#wwgh au

[minecraft-cake]

When We Get Home: Main Navigation

A skulk-based minecraft apocalypse au, following the Outlaws Scar and Grian along with various members of the Hermitcraft and Life series servers!

Hello and welcome to my minecraft apocalypse concept! This has been in the works for well over a month or two so far in my personal documents, and I'm happy to finally introduce the first few details. Our first one is a spreadsheet revealing quite a few of the major characters, their infection status, and more! Underneath I'll be explaining the setting and how I've changed up the mechanics of the zombie apocalypse trope just a bit to fit it to minecraft mechanics and my personal taste :].

Status Board:

If there are many changes to this board, it will be updated here! This image may change over time as information is revealed and new chapters come out. For now,

What is the setting?

This is a modern setting, with a minecraft twist! Think of all our modern tech and cities, but with the edition of minecraft mobs and mechanics. Things like government sanctioned hostile mob grinders for citizens to safely gain exp, fully lighted road systems and cities to create safe zones for non pvp oriented citizens, etc. Pretty much everyday normal life but I still want minecraft mobs and items to exist.

What is the "Skulk Virus"?

After the entrance to an ancient ruin was discovered in the outskirts of the capital, a research team was launched to investigate what historians and archaeologists were simply nicknaming “The Deep Dark.”  Not long after the team's investigation and boarding off of the location, outbreaks of a deadly virus began to surface in less fortunate areas of the city, soon spreading terribly from hospitals, slaughterhouses, government sanctioned hostile mob farms, and more. The cause of the outbreak was presumed to be the hostile mob exposure that occurred overnight in the research area due to limited lighting budgets, as the black lichen seems to latch onto life force (mobs, nonhostile or otheriwse) to power a possible hivemind. Despite vaccination and quarantine efforts– the original discovery team going as far as to encase “ground zero”’s entrance in concrete –the spread of death did not cease. Once infected, the “skulk” pathogen quickly overwhelms the brain, using the remaining energy to roam and infect living hosts to spread itself.  The symptoms of contracting the skulk virus itself are most commonly visibly characterized by large, black abrasions and loss of vocal control, along with active decay of the body. It’s theorized that the skulk may distort and/or reconfigure humanoid vocal chords, which is what causes the chittering and racket-y calls usually produced by infected. The virus can also cause minor bioluminescence and hypermobility.  The infected are considered kill-on-sight. The virus controls the body wholly, and any person still conscious will be very unlikely to be autonomous despite vocal claims. It reacts with disturbingly quick instinct, and will rush toward any distinctive indicator of human life. An infected is most dangerous at its earliest stages, as their sense of sight, smell, and taste have not yet deteriorated and the virus has more ways to approximate the location of future host bodies.  

Are there surviving settlements?

There were two main shifts at the start of the end of the world: the prolificacy of death, and the human sense of organization. 

With the outbreak overwhelming major cities and spreading over oceans, Sanctuaries were made out of minor settlements to create safe areas. Usually dictated by some sort of warden, Sanctuaries are walled off communities that vow to be virus-free, safe places to harbor a semi-normal life. They have strict rules, even minor theft or endangerment is not tolerated, and all communities usually fight in groups of four or more. By law, anyone who endangers a Sanctuary is considered Outlawed. They are banned from all Sanctuaries, and their Outlawed status is documented on public forums on a digital record, along with their bounty. While death is not normally encouraged, Outlawed citizens are the exception. Most consider their removal a comfort, whether for revenge, or to deter others from defecting from the Sanctuary, but Outlaws are never kill-on-sight. For anyone hunting an Outlaw, the capture must be returned alive to the Sanctuary they were originally expelled from to face execution. This is to avoid fraud, as payment is usually given in a dedicated flow of supplies and armor to the hunter from any affiliated Sanctuary. 

Outlaw hunters are incredibly rare, and incredibly dangerous to encounter. Many have vowed strongly to protect Sanctuaries, and view anyone outside them as a threat regardless of their legal status. If you are not Outlawed, you are likely to be killed by a hunter to prevent the future endangerment of a Sanctuary. 

Fun Fact: Most of our main characters are Outlawed!

Like I said, this story will heavily follow the adventures of our two main Outlaws, Scar and Grian! It's going to deal with some pretty complicated relationships as well. I'll be taking my time to write these chapters thoughtfully and thoroughly.

We will have long term plotlines with a few of the characters on the board (and some that have been blocked out to avoid major spoilers), so stay tuned! I'd love to answer questions about the au if you guys have any :]. Feel free to check out Scar's Cassette Playlist up on my pinned! It's the music that was left downloaded on his phone when the apocalypse hit and most proper internet connections were severed.

[minecraft-cake]

okay but what if I told you guys that Too Sweet by Hozier still stands as the biggest desert duo song for my au.

and then what if I told you it's about Scar's perspective and not Grian's-

[minecraft-cake]

Since a few people seemed interested and the first chapter won't be out for awhile longer as I make some transitions irl, here's some extra detail I can reveal on Scar and Grian's characterization in WWGH! Specifically some detail on Scar's background and one of his aids in this fic, along with some minor things about G.

So! I'll get on with it :). Before the apocalyptic outbreak:

After suffering a severe sickness—having already been immunocompromised—Scar was rushed to hospital urgent care. Unfortunately on the rush through an infected person that was being subdued made contact with him. Medical professionals feared the worst of his condition. While the original virus did take multiple weeks of hospitalization to recover from, doctors were baffled to see the skulk virus took no affect at all. Scar is asked to engage in a government medical program to see if they can find a cure to the alarmingly fast spreading skulk virus, since he is one of the few cases of being completely immune to it that theyve discovered. He accepts under the terms that there will be no physical harm to his condition.

This is where Scar meets Cub. Cub is a professional mad scientist, if you will. He works on finding antibodies and developing vaccines for the skulk virus, but specifically in Scar's case it comes with trying to find ways to recode and strengthen the DNA samples he's taking. He's asked to research whether or not his prior illness is part of the cure, the consequences of making it part of a vaccine, etc. Cub also runs experimental devices with the energy and experience produced by Skulk. Effectively: he's able to make advanced leg bracers and a spinal sensor that runs on the stuff. Very little of it is redstone, and because it's an organic material, he was able to fashion it like muscle. It reads the electromagnetic signals and various ""sound"" produced by the nervous system through a surgically implanted catalyst device in his lower spine, and once attached the bracers are able to guide his legs and desired movement. The main issues as that while it does not infect it still does feed— Scar needs a large supply of regeneration elixirs and experience gain for the skulk to not emaciate him. This also does not make it easy for him to re-adapt to walking, physical therapy was and still is necessary to continue to use the advanced prosthetic.

This is all quick pulled from my notes, so if they're messy or a bit unclear I do apologize, lol. But onto some minor analysis and summarization of both Scar and Grian's main trauma points in this plot! Besides, well, getting stuck in the zombie apocalypse.

Note: The following paragraphs have the characters' self-talk embedded in them, I don't think illy of any sort of mental or physical conditions and personally struggle with my own every day :) lol.

Scar:

Scar was incredibly self confident in himself and was never ashamed of his disability until the world ended. After being forced to use an untested prosthetic with little to no experience, and survive the apocalypse with very little help or compassion from others, his disability becomes a largely insecure part of him. The high tech prosthetic he has is the only thing that allows him to function semi-normally, and without it he would be dead. He would be useless. It devolves his sense of self and his own humanity; he gradually believes himself to be subhuman, unimportant without the prosthetic enabling him to walk. It also becomes a large anxiety point when trying to do any form of self-care. Bathing requires a lockdown to remove the braces, and he keeps the tech on while sleeping. It exhausts his body to have it continuously feed, but the idea of an emergency compromising his base while he is vulnerable is too encompassing for him to consider ever removing the bracers.

He refuses to let others know about the braces, and keeps an uplifting attituide to avoid confrontation about any personal issues or his life before the apocalypse.

Grian:

The biggest factor in Grian’s decision making is the fact he is near-constantly in a state of fight or flight. With an avoidant attachment style and a lot of PTSD from the relationships in his teen years, it’s difficult to become deeply connected to another person. It feels inherently traumatic to commit to any sort of relationship, no matter how much he wants to pursue friendships and otherwise intimate situations. All of his close friends either disappearing, dying, or ostracizing him after the end of the world does not help this. Despite all of this however, he is increasingly blind of how close he becomes to others (from their perspective) due to constantly masking and appearing friendly and approachable. He lets people near, but not inside, and fails to communicate wholly even if it would be to his own benefit. He doesn't believe he deserves second chances, but his desire to live allows him to take them as offered without thinking against it. He doesn't thank people for them, and guilts over that, failing to see the common sense as to why others (excluding Martin, naturally, that man really should kill him some day,) give him one in the first place.

There are secondary paragraphs I'll reveal later on, but keeping to myself for now since they have heavy spoilers as to how these two are characterized and their foils.

Hope this was an interesting little insight, feel free to ask questions! When I know the first chapter will be out, I'll give an update <3.

[minecraft-cake]

also while this fic will be platonic/qpr that does not mean Grian isnt queer cause he definitely is in this. not that he tells anybody