#frankly idk if this counts as dream critical since i straight up defended him and his fans in parts of it

[quaranmine]

I think one of the main reasons I'm annoyed about the buildmart discourse this time around is that it feels like it's overshadowing Orange's win? And buildmart discourse pops up all the time, and I know most people discussing it do in fact think Orange got a deserved win. You shouldn't have to put a disclaimer on your buildmart discourse posts that you think Orange deserved to win, but people are getting the wrong implications and it's causing friction.

But I think one of the reasons it's so bad this time, is because of the timing. It feels dismissive to all of the Grian fans, who are overjoyed, because Grian in particular is good at the game and his viewers normally like it and Grian finally won. So people are on edge--when severe buildmart discourse pops up immediately after someone good at it wins, us Grian fans feel like there's an implication that Orange didn't deserve to win or they only won because of it. And, while I don't review statistics, I don't believe that's true--Orange were in either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd basically the entire event. Grian never left the top 10 the whole time. They popped off and I truly think they could've won without BM.

But when you're looking at rancid tumblr discourse, you got to realize that the pro-buildmart side is on the defensive. They feel talked over and ignored because their fave players are normally ones who don't get the highest views or do the best at pvp games. Dream is allowed an opinion on the game, and I know he doesn't control his fans, but his timing is pretty bad this time because he has a HUGE fanbase on twitter who is already upset he lost and looking for something to blame. They're his fans so they're empathetic to his frustration, but not all express it well. As a result there ARE people on twitter saying the Orange didn't deserve to win. There ARE people whining and being rude in the qrts of the winner announcement. There ARE people accusing Scott of being biased and keeping buildmart only because he's good at it, despite him not controlling games. There ARE people who sent death threats to Quig for wanting buildmart (and proof exists.) There ARE people who consistently belittle the hermits and make fun of them, and sometimes when you're a fan of them or smaller streamers it feels like you're fighting for your life to get some recognition in the face of the wider fanbase. People aren't upset over nothing.

I also think Dream made a mistake mentioning Grian by name in his comment--we can argue all day whether or not his points were right, I'm not talking about that, but i think the timing of it right after Grian's win was poor because it set off a wave of people belittling the win or saying he only won because of BM. It drags Grian and his fanbase directly into the discourse when they're at peak excitement, and thus they go on the defense. They accuse Dream of being a sore loser. I think Dream should've waited until a day or two later and it might be better, but I genuinely don't know since we've become so polarized as a fandom. And it didn't help that Sapnap literally called people pussies for not wanting pvp games (implying that being bad at pvp makes you a pussy.) I hope he intended it as a joke but it just came off as incredibly rude and Hbomb rightfully called him on it. That attitude is one everyone feels they're fighting against when they're fans of non-pvpers. Sapnap obviously isn't Dream and Dream doesn't control what his friends say, but the Dream Team "brand" is strong enough that what any single member says will reflect onto all of them in some people's eyes. Whether or not that should be the case I'm not arguing, I'm just stating how I've seen people view it.

So the issue is that we're both at severe odds to each other and nobody is getting anywhere in this discourse. People who like buildmart feel attacked and on the defensive, because it gets used to belittle their faves and the CCs who dislike the game have much larger fanbases to argue against. They feel the games inclusion gives an opportunity for non-pvp players to shine, and worry that if it gets removed, it'll put MCC one step closer to being catered to pvpers. I'm not arguing whether or not this logic is sound, I'm just explaining what I perceive to be the issue. It's also worth saying that Dream fans also feel attacked and on the defensive. Dream is a large CC who's been in a lot of controversies (and we're not gonna discuss his faults in that) and as such, his name gets dragged through the mud a lot. He has the largest fanbase but also the largest amount of hate. He also takes most heat from outside the fandom--most people who "hate mcyt" actually just hate Dream. People who are fans of CCs other than Dream benefit from this shield, but Dream stans get hate from all sides. Therefore, it becomes really easy to interpret any crit on Dream as hate that needs to be defended against. So that side of the fandom is on the defensive too.

So we go in circles on this discourse. "Everybody hates it and it adds no value to the event." No, not everyone hates it--and those who don't hate it aren't only Grian or hermits either, they include people like Hbomb and Shubble and Fruitberries and other CCs. Does it add value? People argue all day over that and I won't get into in my post. People have widely differing opinions on it and I don't actually think there is a right answer, despite everyone arguing like there is one. Is the game ableist? Absolutely not, and i can't believe we got discourse over that. Is it still possibly causing issues for some neurodivergent CCs who dislike it and overwhelming them? Sure, it totally could be! I can see how it might mess with Dream's ADHD and make it hard for him, thus making him hate it, although people should stop speaking for him on his own experiences and saying it's definitively the case. Maybe something can be tweaked to help that. But remember that accessibility and neurodivergence is varied and there is no "one size fits all." I've seen just as many ND fans saying that buildmart causes no problems for them as I have ND fans saying it overwhelms them. There's no simple right answer to most of these questions brought up in discourse.

So what's the answer? I don't know. I don't know and I cannot speak for everyone. But I do know it hurt really badly to be so excited for Grian's win, only to watch my dash plummet into some of the most hateful discourse I've ever seen.

#mcc #grian #discourse #negative #dream critical #frankly idk if this counts as dream critical since i straight up defended him and his fans in parts of it #but i'll be eaten alive if i dont tag it #sapnap critical #please please dont make this post into a huge argument i tried to make it level headed and reasonable #and still explain my feelings #long post