#personal hc that the egg is never present in Punz lore again after dream escapes because they literally went 'omg dream's back🥰🥰'

[bubble-popping]

In case anyone was wondering, my c!Punz hc's are about as unhinged as they come. Like, him being a wolf hybrid is intrinsically linked with his sense of self and direction in life. My hc backstory for them is quite fucked up but mostly it provides the reasoning why he jumps at this immediately defensive and protective role for c!Dream and why he's so adamant to stick by his side.

(gist of their backstory in pretty much every dsmp au I have unless otherwise stated is that after running away from home they're picked up by a man he only ever knows as his Handler who trains them and puts them in hybrid fighting rings. He's rescued by c!bbh who raises them alongside c!Sapnap and Dream on the MunchyMC server. they start mercenary work pretty early, so there's some distance between them and the rest of the og8 at the start of the dsmp but they never forget their true loyalties.)

Taking orders is all they know. It's the constant they can count on, and they need it like they need air. He can't handle not having direction. He's whoever people need him to be, so they mostly maintain a stoicism. (overt emotion has only ever gotten them hurt)

When Dream says he needs someone to count on, they almost don't ask for the money. Dream insists, says the partnership needs to look as business casual as possible.

But he can't help some of his hybrid tendencies. They can't help rushing to defend him even when the threat is gone. He can't help the overwhelming urge to open his jaws and clamp them down on anyone that dares turn a blade against him. It takes so much to hold back during the staged finale. They have to close their eyes and turn away. (or else everyone would see them change to a bloodthirsty red)

It's why, as heart-wrenching at it is, they're able to sit and wait for Dream to return without visiting and blowing the cover. It's why the whispers of the Egg don't take long to convince them.

But in the end Dream was always who he was devoted to. The Egg didn't pat his head and praise him for a job well done. Everything it promised was nothing compared to what they could have with Dream. The Egg didn't provide the direct orders he needed.