bluekiivi

[bluekiivi]

The final TF2 issue really got to me. Spoilers, but it’s the reveal that all of this suffering and murder and war over gravel and shitty land was for nothing but senseless, bottomless hatred. That the administrator can’t even remember where this revenge plot started as she flashes through different false memories of her parents’ deaths. There was never a tragic backstory or justification, only terrible people doing despicable things. And despite how crass and stupid and unserious TF2 is, the story subverts every expectation by showing the survivors and inheritors willingly breaking the cycle. Ms. Pauling lies to the administrator and chooses not to save her, and finally lets her die. (Hurts even more if you read into the subtext that Ms. Pauling is in love with the administrator.) She lets the final cache of Australium go and walks away from the burden and legacy of a century-old bloodfeud. Hale lets Gray’s daughter go and live her life freely. Spy is the first to arrive at Scout’s house and meet his big family, finally takes off his mask, and helps with the kids. Even Merasmus exhaustedly makes peace with himself and Soldier and chooses not to curse him or something. There’s nothing to finish, no promises to keep, and no one to avenge. The only thing to do is break the cycle and walk away.

It feels odd how happy and warm everything is, but it feels so right and earned. These bloodthirsty, awful, violent men were expendable cogs in a machine of endless violence, and they found a way out. It’s a genuinely great message about letting go the past that burdens you and finding the will and a way to hit the bricks, change, and be happy. Maybe they don’t technically deserve happiness, but they’ve got it nonetheless, and they’re not gonna let it go to waste. They’re still all crazy and violent, but on their own terms now and with people who love them! Smiles.

[bluekiivi]

father

[bluekiivi]

The TF2 comic. The themes. The seven year wait, the seven year timeskip.

Of course it was all for nothing. No answer would be satisfying after seven years of waiting. Seventeen years, actually, if we count from when the game came out. So the passage of time becomes the point. The memories have faded. We keep going anyway. Because it was important, at some point. For some reason.

And at the end of it, we're left with the people we met along the way. The connections we share, the people we love. Because that *does* matter, more than lore, more than revenge. The characters have grown, and changed. Aged. So has the audience. None of us are the same people we were seven years ago. And yet, we come back to this. These characters we loved. Continue to love. Because that matters.

I'm really, truly satisfied.

[bluekiivi]

[bluekiivi]

i think, even with the comic finishing and all, both of these stories can be true. valve focused on the relationships and generational trauma aspect, but you don’t have to.

to me, tf2 doesn’t have and never will have one true canon lore. it’s all just whatever you make of it. tf2 wasn’t made with a proper fleshed out lore in mind, and it stays that way even now. it just needed something to make the game more appealing / interesting. i definitely think it would have been a very interesting and real path to go down with talking about corporate greed, but considering the tone they’d set at the start, it would’ve been one hell of a shift. (and also so, so ironic for a game that helped popularise loot boxes / crates)

you can absolutely go down the gritty realism end of the spectrum, but i think it’s important to also remember you’re building on a game that was never meant to be taken seriously. weapons that let you triple jump, rockets you can shoot at your own feet and not die, an übercharge that makes you indestructible. there’s so much more in there that simply follows no real logic.

tf2 in all it’s officially released content has always been (or at least remained/returned to being) lighthearted. comical, even. you don’t have to take it as such, but you also can’t forget it. the game contradicts the videos which contradict the comics which contradict the update comics.

in the end, just use the mercs and the pieces you like to tell the story you wish to tell, because that’s what valve did with the comics, that’s what emesis blue did, that’s what the sfm animators, artists, writers in the community do and will continue doing even post comic 7.

Ohh... The tf2 lore was about generational trauma. And I for some reason always expected it to be about victims of mega corporations treating humans as expandable meat.

That's what the source of my frustration was. I'm looking at the opposite fucking direction.

[bluekiivi]

🚨🚨🚨THE SEVENTH COMIC IS OUT I REPEAT THE SEVENTH COMIC IS OUT🚨🚨🚨

THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!!

[bluekiivi]

we can be cooked together

chat are we cooked

[bluekiivi]

[bluekiivi]

A small part of what I’m working on next. This one’s gonna be a doozy folks… don’t expect me to be quick this is already like 3 hours of work and it’s a third of the canvas

[bluekiivi]

day 1

[bluekiivi]

There’s nothing to run away from...Is there?

[bluekiivi]

no more truths to find

[bluekiivi]

Gift for @gentlesurgeryenjoyer 🌹

[bluekiivi]

The mercs and cute semi-aquatic creatures :) [left to right: otter, muskrat, seal, tapir, beaver, capybara, puffin, platypus, mink, pygmy hippo]

I only plan for semiaquatic mammals, but i couldnt find one that fits medic, so he gets a bird

Scout: Otters are sleek, fast and cool Soldier: I want something similar to raccoons. Muskrats are also native to north AMERICA! Pyro: I think he would like seals. They are round and look huggable Demo: Tapir in japanese folklore are said to eat nightmares. For someone who passes out a lot, i think it's a good fit. Engineer: Beavers can build Heavy: Capybara is square-shaped and chill Medic: I think he would like any types of aquatic birds. I pick puffins cause they are cool! Fly, swim, dive, burrow, they can do anything! Sniper: Pretty predictable lol. Platypuses are australia native Spy: Mink. Small yet a deadly hunter

SNIPER THE PLATYPUS??!?!?

[bluekiivi]

Trick or treat!

here ya go, buddy!

[bluekiivi]

You can spam boop me!

reblog if you let people spam boop you