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DISCLAIMER (song) if you're here wondering about Working For The Knife check the end of this chapter.
I want to start off with I debated writing this fic at all because I could only imagine it written the way I wanted with Mark and Ethan as the characters, but writing about real people is something I'm pretty uncomfortable with. If this weren't an AU, it wouldn't have even been considered. Obviously I'm not shaming you if you do, this is just me. Please, for the love of all that is good and evil, don't push your ships onto real people. Don't let them know you ship them (just because they have a big platform doesn't mean they don't see comments/posts/etc. if anything having that many people do it makes it easier for them to find.)
Mark and Ethan's dynamic (specifically during Unus Annus) was honestly pretty inspiring for someone who likes to write "banter-y romance," if you will. The thought of them actually together is not something I believe is happening in secret, or any other disrespectful theory people come up with. Loudly shipping real people can make REAL friendships for REAL people weird as fuck, or ruin them entirely (as exhibited by what happened when people were so pushy about Mark and Sean. Not that their friendship was ruined, but there's a reason they don't do much online together anymore.) Not only is this disrespectful and crossing boundaries of the people in these ships, but their real life partners.
I understand it's easy to get carried away with shipping of content creators. Listen, I grew up a lonely pre-teen during Dan and Phil's prime-- trust me, I get it. This is going to be a work of total FICTION, simply inspired by real people and their humor with each other with a romantic twist because while their irl platonic friendship is hilarious and entertaining, viewing it through a sort of "what if" romantic lens makes for an engaging story.
This should go without saying, but holy fuck do not share this (or any fanfiction) with content creators. I don't care if you think they won't see it, don't even try/ put it out there where they could see it. The reason I'm comfortable posting this here is because I won't be promoting it anywhere else, therefor it won't be in hashtags/content relating to them. I highly doubt they would just be scrolling through their AO3 ship tag. If you're here, you're looking for it.
Anyway, with that out of the way let's move onto Working For The Knife. I am NOT abandoning that fic. I've been struggling a lot with both physical and mental health, and while I basically have the rest of that fic planned out, I don't want to actually write it until I know I can do it justice. This fic is going to be used as something for me to sort of get my creativity out, especially since it's centering around an aspect that I won't be using in WFTK (the supernatural side. I know it seems like I put ghosts in that fic, which you can choose to view it that way! but ultimately that fic won't deviate from reality, and anything that seems like it does is typically meant to be viewed through the lens of delusion/ unreliable narrator.) I don't know when I'll be returning to WFTK, but rest assured that I will. I'm also not sure how long this fic will be/ how frequent I'll update it, but I don't see it being as long as WFTK is going to be. I know it will likely be at least more than five chapters though, because frankly I'm incapable of writing anything shorter.
Alright, disclaimer song over. If you actually took the time to read this like I asked, I really appreciate you! I have strong feelings about the effects of shipping on real life people, especially when LGBTQ relationships are the subject matter. When speculating on a real life person's sexuality or gender, even if you think it's as some inside joke amongst the community/ between the community and people involved, you toe the line (and often cross it) of forcing someone to come out before their ready. That's extremely invasive and something we don't get to decide! And with that, I'll leave you to it. Enjoy and be respectful to all the people mentioned!