#I just miss when the server’s story was centered around the players | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

factual-fantasy · 2 years

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I got 25 (late) asks 😅 (its got some fnaf lore too tho!👀)

You know? You’ve got a point. I cant imagine Monty getting split in half would be a fun thing to remember..

But honestly? If Monty remembered everything that happened that night? The damage he took from the splash bucket would be small potatoes to him. The thing that would REALLY freak him out is remembering how he went berserk and tried to hunt down and kill a child.

And Pyro! XD

SLKAJLKDJF THANK YOUUUU!!!

--As for how I create headcannons/AUs,, XD

Headcannons and AUs are mostly just me filling in the blanks in cannon in my own ✨special✨ way.

Like FNAF Security Breach for example.

Me: “So what happened to Bonnie exactly? Did Monty REALLY destroy him out of jealousy? How did Afton get down there in the basement? Why is Foxy never mentioned despite Pirates cove being a thing? Is he even IN the story? How come all the animatronics were attacking you? How come Freddy WASN’T attacking you? What made Freddy crash on stage? What happened to Vanny and the animatronics after Gregory left? How does the Daycare attendant work? Is he two animatronics in one? Is he two separate animatronics? How can his FABRIC CLOTHES physically change color if the game implies they are the same animatronic? WHY was Gregory at the pizzaplex in the first place??“

FNAF/Steel wool: “Lol figure it out”

Me:

Yes, although I will not specify where they are in the story or what is going to become of them.

I can confirm that yes, both William Afton and Vanny are not only in my AU, but both play a major role in the over all story. :}

Hmmm, good question... Now, my memory isn’t the best. But out of all the fandoms I’ve jumped into? I’d probably say Octonauts was the most welcoming and overall supportive of me.

I think part of it was because the Octonauts fandom is a bit small.. so when a new artist came around it was like “Heck yeah man! Common in! :DDD”

And also most of the angst lovers in the fandom were on the same page as me, so I got a lot of support there too XD

Tank qqqq!!! :}}}} ❤❤❤

I have! And I’ve seen a few episodes of it. So far I really like it! Mostly because there were episodes centered around my favorite characters XD (Captain Barnacles, Calico Jack, Ranger Marsh and Professor Natquik)

XD I’m glad you like them! Although I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be posting them. Considering I’m making more progress in the FNAF writing.. 😅

Tank qqq,, I’m glad you like him! :DD And I’m sure DJMM would be glad to hear someone say that XD

I cant find the WORDS for this, this was all so SWEET AHHOASKNLKM This really hit me right in my heart man- I hjust- HSFDF

THANK YOU SO MUCHH!! This was such a nice thing to read!!!😭😭😭

(Post in ask)

Actually, funnily enough Engineer isn’t wounded in this comic. This was before his injury.

Engineer is just freaking the heck out over the dolls outside.. 👀

(But yes he does recover from his injury that he gets later in the story)

Actually, you may be in luck! Have you heard the news going around? There was some updates recently and a lot of the bots have been weeded out.

When I heard the news, I couldn’t believe it. So I hopped on to see what was up and sure enough.. the casual servers were surprisingly clean. I mean there’s still a bot here and there. But it wasn’t like before when you couldn't even leave spawn without getting sniped from across the map.

The casual servers actually have real players now, and most of the bots have been wiped out :}}

Or at least, uh. It was like that last time I checked a few months ago. Maybe the bots came back idk--

I don’t like it when people draw fanart of my stuff.

But if you were to draw fanart and never show/tell anyone and it would only be for your eyes to see? I mean, what am I gonna do? Be upset about something that I have no idea was drawn?

The only set back would be the ✨soul crushing guilt✨ of drawing fanart of some of my stuff even though you know I don’t vibe with that XD

@orionapraxnia

Not.. really? I mean, if I miss a fandom, I just. Jump back into it XD

Like I did with TF2 recently. I was getting a little burnt out with writing so I took a short break by diving head first into TF2 again XD

I used to shy away from parkouring from fandom to fandom back in the day. But now a days I find that I have more fun by just drawing what ever I feel like drawing at the time. And my followers don’t seem to mind sooo,, XD

@burningmusicfunnygiant

Yes sirrr, those two were best buds back in the day,

(Here’s a link to the video)

I went and watched the video. And although it was pretty cool!.. It was a fan-made video. Its not an actual DLC..😅

@paintedpig I have a voice in mind for Foxy actually! I imagine him sounding just like his cannon voice. You can hear it in the Ultimate custom night voice lines.

As for Bonnie? I don’t think I really have one in mind for him... But I know he doesn’t sound high pitched and goofy. Like Nedd bear or Goofy the dog. I imagine his voice is deeper and more chill. Kind’a like what Freddy Fazbear might sound like?

Thank youuu,,, :}}}

Aww, I’m glad! :D

And its not that I don’t like those comics anymore. I’m still proud of them and like how they came out! Its just that from a lore perspective,, they don’t fit into the story anymore. Soooo for the sake of telling the story, they need a do over! :}

@sweetturtledonkeycookie I usually draw/post what ever fandom I’m into at the time. After my FNAF re-faze dies down maybe I’ll jump back into Octonauts. Or Undertale, ooorrrr jump into a NEW fandom like Sam and Max or something XD I cant predict what faze I’m going to go through next! You’re just going to have to wait and see! 😅

Yeah, I figured that the story was probably great and the characters were probably great.. but I judged a book by its cover and turned the other way <XD

Right now I have a lot of shows that I’m too lazy to watch that I mean to get around to someday. I guess for the sake of the story I’ll have to add Transformers animated to the list and give it the shot it deserves. :}

@mysteriousl0ser Roxy only got put up on stage after Bonnie was decommissioned, yes.

When Foxy was taken, the Band took a hit without their Keytar player. But the company hadn’t thought to put the other animatronics on stage in his place. Mostly because Monty/Roxy wouldn’t have really fit into the group..

But when Bonnie was damaged? Now they were down their Keytar player and their Bass player. So at that point they really needed to rebuild the band for that nights show so they tossed Monty and Roxy on the stage in their places.. <:/

As for how long the gap was between Foxy and Bonnie’s decommissions? That part of the timeline hasn’t been fully ironed out yet.. but I’d say about maybe 4 months to a year? It was supposed to feel like when the animatronics were finally starting to get back up on their feet and began to process Foxy’s death.. Bonnie was unexpectedly taken too. Knocking them all back down again..

Also thank you!! :DDD I’m glad you like them!! :}}

@johnbrownanarchist XD Thanks! It took me a while to figure out what he would look like back in the old days.

As for the description thing? I suppose you could use it. I mean, who doesn’t like Monty in a silly hat? XD

@wackigremlinchild Tank you!! :}} I did my best!

@conflicted-phoenix XD That is one of the highest complements I have ever received.

#my response #fnaf security breach #team fortress 2

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sleepless-in-southlands · 2 years

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Last Cry Before Our Eternal Silence

Ao3

Chapter eleven of This Predacious Song, my multidimensional big bang fic! It’s a Mumbo-centric Hermitcraft/Last Life fic heavily featuring violence, blood, trauma, and horror-like themes. It is hurt/comfort with a happy ending. Please follow the embedded title link or the ao3 link for a complete summary and list of warnings for the story as a whole

Chapter eleven’s title from France’s Coast Guard’s final morse code message

As Hermitcraft’s admin, Xisuma had learned a lot of things over the years. No matter how well you patched the code, there would always be some glitch waiting to be stumbled upon, for one. Or, in related teachings, if there was a glitch waiting to be stumbled upon, there was always a hermit looking to take advantage of it.

(He loved his servermates, he did, but some days they seemed intent upon giving him grey hairs.)

But the most important lesson he had learned was that, if everything seemed to be going well, it wasn’t. It was just the calm before the storm.

So at first, when Xisuma saw his communicator lighting up with a call from an unknown number, he sighed. The server had been too peaceful recently. Something was bound to go wrong eventually.

“Hello?”

“Is this Xisumavoid?”

Ah, full name. Not the greatest sign for the incoming conversation. “That’s correct.”

“You’re an admin?”

And they were calling for admin-related reasons. Xisuma frowned slightly. Another bad sign. “For the Hermitcraft server, yes.”

“Can you verify that a, uh, Mumbo Jumbo is part of that server?”

It was suddenly much harder to breathe. “He is. What’s happened?”

“There’s been a respawn error.” The person on the other end of the line answered, much too neutrally given the severity of the situation. “You’re listed as his admin contact. I’ve sent you the details for the server and request you come as soon as possible.”

“I’m on my way.” Xisuma promised, hanging up the call right after and switching to his messages. A new one at the top came from the same number he had just finished calling with, nothing in the message outside of the server details. It wasn’t one that Xisuma recognized, and as he got to the bottom of the information, he realized it was a private server, complete with a passcode to enter.

Xisuma tried not to overthink anything as he prepared to make the server jump. Respawn errors were incredibly rare, but they could technically happen in any server, no matter how safe or properly managed. Just because Mumbo was in a private server- just because all of Hermitcraft had spent the last few months making worrying about Mumbo a personal hobby- didn’t mean anything.

The jump went by in less than a blink, but it was still too slow as far as Xisuma was concerned. When the world around him loaded back in, he realized he was in a large room, standard red beds lining the long walls to his sides. One of the beds near the back had been hastily blocked off, as evidenced by the dirt block walls around it. Other than a player standing near the center, fiddling with his communicator, the room was empty.

The other player glanced up when Xisuma arrived. “Are you Xisumavoid?”

“I am.” Xisuma confirmed as he walked past the man, beelining for the blocked off bed. “What happened?”

“Like I told you, there was a respawn error.” The man reiterated as he hurried to follow Xisuma. “But if you mean how he died before it occurred, he was killed with a trident through the chest.”

“Drowned?” Xisuma pushed, mentally running through respawn error probabilities. They most often occurred with evokers and their fang attacks, due to conflicting code issues with the ground layer, but issues arising from a drowned’s non-collectible tridents weren’t too uncommon when it came to errors-

“No, a player.”

Xisuma stopped right as he reached the spruce door, turning back to face who he assumed to be the server’s own admin. “A player?”

The other man looked at Xisuma as if he was the one missing something. “Yeah, a player.”

“Why- was there a fight? Did Mumbo do something?”

“It’s… a competition. Last player standing is the winner. Mumbo Jumbo was the only other contestant still in the ring at the time so, yeah, I guess he did that.”

Although the server’s admin avoided the exact term, Xisuma knew exactly what he meant when he said ‘competition’.

This was a death games server. A private death games server. A private death games server Mumbo had somehow gotten an invitation to.

Oh, Mumbo, what have you been doing?

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Xisuma pushed open the oak door and entered the mini room. It enclosed a single bed upon which Mumbo was laid out, eyes closed and expression distorted in pain. His jacket and tie had been removed, and the top buttons of his shirt undone to better show the site of the killing wound. The three puncture marks showed no signs of healing, but no signs of injury specific distortion either, as was expected of a respawn error injury.

What wasn’t expected, however, was the collection of wounds that stood out starkly against Mumbo’s pale skin, all dripping dark blood and glinting with glitched edges. On his arms alone there were at least a dozen, ranging in size from paper cuts to gashes that practically encompassed his arm. Another shadowed his collarbone, oozing blood that rolled down to paint the trident wounds vicious red. Xisuma couldn’t even imagine how many more there must be on the rest of Mumbo’s chest and his legs.

“And how did all these happen?” Xisuma asked the server’s admin, who had wormed his way into the miniature room to stand on the opposite side of Mumbo’s bed. His tone was harsher than he had intended for it to be, but he couldn’t entirely bring himself to care.

“Hey, hey, hey! No need to get so surly!” The other man said much too defensively. “Respawn errors can happen in any server! And none of those glitch injuries occurred here!”

As unsavory as Xisuma found him, the server’s admin didn’t seem to be lying. And while glitch injuries were not nearly as rare as respawn errors, they primarily popped up in poorly managed servers, or servers where fighting between players was frequent. And Mumbo had so many…

The other man cleared his throat. “I hate to, uh, rush you, but don’t you think you should get your player here back to your server? His chances of surviving the error really aren’t good here, and, well, he should at least be somewhere familiar, right?”

Xisuma hoped the glare he was shooting at the pathetic excuse of an admin was coming through his visor clear and obvious. He only wanted Mumbo gone so there was no chance of him perishing there and bringing unwanted attention upon his regulation-ignoring server and player-endangering games. If it weren’t for the extremely pressing matters at hand, Xisuma would have personally ensured the entire place was wiped out of existence and the man’s admin rights permanently revoked.

But that could be taken care of another time. For now, unfortunately, the other man was right. The longer Mumbo stayed in the painful limbo between death and respawn, the higher the chance he would permadie, code unable to latch onto any respawn points.

Doing his best to not aggravate Mumbo’s multitude of injuries, Xisuma carefully picked up the unconscious redstoner and hit the ‘jump back’ command on his communicator. They appeared at his base for only a moment before he was teleporting them within the server, to Boatem.

Grian, walking between buildings in the main area, glanced over at them as Xisuma’s feet once again settled on the ground. “Xisuma? What are you- Mumbo?!”

“Grian, is there a bed on the ground floor of your starter base?”

“I- yeah, yeah, come on.” Grian started heading in the direction of his base, Xisuma following behind as fast as he dared. Every few seconds, Grian would look back, eyes on Mumbo. It was obvious he had questions but was holding back on asking them all until Xisuma did whatever he had to do.

Grian held open the door to his base, letting Xisuma through before pointing to the side of his house his bed was tucked away in. “It’s right over there. I don’t know if it matters, but I haven’t used it as a respawn point in weeks.”

“That’s probably for the best.” Xisuma responded as he came to stand beside the bed. He laid Mumbo on it before stepping away, giving himself some space as he pulled up the server’s code. Lines of green filled with symbols he was more than used to appeared before him with a thought, and Xisuma quickly set about navigating it.

Finding Mumbo’s code was easy. The hard part was finding the code for the specific bed he was currently laying on. Trying to connect Mumbo to a bed he wasn’t in contact with would only worsen the respawn injury, and Xisuma couldn’t let that happen.

In the gaps between his code, Xisuma watched as Grian’s hands ghosted over the top of Mumbo’s unhealing, bleeding arms. His lips were moving, but whether he was talking to himself or trying to murmur something to Mumbo, Xisuma couldn’t tell.

After too much time for Xisuma’s liking, he found the right bed. Taking its exact object name, he linked it as Mumbo’s respawn point, waiting a moment before the screen flashed at him in confirmation of the change. He swiped the code screens away as soon as it saved, coming back to Mumbo’s bedside and looking him over.

The trident wounds had healed, and his expression had become relaxed with the fatal injuries addressed.

The other cuts hadn’t changed at all.

“Xisuma?” Xisuma, distracted by the grisly sight of Mumbo’s remaining injuries, had remained silent too long for Grian. “What’s happening? Is Mumbo… is he going to be alright?”

Giving his honest answer to that question would likely cause Grian to panic, which would most likely end up in the entire server panicking. Xisuma would rather avoid that, if he could. “Could you gather all of Boatem here? I think it’ll be best if I can talk to you all together.”

Grian glanced back at Mumbo, clearly hesitant to leave his friend in such a state. Xisuma crouched down so that he was on Grian’s level, doing his best to keep his voice reassuring. “I’ll keep an eye on him while you’re gone. Everything’s going to be okay, Grian.”

The way Grian looked at Xisuma made it clear he didn’t entirely believe that.

Xisuma couldn’t blame him. He didn’t either.

Despite his doubt, Grian still got up and left his base. Through both the door he left open and the walls of the house, Xisuma could hear him yelling for the rest of Boatem at the top of his lungs. If, by luck, all Boatem members were currently anywhere near their town, they’d hear him.

Xisuma used what short time he had until Grian and co returned to close his eyes and forcefully breathe. As admin, he had to offer his hermits a steady and confident front. Someone who knew what was happening and knew what to do about it, or, at the very least, someone who could handle the aftermath if it all went wrong.

One breath in was too sharp and metallic and Xisuma’s eyes opened automatically; the sight of Mumbo, bleeding-in-Hermitcraft Mumbo, glitch-ridden-skin Mumbo helpfully reminded him that he had no idea how to handle this, in the aftermath or otherwise.

Four sets of footsteps tore Xisuma from his spiralling thoughts, turning around to find Grian leading in the rest of Boatem. Impulse, Pearl, and Scar looked confused until they saw Mumbo, every player moving over to crowd out every edge of the bed as they realized what was wrong.

“Try not to touch him.” Xisuma warned as some of them got too close. “We don’t want to aggravate any of his… injuries.”

Aside from Grian, who had taken up his spot near Mumbo’s head once again and seemed unwilling to step away from it any time soon, all of Boatem immediately pulled away from Mumbo.

“What… what happened?” Scar asked faintly after a long moment.

“Mumbo had a respawn error.” Xisuma started, deciding it was better to begin with the issue he had actually understood and been able to fix. “He was in a different server and he didn’t correctly register as part of their respawn system. The injury that had killed him didn’t go away after he died, and he became unable to respawn.”

“Is that still- is he still-”

“Now that he’s back in Hermitcraft, I was able to manually link him to a respawn point. He’s no longer stuck dying, and will wake up soon.” Xisuma answered before Pearl could fully answer the question, not certain if she- if any of them- could handle actually hearing the phrase ‘is he still going to die?’. “It will likely be a few days before he’s able to do much more than stay in bed, however, and longer until he’ll be back at full strength.”

Impulse shifted in place a bit, eyes caught on one of Mumbo’s arms. “And… everything else?”

Xisuma couldn’t meet Boatem’s collective eyes as he responded. “I… I don’t know.”

“No ideas? Nothing at all?!”

“I know they’re glitch injuries. They’re caused by random code errors that stop injuries from healing, regardless of respawn. When Mumbo’s more recovered, I’ll be able to take care of them by repairing his code.” Xisuma offered with a sigh. “But that doesn’t answer why they’re bleeding in a server with no blood mods. Or how he got so many.”

“Could he have picked them up in the server he had the respawn error in?” Pearl asked. “It doesn’t really sound like a very well-kept server.”

“Glitch injuries aren’t as rare as respawn errors, but they’re still not common. To have as many as Mumbo seems to… this couldn’t have all happened overnight.”

Grian looked up at Xisuma, speaking slowly. “What are you saying, Xisuma?”

The tension in the precious few seconds of silence that passed between his question and Xisuma’s answer was thick enough to clog the air, generated by the grim set of Xisuma’s face before he even spoke and the look in Grian’s eyes that suggested he already knew the answer.

“The server Mumbo was last on was a server that hosts death games. A private one. The chances are he… he has been participating in quite a few of such games.”

For a moment, the shock of Xisuma’s postulation left the entire group stunned into uncanny silence. Then, that moment ended, and so did the silence.

Impulse and Pearl spoke- at first, to no one but the air, then to each other, as if saying everything suddenly on their minds (their justified concern, the signs they missed, what more could they have done, poor Mumbo-) would help clear them out. Scar mimicked Grian and remained largely silent, but as he slowly lowered himself to a seat beside Grian, looking pale, it became clear to Xisuma it was less out of having nothing to say and more out of not having the energy to speak.

Someone asked what they- collectively- could do. Xisuma wasn’t exactly sure who it was, or if they really meant it as a real question or a rhetorical. Xisuma took it as the former.

“It might be a good idea to investigate Mumbo’s base a bit- nothing invasive, just, see if there’s anything that might give us an idea of how long this has been going on for. I’ll give his code a more thorough look-over as well, in case there’s anything there.” Xisuma said, tacking on as he glanced at Scar, “It might be best if someone could help Scar retrieve his wheelchair, too.”

“I’ll be fine.” Scar dismissed before Xisuma had finished speaking. “Take care of Mumbo first.”

“I can go check out Treesa.” Impulse volunteered. “And I can get Scar’s wheelchair on the way back.”

“I’ll go with him.” Pearl added, the two of them already heading towards the door. “Keep an eye on Mumbo while we’re gone, yeah?”

Neither Pearl nor Impulse needed to hear the answer to know what it was.

As they headed off, Xisuma took a seat on the floor of Grian’s base. He once again opened the server’s code in front of himself, this time moving immediately to the player database and ignoring the actual world. He opened Mumbo Jumbo’s player code and began slowly shifting through, looking for anything that might clue him into what had happened, and how long it had been happening for.

Across from him, Scar leaned against Grian’s shoulder, both players looking at an undefinable midpoint between Mumbo’s sleeping form and Xisuma’s working one.

“This is all my fault.” Grian murmured, low enough Xisuma could only barely hear it.

“No it isn’t.” Scar replied in an equally quiet voice. “We couldn’t have known this was going on.”

“But we knew something was.” Grian argued back. “We should have done more to help him- I should have done more.”

“And we tried to. It’s not anyone’s fault that Mumbo wasn’t… wasn’t in a place to accept that help.”

“...Do you think he is now?”

Scar deliberated for a moment before answering, “No, I don’t. But we’re not going to let that stop us this time. No matter what.”

“No matter what.” Grian echoed.

They lapsed into silence after that, and Xisuma continued with his work, scanning line after line in an effort not to miss anything. Mumbo’s code was riddled with the butchered, unreadable sections that represented his various glitch wounds. Time stamps marking the respawn times the wounds became glitched allowed Xisuma to pinpoint when Mumbo had been getting them as well. The most recent had been only days ago. The furthest went back months.

Xisuma continued to search through the code even as the signs of glitched injuries stopped popping up. He had still been unable to find any reason as to why his cuts would bleed in a server like Hermitcraft where such a thing wasn’t possible. Surely, if he kept scrolling, just a little bit further-

It took a minute to fully process the reason when he found it. He wasn’t sure what his expression was, but it caught both Grian’s attention and Scar’s, the players shifting their gazes up at him.

“What is it?” Scar asked, or maybe it was Grian.

Before Xisuma could get his mouth to form the response, the door behind him opened. Xisuma saw Pearl pushing Scar’s wheelchair as she walked past him, Impulse remaining at a point behind his back.

“Xisuma, we… I think we found something.”

“Was it blood?”

There was a short pause before Impulse spoke again. “Yeah, uh- one of Mumbo’s chests was completely filled with blood-stained suit jackets. A lot of it is on the arms, but some of the stains are in pretty random places. The one at the very bottom of the pile was only stained on one sleeve edge. And it was rolled up with a glove that had blood stains on the inside of it.”

“A glove?” Scar repeated, frowning as he accepted Pearl’s help getting into his chair. “I remember seeing Mumbo with only one glove once- but that was forever ago, back when I was reverse-robbing him.”

“But- there’s no way he could have been hiding glitch injuries that long, how could-”

“I know how.” Xisuma interrupted, staring directly at the lump of code responsible for Void knew how much of all that had happened over the past months that only he could see. “Last Life’s blood and pain mod pack… Mumbo still has it.”

#hermitcraft #last life #mdbb fic #m.y funky words #mfw: this predacious song #chap11: FINALLY amiright audience

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felassan · 3 years

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DA4 Lead Producer Scylla Costa’s BIG Festival talk, “Challenges of Dragon Age production during the pandemic”, can currently be rewatched on YouTube here starting roughly at timestamp 8:57:02 after a lil presenter blurb/intro. It’s 1 hour long. When it was streamed live, there was an English translation ‘voiceover’. There isn’t in this vid, however I want to post the link for Portuguese speakers, and also it’s neat for everyone to be able to see all the slides he presented with for themselves in context.

I don’t know if an English-language version will get put up so I’m sharing the notes I took during the talk below, in case anyone’s interested and because I might as well since I wrote them. The rest of this post is under a cut due to length.

Edit: Found a place to re-watch the English version of the talk

(Quick note: I didn’t note down everything, mostly things that caught my interest, so this isn’t exhaustive, and when I was watching I was real tired, so pls bear that in mind and don’t take these notes as bullet-proof 100% accurate gospel or direct quotes. If you watched it and think I’ve written down something wrong/misunderstood, let me know and I’ll fix. Also if you’re a Portuguese speaker and I’ve gotten something incorrect or missed something important etc, again just let me know.) **

** Edit: I’ve now gone through my notes while watching the talk again. I’ve filled in some of the gaps (although they still don’t cover everything said) and so forth, and now I’m no longer worried about there being possible errors in this post.

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For some context, this slide contained the breakdown of the talk’s structure. Bear in mind there are other slides present in the talk than the ones I’ve posted here, I didn’t include caps of all of them, just ones which were of note to me.

In the talk, chief Producer Scylla goes over challenges of DA4 production during the pandemic. He discusses the adaptations - necessary skills and learning from remote work - and he ponders on the future of teamwork.

After the launch of ME3 he became a producer, all his MMO and other experience helped a lot. He was on DAI for 3 years and MEA for 9 months, then Anthem. Today, on DA4, Scylla and another Lead Producer were the heads of the whole project, and there is his boss is the Executive Producer Christian Dailey.

^ the usual AAA game development cycle (brief introduction)

AAA games are games that are launched for several platforms simultaneously.

In BioWare’s case, the pre-production phase of the game development cycle can have from 5 - 30 people, and up to almost 60 people when they’re just about to go through the gate to production.

In the pre-production phase, they go through the game’s concepts and prototypes and start developing systems. They seek the game’s concept and focus, and its key features. They do lots of market research. In the case of BioWare, all their games are strong in narrative, so they have lots of tools related to game narratives and supporting the development of a narrative (cinematic design, dialogue system etc) that get focused on in this phase. Other parts of the team such as writers and cinematic design need these systems to do their own roles.

In BioWare’s case, the pre-production phase through to launch can take 4 - 6 years, but it does depend on the size of the team during development.

With regards to Dragon Age 4, they were coming close to the time when they would shift from pre-production to the production stage when the pandemic hit.

During the production phase is when the development of content and features takes place, with the systems mostly already existing from the pre-production phase. A few new systems may be developed in this phase. In the production phase is when things start escalating, and the team really starts growing, to like 2- or 3-fold the prior pre-production phase size.

(DA4 is currently in the production phase.)

In the alpha phase, features have to be fully implemented and systems all have to be running / working. All the game features should already be in the game by now. They test from pre-production onwards, but this phase is when they run heavy technical tests with lots of players trying to play at the same time. In the beta phase, the idea is that you should now have full content and that now you’re balancing it and running more and lots of different tests with players before launch. There are final tweaks and then the final launch, when in the weeks prior to launch, all the different business units and areas e.g. marketing team, technology team, publishing team, get together once a day and all of the game’s issues are reported and brought to the table to be prioritized. Then they decide the next steps re: these issues (this is known as ‘the war room’).

After the launch there are usually patches like day zero patches and other patches, this being standard industry practise. The last stage is the new content stage where there are DLCs and a game with more content.

On March 12th 2020, the team gathered to review the DA4 story in the new office. Everyone was very excited. (They had spent over 10 years in their last building and had noticed that with the team growing they needed more space. In August 2019 they found the new studio in the city center.)

Anyway that evening, they got an email from the CEO which contained instructions and said that due to the pandemic, they should from now all start working remotely. They had known that this happening was a possibility so they had been planning on how to have all the devs working from home, but initially less than 50% of the devs were able to work from home successfully/efficiently due to various issues e.g. you need a VPN to be able to log in remotely to do your job normally, varying home office setups. The day after this, the office was basically deserted, except for Scylla, the IT infrastructure people and one or two odd devs.

Scylla was part of the team that was working on allowing the devs to work from home. They first started looking at the short-term changes they needed to make to allow this.

“First, take care of our developers”.

When the pandemic first hit, their and Scylla’s [as Lead Producer] first priority was to look after the devs. Many of them are parents (schools and day-cares were shut, children were studying from home), others have relatives living with them, others have other personal circumstances which of course need to be taken into account when it comes to assessing what needs to be taken into consideration for this new scenario. So, they looked at each dev on a case-by-case basis in order to evaluate, speaking to each one and asking them what they could do to support them.

One of the first changes/adaptations they could implement was flexible working hours and flexibility around deadlines. Generally speaking the devs got a lot of support, EA was really good and really supported the devs especially in the first months of the pandemic (and they are still supporting them). Initially not all devs had suitable office spaces at home, some were working from the living room from laptops or at the kitchen table. The whole covid situation basically just happened over night and nobody was really ready to deal with that change. So their first step was to enable their devs to work remotely. As a producer, Scylla’s main task is to communicate with the team such as via a number of daily meetings. He doesn’t depend so much on powerful hardware.

“Enable developers to work remotely”.

This slide shows some of a BioWare audio team. Different teams have varying and specific needs in order to do their jobs and therefore in order to do them remotely. For example, the audio team need good-quality speakers and amplifiers, while the lighting and art teams need other specific equipment such as tablets and large screens. So there was a lot of work they had to do to go through each dev to understand their individual needs and what needed to be done for them. ‘Could they download the builds? Did they have the right performance [tech-wise]? Could they submit their changelists, their codes to the server?’

Some devs needed a more powerful internet connection as it would take 6-8 hours to download a build (some devs live rurally). Some needed a lot of cable, as they were working far away from their routers (sometimes up to 50m). As time went by things got better and better.

The chair devs work from is also important; a kitchen able chair etc is not suitable to sit in for long-term desk work, possibly leading to health issues like back ache and blood circulation problems in the legs.

Every 3 months they had money given to help devs buy new mice, keyboards, monitors - anything they needed really in order for their office setting at home to be improved. For a while, because lots of people [generally, in society] were needing and buying them, it was quite hard to buy things like webcams and microphones.

On mid- and long-term changes:

In terms of DA, we have to look at this from 2 perspectives, the change in the personal and the professional environments.

As a consequence of working from home, people tend to be less active during the day (even in an office, you go between meeting rooms, up and down stairs etc). Physical activity supports life quality and therefore work quality. Scylla noticed that he began to feel listless and such, and found that he needed to change his routine that he had initially developed when he started working from home, for example; having a normal start time (as in, have a semblance of structure in your day as if you were still working in the office site), get dressed at the normal time, not having meetings over lunch etc. This wasn’t just him, lots of other devs encountered this and had this experience too. Devs which adapted faster had better productivity and became more productive faster.

Scylla bought a stand-up desk which he can raise up and down, and at meetings he would be delivering a talk while standing or even while walking on a treadmill. Other devs also got stand-up desks. He tracked his body’s data on a Fitbit. These sorts of things helped improve physical and mental wellbeing. Other devs did similar things, like starting going out for jogs or began practising yoga. Essentially, everyone needed to make changes to their daily routine in comparison to what they had been doing prior to the pandemic.

The pandemic has been a thing for over a year now. In their location, every couple of weeks a new restriction is put into place or a rule is changed, and every two weeks there’s a new thing that you can and can’t do. Scylla also started moving around his property. He worked on his desk, fixed it up and painted - taking up a new hobby. Other devs picked up new hobbies too. These are good ways to be active and also to be somewhere else, i.e. to break up the working day and not be spending it all in one home office-type location. Scylla found that when he made these sorts of changes to his routine to improve his lifestyle, the data output by his Fitbit as indicators of his health/wellbeing etc improved, e.g. number of steps taken in a day, heartbeats per minute while at rest. As stated many of the other devs went through a similar process.

On the professional side of things:

They had to improve remote delivery of builds. Accessing things from home as a dev requires a VPN. They need to download a build every day and then upload it to the server after making their changes to the game. They had to work with infrastructure and research other tech, such as streaming tech to allow remote console access, in order to better facilitate this process. For remote access, they also had to work on adapting communications channels.

“Adapting channels of communication.”

In this slide, the team are working on the storyboards. Before you can implement motion capture & performance capture, you have to ‘run the storyboards’ like this. These are small illustrating drawings which reflect the drafts and are meant to quickly reflect the intention of the scenes that are to be built. Before the pandemic, the team would go to meeting rooms like this, sit down, talk and interact in person. After the pandemic, the question became ‘How do you do this over Zoom?’ You can, but it’s not quite the same; it’s harder to see peoples’ expressions, some people are embarrassed speaking over Zoom etc. Therefore they had to adapt their communications systems, and unlearn the ways in which they developed before in order to relearn and learn new ways of communicating.

Slack was a tool that they adopted on this front. Communications channels can be confusing on Slack, so there was a need to develop structure. For example, how quickly should someone reply (as a recommended convention for the purposes of work)? They had to define the process/procedures for the channels so it was clear for the team as a whole how it would all flow (this is important especially if you have a team with say 30 people or as a whole hundreds of people). Before the pandemic, they had stand-up meetings where they’d go around in a circle every morning and talk about their activities - what they’re going to be working on, any roadblocks they had encountered etc. The question arose ‘How do you replace these?’ They ended up doing Slack messages at a certain time of day and updating their statuses with some details on what they’re working on and color-coding (green - fine, yellow - need help, red - busy/blocked out).

Another issue that they faced was unforeseen - the number of meetings that devs were having really shot through the roof. When there wasn’t a good structure of communications channels, any conversation would become a meeting. Everybody began scheduling meetings left and right, and at the end of the day they would have little time left in which to actually work on their to-do lists. Hence, they had to work with the team to really analyze and be very pragmatic. ‘Which meetings needed to happen? Which didn’t? Is a specific meeting really necessary? Which meetings should be recurring? What can be done over Slack?’ This guideline had to be given to the team to help, and it improved things a lot. The number of meetings decreased a lot and they got more effective. For example, by making sure to set an agenda for meetings beforehand, and by having meeting notes (then a dev who didn’t really need to be at a meeting could skip attending and just quickly review the notes output after instead). They also decreased the standard length of meeting times from the default Outlook blocks of 1 hour and 30 mins to 55 mins and 25 mins respectively. This 5 minute change gave devs time for things like bio breaks (also 4 hours in a row at a computer in a home office with one meeting after another just isn’t good for a person).

“Adapting p-cap and mocap”.

On content:

From a content point of view, the most difficult thing in terms of the pandemic was adapting p-cap and mocap (performance capture and motion capture). They hire actors and it’s a large studio. The pandemic meant big limits to what they could and couldn’t do. The actors had to be masked and 5 meters apart in distance (although it doesn’t look like it in some of these shots due to angles). Also there could be no other person around in the studio - only the actors. The directors instead would ‘patch’ in remotely on big screens (you can see this in the second photo in the top right).

Before the pandemic, they felt that they wouldn’t be able to do p-cap or mocap properly remotely, as the directors would usually stand right next to actors giving guidance on their performance. The techs would also usually be near. But they adapted! The keyword is adapting, changing process. It’s harder and it’s different, but it is possible, and people start rethinking what is possible. What was said to be impossible before now is possible.

P-cap differs to mocap in that it also captures voice and facial expressions.

On the future of work after covid:

There will probably be more working from home and more flexibility for workers e.g. being able to work say 3 out of 5 days from home. It does depend on what a dev’s specific job is however. For example, the audio engineers require lots of specialist equipment and said equipment is of higher quality and quantity in the office. So, depending on role, devs might be working more often or less often from home.

Another development is that lots of devs are moving house. In lockdown etc people started reassessing what’s most important in life. Some are moving further away from the studio to get a cheaper rent or for example couples who both needed an office space to work from home from but their current place only had one area. Others are moving closer to nature for a better quality of life, and still others have other different reasons for doing so. Over 10 devs that he knows in fact have recently moved, including Scylla himself.

The pandemic changed certain skills being used by people on a daily basis. Scylla used as an example of this one of his soft skills, being able to tell from looking/interacting in-person with someone if they are stressed out. Obviously it’s less easy to tell if someone is stressed out when you’re remote, so you adapt different ways of checking in with people in the new situation. To continue carrying out his role as Lead Producer, he began checking in with his team pro-actively on the new comms channels and asking how they were doing.

Also, now that companies are more open to working remotely, there is going to be increased competition for hiring devs. They saw both sides of this coin at BioWare. They were able to hire devs from many places that they couldn’t hire from before e.g. Montreal, Vancouver, the US, as there’s less need for devs to relocate to Edmonton or Austin. This opens up opportunities to hire really intelligent and skilled people that they would not have had access to before.

Question and answer segment:

The pre-production phase has been concluded. They’re in the production phase.

They are not giving out a lot of details yet but Scylla is really excited as a big fan of the whole series. He thinks that with DA4, they will have the opportunity/possibility to launch the best story out of all DA games. He feels that the characters they’re making are amazing. He’s dying to say more but can’t.

When you work from home you need to keep your team as productive as possible. During the pandemic, when people started working from home, they noticed that some people became more productive and some people became less productive. They were analyzing it on a case-by-case basis so as not to make assumptions. They were interested in seeing what they could do to help. At the beginning of the pandemic, they were looking at the devs as people and seeing what they needed.

Production of DA4 still needed to continue during the pandemic because they want to be able to launch the game.

This slide shows a writer. Writing is an example of a role which is more able to work from home easily.

Their productivity did go down in the first month of the pandemic. After adaptations, some people then became more productive than they were before (this was role and personal situation-dependent, examples of this being artists and coders who were able to art and code at home without being interrupted, thereby being able to produce more). Covid has affected productivity in general, but this is part of our new reality. They have adapted and adjusted some deadlines. They have enough data (Scylla LOVES data) now to understand how long it will take them/how long they’ll need to launch the game. They have always had historical data for this purpose, but they’re doing more of this sort of thing now to ensure that they are doing things at the right time.

Remote hiring opens up the door to more talent joining, so if someone has talent geography will hold them back less. Some companies though may choose not to hire people from other countries due to labor issues, cumbersome legal aspects, time zones. But even in such cases there are activities for example that can be carried out while the rest of the team is asleep such as testing or working on the build, or there are cases where those companies still will want to hire a specifically/highly talented person even in spite of the potential legal aspects and so on.

On mental health: People were affected. There is the mental, physical and social impacts of the pandemic situation on people. EA supported them during the pandemic in terms of their mental wellbeing, there are specific companies (services offered, speaking to a therapist) that they can contact if they need something or help. EA had always been good at supporting them with this sort of thing but this has improved further during the pandemic. Another change was that they could/can take a couple of days off if they needed/need to because of the pandemic e.g. to take care of children, who were obviously not at school at the time. As a producer he had to be very mindful of all of this. How much they were monitoring peoples’ wellbeing really went up during the pandemic.

A question that was asked - in terms of DA4′s storybeats, is there anything in there that they decided to change due to the pandemic as it wouldn’t be sensitive or appropriate to include anymore, for example a plague plotline or something? Scylla’s answer is that DA and ME are games in which they try to have narratives that are relatable, which include things which people will identify with, so that players understand what characters are going through etc. Nothing in DA4′s plotline/storybeats has been changed (in the frame of this question, relating to the pandemic), as it didn’t have anything in it that could be specifically or a directly connected to a pandemic-type situation or anything. Of course the DA story has Blights and the Taint, but these are different & fantastical things and existed long before the pandemic situation. So this wasn’t the case with DA4 and there was no need to change anything, but this has happened to other games where they decided to change a storyline due to a strong correlation with something in the real world.

There were then concluding/closing remarks. The message he wants to send is that a crisis will always spark opportunities. Look at a crisis and try to see how you can grow.

-----

[☕ found this post interesting or useful? my ko-fi is here if you feel inclined. thank you 🙏]

#dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #da4 #dragon age #bioware #video games #covid mention #long post #longpost #wanted to write these up properly and post them yesterday but wasn't able to #mass effect #anthem

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a-cupof-jo · 3 years

Text

Set Up My Heart Pt. 9

PT.8 - PT.9 - PT. 10

College volleyball player!Johnny Suh x reader

Rivals-to-lovers

Fluff and angst

Synopsis: Ever since that fateful day Sophomore year of high school, Johnny Suh had been an insufferable thorn in your side. Once you made it to college you thought the two of you would never have to see each other again. That is, until a sudden school transfer has the entire university buzzing.

Warnings!!!: Mentioned divorce and adult topics. Some strong language. Please don’t read if any of these make you uncomfortable or may be detrimental to you.

We’ve been seeing Y/n’s story in college, but how did she and Johnny become so combative with each other? Will Johnny’s high school story tell all?

Second half to Johnny’s side of the story.

“Nervous?” Johnny asked as he leaned over the wall separating the court from the bleachers.

Y/n grunted as she continued warming up, “Why would I be nervous?” A ball flew her direction as the opposite team started on warm up drills. She swatted it back toward the girl who chased after it. “I’ve been to a state championship before."

Johnny shrugged, "But with a completely different team, with a completely different record. Plus, this time you’re going against said team."

Y/n set the ball to herself as she mulled over Johnny’s words. Johnny couldn’t help but watch her. If they asked him, she was the strongest player on the team. A true all team player. It wouldn’t matter where they placed her, Y/n would thrive in any position, "I don’t think that’s going to be a downfall for us. If anything, that makes me more confident.”

“Oh,” Johnny raised an eyebrow.

Y/n grinned, “I may have moved schools, but they didn’t change teams.” She gave him a slight wave as her coach called everyone in. He sighed as she ran away. He had full confidence in the team, but something didn’t sit right with him. Why were you so confident? Did you know something about RVHS that maybe no one else did?

Johnny watched as the RVHS team sent looks to his school’s team. More importantly, he noticed that the glances landed on Y/n a majority of the time.

“It’s going to be an interesting match,” Kun slid into the seat next to him. “RVHS has been undefeated for the past 3 years.”

“They are a foundationally strong team,” Johnny nods as he watches the teams serving balls across the net. “But they don’t take risks. They only play well because the opposing team plays well.”

“Meaning,” Kun handed a camera over to Johnny.

“Meaning, that when they come across a team that doesn’t always play to perfection,” he took a picture of the net trying to focus the camera correctly. “They can’t make strong plays, which then leads them to not being able to convert points."

"So,” Kun hesitated. He tapped his pen against the notebook sitting in his lap as he watched the court. “We actually have a chance at winning.” Johnny nodded his camera clicking. “All because we play less fundamentally?"

"Not just because of that,” Johnny flipped through the pictures he’d taken. “but also because we are able to take fundamentals and convert them into scrappy plays."

"What? How?” Kun furrowed his eyes at Johnny. Johnny set his camera on Kun’s lap shrugging before standing and stating he was going to the bathroom. Kun looked down to see a picture of Y/n shining up at him. She smiled at the camera through the net. He grabbed the piece of paper sitting on the bench next to him. If they were going to win, then everyone was going to want to know about the prodigy that is, Y/n.

He held his breath as the ball came down the side of the net. The setter lunged for it getting it in the air so the libero could set it to the outside hitter. Johnny felt a little disgruntled. The play was messy, but in a way that could have worked to the team’s much needed advantage. Had they set it up for Y/n or the libero to kill there is a higher chance that they would have won the point. Instead, the volley continued.

The fourth set of the match had Johnny on edge. He could see the tension stirring through both teams. RVHD had won the second and third set, but SJHS had won the first and now had a two point lead and was about to take the fourth. Johnny had watched the entire time trying to write down and follow plays as well as take some shots. RVHS was playing just how he thought they would. With precision and not taking unnecessary risks. It seems that SJHS was following their lead, and it wasn’t working greatly for their benefit. A cheer went up from his bench as SJHS scored the final point. Johnny cheered as he watched the score change and teams switch courts. Whoever won this set was going to be named state champions.

Johnny glanced over at Kun staring at the court, “It’s going to be a miracle if we pull this off.” He scratched a note onto the paper sitting in his lap.

“There’s still a chance,” Johnny noted. “If we can take this set then we win.”

“What are the chances we take this set?”

He watched as the team captains were called back to the refs stand. The clock read 3 minutes before the next set. “If we start playing like we should then,” Johnny plopped down in his seat, “If we were playing to our ability and strengths, we would actually have a chance of winning. It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.” He watched as the teams settled on their respective sides of the court. Johnny trailed off and the stands went quiet as RVHS’s setter served the ball. “They are really going to have to find something deep down inside of them, fast. Skills alone are not going to allow them to win.” He scoffed as RVHS put a second point on the board.

Kun shrugged his eyes not glancing away from the court, “It’s hard to believe that we could come so far after all the years of never even making it to the final tournament.” He tapped his fingers on the bench watching as SJHS scored a point and was finally moving up on the scoreboard.

Johnny narrowed his eyes, “Are you feeling okay?” He tilted his head trying to get a clear view of Kun’s face.

“Yeah, why,” Kun jolted as Johnny came into his line of view.

Johnny shrugged, “You just seem a little jittery. Is the game that exciting to you?” Johnny glanced at the court noticing that SJHS had caught up to RVHS at 5 points for each team.

Kun crossed his arms across his chest, “I’m just trying to figure out how we got this far. Just because we got Y/n L/n? She is a great player, but a team is only as strong as their weakest player. So it doesn’t make sense. Plus, nobody even knows why she transferred here.”

Johnny frowned at him, “At this point, I don’t think that matters right now.” He couldn’t help the way his words came out harsh and short, “Y/n has obviously become a big part of the team and pretty much everyone at school likes her.”

“I didn’t say that she wasn’t,” Kun hissed. “I’m just saying it’s weird.” He rolled his eyes, “Let’s just watch the game.”

Johnny let out an exasperated sigh and tried to focus on the game. The teams were in a 30 second timeout and Johnny could see the heated discussion coming from SJHS’s bench. Y/n had her hands on her hips listening as the coach was waving his clipboard around. The ref blew the whistle as the time out ended and the teams were back on the court. Johnny narrowed his eyes as he watched Y/n say something to the setter. The setter looked confused and apprehensive, but nodded along to whatever she said. Johnny felt himself getting antsy as the ball was served to the other side of the net. With a score of 10 to 11, there was desperation to make up those points and win this set.

He held his breath as the opposing teams setter dove for the ball but missed it as it hit the outside line. SJHS only needed 5 more points to go to take the set and win the state championships. He would be lying if he said that he wasn’t surprised that the next 2 points came easy. RVHS had seemed to give up. They were not moving as fast and they hesitated before making an attack. Another point was scored off a deep float server, and excitement rose in his chest, they were going to win this set, they were going to win the State Championship.

The ball flew over the net and the opposing team finally made an attack. Y/n dived for the ball and watched as it shanked away from the setter. Johnny pulled his bottom lip between his teeth as the outside hitter set the ball up to the center of the front row. The outside and opposite attackers jumped at the net as the setter hit the ball over the net. The other team scrambled as it shot towards them, landing at the corner before bouncing out of the court. Johnny was on his feet as he listened to the ref announce game point. He watched as the setter moved to serve the next ball. It flew over the net with precision, but instead of landing on the floor or shanking off an arm. RVHS’s libero delivered the served ball directly to their setter. The middle hitter was in the air before the ball left the setter’s hands and they sent the ball over the net, trying to convert the point.

SJHS’s opposite hitter dove for the ball as it clipped the tips of the blockers fingers. “It’s up. Go ten!” Y/n backed up the court as the setter drove the ball to the middle of the court.

Johnny’s breath caught as she jumped through the air. The ball connected with her palm before shooting back across the net. The team dove for the ball putting it up in the air before the SJHS defense sent it down just out of reach of RVHS’s front row.

Johnny jumped up with a cheer as the ref called the point and the teams dispersed. He watched as the teams shook hands before turning to cheer or slouch back to their locker rooms. He grabbed his camera snapping pictures of the excited team. His lens landed on Y/n as a teammate scooped her up in a hug. He could help but grin at the sight as his camera clicked. Her eyes looked up and again her gaze caught his through the lens. Johnny snapped another picture before pulling the camera down and sending her a thumbs up. She smiled at him before jerking her back head towards the locker room. She gave a motion that said 15 minutes and he nodded in agreement.

“Well this was unexpected,” He couldn’t stop smiling as he turned to where Kun was sitting. He froze as he noticed Kun, along with all of his stuff, was gone. “Kun?” He glanced around the stands not seeing the shorter boy anywhere. Gathering his things he rushed out of the gym and down the hall. He wandered the halls for 5 minutes before moving back towards the locker rooms.

Voices met his ears as he turned the corner to the back hallway. “Her parents were going through a nasty divorce. She was talking to lawyers every week, sometimes multiple times a week. Her mother was the one making all the money. Her dad was laid off from his job and spent all her mom made on alcohol and porn.” Johnny’s eyes widened as he saw Kun standing across from a shorter girl. Her hands dropped to rest on her hips the letters RVHS flashed down the dim hall. “Her mom got custody and the two of them moved here to get away from her dad.”

Kun nodded as he scribbled down words on his pad of paper, “That’s it? What about Y/n’s volleyball career? Did any of this affect the season last year.” Johnny leaned closer as Kun’s voice dropped off.

“None that I know of. Y/n was always a private person. She never spoke to us about her home life. I don’t even think she had very close friends,” the girl sighed obviously done with the conversation. “It doesn’t really matter. Ask her about it if you’re so curious. Make sure you don’t mention my name.”

“Of course,” Kun closed the notepad. “Thanks for your time.” she gave him a nod before turning into a room behind her. Kun sighed and walked down the hall towards Johnny. “Oh,” he stopped as he came face-to-face with Johnny. “Hey, going to get some comments from the team?”

“Yup,” Johnny fiddled with his camera. “It should only take a few minutes.” Kun nodded before stepping around him.

“Great try to get your articles to me by Monday evening so we can release them on Wednesday.” Kun called from his place down the hall.

Johnny sat outside the room. He could hear laughter and excitement from inside the room. He heard the door click before it was pulled open and laughter spilled into the hall. “I thought you said 15 minutes?” He teased as he stood from the bench watching as Y/n slipped out of the room. He glanced down at his watch, “It’s been 17 minutes.”

“I’m sorry that you can’t be patient,” she grinned at him as she combed a hand through her hair.

Johnny smiled back as he pulled out his small pad of paper, “I’m on a tight schedule. You see, I have to interview this girl that just led her team to their first state championship in over 5 years. I don’t see why it’s so important but.”

“Get on with it, Suh,” you give him a light shove before sitting on the bench he had just stood from. “What do you need to pick my brain about?”

“You were great out there,” he threw her a smile before clicking his pen and resting the tip on the paper. “I just need some remarks on the game.”

Y/n leaned back against the wall, her head tipped sideways to watch him write, “I’m really proud of the team first of all. We worked really hard this year to make it to the state championships. I am so lucky to know all of them and to be able to grow with them. Every team is unique and has their own stories and personalities. I am blessed to have such an open and welcoming community with these girls. Initially we did not fit together very well. Coming from a team that is very fundamentally based to a team that really does play to have fun was such a big change. I didn’t enjoy it at first, it was all so new, but the team really helped me out!”

Johnny nodded along as he tried to jot down her words as she spoke them, “Great! And then do you have anything to say about the tournament or the game?”

“I really loved playing all these great teams. They all worked so hard and played so well. I look forward to competing against them again.” She smiled at Johnny as his hair flopped in his eyes. Johnny would have never thought that having to write for the school paper sport section would make you two closer. Both had been skeptical when Johnny started to follow the team around to games, but the two found that it worked to their favor as they started to work on Chemistry together and eventually other classes. Johnny helped Y/n with english, while Y/n carried his geometry grade. The two fell into a rhythm outside of school, but in school, peers would think the two hated each other. “My dad tried to call again.” Her voice changed tones. It went from happy to timid. “He left a message saying that he wanted to see me and congratulate me on the state championship.”

Johnny closed his notepad, “Would you like some advice? Do you need me to talk to him?”

She shook her head, “Just sit here until the team comes out.” Johnny nodded leaning back to rest beside her.

“ With a Successful Season, Volleyball Prodigy Turns Out to be a Fraud” by Qian Kun and Johnny Suh

Johnny had to reread the sentence over and over again. “What the hell is this.” He turned sharply to the editor sitting at the large table sitting at the front of the computer lab. “I never allowed you to put my name on this.”

Kun glanced up to peer at Johnny’s screen, “Oh we were running out of room on the sports page. Between your article on the volleyball tournament, Wooyoung’s on the soccer tournament, and my own summarizing the two seasons we had to condense. So we took bits and pieces from each article and made four articles. Two on the tournaments and two on the season summary. So some of your articles replaced mine.”

“But why didn’t you tell me,” Johnny pleaded with him. “And how did you even come to this conclusion. Absolutely nothing I said ever pointed to that and I didn’t give you permission!” Johnny could feel his face heating up as spoke to Kun’s uncaring figure.

Kun glanced at him through the glasses perched on his nose, “Johnny, this story is what the paper needs. It’ll get people reading and we can get permission to do the paper again next year. I thought you of all people would want this.” He sighed as he shuffled a couple papers next to the computer screen, “Besides the teacher approved it. If they thought that it wasn’t okay they would have said something.”

“Kun,” Johnny threw his hands up. “We both know that they don’t care about the student body. They are just trying to look out for themselves. If this comes back to bite us, you know they will throw us under the bus.”

Kun didn’t look up at him, “That’s not going to happen.”

“We are spreading false reports.”

“No, we are telling people the truth.”

“About someone’s private, personal life. We can’t do that, Kun. She never agreed to sharing that information.

“She did,” Kun gave Johnny a once over. “She shouldn’t have told a reporter her secrets if she didn’t want them told. It’s our job to find the skeletons hiding in people’s closets.”

“I can’t believe you,” Johnny spun as he heard the small voice. Y/n stood in the doorway to the lab her phone clutched to her chest. Her eyes shone with unshed tears, “You were using me for some shitty story in a HS paper.” Her face darkened as she stormed into the room, “I trusted you. I told you things that no one else in this school knew, and you turned and blabbed it for the entire school to see.”

“Y/n I never-”

“Save it,” she held a hand up. “You’ve said your piece. You’ve said what you think loud and clear. You twisted my words. Made me sound like a stuck up bitch. ‘Y/n spoke briefly on the season stating, “Every team is unique and has their own stories and personalities. Initially we did not fit together very well. Coming from a team that is very fundamentally based to a team that really plays to have fun was such a big change. I didn’t enjoy it.” Y/n showed contempt for her teammates and school as a result of her parents recent splitting and her forced departure from RVHS.’ Believe me I get the message.” A tear slipped down her cheek, “I hope your happy and you get whatever fucking promtion this article was for.” Johnny reached for her arm as she pulled away from him. “Don’t you dare.” She sent a glare at him before turning out of the room and storming down the hall.

Sadness and anger coursed through Johnny as he turned to Kun, “Take my name off of that article, now.” Kun rolled his eyes as he watched Johnny race out of the room after Y/n.

Jonny had almost caught up to her when a group of his teammates stopped him. They had agreed to a friendly tournament against the girls volleyball team. They said that the competition would be fun and that it would boost student morale. Johnny didn’t feel convinced and he tried to listen as they told him about other events they were trying to set up. He glanced around trying to find Y/n, but she had disappeared and so did his chance to make things right.

The cafeteria was busy the next week as the school buzzed with gossip, drama, and the upcoming student council events. Johnny was trying to weave his way through crowds of students as he searched for the table his friends were sitting at. As he caught sight of them he felt a body run into his as his tray flew up landing square in his chest.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Johnny looked up into the eyes he had been wanting to see all week. Y/n stood in front of him, hands raised with napkins sitting in them. Her eyes hardened as she realized who she ran into. “Here,” she shoved the napkins into his hand before spinning on her heel and walking away.

Johnny followed after her, “Wait, Y/n, can you let me explain.”

“Explain what, Johnny?” She turned to him, fire in her eyes, “Why you used my story for your personal gain? Why you let me think that you actually enjoyed being around me? Why everything I told you in confidentiality was just stewing for the enjoyment of our peers? Why you let me start to like you?” Johnny gaped at her as she yelled at him. “I don’t want to hear excuses. I don’t want to hear an explanation from you. Any respect I had for you, is gone.”

Johnny felt anger course through him as she spewed words at him. She never let him speak. She thought she knew what was going on, but she didn’t. He did not work so hard to get Kun to let him release a new article refuting the previous statements, for her to yell at him and doubt his actions towards her. “You’re right. You won’t listen so I won’t talk. We’ll just forget all about everything that happened before. You are a stranger to me.” His voice was cold and his words clipped.

“Perfect,” he could see her walls grow higher and higher. She turned away from him and stepped up to her own table. “Just so you know,” she turned to look at the food staining his shirt. “Food isn’t a good look for you.” Johnny scowled as she rolled her eyes and turned to her table of friends. He brushed the food off his chest before turning away from the table, turning away from Y/n. If she didn’t want to listen to him, he was done trying to make her. His heart gave a tug as he glanced back and she stared back at him, but instead of her face falling into a small smile it tightened into a familiar glare.

@beyond-gethsemane, @lanadreamie, @michplusb @qianinterprises @stayctday @jaxminskale @infnteen @nanascupid

*Reposted from previous blog*

#johnny scenarios #nct scenarios #nct 127 scenarios #johnny fluff #johnny angst #johnny x reader #johnny suh

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autumnleaves1991-blog · 4 years

Text

College AU Week 1 Day 3 - Evgeni Kolpakov

A/N: I have never written for Evgeni but I kind of love the way this turned out. Let me know what you think. Thank you for reading, reblogging, commenting, and liking. This is day three of the January AU Writing challenge/300 follower celebration!

* I posted a video I listened to while writing this if you wanted to listen while you read. It helped inspire me.

Pairing: Evgeni Kolpakov X G.N Reader (please let me know if I missed any pronouns)

Warning: I don’t think anything, it’s pretty romantic/fluffy.

My Masterlist

My computer crashed, and you're the student worker at the IT center.

Most people would be happy to have a night off from work. Ordinary people who don't go to school all day, spending their evenings at the IT center troubleshooting with students who've procrastinated their assignments. Shouting at you because their computer has decided to crash or their internet in their dorm has failed. Honestly, any person who works in customer service would be happy with a night off and away, but not you. Not since he first called.

You sigh, thinking of the way his voice makes you hum in the squeaky rolling chair you find yourself perched on nightly. The Russian accent thick and shooting straight through your core as he talks to you about everything and nothing, making your heart beat faster. Evgeni, the enigma from your work who never failed to call you every evening for the past month; you'd never seen him, nothing more than a voice on the phone. His words honey to your ears as he makes you laugh. You want to know him. You have to know him.

"Hey! Are you okay there? You seemed really out of it," your friend Charlotte looks concerned until you smile and embrace her outside the club.

"Oh, I'm okay just thinking about someone," you pull back, and she grins.

"Oh, is this about the mysterious caller that has your brain in a tizzy? Are you missing him already?" she teases, and you nod. The smell of cigarettes and cheap perfume waft onto the darkened street outside the piano bar. The ivories' tickling makes you think of Evgeni and how some nights he would play his piano over the phone. He was a very talented player, and you dreamed of hearing him play in person. The way his hands would move across the keys as he would coax the sweet music from them.

Charlotte taps you on the shoulder and points to the bar, "I'm sure he can survive without you for one evening."

"He wasn't able to call tonight; he had a prior engagement."

"He plays the piano, right?"

"Yes." You see the wheels turning in her head as she points towards the bar, "No, he didn't mention that he was playing anywhere tonight, just that he had something and wouldn't be able to call." You open the door and step inside, her following close behind. The bar is lit up on one wall with a single spotlight on the small stage. A black baby grand piano sits atop it, and the sounds of the keys sing to your heart.

You walk over to the bartender, order a gin and tonic and take a seat at a two-seater towards the middle of the club. Taking a moment to soak in the music before you observe the player. He's handsome in a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows; the chords in his arms shine under the light. He's got on a black fedora, but you can see the hint of a buzz cut underneath. His face with a light speckling of stubble just beginning to form—smoke curling from the ashtray perched on the top and a half-drunken glass of red wine.

As the piece comes to a close, you feel yourself in a slow trance. The world around you slowing down as the music fades, and he does a small bow of his head as the crowd erupts into applause. You sit there frozen as he reaches for the cigarette, pulling drag and holding it between his fingers. Almost as if he can feel the magnetic pull, he looks up into your eyes, and you drown in the deep brown of his own. Lips parting on a small gasp when his gaze sears into your soul and ignites the fire in your blood.

He leans towards the microphone, "Thank you, everyone, for this next piece…" but you stop listening as your heart stops. You would know that voice anywhere. It's the voice you'd heard every single day for the last month, the one who colors your dreams. The voice you dream of as you touch yourself at night, wishing it was really him whispering sweet nothings in your ear.

***********

One Month Ago

The phone rings more than you would believe for an evening IT department, and you pick up on the second ring already opening the form to fill out for the request. "Thank you for calling the NYU IT department helpline; this is Y/N; how can I help you?"

"Yes, hello, my computer keeps crashing when I try to submit an assignment," a man with a deep Russian accent coos in your ear.

"Okay, and have you tried turning it on and off again?" He sighs and agrees, going through all the usual motions of a phone call this late.

"Well, it would seem to be an issue with the server, I will put in a work order request for the IT department heads to take a look, and they will get back to you within 24-48 hours."

He let out a groan, "But I need to submit the assignment tonight. Listen, I am not some privileged child who waited until the last minute to submit the assignment. I take night classes for business and work all day as a security guard. I really need to get this turned in on time. Please, there must be something you can do." Something about the tone in his voice gives you pause.

"Maybe…" you try to think, "maybe I can send your professor a formal message from the IT department and submit your assignment for you. Can you email it to me?"

He agrees, and he scrambles for a pencil, writing down your email and quickly sending it off. His name pops up a few minutes later, Evgeni Kolpakov. "Evgeni? Where are you from?"

You can hear the amusement in his tone when he says, "Vermont."

You let out a chuckle, "Vermont really?"

"A refugee camp in Vermont," oh shit, you try to apologize, but he lets out a laugh, "It's okay. Vermont is full of surprises, you know."

"Oh really now," you finish composing the email and attach his essay before sending it, "done, it's sent." He lets out a relieved breath.

"Thank you so much," he chuckles, "what do I owe you for the trouble?"

"Tell me more about Vermont," you smile and lean back as he fills you with stories of his childhood. You spend two hours on the phone, and when you look at the clock and gasp, he quickly apologizes.

"I'm sorry about taking so much of your time...but I'm not sorry for talking to you," you can hear him put something down in the background, and you sigh.

"I'm not either," you whisper, "this has been one of the best nights I've ever had at this job."

He chuckles, "You mean the universities IT department is not a bustling hub of excitement during the evening?"

You laugh, "No...would you," you know you shouldn't ask, but you can't help yourself, "would you call again if you had any other problems?" I work ten to four in the morning this week."

"I promise," his voice gets more profound as you hold your breath, "I will call back tomorrow with another problem if only to talk to you again."

You tremble at his tone and hang up with a longing, "I'll be waiting."

***********

Present Day

"Evgeni," you whisper under your breath, but it's almost like he can hear as his head snaps up and looks at you again. His hands are poised above the keys, and he smiles.

"This is for you," he whispers and makes love to you through the music. A personal symphony just for you as his fingers caress the keys like the ways of a lover.

You listen, transfixed eyes never leaving him, your drink, Charlotte, and the world around you fading into nothing until it's just you and him alone. The music swarms around you, and you feel yourself rising slowly towards him as the song ends and the cheers of the crowd flow. But you don't care as he stands and holds out a hand for you to take, leading you outside and into the fresh air. The chill December evening shocks you back into reality.

The feeling of his jacket, he grabbed draped over your shoulder as he rests his forehead against your own, and you feel the rough exterior against your back. "It's you," he whispers, and you feel his moist breath upon your lips.

"It's you," you reply before closing the distance between you and sealing your lips together in a kiss that is soft and gentle. He groans, placing his hands on your cheeks and pulling you closer, deepening the kiss. You feel alive and consumed by him as he takes control and melds you to him, caressing you like his fingers caressed the keys on the baby grand.

When he pulls away, you both smile, "I've been waiting for you," he whispers against your lips.

"Oh Evgeni, I've been waiting for you too." The long days of waiting for the phone to ring are long gone as your fantasies and realities bleed together to make one complete vision. Love.

Taglist: @oldstuffnewstuff @yespolkadotkitty @heythere-mel @justanotherblonde23 @artsymaddie @anetteaneta @lunarthoughts @aellynera @lucifer- @houseofthirst @chicken-ona-stick @phoenixhalliwell @letoartreiides

Tagging some extra people who may be interested (I hope that’s okay, let me know if not): @writefightandflightclub @tinygaydemonbby @itspdameronthings @damerondjarin @wasicskosgirl

I listened to this while writing if you wanna listen while reading:

youtube

#evgeni kolpakov #evgeni kolpakov x reader #January Writing Challenge #W.E AU #W.E #Oscar Isaac #300 follower celebration #Autumn Writes

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pixelfun20 · 4 years

Text

Flower Fields, Ch 1

Summary: Season 7 of Hermitcraft has begun, and their newest and youngest member, Tubbo, is more than ready to prove himself in the eyes of his friends. New memories are made and friendships are forged, but old ghosts from the past still linger, and Tubbo will soon discover that fate has a way of letting things come full circle.

Notes: This an fic idea I legitimately came up with yesterday, based off of @give-grian-rights ‘s Watcher!Tubbo and Watcher!Tommy AU (I hope you don’t mind! I just loved this idea). I wrote this a single evening, let it sit for the night, and decided to publish it today. I hope you guys like it! Just to note, I haven’t finalized a title (or plot, besides some major points) yet, so if y’all have any ideas, let me know!

Chapter 1:

I'm not yours, and you're not mine

But we can sit and pass the time

For a moment, he floated in darkness.

Then in the next, he was falling through the air.

He didn’t fall far, thankfully, and his impact was cushioned by another body right underneath him.

Tubbo groaned, blinking against the bright rays of the sun as he tried to adjust from the darkness that had just encompassed him. He shifted, feeling rough cloth underneath him, and realized he was lying on someone.

“Oh! Sorry!” He exclaimed, swiftly moving off the other. He looked down as he saw a man with dark brown hair, a beard, and a leather jacket sit up, rolling his shoulders with a wince. “I think I spawned right on top of you, xB.”

xBCrafted just chuckled, pulling himself up to his feet. Tubbo followed him, cracking his back as he went, and looked around, trying to discern where he was.

Ah, man. It seemed like they had spawned on a small, sandy island, that was, worst of all, completely devoid of trees. Already it was crowding with the arrival of the other Hermits, with a few more pairs repeating the same situation as he and xB, spawning one on top of the other in the enclosed space. In the distance, he could see a large mooshroom island looming above the waves, but besides that there was nothing in sight.

“Looks like we’ll be going for a swim today!” xB chirped as Iskall spawned a foot or so away from them, landing face-first in the sand. “X wasn’t lying when he said we’d have a tricky time starting the Season.”

“And here I was hoping to stay dry,” Tubbo sighed as Iskall shot up, spluttering sand in the air. The two of them laughed at his sorry state.

“Very funny, you two,” the elder man grumbled. Iskall85, or Iskall as he was commonly known, looked considerably older than the two friends, perhaps in his early thirties. He had semi-long, scraggly brown hair and a cybernetic eye, as well as a green sweatshirt and brown vest.

“Oho, is that Scar?” xB exclaimed. Tubbo followed his gaze, and sure enough, a man in a purple bathrobe and dyed-white hair had just spawned, half in the water. Ah, GoodTimesWithScar was an odd one, alright, he thought with a laugh.

“What did he do?” Tubbo giggled. Scar turned towards them, seeming to hear his comment, and put his hands on his hips.

“I’m sorry, Tubbo,” he announced semi-solemnly. “The wizard life has chosen me.”

Iskall nearly cackled at that, throwing his head back, and xB and Tubbo joined him. Trust Scar to find new and creative ways to start the season! Tubbo made a mental note to drop by in a few weeks and see where this new bit got him.

“Looking good, Scar!” Stress said, coming up behind him. The shortest of the Hermits, she wore a pink jacket and kept her straight brown hair short and to the chin. “How’re you doing, Tub?”

“Great!” Tubbo chirped back. “Excited to start the Season right.”

“Let me know if you need anything, love,” she added, clapping her hands together. “That goes for all of you! I’d chat for longer, but Mumbo and I have some plans we need to discuss. See you all in a bit!” And with that she was gone, hopping over to the other side of the island. Scar went right on her heels, jogging over to Cubfan135 (a balding man in a lab coat around Iskall’s age), who was standing next to Mumbo Jumbo.

Tubbo scanned over the rapidly growing group of people, grinning once he caught sight of a flash of black-striped yellow armor in the crowd.

“Hey! X!” He called out, waving. A man fully covered in armor, painted to resemble a bee, looked over to them. Through his vizor, Tubbo could see the corners of his brown eyes crinkle in the tell-tale sign of a smile, and he approached the trio. “Love the outfit!”

“Thank you, Tubbo,” XisumaVoid replied, patting him on the shoulder. “I’m quite liking your new design, too.”

Tubbo fought back a blush, looking down at himself. Like the elder man, he’d changed up his usual outfit to celebrate the newest mob addition to Season 6, the bees. He’d changed into a yellow jacket with black stripes on the sleeves over a gray shirt, as well as black pants with a yellow stripe down the sides.

“Alrighty, I’ll be leaving you two to your father-son bonding,” Iskall cut in, waving a hand as he walked off. “I’m going to go catch up with Keralis.”

“Oh, will you stop with that!” Xisuma said good-naturedly as Tubbo really did his best not to blush. xB laughed again. Iskall just whistled, walking over to where Keralis, a man in his late thirties in a blue shirt and jeans, had just spawned. The server’s admin turned back to Tubbo. “Sorry about that. You know how he can be.”

Tubbo just shook his head a bit, trying to suppress a smile. Ah, it’d been far too long since the Hermits had all been in one place like this. He’d missed the action of it all.

He, Xisuma, and xB chatted together for a few minutes as everyone spawned in and caught their bearings. It seemed everyone had big plans for the Season. While he and Xisuma had gone with a bee theme, xB was apparently planning to really Hermit out the season, far away from spawn. Scar was certainly embracing the wizard part of himself, and rumor had it BDubs and Doc were going to be neighbors, which was a recipe for disaster and, more importantly, funny stories.

“Okay, everyone!” It was Keralis’ shout that drew the twenty-some players out of their respective conversations. Almost unconsciously, they’d formed an oval around the perimeter of their tiny spawn island. “Intro time! Let’s go, X!”

“What? Why me?” Xisuma protested, but Keralis just laughed and took his place back in the circle.

“C’mon, admin,” Tubbo teased him with an elbow to the side. Xisuma sighed, rolling his shoulders, then stepped out into the center of the island.

“Alright everyone. Welcome to Hermitcraft Season 7! Go!” He clapped his hands together and dashed back towards the shore, the circle immediately breaking up as the Hermits split into their groups and dove into the ocean. Tubbo laughed as he waved goodbye to xB, who took off in a different direction as he went to follow X.

The water was nice and lukewarm, and soon enough Tubbo was backstroking over the ocean. He looked up at the bright blue sky, and smiled.

~~~~~~~~~

They spent most of the first day collecting supplies.

As it turned out, both FalseSymmetry, Hypnotizd, and ZombieCleo had decided to go in the same direction as he and Xisuma, so they ended up gathering their first bits of wood and stone together. Then there was some issue with the server that caused Xisuma to have to dive deep into the server code, in the open, at midnight, so their first night went without much sleep and with a lot of mob fighting instead.

“Well,” Cleo said the next morning, twirling her axe as Tubbo set to cooking some meat for breakfast. “That could have gone better.”

“I think the first night went just fine, thank you very much,” False shot back, sharpening her newly-minted stone sword. “I’m going to be honest, though, I’m not used to going out at night without an elytra. Or armor. Or a decent sword.”

“Hey, but did you see how many mobs I killed?” Tubbo put in, pulling out some pork chops and tossing one to Cleo. “I’m a god, I tell you.”

“Yes,” Xisuma replied. He was still sitting on one of the beds they’d made, and was double checking some of the code. “God of giving me heart attacks.”

“Not my fault you messed up part of the code! I saved your life!”

“I’d suggest you remember who bandaged that arrow wound, kid.”

Tubbo’s hand flew to his shoulder, where his jacket was torn slightly, and he blushed. “I’m not a kid!”

Everyone turned and gave him a flat look, and Tubbo blushed harder, looking down. It was no secret that he was, by far, the youngest person on the server. Most players were in their late twenties, like False and Impulse, to their late thirties, like Scar and Doc. Even the youngest before he’d arrived had been Mumbo and xB, at 24 and 19 respectively. At just barely 16, Tubbo was, well, a child compared to them.

Loathe as he was to admit it. It had been hard enough in the beginning, when he’d arrived unexpectedly at the beginning of Season 6. No one had been expecting any new players to join that Season, much less a mentally scarred 14-year-old, and he’d ended up being coddled for the first six months or so. Heck, he’d lived with Xisuma until he’d grown so tired of it he’d had to run off and make his own base without asking him, because the answer would have been no.

He was perfectly capable of living on his own! It was just… well, Tubbo knew he wasn’t as good as the others. He couldn’t make the huge, rolling complexes or over complicated redstone machines that did everything for you like the other hermits did. Of course, it made sense; he had a lot less experience and was still learning these things. But it didn’t help the fact that the others, well, they didn’t look down on him, per se, but they were always a little too willing to help, a little too protective.

“Sure,” Cleo was drawling teasingly, drawing him out of his thoughts. Tubbo snorted and looked down at his breakfast with a shake of his head, starting to eat.

“Oh, let him be,” Hypno put in, grabbing some food for himself. “I remember being that age. Young and ready to take on the world. At least he doesn't have any creaky old bones. I’m already feeling my back in the mornings.”

“Alrighty then!” Xisuma announced after a moment of silence, rising from his bed and closing the admin screens. “Looks like all the post-spawn bugs have been taken care of. I’m ready to head out for the day.”

“I guess this is where we all say goodbye, then,” False replied, twirling her sword. “I have the best idea for my base this season, but I gotta go north from here.”

“Tubbo and I are heading east.”

“West for me,” Cleo put in.

Hypno just shrugged. “I figured I’d wander for a bit before settling down.”

“No planning?” Tubbo asked, then grinned, glad for the change of subject. “I like your style, Hypno.”

The bandana-ed man inclined his head at him with a smile. He wasn’t a new player to the server, not at all, but from what Tubbo knew he hadn’t been around for a few years. Prior to the last few days as they’d prepared to jump Seasons, he’d hardly even heard of the man before, and thus didn’t know him too well.

Xisuma clapped Tubbo’s shoulder, eyes crinkling from that helmet-obscured smile of his.

“Ready to go?” he asked.

Tubbo whooped. “Bees, here we come!”

~~~~~~~~~

Perfect.

That was the only way Tubbo could describe the place he’d come across. He sat in the branches of one of the tallest trees in the area, looking out to where the forest he’d been traversing ended and the plains biome, scattered with flowers in small patches around, with gentle hills rolling even further in the distance.

It was an idyllic location, and perfect for his plans for the Season.

Another day had passed, marking it Day 3 of Season 7. After that first somewhat disastrous night, he and Xisuma had separated from their initial group and travelled to find a base together. Xisuma had decided, for some reason, that he was going to build his base in the middle of the jungle, so they had set up camp there for the night. Come dawn, however, Tubbo was ready to go and scout for a place of his own, and with a promise to check in with Xisuma every day or so, he’d set off that morning.

It was early afternoon, now, and honestly, Tubbo was pleased with how quickly he’d found his spot. It was only a half-day’s journey, while walking, from Xisuma, so once he’d gotten elytra he’d be able to visit whenever he wanted. Besides that, news had it that Keralis and Beef were only a little ways out, which would be fun since Tubbo didn’t know them too well.

Humming quietly, Tubbo reached into his inventory and took out the only belonging he’d taken with him from Season 6－a medium-sized notebook, filled with sketches and notes on what he wanted to build and how to do it. Last Season he hadn’t been ambitious enough; Tubbo had started late thanks to living with Xisuma and then had focused on just having a base of his own that by the end of the season it had looked puny compared to the many buildings his friends/guardians had made.

He wasn’t making that mistake again. Tubbo had grand plans for this Season’s megabase, and he was going to make sure it blew everyone else out of the water.

Okay, maybe that was an over exaggeration. But Tommy had always said to aim high.

His heart twisted a bit, as it always did when he thought of his old friends. Back then, he’d known people his own age, and Wilbur and Techno had rarely held back against him when they’d interacted with him, whether through words or PvP.

He wondered how they were doing; it’d been almost two years since he’d last seen or heard from them. He wondered if they’d moved on.

He wondered if they knew he was still alive.

Tubbo shook his head, chasing the depressing thoughts out of his mind. He’d found himself thinking of his old friends less and less over the last year and half, as he’d settled into life in Hermitcraft and begun to heal from what had happened to him. Not to say he didn’t miss them, that he wasn’t missing something in his life, but, well. Even though he thought of them every once in a while, the numerous letters he’d written to Tommy, unable to be sent, had been left behind with Season 6, in a way of really starting anew.

Doc had explained it best. Life moved on, and sometimes it was best to just hold onto the old memories and work on making new ones.

He’d taken that advice to heart. Tubbo flipped open his notebook to one of the middle pages, holding it out and comparing his sketch to the open plains before him.

Yes. This biome would do quite nicely.

Season 7 was going to be something great.

#tubbo #tubbo_#xisuma #xisumavoid #xbcrafted #iskall85 #hermitcraft #hermitcraft season 7 #watcher tubbo #watcher au #fanfiction #fanfic #hermitcraft fanfic #Hermit!Tubbo AU #I have no self control #And no idea how long I'll roll with this #but I"m quite liking it so far

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propfortytwo · 4 years

Text

heres the entire plot of homestuck explained mostly

the story takes place over 4 (technically 5 counting the end) alternate universes, and starts in the 3rd one, but it makes more sense if we start from the beginning chronologically.

a race of humanoids called trolls who are basically just humans with grey skin, orange horns, multicolored blood, and varying degrees of psychic powers exist on a planet called beforus. things are relatively uneventful, until the abdicated heiress to an empire, meenah, discovers The Game(tm) on the moon.

the game, otherwise known as sburb (or sgrub to the trolls) exists to propagate the universe; a successful session of it creates a new universe entirely. it involves a server player manipulating the real environment of a client player to bring them into a type of pocket dimension called the medium aka the session aka the incipisphere whatever, point is, you get there. the client can then, from that dimension, host the server of another client and bring them into the same session, and so on; the trolls sessions have 12 players, and human sessions have 4. each player has their own ‘land’, a small planet vaguely themed around them with a unique poorly defined quest, but that doesnt come up too much so dont worry about it immediately. each player also has a unique mythological role consisting of a class and an aspect; there are 12 of each for a total of 144 possible combinations, for instance john egbert is the heir of breath. this not only defines their abilities, but also their personality and role in the story.

each session has a few constants: a ‘planet’ in the center called skaia, which is a bright ball of just sky, with clouds that show you visions of the future; at the center of it is the battlefield, a chessboard which gets bigger and more complicated as things go on. a session will also always contain prospit, a yellow planet that orbits close to skaia, and a purple planet called derse that orbits far away from it. in a game session, prospit and derse are at war, with derse seeking to destroy skaia and the battlefield by sending an asteroid belt into it; coincidentally, this also destroys the home planet of the players, as many asteroids are teleported into reality. in the sessions weve seen so far these asteroids also are used to paradoxically send baby versions of the players and their ancestors back in time but that isnt too important right now. each player has an alternate self called a dream self, which exists on one of the two planets (but doesnt have any bearing on their morality or allegiance, just personality). dream selves, along with the session itself, always exist alongside the normal universe before the game even begins, and under certain conditions your normal self will, when asleep, awake as your dream self and vice versa. in addition, a player who dies can be revived, but only as their dream self.

back to the plot; the beforus trolls aren’t very good at the game; in fact, they fail and spend a few years not being able to do anything until they discover a way to reset both their game and the universe itself, which will retroactively swap them with their ancestors as players and do some other things as well. they should logically not even exist anymore, but due to some shenanigans that happen in the 2nd universe, they exist as ghosts in a sort of afterlife formed by dreaming players whose dream selves are dead or missing. overall, only two of these 12 trolls are actually important to the plot, meenah and aranea.

this brings us to the second universe; beforus is now called alternia, and it is a considerably more violent and horrific place, with troll society being murderous as pretty much a standard. as you can imagine literally everyone is traumatized by this. the first 12 trolls to get introduced in the comic come from this timeline, and include funny lawyer girl terezi. there’s also a considerable amount of infighting, most of which is vriskas fault. she comes up later.

the 2nd troll session is considerably more successful than the 1st, and finishes the game creating a universe, though this new universe contains a “small” defect due to negligence on the part of the players. before the trolls can enter their new universe, however, they are unexpectedly attacked by an angry teleporting chess dog with wings and a katana, who murders all their dream selves and blows up prospit and derse. the trolls go into hiding on a meteor, where they learn that this strange murderous furry came from a session inside their new universe. they elect to constantly harass the players of this session. also around the time of furrymans rampage, a girl named feferi convinces some eldritch creatures to create the aforementioned afterlife, while another girl named aradia who was briefly a robot comes back to life as a god tier and freezes furrydude in place. a god tier player is someone who has died in a particular way and as a result been revived with conditional immortality (if they die they are immediately revived UNLESS their death was either heroic, or just ie they were a piece of shit), powers based on their class and aspect, and a new outfit also based on their class and aspect. meenah in the first universe did this, as did vriska in the 2nd, though only because aradia beat the shit out of her for being awful. speaking of which she murders her childhood friend who she has abused and tormented for years because thats just how vriska is.

this brings us to the start of homestuck, the comic. there are four kids at the moment: john egbert, an overall lovable dumbass who is the first to enter, rose lalonde, a goth lesbian obsessed with wizards and psychology, dave strider, funny sunglasses memelord and horrifically abused swordsman, and jade harley, the prophetic scientist heiress of an old colonialist who was raised by a magic dog. through some difficulties they enter their session, and things IMMEDIATELY start going wrong. they just barely get everyone into the session before earth is ruined, and before that can even happen, the aforementioned murder furry is created when a bureaucrat named jack noir kills the black queen and steals her magic ring. a different jack noir was also present in the troll session, this one became a mobster named spades slick. (yes, that stupid fucking intermission was actually important). this happened because like the players, several ingame npcs also are brought to the dying planet, after it gets fucked by rocks. these include, on earth, WV aka the mayor, PM who will be important later, and two other jackasses who arent important. PM is cool because shes a mailman who fights through the fucking legions of hell to deliver a package to john and then later receives a copy of jack noirs magic ring and proceeds to chase him across the void for 3 years and finally beats the shit out of him. love her. anyway;

like the 1st universe, the kids are informed by a creepy man who talks in white text on a white background like a fucking tool that they cant succeed and will have to reset their session, though with coordination from the trolls, they have a plan to survive it. they also plan to use a very large bomb created as part of that defect i mentioned before to blow up something called the green sun, which is where jack noirs magic furry powers come from. this will also coincidentally kill spooky white man who has a cueball for a head and release an eldritch horror known as lord english into the timeline. meanwhile in the troll session, a clown troll named gamzee is driven into a rage by a video of the insane clown posse sent to him by dave and murders several of the less relevant characters because hes a piece of shit. also meanwhile a troll named eridan ALSO kills some people including someone named kanaya who is a lesbian vampire with a chainsaw who eventually marries rose. kanaya then cuts eridan in half because she Is Too Fucking Angry To Die. love her. ALSO ALSO meanwhile vriska is about to fly off and expose their hiding place to jack noir, but is killed by her childhood friend terezi. she dies for good because its considered a just death. anyway back in the kid session, things go awry and its revealed that white bread tricked them, as the bomb actually CREATES the green sun retroactively. also, because of the properties of the green sun and where the bomb was set off, the two kids who set off the bomb, dave and rose, meet up with the remaining trolls outside of the kid session. meanwhile jade fucking dies to a bomb made of shaving cream but is revived as a god tier and for unrelated reasons also fused with her magical dog. dave and rose also ascend to god tier as they died when a massive fucking sun spawned on top of them. john was already god tier due to some shenanigans by vriska earlier. basically everyone has their signature look now.

jade uses her new god tier abilities to shrink down every planet in their session including the battlefield, before bringing herself, john, and an alternate timeline dave onto a battleship and literally fucking launching it through the fourth wall into Poorly Defined Author Space which is technically on the moon of alternia. andrew hussie is here. as they leave the session before its reset, they stay alive, same with rose and dave. also meanwhile with rose and dave, one of the surviving trolls, sollux, uses his psychic powers to launch the meteor towards the newly reset session at relativistic speeds (all sessions TECHNICALLY exist in the same dimension? its weird), while jade does the same with her battleship.

thus begins the 4th timeline/universe. shit only gets stupider from here, consider taking a short break.

ok, ready?

the new universe is shown off, with the new kids; jane crocker, an average young woman who stands to inherit the betty crocker company which in this timeline is like amazon (shes an alternate version of johns grandmother); roxy lalonde, who is literally the best character in homestuck (alt. rose’s mom); jake english, a dumbass who lives on a deserted island, speaks in horribly inaccurate british slang and dual wields pistols (alt. jade’s grandfather); and dirk strider, a canonically gay nerd with pointy anime sunglasses and a sword who builds robots and canonically watches mlp so like fucking make of that what you will (alt. dave’s abusive brother). their entry into their session is different; their session is called a void session, and is inherently unwinnable because of retroactive time bullshit, and for related reasons, the meteors that would destroy earth are never sent. you may ask “well how did the kids get there then?” to which the answer is when the reset happened the destination of the kids guardians was switched to be this new session. doesn’t that mean the guardians never existed, you say? stop thinking.

anyway janes entry into the session coincedes with betty crocker revealing herself to be a hostile alien empress who slowly takes over the earth with the help of the insane clown posse and guy fieri. she’s also the alternate version of meenah, who in the alternia timeline was the empress and also kind of a horrible person. shes here because of nonsense involving lord english, who she works for but hates. in fact, theres an interesting side effect to this; dirk and roxy actually live 400 years in the future from jane and jake, from after betty crocker aka the condesce killed everyone and flooded the planet. they still enter the same session, through dirk doing some stupid shit and controlling both his dream self and his actual self at the same time and moving everyone around.

there’s a long period of absolutely nothing happening in the 4th session while the trolls and kids travel to it, and during this were introduced to two characters; calliope and caliborn. theyre brother and sister, and are part of another race called cherubs who look like green skeletons and which share a body with each other and fight for control of it. caliborn is the fucking worst and actually becomes lord english eventually, while calliope is a nice down to earth person who makes fan characters and cosplays a troll. they also technically exist in a... 5th, separate universe, on a dead earth?? which is probably the future earth from the ending? i dunno it makes no fucking sense.

anyway calliope dies due to some plotting but death means fucking nothing in this story so shes off hidden in the afterlife. the meteor group and the battleship group pass through this afterlife like physically several times during their journey through the void and meet many of the dead trolls, including dead vriska, meenah, and aranea, who come up with a plan to lure lord english, who is currently destroying reality and murdering ghosts, to a place where they can hit him with a magic ghost weapon. they find it, and john touches it out of curiosity, whereupon he gains weird powers that let him travel ANYWHERE in canon at any time, though he cant really control it. during his random zaps around he beats the shit out of caliborn which is cool and good. partway through, aranea leaves and uses a magic ring to come back to life JUST as the two groups arrive at the new session and the 4 new kids ascend to god tier, at which point everything goes wrong all at once.

through a contrived series of events, jade and jane are mind controlled by the condesce, and a long fight scene ensues where jake unleashes his true power and then dies, aranea tries to usurp the condesce but fails miserably, and basically fucking everyone but john and roxy die horribly, planets are smashed into each other, the session is falling apart due to interference from caliborn who has limited control over the narrative for some reason; its not good.

fortunately, john in theory has the ability to fix this by retconning events in a particular way. he has no idea how to though, until a dying terezi headbutts him, writes instructions on a blindfold in her own blood, and then dies, falling into a chalk outline of her own corpse she drew immediately beforehand because shes fucking metal. john also, during this time, uses his new powers to move his planet out of the session into a white void apparently outside everything. as a consequence of this, in an alternate timeline his planet explodes and roxy dies, though in THIS weird space, he and roxy are still alive.

following terezis instructions, john changes some subtle things in the past, before ultimately preventing her from killing vriska by knocking vriska out. this, surprisingly, actually has a positive effect; vriska has powerful mind control abilities that allow her to put jane and jade to sleep upon arrival and prevent the bad timeline from happening, but she also mellows out a bit and keeps everyone from losing their minds during the journey, while also forming a plan to fight the condesce that works out pretty well. the person she murdered gets revived as well, though she still treats him like shit so im not giving her points for that.

john and roxy arrive from the bad timeline with johns planet, and roxy uses the magic ring to bring the dead calliope back to life. also around this time calliope meets an alternate version of herself who killed caliborn in her timeline and is spooky and mysterious and super fucking powerful and will be able to help kill lord english, so thats cool.

some nice, genuine heart to hearts happen between the characters as they get set up for the final battle, at which point it happens, in a 20 minute flash. the condesce gets defeated, lord english's influence is cut out from the session, and the new universe is created; its actually a pretty happy ending.

and THAT is the end of homestuck.

#homestuck

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recentanimenews · 4 years

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FEATURE: Looking for a New Show? Check out Hime's Helpful Recommendations!

If you’re reading this now, then chances are you’ve checked out anime sensations that is Jujutsu Kaisen or The Promised Neverland. But what is there to do when you’re stuck between episodes and waiting a whole week for the next exciting installment? Or worse ... what do you do when you've finished your binge? Luckily, there are plenty of anime in Crunchyroll’s catalog for you to check out!

When it comes to scary demons, dark magic, and captivating stories, there’s no shortage of shows that can satisfy your cravings. From your genre-defying battle shows, popular fantasy worlds, or quirky titles with crazy fights, you're sure to find something from this list that will quickly become your next favorite binge:

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

Fantasy world anime are all the rage these days, and one of the most popular right now comes in the form of an adorable amorphous blob slowly building up their own nation in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime.

As 37-year-old Satoru Mikami suddenly began to take a spiritual transition from one life to the next, they unwittingly made requests that resulted in their reincarnation as a lowly slime in an RPG-like high-fantasy world. In this new life, they gain new abilities and use their apparent charisma to acquire powerful allies and develop their own nation that unites all species under his guidance.

As far as fantasy world shows go, this rags-to-riches story has a little something for everyone. There are few things as inspiring and necessary in our world as seeing an insignificant slime creature rise up the ranks and unite everybody. Packed with compelling world-building, exciting fights, and a spoonful of emotion, Slime scratches plenty of itches, and the ongoing second season will definitely leave you begging for more.

Demon Slayer

There are plenty of great anime centered around fighting denizens in the dark, but Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba certainly stands out among them all.

Tanjiro Kamado’s tough but rewarding mountain life was suddenly disrupted when his entire family was mauled by a demon, with his little sister on the verge of becoming one herself. But after showing his potential as a fighter and vowing to protect his sister who still clings tenuously to her humanity, he is recruited to undergo demon slayer training in order to harness his latent abilities and find a way to return his sister to normal.

Ufotable, Inc. is an anime studio renowned for its unparalleled animation, and Demon Slayer is the perfect example of the team’s skill. The show is renowned for its seamless integration of digital effects to generate flowing animation and has previously topped our list as one of the best anime of the 2010s. Since its premiere, Demon Slayer has raked in several Newtype anime awards, and its first opening — “Gurenge” by LiSA — topped Oricon’s digital charts for weeks. With all these accolades under its belt, Demon Slayer is most certainly well worth checking out.

Mob Psycho 100

If stylish animation and gorgeous fight scenes are up your alley, look no further than the psychedelic psychic battles of Mob Psycho 100.

Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama is an abnormal boy trying to live a normal life, despite his unique telekinetic abilities leading him to crazy situations. Under the misguided tutelage of con artist psychic Arataka Reigen, Mob takes on several malevolent spirits while trying to navigate his turbulent adolescence. Through his adventures, he slowly but surely develops his understanding of human emotion, especially when they gradually build up to various explosions of psychic energy.

Mob Psycho is packed with stellar action and hilarious gags, but still finds room to offer a refreshingly heartwarming story about trying to be your own self. With two seasons' worth of episodes, this is a great option for fans of people throwing telekinesis at each other.

Overlord

The only thing more interesting than a fantasy world show is a fantasy world show with a villain as the main protagonist. Enter Overlord.

The massively successful, highly interactive MMO, YGGDRASIL, is about to have its servers shut down after 12 years. Momonga, the skeletal leader of the strongest guild of the game, makes it a point to stay on until the final minutes of service. When the countdown runs out, Momonga’s player finds himself inhabiting the world as his character and still commanding his guild, Ainz Ooal Gown. Taking on the name of his guild, Ainz Ooal Gown begins to expand his rule with an iron fist while trying to find any other players who may also be trapped in the game with him.

Overlord is unafraid to make its protagonist undergo some dark transformations. Despite Ainz’s intentions to create a stir in this new world and unite all species under his rule, he becomes gradually less hesitant to use his immense power to achieve his goals by any means necessary. With its dark overtones and unique protagonist, Overlord truly makes a name for itself among the genre.

Hunter x Hunter

Love the action genre but wish the formula could be tweaked a little bit? The infamous Hunter x Hunter may just have what you’re looking for.

Gon Freecs is a young boy who sets out to become a professional Hunter while searching for his missing father. Along the way, Gon learns how vast and diverse the world is as he meets new companions, fights terrifying monsters, and becomes stronger at every turn. There’s no telling what new adventure or threat awaits Gon and his friends as the world of Hunters opens up wide to them.

Subversion is the name of the game when it comes to this popular and influential series. While there’s plenty of intense action to be had, Hunter x Hunter isn’t afraid to go deep into mafia politics, race relations, and even gender identity. At almost every opportunity, Hunter takes the usual tropes and turns them upside down to tell a story that’s all too raw, emotional, and impossible to look away from.

Garo: Vanishing Line

Jujutsu Kaisen director Sung Hoo Park has plenty of notable works under his belt, including directing The God of High School. But you might be surprised to know that JJK isn’t his first foray into demon-slaying action. He also directed Garo: Vanishing Line.

While searching for her missing older brother, Sophie is led to the metropolis of Russell City where monsters known as Horrors prey on humans in the night. Luckily, she comes under the protection of Sword; as Garo, the strongest Makai Knight, Sword and his crew are tasked with defending the city and eradicating Horrors.

As part of a popular tokusatsu (live-action with heavy special effects) franchise, Garo is known for its modern gothic aesthetic and compelling action. Vanishing Line continues that tradition in spectacular fashion with intense fights and an exhilarating soundtrack, not to mention an intense first opening by Jam Project of One Punch Man fame. From start to finish Vanishing Line never takes its foot off the pedal and is sure to keep you pumped all throughout its high-octane 24-episode ride.

The Rising of the Shield Hero

Fantasy world shows often put their protagonists up on a pedestal, but the eponymous Shield Hero is practically dropped into adversity from the get-go.

Naofumi Iwatani is one of four different high schoolers plucked from their dimensions into a fantasy world in peril. As each of them is armed with different weapons to combat the impending threat, Naofumi draws the short stick by becoming the Shield Hero, who is traditionally marginalized and maligned by their peers. To make matters worse, he is accused of debauchery amongst royalty and shunned by the entire kingdom he was summoned to protect. Broken and disillusioned by this strange new world, the Shield Hero must now climb his way to redemption alongside other unfortunate souls neglected by society.

A Cinderella story in every sense of the word, The Rising of the Shield Hero draws its appeal from its protagonist having to overcome the odds and fight back against the forces that oppose him. While it can be hard to sit through when it comes to raw emotion and some questionable content, this anime has plenty of inspiring moments as marginalized folks work their hardest to become heroes of their own repute.

Attack on Titan

Chances are you’ve at least heard of the anime sensation that is Attack on Titan, and with the show approaching its end, there’s no better time to see what all the hype is about.

Humanity has spent thousands of years walled off from the outside world in order to keep Titans away lest they feast on humans. Eren Jaegar has long wondered what the world beyond the walls was like, but he gets a rude awakening when Titans break down the walls and begin a violent invasion. Vowing revenge on them, Eren joins the Survey Corps and swears to do everything he can to eliminate every Titan in existence.

This popular anime is known for its unparalleled animation and mysterious story that takes several unexpected turns. As long as you can stomach the violence and sit through some terrifying visuals, there’s something for everyone in Attack on Titan from heart-warming relationships to intrigue and high-stakes drama. As the show comes to a close with its final season, there’s no better time than now to jump onto the giant-slaying phenomenon.

Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-

Nothing messes around with the rules of the fantasy world genre quite like Re:ZERO: Starting Life in Another World.

In typical fantasy world fashion, gamer shut-in Subaru Natsuki is summoned into a medieval fantasy world rife with magic and monsters at every turn. For all intents and purposes, he now lives in a game world, especially whenever he dies and comes back to life sometime before his death like a checkpoint revival. With his newfound power, Subaru attempts to survive in this strange new world and help out his growing band of companions, especially when it comes to Emilia, a young elf who’s in the running to become queen of the Kingdom of Lugunica.

Re:ZERO is rife with powerful drama as Subaru uses grim knowledge of his past lives in order to do good. This darkly compelling fantasy has been praised for its complex world and nuanced characters, and has even accrued many Newtype anime awards in 2016, including best director and best protagonists. If you like the idea of traversing murky corners and tough moral choices, then Re:ZERO might just be your next big obsession.

Which of these shows do you think you'll check out? Comment below and tell us!

Carlos (aka Callie) is a freelance features writer for Crunchyroll. Their favorite genres range from magical girls to over-the-top robot action, yet their favorite characters are always the obscure ones. Check out some of their pop culture editorials on Popdust as well as their satirical work on The Hard Times.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Carlos Cadorniga

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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incarnateirony · 5 years

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Thank you for your posts about canon / text / subtext definitions. I do wonder about what makes it 'obvious' to some people that Sam and Eileen have slept together. What do they think about Cas knowing that Dean kept the Colt under his pillow? Or that he's an angry sleeper? That look and gesture Dean gave Cas when he went to have a shower after Michael's first exit? The time he told Sam that Cas had left much earlier in the morning, when he'd clearly just got up himself? I'm confused

I have a simple answer: het goggles.

And yes, LGBT people can have het goggles.

I’m gonna tell you a brief story I’ve posted about before – and someone in the meta community even took an ~offended~ tone about it afterward when they heard about it.

A long time ago, the Dean played in my group (by an LGBT man) and I got tired of backflipping around the gay. In our S13-equivalent plotline (which was divergent, it basically split separate track after Tombstone), our respective climb to the finale, we had an opportunity. We took it. Tada, DeanCas canon! It was obvious, right? We run a genre server, we don’t do private sexy times shit, and one of the most important elements to us was being nonperformative and true to the characters. We sent out our big gay flare signals in public over, of all things, a sacred marriage ceremony and then cut-to next-day, where they were sitting in the kitchen talking. We kept using dialogue we intended to make as obvious as fucking possible and yet we noticed it seemed to be whistling by people.

(allow me to scream into the void as an aside about it being a 7 episode crash course through an inverted alchemical set about carrying marks that Cas ended up bound into with Dean. FREE ME.)

I went to DM and asked him, should we like, tell everyone? But the decision was to NOT, because even the best RPers can let meta things influence them. We wanted character reactions to remain authentic.

For the entire next mytharc (S14-adjacent?) we just kept writing on. And on. And on. And maintained their relationship as public, but as *they* are, as people. An established relationship. We didn’t hide it. And it kept getting missed. We kept dialing up HOW front and center shit was.

I want you to keep in mind, this is a server so full of shippers and LGBT people and LGBT shippers that we have a “token straight.”

And they kept missing it. Because of how this fandom has trained them to dismiss content.

If you want an idea of how bold it was, we were DMing each other like HAHA THEY CANT MISS THIS ONE “BET”, like a challenge, or just deadass “They’re going to miss that canon Destiel mention right there.” slamming out post after post with textual elements over the old missed news. There was even a time Cas joked about reconciliatory seduction, but not being the best at it, so maybe bacon would be better at the moment, or something along those lines. I sat, smugly, waiting for everyone to realize OMG WHAT, I even went to the OOC “Waiting for you guys to kill me”

What did I get back? “LOL CAS SAID SEDUCTION AND I LAUGHED” “LOL THAT’S AWESOME”

… “Oh my god give me a minute.” I literally had to walk away from my computer, refill my vape, rub my face down for a minute and DM my Dean, going “WHAT THE FUCK”

Our DeanCas wasn’t lowkey. Hell, it wasn’t even subtext. Just their physical elements were private quarter things and their “I love yous” weren’t really strangled down to that three words, but how they say, or enact it, each in their own ways, every day.

We literally said, on repeat “oh my god this is what Bobo and Yockey’s DMs look like isn’t it” “Without a doubt tbh”

And I mean shit, there was literally a point that Michael Dean basically killed Cas (without actually kiilling him, it was the jumpscare) in Dean’s bedroom on Dean’s bed after being lured in to talk about some shit by actual-Dean who realized Cas was going off on a sacrificial crash course and he cuffed him down there. So that? Sure, that wasn’t sexy time bedcuffing. But when Michael got his hands on the archangel blade and it killed the angel (grace) not the host (soul), and Cas’ wing prints of his near death were all over the bedroom and everything was broken – when Dean decided to move out to the DeanCave, he took human Cas with him.

Awww isn’t that sweet!! He’s like!! Taking care of Cas during his Empty trauma! was the call. Me and Dean’s player sat there staring like

So we had them literally, for a fun crack day, GO SHOPPING FOR A NEW BED. TOGETHER. ONE BED. TESTING IT OUT AND TALKING IMPORTANT SHIT WHILE LAID OUT ON TOP OF IT AND EVERYTHING. YOU KNOW, LIKE BROS DO, SHARING BEDS AND TALKING PERSONAL ISSUES.

Everybody thought it was *hilarious*

And it wasn’t even just shit like this, we had entire mytharcs playing into it. We had structural callback elements to famous related scenes. We had villains and contagonists addressing them as the mytharc lovers. Everywhere you turned, in any way you can imagine, we were trying to paint this picture without just having them randomly start cuddling in front of everybody. Lines like “DAMNIT CAS, BEFORE WE STARTED THIS, I MADE YOU PROMISE TO NOT MAKE ME YOUR WHOLE WORLD, OR UNIVERSE OR WHATEVER” in raging explosions over crash course choices or whatever else. I can not say ENOUGh how much open textual writing we sprayed out, only for it to be dismissed, brushed over, or even laugh tracked off entirely.

By. LGBT people. And shippers.

And people are *so quick* to shut down content that the few things that *seemed* to run opposite were entirely taken to heart. Eg, at one point, only a few weeks after 1. DeanCas went canon 2. Dean became Dinkle and vanished to the wind, someone had their character start talking to Jack about types of love and that “Dean and Cas need to get their heads out of their ass”, etc, and then Jack sat confused and Jack got talked to about Dean and Cas being dumbasses that need their shit together.

So here comes Cas, wandering into the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee and he turns around to Jack GLARING at him and he’s basically like, what, and Jack explodes, as a child do, like “WHY DO YOU HAVE THE SEX WITH WOMEN WHEN YOUR HEAD SHOULD BE IN DEAN’S ASS” and Cas just fuckin DROPS his coffee cup and looks to the other person and is like “What did you tell him?!” but they took the resulting “WTF? WHAT ARE YOU TELLING MY SON?” as immediate complete total shut down (atop them clearly not realizing it already happened), rather than like, I just crawled my ass out of an alternate universe I was thrown into right after getting married and losing him and what the hell are you telling my 1 year old son about his dads when one might not come back and why the fuck does he think i’m sleeping with women

Eventually, I snapped. We ended up with a finale of facing Chuck (albeit totally different terms/conditions/location/etc) and yes, even a truth spell, so I went out of my way – and Sam’s player, who is my wife, and was the one person to really figure this out herself because she knows my writing for one and for two I’m the one that personally shattered her het goggles SO SHE KNOWS – went out of their way, and we lined it up exactly right for all the things to come together to hear Sam explode on Dean about just being honest about being in love with an angel and I just – slightly tweaking the usual character voice I’d use to free myself of this gay purgatory, had Cas go “Yes, I know. He told me a year ago.”

The whole goddamn chat: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?

Finally, fucking FINALLY, something broke through to everyone, with us literally warping and bending situations and character voices just to be like RELEASE ME

– but when one of the big name meta bloggers got told about this? They were like “Aren’t you mad? Don’t you want more visible representation???” to which I was like IDK MAN I WAS FOLLOWING THE REPRESENTATION LEAD OF THE GAY DUDE IN MY SERVER SO ASK HIM? WE WERE TRYING TO REPRESENT PEOPLE JUST WEREN’T SOAKING IT???? IDK??? WHAT DO YOU WANT

Everyone actually in the server took it really well, “heteronormativity is a hell of a drug” was one of the catch phrases for a while. People went back and sat, kinda embarrassed, reading over a goddamn season worth of canon Destiel and kicking themselves like, how did I miss this? How did I straightsplain this? What the fuck?????

So yeah. Heteronormativity is the biggest culprit and, in many cases, the second is the lack of willingness to introspect and reflect because if they’ve been ~wrong~ then… something. I don’t know what exactly goes through their head. But something.

I’ll add the video I made after 14.20 aired which made some material about Chuck available for it, to “Rat in a Cage” (rats in a maze S15 launch me into SPACE), but that sign over DeanCas? That’s the mark of Venus.

youtube

#supernatural #spn #meta #my meta #heteronormativity #destiel

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thewhitefluffyhat · 5 years

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Feminist Relevant Themes

<-Previous (Introduction)

To talk about Magia Record’s writing in detail, it helps to understand how the game is structured.

Magia Record has many story modes:

Main Story: The main plot, centered on new protagonist Iroha arriving in the city of Kamihama to search for her missing sister. Everyone can read this at any time, and new chapters come out every few months.

Another Story: The events of the Main Story, but told from the point of view of the original Madoka Magica cast. Also always available to everyone.

Magical Girl Stories: short stories centered on one specific magical girl - usually they tell the backstory of the girl’s wish. Can only be watched after obtaining the character in the gacha.

Mirrors Story: A very slowly updated story unlocked by completing many player vs. player battles.

Event Stories: Short stories that come out roughly every two weeks. Sometimes introduce a new character for the gacha, sometimes related to a seasonal holiday. Playable to anyone around during the event (and will be stored in the archive afterwards).

Costume Stories: Tiny story snippets involving a character wearing a special outfit. Implemented one year in and unlocked by obtaining both the character and the outfit in question.

Good

Female Friendship

As with the better side of magical girl media, the game’s biggest feminist plus is its complex female characters and focus on female friendships, including some great examples of female mentors and role models. The mechanics of the setting are even tweaked to facilitate this - gone is the TV series’ lonely, competitive system that isolated girls from each other. Instead, in present-day Kamihama, witches are so strong and plentiful that magical girls are better off forming teams to support one another.

While this change arguably waters down some of the thematic weight of the original (in that this isolation was another example of how Kyuubey’s system is an easy metaphor for other oppressive systems), I find it a worthy trade-off. Allowing for magical girl teams to exist results in much richer possibilities for interactions between characters, especially welcome in a sprawling game with far more narrative content than a one-season anime.

And the game takes good advantage of this - no two magical girl teams are exactly alike, both in terms of internal dynamics and how they interact with other teams.

Doppels

The main gimmick of the game’s story is the existence of “doppels” - a mechanic where a magical girl partially transforms into her own witch to unleash a powerful attack. And from gameplay to story to art, doppels are excellent. They look cool and they’re rewarding to unlock and use in game. From a feminist perspective, I also love the idea of reclaiming witches, the “adult” form of magical girls, into a source of salvation and empowerment for girls* instead of a curse. On a meta-level, it echoes a common magical girl trope of the character transforming into an older version of herself, while specifically to Madoka Magica, it’s a creative way to dismantle the misogynistic implications of Kyuubey’s system!

(*There are supposedly drawbacks to doppels, but that bit of setting mostly serves to make them a ~dangerous forbidden technique~ that shouldn’t be overused.)

Struggling against class prejudice

The tensions between different wards of Kamihama are a key component of the setting, and affect many character interactions. One aspect the Magical Girl Stories are good at is showing how arbitrary and hurtful this discrimination is, and how difficult it is to overcome prejudice once it has become entrenched. It’s made abundantly clear that Kamihama would be a better city without these attitudes - the question is, how to get there?

A variety of careers

Several girls make wishes or have backstories centered on what they want to do when they grow up. What’s especially neat is that most girls ask for the opportunity to follow their passions, rather than having a talent magically granted to them - thus avoiding the pitfall of having a female character’s abilities originate from a power granted by a male character.

The range of career interests depicted isn’t as amazing as it could be (In a cast of 80+, I would love to have more than three girls representing STEM), but there’s some decent variety. Many girls aspire to take over their parents’ family business, for example.

And even some characters who follow more seemingly feminine careers (a model, a chef, an artist, etc.) have serious narratives centered on the skill and effort needed to succeed in those highly competitive fields, which is quite refreshing to see.

Mixed

The many different ways to be a girl

The nice thing about having a large cast of female characters is that it gives plenty of opportunities to show how all of these characters are different. And in general, Magia Record does very well on this front! One aspect I’ve particularly been enjoying is the how the cast has widely varying tastes in fiction. Yes, there are girls who like dreamy romances, but there are also girls who bond over their shared love of a hotblooded shounen series!

Where this falls down somewhat is an overuse of “but look, she has a secret feminine interest.” Sometimes this plot can work, if coming at it from the angle that superficial judgments can be misleading, or that there’s nothing wrong with having feminine interests. But when all the more masculine-presenting girls end up with a hidden fondness for stuffed animals, the sheer repetition becomes rather irksome. It’s as though the game feels the need to insist “but look, she really is a girl!” because the audience wouldn’t believe it without such a trait.

LGBTQ+ characters

In terms of LGBTQ+ content, the game feels rather similar to the original anime and other Madoka spinoffs. That is to say, there are tons of shippable f/f pairings that get teased, but as of the present, only one new playable character (and a tiny sample of minor characters) are explicitly confirmed to be lesbians. No trans or otherwise queer characters either, unfortunately. (Though of course that’s not to stop a good interpretation or headcanon!)

However, as a whole, the game is oddly averse to showing the characters in active, healthy relationships. One of the early frustrations I had with the new character’s portrayal was that the game’s one mutual gay relationship was never directly shown on-screen and gets broken up in favor of more ambiguous teasing. That being said, all the het relationships are treated similarly, either never being confessed and requited or never getting shown on screen. So… I suppose there’s not actually a double standard here, but players hoping for lots of canon yuri content might end up a bit disappointed.

Also, a note on Homura specifically - this game’s version is “glasses Homura,” who hasn’t realized she’s in love with Madoka yet. So despite what you might expect given Rebellion, in Magia Record there’s nothing beyond heavy hints and ambiguously cute scenes between her and Madoka.

Characters with disabilities

A few characters in the game have difficulty speaking. It’s not made clear if this is a speech impediment or something like social anxiety (or autism - I know I’ve seen headcanons for that). There is some depiction of these characters getting bullied, but in each case the character ultimately finds a group of friends who love and support them as they are.

After two years, now there is technically a magical girl who uses a wheelchair. (And it’s a cool custom wheelchair too!) Unfortunately I hesitate to count this as a full positive, because shortly after she appears in it, the character becomes unable to transform and fight for an unrelated reason, so we haven’t seen her in battle since. But who knows - the story’s still moving forward on the Japanese server, and there’s likely to be more content with her in the future.

At the end of the day, though, this is a setting with magic wishes and healing effects. Thus, it’s very common for girls to wish to cure someone’s illness, or to use their abilities as a magical girl to cure themselves, which can easily fall into ableist tropes.

College age magical girls

Yes, really! Although even the oldest characters are only nineteen. However, there’s also a subplot about how two of the nineteen-year-olds are losing power because they’re older, which… hm. The message that we all need to accept passing the torch to the next generation is generally a valuable and good one. Aiming it at older teen girls just on the verge of adulthood is where the implications nosedive into unfortunate. Young girls already get far too many messages that their worth is entirely dependent on their youth/beauty/innocence and that it’s better to stay a “girl” than to be a fully grown “woman.”

The entire reason it’s exciting to see college age magical girls in the first place is that even now, it’s rare to see adult women as protagonists in these types of fantasy adventures. By introducing these young adult characters only to caveat their inclusion with“they’re getting too old to be here”, it puts a very sour note on what’s otherwise a welcome expansion of the Madoka Magica universe.

(It’s also hilariously contradictory to other spin offs in the Madoka Magica franchise, including the implications of the anime canon itself, so… whoops?)

Bad

Lack of diversity

(Particularly racial diversity.)

The only non-Japanese magical girls are from the pre-existing Tart Magica spin-off set in medieval France… and Meiyui. (And maybe Alina.)

Meiyui is a complicated case - her family has ties to both Japan and Hong Kong. Meiyui herself is a fun character, but she also ticks a lot of the checkboxes for a Japanese stereotype of a Chinese person (a la Xiao Mei in Fullmetal Alchemist). As a white person only familiar with US culture, it’s not my place to make a judgement call here, but I’d love to hear from someone who knows more!

The largest disappointment, though, is in wondering what might have been. The Madoka Magica anime implied that there are magical girls all over the globe from every different time and culture, so the game’s narrow focus on one modern Japanese city greatly limits the setting from its full potential. And even within that limitation, the sheer homogeneity of the new cast is starting to get awkwardly same-y.

The arc two’s logo teases what might be girls from several other backgrounds, though, so perhaps this will improve in the very near future. Of course, success will depend on the writers’ abilities to handle other cultures. Which, when given the example of Meiyui, might actually be cause for concern...

Revolutionary Girl Utena, this ain’t

In a game full of decent-to-good backstories, you’ll sometimes hit an unfortunate and very disappointing outlier.

My personal least favorite is the victim-blaming one mentioned in the content warnings. Another low point is a story where a girl frantically diets as a response to another girl’s comments about her weight.

Then there’s the backstory the above picture comes from. It involves a girl who has to drop out of sports because her next school only has a boy’s team - and instead of challenging this situation, it’s the inspiration for her to discover she’s actually happier as a cheerleader anyway. Hm.

This last case is actually pretty emblematic of the game as a whole. Whoever’s doing the writing (the credited scenario team is four people, and from the names at least two might be women?) mostly seems to mean well, but they occasionally step hard into the -isms that come from not actually thinking about the problems with the status quo.

So the game isn’t typically hateful, but it doesn’t push the envelope in any revolutionary directions either. As a result - and it feels weird to say this, but - I really miss having Urobuchi as the writer. Sure, his writing had its own problems, but in comparison, it was at least genuinely thought-provoking. The way that even the adult female characters got complexity and screentime, that whole conversation between Sayaka and the misogynistic men on the train, the compelling exploration of consent and determination that underlies the whole anime – even six years later, these aspects hold up and stand out.

Magia Record is an inversion – far more pleasant on the surface, but without the backbone and depth that made the original so thematically intriguing despite all the suffering.

Next (Other Writing Aspects)->

#puella magi madoka magica #pmmm #magia record #magical girls #feminist analysis #my blog organization tags #magia record analysis #my feminist friendly magireco review #madoka magica #magical girl genre #magia record jp #magia record na #my ramblings #haha this section is so long #nothing else even touches it #and even then there’s so much other stuff I could rant about lol

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sleepless-in-southlands · 2 years

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hold them up to the light

Ao3

Chapter thirteen of This Predacious Song, my multidimensional big bang fic! It’s a Mumbo-centric Hermitcraft/Last Life fic heavily featuring violence, blood, trauma, and horror-like themes. It is hurt/comfort with a happy ending. Please follow the embedded title link or the ao3 link for a complete summary and list of warnings for the story as a whole

Chapter thirteen’s title from Trista Mateer

Grian had left shortly after Mumbo called himself a monster, saying he had to get someone. Mumbo had assumed he was going to grab a different hermit to sit around with Mumbo, unable to keep interacting with him, until he made a second attempt at getting his communicator and saw that Grian had left the server.

Did he need to get away from Mumbo that badly?

Mumbo, for his part, had largely remained on his bed, aside from grabbing his communicator. His plans to server jump had flown out of the window after Grian’s visit, unable to bring himself to do that to Grian. Although, from the looks of it, Grian might have preferred if he did.

“A monster? Wh- Mumbo, no, I said you might have thought that, not that you are that!”

“Well, either way, you were right, weren’t you?”

“No! I was very much not right! You’re not- you’re not a monster!”

“Grian, I never treated Last Life like a game, not for a second. And I did the same in every death game server I’ve jumped into these past few months. As soon as I’m in, I treat it all like its real, and then I murder players without a bit of hesitation. What sort of person does that?”

“But they’re not real. No one’s actually getting hurt. And- and if they do, they all signed up for it.”

“And if I had hurt someone outside of those games? The amount of times I’ve unthinkingly tried to attack you, or any other hermit, and only been stopped because I don’t carry weapons… it’s not just in the games.”

“You were spending all your time in those games! Of course you reacted the same outside of them. That’s natural. Ren’s done it, and Pearl’s done it, and Scar’s done it, and I’ve certainly done it- does that make us all monsters too?”

“Of course not.”

“Then why does it make you one?”

“It’s not just that, Grian.”

“Then what am I missing, Mumbo? What’s the secret? Where’s this monstrous recipe?”

“It’s- it’s everywhere! Killing Bdubs, and killing Impulse, and ruining the Southlands, and all the death games, and avoiding everyone in Boatem, and scaring Xisuma, and- and- and everything!”

“...I need to go.”

What other reaction could Mumbo have expected? He laid it all out for Grian, past anything the builder could forgive or wave away, and he had made the smart decision to abandon Mumbo. Really, after everything Mumbo had said, everything he had done, it was no surprise Grian felt he had to leave the server to get enough distance between the two of them. Mumbo understood.

“So, do either of you know why Grian wanted us to come here, or…?”

“Well, he seemed off somewhere in a hurry, I figured he needed someone else to take shift watching over Mumbo.”

“I just decided that if Grian runs up to you and yells something really loudly and also incredibly vaguely, you do it and worry about the prank you walked into afterwards.”

The sounds of Impulse, Scar, and Pearl talking reached Mumbo before they did, Impulse holding the door for Scar to wheel in with Pearl following. Their conversation died when they realized Mumbo was awake, sitting in the center of his bed and idly fiddling with his communicator.

“Mumbo! You’re up!” Impulse said first, smiling as the group moved to approach his bed.

“I am, yes, hello.” Mumbo greeted somewhat awkwardly. Aside from Ren and Grian, he hadn’t had a chance to talk with any of the hermits since being brought back to the server on the cusp of permadeath, and he hadn’t exactly had a seamless chat with any of the hermits in quite a while.

“You wouldn’t happen to know what brings us here, would you?” Scar asked, sounding brighter than he had the last time Mumbo heard him speak. “Grian was very unhelpful in explaining why we’ve all been gathered here together today.”

Mumbo ducked his head at the question, avoiding the groups’ eyes. He was tired of lying to his friends, but telling Grian the truth had been harder than he expected. Especially when it had been followed by Grian running off with barely a word, so clearly disgusted with Mumbo there was nothing he could say.

It was selfish, but now that Grian knew, they all would sooner rather than later. They didn’t need Mumbo to explain it to them. He could have these last few minutes where they were still willing to talk to him, be near to him. He could allow himself a few minutes of selfishness.

Mumbo didn’t need to see the others’ faces to feel the way the other Boatem members began to frown at his silence, glancing amongst themselves. One of them likely would have spoken up if it weren’t for sudden distortion of the world to the side of the room, incomprehensible shifting of space signaling a teleportation.

The distortion faded as Xisuma appeared in its place, admin communicator in hand. He hit a few buttons on it before he looked up, surprise visible even through his visor as he noticed the group. “Impulse, Scar, Pearl? What are you doing here? And Mumbo, how are you feeling?”

“Just fine.” Mumbo answered after a moment of silence, realizing everyone else was waiting for him to speak before themselves.

“Any issues with your glitch injuries?”

Mumbo shook his head.

Xisuma nodded once, looking somewhat satisfied with the response. “Alright then, everyone else?”

“We’re here because Grian told us to be here.” Scar said, shrugging. “He didn’t really say why.”

“Odd.” Xisuma checked his communicator. “Grian messaged me asking that I come here with no explanation as well. I had thought something had gone wrong with Mumbo, but seems not.”

“Doing the same as I have been.” Mumbo confirmed, ignoring the fact that his recent state could hardly be considered not-wrong. Thankfully, everyone in the room ignored it with him.

“Well, there must be some reason Grian wanted us here.” Pearl said, though she didn’t get the chance to expand on the thought before their group size expanded instead.

(Distantly, Mumbo noted the first floor of Grian’s starter base was beginning to become a bit crowded. Seated on the bed, in between everyone, it was hard to see the entirety of the room. Which hadn’t been a problem until it suddenly was very much a problem.)

The newcomer was Bdubs, pulling off an elytra as he hurried into the building. He didn’t realize how many players were there until after he had closed the door and taken a better look around the room.

“Oh. Hey guys.” He tugged the elytra the rest of the way off, looking sheepishly at everyone in the base as he shoved it in his inventory. “I thought this might be an emergency… no one tell Iskall.”

Impulse laughed. “Your secret’s safe with us. If it’s alright though, can I ask why you decided you needed to be here in such a hurry to get here?”

“And can I ask if it had anything to do with Grian?” Scar tacked on.

Bdubs raised an eyebrow. “You guys too, huh?”

He was met with a chorus of agreements.

“I should’ve guessed he’d be up to something.” Bdubs said lightly as he stepped further into the base, not helping with Mumbo’s developing space issue. “But I thought there might have been something with Mumbo.”

Mumbo sighed, feeling a pinch melodramatic. “Why is that the common assumption?”

The looks he got from the collected hermits did nothing to help his exaggerated mood. “You’re all being rather rude to the injured one, here.”

His plight got a few laughs out of the group, which Mumbo supposed he could appreciate. He couldn’t remember the last time he had simply joked with any of the hermits. It was nice. He’d miss it.

The silence that fell after the laughter was broken by the sounds of six different communicators rapidly buzzing at the same time, every player fetching theirs to see what the messages were.

Grian joined the game

InTheLittleWood joined the game

SolidarityGaming joined the game

“Now Grian’s getting non-hermit players too?” Xisuma wondered out loud.

“Not just any non-hermit players.” Impulse noted, looking over towards Mumbo. “It seems Grian’s reassembled the Southlands.”

Pearl frowned. “That still doesn’t explain why he wants us all here.”

While the others remained confused, however, Mumbo was finally putting the pieces together. Bdubs… Impulse… Southlands… Boatem… Xisuma….

“I think… I should go.” Mumbo muttered under his breath, startling everyone in the room as he moved to the edge of his bed and stood up. As expected, he immediately began to sway, and at least two sets of hands (too many hands) half-pushed, half-helped him settle back on the bed before he could take so much as a single step. Someone- someones?- was trying to ask him something, but all he could hear was a buzz of static and voices.

It took a long few minutes for Mumbo to get back to processing anything, and by then Grian had returned, standing near the edge of Mumbo’s vision looking grim but determined. Jimmy stood near him, clearly hesitant about what to do. Martyn was already in front of Mumbo, crouching down and frowning as he looked Mumbo over, eyes skimming over what glitch injuries and bandages were visible.

“Back with us, Mumbo?” Martyn asked, apparently catching the moment Mumbo managed to pull himself out of his head.

Mumbo nodded as he looked around the room. Most of the hermits had stepped away from his bed, giving him more space, but there were still too many of them for that to reassure him entirely, too much of the room he couldn’t see with them blocking his line of sight.

“Grian, maybe we should give Mumbo some time-”

“No, no, I’m fine.” Mumbo cut Martyn off, turning to look tiredly at Grian. “Just… just get this over with fast, please?”

“Oh, Mumbo, you spoon.” Grian mumbled in response, ignoring the increasing confusion from the others in the room as he walked over to stand next to Bdubs, Mumbo’s gaze following him as he went. “Bdubs, do you hate Mumbo for killing you in Last Life?”

Bdubs’s expression shifted rapidly from perplexed to panicked. “What?! Of course not! Why would you think I did?!”

“I don’t, I promise.” Grian told him, moving from him to stand next to Impulse instead. “Impulse? Same question.”

“Same answer.” Impulse responded defensively, glaring at Grian. “Did you call us all here just to accuse us?”

“I didn’t.” Grian answered Impulse the same as he did Bdubs: vaguely. If Mumbo wasn’t so busy trying to figure out what his angle was, what he was trying to do, he might have found it funny. “Collective Southlands: do any of us hate Mumbo for breaking the alliance? I, for one, do not at all.”

Impulse still looked upset by the questioning, but his tone wasn’t angry when he said, “I don’t hate Mumbo for anything.”

“I think it would be a bit hypocritical of me to hate Mumbo for something I helped with.” Jimmy joked weakly, adding, “And, even if it wasn't, no. I don’t hate him for the fall of the Southlands. Or anything else.”

“I don’t hate you either, Mumbo.” Martyn said quietly, still frowning when Mumbo turned to look at him. “Is that… is that why Grian’s asking all this? Do you think we hate you?”

Mumbo didn’t speak, only looking away again, trying to avoid everyone’s gazes. It didn’t matter. His silence was answer enough.

“Boatem, Xisuma,” Grian started, voice quieter as well, as if now that the ‘secret’ of his questioning was out he didn’t need to try as hard to hold the group’s attention, “I think you know what I’m going to ask.”

“Like I said. I don’t hate Mumbo for anything, Last Life related or otherwise.” Impulse.

“Just as Impulse said. There’s nothing to hate you for, Mumbo.” Pearl.

“After everything you did to help us? Mumbo, of course I don’t hate you.” Scar.

“I don’t hate any of my hermits. Just worry for them.” Xisuma. Something in Mumbo’s chest tightened at still being considered a hermit.

As everyone said their piece, Mumbo saw Grian come to crouch in front of him with Martyn in the corner of his eye.

“See? None of us hate you, Mumbo. None of us are upset with you, or think you’re something you’re not.” Grian’s voice had quieted even more, and despite how sure he had sounded only moments ago Mumbo could now hear raw desperation in his voice, as if he didn’t know what else he could do if this didn’t work. “Please, just… just let us help you.”

“It’s not… it’s not that simple-”

“Yes it is.” Mumbo didn’t have the energy to turn his head anymore, only listening as Pearl cut him off. “Whatever you’ve done, or whatever you think you’ve done- we don’t hate you Mumbo. Not for this. Not for anything.”

Pearl’s statement was supported by hums and nods Mumbo could only half-see, each and every person in the room agreeing with her, with the idea there was nothing Mumbo could say now- or ever- that would change their minds. There was no anger, no hatred, no disgust to be found in the room. No monsters.

“Less people.” Mumbo felt like he less said the words and more breathed them, closing his eyes. “I can’t- there’s too many people.”

Somehow, both Grian and Martyn were able to understand him, and Mumbo let the sounds of the players being asked to leave and doing so float around him. There were no complaints, no arguments. Xisuma murmuring that he’d be just outside if they needed him.

When Mumbo opened his eyes again, the space was nearly empty compared to how full it had been. Grian remained where he had been in front of Mumbo, with Scar sitting a short distance behind Grian. Martyn had moved, standing close enough to the door Mumbo had the suspicion he wanted to stay but wasn’t sure if he should.

With only three other people, it was easy to see all the walls and corners of the room again, see that there was nothing and no one hiding in shadows and waiting to strike. The need to check in Hermitcraft, of all places, still made Mumbo feel foolish, but he couldn’t deny the way it made it easier to breathe again.

“Checking for hidden attackers?” Scar asked, chuckling at Mumbo’s wide-eyed look of a response. “You’re not the only one who had a bad time after a Life game, you know. I’m well-acquainted with the shadow people.”

“...Yeah?”

Scar nodded. “Consequence of putting my first base in a huge, open, well-lit desert. Going from that back to visual-obstructions-everywhere Hermitcraft… well, it wasn’t fun, that’s for sure. Never going to do that again.”

Grian glanced back at Scar. “Didn’t Magical Mountain cause the same thing?”

“I thought what was said in the LL meetings was supposed to stay in the LL meetings.” Scar replied, though his tone was lighthearted. “But, yes, alright, shame on me. At least it was easier the second time.”

“How did you… get over it?” Mumbo asked, wincing at his phrasing even as he said it. He found it doubtful it was something one exactly ‘got over’, but at the moment it was the only way to put it that came to mind.

Scar didn’t seem to mind the word choice regardless. “With a lot of time, mostly. Getting used to a server where no one really wants you dead after spending so long in one that’s exactly the opposite isn’t really a fast process. But the more time that passes with no one attacking you, the better it gets.”

“Sleepovers also help.” Grian added, good-naturedly letting the apple Scar got from his inventory at random and threw at him for the comment bounce off his shoulder.

“Chivalry is dead.”

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“That doesn’t make you nice! It’s my turn to talk to Mumbo about terrible death game things.” Scar said amusedly. “Anyways, Mumbo, as I was saying with absolutely no additional input from other sources-”

“I’m right here.”

“-sleepovers can also be helpful, for nights where the shadows are just a bit… too dark. Being with other people can help a lot in general.”

“I see.” Mumbo said, fiddled with his communicator for a moment before continuing. “Thank you, Scar, I didn’t realize…”

“That some of the other lifers might have gone through the same things you were going through?” Grian offered when Mumbo faltered on finishing the sentence, smiling a little. “I told you, Mumbo. You’re not alone in any of this.”

Mumbo hesitated a moment before asking, “Even… thinking you’re someth- someone terrible?”

Although he was certain everyone in the room had heard- and understood- his slip of tongue, Mumbo was thankful for the fact none of them decided to comment on it.

“It’s rather common.” Grian admitted. “Comes a bit hand-in-hand with death games, I think.”

“Guilt too.” Martyn spoke up from where he had taken to leaning against the wall near the door, a look Mumbo was more than familiar with briefly crossing his face. “Eh, at least in my experience.”

“I think most lifers would agree with you, Martyn.” Grian confirmed. “Or I do, anyways.”

“I’ll make it three.”

Mumbo glanced between the three. “So we’re all familiar with the, er, feeling?”

“More or less.”

“And yet I’m the only one who ended up,” Mumbo gestured vaguely at himself as a whole, trying to keep his tone light; he wasn’t making an accusation, just an observation, “like this?”

“We all had our own battles after the Life games.” Grian half-answered. “And, besides, we had help to lean on.”

“After Third Life, me and Grian had, well, you, Mumbo.” Scar reminded.

“And I had Ren, both after Third Life and to invite me to the Hermitcraft LL meetings.” Martyn chimed in.

“Meetings that all lifers, hermit or otherwise, had access to.” Grian looked at Mumbo meaningfully. “But not all chose to attend.”

Mumbo forced himself to not turn away and avoid Grian’s gaze. With all that Grian had done and was doing for Mumbo, he deserved that respect, at least. “I… I wanted to be able to help you all. Like last time. I didn’t want to be the one who had to be helped too, so… I tried not to be.”

For just a moment, Mumbo dropped his eyes to look at his hands, the single moment from months ago that had, if not entirely, assisted in bringing him to this point, still playing out perfectly in his mind’s eye. “And I think I would’ve been, really, until… I realized I was bleeding.”

There weren’t any glitch injuries on Mumbo’s palms, but he could still feel the redstone scratch he had sustained that fateful day caving. He could still see the flakey mineral falling off of it only to reveal red still present, red that wouldn’t go away, red that dripped and flowed and stained, and for a single moment Mumbo could’ve sworn he once again heard his now useless heart beat.

Grian’s hands reached out, slowly, and layered over Mumbo’s, and the memories slipped away from the forefront of his mind in an instant.

“I’m sorry, Mumbo.” Grian said, and before Mumbo could interrupt he pushed on, “Not for not noticing. Sorry because this never should have happened to you. The blood mod never should have stuck. You never should have had to deal with the struggle of fighting your own mind and your own body. Even as lifers, none of us know what that must have been like.”

“Like… like even the universe knew there was something wrong with you.” Mumbo tried to describe, and Grian curled his fingers lightly around Mumbo’s hands.

“The universe doesn’t know anything.” Grian said it like it was a fact, like nothing else could be truer, and if anything dared disagreed he’d fight them himself. “There is nothing wrong with you. You’re just hurting like we all were after the games. You wanted to help us, and you did. Now let us help you.”

The vast majority of Mumbo wanted to say no. To refuse Grian, yet again, to go back over the points that were no longer relevant in reality but still felt like they should be. After so many months of trying to do what he thought was helping them, of staying as far from them as he could get, of not even entertaining their offers to give him anything, the thought of just saying ‘yes’ now, as if it were just that easy, felt almost like a trap.

But Mumbo couldn’t bring himself to say no again, if for no one’s sake but Grian’s. All Mumbo had wanted to do, from the start, was help him, and Scar, and every other hermit. Staying away hadn’t done that. Nearly permadying hadn’t done that. If this was what they wanted- if helping him would help them- then Mumbo wouldn’t say no. Not again.

“Alright.” Mumbo lightly squeezed Grian’s hands. “Since, er, my method’s not really been working at all, has it?”

Grian blinked, seeming a bit surprised that Mumbo had actually said yes, but the confused expression was quickly replaced with a grin. “No, not especially.”

And then Grian was moving forward, pulling Mumbo into a hug, and oh, yes Grian’s method of help was much, much better than Mumbo’s.

Grian shifted to sit on the edge of the bed as Mumbo leaned more into the hug, not sure how he had forgotten the simple yet absolutely necessary joy of caring, genuine touch. After a moment, Mumbo could hear the sound of wheels pushing slowly along the ground and footsteps following them before two more pairs of arms came to wrap around him as well. The touch was light at first, unsure, testing Mumbo’s limits, but when he didn’t try to pull away their holds tightened, surrounding him on every side in a way that felt safe, not suffocating.

For the first time in a long time, Mumbo allowed himself to believe there was still hope for him.

#hermitcraft #last life #mdbb fic #m.y funky words #mfw: this predacious song #chap13: we have reached...... the comfort <3

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prismarine-parrots · 5 years

Text

Tree of Life Pt. 1

Originally posted: 25 Feb. 2019

Ahahahahhaha

This five part-story earned me the title Thanos of Hermitcraft and created the first fanart and meme of any of my content. Send help for us all.

Part 2

Part 3

Part 3.5

Part 4

Part 5 (1)

Part 5 (2)

No one had seen Grian in three weeks.

Normally, it wouldn't be too surprising for people to be quiet for a while. Everyone working on their own projects and maybe not in the right area to see the person in question.

But something was different with this case. The player list said that Grian was online, not AFK, so not outside the server in the community hub or working on a different project on his channel. In this case, SOMEONE would normally at least see him restocking his traveling-cart-that-never-travels, or flying around his base wasting rockets, or at the very least bothering Mumbo Jumbo, his closest neighbor.

Mumbo himself had not been too worried at first. When it had been a couple days since Grian has visited he had sent a letter though their mail system to make sure that 1. The mail system might actually be used and 2. Make sure Grian was alright. Not twenty minutes later Grian had responded that he was fine, just busy at his base.

The next red flag was when Zedaph realized that the only reason his Quartz, Warts, and Shorts shop was making sales was because Grian's cheaper traveling cart next door hadn't been restocked in weeks. While at first he was a little miffed at this fact, this started to get him worried. Grian was normally fairly good about restocking his cart, sometimes with his own supplies instead of getting extra, even if not shown on camera he still made sales. With the mining desert and gravel pit nearly out of both materials, people had started regularly going to Grian's shop, hoping for more of those grindy blocks in which he specialized.

When Iskall had private messaged Grian asking if he wanted to help prank DocM for the heck of it, Grian had declined, saying that he had been grinding blaze powder in the Nether. This has confused Iskall. Why did Grian need blaze powder? The only thing it was good for was eyes of Ender and potions. They had already beat the dragon and turned the End into a farm for shulkers and elytra, so needing eyes of Enders was off the list. But why did Grian need potions? Iskall has assumed a prank and asked if Grian wanted help with other potion ingredients, but he had declined in a rather cold "no," saying that the strawberry blonde didn't need any more stress right now.

It wasn't until someone not even on the Hermitcraft server, PearlescentMoon, messaged someone she knew was in the server to check on Grian, as he hadn't posted anything online in nearly three weeks, and hadn't given any explanation to where he may have gone.

When Iskall finally heard that he had called Mumbo, Xisuma, and False, hoping that maybe one of them could help.

"Heeeeyy Iskall!" X greeted as he swooped I'm in front of Grian's cart, where Iskall has thought to ironically meet because it was in the middle of the shopping district and an easy place to meet, not actually because they were here to talk about Grian.

"What's up?" False asked, using an ender pearl to warp into the side of the cart and bouncing off casually.

"Show off," Iskall muttered, recognizing the subtle PVP tactics. False grinned but before she could retort, Mumbo landed with a little stumble, grumbling about lag and elytra not working properly still.

"Hey Mumbo!" Iskall greeted cheerfully. Mumbo nodded silently as the others waved.

"Why have you called us, Iskall?" X asked curiously.

"Right, right," the Swede started, glancing around the small group, "now that we're all here, I'm going to get straight to the point. Has anyone seen Grian recently?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"I've been by his base a couple of times, but he's never there. He's replied to my texts at least, but hasn't shown up around my base in a while," Mumbo immediately recalled with a frown.

Xisuma was on his phone, a tool that everyone had for chat, inventory, surfing the web outside the server, everything. "It says he's online," he noted, turning the screen the other way and showing the online player list.

"He's been online for weeks," False informed, "Every time I've looked he's been on anyway."

"And yet no one has seen him? I was hoping that maybe you had seen him on another part of the server, like your fantasy district, False." Iskall sighed. The blonde girl shook her head.

"I think we should check on him. This usually isn't like him," X decided, prepping a rocket.

"I was wondering if there might be a glitch somewhere, and that's why he's been so weird. That's why I called you, X," Iskall explained as he took out a stack of rockets from his backpack.

"And I'm here because I'm closest to him I'm assuming, not because of my redstone or that I'm a spoon," Mumbo sighed jokingly. Everyone got a quick laugh out of that before Iskall patted Mumbo's back rather hard, making him stumble, before they all took off over the shoulder of the Statue of Hermity.

Within minutes the group was circling the massive tower in the middle of the ocean, an insane project for the newest member of Hermitcraft.

"See anything?" False called to anyone nearby.

"Nothing! Looks empty to me!" X replied.

Iskall blasted out of the bottom floor entrances. "The towers are mob traps, don't go in there!" he screeched, sounding thoroughly spooked.

"What about the basement? Or the upper floors?" Mumbo asked.

"He has a basement?" False questioned.

Iskall nodded. "I'll check there. False, want to come with? Mumbo and X, you go check upstairs. Sound good?"

With a quick confirmation from everyone, the pairs split to search the futuristic wedding cake.

Iskall had been down to the basement a few times before, if only in the first few weeks of Hermitcraft Season 6 when Grian actually USED his basement. There were chests down there that were collecting dust, and some poor cows trapped in a nano farm the NHO apparently never discovered.

"Oh my gosh, Iskall! Look at this!" False called from somewhere ahead.

"Coming!" Iskall replied and tried to find where False had gone off to.

He skidded to a halt when he found her on the edge of an opening in the shoddy basement, facing a massive opening in the rock.

"Woah," Iskall breathed. The cave was huge and clearly manmade, and the Swede wondered how long it must have taken for Grian to dig and terraform and decorate the cavern.

No to mention the large egg-shaped build floating in the air in the center of the cave.

"I think we found Poultry Man," False smirked.

"So calling G our on it when we find him," Iskall laughed. Then both his and False's phone buzzed.

<xisumavoid> come to the top of of the tower

"Let's go then!" False cheered.

They shot out of the bubble columns through the body of water underneath Grian's base and launched through the holes in the middle of each layer to the top.

"Too far guys!" Mumbo's voice called as they flew through the top layer.

"Oops!" Iskall chuckled.

"Coming right back down!" False called and they two glided into the smallest layer.

Xisuma and Mumbo were inside a vibrant garden that was in the top layer. There were vines growing up the sides of the cyan glass and parrots that squawked warily from a distance.

But the most eye-catching thing was the tree that grew to the side.

"What in the world?" False breathed when she landed.

"Don't know, but it doesn't look great," Xisuma said shortly, already on his phone and tapping at controls and Admin commands.

Iskall landed beside Mumbo, who was examining the tree intently with a concerned frown and creased eyebrows.

Every hermit on the server's life force was tied to a special tree. It was something new that they were trying, to prevent less deaths and item losses by being more careful and to fix a few issues that had happened on the technical side from previous seasons. A lot of the trees were unique to look like each Hermit, such as DocM's being rather sharply split between green and grey or Scar's currently being a palm tree. Most of the time they were no big deal. Each time a hermit died, the tree would take some damage in some way, such as a leaf dropping to the ground. Unless it was several deaths in a row, you couldn't even notice the difference in the tree. And even if you did die a lot, if you played it safe for a couple days your tree would be back to normal again in no time.

But this was different.

Grian's tree here in his aviary looked half-dead. It was normally a fairly simple oak tree, but with autumn red leaves instead of green. But half the leaves were fallen, dry on the ground, and the ones still on the tree were either brown or purple. A limb had even fallen, splintered and leaning against the trunk of the tree itself.

"Grian..." Mumbo murmured. He couldn't imagine what had happened for this to be the cause, or how Grian must be feeling if his tree was like this.

"What happened?” Iskall wondered, he started to approach the tree, but Xisuma called him back.

"It doesn't look like the tree has been healing over time properly," X muttered under his breath, his expression serious as he analyzed the details coming up on the server monitoring screen of his phone.

"We all know Grian dies a lot, could that be the cause?" False suggested nervously. X shook his head.

"This is over a long span of time, probably since the start of the season even."

"And Grian hasn't died since he's gone silent. It's not hard to miss a death message in the chat," Mumbo recalled, also pulling up the server chat on his own phone, "It's been three weeks, that should be plenty of time for the tree to have healed without any interruptions."

The sound of a firework going off and a rush of air as elytra closed up. The four hermits jumped as a newcomer stumbled into the garden, losing his balance and catching the broken branch to hold himself up as he landed.

"Guys?" A very pale- and sick-looking Grian breathed, before coughing into his arm and sliding to the ground.

"I think something's wrong..."

------------------------

Word Count: 1830

#hermitcraft #grian #mumbo jumbo #iskall85 #xisumavoid #falsesymmetry #tree of life au #ToL #this is just the beginning #glhf #becca writes

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maedlinwrites · 5 years

Text

Minecraft x MCU Steve/Tony

Yes, you did read that right. Long story short, for those that are unfamiliar with Minecraft... well, first off, you should fix that, but second off... the male player-character’s ‘name’ is Steve. And then I was talking to a friend about the peak Crack Treated Seriously crossover possible, and well... this happened.

The premise is, essentially, that Steve is--of course--Steve, the player. He plays on a small Realm (server) with his friends, and being Too Precious For Words, sets out to make a Mushroom Island Villager Utopia centered around his primary base. Cue standard villager mechanics and practices for this project, with Tony as the ultra-valuable and Rare ‘Mending’ Villager.

And then one day, a series of malicious command block shenanigans sends Steve straight into the game...

Or: A LitRPG with Minecraft and Stony and probably a bunch of terrible puns that I’ll likely never write but had way too much fun thinking about.

It’s been a little more than a year since Tony was taken by the Other.

In that time, an entire village has sprung up on the once-desolate island. Not that Tony’s been allowed to see it, of course, but all of the native villagers live in it. Natives, of course, all born of the two other villagers originally taken alongside Tony that are long-since deceased thanks to a Drowned infestation a few weeks after they were taken. Part of Tony still wishes he’d been infected as well, because at least then there’d be more than… well, this.

At least he’s fed regularly these days. Far better than early on, where he almost starved because the Other didn’t give him food or allow him any visitors. It was only when he’d grown so ill that he was unable to make anything for the Other for several days that the Other relented and gave him a few dozen loaves of bread that lasted until the Other started allowing him visitors.

Speaking of--

“Hey Pete,” Tony greeted the young cartographer that’d taken to visiting him nearly every day since discovering Tony’s existence.

“Hey Mr. Stark!” the kid enthused, “Guess what I brought you today?”

“I imagine you’re going to show me sooner or later.”

“Well, yeah. But Look! Harley’s mom--she’s a Farmer, remember? Well she’s been training with the Captain and he taught her how to make pumpkin pie and I asked her to make one for you and well, here!”

He pulled out the aforementioned dessert and slid it across the empty space between the two wars of bars separating Tony’s cell from the outside world.

“Huh. Tell her thanks, kid. I haven’t had pie since… well, it’s been a very long time.” Tony said. He had vague memories of Ana, his home village’s Farmer, sneaking him the treat a few times when he was just a child and Howard was too busy at the Blacksmithy to notice her spoiling his son, but he’d long since forgotten the taste or even smell of the sweet.

He rarely thought about his childhood home these days; before even rumors of the Others from a Nomad had reached their village.

Before he’d taken a profession and developed the magic that, in retrospect, had sealed his fate: the Mending enchantment. It was a secret he’d long refused to pass onto any other Librarians that had sprung up in the generations since he’d been taken, for fear that it would land them confined to a cell just as Tony himself was.

The other villagers were allowed to roam free, but not Tony. Never Tony. He wasn’t sure if it was all the escape attempts he’d made, the perceived value of his magic, some combination of the two, or some inscrutable other reason, but Tony was the only villager the Other kept permanently imprisoned.

To the rest of the Village, the ones that called the Other “Captain” and worshipped him as the deity guarding over His Chosen--their village--it was just part of the way things were.

It didn’t help that Tony’s appearance matched that of his homeland, rather than the adopted garb and appearance of the descendants of Pepper and Rhodey, this many generations out from their move.

Long ago, before the gene had entirely died out, it’d prompted curious visits from children that looked like him rather than the “normal” villager appearance. These days, most villagers found it more off-putting than anything, and the fact that he was imprisoned in the inner sanctum of their Lord’s “Keep” didn’t help matters any.

Peter was the biggest exception, although he occasionally sent Harley or, on one notable occasion, Ned, in his stead if he got wrapped up in his cartographic magic.

The longest absence had been when the Other persuaded him to scry for a sunken Ocean Monument not long after his manifestation as the village’s first cartographer. Even that hadn’t lasted more than a week, the time it’d taken for Peter to figure out the complex formulae spanning the gap between Clericism, Librarians, and more run-of-the-mill item enchantment.

Peter had apologized profusely when Tony hadn’t quite succeeded in hiding how much he’d missed the brat’s company.

Whatever conversation that might have developed from there was prevented by--speak of the Devil--the arrival of the Other.

Peter, despite being a bit more down-to-Earth than the rest of the village regarding the Captain-worship, still had the tendency to get a bit overwhelmed by the Other’s attention and quickly scurried away with a, “I’ll be back later, Mr. Stark! Enjoy the pie!”

Tony half-scowled half-smiled at the kid’s back, the same old paranoia that led him to hoard food out of the Other’s reach rearing up in defense even though he knew the Other had never shown any sign of understanding their language.

The Other, dressed in enchanted armor and wings, according to Peter, allowed him to fly, entered his cell a few minutes later.

Tony expected this would be a standard exchange. The Other would give him the requisite power Emeralds, and Tony would in turn provide him with the corresponding quantity of single-use Mending-enchanted books. Tony would work until he either ran out of emeralds or, if the Other was particularly demanding, passed out from overuse of Librarian magic. In the latter case, the Other would either wait until he recovered enough to continue work--scanning his reservoirs periodically to check, or however exactly it was he could tell--or leave for a short time and then come back.

Once, the Other had made Tony craft more than two dozen of the enchantment before finally leaving him be, but generally his demands were both small and infrequent.

Today, as it turned out, was not a normal day.

Today was the day that Tony’s life turned upside-down once again.

#mcu #minecraft #stony #steve x tony #tony #steve rogers #crack #crack treated seriously #well #for a given value of serious #i'm just saying there'd be a lot of cracks about stony silences

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hysterialevi · 5 years

Text

When the Devil Cries pt. 26

Fanfic summary: (NO SPOILERS IN THIS STORY) After arriving in Saint Denis, Arthur ends up falling in love with a seemingly innocent pianist, only to find himself in a battle with one of the most notorious outlaws to ever emerge from America. Now, between working for Dutch and robbing money for the gang, Arthur has to also protect the man he loves as the two of them try to find their freedom.

Pairing: Arthur Morgan/Male OC

Previous chapter

This story is also on AO3

From Arthur’s POV

LATER THAT DAY

SHADY BELLE

Hitching our horses at the posts outside of camp, Eddie went off to get somethin’ to eat while I searched for Dutch, eager to give him all the info Trelawny had told us the previous day.

It looked like the gang was a bit more agitated than usual -- aside from little Jack who was mindin’ his own business and playin’ in the grass -- and not too far away from me, I could hear Bill and Javier arguing while Kieran got trapped in the middle, unsure of how to handle the situation like the innocent bystander he was.

What really concerned me though -- outta all this unrest -- was of course, Micah...who seemed intent on hammerin’ his boot-licking rhetoric into Dutch’s head at the moment as they spoke on the manor’s front porch, hidden away from the rest of the gang.

For whatever reason, they was talkin’ in hushed tones and making sure to keep their voices low, almost as if they didn’t want no one else to know what they were saying. Normally, I wouldn’t have thought much of it -- Dutch had private conversations with the gang’s members all the time, after all -- but the fact that it was Micah made me suspect something was off, and I didn’t like it one bit.

Approachin’ the two of them at a casual pace, I interrupted their little secret meeting, just barely picking up the last sentences of their conversation.

“--you really believe that?” Dutch questioned, sounding slightly dismissive, but also strangely intrigued.

“It’s just somethin’ to bear in mind.” Micah suggested, holding his hands up in a diplomatic manner.

His eyes wandered over to me, making him drop the subject. “Ah, but look who it is. Mister Morgan. You certainly know how to show up at the most inconvenient times, don’t you?”

I scoffed. “Nothing’s convenient when you’re around.”

Micah rolled his eyes at that and leaned against a pillar, makin’ himself right at home as Dutch brought his attention to me. “A real gentleman, as always.”

“Arthur!” Dutch called out, lighting a cigar. “You’re back. What’ve you learned?”

“We met with Trelawny,” I replied. “He says the party’s in four days. Well-- three, now.”

Dutch tossed the match away. “Three days. That should give us enough time, but we’ll have to move quick. So, what’s the situation lookin’ like? What can we expect?”

“About the same as any party. Accordin’ to Trelawny, there’ll be lots of rich folk, lots of money, and lots of security.”

The other man grinned. “Sounds good.”

I hesitated. “...And there’s also the fact that guests ain’t allowed to carry weapons on the boat.”

He quirked a brow. “What? How are we supposed to rob people without any guns?”

“Josiah reckons we can cheat in the Poker games,” I explained. “One of us’ll act all prim and proper, slip our way in, and another person will tell them what moves to make from a distance. I think Strauss would be best for that job.”

Dutch nodded. “I agree. This is definitely up Strauss’ alley. And what about the person who’ll be playin’ Poker? Any ideas who should do that?”

I rubbed my chin. “...I say Eddie.”

He breathed out a puff of smoke. “Not Micah?”

A sarcastic chuckle escaped me. “Well, that depends on if you actually want the money or not.”

The sleazy man frowned at that. “Oh...very funny, Morgan--”

“--Enough!” Dutch stepped in almost instantly, scowling at us. “Don’t you two start now.” He let out a fatigued sigh, goin’ along with my recommendation. “Very well. Since Arthur’s the one been investigatin’ this, I’ll go with what he says. Alright, then. Eddie will do the job. In the meantime...”

Dutch sauntered down the porch’s short stairs, gazing at the surrounding view. “...I don’t like the idea of us being completely unarmed on that boat, so I’ll see if we can’t disguise some of our boys as the security. Maybe even as the servants, too. As for the rest of you,” he glanced at me and Micah, “...just prepare yourselves. Once we have this money in our pockets, we’re leavin’ Shady Belle the first chance we get. We’ve cowered in this swamp for long enough, and our enemies are too close for comfort. It’s time for us to get out of America. It’s time for us to disappear, and it’s time...to live as the free men we was born to be.”

THREE DAYS LATER

NIGHTTIME

THE GRAND KORRIGAN, SAINT DENIS

Straightenin’ my tie, I hurriedly walked alongside Trelawny and Eddie as the magician led us into the main area of the boat, all three of us trying to maintain a casual temperament while we passed by other guests in the party.

All around us, I could see servers practically shoving champagne glasses into peoples’ hands, high-society folks insincerely flatterin’ each other, “esteemed” businessmen getting drop-dead drunk at the bar, musicians slaving over their instruments, and even politicians bragging about how oh-so-extravagant their lives were as they turned every conversation into a gloating competition.

And as if the guests themselves weren’t insufferable already, the decor on this boat made me feel like a peasant. Just within this little area, there were two diamond chandeliers hanging from the tall ceiling, priceless paintings adorning the mahogany walls, and lavish furniture made from the most expensive of materials. It felt like I was walkin’ through a prodigal’s dream.

Really, the only good thing ‘bout this party so far was the ragtime music comin’ from the piano...and even that was being drowned out by the haughty laughter of the “fine” men and women on this boat.

Fortunately though, we weren’t entirely alone. I spotted Javier disguising as a guard at one of the doorways, and I also saw Lenny masquerading as a cleaner while he pretended to scrub the floor with a broom. And, sittin’ ever so conspicuously in one of the corners as he observed the Poker games, Strauss calmly enjoyed a glass of Scotch, silently acknowledging our presence with a subtle nod as he took a sip.

Personally, I just wanted to get the money, get this over with, and get the hell outta here. The fact that I was unarmed made me uneasy enough, but now that Eddie was gonna be the one throwin’ himself into the center of attention, I couldn’t help but fear for his safety. I mean, things was precarious already with Atticus constantly huntin’ us down, and on top of that, I didn’t even know how we were gonna escape this boat in case something went wrong. That tended to be the case when Trelawny was the one in charge of planning.

If anything were to go awry tonight, we’d be dead men...and I certainly didn’t wanna think about what would happen to the rest of the gang if we got killed. We had to be extremely cautious.

“Alright, gentlemen!” Trelawny said energetically, presenting us to the flamboyant party. “Here we are. The Grand Korrigan. Quite a splendid sight, wouldn’t you agree?”

Eddie glanced around in disgust, evidently not fond of the overall uptight mood.

“...I hate this already.”

Josiah let out a chuckle. “Hold on to that feeling. You’ll blend in with these...wonderful people effortlessly.”

I went straight to business. “Well, whatever we do, we need to move quick. We ain’t got much time. Eddie, why don’t you go ahead and join one o’ the games? And make sure you can see Strauss from your seat. Trelawny, try to keep the other guests distracted from us, would you? We got enough eyes on us as is.”

The magician nodded. “Alright. Should be easy enough. And what about you, Arthur? What’ll you be doing?”

I lowered my voice. “Dutch mentioned there might be more money stashed away on this boat somewhere. I’m gonna have a look around, see if I can’t figure out where it is.”

Josiah raised a brow. “You seem unsure?”

A worried sigh escaped me. “Robbin’ a heavily armed riverboat without a gun tends to bring out the self-doubt in me...!”

The other man scoffed. “These people are virtually idiots! This is simple stuff.” He adjusted his top hat, switchin’ to a more elevated tone. “Now, have a good time, gentlemen, but don’t lose too much money...or your wives are going to kill me!”

I patted Trelawny on the shoulder, instantly makin’ my way towards the sumptuous-looking bar as Eddie got to work. “Whatever you say.”

Squeezin’ through the scattered crowds of people, I strolled past the multiple Poker tables as well as servers who were tryin’ to get my attention as I found a place to sit at the bar, attempting to look as ordinary as possible.

Things seemed to be goin’ well so far, and if I was being honest, this party wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. Sure, I didn’t really care for the guests or the social climbin’ or...really, any of it, but at least they had Poker to keep people entertained, and loads of money just sitting around. It was already a helluva lot more interesting than Miss Powell’s nightmare of a gala, and I hoped this one wouldn’t end the same way. Shootouts weren’t exactly my favorite pastime, especially when I didn’t have a gun.

Pulling up a chair at one of the tables, Eddie took on a much more pretentious facade as he introduced himself to the other fellers sittin’ around him, almost making me laugh at how well he was blending in with them.

“Evening, gentlemen,” Eddie greeted, sounding annoyed. “Edward Dawson. Sorry I’m late. My driver took his sweet time getting here.”

The man opposite of him smiled with the least amount of emotion I’d ever seen, his nose damn-near touchin’ the ceiling with how upturned it was.

“Desmond Blythe.”

The other players casually waved at the pianist. “Hello there.”

Gathering the cards, the dealer split the deck in half as Eddie got comfortable in his chair, keepin’ a close eye on Strauss who was guiding him from a distance.

“Not to worry,” the dealer reassured. “Welcome to the game, Mister Dawson.” He began shuffling the cards. “Okay, gentlemen. Let’s play.”

Desmond leaned forward, resting his hands on the table. “I hope you’re a player. Been too many cowards at these tables recently. Nothing less dignified than a man afraid to lose a little money.”

Briefly flickin’ his eyes in my direction, Eddie gave me a confident but slight nod as he took his cards in hand, trying to make some sort of conversation.

“Well, would you look at that,” the boy commented, glancing at his pile of chips. “Chips already stacked up and good to go. Thank God someone here knows what they’re doing. I was beginning to think everyone in Saint Denis was incompetent.”

The dealer sat back. “We aim to please, sir.”

“So...” Eddie said, bringing his attention to Strauss, “how are we all faring?”

The player sitting to Eddie’s left shrugged. “Some better than others.”

The boy folded. “If we all fared the same in life, now where would the fun be?”

Desmond grinned in agreement, tossin’ in his bet. “Quite.”

Eddie examined Mister Blythe for a moment, his eyes widening in recognition.

“Wait,” he inquired as the other gentlemen made their moves, “you wouldn’t happen to be Desmond Blythe the Hosiery King, would you? Perhaps I should’ve brought my other wallet.”

The conceited man appeared somewhat irritated at the observation. “...Not my preferred title, but...yes, you should have. Haha!”

Continuing the game, Desmond pushed all his chips into the center of the table without a hint of hesitance as the other men reluctantly followed his actions, kissin’ their sweet chips goodbye as they went all-in.

“...Here we go, then...” one of them murmured.

“To Hell with it.” Another said, damning the risks.

Finally revealin’ their cards, Blythe placed his hand down and laid out three queens as a smug expression crept its way onto his face, the other players unveiling measly combinations.

The dealer picked up the deck, adding two final community cards before announcing the winner.

“Mister Blythe wins with three queens.”

He let out a victorious guffaw at the outcome, tossing his cards back to the dealer as the majority of the table quickly cleared out.

“Goodbye, gentlemen!” Desmond looked at Eddie. “I guess it’s just you and me now, friend.”

The pianist prepared himself. “I guess it is.”

“Time to see if you’re really the man you seem to think you are.”

Eddie straightened his posture, scootin’ his chair closer to the table. “Likewise, Mister Blythe.”

Desmond placed a big blind. “So, what business are you in, Mister Dawson?”

The boy took his cards in hand. “I’m an oil man.”

“Funny,” Blythe picked up, “I haven’t heard of you.”

Eddie threw in a bet. “Oh...you will.”

Blythe decided to raise and took a handful of chips, nonchalantly setting them down next to Eddie’s.

“You got enough chips there to go a little higher?” He taunted. Jesus, this man was infuriating.

The pianist looked at Strauss’ signal, makin’ the bet even higher. “Your confidence is refreshing, Mister Blythe. I’ll raise.”

Desmond’s arrogance dimmed slightly at the action. “Call.”

The dealer placed three community cards down, revealing a seven of diamonds, a ten of clubs, and a jack of spades.

Blythe’s snobbish smirk returned almost immediately. “Okay, Mister Dawson. I’m all-in.”

Eddie went along, throwing in some chips. “I’ll call.”

Displayin’ their cards, Desmond laid out a pair of jacks while “Dawson” revealed a pair of queens, both of them eager to see the last two community cards.

Slipping a pair out of the deck, the dealer presented a king of clubs and a three of hearts, crowning Eddie the victor.

Desmond angrily tossed his cards away at the sight, cursin’ to himself in a heated tone. “Shit...! Shit!”

Eddie chuckled, gathering his prize. “Looks like good fortune is on my side today. I suppose this means you’re done?”

Blythe’s eyes narrowed in an offended manner. “Done?”

“Bust,” the boy explained, rising from his chair. “Or...do you have something else to play with?”

“...Meaning?”

The pianist paused for a second, pickin’ up some of the chips. “Well...I was told there were some serious players on this boat. But maybe that’s not you, no offense--”

Desmond pointed a finger at Eddie. “Sit your Limey ass down.”

Eddie firmly put the chips back on the table. “...Why?”

Blythe wasn’t quite finished just yet. “I got a watch.”

The pianist chuckled sarcastically. “My, my.”

“An expensive one...” He clarified. “Real fine. Swiss. A Reutlinger, no less. It’s in the safe upstairs. It’s worth more than you.”

Eddie considered the offer, glancin’ at both me and Strauss before deciding to accept the challenge.

“Alright,” he agreed, sitting back down. “I trust you.”

Desmond seemed satisfied. “Good. Now play.”

“...As you wish.”

Resuming the game unexpectedly, the dealer began shufflin’ the deck once again as Blythe and Eddie placed their blinds, eager to see who the winner of this round would be. Though, I guessed most of us already knew.

“So,” Desmond said as the dealer gave him his cards, “you must know Leviticus Cornwall, big oil man like you?”

The boy quickly thought of a lie. “Of course. We’ve crossed paths. I was fortunate enough to tour an operation of his in New Hanover.”

Ignoring Eddie’s previous statement, Blythe barely peeked at his cards before lettin’ out a confident laugh, instantly shoving all his chips into the center of the table.

“I am one-hundred percent all-in, Mister Dawson!” He announced. Even the dealer could sense his boldness.

“Don’t worry, sir,” he reassured meekly. “Everyone is the author of his own good fortune...”

Eddie looked to Strauss for guidance, sighing in uncertainty as he followed Desmond’s actions. “Well...nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

The two of them flipped over their cards.

“Pair of kings.” Eddie observed, earning a chortle from his opponent.

“Very good,” Blythe praised, displayin’ a pair of aces, “but not good enough!”

“...Shit.”

Layin’ out all the community cards at once, the dealer put down a nine of diamonds, an ace of diamonds, and a four of spades, followed by a jack of diamonds -- the tables was turnin’ now -- and a two of diamonds.

“Yes...!” Eddie cheered. “You little beauty.”

The dealer shrugged at Desmond. “Hard lines, Mister Blythe. Mister Dawson wins with an ace-high diamond flush.”

Desmond shook his head out of annoyance. “God...damn you...! Err, n-no offense.”

Eddie smiled proudly at him. “None taken.”

A man who I assumed was Blythe’s butler came waltzin’ up to the table, congratulating the pianist on his “victory.”

“Well played, sir.” He placed a comforting hand on his master’s shoulder. “...Unlucky, Desmond.”

The pianist straightened his suit. “Forgive my lack of discretion, gentlemen, but...where is this Reutlinger you mentioned?”

Demond’s butler beckoned Eddie. “It’s upstairs. Shall we go and have a look?”

“Of course. Lead the way.”

The boy stood up and began followin’ the man to the ornate stairwell, leaving Blythe all by his lonesome at the table as he grieved for his empty wallet. No one seemed to suspect that Eddie was a cheat -- yet -- and it looked like Desmond’s butler was leading him straight to the stash of cash Dutch mentioned before.

I sighed out of relief.

I guessed now, all we had to focus on was gettin’ off this damned boat before anyone realized just who we were. I wasn’t entirely sure what Trelawny’s plans were for that, but at least we got the money in our pockets. And even better, it seemed as if Josiah, Lenny, Javier and Strauss had all pretty much gone unnoticed by the other guests in the party. ...I only wished I coulda said the same for myself.

Outta the corner of my eye, I spotted one of the guests approachin’ me with a glass of champagne in his hands as he closely studied my face, probably wondering just who the hell I was. ...Shit. Had someone recognized me? I certainly hoped not.

I braced myself for the upcoming conversation, only to hear a surprisingly familiar voice callin’ out to me.

“Fancy meetin’ you here, sunshine.”

My heart practically froze. There was only one person in the entire country who called me that, and just by hearin’ that nickname again, I knew immediately who it was.

I steadily turned to face the man, trying my best to keep calm.

“...Rodrick Kinglsey...?”

The deranged man grinned at me, his injured eye covered by an elegant patch to go with the three-piece suit he was wearing. Though, it didn’t make him look any less crazy.

“Try not to mind the eyepatch,” Rodrick teased, noticin’ my line of sight. “I don’t like it neither, but Atticus said I had to look...presentable. And it seems you’ve cleaned up, too. Heh. The things we do for money...”

He took a sip of his drink. “Now, before you go and do anythin’ stupid, I’d advise you not to make a scene. After all,” Rodrick wrapped a friendly arm around my shoulder and brought my attention to other members of Atticus’ gang who were just now arriving at the party, “I ain’t alone on this boat. Make one wrong move, and it could be your last. ...We can discuss this like gentlemen, can’t we?”

I gritted my teeth in concentration, desperately wishin’ I had a gun on me right now, and also wondering just when the hell Atticus’ gang got on the boat. How did they know we’d be here? When did they even board the ship? Was Atticus with them? It couldn’t just be mere coincidence that we ran into each other.

Goddammit...just when I thought this night was goin’ smoothly.

“What the hell are you people doin’ here?” I whispered sternly, still trapped in Rodrick’s grip.

He laughed casually. “Same as you, I suppose. Just here to enjoy some...‘friendly’ competition.”

I scoffed. “...Sure.”

Kingsley loosely gestured to the Poker games. “So...you try your hand at any o’ these tables yet, Mister Morgan? I’m sure a man like you would do just fine. Especially with a little extra...‘help.”

I picked up on that instantly, my heart startin’ to pound faster with every passing second. This bastard knew about our plans.

“Look,” I snapped back, “if you’re here to steal our score--”

“--Oh, I don’t care about about the score,” Rodrick interrupted. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind robbin’ a few hundred bucks, but I think we both know why I’m really here. Yeah...I’m far more interested in that boy of yours. Mister ‘Dawson.’ You wouldn’t happen to know where he is, would you, Arthur?”

I cocked my head at him. “Even if I did, you really think I’d tell you?”

The man chuckled. “No. But Atticus insisted I had to be civilized, even though I told him that wouldn’t work.” He gave me a condescending pat on the back. “Arthur Morgan’s a man of action, after all. Not words. Almost nobody knows just how deep his relationship with young Theo goes, yet it’s pretty clear just by watchin’ the things he does.”

A puzzled expression covered my face, causing Rodrick’s smile to stretch even wider.

“Oh, yeah. I saw how you killed Middleton. Hardly left anything to bury. ‘Cept for maybe a finger. Eh, it was for the best, to be honest. Thatcher used to be quite the assassin, but he turned soft when it came to killin’ the Bishop boy. Reminded him too much of his own child.”

The redhead shook his head in an impressed manner. “And poor ol’ Colm. Christ...by the time we went to clean up his body, the man’s face had been smashed in, and there was a hole in his forehead.”

He snickered in a goading tone, trying to spark a fire inside me. “You...really get mad...when people hurt Eddie, don’t you? Almost...uncontrollably so.”

Rodrick leaned closer to my ear. “I wonder how you’d react...if I hurt him?”

I glowered at the man. “What’re you talkin’ about, you crazy bastard? You already did. You tortured the kid.”

“And I enjoyed every second of it,” he admitted, starin’ blankly in the distance. “The boy turned out to be much more resilient than I anticipated, but...just the idea...of what your sour face would look like once you found out what I had done to him...”

Rodrick slowly turned back to look at me and -- upon seein’ my pissed-off expression -- instantly broke out into a hysterical guffaw, his shoulders shakin’ in sync with his laughs as he separated himself from me.

“Yeah...!” He exclaimed, almost cackling at this point. “Pretty much exactly like that!”

The man placed his glass of champagne down on the bar and leaned on it for a moment, wipin’ away a series of genuine tears as he let out an amused sigh.

“Oh...” Rodrick breathed out once his laughter died down. “Who am I kidding, Arthur?” He stood back up, smirkin’ widely at me. “I can’t get enough of you.”

Without warning, the lunatic suddenly smashed his glass into the side of my head and initiated a fight, causing all the other guests on the boat to start screamin’ in alarm as Rodrick unleashed hell, swinging his fists wildly at me like there was no tomorrow.

And just before I could even attempt to bring him down, the man had grabbed a security guard by the collar and repeatedly bashed his head against the bar’s marble counter, stealin’ his gun afterwards before going trigger-happy on me.

“DON’T YOU RUN FROM ME, MORGAN!” He bellowed, firing one shot after another as I ran like hell, splinters erupting behind me once the bullets blasted into the wall.

“WE AIN’T DONE YET!”

Pushin’ over one of the Poker tables, I hastily took cover behind the flimsy piece of furniture while I frantically searched around for any means of defense, shielding myself from Rodrick’s sporadic shots as Javier came running to my rescue.

“Here, Arthur!” He offered, tossing his rifle to me.

Snatching the weapon straight off the floor, I hurriedly cocked the firearm and poked my head out of cover, only to see that Rodrick and his friends had gotten their hands on Lenny, Josiah, and Strauss, and were now holdin’ them hostage.

“Come on out, sunshine!” Kingsley yelled with a demented smile, his voice carrying even more force than the bullets he was firing mere moments ago. “Or I’ll sink this goddamn boat...and every sad son-of-a-bitch on it!”

I retreated back behind the table and slammed my fist on the floor out of frustration, silently cursin’ to myself as I thought about what to do next. Normally, I woulda just killed Rodrick and set Lenny free, but those bastards had captured everyone except me and Javier. If either of us took a single shot, the other two hostages would be executed immediately. We couldn’t fight them head-on, but we also couldn’t let them kill the other gang members.

What the hell were we supposed to do...?!

Takin’ a deep breath, I decided to play along with Rodrick for now and carefully stood up from my hiding spot, instantly causing him and his allies to aim their weapons in my direction as Javier and I approached the middle of the boat.

Kingsley followed my every step with his gun, blatantly grinning out of satisfaction.

“Ah...and there he is,” He taunted, tightenin’ his grip on Lenny’s neck. “The devil himself.”

Javier and I stood side-by-side, paralyzed on the spot like a pair of deer. Neither of us could see any way outta this situation just yet, and aside from all the chaos we was already dealin’ with, Eddie was nowhere to be found.

Whether that was because the boy was hiding somewhere else, or because he had already been captured -- I had no idea. But the thought of Rodrick findin’ him terrified me, and I knew that no matter what happened, I couldn’t tell them where he was. I wouldn’t.

Deciding to take my chances, I inched closer to Kingsley and very subtly took a single step forward with the hopes of catchin’ him by surprise, only to have the man shoot a bullet right in front of my foot as I violently sprung back.

“Move one more...goddamn muscle...!” Rodrick roared, drilling his gun into Lenny’s temple, “and I swear, I will shoot this boy right here, right now, RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!”

I instantly came to halt, admittedly trembling like a little boy on the inside as smoke rose from the wooden planks underneath me. I’d met some crazies in my lifetime -- hell, some of ‘em was even in the gang -- but Kingsley made them all look like saints. Where in the hell did Atticus find this man?

“Well then...” the redhead said, calmin’ down slightly, “now that we have an understanding, won’t you gentlemen be so kind as to drop them weapons, and raise your hands in the air?”

Javier and I exchanged looks with each other, both of us reluctantly followin’ orders before putting our guns down and lifting our arms above us.

“There you go...” Rodrick praised. “Nice and easy. ...Now then,” he cocked the hammer on his pistol, “I don’t believe I was clear enough before. Where exactly is...Mister Ryan?”

Neither of us said anythin’ in response, causing Kingsley to instantly fire a bullet straight into Lenny’s head and kill the kid on the spot.

“Shit!” I exclaimed, about ready to raise hell, only to have an array of guns aiming at me.

“Easy there, sunshine...” Rodrick warned. “Wouldn’t wanna get shot, now would you? After all,” he dropped Lenny’s body to the floor, “you are my favorite out of the entire gang, Arthur. I don’t wanna see you die. And besides, what would poor Eddie do without you there to protect him...?”

Suddenly remembering that Eddie was still out there somewhere, I backed down at the thought of him and forced myself to show some restraint, restlessly stayin’ in place.

Kingsley chuckled at the sight and glanced at one of his comrades, talkin’ about me as if I was some kinda wild animal.

“You see, Mrs. Middleton?” He commented. “That’s how you tame the beast. He ain’t no big, bad wolf like Colm said. The sad truth is...he’s simply human.”

I paused for a moment.

Did he say Mrs. Middleton? Shit. I never knew Thatcher had a wife. But I had no doubts that she knew about me. In fact, there were a lot of secrets within our gang that Atticus’ people seemed to know about, and it made me question just how secure our little camp really was.

Before I could think on the subject any further though, I suddenly noticed Eddie sneakin’ back into this area as he crept through the doorway that led to the stairwell, his clothes stained with small splatters of blood. I guessed he had already been through a fight of his own. I was just glad to see him in one piece.

Getting a closer look at the situation, it didn’t take long for Eddie to figure out just what exactly was goin’ on before he brandished a rifle -- one that he probably stole from the guards -- and steadily aimed it straight at Rodrick’s head, ready to fire.

Just as he went to press the trigger however, one of Kingsley’s friends happened to hear the subtle noises comin’ from Eddie’s direction and instantly spotted him, creating just the distraction that I needed to make a move.

“Rodrick!” They called. “Over there!”

Whirlin’ around in surprise, the man averted his eyes from me and, for just a split second, appeared to forget all about us as I broke into a sprint and charged towards him like an angry bull, tacklin’ him to the floor.

Almost immediately, guns went firing all around us while Josiah broke free from his captor and elbowed them in the face, bolting directly for cover. In the meantime, Strauss was simply dragged away by Mrs. Middleton as he yelled for help, only for his voice to be drowned out by the explosive gunshots thunderin’ all over the place.

In order to avoid the dozens of bullets zippin’ past me, I hurriedly jumped off of Rodrick and reached for my own rifle, making a beeline straight for the exit as Javier ran after me, firing a number of blind shots to distract our enemies.

Sliding behind a wall, I held onto my weapon for dear life and, against my better judgement, quickly glanced back at the scene where the hostages were being held, only to come across the sight of Lenny’s corpse sitting in a pool of blood.

“Goddammit, Lenny...!” I cursed, clenchin’ my jaw. “Eddie?! Are you still alive?”

The pianist called out to me from behind another Poker table.

“For now! We need to get out of here, Arthur! Is there any way to escape?”

I gestured to the door we used to enter the party.

“I think we can leave through there! But we’ll have to swim back to the city! So everyone follow me, and don’t look back! There’s too many of them for us to fight!”

Fleeing from cover, I raced from one end of the boat to another as Eddie, Javier, and Trelawny all ran beside me, our legs just barely escapin’ the shower of bullets that was raining down on the floor beneath us.

It looked like most of Atticus’ gang was stayin’ back and firing at us from a distance, but Rodrick, on the other hand, decided to switch things up and retrieved a shotgun from one of the guards’ bodies, storming after our group like a goddamned predator.

He didn’t seem to give one damn about gettin’ shot or being caught in the crossfire; all he cared about was catching up to us and marched relentlessly through every obstacle in his path, occasionally letting loose a shell here and there as we jolted outta the way.

“...Theodore Bishop!” Rodrick shouted in a singsong tone, cocking his shotgun. “I see you, boy!”

The man fired a shell at Eddie just as we hugged a corner and missed the boy by a centimeter, shattering an ornate lamp into dozens of pieces before proceeding with his hunt.

Finally reaching the exit, I practically tore one of the doors off its hinges and urged everyone else to go through first while Rodrick continued to pursue us, his weapon now out of ammo.

“Hurry!” I exclaimed, holdin’ the door open. “This way!”

Dashing to safety, Trelawny, Javier, and Eddie all scrambled through with an amount of speed I’d never seen as I followed their actions, slammin’ the door shut and locking it tight just before Rodrick could reach us.

The four of us all backed away from the exit and watched in horror as Kingsley viciously bashed the doors from the other side with the stock of his gun, hollerin’ at us like an absolute madman.

“Oh, you think you’re safe back there?!” He hammered his weapon against the wood. “Just wait until I find you again! Y’all are dead men, you hear?! DEAD MEN!”

I placed a firm hand on Eddie’s back and guided him away from the exit, escortin’ everyone to the exterior areas of the boat.

“C’mon,” I said. “We need to leave. Now!”

Scurrying through the corridors, our group wasted no time in putting this godforsaken riverboat behind us as Rodrick kept tryin’ to break the door down, his voice echoing throughout the area like thunder.

I had no idea what the living hell just happened, or how Atticus even knew we was gonna try to rob the boat, but we had to get as far as goddamned possible from Saint Denis now. What on Earth was Dutch thinkin’ when he decided to go after this tip? We already pushed our luck enough, robbing that bank...and I told him people was gonna suffer after what we did to Colm, but he just refused to listen to me. And now, Lenny was dead.

As for Strauss, I didn’t even know what his conditions were. Last I saw him, Mrs. Middleton was haulin’ him away, and I didn’t even have the chance to go after him...or retrieve Lenny’s body.

Everything was falling apart right now. Our gang’s numbers were slowly dwindling, the camp’s morale was next to nonexistent, and all this mayhem only reminded me how important it was to ensure Eddie made it out alive.

He and John...they was the only ones outta all of us who still had a chance to live a normal life. John had a family, and Eddie had a future ahead of him. The rest of us however, we were more ghosts than people. The world didn’t want folk like us no more, and sooner or later, we were just gonna have to come to terms with that.

For now though, all I wanted was to get enough money to leave this place, and possibly even this country. Shady Belle had become more of a large graveyard than a camp at this point...and I didn’t wanna be there when things finally came crashing down.

MIDNIGHT

SAINT DENIS, THE HARBOR

Reachin’ a hand down, I helped Eddie up onto the pier as we all removed ourselves from the cold water, still in shock from everything that just occurred. It looked like Rodrick had given up on his pursuit -- for now -- and for the first time in a while, we actually had a moment to breathe.

Wiping some mud off Eddie, I tidied him up a bit and thoroughly looked him over, making sure the boy was okay.

“You alright?” I asked. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

The pianist shook his head. “No. They roughed me up a little, but I’m fine. It happened when Desmond’s butler took me to collect the watch. Things were going smoothly at first, but then...they just came out of nowhere. Ambushed us. Killed the butler, too...but I managed to escape.”

I froze. “Wait, Rodrick’s men found you?”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah.”

A horrible thought crossed my mind. “...Then...then why was Rodrick askin’ me where you were? What was the point of holding Lenny hostage if...he already knew...?”

The pianist’s eyes widened with realization and he furrowed his brows in an apologetic manner, immediately bringin’ a hand up to caress my cheek.

“I...I think Rodrick was playing games with you, Arthur. That’s all he does. That bastard will do anything to trick people into thinking their lives are over for the sole purpose of seeing how they’ll react. I’m...I’m sorry.”

I took a step back from Eddie and dragged a hand through my hair, suddenly feelin’ more disappointed with myself than I ever had in my entire life.

That maniac knew where Eddie was all along. I could’ve just told him his location, and it wouldn’t have made any difference. The boy still would’ve been fine...and Lenny would've been with us now. How the hell did I not see it before...? Oh, you goddamned idiot, Morgan. How did you not realize...?

“...L-Let’s just get back to camp,” I replied, blinking rapidly due to the tears that threatened to spill. “Dutch is probably wonderin’ where we are.”

Trelawny agreed in a disheartened voice. “Indeed. I think I’ll join you gentlemen for now. Saint Denis isn’t exactly ideal anymore.”

Javier jumped in. “And how are we supposed to tell Dutch what happened tonight? Where do we even start?”

I stormed away from the pier with my head hanging low, both confusion and rage rippin’ me apart as I silently damned this entire city to hell, ready to knock some sense into Dutch if he didn’t pack up and leave by tomorrow.

“...With the truth.”

#red dead redemption #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #arthur morgan #eddie ryan #arthur morgan x male oc #rdr2 fanfic #rdr2 story

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