Apologist Discourse

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Event
Event: Apologist discourse
Participants:
Date(s): 2020-present
Type: Fan War
Fandom: Dream SMP
URL:
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Apologist discourse is a discourse topic and long-running flamewar in the Dream SMP fandom that largely centers on the morality of characters' actions, who is in the wrong, and other topics. Fans who believe that a particular character is morally correct or has done nothing wrong are known as "apologists" for that character.

The term is sometimes also used jokingly to refer to who someone's favorite character is.

Common groups of "apologists"

The main warring groups within the fandom are Dream apologists, who believe c!Dream's abuse of c!Tommy in the Exile arc was justified or morally okay, and Tommy apologists, who believe that Tommy did not deserve this treatment or that he has done nothing wrong.

The discourse is not limited to these two characters, however, as other common groups include Quackity apologists (who believe c!Quackity was right to torture Dream in prison)[1], Schlatt apologists (who believe c!Schlatt's actions in Manberg were justified), Sam apologists (who believe c!Sam's actions in Pandora's Vault were justified), Wilbur apologists (who believe c!Wilbur's actions in the Manberg-Pogtopia War were justified, usually due to his mental illness) and Techno apologists[2] (who believe c!Technoblade's actions were justified).

Debate

The debate often devolves into accusations of abuse apologism from all sides, as the parties involved generally believe their preferred character to be a morally just victim of abuse, and any character who harmed them to be a morally bankrupt abuser. This often gets toxic, as people involved will sometimes weaponize each other's trauma, and accuse each other of denying real life abuse, despite the fact that the topic of discussion is a Minecraft server and the fictional storyline on it, not real life abuse. Others point out that the victim blaming tactics used in some of these arguments end up extending to discussions of real life abuse as well.[3]

Character Bashing is also often present in debates surrounding the topic.

Some fans of controversial characters believe that the term "apologist" is often misused and applied to any and all fans of these characters, regardless of their actual beliefs.

Dream and Tommy apologists

By far the most common of these many fractured groups warring with each other are the Dream and Tommy apologists, who are frequently engaged with arguments over who they believe was right in the two's enemy relationship.

Common beliefs held by Dream apologists:

  • Every character on the server is morally ambiguous, including Dream
  • Dream had good intentions[4]
  • Dream viewed Tommy as a threat to the server
  • People's opinions on c!Dream are based in their distaste for the content creator
  • Tommy is an unreliable narrator

Common beliefs held by Tommy apologists:

  • Most characters are morally ambiguous, but Dream is not[5][6]
  • Dream abused Tommy for an extended period
  • Dream's intentions were to harm Tommy
  • Dream apologists cannot separate the character from the creator playing them[7]
  • Content creator Dream disagrees with the idea that c!Dream is sympathetic/redeemable[8]
  • Dream is written to be a villain intentionally[9]

While the Exile arc is the main topic of discussion, some Dream apologists do not believe that Dream was in the right during Exile.

that being said, in my case for example i think exile was inexcusable, morally reprehensible and a particular low point for c!dream's character, i don't defend or excuse this. on the other hand his opposition of l'manburg and the deaths that it resulted in? not so much.

dreamslesbian on Tumblr [10]

Many other fans consider both groups to be extreme in their actions and behavior.

"c!Dream apologists clearly hate the DSMP and everything in it" I think you need to log off and take a break from the internet 😭

angeloncewas on Tumblr [11]

Being both a c!Dream and c!Tommy enjoyer and watching both sides fight back and forth is so funny, because neither of them get the point lmaoooo.

stormbee8 on Tumblr [12]

Notable incidents

In early 2022, a fanartist was harassed by Dream fans on Twitter for drawing horror artwork of Dream and Tommy. One user tried to remind them that Dream was okay with horror/gore fanart of fictional characters (specifically in the Dream SMP), and received backlash, including death threats.[13]

Dream SMP finale

The finale of the Dream SMP caused a flareup in these debates due to the ending involving amnesia and Tommy seemingly forgiving Dream, which made a lot of self-identified Tommy apologists upset. The finale was heavily criticized, though not all of the criticism was from self-described apologists.

I think part of the problem of the finale, on a conceptual level, is that it seemed to have tried to find the middle ground between the two farthest opposite extremes of the fandom interpretations of dream and tommy's relationship without realizing that there is no way to mix them without poisoning the batch.

tobi-smp on Tumblr [14]

It's really frustrating that Dream SMP, a story that carefully approached and evoked such a sensitive subject as child abuse, in the most realistic way possible, as well as gave the real-life abuse victims the representation they deserved, didn't get the proper finale that would be mindful of its impact on real life. Not to mention the poor decisions in character and narrative development that only grew worse as the story progressed.

stemms on Tumblr [15]

References

  1. ^ "What do you think about the difference in support for Dream and Quackity?" (Accessed 12/18/2023).
  2. ^ I miss debating ppl about c!Techno. (Accessed 12/18/2023).
  3. ^ "its been very scary to see the rise in victim blaming in this fandom..." (Accessed 12/18/2023)
  4. ^ c!dream is evil because he had to be. (Accessed 12/18/2023).
  5. ^ "C!dream is morally grey in the grand scheme of things" no the fuck he isn’t lmao (Accessed 12/18/2023).
  6. ^ "people who are like ‘oh cDream is morally grey, he’s morally grey’ because they want a villain with some sort of morality..." (Accessed 12/18/2023).
  7. ^ bro are c!dream apologists ok? (Accessed 12/18/2023).
  8. ^ "cc!Dream is doing gods work by seeing every possible way his character could be redeemed/ justified and then imidetly disproving it." (Accessed 12/18/2023).
  9. ^ C!Dream Apologists (Accessed 12/18/2023).
  10. ^ can i ask why you're a c!dream apologist? (Accessed 12/18/2023).
  11. ^ "c!Dream apologists clearly hate the DSMP and everything in it..." (Accessed 12/18/2023).
  12. ^ Being both a c!Dream and c!Tommy enjoyer and watching both sides fight back and forth is so funny (Accessed 12/18/2023).
  13. ^ So we all heard the artist that got harassed bc they drew horror art for cdream and ctommy? (Accessed 12/18/2023).
  14. ^ I think part of the problem of the finale... (Accessed 12/18/2023).
  15. ^ It's really frustrating that Dream SMP... (Accessed 12/18/2023)
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