#and i'll start bdubs after

[neurotic-sinkhole]

as someone who has worked in courtrooms and actively is in law school i. i just have to talk about the cleo v doc case.

i finally got around to watching doc's entire POV after being too busy. i saw clips over and over again that were just calling my name. and oh boy did the full vid not dissapoint. my mouth was wide open the whole time in both shock and laughter. surprisingly, some of the proceedings of the court were accurate to typical US court proceedings!

here's a list of events and actions that stood out to me for their questionable realism:

- skizz's opening line was pretty accurate to how most plaintiff/prosecutions begin -"your honor, opposing council, members of the jury"

- most courts don't let you... submit evidence in opening statements but i love the hustle skizz!!

- honestly skizz's entire opening statement would have had a jury on his side

- but no jury? this would be a jury case

- honestly joe's baby defense i could see playing out in court

- joe really held up the batshit defense arguments stereotype and i love that for us 🧡

- arguing in opening to have the case dismissed... baby that time has passed. not even discovery can save you now

- i get the feeling neither joe nor doc knew the plaintiff was going to call witnesses which is not only major illegal but also so fucking funny

- this is the type of questioning a proffessor would show what leading a witness looks like

- literally during both of joes cross' i was crying it was so funny

- also ren's "i cannot recall" yeah!! that's good.

- should have brought up husband status

- skizz. please. it is not "disposition". beef did not give you a "disposition". it's "deposition". please. i'm crying.

- really good relevance objection! and skizz didn't say "relevency" so +3000 lawyer points!

- the judge firing missles at both councils is a feature i think the lower courts should implement

- DEFENSE DIDNT GET TO PRESENT A SINGLE WITNESS???

- like they had no case. the witnesses are your case. they didn't begin their case to even rest it. help?

- no experts testified but i think if D did get a witness they could've had an expert testify to either doc's baby or insane status and that would have really helped.

- joe's mens rhea argument in closing was SO GOOD. like that really was the glove moment of this trial.

anyways i'll be thinking about this for 1000 years.

[catmaidetho]

is it bad that i already know the next idea i want to write. and its also very questionably platonic clethubs.

[zhukzucraft]

=====>

Joel: Lizzie? What's wrong?

Lizzie: Food! Do you have any food!?

Lizzie: Thank you, I don't know how you all dealt with soulmates before, taking random damage like this...

Lizzie: ...

Lizzie: Did either of you almost die recently?

Joel: Nah.

Bdubs: Nope.

Lizzie: We aren't soulmates?!… Thank goodness!

Joel: Lizzie...

Lizzie: Joel… you speedrun your way to red like it's some sort of competition…

Joel: I'm not competitive...

Lizzie: Mmmhmmm, I’m sure you aren’t~

Joel: ...

Lizzie: I'm just saying- there's a reason I won Tango's betting game: I considered betting against you less of a bet and more of an... investment.

Joel: Yeah! Well... I directly took more lives from you than you did from me!

Lizzie: You sure did Mr. "not-competitive", I think you are also in contention for first in most self inflicted deaths.

Joel: I'm just- I am just giving everyone a better chance at winning, because I'm so magnanimous and not competitive...

Joel: ...where did Bdubs go?

Joel: Bdubs! Hurry up! We're leaving!

Bdubs: Yeah, yeah. One second.

Bdubs: So, what were we talking about?

Lizzie: How Joel is probably a reckless soulmate,

Bdubs: Hah! Got that right! He got Etho killed day one!!!

Lizzie: Why am I not surprised?

Joel: It was night two!... and I didn't get us killed after that!

Bdubs: Nothing like the great soulmate, me! Just ask Impulse!

Lizzie: I'll be sure to ask him how Double Life was next time I see him~

Bdubs: Oh, right. That's right! He will tell you I was the greatest soulmate of all time!!

Joel: Better than Etho?

Bdubs: ...of course not, but better than you!

=====>

Start Over -- Go Back

[theminecraftbee]

SO. hotguy comics zine (everyone go read it at @hotguycomiczine) had a lot of pre-creation worldbuilding go into it. some of those made it in. some of them are only obliquely referenced or didn't make it in. some of the things that are mostly only referenced i won't say yet because they're spoilers so i'll wait until the piece they'd spoil is past but! i do have one i made and am able to share.

anyway, so it's canon to hgcz that hermitopia has its own regional fast food chain. this chain is called the moopop stop, they mainly sell burgers, fries, and moopop (which is to say, milkshakes). anyone from hermitopia will proclaim it the best fast food place out of regional loyalty, the way that everyone from texas will say whatburger is.

the iconic thing moopop stop has, outside of the moopop, is the toys! and at some point after the mutations moopop stop decided to start making vigilante-themed toys. this is a controversial move many parents hate it but it's wildly popular with the other half of the population so they keep doing it.

there's just one problem: the toys fucking suck.

like. okay. sometimes the toys look relatively similar to the vigilante they're trying to make them similar too! but whatever supply chain moopop stop is using is TERRIBLE because the toys are almost always mispainted, malformed, or both. often they look kind of like they're melting. not once has the face been anything even kind of resembling an actual vigilante.

anyway so i think the first time they make a hotguy one scar is DELIGHTED! and then rapidly horrified when he realizes none of them look like him. and then delighted again. (cuteguy, meanwhile, is horrified the whole time.)

also not in our worldbuilding docs but a thing i have decided just now: bdubs meticulously collects them and sorts them into "HOTGUY", "cuteguy i guess", and "enemies". cub decides this is funny and starts giving him fake ones. no one knows who cub's supplier is but they're WEIRDLY accurate.

[grimm-the-tiger]

Misadventures with Google Translate

I put Life Series quotes through Google Translate too many times. Please help me, I can't stop.

The Names

Bdubs -> Bduby

BigB -> Capital B

Cleo -> Language

Etho -> line

Gem -> Decoration

Grian -> Shooter

Impulse -> Road

Jimmy -> Jimmy

Joel -> Hurrah

Lizzie -> Lizzie

Martyn -> Martyne

Mumbo -> Explosives

Pearl -> Beer

Ren -> Ren

Scar -> Right

Scott -> Scott

Skizz -> Writing

Tango -> Background

The Watcher -> Inspector

Some highlights

Scott: this house Jimmy: And street. [Original line: "It's home?" "Home."]

Language: Be good to me: die for me. [Original line: "Do me a favor: Die for me."]

Lizzie: And I left this world the same way I entered it: troubled. [Original line: "And so I left this world just as I had entered it: confused."]

Shooter: Scar, I think we are spirit descendants and you are too busy catching fairies!! [Original line: "Scar, I think we're soulmates and you're too busy chasing fairies!"]

Scott: They tear up carpets and kill farm animals. It immediately burst into lava. [Original line: "They break carpet and kill cows. And they mine straight down into lava."]

Language: Look, if you have a lost father, you might lose it? [Original line: "Look, if you're gonna be an absent father, could you be at least absent?"]

Scott: Our theme is ABBA's summer house, is it there now? Dead metal?! [Original line: "Our theming was once Cottagecore ABBA, now it's what? Death metal?!"]

Martyne : Tell me something before you go. Why are you attached to the sun? Inspector: Hmmm... HE. It was never meant to be. He just wanted to look. [Original line: "Just... tell me one thing before I go. Why were you so set on Grian?" "Hmph... HIM. He was never meant to be there. He was only ever meant to watch."]

line: I'm a good person to have someone light my tree. [Original line: "I was a good person till somebody burned down my tree."]

Decoration: God, that seems like a recipe for anxiety. Yes I am. [Original line: "God, that sounds like a recipe for angst. Yeah, I'm in."]

Lizzie: Follow it! No friends! [Original line: "Ha! You've got no friends!"]

Beer: Something bad is happening here. [Original line: "Something wicked this way comes."]

Shooter: Here we show our true truth? For yourself or for someone else? Are we all excited? [Original line: "Is this where we show our true allegiance? To each other, and no one else? We turn on everyone?"]

Background: It's not fair, it's not fair, I'll come back to it. [Original line: "This is unjust, it's excessive, and I will return."]

Capital B: No holes! [Original line: "There is no hole!"]

Some notes

I thought it'd be funny if the translations I used were all into languages I either knew off the top of my head that the creators speak or are official languages where they live. This got really convoluted really fast, because Ren was the only person I could think of who speaks a language other than English and I completely ran out after French and Scottish Gaelic, so I added languages spoken by Hermitcraft members instead, then threw Maori on for good measure because New Zealand's close enough to Australia (sorry, New Zealand) and I couldn't find any aboriginal Australian languages on Google Translate. So the translation order roughly went Afrikaans -> French -> Scottish Gaelic -> German -> Swedish -> Polish -> Maori -> English.

Ren's line "Red Winter is coming, me laddie" line got translated as "The red winter is coming, my lady." Honestly, it still kind of works?

"Watcher" got translated as "Inspector", which gives me the mental image of Inspector Gadget in a Watcher costume.

I don't know where the extra e at the end of Martyn's name came from.

I don't know why Etho's name is the only name that got translated into lowercase.

The fact that Mumbo's name somehow got translated as "Explosives" made me start cackling as soon as I saw it.

There were several points where Grian's name got translated as "The Sun" instead, probably because "Grian" is the word for "Sun" in Irish and Scottish Gaelic is from the same language family, so they probably share the same or a similar word.

"Soulmate" somehow got translated as "Spirit descendants". I'm pretty sure it's because it got split up into its component words; "Soul" corrupted into "Spirit", and "Mate"...I honestly don't know.

I translated a grand total of one line from Bdubs, and for some reason when I translated the document back to English, that one line stayed stuck on what I'm pretty sure is Maori except the word "Boogey", which stayed exactly the same.

I'm genuinely surprised by how many lines stuck remarkably close to the originals. Aside from his name, one of Joel's lines ("Where's the fun in that?") somehow survived perfectly intact, and one of BigB's lines ("There is no hole!") got pretty close ("No holes!").

I think the best part about this is that you can tell how and why Google translated some things the way it did, and then others you're just left completely stumped about how the hell it happened.

[improvapocalyps]

"Okay, yeah. If you kill a red name, killed a red name-" "I'll give you a life for that. That's the deal." "We'll be back together like buddies again, Bdubs."

In participation of Extreme Timed Challenge Gift Exchange hosted by @extremetimedchallengeexchange!

[gifs, full storyboard, behind-the-scene rambles under cut]

past 48h animatics: MCYTETC2023, ETC2023

[Red Lives-Suspicion; Prayer-Determination; Fireworks]

Fiddled with gradient maps this time for some additional colors :D I would have colored in the eyes as well, but I didn't have enough energy left when the event hit the 47th hour xD

Also played around with camera movements. Respect to people who do fan edits and other forms of video/ assets editing 'cause keyframes are so 😭

13 hours to draft storyboard this time! Last year I used 16 but with waaay more frames idk how I accomplished that. Probably bc this year I'm drawing more than three(3) characters lmao

Progress Timeline:

[13th hour] finished storyboard/ draft (plany off time...) [25th hour] lineart for the first 10 seconds (wuh oh) [36th hour] lineart for the first 25 seconds (oh shit oh fuck gotta shorten it) [45th hour] finished Bdubs' part (NOOO I DONT HAVE TIME FOR ETHO)

ngl kinda glad i cut it in half rn 'cause i'd have to spend time figuring out shadowDog's design /lh

Designs I used for Lizzie and Joel (old art from 2022 and 2021 respectively) (holy shit i've been here for 3 years???)

Joel *shakes fist* i hate u and ur stupid beard

[Lyrics vibe/scene planning; hours before disaster]

I think most of the drawn parts didn't deviate from the initial idea. Mostly timing adjustments and building upon the vibes. The parts that were changed the most was the "And you caused it (×3 combo)".

Went from "vague flashbacks" to "following Etho and co. out of the cave and back to Scott's base while implying who Etho blames with single character focus shots".

The first one is Scott because he suggested the idea. Like, obviously he's to blame. It's not like Etho went along and cemented the deal himself. Scott totally peer-pressured him into it.

The second one is Etho because... well the scene ends up kind of being like. The sight of the Snow Fortress triggering a flashback. (EthosLab the content creator deliberately turned his camera towards the Snow Fortress and holds it there for a second instead of looking at the huge lava pillar right in front of him. What is WRONG with him.)

But also like. Clocks are kind of special to Bdubs right. Whoever gave him a clock basically has his (temporary) loyalty or at the least earned a favor from him. So like. If he hadn't gifted Bdubs the clock, which signifies a closer(?) bond, maybe Bdubs wouldn't be so devoted to him (wrong). Also serves as a call-back/ reference to the "Prayer-Determination" shot ("pray with clock" in the scene planning screenshot). I like to think that Bdubs weighted his options and thought about "if he will kill/ who to kill" a lot while following the other Red Names. And in that scene he's like, convincing/ motivating himself. Remembering who/ what he's doing this for.

(It is also meant to be part of my giftee's other prompt: "an exploration of the doubt one or both of them felt during the heart transfer that didn’t happen after Bdubs killed Lizzie, and the following guilt Etho felt." The Etho section starting from "we're setting fire to our inside for fun" til the end of the animatic is based on that prompt.)

After a brief period of self-blame, it's time to shift it onto someone else! Because you're in denial! If Bdubs hadn't gone red, then Etho wouldn't have to offer the deal. If Bdubs hadn't want to stay as teammates, then he wouldn't agree to the deal. If Bdubs wasn't so devoted to Etho, then he wouldn't have attacked Lizzie and gotten himself killed.

Then the animatic ends with the end of the session :D

...That's longer than I expected but also not that long. If you read through all that, tysm :] Tell me your thoughts! Have a good day/ evening/ night :D

[taigarrryen]

-> The Paper Art Post <-

Let's make some Wild Life ep.3 snails together!

First of all, I make a sketch (usually it's already the size I want the final thing to be, because I'm a very lazy person).

At the point where everything is apparent enough to have a clear vision in mind, I go to my paper scrap drawer and think of what colors and textures I want to use (although sometimes I initially start from the color palette).

Here they are! But don't get too attached, we're gonna destroy them later >:)

And while we're on it, let's talk a bit about textures!

Textures are like candy for our eyes. They are an easy way to trick your brain into thinking that something is more detailed than it actually is, hence it adds interest and makes the whole piece fun to look at.

However, this is also why it's important not to overuse them — it's easy to get lost in the details and accidentally make your piece difficult to perceive as a whole.

You can make textured paper yourself using literally anything you can come up with: paint a sheet of paper with gouache or tempera, make swirls and gradients with watercolor or inc, scribble with colored pencils, make prints with various objects (I enjoy making prints of crumpled paper tissues soaked in ink), etc etc. Packaging film or candy wrapping also can be cool.

My only advice is be careful if you use gouache: some colors can make your fingers messy even after completely drying, so that has to be kept in mind to avoid accidentally leaving a dirty fingerprint somewhere you didn't plan for it to be.

For the tools I recommend using not only scissors, but a modeling knife/scalpel and an awl as well. Modeling knife makes cutting small things much easier, and awl comes in handy when you want to transfer a detail on paper but don't want to use pencil.

For gluing stuff I use gluestick, rubber glue and double-sided tape.

Now the fun part!

You can add details with colored pencils and markers ↑

As you can see, the process is pretty simple: I cut the piece I need from the sketch and transfer it to colored paper.

When it comes to assembling pieces, you can carefully cut them so that everything fits together like a puzzle, or simply glue them on top of eachother.

Keep the scraps (unless they're objectively tiny, of course)! You never know when you'll want just that amount of just that color or texture. It's also much more practical to cut new details from the side of the sheet from which you have already cut, rather than start from different edge every time you need a piece of that color.

Don't rush to glue things down! Along the way you might want to move something a bit or put one piece under another, and with quickly gluing everything it won't be possible. I like to work in big parts, making every object or character in the picture first and then, after putting them on their places and fumbling around, gradually assemble everything like lego.

Here are two parts of the picture (Bdubs' snail + Tango&Etho's snails) and a piece of red film I want to put on the background in some places. All that's left is to assemble everything by carefully gluing it on to my sketchbook page :)

You also can elevate certain parts of your artwork to create depth and areas of interest, using puffy tape or п-shaped / [-shaped piece of paper and glue. It looks really cool, but I usually don't do that because it's inconvenient for me to store & I like to keep everything in the sketchbooks.

TA-DAAA, we're done! The best thing about this technique is that you don't have to be good at actually drawing to make something that looks interesting!

Hope this post was useful and you've got inspired to try paper art for yourself! (And if you did — send me your art in ask box or replies, I'll be very glad to see it :] )

[moon1ee]

there is something to be said about jimmy’s death. something to be said about a curse looming over his head that they keep mentioning, as if repetition will dull the pain, will cause the bleeding wound to scab over and form calluses. something to be said about bdubs throwing himself forward, shouting “KILL ME”, something about joel trying to sacrifice himself. the love was there. so was the fear. the canary sings a warning. then comes the bloodshed.

grian watches joel out of the corner of his eye, taking slow steps over the ramshackle bridge that looks over the server. joel sprints ahead, careless, movements strange and distorted, body tensed, fingers curling. the setting sun flashes red back into his eyes. a bloodied reflection. he is being reckless. he is going crazy. grian remembers last life, remembers passing through and hearing joel’s ear-spitting screaming, remembers cracking open a laugh as bloodlust that should not exist under stained green thrums through him. HOW ARE YOU DOING, JOEL, he called, and there is a snarl in response. “going a bit mad, going a bit MENTAL.”

joel was, in a word. dedicated. the best of them. the worst of them. grian remembers a pack of wolves, remembers fingers curling into pale fur, remembers agonized cries as the dogs fell.

he cannot ignore the similarities. run, rabbit, run.

he makes plans, he plots. he feels the time tick down. sends down explosives. one takes out four. he laughs, ear-splitting, thinks, i’m learning.

four. five. six. seven. he loses count. he doesn't stop.

joel’s teeth keep flashing.

grian sneaks down, around, ducks his head, whispers allyship to bigb and pearl, feels eyes humming around them.

he will not stop planning. he needs allies, in a place like this, after he loses his.

joel, he says, just kill me. the man glances at him, once, does not respond.

into battle they go. smoke rises in his lungs. scar, grinning, scar, falling, scar, protesting not to kill his beloved animal.

grian sees a creeper sneak up behind him, almost hisses a warning, stops himself. waits. watches. scar turns his head, jumps back, laughing. he has learned, too.

joel’s time is running out. grian runs after him.

joel is being reckless. he goes after scar. JOEL JUST KILL ME, grian shouts. "NO, NOT YOU," joel screams. "I'LL KILL HIM INSTEAD."

grian remembers a hand that stayed ever dedicated to the coming winter.

DO IT, and joel splits him, and then someone else, and then dies, the absolute fucking idiot, and they are. back where they started. or maybe right where they will end.

joel looks rabid in the moonlight. grian makes plans for when he is gone.

joel, just take one of my lives. just do it. "no," joel says, turning around, eyes searching frantically for something, for butter yellow canary wings that do not fill the space any longer, hands reaching to claw around grian's wrists, nails stinging, drawing blood. "you have to win," he says, pleads, begs, "for us. you have to."

grian says nothing.

joel is being reckless. he runs ahead. “scar-“ grian swallows down the name, frantic at the flash of red rushing off without him. JOEL.

lightning, singing his back. he turns. silent. shocked. remembers a hand’s agonized scream. remembers an attempt at revenge that ended him.

the bad boys were never that army of dogs in renchanting, were never loyal enough for it. too brittle, too untrusting, even jimmy. especially jimmy.

there is a tombstone. grian does not grieve. his sorrow is short-lived. he has a new alliance now, new loyalties. ones that may be smarter. it is for the best.

tick tick tick.

his wrists still ache.

edit: cross-posted on ao3!

[tower-of-deceit]

I've been making a chart to keep track of all the deaths, kills, and hours left for each player in Limited Life

I'll be updating it after each new episode for anyone interested :]

Under the cut are stats for each episode, and in the spreadsheet there are notes explaining each kill and death

There's also a page with timelines tracking how much time every player loses/gains over the course of each episode (with varying levels of detail and legibility)

[firekit21]

Life Series Incorrect Quotes

Ren: Isn't it a bit dangerous?

Joel: Ren, please. We've been in a lot of unexpected predicaments before and we always escape unhurt.

Ren: ...

Joel: Okay, we sometimes escape unhurt.

Ren: ...

Joel: Alright, we escaped unhurt once... Then we hurt ourselves on the way home.

Skizz: Who's in charge here?

Martyn, shrugging: Usually whoever yells the loudest.

Grian: Why is there blood everywhere?

Scar: I may have aggressively poked someone with a knife.

Grian: You stabbed someone?!

Scar: No, no. I aggressively poked someone with a knife.

Grian: Remember, Jimmy, don't do anything I wouldn't do.

Jimmy: I think I crossed that line when I got a date.

Lizzie: I was put on this earth to do one thing.

Lizzie: Luckily I forgot what it was so I can do whatever I want.

Bdubs: Thanks for not telling Etho what happened.

Mumbo, dumbfounded: I wouldn’t even know where to begin trying to explain this.

Grian: I left instructions for everyone while I'm gone.

Scar: Mine just says "Scar no."

Grian: I want you to apply it to every possible situation.

Impulse, after having a nosebleed: Welp. Time to wash the blood off my hands.

Lizzie: Fellas, I gotta know for science. Is the opposite of red green or blue?

BigB: Technically a mix of green and blue?

Lizzie: So blurple.

BigB: That's implying you're mixing blue and purple.

Lizzie: Would you rather have fucking bleen? MOTHERFUCKING GRUE?

BigB: You were confusing before but now I'm scared.

Scott: Let’s play 20 questions, you start.

Jimmy: What’s your favorite color?

Scott, laser fucking focused:  Triangle, do you like men?

Grian: Pros and cons of dating me.

Grian: Pros. You'll be the cute one.

Grian: Cons. Holy shit, where do I begin-

Jimmy: Do you know that we are made out of atoms?

Jimmy: And atoms never touch each other.

Jimmy: So in my defense, officer. I did not punch this kid.

Cleo, to BigB: Are you peanuts? Because I want to boil you alive.

Tango: Stop failing.

Skizz: Don’t tell me what to do! I'll fail right now!

Skizz: *Succeeds*

Skizz: Dang it!

Scar with a gun to Ren's head: What happens if I pull this trigger? Heaven?

Ren: Bold of you to assume I'll go to Heaven.

Jimmy: As someone who has a long history of not understanding anything, I feel confident in my ability to continue not knowing what is going on.

Pearl: I am a responsible adult!

Gem: *raises brow*

Pearl: I am an adult.

Cleo: I love murder mysteries!

Martyn, trying to impress them: I've been a suspect in four murder cases.

Ren: Martyn and I are so close we even share a toothbrush.

Martyn: We what?

[blueishspace]

Looped Sun 5

Loop #177

Scott had decided to take one vacation loop and this happened? A null loop? In an empires world where Xonorth won? Without an arm? ... The world tree was very very mean.

Loop #179

Grian had decided to take a vacation loop, nothing too big of course but something relaxing... of course this plan did not predict for a null loop stuck in the end with the most sadistic version of the Watchers possible. Grian would never set fire to the world tree...but the tree is making it really hard not to want to.

Loop #182

Pearl wanted to just have a good loop, being trapped for twenty years in a tower was not part of that plan. It being a null loop even less. Being a damsel in distress is extremely boring without something to do.

Loop #184

This is war, after almost 200 loops Scar had yet to have a Star Wars loop and now he instead had a Star Trek one... To be fair it was a good one but it's the principle! The world tree did it on purpose.

Loop #187

Scott: Guess Grian Isn't going to be the only god now...

Pearl: I guess so... So whose place did we take?

Scott: I know a bunch about this place, I took Mianite's place as god of order and you took Dianite's as god of chaos.

Pearl: Where's Scar?

Scott: According to the loop's memories he's taking Ianite's place as balance god.

Pearl: Wait, wasn't Ianite imprisoned for like...centuries?

Scott: ...

Pearl: Let's go get him.

Loop #189

It was two in the morning when Scar crashed trough the window of Grian's apartment. Grian was not excited to see him.

Grian: Another hero loop?

Scar: What? No! This is a villain loop! Watch and fear, I am the wizard!

Grian: The wizard? Really?

Scar: What!? It's straight to the point.

Grian: ... I'll stop bullying if I can join the villany. I still got a mother spore outfit from last time we looped into season 7.

Scar: Welcome on board!!

Scott: No chaos magic this time?

Pearl: Nah, decided to go waterbending for this hero loop. Get better at healing. Maybe if I get a villain next time.

Loop #191

This was early, Grian had gotten used to sometimes waking up in Hermitcraft season 6 or 7. He wasn't too surprised when he woke up as a Watcher or in Evo. But this? He didn't even think he could loop back to high school. Fortunately this wasn't a null loop so he could actually do something but still...

Loop #193

Pearl didn't mind being an hyena, it was the why that annoyed her the most. At the same time, she should have expected this to happen considering Scar's name. She tried not to sigh as she recites her part.

Pearl: And where to we feature?

Scar: Just listen to teacher. I know it sound sordid but you'll be rewarded when at last, I'm given my dues. And injustice deliciously squared, be prepared!

Loop #193

It's been a while since Grian had gotten to start in the desert, as much as he hated waking up here at the beginning of the loops now it was a bit nostalgic. He knew this was going to be a relaxing loop.

Loop #195

Bdubs: She's losing her freaking mind-

*Boom*

Bdubs didn't get to finish that he became smoke while his items fell to the ground... The spectators weren't happy.

Grian: ...Who decided to give Pearl a gun?

Scar: I did!

Grian: ...why?

Loop #196

Rendog: Give us back that banner!

Grian: Nev'r! If thee need t then cometh h're and taketh t thee phony king.

Ren: Phony? How dare thee, thee damn hippie! I'll showeth thee the wrath of the r'd wint'r.

Grian: Nay, I wouldst winneth.

Skizz: What's going on dude?

Scott: They are talking in shakespearian english.

Skizz: I got that. Why?

Scott: I have no idea. Ren isn't even looping, he's just going along with it.

Skizz: Looping?

Scott: It's nothing.

Ren: Cometh h're and visage mine own wrath thee heathen!

Grian: Is yond a dare? Prepareth thyself f'r a vanquish.

Mumbo: Grian?

Grian: There is a way we can still be friends.

Mumbo: Ther-

Grian: þū meahte geunon mē!

Mumbo: ... What?

Grian: What? It's just some Old english.

Tango: Jimmy? Jimmy? What's wrong?

Jimmy: It's Scar and Grian! Make them stop!

Tango: What do you mean-

Grian: 𒁠 𒂠𒀭𒋠𒍦𒋀 𒆭𒋠𒂠𒄀𒊠𒊀𒋀𒀀𒋠𒂠 𒆤𒄠𒀀𒋀 𒋀𒄠𒄀𒁠𒊠 𒁭𒊠𒀭𒁀𒇠𒄀𒈀

Scar: 𒁠𒊀𒍤Y𒄀𒀀𒄠𒌋 𒈀𒄀 𒋠𒄀𒁠𒋀𒄠𒄀𒊠𒍤

Joel: Grian, mate, please stop this.

Jimmy: You'll get used to it eventually.

Grian: 𓃀𓄿𓂧 𓃀𓇌𓋴 𓃀𓄿𓂧 𓃀𓇌𓋴 𓅃𓉔𓄿𓏏 𓄿𓂋 𓇌𓅲 𓎼𓇋𓈖𓎼 𓏏 𓂧 𓅃𓉔𓈖 𓏏𓉔𓇌 𓎢𓅓 𓆑𓂋 𓇌𓅲

Joel: I really doubt it.

Grian: ⊑⟟ ⏁⊑⟒⍀⟒ ⋔⏃⍀⏁⊬⋏!

Martyn: You do know I speak ender right?

Grian: ... I forgot.

Loop #199

Listen, Grian didn't mean to start a religion really. That was more Joel's thing then his. It's not his fault he went god mode right as Gem started her Dawn church. At least he turned the god war between him, an unawake Pearl and Joel into a prank war. Which he was winning by the way. But that didn't stop it from being... Annoying at certain times. At least now he could teleport, that's a plus.

Loop #200

Grian: People! We got an expansion to our loop!

Scar: We did?

Grian: Check your loop memories!

Scar: Why- oh! We are after Secret Life!

Pearl: Finally, we get see season 10!

Scar: Look Joel and Skizz are Hermits.

Grian: Good for them, kinda hardcore that their first month of the season is demise 2.

Pearl: I mean, they are used to the Life Games so It's actually a good way to introduce them mate.

Pearl: Mate.

Grian: I know...

Pearl: I'm so sorry for you.

Grian: I'm going to have so many fishing loops now.

Pearl: It's ok...

Grian: Curse you unawake baseline me! Curse you!

Pearl: ... Snails?

Grian: Snails.

Scar: ... What are we talking about?

Grian: Snails.

Pearl: Snails snails.

Scar: ... Ok then, I'm out of here now.

Pearl: Snails!

Pearl: Is it me or is there something up with the season 10 water?

Grian: It's not you... it might like a moon big thing.

Pearl: Not another moon big, please.

Prev Next First

[salemoleander]

Joel is lounging around on Potato Pier, evening darkening to purple as Jimmy and Grian argue about something stupid in the background. He dips a hand in and out of the water elevator, in and out, and again; and after every splash he's seeing the same numbers.

"Time's stopped," Joel says absently. The lulling noise of the background conversation grinds to a halt.

"Sorry, what?" Jimmy asks.

"I said, the blimming-" Joel realizes what he's saying as he says it, snapped from dreamy to alert in a moment. Grian's head whips up.

Jimmy looks down at his own arm. "The time's stopped. The time has stopped? Grian?"

Already reaching for his comm, Grian says with a forcedly casual tone, "No it hasn't."

Then he blanches, eyes flicking over the screen.

"WHAT."

Joel snorts and looks out over the map. No one is noticeably freaking out yet- the only group he can see out and about this late in the day is the Clockers, busy fixing up the cliff face on their side of the No-Man's-Land with Pearl and BigB. He watches as Bdubs falls in the chicken pit for the umpteenth time. Joel snickers.

He looks up, and catches sight of Grian's expression. He stops snickering.

--------------------

"What do you MEAN," Cleo yells, "that the clocks have stopped?" One of their arms is looped firmly around Scar's shoulders, which seems prudent given his tendency to wander off and either explode or kill whoever he bumps into. He still looks slightly singed from earlier, giving an overall impression of a puppy that cannot be left alone with electric cords.

Slumped against a rough stone wall reloading a crossbow, Joel scoffs. "What do you bloody well think it means?"

"HEY," Bdubs exclaims, "Don't talk to-" Aaand he's in the horse pit.

"It's fine Bdubs." Cleo rolls her eyes. "My fault. What I meant to ask is, why are you-" she points to Grian, who squawks, "-telling us about it? Why aren't you just fixing it?"

"Well he can't, can he?" Jimmy pipes up from his seat at the dining table. "Else he would. He's in here with us, though."

Cleo doesn't stop staring at Grian, and boy is Joel glad he's not Grian right now. Both because being himself is obviously the best option always, and because an angry Cleo is a very scary Cleo.

Reluctantly, slowly, Grian nods. "I can't fix it."

No one says anything.

The dripping from the ceiling to the floor makes Joel think someone really ought to fix up the roof. They'll have the time for it, he reckons. Then Joel remembers that the Bad Boys had, in fact, bombed the clocktower not an hour before, and decides now is really not the time to mention it.

Finally: "I really can't. It's not-" Grian sighs. "I set this thing up. It can run just fine on autopilot, pretty much. If I were on the outside as an admin-" he grimaces, "...like I should be, it wouldn't be an issue. But it's like the pilot is locked inside the bathroom while the plane-" Grian stops talking.

"Crashes? While it crashes." Cleo sounds displeased. Joel starts drafting an obituary. Bdubs has clambered up from the horse pit by now and is sitting on the edge of it, nervously messing with a janky old pocket watch.

"I would really prefer not to be stuck in an airplane bathroom forever," Scar says forlornly.

"Oh for goodness' sake," Joel says. "There has to be someone on this server who can fix this. Grian can't be the first idiot who's ever done something this stupid."

"I'll take that bet," Bdubs mutters darkly. Cleo shoots him a look, and he raises both hands and scoots forward to disappear down into the horse pit again.

Cleo pinches the bridge of their nose. "Alright, let's go find out if someone else on this server has already been a bigger idiot than Grian."

(Part 1)

[watarfallar]

Hello? Yes, I'm gonna have to put you on hold. Enjoy these while you are on hold!

Etho: Tango, I am questioning your sanity... Scott: I never questioned it, I knew their sanity was missing from the start.

Martyn: Your smug self-assuredness is revolting. Pearl: I think we need to validate self confidence more, lest you end up angry at others for having even a sliver of it. I've done nothing wrong and I have a heart of gold. Joel: I think this message is extremely valid, but also Pearl has implied wanting to set off the Yellowstone supervolcano, so what's the truth? Pearl: I want to set it off.

Waiter: What would you like? Joel: Bring a milkshake with two straws. Etho: *blushes* Joel: *puts both straws in their mouth* Watch how fast I can drink this!!

Joel: Are you an ‘arr’ pirate or a ‘yo ho ho’ pirate? Mumbo: I’m a ‘I’m not paying $600 for photoshop’ pirate.

Gem: Well, if you're not at least a little bit gay for your friends, then what kind of friend are you?

Scott, singing to the tune of I Kissed a Girl: I killed a guy, and I liked it- Joel, whispering: Should we call the exorcist? Pearl, also singing: The taste of his cherry chapstick. Mumbo, appalled: Call the exorcist.

Scar: I type how I think. Martyn: Odd that you type at all then.

Tango: Scar, my old friend! Scar: I think you tried to kill me at some point. Tango: That was obviously just my way of getting to know you.

Scott: You’re jealous. Grian: Jealous? Scott: That’s why you were being so negative about this. Grian: That’s absurd. I’m always negative.

Bdubs: Firstly, how dare you use mathematics to make me look stupid! Bdubs: I’m actually very good at mathematics. Bdubs: Thirdly, I think you might be right.

Skizz: Why should I make my bed, when I'm just gonna unmake it to sleep in it anyways? Impulse: Why should I feed you if your just gonna die anyways? Skizz: Skizz: I'll go make my bed-

Joel: I warned you. Joel: I'm perfect.

Skizz: While I'm gone, you're in charge Ren. Ren: Yes! Skizz, whispering to Etho: You're secretly in charge, but I don't want them to feel bad. Etho: Obviously.

Jimmy, sniffling: Calm down, I’m probably not sick. It might just be allergies. Lizzie: Okay, tell me this: are you like, really tired? Jimmy: I have depression, what do you think?

Pearl: Gem gave me a get better soon card. Lizzie: That's sweet! Pearl: I wasn't sick, they just think I can do better.

BigB, making coffee: This is going to fix everything.

Pearl: Scar, say aluminum again. It's the entire source of my serotonin during these trying times. Scar: *sigh* Only for you, buddy. Alyoouminnieeum.

Grian: Yum, thanks! Kidnapper: *puts more tape over their mouth* I said stop eating it.

Cleo: Dandelions symbolize everything I want to be in life. Jimmy: Fluffy and dead with a gust of wind? Cleo: Unapologetic. Hard to kill. Feral, filled with sunlight, bright, beautiful in a way that the conventional and controlling hate but cannot ever fully destroy. Stubborn. Happy. Bastardous. Friends with bees. Highly disapproving of lawns. Full of wishes that will be carried far after I die. Pearl: Edible.

Tango: Am I right, Etho? Etho: I’m almost certain you’re not, but to be fair, I wasn’t listening.

Pearl: Oh and for your information, I don't have an ego. Pearl: My facebook photo is a landscape.

Mumbo: I printed up a bunch of fake safety inspection certificates. Go slap one on anything that looks like a lawsuit. Scar: Mumbo, is that legal? Mumbo: When the cops aren’t around, anything’s legal!

Gem: What makes a bigger memory than a passionate kiss? Gem: A stab wound.

[life-winners-liveblog]

Some Losers playing Mafia

DL!Jimmy: Hello everyone! Today I will be your Host!

*DL Tango claps his hands in support*

DL!Jimmy: Heh thanks rancher... *Cough* As I waa saying today we'll be playing Mafia! I'll pass around and give everyone their secret role soon...but first introducing everyone.

DL!Tango: Oh uh sure! I'm Tango.

DL!Jimmy: Then we have flower valley!

*3rd Life Jimmy and Scott wave their hands*

DL!Jimmy: The Nosey Neighbors!

*Limited Life Pearl nods and waves, BigB seems to be distracted*

DL!Jimmy: The Mounders... Minus Mumbo.

SL!Joel: He was busy.

SL!Pearl: But that's fine right?

DL!Jimmy: Oh yeah... Because we have 3rd Life Joel here! ... For some reason?

3L!Joel: I was bored.

DL!Jimmy: Makes sense to me.

~~~~~~

Once everyone has their role.

~~~~~~

DL!Jimmy: Night falls on the town, all is quiet and you all fall asleep.

*everyone closes their eyes*

DL!Jimmy: Mafia, open your eyes and look at eachother.

*3rd Life Jimmy, DL Tango and SL Joel open their eyes and look at eachother*

DL!Jimmy: Who do you want to kill?

*after some tought they silently decide to point to BigB*

DL!Jimmy: Perfect, close your eyes.

*they do*

DL!Jimmy: Cupid, open your eyes.

*SL Bdubs opens his eyes*

DL!Jimmy: Choose who to link together.

*Bdubs smiles and points to 3rd Life Jimmy and 3L Joel*

DL!Jimmy: Good, close your eyes.

*he does*

DL!Jimmy: Doctor, open your eyes.

*LimL Pearl opens her eyes*

DL!Jimmy: Who do you want to save?

*she points to BigB*

DL!Jimmy: Interesting, you can close your eyes.

*she narrows her eyes and then closes them*

DL!Jimmy: Detective, open your eyes.

*BigB opens his eyes*

DL!Jimmy: Who do you want to investigate?

*he points to LimL Pearl, Jimmy does a thumbs up*

DL!Jimmy: Alright, go back to sleep.

~~~~~~

DL!Jimmy: It's the next day, the sun is shining and everyone is ready to start their day when... ... Nothing happens.

SL!Bdubs: No fricking way!

3L!Scott: Did the doctor really save the first target?

SL!Joel: That like never happens.

LimL!Pearl: That's insane luck!

3L!Joel: How are we supposed to find the murderers if no murder happened?

SL!Pearl: We don't have proof so our only chance to get Mafia out now is to magically guess based on their reactions to the news mate.

DL!Tango: I mean, 3rd Joel was the only one to look disappointed.

3L!Joel: What!? I was talking about a meta game perspective.

SL!Bdubs: Suspicious..

3L!Joel: No It's not!

3L!Jimmy: I also think that's sussy.

LimL!Pearl: Ugh.

3L!Scott: Jimmy, love, please never say that again.

SL!Pearl: So we are just nominating Joel?

SL!Bdubs: I don't know...

DL!Tango: I am, I'm sure.

3L!Joel: Guys it was a joke!

DL!Jimmy: All in favour of executing Joel raise your hand.

*Tango, then SL Pearl and Bdubs, Scott then Jinmy and then SL Joel*

DL!Jimmy: Are there any other nominations?

3L!Joel: I nominate Tango!

DL!Jimmy: All in favour of executing Tango?

*Only Joel and Bigb raise their hands*

DL!Jimmy: Joel is officially eliminated from the game-

3L!Joel: Fuck you guys.

3L!Jimmy: And I'm not out first round! Woo!

DL!Jimmy: ... When suddenly Jimmy falls to the floor dead.

*Tangos and SL Joels expressions rapidly change*

3L!Jimmy: What? Cupid linked us??? That's...uggghh

DL!Jimmy: Night falls and the survivors fall asleep.

~~~~~~

DL!Jimmy: Mafia? Ready to choose a victim?

*Tango and Joel open their eyes and point at LimL!Pearl before closing their eyes again*

DL!Jimmy: Next, Cupid?

*Bdubs open his eyes and points at Scott and Joel*

DL!Jimmy: Doctor?

*LimL!Pearl thinks and then points to BigB, again*

DL!Jimmy: Detective?

*BigB points at Bdubs and gets a thumbs up*

~~~~~~

DL!Jimmy: Another beautiful day approaches, the birds are singing, flowers are blooming-

3L!Scott: Nice.

DL!Jimmy: When you find a corpse floating in the river ... It's Limited Life Pearl.

LimL!Pearl: Noo!

LimL!BigB: Damn!

DL!Jimmy: So, how would you say you died?

LimL!Pearl: Well I was talking a midnight stroll when suddenly... wam! Someone came from the bushes and attacked me!

LimL!BigB: ... That....

SL!Joel: That just sounds like an encounter with a wild animal? We found the truth, there was no murder, just a dire bear.

DL!Jimmy: You have 5 minutes to discuss from...now!

SL!Pearl: Do we have any idea?

SL!Bdubs: I don't fricking know!

3L!Scott: Do we know if we managed to get a Mafia out last turn?

Liml!BigB: No way to know for certain

DL!Tango: Dang.

SL!Joel: Then what?

SL!Pearl: Tango was the one to accuse 3rd Life Joel, I don't know hiw much I trust him.

SL!Bdubs: Wait that's true!

DL!Tango: What if It's you Pearl? Lyificating like a nastermind?

SL!Pearl: Me?

SL!Bdubs: Yeah freaking right, she would never!

DL!Tango: Well I'm nominating Pearl then.

SL!Pearl: And I'll nominate you back then.

3L!Scott: I'm nominating Joel.

SL!Joel: What!?

SL!Pearl: ... Why?

3L!Scott: Call it a gut feeling.

DL!Jimmy: So we have our nominations! Who votes for Joel?

*only Scott*

DL!Jimmy: Pearl?

*Tango and Joel.

DL!Jimmy: Tango?

*BigB, Pearl and Bdubs*

DL!Jimmy: Tango has been chosen, any other nominations? ... No?... Then Tango is officially executed and out of the game.

DL!Tango: I hate this.

DL!Jimmy: Come on! You did the best you could.. sit here!

*Tango sits next to Jimmy as everyone closes their eyes again*

~~~~~~

DL!Jimmy: Mafia choose your victim.

*SLJoel opens his eyes and points at BigB before closing his eyes*

DL!Jimmy: Since the new linked couple is still alive Cupid will sit this night out, Doctor?

*nothing happens for a while*

DL!Jimmy: Perfect, Detective?

*BigB points at Joel and gets a thumbsdown*

~~~~~~

DL!Jimmy: Another day begins, the sun rising in the distance when you hear a scream!

3L!Scott: No!

DL!Jimmy: When you arrive It's already too late, BigB has been killed... How?

LimL!BigB: I'm going to say, attacked while visiting Pearls grave.

LimL!Pearl: Awwwwwww mate.

DL!Tango: Don't speak! You're dead!

LimL!Pearl: Well so are you!

3L!Scott: I still think It's Joel!

SL!Joel: Well I'm saying It's you!

SL!Bdubs: Uhhh-

SL!Joel: No, I'm nominating him.

SL!Bdubs: Wait-

3L!Scott: Right back at you!

SL!Bdubs: ...

SL!Pearl: It's like they haven't heard you.

Dl!Jimmy: So we have our nominations! Who votes for Joel.

*Scott*

DL!Jimmy: And Scott?

*Pearl, Joel and Bdubs*

DL!Jimmy: Other nominations? No? Then It's decided! Scott is out if the game... And soon Joel too dies...

SL!Joel: Another link double execution?!!

DL!Jimmy: Tango, SL Joel and other me where the Mafia, since all the members are dead the villagers win!

~~~~~~

3L!Scott: So, who was Cupid in the end?

SL!Bdubs: It was me.

SL!Joel/3L!Jimmy: You!

[selodka-pod-shuboy]

I think 3rd life is somehow the best plot&system-wise. It's not based on anything, just my humble opinion. I have so much thoughts and they are all so tragic. Like. It was my first ever interaction with theese CCs, I went there blind reacting. It was amazing then, it was even better after getting to know them. Every perspective tells such a drasticly different story. You've got alliances formed throu death, loyalty and sacrifices, broken or cherished till the very end. You have 3 lifes, and that's it. No tricks or some help or twist from the gamemakers. Go apeshit or stay nice, nothing changes it. All your enemies can start from something as simple as a random punch or a shot or a pice of paper. So can friends. No one knows how the server operates, they all come from somewhat-friendly spaces, so every simple fact is a new surprise - everybody kills animals, and ends up suffering with lack of food&lether for books afterwards. They put effort into builds, bother with decorating(not to say they didn't in later seasons, it's just the attachment I'll talk later), fill the places with love and care, get attached to pets and trees, banners of all things. PROTECT THEM and feel sorrow and grief, once they enevitibly get killed or burned or blown up or DESTROYED. The rage is so innocent in it's belive, that they were wronged, that they should be avenged, and not that this is just the reality of the server itself, that that's just - what heppens. The story tells so much about betrayal, about broken trust, and friends that go mad, and almoust no one follows the "all alliances are broken after you're red" rule. You are allowed to kill now, yeah, but there was nothing in PARTICULAR, stopping you before. It is proven by the first death, that it was just a prank, that lead to all the following chaos. Scar gives Grian flowers after his second death, and Grian STAYS. Cleo sticks with Bdubs, calling his castle a toilet, kidnaps the desert lama, burns Joel's home. She goes for the king and dies in the blind rage . Bdubs makes and gives Impulse the clock, that will doom their hearts in the end. Impulse promises his trust to the Crastle. Bigb makes the cookie. Martyn hears voices, and Ren asks him to take his head. He takes so many lives. The Red Winter Comes. Tango saves the cows, only for them to be stolen, he gets shot stuck behind the fire. Etho's dark oak gets burned, he builds a woolen castle, for it to get burned multiple times. Timmy gives Scott a poppy, starting their marriage. They build the flower valley. Timmy DIES FIRST and aquaeres the Canary curse. Scott follows full of sorrow. Skizz dies second, full of rage, and creates the boogieman curse. Joel stays alone, with his dog army, and dies, leaving his pack wandering the desert. The cactus-ring fight. The siege of dogwarts. Battle of the Red Desert. All the monopolies. The state, that everyone leaves the server, the contrast with the start. It's like watching the 1rst anual hunger games, from a perspective of people, who know and love each other, but no matter their efforts, end up slowly spiraling into violence and distrust, spreading pain and destruction. Mu soul loves and aches for it, even though it was the very same thing that broke it in the first place, that took a pice of it and so it will never be whole again. It's so tragic. All this blood was never beautiful. It was just. Red.

[arthropod-concoctions]

Has my luck turned?

Day eight at the mall, and Tango had to say, he was getting pretty comfortable. The fourth floor contained an electronics store, a furniture boutique, and a big supermarket with fridges that were miraculously both still functioning, and still stuffed with food and drinks. Most of it wasn't healthy, of course, but victims of the apocalypse couldn't be choosers, and with the amount of running from monsters and crazy people he'd done in the past year, Tango felt he'd earned the right to have instant burgers and soda for dinner for a week. He sat down on a soft chair with his freshly microwaved cheap meal, reached into his backpack, and grabbed the radio that he'd taken from the electronics store. He turned it on and twiddled with the frequencies until he found the only channel that still worked: the one where someone who'd broken into the radio station had been rambling whatever came to his mind into the microphone for at least the last week. Tango listened to today's story, seemingly an anecdote from the guy's high school life, as he ate.

“...so, yeah, that's how we got crowned 'cutest couple' in the yearbook despite being literally one week from a breakup.” the man laughed. “God. I'm getting loopy, I need to find something to eat. Signing off, i have been Martyn Littlewood as usual, and if... if you're an actual person hearing this, please come look for me at the radio station in Midcanyon. Please. I need to know I'm not losing my mind here. Alright, bye by-”

A crack, and then Tango was alone with the static and his lukewarm meal again.

Briefly, he considered going out to find the radio station, but he quickly discarded the idea. That sounded like something a competent and heroic person would do, and if there was one thing he'd learnt the past year, it was that he was neither of those things. Well, that wasn't entirely fair. He'd been pretty heroic when he joined team BEST. And he'd done some good things in the-- what was it, a month?-- where they were actually helping people. And it was hardly his fault that brain demons had started to show up, and one got to Bdubs, and then to everyone but Tango, and then- Tango exhaled through gritted teeth. Replaying it all in his head wouldn't help now any more than it had the past hundred times. That chapter's over now, for better or worse. He finished eating, stuffed the radio back into his pack, then got up to put his plate into a garbage bin that hadn't overflown yet. Maybe he should try emptying the bins at some point. Then, at least he could say he was still some kind of positive influence on-

The ground rumbled.

“Oh, god, not again!” Tango dropped his plate on the ground, and looked around frantically. He didn't see anything breaking just yet, but the rumble wasn't getting any softer, and earthquakes were not common occurrences in the area. Whatever was happening now was almost certainly another Disaster. After probably a few seconds too many just standing there, Tango made a decision: he had to get out of here. He began running to the exit of the store. As soon as he crossed the doorway into the main hallway of the mall, the entire building shuddered, and Tango distantly heard windows shattering. Tango yelped, but didn't stop running. Stairs, stairs, he had to get to the stairs- He reached the stairs and ran down to the third floor. He continued on to the second floor, but then slipped and fell down the last three steps like an idiot. He hissed, partly because his knee hurt, partly from frustration. Alright, no time to feel sorry! Keep moving! He got to his feet again, heaving heavy breaths, and stepped down the next stair- A flow of honest-to-god lava sloshed at the bottom of the staircase, seemingly coming up from a crack in the ground. Tango skidded to a halt. Oh. Well, nevermind then, Tango thought. Guess I'll just die in here. He felt a wave of heat from the lava and instinctively stepped back up the stairs. He turned, around, stepped back into the hallway, and- Something feathery crashed into him from the side. Oh, great. There were monsters as well. Tango fell down, wisely used all his breath to scream at the top of his lungs, and reached for the pistol that he'd pilfered from somewhere months ago and had just been hanging uselessly on his belt since then. A gun wouldn't do much against lava, or the other nonsense he'd dealt with, but it'd probably deal well with a feathery monster. Although, looking up again, the figure that crashed into him didn't look too monstrous. Actually, that just looked like a person who'd also been knocked to the ground. A blond man, with yellow feathers growing out of his face and arms, with wide eyes and his hands raised.

A canary. Right. Some people were having an even worse time with the apocalypse than Tango.

“Oh, you're a person!” Tango said, though not much sound came out of his throat. He immediately took his hand off the gun again. “Sorry.” He hadn't seen anyone else in this area for a while.

The canary mouthed something in response, and got up. Tango watched him approach the staircase, go down one step, and freeze, exactly as he'd done.

“Yeah, no. That's not the way to happiness. We're sort of screwed here,” Tango said, as he got to his feet as well.

The canary turned to Tango and said something, pointing his thumb backwards.

“What?” Tango said, like a fool. Canaries couldn't speak during Disasters. That was pretty much their whole thing. “Sorry, I don't know any sign language.”

The canary repeated the gesture, pointing and mouthing more exaggeratedly this time. After a second, he just turned around and began jogging down the hallway. Tango decided to wager that he was probably saying 'follow me', and followed. That proved to be harder than expected; the floors shook irregularly, making it hard to keep his balance, and his knee still hurt. Tango was panting again by the time he caught up to the canary; the man had been waiting at an emergency exit.

He opened the door when Tango reached him, and the two left the building onto a metal staircase. Tango looked at the scenery outside. The mall looked out over a massive parking lot leading out onto what used to be the road network, but was now just a slab of asphalt intermittently cracked by dandelions-- having broken through slowly but steadily for the past year-- and lava, which was doing the same thing in the span of minutes. It seemed to be seeping out of the ground from cracks which were expanding in length, but not in width. In fact, one of the cracks was snaking dangerously close to the foundations of the mall...

A horrendous metallic screeching snapped Tango out of his stupor. Right. He was supposed to be escaping. He followed the canary down the staircase- Ah. The cause of the horrible noise had been the bottom stairs curling upwards, getting bent out of shape by the heat and the pressure of the lava coming up at the exact place where the staircase touched the ground. Or in other words, right in the middle of the only route of escape the two of them had.

Tango laughed. What else was he supposed to do? He'd gone from having a lovely life in a giant mall ahead of him to almost certainly dying in the very same mall in, what, five minutes? The building shook again. Tango looked over at the canary, who was gripping the handrails of the stairs with both hands, leaning over.

Tango walked over to him and slapped him on the shoulder. “Well, it was nice knowing you, friend. Sorry about the-”

The canary suddenly reached over and grabbed Tango's hand, clearly wanting to get his attention. Tango looked at him, and he mouthed something; again, Tango didn't know what, but it seemed like the last word was 'back'. His eyes were wide.

“We can't go back, dude,” Tango replied, hazarding a guess at what the man was trying to say. “There's just more fire and sadness back there.”

The canary shook his head, frustration visible on his face. He brought a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes, still muttering something. Tango shrugged apologetically.

Then the canary took a deep breath in and out, grabbed both of Tango's arms, and... wrapped them around himself?

“Oh. Uh... okay,” Tango stammered, now hugging the man. “Look, I know this is a heated moment and all, but-”

The canary spread out his arms and jumped backwards, pulling Tango with him; then they were falling.

“HEY!” Tango yelled, now holding on to the canary for dear life. He'd seen how far above the ground they were; too far to survive a fall like this unscathed. He really hoped the other man had a plan- The man waved his arms, and their descent slowed considerably. Surprised, Tango turned his head to the side; the yellow feathers which had been laying flat on the man's arms earlier were now standing straight up, and apparently catching a good amount of air. He continued flapping, and they were definitely still falling, not flying, but it seemed like they might...

Tango heard the canary's legs hitting the ground a moment before he felt his own landing; bolts of pain shot through both of his legs this time. They buckled, and he fell forwards, his fall being unfortunately cushioned by the canary's body.

He rolled to the side until his backpack stopped him, then let out another scream for good measure. “What is wrong with you!?” he yelled in the canary's direction.

He didn't respond; his eyes were squeezed shut, and his face contorted with pain. Tango immediately regretted saying that. “Nevermind. Sorry. Thanks for saving my life. uh...” he stood up and swiveled his head around to look at the lava, which was still coming up from the ground all around them. The heat was already making Tango sweat. He held out his hand to the canary. “Can you walk? We should probably get out of here.”

the canary nodded and took his hand, and Tango pulled him up. Then they hobbled their way out of the molten labyrinth, as fast as their aching legs could take them.

* * * * *

The disaster ended almost as abruptly as it started; pretty soon after Tango and his new buddy had made it out of the parking lot, the lava seeping from the ground slowed, then stopped. When the ground had properly stopped rumbling, the canary slowed his pace, then all but collapsed onto the soil. Tango decided to follow his example.

“Whew,” Tango exclaimed as he sat down. “Guess that's my exercise for the day done.” He looked over at the canary, who was panting just as he was. He held out his hand. “I'm Tango, by the way. Hi.”

The canary looked at him, grinned, then took his hand and shook it. His lips moved, but sound still wasn't coming out.

While most of the disasters that kicked off the end of the world had been unique and highly localised, the emergence of canaries seemed to have been a worldwide phenomenon. Tango hadn't actually met any in person up until now, but he'd heard enough accounts of it to know how it happened. On the 17th of June, 2022, for no apparent reason, about one percent of Earth's population lost their voices and suddenly had yellow feathers burst out of their arms and faces. A few minutes later, hell broke loose. It turned out their mutism wasn't permanent, but rather only happened when in proximity of the Disasters that would plague the world constantly starting the very same day. The 'canaries', as people began to call them, were blamed for the Disasters at first, even as they swore to have nothing to do with it all. People thought they were aliens, or demons, or even experimental super-soldiers created by the government; whatever would fit into their desperate attempts to explain the end of the world. Tango never really bought any of those explanations. Life's a bitch, is what he'd say, and it seemed to him like the canaries were just exceptionally unlucky people on an even unluckier planet. And having met the man sitting next to him only solidified that perception.

Tango's mouth was dry. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a plastic bottle full of water. “Lugging this thing around for a week is finaly paying off,” he said, took a few sips of water, then offered the bottle to the canary. He took it eagerly and immediately drained almost all the water that was inside.

“Wow, thanks for leaving some for later,” Tango said flatly. Then he saw the canary's face drop and quickly backpedaled: “Oh, don't worry about it! There were plenty of bottles in the mall, I can go back and get some more...”

He looked back towards the oversized building. It was now standing slightly crooked, one half of the top few floors had collapsed, and there seemed to be flames flickering in the busted windows. “Yeah... I can totally just go do that. Won't be a problem.”

And indeed, Tango went to do that. It wasn't as bad as he imagined; a good amount of the mall was still accessible, and right at the entrance there was a shop who's aisles-- and floors, thanks to the earthquakes-- still held anything you might need on a 24-hour drive, or a few weeks in anarchy if you camped out here. It was kind of eerie, how untouched everything was. Like the world had been just fine until yesterday. But whatever blessing or curse had kept everything that way had been broken today, along with every fridge in the building. Tango wouldn't be able to survive here much longer. So he ventured as far into the mall as he could, trying to decide what necessities to take with him. The canary quietly followed him along. At first Tango tried to make some conversational comments as he went, but it was hard to stay quippy with an audience that couldn't respond and an imminent relocation hanging over your head, so eventually they just continued in silence.

While they were making their way across a particularly messy corridor, the canary tripped over something and exclaimed in pain. “Watch your step, dude,” Tango commented. Then he registered what had actually just happened and spun around. “Hey, your voice is back!”

A smile appeared on the canary's face. “I can talk!” he exclaimed; and his voice caught Tango off guard.

“You're British?” he asked, before he could stop himself.

“I-” the canary paused for a moment, a baffled expression on his face. Then he tilted his head backwards and began laughing.

“'You're British',” the man repeated between wheezes, leaning against an aisle. “We can finally properly talk, and that's the first thing you say to me. Oh my gosh.”

“I... I wasn't expecting that, is all,” Tango replied weakly, pressing a hand against his neck. “Sorry, that was rude.”

The canary raised a hand to stop him. “No, dude, don't worry about it. It was funny.” When he'd recovered from his laughing fit, he opened his eyes and looked at Tango. “My name's Jimmy, by the way.”

Tango nodded. “Jimmy. Alright, cool,” he said. “Uh...”

Okay, the excuse of his conversation partner being mute didn't work anymore. Maybe Tango was just socially incompetent.

“Right,” Jimmy said. “Well, I guess we'd better continue packing. Anything else you need?”

“Hmmm...” Tango glanced into his now bulging backpack. “I dunno. I guess just as many cans and bottles as will fit in here.”

Jimmy shrugged. “Looks pretty full to me, not gonna lie.”

“Yeah, i guess, but-” Tango sighed. “I dunno. I have no idea when my next chance to restock like this is gonna be, so I don't wanna waste anything, you know?”

“Plenty of people have set up farms and ranches and stuff around the countryside. You could probably stop by one of those and get more stuff in exchange for chores or something,” Jimmy said.

Tango nodded along. “Yeah, you're probably right. And it's probably better not to travel too heavy...”

“Hey, on the other hand,” Jimmy interjected, making a finger gun motion with his hand, “If you bring a couple extra cans you can throw them at raiders.”

Tango barked out a laugh at that. He appreciated the joke-- and the advice. It was nice having somebody to talk to, even if only for a little while.

“Well, that's a plan then. Alright, how about one more meal in here before we... go on our ways?” Tango asked.

“Uh... yeah, that sound good, yeah,” Jimmy replied. Tango thought he sounded a bit disappointed, but he decided not to read into it. The canary seemed to know what he was doing, and Tango wasn't about to just... insert himself into the guy's plans.

The two of them made their way over to a soft sitting spot in the mall's hallway, bringing two more cans of food from the shop to eat right now. As Jimmy cracked them open using a shard of glass, Tango pulled his radio out of his backpack. “You listened to the radio lately?” he asked Jimmy.

“No. Is it still working?”

“There's just one guy who broke into a radio station, I guess, and he just rambles into the mic now,” Tango explained, and again he turned the knobs on the radio until he heard some barely-on-key singing:

“You gotta knoow, you have to fiight, learn to play, there's monsters day and night~”

Tango chuckled, but when he looked at Jimmy to see his reaction, he wasn't laughing. His face had gone pale.

“That's- I know him!” he exclaimed, pointing at the radio.

“Wait, really?” Tango replied.

“Yeah, he- he's a friend of mine. I lost track of him after the apocalypse happened, I thought he- oh gosh,” Jimmy continued, then clamped his hand over his mouth.

“Jeez,” Tango said. “You know, he keeps saying- he keeps asking people to come and find him at the radio tower in Midcanyon. I wasn't gonna do it, but maybe-”

“I have to go find him,” Jimmy finished the sentence, while turning off the radio. “I have to. W-” Jimmy stopped himself, and looked Tango in the eyes.

And Tango-- look, he just said he wasn't gonna insert himself into Jimmy's plans, but that was a decision made mostly out of self-preservation. He doubted Jimmy would want to continue dealing with him, and if he was gonna have to spend the rest of his probably short life wandering around alone, he'd rather do it with pride than thinking back to an embarrassing misunderstanding the whole time. But looking at Jimmy now, he was starting to think that was a stupid decision.

So he made the gamble: “Do... you want me to go with you?”

Jimmy's shoulders visibly sagged with relief. “Yeah, I- I'd love that, actually. Thanks.”

“Not a problem, dude!” Tango replied quickly, cheering internally. “You saved my life, I've gotta repay that somehow, and if- honestly, this seems like a better deal for me than it is for you.”

“Are you kidding!?” Jimmy exclaimed. “You're the one with food and a radio- and a gun! You've got it all figured out!”

Tango laughed. “If that's what you think, you might regret this arrangement real soon, just a warning.”

Jimmy chuckled at the joke-- and it suddenly hit Tango how long, before meeting Jimmy, it'd been since he had seen a genuine human smile. Team BEST had been a joyless group, in its last couple days, and then he'd been alone for god knows how long. But now he was hanging out with Jimmy, and hopefully, with Martyn soon.

Look at me, making friends and having goals in my future! Tango thought as he scooped dry vegetables out of the can Jimmy had handed him. Maybe my life won't be as futile as I thought.