#(based on my experience building rockets lol) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sweetest-honeybee · 3 years

Text

Down to Dust

Chapter 4

Fic Summary: Grian will have to keep the dragon egg secure for the Watchers. But, they’re not the only ones who want it. On a completely unrelated note, Mumbo will have to deal with a version of himself thats only amplified by his No Killing mindset.

Chapter Sumamry: Mumbo was surprised to find that Grian was right when he said the egg was magical.

TW: Slight electrocution I suppose, and descriptions of lightning

Word Count: 2415

Notes: Again, the two farms are in the overworld, not in the Nether or End for the sake of the fic

Enjoy! And this one deserves a Read More because it’s long lol

——————

By the end of the next day, Mumbo had finished his first farm and half of his second farm. Much to his surprise, the egg didn’t bear any harm. It was strangely quiet recently but it didn’t bother him any. At the moment, it was in his inventory should anyone come by and see that he had it. It’d ruin his plans and he didn’t want to give up the egg just yet. Really, he could probably keep it forever. It had been completely safe and comfortable- or, as comfortable as an egg can be- since he stole it. Mumbo called that pretty responsible.

Who was he kidding, Grian would kill him eventually if he never found it himself.

He laid down the last of the comparators for the third row, focused more on finishing his farm than overthinking the egg situation. If all went well so far, they should be able to work on their own if he flipped a lever. The redstoner pulled the egg from his inventory and held it up to his face.

“I think everything looks about right so far, yeah?” He turned the egg as if there was a face to show his work. The egg quite obviously never spoke but it helped to explain the redstone and find the flaws in his contraptions.

Nothing seemed out of place. The first row’s test went swimmingly and by replicating that a few more times, all should go as planned when he tested them together. With his luck it may not happen but he could stand to be a little optimistic at least. Mumbo went on to build the last of the uniform rows and easily finished another quarter of the farm. All was down to just encasing said farm in a wall of glass to avoid the items spilling over the sides.

He stood back once more with his hands on his hips, the egg now by his feet. The redstoner was proud to say the least. He looked down at the egg which only sat stock still. Leaving the egg, he turned to dig in his chest for more materials.

Unbeknownst to him, however, the egg wouldn’t stay still for much longer.

“Glass, glass, where on Earth did I put the glass?” He mumbled to himself. He continued to rummage. Eventually, he pulled away from the chest with an internal cheer. “Of course it was next to the pistons.”

He swirled back around when he began to hear small pops from behind him. As he did, Mumbo’s eyes widened. Small purple sparks crackled every so often at the base of the egg and quickly began to grow in size. The egg itself launched into a fit of rapid vibrating.

“Oh! Uh-oh!” He dropped the glass next to him, shattering upon impact, and hurriedly jogged to the now terrifyingly lively egg. “Please tell me you're supposed to do that!”

The redstoner hesitated, going to touch it, then pulling away with a worried whimper. Mumbo didn’t want to touch it but he panicked as he was at a loss of what to do. The egg was calm for weeks before now. Even Grian would’ve said something if the egg had done something like this before Mumbo stole it.

Ah…Grian did tell him it was a magical egg.

Mumbo only thought Grian was joking to keep him from taking it. He’s never seen a dragon egg do that! It was just from the update, he suggested to himself. Eggs were just suddenly powerful and might destroy his days of work. He laughed nervously and pulled at his tie. It didn’t matter what he thought, the small sparks were now large bolts that shot their way into the ground. It singed the grass around it, turning it to a coal black. He had to back away from the egg’s ever expanding radius of energy.

“Oh what do I do- what do I do?!” Then, the obvious idea appeared and he palmed his forehead. “Grian!”

The redstoner fumbled to get his communicator from his pocket, almost dropping it several times. He miss-clicked several icons with petrified fingers and growled in frustration. Only when he finally opened the chat, the egg ceased its episode with an immediate halt. He looked up from the screen with caution and took another step away from the egg.

The area fell silent. Not a bird’s chirp or leave’s rustle broke the blanket of stillness that suddenly washed over everything. It wasn’t a comfortable silence, though.

He inched forward with small steps, clutching his communicator. Seconds passed, then a minute.

“H…Hello?” He said tentatively. He stuck a leg out, poking at it with the tip of his shoe then retracting his leg once more. A sigh escaped his lips. “Good, I guess that’s over with then.”

But it wasn’t. The egg was hardly finished as the bolts started again, much much larger than their already massive size they reached before it stopped the first time. Mumbo shrieked and attempted to retreat back to his chest. It took no longer than five seconds before a wave of the purple energy resonated through the ground and absorbed into the two farms. It knocked Mumbo from his feet and onto the grass, sending an electric shiver through his body.

He shielded his neck with his arms and waited. He only turned over when the sounds of roaring pistons caught his attention. But, that was hardly what he worried about as he watched in awe- good or bad, he wasn’t sure yet- at the effects of the egg’s sudden show of magic.

Both farms were activated and running faster than any farm he’d ever seen. Items upon items flowed down water streams and into stacks of chests. Some items avoided their intended route and simply floated in all directions above the farms. It was loud, incredibly loud. Mumbo nearly had to cover his ears as he initially cowered from the noise. However, he soon pulled himself to his feet and slowly approached the over-efficient farms.

A violet haze emitted from the redstone, replacing its originally reddish color, and from the cracks between each set of stone bricks. Each block crackled and hissed with energy, and it almost felt as if he were gaining some of that energy himself. Small bolts fizzled out over his suit. He lifted his left hand and turned it over, watching as sparks flew over and down his fingers to their tips.

To put it simply, it was a beautiful and supernatural sight. He wasn't sure how to react. His own heart was still racing- from the energy around him or his nerves, he also didn’t know.

While in the middle of the two farms, he glanced back at the egg which no longer twisted and turned, but sat with slowly flowing violet streams of energy penetrating the ground. Much like the hum of a conduit sounded from it. Now, it seemed very calm in contrast to its earlier fit. Mumbo assumed- for obvious reasons, really- that the egg powered the farms despite the contraptions having been able to power themselves via redstone. It was captivating and he couldn’t help but to become curious about what was inside the egg that would’ve given it so much power. That or had it already been created with it. Either way, he yearned to learn more about it. It could be revolutionary and improve efficiency immensely.

Although, the event was short lived as the egg’s energy flow sputtered and dissipated, leading to the farms shutting down with it. Mumbo looked up as items began to rain over his shoulders when they fell. But, he was hardly bothered. At this moment he realized a few things.

His farms worked, thankfully; The egg held an amount of power that could power several farms; Mumbo wanted to keep the egg for even longer to experiment.

Of course, he still wanted to eventually return it but as someone who couldn’t kill anything, the egg could help him for the time being...He already had many ideas popping into his head by the second. It only made him giddy for what was to come. He ran over and scooped up the egg with an ear-to-ear grin, holding it up to his face.

“You, my friend, are one wicked egg,” he complimented. Then, he put it in his inventory and prepared to fly home. He’d clean up the mess later.

As he rocketed off to his base, he noticed his red sweatered friend sitting alone on the roof of his house. Even when Mumbo flew by, Grian didn’t wave or nod up to him or really even look at him. Piquing his curiosity, though he should just go home and avoid confrontation, he landed behind Grian and carefully stepped down the slope of the roof.

“Hey! Haven’t heard from you much today,” he greeted. Mumbo was only met with silence. “Are you okay?”

After a second, Grian twitched when he realized that someone was talking to him. He turned his head to where Mumbo crouched down next to him.

“Oh! Sorry, I was just thinking. This is my thinking roof.”

The redstoner hummed. “Ah, don’t wear yourself out then,” he laughed.

“You should try it sometime with that empty head of yours.” The avian chuckled dryly and looked back to the setting sun, the small smile falling from his face.

“Thanks,” Mumbo replied, initially with a smile himself but found himself meeting Grian’s frown. He waited a few seconds before speaking again. Then, he tapped his fingers on the deepslate. “So...what’re you thinking about?”

“A lot, honestly. It's still the beginning of the season, I’m sure everyone is.” He waved a hand dismissively then looked at Mumbo. “What about you? Have you been thinking about anything?”

Mumbo snorted, attempting to lighten the mood. “Thinking isn’t good for me. I overthink when I do and it hurts my brain.” He paused. “But, if you’d really like to know, I’ve been thinking about the egg.”

This made Grian perk up. “What about it? Do you know where it is?”

The redstoner hesitated. Not yet, he can’t give it up just yet. “What? No, not at all. But, I had a question.”

Grian deflated, then looked away with his chin on his arms, legs tucked to his chest. “Alright, shoot.”

Mumbo’s stomach twisted. “I uh- maybe now isn’t the best time actually. You know, while it’s missing and all.” He cracked a half smile.

“Yeah, while it’s missing,” the builder scoffed. “Just ask me, I’m sure I can answer.”

“Ah- um, sure. Why...why is the egg so special to you? I understand sentimentality, but it just seemed more…” He sighed. “I don’t know. I wondered maybe- maybe it uh… did something, you know? You said it was a magical egg. Maybe you could tell me about it?”

He heard a low chuckle from Grian. “It’s just some stupid egg, it’s not magical.”

“I- oh.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that was disappointing for you, wasn’t it,” Grian sneered. The two stopped. Grian pulled his head up and Mumbo furrowed his brows. “Nevermind, I didn’t mean it like that. Sorry. Just stressed.”

Mumbo stood and tightened his jaw, ignoring the builder’s excuse. “You know, you’ve been real onto me about that egg. Why don’t you tell me about that instead or go bother Scar. Every conversation I have with you now is just accusing me of taking it.”

Grian thought back to what Aisling said, then his last thought before he came to the roof. “Because maybe I saw you sneak into my house and steal the egg. And maybe, I don’t know, it’s my stuff.” He stood and faced Mumbo with a finger to the redstoner’s chest. “And maybe it’s because you are an insanely terrible liar.”

The other was at a loss for words, opening his mouth then clamping it shut repeatedly. The tips of his ears reddened in embarrassment. Of course Grian probably saw him take it, anyone could’ve. But why didn’t he say anything before? Satisfaction? Did he want Mumbo to just admit to it?

It didn’t matter now, the jig was up and all of his plans for the egg were now down the drain.

“I- I’m sorry,” was all he could muster. “I didn’t think it was such a problem.” He looked down at his shoes. “You…have been acting differently since it was gone, I didn’t think I made you mad.”

The avian sighed in relief and put a hand on Mumbo’s shoulder. “I’m not- look at me,” Mumbo lifted his head, “I’m not mad. Really, I’m not. A little annoyed, maybe, but not mad.”

“But you just scolded me like a toddler!” The redstoner whined.

Grian laughed. “Because you have to do that when a toddler lies to you. But, I’m not angry at you, at Scar, or anyone else. I want to tell you why that egg is important, I do, but it’s not the time for that, yet.” He patted his friend’s shoulder. It was clear Mumbo had more questions but decided to avoid them. “So, where is it?”

“Ah- well, I should warn you first about something.” Grian’s eyes widened. “No, no! Nothing happened to it! But um- well, it’s not ‘just some stupid egg’, it’s one seriously powerful egg, dude. What kind of dragon did you fight?!”

“...Excuse me?”

“Yeah! It powered two of my farms at once, did this huge explosion thing with a bunch of lightning, and it was awesome, but the egg-”

Grian took a hold of Mumbo’s shoulders roughly. “Mumbo, did it do anything to you.” The builder was suddenly very serious, as if Mumbo would die if he said yes.

So, of course he lied. “No? I was well away from it.” Grian let go and crossed his arms with a raised brow. “I was! I ran away because I obviously didn’t want to die.”

The other sighed. “Good, I need it now, then.”

Mumbo pulled it from his inventory, hesitating to give it back. Then, he put it in Grian’s outstretched palm. With nothing more to say, he waved goodbye and glided back to his van. Grian watched as he did and once the van’s door slid shut, he looked down at the egg. While he inspected the egg, he noticed a new detail to its shell that made his stomach sink.

A cursive two letter initial, MJ.

#long post #hermitcraft #down to dust #grian #mumbo jumbo #my fic

45 notes · View notes

justletmeplayminecraft · 4 years

Text

xisuma doesn’t smooth over a server glitch fast enough. the others have to save him from the consequences.

in this fic, i play loosely with minecraft mechanics to create angst. very loosely. don’t think too much about ‘em. you can also date how long i’ve spent on this by the projects they’re working on.

featuring: being an admin gives you a connection to the server, xisuma has a less than stellar day, angst/comfort, zed is an ender hybrid, false & tango are minor admins, getting stuck in blocks is not a fun experience, the hermits care a lot about each other.

warnings: sensory deprivation, starvation, suffocation, its a death loop babyyy, a fair amount of panic, fighting code, glitches, helplessness, it’s pretty whumpy before the comfort. let me know if something’s missing here.

also on ao3. link in replies.

Xisuma sighs as the sun beats down on him. It's barely let up, even on the outskirts of the jungle. He enjoys the brief stints in the shadow of the giant quartz walls. Even then, waves of heat come off them. All of the structures in his base are a heat trap. Clearing out several layers of dirt and stone is a necessity he should've left for another day. With a click, he tugs his helmet off his head. The humidity outside is worse than his filtered air. He tucks the helmet under his arm, pushing sweat slicked hair from his face.

He's made good progress levelling this arena space. He leaves his helmet on his bed and heads to the temporary storage chests. They're filling up quickly, he notices, as he starts emptying his inventory into them. Except, something's broken. The stacks of blocks aren't all moving. He tries a few times before sighing, ruffling his hair. When he turns to the area he's been mining, it's still empty. It's been a long time since they've had desync this bad. He's not even sure when it started.

Stepping gently across the stone, he can feel the heat rising from them. He'll rollback the world and then he'll relax by Keralis's river. The farm is delightfully cool. Anything will be better than this oppressive heat.

He's almost reached his bed when something takes hold in his chest and pulls.

He stumbles forward with a gasp. Of course, the server decides to fix itself this time. He forces his feet forward, trying to reach his helmet so he can smooth things over. He only makes it two steps until his eyes are forced shut as the server reloads. For a split second, all he feels is the chill of the void as chunks reload around him.

He opens his eyes to darkness. It feels like he's suspended in space, unable to move. There's a suffocating pressure around him. Though it's with shallow breaths, he can still breathe. Did something go wrong? He blinks hard. All of his limbs are accounted for, he's certainly present. Even when he's working in the void there are still particles around him. His attempt to raise his arm fails, finding it impossible to open his back up admin panel. His helmet is- where even is his helmet?

His breath hitches, a feeling of panic escaping his controlled calm. He feels like he can't breathe. He can't move. He's trapped in his own body.

What's happening?

[MumboJumbo] anybody else just experience some major desync?

[Keralis1] Oh, is that what that was?

[Zedaph] I had nearly finished my redstone! All of that work, gone!

[FalseSymmetry] didn't you notice you weren't actually... losing anything from your inventory?

[Tango] he was probably too caught up in his supposed mastery

[FalseSymmetry] everybody okay though?

[Grian] all good here!

[Zedaph] Only my pride's wounded.

False looks down at the bedrock layer at her base. Like half an hour spent placing glass, all gone to waste. She groans, closing her chat as it pings away. Sure, she can rib Zedaph, but that doesn't change the fact she just did the exact same thing. She kicks off the sidewalk, gliding to the bedrock layer. She can feel the cold of the void float up with specks of grey.

"Good going, False," she murmurs. Some patches of glass survived. It's almost worse, that's going to be so much less satisfying to fill in. She takes her goggles off, tugging her hair loose to tie it in a low ponytail. Usually Xisuma gives them a warning before the server resets like that. It always messes up her hair, leaves it floaty and static.

She adjusts her goggles on her head, opening the player menu. Xisuma's currently online. She checks chat. He hasn't said anything. She considers it strange, but it's not unusual. Maybe he's been at a farm and isn't AFKing. She types out a private message, sending it across to him.

[FalseSymmetry to Xisuma] hey x, server blipped, might need to check it when you get back.

She'll see if he returns her message. She's got glass to place.

Iskall looks through his in-progress sorting system with a frown. It's broken somewhere. The stupid server reload has glitched it out and he can't find how. He's checked the redstone, he's checked the hoppers and he's checked the chests! Which means it's glitched. Either Xisuma reloads the chunk for him, or he's going to have to tear it down.

Actually, he'll probably have to tear it down anyway. Reloading the chunk will only roll it back.

At least he's not the only person who's redstone has been ruined. The thought brings some comfort. If he has to be miserable, somebody else should be too. He opens his communicator, checking who's around at the moment. That might take his mind off it.

He notices that Xisuma's online. Their admin has been quiet in chat since the reload. Maybe there's something going on behind the scenes he's having to sort out. He'll reach out to Mumbo and Grian, but first, he sends a message X's way.

[iskall85 to Xisuma] hey is everything alright? nothing broke?

[iskall85 to Xisuma] don't forget you can reach out to us if you need help.

He has no idea how much time has passed. Usually he's connected intrinsically to the server. It helps him keep track of the world, dig out any errors or mishaps - sometimes before his suit alerts him. It's essential for his job in order to keep things running smoothly. The server is always there, at the edges of his consciousness.

In this nothing, he can't even keep track of his internal clock. Perhaps it's his own panic, but the code he tries to reach out to feels fuzzy. It feels like it's glitching, sending shooting pains through his head if he focuses too hard. He couldn't take a guess how long he's been trapped. His breathing still comes too fast and shallow, ignoring his attempts to calm down.

He's completely helpless here. And he doesn't even know where here is.

Tango stares up at the stars on his ceiling. He checks his inventory again, counting aloud. He flicks it off with a frown. Yeah, he's definitely missing some. It's not a massive deal, Impulse will be happy to help out. But if he's having problems then some of the other hermits might be. Perhaps they fell and despawned in the reload. Either way.

"Tangoooooo!" The cry is accompanied by several rockets, something hitting the ground and the sound of damage. He chuckles, stepping away as Zed soars over the edge, stumbling forward with a flutter of his elytra. Tango straightens him up with his free hand.

"No, I'm not doing your redstone for you." Zedaph gasps, dusting off his jeans. He bounces up with a grin.

"You really think I'd come all this way for that?" Zed questions.

"So why have you come all the way here?"

"I'm bored," Zed replies. "And it still stings too much to do my redstone again." Tango laughs, opening up his chat. Xisuma's online, though Tango doesn't expect an immediate response.

"How do you feel about some wither grinding?" He types a message to Xisuma, Zedaph attempting to peer over his shoulder.

"Mmm, I don't see why not."

[Tango to Xisuma] Hey, seem to have lost some stars when the server reset

[Tango to Xisuma] might wanna check nothing important got eaten.

"Right, let's go."

Keralis hums, staring at the plot he was about to start building on. The area has been a bit... Funny. He'll break and replace a block, only to have it switch again. He might have to work on another area until it sorts itself out. His attempts at working here started after the reload, so he doesn't know if that caused it. He's not been able to spot Xisuma nearby either. He's been online, but Keralis hasn't spotted him in chat for a while.

He sighs as he watches the last blocks he placed switch back as if nothing happened. Crossing his arms, he examines the area. He wonders how big this is. Definitely more than one chunk. His new house is going to have to wait. He was excited to show Xisuma around, too.

With a glance at the sky, he realises it's late afternoon. He yawns, stretching his back out. Perhaps it'll be best to settle in his office and work on some future designs. He'll drop a message in chat first, in case this is affecting anyone else. It might give him an excuse to hunt down Shishwamy. He always feels guilty bothering him about things. Their admin takes far too much responsibility on his shoulders. They’re all adults. Keralis wishes he’d ask for help sometimes.

[Keralis1] Has anyone else been having glitchy blocks?

[iskall85] some of my redstone is broken but it's no biggie

[Tango] lost some of my nether stars with the reload but it's been fine since.

[FalseSymmetry] been placing glass without any problems since the reset

[MumboJumbo] I haven't had any problems either.

[Keralis1] A bunch of chunks around our bases are glitching

[Keralis1] but it seems like Shishwamy is busy :(

[Grian] well it looks like he just went afk

[iskall85] that answers that lol

His mind is becoming blurry. It's hard to focus on... Anything. He can't tell if it's because he's struggling to breathe, or something further, tugging him down and away. He tries to fight against it but there's nothing he can do to stay present. He can't hear anything, barely even his shallow breaths. He can only feel the consistent pressure on every inch of his body, the wet tears on his cheeks. He tries pulling on every one of his senses, but nothing comes up.

He slips under.

False empties the last of this glass stack, stepping back at a job well done. She smiles, rubbing her aching hands. It's nice to finally work on this part of her base. Even better now it's not going to pick itself up. At least she hopes so. She'll be right annoyed if it happens again. Something's been tingling at the back of her head, though. She wonders if it's because of the reset.

She looks up at the late afternoon sky. That's enough work for today. As she stretches, she can feel each and every ache in her body. She brushes away her hair, already falling loose. Maybe she'll have something nice for dinner. Some steak, potatoes and pumpkin pie. If she has pumpkin, of course. Xisuma was planning to build a pumpkin farm, wasn't he? His traditional pumpkin and melon combination. She chuckles to herself as she pulls out her rockets.

No matter how things change from season to season, there will always be things that don't. Hermits might come and go, but they'll always be her family.

She launches up, shooting through the water barrier. It's fast enough it doesn't stick. She lands gracefully, making her way to the kitchen. She hopes this nudging in her head doesn't get worse. She just wants to enjoy a nice meal. That's all.

"Well, I think we have a plan," Grian declares, grinning from his perch. His legs are crossed, hands resting in his lap.

"I mean, we didn't exactly need a plan to fix our redstone," Mumbo replies, slouched in his chair the way he only ever does in front of them. Iskall chuckles, resting his hands behind his head. They've really helped take his mind off the broken redstone. Mumbo had a similar problem, so tomorrow they'll meet up again and attempt some fixes.

"Always helps," Iskall says, shrugging. "Especially when one of us spends so much time in the Nether depths, now." Grian laughs, his legs kicking.

"Hey, I'm doing good work out there!" Mumbo yawns, looking between them.

"Well I don't know about you two, but I'm exhausted."

"Food then sleep?" Grian suggests. Iskall nods. It's been a long day.

It's dark as Zedaph and Tango return from The End. Zedaph yawns, running a hand through his hair, messing it up. Tango rubs the side of his own hair. Something's been bothering him, but he can't tell what. Like there's something just not... Right. Zedaph is chatting beside him, a bounce in his step. It's like he doesn't feel it at all.

"Do you want to have dinner together?" Zed asks, twirling his sword by his side. They've repaired their tools, done everything properly. It's been a hard day's work, but they've achieved a lot, even with the setback.

"Yeah, dinner sounds good." He looks at the night sky, squinting his eyes. Zedaph tilts his head at him. The purple eyes are concerned, particles floating up in his worry.

"Tango, are you okay? You seem... Off." Tango sighs, waving Zedaph's worry away.

"Something's nagging me. It's not a big deal." Zedaph's still frowning, but the particles die down.

"Let's just get you something to eat, yeah?" Tango nods, leaning into Zedaph when he squeezes his shoulder.

"Sounds good to me."

Keralis watches the night sky overhead. He's sat in the doorway to his office, a blanket around his shoulders. The stars are always a beautiful sight. It's the perfect way to relax after such a, hm, busy day. Not busy in a conventional sense, no, but still busy. His specially commissioned noteblock song plays in the background, a perfect accompaniment in the peaceful night. He thinks it's strange how the stars always seem the same no matter what world they're in. Maybe he should ask Xisuma about it in the future.

He pops up his screens open. Xisuma is still afk. He misses seeing his neighbour out and about. Xisuma often spends time at his farms, it's nothing new. But Keralis enjoys saying hello to him! Especially after missing well... Years of his life. He tries not to think about that.

With a sigh, he lies against the doorway. Time for bed soon. He laughs at the sound of Bubbles' voice in his head. His communicator beeps and he glances over to it.

Huh. That's interesting.

Xisuma is thrown into full consciousness. His stomach is still cramping with phantom hunger. He opens his eyes and finds...

Black.

No, no, he died. He died. Why has he respawned here? He chokes on his sob, realising no air is entering his lungs. His cheeks are still wet with tears, more leaking out as he gasps at nothing. His lungs burn, unable to take the shallow breaths he needs to. Would it even help? He wants to curl up, clutch at the growing pain in his chest. But he can't move an inch. Heaviness sinks into his limbs and head.

He wakes again in the same place. He doesn't know if he wants to scream or cry. There's not enough air for him to scream, anyway.

[Xisuma starved to death]

[MumboJumbo] X?? mate?

[Tango] X?

[FalseSymmetry] do we need to get your stuff?

[Keralis1] I'm by his base.

[Tango] he's not afk anymore

[Grian] x???????

[iskall85] maybe he's getting his stuff rn

[Keralis1] Shishwammmmyyyyyyy

[MumboJumbo] starving isn't a nice way to go

[Zedaph] It really isn't.

[Xisuma suffocated]

[iskall85] oh no

[FalseSymmetry] x???? im going over

[Keralis1] so am i

[Tango] this isn't right, this really isn't right

[Xisuma suffocated]

[Grian] what's going on???

False shimmies back into her elytra, reaching for the one jacket potato that finished cooking. So much for having a sit-down meal. She rubs her head, pushing away the fear that has something to do with this. Her communicator continues beeping as she grabs her rockets. She runs to the entrance, kicking off and launching into the air.

"We should go and help," Iskall decides, already picking up his armour.

"Thought you'd never say." Mumbo straps his elytra on, grabbing a spare shulker box and an ender chest. Grian nods with a seriousness that doesn't fit on his face.

"Let's go."

"We're going?" Zed asks. He's already stuffing food into his mouth. Tango rubs his temples, nodding. He takes the elytra that's thrusted into his hand.

"Yeah. We're definitely going." He watches the particles floating off Zed in waves, glowing the same purple as his pupils. Tango presses his eyes shut against another spike of pain as their communicators beep. "C'mon."

Keralis scrabbles until he balances on the tower roof. He's searched each one and not found X anywhere. Tapping his foot, he meddles with his communicator to turn some settings on. He has no minor admin powers - that he has to leave to False and Tango - but he can at least try this.

"Ah-hah!" He grins as hitboxes light up beneath him, hopefully a better clue where his currently red coloured friend may be. He scans the towers closely, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. There are a few mobs, especially as night sets in. Then he sees Xisuma's new build.

He has to take a step back at the sight. The chunks look- a mess. The outline of the blocks are overlapped or flickering. It hurts to look at. Blocks aren't meant to highlight like that. He glides across the treetops. It not only covers the area he was trying to work earlier but spreads into Xisuma's current build. Yeah that's- that's bad. That's not good. His communicator has continued to beep with messages as he searched. He goes to read it, and spots different colours in the mess. The red of an eyeline. He stands on his toes, leaning off the leaves. The outline flickers in and out, accompanied by a beep.

He thinks he's found X.

[Xisuma suffocated]

[Keralis1] he's in his new build!

[Keralis1] I think I can see him in the ground

[Keralis1] it is very very broken

[FalseSymmetry] tango? you on your way?

[Tango] as we speak

[Tango] been a long time since we've had to use these powers

[FalseSymmetry] not long enough

Tango and Zedaph are the first to land by Keralis's side. They kick up loose powder from the road, taking in the massive structure in front of them. Tango's shoulders raise, cringing at the sight.

"That's definitely broken," he agrees, his eyes twisting as they focus.

"And Xisuma's in the middle of it?" Zedaph looks at Keralis. He nods, usually big eyes sharply focused. He points beyond the walls.

"You can just see his name tag. I think the glitched blocks have got him stuck. I tried to build there earlier but nothing would stay." Tango presses his lips together in thought as False lands. They nod to each other in acknowledgement.

"How long does it take until the blocks pop back?"

Keralis hums, tapping his chin before answering, "About ten seconds, I think."

"That's not going to be enough time to reach him," Zed says. "Can't you just teleport him?" He looks at Tango and False. Tango opens his console menu, typing something in. Zed can tell the answer before Tango says it.

"What ideas do we have?" Keralis asks. "We can't just leave him there!"

"Of course not!" Tango replies, sounding shocked at the suggestion. "We just- need a plan." False nods.

"We're not as powerful as X," she explains, "Together we should be able to roll back these chunks but- I have no idea what that would mean for Xisuma. We don't really work with player code." She brushes her hair back. The conversation is paused as the trio of Grian, Iskall and Mumbo land beside them. The three slot in, listening as they're caught up.

"There has to be something that's making him spawn there." Iskall points out, his hand held towards the structure. False searches through the control panel, whilst Keralis and Tango simply examine the messed up blocks.

"He has a bed in there," Tango answers. False taps where Xisuma's spawn is tied to on her screen.

"Since the blocks are glitched, it must mean the bed isn't like... Registering them. Since they don't fully exist." She thinks about it carefully, putting the pieces together as she explains.

"So if we break the bed, he'll respawn at the world spawn?" Grian suggests.

"But how do we get down there?" Mumbo turns to look. It's pretty far down in the ground. They'd have to move quick to get near where Xisuma is.

"There's a few of us." Iskall waves at the gathered group. "I say with enough TNT and manpower, we could do it."

"Wait-" Zedaph holds his hand up, "-Get me close enough and I can teleport in there, get the bed. Less blocks to destroy."

"Zed." Tango turns to him, glaring at the blond. "That's a stupid idea, don't you get how dangerous that is-"

"Xisuma is stuck in a death loop, Tango!" Zed cuts in, raising his voice. The others fall silent, not sure how to handle this exchange. "Sure, I might die a bit! That's nothing compared to what Xisuma's currently experiencing."

"TNT will destroy a fair amount, but it already puts us on a time limit," Grian adds, a sideways agreement.

"I'm willing to do it. Either we reach the bed, or I teleport in." Zed says it with finality. The others don't argue. False checks his spawn point. Zedaph will respawn back in his cave, safe and sound. Even if it goes wrong, it'll be recoverable.

"We need to be ready to roll back the chunks," False says, focusing on Tango. "If I have this headache for much longer I'm going to go insane." Tango smiles tiredly.

"Fine. Let's try this." He shrugs. "I don't think we have a better idea."

"Well, come on! Let's go!" Keralis claps, placing an ender chest. Tango sighs, typing in a command.

"I think I'm allowed this time," he says, a stack of TNT appearing in his hand.

"And other times?" Grian asks. Even through the teasing, they can hear the fear in his voice.

"Don't push it."

There's noises. He blinks his eyes open into the unending darkness. He tries to focus past his burning chest and the weight of his body. There's... Definitely noises up above him. It sounds like explosions. The space he's stuck in shakes slightly. After another lapse, he gasps back to life in the same position. He wants to scream, tell somebody he's down here. This opportunity might not come again.

Then he feels a sharp stab of pain. Something is there, near him. Everything hurts and he still can't breathe. For a moment, he thinks he hears the trill of an Enderman. His tired mind can't figure out how as he runs out of air.

He wakes up to a chill. He slightly opens his eyes, spotting yellow sand as he falls, blacking out.

[Xisuma suffocated]

[Zedaph suffocated]

[Grian] have we done it?

[Keralis1] he's at worldspawn! got him!

[iskall85] YES!!!

[Zedaph] Oh thank goodness I don't want to do that again

[World reloaded]

[Tango] Z, you okay?

[Zedaph] I'm good. Bring my stuff? I'm going to worldspawn

[FalseSymmetry] will do

"Keralis!" Zedaph's elytra beats as he lands, feet digging into the sand. "Is he okay?" Keralis nods. Xisuma's head is resting in his lap. The admin's eyes are closed as he breathes slowly. His expression is relaxed. It's a good sight to see. The spawn island is lit up well, but Keralis keeps his eye on the surrounding oceans.

"He's sleeping," Keralis says, messing with strands of brown hair. "I don't think I'm strong enough to move him on my own." Zedaph drops onto the sand next to them, crossing his legs. There are still bright particles floating off him, his eyes fully purple. "What about you, Zee?" Zedaph seems to notice Keralis's focus, ducking away to hide his eyes.

"Um, not the best. That kind of sucked. But, it worked, and that's what matters!"

"Make sure you look after yourself, too," Keralis tells him. "Fighting the server's code isn't easy." Zedaph laughs, resting on his hands.

"Can say that again. Forgot we have anti-enderman griefing." Keralis cringes, realising why Zed looks so much like he might collapse. It'll pass, but it's never fun to go against programming like that. The architech trio arrives next. All of them look relieved to see the three on the island.

"Oh, Zedaph, I have your stuff." Mumbo starts emptying it out, the few things Zedaph couldn't fit in an ender chest. Zedaph smiles, tugging his helmet on and feeling a lot more comfortable. He tries not to meet anybody's eyes.

"Tango and False will be on their way. They're just checking everything's good," Grian tells them, hands moving quickly as he talks.

"Should we try moving X somewhere safer?" Iskall suggests. "The shopping district isn't that far."

"If you're willing to boat him." Keralis is firm. "I don't want him dropped in the ocean."

"I swear nothing will happen to him under our watch." Grian puts his hand on his heart. Iskall and Mumbo nod in agreement.

"It'll be the safest boat journey on the server." Iskall's hands are on his hips. Keralis tilts his head up.

"Look into my eyes and nothing but my eyes, if anything happens to my Shishwamy, I will not hold back." The architechs look suitably threatened.

"Can I boat with someone?" Zedaph asks. "I nearly crashed so many times flying over here."

"Hop in the back of mine!" Iskall calls, placing one in the water. Grian plucks Xisuma into his arms, carrying him to the edge of the water. He sets the admin in the boat before climbing in himself. Keralis checks him over before nodding and allowing Grian to keep him.

"I've told the others to meet us there," Mumbo says. "I'm going to fly across and see where's best to bunker down. I think we could all use some sleep."

Zedaph looks at the moon hanging overhead, "Yeah, I think we could."

[MumboJumbo] we're heading to the shopping district.

[FalseSymmetry] thats a good plan

[MumboJumbo] any idea who's shop we could stay in?

[FalseSymmetry] my dimension shop is pretty empty

[FalseSymmetry] plenty of room for some beds. pretty warm.

[Tango] we'll get it set up for you

[MumboJumbo] ok. ill protect the others

[Keralis1] so will I.

The first thing Xisuma picks up on is the talking. He stays still, trying to tell if his brain is playing tricks on him after so long in the nothing. His body is like a rock. He's barely able to move. His lungs still ache and it takes some conscious effort to continue breathing. He blinks his eyes open, wincing at bright lights. Light. There's light. He rolls forward, a sob leaving his lips before he can catch it.

"Xisuma, hey, hey." The voice is soft, casting a shadow over him. Xisuma forces his eyes open now the worst of the brightness is blocked out. Keralis is crouching in front of the bed. His fingers gently brush across Xisuma's cheek. For once, Xisuma doesn't feel the dried tears that had become his constant. "You're okay, you're safe. We got you." Xisuma takes a shaking breath in, squeezing his arms to feel the pressure of his own touch.

"Do you want your helmet?" He flits to look at False. The mere sight of his helmet is overwhelming. He reaches out and wraps it close to his chest. Keralis laughs gently, scratching through Xisuma's hair. The admin sighs, his eyes slipping closed once more.

"There you go." He can hear the smile in Keralis's voice. "We've got you, right here." The sound of movement. Cracking his eyes open reveals False sitting in front of the bed, weaving her hand into Xisuma's. He squeezes it gently.

"You're in my shop, in the shopping district," she tells him. "It's past midnight. You're completely safe here. We've got things sorted, there's nothing you need to worry about." A tear slips from his eye. Keralis wipes it away.

"What happened?" He can't make his voice louder than a whisper, and even that hurts.

"Something went wrong with the world reload," False tells him. He can trust her not to sugarcoat things. "We all had a few bugs, but the chunks around you glitched out badly. Created a bunch of like... Invisible blocks, but they were visible, if you get what I mean? They weren't fully there. Ugh, Tango's better at all this technical stuff." Xisuma tries to peer around for him, but the light still hurts if he looks for too long.

"You were stuck in a bunch of them," Keralis finishes. "We didn't realise until you starved and got stuck in a death loop. I'm really sorry, Xisuma."

"We broke your bed to get you out. Well, Zedaph did. The others got him close enough then Tango and I fixed the area. It's all sorted." Xisuma forces his sluggish brain to put the pieces together. He didn't dream up that enderman sound. That was-

"He's over there, sleeping. Tango's with him." Keralis points at a bed nearby. Tango's back blocks any sight of their part Ender friend, but Xisuma can see purple particles floating into the air. A concerning amount of them.

"What did Zed do?" He asks, the vice around his lungs tightening in concern.

"Um," Keralis answers, False looking at him. "He mentioned fighting the anti-enderman griefing code? So I think he picked the bed up." Xisuma's stomach drops. He tries to push himself up but collapses onto his back again.

"Hey, X, careful," False warns. Her voice is stern but Xisuma shakes his head.

"No- I-" He shuts his eyes, fighting off disorientation. "The server's going to keep fighting him. I've got to reset it." False helps him sit up, but she still watches him with concern. He picks up his helmet, pulling it on and relaxing slightly as all the displays flicker to life. Now when he looks at Zedaph he can see the extent of the damage. His very code seems to be fighting itself. "Help me up?"

False gets an arm around his chest. He ends up leaning his weight against her to stand, his legs shaking. She's firm, grip only tightening to accommodate his need. Keralis hovers nearby, ready to jump in if he has to. They take slow steps across the room. Xisuma strains to see under the light, but the tint of his helmet helps. He can see the architechs sat nearby, watching without any attempt at discretion.

Tango looks up as they approach. Xisuma can see the resignation on his face.

"This isn't going to fix itself, is it?" He asks. His hand in clasped tightly in Zedaph's, whose usually bright expression is twisted in pain. His skin is all too pale, black freckles spreading into larger patches across his face. He doesn't open his eyes, not even as Tango moves so Xisuma can sit down. The grip on each other's hand remains tight.

"I need to reset the code that's attacking him," Xisuma explains. His words have a tired slur he can't quite hide. "I'm gonna write an exception, I can't believe I haven't already just- not right now. Don't wanna do it wrong."

"Xisuma, it's okay." Tango smiles, pinched but genuine. "I'm sorry you need to do this." Xisuma shakes his head.

"It's nobody's fault," False says, "Do what you need to do, X. Then you're going back to bed." Keralis hums in agreement. Xisuma laughs softly as the command screens in his helmet boot up.

He zones out the others around him, leaning on Keralis's shoulder when his friend perches beside him. He scrolls through information as he brings up Zedaph's data on one screen. With one eye on it, he unlocks the data packs, searching through them. He gives voice instructions with his microphone muted to the outside world. Finding the pack he needs, he disables it and checks Zedaph's data. It looks like his code is straightening out again. Thank goodness. He makes sure all activity is deactivated before he turns the pack back on.

"That should do it," he mumbles, before realising his microphone is still off. He reactivates it before repeating himself.

"Maybe you should teach us a bit more sometime," False squeezes his shoulder, helping him up. Xisuma slings his arm over False with a nod. That would be good.

"Thank you, X." Tango smiles. He rubs his thumb across Zedaph's hand. The ender hybrid has relaxed, face slack. It looks like he's properly sleeping now. Xisuma can finally rest.

"Come on. Don't you fall asleep here, I don't want to carry you across." Xisuma hums, too tired to commit to any words. Before he knows it, he's sitting down on the comfortable bed again.

"Shishwam, lemme get your helmet." Xisuma nods, tilting his head up so Keralis can unlatch it and bring it off. His head rolls onto his shoulder the moment it's gone. Keralis giggles, ruffling his hair. "Come on, sleepy time." False lies him down, his helmet tucked safely in his arms. Keralis's hand slips into his. Xisuma shuts his eyes, before blinking them open again.

"Stay?" He asks, too tired to worry about being needy. He doesn't want to be alone in that darkness again.

"Of course," False replies.

"We're not going anywhere," Keralis adds. Xisuma smiles at them both, eyes slipping closed. The darkness is manageable with his friends by his side.

"Don't you dare wake them up," False hisses, watching as Grian and Iskall play with redstone. The morning sun is beginning to shine through the cracks in the windows. She's exhausted, having only caught a quick nap. Keralis is asleep next to Xisuma, sitting on the floor with his head resting on the bed. Tango's slid into bed beside Zedaph, holding him close to his chest. Mumbo's dead to the world across the room.

"We won't!" Grian calls, trying to figure out the game he could make out of this mechanic. Iskall has a Statues book open, an armour stand sat in front of a piston.

"You know, this would be a lot easier if the two people who have done this with armour stands were helping," Iskall points out, flicking through the pages.

"We're fine, it's part of the adventure!" Grian watches as the piston shoots the armour stand across the room. False smiles, leaning back against the bed. Some of the other hermits have been coming online with the early morning. Thankfully, they don't seem to know about everything that went down yesterday. It's best things are quiet for Xisuma whilst he rests. She's sure he’ll tell them about it. She'll make sure he does.

As the sun grows higher with the dawn, she dozes off again. Grian is yawning, him and Iskall only catching a few hours of sleep. He's still buzzing with activity. He'll crash later, easy enough.

It's to this quiet atmosphere that Xisuma wakes up. Iskall and Grian are still experimenting. Grian’s laughter rings out as the armour stand bounces in the air. The beat of the piston is monotonous, but they're nearly falling over each other at the sight. Xisuma watches with a soft smile, eyes barely opened.

"It we got one on top, do you think it would-" Grian holds his hand up, demonstrating an armour stand shaking up and down aggressively. Iskall chuckles, shaking his head.

"It's only the morning, we don't need to break physics yet."

"It's for science," Grian protests. He sounds breathless, half-delirious with his need for sleep.

"Please don't make me do work," Xisuma whispers, all too aware of the sleeping hermits around him. Grian perks up, Iskall turning to him with a grin.

"'Suma!" Iskall calls. Xisuma smiles at both of them, making no attempt to move. He's comfortable here and he doesn't want to wake his friends.

"Exy-Suma!" Grian slides across, leaving a gap from the sleeping hermits. Iskall stands by his side, resting his hand on Grian's shoulder. "How are you feeling?" Xisuma wraps his arm tighter around his helmet.

"Not the best, my friend," he answers honestly. "But I'm certainly better than before."

"Well, we'll just have to make that even better then." Grian is committed to the cause now. He's going to make Xisuma's day.

"You don't have to rush back into things," Iskall says, offering a smile. "I'm sure we can handle ourselves today."

"I don't think I'm getting out of this bed anytime soon." Xisuma looks down at Keralis, dark hair brushing Xisuma's chest plate. False is asleep slouched in the chair beside him. Even without being able to see the other occupants of the room, he can still tell they're sleeping. "Feels a bit weird not going for a jog at this time, though."

"I'm sure your legs won't wither away after one morning, X," Iskall jokes. "Be lazy like the rest of us." Grian grins.

"We could always play some mini-games later, too!" Xisuma laughs, stretching as much as he can without shifting Keralis. He's beginning to regret sleeping in his armour, but it's too late now.

The three chat with each other, Xisuma offering advice now he's awake. They're gradually building up a system to launch the armour stand across the room. Sure, they'll have to clean it all up later, but it passes the time and it makes them laugh. Hearing Xisuma laughing is good for all three of them, despite the roughness reminding them of last night's ordeal. It's safe to say that nobody envies Xisuma's experience.

The three jump at a strange, shrill noise, until the realisation kicks in. Zed is sitting up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Hair is falling into his face, ruffled from sleep. Tango remains slumped against him. He even rolls into the warmth Zedaph leaves behind. It takes a few seconds until the hybrid notices his audience. Zedaph jumps, smiling sheepishly.

"Oh, hi, sorry! Forgot I wasn't alone." His eyes are glowing brightly in the morning light. He looks down at the arm lazily clinging to his waist. "This oaf is used to it."

"No, no, you're okay," Xisuma tells him. False is stirring beside him, blinking to life, but Keralis remains out. "How are you feeling?" Zedaph taps his chin, resting his finger on his lip.

"Pretty well-rested, actually." Then his attention turns to Xisuma. "What about you? I should be asking you that question!" Xisuma laughs, flexing his fingers against his helmet.

"I'm okay. Taking it easy." He tilts his head towards Grian and Iskall. "Whether I like it or not, it seems."

"Too right," False agrees, yawning. "T'others can handle admin duties for today. You're ours."

"Is that a threat?"

"We can make it one!" Iskall tells him, his voice a lot more cheerful than the implication of his words. "We just need a good leash-"

"Oh absolutely not! Don't you dare!" Keralis pokes his head up next to him, trying to tune into the conversation. Zedaph laughs from across the room. He's tugging a bleary Tango to rest on his shoulder so he can wrap the blanket around them both.

"Oh come on, X, it'll be fun!" Grian wraps his arms around Iskall's shoulders. Xisuma shakes his head.

"You two are terrible. Absolutely terrible. Goodness me."

"I'm sure X will agree to take a day off willingly," False says, sounding far too threatening as she rubs sleep from her eyes.

"I already agreed. No leash required!"

"Why are we talking about leashes?" Keralis finally asks, looking more confused than anything. They break down into laughter.

[Grian] hello everyone

[iskall85] HALLO!

[iskall85] we are stealing your admin for the day!

[Grian] yeah he's ours.

[falsesymmetry] x had a rough night so he's having a day off

[falsesymmetry] so if any admins besides tango, x and i could step up please?

[cubfan135] yeah I'm on it.

[joehillssays] of course, and send our well wishes to our dear admin!

[Xisuma] your dear admin thanks you :-)

[Xisuma] please try not to break anything

[Etho] have a fun day lol

[joehillssays] don't make us lock you out of your screens, x!

[Keralis1] Nothing will get past us.

[iskall85] he's been suitably threatened.

[Renthedog] Should uh... We be concerned?

[Grian] about x-i-sooma finally getting a break?

[falsesymmetry] he's in safe hands. promise.

"Should we get this day started?" Tango asks. Grian is about to answer, only to yawn. He covers his mouth, face turning red.

"Another hour of sleep first?" False suggests. They look around the room, everyone in varying states of awareness.

"It never hurt anyone." Iskall shoves Mumbo over, fitting into bed beside him. "See y'all in an hour." Keralis smiles at Xisuma. He bumps their heads together.

"You deserve a break without being traumatised first, you know that Shishwamy?" He checks. Xisuma laughs, pressing their foreheads together.

"Yeah, I know." He leans back. "And I think I've got some good friends to remind me." False pats his back, getting comfortable enough to doze off again.

"And don't you forget it." Xisuma looks around the room. The architechs are fighting over the bed, Tango and Zedaph curled back up on theirs. He smiles, the fear from last night already on its way to being a distant memory.

"Don't think I can."

#hermitcraft #xisuma #falsesymmetry #keralis #grian #iskall85 #tangotek #zedaph #feel like mumbo's role is too minor to tag him lmao #my writing #this fic took so loooong #but i wanted to get it done #more brain space for my other projects

231 notes · View notes

starr-fall-knight-rise · 4 years

Text

Humans are Space Orcs, “Pictures in the Sky.”

You guys *want fluff*

Me *ripping open an industrial sized bag of build-a-bear-stuffing whispering* they wanted fluff

Lol I hope this is what you demons were looking for. was trying to work on creating an emotional environment with words instead of leaning on action to make things interesting.

Tried to insert some of my own experiences to make it more authentic.

Hope you guys enjoy :)

Sunny glanced out the window. The night was dark, as it tended to be on earth, though a patch of warm honey light spilled from the kitchen window and onto the back lawn lighting the grass below. Squinting into the darkness, she thought she could see a shape illuminated by the light blue blanket which he had draped around himself.

She turned her head watching as blue light spilled in form the living room, where Jim was watching a late night game.

Martha was sitting at the kitchen table next to a pile of paint cans with a book open before her on the table.

Sunny approached the back sliding screen door, feeling a waft of cool night air brush over her skin. It smelled damp, and earthy. Tilting her head she could the distant chatter of crickets. She reached out sliding the screen door open with a soft swish before stepping outside onto the back porch.

She closed the door softly behind her and walked out across the deck tilting her head back to look up at the sky. The stars had been more prominent on her home planet. Where earth suffered from the grip of light pollution and a rather distant view of the universe, her planet had bordered a massive star nursery which produced many clusters and a great amount of gaseous emissions.

Still, with the moon rising high above them, and the distant arm of the milky way cutting across the sky she had to admit the remoteness was quite beautiful. No wonder humanity had always been obsessed with the night, so dark and mysterious.

Her feet met cold grass, and at first she couldn’t tell if it was wet or just cool.

More crickets started up,and where the backyard met the treeline, she thought she could hear the distant croaking of frogs.

The thought of those strange little creatures made her happy. She didn’t know why.

As the honey glow of the kitchen faded into the distant, the mound on the grass grew into sharper focus.

Adam lay on his back, one a blanket spread on the grass one hand resting behind his head, the other resting on his stomach. The night was pleasant enough that he didn’t even bother to wear long sleeves.

His pale skin stood out in the darkness.

She saw him turn his head as he heard her coming, and a flash of teeth glittered white in the dark.

She paused --- standing over him -- and looked up at the sky,”Homesick?” She wondered

He laughed, “Maybe a little.” He patted the blanket next to him, and she obliged taking a set and then flopping onto her back against the blanket.

Overhead a streak of white light cut through the darkness before vanishing.

“Beautiful, isn’t it.”

The moon winked at them from the darkness.

“Yes .” Sunny whispered

He reached up a hand pointing out towards the darkness, “You see that cluster of stars there, just a few degrees left….. Yeah. That’s where your planet is.”

Sunny stared on in fascination.

Adam rested his hand back behind his head, “Crazy to think we saw parts of the same night sky.”

She had never thought about it that way before, and it made her shiver a little.

“Of course the light form there is likely a couple thousand years old, so even if we had been looking at each other, its actually more like seeing into the past.”

She turned her head to look down at him crickets chirping softly in the background.

A light wind rustled through the trees, bringing with it a distant roll of white noise. The grass rustled next to them creating a rippling wave back and up towards the house.”

“You seem to know a lot about astronomy for a soldier she said wryly, though honestly she was really just baiting him into talking. The voice of a human was generally very nice, melodic almost with a sort of cadence to it.

He chuckled softly, before pausing, “you know all this.” He reached a hand up towards the sky, “Is the reason I became so fascinated with aliens, and astronomy, and becoming an astronaut.” She turned to look at him, curious, and he continued on.

“I think it might be the earliest memory I have. Mom says it was only a few years after the first colonies were settled on mars. We were just beginning to build up our station on the moon, and there was this meteor shower.. I think it was the Perseid Meteor shower, which happens every year or so. Now my memory could totally be wrong about everything but…. I remember huge balls of fire that made crackling noises as they fell from the sky…. Like i said, I am pretty sure my kid mind made it out to be a bigger deal that it actually was, but….” he trailed off to look at the sky, “Every time I think about it I get that same feeling, a sort of sense of awe….”

He sighed, and as if to punctuate his sentence a bright streak of light flew across their vision.

“After that it was all over for me. I wanted to watch all the space movies, I wanted to go to all the museums, and then when I heard about UFOs, well the obsession just got worse.”

Sunny turned her head to look at him, “What is a UFO.”

He laughed face split by a massive grin, “The irony is glorious. I am explaining what a UFO is to an alien. A UFO is an unidentified flying object. And when I was a kid I got caught into one of those conspiracy theories that said the government was lying to us about the existence of aliens, and that they had visited earth in flying saucers and abducted people and what not.”

Sunny snorted, “The GA would never have bothered entering your planet’s atmosphere.”

“Well I know that now, but when I was a kid, I was convinced….” He shifted a bit close enough that she could feel the heat shedding from his skin pointing upwards, “See that one, its called the big dipper or ursa major. If you follow the tip you can find tPolaris. It’s been used by humans to navigate for thousands of years. We can’t see polar lines like you, so we needed some way to find north.”

He dropped his hand back down to his chest, “Of course, as I got older I sort of dropped the UFO thing in favor of knowing that there were aliens out there. I had read the studies listened to all the talks, and there seemed to be no way that we were the only ones. I grew up trying to convince people that there were other worlds out there with other life….. He sighed, no one ever believed me.”

“You crazy person.” She muttered resting one set of arms behind her head enjoying the irony.

“Ha, yeah. Sad part is, I may never have gone to space. You know my parents aren't all that wealthy, and traveling off earth is generally pretty expensive. When i was a kid I begged to visit Mars, or the moon. IT was devastating when My parents said no, of course now I understand that we were a couple million short.”

Sunny tried not to think about that outcome. A dimension in which Adam never made it to space would probably have been a very sad one.

“I went through different phases too. At first I wanted to be an astronaut, and then I wanted to be an astronomer, and then a physicist, and then rocket science or engineering like my brother.”

Sunny shot him a look.

He laughed, “I know, I know. I’m not half as smart as David. I couldn’t math my way out of a paper bag. I love science… I was just never very good at it .” For a moment his voice took on a rather melancholy quality, but sunny kept him quiet, “A couple years before all that, there was a scientist, the Einstein of our time, and he created this mathematical theory that determined the folding potential of space. With this theory we could travel the universe without having to worry about the issues of light speed. So they started construction on the first interstellar ship. Of course I kept a close watch on it’s construction, but then my brother went and told me about the UNSC’s pilot academy, and you better believe I was on that in under five minutes.”

The thought made her smile. She could just imagine his excitement.

There was quiet for a moment, and -- in the background --- sunny thought she could hear the soft trickle of water, perhaps a stream or a creak, or an artificial fountain off in the distance.

She ran her fingers over the grass.

Such a strange plant.

“Have you ever….. Have you ever been homesick for a place you’ve never been?”

Sunny glanced over to find him looking at her. She shook her head, “I can’t say I have.”

He sighed and turned back to the sky, “Well, I have. During the academy, and the years before that, I would look up, and…. Well I just wanted to go so bad. I can’t describe the feeling. It’s like you're a piece of something broken and all you want to do is return to where you were meant to be. I was missing from space and space was missing from me, and I wanted it so bad that it was like a physical sensation, like anxiety or anger except it…. Well it makes you want to cry or to scream, and it was so frustrating because it just never went away.”

She looked up trying to imagine the feeling. It was hard to think that Adam could have wanted anything so bad. She had always been to busy with family drama to have wanted anything more. Her desires were so base as acceptance that she could barely imagine such a strange an abstracted feeling….. The feeling of being broken with no explanation.

“I trained for years to get to space, and Sunny, my first inter-space flight, that moment when you break from atmosphere, and the earth curves back behind you, and the stars unfold before you…. It was.” he shivered, “It was the most exhilarating moment of my life, like coming back home but multiplied by a thousand.”

She heard him sigh, watched his chest rise and fall from the corner of her eyes, “I know it sounds stupid. Humans honestly weren’t meant to fly, or to be in space. We are terrestrial creatures after all, but….” He shook his head, “Something just felt right, and it still does.”

“And then you found aliens?”

The longing melancholy faded from his voice replaced with a smile, “Sunny, I am probably the luckiest son of a bitch in the entire universe. I flew a jet to the moon, I was on the bridge during the launch of the first interstellar ship, I was on the bridge during the first warp, I was the pilot who flew our first mission to a planet outside the solar system, and I was the first man to ever see extraterrestrial life.”

He paused, “Of course…. After the war….”

He trailed off biting back pain. Sunny felt her stomach twist. She knew what had happened after the war, PTSD , the loss of his leg.

His voice had grown quiet, “It was the worst time of my life. I mean I have had some pretty bad moments, but nothing compares. It was like…. Being betrayed by someone you love. Looking up at the sky made me sick, the thought of flying repulsed me, alien life scared the shit out of me. I was growing to resent the one thing in the world -- or out of this world --- that I loved. I have never felt such despair…. Because life just wasn’t worth it.”

Her stomach continued to tie itself into knots, she felt a tingling rise up in her face and neck.

“I’m so sorry.”

He must have sensed the guilt in her voice turning his head to look at her. He reached out a comforting hand and rested it on her arm smiling, “Don’t worry, it was just a leg.” The smile he gave her was genuine, his words earnest, “Besides, it only took a dog to pull me back around. The relief was insane. I hadn’t looked up for almost a year, and then one day I couldn’t sleep, so I walked outside.” He nodded towards the porch, “I remember I was standing right there, crutches, the dog, and I remember fighting with myself whether I should look up or not, because I knew if I didn’t feel anything than…. Than I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I remember Waffles, She licked my hand and looked at me like she was encouraging me to do it, and when I did, and the feeling came again, I was so damn excited I actually ended up slipping on my crutches and falling off the porch.”

The two of them laughed at that image.

She shook his head still smiling, “You should have seen it, there I was lying in the grass in a heap, the dog was all concerned,and then my mom comes running out of the house freaking the hell out, my dad’s behind her and he’s got the gun, and they see me on the ground, and they are just so confused. And I’m looking up at the sky and they’re looking down at me, and I just start to laugh, and they are looking at me like I’m insane because I probably am. And then you know -- because I’m pathetic -- of course i start to cry like a baby, and then my mom does and then my dad does, and now I’m crying and laughing, and it was so stupid.”

He shook his head. His hand was warm on her arm.

“Of course, mom wasn’t exactly laughing when I told them I wanted to go back to the UNSC but they agreed and with a little help we managed to get a nice prosthetic, and by that time they were looking for a captain for the harbinger. Once the GA heard that I was still around, they requested me personally.”

“Did you piss yourself with excitement.” She wondered

He eyed her, “You jest, but I totally almost did. Captain of a mothereffing space ship, Sunny. That was like my dream after a dream, like the impossible dream that you have that you know isn’t going to come true. Of course there was a lot of push back from members of the UNSC because of how young I was, and how inexperienced , but in the end the GA insisted.”

“You lucky bastard.” She muttered

“Yeah.” he muttered his voice going soft.

He shifted a bit closer resting his head on her arm like a pillow. She glanced down he raised an eyebrow in the half darkness, “What, might as well make you useful while I can.” She shook her head at him and he just grinned before blinking and reaching up to point at another set of stars, “Ursa minor….. And that one over there is Pegasus.”

Sunny followed his finger, but couldn’t make out more than the greater star field. She did manage to see ursa minor after a few minutes, and then after that, she couldn’t see anything else.

They talked a little more, and laughed about dumb shit.

She liked this pastime.

They didn’t do this sort of thing on Anum

Mostly because they were too busy killing each other to care.

But here the humans were pointing at the sky and finding pictures in the stars.

Kind of adorable.

397 notes · View notes

dreadnought-dear-captain · 5 years

Text

‘Til the End of the Line (or Not) OR: See? We TOLD You “No Homo.” Love, Markus and McFeely

*****WARNING: 99.9% SALT!! Contains spoilers for Avengers Endgame!!****

I guess this is part two of my personal processing of Endgame. @pitchforkcentral86 was not satisfied by my timey-wimey Endgame post, which centered on Steve’s choice to go back in time to be with Peggy and the implications of that choice. She remarked that yeah, it’s great that Steve might not be a total piece of crap, Pym particles, yada yada, whatever, but it still didn’t make her feel any less despair over this ending.

The source of her agony: Steve and Bucky’s relationship and its utter lack of satisfying resolution. So I shall address that now, because I think I feel worse about that than anything, and I can’t explain it away with Pym particles.

Anyone who has any investment at all in the relationship between Bucky and Steve — whether you are a Stucky person or whether you view them as platonic but deeply connected best friends — has probably had to spend the last two movies scraping around the floor, searching for crumbs, signs, any hints that these two people care about each other. We have been begging the Russos, the screenwriters Markus and McFeely, anyone who would listen, for anything to suggest that they are even on the barest of speaking terms, let alone that they have the intensity of relationship that the MCU spent 3+ movies explicitly convincing us that they have. I’ll even come out and say that although I ship Stucky in fandom and fic hardcore, I am not an MCU canon Stucky person per se. I’m 100% fine if the MCU wants to treat this as a deep, fraternal friendship. In fact, I see some benefits to this interpretation. How wonderful if men could love each other so deeply and have it NOT be sexual or romantic. But I’m also 100% fine with people interpreting this as romantic love, and there were times throughout this franchise where the actors, various parties in production, and Marvel itself has been agnostic on the subject, if not encouraging of gay interpretations of their relationship. Let it be what you want, fans have been told. Or just flat out post a pic of Steve and Bucky on #National Boyfriend Day like Civil War comic writer Mark Millar. Sure. At times, it almost felt safe to ship them. As soon as Civil War drew to a close, however, it started becoming... inconvenient for Bucky and Steve to be together. Steve needs to go to the Raft. Bucky needs to go into cryo. Steve needs to become Nomad and go secret avenging. Bucky needs to do his Vibranium Brain Magic (TM)/goat herding complex PTSD recovery program. Side note: Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) is my provisional diagnosis based on virtually nothing, because Bucky’s character has gotten so little substantive screen time that we can only guess at his psychological state, save what can be conveyed through glistening eyes and woobieface and “... but I did it.” Wow. Bowl me over, you really got me right in the McFeelys. Though +1000 to SebStan for working what he got to work with to the max. That motherfucker can act. We know for certain approximately jack shit about Bucky’s internal experience post-Winter Soldier. And so, like pretty much everything with Bucky and this friendship/ship arc, I will just guess at what is actually wrong with him. But after 70 years as a POW being tortured and possibly gaslit and definitely brainwashed, that is almost the textbook recipe for complex PTSD, so imma go with that. Returning to this distance. Now, it first appears to be largely logistical in nature. Steve is over here, Bucky is over there. Golly, just too busy to hang these days. All this secret avenging without you. And when we pine — pine — for the meaningful reunion of these two in IW, instead we got a “Hey brah, how's it hanging?” “You know, old and traumatized lol” exchange and a “let’s make sure our dicks don’t touch” back-slappy hug that lasted two seconds. This is without any hint as to whether these two have seen each other yet after Bucky’s de-thawing, leaving us to wonder whether this is really the big reunion we have been waiting for.

(If we had audio, the sound would be 70% slapping.)

I’m going to pause here, because for many of us, this was devastating. After all, we were left with this shot of Steve as Bucky made the choice to go into cryo, a choice that seemed only somewhat justifiable on the vague grounds of “I can’t trust my own mind.” (Me either, pal.)

Ugh.

Perhaps this was also an avoidance strategy — easier to go back on ice than deal with the emotional fallout of what just happened. And who could blame him? He is probably still relearning how to cope effectively with things after his entire coping system was destroyed by his time with Hydra. But Steve was clearly disappointed or, at the very least, saddened by this. He gets something back just to lose it again. Enter distance. He leaves and goes avenging. Emotionally, perhaps this move to cryo created distance as well. Their relationship was on such fragile ground at this point, mostly an artifact from the ‘40s, and their chance to deepen it was taken away by the writers because Bucky wanted to go on ice for reasons and Steve needed to do Steve things. And so when IW rolled around, oh, did we want them to have a substantive reunion. But alas, we did not get that. We saw equally substantive exchanges between Bucky and Sam or Rocket and far more substantive exchanges between Steve and pretty much anyone else. And then we got the ultimate separation — (fake) death. Again. A traumatic, unplanned loss that costs another five years from their timeline, all before they even got the chance to properly re-establish a friendship. Again, I’m going off of what we actually see portrayed, not off of what we assume or would like to see. We have absolutely no idea how much Steve and Bucky interacted in Wakanda. But Steve busted Sam out of the Raft quite early, early enough that he still had a messed up face from the time Tony went in (unless he was getting beatings on the reg, which is possible). So if he was hanging with Sam since before Bucky went on ice, and Sam just visited Wakanda for the first time in IW, either Steve was borrowing the Quinjet to secretly visit Wakanda on his own to hang with Bucky, or he hadn’t been back to Wakanda since he left the first time.

Regarding Steve visiting Wakanda between CW and IW — I found this bullshit from Markus and McFeely on the subject of whether Steve and Bucky met or talked prior to IW. The writers could not even agree about their own characters, with one saying that Steve and his crew probably visited Wakanda and hung out with Bucky and the other saying, eh, the two of them “maybe Skyped.” As to the former, this is not at all supported by the narrative or by logic. Infinity War is clearly Sam’s first time in Wakanda, with all that drama about “zomg you’re gonna hit those trees, bro!” as they are flying into the city. And why would Steve leave his team alone and vulnerable, probably taking the Quinjet, their only form of reliable and safe transportation, so he could go visit Bucky alone? He’s not there for a booty call, y’all, because these guys have barely even rekindled their friendship. Moreover, the other secret avengers know how important Bucky is to Steve. This isn’t a secret. There would be no reason to go alone and no reason for T’Challa to forbid Nat, Sam, and Wanda from coming to Wakanda. So it makes no sense that Steve has visited Wakanda prior to IW, and thus, that would make IW their first meeting, which is… utter and heartbreaking garbage. But at least they had motherfucking SKYPE. MAYBE. Fuck. You. Very. Much.

So, in the face of this shit reunion and Bucky’s subsequent dusting, some of us kindled hope for the upcoming Endgame. Perhaps we would get flashbacks. We knew there would be flashbacks or time travel because we saw stuff in the trailers and sneak peeks from the set. So maybe there would be something there to account for the utter lack of attention to their relationship in Infinity War. Again, this was the mere request that Markus and McFeely and the directors acknowledge wholeheartedly what they have been building for these characters since the beginning of their time in the MCU. This was not even strictly about Stucky. This was about doing justice for these characters as humans. But there were no flashbacks. Who knows what happened in Wakanda. We will have to fill in the blanks on our own. Not a single comment could be spared to even signal whether the IW Wakanda scene was their first time seeing each other since cryo. “How’s that new arm treating you?” or “God, it’s been so long”/deep emotion would be all it would have taken to not keep us wondering one way or the other. This suggests a lack of consideration to the fans of these characters and this relationship — which, again, Markus and McFeely slaved to get us to pour our hearts into. So… Endgame. What was that? Bucky and Steve didn’t stand next to each other at Tony’s funeral. Okay. Bucky is not an A-list Avenger. He did kill Tony’s parents. Awkward. Bucky was comforted by Sam, his… guy he sat behind in the Volkswagen in Civil War and fought next to in IW, and he needed comfort apparently (?) because he… killed Martha and Howard Stark (??), which was sweet, and much more spontaneous affection than we’ve seen from Steve in an age, but what the actual fuck??? Was that Mickey Mouse standing behind the Iron Man 3 kid wearing a “Falcon and Winter Soldier” miniseries t-shirt?

And that ending. This was maybe the one implied nugget of friendship between them visible with an electron microscope. They obviously had at least one deep conversation about Steve deviating from the plan to go have a life, and they obviously had a discussion about who would succeed him as Cap. My dreams of Bucky Cap were dashed into dust, but as @pitchforkcentral86 said, it would have been cruel to give it to Bucky. Bucky would possibly have taken it if Steve kicked the bucket in EG, but it makes the most sense to be passed along in a planned way to Sam. So maybe they had at least one good conversation. Way, way off camera. Bucky said he would miss him. Recycled TFA line. Thank God it was not involving the words “jerk” and “punk.” Glistening woobie eyes. Steve leaving to go be with the one person who can make him feel like a whole human being, apparently, because there is nothing and nobody tethering him to this time in history anymore.

Whoa— wait— WHAT??? These are the moments where I literally double check the credits for the Cap movies to make sure that it says “Markus and McFeely.” Then I check the latest Avengers movies to make sure they also say “Markus and McFeely.” And they ALL DO!! The same two men painstakingly crafted the story of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, two men who — let’s be literal in the narrative here, for the sake of making a conservative argument — are best friends from childhood. They hammered on this story HARD, making sure that their relationship was so strong that by the time 2016 rolled around, the depth and intensity of their friendship and Steve’s commitment to it would tear the Avengers apart. And along the way, something else happened.

When you put two people in relationship like this, you have to know that there will be consequences. People will grow very emotionally invested in their relationship, because that is exactly what the writers were asking the audience to do. These dudes did their job, all right! And then something else happened, quite easily, even though these things will also happen under much harsher conditions: Stucky. Winter Soldier alone probably launched a hundred thousand ships for these two — gay, gay ships, so very gay, the glitteriest, gayest of cruise liners — from a hundred thousand ports around the globe. This ship has permeated pop culture even outside the fandom (some dumb gross man jokes from Screen Junkies within, but the Stucky shenanigans start at around 3:15).

And perhaps that’s when Markus and McFeely realized what a monster they created, one that would clash in ugly ways with their forthcoming (heterosexual) narrative, — their endgame for Steve. And so what did they do? Overcorrect. Wildly. Pull the plug. Bucky and Steve can’t fall out as friends completely, but what’s the next best thing? Give them almost zero screen time together, lest anyone be tempted to think they have a serious relationship — and again, I’m just talking friendship at this point, let alone anything else. Make their lines devoid of substance. Keep us wondering about the nature of their dynamic. Did the distance grow too great? Is Bucky not able to reconnect with anyone? Is Steve too busy? Too salty?? Who knows! These are possibilities, but none are explained. Then just poof Bucky off the face of the earth for 5 years to create existential distance. And in the meantime, ensure that Bucky is shown as not even a passing thought for Steve Rogers. Ensure that his name is never once uttered by Steve until he is about to leave him to go be with Peggy — oh except when, in a real dick move, when he emotionally whumps his past self with the news that Bucky is alive for the sole purpose of getting out of a stranglehold. At the same time, ensure that Steve is seen becoming single-mindedly fixated on Peggy Carter, and make sure the audience — including all those pesky Stucky shippers — knows that he considers her the “love of his life.” Ensure we see the compass with increasing frequency and with maximum longing. Insert Steve finding the absurd photograph of himself on the Director of SHIELD’s desk, facing the door for any junior colleague to see her pining over him like a schoolgirl long after he died, which is just about the least Peggy Carter thing I can ever imagine (and these people created and wrote for the Agent Carter TV series!!!).

Then give us our first openly gay person in the MCU. And drop him in the same scene that you confirm once and for all that Peggy Carter is the love of Steve Rogers’ life. Have Steve be so fucking cool with it that he makes us proud and relieved that he’s not a homophobe. Whew! Only… it makes us feel kind of gross, and maybe we can’t quite figure out why at first. But maybe it’s because it feels personal, like a concession, like the writers and director knew exactly what they were doing to a lot of people who feel a very specific way about Steve’s sexuality and about his relationship with Bucky Barnes. It feels like a tone deaf nod to the fandom. Sorry, guys. No homo. We really did try to warn you with the whole Sharon Carter thing. (Sharon Carter, in an act of gross and misogynistic misuse, remains one of the most criminally mistreated characters in the entire MCU, arguably serving almost entirely as a “no homo” device before being completely discarded, never to be heard from again.)

Which got me thinking — was this move to distance Steve and Bucky so abruptly a reactive move? The divide between Steve and Bucky that happens in IW and EG feels so cold and inorganic. It does not feel at all driven by the natural arc of the characters as established by the creators themselves. It feels rushed and confusing, like it just needed to happen for plot convenience (though not even clearly that), and once again, we are left trying to figure out what the fuck is actually going on.

Part of that is probably needing to lay the groundwork for Steve’s feelings of alienation, which lead him to his ultimate choice to go back in time. He can’t feel too connected to Bucky or he won’t want to go back to be with Peggy. But could part of this also possibly be a reaction to how strongly Stucky was adopted by the public? Did Markus and McFeely realize how much more strongly we love the idea of Steve and Bucky — as friends or lovers, who cares? — rather than Steve and Peggy, which was probably their ending for Steve all along? Did they realize their terrible mistake of bringing them so close, endearing them to us so much, and then realize “OH SHIT,” and then slam on the brakes? Is that why IW and EG felt like absolute shit for their relationship, even for those who are not total endgame Stucky people?

Okay, but what if their friendship just ran its course? Friendships do that, even really deep ones. These two have had a huge chronological and experiential rift that never was really healed (thanks to our dear writers). Steve saved Bucky’s life thrice but they never really reconnected. Presumably. As far as we know in the narrative we are given by the writers. Okay. Let’s say you need to get Steve back with Peggy and for Bucky to become pals with Sam instead because contracts and actors. Whatever. Fine. But if you are going to play the “our friendship has come and gone” card, you need to fully PLAY IT. You can’t make it some vague option that might be true because we can’t figure out what the hell is going on. They need to have an actual conversation. For fuck’s sake, if we have time to fuck around with Korg and Miek on the couch and time to have Banner take selfies with kids and do stupid time gags and a bunch of other little shit, there is enough time to have a brief conversation somewhere to imply that “things have changed” or “people change” or something to imply that the writers were even thinking about the course of Bucky and Steve’s relationship as more than just a platform to launch Steve back to Peggy and launch Bucky toward Sam for their spinoff series.

There was just no depth. How can they give us three movies composed almost entirely of Mariana Trench levels of depth between these two men and then give us virtually nothing in IW and then next to nothing in EG to “round out” their entire storyline? The shape of the emotional momentum in this relationship is so wonky and dissatisfying, and the lack of comment on the dissolution of their friendship in the narrative, the fact that it isn’t even being acknowledged, is one of the worst parts. This relationship died without being honored or even attended to at the most basic level, after being told that it is perhaps the most important relationship in Steve and Bucky’s lifetimes and being shown evidence of that fact.

Moreover, let’s get real — calling Peggy the love of Steve’s life should do nothing to diminish his friendship with Bucky Barnes. That’s not how love works. You don’t just get one person. You can have a best friend — hell, you can have two best friends — and a woman you love. (And even moreover, you don’t have to leap back through time to find closeness just because you can. But that’s another matter with Steve’s character that I will address in a future speculative character analysis on Steve in an effort to explain how he got to this point, because I have a super depressing head canon about it involving traumatic grief and loss.)

But just like comic book science, perhaps there are comic book rules about love and affinity. You only get one person, and Steve gets Peggy. And apparently Bucky gets Sam. Because contracts. But as I said before, I would have been okay if they had a dissolution of their friendship because that was the course of their friendship. Just tell us what is happening. Have the decency to respect your characters by giving their relationship a true arc, whatever it is. You can’t just recycle a TFA line and call it an arc. That is not an arc. Markus and McFeely goddamn know better and we know they know better, because we just saw a beautiful relationship arc closing with Tony and Pepper and, on a smaller scale, with Tony and Peter fucking Parker.

By the way, the small in-person and symbolic interactions between Tony and Peter in EG? Those are what high quality, emotionally salient, brief interactions between people who care about each other look like.

1. Tony’s picture of Peter in his kitchen: He can see from where he does his dishes. He looks at it meaningfully and thoughtfully before making a major plot-essential decision that risks his way of life.

2. Tony and Peter’s reunion hug: It starts off with some humor and classic Peter rambling. Becomes a full-ass, real hug. Nobody slaps the other’s back. Peter remarks, very sincerely, “oh, this is nice.” <3

3. Tony’s death scene: Peter is visibly and truly wrecked. Tony looks at him in a heartfelt way. Words are unnecessary. It is perfect.

Bonus IW moment, because it is one of the most moving images I have seen in the MCU: Tony has Peter’s ashes in his goddamn mouth, eyes closed. Defeated.

Jesus Christ. Don’t tell me Markus and McFeely don’t know how to write characters and brief, powerful interactions, even when the characters are not together. They most certainly are very, very capable of this.

So why did we get the lifeless, quippy drivel and lame physical contact they gave Bucky and Steve in IW and EG? Which, regarding their last convo, was Bucky spilling his guts and Steve being like “Yeah brah, you’ll be fine, don’t be a fucking idiot while I’m off being happy with the only person in the universe who can make me complete #surprisesoulmates.” Bucky offers his quippy mandatory TFA callback retort so that the audience remembers that these two once gave an actual fuck about each other at one point in the narrative. Cue slappy-back-no-dick-touch hug. And please don’t tell me that this is just how men from the ‘40s hug. I would buy that for TFA, but after everything they’ve been through in Winter Soldier and Civil War? I am not buying it.

**Slap-slap**

So we get a Steve Rogers who exits the MCU permanently by making a contentious, questionable final choice with questionable implications that take a graduate degree and/or a hive mind to questionably figure out (or else I’m just a fucking idiot and I’m the only one who needed those things). And we also get the profoundly dissatisfying demise of a relationship that we invested a tremendous amount of emotional energy in because that is what the screenwriters and directors asked us to do.

I am not writing this as a diehard Stucky shipper. I love Stucky, don’t get me wrong. It’s all I read and write in fandom. And I can certainly buy a world (at least, in Caps 1-3) where canon Steve’s love for Bucky is the gay kind and vice versa. Sure. But I am writing this as a person who loves good characters and good story, and this is such a hard fail that even if I had no emotional investment in these two characters, I would wonder what Markus and McFeely had against Steve and Bucky that they let their garden succumb to drought while they tended so considerately to Tony and Peter and Tony and Pepper and Steve and Natasha and Steve and a dead woman and Thor and Bruce and Thor and fucking Rocket, pretty much all of whom (with the exception of Tony and Pepper) have had so much less at stake, so much less time invested, and so much less of a reason for the audience to give a fuck.

But more importantly, I am writing this as a lover of Steve and Bucky, two people who have a well-established, rock-solid, indisputable human relationship that deserves so much more than what it got, especially given all of the unspeakable suffering these men have experienced separately and as a byproduct of their separation. Canonically. This is not made up fandom shippery superimposed upon Markus and McFeely’s precious creation. This is the truth of these two men as determined by the hands of the creators who also neglected them into nothingness, which is arguably a fate far worse than one or both of them dying an actual, final death.

I am left feeling disappointed and betrayed as a fan, wishing, as others have confided in me, that I was more of a Tony person and had been all along. Because then I would be walking away from this still grief-stricken, but at least it would be for the right reasons.

I will leave you with this, arguably one of the last in-character moments for Bucky and Steve in the MCU.

#avengers endgame #salt #endgame spoilers #avengers spoilers #meta

283 notes · View notes

yoongi-sugaglider · 5 years

Text

Seek and Destroy

Pairing: Namjoon x reader featuring ot7 and Monsta X though not specifically by individual member name

Warnings: None really? Mild violence, bomb explosions, member injury, heavy sports junk (The angst Queen did it to em I’m sorry lol)

Word count: 2609

Au: sports/ Halo aka grifball. Futuristic twist on rugby

A/n: Okay so I know not many will understand the ins and outs of the Halo universe unless you’re a gamer lol. Keeping that in mind I tried hard to make it as comprehensive as possible without losing the substance of the plot. A special shout out to @crystaljins for the beta read lol Ya girl almost chickened out until she came through with the confidence boost. Thank you so much chica~ And on that note I hope you all enjoy!

***

The roar of the stadium crowd echoed in his ears. A distant cacophony that rang through the concrete tunnels protecting the anxious man and his equally unnerved teammates. He ran a trembling hand through the short cropped blonde hair at the base of his neck, turning to his team in the hopes of lightening the mood.

“This is it boys. The finals has been a long time coming but we’re here because we’re the best of the best. We’ve squashed every team that stood before us. Those crowds out there?” he punctuated his statement by jabbing his thumb towards the exit. “They’re cheering for us! It’s Bangtan they want! Are we going to give it to them!?”

He glanced around, taking in the various answering cheers of the team as a whole.

Yoongi, their goalie, was checking the straps of his reinforced suit, ensuring that the specialized titanium composite body suit protecting his vital organs was undamaged before beginning the process of putting on the various components to the outer shell. Jimin and Taehyung, two of their center backs, were joking and hugging as they cheered and chanted in singsong voices.

Jin, and Hoseok, their center forwards, were distributing the fuel canisters to ensure that everyone’s rocket packs were properly fueled. And then there was y/n, his fellow center forward.

She smiled up at him, sliding an armoured glove through the military cut of her hair before sending him a thumbs up that was meant more to reassure him than it was to show that she was ready.

“Remember boys. We are at war.” Namjoon growled as he banged the steel plate covering his chest. “Monsta X may think they’re prepared for us. But we’re gonna show them why we’re Bulletproof!”

A resounding cheer echoed through the hall as the last member of their team arrived, pushing the massive cart sporting their gravity hammers along the hall and distributing them accordingly.

“Jungkookie! You’re late man!” Taehyung joked, patting the backup goalie roughly on the back as he reached out to grab the Gucci patterned grav hammer that belonged to him.

“Yah! I can’t help it! I had to shove my way through a bunch of reporters just to get here. I swear you would think we had won already with the way they were acting.” Jungkook grinned as he handed y/n her hammer.

She took it with a nod, inspecting the handle to make sure that it was powered up and ready to go. The weapon moved easily in her skilled hands, weighing close to 85 pounds and yet slicing through the air like a chef’s knife through a tuna filet.

A moment of pride filled him as his eyes followed those around him. They’d come a long way to get to where they were today. From injuries early on when their equipment wasn’t rated to deal with explosions, to almost being torn apart as a team when rumors ran rampant after an incident between Yoongi and another goalie on an opposing team.

They'd made mistakes, plenty of them to be sure. But the most important thing was that at the end of the day they were family. Had been since they'd been on a squad together in the war that ended 8 years ago. These were their retirement days, and yet they still faced danger, still fought together, and would lay down their lives for each other, Namjoon wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Hyung. We’ve got 2 till contact.” Taehyung interrupted his thoughts, handing the captain his helmet before sliding his own on and locking it into place.

“Saddle up ladies! We move out at 0600. Get your gear and get moving!” Namjoon’s voice had taken on a hard edge, adrenaline lacing the nerves trailing along his fingers and stilling the trembling he hadn’t even realized had taken over until it quit.

The team moved together like a well oiled machine, taking hold of their weapons and banging them into their chest plates before moving towards the exit.

The former space marine grinned, shoving the high tech helmet onto his head and locking into place until the Heads Up Display flickered into view and gave him a map of the entire arena they were about to enter.

***

The roar of the crowd increased, stadium lights reflecting on bright blue armour as Bangtan stepped onto the field.

Namjoon waved, grinning beneath the protection of his armour as his well disciplined team lined up at their end of the field.

“Ladies and gentlemen! We are here today to celebrate an amazing feat! The match up of the millenia!”

He tuned the rest of the announcer’s speech out, choosing to glance across the field to take in the glaring red armour of the opposing team.

Monsta X. They’d not been on the grifball scene nearly as long as Bangtan had, but they’d fought together in the Covenant War almost a decade before.

Namjoon remembered well their leader Shownu’s ability to strategize in the heat of battle. Clearly picturing the last battle they’d been in and how Shownu had quite literally carried an injured Jungkook off the battlefield while ensuring that both teams escaped into the alien planet’s early morning sunrise and to safety.

Namjoon respected him to be sure. But past experiences had to be put to the side. He was no longer a Spartan officer. No. He was the captain of a team of ruthless players. And as the final countdown began he knew the others felt the same way that he did. This was their chance to finally unleash. To be able to face an opponent as skilled as they were, to battle like they used to in a life or death situation with no way of knowing what the end result would be.

They loved the feeling, they lived for it. And no matter how this match turned out they would finally feel complete.

The clock ticked out each second, inciting the crowd into a fevered pitch, filling the stadium and the surrounding city with a deafening shout of almost feral proportions.

Namjoon waved to his team as it came close to time, signaling them to ignite their jet packs.

The building rumbled as the floor began dropping away, causing those on the field to now rely on their jetpacks to keep them in view of the stands. At the same time the audience seats began to rise, powered by massive pistons that lifted the seats into the air as huge almost building sized monitors flickered to life. The monitors showed various positions on the field, each focused on ensuring those in the arena as well as those watching at home would be able to see the full extent of the match.

A loud buzzer resounded through the air, signalling the start of the match as a massive round bomb was shot high into the air. Namjoon moved quickly, signalling to his partner to grab the bomb as he powered up his gravity hammer in preparation to defend her.

Y/n managed to reach the bomb, snagging it and whooping in glory through their shared comms as her armour sizzled a bright orange color to signal to those watching that she was now in possession of the coveted item.

The field erupted into chaos, three members of Monsta X having decided to take on Yoongi in an attempt to render him immobilized and Bangtan’s goal undefended. Jimin and Taehyung moved quickly to defend him. Taehyung shot high into the air, letting out a war cry as Jimin flew down low. As one they converged, forcing two of the opposing team to swerve away from the goal at the last minute as Yoongi took the last on on his own.

The man seemed to have underestimated the shorter goalie. Yoongi wielded his hammer with ease, waiting for the man to come just within reach. As he swung his hammer Yoongi took full advantage of the high tech armour he was wearing. Lithe body flipping through the air with barely a thought as his warrior reflexes caught the man in the back of his head with the gravity hammer.

The poor fool’s body shot across the arena, catching the barrier of his own goal with his ankle and spinning off into the bleachers. Taehyung cheered, saluting Yoongi with his hammer before turning back to assist Hoseok in keeping others off of Namjoon’s back.

The orange armoured Spartan meanwhile had been surrounded. She floated in the center of the arena, back to back with Jin who was flailing his hammer back and forth in an attempt to keep those trying to steal the bomb at bay.

"Jin come on, focus!”

Y/n elbowed her senior officer in the side, causing him to pause in his rapid and random movements to really assess the situation around him.

The match proceeded rather quickly. After a hasty play call by Namjoon, Jin and Y/n managed to shake off their opponents and scored with a resounding explosion that the unfortunate goalie hadn’t been quick enough to avoid.

Namjoon breathed a huge sigh of relief as the medics cleared him to continue playing, thankful that the protective armour that protected the sport’s players was the military grade that’d always been their signature on the battlefield.

He signaled to his crew, letting them know to set up for the next bomb to be deployed. His attention was caught by Yoongi who seemed to be reclining in between the goal posts.

“Hyung!!! Really? Taking a nap in the second round???” Taehyung seemed to have caught on to what Namjoon was glaring at as his voice was layered with a high pitched irritation.

There were grumbled words over the muffled coms and Yoongi waved in Taehyung’s direction just as the bomb launched into the air to signal the start of the second round.

It was a mad rush to the bomb, one that unfortunately Bangtan lost with a series of well placed swings of the hydraulically enhanced battle hammers of Monsta X.

Jimin shot forward, dealing a glancing blow that knocked an opponent out of his way. He smirked beneath his helmet, a loud growl echoing through the coms as he seroed in on the two red suits attempting to pin Taehyung down midfield.

He barely registered the play by play of the announcer, instead honing in on the reserve fuel lines glowing bright blue against metallic red paint.

“Taehyung! DUCK!”

His brother in arms reacted without hesitation, cutting the ignition of his jet pack just long enough to drop thirty feet through the air.

With a battle cry Jimin swung, clipping the supply line of one of the men and sending him careening into his own teammate and out of play for the moment.

Taehyung cheered Jimin’s actions, patting him on the back in appreciation as they raced back into the game.

Jin meanwhile was attempting to redeem his earlier hesitation, battling it out with a red suit as if this were a real battle and his life depended on it. An overhead swing clipped his opponents shoulder, forcing him to almost drop his own weapon. Before the man could respond Jin was swinging up, catching the man in the jaw and almost knocking him out cold.

“Jin! On your six!” Hoseok shouted as he came up behind his elder.

A member of Monsta X had been intent on catching Jin off guard but Hoseok caught on quickly, smashing into the man with his shoulder and shoving him well past Jin who smashed his hammer down on the man’s back. If it weren’t for the protection of the armour this would have destroyed the man’s spine, instead only shoving him down towards the floor of the arena and rendering him timed out of the match for a matter of 15 seconds.

Namjoon battled it out side by side with his girl, grabbing her hand and swinging her through the air in front of him to launch her towards the orange suited man that’d quickly made his way towards their goal.

“Yoongi! Watch out!!!” She screamed, attempting to garner his attention.

He’d unfortunately come under attack, having been virtually pinned down in the safety of his own goal as he battled off the remaining member of the opposing team.

She watched on in horror as the orange suit launched the bomb across the field. It breached the barrier between the goals posts, ticking rapidly as the enemy launched themselves out of the way.

Yoongi hadn’t seen the bomb and was unaware, turning only at the last second to stare at the device as it exploded.

He was launched through the air, smashing neck first into one of the goal posts before dropping to the ground below.

“YOONGI!!” A collective roar echoed through the communication system as the bulk of Bangtan raced to his rescue, dropping from the skies like flies and landing around him as the medics quickly set to work attending to his injury.

Jungkook rushed from the sidelines where he’d been observing the match, helmet and hammer already in hand as he joined the group to wait out the medical team’s diagnosis.

“He’s going to be fine. The fall unfortunately broke both bones in his left leg. He’s also got a concussion and several minor cuts that we’ll be treating immediately.”

Namjoon nodded as the others sighed in relief, though his eyes burned with fervor as he watched his elder and battle buddy get carted off the field.

He turned to his team, barely registering as the crowd screamed and cheered at the raised wave of Yoongi.

“We’re ending this. Now.” Namjoon’s orders left no room for objection, though those around him would have never said anything against their fearless leader.

“Jimin take point. Phalanx form up.”

They rose into the air, patiently awaiting the countdown to announce the resumption of the match.

At Namjoon’s signal the team moved as one, forming a solid line of titanium and muscle around Jimin and moving forward across the field at a fearsome pace. Hammers worked in unison, swinging and smashing the opposing team as they tried to break the line.

Namjoon roared into the coms, signalling Taehyung and Hoseok to break rank as Jimin streaked forward like a bullet. The young soldier acted on instinct, dodging a player with a roll in mid air before launching the bomb at the goal more than 15 feet away.

It struck with a clang that echoed through the stadium, beginning the 3 second countdown.

“Move out!” Hoseok shouted, shoving an opponent out of the way with a resolute swing of his hammer before tackling Jin out of the way.

The arena went quiet, a unified breath being held as two of the opponents attempted to race towards the goal to knock the bomb out of the way.

But they were too late.

An explosion rocked the arena, smoke and flames billowing forth to encase the field and obscure the players from view.

A moment longer of silence as the smoke cleared, blown away to reveal a victorious Bangtan standing at attention as they faced the crowd in a resolute circle. Jungkook flew to the side lines, offering the injured Yoongi a hand and helping him to the center of the circle.

Namjoon turned instantly, shouting a clipped “Atteeennn Hut!” Into the comms before saluting the injured warrior. As one the others saluted as well, moves well polished and practiced hundreds of times before. And yet this salute felt different.

More a salute to the ending of a chapter in their lives. Or the beginning of a new one.

30 notes · View notes

eldritchsurveys · 6 years

Text

o81.

[[ Random Survey Questions // By @x-hallie-x ]] 1. When was the last time you realized something about yourself, your abilities, or your financial situation that left you feeling disappointed? >> I’m not sure. I feel like I’ve got a pretty solid perception of my financial situation, and considering it’s the best it’s been since I’ve hit adulthood, I can’t imagine being too disappointed (except when new video games come out lmao but half the time I buy them anyway because... like, I can, for once, and my brain goblins can’t prevent me from treating myself forever!). As far as my mental state is concerned, Can Calah won’t let me beat myself up about that, so entertaining any sort of disappointment in myself is out of the question.

2. Generally, are you more likely to blame others or yourself for problems you experience? >> Generally, I’m more likely to blame myself than others. But I don’t think that’s any better than blaming others. I am as much a product of my environment and the other people in my life as I am a product of whatever wild magical shit happens to make brains the way they are. I can control what I can control, but a lot of things about my life are out of my control. Finding things to place blame on really just doesn’t help me fix things, so I don’t care who’s to blame, I care how it can be fixed/helped.

3. What is one thing about your life that you don’t ever see changing, even if you might wish it would? >> I probably will never be a person that is gainfully employed or self-sufficient. And, honestly, that would hurt me more if I didn’t have someone who is gainfully employed and self-sufficient who is willing to use that for both of our benefit. I was basically convinced that everyone in this country is out for whatever they can get for themselves, and if I can’t keep up with that, then I’m not worth keeping around. I’d been convinced that people saw me as a leech who just existed to suck up all their resources, and had nothing of value to offer in return. It’s a very insidious mentality to have absorbed, but the longer I’m here, the less power it has over me, so I guess I do have her to thank for that.

4. At what point in your life have you been the most social or had the most friendships? And at which point have you been the least social? >> I guess when I lived in NYC, in general. I had a couple of persistent social circles: the Streetwork LES crew (homeless/destitute youth who went to the drop-in center on the Lower East Side called Streetwork), and the vamp scene crew (self-styled “vampyres” who participated in a big underground subculture, subdivided themselves into Houses and Clans, and threw a lot of parties). Most of those people weren’t what I’d call my friends, per se -- we were very friendly, sure, and I had a lot of good times with them, but most of those people didn’t really measure up to what I’d want out of friendship (and the rest were just casual acquaintances). I guess now is when I’ve been the least social; I know almost no one out here and the people I do know are really just... friendly acquaintances, I guess? Social-media buddies? We don’t really know things about each other, you know, like friends do... I don’t know. At this age, I don’t know how friendships form and I don’t know how to find out. The Internet is where my friends are now and I guess that’s just the way it has to be until I figure out something else (or until I move to a less socially-uptight area).

5. Do you prefer to have a few close friends or a bunch of random acquaintances? Which would describe what you have now? >> I’d like to have a mix of both. I just like to have people to be social with, in a variety of ways. Like I had in New York... Right now, I don’t know what I have. I’m kinda off this subject because it depresses me, ngl, no offence to anyone.

6. Do you journal? Generally, what do you write about? Do you find it helpful to get your thoughts out that way, or do you prefer another form of self-expression? >> I used to journal. I used to be really into journalling. But I guess, instead of trying to stick to the same practices I used to do, maybe I ought to recognise that my instinct to journal has been diverted into other forms of media -- like keeping a tumblr, and taking surveys. These all exist as records of my life -- as proof that I was here, that I existed, that these things happened to me. The internet enables me to keep a multimedia record of my existence, and that’s actually more than I could expect from just one paper journal, or whatever. Journalling (on various journal sites especially) was indeed a helpful way for me to get my thoughts out, but I guess now I just talk to Can Calah instead. I think I got put off writing my thoughts down because my instinct is to keep stuff like that public, because it’s all me and I am an open book, but then people (not just one person, either, this is just a thing people do in general, and I guess it’s understandable but oh my god) would get upset about stuff later and it’d just get messy. So I got put off being emotional on the internet because it backfired on me a lot lmao. I’m working on getting over it.

7. Do you like eating foods that other people have cooked for you, or do you prefer to have control over your meals? >> I do like eating food that other people have cooked for me -- as long as it’s food I like. And as long as it isn’t like... some kind of social trap. Like, I was annoyed with Sparrow’s mother for a few months because she wasn’t respecting my boundaries and always had some stupid shit to say about me to Sparrow and I don’t play that fucking shit. So I basically stopped being nice to her. And she kept trying to do stuff like... like Easter dinner, she made it “Southern-style” and made collards and banana pudding and shit. And like, this is a Midwestern White(tm) we’re talking about. That’s not the kind of stuff she naturally makes for any occasion. And she told Sparrow that she’d asked around (I guess at her job??? or something?) about what Black people eat on holidays??? And Sparrow’s like “but you could have just asked Logan if there was any dishes he wanted to be served”. Like, it’s not fucking rocket science, I’m right here. But she’ll always do shit like that, trying to ingratiate herself, when it’s not that fucking hard!!!! Don’t touch me, don’t talk about me to my fiancée behind my back, and ask me things directly!!!! WOW! SO HARD! (Also, the banana pudding was a fucking miss because bananas are one of like 3 foods on this entire planet that I don’t like. Which... she would have known... if she’d asked me first. But no, it was just all “oh I did this, I did that, he’s not grateful” bitch I DIDN’T ASK FOR ANY OF THIS. STOP IT.) Anyway, shit like that I hate. But people making food for me in general is great, because I hate cooking.

8. Have you ever been somewhere and REALLY didnt like a food that you were expected to eat? How did you deal with this? Are you someone who is likely to suck it up and be polite or refuse and save your taste buds? >> Yeah, that same Easter holiday I just mentioned. The collards were terrible, the fish was meh, and everything else was food I don’t care for (cheesy potatoes and that kinda starch-heavy fare). So I basically drank wine and played on my phone the whole time. As you can see, politeness is not something I feel compelled to give if I don’t want to.

9. What is one way in which you compare yourself to others? In this comparison, do you regard yourself as better or worse off than the people to whom you usually do the comparing? >> Well, I compare myself to other fanwriters a lot, because it’s something I can’t help. I don’t think I’m a bad writer. I’ve been writing literally all of my conscious life, and I’ve watched myself progress. I’m generally pretty fair about my strengths and weaknesses in writing. When my confidence is where it’s supposed to be, and I’ve been writing often, I turn out some pretty good shit. I like my work. But my confidence took a big hit at some point lately, and I’m not sure why. All I know is that I feel like my offerings to fandom are like... boring to people, or not interesting enough, or??? I don’t know. And I feel like I don’t have any stories worth telling anymore. These are all feelings and really not based in any sort of reality, because my friends and partner tell me they like my work and my OCs, and tumblr as a whole is so astoundingly saturated with fanwork that the lack of interest most likely has nothing to do with my content and more to do with the fact that the market is full up and people don’t have time. I know all that, but when I sit down and go “okay, self, let’s write a fic”, all these mental blocks land in my path and I get too tired to deal with it and just scroll my dash instead. I don’t know what to do, but I guess I’ll just truck along until something in me changes. :/

10. What is something you’ve been particularly grateful for lately? >> That while my thanatophobia is nowhere near fixed, it’s been a little quieter lately. I’ve been able to sleep, and being able to sleep makes a lot of other things more manageable by default, so it’s like an ouroboros (in this case, a good one; but when I can’t sleep then it becomes a terrible one, lol). I’m using the lull to try to install some better programming, some less spiral-y thought patterns, that sort of thing. I don’t know if it’s helping, but I’ve literally got more to gain than I stand to lose, so.

11. What kind of change or opportunity would be the biggest help in your life right now? >> A therapist. But... like, one I feel like I can build a relationship with, not one who I dread seeing (which has been every therapist I’ve ever had). But like, besides just the benefit to my mental health... the clock is really ticking; recertification for SSI will most likely be happening within the next year and I have no psych team. How will they know how to judge my case if I’m not in any kind of treatment? That’s how people end up cut off. :T

12. Is there one emotion that you experience more often than any other? Is there an emotion you rarely ever experience? >> I experience amusement most often, probably. If that’s an emotion. An emotion I rarely experience is... shame? Most likely.

13. How mature would you say you are? What qualities do you think make a person mature? >> I don’t know how to gauge maturity, least of all my own. What is my basis for comparison? Adulthood as it is in modern USian society is a crock, most of the time -- the way people understand it is all kinds of flawed. What are our passage rites? Who are our elders? Where do we learn how to be a productive member of our community (and not just a cog in the capitalist machine)? The people we look up to are often no better off than we are. Individualism as a social standard (as opposed to the understanding of oneself as an individual) and the division of the community structure has ruined our ability to understand ourselves in relation to other people properly. What is maturity, in a society like this? What is my role in my society, and how well am I fulfilling it? What have I learned about life, and how much of it is truly worth knowing and passing on? Questions, questions, questions.

14. When was the last time you believed there might be something seriously medically wrong with you? What was the ultimate diagnosis? >> I mean, I always think my body’s about to fall apart, even though I’m aware that’s illogical and just a byproduct of thanatophobia. I don’t think I’ve ever thought anything was seriously medically wrong with me, because generally nothing is.

15. What is one illness you are afraid of having? Do you know anyone who has faced this illness? >> Anything that involves degeneration of the brain (Alzheimer’s and the sort). And no, I don’t know anyone personally with anything like that.

16. How do you tend to behave when you’re sick? What kinds of things do you like people to do for you, if anything, to help you feel better? >> I’m so rarely ill that I’m not even sure, lmao. I think it’d depend on what kind of sick I am, because different illnesses require different methods of care.

17. If you’re someone who rarely eats breakfast, is there a reason for this? If you do usually eat breakfast, are there any other meals you avoid or skip for any reason, and why so? >> I mean, I eat when I’m hungry, and I don’t care what the time of day is (as long as it’s not too close to bedtime). So I don’t really label my meals using “breakfast”, “lunch”, and so on.

18. When was the last time you did something you were proud of? Were other people proud of you as well? Does it matter to you whether or not other people care about your accomplishments, or is your own satisfaction enough? >> Probably finishing some questline in a video game. And no, I mean, I didn’t really tell anyone or anything. It’s not really an important thing. Woo, big deal, video games, who cares.

19. What is your least favorite thing about the season you’re currently experiencing? Are you okay with most types of weather, or are you only happy under certain conditions? >> I don’t like sweating or feeling lethargic because of heat / humidity. I’m usually okay with most types of weather as long as they’re not extreme, but if there are long stretches of cloudy / rainy days I feel pretty diminished and gloomy-doomy.

20. Have you made any changes to your style or “look” lately? How often do you change your appearance, hairstyle, fashion, etc? Or is it a pretty constant thing? >> No, not really. I don’t know what to change. My executive function when it comes to appearance is like... in negative integers. I just... I lost the knack for it. Whatever.

21. What are some things you do to feel pampered? >> I’m not sure I ever feel pampered, lmao. I tried to think about it and I just got this tangled ball of wires regarding like, stuff I can’t even explain quickly, so I’m just gonna move on.

22. What was the last thing you felt hopeful about? Do you think there’s a good chance of whatever-it-is working out in your favor, or not so much? >> Well, the last thing I felt hopeful about was getting out to see The Equalizer 2 today, and then the whole debit card thing happened, so I actually had my hopes dashed. And all because I did what I was supposed to do! But doing what I was supposed to do means that now I have to wait for a new debit card, which means I can’t go to the movies today (I can’t get to the bank and just get cash, which is what the lady on the phone said to do! I don’t fucking drive!!!). So, you know. Right now I’m just focusing on salvaging my day and my mood.

23. In what ways are you prone to black and white thinking? In what ways do you see more in terms of color or gray? >> I don’t know, I’m mostly a grey person by necessity or by design or whatever. Sometimes I’ll think “I’m a complete fucking idiot” because I did one dumb thing, or something, but like... it’s just because I’m upset about the one thing and can’t properly process that one thing at the moment without like, making a mountain out of it. That’s why I just try to distract myself until the feeling passes, because that’s the only way to get my brain to move on.

24. Are there types of people you will simply never understand (not necessarily ~empathize with) no matter how hard you might try? Are there people you seem to understand almost immediately? >> Well, yeah, definitely. I mean, I can’t possibly understand everyone. I don’t expect myself to, either. I guess I understand people who are like me? Like, that’s logical, right? I don’t know.

25. When was the last time you tried something you’ve never tried before? How likely are you to break from your routine and try new things? >> The only thing I can think of recently is playing Journey, because I’d never played that before. I don’t know how often I try new things, especially since a lot of “trying new things” involves either money I don’t have or access I don’t have.

26. Have you ever “recovered” from anything? What does “recovery” mean or look like to you? >> I don’t think so. I think mental recovery is a long-term shifting of paradigms and changing of perspective that can only be truly comprehended in retrospect. I think in that respect, I’ll be recovering for a long time. This is why I prefer the small-scale focus rather than the wide-scale focus, because using the wide-scale focus too much makes everything feel bleak and futile -- we may have a more complex consciousness and a more complex understanding of time and space, but I think exercising that cosmic viewpoint frequently can be really taxing on the brain (which manifests in things like existential despair, thanatophobia, etc). So instead of thinking about “recovery”, I think about being good to myself today. And that’s that.

27. What are some ways your childhood differed from those of others around you? Do you think this difference was harmful or advantageous in the long run? >> Hm. I was raised as a “gifted child” with all the ridiculous bullshit that entailed. I was sheltered to an absurd degree for a modern child (like, I didn’t watch cartoons and didn’t know what actual video games [as opposed to computer games] were until I was almost an adult). I didn’t make my first friend until sixth grade, and I was so socially undeveloped that I ended up losing her before the year was out. I didn’t know how to talk to people, I was sullen and withdrawn, I lived in my headspace and didn’t bother with the actual world around me. My curiosity as a child was severely blunted by alienation (I guess I’m making up for that lack of curiosity now, huh). I was pretty obviously not a normal child, but no one could see that?? Or didn’t care?? As long as I got good grades and didn’t cut up in class, no one cared about my development, I guess. I think the nature of my childhood didn’t do me any favours, but I also think that I’ve done the best I could with what I had (which wasn’t much). I eventually had to teach myself socialisation by observation, for example, and I think I did a decent enough job. I can’t blame my parent and the adults around him for my stunted development forever. Now it’s my responsibility.

28. What is one thing you are really good at compared to most people? What about one thing you are really bad at compared to others? >> I really don’t know how to determine this. I think it’s too easy to judge oneself unfairly in comparison to other people, so I try not to do it on purpose, you dig.

29. Do you think people are “all good” or “all bad”? What would make someone qualify as “bad” or “good” to you, or do you simply not think in those terms? >> No, I don’t think that. I don’t even think of people in terms of “bad” or “good”, unless we’re literally playing a Fable game where you have an actual “good/evil” meter. Even then, I’ve spent most of my time in that fandom unpacking that stupid fucking spectrum and writing the characters with the nuance they deserve. So, you know. I’m pretty sick of good/evil or good/bad as a whole. People are people, and that’s that on that.

30. When was the last time you did something out in nature? Do you notice a dip in your mood when you don’t get enough of the Great Outdoors? >> I guess that’d be on the Fourth, when we went to Creekside Park to eat lunch. I... really don’t spend a whole lot of time outside anymore, and I think it’s directly related to how much I don’t like where I live. I’ve tried on many occasions to be more enthusiastic about something, anything, about Grand Rapids, Michigan, and I really fucking can’t. I can’t do it. And I’m tired of trying to make myself do it. So now I just don’t do shit. Which isn’t any better, I know. I’m just trying to make do, here.

#surveys #survey #random survey

14 notes · View notes

sjchoigo · 7 years

Text

1 year later: SM last boy group NCT

For some unknown reason, my post about NCT being SM last boy group a year ago has gathered a lot of unexpected attention. After having a reread, I’ve realised that I don’t remember writing half of it lol. I also found out that I may have slightly misunderstood the concept of NCT/NCT U. Now that I’m much more certain with my understanding of this system, I feel like the post deserves an update.

First reason to update, I need to make clear that I was writing the original post under the pressure of the massive hate towards Taeyong at the time. But I do stand by my explanation for SM boy group history. Note that I’m only talking about marketing promotion and not group concept.

I feel like over times, the boys also got better with introducing their group and their system, which has made it much clearer for me. Now, I will attempt to explain NCT for those who are still confused. Skip the lengthy intro (can refer to whatever Doyoung said), the group first debuted with the unit NCT U. According to the boys, this is a concept group. The line up is not fixed and will change according to who fit to perform a specific song the most. But that got me thinking, what concept? NCT U debuted with 2 songs of 2 completely different genres. Also, not every song in NCT 127 album is sung by all 9 127 members. So what exactly forbids a song like Without U from being in an NCT 127 album while Mad City is? This is when I understood that it’s not the concept, but the forever changing line up of NCT U that’s the main focus.

Let’s talk about Lucas. Lucas was born in 1999. He’s the same age with Mark, also a foreigner and was in SM before Chenle. But Chenle was debuted before him, under NCT Dream which is also another concept group. This can be easily explained as anyone can tell he’s no fit for this concept at first glance. According to the system of NCT, they will gradually debut units with a permanent line up to promote locally in different countries all over the world. Right now, we only have one unit that functions as described, which is NCT 127 promoting in Seoul, Korea. So when Lucas actually debuts, he will be a permanent member in a fixed line up for a permanent unit some elsewhere not Korea. In other words, Lucas will never have the opportunity to promote in the domestic market of Kpop, and this applies to every future NCT members (since they have emphasised 127 will have no further change in the line up). And since there are more of the world than Korea, eventually, the majority of NCT members will be active abroad and 127 becomes the minority.

If you’ve been around long enough, you’d know that the Korean domestic market may be smaller in size (which is the initial reason for the expansion of Hallyu wave) but it is very important. It’s not just about the Korean version of their MV has more views. International fans, in general, are much more well aware of promotional activities in Korea. Though severely oversaturated and more competitive, contents in this market are also much easier to reach. SM, being a Korea based entertainment company, also has much more advantages promoting in their home ground. Take Xiumin for instance. Once upon a time, he was the least famous member in EXO, believe it or not. This was because of his lack of exposure in the domestic market + immediate focus of promotion in China + language barrier. But once SM changes their marketing strategy and have EXO promoted altogether, his popularity immediately rocketed. He’s huge huge huge in Korea at the moment and his personal fandom as a whole grew incredibly. As an individual artist, Xiumin can promote freely anywhere in the world right now and his fans would voluntarily follow to support.

With that in mind, I believe that SM created NCT U and NCT Dream as gateways to debut all of NCT members. With the exception of Yuta, Winwin and Johnny who are in the 127 line up and are obviously exposed to the domestic market, every NCT members will have to debut through U and/or Dream. NCT Dream is pretty straight forward, as they are serving the early-SHINee-esque niche. Their advantage is that a fixed group can never take on this concept for too long. While SHINee music grew to be more mature as they age, Dream can carry on capitalising this concept with their graduation system. But their disadvantage is that the concept is quite restricted. While you have trainee like Mark who can swing anyway, such golden boy isn’t easy to come across. There’d be more trainees fall under the Lucas category: unfitting of Dream image. This is when NCT U comes to play. U offers these trainees the chance to promote in Korea before debuting in their foreign based unit. The line up of NCT U will vary, combining already existing members and introduces new ones. Promotion would be/should be full scale, which includes music shows, variety appearances, fan signs, etc. Basically, both of these units are to give future NCT members exposure in the domestic market.

How exactly does this work? The three units that were established during the first year of NCT is the core to this system.

NCT Dream and NCT U are gateways to release new future NCT members. Dream has a graduation system that takes on new member depends on the availability of trainees and have them graduated when the members have grown out of the concept. NCT U is the route for any other trainees that does not fit with Dream. U lineup will always be a mixed of existing and newly debut members. That way every new member introduced will have chemistry with the existing members and will be better guided during the promotion. The genre and concept they promote will alter according to what best fits the line up (i.e. Without U vs 7th Sense). By the end of their promotion, not only will they have had more experience, exposure to the domestic market, a considerable number of followers, but also the opportunity to continue promoting as an artist even when their permanent unit is not ready. A prime example for this is Ten, and in 2 year time very likely Jeno, Jaemin and Renjun. From this point onward is my groundless desire: NCT U can also serve as a stopping spot for the NCT members in foreign based units. It’s a platform for these members, especially those that are Korean and want a long run career in their homeland, to always come back for promotion and interaction with fans. NCT U can also be the father of all units. Instead of NCT Ballad, NCT Performance, NCT Rock, NCT Trot, etc, the members can always come back to NCT U and sing whichever genre they feel best fit. Imagine an NCT U comeback with all the vocalists of NCT altogether.

How important is NCT 127? Very. Though all permanent unit should be equally as important, 127 can’t help it since it operates in the main market. For now, they also have the most content released. When a group starts to enter a foreign market, they tend to release their song in the local language and promote with that first to test the market reaction. This is very logical, as blindly march towards a foreign land with a brand new content would be too much of a risk and waste of resources. NCT will also take this route of marketing. They will not just randomly build their house on a foreign territory. Before debuting a permanent foreign based unit, 127 will release a version of their already promoted song in that local language (may or may not include promotion there) in order to test the water, as well as being a way of informing the market that they’re coming. That or the new unit would just re-sing 127′s song in that language, which is EXO-K/EXO-M all over again but I don’t think it’s likely.

TL;DR:

NCT U and NCT Dream are the two gateways to debut future NCT members.

NCT U can also be a stopping spot/ father of all units.

With this system, NCT can promote in the foreign land without ever losing the Kpop tag.

NCT 127 will introduce the debut of a new permanent unit.

7 notes · View notes

itstimetodrew · 7 years

Text

All the Reasons Why I Like Drew

The Big Essay

To truly celebrate this Drew Day, I’d like to talk about why I like Drew and what he means to me. This whole blog is kind of dedicated to that idea, but it’s not all stated outright, and definitely not all in one post. So…. here’s the granddaddy of them all. Happy reading! :D

How I found The One

So, the matter-of-fact portion: How did I get into Pokémon? When did I decide I liked Drew as a character? It was mostly on accident. I remember I was 10 and getting over my big interest in the Tokyo Mew Mew/Mew Mew Power series. I always had some sort of Big Interest, and it was boring to be without one (it had been Yugioh before and original Pokémon before that, funny how all my favorite things came back). Since I had dropped early Pokémon for Yugioh, I didn’t care for Pokémon. It was old news, not that great, not worth going back to. But then one morning before school I went through the TV channels and stumbled upon an airing of Pokémon. All the characters except Ash and Brock and Team Rocket were foreign to me…and who was that green haired guy? I thought he was cute and needed a rebound anime crush.

By 10 years old I had started using the internet a lot, and so I found out about this new series of Pokémon, and that what I saw on TV was part of the Hoenn Grand Festival, which included that interesting Drew character. Then I found out about what a fandom was, fanfiction, AMVs, fanart, everything. It was hard not to get sucked into a fan base that had so much content and excitement surrounding it! I really doubt 10-year-old me would have imagined liking the same characters at age 21, but here I am! So, the next question…

Why Drew? (Let’s do bullet points for convenience.)

- He’s smart and resourceful! He’s sharp enough to see through Team Rocket and Harley’s plans more than a couple times. His appeals and battle techniques can also be pretty neat…mostly. Sometimes it’s just a Petal Dance and he gets a perfect score for it pfft but stuff like that Dragonbreath + Razor Wind combo? Neato.

- The snark…I love the snark. I like that Drew brings some comedy to the show and says what I sometimes think as the viewer (The infamous scene...

May: What’s extremespeed, Brock?

Brock: It’s when a Pokemon uses its speed to the extreme!

Drew, appearing from offscreen because he never misses a chance to make fun: Only an amateur would ask a question like that, May.

(like honestly girl what did you think it meant))

- Drew is helpful! He’s obviously a challenge and barrier to May, but he doesn’t want to see her fail. Drew helps to get May, Ash, Brock, and Max out of 4 situations with Team Rocket, and his eagerness to do what’s right is cutely summed up in his first appearance

“No clue what’s goin’ on, but happy to assist!”

He’s a gem and has a good heart.

- He’s so talented! This boy is a winner plain and simple. …Ok most of the time. …Some of the time. It just isn’t onscreen. You know, it’s the attitude that counts. But really!! He got to the final round of his first contest? That he got the final round of his first Grand Festival (I assume)?? He’s a STAR. A prodigy.

- He has realistic flaws: doesn’t like spontaneity, doesn’t display emotion well, not the best with some social interaction, stubborn, secretive etc. He is definitely not a perfect character, which makes him that much more likable.

- Drew’s motivation and dedication inspire me. He’s so passionate and focused about what he does, and he’s worked hard to get where he is. It’s difficult for me to not want to see him succeed!

- He’s polite and respectful! Drew isn’t a jerk to everyone, he just likes riling up May sometimes, and even then, he knows when to knock it off and be a friend. Also, when he’s uncomfortable around over-excited fans, he thanks them for their support and tries to make a quick but smooth exit. He could just as easily be mean or look down on people who think of him so highly, but he doesn’t take anyone’s praise for granted.

- That aforementioned awkwardness around fans? Absolute plus. The irony of Drew pursuing a path that’s filled with glamor and style but being weird about personal compliments is adorable, 10/10. (But it does highlight how he loves contests for the sport itself, not for fame or vanity!)

- He means everything he says. Drew never once apologizes for his outbursts, which can be a problem and highlights a stubbornness in not wanting to admit he was wrong. But I think it also shows how Drew is careful in what he says and has little regret about his opinions, despite how they come across.

- Drew is mature! It’s fun seeing him become more mature over the course of the series. At first he’s a typical brat and instigates conflict with May to an obnoxious degree, but by the end we see him and May having nice heart-to-hearts about losing and how to regain motivation to try again. Amazing.

- His bond with his Pokémon. Drew is tough and not overly affectionate with them, but it’s those little hints of friendship that make it all the better. Especially him and Roselia. They’re my lifeblood. That he keeps Roselia out of its Pokeball to see fireworks? To sunbathe? Adorable. Look at them....

And knowing Roselia was Drew’s only Pokémon for the first few contests we see him, it makes his sadness over Roselia getting hurt that much more important. His small conflict and resolution with Absol is great, too. I kind of think May and Drew’s differing opinion during the Kanto Grand Festival is the same theme that goes on to compose a large part of Ash and Paul’s rivalry. That idea of what a ‘proper’ way to train is to get results. I’m getting sidetracked and wrote about this before but anyway!! They’re all great, the whole team is great. And I can’t believe Drew’s Roserade is making lovely teas for the whole region of Alola.

- And of course……. he’s so cute. You know this point had to come in somewhere. But look at him!

Those bright, sharp eyes. Those lovely lashes. That smirk and – if you can catch a rare glimpse – genuine soft smile. His hair, that signature hair flip he does when he wants to seem Really Cool, his controlled mannerisms, his clothes that are way too warm for Hoenn and I don’t know why he wears them but he obviously doesn’t care---- everything!!! He’s so cute and cool and lovely and

I Adore Him.

He’s a bit of an idol of mine at this point. Some sort of ideal self. Which sounds weird since he’s a 10-year-old secondary anime character who hasn’t been seen onscreen in like 8 years, but whatever. I admire Drew’s drive to succeed, how he helps others, respects their feelings, and doesn’t change just to impress other people. I wish I could be as unconcerned with other people and follow my own path the way he does.

But his flaws are good to reflect on, too! His strict means of training make him inflexible, and I think his lacking ability to adapt is what holds him back a bit. It’s nice to know what you’re good at it, but if you focus only on your strengths, weaknesses become that much more obvious, and new opportunities for growth may be missed! I relate to this a lot because I’m afraid of doing new things because I’m so uncomfortable at appearing unskilled. But there’s no way to improve at something if you never attempt it!

His line about there always being someone better out there than you sticks with me, as well. I think Drew takes a different take on his own advice (“I guess there’s always someone better”) between the two grand festivals we see him in. In Hoenn, Drew uses the idea of someone always being better as a consolidation as to why he lost to Robert, he doesn’t seem too upset about it because I think it was more about the person he was facing. Robert is older, presumably more experienced, so it’s fine and understandable to lose to him.

But when he’s faced with the prospect of May having a good shot at beating him, he’s agitated and nervous. Scared. Because May wasn’t just a ‘someone’ that could be better than him. He had seen her as a novice, and so the idea of losing to this kluzty beginner girl wasn’t acceptable. When Drew has time to sit and think about why he’s so upset, with Ash and Brock giving him some thoughts, I think Drew realizes that if he comes out of the competition stronger and more experienced than when he went in, having won or not, that is more valuable than focusing on being better than specific competitors. That’s what rivalry is. The end goal of a rivalry shouldn’t be to definitively be the winner in the relationship, but to keep challenging each other to become more skilled. You hope your rivals and friends help you improve, and you want to see them experience that same growth as well.

Pursuing any goal in hopes of being the best will get discouraging fast because there really is someone better than you, eventually, if not now. The most reliable thing is to just keep improving yourself. Hope that your past self would be in awe of what you can do now, and know that you still have a lot of growth and accomplishment ahead of you.

The reason I love Drew so much, and why this essay is so ridiculously long, is probably because I’ve locked myself into a bit of an echo chamber, honestly. Since I watch episodes with Drew most often and reflect on him a lot, he��s become extremely important and fascinating to me. I realize he’s a standard character from an objective view: the love interest and classy, arrogant rival…but after a full decade he’s developed a whole life of his own in my mind. Making headcanons and backstories and predictions for the future is so much fun! I know I build him up to be a lot more than he is in the series (I mean I usually get disappointed at the lack of depth he has when I go back to watch episodes) and it seems silly but…I’m okay with that silliness at this point. I kind of have to be after a solid decade lol

After all, I only picked up art again after wanting to bring fanart ideas to life when seeing a challenge for drawing favorite characters. Is that a laughable reason? Yeah! But do I enjoy art and I’m glad I decided to try again? Definitely!

And I thought AMVs with Drew on YouTube were so neat that I decided I wanted to make my own. So, I tried video editing, and I liked it! I still do video work and may incorporate it into a career. A career – from wanting to put clips of Drew and May to cool music. It’s so bizarre, but I’m glad that started me on this path!

Last year I also decided to finally get serious about learning Japanese which unsurprisingly, probably wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t so interested in the Pokémon anime and my doujinshis with you know……. Drew. Learning a new language is rewarding in itself because I think it’s so neat to develop the ability to communicate with an entirely new group of people. To share ideas and culture and conversation…it’s amazing! Speaking of which – the people.

I’ve met so many people because of my love for Drew. Quite literally all of you reading this. Otherwise my YouTube account wouldn’t have existed, this blog wouldn’t, the videos, the shitposts, the fanart, all the cards and packages sent to one another, the hilarious, thoughtful, bizarre, uplifting text messages, every interaction and friendship online…none of them would have happened. Not that I don’t have bonds built on things other than Pokémon (it’s hard to believe, but some people have no clue how much I like Pokémon, much less Drew lol), but it seems like a butterfly effect. Since I’ve loved him for literally half of my life and I’ve gone through my teenage and now early adult years with this Thing for him, I don’t even know how much of my own personality and experience living as myself would be different. It’s wild and weird. My time in the Pokémon fandom has factored into so much of my life that I can’t possibly imagine what my life in some Drew-less parallel universe is like. Not to say my life would be bad without this fixation, but it’s too much change and I love my life the way it is!

Although this Drew Day is entirely arbitrary and June 12th has no real significance for him as a character, it’s great to get all my thoughts and feelings focused on one date. It all probably sounds ridiculous, all the importance I put on Drew as a character, but I’m aware of that ridiculousness. I thoroughly enjoy it! Drew will likely always be my favorite character in all of media. Perhaps someday I won’t think of him much anymore, but I would have guessed that as a 10-year-old thinking of her 21-year-old self, wouldn’t I?

All I can hope for is that I continue to have a great time with the Pokémon series, and that maybe my love for Drew will end up leading me to new passions and interests even further in my life. I’m so thankful he exists as a character and that I’ve had such a great time discussing him in stories and jokes and art with so many others. So, thank you! Everyone!!

#drew day #this is my Big New Content for the day #it's not cool like art or anything but it's just really personal ;u;#and this is longer than most papers I need to write for my academics...whoops lol #I could make full essays out of multiple points here but it's gotta stop somewhere #I hope I can talk more about Drew and whatever else I like about him in the future though!! :D #long post

56 notes · View notes

neogandw · 7 years

Photo

NOW IF YOU ALLOW ME TO SHILL FOR A MINUTE HERE.

Presenting one of my favorite steam games, now entirely free to play, AWESOMENAUTS.

Ever felt like playing a MOBA-like game, but felt intimidated by steep learning curves, memorizing meta builds, going for optimal strategies and just plain affraid of being shouted at by your team mates because you didn't go for that specific thing at that specific time and now the entire base is on fire because of your blunder?

Yeah, me too, DOTA and LoL are great, but sometimes one does not feel like dealing with that ammount of preassure, for people like me who prefer their games simple, fast paced and chaotic, boy do i got the game for you.

GAMEPLAY

Awesomenauts prides itself on being a simplistic MOBA style game, in fact, its not even traditional in that sense, as it prefers another approach: if you are fan of megaman-like games you'll find this one great, because the gameplay is very much jump and shoot style 2D platformer gameplay!

As it is a team based 3v3 game, you can join up with random people online or friends to duke it out in splitscreen, online or even against bots, you are not limited on how you want to play your game, even giving you power to edit the configurations of the private matches if you so desire: want to give everyone all the upgrades at once? would you prefer for an infinity of creeps to fill the battlefield? how about a random character per death? the choice is yours to take.

It is also very simple to learn, you don't need to learn the meta mindset of advanced players to play the game, as the shop system only requires you to pick your 3 favorite upgrades -tailored to each specific character- for each of your abilities, and these abilities take effect not by numbers, but by altering the functionality of their abilities to your favor: want bouncing dynamite sticks? slowdown on top of healing? a faster shooty gun or a stronger shooty gun? Big double buzzaws that cause a slowdown on the enemy? You got them.

STORY

The game is also filled to brim with lore, though unlike most games out there, the lore of the awesomenauts is mostly a comedic epic, the game is self-stylized like a 90's cartoon where everything was build to be incredibly awesome.

In awesomenauts, you control the titular squad, a ragtag bunch of misfit aliens from across the galaxy, each one with a reason to fight:

“Riding his combat walker onto the battlefield, comes Derpl Zork. The nephew of Blabl Zork, president of Zork industries. Derpl Zork lacks his uncle's business-smarts. In fact he lacks any kind of smarts, managing to get his IQ rated under the level of plankton in the official galaxial IQ test.

Nevertheless Derpl is the heir apparent to Blabl's galaxy-spanning business empire. This is something that doesn't sit well with Blabl, not well at all. Dreading the day Derpl would inherit the company and run all the hardfought accomplishments into the ground, Blabl put Derpl in charge of fieldtesting the new Specialized Universal Secretary Interface (S.U.S.I. for short) in one of Zork Industries' combat walkers. Asking Derpl what form of devastation should be issued forth from his vehicle of destruction he simply drooled and said: "I wuv cats!"

Now Blabl is anxiously awaiting the day that Derpl would suffer a fatal blow on the fields of battle but as of yet Derpl's combat walker has proven to keep making up for its dimwitted driver. “

”Once part of the soviet space program, Yuri was a monkey, experimentally shot into space during the 1960's cold war spacerace. Mysteriously, monitoring soviet scientists suddenly lost track of monkey Yuri's spacecraft.

Puzzled by its sudden disappearence, Soviet space-command wondered what had become of their beloved test-pet Yuri. Little did they know that Yuri's spacecraft had entered a warpfield anomaly and was transported hundreds of years into the future!

Also, the warpfield's radiation boosted Yuri's mind to superintelligent levels. The new, more intelligent, mad and slightly sadistic Yuri quickly grasped the situation and modified his broken rocket into an equally mad timetravelling supercomputer jetpack.

With the jetpack translating everything Yuri says and does, enemies are never quite sure who is in control, the mad scientist monkey, or the computer it created? “

“Ted McPain was one of the great heroes of the first AI Wars, a long time ago. He has led his squad of elite super soldiers, the Killer Koala’s, against many opponents and has been decorated as an outstanding soldier a hundred times over. His ultimate achievement, during the climax of the First AI Wars, was a solo operation onto the AI’s battle station Starstorm. This mission ended in Ted McPain single handedly unhinging all of the station’s crucial power couplings, effectively making sure the station wouldn’t be completed before the end of the war. Ted McPain eventually died when he sacrificed himself to save the Sunny-Daisy Alien Orphanage from a band of bloodthirsty dinosaur zombies in 3021. Ted’s heroic deeds would never be forgotten.

He lived on as he became the star of various video games: Ted McPain I through XVII, Ted McPain: Zombie Blast, Ted McPain vs. evil Ted McPain and Ted McPain Unicorn Dance Karting.

When Voltar The Omniscient learned of the violent dimwitted video game star, he brewed up a plan that would backfire horribly. He created the Materializotron XT8000 with which he wanted to bring back the war hero of old to be his personal assistant. Extracting Ted McPain’s digital essence from his video games, Voltar managed to materialize a life-size flesh and blood version. The Ted McPain that appeared though was missing his pants for unknown reasons. Voltar waved the issue aside saying “Stop asking stupid questions! He looks fine to me.”

“Yoolip has been a scientist for the greater part of his life on the transistor planet Calias. Creating wondrous inventions and contraptions like the dog aura reader, the nightmare-to-VHS recorder, the random number phone, the cereal-to-milk ratio calculator and an actual time machine. One day after combining the time machine into some comfy slippers, he teleported to the Mesozoic era and found himself surrounded by some scientist hungry velociraptors.

Barely escaping the predators he lost one of his slippers. Being stuck in time he spent years to craft a new slipper to travel forward in time to return to his beloved granddaughter, Ayla. He joined the Awesomenauts team to finally spend some quality time with her and eat some over-engineered pancakes. “

This is a game that does not even attempt to take itself seriously, as the characters will crack a joke or a reference in the middle of battle to your ears' delight.

MUSIC

speaking of ears, how about checking out the sweet tunes of the awesomenauts?

Extended Theme Song

8-bit Yoolip

Electronic Supersonic Cybertronic Rocco

Ted McPain's Theme

I'll make you a star

Nibb's Killing Spree

Sentry's Killing Spree Theme

Deadlift's Killing Spree

Eye of Aguillon

Chucho Krokk’s Killing Spree

Lonestar’s Killing Spree

Raelynn's Killing Spree

FREE TO PLAY? MORE LIKE FREE TO PAY AM I RIGHT

Actually no, awesomenauts's Free to Play system is actually very simple, similar to other MOBAS of its kind it uses the standard 3 hero rotation, but a a bonus, you can try all of the characters in full whenever you want against bots, see who you like from the get-go and decide who you want to buy next.

Adding on to that, the game gives you the in-game currency by doing what you do best: play the game, and it doesn't even have to be vs online opponents, you can just pop it in with 3 of your friends (or even alone if you're lonely) and fight against an enemy team of bots, win experience for your characters to unlock their upgrades and songs, and parts to obtain cosmetic upgrades.

The only real aspect that requires money is merely cosmetic: costumes for each character that are simply visual, add voice lines or change their theme songs.

The things that matter can be obtained through gameplay alone, but one can opt to buy the all nauts pack on steam, this merely unlocks all the nauts to be played at any time though, not their upgrades, which require XP.

But if you get the game on steam and use one of the following codes (don't worry, they can be used up to 50 times each)

WVHE-9CLM-9KPH 9MQT-3JS7-NMCR CHCP-3HHX-X5Q5

You'll get a character entirely for free: the elite sniper raelynn.

These codes can be obtained if you play the game long enough, if you use your own code to invite people, their achievements give you loot too, free loot for everyone!

So feel free to jump into the action, there is nothing to lose and tons of fun (and salt or memes) to be had, bring your friends, bring your friend's friends, bring your grandma even.

It's time to get awesome!

#awesomenauts #free to play #get it now

78 notes · View notes

artkaninchenbau · 7 years

Text

Things that’d be hilarious:

If the Junkers’ international crime spree was completely unintentional

Like imagine the two just escaping Australia because the Outback is too dangerous (everyone wants Junkrat’s treasure) and they’ve become wanted criminals for, if nothing more, blowing up at least two buildings belonging to a huge company and possibly murdering its CEO.

So they escape for safety reasons. Go to random parts of the world for the hell of it. Maybe they’re just sitting in the park somewhere doing nothing but some civilian reconizes the two after seeing them on the news and alerts the police. Maybe on occassion Junkrat forgets he left a bomb somewhere and it goes off, alarming the police. Maybe they go to a museum to look at old, historical stuff (Hog’s idea) and Junkrat doesn’t know he's not allowed to touch anything, once again getting the police involved by the museum staff. Maybe Rat wants to try and open a bank account or make a loan for something and the people at the bank think the two are there for a robbery.

Crap like that keeps on happening. Their reputation keeps on getting worse and worse. So they just decide to live up to it because it’s not like they’re gonna be able to get out of it. Like if the police are already there and people are convinced they’re there to steal crap, so they might as well. If they tried to talk things out no one would believe them based on their past criminal reccord, so they’d still get charged with attempted theft and get thrown to jail. So why not go all the way?

I mean Junkrat isn’t opposed to getting a real job and “living legally” (as long as he gets to blow stuff up), he doesn’t really seem to have any motivation for an international crime spree except for maybe telling society to go screw itself. So it’s not like this wouldn’t be a logical explanation.

And it would explain why the stuff they’ve stolen ranges from the Crown Jewels and money to ice cream and plushies. Like no one really cares if Rat broke a vending machine and stole a soda when they’re already wanted for what would probably count as terrorism. And if the police are already there to take the two in because Rat wanted to get a good look at the Crown Jewels, they might as well take them.

Also, on a semi-related note: In A Moment in Crime the reporter comments on the two’s crimespree, asking this: “Is this the work of master criminals or just a couple of idiots?” Like IDK about you but in my experience when that question is made in fiction, the answer is always “idiots”-- with a hint of the “genius” part sparkled on top.

Let’s take Team Rocket as an example; after a ton of episodes it’s easy to see that Jessie, James and Meowth are just a bunch of dorks who always have their plans foiled by Ash and Pikachu, but if it wasn’t for these two they’d actually get away with their criminal acts just great (let’s not forget how their introduction episode gave us a good look at what a huge threat they actually are).

Here it’d be the opposite; the Junkers are being painted as criminal masterminds but in reality they’re just a duo of jackasses going “whoops, welp, lol yolo”

#Is this what they call 'blogging'?#I'm hesistant to go as far as headcanon this but like #If nothing more it would be actually hilarious if this was canon #Also it would give the two a reason to join OW (despite Rat being less than fond of them)#Overwatch would be their Get Out Of Jail-card basically and if OW peeps knew they were just a bunch of jackasses #(by for example getting some security camera footage of them showing the second they decided to just ''roll with it'' (hi Sombra))#it'd explain how the hell these two ended up in OW in the first place.#That said yeah A Moment in Crime definitely claims they've killed people and both Tracer and Mei don't trust Junkrat so it's unlikely #Hence I can't bring myself to headcanon this. BUT MAN WOULD IT BE FUNNY

6 notes · View notes

cupkayke · 7 years

Note

For the fanfiction questions thing: 1, 3, 6, 11, 17, 21, 25, 27, 36, 40, 41, 46, 50 and 51 (I hope these aren't too many)

Not too many at all! I like talking about myself lol.

Under a cut because longggggg.

1) What was the first fandom you got involved in?

Oh gosh, definitely Tokyo Mew Mew. I never wrote fanfics for it but I co-owned and then owned an Avidgamers RP site for TMM called MewUSA back in like 2004-2006. Avidgamers was a forum site engine that was pretty damn nice for its time (also FREE, that was a plus) and I spent HOURS creating characters, storylines, and layouts for it. There were TONS of individual in-character boards and I think we may have had up to 100 unique users at one point. The detailed characters/plotlines were BASICALLY fanfiction- I think I did an entire rp with myself between a few of my characters once- and it was a whole lot of fun. Some of the OCs from that site were repurposed into a longrunning rp I have with @liarino on AIM and I am FOREVER grateful that I met them through that site

Fanfic-wise, it was Full Metal Alchemist. I had a horrendous LITERAL self-insert OC fic called ‘Nice of Me to Drop In’ that was based on an RP I did with a different friend. Plot? ‘Fangirl of FMA LITERALLY FALLS INTO HER TELEVISION AND WAKES UP IN THE UNIVERSE AND FALLS IN LOVE WITH ALPHONSE’. The end. I never finished it but holy shitballs it got SO MANY REVIEWS. I’m surprised how many people actually enjoyed it- I did get some criticisms but despite the fact that it was so cringe-worthy that I took it down it still got sooooo much positive feedback. I sometimes wonder if people would still be reading it on ff.net if I hadn’t taken it down the last time I overhauled that account. I still have some Ouran oneshots on there that I wrote TEN FUCKING YEARS AGO that still get reviews. Dayum.

3) What is the best fandom you’ve ever been involved in?

I have to say it’s a tie between the Tokyo Mew Mew fandom circa 2003-2006 and the Ouran fandom from about 2006-2008. My experience with them was limited to RP boards but I had the MOST FUN running MewUSA and a long-running Gaia RP ‘Hosting the Hosts’ because of the warm response to the concepts. The TMM fandom especially was super creative even back in the day- there were so many fan mew mews because the formula was so easy and that was one series that I didn’t mind OCs because the concept was easily applied. In-universe, the creator could have easily made more Mew Mews. So the possibilities were endless. That’s also the fandom I learned the majority of my writing skills from, even if I did get called out a couple times for shitty RPing. I got better and I was so sad when the engine finally kicked the bucket. Aside from the RP sites the TMM fandom had sooooo many fansites dedicated to the show- my other favorite being Neko Tokyo. I think that site might still be up…

Ouran was limited to that RP I ran but damn I never had one so fun. That group of writers was hysterical and I actually met one of them in person because by sheer coincidence she lived near me. She moved soon after we figured it out but she came back for a convention and we hung out all weekend. Unfortunately I don’t remember her name and I lost her phone number T_T I wonder where she is sometimes. I wonder where a lot of my fan friends from back then are. The problem with early 2000s internet.

Tho I think Boueibu will be my new modern fave fandom.

6) List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

Ohhhh dear. I’ll keep it to ones that I actually ship characters in because a lot of my early fandoms were MYSELF AS AN OC X HOT MALE CHARACTER. OTL. I was a weeb. Most of these are fandoms I’ve rped in rather than written fanfiction for, however.

Tokyo Mew Mew- PuddingxTart. I like to read IchigoxKisshu fanfics sometimes but that ship is highly problematic looking back on it lol

Code Lyoko - THROWBACK. JeremiexAelita. Adorable.

Ouran HSHC - I’m fond of HunnyxHaruhi (as evidenced by my mostly abandoned ff.net account) but basically AnyonexHaruhi is super cute. I think I read a fic once where Haruhi was in a relationship with ALL of the guys and it was actually super interesting. I don’t think I can find it again, tho.

Harry Potter - Drarry.

Walking Dead - CarolxDaryl FTW. and Richonne. I’ve toyed with the idea of writing fanfics for WD but never quite get up to it.

Mass Effect - Shakarian. Fuck yes. Fun fact I have an unfinished smutfic on the mass effect kinkmeme livejournal that I will EVENTUALLY FINISH ONE DAY AND PUBLISH UNDER MY NAME buuuut for now it will remain an anonymous abandoned fic.

Boueibu - …All of them? OTL I can’t pick one ship… tho if you force me… IoRyuu and BeppuMoto OT3.

YOI - I think everyone’s OTP is Victuuri.

11) Who is your current OTP?

Victuuri.

17) Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

Since Boueibu is my current fandom- I immediately was drawn to Enatsu since s1 had a relatively large focus on them but I’ve kind of fallen out of actively shipping them. I like them as a couple and I think they’re def boyfriends material but they’re definitely a comfortable ship. Their personalities are just… drama-free, so their relationship to me just seems like a quiet background relationship. IoRyuu is a little more volatile and I really like ships where there is a lot of between-the-lines interpretation and potential for conflict. Also I just really like the Beppus

21) What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. The aformentioned ‘Nice of Me to Drop In’ FMA OC Mary Sue Self insert fic. Definitely the first one I ever published on the interwebs. Although I think TECHNICALLY my very first one was a Pokemon story that I was writing for a little kid neighbor of mine back when I was like… 11. I think I had just gotten a computer in my room and I remember typing it up and drawing some cover art for it… it was basically an expanded version of the episode where Meowth and Pikachu were handcuffed together or something… except there were more Pokemon involved and ALL of the characters were friends. Like Brock and Tracey were both with Ash and Misty and all of the Team Rocket people were friends for some reason. Idk I was a weird child.

Ohhh maybe a tie for the FMA fic was a Code Lyoko one I wrote around the same time called ‘Desert Rose’. I can’t remember now which was published first because I deleted them all. Another Mary Sue OC fic but I actually am still kind of proud of how I expanded the Lyoko universe in my head. I came up with new areas to Lyoko and like a central region and how they all connected. Nevermind the fact that the girl with a CAT THAT COULD OPERATE THE COMPUTER was the main character and obviously I shipped her with Odd because YumiUlrich and JeremieAeilita were OTPs. It was weird.

25) What’s your most popular fanfic?

If the story was still up it might have been ‘Nice of Me to Drop In’ because that fic still haunts me. Buuut it’s either ‘Naptime’ or ‘Desire’, one of my two Hunny x Haruhi fics from my Ouran days that I left up on ff.net for posterity. I have no desire to go read the cringe and find out which one has more hits but I bet it’s the G-rated ‘Naptime’ cuz ‘Desire’ is a) the first M rated Hunny x Haruhi fic on ff.net EVER and b) really really bad porn written by like, 16-year-old me. Oops. It’s a smidgen OOC on the part of Haruhi if I remember right buuut I actually still stand by the idea that Hunny is not as childlike as he seems.

Oh dear maybe that’s why I like Yumoto so much. Similar character type. OTL

27) What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

I feel like I’m horrendous at both but lately it’s titles that are giving me trouble. 2 of the 3 Boueibu fics I’ve written had different working titles that got changed the second the story went up to be published. I’m having a brain fart and can’t remember them but both ‘All the Pretty Little Horses’ and ‘Completely’ were titled something really stupid. And your giftfic was ‘?’ until I decided on the central theme lol.

36) What’s your favourite genre to write?

I don’t like reading romance novels but I love writing shippy stuff. Tension, build….smut

40) What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

Pacing in longer works, definitely. Also just… keeping up with it. I am a horrible procrastinator and if I don’t actually have a deadline with external consequences then I never get anything done. I can’t set my own deadlines because I can always move them. I can’t get my family or friends to set them for me because I know they’ll forgive me if I fail (how horrible lol). I have tons upon tons of unfinished fics from fandoms past sitting somewhere in the depths of my word documents folder and about as many original short stories. I have so many ideas but because I get easily distracted and also because I am now working full time and suffer from typical adult exhaustion I can only put a fraction of them on paper.

My inner critic is also a fucking bitch. I can’t get her to shut her face long enough to write a sentence sometimes. Again, I have to have a deadline looming before I can put her on mute most times. If I have infinite time, she doesn’t shut up and makes me rewrite a sentence 100 times because it sounds stupid.

41) List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

Ahahahaha… I don’t have 5 simultaneously because I can’t just… not finish reading something before moving onto the next one. I don’t also read things that are unfinished unless they sound REALLY interesting because I’m stupid impatient. But I guess for my current fandom (Boueibu) I’ll link 5 fics I read recently that I liked!

1) Pink Blood - @magiccatprincess (okay actually this is one I’m going to read soon because it looked interesting… so it fits the question lol)

2) tuesdays - @vagarius (because how can I not love something written for me?

3) Liar - BlackJoker77 (A whoooole lot accomplished here in not a lot of words. Also, Yumoto character study/reading between the lines? Yush.)

4) ….. ok I ran out of ideas. I don’t bookmark anything OTL. I’ll come back to this question at another time with an ACTUAL answer.

46) If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

I’m most proud of ‘Completely’ at the moment- I really like how I pulled off Ryuu’s voice and it’s most definitely a scene I wanted to see written… so I’m happy that I was able to provide that scene

50) How did you get into reading and/or writing fanfiction?

It was basically an extention of RPing for the writing portion of it- ‘Nice of Me to Drop In’ was basically a cleaned up RP and when it wasn’t rping it was fan gratification for the other early fics I did. As a kid I used to (and still sometimes do) make up stories in my head when I was about to go to sleep, and a lot of them were episodes of my favorite shows that I wanted to see. So I’d put some of them on paper. And then it moved into the ~romance~ category; I was a hopeless romantic as a teenager and like a lot of teenage girls I was kind of horny so fanfiction was a way to explore my sexuality in the comfort of my own head, basically. I still like me a good smutfic and bonus points if it’s romantic AND smutty. My bf can definitely tell when I’ve been reading something naughty….

51) Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

Okay, Imma do both! And I have 2 things to rant about because I can’t shut up.

Rant: This is more of a thing that I hate about MYSELF reading fanfics, but I hate that I get turned off of fics so quickly because of writing style. When I can push past beginners writing mistakes or mediocre quality writing I can sometimes find gem fics with plots/characterizations I find adorable, but more often than not I click out of fics after just a few sentences because I can’t stand poor writing. And I feel so elitist about it! Fanfics are free, fan-generated content. A lot of fanfics are written by kids or beginner writers. I have to keep reminding myself that not every fanfic author has gone to school for writing. They may not know the conventions of literature. They may not realize that they’re head-hopping in the middle of paragraphs. They may not know the proper way to punctuate dialogue (and I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW until grad school!!!!). If I let mistakes get in the way of content I may miss out on an up and coming writer. And lord knows I was horrendous when I first started. Everyone starts somewhere. I hate that it takes me so long to get out of teacher/writing student mode and truck through some writing that may not technically be the best but their heart is in the right place.

Rant2: I don’t like how isolated fanfiction can feel sometimes. It seems like people don’t comment on fics as much as they used to, and I see these posts going around on tumblr about how authors LOOOOOVE comments and want more of them but then comments just… don’t appear. It’s not so hard to post one thing you really liked about the story, and even one thing you didn’t like. Comments help authors grow.I also don’t like how it’s so hard to find a beta reader or three to bounce ideas off of and proofread your work.

Gush: I love communities. I love the events fanfic authors put together. I love how when communities get tight-knit how everyone builds each other up and gives one another ideas. I just love fanfiction in general, really

aaaaaand SHEW. That was a lot. BUT DEF NOT TOO MUCH

#mystofthestars #asks #ask cupkaykey

5 notes · View notes

theliterateape · 5 years

Text

Happy National Active Shooter Drill Day!

By Stephanie McCullough

“TRIGGER” WARNING LOL

Reminder to our Employees…

This coming Tuesday is our National Active Shooter Drill Holiday!

We’ve got SO many fun and informative activities planned for this year’s ASD Day!

Here’s just a few reminders about your participation:

Wear your most awkward shoes, No cheating! As you practice urgently but orderly running from the sound of rapid gunfire, practice in those high heels you might be wearing the day it happens. Or better yet, prepare to feel what it’s like to run barefoot through our office hallways and our dirty fire exits.

Bathrooms will be used for drill-purposes only; no private use. If you need to go to the bathroom during National ASD Day, just remember there will be groups of people rotating in protective huddles through our bathroom stalls and there will be no privacy.

Extra layers of clothes will not be permitted! We learned last year of some ingenious employees who wore several extra layers of clothes on ASD day. You may be trying to avoid the pain and bruising from the pellet-gun assasination-simulation part of the day, but you’re doing yourself more harm by not giving yourself the full experience. Unless you plan on wearing four layers of shirts to work all year round, it’s counterproductive to our Nation’s focus for preparing you on this day.

Now for the fun stuff!

We’ve based our company’s ASD day activities after the Government’s national guidelines & requirements, but with a fun added twist of our own!

8:30am - Caffeine* Boost Breakfast!**

Sarah will be bringing her dark-caffeinated muffins again this year (yum!) and Jerry will be ordering those donuts from Stans w/ the extra mocha-caffeine Icing. Our regular coffee options will also be available.

*The Government guidelines state that everyone must drink or ingest a minimum of 1000 mg of Caffeine on this day to best simulate the physiology of heart-racing as we tackle today’s Active Shooter Drill activities. No skimping on those muffins!

**Waivers releasing our company from any lawsuit against potential harm from today’s activities will be signed & collected**

9am - 10am Session: Getting your legal stuff in order!

Jenkins from IT will again be walking everyone through how to set-up, compose, and digitally sign an official last-will & testament through your phone! In less than 4 minutes your online last-will doc will be legal and validated by the courts, taking one less worry off your family & loved ones. If you haven’t already, you can download the rocket-lawyer app on your phone before the session. But leave the “last will” section blank, Jenkins will walk us through how to complete it on your phone while your hands are shaking frantically.

10:15am - 11:30am: Smoke & Bullets Immersion Session

Stan and his team have gone the extra mile this year and rented a deluxe stereo sound system & smoke machine! This year we will get to have our ears ringing and a near-deafness-experience from a larger variety of assault rifle-type machines and their gun-fire sounds. I’ve reserved conference room #3 this time for its better echo & louder acoustics.

Please don’t touch the stereo equipment unless you are authorized. It is not a toy.

Reminder *no earplugs permitted* & people with glasses will be asked to remove them to best simulate confusion.

11:30-12:30 Hardy ASD Day Lunch & Treats

Mr & Mrs Mitchell have promised to bring back their super taste target-practice cupcakes! Please also send an email to HR if you require gluten-free, nut-free and vegetarian options.

12:30-2:30: RUN. HIDE. FIGHT.

We will practice evacuating at the nearest exit without trampling on anyone & how to leave all your belongings behind. There will be check-points set up along the route to see if anyone cheated and went back for their personal belongings.

For the HIDING Portion, this year, we are adding a team competition & speed race for silencing phones, locking doors & barricading entries. The team with the fastest, most barricaded room will win dinner gift certificates to Chilis! (Thank you Sarahs’ Aunt Teresa!)

This year we are not permitting people to opt-out of the FIGHT portion regardless of their physical conditions. The chair, table, & printer-throwing activities is something everyone is now required to participate in.

2:45-3:30pm Bullet Impact Simulation

Reminder again, people will not be permitted to hide protective clothing for this session. We will lined people up in random groupings, so no coupling up with a preferred work partner.

Surprise! The rubber bullets have arrived early and Connor was able to get our company insignia imprinted on them! You can take as many company rubber bullets home for keepsake after today.

Everyone is released after 3:30pm! We will be handing out the “I Practiced Getting Shot” buttons and wrist bands at 3:30 for you to wear home. Remember to keep yours for at least 3 weeks as the record of your participation gets processed with the government’s NRA division. There is a $300 fine and a required weekend active shooter & hostage class if you don’t complete this day.

Get ready for a fun, bonding and informative time together!

Remember our National ASD Text Guidelines:

911 - always call this number first!

PFM - “Pray For Me” - A good one to use for your Church group text chains.

TMILH - “Tell mom I love her” You can also replace M with “D” for Dad

KMD4M - “Kiss my dog for me” You can also replace “C” for Cat or the generic “P” for pet.

ITYTGWC {Employee Name} - “I told you this guy was crazy” followed by the name of the employee who is carrying out the mass murders. This can be a helpful text for our law enforcement in their investigations afterwards.

IARTM3IP - “I am ready to meet my maker in peace” for those who wish to assure their loved ones of spiritual faith that their death was not in vain.

RIASINBAIFBNFAIBID - “Religion is a sham, I never believed and I feel better now finally admitting it before I die” for those who wish to release themselves of this final burden before their demise.

IAAHWASM - “I am alone here will anyone save me” use this text when you think none of your co-workers have survived and the murderer remains in the building.

#guns #active shooter drill #satire

0 notes

topicprinter · 7 years

Link

Alright, this took several hours to write and I have nothing to gain from this except helping people; no link, no blog, no consultation, no nothing - please read through the thing if you’re at all interested.I'm a Swedish guy and a computer nerd and someone that doesn't really like manual labor, and still my first real company that I started was a window cleaning company. This was purely due to having a burning desire to have my own business. This, and I had a “friend” that used to work as a window cleaner. He was/is a terrible person but we actually started out together. I always had the feeling the business wouldn’t work out with this guy and it didn’t, but he did show me the basics of window cleaning, and that made me start a window cleaning company in my small Swedish town. This was several years ago and I guess my window cleaning days are over - I now have a couple of e-commerce stores making decent money, but I’m sitting on all this info that I feel could hopefully be really valuable to people, so I wanted to share.Window cleaning I feel is a fine business to start for anyone, but maybe especially for someone just starting out their entrepreneurial journey. This because it is:Cheap and easy to startEasy to learnHigh demandCheap marketingScaleableMarketingSimple: flyers in mailboxes. My edge over the competition I feel was by putting the price right on there the flyer. For every area I had a price depending on the average size of the houses and the average number of windows of the houses in the area. I felt like a potential customer getting a price quote right on the flyer would increase the conversion rate. People like knowing exactly what they will pay for a service before they pick up the phone, people don’t like haggling or feeling unsure about anything, or feeling they might get screwed over. People like it as simple as possible. They are prepared to pay extra for this.Only put flyers in areas where people make a good salary and thus have expendable income to spend on things like window cleaning, generally meaning houses, not apartments. At first I did both but I realized that putting flyers through the mailboxes of apartments just wasn’t worth it. As people’s doors are located very close to each other in apartment buildings you’d think that time spent delivering flyers/potential customer ratio would be good, but it’s not. It’s not 0, but it’s not very good in my experience. People living in large cities and capitals might have it different. Also, there are “nice apartments” and “not-so-nice apartments”, the former are of course better to market to.With this fixed price thing you will of course sometimes get a house that you really should have priced higher, but you will get as many houses that are easier/faster to clean than you first thought. It evens out. Always make a short note in your bookkeeping for every house or apartment cleaned, example: “many/difficult windows, charge more next time”. My personal notes were most of the time “very nice people, no problems”. Payment will be no problem. People don’t mind paying honest money for honest work. It’s quite different from e-commerce that I work with now where people often try to scew you. Elderly people will probably be a large percentage of your customer base. Retirement homes are great places to market to.I’m a web designer so making a nice website was easy for me. Yes, it makes a big difference. Put your website address on your flyers. Google “window cleaning” and you will get many nice images that you can use on your website - use ‘em. Have a 100% satisfied or money back guarantee - noone will use this but at the same time it builds trust and feels nice to have for the customer. I had a list of all the areas in my town with fixed prices for each area - a trust-builder and thinking back I’m a little proud about this, I think it looks very professional to a potential customer seeing “oh, I live there, and there is a fixed price, no shady or complicated stuff”. Conversion rate increases. I hate SEO so much but it kinda works. Google AdWords always works so use it. Do it yourself, don’t hire anyone to do this, AdWords is easy to work with. Didn’t try Facebook. I imagine it doesn’t’ work too well with services. I was about #6 in Google for the search [my town] + [window cleaning]. My website looked nice and a few customers told me this made them decide on my company. I didn’t focus on SEO at all, but of course it works, shady as it is.GearIt’s cheap. Maximum a couple hundred dollars/euros. Many stores have starter kits at a small discount. You need:A T-bar with that furry cloth-thing (again, I’m Swedish…) that puts the water and cleaning liquid/soap on the glass and that removes the dirt when you scrubSqueegee (lol I like this name, it’s not as fun in Swedish) to remove the water and cleaning liquid after scrubbingGood bucket, wide enough for T-barCleaning liquid/detergent (nothing expensive needed!)A couple of pieces of cloth (old bed sheets ripped apart - they rip really easy btw, and surprisingly, in straight lines)Small ladder (cheap, folds, and probably fits in your trunk)Extension poleScraper for tougher spots and specks of paintCar (regular one is fine)Will help:Bucket-on-a-belt, makes it easier and quickerKärcher brought this window-vacuum thing to the market that sucks the water off the window. This invention was post my time but I tried it last summer in my house and it did work fine. They make so much money from this invention and I’m jealous. A device like this might be great for you, try it. However it might also… suck. Go ahead and try the device out. That thing they throw in the package with the furry cloth that cleans the window is terrible though, you need a real T-bar for sure. There is a much-harder-than-it-looks technique where you don’t let your squeegee leave the window that you might not have to learn at all with a window-vac. It’s a bit loud, hopefully not a problem for the customer.SeasonalThe big companies of course clean windows all year round, but it’s really a seasonal business. When spring comes and the sun starts to shine through the windows people see all the dirt and want them cleaned. I worked from (remember, Sweden) late April to late September. During autum/winter I don’t think it’s worth it unless you’re a big player. Cold water on your hands when the winds are blowing is not nice.The cleaning, how-toWell, it’s not rocket science. It’s harder than you think, but not super hard. Clean the windows in your own house or apartment several times and learn. Use Youtube and Google. Be smart, humble and willing to learn and it won’t be a problem. Streaks are your enemy. Use your scraper liberally. Never use your cloth more than needed as it leaves residues that will be noticed - it’s for collecting water at the edges of the window.Other stuffCan’t be afraid of dogsBeing tall helps, I’m not and I was fine, but it helpsThere will be strain on your eyes trying to locate dirt on windows - bring sunglasses, alwaysPodcasts, documentaries and audiobooks helped me a lot - you need wireless earphones of courseShoulder might begin to hurt - try using an extension pole to take the strain off your shoulder as you can use your whole bodyI’m cheap and didn’t have insurance, didn’t need it, but I can’t advice against it eitherDon’t take risks; if it’s a window in a high-up scary place, don’t be afraid to respectfully say no, most people will understandConclusionAgain, I’m more of a computer guy and really the last person you’d think would start a window cleaning company, but it went fine, and a part of me wishes I would have kept at it. No doubt I would have a semi-large company by now with a couple of employees, had I kept at it. I recommend it for most people.There is a ton more stuff and tips I could write, but these are the basics. Go ahead and comment or PM and I’ll reply.

#/r/entrepreneur #reddit

0 notes