#technically could be wilbur but back when the traitor thing was announced he was still just wanting to blow shit up | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

zeta-in-de-walls · 4 years

Text

Okay, in the wake of the L’Manburg war, allow me to get meta for a bit.

Now obviously the war, and the SMP server in general, are just for content. The stakes are all fictional - nebulous things like freedom on a minecraft server, sentimental value placed on music discs and all that nonsense.

Bearing that in mind, I want to discuss how it played out.

Who were the best players? It’s clear who were the most powerful and dangerous as enemies - Dream, George, Sapnap and Punz. (I’m leaving aside Eret for the moment btw) They all had full netherite armour, planted TNT traps and planned betrayals and ambushes to win the war. They had the upperhand throughout. Meanwhile the other side felt weak and ill-prepared and did very little damage to any of their opponents.

But you know, being more powerful doesn’t actually make for much content on its own. What makes good content? A good narrative filled with drama, tension and excitement. In those terms, we’re looking at Tommy and Wilbur carrying the server with this war.

The second they said independence and made some grand speeches, there were stakes. Instead of the server being a somewhat peaceful building simulator, it was in a state of conflict. Alliances were created, flags were made, Hamilton and Revolutionary war references were heard, matching skins and all that were being created. Putting great significance into stuff like a patch of tilled soil, suggesting carrying sticks instead of weapons and wearing no armour but fighting with words - that’s the sort of stuff that made this whole scenario work. Without it, this dispute wouldn’t have been able to call itself a war. They even make ridiculous stuff sound convincing - just the idea of calling L’Manberg its own separate server that happens to be inside another server with the running costs still being paid by Dream. It’s crazy but it works.

And my goodness, did they have their work cut out for them.

You see, I feel like Dream and co. weren’t really playing along. They heard ‘war!’ and thought - let’s win. Let’s absolutely crush the enemy! No mercy.

Now playing the villain can be cool, sure. And it kinda worked here. But only just. Some of their actions definitely irked me.

See, there are kind of unspoken agreements in stuff like letting people prepare, not attacking too early, that sort of thing. You tell everyone that the war’s gonna take place at 7pm and sure enough it does. And there’s Dream’s server rules: No stealing and no griefing. These rules do get bent in the middle of an ongoing battle - eg battles often involve a lot of placing and breaking blocks and when you’re low on stuff, trying to run to a nearby chest to grab some last minute supplies is going to happen (and later after the battle’s done you’ll probably get yelled at a little before making up) - but generally they are upheld. Especially when others are offstream and you aren’t in the middle of something.

‘Ah but it was war - rules can be broken!’ one might argue. Yeah, no, this is entertainment. You don’t start early because you’re going to ruin the stream and make the content worse - and the whole point of the war is to make good content. Like, when WIlbur’s stream died - they asked for a pause so WIlbur could sort out technical difficulties before continuing.

Yeah so Dream and Sapnap basically broke all the rules in order to win. Fundy and Tommy put up insulting signs in different languages. Funny content. Dream and Sapnap burned Tubbo’s house to the ground. Err... okay that’s a bit excessive but we can make it work. No mercy, ha.

So Tommy asked Tubbo to prep for the war. Tubbo agreed and got to work to try and balance the already uneven odds. At this point, the war’s in a day and all of Dream’s side has full netherite and none of L’Manburg do save Eret. Time is short but that just makes it all the more exciting.

So Tubbo uses villagers and trading, stealing a frugal amount to get himself started before really getting into it and grinding for diamond armour and makes nine stacks of emeralds - enough to place some high level enchants and even the odds a little and make the fight interesting.

While Tubbo’s offline, Sapnap comes in and steals them, getting books to enchant his own set of netherite armour using Tubbo’s set up. Well then. There goes any hope of a fair fight. And they are trying, you know. They realise the armour discrepancy so they’ve been trying to get potions but even that’s a struggle - when Dream finished his apology stream he logged on to the SMP without warning and managed to kill Tubbo before he could get away while his inventory had been full of potions. (Tommy and Tubbo had been visiting Dream’s base to put a sign in it - an offer of Mellohi for peace. Nothing comes of this sign or any of the other Tommy put in other people’s houses - more potential good content there like demanding Sapnap stay neutral in return for a supply blaze powder (a ref to the drug war that preceded this conflict)). It’s not that Dream killing Tubbo is the issue - it’s more how he logged on basically without warning so Tubbo had little chance to get away as he was mostly unarmoured and ungeared.

Still, the next day Tubbo is trying to grind back up, to even up things a little. He’s only managed to get 2 end crystals and he has a few sets of plain diamond armour and a few books. So he grinds like crazy in the limited time, trading all his iron, chopping trees, carrots, bamboo, sugar, everything he has into emeralds. But he needs levels. He tries to go to the spawner which the other side has been freely using to grind up exp and they kill him when he goes near. One time, Dream kills him while he has several books on him so he has to trade back emeralds to get them again. And now he doesn’t have a good way to get experience so he can’t even the odds. Punz and Sapnap even combatlog inside the spawner so if he goes near they’d come online and kill him. And yeah, they’re stream sniping. They’ve all streamed very little, hiding all their preparations while taking advantage of the fact that the other side have all been streaming everything they’ve been doing.

‘Imagine streamsniping.’ Tommy and co. said that at one point during today’s conflict. It’s cheap - it’s not fun, it’s taking advantage - one that’s not even necessary as you’re already all OP. Dream’s side aren’t the underdog, they don’t need every single advantage to win this. Instead it’s more like rubbing salt into the wound.

And yeah, despite all the griefing that Dream side have done, not once does anyone grief anything of theirs - like the chat was totally asking for them to burn down Punz’s house. No, they just place signs and talk.

Okay, so Tommy announced the war would be at 7pm. He logs on at 6.45 to say hello and hype all his viewers up, get his music playing and give a rundown of the situation and what’s occurred since he’s last streamed. No sooner has he logged on then Tubbo gets ambushed early! They attacked prematurely!

...

It’s like there was one rule - war begins at 7pm. And instead Dream, George and Sapnap all attacked Tubbo at his base at 6.45. Tommy is ages away and can’t do anything and Fundy’s in trouble too and Tubbo just barely manages to save the gear he has managed to prep. They’re even more on the backfoot. All their strats are known anyway as they’ve been watching streams so they know all about the potions and endcrystals while Tommy’s side are in the dark about Dream’s side’s preparations. For instance, offstream they filled Tommy’s base and L’Manburg with Tnt which they set off to devastating effect.

The ‘war’ is as one-sided as you’d expect. Tommy and co. are trying to attack even though they lack arrows and food and are hopelessly outmatched but they put up a pretence of trying anyway. At no point is a single one of Dream’s side even moderately threatened (except perhaps when they ambushed Tubbo early as he tried using harming potions) and everyone knows it.

Still, Tommy and Wilbur push on - they talk, they rally etc. Finally, Eret betrays them and they’re all killed in an ambush. And they’re shocked by this twist, they react, they call Eret their downfall. (Dream’s side didn’t need to resort to such tactics to win given their obvious advantage.) and Eret being a traitor is fantastic for content anyway so it is a great part of the narrative that they all react to perfectly. Eret seems to have a good instinct for making good content as well as this sort of twist is a good addition. It works because its drama - they trusted him and they never expected him to betray them to the other side after all they’d built together.

In the end, Tommy finishes it on a high with a dramatic bow duel followed by offering the discs in exchange for freedom. And fittingly, despite have being entirely outplayed in terms of power and tactics, they win the thing they cared about - which was the independence that they started the war for. The content - not anything material. Dream’s side was far stronger and better prepared and they weren’t given so much as a chance to catch up for a pvp conflict. But L’Manberg - they got that.

Okay, so this has been long and I’ll probably rewrite something similar soon - but I wanted to highlight how in meta terms, the war was being played unfairly and its obvious that Dream’s side had different priorities - win under any means necessary rather than continue to make great content for the SMP. They’re treating it like a manhunt or something when its absolutely not and shouldn’t be. They’re lucky that Wilbur and Tommy were so good at making it work as they do all the heavy-lifting for the SMP which ensures its got a healthy lifespan.

508 notes · View notes

stellocchia · 3 years

Note

Ok this is about. Reaaally long ago but I don't think people ever really talked about it but.

Back during Manberg, when Quackity and Tommy talked down Wilbur from blowing everything up. Did Wilbur ever actually mean it or was he just manipulated by Dream afterwards or did he just decide that he now wanted to be a deceitful little bitch to get his way? Because he was betraying them for a while before the 16th.

Like. You remember how the plan was to get Schlatt to sign over presidency to Quackity? Listen it wasn't a great plan but I think it's really fucking clear that Schlatt knew what was up. After all, the date for the last war and the traitor were already set. And the traitor was Wilbur.

Pogtopia made the plan that would have everything ending peacefully and Wilbur apparently just went straight to Dream and told him so it wouldn't work.

The Tnt having been moved to Pogtopia? As far as I remember there was never any proof of that. The only proof we got was Wilbur saying it wasn't there anymore. Wilbur. Yknow. The traitor.

And he just stood there on the Comms with the people that thought he was on their side and acted like it wasn't where he left it.

When Dream announced there was a traitor? Well he knew. He WAS the traitor.

No wonder he seemed like an apathetic prick the whole time. The stage was set and the ending was written, everything else between that didn't matter. It was just bonus scenes.

Remember what Dream said, his deal with Wilbur was that no matter what. Wilbur would blow everything up. Nothing about Eret or Fundy or anyone else mattered and just.

What a cunt (and you know I have many glittery GIFs for this)

This is probably the only other betrayal on the server other than Erets. He deceived people that considered him their allies with the intent to harm them.

Yes. He wasn't complete evil. He cared. He showed that he cared quite often. But also, what does that change? Eret also cared about the Lmanbergians. They thought the war was unwinnable and ending it as quickly as possible while also getting a position of power out of it would be the most ideal possible outcome.

And just. I think it's awful how all these downright cruel actions of Wilbur are glossed over because during the festival he went back for Nikki.

YEAH AND DURING THE 16TH HE WAS OKAY WITH HER POSSIBLY BEING COLLATERAL DAMAGE

Listen. If this was just about blowing up L'manberg he could have been done with it easily. He sneaks out at night and just blows it up without any witnesses.

But no. This fucker is a mentally ill theatre kid.

And he's tragic. He's tragic because that's just how it goes sometimes with selfdestructive mentally ill people. And it's fucking sad. He had people that were clearly willing to help. Tommy was actively trying to help him. A nontragic victory was presented to him on a silver platter. All he had to do was not blow it up. The people around him and especially Tommy presented him with a chance. With an environment where he could heal and recover. But because he is selfdestructive he couldn't fucking accept it. I don't think it ever really crossed his mind to accept it. He is another one of his victims and that's fucking tragic.

But that doesn't negate the fact that he did those things. Yes he was harmed by them too but the thing with the word 'too' is that he was just another one of many.

He deceived people. People that trusted him. People that wanted to help him. People that didn't fucking deserve what they got. And even now that he's revived he's not sorry. And yes, he's still mentally ill but that doesn't make it ok. And just. People keep just. Forgetting how shitty of a person he was. And that's not just unfair towards the people he hurt that's also fcking stupid because he hasn't changed.

There's no reason not to expect the same kind of shittyness again. Because he hasn't changed. And just. I don't know how many people haven't watched season 1 yet but if they are still out there they should at least watch the pogtopia arc because especially with us being from the future, knowing what's going on and what's going to happen? Wilbur just gets worse when looking back.

So, that was another one of my Wilbur rants. You know me. I'll probably be back because I have many very big feelings on this man and how everyone is so quick to jump to his defense because he's not like other villains. He's different. He's just having a rough time. He's just quirky.

Just... Cmon. Yes he's redeemable, he's the most redeemable out of every villain we've had so far but that doesn't mean he's redeemed yet. Or even that he will be. Hold him accountable for his own fucking actions.

Yeah. I do feel that people often with him lean too much on the “he was always evil and corrupt and he was a dictator” or “he wasn’t THAT bad and even if it was, it’s justifiable”.

Not everyone of course, it would be extremely unfair to say that, but I’ve seen enough takes for both sides. And it’s a pity because it takes away from his character in my opinion. Like, as a character to me he is better as a sympathetic villain that has done so much messed up sh*t and has yet to do anything to be redeemed than he is as just an UWU sad boy.

Because he did do messed up stuff and he is still doing it. He is manipulative, and he did act with utter disregard to people’s lives before (both with him not knowing if someone would die on the 16th and repeating way too many time to Tommy that him dying was a good thing, which is pretty messed up ngl).

But on your general point: yeah. That was actually betrayal, but his and Eret’s aren’t the only one. Technically Jack betrayed Tubbo with the whole Nuke thing (or tried to at least) since he was using something that Tubbo openly entrusted him to do something that would have possibly hurt Tubbo. There is also the Red Banquet, an execution masqueraded as an offer of peace is most definitely a betrayal.

That said yeah, those are the only actual betrayals (or attempt at one) that we’ve had that I can think of.

#ladycatland ask #dream smp #c!wilbur critical #character analysis #long post #also just got reminded of all your glittery gifs #those are *chef's kiss*

30 notes · View notes

genesisrose74 · 3 years

Text

Thoughts on the Pogtopia Traitor - My Tubbo Theory

THATS RIGHT, STRAP IN FOR ANOTHER ONE OF MY CONSTANT DRABBLING SESSIONS FOR THE ROLEPLAYING BLOCK PEOPLE-

I’ve been hearing a whole lot lately about conspiracies for who the “unexpected” Pogtopia traitor is gonna be, who will likely be revealed on the 16th during the big Dream SMP stream event. While there are lots of advocates for people like Tommy, Wilbur, or Techno, below is my explanation of why I wholeheartedly believe that Tubbo would be the most perfect choice for the traitor, and who I hope will end up being said mole in Pogtopia’s operation.

And here we go: why Tubbo is the perfect, unexpected, most reasonable possibility for the traitor.

I definitely think that Dream’s word choice of “finding out” about a traitor among Pogtopia’s ranks is significant. It’s a direct reflection of who ended up recruiting the person - and the only rational remaining option for who the recruiter was is none other than Jschlatt. Now, I get it: “Why would Tubbo side with the man who just tried to execute him in front of the entire Manberg population?”

You know why? Because Tubbo understands. Here’s the layout:

Although the two seemed to have an incredibly strained set of relations following the festival events, recall what Tubbo said to Wilbur and Tommy before he gave his speech: he never explicitly stated that he wasn’t happy in Manberg. All he said is that it would be better if Tommy and Wilbur were there as well. Yet, his desire to be with his friends in that sense takes a massive hit when Wilbur soon thereafter calls Tubbo a “yes man”. And if you’ll notice, Tommy never blatantly disagrees with the notion before Tubbo takes his place on stage.

When delivering his speech, there was a clear delay in Tubbo saying the words for Wilbur’s explosion activation, only ever bringing them up hurriedly at the very end when Schlatt asks if he’s done talking. When I watched the stream, I legitimately thought he wasn’t going to say them at all because he felt hurt by his two closest comrades. It was a blatant sign of his hesitance to go through with the plan, and therefore hesitance in his loyalty to the current ideals of Pogtopia.

Despite the fact that Schlatt tried to expose Tubbo at the festival for conspiracy, he still ALWAYS listened to Tubbo and his ideas to improve the nation whenever he proposed anything. He always complimented him and gave him power to do what he wanted. Tubbo was a very crucial part of Schlatt’s cabinet as his right hand man, keeping the nation organized, productive, and growing. And you know what?

Even though Schlatt had his moments of lashing out and all, Tubbo was one of his most valued acquaintances - and Tubbo knows this.

When he wasn’t getting outed for helping Pogtopia, Schlatt was always with him on his ideas and things he wanted to do to help improve. It was consistently, “Great idea, Tubbo.” “You are so important to this team.” “Thank you for your input.” “Where would we be without you?”

You know who never truly expressed that same sort of mutual respect for him? Wilbur.

“Tubbo, I want you to promise me that you’re not going to speak to Tommy.”

“Wilbur said he wasn’t going to hurt me.”

Let’s remember that Wilbur could have easily communicated with Techno that he should not go through with the execution. He had the time, with how much Techno was stalling to protect Tubbo. And with Tommy being subservient to whatever Wilbur says, despite the fact that he TRIED TO BLOW UP MANBERG, his trust in his friends’ decisions are brought into jeopardy.

Tubbo also knows, with his vast understanding of the government that he practically kept afloat half the time, that Schlatt technically did the disciplined and reasonable thing to maintain the nation. There was a traitor looking to take down the government, so to consequently prevent it, he took it out effectively. I think secretly, Tubbo gets that and respects it in a way.

Now lets look at some of the other proposed Pogtopia traitors that I’ve seen, and compare them to Tubbo’s circumstances.

Here we have the most obvious option with Technoblade. Techno is a clear option for traitor material. He’s said it before that he likes being the outnumbered one and that’s why he sided with Pogtopia in the first place. Even Wilbur himself claimed that it was very likely during the recent stream. However, Dream stated that this time around, the traitor is going to be a more surprising shock than Eret back in L’manberg’s fight for independence. Could Techno still technically decide to fight with Schlatt and Dream when the fight arises? Sure. Do I think this is who Dream was referencing when he was talking about a mole in the ranks? Absolutely not.

On the other hand, we have Wilbur. He is unpredictable, clearly unstable, and very hellbent on getting vengeance. But what I think many are forgetting is that Schlatt is everything he despises about Manberg. He’s the one who started Wilbur’s thirst for revenge in the first place. He exiled him, cut him off from everything he’s ever worked for, and has never once held any semblance of remorse - only rubbing it in that he’s always one step ahead. No matter if Wilbur is off his rocker at this point, it’s a reach to think that he’d side with Schlatt, especially if Schlatt has apparently made a deal that “neither Wilbur or Tommy would have ever agreed to” regarding the fate of L’manberg territory. And just to set my reasoning in stone for this one, Wilbur’s surprise when he discovered that the TNT was gone from the bunker did not seem falsified or played up to convince the others. It felt like a genuine reaction. That’s why I don’t think it would make sense for him to be the traitor.

Finally, as for Tommy, he’s too much of the protagonist role for his sole betrayal to make much sense. I feel like it would leave a lot of people a bit lost. While people think that there’s an incentive hidden there with Wilbur telling Tommy that he would never be president, I feel like his betrayal would have happened much earlier on in the storyline, and the fact that he stayed with Wilbur despite his harsh words and psychotic ideals to blow up Manberg leads me to believe that he would not leave Wil behind. My idea that Tommy would never side with Schlatt is only emphasized by the fact that Schlatt legitimately tried to execute his best friend, Tubbo, in front of the entire Manberg population. He would never take a side with him after that point...

...unless, he had some persuasion.

Tommy and Tubbo are very frequently a package deal. Everyone saw Tommy’s response when Tubbo was shot by Techno at the festival. The two even joked about running away from the entire conflict before, just the two of them. They would clearly protect each other with everything they had. So what I think could happen is Tubbo announcing his betrayal to the rest of the SMP and attempting to persuade Tommy into joining him. Tubbo isn’t gullible, stupid, or assuming. He’s incredibly organized, very observant, and a very reasonable person. I don’t think it’s hard to believe that he could convince Tommy to see his side of things.

Just as an extra note, everyone absolutely loves Tubbo, no matter what side of the conflict you’re on. Who in their right mind would say no to him? No👏freaking👏body👏 - he’s a solid negotiator, can be serious and silly, and has the creativity to find solutions that would make everyone happy. If someone finally saw that potential in him and offered him a place at the table, I think he would grab at it for sure, especially at a point in time where he doesn’t know who else to turn to besides himself.

So yeah, I think Tubbo’s the traitor. Send tweet. His role in this entire situation is so underrated despite the amount of sway he could have, so I really hope my thoughts come to fruition at some point. To be completely frank, he’d make an outstanding leader as well, so it would be super interesting to see how that sort of twist would play out.

Thank you for coming to my rant :p

128 notes · View notes