FamilyCryptkeeper

TCOAAL fic writer who probably has way too much free time. AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FamilyCryptkeeper

[familycryptkeeper]

what’s your opinion on Wren having a birth defect (the cataract eye). Theoretically, would he be upset at his parents for inbreeding? Since it likely increased his chances of getting a birth defect?

I tried looking up how far the chances of a birth defect increase from first gen sibling inbreeding. Most sites say the default chance is 2% while sibling inbreeding can increase that to anywhere from 8% to 25%.

I'm fine with a birth defect. At the very least, I'm fine with a realistic one like a cataract and not the common webbed hands/feet, polydactyly, and other handicaps people love to stereotype incest babies with.

I have no idea how he takes his parents' relation. Maybe he's fine with it, maybe he's not, maybe he doesn't know, maybe he does. The only thing I feel confident saying is he seems to get asked about his parents' situation a lot and it seems to piss him off- and even then, we don't know for sure the "questions" he gets asked are about them.

As for whether he blames them, I also don't know. I can see him blaming his grandparents for refusing to pay for surgery to fix it, but that's not Andrew & Ashley's fault unless they somehow got that money and didn't use it.

[familycryptkeeper]

I just KNOW all the antis in the TCOAAL fandom are gonna try to find some way to insist Andrew somehow isn't Wren's father (he is) or recolor Wren's eyes/hair to fit their OC ship or some other way to cope with this latest devlog.

...Also as a fankid creator I feel so goddamn vindicated and happy with this one.

[familycryptkeeper]

What would the kid's reaction to the truth about their parent's relationship be?

Well now, I can't spoil all the fun, can I? What if I write some chapters about that exact thing?

...Well, I would say that if Lilith didn't already have a fic about it predating Family Crypt. It's called The Talk, and I can't imagine I would change her characterization so much that her reaction differs significantly. That said, I'll keep Alex & Aleister's reactions a secret. Though I will say this: I do not think all three kids will have the same reaction or same level of acceptance. I also think they may have different priorities between the "parents are siblings" and "parents are serial killers" reveals.

[familycryptkeeper]

Do they look beautiful like Ashley Graves as Cleopatra and Andrew Graves as Julius Caesar?

Feel like Ptolemy would've been more fitting for Cleopatra's brother but honestly really nice designs.

[familycryptkeeper]

what do you think about crack fics

I don't read them very often. I think my brain just prefers some sense of internal logic to follow- even weird but consistent logic. But I don't have anything against them. It can sometimes be fun to see a story where literally anything goes.

[familycryptkeeper]

What if Nina was strong enough to break out of the box and managed to escape after Andrew and Ashley left?

They would be soooo fucked. I don't even know how fucked. Just fucked.

They're probably going to juvie or some sort of rehab. Andrew especially, since Renee seems to make him take responsibility for Ashley's actions and Andrew himself said he'd take the blame if she died (though Nina's testimony would likely get Ashley sent there too). Obviously everyone treats them like pariahs (more than in-game) and I doubt Julia's gonna be crushing on Andrew for very long after finding out what he did to Nina.

That said, an asthmatic kid who's strong enough to open a locked dusty box from the inside? If that happened I would rather go to juvie than remain free to face that mini-Terminator's wrath.

[familycryptkeeper]

Hi

*BOOM* westermarck fanart

(is still valentines trust)

Thanks so much for the art! I'm pretty pleased to get some Westermarck fanart.

And it's DEFINITELY still Valentine's Day, don't worry. Andrew & Ashley are probably still celebrating as we speak.

[familycryptkeeper]

first, could you enable anonymous asks pls

secondly, the TCOAAL community is running out of things to talk about and things to write about.

TCOAAL is a pretty good game centred entirely on 2 people in a toxic relationship. However, because it’s mostly focused on 2 people with little to no details on anyone else or even where the characters live. Every fanfic ends up focused on one of these 2 characters, most theories are focused on these 2 characters, most fan art is focused on Andrew and Ashley.

eventually, you run out of stuff to actually write about, fanfics start to feel like Groundhog Day as you start to notice the exact same plots and tropes in every fanfic. Every theory and analysis starts to feel like a rehash of the ones that came before it. All the fanart starts to blend together. Another thing I would like to mention is that the most popular OCs usually replace one of the siblings or are related to one of the siblings, because OCs that aren’t strongly related to the Graves in some way get ignored because this fandom only really cares about the Graves (because the game is all about the Graves siblings)

Didn't realize I didn't have anonymous asks on. But sure, they're on now.

I don't disagree with you, a lot of these are pretty valid points. I think an issue I have with a lot of analyses and theories is how many of them just retread old ground. Only so many "did anyone notice this detail" posts one can see before just saying "I got it the first time".

And I definitely realize that a lot of my own OCs' popularity stems from them being fankids, though I try my best to make them actual characters too.

Though I wouldn't say people who like OCs that replace one of the siblings actually care about the Graves siblings. They care about their idea of the Graves siblings and seem to not really like a lot of who they actually are, including the whole siblings-kissing-on-the-mouth thing.

[familycryptkeeper]

this one is for u (rush sketch, i was lazy so i didnt draw the hands)

Also does the fankids watch any cartoon?

I love this! Thanks so much for it! And totally get the hands part, I avoid drawing them if I can.

For cartoons? Alex would be a fan of the old DC shows, probably some of the new ones, and I can see her liking competition/challenge-based shows (someone on Strawpage suggested BFDI, though if we're keeping it strictly TV then I'm thinking of TDI). Aleister I can see being into the 2010's-era Cartoon Network lineup (mostly the early 2010's, like Adventure Time & Regular Show), though I also see him watching Infinity Train purely because it has a train in it. Lilith probably enjoys all those shows based on doll toylines (like Monster High, though I'm drawing a blank on the names of other examples).

[familycryptkeeper]

The image proper because wow the ask shrunk it:

[familycryptkeeper]

this one is for u (rush sketch, i was lazy so i didnt draw the hands)

Also does the fankids watch any cartoon?

I love this! Thanks so much for it! And totally get the hands part, I avoid drawing them if I can.

For cartoons? Alex would be a fan of the old DC shows, probably some of the new ones, and I can see her liking competition/challenge-based shows (someone on Strawpage suggested BFDI, though if we're keeping it strictly TV then I'm thinking of TDI). Aleister I can see being into the 2010's-era Cartoon Network lineup (mostly the early 2010's, like Adventure Time & Regular Show), though I also see him watching Infinity Train purely because it has a train in it. Lilith probably enjoys all those shows based on doll toylines (like Monster High, though I'm drawing a blank on the names of other examples).

[familycryptkeeper]

TCOAAL seems to have fans nearly everywhere and from various political ideologies. I’ve seen white nationalists like it, I’ve seen anarchist communists like it, I’ve seen both old and young people like it. I once checked the profile of a 30+ year old Muslim from Saudis Arabia who liked TCOAAL, also found another guy from Pakistan who also liked it. And another case where an anti-Semitic Christian nationalist also liked TCOAAL.

How does this game attract people who logically should hate it? It’s degenerate and weird but for some reason has a sizable portion of Nazis and religious people, aka the kind of people would hate a game like this.

Tbh, I can unfortunately guess for the neo-Nazis. No purer bloodline than incest, and all of the characters have light skin (given the whole game tends towards monochrome).

Also, have you seen how much incest is in religious stuff? They're basically coming home.

(As for why they think Nemlei would be cool with them given all the demon shit in TCOAAL and the gay ending in Better Half: who knows but I wish all the bigots in this fandom would fuck off)

[incorrect-gravescest]

Howdy! A little bit I asked on the tcoaal subreddit why the siblings (at least in the fan content I see) mostly have a daughter if they have one child. Familycryptkeeper responded saying they had a placeholder for Alex’s gender and hers just came naturally and then referenced using Lilith which is your Gravescest kid. So my question is what was your process for creating Lilith?

Good question, Anon! It started when I found this fanart of a genderbent/Rule 63 version of Andrew.

But when I saw it for the first time, my mind processed it as a mix of both Siblingspouses, not just R63 Andrew, so I turned it into a "face claim" for a Gravescest daughter.

But first I needed a name, so I thought about it and playing into the occult undertones of TCOAAL, I was researching everything from demonology to Kabbalah and everything in between when I suddenly remembered reading about Lilith from Jewish mythology and suddenly I had her name. I could see Ashley picking that for a name since Lilith defied God and stood up for herself by refusing to be subservient to Adam and thinking it would be a great name for her daughter. Of course, she wouldn't tell Andrew where she got the name from, but she was relieved when Andrew liked it. From there, it was just a matter of fleshing out her personality. I tend to think she's more like Andrew than Ashley, but she can be impulsive sometimes like dear old Mom.

She only showed up in one fic of mine, The Talk but FamilyCryptKeeper writes a younger Lilith in his excellent Family Crypt story that has two other Gravescest fankids , Aleister and Alex.

Honestly, I really should write more with Lilith as I've been neglecting her a bit.

[familycryptkeeper]

are you on the Tcoaal subreddit? There’s this guy with the username u/JohnnyUnderTheBed who is genuinely losing his mind. At first people thought he was just kidding around but he’s been slowly getting more and more insane over the past MONTHS and the stuff he types out sounds way too specific and personal to just be bait.

I’m wondering what your personal thoughts on this guy is assuming you’ve seen his posts. If not then go check them out.

I go on the subreddit once in a blue moon whenever a friend shares a post. Even then I almost never say anything unless I really feel the need, it's gone too downhill for my liking.

I haven't heard of this guy, but if I knew more about him I'd be able to say something.

[familycryptkeeper]

how much do you like the ship of Andy x leyley

I’m not a fan of the ship but cute fanart

(PS: if they weren’t family related it would be ok

for me)

*Looks at my backlog of Andrew/Ashley fics*

*Looks at the three Andrew/Ashley fankids I created or helped write*

...

...It's okay, I guess.

[familycryptkeeper]

What is your prediction for the "stars align" vision?

For me it's one of the biggest indicators of a good ending, since the stars are granted by choices that strengthen the bond between Andrew and Ashley and it's specifically stated to be a vision of the future as opposed to a different timeline like the Olive brach vision.

If nothing else, the vision being of the future means Andrew & Ashley are alive and likely together in some capacity. And it's probably something we would want to see, given we have to work to get it. You usually don't have to work to get a worse ending.

I'd obviously prefer if they had kids, but I can be fine without as long as there's still a chance.

That said if Nemlei just dropped a kid who looked like Alex into the vision I might actually combust.

[sphacelating]

i can’t deny that hanging out in this fandom space where people put a pair of very, very well written fictional abuse victims under a microscope, pick a favorite (so, pick a side, even if you claim not to), write analytic thinkpieces that invalidate the siblings’ trauma at the hands of each other and vilify one in the other’s defense, is sucking the fun out of this. you think that as long as you add “the siblings are both bad people” in there somewhere, you can unload criticism onto only one of them without taking the actions of the other into heavy consideration, or that if you preface your victim blaming with “i’m not saying they deserved it, but—“ that somehow negates the victim blaming that follows.

and watching tcoaal fans treat obvious trauma responses (you know, irrational responses to pain) as if these are rational and subject to the exact same moral critique as normal behavior, in order to decide which circle of hell these two belong in, is… uncomfortable, to say the least.

[galaxy-ramblings]

Now that I won't be bashed in for saying this, I want to question why the Ashley Graves is asexual theory ever came to be.

It's surprising just how popular this theory was that it ended up being asked on the Q&A

Like, in the game she's seen to be the one to bring it up every single time. It's never been Andrew.

(and yes, this includes the devlog doodle too)

Like, it always made more sense to me that she was demi. She literally doesn't care about other people except Andrew. (Maybe other people too if they never got in her way of being with Andrew, as in, perhaps she'd give a shit if they didn't bully her or try to steal him away from her, but 🤷🏻‍♀️ we don't know)

Anyway, seriously, I'm really happy about the demisexual representation because this means Ashley Graves is the FIRST canonical demisexual character EVER represented in a video game.

Congratulations to her and oh my god, I will never stop talking about this.

[familycryptkeeper]

People always insist that she views it as transactional and love to cite the callgirl and soda scenes. But that relies on people taking the former scene completely seriously while treating the later as Ashley making a joke.

Like... it's the other way around. She explicitly says leaving her number was a joke but only backs off about offering Andrew her virginity because Andrew himself gets uncomfortable. There's no "just a prank bro" afterwards.

I won't say she isn't transactional about her view of it in some aspects, but she's transactional about a lot of things besides sex- her view of life in general is pretty much quid pro quo- and in fact it's primarily when it isn't related to Andrew. When it is related to Andrew, we get the questionable ending, where she pursues the idea of them as lovers of her own accord.

And guess what- demisexual fits that description perfectly. She wants Andrew and only Andrew- anyone else can go shove it.

"Ashley is ace" just seems to be Tumblr shorthand for "I want to ship Ashley with someone besides Andrew." Especially now that Nemlei has all but said she isn't.