#why do wars start from Mumbo just trying to vibe | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

silvertws · 8 months ago

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"Hermit craft" and other ccs because they are cool. STAR WARS AU (I think imma do different ones depending on like Prequels, Sequels, and Present or whatever it's called yk, droids, Vader and Kylo)...? Unsure I'm just doing Vader now.

*Cries in the amount of research I'm going to have to do*

Xiuma and Mumbo -> def mechanics, ships repairing, Mumbo never drove any of his fucking ships, he would suck as a pilot, Xiuma is good at it tho!

Grian -> one of the best, if not the best pilot in the galaxy -> does bro have the force? Yuh, does he know or use it? Nuh uh also Pearl's sibling, they got separated when little.

Scar -> co-pilot of Grian, has a motored wheelchair, he's the most curious one out of the two. He is the one that tells Grian to do something and join the rebellion.

Doc ->maybe some imperial scientist of some kind???? He scares me.

Scott... You scare me but! Leader potential? Scavenging with Cleo, Scott -> the brain, Cleo -> them muscles, she's a skilled blaster fighter, possibly Mandalorian..? We're there mandalorians of that species....?????Cleo is a Togruta def.

Pearl -> definitely started off as a Padawan, sister of Grian -> = older (aka, yes the gist of "mf is too old to be trained, but his sister ain't, YOINK"), yeah he was not pleased. Pearl basic doesn't remember him, like, she knows she has a brother somewhere, but yk. Yeah so, Master dies, obviously 🙄, cause you know order 66, still debating who that should be... Uhhhhh Maybe Impulse? Yes you're dying boi. Be sad. Someone has to. So yeah, she escapes, and then I'm going to presume she's going in hiding... With another surviving Padawan... Maybe Gem, yeah. Yeah shiny duo why not. So they go into hiding, they survive by themselves, somehow, a bit of thievery never hurt anyone... Oh wait.

Anyway happiness doesn't last.

Bye bye Pearl, to get captured and become a sith you gooo.

Sorry Gem <\3 you'll see each other again.

While Pearl is "busy" turning to the Darkside and Just not having s good time, Gem joins the rebels, not revealing her past, he's lightsaber was broken during her qnd Pearl's escape after all. She does still have her Kyber cristal (green..? They focus more on defending to my knowledge, plus healing? Something like that) Pearl's used to be blue.

So yeah, Gem joins the rebels, where she does missions here and there and meets people like Tango.

Tango -> Pilot, and one of the leaders of a small squad that usually does ambushes to the Empire. (This is due to how fucking mental this guy was with EVERYTHING last season, he deserves to have a leading and planning spot)

Etho is a spy for the rebels. No questions asked. He is. Why? Don't exactly know...? He gives me spy vibes. Mf works for the Empire but is a double agent.

Joel and Lizzie have a bar where they try to keep it neutral, they don't enjoy the empire but don't want to risk loosing what they have to actively fight. They do hide rebels from time to time and share some rations. They know Tango, since he's the one who usually contacts them and also hid there a couple of times. They also know Etho since he goes there whenever he's dispatched to the planet.

Yes. The "Etho stop being obsessed with me" joke lives on.

Now... Owen. You sir. Terrify me. You're very scary as a villain but very adorable as a hero which you know what that means.

BETRAYAL.

oh this mf is playing the rebels like fools!

Nobody suspects the nice mechanic and co-pilot to be an imperial spy... Definitely didn't install a tracker on the ship AND the droid.

Grian and scar + Cleo and Scott + Etho, Gem, Owen all know each other.

Cleo and Scott do not care to join the rebellion and probably never will.

Scar convinces Grian to help.

Etho squad and Scott team have often had fights because of one stealing stuff before the other.

Joey is a pirate with Sausage, Skizz and Martyn. The often had fights with literally all of the other teams.

Ren -> imperial general.

Jimmy -> you know what..? Bounty hunter. And you may think. Jimmy..? A bounty hunter? Bro u cray cray, Nuh uh. Listen. Listen. He's not HORRIBLE at his job, he's not super great either. But he does get enough cash to survive.

Now. Who has a bounty on them..?

Literally everyone I mentioned tbh-

But for plot, and because you guys love flower husbands, I'm gonna go with Scott.

So yeah goofy bounty hunter×the one mf who keeps on slipping away.

And yes, he does go to Joel bar to complain and Joel keeps on taunting him about it.

Ok now.

We did flower husbands.

So I think it's time for the Nature wives.

Shelby is indeed a force user... Or maybe a Witch from Dathomir??? Or maybe.. ok.

Let's say.

She goes to Dathomir.

And like, I remember basically nothing about that so please don't come for me for inaccuracies.

If I remember, from Star wars fallen order (I have not played survivor yet.), the witches are dead. Except one yk, our beloved girlypop, so idk if I should do Shubble being the last one, and meeting Katherine as she crashed down on her planet. Or idk.

Also Katherine is a princess 100%

Think about her like Leia, cool, badass, and fights, I'm thinking for her to be a Mandalorian, because fighting you know. Wither that or she's just the princess of idek. My memory of the planets and systems is very limited ok? I'm very bad with names...

So yeah, maybe a bit of a black lightsaber situation could happen? Idek.

BigB and B-Dubs... I again have no idea.

I don't watch these two- they could be bounty hunters...? Merchants...???? Mercenaries....???? No clue- I mean, I have basically 0 villains planned but I don't think either of them could be an inquisitor or a general/commander of some kind- and I don't know how I wanna do the stormtroopers so... They could be Jedi masters? Maybe one died and the other didn't? Maybe they both died to protect the Padawans? Maybe they're both alive..???? Ughhhhhh ToT

I definitely need to put more villains-

But I don't wannaaaa ToT like sure, the pirate gang, sure, bounty hunter Jimmy.

But the inquisitors brooo.

Like other than Pearl idkkk

She slays so hard she doesn't need other inquisitors-

Like idek know who to make the BBEG

cause like... Scott could definitely be Vader ok. I know. I Know........ And Cleo be an inquisitor??? But I like Jimmy and Scott possible dynamic as bounty hunter×that one mf-

Likeeee arghhhhh

Ren is just too Goofy to be plays as a BBEG

Owen just has to betray someone ok? He needs the switch up.

Uhhhhhh...

Literally idek-

Do I randomly put Kier and Dev into this???

Quackity?????

Philza and Tommy could definitely be Jedi Master and young Padawan...

Like Ranboo is not giving villain.

Technoblade definitely would but, I don't want to put him in... In case I get yelled at TwT

Niki could be an inquisitor- definitely giving "the Jedi are corrupted at and so I decided to kill them all as revenge for taking away my childhood and my right of choice". So yeah.. definitely a "Padawan indoctrinated by the Darkside becomes inquisitor". Kinda like Pearl? But she didn't get tortured- it was kinda her choice sooooo. I guess I'm putting Niki in

FableSMP members???? Do I just put Fable as the BBEG????He could be more like Palpatine than Vader tho, since the manipulation and being well, powerful as fu- like, he works...Ok now I have ideas for FableSMP characters... Enderian would def be a witch of Datomir, my only issu with that is that I don't exactly know how that would work with Centross.

But. For what does work.

Wolf/Fenris??? Idk how it's written.

Used to be an imperial general, betrayed Fable. When he realized his kingdom was not safe even if he stayed with him.

Rae -> in this universe Enderian is out of the picture, like not even mentioned, sorry girly.

Rae is the child of Isla, who was the queen of whatever because again, this is just me writing down dumb ideas. So, Rae and Icarus were sent away when he was little by Isla, who wanted to keep him away from the empire's arms due to his connection to the force.

Icarus -> older sibling to Rae, has no connection to the force, (no Quixis, you're not doing shit this time >:(), when them and Rae were sent away, they didn't understand why fully. As he got older they resented Rae because they felt like if Rae didn't have a connection to the force then they'd be able to be a family. But that resentment soon moved to the force itself, the stores about the Jedis, the sith, all that chaos. They don't know exactly how to help Rae, all they can do is try to protect him from the empire. (I'm giving Rae and Icarus a good-ish relationship ok? We all need that)

Momboo and Ocie -> are sisters, both use the force and both were trained by the Jedis, needless to say they are not like 20 yo, I think imma make them around 35/40..? (Safe to say Icarus and Momboo won't have a relationship.No.)

They both survived order 66 but got separated.

Now for the angsty part.

Momboo during her travels tried to find and protect kids gifted with the force. She would then proceed to die, leaving Jamie and Uhh fuck I don't remember their name, well, her other kid ok? With one message, to find Ocie, she could help them.

Ocie did not have as much maternal instincts as her sister, but, she picked along a small child, Oscar, a child made orphan by the empire. I'm figuring out the species still. She would settle down, she thought she was away from everything, that she could heal. Then Momboos kids came, and boom, training arc for those little shits. (/Sarcastic /not mean /please I'm not serious)

Centross -> now, I know in FableSMP he's not on Fable's side but Enderian's, the problem with that is that I think that the only thing that fits Enderian is a Dathomir's witch. And I don't exactly know how that could work. Like sure, let's make her a sith, but she's supposed to be like on Fable's power level, and she's definitely not a Jedi. So. For Centross, he could 100% be an inquisitor. 100% not even questioning it. This is based upon when he was violet reaper, yes yes, I am aware he was not on Fable's side, but I believe Fable is more fit as Palpatine than Enderian, sorry girlboss. Also sorry Centross, you're not getting a redemption arc.

Origin members..?????? (Except you know who ofc)

Do I just mix up some Steve Saga like- I CAN'T DO THAT YK.

Like so many but yet arghhhhh

Idkkkkk

So many possible heroessss.

Like the only ones I KNOW could be great villains for sure are Pearl, Scott, and Owen. And Scott and Owen are the only ones who I could see as the BBEG.

But again, you know... TwT

Can't use Scott, Owen is already a traitor, unsure if he should be using the force.

And Pearl is just- s c a r y but she will have a redemption arc so yk.

Ughhhhh

Like Gem could also have villain potential but likeeeeee

®×`]?×¢{§`}~[¢÷!4(&(&(2)

I will maybe get more ideas in the future once I've done more research.

Please this is just a draft so don't come for me and the inaccuracies. I'm not even sure I'll actually bother to write an actual storyline, this is for funzies. Also the ages of characters might vary from the originals because again, this is an AU.

Also if anyone sees this and knows how to write and for some reason does anything with this, cool! :DDD it's not gonna happen, but cool!

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thatonefatgumsimp · 1 year ago

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same warning as prev post, pls read. (Also srr the list looks less list-y I can't split it between rb's and I was too impatient to wait and put them all in one post).

7. Cleo: "HER LITTLE JINGLES- I agree with the person in the comments of their videos who said it, Joe's personality totally is rubbing off on her. Love it, amazing intro lol. The Tango and Cleo team up is a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one nonetheless. Very chill rn actually! 'We'll probably be stabbing each other in no time!' Perhaps, but today is not that day...hopefully- CLEO'S CACKLE AT SCAR FAILING- 💀 mood 'yeah I'm sure, I'm sure there was' LIZZIE LMAOO meanwhile, Cleo just staring at it like: LIIIZZIEEEEEEE! Omg- 💀😭 /lh their base above Lizzie's looks pretty nice honestly! No cuz 'the speeper kepepitiper' is giving me 'combabidaber' vibes from when Scar tried to pronounce comparitor when he and Grian set up those launchers in Doc's perimeter- 'there's a demon' MUMBO! Mumbo's nervous laughter- 💀 'it's great, isn't it? It's my favorite!' Honestly I think probably one of the fandom's favorites to draw too! Or at the very least, my favorite to draw :3 WAIT WHAT DOES THE AXIS THING MEAN?! I DON'T UNDERSTAND! 'Hey Bdubs, where's your boyfriend?' Canon boyfriends? :O c!Ethubs canon boyfriends?! Oop- aaaand my yt crashed 😔 it couldn't handle Cleo's amazingness smh. Pupper alliance <3 'YOU'RE CANADIAN, YOU SPELL WITH EXTRA Us TOO!' her just going 'why do we need wool?!' 'I'm basing with Etho now'. Ooh this is gonna be fun to watch!"

8. Gem: "SHE'S HERE! SHE'S HERE! GEMISGREATGEMISGREATGEMISGREAT! SHE'S SO GONNA GEMINISLAY THIS LIFE SEASON! 'We've both got to get to the cherry blossoms, Lizzie!' Mmmm cherry blossom...OK I got distracted, but I alr love this team up lol. 'We will watch Gem' 'YOU'RE DOING AMAZING, SWEETIE!' now we just need an obligatory 'BEHIND YOU, GEM!' 'This band is falling apart' 💀 I love this trio sm already...I'm so making fanart- 'SHE'S JUST GEM-' iconic ✌💀 also watching Gem's POV after seeing Skizz's, I get why it looked so creepy now...rip Skizz o7 for having to do that 'Scott and the Gems' THEIR RIVAL BAND OH NO /lhj love their houses <3 Scott's 'I told you!' carries so much sass and I love that tbh. Ohhh this series is gonna be great I can already tell. 'I got a little worried about how clingy everyone was' awwweh and she built a little fishing pond! I just love how aesthetic her bases always are even if they're just simple little bases :3"

9. Tango: "NOT TANGO GETTING THE EASIEST TASK OF ALL TIME- 💀 Tangocleodayonealliancetangocleodayonealliancetangocleodayoneall- 'if you hear a high pitched squeal, that's me and it's time to flee' this man is a whole mood cuz same- ohh no his /gift broke ): I keep getting distracted, but like- can you blame me? These people are great at making content! Absolutely amazing! Tango trying to find Scar to talk to him lol 💀 SCAR JUST EXPLAINING AHSOKA(? Idk how to spell it...) TO TANGO IS THE BEST LMAO also so glad Tango included a good part of the conversation since Scar didn't /lh was excited to see how the conversation went. This has just made me more curious as to what Big B is up to...to keep with the Star Wars theme of the previous conversation, the gaslight is strong with this one! Tango teaching Jimmy about the goodies is great. 'Tango, I'm gonna force you to adopt me pretty soon' well that's one way to ask about an alliance lol- PEARL'S DOG'S NAME BEING MAILBOX LMFAO- I CAN'TTT 😭💀 Etho just lying for funsies lol love that for him...Tango's 'oh it's you...' to Impulse 💀 Cleo saying 'TANGO!' and then Tango rushing to explain and stumbling over his words I- lol. Are Tango and Skizz always like this hanging out together? Lol 💀 /lh ohhhh no the fighting- o7 Tango Cleo team up, died before it started. 'Who could we team up with?' I'm with the people in Skizz's comments who said they should convince Scar and Jimmy to team or ally with them. I think that'd be fun! :3 Bdubs' innocent 'am I?' 💀 Skizz's confusion at who Willy is BC he can't play DO2 lol-"

10. Scott: "OK, not to throw shade, but Scott being ONE OF the only ones so far to not have to ask if the secrets were supposed to stay secret (or share it, like somebody /lh cough cough) is amazing. I'm excited already! PEARL JUMPSCARING SCOTT LMAOOO poor Scott- 'y'all were obsessed with flower husbands, it's actually just me & Pearl' 💀 nah cuz I choked on my chicken tender lmaoo- Scott talking about gift items while little shinies spin on the screen. Perfect. SCOTTTTT LMAOOO 'everyone needs a hobby'. I'm not gonna live through this ep, but in a different way from Martyn's. Watching Martyn's, I almost died of an anxiety induced heart attack (/lhhj). Meanwhile watching Scott's, I'm gonna die choking on my food from laughter! 'CAN A MAN TALK TO A MAN?' 💀 'JIMMY!! How do you survive sometimes?!' paired with his laughter lol- 'oh I forgot there was no regeneration' 'ohh my-' 'Every. Single. Time.' he's not wrong, but also o7 lol Scott bringing doors underwater tho. Sometimes, I think he might be the only responsible one here /lh SCOTT QUOTING MEAN GIRLS- 😭😂 'you're doing amazing, sweetie!' Lol- yup, def my favorite alliance so far, the second POV confirms it. 'That sounds like an 80s rock band' indeed it does, Scott. 'Very different answers' 💀 yeah...Martyn's not having too hot of a time...o7 'THIS BAND IS FALLING APART' 💀 'they're intimidated' after watching 9 other POVs, can confirm. 'You know, I was going to before you told me not to, so thanks' I- 💀 this ep is fr a hard mode try not to laugh challenge- it's amazing! Scott zooming in on Jimmy and waving at him lol 'Scott and the Gems' 💀 which Scott though? Cuz both of their content is like finding a precious jewel so could be either- (srsly tho love the content from these three <3) 'I JUST GOT GOATED!' but in which way, Impulse? /lhhj 'where have you heard that before?!' 'Don't think about it-' ohh poor sweet Gem...also. IMPULSE! 'I'm gonna use the diving board' good idea, it saves time. Omg he got so many goodies- noice. Gem's relieved sigh of 'thank you-' 💀 'Gem I got us a sheep, we have one' and a very cute sheep at that :3 well...I WOULD be sad ep 1 is over, but I still have the second session POVs to watch after I catch up. BUT WOOO HYPE! LET'S GOOOOOO! Oop hold on, gotta vibe to his outro music."

11. Bdubs: "O h ... Oh my God...it's over an hour, I can't sit still that long- I will try- 'you stole my horse last time, Bdubs, I don't forget' meanwhile, me, who has no context for, like, half the life series cuz I never end up finishing: Bdubs' indignant gasp and 'how dare you' 💀 also I think Joel's habit of horse killing is rubbing off on Lizzie lol- 'how did you get a saddle this early on?' Bdubs: 👀 [you feel the weight of your sins crawling on your back] lol- 'I didn't kill the cows, it's worse-' o7 'WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH BDUBS??' 💀 lmaoo- So completely normal about c!Ethubs- 'GEM ACCOSTED ME!' 'sounds about right-' 💀 I'm gonna love the sibling vibes coming from those two this series lol- Bdubs and his chainmail lol! Common Canadian David Attenborough W /lhhj ohh no Bdubs' mic didn't just cut out, his prox mod malfunctioned! Noooo rip- Bdubs' 'STOPP!' in response to Martyn having 16 hearts was me all through his POV when he took risks or damage. 'It could be like the Alps, but bad' 💀 Mumbo lmaoo- 'we could be called the Axis!' OK, now that ik what that means after a kind tumblr user explained to me- uhmmm...yeah let's just say it's good Cleo was there- 'YES I KNOW IT'S UPSIDE DOWN!' 💀😂 MAILBOX- 😭💀 Bdubs is so great at naming things lol /lh 'oh, Etho? He's uhhhhhh-' so normal- OK so I sat still for 39 minutes then I got distracted, back to it. 'Alright, hopping off' 💀 'Bdubs, I'll give you one too. I know you love these.' SO. NORMAL. I SWEAR- BDUBS HOW DID YOU GET IN THE TREES?! His immediate yes to iron horse armor lol! Martyn and Bdubs: -talking about horse armor- Scar: Jimmy, I'll burn your house down- it's even better after multiple times lmao 💀 'oh I am? OK' pfttttt- DO2 references go brrrrr 'OK bye' 💀 perfect ending lol-"

12. Pearl: "pftttt someone in the comments comparing Pearl's base to a hobbit hole- okokok I'm watching the video now- Pearl jumpscaring Scott 💀 'DON'T KILL THOSE COWS!' lol oouh nice Etho and Pearl gift heart exchange 'it's not that you can't speak horse, they can't speak you' 'WHO KEEPS LEAVING FLOATING TREES?!' poor cleaning lady, having to clean even outside of Hermitcraft o7 'did I hear a Lizzie?' 'Yeah, where are you?' lol :O protection pact? Alliance? Lizzie Pearl alliance? Funsies! 'Don't worry, I'll save you' 🥺 literally goals- NOT PEARL AND JOEL FIGHTING FOR THE GIFTED HEART- 💀 literally tho why do Jimmy and Pearl give such sibling vibes lol- 'that's so spooky' yes, yes it is. Also the fact that, as far as I can remember, only Pearl and Jimmy mentioned something about the secret keeper like that (Pearl said it's spooky, Jimmy said the symbol looked familiar) 'n'awwwwwww! I just witnessed a moment :3' yes you did, Pearl. And it was very wholesome. 'Oh, but you're absolutely wonderful, Mumbo!' 💀 that's really nice of her to say, but like, the timing lmao- DOGGIE! Doggie <3 'I see a camel's butt over there' c a m e l 'no high-fiving!' Lol! ARCHIMEDES AWWWWWEH 🥺 THAT'S THE PERFECT NAME! 'Did you kill Alfred?' Oop- Scar's in troubleeeeeeee~ /lh :O Joel alliance! Noice. 'Cuz it's got a cherry wood door! It's all you need!' Lol I meannnn true, what better way to spice up a dirt hut than with a pretty door :3 noooo I don't want it to end D: ...oh wait I still have all the session 2s to watch- ...OK fine it can end lol- gosh that was a great episode! Also ty Pearl for reminding me to bug my mom (/lh) about preordering a hoodie :3"

Also WOO ONLY 5 MORE POVs THEN I CAN MOVE ON TO SESSION 2!

Which Secret Life POVs I've Watched So Far (will be updated and edited as I finish)

OK so I may or may not have gotten distracted again- oops- but basically I'm putting here which POVs I've already watched in full and what my first thought about each one was.

-WARNING: wall of texts and ramblings from an mcyt obsessed audhd under the cut...and also spoilers. Don't click unless you're ready for simultaneously spoilers and an ungodly amount of text lol-

Grian: "God this series is so hype I can't wait to see what all happens and- OMG GEM IS HERE! :D GEM IS GREAT! I can't wait to see her kick Etho's ass at PvP again /lh ...waiminute...is that logo on the statue...is that the Watcher logo??? Huh??? Wait...and why does it have the same mossiness of the Entity and Grian's s9 base? Suspicious...OMG the chaotic Best Friend energy with Mumbo and Grian- tbh would be me and my best friend on any given day. Amazing. Their laughter is so infectious too lmao- Oough merch! Pretty :3 Wait it's over already? Aweeeeh ): can't wait for the next episode tho!"

Mumbo: "Wait he switched sides of the circle when Martyn punched Jimmy lmaoooo just like 'these people are crazy, save me, Grian-' 💀 The best friend energy omg still amazing I love their dynamic so much! Ooh a sideways house that *IS* an interesting idea! WHY DOES JIMMY KEEP BREAKING THE CRAFTING TABLES LMAO Hmmmmm Impulse ik cherry blossom is great, but that salesman voice is indeed very sus. I'm with Mumbo on this one."

Skizz: "Idk I watched it when I was very tired last night and all I remember is 'Awwweh a frog! Take care of him...WH- TANGO!!!' and also him apologizing to Gem which was very nice. Oh yeah and love island <3"

Jimmy: "Alright, Timmy, you've got this. Just don't die and- OMG MARTYN NOOOO LMAOO- Aweeeh it's like when you have a really young sibling or you're, like, a parent or something and you kiss the child's scraped knee to make it feel better- 🥺 wholesome. THANK YOU! I thought I was alone in recognizing that symbol, thank you for acknowledging it. JIMMY LOOK OUT OMG YOU'RE GONNA GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK! OK but the task. This man is an absolute menace lol. Aweh that's very nice of Scar to compliment Jimmy's outfit! SCOTT LMFAOOOO YOU'RE SO RIGHT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME 💀 Jimmy building in the Mesa? Tumble Town 2 electric boogaloo?? 'Hmmmm if Scar's building a shack, we're gonna have to have a shack-off, mine's better.' NO JIMMY DON'T STEAL THE CAMEL! D: pftttt Scar would- remember the Relation-ship? And the Ranch? Arson boy lol. THE VALLEY GIRL ACCENT I CAN'T- 😭"

Scar: "OK, Scar, you can do the task, I believe in you. I've seen 4 other POVs which prove that you failed, but I still believe in you. OMG THAT'S WHY HE COMPLIMENTED JIMMY'S OUTFIT LMAOOO I WASN'T PAYING ATTENTION- So true, Scott. So true. But you can't stop them, they're still gonna end up neighbors. I know, I already watched Jimmy's POV. SCAR NOOOO YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO TELL THEM- The way he jumped in the water- 💀 hc that c!Scar shook out his long-ish messy brown hair like a dog after that. Cuz he would. 'I'll make an exception for you. The first and ONLY exception.' if someone doesn't use this as, like, a fanfic title or something I swear- literally perfect material for a c!Scarian fic title. AWEEEEEEH HE CALLED GRIAN THE LIGHT OF HIS LIFE- I CAN'T BHATGLFYSJBJSRSKBLBK 🥺 Scar just like 'y'all crazy. Bye.' AWEEEEH GRIAN AND SCAR'S CAMEL RIDE! DESERTDUODESERTDUODESERTDUODESERTDUO! The way they stare at the hole Big B dug like *insert surprised Pikachu here* awwwwweh the way he let Grian have the cactus monopoly 🥺 you will never not convince me that bullying is their love language. c!desertduo bullies each other affectionately...I'm so normal about c!desertduo I promise- HE TALKED ABOUT ASOKA FOR 30 MINUTES OFC HE DID- 💀😭 I was wondering why he didn't include it lmao- NOT SCAR TREATING THE CAMEL LIKE A DISNEY RIDE LOL learning about the task goodies with Tango, Jimmy, and Scar 101 'IS IT A ROCKET' LMAOOOOO- HE'S SUFFOCATING AGAIN- SCAR BE CAREFULLLLL!!! Ik it's not in the comments, but, I GOT TO THIS POINT AND I'M ENJOYING IT, SCAR! Love this series sm and I'm only 5 POVs in lol. 'It's looking kinda like a shack' 'fancy house and exotic materials' indeed, Etho. Also yes, Scar, part of what gave it away is that ur favorite color is orange lol /lh the fact that Jimmy is the only one I've seen to call him 'Obi' when he says 'Hello There'- amazing. 'Nonono it's not a shack, look at that entrance!' But, Scar, you just said- ...OK- 'this is my shack' OK, Scar I'm confused. Is it or isn't it a shack? Ofc he cut out the arson threats and allegations smh /lh 'until next time, we'll see you later, and don't forget to subscribe because you may just become. SCARRRRED FOR LIFE!' ...yes I've memorized his outro-"

Martyn: "Wait OK before we start- are we sure that punching Jimmy didn't just, like, transfer the canary's curse? /lh like it could also be that he won last series and now he's the 'wet cat' of the first episode like I saw in another post, but like, what if?? I guess we'll see, huh? The awkward 'goodbye' and then walking the same way lmaooo 💀 Lizzie and Gem: 'WE HAVE TO GET TO THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS!' Martyn: 'uhhhhh anyways so-' what am I gonna get? Well uhhh probably one of the life hoodies, but I'll probably have to convince my mom to get it as a Christmas gift cuz I already spent a lot in the last month cuz I have no self control- but yeah probably the balloon hearts hoodie or the drippy hearts one. Love those. 'Ofc no wearing helmets' Scar, who has a helmet: 'Hi, Martyn!' 'oh mY GOd you scared me-' Payback for the jumpscare to Grian last series /lh /hj 'friends?' 'friends?' 'friends?' 'Helloooooo!' 'Martyn!' Idk why but that interaction made me exhale like- just imagine shouting through the walls in a cave to your friends irl. Omg now I'm imagining it with the reverb- 'you couldn't spare a heart, could you?' gives off the vibes of 'please sir, could I have some more?' Oliver Twist who? /lhj Bdubs and his chainmail lol 'THERE'S A SPAWNER?!' yeah...he's definitely having a rough first session- o7 'what is happening out there-?' I'd like to know too, Martyn, unfortunately I haven't watched their POVs yet. Also Etho saying 'BDUBS RUN! HIDE!' I- I'm normal about c!Ethubs I promise- 'YOU GOT HORSE ARMOR?!' ofc the local horsegirl /lhhj would ask about that lol- NOT ETHO TURNING INTO CANADIAN DAVID ATTENBOROUGH AND NARRATING HIS, MARTYN'S, AND BDUBS' ADVENTURES THROUGH THE CAVE- I- 💀 'this could go viral' true, Bdubs lol. BDUBS' MIC CUTTING OUT I'M CRYING- Gem's reaction of 'a what?!' and Scott's response of 'we just don't have a healer' is just perfect lol. Love that. WE'RE PLAYING THE MARTYN GETS NERFED MOD! TODAY WE CODED IT SO ALL THE MOBS ATTACK MARTYN AND ONLY MARTYN! that's the vibes Scott's comment gave me lol- 12 HEARTS?!? MARTYN!! OMG BE MORE CAREFUL!!! This Martyn nerf hitting hard- 'this could be really bad if I get poisoned-' YES IT COULD, MARTYN, YOU'RE ALREADY AT 12 HEARTS- IT'S LIKE YOU'RE TRYING TO BE THE FIRST TO YELLOW- /lh bro Martyn being risky is making my anxiety go 📈📈📈📈📈 BE MORE CAREFUL, MARTYN, PLS- I BEG OF U- MARTYN GOING TO THE NETHER- 📈📈📈 MARTYN THERE ARE GHASTS- PLEASE- I- AAAAAAAAAAAAA! MARTYNNNN! OMG! IS HE ALWAYS THIS RISKY, USUAL MARTYN VIEWERS?! CUZ IF SO IDT I'M GONNA SURVIVE BINGING ALL THE LIFE SERIES- 'ughhh I swear, dude, I swear, I'm gonna cry!!!' I AM TOO, PLEASE STOP GETTING INTO DANGER, MARTYN- Martyn saying damnit is me the whole time he's out risking his hearts. My heart can't take this kind of pressure, Martyn please stop being so riskyyyy- 😭 nINE HEARTS- MARTYN!!!! Istg I'm not surviving this episode- my heart is just- 📈📈📈📈📈📈📈 his pICKAXE BROKE?! OH YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! 'OH MY GOD, THE SUN!' I'M HAPPY TOO, HOPEFULLY HE DOESN'T LOSE TOO MANY MORE HEARTS. 'I've been to the nether and everything!' Yeah, imma be honest, I don't get that one. Like, didn't you write a song lITERALLY CALLED 'Screw The Nether' with friends????! /lh Lizzie's 'oh wow' 💀 fIVE AND A HALF HEARTS!! MARTYNNNN!!! OMG! 📈📈📈 NOT THE DROWNED- 😭 LEAVE HIM ALONE, BRUH, HE JUST TRYNA SURVIVE- Martyn panicking- same, bestie- Lizzie just like 'oh you stole my bed? Didn't notice' 💀 #1 way to tempt a horsegirl: offer something to protect his horse /lhj Cleo's laugh lol- infectious. MARTYN ZOOMING IN AND JIMMY JUST BRINGING BACK SCAR'S CAMEL IN THE BACKGROUND I CAN'T-"

OK I'm posting this and I'll rb for the other POVs, but Cleo's next.

So let's see, next rb is probably gonna be Cleo, Gem, Tango, Scott, Bdubs, and Pearl.

Third rb is probably gonna be Etho, Joel, Lizzie, Impulse, and BigB.

3 maybe 4 rb max.

#tofs musings #my thoughts on the first session of Secret Life #secret life #secret life spoilers #trafficblr #traffic life smp #zombiecleo #geminitay #tangotek #scott smajor #bdoubleo100 #pearlescentmoon

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beacon-lamp · 4 years ago

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with hermitcraft season 7 slowly coming to an end, i figured it was time to consolidate all of the Informative Posts about hermitcraft that i and some of the other members of hermitblr have made over the last several months.

if you enjoy:

minecraft youtube content, but want to see more traditional vanilla minecraft gameplay like building and redstone

fun, lighthearted interactions between genuine friends including Elaborate pranks, collaborating on massive projects, light roleplay, proximity voice chat mod

weekly 20 - 40 minute long youtube videos and consistent upload schedules

chill grind stream weekends where CCs interact with chat and each other

an entire youtube channel dedicated to weekly 20-minute recap videos on what all the hermits have been up to so you don’t have to piece it together from the posts on your dash/timeline

insanely talented people who have been doing mcyt for nearly, if not more than, a decade and essentially built minecraft youtube from the ground up

give hermitcraft a try!

you will find all of the information you will Ever Need below the cut. it’s Very Long so view it on desktop.

and if you ever have any more questions, just shoot me an ask :)

what is hermitcraft?

the Basics: what, who, where, how

more details on the Basics

bonus: the historical impact many hermitcraft members have had on mcyt

where do i even start watching?

start with grian.

good mix of Incredible builds and fun server shenanigans. instigator of many server-wide events. interacts with many other hermits. generally entertaining to watch. but zero redstone knowledge.

check out hermitcraft recap.

great way to be introduced to other hermits and learn what everyone’s up to. if you find what a hermit’s been working on interesting, go watch their video and maybe give them a like and subscribe.

official hermitcraft website with links to every member’s channel

more information on every hermit’s attributes and general vibes

do hermits every stream?

short answer: yes, most do! but these streams are mostly chill grinding or buildling streams. and you don’t have to watch the streams to be caught up on content. check the official hermitcraft website for each member’s twitch links.

long answer that covers most of the hermits

what do they do on hermitcraft?

let’s start with some examples of their incredible builds.

hermit cribs: some of the megabases in s7

goodtimeswithscar’s s7 magical village with shaders

stressmonster’s bakery and ren’s star wars world

Capitalism

they have a shopping district where hermits can set up shops and sell items and resources that other hermits can buy with diamonds. here’s season 7 shopping district set on a mooshroom island:

some of the most advanced redstone you’ve ever seen

if you’re more into the technical side of minecraft, you can be rest assured that hermitcraft has some of the Biggest Brains in redstone.

tangotek: a fucking madlad. Singled-handedly created the minigame Decked Out. im Begging you to watch his tutorial video on how to play. currently finishing up his Among Us but in minecraft minigame. all of this was built Entirely in survival vanilla minecraft. get this man to 1M subscribers.

mumbo jumbo: the man himself. built a 128 x 128 block industrial district in both season 6 and 7 packed to the Brim with mechanical farms. half the brain behind the masterpiece of engineering that was Sahara in season 6. currently working on Pacific, the sequel to Sahara, in season 7.

iskall85: the other half of the brain behind Sahara and working on Pacific with mumbo in season 7. also has an industrial district like mumbo’s in season 7.

xisuma: built an automatic potion brewer in the second half of season 7. this thing churns out potions by the Shulker Box. can also turn a shulker box full of potions into splash potions and extend duration all with a press of a button.

impulseSV: incredible example of form + function. farms are scattered throughout his base. he has a farm for nearly every farmable resource in vanilla minecraft.

etho: the pioneer of some of the most widely used redstone mechanisms to date. content isn’t super redstone-focused. mostly does compact modules that serve a specific function.

zedaph: makes strange contraptions. he’s basically if grian knew how to redstone. impeccable vibes and fairly underrated.

bdoubleo100: he occassionally does this segment called “redstone with bdubs” and it’s the only redstone i understand so that’s why he’s here.

what about roleplay? and lore?

yeah they have Plenty of that too.

it generally comes in the form of self-contained storylines that involve most members on the server and take place over the course of several weeks in multiple videos. it’s fairly light roleplay, if that’s not your thing. but the plotlines also have a Massive Potential to be angsty and whatnot if you really look into it, which a lot of people also do.

here’s a more in-depth look into the Major Plotlines over the last 2 seasons (season 6 and 7). huge spoiler warning though.

um also there’s this post that highlights how truly cursed hermitcraft can be if you dig deep enough hahaha.

so do the hermits only make hermitcraft content?

nope!! many of them are involved in other mcyt content as well and are friends with other prominent members of the mcyt community!!

MCC

mcc9 blue bats video essay: the time the hermit team won the whole damn competition. a wonderfully made video worth Every second of your time. especially if you don’t typically watch the hermit teams.

falsesymmetry: mcc10 ace and mcc’s First Back-to-Back Winner

lord grian dreamslayer: that time grian Popped Off, killing dream, tubbo, and fundy in mcc9 survival games

Vault Hunters

a modded minecraft server coded entirely by iskall85′s team. all the content is streamed live on twitch.

current members are: Iskall85, AntonioAsh, Stressmonster101, HBomb94, CaptainSparklez, Fundy, CaptainPuffy, 5UP and Tubbo

more info on the series

3rd Life SMP

hardcore minecraft server with a twist that started on 4/20/21. all content is posted to each member’s respective youtube channels.

every member has 3 lives, as indicated by the color of their name: green for 3 lives left, yellow for 2, red for 1. if they lose all three lives, they can only spectate the world (like in hardcore mode). the series ends when all members have lost all three lives.

the twist: once a member is on their 3rd and final life, as indicated by a red name, they are Hostile and their goal is to take the lives of the remaining players.

the members (hermits are italicized): BdoubleO100, bigbst4tz2, Etho, GoodTimesWithScar, Grian, impulseSV, InTheLittleWood, Renthedog, Skizzleman, Smajor1995, Smallishbeans, SolidarityGaming, Tango, ZombieCleo

the tumblr tag for 3rd Life is “#3rdLife”, “#3rdLifeSMP” and “#3LSMP” if you wanna see more content, as it’s Not supposed to be cross-tagged with “#hermitcraft”.

do you have any free serotonin to spare?

here’s a bunch of posts that’ll make you smile

scar’s friendship with a bunch of the hermits

grian, false, cleo, bdubs, iskall: why they deserve so much respect

same post as above but with an addition about ren

small hermit things that give you serotonin

why you should watch tfc

if you’ve made it this far you are Contractually Obligated* to watch one (1) hermitcraft episode and reblog this post.

*for legal reason, this is a joke. you’re not contractually obligated but consider this: Please. i spent way too much time on this.

shoutout to everyone who’s posts i’ve linked and anyone who has helped answer a question about hermitcraft. this all started because i was frustrated that people were writing the hermits off as cannon fodder in mcc and im genuinely so glad that many of you have given hermitcraft a shot.

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captcas · 5 years ago

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Worth Fighting For

WORTH FIGHTING FOR by capthamm

Killian “Hook” Jones is a dominate up and comer in the UFC while Emma “The Savior” Swan’s career was cut short. When Hook’s manager moves up and the office brings in UFC’s youngest legend to keep him in check, will either of them be able to handle it?

read on ao3 // tumblr: ch 1/ ch 2

[CHAPTER 3/?]

Saturday night brings their monthly movie/game night and Emma has never been more grateful for a distraction. Ruby and the Nolans will come over around 6 o’clock and Henry is practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. Tonight’s theme is Star Wars and this will be Henry’s official introduction to the series; at David’s insistence they’re starting with A New Hope and going release order from there. They’re also going to play Star Wars trivia which Henry will undoubtedly suck at.

Should be a fun night all around.

And it was, until Henry went to bed and the “adults” got to talking.

Ruby cracks another beer and turns to Emma, “So, Emma, you’ve got probably the coolest new job in the world and you haven’t said jack shit.”

She shoots Ruby an icy glare as David and MM stop bickering over whether or not Kylo Ren deserved a redemption arc to hear what Emma has to say.

Emma sighs, “It’s going alright. All the onboarding is underway and between the perks, benefits, and pay, Henry should be set for life.” She’s been fortunate to live off her winnings for the past nine years, being mindful of money and not giving into the lifestyle of frivolous spending many fighters take on, but -even her friends know- she doesn’t have a money tree.

The looks on their faces when she mentions Henry being set for life could melt 1000 Olafs. When she arrived at Ruth Nolan’s home at the age of 16, she never expected to find a family. Hardened by a life too lived for anyone her age, Emma assumed they’d be like every other foster home and use her for the money. To this day, she’s never been so happy to be wrong.

Emma’s not sure what twist of fate landed an orphan with such a great support system, but she’ll be forever grateful. David took to the “protective brother” role immediately. Soon after Emma moved in, he met Mary Margaret (fireworks and butterflies and all that mumbo jumbo) who introduced them to Ruby. They’re small, and maybe a bit scrappy, but they’re family.

She breaks out of her thoughts and returns to the present, “I will need some babysitting though; I’m required to attend each of my client’s Fight Nights. But overall it’s great, really!”

She hopes she squeaked away without having to mention Jones at all but the glint in Ruby’s eye tells her otherwise. “Ok that’s all fine and dandy,” Mary Margaret shoots Ruby an incredulous look, warning her to tread carefully, but Ruby ignores her and continues, “but who’s the client?”

David is giving her a protective father vibe, Ms is practically vibrating, and she's pretty sure Ruby is salivating. Emma sighs realizing she shouldn’t postpone the inevitable, “Killian Jones.”

Ruby practically drops her drink and Mary Margaret squeals, David rolls his eyes and turns back to the TV where SportsCenter has been playing in the background. Mary Margaret beats Ruby to the punch, “THE Killian Jones?! As in Killian “Hook” Jones?!”

Emma nods, standing up to refill the only slightly empty chip bowl in front of her. She knew this was going to happen and she wasn’t exactly looking forward to her friends thirsting over her client– client… right.

Ruby speaks next, “Well that is probably the best case scenario. Do you think he can get us tickets? Have you met him? Is he as gorgeous in person as he is on TV? Can we meet him?”

Emma, now glad she’s in the kitchen with space to breathe, is starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. She knows Ms can sense it and is unsurprised when she speaks next,“For Christ’s sake Ruby let her breathe. She’s probably only had her initial meeting with him.”

Ruby seems to get the hint and it doesn’t take long before Ms is in the kitchen helping Emma pick up the leftover pizza, “We’re happy for you, Emma. He’s a huge client for them, they obviously trust you to do a good job.” Emma nods in thanks and they both head back into the living room. Her sister-in-law’s warmth always calms her (and Ruby) down which allows David to jump in and change the subject to the coverage of some football player’s arrest on SportsCenter. Emma finally catches a breath and realizes just how lucky she is for the friend dynamic they have before settling in to debate if this James Spencer kid should still be eligible for the draft.

As she lays in bed that night, Ms’ words ring through her head. Despite the rollercoaster of emotions she’s been feeling, Killian is a huge client, one that was formerly represented by a namesake for the company. This re energizes her a bit and helps her fall asleep, actually excited for what's to come.

She wakes up Sunday morning and makes Henry some pancakes and declares it a lazy Sunday. Henry happily obliged, cuddling up on the couch with The Deathly Hallows while Emma threw on some shitty reality TV.

. . .

When her alarm rings Monday morning, Emma pulls her pillow over her head like some teenager from one of those Disney Channel movies.

It takes her a second to remember what day it is and why she’s up at this godforsaken hour.

Killian Jones. Right.

She audibly groans before rolling out of bed and getting ready for the day. Between her shower and breakfast she gets Henry up. School starts at 8 so he’s technically running a bit behind but he’ll make it on the bus in time… hopefully.

She’s pouring him a bowl of cereal when he comes out of his room zipping up his sweater and rubbing his eyes.

“Hey, kid. Coco Puffs or Fruit Loops?” He mumbles some semblance of what she thinks is Fruit Loops so she pours the bowl and slides it across the kitchen island. He smiles in thanks as she pours her own bowl and sits beside him.

“So today’s the big day?”

She didn’t tell Henry about her new client and when she spoke to the Nolan’s and Ruby, he was definitely supposed to be sleeping. “How could you possibly know that?”

“You’re not as quiet as you think you are and I’m not as tired as you think I am.” He yawns as if to punctuate his point.

“Uh huh, sure, kid.” He gives her a knowing glance and she realizes she’s not getting out of this. She runs her hands over her face and sighs, “Yes, today is the first meeting and I’m only slightly nervous to fu— screw this whole thing up.”

Henry chuckles at her attempted censorship (she never said she was a perfect parent), “You’ll be great, Mom, and Hook seems like a decent enough guy. I’m sure he won’t give you too much trouble.”

She stares at Henry a bit dumbfounded. It shocks her everyday how old he’s getting– nine going on nineteen for sure. “Are you hiding some Weasley’s Extendable Ears in your room or something? Are you a wizard? Should you be at Hogwarts?” Emma is very obviously trying to derail this conversation but it works, setting Henry off about how he’s finally on the sixth book and explaining the concept of a horcrux.

Oh, her sweet summer child.

God, maybe he is old enough for UFC.

When did that happen?

She ushers Henry to the bus, promising him they’ll watch the sixth movie tonight if he finishes the book today and is to school on time. It’s only September and he can’t be late three times in the first month of school. She kisses his forehead and he wishes her good luck.

Sometimes she wonders how such a screw up ended up with the perfect kid.

After cleaning up the kitchen, Emma finishes getting ready. She jumps on the subway and finds herself at the office with a half hour to spare. She’s never early so she chalks it up to nerves and uses the time to prep for this meeting.

Over the weekend she received multiple emails from Gold’s team surrounding a possible spot for Killian on the card for the pay-per-view Fight Night in November.

A pay-per-view card. She did enough research about Killian this weekend to know that would be his first.

Emma feels like she’s been thrown into the deep end before being taught how to swim.

Go big or go home.

She did a lot of research about Killian and learned practically nothing. She knows he came here from London almost ten years ago and that his team includes his head trainer Robin (husband of now former manager Regina Mills), and three other men named Will Scarlett, August Booth, and William Smee (he’s really selling it with that whole Hook theme). Other than that all she found was his record and highlights. He’s 6-0 which is insane for only being in the circuit for a year and a half– fighters are usually limited to three, maybe four fights a year.

4 of his 6 are knockouts.

He’s good… really good.

Her thoughts are interrupted by a light tapping on the edge of her cubicle. She glances up to find none other than the man himself. She can’t help but double take.

Real professional, Emma.

She's only ever seen him in the ring, at the gym, or dressed up for a business meeting. She’s not sure what she expected, but a leather jacket and pants that fit him like his own skin definitely weren’t it.

He looks good… really good.

Emma snaps herself out of it, “Hi, Mr. Jones, just give me a moment and we can head to the conference room.”

“It’s Killian, love, please.” She notices he winces at the seemingly habitual pet name. Emma ignores the ring of disappointment that runs through her gut at the realization that it may not be reserved for her. “A conference room’s a bit formal, don’t you think? Let’s get out of here, Swan.”

He grabs her hand before she can answer. “Mr.— Killian. Is this allowed?”

He chuckles. “We can plan the meetings at our leisure,” he says the last bit in an almost scary imitation of Regina, “but even still, Regina and I never met in office. A bit silly for two people to take up an entire conference room, yeah? Come on, lass, try something new. It’s called trust.”

Emma rolls her eyes but follows along anyway. The elevator ride should’ve been awkward but Killian kept the conversation flowing by asking her preferred drink. “Coffee, tea, or smoothies?”

Despite the risk of sounding like a child, Emma finds herself being honest with him, “Uhh, I actually prefer hot chocolate… with cinnamon.”

He smiles brightly at her, as though her drink order was the most brilliant discovery this century, “Perfect, Swan. I know just the place.”

She was so swept up in his ambush, she doesn’t realize that this isn’t the cocky, asshat Killian Jones she sees on tv or at the gym until he’s practically dragging her across the street to a small cafe. This Killian seems genuine and carries this almost childlike excitement.

Emma tells herself she has no interest in learning more about this Killian.

(Emma doesn’t have to tell herself that that is complete bullshit.)

. . .

He can’t stop himself from beaming when she offers up her drink order without hesitation. Killian feels like a bloody teenager around her. He promised himself he wouldn’t feel this way again, but something about Emma Swan has completely entranced him.

He finds himself fascinated with every part of her, including the small things, like the fact she takes cinnamon on her hot chocolate.

Once they get to the cafe across the street, Killian forces himself to dial it back. He can tell she’s guarded and as much as he’d like to be friends (more than friends) with the lass, he knows business has to come first.

It wouldn’t exactly be a good look for him if he ran “The Savior” out of the office on her second day.

Somehow he thinks he doesn’t have that power.

He’d like to. (Obviously not to run her out of the office, but he’d like his existence to mean that much to her.)

Bloody hell, he's being ridiculous.

They sit down across from each other at a small table by the window. He expects to start the conversation but before he can form a coherent thought she’s speaking.

“So, Killian. I’ve already received some correspondence from Gold’s team. I’m not sure how much time you usually take between fights and I know it’s already the end of September but…”

She’s rambling and he doesn’t think he’s ever seen anybody so adorable when they’re nervous.

Adorable is not a professional descriptor.

Killian Jones doesn’t want “professional” with Emma Swan.

Fuck.

“...Gold is hoping to get you on the main card for November 14th.”

Did she just say main card?

He chokes on his coffee.

“Main card, Swan? I’ve never been on the main card. Strictly early prelims…”

She eyes him suspiciously, “Usually that’s a good thing. Upward momentum and all that. His team is clearly impressed by your dominant record.”

“Is his team the only one impressed?” The flirt escapes him before he can stop it.

Bloody idiot.

She doesn’t even bat an eye, “The entire league seems to be impressed, Jones.” Her tone tells him she knows what just happened but she shut it down immediately.

He likes a challenge.

Emma Swan may be his favorite challenge yet.

Emma Swan is off limits, but Killian will be damned if he cares.

. . .

Emma is surprised when Killian pays for their drinks despite her insistence that she can charge it to Mills Management. She’s also surprised by how nice he is.

She keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop.

She’s still waiting.

He’s definitely flirtatious, every other sentence being easily twisted into some sort of innuendo, but she can tell it’s a front. The little things he does like tipping the barista an extra fifty cents or holding the door for her, let on to the man behind the persona.

Well, and the fact he practically chokes when she tells him they want him for the main card.

He seems genuinely shocked that anyone would be impressed by him. His mask comes out almost immediately, another innuendo laced into his question. She doesn’t let him go there, shutting it down as quickly as it started. For this to work, she needs him the real him. Not the cocky MMA fighter who he used to catch the eye of UFC execs. She compliments him, and it’s beyond genuine. That seems to calm his nerves a bit as they move into social media management and he shifts into a professionalism she’s not entirely prepared for.

She’s not sure she wants professional Killian Jones.

Whoa, Emma, pump the breaks.

She shakes it off as she watches him take notes on what she’s saying about the importance of a lead up on Twitter and how it can set the tone for the entire fight. His tongue runs along the inside of his lower lip as he concentrates and she can’t help the overwhelming wave of attraction that hits her.

Like lightning.

It’s not just the tongue, (but that’s not helping) it’s his dedication to this sport and how he actually gives a fuck about what she’s saying. Killian never displayed even a hint of the deeply rooted misogyny that runs rampant throughout the industry. He actually seems almost humbled by her presence. The words escape her mouth before she can’t stop them, “Why are you actually taking anything I say seriously?”

Very professional, Emma. Way to instill confidence in your client. Smooth.

His head snaps up at her abrupt question and he looks confused. “I know you don’t like being called a legend, Swan, but you were a damn good fighter. If I walk out of this partnership with half the following and success you had, I’d call that a win.”

She’s stunned by his sincerity.

Brick. Wall. (She thinks she hears Pink Floyd somewhere in the distance.)

“And I suppose you think you know all about me from our, what, three conversations now?” She knows it’s snippy, that’s the point.

He stops typing and puts his phone down. “Pardon me, love, but you’re a bit of an open book.”

Emma scoffs, “Anyone with the internet knows I prefer people don’t call me a legend.”

“Aye, but do they know it’s because you feel too young with a career too short to have made an impact? That you feel choosing yourself, a life, over MMA removes all glory from your name?”

Emma is entirely shaken by his apparent ability to read her like a fucking picture book. (Does that even make sense? Do you read picture books?) Emma never had a formal retirement ceremony; gloves in the middle of the ring and all that. She had asked Gold to be taken off the roster and for a quiet exit and that’s what he’d given her. The public doesn’t know the real reason she left MMA, her attempt at keeping Henry’s life as normal as possible, but somehow Killian–

Brick. Brick. Brick.

“Let’s talk about Instagram.” She sees the disappointment sweep across his face, realizing she can read him pretty well too. That’s terrifying.

Way more terrifying than social media plans.

They keep it strictly business for the rest of the meeting. She’s startled when her stomach rumbles and she checks the time.

12:00. They’ve been strategizing for three hours.

She’s not sure where the time went, and when Killian asks her if she wants to grab a bite to eat together, she’s startled again by her initial gut reaction to say yes.

Obviously, she says no and makes up some lie about needing to get back to the office. He knows it’s a lie, she can see it all over his face. He doesn’t push her though, and she’s grateful. They set their next meeting and Emma’s heart speeds up, seemingly unaware that this is a business meeting and not a date. She shakes his hand and promises to have a full plan ready for Thursday before practically sprinting out of the cafe.

In three conversations Killian Jones has gone from asshat to… who knows. One thing Emma does know is that Killian Jones is off limits to the highest of ethical degrees. But what scares her most, is that she’s not entirely sure she cares.

. . .

As soon as he asks her to lunch he knows he’s pushed too far.

Actually, he perhaps pushed too far by letting on just how easy it was for him to read her, but lunch, well that was just asking for a brick wall. He runs his hands across his face, completely taken with someone he has no right to. She’s witty, smart, and could probably kick his ass— scratch that, could definitely kick his ass— but she also has demons, he can see them swimming behind her eyes. Demons that seem scarily similar to his, maybe not on the surface but definitely in their damage. Emma is raw and unapologetic; a real human being who is, for all intents and purposes, unimpressed by the suave persona of Killian “Hook” Jones.

She’s bloody perfect.

He’s fucking fucked.

Eloquent.

Killian decides to grab a quick lunch from the cafe and head to the gym. He has a lot of pent up frustration and really feels the need to punch something. Thank god that’s his job. He scarfs down his sandwich, not realizing how hungry he was and jumps on the subway to the training center. He miraculously finds a seat and is able to scroll through his phone a bit. As he pokes around Twitter he finds an article announcing Emma “The Savior” Swan’s comeback to the UFC. He clicks on it, curiosity getting the better of him despite probably knowing the gist of the article.

He didn’t expect a timeline of her very impressive career:

2008: Swan joins the UFC with her Boston gym. Her debut match against Aurora Rose ended in a TKO. She’s back in action six months later fighting Ella Tremaine. She wins again, this time after three rounds by split decision.

2009: A dominant start to the year for The Savior with a first round submission against Tiana Dampier in January. She rounded out her year with another first round submission against El Oldenburg in May, and a third round knockout against Esmerelda Gringoire in October.

2010: Swan goes three rounds with Merida Baer and wins by unanimous decision. Swan wins again after three rounds by split decision against Megara Alcmene. The Savior’s final match is a KO against Mulan Fa rounding out her record to 8-0. Her next match, meant to be for the women’s title, was declined with no comment from The Savior.

2020: Swan joins Mills Management as a talent manager assigned to Killian “Hook” Jones.

Killian knew Swan was good, an early legend in her own right, but he had no idea she was this dominant. He also had no idea she left without so much as a wave goodbye. He figured he’d just missed the announcement seeing as it came well before his introduction into the sport. Against his typical moral code, he tries to google why she left but finds nothing. She knocks out Mulan Fa and then just stops being added to cards and fades away as new fighters take her place.

He knows there’s a reason for her secrecy and he’d be lying if he said curiosity was the only driving force behind his attempt to learn more. He finds himself wanting to know everything there is to know about Emma Swan; a deeper part of him aches for her to be the one who tells him.

He’s positive he can only dream of gaining that level of trust from her, but he has to try. Liam's words ring heavy in his ears, "A man unwilling to fight for what he wants, deserves what he gets."

He gets off at the stop closest to the training center and walks through the front doors, waving to Belle at the front desk before heading into the locker room. He’s fortunate to be on the UFC roster, allowing him to keep his training gear at the center and not have to worry about lugging it around with him. It also gives him the freedom to come here whenever he needs to let off some steam. He changes quickly and finds a treadmill to warm up. He jogs a mile and a half before picking up the pace. Killian’s in the midst of his runner’s high when someone steps into the machine next to him. He turns his head to offer them a small smile in hello, it’s not that big of a gym, exclusive to the UFC industry and a few friends of friends, so chances are he knows the person at least in passing.

Oh, Killian knows them alright, and he practically falls off the treadmill when he sees her green eyes blown wide.

#Captain Swan #cs ff #cs modern au #emma swan #killian jones #capthamm #worth fighting for

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kdtheghostwriter · 6 years ago

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SNK #107 Recap

Not a prediction. A spoiler.

I’m going to get the criticism portion of this post out of the way first. This is mostly gonna be writer’s mumbo-jumbo until we get to the cut, so if you want to know my thoughts on THAT panel, click the link now. Everyone else...shall we?

It’s easy to tell when and how much editors are involved in a certain update. Turns out, they like exposition even less than some of you all do. Makes sense; exposition is quite hard, but in so many ways I felt like this chapter was what 91 should have been.

It’s a reset. A needed one. I’m telling you now as a scribe myself - after running for our lives for a full volume, we need a moment to stop, save the game, check our inventory, etc. I’m glad Isayama at least gave us one more chapter before launching into the next (and likely final) story arc.

Reiner should have opened the chapter. I say that purely based on how these last few chapters have been structured. Every shot is framed like a movie still. The movie buff in me is incredibly pleased by this, but the movie reviewer in me isn’t far behind, either.

A big problem with Suicide Squad - besides, well, everything - is that there isn’t any natural flow. The editing is terrible. I won’t call 107 terrible in that regard, but it is very sloppy. Reiner should start this chapter, because if we’re only going to Marley long enough to see Reiner check the plumbing, we should get it out of the way, and then cut to the kids, because he asked for them.

-Reiner wakes up, Porco offers booze, Reiner asks for Gabi and Falco -Gabi murks the guard, escapes with Falco from prison -Cut to Big Boss Eren, who is also in prison

It’s just basic sequencing. I get that 106 ended with Eren, so you’d like to see 107 start with him, but cold opens are a thing, and they don’t take that long. I actually start most of my own stories this way.

Paradis Island has three options presented to them that give them the best chance of being not-dead. Given that one of those options includes the End of the World, I can’t say they chose the worst option necessarily but, damn did they come close. It’s a really bad idea.

I’ll stop here and keep all the serious talk under the cut. It gets personal and some of you might not agree with what’s said, but I feel I need to say it, so I’ll give you the option of stopping here. I like this chapter overall, even if I didn’t like everything that happened.

Stray Thoughts

-Eren is still totally not cool for going AWOL and killing everyone in Liberio but...just what did Paradis plan to do as Zeke’s term wound down? How were they going to get to him?

-Keep your eye on Gabi. She’s going to have a heap of development shortly and it will be very satisfying.

-Armin is sulking in a dungeon; Eren is fuming in a cell; Mikasa is crying on a grave.

-Kiyomi greeting Mikasa with comments on how “healthy” she looked gave me major Get Out vibes. I don’t think she’s evil, but I doubt she’s genuine.

-Sadly, not even Zeke and Levi’s hike into the Forest of Big Ass Trees was enough to distract me from how very screwed everything is; but, it was still very cute.

Part of what makes fiction difficult is the reaction. We project so many things onto whatever it is we’ve consumed; that’s what we’re supposed to do, after all. But the author is, usually, an autonomous human being that creates of their own volition which always leads to feelings of some sort. Hurt feelings, happy feelings, outraged feelings.

I say that to say this: it’s okay to stop.

I say this earnestly as a friend and with zero snark. The best you can hope for from this story now is a bittersweet ending. It will not be happy. Not in the classic storytelling sense. I don’t like seeing people in any fandom struggle through a piece of work that clearly makes them uncomfortable. I like, even less, people hate-read something or feel like, they’re near the end so they might as well. Not so!

Historia’s fate is very distressing. Her complacency with this awful idea just because the Survey Corps couldn’t be assed to come up with one goddamn plan is upsetting to put it lightly. No one is happy and the story presents it that way. Which is good because-

I think I should get this one off my chest. I feel like it’s warranted, as well, since SnK joins the X-Men as the other most famous racism allegory. The discourse I’ve seen floating in the tag, while not incorrect, is overlooking a key undertone in this series (which wouldn’t be a first for this site ayy).

In Ferguson, MO and Baltimore, MD: two young, unarmed African-Americans were betrayed by the people sworn to protect them. In one case, a man died in police custody after egregious abuse. In the other, a teenager was murdered by an officer in broad daylight. Both cities burned for days on end.

And then I see people talk about how we should change the way we dress and talk and how we should be civil and I laugh and laugh. Because literally the only thing we want to know is: How many more of our people have to DIE before we can be seen as human?

The answer in Real Life and Fake Life is: I DON’T KNOW.

Fuck.

Any followers of mine have no doubt seen my comparisons of this story to Metal Gear Solid. (I don’t just write about SnK, it’s just what everyone reads.) It feels weird because a) Hideo Kojima is a much better writer than Hajime Isayama and b) the stories themselves are very different. However...

How could I not?

You see, Jack was the world’s finest soldier, but his mentor defected to Russia and nearly plunged the world into nuclear war, leaving Jack as the only one who could stop her.

Only NOT. Joy was undercover and was compromised, but sacrificed herself and died in infamy to protect Uncle Sam from taking the heat for a horrific war crime (because our record is squeaky clean as we all know).

This breaks Jack and he spends the next four decades trying to fulfill The Boss’ Will, not realizing that his unending anger and unchecked PTSD has warped this ideal to suit his need for blood and violence.

Kojima-san has a relatively hopeful view of the human condition despite the suffering that occurs throughout his series. Metal Gear Solid ends with two lives converging on one another as they reach their apex. Jack finally gets revenge on his oldest enemy and dies alone on the grave of his mentor. His son, David, walks away from the battle and lives a quiet life with his otaku husband and their adopted daughter.

Kojima’s message is clear: you aren’t where you’re from. The theme comes up often. As Logan bleeds out in his daughter Laura’s arms, he tells her not to be the weapon they made her. Going by the recent updates, it seems that SnK is just a tad more cynical. And that’s fine.

I saw Ant-Man and the Wasp recently. Compared to the sheer density of Avengers 3, this was a light and airy jaunt. It had a happy ending. A very happy ending. And I did not like it. The movie was fine, but the resolution to the conflict (no spoilers) was so rushed and involved a deus ex moment that would make Steven Moffat blush. I don’t need a happy ending (I’ll still take one), I need a satisfying one. Now, what does that mean?

The best chance Shingeki no Kyojin has at a happy(ish) ending is for Reiner Braun (Solid Snake) to infiltrate Paradis (Outer Heaven), track down Eren Jaeger (Big Boss) and beat the shit out of him until he wakes from his living nightmare and says, “This is a terrible idea! Why didn’t anyone tell me?” wherein everyone responds, “We DID!!!”

I feel like only half of that is going to happen. Eren’s mind is fractured and the world continues with it’s awful machinations. And whenever I feel I should even half-heartedly dispute the idea that everyone sucks forever, I remember that the “Land of the Free” is currently holding toddlers in cages and...welp. I got nothing.

Then, I think about my younger siblings and my goddaughter and how I love them all so much - more than I love myself. I just want them to find a happy life somehow, someway in this crazy world and I know I can’t give up, because they’re watching.

That’s why I still write my stories the way I do. I may be emotionally busted, but I still believe in the message, and just need someone to take the baton. The message, in almost every story I write, is that you need your fucking friends, because finding another human being (or multiple!) that can stand your presence for more than thirty seconds at a time is a gift that must be treasured.

Chances are slim of this happening in the world of SnK, and that may not be the worst thing. A satisfying end for me is one that makes sense.The gymnastics required to get to an ending where one of the main characters doesn’t die a horrible, cursed death would be worse than the gymnastics that got us here to begin with. No two writers work the same.

The official mood for the latter part of this series is EMA facing the ocean in Ch 90. Eren asks if they’ll have to kill everyone on the other side of the water and his two mates each have an expression that says, “Shit, man, we thought maybe we’d build sand castles instead.”

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pixiemage · 2 years ago

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Hermitcraft writer chiming in! There's not much I see that actually bothers me, but there are a few things, so I'll throw in my food for thought

Xisuma is the admin, true, but a lot of the time he seems too serious. Too wise-and-in-control, too often seen as more important than the other Hermits somehow. While I don't doubt he's good at his job, he's also (A) someone who was kind of made admin against his will, (B) someone who sees the Hermits as friends and equals rather than players he's in charge of, and (C) an absolute doofus. He's a derp, and he should be written that way! PLUS there are others with admin status on the server, and I don't see that utilized often enough in fics. X is the kind of admin who sees whatever new chaos the Hermits are getting up to and either turns a blind eye until it's big enough of a problem that he has to deal with it, or he just lets out a long-suffering sigh because dammitall they broke the server again, this is gonna be so much paperwork, why did I even say yes to being the admin- (He's also likely to break the server himself at least once a season. You know it's true. There's no such thing as a sane Hermit.)

Grian, too, tends to be quite OOC in stuff. Like yes, writing Watcher angst and general Grian whump is a damn good time, but he's not weak. He's not pathetic and he wouldn't bend easily. Trauma is a thing that can absolute be written into a story if you do it well but Grian has too much attitude and self-confidence to cave completely. He's more the type to hold onto his sense of humor and sass out of sheer spite no matter what happens to him. There's a balance.

And then there's the whole dynamic of Mumbo being the so-called Straight Man in the comedic duo that is Grian and Mumbo. They're both fools, in truth, they just take turns holding onto the brain cell and they pass the role of "the responsible one" back and forth like a hot potato. (And sometimes they drop it, which is how we end up with things like both of them forgoing sleep for the sake of Moon Big.) Mumbo can definitely get exasperated by Grian's pranks and shenanigans, but that goes both ways. Grian gets the same level of chaos from Mumbo in turn, and folks sometimes forget that! Mumbo's called a spoon for a reason lol. (Also the HCBBS was Mumbo's idea, which was chaos at its finest.)

And also Doc is NOT scary, holy shit lmao. Like - okay, yes, he's intimating on purpose, but he's also a total doofus half the time. It's all a bit. This is something I see more in older fics than new ones, really, because I think the RenDoc Octagon shenanigans dispelled some of the "evil vibes" he had going on in some of the prior seasons (the Goatfather being 'bad guy' in season 7, and many folks painting him as a villain when writing the Civil War from Grian's POV in season 6). But there are still some stories I see where Doc is put in the role of the antagonist when he's definitely not that.

(And I told myself I wouldn't make this too long but, one more, Hermit-adjacent because Traffic Life: )

Jimmy Solidarity. Oh my god. Okay so.

I love writing him as a sweet and gentle and caring ray of sunshine who's also sometimes a slightly pathetic wet cat as much as the next writer. BUT. Folks often forget that Jimmy's also cocky and full of himself, almost too prideful, and half the time the trouble he gets into happens entirely because he's stubborn and won't back down. He picks fights impulsively and then goes "why would you do that?!" when the person he's fighting actually fights back. He's laughing the whole time and having the time of his life, but truly, half of his problems are caused by himself. (I mean, my god, the Ranch burned down because he stole a horse in plain view of its owner, and he was exiled by the Southlanders because he chose to try and steal a life, and don't even get me started on Empires.) The man's friendly and kind, of course he is, and he smiles more than anyone else on the Life server, but he's also endearingly conceited and impulsive - (like, you can't help but grin when he's doing it, even if on someone else it would seem like they're being an asshole) - and I want to see it more in fics.

actually i’m now curious as fuck, mcyt fic writers (any part of the fandom), tell me a popular mischaracterization that bugs you and then how you write them instead

example mine is how people write travis from smplive as innocent or dumb or naive because he acts silly and doesn’t swear. i write him instead as being really smart but lacking in impulse control and street smarts instead, and while he doesn’t swear he doesn’t shy away from raunchy jokes and drug references

another one is people writing c!connor as just a comedic relief side character with no personality beyond being funny. i write him more as trying to make others laugh because he feels very insecure in his place in the world and wanting to find people he can actually open up to

#Pixiemage Writes #Hermitcraft #Trafficblr #I could say more but that's what I've got

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dantediscoversfic · 7 years ago

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Chapter 27: Aurora

Paying a bus fare shouldn’t be the most challenging thing you have to complete in a day. But throw a broken arm into the mix and suddenly the whole world is an obstacle course called Formerly Trivial Tasks That Are Now As Daunting As Olympic Qualifiers.

I got on the bus, fished out a handful of coins from my pocket and tried to feed each coin one by one into the fare taker using just my thumb and pointer finger. Big mistake, since I’m apparently not as dexterous with my palm as fifteen years on the planet had led me to believe. The rest of the coins practically jumped out of my fist and scattered all over the bus floor, spinning noisily. I scrambled to pick them up, cursing under my breath, feeling my face flush from all the eyes I’m sure were boring into me. The passengers waiting to board barreled ahead of me and a man reached down to help me pick up the coins.

“It’s all right, I’ll get these,” the man said.

“Thanks,” I said. “Sorry.”

“It’s all right, it’s all right, just take a seat. I got this, sonny.”

“Ok, thanks.”

I handed him the coins I’d picked off the ground. The bus driver had already grown impatient and started driving away as the man paid the fare for me.

Normally I would have beelined it to the very back of the bus, where Ari and I normally sat, but I felt like I needed to stick around and thank the stranger again.

He sat down next to me and handed me back my spare change. “Thanks for your help,” I said.

“No problem, kid.” He looked me up and down. “What the hell happened to you, anyway?”

The man’s voice was a gritty foghorn. Like he’d been smoking cigarettes rolled with sandpaper since he was eleven. I was taken aback a little but I didn’t detect anything malicious behind his question, mostly curiosity.

“Traffic accident. I almost got hit by a car.”

“Well at least you’re alive to tell the tale. Where was the accident?”

“Over by Memorial Pool.”

“You like to swim?”

“Yeah.”

“Swimming’s good exercise. Just make sure you don’t accidentally drink any of that pool water though. You don’t know what sorts of bad stuff the government’s been pumping in there on top of all the germs and chlorine and kiddie piss. You could end up with tapeworm that eats your brain. Or worse.”

At this point I probably should have smiled and nodded and left it at that. Maybe pulled out a book so he would get the hint that I wasn’t in a chatty mood. But I took a look into the man’s face. He was probably in his forties but looked much older. His skin was weatherworn, cracked and brown like a creek bed during a drought. His eyes were startlingly blue beneath his bushy caterpillar eyebrows. His gray hair was thin, long and straggly and he had crumbs in his beard. He was missing a few teeth and his breath was wet and rank. Part of me wanted to recoil away from him. But he’d been kind to help me. I didn’t want to turn my back on him just because he gave off a definite oddball vibe and a not-so-great smell.

“Really?” I asked.

“Oh yeah. You think waterborne diseases just happen naturally? Part of God’s plan? No sir. ‘Don’t drink the water.’ Ever. Ya feel me?”

“I thought that mostly applied to travel in foreign countries? Since your body hasn’t acclimated to the native microbes in the water?”

“Native microbes! Native to what? Native to this spinning piece of dirt we call planet earth? Because I’ve got news for you there, too. They’ve been pumping stuff into the water for hundreds of years. And there ain’t no such thing as native. Ever hear of Aurora, Texas?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Well, you’ve heard of Roswell, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Aurora happened way before that but you never hear about it. I wonder why. Year is 1897. An April morning just like any other. Dawn breaks and a one Mr. Judge Proctor wakes up on account of a horrible crashing noise. Nearly has a heart attack. Thinks the world’s ending or war has broken out. Jumps out of bed, grabs his gun and tells his family to stay inside and lock all the doors. Looks across his field and sees his windmill’s on fire. Alerts the fire brigade, grabs buckets of water to put out the blaze and runs over to the windmill. There he gets the shock of his life. What do you think he sees?”

He looked at me with his wide excited eyes, waiting for me to take a guess. I could tell where his story was going, but I was totally drawn into his tale and wanted to hear him finish it.

“Um…had something crashed into his windmill?”

He slapped his knee so hard it made me jump. “You’re a smart one! What does he see but the crash remains of an extraterrestrial airship. But he doesn’t know that yet. All he sees is wood debris and heaps of metal and smoke. The windmill’s water tank is busted and spewing water everywhere, which is at least lucky since it helps put off the fire from spreading. Proctor and his men are running around, trying to keep the fire from taking out his entire field and what do you suppose he finds hidden under a piece of blasted metal?”

“Um…the pilot?”

“Damn right the pilot! Poor fellow was dead of course. Charred and burned like a piece of barbeque. But even all burnt up the townsfolk knew he wasn’t from this world. They found papers on him, all written in mumbo jumbo like you find in Egpyt and the Mayan temples. Except this wasn’t like any of those hieroglyphics anyone had ever seen before. Scientists and G-men got on the scene right quick. The ship’s metal was like nothing found on this planet either. What do you think happened next?”

“Um…did they take the pilot and the ship to study it?”

“You’d think. You’d think that when one of our brothers makes contact the scientists and whatnot would want to find out as much they can about what makes them such evolved superior beings. But humans are greedy bastards. And cowards. So instead of sending it in to be studied, they tried to hush the damn thing up. They buried the pilot and stuffed the remains of his ship down a sealed well. No follow-up, no nothing. Thing is, before the crash strange things kept happening in Aurora. Boll weevil infestations wiped out cotton crops. Fever sickness spread so the whole town was under quarantine. Fires took out half the town. No one realizing that what they tried to cover up could have helped the town if they’d only listened and tried to understand the pilot’s mission. Instead the water made everyone sicker.”

“But why would they have covered it up?”

“The government needs to keep us stupid and sick and compliant. Pigs in a pen. Ignorant to The Truth. We’re all pawns in their big game. Let me tell you something, kid. Everything you see, this bus, the bus driver, the road, that 7-Eleven. It’s all an illusion. You see it because that’s what they want you to see. But once you’ve got your eyes open. Once you’ve seen and felt and talked to our brothers you’ll understand that they’re just trying to help us. They’re trying to spring us from this prison. The government tries to keep our brothers a secret so ‘the public doesn’t panic’. What a crock of horsehit. It really comes down to keeping us at war and keeping us down while they get rich on oil money and military money and Big Pharma money. Our brothers have the technology and abilities to end global hunger and sickness and poverty. But that would hand over the government’s power to the people. And the filthy warmongers want to keep us down. Pigs in a pen. Once you’ve seen that, you can’t unsee it.”

I really didn’t know what else to say to that besides, “Ah.” I wondered what Ari would have thought of this man if he were sitting here next to me. He’d probably think he was a total whackjob and would have been skeptical of everything that came out of his mouth. But I couldn’t help but sort of liking the man, with his wide overly bright eyes and emphatic gestures.

“’There are more things between heaven and hell than any of us have witnessed.’ Except some of us have witnessed it.”

“You mean you’ve seen aliens?”

“I got my first visit when I was probably your age. Maybe a little younger. I was fourteen.”

“I’m fifteen.”

“Yeah, just about your age then.”

“What happened?”

“I was living in foster care at the time. Hated it. The family I’d been placed with was a bunch mean sadistic motherfuckers, all of them. Pardon my French. Wanted to kill myself. Tried to. But I didn’t because that’s when the brothers found me. Put their suckers on me and dipped my head in a silver liquid like I was being baptized. After that, they could talk to me in their language through my brain and I understood it. Even though to your average person it would sound like whale noises. High pitched squeals and clicks. But they could talk to me after that and I didn’t want to die anymore. I ran away from the family I was with and I’ve been on my own ever since. But not alone. The brothers let me know their plans sometimes. I’m lucky they trust me.”

“Wow.”

“They have plans. They’re trying to help. Here in El Paso, the ones who escaped from Roswell have been working on taking over the transportation system. But our metal is toxic to them. Their skin is so delicate. The fumes, too.”

“And you’re helping them?”

“When I can, yeah. Not so much for the transportation thing, that’s not really my area, but I’m their man on the inside for Big Pharma intel. I get terrible headaches from the suckers after they’ve mined me for knowledge. But that’s okay because afterwards I feel so much freer, more alive than ever. It’s an honor to help them. That’s why I’m headed to the clinic now. They need me.”

“I’m going to the hospital to see a friend of mine. He was also in the accident except his legs are broken.”

“I broke both my legs once. Motorcycle accident. Hit and run. I was left for dead on the side of the road. I would have died right there in a ditch if the brothers hadn’t found me and helped heal me up.”

“Wow. You’ve um…had quite an interesting life.”

“Interesting ain’t the half of it. Here’s my stop. Good luck, kid. Keep your eyes open.”

“Sure, yeah. I will.”

The man got off and hobbled off the bus. Something was definitely wrong with his legs, they were bent inwards toward each other at an off angle. I couldn’t help but imagine him on the side of the road after his motorcycle accident, getting healed by an otherworldly blue light, even though I knew it was impossible.

I kept thinking about the strange man until the bus arrived at my stop. I wanted to write down the story he’d told me so I could remember it and maybe make a painting out of it, but I wasn’t good enough with my left hand to write more than a few chicken scratch lines. Aurora. Contaminated Water. Pig pens. The truth. The list looked a little crazy. I tore the page out of my sketch book and stuffed it in my pocket.

I went up to Ari’s room at the hospital. My stomach cramped a little bit when I saw him in his bed, alone, staring out the window that overlooked a parking lot. He looked a little better than when I’d seen him the day he woke up, but not by much. I couldn’t help but imagine him motionless in the middle of the road.

“Don’t feel sorry for me,” he said. “The doctor said I was going to heal very nicely.”

“Very nicely?”

“That’s exactly what he said. So give me eight to ten or twelve weeks, and I’m going to be myself again. Not that being myself is such a great thing.”

That made me laugh. At least the car hadn’t knocked Ari’s self-deprecating humor out of him. But then I felt kind of bad for laughing. Hospitals really didn’t seem like the type of place for belly laughs. “Are you going to initiate a no-laughing rule?”

“Laughing is always good. Laughing works.”

“Good,” I said, relieved. If Ari and I couldn’t laugh together after what happened my heart would have well and truly broken.

I pulled up a chair next to his bed and took the books I’d brought out of my backpack. “I brought you reading material. The Grapes of Wrath and War and Peace.”

“Great,” he said. He didn’t sound overly enthused about the new summer reading syllabus I’d provided him.

“I could have brought you more flowers.” Every spare surface of the room was covered in get-well flowers. All the floral bouquets that would have been nice-smelling on their own combined to make a not-so-appealing mishmash of scents. But at least it covered up the underlying chalky hospital smell.

“I hate flowers.”

“Somehow I guessed that.”

He flipped through War and Peace in a desultory way. “They’re fucking long.”

“That’s the point.”

“Guess I have time.”

“Exactly.”

“So you’ve read them?”

“’Course I have.”

“’Course you have.”

I put the books on the little table next to his bed, next to a stack of get-well cards. My mom and dad had given him one and asked me if I’d wanted to sign it. I’d said no. There was no way I could have distilled all my feelings of regret and guilt and gratitude to him and written them out next to a few trite lines thought up by some random person who worked for Hallmark. But now I felt bad that I hadn’t gotten him a card. Everyone likes cards when they’re sick. Even Ari.

I took out my sketch pad. Another bout of nervous butterflies in my stomach, but I tried not to let it show.

“You’re going to sketch me in casts?”

Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t have. Not unless he wanted a sketch of himself that looked like the handiwork of a preschooler.

“Nope. I just thought that maybe you’d want to look at some of my sketches.”

“Okay,” he said. He sounded about as excited at looking at my drawings as undergoing another round of surgery. I tried not to let that hurt my feelings.

“Don’t get too excited.”

“It’s not that. The pain comes and goes.”

“Does it hurt right now?”

“Yes.”

“Are you taking anything?”

“I’m trying not to. I hate the way whatever the hell they give me makes me feel.”

He pushed the button to move his bed more into a sitting position. I handed over the sketch pad and he was about to open it up when I stopped him, suddenly too embarrassed to let him look at them with me right there next to him.

“You can look at it after I leave.”

He looked at me, not sure what to say.

“You have rules. I have rules too.”

He laughed at that and only winced a little bit.

“Tell me about the people on the bus,” he said.

That I was happy to do. I told him about the strange man and the aliens he’d encountered. I wanted to tell the story right. Not like I was making fun of the man or thought he was totally crazy, which I’m pretty certain he was to some extent. But I wanted Ari to understand the spell the man’s words had cast on me. How this man’s ranting didn’t seem so scary or weird because he believed in a power that was good, a power that wanted to help us humans even if we didn’t deserve it. But I must not have been doing a very good job of telling the story because Ari’s eyes were unfocused and drifting the whole time. He’d have to have been there, I guess.

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