Chapter Text
In the second session you log onto the server a bit earlier than the previous time. There are a few things you wish to do before Jimmy logs on as well so you can surprise him. You appear in the little house you made in the first session and exit it to tend to the animals as well as to make the wheat farm a little bit bigger.
Once that is done you take some food and leave the Ranch to mine in the closest cave in hopes of finding enough iron to make full iron armour and iron tools too. You hope for some diamonds as well, but do not wish to push your luck.
You stay in the caves for about 30 minutes and quickly the time for the session to officially begin approaches. You watch as your friends slowly start logging on as well to start their recording. You do not miss the name SolidarityGaming in the chat.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Hi, Jimmy! I am out mining. Will be back in a few minutes.
He replies almost immediately.
SolidarityGaming whispers to you: howdy, soulmate! no problem. :)
SolidarityGaming whispers to you: just don’t die, please
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Will do. :)
SolidarityGaming whispers to you: i'll work on the ranch a bit in the meantime
You send him a smiley face in return before you venture a little bit deeper into the cave. You were pretty lucky with the iron so far, having mined more than enough for everything you need. However, your luck with the diamonds was not as spectacular. You only found two lonely diamonds so far, but it is still better than nothing.
You can make a diamond sword out of them for Jimmy or maybe save for a diamond pickaxe in the future. You end your mining session after that, too excited to share what you found with your soulmate.
The walk back is quick even if you struggle to find the cave exit at first. Turning on your microphone so you can hear others as well as communicate using your sound board, you continue your trek back home. You start running a bit faster once you notice the roof of your home in the distance.
However, you notice something new. A cobblestone wall has risen around the land Jimmy and you claimed last session. And right by the wall is Jimmy. You press the ‘Hello.’ button to notice Jimmy of your arrival. His character looks up and walks around the unfinished wall to greet you.
“Hi, (Y/Y/N)! How are you doing today?”
You hum, thinking about a response.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I am doing okay today. How about you, Jimmy?
“Oh, I am doing fantastic! I love the Minecraft skin you put together for me!” Jimmy takes off the little bit of armour he has and spins around, showing off the rancher themed Minecraft skin you made for him.
It contains brown high leather boots, blue trousers, a white long-sleeved shirt with a vest over it. A nice brown cowboy hat sits atop Jimmy’s blond locks and the entire look is completed by a belt with a gun around his waist. It looks great on your friend. And you are even more happy that he likes it.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I am happy you like it, Jimmy. :)
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I really wanted to embrace your ranch idea.
“And embrace it, you did! It looks great! We’re matching now!” You nod your head in game. “Can I see yours as well?” You press the ‘Yes.’ button before you take your armour off for just a moment. Jimmy admires the green skirt with something similar to flower patterns accompanied by the white shirt like his and a slightly lighter brown cowboy hat on your head. Your brown boots peek slightly under the colourful skirt. To finish the look off, you decided to give your character a belt with a small gun as well.
You purposefully did not show your Minecraft skin since you began recording to keep the fact that you made the skins for yourself and your soulmate a secret from the viewers. You wanted to reveal it together with Jimmy.
But having given enough time and attention to the designs, you put on your armour again and turn your attention to the cobblestone wall.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Have you been working on better defence for the ranch?
“Yes, I thought having walls could protect us not only from the mobs but the other players as well…” He trials off a bit at the end. “Do you like it?” He sounds hopeful and who are you to deny your soulmate a compliment.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I love the idea! Do you need any help with it? I have some spare cobblestone from my mining session.
“No, thanks. I’m almost finished anyways.” He stops himself for a moment. “But do you like it? Like appearance wise?”
You whisper toSolidarityGaming: Of course, why wouldn’t I? :)
“Well, as I said before.. I am not exactly a builder so…” Jimmy explains.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I will like anything you make, Jimmy. Don’t cut yourself short.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: However, I am happy to give you any pointers regarding building in the future. All you have to do is ask. :)
“Thanks. That means a lot. Especially, coming from you. After all, you are an amazing builder!” Jimmy compliments before he returns back to work, finishing the last part of the wall and a nice front gate. You stand there frozen for a moment. You are not really used to being complimented. You feel your face warm at your friend’s kind words and you have the need to hide for a moment to collect yourself.
You quickly run into the house and put the iron into the furnace and wait for it to turn from the raw chicken-like appearance to turn to their usual silver-coloured pieces. You make a pair of barrels and hide them underneath your chest. It blends nicely with the floor, only the sharpest eyes will notice it. You put in the diamonds you found as well as other valuable items you own before you move to breed the chickens hidden in the basement.
By the time you return the iron is ready to be used and you quickly get to work. You make Jimmy any parts of armour or tools he might be missing, then you do the same for yourself.
You put the armour on right after. It feels nice to be protected better. You run outside and throw the items at your soulmate.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: For you, soulmate. :)
“Aww, thanks so much, (Y/Y/N)!” Jimmy immediately puts it on and returns to work. You join him and help him fill any empty spots in the wall while he finishes the gate.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: The gate is looking very nice Jimmy. :)
“Thanks! I tried to summon my inner builder for it.” You snicker at his response. “Oh, also, I managed to mention some things earlier. I got us some more food so we don’t have to be hungry anymore. And I cut down some trees aw well.”
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Great! Show me after we finish the wall?
“Of course!” The conversation trails into silence, but you do not mind. But when it lasts longer than a few minutes you begin to feel confused. Jimmy loves to talk, and he loves telling his things even more.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Something on your mind, Jimmy?
“Oh-uh, it’s nothing really.” He stops himself to think of an eloquent reply. “It’s just- have you been hearing all the horns going off?”
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Yes, I have. Are the horns bothering you, Jimmy?
“No, no- quite the opposite! I would like to get one, but when I asked Grian last week, he already didn’t have any. And I don’t know how to get any of my own…” He clears his throat.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: We can get horns, Jimmy. :)
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: It would be very fun to be able to communicate with you even when very far away.
“Really? Great!” He puts down a few more blocks. “It’s finished!”
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Do you want to go find goats first thing in the morning since we are finished with the wall?
“Oh, that sounds wonderful!” Jimmy says excitedly. The two of you remain by the ranch tending to the animals and plants since it is too dangerous to go in the middle of the night.
“Hello, hello, hello?” A new voice appears in the distance and you exit the house to take a look at who it is. Jimmy curiously follows behind you.
“Whatcha doing at the ranch, my boy?” Jimmy starts in a funny voice and the new voice replies. “Ey, Jimmy, what’s happening, baby?” You recognise Ren’s Minecraft skin and approach right behind Jimmy, pressing the ‘Hello.’ button.
“(Y/Y/N)! What’s happenin’? I’ve come here for a tour.” Jimmy invites Ren inside the wall and you watch from the distance, planting some more wheat seeds.
“Welcome, welcome, this is the Ranch! You walk through these doors and…” Jimmy excitedly introduces. “You don’t go home.” Well that took a turn. You turn back to the pair, watching Ren freeze in place.
“You’re at the ranch now, son.” Jimmy continues and you decide to join in on the shenanigans.
<(Y/Y/N)> There is no escaping the Ranch, Ren.
You send the message to the chat and Jimmy and Ren burst out laughing while the chat floods with confused responses.
<Smajor1995> what is going on over there?
<ImpulseSV> uuuh…
<Grian> i never would have expected this from you
<Bigbst4tz2> you guys better not be doing anything shady with my soulmate
You send a reassuring message that it was just a small joke and Ren backs you up with a message to the chat of his own..
Ren starts wandering around the place. “It’s beautiful, man, You got some food growing here.” He turns his attention to the cow and you suddenly feel like the tour was not the only reason he came to the Ranch. “I absolutely adore the house, my dudes.”
You whisper to Renthedog: Thank you. :)
“Thanks, that was all (Y/Y/N).” Jimmy quickly adds in.
<(Y/Y/N)> We worked on the Ranch together. It is a teamwork effort.
“Very nice, very nice.” Ren turns his attention to the two of you. “Although, I couldn't help but notice you have cows.” There it is.
You whisper to Renthedog: Would you like to make a trade?
“A trade, I like that. What would you guys like in return?” Ren asks, eager to make a deal.
“There is something actually, we would like to trade. Do you- you still got goats at the side of the Box?” Ren nods his head with a ‘yep’. Jimmy hums thoughtfully, turning to you and you nod your head. You are on board with your soulmate.
“So how about we trade you-... Two cows for two goats!” Jimmy offers and you agree that it is a fair trade. You do not think anybody would decline such a nice offer. Especially in the second session.
“You got yourselves a deal, my dudes!” Ren pulls out a boat out of his inventory. “Well, I have conveniently, for absolutely no reason whatsoever, of course- I have a boat with me.”
You throw him a look in-game and Ren nervously stutters. “There is a lot of water around here. Obviously, I didn’t plan on stealing any cow or anything.”
“Right, right.” Jimmy hums thoughtfully. “So, do we have a deal?”
“Of course, of course!” You approach Ren and throw him a few pieces of wheat you have in your inventory.
You whisper to Renthedog: Use the wheat. It will be easier.
“Oh, thanks, my dude!” You open the gate and let a pair of cows slip through. Unfortunately, a third cow makes it out of the pen as well before you close it. You don’t really know what to do with it so Jimmy jumps in. “As a show of good faith, you can have three cows, Ren.”
“Great, thanks once again, my dudes!” He slowly starts leading the cows back to the box and the two of you follow him before Ren offers you that you can just go get the pair of goats you wanted. You thank him as well and make your way over to the Box.
You cannot help but admire it from a distance. It is slowly turning into a face, a disturbing face, but there is just something so endearing about the build that you do not let the disturbing part bother you. “The Box really is something.” Jimmy says and you agree.
“But I like our Ranch much more.” Jimmy says and you agree for a second time.
—
Getting the goats back is not difficult, just time consuming. But that’s how it goes with most animals in Minecraft. You part ways with Jimmy by the jungle. The two of you thought since it is day and it is safe, that one of you would go ahead, make a pen for the goats and return back to the other if they do not arrive by the time the pen is finished
You arrive at the Ranch in record time while Jimmy stays behind with the goats. You grab some of the wood Jimmy cut down at the beginning of the session and turn it into a generous amount of fences and fence gates.
You choose a nice spot by the cows and build an adequate pen. You can always improve it and redesign it later. Jimmy arrives moments later with the goats. “Man, what a day…” He sounds a bit upset.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Did something happen on your way here?
“It’s nothing. I ran into Scott and Grian and they were trying to trick me, lying about how to get the horns. You know how it is.” Jimmy explains. You open the gates for him and he leads the goats inside, breeding them once they are safely closed inside the fence. “Do you know how to get the horns? Because I have no idea.”
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I haven’t tried getting a horn yet, so I am not sure.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: So maybe we can look it up?
“Good thinking, I can go work on the walls a bit more in the meantime.” Jimmy offers. “I feel like people are going to attempt to steal our animals.” You agree, knowing your friends. They are all just little gremlins.
You get to work quickly, reading through a few websites to see the best and most effective way to acquire a horn from the goats. Once you have your answer you tab back into the game and exit the safety of your home to start experimenting with the goats only to find out that they are no longer in their pen. In fact, they are all outside and roaming.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Jimmy, we have a problem. Goats on the run!
“What? Where? How did they get out?” You hear his voice become louder as he approaches. And just as he asks one of the goats jumps unbelievably high into the air and all you can do is stand with wide eyes. “What the-!”
“I’m sorry, for there’d be no animals at this ranch, Jimmy, you lied to me.” A new face approaches. You recognize Martyn’s MC skin. “Sorry, (Y/Y/N), I tried to keep him out.”
You whisper to InTheLittleWoods: Oh, hello, Martyn. How are you doing today?
You start a small conversation with Martyn while Jimmy lures the goats back into the pen with some wheat.
“Hey, (Y/Y/N). Well, at least somebody here is nice enough to ask. I am doing fine, thank you. How about yourself?” You cannot help but feel like this is directed at Jimmy. Or maybe Scott and Cleo? You are afraid to ask.
You whisper to InTheLittleWoods: I am doing okay. Just working on the Ranch with Jimmy. Do you like it?
“It’s coming together surprisingly nicely, seeing as Jimmy is an atrocious builder.” Martyn teases the blond man. “Hey! Not cool, mate!”
You whisper to InTheLittleWoods: Jimmy has been a great help. He helped me make the Ranch a home, not to mention he found this nice spot for us.
Martyn gives a thoughtful home, as if considering your words. “Well it was nice talking to ya lot, but I have a house to build. See ya around!” He leaves after that but not without teasing Jimmy some more about his cobblestone wall.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I like your wall, Jimmy. It will protect us nicely. <3
“Thanks, I know Martyn is just teasing, but it’s nice to have somebody like my builds.” Jimmy confesses. “However, I did want to ask you if there is something I can do to make it better, give it more life, if you get what I mean.” You nod your head in-game.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Of course! :)
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: But I think we should make sure that the goats do not run away again first.
You grab a lot of blocks from the chest and make a roof so the goats do not escape again by jumping. It looks unattractive, but you will make it better looking later, now you just want to get your soulmate a nice goat horn.
You google something quickly and click on the first website you find. The instructions are a little messy, but you think you understand what kind of method you need to use,
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I think we have to provoke the goats into charging at us.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Once they do we need to move out of the way without getting hit by them.
“Oh that sounds easy enough!” Jimmy says after he reads you messages.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: They need to hit a surface when they are charging as well so the horn drops.
“So we need to replace the fence then?” You nod your character’s head. “Alright, I’ll go grab some blocks!” Jimmy runs off into the house while you wait, looking after the goats.
Jimmy throws you some cobblestone blocks and both of you start replacing the wooden fence around the goats. With the two of you it is finished in record time and all is left to do now is getting the horns themselves.
You wait a few minutes, but nothing really happens. “That’s weird. Why aren’t they doing anything? Are we supposed to like hit them to provoke them into charg-Whoa!” Just as Jimmy asks his question a goat rams into him before he even has the chance to react. “Oh my-that scared me!” He says a little bit out of breath and you snicker.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: You are very funny, Jimmy. xD
“Yeah, yeah, keep laughing.” He sounds a bit bashful. And then the goats bleat and you start laughing harder. “Even the goats are laughing at me now!” Jimmy says it with a hint of amusement. You can imagine him throwing his hands in the air.
At that moment, another goat decides to ram into him and you feel like you cannot breathe because of how much you are laughing. Jimmy snickers a little bit too even though he dramatically continues cursing the goats for causing him so much trouble and pain. And you think he would be a great addition to the theatre club you used to visit back in middle school.
“What did I just walk into, Jim?” Joel approaches you two and you try to quiet down the laughter while Jimmy greets your fellow player. “Just getting some horns.” Jimmy explains and Joel thoughtfully turns his head to the cobblestone pen before he speaks again.
“It’s not gonna work like that. You need wood.” You frown a little bit, you read the web page and it did not say anything about using wooden blocks to get the horn. “Now that’s straight up just a lie, Joel.”
“Hmm, suit yourselves.” That’s all Joel says before he is on his merry way again.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: That was weird.
Jimmy snorts at the sudden message. “That’s Joel for you.” You give it a few more tries with the cobblestone, but when that does not work Jimmy, in a desperate attempt to finally have a horn, changes the cobblestone to birch logs, but that does not work either.
“Maybe I should go ask someone for help. This isn’t working.” You press the ‘Okay.’ button on your soundboard and watch your soulmate leave the Ranch. However, you do not waste time and get back to searching up what to do, because you really want to get Jimmy his very own horn.
You do not find much new information so instead you start thinking up a design for the goat house since they cannot live in a pen due to their jumping. Once you have something in mind you start collecting the materials for it right outside of the Ranch.
“(Y/Y/N), (Y/Y/N), I brought help!” You hear Jimmy’s voice in the distance.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Great job, Jimmy! :)
You walk back inside and notice that Jimmy brought in Pearl for assistance, you also notice that her look is different from the last session.
You whisper to Pearl: Hello, Pearl, I like the new look. :)
“Heay, (Y/Y/N), I like your new look too, you too, Jim. Both of you look great!” You smile. “Thanks! (Y/Y/N) made them for us. They’re super talented!” Jimmy praises and you flush behind the screen. This is far too many compliments for one person to handle.
You whisper to PearlescentMoon : Thank you. How have you been doing?
“Eeh, I’ve been better. I’ll tell you that much.”
You whisper to PearlescentMoon : Are you okay?
“Yeah, just some troubles with my soulmate, you know how it is. But we are not here to talk about me. Where do you have the goats?” You and Jimmy lead Pearl to the house where the goats are located and she walks around for a bit. “I see your problem. You need to use blocks that naturally generate in the biome where goats are, so birch and cobblestone aren’t going to work, but maybe if you smelt the cobblestone and use stone instead then it could work.”
You quickly run to the Ranch to start smelting and bring pieces of stone back to Pearl and Jimmy who start replacing one of the walls while you leave to smelt more cobblestone. You can hear Pearl and Jimmy talking in the distance while waiting by the furnaces.
It is relatively calm until. “(Y/Y/N), (Y/Y/N), come look!” You run outside. Jimmy is standing there proudly with a horn in his hand. “Listen to this!” Jimmy plays the horn and it chimes a nice melody.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: That’s wonderful, Jimmy! :D
Jimmy plays it again and others answer with their own horns in the distance and Jimmy beams, excited. “I’ll get you one too, just you watch!”
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Okay, Jimmy. :)
It takes a few minutes and tries but Jimmy manages to get another horn and immediately gifts it to you. You hover over the horn in your inventory, the horn is called Sing. “Let’s play them together!” Jimmy counts down from three to one and both of you play them. And they sound wonderful together.
You whisper to PearlescentMoon: Thank you very much for the help, we greatly appreciate it, Pearl. :)
“No problem, no problem.” You watch Jimmy run inside the Ranch. “Here is your food, Pearl.” Jimmy throws her a generous amount of steak once he returns. “Nice doin’ business with ya, but I have to go now. See you around.” And Just like that it is just Jimmy and you again. You look at Jimmy and play the horn. Jimmy does the same.
“I’m gonna go and gloat about my new horn to Grian.” Jimmy announces mischievously and you cannot help but smile.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Have fun! :)
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Message me if you need anything.
“Same goes for you!” You watch Jimmy disappear behind the trees once more before you get back at your previous task of making a house for the goats.
You did not really plan much for today except getting the horns and building a house for the goats. So once you finish building an appropriate home for your newly acquired animals you do not have much to do. You could gather some more resources for maybe a panic chest (so once you die you have some back-up armour, tools and food) but you do not feel like doing that at the moment.
You hear Jimmy’s horn go off in the distance and you happily answer him every time. He seemed so happy about the horn so who are you to ruin his joy.
You grab some steak from your supply and make your way to Cleo and Scott.
On your way there you notice a new building arising. You take a closer look around. There is a nicely designed wooden wall. You enter through a half-finished gate. Scott is inside and it seems like he is working on paths and feeding animals in nicely designed pens. The animals are also new, you note.
You whisper to Smajor1995: Hello, Scott. What are you working on?
The man in question stops his work and quickly turns around, looking for you. He jumps back in surprise when he comes face-to-face with you.
“Jeez, (Y/Y/N), don’t scare a man like that!” You can imagine him holding his hand over his chest, trying to calm down his rapidly beating heart.
You whisper to Smajor1995: Sorry, I couldn’t resist. You just looked so focused.
You whisper to Smajor1995: Once again, what are you working on? If I can know.
“Oh, well, nothing too special at the moment. Just finished the pens for cows and sheep a while ago. Now I’m just gathering resources for a project I want to work on next episode. So for now I’d like to keep that secret.” He explains.
You whisper to Smajor1995: I understand.
You whisper to Smajor1995: The pens are looking very cute. I love the design. :)
“Thank you.” Scott seems to appreciate the compliment. “Anywayyy, what have you been working on with Jimmy? How is your soulmate thing going?”
You whisper to Smajor1995: We worked on a protective wall today.
“You mean the ugly cobblestone thing?” Scott supplies unhelpfully.
You whisper to Smajor1995: It may not be the most appealing to the eye, but Jimmy made it with the effort to keep us protected and the wall has been doing its job. It does not let mobs in. It saved me from several creeper explosions.
“I… I didn’t think of it that way.” Scott admits after he reads your long message. “Sorry.”
You whisper to Smajor1995: You’re fine, Scott. To answer your other question, things are going nice with Jimmy. I’m happy we managed to resolve the misunderstanding about his first death.
“That’s nice to hear. How did Jimmy die anyway?”
You whisper to Smajor1995: I… I don’t know. I forgot to ask. >.<
“Wow! You two are a match made in heaven, huh?” Scott laughs loudly at your realisation. “Well, let me know how, knowing Jimmy, it will be a very stupid death.” You try to get your face rid of the red and warmth from all the embarrassment.
You whisper to Smajor1995: How are things with you and your soulmate?
You were not sure if you should ask Scott, it seemed like a sensitive topic, since last session Pearl and he did not get along all that well.
“Cleo and I are doing great, thank you very much for asking.” Scott answers without a second of hesitation. Oh, so this is how things are for them. No wonder Pearl was wearing her red Minecraft skin, they are all a mess.
You whisper to Smajor1995: I’m happy you’re doing okay, Scott. :)
“Why did you come over anyway? Not that I don’t appreciate the company.” Scott questions and you suddenly remember why you came over in the first place.
You whisper to Smajor1995: Oh, yes, I almost forgot.
You throw Scott a stack of cooked steak and he picks it up, taken aback.
You whisper to Smajor1995: I know you have a cow farm now.
You turn to look at the cattle in the pens.
You whisper to Smajor1995: However, I still wanted to give this to you and Cleo. So you have food in case anything bad happens.
“I appreciate it, (Y/Y/N), thank you.” Scott says genuinely after a moment. “Even if we have our own now. Consider me your ally. However, I’ll have to talk to Cleo if she wants to be your ally too.”
You whisper to Smajor1995: No problem, what are friends for. :)
You whisper to Smajor1995: I would love to be allies! :D
“Great, I’ll confirm with you later if Cleo wants to join.” Scott announces and you nod.
You whisper to Smajor1995: I’ll ask Jimmy as well.
Suddenly you take a bigger chunk of damage. You freeze for a moment before you switch from your sword to the delicious steak in your inventory and start munching it while you take more damage.
“You ok? Do you need more food?” You shake your head at Scott’s questions. You definitely have enough food for the time being although you are not sure if it is enough to save you from whatever is causing Jimmy to take damage.
Strategically, you blow the newly acquired horn and wait for Jimmy to respond. When he does not, you start to panic a little bit.
You whisper to Smajor1995: I should go, Jimmy is probably in trouble.
“Don’t die on me, (Y/Y/N)!” Scott shouts after you as you run away. “Then we can’t be allies!” That makes you giggle a bit.
You make it to the Ranch in record time and you immediately send a private message to Jimmy, asking where he is and if he needs help. Unfortunately, he does not answer. However, he is not taking as much damage anymore.
You blow the horn again. This time, an answer comes. You breathe out in relief and type out another message.
SolidarityGaming whispers to you: I’m okay, sorry for the scare!!
You delete your previous message and start typing out a new one instead.
SolidarityGaming whispers to you: On my way back now!
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I’m glad you’re okay, Jimmy, you scared me.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Okay! I’ll be waiting at the Ranch.
SolidarityGaming whispers to you: :D
While waiting, you do some more work around the Ranch before you climb into the higher place floor and stare out the window, searching for your soulmate in the distance.
When you first catch sight of him, he is accompanied by Ren and Martyn. You play the horn and Jimmy plays it back, jumping happily and punching the air in your direction. You do the same in return.
Ren separates from the group and only Jimmy and Martyn enter the safety of the Ranch. You decide to tease Jimmy a little bit for the enormous scare he just gave you.
<(Y/Y/N)> You got some explaining to do, bestie.
<Grian> Ooooooh
<SmallishBeans> ooh someone’s in trouble
<EthosLab> good luck buddy
<Renthedog> it was nice knowing ya, dude
<SolidarityGaming> upps
“I can- I can explain, alright?” Jimmy approaches cautiously. You move from the house to the outside to meet him and Martyn halfway.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I’m listening.
“I was peer pressured.” Jimmy quickly rambles out. “That’s the explanation.” Marty makes an offended sound behind Jimmy.
You turn to Martyn, one eyebrow raised behind your computer. He seems to shrink a little bit under your gaze. You are having far too much fun with this. “I didn’t do anything!”
“They said if I didn’t go in, they would tell you that I’m a coward. And I’m not a coward!”
Your gaze softens a little bit at the revelation. You hope Jimmy does not think that you think of him that way.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: You’re not a coward, Jimmy. You are very brave and you don’t need to risk your life fighting the warden to prove that.
The blond man makes a touched ‘awe’ sound. “You’re too nice, (Y/Y/N), thank you.”
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: We can always blame Martyn.
“Yeah!” Jimmy laughs.
“What did they say? You guys better not be slandering my name in your little private chat.” Martyn whines jokingly.
<(Y/Y/N)> We would never, Martyn.
“Yeah, such sweet angels like us would never do that.” You can imagine Jimmy his eyelashes innocently at the other man and Martyn makes a slightly disgusted sound (jokingly).
“Never talk like that again, Jimmy.” Martyn says. “I think I’m gonna go now. Things are starting to get weird here.”
<(Y/Y/N)>Better go, Martyn. Once someone enters the Ranch, they are not very likely to leave.
<Renthedog> oh, is (Y/Y/N) on their threatening arc again?
<GoodTimesWithScar> oh-oh
<(Y/Y/N)> Better watch out, boys. The Ranch is watching. >:)
You close the chat after that and focus back on Jimmy who is currently laughing his lungs out at the things you wrote in the chat. “Wow, (Y/Y/N)! I didn’t think you had it in you!” He snorts while laughing. “You can be chaotic when you want to be!”
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I try, I try. It’s all fun and games though.
“Of course, of course.” Jimmy manages to say after he calms down a little bit.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I like your laugh by the way. It’s very nice.
“O-oh, um, thank you.” The man seems a bit embarrassed. You hope you did not make him uncomfortable or cross any lines. You just say things you genuinely mean.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: So, what did you find on your adventure? Tell me about it. :)
You change the topic elegantly and Jimmy immediately starts explaining everything that occurred while you were not present with a happy smile.
You smile too.
Martyn laughs. “I’m going, I’m going. Enjoy your time together, little lovebirds.” He runs off before Jimmy can cuss him out for the unnecessary teasing.
—
Jimmy brought a lot of useful things back from his adventure. Iron, gold, even some diamonds. Not to mention, he gifted you the chestplate he managed to enchant before the warden chased him, Martyn and Ren off. You give him your unenchanted chestplate in return and thank him for the gift.
The two of you continue to work on the Ranch after that. That is until Cleo comes by, laughing so much you get concerned if she is getting enough air into her lungs between the laughter.
You whisper to ZombieCleo: Hello, Cleo. :) What brings you here?
“Heya, Cleo!” Jimmy greets her from the roof he is presently making.
She enters through the front gate of the cobblestone wall and walks closer. “Scar is a genius.” She manages to announce between her laughing fits. “Don’t tell him I said that though.”
“What did he do?” Jimmy asks innocently. You can tell that Cleo peaked his interest and curiosity.
“Seriously, seriously, you need to see it yourselves.” She continues to giggle to herself. “It’s a one in a lifetime experience.”
“Where is he? What direction?” Jimmy has already climbed down the roof trying to push Cleo for answers. She tells him the man is by the Velvet Keep Grin had started building the previous episode. You are slightly suspicious of the woman. Something does not seem right.
“Can we go? Do you want to go with me, (Y/Y/N), to see this miracle?” Jimmy asks with puppy dog eyes. And you cannot say no to that.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Sure! We deserve a break. :)
Cleo parts ways with you soon after. You do not let her off completely scottfree.
You whisper to ZombieCleo: You better not be lying or trying to trick us, Cleo. I do not take nicely to people like that.
She does not answer your message. You let it go for now and follow your fellow rancher to the Velvet Keep. You arrive rather quickly. When you arrive, nothing seems out of the ordinary. Scar is quick to greet you both and invites you to his mostly finished Jellie-Panda Resort. The place looks very nice and relaxing. You cannot wait for the place to be finished. Especially, since you have earned a life long free-of-charge entrance. Scar even shows you the cute pandas he collected for the resort.
However, the relaxing moment is quickly ruined when Ren and BigB die and turn from green life to yellow. Just like you and Jimmy.
<Grian> OH
<InTheLittleWood> OH NO
<InTheLittleWood> DRAMA AT BOX
“They’re both on yellow now.” Jimmy blurts out in shock and you nod your head.
“I was just thinking we didn’t have any deaths so far.” Grian suddenly appears and you jump a little bit at the voice. You greet him too. The others start making fun of the entire order, but you do not join in. You have a bad feeling that something is about to go very wrong.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I have a weird feeling. I’m going to go back to the Ranch now, Jimmy. You can stay if you want.
SolidarityGaming whispers to you: okay :)
<(Y/Y/N)> It was nice talking to you, gentlemen, but I do have a Ranch to finish. Have fun!
You leave and both Grian and Scar call their goodbyes after you. When you make it back home, you quickly check everything and realise that your goats from earlier are missing. You quickly message Jimmy.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Jimmy, I think somebody stole our goats. They are not in their pen anymore.
SolidarityGaming: omw
Jimmy arrives faster than you anticipated and you quickly realise why. He is riding Scar’s horse.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Did Scar lend you his horse for the ride back?
“Yeaah, something like that.” You are not sure if you like Jimmy’s answer to that one. “Who do you think took the goats? They couldn't have just run away! We made sure they were safely secured in their new home.”
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I think Cleo had something to do with it. She was the one who distracted us.
Jimmy sees red. “I’m going to have a strict talk with her!” And just like that he is off, running over to Scott and Cleo’s houses connected by a bridge. You follow after him for support after you put the horse into the small house where the goes used to be (we do not need another animal to go missing). This could only end badly.
“Scott! Cleo!” Jimmy calls, arriving in front of Scott’s now finished house. “You have some explaining to do! Where are our goats?” Jimmy is loud and demanding. You arrive soon after him.
“I didn’t do anything!” Cleo defends.
“Well, now I know who our enemies are.” You share a nervous look with Scott.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Let’s take a breath, Jim. We can talk about this calmly.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I know you’re upset, I’m too, but we have to be rational.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Follow my lead.
You play the horn and Jimmy does the same. You blow it again and Jimmy follows. You do this a few more times before he is calm enough to talk.
<(Y/Y/N)> Cleo, Scott, please, explain. I can tell you know something about the disappearance of our goats. Don’t lie, please.
You ask them nicely and you hope they will take the chance you are giving them. You do not like fighting. Not at all.
“We went to Scar’s amazing thing… It sucked!” And there go the calming exercises you just practised with Jimmy. Cleo laughs at the outburst. “It sucked! There was nothing there!”
“Have you not seen the pandas?” You nod your head at her question.
“It was just pandas in a hole!” Jimmy continues to argue. You look at Scott and send him a private message.
You whisper to Smajor1995: I know you two had something to do with this, Scott. You are acting far too suspicious. Please, tell me the truth or I might have to reconsider our alliance.
Smajor1995 whispers to you: We didn’t do anything. Your baseless accusation is making me reconsider this alliance as well.
You are about to retort when Jimmy suddenly shouts, surprising everyone. “Our base!” He starts running off and you turn to look why. “It’s on fire!” Your eyes widen and you start sprinting after him.
“It’s Scar! It’s Scar! Of course, it’s Scar!” Scott and Cleo are saying/shouting something behind you two but you do not care. You are too busy staring at the burning Ranch and searching for a bucket of water in your inventory.
Both you and Jimmy immediately get to work, trying to extinguish the fire indulging the wooden building with its burning flames. But it is all futile. The Ranch just keeps on burning. And even with the help of Scott and Cleo, who followed you here from their home, and Etho and Joel, who ran over as well when they saw the fire, the Ranch burns until it’s only ashes and a few floating blocks that survived the arson.
You hopelessly watch your hard work go to waste while the others try to help putting the fire out and saving the animals that are still alive. Scar did not even take the horse back. He just burnt the Ranch, with the animals inside it, and left.
You almost did not notice Scar was still there while you were trying to save the house. “I mean, where are you going to put a horse if you don’t have a ranch?” It sets something on fire in you. Your defeat and hopeless thoughts turn into flaming anger.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Jimmy, I think I’m going to set the Velvet Keep on fire.
“Hey, hey. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Jimmy’s Minecraft character approaches you with caution and tries to reason with you, but it’s hard to hear with how the others are egging you on, filling your head with ideas for revenge. “(Y/Y/N), tak deep breaths. Let’s think about this. We can’t just run in.”
You are usually a very friendly player. You would have been fine if this were only your home. You can always rebuild it. However, this time the Ranch, your home, is both yours and Jimmy’s. Not to mention, Scar just irresponsibly set the Ranch on fire with animals inside, a man, who would die for his Jellie Pandas. It just does not make any sense to you.
Your anger grows and you almost move forward again, others filling your head with ideas, but Jimmy stops you. “Stop egging them on! You just want to see destruction!” The other people present quiet down after Jimmy’s outburst. However, Jimmy ignores it and turns his attention back to you.
“(Y/Y/N), listen to the horn, listen to the horn.” Jimmy does the same thing you did with him not even an hour ago. And plays the horn, waiting for your answer. ”You promised you would answer, (Y/Y/N), you promised!”
Reluctantly, you answer Jimmy’s call and the man blows his horn again. You play yours.
“There we go. Let’s go back to the empty Ranch, haha, come on. We have to think about this.” You follow Jimmy back inside while he thanks the others and sends them away.
It’s quiet after that.
“How about, before we start thinking about anything revenge related, we start rebuilding. That will give us plenty of time to think about everything. What do you say?” You can only bring yourself to nod your head in-game.
Jimmy hands you some of the materials that survived the fire and you both get to work. Jimmy asks for instructions, how to rebuild and you answer in short messages. You are grateful he is keeping you and your mind occupied.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I’m sorry about my outburst, Jimmy…
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: It just upsets me that Scar would do that without any regard to the animals, when he loves animals as much as I do…
“It’s fine, I get it. I would be upset too. I was upset.” Jimmy starts. “We worked hard on this and they just took it away. I understand. And we’re gonna fix it. Together.”
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: Thanks, Jimmy. You really helped.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: And thank you for calming me down.
“What are soulmates for! Ranchers stick together!” You giggle at his excited shouting. “Not to mention you did the same for me.”
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: :)
The two of you continue the rebuilding until the end of the session and say your goodbye.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I don’t think I want to do anything back to Scar anymore. I am still a bit angry, but I don’t want to hurt the Jellies in the process.
“You’re too nice, (Y/Y/N).” Jimmy states.
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: So are you. :)
You whisper to SolidarityGaming: I still want to prank Scar though. >:)
And Jimmy laughs. “Can’t wait to see it, soulmate.”