#As much as I like Phil and his content I feel bad when multiple clips feature the same guy in a row

[royalarchivist]

I got a lot of cool / fun clips from the early days of QSMP to share tomorrow, but I need to apologize in advance because, despite several different creators being featured in the clips, 90% of them are from Phil's POV. I'll try and intersperse some other clip reblogs between them.

[kumaradosha]

I’m seeing a whole lot of bad takes and ignorance of past/present content and lack of critical thinking or ability to understand character motives regarding this most recent Dream SMP lore. So please, allow me to lay down some facts, some sense, and also some speculation of my own. This’ll be really rambly, because I’m tired, and I want to say a lot. Rewatching ALL the streaming perspectives now, my thoughts start here:

Considering Sam doesn’t want to enter the cell to dirty his hands himself, he clearly has some aversion or moral qualms about torturing prisoners, but Quackity has convinced him to go along with it. Quackity spends a lot of time before he goes into the cell repeatedly making sure Sam won’t have a change of heart and intervene, which indicates Sam probably has some misgivings. Quackity feels he has to remind Sam that this is for the greater good and to stand back and let him do his thing and that this will probably be the last time. These are all reassurances and instructions that would not be necessary if Sam were known to be totally cool with it all already.

Sam believes the stringent measures Dream put in place for the prison are just desserts for him to suffer, but Techno doesn’t deserve the same cruelty, because Techno didn’t enact those rules. And that’s why Techno gets baked potatoes from Sam, and Dream doesn’t. Sam clearly believes this harsh treatment is justified, because Dream was going to do it to someone else. He thinks he’s being just. Of course, allowing the torture, though not his idea and not really comfortable to him, was still crossing a line, considering physical torture was not something Dream did to his victims (and besides, there’s the argument that not everything a criminal has done is morally correct to be done to the prisoner regardless). That, he was convinced, was for the greater good, to get the revive book. Quackity manipulated him; he thinks he’s doing what’s best, but no, of course that doesn’t make him right or his hands clean.

Sam wanted the dog dead because it’s a security risk, especially with Quackity entering the cell with two other people. He killed it later for the exact same reason. Y’all act like nobody else has ever killed an animal in Minecraft RP; get it together. Is Sapnap also evil? Tommy? He killed his own cat. Random animals are not treated with the gravity you guys are giving them; it makes no sense to call out this one time.

When Techno raised the point that he would be fine if Quackity killed him, because Dream could just bring him back, Dream countered with his warning that Techno doesn’t want to experience death, judging by how messed up it made Tommy. What motive would he have to argue that, aside from actually caring about Techno’s well-being? If Dream was only thinking of himself, he would benefit from Techno being willing to die and be brought back to life by him, giving him an easy reason not to give the resurrection knowledge to Quackity. I honestly can’t think of a reason he would argue other than the fact that he doesn’t want Techno to die even temporarily or experience death--that he cares. Interesting...

Dream hiding in the escape tunnel to make it look like he disappeared too was 5,000 IQ, but he didn’t do it just to be silly or smart. Quackity literally threatened to kill Dream when he came back. Dream HAD to pretend to disappear, because he was legitimately in fear for his life. You saw how terrified he was when Sam found him, how he just immediately begged him not to tell Quackity. He was afraid Quackity would come back and kill him before Techno managed to come back and break him out. He believed that would be his fate and had to make a last ditch attempt to avoid that outcome.

Phil confirmed on stream that the blueprints Techno was led to via coordinates are for the prison. Not Tubbo’s missing nuke, like I’ve seen speculated.

“Steve is your polar bear” was written on stream during the “Prison Podcast” Technoblade lore. This is not a mystery. Dream said he wrote it down when Techno started talking about Steve rescuing them.

If Sam doesn’t approve of Quackity killing Dream, why doesn’t he just tell Quackity Dream is still in the prison but not allow Quackity in anymore? Quackity needs Sam to lead him inside, to let him in. Since when did he have any power against Sam to force him to let him in? I don’t understand why Sam has to keep it a secret just to keep Dream alive. Just don’t let Quackity into the prison anymore. Clearly it was a bad idea, since all these security risks happened while Quackity was getting a free pass to not follow the rules of the prison.

Dream casually walking in the way of Sam’s pickaxe to disrupt his swing once Sam almost had the bell broken gets me every time.

The rapport between c!Dream and c!Sam in prison fascinates me. Clearly Dream is much bolder with Sam than Quackity and still seems to trust his sense of duty to a degree. Sam is also more malleable, convinceable, his fatal flaw being actually listening and talking to Dream, even after it clearly messes with him psychologically. He let Quackity manipulate him, too, and he compromises too much. That might seem weird to say, considering the harsh conditions he has Dream in, but. He does give in to a few things.

I’m wondering if Dream wanted to go to the courtyard hoping it was less secure and easier for Techno to break him out of.

Sam has no reason to lie and gaslight about Dream being the one to suggest raw potatoes and sealing up the courtyard. That’s not in his character to do. So clearly Dream suggested these things. In fact, we have proof. Search for the clip of Dream revealing a teaser for future lore, with him telling Sam the hole in the courtyard ceiling for the light is a security flaw. He straight up says that. Update yourselves. Furthermore, are the recordings we have of Dream suggesting nicer features for the prison even lore? Are they in-character, or was it cc!Dream and Sam making plans? I’m genuinely asking, because I don’t remember/am not sure. In any case, clearly the plans changed at some point, and they were Dream’s idea.

Dream said he didn’t realize how bad it was until after he experienced it. This could very well be a lie. However, it could also be a wake-up call. We just don’t know. Dream clearly possesses low empathy, and every person at some point doesn’t fully realize how poorly another being can feel in a bad situation. Sometimes it actually does take experiencing it yourself to realize how it feels. People can do cruel things to others before the empathy fully clicks. It is possible that Dream really does only now understand how harsh his plans were. Unfortunately, it’s just as likely he doesn’t care and is pretending to, because he has a history of acting, lying, and manipulating. We just do not know, and I think that’s part of the fun, the speculation. Note that none of this is excusing what he’s done; that bores me. I just like understanding characters and their psychology and motives.

Sam is ASKING if Dream had this prison built for Tommy. He is suspicious that that is the case. Dream did not TELL him this, because OBVIOUSLY Sam would have absolutely nothing to do with building a prison he knew Dream meant for Tommy. So no, Sam thought it was for something else. And guess what? It was. Back during the disc war finale stream, Dream told Tommy and Tubbo that the prison was originally intended for someone else (maybe multiple people, the number was not specified), but that he changed his mind and would now put Tommy in it (ha ha punny). Tubbo asked who it was originally intended for, and Dream wouldn’t tell him, preferred to keep it a mystery. Dream had zero reason to say this if it weren’t true. In fact, it would have been more impactful to pretend (or admit) he intended it for Tommy all along. Think of the horror, or even the betrayal finding out Sam, his friend, helped make it. So yes, there is every indication that it is the truth--Dream meant the prison for someone else at first.

And Dream didn’t argue with Sam’s accusations, because why WOULD he? If he didn’t tell Tubbo who it was for, he wouldn’t tell Sam now. Plus, he wouldn’t want to argue with Sam, make him more heated and less sympathetic, and risk him deciding to tell Quackity Dream was there after all. Dream has no reason to speak up. Let Sam think what he wants. Dream’s silence does not mean confirmation. This is not a new thing with him. He keeps things mysterious, and there is a lot about his planning and mindset he does not disclose.

Now, whether Dream made the prison harsher before or after he decided he wanted Tommy in it is up for speculation. We don’t know that timeline.

Anyway, Sam’s speech about Dream getting what he deserves is really delicious. All these people out here mocking Dream fans for Dream still being in prison (like Techno’s not imminently coming to break him out, hello?) and being told off by Sam, yet plenty of us are enjoying it, too, like?? Bruh, what kind of Mary-Sue-touting asshole likes characters who are flawless who never go through strife? Can’t be me. I love watching my favs through triumph AND despair, so this is all just a win for me, thanks.

It is possible to sympathize with a bastard who is highly flawed and wrong AND to understand his motivations without justifying his actions AND to realize he deserves punishment (though to what degree I don’t care to argue). All the black and white morality and taking one extreme stance of “this character is perfect!” OR “this character is wholly evil and only ever does things to be sadistic!” and polarizing the community is cringe, yo. You need to calm down. Enjoy the ride or like...get off?

Anyway, Dream is my favorite, Techno is my second favorite, I adore Sam, I really enjoy Quackity, and the SMP wouldn’t be the same without Tommy. So much love for all of this creative work and its creators. I’m having a blast.

[sickness-and-stealth]

i would like to hear about technoblade

hehehe well since you asked so nicelyyyy :]

keep in mind that some of this could be taken as quackity and tommy critical, but it's not supposed to be. to be safe though, if u still wanna read but dont wanna risk, the tommy critical would be under the "willing to put aside differences for a common cause (mostly)." section, and the q critical stuff would be under "movin on, he's got strong morals and i like that a lot." both are bolded, italicized, and end at the next point. it is undeniably lmanburg critical, so i tagged it as such, but if you still want to read, skip past "nother side tangent".

also!! this is not me sayin that c! techno can do no wrong, just stuff i really like abt him!!

without further ado, here's my super duper long post about both character and content creator technoblade, and why i think he's so darn cool!!

i'm not really sure how to format this so it'll probably be like half list and half paragraphs? i dunno but i really like technoblade and i think he's super neat!! he's a great storyteller, actor, content creator and friend, if what his friends have said is anything to go by. he cares deeply for a lot of things, from minecraft to his dog (that he'd planned on being indifferent about when they first got him) to his content and anything in between. he likes people to feel included and safe on his channel, i remember seeing a screenshot of a comment from 2016 where he was callin someone out in his comment section who said a slur i think. replied somethin along the lines of "you can be edgy all you want, i can't stop you, but i don't tolerate homophobia on my channel" and hes talked about how cool he thinks lesbians are but people still call him homophobic :[ makes me sad but that's not today's point

mm i think i'll go onto stuff i like about character! techno and then come back to cc

-all his pets. the big mean bad guy of the server keeps a whole buncha dogs, a horse, two polar bears, a fox and a few other things safe in his home because he cares about them... he was willin to get executed for his horse... big ol softie he loves animals

-his unwavering love for phil. techno loves phil so much, they're best friends in the entire world and would do absolutely anythin for each other and it makes me so happy!!!! techno's been betrayed a million times but he still trusts his best friend and companion with everything he has. also the fact that he let ranboo come live with them, mostly because phil said so even though he was super wary? makes me cry. also also, the fact that phil said that if redza wanted to kill techno, he would just let it happen and not fight back? (can't find the clip rn but i'll look) breaks my heart into a million pieces and makes me cry, but just shows how much techno would do for him :(

-willing to put aside differences for a common cause (mostly). the red banquet? him takin in tommy even after he'd been betrayed? thats a compromise baby. and yes i know he did destroy lmanburg after tommy decided to stay with tubbo, but he was goin to do that anyway, the only thing he did to spite tommy was team with dream imo

>little side tangent about that, i'm pretty sure techno has said MULTIPLE TIMES that he is not friends with dream, that he only worked with him on doomsday because they had a common goal and that he doesnt even really like the guy, but the last time i checked, the wiki said they were in good standin. i do not believe that, i think techno sees his entire relationship with dream as closer to neutral/negative, because the only thing that's keepin them related at all right now is the fact that techno still owes dream a favor. they have that to take care of and then techno goes back to not carin about dream.

-movin on, he's got strong morals and i like that a lot. he knows what he wants and he'll stand up for it!! if he feels someone betrayed his trust, he'll deal out whatever punishments he deems necessary. now this is not to say he should get to play judge, jury and executioner, but it is to say that i think him killing quackity was justified because even though techno didnt technically lose a life, he was very close to doing so. if he hadn't had the totem, he would have. he got all of the pain of losing a life, of getting crushed to death by an anvil, so i personally think that quackity had what was comin to him for orchestratin the whole thing. and while i dont think that him blowin up lmanburg was the best option, it was the only one that would drive his point home and make them understand what he'd been tellin them since he joined pogtopia. and it seems they mostly listened, so it worked

>nother side tangent, yes he blew up lmanburg but people act like it was the worst thing in the entire world. they're like "but it was terrorism!" yes but also this is on a server where it's standard to just shoot, blow up, burn, destroy or kill anythin that gets in your way, or really anythin you want to. this isnt real life, its a video game and irl stuff like that doesnt really apply because the rules are different in this universe (in my opinion). also, lmanburg was people's homes, yes, but he gave them time to move stuff outta their houses, gave them warning (even though they did start early, which was a bit dickish). and lmanburg was just land, really, he didn't take anyone's lives during it so personally i dont think people should hold it against him as much as they do

-lastly, he's just a cool guy and i like him a lot :] he added in his chat as canon characters/beings in the plot so that was really cool!! and he's got a lotta lore and stuff and he's a cool character to play around with and i want him to interact with more characters positively because he deserves it and yeah :]

onto cc! technoblade!!!! mr. cool guy himself!!

-he's so nice... he tries to hide it but so many people have said he's just a big sweetheart!! like niki (i hate the name of that vid) said that whenever they talk he makes sure she has time to say what she wants to and he invites her to stuff when she's feelin bad and she really appreciates it, and bbh (starts around 4:25) recently said that he's only spoken to techno personally like five or six times but he's had fun every time and thinks hes super sweet and funny and i just :'] his friends care about him so much and they know cares about them

-hes so funny and for what. comedy master, so funny, ive never watched a video of his where i haven't laughed, every time he's on someone's stream hes fuckin hilarious and i just think hes so funny. the "donde esta la biblioteca" bit?? so fuckin funny, he just rushes tommy while screamin about the library, kills him and then says "he was no match for my two years of spanish in middle school" LITERALLY UNMATCHED i adore him. and even on accident, the one time he streamed and forgot to unmute for like 30 seconds?? that was hilarious and he didnt even do it in purpose

-how much he loves floof. i just... he loves that dog so much.... he wasn't expecting to like him, he said his family had always had cats and they'd always been cat people and then floof just destroyed that idea... he loves that dog so much, he puts him in videos, talks about him on streams, there videos online about him fallin in love with the dog i just,,, he loves floof so much and it makes me really happy

-this ones smaller but that one video with his lil sister from like six years ago makes me cry they're so similar and she's so excited and he's so happy to just have her playin minecraft for his channel i weep every time i watch that video thanks

-the consistent inside jokes and things within his communities. like just,, so many jokes in vids and streams have been around for so long and idk why that makes me really happy. it makes for a really nice community and its easy for new fans to get into it, which is really nice :]

-the fact that we've seen his face multiple times but still have no fuckin clue what he looks like... like rn i cannot recall his face right now but if you showed me a picture of him i'd be like "yeah that's technoblade" and then you'd take the picture away and i'd forget immediately

-he's just genuinely cracked at the game. he's so good at minecraft. he crazy good, and when hes determined to get somethin done, it'll happen. his 1000 game winstreak in skywars? antarctic empire? the potato war? the dozens of wither skulls he grinded for? the gear he got for pogtopia and junk? insane literally insane hes so talented and cool

-his little traits that i recognize as adhd stuff make me rlly happy too :] its really nice to see someone i look up to who has it as well and it's not like the main point of his personality ig? idk how to say it but its really cool to see that he has it and talks about it sometimes and exhibits traits of it that i also have and hes super cool and successful and has a good time because that was somethin that seemed completely unattainable to me a few years back honestly, and the only sources about adhd came from accounts that focus solely on talkin about adhd and nothin else (which is still really great). its just really nice to be able to watch someone who just. is a minecraft youtuber and has adhd, and not someone who has adhd and is also this and that. its nice to see it not be the center of attention and it's just a thing, a fact of life (here's just some sources where says (around 4:20) he has/mentions his adhd)

-he's just overall a good guy, i think he's neat!! he posts videos when he can, streams when he can, interacts with his audience, cares about his friends, loves his dog and is just a cool dude and i think hes epic :]

there's probably more but i cant remember rn, thank u for readin this far if u have and super sorry for such a long post lmao :] lmk if i got anythin wrong :[ have a good day y'all, lmk what u think abt any of my takes in the replies or just come yell at me in my ask box or dms if u wanna hehehe

[straighttohellbuddy]

i saw and i miss that universe, demon!reader my beloved 🥰 it’s honestly such a good universe and i still laugh at human!ranboo just going with demon!reader’s shit and thy in turn help him to pretend he’s some kind of cryptid to wind up his friends (mainly tommy) and the fans. and ugH. Just. their interactions kinda brain rot. i’m in a type of mood for overprotective stuff so the idea of demon!reader having to protect ranboo when they’re being shits together because whoops this kind of hellhound isn’t good for humans and i’ve already told the others thst ive had you for two days and i’d kill anyone who hurts you and then Myself™️. i am slightly sleep deprived but brain go brr and i’m ready-reading stuff now 🥺-🐈‍⬛

I love the idea of human!Ranboo and demon!reader having interactions on twitter, and mutual friends, and like, would definitely consider each other friends, but for the longest time their schedules never align to actually properly meet each other online, so the reader initially definitely believes he is a cryptid, and ranboo knows that the reader is a talented musician and incredibly successful and yeah they can be chaotic but he doesn't believe half the things people say about them because that can't actually be something they said, right?

meanwhile the first vc they're ever in together, ranboo joins right as the reader and quackity are arguing at the top of their lungs about which of them was more likely to shelve the world's tiniest violin - ("Okay but I can almost guarantee whoever currently owns the world's tiniest violin is more likely to give it to me than to you -!" / "Not if I learn how to make a violin so I can make the world's tiniest violin -!" / "It'll be the world's second tiniest violin because the tiniest violin will be up my ass, Quackity, and then you can play your shit second-smallest violin because you lost.") to which Ranboo is like WTF is this and Tommy explains how you'd complained about being tired and Quackity played a clip of a sad violin and told you he was playing you the world's tiniest violin, and you told him where he could shove the world's tiniest violin, and well, it all went downhill from there... which is about the time when ranboo realises that YES you are successful and talented, but you're also chaotic as all fuck and all the stories are true.

okay but why do i love the idea of q & reader's potential friendship being such a strange dynamic, like they genuinely get along very very well and really like each other as people, HOWEVER they have a very stupid bit which they somehow managed to come up with without ever really talking about it, which is that if anyone asks an opinion-based question, the reader and quackity will immediately have passionate and opposing opinions that they will loudly defend.

eg. Dream, knowing about these dumbasses and feeling like there was too much of a lull in the conversation: What's the worst multiple of 4? Phil, exhausted already: come on man - Quackity, immediately with his whole chest: 12 Reader: I knew you were stupid, but Jesus Fucking Christ, dude, 12? You really going to say that when 48 exists?

but also reader being all fond on stream when they talk about how much they've been enjoying writing music with Q, and how they think it's so cool that he's studying law, and generally hyping him up when chat brings him up. and if they find themselves on line at strange hours at the same time they'll have an impromptu hang out and we get a sweet, acoustic snippet of Sing-Along-Song with q on guitar, and q ends up rambling about the reader being a talented song writer and content creator and it's all just v :) :) :)

but jumping back to ranboo and the reader, i love the idea of a genre of tweet from Tommyinnit known as 'places ranboo is sometimes' which consists of screen shots of messages between ranboo and tommy, with a selfie from ranboo somewhere he definitely shouldn't be, like up tall trees, or sitting on top of the london eye (for only a few moments, enough time to take a selfie), or on a solitary rock in the middle of a lake while he's somehow completely dry, and tommy always responds with a very unflattering, bewildered selfie.

-- okay but, the idea of the reader and wilbur hanging out with the bench trio and, like, tommy's vlogging or something, and near the end of the day as its starting to get dark and they're trying to head home, they start to get approached by people with Bad Vibes, you know. and the kids and wilbur and the reader just wanna get away and not be hassled, but one of the assholes realises he kinda recognises them and won't let them be, and between the kids Tommy is the only one with like, an offensive supernatural capabilities but he's also a good kid and doesn't want to hurt anyone even if they're an asshole and he's trying to do the right thing and just ignore it. but also wilbur and the reader put themselves between the kids and the assholes, and are trying to set a good example. until 'hey i know you, aren't you some kind of siren?' accompanied by a mocking laugh, and a something hits the back of the reader's head, just a little piece of litter but still. and the kids are each trying to formulate some sort of plan to protect the reader, who's stopped dead and is not longer willing to put up with this shit.

"kindly fuck off," the reader turns and finally faces the assholes. behind them, wilbur is standing in front of the boys. his hands are glowing.

"what's a little siren going to do? you're the type to carry around fancy cameras and act like you've got a chip on your shoulder, until something bigger and scarier than you comes along -"

"i wouldn't know what a siren would do because I'm Not A Siren, so I'm going to ask you once more to fuck off," the way your eyes go black scares the shit out of them, the way your tail flicks menacingly is enough to have them stepping back; some are humans, some are supernatural, none of them pose any real threat.

as the assholes scatter, you turn back, and see the intensity in wilbur's eyes and the subtle hand movement's he's making, and you give him a tired, grateful smile.

"shoulda taken a taxi, sorry guys."

"What The Fuck Was That, Guys, What The Fuck?" Tommy, trying not to freak out about what just happened because yeah You and Wilbur kind of have vibes of being more powerful/capable than you appear but seeing it in action is a whole other thing.

so of course the only thing you can think of to do is put on a Godfather-esque accent and act as if you're a mafia boss promising them protection as long as they're with you. it lightens the mood considerably, but all three of the boys seem to look at you and wilbur in a different, kind of grateful light every once in a while, though they never bring it up again.

[traincat]

I saw your posts about Spider-Man on twitter but I’d rather message you anonymously because I’m shy; anyways, I saw your reaction to that video of Zendaya, Tom and Jacob to the is Spider-Man Jewish question. And their reactions pissed me off so much. They were all so dismissive of the questions and actually laughing at it. I myself am Jewish and was really excited to see so many people talking about Peter being Jewish and now I keep flashbacking to that horrible video 😡

Please don’t be shy! I don’t bite first. But I completely respect your right to be anonymous, particularly on this subject, which has garnered some heated discussion on several sides. If you saw my tweets I’m fairly sure you know my stance on it. I’m going to elaborate anyway for the unaware, free of twitter’s character limit, as to why the MCU Spider-Man cast’s reactions to being asked if Spider-Man is Jewish was frankly very inappropriate.

For those who haven’t seen the clip, it’s here. (Please don’t harass OP for posting it more than they’ve already been harassed for daring to point out the antisemitism in the clip, I just don’t feel like finding the whole Wired video.) I have multiple problems with this, starting with the fact that I personally feel like it’s a setup. The focus of this -- both from the critical and defensive sides -- has very much been on the actors themselves, but I want to walk it back a little bit, because while their reactions to the question were undoubtedly both ignorant and hurtful (there’s nothing inherently humorous about asking if a character is Jewish, so I’m not sure why Zendaya was laughing), ultimately I think the larger problem is why this was allowed on the internet in the first place. The actors themselves may be young -- though I will point out they are all adults and professionals, and this isn’t the first interview for any of them -- but their managers aren’t, and it’s hard for me to believe that if a company with as much range and influence as Disney didn’t want religion discussed in promotional material for the film that they couldn’t have that material blocked. It’s less difficult but much more questionable for me to believe that nobody saw these young stars’ reactions to the question “is Peter Parker Jewish?” and no one decided that the content needed to be refilmed so it came off less mocking or that it should be cut entirely. Let me be really very frank: a group of non-Jewish actors should not have been asked this question, even if their reactions were respectful and inclusive towards the Jewish identity, because their opinions don’t matter. The opinions of Jewish creatives matter. These actors most likely (or, based off their reactions, definitely) don’t have the tools needed to recognize the Jewish coding within the character the way a Jewish creative does, and their opinion on the subject doesn’t matter compared to that of a Jewish person. Take, for instance, Andrew Garfield’s insightful comments drawing on his own cultural experiences as a Jewish person, or Phil Lord of Into the Spider-Verse’s description of Peter Parker. This is not a flat out condemnation of Tom Holland, Zendaya, or Jacob Batalon, but it is fair to say that none of them are experts I would call upon to discuss the Jewish history of Spider-Man, given that none of them are Jewish or, based on the linked interview, apparently have given Judaism and the history of superheroes any serious thought. Which, again, is not their job or a faction of their identity, so I can’t exactly blame them for it. It’s disappointing that they are not more open minded and better spoken on the topic, but not surprising that they aren’t.

That being said: their reactions were completely inappropriate and borderline antisemitic. Let me make it perfectly clear that you don’t have to be acting with malicious intent to be antisemitic; antisemitism is ingrained in our culture, in our jokes, in our popular media, and it is incredibly easy to fall prey to it without realizing what you are doing, and these three young and very influential stars reacted to the notion of Peter Parker being Jewish as if you’d asked them if he was Martian. I’ve seen a lot of people attempt to excuse the comments by saying that the actors were “taken aback” or “surprised” by the “randomness” of the question, but there’s really nothing random about it when Andrew Garfield was quite outspoken about Peter Parker’s Jewish identity and when Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse had Peter B. Parker very notably have a Jewish wedding, which for me lends some doubt to Zendaya’s claim that she’d “never heard anyone ask” that particular question, all the while giggling like something was funny. It’s quite possible she’d never heard it before, but that means she’s divorced herself from greater discussion involving other adaptations of the story, including discussions that took place six months ago when Spider-Verse was in theaters. I’ve also seen plenty of people attempt to let Tom Holland off the hook for his comments, saying that he only said “I don’t know” when in fact he prefaces that with “I don’t think he is.” 

Let me be very clear: that these young actors lack of knowledge about the Jewish coding of Peter Parker and the long Jewish history of superhero comics isn’t the problem. They are being paid to portray roles, not to know everything about the history of those roles they are portraying. The problem is the language they employed when the question came up. It was dismissive, it was insulting, and it was antisemitic, whether or not that was the intent of the speakers. Again, you don’t have to be actively malicious to be antisemitic. “Is Spider-Man real” was treated with respect while “is Spider-Man Jewish” was hurriedly and thoroughly dismissed. Let me be very clear: I would not have a problem with this clip if Tom Holland had simply said “I’m not sure”, or if Zendaya had said “I hadn’t heard that before, but that’s interesting,” or anything along those lines, being inclusive about the idea of Peter Parker being Jewish even if they weren’t hardline approving of it. The fact was there was no support for the concept of Peter Parker’s Jewish identity, only giggly or confused dismissal, and that is not the way to treat any marginalized identity, and I frankly can’t believe that people would rather side with the actors in a moment of ill-spoken and insulting dismissal of Jewish people -- acting as if it’s a total impossibility that Peter Parker could be Jewish -- than with the Jewish people who rightfully feel hurt by their insensitive comments. They’re fine, people. They still got paid far more than anyone taking offense at their careless words. They didn’t go down a hundred points in the secret Jewish gold stock market. They probably didn’t even notice the backlash from Jewish fans among their 18,000 other social media notifications. Nobody is quote-unquote “canceling” them for being ignorant of Jewish history in superhero media and pop culture and for speaking carelessly. Perhaps there should be greater consequences, like, at the very least, a public apology for their careless language and laughter, but honestly, that’s very unlikely, so you don’t need to defend them. They’re probably fine.

I said this on twitter, but I’m going to say it again: a lack of knowledge about Peter Parker’s Jewish coding or the long history of Jewish creators and subtext in superhero comics, especially when Marvel was getting its start as we know it now, is not a bad thing. It is not bad to not know this. If you didn’t know this, you’re not a bad person and you shouldn’t feel bad or guilty for just learning it. We all have things we are unaware of or that we don’t possess the cultural tools to recognize. That’s part of having an individual human and cultural experience. The problem becomes when this is brought up and instead of being interested or at the very least inclusive in their language, young influential stars dismiss it outright. Tom Holland’s “I don’t think he is” could have easily be “I didn’t think he was, but that’s an interesting point to look into”, whereas Zendaya claiming she’d never heard that could’ve easily been “I didn’t know that.” Simple as that. Minor changes, but a world of difference. These stars may be young, but they are professionals, and they should be expected to act in a professional manner. Instead, they chose in the moment to dismiss it entirely. And like I said, this is not entirely their fault, because I do think that upon their reactions either a reshoot should have been ordered with their handlers giving them tips for more inclusive and less offensive language, or that the question should have been cut entirely if it wasn’t going to be taken in good faith or discussed seriously. But it wasn’t. This was viewed as appropriate discussion and aired. And, as inappropriate as the actors’ words were, and as much as I personally believe they should apologize for those statements, that is not their solely their faults. Someone should have corrected them for their own good and for their own growth. There should have been people looking out for their images who should have said, “hey, this doesn’t look good, this is coming off like you’re dismissing the Jewish identity and experience.” But there weren’t, because the Jewish interest is not viewed as marketable, and therefore insults to Jewish people -- intentionally malicious or not -- are not viewed as things that need to be managed. And that is deeply unfortunate and very telling of how people in Hollywood, an industry that wouldn’t exist without Jewish people, currently views Jewish people. And I have to say, I expect better of young professionals in 2019 than when faced with a question about marginalized identities like Jewish people to either dismiss or laugh through the inquiry instead of paying it the minimal amount of respect by at least pretending to entertain the notion, even if they don’t personally believe it.

Ultimately, I have to say, none of this is surprising if you view Disney as thoroughly managing their own brand (and know that their own brand is heavily antisemitic), when Spider-Man: Homecoming contained several depictions of Jewish people that either unsettled me or struck me as inappropriate. The first is the black hats on the subway who glare at Peter -- poor little MCU Peter, who people are endlessly willing to woobify and excuse -- and then, in his school, the kid in full Orthodox attire, when a child at that level of religious dress would never have been at that school because a secular school could not properly address his religious needs and when the New York Orthodox community is famously insular. No, everything the MCU did in Spider-Man: Homecoming, in my personal opinion, reflected the harmful opinion that you can “spot” a Jew, by having men in full Orthodox dress glare at Peter Parker on subway, by having a child in his multicultural school in full Orthodox dress instead of simply wearing a yarmulke or a Star of David necklace like, say, Kitty Pryde was famous for during her debut. There’s nothing wrong with highlighting the Orthodox community, but when that is all the Jewish representation in your film, with no plot reason for doing so, it strikes me as distinctly odd, as if you’re trying to separate the Jewish contingent from the rest of your audience. When Marisa Tomei, who looks a certain kind of ethnic, is identified in-universe as “the hot Italian woman”, lest anyone think her Aunt May and therefore Peter Parker might be Jewish. The message then becomes: you can spot a Jew. And you can’t. That’s harmful. That’s what led to me in my grandmother’s rented apartment while she was dying while her nurse ranted to me about her landlord the “evil Jew”, afraid to say anything in case she harmed my grandmother while I wasn’t there. That’s how that ends up. So I’m sure Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon didn’t view their comments in the moment as harmful, and I’m sure the people who are defending their naivete and ignorance about Jewish culture and the Jewish history of comic books are only trying to speak out towards their favorite actors, but there are real consequences towards this type of language and this type of behavior and this lack of respect for the Jewish identity, and this isn’t something that can just be brushed off. And those are my thoughts on the subject.

The MCU already took careful decisions to erase to the Judaism from Spider-Man, notably following Andrew Garfield’s open declarations about Spider-Man’s Jewish identity. Now its actor are following suit. It’s hard for me to pretend it is a total coincidence, especially following Into the Spider-Verse’s Peter B. Parker with his Jewish wedding scene, voiced by Jake Johnson, who is from a Jewish family, which came out barely half a year ago. It’s both fine and normal to be unaware, especially if it’s not your background, of the Jewish history of Spider-Man. It is not fair or appropriate, especially if you are not Jewish, to dismiss the notion that the character could be Jewish without any kind of consideration, and it is especially not fair to laugh at the notion. I don’t have a lot of faith that the actors involved will learn from this, but I sincerely hope that they do and that they behave better in the future, because they did hurt and insult a lot of real Jewish people whose feelings should not be ignored. 

[wiccamoody]

Alright, under the cut is my ii review. It's very long and divided into sections because I'm like that.

The audience

I'm starting off with the easy bit. So something I didn't entirely expect (but kind of did at the same time? Usually I'm pleasantly surprised by these kinds of events) was how old I felt. I'm 19. I'm practically a baby. I shouldn't ever feel old unless I'm surrounded by kindergarteners. But besides people's parents and a few people who I could tell were my age or older, everyone was so young. I mean, duh, I'm pretty sure the average age in the phandom is like 16 or something, but it was wild to me, though maybe that's because I've curated the shit out of my fandom experience. And this wasn't a bad thing at all! The only bad thing about feeling 'old' was that people letting out ear splitting screams at literally nothing was giving me a headache and made me roll my eyes at multiple points (ahem, I think screaming when you see the empty stage that we've seen a million times before is a bit much, but maybe that's me being grumpy). Otherwise, it was really, really nice to see such a diverse and lovely group of people come together and just have fun. I wasn't dancing at any of the songs or whatever (but you bet your ass I sang my heart out when WTTBP was playing), however it was really cute to see people in such good moods. It's one of my favourite parts of fandom events. I was glad that this one wasn't like some events I've been to where people are dicks to everyone is they aren't friends with. Everyone just seemed so nice and happy, and I really felt a sense of community there too, which was lovely. Also, even though I've said this several times, it really was so lovely to meet @lesterchuu and @astudyinfondness. They were so lovely and it was great to meet people off the internet. 

Okay, now that we've got the fluff out of the way, let's get to the meat of this review: the show.

Dan

To put it plainly: Dan was acting. I'll get into why Phil was but also "wasn't" acting, but it was very clear that Dan was playing ~Daniel Howell. He had a few character breaks, like when he smacked his leg into the stage twice and almost said fuck both times. He also fiddled with his mic a lot, and I don't know if that's giving his hands something to do while Phil's talking, or if it was actually bothering him, but it was something I noticed.

Speaking of mannerisms, I was surprised to see how, for lack of a better term, 'campy' Dan's body language can be. He also walked very awkwardly across the stage a few times, which made me laugh.

Anyway, Dan was really interesting for me to watch because he was so in character the whole time. His 'Dan' voice is something that kind of bothers me after a while (which is why I like his liveshows the best out of his solo content), and while I didn't get bothered by it during the show, I was extremely hyper aware of its presence, which was the main thing that made me go "Oh Dan's really acting right now". Maybe that should be super obvious since I've listened to audio clips of the show before and know that it's 90% scripted, but I suppose I wasn't expecting it to be so obvious to me when I was watching it. Also, it was incredibly jarring (but also pleasant, in a way) to hear Dan's cackle irl. Along with that, Dan's facial expressions were always 'turned on'. Besides when he fixed his mic, whenever Phil was talking he looked full of energy and rearing to go.  Dan's dedication to his character kind of took me out of the loose narrative of the show because of how obvious I found it to be, but I know that's just me over analyzing things since I generally find Dan's mannerisms so interesting to watch. He did a really great job though.

Phil

I found Phil so much more interesting to watch through the whole show. Phil was definitely acting, but it was different from the way Dan was acting. Dan had the pacing and energy of someone who has to stay in a relatively emotionally stagnant character, while Phil came across very similarly to how he does in his videos. It was definitely played up a bit more because he's still acting in a stage show (side note: they must have decided to get some training before this one because they were a lot less stiff than in tatinof. I've only seen the youtube red version of it, but even then their acting was Not Great in it compared to this time around), but he felt more true to the Phil we see on the gaming channel and in liveshows than Dan did.

I think a lot of Phil's behaviour in this particular show was influenced by how exhausted he seemed to be that day. He looked tired in his instagram story, and on stage he definitely had a more neutral face than Dan did when Dan was talking. There were a few moments where I could see Phil falter and watch his expression shift to his 'Done' face, but it was only for a split second every time (yeah, I barely looked at them when they were talking. I was mostly trying to see what they looked like when the other was talking because for some reason I feel like that's more telling. Maybe I'm weird idk).

I'm not sure if he always sits for the simulation bit, but the fact that Dan didn't made me think that they usually stand so I think the tour was really starting to take a toll on him near the end there. He also popped a few squats and swayed his hips a lot which was amusing to me. Oh, and a bit that I found hilarious was after he got off the wheel and was undressing, he bent over so his ass was facing the audience while Dan was talking and everyone cheered which cut Dan off. Phil was struggling to get the suit over his shoes too so he kind of waddled into one of the wings but the spotlight kept following him. Eventually he just sat down on the stage and pulled it off, but I thought it was a funny moment (even if it's something that happens at every show where Phil's on the wheel).

Something else about Phil that really shone through here, similar to how it is in videos but not to the same extent, is how naturally funny he is. Again, it wasn't to the same extent that it is in videos since he's acting, but some of their little ad libbed moments were so much better because of Phil's quick humour.

Dan & Phil

Something I noticed right away was that their dynamic was far from the flirty and silly one we get on dapg, or even in joint videos/liveshows. I expected this since the show is mostly scripted, so that's fine, but it was still  very obvious to me the entire time. They didn't bounce off of each other in the same way they do in videos of course, but god they work so well together. The show didn't change my perception of them in the slightest, but it did make me see how much of a unit they really are. This was something I was very aware of before obviously, but seeing it irl made it a little more concrete, which was interesting. They really are the perfect package deal together and for each other. Their dynamic made me crave more from them though. The inner workings of their relationship are so interesting to me, and while it's far more likely than not that we'll ever get even the smallest glimpse into that part of their lives, it has me intrigued. But more on that later.

Moving onto the extremely superficial portion of this section, I was surprised to see how...similar they look to how they appear in videos. I was close enough to be able to see their sweat and whatnot, and I found it odd how they actually do look like they do online. I realise how ridiculous that sounds, but it was something that was running through my mind. The way they move their bodies was really quite awkward at times, but honestly I relate and I had a feeling they would be a little awkward in some bits. There was a moment when Dan looked right at the spot where I was sitting for a long time (obviously not directly at me, but in a spot either right in front or behind me--maybe he zoned out) while he was talking about something. I think it was during the real conversation section because he was sitting down, but I really didn't hear anything either of them were saying because my mind was like "wow his eyes are a really nice shade of brown" haha. In short, they're both pretty. Oh, and I could definitely see Dan's nipples the entire time.

The show & what I took away from it

To sum up my feelings in a few words: I really enjoyed myself! I had a lot of fun, but all it really did was make me crave a real conversation with them. This show was not nearly as enjoyable to me as a video or a liveshow, and I didn't expect it to be. I knew that it was going to be formulaic and that there would be a few moments that I would genuinely adore, but otherwise it was just going to be a fun time where I spend way too much money and get to see them 25 feet away. That's not a bad thing, either. I'm okay with that. I went in knowing that nothing revolutionary is going to happen because this show really isn't about me as a fan, or my fabricated one-way friendly connection to them, or what I want from them. I'm simply there to enjoy myself and explicitly support them monetarily, which is expected and fine. And I also never anticipated this show to be mind blowingly spectacular or anything, concept and script-wise. I don't expect that from Dan and Phil ever, and that's really not why I watch them. I'm definitely here because their chemistry is like nothing else and I find their relationship so fascinating. I think overall as someone who wasn't anticipating much and who had spoiled themselves as much as possible, seeing it actually exceeded my expectations. And it's a big plus in my book that it actually was a lot better than tatinof (but that's a whole other post tbh). The only thing that really annoyed me was the way fic is treated, but this happens in every show so I was expecting it, though it didn't stop me from being unimpressed. Oh, and I didn't appreciate being constantly shamed for voting for the craft videos. We all know that's where their content peaked.

I'm a little frustrated by how much it made me actually want to get to know them though, like I said earlier about being intrigued by the inner bits of their dynamic. I've said this for years, but I'd really love to have a long chat with them over coffee or drinks. I think it would be interesting. But that's a pipe dream and a half so this will definitely suffice.

I adore how queer the show was too. The fact that they're comfortable enough now to travel around the world with so many queer references in the scripted parts of their show makes me really happy for them.

Overall, I left the show in a good mood and feeling really fond of them. It was a nice time.