It’s still early days, no yellows yet, and any alliances made are still fresh and tender. Jimmy explores the forest, pick in hand, seeking a safe-ish looking cave entrance. A heated conversation reaches his ears. Curious, he advances past a stand of birch trees and soon recognizes first the voices, then the figures of Grian and Tango.
It’s not a real argument, just bickering. The kind of back-and-forth, push-and-pull fighting that’s actually play for people like Grian and Tango (and Jimmy too, if he’s honest). The subject of the debate doesn’t matter half as much as feeling out the rhythm between them.
Jimmy’s just close enough to catch a few words—it sounds like they’re arguing over cows. Normal stuff for the early days of a new game. He steps forward, ready to call out and join them, and then his vision shifts.
He is looking at Grian and Tango. He is seeing…giants. Galaxies. Monstrosities.
Two beings, both impossibly tall and vast. One is all eyes and violet and wings and the void—the other is teeth and frost and shadows and soulfire. Their forms grapple each other, pushing and pulling with limbs of stone and tendrils of sculk. They are arguing, Jimmy realizes. Amidst the thunder and the roars and the pounding heartbeat, he hears a series of names. His friends’ names. His own.
The moment collapses. Jimmy’s underneath a birch tree, catching his breath. Before him are Grian and Tango.
Bickering over cows.
How many to keep, how many to slaughter, and which of them should get the bigger share of the steak.
is there any actual confirmation that the secret keeper assigns tasks randomly? because i’m not convinced
so—at the very least, the secret keeper knows who a task is being assigned to. we know this because tasks can involve specific other players. skizz needing to stay near gem, tango needing to get scar to talk about star wars, mumbo needing to become etho’s best friend. if the secret keeper didn’t know who they were giving a task to, someone could get a task involving themselves
but beyond that, the tasks still feel like they’re personalized, to me
both grian and mumbo getting pun making tasks, when they’re both essentially inseperable
grian needing to move front doors, when stealing them was his whole thing in hermitcraft season 7
martyn, the least confident in his building abilities on the server, getting a building task, and then needing to get it burnt down next session
both of scar’s session one tasks being nickname related
mumbo needing to become best friends with etho when mumbo still fanboys over him
skizz needing to stay near specifically gem
bdubs, a builder, getting a task to build something incredibly uncomfortable
joel being the one to get the task to plug the life merch
…like. they just feel personalized. and i don’t think it’s ever been confirmed that they’re randomly assigned. i’m not convinced they are
“I don’t even have to finish my task. You hold no bearing over me, alright, you creep? […] I only cashed in last time out of desperation” Martyn says and immediately gets got by a piglin brute in the same session. Move over Scott Smajor the watchers have a new favourite little boy to torment and hate on <3
I love the fact that everyone being so accepting of everyone else’s task related quirks is coming back to bite them.
Lizzie couldn’t get a single person to accuse her! Not a single one! And Of Course they didn’t, because they’re trying to help. Just below the surface they want to help Lizzie, or at least not hurt her, so of course they wouldn’t call her out and risk causing her problems.
And Jimmy! In his own words “people were so accommodating” to the point no one would kick him out! Everyone respected weird behavior as ‘being a task’ so no one tried to kick him out. They were literally too nice.
And can I just say how genius those tasks Are? The game is literally punishing people for… being too nice, for working together.
These are tasks that are perfectly reminding players “no, you’re enemies, you’re not supposed to be nice” by twisting that kindness against the person they thought they were helping.
When Grian said ‘okay, no more helping people’ the world decided to Mean It.
