#whether it be because of the fact the smps she was in were short ones or cause clown was there to get rid of her opps

[freakinator]

If you don’t mind, I’m gonna yap for a second.. I think another problem with Kab is how sudden the turn around was. Like in the first convo where Kab was acting “evil”, Zam fought back with the argument that she’s wasn’t really evil at all and I think he did believe that at least a little. And if Kab slowly began to turn her path around then he would be a bit more trusting cause he would have SEEN her actual emotional growth but the turn around was so fast, it feels like there was no emotional growth at all and that Kab is still the same as before, cause she basically is. She still wants Mane dead no matter the cost and she’s still, intentionally or not, trying to manipulate Zam, but she wants to be treated as if she’s had that whole long term emotional growth

yeah ii think this is where her majority experience with short-term smps really bit her in the ass, i think there are two main directions that other ppl take it tho: 1. is as what you speculate in that some ppl think that she hasnt had genuine growth and hasnt changed at all and 2. that she genuinely changes too quickly and is therefore unreliable regardless of if shes being honest or not

i think the reason zam was so receptive to her in silent scream was cause this has been a recurrent plot point for a couple streams now, kab trespassing zams base to yap while zam tries to decipher her wants and motivations until eventually she just let it all out and in that instance i think he did genuinely believed that she changed even if it was slowly/just a little bit

....but then die for you happened lol

ssee the thing about kab is that shes shes all-or-nothing, going from one extreme to the next after just a little bit of change in character which can be jarring to some ppl to say the least (unless you thought she was lying and therefore any character development shouldnt be believed i suppose) but is something that was a great asset in shorter and arena-based smps where you had to get as much advantage against your opponent as possible without having to worry about the long-term consequences of these actions ie them not trusting you while still having to interact often in mundane ways even after messing with them. while she Can be swayed this only really works with things she was already unsure of which while a great motivator and trait to keep her on track with her goals (again another great trait for short-term smps), can be really jarring and distressing for other ppl if the things she was absolutely sure about goes against their own perspective like for example her thinking that derapchu killing her constitutes zam getting payback for her as the protector of the server (The protector, not A protector like zam insists, The protector of the server)

i think shes far too used to the fast-paced instant acceptance of changed personality in arena smps that is a natural consequence of them being short-term and having a revolving door of members and teams which is why she expects ppl to accept her growth and efforts so quickly even if realistically nobody would hand over their trust that easily esp after essentially being harassed in their own home multiple times, like even in normal smps where theres a baseline amount of trust ppl still wouldnt trust you after doing that, what more in a server like lifesteal where general trust is low basically all the time?

[redorich]

Eventually the Hermits get their hands on the one shulker box. They give it back a day later, filled with goodies as an apology for stealing, because they just needed it briefly so Doc could set up a shulker box duplicator.

(2/2) To expand on the shulker box ask I sent: It's cheating. They know it's cheating. They debate for a while over wether or not they should build it. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and dammit they need shulkers. Mules and Llamas can only get them so far.

---

(this takes place before the fic where puffy finds zedaph.)

---

The Hermits put up with mule highways and caravans of spitting llamas because they think they have no choice. At least one person complains about the lack of sophisticated storage transportation daily. Mumbo tries to create a system which will ferry items between bases, but it turns out to be more of a Rube Goldberg machine than anything, considering the items only travel at the speed of the water which carries them. Zedaph creates an actual Rube Goldberg machine for item transportation, but the only people who use it are himself and his neighbors, Impulse, False, and Tango. It’s more for prank transportation and snail mail anyway.

Things change when Stress, on a covert surface run, comes a bit too close to other humans on accident and catches sight of a blond man in a hoodie furtively checking his surroundings. Stress immediately does as she’s been trained, hiding herself behind tree cover and checking how long her invisibility potion will be in effect for. It says four minutes. As long as he leaves soon, she won’t have an issue.

The man surveys the muddy clearing with a keen eye, keeping watch for any evildoing interlopers. He places down an Ender chest, reaches his hands into it, then looks around once again to make sure no one’s there. Stress’s heart beats like a drum-- not the style of drums she usually plays, but rather the percussion of one of Xisuma’s favorite black metal bands. As the man’s gaze passes right over her, she feels the machine gun fire of her heart against her chest peak, breath catching in her throat.

He doesn’t see her. Quickly, he pulls something out of the Ender chest. A shulker box!

Stress’s breath stops for an entirely different reason. The things the Hermits could do with even one shulker box..! Item dupers are a thing, right? If anyone knows how to make an item duplication machine, it would be Doc. And a shulker box might be useful for an item duping machine! 

She’s getting ahead of herself. Should she steal from this person? Can she steal from this person? Even disregarding the moral dilemma, the members of the Dream SMP are fighters through and through. She’s got the advantage of surprise because she’s invisible and this man doesn’t know she’s here, but how long will that last? Even if she manages to take it, what if the blond man (Punz, she thinks is his name) kills her and takes the shulker box back from her?

As Stress weighs the risks and the rewards, she knows she’s running out of time. Punz breaks the shulker box. Right as he’s about to put it back in his Ender chest, Stress, who can see the window of opportunity closing, springs into panicked action.

She sprints right past Punz, hoping with every fiber of her being that her invisibility potion will be enough to save her. Snatching the box right out of Punz’s hands, Stress takes off running. Punz shouts, swinging his sword wildly at the air. He’s so close that a few strands of hair, just barely the tips, get sheared off of Stress’s fluffy mane and become visible as they flutter to the ground.

Punz’s eyes narrow, tracking the potion particles that he can just barely see. Unfortunately for him, the invisible thief takes off into the mob-infested forest. He gives chase, but the thief gains on him every time he has to stop to fight a mob.

Stress knows she can’t outrun Punz. She’s not bad, but he’s really good. Stress absolutely cannot lead this man back to the canyon. Allowing the hostile mobs of the forest to buy her time by slowing Punz down, Stress looks around rapidly, searching for something, anything she can do to lose the hunter on her trail.

A lone cow catches her eye. Thinking fast, she bites her lip as she dumps her only water bucket out into a nearby pond where it won’t be noticed, then milks the cow. In the distance, a zombie groans as Punz takes it out. Stress hyperventilates, frantically digging at the ground beneath her feet with a silk touch shovel. Once she’s created a hole just barely big enough for her to hide in, she hops in and puts the grassy dirt she dug up just seconds ago above her head and immediately downs the milk, so that there won’t be any potion particles to track her by.

Slowly, carefully, and as quiet as she possibly can, she digs up the dirt beneath her feet in absolute darkness. Logically, Stress knows that Punz won’t be able to see the light from her torch, but she’s too terrified to think logically. What has she done?!

Her shovel stills as angry feet stomp above her. Dirt crumbles into her hair when Punz walks directly above her. Caustic mutters faintly reach her ears through the loamy earth, fading farther and farther away as Punz searches in vain for the invisible thief. Stress waits with bated breath for minutes on end, hands shaking like leaves in a hurricane. 

Tentatively, she digs up the diorite block below her with a pickaxe. A mob shifts aboveground and Stress, paralyzed with the paranoia that it might be Punz, spends another five minutes in immobile silence. Burying her face in her hands, she sucks in a breath and continues digging. Once she hits a decently low y-level, she digs forward, taking care to place all her blocks behind her exactly as they were before she mined them.

After a solid three hundred blocks, she begins to staircase back up. On one unfortunate swing of her pick, water floods into her staircase. She must be under a lake or a sea. She can make out some kelp, though, so hopefully that’ll be enough cover for her to go up and check her surroundings.

Stress takes a deep breath and plunges into the cold water. Swimming up, she catches sight of wood-- no way. There is no way she’s made it to the docks just outside of the canyon. Eagerly, she swims back down into her staircase for a breath of air and the chance to down an invisibility potion, then back up to the surface.

On the entire journey from the bottom of the sea to the elevator on the other side of the canyon, she expects someone to catch her, to notice the water she’s dripping on the ground, to somehow sense the guilt emanating off her in waves. It doesn’t happen. Stress makes it to the elevator and pushes the down button eagerly. Every foot the elevator descends down is another thousand pounds of weight off her shoulders. She’s exhausted, and so close to home base. If she can just make it into the Atrium, she’ll have succeeded.

The elevator dings, rousing Stress from her daydreaming. “I really am dead on my feet, ain’t I?” she murmurs to herself.

She makes her way into one of the village houses, avoiding the pressure plates and tripwires which she knows like the back of her hand by now. In the house, she presses a button, which opens a door which leads to a tunnel. Sagging in relief, Stress practically melts across the floor as she traverses the short tunnel and finally makes it into Atrium 1-- a large circular room with a rounded ceiling and plenty of light.

“Woah, Stress!” Ren exclaims, running to support her. The dark circles under his eyes make him look as exhausted as she feels. He’s been working round the clock at the tree farm to churn out enough wood to meet the demands of twenty-four Hermits.

“Stress?” Ren asks with concern in his eyes, gently shaking Stress’s shoulders.

She laughs, high-pitched and wild. She’s done it. She’s really gone and done it!

“I got a shulker box,” she breathes.

Ren gasps. “What?! No way, they’re not even a thing on this server!”

“Yes they are,” Stress sing-songs, “because I have one.”

She tosses him the cyan shulker box with a look of pride on her face. Ren looks at the box in his hands, then back up at Stress with wide eyes.

“We gotta go show Xisuma, my dude.”

---

The Hermits convene in the small meeting room in the residential district, then realize that the room is in fact small and twenty-four Hermits aren’t going to fit in it. Xisuma’s having a good day, so he decides to hold the meeting in Atrium 1.

There are many different opinions on the acquisition of the shulker box, which sits innocently in the center of the room. Some people like Wels believe that even if it’s a great boon, it was stolen and therefore the Hermits don’t have the right to use it. Things were different when they first arrived in the canyon; they stole small things in order to survive. A shulker is nice to have, but the Hermits won’t die without it. On the other hand, there are people who side with Grian, who believes that since the Hermits already have the shulker box, they might as well use it.

Doc rumbles a deep hm, indicating that he’s debating with himself whether he should say something or not. Finally, it seems that the side of him which wants to tell his fellow Hermits wins out.

“Have you guys considered shulker box duping?” he says. Immediately, there is a clamor of outcries, both for and against, as well as just plain disbelieving.

Tango speaks up: absolutely not. It’s cheating. False tentatively rebuts, though, that sometimes cheating is acceptable when it's for a good cause. After all, part of her season 7 base was dug out using TNT dupers. Mumbo awkwardly raises his hand and waits for someone to acknowledge him, which Grian does.

“Er… what if we give it back after we’re done with it?” Mumbo says. Tango still looks unhappy, but the idea seems to appease Wels.

“Friends,” Xisuma says softly. Everyone quiets down immediately. “Should we have a civil vote, or shall I decide?”

Immediately, everyone gets shamed into behaving. “We can vote,” Bdubs says. “Everyone in favor of not cheating?”

“Wait, what are our options?” Grian asks.

“Er,” Scar speaks up. “Keeping the box but not duping it, giving the box back, duping it then giving it back, or duping it and not giving the original back. Is that right?”

Bdubs nods. “Yeah! So, all in favor of keeping the one original box?” A few hands go up, maybe five or six.

“Giving the box back?” More hands go up.

“Duplicating the box, then giving it back?” Nearly a dozen hands go up.

“Well then,” Bdubs says, “I guess I don’t have to finish the options; dupe-and-return wins.”

Doc strides into the center of the room and mines up the shulker box before anyone can change their mind; Tango grumbles good-naturedly at having lost the vote. Meanwhile, while everyone discusses the vote, Joe ferries Xisuma off to his quarters.

“So who’s going to give the shulker box back when we’re done with it, my dudes?” Ren asks the room at large.

“I will,” Stress says immediately. “I stole it; it’s only right that I give it back.”

---

Two days later, Punz wakes up to a noise in his house. He reaches for a knife under his pillow; just because there is no one to be seen doesn’t mean that no one’s there, as Punz is well aware given the theft of his shulker box, which he is still smarting over.

He gets out of bed, treading softly. Right there, in the doorway, is the same shulker box he lost! He looks around. This has to be a trap. No one is around… Punz might as well spring this trap.

He opens the box. Nothing is missing. In fact, there are more items inside than there were when it was stolen from him! A totem of undying, four diamond blocks, two ingots of netherite, and a note which reads, Sorry I stole your box! I only needed to borrow it, but I felt bad so I left some extra goodies in. xoxo

“...Huh?” Punz says to himself. This is the weirdest prank ever.

He puts the box back into his Ender chest and resolves to think about it in the morning.

[literaphobe]

plz why is dream dt as adora

OKAY SO FJDJDDJDJ THIS IS ABOUT THE DREAM SMP N ITS THE ROLEPLAY/FICTIONAL STUFF SO YHIS IS ACTUALLY C!DREAM GETTING TORTURED BY DREAMXD (god of the dream smp) WHO IS PRETENDING TO BE C!GEORGE LIKE U KNOW. how double trouble pretended to be adora to mess w catra

anyway this means nothing to you but it means SO MUCH to me so let me break it down for a moment

c!george has been having a hard time on the server. he’s been on Not Good terms ever since c!dream dethroned him (a whole other plot to explain, basically c!george felt backstabbed n c!dream claims it was done to protect c!george), and since c!dream is in prison, there really is No One there to Protect him. everyone keeps beating him up and taking his stuff, even a SPECIAL shield that c!dream used to use and gave to c!george to keep him safe. aka, the last item c!george has that could remind him on c!dream :( he even went so far as to make a deal with the devil (this is lightheartedly played by dream’s irl 14 year old sister, referred to as ‘drista’ by everyone, short for dream’s sister. what happened in the irl setting is that dream n drista were streaming n george came online n asked her to give him stuff because she was in creative mode. she really wanted to but dream said no n they made a bet instead n george got sad and acted dramatic about it when he lost) and he LOST so he had like NOTHING

MOVING ON,,, c!george is shown to us in lore the very next day to be burdened and confronted by all the important stuff he missed in the server, aka by not being there he indirectly has caused a lot of bad shit to happen. c!george is experiencing most of his life stuck in dreams, and he’s gotten to the point where he can’t differentiate his dreams from reality very well, and it’s confusing him a lot. c!george is shown to not remember what happened to many stuff he was involved in, such as countries like mexican l’manberg/el rapids for instance

he gets into trouble because his friend c!badboyhalo got corrupted by a huge evil egg (this is another gay ass storyline fjdjdjdj) and DEMANDS that c!george go to the egg w him n like essentially become corrupted too, and c!george is very scared n doesn’t want to :( suddenly, dreamxd descends from the sky and scares c!badboyhalo enough to stop. he kills c!bad to save c!george n also so that c!george can take c!bad’s stuff

but c!george gets worried that c!bad’s stuff is poisoned and hesitates, causing c!bad to run back and take his things. c!george then begins to shamelessly ask dreamXD for more stuff, since the last time they were together, they were building a McDonald’s, and dreamXD showed an unwavering loyalty to c!george and a willingness to give him almost anything

this is the first time we find out that dreamXD isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. his voice corrupts and sounds demonic as he yells at c!george for having the audacity to ask for more stuff after he had already given him stuff. this side of him continues to come and go, and viewers refer to it as ‘dreamon’. however we don’t know whether dreamon is a separate entity from dreamXD or just a different side to dreamXD. we also find out that dreamXD has some connection to c!dream that is also unclear. some fans theorize it has something to do with why c!dream has the power to bring people Back To Life

c!george, as it turns out, is a little confused by dreamXD. he doesn’t like dreamXD when he speaks angrily and demonically, and he notes that dreamXD mostly seems to show up around c!george, and not other people. dreamXD says this is because “you invite me in // how? // you have a welcoming presence” anyway c!george is confused because dreamXD looks like c!dream and he SOUNDS like c!dream but.... c!dream is in prison. and not there with c!george. and c!george MISSES him, and also keeps talking to dreamXD like he’s actually c!dream

he tells him he just wants c!dream to come back so everything can go back to normal. he doesn’t want him in prison, in fact he is notably one of the only people who wasn’t involved in the plot to put c!dream in prison. dreamxd has to keep telling him “i’m not dream.”, but also at some point dreamxd switches to c!dream’s voice to.... well it is unclear why he says “hi, george, it’s me, dream!” to c!george in c!dream’s voice. but it throws c!george off a LOT n he gets very expectant as he asks dreamxd if c!dream really is there, to which dreamxd says “oh. i think he’s gone now” (it’s possible he pulled out the c!dream voice to manipulate c!george into trusting him)

anyway the episode goes on to essentially show c!george trying to teach dreamxd to act more human and be less of a menace. he nearly gives up several times out of frustration, and this seems to tie in with his frustration with c!dream, who like got power hungry n became darker n evil etc, which c!george wishes werent the case, he misses HIS c!dream, the kind one who protected him and made everyone happier just by being around

c!george attempts to teach dreamxd how to prank people, but dreamxd keeps taking it too far. the tension of that is that dreamxd wants to be friends with c!george, but feels like c!george is just using him to get Stuff. on the other hand c!george is annoyed and just wants stuff. at some point dreamxd calls c!george a GOLD DIGGER and also at some point c!george threatens to just completely leave dreamxd, prompting the latter to beg n coax him for forgiveness. eventually they make a deal, where they become friends, in exchange for dreamxd giving c!george full netherite armor and tools. and then soon after c!george wakes up n he realizes the whole thing must’ve been a dream. but then he STILL has the netherite stuff. he begins to drop n pick up all his stuff n touch the world around him to test if anything is real

c!george is also shown to have stood outside the prison, staring but not going in. c!dream has talked about wanting c!george to visit him, and has talked about c!george a lot to his visitors, notably c!tommy, whos very annoyed by it. anyway. it feels like more Stuff is gonna happen that will make me lose my entire mind. god i love gay shit

[square-blunt]

I have a history quiz due on Sunday, why am I writing this character analysis of a sixteen-year-old minecraft streamer for fun-

I am hyper-fixating on the Dream smp. This has caused many problems for me. I have been in the fandom for a semi-short amount of time, since Tommy’s exile, but I was immediately attached to him, because of the arc he was in and the relationship with c!Dream. I was amazed at how much he actually went through because I only had a quick rundown from a friend. And this ‘much’, I think, actually validates the many ‘controversial’ choices that Tommy has been forced to make. Keep in mind that a lot of these choices that Tommy made were unwilling- and sometimes both of the options have very big consequences. My name is Nix, I kin the gremlin child, and thank you for coming to my very biased ted talk. Essays are just scholarly rants, and I will now rant about this angsty block gremlin child.

I feel like we forget that he is a child. I feel like those who criticize c!Tommy forget that he’s a literal child. He is 16. And he has already been through an unspeakable amount of trauma. It’s almost sickening, the fact that a lot of these adults know what Tommy’s been through, they know that he’s a kid, and yet they treat him like an adult, and they expect him to act like an adult and punish him when he doesn’t. They expect him to make choices like an adult like he hasn’t been traumatized like he hasn’t been through literal wars, saw his best friend get blown up by his brother, had his other brother blow up the country, had his father kill that brother, and then get emotionally manipulated into isolation until he almost fucking killed himself, and then that first brother and his father blew up the same country again with the guy that emotionally manipulated him into almost killing himself. He is still a child. And the adults of the server seem to fucking forget that. Puffy is one of the only people to stand up for him, and yet no one listens to her. Big fucking surprise. But she stands up for him still, because she understands the fact that Tommy is a child and he should not be expected to act like an adult. She understands this. And no one else seems to. Ghostbur treats him well, but that’s because Ghostbur treats everyone well. I’m not saying that everyone should treat Tommy nicely because he is traumatized, what I am saying is that they have no excuse to treat him like shit. These adults should treat him nicely because they should be decent human beings (Or piglin hybrids or half-enderman or furries or whatever else). They shouldn’t be fucking assholes to Tommy especially because he’s been hurt by assholes almost all his life (on the server, I mean). They should be nice to everyone, but especially to Tommy because he’s been hurt so much. The people who believe that Tommy should ‘learn a lesson’ (cough cough Philza) and try and ‘teach’ that lesson through violence (COUGH COUGH PHILZA [and technoblade but like, techno’s an enigma that I’ll talk about later]), like, it’s not gonna work! It hasn’t worked the ten million other times they’ve tried before! Like fucking jesus the kid already lost his disks and his country and half of his family, what more lessons can you teach? Like yeah. Tommy, he has fucked up in the past. He’s made mistakes. But I personally believe that he’s been held more than accountable for all of them. Stop. Using. Violence. To. Try. And. Teach. Tommy. A. ‘Lesson’. 

Most of this does stem from c!Dream and his iron grip on the serve, and I am a firm fucking believer that he was the one to blow up the community house with the sole purpose of framing Tommy. Because that is something Tommy would do. Because he's ‘grown up’ in an environment where the only way to work through your issues is to blow shit up. Tommy knows that there are other ways, but every time there has been a conflict, violence seems to be the only way out. And it is perfectly in line with Dream’s character to know that and use that against Tommy. I think Dream also knew that Tommy would end up going back to Tubbo in the end, too. That’s another thing, I don’t think Tommy betrayed Techno. Like, yeah, Tommy left him, but he didn’t betray Techno in the normal sense of the phrase. One stream before that, Techno legit said “Oh I’ve just been using you as a pawn for my own personal gain up until now but y’know now I actually don’t physically want to kill you so good job I guess. By the way, I’m blowing up everything and killing everyone you’ve ever loved whether you like it or not. You don’t have to help me, you can just let it happen and sit it out I’m cool with that-” LIKE BITCH EXCUSE ME? Tommy has given up two lives, his disks, he’s been exiled twice, his country has been blown up twice (by that point)- and now Techno is telling him that he’s gonna blow it up again? Because you people seem to forget, Techno blew up Tubbo first. Techno. Shot. First. Sure the butcher army didn’t have to go after him when he went into retirement, but Techno shot first intending to kill Tubbo, did that, got away with it other than Tommy yelling at him right after it, and then worked with Dream to spawn withers and blow it up after they killed Schlatt. Sure, Techno gave them gear. But during that, whether he was knowingly contributing or not, Dream was corrupting Wilbur and Techno was contributing. Once again, knowingly or not, he was still doing that. And Tommy realized this. Tommy cares about L’Manburg. He cares about Tubbo. He cares about Wilbur. And Techno hurt all of them. Tommy didn’t forget that. And yeah, Techno stood for Tommy during that whole ‘this guy’s with me’ thing, but like, Techno still offered to hand Tommy over for the favor. Techno could have kept his mouth shut. But Techno still saw Tommy as somewhat of a pawn for his own personal end- blowing up L’Manburg. He said, ‘Oh we’ll get your disks, Tommy, don’t worry, but you know I’m gonna just gonna side with the guy who isolated you from everyone you ever cared about first to blow up one of the only things you have left of Wilbur but you know, government bad, they took everything from me, don’t mind the fact that I killed your best friend and blew everything up no it’s all their fault-’ Techno saw Tommy as an opportunity. Techno didn’t care about Tommy’s well-being, until maybe the day before but even then. (Yes, I know about the ax and Ranboo giving it to Techno and all that bullshit and how he’s hesitant to let anyone in bc everyone has ‘betrayed’ him but he said. To Tommy. Directly. That he was simply using him for his own personal gain). At least Tommy was open about what he actually wanted.

The disks, I feel like, are more than just disks. They represent all the sacrifices that Tommy’ ever made for L’Manburg. Notice how, yeah Tommy wanted the disks back when he had L’Manburg, but that ‘I-want-my-disks-back’ arc really picked up when he was in exile/when L’manburg was taken from him. L’Manburg and the disks are interchangeable. If Tommy has L’Manburg, he doesn’t have the disks. If Tommy doesn’t have L’Manburg, he wants the disks back. And he’s said this from the start. That’s why he gave the presidency to Tubbo was because he knew that he would be a bad president. He wanted his disks back. That want has always been there. But notice that when Tommy gets to Snowchester, he says to Tubbo “I want the disks back.” Not ‘I want L’Manburg back’. Tommy wants the disks. He knows he’s lost L’Manburg, (even tho L’Manburg is the bond between him, Tubbo, and Alive/Ghostbur but that’s a rant for a later date) so maybe he can get his disks back. One thing I should touch on is Tommy’s struggle between choosing his disks and choosing people. Don’t get me wrong, I know that if it came down to Tubbo or the disks, he’d choose Tubbo, but in little things. Like when Tubbo invited him to stay in Snowchester, Tommy didn’t respond but instead asked for his help in getting the disks. Tommy has trouble getting his priorities straight in minor things. I think that’s why Tubbo is such a good fit for Tommy. Tubbo knows that Tommy would choose him over the disks if it came down to it, and Tubbo understands what Tommy has gone through, and Tubbo understands that even when Tommy can get a little too fixated on the disks, he will still put his friends first. That’s what the others don’t get. That’s why, I think, Tommy told Tubbo to give Dream the disks on the 5th. Because Tommy realized that by saying “The disks were worth more than you ever were” he is putting the disks above Tubbo- he’s putting himself above Tubbo. And this ties back into the emotional trauma that Dream inflicted on him, he was told that Tubbo didn’t care about him, that no one cared about him, and Tommy wanted to not be that. Tommy wants to care about people, and because Dream had invalidated what care was shown to Tommy, he believes that that is the bare minimum. He believes that ‘being kind to other people’ is the norm, especially considering the way he was treated before the exile. Dream has made it so, that in Tommy’s mind, the only way to show someone you care about them is to put them above yourself. So by saying that the disks matter more than Tubbo, Tommy is putting his own needs above Tubbo, and therefore, he doesn’t care about Tubbo anymore. And he still cares about Tubbo despite Dreams, and Techno’s, best efforts. He felt that the only way to apologize is to give up what he wanted, to make sure that Tubbo knows that Tommy does actually care about him. Granted this could have completely backfired. Tubbo could have seen that as, ‘If the disks are worth more than me, and Tommy’s giving up the disks like they’re worth nothing, then what am I worth to him?’ but thankful Tubbo knows that Tommy didn’t mean it. Because Tubbo knows Tommy for who he really is when he’s not hurting, or manipulated- when Tommy is Tommy. Not Techno’s sidekick. Not under Dream’s influence. And Tommy knows Tubbo knows.

This is why, in the end, Tommy was always meant to side with Tubbo. Because Tubbo and Tommy have cared about each other from the start, meanwhile Tommy went to Techno at his lowest, and Techno, for the most part, was using him for his own personal gain. Tommy knows that he wasn’t himself, too. When Tommy offers for Tubbo to move in with him, Tommy was doing that as a sign of ‘Hey, I’m trying to heal, I know I’m fucked up, and I need you to help me.’ Tommy is trying to heal. Tubbo, and Puffy, and Ghostbur (Maybe Wilbur will, too) are trying to help him heal. (Ghostbur less so, only because I don’t think he has a proper grasp of how much Tommy has been put through, but he’s trying his best and I love him for it) And maybe, the other adults on the server will start acting like adults and quit expecting Tommy to be one. Tommy is a threat- to Dream. Dream knows that Tommy is the main protagonist, and he knows that Tommy can take him down. He’s tried to turn everyone against him, and it was working for a while. But maybe the others will understand what Tommy’s (and tubbo, of course, but I’m gonna give Tubbo an essay of his own later) been put through, all the choices he’s been forced to make- with all options being not very good, and actually try and help to take Dream down. Because Tommy does want his disks back, but he also wants to make sure that Dream won’t hurt anyone ever again. The disks would just be a plus. I’ve been Nix, and if you couldn’t tell, I am a Tommy apologist.

[bee-n-boo-brainrot]

Will Tommyinnit be the Villain of Dream SMP Season 2?

(Written December 1, 2020 so before the December 2nd stream)

~~The Past~~

Before we hop into the current situation, we need to know how we got to the point where Tommy has the ability to turn to the dark side, so to speak. So let’s do a minor recap. NOTE: I will only be going over major points I find are important to my case. If you have other ideas that connect with other scenarios, lmk! I want to read what you guys think!)

On the 4th of July, 2020, 16 year-old Tommyinnit, a minecraft youtuber with about 11,000 subscribers at the time, joined the Dream SMP. I’m assuming you know what the Dream SMP is since you're reading this on tumblr, but if you don't know, check it out!!

Tommyinnit has played a key role throughout the plot of season one in the Dream SMP. Most people regard him as the protagonist, whether he’s considered the main character or not due to his outgoing and unique personality that his viewers adore. He’s fought on what many Dream SMP fans think of as “the right side of history” for most of his time there and even when he was in the wrong, most would still end up rooting for him because of his good nature and mostly pure intentions of just wanting to make people laugh.

One of the main, and longest lasting, conflicts that Tommy has been involved in is the Disc Saga. Even before L’manberg was being built, Tommy had conflict with others on the server, specifically Dream himself, because of these discs. However, for as important as these discs are to Tommy, he would prioritize the happiness of his friends over them (as seen when he gave all his discs to Dream in exchange for L’manberg’s independence). Though, as you will see, the strong sentiments and morality behind these decisions later began to sway and shift, but we’ll talk more about that later.

So we know that when Tommy chooses to care about something, he REALLY cares about it. This is even more evident with his involvement in the pet wars. On August 25th, conflict broke out on the server over pets. Sapnap shot and killed Niki’s fox, as well as Tommy’s cow named Harold. Tommyinnit cared about Harold and cared about justice being served. So he broke the only two server rules and griefed Sapnap’s house and stole his pet Beckerson. This may not seem like an entirely too important event in the long term of the SMP, however I feel it’s important to highlight the difference between how Niki reacted to the killings versus how Tommy reacted.

Niki was sad, of course, but all she really wanted or needed was an apology from Sapnap. She may or may not have been ready to forgive him, but she wanted to hear him say that he was sorry at least.

Tommy on the other hand, was not so merciful. He reacted strongly, passionately, and with a strong sense of justice. His moral compass told him Sapnap deserved to pay more for what he did, and only settled because he wanted what was best for Niki. I feel this is an accurate model of Tommyinnit’s morals and intentions throughout season one. If you compared all the conflicts he’s been in with his friends involved you would notice a similar pattern: he wants justice, but will put the needs of his friends before that. That is why he has always been seen as the main character of this series. The viewers can relate to this, and he does what most people would want to do in a situation, most of the time.

However, with the beginning of season two, this has started to change.

~~The Present~~

So, why are we going over the past? Well, I feel it’s important to know who Tommy was and how his mind worked in season one to properly discuss why the changes of season two have people asking whether or not he will turn into the antagonist. In fact, when you point out how his character was driven in season one, you really do start to notice the huge shift in season two. Especially regarding the stance on his discs and his friends.

Tommy in season two says that he finally feels L’manberg is in good hands so he feels he can focus on getting his discs back. Through reckless actions without fear of consequences, Tommy is putting L’manberg at risk. When dealing with the aftermath of burning down george’s house, Tommy confesses that he feels he put L’manberg first for too long and now he wants to get his discs back. He doesn’t seem too bothered by how his actions affect other people, even if one of those people is Tubbo (Tommy’s best friend).

It is important to note that Tubbo also seems to be prioritizing something over Tommy, in this case L’manberg, and while I think this affected his mindset, we haven’t been able to see many of the consequences this will have in the future.

Tommy’s morals seem to have flipped, and he’s engaging in more reckless behaviour with more serious consequences than he would have before. This sudden shift is drastic and seems to have no signs of slowing down which is worrying considering the Dream SMP doesn’t have a set conflict quite yet (though I’m sure with the december 2nd stream it certainly will be taking this plotline further. I know I, and many others, are curious to see how this goes.

~~The Future~~

So. Will Tommyinnit be the main antagonist of season two in the dream smp? Short answer? Yes. But it’s more complicated than it seems.

The conflict that has been sparked is interestingly different to the final conflict of season one. Throughout the Manberg vs Pogtopia war, almost everyone had the same values of disliking Schlatt. This is because Schlatt’s character was made to be disliked. I mean seriously, a ruthless dictator who acts like a stereotypical villain? His character was meant to be hated to make the protagonists look good and have someone to fight against. It was a simple situation: Schlatt bad, Pogtopia good.

However, that’s where this conflict differs from season one. In season two, both characters in the conflict were on the same side and fought the same fight until now. You know these characters and how they work, you know their motivations and their strengths and their weaknesses and their story. You know why they’re doing what they’re doing because they’re fleshed out characters and both parties have valid reasonings behind their actions where it may be a genuine struggle for the viewer to decide who they’ll side with.

It’s true, Tommy has set aside his own wants for so long that it’s fair for him to feel the need to focus on getting what he wants for once. However, the way he’s doing it is reckless and without consideration of how it will affect others. And of course Tubbo has a right to be upset with him, everything they worked for is being jeopardized by Tommy’s recklessness, however tommy has trusted tubbo with so much that it’s unfair to tommy to do things such as giving away his disc or exiling him.

In the end, I believe that some will see Tommy as the antagonist in season 2, while others will see him as the protagonist. Half the fandom will see him as the villain and the other half will see him as the hero, and it’s up to you, the viewer, to decide which side you’ll lay upon.