#there is no going back from the TF2 fandom

[calytatif]

Behold

The bunny scout

Second plushie in the collection of tf2 mercs in amigurumi.

Istg I spent more time than I'd like to admit on his cap 🥲

[gingerale13]

Rendering!! Look mom I'm rendering!!

source + other versions + speedpaint under cut

The original SFM:

Honestly such a classic SFM that I am deeply in love with..

Procreate Speedpaint:

[personal-person1]

my hands hurt i should've worked in shorter sessions

closeups and rambling under the cut

-game night initially started with a standard deck of playing cards but they kept losing them inbetween sessions and having to supplement with other things, and now the deck is an absolute abomination of playing cards, uno, yu-gi-oh, pokemon and MTG

-sniper keeps looking at spy's cards, which has made spy So determined to stop sniper from winning that they both end up losing miserably

-demo showed up midgame and only saw uno cards on the table so he figured they were playing uno, and he has yet to figure out that they aren't

-if archimedes coos at the card you played, you have to take it back and play a different card

-scout collects pokemon cards and he added the shit cards he owns to the deck

-the rules change basically every time they try to play this thing so engie stopped caring about winning and is just here for the show

-pyro usually plays too, but currently they're coloring instead

-scout won't stop rocking his chair and he Will fall over during the game

-heavy and medic were meaning to play chess tonight but they were coerced by scout to join, and they're borderline ignoring the game in favor of discussing medic's latest project

-heavy's shirt says "a woman without a penis is like an angel without wings"

i do usually consider tf2 as taking place in the 60s and use the time accordingly but i drew this over a minecraft screenshot LOL i decided to ignore that for the purposes of this

note, i have only started playing this game and engaging with this fandom for a few weeks - ive been meaning to get into it for years but i knew i would go insane when i did, and i was right! i am!

[healpimp]

#FixTF2 Masterpost: Important Information Regarding the Movement

As promised, here is a comprehensive post about the #FixTF2 movement, the issues it tries to bring up and where to find more information and follow developments.

It is now day 7 of the protest with no response form Valve. Either this is them trying to wait for this to blow over or waiting for the signatures of the petition to be printed out and brought to their office, or they are still preparing a proper response to the movement. Regardless, this protest is still ongoing.

❓What's going on with TF2?❓

I'm sure everyone and their grandma knows by now, but TF2's most popular game mode, Casual, has been plagued by bots for several years by now. This is in fact not the first attempted protest and you may have heard of the one conducted two years ago named #SaveTF2. The movement wrested a response from Valve, which since the first protest has earned infamy and a status as a blatant lie among the game's players.

However, this task has seemingly been abandoned entirely. The last time in recent memory with no bots was when the game upgraded from 32-bit to 64-bit, which seemed to break the bots for a while. This was something the bothosters remedied a few days later, and no steps to remove them from the game has been made ever since.

It is worth mentioning that TF2 has had updates to battle the bot issue many times after #SaveTF2. They did indeed move to make TF2 a bot-free game for a while.

❓Why is this even bad?❓

Now, this might seem like a non-problem; TF2 is a video game and no more than that. People could simply move on and play similar games, like Overwatch, Paladins, Splatoon, etc. This would certainly be an easy solution but this has roots much deeper than simply playing a game.

For one, this game has been around for about 17 years by now. Ancient by FPS standards, but that the game is still played and talked about to this day stands as a testament to the love and passion the playerbase and general fandom has for it. The playerbase is loyal, the potential for content is seemingly endless and many are willing to pay money for the game. And therein lies some issues.

TF2 has millions of dollars invested in it by the playerbase. Loot boxes, MvM tickets and any sale made in the community market all gives Valve a steady and reliable revenue stream. This is significant, because you will have to make the assumption that this money will come back to sustain the game from imploding in on itself and remain functional. In the case with MvM, the PvE mode (that has not been updated in QUITE a while), the chances of receiving valuable loot from the missions is actually so small that there is no way to feasibly make any of your money back.

Additionally, any content updates added to the game every event (Summer Update, Scream Fortress and Smissmass) is community made. This means Valve picks and chooses cosmetics, emotes, unusual effects, warpaints and maps made by fans in the workshop.

While the creators of these items are compensated for their work, Valve naturally profits from these content updates.

In shorter terms: Valve profits off a game that has been in a near-unplayable state for more than 5 years by doing next to nothing.

And that isn't even the end of it. This is just the general negligence of Valve. It gets a lot uglier when delving into the punishable crimes conducted by the bothosters.

This video by TheWhat Show talks about this in depth, focusing on a particularly important case that involves MegaScatterBomb, who was harassed, doxxed, impersonated and swatted for trying to develop a working anti-cheat for casual.

This video is also in a document form for those who would rather read.

A more recent development with the bots has been their blatant advertising and promotion of CSAM, which you may better know as CP.

After #FixTF2 started, bots have been found spamming links in text chat that they claim is CSAM, while micspamming disturbing audio into the voice chat that is either edited to sound like or is legitimately CSAM. Valve has yet to respond to these reports, but good amount of players on Twitter/X have already started notifying FBI about this situation.

Another thing worth noting is that the bothosters have actively attempted to take down the petition website by DDoSing it and by filing a fake DMCA claim, both which are punishable crimes.

So to summarize:

It is wholly unsafe to play the game due to the bothosters and their willingness to commit crimes in the name of ruining the game experience.

Valve is profiting from keeping this broken product running, yet refuses to put any meaningful effort into fixing the bot problem.

The community actively contributes to the game by designing cosmetics and maps, and while they are compensated for their work, Valve are the ones who profit the most from their contributions.

Real people have been and are being harmed by the bot problem, and as far as we are aware, no one has been held accountable.

This is wholly unacceptable, both from a professional and unprofessional standpoint. If Valve fancies themselves a corporation worth using money on, their choice to simply ignore the problem speaks volumes of their priorities.

As Valve is releasing their new game Deadlock, there are serious concerns about the security of this game. TF2 is far from the only game that has bot/cheater problems. CS2 has had a similar problem for a long while as well and there is a clip of a Chinese bot farm that has been going around and which has even breached into the #FixTF2 movement.

❓What should we do?❓

Sign the petition while it is still up. At the time of this post, the petition has reached 270k+ signatures. The website has more general information as well.

Add to the #FixTF2 tag on mainly Twitter/X. Tag your posts with it, retweet and like posts in the tag and put the focus on the bots and ONLY the bots. One of the issues of the last movement, #SaveTF2, was that it wasn't focused enough on any particular problem and Valve could get away with making no promises. So, post clips, fanart and rants to your heart's content, so long it is specifically about the bots.

Watch youtube videos with #FixTF2 as the subject. Here are some good places to start:

4. Boycott any transactions in TF2. While Weezy was against this method in his video above, he has since changed his opinion. It has been established that Valve is very unlikely to shut down TF2, since the TF2 community market has millions of dollars invested in it and shutting down TF2 would render all items useless, thereby fully taking away any and all investments any players have put into the game. This would not just be devastating to the general economy of Valve's marketplaces, but a huge blow to their reputation if they want to remain reliable in the eyes of consumers.

5. Don't interact directly with bothosters. This includes harassment and any attempts at doxxing/swatting. These individuals are bigoted and some are even criminals. They have no remorse for their actions and talking to them would be a fruitless endeavor. Refrain from mentioning their names/aliases, as they are fond of attention and are getting just about enough of it since #FixTF2 started.

6. Don't give up.

❓Where can I keep up with any news?❓

Here are accounts to start with if you want to follow any important proceedings regarding #FixTF2:

Weezy (One of the biggest voices for #FixTF2 and spearhead of the protest):

Weezy's Youtube Channel

Weezy's Twitter

TheWhat Show (Similar to Weezy, outspoken supporter and spearhead):

TheWhat's Youtube Channel

TheWhat's Twitter

Shork (Outspoken supporter and generally active in the fandom)

Shork's Twitter

MegaScatterBomb (Creator of the TF2 cheater database and attempting to make a working anti-cheat for casual)

Mega's Youtube

If you discover new information, inconsistencies, broken/repeated/wrong links, etc., please speak up! Use the comments section, reblog with a comment or DM me!

[karuuhnia]

TF2 Chapter 7 - Karuuhnia's analysis

Christmas came early for the TF2 fandom this year, didn't it? (Well, it really came 7 years LATE if we're completely honest lol)

It was an emotional rollercoaster and had a happy, wholesome ending and conclusion for both the mercs and for us. Several mysteries from the past comics were resolved.

And you know me: I love to overthink and overanalyze every bit of lore and story that I can get my fingers on lmao

So here's my essay:

A) Solved mysteries

1. What the Administrator was planning

It turns out: There WAS no evil plan of world domination or whatever. Just pure hatred for a man who ruined her life - apparently. It's been so long she doesn't even remember the reason. But the thought of revenge was enough to fuel her every life choice.

And to think, it all could have ended in the 1850s already - if it weren't for smart-ass Gray Mann and his narcissistic tendencies to brag about his knowledge and plans. (How he himself figured this out is never explained.)

He was the one who introduced the Administrator to Australium in the first place, around 1850ish. If he hadn't told her that it could bring people back from the dead and prolong life, the senseless Gravel War would have ended with Blutarch's and Redmond's natural deaths.

Well, on the other hand we must be glad that the conflict didn't go on even longer.

Since Dell stated that none of his family members ever went into the room where Zepheniah was kept, the Administrator must have build all of that herself, right? That would certainly explain why it looks so crude and consumes so much Australium. I mean, look at this construction and then compare it to the one Dell built:

The Mark 5 machine gave her ~6 months of life for just a tiny flask of Australium. Imagine what would have happened if one of the Conaghers had improved Zeph's machine as well! She could have kept the zombiefied corpse in a living nightmare for many centuries more instead of burning through tons and tons of Australium so quickly. Good thing it didn't come to that.

2. Who helped the Administrator

Well, we didn't get a clear answer, but I think it's safe to conclude now that it was the Administrator's elite merc teams A-E that obtained all the Australium during the 6 months Miss Pauling and the TF2 team went off the grid. Which only further proves that the Administrator did not really care for Pauling at all and only came to her and her "team of rejects" as a last resort, after everything else had failed.

It's really heartbreaking how much Pauling admired her and wanted to be her trusted second-in-command while the Admin apparently never even invited her to the secret HQ. Nobody there even KNEW of Team Fortress after all. It was such a relief to see Pauling let go in the end and choose a free life instead.

3. Scout's second chance

Well, not really a mystery here, but I really like how Scout had an epiphany that there were other girls out there that would like him as he was and moved on from Miss Pauling. There was no heartbreak, no animosity, no rejection. They are still friends and support each other! I love it!

And then Scout even saved all of humanity by having sex with several women so that God wouldn't have to destroy the world! What a great, selfless guy he is!

I really love Spy and Scout after the time skip. No more bickering, no more annoyance, no more mean comments, just kindness. Spy is also so sweet to his grandchildren! ADSGFSDAF

I hope they all remain in contact and on good terms. Because let's not forget: Scout's health isn't good and he even has a confirmed death date. Which is only 8 years into the future of 1979.

All of his orphaned children would still be minors at that point. When it comes to that I hope Spy and Scout's Ma can take care of their grandchildren.

4. What Charles Darling and Maggie were planning

Darling stated he wanted to obtain Australium in order to make his rare animals immortal and in return he would get Saxton's company back.

The way Maggie always reacted to Saxton led me to believe she knew Darling was planning something ELSE and she felt bad for not telling Saxton and having to betray him in the end:

But turns out, I probably just misinterpreted Maggie's facial expressions. She looked so sad because she loved going on adventures with Saxton again and just hated the thought that he'd go back to Mann Co. afterwards.

I'm very happy that in the end Saxton let go of the company and spent the rest of his days punching wild animals with his true love! (Although he might have started a war again, now between Reddy and Bidwell lol)

B) Unsolved and new mysteries

However, as much as I loved the last chapter, I feel there are still a lot of things that were never cleared up or adequately explained.

So after re-reading every single comic and update page these are some other things I still find inconclusive:

1. Olivia Mann's mother

Not really that important to be fair, but still: Is she really the biological daughter of the 150 old mummy Gray Mann? If so, who is the poor woman who… mated with him and where is she now?

Or was Olivia adopted, abducted or grown in a lab? Well, at least she gets to live a happy and free life now and is provided for by the dad who stepped up. Good on you, Saxton!

2. Darling's knowledge

Back to Darling real quick: Why DID Maggie start working for her nemesis?

HOW did Charles Darling learn about Australium's properties and the Administrator's history?

There is also the fact that the Mann triplets' mother was a Darling!

These things were never brought up again! Whyyyyyyyy?????

3. What was all the set-up with the TFC mercs about?

The TFC mercs made several ominous remarks that made us believe there was more to them:

Both Virgil and Greg were trying to say something interesting, but then got cut off before the revelation. And especially TFC Heavy talked about dying as if it was an immediate danger to all of them. Sure, they were old, but they were still going strong, being able to kill all of the Admin's elite teams after all.

4. Fred's destiny (and identity?)

In Chapter 6 Spy disguised as Fred, trying to trick Virgil. After being found out, the two had this conversation:

Spy managed to impersonate Fred really well apparently. That means he must have studied Fred's personality, mannerisms and way of speaking before he went to Virgil. That also means he must have spent quite a while talking to and studying Fred. Did he and Sniper capture and interrogate him? But more importantly: What happened afterwards? Tbh, they probably just killed him off-screen after learning what they needed.

Because I no longer believe that Fred was Dell's father, as much as that sucks. It would have made for a great plot point and possible conflict within the team.

But Fred obviously had no idea about anything related to Australium or the immortality machines.

Since later on in Chapter 7 Dell says that neither his grandfather, his father nor he himself ever set foot in that basement, we can conclude that they all knew that the Administrator was hiding something nefarious down there. Which also means they WORKED for her and thus must have also worked on her immortality machine. So it makes no sense that Fred would not know anything about that if he really were Dell's father.

That still leaves us with the question: Why was young Fred in the photo with child Dell? Or WAS this guy even Fred?

I mean, a lot can happen in 40ish years between those two pictures:

But my new headcanon now is: These two are not the same person. TFC Medic had to replaced by our beloved Dr. Herbert Ludwig (still not over that name btw lmao), so who says the original TFC Engie wasn't replaced too at one point? TFC Heavy was very obviously worried about his friends dying one after the other.

Virgil said he knew Fred since before the war. So maybe after Dell's father died/left the team, Virgil told TFC Heavy about his old comrade Fred who also happened to be an Engineer. And only then Fred became part of TFC.

But as I said, that's just my headcanon. In reality it's probably just an inconsistency over the many years of convoluted lore. lol

5. Soldier's cave, covered in Australium

In A Cold Day in Hell Soldier and Zhanna have the following conversation:

First it's a stink-barn, then he claims to be homeless. But in Chapter 7 Heavy suddenly says that Soldier lives in a cave.

And it turns out there is tons of Australium in that cave! Now of course I wonder: When did Soldier move into that cave and where is it located? We were always told that Australium only exists in Australia. But I highly doubt this American patriot owns a cave in Australia. Also, how is it possible that the Admin and the elite mercs never managed to find this cave? Did they just not bother to look in America because all known Australium is in Australia?

So in return, does that mean that Australium is NOT exclusive to Australia after all? If so, there could still be hidden caches of the stuff anywhere on Earth. At least the Admin and Gray Mann are no longer around to collect it and Miss Pauling does not look for it anymore either. The only one who still has an interest in it is Charles Darling. Him again...

6. Soldier with the photo of the Mann family

Quick reminder: This is the only version of the family photo we'd seen up until this point:

But when Soldier and Merasmus are held by the mafia and the wizard asks him why he needed so much money, Soldier pulls out an intact, unteared photograph of the Mann family!!!

His thumb conveniently covers up the still unknown person standing in the middle. How did Soldier obtain this photo? How does he even know who everyone is, considering he's, well, Soldier?

Could he have any relations to the unknown person in the middle? And why DOES he need so much money (granted, it was only like 20 $ in the end, but still lol)?

Am I just overthinking this? Has anyone an explanation??? Is he and if yes, HOW is Soldier connected to the frigging Mann family??????

*cough* Anyway. This concludes my analysis of the TF2 lore. For now. If I come up with more things or if Valve ever decides to continue the story (That was a joke, haha, fat chance), I will come back to this. In the meantime, thank you for reading this and please feel free to share your own ideas and opinions! I'd love to read all of it! ❤️

[zarla-s]

Please don't take this as me being angry or trying to be rude or anything, but this ask is... baffling to me?? For a variety of reasons, haha.

Like, I don't set out to create a "fandom" around my stuff when I do things, I just do them cause I feel like it and sometimes I get lucky enough that people enjoy it and feel inspired to create or talk about it! I'm not really trying to fill a void left by one of these "fandoms" by making a new "fandom" around things I make, I'm just doing stuff.

The idea of a stockpile of interests getting too big is also bizarre to me? Like... for an example of both things, you can watch Stamp on the Ground, it's chock full of all kinds of weird obscure interests of mine I just put in there because I liked them, and I since have many many more. There isn't really a limit to how many interests you can have!

Mentioning abandoning TF2 is also very funny to me because I kind of already did that once?? When I started drawing it again in 2023 I was coming back to it, the last time I drew anything for it was 2009. Twelve years where I didn't even touch it! Starting up again was the last thing I expected and yet here I am!

Which relates to the greater point I guess which is that my interests and inspiration don't just die and disappear, they just go dormant. They're always waiting there for the right cue to wake them up, and I can never predict when it happens. TF2 is the most recent example! But Vargas is a long-running one, I take huge hiatuses from it where I don't write or draw or think about it for a long time, but it's always there in the back of my mind. I went absolutely nuts for it around 2020 and then it went back to sleep for the most part, but I still get ideas every now and then. It's not gone. It's just taking a break.

All the things I like and make stuff for are like that. There are a few I don't see myself coming back to any time soon, but then again I thought that about TF2 and now I've made the most elaborate site I've ever made for it. I can't predict these things. What'll be next? I have no idea. MGS again? StarCon2? Ace Attorney? Or maybe it'll be something new? Who knows!

And I think describing one of those "fandoms" as crumbling and dying is a bit unfair... I don't think of it like that. I mean, I started Vargas in 2003 and I last updated it in 2021 and I'm still hearing from new people that just got into it! All the stuff I've made is still "alive" in that way. I do feel guilty in that transition period between one interest and another because I feel like I'm disappointing people who followed me for that one thing though, haha. But what can you do? Gotta do my thing! Follow where my heart leads me! Not everyone's going to be along for the ride, and that's fine.

(Those of you have stuck around through all my different interests, I appreciate you deeply <3)

[bcdrawsandwrites]

[ID: A Team Fortress 2 fic banner featuring a silhouette of Pyro using the stock flamethrower and setting things on fire. Pyro is light gray with darker outlines, with its class symbol and canister markings in orange, and its lenses yellow-white. They are on a dark gray background with faint gray text behind them reading numbers from 999,996 to 999,999. The title is in the top right in yellow-white text on a darker background reading, "CHAPTER ONE: PYROMANCY." /end ID]

Flickering

Fandom: Team Fortress 2 Rating: K+ Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship Characters: Spy, Pyro, Engineer, Medic, Sniper Warnings: General references to trauma, TF2-typical violence Fic Description: After the events of the comics, the mercs try to go back to how things were, but it’s never that easy.

Spy can see his teammates going through their own struggles… but something seems to be very, very wrong with Pyro in particular.

And since no one else seems to be doing anything about this, Spy makes it his mission to get to the bottom of what is troubling Pyro. For no particular reason. Beta Readers: @mechmolar, @gonturan0, @junuve Notes: I have no idea what was supposed to happen in the final comic, so for the sake of my sanity I'm going to have the mercs go back to business as usual, somehow.

---

Chapter 1: Pyromancy Summary: In which Spy takes on a new mission.

---

After everything was said and done, the scars they endured were more than physical.

Sniper had been the first to admit it, quietly mentioning during the chaos between rounds the fact that he sometimes still felt the pain of bullets long-gone, and not the ones they endured from their usual matches.

(The matches had resumed, even after the death of all three Mann brothers. It was a touch of normalcy that they all needed.)

Heavy made frequent trips to Medic's office, not for any treatment, but just in case there was still some Australium left in that brute's veins and he came after them again.

Spy, meanwhile, had escaped unscathed and had absolutely nothing to hide from anyone.

But as for the others, this was, of course, all very normal. They'd all been through a lot of strange events—or stranger than usual—and a bit of lingering trauma was to be expected. Nothing to be concerned over.

Except for one thing.

Spy had noticed it during a match. An enemy merc had been preparing to sneak up on Pyro, who was removing a sapper from a sentry. But the second they got too close, Pyro swung around with its homewrecker, striking the merc again and again until they despawned. On the surface it had seemed little different from how Pyro usually handled things. Even so, something about the incident felt... off to Spy.

So he decided to keep an eye on things. During matches, whenever he could, he would take a moment to observe Pyro. He observed it charging into battle, firing its flare gun with impressive precision. Efficient, and yet...

Another moment he caught was when it had a brush with an enemy spy. The spy had just attempted to backstab Pyro when it swung around, striking with its ax and slashing, again and again. When the bloody remains disappeared, Pyro stared blankly at the red stain they’d left behind for a few uncomfortable moments before moving on.

At this point, Spy wasn't even sure what he was looking for, or why he cared, beyond the fact that it was his part of his job to study people's behavior should he need to imitate it later. No one else had taken notice of any of this—or if they had, they said nothing of it. If he just dropped the matter, likely no one would care, and they could continue to move past the mess from the past six months.

...But a little poking around wouldn't hurt. It wasn't like the Administrator was sending him off on any high-profile missions right now.

Engineer's workshop was meticulously organized, and a place Spy did not typically set foot in, for good reason. Instinctively he cloaked the second he heard the beep. The sentry's gun was trained on him anyway, but, recognizing a friendly merc, did not shoot.

"I'd say it's funny seein' you here, if I could see you," Engineer said, following his sentry's eyeless gaze.

With a snort, Spy de-cloaked.

Engineer's gaze darkened as he rested the Gunslinger over the top of the machine. "You ain't here to practice with those sappers of yours, are ya?"

"What? No. I have no need for that."

"Huh." Withdrawing his prosthesis, he relaxed slightly. "What can I do ya for?"

"I seek... information." Spy strode closer, idly lighting a cigarette. "You often work with Pyro, no?"

Engineer shrugged. "Well, sure. Don't need to explain to you how we collaborate on the battlefield. Sometimes collaborate here in the workshop, too. That fella's got a knack for makin' new flamethrowers, and it'll sometimes ask for my input." He tilted his head. "Why? You lookin' to partner with it for something?"

"Ugh, no." Spy shuddered. "No. I was wondering if you had... noticed its behavior on the battlefield as of late."

At that, Engineer leaned forward, rubbing a finger against his chin. "Lately? Mumbles's been doing pretty well on the battlefield. Better than I can remember, even." Shrugging, he sat back. "Guess it's been missin' the usual matches, pointless as they are, same as the rest of us."

Exhaling a stream of smoke through his nose, Spy looked the Engineer in the goggles. "And outside of battle?"

"Dunno. Haven't seen it much."

"Do you find this... concerning?"

"Nope." Engineer looked away. "I know I was pretty much out of the fray for all of that, but it sounds like all y'all had it pretty rough. Don't blame anyone for wantin' to take a bit of time to themselves. I'm sure it'll come around."

"Perhaps." Sighing, Spy turned, heading back toward the door. "I'll leave you to... whatever sort of contraptions you have here."

"What are you worried about?"

Spy stopped in the doorway. "What?"

"You ain't the type to come in to ask about someone for no reason."

Spy glared over his shoulder. "I worry about nothing."

"All right," Engineer replied, and resumed tinkering with the sentry. When the fellow merc said nothing more, Spy went on his way.

No, he was not worried. But as his mind wandered back to their short time imprisoned in Gray Mann's base, he was wondering. And there was someone else who might be able to satisfy his curiosity.

Medic's lab, in contrast to Engineer's space, was cluttered and chaotic, not helped by the doves nesting and perching wherever they could find space, nor the young baboon scampering around the floor. The sight of Heavy sitting on a chair made Spy pause, wondering if he was interrupting something, only to realize that the Heavy was only reading a book. He did not look up when Spy entered. The baboon, meanwhile, scampered up to Medic (who was studying something at his desk) and tugged on the hem of his coat.

"Ah, Aristotle. Did you find it?" Medic asked, bending down to accept a small red vial from the baboon's paw. "Let's see..." Adjusting his glasses, he peered at the vial's label, only to frown and toss the vial aside, where it shattered on the floor. "Aristotle! I told you I needed an O-positive blood sample, not another B-positive!"

The monkey, evidently named Aristotle, gave a sad chirp.

"Now, now, try again," he said, and shoo'd the monkey off. "Unless you want this experiment to fail, anyway." He watched the monkey scurry back across the room and run past Spy, and did a double-take. "Ah, Spy! I didn't hear you come in."

"I should hope not, or else I'd be doing my job poorly." He sidestepped the broken glass as he approached.

"Are you recovering well from your emergency blood transfusion?" Medic asked, flipping through some papers at his desk.

"Actually, I had a question about that."

The Medic's face lit up. "Ah! You're in luck!" Setting the papers down, he gestured excitedly toward a series of vials lined up in front of him. "I'm currently working on a method of separating different blood types that may have gotten—hmm—mixed together, by some means, and I needed a human test subject to—"

"No."

Medic's expression immediately soured. "Oh." He turned away, flipping through the papers again. "Well what do you want? I'm very busy."

"You also performed an emergency transfusion on the Pyro, did you not?"

"Oh, yes!" Medic smiled as he held up a paper; Spy was able to spot the Pyro's class symbol on it. "Yes, it's always fascinating working with that one."

Spy didn't have to ask what was fascinating about the only non-human mercenary on their team. "Did you notice anything... unusual when you performed the operation?"

At that, Medic scratched his head. "Well now... I was quite busy at the time, trying to prevent everyone, including you, from dying from blood loss, you know. I didn't have time to focus on the details."

"But you did open Pyro's suit to slice it open and fill its chest cavity with blood."

"Yes, yes. Your point?"

"And you didn't see anything strange when you did this?"

Medic clicked his tongue. "I told you, I had no time to focus on the details!" Sighing, he turned back to his desk. "Besides, it's hard to notice anything past all that soot."

Spy paused. "Soot?"

"Yes, it gets everywhere," Medic replied, as though that had answered the question. "Anyway, why do you ask?"

Tempted as he was to ask about what on earth lied beneath that suit, he held himself back, and very nearly shot back a "classified" at the doctor. However, something else struck him, and he hummed. "You worked with those other mercenaries for a time. Were you familiar with their pyro?"

"Oh, Beatrice?" Medic chuckled. "Yes, she was an interesting one. Quite sadistic, I would say. But what does this have to do with—?"

"She interrogated our Pyro for an extended period of time, and I am wondering if this may account for its strange behavior."

"Strange behavior?" Medic echoed, then laughed, the noise grating on Spy's ears. "No, our pyromaniac is just as crazy as it ever was, in case you haven't noticed! Perhaps you could do with a head examination." In one swift motion he retrieved a clipboard. "I could put you in for next Tuesday—"

"No, thank you." And with that, Spy strode out of the lab, nearly stepping on Aristotle's tail on the way out.

As he crossed the base, he tossed his cigarette to the ground and stomped on it as he passed.

This was ridiculous. Was it not obvious to anyone else? Or was he really just looking for something that wasn't there?

He found himself glaring out a window, staring out at the desert. It was growing dark, now, and he had no reason to be hanging around here—several of the other mercs had already gone home, or to whatever hole they slept in.

The hair stood on the back of Spy's neck, and he whipped around to see someone staring at him from the other end of the hall. He shuddered. "Don't do that."

"Am I not allowed to look at people without a scope up to my eye?" Sniper asked, approaching Spy. He held a cup of coffee in his hand that fogged up his glasses as he brought it to his mouth. Nonetheless, he joined Spy in looking out the window. "You're here late."

"As are you." Spy glared out into the darkening twilight. "Don't you have a van to sleep in?"

"Don't much feel like sleeping," Sniper answered, taking another swig of coffee.

"Then go somewhere else to produce your jarate."

The Sniper only heaved a sigh. "Went to the phone again."

"Yes, very exciting." Spy continued to glare out the window before it struck him what the man was talking about. His annoyance quickly melted. "...Oh." He hesitated for a moment before glancing at Sniper. "My apologies."

"Been a minute since I've done that," he said, and shook his head.

The two stood in awkward silence for a moment.

"...Since you're here," Spy said, "perhaps you could help me with something."

With a lifeless shrug, Sniper did not look away from the window. "Shoot."

"Tempting as it would be to kill you right now, I must decline," Spy said, eliciting a chuckle from the other merc. "Have you paid any attention to Pyro on the battlefield?"

"Some. It watches my back sometimes. Why?"

"Have you noticed anything... strange about it?"

"Hmmm." Sniper turned to face him, and Spy nearly got his hopes up. "Why, have you?"

Spy grit his teeth. "At this point, I'm starting to wonder. Its behavior seems unusual to me for some reason, but no one else in this stupid base seems to think so."

"Everyone's been actin' different, mate. Including you."

Something snapped, and Spy pounded a fist against the windowsill. "Can you answer the question or not?"

Sniper was silent for a moment before he tipped his head back, draining the rest of his coffee. "If somethin's up with Pyro, it hasn't said anything to me about it."

"You—!" Spy sputtered, but Sniper was already leaving. He glared after him, fuming, before spinning around and storming toward the base's entrance.

But as he neared the door, he froze.

It hasn't said anything to me about it.

That was it.

The next day, during their match, Spy kept a closer eye on Pyro than before.

The merc was charging through the map, blasting its flamethrower at anyone and everyone who came near it. If a fellow merc was ever on fire, it quickly put them out before going straight back to setting everything else on fire.

Months ago, when committing such atrocities, it would typically be giggling and laughing and whooping in glee as it stormed through the burning destruction.

Now, it was dead silent, its movements sharp and hurried as it set every enemy in sight ablaze.

Spy, who was cloaked, nearly gave himself away, laughing as his suspicions were confirmed. Yes, something was for sure wrong with Pyro, and he was not going crazy. Satisfied, he resumed his role in the match as normal, decloaking and backstabbing a soldier that the Pyro had missed.

But as the match came to an end and the team returned to their base, it dawned on him: Yes, he'd confirmed that something was wrong with Pyro.

But he still didn't know why.

[coolfireguy73]

Hello everyone, I'm... back ?

For anyone that may interest, it's me AG. You probably forgot about me.

Hi !

First of all I wanted to apologies. I don't didn't have that huge of a following but for the few people that followed my stuff and liked my AUs, I'm sorry I have essentially disappeared.

I have a few things to say about why I did and I will announce something regarding the Child mercs AU at the end of this.

So if you are not interested in anything else you can skip to "It brings us to today" further down.

For everyone else (not many I assume):

When I discover something new, a new game, a new anime or whatever, I may hyperfixate on it. I'll only talk about it, I'll only draw fanarts of it etc... Like TF2, this was one of my hyperfixation.

I say was because , for some reason, I can only hyperfixate on one fandom at a time. I can have a lot of things I like and care a lot for, but when it comes to the things that dictates my life and art (Like TF2 did) I can only have one.

I don't know why, I've always been like this and I kinda hate it at times.

Anyway, like you may have seen from my last posts, before leaving I fell into the JJBA fandom.

This was (and still is) my new hyperfixation.

I could literally feel it replace TF2 in my mind. And I hated it.

I still love TF2 dearly, but it had been... "replaced" in a way.

I had a lot of unfinished projet I knew a would have a harder time finishing because I had moved on to something else.

I tried to continu the comic twice. And both time the file got deleted.

I lost what little will I had to continue it.

An I'm sad about it. I hate it when I get invested in something that's unfinished. And I said multiple times that I would finish it ! That and the Cryptid AU.

But I never did.

It brings us to today:

I wanted to do this for a while and with the final entry of the TF2 comics finally out I figured now was a good time.

Even though I want to, I don't know when or even IF I'm going to finish drawing the comics.

THAT SAID, though the drawings aren't finished, the story, the description of what would have been on every page is !

It's been since before I started drawing it.

And I thought I could do something with it.

I can publish the last pages of the Child mercs comic in written form. Every drawing described and with the dialogue that should have accompanied it.

You'll essentially have the entire story, just, without the little drawings.

But only if you still care about it. And I know some of you did and even if only one of you want it, I'll do it.

It won't be the version I wanted, with my drawings, but if I never make them, at least you can enjoy the end of the story. And I'd hate to keep that from you forever.

Again I'm sorry for leaving, I figured you wouldn't want to see Jojo Fanart when I hadn't even finished my TF2 projects.

I'm still very grateful for all the nice comments I received, and maybe one day I'll come back with a few TF2 drawings to show you :)

P.S.: I never had a written thing for the Cryptid AU, I kinda want to rewrite it entirely but I'm working on another project. Though it's nearing completion so maybe I'll have time.

I mainly wanted to say, though I didn't have any idea where the story was heading, I did have an idea why they all became cryptids so if you want to hear about it too. Let me know.

Anyway, have a good one everyone.

And thanks for everything :)

-AG

[marksbear2]

HELLO MALE READERS

I’m back from my break, my old account was @marksbear/ so it’s a redo of my intro. So I can change things.

I’m officially gonna start writing here! So imma just gonna make a quick run down of who am I and how this is gonna work! 

My name is Mark! I’m 23 he/him and Pansexaul! Half Scottish and Brazilian 🇧🇷 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿!  English is not my first language!

 My favorite animal are Bears so don’t be surprised if you see alot of Bear related things on the blog. 

I’m going to write for a male/ gn/ Ftm(trans) readers, so anyone that goes by She/her She/they can go ahead and get out of here. So it won’t have any issues in the future.

I’m in a lot of fandoms like fox 9-1-1, interview with the vampire, Hannibal, Top gun, ANY SLASHER, The boys, Marvel, DC, Supernatural, Euphoria, What we do in the shadows and Our flag means Death. The walking dead, the last of us. And all of those are from shows and TV.  

BUT Thats not all I do write for video games like Overwatch, Tf2, Genshin impact, Call of duty, DBD,.

I can basically write for almost any fandom. DON’T BE AFRAID TO REQUEST SMUT 

Rule link- Here.

Fandom link- Here.

                                        JOIN THE BEAR CLUB

All of the claimed Anon emojis! 🦉 💤 ♌ 🦊 🧛  🐼 🐍 🐻‍❄  💀  ⚰ 🍀 🗝 🦝🐉🐇🫧 🐰💣🤡🦈🪲🍓🦎♐️🐙🐡

[feathernotes]

Hello! My name is Krispy, and I’m the co-creator of the webcomic Ghost Junk Sickness (along with @spacerocketbunny​) It's story time!

GJS is a webcomic published by Hiveworks and features two bounty hunters with an unstable dynamic who are pushed to pursue the deadly bounty dubbed the Ghost The current iteration of GJS is about 9 years old (and wrapping up next year!) It’s been an incredible journey full of ups and downs. We’ve learned SO MUCH creating this comic, and I wanted to share some of it’s origins with you all in hopes of inspiring more folks to take chances, make mistakes, and get messy- and make that comic!

The origin of Ghost Junk Sickness came from our love for Magic Knight Rayearth and Final Fantasy 7. Vahn, the protagonist of GJS, was basically a mash up of Hikaru and Cloud from those two series. The very first version of this story has unfortunately been destroyed, and this map is the only piece I have left of that world. Character art still exists though, and it was pretty funny to see how obvious we were with our inspirations at the time.

The original attempt at the story was called Crew, and my sister Space and I worked on it in 2002-2004. We sort of got lost in our own ideas after that, and weren’t as focus on making the comic (now lost). A few years later, I decided to try my hand at it and it looked like this:

This was all done on low quality paper, whichever I could find at the time and some pencil crayons. This attempt was over 600 pages long and had a pretty random story plot, much like the first version. I could not tell you what it was about haha 😅

My second attempt (then called Divine Ace) I wanted to look more 'traditional manga' and kept with just inks and tried my darndest to tone on the computer (it never worked out). This one lasted over 400 pages, and was more allinged with my liking to edgy action anime and games at the time. It was also Trigger's first appearance!

After experimenting and eventually wanting to change- I started to work with Space again, and we collaborated in full on our first fancomic for TF2 called "Be Efficient, Be Polite." It was a good lesson on how we could coordinate our shared skill sets and plan out who did what as far as the whole process of comics go.

All of these comics (save for the very first lost version) were hosted on DA the day we got our hands on a scanner. It was our first taste on being 'webcomic creators' back in the day, and it was very fun! We didn't much care for readers, only the process of completion at the time, so a page done was always a victory worthy to be celebrated (and back then, we had more time to make pages!)

And so, as the years went by and we decided to move on from our fandom roots, Space and I went back to the Crew/Divine Ace project and redesigned and overhauled the entirety of it. (You can see the full evolution here) We wanted to re-asses what the story, comic, and characters meant to us, and how we could convey some pretty important ideas and concepts to our potential readers. From that, Ghost Junk Sickness was born, and began pre-production in 2013.

Years after, we find ourselves reflecting on how much we've learned from the process of going ahead and diving in head first. There were certainly many iterations and years it took to get where we are today, but realising that it all began that day Space and I decided to scribble some pretty mediocire comics in our homework books and papers. Because that is the beauty of comics- The many skill sets, the hats, and challenges that come along with creating them. And how much we've become better at so many things along the way. So if you read this and feel nervous about diving head first into your first comic, I'm here to re-assure you that things will feel tough, but exciting. Things will feel really hard but amazing when you're getting your story out in front of you with such an incredible medium. Webcomics will always be my favourite because of how accessible it is to any skill set. And know in your heart of hearts that there ARE people out that that LOVE to see growth, they love to see the progression of your journey. So get out there and start creating that comic that's occupied your brain for so long, and start breathing that life into your OCs and your world. The only way is up with webcomics, and the only way to start is just by creating now.

[jamisonwritestf2trash]

HEYYY love the scenarios you qrite!!! if you do angst, could you do how every merc would react if a teammate they're close with (platonically) died in battle?

How Would the TF2 Mercs React to a Close Teammate Dying In Battle? (Angst!)

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Hi, I'm so glad to hear you like my writing 😭 also thank you so much for your ask! I do write angst, but most of the time, I tend to add a little bit of comfort just to keep things from getting too dark. I hope that isn't too big of an issue! But enough rambling, here we go :)

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ALSO, I don't know how to explain this, but some of the characters I associate with each other are ones I ship together or are well known ships in the fandom but, I think regardless of shipping, these characters have a close bond as friends and that's how I'm going to write them or at least try! (I hope that makes sense :D)

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TW: DEATH, VIOLENCE, LOSS OF A FRIEND(?), GENERAL ANGST BASICALLY!

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The mercs had an off feeling from the start. The battle had only begun but the other team we're fighting it was their last battle. All the mercs had at least one wound that would require stitches after the match. Then as the two mercs (whoever's in the head canon) cross paths, and a shot rings out, wounding them fatally.

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Demo- If Solider Died:

If he had been drunk when he stepped on the battlefield, he was sure as hell sober now. He immediately runs over to Soldier, fucking panicking like you wouldn't believe. He keeps trying to tell Solider that it's not so bad, that he can pull through, that it'll be okay, all well screaming for Medic to come and help. Soldier just takes his hand away from his wound. Demo tries to fight against him, but Soldier only tells him,

"It was an honor to fight by your side. See you in hell, Tavish." as he goes limp on the ground. Medic eventually makes his way to where the two lay, looking rather battered himself, and is immediately cornered by an enraged Demo.

"Can you fix this? Can you bring him back?" He says, trying his hardest not to break. Medic says he can, "Then fucking do it." is the only reply from Demo as he walks onto the field, forgoing his weapons. Fully intent on ripping the other team apart, limb from limb, with only his bare hands.

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Engie- If Pyro died

Engie never thought that you could see the light leave from someone's spirit, he thought you could only see it in their eyes, which was why he was half thankful Pyro wore the gas mask, he didn't want to think about Pyro dying, but it crossed his mind on more than one occasion, and he just kept thinking that maybe, if he didn't see the light leave their eyes, that it wouldn't hurt as much in the event that something tragic happened. He couldn't have been more fucking wrong. Pyro crumpled to the floor, blood staining the ground under them, taking shallow breaths, Engie swears that even though the bullet hit and killed Pyro that day, it also killed him. He immediately ran over, trying to find the wound to see how bad it was, hoping somehow it wouldn't be as bad as he thought. He received no such comfort. Pyro just reached for his hand, sqeezing it tightly, before moving a hand to their mask, pulling it off their face slightly, just enough to mutter the words,

"I'll miss you. You were my best friend." Engie would fix their mask out of respect before carrying them to Medic. The ground was coated in blood by the end of the match. You couldn't step in any corner without feeling the ground squish beneath your feet. And yet, still sitting on the battlefield, even after all the blood shed, Engie sat in the spot where Pyro died, trying to look for the light that had been lost.

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Heavy- If Medic died

Instant rage. Like flipping a switch, all hell breaks loose. With no Medic to heal, well, Medic, Heavy makes quick work of killing the enemy team, not worrying about the multiple wounds he was receiving while doing so. He only spares the other teams Medic, spewing every threat imaginable at him if he doesn't heal his teams Medic. The other team's Medic, for his part, is trying his hardest. Knowing full well that Heavy will uphold the threats, he tries and fails. The damage is too severe, the blood is gone, soaked into the ground, and he can't undo what's been done. (He's nowhere near as good of a doctor as Medic) Heavy doesn't kill him. He sees no need anymore. His death won't fix what happened, and he tried, he held up his end of their "deal," so to speak. He sits next to Medic's body, apologies slipping out every now and then, apologies for not doing his job, for not protecting him. It was his fault his friend died, and he has to live with that forever.

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Medic- If Heavy died

He knows, in his mind, that death isn't permanent, so he reasonably shouldn't be worried, but he is. He's worried, devastated, angry, and he's feeling more emotions than he ever thought a person could feel. He runs to Heavy's side, comforting him, knowing already that the wounds are too grave to be healed. He can only just be with him now. He's speaking a mile a minute, assuring Heavy that this isn't the end. He can and will bring him back, apologizing in between reassurance for not being able to heal him, not being able to stop the pain, apologizing for anything and everything. Heavy cuts him off,

"I trust you, Doktor. I believe in you, I will see you again, my friend. Goodbye for now." Medic didn't even realize he was crying until he felt his tears on his pants. Medic could and would have killed the other team, but he ordered his teammates to keep them alive, just make it so they can't escape. Screaming, begging, and cries to God would be heard from the medbay for months.

————————————————————

Scout- If Sniper died

Sniper wasn't even supposed to be there. He was supposed to be anywhere else. But he was there, and he was dying. Scout ran to his side, trying to find the wound, his basic first aid skills kicking in as he applied pressure wherever the blood was coming from, while yelling for Medic like he's never yelled before. Sniper just chuckled,

"What are you laughing at, I'm trying to help!" Sniper just pulls Scout's hand away and shows him the blood staining his hand and tape, and pointing to the blood pooling around the wound.

"It's no use." Scout just kept murmuring the word no. Sniper pulled out his keys with great struggle and placed them in Scout's hand, "Take care of the van for me, would ya?" Giving him a weary smile before letting out one last breath. His bat looked painted by the end of the day. Washed off his bat and then just sat in the van after picking up Snipers rifle and hat, putting them back in their rightful place. The van had never felt so empty and cold.

————————————————————

Scout- If Spy died (Scout thinks Spy is his dad but has no proof)

Scout felt a deep pain seeing Spy be shot down in front of his eyes, an unexplainable pain. He'd seen everyone on his team get hurt at least once, but somewhere deep in his gut, he knew that nothing about this was normal. He ran over to Spy, pulling off his coat and trying to find the wound, Spy just tried to shoo him off.

"Just let me die alone, Scout. I don't deserve to die in company, let alone yours." Scout is taken aback, utterly confused, and angry.

"Spy, I ain't letting you die alone. I'm not letting you die, period. I know we don't always get along, but I care about you, so I'm not leaving." He goes back to trying to find the wound, yelling for Medic to come and help. Spy just looks at Scout, flashes of all the things he never got to have or ever will have haunt him in his final moments, but Scout's willingness to get him help, or even just stay with him, heals something inside Spy. He reaches out, grabbing hold of Scout's arm, saying one final goodbye to the boy he wish he would have raised,

"I've always been proud of you, Scout. je t'aime mon fils, au revoir." (I love you, my son, goodbye)

The words hit Scout deeper than Spy could ever know. Assuming he was saying something to Scout, that would make no sense, but Scout understood French well enough to reply to the dead man.

"J'aurais aimé que tu puisses dire ça avant, au revoir papa." (I wish you could have said that before, goodbye dad.) Scout let his pain be known through the slaughter on the battlefield that day.

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Sniper- if Scout died

Instantly concerned at Scout's expression when he's hit. His face goes from his normal smiling and joking (albeit with a concerned look shining through from time to time) to a face of pure shock and terror. He runs over to Scout as quickly as he can, asking him questions to try and figure out how best to help him.

"Snipes, it's no good," He's coughing when he speaks, and his sentences are getting softer, "I think this is it for me." Sniper can't say anything. He just holds Scout's hand. Wishing he could find the words to express his fear of losing the bond he and Scout had built over the years. Expressing anything other than pained silence. Scout seemed to pick up on this, letting out one last quip, "Don't beat yourself up for not having any words, I don't think anyone could describe me. I'll miss you Snipes, make everyone else's lives hell for me, okay?" Sniper went cold, picking up his rifle, storming off to the best point he could find, and littered the battlefield with bits of brains and skull.

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Spy- if Scout died (Scout knows that Spy is his dad)

Guilt riddled the second he saw Scout fall to the ground. Spy had gotten into a natural habit of protecting Scout from most dangers, claiming each time that Scout was just lucky he happened to be around. But to see Scout be struck down because Spy was unable to protect him and made feelings well up in him that he had tried to bury. He ran to Scout's aid, attempting to help in any way he could, taking off his coat to soak up blood as well as using it to partially pact the wound, Scout let out a soft laugh,

"You'd really ruin your fancy coat for me?" Meant in jest, the joke hit Spy harder than it should have. Wondering if Scout really had doubts on if Spy would sacrifice his life for something as trivial as clothes. Scout saw the look cross Spy's face but didn't have the words to answer the questions floating around in Spy's mind. Scout just reached a hand out to Spy,

"It'll be alright, just uh," his voice breaks a little bit as he asks. "Tell Ma, I love her. She'll love to hear from you again and give here these. He says, handing over his dog tags. Spy looks shocked, wanting to ask when he found out, but Scout was gone before the words left his mouth. The battlefield will never be the same again, stained with corpses and blood. His butterfly knife will never be the same again.

———————————————————

Solider- if Demo died

Soldier never thought he'd see the day where Demoman would fall to the ground. His friend was so strong, so powerful, nothing could stop him. But there he was, on the ground, blood staining the dirt, and Soldier found himself being truly scared for the first time. He runs faster than he's ever ran before, getting to his side in an instant. He doesn't know what to say. He doesn't know what to do. He calls for Medic. Trying to somehow comfort Demo. He's never been good with words, wants to express. He knows how much this friendship means to both of them, how deeply they care for each other, he wants to explain this all, to make it known, but all he can say is,

"You're a strong man Demo, this little bullet wound won't take you down!" Demo just gives him a small smile.

"I don't think I'm coming back from this one, lad."

"Don't say that. It won't take you down. This can't take you down!" Demo just extends a hand, hugging Soldier before going limp in his arms. The battle wasn't the same after that. Men wept out of fear, seeing the carnage, knowing they were next to be slaughtered. The battlefield was covered in flesh and bone by nightfall, and he still wasn't done inflicting damage on the ones who took his friend from him.

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Pyro- if Engie died

They go numb. All the color drains from the world around them as they find themselves by Engie's side, heartbroken. Their friend, someone they've come to trust, and have a deep bond with, the only person that they believe can truly understand them is ripped away from them. Engie only looks up at Pyro with a sad face,

"I'll miss you partner, you were the best friend a guy coulda asked for. I was lucky to have you in my life." Tears well up in Pyro's mask, dropping out when they pull the mask off, just enough to be able to speak.

"Please don't leave." Engie raises a hand to their face, wiping away some of the tears.

"I don't think I have much of a choice in the matter. Don't worry though, we'll meet again one day, I'll make sure of it."

The body goes limp in Pyro's arms. The battlefield was scorched. Nothing was left by the time Pyro was finished with it. Only the other nine mercs, the ones who killed Pyro's friend, failing to find a place amidst the fire and ash. Finding themselves at the end of Pyro's flame thrower, pleading for anyone else to come kill them. No one listened. Scorched earth and nine piles of ashes were all that was left as night fell.

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Aftermath! (Short Happy Ending)

Medic managed to revive each merc after hours of tinkering with their corpses, trying every imaginable (and unimaginable) way to resurrect them. He won't tell anyone how he did it, but no one really cares too much. Tears and hugs are shed from many grown people that day <3

(Uh, if you're wondering how Medic came back, the Devil probably just didn't feel like dealing with him and sent him back lmao)

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Hell, hath no fury like a man who just lost his best friend.

Oops, I had to give Scout two because I originally had no one who cared that Spy died lmao. Anyways, I hope you like this Anon, sorry it took way too long to write. I uh didn't think it would be this long 😭

Silly little word count just for funsies: 2337 words, and it clocks in at nine pages in times new roman 12pt font double spaced, just incase you were wondering.

I. Am. Exhausted.

This took at least 4 hours. I'm not complaining, but like Goddamn. New post tomorrow, hopefully.

[aprofessionalwithoutstandards]

You are so real with the emesis blue thing. Dont get me wrong, i like it, i think its incredibly impressive that a bunch of people just got together and animated this whole thing in fucking source filmmaker, but people are treating it like how gumball fans treated that "lost" episode a while back. Anyways thank you for talking (and writing) about medic team fortress i eat up every post and fic 🙏🙏🙏

The thing abt Emesis Blue is that it's like. it's not canon LMAO it's a fan film. It's a very impressive fan film! But it's a fan film. And yet I see people in their "if you're new to the tf2 fandom!" posts recommend watching it when it's SO tonally dissonant from actual tf2 itself. Like, if you like Emesis Blue, you're not gonna be getting ANY of that in real tf2 lol. It's just disingenuous! Idk I don't go around treating sfms of Heavy and Medic having raw nasty sex in resupply as "canon." Although maybe I should!

[katy-133]

Whose Skeleton Is Who? (TF2 Comic #7 Preview)

Regarding the issue 7 preview for the Team Fortress 2 comic, I know I joked a while ago that we as a fandom are trying to figure out which skeleton is which merc like we're reading and analysing that one page from The Castle of Fear by Patrick Burston all over again, but I wanted to take a moment to actually go through each skeleton and tell you the observations I've made, since I've noticed others' interpretations have sometimes been different, which I think is very interesting as someone who likes to compare art interpretations for fun.

Team Fortress 2 pays attention to art principles like colour theory, strong silhouettes, and invoking art history, and that also includes the comics, not just the games, and invites you to draw parallels between things.

So without further ado...

Miss Pauling ^

The preview script we get to read notes that the first skeleton we see (before the wide shot) is Miss Pauling's skeleton, which is in a crawling pose. It's meant to parallel a pose she does with a group of other vultures in an earlier part of the comic:

(Image: Comic issue 6, The Naked and the Dead)

Script transcript of the image below:

PANEL 2 We pull back to reveal a SKELETON, half-baked from years of wind-blown sand. The skeleton looks like it was crawling AWAY from something. It lifts a single skeleton hand out to nothing. VULTURES lurk. Let's try as best we can to mirror the position of the body and vultures from the opening of Issue #6, so it's clear we're insinuating this is MISS PAULING.

(Image: Script preview by writer Jay Pinkerton)

Additionally, her skeleton has two vultures above it, squabbling at each other (I assume over who gets to eat the skeleton marrow), which parallels Redmond and Blutard (the owners of RED and BLU, respectively) fighting each other over land and Miss Pauling "playing both sides" by pretending to only work for one of them.

Scout ^

The skeleton is in a running pose, representing Scout being characterised as the faster runner. The skeleton also has a brown shoe, similar to a pair Scout wears in Expiration Date to impress Miss Pauling.

(Right image, above: TF2 Official Wiki, Argyle Ace)

Soldier ^

The skeleton has the right arm up, similar to Soldier's pose when he's carrying his rocket launcher.

(Right image, above: TF2 Official Wiki, Soldier)

Pyro ^

The skeleton with the missing hip bones (or are hidden in some way by the sand and tree branches). In anatomy, the hip bones are one of the easiest ways to identify the sex of an adult skeleton (owing to the width of the hips being different if there is a birth canal). Pyro is gender ambiguous. The legs are also crossed, which is seen as more feminine body language when a person is sitting. This matches Pyro's body language, since Pyro's canonically done foot popping (a term coined by The Princess Diaries) which is associated with women film stars during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

(Image: The Jungle Inferno Update, Day 3)

Demoman ^

The vulture is pecking out the left eye socket of the skeleton, which is the eye socket that Demoman got cursed upon by reading the Bombinomicon. This creates a kinda visual parallel to Prometheus from Greek myth being cursed to have a bird of prey (an eagle) feast upon him as punishment for giving the forbidden knowledge of fire to humanity.

(Image: Bombinomicon comic)

The left leg is also missing at the knee, or majorly separated from the rest of the body, and Demoman can have a peg leg on his left side in the game:

(Image, above: Weapon Demonstration: Bootlegger, video by OfficialTF2Wiki)

Heavy ^

The skeleton with the largest ribcage, fitting Heavy's body silhouette. The skeleton also dwarfs the skeleton to the right of it, which invokes Heavy's size compared to the other mercs (he's the tallest merc in a lineup).

Engineer ^

The shortest skeleton. Note that the forearms are either missing or hidden in the sand, which invokes the image of Engineer being an amputee (missing his right arm at the forearm) and being the shortest merc when they're all A-posing. The skeleton is also wearing boots, which Engineer wears.

(Image: Reddit post titled, anyone else surprised that Scout isn't the shortest Merc? by Ok-Mastodon2016)

Medic ^

The tall skeleton that has the vulture with its beak poised over the skeleton's heart. Medic surgically removed and replaced each of their hearts, which allows them to be Ubercharged.

(Image: Meet the Medic video by Valve)

Sniper ^

The skeleton with its back lifted up by a stone, creating a visual focus towards it. The vulture is standing over the skeleton, as if it had been pecking at the skeleton's back. This could parallel being backstabbed, and I'm deducing the skeleton as Sniper's because his class is designed to counter Spy, who is the class who does backstabs. This skeleton also has brown shoes, which could be Spy's, but could also be Sniper's if he wears shoes instead of (what I had assumed before were) boots. Another vulture watches over the scene, perched on a higher ledge of rock and focused on that skeleton. Similar to how Sniper likes to climb up trees and higher ground to have a vantage point to scope areas.

Spy ^

The skeleton with a hole through the skull. This looks like a bullet wound from a headshot by a Sniper (again, Sniper and Spy are counter classes to each other).

I know this scene could be a bait and switch and that these aren't the mercs. I actually assume that's what the context is--otherwise, it'd be a pretty upsetting comic! But I think it's neat that the writers and artists went out of their way to make each skeleton characterised like this. The attention to detail is amazing, even in just this one page preview!

[blubushie]

ngl, sometimes i look back on tf2 blogs that were active ten years ago and it really seems like the fandom was more fun and less stressful back then. nobody cared about characters' sexualities as much as they do now and they just shipped whatever! now people will give you a side eye if you ship anything that isn't the top most popular ship on ao3.

This is a general fandom problem. Fandom climate has massively shifted from what it used to be a decade ago and fandom police are much more strict. They used to just be the loremasters—someone who'd (sometimes aggressively) check other people on lore and such when they'd promote something noncanon as canon. But now it seems like most people in a fandom appoint themselves fandom police. You get fans of popular ships harassing people who don't ship their ship, you get wars between who can ship what characters even when it's not a case of extreme proship (you know what I mean). I've seen people refer to MedicScout as borderline paedophilia despite Scout being twenty-seven years old.

Everything has to be looked through a lens of "is this problematic or not", everything has to be consumable and marketable, and we wonder why fandom is dying. People treat fandom like they're selling something. You can't tell a story anymore without someone getting up your arse taking issue with it. What ever happened to Live And Let Ship?

Again, this isn't even restricted to TF2. This is unfortunately just the general climate of all fandoms now. In my experience, it gets worse as fandoms get bigger and new media for that fandom stops being made. People have nothing to consume so they start going a little stir crazy. Unfortunately policing other people is how some people feel they Do Their Part.

[homkamiro]

I LOVE THE TF2 MLP AU SM. it gives me sm nostalgia to when i was a kid and i and everyone in the fandom made pony aus of franchises we liked- im so happy cringe is dead and tradition is alive 🥹

ALSO THE INFECTION AU POST. GOOD SHIT;!;!!!!!!!!!! gore and body horror are inseparable from (hopefully only the mature part of) the mlp fandom and i felt so giddy jumping for joy kicking my feet up seeing that it had a resurgence!! Your post of this au with your tf2 ponies was my introduction to it!!! Nature is healinggggg

That post is BOMB. WE GOT: 1) HEAVYMEDIC ANGST. 2) PYRO & ENGIE ANGST. 3) BOOTS & BOMBS ANGST. 4) DADSPY ANGST. 5) SNIPER ANGST. ITS GIVING💅🏽💅🏽💅🏽 and the way the disease spreads differently for all of them is so creative!!!!!! Engie wants to sever the infected body part but cant cus its on his back and he needs medics help for that (and med is way too far gone to do any operation), and scout doesn't want his wings severed even tho that would save him cus he still wants to fly!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

also soldier misinterpreting the request is so good. And pyro wanting to help but not being allowed to cus they'd try to burn engie. Demo drinking himself to death cus he cant handle seeing his friend in the state that he's in. Sniper disappearing cus he wants to be with his parents during this horrible time even tho they have a strained relationship. Spy wanting his son to live through this so much that he's planning to sever his wings himself. And heavyyyyyy. Heavy breaking his heart everyday still taking care of medic knowing he's going to have to kill the love of his life soon. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Anyways sorry for fuckin. Screaming in your asks and basically just repeating what you wrote sgjdjd. I just really love this au (and especially that comic with scout, medic and engie!!!) and the infection au post made me so nostalgic to the early days of the mlp fandom that the adhd went mental and i had to shout about it lol- feel free to not respond to this! Youre awesome! Keep doing you!!!!!!

(also youre really good at drawing gore????? Hello teach me pls)

WHAT A BIG FEEDBACK OHMYGODヽ⁠(⁠(⁠◎⁠д⁠◎⁠)⁠)⁠ゝ

Anyway I'm really super puper glad you liked my au!! I was a little hesitant to post it, since AU in AU sounds weird but I'm glad I thought otherwise - cringe culture should be dead!! Mix your hyperfixations it's good for your health!!!

AND AHHHHGGGGGH You noticed so many details thankyouuu🥺💗💗💗The best thing about this AU is that every ship and brotp can work so well in this story. Engie first helping Medic but then ending up being also infected??? Spy checking up on Engie and making him eat since he's too stressed to take a break??? Demo, Heavy and Pyro comforting each other after loosing their friends??? Spy and Scout both raging on Sniper for leaving like a coward??? Or maybe Heavy, as an earth pony, comforts Scout after he just got his wings amputated??? So many possibilities!!

Don't worry, I love when people are noticing all the details and just get,, really invested into my stuff, it really brings me joy and you made my day so much better!!🥺🥺I feel honestly a little insecure, since my pony designs and thoughts may not be the best, but I'm glad that so many people still like my mlp×tf2 stuff!! It's really endearing to know that finally something I like making is also likable to you!

About gore -- I have no idea😭I love gore but it's a pain to draw properly and scary, you'd need practice and references (I mostly use art references since yknow,,,real photos can make me sick)

[donethatbeforelong]

Chapter 1: Love blooms on the battlefield

Fandom: Team Fortress 2 (TF2)

Pairing: Soldier/Engineer; Helmet party

Apologies for not having a good grasp of TF2 lore as well as characters. There will be some OOC here and there, but I'll try my best to stick as close to the character's personality as possible.

(Main centre: RED Soldier)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The air lingered with smoke and gunpowder, made heavier with the heat from the sun. To a weaker man, he would suffer from a heat wave. To Soldier, it was like a sweet kind of smell from fresh morning coffee or freshly mowed grass. The battle field had been his home and remained that way for a while now.

As the announcement from the Administrator blasts through speakers around the field, erupted cheers and applause can be heard from one side of the main ground. The RED team has once again secured a well-deserved victory for themselves.

Compliments being passed around the group were not a rare thing to hear, especially for team members who contributed most in battle. Soldier smiled to himself as he watched their opposing team from the other side, groaning and blaming each other for the loss.

"That's what ya get for messin' with us, ya bozos!" Scout shouted, gesturing to the BLU team across the field. Sniper chuckled next to him, throwing an arm around the shorter man and ushering him inside to hide away from the heat. "Olright, ya little wanker, toime to get back inside."

The BLU Medic didn't try to restrain himself from throwing back similar insults, seemingly shouting at the top of his lungs. The only reason Soldier didn't give mind to it was because half of the things he said were in his native tongue. However, their Medic did scrunch his face up to what he could only describe as disgust.

Soon, the Austrian quieted down and stormed past his team and entered their base. BLU Spy sighed and flicked his cigarette to one side as the BLU Heavy and Engineer followed Medic back inside. In earlier days when both teams first assembled, Soldier had mentally noted that they - the BLU opposing team - were often on the losing end.

"Mighty fine work out there, fellas!" Engineer said, dropping his toolbox and wiping sweat off his brow. Pyro replied with a muffled cheer before walking away with a little spring in their step.

Debriefing was excused for today as everyone went to their respective quarters or scrambled into the showers for some relief from the heat. Pyro was an exception among them, happily sitting on the couch in the living area. Their knees were pulled up and tucked under their chin - or, at least, that's where the chin is supposed to be - as they flipped through countless channels until something interesting came up.

Soldier waited outside the showers patiently for his turn. During those moments of waiting, Soldier occupied himself with polishing his boots or straightening out his coat. As he watched his team members enter and leave the showers, he took notice of Demoman's strange behaviour ever since the battle ended. He didn't act too much out of character, but more often than not he would look behind his back and check the time constantly as if he was waiting for someone to come.

Considering both teams' history with each other, Soldier often finds Demoman whispering something to his BLU counterpart every time he managed to dominate him. The creeping suspicion that Demoman might be fraternizing with the enemy team kept Soldier up at night. He never did bother finding out whether it was true or not, but it had gone on long enough that it made Soldier frustrated at times for no reason.

Today is the day he would prove that for himself. For the sake of his team and their paychecks.

The soldier was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't feel Scout poking his face multiple times. When he did feel it, the soldier grabbed the boy's wrist and held it there. His grip wasn't all that tight, but Scout yelped in surprise and pain.

"Geez man, lemme go!" Scout started pulling back, desperately trying to get his hand back. "I was just gonna tell ya that the showers are available now, dangit!"

The release was unexpected and it caused Scout to tumble backwards, nearly slip and hit his head. Soldier let a dry chuckle escape his lips before grabbing a towel and entering the showers alone. The stringbean of a man huffed out a frustrated sigh and left the locker room with muffled curses.

When the water from the shower hit him, it felt like several knots had loosened. It didn't water down the adrenaline that was still pumping through his body. His shoulders didn't relax, his legs and arms ached from rocket jumping all day. A scratchy feeling presented itself at the back of his throat from screaming all day, but he couldn't care less.

After the not-so-relaxing shower, Soldier dried himself and went through his usual routine of shaving and making sure he was in tip-top condition for fighting.

The rest of the day was a blur to him. He hung with Scout and Pyro around the television most of the time, only ever getting up for lunch, dinner, or to grab each other a snack. Sniper, Spy, and Engineer devoted themselves to a friendly game of poker that quickly escalated when they realized that Spy was winning way too many hands. Eventually, Sniper did accused Spy of cheating which was quickly debunked by the stressed out engineer.

The medic of the team wouldn't be seen anywhere else other then his infirmary, checking and making sure all the organs that he had collected was in perfect condition. Their heavy weapon specialist had stayed with the crazed doctor to provide him some company and occasionally slips in a story or two about either what happened on the battle field or his family.

The oversized helmet on his head prove useful when he was the only one who noticed their Demoman trying to sneak out of the base. Pyro and Scout was too occupied watching cartoons and comparing characters from the show.

After a few minutes of waiting, Soldier silently took his leave and followed Demo to wherever he's going.

Hiding behind any available walls and barrels, Soldier tried and tailed behind Demo as quiet as possible. On the way to.. wherever he's going, Soldier did encounter the BLU Soldier clumsily leaving his base with a crate of scrumpy under one arm. His helmet swayed a little when he rushed down the steps, a look of worry on his face.

Soldier eventually took his place behind a stack of crate and boxes, waiting for the right moment to strike.

RED Demoman settled down on the ground, knees pulled up and spreaded out. His elbows perched on top of his knees as he looked up to the sky, seemingly still waiting for BLU Soldier to come.

Upon hearing rustling footsteps, RED Demo turned around and a fond smile spread on his lips when BLU Soldier came to his side, gently lowering the crate in his arms.

"Glad ya could make it, lad." RED Demo said, throwing an arm around his best friend's shoulder. The BLU Soldier grunted in return, popping open a bottle and handing it over to the Scotch.

Throughout their quiet exchange, Soldier watched with gritted teeth. How can they possibly be so low on guard in the middle of the war? No less, he's fratenizing with the enemy!

His trains of thoughts were cut short when the sound of a twig snapping could be heard on his right. Looking over cautiously, his eyes landed on the small but visible frame of the BLU Engineer. The always presented yellow hard hat was gone, leaving his bald head exposed. Besides his usual blue button up, BLU Engineer now wore a baby blue hoodie that looked a bit too baggy for his frame. The tinted goggles were still there, but the shock and horrified look on his face was clear as day.

Just as Soldier was about to make a move to advance to the Texan, he had quickly fled back to his base. Figuring that the twig snapping might've alerted the other two, Soldier left as quickly as possible.

Luckily, he arrived back at the base before Demo did and retired to his quarters. Upon entering the privacy that his room provided, Soldier dropped limp on the bed with a single thought swirling inside his mind.

Did that engineer knew about their relationship before he did?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading! If you want a little short fanfic of your fav OTP or just something wholesome in general, send it through ask (remember to state what fandom, and add the genre - like hurt/comfort or whatever that's called - if you want!!!).

Might take a while before I update again.