Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

It is, in Mike’s opinion, the perfect Friday night.

It’s pouring outside, dark and wet, faint slivers of moonlight spreading through the clouds; but the weather’s warm and a light breeze blows through the open window every now and then. Usually, on a night like this, he would work on one of his work-in-progress stories, or a new document, or just scribble notes into his notebook that end up being scrapped anyway.

However, writer’s block has been fucking with him brutally the whole week, making his fingers unable to type on the keyboard or grip a pencil well enough to transfer his thoughts onto paper.

The one person he knows would relate is his best friend Will, an artist and an amazing one at that, who deals with his own art block plenty. Mike’s usually on the other side of his many frustrated rants.

Speaking of Will. If he’s still awake, which is very likely, he may be the cure for Mike's boredom.

Mike grabs his phone and quickly finds Will’s contact, saved as “cleric,” and yeah, it is corny but the entire Party’s contact names are their D&D classes on his phone. It’s funny to him and it reminds him of simpler times, when they were younger and would spend hours on campaigns.

will

willy

cleric

are u awake

hi

i am awake indeed

im bored uhhhgghhh

uh

try writing

cant

I think im in block rn

oh real

wanna hop on mc?

youre so right

wanna call or smth

my headphones broke 

and Hop will actually kick me out of the house if he hears you screaming on call at night

fair, fair

we can js use the game chat then

okayyy :D

Mike has been wanting to start a new world with Will anyway; preferably not hardcore this time, after how their last world ended miserably due to a misplaced bed in the Nether. 

He turns on his PC and clears the pens and notebooks off his desk, shuffling forward in his seat.

Call him cringe, but Mike’s always enjoyed this game. Him and Will grew up playing it. He remembers their old Xbox worlds, remembers sleepovers with the Party where they stayed up all night in his basement, taking turns with the controllers, building giant houses in creative out of diamond and emerald blocks.

Now he has a proper setup on his large desk and a real computer to play with, instead of a half-dead Xbox.

Half of the desk reflected his passion for writing, filled with notebooks and pens and even a quill and ink if he was feeling fancy, books ranging from The Great Gatsby to various works from Shakespeare and other poems to The Goldfinch, which he also watched, and Will was there too, and they ended up crying over how Boris and Theo were left ambiguous, and then Will also mentioned that Boris’ actor—who looked exactly like Mike—was really hot, and Mike is still trying to interpret what exactly he meant that day.

The other fifty percent is filled with things he’d be called a nerd for—if being a literature freak wasn’t weird enough—like several D&D books and his dice collection and binders full of past (and future) campaigns, and his PC and monitors in the middle of it all. 

The game loads pretty quickly; he goes into the menu and names the new world another keyboard smash, jfdjghkdfhgkd, like he has with the past several. He clicks through the options, adjusting the settings the way that him and Will always play, normal mode, survival, cheats disabled, a cute shader that cost a few bucks that Will found, claiming that it made the “atmosphere of the game more welcoming.” And who is he to say no to the master builder when it comes to aesthetics?

He’s about to text Will to join, but he beats Mike to it. As if he was staring at the screen in anticipation; the thought warms his heart, that he’s not the only one super excited.

willthewise joined the game.

<willthewise> mike when did u change ur user

<mikethebrave> today

<willthewise> why? i think “mikequeerler6767” was hilarious

<willthewise> sarcasm btw

<willthewise> hold on did u copy mine????

<mikethebrave> i wanted to match :(

<willthewise> fine fine

Mike watches Will’s character crouch and uncrouch several times, repeating the motion. His is supposed to resemble Will the Wise, his Dungeons and Dragons character, who is also his username, and Mike’s is no different. A few months ago they found a cheap, probably virus-inducing website to customize their skins; the rest of the Party had used it too.

<mikethebrave> holy ass spawn what is this

<willthewise> it’s a plains biome. It’s good

<mikethebrave> theres no trees

<willthewise> yes there is, over here

<mikethebrave> where are uuuuu

<mikethebrave> nvm i see

mikethebrave fell from a high place.

<mikethebrave> YO

<willthewise> HAH

<mikethebrave> fucking cave WHY IS IT JUST A PIT

<willthewise> that’s how caves work

<willthewise> here i made you a sword and pick

<mikethebrave> thanks

<mikethebrave> now i can go mining

<willthewise> i swear on god if you

<willthewise> GET BACKK HERE

<mikethebrave> WE NEED STUFF

Between the two, Mike’s always been the reckless one. Will’s words, not his. In his point of view, he’s just trying to be efficient. Will prefers taking the game slow. He’s the type to keep one forever world and use it for years. Mike makes a new world every time he gets that itch, plays all the way to the Ender Dragon fight, and then gets bored. The cycle then repeats for months at a time.

But when Mike’s playing with Will, he tries to enjoy the game the way it was meant to be. He only rushes into caves and other dimensions to get resources for Will, so he can play the rest of the game peacefully and build whatever projects he’s planning without having to hunt for materials or tools and whatnot.

<willthewise> we need beds

<mikethebrave> you can handle that

<willthewise> u better be back up here b4 night 

<willthewise> i will leave you to the zombies

<mikethebrave> i will fight them

<willthewise> idiot

It makes Mike laugh out loud; he can hear the underlying affection even through the pixelly font on the screen. Despite how exasperated Will gets, he’s always grateful for Mike being so willing to rush into danger without preparing. Will’s never been fond of the more survival focused parts of Minecraft, though he’s handy in combat when he needs to be.

Focused on the cave system he’s now exploring, Mike feels himself subconsciously leaning closer—he’ll have back pain in the morning for sure—and squinting his eyes against the darkness. Maybe he should’ve gotten torches with charcoal from the logs Will had.

Another reason Mike enjoys this game; because it’s first person and heavily immersive, he feels like he’s actually mining, exploring and fighting, rather than just playing. It’s a good distraction from the outside world.

<mikethebrave> will 

<mikethebrave> will 

<mikethebrave> willy

<mikethebrave> william 

<mikethebrave> byers byers byers

<willthewise> mike mike mike mikey michael 

<willthewise> what do you want wheeler

<mikethebrave> i found iron

Seven pieces to be exact. His priority is an iron pick; he’ll give the other four pieces to Will, if he wants them.

<willthewise> cool

<willthewise> i got two beds

<willthewise> are you still in the cave from earlier

<willthewise> hello????

<mikethebrave> my bad i got ganged up on and cornered

<mikethebrave> but i survived

<mikethebrave> barely

<mikethebrave> please save me i’m hiding 

Sometimes Mike was more cowardly than he’d like to admit, yes, but the TWO creepers who surprised him while his back was turned were at fault. 

<mikethebrave> i dont have food im at three hearts

<willthewise> can’t you js come back up

<mikethebrave> please byers come save me

<willthewise> fine holy shit

<willthewise> ik im gonna die so im putting our beds and a chest at spawn

<mikethebrave> bet

<mikethebrave> my hero

True to his word, Will’s nametag appeared outside of his two block tall hole in the wall, and Mike heard torches being placed around the area. 

<willthewise> gimme ur stuff

<willthewise> you’ll probably die first

<mikethebrave> how dare you

<willthewise> hey dont hit me

<willthewise> STOP

mikethebrave was slain by willthewise.

<mikethebrave> DUDE

<mikethebrave> MY STUFF

<willthewise> shut up you started it

<willthewise> And i got it dw

<willthewise> wait which way did you come from

<willthewise> mike im lost help

<mikethebrave> go up

<willthewise> nah rlly

<mikethebrave> sybau

willthewise was blown up by creeper.

<willthewise> so 

<willthewise> heh

<mikethebrave> BROOO

<willthewise> funny story

<mikethebrave> I HAD IRON COME ON

<willthewise> we can go mining later

<willthewise> its abt to be night

<mikethebrave> my irob….sighhhhhh……..

<willthewise> dude shut up and sleep we’re gonna die

<willthewise> you didnt even spell iron right.

<mikethebrave> ok goodnight twin

<willthewise> dont

willthewise is sleeping in a bed. To skip to dawn, all players need to sleep in beds at the same time.

<willthewise> MICHAEL

<mikethebrave> i want a yellow bed

A half truth. He mainly just wanted to annoy Will.

<mikethebrave> i need a dnadelion

<willthewise> WHEELER ISTG

mikethebrave was shot by skeleton.

<willthewise> ur actually so dumb it hurts

Mike is cackling with laughter by now. He gives in eventually and returns to their spawn, clicking the bed right next to Will’s.

Sleeping through this night.

<mikethebrave> you should have a blue bed since i want the yello one

<willthewise> i thought blue was your favorite color??

<willthewise> mike??

Mike ignores him. Yes, blue is his favorite color, but yellow is Will’s.

He doesn’t think too hard on why he wants to sleep in a yellow bed. It’s Minecraft.

<mikethebrave> yo what are the odds of a village 

<willthewise> uh I mean we’re in a plains so

<willthewise> if we just go in one direction 

<willthewise> we could probably find one

<mikethebrave> okay gotchu

They run side by side, slaughtering any cows and pigs they walk by on their quest to find a village. Will stops at one point to pick flowers, claiming that he might not be able to find any at the location they decide to settle down in. 

“They make good decorations.” He types. Mike’s no builder, so he can’t argue.

<willthewise> oooh i see one in the distance

<mikethebrave> help me kill the golem

<willthewise> no

<mikethebrave> yes

<willthewise> he js trying to protect the village, leave him alone

<mikethebrave> but iron :(

<willthewise> fine

<willthewise> im not helping u though

<willthewise> mike its been five minutes are you good

<mikethebrave> HELP 

<mikethebrave> HELP ME

<willthewise> ???

<mikethebrave> okay i got him

<mikethebrave> five ingots fuck yeah

<willthewise> great

<willthewise> i found food 

<willthewise> OOH BLACKSMITH

<mikethebrave> YAAAAAAYYYYY

<mikethebrave> yo yo yo wait for me

<willthewise> there’s armor and obsidian in there

<willthewise> no diamonds tho

<mikethebrave> ew whats the point then

<willthewise> real

<mikethebrave> you can have the chestplate

<willthewise> ?? but you go mining and fight more than i do

<mikethebrave> shhh just take it

<mikethebrave> i look better with a helmet anyway

<willthewise> ok

<willthewise> we should go find a taiga

<mikethebrave> you and your romance with spruce wood

It’s Will’s favorite type of building material; he builds almost everything either with spruce or adds it as a detail to the base structure. 

<willthewise> it looks nice :( 

<mikethebrave> fine we can go

<willthewise> yay thank yuuu

<mikethebrave> Will watch out theres a huge cave

<willthewise> oh wow

<willthewise> wait a minute

<willthewise> michael wheeler.

<mikethebrave> uh

<mikethebrave> you can find spruce wood yourself

<willthewise> I dont want to be separated

<mikethebrave> come with me then

<mikethebrave> pls

<willthewise> okayyy

<mikethebrave> and the crowd cheers

<willthewise> shush

<willthewise> Are you seriously gonna make that jump??

<mikethebrave> there’s water down there

And he’s right, there’s the subtlest hint of a water source block down there. Mike knows he can make that jump.

<willthewise> i literally cannot with you

<mikethebrave> yolo

<mikethebrave> I DID IT

<willthewise> move idiot

<willthewise> Unless you want to go down there alone

<mikethebrave> wait hold on

Mike uses his pickaxe to mine the blocks around the water, making a bigger pool for Will to jump into. Just in case. Mike’s just helping his best friend out.

<willthewise> oh

<willthewise> thank you

He makes it down safely, and now they’re face to face with a large chamber, with two small openings, too dark to make out what exactly they lead to.

<mikethebrave> okay how abt we spkit up cuz rheres two opening

<willthewise> how about you learn to spell first

<willthewise> anyway yeah ill go this way

<mikethebrave> lmk if you find anything interesting

<willthewise> gotchu

Mike goes to the right, and unlike Will, he isn’t cautious at all; he sprints down the cave, placing torches and ignoring the ores he comes across. Eventually it stops at a dead end, and he starts going backwards and mining whatever important materials he comes across.

<willthewise> wheela i found a mineshaft

<mikethebrave> hold on im mining this fatass vein of coal

<mikethebrave> seventeen fucking blocks holy

<mikethebrave> ok wya

<willthewise> the direction i went in.

<mikethebrave> real helpful thx

<willthewise> did you get lost hello??

<willthewise> ah shit im cooked

<mikethebrave> is my dearest cleric in trouble

<willthewise> cave spiders

<willthewise> do you have food?

<mikethebrave> nope !!

<willthewise> fuck

<willthewise> i guess i live in the wall now

<mikethebrave> don’t worry my liege I will save you

<mikethebrave> DIAMONDS

<willthewise> AYYY

<mikethebrave> yo deadass mincraft gotta change ore spawns

<mikethebrave> i just got catfished by a SINGULAR DIAMOND

<willthewise> better than nothing

<willthewise> dude how deep is this cave

<mikethebrave> idk but thers a lot of iron

<mikethebrave> win win

<willthewise> sure

<mikethebrave> oka well i think we should go back up now

<willthewise> oh my god

<willthewise> i never thought you’d ask

<mikethebrave> shut up

<mikethebrave> we dont have food thats why

<willthewise> true true

<mikethebrave> we can go find dumb spruce

<willthewise> YAY

<mikethebrave> you better build me the most magnificent

<mikethebrave> aura inducing

<mikethebrave> glorious

<mikethebrave> grand

<willthewise> u can stop with the adjectives

<mikethebrave> other worldly

<mikethebrave> castle EVERr

<mikethebrave> and then we can live in it tgt like the paladin and cleric we are

<willthewise> alr bro.

<willthewise> ill build u a stupid castle

<mikethebrave> YAAY TY 

<mikethebrave> i love you twin

<mikethebrave> wait

<willthewise> ??

<mikethebrave> …

<mikethebrave> yawnmnnn im tired im logging off

<willthewise> why did you yawn in text

mikethebrave left the game.

<willthewise> hello???