#empires smp s2 analysis

[voidnoidoid]

Jimmy, aka Tumble Town's Outlaw (+ rambly character progression analysis and stuffs)

my take on Jimmy's villain arc is that instead of trying to reclaim his role as Sheriff, he should instead become the most feared outlaw the empires have ever seen.

old timey sheriffs often toed the line between justice and crime, and Jimmy has made it clear he's not above some corruption: bribery, stealing, manipulation, shady deals, arson etc. He's not the pillar of justice and upholder of the law he makes himself out to be. Hell he doesn't even follow his own laws sometimes and he let Scar break all of them! So why not turn to crime and vengeance?

recently I read an article about Kid Curry, a notorious outlaw of the Wild West, and I thought hey, what if Jimmy's character went in that direction? (PG-13 of course cmon) He could have a cool nickname like Dynamite Jim or something. Another thing I noticed is that Jimmy doesn't use a gun, saying that he is averse to using that kind of weapon, despite most cowboys carrying some form of firearm on them. He prefers to use a bow and arrow and his lasso. Could it be that he's used a gun before? Anyway I think it would a real turning point in his character arc for him to start using a gun, and ironically name it the Peacemaker (after the colt single action army revolver)

I find the Sheriff turned Outlaw story really compelling given what we know of Jim's character so far. Other people have brought this point up but Jimmy's whole character seems to tie in with themes of isolation and loneliness. Tumble Town doesn't have any villagers or custom citizens anywhere. The saloon is empty and devoid of any beverages. It's just Jimmy and his horses around here. Almost as if Tumble Town is completely deserted.

We don't know anything about Jimmy's life before he became the self-proclaimed Sheriff, but I assume his life before that wasn't a happy one. Why else would he crave respect so desperately, unless he wasn't afforded any before? He hates being seen as powerless and lesser than, as being called a toy is very much a soft spot for him. Him shrinking down in size and having his peers literally and metaphorically look down on him isn't helping either. From the beginning, Jimmy was never one to be taken seriously, as he was a goofy, good-natured man who kind of bumbled into being a Sheriff.

He demanded respect by imposing his laws upon every empire, despite not really having any right to do so other than being "The Sheriff". He is the leader of Tumble Town, not the whole 12 empires after all. Jim didn't really do much to show that he deserved the kind of authoritative respect he wanted from everyone, but the other rulers still liked having him around. People he considered allies such as Gem, Sausage and FWhip treated him nicely for a time, but either tolerated his Sheriff playacting and/or made fun of him by playing into the whole Toy Story bit. They were his "friends" but didn't give him respect as Sheriff and as a person.

For the majority of empires Jimmy has been treated as lesser than, as someone who isn't even human. He wasn't given basic respect asa a person. Joel outright mocked Jimmy by calling him a toy to his face, and every single person who has interacted with Jimmy has engaged in the toy bit. Hell, his own deputies, FWhip AND Scar, didn't treat him like an equal.

FWhip became deputy for his own gain and wore the toy story alien uniform to subtly make fun of Jimmy without him knowing. He did get attached to Jimmy though and took it extremely personally when he got fired for disrespecting Jimmy, getting back at him by stealing the hat and badges. I do think c!FWhip took it too far and is basically an embittered ex.

Scar on the other hand, was extremely nice to Jimmy and literally built him an entire train and a bunch of buildings as well as setting up villager trading posts for him. It's a really kind and generous thing to do for Jimmy, but despite that he still doesn't respect him in the way Jim wants him to. He gave Jim a whole pep talk about how "being Woody is a good thing" which, while being very sweet and encouraging, also unconsciously reinforces the fact that Scar DOES see Jimmy as a toy just like the rest of Empires. And when Scar was imprisoned by Jimmy for like 10 seconds, he threatened to call Jimmy a toy to get himself out of jail.

Alright fast forward to present time. Jimmy meets the Old/Past Sheriff and learns more about being a real sheriff. He learns how to get people to respect him more and is really excited to have a mentor figure, especially someone who used to be a real Sheriff running a town. Excitedly, he calls his friends over to the great bridge, riding atop a horse, to share about the cool thing that happened to him. Notice Gem, Sausage and FWhip are all wearing the Dawn Sunglasses, and Jimmy isn't, which creates this feeling that Jimmy is an "other" and not part of the in group. Instead of listening and congratulating him, all three of them crouch and poke fun at him for being small. Jimmy is all too aware of how everybody is treating him. He promises to be a better man, a better Sheriff they can all be proud of. And so he begs them, "so do you guys finally respect me now?"

Do you see me for who I am?

Will you finally see me as your equal?

Your friend?

And he is shot dead.

They've made their point loud and clear, and Jimmy has had enough. No more playing games. If they refuse to respect him, he will make them fear.

[simple-seranade]

which empires smp characters i project onto think should have religious trauma

both season one and season two because i think about this wayyyyyyy too much lol

so, without further ado:

Xornoth

this one is probably the most obvious of the bunch i’m going to list? imagine. you grow up learning about a pair of beings, one benevolent and one malicious. you praise the light and shun the dark, as all your family does. then, it’s revealed that you and your brother are part of a prophecy. the two deities you worship? yeah, they force siblings to be their champions, a fate that only ends in both their deaths. if they don’t, everything is destroyed. not only you have to perish, but so does your brother, who you care deeply about, because you’re kids.

that is already a lot to take in. what kind of god who loves you would force you to die? but then, you get told that you’re not even that. you aren’t the chosen of the light. you’re a child of the dark, and they immediately treat you as such. no matter how much you plead and pray, all they do is shake their heads and declare you too far gone. the god you worshipped hates you, and the evil you were taught to fear has claimed you as his own and you will never escape, instead doing everything you swore you would never do.

yeah. xornoth definitely has some trauma. but they’re not the only one, because…

Scott of Rivendell

yeah neither of the princes were getting out of this one unscathed.

the same things i said about xornoth apply, except everything changes. the people hail you as the one who will save them when the time comes, the one who will defeat the horrible evil. the evil who tucks you in when your parents are busy. the evil who plays tag with you in the palace halls and has snowball fights with you. the evil you call your sibling.

you don’t get to be a kid, because your god has chosen you to die. you don’t get a choice, but you’re hailed with the highest honor. you should be grateful, they say. but you don’t want the honor. you want peace. you want to not carry the world on your shoulders.

you want your sibling.

yeah being lifted up by a church can be just as damaging as being shunned by it, and we got both ends of the spectrum here! congrats, rivendell twins, now go get some therapy while we move onto…

Sausage of Sanctuary

sausage’s trauma is… different.

sausage has plenty of reason to be shaky in faith. his village was destroyed, he meets someone who looks exactly like the one he worships. it’s enough to shake anyone’s faith. is your god on that can respond? if so then why hasn’t she? you’ve been so faithful, so why are you hurting?

sausage’s trauma is less a direct result of the church and more of the terrifying ordeal of doubt. how dare you doubt that santa pearla is real and good. how dare you lose faith for even an instant. getting his memories back helps, but there’s still the nagging feeling he gets that he’s horrible for doubting that which brings so much joy. the voice hurts. praying sometimes hurts.

but something sets sausage apart.

sausage still believes. that’s a constant, no matter the hurt he suffers, he believes in Santa Pearla. he says his prayers, revels in her peace as he’s presented every reason not to. even after getting his memories back, his church stands. yeah, pearl was pretty powerful (oli has called her god before) but it’s… different. it’s faith. even though he knows he knows her, instead of being shaken, he’s solidified in it. because the world is good. santa pearla is good. people are good. he puts his hope in the good, even in the bad.

guess which one of these is most projecty lol

so yeah take my random ramblings about how different characters have religious trauma because i wanted to. sausage probably makes the least sense but i swear my brain has more reasons that don’t translate to words.

[stellocchia]

Okay, wow. So. Joey definitely managed to get in contact with the witch council. Either that or they have another mole on the inside.

And I think that my theory of them being an extremely rigid cast system isn't wrong. Or doesn't seem to be.

After all, they didn't only cast Shelby out due to a mistake, they're also branding her as dangerous and sending dangerous creatures after her. But somehow, this person they're basically trying to murder, is still fit to serve under the "truly Great Witches"? Despite being highly dangerous according to them?

Really feels like a scare tactic to beat any rebellious witch into compliance. And Shelby, whether she admits it or not, is definitely a rebellious one.

[quaranmine]

howdy!

You may call me either Quara or Alyssa! My main is @doctorletmebebrave (so if you see that name liking or commenting, it is me) and I'm also the sole admin of @mcyt-cats! My AO3 can be found at doctorletmebebrave.

I post about a lot of mcyt, including but not limited to: Hermitcraft, Empires SMP, Dream SMP, 3rd Life SMP, Last Life SMP, Double Life SMP, Evo SMP and MCC. I write fanfic and post the occasional piece of fanart! Please don't repost my stuff, and I'd prefer it if my things are not shown to CCs--although if they come on tumblr and find it themselves, or I tag them, then that is fine! (unless it is martyn. i trust him) (you may also advertise mcyt-cats to CCs though lol)

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Fanfics, oldest to newest:

The Babysitting Game (HC)

New World, New Faces (HC)

a pair of yellow names (LLSMP)

take (his) life (LLSMP)

let me help (ESMP S1)

but we made the best of what we had, you know? (HC)

How to Be a Human Being AO3; Tumblr Masterpost (HC)

some kind of trouble is coming (DLSMP)

Lonesome Dreams (EVO)

Gadus morhua (ESMP S1)

do you see no ghosts in me at all? (HC)

i'll be waiting here 'till the stars fall out of the sky (HC; sequel to HTBAHB; unfinished)

The Incandescence of a Dying Light AO3; Tumblr Masterpost (HC Firewatch AU)

the here and now (LILSMP/ESMP S2)

leave a light on for me (SLSMP)

<3

[stellocchia]

I really like the idea of Jimmy really being some kind of living doll specifically because of how much I liked Scar's speech about how "Woody doesn't define you, you define you".

Something about a character deciding to define himself in spite of the limitations his body gives him is personally appealing.

Because, even if he IS just an animated piece of fabric that doesn't make him any more of a toy than anyone else is, he's still Jimmy. Still the sheriff. Still HIM.

I love that.

[stellocchia]

Bubbles 2.0, huh?

And original Bubbles.

So, we know already that Sausage is dimension hopping recently. He didn't just SEE the Afterlife SMP after all, he was there.

And now we know that Bubbles has something to do with this as well, even though she can't dimension hop herself. But already the fact that she's aware of other versions of herself in other dimensions and can help Sausage to hop is incredibly interesting.

I wonder if Sausage's power to speak to animals s linked to this ability of his or if they're separate. The Bubbles thing makes me think they're linked.

The king who's after him won't know about the second ability, but if he does find out Sausage gotta watch out