#nduos

Concrete and rebar 🏗️+ +

Dream and Sapnap have been friends since before they were teenagers. Which means that they've known each other —and been playing Minecraft together— for longer than they haven't (or just about). Not only that, but they knew each other through the very important and formative years where you learn to be a person outside of your immediate family.

All that to say, there is something foundational about the Dreamnap relationship and bond to each individual person.

This applies to their game dynamics as well. They were learning to play Minecraft at the same time, doing the same games, and literally did it together. To use a metaphor, if they were houses, their foundations would have been built at the same time, with the same materials. The upper floors might be different, they might decorate differently, but at the end of the day, they started in the same place. If working together is switching houses, then they have that touchstone of the foundations to rely on, even when the rest of the place looks different.

They have that similar initial thought process, but with different execution. While they might not know exactly what the other will be doing, they're pretty good at guessing the shape of it. Both their years of friendship and their ability to read each other equals a type of baseline trust. Unless there's an external factor —and sometimes even when there is one— they're going to have that loyalty. Teaming up is easy, and something they know makes them both stronger.

Hiding under his cloak

(there are parts to this one, stay with me)

1: There are a lot of moments where Sapnap will act like a little kid who was allowed to hang out with the older, cooler kids. They may be adults, peers, and business partners now, but he very much was that younger kid with a bunch of older friends. It's his 'youngest in the friend group'-isms

2: Sapnap is more polite/shy/quiet in real life, and often does or says things that point to either and insecurity in his skills, or a need to impress. Dream is his more confident go-getter best friend who is always willing to lend a hand, help out, and offer encouragement. Dream is a guy who just sits down and gets things done

3: Dream is Sapnap's Minecraft guy.

This plays into the whole established team dynamics that they already have in the dteam, with Dream as the forever leader, but it differs from the Dream+George dynamic in the way that Sapnap seems to prefer sticking close. (Hence, hiding under his cloak)

Often, when Sapnap is teamed with Dream, he becomes the smallest, littlest guy ever. He becomes unable to do basic speedrunning tasks, is scared of everything, and doesn't want to be alone. He'll defer even more to Dream, letting him take responsibility and having him make decisions Sap would usually make himself. He does this as well with George and Bad, but it's nowhere near as noticeable. He will wait for Dream to make the first move, it's not that Sapnap has to play second or back Dream up, it's that he wants to.

A lot of it is a type of hero worship. Dream's the man with the plan, he's the guy who figures things out, gets out of impossible situations, knows what he's doing. He's confident and self assured. Both in and out of game, Dream has played that role in Sapnap's life, and it definitely affects his perception of the other. Interjection from my mind: I think there's a 'I wanna be just like you when I grow up' admiration in there. I can't shake the feeling that in a small part of Sapnap's brain he wants to be Dream, or at least, like him.

And Dream loves to be that guy. He's full of love, and is very large in personality and presence. As a natural leader, he wants to be the one stepping forward and breaking new ground, and he doesn't want to be alone. One of the most meaningful things Sapnap ever said to him (per Dream's own words) was that he'd follow him anywhere.

One of the words that comes up time and time again when talking about Sapnap, and especially Dreamnap is loyalty, and for good reason. He's there and there and there for Dream. Publicly yes, but more importantly, privately and personally, in ways that the audience will never know and that Sapnap might never know. He is that rock, that stability for Dream, someone he can always count on to be there.

Sapnap is also extremely accommodating. He's like this with everyone, but as Dream's self-appointed second he's willing to commit to Dream on a different level (see: moving to Florida on extremely short notice to support and help Dream during swattings). To feed into the cloak metaphor, there's a lack of jealousy and willingness to support others in the spotlight. Obviously, all the Dream Team do this, but as the statistically least popular, Sapnap has the most to overcome in doing it. Also, Dream is ambitious, cocky, a show off, an asshole, loud, annoying and a thousand other things/reasons that people hate him for having gotten popular so quickly, and Sapnap can't escape being compared to/associated with Dream during the good times AND the bad. He's not being overshadowed, he's hanging out in the shade, you get me?

Interjection from my mind: they have a kind of older-younger brother thing going on, but if I was to make that a section it would just be the entire post

Razzle Dazzle ✨

Dream is Sapnap's Minecraft guy, as we've previously established (he's also a few other 'guy's to Sap, like youtube). With the stated above, it's clear that he finds those skills impressive and cool. It's not like it's out of nowhere, we all know that Dream is extremely good at what he does, and within the formats that he tends towards, he'll set himself up to be impressive and to show off. And Sapnap just happens to be one of his biggest fans and staunchest supporters.

He almost can't stop himself from complimenting/cheering for/siding with Dream, even when they're on opposing sides. I haven't done a count on it, but I am willing to bet that the person that compliments Dream the most during manhunts and related competitive videos is Sapnap. Made especially noticeable when no one else says anything. it's so unprompted sometimes.

Sapnap will go to Dream for reassurance and will try to look cool in front of him/impress him, and gets so proud of himself when he manages it. He values his opinion and his advice, and is actually willing to listen to him without major push back.

It works out well though, because Dream is SO proud of his friends, and especially Sapnap. I think he has great admiration for the ways Sapnap and Sapnap's play style differs from him/his own. Real Sapnap too btw, and not the public facing persona. They like that they're different people.

Sapnap is pretty much the only person that Dream sees as a legitimate threat in minecraft, kind of regardless of practice and gear compared to the other hunters. Sap's an actual gamer ™ of course, which contributes to Dream's high regard for his technical skills, reaction time, etc. Dream's not willing to bet against him, opposing team or not.

Dream will hype Sapnap, but unlike the almost involuntary way Sap does it, Dream does it pointedly and on purpose. It is both defensive and offensive, against whomever implies he's not worth the hype. Dream loves improving and so wants the people around him to improve as well, and Sapnap is a very common target of this because Sapnap also likes improving. So even when it comes to criticism and corrections, they'll come alongside compliments, or will themselves be a type of compliment in the 'I know you can do this' type way.

They're both so impressed by the other that it gets into the realm of overestimation, where the things that they'll say and the ways that they'll act is out of proportion to what the reality is.

Interjection from my mind: Sapnap presents as someone that's insecure in their own skillset. He does a lot of 'proving that he's good' (*coughcough valo streams coughcough*). Dream on the other hand thinks that's nonsense and will yell at him about it

In terms of manhunt, being a threat/beating Dream comes down to technical skill AND drintel, and Sap has the best combo. You can actually follow the logic of how they know what the other is doing/why they react the way they do. Their 10+ years of friendship and their shared foundations gives them an instinctual understanding of how the other works, like I said.

Their regard for the others' prowess means that Dream will focus on Sapnap in combat, underestimating the other hunters and can become overconfident when escaping/defeating Sapnap. (think: "the strongest of you is dead" and the mace kill) Sapnap's fear of Dream and his Plans stems from this as well. His version of it just happens to be a little more devastating, because the role of the hunter necessitates aggression.

Pump the brakes 🛑

Because of Dream's habit of assuming he's in charge/in the right/getting stuck in his own head, he has a habit of not listening to other people, not necessarily because he doesn't want to listen to others, but because he doesn't hear them.

Sapnap's pretty much the only person I've seen that can and will put a hard stop to that. Dream can be very reactive and when people push back on him with the force needed to actually get through to him, especially in a competitive space, the reaction can be dismissive or even aggressive. Sapnap isn't really scared of that, and because of their foundation of trust/loyalty/understanding, and Dream's respect for Sap's judgement, he's able to get Dream's listening ears on with minimal casualties.

Interjection from my mind: I think the entire world could be against Dream/his ideas and plans but as long as he has Sapnap backing him he'll jump in head first. I think Dream would stop and go 'I'm doing something wrong' if Sapnap were to voice doubts in him

Bullying as a love language +

As is true in all great friendships, one of the ways they show affection is by trying to piss each other off.

Dream knows how to get his friends to have entertaining reactions, and while he enjoys getting them to scream and run in terror, he seems to prefer when Sapnap specifically gets angry at him. Especially when he can use something that Sap did himself against him. It helps that Sapnap will do a bunch of things that Do Not work out for him. And Sapnap is not afraid to yell and scream and Express Anger at Dream or be very irritating and frustrating.

Insults, name calling, taunting, and making jokes at each others' expense are all on the table. It speaks of a level or trust and comfort they have in each other that they know how it will be understood, or if it's misunderstood it can be discussed later.

1: BFFs in bits city 🌆

First and foremost they are best friends. They love each other, know each other better than pretty much anyone else, and they are the most comfortable together. They're also mean, annoying and extremely competitive. Such is the way of things.

The consequences of deep friendships —and being bits guys— is that the dteam are going to be so so weird around each other. In ways that can completely mask their typical personalities (think how we hear about the fact that Dream, Sapnap, and George are quieter/kinder/more polite/shy-er in person) Generally, they have a 'heightening' effect on each other. They don't feel the need to hold back, or be nearly as careful, and can draw out more intense reactions and emotions, without as much effort (though they do love to put in effort). They also find each other extremely funny and have the same types of humour (part of being bits guys) and so create a feedback loop of Doing Stuff.

Y'know how part of why manhunt/+ is so good is because everyone's playing hard and playing hard to win? And they're doing so through pretty much the entire several hours they play for? Yeah it's primarily for the reward of beating your friends in competition and bragging rights

2: Their Minecraft Guy™

I don't know exactly how to explain this, but you know when you meet someone and they're really into something and you come to associate that thing as being theirs or related to them? Well despite the fact that they all met through minecraft, Dream is George and Sapnap's minecraft guy™

Of course, it's because Mr. special-interest-hyperfixation-minecraft player over there is insane. My point is that as their minecraft guy™ they expect Dream to know more about, and be better at the game then them, regardless of where their technical skills actually are. It does help that he typically is, especially in regards to speedrunning, parkour, game mechanics and knowledge, traps, etc. This, in turn, feeds into their fear of him when in competition, as well as their hype when beating him. ('beating him at his own game' type deal)

It also feeds into my next point, learned helplessness, because quickest and easiest way to get things done is to have the guy who is the best at it do it

3: Leadership and learned helplessness +

It's deeply important to understand that these are all individually competent people. For the most part. However. Well, you know. Dream is the team leader, George and Sapnap are his boys, and sometimes they forget the previous statement.

A big part of it is Dream's personality. He speaks and moves through life with a certain amount of authority that makes people pay attention (it's the ego). And George and Sapnap have an immense amount of trust in him, evident by them hanging their futures on his ideas and promises. But it's not just trust and loyalty, it's respect. A different kind of respect than they have for almost anyone else. (not to say that they are respectful to him, because they often aren't) They fall in line behind him pretty much automatically, and he's able to reign them in and get them to listen to him with (comparatively) minimal objections. He acts as a unifying factor, something that the other two can focus on so that they don't run wild. There are the bigger examples of this, but more often it's found in the subtler, quieter moments where it's clear that they are now Just Like That because of Dream, within or without his presence.

On the flipside, George and Sapnap have developed this idea that Dream will Do Things for them and that they can rely on him. They're not wrong, but they are used to it. Even in competitive settings, they have a habit of appealing to Dream anyway. They're used to having his guidance, or at the very least his initiative, and can struggle without it

4: The manhunt lock in🔒

I've talked about manhunt and her glorious gravity before, but more so than any other video, the crew locks in for manhunt. Dream most of all, as we've seen from his stretches of complete and utter silence. Most of the time, the dteam love passing around the incompetence braincell. They fight over it (or I guess, fight each other with it). But during multiv1s, Dream will outright refuse it

And in turn, George and Sapnap will do their best to stave it off as well. It's that respect again, because of how much time, energy and effort Dream is putting in. He cares and tries his best, so the hunters care and try their best, which feeds back into Dream, and so on and so on. Being the most experienced vsDream-ers, they have an automatic amount of authority and responsibility within the hunter hierarchy, and part of that is setting the tone and boundaries of what is allowed and can be done.

The hunters stay silly though, George and Sapnap especially and purposefully. Because Dream stays so do not pass go-locked in, someone's gotta bring the entertainment. Someone's also gotta make sure Dream doesn't get stuck in his own head, which we know he can get. It's a balance, too silly and you lose the intensity, too intense and you lose the fun.

Dream is really good at picking people for manhunt, so not that much policing is needed, but having the loudest personalities getting serious, or joking or breaking the ice or moving past something helps shapes the structure of what manhunts and Dream-main channel videos are supposed to look like, while taking the pressure off of Dream, so he's able to focus on being insane

4: Third wheeling 🛞

A thing that happens in trios is that sometimes a duo will break off and someone will get third wheeled. In the dteam this person switches constantly.

Randomly, two of these idiots will decide that the third is The Enemy and act accordingly. The video formats will encourage this Enemy to be Dream, but even then, that can change on a whim. Such is the way of things.

Part two✌️of Dream as a unifying factor is making him The Enemy. George and Sapnap will stop going after one another, and go after him instead. Usually in bits. Sometimes the way they go after him is literally just them cooperating, especially earlier on in their careers. They're so weird.

5: Personal radio channel 📻

There's a different frequency these boys operate in. For the most part, the members of the dteam are going to be the first people that pop into the minds of Dream, George, and Sapnap. Especially when playing Minecraft, especially when playing together. They are a set<3

Because of how strong their bonds are, this can mean that their interactions will shade out anyone else that's near them (but they've gotten better at managing this!) On the flip side, it means that George and Sapnap are who Dream is going to be looking out for the most, and who will grab his attention when they show up. They're his favourites.