#thank you so much for the free excuse to talk about empires one fWhip and the WRA. this is been so enriching for me
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Note
realizing it is probably better to Use The Askbox For Its Intended Purpose than to attempt conversation in tags ^^; anyway. YEAH I WOULD LOVE FWHIP THOUGHTS. MY LITTLE GUY. MY DUDE. I LOVE HE. fwhip's throughline IS SO VERY MUCH AVOIDANCE YOU'RE SO RIGHT (haven't seen scott s1 so can't comment on that yet). feel free to elaborate on any of [fwhip's avoidance, the thing about fwhip instinctually shooting sausage, fwhip's relationship to the rest of the WRA]! (also, 13:05 - 13:12 on the twelfth episode in fwhip's e1 playlist, "MAKING PEACE and NEW SKIN!", has the moment with the bow, if you're curious)
Ooh yes, okay. Iām gonna go into Empires season one fWhip and the Wither Rose Alliance, how fWhip handled the rise of Xornoth and the proceeding corruption of Sausage, as well as Sausageās curing, and the reconciliation of the WRA. Basically, Iām gonna talk about why I love the WRA so much, as well as highlighting some really interesting character moments for fWhip, and his overarching theme of avoidance. Welcome to my Ted Talk.
(If youāve only ever heard about empires season one through osmosis, or never watched any of the Wither Rose Alliance POVsā fWhip, Gem, or Sausage, this might be a good way to kinda figure out what their deal is. I ended up explaining a lot of context for things, for the sake of saying what I wanted to say, so I feel like itāll be comprehensive even if you donāt have much prior knowledge of season one.)
At the start of the season, fWhip and Sausage got pretty close pretty quickly. They were partners in crime, if you will, each often helping each other out with various schemes and pranks, such as fWhip helping Sausage get back at Pix for stealing Sausageās villagers, [fWhip e9, 7:18], even before the proper foundation of the WRA [fWhip e10, 17:25]. Which is to say, they were very close, even before everything went down. After fWhip steals the Codfather headā which he seems to be happy to deflect partial blame onto Gem for, trying to avoid any accountabilityā the WRA together gear up to create a sort of trap vault, to secure the Codfather head.
The tentative rise of Xornoth began before the vault was constructed, with fWhip having an encounter with the demon happening just before the vault plans were solidified, in his episode 17. In that episode, he makes a log of things he knows about the demon, including a list of things the demon seems to like, which includes two notable entriesā āI think [the demon] likes MythicalSausage? And, they really like the idea of the dragon being killed [ā¦] they really dislike the dragon. I think their goals are [ā¦] the death of the ender dragon, it really keeps coming back to that, and they keep saying, if we kill the ender dragon, theyāre gonna be freeā [12:43].
This, combined with the need to create a secret vault, would ultimately result in the items being hidden in the End. fWhip, tasked with finding the location of the vault, decides on hiding the items this way, saying āWith everything, especially the demon being so scared? Of the dragon? I feel like leaving the Codfatherās head with the dragon, as like a final form of defense, might not be a bad idea. Because, then Jimmy will never be able to get it. Heāll never be able to get it. Nobodyās gonna be able to take out the dragonā [17:21]. He presumes that everything will be safe with the dragon, that nobody will be able to take it down.
Meanwhile, Sausage seems to have almost made friends with the demon. When fWhip visits him to bring him some firearms, he says āXornoth is uh, is planning some things, itās great! [ā¦] For the demon! For armageddon!!ā [fWhip e17, 30:20]. fWhip becomes, understandably, somewhat nervous, yet even here he still seems toā¦ deflect. He laughs, nervously, telling them to have fun, before heading home. fWhip flies off, saying āWhat a weird guyā people say Iām the evil one. Quite worried about him.ā fWhip sees that something isā¦ definitely wrong, with Sausage, and yet he still canāt bring himself to properly have that confrontation. Heās avoiding it, maybe just hoping that things will turn out alright.
Another moment right in this era that I think about often, that Iām not sure where else to put, is the moment where Sausage and Gem have a brief stand down, when Gem says that sheās the most powerful wizard on the server, to which Sausage bites back that she only is for now [fWhip e18, 32:40]. This happens right around when Sausage was starting to get corrupted, and Xornoth promised him great magical powerā power that Gem had said he would never have. And I think often about this moment, in the context of the WRA as siblings, rightā youāre fWhip, and youāre standing there as your younger brother and older sister are doing the magical equivalent of holding guns to each otherās heads, and justā¦ how do you react? What do you even do? Heās not sure, which leads to that horribly nervous little song he sings, and itās justā¦ god. Itās so much. Caught in the middle of all the things heās been trying to look away from, unable to do anything as the two most important people in his life are a hair away from taking each other out.
Finishing up the final preparations on the WRA vault, fWhip expands on his reasoning to hide the Codfather head in the End: āRight now, the only way out of the End is either by killing the dragon, or by jumping into the void [ā¦] thereās a little bit of a demon, on the server right now, who keeps trying to tell people to kill the dragon to unleash it upon the world. And, thereās one thing Iām pretty confident in: Jimmy does not want to free Xornoth. And, well, at this point, neither do I. So, if I put the cod head in there, I think Jimmyās gonna find an ultimatum where heās like, hm, nope, I canāt get it back. Or, if he does, and he wants to bring it to the overworld, he has to unleash the most evil thing, on this entire server, into the open. So, uh, hopefully he doesnāt do that. I think heās smart enoughā [fWhip e19 9:43]. He tells Gem about the plan later in that same episode, to which she agrees that it seems like a good plan. The idea is foolproof. Surely, Jimmy wonāt risk the entire serverās safety, all for the cod head, right? It feels reasonable enough to assume that Jimmy wouldnāt willingly doom the world by releasing the demon, and thatās something that he banks onā itās the perfect way to get rid of the Codfather head, in a way that Jimmy can never get it back. Surely, nobody would be so foolish. Problem successfully solved!
Right?
Wrong. Butā¦ it wasnāt just Jimmy.
The collapse of the Wither Rose Alliance, in fWhipās episode 20 [4:10 - 7:28], is what finally forces fWhip to really face what Sausage has become. Xornoth demands a sacrifice to allow the WRA to escape the Nether, and Sausage, imbued with the power of Xornoth, takes Gem out quickly. As fWhip is left alone to face an invincible Sausage, Gem pleads with Xornoth: āI was sacrificed! You have to let fWhip out!ā Of course, itās to no avail, and fWhip is forcefully dragged out of hiding to face Sausage once more, being taken down. fWhip and Gem reconvene in Mythland, where fWhip hides Sausageās dog Bubbles in the ground. Sausage returns, demanding to know where Bubbles is.
This moment, right here, is one I find very chilling. fWhip, a character who so often avoids direct serious conflict, one who worries for people on the sidelines, takes his stand. While Gem demands their stuff back, he says āI told you, [Bubbles is] gone until you get rid of the demon.ā He knows this isnāt good, that Sausage is making a mistake siding with Xornoth. He tries the last ditch effort he can think of to get his little brother to snap out of Xornothās control.
Itās not enough. Sausage begrudgingly returns their things, and as the two sort through their jumbled items, Gem mutters that they canāt be allies anymore, after this. fWhip agrees, with a haunting certainty, āSausage, you chose a sideā¦ you chose a side. [ā¦] We tried to save us all, you chose.ā The two stand on the bridge in Mythland, opposite Sausage, and fWhip says it seems like their endeavor that day may have been their last, as an alliance. Sausage shouts for them to leave, and as they take off, Sausage swings, hitting fWhip.
Gem and fWhip fly off, without Sausage. As they make their way back to their lands, fWhip says, in a shaking voice, āGem, itās back to just you and me here,ā to which Gem assures that theyāll be fine, that theyāll stand up for each other. He quickly accepts her words, saying āYeah, itāsā itās all good, itās all goodā¦ itās all good. Heā he took the powers of the demon to kill us, there, that isā that is one tooā one too far. That isā itās one too far.ā Heās afraid, having just firmly ousted one of his oldest alliesā his own brotherā from his oldest alliance, despite knowing that it was the only thing he couldāve possibly done. There was no other optionā¦ and yet, he barely gives himself a single sentence to essentially mourn that loss, before heās trying to pave back on the mask of indifferenceā look away, avoid, avoidā itās fine, he says, itās all good, as if he didnāt just have to do the hardest thing heās ever done in his life.
But itās not over yet. Not even close.
(Continued under the cut. This got Really Long)
In that very same episode, a meeting is held [16:30 - 18:03] where fWhip and Gem happily tell the others about how they hid the Codfather head in the end. Everyone else is, of course, terrified. Scott tells them that Jimmyās just gonna kill the dragon to escape, and that if Xornoth is released, itāll bring about an eternal winter. Gem and fWhip, realizing theyāve messed up, devise a plan to prevent the Cod Alliance from killing the dragonā they need to heal it, keep it alive at all costs. Gem insists to everyone that they have to be a team, that even though theyāve messed up, that they can fix it.
Itās now or never. They head into the End.
[End scene from 19:20 - 22:57] fWhip immediately flies around to the main island, before stepping down onto the bridge in front of Jimmy. He begs, pleads for them not to do this. āJimmyā Jimmy, Iām sorry. Jimmyā Jimmyā Iām sorry, Jimmy, we need to not kill the dragon here.ā Jimmy demands the Codfather head, and fWhip immediately agrees to return it, reiterating that they must not kill the dragon. Itās thisā this moment of being immediately and forcefully thrust into the face of the problem he caused, the problem heād been trying to avoid, by hiding the Codfather head away in a place where he was sure that Jimmy would never dare to go. Itās this moment of fWhip pleading with Jimmy, to please, please not do thisā theyāve lost so much to this demon, they canāt let this happen. He canāt let the demon be freed because of his mistake, heāll do anything to prevent it from happening. The absolute, terrified resolve of a man faced with a problem he can no longer run from.
Jimmy says heās gonna kill the dragon, barging past fWhip, up the main island. Chaos breaks out, and fWhip leads Jimmy down, beneath the portal frame. Jimmy says it better not be a trick, and he assures it isnāt, voice panicked. He returns the head, and begs them not to do this, in a soft, shaking voice, āWe gotta keep the dragon alive, donātā donāt letā donāt let Sausage kill it, donātā¦ [ā¦] Chaos, chaos is coming, we canātā we canāt let the dragon die.ā The fear, and absolute certaintyā¦ he canāt let this happen. Canāt let his mistake ruin the world.
Jimmy, uncertainly, says āfWhip, I think, whether you like it or not, this dragon is dying.ā
fWhip desperately attempts to prevent the dragonās death, to no avail. Chaos, as the two sides wage war in the end, with Jimmy caught conflicted in the middle. Sausage and Joey, corrupted by Xornoth, cheer for the carnage.
From the moment the Codfather head was stolenā perhaps even from the moment Jimmy started a confrontation with Sausage at all, all that time agoā it was too late. Xornoth would be released.
In a single episode, fWhipās entire world is turned upside down. The WRA is shattered, the world is fast approaching an eternal corruption, andā¦ he doesnāt know what to do. Gem says they can fix it, that she has the dragon egg, butā¦ what else can he do but to justā¦ shut down. He turns away from itā from Sausage, from Xornoth, from everything. He avoids it allā doubles down on the construction of his city, Eastvale, resolutely looking away from everything else.
With Xornoth freed, and Sausage well and truly corrupted, fWhip becomes extremely cold towards Sausage, to the point of being openly defensively hostile. The brother that he knewā¦ that isnāt Sausage, anymore. One of the best examples of this can be seen in Sausageās episode 32, 12:54, where Sausage and Pearl go to invite fWhip to their arena. fWhip answers the knock on his gate with a drawn bow, immediately and coldly asking what they want with him, even as Sausage still greets him as a friend. While fWhip is willing to speak to Pearl, he refuses to even entertain the idea that Sausage isnāt here to hurt him, shooting him a few times throughout the conversation, to the point where Sausage is sent away from the gate so that Pearl can speak to fWhip alone.
Andā¦ god, isnāt that just so much? Youāre fWhip, and whatever thing is possessing the person in front of you, he isnāt your brother anymore. Heās not your friend anymore. Heās not safe, and youāre not safe with him here, even thoughā¦ he used to be one of the safest people for you to be with. Not anymore. Thatās not him, anymore.
And, itās not unwarranted, with Sausage later saying to Pearl āI try my best around him, but sometimes I just wanna choke him out, Pearlā [15:24]. Yetā¦ Sausage still greets fWhip as a friend, at first. Still tries to talk to him, insists that heās ānot evil today,ā andā¦ well, Sausage really did still care very much about the WRA, even while corrupted.
In Sausageās episode 33, he opens by reading his last will and testament, knowing that soon enough heāll be taken by the corruption. Within his will, he writes out things that he wants the other emperors to have, should he not return: āTo fWhip, you can keep all my deepslate redstone oresā¦ I donāt know what you want them for, theyāre kind of useless to me, butā¦ I kept a lot, [ā¦] Gem, you can have my great staff of Mythland. Uhā¦ in your hands, itāll probably be very effective. And to the Wither Rose Alliance, you can have access to my iron farm stillā [1:07]. He still thought about themā¦ still cared about them. The fact that Sausage kept collecting deepslate redstoneā something that fWhip loves and cares for very much, for the sole purpose of giving it to him, even though they were on such horrible termsā¦ I think about that. He loved them, even still. Even through the corruption, he loved them.
Gem never turns her back on Sausage in quite the same way fWhip does. It was she who cured him, in the endā killing him, at his own request, voice corrupted as he struggled against the influence of Xornoth. She finds him in Mythland, after heās free from the corruption, and asks if heās okay, saying sheās so glad to have him back again. He shakily asks her if he can be back in the alliance again, now that heās cured, and Gem says āWeāll have to talk to fWhip about it, how about for now, you justā¦ heal up over hereā [Sausage e33, 33:25].
Gem knows that she forgives Sausage, that it wasnāt his fault. Butā¦ she also knows fWhip, and she knows it wonāt be so easy for him, that itāll take time. It has to be his own choice, in the end, to forgive Sausage for everything he put them all through.
Gem brings fWhip around to see Sausage, now that heās uncorrupted. [Sausage e34, 24:00 - 34:25]. Once fWhip realizes that Sausage is there, he draws his bow, asking coldly why theyāre here. Sausage asks whatās going on, and Gem says sheās brought him fWhip. Sausage is immediately distracted by Gemās wizard hat, and fWhip happily jumps on the bandwagon of teasing Gem. Gem tells fWhip that Sausage is cured, and while fWhip is skeptical at first, having to kill Sausage himself to make sure heās no longer unkillable, the three seem to fall back into their old patterns. Gem sends the two running into the river, lightheartedly chasing them with her sword, and as they both climb out giggling, she says āI missed this.ā
This scene, this moment of the WRA, finally back together again after so long, itās soā¦ god. Theyāve been apart for so long, they havenāt been able to hang out and laugh with each other, and this is the first time in so, so long, that Sausage has been able to hear that light in fWhipās voice againā that heās been able to speak to fWhip on any terms that arenāt cold and callous and unloving. They have each other again, they have their family back, unsteady as it is.
Sausage asks if heās back in the alliance, and Gem says itās up to fWhip. He seemsā¦ uncertain, but says that Sausage can be tentatively backā like heās still nervous, still feels like something could go wrong. The three of them agree that Sausage owes them both three favors, and then heāll be back in the alliance for real.
In Sausageās episode 35, fWhip cashes in his first favor [9:30 - 10:17]. He asks Sausage to come by to help him with something, and as Sausage flies in, fWhip immediately shoots him with a flaming arrow. Sausage flies away, circling around before making his way back to land near fWhip. fWhip greets him with that old harsh coldness, a curt āHi, can I help you,ā how fWhip used to speak to Sausage, while he was corrupted. Sausage says he didnāt come to fight, that heās good now, and fWhip lets out a slightly nervous laugh, saying āoh, right, rightā¦ sorry, sorry, Iām still just a littleā¦ itās gonna take a while, itās gonna take a whileā you canāt just expect me to likeā just like, forget, instantly, right? It was justā you know,ā fWhip trails off, and Sausage says that fWhip hit him in the face, to which fWhip laughs, slightly, before restating his initial greeting in a much more friendly tone.
And itās justā¦ god. Isnāt that so much? Isnāt that So Much? Like, youāre fWhip, and you see your own little brother coming, and your immediate instinct is that you have to protect yourself. That you arenāt safe, that heās gonna hurt you, prepare to fight backā god. Could you imagine what it must be like to be feeling that way? To be trying to reconcile the feelings so ingrained in you now, with the person now before you? Heās tryingā heās trying so hard to let Sausage back in. Butā¦ itās not that easy.
I think this essay has definitely gotten long enough, but I do wanna leave off with one final moment. In Sausageās episode 41 [11:25 - 14:22], fWhip finally feels able to fully accept Sausage back into the alliance. He tells them that he wants to make them all a new meeting room. The three end up falling back into their old antics, playfully attacking each other, and Sausage ends up getting killed. fWhip picks up a bunch of his things, including a splash potion of invisibility that he had. fWhip cheekily says heāll keep the potion, and Sausage asks for it back, to which fWhip starts to walk off to where he wanted to show them anyway. Gem follows, and in a disapproving tone, says āfWhip, give him his things.ā fWhip turns around, says āOkay, here you go,ā and splashes the invis on them all, to which Sausage indignantly says āI canāt believe this!ā fWhip immediately starts laughing, with Gem giggling as well, and both fWhip and Sausage quickly realize how silly Gem looks while invisible, with her massive hat floating in the air.
I point out this moment because it really encapsulates why I love the WRA so much. Theyāre such a chaotic bunchā acting like three siblings who love to tease each other, who get into fights and have falling outs and still, in the end, they make up again. They find each other again. They never stop caring about each other, even through everything. Itās a really sweet little momentā the WRA, finally, truly whole again.
#empires smp#THIS GOT SO LONG. OOPS.#i spent like. over 5 hours making this#and I could keep going. i could talk more about fWhip and Gem#about the moment where Scott accidentally blasts Gem with the magic. how worried fWhip was#how he insists that she get help#but honestly that gets into territory that I havenāt yet seen myself#and I canāt tell it properly#and honestly this is long enough#also thank you for the timestamp for the bow thing!! itās very interesting#i reckon itās more about them wanting to create peace in that moment than it was about Jimmy specifically? if that makes sense?#but! whoās to say#youāll notice I ended up talking a lot about Jimmy here#this is because it is impossible to talk about fWhip without talking about Jimmy literally ever#thank you so much for the free excuse to talk about empires one fWhip and the WRA. this is been so enriching for me#i love them so much#and e1 fWhip is my favorite character across both seasons of empires#uh. can you tell?#ANYWAY. thank you to anyone that ends up reading my whole essay.#it is over 3000 words in total.#umbrify talks#umbrify answers#erstwhilesparrow
22 notes
Ā·
View notes
Text
The 'Vigil' Keeper
Pix looked up from his book as the bell rang. It was Xisuma Void, the principal of the school the next street over. Pix chuckled to himself, he remembered that someone told him that the kids were calling Hermitopia for some reason. Pix smiled. The shop had few customers this time of day and at this day of the week. It had been an uneventful Tuesday.
āGood afternoon Xisuma. How are you doing?ā
āIām doing well. How are you?āĀ
āIām great. Thanks for asking. So what brings you to Pixandria on this dark and gloomy afternoon?ā Pix replied.Ā
Pix pulled down the sleeve of his dark blue sweater. It was cold even with all the candles lit. Pixandria was not a dark place, it was far from it. Between the candles lit all around to the replica of the ancient āVigilā to the four mysterious āconduitsā (lamps Pearl painted for him) he put around the place, it was quite bright.
āCould I pick up the 200 candles I ordered?ā Xisuma asked then quickly he said. āNo dyes or scents.ā Pix smiled again.
āOf course. What do you need it for?ā Pix said while he went under the counter to grab the order. Xisuma laughed.
āWell Tango said how it would be fun to do a lab with candles for the kids and Cleo immediately agreed saying it would be fun to experiment with the wax for an art project.ā
āAh I see. Looks like youāve paid for everything beforehand.ā Pix was about to hand the box to X when a couple kids ran in and stared at the āVigilā.
āUm King Pixl Riffs? What is that?ā A boy with dirty blond hair and hazel eyes pointed to the āVigilā.Ā
āWell. It is what I call the āVigilā . Every time an emperor is āprankedā by another empire I put up a candle and if they get 12 candles I make a paper lantern of the color of the empire. I have a list of who did the āpranksā and we talley them up at the end of the year and then I reset the āVigilā.ā
Ā Ā The kids who had entered with the boy now had big smiles on their faces.
āYou guys prank each other?ā A boy with curly brown hair asked excitedly.Ā
āLike we do at school sometimes?ā A girl with black hair said. Pix laughed as Xisuma sighed.
āWhat kind of pranks do you do?ā The trio shouted in unison.
āWell one time Jimmy and I changed all of fWhip salmon pictures to cod pictures but he caught on quickly and they were all changed back within a day and fWhip gave Jimmy a salmon statue saying sense he loved salmon so much he should have it. And there was another time when Pearl and I went around asking everyone weird or confusing trivia and it all bottled down to who makes the best honey which isnāt really a prank but a fond memory. We also all said hi to Gem each in a different way then we normally did it but how another emperor said hi.ā
When Pix stopped talking.Ā
āThank you King Mr. Vigil Keeper.ā The children said and they ran out of the store no doubt going to Pearlās to get a drink of hot cocoa that she sells in the winter. The name made a chill go up Pixās spine.
Pix waved goodbye to Xisuma. He flipped his sign to closed and headed down the very long stairs to the basement. The wooden stairs creaked under his feet but as he got lower the stairs became stone and you could hear his sandals slap against the stone. The walls have a spot for candles to light the path but Pix usually ignores them and thinks about events that happened during the day. The basement has two layers where the stairs turn to stone. You can see Daivd and when you get to the end of those stone stairs you will step on to the ground only to find that it is sand. If you walk a bit in this sand youāll find a very old and ancient monument called The Vigil.Ā Ā
Pix looked at The Vigil every candle was burning bright. He sighed. He felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. He took it out and pressed the answer button.
āHello Zloy, how are you doing?ā
āPix, Pix the Copper King might be out tonight! Can you come?ā An excited Zloy said.
āNo sorry I haveā¦ā Pix trailed off thinking of an excuse.Ā
āOh. Are you free for recording tomorrow?ā
āLet me check my schedule and Iāll get back to you.ā
āOkay. Lyarrah and I are going out to record in the field tonight.ā
āAlright. See yuh tomorrow.ā
āGood night.ā
āGood night.ā Pix took off his blue sweater. He put on a brown undershirt and pants. He bore a sandy color jacket with copper shoulders and lining down. And went up to The Vigil and put on perfectly on top of his head a copper crown. He then grabbed his trident.Ā
The Copper King smiled as he exited his underground lair. He turned on his com and took his watch.Ā Ā
#empires smp#hermitcraft#empires au#pixlriffs#xisumavoid#this is my first fan fic#hope you like it#zloyxp#Emperors of Empires Street#Children of the town#emperors of empires street fics
19 notes
Ā·
View notes