just realized that dsmp tommy is meant to represent the cycle of violence and thats why his POV is considered the "main character"

[dsmp analysis thread]

his entire character revolves around

having a hope he can do something to fight back -> crushed by war, violence, or an act that he Did cause but the consequences were very extreme -> he loses -> repeat

his resiliency keeps the audience engaged, because dsmp tommy is a very charismatic and convincing character (one of his main traits revolve around being a leader of the people, a leader of war. his entire job in pogtopia was essentially heightening morale) +

and when he gets beat down, we know he'll never give up. the saddest and scariest moments of his arc come from when he's given up. i.e. the tower scene from exile, and his final death, where he was Forced to give up.

dsmp tommy is trapped narratively inside the cycle of violence. he, himself, represents to the audience how characters of the dsmp operate. at their core, every single character follows this circle, because everyone on dsmp is meant to lose. the odds are stacked against them.

dsmp techno is, in the most meta way possible, the least serious character. he constantly breaks the fourth wall, he has "voices", he's an obvious unreliable narrator, which does make his character fun- but it also brings new meaning to his theseus speech.

he knew, ultimately, the cycle of violence the dsmp is in. he's known since day one, and that's a very important bit of his character, because he breaks the fourth wall. he is on the opposite side of tommy's cycle - he's aware of how broken everything is.

tommy has no idea he's fell victim to this. the theseus speech breaks him, it makes him think, and its key to his arc because techno Knew. it wasn't that he could see the future, its that he recognized the cycle before it could start again. he attempted to stop it +

+ when he destroyed l'manberg. over and over and over again, tommy will continously make mistakes and face extremely grave consequences for his actions. he's starting to feel isolated again, because everyone is still shocked he's even Alive.

tommy's main character POV is the physical manifestation of the sad, sad truth of the smp. that's why we can feel bad for him, why we can empathize and understand his character. he had the odds purposefully stacked against him, and we continously have to watch him suffer.

tommy took his only dub, his big fat win during the disc finale. to say that was satisfying and earned is an understatement. it was catharsis to see him Finally win..but he still did lose. he still felt empty, still felt like he needed closure, which pushed him to the prison.

aaalll of this, this realization, has really made me realize he'll never win. as long as the dsmp continues, tommy will never get a happy ending, because he is the cycle along with it. he's trapped, and so are we, forced to watch him endlessly suffer.

/dsmp
this reads like a game theory. i am sorry i just had this sadge epiphany