#this applies to everyone except for c!schlatt

[mioakem]

in my head literally none of the characters look like their corresponding ccs. like some of them have the same hair color, eye color, and skin tone, but a lot of them look literally nothing like the cc in my head. c!tommy may be blonde with blue eyes but believe me he looks nothing like mr tom simons

[snakesnakerevolution]

I posted 390 times in 2022

That's 390 more posts than 2021!

66 posts created (17%)

324 posts reblogged (83%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@baka-monarch

@vadergf

@w0rped-moss

@the-final-sif

@darkeninganon

I tagged 231 of my posts in 2022

Only 41% of my posts had no tags

#snake's rec feed - 27 posts

#lore - 19 posts

#snake rattle and roll - 15 posts

#fic - 15 posts

#snake's rec list - 11 posts

#dreamnap - 11 posts

#laugh rule - 8 posts

#fav - 6 posts

#ideas - 5 posts

#mcyt g/t - 5 posts

Longest Tag: 134 characters

#lmfao i'm just imagining either all the gods are super big and so c!dream is like...sitting on their laps just doodling and not paying

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Video Blogging RPF, Minecraft (Video Game) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Clay | Dream/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF) Characters: Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Karl Jacobs Additional Tags: First Meetings, Misunderstandings, Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Meet-Cute, Fluff and Humor, Fluff, DreNapWk2021_D1, Clay | Dream Being an Idiot (Video Blogging RPF), Sapnap is So Whipped (Video Blogging RPF), Rivalry Summary:

Day 1: Meet-Cute

In the box were four neatly presented chocolate croissants. He had never seen anything more threatening.

The owner of the new patisserie across the street leaves a treat outside Dream’s bakery every week. This can only mean one thing: war.

5 notes - Posted May 7, 2022

#4

shoutout to roman for 1) being my only follower and 2) somehow finding 6 of my 22 tumblr blogs and following them wtf

6 notes - Posted May 6, 2022

#3

Hey do you guys wanna read fic that updates on average once every 5 days and has been ongoing since August? One that focuses on heavy themes of grief, found family, revolution, and overcoming trauma? One that currently has 97,788 words across 46 chapters? One where none of the creators (except Schlatt bc that seems like something he'd like) are irredeemable, and, honestly, even villans? One where Dream and Tommy are actual, genuine friends? One where SBI family is a thing? Where Puffy is Foolish and Dream's dad? Where Dream and Ranboo are half-brothers and therefore Endersmile??

Then you may like my fic, The Ties That Bind!

It's got karlnapity, puffy/niki, Emotional Trashfire Wilbur Soot, baby Fundy (coming soon), dteam family feels, velvet is there sometimes, Dad Bad, mind control curses, and the end of the world! Oh, and have I mentioned that they're all kings/queens/princes (some exclusions apply)??

And there's more!

Puffy and Phil are married (for political reasons only)

Through marriage Techno, Tommy, Wilbur, Dream, Foolish, and Ranboo are all brothers

I accidentally made past Sam/Puffy but its okay it was platonic

Niki is Trans! I love her

Technoblade is a nerd. Half of this fic he's literally just been reading and its great

Tommy is a smart kid!!!

There is a slight hint of lemur throughout the fic

George is pissed off!!! If you want to see Rabid George click the link!!

This is essentially a Sapnap sickfic

tbh its everyone whump no one is having a good time lol

esp not the dream team tho

HAPPY ENDING!!!

There is no smut at all. I cannot write that and I don't want to lmfao

Ender dragon Dream, Niki, and Ranboo! Yeah!

Some considerations before you start reading:

HEAVY mentions of child abuse, torture, and violence. This fic's main driving thing is mind control lol

A/B/O is a thing in this world but ONLY for like...5 characters and it is completely unrelated to romantic relationships. The A/B/O is just used for 1) mind control and 2) family dynamics.

(Sorry I'm over explaining but I know a/b/o is a turn off for a lot of people and I wanna let you know its different and only relevant in that they're literally bound together through platonic love!!! They care about each other your honor!! Also I wanted to give them telepathy)

If you want to read a fic with all of this, check out The Ties That Bind Today!!!

6 notes - Posted May 11, 2022

#2

/dsmp /rp

my favorite thing on earth is platonic dreamnap they're just so *clenches fist*

it was like a year ago but I read a post about quackity selling sapnap an "enderdragon" and quackity dropping a fucked up dream off at his door and then bouncing. The thing had stopped there but my brain hadn't

was it one of those where quackity knew it was wrong? one where he expected sapnap to agree with him? did he see dream as so subhuman that he didn't think twice about it? did he hear sapnap rant about how much he hated dream and assume that he would enjoy owning Dream and getting to do to him the same things Quackity had enjoyed?

and, if he didn't, if quackity knew that delivering dream like that would cause sapnap distress, to ruin anything he may have had left with his once-fiance, did he do it out of spite? had he had dream the whole time, broken and under his thumb, until his fight with sapnap escalated? and he begun to associate dream with sapnap, and dropped him off in a way to 1) get dream off his hands and 2) get back at sapnap?

How would sapnap react? Would it be anger? would he chase quackity? would he bring dream inside and try to help, only learning more and more howbad a shape dream was in? Would quackity lie and say dream had chosen this, or it was sam's idea? Would sapnap buy it? would there be some part of him that was happy?

I dunno man my brain just keeps going

18 notes - Posted May 6, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

George's Desk Light

Vauge Hollow Knight au in that Dream is a lumifly. Nothing else is really specified lol

Trigger warning for dehumanization and objectification, as well as a sprinkle of neglect. This is my first writing I'm posting directly on tumblr so please be kind >.<

George loved his desk light.

It was just an object, one Quackity had given him for his birthday, but it was so perfect that he loved it.

It was a little glass jar, not ornately carved. For all he could tell, Quackity may have made it out of an old jelly jar. The top was covered in a thin metal lid that had two latches on either side. Holes were poked through, allowing the small lumifly hybrid to breathe. One in the center was larger than the others, allowing George to drop food flakes every few days to keep the hybrid alive. For a while it had begged, asking for food more often, but Quackity had warned him that this one was particularly gluttonous, and that if he fed it more than every other day that it would become sick. So, for the sake of the lumify, he ignored the small cries. They stopped eventually, anyways. 

Turning the lantern off and on was pretty simple, considering its power was near limitless. Lumiflies created their light through flight. George���s hybrid, however, would often just curl up in the bottom of the jar, sleeping or shaking. Quackity had found a solution, however. On the outside of the jar there was a small chain. On one end it was connected to a small collar around the lumify’s neck. The other had something akin to a clamp, one big enough it wouldn’t fall through the hole in the lid and get stuck. On the side of the jar a small peg had been attached. Whenever George wanted to turn the lantern on, all he would have to do is tug the chain and attach it to the peg. The chain was short enough that, once attached, the lumifly would not be able to touch the ground without choking itself. This meant that as long as the clamp was attached, the lumifly would have to fly and therefore create light. 

The chain doubled as a way to keep the lumifly contained. If George decided to change the glass, all he would need to do is affix a peg to the side and keep ahold of the little chain to place the lumifly in its new home. Sapnap had given him an ornate bottle a few days ago, one that had originally stored alcohol. George had started preparing it, just waiting for the glue to set. He’d tried to clean it out as best he could, but he figured the scent would probably last a long time. He asked Quackity, and the man said that it would be fine, that lumiflies were resistant to any fumes in the air. 

He sat at his desk, smiling as he read his book. Beside him, the lumifly fluttered, pretty and graceful in the center of the jar. Sometimes, George could swear the other was watching along, but that was silly. Lumiflies bred for captivity never learned how to read, only wild ones. And Quackity wouldn’t be the type to steal a lumifly from its home. 

George hummed, turning the page. 

Maybe he should find a couple picture books at the library. The lumifly would probably enjoy looking at the pictures. 

George loved his desk light. 

35 notes - Posted May 6, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[wasflypaw]

The Dream SMP rules, according to part of the DSMP fandom

1. No stealing

2. No griefing

3. No going to the end

4. No breeding villagers

5. Stealing and griefing is allowed only if I (c!Dream!) can do it. And everyone else actually (except c!Tommy)

6. No nations (there are exceptions! Like if I get Tommy's discs in return or I'm too lazy to deal with them (Manberg)! Make a nation and face me murdering you and your family)

7. No messing with the DSMP King (Important: ONLY applies to c!Tommy!!!!!!)

8. No touching democratically elected dictators (this one only applies to me, c!Dream. No, this isnt only here so I have an excuse to let Schlatt stay??? Dont accuse me I'll murder you and your family)

9. DRUGS ILLEGAL but only if they're potions that go by the name of drugs, not regular potions

10. No calling me a tyrant!!! I will murder you and your family if you do

11. No End Crystals

[starofroselight]

When I'm writing DreamSMP characters I follow an unofficial code or doctrine of sorts, and I figured you guys might want to know it.

I've very purposeful with my separation of characters and content creators to the point I separate them more than the creator often does. It's important to me as a creative that I am respectful to those that have inspired me; not everyone feels that way, and that's okay, but respect is what I prioritize.

Other than using their speaking patterns, I'll avoid real-life or Twitch persona gimmicks. The only thing I consider when taking direct inspiration is: did it happen in Minecraft

For instance.

Wilbur Soot has a bit where he joined Phil's stream to talk about eating sand. Yes, this is technically a Minecraft bit if you don't think about it because Phil is playing Minecraft, but first and foremost this is a Wilbur Soot bit. He was using the game to bring up that he the person had done, and the joke was rest on him, real life Wilbur Soot

The same applies to the anteater bit. That's not a C!Wilbur and C!Tommy moment, that's a Phil Rocket League moment where he called two friends over a wild joke.

The only exception I personally made with my rules is the "Wilby" moment between Tommy and Wilbur. While it does happen in Minecraft, and they are playing characters, it's so obviously not acted. It's not a C!Tommy bonding moment with President Wilbur Soot, it was a real life slip-up.

That is what makes it so sweet. I'm glad I got to see that moment, but it is not for my consumption.

What is for my consumption?

Jschlatt and Wilbur smoking "kelp" blocks in Wilbur's videos. Because it's a bit, I can easily slip C!Schlatt and C!Wilbur into that scenario.

In the same vein, Business Bay murdering the SMP Earth admin over and over again. It was a running joke they had, killing god, and it opens up some good character possibilities.

And if you as a reader never considered these divorced in your mind before, I call you to reflect on why that is.

I've noticed that people have started to merge specifically Philza Minecraft and Phil together. And it worries me. Phil already fosters an intense parasocial relationship as part of his brand. While during roleplay he will specifically point out the boundary: ("Philza Minecraft did not receive an invitation.") He refuses to point this bond out on streams where viewers call him dad because, well, it's a brand. It's an image. To point it out would be to lose support, which directly ties to money. This appears a cynical reason and I'm sure it's one of many, but this is the area we are in regarding characterization.

But he's not your father, he's not Wilbur's father, he's not Tommy or Technoblade's father. He's a talented Minecraft player who is an important part of the community, but he is not family.

Philza can be a Minecraft immortal, a god, a father, an Angel of Death. He can be family.

Philza moment? Stabbing his son. Not a Philza moment? Talking about his wife.

A quick rehash as a TLDR; separate events that happen in the game from the creators, see if it makes sense from a character standpoint, always be critical of why you're characterizing 'x' as 'y'.

I find this mentality keep me and my fanfic writing within healthy boundaries

[rnelodyy]

C!Dream, the status quo, and why conflict is okay sometimes.

In this fandom, there is a lot of talk about conflict, who causes it, who avoids it, who is to blame for it, et cetera. An argument often heard from c!Dream apologists to justify his abysmal treatment of L’Manburg in general and c!Tommy in specific is “He was just trying to stop people causing conflict! He was protecting the server by stopping these conflict-causing maniacs!”

And it’s not hard to see where they get this idea from, because c!Dream repeats this sentiment a lot, from his “happy family” speech, to the speech during the final disc war about how c!Tommy causes constant conflict, to the fact that he always portrays himself as a reasonable authority figure trying to calm down these feral creatures always fighting with one another (and we’ll get to that idea…).

My reasoning for explaining how c!Dream’s worldview is deeply flawed may be a bit controversial, so I decided to write this essay to explore the following idea:

Sometimes, conflict is good actually.

(all /dsmp /rp, names refer to characters, not content creators)

Conflict, in itself, is morally neutral. It’s the context surrounding the conflict that allows us to ascribe morality to it. This fact makes this topic a LOT harder to discuss, because morality is subjective. What I’m writing here is all my own opinion, you may agree or disagree on some points, I just ask that you read it through and please don’t start shit over this.

Anyway, the context. It’s dependent on a number of factors.

Justification. Why was the conflict started?

Intent. What is the desired outcome for either party?

Proportionality. If the conflict is started out of revenge or punishment, is it proportionate to the wrong committed?

Power Dynamic. Is the person on the receiving end more, less, or equally as powerful as the person starting the conflict?

For example, let’s compare the L’Manburg War for Independence with the intervention during the Final Disc War.

Justification:

Dream declared war on L’Manburg because he saw them as traitors, and the land they occupied as rightfully his. Therefore, them making a country of their own where his rules didn’t apply was a violation of the status quo he wanted to uphold.

Punz and the others intervened because they didn’t want Dream to kill Tommy and/or Tubbo, and were tired of his constant meddling in their affairs.

Intent:

Dream’s intent was to attack L’Manburg until they surrendered, no matter how much hurt he’d cause or how many lives he’d take.

Punz and the other’s intent was to stop Dream from killing Tommy and Tubbo, and stop whatever plan he had to keep the server under control.

Proportionality:

L’Manburg declared independence in response to brutal violence as retribution for clumsy attempts at crime, on land nobody except Wilbur was using, were explicitly pacifistic and invited Dream to make an embassy in their land to discuss trade. Dream responded by declaring war, destroying their land, luring them into a trap and killing them, and continuing to beat them down until they surrendered.

Punz and the others intervened after Dream dragged two teenagers out into the wilderness to fight him, with little chance of them ever returning. This was after months of Dream’s meddling in conflicts he had nothing to do with, trying to control people’s actions, ripping Tommy away from his home and abusing him in secret and, in the end, destroying the place most synonymous with freedom from his rule. They intervened by getting Tommy and Tubbo to safety, letting Tommy (the kid who arguably suffered the most at Dream’s hands) take his items and beat him to death twice, then locking him up in prison.

Power Dynamic:

L’Manburg was significantly less powerful than Dream and his goons, with less skilled fighters and heavily inferior gear. They held their position fairly okay at the start, but after the Final Control Room, they were basically defenseless against Dream’s assault.

Dream had always had unprecedented power on the server. He’s leveled entire countries, crowns and dethrones kings when he feels like it, overruled the decision of a court of law, and in the end, had Tommy and Tubbo completely at his mercy before the intervention. Even beating Dream was seen as such an insurmountable task that it took fourteen people (excluding Clingyduo) to take him down.

The thing about conflict, even violent conflict, is that it’s not always negative. If your sister is being abused by her boyfriend and refuses to report it out of fear, you’re gonna be hard-pressed to find someone unable to sympathize with you if you go over to his house and break his nose.

What is a defining feature of conflict, is that it disrupts the status quo.

That’s not to say that some characters are always disruptors and others always preservers of the status quo. For example, during the Disc War, Tommy is the one trying to preserve and Dream the one trying to disrupt (the status quo being: Tommy owns the discs), and during the L’Manburg War for Independence, Tommy and Wilbur are disrupting while Dream is preserving (the status quo being: Dream has absolute power and the entire server needs to follow his rules).

It’s ALSO not to say that this disruption is always bad, because sometimes, the status quo fucking sucks, and throwing it on its head is the right thing to do. Overthrowing Schlatt is seen by everyone on the SMP and pretty much every fan as morally correct, as while Schlatt being president was the status quo, it meant he was ruling as a dictator, exiling his political opponents, imprisoning and heavily taxing dissenters, being verbally and physically abusive to his cabinet members, and forcing a guest at his festival to execute a sixteen year-old boy for spying for the political opponent he exiled.

Conflict being a genuinely good force of societal change isn’t usually brought up in the fandom though, at least not consciously. A lot of people, both on the server and IRL, see conflict only as a source of hurt and pain, and try to prevent or avoid it as much as possible.

And here’s where Dream differs from someone like Ranboo. Because while both Dream and Ranboo operate on the assumption that all conflict is bad all the time, Ranboo shows this by becoming conflict-avoidant to the extreme, to the point where he refuses to pick sides in pretty much any conflict, no matter how obviously good or evil one side is. Meanwhile, Dream shows this by becoming controlling to the extreme. Mitigating conflict isn’t enough, he needs to control everything to prevent all conflict ever.

In Ranboo’s case, this is less due to ideology and more due to personality. Ranboo is a deeply anxious person, and hates being in the middle of fights. He’s also… not very self-critical? He has issues with self-worth, but he very rarely takes a look in the mirror to inspect what it actually is he believes and says, making him very gullible and convinced of his own righteousness. But while that’s a VERY interesting character trait, Ranboo’s conflict-avoidance doesn’t make him a very good character to examine in the context of conflict and what it means.

So let’s look at Dream. Because, despite claiming to want to stop conflict, Dream CONSTANTLY starts conflicts or escalates existing ones. The L’Manburg War for Independence could’ve been entirely avoided if Dream hadn’t lashed out so heavily at a nation of pacifists who made their own area to avoid violence from authorities. As I explored in my George Vod Analysis, the griefing of George’s house would’ve been a lighthearted dispute between two people if Dream hadn’t taken over the entire thing and turned it into one of the biggest diplomatic crises in the server’s history. Mexican L’Manburg hadn’t even existed for an hour before Dream came by to kill its residents and destroy its land.

So why is Dream so focused on stopping conflict, despite constantly starting it himself? Why is THAT his hill to die on?

Simple. Dream wants to prevent disruptions to the status quo. That status quo being “Dream is the one in power and everyone has to listen to him.”

But you can’t say that out loud. If you say “everyone needs to listen to me otherwise it’s not fair”, you sound like a whiny five year-old at best, and a tyrant at worst. So, instead of saying that, Dream says “I just want to prevent conflict, keep the server peaceful.”

Remember what I said about one party being the disruptor and another being the preserver? Well, Dream’s status in the early days of the server is almost always preserver of the status quo. The only times he’s the disruptor is if disrupting that status quo serves to strengthen the status quo of him being in power. For example: Stealing Tommy’s discs is a disruption of the “Tommy’s discs are his and his alone” status quo, but strengthens the “Dream is the most powerful dude on the server” status quo, because the discs give him power over Tommy.

By fighting L’Manburg, he was trying to preserve the status quo, because having a government on the server meant he no longer had absolute power. Hell, REALLY early on, he decided to kill George and burn all his stuff because George had full diamond while everyone else was still running around in iron armor.

However, after L’Manburg’s independence, Dream’s focus shifted. Instead of preserving the status quo, he’d disrupt it in order to return to the status quo as HE wanted it, with no nations, and himself at the top.

But again, that wouldn’t look good. Making yourself the undisputed ruler of the entire server is not good for optics, so instead, Dream hides behind the excuse that he’s just trying to stop conflict, or seeking retribution for slights against his nation.

By this point, Tommy, the only person who CONSTANTLY refuses to bow to his demands, becomes his scapegoat. Tommy is loud, enjoys chaos and getting on people’s nerves, and causes, admittedly, a LOT of conflict. Lighthearted, non-serious conflict with very little actual consequences, but conflict nonetheless. It’s not hard for him to start smearing Tommy’s name, painting him as this feral child at fault for every conflict ever, mostly because a lot of people already believed something like that to be true.

The idea that Tommy is uniquely destructive or chaotic is complete bullshit. Tommy is definitely on the more chaotic side, but he’s not that much more chaotic or destructive than your average server member, he’s just really loud and annoying about it, which makes the things he DOES do stick out more. But Dream, especially during the Exile Conflict, continuously pushed the idea that Tommy is the only one creating conflict on the server, that Tommy is responsible for all conflict ever, and that without Tommy, everyone would be at peace.

And at some point… Dream started believing this himself.

His speech during the Final Disc War illustrates this perfectly. He tells Tommy that ever since he joined, there’s been nothing but war and terrorism and conflict, and that those originated from the attachments Tommy brought to the server. That, by cutting off his own attachments, exploiting everyone else’s, and getting rid of Tommy, he could restore the old status quo, before L’Manburg, before Tommy, when everything was peaceful and no conflict existed. Except, Tommy is too fun to fuck with, so instead of killing him, Dream was going to lock Tommy up in Pandora’s Vault, probably for the rest of his life, to continue breaking him.

This is a prime example of Dream falling for his own bullshit.

First of all, Tommy didn’t cause all those wars, he was actually on the receiving end of most of them. A vast majority of the wars and terrorism Tommy got caught up in were actually started by Dream, or Dream was actively helping the guy who started it.

Second, Tommy didn’t bring the concept of attachment to the server. He gets very attached to things, true, but attachment is a very basic part of the human condition. Even Dream, the guy openly shunning all attachment, isn't immune to it, in the end, he’s attached to the server as a whole, and Tommy, who he gave almost biblical importance in his narrative. Like Tommy said, if you have no attachment to things, why does anything matter at all?

Third, getting rid of Tommy and controlling the entire server with their attachments… that wouldn’t have restored the status quo, because the status quo exactly as Dream envisioned it never existed. He’s not chasing a past that was ruined by Tommy, he’s chasing an idealized fairytale version of the past where everyone was friends and frolicked around in the fields and there was never any conflict, before Tommy came along and ruined everything. Before Tommy joined, there was a SHIT ton of conflict, from minor disputes over theft, to the above-mentioned incident where Dream destroyed George’s stuff, to the lemon tree conflicts that wound up being taken to court!

Except, even this idea of Dream wanting to restore an idealized, made-up past is only partially true. What Dream is looking to return to and uphold is a world where he was the only authority and nobody questioned him. The status quo he wants to return to, no matter how much he denies it, is the one where everyone was at his mercy and he could do whatever he wanted without impunity. However, because he’s convinced himself that conflict is the issue, not disobedience, even if his plan succeeded, he’d have to keep the entire server in a chokehold to get them to follow his ideal plan.

Because conflict is inevitable. Anywhere where there’s two or more people sharing a space, you’re going to run into conflict at some point. People will have disagreements, they will fight, they will have miscommunications, they will have a bad day or accident and antagonize someone else.

Resolving these issues through conflict, whether it’s verbal, physical or legal, will result in a healthier community in the long run, because people’s pent-up frustrations will get an outlet, and people will try to hash out compromises or accommodations based on the reactions they get. It’s not always the ideal solution, but it’s better than just sitting everyone down, telling them to play nice, and smacking them over the back of the head as soon as they start complaining.

But conflict threatens the status quo. And as Dream involves himself in more and more conflict, they increasingly start threatening HIS status quo. So in order to maintain his status quo, conflict needs to be stomped out as soon as it crops up, no matter how minor it is.

So, now to paint a timeline through this lens.

Dream started off as the ultimate power on the server, able to do whatever he wanted without consequence. Tommy joined and threatened that status quo, but he was just one guy, so keeping him away and occupied wasn’t too hard. It was fun, even.

Then L’Manburg came, and posed the first substantial threat to Dream’s rule. Dream tried crushing this rebellion before it had a chance to take root, but in the end, Tommy traded his discs (the things Dream was using to control him) for L’Manburg’s independence. The status quo changed, L’Manburg was here to stay.

However, L’Manburg still posed a threat to Dream’s rule, so manipulating events to destroy it became Dream’s next priority. He supported Schlatt during the election in the hope he’d destabilize the nation, then sided with Pogtopia in secret to help overthrow the government, then helped Wilbur with the TNT to blow L’Manburg sky high, then betrayed Pogtopia for Schlatt’s side for the revival book. When Pogtopia won, Dream was egging Techno on through whispers to try to get him to go ape shit, so with Techno’s withers and Wilbur’s TNT, L’Manburg was gone, and the old status quo had been restored.

Except it hadn’t been. L’Manburg was rebuilt, with Tubbo at the helm this time, and a new status quo was put in place, with L’Manburg still there and still a threat. However, with Wilbur’s death, Tommy was left almost completely unprotected, and Dream took his chance to get Tommy thrown out of the country, hoping to get his biggest threat out of the way, as well as being able to sink his claws into the L’Manburg Cabinet.

Dream isolated Tommy in exile and tried to break him to the point where he wouldn’t put up any resistance. During this time, he also commissioned the prison, which he claimed to only be for the most dangerous members of the server, but is a pretty transparent attempt to enforce his rule by making a place where he can stick anyone who disobeys him. The server is slipping more and more out of his control, with more factions popping up and more people outright defying him, so like any dictator, he takes harsher and harsher measures to stay on top.

Tommy escapes exile, and while Dream is keeping tabs on him, he can’t directly control him anymore. So, to prevent Tommy from returning to L’Manburg and stopping his plans at disrupting the status quo, he blows up the community house, frames Tommy for it, and goes to Tubbo to demand Tommy’s disc, the only reason destroying L’Manburg was disadvantageous for him. Tommy jumps in to defend himself and takes L’Manburg’s side, but in the end, Dream takes both the discs, then destroys L’Manburg with Techno.

By this point, the status quo Dream wanted to craft is almost complete. L’Manburg is gone, there are no other major factions threatening his rule, and he’s pretty much set a precedent for what happens to dissenters. All he needs to do now is get rid of Tommy.

Except he can’t kill him. Over time, Dream has become obsessed with Tommy, to the point where he’s started seeing Tommy as the lynchpin of the server that everyone else gravitates around. Tommy is almost a living MacGuffin: he brings chaos and attachment which gives him power, but in the right hands, that power can be harnessed to create order.

(This is absolute nonsense of course, Tommy is just A Guy, his presence itself doesn’t create chaos, and controlling him doesn’t mean controlling the entire server because a lot of people just plain don’t give a shit.)

So instead of killing him, Dream tries to put him in prison. He even outright says that he wants to finish what he started in exile, this time with even tighter control and no possibility for escape.

He goes to kill Tubbo for multiple reasons: Tubbo is no longer useful to him, Tubbo can be used as leverage to keep Tommy compliant in prison (the possibility to revive someone’s best friend is a pretty valuable bargaining chip), and Tubbo would absolutely raise hell if Dream threw his best friend in jail for no reason.

If Dream had gotten his way, he’d be able to blackmail everyone on the server into compliance. Tommy, his scapegoat, would’ve been in prison, so now without a scapegoat, he could’ve probably gone one of two ways.

He could’ve created a new scapegoat to blame all new conflict on. Quackity would’ve been a good candidate, he’s VEHEMENTLY anti-Dream, and would’ve had no qualms about starting shit with him. Whether it was with El Rapids or with Las Nevadas, Quackity would’ve been the biggest anti-Dream voice in Tommy’s absence. So c!Dream would keep Quackity around, blaming him for everything that goes wrong… Until Quackity would get too uppity and either gets murdered or put in jail with Tommy, and the cycle repeats until either people rise up, or everyone who isn’t completely subservient is in prison.

Or, he could’ve cracked down EVEN HARDER on conflict. Anyone creating a new nation gets stomped into the dirt, anyone fighting over resources gets murdered, anyone squabbling over griefed property gets thrown in prison for weeks at a time, all the while their property and pets that they care about more than anything else get dangled in front of their noses. Anyone who’s ever read any more than five pages about the dynamics of dictatorships can see that this kind of repression is basically ASKING for revolution, especially since Dream has shunned all friendships at this point and his only ally is only there because Dream pays him.

(this is all speculation, we don’t know what would’ve actually happened, dont yell at me)

The status quo Dream is trying to return to never existed, and the one he creates in the process isn’t sustainable. Stopping every conflict ever is completely unsustainable and detrimental to the larger community, which Dream knows, because he uses conflict CONSTANTLY to get his way, while still presenting himself as a peacekeeper. What he’s really against is disruptions of the status quo, because the status quo allows him to do whatever he wants and control the server as much as he wants.

Conflict isn’t inherently bad. Some conflicts are harmless, some are necessary disruptions of the status quo. Conflict itself is morally neutral, and trying to prevent all conflict ever leads into some… iffy territory. Remember when Ranboo yelled at the L’Manburgians for participating in conflict the day before Doomsday?

Anyway. Please examine situations with more nuance than “conflict bad”, it’ll make for much better analysis. Trust me. /nm

[vicea]

I was going to put this in the tags but I have a lot more to add it seems lol

See, the general audience/Dream SMP used to side with Tommy because these discs are so valuable to him right? He deserves them back because well he sacrificed so much for L’Manberg, he did what he could to get his nation back from Schlatt (who was rightfully elected as President, just a unreasonable President). So Tommy... deserves discs back right? At least that much.

This arc literally proves the fact that no, these discs are just the origin of all problems. It was the reason why L’Manberg got exploded, blown up. Everyone used to see Tommy as a good guy, everyone sided with Tommy wordlessly until this arc happened and that is what makes it different despite the repeat of events. Because his mindless chase for these discs have caused so much anguish and pain for everyone on the dream SMP. 

I get it- Tommy has this stubborn personality, holds these discs close to his heart because they hold great sentiment, but at this point, the only sentiment he has with them is that they’ve become these “power items” for anyone and everyone because of how much conflict Tommy himself causes. 

Tommy said that this blind chase after these discs made him lose himself, made him lose his best friend, Tubbo. But now he’s back to chasing after them even though he has his best friend again. So why do these discs even matter anymore? When he was at his lowest, it was because he believed no one cared for him. Before his exile, even without those discs as long as he had his friends... he was happy. No? c!Tommy becomes more and more disliked because he’s selfish, inconsiderate, and stubborn. Everyone on the dream smp saw Tommy as the good guy until this arc and that is what makes this arc different from the last one despite the same elements.

Character development in the Dream SMP is like one of its greatest aspects aside from the acting and improv. Tommy had his character development last few arcs along with Wilbur. When Tommy gave up his discs for his country? That was his peak character development. The boy who obsessed over his discs, the boy who couldn’t care about anything or anyone except for his discs gave his prized possession up for L’Manberg and that was probably peak Tommy. 

And this current arc that we just finished with, I think that this was Techno’s character development. And I don’t necessarily mean that Techno changed because he didn’t really since his anarchist ways have stayed the same the moment he entered the server and he’s always been honest, but the general audience’s and Dream SMP members’ view of him? A lot of people saw Techno’s character as a blood-thirsty anarchist, which is true but there is so much more to him. He’s always been straight-forward with his ideals, plans, and dislikes, to the point he breaks the fourth-wall every like five minutes LMAO but all people ever saw him as is a weapon. He’s a person too. When he argued with Tommy in that rain, over L’Manberg exploding... those were some raw lines that added to his character overall- but c!Tommy is stubborn, refuses to acknowledge that he betrayed Technoblade (and even kept his axe bruuuUUuuh) 

This repetition of events is a literal allegory of L’Manberg’s 3 canon deaths too. The fact that all three deaths had Dream contributing to it as well? All with his TNT; the first one within those blackstone walls was barely anything compared to the last one... it’s insane how much shit L’Manberg has been through. This third arc emphasizes the sad tale of L’Manberg, a country that had so much hope, so much potential...

I honestly used to root for Tommy in the Pogtopia vs Manberg, even when he went into exile, I rooted for his character but as I noticed the regression in Tommy’s character development this arc... 

I think this saying applies more than ever now, “You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

dream smp - why season 2's repetitive plot might be a better idea than you think

a lot of people complain about season 2's plot being too repetitive and predictable, and even though it's completely understandable to feel that way, i believe that it works a lot more effectively than a lot of people tend to think.

the reason why they made season 2's plot a repeat of the first season's is to emphasize the fact that if l'manburg still stands, history will only keep on repeating itself. this is a recurring theme in the dream smp, and a pretty obvious one, in fact.

now, some might argue that they could've tried to invent a completely new and original plot which ends in l'manburg being blown up, and yes, that could work too. so why didn't they do that? to reveal the answer, let's take a look back at season 1.

when you think about it, the election arc - season 1 finale is essentially repeating plot points from the revolution war: they start l'manburg, villain comes in and tries to ruin it in some way, someone from their side betrays them, l'manburg gets blown up, then they start l'manburg again. then why does it feel very different from its previous arc?

the answer is because of all the different additional variables and plot points that distract the audience from the essence of the plot being history repeating itself. the election, wilbur's villain arc, techno joining the game, the festival, everything going on between quackity and jschlatt and everyone else; all of it is just to distract us from the plot points of the first war being repeated. they were trying to deviate from the plot of the first war as far as they could because they wanted to make the most interesting, memorable story to keep you at the edge of your seats, mainly because at that point, a lot of people just found out about the smp.

this is exactly why they didn't make an entirely new and original plotline. doing so will only distract the audience from the main point that they're trying to get across: that history will keep repeating itself if l'manburg still stands. they're trying to nail this really hard on your head, and if you find yourself frustrated and complaining about the storyline being repetitive, that's probably exactly what they're trying to do! they're trying to make you realize that l'manburg is the cause of all their problems, and that it needs to go to let them out of the loop!

let's just say that they decided to put good writing before everything else, and create an entirely new story, also ending in l'manburg's permadeath. yes, it might still end in the same despair as the doomsday we got, but even then, it won't be enough to emphasize the fact that history is repeating itself. heck, it might even end in them wanting to fight for l'manburg once again, and forming a rebellion to reclaim it!

but no, that's not what they're trying to do. they're trying to make it as obvious and clear as possible that l'manburg is the reason why history is repeating itself, which is why they decided to repeat the entire plot. and now that they have an entire set audience completely invested in their story, they're probably bold enough to take that risk.

also, l'manburg blowing up isn't the end of everything; heck, this isn't even the end of anything outside of l'manburg itself! this is literally just the beginning of a lot of interesting new stories that might happen, and a lot of characters that deserve more exposure might get their chance to shine as well. now that they're free from the grasp of the l'manburg loop, this is their chance to finally start a new chapter, on a blank slate completely unrelated to l'manburg.