#dreblr

I appreciate your breakdown!! I think it’s so cool when people are invested in characters and yes I do majorly agree with what you’re saying. I especially agree with the fact that all Dream ever wanted was to be loved just once! The way how I see it is that love and fear operate on different character depth “levels”, so my initial post wasn’t necessarily trying to disagree with you (though the additions by you were very necessary!). I think a character’s relationship with love, particularly how they love other people and how they want to be loved is every character’s core motivation in some way (bold theory but I define love very abstractly), whereas Dream’s motivator as fear is rather something that focuses on his behaviour and how his motivation of being loved crystallises in his choices.

I think fear has different aspects to it- I personally analyse Dream rather in an attempt to build a chart I have been constructing for quite some time to understand both people and characters better in general, so when I say fear there’s more involved in it than just fear as an emotion (I understand that’s confusing though and I apologise if that makes it feel like I’m not discussing this seriously I am unfamiliar with fandom discourse)

To me fear is reductive, in contrast to joy which is productive, and I don’t mean this in a judging sense, I mean it literally as in fear re-duces (lead back) vs pro-duce (lead forward). I am not sure but I think Tommy is a joy-based character, as in, his core motivation relating to his love (for a place he can call home, for an identity that isn’t controlled by other people and can grow on its own) makes him productive, he uses his knowledge, his strength and resources to keep pushing for what he wants. Dream on the other hand is reductive, because instead of trying to obtain new things, he’s focusing on cutting his losses. He is arrogant and he has a tendency to underestimate people, but I would say that fear isn’t based in rationality. It’s something that runs deeper, it’s the fundamental conviction that what is in his control he does not have to be scared of anymore, instead of letting go the idea of control in the first place.

Sorry that this ended up way longer and more about something completely different than Dream and I understand if you don’t want to reply to this in your blog (or at all, I’m free to discuss this in direct messages as well!) but I get really happy when people actually interact with my takes and I wanted to say something in return to add to the conversation.

[context]

Hello @somnophobical , sorry for my delayed responses been busy at work and brain dead after.

You make a lot of interesting points and I’m not gonna address them all because as you said your perception might be more abstract and I’m not even sure I fully understand the levels aspect, so it’s not like I can disagree with that point.

What I will say is that to say every character’s motivation is love isn’t quite accurate. Sure I think we as human beings on some level do want that, but that isn’t everyone’s soul motivation nor main motivation therefore it can’t always be used to analyze a character’s behavior. Plus, even if that is their underlying motive there is trauma, beliefs, outside influences and such that can get in the way. A strong sense of justice and self sacrifice for example can overcome a character’s desire for love. Perhaps that is what you mean tho, that everyone wants to be love but not everyone’s actions are driven by that desire…

Anyways, and it’s totally okay to view fear differently. I agree I think it is more than an emotion because it can always be a mindset, one that can consciously or subconsciously dictate actions. And strong fear, beyond just phobias, often comes from experience and then forms into a survival response.

Like you said fear is moving backwards. In the sense, often letting the past dictate your future by wanting to avoid what has already happened, which can look like trying to change the past/regain what’s lost or can look like protecting oneself from that repeated threat. And ironically, unhealthy amounts of fear can often have the effect of self fulfillment and backfiring, which we see happen to Dream and like Darth Vadar for example who feared Padme dying and then caused her death. Fear is so corruptive in that sense or I suppose as you said reductive.

I’ll stray from talking about Tommy because well that is a rabbit hole for another time. When it comes to Dream though, I think it’s unfair to say his fear isn’t based in rationality. Because so much of it is based on past experience. What I think more so happened is that his fear grew to control him.

The thing about control is that he didn’t always try to control people. Sure he led people but that’s isn’t the same thing. A lot of the instances when he starts to take control are when he or others have gotten hurt. And it’s not like he can just let go on control to fix that situation. If a house is burning down firefighters take control of the fire by putting it out (whether or not Dream is successful in that is debatable but the point being that he stepped in when he felt he needed to).

One example of him not taking control is L’manberg and their elections. He doesn’t get involved and lets it happen. But look how that turned out. Then he gets involved by helping Tommy and Techmo get resources to take down the tyrant that was elected who was hurting others. Even then he tried to minimize his involvement as much as possible. That isn’t taking control. Like I’m not gonna say that he doesn’t take control in circumstances but I think it’s important to point out that control is his response to conflict not his default. Which is a common response to fear. The problem is when it becomes unhealthy and like you said he is so focusing on losing (his life, his friends…etc) he neglects gaining. Too focused on the house on fire than letting go and building a new one. But then again that’s easier said than done…

Techno braiding Dream’s hair? Or them having a tea party?

I know I'm late but - FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS (TARDÍO) SUEÑOOo hope you had a good one :D 💚🎉

also extra drawing i made on the actual day of below cut lol

1.7k words, complete

Was it worth it?

Of course, it was.

It had to be.

The prison. The hunger. The interrogations. The hatred waiting for him beyond the walls. All of it was worth enduring if the rest of the server remained united. They had stood together to put him here – people who had once fought bitterly, people who had destroyed one another’s homes and countries and lives. For one moment, they had all looked in the same direction – at him. Dream had given them a single enemy, and they had become a single people.

It was working. It had to be working. He wasn’t quite sure what he would do if it wasn’t.