#I’ve seen some people using that for dsmp so why not

[bleue-flora]

Okay I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about discduo anymore, and I meant it. I did. But then I saw the clip of cc!Tommy [post] talking about them and a few people saying how clingy duo didn’t know that they hurt c!Dream, and how c!Dream was just this unreasonable psychopath who drove c!Tommy to want to kill himself… and well I just feel like I can’t stand by while Dream gets slandered after I was being nice to c!Tommy.

So... that brings us here, where to the best of my memory and ability, I’d like to look at c!Tommy as being part of the Antisocial Personality Disorder spectrum. Because here’s the thing, I’ve seen people refer to him as some golden boy, who’s caring and has a good heart, but I’m gonna just be honest, I just don’t see it. From what I can tell, we accuse c!Dream of having no empathy, but I don’t think I’ve really seen c!Tommy show any.

Now granted, I’m definitely no psychologist or whatever, and in the real world diagnosing these disorders is a very intense and extensive process. Especially because there is no true way to know whether an individual has empathy or not since we can’t exactly read their minds or feelings. So we really only have their behavior to study. Having said all that though, here’s why I actually think c!Tommy is perhaps the “psychopath” or since that term is no longer medically used, has Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) in which psychopathy is sometimes considered a subtype of.

And yes, while I am more than aware that I clearly have dsmp favorites and therefore am biased, I have to say when I was rewatching lore I didn’t expect to come to this conclusion, but something about this scene specifically in the finale bothered me.

[clip] Dream: “Why are you–why are you trying to—ruin everything all the time?” Tommy: “Cuz that was just me having fun with my friends, Dream, but I didn’t–I didn’t…” Dream: “Ah-you just stealing my shit and a—griefing my friends’ houses and breaking shit?” Tommy: “I just didn’t realize how much that hurt you.”

Because c!Tommy essentially just straight up admits to enjoying harming others. In fact, is so clueless he doesn’t grasp that killing and breaking and stealing and griefing hurts people. And like how can you possibly tell me that someone at the age of 18 years old can be so oblivious to other people’s suffering. Because he sure didn’t like it when people griefed or trapped his house, stole from him, and killed him, but somehow didn’t know that other people also didn’t like that. I mean, there’s just no way someone can be that clueless, I don’t care how old they are, even children know better than to just push their friend down the stairs because it’s funny. 

Like I don't think this is just the behavior of some flawed teenager, but of someone with a lack of empathy or ASPD, which the National Library of Medicine says this about, “Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by a pervasive and enduring pattern of disregarding and violating the rights of others, typically emerging in childhood or early adolescence and persisting throughout an individual's life. This disorder significantly impacts interpersonal and occupational functioning, often leading to profound impairments in overall quality of life. Individuals with antisocial personality disorder frequently engage in criminal behavior and struggle to learn from the negative consequences of their actions” [source], And I don’t know about you, but doesn’t that sound like c!Tommy? Even further the Millon Theory has this to say about Antisocial (ADAntis) individuals, “Prone to lessened emotional resonance and a marked lack of empathy, those individuals evidencing ADAntis patterns actively seek out what they feel is their entitlement. ADAntis individuals often feel slighted by their circumstances and believe they must take in order to receive. They are impulsive by nature and uncaring about any damage they may inflict on others or themselves” [source].

In other words, someone who does and takes without thinking of others as if they are entitled to it. A great example of this is c!Tommy just up and killing c!Purpled for no reason and stealing c!Tubbo’s resources before they battle c!Dream again for the discs, where c!Tubbo notes that c!Tommy has a ‘shit moral compass’ [clip]. There is also the stream I love to bring up of c!Tommy stealing from c!Tubbo, killing his bee and then burning his house, and not giving anything but a half assed apology of 'I didn’t mean to burn your house down that much’ and ‘I didn’t mean to kill your bee I was just giving him a high five’ [post] and that’s how he treats his best friend, one he drags into war after war. c!Tommy more than once highlights how pain is real in the dsmp whether a non-canonical death or a punch and yet shows no regard for holding back hurting others, whether that's burning c!Techno [clip] or throwing a harming potion at him when he’s found in the basement [clip], lighting c!Dream on fire with a bucket of lava on the first day of Exile [clip & clip], killing c!Alyssa just cuz she’s there and a woman [clip], stabbing c!Dream as he fills in a creeper hole in c!Tommy's yard no less [clip], how bout just dragging c!Tubbo into wars to risk his life and experience pain over some replaceable discs… etc just as some examples off the top of my head I've have seen recently. 

I mean he doesn’t seem to care about others. When c!Tubbo needs help, where’s c!Tommy, like when he goes after c!Sam after he killed his husband and kidnapped his son he teams up with all the people who have killed him. Where the freak is c!Tommy - the one he fought so many wars with. Heck in the finale, c!Tubbo charges into what might be certain death, even after disagreeing with c!Tommy and reasoning that maybe they shouldn’t kill c!Dream [clip]. Oh and then of course, I've talked about his behavior towards c!Punz in the beginning too, of him helping clingy duo and then c!Tommy plotting to stab him the next minute [post]. 

And he struggles so hard to separate the value of items over the living [clip], seen no clearer than his struggle multiple times with putting the discs over c!Tubbo. And as I talked about when looking at c!Quackity at some point, people without empathy can love but it’s more like loving chocolate where they can enjoy it but there is no consideration for a candy bar’s well-being or feelings - people are more so just there to be used than cared about, and isn’t that what he does with c!Tubbo? With c!Techno? With c!Dream? Using them as a weapon and for their resources and then tossing them aside. Certainly not having their back when they need it, something c!Techno highlights pretty well in his speech about being a person [clip].

Perhaps our biggest clue should be how revolved his character arc is about understanding the value of items and how people are more important, as he finally in the finale gives up his discs for Tubbo’s life…

I don’t know maybe I’m wrong, but all I’m saying is I have yet to see a scene that really shows c!Tommy as caring or empathic, instead I see more so the telltale signs and behavior of someone with Antisocial Personality Disorder… who’s the psychopath now? *mic drop*

[kitkats-forthe-gays]

Okay I lied.

This genuinely disgusts me to my core. Can we all agree that what used to be the dsmp was and is just problematic as hell?

I mean yes, there are people who have done little to nothing wrong. But the main people that the viewers watched, that being William Gold and the so called dream team, they’re horrible. They’re abusers. They took advantage of the naivety of young girls. 18 year old girls. If that’s not fucked, i don’t what is.

Now just to take a second to address this, I don’t count Punz in all of this. At least he was respectful and responsible when he handled his situation. Both he and Andi were in a mutually toxic relationship. His situation is a completely different story.

I know so many mcyts and just overall people have come out about this. All of them agree everything that is going on is idiotic and horrible. How people can still support those who have had stuff come out against them, I have no clue. Obviously they don’t see how stupid this shit is. I hope they find the help they need to understand that these are not good people.

Now I may have left the ‘dsmp’ fandom, I was still interested in certain groups. One of them was the dream team. After hearing what George did, and that Dream and Sapnap supported him, it was gross. I supported the sorry boys. I still support some members, but William Gold is not one of them. He deserves every loss in fame, money, and self worth he got.

But this is still not about me, or you, or any of us. We may have been victims of their lying and manipulation, but the real victims are those they hurt personally. Caiti, Shelby, Alice, everybody. They deserve your support. I cannot stress that enough. Go support victims, please.

I’ve also seen stuff saying that Shelby was in acting classes, and how it ‘makes sense’ to imply she’s lying. If that is true, then why have so many of his exes come out against him claiming the same, if not similar, damn things. Why would so many people lie about abuse? Yes Shelby may not have the best reputation, and yes, Alice may not have the best videos or account, and yes, Caiti and George may have both been drunk, and yes, these victims are not perfect people, but that does not lessen the abuse a bullshit they went through. They still went through what they went through, even if they aren’t a perfect fucking angel.

So please, go support victims. Go be a somewhat decent human being. Please.

[lacesoflove]

hihihi im going anon for this because some of this fanbase (like you mentioned) are genuinely cruel, but I wanted to start off with I’m really glad to hear from your account. I wish you nothing but good health and I hope you’ve been able to find yourself in a better place now like you deserve <3 the internet is a cesspool, so I can only imagine how overwhelming everything feels even on the scale of running a blog,, again I wish you nothing but the best :)

to comment on your slushy noobz rant, I think you are so right and it’s such an unfortunate thing that SO many fans will never accept that truth. it is so insanely icky to platform idubbbz IN THE BIG 2025? and with chase and claire, like c’mon… why do we keep giving these white creators who show no remorse for their blatant mockery of the black community so much grace?? what did they do to earn that ‘pass’ other than the fact that they’re white and made you laugh a couple times? its not like they’ve had sincere apologies (that I’ve seen atleast, please correct me if I’m wrong)

asomeone who’s been a fan since 4freakshow, it’s really disappointing seeing the lack of change — I am a fundamental believer that you can improve, and accountability is really everything, but when there’s no accountability??? how will you ever really change? they don’t want to admit their faves can be problematic and it’s very reminiscent on the dsmp fan base like you said, as a survivor myself .. I’m sorry ik.. it was so infuriating that people could be more upset over their comfort streamer being EXPOSED as a horrible person instead of the fact they’re a horrible person. people forget these are grown adults, they can defend themselves in this case particularly!

I love slushy noobz btw!! I don’t think they’re horrible!! but that doesn’t mean I won’t hold them accountable for this weird behavior — like we should hold anyone that has a platform accountable if they do something wrong! I’m not calling for their cancellation or anything, but it is very possible to see the flaws in something you enjoy, especially when these ‘flaws’ are pure ignorance?

it feels like a breath of fresh air hearing opinions from slushies that can call this out, because hopefully people with a mental maturity past 12 can draw conclusions for themselves, and maybe think twice before blindly sending death threats over someone that they don’t really know.

i’m going to let this inboxed message just be my final statement for the time being - i don’t think i’m gonna reply or alnowledge messages where theyre clearly not even making an effort to understand where other people are coming from and if people want to continue asking me for like my input and my thoughts on the issue, whether it be the patreon or the racism shit, i refuse to regard people who use micro aggressive language

also thank you anon for your sweet words <33 some of the messages and stuff have been overwhelming but ive been black, poor and queer on the internet for like all my life, you get desensitised to people calling you a brokey for criticising merch prizes or sensitive when it comes to questioning creators’ close associations to literal racists.

[rouge-fauna]

/nm you're analyzing very deeply into one of dreams past friendships which is against his boundaries at last stated in his reddit - trying to dig into if tommy was fake since the start, and on top of that putting main tags down. This is the kind of topics you would see on critblr, so now you're gonna attract them to your blog they often love prying into cc dynamics and the main tags you put down attract anyone that searches up "tommy" "dream" your posts are the first thing to come up

[context]

Wrote out an intense defensive answer to this, then looked back and noticed the tag, oops… seems I struggle to read tone in person and online lol…

Anyways, I didn’t realize it was against his boundaries. My bad, it makes sense he wouldn’t want people analyzing his real life. It seems I’m too used to looking at characters. Though in my defense, a reason I don’t feel like I’ve been invasive, analytical or should be on critblr is because I don’t think I’ve gone too deep or analytical. I have talked a lot about it most of which under the lens of autism, but in my mind being analytical would be watching old videos and analyzing all their conversations and such. I mean someone brought up body language and I didn’t go and analyze it. So from my perspective I feel like I’m not doing anything more than reacting to things, pointing out some things and forming theories. But anyways it’s a good point I suppose… I will say too, that I’ve tried to not use most of the main tags I’ve seen heavily used by innitors (including the dsmp tag which annoys me that they are using for cc things :/), but I think someone has been reblogging them with the big tags. Anyways… it makes sense I don’t think I’m confused by how people got here to leave asks, more so why that seems to be the standard behavior instead of comments and reblogs 🤷‍♀️ I assume the anonymous aspect. Tumblr is just interesting I guess, because like on Twitter or Reddit they would just reply to the post ya know? So it’s just different is all. And in this scenario someone sends you a full essay it feels bad to leave it unanswered because you’re the only who sees it but at the same time on other platforms I’m not required to comment on someone’s opinion or post or reply to a post if that makes sense and sometimes it feels like people are sending me a post like I’m their draft box lol XD. Hoping that makes sense. Then again I suppose I did say I prefer people to just come to me and not vague blog me so… perhaps I’m just being ridiculous… but I do think it’s not the posts actually related to this conversation that bother me as much as the extra ones that I think really probably shouldn’t be there, so that’s more the instances I think might need parameters. because then if I set down some rules and people don’t follow I’ll feel less bad for not answering if that makes sense.

[pencilnewt]

I dont think I have seen somebody draw as beautifully as you have, really.

The colors you use to draw make the photograph, as does the shadowing. And your ideas? Genius.

How did you learn all this great technique? Was that something you have always done or did you just start drawing?

I hope I could just tell you how amazing your art is to me (and many others)✨

thank you so much omfg!!

it’s definitely taken a lot of time and practice, i didn’t just wake up one day and know how to draw the way i do rn!! and im still learning all the time, im very self-taught!! gonna fish thru my instagram for a min and grab some screenshots of old art to demonstrate this in a sort of timeline but it feels very self-indulgent (which i try not to be too often haha) so it’s under the cut if anyone wants to see :3

i feel like im able to create something approaching the art i see in my head for the first time in my life and im SO grateful for any and all support people have given me while im doing that in a way i literally cannot express like i read EVERY SINGLE tag people leave on my art on here and it makes me want to fucking cry <3

quickly first of all i use CSP version 1 these days but over the past 9 years i’ve used nearly every free drawing program available - krita, 🏴‍☠️photoshop, firealpaca, autodesk sketchbook, ibis paint, medibang…

anyway some sketchbook drawings circa 2016/age 13 (earliest i have photos of, but i have one earlier sketchbook somewhere) at which point human anatomy was still an utter mystery to me:

got my first drawing tablet in 2017 - a little wacom intuos draw, which i don’t think they make anymore, but i still used it until about a year and a bit ago when i bought my xp-pen display tablet w my first paycheck. i think this was literally the first thing i drew on there:

a bit of a jump to 2019 (this is where i got my love for fuzzy chalky textures i think):

i try not to think about the dsmp era too much but that’s where i made some big strides (especially in my colouring) because i felt a lot of consistent motivation to draw!

& then spent a LOT of time doodling my dnd character over the past year & doing some other little reference studies when i could find the time between writing my undergrad dissertation etc. this helped me nail down drawing faces better than b4.

i’d doodled some hockey stuff on and of for the past couple of years but only started properly drawing or posting anything at the end of september!! gotta say a big THANK YOU to everyone who reblogged pens snoopy when i first posted him bc without the support from people on here i don’t think id have initially been so motivated to keep making this art that i’ve loved drawing so so much. and i’ve made friends & mutuals that i’m even more grateful for :3 1st vs most recent:

i have lots of things i wanna keep working on, here are some:

more detailed backgrounds & lighting (biggest barrier here is terrible Can’t Be Bothered syndrome)

recognisably simplifying/stylising people more!! i can do this a bit but my strength is defo semi-realism i feel

improving my composition/making it more intentional. this is the biggest reason behind making those stamp designs actually (could go into much more detail in another post about what’s behind lots of the hockey pieces i’ve made, if anyone would like to hear about that. there’s semi-often something im trying to specifically work on or practice)

more movement & dynamism!!

this is probably so obvious but i’m like. passively learning from looking at other artists’ work all the time as well as practicing. if i really like a piece of art i see online i’ll try and identify exactly WHY i like it so i can think about how i might improve my own art.

if you read this far i’m in love w you <3

[dream-critical]

Idk just think it’s weird that Q hasn’t spoken out 🤷🏾‍♀️. People getting doxxed and mess (from what I’ve seen/ heard mainly Q’s “fandom” (sorry don’t know the right word to use)) for simply just for being excited for the USMP. Like he can’t just tweet “I don’t condone this” or whatever?

Even about the messaging thing. Haven’t MULTIPLE people tried and contact him with no response (besides Karl)? It is weird that a lot of people tried reaching out and not one response back just saying “I’m ok, just don’t wanna talk” or something.

But me personally (who hasn’t had the time to really look into this) I didn’t see it as “drama” I saw it as “hey this is what has been going on, and I’ve seen what has happened to the people in both communities”

Ok so I'm taking this at face value so if I'm interpreting anything you've said wrongly do feel free to correct me. And I'm sorry if my response seems all over the place I just wanted to reply as soon as possible.

I think in general it is unfair to expect quackity to reply. Is it the most emotionally mature thing to do? No absolutely not. And I'm sure he's aware of it as well. Do I think the whole situation is ridiculous? Yeah. Do I think it was the best move on Q's part? Probably not. Do I get why he did that? Also yes.

Anyway, I think that in a situation like this, where dream has said some pretty passive aggressive things about quackity, both on Twitter and on stream even when they were supposedly still friends, looked down on the things quackity has achieved, like with the streamer awards etc, Q actually does not owe dream a response. Replying to the other people who reached out would mean having to actually acknowledge what is going on and it would end with having to talk with dream as now others will have become deeply involved in this mess. And I genuinely do not think that dream is the kind of person that would actually listen to Q if they actually did sit down and talk but that's another conversation.

Dream also is known for ghosting people (like the way ccs on the dsmp couldn't do lore streams bc dream never replied to them etc) so the way he's reacting to this is just hypocritical to me and the way he has handled it is also very childish. He's basically forcing quackity to reply to him through peer pressure and by relying on his fans bothering Q about it it enough that he'll give up on keeping distance. Which also is not an emotionally mature reaction imo.

You're right the whole situation is a mess, I have even seen some people who claimed to be doxxed being proven false, and while I do feel very bad in case there are people that did actually get doxxed and hope they'll be able to move on from it soon, saying that the majority of the doxxers are Quackity stans is untrue as far as I know. Bc I've also seen lots of dream stans spreading misinfo, claiming everyone is suddenly from lktwt, claiming every person critisizing dream is racist.

Arguments about the usmp/qsmp are mainly rooted in the fact that some people get really vile about it and yes I'll admit some people who dislike dream do go a bit far. But at this point the majority of mcyt twt dislikes dream so it isn't just quackity stans.

I have seen people being straight up racist towards quackity bc of it. And perhaps you could argue I'm biased as someone who deeply dislikes dream but I think there's a lot more hostility coming from the usmp side of the argument.

Either way doxxing obviously isn't ok and I don't condone it and I hope everyone that got doxxers is safe and ok.

However I'd also like to add that the only reason this whole usmp Vs qsmp debate has been going on is bc dream couldn't stop mentioning quackity and the qsmp all the time so I'd say dream also has blame in this and I feel he should tweet something denouncing his stans harassing others instead of putting all the blame on someone else since he's so keen on putting pressure on Q.

Also would like to add that no matter what quackity does at this point, things will not change for the better as the situation has been escalated by dream like a lot.

[slimeapplepie]

THIS BLOG IS NEVER USED IM SORRY

“What’s this app..? Woah it’s some people I’ve seen before!”

Uh this is my pathetic attempt at a Slimecicle rp blog because i want to have fun!!!

Green text is his speaking and his actions but stuff with be highlighted in different main colors for other characters like Quackity and allat but mobile is hell so lack of colors :[

It’s some weird mix of scu and dsmp slime I don’t know

This slime has horns and a tail because they make me happy. That’s it. He’s slimy too </3

#Meat and bone posting will be slimes posts and will probably rarely happen

#my fellow humans will be interacting/roleplaying I guess?

#Woew it’s me! For reblogging fanart of him with others and stuff

#ooc sliming for me being a horrid beast

The creature in this blog uses he/they/it not sure why

Thing behind this uses she/they but any are good

FEEL FREE TO START CRINGE LITTLE ROLPLAYS I LIKE HAVING FUN

I may be extremely ooc sometimes I apologize! I’m bad at replicating stuff but I will keep the from __ stuff because I like it

Basic dni and stuff, suggestive asks and ships and that stuff are okay and stuff but no blatant nsfw asks and stuff…!

This will be updated later and I’m not great at this whole thing this is my first rp blog and struggling through this for fun

Im bad at angst and stuff especially!

I really enjoy that one scene with Tommy though so I’m probably decent at slight angst with that stuff

I’m making this at five am so I may full on delete the blog later but probably not

“It’s nice to meet you all! I’m human you can see my 300 bones!”

[transphilza]

on second thought, i’m gonna talk about the situation Once, right here. don’t mind me!

i know i said i wouldn’t discuss this extensively but i am at core a researcher and someone who prioritizes knowing as much as i can about a situation before deciding anything about it. so i’ve done my digging into the accusations and things and i’d like to summarize the main points as well as discuss how things have played out a bit. i won’t be answering asks about this, i just wanted to put it all in one place, cause this is how i process information, lol.

there are two aspects to these allegations: dream is being accused of housing an abuser, and manatreed is being accused of being that abuser. <- this is important. i’ve seen some dteam mains, who probably haven’t seen the extent of the original posts, stating that these allegations only affect manatreed and that He is the only one who needs to explain, but he isn’t, sadly. as of now there is no way for manatreed to defend himself without doxxing himself - which is what op wants. op specifically asked manatreed to post a redacted version of a license if he wanted to prove himself innocent… despite the fact being that even while blacking out parts of it, it is incredibly easy for a license to be traced. for manatreed as of right now there isn’t anything he can do other than doxx himself or proceed with legal action.

dream’s situation is…. a bit messier. there’s the court records linking the abuser to an address which has been associated with dream and sapnap. i cant say whether or not this actually is their address, of course. this past address (with sapnap) has been doxxed, and old private photos been uncovered in an attempt to link him to this person (the abuser) who is believed to be seen in childhood photos with dream. people have also doxxed his family members - if you weren’t aware, this is why dream’s private twitter was deactivated, because people were responding with doxxed information about his sister. i don’t even know what dream is supposed to do here, honestly; his side of things is a lot more confusing because it isn’t as cut and dry as just “is he or isn’t he this person on these documents?” … it implicates him in extremely personal matters. the doxxed information could be incorrectly linked or otherwise fabricated, sure. i’ve read some people saying that the timeline op uses doesn’t line up, and that dream/sapnap may have lived at that address but at a different time than the abuser. dream could’ve actually been housing this person with the criminal record; but he may or may not have been aware of such record even existing and may have been simply trying to help a friend. he may have been lied to or misled by this person. the absolute worst case scenario, which obviously at this point is just as impossible to prove as everything else, is that dream knowingly housed an abuser and created a several-month-long ruse to eventually give said abuser a platform. given dreams past (without saying anything more than that he has past experiences with domestic abuse, which i believe were also discussed in the past due to another doxx) i find this to be unlikely. he immediately removed a previous dsmp recruit for abuse allegations before. it would be career suicide for him to do this knowingly, and dream is really stupid sometimes but i seriously don’t think he’s that stupid… but that judgement also comes back to the fact that i have my own biases toward dream, so.

the other most important thing i think people are ignoring is that THIS DID NOT COME FROM A VICTIM. this was not a victim speaking out. do not say “believe the victim!” for this situation — the victim likely never wanted this information to be publicized, and she is being doxxed too. this came from people who intentionally dig up personal information about people and spread it on social media, not a victim.

for me, the allegations themselves are far more important than how dream (and sapnap by proxy) and manatreed have responded to them. although the lore stream does make me feel sick: at first i figured it must have been scheduled and they were just shit at reading a room, but given dream tweeting about an hour before asking what he should stream and no prior hype being given by sapnap, who likes to plan and hype his lore streams…. it’s fair to assume this was really shitty and insensitive damage control. in terms of the initial tweets, however, i understand why dream at the very least responded how he did: this is an absolutely terrifying situation where a lot of extremely private and personal information about both himself and his family is being broadcasted to the internet, where a lot of people dislike him. i seriously don’t blame him for that “i’m scared for my family” thing - i don’t think that was him playing the victim, i think it’s just… true. this is scary, whether he did or didn’t house the abuser.

lastly, i want to talk about the future, which for most of us is the scariest implication of it all. i’m going to tell you the two outcomes in terms of my blog as well

best case scenario(s): manatreed isn’t guilty, or if manatreed is guilty, dream publicly renounces their association. the documents linking his address to the abuser were either false or there were extenuating circumstances to why dream was housing them (i.e. dream was unaware of their criminal record). and honestly, for me, even if he was somewhat aware of their record, i don’t think it’s immoral to try and privately support someone you know who has done bad things in an effort to make them better. a court record doesn’t tell us everything about this situation; there could be many reasons dream would want to help someone get back on their feet despite a criminal offense. in my opinion, if this abuser is not manatreed, then it’s none of our business. in this case; my blog remains entirely normal, i will continue to support dream and his community on here (albeit perhaps less frequently, depending.)

worst case scenario: manatreed is proven guilty and dream continues to associate with him. and/or: it’s proven that dream was aware he was an abuser this whole time. dream choosing to give a platform to this abuser is what i worry about most. who he chooses to let sleep in his house is none of my fucking business; who he chooses to lend his massive audience to is. if this were the case, this has serious implications for the dream smp as a whole, and as such, would change this blog’s content. in this situation, i would no longer post about dream nor anyone else associated with the situation. i would continue to post about the dsmp should it continue, or in any form that it does continue in, focusing primarily on characters less connected to dream.

this blog, as much as i post about the dsmp, has always been cc-centered though. in terms of me, as long as wilbur and ranboo (among a few others; mostly sbi/bench trio) continue to make content, i’ll be around. but yeah

here’s hoping things work out

[bleue-flora]

idm the cdiscduo demon angel take but only when its not used to be like 'aw imp ctommy' infantilizing shit and justifying his height based on it like when people draw him like a toddler and then say hes an imp. also dont like the ''demon turned good'' just keep it as demon but probably not hell born and very different to c!bbh. Angel c!dream is fine but people try to twist it to be like he is obsessed with rules and order when c!dream canonically enjoys chaos at times. Also seen people say hes like adam from hazbin hotel which I think is odd. I think the hc of c!disc both being human is slightly better than demon-angel imo with c!wil, c!punz, c!george being humans too

Also I respect hcs but angel!c!tommy is just not possible.

Yup. I’m pretty much the same. I mean - you do you, boo - and if demon or angel dsmp member makes you happy then whatever, but to be honest with Badboyhalo being a demon it doesn’t necessarily make sense to say other human characters are also demons because why wouldn’t they look the same (obviously you could derive reasons but still). Plus their is canon specific mythology of the dsmp with Mumza and DreamXD that doesn’t relate to the Biblical doctrine. So there’s no reason to say whether either of them are angels or demons besides Bad, as there is no such evidence to support that. Is the Nether not Hell? Eryn is from the Nether is he too a demon? Where is Heaven?… are just some starting questions. Again you could theorize or make up answers but meh.

On the other hand, while I don’t think Dream is an angel, he is certainly connected to the divine in some way. He is considered the “admin” of the server and as I’ve touched upon before [here] Tommy’s comments in the finale basically confirm that Dream’s op is canon in some capacity. Additionally, god looks like him, which he explains by saying Dream is the first person he saw but still, is that also why he’s considered the admin. And on top of that, Church Prime is canonical but the founding is based in some part in Dream enlightening people as a Jesus or god. So I suppose there could be some evidence to support Dream being an angel, or at least likely some sort of divine being, but he’d be quite the flawed one that’s for sure. Technically, I suppose he was possessed by a dreamon so… he isn’t a “demon” but was perhaps a demon in the form of possession or something. But anyways, all that to say, the duality and dynamics of demon and angel I think is interesting mythology and even literature lense to look at things, however, I’d almost argue with how messy morally the dsmp is it is hardly a good application. In a world where again, morality is undefined and not according to our standards, and biblical elements like heaven don’t explicitly exist, I’d say it doesn’t work well. There are many narratives where it can be applied and looked at but I don’t think this is one, in my opinion at least. It just doesn’t work well. And that’s coming from someone who has drawn the parallels between Jesus and c!Dream and does believe in angels in real life…

[honeyblockm]

me and at least five other people on here (that i've seen): if no apocalypse on the dsmp then i will simply create it myself

anyways there is no title for this but the premise is eggnap and tfw you and your fiance (the one that hates you) have your other fiance locked up in the amongus bunker so he won't hurt anyone or run back to the egg while you guys desperately try to heal him of being possessed by the egg. also the world ended lol. except karl's not in this one he is out gathering resources n stuff during this scene.

I have a few thoughts on how the egg functions. as an entity. i didn't edit anything if anything looks weird just look away shhhhhh

: : :

“Quackity.” Sapnap’s voice echoes in the tiny corridor of the bunker. “Quackiteee.”

The way he says the name is still the same-- careful, warm, the syllables held the way he might cup a firefly in his hands --even if his intonation has dampened, more and more of his words twisted into something angrier. Crueler. Quackity tries not to let that ache. He’s had a lot of practice these past weeks, but he’s found it doesn’t make it easier.

“What? No words for your dear fiance?”

Quackity’s hand drops to one of the potion bottles strapped to his belt. Weakness, holy water. Weakness first-- unpleasant as it might be, it won’t hurt the way the water does. 

“You’re not Sapnap.”

“What?” Sapnap laughs. “What, man? I mean, it’s not like I got zombified or anything. It’s still me. Just a little redder.”

Quackity turns to look at him: the messy locks that have fallen out of his buns, red veins reaching up his cheeks, curling over the healed shadow of the scrapes he’d gotten in Quackity and Karl’s attempts to fight him off or subdue him. Sapnap’s moved from the back wall to the iron bars in the front, pressing his face against the metal and grinning wide enough to show his sharpened canines. The same ones he brings a finger up to poke at now.

“And the teeth, I guess, but I bet you think they’re hot.”

“I do not think the teeth are hot.”

“You totally do.”

“Did you think I would just-- just-- I know who I got engaged to.” Quackity nearly falters. Does he? “It’s not you. You’re not him.” Quackity drops down until he’s face to face with Sapnap. “And whatever the hell you are, I’m going to drag you out of there and make you wish you never touched him.” 

Sapnap scoffs. “You really don’t know anything about the Crimson, do you?”

“You tried to kill me.”

“I wasn’t going to kill you! Was just gonna take you to the Egg, I mean it’s not an egg anymore, but then you’d be with me! Instead of sitting around in this basement all grumpy and fighting with Karl.” 

“Oh, that’s so much better, isn’t it? Just let myself get fucked over by some creepy.. Plant thing.” 

“C’mere.” Sapnap sticks a hand out through the bars, motioning for Quackity to come closer. Against his better judgment, Quackity does, and Sapnap reaches as far as he can to just trace his fingertips over his cheek. “It’d make you happy.”

“Are you happy?” Quackity asks. Sapnap draws circles over the skin under his eyes, featherlight. He’s tempted to close them.

“I mean, I’ve just spent more time in a room with you than I have in months.”

“Sapnap.”

The man in question shifts, like he could physically press any closer than he already has. His hands stall, sliding down Quackity’s face. “You know the Egg-- Crimson, whatever --asks you to let it in? To actually join it, you have to say yes. You have to make that choice.”

“Why?” 

Sapnap shrugs. “Even now, I can sort of feel it settled inside me. It’s the same as the vines in the trophy room, as the mushrooms finding a way to grow out of the sand above us. I don’t think you can take it out of me, Q. It tells you it can give you what you’re craving for, and it’s right.” 

He turns his gaze back to Quackity, offering him a smile smaller than the rest. Sapnap’s eyes are still the same color as the day he really noticed them for the first time, cool and dark. Quackity lets him guide his face closer, until Sapnap can cup it in his hands. It's the perfect distance for getting his face bitten off, or grabbed and bashed against the walls, but Quackity doesn’t pull away. He hasn’t been touched like this in so long.

“I was alone, and now I’m not. But no, I’m not happy. Not until you and Karl are too. You know that, yeah?”

Quackity can’t nod, can’t bring himself to push past the dam that’s formed in his throat or the rapidly unspooling knot of grief that’s appeared in his chest so suddenly. 

Perhaps Sapnap’s already found the answer he’s looking for, though, because he tugs gently on Quackity’s jaw. Quackity lets himself get pulled forward until there’s nothing separating the two of them, not even the iron bars that Sapnap has stubbornly jammed his face through. A brighter time and Quackity might have laughed at him for how silly he looks, and Karl would join him, and then they’d get rid of the bars because they didn’t need them. 

Instead Sapnap presses a kiss to his nose and Quackity realizes they are well and truly fucked, the way you resign yourself to all the blood and death halfway through a horror movie, dread and fear and hope all at once.

“We’ll fix this.” He looks away to hide his tears. “We will.”

[anarchy-and-piglins]

Here’s a (pretty lengthy) post on the main complaints I’ve seen about today’s lore and my feelings on them, mostly debunking them really.

(Please keep in mind these are all my personal opinions and some character analysis + meta insights. You can disagree if you want)

Let’s start with c!Techno and the supposed ‘non-consistency’ / OOCness of his character. I couldn’t disagree more and I’ll be responding to the three arguments I’ve seen pop up but if I’ve missed anything feel free to yell at me

- “Techno is ooc for taking the blame for the red festival and apologizing for it” Not gonna rehash it, I’ve addressed why this is actually the natural progression of his character arc here and here

- “Techno is ooc for putting Sam in prison” Eeeh, not... really? Putting Sam in prison goes against his anarchistic beliefs, yes. But the thing is: Techno is more than his beliefs. He acknowledged that putting somebody in prison does kinda go against his morals, but also his beef with Sam is a much more personal grudge. And Techno isn’t the perfect poster child for anarchy, he’s allowed to be flawed at it (he has been so many times in the past)

I also think it’s important to note that in real world anarchy, punishment for crimes is usually decided by majority vote and with a big focus on reform. It’s kinda unclear how Techno would even go about enforcing that on Sam right now. Techno went into this interaction feeling like it’d be a good idea to let Tubbo take the lead, and both Tubbo and Eret expressed wanting to put Sam in prison. Techno didn’t want to go against that, which is fair. The only alternative was killing Sam and it’s not like the death penalty is so much better or ‘more anarchist’...

So yeah, putting Sam in prison wasn’t really Techno’s idea in the first place, just something he went along with despite it not really lining up with his personal believes. I don’t feel that constitutes as OOC at all, at most it makes him a bit of a hypocrite but that’s kinda just what being a person is - ESPECIALLY since it’s very clear this isn’t the end of that plot line. I’ll be eager to see where the prison thing goes from here!

- “Techno said he used to think Tubbo was a power-hungry dictator despite him expressing he didn’t think that before” Yeah, this one I don’t really get why it’s even an argument. It was so obviously a goof sdkjldkqs I think people are just bad at reading tone honestly

Also - as an aside - I actually have a friend who started binge watching the dsmp a couple weeks ago and just caught up in time for this to be their first live lore stream! When I told them people were taking the dictator line as OOC, they pointed out that Techno calling Tubbo a dictator was very much a running joke especially in those early streams (you know, the streams cc!techno has been rewatching lately) and it didn’t stand out to them very much at all! So I wonder if people’s perception of this line could be due to them not catching it’s a callback joke

- OKAY moving on to c!Tubbo. I actually am a bit less of an expert on his character but I did want to touch on this complaint because it’s sending me with how ridiculous it is: “It’s not okay/consistent that Tubbo forgave Techno very quickly but not Eret”

EXCEPT IT IS AND IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE BECAUSE THOSE TWO BETRAYALS WERE NOT COMPARABLE AT ALL???

I’ve seen a bunch of other people make much better worded posts about this, but yeah... Eret was Tubbo’s friend. They were fighting for the same cause. They were soldiers in the same war. And Eret made a choice to betray not only Tubbo’s trust, but that of Tubbo’s friends and kill them all. This action was so much more personal, so much more raw. Tubbo and Eret were FRIENDS. Eret’s betrayal was a literal knife in the back. Regardless of how you feel about Eret and them working hard to redeem themself, it’s normal that Tubbo is going to be more hesitant, that he’s going to need time to be friends again

With Tubbo and Techno, they were always opposite each other because of others. First the festival because of Schlatt, then Tubbo was a symbol for a government Techno hated, then Tubbo hunted Techno down out of revenge, and as they themselves pointed out it was more of a bad cycle. But it was never personal. Tubbo is in the right when he views the Red Festival as a betrayal, but it wasn’t a deliberate one like Eret’s. Techno didn’t roll up there going “I think I wanna kill Tubbo today and ruin his day” lmao. After that they just kept meeting on different sides

And they were never really friends, to put it bluntly.

Tubbo literally pointed this out near the end of the stream too. “Now that I’m actually getting to know you.” They barely knew each other before circumstances put them on bad terms. For them, it’s much easier to decide to let bygones be bygones and realize they’re different people now, make a decision to get to know each other for real - put the past behind them and turn a new leaf

With Eret, that’s gonna be much harder

- Lastly I just wanted to touch on this meta aspect I’ve seen people complain about: “This lore felt off because it was too easy / everything just went well / nothing dramatic happened / it felt rushed”

This just kind of makes me sigh. I think the format is getting to people, having lore droughts of months and then expecting every stream to include some sort of Big Event like a major character death and being disappointed when we get more chill lore streams. “this didn’t answer enough questions” or “there’s too many loose ends”

That’s how story telling works you dingus (/nm)

I know this fandom is chronically addicted to conflict - especially interpersonal conflict - but stories don’t work like that. You need breather chapters and plot points being resolved so they can set up new stuff. It very clear to me that this stream was meant to resolve things (mostly the Michael kidnapping thread) and set up new things (Tubbo moving into the commune, Ghostboo meeting Tubbo and Techno, a new era of prison lore). Techno teased big lore upcoming too, how about instead of complaining that not everything you wanted to happen already happened in this one single stream, we get excited for this upcoming season in the dsmp future yeah?

Also for the “it felt rushed, like the CCs were trying to finish everything on the script while pressed for time” point. I kinda get what you mean, but my thought is that was intentional? I can think of two reasons:

a) There was that Manatreed (? i think that’s his name i don’t follow that) stream AND Karl’s Tales of the dsmp anniversary stream happening after lore. Especially for that second one, they’re having guests and it’s unclear if any of the CCs in this lore are gonna be involved. You kinda generally also don’t want your streams competing with each other if they’re that big, so I kinda feel like they might have been on a crunch to get the lore done within a certain time frame to have as little overlap as possible

b) on a similar note, uh, did you all just magically forget Techno is still a recovering cancer patient? I’ve been close to people undergoing cancer treatment before and like, that shit wears you out. Techno’s had surgery and is doing better, but possibly is also going through more treatment for the residual of the tumor not cut away. Almost two hours isn’t that short for a lore stream imo, let the man get through his script and rest. You could really notice his energy drop after the two hour mak in the previous grinding stream and even in the shorter hypixel one he sounded legit exhausted near the end. So yeah, possibly they were getting through the lore a little quicker for Techno’s sake - it wouldn’t surprise me

[halorocks1214]

would you mind elaborating a bit more on the c!phil and c!techno post? not saying you’re wrong in the least, it’s just an interesting opinion I haven’t seen before! I was curious about the reasons?

*waddles in* okay im finally back from class and have a real keyboard to use for this yeehaw

to keep my feelings brief cuz im aware im biased- inniter both proud and shameful ✊😔- there's a trend i've noticed about certain types of content recently that has some symmetry to what was going on at the beginning of the year. but unlike those few months ago, most people seem to be reacting positively to today's stuff

the bedrock bros arc in particular had a lot of discourse surrounding it, especially after the mutual betrayal. many c!tommy fans would rightfully point out how it was a lil eff'ed up that c!techno kind of sort of lied to c!tommy about his real intentions and was dodgy when c!tommy tried pointing out how that's not what he wanted to do ("we'll smooth out the finer details later" or w/e the quote was)

in response, it felt like a cacophony of people claimed how techno was his own character, that he didn't need to be some random kid's caretaker, to the point that the whole "characters shouldn't be judged by how they treat c!tommy" take was created

nowadays i'm seeing c!rivals duo material come out of the woodwork like a flood. a lot of people want c!dream to join the syndicate, have him heal out in the tundra with c!techno after the piglin breaks him out of pandora's vault and away from his torture

now, there are quite a few reasons why i and many others aren't a fan of this idea, but this post is about how c!techno shouldn't be reduced down to any character's therapist! he has his own plotlines with his own motivations, certainly, those same people will at least point out that c!dream fans want a similar story that c!tommy fans did back in december and january, right?

😐

then there's the man the myth the legend c!philza himself, coining the title schrodinger's father for a good few months. with the canonicity of the sbi family dynamic being somewhat wonky (not deconfirmed however), people split harshly into two categories: those who liked the idea of c!phil still being c!tommy's father, and those who very very very much did not

regardless of people's true opinions on the matter, c!tommy fans (fairly) pointed out that c!phil destroying the kid's home right in front of him was a little messed up. c!phil was canonically aware that c!dream was up to something funky, yet he still went through the idea of teaming up with him to raze l'manberg into the ground, which stung c!tommy enthusiasts a little. who wouldn't be just a smidge butthurt about something like that happening to their fave?

like clockwork, lots of people criticized and even outright bemoaned this train of thought. c!phil isn't even c!tommy's father who cares! he certainly doesn't need to, stop making everything about the kid! y'all just have daddy issues and are projecting tbh 🤪

now back to the prison arc, we yet again return to the potential plot of syndicate!dream, where he'll be best buddies with c!emerald duo and c!niki will spoonfeed him while he recovers (yes this is a /srs headcanon i saw) and c!ranboo will just have to "get over" his fear of c!dream to see they're actually best buds (another /srs comment someone made yes that is word-for-word what it said)

essentially, someone in discord shared a tweet that was basically talking about the idea of c!techno shoving c!dream into c!phil's lap saying "here, be a father whether you like it or not" and, well, i got somewhat peeved if that untagged post i made is anything to go by

it's starting to feel more and more like people didn't actually care that others were writing c!techno and c!phil in caretaker roles, they only cared that c!tommy was the one being taken care of. because c!tommy is apparently the literal spawn of satan and is the worst thing to happen to the dsmp and is super annoying and blah blah

but instead of, idk, admitting that c!tommy just wasn't their fave and moving on from content they didn't like, they needed to create these excuses about how it was actually super awful that these fans were doing things like this, that you should feel bad if you support this kind of content because you are ruining these characters and everything they stand for

nevermind that this kind of stuff has been a normal occurrence in fandoms since fandoms have been a definable thing, that while yes it gets annoying how certain characters are favored above all others literally all you're achieving by tearing down someone else's work is that same person either A.) making more of that stuff out of spite or B.) potentially quit making stuff for the fandom altogether

it's just... it sucks, that it feels like you can't want anything nice for c!tommy without it getting called "ooc" or being accused that you only watch his POV and make everything about him. maybe i'm sensitive, maybe im extrapolating, but i wouldn't be the only one who is, considering i've seen multiple others voice similar feelings regarding this situation

so there we have it i guess. my brief words that ended up not being brief at all (so sorry dear anon, i really did try to keep this down to one page at most :headinhands:) and i hope they make at least some partial sense, now i gotta go read even more random shit for my hw fsndkfjndf save me /lh

[jilliannotfound]

prepare for a long ask (i’m sorry)

my brain is very full so hear me out-

dream smp casino/mafia au-

now i was at first thinking Kinoko kingdom (karlnapity) are the owners of the casino cause yk Las Nevadas Quackity but then i remembered “Syndicate” (by Derivakat) which has a jazzy vibe and was like, what if the Syndicate was a mafia ‘family’ that ran a casino and reader is their star performer who starts off every night with a performance of “Syndicate”. reader’s performance is used to kinda establish the Syndicate’s power over the casino and to remind the patrons anything they do will be under the scrutiny of a mafia with literally two of the most renowned mafiosos’ (Philza whose reputation of traveling all over and taking down many a mafia family precedes him and Technoblade who has taken down mafia families singlehandedly) in the city, maybe even the entire country.

the Eggpire is like a rival mafia that is trying to take control over the city so it isn’t uncommon for them to try and infiltrate the Syndicate casino. so i was thinking, what if the people who are Pro-Omlette (but not in the Syndicate so Puffy, Foolish (since it’s not confirmed he’s part of the Syndicate), Awesamdude and Eret) are staff at the casino. they were each like a lone agent after their mafia family split up/they left and decided to join forces with the Syndicate to make sure the Eggpire didn’t gain total control of the city. Maybe Sam is a bodyguard stationed either outside the casino or manning security cameras switching with Puffy, Eret can be like a stage manager/backstage to aid the performers and make sure no one sneaks into the dressing rooms or the light control area backstage and Foolish is like a bartender keeping an eye out on the main floor of the casino for any activity.

Dream was the former head of the well-renowned Dream Team mafia family until the family split. he’s notorious for breaking apart mafia families before disappearing into the night and traveling to a new city. occasionally he’ll hire some aid but they never last long.

Ponk used to be an on-sight medic for the casino in cause of bar fights or performers getting injured on stage but after many rumors (later confirmed to be true) of him being a member of the Eggpire he was fired and not allowed to enter the premise of the casino again.

Kinoko Kingdom was a rival casino/mafia family to the Syndicate’s but they’ve decided to have a truce to make sure Dream and/or the Eggppire don’t take over their city. Their casinos have different vibes with the Syndicate’s being more of a hub for mafia and business activity with jazzy music on the constant and famous for civilized and tame yet very entertaining entertainment whilst Kinoko’s casino is like more of a rowdy type casino, famous for high stake bets, drinks with high alcohol content and lively music and entertainment that can be seen as a bit too glitzy and tacky. Like you go to Syndicate casino for a night of business deals and building yourself up to the top, the type of casino you would bring your boss to, whilst the Kinoko casino is the type of casino you go to let loss and risk it all with cheap entertainment and even cheaper booze. their truce works out because their casinos are so different that competition wouldn’t be worth the cash (and the Syndicate knows they can easily take on the Kinoko mafia in a fight but shhhh)

there’s multiple places a reader character could fight but as a primarily Technoblade simp at heart i had to put reader as a performer in the Syndicate casino-

~🦫Anon (if this title isn’t already taken-)

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕪𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕖

DSMP x Reader (in-game)

Summary: Request

Warnings: None?

A/N: Okay… I have a few important things to say. First of all, this story is not completed. This request is so genuinely good and I have been trying to work on it for far too long and have had very little success. With that being said I still want to publish the small bit of this story that I’m proud of.

Second of all, I would like any other dsmp writers on this platform to feel free to take this request and perhaps do with it what I wasn’t able to. If you write this story, please tag me because I’d love to see what you do with it. You can also use this bit I have written and am sharing to start off your own version of the story (just give proper credit)!

With all of that out of the way, please enjoy!

—

The Syndicate. One of the highest-end casinos in the country, and certainly the most powerful, being run by two of the best-known mafiosos.

Philza was best known for his travel, being able to track down anyone anywhere and take care of them.

Technoblade was easily the scariest man you could meet. He’d single-handedly taken down more mafia families at the age of 21 than most senior-aged mafiosos could even dream of.

It was rare to see either of the men in the casino, let alone to see them together, so when the pair came through the doors with power in their steps everyone knew something serious was in order.

They took their seats at the bar as Foolish prepared their drinks and Eret directed the casino's attention to the stage.

This performance was a nightly occurrence, the same jazzy tune came from the band's instruments as Y/N emerged from the curtain.

Hey, I'll tell you a little secret of mine

If you promise not to tell, if you have the time

Everyone has gotten you, always on the run

But if you join the Syndicate

Life could get a little more fun

It was the song of the casino, used to remind everyone just how much power it holds.

When all of the horses and all of the men

Won't learn from history, it's all the same in the end

I've told you once and I'll tell you again

The Syndicate is looking for a couple new friends

It reminds the patrons of the casino that no matter what they do, the Syndicate is always watching, studying each of them in hopes of finding some new friends.

Fight for freedom, fight to end the pain

Hey, this is serious, it's not just some little game

'Cause the anarchy's part of me, tyranny bothers me

End it all properly once and for all

They call us the villains 'cause they know we'll take the fall

The members of the Syndicate were a force to be reckoned with, composed of strong fighters and quick thinkers constantly working to take down anyone that dare stand in their way.

The Eggpire was their current concern. Run by a man named BadBoyHalo, the Eggpire was a whole other breed of mafiosos.

They preached about the Egg, whatever the hell that was supposed to be, and always wore a signature red color that made them easy to spot. Sometimes you could even swear there was a red glint in their eyes when talking about it.

After the incident with Ponk, their old medic that got caught up in the red whirlwind, the Syndicate became extra wary of the Eggpire, willing to do just about anything to take them down.

This is exactly why the two most powerful men were sitting together at the Syndicate’s bar with their eyes locked on the stage.

Fight for freedom, fight to end the pain

Hey, this is serious, it's not just some little game

'Cause the anarchy's part of me, tyranny bothers me

End it all properly once and for all

They call us the villains 'cause they know we'll take the fall

When all of the horses and all of the men

Won't learn from history, it's all the same in the end

I've told you once and I'll tell you again

The Syndicate is looking for a couple new friends

Oh, a couple new friends

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh no, no

You'll gain a couple new friends

As the jazzy instrumentals faded out, Eret poked his head out of the curtain on the side of the stage, gesturing for the resident singer to come backstage.

Y/N smiled at the audience and walked through the velvet barrier to be greeted by the deep-voiced brunette.

“Did you see who’s out there tonight?” They asked him.

“That's why I called you, they wanna see you.”

Y/N took a deep breath and headed out onto the main floor.

They’d been part of the Syndicate for most of their life and knew they weren’t in any danger near Techno and Phil, but the anxiety still pounded in their head as they approached the men.

Y/N sat on the stool next to Technoblade and the two turned their stools to face them.

“Lovely performance!” Phil praised

They shot him a kind smile and braced themself for the inevitable harsh news that would follow the attempted small talk.

“We need you to do something.” Techno said bluntly. “You know Las Nevadas?”

“Yeah, of course.”

It was another casino ran by Kinoko Kingdom, another mafia family. They used to be considered one of the biggest threats to the Syndicate because they had quite literally appeared overnight and nobody knew anything. Once the Eggpire popped up though, it was safest to become fast friends with the three men that ran Las Nevadas in hopes of strengthening their forces against the red abomination infecting families all over.

“We had a meeting with Quackity and he’s got a bad feeling about some guests that have been stopping by their area. It’s a shitty casino, we all know that, but he thinks it’s more than just some random troublemakers.”

…

:]

[overthinkingfandom]

Cards on the Table - Breaking down the tactics in L'manburg Independence

/rp /dsmp

Much has been said in the fandom about L'manburg's independence. It is, after all, arguably the most important moment in DSMP's history, as the rest of the story wouldn't have existed without it. 

In light of the recent anniversary of it, yes I know I’m late, I wanted to throw my hat in the ring and add something to the discussion surrounding it. However, as the morality of the situation has been discussed to death I'll be taking a slightly different approach to it. 

Due to the nature of the DSMP's medium, the story has many unique quirks. One of those quirks is how realistic the tactics used in the story's portrayal of politics are. The independence conflict is a great example of it. While on the surface things seem to be rather simplistic in nature, there's a lot more going on that’s less obvious.

Both Wilbur and Dream are brilliant politicians who get to show both their strengths and weaknesses in dealing with an equally skilled opponent in this encounter. There’s actually quite a bit to go into, despite their interactions being so short.

When most people think about the L'manburg's independence, they think about the moment the declaration has been written up and the subsequent declaration of war. While this moment is certainly iconic, it's not really all that impactful in the grand scheme of things. Both declarations are the culmination of decisions that have been made beforehand. It's the moment when those decisions were made that really influenced things.

Conveniently, Wilbur and Dream only hold a single conversation about L'manburg before the declarations are drawn up, so we don’t need to look far in order to figure out where those decisions were formed. 

Wilbur has been working on L’manburg, collecting materials and building the wall surrounding it, for almost an hour when he spots Dream lurking. “Get [Dream] into the VC, I need to talk with him. He’s the leader of the other nation, I think we need to have a congress.” (52:44)

Dream: “Hello?”

Wilbur: “Hello Dream. Welcome to our great nation of L’manburg.”

Dream: “L’manburg?”

Wilbur: “Yes. We are seceding from Dream SMP. This is our own server now. This area, just this part [between the walls of L’manburg], is our server.”

Wilbur doesn’t waste any time before getting right down to business and talking about the matter at hand. However, the way he speaks about it here and in the rest of the conversation is fairly interesting. Wilbur is talking about L’manburg as if it’s something which already exists. They are seceding. This is their land. This conversation is merely a courtesy to give Dream a formal notice of their separation.

Yet, a bit later Wilbur shows he knows they need Dream’s acknowledgement in order for L’manburg to be its own entity. Independence is not a concrete thing that can just be taken or created on one person’s whim, after all. It only exists when the people with power agree it exists. 

Wilbur: “Dream, basically all we want from you is just acknowledgement that we are an independent nation now. That’s all we need.” (56:20)

So if Wilbur knows they aren’t independent yet, why is he talking like that? 

It’s because he’s using a salesman technique called an Assumptive Close. Instead of posing it as a question and putting the choice of agreeing or disagreeing in Dream’s hands, Wilbur acts as if it’s already true and leaves the burden of challenging his claims on Dream’s shoulders. He even moves on to ask secondary questions on how Dream feels about having embassies in his land (and notably he frames it as a question, unlike how he frames the topic of L’manburg’s independence) as if L’manburg is already a political entity. 

Wilbur: “Dream, I’ve got a proposition for you. How do you feel about having Tommy’s land being an embassy? Like it’s an enclave in your own land.” (59:01)

Wilbur’s use of this technique has an interesting side effect in that it signals to Dream Wilbur is taking a non-compromising position in this negotiation. In essence saying “L’manburg is independent, take it or leave it.” 

A non-compromising position is the game theory term for when someone goes, "I'm going to do that, this is going to happen and nothing can dissuade me from this course of action." It's a strong tactic which forces everyone to react to that person's position, reducing the others' options into a binary of either accepting that position or rejecting it. 

This is a very common tactic and various manifestations of it can be seen all over history and media. From Martin Luther who refused to recant or compromise with his famous words of “Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise” to groups who cultivate a "with us or against us" mentality to heroic characters who say they would die before giving in to whatever Evil the story focuses on.

This is the situation Dream is facing here. He can either accept Wilbur's assertion that L'manburg is an independent entity by either encouraging them or even doing nothing, or he can reject Wilbur's assertion by acting against it.

As we all know, he ended up choosing the second option but what were his considerations for doing so?

For that we would need to know what his goal was here, something we don't really get a sense of from his conversation with Wilbur. However, he ends up stating what it was in a later conversation with Skeppy. 

(Emphasis added by me and wasn’t part of the original dialogue.)

“Everyone can build wherever they want. [L’manburg] just decided to say that they get to determine where they can build and we can’t and we said well no, you can’t do that. And that’s what the whole war was over.” (31:44)

“[L’manburg] can’t tell us that we can’t go in their land. That’s all we wanted to say. That they’re not independent, they are a part of the Dream Team SMP. They’re just a delusional, small part." (34:26)

Dream lies a lot, so just because he says something doesn't mean it's necessarily true. However, this seems to be genuine. Dream has no problem telling Skeppy “we burned down their houses and blew up the whole land.” (32:36) later on in the conversation, so we can rule out that he's trying to paint himself in a better light, and there aren't really any other reasons for him to lie to Skeppy here about this. 

When looking at Dream's options with his goal we can see the choice is pretty much a no-brainer. 

Accepting is a total lose scenario for him. Not only will it fail to fulfill his goals, it would actively encourage the sort of behavior he doesn't want to happen, as Wilbur would set a precedent that so long as someone insisted hard enough and implied Dream is a bad person he would fold in negotiations and give them what they want.

Rejecting gets him far closer to his goal of railing against L’manburg’s exclusion. Going to war means he has to invest much more effort and resources into his reaction than if he just accepted as well as deal with the risks any war has, however the sheer difference in ability between Dream's side and Wilbur's side make the risk minimal. 

Going to a war he’s pretty sure he can win VS encouraging the sort of thing he disapproves of, isn’t really a hard choice.

This is actually the result of a mistake on Wilbur's part. CC!Wilbur called his character naive (37:49) and he's not wrong. Wilbur has a tendency to act as he wishes and not take into account that people might disagree or retaliate. We see it with him saying they could just ignore the Americans (1:51:17) or during the elections when he told Quackity his scheme and got blindsided by Quackity deciding to run against him. 

Historically, non-compromising positions worked best when the person who used it made sure rejection would be more costly than acceptance in one way or the other. In essence, narrowing down the options for others even more and leaving them only with acceptance. 

Wilbur may have managed to wipe off the table all other options and put pressure on Dream to accept with his use of Assumptive Close, but he didn't do anything to prevent Dream from rejecting. In fact, it seems like Wilbur didn't even consider it as a valid possibility as he outright dismissed it when Dream brought it up as an option.

Dream: “What happens if the rest of the server decides to take over your land?”

Wilbur: “They can’t. It’s literally not how servers- Dream you’re supposed to be smart man, that’s not how servers work. You can’t just take over another person’s server.” (54:33)

But, you may be asking, if it was better for Dream to go to war against L'manburg rather than grant them independence, why did he end up giving into their desire for independence in the war? Wouldn't it have been better if he just saved everyone the trouble and gave it to them when they asked for it the first time? Or maybe Dream’s obsession with Tommy and his discs is just that strong?

We can find the answer to all those questions at Punz’ video where he shows the behind the scenes of the independence war, including some of the planning which went into it from the Dream Team’s side of the war. Specifically, this quote:

Dream: “[The L’manburgians] are never gonna give up. So then in the end the resolution will probably just be, we won but they can think whatever they want, we’re just going to ignore them because they’re essentially like- You want to think you’re independent? You’re not, you’re still part of the SMP, but if you want to think you’re independent, you can.” (9:04)

“They’re never gonna give up.”

Whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter, as this is what Dream thinks and so this is what dictates his actions. Perhaps he’s overestimating his opponents here, or maybe he’s talking about how even if L’manburg is defeated this time they would try again for independence in the future. In either case, it’s clear Dream thinks the best case scenario for him - completely preventing people from fighting for L'manburg's independence - is impossible. 

So, he tries for the second best case. If he can’t prevent L’manburg, he’s going to allow it but only under Dream’s terms. That’s what his “they can think whatever they want” line is all about. He intends on giving them token independence here, something which would satisfy them but wouldn't pose a real threat. Which is exactly what he ends up offering them during the bow duel.

Dream: “Let me just clarify: if you win, we grant L’Manburg independence.”

Tommy: “Alright.”

Dream: “But we recognize it still as a part of the Dream Team SMP.”

Wilbur: “That’s fine, that’s a fine condition.” (40:54)

The token independence thing didn’t work out so well for him. L'manburg quickly grew to be seen as an entity separate from Greater Dream SMP by everyone, and so Dream was forced to concede and treat it as one as well. 

However, despite this part of his plan failing, overall the independence war was a glowing success for Dream. 

By giving L'manburg independence after winning the war, Dream sent a very clear message. L'manburg only gets to be independent so long as they stay on Dream's good side. If they don't adhere to the terms Dream sets out for them? He can and will kick their asses, as the war so aptly demonstrated.

This message is received loud and clear. During his entire presidency Wilbur went out of his way to treat Dream with respect and try not to piss him off. Something he clearly demonstrates a number of times, like when he asked if he should call Dream “king Dream” (59:08) or during the railway skirmish (24:16).

In fact, it can be argued that this message lasted all the way up to Tubbo's presidency. Unlike Quackity, who was perfectly fine with starting a fight with Dream, Tubbo knew first hand what a war against Dream looks like. He knew that they could not win a war against him, especially in their weakened state at the time, and that influenced his decision. 

As Dream once said: "L'manburg can be independent but it can't be free."

[cdroloisms]

I saw your response and, fair enough. I respect your opinion but I personally am still very uncomfortable with the word choice and the environment of abuse apologism it could possibly create. I want to address the post you rebloged, because I assume they will see it here.

No I don’t believe bullying “isn’t as bad” trauma cannot and should not be compared. However, they themselves pointed out the problem with using it in such a serious circumstance in their post. They referred to it as a word used primarily in primary school situations. Now I ask you this, how many of these things can feasibly take place in a primary school setting, to the extent that they took place in the narrative? Here’s the list form before.

Food was withheld

Physical abuse

Gaslighting

Victim blaming

Manipulation

Isolation

Emotional abuse

A quick glance at this list may seem like most of them, but if you look at them within the context of the story, definitely not

For example, isolation. It can definitely take place in a school setting, and it can really damage someone. However, can another student ship someone out to a isolated island and discourage people from visiting…no not really. I personally would be more damaged from the latter, because it is more extreme.

Yes, I believe the stuff that happened in exile is objectively worse then what normally happens in school. Just like getting cancer is objectively worse than breaking your leg. Is someone’s pain less important or less justified either way? No, not at all. Both need medical attention, one is just objectively more extreme. If the things that happened in exile happened to a kid in school, I’d be concerned if it was just called bullying. I never said that bullying isn’t that bad, I’ve been bullied many a times, it can really mess you up. It can have the same results. But calling something bullying when it harsher word is needed just feels wrong

Applying this to a hypothetical situation, let’s say a school aged kid was attacked by a large group of kids, to the point of needing hospitalization. A statement is made that there was a incident of bullying on the school property. Does that sound right? Technically, the definition applies! Just like it does with exile. But it feels very misplaced and almost as a way to lighten how the news is perceived. Which is exactly my problem here.

And about my wording of using ‘gentler’ and ‘harsher’ I understand it is not conveying exactly what I am trying to say, which is why I put it in paraphases (idk how to spell that these things ‘’) in the original post. It’s just because I can’t think of a more fitting word to use. The word I am trying to convey is like hyperbole, but the opposite. Hyperbole being to use words or phrasing to make something sound worse or better than it is. I guess hyperbole may work there too, but whatever it does not matter now.

I am not trying to say that bullying is gentler, (that doesn’t even make much grammatical sense) just that the word bullying brings to mind things like stealing lunch money, mocking, or someone getting shoved around, which may lessen the impact and even convey something as less bad as it is. Because regardless of what the technical definition of bullying is, you cannot deny that it implies different things, which was ironically proven by the other post where someone brought up primary school, despite me never bringing it up. That’s the connotation of the word.

And yeah, there are times when I think stuff that happens in school shouldn’t be called bullying. There have been many times where I’ve seen some terrible inexcusable stuff called bullying just because it took place in school and I have thought a harsher word should be used. Like abuse, manipulation, assault, Etc. Because if someone did something really terrible it should be told like it is.

That’s the reason this even bothered me so much in the first place, like I said I don’t care about dsmp much anymore. But this is something that should be taken seriously, because fiction effects real life. Word usage has a big impact. Many things can be twisted to fit someone’s narrative because technically, the word used is correct.

Thank you for taking my ask seriously, this is genuinely something that concerned me.

hey anon, this is probably going to be the last i reply to you on the topic - but just to clarify, bc i think you mightve misread @judgehangman's post

he specifically said that sometimes people have the idea that bullying seemingly only happens to school children. the point of that was to say that such a statement isn't true. bullying ISNT restricted to schoolyard harassment. they specifically said that the way people view bullying as being "not as bad" IS THE PROBLEM, because bullying is a word for a specific type of abuse in a specific social circumstance that does not describe the severity of the specific actions involved. i think that might've just been a misunderstanding, but i wanted to make that clear.

beyond that, a lot of the specific actions of violence you've described ,, yes. they are considered bullying. there HAVE been people that have been killed by their bullies. people that have killed themselves because of their bullies. bullying occurs to adults by adults and also to kids by kids. bullying as a term is not restricted to a certain age group or actions of a certain severity. again, bullying is abuse. bullying involves actions that are BY DEFINITION abusive.

again, i understand your point anon. but, and im saying this as genuinely and kindly as i can, your feelings on how "severe" bullying is do not correlate directly with what bullying is by definition. words like child abuse and abuse and bullying are not a sliding scale of severity, but words that are meant to be applied to specific dynamics between people w/ specific traits.

[thatreallyminecraftsmygender]

Seriously tho, what is anarchy and why is techno not another government?

Edit: I've moved blogs to @considermygenderminecrafted if u want more dsmp things

Heyo, I’ve seen some frustration about people not understanding anarchy when talking about techno’s actions, so i’m making this post so people can link to it to help explain some of anarchism and how that relates to dreamsmp. 

I hope to make this a useful post to cover the Very Basics of “anarchism without adjectives’ (tho anti-capitalism and anti-state are assumed ancaps die mad about it <3)

DISCLAIMER IM NOT A POLITICAL SCHOLAR. Take everything with a grain of salt, sources will be listed in an hour or so after it’s got into the tags. Its also a bit of a long boy sorry lads

What is anarchy???

Anarchists are against coercive hierarchy. Anarchists believe that power corrupts, and that everyone should be treated equally.

Anarchism is Very hard to define, notoriously so. But it can *losely* defined as a social movement, that seeks liberation from oppressive systems of control including but not limited to the state, capitalism, racism, sexism, ableism, speciesism, and religion.

Anarchists advocate a self-managed, classless, stateless society without borders, bosses, or rulers where everyone takes collective responsibility for the health and prosperity of themselves and the environment. (1) 

That’s basically a very long way to say anarchist oppose systems that give people power over each other. (we’ll circle back to this)

You might notice it’s defined in what it is opposed to, which leaves a lot of room for different interpretations of anarchy which is why it's hard to make this post (seroiusly if any anarchist read this and think i’ve oversimplified summit please beare with me leftist don’t argee on anything we are very hard to research).

But in terms of Dreamsmp, this manifests as an (obviously) absolute opposition to government* (see everything techno has ever said about government) but it also manifests as a deliberate decision to write non-hierarchy into the syndicate manifesto (Think techno saying everything would be done by discussion, he would seek out recruits but only with the approval of the pre-existing members.) (3) and non-coercion into the manifesto

Power (the bit we’re circling to): 

There seem to be some misconceptions about what power is in terms of anarchism. Techno having the capacity to be violent effectively is not the same as coercive hierarchies.  

Violence (I have post im going to paraphrase from another post i’ve made that ill link later) (4)

Power has various meanings and they're all based on context. When anarchists talk about "abolishing power" they are talking about abolishing hierarchy, which is a relationship built on coercion where one party forces the other to obey through implicit or explicit threats and can and will carry out those threats.

Techno explicitly talks about how ‘no one shall be compelled to act if they chose not to’(3) if they are a part of the syndicate, this is a deliberate decision to dismantle power because it is the refusal to engage in implicit or explicit threats. 

I think the misunderstanding of power and violence is what leads to a lot of calling techno hypocritical for how he acts. The capacity to commit violence is neither a) equal to power or b) any different than anyone else who has engaged with politics. Power would be using that capacity to force political friends (non enemies) to act against their will.

In an anarchist understanding of politics, arguing for non-violence is impossible, because politics is the distribution of the power to commit violence against people. Violence in this case can take the form of police, boarder enforcement (exile), legal enforcement (house arrest), deprivation of food or health care or even the death penalty (the execution). Politics is deciding who gets to exert control over whom.

In anarchism, the political enemy (the person who violence can be committed against) is anyone who upholds and reinforces hierarchies. Because the political enemy is based off of how people act, and not who they are, people can denounce their previous beliefs and stop acting in the ways they were, and anarchist will leave them alone. They will no longer be the political enemy.

What is interesting is that techno has power because people fear him, and he’s going to have to *actively* work on reassuring people so he does not accidentally wield power against people. However, people being scared of techno is not something techno has much control over so it’s still not equivalent to systematic, governmental power. 

Direct action, *doing* politics:

Anarchism as a social movement is also very concerned with praxis/direct action (doing), focusing more on action than theory compared to a lot of other leftist ideologies (2).

In dreamsmp, it looks like in techno focusing on actively taking down governments using non-legal means but also setting up his retirement using mutualist principles (when he said he want to establish mutually beneficial trade agreements with his villagers *cough tho minecraft mechanics said no*) and setting up the syndicate (this can be thought of like a direct action group).

Direction can be defined as a political action aimed at achieving a specific goal or objective, which is carried out directly by and individual or group.

Irl this covers a lot of different things, ranging from banner drops to prison breaks to mutual aid organisations. (5)

But is the syndicate not just a government, and is it not just techno being the ruler?

Nope!

The syndicate is actively non-hierarchical and doesn’t exert power over its members, its only their shared goal that unites them. Governments have a central person or persons which makes rules and distribute resources to its people, the syndicate is explicitly decentralised in its power. Techno is not a ruler, nor does he actively have more power than other people. Others might be scared of him, but unless he’s threatening the people in the syndicate to make them do things they don’t want to do, he isn’t exerting power in the same way he’s rallying against.

A few more definitions that are relevant and i sometimes see people confuse: 

Tyrannt: 

1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a person who governs oppressively, unjustly, and arbitrarily; despot (6)

Government:

1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) the exercise of political authority over the actions, affairs, etc, of a political unit, people, etc, as well as the performance of certain functions for this unit or body; the action of governing; political rule and administration

2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) the system or form by which a community, etc, is ruled: tyrannical government. (7)

A few final words! I made this post with the hope people can link to it as an introduction to what sort of thing might be motivating techno’s politics as of right now, and also to help keep the conversation about characters interesting and fresh. It is  a VERY surface level look at anarchy, and how it specifically relates to the dreamsmp, not everything in this post applies to all anarchist, in fact there are bits of this I, as someone who is interested in anarchist politcs, don’t fully agree with, or think require more nuance. I’m going to reblog this post in a few hours with a list of sources and some additional resources for those who are interested. 

Do not use this as an excuse to be cruel to each other or get upset if people still don’t understand anarchism, it's a complicated topic and hard to get your head around (especailly considering how its usually portrayed in media) People are allowed to just hold opinions without proper reason, as long as they keep it tagged properly and don’t expect everyone to agree. At the end of the day its minecraft RP.