#loyal does meta

[simplepotatofarmer]

one of the genuinely most important things about c!techno is his relationship to violence.

because when he says 'violence is the only universal language', he means that violence is what people understand. that he's been shown over and over that violence is what people listen to. he's experienced it firsthand. he doesn't seem to revel in it, it's more like he's resigned to it as a fact.

and on doomsday, it's violence that gets him the 'win'. he succeeds! his goal of destroying the government and making certain there will never be another is complete.

but instead of taking this as proof that violence is the only way, techno still wants to change. he admits to being a bad example and wanting to do better going forward. it's such a great moment showing that techno's desire to change came from himself, not because he was unsuccessful in his goals.

[simplepotatofarmer]

early days c!techno was honestly so wild because man was running from basically everything.

and in hindsight, it makes sense! he only has one life, he doesn't know who to trust, and he has minimal gear. every single move he makes is completely rational!

but it's still absolutely hilarious 'cause he's running from everyone. bad, eret, fundy. he sees purpled in the nether and treats him like a t-rex by going 'maybe if i don't move he won't see me'.

like, imagine hearing about this fearsome warrior called in from a distant land to turn the tides of the war and you just want to give him some fried chicken or give him a tour and he's bolting the moment you turn your back on him. you lock eyes with him across your world's version of hell and he freezes like a deer. i love him.

[simplepotatofarmer]

one of the hills i'll die on is that c!emerald duo is one of the healthiest long term relationships. yes, they compliment each other perfectly with how they express their emotions and all that but when it comes down to it, there's one thing that stands out:

the mutual respect and confidence in their relationship to not see eye-to-eye on everything. they don't always agree, but they're able to accept that as a natural part of, like, relationships.

anyway, emerald duo are everything.

[simplepotatofarmer]

genuinely kill the idea that c!techno isn't emotional or doesn't understand other people's emotions because he is and he does. his interactions with people, when he's not attempting to keep himself safe, when he's allowed to be open, are always full of understanding.

he knew that c!ranboo needed a place where they were accepted and felt feel from coercion and literally constructed an entire manifesto around giving them that. his apology to c!tubbo was exactly what tubbo needed to hear, that he is and was worth saving. c!phil, who struggles with expressing his emotions, gets grand and over the top gestures of friendship and techno's desire to protect him. he made certain that at all times, c!niki felt heard.

techno understood.

[simplepotatofarmer]

every time i think about c!dream's finale, i go a little crazy. because he really did just want things to go back to how they were, to hang out with his friends, to be happy and peaceful.

and that means, in the end, what he wanted and what c!techno wanted really were the same.

it's just, gods, did they ever go about it so differently. and i think techno knew that, really. i think that's why he was so patient with dream in prison, why he kept shutting down dream's 'i'm so evil' shtick, why he suggested therapy and raising the bar for how he was treated.

because he had been there before but he had room to grow and change while dream spiraled down to rock bottom, hurting so many people and hurting himself.

man, y'know?

[simplepotatofarmer]

so awhile ago, my friend @vpofcookies sent me this message and i've been thinking about this forever, because they're very much correct with this idea.

because c!techno spends so much of his time checking on c!dream, even when it's not obvious. the clear example of this is when he attempts to direct dream away from the lava flow when dream burned himself, saying that it was exhilarating.

for me, however, two of the biggest examples of this, especially when it comes to techno using his characters body language, come after techno wishes for the bell from dreamXD.

when techno gets his bell and begins ringing it, dream goes to stare at the lava. he doesn't move to burn himself but he stands right up against it. techno calls him away a few times and physically changes the way he was standing, so he could keep an eye on dream, even stopping once or twice during selling out to go over to dream.

immediately after dreamXD gives them the bell, dream punches techno into the corner. despite only having one potato on him while dream has all the remaining 50 some, techno doesn't even move away. only when dream has stopped hitting him, does he go back to playing up the bit. he lets dream hit him, lash out, and instead of getting angry, he continues to watch dream and cajole him into ringing the bell.

techno is joking around, making light of the situation and teasing dream pretty relentlessly, but his body language - how he positions himself, how he doesn't resist in situations he otherwise would, or how consistently he puts himself right next to dream (and doesn't back away when dream invades his space, even when dream is doing it to hit him) - shows his actual intentions. he's making certain that dream's okay and continues to be okay.

techno understands people. he knows the best way to approach the situation with dream and you can see it, not only in the way he speaks, but in the way he uses his movements and body language.

[simplepotatofarmer]

i'm not a stickler for canon, not really, but the one thing i'll never let go of is the fact that c!techno is not related to anyone from sbi.

yes, c!phil is best and closest friend, someone who means the world to him and c!wilbur is his son but also, like, someone who intended to blow him up and c!tommy is a kid he has no relation to except for the fact they bonded up until the point that techno realized tommy needed something that he just couldn't give.

and i think that kinda hurts more, because it could've been different, if they were different but they weren't and it's always going to be that way, it's always going to be 'tell tommy i hope he finds what he's looking for'.

[simplepotatofarmer]

before the day is over, happy anniversary to the butcher army streams.

i'd like to remind everyone that c!techno literally begged them to turn back and leave him alone:

just like all his attempts to stall at the red festival, techno tries so hard to get them to leave. please, he says. three times he says please to the people who came to murder him, who put his best friend under house arrest, simply for being his friend.

i can't imagine having the grace to do what he did.

especially when the butcher army wasn't justified in anything they did. it wasn't to protect their country, it was to send a message. and techno knew this but he still begged them to turn back.