Chapter Text
A young man sits at his computer.. He has the weirdest feeling of deja vu. He has definitely sat here in this exact way, thinking this exact thought before. He makes a tally mark in his notebook before putting the thought from his head. No time for that! He’s got to be introduced as the first character of this fanfic, after all! It’s not like he can just sit around thinking all day!
> Enter Name:
Your name is ALEX MALARKY. You are currently editing a MINECRAFT LET’S PLAY for your numerous SUBSCRIBERS. You are the COOLEST GAMER AROUND, and your numerous LIVESTREAMS, LET’S PLAYS and HIGHLIGHT VIDEOS leave no one in any doubt as to your SKILLS. You mainly focus on SURVIVAL GAMES, but have dabbled in nearly every single GENRE of game that there is. You have created a group chat for you and your PATREON SUPPORTERS, whom you guess qualify as your FRIENDS and to whom you are EXCEPTIONALLY GRATEFUL. You really enjoy doing elaborate COLLABS with other CONTENT CREATORS, and you're hoping that this game, that you and your TEAM are about to play as a group, will provide the WITTY BANTER and ASSOCIATED HIJINKS that your viewers so desperately crave. Don’t forget to LIKE, COMMENT AND SUBSCRIBE.
Your human trolltag is terrariaAnalog and you speak asSsSs though sSsSsomething isSsSs creeping up on you.
What will you do?
> Check Views
It seems like your latest video is moderately well-received! Sick. This is episode 41 of your third Minecraft Let’s Play, and your loyal subscribers are really coming through with their support. Minecraft is just one of those games that never gets old, isn't it? You think you could keep making Minecraft videos until the end of time! Game on! Wait, hold up. It looks like one of your friends is sending you a direct message. You have a discord for all your Patreon Patrons, and she is one of the most involved. Her message is not a surprise and you know exactly what she wants.
--crunchtimeCommander started pestering terrariaAnalog--
CC: hEY neRD! whAT’S tHE holDUP?!
TA: im sSsSsorry? holdup with what?
CC: A litTLE biRDY toLD mE thAT yOU weRE setTING uP a gaME sesSION fOR uS!
TA:oh yeah thatsSsSs right, i sSsSsupposSsSse you want to know whosSsSs on your team huh
CC: yOU gOT mE deteCTIVE, howEVER coULD yOU haVE gueSSED? I juST goTTA gET fiRST piCK! caN’T haVE aNY scrUBS poacHING mY talENT!
TA: you’ll get your chance to choosSsSse your team oncCcCe we enter the game. itsSsSs gonna be sSsSsick. have you gotten your copy yet?
CC: I liteRALLY canNOT waIT. I juST staRTED downlOADING nOW. gaME oN, broTHER!
TA: Well you’d better hurry up! Mine’sSsSs about to finish, and Milo’sSsSs is about halfway through! I put the link in the disSsSscord, so the resSsSst sSsSshould be joining sSsSsoon. After you get in, you’ll need to connect to your sSsSserver player. You’ll be able to pick your sSsSsquad then!
CC: heLL yeAH! souNDS liKE a plAN! i’LL lET yOU knOW whEN iT’S downlOADED!
TA: sSsSsounds good! sSsSsee ya sSsSsoon!
--crunchtimeCommander stopped pestering terrariaAnalog--
Well, that went about as well as could be expected. It’s a good thing you’re on her good side. She has been known to get grumpy. Last time she was grumpy with someone in your discord, it wasn’t pretty. Ummm... anyway... you don’t want to talk about that. Your game has finished downloading and it’s about time you start preparing for your stream. This one is gonna be a crazy new experience! Your friend sent you a copy of it that he... Found? Bought? S-stole? That guy sure keeps his adventures infuriatingly vague. You wonder why he keeps them all under wraps. You’re sure that it has nothing to do with his personality and characterization. There is absolutely no way that it has any bearing on his past, or any kind of personal insecurity or flaw. This does not bother you, and you are not curious. Oh, speak of the devil! There he is now! Better see what he wants before the stream.
>Answer Milo
--ardentlyGregarious started pestering terrariaAnalog--
AG: ah. i. see. that. your. livestream. hasn't. started. i’m. glad. i. could. catch. you..
TA: Oh, yeah, I wasSsSs jusSsSst about to sSsSstart it up. What’sSsSs going on?
AG: oh., i. am. finished. downloading. and. thought. i’d. boot. up. with. you. and. get.
started.. you. are. the. first. of. us. downloading. it., so. i’ll. be. playing. as. your.
server. player..
TA: AwesSsSsome! sSsSso, I’ve got the client insSsSstalled already, so just boot up
yoursSsSs and we’ll get it rolling!
AG: spectacular.! we. absolutely. must. get. started. soon.. i. cant. wait. for. you. to.
see. this. new. artifact. i. sent. you.. you’ll. really. find. this. one. interesting., i. guarantee. it..
TA: I cCcCcertaily hope sSsSso! If it’sSsSs anything like your lasSsSst package, I can’t
wait to play it! Where did you find the time to carve a pixel-perfect creeper from
sSsSsolid sSsSstone!?
AG: alex., it’s. me. we’re. talking. about.! no. time. is. wasted. spent. on. my.
friends.! speaking. of., did. shae. message. you. already..? she. said. something. about.
getting. talent..
TA: Yeah, sSsSshe just mesSsSssSsSsaged me. I hope sSsSshe doesSsSsn’t get too riled
up for thisSsSs one. You know how sSsSshe can get sSsSsometimesSsSs.
AG: i. have. no. idea. what. you’re. talking. about..
TA: sSsSsure, yeah ok. Aren’t you two closSsSse?
AG: we. certainly. are., if. you. say. so.... anyway., do. you. have. the. instruction.
book.?
TA: InsSsSstruction book? There wasSsSs more than the sSsSstone tabletsSsSs?!
ThesSsSse thingsSsSs weighed a ton! How did you even get them?! I had to type in the
code on it by hand! You can’t copy and pasSsSste off of sSsSstone, ya know?
AG: i. told. you. it. was. part . of. my. monthly. himilayan. training. trip.. the. monks.
gave. it. to. me..
TA: You alwaysSsSs sSsSsay sSsSstuff like that. Your family musSsSst be sSsSstupid
rich! When are you gonna take me on one of thesSsSse tripsSsSs?
AG: when. you. have. the. physical. capacity. to climb. sheer. cliffs., you. are. more.
than. welcome..
TA: Whatever you sSsSsay. Oh, by the way, who are you getting asSsSs your sSsSserver
player?
AG: i. think. i. might. ask. dawn., but. she. might. be. occupied..
TA: Yeah, sSsSshe’sSsSs a good pick! Do you want me to talk to her?
AG: i. will., not. to. worry.! i’ll. let. you. start. your. stream.! who. is. modding.?
TA: Well, if not you, then Rene isSsSs. I’ll get him in chat! sSsSsee you on in a bit!
AG: until. then.!
--ardentlyGregarious stopped pestering terrariaAnalog--
You boot up Twitch and test your microphones and cameras. Everything seems to be working, but there is still something wrong. Something nagging at you. The feeling of Deja Vu is back and now, it's concerning. You put a mark in your notebook, just as before. Something is wrong, and you can feel it. You can feel it in the back of your mind, as if the entire universe you know is somehow off, somehow wrong. It’s been like this for as long as you can remember. It eats at you, and you know somehow that it’ll be back. It’s fine. Just go to the next stream, the next editing session, the next video. Don’t think about it. It’ll go away. For now anyway. You pause, your mouse hovering over the “Live” button. This is not the first time you hesitated before going live, and it won't be the last. You glance outside your window. It’s storming. You have a feeling it’s gonna be raining for a while.
But we see the notebook, lying open on Alex’s desk, forgotten as he starts his livestream. He’s having fun with the game for now. Little does he know that his viewers aren’t the only ones watching him do his cheesy, over-enthusiastic introduction. You know those. Like come on, surely you can be a little less theatrical if you’re live? Come on Alex, get your act together. But yeah, he’s being watched by a fair few people. For example, there’s us, watching him by reading this first chapter. You, the reader, might know that he and his friends are about to be put through a trial like nothing they’ve ever faced. I, of course, know more than you, but I’m the author, and what I know shouldn’t really matter from your perspective. That’s kinda not the point. But for now, all that we see is that notebook. The wind blows from the storm outside, and flips the pages. The pages are filled with nothing but tally marks.