#dreamsmp ensemble

[cherrychapstick54]

Amnesia Was Her Name

Epilogue (Chapter 26 pt.2): Man Am I The Greatest?

Title from “Amnesia Was Her Name” by Lemon Demon

Synopsis: Epilogue for chapter 26.

This chapter was written by me.

Trigger warnings: Talks of suicide.

It was difficult to tell what had happened on that day. It had started off as a simple day, even boring. Usually, these types of days would all blend together, making it difficult for Drista to keep track of time, and she would forget all about the events of her days. Today, however, was different. This day would forever be etched into her head, no matter what she would try, the picture of the tower, the lightning, and his body lying motionless on the ground would be burned into her brain. And yet, she had no idea it was going to happen.

Drista had just been relaxing in the void, a typical day off, when XD had made a sly comment about what was going on with her dear friend, Tommy. She was aware of the boy’s mental struggles and where he was, but she had never gotten the chance to tell him that she was restricted from the lines of exile until she gained full control of her powers. She was still working on it, admittedly.

To be honest, Drista always believed that rules were made to be broken. So, she went into exile, much to her brother’s dismay. They put up quite the fight to try and make Drista stay in the void with them, using their strength and power against her; but if there was one thing that XD seemed to always forget about their sister, it was that she was the goddess of mischief. Drista never really liked using her powers against her brother, but with how much time she had been wasting fighting them, it had become a life or death matter.

Drista made a quick escape from her brother and the void, and made her way to the smp. The more she thought about Tommy, the more panicked she became; what if she was too late? The more worried she became, the more the sky seemed to darken, looking as if it was about to rain. Drista was flying through the air, trying to reach exile as fast as she could. Eventually, she couldn’t handle flying anymore, with all the thoughts in her head, it just seemed too slow, she would have to use her powers to teleport there.

As Drista teleported to the top of Tommy’s dirt tower, an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach, and she felt extremely overwhelmed by anxiety. She opened her eyes, standing on top of the tower, before her mind comprehended the flash of red and white disappearing in front of her.

Now, this part was the most difficult to remember for Drista. It went by so fast, she didn’t really think about it before it happened. But, she remembers clearly trying to follow Tommy off the tower, running right off the edge, knowing she wouldn’t die. And she remembers the look of shock on Tommy’s face when he saw her there, like he didn’t want her to see him die; that’s understandable enough, she thought. Drista also remembers yelling–scratch that–screaming of Tommy’s name. Although, she can’t seem to think of anyone else who was there to be screaming, was it her who was screaming for Tommy? And there was rain. Rain everywhere, pouring over the entire smp, and if Drista didn't know better, she'd say that the ocean was slowly starting to flood.

Drista isn’t sure if her mind simply blocked it out altogether, or if too many things were happening at once, but she always draws a blank at this one part. The part where Tommy hits the ground. Normally, a person would be happy to not remember that part, but Drista had an issue with this. Right after Tommy had fallen, she had quickly realized that she was also falling, and no longer flying. She had used most of her power to get to exile in the first place, and now that she was practically flying towards the ground at full speed, she was in a bit of a panic, to put it lightly. How could she forget the part where her best friend hit the ground?

Drista never thought about death; she had never needed to. She had always seen herself as immortal, the same as her brother, but in this moment, she realized the clear difference between them and her–the difference that he actually was an immortal and she was simply lucky to have a brother so strong to protect her–and she was afraid. Afraid of losing her powers; after all, they're what make her personality complete, for what would she be if not a goddess? But Drista doesn't think she could ever be afraid of death, considering she grew up with stories of the afterlife from Kristin, and she knew that it would be okay in the end, rather, she was afraid of losing everything. She was afraid of losing everything, but it seems she’s already lost it right in front of her. But now that arms were wrapped around her and she was being pushed out of the way, she was not going to be okay.

“What the fuck, XD?! You use your unlimited power to save me, and you couldn't spare me the pleasure of a soft landing?!” Drista is standing up at the speed of lightning, and marching towards her brother, readjusting her mask into place before shoving the powerful god backwards; they let it happen. The younger quickly realizes what happened, and she nearly gets whiplash turning around to face the motionless body of her best friend.

Drista runs to Tommy (Is this even Tommy anymore?), her feet sink into the sand with every step, dress sticking to her skin from the rain, and she falls to her knees at the side of her dead friend (is he even dead?).

“..Tommy?” Her voice cracks, she's almost afraid to touch him, like if she sets her hand on his chest, it’ll mean he’s really dead. Drista isn't sure if she's ready to know that.

“He's gone, Drista. He's dead.” XD sets their hand on their sister's shoulder, a rare sign of comfort from the god, but Drista can't hear it; she doesn't want to.

The younger takes her cloak off and sets it over Tommy’s chest, trying to keep him warm in the pouring rain. “Tommy, I think this is the time to wake up. You need to stop whatever cruel joke this is and wake up, please.” Drista watched Tommy’s face carefully, trying to see if he was having any reaction from her words.

“Drista, he's dead. I don't know why you didn't understand me earlier, but he's not coming back. He fell from 255 blocks, which would've killed you if you hadn't been so stupid and used all your energy, so come on; we're leaving.” XD grabs Drista’s arm, pulling her back from Tommy.

“NO! LET GO OF ME!!” XD steps away from their sister, shocked by her outburst, and turns to leave; if she’s going to freak out like that, she can do it alone. As they start walking away, they notice the thunder getting more frequent and the lightning gets closer to exile. XD is stopped by a hand on their arm.

“Stay. She’ll need you here.” The goddess of death is standing beside them, a sullen look on her face. XD figures that it makes sense, she did just lose her second child for the second time. That must be how Drista feels. They always told her to not get close to the mortals, and now look at her. She almost died because a mere boy with amnesia wanted to escape a demon.

“Tommy, Tommy, please. Please wake up! You have to wake up!” Drista shook Tommy’s shoulders, lifting him slightly off the ground, but his head lolled back along with his arms. If this was a joke, he was playing it out believably.

“Alright. I’ll stay.” XD was starting to realize how much this affected their sister; she just didn’t seem to get it. She refused to listen, but they knew she’d need someone there to comfort her once all is said and done.

“TOMMY! THIS ISN’T A FUCKING JOKE! WAKE UP RIGHT NOW, OR SO HELP ME GOD, I WILL MURDER YOU!!” Drista slams her hands down on Tommy’s chest in an attempt to wake him up, or to hurt him for scaring her this badly, maybe both. The thunder and lightning is surrounding the both of them now; are her emotions controlling it? No one would be able to see the tears on her face with the mask and the rain pouring down, mixing together, but Drista can feel the warm stream of water going down her face. She can also feel the soreness of her throat from screaming, but that doesn’t stop her.

“WAKE THE FUCK UP, TOMMY! WAKE UP, PLEASE! JUST–PLEASE!! TOMMY! WAKE-WAKE UP!! WAKE-Wake..” Drista stops slamming her hands on Tommy’s chest, she’s realized that it makes no difference anymore. “Wake up.” The weather goes back to only raining, and it’s all she can do to not continue screaming, to not kill everyone on this smp for allowing him to die, for not seeing the signs.

But she didn’t see them either. She knew he had amnesia and that he was suicidal. But she thought he was fine now, that they had fixed his issues together. Now look at them; what a sight.

“Drista..” XD is standing behind her again, this time they intend to comfort rather than leave her alone.

Drista turns her head and looks up at her brother, “Fix him.”

“What?”

“Fix him. Please. You can bring him back, right? So, bring him back.” Her voice is broken and soft, a contrast to her usual personality.

“Drista, I’m not going to do that.”

“Why not? It was fine the first time he was brought back, so just bring him back again. It’ll be fine, I’ll take care of him and make sure that no one hurts him, I’ll stay in the smp if I need to.” Drista was starting to get upset with her brother. Why wouldn’t it work out the second time, especially if Tommy had a deity watching over him?

XD knew this was going to hurt. A lot. Not physically, but if their sister kept pushing this, their relationship could easily be ruined for a long time. But the powerful god knew the risks of bringing someone back to life, especially multiple times, and they weren’t going to let their sister see that so soon.

“I’m not bringing him back, and that’s final. If you really wanted to save him, you wouldn’t have wasted your powers so late, you would’ve used them right away, and he could’ve been standing in front of you, unharmed, right now.” The words made XD cringe internally, but they knew that it needed to be said. Drista had always been the type of person to keep trying until all options were executed. If they weren’t harsh, it would never get into their sister’s head that they really couldn’t do anything about Tommy. As long as they could protect Drista, XD would be as harsh as they needed to be. Regardless of the huge crowd watching them.

At some point during Dristas screaming, the directed lightning had attracted the other members of the smp towards exile. Everyone had come to see why such a storm would point itself in exile; some believed that Tommy was being a dumb kid and attracted the lightning on purpose, others thought it had something to do with their religious beliefs. After all, Tommy got into exile by angering a man, why would he stop at angering god?

But no one was prepared for the sight before them. Lady Death, silently crying from a distance, a beloved deity screaming and crying over a lifeless body, a mortal at that, and the most powerful god on the server, watching grimly as their sister begged for the dead boy to be brought back to life.

Everyone watched in silence as the rain poured over them, no one wanted to make the first move, until Philza started walking towards his wife. Once people noticed the movement of Phil, one-by-one, others went forward to see what had truly happened.

There were no comforting words for the couple, no hugs or sympathetic hand-holding; there were only sad looks sent their way as they held each other in grief. Quackity and Ghostbur along with a few others were too distracted watching Drista yell at the powerful god, whilst Fundy and Tubbo stared in shock at the body on the ground, on the verge of tears. A couple of people were even hiding in the back of the crowd, trying to figure out ‘who pushed Tommy off the tower’. They couldn’t see the truth of the situation, just like his best friend.

The more upset Drista became with her brother, the more people started watching them. While most people feel shame about fighting in front of a crowd, Drista was more the type to ignore others’ opinions.

“BRING HIM BACK!! HE DID NOTHING WRONG, HE DESERVES TO LIVE A FULL LIFE!” Drista was standing up now, facing her brother in what appeared like a challenge.

“How many times do I have to say it, Drista?! I’m not bringing him back, he’s not coming back, and the more you try to reverse it, the more difficult you make this for the both of us!”

“If you think I’m going to believe that bullshit about making this difficult for you, you are EXTREMELY MISTAKEN, XD!! GOD, YOU ARE SUCH A PRICK SOMETIMES!” Drista pushes her brother backwards, they only stumble a bit before regaining balance. XD knows that their sister is hurting, and them refusing to revive Tommy doesn’t make it any better, so they stay motionless. Drista looks back up at her brother, waiting for a response that she never receives. So, she shoves them again, this time XD doesn’t move; they must’ve braced themselves for that.

This time, Drista hits their chest, then shoves them back, then hits them again. XD gives her some leeway when she shoves them, moving back with the force of it, despite knowing she wasn’t going to stop.

“What’s wrong with you?! Just do it already! Bring him back! Do anything! I need him to stay alive! He didn’t get to truly live! He wasn’t given a chance! Do something already, XD!” She shoves him back again as hard as she can, and they move back with it, but still refuse to do anything else.

As Drista continues to hit her brother and shove him back, they play along, and move with it, ignoring the urge to fight back with an apprehensive look on their face. XD is well aware of their sister’s overwhelming grief, but they know that fighting won’t make it any better for her.

“Fine! If you won’t bring him back, then just kill me, so I can see him again! That way it’s like you’re killing two birds with one stone, right? I’ve always annoyed you, you’ve told me that before, so why not just get rid of me!” XD turns away at the sound of that. They knew they were aggressive sometimes, but did their sister really believe that they’d kill her? “Come on!” A shove, “I know you want to, and I’m telling you to, so what are you waiting for?!” This time her shove pushes him into a tree. “Well, you’re stuck now, so-”

“Why are you so determined for me to be upset with you?” Drista stops at that, and stays silent. “What is it that you’ll get out of me killing you? You know that there is no absolute confirmation that you’ll see him, even if you die, and yet you’re still pushing this idea. So what the hell is wrong? Use your words.”

“You won’t bring him back.” XD nods in confirmation. The younger huffs, “And I can’t visit him or anything. He’s gone. He’s dead. You’d think that of all people, you would at least care about me enough to bring my only friend back. It made no difference before, and you know that.” XD can clearly tell that their sister isn’t mad anymore, she’s just grieving, and now very depressed.

“I can’t risk that, not even for you, Drista. You know I love you. You’re my little sister, I would move mountains for you, literally. But if there’s a chance that your best friend comes back as a demigod with zero control of his powers.. I just can’t put you at risk like that.”

“Oh, so you’re saying that you’re doing this for me? That’s nice. I’ll make sure to put a note in the scrapbook saying that you saved me from that. I can protect myself, XD! I know that it’s hard to see with everything that’s happened, but I am a deity, not just your little sister! You try so hard to protect me from the world, but look what’s happened! My best friend is dead, so if he comes back at the same level as me, I will teach him. I can do it, I promise. I’ve gotten so much better with controlling my own powers, I could teach him all about what it’s like to be a demigod, and he could live in the void with me, or maybe I could live in the smp with him! It would be so great! I could finally have a chance at a mortal life, and I could make more friends, too!”

“Drista, you’ve gotten way too ahead of yourself here. I am not bringing him back. He’s staying in the afterlife, and you’re staying here, alive. Now, you can sure as hell travel to the smp more often, like maybe once every two months, but other than that, you’re staying in the void with me and Kristin.”

“What? But, I do have control of my powers-”

“What, are you kidding me? After that stunt you pulled today, falling off the tower? How the hell did you think that I would let you become an official demigod, much less teach someone else how to use their own powers? Fuck no. I’m sorry Drista, but we’re going home, right now.” XD goes to grab their sister’s hand, but she pulls away immediately.

“Hell no! I’m not going back with you! My best friend, my only friend I had died, and all you can say is ‘I’m sorry, but we’re going home’?!” Drista’s tears were turned into two parts sadness, one part anger. If her brother couldn’t see the issue at hand, she might be the start of the next server war.

“Drista, please don’t make more of a scene than we already have.”

“Well, it’s too late for that now, isn’t it? I’m staying in the smp indefinitely. I’ll live here, eat here, sleep here, I don’t care, but I’m not going to the void with you if you don’t understand how important this is to me!” Drista was standing with her arms crossed in front of her, and if there was one thing that XD knew about their sister, it was that she was one stubborn deity.

“Oh dear god, I don’t have time to deal with you today, Drista! You are really getting on my nerves!” Alright, now Drista was starting to think that maybe she should back off, because her brother’s demonic side was starting to come out, and all bets were off. She wanted to stay silent in favor of not angering the demon any more than she already had, but she had a strong opinion on this matter. To be fair, she isn’t really doing this for herself, she’s doing this for Tommy, in his honor.

“She’ll be staying with us.” Drista turned around to see a short teenage boy with ram horns and a fur lined coat.

“W-Wait what?” A soft whisper from,, Ranboo? Towards the boy. They must live together.

“You must be joking. My sister won’t be staying with a premature goat and whatever you are. Besides, do you three even know each other? I’ll bet that you don’t, and you’re just trying to be a good samaritan, huh?” XD roughly gestures towards the two new guests, and by the sound of their voice, they’re looking for a challenge.

Well, they’re pretty much inviting her into their household, she might as well, “Yes I will live with them.” Drista turns back towards her brother, pointing a finger at him, “And I'll have you know, this is Ranboo and Tubbo. They were Tommy’s other best friends and nothing will be getting in my way to stay here with them. These people are more of a family to me than you've ever been, XD.” Oh, now they look mad. But with how many times Drista has seen XD’s demonic side, she’s not that worried about the outcome of this argument. Not when it comes to Tommy.

“No you won’t. I’m not allowing it. You’re too young to live on your own. Do you think I hate you, Drista? I'm looking out for you! I'm trying to keep you safe from the rest of the world until you learn how to face it like an adult! If you tried to live as a mortal, I have no doubt that you would bite the dust within a week. You're just a kid, for fucks sake! You can barely control your powers as a demigod, what makes you think you could survive as a mortal?!” Drista considers murdering her brother for a moment, before deciding it should be celebrated as a big event rather than overshadowed by Tommy’s suicide.

“You don’t get to judge and berate me because of my age; if you wanted me to be more mature and responsible, maybe you should've raised me better. Besides, you don’t get to tell me what to do anymore; now that I live with Ranboo and Tubbo, it’s their rules, not yours.”

Drista and XD were similar in many different ways, one of the ways being their determination. If one of them wasn't harsh with the other, the big idea would stick for longer than anticipated, usually causing some sort of catastrophic event (giving the demon possessing you a physical form as a normal human in society was never a great idea, now that XD thinks about it).

“Fucks sake.” XD transforms into their biblically accurate appearance, most likely too exhausted from dealing with their stubborn sister. The action results in multiple groans in disgust from the crowd watching. “If you really think you’re so prepared to live on your own in the smp with the mortals, why not get the whole experience? But don’t you dare come crying to me when living without your powers gets too difficult. I won’t want to hear it.”

“Without-You’re taking away my powers?! You can’t do that! I’m a deity, I was born with my powers!”

“I’m getting really tired of hearing this act. Just because you’re a deity doesn’t mean you’re special. I created you because I was bored and wanted a sibling, I have full control over you and your life. You always forget that I’m the most powerful god on this server.. I hope the next few days will give you time to think about what I said. You need me in order to live, Drista. Until you can control your powers completely, you’re nothing but a useless mortal among many.” XD teleports back to the void, leaving Drista to feel shocked and useless. She only wanted to bring Tommy back, and now her life has been changed forever.

And she will prove her brother wrong. Whether she needs to live as a mortal or find a way to bring back Tommy herself, she’s willing to die in the process. XD will regret ever fucking with their sister and her best friend.

- Divider credits to @issysh3ll -

[owlwithatypewriter]

Lay Bare Your Sins: Chapter 2

AO3 Link Previous Chapter CW: Politics, swearing, mentions of character death(s)

"Halcyon? Really?"

"It means 'a time of peace and prosperity'!"

"It sounds pretentious."

"Isn't that your entire brand?"

"PHIL!"

~*~*~*~*~

Wilbur hates press conferences. They're long and tedious and the suits he wears are always itchy - no matter how much he washes them or what fabrics he brings to the tailor, the suit jackets are always hot and heavy on his shoulders, the ties strangling like a snake in the deep jungle. At least he's not in a three-piece this time - in fact, he's not sure his dad will ever get him in one of those monkey suits again, not after this.

His super-villain (and how Phil hates that title, but Wilbur doesn't mind) attire is much simpler - a thick leather trench coat over a skin-tight shirt, which is covered with light-weight carbon-polymer armor. Fingerless gloves (fashionable and functional), thick pants with more armor, and dark combat boots. A maroon beanie covers his unruly curls, and a silver opera mask covers the upper half of his face and swoops down to cover part of his left cheek. Unlike the rest of his costume, the mask is exquisite, the gold music notes carefully emblazoned in gold a stark contrast to the dark motif the rest of his clothing carries.

Yeah, much better than navy wool and red silk. 

The rest of the heroes and villains at the press conference are all in full costume as well, despite their secret identities having crumbled the night before over pizza and exhaustion and the difficulty of eating a slice dripping with cheese while keeping delicate ceramic and precious metals clean. Then again, the room is crammed, wall-to-wall, with reporters and cameras. Nobody wants their true identity revealed - not yet, at least. Now when everything is still unsettled and raw.

Phil is standing beside President Schlatt at the podium, announcing the creation of the Halcyon Coalition and the systemic dismantling of the harm the Hero Commission did to the city. He's wearing his green and white robes, and the wide-brimmed hat lined with a heavy veil that shields his face from sight. His wings - large, black, flawlessly preened - are tucked against his back, held low, non-threatening. Skimming over the gathered reporters, Wilbur spots two who are avian hybrids, their own wings held tense. They're not the only ones nervous - the entire cast of reporters are anxious, the feeling palpable in the small room. They're jittery, and those jotting down notes instead of facing the cameras have dark circles beneath their eyes. He doubts they've slept in the past three days.

Three days. The complete collapse of a government system in three days. It was extraordinary, according to Techno (though not the fastest in history, and Wilbur had tuned out his brother's ramblings as he began talking about something called the 'Independent State of Catalonia'). Impressively, they'd had most of the press on their side the whole time. While the Blood God killed Dream, Jack (who tended to work behind the scenes, despite being an important part of team-villain) had delivered both physical and digital copies of everything they had on the Hero Commission and Dream to every media outlet in the city - from the large L'Manberg News Corp to the smaller district-specific newspapers. 

The reporters took their duties seriously - every bit of information was scoured and reported on, from the illegal hybrid laboratories to public funds set aside for soup kitchens and homeless shelters being pulled away to pay for lavish parties and material goods for the Hero Commission board. Television shows, reality programs, even commercials were shoved aside in favor of 24/7 reporting on everything that was being revealed. Reporters from various channels chased each other, rivalries forgotten as they built on each other's discoveries to lay out just how corrupt the system had become. And now they had been assembled, over-caffeinated and pressed cheek-to-cheek, watching the leader of the city and the man they'd accused of major crimes for the last decade lay out how the world would work in the future.

"Our first priority will be shutting down the illegal hybrid labs," Phil - the Angel of Death - explains calmly, "as well as the hybrid-trafficking and black market rings that have been set up in the city. The nations of Hermitcraft and Hypixel have agreed to lend us help as we clear these organizations out and will support our efforts to rescue every person affected by these horrible places. Anyone with information about them - any information at all - is encouraged to share what they know. We have a website set up for people to submit tips, completely anonymously." 

Schlatt is nodding along, following the script the Angel had discussed with him before inviting the press in. "While the Halcyon Coalition focuses on that, I will be working with my staff and representatives of all city agencies to ensure that all of the soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and food pantries closed by the Hero Commission in the last decade are reopened and fully stocked and staffed. Anyone interested in volunteering and assisting in cleaning and repairing the buildings, or staffing them once they are reopened, is welcome to call City Hall or go to the city website to learn more about applying." The normal lazy drawl Schlatt usually has when addressing the press is absent - he sounds tired, but determined.

The prompter attached to the podium continues to scroll, but before the Captain can take her turn to start talking about the measures the city will be taking for the next few weeks to keep civilians safe during this drastic change, a woman (one of the avians, a red-winged blackbird) stands from her chair, hand thrust in the air. Without waiting to be called on, she loudly blurts out, "How can we trust you?"  

A murmur runs through the reporters, several shuffling uneasily as the cameras pan over them before refocusing on the front of the room. Wilbur glances at his brother - the Blood God, with his half-face boar mask and sweeping red cloak - who is staring straight ahead, jaw clenched. The Angel glances at Schlatt, who looks ready to try and spin an excuse, then at the rest of the assembled heroes and villains, before turning to the reporters with a sigh. He reaches for his face, and Wilbur feels his stomach plummet as the hat is removed, and a thin black gaiter pulled to rest around his neck.

There were audible gasps from those gathered, and Wilbur knew exactly what they were seeing. A middle-aged man with deep laugh-lines and silver-blue eyes, with straw-blonde hair that brushed his shoulders and an amused little smile pulling one side of his mouth as he took in their shock. Even Schlatt, who'd been speaking to the villain non-stop the past three days and who prided himself on being on good terms with the civilian, is shocked. 

Philza Craft stares out over the reporters and grins.

The head of the largest corporation in the city - Corvid Inc. - rocks back on his heels and ruffles his feathers as he soaks in the stares, revelling in the reveal. The millionaire (billionaire? It's unclear, due to how much charity work comes from his personal fortune) glances over at Schlatt, who manages to snap his jaw shut but can't quite pull his eyebrows back down from his hairline. For a long, long moment, nobody speaks, and it seems like nobody is going to.

Wilbur sighs exaggeratedly and reaches into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet with a flourish, making his movements large and sweeping ("The audience in the back needs to be able to see what you're doing", his theater teacher had told them, "so make your movements big and noticeable!"). He's keenly aware of everyone's eyes on him as he ruffles through the billfold, before pulling out a hundred and holding it out to Techno. 

The Blood God radiates smugness as he plucks the note from Wilbur's hand, grinning widely as he crams it into his pants pocket. "I told you," he rumbles, voice changer deepening his voice and carrying easily through the silent room, "less than a week and he'd out himself."

The two can tell that Phil is barely holding himself back from fondly calling them 'little shits,' but that would be too identifiable to the press. They'd long been in the public eye as Philza Craft's adopted twin sons, after all - he'd been caught on camera referring to them with the affectionate insult more than once, usually after Wilbur dragged Techno into some kind of disaster that ended up televised (they still weren’t allowed in the Sweet Frog downtown). Good times.

The Captain clears her throat, bringing the room's attention back to the podium. Phil turns back to face the reporters, several of whom are still reeling, including the red-winged blackbird, who is still standing. Phil shoots her a kind smile, ruffling his wings a bit.

“I hope this answers your question, MIss…?”

The reporter blinks, then answers, “Kristin Watson, Featherweight News.”

“Miss Watson,” Phil repeats, “I have always held the safety of this city and its citizens as my highest priority, both publicly and privately. When the beginning corruption of the Hero Commission came to my attention ten years ago, I did my best to assist those impacted from the shadows. Unfortunately, the Commission used that against me and labeled me, and those assisting me, as villains. Hence the,” he gestures to his face, giving the hat still in his hand a little flap. “You may not trust the Angel of Death, but I do hope you can still trust me.” His smile softens, small and genuine, as he focuses it on the reporter.

She flushes and nods, wings ruffling along her back as she sits down, scribbling furiously on the notepad balanced on her knee. There are still a few reporters who look unsettled, but most have calmed at the sight of the city's beloved benefactor behind the Angel’s veil. There was almost no one in the city who had been untouched by his generosity, after all - especially in the lower districts. He’d sponsored schools and soup kitchens and homeless shelters, and his firm had dozens of paid interns in all kinds of fields, giving brilliant kids in tough situations the opportunity to grow and succeed. The explosion six months ago had taken place in one of his botanic research centers, the boy killed one of those very interns. The man had been devastated when it happened, in tears when he spoke of young Toby Underscore’s death at a press conference. He and Schlatt, who worked together to better the city for years now, had leaned on one another at the funeral as they buried the president's son. 

And then information had come out, pinning the explosion on the Angel of Death and his compatriots, and the city had become enraged, calling for his blood. The half-year since had been filled with escalating battles between the heroes and villains, the former pushing the bounds, causing more and more injuries, coming close to killing a few times. The latter had been just as enraged at the accusations, lashing out from the shadows though rarely rising to the baited battles the heroes tried to draw them to. Vigilantes had dropped back, watching the big names battle from afar, unwilling to join in without the resources or healers on hand to back them up.

It made sense, now - the Angel was Philza, and Philza had been torn apart by the death of a young man he was in charge of teaching and protecting. Being falsely accused of orchestrating his death explained the escalation when the heroes and villains did manage to meet, but more than that, it explained the unexpected stretches of silence. The thick files and dangling keychains of USBs that had been delivered to each media outlet suddenly made a lot more sense - Philza had been preparing his final blow, changing from merely trying to reign in and restore the Hero Commission to destroying it completely. And it had paid off. 

The awards ceremony. The video interrupting the cheesy slideshow exalting the heroes. The crystal-clear hidden camera footage of Dream in his office conferring with someone about the explosion the day it happened, watching something - undoctored footage, most likely - and remarking on the idiocy of the man who flicked a lit cigarette to the floor near the fertilizer storage room. Whoever had set up the camera (Warden, most likely - he was a tech genius, one of the many things that made him so dangerous) had made sure the audio would be picked up as well. It captured the report of Toby Underscores death coming over the radio, it captured Dreams thoughtful hum, it captured him suggesting to the other person (who wore a hood and had yet to be identified) that perhaps they could use this to frame the villains, to encourage Schlatt to take more drastic measures against the 'scourge of the city.'

"After all," Dream had said, leaning back in his chair, hands folded behind his head, "they DID just murder his son in cold blood. We can use this to our advantage." 

Wilbur was fairly certain that if Techno hadn’t gotten there first, Schlatt would have killed Dream with his bare hands, powers be damned.

“Thank you, Mr. Craft.” The Captain gently nudged him away from the podium. “Right, let’s get back on track.” She begins outlining city-wide changes, explaining how the heroes, vigilantes, and police officers will be working to keep an eye on the streets to avoid any more rioting. A curfew is suggested, though she is sure to explain it won’t be strongly enforced at this moment as long as nobody sets another Hero-based business on fire. There are still members of the Hero Commission who haven’t been arrested yet, she is sure to remind them, and there’s no telling what they’ll do now that they’re wanted criminals. It makes the streets dangerous, she emphasizes, and asks for anyone with information on them to use the same tip website Phil had mentioned earlier.

“One final thing of note,” Phil slips back behind the podium as she finishes, “Pandora will be shut down as quickly as possible.” 

There’s an immediate response, people speaking up angrily at the idea of criminals being released to run freely on the streets. He gives them a moment to rant before raising a hand, requesting silence. “We are not releasing dangerous criminals into the streets,” he corrects them, “but there are plenty of enhanced people who have been imprisoned for no reason other than refusing to work for the Commission. My good friend Upswing,” Phil gestures to the not-quite-villain, not-quite-hero, not-quite-vigilante with a sweep of his wing, “has agreed to offer the services of the Las Nevadas lawyers in going through case files and dismissing charges against those who were wrongly convicted. As for those who are actually guilty of their crimes, a new prison will be built that is more…humane.” 

Behind him, Warden shuffles. The once-hero was responsible for the creation of Pandora, and while he took pride in his craftsmanship, he did admire what it was used for. The destruction of the prison had been a constant point of contention between the two, a common argument that arose when the two were left alone together for more than a minute. Phil had finally won out with the agreement that Warden could design a new prison to replace it, as long as it was humane and safe, and not just a windowless torture chamber for the imprisoned. 

“I believe that is everything we wanted to address,” Phil glanced between Schlatt and the Captain. “We’ll start working on improving the outer districts immediately, and if anything important comes to our attention we won’t hesitate to call another conference.” He pauses, taking in the confused expressions of the reporters before his words click. 

The outer districts. Not the lower districts. 

It’s a small thing - a simple rewording, but he can see those who grew up on the fringes of the city, in the low-income and collapsing neighborhoods, lighting up at the renaming. Outer. Not lower. Because they are just as important, and stand just as tall, as those born in the city center. 

A few reporters raise their hands, shouting questions, but Schlatt shoos them off the stage and through the door to the greenroom, responding ‘No comment!’ to the reporters as they leave. As soon as the door swings shut, cutting off the clamor, he’s running a hand down his face, pausing with it clasped over his mouth as he stares at Phil, who gazes back with an amused head tilt.

“...I need a drink.” 

~*~*~*~*~

Philza being the Angel of Death dominates the news cycle, alongside the intended content of the press conference. Wilbur makes sure to snatch up every newspaper that has pictures of his father - both recent and old - and is especially delighted to see his face on a gossip magazine, superimposed beside the blushing reporter he’d spoken to. That’s one to frame, he decides, buying a second copy and shoving it in his bag. He’s out of costume for the moment, though not out of character. Today, however, he is playing Wilbur Soot-Craft, the adopted son of Philza Craft and doting son home from college to assist his father in running the business as he handles the black market. 

It’s all an act of course - the Covid Inc. board, all hand picked and implicitly trusted by Philza himself, has the day-to-day running of the company well in hand. Phil will need to occasionally sign off on some papers, but nothing earth-shattering will happen while he steps away. But Phil doesn’t want anyone knowing Wilbur or Techno’s true identity, so they’ve agreed to ‘step in’ and help out the family business, hiding away in their dads office each day while actually running their own investigations. Thanks to Charlie (loaned by an annoyed Upswing, who hadn’t expected his generosity to be revealed at the conference) and his shapeshifting, there were multiple photographs and videos of Wilbur and Techno meeting with Echo and Blood God, killing any rumors of them being villains alongside their father. 

Someone had pointed out that Blood God and Techno both had pink hair, and Wilbur had swooped in, claiming that Techno was a huge fan of the big BG, so much so that he tried to dye his hair the same color. He even made up a story about a young teen Technoblade being so enamored with the villain, he tried to sneak out with his father one night and meet him, only to fall partially off the roof and crack his head open, thus the scar across his nose. 

“But,” Wilbur had finished the story with a flourish, beaming at the few reporters who had cornered him on his way to the bakery, “he didn’t care, because Blood God is the one who caught him when he fell.” There was a mix of titters and ‘awws!’ from those gathered, but before he could continue embarrassing his twin, said twin was hauling him down the sidewalk by the back of his shirt. “Bye ladies!” Wil called as he was dragged, shooting the three women a wink until he was dragged through the door of Niki’s Bakery and Cafe. 

“You’re an idiot.” Techno grouses, dropping his grip and watching WIlbur flail to regain his balance.

“Yeah but I’m your idiot.” Wilbur flutters his eyelashes, before turning to the counter, ready to loudly greet his best friend and show off his stash of Phil photos. Niki is not at the counter.

“Order something or get out, bitch.” 

[bagelrites]

"We have a different kind of love (forever isn't far away)" by ThatOne Platypus

Dream/Sapnap, Dream & Sapnap, Rated G, 9k

Aroace Dream Moving in Together

"Bare Teeth, Whisper Leash" by b_heapoft

Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap, Dream & Punz, Rated M, 11k

Aroace Dream, Aro George, Aroace Punz, Demi/Grey Sapnap DreamSMP and Werewolves

"Collision Course" by Bagelrites

Dream/GeorgeNotFound, Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap, Rated T, 20k

Ace George Fake Dating

"Mer 'Mating'" by Baka_Monarch

Dream/Sapnap, Rated M, 1.5k

Ace Dream Mermaids

"De Somnio" by SenseWhatSense

Dream & Technoblade, Rated G, 2k

Aroace Techno, Ace Dream Historical AU

"the world and his goat" by evilO

Dream/GeorgeNotFound, Rated M, 1.5k

Ace Dream Magical Realism

"and today, you" by moonthreadzs

Dream & Sylvee, Dream/GeorgeNotFound, Rated T, 4k

Demi Dream Getting Together

"Mistaken Attraction" by BlueInkPhantom

Dream & DSMP Ensemble, Rated T, 10k

Aroace Dream (+more) DreamSMP and Self-Discovery

"cuteness aggression (something special)" by locked_prism

Dream/GeorgeNotFound/Sapnap, Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap, Rated T, 3k

DTeam QPR Slice of Life

"Tolerate It" by spicerat

Dream/GeorgeNotFound, Rated E, 5k

Demi George Self-Discovery and Getting Together

"Livewire" by aturtlesheart

GeorgeNotFound/Sapnap, Rated M, 17k

Ace Sapnap Getting Together

"now is not then" by Jupiter_sun

Dream/GeorgeNotFound, Rated M, 12k

Ace Dream Strangers to Lovers

"Okay Katniss" by WriterIntoTheWild

Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap, Sapnap & BadBoyHalo Rated T, 2k

DTeam QPR Realistic Minecraft AU

[purpleboytournament]

Round Two Polls

NOTE: Every poll is a completely randomized matchup.

Purble (Flight Rising) vs Preminger (Barbie Princess & The Pauper)

Vaati (Legend of Zelda) vs Skywarp (Transformers)

Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) vs Erin Ruunaser (Aurora)

Shaun Gilmore (Critical Role) vs Skeletor (He-Man)

Eridan Ampora (Homestuck) vs Chowder

Gen Asagiri (Dr. Stone) vs Lorenz Hellman Gloucester (Fire Emblem)

Me (Baba Is You) vs Tallest Purple (Invader ZiM)

Eduardo (Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends) vs Professor Plum (Clue)

Gerard (Monster Prom) vs Nelson (LEGO Ninjago)

Taako (Adventure Zone) vs Mayoi Ayase (Ensemble Stars!!)

Wally (Kikoriki) vs Shockwave (Transformers)

Hino Eiji/PuToTyra (Kamen Rider OOO) vs Liam de Lioncourt (Monster Prom)

Dionysus (Hades) vs Blinky (The Hatchetfield Universe)

Kars (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) vs Henchman (Cuphead)

Garry (Ib) vs Kanatsune Ame (Entropic Float)

Gengar (Pokemon) vs The Purple People Eater

Prowler (Into The Spider-Verse) vs King Amethar Rocks (Dimension 20’s A Crown of Candy)

Sebastian (Stardew Valley) vs Asgore (Undertale)

Henry (Fire Emblem: Awakening) vs Austin (Backyardigans)

Marx (Kirby) vs Xerxes Break (Pandora Hearts)

Lucifer/Hanzo Urushihara (Devil Is A Part Timer) vs Stacy/Stacaesar (Zenkaiger)

Cecil Gershwin Palmer (Welcome To Night Vale) vs Cyclonus (Transformers)

Aaravos (Dragon Prince) vs James (Pokemon)

Lewis Pepper (Mystery Skulls) vs Spyro

Mike Afton (Five Nights At Freddy's) vs Pocketcat (Fear & Hunger)

The Wizard (Stardew Valley) vs Purple (Animation vs Minecraft)

Chu Chu (Revolutionary Girl Utena) vs Waluigi (Mario)

Skull (Katekyo Hitman Reborn!) vs Damien Ramsey (Magical Diary)

Enderman (Minecraft) vs Frank "Doc" DuFresne (Red VS Blue)

Ravio (Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds) vs Sonic (One Punch Man)

Prince vs Star Platinum (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)

Shinsou Hitoshi (My Hero Academia) vs Therion (Octopath Traveler)

Akira Otoishi (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) vs Prince Kanata (Go Princess Precure)

Barney The Dinosaur (Barney And Friends) vs Prince Humperdinck (Princess Bride)

Adonis Otogari (Ensemble Stars!!) vs Parado (Kamen Rider EX-AID)

Espio the Chameleon (Sonic The Hedgehog) vs Nidoking (Pokemon)

Josuke Higashikata (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) vs Prince Humphrey (Harpy Gee)

Rui Kamishiro (Project Sekai) vs Odd Della Robbia (Code Lyoko)

Ai / Dark Ignis (Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains) vs Soundwave (Transformers)

Willy Wonka (Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory) vs Galvatron / Megatron (Transformers)

Neku Sakuraba (The World Ends With You) vs Essek Thelyss (Critical Role)

Darius Deamonne (The Owl House) vs Kurloz Makara (Homestuck)

MewTwo (Pokemon) vs Stan LaVey (Monster Prom)

High Geologist Shaggy (Tumblr) vs Chase (Kamen Rider Drive)

Purple Link / Vio (Legend of Zelda: Four Swords) vs Rick Shades (Epithet Erased)

Tinky Winky (Teletubbies) vs Purpled (DreamSMP)

Jiang Cheng (Mo Dao Zu Shi) vs Narancia Ghirga (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)

Mollymauk Tealeaf (Critical Role) vs Count von Count (Sesame Street)

[aelincreativ]

Art and Charts for my Fic

These are for my fanfic “The Adventures of Itty-Bitty Tommy”   https://archiveofourown.org/works/46018585/chapters/115838152

AIBT is a SBI Mer AU. Focused on Technoblade and Tommy but with other SBI as side characters and DreamSMP ensemble in the background. This fic is mostly fluff and my attempt to create a Mer AU that is not dark/possessive SBI. Realistic “Accidental Baby Acquisition” and Techno just trying to do his best. 

(Fell free to use these reference charts for your own Mer AU’s. I already did the hours of math, no reason for you to do it too.)

I also did the art, this is a very simplified version of their designs lol.

[ao3feed-crimeboys]

Round and Round We Go

by purpleavocado

One day, three people on the DreamSMP realize that they are stuck in a time loop. With nothing else to do except be bored for life, they decide to do what they do best. What is that? Fuck with everyone, of course.

AKA Wilby, Tomathy, and the homeless teletubby get trapped in a time loop and make it everyone else's problem.

Words: 770, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Dream SMP, Minecraft (Video Game)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: Gen

Characters: TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot, Dream SMP Ensemble

Relationships: Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit, Clay | Dream & Wilbur Soot, Clay | Dream & Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Fundy & Wilbur Soot

Additional Tags: Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Clay | Dream & TommyInnit Friendship (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream and TommyInnit are Like Siblings (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream Redemption (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot Redemption, TommyInnit-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot-centric, Musician Wilbur Soot, Older Sibling Wilbur Soot, Everyone is Scared of Tubbo, Technoblade is So Done (Video Blogging RPF), everyone is, Sapnap is So Done (Video Blogging RPF), i bully him a lot, sorry sapnap

[ra-bits]

Welcome! Here you can request Pokemon teams assigned for fictional characters.

Rules

Please do not remove our watermark from the graphics

Don't rush us, we prefer to take time to think about what is fitting for each character. That said, we also are allowed to not do a character if we don't want to.

Check Mod Info for lists of interests you can request for.

If you don't listen to the "Don't tag Kin/ID/Me" disclaimer we will block you immediately.

Mod Info

Mod Quilava - He/Him Interests - Ensemble Stars, YTTD, Genshin Impact, Fire Emblem, Omori, Project Sekai (WxS)

Mod Flaaffy - Any Pronouns Interests - Genshin Impact, Fate, Re:Zero, Honkai Impact (3rd & StarRail), MDZS, TGCF, SVSSS, Madoka Magica, Revue Starlight, Project Sekai

Mod Jolteon - He/They Interests - Genshin Impact, Persona (3/5), MDZS, TGCF, Kingdom Hearts, TWEWY, Warrior Cats

DNI

Regular DNI, Proshippers, Mspec Lesbians/Gays, Endogenic Systems, Terfs/Radfems, Fujoshis

We're uncomfortable with; South Park, Hazbin Hotel, Boyfriend to Death, MCYT (DreamSMP), Okegom

[gravel-rotat-e]

None of my friends would send me all the Empires skins so I decided to do DreamSMP instead

I stole the base image from Google

Edit: oh my gosh Connor I'm so sorry I got the wrong C name

[qtubpol]

DSMP LGBTQ+ identities headcanons!

Remember, these are the characters, not the ccs, and these are all my personal headcanons! Feel free to send asks if you wanna talk about them, though!

Not in alphabetical order, it’s literally just how I remembered fjfjdj (also, sorry for any missing people)

Antfrost: Gay, he/him

Alyssa: Biromantic demisexual, she/they (demigirl)

Sam: Gay, he/she/they (demigender)

HBomb: Demiromantic asexual, he/she (bigender)

CaptainPuffy: Bisexual, she/he (demigirl)

Nihachu: Bisexual, she/her

Eret: Bisexual, he/she/they (unlabeled)

Ranboo: Demiromantic asexual, any pronouns (genderqueer)

Tommy: Aroace, he/him (Trans FtM)

Technoblade: Aroace, he/him

Bad: Pansexual, he/him (unlabeled)

Ponk: Pansexual, he/she/they (unlabeled)

Philza: Demiromantic demisexual, he/him

Tubbo: Gay asexual, he/him (GNC)

Wilbur: Bisexual, he/him

Fundy: Demiromantic asexual, he/him (Trans FtM)

Punz: Aroace, he/they (demiboy)

Sapnap: Gay, polyamorous, he/him

Karl: Gay, polyamorous, he/him

Quackity: Bisexual, polyamorous, he/him (GNC)

Skeppy: Pansexual, he/him

Hannah: Biromantic demisexual, she/her

MichaelMcChill: Bisexual, he/him

George: Aroace, he/him

Foolish: Aroace, he/him

Purpled: Aroace, he/him

Slimecicle: Demiromantic demisexual, he/him

Dream: Demiromantic demisexual, he/him

DreamXD: Gay, he/him (unlabeled)

Connor: Aroace, he/him (Trans FtM)

Callahan: Demiromantic asexual, he/they (demiboy)

JSchlatt: Bisexual, he/him

JackManifold: Straight, he/him

[alouispo]

//derealization, death

Guys MYCTTWT is saying that it's a possibility Tommy's death was just a hallucination likes Ranboo's when he went to go to the prison. Supposedly obsidian makes you hallucinate (being around Dream makes it worse) and that the death message flashed, showing the death message for just a moment.

The same thing happened on Ranboo's lore stream.

Was that whole thing just Tommy hallucinating? But Sam told Jack who in turn told everyone about his death so they were all affected unlike Ranboos visit right? Well, Sam was under the influence of the Egg right? What if Sam is just spreading rumors about Tommy being dead so people won't get in its way anymore?

So that would mean that Dream would revive Tommy with the Revive Book, only for the both of them to stay in the cell together without anyone else knowing; not even Sam. That in turn, would force Tommy and Dream to end up working together to escape the prison so Tommy can go back to his friends and Dream would be free.

Unless Dream makes Tommy come back with him. So the entire server thinks Tommy is still dead, Dream somehow escaped, everyone is starting to turn on each other while still grieving and Sam is freaking out because he would be getting blamed for both Tommy's death, and Dream escaping.

If Tommy ever came back to his friends, they would just have to fight with Dream all over again, and he could use Techno to win said fight. Phil would most likely side with Techno and then the entire server is fighting again.

At this point, its just a repeat of the Exile Arc and Doomsday. I'm not sure that's a good thing.

guys please i cant take this, my heart cant handle the stress. /j

[artseigh]

broke: insulting techno w/ “eating bacon”

woke: pigs don’t fear god and will eat anything. also Shostakovich String Quartet no. 8 mvt 2 thanks

[wyrtt-au]

who all is going to be in wyrtt?

basically all of the dreamsmp ensemble will be there in various ways! I have a cast list (will be updated as the fic is written!

Main Characters:

Ranboo Beloved: Ice skater.

Tommy Innit: Ranboo’s Coach.

Tubbo Underscore: Family

Wilbur Soot: Tommy’s Family, Teacher.

Philza Minecraft: Ranboo’s Coach.

Techno Minecraft: Runs the Antarctic Empire Ice Skating Rink.

Dream Taken: Competitive Skater, Ranboo’s opposition.

Minor Characters:

George Notfound: Dream’s Coach.

Sapnap: Dream and George’s friend.

Jack Manifold: Skating Announcer

Charlie Slime: Skating Announcer

Niki Nihachu: Owns a Cafe

Fundy: Wilbur’s cat.

Michael: Tubbo and Ranboo’s kitten.

Henry: Tommy’s service dog.

Figure Skaters:

Eret, Karl Jacobs, Foolish Game, Quackity, Callahan, Skeppy, and Eryn:

And J. Schlatt who will not be physically present but will be mentioned.

[owlwithatypewriter]

Lay Bare Your Sins: Chapter 1

AO3 Link

CW: Violence, Blood, Character Death

Dream is dead.

There's a sword through his chest, through his heart, and blood pooling beneath his twitching body. The Blood God is kneeling beside him, hands wrapped around the haft of his blade, gazing down at the hero with his mouth drawn in a thin line. Nobody on the battlefield is moving - everyone is still, aside from the bobbing of the news drones as they record every heart-rending second.

Dream is dead.

The rest of the heroes are down, scattered about the pavilion, which has been torn asunder by their battle. Chairs - cheap white plastic, molded to look like more expensive wood - have been tipped over and thrown about, crushing flower beds and floating in the nearby duck pond. The neatly trimmed hedges have been burned and slashed, the carefully cultivated grass sod torn up to reveal the dark dirt beneath. The civilians who had come to watch the award ceremony linger on the streets, poking their heads from the alleys and storefronts, peering up at the large screen that takes up a good chunk of the Hero Tower's front side. It's showing what the news drones are seeing, no filter or blurring. Just the honest truth.

Dream is dead.

404 is down, unconscious, slumped against an upturned marble bench. His chest rises and falls, despite the blood dripping from his forehead, though the stream has slowed to a trickle that's dyed the collar of his blue uniform a deep navy. Flamethrower isn't far, lying where he was thrown in a hedgerow, the growth around him burnt black by his powers. Upswing is beside him, a gold-plated pistol (complete with an embossed poker chip) aimed at the hero's forehead. They're both staring at the screen - the villain with lips in a thin line, the hero with open shock.

The Captain is flat on her back near the dais, silver mask splintering where it had taken a hit from Warden's trident. Warden himself is still standing over her, trident to her chest, though both of them are staring at Blood God instead of each other. Halo is sitting in the fountain, unresisting to the watery chains Nemesis has wound around his chest and arms. Diamond is frozen at the edge of the fountain, twitching as he resists the urge to lunge forward and help his teammate, but all too aware of the scant time it would take the villain to drown the hero if he made a wrong move.

Statim, the hero healer (who shouldn't be here - who should be in the tower, waiting to patch them all up after a victorious battle), is being held at bay by the Angel of Death himself. A long sword - molded to look like a feather, if one looked close enough - is pointed at his neck, though not pressing forward. He's unable to approach the dais, to bring his hands to Dream's chest and stem the flow of blood, to repair the shredded heart muscle and keep it beating.

Dream is dead.

The Blood God kneels down, his hand still wrapped around the grip of his sword, and reaches for the white mask that is Dream's symbol, his identity. He wants to cry out, to stop the brute, but the arms around him tighten when he struggles, Echo's grip unyielding. Large, bloody fingers grasp the edges of the smooth porcelain, and with a simple flick of his wrist, the Blood God unmasks the number one hero of L'Manberg.

Dream is young - younger than he thought. His face is pale and freckled, brows drawn in agony above deep green eyes that are rapidly clouding. He gasps as the afternoon sun strikes his face, chest hitching around the blood-slicked blade. His gaze meets Blood Gods, and there is fear there, fear that Dream, the unbreakable, untouchable hero, is never supposed to feel.

"Checkmate, Clay Wastaken." The Blood God is almost whispering, but the silence that's taken hold of the battleground allows the words to reach all those watching. Shivers wrack spines, and even the news drones overhead seem to tremble as they take in the words. With a quick, decisive move, Blood God twists the sword, shredding Dream's heart. The hero gasps, blood bubbling through his lips, before going still.

Dream is dead. 

Someone is screaming, voice raw and high, panicked and devastated, and it's him, he's screaming, he's struggling against the iron arms wrapped around his chest, kicking and lashing out. He can feel his claws growing, sinking into the arms holding him fast, drawing blood, but Echo doesn't loosen his grip. Someone is speaking softly, repeating gentle words, but they flow over his mind like water over glass.

The others are beginning to move - to surrender. 404 is still unconscious, but Angel drops his blade and motions for Statim to check on him. The healer does so, ignoring the other villains as he moves to assist the unconscious man. Upswing holsters his weapon and grabs Flamethrower's arm, dragging him out of the hedge and making sure he's able to stand before releasing him. The hero says something, and Upswing answers with a soft voice and a nod. 

Warden steps away from the Captain and rights one of the folding chairs, motioning for her to have a seat when she's unable to stand. Statim, done with his examination of 404 (whose head wound is gone, the blood roughly wiped away from his cheeks), hurries over to examine her ankle, carefully sliding off her boot to reveal the swelling limb. Warden says something, and the Captain nods, agreeing. Nemesis has stepped back from the fountain, allowing Diamond to haul Halo to his feet, only to fall in himself. His gemmed skin makes a sound like windchimes as he clatters against the coins littering the bottom of the shallow pool, and Nemesis uses her power to push the water beneath him upright, helping him to stand. Diamond says something excitedly, and Halo snaps 'Language!' and helps him step out of the fountain.

Nobody is fighting.

Nobody is striking back.

He's stopped screaming, stopped fighting - he's staring, watching as the monsters he's fought so hard against alongside his mentor, alongside all the heroes, stand victorious. The heroes are disarmed - they don't fight, they don't protest. The Captain hands over her sword, Flamethrower accepts a power dampening cuff without flinching. Diamond and Halo stand beside Nemesis, staring at the dais, their arms wrapped around each other, completely ignoring the villainess and any chance they have to strike.

They're all silent. They're all staring.

Blood God stands, pulling his sword free from the cooling body of Dream. He wipes it off on a cloth tucked in his belt, then carefully sheathes it and steps away, off the raised bricks. The news drones drop closer, hovering silently over those gathered, shifting their gaze from the lonely dead to the gathered living. The giant screen shows them all, bruised and bloodied and aching and stunned, and slowly the civilians begin to cross the surrounding streets, pressing closer to the small park that had once been the safest gathering spot in the city.

Vigilantes emerge among them, from the alleys and rooftops and shadows. Redpaw stops by a lamppost, fox-mask glinting as he watches the tense dance between them all. Punz and Purpled stick closer to the shadows of the road, eyes sharp as they gather all the information they can. In contrast, Timewarp rushes into the space, nearly throwing himself at Flamethrower (and confirming months of gossip columns at the same time), hands fluttering as he checks over the hero, who merely slumps against him tiredly at the concern. Aristaeus and Lethe are not far behind, though they didn't enter the pavilion proper, staying behind the cover afforded by the intact hedges and flower bushes. There are others - Rosethorn and Royal and Totem and Frostpaw - but they linger near the civilians, out of sight of the news drones.

Then the civilians part, and a man strides forward. Short, husky, with thick mutton chops and horns curling over his dark hair. He walks with the air of one who owns the ground beneath his feet, and in this instance, he does. President Schlatt strides across the torn-up sod and into the pavilion, his eyes still stuck to the giant screen where only ten or so moments beforehand, Dream's fate had been sealed. Fights never took as long as the news made them seen - battles between villains and heroes were rarely longer than five or ten minutes, depending on how many civilians (if any) were involved. 

Beating the heroes and killing Dream had taken seven minutes.

And now Dream is dead.

Schlatt stops a few yards from Angel and Blood God and glances at the news drones hovering above, then pulls out his phone. A few taps on the screen and the drones vanish into the buildings, heading back to the news channels they serve. Police officers, who had been on the standard standby during the battle, appear, radios crackling as they usher back the roaming civilians (though they avoid the vigilantes, some who stay, and some who have vanished now that the bloodshed is over). In a short time, a bubble of privacy has encompassed the park.

"Angel." The president inclines his head, taking a few steps closer. The Angel of Death folds his black wings up against his back, his sword sheathed, and nods back.

"President Schlatt." He pauses and a flicker of a frown crosses his lips. "I am sorry we could not personally deliver the news before this event began."

Schlatt glances at the screen, which has now grown dark, and shakes his head. "I understand the urgency." He grunts, not sounding pleased but not nearly as pissed as he should.

Schlatt is the president of the country, and he just watched their strongest hero be struck down without mercy by the villains the Hero Commision has been fighting against for a decade. Why isn't he raging? Why isn't he afraid?"

"Echo, is the kid okay?" Blood God breezes past Angel, who has pulled out his own phone and is showing something to Schlatt. The others have begun to gather behind their respective leaders - heroes on one side, villains on the other, vigilantes hovering about the edge. Except for Flamethrower, Upswing, and Timewarp, who had somehow ended up holding each other's hands as they stand between the two groups. listening intently as something is outlined - something about the Hero Commission, something about labs, something about more videos and evidence that wasn't shown when the awards ceremony was interrupted twenty minutes before. Blood God ignores all of it as he approaches.

He's just standing numb in Echo's arms, eyes drifting over the others only to return to the corpse on the dias as soon as he realizes his gaze has strayed. Nobody else is looking at Dream - they're throwing glances towards the body, but nobody is approaching him, nobody is urging Statim to go check, to try and heal him. It's as though they don't care that the number one hero of L'Manburg is dead. That Dream is dead.

That his mentor, his teacher, his best friend, is dead.

Echo jostles his arms a bit, trying to get his attention. "Phoenix?"

Well, he cares. He cares so much it hurts, his insides twisting and burning, his mind screaming out in agony as his flock leader lies dead. His talons grow, shredding through his gloves, and he digs them into Echo's arm, piercing his trench coat and drawing blood. The villain yelps but doesn't let him go, not until the wings emerge and throw him back.

"Wi-" Blood God doesn't say much more than that before he's being swiped by the same claws, barely dodging them. He flexes his wings, the red and gold feathers smoldering at the ends, and glances at the others, who have all frozen as his display. 

"Phoenix," Flamethrower has let go of the others and has his hands raised. "Hey, take a deep breath, everything is okay now." He says. "To-"

The fireball hits him in the chest, sending him flying back, and he seethes. Flamethrower was Dream's best friend, the only one who had ever seen under his mask (aside from 404), and he wasn't even upset! He was clinging onto a villain and a vigilante instead of mourning like a proper person would. His rage gathers into his palms, sparking into tightly-condensed balls of blue and white flames, but before he can take aim the Angel is there, spreading his wings wide, putting himself in front of all the others.

"Mate," the man says, eyes glinting behind the dark veil he wears to hide his face, "I know you're upset, but we're done fighting for today." He goes to say more, Schlatt at his side, nodding, accepting this villain as a replacement for Dream, but the fire in his palms is burning hot, dripping to the brick and melting it beneath him. 

Dream is dead and it's too much.

He takes off before any of them can react, dropping the flames to the stones and shooting into the sky, leaving a trail of fire behind. Several of them yell, and he can hear Angel's feathers ruffling and the mechanical contraption on Aristaeus whirring, but none of them are as fast as he is. None of them can outpace a phoenix. He gets away, leaving the park far below, far behind, and he doesn't stop until he's in the outer districts, among the collapsing warehouses and collapsing tenement buildings. 

He collapses on a roof and pulls off his mask, throwing it aside as he sobs, burying his face in his hands. Dream is dead and the heroes have given up. Schlatt has accepted the villains as the winners. The city has been lost. 

And Tommy is alone.

Spare a like or reblog if you enjoyed! I'm excited for this fic.

[limelocked]

okay so listen we can all agree that dreamsmp is a soap opera at this point, both tubbo and wilbur have likened it to one and like... melodrama, sentimentality, ensemble casts... its a soap opera

however did you know that back in the 50s the shows got the name soap opera for being sponsored by soap companies? yeah and now this soap is being sponsored by twitch prime or the subscribe button-

look man what im saying is that dsmp is a subs drama

[purpleboytournament]

Round One Polls

Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) vs William Afton (Five Nights At Freddy's)

Waluigi (Mario) vs Grimace (McDonalds)

Spyro vs Jeff Wiggles (The Wiggles)

Spike (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic) vs James (Pokemon)

Willy Wonka (Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory) vs Slam Tasmanian (Loonatics Unleashed)

Professor Plum (Clue) vs Adam West's Batman (Batman)

Purple Crewmate (Among Us) vs Prince

Tinky Winky (Teletubbies) vs Thanos (Marvel)

Ultra Lord (Jimmy Neutron) vs Barney The Dinosaur (Barney And Friends)

Cheshire Cat (Alice In Wonderland) vs Skeletor (He-Man)

MewTwo (Pokemon) vs Hawkeye (Marvel)

Chowder (Chowder) vs Zumbah (Boobah)

Count von Count (Sesame Street) vs Ferb (Phineas & Ferb)

Cecil Gershwin Palmer (Welcome To Night Vale) vs Randall (Monsters Inc)

Bob (Animal Crossing) vs Purple Link (Legend of Zelda: Four Swords)

Kokichi Oma (Danganronpa) vs Espio the Chameleon (Sonic The Hedgehog)

Souma Kanzaki (Ensemble Stars!!) vs Stan LaVey (Monster Prom)

High Geologist Shaggy (Tumblr) vs Darkwing Duck (Darkwing Duck)

Ichimatsu Matsuno (Osomatsu) vs Gengar (Pokemon)

Beerus (Dragon Ball) vs Austin (Backyardigans)

Darius Deamonne (The Owl House) vs Lotor (Voltron Legendary Defender)

Nagihiko Fujisaki (Shugo Chara) vs King Amethar Rocks (Dimension 20’s A Crown of Candy)

Stacy/Stacaesar (Zenkaiger) vs Kafei (Legend of Zelda)

Virgil Sanders (Sanders Sides) vs Purpled (DreamSMP)

Jason Grace (Heroes of Olympus) vs Gerard (Monster Prom)

Repliku (Kingdom Hearts) vs Aaravos (Dragon Prince)

Purple Yam Cookie (Cookie Run) vs Eduardo (Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends)

Baraggan Louisenbairn (Bleach) vs Nidoking (Pokemon)

Gen Asagiri (Dr. Stone) vs Purple Pieman (Strawberry Shortcake)

Essek Thelyss (Critical Role) vs Ryuga “Shark” Kamishiro (YuGiOh Zexal)

Gentoku Himuro (Kamen Rider Build) vs Dionysus (Hades)

Frank "Doc" DuFresne (Red VS Blue) vs Fujitora (One Piece)

Mike Afton (Five Nights At Freddy's) vs Kaito Momota (Danganronpa)

Weyoun (Star Trek Deep Space 9) vs Shockwave (Transformers)

Lelouch Vi Britannia (Code Geass) vs Enderman (Minecraft)

Big The Cat (Sonic) vs Cyclonus (Transformers)

Marx (Kirby) vs Ramattra (Overwatch)

Kurloz Makara (Homestuck) vs Kratos (Tales Of Symphonia)

Shinsou Hitoshi (My Hero Academia) vs Marv (Going Under)

Tallest Purple (Invader ZiM) vs Leone Abbacchio (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)

Liam de Lioncourt (Monster Prom) vs Kamui Gakupo (Vocaloid)

Mayoi Ayase (Ensemble Stars!!) vs Genya Shinazugawa (Demon Slayer)

Alois Trancy (Black Butler) vs Lucifer/Hanzo Urushihara (Devil Is A Part Timer)

Rick Shades (Epithet Erased) vs Evillustrator (Miraculous Ladybug)

Frank Zhang (Heroes of Olympus) vs Taako (Adventure Zone)

Therion (Octopath Traveler) vs Yuri Leclerc (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Shinobu Sengoku (Ensemble Stars!!) vs Neku Sakuraba (The World Ends With You)

Henry (Fire Emblem: Awakening) vs Klug (Puyo)

Juan The Small Magical Latino Cat (Monster Prom) vs Ravio (Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds)

Louie the Lilac (Batman 66) vs Prince Kanata (Go Princess Precure)

Epel Felmier (Twisted Wonderland) vs Adonis Otogari (Ensemble Stars!!)

Chase (Kamen Rider Drive) vs Trunks (Dragon Ball Z)

Rosho Tsutsujimori (Hypnosis Microphone) vs Rui Kamishiro (Project Sekai)

Galvatron / Megatron (Transformers) vs Orphaner Dualscar (Homestuck)

Tedd Verres (El Goonish Shive) vs Lewis Pepper (Mystery Skulls)

Preminger (Barbie Princess & The Pauper) vs Mason 'Siris' Wu (Red VS Blue)

5 (BFB/XFOHV) vs Jiang Cheng (Mo Dao Zu Shi)

Kumon Hyodo (A3! Act! Addict! Actors!) vs Purple (Animation vs Minecraft)

Chu Chu (Revolutionary Girl Utena) vs Goliath (Gargoyles)

Star Platinum (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) vs Caius Ballad (Final Fantasy)

Wakiya Murasaki (Beyblade Burst) vs Henchman (Cuphead)

Narancia Ghirga (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) vs Reo Mikage (Blue Lock)

The Arcanist (Flight Rising) vs Hino Eiji/PuToTyra (Kamen Rider OOO)

Face (Nick Jr.) vs Prince Humphrey (Harpy Gee)

Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios (Star Wars Rebels) vs Kars (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)

Prince John (purple outfit edition) (Adventures Of Robin Hood 1938) vs Prince Humperdinck (purple outfit edition) (Princess Bride)

Cooler (Dragon Ball Z) vs Skull (Katekyo Hitman Reborn!)

Dabi (My Hero Academia) vs Skywarp (Transformers)

Ryuutaros (Kamen Rider Den-O) vs Sebastian (Stardew Valley)

Odd Della Robbia (Code Lyoko) vs Aroma (Go Princess Precure)

Erin Ruunaser (Aurora) vs Endrance (.hack//G.U.)

Xerxes Break (Pandora Hearts) vs Mr. Kat (Kid vs Kat)

Bonnie (Five Nights At Freddy's) vs The Purple People Eater

Hawkmoth (Miraculous Ladybug) vs Lorenz Hellman Gloucester (Fire Emblem)

Sonic (One Punch Man) vs Atsushi Murasakibara (Kuroko no Basuke)

Eridan Ampora (Homestuck) vs Juandissimo (Fairly OddParents!)

Fear (Inside Out) vs Akira Otoishi (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)

Emperor Zurg (Buzz Lightyear) vs Soundwave (Transformers)

Gamzee Makara (Homestuck) vs Shaun Gilmore (Critical Role)

King Dice (Cuphead) vs Prowler (Into The Spider-Verse)

Asgore (Undertale) vs Miguel Barragan/Bunker (DC Comics)

Mollymauk Tealeaf (Critical Role) vs Oswald Cobblepot (Gotham)

Josuke Higashikata (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) vs Tarantulas (Beast Wars)

Shuu Tsukiyama (Tokyo Ghoul) vs Nelson (LEGO Ninjago)

Parado (Kamen Rider EX-AID) vs Cyno (Genshin Impact)

Vaati (Legend of Zelda) vs Mafuyu Asahina (Project Sekai)

Ai / Dark Ignis (Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains) vs Huntsman (Lego Monkie Kid)

Kirune (Cevio) vs The Wizard (Stardew Valley)

Yesod (Lobotomy Corporation) vs Blinky (The Hatchetfield Universe)

Pocketcat (Fear & Hunger) vs Professor Purple (Gloomverse)

Garry (Ib) vs Sara Toujou (Confession Executive Committee)

Ongo (Jelly Jamm) vs Damien Ramsey (Magical Diary)

Me (Baba Is You) vs Luntik (Luntik)

Purble (Flight Rising) vs Chiko (Kikoriki)

Kanatsune Ame (Entropic Float) vs Penn Guindel (Dreaming Mary)

Cockroach Boy (Nekra Psaria) vs Wally (Kikoriki)

[darealsaltysam]

dream smp but as a starkid muscial cast

 Going off my last post, I decided to put together a dream Starkid cast for a DreamSMP musical if there ever were to be one. Let's say the musical is based on Arc 1, since back then the characters were a lot more one-dimensional and it's a lot easier to match into a standard length Starkid musical. Without any wafflin, here's the best cast and no you can't disagree with me /j;

Dream – Curt Mega – I have no explanation for this, I just think he could pull him off pretty well? Curt is really good if you give him a lead, I mean look at SAF. Let my boy have a lead, Starkid. I'm gonna riot if you don't.

Tommy – Kendall Nicole Yakshe – Kendall is the only actor around Tommy's age in Starkid, so she could probably pull off the “childish but mature at the same time” look the best? Her acting for Hannah was brilliant during all the emotional scenes, so I'm sure she could handle it.

Tubbo – Lauren Lopez – I know someone replied to my Joey Richter post with this as a joke but like.... IT WORKS. Craphole and Tubbo have parallel energies. Let Lauren play a little boy again. That's where her true potential comes out. /j

Fundy – Angela Giarratana – Angela already has the experience of playing teenagers with issues with their parents by playing Lex, so she is perfect for Fundy. That is all. My entire logic. Don't @me, some of these were harder to pick out than others-

Wilbur Soot – Robert Manion – Robert + Insane characters brings out the best in him, let him go bat shit insane as the British JD kinnie.

Jschlatt – Joey Richter – Parallel vibes. That's it. Joey plays the best villains and we need a good actor for the best villain of the server (don't even @me about this I'm a schlannie)

Nihachu – Mariah Rose Faith – If Niki were in a musical she would 100% get a cool, low-key sad girl-power type solo. Mariah is your girl for that. My references? 1. mean girls and 2. “not your seed”. No further comments necessary.

Quackity – Denise Donovan – Need a dumb love interest that slowly develops as a character? Denise is your girl for that. I'm thinking a sort of character like Febuary from Starship, but a bit more serious as the plot progresses.

Technoblade – Joe Walker – It was either this of Jeff Blim. Just let me have this one-

Philza – Dylan Saunders – DAD VIBES DAD VIBES DAD VIBES. Dylan is like... The perfect Phil. Literally ideal. Give him a sad solo about having to kill his son because of the government and my man will SLAY that shit.

GeorgeNotFound – Jon Matteson - “ best at playing local confused man” award went to Jon after Paul in TGWDLM, now he's coming back as Gogy. He would be perfect for this role.

Sapnap – Corey Dorris – Y'all remember Me and My Dick? Yes, it wasn't a serious musical, but if you tell me Corey can't pull off a menacing low-key insane villain based on that and his thing in the very potter musicals, you are wrong. Corey needs to play villains more, that is that.

BadBoyHalo – Jaime Lyn Beatty – Just... Wholesome. Jaime can get across the “he a little confused but he got the spirit” energy of Bad perfectly.

Punz – Brian Holden – If there's one man who's a professional at playing side-kicks/secondary villains, Brian is your man. Think Junior from Starship but with a lot more obedience and a whole lot less daddy issues.

Skeppy – Meredith Stepien – If there's anyone who can match Jaime's energy as an equally chaotic, a bit more crazy and wholesome friend, that's Meredith. I'm not super sure why, I just get the feeling these two would pull of Skeppy's and Bad's friendship perfectly.

Eret – Brian Rosenthal – I'm not really sure about this one either, but if there was one person I'd have to nominate who could pull of the energy of the bicon that is Eret, it's this guy. Like... have you seen A Very Potter Musical.... Just... Quirrell. But a bit less timid and more low-key intimidating.

Everyone else not mentioned would be ensemble/back-up dancers played by anyone who isn't on stage, since we all know how much Starkids love having 10 roles at once for every musical they put on.

And trust me, I REALLY wanted to give Jeff Blim a role but even with how bat shit crazy this minecraft roleplay gets sometimes NO ONE can match that man's energy. He's just gonna have to stick to back up vocals I guess-