#and there are members of the server who will probably never be his allies (scott. cleo. potentially lizzie.)

[fogwitchoftheevermore]

girl help. secret life bigb. i am thinking about him again.

[henry-or-something]

🕸️🎃🕸️Trick or treat?🕸️🎃🕸️

This is the beginning of the Ze and Chilled go to Empires AU. I hope you enjoy :)

Run

RUN

Trees flew past his vision as Ze sprinted through the forest. He has to go. He had to get away. Leaves and branches scratched at his arms, his legs, his face, but he could stop. He had to keep going.

He couldn't turn and fight. If the arrows whizzing by didn't pierce his heart, they already stole all his hidden supplies. That bastard Speedy turned on them after Shubble left.

He says left. More like disappeared. One morning, she was just gone. Ze and Chilled looked all over the server for her. They thought she just accidentally fell asleep in the hidden room under the lavafall. Then they thought she was in the decoy base. That she was playing a prank on them.

They searched for months. They raided every base they knew about. They tortured for information on the bases they didn't. They lost every ally they ever had. No one wanted to be near them.

Chilled was explosive, more so than before. He was rude when you weren't talking to him and volatile when you were. If anyone dared mention her name, it would equal a sword to the gut. Moo learned that the hard way after mocking Chilled during week 17 of her being gone. People stopped speaking to him after that.

Ze became quiet. Before this all, most members of the SMP would say Ze was quiet, but that wasn't true. He would still speak to others. He would yell if their base was attacked. He would join in on a joke. He would laugh. Now, he doesn't speak if not needed. Everyone was cautious of Chilled, but they were terrified of Ze. They knew he was plotting, just not what for.

They thought it was about the solo mass raid he did about two weeks before the Purge glitched. He stole from every secret stash on the server. Dozens of diamonds, gapples, potions, armor, and weapons went missing over the span of a few hours. Factions turned on each other while Ze got away Scott free.

Just Ze. Not Chilled as well. They hadn't spoken to each other for a while when this went down. It was her who caused it. Ze was tired. He wanted to leave the server, leave the grief and pain that the place held. Chilled hated him for that. He couldn't imagine running off and abandoning her, wherever she was. He saw Ze trying to escape as giving up. They fought in their base. The one she helped build. Chilled left. He ran off, out to find her. Ze stayed. He hoped they would both come back.

While he waited, he planned his heist. He spent hours awake every week, not sleeping for weeks on end. He had needed a way to distract himself from everything, and he found it. It got him rich in the process too. When he did complete the heist, his adrenaline wore off. He had no one to bask in the glory with, no one to share his stolen wealth with. He got rid of most of it immediately. Sure, he saved a few things for himself, but the rest went into the ocean. That's probably why they are chasing him now.

The forest was getting darker and darker as he rans, his vision is almost all gone, but he has to keep going. He can't die here, alone. It was permanent now.

Something had happened a week ago. Another purge was announced. The fighting had started almost immediately. Tensions were high after the mass robbery. It was Pete who discovered it. He and Kruz had been arguing when the Purge started. It was unplanned and they both knew that. Pete didn't care though. The moment Kruz stopped talking because of the announcement, he stabbed her. He needed to know if she was holding onto the valuables and was expecting her to drop them when she despawned. She didn't. Her body just lay there, cold and unmoving. Blood began to pool around her. A message was sent out to every communicator.

Kruzadar was slain.

Kruzadar has left the server.

After that, the violence stopped, but the arguments continued. They waited for the Purge to be over before making any rash decisions. It never ended. People got tired and the killing started back up. Eventually, after so many people were lost, they figured out who had stolen everything. And thus, the hunt for Ze began.

Currently, it was Nogla, Wildcat, Speedy, and Sidearms chasing him. They formed an alliance after Moo and D4 were killed in a trap set by Tay. She was going for Pete as revenge, but they got nosy and paid for it. The rest of them didn't care about Tay's excuses. She was killed within hours of the explosion.

Now, they were shooting at Ze. It felt like he had been running for hours. He couldn't feel his legs anymore, but he had to keep going. He couldn't stop. He had to tell Chilled he forgave him. He had to find her. The ground was getting rougher. Stones and roots carpeted the forest floor. Ze wasn't looking in front of him. He had glanced over his shoulder for a second to see how far back they were when he tripped. He didn't fall, more like a stumble over the exposed root, but it was enough.

A piercing feeling coursed through his right shoulder as an arrow that would have previously missed made contact. Ze gasped, but didn't stop. Didn't scream. He couldn't. He had to keep going. He heard a cheer from behind him and used that moment of distraction to down an invisibility potion he had stolen. He was unable to get a moment to before, but with their shooter occupied for a split second, he could down it. The potion took effect and Ze kept running. He made it to a small outcropping with a fallen tree resting over it when he heard the swearing.

"WHERE THE FUCK DID THAT BASTARD GO?!"

"HE DRANK AN INVIS!"

"HOW THE FUCK DID HE GET THE TIME TO DO THAT?! WHY WEREN'T YOU FUCKING SHOOTING AT HIM?!"

"I HIT HIM! I THOUGHT HE WENT DOWN!"

Ze rolled under the log, barely fitting, and threw his left hand over his mouth to quiet his strained breathing. He couldn't give any indication that he was here. The potion only lasted for three minutes and he knew for a fact that they would search for hours.

And they did. He could hear them all through the forest, climbing up trees, destroying brush. He managed to bury himself under the log with a bit of dirt while he was invisible. That probably saved his life. He lost count of how many times he heard Wildcat within 10 feet of him. After about 45 minutes later, Ze heard them all reconvene.

"This is fucking pointless." He heard Nogla say. "He's probably sailing back to the mainland by now."

"How could he get that far?" Side spoke up. "Invis doesn't last that long."

Ze could practically see Wildcat rub his eyes as he said, "You dumbass. We've been in the same part of this forest for the past hour. He's been running the whole fucking time, why would he stop now?"

"I don't know, maybe the fucking arrow in his shoulder?" Side was beginning to yell at this point.

Sensing something bad was about to go down, Speedy intervened. "Guy, calm down. I honestly don't care where he is right now. I stole everything from the asshole's base, so if he goes back there, he can't even heal his shoulder. If he doesn't, he's going to either starve in the forest or die from infection."

The group went silent before a chorus of murmured agreements broke out. Eventually, they all left. Ze waited for a few more minutes before digging his way out from under the tree.

Maybe it was a few minutes. It might've been days or seconds. He couldn't be sure anymore. All he could feel was the pain in his shoulder, the blood leaking out and staining his shirt a deeper red. He looked around, trying to find anywhere to set up shelter for the night, but his vision was blurring.

Ze took a staggering step forward. Then another. He tried to take one more, but his knees gave out. He collapsed to the ground silently. Shouting would take too much energy.

He was tired. So tired. Maybe closeing his eyes for a moment would help. Just to get some energy back. Something moved in the corner of his eye, but Ze didn't care. He was probably hallucinating anyway.

On the floor of that forest, Ze closed his eyes and rested for the first time in months.

[dmwrites]

It wasn’t, really, that Impulse was afraid.

Sure, there was a lot to be afraid of. This was Last Life, there were always things to be scared of. Boogiemen hunting, nights of monsters and no way to sleep them away, the terror of a red life. But it wasn’t really fear that drove Impulse into the caves at the beginning of the day. He’d needed diamonds, was all.

He was called Impulse, sure, but he kept himself tight like a spring, keeping the impulsiveness close to his chest. It was caution and steadiness that held him together. He was safe, and he was really safe alone in the mines, searching for diamonds and iron. Better to miss out, perhaps, then be on the wrong end of the boogieman’s blade.

Impulse watched the chat as he mined diamond after diamond- it was a bloodbath. And with each death he hummed in sympathy, to people who would never hear him. To the jokes people made in chat, he grinned and typed back some kind of response, even if it wasn’t technically to him. His smile was loose, felt kind of like he was trying too hard.

When he came back to the surface, he could find no one. The Southlands was deserted, just five cold stone towers and the littering of early-days debris in their common area. Off on their own adventures, probably. Impulse called out to them, his friends, just in case, but there was no one. He walked the server, the glow of his luck in the mines growing dimmer and dimmer as he ran into no one. It felt like some kind of joke, almost. The land was too small, surely, for him to not have found a soul. Maybe they were hiding, all giggling together. Impulse shook his head at his lonely thoughts. He just needed to find someone, get out of his own head.

He did, in fact, end up finding Scar, and they went to find the enchanted together. He was the backup, the muscle against Pearl and Scott. He tried not to pay too much mind to the way Scar’s eyes were almost glazed over, his attention only on getting back the enchanting table, and on the people who kept him from it. Impulse also tried not to be too jealous of how close Pearl and Scott were, their unwavering friendship clear even while they debated back and forth with Scar. They all paid little attention to him, but then again, he wasn’t the one trying to steal the enchanting table.

He did run into his fellow Southlanders after a while, Mumbo and Grian, who gleefully told him about their own mining mishaps, stopping to giggle and repeat their inside joke to one another every few minutes. Impulse didn’t mind, smiled at the story they were mostly telling to each other.

The end of the session came, and all five members of the Southlands came together, catching up one another on what events had transpired. A lot, it seemed, had happened, even beyond the deaths. Impulse only had his diamond armor to show off, really, and some enchanter troubles. As he looked around at his allies, his friends, he felt that rubbery smile come back to his face. He sat with them, ate with them, laughed with them. There was no way he could be lonely still. After all, it’s impossible to be the lone man in a friendly group of five.

Right?

Impulse chose to ignore the faulty math in that, swallowed down the bittersweet feeling of being alone with friends, and smiled as Grian and Mumbo retold their adventures in the mines, nodding along to the story he’d already heard before.

——

This is based off of Impulse’s second Last Life episode, where he misses out on like all the action because he went mining for like half of it, bless him (aka I love making angst out of nothing lol)

[poppyseed799]

Okay fellow 3rd life fans I think it’s time I come clean. I have been silent about this the entire time, thinking about staying quiet cuz it seemed the whole fandom disagrees with what I’m about to say but I will stay silent no longer.

I don’t get why people say the Desert was “clearly the bad guys”.

Let’s get this out of the way: I mainly watched Scar’s POV along with Grian’s. I watched a fair amount of Martyn’s episodes as well, a couple from Scott and then random episodes from Skizz, Cleo, Impulse, Jimmy, and probably more. Definitely plot important ones I watched from more POVs than just my main guys Scar and Grian.

I just don’t get why, when people look at all of the different factions, they look at the Desert and go “yes they are clearly in the wrong and the only ones I can easily label as the villains in the overall story” what??? Don’t even get me started on “it’s interesting that the villains won in 3rd life” what??? I always viewed them as the more innocent ones, although the story is very morally grey so it doesn’t say TOO much lmao.

So let me explain why! Well, honestly, I’m more confused as to why y’all say they’re so obviously the villains, so I’m just explaining why I’m confused here lol.

So first of all let’s get the scamming and monopolies out of the way. I have less to say about the monopoly so let’s start with that. THEY NEVER HAD A MONOPOLY… if the idea of making a monopoly is bad enough for you guys, then might I remind y’all of the cow monopoly that was attempted? Everyone was looking for ways to make business… and a SAND monopoly was CLEARLY doomed to fail!! Not to bring Dream SMP into this but if y’all are gonna say OG L’Manberg was innocent because they didn’t succeed in the potion monopoly at all then let’s have that same energy for the Sand People!!!

Now for the scams. “Oooh poppy how are you gonna defend the scamming” BECAUSE IT WASN’T SCAMMING??? Scar made it clear what he wanted and what the person would receive in return. They were told they were going to receive a piece of paper and they agreed to it! Don’t listen to Grian “don’t listen to Scar it’s a scam the papers don’t mean anything” because he was LYING. Not purposely, but he was lying. Scar NEVER said “hey Grian let’s scam people with fRiEnDsHiP” instead he always told Grian that it WAS real and that he WOULD go through with all of the papers. And he did! There were a couple of mishaps but obviously it’s really difficult to control every situation. Plus Scar had a hard time remembering all of the friendship passes lmao. But he really did try, he really did value these trades, it wasn’t scamming just because Grian thought there was no way it was worth it.

The only Scar hater I stan is Skizzleman he had all right to be mad at Scar but that doesn’t mean Scar was the enemy of the whole story lol

Now onto something that I don’t know how to start explaining but is a very big reason why I’m confused about the fandom calling the Desert the bad guys. NOBODY IN THE SMP TOOK THEM SERIOUSLY. I saw SO many posts about how “Scar and Grian seem like fun guys in THEIR POV but in others POV they’re really scary!” Like no? I always thought it was the opposite. Like watching Scar’s POV I was like “ah man they have to kill people cuz red life this is so dramatic they are feared by the server…” BUT THEN I WATCH SOMEONE ELSE’S POV AND THEY LITERALLY SAY STUFF LIKE “lol we don’t have to worry about Scar” “dang all those people just exploded. Anyways Scar is the weakest red life and we have nothing to worry about when it comes to him it’s all the other red lifers that are a problem” “lol there goes those idiots trying to make a monopoly on sand so silly” and I’m like. Oh. The entire server treats them like silly cartoon villains that never achieve anything. And yes they say these things WHILE hunting the Desert People down like what. Basically the server treating the villainous things the Desert did as not very serious made me think the same, which is why I’m so confused that people think they’re the Big Bad Guys.

ANOTHER THING relating to how the server treats the Desert: alliances!! The Desert was very loyal. Scott and Jimmy trusted the Desert, which shocked many people on the server but were they wrong? No! The Desert trusted the Hobbits back fully as well. They were the only alliance they fully trusted, but they didn’t go behind their other allies’ backs just cuz they weren’t so sure about the alliance. Sure there were comments about Impulse, but that idea was fed to them by Impulse’s allies, they had no other information. And yet they STILL gave him stuff and didn’t flinch when alone with him above Dogwarts, because even with him being suspicious he was still their ally and they are loyal as heck!!! Sure there was Impulse’s demise but like. That was endgame, everyone was looking for a reason to kill someone, and the Desert was told that Impulse was sus af and his own allies didn’t trust him so it was an easy pick. Bdubs coulda said no. And yeah Scar betrayed Bdubs in the end but like. Once again, endgame, and also it was “kill the person who stuck with you since the beginning” or “kill the person who is only on your side cuz you gave him a clock a while ago and lied to you about liking watches”. What do you expect? Plus the ending showed how loyal Scar was to Grian, the guy who owed him his first life and stuck with him till the end. Beautiful.

ANYWAYS EVEN MEMBERS OF DOGWARTS WERE LIKE “I have a hard time killing Scar because he hasn’t really wronged me personally in any way, he’s fairly reliable as well” LIKE… bro they were ENEMIES. Scar also didn’t really want to hurt them!!! Also can I just say that the only reason Scar was as bad as he was was because he was the first person to go red? Red lifers are supposed to be like the villains, so I don’t disagree with people saying that at FIRST Scar was a villain cuz he was red (although wtf were some of these guys up to using excuses to kill people while green (not talking about Grian)) but he wasn’t even that bad while he was red. He was just the worst by default since he was red lol. Which was entirely not his fault, and he only wanted to kill Ren pretty much lol. So I guess Scar being the villain depends on if you consider Ren to be the main character of the entire server.

Which is another thing I don’t get… why people see Dogwarts as the good guys. There was a CLEAR corruption arc people. Dogwarts had loyalty, but it was very ride or die, as in “if you don’t ride with us you will die”. You watch these guys call everyone (not just the desert people) “filthy peasants” and not realize they are acting like villains??? Plus the ominous “red winter is coming” like what. Not saying they weren’t good at the start, nor that they were completely and totally bad, just that if you were to frame ANYONE in this MORALLY GREY SERVER as “The Bad Guys” why not the ones that made it their entire thing????? YES they were good at first, they had regrets and cared so much about their people (just not anyone else lololol). It’s a tragic story, and you’re gonna write it off like “no even when they started doing bad things to people who never hurt them it was justified” even when they regret those things towards the end or after death so clearly it was wrong??? Guys.

I don’t want to call anyone the Bad Guys in 3rd life tho. They all did bad things, they all had valid reasons, they all had people they cared about. I just don’t get why people pick the Desert when they try to pick villains. They weren’t totally innocent but I never saw them as THE villains. For me, even while watching Martyn, that was always Dogwarts, and even then I don’t consider them Total Villains because the server is so grey! I loved them I just think that if anyone is the bad guys maybe it’s the self-imposed king that threatens to take ALL of your lives if you don’t show complete and total loyalty to them and wave their banner above your house to show it. Even if that king started out innocent and only went red to protect his friends. Once again tho I don’t like picking Bad Guys for this server. It was a very good story without having a clear right or wrong.

Just wanted to confess that, don’t really feel like arguing about it cuz I see enough people calling the Desert the Villains just scrolling thru the main tag lmao.

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

While probably very unlikely, can you do some angst where Scar loses his finally life inside Dogwarts and Grian has a crisis where he realizes he actually cared about Scar while completely outnumbered?

this was such fun to write omg

...

Quietly and stealthily, Grian and Scar sneak over the wall to Dogwarts and creep towards the Renchanting building, TNT in hand.

But just as they get there, they hear someone snap, “Hey!”

Grian whirls round to find Martyn rushing towards them, sword out.

“Scar, bail!” he yelps, dashing away.

Scar takes off running in the opposite direction, circling round the building. But as he does, he finds himself face-to-face with Skizz, holding an enchanted diamond sword. “Get back, Scar! Get back!”

Scar responds by lighting the only block of TNT he has and tossing it at Skizz, who scrambles backwards to avoid it.

Across the complex, Grian hears the TNT go off but he’s too busy running from

Martyn, who’s pursuing him across the top of the wall, to look around and check on his companion.

“What are you doing here?” Martyn demands. “Trying to blow us up?”

“Yeah, so what?”

“So what?” echoes Martyn in disbelief. “You know I can’t let you do that, right?”

“Come get me, then.”

“Oh, I intend to.”

Meanwhile, Scar and Skizz are engaging in a swordfight, both evenly matched. Neither are great fighters but that means neither of them can get an advantage.

After a while, Scar manages to land a blow to Skizz’s hand, causing him to drop his weapon with a yelp of pain. He scrambles backwards as Scar advances on him, but ends up tripping over. Scar looms over him, sword raised.

“No!” Skizz screams, throwing up his arms to protect his head. “NO!”

Just as Scar starts to swing his sword, an arrow flies out of nowhere and buries itself in his chest, followed by two further arrows in almost the same place. Scar staggers backwards, eyes wide with shock and pain.

The final arrow fired at him hits him in the neck, delivering the fatal blow.

GoodTimeWithScar was shot by InTheLittleWood

“SCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!”

Grian’s scream causes the Red Army to freeze in their tracks.

Atop the altar, Ren stares over at Grian, who has dropped to his hands and knees near the spot Scar fell. Even though Scar was their enemy, Ren feels Grian’s raw emotions as strongly as if they’re his own.

But that doesn’t change the fact that Grian is still their enemy.

Grian hangs his head, tears pouring from his eyes like a waterfall. Scar is gone. He should be happy; he’s free now. But he’s not happy. Scar was the closest thing to a family that he had on this server, and now Scar is gone.

“Grian,” comes Martyn’s warning voice.

Grian slowly looks up to find all three members of the Red Army closing in on him: Martyn and Skizz on the left with bows pointed at him, and Ren on the right with a sword.

“Nobody else needs to die today, Grian,” Ren says, though his voice isn’t hard or cold. It’s gentle. Sympathetic. He’s giving Grian a fair chance. “Go. Go to the flower fields. Major and Solidarity will take you in. We won’t attack you there.”

For several seconds, Grian doesn’t move. A million plans race through his head, though only one of them is screaming enough for him to hear it.

He could charge at them right now. Of course, he’d be struck down immediately. But he could take Ren or Skizz down with him. They’re both on red. They’d go the same way as Scar. He could achieve some semblance of vengeance for his fallen friend.

“Listen to him, Grian,” says Skizz pleadingly. “We don’t wanna kill you too.”

After another excruciating pause, Grian rises to his feet and regards his enemies with a dangerous look. “I’ll avenge him,” he says hoarsely. “I hope you know that. I’ll avenge him if it’s the last thing I do.”

He turns to look at Martyn. “You better hope you go red before me,” he growls slowly, “cuz I’ll be coming for you the second I do.”

Martyn steadily meets his gaze. “One last chance, Grian. Go.”

Breathing heavily and hunched over slightly like a cornered animal, Grian turns and runs. The Red Army watch him scale the wall and disappear over the other side, before they all finally relax and let their guard down.

“Martyn, you alright?” asks Ren, noticing a slight limpness to his ally.

“Yeah, I just…” Martyn inhales deeply. “That’s only the second time I’ve killed someone on this server. And… my first red lifer. It feels kinda bad, honestly…”

“Hey, you absolutely saved my life,” Skizz says, gripping Martyn’s shoulder reassuringly. “I know it sucks but if you hadn’t taken him out, he would’ve ended me. You did what you had to do.”

“I guess so… I’m just a little worried about Grian. He’s experienced this kind of loss before and he doesn’t take it well.”

“Grian is still our enemy and now he’s sworn vengeance on you,” says Ren. “I sympathise with him but we need to focus on the goal at hand.”

The other members of the Red Army exchange nods. They know they have to get back to business, no matter how hard it is. Despite the loss the whole server’s just suffered, they have to forget about Scar and move on.

…

It’s been fifteen minutes since the notification in chat, and Scott can still hardly believe that Scar’s gone from the server forever. He’s never fully trusted Scar but they were allies, and Scott would have come to Scar’s aid if he’d asked.

Why didn’t he ask?

As Scott heads over to the gate, puzzling this out, he happens to glance up and spot Grian stumbling into the flower fields, red in the face and in a horrible state.

“Grian!” Scott gasps.

He dashes forward, reaching Grian just in time to catch him as he collapses forward. “Grian, what happened?!”

“W-We attacked Dogwarts,” Grian gasps out. “M-Me and Scar. He… He got… He’s…”

“Why didn’t you call us, Grian?! We could have stopped this!”

“I-I didn’t think we-.”

Grian breaks off with another heaving breath. He looks up at Scott, whose heart skips a beat at Grian’s intense expression. Grian’s eyes, normally warm brown, are flashing red.

“I gotta take them down, Scott,” he says, his voice low and raspy. “I gotta avenge Scar. No matter what. I gotta take them down.”

Scott can only stare at Grian in shock. He’s never seen his friend like this before.

Grian turns his head to look up at the sky. The clouds drift past on the breeze; it’s a wonderful sunny afternoon. But Grian doesn’t care.

Grian may still be on his green life, but now he only sees red.

[starcrossedkaiju]

Kingslayer AU: Chapter Five

If you remember that post I made about the Red Resistance you’re a real one.

Notes: this one is very short. It’s just to move the plot along and blah blah blah. Next chapter is a good one I think.

The next time Scott showed up to the Red Desert it was for a petty fight that Scar had instigated by trying to steal directly from the Renchanting base. The situation made Scott face palm, and he contemplated not even showing up. However, when Jimmy offered to go in place of him, he told him not to bother. That he would be back in less than a day and night cycle.

Scott walked into the meeting just as the Red Army crested a hill. Which they stayed on. Scar yawned exaggeratedly and trekked up to his opponent, who was wearing a bandage on his left arm.

Cleo was also there. She seemed to be focused on drawing shapes in the cracked sand with the tip of her sword. Most likely feeling bitter about her former ally, Tango, joining Dogwarts. Everyone was paying as little attention as possible while Scar fired off false promises and white lies. Grian busied himself with apologizing to the nearest members of the Red Army for Scar’s embarrassment.

Scott was nearly falling asleep on his feet when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Tango.

“Hey Major, you got a minute?” he whispered.

“So many,” Scott responded, gesturing to the desolate state of their meeting.

The two of them quietly excused themselves from the group to speak in private. Scott didn’t know why he didn’t tell Tango to just leave him alone. Maybe it was because Tango had a certain air of reluctance about him, Scott was certain he pulled his punches. Maybe it was shear boredom.

“So, nice weather,” Tango observed the arid desert sky.

“Uh huh..” Scott provided, unimpressed.

Tango stared at him blankly. Awkwardly.

He cleared his throat, “so I heard about your battle with Skiz and Ren. Impressive,” Tango said.

“What is with you people and beating around the bush? We’re not friends,” Scott pushed Tango away by the middle of his chest, “Tango,” he reminded.

Tango looked hurt for a second, “ouch Major. Fine, I wanted to ask you to join me,” he said.

Scott burst out laughing, to which Tango scolded him and shook him by the shoulders. That shut him up, it also earned Tango a slap.

“Don’t touch me,” Scott ordered.

Tango put his hands up, “no touching here! But be quiet. I brought you over here alone for a reason,” he pointed out.

Scott glanced at his allies. Blissfully unaware of the possible treason he may have been about to commit.

“Nobody knows this yet,” Tango whispered, “but I’m spying on the Red Army,” he said.

“What?” Scott asked rhetorically.

“Yeah, I have a plan. It involves you,” Tango responded.

Scott paused to consider if he was really about to entertain whatever was about to come out of Tango’s mouth.

“How do I know you’re not just trying to get close to me and then kill me on behalf of him,” Scott pointed at Ren, who was rolling his eyes at Scar and animatedly conversing with him about something Scott forgot about a long time ago.

“You remember the cow farm right?” he said.

“Yes,” Scott nodded suspiciously.

“I let you take my cow, on the promise that you and Jimmy wouldn’t tell anyone,” Tango recited.

“And we didn’t,” Scott said.

“Exactly. I know I can trust you, and I can’t trust them, Etho tried to kill me remember?” Tango pointed at Etho and Ren.

“So I want you to join me. Not the Red Army, me. Impulse is doing the same thing,” he concluded.

“Didn’t Impulse actually kill you?” Scott pointed out.

Tango waved his hand, water under the bridge.

Scott drifted off into contemplation. Everything about joining a coup against the Red Army screamed danger. More than usual. Dogwarts was a force to be reckoned with. They had superior gear, defenses, players, and alliances. Maybe Scott could cheap shot Martyn and Skizzle, but he could not promise that same luck against Etho or anyone else for that matter. The thought of even trying made his stomach turn.

And then there was Jimmy. If their plan didn’t work, what would happen to Jimmy? The Crastle? Or the Red Desert for that matter? The target on their backs was large enough. Scott had to take a step back. Since when did he get himself involved in a war?

Since he started defending himself, his mind provided.

Since he started standing up for his own freedom. For their freedom.

“Okay,” Scott said.

“Really? You’re in?” Tango’s eyes lit up, his joy was a bit loud for Scott’s new predilection for secrecy.

“Shh!” Scott put a finger in front of his face, “that’s not what I said…” he averted his eyes.

“I want to, believe me, I do,” he said, “but I can’t.”

Tango’s smile faded instantly, his red eyes grew disappointed, “Why not?” he seemed hurt.

“I have too much to lose. I can’t risk this,” Scott held the charm of his necklace up, it’s gemstone still shimmered bright green.

“Scott, I admire your devotion, I really do; but this is a bit bigger than that,” Tango said.

Scott’s expression fell into shock and reproach.

That seemed like enough of an answer for Tango, who backtracked as he realized he’d struck a nerve.

“I mean!” he corrected, “I mean nothing will happen to Jimmy. Cross my heart, he will be under the Red Resistance’s finest protection,” Tango stood up straight and crossed his heart.

Scott decided that was satisfactory. He made a face that said the opposite though, just to make sure Tango’s pride wasn’t too uplifted.

“Fine. I’ll join you Tango, but if I get even the slightest inclination of funny business, I’m out,” Scott cautioned, but he agreed.

“Terms and Conditions, I get it. The Red Resistance will not indenture any of its members,” Tango responded with a gleeful grin.

“You guys and your red themed names,” Scott teased, but held his hand out. They ought to make it official before everyone stopped snoring.

Tango shook it enthusiastically. The two called it done and Scott returned to his side, and Tango returned to the Red Army.

*****

Scott traveled back home that day. No fighting had taken place, although Scar had decidedly talked himself into a hole and ended up giving Ren access to any sand Dogwarts and their affiliates needed for the next week. It was no skin off Scott’s back, he didn’t care. Not his sand.

Wearing so much armor and standing in place for two hours gets on ones nerves. Taking off his heavy diamond chestplate felt like enough liberation for the day. He expected to hear from Tango or Impulse at some point, preferably soon.

Jimmy asked him how the meeting went when he returned, holding out a cup of coffee.

Unsure of whether or not to tell the truth, Scott lied, he said nothing happened and made fun of Scar for running his mouth so much. He said he was tired.

*****

“Scott? That you?” Tango’s voice came through a small door in his abandoned cow farm. It wasn’t needed anymore.

Scott pointed his torch towards the voice, illuminating a door, which Tango had crafted into the side of the underground farm.

“Yes it’s me. Why’s it so dark in here?” he asked.

“I don’t want people to know I’m still using this place, that’s why,” Tango motioned for Scott to come to him.

Tango silently listened for any sign that Scott had been followed, then pushed a stone slab in front of the hidden door with a silent thud.

On the other side of the door was a short hallway, then a very small room with some pillows on the floor and a table. A map of the server that included all the structures and members was pinned up on the wall. There was also a well loved notebook on the table.

“Where’s Impulse?” Scott asked, sitting down on one of the pillows.

“Ren needed him for something, he’ll probably be here next time,” Tango explained. He sat down and lit a candle to make more light.

“I thought we would start by going over the basics today,” Tango picked up the notebook and flipped through some of the pages absently.

Scott looked away and then back, “okay, shoot,” he said.

The “plan” centered around infiltrating the Red Army, convincing them (mainly Ren) that Scott had decided to switch sides. Then, him, Tango, and Impulse would eventually build their trust. Somewhere in there they would convince the Red Army to stop messing with people and come to an agreement with the rest of the server. Something about working together instead of against each other.

“We still have to work some stuff out,” Tango concluded with confidence.

“That’s the plan? You really think this’ll work?” Scott crossed his arms.

“If you can insult Scar convincingly enough, yes,” Tango said.

“Oh this’ll be easy!” Scott laughed, mostly to cover up his nerves.

Tango chuckled with him, then became serious once more, “I’m glad you have a sense of humor going into this. Even after what they did to you,” Tango said.

“I’m sorry about that, by the way,” he apologized.

Scott’s hands stung a bit in response, but he nodded a silent “thanks”.

They were quiet. Scott nervously fiddled with the hem of his coat, lost in thought, mostly regret.

Impulse did show up the next time. He arrived just after Scott did. Everyone sat awkwardly in the little room for a while and Scott was wrapped in nostalgia for a similar time. A time where the only threat was an obscene number of phantoms.

Over the course of their meetings, Scott observed his teammates and their actions. A far cry from who they used to be, including him. Scott’s hair had grown past his ears and turned purple at the tips, and he’d become rather paranoid about always wearing armor.

Tango spent much of their interactions lost in thought. The ghost of whatever was eating at him weighed visibly on his shoulders in the way his head was always bowed in a perpetual staring contest with the ground. He was irritable.

Impulse was a wild card to Scott, they’d never really met before; but it was clear he’d been changed as well. Illustrated by his long “mining” trips, which he only returned from to attend their weekly meetups with no resources to show for it, and a general aura of depression.

His mind was drawn back to the picture Cleo had taken of almost all his server-mates, together in front of the Vibe Machine. He’d studied everyone’s faces countless times. Mostly wondering where everything had gone wrong.

Had they ever truly been friends in the first place? Or was camaraderie a comfort when everyone else was just as weak as one another.

[thedeadshotnetwork]

'He was thrown to the wolves': Former FBI agents defend Mueller team investigator at the center of controversy Allies of President Donald Trump have been attacking special counsel Robert Mueller's team amid revelations of potential political biases. One veteran agent was removed from Mueller's team over the summer after the Justice Department learned of text messages that could be perceived as anti-Trump. Former FBI agents say the attacks on Mueller's team are "nonsense." Attacks on special counsel Robert Mueller’s team of investigators escalated sharply last week, culminating in a partisan haranguing of the FBI director on Thursday over the perceived missteps of his predecessor. Conservative and far-right media outlets, already skeptical of Mueller’s probe into President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, grew louder in their calls for FBI Director Chris Wray to either clean house or for Mueller to resign. It came after news that two special counsel investigators at one point exhibited perceived political bias. Trump again characterized the criminal justice system as "rigged" during a rally in Florida on Friday, echoing comments he made last weekend following former national security Michael Flynn's guilty plea as part of Mueller's probe. "So General Flynn lies to the FBI and his life is destroyed, while Crooked Hillary Clinton, on that now famous FBI holiday 'interrogation' with no swearing in and no recording, lies many times," Trump tweeted last Saturday. "And nothing happens to her? Rigged system, or just a double standard?" Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, implored Wray during a hearing on Thursday to "repair the damage done by" former FBI Director James Comey. And he took a shot at Mueller's investigation, questioning "the magnitude of insider bias" that exists on his team. Former FBI agents who spoke to Business Insider this week characterized the outcry as "nonsense" aimed at discrediting an investigation that has dogged Trump and the GOP more broadly for over a year. Frank Montoya, Jr., a former FBI special agent who served as the Director of t he Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, was blunt. "T here is a lot of anger in the FBI (the entire intelligence community, for that matter) over how this president will say nary a negative word about the Russians, but will insult us every chance he gets," he said. 'Moscow was happy, I'm sure' Getty Peter Strzok, a veteran counterintelligence agent who was among those overseeing the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's private email server last year, was abruptly removed from Mueller's Russia probe in late July and relegated to the human resources department. Neither Mueller nor the Justice Department have commented on Strzok's sudden demotion. But he was apparently removed as part of a broader investigation into the bureau's handling of the Clinton email probe by the DOJ's inspector general. Strzok reportedly sent text messages during the presidential campaign to another member of Mueller's team, Lisa Page, that could be perceived as anti-Trump. He and Page were also having an extramarital affair that the DOJ worried could make them both subject to blackmail. Page left Mueller's team over the summer for unrelated reasons. High-profile conservative figures and Trump allies, such as the conservative-leaning Wall Street Journal editorial board and Fox News host Sean Hannity , quickly weaponized another damaging report published last week. It said Strzok had been instrumental in changing Comey's final characterization of Clinton's conduct from "grossly negligent" — which would have carried legal consequences — to "extremely careless." Former FBI agents who knew and worked with Strzok acknowledged that he should have been more circumspect with his comments, even if they were private, given the highly politicized nature of both the Clinton and Russia probes. But they broadly characterized him as a professional who never expressed his political opinions when conducting an investigation. Montoya, who served in the bureau for over two decades, called Strzok "an exceptional agent" and "rising star" whose removal from Mueller's probe was "a g reat loss to the investigation." "Moscow was happy, I'm sure when that happened," he said. "There's a lot of partisan political white noise out there about Pete's supposed 'bias,'" Montoya said. "It's all nonsense. I've known Pete for a long time. I didn't know what his political opinions were. Never asked. Never cared. That's the way it was for the vast majority of us." Another veteran FBI counterintelligence agent who knew Strzok but requested anonymity to discuss internal DOJ decisions called him an "expert" in counterintelligence work who "rose to the level of Deputy Assistant Director in the usual way: by being a reliable, consistent, and capable member of the executive team." 'He didn't act alone' Jonathan Bachman/AP The nature of FBI investigations makes it impossible for one employee to exert outsized influence over others, former agents emphasized. "There's been a lot of accusation lately in the public arena about how Pete's supposed biases may have affected outcome of the email investigation and predication for Russia investigation," Montoya said. "More nonsense." "Pete wasn't the only guy working on those cases," he added. "His was one voice, albeit an important one, but there were other important voices in the mix, too." For instance, Montoya said, look at the email investigation. "Professional, experienced prosecutors and senior leadership (above Pete) in the FBI played the key roles in the final decision not to prosecute Clinton," he said. "Pete may have helped draft the public messaging at the conclusion of the case, but he didn't act alone. I participated in quite a few of these matters myself and the planning process was always a group effort." Former FBI unit chief Mark Rossini, who spent 17 years at the bureau, largely agreed. "It would be literally impossible for one human being to have the power to change or manipulate evidence or intelligence according to their own political preferences," he said. " FBI agents, like anyone else, are human beings. W e are allowed to have our political beliefs. If anything, the overwhelming majority of agents are conservative Republicans," he added. Former FBI counterintelligence agent Asha Rangappa made a similar point in an interview earlier this week. "The FBI investigators who are working on any given day will probably be mostly politically conservative," Rangappa said, drawing from her interactions with agents under President George W. Bush. That is one reason, she said, why Republicans should "think carefully" about the precedent they're setting in pointing to agents' political leanings as evidence of a tainted investigation. 'He was thrown to the wolves' Aaron Bernstein/Reuters Still, some agents said there is lingering resentment over Comey's handling of the Clinton email probe — not necessarily because of the conclusions he drew, but because of the process decisions he made at various points in the investigation that left the bureau vulnerable to partisan attacks. The two that drew the biggest criticism last year: an unprecedented press conference in which he chastised Clinton for using a private server but ultimately cleared her of criminal wrongdoing; and a letter to Congress announcing that he was effectively reopening the case 11 days before the election. "There was a perception among many agents that the bureau was tending to become more politicized than it had been in the past," said former FBI special agent Mark Ruskin, author of " The Pretender: My Life Undercover for the FBI ." "Some believed that Comey was allowing political winds to buffet the bureau as a whole," he continued. "And there was an ambiguity about which way it was even being politicized." In any case, Ruskin said, "both sides of the aisle were getting the impression that the bureau was not acting completely objectively, and the agents blamed it more on Comey because he seemed to waffle." The ambiguity was frustrating, Ruskin said, given Comey's propensity for taking matters into his own hands. But the agents suggested the perceived politicization of the FBI was not the result of individual agents' biases. Incidentally, it came because of the former director's excessive attempts to avoid the appearance of partisanship. "I think Comey did more damage than he realized or intended by how he handled things last year," said former FBI counterintelligence agent Scott Olson. "But Director Wray has corrected that by now." Some still have questions, however, about why Strzok was "thrown to the wolves." "I think Pete did what he was asked to do, and then he was thrown to the wolves," said the former counterintelligence agent who requested anonymity to discuss Strzok. "What I don’t yet see is what Mueller is getting out of it. But there is a lot going on here that is still not known to the public." NOW WATCH: A North Korean defector tells us what life was like under a dictatorship December 10, 2017 at 02:48PM

[liz-goodwin]

Republicans explain why they’re retiring: ‘This administration has taken the fun out of dysfunction’

Retiring from congress, from top left to right: Sen Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Lamar Smith (R-TX), Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Rep. Dave Trott (R-MI), Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), Rep. Dave Reicher (R-WA), Rep. John Duncan Jr. (R-TN), John Duncan Jr. (R-TN), Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH), Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). (Photos: Joshua Roberts/Reuters, Mel Evans/AP, Joel Kowsky/NASA, Carolyn Kaster/AP, Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images, Andrew Harnik/AP, Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images, Jeff Malet/Newscom via ZUMA Press, J. Scott Applewhite/AP, John Minchillo/AP, Jeff Malet/Newscom via ZUMA Press, Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., was at a groundbreaking event for a new LG Electronics appliance factory in Clarksville last August when he realized it was time to retire.

“It was a beautiful day, the breeze was blowing, I looked out over the crowd, it was a great day for me,” Corker recalled. “I just knew then that I was not supposed to run for a third term.”

But what finally broke him was a fundraiser at the end of September. “That night I just — it was just over. I just couldn’t do it. Just could not,” he said.

He told Yahoo News he went home, fell asleep at 8 p.m. and woke up at 1 a.m. He let his staff know his decision when he came into the Capitol the next day. “This has been the greatest privilege of my life,” Corker said, but he concluded it’s time to go.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) speaks with reporters after announcing his retirement at the conclusion of his term on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 26, 2017. (Photo: Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters)

The powerful Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is one of more than a dozen congressional Republicans who have announced their decision to retire without seeking another office so far this year, a trend that could make it harder for the GOP to hold on to their majorities next year. In the past week alone, three GOP lawmakers have announced their retirements. In contrast, just three Democrats have announced they will retire so far.

And the coast-to-coast wins for Democrats from Washington to Virginia to New Jersey in statewide elections on Tuesday may also spook more Republicans in vulnerable seats, as they ponder jumping ship before a potential wave election.

So far, the number of total departing members is still within historical averages for a cycle, but one source close to House Republicans says another wave of members is waiting to announce their retirements after the New Year. Each GOP retirement in a competitive district helps Democrats in their quest to flip the 24 House seats they need to regain control of at least one part of Washington.

Many of those already heading to the exits have expressed frustration at the current state of play in Washington, where entire Congressional agendas can be scrambled by a single tweet from the new president. Others were turned off by the unexpected ferocity of anger from their constituents over Republicans’ attempts to repeal Obamacare. Still others say they never wanted to make a career out of being in Congress, and are simply ready to move on.

“You’ve got this administration that’s taken the fun out of dysfunction,” Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., told Yahoo News. Dent is a moderate Republican in a competitive district who’s retiring after more than a decade in his seat. “Just the tweeting every day — outlandish statements, inappropriate comments. We spend much of our time just reacting to those sorts of things instead of focusing on the big policy issues of the day.”

Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Dent, leader of an influential caucus of GOP moderates in the House, announced on March 23, 2017 that he will not seek re-election to an eighth House term next year. (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

“It makes it hard to enact a legislative agenda when you spend all your time, so much of your time, just talking about what the president said or tweeted, it makes it hard,” he added.

But Dent concedes some of his frustration precedes Trump and his deafening Twitter account — which the president has used to accuse a cable news host of getting plastic surgery and to feud with senators of his own party, including Corker, who he said could not get elected as a “dog catcher.”

Bob Corker, who helped President O give us the bad Iran Deal & couldn’t get elected dog catcher in Tennessee, is now fighting Tax Cuts….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2017

“Just doing the basic fundamental tasks of governing has become excruciatingly difficult, from just keeping the government open to preventing a default on our obligations,” Dent said. “That’s made it very hard.”

Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., announced his retirement this week, echoing Dent’s concerns and saying the nation has been “consumed” by political polarization and gridlock. “Today a vocal and obstinate minority within both parties has hijacked good legislation in pursuit of no legislation,” LoBiondo, a 12-term congressman, said in a statement.

The departures of Dent, LoBiondo, Reps. Dave Trott, R-Mich., Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., and Dave Reichert, R-Wash., are creating open races in competitive districts.

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who announced his plans to retire last month in a blistering speech on the Senate floor urging his Republican colleagues not to be “complicit” in propping up Trump, said he’s also been turned off by Congress’ increasing polarization, where members of different parties are less and less likely to share political risk by tackling big legislation — like tax reform — together.

“Now it’s become, you’re either shirts and skins. You’re either for or against,” Flake said. “There’re far fewer crossover votes, that’s pretty empirical. You can see that. So it’s become different that way.”

Flake, who faced a tough primary if he had stayed, also realized many voters want party purity from their representatives — they did not appreciate him speaking out against President Trump on some issues, like immigration or trade.

“The polling certainly said that people valued whether you’re with the president all the time, and accept basically carte blanche, the agenda,” Flake said. “There are things that I agree on, things that I don’t. But I can’t be a rubber stamp for the president.”

The Arizona senator says he sees trouble for the party in some of the retirements coming out of the House.

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., accompanied by his wife Cheryl, leaves the Capitol in Washington on Oct. 24, 2017, after announcing he won’t seek re-election in 2018. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)

“People like Charlie Dent, Pat Tiberi, I think if they saw a path to actually doing big things, getting things done that need to be accomplished like reining in debt and deficit, good tax policy, they’d probably stay,” Flake said. “But they’re frustrated.”

Tiberi, a Ohio Republican, is resigning before the end of January to lead the Ohio Business Roundtable.

Some Republicans are hoping a policy win on tax reform might reenergize the caucus and convince members eyeing the exits to stay. “It’s all going to hinge on tax reform,” said Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., a Trump ally.

Both Flake and Dent faced tough reelection bids they could have lost, but losing them as incumbents still puts the Republican Party at a disadvantage next year.

“The vast majority of incumbents get reelected even in anti-Washington wave elections, and incumbents on the ballot last year almost all ran ahead of Donald Trump,” says Alex Conant, a GOP political consultant who used to work for Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

Even some Republicans in safe seats are leaving, citing a change in the atmosphere.

“I got a little bit turned off or soured on the first few months of this year because it just seemed to me that there was more hatred and bitterness in politics,” said Rep. John Duncan, R-Tenn., whose district voted for Trump by 35 points last year. Duncan is retiring after serving 30 years in Congress, in part to spend more time with his grandchildren. “There’s always been some bitterness and some anger and so forth, I know, but it just seemed there was much more of it in those first few months.”

Rep. John Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn.) questions FBI Director James Comey as he testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. on July 7, 2016, days after the Federal Bureau of Investigation recommended not to prosecute former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for maintaining a private server. (Photo: Jeff Malet/Newscom via ZUMA Press)

“We got more hateful, angry, even obscene phone calls during those first few months all over the health care stuff,” he said. “I don’t know, that was disappointing me.”

Four Texas Republicans —Jeb Hensarling, Lamar Smith, Sam Johnson and Ted Poe — are also retiring from their solidly red seats. Earlier this year, Poe also departed the conservative House Freedom Caucus, frustrated by the lack of legislative progress.

Hensarling said he was retiring because of term limits requiring him to give up the chairmanship of a powerful committee, and because he believes members of Congress should not hang on forever.

“I still kind of believe in the Jeffersonian model of the legislature — you come, you do your service, you go home,” he said.

Corker also says he always envisioned himself as a two-term senator and cites that as his main reason for retiring. But frustration crept into his decision as well. The former mayor and businessman spent time talking to constituents last August and felt discouraged that he was unable to promise them the fiscal reform he originally ran on.

“After every event, I’d get back in the car and I’d go, ‘That wasn’t a very uplifting message, was it?’” Corker recalled. His staff would push him to take a more positive tone.

“A big part of it is, when I ran, I ran on the fiscal issues and I know there’s no chance in the world that we’re going to get serious about the fiscal issues anytime soon,” Corker said. “It’s just the climate’s totally changed.”

Corker, who recently criticized Trump for “debasing” the nation and struggling to tell the truth, did not cite the president as a reason for his retirement.

But the omnipresence of the president may be wearing on some members.

“We used to be able to watch football on Sundays — now the NFL is in a fight with Trump and it’s all politicized,” said Conant, the ex-Rubio consultant. “It’s invaded every part of our life, which I think even for members of Congress is just exhausting.”

_____

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