Season 5: Chapter 68. Remnants of Almond (3)
After everything that happened, the video went live.
[Trash Slam Dunk]
[Live Premiere!]
It was premiering for the first time.
Creeee. Cree.
The video opened with a summer cicada call. Sunlight streamed across the scene. In the distance, with the ocean behind him, Bubblegum stood with his back to the camera.
He turned around and asked, "Do you... like Survival mode?"
[It all began with her words.]
A bright, airy melody started playing.
— lmaooooooo
— lmao
— That's not a her lmao
— Is this a nightmare??
— What lmao
— Starting off unhinged lmao
— This is pure fiction
The music swelled, and the screen burned to white.
Under warm sunlight, Choco Shroom smiled and gave a thumbs-up. "Paladin? Cool class."
[Silver Light - Choco Shroom]
— lmaooo
— Silver pride lmao
— Because of Silver lmao
— Didn't she refuse to play tank?
Next came an unfamiliar face.
"The truth is..." A young woman appeared, her face flushed pink. "I want to get famous."
LetMeTank had never actually made that face or said those words, but the effects had been added in anyway. Then again, Bubblegum had never worn a long-haired wig either.
— lmaooooo
— Blow up lmaooo
— So that's what you've been keeping to yourself, LetMeTank...
[LetMeTank - Hiding her Powers]
Dun dun.
The title card appeared.
The next member, BornToB, was introduced.
"Ta-taaaank?" He tilted his head with a blank expression.
[Tank]
— lmaooooooo
— lmaooooo
— lmaoooo
— Lmao
— 4. Taaaaank
— lmaooo
After the simple introductions, the cheerful music grew louder. A young boy came sprinting up what looked like a school staircase. It was Almond.
— First love material
— I feel like I’m back in school!
The camera zoomed in on Almond's sweaty face as he asked, "Hey... you're not banning Iron Ball this time, right?"
A title card rose as the sunlight caught his sweat.
[Ace of the High School Survival Club]
Snap!
The scene cut, and Almond pointed at himself with his thumb. No sound was needed. One could practically hear it.
[Command? Leave it to...]
[The Smart Young Man] — ?
— ?? lmaooo
— Smart Young Man!
— Is that literally his name now lmao
— lmaooo
— Shouldn't it be Smart Young Student? It’s a school setting
— High school survival club but he's a young man? lmao
— Smart Young Man! Smart Young Man! Smart Young Man!
— I cannot believe this much hype is for one placement match
Five people ran through a school setting. All of them wore uniforms. One of them was noticeably overweight. He even tripped while running.
CRASH!
The camera urgently tilted toward the sky. A completely absurd title card naturally appeared.
[The story of five, bound together by youth and passion]
The blazing, crystal-blue sky filled the screen.
“Let's show them...”
Bubblegum shouted, “That even trash can pull it off!”
— lmaooooooo
— Trash squad confirmed lmao
— lmaooo
— So dramatic for no reason lmao
— ? lmao
— What's with the trash?
Viewers who hadn't watched the live stream were confused by the word "trash" appearing out of nowhere, but the question resolved itself quickly.
Boom!
[Trash Slam Dunk]
The title dropped.
— lmaooo
— I have nothing to say honestly
— Macaron went into isolation training lmao
— You're making all this out of one lost placement match?
— It genuinely looks interesting though?
If it were any normal Macaron edit, it would have ended as just a parody opening. After the intro, the main feature continued.
Crackle!
The main feature opened on Bubblegum.
— Ugh, embarrassing
— Insisting on queuing with Almond lmao
— Try climbing on your own merit~
— Still running matchmaking with Almond over and over lmao
As always, viewers tore into him. Apparently, desperately trying to end up on Almond's team made him look pathetic.
"Fine, I admit it. It’s embarrassing."
Whoosh!
Bubblegum opened his parachute and descended. "That's exactly why I have to win!" — ? — ?? — ?
Question marks popped up everywhere.
He pressed on regardless. "Because I'm embarrassing! The least I should do is win!"
— He's got a point lmao
— Fair lmao
— lmaooo
— Did he actually say this?? lmao
Thud!
Bubblegum landed.
Almond walked over and started clapping. "Oh...!"
He was sincerely applauding Bubblegum for surviving the drop.
A caption rolled over the image.
[A team that is, quite literally, a complete mess. And yet, powered by the carry of their ace, the Smart Young Man, they make it through the preliminary rounds.]
Almond's highlights played in rapid succession.
Slash!
Slash!
[LazySoldier Double Kill!]
"Yeaaah!"
"Smart Young Man!"
Cheering teammates, dying teammates, then Almond killing more enemies...
[The first major obstacle of the promo matches appears]
BOOM!
[Mana Explosion]
BornToB erupted in blue flames.
[Zelo → BornToB]
Ting!
Zelo, transformed into Raina, adjusted his sunglasses. "This is... revenge?"
[Micro-Organism: Zelo]
— lmaooooo
— He really comes off like a third-rate villain lmao
— lmaooo
— Micro-Organism Zelo lmaooo
Almond fired back. "If you want revenge, you shouldn't be playing Raina."
The music kicked in, and a flashy combat sequence played out.
Slash!
BOOM!
A fierce duel between bow and blade ensued.
Zelo made one last attempt to muster his power. "Die by the bow of your own lover, Almond!!"
Slaaaaash!
[The one who died was Micro-Organism Zelo.]
Almond defeated Raina with a level four Flashy Blade.
"Orders?" he asked.
His teammates erupted.
"Smart Young Man!"
"Smart Young Man!"
Edited chat rolled in aggressively.
— The order? Smart Young Man! The order? Smart Young Man! The order? Smart Young Man!
— The order? Smart Young Man!
— Determined young man......
— We live in the age of the Smart Young Man
It was extremely selective editing.
— lmaooooo
— The historical propaganda is insane lmao
— lmao
— lmaooo
Anyone who watched the battle footage found it hard to argue.
— He is good though, that's fair
Almond was genuinely good at the game. A question always followed close behind.
— Is he actually kind of smart?
The team seemed like they could keep winning forever.
[And yet, the prodigal son, in his wandering years...]
— Oh come on lmao
— Is he a son or a young man??
— lmaooo
Dun dun.
A large number filled the screen.
The video reached the halfway point. Around half the teams had been eliminated.
LetMeTank scrambled to find Almond. "N-no! Almond, wai... oppa! Where did Almond oppa go?!"
[The team manager searches for him, but his whereabouts are unknown.]
— The manager lmaooo
— lmaooo
— Suits her though
— Wasn't she also a streamer?
— lmaooo
CRASH!
An ice wall erupted, and teammates went flying. They dropped one by one.
[In the Smart Young Man’s absence, the team endures humiliation and crushing defeat.]
"Is that all you have to say?”
"Did you really think your boyfriend was gonna save you~."
"Must be in duo queue with her boyfriend, huh?"
LetMeTank collapsed to the ground, nearly in tears. "We play this well, and we're still losing! Damn it!"
LetMeTank looked helpless on the ground. A thunder blade came spinning toward her.
Crackle!
A brief burst of static appeared.
[“Win.”]
This caption appeared.
Flash!
On the battlefield that had been empty a moment before, a man's back materialized.
— Win lmao
— ??? I just... want to play survival mode...
— The legend of the Smart Man returns! He's BACK?!
— Oh NO
— Oh no...
LetMeTank's eyes went perfectly round. The camera zoomed in for a close-up. The man reflected in her eyes looked nothing less than a returning hero.
"Th-that person..." LetMeTank murmured as if she couldn't believe it. "Sma... Smart Young Man...?"
This was, of course, fabricated and assembled from pieces of various things she'd actually said.
In reality, Almond had asked, "Orders?"
She'd told him, "Just use Flash."
Macaron wasn’t the type who cared about things like that.
— Absorbed into the cult lmaooo
— lmaooooo
— Lmao
— Historical distortion
— lmaooo
— lmaooo
— I'm dead
Many of the premiere viewers had never watched the live stream. For them, this became the official record of events.
[Lv. 6]
Almond's level card appeared in a close-up. With camera work and a soundtrack worthy of a music broadcast, Almond's massacre began.
Slash!
Slash!
[The Smart Young Man returned from his wandering, stronger than ever.]
— Lmaooo
— SmartYoungMan
— Smart Young Man! Smart Young Man! Smart Young Man!
— Smart Man three-pointer
— lmao this is straight-up propaganda
— He went off to solo level-up by himself and it became THIS lmaooo
— Actually incredible
— He really is a Smart Young Man
Some people in the comments had witnessed the actual history, but their voices couldn't cut through. The sheer unfiltered carry footage in the edit was more than enough to silence any doubts or controversy.
[LazySoldier is LEGENDARY!]
Above all, his actual teammates were screaming their lungs out.
"Smart Young Man!"
"Smaaart Young Maaaaan!"
"Smart Young Man!"
Crackle.
The scene cut, and a large number appeared.
Dun dun.
Only three teams remained.
[Semifinal = vs. Popcorn]
— Wait, they fought Popcorn too?? lmao
— This is basically a tournament lmao
— What lmao
— The Big Match
— Finally...
Finally, the showdown against Popcorn arrived. The sky turned crimson, and the Phoenix transformation activated. Almond unleashed his ultimate skill too. An aerial battle erupted. This sequence needed no fabrication whatsoever. The YouTube viewers lost their minds.
— What the?!
— Whoa
— Insane
— Smart Young Man's three-pointer
— What is this
— Wow
— Popcorn too
[The two aces clash in a fierce collision, but...]
BOOM!
The Kraken’s tentacle erupted into the crimson sky. — ? — ??? — ?
— What?
— Huh?
— lmaooo
— Smart Young Man down lmao
[Both aces now eliminated]
At that moment, with the energy of someone giving everything they had, BornToB screamed, "DON’T RETREAT!!"
— What?!
— Levi level commanding lmao
— lmaooo
— A real commander
With both aces gone, an incredibly fierce exchange of attacks played out.
BOOM!
Cough!
Teammates fell one by one.
"Fire!!"
"Kill them!"
Urgh!
[But through the sacrifice of the Smart Young Man, the members awaken one by one.]
"I... shone when I was with Almond. Maybe I play Iron Ball because of those memories..." Bubblegum coughed up metaphorical blood as he launched an Iron Ball attack.
[When was your moment of glory?]
That title card played as Iron Ball completely obliterated the enemies.
CRASH!
[Mine is...... right now.]
— lmaooooooo
— The direction lmao
— lmaooo
— Lmaooo
— Unhinged lmaooo
— The fabrication is insane lmao
LetMeTank came sprinting in afterward, scattering nails. Her run played in slow motion as a voiceover drifted in.
“There's something I need to confess, senpai...”
LetMeTank's voice had been purely made up here. — ? — ??
— What?
— lmaooo
— What genre is this
— No shame, it's office romance~
A close-up also showed Choco Shroom’s face twisted in total focus as she hurled a bomb. “People make fun of me for playing Terry a thousand times in Silver, but...”
BOOOOOOM!
Her ultimate skill connected cleanly.
“I want to be recognized.”
Next, BornToB blocked a wall of projectiles aimed at Choco Shroom. “Tank...!”
That was the entirety of his voiceover.
— lmaooooooo
— lmaooooo
— That's too mean lmao
In slow motion, the remaining members of Popcorn's team fell one by one. Then, a certain line played.
"Let's make a promise." Bubblegum had actually said these words. "If we win this, we're all uploading this match to YouTube together. The title will be... Revolt of the Trash."
Of course, what that actually meant, viewers who had already seen the thumbnail all knew.
— lmaooooooo
— lmaooooo
— lmaooooo
— lmao
BOOM!
In any case, Popcorn's team had been wiped.
[Team eliminated!]
"YEAAAAAHHH!"
Almond’s teammates celebrated. The image froze on that frame.
Crackle!
[But no video by that title was ever uploaded.]
Just those words appeared on a white background.
[Those who had poured everything into the fight against Team Popcorn... were soundly defeated in the very next fight as if none of it had ever happened.]
Against the white background was a photo of five smiling figures. Up to here, one could still call it a moving conclusion.
[Trash Slam Dunk]
[The End]
The end credits started rolling. Then, a wall of critical reviews appeared.
["A Smart film..."]
[Ssida21 (★★★★★)]
["He was Smart."]
[Kim Yeoni (★★★★★)]
["Smart Smart Smart Smart Smart Smart Smart Smart... Sahoor."]
[Woo Dongjin (★★★★★)] ...
A considerable number of comments had already piled up.
— Smart Smart lmaooo
— I've been converted...
— Smart Young Man! Smart Young Man!
— Smart Smart Smart Smart SAHOOR
— He really carried a bunch of dead weight
— SmartCrocodile...
— After watching this, you just have to respect the Smart Young Man
Among those who had taken the Smart Young Man pill, a few cried out with the truth.
— "Why Hitler liked movies"
However, no one paid them any attention. The video's rankings kept climbing, fast and merciless.
[#Trending - 10th]
[#Trending - 8th]
[#Trending - 6th] ...
Everyone who had watched the live stream thought the same thing. Maybe the Almond Era would never end.

Comments

Loading...