Mapicc & Silver & Smiley -- They came up with "Five Noble Guys" like the copypasta abt burger king x dairy queen. Also, a chatter liked "SMS" which is kinda fire. Mapicc is against being called The Cheesy Micheals
Mapicc & Smiley -- When they practiced with each other, mape taught smiler about how water works in relation to ledges. Ledge Duo?? This is HEAT
Mapicc & Silver -- Liege Duo? Bc it sounds nice with Ledge duo & Silver called him "my liege" a few times yesterday. and ALSO. The whole copypasta thing
Silver & Smiley -- Do they have one yet? If not they might have to have a duo relating to their tendency to repeat phrases like little birds. Cheesy Micheal Duo or some bullshit like dat
Feel free to reblog with additions from your povs of Lifesteal World! The acronym on this blog will be LSW, even tho I uses Lstl for lifesteal (bc ls is both lifesteal and lifeseries, and we think lstl look better than lsrs)
a rare burst of Inspiration over this. when i drew these guys a lot in 2013 i like... never made solid designs, and honestly mcyt wasnt big enough back then for people to really do that? not like you see now w dreamsmp or hc.
Zisteau is. pretty straight forward. very classic pigman lol. even tho i like the Piglins i still base him off the classic pigmen.
Kurt! however. more thoughts. Took this with the approach of "casual server attire" as in, i imagine something more specific for flob because of all the walking and climbing over mountains. maybe ill draw that at some point.
but wanted to keep familiar colors- tan (coat, blue (shoes, sweater vest), and a hint of red (plaid red inside of coat+hood). shoes are hiking inspired, and a bag bc idk Stuff. hood on the jacket cuz its always raining on mindcrack.
well, i made a nebtho one so i guess i should make one of my namesake, right? sorry to say but in terms of video content.... aint much lol. But I will link a playlist and talk about its history!
Right so, what is there??? Why should you watch these guys?
Team Single Malt Scotch is the pair of Zisteau and Kurtjmac. Z does youtube sporadically but doesnt play minecraft much at all anymore, Kurt is well known for Far Lands or Bust and still does that and other games! So we're talking about the old days really- SMS first teamed up in UHC 7. Their dynamic caught on pretty strong in the tumblr oriented mindcrack fandom, and honestly I'd say they were one of the most popular ships back then alongside the expected Team Canada and Nebtho.
I enjoyed their whole deal especially because I liked Kurt a lot, and related to his shyness and interests back then. Zisteau and him get along pretty well and shared similar interests so it was always nice to see then hang out- and their slight opposites with Z being more extroverted made them pretty balanced. Overall good chemistry.
The videos. What videos?
Heres my playlist, but I will lay it out below as well. (additionally I only included one episode of UHC 7, i suggest going and watching Kurt here as he has the more eps). Be sure to read the playlist description for further info on how to watch.
Ep 45/12 - Episodes with them together start after UHC 7- its hard tracking down more videos due to lack of keywords, etc... They're working together on Kurt's base! good ol 40 min long episode.
Ep 46/13 - back to back, more work on kurt's base. really just nice slow eps with lots of chatter. - i suggest kurt's because its longer.
Fun fact about those two above!! Kurt mimics Zisteau intro :) in his episodes.
a little minecon video in there... from 9 years ago. god i feel old.
another little extra mindcrack server stuff, a pov from kurt that he hadn't shared before.
while this is in the playlist, its a specific timestamp- FLoBathon 2014, Zisteau jumps call in for a good long period. this is definitely more podcasty of a watch.
final stretch... UHC 2017 Charity event. Yeah, way later than everything else lol. This one was a shock to me when it happened too! This UHC is chaotic due to item donations but it was incredibly fun to watch them again- especially up to the very end!! Really suggest it if you want something faster paced. Spoilers: extra good because we got an "i love you kurt" out of it so.
Extra, not on the playlist- feel like itd be fun to mention this FLoB episode where Kurt recognizes the popularity of SMS on tumblr. which sends anxiety through me at times knowing i also had this url way back then as well.
Well thats it boys. There is a good chance theres some other episodes floating out there and i appreciate any added links! (especially later stuff like post-2016 since i was around less).
As I said above SMS was a pretty popular ship. its hard to know how that felt if you weren't around back then but, there is a huge backlog of fan fiction for sure. Ao3 isnt the biggest archive of fics (i suggest dreamwidth) but even there its the top ship with 100 fics!
so you know. old ship, not anything new, not something i expect new people to get into- but i think its worth sharing especially as a fandom history thing because it was quite a popular subject back in the day.
This is also for my friend @thesmurfinsmurf2. She requested fake dating au, which this sort of is, but as I was writing it, it kind of turned into something different and I am still not sure how I feel about it, but I’m posting it anyway. I hope you like it!
Vechs was really into Zisteau, but Zisteau was really not into Vechs, like at all. He loved the guy, platonically, of course, but he could never see him as more than just a friend-if he even was that anymore.
Lately, Vechs had become a lot pushier. He would constantly ask him to hang out and although it was not implicitly stated, he knew these invitations were meant in a wanting-to-be-more-than-friends way. Zisteau didn’t want to hurt Vech’s feelings, but at the same time, he didn’t know how much more he could take of Vech’s pursuits. He stated constantly that he would one day win Zisteau over and Zisteau just desperately wanted him to stop.
“So, Zisteau, Prom is coming up,” said Vechs to him one day several weeks before the big dance. “Do you have anything you want to ask me or should I ask you-would that be more romantic?”
Nothing about going to Prom with Vechs seemed romantic to Zisteau, but what did sound romantic was going with his crush, Kurt J. Mac. That would never happen, after all, they were best friends and Kurt probably had no clue of Zisteau’s feelings for him, but fantasizing was good enough for him. If only his fantasies were true, if only he were actually dating Kurt, then he could just tell Vechs and maybe, hopefully, Vechs would get over him and move on.
The more he thought about it, the more appealing this sounded to him. It was so appealing,in fact, that he found himself uttering the words,
“Sorry, Vechs, but I’m actually seeing someone so I’ll be taking them to Prom.”
Zisteau had no idea what to do about this precarious situation he now found himself in. What would he say if Vechs asked for more details, which knowing Vechs, he most definitely would. If he didn’t show up to Prom, date in tow, Vechs would notice and know that he was lying and the last thing he wanted was to hurt his feelings.
“Oh? Who are they? Do I know them?”
“No, actually. You two have never met.”
It’s true. The person he really wanted to be dating had never met Vechs, although Zisteau had ranted to him about Vechs many, many times. He decided he would figure out what to do about his date later and, although it will most definitely be awkward, he would probably just end up asking Kurt to play along.
“Oh I see. Well, I’m happy for you, Zisteau,” said Vechs, who looked like a sad puppy. “I-uh-should probably go work on homework. See you around.”
Zisteau felt guilty. He had told such a massive lie just to get out of addressing a conflict and enduring a confrontation with Vechs. He had thought it would solve all of his problems, telling a little white lie, but it wasn’t a little lie at all. It was a massive lie and Zisteau was so screwed.
***
“You want me to do what now?” asked Kurt in a very surprised albeit sort of puzzled tone.
“I just need you to pretend to be my boyfriend for a while to get Vechs off my back.”
Kurt, who was in the middle of pouring coffee for the two of them, stopped what he was doing and gave Zisteau a look.
“This might sound like a crazy suggestion, Zisteau, but have you tried telling Vechs you are not interested in him?”
“Kurt, I know you don’t know the guy, but based off of what I’ve told you about him alone, don’t you see why I absolutely cannot do that? It would crush him.”
“Zisteau, this is an outrageous request. I don’t know how to be your boyfriend. I don’t know how to be anyone’s boyfriend!”
“You wouldn’t have to do anything you didn’t want to do. I was thinking a little hugging, some hand holding, and, of course, dancing at Prom should be enough to convince him.”
“Fine, Zisteau. I’ll do it, but only because as an introvert I feel your pain about trying to avoid confrontation or conflict.”
“Yes! Thank you, Kurt!”
“You’d better love me for this.”
“That’s the spirit!” said Zisteau, when he was really thinking “I sure do.”
***
“Hi, Zisteau,” said Vechs the next Monday at school.
“Hey, Vechs. How’s it going?”
Vechs started to launch into a story about his weekend and Zisteau spaced out, thinking. Things had gotten a bit better since telling Vechs he had a boyfriend. Vechs was still a bit flirty at times, but Zisteau had a feeling it was just in his nature to be flirty. He only tuned back in to what Vechs was saying when he heard his name.
“You’ll come, won’t you, Zisteau?”
“I’m sorry. Run that by me again?”
“I said I’m having a party this weekend and I was hoping you would come. There’s gonna be alcohol there, nothing too strong, and I’m inviting as many people as I can. It’s Friday night at 8:00. Will you come?”
Zisteau really had no desire to go to Vech’s party. He wasn’t nearly as introverted as Kurt, but dealing with large crowds of rowdy, drunk people didn’t exactly sound appealing to him.
“Oh, uh, I’m actually hanging out with my boyfriend that night. Sorry.”
“Oh. Well he can come too. The more, the merrier,” Vechs said half-heartedly. “I’d really like it if you came to my party, Zisteau.”
“Oh alright. We’ll be there,” said Zisteau. Kurt was going to kill him for this.
***
“No,” said Kurt adamantly.
“Please, Kurt? I told him we would go.”
“I agreed to Prom, not a large party with drunken idiots and creepy, sort-of-friends. If you want to go so badly, go by yourself.”
“That’s the thing. I don’t want to go. Having you there would make it so much more tolerable!”
“Zisteau, it’s okay to say no to people every once in a while. You don’t even need a good excuse. You don’t owe anyone anything.”
“You should have seen him, Kurt. He was so excited when I agreed to come.”
“Zisteau, I do not understand you. You ask me to pretend to be your boyfriend to get this guy to leave you alone and then he throws a party and you jump at the opportunity to go? Are you sure you’re not secretly harboring feelings for the guy?”
“Aww, why, Kurt? Are you jealous?”
“No, just confused.”
“I won’t ask you for anything else, please just come with me to the party?”
“Somehow, I don’t believe you when you say that, but alright. Fine.”
***
Zisteau picked Kurt up at 8:30. Kurt had insisted on arriving fashionably late since he was being forced into going. Zisteau agreed. It was the least he could do.
Zisteau was having a really hard time concentrating on his driving. Kurt looked so good and he smelled even better. When they were about four blocks away from Vech’s place, Kurt said,
“Zisteau, are you already drunk? What’s up with your driving tonight?”
“Sorry, I’m a bit spacey, I guess.”
“No, Zisteau. I’M a bit spacey. But in all seriousness, do you need me to drive or do you think you can make it to Vech’s house?”
“I can drive. I’ve got this.”
Zisteau was true to his word and got them there in one piece. He grabbed Kurt’s hand, “to make it more believable” and knocked on the door.
“Zisteau, Zisteau’s boy toy, come on in,” Vechs said as he ushered them into his house.
Kurt turned and mouthed “boy toy?” to Zisteau and Zisteau shrugged as they followed Vechs.
“Drinks are over there if you want anything. I hope you guys have fun!”
“Thanks, Vechs,” Zisteau said and then turned to talk to Kurt. Unsurprisingly, Kurt had taken a seat on the couch, in typical Kurt fashion. Zisteau sat next to him and said,
“I’m gonna get a drink. Want anything?”
“Get me the strongest thing he has, this is gonna be a long night.”
“Will do! Save my seat!”
While Zisteau was off getting drinks, Kurt continued to sit on the couch and look at his phone. The sooner this thing was over, the better. Suddenly, someone plopped down beside him. He was about to inform the person that that seat was already taken when the person started talking to him. It was Vechs.
“So, you’re Zisteau’s boyfriend, huh?”
“Yep, that’s me,” replied Kurt awkwardly.
“You know, I was very anxious to meet you because Zisteau hardly says anything about you. He’s a very mysterious guy.”
“Yeah. Well, he values his privacy.”
“It’s silly, but I kind of have a thing for Zisteau.”
“Oh? Do you?” Kurt feigned surprise. Duh. Tell me something I don’t know, Vechs.
“Yeah. So like, are you and Zisteau serious? Does he ever talk about me?”
Kurt wanted to laugh and also disappear. Damn it, Zisteau. Why did you make me come here? At least now he understood what Zisteau was talking about with this guy. He seemed very hard to talk to and he seemed very fragile. He was about to respond when Zisteau returned and said,
“Hey, Vechs, can I have my spot back, please?”
“Oh, sure, Zisteau. Anything for you!” Vechs said as he hopped up and walked away.
Zisteau sat down and Kurt glared at him.
“What?”
“Could you have taken longer?”
“I’m sorry. I take it you had a nice chat with Vechs?”
“Just hand over the drink,” Kurt said.
When Zisteau did as he had requested, Kurt proceeded to down half of it right away. Zisteau’s eyes got very wide and he said,
“Did he say something to you? What did he say? I’ll kick his ass.”
“Zisteau, that’s sweet and all, but you’re not actually my boyfriend so that’s not necessary.”
“But I am your best friend, so I can still kick people’s asses on your behalf.”
“He didn’t really say anything I didn’t already know. Also, I’m sorry I snapped at you. He’s just a lot to take in. I know now what you always talked about. Sorry I doubted you.”
“It’s alright.”
Zisteau and Kurt spent the rest of the night talking and getting drunk together. It’s probably what they would have done anyway, even without the party invite, so it’s not like their night was altered too much from their original plan.
It was only after most everyone had left that things started to get weird.
Vechs had gotten plastered and came over and interrupted their conversation.
“Zisteauuuu, hang out with meeee. This is my party and you’ve barely talked to me!”
“I’m sorry, Vechs. Kurt’s a bit shy, and he doesn’t really know anyone here, so I’ve been keeping him company.”
“Well, he can sit by himself for a while, can’t he?” asked Vechs, hanging all over Zisteau.
“Vechs,” said Zisteau, prying Vechs off of him, “I think you’ve had a little too much to drink, why don’t you-,”
“I’ve not had enough to drink!” said Vechs. “It doesn’t matter how much I drink, my feelings for you don’t go away and he doesn’t go away either!”
“His name is Kurt and you invited him.”
“I only invited him to get you to agree to come! I knew you wouldn’t come if your stupid boyfriend wasn’t here.”
“Hey, Kurt is not stupid!”
“He is too! I wish he would go away so we could be together!”
“Vechs, even if I wasn’t dating him, that doesn’t mean I would automatically be dating you.”
“But why not?”
“Because, because I don’t feel that way about you.”
Vechs saw red in that moment and punched Zisteau. Zisteau fell to the ground, making a loud thud, and Kurt decided he had had enough.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I should be asking you the same question.”
“Why? Because I fell in love?” Woah. Where did that come from? He must be pretty good at this acting thing, either that or he had some repressed feelings for Zisteau he never thought of, spoke of, or acted on….yeah, it was probably the first one.
“Zisteau is supposed to be with me! I love him more than you do!” Vechs screamed.
“Obviously, you wouldn’t know what love was if it smacked you in the face. You’re not in love with Zisteau, you’re obsessed with him. There’s a difference. You think that no one else is allowed to be with him or interact with him at all, but you don’t get it. He’s a person with his own will and feelings and he doesn’t have feelings for you. He only came tonight so as not to hurt your feelings.”
“Get out! I don’t ever want to see you again!”
“Okay, fine,” said Kurt. He picked up Zisteau, who was lying on the ground, unconscious, and carried him to the car. He dug in to Zisteau’s pockets, retrieved the keys, and started the car. As he did so, he heard moaning and then Zisteau said,
“Kurt? What happened? Where’s Vechs?”
“We left there because Vechs is super creepy and I don’t like him at all.”
“What happened to my head? Why is there a bump on it?”
“Oh. That would be because Vechs punched you and you fell over and hit your head on the ground.”
“What?”
“Yeah.”
It was silent for a little while and Zisteau said,
“You’re not hurt, are you?”
“No, I’m fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”
“Good because if that motherfucker hurt you-,”
“No, no, Zisteau. I’m fine. Where is this coming from?”
Zisteau paused, sighed, and then said,
“Kurt, I’ve got to be honest with you. I told Vechs I was seeing someone because right before I said that, I was thinking about how much I loved you and how I wished we were going to Prom together. Please don’t be upset.”
“Upset? Why would I be upset?”
“Well, you seemed upset when I asked you to pretend to be my boyfriend.”
“Well, I didn’t admit it, even to myself, until a little while ago, but I think I was upset because you only asked me to be your pretend boyfriend and not your real one. Plus, you seemed so concerned with Vechs, I was afraid you were like using me to make him jealous or something.”
“Well, to the Vechs thing I say hell no, but I would like to ask you something.”
“Okay.”
“Will you be my boyfriend and will you go to Prom with me?”
“That’s two things…”
“Just answer the questions, Kurt.”
“Yes to both,” said Kurt, pecking Zisteau on the cheek.
***
Zisteau’s face had mostly healed from where Vechs had punched him. Any time Vechs had tried to talk to him at school, Zisteau had managed to avoid him. But Vechs wasn’t who was important now. What was important was getting ready to go to Prom with his boyfriend, Kurt. Zisteau still couldn’t believe those two words could be said together and for it to not have been a dream.
Kurt and Zisteau finished up their fancy dinner, both arguing over who would pay (Kurt won) and then took pictures. After the pictures, they headed to the venue, excited to spend the night dancing together. While Kurt went to get them drinks, Vechs shyly approached Zisteau and said,
“Zisteau, I’m so sorry for the other night. I acted terribly and I was drunk-,”
“Vechs, let me stop you right there. I forgive you. I should even thank you.”
“Thank me? For what?”
“It’s because of you that I have the most amazing boyfriend ever whom I love so much.”
“Aww, thanks, Z,” said Kurt, joining the conversation. “I love you too,” he said, leaning in to kiss Zisteau.
Vechs, puzzled, walked away, happy that Zisteau didn’t seem to hate him. He vowed never to bother Zisteau again. In fact, he transferred schools so he wouldn’t have to see him because as much as Vechs tried to get over him, he couldn’t.
When Kurt found out about the news he said,
“Good. Now maybe we don’t need a restraining order.”
Zisteau just rolled his eyes and said,
“Let’s not worry about him anymore. We’ve got each other.”
