#empires stratos

[silverskye13]

"Do you believe in the gods, Pix?"

The archeologist chuckles, and continues adjusting measurements on his hologram projector. "You trying to convert me, Joel?"

The god of Stratos waves his hand dismissively, and though Pix isn't looking at his face, he can almost feel an the eye roll as clouds briefly wink over the sun. "Obviously you believe in me. If you didn't, we wouldn't be talking right now."

"Ah."

"I mean the old ones. You know." Joel waves a hand vaguely the direction of the ruined capital. "The absent ones."

Pix pauses in his work to turn and look past the bridge. The burnished gold of the tip of one of the angel's wings is all he can see over the hillside gates, but he knows the goddess is there. He memorized every curve and angle of that monument when he'd found it. It was... An impressive statue. He turns back to his projector and keys in a few more measurements, trying to get the height of the road just right.

"I don't know."

"Oh. Well I suppose you wouldn't." Joel shrugs at Pix's questioning glance. "You're human."

There is a moment where they're silent. Pix works keys a few buttons, adjusting the placement of his projection, and Joel watches, arms crossed like a sentinel. He doesn't help Pix. Not really. Joel isn't really that kind of god. He bestows gifts and blessings, but he reserves his hands for his people and his whims. But Pix didn't invite the god here to build. He doesn't mind reconstructing this old capital by himself. Joel does, however, grunt disapprovingly every time Pix places the structure wrong, and flick his eyes a little to the left, and Pix takes the hint and adjusts the hologram in that direction.

"You wanna know what I think?" Pix says, setting the hologram in its final place and taking a few steps back to observe it.

"You think?" The god chuckles, and when he does, distant thunder rumbles.

"I think more than you."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"I think worshipping the world is the closest we can get to an omniscient god." Pix finishes the thought before they can devolve into ribbing each other. It's fun to bicker with Joel, but that's not where Pix is going with this conversation.

Joel cocks his head to the side thoughtfully. "You don't think I'm omniscient?"

"Would you ask me this stuff if you were, oh all-knowing god of storms and things?"

"Sky god," Joel corrected. "Touché, little history man. So, you worship the world, then?"

"Everything we do leaves a footprint," Pix tells him. He adjusts his hologram just a bit to the left again. Joel nods at him almost unconsciously. Pix stops fiddling and starts playing shulkers, preparing to build. He's going to finish this bridge today. "The earth records these footprints. It's the nature of things that change, that they hold impressions of what changed them."

Pix gestures to the rock slide that cuts off one side of his hologram. "This gate used to carve right through this hill. Even though this side has collapsed, and erosion has eaten the side, beneath that rubble, there are cobblestones someone laid by hand. Maybe they were slaves, or skilled craftsman, but regardless they existed. The lived a full life, whatever that meant for them, they spoke to people they loved, ate their favorite foods when they were sad, and one day, they died. Bones turn to dust, epitaphs fade, but that builder's hands still touched those cobblestones."

The god of Stratos watches the hologram with a new and open curiosity. He reaches out a massive hand and places it gently on the particles of light, as though he could touch the recreation. Instead, his fingers dip through the projection, making long flickering shadows in the light field, distorting the image like rain on a glassy lake. It's almost comical watching the massive god be so gentle and reverent, especially over something so inconsequential as a bridge piece.

"So is this how you worship the world, then?" Joel asks quietly. "By helping it remember what it's forgotten?"

There is something loaded in the words. Pix looks up at the god, and he remembers signs underneath a floating city as citizens gently remind their god they love him, and they need him. He thinks of temples to gods whose names have passed out of history, floating amidst a living city made by a god who has no temple built. Not yet.

Pix doesn't know what to say, so he opts to say nothing, instead reverently laying out his tools on the bridge like precious gifts on an altar. The two don't talk. Pix begins laying stones for a new foundation, and Joel watches thoughtfully, not seeing the world in front of him. They finish the bridge.

#the barking writer #joel smallishbeans #pixlriffs #empires s2 #empires smp #empires stratos #empires the ancient capital

[ashalsdream]

more from the swaps au, dawn Jimmy and Stratos Scott !

they are lesbian goddesses based on the sun and moon :)

#flower husbands #smajor1995 #empires smp #solidaritygaming #jimmy solidarity #empires scott #dangthatsalongname #empires jimmy #esmp #esmp s2 #empires dawn #empires stratos #empires swap #mcyt #mcyt fanart #my art

[maxie-pallet]

Since I’m a bit late to empireblr I’m not sure if anyone has mentioned this but…

Am I the only one who thinks grian’s outside base in hermitcraft looks very similar to the building style of stratos? Most likely if it isn’t a coincidence (I’m not sure which came first cause I don’t watch much hermitcraft) either Joel or Grian took inspiration from the other. But what if it’s a lore???

Image 1 source: Grian - Hermitcraft 9: Episode 24 - Begin?

Image 2 source: SmallishBeans - My Biggest Prank EVER! | Empires Season 2 | Ep. 19

#empires smp #hermitcraft #empires theory #hermitcraft theory #empires stratos #empires joel #smallishbeans #grian #hermitcraft grian

[froganni]

They have such strong divorced energy, I had to draw them

#empires fanart #empires joel #empires jimmy #empires sheriff #empires stratos #empires tumbletown #I just think they're silly little guys :tm: #froggiart #froganni

[afoxysunny]

Empiresblr i need your help!

Which tutorial did they follow to build joels gold farm on empires s2? I can't find the video in which he says and i just can't remember

If you know either answer that would be greatly appreciated

#Empires smp #Empires season 2 #Esmp #Esmp s2 #Joel smallishbeans #Empires stratos #Please and thank you in advance

[nho-jungle]

“it’s got elements of classic greek architecture, as well as elements of not being on the ground, which is distinctly more modern” joe hills how does it feel to be the funniest mf alive

#mcyt #hermitcraft #empires smp #[hes talking abt stratos] #joe hills

[ellieloves2draw]

oooo for the eswap maybe draw Pearl from Stratos?

pearl from stratos! sorry about the wait, i kept forgetting about this ask whoops

thanks for the ask :D

#pearlescentmoon #stratos #empires smp #empires smp s2 #esmp #esmp s2 #ellie loves to draw

[quixlebug]

this moment evoked such a powerful image and emotion in me that i had to pause the video until i finished sketching it out

(people who actually manage to keep up with Joel pls don’t @ me I drew Stratos based only on the bits I got from Joe’s video)

#hermitcraft spoilers #empires spoilers #joe hills #hermitcraft #empires #my art #stratos

[lolli-popples]

I think that Scott of Chromia is the spiritual successor to the Codfather for no reason other than they both ran into the problem of placing their empire next to that one lunatic who builds an insane amount and ended up with giant structures 1 inch away from the property line.

#empires smp #esmp #empires s2 #esmp s2 #empires scott #empires jimmy #empires joel #empires sausage #stratos #mythland #chromia #mcyt #mcytumblr #scott smajor #smajor1995 #smallishbeans #joel smallishbeans #solidaritygaming #jimmy solidarity #mythicalsausage #lollipopplestalks

[rhapsoddity]

Stratos takes ending this whole situation into his own hands... 

#vigilante sheriff au #spectrum #sheriff #stratos #jimmy solidarity #smallishbeans #smajor #empiresblr #empires smp au #empires smp #eyestrain #blood #btw im shit at perspective but that first panel startos has flown them up away from the vines so he can drop sausage to knock him out

[foxxology]

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM STRATOS!

I ran a poll on twitter asking between sausage, scott and joel, who i draw in a santa dress and joel won :))))))

#empires smp #empiresblr #joel smallishbeans #stratos #empires s2

[enkaizero]

The teasing days of The Sheriff & God Joel (Empires SMP S2)

my early god joel design is kinda adorable compare to current one. I miss them idiots

#esmp s2 #god joel #smallishbeans #joel smallishbeans #smallishbeans fanart #stratos #ruler of stratos #empires smp #esmp #solidaritygaming #jimmy solidarity #mcyt fanart #joel mcyt

[myartdumpster]

The thing with living toys is that they need belief to keep them alive. They need at least one person to believe they’re real and not just a toy. Everyone knows this. Right?

Well, at least Jimmy does. And as the sheriff of a town of very real humans, yes sir, very real, it is of the utmost importance that he believes. So, he does.

Jimmy believes. Jimmy believes with all his heart. He loves Tumble Town, it’s his home. He would do anything for them. So, if all it takes is at least one person to believe they’re all real then so be it; he’ll believe to hell and back.

All it takes is one person to believe.

Jimmy tends to avoid mirrors, and water streams, and windows, and lakes, and— Jimmy doesn’t look at himself too much is the point. It’s a habit he developed soon after becoming sheriff. He tells others, and himself, it’s because a good sheriff can’t be too concerned with his appearance, he has to focus on his town, his people. He tells others it’s because a good sheriff is humble and not self-absorbed.  Deep down, Jimmy knows that’s not the truth; Jimmy knows why he avoids mirrors.

All it takes is one person to believe.

Issues aside, Jimmy’s proud of Tumble Town. He’s done a good job if he says so himself. Tumble Town is welcoming, warm. It may not be the biggest or the flashiest, or the richest, but it’s home. Its citizens are kind, understanding, and the best people a sheriff could ask for. Safe to say, he is pretty happy with the town he’s built, with the community he has created. The town is happy, they respect him, all the other rulers respect him. It’s great!

…well, all but one. That little god. Joel. Stratos. A splinter on Jimmy’s side. Constantly trying to launch him into the sky. Threatening to blow up The Liability. Building those stupid taunts around his area. Calling him a toy. He is not a toy ok! He is a very real person! Just like the rest of Tumble Town. Real people, led by a real person. He is not a toy. He is real! A real person! A real sheriff!

All it takes is one person to believe.

This time Joel had gone too far. Or maybe he didn’t, that’s what the town folk said, but Jimmy had just had enough. Calling him a toy is one thing. He could take all sorts of berating and taunting. Calling his citizens toys? Calling his town, a play set? that had crossed a line. The town folk, ever so kind, had told him it was ok, that it was only a matter of time until the town received the same treatment as it’s sheriff, that it wasn’t a big deal, but Jimmy wasn’t having it. Tumble Town was real, its citizens were real, the work they had all put in was real. It was real because Jimmy believed it was.

All it takes is one person to believe.

Overreaction or not, he didn’t care; either way he was making his way over to Stratos because he’d be dammed if he let Tumble Town suffer anymore.

“Joel!” Stratos was golden, too golden.

“Why hello there, sheriff, what brings you—"

“Oh please, enough pleasantries! I know it’s you making the stupid builds around Tumble Town!” Stratos was metallic, too metallic.

“What? Are you not happy to have more citizens around?”

“Joel, my citizens are not toys. I need you to stop. Right now.” Stratos was reflective, too reflective.

“Hey, toy citizens fit for a toy sheriff. Jim, listen if you’re still in denial I can recommend a good—” Stratos was too reflective for Jimmy’s liking.

“Stop! Stop! Stop it! Tumble Town is real, ok?” Stratos was too reflective, and that question was not aimed at Joel. “As real as they come,” Neither was that statement. “And I will not have you disrespecting my town or my citizens anymore. I tried to come here and talk things out, get you to stop in a civilized manner, but apparently you can’t be reasoned with. So, let me make this clear.” Fueled by nothing but anger and respect for his town, Jimmy walked forward, towards Joel. Hoping he looked at least somewhat intimidating; trying his hardest not to look at his reflection. “If you dare mess with Tumble Town again, I will not hesitate to take harsher action.” He flicked a flint and steel, as a warning. A final warning. “Good bye Joel.”

Jimmy turned to leave. Walking towards the edge, eyes on the ground to avoid the gold and polished quartz that coated the island.

“You’re a toy Jimmy, do what you want, you’re not a real threat.” Jimmy leapt off the side of Stratos, letting himself fall before opening his elytra. “So long, sheriff!”

Stratos has a waterfall. Stratos is too reflective, and Jimmy almost hit the ground.

All it takes is one person to believe.

Jimmy believes, no, Jimmy knows Stratos is the worst place on these lands. Just visiting makes him woozy. So bright, so golden, so reflective… its ruler doesn’t help it either. A god he says. If anyone is a poser here it’s him. Right? … right?

He’s spiraling again. It’s no big deal. He hates to admit it but Joel gets to him. It also doesn’t help that he caught a glimpse of his reflection and he clearly saw a— “no. No. No. No. Stop it, Jim! This is exactly what he wants! He’s messing with you. He’s a god for crying out loud! A pathetic one, but that doesn’t change the fact that he can probably do god magic... stuff... things. Right?” He looks at his deputy, attentively following his downwards spiral, despite the fact that none of this speech is aimed at him, “right? It was probably an illusion. He can probably do that. It was just an illusion… yeah.” Norman seems to agree, or, rather, he doesn’t seem to disagree. So, Jimmy settles. He settles for believing. He believes, wholeheartedly, that the string and loop that he saw coming out of his back is not there. He believes he is real. He has to believe he is real.

All it takes to keep the magic of Tumble Town alive is for one person to believe, and if that person, real person, has to be Jimmy, then hell be dammed; he’ll believe to Stratos and back.

#empires smp #empires smp season 2 #esmp 2 #jimmy solidarity #esmp jimmy #empires jimmy #smallishbeans #empires joel #esmp joel #joel smallishbeans #empires fic #? #kinda #listen im not a writer #I just needed to get this out of my head #jimmy solidarity fic #sheriff jimmy #tumble town #stratos

[grayleees]

STRATOS! ETHO BC I MISS THE BOAT BOYS + hermes and a lil toy guy

#ethoslab #pissingart #etho #empires fanart #empires smp #hermitcraft #hermitblr #hermitcraft smp #ethoslab fanart #boat boys #boat duo #hermes empires smp #empires hermes #hermitcraft etho #stratos! etho #stratos #idk how tf to tag this #etho pls make ur base so i can draw joel in ur von sway style thank u mr.slab #tango ur next watch out #double life smp #??

[krashlite]

I’m not an empires smp person however it’s still incredibly funny to me that Joel named his empire Stratos in s2 that. That I. That is in fact a name you’d give to Some Dude

But it’s also funny to me bc a city being given a person name carries the implication that there’s either an Older god named Stratos, or a famous story about a guy named Stratos

Or the third option, with στρατός meaning army, is that there was some unseen conflict that was so significant they named the floating city after it having an army

#my source for half of this is I’m Greek #the other half was me trying to remember the naming conventions for cities in Greece and failing and running to google #so I’m not 100% sure if this is accurate #but I do know naming someone Stratos is like naming them Hunter #anyways! #joel smallishbeans #empires s2

[watadere]

my non mcyt friends said that they’re like the little guys from night at the museum and i’m inclined to agree

#empires smp #empires s2 #joel smallishbeans #smallishbeans #god joel #stratos #jimmy solidarity #solidaritygaming #smallidarity #empiresshipping #can be /p or /r tbh #this is referenced directly from a joel thumbnail either way so #including the hearts #luluart