#i feel like it was better in my mind | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theminecraftbee · 4 months

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okay, so in a rare moment for me, there's a discourse thing i want to bring up, and that thing is. okay. so on iskall's stream there's this thing that can happen where someone brings up a criticism of his content or vault hunters. frequently it's self-evidently wrong, but sometimes it's not. and then iskall spends the next thirty minutes shadowboxing this guy, explaining himself, and completely derailed. and this is an iskall trait we all know and sigh bemusedly about, because he cares about the community and wants people to understand his intentions! he wants the community to understand his decisions!

however, it's not the community as a whole he's fighting; he is in fact, arguing with One Guy, who often doesn't represent the wider community, and who normally won't have their mind changed. hell, sometimes it's believable that they're satisfied having just managed to upset iskall, and they'll leave, no change to their mind, perfectly pleased that iskall's responding at all (that's what i firmly believe the people who poke at the 'you don't upload enough and that means you're falling off and a bad person' wound are trying to do, at least).

in the vault hunters community, we refer to this as iskall getting One Guyed, and it's typically viewed as bad, because it ends up focusing an entire moment on a single guy's negative opinion as opposed to on the larger picture. and it's an understandable thing to have happen! but it's frustrating to watch from the outside.

and so now i am looking at that cat poll. and the way everyone is still shadowboxing someone who has since apologized. and the way i would have never ever known about any of the negative comments about jellie if it weren't for fellow mcyt fans constantly putting them on my dash to dunk on them. and it's like. if you look through the notes most of them are just... normal? it's only a tiny few of people (and the pollrunner, who has since apologized) who were being dicks. it's a very, very ignorable demographic.

but. well. there was One Guy. and we had to correct them.

and folks, i don't know how to say that i almost never see "lol mcyt is cringe" type comments unless one of you puts it on my dash. both because i don't go looking through the notes of things that are likely to have them or go looking for reasons to be upset and because it's just... not that common! very frequently these days it is, in fact, One Guy!

i have almost never seen that poll on my dash without at least one instance of the One Guy. instead of being for fun, it's mostly become about explaining ourselves to someone who will not listen and will not change their minds, and treating this as a the whole of the Other Side of that poll, when most people are being... fine. they're fine! the majority of the people voting for the other side are doing it for perfectly normal reasons that don't require fighting about.

and man. let me tell you. after spending as long as i have watching vault hunters development? it can be just as frustrating to watch a fandom get One Guyed as it is to watch iskall.

#discourse #i am immediately turning notes off for this post as a heads up because i HATE discoursing but #man. i feel like i need to point this out.#sometimes you'll be happier if you go 'that was One Guy huh. better just block them and move on. i won't change their mind.'#one day this fandom will learn.#cat of the year poll #<- for those also trying to block it #also i know in many ways this is just me contributing i'm aware of my flaws #but sometimes i think this fandom needs to step back and realize it doesn't really need to fight the world.#sometimes someone says a mean thing. that sucks! you do not need to fight them for two days about it though.#and we do this with polls but also other people's innocuous comments SO MUCH.#so here i am.

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desertduality · 5 months

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Scar-centric sickfic for @stiffyck !!

Scar is feeling under the weather and his redstone handyman takes matters into his own hands <3

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It’s just Scar’s luck, getting sick right when all his most exciting ideas start forming in his mind. He doesn’t want to be in bed, he wants to be productive. Most of the resources for his next big thing have already been gathered — all he has left to do is build it. He had been so ready.

He denies it, at first. When he wakes up with a sore throat, he convinces himself it’s just a fluke. When his nose goes on strike against breathing, he puts it down to allergies. When he wakes up shivering and sweating, he pretends it’s just because of nightmares he doesn’t remember.

It gets a little harder to lie to himself when he passes out in a flower bed in the middle of Scarland.

He regains consciousness soon after, but somehow he feels a million times worse. His entire body aches, his mouth is dry, and his head is throbbing. A low whine escapes him as he lies there, finally forced to accept the terrible reality of things.

He’s sick. He’s sick and lying flat on his face on a bed of flowers, trying to wade through the fog in his head enough to think about what he should do next. ‘Stand up’ is probably the correct answer to that query, but he finds that he’s really not sure if he can manage it. His skin feels hot and cold at the same time. His thoughts feel sluggish and slow. In his mind, his bed is thousands of miles away through a gauntlet of rough terrain. The two minutes it would take to walk there sound impossible.

He finds the will to roll over onto his back, and he squints blearily at the sky. Cloudy. He hopes it doesn’t rain, that would really make this whole situation look more pathetic than it already does.

Scar lies there for a few long minutes, breathing through shaky lungs and occasionally shivering violently against the ground. All things considered, it could be worse. He could’ve passed out on the trolley tracks.

He is almost asleep again by the time Impulse finds him, apparently in the park to attend to redstone issues. His shadow falls across Scar’s face, and he opens eyes he hadn’t been aware of closing, making a soft noise of pain as his head throbs in complaint. He’s so tired, all of the sudden.

“Scar?” Impulse sounds like he’s waffling between concern and amusement, standing there in his employee uniform with an uncertain smile on his face. “I know it’s called a flower bed, buddy, but it’s not for sleeping.”

It takes Scar a few long seconds to process that statement, and then he laughs weakly. He tries to smile, but it feels more like a grimace.

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Scar says, and inwardly winces at how hoarse and broken his voice sounds. He clears his throat, but it doesn’t help much. “I think I might be just— just a little bit sick.”

“Did you pass out?” Impulse looks fully worried now, kneeling down at his side and visibly scanning him for injuries.

“Only a little bit,” Scar answers, and he giggles, feeling a bit delirious. “It’s actually kind of comfortable, you know. You should try it sometime.”

The dwarf frowns at him, a concerned pinch at the corner of his eyes as he reaches out. Scar goes crosseyed as he follows the other’s hand until it comes to a rest on his forehead. He feels a spark of concern.

“Your hands are really cold,” Scar says, brow furrowed. “Do you need gloves? I can make gloves.”

“No, Scar, you’re burning up,” Impulse says, withdrawing his hand slowly. “How long have you been feeling bad?”

“I dunno.” Scar shrugs, and feels the flowers beneath him shift with the motion. His eyelids droop. “I wasn’t really…paying attention.”

Impulse sighs, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards in helpless amusement. Scar yawns, and starts drifting. The flowers really aren’t all that uncomfortable. Impulse makes a muffled noise of urgency, tapping him on the arm to keep him awake. Scar whines in protest, forcing his eyes open again.

“Why’re you…being mean?” Scar asks, glaring. He’s not sure how effective it is, given the state of him.

“You can’t sleep here, Scar. Mobs will get you,” Impulse says, and then he huffs, stubborn determination sparking in his eyes. “Come on, I’m taking you to bed.”

“Woah, Impulse,” Scar says, teasing. “Take a guy to dinner first.”

Impulse just rolls his eyes and snorts, reaching down. He takes him gently by the shoulders and helps Scar sit up, pausing to let him cough when the abrupt change of position aggravates his lungs. Scar tips over to rest his burning head on Impulse’s shoulder, taking a moment to breathe. He’s so tired.

“Is it okay if I carry you?” Impulse asks, rubbing comforting circles on his back.

Scar nods. “Please.”

Impulse hauls him easily off the ground with all the strength that hours of mining and building gets you, and Scar feels a little bit dizzy for a few seconds, closing his eyes tightly and tucking his face against Impulse’s shoulder. He feels like his head is stuffed with cotton.

Impulse carries him with an arm beneath his knees and one against his back, steady and sure enough that it doesn’t even cross Scar’s mind to worry he’ll be dropped. It’s like getting a hug while on the move, and Scar sighs, closing his eyes and letting himself relax. It’s nice.

He must doze off, because the next thing he becomes aware of is being set down in his own bed. Scar clutches at Impulse’s shirt, disoriented and a little bit panicked. He doesn’t want to be alone. He’s suddenly terrified that Impulse will leave.

“Wait,” Scar says, voice breaking against his aching vocal chords. He blinks watery eyes up at the blurry form of his friend. “Stay?”

Impulse’s face softens, clear fondness and care shining in his eyes, and he brushes Scar’s hair back from his sweaty face.

“Okay,” he says, quiet and calm. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Satisfied with that, Scar releases his death grip on Impulse’s shirt with a breath of relief. The mattress creaks as Impulse takes his weight off of it, and Scar blinks sluggishly as he watches the dwarf pull up a chair. Content, he falls asleep before he even sees him sit down.

———————

When Scar wakes up in the morning, the first thing he’s aware of is the sound of voices. Two of them. He opens his eyes with a quiet groan, swallowing against the dryness of his mouth and sniffling against the blockage of his nose. His head still hurts, but it’s more of a dull ache, now. He’s covered in sweat, and he frowns at the ceiling. Then he remembers the voices, and cranes his head to look for them.

Impulse’s chair is empty, but he’s standing right behind it, talking with Gem. Her curly red hair is pulled back in a braid, and Scar feels a bit of envy. His own hair is laying loose around him, tangled with sleep.

Gem is holding a bowl of soup, steam gently rising from it. Scar doesn’t really feel hungry, but he does feel chilled. Maybe soup would warm him up.

“Is that for me?” Scar asks, and then frowns at how thin his voice sounds. He coughs pointedly, trying to clear the disgusting film from his throat.

“Scar!” Gem exclaims, shoving past Impulse in her haste to get to the bed. Her eyes are sparkling with joy that he’s awake, and Scar manages a small smile. “Yes, it’s for you! Impulse said you were sick, and I thought— Well, we are the soup group, I thought some soup might help you feel better.”

“I think it might,” Scar says, fondness warming his chest. “I dunno if I’ll be able to finish it, but it looks too tasty to go to waste.”

Gem giggles, eyes softening, and then her gaze catches on his hair. “Hey, where’s your brush?” she asks, tilting her head with a grin. “We’ve gotta get that out of your face.”

He tells her where his brush might be, and his fellow elf rushes off to find it, leaving the soup on his bedside table. Impulse helps him sit up and gets him some water, watching like a hawk to make sure he doesn’t choke on it, and then Scar makes grabby hands at the soup. Impulse laughs softly, but hands it to him, making sure it’s got a stable home in his lap before pulling away.

Gem comes back a minute later with a brush and several hair ties in her hands, a determined look on her face, and she sets to fixing Scar’s hair while he eats the soup. She brushes it back from his face and then braids it into several intricate braids, all culminating into one big one. It makes him feel better than he was expecting, the stress of having it tangled lifted from his mind. Now he won’t have to worry about it for a while.

Scar reaches back and runs his fingers over it lightly, then cranes his head to smile at Gem over his shoulder. “Thank you.”

Gem smiles back, easy and soft.

She leaves a little while later, making him promise to let her know if he needs anything, and Scar lays back down, exhausted again. He huffs in frustration at his heavy eyelids, and Impulse chuckles off to the side.

“You can sleep, Scar. You need it,” Impulse says, and then, just like last time: “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

And he is. He’s there with water when Scar wakes up coughing. He’s there with a cool rag when his fever spikes. He’s there with gentle reassurances as Scar deliriously begs him not to leave.

And when Scar’s fever finally breaks two days later, he’s still there, a steady and sure presence through it all.

“You deserve a raise,” Scar says, eating soup like a starving man, his appetite finally returned. “Whatever I’m paying you, I’ll double it.”

Impulse laughs and shakes his head, fiddling with the little redstone component he’s been working on.

“We’re friends, Scar,” Impulse says, smiling at him. “It’s on the house.”

“…Are you sure you don’t want a tip?”

“Only if it’s a VIP ticket to Scarland when it opens.”

Scar scowls. “I was already going to do that!”

Impulse laughs. “I really don’t need anything!” he insists, and his laugh softens into a smile. “I wanted to.”

“Oh,” Scar says dumbly, a new burst of warmth and happiness making a home in his chest. He really does have the best friends. “Okay.”

When the sun rises the next day, Scar finally feels able to walk again, and Impulse helps him fix the flattened flowers near the entrance. When all is said and done, they look even better than they did before.

#hope you feel better stiff <333 #i was also sick recently and am still getting over it akdjkd the feeling is fresh in my mind #anywayy i hope you like it :D #goodtimeswithscar #impulsesv #sickfic #my writing

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