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tumblingclockwork · 3 years

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HI LEAF IVE BEEN HYPERFIXATING ON MC STORY MODE AND ON STAMPYCAT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT STAMPYCAT BEING THE WHITE PUMPKIN IT SOUNDS SO COOL

HELLO HI YES I AM MORE THAN WILLING TO EXPLAIN

Before I start I wanna give a huge shout out to @mephones-declining-mental-health who was actually the first to point a lot of this out. We spent a lot of time putting this all together and she deserves a ton of credit for it. So go check them out.

ok so mcsm is an old game so quick refresher on episode 6: Jesse and his gang end up in another world and are put into a murder-mystery type situation. They’re trapped in the mansion due to zombies and have to survive until the day while the person who invited them all to the mansion (who goes by “The White Pumpkin”) kills them off one-by-one in order to obtain the Enchanted Flint And Steel. Which Jesse is also trying to get. Minus the main cast, everyone in this murder mystery is based off and voiced by famous minecraft YouTubers from the time. This was a pretty genius move on TellTale’s part because it meant the players were already going in with a certain level of attachment to these characters, allowing the game to kill them off in a way that would be emotionally impactful without effecting the plot of the overall story that much.

The people you meet in the mansion are the following youtubers: CaptainSparklez, TorqueDawg, StampyCat, TheDiamondMinecart, LDShadowLady, StacyPlays, and CassieRose

Multiple of these YouTubers are killed off (though some can be either saved or killed depending on your choices) and [spoiler warning] Cassie Rose is revealed to be the white pumpkin at the end. Her motivation being that she’s stuck away from her home world for and desperate to get back.

Now here’s the thing: that doesn’t make Any sense.

Cassie doesn’t have a single line or any piece of evidence that would necessarily point to her being the white pumpkin. The only real evidence that points to her feels so last minute and forced. And just completely disregards any other scene in which you were collecting evidence.

This would be less frustrating if there weren’t multiple other people that had far more evidence against them. But the one who has the most undeniable evidence against them? StampyCat.

Now I don’t know if they changed the story halfway through development or if the writers at TellTale are just bad at their jobs (equally likely but there is some evidence to suggest Cassie was not always the intended White Pumpkin) but Stampy has the most evidence, best motive, and would have just been a very interesting villain entirely.

Let’s go over everything.

So for starters. The first murder.

Spoiler alert! But the first murder is TorqueDawg. He stands under a dispenser that shoots him with a poison tipped arrow and he dies.

Now, tipped arrows were a relatively new thing at the time, and the game makes a point out of this. A lot of the characters in the mansion Don’t Know what a tipped arrow is. But a few do.

After the second murder (which we’ll address in a moment) you have the ability to interrogate three of the characters. LDShadowLady, TheDiamondMinecart, and StampyCat

Lizzie (LDShadowLady) is fully aware of the tipped arrows. Both Dan (TheDiamondMinecart) and Stampy point this out. When you ask her about it, she says she does know how to make them and taught others about it.

One of the people she talked about the tip arrows to is Cassie, aka the white pumpkin. So story-wise it does make sense. But Lizzie also states that Stampy had asked her about the tipped arrows, and specifically how to make them. So we know he has full knowledge of them.

But what does Stampy say when you ask him about the tipped arrows?

“I’ve never seen anything like it before”

This is Never addressed. Not once. Stampy blatantly lies about knowledge of a murder weapon when he seemingly has no reason to do so and he gets away with it.

So Stampy 1. Has the ability to create the weapon used for the murder and 2. Felt the need to hide this ability.

So that’s pretty suspicious right off the bat.

Now these interviews are caused by the second murder. So let’s talk about that.

Second murder: CaptainSparklez is pushed into a sand pit and suffocated by a very elaborate redstone trap. The trap is activated by one of the buttons on the table that they’re all sitting at.

Each of the buttons activates the trap, but only one of them was actually pressed. The connection we’re supposed to make here is that the White Pumpkin set up multiple buttons to keep suspicion off of themself.

The people sitting at the buttons were StampyCat, TheDiamondMinecart, LDShadowLady and Jesse’s friend Lucas.

Now you’ll notice that CassieRose, the actual White Pumpkin, is not on this list.

TheDiamondMinecart (Dan) is the one who presses the button. Dan is supposed to be a Red Herring here as he didn’t know what the button would do and pressed it anyway (though he’s a bad red herring. And we’ll discuss that in a moment). Even with the knowledge that it wasn’t the white pumpkin who pressed it, it doesn’t make any sense for her to have not been sitting at a seat with a button. And this is never really addressed either. Making this scene a complete waste of time, unless of course the original white pumpkin was intended to be one of those 4 people.

The interviews give us a lot of knowledge about the interpersonal relationships of the characters and what their skill levels are. Such as what I discussed earlier about the tipped arrows. But one thing that stays consistent is Jesse’s insistence that whoever the white pumpkin is, they must be good at redstone.

And he’s right. Every trap set by the white pumpkin at this point was redstone activated. Whoever made it must have been very skilled with it. And out of all the suspects there’s only one who has that level of ability. Stampy.

Both Dan and Lizzie make a point of saying that Stampy is a master of redstone and his skill is unmatched. But when Stampy is asked about this, his first instinct is to lie about it. When you catch him in this lie, he immediately back-tracks.

So Stampy

Has knowledge on how to build the first murder weapon (which wasn’t knowledge everyone had at the time)

Completely lies about this knowledge and is never called out for it

Was sitting at one of the buttons that caused the second murder

Is the only one with the redstone knowledge capable of creating the white pumpkins traps.

Lies about his redstone ability

So there you go! That’s a ton of evidence against him! And pretty much no evidence against Cassie other than the fact that she also knew about tipped arrows at the time.

In fact the dinner scene confirms Cassie can’t be a suspect unless we’re supposed to believe she just hoped someone else would do the job for her. Which considering she’s later characterized to be super paranoid and unwilling to leave things to chance, I doubt it.

While looking through secret tunnels you manage to find a secret conversation between Dan and Lizzie where Dan admits that he was the one who pushed the button on accident and that he feels super guilty about it. Jessie spots the white pumpkin looking through a painting at this moment. And considering he’s also seeing Dan and Lizzie, and he knows where Lucas is, out of all the people sitting near buttons, Stampy is the only one left. If the White Pumpkin was someone who was sitting at one of the buttons (which it should have been) it would have had to be Stampy

Now I do think having Dan push the button is realistic and fine. It’s a button. Everyone likes pushing buttons. But the fact that the white pumpkin would Bet On That Happening and not sit near a button at all feels like it couldn’t possibly be right, especially because everything else is so thought through and calculated. It feels out of character for Cassie to do. Cassie being the white pumpkin also means those interview scenes were an entire waste of time. They gave us no real information that could be used in the case and crossed off the real murderer as a possible suspect.

If *Stampy* was the murderer however, this would have made a lot more sense. As the interviews would have given us a lot of info about him and against him. Plus his relationship to the others. Even if Dan turned out to be the one who pressed the button, we still would have gotten that important info on Stampy. Not to mention that Dan just so happening to press the button before the White Pumpkin got a chance is a lot more believable than the White Pumpkin betting on that.

Now the way the story actually goes is that Stampy is revealed to have the enchanted flint and steel (even though before he claimed to not even want it) and as I’ve said, Cassie is revealed to be the white pumpkin.

We learn she’s the white pumpkin because she’s the only one who didn’t have a portrait of herself with a red X over it, which is a sign someone had died. Meaning she was never intended to die at all.

Now because the writing team didn’t put any actual evidence of her being guilty before this, they slip in a Not At All Subtle clue that she’s the white pumpkin.

The white pumpkin’s hide out is Filled with calico cats. The same cats as Winslow (the cat that Cassie had kept with her). And while this is obviously supposed to tell us it’s her, it doesn’t really make much sense as a clue. Considering Winslow is just one cat. A bunch of cats that look like him is sort of out-of-nowhere. She’s had no real evidence against her other than the final connection, meanwhile all signs seem to point to Stampy.

This doesn’t necessarily mean anything but I do think it’s worth mentioning that there is one character who Does have a ton of animals like the ones we see in the white pumpkin’s room. And that’s Stampy. He has a ton of dogs that could have easily taken the place of the cats. But anyway.

This last second Right At The End clue seems to almost indicate that there was some change in writing half way through the process. Before Stampy is revealed to have the flint and steel (which is something that any character could have confessed to and the story would be pretty much the same), the story makes a lot more sense with the idea that Stampy was originally intended to be the white pumpkin. We can also gather that it seems they intended the white pumpkin to be a man, as the protagonists refer to the white pumpkin by he/him pronouns and that assumption is never addressed when they learn the white pumpkin is a girl.

Either that or the writers are just. bad. Which is also very likely.

That’s all the evidence I have. So let’s talk about how story-wise it would have been so much more interesting to make Stampy the white pumpkin.

Cassie is great. But she didn’t get a lot of actual screen time in game until her villain reveal because she really never had any evidence against her. Stampy however got a lot of screen time and was generally the fan favorite when it came to the youtubers that were in episode 6. He was one of the most beloved youtubers at the time and the writers took that into account.

Whenever Stampy was accused of something, he’d play the innocent card. He’d say things like “it’s me! Stampy! I’m everyone’s friend!” In an attempt to get sympathy. Instead of defending himself, he played at the emotions of the people around him. He was played as the sweet innocent character who wouldn’t do anything wrong. I think this would have made him a Great twist villain. It would have made a lot more sense for the end scene as well, as the other youtubers defend Cassie, saying she would “never do something like that”. Which never really made sense considering they all knew one of them must have done it, and none of them had any real connection to her. Defending Stampy or being shocked would have made a lot more sense regarding the relationships of the characters.

His villain reveal would have been so much more surprising as well, as Cassie’s tone quickly shifts to much more malicious once she admits to being the White Pumpkin. And while I do believe shes a very good actor, I do believe the scene would have had an extra punch if the lines were delivered by someone who was previously set up to be the trustworthy friend who wouldn’t hurt a fly

But it’s Cassie’s motive specifically that I think would have fit So Well if Stampy had taken her place.

Cassie wants the flint and steel so that she can return to her home dimension. She’a been stuck here for a very long time and is willing to do anything to get back home. Specifically saying that she needs to get out of this “stupid world”.

Now this will only really make sense for those who are familiar with StampyCat outside of mcsm. But I’ll do my best to explain.

Stampy, as a YouTuber, was known for his “lovely world”. The minecraft world that he loved and cared about a lot. If the plot line was that Stampy specifically was separated from his lovely world, it would have been a great motive that he was desperate to get back it it.

So uh. Yeah! I think that’s all I got. I’m sure me and Worm aren’t the only people who have come to this conclusion but I’m just here to put it all into writing. I’m not sure if this was all a last minute change or sloppy writing but either way I think it’s interesting!

#minecraft story mode #mcsm #minecraft story mode episode 6 #a portal to mystery mcsm #Stampy cat #long post #wooo boy I am a Nerd haha #sorry for the rant there was just a lot to go over-#I typically don’t go off on tangents like this on this blog but hey. you asked and I provided.#anyway I’m so sorry to my followers for the long post about the cringe minecraft game lmao

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doomedtoxicyuri333 · 3 years

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gave pidge a bit of a redesign :] i love them sm... below the cut are some facts abt her bc i cannot stop thinking abt them </3

even though she will never admit that she actually reads after she finishes school, she really loves horror (more psychological than anything) and romance (you'll have to be on another plane of friendship to unlock that fact abt her)

since everyone in the new order of the stone has a old oots member that correlates w/ them, pidge really looks up to minerva (the miner) (art of her coming soon <33)

the design you see above is actually post s2 :] radar made her a necklace :]

i hc that lukas is almost deathly allergic to dogs. so when pidge found that out she was absolutely heartbroken, having wanting a dog for herself since she was young. soon, pidge compromised for 2 birds she picked up from the jungle and a (extremely friendly) enderman she just adopted out of nowhere

since pidge uses all pronouns, people usually just ignore that and refer to her as she/her. they're always taken off guard when the new oots refers to them as anything else

THIS IS NOT CANON AT ALLLLL BUUUUUT if PAMA got control of them, after pidge would be contemplating if shes really changed, or if PAMA just released that bloodlust, overly aggressive version of her again

she ran away from home and dropped out of school at around the age of 16 (one year before the events of mcsm s1). no one except petra had seen her in that one year time span.

their parents died in the witherstorm. she had always hated them, yet now that they're gone pidge is devastated she'll never get to reconcile with them

after the witherstorm, minerva and gabriel basically become her new parents, with ivor being the uncle who is a bad influence

#mcsm #minecraft story mode #mcsm oc #minecraft story mode oc #pidge lennon #lillyisnothere art #oc

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galaxies-unknown-a · 2 years

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Nope!

[Send in ‘NOPE’ to my inbox, for something I don’t like to RP.]

This involves mentions of torture, brainwashing, etc.- and goes semi-in depth on one of my first RP partners and the disaster that we were. I vented. A bit a lot. Feel free to not read, I don't blame you if you don't want to.

TL;DR/Can't Read: I DON'T RP TORTURE, AND I HAVE A WEIRD RELATIONSHIP WITH ANGST.

While I am a fan of RPs where characters get injured and need to be healed, I am not a fan of such things in excess. I have a limited amount of sympathy- and constantly getting starters/threads devoted to 'oh no, x is injured!' is... Taxing. But, allow me to go in depth on why I don't RP torture, but I'm willing to imply it as a past event...

I think the reason I'm so hesitant to even RP said scenarios is because of one of my very first RP partners, years ago.- They turned every RP into an all-out gore/torture fest, no matter what. It didn't matter if I asked them to stay away from the topic, or left for a bit to recuperate and ask for a fresh reset... The RPs always involved major injuries, brainwashing, torture, so on and so forth... And it messed with my mental health. A lot. I was an idiot, and stayed with that partner for... I think a year?

It's why I have 'NO TORTURE' in my rules.- I don't even like going into character death in-depth because of that year of madness. Even when I do have villains/talk about how to deal with them with friends, I very rarely go in-depth on what I think happens to them in canon. While I (thankfully) can't remember much of the sh!t from that year, I remember one RP where my character (I was RP'ing as Jack from MCSM) found his brother (Nurm from MCSM), only for Nurm to be evil and proceed to kidnap, torture, and eventually revive Jack- only for the entire process to repeat in the next RP. There must've been over ten replies alone about the excruciating agony Jack was going through when his eye was pierced by a fucking nail- and that's the ONLY scene I can remember clearly from RP'ing with that person. Pain.

Imagine, for a straight year, you try to RP kind things- little things like a couple going shopping, or brothers shooting the breeze while fishing... And every time, the RP devolves into nothing more than a torture-fest devoted to pain and suffering.

Problem was, of the three RP partners I had at the time (one was always after NSFW RPs [we were both underage and I eventually blocked them outright], and the other was the only one I've stayed with because they're epic and don't pull this kinda shit)-- this one responded the most. We must've replied to each other fifty times each day- day in and day out, nothing but suffering, characters dying, and crying, and screaming, and begging...

I wish I could see that section of RPs as just.... Something that happens. Another part of the story. But the truth? I can barely stand RP'ing normal fluffy angst, like characters getting a papercut and their S/O being overprotective,-- even now, I'm starting to shake because I just-- I hated it. I tried to roleplay (initially) a lot as my self-insert (Myth) and their boyfriend, Jesse... And Jesse died, a lot. If he didn't, then the other person's character took over the town, tortured every innocent they could, and then reset everything so they could be 'happy' while no one else remembered. THEY LITERALLY RP'D TORTURE TO ITS EXTREMES (CHARACTERS DIED IN EVERY RP) AND RETCONNED IT AT THE END OF EACH RP. CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW DEVASTATING THAT WAS?!

Their character NEVER suffered consequences for the shit they pulled. They'd gouge eyes out, rip off nails, inject substances, flay people alive, fucking brainwash friends and allies for kicks and watch them RIP EACH OTHER APART--- and NO ONE remembered it, no one save my S/I, who I allowed to remember the tragedy.

And I'm not saying that I'm perfect here, or a complete victim. I had a whole year. I could've just stopped at any time. But I didn't. I set my boundaries- and then let them get run over repeatedly. And because of that, of them not respecting my boundaries and me not enforcing them... I just... I can't RP that kind of stuff anymore. It freaks me out. I can read it, I can talk about it- but I cannot, in any way, RP it. I'm fine implying it, I'm fine glossing over it, but I just... I refuse. To ever. Write that sh!t. Ever. Again.

This is entirely on my head- a consequence. I RP'd torture so much that now, I can't even stomach it. I don't care if it's in someone's backstory or whatever, I can handle that fine- but when it comes to RP'ing, it's as off-limits with me as you can get.

I'm sorry if you want to progress a story between our characters by having me RP a torture scene- because that's not happening. And don't you dare look at this and call me innocent. I had a year. I knew what I was doing.- And I sat back and did nothing.- I replied, over and over. I thought it'd get better. It never did. Eventually, I don't remember how or why, but... We stopped contacting each other. I haven't heard from them since, and while I hope they found RP partners who could handle a godmodding (their character was basically a god in every RP, couldn't be injured/if they were, they were immune to pain) torture-lover, I... Could not.

Of course, I don't like RPs where I'm not warned in advance about a character getting hurt/kidnapped/etc. anymore, either- but that's less a 'no way hosay' and more a 'kinda iffy' thing. I do like the ideas behind them, but I just... They remind me way too much of this one partner.

Sorry this got so long.- I guess I just kinda... Went into vent mode. But, at least now you all know why torture is on my 'no way on God's green as fuck Earth' list?

#[personality quizzes: asks]#[fanfiction author: mun]#vent #vent tw #cyancaat #torture mention tw #torture tw #gore tw #gore mention tw #eye trauma tw #trauma tw #needles tw #needles mention #[-*I think that's all the tw's*-]#[-*if I missed one please let me know!!*-]#[-*but yeah this-- this got LONG*-]#[-*I'm very iffy on angst so it's usually best to ask me in advance/check my memes*-]#[-*but torture is an ultra no-go from me*-]

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acraftedmistake · 3 years

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A Person Who Has Never Played MCSM Writes A Story About MCSM Chp. 17

“I cannot BELIEVE you!”

“Stella, I’m really sorry that all this happened. I didn’t think--” Aiden couldn’t even finish his excuse as Stella raised her voice again.

“Didn’t think WHAT?! That our former friend--that messed up freak who used to live with us--wouldn’t try to get in and get answers?!”

“Why did Jesse even think Stella had the hat in the first place?” Maya asked, closing the front door.

She and Aiden just came back from chasing Jesse. Well, trying to chase. By the time they reached the streets, Jesse was long gone.

Jess and Olivia were in the kitchen. Only place with no windows to see them.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Stella sneered, “What do you think, Aiden?”

Everyone in the living room immediately turned to him. The color drained from his face.

“Look.” Aiden threw his hands up, “It was rather I lie or I give away Jess and Olivia are here. I did not want to take any chances.”

“But why’d ya have to use Stella?! She could’ve gotten killed!” Gill exclaimed, joining Stella’s side.

“You could’ve lied about anything--you didn’t even need to answer him!” Jess exclaimed. Everyone else looked back at Olivia and Jess, who had to sit in the kitchen now. There weren’t any windows there. It was the safest option.

“And THESE two!” Stella pointed to them, “Just where did you take them!? Why did you leave the house!? Now, thanks to you, we’re going to need check all the locks and barricade--”

“Don’t blame Aiden for that!” Olivia shouted, she shrunk when people looked back at her again. “It was my fault. I’m the one who wanted to go out. I’m sorry.”

“Aiden didn’t have to take you though, and if he really wanted to, he could’ve told one of us.” Maya folded her arms.

Aiden grit his teeth, “Oh, so suddenly I’m the bad guy for wanting to do something NICE!”

That led to an eruption of arguments. Gill, Aiden, and Maya were all yelling over each other. Stella, whose frustration had boiled over, began to cry angry tears which only fanned the flames. All Jess and Olivia could do was sit and watch from the bar table, listening and watching Aiden get torn apart.

Through all the yelling, Stella cut in, “You know, I’m not even mad you used me for that terrible lie, I’m MAD that you didn’t tell me! Gill and I could’ve been prepared, we could’ve come up with a plan to capture him, or--or slow him down, ANYTHING!”

“You were gonna get mad no matter what I did!” Aiden shot back.

“Aiden, c’mon, ya threw her under the minecart--!” Gill tried to reach out but winced when pain shot through his injured arm.

Aiden snapped, “I’m trying to make everything work out for everyone so things don’t get worse--”

“Aiden, I could’ve DIED!” Stella shouted.

“That doesn’t MATTER anymore! You’re alive. FINE. What matters is getting these two home and bringing Jesse back! That’s ALL.”

Everyone stopped.

Aiden’s face dropped as Stella stared back at him, hand on her chest, breathing heavily as more tears spilled from her eyes.

“Stella…” Aiden mumbled, stepping closer, “Stella, I’m… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.”

Stella turned away, hiding her tearful face with her hair. Gill gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

“We’re all stressed over Jesse breaking in, but there was no reason to say that, Aiden.” Maya growled, joining Stella’s side. “Sure, she’s alive, but this whole thing could’ve been avoided.”

Aiden could only stare at his friends before bringing his head down, not saying another word.

Stella brushed her hair aside, trying to steady her breaths, but she suddenly gasped.

“Oh Hero.” Stella’s eyes widened. She held onto Gill’s shoulder, keeping him still to get a better look at his injury, “You’ve been stabbed!”

Gill jumped and quickly put his hand over the injured shoulder, as if trying to hide it. The arrow was still sticking out, his sleeve torn and stained blood.

“It’s just one arrow! I can take it out m’self! Really! I jus’ didn’t wanna stress ya out some more.”

“Absolutely not!” Stella grabbed his hand and started marching towards the stairs, “You’re our friend. If you really think our argument is more important than your wellbeing, you’re wrong.”

As the two went up the steps, Stella looked back down.

“Maya, could you lend a hand?”

Aiden could feel Maya’s glare.

“Yeah. You got it.” She followed her friends up.

Aiden could only stand and listen as his friends grew further and further away, their voices reduced to muffles.

It was silent for a few moments. Jess and Olivia had no idea what to say, they didn’t know if there was anything they could do. Aiden hadn’t even moved from his spot yet.

Jess bit the bottom of his lip. He sat up, ready to call Aiden’s name--when Aiden finally took a step forward.

“Great.” Aiden muttered, “Juuuust great.” Aiden dragged his feet to the wooden column and punched it as hard as he could, shaking the room. He leaned against the column, “You two are stuck here, Jesse broke in, and now everyone hates me.” He sighed, “Wonder what else I’m gonna screw up.”

“Aiden, they don’t hate you.” Olivia said, “They’re your friend, but can you really blame them for being upset?”

“I know, I just--I didn’t want to put you two in danger.” Aiden hadn’t even glanced at the two yet. His eyes were still on the ground.

“Right, I get that, and as much as we appreciate it, you put your own friends in danger.” Jess got out of his seat and approached Aiden.

“Stella and Gill got seriously hurt. You need to apologize.” Jess’ brow furrowed.

Aiden hesitantly folded his arms and faced a nearby window.

“You’re right.” He mumbled. “I’m gonna do it tomorrow. I wanna give them space.” He was pretty sure the last thing his friends needed was to see his sorry face after today’s events.

“You should apologize now.” Jess put his hands on his hips.

Aiden’s nose scrunched.

“It’ll feel forced.” Aiden answered, “I’d rather take a while to give them something genuine than forced.”

Jess and Olivia exchanged concerned looks with each other. A late apology is better than no apology, right?

“How bout this.” Jess joined Olivia, “You turn in for the day, think about how you’re gonna make it up to your friends, while Olivia and I go barricade the windows.”

“That’s a great idea!” Olivia perked up.

Aiden faced them, “You sure?”

“I mean, we’re gonna be up all day, might as well do something. You okay with us moving furniture around?” asked Jess. He was already scanning around the house, making mental notes of where the windows were and what objects were nearby.

“It’d be nice to help around, and, uh…” Olivia played with a lock of her hair, “I feel terrible that we’ve been dead weight for you guys.”

“No, you’re not. Don’t say. You guys have been great.” Aiden took off his jacket, “We don’t mind the noise. Just don’t get yourselves killed.”

“Ah, we’ll be okay.” Jess waved.

“You promise us you’re going to apologize to your friends soon?” Olivia asked, now pulling on her hair.

Aiden looked into Olivia’s eyes and tugged at his collar, “Yeah. First thing tomorrow. I promise.”

“Alright, sleep well.” Jess said, watching Aiden go upstairs.

Aiden nodded, “Have a good day.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Of course.

Of course out of all the days Jesse decides to leave the shrine, it’s the day he’s supposed to help Cecil with today’s work. Why, it’s not like he infuriated Brenner by leaving earlier this week, or getting Mahlon to nearly tear his hair out during the last Gathering because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Cecil’s still certain Mahlon’s planning on ripping Jesse apart after what he’s pulled. He’s never let it slide before, it won’t slide now. What a wonderful member Jesse is. Truly.

Now Cecil has to clean around the nave, prepare the materials for the next Gathering, help write the next script, and check on the progress with the other members all by himself.

Cecil grumbled about Jesse as he spread his red blanket over his bed and started tucking the corners into the mattress. He grabbed his pillows, nails digging into it, tempted to rip it in half, but he took a deep breath, ran his fingers through his light blond hair, and placed the pillow where it belonged.

No, he will not let that… That animal destroy his composure. He is a Sense, a leader, a shining beacon of leadership, balance, and loyalty. He is far better than Jesse will ever be. Jesse can only dream to be as dedicated as he is.

Jesse’s room is horrendous, Jesse never cares for himself, Jesse will leave the shrine without permission. Negligence and disloyalty. Characteristics the Awakening rightfully shuns.

Cecil? He’s wonderful. An inspiration for all members, one could say. His room is in top shape, his appearance is glorious, and he only leaves the shrine when instructed to.

Speaking of appearance…

Cecil did a quick rundown of his attire. His black shoes were polished, his wine pants and dusty yellow shirt wrinkle-free, his red cloak was smoothed out as well, and the golden button of his yellow collar was centered. Cecil had a lock of hair in his face he tried to push aside, but it fell back. Regardless of the lock, everything was perfect--

Cecil suddenly stopped and hurriedly searched inside his pants pockets. Relief came over him when he felt the torn piece of cloth inside. Good. Good. Wouldn’t want to lose that.

Cecil went over to his dark oak dresser and grabbed the notes on top. It was a small list of reminders for himself. Most of the tasks were related to the upcoming Gathering, which Cecil wouldn’t need to help with until another hour, so that gives him time to clean around the room. Dust his desk, fold his clothes, organize his sewing supplies, arrange everything neatly, small things to make it nicer.

As Cecil skimmed the list, he remembered the absolute headache he’d be getting once Jesse returns. That man will do nothing but talk back and make his work harder until the Visions put him in place.

Cecil was all too familiar with Jesse rushing out of the shrine to cause problems, but usually Jesse tries to be on his best behavior after Brenner punishes him. He’ll try to do extra work, or at the very least apologize to make the Visions content.

But to Cecil’s dismay, Jesse left. Again. Cecil wondered what motivated Jesse to leave without warning. It was certainly a bold move. Absolutely irrational, but bold.

Cecil can’t stand that man. There isn’t a single redeeming thing about him. He knows the Visions need Jesse, that they need inside information about the enemies, but he can’t wait until his use has finally worn out. Oh, how he’d love to--

“Cecil!” Brenner called. Cecil jumped.

“Yes sir?”

Brenner opened his door and walked in, a look of displeasure on his face.

“Have you seen Jesse?” Brenner asked, his deep voice carried an all too familiar tone to it. A tone that’d turn bitter if Cecil were to give the wrong answer.

“No sir! I believe he went to the nearby town.” Cecil stiffened when Brenner’s frown turned to a scowl. That wasn’t what Brenner wanted to hear, but it was all Cecil could give.

“You mean to tell me, despite given direct orders, he has gone against my word? And you did nothing to stop him?” Brenner spoke through gritted teeth.

Panic started to rise in Cecil.

“No, I--I wasn’t aware he left until--”

Brenner raised his hand, “I do not want to hear your excuses. You are meant to watch over the members in this shrine, yet you’ve failed to keep track of just one.”

“I apologize, sir.” Cecil bowed, “I am ashamed of myself. I will strive to do better next time.”

Cecil could feel Brenner’s glare pierce through him. He tried to steady his breaths. This wasn’t the first time he’s lost sight of Jesse, and given how unpredictable he can be, it won’t be the last. He can’t control when Jesse leaves, he should’ve kept a better eye on him, but he can only do so much--but he needs to do better! He didn’t mean for this to happen, but it did, and he’s at fault.

Cecil awaited for the criticism he deserved, but when he brought his head up, Brenner was already leaving his room. Cecil scrambled and followed behind.

Brenner didn’t say a word as they walked down the cold hall, the redstone torches providing specks of warmth and filling the silence with their crackling. Cecil was still waiting. Waiting for Brenner to voice his disappointment, his frustration, but he didn’t. Which made his heart beat even faster. Cecil thought of all the ways he could make it up to Brenner. He could get him some books from the library room, or polish his weapons, or he could care for Mahlon’s garden! He never minds doing extra work for the Visions! Both they and The Awakening are worth every second.

Cecil was about to ask Brenner if he needed any help, but Brenner spoke.

“Have you heard from the people who volunteered to reactivate the portals?”

“I have heard that Axel has been at the library researching different flint and steels for the portals.” Cecil replied.

Brenner didn’t react.

“One member did manage to reach the portal near the ancient mineshaft’s entrance.”

“And has there been any activity?” Brenner asked.

“None yet, sir.”

The corner of Brenner’s mouth twitched, “So there has been no progress.”

“I’m afraid not.”

The two entered the nave. The redstone torches along the walls and by the stage were unlit. Cecil could see a few belongings scattered under the benches that members had forgotten, and below the podium was the basket of money they had gathered. Cecil will need to take care of these chores soon.

Cecil glanced at Brenner, who seemed far from satisfied with the reports. He didn’t want to bring only bad news to Brenner.

“I’ve yet to hear from the member who went to the Shrine of Eyes, so there’s a chance the portal there could’ve been activated!”

“Or it is simply another failure.” Brenner didn’t even entertain the thought.

Brenner placed his hand on a nearby wall and dragged it along. He stopped once he felt the railings of the stage’s stairs, held onto it, then made his way onto the stage, “We’ll need to branch out further, it seems. As much as I hate the idea of putting our members through such long travels, we won’t get anywhere feeling sorry about ourselves.”

Cecil did recall the many shrines he had seen years ago before he became a Sense. It was when he and an old friend had to chase their enemies through numerous sights to try and stop them from ruining the Awakening’s magnificent magma beast. Forests, caves, towns, abandoned villages… Most of the shrines they found were underground, few were on the surface, and there were probably hundreds more buried beneath rubble. It took Cecil and his friend days--weeks, even--to travel across the land. If they send their members out there, they’d need to be well prepared and go with a partner.

Cecil fixed his cloak, “Where should we start--”

The doors suddenly slammed open. They hit the walls and echoed throughout the nave.

And there stood Jesse.

He leaned against a column with a large smile on his face and laughter coming out with each breath. He was panting, his sleeve was soaked with blood, but despite all that, he was smiling.

“Jesse…?” Cecil whispered. Brenner brought his head up.

“Now just where have you been?!” Cecil stomped over to him, “Did you really think you could leave without permission from the Visions and be--”

“The portal…” Jesse said through heavy breaths. Cecil stopped. Brenner drew near.

“It works.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jesse laid in his bed. Cecil sat beside him, holding his arm and plucking the glass out of his skin with a tweezer. His arm was starting to feel numb from Cecil holding it up for so long.

“How did this even happen?” Jesse heard Cecil complain as he carefully took out a piece of glass.

“Broke a window.”

Cecil grumbled as he placed the piece on a small, blood stained towel where the rest of the pieces sat, “If I recall, the Visions wanted you to make less of a scene, not more.”

Jesse rolled his eyes. Cecil wiped off the tweezers with a cleaner towel and brought it to Jesse’s arm again.

“Why they even give you so many chances is beyond me.” Cecil muttered, grabbing a rather large piece of glass.

“Hey, usually I come back with information or something good the Visions can use. It’s not like I mess up all the time. Could you imagine if I kept coming back empty handed? Or constantly beaten up? The Visions would never want someone as incompetent as that--OW!” Jesse yelped when Cecil tore the large chunk out of his arm. A horrible glare paired with a frustrated smile on his face.

“You’re just lucky you came in with good news, or Brenner would’ve thrown you back into that dark room where you belong.” Cecil hissed. He wiped the tweezers and placed them on Jesse’s nightstand before carefully wrapping the glass shards with the towel.

Cecil then grabbed the bandages from the stand and began unraveling it.

“Jeez, I thought you’d be a little happy I found out one of those portals worked.” Jesse turned his head away. He really wanted to move around and get into a more comfortable position, but he didn’t want to put up with Cecil’s whining while his arm was still in his hand.

“I am happy, but I’m certain I would be much happier if I was celebrating and helping the Visions with the next steps instead of wrapping up your injuries like a child!”

Jesse groaned and stared at the wall while Cecil worked on his arm. He can’t wait for blondie to leave so he can actually feel happy about his friend and the portal. Cecil just has to tear away any ounce of joy, doesn’t he?

“I spoke to Radar last time I went out.” Jesse said, looking at the symbols carved into the wall.

He waited for a reply. Nothing.

“He still doesn’t miss you.”

Cecil’s nails dug into his skin.

Jesse was hoping for more of a reaction, but it was better than nothing.

Finally, after several minutes of agonizing silence, Cecil finished.

“There. See how much faster things go when you don’t make a fuss?” Cecil said as he picked up the equipment from the nightstand. Jesse only huffed in response.

Cecil got off the bed, “Now that you’ve discovered the working portal, I’m hoping you’ll actually stay in the shrine and help.”

Jesse kept his mouth shut. He really didn’t want to listen to Cecil’s whiny voice for another minute. Jesse knew he helped plenty in and out of the shrine, the Visions had told him so before. He didn’t need Cecil’s approval to confirm that.

Jesse smiled when Cecil stepped out of his room.

“Bye Cecil! Don’t let Mahlon hit you on the way out!” He gave a little wave. Cecil shot him a vile glare before slamming the door.

Jesse chuckled and slowly laid back down, being careful not to hurt his arm.

He’d usually be much angrier at Cecil’s attitude, and he’d be much more bothered with his injured arm--especially since it’s his good arm--but he wasn’t. He couldn’t be. How could he feel so bad at a time like this? Cecil’s bickering, the pain, the fight back in Obsidian Town, all of it washed away as he thought about Olivia. That’s all that mattered to him, really. Seeing that glimpse of her filled him with joy, it brought color back to this world, it was everything he needed to see.

He shifted around on the old mattress, hugging himself as he thought of ways he’d reunite with Olivia. He needs to think of ways to help her out of Aiden’s house. They’re filling her mind with awful lies, no doubt. They’ll try to make her hate him as well.

Jesse stared at the stone ceiling, the red light from the torches flickering off the walls, and thought of how to rescue Olivia.

‘Write your thoughts down.’ A voice in Jesse’s head said. That’d be a great way to help him brainstorm, plus he didn’t have a chance to write yesterday.

Jesse rolled over to the edge of his bed and stuck his hand into the side, where he made a large hole months ago. He dug around the cushions, eyes lighting up when he felt the cover of his journal.

He pulled it out and flipped to the newest page. He turned to his nightstand to grab his pen, but it wasn’t there. It was there earlier, did Cecil steal it? It doesn’t matter, he had plenty of other pens on his desk.

Jesse got up and walked across his bedroom, stepping over torn notes, book pages, used bandages, dirty clothes, and his iron sword--which he was careful not to step on the blade.

This is the cleanest his room’s been in quite some time, honestly. Usually he was too busy helping the Visions or too exhausted to ever clean it. He never found the time--nor motivation--to ever pick it up. The most he ever did to ‘organize’ was put his clothes in a wooden basket, since he didn’t have a dresser. He didn’t really mind the basket, he never had a big wardrobe in the first place. The rest of his items were usually shoved under the bed, thrown on the floor, or piled onto his desk and chair.

Maybe he could clean around here after he wrote. He could stack his stuff against the walls to hide the marks and scratches, he could put the books on the small shelves of his desk, throw away the trash, place his valued possessions somewhere safer… He has plenty of time to clean since Brenner allowed him to take the rest of the day off. He actually wants to put in the effort for once. He remembers how much Olivia never liked a mess, despite her room always being ‘organized chaos’ as she called it.

Maybe if he cleans it well enough, there’ll be enough space for Olivia to share! It’ll be just like old times. The Visions should be okay with it.

Jesse got to his desk and started moving whatever items he had off the wooden top. It was quite a sturdy desk, considering it was holding up so many of his belongings; books, old ink bottles, shards of broken weapons. The desk was made of spruce with a drawer below the top. Behind the desk and pushed against the wall was a bookcase the same color. The shelves were disorganized, just like everything else in his room.

Anytime Jesse found a feathered pen, he’d quickly scribble on a piece of paper, then grumble when he got nothing before tossing it aside and looking for another pen.

‘There’s probably some more hiding under the books.’

Jesse started grabbing whatever books he could and placed them on the ground, making sure to be quiet. The Visions hated it when he got noisy.

Jesse would skim the titles of the books he moved. Most of them were gifted to him by the Visions, the others he’d stolen from the library. The books centered around the Hero, The Impossible Man, a few were about old crafts and creations like portals and mining mechanisms, and one book about redstone. He only ever used redstone to make torches, he didn’t know how to make any of those fancy contraptions, nor was he allowed to use much dust, but it was the only thing he had that reminded him of Olivia. Lukas’ missing poster was tucked between the pages.

He was sure to be gentle with that book.

Jesse went to grab another, but stopped when he saw the book of Awakening Weapons that Brenner had given him. This was one of his favorite books. The art on each page, the history behind each piece, and what each weapon symbolized always drew him back. He’s read this hundreds of times, and he’ll read it a hundred more.

Jesse started flipping through the pages, halting whenever he found a weapon he recognized. Most of the weapons he had seen before were found throughout his and his former-friends’ adventures. Cassie and Petra had found a couple in the Nether, and Hadrian and Mevia mounted the weapons they had on their walls or threw them into their umbrella rack.

Jesse has seen spears, hammers, tridents, even a fan, and those were only a small handful out of who knows how many undiscovered weapons.

Jesse soon found the page that had Brenner’s weapon. A sword. A brilliant sword.

He’s seen Brenner use it in the training room before. It was about the size of Jesse’s leg. It’s broad, silver blade still had an extraordinarily sharp tip. Despite its length and how heavy it seemed, Brenner swung it around with ease.

In the book, the author had mentioned that the grip and guard of the sword was a dark teal color. While Brenner’s certainly had the teal, it also had blotches of dusty red. Rust, most likely.

Jesse never had the chance to study the sword up close, Brenner wouldn’t allow it, but he knew there had to be Awakening symbols etched into it, along with speckles of the magnificent, red dust. The other weapons Jesse’s seen before had such details, Brenner’s sword wouldn’t be an exception.

The training room held a few more Awakening weapons; an axe, daggers, a shield, and another spectacular, diamond sword Jesse had his eye on. There were probably more weapons stored in the chests.

Brenner was the only one who used these weapons. Mahlon didn’t have the strength anymore. Mahlon has told him how he used to be ‘Quite the fighter’ back when he was Jesse’s age, but nowadays it seems he uses most of his energy for shouting. Cecil wasn’t allowed to use any of the weapons, Brenner forbade it, so Cecil used his own daggers. Jesse’s seen Cecil use heavier weapons in the past, so forbidding him from using them is for the best. Brenner had once mentioned that Antonin used to train with him, and their matches would last quite a while. Antonin often used the sword Jesse liked, the shield, and the daggers.

Jesse uses what’s given to him. The iron swords, bows and arrows, and sometimes one of Cecil’s daggers if he’s able to steal it for the day.

Jesse once questioned if he’d ever be able to use any Awakening weapons one day.

“These weapons have been passed down through generations of Visions and Senses. They are made for the strongest and most dedicated of members.” Brenner’s words echoed in his head.

“Are they only for the leaders?”

Jesse still remembered the way Brenner swung his sword. The determined, concentrated look in his eyes.

“There are exceptions. They may be gifted to members who have proven their loyalty towards the Awakening. Those who have risked their lives for others, who have been beside the Visions for years… They must be worthy of such weapons.”

Suddenly a long, high, quivering creek brought Jesse back to reality. That sounded like Mahlon’s door.

Jesse stood in his room and stared at the book in his hands.

He wasn’t getting any writing done.

He still needs to find a way to save Olivia.

He should get to it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brenner stepped into Mahlon’s room, “Sir?”

“Now, now, you know you don’t need to call me that.” Mahlon replied from his desk. Brenner could hear the scratching of pen against paper, and the sound of redstone torches snapping. “Is all well? I heard you speaking with Jesse.”

“Yes. He had gone to town for a few moments.”

“And I’m hoping he hasn’t caused another scene?” Mahlon carefully closed his bottle of ink and placed it on the top left shelf of his desk, where he kept the rest of his writing supplies. His right shelves had the more sentimental items; photos, small jewelry, his favorite books.

Brenner came closer, the smell of old books and wet soil of Mahlon’s plants became stronger.

“No, however…”

Mahlon’s grip on his pen tightened as he prepared for the worse.

“... He has discovered a successful portal in one of the abandoned shrines.”

Mahlon froze.

His pen fell to the floor.

“How…” Mahlon whispered, his heart pounding in his chest, “How is he so sure?”

“He’s stated to have found his once-dead friend in the nearby town. She appeared mere days after the Shrine of Eyes had been activated, I find it hard to believe this is a coincidence. I also doubt Jesse would lie about such a thing. We should start focusing on--!” Brenner was suddenly pulled closer by Mahlon.

Mahlon’s joyful laughter filled the room as he spun and danced around, hands locked with Brenner’s.

“Oh this is wonderful! This is fantastic!” Mahlon cheered. It’s been ages since he’s been so happy, so joyous, so full of energy! This is what they’ve been needing for so long. It’s what they’ve been looking for for so long! Hope. Even the tiniest speck of it was enough to light up the entire shrine.

Brenner moved along with Mahlon, his ‘dancing’ more like rigid steps as he focused on making sure Mahlon didn’t stumble over the rug or collide with any of the furniture.

Mahlon thanked the Hero as they danced. He thanked the Hero for blessing them, for giving those who have passed a second chance, for making such miracles possible.

“It is wonderful news, isn’t it?” Brenner said, no trace of enthusiasm in his voice.

Mahlon slowed, “Aren’t you happy? Excited?”

“I am.” Brenner let go of Mahlon’s hands, “But I will save my energy for later.”

Brenner stepped away and placed his hands behind his back, “Please don’t let me stop you from celebrating. I’ve a lot on my mind on what our next steps should be.”

“Oh dear, you’re right. We have to figure out the portal’s materials, how to prepare the vault below, and--and we need to tell the members of this news as well!” Mahlon couldn’t stay still. He rushed back to his desk and grabbed a clean sheet of paper; he needs to write this down!

“Exactly.” Brenner lifted his head, “We have much to prepare for.”

#mcsm #minecraft story mode #mcsm aiden #mcsm jesse #mcsm stella #mcsm maya #mcsm gill #mcsm olivia #mcsm oc #mcsm cecil #mcsm brenner #mcsm mahlon #fic #hope u enjoy!!!!!!#had fun writin this sucker hehe

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