I Think The TF2 Mercs Take Turns Giving Pep Talk To The Team Before Match, And They Almost Equally Suck

I made a Miss Pauling refsheet!

Tired of searching “Miss pauling” on your favorite website as a reference, only to question your faith in humanity and debate turning on safe search for future endeavors? Me too!

I made a bonus picture to go along with this, which will be posted after since I’m very proud of how it turned out. Please don’t crop, repost, or otherwise tamper with the image below! This is purely made for reference purposes for artwork and the like!

*A poses gently*

Hope this helps!

𝙲 𝚑 𝚊 𝚙 𝚝 𝚎 𝚛   𝟷 𝟶   𝚜 𝚗 𝚎 𝚊 𝚔   𝚙 𝚎 𝚎 𝚔 .

"𝘠'𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭."

So, self insert ocs.

As someone who’s blog revolves around this one, I have some thoughts on the post.

Edith was originally a self insert oc. However, since I wanted the fic I was writing to be a sort of love letter to the community, I decided to expand her personality and try to make it so that she could be projected on by anybody. Or at least, as many people as possible. Speaking a second language, feeling out of place, having anxiety about going places, making impressions, the things in her past and mistakes she’s made, all of these things are a mixture of what I feel and what I’ve heard others feel a lot, and so I added them.

But she is, in fact, her own character and 10th class, whom I love a lot. Whether or not she is so wholly unique that she stands out, I don’t care.

But what I did care about, ironically enough, was making an impression. And that came with the mechanics of her class. 

Just because you have a self insert or 10th class OC, you are not obligated in any way to explain what their purpose is, what their reasons are, so long as YOU are happy.

For me, I wanted to come up with a unique 10th class that had her own mechanics, but that’s because I saw untapped potential. If she were to be in the game, it would be near impossible for those mechanics to actually work due to map limitations. 

And that’s the thing, because she’s a work of fiction, it doesn’t matter.

That means I can get as creative as I want with her, because she’s not part of the game. 

As for shipping, my personal rule is not to ship her with any of the mercs! Not in the main fic, anyway. Might make some spinoffs if I ever finish the main one, but I felt that many had a bias towards certain characters they liked, (which is absolutely fair and I love those kinds of fics either way), and I wanted to keep it so that she could have varying relationships with everyone and not just romance! It’s for personal reasons, not influenced by anybody else.

 However, I immensely enjoy seeing people shipping their ocs and self inserts with the team! Why the heck do you think I post x reader headcanons sometimes?

In the end, your characters are not more or less valid, and you don’t love your characters more or less depending on how developed they are.

As long as a character makes you happy, as long as the relationships they share make you happy, as long as you are content, then nobody, and I mean NOBODY can tell you how YOU should write YOUR characters.

You can take overdone concepts and expand upon them in your own way, because your character is unique to YOU.

You can give them modern day clothes and use tropes because your character is unique to YOU.

and YOU,

can do whatever you DAMN want.

You are valid, loved, and your characters, your self inserts, your tenth classes are yours and yours only. I support you all the way!

Do not send hate/harassment towards the author of the post being mentioned here, you goofs. 

Medic coming to terms with feelings like butterflies and bursts of excitement when fem reader is around? He doesn't really know what love is or if he does hes stubborn and dismissive of it as a concept.

(Hope this sort of ask is okay, also started reading your fic recently and I love it)

Thank you very much, your compliment means a ton! I’m really glad people are liking the fic so far! B,)

And heck yeah these sorts of asks are okay! I’m pumped to do this one!

MEDIC & FEM READER

Oh, Medic was aware of the concept of “love” alright. Not once had he ever thought it more than a series of chemical reactions, that only brought trouble along with them. (Edgelord)

Technically, he briefly had a license. Having gone through training and watching beside “real” doctors, the number of times he had seen the wrong side of relationships was astounding. Partners abused, unfairly treated, spiteful, arguing, more venomous than snakes. Truly, it gave him the idea that love was merely a reason to stick with somebody for far longer than one should, and to give up on your work.

It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in love as a concept, no, but the amount of fantasy brought into such a cut and dry idea left him impassive to it at best.

So when he and you first met, Ludwig found himself baffled at your lack of fear for the doctor, and the confidence you put into your stride, invading his life and the other’s without a care in the world.

He found himself urging you to stay away. After all, these men were dangerous- yet it puzzled him. Why would he? You were a free source of experiment material, not to mention he cared little for others wellbeing, why yours?

It only dawned upon him that he… Rather enjoyed your presence when Archimedes made a display of landing on your wrist, and instead of freaking out or attempting to crush the bird, you merely… Pet it. Stroked it’s feathers with care and… love, that it hit him like a truck.

This man was furious. How dare you come into his life, interfere with his experiments, and drag him into this, this pitfall-

But when he gripped the ubersaw, the look of genuine, pure curiosity and unfiltered exuberance upon seeing it, going so far as to approach the weapon and try and take it in your own hands, that he realized he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He supposed it was because this woman had never been like one he had ever met prior. Miss Pauling understood his excitement but it was unlikely she shared it, and undoubtedly all the other civilians he had met had been put off by his stories…

Passing in the hallways, he recalled the moments in which it felt like a fluttering dove in his chest, he almost checked if Archimedes had somehow gotten in there- But das war nicht der Fall, no. Had it truly been the affection he had ignored out of spite for god this entire time?

Or instances in which the room went electric with thrilled elation at the discovery that a recent experiment was a success, to have somebody who shared their maniacal laughter or smiled despite their clear discomfort, only served to amplify the charge of exhilaration he felt, to share it.

That you were there when he dropped his guard, showed affection towards his doves, or was vulnerable and weak, sickly even, you had stood by his side like a doctor’s assistant. How had he been so blind?

When he discovered you with his coat draped over your shoulders, far too long with the swath of white fabric touching the floor, he had been stunned. You donned it despite it being spattered with red blood as if it were your own, he could only chuckle and gently pry it away when he saw your look of shock at being found out.

When he found you had taken care of the other mercenaries after watching his methods and practicing it on your own so they would not disturb Medic’s intense focus, had the feeling been pride?

The mad doctor decides to allow you to stay, arranging with Miss Pauling for you to be an assistant so that you would not be gunned down upon leaving with company secrets. As much as he loathed the idea of company of the other mercenaries outside of his experiments on heavy and the others, he can’t help but allow the cheerful bounce in his step when you sign your name on the paperwork, and are accepted into your new home at RED.

Makin my way downtown

You know what time it is.

Psst...@cassthepilot

I drew Cass as a warmup doodle turned cleaner(?) sketch! I hope I got her design right, I know that some parts look a bit wonky. ;^^

Either way, *slides this over to you.* 💖✨

HEAVY X MEDIC HEADCANONS

OKAY! GUESS WHO ACCIDENTALLY DELETED THE ASK SOMEHOW? I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I DID BUT IT THANOS SNAPPED ITSELF WHEN I PRESSED TAB SO.

Edit: Okay, so apparently it posted itself, that’s why. Here’s the ACTUAL post.

I’m glad I took a screenshot, I had a feeling this would happen.

@drjamjams​

Thank you so much for the kind words! I’m so stoked to be able to do this, and it means the world to me that people are enjoying my writing!

I do hope that this rewrite isn’t too messy. This is the ask that I lost yesterday, I did my best to recover what I could and add some extra!

Yall, please give me tips on how to wrangle this site. But without further adieu...

HEAVY X MEDIC

Medic had his eyes on Heavy from the beginning. Hell, who wouldn’t? An absolute bear of a man, stoic but kind hearted, caring for his sisters in Russia.

It was rare before he had met this man to have ever been respected for his work. Most of the time he would deflect comments with an alarming smile and a morbid joke (or by inserting extra organs inside of them next time he had the chance, though it could be argued that he does that to everybody), so when Heavy treated the doctor with respect from day one, he was smitten.

Smitten? Medic had no clue what his feelings meant. Perhaps it was a side effect of surgically adding those souls to his own body, but he couldn’t help being a bit less wound up around his comrade, even going so far as to tell stories of his own past in exchange for theirs.

Misha, on the other hand, never noticed this until the other mercenaries pointed out the clear favoritism. Even then, he assumed it was because they were good friends. Until they hit the battlefield, when they became gods.

Medic, quite like the Engineer, is practically nocturnal. He has no time to waste in his eyes, he has too many organs, experiments, surgeries to conduct. This man will manage to cram a surgery between two autopsies within the span of a few hours, but this means he will hardly eat or sleep until he’s satisfied with his latest abomination.

Why do I bring this up? It’s because Medic tends to crash outside of the med bay. A lot. 

Heavy is frequently the first to notice, and becomes something of a guard dog. He paces the halls, any and every noise swiftly shut down by a steely glare. 

Likewise, if Heavy is the one to crash, be it on a couch, the floor, or slumped over a table, the doctor will carry this man to bed. You’d be surprised what lugging around a heavy metal backpack and a medi-gun will do for your strength. Ludwig basically Disney-princess style wrangles his birds and helps lift him back to bed.

Once, Scout tried to pull a prank while Medic was passed out after one of his many week-long all-nighter streaks.

It’s safe to say Ludwig was not ecstatic to wake up to a medical emergency. This is something Scout will never overshare about.

If Heavy is being pocketed by Medic that day, expect to be stuck in respawn for the entire match. Not that it would matter, the team will still win! The two are an ubercharge machine.

Heavy is the only one who is allowed to pet Archimedes and the doves. Medic trusts that Misha won’t harm them or accidentally crush them.

It’s mesmerizing for the doctor to watch. It’s as if his large, calloused fingers become light as feathers, gently holding the little angels with such care, petting them in just the right places. The doves practically flock to Heavy whenever he enters the infirmary nowadays.

Likewise, Archimedes and Medic are the only ones allowed to touch Sasha. There’s nothing else to say here.

Heavy only ever shares his sandviches with Medic! Sometimes, Scout will badger him to convince Heavy to share with the others, too. Scout will also never overshare about the incident that followed. Starting to see a pattern here?

Matching pajamas. No, I will not elaborate.

Any chore list there is, Misha and Ludwig immediately pair up. If they change, they still insist on being together. During the change to the kitchen list (all mercs pair up save for spy, designated to a week in which they cook for the rest of the team), they immediately reach across the table towards each other, A gloved hand fit snug on top of that of the gentle giant.

“HEAVY IS WITH DOKTOR! NOT CHANGE THIS.” - Ten’s a crowd, chapter 8 I think. One that hasn’t been published at the time of writing this.

They’ll cuddle together on one of the couches if they know they have privacy from the rest of the mercs. Medic also uses Heavy’s lap as a pillow. Does this hurt his shoulders? Probably. Does he care? Nope. This man is stubborn and it shows.

Heavy is the little spoon. I rest my case.

4?

I personally prefer casual, though I’ve been in one competitive game and played some less casual matches before. I don’t really have many people to play competitive tf2 with and since I don’t use voice chat, it’s harder to communicate in the moment, so I tend to prefer matches where I can quickly communicate with my team via. chat!

I also prefer to be able to switch out my class more often since I get bored of some more easily than others, or want to take care of something that the rest of my team is unable to, take on a challenge, or cool off with if I’m getting frustrated to distract myself.

Thanks for the ask! :]

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somebody's definitely made this joke already but i think scout in all his early 2000's whiteboy swag would definitely fucking smoke DDR. he'd be one of those freaks that are straight up just breakdancing on the arrows. breaking it down transgender style. you guys understand what im aiming at