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swordfright · 17 days

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I'd love to hear your structural hot takes

I already rambled a lot about this here, but alright okay yes I got more. I am here to talk about bullshit and nonsense after all 😤

If we're still talking about how DSMP is a prime example of New Media, and various frameworks you might use to understand it as an example of New Media, then I think it could be useful to bring up the concept of the violence hub.

Before I get into all that I need to define another term: rhizomatic storytelling, which means a narrative that is decentralized, nonlinear, and intricately networked. Does DSMP fit into this category? I would say so, even though it doesn't necessarily fulfill all criteria. It's definitely decentralized (I've already talking a bit about how it's difficult to pin down the parameters of the "core text" when it comes to MCYTRP) and it's definitely a network of little stories coming together to form a cohesive(ish) narrative. But one thing DSMP isn't is nonlinear. It's a very linear story, in the same way that professional wrestling (which is famously fictionalized) is very linear. It's been pointed out by fans that the storylines in pro wrestling pass at the same rate as time passes in the real world - which is pretty unique! You can't say that about most stories, even most forms of serial fiction! But, interestingly, DSMP is the same: time in the story passes at more or less the same rate as time passes IRL, with the exception of periods spent in limbo. This raises some interesting questions about who determines linearity in a prosumptive (co-created by writers and audiences) piece of media. If you're looking at DSMP from the perspective of the CCs, it's a linear narrative in the ways I've just described. But if you look at it from the perspective of the audience (who are given the option to switch between streams, watch live, watch VODs afterwards, watch VODs out-of-order, or refuse to watch some streams/VODs altogether), then it can be - and often is - a very non linear story. In a straightforward narrative where the creators create and the consumers consume, this isn't even a question. But in the case of something like DSMP, which is a collaboration by creators and audiences, those lines of authority blur and we're left wondering whose timeline we're on.

So let's say, for the sake of this argument, that DSMP is a rhizomatic story. It doesn't check off all the boxes, but I would still say it qualifies for reasons I hope I've outlined above in at least a semi-comprehensible way. Well, there's this framework that's been developed for understanding these types of non-linear, decentralized stories: the violence hub.

The violence hub was proposed as a way of furthering our understanding of these participatory “multithreaded” stories that offer many voices at once without giving any particular one of those voices the final word.

Personally, I think DSMP is sort of the perfect example of a violence hub story, obviously because of the way it's constructed (talked about this a lot already here so I won't rehash it rn) but also because, quite frankly, it is a violent story. DSMP is bleak as fuck. Warfare, conflict, and abuse are core motifs. Like, even in a fandom as divided as this one, it's not controversial to say that DSMP is a story that's fixated on suffering, and that fixation is one of its main selling points. Not all fans are interested in those parts of the story, of course, but I think it's safe to say a lot of fans find DSMP's treatment of suffering pretty compelling. This is why people are insane about Exile and Pandora and Pogtopia and, and, and. You get the picture.

The violence hub is also a useful way of looking at not just how the story is structured, but how it is consumed. When fans talk about a violent incident in the story, whether it's Exile or c!Dream's imprisonment or something else, oftentimes we talk about these events in relation to other characters' perspectives and POVs. What's c!Tubbo up to during c!Tommy's exile? Who does or doesn't try to visit Logstedshire, and at what points in the Exile timeline? What's c!Dream doing during the Exile period when he's not at Logstedshire? This interactivity with the incident (Exile) through various other POVs deepens viewers' understandings of that incident, what it means to the characters involved, what it means in the larger narrative, and most importantly - what it means to us, the viewers. The same thing could be said about any period that qualifies as a "violent incident" described in the article screenshotted above. Take Pandora, for instance: how many times have you heard someone say "You really need to watch c!Sapnap's prison visit to get a sense of what it was like," or "c!Techno's prison podcast is vital to understanding what happens in Pandora," or something else to that effect. We all have specific streams we see as crucial puzzle pieces, but we don't all agree on what those streams are. And, depending on which streams you see as vital, your idea of what went down during a particular violence hub incident may be very different from my perception of that event, and vice-versa. Be that as it may, consuming the story this way, rather than in the form of a traditional linear narrative, allows viewers to come to more nuanced understandings of not just the incident in question, but also why the incident happened, what other events led up to it, the later impacts it had on the story, how character relationships and dynamics may have shifted as a result of the incident, etc. The decentralized nature of this structure enables an understanding of the story that appropriately accounts for its complexity.

Now that all that's out of the way, I want to talk about the structure of the violence hub in relation to audience expectations. When the finale aired, I was pretty confused by a lot of folks' reactions, partly because of how I perceived the DSMP and how I see its structure interacting with its themes. To me, DSMP is a story largely about cyclical violence, so an ending where c!Tommy (a main character, driving force for the narrative, and sometimes the protagonist depending on who you ask) chooses to put an end to that cycle made sense to me. I never saw the finale as being about an abuse victim forgiving his abuser, I saw it as being about an abuse victim purposefully stepping back, seeing the cycle of violence for what it is, and choosing to opt out. This is a fairly unpopular interpretation of the finale, but it's one that I stand by because it's firmly grounded in the text: the dialogue, the scenecraft, the structure. Up until the finale, c!Tommy perceives the DSMP as a linear, centralized story - his own! He acts accordingly, rarely stopping to consider consequences or other characters' perspectives. When he's sent to limbo in the finale, c!Tommy is suddenly able to see into c!Dream's past memories from c!Dream's perspective. In this moment, c!Tommy's experience of the narrative ceases to be linear and centralized; in this moment, he is experiencing the story in the same way that we, the audience have been experiencing the story. c!Tommy, placed in the audience's shoes, is presented with what is essentially a "branch" to the violence hub that is Exile, that is Pandora, that is the aftermath of both of those arcs. Upon seeing that "branch" (the memory), c!Tommy is given context for some of the events that have happened on the server. This newfound context allows him to understand his own story as a part of the stories of the people around him. This newfound context enables him to understand the story in a way that accounts for its complexities. He doesn't forgive c!Dream, but he is able to recognize the cycle of violence and choose not to participate anymore.

So, back to the thing I said about structure and audience expectations. As I mentioned, a lot of fans hated the finale for a lot of reasons. It wasn't to everyone's taste, and that's fine. But I would like to posit that one reason people didn't like the finale was because the rhizomatic structure of the story (which c!Tommy becomes aware of) subverted their own expectations about storytelling in general and this story in particular. I'd argue that a lot of people hated the finale because they were still clinging to the possibility of a non-rhizomatic narrative: one that has a traditional beginning/middle/end, one that has clear heroes and villains, one in which unambiguous good vanquishes unambiguous evil. Which isn't a bad thing to want, it's just...not what DSMP is, or ever was.

#dream smp #c!tommy #c!dream #asks #long post

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cescalr · 1 year

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Hey. psst. Playlists.

Preamble:

The only ones that preview even a little well are Slime's and Niki's, because they're roughly around the 100 mark (which is really only bc they're unfinished); most have over 200 songs in 'em, so following the link to the full list would be best practise. Fundy's is kind of... bad. Idk him very well yet. But, you know. This stuff takes time. Also, just as a casual, but firm reminder - no rpf, never rpf, fictional characters are not real and it's not immoral to treat improvised fiction as just as fandom-able as fully scripted fiction. Just because the media is gameplay and not television doesn't make it any less valid. Just because the actors aren't professionals doesn't mean they're doing these things in their real lives. Or do you think Tubbo set of actual nukes? C'mon guys. It's been a dacade; mcrp is here to stay. Treat it as you treat Red and Blue, or RWBY, or any other numerous other webseries. Shipping is fine. calm down about it.

(I stated all that because i have character dynamic playlists, some of which are romantically inclined, and a number of the songs within the playlists for individual characters reference canonical or canon-adjacent relations with others of that nature, alongside the platonic and familial. For a second note, no, not all ships are perfectly pure and upstanding. Fiction is fiction. I'm here for an interesting story, not a moral lesson. Make of all this what you will, but I'm not here for fandom bullshit we sorted out years ago in other places. I was there in the yogsmc trenches, and I've heard about what happened in 2019 for the hermitshipping crowd; i know it sucks. I know it's scary that people get really riled up about something that isn't even a problem - but i'm not going to stop doing it. It's fun. It's fiction. None of this relates to the ccs even a little. I am very clear about this. Any references to RPF will be swiftly dealt with. As for characters - do what you will with them. And I'm an angst gremlin who delights in making her blorbos suffer for your catharsis and my own entertainment, so. Keep that in mind. This was probably not explained very well, given it's 3:34 in the morning, but, you know. Not RPF. C != CC. Fictional character shipping is a part of fandom, and it's one i engage in - make of that what you will, but don't be a dick about it, that's unnecessary. This is all for fun and no profit other than my own enjoyment, and hopefully yours too.)

DSMP;

Remember please, to read the descriptions of the lists on Spotify. they don't show on previews embedded. Listener discretion is advised, though alas i couldn't put CWs on the spotify descs, so i'll have to do that here instead, there's still some stuff in those descs that will give context as to why the playlists contain what they do and are set out the way they are. (no, the repeated songs are not accidents - they're on purpose; i'm telling a story. It makes sense when you listen to it in sequence - think of these playlists like concept albums.)

Chars:

Ah, slime. The blorbo. He's got SCU as backstory here, ftr. This is not finished - the SCU section at the front is pretty lacklustre atm, and the ending is kind of abrupt, since im still sorting out the post-finale storyline route i want to go down, and how the hell to tell that through music alone. We'll see how that goes. (If i could make animatics, I damn sure would. I've got Thoughts about post-reset DSMP.)

[CW: Death, Murder, songs of religious trauma, a form of derealisation? i think?]

Oh boy. Schlatt, schlatt schlatt. Where to start with this guy? SCU. That's where to start. He's got SCU as backstory, ignores Tales/Earth for the most part. Need to gather my thoughts and post about them at some point, I suppose, but the long and short of it is minecraft worlds each run on different time scales in parallel, so you can spend a decade on one but bump into your friend a year after they last saw you, so you're 30 when they're 21 even if chronologically speaking they were actually older than you the last you spoke. Timey-wimey multiverse shennanigans - i've always thought this, but ever since Rendog posted his own video about the subject I no longer have to explain it myself, lol, so check out that guy's youtube channel for a much more coherent run-down than I'd ever give. (unless you want mine, feel free to ask in my inbox or ims - we do have different ideas, his are just more solid (mine's more magic, his is more science) and given he's a cc, more likely to spread.) Anyway point being; Schlatt went to university with Wil, but Wil fucked of to a fae world with Sally for a decade to raise Fundy, which makes him and Schlatt out-of-sync. Also, they were in uni in America, which is something Wil is very glad never got out, lol. Fishfucker from utah, goddamn...

adfalskfd anyway, jokes aside; Schlatt is 20-23, estimatable, during the run of the Election arc. I set him at 23 bc of Ghost Stories but it's really more like 21. I have him as SCU Schlatt completely unware of his own prior godhood (and continued godhood, if he'd just, you know, remember). He's an interdimensional demonic godly entity who thinks he's just some wolf/sheep/human hybrid with health problems and an alcohol addiction (not that he'd admit to the latter two, of course.) so, keep that in mind.

Also, the rest? Yeah. Probably not... a good idea to give Schlatt back all the memories he's lost... well. Hopefully he's changed enough, yeah? hehe. >:)

[CW: Some like, religious stuff again, a la slime, Cannibalism, Drugs, Abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Murder.]

Ah yes, Big Q. So. Admittedly, by the count of the playlist, you could very well argue this guy is solidly in blorbo territory. I would have to admit the truth of the matter is just that. This does not, however, mean i get this fucking guy even a little bit, so I'm hoping this is a good playlist but i'm not convinced it is. 400+ songs, though, so there's a lot to chew through here. Covers pre-dsmp headcanons and post-dsmp reset finale au. Tries to keep his canon relationships all referenced but my god is it hard to figure out which were and which weren't. Went for; elaboration on Eret, focus on Karlnapity, Schlackity, and TNTduo. Pretty sure BBQ happened at some point but it's ignored. DapDup is presented here as mostly-platonic, but can be imagined whatever way you would like other than fatherly. Q is 20. Schlatt is 7 million. Q is his mentor, not his dad. They're best friends, they're peers. it's the EmeraldDuo issue all over again (granted a little different, but still). Point being; Slime is older, wiser, and more knowledgable than Q, but his worldview is a lot kinder than Q's when they meet, and what Q is trying to teach him is cynicism. In that, Slime's a novice. So he's the protegee, because Q wants to teach him what he can to keep him safe, and to have a net to fall on for LN's leadership if he's to kick the bucket (which Q is trying to avoid but definitely expects to happen, inevitably.) Anyway, yeah. Quackicle if you like, DapDuo if you don't, basically. (I Intended legacyduo to be platonic or at most queerplatonic, though.)

Q's introduction to the DSMP is as Tommy's fellow drug operation... er, operation-er. So, that's how this playlist starts. My backstory is a bit complicated, so i've left most of it out; suffice to say Q isn't a duck, though he lets people assume that and doesn't correct them, because it's easier that way. I'd be happy to explain more, but it's a hell of a long ramble, so not here.

[CW: Cannibalism, Drugs, Abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Murder.]

Like i said, I don't know fundy as well as i'd like to be making a playlist about him. YMMV on this one.

[CW: Death, Murder.]

Ah, niki. Similar sitch to fundy, hence why their playlists are so much shorter than the others. YMMV, again. Feedback is appreciated, on these, if you'd like to give it. Keep in mind the list's description, as always.

[CW: Death, Murder, implications of depression?]

Wilbur's a funny one, I really don't know.... how to feel about his character. Either way, the playlist exists all the same.

I borrowed a lot of these songs, I'll admit, from animatics and pre-existing playlists based around him. YMMV; feedback appreciated, if you feel like it.

Note: I do not take 'SBI' as a canon thing in the way most do. Philza is his father, Technoblade is a kind of brother figure, but he's not Philza's son, he's his friend/ex-empire-running-partner-in-crimes-against-anarchy, the hypocrites. Tommy is not Philza's son in any respect; Wilbur is a kind of, older-brother-father-figure, while Technoblade is an older-brother-distant-uncle figure, and Philza is just 'Wil's dad' (And, well, Doomsday happens. After that, it's just Philza). I choose personally to ignore some of the canon backstory for Tubbo; he's Tommy's friend first and foremost. This saves some complications later for me with character dynamics - I like nuance and interconnectedness, but it was giving me a headache trying to sort it all out, lol. Tubbo was found in a box - by Tommy, when skiving school. He got folded into Wil and Tommy's little almost-family situation over a period of time, and was never technically adopted by anyone. (Neither, to be fair, was Tommy. I mean, what authority would you ask, anyway? This is the minecraft multiverse. Which England do you go to to sign the papers? How would it even work?). Either way; Wilbur is Philza and Lady Death's son, not the son of a literal smart fridge, because i can kind of sidestep the fishfucking but i can't bring myself to even acknowledge that as more than a joke.

Anyway, yeah. Stop the ramble there; have a listen, if you'd like to.

[CW: Drugs, Abuse, Manipulation, Death, Murder, Terrorism.]

Some notes: Tommy canonically ran some kind of drug operation with Q at the beginning; Wil and Q met through Tommy, not any other way around. I haven't quite reflected that in this, I don't think? it's sort of hard to. I mean, I need to figure out how Tommy and Q even met in the first place, as a point of contention. And, well... because it's just kind of not great to have to put reference to that sort of thing in a playlist for a kid, you know (since he was 16 at the start of all this, then, jeez. When did that all go down, exactly?). Honestly, this playlist isn't great in general. I tried my best, but I don't really know him that well.

I actually kind of like Dad!Schlatt but I'm bored by it being Tubbo, so. You know where I'm going with this one, right? Literal devil child. C'mon. You can't miss out on a pun (of circumstance, no less!) that good. Dad!Schlatt AU with Tommy as the literal devil child in question is taken as headcanon for my version of events. Like I said; i take what i'm given and i run with it, i mess around with it - I tend to ignore fanon and just do my own thing, even if it will inevitably on occasion contradict canon. What can I say? YogsMC was my first mcrp storyline, and that was a whole mess of mostly having to make up everything yourself. I got used to it, and the freedom is too nice a thing to let go of.

This playlist is not kind to Dream, given Exile and murder and all that, but it also doesn't pretend Tommy was some innocent who did nothing wrong. His literal first action was to murder George. Kid's messed up a lot, and is kind of prone to homicide. Keep that in mind. Again, however, being a perpetrator does not stop someone from also being a victim, and Dream 100% victimised Tommy. That's just not a deniable thing. Gaslighting isn't cool, guys. (and, for once, the term actually applies to something it's used to describe. wonders never cease.)

[CW: probable derealisation somewhere in here idk, Abuse, Manipulation, Death, Murder, Terrorism, War, Suicidal Ideation/Attempt.]

Dynamics:

Swinging a bat right out the gate - this is romantically intended pumpkinduo, aka schlackity. You were warned. My dsmp-post-finale-reset AU stuff is very much my own, and veers rather far from given canon. In fact, these playlists do a lot of swerving around the ballasts of canon. I think what i like about stories and tend to damn everything else - fanon included. I make up my own stuff; mileage will vary. I "endgame" pumpkinhusbands, in that sort of way where they're both terrible and should never bring anyone else into this mess and kind of deserve each other, but they're also just fucked up guys trying to get through the shit life they've been saddled with, and end up leaning on each other - a sure thing, if not... the best thing. So. Yk. (And Schlatt is a god with amnesia, but that's a little tangential. Only a little. I take SCU as backstory, and ignore Tales/Earth stuff. YMMV, again.)

Oh, also, i consider their dynamic mutually abusive in the election arc. if that troubles you, then pass on the Q, Schlatt and PHduo playlists. They have an arc in them, but that content warning is required. (Q was physical; schlatt was mental - as in, what they perpetrated. To put it simply; Schlatt used his words. Q literally beat him up when he said no to marriage and then went through with it anyway, without S's consent. That's very much not of the good. Q was a victim, sure, I don't disagree, but he was also a perpetrator. Abuse can be mutual. It's not uncommon, in fact. So, yes. They treat each other like shit, Schlatt dies, Q spirals, etc etc, not exactly a redemption arc but something akin to it, and they try again. Different people. Not worse, not better - just different. Aged. Changed. And it'll work this time, because they want it to. They didn't before, and that's always the failure. Relationships are commitments. They take work. A 19 year old ex drug dealer and a 21 year old alcoholic running a country are really not in the right place for anything like that. Marriage was the worst thing they could've done, and Q forced it on them anyway. Problems, problems. Interesting problems, but I can see the squick. So. Here's all this word jumble for your fair warning.)

[CW: Cannibalism, Drugs, Abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Murder.]

This was not technically romantically intended TNTDuo, but they have at least a canonical history of having sex, so make of it what you will. (Canonically, wilbur is not in love with Q. Obsession is different from love, after all, and I agree with that sentiment if not the truth of the statement itself. Wil's fucked up and complicated, and so thus are his feelings for Q also. Q never quite fell in love with Wil, and quite distinctly fell out of whatever affection he'd managed to gain. They got lust though. they got that in spades. And, like i said - they're obsessive. Bad combo.)

(I don't really like the dapduo name, so sometimes i'll refer to them as legacyduo, interchangably. this is also interpretable as quackicle if you like, but wasn't necessarily intended as such - just as much as it wasn't not intended as such. Ambiguity. >:) )

And, of course, that's all the post will allow me to fit. I've got loads more, though, mostly set to public. Some aren't ready for that yet (less than 5 hours means less than a full arc smh) but, yeah. None of them are DSMP, anyway. There's Yogs, none of which are public yet, Teen Wolf, which are, Harry Potter, some are, Esoteric Fandoms, which all are, Hermitcraft/Empires/Traffic|Life Series, which are currently awaiting publication in their entirety (but i think a few of them, notably pearl, scott, grian - I'm prioritising winners atm - are close). So, yeah. Feel free to peruse at your leisure.

#gonna have to tag this. not fun #dsmp #mcytrp #scary as hell to maintag this stuff. anyway. have some playlists.#most of em are public on my also very public (literally the same username as here) spotify acc anyway but yk. may as well link here.#Spotify

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