Ewoo - Whoop-De-Doo

*British gasp*

Do non-americans realize that the United States is literally just a bunch of countries in a trench coat that agreed to be semi-nice to each other in order to sneak into the Big Boy Club? Because let’s be honest that’s just what the USA is

this implies the little cat things like the smell of rotting flesh and i dont appreciate it

jungle cat

variety

Thinkin about how the generational gaps are getting larger and how it's getting more difficult to understand what previous/new generations have gone through because our experiences are so different.

People used to be raised in similar environments to their parents which meant that they could understand each other properly, now it's almost like we're from different cultures.

I don't know much about our recent history. I had Covid, what did my parents have?

It's spooktober

the mutuals sound like this

All of these statements:

"C!Tommy is a badass: has great leadership qualities, is smarter and stronger than he looks, has survived immeasurable trauma and pulled himself out of it, takes initiative in solving problems, seeks to better himself with no prompting from others, etc."

"C!Tommy is soft: just wants peace and safety for him and his loved ones, loves animals and flowers and has an appreciation for things most would find disposable, gives his friends hugs and holds their hands, blames himself too much, has a habit of desperately looking for guidance and purpose, is easily malleable by people he looks up to, etc."

"C!Tommy is troublesome: tends to be reckless and impulsive, gets tunnel vision and is short sighted sometimes, is prone to anger and lashing out, has hurt people in the past, sometimes ignores the reality of a situation when too scared/conflicted to accept it, tends to be annoying and test people's limits, etc."

can and do coexist, and that's why I love him so much!! He's a soft ball of yarn covered in needles, he's a loud chihuahua who'll bite you and claw up your lawn and cuddle up next to you after, he's a menace and a protector and a victim and a fool. He's all of it at once. I don't want to take away any of it, because without his strong will he wouldn't have survived, and without his soft soul he wouldn't have lived, and without his flaws his life wouldn't be meaningful, because it's the flaws that make him feel human. He's an intricate dumbass, and I love him for it <3

power is power, and not everyone is powerful

when i see a lot of discussions who try to compare characters, the thing is, they forget about the very nature of the server, in that it is NOT our world despite how much it can feel like it, and thus the nature of power is much more primeval. 

on a basic level, power is power. nothing else.

having the best armor doesn’t make you unkillable. Tommy had the first piece of netherite armor on the entire server. and it was stolen and used against him. Sam insists he’s one of, if not the, most powerful person the server - he still lost to a PVP with Dream. Techno infamously was able to kill Quackity with a pickaxe, some potions, and iron armor despite the latter being in full enchanted netherite. 

now, in our world, resources = power. several people on the server take great pride in their resources (being the “richest”) but…once you have God Armor+Weapons and a solid base, you’re basically on the same playing field as everyone else, it then comes down to skill. because most people only have 3 lives, it’s not likely you NEED four stacks of Gapples and Diamonds. sure, it helps! in the Disc Finale, Dream talks a lot about how he has more than he’ll ever need and that Tommy and Tubbo can never feasibly beat him, but we’ve all seen an episode of Manhunt. Dream doesn’t need godtier items to be powerful. and it’s hard to say items make you powerful when out of canon, CC!Dream has a valid system to prevent people getting so far ahead no one can ever catch up (the End being closed and iron/villager/piglin farms being banned) 

and all of this means the interactions of “powerful” people - Techno and Dream in particular - need to be taken with the concept in mind that in the end, all the “power” (resources, money, friends, allies) doesn’t matter if another person is able to kill you anyways. (other characters like Punz should be on that list as well but OOC we know he prefers to be a supporting character, Sapnap is involved but not as much as those two, etc.)

and what it also means is that objectively weaker characters will view the world fundamentally different from them because they do not have Power nor do they have misconceptions about who actually holds it. which brings us to this:

“One arrow can be easily broken. But when five arrows are be bound together, they become strong.”

people like Techno will not understand why a group needs to band together and consolidate power in an organized government, and it’s because his version of anarchy benefits him, and “governments” pose a threat to him (whether he wants to recognize or admit it is another story). he’s Powerful! nobody can, on their own, overpower him. the Disc Finale is the ultimate example of this - Dream was able to be taken down by the entire server joining together and saying “we’ve had enough” and Dream, despite all his Power, couldn’t outmatch them all. and though they weren’t part of a government, that’s ONLY because their governments had been forcibly dissolved and their country lands destroyed beyond repair.

L’manburg was originally about a group of people coming together to keep themselves safe from people with Power. The Disc Finale proves that was the way to go! Dream was considered unbeatable, even 2 vs 1, and we know from Manhunts not even 4 v 1 can take him down easily. but a dozen people? there’s no escaping that. Techno can say he did it at the Community House, but they weren’t actively hunting him - there are several “good enough” fighters that if they teamed against him, he would die. Sapnap alone got him down to 2.5 hearts on Doomsday. him + someone else? Techno would have been dead. that’s all it takes. 

Dream understands this and did from very early on. he fully and absolutely understands why they formed a government. it’s exactly why he worked so hard to destroy it, and why he encouraged paranoia and sowed the seeds of distrust every chance he got, because it doesn’t need to be a “government” it’s any faction, any group that could get big enough to pose a threat, and if he can turn them on each other, he stays in control. he stays Powerful.

when Dream threatens people, when Techno comes into someone’s home and demands answers to his questions, when Sapnap tries to bust the drug ring, when Punz says stay away from the Egg, these are people who have Power. their actions, their threats, their intentions carry with them the Power to Kill if they don’t get their way. and that HAS to be considered when we look at how interactions play out and why other characters feel the way that they do.

Misconceptions About Tommyinnit’s Character That Genuinely INFURIATE Me

Since the recent events following the second L’Manburg Festival and subsequent war, I’ve seen many, many hot takes surrounding the nature of Tommyinnit’s character on the SMP. Some of which annoyed me to the point where I felt compelled to sit down and actually write this. I’m going to only be highlighting the most common complaints or questions I’ve seen, one by one, in hopes of providing a better understanding of Tommy’s character for anyone interested. (I also briefly discuss Techno and Tubbo’s characters as well.)

If you’ve said similar things to what I’m going to be discussing below, please know that it’s perfectly understandable how you’d come to these conclusions. Some of these aspects of Tommy’s character are not always obvious; especially if being watched from another streamer’s POV. This may become quite lengthy, so bear with me for now.

“Tommy’s motives are all over the place. He can’t decide whether he wants the discs back or not.”

Tommy is actually one of the most motivationally consistent characters on the entire Dream SMP. Even Techno, someone completely confident in their ideals, does more motivational flipping than Tommy. From the very start of the story, Tommy has always cared for three things; L’Manburg, Tubbo, and his music discs. However, him caring for something is not itself a motivation. 

Surprisingly enough, his motivation isn’t even just, ‘Get my discs back,’ like many assume it is. Tommy’s one true motivation, since the end of the Independence War, has always been, ‘Keep things the way they are now.’ 

Tommy’s one fatal flaw is that he is resistant to change and refuses to let go of the past. This is seen through all of his actions and words; in all conflicts involving him. This flaw is the drive to all of Tommy’s mistakes. Burning down George’s house, an action which resulted in him getting exiled, was done out of a desire to pull pranks the way he used to before the first war. His friendship with Ranboo started because Tommy said he reminded him of Tubbo, back before he was President. 

Tommy still talks highly of Wilbur because he chooses to remember him as the wise, kind mentor who cared for him. This motive is the reason he defends L’Manburg so fiercely; it’s his memory of a better past. This is why he holds grudges more often than any other character; especially refusing to forgive Techno after he killed Tubbo during the Manburg Massacre.

It’s why Tommy falls under extreme distress whenever Tubbo or Quackity tell him that something will never be the same again. This motivation is entirely formed from an underlying desire for peace and comfort, something Tommy has been denied since being forced into a life wrought with war and death. To accept change, to Tommy, is painful and terrifying. But he will only ever truly be happy when he finally learns to let go.

“Why do the discs matter so much to Tommy? They’re not actually worth anything.”

Tommy’s discs are much more than just any ordinary pair of music discs. They were never important for their material worth, but for what Tommy was willing to sacrifice in order to keep them. Tommy is entirely what gives the discs their value. 

Tommy also commonly operates under the Sunk-Cost Fallacy, wherein he’s invested too much of himself into something to just abandon it, even if it’s causing him problems. This mentality is a huge piece of what keeps him tied to both L’Manburg and to his discs. He’s sacrificed too much at this point to simply let them go. If he admits the discs are worthless, then he’s admitting that he wasted all this time and effort, just to keep them.

The discs also act as a constant source of hope for Tommy because they are directly tied with his motivations as a character. They’re something he’s had since the very beginning. They’re something he used to listen to with Tubbo on their shared bench. 

To Tommy, they symbolize a life before war, filled with comfort and peace. They are a love letter to his country and his late mentor Wilbur. They are a physical representation of Tubbo’s companionship. They are the only thing, besides L’Manburg and his best friend, that gives him the hope that he can one day return things to the way they used to be. 

This ideal, paired with Tommy’s refusal to let go, has left him ruthlessly pursuing the things he’s lost. Not his music discs, but his peace and comfort, his friendship, his country, his mentor Wilbur, and his life before war.

In his desperation to hold onto his prized possession, it has only hurt and pushed away the people that love him. If Tommy continues to ignore this reality, while still refusing to resolve his major flaw entwined with it, he will lose all that the discs had once stood for. He will lose his country, then his friend Tubbo, and then he will lose himself.

“Tommy never grows or learns from his mistakes. This makes him a badly written character.”

Characters do not have to constantly learn from their actions to be well-written. Tommy is one of the best examples of this. The fact that his growth is infrequent is the entire point of his character; it’s completely stemmed from his fatal flaw. 

By addressing himself, he would be accepting change, something that terrifies him; something he stubbornly resists until he is absolutely forced to confront it. Contrary to popular belief, Tommy knows when he makes mistakes, but he pretends to be ignorant as to avoid facing reality. He digs his head in the sand despite knowing better, puppeteering the person he used to be during happier times, now gone.

In spite of his infrequent growth, the idea that Tommy still hasn’t learned anything isn’t quite correct either. Tommy, as of the last three plot streams, has shown incredible character development. By giving up his discs again, he had finally demonstrated that Tubbo is more important to him than his possessions. Speaking as a makeshift leader, he put aside his issues with others to rally them together against a common threat, something which Tommy had never been able to do before. He owned up to all of his mistakes openly, apologizing to everyone he’s ever hurt in one place. 

He apologized to Tubbo after they were reunited and came to terms with the fact that Tubbo was forced to exile him without choice, finally forgiving him. He was kind to Sapnap and learned how to be his friend after months of bitter rivalry. And these are only a few examples. This isn’t to say Tommy has overcome/fixed everything because he clearly hasn’t. There are still major things Tommy needs to work through that remain unaddressed, the biggest being his complicated relationship with Technoblade.

“Tommy only cares about himself. He does everything in his power to be the hero, always putting himself in the center of attention, especially during Doomsday.”

Tommy, since the start of the L’Manburg War for Independence, has never set out to be a hero. Not once. He may fall into the role of the protagonist, but his identity as a hero was pushed onto him by others. Giving up the discs was his only option during the Independence War. 

So when Wilbur called him a hero for it, Tommy said he didn’t feel like he was. During the November 16th War, Tommy again said he didn’t feel like a hero because he had lost what he thought was everything at the time. During exile, Tommy certainly knew he was no hero. And upon reuniting with Tubbo, he admitted to feeling like the farthest thing from it. That he’d hurt everyone and all he wanted to do now was fix it. 

The day before Doomsday, Tommy only took a leadership position because no one else was willing to, filling the role for Tubbo, who was crumbling under pressure. He had no choice but to try to bring everyone together, or fight alone. Most viewers never saw this during Doomsday, but before the battle, almost everyone who had vowed to fight alongside L’Manburg had abandoned them the very next day. They were convinced it was going to be destroyed either way, no matter what they did, so they chose not to see it through to the end; ultimately leaving Tommy and those who remained to fight a losing battle, alone. 

After about a third of the way through the battle, it became clear to everyone that they could do nothing to win. One by one, everyone stopped fighting and stood by to watch their country go up in smoke. Tommy was the only person on the battlefield who refused to stand down and give up. And so he took over the role as leader again, trying his best to keep them alive, to keep Tubbo hopeful; to keep fighting, no matter what. 

However, what most people don’t realize, is that this isn’t Tommy trying to be a hero or force himself into the spotlight. This is Tommy trying to convince himself to keep going. Because whenever things start to look hopeless, Tommy simply chooses to ignore them. He puts on a happy face and soldiers through it because that’s all he knows how to do. Tommy, at his core, is someone who wants peace through stagnation. He doesn’t want to fight, although causing the occasional friendly conflict is how he finds fun. He doesn’t set out to purposely hurt others. 

Tommy may come across as self-centered, but this is because he is an extremely extroverted character. He finds energy and joy in the attention of others, both good and bad. It’s why he’s always seeking the approval of others and, oftentimes, will destructively insert himself into another person’s life in order to find it. 

Out of every character in the story, Tommy is the most drawn to praise and positive reinforcement. He is constantly seeking out mentors and friends because Tommy needs someone else to help him feel confident in his own identity and abilities. It’s why Wilbur was such a positive influence on him. His boisterous confidence has always been a front because if anyone were to actually hurt him, he knows it will make his self-esteem crumble instantly. 

This is part of why Dream’s manipulation was so effective against him. By isolating him, he’s left without energy and looking to another person’s guidance. Tommy outwardly may seem independent and rude, but just under the skin, he’s unconfident and lost when he’s by himself. Tommy will only grow from this flaw when he finds his own identity and inner confidence; when he finally learns to be okay with being alone.

“Tommy goes to the festival solely to get his disc back and then tells Tubbo to give it away immediately after. That doesn’t make any sense.”

Before the screaming match between the two friends during the second L’Manburg Festival, Tommy had been in exile, manipulated by Dream for long enough to lose his will to carry on. It is because of him that Tommy’s reality becomes distorted, long after fleeing from his abuser. This mangling of ideals leads Tommy to subconsciously believe that L’Manburg and Tubbo are unsalvageable. 

Therefore, the only thing he has hopes of retrieving are his discs, which are easier to manage than the latter two things. And so Tommy does reprehensible things at the behest of Techno in a vain hope of getting them back, going so far as to kidnap and torture for them. This ultimately culminates in a confrontation between the ex-friends, quickly turning violent. It is in this violence that we see Tommy has sunk to his absolute lowest point in his journey. 

Swinging his axe, he nearly kills his friend as he delivers a string of words that cause the room to silence instantly. He says the discs were always worth more than his friend. Within the quiet of the room, Tommy is forced to reflect on everything he’s done. How he kidnapped and tortured Connor. How he accidentally drowned Fundy. How he traumatized Ranboo. 

And now he’s hurt Tubbo, the one person he has always sought to protect; someone he vowed to never hurt. This realization causes Tommy to break. He’s so ashamed of himself that he can’t look at anyone. Tommy knows now that he is worse than anyone he’s ever hated. 

With pain in his voice, he tries and fails to apologize to Tubbo in the moment. The only way he knows to redeem himself now is to prove to Tubbo, after everything, that he can still put the discs aside. And so he does.

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