Oh, But The Utter Symbolism Of Dream's Mask. Oh, I Could Cry.

oh, but the utter symbolism of dream's mask. oh, i could cry.

we've watched him through five animatics now. we've watched that mask start off just—barely on his face? barely there? back when dream was open, when he was annoying but not evil, eyes and soul left vulnerable, bared to the world just like everyone else's. we watched him laugh the first time l'manberg blew up, watched the fury on his face, white flags, white flags at dawn or you are dead!

and oh, how we've watched that mask become fucking terrifying.

sad-ist is a genius. and someone else said it, long before i did, but as you keep cycling through the animatics? that mask covers his face more and more. first, just one half. then his eyes, so you can only see his smile. then it covers everything, but it slips, sometimes, doesn't it? when he's happy, when he's victorious.

and then this animatic. final waltz. until he has tommy and tubbo alone, it doesn't come off once.

he's impassive. unreachable. he's cut off every last attachment, staved off every bit of emotion, run himself dry so he can't be controlled in the way he wants to control others. when he reveals his face to them, it's because he's won—because he has tubbo to control tommy, and tommy to control tubbo, how would they even dare to try and do it back to him? and then. and then—

everyone steps through the portal. the mask, like reflex, comes back on.

he no longer has all the cards, and he knows it. so he sets himself up to regain control once more. sets himself up to win. and then he loses, and the boys are protected, and youre watching and you think you might stop breathing—

and then tommy rips the mask off, and shatters it too, for good measure.

good fucking riddance.

and dream, the little bitch, cowers. because he's the one laid bare, he's the one under their control, he's the one that lost, with the massive fucking axe-scar to prove it—

and there's no mask to reach for. no piece of white he can put back on. he's lost. he's lost. he tried to control tommy and now tommy's towering over him and there's no mask and he's fucking lost.

did i mention that i could cry?

I REALLY like how the game looks like :]]]

"I'm sorry I never asked."

For more context, look in the read more (cw: severe burn trauma, eye trauma, and scars)

This is based around a concept for c!tubbo's design that I had thought about, specifically how his scars would look:

Emerald Elves in SOT, everyone 🧝

happy borth my absolute beloved

did i do this right

spiraling down thy majesty / I beg of thee, have mercy on me