#and so we finally get a closer look at SMP City and a few of the people who live there

[infighting-of-ancient-gods]

Part 19

Near the center of the city there was a tall, pristine office building; Modern looking with windows as tall as the walls. This was where Carson and Charlie spent most of their day, keeping things in the city organized and stopping any widespread chaos from taking hold of everything. There wasn’t any real structured government in SMP City, but Carson, having been the one with the original idea to found the city, had been keeping everything in check for as long as any of them could remember, Charlie working by his side to assist in whatever way he needed.

Carson was almost always the one to welcome newcomers to the city, organize any community events, handle any disputes people had over property or items, and take care of the upkeep of any public areas in the city. It was general knowledge in the community that if you had a problem you went to Carson and Charlie for help. Luckily for Connor, he and Schlatt were both fairly good friends with Carson, and even if they hadn’t exactly always been on the best terms with Charlie everything was fine between them now.

Connor walked through the glass doors, making sure they didn’t slam shut behind him. There was a running joke in the community about the glass doors of Carson’s offices and how often they broke. People had a bad habit of coming into the building in a hurry, or when they were upset, and either slamming the door shut behind them or letting it swing closed itself, eventually leading the doors to simply shatter when they closed. There was a poster up on the city's bulletin board that people used to keep track of how many days it had been since the doors last broke. The longest they had ever gone without breaking was three months. Charlie kept begging Carson to just replace them with less breakable doors, but Carson kept using the fact that they were the only doors that properly matched the aesthetic of the building as an excuse to keep the glass ones. Everyone was fairly sure that he actually just enjoyed the way the running joke of how often the doors break brought the community closer together.

Either way, Connor wasn’t looking to be the one who broke the doors this time around, so he did his best to be careful with them. Surprisingly, it was Grizzly who greeted him at the front desk of the building.

“Hey Connor.” He waved boredly. There wasn’t generally anyone sitting at the front desk unless Carson or Connor were waiting for someone to come in.

“Hey Grizz,” Connor returned the gesture, approaching the front desk, “What’re you up to?”

“Just kinda hanging out.” He sighed, “Charlie’s supposed to help me with some stuff for the animals today but I’ve gotta wait for him and Carson to finish looking over some stuff so I’m waiting here. What about you?”

“Ah, well I’ve gotta talk to Carson and Charlie about something important. Do you think you could point me towards what floor they’re on?” He questioned, nodding towards the elevator.

“I think they were up in Carson’s office.”

“Third floor then, thanks Grizz.” He started his way towards the elevator before a thought popped into his head and he turned back around to face Grizz. “Hey, you wouldn’t have happened to have heard from or seen Schlatt within the last few days, have you?”

Grizz thought for a second, “Uh, no, I don’t believe I have, sorry.” He seemed slightly concerned.

Connor knodded, “It’s cool, thanks anyways.” He waved, stepping into the elevator. He sighed as the doors closed behind him.

Connor exited the elevator onto the third floor directly into Carson’s office, where Carson and Charlie stood over Carson’s desk looking through a stack of papers which, judging from the handwriting alone, were most likely sent in by Tommy.

Carson and Charlie both glanced over their shoulders when he stepped in.

“Hey there.” He greeted both of them.

“Hey Connor!” Carson put down the papers he was holding and turned to face Connor, leaning against the desk, “What brings you our way?”

“Well, I was wondering if either of you had seen or heard from Schlatt within the last five days or so? Or maybe he told one of you anything about a business trip he was supposed to go on around that time?”

Carson tilted his head, “I can’t say I have, or that I remember him mentioning anything recently.” He turned to Charlie, “You know anything?”

Charlie had put down his papers and turned to join the conversation as well, “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen him, I didn’t even know he had gone on a business trip.”

Carson seemed concerned, “I’m assuming there’s something wrong if you came to ask. What’s up?”

“Last week Schlatt came to me to tell me he was going on a business trip the next day. He refused to tell me where he was going but he was adamant that it was a big opportunity and he assured me that he would be back in at most three days, so I let it slide.” Connor explained.

“And?” Charlie questioned.

“Well, now he’s been gone five days, I haven’t heard from him, and I have no idea where he went.”

“I mean, Schlatt has a tendency to disappear for days on end for his mysterious ‘business trips’.” Carson stated, “I don’t see what’s different here.”

“It might not seem like much to you but for me this is different.” Connor stated, “Schlatt always gives me a time limit for his trips. He’s only ever stayed out past that time limit once and that was on his first ever business trip, so the fact that he’s been gone for five days when he said he’d be back in less than three is worrying.” Connor explained further, “And to add on to that he almost always gives me at least a few days notice before his trips and this is the only time he’s ever refused to tell me where he was going. So I don’t know what exactly is going on but I know that something was off about this trip and now Schlatt’s missing and I have no leads on where he could possibly be.”

[findingjoynweirdstuff]

Dream SMP Recap (April 27/2021) - Facing Fears

Ponk confronts Foolish at the Community House and plans to build a supreme fridge to make things up with him after the Banquet.

Tommy, preparing for the prison break, decides he needs to face his fears before he does so.

---

VOD LINKS:

Ponk

Foolish

Tommyinnit

Tubbo

Ranboo

Captain Puffy

---

- Ponk starts off in the cobblestone pyramid base.

- Ponk looks at the photos on his walls and puts on his shoes.

“Chat...today, we make the supreme fridge. We lost a friend -- it should’ve been Eret, okay? In all honest, it should’ve been Eret...it’s sad. It’s all so sad to think a friend of mine -- another friend! -- betrayed me like this, you know?”

“I guess...Purpled won’t be needing our supplies anymore.”

- Chat thinks Ponk doing a deep voice sounds like Sam. 

- Ponk wants to make it up to Foolish, and what better to do than make him a supreme fridge? He still has the cake Foolish gave him at the Banquet. He had no idea. 

- He starts mining down the Netherite blocks. Purpled won’t be needing these anymore.

- Ponk then goes over to Niki’s city to retrieve supplies.

- Badboyhalo is like that one friend who’s way too into a pyramid scheme and tried to get everyone else involved.

- When a dono points out that Ponk still got involved in the scheme, Ponk replies: 

“I mean...look. The pyramid scheme gave me structure to my life, alright? What kind of structure did I have before then? Huh? Think about it. What was I doing? Who was I sharing my thoughts with, chat? Exactly. So anything with structure was probably better than that, you know?”

“‘I had Sam?’ I had Sam. Chat. What did Sam do to me?”

- Ponk makes it to the ocean monument farm.

- Sam joins the game.

Ponk: hello...

Sam: You’re cute :)

Sam: Later <3

- He leaves. Purpled joins the game.

Ponk: So

Ponk: LOOK WHO IS HERE

Purpled: hi ponk

Ponk: DONT HI PONK ME

Purpled: ok

Purpled: bye ponk

- Purpled leaves. Ponk realizes he missed out on his chance to play Bedwars with him.

- Ponk gets a message back and goes to play Bedwars.

- Foolish notices the renovations and new obsidian layer on L’Sandburg. It doesn’t actually look too bad, and he decides he might keep it.

- After Bedwars, Ponk returns to the cobblestone pyramid to get things. He takes a closer look at the photos again. Sam is crossed out with red in one.

- Ponk waits at the Community House for Foolish. He has a photo of him and Foolish and a cake.

- Foolish asks what happened at the Banquet. Ponk boats over to him, but Foolish notices his eyes are still red.

- Ponk tells him that he never knew Foolish was going to get hurt. He was just the coat man.

Ponk: “Look at me! Does this look like someone like the guest of honor? No, alright? To have to serve people that have betrayed me, Foolish! How do you think that hurt? And then to see you! Taken up there by my friends, alright! I don’t know.”

- He tells Foolish that they’ve had good times together, that he saved the cake Foolish gave him. He gives Foolish the cake. When Foolish worries it might be poisoned, he says they can eat it together.

- Bad said he’d found armor in a chest and gave it to Ponk. Ponk didn’t know he was going to need it.

- Foolish asks how he knows this isn’t some sort of trap. Ponk tells him that he wants to make it up to Foolish.

Ponk: “Obviously, you can’t trust me and I know that, right. But I wanna make it up to you. Okay? Trust is something I hold very dear to me, and for me to break it, alright...be it from a third party’s perspective, okay? I didn’t have much to do with this Banquet, Foolish, you have to understand me.”

Foolish: “You’re telling me the Egg isn’t in control of you right now, is what you’re saying?”

Ponk: “The Egg helps me, Foolish. It gives me structure, okay?”

Foolish: “Do you still believe the Egg is some kind of good thing? Do you believe it’s actually something you should have in your like?”

- Ponk tells him to walk with him. Foolish points out he led the attack on his temple, all for the Egg.

Foolish: “You did it for the Egg! Thinking you would like, impress it or something, like it would give you more! What’s the real problem, Ponk? You haven’t explained. What’s the real problem? Your hand, like what’s with your hand -- what’s with the Egg in the first place--”

- Ponk tells him they don’t talk about the hand. That’s something he has to deal with. But he’s truly sorry, and he’s going to build Foolish a supreme fridge.

- Foolish is still concerned about the eyes. Ponk says the eyes mean nothing. Foolish doesn’t know how much Ponk has lost, who he’s lost. 

- Foolish snaps, saying he died. Does Ponk know how scary a thing that is?  Ponk replies that he does know, but Foolish is taking it out of proportion.

Ponk: “A quick death, or a slow, painful one, Foolish? Come on, man.”

- Ponk will still lay the foundations for the fridge. Even if Foolish chases him off, he will come back, day after day, to build the fridge and prove that he’s a good person.

- The Egg provides free Starbucks, and that is worth it.

- Foolish says he can’t trust Ponk until the red eyes and everything in his system are gone. Ponk says it will all be explained in time.

- Foolish has had enough and leaves. He heads back to the summer home. Ponk got him thinking about death again. He makes it back to the green light to calm down.

- Foolish then goes to continue building, to finish the mansion.

- Tommy wasn’t there for the Banquet. The Blood Vines are gone from the path now, and he is not afraid of the Egg. He wonders where it went.

- He has something to do today. He heads over to Snowchester to meet with Tubbo. Tubbo and Ranboo come over to the mansion.

- Tommy pulls Tubbo aside to speak with him alone. He asks Tubbo about how, after the Disc War Finale, he gave Tubbo the Nightmare armor set. He wants it back.

- He asks for Tubbo’s help with some things, but doesn’t want Ranboo there.

- Tubbo takes Tommy into the Snowchester vault. Tommy says he’ll give the rest back, but he wants to keep the Totem of Undying. Tommy puts on Dream’s armor.

- Next, Tommy and Tubbo go over to Pogtopia to retrieve Tommy’s sword. They open Sam’s vault door and Tommy gathers his things.

- Tommy and Tubbo go mine some obsidian in Pogtopia. He needs obsidian and blackstone.

- He gets home and cleans up the blood on the Prime Path. Ranboo arrives and gives him more stacks of obsidian.

- He explains to Tubbo and Ranboo that in a few days’ time, things are going to change, and he’s not strong enough yet. He wants to face the things he’s scared of.

- Tommy mines below the watchtower. He wants to create two bunkers. One that replicates the Final Control Room, and one that replicates the prison.

- Tommy asks if either of them have been to the prison. Ranboo says no, Sam doesn’t let him in. Tubbo says Sam didn’t let him in either.

- He tells Ranboo and Tubbo that he’s afraid of taking damage.

- Tommy’s heard rumors about the Panic Room and asks Ranboo what it was. Ranboo says it was just a room he went to when he got stressed, kind of like what Tommy’s making but the opposite.

- After they finish the bunkers, Tommy leads them all to Logstedshire. Tommy walks around, looking at everything there and remembering what happened.

- Next, Tommy goes to visit the exact recreations of the rooms in the museum. He meets Eret on the Prime Path.

- He asks Ranboo and Tubbo to lock him in for a minute and walks into the Final Control Room, talking through his feelings, pressing the button like he did when it happened.

- Tommy starts looking through the chests and finds the book that Eret left for Wilbur named “I’m Sorry.”

Tommy: “It’s okay...it’s okay because times have changed, and so have people. Not all people...but most.”

- They leave the museum and Tommy asks Tubbo to stab him with a sword.

- Tommy then goes into the recreation they made of the prison cell. He starts panicking and asks to be let out. Tubbo and Ranboo let him out. He tells them that in the next few days, it’s all going to change. He’s going to try and do what he should’ve done a long time ago.

- Tommy gives Ranboo a hug and thanks him for helping. He asks Ranboo to leave, then tells Tubbo to come up the watchtower with him.

- There, he tells Tubbo about dying and coming back. He and Tubbo had the chance to kill Dream and they didn’t, but now, Tommy’s going to break into the prison and do it.

- He needs from Tubbo a couple of things, and Tubbo can’t tell anyone -- even Ranboo -- about this. He needs Tubbo’s help to get him several invisibility potions, defenses stronger than TNT: withers.

- People are going to be upset with him because getting rid of Dream will get rid of the revival book. Tommy says the revive book isn’t worth it to keep him alive. Being in between life and death was worse than just staying dead.

- Most of all, he needs Tubbo to trust him.

Tommy: “This isn’t the right thing to do, Tubbo. It’s the only thing to do.”

- He tells Tubbo he’ll see him soon and leaves.

- Tubbo and Ranboo go off to fight some wither skeletons for skulls.

- Later, Ranboo goes mining with Tubbo in VC.

---

Upcoming events remain the same.

[elias-code]

That's My Job - Glatt x gn!reader

~ Ask Link ~

Characters: Glatt x gn!reader, Fundy, mentioning Quackity

Summary: You haven't been back to Manburg since Schlatt died. Now that Techno's destroyed every trace of it, you've returned with Fundy to drink and mourn. Fundy leaves you to your devices and Glatt ends up waking you up, taking care of you, and confessing...

Warnings: lots of cursing, heavy drinking, death, mourning

------ sorry it's so angsty lmao I just love torturing myself :) ------

Ever since Schlatt suffered his massive heart attack at the end of his presidential term, you’ve been wandering the SMP. You’d gotten close to him during his campaign trail, eventually helping him do paperwork, or rather, you did it all for him. You hadn’t been back to Manburg since his death, but now that it was gone, completely gone, you decided it was time to return.

It was a crater. Nothing was left. The office building was gone, the festival grounds were gone, and even the presidential podium was gone. Now, glass covered the crater, giving you the full view of what you had been most afraid of. It made you sick to look at it, bringing up memories from the election.

The worst part of it was that he was gone. Everything in Manburg that reminded you of him was gone, even his friends were gone. The group split shortly after he died, giving up on the decimated country. He was the only thing keeping them together. For better or for worse.

“Hey, Fundy,” You said, stuffing your hands in your pockets. He'd offered to come with you, knowing just how hard it was to be back there.

"Hey, it's nice to see you again," He carried a bottle in his hand and offered it to you. He'd already popped it open and taken a sip of it. "It's a bit strong, but you might need it."

"Thanks," You took it readily, not bothering to read the label before you took a swig. The liquid hit your tongue and burned as it went down. You coughed, spitting the remaining drink on the ground, "What the hell is this stuff?!"

Fundy was practically on the ground laughing. Your tongue and throat still burned from the alcohol and you rotated the bottle to read the label.

Fundy™ Vodka, (98% alcohol)

"Are you trying to kill me Fundy? This shit is ninety-eight percent alcohol?! How did you manage that?" he continued laughing at you as your face burned from embarrassment.

"It's a trade secret," he chuckled, "The people in Las Nevadas really love it," he shrugged.

"How are they all not dead?"

"Don't ask me," He said, "I'm just their dealer. Quackity buys in bulk."

For a moment, it was as if Schlatt never died. You laughed with Fundy for a bit, drank, and reminisced. It was like old times, the hay day, but every time you looked around, you were painfully reminded of the past.

"Hey, I wanted to show you something." Fundy stood, offering you a hand. You were both buzzed already. Each sip of the vodka went down like two shots and you'd gotten a decent way down the bottle by now.

"I'm happy to stay anywhere other than here," You took his hand and gestured around at the crater, "This place sucks." You swallowed a lump in your throat and followed Fundy off the path.

You looked down as you walked. You didn't want to be reminded of him any more than you had to. The people here were moving on from it all already. To be fair, it had been a while, but you'd been closer to him than anyone else, even closer than Quackity.

"Here," He stopped and pointed at the clump stones in front of him. He sat down on the bench as he had done many times before, letting you inspect your surroundings.

"What is this?"

"It's a shrine thing I made," He said sadly, "A long time ago. I haven't been here in a long time, so I refreshed the flowers a bit for you."

The cobblestones were unmarked, put in a rough pile surrounded by oxeye daisies and dandelions. To any passer-by, it was just a pile of rocks. To you and Fundy, it was Schlatt's grave.

Of course, he wasn't buried there. He'd been buried in a nice grave surrounded by gold and diamonds, but it had been griefed so many times that it wasn't worth visiting anymore. Instead of being reminded of him, you were reminded of how many people hated him. Here, it was much quieter.

"Thoughts?" Fundy asked, passing you the bottle as you sat with him.

"It's not bad," You took a swig, used to the taste by now, "I can't help but think that it's painfully accurate that we're getting drunk at his grave."

Fundy laughed briefly, eventually letting the blanket of silence fall over you. The lump in your throat rose once more and you swallowed it with another sip. This must be what he felt like at the end. Drinking to forget, shoving his problems down as far as he could with each drink until, one day, his heart couldn't take it anymore.

"You ok?" Fundy asked, concerned.

"Huh? Yeah," You stared blankly at the stone pile, "Just thinking."

"You're crying," He said.

You touched your cheek and found it wet with tears. You hadn't cried since the day he died, the day you left.

"Do you..." He sighed, "Want some time alone?"

You hesitated. "Yeah," you croaked, "as long as I get to keep the alcohol,"

"Just don't drink it all," He touched your head and walked off.

-

"Hey. Hey. Get up," You felt a finger poke your temple and you jerked awake to Schlatt's voice.

"Finally," He sighed, "What do you think you're doing on my property?"

Through your hazy vision, you saw him.

"Schlatt?" You reached your hand out towards him, but you felt nothing.

"Yeah, yeah," He moved out of your reach, "Hands off, kid."

You rubbed your eyes and squinted, there's no fuckin' way...

"What the hell?" You spat, "Is this a fever dream or some shit?"

In front of you was Schlatt, or a paler blue version of him. He was holding the bottle of vodka, reading the label.

"Oh so Fundy's got a damn business now, does he?"

"Whoa whoa whoa," You ignored him, "Schlatt?! You're alive??"

"Calm down," He rolled his eyes at you, "haven't you ever seen a ghost before?"

He tossed the bottle back to you but you fumbled it and it shattered on the ground.

"Shit!" The bottle broke into sharp, jagged pieces. No vodka came out of the bottle, it was empty.

"You're still a terrible catch, good to know," He sat beside you, walking through the glass. You realised with a start, He's translucent...

You woke up fully, putting your hands on your face and shaking your head. Your brain rattled around in your skull, giving you a painful migraine. The bottle was empty... how much did I drink? Your memory from the past few hours was more or less blank, only the occasional flash of sunset or Fundy was left.

"You're drunk as fuck, you know that?" He said, sitting judgingly.

"What?" I must be if he's here, "Are you even real?"

"Yeah," He sounded offended, "Look at me! What do you mean am I real?"

You laughed, now convinced you were out of your mind. "How was I supposed to know?"

He furrowed his eyebrows at you, evaluating your mental state. "That stuff will kill you." He said, genuinely concerned.

"Oh, and you'd know all about that, Schlatt," You spat, "As if I hadn't warned you a thousand times,"

He leaned back, "Says the person who left the country the moment I died,"

This sent you over the edge and you started sobbing. You put your hands to your face, practically screaming into them. You refused to deal with these emotions for so long, and in some cruel twist of fate, you'd become the thing you hated the most. You'd done the thing you warned Schlatt about countless times. It finally came back to bite you in the ass.

"Sorry, I-" He started, putting his hand on your back. He didn't know what to say, he wasn't the best at comfort, "I've missed you,"

Your sobbing calmed down slightly, downgrading to crying. The tears stung your eyes and your throat burned, partly from the drink, partly from the stress you were releasing.

"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up," He said, standing to lead you down the path. You followed, stumbling slightly as the drink caught up to your balance. Just before you fell, he caught you and slung your arm around his shoulder, practically carrying you.

"Man, I was hoping you'd be in better shape the first time I saw you."

"What do you mean?" You mumbled, leaning on him heavily.

"I mean I haven't seen you in so long," He bit his lip, "I was starting to think you'd never come back. Then I saw you with Fundy, drunk as a skunk, sleeping on my bench. Not what I'd say was a good first impression. In such a long time, I mean."

"Yeah, but you're... dead."

"So? What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you died. You had a fucking heart attack, alright? We mourned for you, I mourned for you. I ran away because I couldn't bear to look at them. Those people who said they were your friends. They took different sides. They gave up on you. In a way, I guess I did too, just because I had to."

He grits his teeth but kept walking. "I was just as disappointed in them as you, kid."

You'd reached the end of the path. He looked around quickly and opened the door. You recognized it as Fundy's house. It was vacant, Fundy was nowhere in sight. Schlatt laid you down on his bed, leaving to get a washcloth and a glass of water.

"Sit up," He said, pushing the glass into your hand.

You grabbed it readily and took a swig, dehydrated from the tears you'd shed. As you drank, he put the damp washcloth to your forehead and neck, trying his best to sober you up a bit.

"You're on fire." He said, frowning at you. "Your face is all red. How much of that stuff did you drink?"

"The whole bottle," You muttered.

"And you're still alive?" He laughed.

"I'd ask Quackity the same thing,"

"What does this have to do with Quackity?"

"Fundy's selling it to Las Nevadas, I guess." You shrugged and he haphazardly dropped the washcloth in Fundy's cauldron.

"What?"

"Las Nevadas," You laid back down, "Quackity has a city now. Leaned into the whole gambling thing."

"Jesus, I missed a lot, haven't I?" He laid next to you, the sheets didn't move.

"I guess so." You turned to look at him. His suit was torn like he hadn't changed it since the day he died. His beard was barely shaped, his hair a mess, and his horns were as sharp as ever. He was exactly the same as he looked that day. Dishevelled and broken down.

"I mean it, I missed you." He said, "It's not like I had any paperwork to watch you do, but I wish I had."

"You watched me do that?"

"Yeah, I had to make sure you weren't stealing it or something," He excused.

You chuckled, "You never kept track of that shit, there was no way you would have known."

"Alright fine, you want me to admit it?"

"Admit what?"

"You make this... face when you work. When you're really focusing on something... It's hard to look away."

Your heart skipped. The ghost of Schlatt confessed to having a crush on you? No one would believe this, especially since you barely believed it yourself. You burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of it.

"What?!" He snapped.

You kept laughing as your head throbbed, the headache coming out in full force now, "You had a crush on me?"

He scowled, "No." He sat up and tapped his foot on the ground, "I have a crush on you."

Huh? "Even though I've been gone for months?"

"Yeah," He said, "It's not like you forget someone like that."

He sounded sad, distant almost. Like you were the ghost.

"Hey," You shuffled over to him, putting a hand on his leg, "It's super cheesy, but," You sighed, god I sound like a child, "I like you, too."

His face flushed, as much as a dead person's face could flush. "Little old dead Schlatt?"

"Yeah, why not?" You sighed, "It's been so long since I've seen you, but... I mean, why do you think I left?"

"I don't know. I thought about that a lot while you were gone."

"I left because I cared about you. It was too hard to see you in everything around me. I left to get my mind off of you because every waking moment of every goddamn day was spent thinking about you," He looked at you, poorly holding his poker face, "I only came back because everything was gone. There was nothing to come back to. Or so I thought."

"Yeah, Technoblade did that." He jeered, "Twice."

"This isn't about him," You put your head on his shoulder, "If I'd have known you were still here... I would have stayed."

"To be fair, I was stuck in... hell... for a while until I finally figured out how to get back up here," He said, "By the time I'd come back... You were long gone. Months had passed."

"It was selfish for me to leave. I'm sorry."

"No, it was shitty of me to be mad you didn't stay. You told me so many times to put down the damn bottle and yet, you stayed by my side until the end. I let you down."

"I guess we both have things to be sorry for, then." You said.

You sat in silence for a while, coming to terms with what you'd both just said. It wasn't in either of your characters to say anything like this. There were some serious feelings passing back and forth between the two of you, and nothing to prepare you for them.

"Fuck I'm gonna puke," You said.

He pulled back, "Don't do it on me, sicko, Jesus!"

You laughed, "I'm fuckin joking, relax,"

"Just..." He leaned back and grabbed a blanket to swaddle you in it, "No more drinking, no more feelings for tonight. You need to sleep, and I've got all the time in the world to watch over you."

"It sounds creepy when you put it that way," you pouted.

"I'm not gonna-" He rolled his eyes and tucked you in, "Just let me know if you need anything. We don't really need sleep with the 'eternal slumber' bullshit, ya know?"

---

I don't know how to end this lmao, I hope you enjoyyyyyyed :3

[dream-smp-reblogss]

C!Techno x reader (platonic)

¦ I wrote it for Techno but you are best friends with c!Wilbur too so you can read it like that too I guess

¦ I always see people writing the reader as innocent and weak so it is hard for me to see myself as the reader so here you go a reader who is violent and strong.

¦ dream smp techno not the real one

¦ Tw: injuries, death mention, blood, scars, death, capslock, swearing

¦tl:dr A not so wholesome reader insert fic where you return to L'manburg after many many years to learn Wilbur and Tommy got exiled.

¦ a note: English isn't my first language and it is currently 2 am and I don't have time to proof read, sorry for the mistakes!

¦ word count: 3602

You finally arrived in l'manburg after a lot of travels around the world, you were home after fighting in many wars that weren't your own to fight for your home.

You had left l'manburg when you were still little, around 12 or 13 you were a scared little kid that didn't want to hurt anyone but life still pushed you to that direction and you grew used to it, no matter how much you escaped from war and blood they seemed to find you.

So, when you heard about that two villagers talking about l'manburg and how many wars were happening you knew you had to return to your home.

You smiled upon seeing l'manburg looking around for a face that might recognize you, maybe your best friend- *old* best friend Wilbur that you didn't talk to for years.

While looking around someone stopped you, a blonde haired girl she spoke in a confused but polite tone "Hello, who are you?" you firstly inspected the girl in hopes of recognizing her since you had trouble remembering the past because of an injury you got to your head and decided to ask her "When did you come to L'manburg?" she looked like she didn't expect that but still answered "After the indepence war, why did you ask?" you nodded relieved that the reason you couldn't remember her was because you never met her.

Ignoring her looks and questions you asked "Hey, do you know someone named Wilbur?" and quietly continued "I think he might be the only one I might remember except the kids." she raised her eyebrow "Do you not know Schlatt exiled them?" you repeated her "Them?" she nodded "Wilbur and Tommy got exiled." something felt weird about this "Tubbo?" she seemed unsure if she should say it "He didn't got exiled, he is with Schlatt." you nodded and turned your head to her "Take me to that guy." she didn't say anything and started walking so you followed her thinking about what they might do that caused this, or why Philza didn't protect them.

You finally arrived in front of a building, and she stopped "Here, he must be inside." you muttered a thanks and went inside searching ing for him, finally you found a room that might be his; voices were coming inside but after listening to the conversation for a while you realized it wasn't anything imported so opened the door and walked inside, there was the guy, he was sitting in a leather chair wearing a suit and there was a guy next to him that seemed to be talking to Schlatt.

They looked at you and finally that guy next to Schlatt started to talk "You can't just come inside to the presidents room like this, go out-" you cut his speech "I can come and go however i like and you don't get a say in this, now *you* go outside." he obviously didn't expect that so he was ready to get in a fight with you but Schlatt stopped him and quietly requested him to go outside.

When the guy went outside Schlatt turned to you while you were waiting for him to talk a picture on the wall piqued your interest, picture of Wilbur, you wasn't fully sure since you haven't seen him in years "Did you know the ex president?" you turned your attention to the man talking to you and nodded. He was examining you and you were doing the same for him finally you broke the silence "O heard you exiled him and Tommy, what did they do?" he ignored the question and asked his own "Who are you, coming here and acting like the place belongs to you." you let out an almost mocking laugh " y/n" his eyes widened and he shaked his head looking like he didn't believe " That y/n? I don't think so, you look like you can't even take down a spider." you smiled and cocked your head " It is bad to make assumptions about people."

You weren't popular or feared as much as the blood god, everyone knew him and how he looked he wasn't afraid to show off , you on the other hand kept your appearance a secret with your mask, most people knew your stories and legends but you didn't brought fear into their hearts despite being the same as the blood god. So people mostly ignored you and didn't even talk about you, you were kinda jealous of the blood god since you didn't got enough recognition because of him.

You brushed off these thoughts and turned to the man looking at you with a open mouth "If you tell anyone i will kill you, now tell me why did you exiled them." he again ignored your question and offered to show L'manburg realizing you wouldn't be able to get a word out of him despite your anger you accepted it.

The city looked beautiful, sure most thing were different from how you left them but still it looked nice your mind kept darting back to the exile and you kept getting angry and calm again at the end when he finished the toure and started talking about how he was honored to have you you cutted him off "Stop dancing around the subject, why did you exiled them?" raising your voice made him jump "I-I had to exile them, it was the only way, why do you even care you don't even live here or know them!" you let out a laugh and walked away from him ignoring him. Your really really wanted to punch him so walking away was the best way before you actually did that but he came after you looking for his answer and instead got a punch to the face.

--time skip of 2 days--

Looking for Tubbo resulted in nothing, he was always next to Schlatt and you were kept away from him since the punch so you started looking for Wilbur and Tommy and found them after a day of exploring.

They looked really bad, they both probably didn't ate a lot and obviously didn't shower.

You got closer to them and watched them, they were arguing about something but you had a hard time understanding what they were saying so you revealed yourself and waited them to notice you but realized they probably wouldn't notice you even if you were next to them, this was why you were called Ghost, as the full name The Bloody Ghost. So you tapped Wilburs shoulder to get his attention and he jumped and Tommy immediately pulled out a sword which you avoided by taking a step back "Hi! I came to visit you two." they seemed to not recognize you that was when you realized your mask was on so you lowered it to reveal your full face Wilbur looked at you for a few seconds before wrapping you in a bone crushing hug and you laughed heartily Tommy looked confused by this "Who are they?" Wilbur immediately answered "Do you remember y/n?" Tommy nodded and after a second he seemed to realize you were y/n and hugged you "How did you find us y/n? I haven't seen you for years!" you gave a bitter smile Wilbur "Sorry things had to be like that but i am here now and that is the only important thing!" they both nodded and took you to their new base.

--time skip of 1 week--

Everything was going nicely, Tommy told you how Wilbur seemed to be going insane before you came but now was doing a lot better which made you worry about Wilbur and you did your best to make the boys laugh and get them supplies without revealing who you were.

And now the door was getting knocked like the person outside was going to break in if you didn't open it, since Tommy and Wilbur was outside thinking it is them you opened the door quickly, to find a 2 meter figure towering above you as quick as you opened you closed the door but the man kicked the door sending it flying you quickly ran to your bag and got your weapon holding it against him finally realizing it is the blood god, why was he here what did he want.

He gave you a sceptical look " Lower that, you have no chance against me." you laughed to this statement and charged to him determined to protect the base and prove him wrong.

When you got him cornered with your weapon pointing to his throat you smiled "Now do you want to take back what you said?" he seemed shocked he got beaten by this tiny human "Who the fuck are you?" you pouted jokingly "Aww I thought you would recognize me, the ghost" he seemed to not believe it "The Bloody Ghost?" you nodded and heard a gasp from behind and immediately turned your back not moving the weapon an inch to see Wilbur and Tommy you muttered fuck, for a few minutes they just looked at you before Tommy spoke "Firstly lower the weapon." you lowered your weapon without questioning.

--time skip to a few hours later--

After explaining most things to them and learning Techno is a friend of Philza and came to help you were playing with your hands to relieve your stress, the silence got disturbed by Wilbur "So you mean we have the most powerfull two people on our side?" both Techno and you nodded to this statement "Honestly when i heard about this rival i have i expected someone a lot different." Techno looked at me " And i didn't expect to be on the same side as a fucking pig but here we are." you glared at him the tension in the air was high Tommy raised from where he sat " What if we did a little duel between us?" the idea seemed nice and all of you agreed that you would do it early in the morning and went to bed.

In the middle of the night you heard Techno wake up, since you couldn't sleep you decided to follow him and found him outside talking to himself and leaned to a tree waiting for him to notice you, his talkings turned to mutterings you couldn't understand quickly so you got bored and decided to scare him and got close to him from behind "Boo!" he immediately pinned you to the nearest tree with his blade on your throat "What are you doing here, I almost killed you!" you shrugged "Following you seemed fun." when he didn't lower his blade you looked at him with a raised brow "You can lower that blade I am not going to kill you Techno." when he pushed the blade more your eyes widened a thousand thoughts rushed to your brain telling you were going to die, you didn't want to hurt him so you patiently waited him to lower the blade on his own. After a minute your throat started to bleed you closed your eyes tightly, took a deep breath and raised your hand to the blade and holded it giving your full force and keeping it away from your throat but techno was still pushing it so after a minute your hands started to bleed you finally grabbed it fully and let yourself fall to the ground bringing the blade with you to the ground, Techno still looked at you with your bloody hand and throat you walked away and throw the blade as far as you could and returned back to Techno to find him silently looking somewhere when you looked at where he was looking you saw your blood you walked next to him and put your hand on his arm "It is okay Techno." he turned to you and looked at you "It isn't, look at you, you are bleeding because of me." you gave him a comforting smile "If I wanted to prevent this I would, I am the one who let you go this far." Techno fully turned to you giving a last look at the blood in the ground "Why did you let me- OH YOU ARE STILL BLEEDING" he immediately took your hands in his and looked at them, your throat wasn't cut so bad so it stopped on its own but your hands were cut badly. Because you two were a bit far away from the base so he ripped two long strip from his shirt and bandaged them clumsily "You know Techno I fight in wars just like you, I am not going to die from a small cut like this." he ignored you and started walking toward the base his hand still holding yours.

--time skip to morning--

You woke up with Tommy's screaming because he saw you covered in blood after telling him it isn't something important and lying about what happened all of you went to the opening to fight, for the whole way Techo kept insisting that you do it another day but because Wilbur and Tommy didn't know about your injuries they joked how Techno was scared of fighting you.

When you arrived there you immediately pulled out your weapon "Who wants to fight me!" Tommy was excited to fight with you so he came first, you sometimes could feel the pain in your hands but ignored them and easily won against Tommy. Then you and Techno switched partners and you fighted with Wilbur, he kept talking about how fun this is and hoe you two always fighted with wooden swords when you were young, despite your pain getting worse you laughed and playingly fought him winning a few times, and then it was time to fight Techno since the brothers were tired they decided to sit down and watch you and Techno fight you told Techno to not go easy on you and he didn't. At first it was okay, the pain was bearable and you were winning but as time went on you started to lose because only thing you could think about turned into the pain and when he pointed the blade to your throat you holded the blade and pulled it out of his hands winning a lot of claps and compliments from the brothers and for a few second you didn't realize the blood dripping from your hands when you realized and tried to cover it it was too late. Wilbur immediately ran towards you looking at your wounds when he pressed his hand you winced and pulled your hands back "I am fine, nothing more than a small cut." you said ignoring your blood covered hands when "IT ISN'T JUST A FUCKING SMALL CUT!" when Techno shouted all three of you turned to him shocked "We are going to bandage it and you aren't going to do that move ever again." you laughed "I am not a gardener Techno, I did this many times and I will continue to do this, I did worse things, I had worse wounds." he was speechless he opened his mouth to close it again then said a sentence and went in to the forest "You are really reckless and stupid y/n. " Wilbur and Tommy couldn't understand what happened and looked at you, you just shrugged "Wanna go back and eat something guys?"

--time skip to a week later--

While you were near L'manburg you saw someone coming towards you, after looking at them for a while you realized that it was Quackity, the guy next to Schlatt, he seemed irritated when he arrived he looked at you and gave you an invitation "Just you." and started walking back to L'manburg you continued to mind your business, you weren't going to go there on your own, no one could do anything to you or anyone with you.

After a while your thoughts went to Techno, since your fight he didn't come back so you were worried about him and searched for him but couldn't find him anywhere which made you even more worried.

You went back to base and told them that they only invited you but they could come to since Schlatt can't do anything to them when you are with them. Tommy was really excited to see his best friend Tubbo and even though Wilbur hated Schlatt he was happy to see his home again.

--time skip to festival--

All three of you bathed, wore new and clean clothes and did your best to make yourself presentable and now you were in the festival place, upon seeing Tubbo Tommy immediately ran to him and hugged him starting to chat with him you smiled at this sight and looked at your own best friend Wilbur, he seemed to be in thought so you nudged him and brought him to games and spended your time happily, until you had to deal with a Quackity holding Tommy and screaming at him you went to them "What happened here?" Quackity turned to you "He and Wilbur isn't allowed here, I made that clear." you shrugged "I am not going to come here on my own and they are my friends, now fuck off and cry to Schlatt or something." he seemed angry but still left Tommy and went the other way, you could see Schlatt and showed him your middle finger which gained laughes from the group.

When the time for the speech came you saw a familiar figure, Techno as you were going to go and say hi Schlatt started his speech.

And then one moment you were looking at the happy faces, othe minute seeing Tubbo's scared face, Tommy and Wilbur couldn't even move and everyone else didn't know what to do. You raised from your seat and ran to Techno just in time to save Tubbo but instead of Tubbo you got shot just belov your throat most people screamed no and Techno dropped the crossbow in his hand; you could feel life slipping away from you, the first life you lost.

--time skip to night of festival--

You sat in your bed newly waking up and raised your hand to touch where the firework hit, it hurted a bit but you smiled knowing that you gave enough time for Tubbo to escape and saw Wilbur on his table so you opened your mouth to call out to him but your throat hurted so much that you couldn't even make a noise so you got up and went next to Wilbur who seemed happy to see you but then his eyes widened "You should go to bed!" you shook your head as a no and got the pen in his hand and wrote to the paper "Can you get me a hot tea?" he nodded and raised from his chair, just as he was going to leave he came back and hugged you then went out, you smiled after him he was a nice friend to have.

You massaged you throat, wincing a little sometimes and started to look around the room this wasn't your base so you looked around to understand. When the door opened you expected to find Wilbur but instead found Techno, he just shot you in the morning, who was he to come here now. As you saw the tea in his hand you knew Wilbur sended him "Sorry, I was pressured, I didn't mean to do that." you nodded taking the tea in your hand warming them and taking a sip to finally be able to talk.

Techno told you about what happened after you died and you listened patiently, after you finished your tea you were able to talk again " It is okay Techno, but maybe don't go to places you might be pressured like this" you laughed after your own joke, he also seemed to relax seeing that you aren't mad at him. You nudged him "What did you do to Wilbur, he still didn't came back." and smiled showing that you were joking he also smiled "I don't know maybe he went to kill Schlatt by pouring tea over him, he looked very angry." both of you laughed after that.

His expression fell "How can you still be friends with me when i hurt you so much, I literally killed you!" you shrugged "I still have 2 lives and being wounded isn't that much of a problem for me." you raised from your bed taking you tea cup "I am going to look at Tubbo and Wilbur." he nodded and trailed behind you, seeing the happy faces in the room made you happy too so you smiled to them and waved "Hey! Is your throat good know?" Wilbur asked you nodded, Tubbo glared at Techno and looked back at you "Thanks for saving me y/n." despite his short thanks his face was telling how grateful he was "It isn't a problem, also I now have this cool scar!" you showed your scar which made them excited all of them knew the scar wasn't cool or anything but the fact you gained it from protecting someone was really cool.

You spended your time chatting with them late into the night and when everyone started to yawn one by one everyone went to bed, now Techno and you were the only ones in the room "I am sorry y/n, I know you are just doing this so I don't feel bad but I know how bad you must feel." you nodded your head and turned to him "Yeah, it hurts, my hands also hurt when I had to use them to pull away the sword but you are my friend Techno and you need issues to work on." he looked in thought "Wilbur is your best friend right?" you nodded "Did anything like this happen with him?" you thought for a second and answered "We were still little kids Techno, nothing like this happened but Wilbur liked pushing me down the hill and I got hurt a lot or he hurt me with our wooden swords. But he is my friend so I never minded it, I knew he didn't mean to hurt me." he nodded and hugged you which you returned. He turned to you "As a apology I am going to kill Schlatt!" you laughed at this statement "Well we firstly need to sleep, then we can kill him." he smiled and nodded.

[nebraska-is-a-myth]

If you would rather die, then you better hurry up and do it - Crime au part 5

Here we go again boys, thank you all so much for the support with this series, its been so heartwarming to see all of you nice comments. Feel free to talk about any of it in the comments, ask me questions, or give your own suggestions for what you think should happen next in the series and maybe Ill incorporate it into the next part.

Masterlist

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‘The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable’

“Fuck.”

Dream paces in front of the big windows, sapnap isn't answering his fucking phone and after the phone call he’s just had with Wilbur, there is going to be some hell to pay.

He grips the phone in his hand as his footsteps become more unstable, he feels his hands shaking with rage and fear. He knows Wilbur said that neither of the two boys were too drastically hurt but he can't help but think of what could have happened.

The masked man tries to ground himself with good memories to remind himself that the young boy is alive, a few broken bones but alive nonetheless.

He takes a deep breath and thinks back to the time he Tommy rode out to the outskirts of the dream smp in the early days of Dreams rise to power.

They had both taken motorbikes, much to dreams protest, but Tommy had insisted that he knew how to ride. Even if dream didn't believe him, it would have taken too much effort to convince Tommy to ride on the back of dreams bike.

As they revved their engines through the night, the two friends weaved in between cars and ran through as many red lights they could, and Dream would have to admit he was impressed by Tommy's driving skills.

Every now and again he would glance at the younger boy and listen to him laugh over the roaring of the motorbike Dream had leant him for the night. ( When the night finally concluded, he would gift the bike to Tommy and ride back to Dreams apartment together to watch movies and eat pizza with George and sapnap. Neither of who quite trusted the boy yet, but had come to dislike him a little less )

They both drove until they ran out of road and stopped at the very edge of the city where the land met the water. They took off their helmets and sat under the stars, talking about nothing and everything all at once. They shared stories they never thought they would tell to anyone other than their closest allies, and soon came to realise that maybe they were closer than they thought. 

Nothing extraordinary happened that night, but dream thinks that's why it's one of his fonder memories with the boy. But he thinks now he may never get the chance to talk to Tommy in the same way he did that night, there were no secrets then, no fights or anger brooding. He hopes that this is just a big misunderstanding and that maybe he will get a chance to see the stars again, but deep down he knows nothing will ever be the same.

At that moment sapnap walks through the door. Dream can smell the smoke sticking to his skin and he sees the ash wiped across his face. His fists clench but his face remains still.

“What have you done.”

Sapnap looks startled at his friend's voice, half expecting the other man to be asleep at this hour. But his stance softens and he half raises his hands as he talks. “Look, I know you said you had it under control but-”

“What the fuck did you do sapnap!”

“Hey dude chill, I'm doing you a favor here.”

“Doing me a favor! You just set a fucking warehouse on fire with two my men in it!”

“Two of your men? But I-”

“You just put two fucking kids in the hospital sapnap! You think that's doing me a fucking favor!”

“Kids, but they-”

“Yeah well they lied sap! But you didn't even think to fucking check did you! They almost put one of the on a fucking ventilator!”

“Ventilator?”

“I didn't ask for a fucking parrot sapnap, I asked you to stay out of my fucking way!” 

Dream punches sapnap in the face and the room goes quiet. Sapnap keeps his face turned from Dream and bites his tongue.

“You better fucking hope those kids recover or next time that'll be a bullet that breaks your nose.”

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It's a while before Wilbur agrees to meet with Dream.

Tubbo is back on his feet again, Wilbur's heartbeat picks up anytime he hears the boy cough but it's never usually more than once or twice. It eases Wilbur's mind to know he wasn't too badly affected by what happened, or at least as far as Tubbo tells him.

Tommy's shoulder is mostly healed now and he's able to carry himself on his crutches, although he mostly uses them to fend off fundy when he makes fury jokes and to poke Eret awake when he falls asleep in his spot on the couch. The left side of his face is scared slightly, it doesn't bother him too much but nobody questions it when they see the boy hobbling round in the spare pair of glasses Eret has in his room. ( Eret won't admit it, but he's stopped putting them in his closet now so tommy doesn't have to reach up high to find them )

Dream tried to contact both of the boys after the fire, only Tubbo responded to his apologetic messages, Tommy leaves him on read every time.

So when he enters Wilbur's headquarters to see both of the young boys laughing and joking with one another, he feels a sense of relief wash over him and he's almost glad nobody can see his expression under the mask.

Tommy however, does not hold the same relief Dream does.

( Okay so maybe he has missed the masked man just a little bit, but he’d rather swallow his own foot than tell dream that )

They blond glares at dream as he enters the room, refuses to reposition himself from where he's sat with his cast over the armrest of the chair. He wants the older man to see what he’s done, wants him to know that the scars are still there. It's the only reason he hasn't got Eret’s glasses on, if he didn't know the spare pair where just inches away in Eret’s office, his demeanor would be very different right now.

Dream stands before Wilbur and clears his throat to speak, Wilbur cuts him off however before he can even mutter a hello.

“We want independence.”

Dreams posture changes and Tommy can tell the demand throws him off.

“I'm sorry I don't understand.”

“We want out of the SMP. We want to request that the east side be recognized as an independent city, separate from the dream smp. You can have access to whatever funds you think you may be entitled to from the past few months, and there are a list of men that would like to return to employment under your jurisdiction. The rest will resume work under my command and will no longer be associated with you or your organization.”

Dream stands silent for a moment, unsure of what his command as a leader should be. 

“ And if I deny this request.”

“ We will not ask so nicely again dream. We have the manpower and the determination to reclaim this land as our and we will do so by any means necessary.”

Dream scoffs and turns to Tommy who is still staring daggers into him.

“And you're okay with this.”

“Don't address hi-”

Tommy cuts Wilbur off and grabs his crutch to stand, he walks over to dream in silence, never taking his eyes from the mans stupid masked face.

“I would rather die than be a part of your SMP.”

Dream looks around the room at the faces of people who he used to call his friends. He knows deep down this is his fault, that he should just agree to Wilbur's terms and maybe somehow try and rebuild his friendship with each of them. But he knows that the city isn't prepared for the kind of rivalry that having two independent gangs brings. The streets will be chaos, and he tries to tell himself that this will be the safest option, if the smp defeats them now then Dream will stay on top and he can protect his friends for just a little longer. That's all he needs, just a little bit longer to make Tommy realize that he cannot allow this to happen. 

Just a little longer

Dream turns back to tommy and slips into his façade

“If you would rather die, then do it! My answer, is no. Accept it, or face the consequences.”

Wilbur steps forward in front of Tommy and stares dream down.

“Then face the consequences we shall. Now get out, if I see you here again, I will gun you down myself.”

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A few days later, karma catches up with Wilbur as he sits in the very same office he and dream spoke in. He receives a letter from the man himself, appropriately titled:

Declaration of war

Dear Wilbur,

I am a man with a large reputation within the city, and your actions against the smp cannot go without punishment. Therefore I hereby declare that we as a nation, are at war. I can offer you no mercy unless you comply with our demands of surrender from your team. We will allow you 72 hours to prepare and evacuate the city before the borders of your territory are to be bombed. If, by the 42 hour mark, you have not complied to this demand we will fire one warning shot into lmanchildburg lmaburg l’manberg. If any of your men are found on smp soil they will be shot on sight. b4tbg. Within this period of evacuation we will allow you to surrender at any point and hand in your resignation as commander of the east side.

Time to face the consequences Wilbur, the lives of your men are in your hands.

Yours truthfully, Dream

[shyrose57]

Ok so, first thing about my au (I think ima call it just Brothers au, idk though) is that it takes place in the Tale of The SMP The Pit, and the biggest difference is that no one dies, infact at the end Porkius actually keeps Jackie, Watson, Ran, and Grievous as his top gladiators (Watson because of his sharp aim, and Ran because he's a enderman who wouldn't want him?). About a year or so passed and the small group manages to get closer and become friends, although Ran is still a bit closed off. They still take part in battles/tournaments semi-daily, and their often one of the last people the opponents face.

Now here's another big part of this au, in the City of Mizu, Ranbob and the fishers actually live, and over time Ranbob gets better mentally and becomes free of dreams grasp. And eventually he's back to his normal self before the murders and is trying to make up for everything he's done with the help of the fishers (CREDITS TO SPIRALSPECTRE'S "a lighthouse is waiting for me" STORY ON AO3 FOR THIS IDEA AND INSPIRATION!). Cletus brings up the city of Subbin they went to once and Ranbob becomes intrigued and wants to go vist. It takes some convincing but they eventually agree to take him there. Where they hear of the gladiator battles and decide to join for fun.

Porkius immediately hears of another enderman hybrid joining the battles and immediately pairs Ranbob up with Ran. And when the day comes before the fight a tritational meet up between the opponents takes place. Where Ran immediately recognizes Ranbob, and Ranbob recognizes Ran.

One thing I didn't mention is, Ran is Ranbobs younger brother, and he saw Ranbob kill their family and saw him killing the last living person besides those two. Ranbob attacked him too but Ran fought back and Ran managed to escape where he lived and survived by himself for about 4 years.

So when Ran sees his brother, he immediately goes over, and punches him. Amd growls that he's looking forward to the fight and he won't go easy on him, and saying he will finally get some revenge. Then during the battle Ran keeps true to his word, almost pushing his brother into the surrounding water before Porkius stops the fight seeing the unseen and unnatural aggression from Ran, and Watson, Jackie, and Grievous goes in to stop Ran and pull him away.

I haven't quite figured out what happens next or fleshed out the current plot but ye. Im really happy to be able to tell someone about my au.

Oh, this is so cool! We really don’t have enough Tales focused AUs in this fandom-then again, I’m personally of the opinion that we never will, so maybe that’s just me. 

What’s King Porkius’ relationship with his gladiators? In The Pit, he doesn’t seem to come off as the greatest person, but here, as you’ve said, nobody dies. So how does he treat them overall? 

Grievous was Sapnap’s character right? The different names always confuse me a bit. So his character has a possible similar personality. I’m curious to see how the groups friendship goes.

How do the fisherman live? Do they figure out something’s up? Or do they overpower Ranbob? Something else? And what’s his relation with them? Do they all move to Mizu, or do the fisherman take Ranbob to their house and he becomes a fisher as well? And with how you put it, it seems Dream had a large part to play in Ranbob’s actions-which, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised with if that’s just canon, with his streak, however, I’m curious to see how he did so. Is he immortal? Is some part of him just lingering? Or is there something else?

These two brothers sound like they have a lot to sort out. How does the fight go? How much of their endermen side do they both have, and what abilities come with it?

Another thing is, how does being Ranbob’s brother affect Ran’s relation with Jackie? As we’ve seen, Tubbo actually just changed his skin’s clothes, nothing more, meaning Jackie would look remarkably like Tubbo-who’s one of the few people Mizu actually has a picture of, so it’s possible Ran would see the resemblance. Does this make them closer, or does it lead to Ran distancing himself more, seeing it as a reminder?

This sounds pretty interesting, and it has a lot of potential. Plus, makes a pretty good excuse for some world-building, if you wanna do that. I can’t wait to see where it goes-and send me the link to that fic, please? I’d like to read it, it sounds cool.

[darkeninganon]

(Quackity, Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo finally interact in the Ender Family AU! Dream’s design is based on @winifreyd and their White Enderman Dream design! Warning for referenced torture, extreme injuries, forced feeding, mouth trauma, tortured, choking, and cursing. If you spot something else, message me and I will add it and apologize profusely.)

Ranboo fidgeted, dreading this plan. Tommy and Tubbo- okay, no, just Tubbo- had made up this plan the same day Quackity had left the prison with a beautiful... fur coat. A white fur coat. Everyone knew Dream was covered in white fur, and took such great pride in it, he was likely to kill you just for talking about touching it. Well… Technically he had that right because to touch his fur you had to touch him, and he did not like to be touched.

A hand rubbed against his own, drawing Ranboo from his mind. He looked to where the hand came from, finding Tubbo running his finger through Ranboo’s fur. Right, Tubbo liked to feel Ranboo’s fur when he got too nervous. The half enderman looked to Tommy, who was biting his nails. Ranboo pulled up his sleeve, holding his arm out in front of Tommy. The other boy looked at him, incredulous and confused. “Apparently petting me helps people calm down.” The half enderman laughed, dry and nervous.

Tommy hummed, looking back towards the entrance to the entrance of the prison. They were in the portal area, right outside the prison. They all had seen what Dream had become, now they needed to confront one of the people who may have contributed or even allowed it to happen. The trio sat there, waiting as the day passed by, slowly but surely, Tommy and Tubbo getting more and more antsy as Quackity’s arrival was delayed longer and longer.

Finally, the guest of honor had arrived. Quackity turned the corner, freezing as the three teens perked up and locked eyes with him.

“Oh… What… what’re you guys doing here?” Quackity questioned, stepping into the open room. He couldn’t look suspicious to these three. Not now, not when he was so close.

“We were waiting for you.” Tommy huffed, crossing his arms as he struggled to stand up, legs having cramped and fallen asleep hours ago. “We have some questions for you Big Q.”

“Oh, well, what do you want to know?”

“Why the hell are you visiting the prison everyday?”

Quackity stared at Tommy, as if he had never expected anyone to ask that question, ever. “Uh, I’m training to be the next warden. Why else would I be going to the prison?” He laughed, a nervous flicker of his eyes.

“Great, where do you live?” Ranboo stepped in now, rolling Tubbo’s sleeve between his fingers as his platonic husband continued to pet his fur. “We kind of haven’t seen you in like… Forever.”

Quackity nodded. “Yeah, I uh, made a country. Las Nevada. It’s pretty cool.” He fidgeted. He needed to pay Dream his daily visit��� Or ask Sam to fill in for him. “Do you guys want to see it?” The three teens nodded, believing the story so far. “Great! Follow me. It’s pretty far.” Quackity smiled, walking off with the three boys in tow. Sam looked out from the cameras, breathing a sigh as the group left. He could only hope Quackity wouldn't want to show off his trophies.

Sam jumped as his communicator went off. A message from Quackity: I'm trusting you to convince Dream today. Sorry to put this on you so suddenly. Sam sighed, his grip growing tighter. He... He had to. For Tommy. For Tubbo. For the whole SMP. Sam sent back a quick response: Roger.

Sam sighed, standing up and heading for the cell. He had to at least try. Yet another sigh. He was sighing too much these days. Sam walked to the cell, drinking a fire resistance potion and swimming through. His eyes landed on Dream, curled up and bandaged, fur grimy and dirty. He hadn't moved in days, potatoes rotting in the pool of water that was used as a reset point for the prisoners. Not that Dream would ever use it, what with his one cannon life left. Sam stormed over to Dream, tangling his hands in the creatures hair to retch his head up. Dream opened his eye, cloudy and unfocused.

A mumble fell from the creatures lips. One word, probably Sam's name. It didn't matter. "I have to do this Dream. Quackity needs that information." Sam pulled Dream up by his hair, slamming his head into the wall. Dream stayed there, limp, staring at Sam. The warden shook his head, letting Dream drop to the ground without a care. He walked to the puddle, pulling out one of the rotting potatoes. It was like sludge with a rock-hard core.

Sam swallowed the lump in his throat. It was gross but Sam wasn't about tear Dream limb-from-limb. That was not his style. Sam stood, walking over to where Dream lay, still limp and pliant. Sam grabbed his chin, digging the points of his gauntlets into Dream's jaw. "You need to eat, or else you'll never heal." With that, Sam shoved the rotten food into Dream's mouth, holding his hand over Dream's mouth, staring down as the prisoner's eyes widened and he started coughing, thrashing and lightly hitting Sam in and effort to get free. "Swallow, Dream. I'm done with you wasting the food you are given."

Dream suddenly grabbed Sam's mask, tearing it off the warden's face in such a way that Sam yelled and fell back, kicking Dream in the face. "What the fuck Dream?! You know that's- ARGH!" Sam screamed in rage. Dream knew not to fight back against Sam, even more than he knew not to fight back against Quackity. Sam had netherite with thorns whereas Quackity did not. Sam grabbed another potato, grabbing Dream's ankle and dragging the gagging prisoner closer. Sam wrapped a hand around Dream's neck, using his greater size to choke and pry Dream's jaw open.

Sam froze.

Dream's sharper canine teeth were gone, while his slightly sharp front teeth were broken beyond repair; jagged and cracked. Dream was gargling some nonsense, pawing at Sam's arm. Sam let go, dropping the rotten food as he did so. He suddenly began to tear at the bandages, staring in horror as the realization slowly hit him: Quackity took Dream's teeth, and Dream... Dream wasn't acting out by not eating.

Sam ran from the cell, running down the corridors and out of the prison. Sam slumped to the ground, covering his mouth. He had left his mask in the cell. He took out his communicator, hands shaking as he typed a message to Quackity: What the fuck is wrong with you?

Quackity cast a glance at his communicator, frowning at the message. He ignored it, putting it back into his packet. "It's right up here." He stated, climbing over the last hill, the lights of the city bathing him in a multicolored glow. "Boys, Welcome... To Las Nevadas!"

The three teens stood on the crest of the hill, mouth agape at the city. It wasn't a city in the normal sense, but there were obviously multiple buildings, each one flashy and bright in its own right, they just blended together in a way that was indescribable.

"Holy shit Big Q!"

"Woah! Nice!"

Ranboo remained silent, staring in awe. He was oblivious to the way Quackity was glaring at him, the way Quackity was sizing him up and seemingly inspecting his eyes and teeth from a distance.

"Come on guys, why don't we get a closer look?"

Quackity's remark finally snapped Ranboo from his trance, finding the other three already a small distance ahead, the half-enderman jogging to catch up to them. Quackity was ranting about the city, talking about how it was mostly just hotels and casinos so far. One or two places for food and drinks, but no actual restaurants. Ranboo spun around as they walked, wanting to take in every detail. Things like this were... They brought something out in him, something that he hadn't felt in... forever? Forever.

The group stopped in front of a massive building, right in the center of the city. "And this is my place! Come on in, make yourselves at home~!" Quackity stated, loudly, opening the door with a flourish. The trio of teens stare in awe; gold, silver, white, and red decorated the whole immediate room, with a huge glowing bar at one end and plenty of tables for poker, slot machines, and other games scattered throughout the room.

The teens separated throughout the room, staring at the whole area. Tommy ran to the bar, making high-pitched noises of awe at all the fancy bottles lining the wall. Tubbo ran to the slot machines, running up and down the rows and rows of them bouncing around and probably imagining how much gold, diamonds, and maybe even netherite he could get. Ranboo ignored all the other tables, walking to a game he had never seen before. It had a wheel at one end, and red-and-black number on a grid going from 1 to 36. Looking back at the wheel, Ranboo found that one spot on the wheel was green, a red ball resting in the spot.

Ranboo picked up the ball. It was... such a weird weight. His back fur stood on end as he continued to look at and play with the ball. What even was it made out of? It looked like it was glazed or covered in glass. And why was his fur raising so much? Why did it make him... uncomfortable? No, not uncomfortable... scared, sick, angry.

Ranboo rolled it around a bit more, putting it back as Quackity called the trio over to a curtain. "This is my VIP room. You guys will be the first to see it!" He seemed so excited, pulling on a beautifully white tassel to draw the curtain open.

The VIP room was much darker, deep blues and blacks covering the small room from floor to ceiling, with dulled redstone lamps over the few sitting areas scatter throughout. Quackity ran off, mentioning that he needed something to make the room complete. Ranboo ignored the room, inspecting the pull used to open the curtain. It looked... Ranboo looked to one of his tails, the white one... The pull looked so much like it. Ranboo began to play with the pull. It was much softer than his tail could ever be, either of them; and it lacked the sleek fur at the end, instead ending in soft, cloud-like fur... or something. Ranboo had no idea what it was made out of, but much like the little ball from the game table, it caused the fur on his neck to stand on end.

"Alright guys! Check this out!" Quackity cheered, finally having come back. He strode into the room, draped in a lovely fur coat, standing out in the dull room as he flopped down on the sofa. Tommy and Tubbo stared in awe. Tubbo was immediately fascinated by how soft it was, while Tommy was inspecting the sleeves and hem.

"Damn Big Q, why the fuck didn't we have you make the uniforms? You would have made them even better than me!"

Quackity gave Tommy a look. "What?"

Tommy held up the bottom hem of the coat. "The seams! God, leather and fur and hide are so fucking hard to work with, but you... Jesus how fucking long did it take you to sew this? The seams are invisible. You have to teach me." Tommy continued to inspect the coat where the seams should be, clearly fascinated.

Ranboo came over as well, cautiously reaching out to feel the fur coat. His fur was raising again, telling him to do something... to take the fur coat and then beat Quackity senseless. Then his finger touched the fur.

All fight left Ranboo.

The ball came to mind.

The curtain pull came to mind.

And now the fur coat.

Ranboo ran from the building, clawing his way over the hills. He could hear Tommy and Tubbo yelling for him, asking him what was wrong. He didn't answer... Tubbo should know, Tubbo should be able to tell.

The fur of an Enderman is very distinct, after all.

[onecanonlife]

careful son (you got dreamer's plans)

Wilbur gasps back to life with mud between his fingers and rain in his eyes.

Wilbur was dead. Now, he is not. He can't say that he's particularly happy about it.

Unfortunately, the server is still as tumultuous as ever, even with Dream locked away, so it seems that his involvement in things isn't a matter of if, but when.

(Alternatively: the prodigal son returns, and a broken family finally begins to heal. If, that is, the egg doesn't get them all killed first.)

Chapter Word Count: 4,369

Chapter Warnings: swearing, references to past child abuse (regarding c!Tommy)

Chapter Summary: In which Schlatt is his own brand of irritating, Wilbur and Tommy talk a bit but not about everything, and they make their way to Dream’s prison cell.

(masterlist w/ ao3 links)

(first chapter) (previous chapter) (next chapter)

Chapter Five: hide your soul out of his reach (i)

“You’re stalling.”

“I’m what?”

His response is automatic, comes spilling out before he truly registers that someone has spoken to him, much less who it is. So when he looks up and locks gazes with Schlatt, the annoyance bubbles up quickly. He’d been sitting quietly, in a relatively secluded area near Tommy’s house, thinking about nothing in particular and everything all at once, and he’d felt settled. Peaceful. His mind quiet.

So much for that.

“I thought you’d fucked off somewhere,” he says.

“And deprive you of my company?” Schlatt shoots back. “You wound me.”

“I wish I could,” he mutters. He glances away, staring off into middle space, hoping that maybe, Schlatt will go away if he pretends very hard that he doesn’t see him. No such luck, and he sighs. “What am I stalling about?”

“Dream,” Schlatt supplies. He strides closer, then kicks off into the air, drifting aimlessly in a seated position. The sweater still looks odd. Too soft, when the man in front of him is anything but. “You said you were gonna go see him.”

“And I am. Just not yet.”

Schlatt snorts. “What’s keeping you?”

He frowns. Meets Schlatt’s eyes again, and finds no sympathy there. A bit of hard amusement, at best. Not that he was expecting anything else.

“Tommy’s going to want to come with me, when I go,” he says. “But I don’t want him near Dream.”

Schlatt makes a sound that’s more mocking than understanding. “Right, Tommy,” he says. “Where is the kid? I’m surprised he left you alone in the first place.”

“Tubbo went back to his town. Snowchester, I think they said it was called.” There is an undefinable melancholy that fills him at the thought. Even now, after everything, they are still trying to make a home. Still trying to carve some corner out of the world and make it theirs. Or Tubbo is, at least. He’s no longer quite sure what Tommy wants. “Tommy went with him.”

“But you didn’t.”

He shakes his head. Tubbo said that there were other people who lived in Snowchester, when he asked. Jack Manifold, for one. Maybe a couple of others. Captain Puffy, maybe? Either way, to go with them would have been to invite the possibility of meeting people, and every cell in his body cringes away from that idea. He’s not ready for that just yet. If ever.

(you’ll have to face them eventually, will have to stand your ground against the hatred in their eyes, burning and so well-deserved, shattered fractals of a people you used to belong to and did your best to destroy)

(you’ll have to face them eventually, and yet you hide)

“Tommy said he’d be back later,” he says. “He doesn’t live there. In Snowchester.”

“So here you are, waiting for him.”

“I suppose.” He frowns, shifting in place where he’s sitting on the ground. He brushes his fingers against the grass, absently pulling up a flower or two. “It’s not as if there’s not time. We can wait until Tommy’s not quite so—” He trails off here, not quite sure how to finish the sentence. Not quite so what? Not quite so traumatized? Trauma doesn’t work like that, doesn’t go away within the span of a few days or weeks. He knows as much, though he used to be content enough to ignore it

(when he was the one causing it)

back in the old days, when there was no choice otherwise, when there was no chance of rest.

“Well, aren’t you considerate,” Schlatt says, and Wilbur looks at him sharply, because that was definitely snide. Schlatt stares right back, brows lifted, smirking. “Waiting for your little brother to be a little less broken. How kind of you.”

He bristles. “Don’t talk about him like that.”

“I’ll talk about him however I want,” Schlatt says. “What are you gonna do, shout at me? Play some shitty music? Please. But all I’m saying is that a few days isn’t gonna make a difference, and you know it. You’re stalling to make yourself feel better, to try and convince yourself that you’re better now, that you’re not gonna hurt him anymore.”

His mouth goes dry. “I’m not—” He shakes his head again, as if trying to dislodge the idea. “It doesn’t matter right now, anyway,” he says. “He’s in Snowchester. He’s not here. There’s nothing to do until he gets back.”

“Oh my god, just comm him,” Schlatt says. “Tell him you’re going over to the prison. Do it now, and you can leave before he decides to go with. Win win.”

“I don’t—” He furrows his brow. He doesn’t have his comm. He’s not sure where his comm is. Except—

For the first time, he thinks to check the pockets of his coat. The first couple turn up nothing, but then, in the third, his fingers wrap around a sheet of thin, hard plastic. He freezes for a moment, and then draws the communicator out, holding it loosely in his hand. A tap on the screen, and it lights up, just the way he’s used to.

It doesn’t make sense for him to have this.

Schlatt leans over his shoulder and whistles.

“Daddy’s worried about you,” he says, and Wilbur blinks, pulling up his unread messages. There shouldn’t be any, shouldn’t be any at all, because he can count the number of people who knows that he’s back on one hand. And yet, there is one, and perhaps he shouldn’t be surprised at the identity of the sender, but he is.

Philza whispers to you: don’t mean to be pushy but could you let me know you made it to smp lands safe?

He has to read the message several times before its meaning sinks in, and once it does, he’s not sure how to feel about it. It doesn’t particularly read like Phil wrote it; it’s too hesitant, too apologetic. But Wilbur remembers what Phil looked like, standing in that kitchen, wingless and so very cautious, flinching away from his words as if they were physical blows. And in the end, letting him go, even though it was plain as day that he would have liked nothing more than to keep him there.

He’s angry with Phil. For a lot of reasons. But then, he’s angry at the world, too. Angry at himself, most of all.

(and there is so much of him that just wants someone else to swoop in and fix things, just wants his dad to make everything better in a way that he hasn’t since he was a kid and the first fracture formed, splitting their family apart, and as much as he is angry there is a large part of him that just wants to go back to that house and sink into his father’s arms and learn how to call a place home again)

“You gonna answer?” Schlatt asks.

He ignores him, checking the timestamp. It was sent a few hours after he left the tundra. So, a couple of days ago, now, and there have been no messages since. Perhaps it’s no longer relevant.

He hesitates, eyes tracing over don’t mean to be pushy.

It feels so strange, for Phil to qualify a sentence like that. Like he’s unsure of his welcome. And perhaps he’s right to be.

You whisper to Philza: I’m safe.

“Touching,” Schlatt says dryly. He scowls, trying to bat him on the arm or push him away or do something, but his hand goes through, and Schlatt just smirks some more for his efforts. “Now do Tommy.”

He puts the comm down on his lap, turning to face Schlatt fully. “Why are you being so fucking insistent?” he demands. “You’re a ghost, you can go by yourself. Through the walls and shit, since apparently you get actual ghost powers.” Ghostbur didn’t get ghost powers. He recalls that very clearly, because Ghostbur was immensely disappointed by this. For once, he agrees with the shade.

“And do what, look at him? Like it’s a fucking zoo? Watch him twiddle his thumbs and chuckle evilly to himself? Not exactly my idea of a good time,” Schlatt says. “I don’t know if you forgot, but nobody can see me. Hell, for all you know, I’m not even real. You could be making me up.”

He tries to brush the comment off. It hits just a bit too close to home

(whispers in shadows and enemies around every corner, people watching and staring and plotting against him, and no one else can see, Tommy can’t see, but that’s alright, he sees enough for both of them, and he will have his victory, and if he cannot have that, then nobody can and there is laughter, laughter, laughter)

for his comfort.

“If I were making you up,” he says, “I would simply stop.”

“Cute,” Schlatt says. “Do you wanna know what your problem is? Your problem is that you’re scared of people seeing you for what you really are.”

His hands clench.

“You say you don’t want to hurt Tommy? Fine. I even believe you,” Schlatt continues. “But don’t act like you’ve come back to life and suddenly you’re some saint. You’re fooling yourself, Wilbur. People like us don’t change. You can put on as much of a shine on the outside as you want, but scratch that paint off, and you’re still the power-hungry asshole who blew up a city as a hissy fit.”

His mouth works for a second, wordless.

“Fuck you,” he snarls, and scoops up his comm again.

You whisper to TommyInnit: I’d like to visit the prison today

“Was that so hard?” Schlatt asks.

“Fuck you,” he says again. “And fuck off. Or I swear to god I’ll figure out a way to exorcise you.”

“Please do,” Schlatt says. “I’d thank you for it. But sure, have it your way.” He shrugs, looking completely unconcerned. “I’m never too far.” Then, he disappears, and there is a shimmer of blue in the air, and even that fades away, and Wilbur is left alone and feeling no better for it.

“It wasn’t a fucking hissy fit,” he says to the empty space. There’s no one left to hear him, no one left to justify himself to, but

(it wasn’t a hissy fit it was desperation and fear and wild abandon and a surging, terrible victory and a fire in his chest driving him onward and he relished in it, relished in the freedom and the power and the control and he was the villain, he was the villain and he was good at it, he was the villain and he loved it, he was the villain and everyone else paid the price and he didn’t pay at all so what happens now, what happens to the villain back from the grave what happens)

he’s not wrong. Not about this.

TommyInnit whispers to you: ok

TommyInnit whispers to you: i’ll be back soon

TommyInnit whispers to you: dont leave without me or your a bitch

He doesn’t leave without him.

He should. Should venture on to the prison by himself, to spare his brother the effort. But in the end, he can’t bring himself to do it. Can’t bring himself to go it alone. Perhaps it really is pathetic, but he wants to have someone by his side when he starts revealing himself to the rest of the server.

It’s certainly selfish. But he’s never claimed not to be.

They don’t meet anyone on the way. Wilbur doesn’t understand why, not when the sun is shining brightly and they’re walking the established path, matching each other stride for stride,

(there was a time when he would have walked behind you, would have trailed on your coattails, would have looked to you for direction and guidance and look at him now, look at who he has been made into, a child who should not have to be as grown as he is but there is no changing it now and he really is someone to be proud of, isn’t he?)

but they run into nobody, and those vines are fucking everywhere.

“Why hasn’t anyone cleared these?” he asks, more to himself than anyone else. “They’re a fucking eyesore.”

Tommy snorts. “You don’t need to tell me,” he says. “They’re ugly as hell. But there’s this Egg thing, see, that BadBoyHalo and a couple of others are all constantly going on about, and those vines come from it, I think. I don’t see what all the fuss is about, personally. I mean, it’s just an Egg. Can’t be all that great. But BadBoyHalo swears by it.” He pauses. “Well, he doesn’t swear. He says muffin by it, I suppose. Still can’t get him to swear.”

“An egg,” he says, and then frowns. “An Egg,” he repeats, and there’s a difference in the way he’s saying it, in the strange emphasis that implies the capital letter. “That’s—vines don’t come out of eggs. They’re not—vines don’t hatch, and eggs aren’t fucking plants.” And then, he remembers— “Techno told me about an egg. Said he thought it was some kind of cult. He didn’t know much else.”

Too late, he realizes what he’s said, and catches the way that Tommy stiffens.

“You’ve been to see Technoblade, then,” he says, and his voice is far too casual to actually be casual. He winces.

“When I—woke up,” he says, “I was really near the tundra. And I remembered where he lived, from when Ghostbur would visit. And I thought that maybe—”

“I mean, you don’t need to explain it,” Tommy interrupts, but his tone of voice tells Wilbur that actually, he really does need to explain it, because there is undoubtedly a note of hurt there, and that won’t do.

“No, no, I do,” he says. “I know you’re not exactly good with each other right now. I’m not really good with him either. But I woke up and it was raining and I didn’t know what the fuck was going on, and I made a list, see? And number one on that list was to get to you. But I was cold and wet and I had no idea what was happening in the SMP because Ghostbur’s memories are patchy as hell, so I thought that Techno could tell me some things so I wouldn’t go in blind and walk into—I don’t know, a nuclear war or something.”

Tommy makes an odd sound at that, like a cross between a cat having a hairball and someone choking on water gone down the wrong pipe. “Nuclear war,” he repeats, in a voice that’s a bit strangled, and his words seem to trip over each other in his rush to get them out. “Right. Yeah, no, none of that here. Nope. No way that could ever happen. Uh, yeah, no, that makes perfect sense.” He stops, and Wilbur is about to ask what the actual hell that was about, when he speaks up again. “Is he—I mean, how is he? Still a fucking crazy arsehole?”

Wilbur looks at him. Tommy does not look back. In fact, he seems to be making a point of looking straight ahead, avoiding eye contact.

“Yeah,” he says softly. “Still an arsehole. Same old Techno, you know him. Phil, too.”

He doesn’t think he imagines the way Tommy’s shoulders relax at that, just fractionally.

“Right, yeah,” he says. “Good to hear.”

“Tommy—” he starts, and is saved from having to figure out what he’s going to say, because suddenly, he sees it. The prison. There’s no way that it could be anything else. And he has to stop and stare for a long moment, because he’s never seen a build like that before. Not on any server he’s ever lived on. He’s seen some impressive buildings in his life, and he’d like to think that he’s made a few himself,

(walls to keep them safe to protect them and hold them dear and he hasn’t seen Fundy yet, has he?)

but nothing compares to this.

“Who built this?” he breathes. He feels claustrophobic just looking at it, dark walls towering over them, looming, intimidating.

“Sam did,” Tommy says. “He’s the warden, too. But Dream commissioned him, which is what makes it so fucking funny.”

He feels a grin spread across his face.

“Wait,” he says, “Dream’s locked in his own fucking prison?”

“Dream’s locked in his own fucking prison!” Tommy whoops, and just like that, he’s laughing, and they both are, and maybe he can do this after all. He follows Tommy’s footsteps as he leads him to the doorway, to an empty room with a portal frame, and he’s sizing it up, trying to figure out how they’re supposed to get through, when Tommy steps forward.

“Sam?” he calls out. “You here?” And then, to Wilbur: “Sam’s kind of a dick when he’s got the whole warden thing going on, but he’s pretty nice when he’s not working. He’s been a good friend, you’ll like him. Later, I mean. When he’s not being a dick.” And then again: “Sam? Sam, we want to visit Dream!”

“You don’t need to yell, Tommy. I’m right here,” someone says, and there is another person in the room, and every muscle in Wilbur’s body tense because he didn’t see him come in. “I wasn’t expecting—” And then the man stops, staring right at Wilbur, and Wilbur is left to size him up and rack his brain as to whether or not he’s formally met Awesamdude before. He’s been on the server for a while, he knows. Was around for L’Manberg, was a part of the Badlands, was neutral. He’s met him before. He’s almost certain he’s met him before. But there’s no spark of recognition in him, looking at this man, with his full netherite armor and the mask covering the lower half of his face and the green patches that dot his skin.

“Wilbur Soot,” Sam eventually says. “I would assume? Not Ghostbur?”

He regains himself. Inclines his head. “You’d be right,” he says, and then he steps forward, taking his place at Tommy’s side, and he extends a hand. “Sorry, I’m not sure that we ever really got the chance to meet.”

Sam takes his hand, showing only a bit of hesitance. His grip is firm.

“I’d say it’s a pleasure,” Sam says. “I’m not sure if it is or not.”

“You know what?” Wilbur says. “That’s fair.”

“Hm,” Sam says, and it’s hardly approval. But Wilbur is very aware of the fact that they’re standing in the entrance of a prison, a prison that is supposedly inescapable, and that he has definitely, by the standards of the server, committed at least one crime. And what’s more than that, he doesn’t particularly regret it. Not the act itself. The effects it had, maybe. The pain it brought. But in his heart of hearts, he is glad that L’Manberg is gone.

So really, the fact that he isn’t being arrested is a win.

(he thinks, he wonders, what would he do if he was, if he was locked away in the dark and the walls loomed all around him and the sun was a distant memory and ah, he thinks, no, I would rather die, and then the imagined prison becomes Pogtopia, shadowy and dank and every sound echoing off the stone, melancholy and abandoned, and he wonders what it looks like now, now that there is no life in it at all, and he wonders if it is haunted with the ghost of who he used to be, if he left some important part of him behind to shrivel into dust)

“So, I assume this is a recent development?” Sam asks. He’s being very calm about this, which Wilbur appreciates. But then, they were never close. Were never connected personally. The real tests still lie ahead.

“Couple of days,” Tommy says cheerily. “We’re taking it slow.”

“I didn’t know you knew how to do that,” Sam says, and Wilbur blinks, because it’s a joke. Someone feels familiar enough with Tommy to make the comment, and likes him well enough to make it playful.

That’s—good? He thinks it’s good? Probably? Yes. Good. Tommy has friends. Good.

(he doesn’t need you. not really. he wants you, for some godforsaken reason. but he doesn’t need you)

“Oi, I can be slow,” Tommy says. “I can be the very slowest. I am excellent at being slow, I’ll have you know.”

“Well, that explains a lot,” Wilbur says, and Tommy gapes at him, looking back and forth between them with a dawning expression of betrayal.

“Oh no you don’t,” he says, stabbing a finger at both of them. “I didn’t introduce you so that you could go ganging up on me. That’s just not right. I changed my mind, Wilbur, you’re not allowed to like Sam. None of this bullshit.”

Wilbur laughs, and for a moment, it’s like nothing has changed at all. He’s ribbing his little brother, and there’s even someone else here for support, and it’s not Techno, but that doesn’t seem to matter so much. The motions are familiar, the words an old pattern.

“You’re here to see Dream, right?” Sam says, and just like that, the illusion shatters. And the smile is gone from Tommy’s face.

“Yeah,” he says. “Yeah, we are.” He hesitates. “We can both go in together, right? Because I’ll tell you right now, nothing else is going to work. We’re a package deal, me and Wil are.”

Sam tilts his head. “No one’s ever tried to visit with someone else,” he says. “I don’t see an issue with it, as long as you both pass security.”

This is relieving. But Wilbur’s a bit more concerned with the way that Tommy’s hands have begun to shake. Just slightly, barely enough to see.

“Good,” Tommy says. “Wilbur, there’s so much security, it’s honestly ridiculous. There’s a bunch of checkpoints and lava and you have to put all your stuff in a locker and get splashed with potions, and oh! There’s wavers, too, you’re going to have to sign a bunch of shit.”

“Great,” he says. It’s not great. It sounds nerve-wracking, in fact. But if Tommy can do it, so can he; he’s just a bit worried that Tommy can’t do it. Or rather, not that he can’t do it, since he’s done it before, apparently. Just that maybe, he really, really doesn’t want to do it. That maybe, it will not be very good for him to do it. That maybe, he’s putting himself through this for Wilbur’s sake, and hasn’t Wilbur just established that he doesn’t want to hurt Tommy anymore?

(but the past echoes forward into the future and there’s no way around it now)

But they’re here, and he’s not going to be able to get Tommy to turn back, and he’s not sure that he would even if he could, because his nerves are all shot and he doesn’t want to be in this dark prison without an ally. So Sam guides them through the checkpoints, and there are indeed a lot of wavers, and a lot of splash potions, and Tommy has to put all of his things in a locker. Wilbur pulls up his inventory, certain that he doesn’t have anything on him, still, but he’s not entirely right about that; he must have kept the flowers he was pulling up earlier, because he’s got about five cornflowers in one of the slots.

He puts them in a chest, and ignores the startled look that Tommy shoots him when he sees. He’s not sure what that’s about. They’re just flowers.

The walls are too close. The shadows too dark. The crackle of lava too near. Tommy is putting on a front, chatting at Sam more than he is with him, and to his credit, Sam puts up with it with easy acceptance. But Wilbur knows that a front is all it is, because his smiles don’t reach his eyes, and he knows how Tommy sounds when he’s talking for the sake of hearing his own voice.

This may, perhaps, be a mistake.

(you can’t let him near Tommy don’t let him near Tommy not after what he did to Tommy don’t you know can’t you remember how can you be letting this happen after what he did Tommy shouldn’t be anywhere near here but now he is and you brought him and what kind of a brother are you)

But he has questions he needs to ask. And he hasn’t forgotten his list. His goals.

If there is anything he can do on this server to make it better, after everything he’s done, let it be this.

“Alright,” Sam says, “call for me when you want to leave. Make sure to walk with the bridge.”

And then the curtain of lava falls, and there is a moving platform, and Tommy is deathly still by his side, and there is the cell, and there, in the cell—

Dream.

He’s wearing an orange jumpsuit. A prisoner’s outfit. But he’s kept his mask, stark-white and smiling and laced with spiderweb-thin cracks. His mouth is visible, canting upward into a slight smile, one that mimics the black paint. He stands at their approach, and then they’re stepping into the cell, and Wilbur lets his hand land on Tommy’s shoulder, to steady him and to steady himself.

“Oh, fuck,” someone says, and it’s not him, and it’s not Tommy, and it’s not Dream, and it sounds faint and far away. The living aren’t the only ones in this cell, then. He hopes that Schlatt has the good sense not to be too distracting.

Dream takes a step forward. Under his hand, Tommy stiffens.

“Hi, Tommy,” Dream says. “It’s good to see you.” It’s directed at Tommy and Tommy alone, like Wilbur’s not even there at all, Dream’s mask tilted toward toward him, toward the kid that he manipulated and abused, and Tommy is trembling and Dream has no fucking right to address him like that, so soft and friendly, and Wilbur—

—sees red.

[czarojay]

//This is gonna be a long, probably not properly formatted post, but i just couldn’t help but gush about and ramble about this. Also prepare for a wall of text why everyone is the traitor /hj//

I just have so many thoughts on what happened yesterday. Like all the foreshadowings and plotholes and plotlines have been set in motion, completed or filled. And it makes my little writer soul happy, you know?

It was obvious Techno and Wilbur would be the traitors, since Wilbur multiple times said so himself and Techno literally murdered Tubbo in cold blood. Maybe not so much cold blood cause “hE WAS PEER PRESSURED” and stressed af, but you get the point. 

We knew Philza would join Dream SMP pretty much, since Wilbur showed him the script on stream recently. Also like Traitor Philza anyone? How many posts have you seen of the ultimate traitor being Philza? I have seen lots, but in the end weren’t like half the people traitors? Niki betrayed Pogtopia subtly by leaving and building another city, but i guess this depends on your point of view and opinion, since in the final battle she did fight for Pogtopia. Wilbur was the traitor (everyone knows that) by blowing up Manburg, when it all seemed to go right. Techno was the traitor to Pogtopia, but was also betrayed by Pogtopia. Techno was here to abolish government not make another, but at the first time, he knew what he was getting into. Tommy spoke about taking back L’Manburg for two months, since the election, so I do not know why the surprise. While I agree with Techno that they were just terrorists, because Schlatt was elected, voted, not a tyrant in full meaning of that word (this is so complicated, i love this). Eret was the traitor to Dream for a change, because he wanted to help and join Pogtopia, but was also betrayed by Dream, who had supposedly no way of knowing Eret was going to betray them, he just took the crown and plopped it down on our cottagecore lesbian George, who either sleeps or builds cute houses. 

Also Philza being the one to slay Wilbur is just amazing, because there are so many possibilities motives. Philza said he couldn’t kill Wilbur, but he looked on the people of Manburg, L’Manburg, Pogtopia and Dream SMP, Badlands, he looked at all the people gathered here, staring up at him and he said he couldn’t kill his son. Wilbur said he was the one who destroyed L’Manburg, His L’manburg and ordered Philza to murder him. And he did. But why?

Did Philza kill Wilbur, because he knew, that even with Schlatt gone, Wilbur would continue to cause wars and battles and death and pain? Did Philza kill Wilbur, because he knew that Tommy looks up to Wilbur and wouldn’t be able to not let himself be manipulated? Did Philza kill Wilbur, because he thought nothing else could stop him from becoming a monster? Did Philza kill Wilbur, his son, because he couldn’t bear the thought of not being able to help his son, while one is traumatised, staring at them from where he miraculously survived the explosion and the other one was betrayed, but also a traitor and he just needed to do something? Did Philza kill Wilbur, because he looked at the blown up land and he heard his son begging for death and he at that moment was the only person who could make a change? 

Hell if i know, there are too many posssibilities, but what i DO know is that i’m going to meet theories and conspiracies across my tumblr dash for weeks and I will be able to read all your amazing essays and I just can’t wait for it you know?

Chekhov’s gun. We knew L’Manburg would blow up. It would make no sense for it to not blow up after a month of it being the major plot device, one of the few things to keep it going. It needed to happen or otherwise the plot wouldn’t make sense. If this was a book and not minecraft roleplay, I bet everyone would be angry that the Wilbur character didn’t blow up as he said he would through half of the third book of the series! Sure there would be people happy that he didn’t, but let’s all be honest here, all the AUs would feature him blowing it up, it was really the only way for there not to be a massive plothole.

Tubbo becoming a president wasn’t that to be expected before the stream, but during the conversation with Quackity it was hinted towards. We all thought it would be Tommy who’d been hinted towards in the “You’re never going to be a president, Tommy” speech of Wilbur. And to be fair, he was a president for like 1.2 seconds, before he went back to get his discs which as exasperated leave me, because come on you’ve been at these discs for like almost HALF A YEAR WOW, make me happy cause it means more plot to come, chekhov’s gun right? I’m not sure if this applies here though, since they’ve already been used. We’ll wait and see right? Tubbo became a president like he was supposed to become. We all expected him to become the vice president, since Tommy always titled him his right hand man and the parallels were too strong. From Secretary of State through Schlatt’s right hand man through a traitor to end as the President of L’Manburg. Or New L’Manburg should I say?

And it’s even worse when you think about how Wilbur appointed Tommy KNOWING L’Manburg would blow up in a moment. He wanted to give him everything he could ever want and then steal it away the next second, violently, not leaving a shred of hope for it to return. Because, you see, with the discs? Tommy always could fight for them, steal them, get them back. Physical small objects, but worth so much. But L’Manburg? Tommy just got it back, his second home, his people, his place and Wilbur planned to immediately rip it away violently. Tommy would rage, he’d curse, he’d plan revenge. Which is exactly the reason Tubbo is the better choice to be a president. 

Tubbo doesn’t hold grudges, so unless he’s manipulated, not many wars will be initiated by him. He was one of the people who tried to fight the wither, he was the one who immediately jumped to gathering people and making plans for the future of their country. He was the one who made plans to rebuild their nation stronger and better. He jumped to making and building and communicating rather than fighting, which seems to me like something a good leader would do. 

Wilbur as the president barely did things, mostly used pretty words or fought. Only later in Pogtopia he actually did most of the stuff in their ravine, but he still left grinding and food for Techno and in the end he went insane and no good leader should be an insane one. Schlatt? Schlatt wanted to chop down the trees, kill the animals and destroy the nature. He may have been a better, closer and an actually elected leader compared to Wilbur, but that doesn’t mean he was a good leader. So it is possible Tubbo will be the best leader yet. 

But will he even be able to be truly a leader? Tubbo said himself he’s not sure how the whole president thing goes and he agreed to just call it a friend group, so they’re not demolished by Technoblade again, so he’s never going to be truly a leader, especially since Philza joined and everyone looks up to Philza. They’re not going to have a leader, because Techno will kill anyone who even hints towards it and Dream would probably do that as well. Or so he says, but then he made Dream SMP a kingdom, a proper kingdom with a true king. Because let’s agree, Eret was never a leader before. He was just there, sitting pretty in his forest. There was no true kingdom before, just a group of people who decided to play along for the sake of the spy. But even then, it seems pretty hypocrytical of Dream, doesn’t it? He says down with the government, with organized nations, presidents and leaders and yet...

King George has happened. But at what cost, I would say sadly and possibly crying if I didn’t expect it to happen. It was bound to happen since the very first WHITE FLAGS, TOMORROW, OR YOU’RE DEAD. He’s earned no right to the title, he didn’t participate in this war, he hardly does anything on the server. He’s just an heir. Dream forcefully removed the last monarch, so George could become the king and I feel this is going to be a big thing in future, since it wasn’t that focused on during the last streams. I think so at least? We’ll see. 

There’s just so many things to cover here, possibilities are WILD, the lore is just SO HEAVY and I am Thriving, capital T. But isn’t the whole fandom? We’re all loving it here, right? And I want to write even more, but at the same time, I’ve already got 1.5 k words and I’m afraid nobody will read it if i continue, SO HAVE A GOOD DAY IF YOU READ SO FAR. SUBSCRIBE TO PHILZA.

[scp42069howthefisthisnametaken]

dream smp ideas #372

It was supposed to be just a short text post but I guess it's a short fic

tw/ct:

major character death, description of dead body, (bad grammar)

it got much sadder than I planned

-

Quackity got Techno. He put him in the prison as it was intended to be. Techno might think he can escape. He has friends, the Syndicate will help him. However Quackity is already few steps ahead. Wilbur told him about their little "book club". Nobody knows why. Man was dead for 13 years, not everything he does nowadays makes sense. (Not sure if it made sense when he was still alive.) No metter how did it happened Dream is no longer useful for Quackity. Once you stop being usful, you are no longer generating revenue. And once you can't be used to make more money you should be removed.

During this night wind was very cold. It was getting stronger, and stronger, and then suddenly... it all stopped. Almost nobody noticed it. Foolish did. He saw everything. The dark clouds coming from the north. The sudden silence before the storm stroke. The thunder that cut through the dark sky. He saw how his beacons lost their shine for a moment and came back lighter, a little bit different, slightly more green. He immediately understood what happened. In his long life Foolish has never seen god die but he could feel how server reacted to such a lose.

The body was found next day in the middle of community house. Young man was laying face up on the floor. His mask, completely broken, was right next to him. Huge open wound in his chest was still bleeding. Many badly healed scares all over his body only indicated the level of abuse he must have go thought in the prison. Green eyes were still widely open in the morning.

Puffy was the first one to find Dream's body. Even though she know what horrible crimes he committed in the past, it was heartbreaking for her. Captain spend hours hugging her dead son's body. She couldn't believe what happened. Dream couldn't die.

The rumours spread extremely fast but not many people showed up to the main area. Not everyone believed that he really died. Even if he lost his final life shouldn't he be in prison, not the community house? Shouldn't Sam announced it? The warden was nowhere to be found. All the Las Nevadas citizens disapread that day. Did they hide in the casino city in the middle of the desert?

Sapnap showed up as the sun began to set. He walked slowly through the bridges on the lake recalling how they choose this place. The time when he and his friends decided to build house on the lake. The first home now cover in blood of it's founder. Interesting how both the person who invited everyone to this place and the building which was supposed to bring them together ended up empty. Alone and dead.

No other member came to see the body. George probably was asleep in the woods. Dreaming as his best friend or maybe someone even closer was lower into the hole in the ground just next to spawn. Karl was lost, as usual. In summer home Bad and Ant were slowly regaining control of their minds. Punz and the rest of the egg cult were still missing. Ponk sat at his home wandering why Foolish left in the middle of the night. Everybody had their own problems.

As the sun began to rise again mourners saw to tall figures approaching. Wilbur stopped just next to the grave and whispered silent prayer. Tommy stood in the distance. He watched his abuser funeral in disbelief. It was it... He was finally free. However look on Puffy's face made him sad. Even the worst of people have someone who cares about them. Tommy wondered how Dream's limbo looked like. Maybe he was send straight to hell.

Four of them stood in silence as first rays of sun lighted up the grassland. Morning fog began to condense on their skin, clothing and plans everywhere around. This day was so... normal. Nothing and everything changed in the same time. Was the villain killed? Did new one just became extremely powerful? How will the server function without it's owner? The one who had the power to bring dead back to life lost his own.

"Everything must come to the end eventual." Tommy's voice sounded empty. Nobody could guess what emotions boy could feel right now.

"No." Wilbur said confidently. Much too happy for the funeral of his "hero". "It's just the beginning." He looked around on Puffy and Sapnap's tired faces. "We killed the god" Wilbur continued "We are just getting started."