When the critical moment came about, Joyboy's nakama did not believe in him, and without their support, Imu lost. Think of Enies Lobby: had Usop not screamed at Luffy, Lucci would've won. Had the Merry not believed in the SHs, the buster call would've defeated them all.
The Joy Crew is the bad timeline SHs.
Well said, it's definitely a Bad Timeline
But i don't think SHs are gonna be any different if They just progress normally
They are still in the Bad Timeline, They must first "Reverse/Fix" their Fate to be able to Win
In Current Timeline, Luffy is not the MC
Someone else is Joy Boy 2.0 and He is Destined to Lose & his Crew Failing him (Maybe even Betraying him)
I believe Story We are reading is Blackbeard's Version, He is Secretly The True MC of this Timeline, it's his Dream (Hence why He doesn't Sleep)
And Luffy must somehow Fix that, basically think of Joy Boy's Role as a Shadow & it's Luffy's Shadow, but just like Luffy lost his Shadow to Oars, He lost his MC Spot to Blackbeard, and must rely on his Crew to have it back
When Blackbeard is Defeated, Final Villain will finally be cornered & forced to use his Version of Shadow Asgard, basically a Move where if you Defeat him, you fix Everything, that's when Luffy finally Wins & Fixes the Timeline as People now aren't forced to live at Night (Nightmare) & can finally enjoy the Daylight (Good Timeline/Dream)