Hi, everyone! I'm new to Minecraft and the forums. I started playing/posting as a part of an open-ended class project, and one of the requirements for this project was that I participate in the community in some way. Since writing is something I'm pretty comfortable with, I figured that I'd write a fic! It's vaguely autobiographical in nature, since it's from the point of view of someone who just started playing Minecraft and is really bad at it. And, when I say "vaguely," I mean "completely." Anyway, enjoy!
(Story)
"I wasn't trying to swim in lava; I just fell in and couldn't get out! There's a difference!"
A chicken looks up at me, its dark, rectangular eyes full of unvoiced judgment. Scowling, I dig a hole underneath its body, trapping it, only to realize that I've just respawned and haven't even punched enough trees to craft a pickaxe yet. The chicken stares at me for a moment, then turns and effortlessly jumps out of the hole I've just dug. It's taken me a full week to perfect the dig-a-hole, trap-a-chicken, kill-a-chicken technique, and now even that effort seems wasted. If I weren't on Peaceful mode, I would have racked up more starvation deaths than lava deaths.
Speaking of lava deaths, this has been my fourth in one day - my fifth death total today, on account of that one time I misestimated the drop to the bottom of the cavern and wiped out my whole health meter in one shot. There's a crack in the ground nearby, and it goes pretty far down, meaning that I've finally found easy access to more coal and iron than I found in the first few days of gameplay combined. Which isn't saying much, since I wandered around for those first few days trying to figure out how I was supposed to find coal for a torch if I didn't have a torch to light the caves, punching trees, and collecting mass quantities of dirt.
The only problem with this crack in the ground is that it leads straight to a vast expanse of lava. While this is a fantastic solution to the whole no-torches/no-light problem, I'm not the most coordinated kid on the block. Hence the five-lava-deaths situation. The allure of all that ore is just too powerful for me to keep away, though. The lavaglow is the flame that draws my inner moth. I am helpless to resist.
I punch through a few trees, horde some supplies for when I'm underground, and make myself a pickaxe that I know will break almost as soon as I'm underground. The whole process just seems so futile now that I've spent the last few hours dying with scores that range from zero to the low forties. I wander around the field, past the gently clucking chickens and through fields of light pink flowers, but, by the time I've reached the shore of the octopus-laden ocean, I still haven't found the crack in the ground!
"Seriously?" I shout. I don't know who I'm shouting at; I never do. As far as I know, this world is a godless one. "I've found it in five minutes every other time! Five minutes!" No response. I sigh and slump to the ground, still halfheartedly scanning the area for the crack in the ground.
There! It's not what I'm looking for, but I see the entrance to a cave not far from where I'm slumped. I get back to my feet and hurry towards it, reminding myself all the way to think positive thoughts. I head through the cave, mining coal and planting torches as I go along. Before too long, though, the torches become unnecessary. It seems that, once I climb down this short drop, I will have arrived once again at the gigantic lava pool that lurks beneath every inch of this world's surface.
Very, very carefully, I make my way towards the lava. Glinting in the molten glow is not only iron, but a sizeable vein of gold, as well as ores in jewel-bright tones of red and blue. I set to work mining, uncertain of what, exactly, I can use any of these materials to make, but excited nonetheless. I collect lapis lazuli and gold and redstone aplenty, gain experience points until I'm right on the verge of level ten, which feels like a huge accomplishment. The lava is close, but I've managed to make a path for myself by letting some of the nearby water supply cool the lava into shiny, black rock.
The next vein of gold I'm aiming for is a little far away, a little tricky to reach, but if I can just keep myself on the thin path I've created, I'll be able to reach it. Knowing that it's a risk, I consider giving in and going to the surface. I think about going back to my respawn point to deposit materials and then maybe coming back. That way, all will not be lost if I happen to slip and fall into lava. But the gleam is too tempting, and didn't I say that I'm helpless to resist?
I reach up with my worn-down iron pickaxe and make a tentative swing. It connects, and my feet are still firmly planted on the ground. Success! I strike again, and again, and this is going so well that I'm even proving myself wrong! The struggle is not worthless, because sometimes you strike literal gold, and sometimes you figure out a way to work around the lava and you've finally got the hang of it! Grinning, I open my mouth to shout to the gods of this world who may or may not exist, but my foot begins to slip and--
"carvaskull tried to swim in lava!"
-end
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(Story)
"I wasn't trying to swim in lava; I just fell in and couldn't get out! There's a difference!"
A chicken looks up at me, its dark, rectangular eyes full of unvoiced judgment. Scowling, I dig a hole underneath its body, trapping it, only to realize that I've just respawned and haven't even punched enough trees to craft a pickaxe yet. The chicken stares at me for a moment, then turns and effortlessly jumps out of the hole I've just dug. It's taken me a full week to perfect the dig-a-hole, trap-a-chicken, kill-a-chicken technique, and now even that effort seems wasted. If I weren't on Peaceful mode, I would have racked up more starvation deaths than lava deaths.
Speaking of lava deaths, this has been my fourth in one day - my fifth death total today, on account of that one time I misestimated the drop to the bottom of the cavern and wiped out my whole health meter in one shot. There's a crack in the ground nearby, and it goes pretty far down, meaning that I've finally found easy access to more coal and iron than I found in the first few days of gameplay combined. Which isn't saying much, since I wandered around for those first few days trying to figure out how I was supposed to find coal for a torch if I didn't have a torch to light the caves, punching trees, and collecting mass quantities of dirt.
The only problem with this crack in the ground is that it leads straight to a vast expanse of lava. While this is a fantastic solution to the whole no-torches/no-light problem, I'm not the most coordinated kid on the block. Hence the five-lava-deaths situation. The allure of all that ore is just too powerful for me to keep away, though. The lavaglow is the flame that draws my inner moth. I am helpless to resist.
I punch through a few trees, horde some supplies for when I'm underground, and make myself a pickaxe that I know will break almost as soon as I'm underground. The whole process just seems so futile now that I've spent the last few hours dying with scores that range from zero to the low forties. I wander around the field, past the gently clucking chickens and through fields of light pink flowers, but, by the time I've reached the shore of the octopus-laden ocean, I still haven't found the crack in the ground!
"Seriously?" I shout. I don't know who I'm shouting at; I never do. As far as I know, this world is a godless one. "I've found it in five minutes every other time! Five minutes!" No response. I sigh and slump to the ground, still halfheartedly scanning the area for the crack in the ground.
There! It's not what I'm looking for, but I see the entrance to a cave not far from where I'm slumped. I get back to my feet and hurry towards it, reminding myself all the way to think positive thoughts. I head through the cave, mining coal and planting torches as I go along. Before too long, though, the torches become unnecessary. It seems that, once I climb down this short drop, I will have arrived once again at the gigantic lava pool that lurks beneath every inch of this world's surface.
Very, very carefully, I make my way towards the lava. Glinting in the molten glow is not only iron, but a sizeable vein of gold, as well as ores in jewel-bright tones of red and blue. I set to work mining, uncertain of what, exactly, I can use any of these materials to make, but excited nonetheless. I collect lapis lazuli and gold and redstone aplenty, gain experience points until I'm right on the verge of level ten, which feels like a huge accomplishment. The lava is close, but I've managed to make a path for myself by letting some of the nearby water supply cool the lava into shiny, black rock.
The next vein of gold I'm aiming for is a little far away, a little tricky to reach, but if I can just keep myself on the thin path I've created, I'll be able to reach it. Knowing that it's a risk, I consider giving in and going to the surface. I think about going back to my respawn point to deposit materials and then maybe coming back. That way, all will not be lost if I happen to slip and fall into lava. But the gleam is too tempting, and didn't I say that I'm helpless to resist?
I reach up with my worn-down iron pickaxe and make a tentative swing. It connects, and my feet are still firmly planted on the ground. Success! I strike again, and again, and this is going so well that I'm even proving myself wrong! The struggle is not worthless, because sometimes you strike literal gold, and sometimes you figure out a way to work around the lava and you've finally got the hang of it! Grinning, I open my mouth to shout to the gods of this world who may or may not exist, but my foot begins to slip and--
"carvaskull tried to swim in lava!"
-end