#mcd discourse

[fruitcakebro]

I don't like the idea of Laurance being immortal. He never finished the ritual. He didn't kill Aphmau, so it seems wrong to make him so.

I mean, we established later in (the series I shan't name) with the relics that to make one life infinite, another must be sacrificed. And Laurance is many things -a lot of them not so great- but he is not willing to sacrifice his loved ones for immortality. He's proved that much.

And just think about it. Think about what a shadowknight transformation entails. He literally got taller and broader. That means his skeleton literally has to break apart and re-assemble, as well as every muscle and inch of skin in his body having to stretch out to accomodate this. That might be aproximately equivalent to having every nerve in your body pulled at once. Not only would that be horrifically painful, but it would almost certainly cause permenant damage. And then it reverts. Meaning that every time he enters an emotional state which would cause a transformation, he has to go through that again.

Meaning he technically has an ace up his sleeve, but it has terrible consequences for using it. Not to mention that immense pain and physical trauma like that tends to create mental adverse effects as well. And he never has the time to stop and address any of it, because when the transformation happens, it's because there are outside circumstances nessesitating it.

So he's just slowly being physically and mentally destroyed by this transformation, because he's using the powers of a Shadowknight, while not in a Shadowknight's body.

Not only does that kinda help to balance a lot of his sorta OP-ness later, I feel like it makes the rebellion in the nether a lot more interesting. If he can die, and all the immortal Shadowknights he's fighting are just spending the whole time wondering how the actual fuck they're losing to this random guy. The primary working theory is that he's just so annoying that reality tries to avoid him.

But like, that might be a better opening to his piss-poor madness arc. Like, in canon his first transformation was the first major symptom of it, but it might be more interesting to examine it as a possible cause.

This thought process is incomplete, and I absolutely welcome discourse on it. I just needed to write it down while I had it.

[dilly-dahlia]

hi!!! what happened with Laurance's old VA? sorry i've been out of the loop for a while 😭

thank you!!!

hi!! idk if i’m the most qualified to answer this since i don’t have the most information and it might not be accurate so if anyone else wants to add please do!!

from what i know: a while ago (i’m talking MyStreet season 1/2) Sebastian Todd used clips from Aphmau’s Phoenix Drop High series for a blooper video he posted and it made Jess and Jason upset since he didn’t ask permission so they kind of ghosted him and Laurance wasn’t seen for a while the first time. i think during this time he filmed a live stream where someone asked if he’d ever come back to be Laurance and he said something along the lines of “Jess was a terrible boss and I hated working with her” (not exactly what he said, but a summarized version)

also during this time he was complaining about not getting jobs for voice acting which is kind of looked down upon in that community so i think that’s why people didn’t hire him too?

but anyways, obviously he was rehired because Laurance came back for MyStreet season 3 and MCD Rebirth, but someone (i don’t know who) said that he was just a toxic person and very difficult to work with

I’ve also been told that he had some mental disorders and they all sort of piled up and a couple years ago he had an episode and attacked some of his fans on social media, so…

I’m not sure what he does now but from what I’ve heard he’s changed his name and has assumed a more gaming/work out brand for himself. I’ve also heard he makes adult content now but I’m not 100% sure on that since I haven’t (and don’t want to) looked into that

again i’m not the most qualified person for this and basically everything i just said is word of mouth!! if i’m wrong about something please correct me respectfully and if you know more about Laurance’s original VA please add to this post!

regardless to say I think DJ Hansen (the VA who voiced Laurance in Jessica’s anniversary video) did a phenomenal job and I hope we get to see more of him!!

EDIT: here’s a bit more from the comments!

EDIT 2: here is another post that explains way better than I did and also brings up more recent points I was not aware of so check it out!

[qwordavoider]

I feel like I need to add a disclaimer every time I say I thought a recent episode of 911 was done well *within the context we were given. Some of the latest episodes are good because the writers were able to take the shitty writing/pacing from storylines prior in the series, and make the best of them.

Examples below the cut (mcd)

Like in 8x15, I thought the episode was well done and did Bobby’s end justice. More of my thoughts on that here. But I do wish we had seen more of Bobby interacting with May and Harry this season in the lead up to his death. Or more scenes with Bobby and other characters in general (and less time spent on Brad). Hell I didn’t miss having Eddie in the episode, him being there wouldn’t have made sense because he was in Texas. But I think Tim should’ve dealt with the conflict between Eddie and Christopher a lot sooner in the season. Then Eddie could’ve theoretically come back to LA and been with the team at the lab.

Or with 8x11, they were able to take the tevan breakup (which a lot of us had issues with) and create a hookup storyline that gave us more miscommunication and insecurities. It helped reveal Tommy’s potential motivations for the breakup and helped us understand him better.

There’s probably more but these are just the couple that came to mind first.

[notnowtobey]

If they were going to kill Bobby, they should’ve done it last season.

[flintsjohn]

i haven’t really been watching the show since 8.06 but i’ve been lurking around fandom and keeping up with storylines and the thing that gets me about yesterday’s ep and mcd is like. it could’ve happened last season. it could’ve happened after bobby spent several episodes facing his past and trying to make things right and then has a heart attack while trying to save his wife. and instead they went for a death where yeah, he’s saved his team, but he’s completely isolated from them and can’t even properly say goodbye? and there was no lead up to it except in the episode right before? idk that’s why i can’t really make sense of it (i mean, i can, the show isn’t the best written) and that’s why i was so convinced it was a cover up, but then the goodbye posts hit and i’m just. 😐

[nottoofondofgaypeople]

The Most Important Polycule

The one that started it all. Irena is a poor girl who has run from everywhere she's known. All that she knows about people and how to be one is from watching, and she's usually content to just bounce around wherever she does, until she lands in Phoenix Drop, a village so down on their luck she can't help but want to help them.

She doesn't officially take the lord position for quite some time, but she starts using her strange random skills she learned from drifters and wanderers to help these people. This naturally brings her to Garroth, the former head guard, who's keen on keeping her safe because she's just a very kind person. Garroth quietly thinks she'd make a good lord, but he never wants to push her to that.

Laurance is introduced in almost the exact same way. I mean it. The full head of hair, obnoxiously green eyes, the so called Cassanova of Meteli. The most flagrantly bisexual man. Laurance is the first person to show outright and very direct interest in Irena, which she's never experienced. Most people are very subtle about it, or don't express it at all because she's well. She's kind of weird. And doesn't always get what they're saying. She's actually just autistic and doesn't know how love works because nobody's explained it in a way that makes sense to her. And Laurance doesn't quite get what her vibe is but she's really fucking pretty, and also not afraid to give him a piece of her mind but in a light hearted way.

A lot of Irena's early interactions have her express herself in rather comedic ways, like she's super witty, because most of the people she learned from were bards and con men. She can be off-putting to some, but to Laurance? A girl who he can say romantics to and she'll respond with some cheeky retort that isn't an outright rejection? And she's beautiful and could maybe beat you in a fight?? Irena is the girl of Laurance's dreams.

And Laurance is always a fiercely dedicated person. He's known Irena for three weeks, and yet he'll still go into the pits of hell by her side. Laurance has read so many romantic poems and stories, I imagine that ancient Greek literature still exists in this universe, and he's read the tragedies of men who thought they could walk through hell and back safe and sound. He knows that Orpheus always turns around to see if Eurydice is there, but he's confident that they won't have to do that. He's confident he'll walk out of hell hand in hand with her.

No, what happens to them is worse. We all know the story. In order to save the life of one of his closest friends and the life of one of the most mystifying people he's ever rapidly fallen in love with, Laurance actively and willingly sacrifices himself. Irena returns to Phoenix Drop days later and when she finds Garroth at the guard station, she just collapses into his arms and begins weeping.

He's caught her crying before, but never like this. She's never completely fallen apart. He doesn't even know what happened, and she's too wracked with guilt to say anything at first. She knows how Laurance felt. She doesn't know what love is exactly supposed to be, but she knows what it looks like. She's seen people fall in love by staring at one another from across a fire pit. She could tell on day two that Laurance was falling hard and fast, and she was honestly scared the same might be happening.

Now she can't even bring herself to admit it out loud because he's gone, and in her eyes, it's her fault. Oddly enough, once she's able to admit some of what happened, omitting certain details about the nature of her and Laurance's relationship, Garroth is actually able to empathize with her. He isn't very direct at the time, but he gives her advice on how to use her grief as a motivator. Laurance sacrificed himself for her sake, and he would want her to keep moving forward.

Content Warning (y'all knew this was coming): Torture

What ends up being a brief period of time without Laurance, only about two months or so for the Overworld, is far far longer in the Nether. Laurance was planning on dying a warriors death, but after he suffered a nearly killing blow, he was kept alive, and dragged back to The Shadow King's castle. The Shadow King is only a phantom at this point, a pitiful version of his former self. But conscious enough to give orders, and to allow Gene to do what he wanted with this Shadow Knight. Let him prove himself.

So Laurance gets tortured. A lot. And is forced to become a shadow knight without dying. Which the Shadow King didn't even think was possible?? How tf did he fuckin do that, fuckin wizard. The entire process is unbearably painful, and Laurance's only solace are memories of Irena, some other prisoner he gets to talk to on the other side of the cell wall, and oddly enough, memories of a guard he hadn't seen in... years. At his lowest moments, Laurance wishes he could see Garroth, wonders where he is, what's happening in his life, if he managed to get the head guard position he rightfully deserved in some thriving village.

It's the last persons name he starts crying that finally breaks him. Laurance starts thinking about his family, about everyone he's lost, everyone he's going to lose is he dies here, and everyone he might lose if he somehow makes it out alive. The existence of shadow knights is contradictory by nature, and it's starting to break Laurance down. He starts to lose his sense of self. It's only when he weeps at the memory of a young boy finding a wounded wyvern in the woods that something finally happens.

Within seconds the wall is broken into, Laurance gets grabbed, and he's suddenly flying through the Nether in his best friends mouth. And going through the open rift between realms? One that was forcibly opened with the life essence of an immortal under dire circumstances? Laurance was not pretty when Irena and Garroth found him. He was malnourished, a little too pale, so many scars, his hair was all fucked up, and when they first found him, he just wasn't breathing.

Eventually Zoey is able to get his condition stable, but Irena refuses to leave his side until he wakes up. Laurance is out for a few days, and she's dedicated to being there when he wakes up. He has to. If he dies, then both his death and Ungrith's are her fault, and she can't let it end like that. He has to wake up. He has to.

When Laurance finally wakes up, he only notices he's blind because he can hear Irena's voice but can't see her face. But he can feel her hand in his. She's alive. His sacrifice wasn't meaningless because she's still alive. This is the point that we really get the ball rolling, and the point that I take the canon story out to the back alley to be violently beaten to death.

When Laurance desperately confesses his love to Irena, she remains quiet. She listens, and only when his breathing starts to even and the panic has subsided a little does she simply mutter the words "I missed you too Laurance."

"Would you say you loved me?" She has to think for a minute. Lots of people have tried to quantify love to her, explain how it feels or what it looks like, and despite best attempts, Irena still struggled with the concept. But when she sees Laurance's beaten form nearly crying, iron grip on her hand, and the weariest smile on his face, she sort of just gets it. Like it's the most obvious thing in the world that she loved him from the first back and forth they had while walking to Castor's house. Suddenly she can see the appeal of spending all her time around another person.

"I suppose I do."

As for Garroth falling for Laurance, I've covered this on my main blog twice before so I'll simplify it here. Laurance has repeated nightmares/night terror related to his experience in the Nether, and when Garroth is comforting him after one, he realizes this fool of a guard he met in the academy all that time ago is still taking up so much space in his mind.

He realizes it's love, and starts freaking the fuck out because Garroth?? Loves two people?? And one of them is a man???? What the fuck is going on??? Unlike my previous musings, there's a lot more time dedicated to this. Laurance's recovery is slow, and while Zane does interrupt this time, when he's gone there's even more time for Garroth, Irena, and Laurance to all just sit with these emotions.

(Trust me I have a lot to say about how I'm handling Zane and what he does to the story in this rewrite, but that is an essays worth of a post unto itself)

Maybe talk about them with their loved ones. Obviously Garroth doesn't talk to anybody at first, but Irena might go to Zoey. Tell her how she's feeling and Zoey has a faint ache in her heart because she still can't bring herself to admit she feels that way about Irena. Laurance talks to Cadenza about how happy Irena makes him, and how much he wants to share that with Garroth. She nearly whacks him over the head and tells him to just fess up to them already, stop talking to her about it when he clearly understands how he feels. Laurance always does, he's just got a lot of room for improvement in communicating it.

And one day when they all manage to have a day off, Laurance sits the two of them down at the docks and the three of them just talk. He spills his guts to them, tries not to be too emotional about it, fails miserably, and they just sort it all out. No need to hold it in, no need for Irena to deny them this time, and even if Garroth faintly thinks this is a waste of time at the start, when Laurance very directly says that he's in love with Garroth, that opinion very quickly changes.

Irena freely admits she doesn't have a lot of experience with love or relationships, but she knows that she feels love for both of them, and she'd like to try something. Even if it's quiet. Even if they have to hide it so Zane doesn't try to use it against them. She wants to try. And well, Garroth really can't say no to them. He's still faintly terrified of being emotional and vulnerable with people, even though he's already been this way with both of them. He's still so paranoid it'll get them hurt.

But he'll learn to let down his guard for them. They're worth it.

[mcythottakes]

SO true!

Horrible that Tommy is still being raked over the coals for an innocent joke and yet Jess/cc!Aphmau is still there and being treated like a darling despite all the awful things she did

they shoulda let him say “i get lesbians” in the movie

[hostilecandle]

Okay fellow fic writers, we need to have a little chat. I really need yall to understand that Ao3 is not a social media site, it is an archive. And because of that there are 2 big things I am begging you to grasp

1) You do NOT control who reads your fics. It is getting increasingly often I'm seeing "minors dni" and "proship dni" on fics on the archive. Yall... that is not. how. archives. work. You don't get to choose that. The second you consent to your fic being posted in an archive you have consented to anyone reading it. That is how an archive functions. If that is a problem or sticking point for you or makes you uncomfortable, don't post there. It's simple. There are basic and common sense rules that apply when using an archive, and the ability for anyone to read what's posted to archival site is one of them. Imagine if you went through a physical archive in a library or at a college or wherever and they had signs saying "X do not read/interact" yall would recognize that as wrong and stupid. Recognize it in yourself as well

2) I need yall to understand what tags are actually for. They're not for triggers, contrary to popular belief and discourse. Though can be used as a very helpful tool for it. They're there, and im sure I'm beating a dead horse saying this again, BECAUSE ITS A FUCKING ARCHIVE. Do yall not understand how those work? Tags are for filtering so people can find. what. they're. looking. for. This is why it's important to tag things like blood, gore, mcd, fluff, cheating, marriage, whump, happy endings etc. It's why its a bullshit argument to say "I don't want to spoil it" (apart for the massive ethics problem that is you weirdos) that's not what an archive is for. Post it here, or wattpad, fanfic or live journal (if theyre still functioning) or in a long af threadfic on twitter. Hell, post it on fb or insta for all I give a shit. But if you want to play by social media rules, post it on a social media not an archival site.

And I've seen the argument that "published works aren't held to this standard" and 1) you're work isn't a published book and 2) YES THEY ARE. When a published work is added to an archive, they also have to be properly labeled. Why the fuck do yall think they dont??? Sure if your fic was on a Barnes and noble shelf, you wouldn't have to say or "spoil" it. You don't even have to do it here on Tumblr, though I frankly think it's an absolute dickhead move. But anything in an archive is labeled or "tagged". Otherwise it's just a mess of words that no one can seperate from each other. You'd be creating a library of babel without it.

So tldr: learn what an archive actually is, stop putting '___ dni' on your ao3 fics, and tag. your. fics. and stop complaining about it in said tags for fucks sake 😭😭😭

[that-one-i-think]

MCD KAI LORE TIME!

(I am a firm believer of giving Meif'wa facial hair/stubble. They're cats. FURRRR! Give them body hair) Please give me your thoughts on the lore and stuff! I am starved for attention, validation, and discourse!

Kai is the nephew of the current king of Tu'la. Their family comes from an offshoot of the main branch family of the Northern Tu'la kingdom who didn't get the big cat tiger gene, or "blessing," but rather are normal domestic meif'wa. This meant that they wouldn't be viable for the throne since it has to go to a tiger, but when the main family got sick and died, a miracle happened when Kai's uncle received the tiger's blessing in their wake. A fortunate miracle, for while it was incredibly rare for the branch family to get the blessing, it had happened before.

The branch family was then moved into the palace and took the positions of the deceased members, and the new Young King took the throne. Four years into his rule, Kai was born and was then labeled a possible inheritor of the throne after his older siblings. He grew up with an amazing education while learning how to navigate the politics of Northern Tu'la. His uncle, both seeing and fearing of Kai's talents, sent him to Southern Tu'la to stay with their royal family as a way to… tie the two nations together when he was 15.

Kai thrived in this environment and became an advisor by the age of 17 (Kinda Zane Coded). He eventually became rather beloved by the Southern Tu'lanian community and became a staple in the southern capital of Solspear. Unfortunately, his intentions did not stay kind as he started feeding his uncle information, becoming the king's favorite and further securing his chance of being next in line for the throne. The kindness he was shone was overshadowed by the thrill of power.

When he was 20, he aided in the invasion of Southern Tu'la by the North. He poisoned the royal family with something he only thought would have made them so sick that they would have had to surrender peacefully, but his uncle was not that kind. Kai watched what was said to be a quick and peaceful overpowering turn into a massacre as both Northern Tu'la soldiers and the recently aligned O'kasis soldiers slaughtered the people of which he considered his. The last look of his host family's eyes was utter betrayal as every orifice of their body leaked blood, trying to escape the boiling temperatures.

He, who was once a beloved child advisor, became a symbol of betrayal and hurt, earning the nickname "Scorpion" by the remaining southern Tu'la people. His uncle was incredibly proud of him but was fearful of his ambition, so for the first two years of his reign, he sent Kai around Southern Tu'la to burn down any temples of Menphia left and gather up all of the warriors and remaining soldiers to send to the newly formed Gladiator Pits. A distraction so Kai wouldn't interfere with him overtaking O'khasis after he killed the O'khasis soldiers that helped in his overtaking of Tu'la.

Kai did his job and shoved all emotions deep down, choosing to display aloof behavior to cope with his actions. Realization came crashing down when he returned from his expedition to see children no older than 12 fighting in the pits for entertainment. Orphans convicted of the crime of stealing bread because he burned down the temples housing them. (One of these kids was in fact Liochant, or Lais at the time.) He then decided to help free the gladiators by playing into the game. (Age 22)

He created a new sort of playboy persona, one where he found a love of gambling and a penchant for the underdog gladiators. His uncle took notice of his disinterest in the throne and encouraged Kai's new behavior, allowing him to have almost unlimited money and access to trades. Kai then started buying gladiators who were on their last legs due to injury or were no longer viewed as entertaining and either turning them into his servants or revamping them, though it wasn't uncommon to see people go missing under his care. As most benefactors of gladiators, he had no qualms of disposing them how he saw fit, though unlike others, his disposal method required a lot less blood but a ship out of the country.

When he was 31, he acquired Liochant, or Lais Ravanah Havilah, aka Lais Seshadri, the Pit Viper of Solspear. Liochant, who was 20 and a half years old, had been practically given to him by one of the crueler benefactors after Liochant had refused to kill a child shadow knight in the pit. Kai pitied him and wanted to… disappear him as fast as possible, but at the time he had no gladiator, so he used Lio. He helped heal Liochant from his previous treatment while still having him fight for him and be arm candy for whenever Kai needed for the galas. When Liochant was 22, he managed to get a newer gladiator on his hands, and suddenly, his little Lais broke a family heirloom and had to disappear one night. Liochant then woke up one morning on a trade ship with 2 trunks full of clothes, his khopesh, and enough coin to last a few months.

Kai's operation continued until he was sent to watch over the troops in O'khasis after the prisoner and former Lady of O'khasis, Zianna, escaped.

I essentially made Kai a sort of foil to Zane. Both characters manipulated into doing horrible things for their father figures for power and favor, except one regretted it and the other did not.

(FYI - Liochant hated him and still hates him. Kai's helpful actions did not get rid of his previous actions and the ways he still used Liochant for gain/cover. If it came down to it, Kai still would have put his life before Liochant's. Also he is the reason why Liochant still has so many of his clothes because he didn't think about sending him with food or books to learn about the culture, just clothing and a sword.... Rich people.)

[emoboybrony]

Thanks for the thorough response! (Honestly i wasnt expecting people to even read my long ass post) i love healthy fandom discourse and long debates over different interpretations. I find enjoyment from media by dissecting it and figuring out what makes it tick and you cant really do that without multiple views and interpretations.

I will admit my language in the orginal post was very over the top and purposeful shit posty in nature. Even if i did mean and still agree what i wrote i still could of put it alot more thoughtfully. So let me clarify i do see laurence as a character deserving of empathy. I think reducing him to a literal irredeemable monster is just as reductive as reducing him to a poor little baby who can do no wrong. Both make his character just inheritly unintresting to me.

But i will argue a couple of your points.

1. Aphmau "leading him on" doesnt really work as an argument because even if she made the first move, context clues are a thing. There is a point where, if we are to see laurence as an emotionally intelligent character, he needs to get the hint that they are not in the space to engage this way. Not only that, but a lack of concrete boundaries doesnt make his constant testing of them understandble to me, its a classic issue of "you need a yes, not just a lack of a no". Its inherently irresponsible to keep pushing without at least checking that it is accetable first.

(Also, side note because my friends just pointed this out to me, aphmau only kissed laurence because he was going on a murder spree and was trying to snap him out of it. That adds a whole new context to that scene which i will circle back to)

2. I have my own read and opinions of MCD Aarmau (made a whole spotify playlist about it with my friends) but in a nutshell, i dont view it as explicitly romantic. I read it as a senario where aphmau was so isolated from everything happening, and aaron (as a former lord) was the only one around who could truly relate and give advice about what she was going through. This could be seen as a happy ending or "better", if it werent for the fact that aaron proceeds to explode before they could really work through what was actually between them. Ignoring that this guy who she clearly had an intimate and trusting relationship with, a relationship she will now never get closure on. Leaving her with two children who will now be without a father. Not only that, but aaron kind of accidentally leaves her with a complex, how whole letter basically advises her to put her people first no matter what, which isnt great when shes clearly struggling under the weight of it all.

3. While it is easy to empathise and understand why laurence would feel hurt at the people he loves treating him like hes dangerous, its kinda hard to blame them when they are objectivly correct. Even if you want to argue its a self fulfilling prophesy, he is the one doing the fulfilling. It doesnt really matter how much of a bad time someones going through, as soon as you start punching walls its an act of abuse. You cant really blame people for treating it that way.

4. This is where it gets real tricky im gonna be honest. But it is an undeniable fact that, regardless of the context and explanations provided by the canon, the information is being delivered to an audience that lives in reality. A reality where patriarchy is a thing, and misogyny is a thing. Where people attempt to justify mens abuse and murder of women. "He had trauma" "she lead him on" "male loneliness epidemic" these are things that exsist in our real lives and are going to inform how we consume fiction. It is also going to have an effect on how artists write their fiction, intentionally or not. It is very hard for me to see these reasons and explanations for laurence's charcter and not immediately make connections to my real world experiences as an afab person perceived as a woman. Take the werewolf wedding, you could see that as aphmau blurring the lines sure, but you could also see it as a woman being in the cross fire of a mans violent outburst and having to choose between her bodily autonomy or her personal saftey. In my opinion, there is no way to seperate laurence's actions (or garroth's tbh) association with real world violence against women, because that is the context this fiction resides in. There is no way to not plainly see the correlation without employing some truly staggering cognitive dissonance or just pure distilled ignorance. In this way i could be biased, but imo its would irresponsible of me not make a mental note of it. (No accusations from me against anyone, dont get it twisted. This is more my personal philosophy when it comes to media consumption, not a standard i hold other people to)

Again thanks for responding! I honestly found your input really intresting to read. To add a lil note to point 2, i actually think your persective of aphmau withholding closure to her and laurence's realtionship (although i dont really agree) does add a fun tragic irony to the idea that aphmau never got closure on her attempt at a relationship. Ill definitely be putting that in my back pocket for future fics.

Ill admit ive never been that into laurence (any his variations really) but something has been really bothering me since rewatching parts of MCD.

What really caught my attention about MCD Laurence is that he starts out as this well adjusted, loyal knightly and charming guy- and then after he becomes a shadow knight you just see this slow decay of him. Like hes slowly losing parts of himself and its causing him to become more and more unstable to the point where by the end of season 2 hes honestly kind of terrfying.

And ALOT of that is reflected with how his relationship with aphmau starts to shift. He goes from this sweet, suave and honestly pretty silly personality, to being so obsessive and vindictive towards her.

Theres this one scene, at the end of ep 95 S2, where aphmau has just essentially seen a ghostly image of aaron and is really shaken up by it. Laurence comes to sit with her and ask her about it. And at first, it genuinely seems like hes just trying to get her to open up so he can support her. But then it quickly spirals into him demanding to know why she cares about aaron so much and why shes greiving so hard for him, like its a problem. He becomes so aggressive and condensending to the point where Garroth has to intervene and he walks off.

In this moment you see how far hes really fallen, he goes from semingly reasuring and gentle, and by the end of it hes disrepecting a dead man, who gave his life to save both his brother and supposed love of his life, who he travelled and fought along side with for months, who close to the end of his life was taking care of an orphan (something he comlimented in aphmau), and hes thowing all of that out the window because hes taken Aphmau's attention, due to the fact he fucking died.

After that happens, aphmau has a conversation woth vlyad where he basically tells her that laurence has to accept what he is and go to the nether or else hes gonna go insane, and that the only reason he came back is because hes "chasing a fantasy". Aphmau responds by suggesting they get cadenza over so that he can be with family, and vlyad says she can do what she wants but implies its pretty much inevitable that laurence is going to hit a breaking point. And hes completely right.

Before laurence even gets to speak to cadenza, he eavesdrops on the conversation where aphamu reveals shes pregnant, and just immediately peaces out, out of fear that hes going to MURDER HER.

Not to mention that in that conversation, cadenza herself tells aphmau not to tell laurence because shes scared of how he would react. He has gotten so unstable that his own sister, who loves him more than anything, can recognise that he is a danger to some degree and shes RIGHT.

All this paints a stark contrast, the laurence we first met vs the man he has now become. Its tragic because its this inevitable downfall brought on by an act that was completely selfless, him sacrificing himself that got him turned into a shadow knight in the first place.

Even this is eventually tainted, his selfless act becomes a selfish one as he seems to cling to aphmau's love and affection as an emotional crutch. Aphmau obviously loves and cares for him deeply, but not in an explicitly romantic/sexual way. And if she doesnt love him the way he wants, then why is he suffering through this? Why did he bother to sacrafice himself at all if theres no reward? Its honestly horrifying how pretty much everyone who loved and respected him, makes what should be incredibly out of place predictions on him, but they always end up being right except for aphmau. She cant accept that hes changing and theres nothing she or anyone else can do change that. Its gut wrenching.

This all lead me to beileve that i didnt give enough credit to his character. I love this. This is the type off tragic story telling im here for. Theres so much more to this character than i ever expected.

Heres the thing.

Why the fuck do laurence's biggest fans seem to just completely disregard this? If you believed a good portion of the fandom, laurence is just this sauve uwu sad boy who was unfairly rejected and ignored by a woman who demamded the world from him.

Im dead serious, i saw people saying that laurence "deserved better than aphmau", that he deserved someone who recognised the sacrafice he made. Which like- there is so much to unpack there.

First of all, aphmau did recognise his sacrafice, she did love him and try to support him in the best way she could, even when literally everyone around her was saying it was a lost cause. She did everything she could for that man and forgave so much of what he did while struggling with the calling and she got nothing but shit for it.

Second of all, no the fuck he doesnt?? As illustrated in the examples above he did not respect Aphmau's boundaries. He did not respect her feelings. And by the end, he didnt even respect her bodily autonomy. Lets be honest here, he basically abandoned everyone he apprantly "loved", because bro tapped it before he could. She loved him so much, but because he wanted something she wasnt willing or able to provide, that being explicitly romantic and sexual attention, he just didnt see it. To try and argue that hes the real victim here, is in the same vain of "nice guys finish last". Him being kind, compassionate and selfless- shouldnt be reliant on whether or not this woman will fuck him or not. That is an insanely misogynistic way of thinking.

But most important to me in the context of this analysis- what is there to like about laurence with this interpretation? What possibly sets him apart from the gazillion other brunette pretty anime bois? Am i to gay for this? Is there something im not seeing?

I understand fanon can wildly divert from canon, and i understand that alot of this is probably down to the fact that i find dissecting and critiquing canon more intresting than reinventing it through fanon. Im locked into the Baldurs gate 3 fandom and i had the same experience there (laurence fangirls got NOTHING on Astarion girlies). But both experiences have left me with the same question- what draws you to a character, when all you do is boil them down to their most generic aspects?

I find Laurence intresting cause we are seeing this man crash out and become a monster in real time. And i dont see how he is worth even an honourable mention, when you take that away.

What is there left to be compelled to?

[notnowtobey]

It is really interesting to see the different stages of grief play out in the fandom in real time. Some people jumped right to acceptance, others are angry, some are still in denial, some are depressed, and others are bargaining.

[urmomsmattress]

the thing with me is that i have to know how a fic ends i'm so impatient and i don't read fast enough so i'll skim the end to see what happens and then i'll read it, otherwise i’ll literally spaz out if i don’t know what to expect

which really sucks bc i'll wanna go into a fic completely blind but the internet exists so i see the discourse everywhere

art heist baby, these violent delights, and minor crimson rivers spoilers:

crimson rivers for example: i wish i didn't know who got reaped for the second games before i read it but how do i engage in the fandom without risk of spoiling it

art heist baby? what’s a good fic if not one with a MCD? so obviously people talk and the first thing you know before you read is they kill off regulus. it wouldn’t be as good without his death

these violent delights? i thought it was gonna be james who dies bc he’s “jack” or whatever. but nope it's regulus.

they always do my boy so dirty and i ain't even read any of them yet 😭

#justiceforbabygirl

[shwizard]

Hey! Welcome to the Schwizard tower!

I'm the Schwizard here!

I go by a variety of names but for now you can call me Kryl.

I have an art Tumblr!

I talk about my roommate here!

Ask Mcds Karkat here!

Here's a short, and important note I need to add for newcomers: red indicates the end of this serious note!

This is not a blog about Politics, however, I am a US citizen, and the situation we are facing here is not good (imo). I will not be arguing with anyone about that. However, I may occasionally repost certain posts to try and help extend their reach as I believe it needs to be done. DNI if you agree with or think that the following list of people are good or should be in a position of power anywhere. I will block you if you try. (This list may be updated, I don't have all of the information but I have enough to put my foot down.)

Trump

Elon musk

Mark Zuckerberg

Silly stuff from this point forward!!

Here's my list of fandoms/things I like (ongoing as I either discover new ones or remember old ones)

- (top Fandom right now) X-Files

-Homestuck

-Webfishing (recently started playing)

-Vocaloid (I like the character designs and have listened to some of the music though I'm not a super fan, and not crazy involved. I enjoy it anyway feel free to make recommendations for music or other content on this.)

-Vampires (I have a general liking of vampires! Vtm, Twilight((for the comedy)) I watched Nosferatu recently, Asterion from bg3 (I want to play this game badly) etc. I write my own self indulgent stuff because of this)

- Horror as a whole genre! (I love digging my teeth (;D) into a good indie horror game, or internet horror projects. I used to enjoy movies but it's hard to find a good actually scary horror movie these days)

-Alien franchise (my favorite one is resurrection, I don't care if you think it's bad. Also I love shipping Ripley and Call)

- Magic The Gathering

-Lord of the Rings + The Hobbit

-Star Trek

And there's probably more but I have yet to think of them!

Please interact for any of these fandoms or even if you just want to create some chaos with me!

Do not interact if (this may be updated later as I see fit)

-You're a minor

-You agree with Patrick Bateman

-You want to start any sort of homestuck discourse (I am to tired to do anything but just enjoy what i can of that shitpost of a fic)

-you don't like cats, or cats don't like you

[that-one-i-think]

Some folks don't understand that you can like a character without defending them. I love MCD Zane but I would never defend his actions, y'know, the actions of mass murder, kidnapping, torture, IMPREGNATING KIKI WITHOUT HER CONSENT (amulet), and more! Also fully agree that circumstances do not excuse actions, they can be used to make sense of them, absolutely, but very rarely should it ever be used as a genuine excuse. (Again, there are exceptions)

One of my favorite series is Netflix's Fall of the House of Usher, and I love so many of the characters, but almost all of them are deplorable people who had what was coming to them. I would never spend any time defending their actions (with one exception, but Lenore did nothing wrong but that is the entire point of her thing). I grew up on crime shows and some of my favorite charaters of all time are the killers, but I will never defend them.

Peoples need to excuse their favorites actions will also often bleed into large mischaracterization and I am going to use my favorite MCD character for this, Garroth, as an example. To put it bluntly, Garroth is an overprotective ass with issues and a tendencey to remain willfully ignorant i.e. not talking with Aph about the kiss, his entire behavior season 3, knowing Zane was up to something yet still siding with him etc., that is not all that he is and is in fact just a small part of his character, but Garroth being kind of an ass has always existed from the very start, look at how he interacted with Aphmau and Laurance in the very beginning. And here's the thing though, Garroth is a good character because of this. Wanting perfect people, perfect characters, makes terrible stories. Goodness is not a character.

It is not a moral failing to have a character with flaws, to like a character that has done horrible things, or find entertainment from things that aren't truly good or perfect. People need to let things exist and I will very rarely judge someone for liking a character when they are evil. Folks need to be evil.

this may come as a surprise to you but I HATE HATE HATE WHEN PEOPLE DEFEND EIN. they always bring up the fact that “oh! he was abused, so—“ that isn’t canon. there’s slight implications that he was, but does this excuse his actions? ABSOLUTELY NOT?? it could be an explanation for some things, but not an excuse.

honestly i hate a lot of ein ‘fans.’

[nottoofondofgaypeople]

gimme the juice gimme ur ideas like what r things u really wanna get across in the rewrite

I think the main thing I want to get from this rewrite are long scenes of characters talking about their feelings. It's why this thing is going to be even more canon divergent than I'm used to writing. A lot of MCD relies on characters not having enough time or energy or desire for emotional talks, forcing them onto the next mission without a chance to slow down a little.

I'm going to be giving them all homosexual thoughts and feelings to make it so they can't just run away from these issues. They can't just move on to the next mission. Everything is just as delicate in MCD, but it all takes a few extra days or weeks for each arc to happen, give them a realistic time to rebuild Phoenix Drop after the last attack, give the characters downtime where they aren't doing anything and can just ask one another about how they feel.

Furthermore, shipping was clearly a focus in the original series, but it was a cowardly way of shipping. The kind where each character can only have one partner and most of the couples are notably hetero. Not my jam.

I'm focusing on shipping, but everyone here has two hands and some of their hands are big enough to hold multiple people's hands. And I want to unpack why characters feel this way. I want to unpack how learning romance from novels and poetry and epics has harmed Laurance's perception of relationships. I want to unpack Garroth's internalized homophobia he didn't know he had until he started having bisexual thoughts. I want to unpack Agnes and why she's so unwilling to talk about her feelings by giving her two boyfriends who will make her talk about her fucking feelings instead of running away.

Just. A few ideas.