Friends First, New Dreams Second
Cinnamon Bun“Friends First, New Dreams Second” is a personal principle that marks Broccoli Bunch’s movement from an abandoned ordinary-life fantasy toward an uncertain but socially grounded future. It does not reject domestic happiness; instead, it places friendship before the new ambitions created by adventure, making companionship the value that guides whatever dream comes next.
An Earlier Dream
Before the change brought by life in the new world, Broccoli Bunch had imagined a quiet existence built around cleaning work, a small garden, a house, two children, a loving husband, a large dog, and several cats. The possibility of gaining levels through noncombat activities briefly reopens that path: cleaning and tending a garden seem capable of supporting a peaceful life rather than forcing a return to danger.
That vision, however, no longer carries the same force. Broccoli Bunch recognizes that it had once been a dream, but only a few weeks of experience in the new world have altered the direction of desire. The old image remains specific and affectionate, yet it has become less compelling than it was before the journey began. The change is therefore not a rejection of home so much as evidence that the character’s sense of home has begun to move.
Friendship Before Ambition
The expression appears at the precise point where the old dream has weakened and the new one has not yet taken a definite shape. Broccoli Bunch admits not knowing what is wanted now, but identifies one firm priority: friends come first. This gives the phrase its force. It is not a completed plan or a declaration of a final destination; it is a principle for navigating uncertainty.
The wording also establishes an order between two kinds of value. Friendship is immediate and relational, while “new dreams” are future possibilities whose details remain unsettled. By placing friends first, Broccoli Bunch makes relationships the condition under which ambition remains worthwhile. Adventure may change the desired future, but it does not displace the people encountered along the way.
The Airship Version of Home
Although the earlier dream has faded, Broccoli Bunch quickly identifies one surviving wish: an airship, and a big one. The imagined vessel becomes a mobile revision of the former house. It is to contain a garden, a house, and a small park for a dog, a cat, and two children, while Broccoli Bunch and a husband wear tricorns together.
This fantasy preserves the emotional architecture of the old life while relocating it into an adventurous setting. The garden, animals, children, partnership, and domestic space remain, but they are no longer confined to a quiet house on the ground. The airship allows movement and belonging to coexist. It is thus a concrete “new dream” formed from the materials of the old one, with friendship standing as the priority that gives the imagined future its human meaning.
Meaning in the Character’s Arc
The expression captures a transitional moment rather than a resolved transformation. Broccoli Bunch has discovered that leveling can come from activities outside combat, making a quiet life technically imaginable, yet the prospect of simply withdrawing from adventure no longer satisfies. At the same time, the character has not replaced domestic hopes with pure ambition. The imagined airship proves that family, shelter, gardens, and animals still matter.
Its significance lies in this tension. The phrase joins continuity and change: the desire for a loving, furnished life survives, while its scale and setting expand with experience. Friendship is the bridge between them. It keeps the new dream from becoming mere escape and keeps the old dream from remaining a static picture of a life that no longer fits.
