#and let their need to bully c!Sam overcome any actual effective strats

[the-final-sif]

pm!c!Sam is in this really weird place of like, c!Dream is the only thing he remembers from Before. He has literally nothing else. And c!Sam doesn't do well without some kind Anchor or purpose. He got too used to having something to define himself around.

Clearly, it must mean something that he remembered Dream. It must be important and not happenstance. Even if c!Dream doesn't remember him, that's fine, because c!Sam remembers him and that's enough. c!Sam remembers his center world was centered around c!Dream at one point, and he takes comfort in going back to that.

But the fundamental problem is that the whole structure around the prison, the whole narrative of c!Dream being the villain doesn't exist anymore. c!Sam has this overwhelming desire for c!Dream to be something in a way he has no right to expect from another person.

And like- c!Sam isn't the same person he was around the time of the prison. He has no moral justification framework for taking away any of c!Dream's agency. If he was asked point blank "hey, should c!Dream be allowed to leave you behind he wanted to?" he'd be sad but of course he'd agree.

The problem isn't the direct questions, it's all the little instinctive moments, when he isn't even thinking about what c!Dream wants because why would he? It's not in his nature to do that. There's also little instinctive impulses to contain that c!Sam is reading as protect. That he just. Won't. Interrogate. He just follows them.

So the end result is that c!Sam is just like, weirdly possessive over c!Dream and does NOT understand reasonable boundaries, all while having no spine whenever he's challenged about any of it. Dude is getting bullied by teenagers 24/7. BUT then he gets to sniffle and act very sad and downtrodden and of course c!Dream will agree to caving with him to make him feel better, and now c!Tubbo and c!Tommy are kicking themselves because this is the Worst outcome (they will do it again).