small and crappy analysis of Technoblade’s anarchy:
This is a Transcript from a video on phone:
Okay this may be a little cringe but I am going to very slightly analyze the anarchistic ideals of Technoblade. Anarchy in the way Technoblade applies it isn’t what we normally consider anarchy to be— like anarchy is this violent force against government and in the lack of government the strong overpower the weak, but what Technoblade wants is the abolition of all authority (which encompasses government), which means that he would oppose the strong vs the weak because the strong would be the authority in this case. (Although he does describe anarchy as that to a couple of people, he doesn’t believe anarchy is that). He’s very loyal to his anarchist ideals, but the type he created, not the kind normally associated with anarchy.
Is his anarchy right for the Dream SMP? This is a bit of a question, because anarchy did exist for a moment on the server when L’manburg was destroyed and there was no supreme power over most people. You had the developing Eggpire and the Kingdom of the Greater SMP, but neither were exerting that much power over L’manburg’s previous inhabitants. Obviously it wasn’t super free, and there were still a lot of events going on, particularly with Dream. This fit into the anarchy not supported by Technoblade, because Dream still held a lot of control over the people, even while in prison. Technoblade wanted everyone to be equal, but not in a communist idea in that the state owns everything, but that everyone has the freedom to own their own property (although they may have to defend it) and is obligated to protect themselves (rather than the government protecting its citizens).
We see this in the Syndicate/arctic commune, which aren’t a government, obviously. Technoblade is very strong, and he could be viewed as a Dream-like figure, but he doesn’t present himself in that way nor is he actually Dream-like in the slightest. Technoblade is strong because of his preparation skills—yes he is really good at pvp, but most of the time that’s because he’s so prepared. He is better than other pvp-ers because he is, for example, when the Butcher Army showed up, splashing down potions. In Doomsday, cc!Techno notes in discord that Sapnap almost killed him and he had to retreat. Doomsday was able to happen only due to major preparation and Techno teaming up with other well-armed players and a complicated plan.
Anyway, back to the point I was trying to make with the Syndicate. The Syndicate is not ruling over the arctic commune nor does Techno exude authority over the rest of the members due to fear/respect. The Syndicate is a bunch of being discussing how to press their freedoms and anarchism over the rest of the SMP— with a focus on abolishing TYRANNICAL governments specifically. Techno’s goal (and the Syndicate’s in term) may have been to end all governments on the server, but it never really seemed like they were doing that. They only went up against the ones that were dangerous (mostly the Eggpire). They were chill with Snowchester (Technoblade even resolved his conflict with Tubbo and spoke with him about his concerns over Snowchester, in which he later deems Snowchester not needing to be destroyed). The arctic commune is what Technoblade is idealizing: a free area where a bunch of friends live together, with no person being more powerful (or more specifically, using their power) against another person, and everyone is able to support each other (which is an important aspect of Technoblade’s character: he wants friends). There are rules that the commune follows, but it’s less so laws and more things that the people agree would be messed up or counterintuitive to the safety of the commune (don’t reveal the Syndicate’s secrets, don’t blow up people’s houses, at least try to help other people when they need it).
So with that clarified, would Technoblade’s idea of anarchy work for the Dream SMP? Yes, actually. This is mostly because Technoblade’s anarchy works for a small group of people/friends, and the SMP doesn’t have many members. Technoblade’s idea is that each of these groups of friends make basically a little village where they live together and support each other, while remaining friends or at peace with the other villages. The only person that might be against this, might be Dream, but I’m confused by his character most of the time. I do know that Dream wants control, so the multiple villages out of his control (which was basically L’manburg, although they did just make a monopoly and constantly diss on him), might upset him!
TLDR: if everyone got therapy on that server, Techno’s anarchy would’ve worked.
I saw a post summarizing DSMP characters’ philosophies and worldviews and it got Techno horribly wrong so here’s my take on it. This is all stuff that is consistent throughout the entire series, but which may be reinterpreted in different ways as he undergoes character development.
I didn't even talk about farming in my Techno as Trade post even though that's the reason I had the idea in the first place because I'm a fool that wrote the whole post at like 2 a.m.
SO, why I thought Technoblade could be a god of trade, through the lense of farming:
Technoblade is very well known for his success in the Potato wars. While this was a competition between farmers, the fact that it was a war is evident in the tactics used, the time and resources invested, and the mentalities of those involved. It was far more similar to a military campaign than a gardening competition. So, if Technoblade is often treated as a character closely connected to war and therefore bloodshed, but this war had no bloodshed, what is the connection between the two? The connections I found were strategy, respect, trust, and most importantly, trade.
In pvp Technoblade might trade a few hits to himself for an opportunity for a crit. In the potato war technoblade trades time that could be spent farming for an opportunity to evaluate squidkid's methods. In both cases Technoblade has absolute respect for his opponent, but also knows that actions that may seem to be a disadvantage to him may end up being an opportunity to gain valuable intel about the opponent. As discussed in the other post, in war the lives of others may be sacrificed as a trade for survival. In farming, time and effort are traded for the growth of life.
Another aspect that made me consider this idea was Philza retelling stories of Technoblade's hyperfocus on the potato war and the concern his friends had for him. While I know this was a facet if Technoblade's real-life actions and not of his character, his character often reflects that same motivation and dedication, investing his abilities at the cost of himself in order to achieve a larger goal. For instance: farming for hours in the potato war, acting as a sell sword for pogtopia, creating farms and finding armor for the resistance, hiding Tommy, and going to prison for Dream. Each of these examples came at a cost to Technoblade that he traded for his values: dedication and respect of his opponent, anarchy, choice, hospitality, reciprocity, and a life free of control. The trades that Techno makes are not equal trades. Absolute reciprocity does not mean 'fairness'. Trade means that what is traded is perceived by the scale of the value it had to a specific person.
But, back to the farming.
To farm, one is required to invest time, energy, resources, and careful effort for the trade of growth and life. Technoblade does this often: in the potato war, in his retirement, in the syndicate, planting both literal and metaphorical seeds to grow. Plants are a trade of life just as much as war is, although trading water for growth that will be used as food to sustain life is a much more palatable circle of life than trading blows on a battlefield to end one life to save your own.
I've mentioned this before, but I've always associated Technoblade with roses. Did you know roses grow well with blood? The nitrogen helps them grow. But these plants, with their thorny outside that protects delicate petals growing on blood, remind me of Technoblade's reputation as the blade and as the blood god hiding his carefully cultivated trust. But Technoblade trades his time and efforts for his goals. Trades his retirement for his violent reputation to gain protection. Trades violence for choice. Trades freedom for his values. He trades, and slowly - so slowly - the goals he was always trying to achieve begin to grow, just as his garden in that arctic frost begins to grow.
Farming is a trade in the most basic sense. We trade effort and time for growth. But there are many things that grow, and many things to trade for them.
Techno does have themes and character development and I'm tired of pretending he doesn't
Agency and personhood. 1/3 (?)
Okay, let's talk about technoblade!
Imma do a Techno centric analysis of the major plot points in dsmp and how they relate to the topic of agency (here defined as capacity to freely control how and why you act) (1) , being used and personhood. Techno does not struggle with the fact he is a person and not a weapon, the tension instead comes from reconciling how he sees himself with how others treat him.
Usual disclaimers, I don't have a background in literature or media analysis so treat me kindly when you rip me to shreads /lh
Pre-Red Festival
I consider this part to largely function as a backstory. His acts before the red festival work largely provide context as to how and why he joined Pogtopia, and establish his ideology (anarchy) and some of his character traits. In this time he function is mostly utilitarian. He is a dangerous weapon that we're pretty sure is being wielded by Pogtopia but with enough to sow doubt in that and cause tension surrounding him and his interactions with everyone. Less than a minute after he logged in for the first time Schlatt wrote something in chat that implied Techno was working with him against Pogtopia. From the moment he was brought onto the server he was considered a weapon with the question of who was truly wielding it. In this era he could have been replaced with an unstable atom bomb and it would have functionally been the same.
He does not have massive amounts of thematic development in this era nor is he particularly narratively important, though this does set up the backdrop for how characters and audiences view him later.
Red Festival
This is the first time we Techno is developed outside of just his use as weapon, because he deals with a great deal of internal conflict which is at odds with Pogtopia.
Audiences who were familiar with Anarchy, were more able to realize that Techno was being misled and used before this point, but for the majority of DSMP audience, this moment introduces the idea the Techno might be more than just a prop.
Here we see how both his enemies and allies deny his agency and deny his personhood.
Enemy - Schlatt
I'm not going to go into huge amounts of detail here, as I have already written about how Schlatt denied Techno the ability to choose, and his ability to act a moral agent, but it is important to note the Schlatt did not care what Techno wanted. Techno was largely just wielded as a sword, someone to carry out Schlatt's dirty work, and someone he could exert control over. It should be pretty obvious who schlatt forces techno to act against his will, and how Techno is denied agency and personhood because of that.
Tommy, Wilbur and Tubbo
During the execution:
Wilbur, Tommy and Tubbo don't consider Techno as a person with an internal world during the red festival. Wilbur and Tommy instead watch Techno as if he were undergoing a character test.
Instead of seeing Techno as a complex person who is scared and trying his hardest and who has no other options, he is flattened to a flow chart, where if he kills he's a traitor and if he doesn't he's the hero.
Wilbur, Tommy and Tubbo’s streams frame techno as an NPC, someone whose actions are only relevant in terms of how other people feel about them. We see him from a long way away, disconnected from Tommy and Wilbur. The 3 of them talk to each other in a chat which other characters cannot see. The reassurances are directed at Tubbo and Tommy, not at Techno, we as an audience are not encouraged to consider his emotions. (2)
This is at odds with how Techno’s stream presents the situation. Visually we see his characters gaze flit around constantly, looking for a way out or for someone to help him. His asides to the audience highlight how he is scared and unsure he is, and how he is out of his element. He stutters continuously, his attempts to control the conversation are shut down. When he does finally kill Tubbo, we see him already apologising. We are very much encouraged to empathise with Techno in these moments. The text explicitly states how he feels, we see this reflected in his non-verbal cues. (3)
There is a tension here between these 2 veiws. Other characters only considered him in terms of being a weapon, where the question is “who is wielding him (pogtopia or schlatt)?”, not “why did Techno do what he did? Is he okay?”.
During the fesitval is his not seen as a person and he is not given autonomy.
Response:
Wilbur and Tommy's response to Techno’s actions also dehumanises, him in how he is treated like he’s superhuman. Tommy’s anger at techno stems from the fact that he is convinced Techno could have done otherwise and been fine “because he can literally fly” (4), despite Techno repeatedly explaining that he couldn’t have taken on a whole army.
His attempts to explain himself are denied, and he is unable to articulate fully why he did what he did. Not only does he incorrectly summarise the threat of death as being “Peer pressure”, but Tommy and Wilbur repeatedly ignore him and repeat the same argument over and over.
Wilbur, in this situation, is the one in control of what is occurring. He encourages Tommy’s anger, he ignores Techno all together and he ultimately decides on “The Pit” and it’s rules. This is dehumanising for both Techno and Tommy. The pit is reminiscent of gladiator battles against animals, visually we see it carved out the walls and undecorated. It positions Tommy and Techno lower than Wilbur, both literally and metaphorically.
He does not allow Techno to throw the first punch, instead encouraging Tommy to take out his anger using violence instead of listening to Techno. The fight begins once Tommy decides to act. (5)
The Red Festival marked a split in viewers. Those who watched Tommy, Wilbur or Tubbo, still saw Techno as a flat character with few emotions, someone be watched, but not to be empathized with, a symbol of the growing distrust among pogtopians. Techno's veiwers instead see him as someone suffering from Schlatt’s rule, where he was unable to do otherwise, and then was cast aside by what were supposed to be his allies.
Techno goes against what Wilbur and Tommy want, not by his own choice, and is punished for it through distrust and anger.
As a whole, the Red festival brings the concept of agency and personhood to the center of Techno's character.
Between
Between this and the next major event, the theme is not explicitly revisited other than recurring references to the execution. Tommy forgives him, Tubbo forgives him and Wilbur congratulates him. After a moment of tension we see it simmer down again.
However, it does simmer in the background. Wilbur lies to Techno about his goals of anarchy (6) which misleads Techno about the purpose of the revolution. He obtained weapons, gear and food under the pretense they were overthrowing the government and disbanding it all together.
THIS IS HIM BEING USED.
Someone deliberately misleading a person about why they should work for them, they are being used. If I spend hours doing work collecting money for someone after they told me they were doing a charity fund, and it turns out they were using it to fund an oil company, I have been used. I did not make the decision to fund the oil company of my own volition, I was denied agency.
In the same way, Techno maybe acting freely, but he cannot make meaningful choices, as he is being misled. He is not able to control how and why he acts.
While agency is not the central focus on this part of the story (it's wilburs mental spiral) it runs as an undercurrent.
The tension rises as we get closer and closer to the revolution
NOV16
It was at this moment that I realised I’d been used…. In the end, they’d only been using me to seize [power] for themselves (7)
After realising that they had intended to set up another government all along, and after Wilbur blows everything up, after his allies proved themselves to have been lying, he spawns Withers.
Within the stream, Techno’s speeches center both anarchy and betrayal. He talks extensively on how the time and effort he had put in was being used to replicate the systems that brought about the conditions of Manburg. They went against everything he stood for (8)
These speeches are reinforced by the fact he delivers them to people who are wearing the armour he acquired. It reframes the previous friendship and comradery between the pogtopians to being based on deceit.
This is when we revisit what was set up in the Red festival, and also the undercurrent of between plot points. He was still being used and seen as a weapon, and this is where that clashes with who Techno actually is. He is not a weapon to be wielded, without wants or desires, that can be used without issue, who needs no control over his how and why he acts, he is a person with internal goals and motivation, that are independent from Tommy, Wilbur, Tubbo and Niki ect.
.
There is also a focus on refusal of these conditions.
NOV 16 was not a fight Techno won, it was a last ditch effort to prevent people from taking advantage of him and replicating systems that cause “countless atrocities” (9). Techno does not succeed on NOV 16. While he does impact the land in terms of violence, L’manburg ultimately rebuilds and reforms. His attempt to control his own past was futile, and he does not get to change how he was used.
However, he was able to freely control how and why he acted on NOV 16th. He was exercising his agency in these moments, even though he sacrificed his perceived personhood as he did it.
Other revolutionaries' surprise at Techno’s actions showed they hadn't been listening to him, they had not been thinking of him as more than just a tool used to plan and acquire resources. The fact they did not listen to him even when he was clear about his goals, is something that he brings up a lot and clearly stuck with him.
He got approval from them while he was giving them things, and while they didn’t listen to what he had to say, and then when he exercised agency and made his words un-ignorable, he was villainized. (10)
From this we see him internalise the idea that people’s love is contingent on his capacity to be exploited.
That being seen as a person is incompatible with exercising agency.
I see I was wrong to rely on other people (11)
Retirement:
After being used by L’manburg, Techno isolates himself.
He'd lost everything, he'd failed to achieve anarchy, failed to prevent a government from reforming and found out his friends had been using him. What they had was formed on false premises.
This is where his relationship with agency and dehumanization are more stable, however this was earned through choosing isolation. He decides he cannot trust other people and instead has to live alone in order to protect his personhood.
It's a time where we see him re-evaluate his own methods, and his relationship with violence and other peoples' agency. He plans to change his method of spreading anarchy from one of violence to one of information.
“You just can’t free people who don’t wanna be freed, I think the real way to achieve our goals … is to prove that our ideals are the best (12)
It is a moment of reprieve from the intensity of revolution, this is where Techno does a lot of introspection.
In terms of pacing his streams, he had longer solo streams that focused on him gathering materials and telling stories. As a result we slow down and consider Techno as a character. This is the first time we see Techno entirely separate from other people, and not actively preparing for war. It is a period of time where viewers are encouraged to connect with Techno outside of revolution, and see him as a person.
The place he ends up as well is noted to be cold and barren (13), a absent of life, absent of people to exert control over him. Visually it is untouched by other people, a place with no history. It is vast and empty unlike the closed space of the ravine. It provides an opportunity to start fresh, to try again. This is where the arctic being a place of healing is born. It is a place of peace.
However, he exists in negative peace, the absence of conflict rather than the presence of justice.
While he has found himself a place where his agency is not violated, and his personhood is not reliant on other peoples view of him, it is a place of instability, of isolation. This is what we see unravel next. (Post coming in a few days maybe)
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After thoughts
Okay this marks the end of what I consider to be his first arc in terms of Techno's relationship with agency. He starts with little to none but a lot of companionship, and ends with full control over himself but little to no friends.
I have left a lot out here. The theme of agency and personhood is just one of the many many themes techno embodies. It connects hugely to power, to communication, to loyalty, all of which are things explored by the DSMP as a whole. Much was sacrificed in the name of brevity and even then I failed.
These posts were originally going to 1 big post but I got like a 3rd of the way through and had hit 2k… so I decided to split them up a little more.
This is my first attempt at this sorta analysis and its been fun if difficult. I don't expect to be perfect by any means, my formal education in this sorta thing finished longgg ago, but it's been good to give it ago. Discussions are welcome
As always, sources will be added in the reblog. Hopefully this is something that persuades people that techno does have a story and plot. Sources will be in the reblogs as always
Honestly, I think people need to think on what c!Techno said to c!Tommy more because he reveals a lot about himself in what he says and it is very clear in his words that this is a betrayal and exactly why it is one.
"I'm a person! Discs aren't people! You've used me from the start Tommy! You betrayed me like twelve times! You've never thought of me as a friend Tommy. You-you've just used me from the start. You saw me just as 'The Blade' that's all I was to you, 'The Blade'. I was willing to fight all of them for you Tommy. I would've been there."
Just looking at this I want to break things down for people who don't seem to get the point of this.
1. "I'm a person!"
c!Techno isn't used to being treated like a person by the other characters. The very first time c!Techno entered the SMP he was there as help for a war. Immediately he was involved in people chasing him down and the opposing side trying to convince him to work with them instead.
c!Tommy had just said to him, "People are above the government", but from c!Techno's view c!Tommy had just chosen the government over him.
From that point of view, c!Techno was saying that c!Tommy wasn't seeing him as a person. c!Techno had spent time with c!Tommy where he was treating him like another person.
2. "Discs aren't people!"
c!Tommy has been highly attached to his discs and they caused many conflicts. c!Tommy had made decisions before that caused problems and people got hurt because of the discs.
The point here was that c!Tommy is saying people are above the government, but he's been choosing discs above people and the government.
3. "You've used me from the start Tommy!"
This is actually true.
c!Tommy knew when he found c!Techno's cabin who it belonged to. He went in and started stealing and then hid in c!Techno's home.
When c!Techno found him, c!Tommy had no intention of leaving and when he was allowed to stay he was very clearly going to be using c!Techno. He knew that he could get away with taking his things and using him for protection as soon as c!Techno gave in.
Yes, c!Techno knew and allowed it, but that does not make it okay.
This could also go back to Pogtopia to be honest because when he was in Pogtopia they were literally using him. c!Tommy was the one who brought c!Techno in and yes, he did it to use him for a war.
4. "You betrayed me like twelve times!"
I'm not sure if the number is accurate, but the sentiment is. c!Techno has been betrayed on multiple occasions by c!Tommy.
The point here however is that c!Techno kept giving c!Tommy another chance each time. Kept letting him back in and helping him even when he knew the outcome of doing so in the past because he does care.
5. "You've never thought of me as a friend Tommy."
This ties back to c!Techno saying, "Dare I say it... a friend". c!Techno was seeing c!Tommy as a friend. So he was hurt and pointing out that c!Tommy didn't see him as a friend when he saw c!Tommy as one.
6. "You-you've just used me from the start."
Honestly, this ties back to point 3 and is likely when c!Techno realized that c!Tommy had literally been using him from the very first time they encountered each other on the SMP.
7. "You saw me just as 'The Blade' that's all I was to you, 'The Blade'."
c!Techno is often referred to as 'The Blade' by c!Tommy and c!Tubbo. This however does have a kind of darker undertone in the SMP as the people who call him this tend to treat him like a weapon when they do.
When the other characters are treating him like another person, they call him Techno, but never 'The Blade'.
c!Techno is reminding c!Tommy here that he's never treated him like another person and almost always as a weapon. Which is something a lot of characters do.
8. "I was willing to fight all of them for you Tommy, I would've been there."
This is true. When c!Tommy turned back to c!Tubbo and L'Manburg, c!Techno was literally willing to fight all of L'Manburg as well as several others to defend c!Tommy. He was literally right there and willing to fight c!Tommy out against many more opponents.
c!Techno had no qualms against defending and hiding c!Tommy. Giving him weapons, armor, and food from his own stores and extras and even giving c!Tommy the ax he used regularly.
This was the ultimate betrayal for c!Techno because he'd done everything he could and he was still treated as the one who wasn't a person despite it.
c!wilbur and c!tommy could have saved both c!techno and c!tubbo from the red festival
a good portion of the fandom will always talk about how c!techno was the only person in the wrong for killing c!tubbo at the festival
but we never talk about how c!tommy and c!wilbur let that happen.
(from this point on i'm dropping the character indicators because i don't talk about the ccs in this essay)
but that's techno's main point! techno truly was in a high stakes situation, and it was one that he didn't have a lot of options to choose from lest he were to DIE as a result. like, i don't know about you but i TOO value my life. but tubbo was definitely wronged! he didn't have to die.
technoblade DEFINITELY could have fled. he's a wonderful PVPer and i have no doubt he would have survived, however i don't know if techno could’ve said the same for himself. so while technoblade's choice was ultimately a bad one, he killed someone, i absolutely understand it.
and techno never denies that he killed tubbo, and that tubbo's death was a direct result of his actions. he apologized to tubbo, and tubbo, who is very well known for repressing his feelings and his trauma, accepted it.
however, techno doesn't know that and even if he was aware of that, it still wouldn't be on him to know. you have to take people's word on their own feelings because it's their responsibility to communicate how they truly feel. people are not mind readers.
(this is definitely something i've realized in my own personal life as of late, because i also used to repress myself and now i can't stop pressing my sibling if i do something like ask for her food she wasn't eating. they'll be like "yeah it's fine" and i'm like "are you sure" "yeah. im sure." "are you POSITIVE?" "yes omg how many times do i have to repeat myself?")
like it does a greater disservice to the person to NOT take their word for it than it does to just believe them when they say how they feel. it's on them to communicate how they feel truthfully, even if they do repress because of trauma. it's why processing your trauma is so important.
but i digress.
technoblade apologized to tubbo, because he knows what he did was wrong. if he didn't, he wouldn't have apologized.
however, something so many people have failed to realize, is that techno and tubbo share this experience of being wronged by wilbur and tommy as well.
tubbo's death was absolutely unnecessary not only because techno honestly could have had chosen at least one other route that didn't necessarily guarantee his death, but because tommy and wilbur could have stepped in.
tommy and wilbur could have saved techno the experience of killing his ally and they could have saved tubbo from dying.
but instead they watched.
and technoblade is at least aware of the wrong done to himself by tommy and wilbur watching and not acting. to be fair to tommy, he did want to act. he continued to ask wilbur about schlatt and techno, and wilbur continued to say that it would be fine. that techno would "exact their revenge".
however, the waiting was unnecessary. the hiding in the shadows was unnecessary the minute tubbo's life was threatened. it's unfair to put all of this blame on techno when there were so many other routes that could have been taken.
i don't know if it was intentional on wilbur's part, but i know that technoblade is not the only person responsible. honestly, the whole audience had some level of responsibility to stop the execution. so did quackity. anyone could have stopped it.
but no one did.
there was a lack of action from everyone. yet the fandom only focuses on technoblade because he was the one that pulled the trigger. but he didn't have to and he didn't want to. which, i feel like no one ever considers that.
technoblade didn't want to kill tubbo, and he expected tommy and wilbur to step in just like tommy and wilbur expected technoblade to instead kill jschlatt and quackity. if you watch his perspective you can tell that techno is nervous and panicking. i use the word panicking relatively lightly because this is a minecraft rp and it was still pretty touch and go in taking itself so seriously, but again, i digress.
at two points during the stream, he looks at tommy expectantly. one is of the variety that tommy couldn't notice because techno goes into 3rd person to look behind him, but one is where he physically turns to look up at tommy.
i think it's unfair to treat techno as this cold callous and calculating character on some of the fandom's part! to be fair, i feel like a majority of them haven't seen techno's perspective? i definitely didn't until today because i wanted to get my facts straight before i made this post. and honestly it just. further proved my point that techno is not the only person to responsible for tubbo's death because not only could he have taken other routes, but so could others. especially tommy and wilbur, who were directly involved with tubbo's espionage.
and i know this is an old argument but i don't know the fact that tubbo can also relate to techno in regards to wilbur's and tommy's inaction is really compelling for me and it only really occurred to me recently! i'd like to see techno and tubbo talk about it together honestly? but yeah!
TLDR;
a portion of the fandom views technoblade as the only one responsible for tubbo's death, when i think another large chunk of responsibility also falls on wilbur and tommy as well. theres also a point to be made about the responsibility of members in the audience who opposed the execution as well. tldr 2.0; techno isn't the only one responsible for tubbo's death.
I really hate to burst a lot of c!rivalsduo fans bubbles but like… c!Techno does not care about c!Dream. And c!Dream does not care about c!Techno. The fanart of Techno taking care of Dream post-prison is nice but so incredibly canon divergent. They’re not buddies. Techno owes Dream a favor and that’s literally it currently. They’re not hostile against each other, either mind you, because they have no reason to be. Whether or not it’s being used, Techno and Dream are the most power people in the server and they’re smart. Neither of them want to make the other an enemy.
They’re separate people who live very separate lives. They don’t team up out of any sort of camaraderie. They team up when their goals overlap. I say overlap for a reason here. They’ve never had the same endgoal. When it came to Doomsday, they both wanted L’Manburg gone but for different reasons. They each just needed each other’s respective power and resources for a common short term goal. Their long term goals do not currently align. Odds are, once Dream uses that favor, he won’t have anything to do with Techno unless they have a similar goal again. Dream’s got other fish to fry once he’s out of prison.
See the thing that's always stood out to me about Techno is his absolute reciprocaty, or his like, whole thing about treating others how they want to be Treated - and I feel like that's at the very core of Techno's whole being.
From that perspective, it's crucial to remember one very major, very, VERY important fact.
Dream has never even been mean to Techno.
Now, there's no debate that Dream is an awful person who's done awful things, but if we put ourselves in Techno's shoes with that mindset, suddenly you're faced with a choice when it comes to the way you categorise people.
Sure, you've heard a lot of bad things about Dream - but Dream's never done ANYTHING bad to you, or your friends, or your allies, or anyone that you've been associated with at the time (besides maybe Niki but even then that's debatable, and Tommy in exile, but even then he didn't have all the information.)
Meanwhile, the people who hate Dream, who want to kill dream and tell you he's the worst person are the people who've betrayed you, who've hunted you down and who've tried to make you miserable - the people who've stolen from you, imprisoned your friends, ect, ect.
When you frame it like that and look at things from Techno's perspective - and ignore the SBI/Potential care toward Tommy - suddenly, it makes a whole lot more sense for Techno to be on Dream's side. Add in to the fact that now your oldest friend's son says that he's the greatest and dream brought him back?
I'm just saying - I want Techno to have the moment where he realises the truth and the scale of everything Dream's done, and turns on him as much as the next guy - but it's important to understand that Techno siding with and being friends with Dream makes a lot of sense when you're not viewing things from the omnipotent eyes of the viewer.
