#I Am Going. to go finish that etho episode :))))

[luckyofthelawnvariety]

I've finished Etho's s7 hermitcraft so guess who's back with a slightly updated/slightly consolidated list of things about ethoslab I have noticed! or just enjoy!

(the previous list)

I have no idea when he learned to noteblock. I don't know if he knows. he knows how to noteblock tho. he's really good at it.

on that note, did you know that there is not a single piece of non-noteblock music in etho's s7 after the first episode? there might not even be any in the first episode. every single timelapse or montage is set to noteblock music

(he sang along to parts of his paper planes noteblock cover too. he was going shopping. I was entirely too delighted)

(also, there is some like...sitcom music theme that I don't know what show it's from. it's bothering me that I don't know. what you need to know is that throughout his s7 etho uses said sitcom theme as the transition before Shenanigans With Fellow Hermits clips play. his life is a sitcom. yes it is the noteblock version.)

I think that etho desperately needs minigames for enrichment. if he's not playing one he's working on one. he needs them and he will let them completely consume his life

the etho decked out 1 runs are hilarious, partially because it's funny to see him play it and realize how absolutely insane decked out 2 is, and how much of a madlad tango is. etho is still the same menace with great luck and skills. I had forgotten about the hole to the void in the middle out decked out 1 tho, that was a fun reminder

etho could make a career out of translating classic type games into minecraft. he kind of has, but it's a pattern.

he also keeps coming up with new games that are minecraft only and is good at figuring out how to balance them well.

again, king of minigames. he will in fact analyze them as much as possible. he caught on to the pattern of impulse's whack a mole game in like...2 rounds? maybe 3? he's good at pattern recognition and will put it to good use no matter the minigame

etho, I cannot stress this enough, is a little shit and enjoys being such. free glass is obviously an iconic moment, but I had forgotten about him scamming scar out of diamonds for "information" about the resistance, or about sneak-e-e's business model (you can't tax what you can't find!), or about how he kept being extremely ridiculous with beef in regards to record shop payments...the list goes on

etho is also very competitive. I mentioned this in the last list, but man...he joins like every single competition he can. he wants to win. he's not like, a sore loser, but he likes to win, and he'll get a little upset if he doesn't.

etho and beef have clearly known each other a long time and ngl I miss their interactions a bit. let them bother each other a bit more please. I want to see them trying to kill each other in ridiculous ways again please. or doing minigames together. they're so silly.

kind of similar, but etho loves getting a rise out of people and it is the best thing ever actually. it's fun watching him use dirty tricks to beat bdubs to sleeping for a prize. it's perfect actually.

that being said, I still really like when etho is just on his own working on stuff too. s7 has a lot of moments where etho will go "I'm gonna use this block palette!" and I will think "bro that's ugly" and then he will make an extremely cohesive build that I want to live in out of it. I think a good way to describe it is that for example bdubs is really good at detailed builds with texture and not much color, and a very realistic twist to them. etho is not afraid to use color at all, and embraces how the colors can work together or contrast. it's fascinating to watch and I love it.

he is also a redstone genius. I feel I am starting to understand how some things with redstone work. could I design something myself? absolutely not but I could work from a tutorial and not feel completely lost on why I have to use a dispenser and not a dropper now.

I think s7 etho is really experimenting a lot with style and how he wants to do things. he does a few more elaborate intros, for example, that are very planned out, but he also does a lot of the classic "hello everybody this is etho and welcome back to hermitcraft!" it's fun and it works, but I honestly feel he might be more confident in some ways now in s10, which is nice to see.

(side note—I think etho has some trouble with tone sometimes, where he really wants to make sure everyone's having a good time, but also he really wants to tease people. this works well with like Beef, who he's known a while, but especially in people he's known less he's quick to catch on if they take what he's saying too seriously, and clarify that he is teasing. it's nice to see tbh, just the clarity even with his audience)

speaking of llamas, I had not realized how recent some really big updates were. bamboo and pandas were new at the start of s7. the nether update came like halfway through?? I was more in the casual build side of mcyt at the time but man...I didn't realize how crazy that is to think about.

just...the way that etho visualizes builds is great. not just like, leaving space for farms, but filling in the spaces with a lot of details that make sense but also work with the space to cover anything it needs to AND to connect with the rest of the base. the sightlines thing is something I see a lot of other builders using but etho really uses them a lot in the Monstrosity in order to keep it from being Too Much as you walk through.

really just...he wants to have fun, and he wants to learn, and he wants to experiment and figure things out. if he can mess with some friends when he does it, that's a great bonus, yknow?

man. what a guy.

[wasyago]

yago what if tango and etho are somehow the last two standing, what do you think would happen are they gon be at each others throats or

statistically, there's only like.... a 0.04% chance of both of them making it to the end, considering how skilled and good at the game they both are... but if it were to happen...

god i don't know. this whole "tuff guys" situationship they got going on is honestly driving me a little crazy, because bdubs is over there like "etho, let's kill tango!", etho is in 10 different alliances simultaneously and let's be honest bdubs and tango aren't the strongest of the bunch, and tango is still for some reason trying to keep them together even if he knows it's gonna backfire. i am NOT normal about the whatever episode it was where tango was playing the leader, and his goals were to help each other survive and get kills? when originally they said that they shouldn't trust each other and that they should backstab each other if the opportunity presents itself??? and the other two are very clearly very ready to kill tango if they can????????? while tango is not doing anything about it and pretends that they're a functional team?????????????

so. if it was only tango and etho left. i feel like they're both very set on "doing what they're supposed to" in a way, so they'll both try to win and kill each other. i dont see them being all like "oh no we're allies we can't kill each other" because they were never really allies.

i think etho can be a bit ruthless at times, unintentionally or not. the moments from limited life come to mind, one where he kills skizz ("i just wish you were better at the game") and another where he kills joel ("you saved me, so now i can kill you"). so it's not new for him to kill people he was close with. and i dont think tango can be an exception... it takes a lot for etho to feel like he owes the victory to someone and that he should sacrifice himself for them. and tango sadly didn't earn his loyalty. (a point can be made that etho didn't want his loyalty to begin with, but im not gonna talk about it because im afraid ill have to fly to canada afterwards for unspecified reasons)

so. etho will most likely try to be the tough guy he always wanted to be, and he'll earnestly try to win and kill tango. "nice guys finish last" is a horrible way to phrase anything but i feel like at some point etho would say that.

tango however... tango has this thing where he kinda gives up at the end, because he doesn't deem himself skilled enough to win, so he just goofs around until he dies (did so in limited and secret lives, don't remember anything about others sadly). that's why it's so hard for him to be in the last two. i think he will be a little lost on what to do when it's only him and etho left, because there's no more room for messing around, this is serious suddenly, he either dies or he wins the series. that's a lot of pressure. but losing intentionally is not really an option, he has to at least try to win, to not be a total disappointment. and i mean, cmon now he can't lose to etho. etho did nothing to even make tango consider giving him the victory willingly, etho betrayed them.

maybe they'll make a little tuff circle to fight in <3

i doubt it though. there's not a whole lot of tension and drama between them to make them take their time to resolve it and give proper attention to their last fight. they'll probably just meet in a field somewhere and everything will happen too quickly and anticlimactically.

they both suck tho so idk who'd win :/

[fountainpenguin]

Secret Life finale highlights for me:

- "My strategy: Kill Skizz and Tango. Will happen at some point... Or, just maim them and watch them die in a corner." - Scar

- Scott on Grian's loyalty: "I have never seen a man drop a pair of sunglasses faster in my life [than last season after Joel died]."

- I think I reblogged someone's speculation weeks ago that at the dawn of final session, everyone's task book would just say "Win Secret Life." Congrats to them for Apollo's gift of prophecy.

- Martyn's beat of pause before saying to Joel "Welcome to the Out of Context video."

- At the start of the season, Etho said Joel was the first one he wanted to kill because "He's cheeky." When Joel is asked who he wants to kill, he says "Etho." Glad you're enjoying your rivalry, boys, smh...

- Joel, once again giving into his Shrek origins, watching Bdubs' wool globe go up in flames and chirping "My world's on fire; how 'bout yours?"

- Tango does not break his "pathetic death" curse. Just blipped out of existence. Love that for him.

- Spitting, crying... BigB panics and flees into his creepy backrooms for safety. Immediately vanishes into the tunnel maze. Scar pursues and skids to a halt because he hasn't seen it yet and is thoroughly creeped out.

- Scar coming up to surface and trying to describe how BigB disappeared. Martyn looks down at where they're standing and is just like "Oh, that's the backrooms." Mental image of Scar as that meme that goes "The. what."

- Scar describing BigB as a sneaky squirrel. "Squirrel" was the name of BigB's horse in Double Life.

- Joel's anxiety about entering a Nether portal on the final episode, specifically because of how he and Etho perma-died in Double Life

- Whatever was going on with Martyn flinging ender pearls up the ladder seconds before he died

- Additionally, people in the background commenting that they think Martyn's teamed up with Cleo and the only reason he was near them was an attempt to bear down and kill them

- Scar to Bdubs, watching Cleo and Etho from a distance: "Look at this- Mom and Dad are bringing their new ugly stepson to meet us, Bdubs." /camera pans to the warden chasing them

- Bdubs tells Scar that Cleo said he was her favorite son and Scar IMMEDIATELY, without responding or even waiting for Bdubs to finish his sentence, jumps a wall and books it to Cleo to confirm... Mental image of him swinging dramatically over it with one hand, his shawl billowing behind him

- Scar chases Cleo while they're both being pursued by a warden, asking her if he's her favorite son. Doesn't let up until she assures him she "just said it to keep Bdubs happy." what is wrong with the Clocker family.

- Joel somehow pulled off a beautiful PVP kill on Skizz despite having only 2.5 hearts

- In earlier episodes, Joel had people say "The florist sends his regards" on his behalf before striking. Before killing Skizz, he says "Scar sends his regards" since Scar really wanted to kill Skizz but bequeathed the fight to Joel instead.

- Scar trotting up to Etho and Cleo, who are watching him from a cliff, and announcing "I am not up to anything nefarious!"

- Scar's weird spiky wall design is really pretty

- slkdjfskldjfsklj?!?!?!? I had a bullet point on this list that said "Honorable non-finale mention to Scar getting both the Green and Yellow kill on Etho this season" but now I see I need to correct that:

- Shout-out to Scar killing Etho - in Etho's front yard - THREE TIMES this season. Etho rushing back to his base, tripping over his feet and saying "I'm going home, everybody- I'm dying at my home-"

- Scott to Scar: "I went down to BigB - to get him - and I see what you mean; he does just talk his way out of things so you feel bad; you just leave him." / Scar: "That's why you don't let him speak. You just inner monologue. You start talking about Star Wars so you can't hear his charms."

- As Scar drives his sword into Cleo, he says "Good-bye, Mom- This is for you telling Bdubs [he's your] favorite." Geez, dude. Scar killed both his parents; this family is a mess. Bonus points for Joel fumbling in the background like "Oh my gosh- Scar, you savage-"

- I watched multiple POVs until I was caught up to the standoff between Gem & The Scotts vs. The Mounders... So picking up from there with Scar's POV b/c his is the one I randomly started with today: I love how Joel basically went "I am once again throwing caution to the wind and charging into battle with a murderous Red rage in my eyes and no one behind me" like he ALWAYS does.

- Bdubs and Scar decide to back him up... Amazing.

- Scar has gotten 4 kills (Tango, Etho, Cleo, Impulse) and he was super close to getting BigB as well before Scott sniped the kill. Geez... The man is vicious today. During Limited Life, Grian made a comment that went something like "Of course Scar is only destructive / successful when I'm not on his team" and honestly? Yeah...

- Pearl begging Scar to kill her- Pearl warning Scar that if she perma-kills Gem, she'll go up 10 hearts- Scar refusing, insisting that he doesn't want to turn on her because it feels lame...

- Scar got Gem, he got Gem... GeminiSlay is DOWN!

- SCAR SWEEP WITH THE BOW!!

Oh my goodness, I saw his episode title ("Can Villain Scar Win?") and the words that went through my head were "Welp, that's a spoiler that he's dead." I see I was wrong.

GG, SCAR WIN!!! Man who wanted so desperately to have friends, only to trip and fail time and time again... GoodTimesWithVictor!!

My heart, Scar letting that zombie knock him down to half a heart... playing up like he didn't just watch the lightning bolt mark Pearl's demise. He wanders, calling out to Pearl, asking where she went... quietly giggling and muttering to himself as that zombie pushes at him... GG, Scar. GG.

My goodness, is this the only time we haven't seen the winner die in their perspective? Scar slams that success button for winning the game, gets 5 hearts, turns back, and that's it... That's the game. End scene.

What a LAD!!

[greiiliss]

Just finished Cleo's episode and I am going absolutely feral!!! She was the last green, I'm so proud of her! Everything with fighting off/running from/hiding from the infected was so tense, my heart was pounding, I was on the edge of my seat.

And the relationship dynamics this episode! Teaming up with the Heart Foundation, putting aside all the differences they've had. She teamed with BigB!!! We got widows alliance! Again! After they insisted it couldn't happen again! "I don't think Etho's going to hurt me, but I don't think he's going to protect me either." And, hello, "Honestly, I kind of want [the person who kills me] to be Martyn" excuse me?!?!?!

I feel insane. I need to lie down. I need to run a mile to burn off energy. I have everyone else's povs to watch. I need to sleep for a thousand years

[jessrambless]

A guide for people wanting to get into Hermitcraft (from a person who has been here since season 6)

Watch season 8 first since it is nice a short. Short to see if you like it and watch one of the shorter povs

I suggest the following for season 8:

Pearl- She has a nice short pov and is new to Hermitcraft in season 8. You are experiencing it with her. Pearl is also Australian and as an Aussie myself I may be bias

Gem- She also has a short pov like Pearl. Also being new to Hermitcraft that season so you are experiencing it with her

Grian- He is a classic but shut up. It will be pure chaos just a warning. I first watched Hermitcraft with his pov in season 6. It was a lovely starting point

Iskall- He has a fun shared base with Etho and a messaging wall with signs. But his pov is really fun to watch and just makes me happy

Next watch season 7. It is lengthy but is the most Hermitcraft season of Hermitcraft. Also the plot lines. I have only watched Grain’s full pov of this but shush

I suggest watching the following:

Grian- He started a war and stole doors the entire season, what else do you want. Also maybe a bit bias since I watched him but yeahhhh

Etho- He just spends his time playing decked out. Then randomly mentions a server wide war he is apart of and slaps on a 20 second clip about it at the end of an episode

Scar- He has an awesome pov for the war that happened. Also the most baffled about the doors but has happy vibes

Mumbo- He has no clue what is happening but it is so funny. Also he is the guy that made Grain steal doors the entire season

Then watch season 9. Even though I made you watch all these seasons to get to the current season because I am so nice

I would suggest to watch these people, it was hard to decide:

Pearl- She is a cleaning lady that joins a war aginst the monarchy and loves soup. Also she has a trash store, literally. I may be bias on this

Zedaph- He is just simply so funny to watch. He doesn’t know much about what is going on and his only goals are to finish the Zedvancements and annoy Tango

Tango- He lives in a cave, I mean decked out. Fun pov if you love techy stuff and also has no clue what is happening

Grian- He makes a robot, forms a rift between 2 servers, starts a resistance assistance and more. Rock dad that was hard to pick between him and Impulse, so also watch imp

Then go back and watch season 6. But I only watched Grain’s pov but at this point watch your favourite hermits from all the seasons you already watched

[cattimeswithjellie]

Wild Secret Life Guessing

NameMC Spoilers ahead!

All right then! As is tradition, as we get towards the end of a Life Series season, it is time for me to start making predictions about future episodes, mainly so I can look back later and either laugh at myself or feel smug and omniscient. Maybe a bit of both. Last session was absolutely wild and it's clear the Secret Keepers are driving towards the finish, so here's what I think is going to happen in Session 8 and possibly beyond!

There is a better-than-even chance that Session 8 is the last session for Secret Life. Under no circumstances will the game go longer than Session 9. CCs want Christmas off too, after all.

There will be no yellows left by the end of Session 8. The reds will take out all the yellows to secure as many hearts as possible, then turn on one another.

Scar permadies in Session 8. We know he turns red in the session and has an absolute banger of a skin for it. Chaos Scar has been aching to emerge for weeks, and he is finally allowed fully out of his cocoon. Scar will not pay attention to the idea of red tasks directing red violence, he will make his own fun and self-destruct gloriously.

Scar will manage to kill at least once in Session 8.

One of the previous winners will sacrifice themselves in an effort at kingmaking. Nobody really wants to win twice, but they all have their favorites. My money right now is on Scott to let somebody take him down to red for the ten hearts.

Mounders alliance is over in Session 8, and all the members join other groups or go unaligned. Joel and Bdubs will probably hook up with Martyn and become Big Dogs. Pearl might try and join the Cherry Blossoms or even the Big Dogs as well (not being literally red has never stopped her before), or she might go off on her own. Mumbo will remain deceased.

Heart Foundation alliance is over in Session 8. BigB will desert the team and retreat into his base with his excellent new Red skin. Tango and Skizz might stick together, but both of them will be gone by the end of the session.

Cherry Blossom Alliance does not formally dissolve but is functionally over in Session 8. Gem and Impulse both betrayed the alliance last session and Scott and Cleo reinvoked the Widows Alliance, which they have clearly been wanting to do all season. NameMC says all of the Cherries are red by the end of the session and I just don't see a lot of trust remaining there.

Roomies Alliance survives during Session 8. Etho got zombified in Session 7 and still managed to not betray the team, cementing their bond of trust. They are also all still yellow at the start of the session, which means they are all a target. They'll still all get picked off, but not, I think, by one another.

There is a slight possibility that Pearl and Gem do some kind of Thelma and Louise thing involving the camel, but that's based on interpretations of Pearl's Twitter emojis and I don't stand by it.

And the big one: Assuming Session 8 is not the final session, who lives, who dies, who goes on to a Session 9 showdown? Here's my list of Session 8 permadeaths, in decreasing order of likelihood.

Scar

Skizzleman

Tango

Bdubs

Gem

Pearl

Martyn

And my prediction for eventual winner? It's hard to say even now, there are a lot of contenders, but I'm going to say Etho. He's positioned very well at the start of Session 8 for a win, he's got good allies and he's yellow with a lot of hearts left. Plus it would be really dramatic if we get to see whether Bdubs is literally ready to die for him, and you know how I feel about the Drama!

Watch this space, I'll be back next week to analyze how things went and how smart I am. And feel free to use comments or reblogs to tell me how very right or incredibly wrong I am, or to add predictions of your own!

[art-i-know-yes]

A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYONE'S (that i watch) AND THEN MARTYN'S EP 4 LIMITED LIFE

END OF TANGO'S EP

OK ALL IM GONNA SAY IS OMG CHAOS

TANGO BEING HUNTED BY THE ENTIRE SERVER

Joel killing Tango and Jimmy being like "WASNT ME"

Props to the rest of T.I.E.S for trying to protect

"This is for peace"

just bombs

Skizz just bargaining

the MUSIC is killing me

running through the walls

what about MY heartbeat

Tango driving the Bad Boys insane

ESCAPE INTO THE RAVINE BABY

ooo the mob farm

"hi everybody. im afraid."

your teammates want to kill you

Tango doesn't even know where he is

he has 40 minutes

THEY TRIED THO

momma's respect

baby dug

GRIAN'S EP

"what-what's this? are you a bad boy?" *switches skin* "of course I am!"

they tried really hard

oh no Scott is GOLDEN

"tastyyyy"

"he knows etho is the only that can protect him"

oh so Joel was just killing people like scar was last session

he was trying

oh so that's how that happened

hunting green names for sport

"last ep behavior" is hilarious to me

all the accidental clocker kills

oh so that's what THAT was

got that green name tho-

"im squealing-"

grian uses that kind of tactic reasoning right

you're destroying his pretty house

i-i was. bit expecting that to work

the Bad Boys are rrreeeeaaaalll desperate

not too sure about the friends

grian's gremlin laugh is so funny

wooooowww

potato pier

they have so many lives so they just decided that vertical was going to be the best tactic

Jimmy's Ep (finished b4 Grian's ep)

no ily for scott

so. jimmy is just. wild. this season huh. kidnapping bigb.

fire bread bridge

pearl is soooo gonna follow

*sigh* guess we know who's going red first

"yeeeahh mellow yellow. we're all friends here" "i couldn't kill you even if i wanted" but i can kidnap you

ALWAYS CHECK FOR FOLLOWERS

the bois are building and jimmy is. going through something right now.

jimmy's emotional support frog Judge Judy and Executioner

"excuse me"

"how do we know he's still a bad boy" "ive been threatening and kidnapping people"

being a bad boy is a family business

bad boy bread bridge bakery

MARTYN'S EP

him and his puns

"filthy reds"

"how much time you got? 18?" "17:48" "disgusting."

being scott's bodyguard

of course it's grian with the fishing rod

oh joel was kinda close

mean gill protection services

"the other kids are bullying me!!!"

"why am i following"

the bread bridge is getting wild

martyn watches too many of his subs vids

hunting green names for spoooorrrttt

do you trust that tho

it's it'sssss wabbit season!!

the FEAR in joel's voice

"chaps let's talk about it"

"i need the time back, i need the time back-"

"OHH MARTYN"

cooooLAAATTERRRAAAALLLL

"oh my word"

"oh grian noo"

did- did they not. notice.

loooooorreeee????

LOOOORRRREEEE!!!!

im not smart enough for lore

Scott's Ep

scott having the most time is great

"is that why you're hovering"

"little 'ol meeeee"

grian tried spleefing a lot

scott is left undefeated

people lost more time trying to kill greens than had gained

*runs in fear*

also scar being peaceful this episode

"Why do you KEEP BRINGING THEM TO MY BASE"

rip to pufferish of peace

"Hmm? hmm!"

"the arrows caaNNN REACH"

absolute amazing bucket clutch

the yellow skin is very cute

"oh yeah no I was slippery"

AY YO

what.

the clockers are the most unsubtle team ever

and pearl did that one huh

"yeah it's pretty close"

momma can't do her chores when her kids are there

always with the aesthetics

aww cute

ahhh innuendo

wild session

btw i watch tango's first bc he posts suuuper ahead of everyone else so. anyway i watched his and part of grian's when the episodes came out just finished the rest of them lmao. i have a short attention span.

[darkclouud9]

I haven't watched any tcg matches yet and I stopped watching Beef a while back (yes I miss him, yes I regret falling out of hermitcraft). rly wanna get back into watching hc D:

Etho uploaded his latest hc episode on a day I didn't have free (but if I stayed up after waking up at 7 I would've been able to watch it all before I left) so I forgot to watch his ep, and when I did, I skipped the tcg section, which I rly, RLY regret, so I will he going back and watching it. it can be my first tcg match I watch (tho I did technically watch the match between him n xB)

I wanna get back into watching Cleo streams, so mayhaps one of theirs will be the next one I watch. I wasn't too interested in the tcg when I heard it was finished (even tho I was rly invested in watching Beef make the cards) but after reading a post abt hermits n their obsession I'm intrigued now.

I will start watching some games soon >:)

also wanna catch up on Tango tho bc I hear he's done building decked out. all bc I stopped watching new episodes and have instead gone back to watch some team canada series and am now going back n watching Desbug smm2. but I wanna rewatch team canada don't starve, and then I also wanna watch fns, so you see my problem and why I can't focus on one thing at a time.

also keep listening to music n not doing much whilst doing that. need to manage my time better.

basically, tldr, I'm gonna watch some tcg, hopefully catch up on Tango (which I now doubt), watch team canada don't starve (maybe. or even sky factory), them go back to watching Desbug (my guy 🥰)

[charli-at-uni]

Cracking the Code: Your Essential Guide to Crafting a Viral Future

Scrolling through my TikTok feed, I stumbled upon Reesa Teesa's "Who the Fuck did I Marry" series of videos. Like many others, I became entranced by this series and, in turn, wanted to understand how and why it skyrocketed to internet fame. Why was this 52-part saga that chronicles a tumultuous relationship with woman and her pathological liar ex-husband garner such widespread virtually practically overnight. What made it so captivating? I found the answer lay in the series' adept use of storytelling principles, particularly Freytag's five acts of dramatic structure.

Each episode of Reesa's series followed a narrative arc that kept viewers hooked from start to finish. In the exposition, she introduced key characters and established the foundation of her troubled relationship. As the rising action unfolded, tensions escalated as she uncovered her husband's deceitful behaviour, leading to a climactic confrontation fuelled by revelations of his lies. The falling action saw Reesa grappling with the fallout of her discovery, ultimately culminating in a resolution where she emerged stronger and liberated from her toxic marriage.

Inspired by Reesa's success, I sought to apply similar storytelling techniques to my own content, catering to struggling university students who may not have the means to afford high-end hair care products. As a university student myself, this is something I can empathize with. My video aims to resonate with my target audience by evoking positive emotions and making viewers feel more beautiful. Leveraging Berger’s primary predictor of joy and excitement, recognizing that, I know that invoking positive emotions will increase the likelihood of my video going viral. Moreover, I emphasize the importance of self-care and grooming routines, particularly for students who are juggling academic responsibilities and tight budgets.

By offering a practical and affordable alternative to luxury hair care items, my heatless curl method enables students to enhance their appearance and boost their confidence without breaking the bank I am using Aristotle's drivers of persuasion - ethos, pathos, and logos. They play a crucial role in my content strategy. Ethos, or credibility, is established through my genuine desire to help others and my relatable experiences as a student. Pathos, or emotional appeal, is evoked by emphasizing the transformative power of self-care and the sense of community fostered through shared experiences. Lastly, logos, or logical appeal, is demonstrated by offering practical and affordable solutions to common challenges faced by students.

By capitalizing on the unattainable standards often depicted in viral lifestyle videos and providing a realistic alternative, my content addresses the growing demand for accessible hair care content, particularly among students and beginners. By offering routine or beginner-level techniques, I aim to provide a practical approach that resonates with those who may be unsure how to try new hair care techniques.

In addition to the video, I created an original meme using Berger's STEPP model to further engage my audience. By tapping into common struggles faced by university students, such as sleep deprivation, and offering a humorous perspective, I aimed to evoke emotions of camaraderie and solidarity while providing practical value. As seen below:

I leverage social currency by incorporating a widely recognized meme template, ensuring that my content resonates with a broad audience and garners immediate attention. Secondly, I tap into triggers that university students can relate to, such as the struggle to get enough sleep amidst late-night study sessions and busy schedules. By referencing these common experiences, I create a sense of familiarity and connection with my audience.

Emotion plays a crucial role in my post, as I aim to evoke feelings of humour and connection among my audience. By making light of the shared struggle of university students to get a decent night's sleep, I transform a negative experience into a relatable and light-hearted joke that elicits laughter and empathy.

To achieve maximum visibility and engagement, I have decided to share my meme on social media platforms frequented by university students, such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Additionally, I target specific communities tailored to university students, such as QUT Love Letters or other university social platforms. Encouraging engagement and sharing among peers amplifies the reach and visibility of my post, allowing it to resonate with a wider audience.

Finally, my post offers practical value by acknowledging the shared experience of sleep deprivation among university students. By providing a humorous perspective on this common challenge, I alleviate stress and foster a sense of solidarity within the community. Overall, my social media post effectively utilizes social currency, triggers, emotion, and practical value to engage my audience and foster meaningful interaction within the university community.

Though I may not achieve the instant viral success of Reesa Teesa's videos, I'm confident that employing these strategies will keep my content engaging and relatable over time. And personally, I know I'd be hooked by these posts – but maybe that's just me!

[e-vultures]

[beacon-lamp]

im literally feeling every single emotion all at once i think im going to explode what do i do

[limitedlifevigil]

Every Player’s Last Words for every death

Sorted by player: Bdubs: 14: “Oh. h0t. NoO~” 17: “Come on! Come on, Mumbo!” 36: “I’m fine! I’m okay! Okay! Okay, I don’t have it, I’m out!” 39: “Okay! Alright! I had to do that, I had to. Okay. Alright. Etho, give me th-” BigB: 32: “Am I going to blow up now? Is this where I blow up- No! Lizzie, No! Help!” 33: “Oh no-!” 45: “No, Cleo! This is not- I’m going to die! Cleo!” Cleo: 11: “No! You absolute- No. No. No~” 13: "Oh nooo! Joel, you genius!” 48: “Helpmehelpmehelpmehelpme” 52: “I’m with you.” 55: “Oh, here we go!”

Etho: 40: (none) 53: “Ren, you’re gon’ get- no!” 57: “You know how it ended last time, Joel.”

Grian:  01: “Guys, please tell me you’re the Boogeyman so you can make this happen.” 12: “What? Mumbo… NO! NOOOOOOOOOOO-” 31: “What the- AY! Martyn! No! No! Noo~” 56: “Not like this! Not like this!!”

Impulse: 22: “So let’s go ahead and do that- wh- oh hey! Hey! What! Wha-” 28: “Hey hey hey hey, HEY! NO! NOOOOOO~” 37: (none)

Jimmy: 24: (none) 29: “No, I’m not, I can’t- I can’t be gone. No! I’m actually dying I’m-”

Joel: 03: “Sorry! I’m so sorry! Nooooooooo-!” 05: “AAARRRGH!” 08: “You got to stop, I’m cured! I’m cured! I’m not the Boogeyman anym-” 19: “Haig- Hi guys! *strained noises* What’s going on?” 58: “Not like this! Leave me leave me! Team? Team!?”

Lizzie: 04: “You’re going to have to kill someone else, Joel.” 21: “You blew up my secret chest!” 25: “Jimmy- Oh my gosh! No!” 38: “Woah! Bdubs! What are you doing?”

Martyn: 47: “Ow! What was that? Oh, it was cacti. OH-” 54: “Oh not the dogs not the dogs not the dogs not the dogs- no!” 60: “Oh no no no no I’ve fallen down a hole! Oh no! No no no no! Oh, there’s zombies here as well!”

Mumbo: 02: “Oh oh oh!! No, I’m not okay!!!!” 06: “Oh, I’ve got diamond tools now, guys! This is fantastic - WAIT WOAH” 18: “That was me! That was me! *laughs*- Oh! Oh! Oh!” 30: “I almost killed myself! Oh my goodness! No! I’m on two hearts!”

Pearl: 09: “Lizzie! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!” 41: "Ah! That hurts! Oh my! Oh! Uh oh. Uh oh. Uh oh.” 44: “I’m regretting my choices! I’m very much regretting my choices!” 51: “Oh dear! Oh no! That didn’t work at all!” 59: “Why is he targeting me right now, this is- he’s killing all my dogs. Oh no! Oh no!”

Ren: 42: “What are you guys doing!? Stop! Aarg-” 50: “HO! HO! NOOOOO!” 61: “Stupid skele-”

Scar: 15: “I think it’s a bomb! I don’t know what’s happening! Nooooo, no you’re not~” 16: “Wait no, seriously - No! No! NONONONO! WaitWaitWait, I got this! I got this! It’s magic!” 23: “Oh shoot! Can we break through? Oh no! It’s gonnaaA~” 46: “Kill the witch! Kill the witch!”

Scott: 07: “We can fight him, Pearl - Pearl - PEARL!” 26: “Oh my goodness, Mumbo!” 49: N/A 62: “There we go! Finally! The amount of arrows it took for the zombie to finish him off! Hallelujah! Jesus! We finally did it! Just me, and Binkie. We finally did it. There’s only one way-”

Skizz: 10: “Oh! Man, he got me. Very good. Very good I HATE HIM!” 27: “I ca- I’m trying to get out of here!” 34: “Oh, they got backup now! Ooh gimmie that.”

Tango: 20: “I can’t get through! Nooooo~” 35: “Oh! People coming in!” 43: “And I think…. that… WHOO-”

Sorted by Episode: (Thanks to @orca-iguana​ for the recommendation!)

Episode 1: 01 (Grian): “Guys, please tell me you’re the Boogeyman so you can make this happen.”

Episode 2: 02 (Mumbo): “Oh oh oh!! No, I’m not okay!!!!” 03 (Joel): “Sorry! I’m so sorry! Nooooooooo-!” 04 (Lizzie): “You’re going to have to kill someone else, Joel.” 05 (Joel): “AAARRRGH!” 06 (Mumbo): “Oh, I’ve got diamond tools now, guys! This is fantastic - WAIT WOAH” 07 (Scott): “We can fight him, Pearl - Pearl - PEARL!” 08 (Joel): “You got to stop, I’m cured! I’m cured! I’m not the Boogeyman anym-” Episode 3: 09 (Pearl): “Lizzie! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”

Episode 4: 10 (Skizz): “Oh! Man, he got me. Very good. Very good I HATE HIM!” 11 (Cleo): “No! You absolute- No. No. No~” 12 (Grian): “What? Mumbo… NO! NOOOOOOOOOOO-” 13 (Cleo): "Oh nooo! Joel, you genius!” 14 (Bdubs): “Oh. h0t. NoO~”

Episode 5: 15 (Scar): “I think it’s a bomb! I don’t know what’s happening! Nooooo, no you’re not~” 16 (Scar): “Wait no, seriously - No! No! NONONONO! WaitWaitWait, I got this! I got this! It’s magic!”

Episode 6: 17 (Bdubs): “Come on! Come on, Mumbo!” 18 (Mumbo): “That was me! That was me! *laughs*- Oh! Oh! Oh!” 19 (Joel): “Haig- Hi guys! *strained noises* What’s going on?” 20 (Tango): “I can’t get through! Nooooo~” 21 (Lizzie): “You blew up my secret chest!” 22 (Impulse): “So let’s go ahead and do that- wh- oh hey! Hey! What! Wha-” 23 (Scar): “Oh shoot! Can we break through? Oh no! It’s gonnaaA~” 24 (Jimmy): (none) 25 (Lizzie): “Jimmy- Oh my gosh! No!” 26 (Scott): “Oh my goodness, Mumbo!” 27 (Skizz): “I ca- I’m trying to get out of here!”

Episode 7: 29 (Jimmy): “No, I’m not, I can’t- I can’t be gone. No! I’m actually dying I’m-” 30 (Mumbo): “I almost killed myself! Oh my goodness! No! I’m on two hearts!” 31 (Grian): “What the- AY! Martyn! No! No! Noo~” 32 (BigB): “Am I going to blow up now? Is this where I blow up- No! Lizzie, No! Help!” 33 (BigB): “Oh no-!” 34 (Skizz): “Oh, they got backup now! Ooh gimmie that.” 35 (Tango): “Oh! People coming in!” 36 (Bdubs): “I’m fine! I’m okay! Okay! Okay, I don’t have it, I’m out!” 37 (Impulse): (none) 38 (Lizzie): “Woah! Bdubs! What are you doing?” 39 (Bdubs): “Okay! Alright! I had to do that, I had to. Okay. Alright. Etho, give me th-”

Episode 8:    40 (Etho): (none) 41 (Pearl): "Ah! That hurts! Oh my! Oh! Uh oh. Uh oh. Uh oh.” 42 (Ren): “What are you guys doing!? Stop! Aarg-” 43 (Tango): “And I think…. that… WHOO-” 44 (Pearl): “I’m regretting my choices! I’m very much regretting my choices!” 45 (BigB): “No, Cleo! This is not- I’m going to die! Cleo!” 46 (Scar): “Kill the witch! Kill the witch!” 47 (Martyn): “Ow! What was that? Oh, it was cacti. OH-” 48 (Cleo): “Helpmehelpmehelpmehelpme” 49 (Scott): N/A

Episode 9: 50 (Ren): “HO! HO! NOOOOO!” 51 (Pearl): “Oh dear! Oh no! That didn’t work at all!” 52 (Cleo): “I’m with you.” 53 (Etho): “Ren, you’re gon’ get- no!” 54 (Martyn): “Oh not the dogs not the dogs not the dogs not the dogs- no!” 55 (Cleo): “Oh, here we go!” 56 (Grian): “Not like this! Not like this!!” 57 (Etho): “You know how it ended last time, Joel.” 58 (Joel): “Not like this! Leave me leave me! Team? Team!?” 59 (Pearl): “Why is he targeting me right now, this is- he’s killing all my dogs. Oh no! Oh no!” 60 (Martyn): “Oh no no no no I’ve fallen down a hole! Oh no! No no no no! Oh, there’s zombies here as well!” 61 (Ren): “Stupid skele-” 62 (Scott): “There we go! Finally! The amount of arrows it took for the zombie to finish him off! Hallelujah! Jesus! We finally did it! Just me, and Binkie. We finally did it. There’s only one way-”

[madwoman14]

i am considering starting 25 21 (mutuals posting about their blorbos always convinces me). I havent actually ever watched a K-drama before, so it would be my first one! have you finished watching it? and would you give me some sort of premise so i could decide whether to watch it or not?

P.S: i sent you an ask following the previous one but i think you didnt get it aaahhh 😭

okay taking deep breathes so i don’t trample you with my over enthusiastic golden retriever energy that appears whenever someone even mentions the numbers. like this show. oh. my. gosh. it was my first k drama and i was basically forced into watching it because of my friend. bless her but now she’s created a monster. so yes you should watch.

basically it’s a coming of age story. there’s two plot lines and the major storyline is set in the korean imf crisis that happened in the 90’s centered around na hee do. and the secondary is set during the covid-19 pandemic and revolves around na hee do’s daughter. let me just say that na hee do is the sweetest protagonist. basically the show is talking about how most of the youth had to grow up too fast during the crisis. so even though na hee do is forced to grow up and encouraged to let go of her first real love: fencing. her mother (a beautifully complex character that sometimes reminds me of emily gilmore) tells her to give up fencing and find a more realistic path. nobody believes in her but herself. enter baek yi jin my boyfriend. god this beautiful character is older than na hee do. he’s twenty two, used to be rich and dreamt of working at nasa. anyway his family went bankrupt so now he’s working small jobs and he mets na hee do and they become friends. oh my gosh i love their romantic relationship when they get older but their platonic relationship early on makes me bawl. they were each others supporters and cheerleaders. like they’re so pure. and oh my gosh the supporting characters are so cute and likeable and FLAWED!! it has everything a show needs- comedy(the comedy reminds me of bollywood dramas), friendships, coming of age and how important a first love can be. literally in love with this show and didn’t even finish. the last two episodes are gonna break my heart so i’m waiting to watch with a friend. let me add gifs of the characters because they’re too pretty and that might help convince you (it’s what convinced me)

it’s so visually gorgeous and oh the gilmore girls parallels made me pause the show and then jump up and down. okay so like 1000/10 would recommend. basically it’s one of those shows that stop and make you go: oh ✨life✨ i’ve created a baekdo playlist that i’ll finish but oh my gosh idk how else to persuade you. used my ethos logos and pathos. and oops think i did trample you with my golden retriever energy

[votederpycausemufins]

I said I had another chapter ready. so It's time to post that.

tagging @helleborusangel because they like my writing and @hermitcraftheadcanons since they and their community made the au.

now... with that out of the way, let's recap evo... wait shoot i mean hermitcraft.

“Pixlriffs! Turn on the tv!” Came a voice that followed a door being slammed open.

Pixlriffs turned around in confusion to see Zloy having barged in, panting with his goggles askew. “Zloy? What’s going on?”

“Just turn on the recap channel! Hurry!”

Even more confused, Pixl slowly turned to his tv and turned it on, switching to the channel that showed their recap show. “I thought you didn’t like watching our own shows. It’s not even a regular recap, it’s just going to be a clip show from the livestream. Why are you so-” But he cut himself off. Showing on screen was a countdown to the season eight day one recap. “What? But it hasn’t started. We haven’t recorded anything.”

“I know! I was with a friend and they turned it on and said they didn’t think it had started yet. When I saw the countdown, I ran all the way over here.”

“Do you think they just had a scheduling mistake? We might need to call the broadcasters and have them fix things up.” Pixl suggested, and Zloy shrugged.

“Let’s just make sure that’s the case and see which episode they’re actually showing. For all we know they mixed things up and this is just the season seven, day one.”

“I hope that’s the case.”

The two recapers watched the timer go down. Elsewhere, people were also turned into the episode. Some were pleasantly surprised by the supposed new episode. Others were confused thinking the schedule was wrong. Those who knew the hermits were confused, not having heard the new season was starting yet.

Then finally, the timer reached zero, and a familiar jingle started. And then a voice that was definitely not Pixlriffs spoke the phrase “This week, on Hermitcraft.”

“Wait, what am I doing in the nether? I just joined the world.”

Zloy and Pixl looked at each other at something they had never heard Keralis say. This was a new episode, but one they hadn’t made.

“A new adventure starts in season eight, new places and mobs to explore and see. And also Grumbot and Jrumbot are Hermits now. Welcome to the Hermitcraft recap! The show where no one is where they should be. My name is Toon Noah.”

“I’m Mysterious Goofball, and our writer is Pin Valentine. Today, we’re looking at everyone’s first day on the new season of Hermitcraft.”

The first person, Noah, spoke up again. “In this season, the hermits managed to update all the way to the second half of the caves and cliffs update even though that isn’t possible.” He explained what was going on in this season. “Everyone is scattered across the map and even in other dimensions. Monsters are tough, regen is off, and using chat is out of the question, so surviving is going to be tough.”

“At the very least, they can still respawn, so certain people have chances to escape. Escape what that is? Well, let’s look at what the Hermits have been up to.” Goofball said, sounding so nonchalant about what they were about to talk about.

“Starting with Xisuma, who’s started out in the deep dark. The admin’s helmet has been disabled other than necessary functions. His visor also gives him a little bit of light, so he’s not completely blind. Plus the fact that sculks are bioluminescent. But the warden is too, which has been able to find him a number of times.”

“Also in the caves in Jevin,-” Goofball spoke up again. “-who’s found himself in some lush caves. He’s got glowberries for light and food and the axolotls are pretty friendly. Plus, with enough searching, he was able to find a bit of wood for simple tools.”

“Speaking of wood. Some of the hermits have found themselves in the jungle.” Noah quickly commented before some audio from one of the hermits played along with its clip.

“Helloooo? Anyone around? Impulse? Tango? Hey is that Grian? Nope, just a parrot. Ugh, and here I am without any seeds.”

Goofball spoke up again when the audio finished. “Both Zedaph and Tango are in the same jungle, but the size of the biome as well as the amount of foliage means they haven’t found each other yet. Tango at the very least has started mining, and Zedaph managed to find a jungle temple and has already started on using the redstone from there for a melon farm.”

“How do you even make a farm out of that?”

“It’s Zedaph, what do you expect?”

“Well, as for the last of team ZIT, Impulse had found himself in the middle of a sea temple.” Noah spoke, as the video showed Impulse dealing with being underwater in such a place. “Between drowning and guardians, he hasn’t gotten that far away from his spawn.”

“In other aquatic news-” Goofball said, another clip from the hermits playing.

“If I never see coral again, it’ll be too- wait, is that False? False!”

“-Stress and False are also nearby to each other, both spawning in coral reefs. False was the first to escape, needing to just swim out of her spawn.”

“On the other hand, Stress was completely encased in coral and had to slowly chip herself out of the colorful prison. But by the evening, Stress was able to get to the surface and join False and an island, chopping down trees. They even started a wheat farm. But here’s hoping they don’t have to deal with drowned.”

“While she isn’t a drowned,” Goofball continued from Noah’s comment. “Zombie Cleo started out in a village. Normally, that would be pretty good, but being a zombie…”

“Leave me alone! I’m not going ta kill any villagers! I’m a zombie but I’m not that kind of zombie!”

“She’s been having an issue with the resident iron golem. With a bit of luck, she managed to hole herself up in a house which the golem isn’t going to destroy, but the villagers aren’t the happiest about it.”

Then Noah took over speaking. “From villagers to illagers, Mumbo Jumbo found himself alone in a woodland mansion, making himself the furthest hermit in the overworld.”

“Come on. Almost. Almost!” The video showed Mumbo running before he was killed by a vindicator. “Oh come on!”

After that, Noah continued. “He’s tried and failed many times to try and get out of the mansion, but eventually just started breaking the walls for tools.”

“The illagers aren’t really happy about it, but not like he’ll be going far, so I don’t think he’ll easily lose those tools.”

“Well at least he’s got supplies.” The video transitioned to a mountain top with three figures standing at the peak. “Grian, as well as new hermits Grum and Jrum are currently stuck on the top of a mountain, surrounded by powder snow. It’s pretty lucky that the three of them stuck together.”

“I’m not so sure of that.” Goofball spoke up, sounding a bit frustrated or annoyed. “While Grian tried to fly down for supplies to little success, other than fall damage, he hasn’t managed to die, using some sort of magic.”

“But it looks like the fall damage came in handy for Doc, who’s further down the mountain. He’s having a bit of trouble surrounded by goats, plenty of them being the screaming variety.”

Goofball spoke again, no longer sounding as annoyed. “Yeah, but while hanging out with them, he heard a different kind of scream and did something pretty smart.”

“Wait, what was- is someone close by? It sounded like someone just- wait! The death messages!” He pulled out his communicator and read the messages. “Grian died to fall damage! Grian’s up there!”

“I guess he is the scientist of the group.” Noah spoke, the grin he had on his face audible in his voice. “It makes sense he would be the one to figure things out. But even then, he still can’t easily get down the mountain himself with all the goats messing him up. My guess is he’s really regretting being the goat father last season.”

“Doc isn’t the only one getting familiar with the new wildlife though. Hypno has found himself in a large flower forest that has plenty of mooblooms. He hasn’t been able to kill any of them yet, and there’s only flowers and no grass for him to get seeds from, so while the place seems like it should be easy to survive in, it’s really the opposite.”

“The best idea he’s had so far is following some bees to find their nest and hopefully a tree attached to it. If only he knew he was actually really close to spawn, being the closest to it.”

Goofball took control of the conversation again “Well, that’s not entirely true as three hermits managed to appear at spawn, those three being Joe Hills, VintageBeef, and Etho.” And the three hermits were shown in what looked much more normal than everything else that had been shown so far. “The three of them pretty quickly figured out something was wrong and started to make spawn a safe place, also gathering supplies so they can eventually find the other hermits.”

“Except Etho got a bit ahead of himself.” Noah cut in. “He had a bad run in with some mobs and ended up dying, finding out his respawn is a bit different than others. But at the very least, he managed to find Ren.”

“Ren spawned on a cliff of a ravine. There’s no water at the bottom, and all the blocks in reach are stone, so it’s not the easiest to escape from. Still, with little else to do, Ren started slowly chipping away at the stone to escape the ravine, only to fall when Etho surprised him by suddenly respawning there.”

“Okay, I got through two more pieces of stone. At this rate, I can probably get to dirt before the sun is setting so- Etho- ooooooh!”

“At the very least Ren is respawning just fine,” Noah explained “So the two of them were able to help Ren escape the ravine, so he’s the third person to escape his spawn area.”

“Well, that’s not entirely true.” Goofball started to correct. “Before Etho helped Ren and even before Stress escaped her coral prison, Cub actually escaped the mesa mineshaft he spawned in. It was a little tricky with the cave spiders spawning, but he lucked out with the loot of a chest and was able to get a crafting table and pickaxe out of it.” Cub had found some iron, torches, a few seeds, some bread, and then used the wood of the mineshaft to get him on his feet in terms of survival. “With a few respawns, he took out the spiders and their spawner. He’s able to move around freely, but not wanting to respawn again, his hearts are a bit low, so he’s staying near the mineshaft for shelter.”

“Then, sort of nearby the mesa of course, is the desert, where the last two overworld hermits are.” Noah said, and there was the slightest ruffle of papers, like he was checking a script. “Both XB and Iskall are stuck in the same large desert, trying to find some source of food, water and wood. So far, the best they’ve found are the sticks from dead bushes. Out of the two, XB is doing a bit better since he’s found a cave for some sort of shelter, but Iskall’s much worse off,the sand messing with his one eye.”

“Between the heat, the sand, and my eye, I can’t even tell what’s real anymore. That cactus could be a tree or a town or- nope! It’s actually a creeper!”

And then Noah continued with a transition. “Getting even hotter now, let’s look at the nether. There’s only two hermits there right now, with different struggles to deal with.”

“Keralis is the first and lucked out a bit, landing himself in a warped forest right near a basalt delta, meaning he’s got up to stone tools. Plus, since nether gold ore can be mined with wood tools or better, he’s also got some gold boots to help with any piglins.”

“On the other hand, Welsknight is in a much worse situation. He spawned in a crimson forest and is having plenty of trouble with the hoglins.” And that was emphasized by a clip of Wels being killed by one of the mobs. “He hasn’t gotten too much wood before dying, but at the very least, he secured his spawn just enough he has some room to breathe. And hey, if he makes it out of there, he’s got a fortress nearby. But now to end this off, let’s head to the end.”

“TinfoilChef, or TFC is on the main end island, spawning on an obsidian platform just a few blocks from the edge of the island.” Goofball spoke. “It’s close enough for him to jump, but he still takes fall damage and has to deal with the ender dragon after that.”

“Not to mention the endermen too, which Scar is also having trouble with. He’s stuck on a smallish end island out in the further reaches of the end. There’s an end city nearby, but he doesn’t really have the means to get there. At the very least he’s got food from the chorus plants, but that won’t help too terribly much.”

“And lastly, there’s BdoubleO, who we’ve- who’s been lucky to not die so far being in a special situation.” Though they hadn’t been saying much, both Pixlriffs and Zloy noticed the slight slip up Goofball gave. “He’s currently looping in the end void, teleporting up to the top when he finally gets too low. There’s nothing in sight for him to know that though, so he thinks he’s just falling deeper and deeper. But hopefully he’ll figure it out eventually.”

“Well, that’s everyone, so that pretty much does it for this episode of Ev- Hermitcraft Recap. I was Toon Noah-”

“And I was Mysterious Goofball and our writer was Pin Valentine. If you’d like to see original content made by us, you can find us if you already know where to look.”

“Don’t forget to give this show a good rating and tune in next week for the next episode of Hermitcraft Recap. Thank you all so much for watching and good-Bye~!”

Finally, the screen turned black, signalling the end of the episode. The whole time, Pixl and Zloy had just sat there in shock, watching the episode and not saying anything. The thought of their show being taken over by some new people was scary enough, but the situations the Hermits were now in was so much worse.

Zloy was the first to move, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He had felt it going off during the episode, but had been too stunned to do anything. Apparently, he had missed multiple calls and texts about what had happened with the episode, who had been put in charge, what was with the hermits, and more related to the whole situation.

“We need to see someone about this.” Pixlriffs said, in a similar situation with looking at his phone. “Make sure people know we have no connection to this and hopefully also see if the studio knows who recorded this. I would also like to say that this is all fake, but…”

“Yeah, that footage looked way too real. I think the Hermits are actually in a lot of trouble right now.”

“Then let’s do something about it.”

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

VAUNNA I LURK A LOT HI BUT I JUST WATCHED IMPULSE'S FINAL YHIRD LIFE EPISODE MY HEART IS BROKEN AND I NEED M O R E P A I N

(coherently: impulse angst please i beg of you. i grovel at your feet. alternatively villain impulse. just take my heart out and stomp on it. thanks <3 also sorry for the caps i just have a lot of feelings rn)

ahh Villainpulse is such good material! i decided to make this a sequel to this one so go read it first :)

cw: fire, murder (just in case, cuz this one is kinda dark)

…

Impulse returns to the wool castle late the next night and collapses onto his bed, exhausted and a little frustrated. Etho’s confrontation with Bdubs didn’t quite go as planned. The closest they came to a fight breaking out was when Cleo started snapping about how she didn’t trust Etho. No angry words were exchanged between Etho and Bdubs at all. It seems Impulse has overestimated their rivalry.

A knock at the door. “Impulse?”

He gives a sigh but quickly rolls onto his side and calls, “Come in.”

The door opens and Etho’s face peers in. “Hey, do you have a minute to talk?”

“Yeah, sure.” Impulse forces a smile. “What’s up?”

“I’m worried,” Etho admits. “Cleo REALLY seems to think I murdered Tango, and I’m a little concerned that she’s going to turn Bdubs against me.”

“Really?” Impulse responds. “That wouldn’t be good, since she was talking about making an alliance with the desert people earlier.”

“Exactly. If we’re not careful, the server will end up splitting into war. I know you’re on better terms with Bdubs than I am; would you consider going over to talk to him tomorrow?”

Impulse nods. “Sure thing. I’m sure I can work something out.”

“Thanks.” Etho gives a grateful smile. “Anyway, goodnight.”

“Goodnight, man.”

Impulse lies back on his bed, even more disgruntled than he was before. The war he’s slowly been cultivating is so close to being brought to fruition, but the slightest wrong move might destroy all his hard work. Bdubs and Etho will be the catalysts. They’ve got the right animosity and the right allies behind them to spark the war, but he just needs the right fuel to set it off.

It’s time for drastic action.

…

Under the cover of night, Impulse makes his way out to the crastle, armed with a sword and a flint and steel. With his intricate knowledge of the crastle’s defences, he makes it to the inner wall undetected and sets up a ladder against it. Climbing up, he creeps in through a very specific window.

As expected, Cleo is fast asleep in her bed. Impulse hesitates for only a moment. This is neither fair nor right, but Impulse doesn’t really care at the moment. He’s come way too far to fall now.

So, with a cold and emotionless expression, he stabs Cleo through the chest, in such a way that will severely injure her but not kill her immediately. She lets out a weak cry, but her eyes don’t open.

When he’s sure she hasn’t woken up, Impulse sets the fire near her bed, before escaping back out the window and shimmying down the ladder he set up. He can see smoke starting to pour out of Cleo’s window.

So he turns and flees.

He’s just made it back to the wool castle when the notification comes up on his communicator.

ZombieCleo went up in flames

Impulse settles himself back into bed.

And he smiles.

…

The next morning, Etho isn’t around, so Impulse goes straight to the crastle. He can see noticable fire damage around Cleo’s window; clearly, Bdubs had managed to put out the fire in time to save the crastle but not in time to save Cleo.

He knocks on the door.

It takes a full minute for the door to open but when it does, it reveals a red-eyed Bdubs, who’s clearly been crying.

“I’m so sorry,” Impulse murmurs, pulling his friend into a hug. “I saw in chat. What happened?”

Bdubs sniffles. “Th-There was a fire. In C-Cleo’s room. I woke up in the middle of the n-night and smelt smoke so I r-rushed down to her room and put out the f-fire but it was too late for her.”

“Oh, I-I’m so sorry…”

Impulse opens his mouth to speak again, but Bdubs quickly draws him inside the crastle and shuts the door behind him. A haunted look has appeared in his eyes. “Impulse… I-I think Etho murdered Cleo.”

Impulse’s eyes widen. This isn’t quite an act; he’s genuinely shocked that Bdubs came to the conclusion Impulse wanted him to come to this quickly, and all on his own. “Wait, what?! Y-You mean the fire wasn’t accidental?”

“No, it was deliberate. She…” Bdubs suppresses a sob. “She was stabbed in the chest first. The fire was to cover the tracks of whoever killed her, to make sure their name wouldn’t show up in chat.”

“Oh no…!” Impulse gasps. “B-But what makes you think it was Etho?”

“I don’t know for sure, but wh-when we talked yesterday, Etho mentioned something about how easy it would be to sneak into the crastle with just a few ladders and… this morning, I found a ladder outside the wall. I know it’s far from conclusive evidence, I just… I can’t shake the horrible feeling that he did this because Cleo said she suspected he killed Tango. Maybe he realised he had to take her out before she discovered any evidence he left behind.”

“N-No, I… That can’t be…! Etho would never do something like that!”

“I want to believe that,” says Bdubs sadly. “But I-I just can’t. I’m gonna avenge Cleo, Impulse. No matter what it takes.”

After a moment, Impulse nods. “I understand. Are you gonna talk to him?”

“Later. First, I’m gonna finish making that alliance with Scott and Grian’s group. Etho’s got Dogwarts on his side, so I’m gonna need the other guys on mine.”

“Got it. And I’ll help too; I’m on your side 100%, remember?”

Bdubs nods gratefully. “Yeah, thanks. Let me know if Etho does anything suspicious.”

“I will.”

…

When Impulse gets back, he finds Etho waiting for him. “Hey,” he says. “You went to the crastle, right? How’s Bdubs doing?”

“Not good,” Impulse responds sadly. “He seems to have got it in his head that you murdered Cleo.”

“What?!” Etho gasps, sounding genuinely shocked and taken by surprise. “Why would he think that?!”

Impulse shrugs helplessly. “I don’t know, dude. But he’s pretty convinced. And he’s going over to the desert right now to ally with Grian and Scott so he can rally them against you.”

Etho’s gaze darkens. “Okay, he’s gone too far. First he tries to pin Tango’s murder on me, now Cleo’s? We gotta do something about him, Impulse. Are you in?”

“Absolutely. I’m on your side 100%.”

“Good.” Etho gratefully places his hand on Impulse’s shoulder. “Thanks. We’ll rally the rest of Dogwarts and see if we can get to Scott and Jimmy before they do. If it’s a war Bdubs wants, it’s a war he’ll get.”

Impulse smiles. He can sense no distrust in Etho’s voice or expression whatsoever, just like Bdubs. Neither of them suspect him of anything.

Oh, he’ll get it all right.

You both will.

[scientific-tricorder]

Initial thoughts and observations from the Strange New Worlds premiere, "Strange New Worlds":

Right up front, the treatment of Pike's future disability. This post covers the issues with the portrayal in the trailer, which was pretty much what we got in the episode. I had a brief moment of hope when Pike mentioned that "it was the end of his life as he knew it", because that's true; Pike in a wheelchair will have a different approach to life than able-bodied Pike. That tiny bit of hope was quickly squashed when instead of going down the route of 'my life will be different and I need to process that massive change', they double down on 'my disability is my death' path. I'm going to try and be optimistic that they change course in the following episodes, but I can't say my hopes are very high.

(On a related side tangent, I am reminded of how I was bothered when Discovery treated Pike getting the time crystal as almost a transaction, since if he takes the crystal, he can't change the future, suggesting that if he left the crystal, he wouldn't (necessarily) be in the same situation that disabled him. It leads to the insinuation that his becoming disabled is a payment for the time crystal.)

Another qualm with the premiere is that Strange New Worlds has been heavily marketed as a return to episodic storytelling, but in their very first episode in this return to format, they run headlong into one of the major criticisms of episodic storytelling: complicated situations that require long-term solutions (such as, oh, I dunno, a centuries long civil war severe enough that the leaders haven't met in a century) being wrapped up in five minutes, never to be seen again (admittedly, we don't know if they'll never be seen again quite yet, but that's the old formula at least). Episodic storytelling is great, and I was and am looking forward to more self-contained stories, but it's just weird that in their grand return, the show walked right into one of its major weaknesses. And while a peaceful solution is very much in the ethos of Star Trek, the fact that it was arrived to via having the biggest stick and an explicit display of superior military might rubbed me the wrong way.

I'll just finish plowing through my first-look primary issues with the episode itself with the approach to disguise on the planet. Canon isn't king, but having someone literally named Noonien Singh (and related to Khan) in the room really highlighted genome editing being an easy off-hand quick-and-easy disguise in Strange New Worlds versus the flat ban on that sort of thing referenced in Deep Space Nine. Now, treatment of genetic engineering certainly hasn't been consistent across the franchise. "Space Seed" never actually referenced it, only eugenics, The Next Generation showed instances of people doing genetic engineering with no problems or condemnation from the crew, and Voyager, in "Lineage", made the conflict regarding B'Elanna's planned genetic engineering of her child the motivation for such, not the act itself. Then again, Deep Space Nine is the show that's addressed the topic the most, and the one that brought the greatest world-building to it, linking the blanket ban with the Eugenics Wars and asking questions about the Federation's treatment of genetic engineering and those who are genetically engineered. Enterprise explicitly referenced the ban as being in place "'decades' before 2154" in "Affliction". The new shows absolutely don't have to entirely adhere to canon, but this feels like kind of a big thing to me - admittedly potentially biased by my specific interest in how Star Trek deal with genetic engineering. It just seems all the weirder with surgery and makeup being a well-established method of doing this sort of disguise from Enterprise to Deep Space Nine. Picky science note on how genetic changes don't cause automatic changes in things like bone structure, and most definitely not on the time scale of literally being able to see tissues wiggling around and growing or shrinking.

There were things I did like about the episode too. I liked the design of the Kiley, and the framing at the beginning of just like Earth, until we see that they're not human, adding a specific frame of humans and Earth to the classic alien metaphor. Pike on a pony was fun. There were some nice moments of humor, and several of the character introductions gave us a good initial idea of the characters.

Speaking of the characters, I do have a few comments on what we've seen so far. In this episode, we were functionally given Pike, Spock, Number One, La'an, M'Benga, Chapel, and Uhura as the main cast. Ortegas barely appeared, and Hemmer was, sadly, not there at all. As the sole new character given attention, La'an seems intriguing. For the legacy characters, I can see the continuity with their older depictions, when the characters themselves are older, with one exception: Chapel. I'm not saying the impression of her we've been given is bad, it just doesn't quite line up with the Chapel we see in TOS, which also isn't necessarily a bad thing. I really liked this younger version of Uhura, and Dr. M'Benga seems set to be a fun character.