who don't show mercy for anyone. The ones that—"
Technoblade frowned a bit and tried to put an end to Dream's little speech, "Yeah, I got your point. You may stop elaborating further."
"No, I think you need to be shamed a little, actually." Dream shifted on the chair, trying to find a more comfortable position. The tight belts on his hands were making Dream's skin burn a little, but there wasn't anything he could do other than clench his teeth and just bear it.
So, he just kept on talking. "It's, like, very bad. Killing innocent civilians isn't something honorable people do, and before I thought— you never looked like one of those who would stoop so low. What even made you do this? Was poverty starving your family or something?"
"Well, eh... Not exactly that, but you're close enough," Technoblade started with an awkward chuckle, "my crew is like a family to me. I would love to see them prosper and not be in such dire need for every crumble of bread. I won't let them return to the pits of society."
"By stealing and killing others?" Dream wasn't very impressed by that half-assed reasoning and he made that fact as clear as possible. "You could've become a captain of a merchant ship. Or, like, an admiral in some navy fleet. Your parents were noble, weren't they? With your background you could've snagged a place somewhere else after the fall of the empire. Maybe, uh, maybe Kinoko Kingdom would've let you in, I dunno."
The pirate stared at Dream for a long second, not even blinking. Dream still couldn't understand what exactly was making Techno freeze every time and just look at him with a look of pure bafflement. That stare was getting on Dream's nerves quite a bit. What was he missing?
Technoblade shook his head as he finally spoke up, "It... wasn't an option for me, so to say. I see that you weren't particularly interested in learning about the Arctic Empire lineage, eh?"
"Huh? That was kind of out of the blue," Dream mumbled to himself. "Hey, we're not done with discussing your shitty life choices! Don't change the theme!"
"No, we actually have to round up this whole thing. There's still so many of your crew mates to get here and explain what would happen to them," Technoblade said and picked up the boar mask from the table. "I'm letting all of you free in the nearest port. Consider this gesture as me honoring our childhood friendship."
"Wait, what? Really? You're not even taking our cargo?" Dream asked, surprised by such generosity—if he could call it that. It was basic human decency, but considering a very long and bloody list of victims dragging behind Techno and his team, the offer was surprisingly humane.
"Oh, no, we already looted your ship." The pirate chuckled as he lowered the mask back on his head and started adjusting it. "And sank it down. We still have to make a living, and no personal fondness of mine can change that."
Dream huffed. The audacity of that guy! "You're such an ass."
"But your captain and others think that we're interrogating every single one of you about the said cargo, so... I'm politely asking you to not blabber out the truth." Techno stood up from his chair and walked around the table. "It would be such a shame to spare your life now only to have to hunt you down later." He stopped behind Dream and started untying the little belts on his chair one by one.
"Are you threatening me?" Dream tried to turn his head and look back at Technoblade, but it was very hard to do, so he gave up after a few unsuccessful tries.
When the pirate was done with Dream's legs he moved up. His motions were gentle while he was removing restrains from Dream's hands. "Not threatening per se, but warning you. I wouldn't enjoy killing you, but if I'd have to do that I wouldn't hesitate."
"You never have to kill someone, though. That's an active choice you make every time you slit someone's throat." The second Dream's hands were free he quickly covered his hurt wrist and held it close to his chest. He definitely needed to go visit a specialist about it when he touches land.
"I think we're done with the morality talk for today. You can keep chastising me later, when we're in a far calmer setting," Technoblade replied, taking a step back from the chair. "Get up."
"Later? You wanna meet again?" Dream did as he was told, standing up and facing the stupid mask once again. Now, with the knowledge who was hiding after it, the head of a boar didn't seem as spooky as before.
Pirate shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "Sure. I'm not opposed to catching up. We have a lot of stories to tell, don't we?"
The kid at the pier was weird. He always showed up in silken clothes and fancy looking boots, speaking with words way too complicated. Dream didn't know where he came from, but he was fun to be around and that was all that mattered. He liked playing with Technoblade.
"Yeah, we are," Dream hummed with a small grin. "Maybe I'll finally be good enough to beat you in a fair fight by then."
