#lil pootis lore?!

[quazies]

Not ideal, but much better than living in the back of a refrigerator...

I like the dynamic between these two, Spy stuck in this horrible situation, only to be shown kindness by the person who leaves 3rd degree burns on his backside. He’s forced to put his snobbiness aside for a bit. In return he gets ciggarettes and candy, good bargain when you’ve been in a fridge for a year or so!

(How will Spy Head get back home? His team needs some sort of bargaining chip...🐥)

[solid-white]

I love how the entire TF2 community came to the same consensus that BLU has a lot of psychological horror going on while RED lore is that they just teleported bread

Not enough evidence? Here's something from Lil Pootis.

STILL NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE?

It Came With The Rain - FiveBucksWorthy2

BOOM, A FANFICTION I FOUND

MY POINT EXACTLY. BLU IS PSYCHOLOGICAL, LOVECRAFTIAN HORROR WHILE RED ARE FUNNY AHA IDIOTS.

[thepaintedsable]

GO WATCH LIL POOTIS!!! It’s by @quazies and it’s really really cute oh my gosh. I have not genuinely smiled at a piece of media in a while, I mean actually “wow haha that’s funny” smiled, but Lil Pootis did it. It won. ALSO WATCH IT WITH CAPTIONS ON ALWAYS. IT ADDS SO SO SO MUCH!!!! The animation quality just goes up and up as the episodes go on (this is a 1 person team!!! Just one person!!! Compare the first episode to the last episode, the improvement is EXPONENTIAL!!!!!!); there is so much personality in each character, from Pootis to Blu Team (I love how Pyro is animated. they are an absolute rat in every scene they scamper I love them); and the lore is it’s own thing separate from main TF2 (Season 2 Episode 1 has me in a death grip).

I feel like I jumped onto it so so late (like, I don’t even really know where the Pootis thing came from but apparently it’s a Heavy voice line?) but I am simply happy to watch funny cartoon and take part in fanart. Closeups under the cut!

That last Pootis is just a doodle of the cursed one from the boxes lol. He is a little goofy :)

[goldenautomaton-art]

just watched lil pootis. @quazies doesn't know i would kill for more blu medic lore

[thicctails]

i should be asleep, quick post angsty TF2 AU art

silly thing that has been marinating in my mind since my tf2 hyperfixation rose from the dead and gripped me by my throat. thank u emesis blue and lil pootis :3

basically, the idea is that this au takes place in a not so distant future, where the two merc teams have been merged into just being Team Fortress under the employment of Saxton Hale, (who just wants to see them beat the crap out of whatever weird, otherwordly beings always tend to pop up around them) and their new Administrator, Miss Pauline, (who is far nicer to work with and gets them, like, actual mercenary and espionage work.) following the death of the Mann brothers and the old Administrator.

(lore continued below + scout's injuries)

The two teams actually get on really well, (really really well if you're Blu Soldier and Red Demo, or Red Spy and Blu Engineer ;) ) and they end up dropping their defenses a little, because surely no one would be stupid enough to target an eighteen strong pack of near feral, borderline insane mercs, as well as their two incredibly fierce, very scary lady associates, Zhanna and Pauline, right?

Well, apparently not, because an old enemy of the Red Spy figures out that the man's son is working with him, and he has a personal grudge against both of them due to something that happened when Jeremey (Red Scout) was a baby. He rounds up a few ex-Conagher Industries employees who have just enough insider knowledge to help him steal and rebuild a functioning respawn machine. Once it's complete, he picks three Mercs to kidnap in order to test the machine, as well as figure out what exactly it is that allows the machine to work on them.

First, lets talk about the Red Scout, Jeremey. Spy's old enemy used to have a brother, until the fool accepted a job that involved him sneaking into a small home in Boston and taking out the son of one of the best spies currently active. Obviously, Spy took care of the issue, though this was the reason he actually ended up leaving. Revenge is only half the reason Scout gets picked, though, with the other being that he's incredibly immune to the effects of radiation on the human body, and actual seems to thrive off it, reaching speeds that really shouldn't be possible. His kidnappers really end up pushing this resistance, and end up leaving him with an incredibly nasty burn that was left too long for respawn to fix.

Next up is the Red Medic, Ludwig. Medic ends up getting nabbed purely because they need someone with the medical knowledge and technology to keep Scout and Soldier alive while they get taken apart in an attempt to figure out exactly how respawn works. He's only allowed to heal them if their kidnappers deem it necessary, or if he gives them the information they try and beat out of him about how he and Engineer managed to have the technology they do. Weeks spent either in isolation or listening to/seeing the people he's grown close to get tortured or killed for other's amusement makes it so that, when they finally get free, he's gone almost feral, and isn't afraid to take a chunk out of anyone who gets too close to him, Scout, or Soldier, be they friend or foe.

Last, but certainly not least, is Blu Soldier, John. Now, unlike Scout and Medic, Soldier wasn't actually supposed to be kidnapped. It was actually supposed to be one of the Engineers, but his kidnapper only received the instructions to grab the "loud, helmet-wearing American with the metal weapon" so. y'know. 😬

Trying again isn't really an option, though, so poor Solly gets to be a science experiment and a human punching bag/ gun practice target. Lucky him! He is also who they test the limits of respawn on, which results in him loosing his sight by the time help arrives.

also mini headcannon that Red Scout has his dad's black hair, he just dyes it. By the time he gets out, he really looks just like a younger Spy.

id like to do a fic for this au one day. and also maybe pick a name for it

[tavernofdragons]

Alrighty. I think it's time I elaborate on @the-technition-red , @the-blu-technition , and @nice-shot-mate reality.

More or less about the main 9, each side

If ya want to use thickness base for a tumbler account go for it. If ya'll want ref for looks i can do that.

Basics: red teams base is on the colder side while blu is on the warmer side. So that's why red team tends to have more layers compared to blu

Anyway:

SNIPER

Red: @nice-shot-mate , he is un bothered by the reality shift, in fact he has no clue he shifted yet (Australian, 34)

Blu: he tends to be a piece of shit, but he is more social then most. He's in a relationship with red spy. (Australian, 46)

SPY

Red: dated both of the scouts' moms but got kicked out of both of their lives. Currently dating blu sniper. Very caring but keeps to him self when around people. He's used to people abandoning him after a while. (French, 50)

Blu: would rather be in a corner with a book than socialize. Tends to avoid relationships up did get pulled into on by his engie. (Italian, 48) [totally don't like Lil pootis]

DEMO

Red: high functioning alcoholic. (Scottish, 44)

Blu: recovering alcoholic. (Celtic, 30)

SCOUT

Red: dyslexic, adhd, and extreme energy. Very out going. Has a habit of over sharing. (American, 25)

Blu: absolutely sick of the world (American, 26)

SOLLY

Red: helmet party with his teams engie. Loves explosives. High energyfor destruction (American, 37)

Blu: loves the act of destruction. All ways using his weapons and cleaning them just to make sure everything is working properly. (American, 39)

Going to do this in two parts because, I'm out of ideas and I can't remember all of the classes at once.

Also I might change some info around as i look back on Max's page with some old posts that had this type of lore attached.

[moonyjulian]

Guess who got out of three years long art block because she watched the cutest series on YouTube? If you never watched Lil Pootis by Quazies, please do cause it's so good and you don't even need to know tf2 lore to enjoy it

Happy Halloween everyone!

Here's the original picture that I got inspired by

[affinitystoryblog]

🐾 or ✏️ for the oc questions! :) either is fine I just like hearing about oc’s pets and side characters!

🐾 - Pets

so technically three of our main and/or main supporting have pets!

agitha has princess pootie, whom she's had since she was a sophomore in high school.

csilla has her cat rosemary, whom she's had since she was 11 and csilla is suuuper attached to her. thats her best buddy, her lil girl, her other half so to speak. she rly does see her cat as a soul mate

heather has her big ol dog Musa, who is still pretty young, her family adopted him her junior year. but he's a big ol teddy bear. she'll often take him out for her morning jog after breakfast. in the winter time, since heather usually rises by 5 to 6 am every day (definitely a morning person) she and musa will watch the sunrise after their run

and then the last one is a little different than just a pet for her, but urania and miko! she doesnt rly see him as a pet companion, but more of a friend. not to undermine any of the relationships my other girls have with their companions, esepcially csilla and aggie, but urania's bond with miko is one of equal ground. he is just as valuable and integral to everyone in the group as the rest of them.

✏️ - Classmates

so! i dont have a lot of classmates outside of our main cast designed or thought of too much yet, i definitely need a filler chapter after all the back to back plot stuff for 5 chapters. but i havent even finished chapter 5 yet so...(theres a lot of deep story lore stuff i have to work out before i can rly continue with the current plot because so much is gonna have to be interweaved...but im rambling)

so i do have the student council, which i have talked about before. agitha and csilla are also on the student council, but csilla is new

so in the student council, which are agitha's active friend group (excluding dimitri since he is a freshman newly recruited to the student council but he does fit his way in)

Dimitri - daren't genius little brother! he's very arrogant, but tbh he can back it up. big ego by beyonce definitely. and tbh, agitha does not help because she's also pretty arrogant but knows when to humble herself relatively well in certain situations.

Yumi - the baby of the group, she's very intelligent at the top of her class and she is a prodigy pianist. she has scholarships going for her by the mile. sweet girl, yet a little prissy. girls girl kinda vibe, she and james are constantly bickering. lowkey i kinda ship her and alex for no reason in particular...but i want them to have a sort of unspoken exclusiveness with each other...theyre not pursuing each other, but if they were to be with anyone else??? thatd be a betrayal because they are definitely Talking. ill get more into that in alex's bio

Alex - sarcastic and snarky, mouth of a sailor, yet excels in all of her classes and has a the mindset of "if i go out, just know im going out talking shit." her and james are also bickering...basically james is bickering with everyone he's kind of a bitch lol. anyway, she's also got this very "cool" vibe about her, lots of girls in the school like her.

James - he is sassy, prissy, posh, arrogant, and just generally a pain in the ass. but also he is willing to stand up for you if you can't speak for yourself, he likes to tease and gossip with his friends, he is willing to give you the shirt off his back if he sees you have nothing. he may be say a snide feisty comment about how of course you wouldnt have made it if i hadn't come along, but its all out of pride. he is a genius in his own right, good at sports, and comes from a wealthy family.

there were some other side characters i started thinking about for daren and sinie's art club, but i only ended up designing two characters before i kinda left this one by the wayside

SO SIDENOTE: rea's name is actually supposed to be Rae but im fucking illiterate.

Rae - a very good artist for her age, she has a good concept of color theory and anatomy and her concepts are so creative and unique. she is, however, very humble, sweet, and such a positive beam of sunshine. she and sinie get along very well.

Emerald - so, im ngl i dont remember what my inital idea was for her, but based on her posture she was maybe some sort of classy black girl magic kinda girl...if i were to build on this character i would say she is very girly pop, feminist, and specializes in pop art.

oc background relationship asks

[chaos-and-kromer]

So sorry you had to learn about portal through an audio of wheatley moaning LMAO

I learned about I half-life lore because of hlvrai, I learned about tf2 lore because of lil pootis, and now I know portal lore because that one time I heard wheatley moan audio clip lol

(getting an ask from you is such an honor, it's like the miku grocery store meme but instead of the grocery store it's my front door)

[some-pers0n]

Heyy I’m new to the tf2 fandom and was wondering where you get your content? Obviously there’s the game and the official animations, but is there any other big source? I’ve heard of the comics but haven’t read them, I don’t know anything other than that lol

Tbh there’s so much fanwork that it’s kinda hard to tell what’s canon and what isn’t 😭

Also I love Medic as well :) AND PYRO, I LOVE PYRO SO MUCH, THEY ARE SUCH A SWEETIE

Finally got around to this anon ask lol.

For general art and such? I hang around here on Tumblr. Twitter too, but mainly Tumblr. I'm always terrible with remembering artists off the top of my head though.. You just go through the TF2 tag and follow whichever one you'd like :] Same thing said with TF2 fics. Despite writing like. 200k words, I don't read a ton of fics. I get too upset too quickly when the characters aren't exactly like how I write them.

The comics are great! You can find them on the official TF2 website. No need to buy anything, as they're available on the comic section. They're actually supposed to be read on that website lol. They're very silly and fun and I recommend them a lot, especially when it comes to learning the more "lore" characters like Saxton Hale, the Administrator and Pauling, Gray Mann, and so on and so forth.

Videos and such? I like watching SFM animations and YouTubers. Some that jump out at me in particular are

Uncle Dane (Engineer tips and gameplay)

Lazy Purple (synopsis of the classes with gameplay and general tips and such)

ShorK (TF2 goofs and memes with the occasional very high-quality stuff as he works kinda with the voice actors of the mercs)

Quazies (fan animations)(both Godzilla and TF2 with the Lil' Pootis shorts),

Elmaxo (TF2 challenges like getting 1000 kills on the sniper rifle and zero headshots kills)

Eltorro64Rus (weird Gmod animations with goofy and silly nonsensical stuff)

Bumbles McFumbles (mostly non-TF2 BUT he has done two videos about the mercs and which one is the biggest war criminal and well as which ones make for the best boyfriend)

ColonelFazipantzen (very pretty SFM animations and memes)

The Winglet (SFM animator who goes high-quality and goofy videos)

Fortress Films (Spy's Disguise and Emesis Blue, two SFM movies that are pretty different and tone [especially with Emesis Blue] and I generally wouldn't exactly recommend as your first exposure to TF2 since Emesis Blue in particular is a serious psychological horror flick)

All you need to know is that official Valve-made stuff is canon. The comics, official SFMs, blog posts, all that. Most of the stuff you find on YouTube or here isn't canon unless it's a repeat of what's shown in canon. Blah blah blah, all that.

[tf-gay]

My gf made a (overly dramatic on purpose) sound of fear or disgust whenever BLU Medic showed up on screen and I, never having seen any of Lil Pootis before, am now firmly going to die on the hill that BLU Medic is baby.

Is this a wise choice of action or is there some deeper lore I'm unaware of that I should be aware of?

[quazies]

A pre-head removal discussion.

[tv-ajax]

Introduction thing ig?

figured I should do this thing

Basic Info

Name: Ajax/Max

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Pronouns: he/it

Languages: English/Estonian [native]/learning German?

Orientation: Aroace [panaesthetic]

Interests: sea, sea creatures, pirates, shanties, Will Wood, folk esq music, foresty things, cottagecore things, autumn coded stuff, clothes/weird clothing design, birds

Other links: https://linktr.ee/tv_ajax

Current fandom: Moomins

other fandoms/things/characters I like:

Biggest fan of my own ocs

Critical Role [Vox Machina only for now]

Submas

Team Fortress 2 [mainly just the mercs]

Lil Pootis

Trying to get into The Magnus Archives [only on s1 L]

Moomins

Five Nights At Freddy's [SUNDROP AND MOONDROP]

Adventure Time [Simon Petrikov, Prismo]

Gravity Falls

Smiling Friends

Disco Elysium [wip playing it]

Dsmp [I still enjoy the story/characters/lore but I do not like most of the people]

qsmp kinda? don't know the lore really but I like death family, especially Philza

Dayshift at Freddy's

How To Train Your Dragon

Owl House

Phiting [mostly Medkit]

Our Flag Means Death

Good Omens

Stanley Parable

Steven Universe

Undertale

Dungeon Meshi

House of the Dragon

Notes

Using my art is ok as long as it's not for monetary reasons and if you credit me, not needed to ask but I would love to see when you use my art!! ::::D

I switch my current fandoms/interests/hyperfixations a lot/quickly so good luck following me for a specific character/fandom lmao

I revisit fandoms somewhat often though

I am very open to suggestions! if you want me to draw something, be it fandom or even oc, it's not unlikely that I'll draw it if you submit an ask or something so feel free to do so! [fyi it will not be a rendered drawing]

Feel free to dm me

I don't think I really have much of a DNI list besides like bigots and generally bad people

I'm kind of a private person? I prefer not to talk too much about me and generally stick to talking about my interests instead of myself [unless I know you]

[notasingleclue20]

TF2に狂い、SFMをすげえ見た

前置き

これは好きなSFMおよびファン制作アニメーションリストです。TF2のコミュニティの愛、深い。

・SFM？ Source FilmmakerというValveが公開してる映像作成ソフト（？）の略。Youtubeとかで[SFM]と入っているのは、このソフトを使って作られたファンアニメーションの総称らしい。 TF2、Valve作品以外でも3Dモデルが存在するゲームのキャラクターをアニメーションする際に使っている人は多い。エッチなのも多いらしい。 とても使いづらいと聞くけど、それでもものすごい数の作品がある。

・TF2って… Team Fortress 2というFree to Playな所謂ヒーローシューターゲーム。Steamでなんと無料です。宣伝。 古いゲームでもうあんまり更新されてないけど未だにアクティブプレーヤー人数は多く、コミュニティが活気。

Meet the Team

公式の全9クラス（＋サンドヴィッチ）の紹介動画のプレイリスト、クオリティ高く、ともかく印象に残る。 正直ゲームを知らなくても何度か見た記憶があり、ともかく知名度がすごいし、無意味にScoutのセリフを覚えてしまう。 全部見たらExpiration Date（賞味期限切れ/時間切れ）を見るとみんなに愛着が益々湧く。そしてこれにはなんと日本語字幕がある…。

Emesis Blue

切って離せない、というかこの作品を見てTF2をはじめた。ファン制作のホラーSFM映画。 Twitterで延々と呟いているのですが、元々死生観の感じられる作品がすごく好きで、あんなにカオスで命の軽い世界観の作品を基に、その命の軽さ・リスポンというゲームメカニック、Mann兄弟の（言っちゃえば）自分勝手な理由で戦争を続ける為にMercたちを雇用しているという設定を逆手にとって、ここまでホラーとして秀逸な切り口を入れられているのが本当にすごいし、TF2を知らない自分がのめりこんでしまったくらい映像としてよくできてました。 ここからloreを学んだ後に見直してデモソルの関係性とか、パイロに焼かれるスパイとか、殺し合う赤ヘビメディとかに大きな感情を抱いたという結果です

Lil' Guardian Pyro

Emesis Blue見た後ゲームをインストールしてbot相手にトレーニングしてるときに見て、は～カワイイんだけど…ってなった。���もかくカワイイし、Pyro/Engieの関係性がやっぱとても良い。みんなちっちゃいね。

Team Fortress Guilty Gear OP Parody

（やったことも見たこともないのだけど）ｷﾞﾙﾃｨｷﾞｱのOPパロらしく、ムチャクチャかっこよくてループして見ていた。War!のコミック読んでデモ…ソル…ってなってるときに見たので二人のショットが多くて泣いてしまいそうでした。SpyがScoutが死んでピエタ構図になっているコミックのコマがすごく好きなので、そこが入っていて嬉しい。Jarateのとこで笑っちゃうしバトルエンジのガンスリンガーが映るところがすげえ好きです。

Tribute

またリスポンメカニックをテーマに、友達がいなくなってしまったMercの悲しみが丁寧に静かに描かれててジワ…ときました。展開と見せ方が上手。

TF2: Revenge

テーマ的にはTributeに近く、友達がいなくなっちゃったMercの悲しみ…からの復讐を描くSFM。このSFMのパイロの描かれ方がともかく好きで、全て燃やした後になんにも残らない虚しさが切ない

Demoman's Dilemma 

この方（The Wingletさん）のSFMは全部クオリティが高いのだけれど、これは私欲で入れてます。デモマンがマジ��呂律ゼロになるのがいつ聞いても笑えるので好きです。

Hiking Trip [SFM]

こちらもWingletさんの作品。短いほのぼの（？）ハイキングするよ♪という中でハプニングが起きて、Mercy Killing（「安らかに逝かせてやろう…」）をするかしないかみたいな話なんですが、それに加えてOuter Wildsの音楽が流れるのが好きです。

Story of a Sentry

EngieとSentry Gunのお話。二人が親子みたいなのが素直に可愛い。EngieをやってSentryカンカンやってると、このSFMのエンジの気持ちはすごくよく分かる。俺のセントリーに手を出さんでくれ。

Lil’ Pootis - Season 1 [Episodes 1-7]

こちらはSFMではなく手描きアニメーションなのですが、ともかくみんなカワイイし愛を感じる…。 Heavyの”Put this dispenser here!”（「ディスペンサーここに置いてくれ！」）というセリフが英語だとPootisに聞こえるのでmeme化しているのが、Heavyの鳥頭Cosmeticをベースに鳥のキャラクターにした…アニメーション……？（説明が難しい） Pootis以外にもSpy Crub、MedicのArchimedesなども出てきていて、ワイヤワイヤしていてほっこりする。 手描きアニメーションだとMeet the Amazing Teamシリーズも好き。

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

Tumblrだと10個までしかビデオを貼れませんでした。以下も大好きです。

・End of the Line すごく有名所…？そうなのだけれど、クオリティが高く、最初から最後まで画がとてもキレイ。それぞれのMercたちの描かれ方��丁寧で、1映像作品として起承転結していてキレイに終わる。ヘビメディがかっこよい。

・Mann Swap HeavyとScoutが入れ替わっちゃった☆？！みたいな短いストーリーで起承転結がキレイで、モデルはとくに変更ないのに表情と動きでそれぞれのキャラクターが入れ替わってることを描くアニメーション能力がすごい…

・Pootis Engage //EXTREME 海外memeだらけで勢いがすごい、中々テンションが高くて置いてかれそうになる、けど好きです。使われてるのはSFMではなくて別のソフトなのかな…。

・Keep Going, Buddy [SFM] なんだかうまくいかない…なScoutの描かれ方にすごい親近感。お父さんみたいなEngieも大好きで、最後の終わり方もすごく良かったです。

・Creation of Mimi-Sentry [SFM] Engieのセントリーガンを女の子に擬人化したMimi-SentryとEngieのお話。Mimi自体は賛否両論だったらしいけど、エンジとミミが親子的な描かれ方がしているのは個人的にすごくすき。アクションシーンもかっこよい。

・Jolly Rancher こちらはGMod（SFMではない）アニメーションなのだけれど、この方の作品はなんか好きで見ちゃうしGMod特有の謎の……フィーバードリーム的な…癖になる感じというか……混沌とした安寧……

・Buff Fortress 2 [SFM] サムネからしてアレなんですけど大好きなので何回もみてます

[tf-2-brainrot]

Wants to watch newer Lil Pootis episodes,

Doesn't have the time.

Finds the time,

Doesn't like the lore from episode 3 alone

Damm, now I don't get to enjoy it 💀

[rosainta]

Pretty interesting, saving this for later.

I've always struggled to explain and justify this subject, and I'm happy to hear other people's theories.

While I don't agree with all the points, since I enjoy comic-and-game narrative consistency (for example, I believe that the mercs and their opposite-colour counterparts have their own separate families, as you can see the difference in Scout's in Meet the Spy and in A Cold Day in Hell, where you see his parents (Spy and his ma) as either RED or BLU), I think this is a pretty good basis for any logical explanation for it.

... which, realistically, Valve will probably never make themselves, LOL.

I might develop my own theory for this in the future, and I appreciate this analysis (as well as the fabulous artwork!), so I will use this as inspiration when the time comes.

Also inspo: Lil' Pootis lore, since we lovin' the kooky RED Medic and the absolute deadpan BLU Medic dynamic reality.

Anyway, until then, have a dancing Pyro for your troubles! And remember:

That's just a THEORY!

A GAME THEO-

-alright, I'm not MatPat. I'll hush up now. :-)

Another take on the TF2 Clone Theory:

Continuation to this.

When I was talking to people about the clone theory, they were always asking me about who were originals and who were clones. I didn't understand why that matters; they're all same people with the same memories of their pre-service past, right?

What I didn't understand is that people had entirely different take on how clones are made than I do. I've never even thought about the fetus tubes until someone specifically pointed out that scene in Emesis Blue... (I also didn't know cloning was a real life thing?? Not just sci-fi trope??)

So yeah I've always thought cloning was instant because it would also explain how respawn works. Classic "resurrection" either isn't the thing (lame) or just takes too much time to commit. However, the super cool very scientific respawn machine will use your remains + storage bio supply to quickly rebuild a new body (as it was at the assigning day) and put your consciousness into that body so you feel like you're living nonstop.

(at least that's the theory)

Also, to answer these questions:

They do remember their connections, their past and their memories. Memories of the past are the same.

Their families were not cloned, they aren't involved in this business in any way. They don't know.

However, to keep this secret from the mercs... Of course if both of the clones will speak to their families they will soon spot some weird things and inconsistencies (talking about things that seemed to never happen). Not even talking about visiting family on holidays, that's an obvious no-no.

So... First of all, a big deal is to make REDs and BLUs lives and experiences here as similar (ideally identical) as possible.

And second: I think their connection to the world is just very limited/prohibited. The telephone connection is entirely controlled by the Administration (Sniper has to drive far away to sneak talk to his parents). Letters are monitored, censored and withhold if necessary (or copied if they are FROM the family). No going home until the contract is due (many years??) etc...

Which contradicts comics in s lot of ways but you know what? I don't even care. Comics are an unreliable narrator anyways. I mean uh... I uh. I'll talk about it some other time.