i like minecraft

In the other POW SMPs that I've watched (Cowboy & Vampires) there was something keeping the characters within the borders of the place where they were, a literal wall keeping them trapped, making the collective goal to get rid of the wall and leave. It's true that not everyone necessarily wanted to leave/left (especially in cbsmp where a lot chose to stay in Pity, because those that stayed in Oakhurst didn't necessarily plan to stay there at least at first while in cbsmp some just were residents of Pity) but in general, getting rid of that border keeping everyone trapped was a bit of a collective goal of everyone, whether they left at the end or didn't.

But in Bannerfall there was no border or anything keeping everyone there, especially made clear by the fact that they had guests come over from time to time, but also that some characters did canonically leave for a while and then come back. Along with it allowing for things like cameos to happen, it also showed one of the characters' motives. Because when you can leave at any time, staying, especially in a place with active warfare like the kingdoms, is a conscious choice. Literally everyone the second they realised the monarchs were dead could've just left and ended it there, but they chose to stay.

4C chose to remain in Bannerfall after Nom hit him with the mace. I'm sure there were others that too could've just left if they wanted to, and maybe they wanted to even just a little bit and chose not to. Even Nom, when at towards the end said that if he survived he wanted to leave, could've just left at that moment if he wanted to; nothing stopped him from doing that, even with the Creaking King's curse he wasn't bound to the place itself. He chose to stay because he had a reasoning to stay, he had something to fight, people to protect. Every character in one way or another could've abandoned Bannerfall once and for all and didn't because of reasons different for each one of them, because they didn't really have any common goal that kept them there apart of, later on, defeating the Creaking King. This adds so much to the characters, a personal motive that is unique to everyone and motivates them not to leave until they have finished doing what they came there for, what they're working towards.

In Vampires, most characters' goal, at the end, was just to leave. Apo wanted to go back to Cherri, Scott wanted to travel the world, Abolish wanted to go back to his family and friends, and so on; the only two that stayed in Oakhurst when all was done stayed merely because they had nowhere else to go and they were familiar with the place, everyone else left, in one way or another. In Bannerfall, those that left at the end had a reasoning that made them leave, but that wasn't necessarily a permanent leaving either. Apo and Cherri went back to their actual kingdom, Scott and Mae chose to sail in Nom's honour, Graecie went back to the Grotto to heal the horses, but everyone could and some would come back later on, they had some sort of attachment to the place that was not caused by being forced to stay, but by finding a reason to stay. And for some, the reason to stay is still there, and they never left. Some even have a reason to return. At the end, those that left have people they care about that stayed, and they probably went back there from time to time. At the end, Bannerfall to them was more than the place they were in for a bit of time that caused both good and bad things. Few went back there just to mourn, most came back to visit people, to see how the kingdoms are doing, just to reminisce the months spent there, with friends and foes alike, a chapter of their life that is ended and closed but they can still look back at.

Differently from VSMP or CBSMP, the way the characters in BFSMP experience their time in the kingdoms is similar to ours, as the viewers. Because like us, they went there not knowing what was going to happen, and chose to stay until the end. And when the end came, some stayed with it, some left, either immediately or after a while, but even those that left will remember the experience, and maybe go back in the future. And I think that's beautiful.

Everyone in Bannerfall shares one trait, which is that they are waiting. Waiting for the war to escalate again. Waiting for the bloodshed to begin. The kingdoms have this endless expectation looming over them. You can be friendly now. You can enjoy this now. But eventually it will be gone. Eventually it will end. It's only a matter of time.

It effects the characters. Mae- who expects that at some point everyone will leave her again. 4C- who is waiting until the other shoe drops and Nom finds out about what he said. Frogue- who believes it's only a matter of time until people stop playing nice and outcast him once again.

We see it especially with Nom, who this event constantly looms over. He knows one day he WILL be on the battlefield again and he WILL have to start over again. This is why he's so frantic to prepare- to find a solution on if he has to fight Katie. Because he knows that the peace will not last. And Sausage is on a LITERAL countdown. He knows when he will die, he's always known. He can see the clock, he knows how much time he has left. He tries to do everything he can before it runs out.

We also see this with the plot. The plague, that is slowly decaying everyone's bodies. Slowly spreading. It will only be a matter of time before everyone dies. It's a physical manifestation of the stakes, of the war. It will come. It's almost here. It's inevitable.

And then we have the Creaking King. The blight on the land is growing daily. Things keep getting worse. He is constantly getting more powerful. The people who ate the resin are becoming more and more corrupted by the day.

But here's the thing. To understand this, we need to remember something Creaking King said.

"You are tunneling to your doom"

The threat, the ever-growing destruction. It's not inevitable. The CHARACTERS are pushing it forward. They are killing the king. With every bit of damage, they make the end draw closer. They make things worse. Their fear and anger causes them to do exactly as he says, tunnel to their own doom.

And this isn't just true about the Creaking King, but every example of this.

There doesn't NEED to be a war. This conflict that looms over the entire story, it doesn't NEED to happen. It's not outside of their control. It is pushed forward BY them. By their fear of its coming. Sausage didn't need to use his final days to commit to the destruction of Blue Kingdom by taking the Creaking King's deal. Nom didn't need to declare war on Red.

The expectation of this ever-approaching threat, it causes them to escalate, to make it to occur. You attract what you believe.

The countdown doesn't exist. It is pushed forward by the people who believe in it. The peace doesn't have to be temporary. The battle didn't need to begin when it did. The end never had to come. But they thought it would- and so they made it so.

But what none of the characters understood, is that the truth is-

Okay so this is a joke analysis I wrote in like 15 minutes to make a no timer joke, but I do want to discuss what you're saying here.

You're right that the war COULD theoretically stop at any time. But it doesn't. And I don't think that's a flaw in the story, I think that's the point.

I've spoken on this before, and it's slightly represented here in this analysis. But the war doesn't continue just for fighting's sake. The war continues because of the damage the war has caused. That is why it's a cycle, because it makes itself worse.

These people may love and care about the members of the other kingdom. However, they do not trust the other kingdom as a whole. And it's not for no reason.

Whether its mistreatment or dismissal in the past, seeing the how easily the other kingdom is willing to turn on them. Whether it's seeing the violence of the other kingdom, and how fully they're willing to defend the unjust actions of one of their members. Whether it's the memory of seeing them on the battlefield. Watching them kill people you've known all your life. Seeing them LITERALLY raze your home to the ground. Whether it's years of indoctrination and stories and your entire life being built around fighting them.

Everyone has a REASON not trust the other kingdom. They might trust some people, but they trust the loyalty that kingdom has to their worst members more. And it makes sense! Because the kingdom loyalty runs deep on both sides.

So, as I said here, there will always be that hurt. That suspicion. The sense of distrust and unease. What if the monarch they get this month isn't so kind. What if they hurt the people I care about again. I have to be ready. I have to prepare.

The kingdoms suffer from fear of what the other MIGHT do. As I said in this joke analysis, they will always be waiting for that cataclysm. And even if bonds form, there's always this sense of "but what if they hurt me again" and even if JUST ONE PERSON has that mindset, others will follow. Others will see the distrust, the willingness to take defensive action, and recognize that the threat is still there. The war could still happen. The feud is not over.

So yeah, they COULD end the war at any time. But that requires risk. It requires blind faith and trust in people who have hurt you before. It requires putting your life and family on the line. It requires putting down your own weapons before the other side has disarmed themselves.

The saying that "The right words to end the war would have been said already" is true, because it doesn't matter if what is said is the truth or not. What matters is if you trust the person saying it. And while they might trust some of the opposing side, they can never trust all of them. They can never be totally sure.

So, it IS a cycle. Because war and feuds create scared, traumatized people. People who don't want to lose again. Who don't want to be hurt again.

Everyone in Bannerfall shares one trait, which is that they are waiting. Waiting for the war to escalate again. Waiting for the bloodshed to begin. The kingdoms have this endless expectation looming over them. You can be friendly now. You can enjoy this now. But eventually it will be gone. Eventually it will end. It's only a matter of time.

It effects the characters. Mae- who expects that at some point everyone will leave her again. 4C- who is waiting until the other shoe drops and Nom finds out about what he said. Frogue- who believes it's only a matter of time until people stop playing nice and outcast him once again.

We see it especially with Nom, who this event constantly looms over. He knows one day he WILL be on the battlefield again and he WILL have to start over again. This is why he's so frantic to prepare- to find a solution on if he has to fight Katie. Because he knows that the peace will not last. And Sausage is on a LITERAL countdown. He knows when he will die, he's always known. He can see the clock, he knows how much time he has left. He tries to do everything he can before it runs out.

We also see this with the plot. The plague, that is slowly decaying everyone's bodies. Slowly spreading. It will only be a matter of time before everyone dies. It's a physical manifestation of the stakes, of the war. It will come. It's almost here. It's inevitable.

And then we have the Creaking King. The blight on the land is growing daily. Things keep getting worse. He is constantly getting more powerful. The people who ate the resin are becoming more and more corrupted by the day.

But here's the thing. To understand this, we need to remember something Creaking King said.

"You are tunneling to your doom"

The threat, the ever-growing destruction. It's not inevitable. The CHARACTERS are pushing it forward. They are killing the king. With every bit of damage, they make the end draw closer. They make things worse. Their fear and anger causes them to do exactly as he says, tunnel to their own doom.

And this isn't just true about the Creaking King, but every example of this.

There doesn't NEED to be a war. This conflict that looms over the entire story, it doesn't NEED to happen. It's not outside of their control. It is pushed forward BY them. By their fear of its coming. Sausage didn't need to use his final days to commit to the destruction of Blue Kingdom by taking the Creaking King's deal. Nom didn't need to declare war on Red.

The expectation of this ever-approaching threat, it causes them to escalate, to make it to occur. You attract what you believe.

The countdown doesn't exist. It is pushed forward by the people who believe in it. The peace doesn't have to be temporary. The battle didn't need to begin when it did. The end never had to come. But they thought it would- and so they made it so.

But what none of the characters understood, is that the truth is-

i may be the world, but you’re my world!