Snowflake Challenge #2
Jan. 8th, 2023 08:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
schneefinkSnowflake Challenge #2: In your own space, write a promo, manifesto or primer for your fave character, ship or fandom.
Let me tell you about Emerald Duo!
Back in 2019 when Minecraft was becoming more popular again a weekly tournament for teams of two called "Minecraft Monday" was organized.
One of the participants was Technoblade, who'd previously done a lot of content on a multiplayer server called Hypixel, mostly PVP (player versus player) minigames. He quickly established himself as one of if not the best player.
Another participant was Ph1lza, who'd shortly before had his moment of fame when he lost his hardcore world of five years to a spider and a baby zombie, so most other players knew him as "that hardcore guy."
In week 10, in August 2019, Techno and Phil teamed up and dominated the event, becoming the most successful team in MCM history. They'd only briefly talked before, but somehow they just clicked.
They weren't allowed to team up again in MCM after that, but they became friends.
In November 2019 a multiplayer Minecraft server called "SMP Earth" was started that took place on a miniaturized map of Earth. Phil asked Techno to team up almost immediately, and Techno made him co-leader of his "Antarctic Empire" faction. On day 8, they put Techno's plan into action and took over the world. (They were put on a sham trial and had to give it back.) They proceeded to have several armed conflicts with other factions (and build a giant palace) in the next few months. After Phil got a particularly impressive kill while flying (on Wilbur) Techno gave him the nickname "Angel of Death."
(In April 2020 Techno and Phil, together with their friends WilburSoot and TommyInnit, were on the same team together in the fourth Minecraft Championship event and won. Techno and Phil later teamed up four more times. I'm only mentioning this for completeness' sake, as MCC is rarely referenced in character-focused spaces. Also, from late 2019 to summer 2020 Techno was focused on becoming the #1 potato farmer on Hypixel Skyblock, which is where the occasional potato jokes come from.)
In September 2020 Technoblade joined the very popular roleplaying server "Dream SMP" and quickly became an important character in the "main" storyline. Phil joined (in dramatic fashion) two months later.
DSMP explicitly focused on roleplaying characters with their own stories, but there was always a lot of overlap with content creators' previous content. For example, Phil mentioned taking over a world with Techno and even mentioned SMP Earth, so many fans assume that SMP Earth is part of their characters' backstories. Another character mentioned being terrified of Techno during Minecraft Mondays. (Unfortunately it's not always completely clear which conversations are in-character.)
On the DSMP, Techno and Phil are good friends who go way back and firm allies from day one. Phil helps Techno build his house, Techno gives him friendship emeralds (the duo name origin) and a way to always find him if Phil needs help. Phil is put under house arrest for helping Techno and has to watch Techno be executed, Techno survives and helps him break out, Phil builds his own house right next to Techno's with a connecting bridge in-between. They blow up a country together and then form the Syndicate, an anarchist organization/book club. Techno makes Phil the executor of his will when he goes on a dangerous trip and Phil saves him at the last second. In a story where allegiances shift often and betrayals are common, there is never any doubt that Phil and Techno are on each other's side.
Sadly, Technoblade passed away from cancer in June 2022. On the DSMP his character went traveling, and when the server was destroyed and most of its inhabitants got amnesia, Phil escaped to the End dimension together with their friends from the Syndicate and kept his memories of his best friend.
These, for me, are the cornerstones of "canon" when talking about "emerald duo." There is significant overlap, especially in AU fic, with "Sleepy Bois Inc." or SBI, a fandom about/centered around ~fanon personas of Phil, Techno, Wilbur, and Tommy. However, SBI fics usually/most often feature Phil as the dad, Techno and Wilbur as his twin sons (Techno is three minutes older) and Tommy as the youngest son. This fictional family dynamic only came up after SMP Earth and is explicitly not canon on the DSMP (with the exception of Wilbur being Phil's son.) I consider it a different corner of the fandom as "emerald duo," because an important part of that to me is that Phil and Techno are equals.
Other important elements of Emduo stories for me:
- they're platonic soulmates. They get each other's kind of humor, they enjoy hanging out together, they work well together regardless of if they're waging a war and/or committing crimes or transporting turtles.
- they're both very capable, and they balance out each other's weaknesses. Phil has a lot of Minecraft mechanics knowledge to share, and he's better at landscaping and building; he's good at PVP but Techno is even better. Phil tends to react, while Techno is the more decisive one who usually comes up with the plans. Phil is the more approachable and ~diplomatic one, while Techno is the one who actually manages to express his emotions.
- they respect each other a ton, and they're both willing to follow the other to the ends of the world. "For you, the world," is a well-known Techno quote (it sounds more dramatic out of context, it was originally about Phil stealing Techno's bookshelves, but the sentiment stands), and Phil said he would follow Techno to the gates of hell.
Of course there are variations on these, especially in AUs. For example, sometimes only Phil is emperor or king and Techno his knight/general, sometimes they're in a romantic relationship etc.
As already mentioned, "canon" is a bit vague, but even in complete AUs there are often elements of the following:
- Techno is a piglin hybrid, or a piglin, or otherwise associated with pigs. He hears voices in his head telling him to spill blood for the blood god.
- Phil has wings. He's married to Kristin, the goddess of death, and is followed by crows.
- They're both (especially Phil) some kind of either immortal or very long-lived.
And of course, recs!
I thought about reccing my favorite videos, clips or animatics for a few seconds but then realized how much work that would be, so you only get art and fic recs.
Art:
Emerald Duo by![[tumblr.com profile]](https://www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico)
1ittlesunlight
#on their way of doing crime; I love how dynamic this looks.
philza and techno dtiys byquilbug-draws
Phil and Techno posing, poster-style
the poster scene byquilbug-draws
One of my many favorite DSMP scenes
comfort doodles… c!emduo happy ending <3 bylesbianwilbur
Aww, hugs.
Some of my favorite (non-WIP) Emduo fics:
Where You Go, I Will Go (And Where You Stay, I Will Stay) by![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
antimony_medusa
10.6k, gen, backstory/worldbuilding
Summary: "New person!" Lala said behind him. "Overworlder!"
Okay, so that's why she was running. That was—Technoblade didn't think their sounder had seen an overworlder since he'd been a shoat, at least. Several different bastion-locations ago. He made an interested sound, untangling the strider's head-string from the rock.
"He flew like a ghast!"
The strider, now freed, nipped the fungus out of his hand and ambled off onto the lava. Bruh.
"He's part ghast, and he's really short, he's only just a tiny bit taller than me," Lala said, delighted to be the bearer of so much information. "And his boots say he's got gold and items to trade both, and he has gold hair and a flat face like a ghast, and he has lots of earrings but they don't make any sense at all but he looks very rich, and he doesn't know how to talk at all."
Or: First Meetings in the nether, culture clash, and the beginning of a friendship.
Why I love it: Nether worldbuilding, language problems, instant bonding, adventures, and the perfect amounts of humor and angst.
For My Best Friend's Wife byImperialKatwala
4.3k, gen, fluff
Summary: Phil doesn't get to see his wife very often, so she misses out on most of his everyday life. Technoblade decides to fix that.
Or, Techno starts a video diary to show Kristin what Phil's life is like when he isn't visiting her.
Why I love it: Slice of life with humor and warmth and so sweet.
the backyard's full of bones byMissingmycolorful
23k, gen, canon-divergent AU, angst
Summary: An ocean of crows haunts the skies above the streets of L'manburg, threatening to swallow the town in a grandiose shadow reeking of omens and tragedy.
As his crows plague the country and its people, it is with a cruel and sick irony that the Angel of Death watches the Blood God be dragged toward the execution stand that which the Angel himself had helped forge with his own calloused hands.
OR: Technoblade's execution, how everything goes wrong, and how Philza comes to grips with a secret revealed to him far, far too late.
Why I love it: The AU where Techno does not survive being executed. It hurts so good. (According to the author this might get a fix-it sequel one day.)
The Pig and the Farmhand by1248, Anarchy_Schmanarchy
9.4k, gen, fairy tale AU
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a lone weaver living in a humble cabin on the edge of town. The weaver was talented at his craft - he produced wonderful tapestries and clothing, valued across the country for their elegance, but yet he lived a simple life, there on the edge between wild and the village.
And then, a fairytale crashed right into his life.
Why I love it: Wonderful fairy tale style narration and great character voices and it fits together so well, both hilarious and touching.
wings & veins bysubwaywalls
8.7k, gen, D&D AU
Summary: Five times Techno and Philza take a fall, and one time they rise.
Why I like it: Great D&D AU with blood hunter Techno and paladin Phil and very D&D-style adventures and good character voices.
drink until you've had enough (I'll drink from your hands) byfindingkairos
9.2k, gen, angel AU
Summary: Angels can't be killed, just banished back to heaven, but in order to do so you need to destroy their heart.
On a seemingly unrelated note: Technoblade never dies. Philza is a known angel of the universal spheres. And they are awfully close...
(Philza gives his heart to Technoblade for safekeeping. This fixes some problems and causes others.)
Why I like it: This has angel!Phil and definitely-not-a-normal-mortal!Techno conquering planets and also delicious self-sacrifice.
Who Are You Really (And Where Are You Going?) byantimony_medusa
10.7k, gen, SMP Earth ~AU
Summary: His skull was absolutely pounding. His head—he hurt all over, and he wasn't sure exactly where he was or what he was doing. Technoblade put his hand against the stone wall for balance, trying to take stock of the situation. His head spun in that kind of liquid way that promised pain if he moved too fast. His heart was racing in his chest. His hands ached like he'd been punching something, and his jaw hurt like he'd been punched. Had he—? Techno glanced around himself, wincing as the promised pain materialised.
He was in a hallway in the Fairbanks Citadel, site of the extravagant three-day diplomatic conference they'd been working towards for months. A gently-curving stone corridor lined with sea-view windows on one side, tapestries and paintings on the other. He'd—been in a fight? He glanced further up and stiffened. Maybe fifty feet away, there was a body, and figures crouched over it. Everything felt unreal and sharp. He hurried down the corridor. The body on the floor was wearing Antarctic Empire Blue, and there was a pool of blood spreading out from it.
"Are they okay?" He asked.
Or: Antarctic Empire tries diplomacy. It's a mixed result.
Why I like it: Techno and Phil are great at many things but diplomacy is not one of them xD Great guest appearances too, especially by Tommy.
So, yeah, this is my current new shiny thing! Always happy to shareand procrastinate on exploring the Deep Dark because that is scary. I'm fairly new to MCYT fandom and this corner of it so I'm not best qualified for this but I tried my best. And I'm happy to share favorite videos and clips and places to start watching etc. on request ^^
Let me tell you about Emerald Duo!
Back in 2019 when Minecraft was becoming more popular again a weekly tournament for teams of two called "Minecraft Monday" was organized.
One of the participants was Technoblade, who'd previously done a lot of content on a multiplayer server called Hypixel, mostly PVP (player versus player) minigames. He quickly established himself as one of if not the best player.
Another participant was Ph1lza, who'd shortly before had his moment of fame when he lost his hardcore world of five years to a spider and a baby zombie, so most other players knew him as "that hardcore guy."
In week 10, in August 2019, Techno and Phil teamed up and dominated the event, becoming the most successful team in MCM history. They'd only briefly talked before, but somehow they just clicked.
They weren't allowed to team up again in MCM after that, but they became friends.
In November 2019 a multiplayer Minecraft server called "SMP Earth" was started that took place on a miniaturized map of Earth. Phil asked Techno to team up almost immediately, and Techno made him co-leader of his "Antarctic Empire" faction. On day 8, they put Techno's plan into action and took over the world. (They were put on a sham trial and had to give it back.) They proceeded to have several armed conflicts with other factions (and build a giant palace) in the next few months. After Phil got a particularly impressive kill while flying (on Wilbur) Techno gave him the nickname "Angel of Death."
(In April 2020 Techno and Phil, together with their friends WilburSoot and TommyInnit, were on the same team together in the fourth Minecraft Championship event and won. Techno and Phil later teamed up four more times. I'm only mentioning this for completeness' sake, as MCC is rarely referenced in character-focused spaces. Also, from late 2019 to summer 2020 Techno was focused on becoming the #1 potato farmer on Hypixel Skyblock, which is where the occasional potato jokes come from.)
In September 2020 Technoblade joined the very popular roleplaying server "Dream SMP" and quickly became an important character in the "main" storyline. Phil joined (in dramatic fashion) two months later.
DSMP explicitly focused on roleplaying characters with their own stories, but there was always a lot of overlap with content creators' previous content. For example, Phil mentioned taking over a world with Techno and even mentioned SMP Earth, so many fans assume that SMP Earth is part of their characters' backstories. Another character mentioned being terrified of Techno during Minecraft Mondays. (Unfortunately it's not always completely clear which conversations are in-character.)
On the DSMP, Techno and Phil are good friends who go way back and firm allies from day one. Phil helps Techno build his house, Techno gives him friendship emeralds (the duo name origin) and a way to always find him if Phil needs help. Phil is put under house arrest for helping Techno and has to watch Techno be executed, Techno survives and helps him break out, Phil builds his own house right next to Techno's with a connecting bridge in-between. They blow up a country together and then form the Syndicate, an anarchist organization/book club. Techno makes Phil the executor of his will when he goes on a dangerous trip and Phil saves him at the last second. In a story where allegiances shift often and betrayals are common, there is never any doubt that Phil and Techno are on each other's side.
Sadly, Technoblade passed away from cancer in June 2022. On the DSMP his character went traveling, and when the server was destroyed and most of its inhabitants got amnesia, Phil escaped to the End dimension together with their friends from the Syndicate and kept his memories of his best friend.
These, for me, are the cornerstones of "canon" when talking about "emerald duo." There is significant overlap, especially in AU fic, with "Sleepy Bois Inc." or SBI, a fandom about/centered around ~fanon personas of Phil, Techno, Wilbur, and Tommy. However, SBI fics usually/most often feature Phil as the dad, Techno and Wilbur as his twin sons (Techno is three minutes older) and Tommy as the youngest son. This fictional family dynamic only came up after SMP Earth and is explicitly not canon on the DSMP (with the exception of Wilbur being Phil's son.) I consider it a different corner of the fandom as "emerald duo," because an important part of that to me is that Phil and Techno are equals.
Other important elements of Emduo stories for me:
- they're platonic soulmates. They get each other's kind of humor, they enjoy hanging out together, they work well together regardless of if they're waging a war and/or committing crimes or transporting turtles.
- they're both very capable, and they balance out each other's weaknesses. Phil has a lot of Minecraft mechanics knowledge to share, and he's better at landscaping and building; he's good at PVP but Techno is even better. Phil tends to react, while Techno is the more decisive one who usually comes up with the plans. Phil is the more approachable and ~diplomatic one, while Techno is the one who actually manages to express his emotions.
- they respect each other a ton, and they're both willing to follow the other to the ends of the world. "For you, the world," is a well-known Techno quote (it sounds more dramatic out of context, it was originally about Phil stealing Techno's bookshelves, but the sentiment stands), and Phil said he would follow Techno to the gates of hell.
Of course there are variations on these, especially in AUs. For example, sometimes only Phil is emperor or king and Techno his knight/general, sometimes they're in a romantic relationship etc.
As already mentioned, "canon" is a bit vague, but even in complete AUs there are often elements of the following:
- Techno is a piglin hybrid, or a piglin, or otherwise associated with pigs. He hears voices in his head telling him to spill blood for the blood god.
- Phil has wings. He's married to Kristin, the goddess of death, and is followed by crows.
- They're both (especially Phil) some kind of either immortal or very long-lived.
And of course, recs!
I thought about reccing my favorite videos, clips or animatics for a few seconds but then realized how much work that would be, so you only get art and fic recs.
Art:
Emerald Duo by
#on their way of doing crime; I love how dynamic this looks.
philza and techno dtiys by
Phil and Techno posing, poster-style
the poster scene by
One of my many favorite DSMP scenes
comfort doodles… c!emduo happy ending <3 by
Aww, hugs.
Some of my favorite (non-WIP) Emduo fics:
Where You Go, I Will Go (And Where You Stay, I Will Stay) by
10.6k, gen, backstory/worldbuilding
Summary: "New person!" Lala said behind him. "Overworlder!"
Okay, so that's why she was running. That was—Technoblade didn't think their sounder had seen an overworlder since he'd been a shoat, at least. Several different bastion-locations ago. He made an interested sound, untangling the strider's head-string from the rock.
"He flew like a ghast!"
The strider, now freed, nipped the fungus out of his hand and ambled off onto the lava. Bruh.
"He's part ghast, and he's really short, he's only just a tiny bit taller than me," Lala said, delighted to be the bearer of so much information. "And his boots say he's got gold and items to trade both, and he has gold hair and a flat face like a ghast, and he has lots of earrings but they don't make any sense at all but he looks very rich, and he doesn't know how to talk at all."
Or: First Meetings in the nether, culture clash, and the beginning of a friendship.
Why I love it: Nether worldbuilding, language problems, instant bonding, adventures, and the perfect amounts of humor and angst.
For My Best Friend's Wife by
4.3k, gen, fluff
Summary: Phil doesn't get to see his wife very often, so she misses out on most of his everyday life. Technoblade decides to fix that.
Or, Techno starts a video diary to show Kristin what Phil's life is like when he isn't visiting her.
Why I love it: Slice of life with humor and warmth and so sweet.
the backyard's full of bones by
23k, gen, canon-divergent AU, angst
Summary: An ocean of crows haunts the skies above the streets of L'manburg, threatening to swallow the town in a grandiose shadow reeking of omens and tragedy.
As his crows plague the country and its people, it is with a cruel and sick irony that the Angel of Death watches the Blood God be dragged toward the execution stand that which the Angel himself had helped forge with his own calloused hands.
OR: Technoblade's execution, how everything goes wrong, and how Philza comes to grips with a secret revealed to him far, far too late.
Why I love it: The AU where Techno does not survive being executed. It hurts so good. (According to the author this might get a fix-it sequel one day.)
The Pig and the Farmhand by
9.4k, gen, fairy tale AU
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a lone weaver living in a humble cabin on the edge of town. The weaver was talented at his craft - he produced wonderful tapestries and clothing, valued across the country for their elegance, but yet he lived a simple life, there on the edge between wild and the village.
And then, a fairytale crashed right into his life.
Why I love it: Wonderful fairy tale style narration and great character voices and it fits together so well, both hilarious and touching.
wings & veins by
8.7k, gen, D&D AU
Summary: Five times Techno and Philza take a fall, and one time they rise.
Why I like it: Great D&D AU with blood hunter Techno and paladin Phil and very D&D-style adventures and good character voices.
drink until you've had enough (I'll drink from your hands) by
9.2k, gen, angel AU
Summary: Angels can't be killed, just banished back to heaven, but in order to do so you need to destroy their heart.
On a seemingly unrelated note: Technoblade never dies. Philza is a known angel of the universal spheres. And they are awfully close...
(Philza gives his heart to Technoblade for safekeeping. This fixes some problems and causes others.)
Why I like it: This has angel!Phil and definitely-not-a-normal-mortal!Techno conquering planets and also delicious self-sacrifice.
Who Are You Really (And Where Are You Going?) by
10.7k, gen, SMP Earth ~AU
Summary: His skull was absolutely pounding. His head—he hurt all over, and he wasn't sure exactly where he was or what he was doing. Technoblade put his hand against the stone wall for balance, trying to take stock of the situation. His head spun in that kind of liquid way that promised pain if he moved too fast. His heart was racing in his chest. His hands ached like he'd been punching something, and his jaw hurt like he'd been punched. Had he—? Techno glanced around himself, wincing as the promised pain materialised.
He was in a hallway in the Fairbanks Citadel, site of the extravagant three-day diplomatic conference they'd been working towards for months. A gently-curving stone corridor lined with sea-view windows on one side, tapestries and paintings on the other. He'd—been in a fight? He glanced further up and stiffened. Maybe fifty feet away, there was a body, and figures crouched over it. Everything felt unreal and sharp. He hurried down the corridor. The body on the floor was wearing Antarctic Empire Blue, and there was a pool of blood spreading out from it.
"Are they okay?" He asked.
Or: Antarctic Empire tries diplomacy. It's a mixed result.
Why I like it: Techno and Phil are great at many things but diplomacy is not one of them xD Great guest appearances too, especially by Tommy.
So, yeah, this is my current new shiny thing! Always happy to share
no subject
Date: 2023-01-08 10:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-09 05:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-02-04 09:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-02-04 09:58 pm (UTC)I've been having even more Emduo feelings recently since Phil revealed that the original plan on the DSMP was for c!Phil to betray c!Techno for maximum angst, but they decided against it because it would have made Phil sad. THEM.
I found that SMP Earth fic because of the author, but I'm almost done watching Techno's SMP Earth VODs (just watched the moon landing today) and then I'll definitely look for more :)