#wilbur was the same way. but as he begins to become more and more corrupt he starts hesitating more and more

[lazyliars]

/rp

Before I get into it, I want to state that is EXPLICITLY an analysis of the Characters, and is not intended to touch on how the cc’s played them in a meta sense unless specifically stated otherwise.

Also, this is technically a part two to my other post, which took a more in depth look at Techno and Phil’s reactions to Tommy’s death. It’s not necessary when reading this post, but I don’t address their reactions here.

So. The question must be asked.

Are we [the Syndicate] the baddies?

Yes.

The End.

 Why are the Syndicate the baddies?

They got damn logo is a wither skull.

The End.

That's not how this works.

Yeah, yeah. You’re right.

The Syndicate's goals as an organization are not inherently bad. They seem to have good intentions behind them, and the focus on the freedom of it's individual group members is important to remember when talking about it; It is not a government. There is no hierarchical power system. No one is forced to do anything against their will, or surrender any of their rights or power to remain a member. It is not a government.

I also want to address Techno and Phil backing Ranboo into a corner – I see them getting a lot of flack for this, but I personally do not think it is relevant to the greater discussion, or necessarily representative of any contradictions within the organization. It was clearly played for laughs, and after they back off they clarify to Ranboo that they won't force him. Then later when Phil and Ranboo are alone, Ranboo feels safe enough to express that he felt like he was pressured into it, and Phil assures him he is allowed to leave whenever he wants; He is not being forced to do anything, and he is not being coerced or blackmailed.

None of the Syndicate members have done any wrongs against each other in the context of the Syndicate, OR gone against any of the Syndicate's core principles.

That, said, holy shit are they the baddies.

Listen, there's trying to telegraph a meaning or message to the audience and then there's having your logo be wither skulls on blackstone. That is straight out of the skit I keep referencing, seriously.

Okay, but, they laughed at it! It was played as a joke, just like the Ranboo thing!

The Ranboo thing was improv, the Syndicate's headquarters were planned – the artistic choices that they made reflect on what role they want the build and the organization inhabiting it to play in the future storylines.

Wither Skulls kind of have some CONNOTATIONS. Techno is an English major, I don't think he chose the most threatening imagery possible on accident, and then joked about the way people would interpret it just to stir the pot. This reads as hugely intentional.

And beyond that, the jokes they make during this part aren't “haha yeah, we look bad but we're actually good!” they're “you can tell by looking at these that we're the good guys wink wink, this is good guy stuff right here :)” It is a joke about how they are definitely not the good guys. This isn't even a case of unreliable narrators, this is one step down from flat out saying the meta intent.

But okay, I hear you, I'm talking about things that haven't happened yet. The Syndicate hasn't used any Withers, they could be an aesthetic choice.  Lets look at what they do in practice.

So, they barge into private property, assess Snowchester's right to continue existing based entirely on their own ideals of what Freedom is, and then only once Tubbo assures them that they have no standing leader do they grant the place their approval to, and I gotta stress this part, continue existing.

 In my Quackity meta, I already talked about how Government in the context of a M1necraft RP cannot be compared to IRL Governments on a one-to-one scale. They don't serve the same purposes or have the same type of power. What I didn't talk about was Agency in the context of m1necraft governments.

In an irl government, if you are born into one, you can't really leave without committing a massive overhaul on your life, which can be expensive and difficult, if not impossible for many people. Even in a “benevolent” government, the simple physicality of where you were born can prevent you from leaving it easily.

The same hurdles do not exist in the Dream SMP. People who join M1necraft governments choose to. They want to, either at the beginning when they form one, or later on when they join up. So far, no Government has just Sprung Up and forced the current residents of an area to become dependent on them, except maybe the Eggpire, who's status as a government is... shakey.

And even when people want to leave or separate from the government, they have been historically able to do so without any trouble or any effort from said governments to stop them. Jack Manifold emancipated from Manberg. Fundy and Quackity both left to start new nations. In all cases they were allowed to do so without any attempts on the part of the governments to stop them, either through force, or institutions preventing them from doing so.

The most anyone has lost when leaving a government is their house, which is still usually their property anyway, and is something that is easily rebuilt elsewhere and is inconvenient to move anyway.

The only exceptions to this might be Schlatt exiling Wilbur and Tommy - but even then, they weren’t trying to leave, they were trying to get back in, and of course the original L’manberg revolution, where Dream attempted to force L’manberg back into the Dream SMP, which wasn’t even a government at that point in time.

I don’t consider Phil’s house arrest an example of a government forcing someone to stay a citizen - that was treated less as a matter of a citizen wanting to leave the country and more as a threat to national security. Still pretty fucked up, but it’s a different issue.

What I'm saying is, If Tubbo wants to create a government out in the middle of nowhere, threatening no one, forcing no one to join either through force or desperation, and allowing people to join willingly because they want to, then he should be allowed to do that.

The Irony of the Syndicate, a group of people consisting of some of the richest, strongest people on the server, going around and enforcing 'Freedom' that entails no one person having more power than any other, is absurd. 

It shows an extreme lack of self-awareness and/or self-righteousness, as they seem to think that they deserve to be the ones who decide what constitutes a government.

Snowchester is a small independent nation - they shouldn’t have to live in fear of being obliterated if they don’t walk on eggshells to meet an arbitrary standard decided by people who’s only authority on the matter COMES FROM THEIR PERSONAL POWER. No one elected them! No one chose them! They were not “approved” by the server at large to enact this kind of law.

The Syndicate are not a government, but they are an unsupervised power structure exerting their ideals on a land that did not ask for them. Like, These people have invented an actual Authoritarian-Anarchist faction. How the hell did they manage this?????

Back on topic.

Tubbo shows them the crater left by his nukes. The reaction is oddly positive – the nukes are fine by the morals of the Syndicate, apparently. I'd argue that they come across as more impressed than anything else; they seem to respect Tubbo for having gotten ahold of “real” power.

(There's a few good memes out there about “We can excuse nuclear weaponry, but we draw the line at Government!”)

So. By the Syndicate's standards: A single person or group of acceptably equal persons with weapons of mass-destruction are only worth “keeping an eye on” because they might provoke other people.

Like, I consider Project Dreamcatcher to be one of, if not the most morally ambiguous thing Tubbo has ever done, largely because it was all on his own initiative. He holds some culpability for The Butcher Army and Phil's house arrest, but they weren't his ideas and he was mostly following Quackity at that point.

And Phil tells Tubbo, IMMEDIATELY AFTER SEEING THE NUCLEAR CRATER:

“Looks like you've reformed a little bit Tubbo, I'm proud.”

And it's fine. Crimes against nature? Fine. A sign of healing in fact!! Tubbo is having a sweeeelll time and he definitely didn't make these nukes specifically in fear of being attacked by these exact people! Tubbo is doing great. Tubbo is doing fine. Tubbo. is. FINE.

Anyway.

I don't think this presentation of the Syndicate was an accident. Looking at the greater lore of SMP right now, after the Egg is done, their list of enemies is slim, and considering that they seem solely invested in taking down governments, that leaves maybe Snowchester, Kinoko Kingdom, and Eret and the greater Dream SMP.

Snowchester has not been shown to be corrupt, evil, or have any intent to go down that route. The most ambiguous thing they've done is, again, is the nukes. Other than that, it's pretty much your average cottagecore snow village.

Kinoko is presented in an even more morally 'good' light, Karl having founded it specifically for his Time-travel library purposes, which are currently being treated by the narrative as a selfless act, if not downright heroic.

Eret is also a fairly 'good' aligned character atm. He's been on that redemption grind since the og betrayal, and doesn't seem keen on backtracking. He's actively tried to leverage his position as king to make things better, and hasn't been quiet about that. He was also 'validated' by Tommy*, a character who has been described both by his allies and enemies as “the hero,” so take that as you will.

What I'm getting at is, all of the current potential enemies for the Syndicate aside from the Egg, are currently being cast as 'good,' and if they were to be attacked, they would undoubtedly have the moral high-ground, unless something drastically changed.

The only potential shakeups I can think of is are a Dream escape and/or a Wilbur revival, both of which could draw the Syndicate's attention and ire, depending on how things go. That said, it's just as likely that either or both of them would join the Syndicate – Dream still has that favor, and Phil and Techno both seemed to think Wilbur would've agreed with their blowing up L'manberg.

Both of those characters are currently **villains – the fact that they're both prime candidates for the Syndicate is a huge indication of the direction it's going to go as the plot moves forward.

((*I know some people are gonna come at me for painting Tommy as the “deciding factor” of what is morally good, so lemme just stop you there. I'm not talking about Tommy somehow having the 'right' to decide who is and isn't good, and definitely not the right to decide who should and shouldn't be king. I'm saying that Tommy, a character who the narrative treats as, if not a good person, then a person who is trying to be good, was in support of Eret, a character who has also been trying to be good.

Eret doesn't gain the moral highground because Tommy said so, he gets it because a character who the narrative treats as trying to do better, acknowledged Eret's earnest attempts at doing the same.

**I'm referring to Wilbur here as a villain because Tommy seemed convinced he would be if he were to be brought back. There is always the possibility that he's wrong.))

So, to summarize this: I read the Syndicate as being intentionally positioned as future antagonists, if not outright villains of a future arc. They are NOT a Government but their goals are contradictory with their means, and it is important to keep in mind that they plan to enforce their own brand of freedom on people who did not grant them either the authority or permission to do so.

So, uh. Can you tell I loved these streams? They were seriously so good. I kept switching between Ranboo and Techno's POV's trying to keep up with everything. I still have to watch Niki's!

All in all, I'm super, super excited for whats coming next, egg stuff, Syndicate stuff, Tommy stuff, all of it.

#dream smp #tubbo #the syndicate #c!techno critical #c!phil critical #dream smp analysis #lazytext

[dreamsclock]

Sick and tired of people justifying the prison with "Oh BuT c!DrEaM cOmMiSsIoNeD iT" like okay did he commission the torture? Did he commission the isolation? Did he commission the manipulation or... oh WAIT my points about the potatoes and the courtyard don't WORK because they're DEBATABLE. Anyways it's horrible that c!Dream decided to commission a hell box but you know what's also horrible and (bonus) not his fault? TORTURE!!!!!!! WHO COULD HAVE GUESSED!!!!!!!!! WHY IS THIS A HOT TAKE HERE??

huge agree anon ! you see, that's where the problem with the excusing the prison comes in - at what point does someone deserve that prison and the treatment they get at that prison? at what point does someone cross the line into irredeemably, deserving-of-abuse-and-torture evil?

because here's where i stand on the matter: even if c!dream HAD commissioned the isolation, and the abuse and manipulation and the potatoes and had deliberately gotten rid of the court yard, even if he'd commissoned the torture, even if he'd done all this with the singular sole purpose of destroying c!tommy's life, i STILL don't think he would have deserved the prison. even if he'd made thirty of those prisons, a cell for everyone, intending to lock all of them up in inhumane conditions, i still don't think he would have deserved it.

because the idea of someone being deserving of the conditions in that prison gets dangerous when you start really looking into it. if c!dream deserves it, because he's done bad things that have hurt people, where do we draw that line? do we lock c!wilbur up for terrorism and manipulation and hurting others? what about c!quackity, for manipulation, torture, etc, etc? do we have to lock c!technoblade up? because for a majority of people on the server, c!technoblade has been or remains a threat to them. does that mean we need to lock him up too? because a majority of people see him as having done bad things?

the moment we start excusing the prison, we tread a dangerous path to excusing exile, too. because to c!dream, c!tommy was behaving badly and hurting others, and so he kicked him out, and did all those horrible horrible things to him. in the same way some people can say "c!dream deserves prison because he hurt people and did bad things", c!dream could have thought the exact same about c!tommy. did c!tommy deserve it, because he was badly behaved? because he burned down c!george's house? of course not - but excusing prison implies that there's a line you can cross that strips away human rights, implies that once you become 'bad' you deserve things like exile, like prison, and 'bad' is a horrifically subjective thing that can vary from person to person.

the justice system on the smp is corrupt and run by a frightened, traumatised majority. c!tommy was exiled because c!tubbo was scared c!dream would destroy l'manburg and because c!dream was worried c!tommy would cause more problems. c!technoblade was executed because l'manburg were frightened of him. c!dream was imprisoned because the server are frightened of him. that doesn't make their decisions right. it's often the opposite of it.

when it comes to justice, rule of the majority on a server as small and personal as the dream smp is never a good thing. everyone has relationships to each other, and emotions are amplified - it's nearly impossible to be impartial and make a rational decision. they act on their emotions and on their fear / anger, and it causes a horrible cycle of abuse and violence that's perpetuated with every person who ends up victim to it.

point is, even if c!sam is being 100% truthful, which i Doubt he is, c!dream wouldn't deserve that prison or the torture. even if he'd done a million evil things, because nobody deserves the prison, because it's inhumane. beginning to excuse the prison leads down a slippery slope of cruel, 'eye-for-an-eye' justice that has been PROVEN doesn't work on the dream smp. so even if c!dream had commissioned the prison exactly as it is now with the intention of hurting people with it, it wouldn't change my mind on him not deserving it.

for c!sam to look c!dream in the eyes after allowing him to be tortured, abused, neglected, and starved, and tell him he's lucky he doesn't call c!quackity, and for people in the fandom to agree...

idk, just makes me a little uncomfy.

#sorry anon just went on a rant in your ask :') hope you don't mind #but YEAH torture is . literally never deserved. none of the prison is. #Like What Where Did This Take Come From insert crying emoji #c!sam negativity #c!sam critical #tw abuse #tw torture #tw manipulation #tw exile arc #tw prison arc #tw starvation #tw neglect #tw abuse apologism #dsmp fandom critical #dream smp fandom critical #> disk horse

[findingjoynweirdstuff]

can u recommend any good underated lore streams? i want to get some good insight into characters and go outside of the ccs that get the most attention

Hmmm...underrated, good insight and outside ccs are three different criteria, so these recommendations may not fit all three of those for every single one, but I’ll try my best! And my definition of “lore stream” is gonna be a little loose here, since that term wasn’t as well-defined in the earlier days.

Sorry for putting so many here, but I have a lot of VODs I like haha. Thanks for giving me a chance to recommend some! This was a lot of fun to put together.

Alright! Here we go.

---

A list of underrated VODs I’d recommend!

---

First up, here’s one I’m always down for recommending, and it’s short and sweet.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAAP7CpYfkQ

Skeppy properly joining the server this time and briefly speaking with Dream. They end up getting into a debate about L’manburg, and if you were ever unclear about what Dream’s motivations/justifications were, here they are! Which ends up being some interesting set-up for the election arc, which tackled the issue of L’manburg being European-exclusive as a major point. It’s a great debate (even if Skeppy ended up taking back everything he said the next day)

-

Next up is the start of Captain Puffy’s hero arc! This is sorta the point where she turns from being more supportive of Dream and Niki to being on Tommy’s side. This was also the night that the Eggpire formed.

Archive can be slow to load with long videos, but here’s the link to the full thing

https://archive.org/details/dream-smp-a-new-arc-sponsored-vikings

-

Then there’s the Final Pet War!

This one ended up being more easily forgotten due to it taking place the night before November 16th, but it’s very underrated and sets up a lot of the characterization between Sapnap and Tommy in Season Two, as well as ending with an emotional moment as Sapnap releases Mars. So if you want Sapnap lore, this is Sapnap lore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z_kdlivG0M

-

This one’s a good one for insight, and it’s extremely underrated by nature of being way too damn difficult to find (oh Tubbo VODs channel, how you cause me such pain). This is directly after Tommy’s exile and the Mexican L’manburg Revolution and features a very interesting conversation between Dream, Tubbo and Ghostbur in New L’manburg! This is the stream where Ghostbur gives Tubbo the Your Tommy compass, and Tubbo and Dream have their chess game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OOhY8jemO0

-

Not to toot my own horn, but here’s something I worked on -- one of Eret’s August VODs, the day Niki joined. Very, very incomplete, and hopefully we might get the full VOD some day, but Eret looking down on L’manburg from afar while Wilbur sings the anthem to the L’manburgians is one of my favorite moments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o554R8XHtlI

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Now, this is 100% due to recency bias as I’ve literally just made a compilation with it, but 

The day or so after the Festival is way too under appreciated of a stream considering how important it was. Even if you’ve already seen it, it’s worth taking another look! This was the first time the Button Room was ever shown, it was Quackity switching sides — if you want insight, you’ve got insight right here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lXuZvCQXLg

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If you never got a chance to see Jack Manifold’s death to Tommy in exile from his perspective, here’s the link to that! Obviously a pretty big point for his character arc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UygIc5YSA_Y&t=2842s

-

And here, in case you haven’t seen it, is the Red Skeppy stream, which, as we all now know, is pretty much the basis for Bad’s entire character arc with his corruption by the Egg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYL94Tynl8M

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And of course, how could I forget the best lore stream of them all?

Here’s Antfrost’s Eggpire bathwater stream! Ant returns to the server after Doomsday, gets filled in on what’s going on, learns that L’manburg has been destroyed, and — well, you know. Bathwater.

If Dreamon Hunters is your kinda thing? Same vibes. This stream is great. It becomes retroactive angst later, but it’s absolutely hilarious.

https://archive.org/details/dream-smp-im-backkkkkk

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Now, if you want some real heart-wrenchers from the beginning of Season Two, I cannot recommend this arc enough. It is wayyyyyy too underrated and has some of my favorite moments from the entirety of the season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edzJwEXFYa0

First up, towards the beginning of the arc, with an interesting conversation between Fundy and Jack Manifold about how he feels concerning the recent appearance of Ghostbur, and his feelings about Wilbur’s death.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R-8pbcpAt4

Then you’ve got Wilbur’s stream as Ghostbur building in L’manburg. He ends up talking with Phil, asking about how he was in the past.

And then…oh man. This one hurts my heart more than any other. One of my favorites in terms of acting. If you want canon family dynamic drama, if you want Ghostbur and Fundy showing their characters’ mindsets at full swing, if you want Angst and good acting, here ya go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyKYLaRmb5c

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That’s about it for now! If you haven’t seen Foolish, Hannah or Ponk’s recent lore streams, I’d highly recommend them. Those are more recent, though, and you can just go to Twitch to find them.

And lastly, this fits literally none of your criteria, absolutely none, it’s not even a lore stream, but I will put the link here as a bonus because the only way to access it is with this link and I want as many people to know about this fever dream as possible. The VOD was deleted seconds after he ended stream and nothing’s ever been the same since.

https://youtu.be/b2M2al2ZW4Y?t=1276

Happy watching!

#dream smp #long posts #asks #dream smp vod links

[shroomtalker]

the potential c!sapnap has for lore

a majority of the dream smp fandom do want c!sapnap to have some sort of lore or have the potential of creating a foundation to set up for his character, yeah? well, he holds a much larger bucket of what i personally believe is a grand tie to a good handful of the main plot points occurring right now in this timeline. so in this post, i’ll mostly cover what could happen concerning c!sapnap and what his role in everything could mean for the future of the dream smp!

all of this is /dsmp and /rp!

__________________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

the fiancés

if you haven’t caught up with the lore right now, please know this is NOT spoiler free! 

as of right now according to the dream team wiki, c!sapnap has BOTH positive relationships with c!quackity and c!karl. however, after learning from c!quackity’s pov and his lore streams, he as resentment against both karl and sapnap for leaving him behind during the beginnings of kinoko kingdom. right now, we do not know the official reason as to why karl and sapnap excluded their fiancé from the build of their country (note: i might make a theory on this), although it is presented that quackity doesn’t like the mention of them. 

c!karl is going through his time travel situation with the other side being yet explored, along with the situation of his memory becoming worse through the duration of his travelling. c!quackity is going through his las nevadas arc, creating a casino in order to use the sin of gambling addiction to his advantage. with two of his fiancés going through tremendous (character developing) plotlines that are fated to cross paths, it is no question that c!sapnap will be caught in the crossfire of it. perhaps he’ll be forced to side with one or the other? face his true self which ends up fighting against the two? or will it all come down to something far worse?

tommy

it’s difficult to say if c!sapnap has the same respect or positive attitude towards c!tommy as time has changed, nevertheless their relationship is quite interesting. after the confrontation with mars and the teaming up on doomsday and THEN the disc confrontation (c!sapnap being among the many that stood up to protect c!tommy and c!tubbo), their relationship outcome has been positive. we all are very aware that c!tommy is the “main” character right now (i say main because i know a majority of people follow his pov). as wilbur is coming into play after being revived, c!dream still locked away in prison, and c!tommy having to pick a side, c!sapnap would in some regard have to consult c!tommy in one way or the other about the situation concerning c!dream.

ranboo

there isn’t much to base off of their relationship besides a couple of key points, but i still think it’s worth noting because of how much c!ranboo is playing a role as an important character. now, when sapnap visited c!dream in prison, dream gave sapnap a note with a smiley face on it, which was meant for ranboo. this triggered the enderwalk state, causing ranboo to flee quickly, only making c!sapnap confused. later, c!ranboo (still in his enderwalk) gave a message to sapnap in enderman, which only confused him more. 

i think this could really open a new door for sapnap to walk into which could further explore the relationship between c!ranboo and c!dream. we all know that sapnap is very close to dream, as he told him in pandora’s vault, 

“Dream if you try and break out early- you, you know that you only have one life left. Okay? And- you know, I don't think its gonna be Tommy, its not gonna be Techno, Dream. If you break out of this prison, its gonna be, its gonna be- me who takes your final life... and that's not because I have any resentment towards you or anything, it's because this is where you need to be, dude. You HAVE to stay here, okay?”

there is a lot to explore here with just c!ranboo, but as connected as he is to others (tommy, tubbo, philza), it could bring c!sapnap more ingrained within the lore.

badboyhalo

canonically, c!bbh is sapnap’s father. they both fought alongside each other during the battle of the lake, which strengthen their bond. however, it is unclear whether or not c!sapnap is aware with c!bbh’s corruption and connection toward the egg, which i could only assume will be showed throughout its course soon enough. c!sapnap doesn’t like the egg -- he’s made that very clear about wanting to kill said egg -- and bbh has protested this. 

with their relationship status being father and son, there is so much to build off of! i also really would like to see how c!sapnap would react to his own dad being corrupted by the red vines alongside punz, antfrost and ponk(?) who he seemingly has good relationships with.

dream

i don’t want to dedicate an entire paragraph to this of course since i know everyone is already familiar with their relationship, but i feel like there is so much that could truly be done to show their strong bond. i have a feeling we’ll be getting something from this as well which only makes me curious to see what’ll happen next!

there is a lot i could also cover, such as george, but i want to save that for an entire different post. i really do hope something will happen with how amazing c!sapnap’s character is, because there is so much potential there! he feels more as an anti-hero which could really be interesting to different storylines such as las nevadas, the prison arc, c!wilbur’s revival and of course, c!karl’s time traveling adventures.

#sapnap #sapnap theory #SAPNAP LORE #karl jacobs #quackity #tftsmp #las nevadas #tommyinnit #ranboo #badboyhalo #dream #dream team #dsmp theory #dsmp #karlnapity #joosedt theory

[zeta-in-de-walls]

How Tommy and Tubbo oppose Technoblade and Wilbur ideologically.

*This is a post for the characters portrayed on the Dream SMP, not the actual people. Heh, this got pretty long. I’ve been wanting to do a pretty in-depth post.

During the reclamation of L’Manburg war, L’Manburg got blown up by Wilbur and Technoblade. These two colluded to destroy the nation because they did not believe in it. Tommy and Tubbo meanwhile wanted to save it, and still wanted to fix it even after it was destroyed.

Technoblade has been clear that he is a violent anarchist, and feels that all forms of Government are bad, believing that they inherently lead to corruption and tyranny. In destroying L’Manburg therefore, he is saving the people from a greater evil. 

Wilbur’s thought process was a little more complicated. He once believed in L’Manburg but after being exiled and watching the nation he once loved morph into something unrecognisable, he lost faith in it. Slowly the people he once cared for began to mean nothing to him and he felt destroying it would be better than its continued existence. Technoblade’s values seemed to have influenced him as well for he claimed that he no longer believed in Governments anymore.

Tommy and Tubbo reject these ideals. Their faith in L’Manburg has not wavered in spite of the turmoil they have faced. Recovering the nation is worth fighting for, even in its broken form. Because broken things can be fixed, they can be made better. They believe that forming a government, a society, a collective identity is worth it and that through their work, it will not fall to corruption and tyranny - it can be a good place.

So we witnessed them come head to head. Wilbur planned to make Tommy president only for Techno to denounce him as a selfish power-hungry tyrant just like the one they forcibly disposed while Wilbur blew up the nation. 

Here’s Techno’s speech: “I did not spend weeks planning this revolution, giving you guys gear, for you guys to go and replace one tyrant with another. Don’t you see what’s happening here? Don’t you see history repeating itself? You think Schlatt was the cause of your problem? No - it was Government! Power corrupts. 

Tommy, do you think you’re a hero? Is that what this is? [Tommy: I just wanted L’Manburg.] You just wanted power. You just did a coup. You just did a hostile Government takeover and then immediately installed yourself as President. And then you gave it to your friend but that’s still a tyrant Tommy. The thing about this world Tommy is that good things don’t happen to heroes. Let me tell you a story, Tommy, a story of a man named Theseus. His country, well his city-state technically was in danger and he sent himself forward into enemy-lines. He slayed the Minotaur and saved his city. You know what they did to him Tommy? They exiled him. He died in disgrace, despised by his people. That’s what happens to heroes Tommy. The Greeks knew the score. But if you want to be a hero, Tommy, that’s fine. You want to be a hero, Tommy? Then die like one!

It’s a powerful speech. Technoblade believes that inevitably a new tyrant will replace the old one. Any idealistic person will die, be rejected, or become the very thing they swore to destroy. Corruption is inevitable. Technoblade sees it as his mission to destroy oppression by destroying Governments and any sort of system that seeks to impose its will on the people. 

But Technoblade’s ideology isn’t one that’s gone unchallenged. Tommy and Tubbo refute the image he tries to paint. Tommy’s immediate response as he tries to convince Technoblade not to summon the withers is this:

“Technoblade, don’t do this. We’re so close. I’m not the hero! No one’s the hero. We’ve got L’Manburg for each other.” 

To Tommy and to Tubbo - L’manburg is something worth fighting for. Technoblade claims they were interested in power - that’s why they took control of L’Manburg. But to them it’s not about power at all - in fact Tommy rejected power. Here’s part of Tubbo’s speech upon being made President.

“I wasn’t expecting to be up here surrounded by friends and enemies which I don’t hate all that much, I’ll be honest. But I enjoy seeing the unity and I feel like that’s what really matters. Everyone is brought together, whether we were fighting against each other or together - and I feel like that’s important. There’s a solid future to be built on here. Yes it has damages, but everything has damages.”

Tubbo acknowledges that their nation is imperfect and not everyone agreed with everything - but that’s not a reason to give up - it can be made better. And their Government, their nation, their community has value - it brings people together. Tommy thinks the same - L’Manberg is for the people. It’s not just his L’Manberg or Tubbo’s L’Manberg - it’s everyone’s L’Manberg! It’s for the people and its leader therefore has a responsibility to lead them the best they can.

Technoblade accused Tommy of seizing control of the Government because he wanted power. But Tommy defied that expectation and immediately gave up his power because he knew he had divided interests and therefore wouldn’t be the best person for the job. That’s selflessness. They took back L’Manberg in order to make it a better place. 

Why have a Government? Because society can be made better through cooperation and unity. It’s better than a chaotic, lawless world. Yes, it can be dangerous in the wrong hands, but no man is an island. Working together can allow you to achieve greater things - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Even if it also leaves you open to betrayal.

Wilbur is a character who has fallen from his former ideals. He once believed in L’Manberg and spoke about using words to fight rather than violence. He was a good man and a good leader. Then he got ousted from power and betrayed by his former nation. Technoblade spoke about Theseus - a hero who got exiled and died in disgrace, despised by his former people. Was that not Wilbur - whose legacy is now the destruction of L’Manberg rather than its creation?

In the end, he stopped caring for L’Manburg and for his friends and decided to blow it all up. He didn’t just blow up the land - he also betrayed all his old companions who once meant the world to him. He felt that by blowing it up, he would end it all. Wilbur didn’t have much to live for once he’d lost L’Manburg, soon all he had was that promise to press the button.

Tommy had been exiled too, he lost L’Manberg along with WIlbur and yet completely opposed this way of thinking. He believed it could still be reclaimed even in its broken state. Tommy gives this brief speech in front of the L’Mantree - a new symbol of hope.

“Tubbo, L’Manberg is still alive. It doesn’t matter if it’s blown to smithereens, it doesn’t matter if Techno kills everyone. As long as we’re still together, L’Manburg lives on. Tubbo, President Tubbo… we’ve got a lot of work to do.” 

To Tommy and to Tubbo the land doesn’t matter - neither of them care much for material possessions. They’ve lost everything before and they don’t care because they still have each other. Wilbur believed the blowing up L’Manberg was destroying it - but to them it lives on. 

To some, perhaps destruction reigned victorious on that day. But Wilbur’s gone now. And Technoblade was on L’Manburg’s side - welcomed by all of them until he chose to work against them. Now he’s alone - a figure who is feared by all. Tommy and Tubbo still have each other, still have friends around them in spite of their many losses. This isn’t the end - it’s a new beginning. 

#dreamsmp #analysis #tommyinnit #technoblade #tubbo #wilbur soot #dream smp #yeah this is a long post #these are some great character #i'm particularly fond of tommy's #and hope that his idealism will work out #keep the flame burning #never give up hope #never become a villain - remaining an idealist in spite of the struggles - thats strength

[thebadchoicemachine]

Yall want some MYCT Magnus Archive Headcanons I may or may not draw? (Pt 1?)

I will try to include individual trigger warnings at the beginning of each explanation as much as I can think of. They may seem a little overboard but better safe than sorry. Remember, TMA is a horror podcast. 

(ALSO, EVERYTHING HERE IS /RP. EVEN WHEN I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT A ROLEPLAY VIDEO PLEASE KNOW I’M MAKING UP A CHARACTER BASED OFF THEIR CHANNEL AND AM NOT ACTUALLY ACCUSING THEM OF BEING A SERVANT TO A MALEVOLENT FEAR ENTITY.)

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Philza 

1. An End Avatar (TW, Numb/Apathetic Mindset)

He’s a reaper. An immortal. You only live once but life’s become, not meaningless, more like desaturated. He doesn’t care in a cheery “oh well” way. He’s pretty chill about it. He’s extremely chill about it. He is disturbingly chill about it. At first it seems great, he’s just a nice chill guy! No evil schemes or vicious plots. Just spending time with him seems to calm your nerves. And then you spend more time and you begin to understand why, things aren’t as important as you make them seem. You catastrophize a lot. Then a catastrophe happens and you’re not... upset. Why... why would you be? It doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t. It won’t in a hundred years and it doesn’t now. would end the same anyways. And then he starts to be less and less relatable. Why is he so happy? Why does he bother to go meet people and smile and eat or laugh or frown. You can’t belive you ever complained that he was so mild about everything, any amount is more than is worth. Why bother? Why... bother...

2. A Vast Avatar (TW, Heights?)

He just fucking tosses people into the sky instead of being upset with them. Do anything he doesn’t like? SWOOSH. It’s to the point it’s not even a malicious thing, it’s just routine. He gets up, goes to the store, picks up some groceries, sends a person who cut in line to a void of dusk with swirling black clouds where you fall so long you can’t tell if you’re flying up or down or left or right, maybe gets some mints, goes home, puts groceries away, does the dishes, etc. 

(the rest of the cast below the cut)

Tubbo

1. A Corruption Avatar (TW, Body Horror Surrounding Lungs, Swarming Insects, Implied Murder.) 

He has bees in his lungs and he loves them very much. If he ever gets something stuck in his throat or has water go down the wrong pipe he will FEAK OUT. He often has to cough up honey (and sometimes bees). It’s... a process. He just sits over a bucket or jar and hacks his little heart out. He sometimes saves the honey and offers it to people. Amazingly, his friends never take him up on the offer. Unsuspecting people who don’t know the.. supernatural origin of the honey find they have some... unpleasant side effects. (Bees. The side effect is bees. Specifically ones trying to fly down their throat.) Oh well, being a part of a hive isn’t for everyone. The really unfortunate ones make good fertilizer for his flowers, though! His lungs are literally a hive. If you tried to listen to his heartbeat you’d hear buzzing. He will sometimes hold flowers over his open mouth to let the bees get some easy pollon. He doesn’t usually actively seek out “prey” but when he is trying to feed on that good old fear he’ll act super sweet, too sweet, and then open his mouth and let the bees fly out. It’s very creepy but to him it’s just funny. (Also, all of the bees have names and he has a funeral for every single one that get’s killed.)

Quackity

1. A Spiral Avatar

I- I mean have you seen a single one of his videos?

2. A Stranger Avatar (TW, Unreality Depersonalization )

He mocks people as their own reflection, hopping from pond to mirror to camera to scream at them (sometimes literally) that they do not know who they are. It starts off subtle (Wasn’t your hair a bit longer? Weren’t your eyes a shade lighter? Did you always have that birthmark?”) but grows and changes until it gets to the point you stand in front of a mirror and every time you blink you look completely different. You feel your face, you look at your hands, but it’s no help. They change too fast. Your pictures change too, every single post on all your social media looks like different people posted it- wait... did you always have this platform? You don’t remember ever using it before. You have so many posts... none of them match up. You throw your phone away, noticing you never had the case on it. You turn to real photos for help but they are none. Of course not. You feel like just giving up as you shuffle through photo after photo, you don’t know what you really look like, so what? But then something catches your eye. A photo of you in the 5th grade concert. You don’t remember going to that school. You’ve never played an instrument, have you? Something screams yes and no at the same time. You throw the box down and grab your phone. You need to call someone. You pace throughout a house you recognize less and less searching for clues, reminders, as the phone rings. Your best friend answers. You throw the phone down again. You don’t have a best friend. You’ve never really been one for friends. No, that’s not true, you had a few really good ones but you’ve grown apart. No, that’s not true, you only have one real friend, your boyfriend. No, you don’t have a boyfriend, just a close friend. No, you have many friends just none that are close enough for this bullshit. You stop. No. No you don’t like swearing, do you? Do you? Who are you? Who are you? Your reflection laughs. It’s eating popcorn and making you do a stupid dance. What a bitch.

3. A Flesh Avatar (TW, Body Horror Surrounding Faces and Skin)

You’re a piece of meat, he’s a piece of meat, everyone’s meat. Like Chicken Nuggets.He’ll steal your face right off it’s skull and dance with one in each hand. He’ll put words in your mouth like you’re a puppet with bones. He’ll make you say the dumbest shit because it’s funny. Even when it’s obviously not YOU talking. 

Technoblade 

1.  A Hunt Avatar (TW, Stalking/Genocide) 

Many people have suggested a slaughter avatar but I don’t see it. Yeah, he kills (blood for the blood god and all that) but I don’t see it. The Slaughter is about the moment. The unplanned snap. The sudden outbursts. I don’t see that in techno. You know what I DO see that also involves quite a bit of bloodlust? The chase. The planning, the target, the unstoppable dread and panic that overtakes his victims once they realize who is after them. The power. Calculated genocide of victim after victim. The HUNT. My two pain points of evidence: His potato war videos, that time he took over the world, and his stalking speech to Quackity. Go watch an animatic of Technoblade chasing down Quackity and tell me he is not a Hunt Avatar. 

Wilbur

1. A Desolation Avatar (TW, Abuse/Torture)

Everything he touches burns and hurts. Sometimes it’s on purpose, sometimes on accident, but either way he’s caught up in enjoying the drama. I’m gonna be honest, my main inspiration was the Villainbur aesthetic but the more I thought about it the more it made sense. Look at nearly any of his 100 player videos; designed to create maximum pain for hs enjoyment. Even the Dream SMP where he was mostly a good guy and more tragic than anything else fits. Maybe that Villain Arc was his first dabble as an avatar of destruction and pain. Even making his own father kill him could have been along the lines of “how can I milk as much despair out of this as possible.”

TommyInnit

1. A Slaughter Avatar (TW, Straight Up Murder)

Now HERE is a character right up that slaughter’s alley. No thoughts, not plans, just unbridled passion and rage and violence. He just stabs people whenever he feels like it (which is often) sometimes just with sticks. Like a rabid raccoon just jumps straight at people’s faces out of nowhere, always starting shit and stoking fires to make people angry at each other. 

2. A Buried Avatar (TW, small tight spaces)

Tunnels and caves and sticks and spots. He’ll burry you under a mountain, he’ll lock you in a tree. Dirt man. His usual MO is trapping people under an avalanche of stones and rocks and rubble. Basically just lava casting your bones. Everything he makes is ugly but not just in a ”that’s literally a pile of rocks in the middle of the road” way in a bit of an indescribable “looking at that makes me feel like I’m breathing in straight gravel.” 

Bonus: Ranboo as a Dark Avatar/Victim. He is not a willing avatar like Jude or Helen, he’s more along the lines of Oliver and Jon.

#dream smp au #dsmp tma au

[darkelectron]

Okay, I'm watching the stream right now, and immediately I'm noticing that Techno forming a secret organisation is the sort of thing that happens just before everyone becomes corrupt and loses all sense of their ideals. Techno is probably the most powerful person on the server in terms of items and fighting prowess, which whether he acknowledges it or not, means he could easily fall victim to the same problem of 'all power corrupts' that the L'Manburg government did if he fails to hold himself accountable for the power that he has.

The 'Syndicate' that he's creating is built on a principle of equality between members. He was very explicit about this. However, it falls folly to the facts that Techno is the one picking the members of the group (though this is decided by a 'majority vote'), and that the syndicate will likely be made up of some of the more powerful members of the server, meaning this organisation will likely have an incredible amount of power with no way for anyone to stop them or hold them accountable.

Now you can say what you like about how the organisation is being made with good intentions, but it's very unlikely that it will be able to stay that way considering Techno (the cc) probably knows what he's doing with creating a group of people with shared ideals, and how that'll turn out.

The reason I bring up Animal Farm, is because of a couple things, most of them likely irrelevant, but I think it's interesting to view it through this lens.

1. Techno is a pig. Yeah. I'm sorry. But it does mean that he's already in a position to draw parallels between the two stories.

2. A lot of the art that Techno received in his call for anarchy fanart was drawn in the style of the Russian Revolution, which as everyone knows, is the context behind Animal Farm. If Techno was setting himself up then as a member of the revolting force that overthrew the Tsar, then if he continues down that path he ends up as the ultimately still corrupt government refusing to let his people imagine a different future for themselves.

3. The Dream SMP likes to take inspiration from other stories as it does its arcs. The L'Manburg revolution was obviously Hamilton, the Pogtopia v Manburg arc involved Wilbur taking inspiration from JD from Heathers. A lot of people joked about Rapunzel with the exile arc. Plus Techno is an English major (or was), which means he likely knows the story and the intricacies of how corruption developed over the course of the book, which means he would feel comfortable drawing those parallels as this arc progresses.

4. The story of Animal Farm starts with the liberation of the animals from the farmer using violent uprising, which then puts the animals in a position of power where before they were in a position of oppression. Despite this new power, the animals continue to live in fear of being oppressed again, which allows the pigs to grow their power under the guise of 'not wanting to be oppressed in the same way again'. They do this by placing themselves, the ones they themselves have deemed worthy of that power, into a position of unified power, and then showing off how much they care about equality and freedom.

Everyone knows the quote 'All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others'. But before it was that, it was simply, 'All animals are equal'. And as Techno said, "We shall have no leader; no member shall be compelled to act if they do not choose to."

I wonder how that's going to work out for him. 'Thus always to tyrants', and all that.

[if anyone wants to look at this stuff themself, I got most of this from the beginning and 1:05 in Techno's live stream on 18/01/2021, https://youtu.be/n5aQeLwwEns ]

#mcyt #dream smp #technoblade #dsmp #type: thinking about those lights #static burst #yes i also posted this to reddit

[chirp-featherfowl]

summertime is not a good friend.

 -       Tommy is 12 when he's assigned as a right hand man to a war general.      Far too young, the world thinks. Far too immature, the world says.        It is a war for peace, but not one a child should not carry the burden of. It is a war for hope, for prosperity, for freedom, but not one a child should be the right hand man of.       The child that is the subject of discussion does not understand, nor does he disagree with his placement. It is not for a long, long, time that he realizes.  -       In a few months time, the ages of the rest have been revealed.       A friend that is 13. An enemy that is 19. An outsider that is 19. A son that is 15. A girl that is 18.       The words pass through the minds of the watchers, only fueling them to have the world they carefully spectate fall in shambles. Some say it's sadistic, that it's cruel, but no one listens. Not even they can stop themselves from seeing what comes next. -  [Discussion Board Opened!] all hail sir billiam 23 min. ago lmao these losers saying its "problematic". get off of ur skyblock island sweetie, they're fictional <3 -- 18 replies  Skye [on hiatus!] 23 min. ago  Um they're not fictional? These are reall people   - Hati 20 min. ago       Lmao yes they are. They might as well be seeing as they shouldve known            what they were signing up for  -- 4 replies  ami | MOD | 18 min. ago  hello! please get off this discussion board and delete this post. we do not   condone discourse here, try and find another site! thank you.   - all hail sir billiam 18 min. ago       um no thanks. the mods here r shit anyways, go get the owner if u wanna            talk to me -- 8 replies -       Tommy is 13 when he learns that his suffering is being watched and condoned by millions of other people. He is angry, and rightfully so.       It just so happens that his anger has fallen on deaf ears, though, as his brother, his dear brother, is trapped in delusions of his own creation.       It is too late for his brother, and it is too late for himself. - puddle ;; shay @soggy_mem0ry Stop stanning problematic world groups and go back to playing on fucking mineplex or something. This site disgusts me 456 Retweets 34 Quote Tweets 6,282 Likes

el \ DON'T PRIV QRT @el_i god the discourse on here is horrible. i'm not going to be on this site for a while. i don't like what it's becoming. 293 Retweets 2 Quote Tweets 1,497 Likes -       It has been over six months since Tommy has been without trust. He cares for his brother, he does his best for him, and he knows he loves him back, despite the situation they're in. Tommy has done his best to bring his brother back to the way he was once before, and even though they both know it won't last long, they both put on a facade for each other. -       A young boy, the age of 16, watches as another boy, only three years younger than him, loses almost all his hope. This young boy does not matter to the state of this world, and he never will, but it is the impact that makes it so important.       The boy sits near a tree on his island, giving up hope himself. -        A girl slaughters her way to victory in small matches in her area, knowing much due to her ability to find sufficient role models.       Sufficient role models that happen to be revenge-filled adults that seem to not know they're torturing children, but it doesn't matter to her. It doesn't matter to anyone, in fact. No one cares when the world hinges on the fate of 14 year-olds who shouldn't know how to handle a crossbow, but so do nonetheless. -  frog-enthusiast - Follow man. i never thought i'd be making this post, seeing as i'm one of the more popular members of the dsmpblr community, but i'm done. i won't deactivate this blog so other people can still see it, but i probably won't be posting ever again. fuck everyone who condones this shit. -       Tommy is 14 when he begins to finally lose his hope.       He hasn't yet, despite what everyone else thinks. He is still holding onto it, not for long, but he hasn't let go.       But the world seems keen on having him release his grip, and he does, eventually.       That day is not today, though, and Tommy Simons still lives. He lives in a, sadly, different and changed mindset, but is still the same Tommy Simons.       He cannot say the same for his brother. - THEORIES ABOUT THE DSMP Kadoodles 696K views - 3 days ago MCC 9 Interview - Tapl's thoughts on DSMP, HBomb94 talking about L'cast, and more! MCC Highlights 3.2M views - 5 months ago Tommy confronts Wilbur about Manberg Obli Intel 52K views - 1 day ago - TAPL: Well, I'm not surprised you've asked me this. More that I was the first one to be asked, I guess? TAPL: If I'm being honest, I don't really want to talk about it. What does on in that world is none of my business. Though, that's not the answer you want, is it, huh? TAPL: I don't like it. It gives off such a bad energy, if that's the way you want to put it. I just... don't think it should exist, really? It shouldn't be shown off. -       Tommy is 15 when he finally, finally, crumbles. Where he, the final judge, the youngest, is corrupted, is taken down to be who he finally is.       Prey. -       Various teenagers from all across the world watch as friend gets separated from friend, and foe takes over foe. It's no surprise to the people who chose this demise, but it still is a burden to carry. To be known as one of the people that sentenced a child to an early grave is something not a lot of people personally like.       They keep on watching, though. Nothing will stop them. (But it is not as if people try.)       The world might crumble there, and they will watch. The world might disappear there, and they will watch. - Replies jumpy-the-alien - frog-enthusiast I'm sad to see you go, but I totally get where you're coming from! I really hope you come back, I love your art, but don't feel pressured. vlaired-spear fuck off with the "fuck everyone" thing. you watched this shit too. you can't put down other people while still doing the same thing. flameo-hotman @vlaired-spear holy shit this is why i hate this website. suck a dick flowgastrell @vlaired-spear I know right! Its not like the ccs will see this anyway flameo-hotman @flowgastrell yeah, maybe not in a discord server, but there's still a high chance when you post it on the fucking internet - TAPL: I know I'm probably going to lose a lot of people saying this, but you asked for my opinion, and here it is. I don't want to lie about it. Especially not when fucking children are at risk. -       Tommy remains 15 for a very long time. It is not of his own volition. He is bored, and time passes slowly.       Not until his friend arrives, that is. His friend with the mask, his friend with the lies. His friend that's not his friend.       But Tommy doesn't know that. - [Discussion Board Opened!] all hail sir billiam 45 min. ago it will be a long day in hell when i give up dsmp content lmaoooo got banned from that other board the other day mods were toxic as shit might report it idk  -- 4 replies  Gertrude Supremacy 44 min. ago  :O Oh no what happened  - all hail sir billiam 44 min. ago    just the antis being toxic again lol  -- 2 replies -       Tommy remains 15 when he his abused by the one he thinks is a friend. He remains 15 during the explosions, the traps, the hitting, the fighting, the party, the-       The things a 15-year-old should not have to deal with.       He stops saying sorry for being too weak-willed. He starts saying sorry for being too disobedient. He does both, and gets punished "suitably" for both.       It is a game, and he does not know the rules. to be continued!! may make a follow up post explaining the au

#HOPEFULLY FORMATTING DOESN'T FUCK THIS UP LOL #i dont know what im doin man #tommyinnit #tommyinnit dsmp #tommy dsmp #dsmp tommy #dream #dream was taken #dreamwastaken #dsmp #dream smp #dsmpblr #wilbur #wilbursoot #l'manberg #l'manburg #lmanberg #lmanburg #mcyt #mcytblr #tapl #abuse ment #tapl mcyt #wilbur soot

[megablade]

ok so i love (!!) the direction quackity is taking with his character with the whole corruption arc and sympathy for the devil stuff but

at the same time it sucks to see some people taking c!quackity’s current actions to reaffirm the idea that he was “always a villain." because when he was trying to do everything right and see the best in people and chase justice, he was still seen as a villain by a lot of the fandom just because he ran against wilbur and tommy in the elections.

i’ve seen plenty of art depicting him taking joy in this tubbo’s execution by schlatt’s side, plenty of people thinking he still wants to execute ranboo, plenty of posts saying that he never struggled (my personal favorite, someone said that dream was more justified than quackity in his wrongdoings because he suffered in prison, while the only thing quackity ever went through was not getting invited to kinoko kingdom. i will Scream).

and now that he is actively doing things in the wrong, there are so many takes saying that’s how he’s always been since the beginning of the smp. that’s confirmation bias at its finest, i suppose

like im not a c!quackity apologist anymore, but if i see enough bad takes, i might regress back into one out of Pure Spite /j

of course, there are bad takes for all of the dsmp characters out there. but the whole point of "sympathy for the devil" rests on the idea that there is sympathy to begin with. and quackity’s storytelling has been extremely effective in creating that sympathy! so it’s a bit odd to me when people ignore canon to stay unsympathetic for his character in particular

you put it very nicely !! it's very surprising how many people are making analysis posts about quackity's character without having properly seen his earlier vods, because if the first few quackity lore streams you've properly seen is the las nevadas series, your perception of his character is going to be way skewed in comparison, so those are very bold moves, haha c!quackity's always been a morally gray character: it's easy to view him as someone who craves power, because it's true! his aspirations have repeatedly been kicked down and he's been treated like an outsider all throughout l'manberg and even manberg when he was working under schlatt's administration, and his solution to this was to finally get enough power that he wouldn’t get stepped over anymore. but i think that's the beauty of how his character was written, because even considering how most of his arcs are centered around wanting to get authority & power, quackity never cast aside his empathy for the places & people he cared about (although this has recently become debatable, i won't get into it now):

he refused to leave manberg because of his attachment to the country

but his breaking point was schlatt taking down the white house because it was the last good memory he had with tommy and wilbur

he resigned from new l'manberg because tubbo's ideals didn't match what quackity thought was right for the nation - but even then, they did not part of bad terms, with quackity giving tubbo his last pep talk

he came to fight for new l'manberg again on doomsday despite knowing that their chances of victory were small: he chose l'manberg and its people over and over and over again and he still lost it all - to the man that quackity thinks is the root of all problems: dream.

i feel like that’s why there are as many people who sympathize with him as there are—or at least understand his state of mind, if not sympathize.

and on the other hand, for the people who don’t sympathize, it’s weird to see how they decide to have collective amnesia for every arc before the disc confrontation when analyzing him but like you said, there are always going to be bad takes in fandom slkjfgf

#also as a disclaimer as Always this isnt justification for any of the things he's doing rn because as yall know my mantra is #abuse & trauma =/= justification for violence #but it does help put things into perspectives... also why i've been calling myself more of an enthusiast rather an apologist #because apologist doesn't really cover how i feel about him KDSJFGDG like mans fucked up i'm not Denying that #* #ask #anonymous #lore thoughts #thank u for sharing this was a great read !!

[tiny-cacti-magnet]

The Shot Goes off, Yet the Show Goes on

Summary:

"Are you sure about this?"

“Of course,” Wilbur answered surely. “This probably won’t take more than a few minutes.”

Sam shrugged. “If you say so. Just… be careful. He’s dangerous.”

Wilbur had to scoff at that. “He’s also the one who brought me back. It’d be a pretty stupid move to revive me, only to kill me at the first opportunity.”

—

Wilbur visits Dream in prison.

Tags:

No Archive Warnings Apply, Clay | Dream & Wilbur Soot, Sam | Awesamdude & Wilbur Soot, Wilbur Soot, Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Sam | Awesamdude, Mentioned TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), a little bit of crime bois, Pandora's Vault Prison, Older Sibling Wilbur Soot, Resurrected Wilbur Soot, Wilbur Soot is Not Okay, he is just very confused, Author is Not a Clay | Dream Apologist (Video Blogging RPF), but we're not condoning torture mkay?, Author is a Wilbur Soot Apologist, and I will die on this hill

In the end, it wasn’t too difficult to convince Sam to let him into the prison. The warden had some concerns about his past relationship with Dream, which Wilbur easily explained around. He signed the contracts at the entrance, and he wouldn’t go back on them. Wilbur had no intention to break Dream out of prison.

Or, not this particular visit, at the very least.

The second source of concern came from his relationship with Tommy; his right-hand man had to stay outside and far away from the prison. Something about an argument with Sam, the teen had explained to Wilbur.

Thus, here he stood, deep in the belly of the beast, the monster known as Pandora’s Vault. Sam stood in front of him, Warden’s Will gripped tightly in his right fist as he flicked the lever to lower the lava. Nothing seemed to happen for a minute, then two.

The lava bubbled and popped, its orange glow illuminating the obsidian walls with warm light. It made the room stiflingly hot, and Wilbur could feel himself beginning to sweat beneath his heavy overcoat.

This was his last chance to back out, to take, well, everyone’s advice and leave Dream be, let him rot in prison. And yet, here he stood, probably a mere twenty to thirty blocks away from the man that had caused so much destruction on this server. All the same, Wilbur himself had caused a fair amount of destruction as well, and he remained a free man. Never once had anyone threatened to lock him away, despite everything he’d done.

The lava still hadn’t fallen an inch, and Wilbur decided to take the time to reorganize his thoughts. He would need to be prepared for what he was about to do. It was hard to be prepared for this. How could he be when everything was so incredibly complicated beyond all comprehension?

Dream was the villain—or at least, Tommy had been very insistent on telling him so. Wilbur found it hard to believe that. Or maybe Wilbur just didn’t want to believe it. He couldn’t tell sometimes. It was all so confusing. Dream was the bad guy, but he had saved Wilbur from that train station of hell. That wasn’t a very villainous thing to do, was it?

Unless Dream had only revived him for his own purposes, which Wilbur suspected, and Tommy agreed with. Tommy also certainly seemed to think that Wilbur shouldn’t be visiting the prison at all unless his life depended on it. Wilbur couldn’t wholly disagree with the sentiment.

It was simply too dangerous, according to Tommy, and Sam; even Quackity had warned him about visiting Dream. Wilbur took their concerns into consideration, and set off in the direction of the prison regardless. He needed closure and some sense of understanding of Dream’s actions, and there was only one person who could give him that.

“Are you absolutely certain about this?” Sam asked, his deep voice cutting through Wilbur’s train of thought. “The last time you—or a version of you, rather—was here, it didn’t end well.”

Wilbur inwardly scowled at the implication that his revival was something that “didn’t end well”. He considered that day to be one of the best, watching the sunrise for the first time in thirteen years, feeling its warm rays on his pale skin. It didn’t matter that the air vaguely tasted of gunpowder even after so much time had passed—at least he could taste.

“Of course,” he answered surely. “This probably won’t take more than a few minutes.”

Sam shrugged. “If you say so. Just… be careful. He’s dangerous.”

Wilbur had to scoff at that. “He’s also the one who brought me back. It’d be a pretty stupid move to revive me, only to kill me at the first opportunity.”

“Still.” Sam frowned. “I don’t want anything else to happen to anyone in this place. He’s caused enough damage and death on this server. Don’t let him cause any more.”

He nodded. “I’ll do my best,” Wilbur promised.

After a few minutes of listening to the lava slowly flow down from the ceiling, it started falling down, revealing the prisoner across the gap.

Wilbur stood on the small platform that would take him across. A memory hit him—of covering for someone, crossing the gap with another person. Ghostbur’s memory, he realized quickly. He’d been getting more of those, recently. Little snippets whenever he entered a plains' biome, or pulled out a compass.

Tommy had told him some of it, but not all. And Wilbur tried to tell him what he remembered, but never all of it. He couldn’t get through a couple of words of it sometimes without feeling the need to disappear into a forest to aggressively hack away at trees for an hour or two.

The stone hit the edge of the obsidian box that had become Dream’s new home. Or perhaps it was his first home, technically. Wilbur had heard from somewhere that the man had been homeless before. Not that that was going to make him feel any sort of sympathy for him.

The platform left. The lava fell. The netherite blocks descended into the floor.

Wilbur got his first good look at Dream in person in over a decade, and it was immediately obvious that life in prison had not been treating him well. He wore a bright orange jumpsuit that looked to be stained with blood in some places. His eye was bruised, and there were multiple cuts and scrapes on his face, which was lacking his usual mask.

In spite of his state, Dream still smiled when he spotted Wilbur at the entrance.

“Dream,” Wilbur greeted curtly.

“Wilbur,” Dream echoed in the same tone. “How nice of you to finally decide to pay me a visit. I’ve been waiting for you, you know.”

Wilbur cocked his head to the side. “Oh?”

“After all, I was the one who revived you.”

“I know.”

Dream turned his head sharply at Wilbur, who’d taken to casually leaned against the obsidian close to the lava. “You… know?”

“Of course, I do. You were conducting the train.”

He grinned at that. “I was, wasn’t I?” His gaze drifted to the wall of lava, then back to Wilbur. “So,” he said, “I take it you’ve come here to thank me?”

“Among other things,” Wilbur answered. “But yes. I can’t say I enjoyed being stuck in my own personal limbo for thirteen years. And you were the one to get me out of there. That at least deserves some form of acknowledgement.”

“Well then. You’re very welcome. I’m glad I could be of service.”

“But I know you didn’t do it out of the goodness of your heart, or some other bullshit like that, did you Dream? You’re no altruist. You want something from me.”

The smile that Dream gave him was full of something corrupt and wrong, and in some twisted way, Wilbur saw something of himself in that expression. Perhaps there were some similarities between the two of them. Wilbur had been stuck with his thoughts, which were hell enough on their own without the incentive from the fucking train station; Dream had been stuck in this cell in a similar predicament—trapped with nothing but his own thoughts.

Maybe he did deserve some hint of sympathy.

Or not.

“Well, I think after doing you such a large favour, you could at least offer me one in return,” Dream suggested with that same expression.

“And what would that favour be?” Wilbur questioned, pushing himself off from the wall and casually making his way over to where Dream stood in the opposite corner.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed my current living situation. If I remember correctly, your previous situation wasn’t all that different, was it?”

Wilbur tilted his head, considering. “No. It wasn’t. I’m assuming you want this “living situation” changed?”

“I’d like a change in scenery. I’m sure you’d understand.”

And he did. Prime, Wilbur understood that. Understood shouting and clawing at the walls, screaming until his throat felt like sandpaper, and he couldn’t have spoken if he tried to—not that there was anybody else in limbo to talk to (apart from Tommy for those blissful few months, and Schlatt when he wasn’t passed out or high out of his mind).

However.

He remembered a crater, a destroyed camping site in a plains' biome. He remembered an obsidian grid in the sky and explosives raining down from above. He remembered looking in as much as he could from the afterlife, watching two teens give everything they had to protect each other from the enemy.

He remembered Tommy pleading with him.

Trust me, Wilbur, listen. Dream is not a hero. He has caused so much damage and trauma to everyone on this server. Trust me.

And that was the issue, wasn’t it? Trust.

That was his downfall, always. Spiralling into his own mind, convincing himself that anyone and everyone could be the traitor. It was trusting too much that had gotten him killed, and refusing to trust anyone at all that had dealt the final blow.

Wilbur knew he couldn’t trust Dream. That wasn’t his paranoia speaking, that was just common sense. Tommy on the other hand… maybe the kid deserved some of Wilbur’s trust after trusting him for months in Pogtopia despite all reason saying to do otherwise.

He’d made his choice.

“There’s this saying, Dream, from someone I know very, very well.”

Dream whispered under his breath, “I swear, if you’re about to say ‘It was never meant to be’—”

Wilbur fought a smile at that, but continued on regardless. “‘I believe in absolute reciprocity’.”

“I’d agree,” he replied. “It’d be a fair trade, wouldn’t it? One rescue for another?”

“That’s one way of thinking about it. But you see, I was trapped in the afterlife for thirteen years, Dream. Thirteen years. You’ve been in here for what? A few months at most? Maybe half a year?”

“Wilbur—”

“‘Absolute reciprocity’,” he repeated. “That leaves you with about twelve and a half years to go? I’d say that’s a fair trade.”

“No, no, no, no, no,” Dream frantically tried to explain. “Time works differently in the afterlife. You weren’t gone for that long, I swear.”

Wilbur shrugged carelessly. “I don’t particularly care about how time works in limbo, or whatever that place is called.”

“But—”

“Sam!” Wilbur called into the lava. “I think we’re done here.”

“I—I revived you,” Dream insisted. “You owe me.”

“No, I don’t. You should never have hurt my brother, Dream.”

The lava fell.

“You should have known I wouldn’t be merciful to those who hurt my family.”

The platform came.

Wilbur let a twisted smile spread across his face as he stepped onto it. He turned around to spare a gloating wave in Dream’s direction. “Enjoy the next decade in prison. I’ll be back sometime around then, probably.”

If you last that long, he didn’t add.

—

AO3

#dsmp #dream smp #dream smp fanfiction #dsmp fanfic #wilbur soot #dreamwastaken #awesamdude #revivebur #so this was written before the techno stream whoops #why does stuff happen so fast in this fandom #wilbur is mostly just confused in this #that's it #anyways enjoy

[2018weekinreview]

January - April 2018

The Reckoning:

The end of 2017 marked the beginnings of a massive cultural and political revolution with women speaking out about sexual harassment in the workplace. In December, everything seemed to come to a head when Donald Trump (a man with his own litany of accusers) went all in on his support of Alabama Congressional candidate, Roy Moore, who had been accused by multiple women, including a 14-year-old, of sexual misconduct. This is a guy Trump didn’t endorse until AFTER the sexual allegations emerged, mind you.

As Democrats tried to be principled on the issue, Congressmen began stepping down (including Al Franken) due to pressure over allegations of their own. Before then, as more and more icons of the entertainment world were toppled, it became more glaringly obvious that the zero-shame partisan world of politics wasn’t holding itself to the same standards.      

Thankfully, in the end Doug Jones squeaked out a win in the election - a Democrat won in deep red Alabama for the first time since 1992 - and nobody in Congress had to deal with the full-blown shame of a Roy Moore in Washington. By the way, Jones’ win was mostly attributed to black voters and more specifically, the 98% of black female who voted for Jones in an election that had a higher black turnout than Obama’s last election in 2012.  

The Moore candidacy and loss were the source of a lot of wackiness as well as an escalation of the GOP civil war between establishment figures and populist outsiders. But in reality, Republicans obviously dodged a huge bullet by Moore losing.        

January 21: Shutdown.      

Trump had his physical. He came back perfect and healthy with no cognitive issues or dentures. Nobody is buying the report (Girthers) and Trump apparently grew an inch taller to avoid being labeled obese. And the mental exam he took (for memory loss and dementia) is hilariously easy.

February 11: A White House in Chaos.

Trump aid, Rob Porter, had to resign due to spousal abuse allegations by two of his ex-wifes (with photos included). Not surprisingly, Trump defended and praised Porter. Possibly because it was written by Porter’s girlfriend, Hope Hicks. Seriously. Which is pretty much par for the course, since he has a history of dismissing allegations against men (Bill O’Reilly, Roy Moore, ahem, Himself). But the part that caused the most problems for the Trump White House is that Porter couldn’t get an FBI clearance because of the allegations.    

Donald Trump wants a military parade. Nobody else does. Even Fox & Friends said it was a waste of money.

Everyone loves the clip of Trump’s hair blowing open as he boarded Air Force One. 

February 25: Is It Different This Time?    

Black Panther continued breaking box office records.  

Trump made a surprise announcement on tariffs, against the advice of all of his advisors. Like, he did it out of frustration. And it could also cause a trade war, which Trump says are good and easy to win (they’re not).  

China is making Xi Jinping in charge for life. Trump joked he’d like to do the same here.    

March 11: Trump Alone Can Fix This?

Trump signed his tariffs on steel and aluminum. That caught everyone off guard as well. So he’s potentially starting a trade war against the wishes of his own advisors and his own party. The guy from the EU said it was stupid and said they’d put a tariff on bourbon, blue jeans and Harley Davidsons. But Wilbur Ross made the rounds holding up soup cans. It looks more and more like Trump is his own strategist and communications director and negotiator. He’s tired of being reigned in and is ignoring advice. So I guess he really goes think he alone can fix things.

Teachers in West Virginia went on strike.          

April: 

Trump also wants to slap $100 billion more in tariffs on China, which could cause a trade war and is already fucking with the stock market.

This week’s scandals are led by Scott Pruitt of the EPA. Who pretty much seems like he’s there just to dismantle the EPA and take as much free fancy shit as possible. Like, the number of his ethics scandals is bananas. And Pruitt probably wouldn’t be able to keep his job if Democrats and the press didn’t hate him so much. So for now, Trump is standing by him. I mean, he’s also trying to fuck the environment, which should be the bigger story. But there’s also all the corruption, fraud and waste. Jesus Christ, this administration.      

Remember when Trump kept saying that you should never telegraph your moves to the enemy on the battlefield? Anyway, Trump said we were leaving Syria last week. Even though our military leaders say we’re not. If we leave, that’s good news for Russia, Iran and/or ISIS. Which is bad for Israel. Plus, there was a chemical attack there this week. And Trump is kind of expected to retaliate. And he is tweeting about it. So maybe you can’t just say dumb shit all the time and have there be no consequences. Especially if the situation is too complicated for you to understand. Who knows? Nobody can really follow what Trump is doing at any given time.      

Two years ago, the Boston Globe ran a fake cover with Trump as president that pretty much became true.

Teachers in red states, like Oklahoma and Arizona are revolting over their pay. Which is not a good sign for Republicans.  

Roseanne came back with big ratings. And since she supports Trump, he’s thrilled about it. The show got the highest ratings in the middle of the country, so people are asking if there’s a coastal disconnect with those oft-discussed white working class Trump voters. I dunno. Maybe we’re overthinking things. The show was huge in the 90′s and I’m sure there was a curiosity factor.            

On Friday, we bombed Syria in response to Assad’s chemical attacks on his own people. Or to run distraction from all the bullshit Trump is facing at home. It’s hard to tell since most of Trump’s attention seems to be on things that affect him. But Trump called the chemical attacks the crimes of a monster. And now he’s proudly declaring mission accomplished. So does Trump even have a strategy? Did the limited strikes do anything? Why did we do this if it doesn’t do anything and we don’t have a strategy? All of this obviously came a week after Trump was declaring we were leaving Syria. It’s also in stark opposition to the America First foreign policy he talked about during the campaign. But since Trump’s usual strategy is just to get to tomorrow, this could just as suspicious as his critics think it is.  

Two black men were arrested at a Starbucks in Philadelphia. They asked to use the bathroom and were turned down because they hadn’t bought anything. When the men refused to leave, an employee called 911. So this was yet another example that our country’s racial problems are far from over. Starbucks responded by closing for a day for racial sensitivity training. Hey, at least they’re is doing something and not just denying racism exists. A lot of places, including the White House, could use that type of sensitivity training. The whole ordeal delves into all of our problems with class and education and we’re usually too distracted by Trump’s melodrama to care about it.  

Beyonce was apparently amazing at Coachella.

Trump called into Fox & Friends and gave an insane, rambling interview. And their faces are fucking hilarious because they know he looks stupid. Like, they had to end the call with him the same way they would an insane person. Yeah, he rambled about Kanye. And it’s funny he didn’t get Melania anything for her birthday. Other people are alarmed at how casually Trump lies and how normalized that has become. The truth should matter. But Trump has learned that there are no consequences for anything.  

Bill Cosby was found guilty on all charges. He could face 30 years in prison.       

Barbara Bush passed away this week. So the funeral pic with all the former Presidents is a thing. Maybe it represents the civility we lost in the Trump era. Or the political dynasties we rejected. Or we said that about Nancy Reagan too.