#everything is technoblade....

[tokkytikky]

[nothirtysix]

Day 5 (i guess????): Butcher Army

The butcher army happened while I was still mostly only watching Technoblade so some of my first introductions to Ranboo were from his perspective. I remember him just. Handing over the armor (and ending a plot line before it started lmao).

some close ups for you, my darlings.

[skdsmpart]

Sketch Dump #2

I've been reading SO MUCH fanfic many of these drawings are the result of that lmao

[lavalender]

now that I think about it. techno would make a great one piece pirate

[coldsummernight]

More of the weed dsmp au..........

Reminder that tommy eats random things in this au, he is immune to any ill effects so weed doesn't effect him!!!

[tobi-smp]

you know, with hindsight now what it is I really do think a more literal reading of c!techno's chat would have helped his characterization a Lot

and mind you, this was originally intended to be the case, and very well may have been intended all along even if it wasn't usually emphasized within the lore

and don't get me wrong, I Get why it fell out of favor within the fandom. it coincides with a Very storied ableist trope that demonizes DID and disorders adjacent to it, and Can be spoken about in a way that is essentially indistinguishable from it depending on the word choice.

but the thing is ! not only does it not Have to be an allegory for DID, I straight up don't think it is At All.

because we Know what it's an allegory for. It's His Chat. there's technoblade playing the game, and there's the thousands of people watching with expectations and wants that he's compelled to meet (or, at the very least, pacify through Entertainment).

and this makes much Much more sense when conceived of as Supernatural. be that spirits, gods, demons, or anything that could fill that role. separate entities that, for whatever reason, only techno can sense the presence of and be affected by.

and of course, to an extent this is true for all creators. everyone had an audience that they were meant to entertain and the choices they made were influenced by that fact.

but technoblade came in with a Very distinct set of expectations that heavily impacted the choices he was Expected to make and the kinds of stories that he could tell. he was more or less a living legend in real life just as much as he was in roleplay, and these things were inherently connected.

and it's like !

when c!technoblade says he was peer pressured into killing tubbo at the red festival he Is technically talking about what happened within the roleplay. schlatt was demanding it from him, there's a sort of pressure there. but schlatt was also the dictator they were set to kill, and techno has never had any trouble fighting people he considered a dictator before, and certainly not Schlatt of all people.

but he WAS being peer pressured By His Audience. by thousands of people, most of which were demanding blood Because It Was The Expectation, because it'd be Fun.

out of universe technoblade made the decision he thought would be the most Entertaining, and he was right! consistently he made choices that would let him do the most bombastic Spectacles possible. And It's Great. he's Excellent at pulling dramatics and making a compelling scene that give other people room to work off of. in that sense I'd consider techno an Excellent actor, and I have to imagine that he was fun to work with.

the problem is when you then have to justify it from an in character perspective, grounded in those mushy things like Feelings with characters that can be traumatized and sustain lasting damage, Especially Without acknowledging the out of character incentive.

mind you, it's not Impossible to Create a backstory that could justify it. why a character as consistently powerful and feared as technoblade would feel pressured to kill an ally by someone he not only Can kill but Wanted To Kill. why a character as seemingly secure and in control as technoblade would lash out the way that he does to perceived betrayal, and yet consistently puts no weight onto having killed and permanently scarred an ally that trusted him.

what that'd need is tragedy. a storied history of being hurt and having to survive. building up To an untouchable god from a much much more vulnerable position. Long Lasting trauma that's lead to this deep insecurity and paranoia. and that's Possible and that's Compelling.

but it's just not in the text.

not only did we never learn basically Anything that c!technoblade was up to pre-series, we actually know Less by the end than when we started because of the sbi retconning.

it's a Theoretically Possible interpretation that's technically never Contradicted by canon, but would have to be created by scratch. it's a compelling idea for a fan fic (and one I'd like to read) and it's compelling for a theoretical recontextualization of the character, but it's just not In The Text.

meanwhile, we have the video above.

we have the Objective Fact that technoblade's decision making was often subject to the rule of cool (very Very effectively) to entertain his audience.

and most compellingly, these concepts Don't Need To Be Separate. in fact, in my opinion they're Stronger when you put them together.

because the thing is. it's Difficult to imagine techno as ever being in a vulnerable position. he is just Objectively more powerful than everyone else on the server, both in real life And within the lore. How could he have ever been afraid when he was stronger than anyone and everyone combined? when we saw with our own eyes that techno could face nearly the whole server at once and win.

but he Is a tragic character, at least he's meant to be. and that tragedy makes much Much more sense as something Inward.

technoblade as a character who Needs connection, who Needs stability, who Needs security, who Needs friendship and community and Love. but Lashes Out, Obliterates to the core of the earth, because of something that's not only out of his control but that other people Cannot Understand.

how do you explain to a child that you killed their best friend because a chorus of the undead called for his blood and you (in all the glory that he'd idolized) were unable to do anything but comply? how do you explain to that child that you beat him senseless in a pit as the restless dead jeered and laughed?

That's interesting. That's Compelling.

technoblade is idolized like a god, feared like a force of nature, and in an instant cut himself off from nearly everyone who'd considered him an ally. and that seems to be a pattern, over and over and over again. he's left isolated, and in return he faces retaliation, and in return he's always Waiting for retaliation.

and what do you say to someone who wants to kill you for being a monster? that it's Fine Actually because you only did what you did because you have a curse that compels you to? that the supernatural guided you to destroy their homes and kill their people? (rip jack manifold you will be missed)?

That Doesn't Quite Help Your Case.

technoblade as someone who is beholden to this literal cycle of violence and Loses those things that could ground him, community, stability, People, as a result. who Tries to overcome this very fact (to become a better person, in his own words as per the clip above), but is pulled back into it as a consequence of his own actions.

that's a tragedy !! that Makes Sense. that allows him to be Both this force of nature that other characters have to survive And A Person Who Is Hurt By The Same Conflict.

"I'm a person!" that fear of dehumanization makes So So Much More Sense when you see technoblade as someone who Already fears himself. who fears being a monster, who fears losing control, who has faced isolation again and again and again.

and, importantly, it doesn't have to be anyone else's Fault.

by making the source both Internal and Completely External (something that none of the other characters have any awareness or control over), you can Have techno as a tragic character without demonizing anyone else Or erasing the impact that c!techno had on them.

and in that sense, it Can be an allegory for mental illness, but not in that direct "oooooh how scary he hears voices" kind of way that people fear it looks. but in that sometimes people Will do things that can hurt others while not feeling in control. anger and mania and paranoia, things that you can't always Control and yet that impact that you have on other people still Matters.

and the answer to that is, often, vulnerability and accountability.

I think a lot about technoblade isolating himself so near entirely from the rest of the server, and slowly gathering a support system Back by the end. and I Really Do think that framing of it through this lens is a Very impactful way of breaking it down.

tubbo, tommy, wilbur, ranboo, niki, I think they'd All understand not feeling in control. lashing out, maybe even feeling justified in the moment, but hurting people they care about and furthering their own isolation.

There's Something There, and it's already In The Text. it just needs to be expanded on.

and why not do that ourselves now?

[gabrieldrawsstuff]

When all your british friends are melting under the summer heat but you grew up in hell

[cherryskeletoncake]

Techno summoning chat before going out to rouin someone’s day <3

[nomsfaultau]

I have such a fun time writing MFR Phil being a Magnificent Bastard tm to the point where when I get a bunch of comments going ‘IM GOING TO KILL HIM SCUM OF THE EARTH LOOK HOW HE MASSACRED MY BOY (Techno)’ I’m like ???? My silly rabbit?? And check what happened in the chapter and am like oh yeahhh….the Crimes

[calciferiguess]

real

[dotterelly]

Really enjoying the various notes from people on my post about emduo. What I am gathering from the community response is that Philza and Techno can be summed up by the phrase "some are born great, others have greatness thrust upon them".

Except in this case it's Philza was born chaotic, Technoblade had chaos thrust upon them.

Also Philza is probably the leash kid in this equation.

[trans-ivorycello]

haven't posted this anywhere publically yet BUT I MADE A TECHNO STATUE IN CERAMICS CLASS!!!

happy birthday king <3

[bleue-flora]

I never thought of techno's favor for the sword maybe not meaning enough to ask for a life (ranboo's) but it makes so much sense.

I also think one reason techno hand contacted dream after neither in secret or public was the same they staged their separation, to separate from each other. LIke both techno and dream have very different objectives and priorities after prison, both know that being allies puts a target on techno's and techno's friends backs (as an aside, the poor man saw how they used his horse and later his friend as hostages agaist him and then they wonder why he hates the goverment?) and they're done technically, the favour is over and doomsday too, so there's not really much they can do for each other now, outside of reviving ranboo they're "done" with each other. I think that's also why he didnt went to look for dream, looking after him to ask to revive ranboo could make people suspicious and think they're allies still and if that happens techno's friends might get in danger and as much as he cares for dream, bc he does, the safety of friends like phil is more of a priority for him in the moment. And dream not reviving ranboo for the reasons you point makes so much sense too.

And tbh I think the rivals drifted away bc of this, they just had different objectives and priorities and they didnt coincide anymore and just started to see each other less. They're still good friends, dream calls techno a friend when talking to sam, but they're not in contact anymore. Tbh it's interesting to think of ranboo's death relating to rivalsduo post prison.

Tho I like to think that maybe techno could have sensed that the death godness would bring ranboo back eventually, I don have proofs for this but i wonder if maybe it's possible seeing phil was her husband. Also I really like your essays :D they're really good food for the thought about this server's lore <3

[context]

yup yup yup yup yup… exactly, you get it. It makes so much sense. Techno not reaching out because it endangers him, his animals and most importantly his other friends is so tragic. He’s forced to choose between Phil and Dream, but also I imagine Dream not really giving him a choice of siding with him. So determined to keep his attachments safe…

Makes me wonder what that conversation was like in prison… this is not very character accurate but just some thoughts I’m having:

Dream insisting on a divide: okay but when I’m out then we’re gonna have to do something so they don’t come after you.

Techno countering with his deep natured loyalty: screw that, I can take them. If I have to fight the whole server for you then so be it. You’re my friend Dream, I’m not leaving you to face all of them alone.

Dream: They’ll go after Carl again. You know they will… and you have Phil now, you can’t risk his only life… you saw what they did to George. They’ll burn down your house and then you’ll be homeless… No. we need to do something so no one knows we’re friends now. Promise me, you’ll leave me when the time comes.”

And maybe, Techno thought about ignoring there planned divide but then Ranboo was killed and it just proved Dream point that as long as Techno was associated Dream then Techno and everything he cared about was in danger. And so he made Dream give up the armor and Dream planned for it to happen, expected it, knew it needed to happen for Techno’s sake. And yet maybe part of him, the illogical emotional part, secretly wanted Techno to ignore the plan anyways…

Honestly, if we really think about it, that moment of staged abandonment really set Dream on his tragic trajectory. Techno really was in so many ways the pivotal piece, the difference between Dream being able to heal from prison or not and we should have known from then on where the story was going. That scene set the stage of Dream’s post prison arc, letting the audience know that there would be no healing, happiness, reconciliation. Techno was the symbol of hope, and without him Dream was destined to go down a path of brokenness instead of healing…

And that’s not to say, Techno did anything wrong in the same way I don’t necessarily think Punz did much wrong either. Sometimes you have to make the best choices for yourself and that doesn’t always mean what’s best for your friends. And sometimes you’re faced with impossible choices. Do you protect Dream by not making yourself a target for people to use against him? Or do you risk everything to stand by him?… there is no right answer.

And as far as agendas, as I’ve said recently I’m not sure Dream had much of a plan post prison. I think he was so focused on just getting out and stuff. So I do think it’s not whether Techno and Dream’s agendas or goals and such aligned but about the dangerous reality of their friendship. And unlike Punz, Techno has people not only at risk but also that would notice him sneaking off to meet Dream or whatever. So it’s best to just cut contact. Just like a friend might do when they move away, cutting themselves from what they can’t have in the hopes it hurts less…. And no idea about lady death. I get the impression that XD was the one involved with the revivals and stuff not her (something that I’m actually gonna cover a bit in my fic) and Phil seems supportive of Techno calling out to Dream to revive Ranboo so yeah I personally don’t think that was likely or plausible.

…ummmm anyways I ramble… got lost in rivals duo I guess lol…. I’m so happy to hear you like my essays <3 <3<3 you can’t see it but I’m smiling very wide :) so thank you.

[simplepotatofarmer]

watched the prison break stream, made some alignment memes

[choccymilllk]

big fan of you artistically and also of your internet personality. please accept my follow

hey! this means a lor actually im o happy someone os fond of my antics on the internet.. i have seen thiss ask a few days ago but ive been holding onto it and thinking ab ir bcs it mkes me very happy like Wow.. people do notice me nd have fondness for my personality Woauhoah.. #grand

im giving you a shocked techno in return i wish tumblr had bookmwrks id like to see rhis again and again thank you.. thank you !

[theredcuyo]

With how much stuff is been happening lately i only have a few things to say

1- I'm kinda glad now that Skeppy never got to join the qsmp because it would've affected him a lot probably

2- I hope the apparent hiatus that we're getting into means Bad will FINALLY TAKE A DARN BREAK

3- It wouldn't surprise me if qsmp ends after a very few months of nothing happening/a somewhat ending now because the same happened with the dsmp after we lost Techno and this is (in organization therms) worse

4- Whatever comes ahead, i'm glad to have been in the Journey with all of you guys, i'll keep on posting about Bad and Skeppy as often as i do between my other fandoms