Like sometimes one of the most obvious clues of a person’s character is who their friends and enemies are. C!Dream’s enemy wasn’t the anarchist trying to free people from oppression and the corruptive power of government, it was the power hungry. The elected dictators, wardens, and presidents forming nations and countries so they could be on top. The same people who are c!Techno’s biggest enemies… it’s just kinda interesting how c!Techno even went after c!George because he was a king and yet didn’t really see c!Dream as an authority needing to be taken down…

Available for download here! (Java only)

The world was generated in version 1.16 snapshot 20w17a, which is the version the DSMP was originally started in. The bunker/vault area is built in the exact same location as the original (checked with VODs), at coordinates -240, 80, 3305. The elevator is actually functional too! The world is compatible with Minecraft Java version 1.20+.

Some notes and more info below the cut:

and then I watched a bunch of random s1 vods back and. realised. he never changed. he's always been like that; obsessive for control, laser-focused and brutal in his approach, weirdly obsessed with c!Tommy. seen in stuff like: him naming Tommy (the deputy) before Wilbur (the leader of the revolution) in the 'white flags' video, his willingness to take it further than any has before as in the brutality of the final control room, the constant stalking of c!Tommy pre-and-during og L'Manberg (hiding in the walls), his demands pre-L'Manberg era and arbitrary rules on what people could and couldn't have (Tubbo's villager farm, Tommy's netherite chest plate in the disc war), these chat messages sent only an hour or so after the end of the first disc war:

these messages are what made it click - the similarity to "I'll kill you and revive you again and kill you and revive you again and kill you and revive you again" was too great. nothing about c!Dream's mindset changed: it was always about power and control, and keeping a tight grip on it. so what changed?

the situation. at the start of s2, c!Wilbur's gone, L'Manberg as a faction is very precarious and unstable, the rest of the server is still trying to work out its place after the rise of the Badlands, Eret being dethroned, Schlatt's death, etc, etc. previously, c!Dream's level of control was restricted by L'Manberg/the structures of power that were meant to protect people (from him). with their breakdown, he no longer need play the puppetmaster - coming out of the shadows to publicly attack L'Manberg, instead of secretly destabilising all sides. additionally, with c!Wilbur gone, c!Tommy's main protector is eliminated, and c!Tubbo's position of power meant c!Dream could easily force him to choose between L'Manberg and Tommy, and c!Dream knew which way he'd swing since he'd watched him work for Manberg for the greater good for so long.

Color contrast has never been better! I'm a fucking sucker for glow and for that reason this is a favorite

The background game was something else and has improved significantly from past animatics and just ups the immersion!

MELLOHI

The fight scenes yooo

The elevator being faster than in canon lmao

Eret was on the goodbye path crownless but showed up with it on; I'm sure that means something about her relationship with power

Q's distance face is his trademark smiley

Sam wears a gas mask this time

Dream's strings are also web-like

This is the first time Sad-ist emphasized the green of Dream's eyes!

Dream's use of his mask throughout the animatic demonstrating his willingness to be vulnerable huh

THE HALL OF ATTACHMENTS

Drista design! She gifts the shulkers!

Dogchamp and Enderchest!

Technoblade and the Axe of Peace! F U C K

(speaking of which, when and how would it have gotten on the wall—my memory concerning it was spotty someone please remind me)

MARS AND BECKERSON

Skeppy cage too far to be seen sadge

Dream asserting his control like the freak he is let's go

CLINGY DUO HHHHHHHHHHH

"Step away from them," got in THANK YOU

Punz's banger line being said with a smug smile

Ranboo walked in with a fairly distressed expression—man's Enderwalking too

BBH is just void huh

Puffy's expression when she walked in pains me F U C K

Emphasis on "Tommy, we were friends!" line is interesting

The framing of Dream, finally backed into a corner, and yet obscuring the light

The people surrounding Tommy suddenly becoming silhouettes from a Dream-centric viewpoint is telling as well

White means death with Sad-ist huh

Ghost Wilbur yooo, and the line breaks and swirly lines and static eyes—he's reminiscent of his pre-button press Dawn of 16th look

We don't see the arrest but we see the aftermath of the success! I wonder why they chose to obscure Tommy's choice to spare Dream's life, or the explicit mention of the revival book at all

Mitski, First Love / Late Spring <> 39:35, Dream SMP Finale Stream

tubbo casually accepting death.

ranboo using the slippery slope fallacy to convince himself he’s a bad person, jumping to conclusions like many anxious and/or depressed individuals do.

ponk taunting dream during the disc finale.

tommy making dream put his things in a hole. (this gives me chills every time)

tommy saying “dream, kill me” mockingly, versus wilbur’s plea to philza.

“hello, minutes man.” --tubbo, to ranboo during the disc confrontation.

techno giving phil the totem during doomsday because he can’t lose him.

tommy saying he’ll kill dream until he’s dead, similar to the prison contract.

tommy smoothly lying to dream to make him come down during the disc confrontation, manipulating him by saying he would kermit sewer slide and that he had something to say to him.

tommy planning to use the axe of peace to finally kill dream.

dream tripping over himself to explain the revival book during the disc confrontation.