Honor’s Tea

She/They

[rantingspade]

I know that there is a lot of young people in the mcyt fandom, who have not developed and learned how to pick apart texts and notice specific things in them yet. So, because of recent stuff and the words "boundaries", "rules" and "censorship" being thrown around like candy, here's someone who has these skills (me) going through Millkberrys and Pyroscythes statements.

(TW for death, rape and sa threats, mention of sh and harassment, use of the r-slur)

First off, the actual official definitions of the words:

(The first one is from wikipedia, the other two from the Cambridge dictionary, you can look them up if you'd like full confirmation on the sources.)

(notable, fan works such as fanart, fanfiction and headcanons or shitposts are considered a work of art and/or kind of communication with other fans.)

(notable #2, the ideas people are allowed to express and the certain ideas that are included or supported in this case is the shipping of the creators characters.)

(notable #3, content creators / mcyts are minor celebrities and with that have authority over their fan communitys. If you disagree, feel free to block me, I will not be arguing over this.)

And now, me marking/highligthing things in the statements that fit those definitions/descriptions:

What's a boundary or implies one is marked with green.

What's not a boundary is marked with yellow.

What's a rule or implies a rule is marked with blue.

What's censorship is marked red.

I want it to be noted that the only times boundaries are implied or mentioned by either of them, is the word, regarding that this is for Millkberrys mental health or when the actual act of setting boundaries is dismissed (as a past action or entirely).

This is not to mention Pyroscythes literal thread of harassment and policing people, which has already taken action through other fans putting death and rape threads in peoples ask boxes:

(If any of the victims of the threats want me to take them out of this, feel free to tell me and I will do so!)

Apparently one of Pyroscythes mods claimed on Twitter that it was meant as a joke. However, considering the very serious nature of both the stream segment and his expression as well as the fact that it came from a mod and Pyroscythe has yet to actually say anything on this themself, I'm inclined to not believe it.

Lastly, my opinion on this:

Harassment is never okay and no matter how many times these creators have said in the past that they don't endorse it, reality is looking different right now. You cannot tell your large audience what Pyroscythe has told his and expect it not to listen to you, no matter if it was meant as a joke or not.

This is not a boundary, it is a rule at minimum and censorship at worse. Censorship is rampant right now and fandom spaces are some of the few spaces that allow free expression, trying to take that away is not okay. If you cannot handle seeing ship content of your characters, then you should block people who do make art of it, block the shipping tags and not go out of your way to look for it. You can ask people not to show that art to you, and that is completely valid. It is also completely valid to ban people from Stream chats and discords if they do show it to you. It is not valid to tell people what kind of art they can and cannot create however. And if you can't handle the idea of ship content of your characters existing at all, then maybe you should rethink your career choice as a content creator who focuses on roleplay and character creation.

[daily-cup-of-t]

An update on AvidMC:

He rebranded his youtube channel to Delta Archives

He pretended to delete his discord account.

(what an actual deleted account looks like)

[ctommyinnnit]

at the end of the day my take on mcyts enforcing boundaries for depictions of their characters is that it's insane because no one would ever accept this from another piece of media. can you imagine if the writers of tv shows or movies came forward and said you cannot depict their stories' characters in romantic situations? if a broadway actor said you cannot draw the character they play involved with another character because the actor is dating someone irl? if benedict cumberbatch had publicly stated you can't write bbc sherlock smut? they'd be the subject of public ridicule for WEEKS

[fandom-belongs-to-the-fans-first]

Regarding the recent discourse, I just wanted to say that I have been in fandom for a long time, been in multiple fandoms, and MCYT has the weirdest relationship to content creators that I have ever seen.

It is strange to me, that fans so easily accept being told what they can and can’t create in fan spaces.

The right to create fanfic was something that fans had to fight hard for. The right to create works that wasn’t Brand Approved. If the creators of any other fandom tried to police what fan works were created, they would either be flat out ignored or there would be riots.

Fandom is our house. We have been living here for much longer than these CCs have been online. Fandom etiquette, the rules of fandom, have existed longer than their fandoms have.

If they want to be here, that’s unusual, but that’s okay. Fandom is welcome to anyone. But they don’t seem to want to be here, just like anyone else. They act like the rules don’t apply to them, or worse, that they make the rules like it’s their house.

And we shouldn’t let them. Please, please, listen to me. This is not just about shipping. This is about not allowing this to become the accepted new normal.

Because if we accept that it’s okay a creator can ban all fanworks of their character being in romantic relationships, what else will we accept? Think about what other kinds of content have been and still are being banned in certain libraries around the world.

Creators can control their own spaces. Their streams, their official discord servers. But not what we do in our own home.

[grim-leafer]

I'm not going to say a lot on this subject - a lot of people have made very eloquent posts on the matter, and I encourage everyone to consider those with an open and critical mind. A lot of what I would have to say would just be repetition. What I will say is that seeing very dear friends of mine receive death and rape threats over the past couple days has made me realize I cannot just let this blow over. This is the type of fan environment I will never assist in cultivating, and refuse to participate in.

Dictating what information and forms of creative expression are 'allowed' to be produced and accessed to any degree in the world for the comfort of the few has and always will be an infringement on fundamental rights to intellectual exploration and expression. This is not just about shipping, and has never been; This is about the standard being set of allowing one individual to dictate what the public may explore. Respect each other yes, people have a right to control their own personal spaces and what they do and don't want to see, and people should never personally force subject matter on others who don't wish to view them, but understand that this control cannot be cleanly applied to online spaces - outside of one's own personal filtering and blocking - without the very types of witch-hunting and harassment we are currently seeing. This leads to vulnerable people being attacked.

The things you see in an online information space (in this case fanart and fanfiction), which is akin to browsing subject matter in a library or archive, is not the same as information being curated and presented to you, as a gift or otherwise, from one individual to another, and cannot be condemned as such. On the same wavelength, sending death and rape threats to others directly and attacking people in comments sections is not a moral equivalent to seeing art in a public space where anyone who wishes not to see it can easily filter it out or choose to scroll past - if you see something you dislike in a public online space, then that thing was simply not intended for you. It is not a personal attack or violation. You can choose to not engage.

My account has always been for me and the topics that I wish to explore in both fan works and original fiction, and I will continue to create what makes me happy. I hope that other people continue to create what makes them happy as well.

If you disagree with any of this, please exercise your right to controlling your own space by blocking me, and all the best to everyone.

[www-internetangel-com]

"Just do QPR shipping" is, on the surface, good advice for those who want to abide by strict creator boundaries. However, with Pyro's fans probably being new to MCYT fandom spaces, I need to remind you of a few things:

1. QPRs and aspec identities are commonly misunderstood. A CC may not know the difference.

2. This is also a paradox: by refering to your ships as a QPR, you insinuate that they are not a "real" relationship because there is no romantic or sexual attraction involved. This is strictly not true. It is a relationship: you are still shipping. Consider how aspecs feel about this. As an alloaro, I find this offensive as well. Start dismantling amatonormativity.

3. Even if we disregard that, this issue has come up before. Specifically during the height of the DSMP and Life series. When a post was called a QPR and artists insisted that was the intention, it was still seen as alloallo shipping. You will be misunderstood. It will happen. Anything that is "too romantic" will be flagged as a romantic ship. Yes, even if you say that a kiss is platonic (which it can be, don't start with me), or holding hands, or laying in bed together: if the CC thinks it is bad, it will get flagged.

4. Related to that, this is why we use (x)duo and ship nicknames. These blurred over time when we realised the CCs do not engage with it much, so you see it interchangeably now. If you really want to avoid CCs getting mad at you, agree on a new tag to use. I'd recommend those who want to respect the ship boundary to get involved too, simply so they don't get flagged by the CC for completely innocent intentions they have.

5. I think some people who agree with this boundary being set are ignoring the part where your community is being monitored. This is, and I cannot stress this enough, not a normal thing for creators to do. Be it a book, their own game, another person's AU in an existing fandom: you cannot watch everything your community does. This will be terrible for already paranoid fans, or fans with OCD. It is a harmful threat to fans. If you don't like harmless ship content, you can avoid it if it clashes with your moral outlook.

[mcyt-researcher]

Research: Understanding MCYT Boundaries

SURVEY LINK

During my time in mcyt fandom, I've watched as the fandom's perception of creator boundaries has grown and shifted into a cornerstone of our fandom, and yet we don't actually have any good data on how the fandom as a whole perceives them outside of discourse posts.

The goal of this unofficial study NOT to make a value judgement on whether creator boundaries should be respected - it is to understand how the fandom currently perceives and interacts with them.* Is respecting creator boundaries important to you? Has your favorite creator made a boundary list or spoken about it on stream? Do you find some boundaries acceptable and others not? Have you ever been the target of hate for engaging with boundary-breaking content? Whether you think boundaries should always be respected or you think they're being used as tools of censorship, I want to hear from you. What are boundaries, and why do they matter so much to us?

—

This survey is a mix of multiple choice and optional long-response questions. It should take about 15 minutes if you’re only doing the required questions, and much longer if you choose to answer the optional questions.**

If you are able, please reblog and share this survey link around. Feel free to post it on any platform, as I am currently only on Tumblr, which is not representative of the fandom as a whole. In fact, I’d love it if it reached Twitter. The more responses, the more accurate the results will be for the whole of mcyt.*** Anyone in mcyt spaces, including creators, are welcome to take the survey to share their thoughts. However, I ask that for the comfort of content creators and the spirit of good fandom etiquete, please do not directly share the survey with any creator or post the link in any creators’ official communities. Thoughtful discussion is always valued over reactionary comments.

The survey is set to close at 11:59pm EST on August 1, 2026 - I may extend this date if there is still a high volume of responses coming in, or if there aren’t enough responses yet for meaningful data. I will aim to publish the results within a month of the survey’s close, and keep you updated on the timeline if that’s not feasible for any reason.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped beta this survey- you all gave such wonderful suggestions! I wish I could’ve kept every question, but in the end a lot needed to be cut to make this manageable. Please know that I appreciate every one of you, as this survey would not exist today without you.

—

* Why I think this data is important to collect: The idea for this survey came to me almost a year ago, and I started developing it around February of this year. I’ve spoken with dozens of people about this topic with diverse opinions, read and catalogued hundreds of tumblr posts, rewatched streams and videos by creators and fans, and watched as opinions have shifted across fandoms in real time. I feel extremely confident in saying that every person on every side cares deeply about respecting others and creating safe, welcoming communities in all mcyt spaces. Where they differ is on how to show that respect, which kinds of expectations they think are reasonable in different spaces, and beliefs on how those in power should be using their influence. I don’t expect this survey’s results to fundamentally change anything - this debate has been going on longer than mcyt has existed. But I think it’s still important to analyze the actual arguments people are making and how they affect our communities, instead of focusing on expected behavior from others based on our own values, so we can see the varying expressions of humanity in each other and work towards a better future for our fandom. I don’t think we’re as different as the discourse may have us believe.

** This survey is designed to encourage all participants to think critically about their position and the effects it has. I am aware that I have my own personal biases, so I have taken steps to ensure that the survey is as bipartisan as possible and also gives participants the opportunity to explain their answers for every question if they feel the need. Because of this, there may be questions that make some participants uncomfortable. While I would appreciate knowing why a question has made someone uncomfortable, participants are always free to skip such long-response questions.

*** I’m well aware that any recent discourse on this topic may skew results if arguments on one side are more successful than another in convincing fans of a particular position. I still think the data will be valuable even with a potential skew.

[tehturdlehole]

How about we all chill. We’re here to enjoy the funny minecraft youtubers. tag your stuff, and block tags you dont want to see

In the words of Cleo herself, “Being kind is more important than being right”. thats so so important

[heartcircus]

idk ! i just think if shipping is against your boundaries you shouldn't be yaoibaiting for the sake of further engagement and monetary gain !

[fish-inthewater]

You know, browsing the Pyro tag I see a few defending him or making us look like maniacs and one one hand, I wanna like, say why people are so upset, but also like. I don't particularly want to fight with people, and while I've written a reblog to someone sayign were "blowing this out of proportion" and only focusing on "one line" when its so much more then that....I don't think they're worth the effort, even though they're super annoying

See, unlike some of these cc creators, I know how to block and curate my own space!!

though I will post what I said here just for general becaus ei knew this question was gonna come up sooner or later: "how is the harrassment pyros fault???"

The stream after the boundries one at 8 minutes he says "don't harrass people...for past things" not "don't harrass people" this was specifically after being asked to clarify harrassment was not okay and to not do it. He has condoned harrassment towards people woth that single line.

Also, he never cleared it up that he was talking about his mods in the previous threat, about sending his people after "repeat offenders" like some people claim. Like...it is JUST vague enough to where it COULD have been him messing up his words, but also vague enough to be a threat of sending fans after people. And 90% of people saw/heard the latter, people on his side and against. Given he says the above when asked to clarify to not harrass people, I frankly don't believe he was referring to his mods even if the mods claim he was.

[hn-undercover-9503]

"Content creators are people too!" So are your fans. Your fans are also people. They are not numbers, they are not just "chat." They are PEOPLE. Real people who live and want to be creative and have fun. People who care and have invested hours upon hours of their free time to you and your characters, and yes, YOUR SHIPS. People who are just here to have fun and be creative and make things in THEIR HOUSE while you barge through the front door and declare their furniture is bad and needs to be destroyed.

Hey, that painting on your canvas, the one you're working on right now? Get rid of it. Throw it in the trash. Set it on fire. That's not allowed here. What's that, this is your house? I can't decide what art you put up? WRONG! Cease and desist, bitch. My birds are gonna get you. No, actually, I'm not gonna clarify what that statement means. You're being evil and wrong and therefore I'm in the right and you have to listen to me.

Fans are people too. I'm sick of content creators are people bullshit. I'm sick of having to watch my friends' houses be gutted out and redecorated to some random guy's specific qualifications. Get out of the house if you don't like the decor. We were here FIRST.

[naturalfirewave]

Hey, so I know that I have some following that might be younger. But if a content creator tells you that they are going to send people after you for repeat offenses. That is not okay. It is an abuse of power.

You are not responsible to make adults comfortable. They can do that themselves. You are still a teen/young adult and you do not have to carry the world on your shoulders. You also do not need to make an adult happy on the internet.

CCs are not your friends and most likely, they never will be.

[rennothy-bo-bennothy]

Also, hopefully this is my last post on this but don't hold your breath, seeing the way that other mcyt creators are talking about the Pyro thing has made me realize that he's pulling a "you can't eat rice on Tuesdays"

Like we have a content creator who is asking their fans to report individuals in the fandom who are doing things he doesn't like, so he can "deal with repeat offenders."

And when people are (rightfully) going "hey, what the fuck?" And pointing out that that's overstepping and an abuse of power, we get framed as the weirdos who are gonna die if we can't make the Minecraft blocks kiss.

Like you all are missing the point, this isn't about "valuing a fictional ship over a real person" or however you wanna phrase it to make us look irrational. This is about someone butting in to a space they know nothing about and are not a part of, and telling us how to act, and then threatening us with harassment if we don't listen to them.

[grithogirl]

"average mcrp fandom can survive multiple shipping bans and fandom overreach attempts from creators" factoid actualy just statistical error. average mcrp fandom collapses and dies from one (1) shipping ban and creator overreach. DSMP, which somehow survived nearly every creator banning shipping and most popular tropes like it was on some kind of fandom steroids, is an outlier adn should not have been counted

[varteeny1234]

i think if you are in a position of power and use that power to tell people that you see their every move and are going to do what you deem "appropriate reactions" to them breaking your personal preference rules in private spaces AND ALSO tell them you have spies watching them just in case they try to hide then that makes you a bad person

[varteeny1234]

sure why not. this post is about santa claus now. we're canceling santa claus on tumblr dot com

[rainy-daze1]

You better not draw,

You better not write,

Not if it's something

That he doesn't like;

That grown adult on twitch dot tv!

He's got little birds

In every tree

Gonna find out

If you're not pg!

As a grown adult on twitch dot tv!

He sees you when you're shipping

And when you boundary-break,

It's okay if you're joking but

Not okay if it's gay!

(Ew!)

You better not draw,

You better not write,

If you don't want people

To kill you on sight

For a grown adult on twitch dot tv!

[imnotasweetie]

Im finally happy because I was able to find a common ground in my opinions:

Fans would want to respect cc boundaries, and thats perfect . The cc still should have a dni tag. Because no matter how permissive or restricted your boundaries are, there still some thing you wont want to see and thats okay. If you dont see it in your timeline, you wont think about it. The people who use the dni tag will be hidden from the general community so you wont be all the time aware of the content they create, and the other people who also wants to evade that content can block it and move on instead of harassing. So everyone wins: people who still wants to make "boundaries breaking" context will have a "closed" space because they know that they cant post it on main(as long as they tag it properly, if you maintag it welp its your problem lol), and the people who wants to follow the cc boundaries will still have the space, the end.

that is literally all that we've been advocating for here

that and to clarify to fans to NOT harass or try to rat out people who stay in the dni space, because THAT'S WHY IT'S THERE FOR

[mizmatched]

I really appreciate how, as far as I'm aware, all of hermitcraft has responded to fandom. They've let us know they're aware, sometimes they even joke about it, some people call it weird, some people play into it, but overall, I believe most of them have never set boundaries about it. It's not their space they don't step in. Scar will get donations asking about boundaries and he'll play dumb and talk about package shipping. They don't attempt to police people's creativity or treat their audience like hired fanwork creators.

Anyway friendly reminder that creators have no authority to police your creativity. They are weird for trying. Their fandom space is NOT for them. The only time boundaries are relevant to me is when fans start harassing creators in the creators own spaces, which is weird.