#also somewhat

okay so let’s start with an analogy. let’s say Eret just logs on the Dream SMP in the middle of the night while everyone is sleeping and just. breaks the prison piece by piece. like just methodically demolishes a large part of prison, including Dream’s cell. everyone else is sleeping so no one can stop them or help them, they just do it and then log off. 

would you call this improv lore?

now, there’s a lot of things wrong with that kind of stream. for one, it’s very anticlimactic: after all, we’re all waiting for c!Dream’s breakout to be a large event everyone prepares for and we get to see all the characters’ reactions. there’s also an issue of c!Eret literally not having any motive to break c!Dream out, they hate him and want him to stay locked up. but most importantly, it’s just... unfair to everyone else? to Sam who has built this prison, to Dream and Techno who have their own lore plans about the breakout, to everyone else on the server who has to hastily make up lore they didn’t want to do, but it’s also unfair to us, viewers, who want some kind of coherent story and for events to be genuinely climactic and at least somewhat thought out.

that’s what my problem would be if George and/or Sapnap had killed Micheal. it’s anticlimactic for the viewers since nothing hinted at this kind of lore before; it’s not in character for c!Sapnap or c!George to want to kill Micheal or harm c!beeduo in this way (please don’t bring up Pet War because Micheal in lore is a child and it’s very weird to compare him to a pet imo). and also it’s just unfair to cc!beeduo mostly because they literally can’t do anything - they’re busy with their irl stream! as far as i understand, cc!Dream tried to stop Sapnap and George in the discord and Ranboo potentially too which shows this wasn’t planned. if Micheal was actually killed, it would ruin all of Tubbo’s and Ranboo’s lore plans, which is just rude in my opinion.

“but it’s improv lore, like in the old SMP!” no it’s not, or at least not good kind of lore, for the lore to happen all other streamers should be notified, whether it’s improv or a scripted stream. why weren’t i upset with c!Eret betraying L’Manberg (well, kind of was at the start but it wasn’t regarding the “fairness” of rp) or with New L’Manberg being bombed? because everyone involved knew something was going to happen, they were there, they were able to react in-character quickly. here it would just be impossible, this is literally why back in i think January we talked about cc!Niki being upset that her lore plans were overshadowed by a larger stream literally because she wan’t notified it was happening. 

finally, to everyone saying “well, how do you expect lore if no one can kill or destroy anything?” - they can! but that’s just polite that if you want to mess with someone’s stuff, you should at least notify that person first and give them a chance to fit it into their character’s lore, especially if it’s something large - like Micheal is literally c!beeduo’s child. but also you don’t have to destroy or kill anything? look at how c!Eret fit right into saving Micheal because it’s in-character for them and they reacted appropriately. this is, in fact, the lore that’s close to what i loved in improv: it’s still making my heart race but at least you somewhat expect it from the character.

Until you started college. You’d applied for every university within a reasonable tuition range in the West. Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, even California. Somewhere where you might find a kindred spirit. Someone with a cowboy soul, just like you. Even if there weren’t any real cowboys left in this world.

And that, that is where you met Arthur Morgan.

Arthur was a “non-traditional” student. He was a little bit older, but still incredibly handsome. He worked at the school’s ag farm, helping to tend to the animals. But you met him in an English class your sophomore year. He was generally quiet and kept to himself, but he had this unmistakable laugh. The first time you heard it, you were certain it was angels singing.

You had never whipped your head around so quick. You were just in time to see the way his eyes crinkle as he laughs. A smile spread across your face. God, what a beautiful man. He caught your stare and you thought your heart would thump out of your chest. He gave you a polite head nod and you had to consciously look away before he thought you were a weirdo. You could just picture him going home with you at Thanksgiving. Meeting your family, seeing your hometown, sweetly poking fun of your childhood bedroom. Your grandmother would just love him. Your mother would love him. Hell, your dog would love him. You could see yourself loving him. You knew that was a lot to gleam from just a laugh, but damn, what a laugh.

           You really did not mean to bump into him as your tried to exit the class a few moments later, honest you didn’t. You were just that distracted by your fantasy life with him. By the time your shoulder bumped his hands, you guys had already grown old together in your mind.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” You said as he let out a soft oof.

“Nah, don’t you worry. I wasn’t paying much attention either.” He said as he stooped to pick up his books. He cast you a gorgeous smile as you stood there, somewhat awkwardly.

“Um, I’m Y/N.” You introduced yourself, holding your hand out.

“Arthur Morgan,” he shook your hand. His hands were big. Big and rough. Calloused, like a cowboy’s. You wondered what all he could do with those hands. The pleasure he could bring you, but not just sexually, from holding your smaller, softer hand in his, from bringing you coffee in the mornings, from picking you wildflowers. God, those hands.

“It’s nice to meet you, Arthur.”

“You too, Miss Y/N.”

           After that chance encounter, Arthur often waved at your when he saw you on campus or said hello or goodbye in English class. You didn’t have any real substantial conversations, other than to maybe ask how one of you thought you did on the last test. But then, your science class took a field trip to the ag farm to learn about the science that goes into running a farm. A necessary topic since many of your classmates were ag majors themselves that would eventually return to running their family farms and ranches.

           You really shouldn’t have wondered off, but the sound a familiar voice called to you and you couldn’t ignore it. Besides, the professor would never notice. She was so scattered; she’d hardly miss a student or two. Many were starting to poke around on their own, anyway. And you had to find the source of the voice you could just barely place.

“Yer alright,” It spoke softly. “That’s a good girl.”

           You found Arthur in a pen with a large black horse trying his damnedest to calm it down. You seated yourself on the gate and watched as he approached the animal and it reared up over him. He only laughed and mumbled something about the horse being feisty and needing to calm down. It took him only three tries under your gaze to approach the horse and get his hands on her.

“That’s it, girl. You’re ok,” He spoke gently, then added, without missing a beat. “You just gonna sit there and grin or you gonna come over here and see her up close?”

You faltered. Was he talking to you? But there was no one else around, so he must’ve been talking to you. “Can I?”

“Sure. She won’t bite. Probably.” He laughed and you could’ve died and went to heaven with all those angels.

           You climbed over the gate and into the pen, incredibly grateful that you’d opted for your trusty cowboy boots today. You walked over to the horse, staying as close to Arthur as possible. He just smiled at your timidness.

“You ever been face to face with a horse before?” He asked.

“Yes,” You shot back defensively. As if you’d never touched a horse before. You had. But maybe not as often as you’d like.

“Alright then, cowgirl, saddle ‘er up and take her for a spin.”

“Oh, hell no!” He laughed. Again. You wanted to make him laugh forever. He took your hand and placed it gently against the horse’s neck.