Work Text:
From the moment Cubfan helped make the permits to put in the randomizer, there was one he hoped would fall into his hands. Something that might not even have been stocked regularly in past seasons - and certainly not this early - but one with practically unlimited potential. It slips in as a gold permit, and he keeps his fingers crossed.
Mumbo gets it before Cub has a chance.
But Mumbo is a man of business, and the offer of the valuable prismarine permit is enough to sway him to trade Cub what he wants. It’s that easy.
Explosive fireworks.
Cubfan135 loves explosions. This isn’t a surprise to anyone. He likes things that break, and go boom, and fling particles everywhere. Veterans of Total Chaos know all too well.
Iskall ends up with flight-focused rockets, as well as TNT. The end crystal permit falls under Etho’s purview. But Cub has his hands on the other way to sell explosions.
And of all the permits that went into that machine, none of them come anywhere CLOSE to the variety possible with explosive fireworks. Between flight duration, multiple breaks, main colors, fade colors, shapes, and aftereffects, the number of possible fireworks that can be created is in the quintillions - more fireworks than there are atoms in the observable universe. By sheer volume, Cubfan can sell the most individually separate items of any shop - and it’s not even CLOSE.
It feels like half the server is making all-color dye farms at this point, mixed among the permits like candles and concrete. Yet that’s just the beginning of Cub’s factory; he needs to supply it with gunpowder and paper, as well as all the options for bonus effects. Fire charges, gold nuggets, heads, feathers, glowstone dust, and even the all-precious diamonds. So many resources packed into the black, color-wrapped box.
And the autocrafters. So many autocrafters. It’s a mess of wiring, and there’s redstone caked under his fingernails; but by the time it’s done, Cub can set the factory to automatically make any firework he wants. Or even whatever IT wants - the random setting means Cub’s not even limited by what he can imagine in the moment.
Now, Cubfan is aware that explosive fireworks are not the most common sight on the server (yet). Some people may even forget they exist sometimes. They see the spiral rocket and think of elytra flight. Which is fair.
So Cub reaches out to people he knows will appreciate a good show, and get the word out. Scar gets a hands-on demonstration, though it’s interrupted by a pillager patrol, which is the wrong type of attention. Keralis’ lake resort is right next to the shopping district, and a perfect place to set up a nightly show - draw customers in to BOTH of them. And while Bdubs is a bit out of the way, he does get plenty of visitors, and staying up to watch the night-activated firework show might help him with his sleep addiction. The marketing is well under way.
The shop itself is open air - all the better to let people test out their purchases! Its profits are stored on-site as well, building up to the Big Launch. What’s the Big Launch? People will just have to buy and see!
By the time he’s got all the display dispensers hooked up, Cub’s white lab coat is stained in dye that no number of washings will get out - testing all the short-range fireworks against the glass panes will do that. He hopes the color on his hands and face will fade just a touch easier.
Even if it doesn’t, it just makes him a walking advertisement for the shop, in its own way. A true display of the violent vibrancy.
The shop isn’t even up for a day before the first custom order comes rolling in.
Seems Hypnotizd wants to return the favor of Welsknight’s tunnel between their storage rooms by giving the castle some free impromptu firework shows. Sharing is caring, right?
Cub is more than happy to do a custom home install, repurposing some old designs from the days of a slightly less petty Civil War. With Etho’s help, and only a modicum of damage to Hypno’s roof in the process, the launcher is aimed right above the upper bridges of Wels’ castle; and Cub even commits to stocking refills of Hypno’s Party Box in the shop. The bill is a bit steep, but it is custom. And he knocks off a third for, well, blowing up Hypno’s house a little bit.
One step closer to his dream. Cub can close his eyes and see it now.
The sun setting below the horizon. The sound of distant takeoffs. The pops and bursts of color from every corner of the server. Fireworks, all over.
It’s worth turning his hands blue for a little while.