I voted to exile Tommyinnit

techno has said that doomsday was mostly personal, a revenge thing, and wasn't the best example of anarchism. but with that line you can see there's a disconnect between what techno's actual motivations are and what tommy assumes his actions are.

tommy seems to believe that l'manberg didn't interfere with techno (clip found: here) and therefore techno had no reason to react to it but it did.

i am here to say techno's response wasn't that out of proportion given everything that had happened and what he knew because from his perspective, it was the only to stop anything else from happening to him or his friends. and that it was justified (and the narrative agrees with him in the end!), but i'm only going to talk about this particular speech in this post. and what tommy is saying is untrue. he's not lying when he says it didn't interfere with techno. he doesn't know because when techno tried to tell him, tommy didn't really listen and certainly doesn't seem to grasp how serious this was for techno. (one clip found here.) he even admits later that he didn't know techno had been executed.

and this is what i mean about there being two conversations. tommy seems to believe that techno is doing this because he hates the government only on principle and that this is something for self gain.

tommy: you destroy what people love--

techno (crosstalk): *makes a noise of disgust* Oh my god.

tommy: for self gain. you're selfish!

phil: and you're not?

techno: all these problems are because of your government. your government has caused all these issues.

and i can see why he thinks that.* if he doesn't know the real reason behind it, what techno is saying here would make it seem like that. the problem is, techno tried to tell him. tommy talked over techno in almost every instance where techno attempted to tell him. and you can hear the frustration in techno's voice upon realizing that tommy still hasn't heard what he's saying in the doomsday speech.

*loyal from the future: i'm leaving this part in because it's more fair to c!tommy but i'm gonna be honest here, folks. five years in the future and i actually don't get it. i don't know what tommy thinks techno has to gain, personally, other than like. not being executed without a trial or reason? sure, he doesn't know about the execution because he didn't listen but even beyond that, what does techno have to gain? unless tommy is under the assumption that everyone wants power which does honestly make sense after c!wilbur but you can understand why this is so frustrating to techno! tommy isn't listening and projecting his own beliefs onto techno.

now, i'm not saying techno communicated perfectly while they were working together. he didn't. techno avoided certain topics, assuming everything would work out later, which led to both of them being on very different pages. he heard what tommy said and ignored the parts that didn't line up with what he wanted, in big part because a huge flaw of c!techno is thinking the best of people and believing things will work out to the point of willfully ignoring obvious facts.

the point i'm making here is that not all of the blame can be placed on techno. tommy is not listening to him.

throughout the speech, tommy doesn't listen to (or ignores) the moments when techno tries to explain and brings it back to himself and the discs.

techno: don't speak to me of loyalty!

tommy: you were my friend and you betrayed us.

techno: you never thought of me as a friend.

tommy: the thing about this government is that- it was- it didn't interfere with you!

techno (crosstalk): yes it did!

tommy: [unintelligible] this interfered with us. these [the discs] were stolen by dream. [he says something else but techno talks over him]

techno: i don't care about discs! i care about freedom!

you can truly see how they're not having the same conversation. tommy doesn't know that it did, in fact, interfere with and harm not only techno but phil as well. he's approaching it as if techno betrayed him and partook in doomsday for some sort of self gain or as a way to specifically hurt tommy and take away something he cared for. tommy thinks doomsday, for techno, is about tommy. but doomsday, for techno, is about the government and what it did to him and his friends. doomsday was for a personal reason and for revenge on top of the ideological reasons but it wasn't directed at tommy. and tommy thinks it was.

techno: we can't have freedom with the government! tommy (crosstalk): -- the government. you have your own freedom, just let people love what they love, man. techno: *speaking lower* tommy-- tommy (crosstalk): you're selfish, techno! techno: i used to think like that, tommy. you know what they did to me? tommy: you're selfish techno: *raises his voice again* they hunted me down, the whole butcher army, and they executed me! i tried being peaceful, tommy! the government made it clear- tommy: you didn't have to do this. techno: i did! the government made it clear that we could not coexist.

the biggest issue with this speech is how roundabout it goes. tommy says that the government didn't harm techno, techno says that it did, tommy calls techno selfish for doing this, techno says he had no other choice, tommy says that the government didn't harm him.

and i will gladly put half of the bedrock bros era communication issues onto techno, though i do think that neither of them treated each other well and i do think tommy not listening to what techno said added to the problems.

but in this speech, in this moment, tommy isn't listening. he's not even considering what techno is trying to tell him. and this is a pattern. tommy is under no obligation to agree with techno, he is under no obligation to accept techno's reasons, but i do think it's.... hypocritical to say that techno was his friend and that he betrayed them when he won't even listen to techno when he's trying to tell tommy that he was hurt by the thing that tommy loves. and no, tommy isn't obligated to listen, either, but then he's not techno's friend and can't use that against techno.

and this is where i'm going to veer off strongly from my original post.

i still believe that techno doesn't literally think tommy doesn't see him as a person. i do think techno felt used as a weapon but the main issue was that he felt that tommy didn't see him as a friend while techno did. but there is some dehumanization that's probably sticking with techno and rightfully so after the butcher army and while tommy didn't have anything to do with that, it's got to hurt to realize the guy you thought of as a friend won't even listen to you. and, here's where i get controversial, i think techno has a point. it's weird that tommy keeps ignoring techno's points. it feels like him brushing off anything techno has to say (and like, yes, techno did ignore things tommy said in hopes that things would work out) and you don't really do that to someone you think of as worth the effort to hear out.

and it's right there, in everything techno says:

tommy: you were our friend

techno: [finishes berating sapnap for shooting him and ripping him off] okay, sorry, we're back, tommy

tommy: you were our friend and you know what-- i thought friendship.

techno (crosstalk): tommy, you never thought of me as a friend tommy.

tommy (also overlapping): please for once in your life, listen to me

fundy: *laughing loudly in the background*

techno: i listened to you for weeks! what did you do?

fundy: yes!

techno: you went back to tubbo, to the guy that exiled you. who chose his country over you.

the whole build up to the 'i'm a person' line hinges on the fact that techno believes that tommy never considered him a friend or worth listening to and understanding. multiple times, techno comes back to that point and it's very clear why he feels that way. he's trying to explain his motivations and being misunderstood. he's trying to explain he was hurt and is being told he wasn't. that's not something you do to someone if you think they're worth listening to and definitely not if someone is your friend. tommy doesn't and when he finally does acknowledge what was done to techno, that's where we get into the whole 'actions have consequences' bit which is a wild thing to say to what techno has explained happened to him. especially when tommy spent so much time in this conversation denying techno's complaints which were actually the consequences of the butcher army's unjust actions.

i'm not going to go into that in-depth but i will say that there is a cycle of violence on the server and yes, doomsday was a part of that. so was the butcher army. both things were reactions to something else though my personal opinion is that the butcher army was fully in the wrong given their own stated reasons for doing what they did.

i suppose the 'tl;dr' of this post is that both tommy and techno were having completely different conversations and that tommy not listening to techno is what prompted techno to feel that tommy never saw him as a friend or even as a person worth hearing. and in this situation, in this moment, techno is right to think that.

.

Clouds obscured the white land, murky and dark, prowling above the bleak snow as if readying to pounce. The air fared no better, running as if chased outside, cold and cutting and damming. A storm was brewing, a big one, and he was more than happy to just stay inside and watch it pass. 

Techno hummed and closed the window tightly. Hooves tapping softly to the slowly screeching teapot, taking it off the fire and pouring the boiling water onto his cup. Sweet honey smell rose immediately, fresh chocolate dancing in the steam.

He placed the teapot down and held onto the mug. Hands warm, he stayed and waited, blowing calmly into his cup. 

The voices had warned him before, as he placed the teapot and lit the fire. They chanted about a man, a green one. He had to be expected. So Techno did. 

A pair of boots soon waddled on the snow outside. Heavy and relentless as the storm to come. Techno waited and listened. Netherite on dirt, on stone, on wood. 

A knock on his door.  

He didn’t move to open the door, as comfy as he was standing by the lit fire with a mug in his hands, so he just voiced aloud. “Come in.” The voices cheered.

The door opened without hesitancy, and the man stepped inside as such. At least he had the decency to kick the snow off his boots outside the door before walking in. 

“Been a while.” Techno simply said in lieu of a greeting. 

Dream just nodded, hardly covering a shudder. “It’s warm in here.” He said, hurriedly closing the door behind him. His armour clanked loudly despite the gale outside, sharp corners clashing with almost every move.

Techno had taken his off. This late in the night hardly anyone was around these parts, even less without alerting the dogs. Also, metal saps heat, and Techno wasn’t as fond of the cold as one could imagine. 

He shrugged and blew the mug again. “That’s how houses are, Dream.”

“I do have a–” Dream groaned then paused, raising his hands and shaking them away, as if he wanted to shrug the conversation over. “That’s not important. I heard you had connections to some traders. I wanted to see if you could trade me some stuff.” He paused, and Techno waited, patiently slurping his hot chocolate.

After a moment, Dream added, “And I do have a house.” He mumbled. 

Got him. The voices laughed inside, he allowed himself a small smirk. 

“Are you sure? I mean, I believe you.” He said with as much sarcasm as he could.” But you know, people talk. I’ve heard them, and they all say ‘this guy Dream has no house! He’s such a homeless loser. Let’s laugh about the homeless rich guy!’. He paused, taking a sip before continuing. He could see the other hardly keeping his dark and edgy demeanor. “But hey, I think that you surely must have one. After all, you’ve lived here the longest. At this point if you didn’t have a house, that would be just embarrassing.”

“Techno I do– I do have a–” And he knew what buttons to push, everytime, and everytime it worked and it was hilarious. “I do have a house! This is stupid, we’ve had this conversation before! And I didn’t come here to be- to be roasted!”

“And I believe you man! But then you went and proceeded to not have a house. Anyone would think you’re kinda lying, ya know?”

Dream paced towards his chests. “I have. a. house! I– I told you! It’s big- the biggest house in the server actually–”

Techno hummed. “Yeah, so big nobody can see it.” Dream paced back to the entrance, then back to the chests. 

“-Listen. It’s-It’s a real hou–”

“As real as you can imagine.”

“I have a–”

“Maybe the house was the friends we made along the way.”

“Oh my gosh! Techno!” Dream finally exploded. His arms flying to his head in exasperation and rubbing at the helmet there as if trying to mess with his own hair. “I do not–”

Techno bellowed a laugh and stared at the ceiling, pointing with his mug at Dream. “This guy doesn’t have a house, chat!” 

“You!” Dream screamed then stomped over to the door, slamming in open, walking out, then slamming it closed again. Techno could distantly hear mumbles and angry stomping under the wind.

The voices cackled around and Techno with them.

“I know, chat.” He answered to the murmur. 

They knew all after all, and if they knew something, he did too.

The flame of his candles flickered. The breeze that had managed to slip in, disturbing them. It was humid and cold. It made him hold onto the mug tighter, glancing at the window somberly. 

The door slammed open and Dream entered again, this time pointing accusatory at Techno. “What the hell is wrong with you!”

“I’m sorry man! It’s the voices, dude. They wanted to know, you know.” 

Dream lowered his head, raising his shoulders in a clear sign of ‘I am about to lose it’. 

Techno held in another laugh. 

Even with armour on, covering almost every space of human Dream had, it was clear as day what he felt, what he expressed. As if sentiments poured from his eyes to the tip of his fingers, each movement showered in emotion. Techno couldn't do that most of the time, it was tiring in his opinion. Why do so much when his voice could express just as much. But he supposes Dream can’t really control it. If he could, Techno knows he would try to stop himself from doing it. 

“What?” Dream asked in a controlled hiss. 

With an uninterested tone, Techno shrugged. “I mean, the theory I heard was that you crashed at your friends’ houses every night–”

“I don’t have friends.”

Techno grimaced. “That’s… sad.” 

Dream stood, quiet. Quieter than the petering rain hitting the window and the wind howling with it.

They stared at each other for a moment as Techno took another sip of his drink, feeling the warm liquid hug him inside. After a moment, and with more cheerfulness, he continued. “The other theory, on the other hand - and I gotta admit, the best in my opinion - is that you just break into people’s houses when they’re not there to sleep.” 

“I am not breaking into people’s–”

“Now that’s just a lie, Dream.”

“It doesn’t matter! It doesn’t matter. I do have a house.” 

“And where are you going to sleep off the storm?” Techno asked quickly. 

He somewhat understood how Dream’s brain worked. Similar to his as far as he knew. 

And as he thought, Dream didn’t have an immediate answer. Instead, he just glanced at the window and the rain pouring outside. Something akin to resignation weighing his shoulders down as he answered with a tired voice. “In my house.” 

Techno hummed, drinking the last bit of honey off the mug and placing it behind him. “I believe you.” He said, despite it not being true at all. 

After the blunder with the blown up house Dream had, he had expected him to at least find some kind of refuge. A hole in a wall hidden with bushes, an underground cave filled to the brim with traps. But then he watched, a night he spent trying to catch a hare for hide, how Dream tucked himself under a small tree and went to sleep - clinging to the dried leaves, crooked with hard armour - Techno saw him and knew there was no home to go back to. 

Thunder cracked outside, the low static of the rain and wind rising in rage to a higher level. 

“In any case.” Techno continued. “I will need you to do something for me in exchange for the trades.” 

At that, Dream straightened. “I’m listening.” 

“You and I are both very rich in everything we need.” Dream nodded. “So if you want those trades, what do you think about helping me with crafting some potions. You seem like the kind of guy that would know every type. I need some of those dark ones, you know? The weird posion ones.” 

Dream breathed out. “Can I ask for what?” He wondered absentmindedly, not really expecting an answer. 

“No.” Techno shook his head, then walked over to the chests. He opened one filled with bottles. “Here are the supplies. I think I got pretty much everything ‘cept carrots. Accidentally sold all of them away.” He shrugged. 

Dream chortled beside him. “I got some. I can give them to you.” 

His gloves came off and soon followed his helmet. Techno pointed with his head to an enderchest near the fire. Dream thanked him then walked over to it, placing the gloves and helmet inside. Then, after some hesitancy, took off his chestplate and put it in the chest too. 

He stretched languidly for a moment, enjoying the warmth of the fire nearby. 

“You can crash on my sofa too.” Techno spoke, and before Dream could cut in, added, “I would feel bad to throw you out into that storm. I don’t think I could even walk over to Phil’s house without catching a cold.” 

He could see Dream heavily ponder his options. Glancing to the door as if it were to disappear. A flick of graveness passed through his face but ultimately he sighed and smiled. “I would actually appreciate that. Thanks.” 

“Hey, no problem dude.” Away from the chests, Techno placed the teapot on the fire again. Two mugs this time waiting beside. “You keep chat’s retention up.” 

He heard Dream laugh. 

With a jar of honey in hand, Techno breathed in the calming scent again.