#i have like 4 stacks of diamond back at my base so i should be good

[crazyw3irdo]

just lost all my gear in my minecraft world im normal

[rainyinautumn]

So Secret Life is happening. And it's great. And it has potential to be a LONG series compared to other life installments.

Let me explain.

Historically, the biggest killers in the life series are fall damage, PvP, and TNT (if you're wondering how I know this, this is how). Let's look at how each of those makes you dead.

Fall damage gets people in one of two ways: either taking a fatal bit of damage after being almost killed by something else (ex. Tango's final death in Limited Life), or falling a massive distance that wipes all ten hearts in one go (ex. Grian's final death in Limited Life). Neither of these are particularly viable at killing someone in Secret Life, at least not for a while, given all the players have triple the amount of hearts as usual. As for big falls, a lethal fall for someone with a full 30 hearts would have to be roughly 63+ blocks (fall damage is half a heart for every block after the third, with some small discrepancies for tick timings). That's a LONG fall. I'm talking you could jump off the top of the Crastle from 3rd Life and survive just fine. Granted, people won't be on 30 hearts forever, so that number will gradually whittle down, but what's typically a big killer is going to be more of an inconvenience for people with higher hearts.

PvP is the only top cause of death that's based on consistent and deliberate lowering of health, and without the boogeyman, it's not even a factor until someone goes red. Grian has implied, however, that reds will get different (and likely more violent) secrets, so I expect that once one person goes red, things will go downhill for everyone else rather quickly. I'm curious to see how PvP will work for people with high hearts but no regeneration. It'll probably take longer—an unenchanted Netherite axe in the right hands can deal a full 30 hearts worth of damage in just 4 seconds, but against unenchanted diamond armor would take around a full 20 seconds, assuming the person (for some reason) didn't fight back at all. And keep in mind players are allowed to enchant to their heart's content this season. The goal of most confrontations is likely going to be just to put a big dent in another player's health and in the hopes that that endangers them enough to be killed by more natural causes, rather than putting in the effort to wipe them out completely. Reds will likely prefer seeking out players with lower health in order to complete their secrets, but they may have to break the mold if they can't find an ideal target. Additionally, I wouldn't be surprised if some red secrets are something along the lines of "deal [x] amount of damage to a player" instead of just "kill someone."

On to TNT. The idea when setting off an explosion is always to do the maximum amount of damage possible. Explosions are based on power (how hard a thing explodes (4 in the case of TNT and 6 for end crystals)) and impact (how hard the exploding thing hits you). Impact is based on exposure (how close you are to the exploding thing), which varies wildly every time, so it's hard to say exactly how much TNT it would take to kill someone with 30 hearts in one go. My best guess, based on TNT-related deaths we've seen, is probably sixish point-blank explosions (probably best reached with six stacked TNT minecarts). Personally, I would love to find out exactly how much TNT you would need, and I'm sure Secret Life will help me out here. In short, you need a LOT of TNT to kill someone, but iron and TNT can be earned from secret rewards, so it may not be all that hard to get. And players should invest in a piece of blast protection armor (just one, though, more than one doesn't do enough good to be worth it).

And, on top of all this, players can get hearts back. Not without some trials and tribulation, but they have three pretty substantial lives. Sure, people will have bad days (like Martyn) from natural hazards like caving and being exposed at night, but both those things become much easier to avoid after session one or two.

TL;DR—it's harder to lose a life in Secret Life. As long as people are careful and try to hang on to their green/yellow lives, it could easily be the longest life series installment yet.

[lunar-writes-things]

3) CHA-CHING!

"And that is it!" Y/n smiled as they finished the makeshift washer and the spider string woven to make a rope to dry clothes "Now to announce my services and prices!" 

<Y/n'sHarmony> Clothes washing services are now open at my hobbit hole! Prices can be discussed at my base! Discounts are possible with any good deals! 

<Tango> ON MY WAY!

<Etho> same 

<Grian> I'm gonna head over 

Y/n smiled at the three who typed in chat before placing down a sign and carving out their prices 

Full set of clothes: 25 diamonds 

Shirts: 15 diamonds

pants: 15 diamonds 

Full set Armor: 50 diamonds

Mending clothes: 10 diamonds per piece

"Those are some pretty good deals," Grian said, spooking Y/n and making them clutch their chest in fright 

"Grian!" Y/n breathed out in relief "Oh you scared the crap outta me!" 

"Sorry!" He laughed "Anyway, I have some mending books and like 4 stacks of quartz ore. I know you need quarts for your megabase and probably some mending for your armor." 

"What do you need to be cleaned?" Y/n asked and stood up only to be reminded that they towered over Grian "For that much, it's like a 15-20 diamond discount!" 

"Two full sets of my regular clothes please and one I need one of my shirts and pants mended. They got ripped during my fight with the dragon." Grian said sheepishly 

"Okay! that will be 50 diamonds! there's a 20-diamond discount." Y/n smiled and took the clothes from Grian who took out the shining blue gems and placed them on top of his clothes

"Those are some good deals indeed!" Tango's voice made them smile and the nether hybrid "And what did you bring for that discount? Huh, Grian?"

"Mending books and Quartz ore!" Grian chirped "Why, what did you bring?" 

"My love!" He announced and gave Y/n a wink 

"Oh My!" Y/n giggled as they put their hands up to hide the bottom half of their face "Tango! So bold!" 

while Y/n laughed along, their eyes closed with joy and laughter Tango watched Grian's expression which turned from shock to confusion to anger, and if looks could kill... Tango would have been dead 100 times over

"Anyways, I'm kidding," Tango said and watched as Grian's face quickly changed from anger to guilt and then back to normal as Y/n opened their eyes with a smile 

"Alright, then what do you have for me Tango?" Y/n asked and set Grian's things down on a table she made outside 

"I have six netherite ingots and a shulker of glass." He said and handed Y/n the shulker box of glass and the six netherite ingots, "I heard you had plans to play around with stained glass so I figured you'd need it." 

"Woah!" Y/n looked up at him with big eyes "I can't take the netherite you worked so hard for!" 

"It's fine, I can always mine some more." Tango shrugged "Anyway, I need 4 sets of clothes washed and then 2 pairs of pants mended." 

"Okay, that's 120 diamonds total but I'll give you half off for the netherite and glass because that is a lot," Y/n said and took the clothes from him "And Etho! What you got for me?" 

Tango and Grian turned around to see Etho arrive with a bundle of clothes in his arms and looking extremely happy with himself. 

"Three full sets plus 4 masks that need mending." He said and dumped his clothes on the table "Two of the sets of clothes are Iskall's though, but I figured he wouldn't mind if I used some of his money to clean our clothes!" 

"All right! What's 75+40 again?" Y/n asked out loud and started trying to do the math in their head 

"115 diamonds," Grian said 

"115 diamonds unless you have something to offer me," Y/n gave a sly smile at the masked ninja 

"One IOU for whatever you need?" Etho asked nervously before he went to look in his inventory 

"Make it four IOU's and I'll let you pay 15 diamonds for this," Y/n said 

"Five and it's free?" Etho tried 

"Four, Take it or leave it Etho," Y/n smirked 

"Deal," Etho sighed and his shoulders slumped 

"Perfect!" Y/n smiled and started folding Etho's and Iskall's clothes "I'll get back to you in the order in which you came! At most, it should take a week! Thank you for paying, goodbye!" 

As the three males left, Bdubs came crashing in with his new moss jacket off his shoulders and a sad look on his face. 

"Bdubs!" Y/n exclaimed and helped him up "What happened are you okay?" 

"My jacket is ripped!" He whined and stomped his foot before Showing Y/n where the rip was "Can you fix it?" 

Bdubs looked genuinely distressed and with his big pleading eyes, Y/n couldn't say no. 

"Would you like me to mend it up?" Y/n asked, "I'll do it for free for my favorite person." 

"Wouldn't you be missing out on diamonds?" Bdubs asked, "I can't pay right now but I will be able to eventually!" 

"Nah, No need. So long as you don't tell the others. Think of it as me returning the favor from last season." Y/n smiled "Remember when you gave me all that diorite to piss off Iskall?" 

"Watch your mouth!" Bdubs said before he smiled and laughed at the memory "And yeah! Ohh! He was so mad!"

"And it also took a bunch of your hard-earned diorite." Y/n said, "And if you really wanna pay me you can help me fashion diorite in my megabase when I get to texturing."

"that works!" the man holding the moss jacket smiled "When's the fastest you can get it done?" 

"While I put Grian's clothes in the wash?" Y/n smiled "I have some moss that I can braid into a thread to sew your jacket with." 

Bdubs smiled before it dropped and his face scrunched up. It was silent for a moment until he looked up and asked "Can I watch while you work? Keep you company?" 

"If you can sing for me?" Y/n offered back to which he nodded and headed inside to make himself comfortable while Y/n picked up the clothes and separated everything from what needed to be washed or mended and then washed. 

Y/n headed inside after grabbing all the clothes that need to be mended and placed the rest of the clothes in a shulker box that they would need to wash out afterward to get rid of the smell that may overtake it. Y/n sat down on a pile of moss that was encased with some fabric they found, making a bean bag chair while Bdubs sat on their bed. 

Besides them were their sewing tools (Thankfully Y/n packed them from last season) and started braiding a thin but strong chunk of moss to sew into Bdubs' moss jacket. As they sewed, Y/n could see why Bdubs owned the beautiful coat. It was super warm and even as it lay in Y/n's lap Y/n could feel the warmth emanating from it. Now Bdubs was a cold person, not in the sense of his personality but in actual temperature. 

Maybe it was the sudden warmth or the gentle singing of Bdubs in the background but Y/n was suddenly very reminded of when they used to spend their days off chilling with Grian in season 7 when no one else was online. The way he would let Y/n sit between his legs and wrap his wings around them as he hummed songs in his hobbit hole and castle when the interior was done. A wave of nostalgia and domesticity washed over them as they finished sewing Bdubs jacket. 

"All done," Their voice was soft and sleepy and if they didn't have work to do Y/n would probably sleep the day away "it should hold for the rest of the season. Enjoy Bdubs." 

"Thanks, Y/n," He smiled and got up to put on his moss coat and melted in the warmth it gave "I can still stay with you and sing if you want me to." 

Unfortunately for Y/n, their communicators beeped and it was Keralis asking where Bdubs was and that he needed him for something. 

"Nah, go see what Keralis wants. If anything I can get..." Y/n drawed out the letter 'e' as she looked who was online "Grian or Pearl to join me." 

"Are you sure?" He asked but stood up anyway 

"Absolutely!" Y/n smiled "Go see what Keralis needs and tell him I said hi!" 

"Alright, Bye Y/n! Thanks for fixing up my jacket!" Bdubs left Y/n's house and took off with his elytra 

"No Problem," Y/n smiled and watched as he flew off "Now let's get the paid stuff done!" 

Y/n sat back on their makeshift beanbag and started mending Grian's clothes. They used the same needle, enchanted with mending, unbreaking, and sharpness, that they used on Bdubs' clothes to sew and used red thread they made to sew up and match the pattern on his sweater and did the same with his grey pants. After Y/n sewed up the clothes, they threw them in the washer with some soap she made last season and watched as it worked carefully cheering when it didn't break down the second the water started draining. As Grian's clothes washed, she focused on sewing up the other clothes of Tango and Etho while humming in satisfaction. 

It was just a peaceful day

Masterlist

[traceemerald]

-November 9th, Plantperson Journal, Entry 28-

I'm gonna start today by exploring more of the nether fortress, since I don't think I explored the whole thing.

The only thing of interest that I found in the fortress was a second blaze spawner.

I decided to farm some blaze rods after that, which is really easy if you have access to fire resistance potions.

Blazes can still hurt you with melee attacks, but they aren't smart enough to walk close enough to use them.

Anyway, I died because I forgot to refresh my fire resistance.

It doesn't look like I lost anything, but I feel like it's probably worth getting a spare set of diamond equipment so that I don't have to grab whatever equipment I happen to have lying around when I die in the nether.

I'm not sure what to do while I wait for my farms to produce stuff for me to sell, so I guess I'll go look for azalea trees to get moss.

Based on the Minecraft Wiki page for lush caves, I think it's best if I search in the roofed forest that I passed through on my way back from the cherry grove (which was a while ago).

I didn't find an azalea tree in the roofed forest, but I did find one in the neighboring old growth spruce taiga, so I have now acquired 1 stack plus 62 rooted dirt, 9 moss, 4 big dripleaves, 5 spore blossoms, and 2 glow berries.

Now I just need to figure out where I should start growing moss, I'll worry about that next time.

-End Journal Entry 28-

[calyxaomphalos]

The Ghosts of Windy Ridge

The morning of day 4, turn #13

four components location #19 - archaeological site (5) - Cloudbreak Mound neighbor #3 - Andy (6) item #1 - clearly broken event #3 - upsetting news/gossip

4 April 2022, Monday Morning

I'd learned about the Cloudbreak Mound when I made my left-into-U-turn two nights ago on the way to find out what was beyond Thompson Gap Mine. It was a little sign and it barely penetrated my consciousness at the time, but last night in the bath, the relaxing brought up all kinds of thoughts from the night before. Being well-rested, I made the effort to get up before the sun and go watch the sunrise from the Mound.

In the lightening dawn, the little sign was easily spotted. Another quarter mile down the road and the Mound was apparent. It looked almost perfectly conical, except rounded off at the top, which was easily twenty or more feet above the surrounding land. I figured it was maybe half a football field across at the base, depending on where one decided to start measuring.

I parked my car in the small lot and paused at another informational sign. The Mound was a burial mound of the pre-Columbian people of this land, discovered in the first part of the 19th century, excavated for the first time in the latter part of the 19th century, then re-excavated and properly conserved in the 1980s. Looking at the stairs carved into the side of the Mound, my first thought was, "White people put those stairs there."

Climbing to the top of the Mound seemed the ideal way to watch the sun come up, which should be any second now, given how light the sky had gotten. Something on one of the steps made me stop and take a closer look. It was a small handful of playing cards. I recognized it as the Alchemy deck, as I left one just like it back at home in California. It was six cards; three threes (diamonds, spades and clubs), a six of spades, a ten and a queen, both of hearts. I tucked them into a pocket and kept climbing. A few minutes later I was just a few steps short of the top when I heard a voice call out my name.

"Hey, Serren! What brings you out here this fine Monday morning?" It was Andy Z the blacksmith, seated cross-legged on a small inflatable tuffet, facing toward the east.

"Come to see the sunrise, and check out the Mound," I answered as I completed the staircase.

"Pull up a patch of ground and have a seat, unless you brought something to sit on."

"Ah yes, I forgot about that," I said, lowering myself onto a patch of grass that I hoped wasn't too damp. The sun was just now visible and we both watched in silence as it cleared the horizon.

"So Hank mentioned the other day that you read Tarot. Can you tell me anything about these?" Andy then pulled out another set of cards clearly from the same deck as the ones I'd found. His stack was a bit larger than mine. He'd found nine cards.

"Yeah, this is just an edgy, goth deck of playing cards with some fun artwork. They can be used like Tarot for sure, but anyone who is doing 'real' divination can read just about anything," I explained. Then I added, "If I had to guess, I'd say these cards belong to young Dani dressed in black."

"Aye, seems like a reasonable guess. You've met them, eh? I'll bet they like you," Andy said, clearly working at getting the pronouns right. "I'm not sure Pastor Mitchelson thinks very kindly about Dani, even if they are old Pastor Isaacs' grandchild."

I laughed a bit under my breath remembering Dani calling him "Pastor Dick," but then grew angry as I flashed back to my first night in town with Pastor Dick throwing me out of "his" church. I took in a breath and then said, "I'm not sure I think very kindly about Pastor Mitchelson, either," and then related the story of that first night.

"To be somewhat fair, we have had problems with rowdy strangers coming into town and stirring things up, but those have been high school boys, mostly. The kind of guys that ol' Pastor Dick probably knows a thing or two about," Andy said. "No offense, here, Serren, but you don't look like a teenage boy."

"None taken, at least not from you. Pastor "Dick" though, yeah, I find him rather offensive. Anything the townsfolk can do to petition the greater Baptist church organization? Report the guy or something?" I asked.

"People will say it's too soon, give the guy a chance. Me, though, my money's on him having connections, being able to mostly write his own ticket. Windy Ridge First Baptist is a pretty plum gig, really."

The sun was well up now. Andy stretched and stood up, then held out a hand to help me up. "Time to go get back to work. Here, hang on to these and give them to Dani if you see them," Andy said as he handed over the cards he'd picked up.

"Have a great day," I said. "I think I'm going to look around here a bit more, see if I can find any more of these cards. See you later!"

[blockgamepirate]

On Philza and Tommy

I’ve been wanting to talk about this for a while but I just didn’t wanna rewatch ANY exile streams because they genuinely make me so depressed and anxious but I finally forced myself to rewatch the one where Phil visits Tommy. Or I say “rewatch”, I actually never saw the whole thing before, I kept popping in and out of the stream while it was live bc of the aforementioned anxiety and shit..

Anyway, I’ve seen arguments over the topic of whether Phil is a terrible person for not helping Tommy or not. And I wanted to offer my take on it. So I’m just gonna go through the arguments:

1: “Phil is Tommy’s dad and has a duty to look after him“

I’m not gonna spend too much time on this because for one thing it’s not really canon and for another, I actually don’t think it’s the relevant issue here. Even if Phil was Tommy’s dad, Tommy has already basically been living independently for a while. And even back when Phil and Will were still talking about the family relationships being canon, Phil said as much: that he doesn’t have authority over his boys, they’re independent people.

2: “Phil doesn’t even know Tommy and it’s unfair to ask him to look after a stranger”

I legitimately have no idea where this take came from or what it’s based on. I feel like it’s so obvious that they knew each other from before Phil even joined the SMP. Tommy recognises him right away (1), they act very familiar with each other, Phil immediately attacks Dream when Dream blows up Tommy’s house (2), Tommy tries to convince Phil to join NLM but Phil is torn because he’s friends with both Techno and Tommy (3), they plan to make their houses in NLM next to each other and Phil helps Tommy build his (4), Phil specifically gives Tommy one of the three friendship emeralds he has (5)... Also OOC Phil refers to himself as basically a father figure to Tommy (6).

The reason their relationship becomes colder is because Tommy doesn’t approve of Phil staying friends with Techno. I think this is made pretty obvious too. Tommy gets upset with Phil when he sees him hanging out with Techno (7) and when Phil comes to visit him in exile, Tommy immediately acts cold towards him and accuses him of being Techno’s friend before softening a bit when Phil gives him gifts (5).

Ref:

1: I assume you’ve all seen this one it’s in Tommy’s video

2: Philza’s Twitch Archive: Nov 16 (around 03:44:30)

3: Tommyvods: Tommyinnit speaks to Philza’s wife (around 37:40)

4: Philza’s Twitch Archive: Nov 18 (around 18:55)

5: Tommyvods: Tommy Is Holding It Together in Exile with Dream (around 24:35)

6: Philza’s Twitch Archive: Jan 27 (around 01:20:30)

7: Tommyvods: Tommy & Wilbur make Tubbo a gift and he hates it (around 19:30)

3: “Phil didn’t help Tommy at all while he was in exile“

Oh shut up, watch reference video 5 again. He brought Tommy tons of useful shit, a stack of coal blocks, 8 iron blocks, diamond boots, how was he supposed to know that it would all get destroyed by Dream? When asked, he also helped Tommy with his projects at Logstedshire.

4: “Even if Phil isn’t Tommy’s father OR his friend, he still has a duty to save an abused kid”

Okay this is finally getting to the actual point.

So I wanna refer back to video number 5 up there on my references list again and I’m gonna go through that stream here:

- Ghostbur brings Phil over to meet Tommy

- Tommy is mad because Phil is friends with Techno

- Tommy gets distracted by Phil’s new clothes and the vision of Tubbo reappearing

- Phil gives Tommy a bunch of presents, including “Tommy Slippers“ (for the cold) and a friendship emerald from Techno. Tommy is excited about the slippers, somewhat apprehensive about the emerald until Phil assures him that it’s a gift from him to Tommy, not from Techno

- Tommy decides that Phil is his friend after all

- Dream shows up and acts all casual and friendly, Phil greets him politely but doesn’t interact much with Dream unless prompted to

- Tommy asks Phil and Ghostbur if they’re even real because he keeps seeing Tubbo

- Phil asks if Tommy has been drinking the sea water

- another vision of Tubbo, only Tommy and Ghostbur see him

- Ghostbur shows Phil around while Tommy tells Dream not to tell Phil about the beach party because it’s a surprise

- Tommy asks if the reason why Phil didn’t visit earlier was because there wasn’t a path and if the path made it easier for him and Phil says yes, because he didn’t actually know how to get there before

- More Tubbo hallucination shenanigans which I’m gonna cut out from now on, just assume that it keeps happening

- Phil tells Tommy not to drink the sea water, Tommy goes “I DID DRINK THE SEA WATER BECAUSE IT TOLD ME TO!“

- Tommy asks Phil (and also Fundy who showed up) to leave the VC so he can talk to Ghostbur and Dream alone (about the secret beach party plan)

- Tommy is happy about the fact that the path he made seems to be working and people are coming to visit him

- Dream notes that they aren’t even really hanging out with him so they might just be visiting Logsted, not him (which... Tommy literally asked them to leave them alone so they could plan, Dream is just blatantly trying to fuck with his head) and Tommy deflates and agrees that Dream is probably right

- Ghostbur invites Phil and Fundy to help decorate the beach (not telling them what for but it’s like super obvious that they’re planning a party) and they do

- all five of them work on the beach for a whole while and goof around until the end of the stream

So from Phil’s point of view Tommy is acting kind of cold towards him and doesn’t seem to particularly want him around (combined with the fact that he later doesn’t get an invite to the beach party that Tommy was obviously planning). Phil brought Tommy basic survival stuff and the slippers to keep him from getting cold, not knowing that all of that is going to get destroyed by Dream anyway. He seems a bit worried about the hallucinations but assumes it’s because Tommy’s been drinking sea water and tells him to stop doing that. He also notes that Tommy looks kind of rough but doesn’t push the issue.

Meanwhile Tommy is being manipulated by Dream into believing that Phil didn’t actually come to visit him, even as Phil is literally visiting him, with named gifts and everything. And he’s already doubting if Phil is even really present because he keeps seeing Tubbo who isn’t actually there so Phil could just as well be a hallucination too, or he could easily be convinced later that Phil was a hallucination.

Basically Phil sees that Tommy is having a hard time but there’s no obvious sign of anything being wrong besides him not taking very good care of himself and feeling lonely. Tommy says he hasn’t been sleeping and that he’s been drinking sea water (which is probably a joke but anyway). Him and Dream seem to be very friendly with each other, they even keep having all these secret chats that Tommy is telling Phil to leave for.

So.... assume this is your friend who you’ve recently had a bit of a falling out with. What kind of conclusions would you draw and what would you do? Honestly, yes, Tommy’s condition seems pretty worrying, but everything just points to him being lonely and depressed about being exiled, which isn’t really something Phil can easily fix other than just visit him more. But then Tommy gives really mixed signals about whether he actually wants Phil there or not (which is because he’s planning the party but Phil doesn’t know that) and then when Phil finds out about the party he doesn’t get an invite to it (because Dream stole the invites but, again, Phil doesn’t know this). So Phil just kinda has to decide whether to go there uninvited and presumably unwanted, or just vibe and wait to hear from Tommy. Meanwhile he has stuff to do with Techno who DID invite him to hang out.

Also Tommy seems to be doing better, he’s very excited about his beach, he’s excited about the fact that he’s getting more visitors (not just Phil but Fundy too) and he’s convinced that there will be more now that there’s a path. So as far as Phil is concerned, it seems like things are getting better and Tommy might end up doing okay after all, despite everything

As a sidenote also, Phil is a bit of a hermit, right? I feel like that’s fair to say about his character. He doesn’t mind hanging out with people but to him living alone in the wilderness isn’t a bad deal at all. Obviously he understands that Tommy is not like him and needs company but you can see how he might not see the situation as all that urgent. And you can argue about what Tommy’s canon age actually is but he’s been living independently and taking care of himself like an adult during his entire time on the server, this shouldn’t really be that different. Obviously the fact that he’s exiled is bad and upsetting for him but there’s nothing Phil can do about that either. He doesn’t have control over L’Manberg or Dream.

And I just wanna point out that all of this is exactly how abusive relationships work, right? Dream is deliberately distancing Tommy from everybody he knows and making him think that Dream is the only one who cares about him. And that shit can be really hard to pick up on. It might just seem like your friend is becoming kind of distant and has different friends now. And I’ll tell you, even if you DO see the signs, it’s really hard to decide when or how to intervene, or if you’re just paranoid about it.

It’s easy to say Phil should do this or that when you’re watching Tommy’s streams and KNOW what’s happening, but try to put yourself in Phil’s shoes for a second and actually think about what you’d do in a situation like this. Also please do so while assuming that Phil is a real person with his own life to live too.

You can say that he should have been more worried and more suspicious of Dream and gone to see Tommy anyway, that’s fair. But that’s a normal human mistake and also something pretty much everybody else should have done too by that logic. And Tommy was not being very receptive to help because he was being manipulated by Dream. Honestly this was probably something where Tommy needed to figure out for himself to break free. Which he did. (And speaking from a narrative perspective: that was the best possible ending to that arc. Tommy finding his own strength and willpower again, on his own.)

I’m gonna leave this here but I might reblog with more points (or make a new post). It does take ages to go through the vods, though, and I only made it up to December 9th so far.

[xiaoquanquans]

at my disposal

sypnosis : y/n and chishiya became allies after y/n had saved chishiya from getting killed in a game of tag . they helped each other stay alive in the borderlands while also collecting all the needed cards to return back to the real world . after following chishiya around religiously , y/n had fallen hard for chishiya and he had explained to her that he did not care for her and would do anything to keep himself alive . all the remaining players had split out to collect the face cards . y/n and chishiya were focusing on completing the diamond cards . but chishiya did what he had to survive .

tw warnings : swearing , manipulation , death , betrayal , mentions of alcohol , self harm , blood , depression ( do not read if you somehow relate to the tw’s , i genuinely care okay ? take care of yourself bby 🖤 )

notices :

• MANGA SPOILERS!!

• mixed pov’s

• the game announcer speaks in bold and sly remarks or important sentences are written in italic

• lowercase

• this ff might be a bit confusing , because it’s a knowledge diamond based game

• chishiya’s true nature / canon chishiya

• gender neutral reader

• not proof-read

—

the game that we will be playing is the keynesian beauty contest . difficulty K♦️. henceforth, the rules shall be explained . within one minute all of you will pick a number from 0 to 100 . after everyone has entered their numbers , an average number will be taken from the addition of the numbers of all the 5 players . the player that has the closest number to the average number will be the winner and earn one point.

here we were , all five of us facing each other at this pentagon shaped table awaiting for our deaths . the rules were simple , win or die .

if you get an answer wrong you’ll receive -1 point. it’s game over for those who reach -10 points.

kuzuryuu keiichi , the third highest executive at the Beach was directly facing me , chishiya was to my left and an additional two players as well .

benzo, an wise old man and hinako a snobby looking woman .

upon heading the rules it was obvious that only one of us would make it out alive . i wished that i had known that before entering the courthouse .

i turned to face chishiya only to see him sneering at keiichi.

only one player will make it out alive .

-

chishiya

why was he so special to me , so intriguing .

i was the one who saved him but for some reason i’m also the one following him around .

i was a smart person , i figured it out quick .

it was obvious to me that i was in love with him , and he noticed it as well .

one day , we were both hanging around the poolside of the Beach far away from each other when we exchanged glances .

not long after he made his way towards me and pulled me aside .

he stared me blankly into my eyes , no emotion portrayed through them . listen , i’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at me and it’s genuinely really annoying but you have to know .

i do not like you , i don’t want to like you and i never will . if we were in a bad situation i would not hesitate to sacrifice you to safe myself . i would use you at my disposal if i had to so stop giving me those looks , you should know that i hate them and i do not care about you .

after that day , we rarely exchanged words . but for some reason i still kept following him around . he was cold to everyone else , i wasn’t anyone special . but god forbid him , he was just so unique to me . he couldn’t keep me away from him and his god complex even if he wanted to .

-

before i could speak up i was quickly outspoken by keiichi .

“ you’ve all heard the rules . if you have no further questions we will continue and start the game. ”

chishiya snickered. he knew that it was going to be him . he knew that he was clever and he showcased that every chance he could .

he knew he would be the one to walk away from the court with the card in his hand . the K of diamonds would just merely be another addition to his substantial stack of cards that he had collected or as some might say , stole .

the first few rounds had passed and everyone had gotten the hang of the game . it was simple to everyone in the room . all you had to do was get the calculations right in the time limit of 5 minutes .

hinako spoke up , “ so this game , is merely a deduction of how far the opponents can calculate? ”

i let out a quiet laugh , everyone had already registered that after the first round and here she was only figuring it out now .

you made a bet with yourself , she’d be the first one out , if not the second .

“ but what we’re reading isn’t mentality but rationality . ” chishiya replied .

after a few rounds the tables weren’t turning , keiichi had been winning every round because of his solid strategy of everyone keying in either 0 or 1 . someone had to do something or else we’d all lose to him .

so i realised i had to change it up a bit .

i quickly inputted the number 100

it took everyone by surprise , i knew i had no chance of winning because 100 was definitely too far from the average but i inspired the rest to take part in what i was doing while also taking away keiichi’s advantage.

a few more rounds passed and both Benzo and Hinako had reached -9 points . I was on -7 and Chishiya was on -8 . Keiichi was leading with -4 points .

Both Benzo and Hinako were one point away from death , so they had to be extra careful in the next round .

Unfortunately for them , they guessed a number that was too off from the answer , causing the acid on top of them to pour down , melting and disintegrating their bodies until they were gone .

Chishiya smirked at it . Their lives had meant nothing to them and so did yours . He knew what he had to do after this . How he could ensure his survival by taking you out .

-

and here you were , in the pitch black bar of the Beach . gulping down bottles of alcohol , trying your best to forget about what had happened . you weren’t weak , you kept telling yourself that even if you didn’t believe it . but deep down you knew you were .

once you were done with your bottle you slammed it against the counter , breaking it into hundreds of shards .

you took the biggest one you could find and lifted up your sleeve .

this wouldn’t be your first mark, your arm was filled with lines that were distinct in width from past experiences that you had before coming to the Borderlands .

before you could hesitate you did it . the glass shard sliced it’s way through your skin with ease .

you dropped the shard out of pain causing it to break off into many smaller pieces .

once again you scavenged for more alcohol , looking for fire whiskey which was something that could help numb the pain .

after minutes of searching you finally found a bottle-

“ y/n what happened , why is the whole bar in a mess? ”

you turned around to face kuina , a look of worry was displayed all over her face .

she made eye contact for a moment before looking down towards your arm .

“ what were you thinking? ” you heard her mutter .

she quickly took the bottle of whiskey out of your hand and placed it on the counter , after that she slowly brought you to the other side of the bar due to there being shards of glass everywhere on the floor.

once she sat you down she went to look for a medkit, leaving you to yourself and your thoughts . kuina took as little time as she could because she knew you weren’t in the right state of mine to be alone .

once she found the kit she rushed back to the bar , only to find that you’ve fainted from the all the loss of blood . it was a thin cut line but a very deep one , it looked like you might have even accidentally cut off a vein .

after you had woke up the next day you and kuina had a long talk and after that you felt much better .

until you ran into chishiya again on the same day.

-

since there are only 3 players remaining , a new rule will be added into the game. if two players pick the same number they will both get -2 points .

i was already on -8 , meaning any wrong choice would lead me to my death .

picking 0 or 1 would definitely lead me to my death , so I’ll choose a random number between 2 and 100

how about , 62 .

the results are in , chishiya is the winner , number 23.

-

y/n ( -10points )

chishiya (-8 points )

keiichi ( -7 points )

-

and that was it ,

endgame for me .

before accepting my death i had one question , how did he figure out i was going to pick 23 .

and as if he read my thoughts , chishiya spoke up .

“in order to distance yourself you would’ve picked a number in between 2 to 100 because 0 or 1 had the highest chances of being duplicates .

after clearing all the possibilities of you picking a random number i was left with 62 and 74.

and i chose between those , and to my luck you picked 62 and all i had to do from there was divide 62 in half . leaving me with 23.

with this , a player has reached -10 points , it is now game over for that participant .

chishiya laughed , “ like i said you’re at my disposal , should have listened the first time . ”

and those were the last words i heard before meeting my end .

- END -

tags: @donnyhateslife @hvrriicane @myloveforchishiya ( dm to be added to tag list )

oui oui love yall 💖

[enderwalk-updates]

Changelog #14, Feb 20 - Feb 21

OH BOY. Alright, so, first off: this changelog is going to be extremely imperfect. Due to the nature of the Feb 20 charity stream, I don’t have full records from that day. Secondly, this is probably going to be a long one, just because of the...everything. I’m doing changelogs and then my thoughts down at the bottom all in one place.

Inventory Changes from Feb 20 - Feb 21:

REMOVALS:

-3 stone, 5 rotten flesh, 7 coal blocks, 1 torch, 5 stone bricks, 9 steak, 1 enderpearl

ADDITIONS:

-3 sweet berries, 61 dirt, 44 diamonds, 64 iron ore, 64 granite, 39 lapis, 64 cobblestone, 46 flint, 48 gold ore, 61 iron ore, 2 wheat seeds, 64 cobblestone, 63 diorite

Enderchest Changes from Feb 19 - Feb 21:

REMOVALS:

-None

ADDITIONS:

-51 iron blocks, 10 gold blocks

THOUGHTS:

LET’S TALK ABOUT THINGS YOU DON’T LOVE TO SEE!

Feb 20 was an hour long mining stream. I don’t have a way of knowing which of these additions were due to that stream and which weren’t, but I have a pretty good feeling those wheat seeds didn’t come from a cave. The extra 51 iron blocks, and 10 extra gold blocks, in the enderchest are also a mystery.

Feb 21 Ranboo said that he had “gone mining” when asked by chat what he’d done that day. Honestly, the evidence supports this. Most importantly here, there is no PHYSICAL evidence that Ranboo was the one setting off the explosions at the prison (I say “physical” evidence because we all know he did it, I just have to maintain an illusion of impartiality for the sake of Science). He’s been mining SOMEWHERE. One of the pickaxes is even at (barely) noticably lower durability. His armor is slightly damaged.

The Feb 21 stream heavily implied that all of this iron is being stockpiled for the purpose of making a new beacon. That tracks with what we’ve thought this whole time, and Ranboo also seemed to imply that he had enough iron to start building it (”we need one more stack, and then we’ll be good. [...] okay, now we’re good.”) I’ve made a seperate post about the hidden inventory message, so check the #message log on this blog or scroll down until you see it. It’s a confirmed thing, it wasn’t an accident, and I have no idea what the hell it means.

After yesterday’s Tommy stream, I’ve gone back and checked chests for the last 4 days, and checked our earlier record from Feb 5. There was no evidence of tnt, sand, or gunpowder stockpiles. I’m honestly not surprised by this; disappointed, but not surprised. It makes sense that the Enderwalk state would have a seperate base somewhere with materials and the memory book.

The sweet berries in his inventory at the start of the stream are very interesting to me. I haven’t checked chests; I know he has some stored, and it’s possible he pulled these from storage. If they weren’t, however, I’m inclined to believe he got them from Snowchester. I’m also putting out the EXTREMELY POORLY SUPPORTED theory that the memory book + hidden supplies are buried in Snowchester. If these are new berries, that supports this, as does the fact he woke up from an Enderwalk at the start of a stream standing on the path to Snowchester. We know he planted a ton of berry bushes in a specific area there, which was probably just a bit, but I’m saying it’s POSSIBLE that something is buried there, and the bushes act as a deterrent to keep people from looking too close.

Also! The TNT! We’re all 99% sure it was Ranboo setting off explosions in the prison. However, for the sake of presenting all the evidence, it could have been Sam or Foolish. Foolish is least likely; he has access to the materials for TNT, but no motive.

Sam was not on camera at the time, has a creeper farm with access to materials, and told Bad and Ant during his stream that the prison wasn’t damaged by the explosions. IF it were Sam, I doubt he’d want to damage the build, though I think some of the redstone may have been knocked a little off. He also alluded to the fact that there is TNT somewhere in the prison; I’m assuming as a self-destruct, “kill all the prisoners” button somewhere. Bad asked if there was, Sam replied: “No. [pause] Not that should be detonating.” There’s also that suspicous space at the top of the prison; this is confirmed to be empty by Bad and Ant, though we never see it ourselves, but that doesn’t mean it’s A) actually empty, or B) always has been empty. Sam seemed oddly hesitant about letting them up there.

However, Sam also seemed to imply that he’s going to try and get Tommy out of Dream’s cell and into one of the bed traps, probably for Tommy’s well-being. The only real motive he’d have for doing this would be Egg-related, if we all assume that he’s a little more possessed than he lets on. This is unlikely, but possible.

In conclusion:

[yourfriendlyenby]

New Hermitcraft live reaction as I type (Jevin)

Wait are they just gonna...

Ignore everything from season 8????

About the moon???

okay

---------------------

The gang’s back together :D

---------------------

Grian why are you just punching stone

Ren why are you complaining about everyone starting in a blind seed when it was apparently your idea

I guess that’s hermitcraft

---------------------

The hermits are gonna be neighbors?

ALL OF THEM?

Oh no this is gonna end hilariously

And I just imagine just like ‘Oh no I don’t have enough iron, I wonder if my neighbor Medusa has any spare’ 

---------------------

Not everyone bashing Gem and her love of birch-

---------------------

"KERALIS DID YOU FILL UP MY HOLE?!”

who the

Was that Tango or Beef who said that

Either way

Why

---------------------

And there’s murder already, False killed Iskall and we’re barely five minutes in (also loving the season 4 reference)

---------------------

Alright just a normal mining session with Beef

---------------------

“I wonder if they’re still doing the raid” the what

I get this is Hermitcraft but okay pop off kings

---------------------

“We should just mine it all and then sell it” ah like true capitalists

---------------------

“Oh wow there's so much iron!” me crying in the corner after struggling to find iron in my bedrock survival world

---------------------

“YOU FOUND A HORSE IN A CAVE?!” never change bdubs

“CAVE UNICORNS?!” never change

---------------------

Casually finding a Heart of the Sea, aight

---------------------

Okay just listening for some ores with your friendly neigborhood vex/vex hybrid/guy who made a deal with vexes, typical hermitcraft times

---------------------

Alright just some mining with Cub this time with some beautiful lush caves

---------------------

Had to skip a lot of mining because I have a TIGHT SCHEDULE with all the other hermits

---------------------

Casually just has almost a stack of diamonds no biggie

---------------------

I’m assuming that giant eagle is False but wow just another day in hermitcraft for these folks huh just a giant eagle first day aight shut up I ain’t jealous

---------------------

Nice starter base, bro

---------------------

Alright I’m just gonna assume the last few minutes is a house tour so I’m just gonna skedaddle on over to Joe Hills’ vid rq thanks

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - The Eye of Pincosta

So this is an episode that really didn’t need to exist, and I say that as a Styalan defender. The writers took a perfect opportunity have the characters actually learn and grown and bypass it all for a contrived performative fake out redemption. 

Summary:  The group arrive in the town of Pincosta, but Eugene is immediately thrown in jail for having previously stolen the town's largest diamond, the Eye of Pincosta. The sheriff declares Eugene to work in the deadly copper mines and soon the rest of the group are thrown in jail. Rapunzel negotiates with the sheriff, offering to find and retrieve the Eye of Pincosta in exchange for Eugene and the group's release. The sheriff agrees, but on the condition that Rapunzel returns in two days. Rapunzel confronts Eugene about the theft and reluctantly, Eugene reveals he previously worked together with Stalyan, forcing Rapunzel to seek out Stalyan and persuades her to help.

So Why Didn’t Eugene Just Stay Behind With the Caravan?

Like it doesn’t take all six of you to buy and carry food back to the caravan; which they don’t take into the town anyways. Especially when you have two horses you can use. So why bring Eugene along when you know he could be arrested? 

Pointing Out the Flaw In Your Writing Doesn’t Make It Any Less of a Flaw

No seriously, why didn’t he stay with the caravan? You need someone to watch over your stuff anyways if your going to leave it behind and Eugene is the perfect candidate for that. And even if you did need everyone to stick together, which you don’t, then bring the camper with you and let Eugene ride inside of it unseen. It’s not like the towns roads are too small for it or anything and it’ll save you from having to carry your stuff. 

If you have to turn your characters into sudden idiots for no discernible reason to make your plot happen then you haven’t a good plot. Start over and come up with something else. Like maybe have Eugene not realize that he is wanted here because it was so long ago or have the guards randomly check their caravan where he’s hiding out because Styalan’s back into town, or something. Anything so long as it doesn’t make the mains stupid. 

You’re Literally The Princess of Powerful Kingdom; Use That! 

Ok, from what background info we get here, Pincosta isn’t even a fully fledged kingdom. It’s a hamlet, which is smaller than even a village. We get no indication what ‘land’ it belongs to, but it shares a kingdom with the larger town of Zulberg, which is one of the running gags in the first half of the episode. 

What all this means is that Rapunzel is still the most powerful person in the room. She’s the heir apparent to the throne of a prosperous kingdom that has ties with a large trading network with bunch of other power kingdoms. Locking up her boyfriend and the future prince consort of said kingdom can be perceived as an act of war. 

The series is trying to lead into Rapunzel becoming queen, but that means she needs to take advantage of her position and perform queenly like tasks. Like negotiating international incidents like this one, and simply complying to the city’s laws as if she was some random traveler doesn’t cut it. 

Oh, So Now You Care!

Rapunzel, where the fuck do you think that prison barge was heading to just two episodes back? The same prison barge that your friend Attila was being threatened with. The same prison barge that victims of Corona’s corrupt justice system, like say Varian, are threatened with on top of the inhumane conditions of those dungeon cells that you locked your two best friends in back in season one. 

Do not tell me Rapunzel is some kind and caring person if she only gives a damn about unjust treatment when it only affects her or someone she already cares about.     

This Is Stealing Agency Away From Eugene 

Rapunzel is not the one responsible for Eugene’s mistakes. She can help to some degree, like using her political power to pull some strings, but she doesn’t need to be the one to make reparations for his actions; that’s on him. 

Or rather it should be on him. This should be his episode. The one where he grows as a person as he makes up for past deeds. Because redemption isn’t just about never doing bad things again, it’s also about making amends for what you did wrong. 

That’s where this series fails and why the whole ‘It’s Rapunzel’s Story’ mantra is hollow. For starters it’s not just Rapunzel’s story. The series isn’t structured to be that way because it’s based off of a movie with two protagonists. It’s Eugene’s story as well. It’s also Cassandra’s and Varian’s story because as the main antagonists they further the conflict. 

But it also fails because Rapunzel is just thrown into other people’s stories instead of being given her own. Rapunzel never learns anything from this adventure. Stalyan does, and Stalyan is never seen again after this episode. Having Rapunzel teach other random people lessons is counterintuitive to what the series wants to be. If it’s meant to be a coming of age story where Rapunzel learns about the real world, then she can’t be automatically in the right every episode.   

Well Ain’t That Convenient  

So Stalyan is needed to find this diamond that she and Eugene stole in order to free Eugene. Yet it’s never stated how Rapunzel finds Stalyan, especially so quickly. Last we saw her she had just left Varados and that was months ago. She could have been anywhere by this time. 

So why is she near the same town where she’d still be wanted for arrest at? Where’s a her dad, who was dying from poison when we last saw him? What has she been up to? How did Rapunzel even know she was here? 

Like you need to establish crap like this, otherwise it’s just a major plot hole. 

So Why Stalyan? 

This episode could have gone to just about anybody. Eugene, Lance, Lady Caine, fucking Shorty... Like I’d even take Hookfoot over this. He’s at least there for more than two episodes. 

So why Stalyan? Why does she get a focus episode when we’ll never see her again? How come she’s ‘redeemed’ but not any of the other criminals on the prison barge? Like the series wants to act as if Rapunzel is this really forgiving person who believes in second chances but only four villains out of twenty get redemptions. 4 out of 20! What makes Stalyan so special that she gets to be one of those few select four and not say Lady Caine, Dwayne, or Andrew and the Saporians? 

This Should Have Been a Lance and Rapunzel Team Up Instead

Keep in mind when I say this episode could have focused on anybody, I do mean it. You get creative enough this initial setup could have featured any two characters you wanted interacting. Lance and Eugene, Eugene and Rapunzel, Eugene and Stalyan, Eugene and Cassandra, Lance and Cassandra or maybe even Caine and Rapunzel, and reveal how Eugene knew Caine back in the pilot episode. Like there’s a lot of possibilities here. 

For my money though, this should have been a Lance and Rapunzel episode. Because we don’t get any Lance and Rapunzel episodes. We don't even get any Lance episodes after his introduction. All his development, what little there is, is shoved into the b-plot of other characters’ focus episodes. He also barely interacts with the series main character despite being her boyfriend’s BFF and living with her on the road for year. That’s ridiculous. 

All you needed to do was make Lance Eugene’s partner and have Lance make up for his past deeds to try and free his friends. Boom! 

Why Didn’t You Bring Anything With You Raps?

We see at the end that the caravan was parked outside of town this whole time. She still has the key to get out any money that she needed, the pick of two horses that can’t fit inside of a cell anyways, and oh yeah probably a canteen to use.

Furthermore, she’s a fucking princess!!! She’s has credit and clout and can just get whatever she damn near wants just by asking; because she’s not your average person on the street like us. 

I’m not going to feel sorry for the main protagonist when the main protagonist is an idiot who does these things to herself and makes life harder for everyone needlessly.  

Rapunzel Has a Stunted Grasp of Ethics 

Stalyan’s not wrong here. Unless you have an alternative, like your own horse or money to buy horses, that you decided to leave behind as well for some undefined reason, then yeah, you needed horses. Your friends lives are at stake woman! 

I touched on this back in my TAR review, but the show leans heavily into authoritarian beliefs because it provides childish lessons for adult situations.  

‘Stealing is always wrong no matter what’ is the thought process of a child. It does not take into account how systems of governments can stack the deck against certain groups of people, nor how sometimes emergencies come up and you got to deal them in the moment and make amends later. 

And you know what, I’m not taking ‘it’s a show for kids’ as an excuse here. Children shows very much can introduce comlex themes and grey morals and plenty already have. If you make classism a major theme of your story then you need to actually address it, and that starts by having your main character acknowledge it. 

This could have been the perfect opportunity for Rapunzel to grow. Up till now she’s always had her physical needs provided for her. Since her escape from the tower she’s also been thoroughly spoiled. Have her come down off her high horse and see how the other half lives. See first hand what Eugene and the pub thugs had to do to survive before they met her.      

Have her things actually be confiscated. Have her princess title mean nothing cause no one knows her or believes her. Have Corona not recognized in this part of the world. You want to be the underdog then make her an actual underdog and have her learn from it.  

Because Rapunzel having the moral outlook of child makes sense given her backstory, but she can’t stay that way. We all have to grow up sometime, we all have to learn the harsher truths of this world, and this is suppose to be a coming of age story. 

So How Does Stalyan Know Where the Eye Is But Not Eugene?

If Eugene is the one who lost it, then how come he didn’t know where it was at? Why couldn’t he just have told Rapunzel all of this and left Staylan out of the picture? Also how do you know if Goodberry even still has it if it’s been years ago? How do you know where Goodberry is? It’s awfully convenient that he never moved in all that time and that he’s so close to the town of Pincosta. 

Once again, plot holes. 

Stalyan is a Poor Man’s Sadira

So for those of you who aren’t 90s kids like myself, Sadira is a villian from the Aladdin tv series. She’s basically Stalyan but done better. 

Things they have in common 

their goals are to marry the main hero, who are ex-thieves

both are jealous of the main heroines who are princesses 

both are thieves themselves and have lived their whole lives as such 

both believe they belong with the hero because they come from a common background 

both resort to dubious means to win the heart of the hero

both try to get rid of the heroines but never resort to killing them out right 

both are redeemed and eventually befriends the princesses 

You know what the difference between the two of them is? 

Sadira is actions are actually worse than Staylan’s but she’s given enough screen time and focus to come across as sympathetic to the audience. 

I’m serious. Stalyan is an ex who was left at the altar by her douchey boyfriend, but their relationship was so toxic that she can’t understand that she’s actually better off without him nor accept that he left her for someone else. So she tries manipulating him into coming back to her, while her dad does some messed up blackmail and poisoning that she didn’t agree to but went along with anyways. 

Meanwhile Sadria is a straight up stalker. She doesn’t even meet Aladdin until after the events of the first film, and he makes it clear to her from the get go that he’s in a committed relationship with someone else and isn’t interested in her. But Sadria tries episode after episode to ‘win’ him resorting to mindwipes, kidnapping, and even alternating reality. 

But we actually see things from Sadria’s perspective. It’s made clear that she has no one and nothing. Aladdin is the first person to show her kindness and so she latches onto him. Sure it’s unhealthy and the series calls it out as such, but by the time she has acknowledged this and befriends Jasmine the audience now understands her and feels sympathy for her.   

We get no such focus for Stalyan. Not even in her redemption episode. We still don't know why she wants to be with Eugene after he’s treated her so badly. We still don't have any clue what their relationship was like before the breakup, or even when the breakup happened. (I still think it was during the events of the movie and that he left her for Rapunzel, but it’s left open) It’s hard to relate to or feel sorry for Stakyan when we know nothing about her and haven’t seen this ‘good side’ Rapunzel keeps talking about for ourselves. 

Even though theoretically she should be very sympathetic because of the way Eugene treated her, and because her actions thus far are relatively tame compared to most of the villains in the show. 

Just Because Other Places in the World Are As Bad as Corona, Doesn’t Mean That Frederic Is Excused For His Behavior 

This show thinks it’s a okay to introduce horrible crap so long as it’s done in a comedic way and not focused on, but this isn’t The Office. You can’t use a corrupt legal system and authoritarians abusing their power as the crux of your main conflict in season one and then expect us to just laugh off jokes like this one. Or the one about tailor getting locked up for ripping Frederic’s robe. Or find young Lance trapped in a cell with Shorty being fed gruel as funny. 

Like, even if you do laugh at these jokes at first in the moment, once you stop to think about them, it just shows how awful Frederic and Rapunzel are, how awful the system is, and that change needs to happen. But it can’t happen if Rapunzel and the show doesn’t acknowledge that such things are wrong. That they are more than jokes. 

The serious story that the writers want to tell is undermined by the comedy, and the comedic moments are undermined by the existence of the more serious drama.   

So is this a sitcom or a drama? It can’t be both, not when dealing with such high stakes. 

Sitcoms work because they’re low stakes. Few characters are affected and most situations aren’t life and death. Even in dark comedies where death is often the joke, it’s because death is seen as unimportant, something to be casted aside, and it’s funny because it’s disrespectful. But the moment you call to attention just how messed up everything really is, and how awful death can be, then it’s suddenly no longer funny. Especially if it’s innocents who are getting hurt. Dark comedies also work because it’s often computuance for characters who are awful people. 

That’s not what TTS is, so it’s attempts at being like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia or Rick and Morty just doesn’t work and comes across as tone deaf. 

Also why are the dang horses in the cell with the humans? They’re horses! 

So What Exactly Is Stalyan’s Plan Here?

No seriously, what is her thought processes here? The audience isn’t mind readers. We need know why the characters do the things they do. 

Why is Stalyan still hung up on Eugene? Why does Stalyan think he’ll take her back if she shows up to free him without Rapunzel? What is she going to say when he asks about Raps and why would he even believe her to begin with? 

What does ‘A thief belongs with a thief’ even mean!!? We have no context for this cause we have no context for their relationship! 

This episode could have provided us with some context, some cule of why Stalyan and Eugene were together for so long, why they broke up, why she still wants to be with him, why she thinks he’ll return to her even now, but nope! We gotta have a stupid parody wrestling match.  

Oh joy. 

This Is a Guilt Trip, Not a Redemption 

Rapunzel is full of shit. 

If she honestly believed that there was ‘good in everybody’ then why did she send Caine off on the prison barge without even trying to relate to her? Why didn’t she try to befriend Weasel instead of fighting him off? Why is Varian currently sitting in a jail cell right now!!!  

Here’s why Stalyan was ‘redeemed’ and not the others. 

Rapunzel needed something from her. 

Rapunzel guilt trips, manipulates, and coerces Stalyan into helping her. She doesn’t actually give a damn about whether or not Stalyan ‘does the right thing’ so long as she gets what she wants; Eugene’s freedom and his heart.

Sure Stalyan probably should turn away from her life of crime. She should let go of her obsession with Eugene. She should return the eye that she stole and start making up for her past. But you know what? 

None of those things have anything to do with Rapunzel! 

Stalyan needs to come to those decisions herself in order for this to be a proper redemption. If Rapunzel is involved in any of that then it can’t be with the condition that she’s gaining something from it. It’s not true compassion if you have an ulterior motive for what you do.   

This Confession Might Actually Have Meant Something If We Had Any Actual Context! 

This doesn’t tell me anything. 

Why would Stalyan only see ‘a thief’? She loved him enough to want to marry him and has known him for years. Sure she may have accepted that he was a thief, encouraged it even, but there’s got to be other reasons why she dated him. Other reasons for why she wanted him back. 

Also why does this come back to Rapunzel specifically? Is she the reason why he left Staylan at the altar? And even so, why is that a reason to give Eugene a free pass? Is it just because she’s the protag and now they’re friends suddenly? 

In fact if you are friends now, then Rapunzel deserves to know the truth of who she plans on marrying and come to the decision if he’s worth it. If he really has changed, not just in terms of being an ex-thief but also in how he handles relationships. 

We the audience deserve to know too. 

Redemption Shouldn’t be Tied to Friendship With Rapunzel 

Eugene becoming inspired to be a better person because he fell in love with someone is one thing. Rapunzel only forgiving people because they’ll befriend her is entirely another. Especially when two of the main villains become villains after they stop being friends with her. 

It sends out a really gross message of favoritism and not letting go of toxic relationships, while also placing Rapunzel too high upon a pedestal.   

Rapunzel Can’t Forgive Stalyan In Eugene’s Place 

I’d be pretty upset if my current spouse just said that my abusive ex ‘was not that bad’.

Like, fuck both of you. 

And yes, I did defend Stalyan in Beyond the Corona Walls, and I did say that we didn’t have enough context to claim she was abusive when they were in a relationship. After the breakup tho? Yeah, yeah she was abusive then. You don't have to be in a relationship in order to bully someone; you just have to have power over them. 

Stalyan hurt Eugene, not Rapunzel. That’s why any redemption with her needed to be with him. They both needed to make amends, forgive each other, and move on. 

This isn’t Rapunzel’s show. 

If the creator wanted it to be her show then he shouldn’t have introduced conflicts that don’t actually involve her, nor characters with higher stakes then her. 

This Doesn’t Feel Earned, and So the Audience Feels Cheated 

And so Stalyan rides off into the sunset rich to live happily ever after presumably as a thief still, and no one gave a shit.  

No one was asking for this. No one cared about Stalyan. Worse the writer failed to make us care. Ergo this whole episode feels like a waste and it is. 

Conclusion 

Much like the rest of season two this is pure filler, and not even good fun filler; like with the mermaid episode or the pirate episode. Worse it’s very existence actually diminishes Rapunzel as a character rather than build her up. So it fails in its sole purpose as a story. 

[melon-wing]

The Kissing Challenge Part 5/8

Before I start, let me say how sorry I am that this chapter took so long. I received some bad news while I was working on it. Threw me kinda out of the story. I’ll try to make the next waiting time a little less long. Thank you all for your patience!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

[PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3] [PART 4]

Grian landed on the peak of a mountain wearing some sort of mask and looked down at his own building. It was a little strange and he had no clue why Doc and Bdubs had been so adamant on buying it at the end of last season only to have to rebuild it block by block in this world.

But he had to admit it looked kind of funny with the fence in the middle, being split apart. He carefully climbed down the mountain and searched for any movement, but nobody appeared to be around. He would be gone in a second, he just needed to trade with Doc’s villagers. Sure, he could have asked, but Doc would have wanted payment and he was getting a little short on diamonds at the moment. And Doc would not even notice anything amiss until it was too late and Grian would be gone by then.

As he crept down the mountain and reached the front lawn he noticed movement behind the house and sure enough, Doc was busy building something in the back. Well that made his plan a little more risky, but not impossible. Grian stayed hidden behind a few chests for a while, but Doc seemed to be fully immersed into his work. And he knew Doc good enough by now. If that guy was busy working on something it was almost as if he was in a different world. There would be no better time than now to pull off his plan.

He slipped through the iron doors and was welcomed by wild mumbling. Those villagers had always been way too noisy. The only good thing was, that they were constantly talking, so any noise he might make should go unnoticed. Now for the trading…

Grian put down a few Shulkerboxes, glancing at the door one last time before getting his first items out. Not a second later he was swarmed by a villagers, all holding up emeralds to trade with him. And trading he did. He pulled out one item after the other, storing the emeralds in his chest, looking at the growing number with a satisfied grin. He was just getting out the last stack of paper to trade for emeralds, when he felt hot breath ghosting over his neck, making him freeze up.

“Nobody touches my villagers”, a low and threatening voice whispered into his ear. He startled and turned around so fast he almost fell down.

Doc was standing right there, one eyebrow raised and just staring at him. Damn, with all the villagers talking he’d never heard the sound of the iron door. And he had been so close to finishing and getting away without being discovered. How was he supposed to talk his way out of this? He had been caught red handed after all.

“So Grian… I think a little payment is due. I can’t trade with them today after all. Or rather a little punishment. You wouldn’t want to start another Civil War now, would you?”

Grian swallowed and shook his head. He always felt so nervous around Doc. They had been on opposing teams constantly last season after all.

“Yeah, thought so. Now what can you offer me? How should we proceed?” Doc’s voice was still dangerously low and he was looking at him with a calculating grin.

“I could… Give you half the Emeralds I just got?”, he suggested slowly, but soon caved in when Doc shook his head. “Or you can have all of them. I don’t really need them that badly. You can have them.” Doc was still silently watching him and each second that went by without any answer made him even more nervous. Of all the Hermits only Doc had that affect on him. “Alright. Name your price. What can I pay to make it up? I got like… 15 diamonds left.”

And finally Doc decided to break his silence. “That’s a nice start. I’ll take those 15 diamonds… Oh and I’ll also take you.”

Grian’s eyes widened and he blushed at the last demand. He didn’t even know what Doc meant by that but his mind was already working in overdrive. His brain conjuring up images he’d never ever forget.

Doc chuckled, clearly amused by his state. “You’d think, someone running around the server kissing people would be a little less innocent. It’s nice to know you haven’t changed.”

“So you just said that to tease me?”, Grian whined, crossing his arms in front of his chest, feeling a little vulnerable under Doc’s intense stare.

“Oh no. I meant what I said. I’ll take you…”, he paused for a second, walking up to Grian and putting one of his fingers underneath Grian’s chin, so he was forced to look up at Doc, “on as a personal assistant for the prank I planned on good old Bdubs.”

“Oh…”

“Well what were you thinking? Expected me to do some dirty things to poor innocent Grian? I think Mumbo would kill me if I laid a finger on you.”

“Mumbo’s not my dad”, Grian grumbled, not even trying to deny that Doc was right about the other part. He needed to change the topic and he needed to change it fast, before he could be teased any more. “So a prank on your neighbour, right? Got anything in mind or do I have to plan it as well?”

“I got a little plan. I just needed someone to play a part in it. You happened to drop by at the right moment. I already prepared everything. You just need to lure Bdubs into my trap. He wouldn’t trust me enough to follow any instructions. And while everyone knows you are a prankster, you haven’t interacted with him enough to raise suspicion.”

~

Half an hour later, Grian regretted everything that had led him up to this moment in his life. “Is this really necessary for your big plan or are you just doing it to punish me?”

“Both. It is the best way to get his attention I think… And I also enjoy seeing you like that.” Doc chuckled darkly, looking Grian up and down. Grian was wearing a red and white dress that Doc had told him was apparently called a ‘Dirndl’. He also wore matching High Heels and bright red lipstick. Doc had even put a flower crown on Grian’s head that reminded him a little of his time as a Hippie.

Grian felt his face light up almost as bright as the dress he was wearing. Sure, he had worn a dress before when he dressed up to do an advert for Sahara. But this? This wasn’t what he had in mind when he left his base today.

“I hate you...”

Doc only laughed with his deep rumbling voice, giving Grian a few pats on the shoulder.

“You’ll do fine. Just, you know… Go over there and lure him into the trap and that’s that.”

Grian sighed in annoyance.

“Yeah. I get that. But why the hell am I wearing this freaking dress and those heels? Like it is obvious it’s me. I can’t pretend I’m anyone else. He’ll know as soon as he sees me.”

“Sure,” Doc just shrugged, “But that’s not the point. The point is to get his attention and to make him curious, you know. Bdubs can’t resist. And I enjoy seeing you suffer like that.”

Grian groaned, throwing one last dirty look at Doc before walking around the fence to Bdubs’ side of the house. He regretted the moment he had decided to sneak onto Doc’s property. He really shouldn’t have done that. But it was too late now and he would have to suffer the consequences.

Bdubs was lying at the side of his little pool on a chair, sun glasses on, simply relaxing. He hadn’t noticed Grian yet, despite the noises his shoes must have made.

Alright. He could do this. Sure, it was ridiculous, but he’d show Doc. If he looked like he felt uncomfortable, Doc would be even happier. So he would just rock this.

Without hesitation Grian swung one leg over Bdubs and just sat down on his waist, legs spread, putting his hands onto the other’s chest.

“Hey there, pretty.”

Grian could feel the way Bdubs startled, trying to jump up, but unable to do so because of the added weight on his lap. So he settled for simply sitting up, which only put him closer to Grian.

“Wha- What? Grian, dude? What’s going on?”

Grian grinned, raising one hand to caress Bdubs cheek, looking at him from bellow his eyelashes.

“Well, you know… I was just passing by and couldn’t resist such a good looking man...”

Bdubs looked utterly confused and Grian really couldn’t blame him for it. Weird things tended to happen quiet often when the Hermits were concerned, but that didn’t make them any less weird. And Grian walking around in a dress making his moves on someone? That was definitely not a common occurrence.

Grian slowly leaned forward, his breath already ghosting over Bdubs lips.

“We could have a little fun, if you are interested. Go somewhere nice and cosy. Just me and you.”, Grian whispered, before he leaned in for the kiss.

And then he looked at Bdubs, blinking a few times in confusion. His lips had only met a book that Bdubs had held up right between them.

“What is Doc planning this time?”, Bdubs voice came from the other side of the book and Grian’s eyes widened even more before he laughed nervously.

“Why would you think Doc has anything to do with it?”

Bdubs raised an eyebrow, looking at Grian as if he had just asked him why water was wet. “I’ve been his neighbour for a while. I know how he ticks. I mean, I heard you were running around kissing people lately, but this? This is a little over the top for that little game. I also saw you sneaking around Doc’s side of the fence about an hour ago. I might pretend to be stupid sometimes, but I can put two and two together. So what does he want you to do? Seduce me?” Bdubs snorted in amusement at his own question and slowly lowered the book still between them, his eyes looking Grian up and down. “No offence, but I don’t really swing that way, even if you are looking really pretty in that dress. And Doc should know that.”

Grian groaned. This wasn’t working out the way he had planned. Not at all. And he didn’t even want to think what else Doc had in store for him as a punishment now that this stupid plan had failed.

“Okay, okay. You got me. You are right. Doc wants me to lure you into his trap. I don’t know much about it. I guess it will probably end with you respawning in your bed though.”, Grian replied after a little hesitation. Surely Doc wouldn’t hear him. He was already at their agreed rendezvous point

"So you are helping him because...?" Bdubs looked at him in mild curiosity, eyes drifting over the dress once more. "Just for fun? Or does Doc have some dirt on you? I know he likes to collect dirt to get people to agree to his plans, the nasty goat."

"I broke into his villager trader..."

Bdubs laughed, a loud bellowing laugh that made Grian want to pout. He didn't enjoy being laughed at, especially not in the get up he was in right now. This was already embarrassing enough as it was.

"Not funny...", he murmured, holding up his hand and flicking Bdubs forehead softly.

"Well, it is kind of funny, you've got to admit. And rather interesting", Bdubs replied and Grian shuddered as he could feel a hand caressing his back, slowly wandering down, but just stopping above his butt. "I've been trading with his villagers as well. I bet I stole far more than you by now, but he never put me into make-up and a little dress. Not that I would look as good in it as you, but I think you need to consider that he's telling you something by that."

"Like what? That I look like a girl?" Grian snorted and rolled his eyes. He knew he was slender and not that tall and maybe had soft features, but he would not really pass as a girl and to call him girly would really be a far stretch.

"No. More like, he thinks you look hot."

Grian’s brain seemed to short circuit at that. He could feel heat rising to his face, sputtering a few times, unable to form words. The thought that Doc – stoic, cold, emotionless Doc could look at him and feel any sort of thing was unbelievable.

"Listen, Grian. I've been his neighbour for a while now. And we don't exactly have walls thanks to splitting this mansion down the middle. I have a pretty good view of his bedroom. And boys like you? Well considering who he had in his bedroom so far I'd say you'd fit right in to that. And I guess he's pretty good going by the sounds his partners make. So if you are interested in some no-strings-attached sex, I'd say go for it." Bdubs had a broad grin on his face and even though his tone was teasing, he sounded like he was telling the truth.

Grian glanced over his shoulder at the other half of the mansion. Above the fence he could see Doc's rather pink bedroom. An image popped into his mind of himself lying on top of that bed. Doc looming above him, looking down with that unreadable stoic expression of his. Would he like that? It had been a while since he had gotten some action – besides kissing that is. Maybe... Maybe having some fun would be a nice change of pace. Make him lose some of the stress that came with starting so many projects at the beginning of a new world.

His train of thought was interrupted by Bdubs laughing and Grian's head snapped back around.

"You are thinking about it, so it's probably already a done deal. Let's go then. You shouldn't leave Doc waiting. His ego couldn't bare it."

"Go...?", Grian echoed, looking at Bdubs in confusion. Hadn't he already said, that Doc was waiting with a deadly trap for Bdubs? Why would anyone walk into that? Or did Bdubs have some secret ace up his sleeve that would end in even more prankage?

"Yeah, go. I'm taking pity on you, dude. So I'm gonna be your wingman in this. A dead wingman, but a wingman nonetheless. And I rather like the thought of such an amazing builder and prankster to be indebted to me. You owe me a big one after this is over, Grian."

An enthusiastic smile spread on Grian's face and if he wasn't still sitting in Bdubs lap he would have jumped into his arms then and there. He settled for simply throwing his arms around Bdubs and planting a sloppy kiss onto his cheek, leaving a deep red lipstick mark on it. "Bdubs! You are the best! I'm gonna build you the most amazing thing you can imagine for this!" Bdubs just half heartedly patted his back until Grian scrambled backwards to stand up so they'd be able to get started.

"Lead the way, little miss."

Grian couldn't even muster up the energy to throw a glare at the name, he was just too delighted at the moment. This might not be going to plan, but Doc didn't need to know. As long as Bdubs walked into his trap, he could celebrate victory and Grian's punishment would end. And then – Grian bit his lower lip, throwing one last glance at the upper level of the mansion – well, he'd see what happened when the time came.

Grian slowly ascended the stairs to the shared mine below the mansion, stepping down carefully, not to stumble in the high heels. After only a few shaking steps, Bdubs sighed and stepped up next to him, holding out one arm to steady him. Grian looked at him with a thankful smile, took a few more steps and then stopped, earning a confused glance from Bdubs.

"I can't do this.", he whispered, looking at Bdubs arm that held him, "I know you'll respawn, but still... You never did anything mean to me."

"I can decide on my own, Grian. I'm a grown ass man. And right now I want to help out my good friend get rid of his debt and maybe get laid. No backing out now. I'm ready to go off with a bang... Or whatever other nasty method Doc chose. And I sure as hell will get him back for it so don't you worry your pretty head over it."

Bdubs gave him a reassuring smile and kept walking, half pulling Grian with him, who had to fall in step not to fall down. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, Grian took a deep breath. Well, it was too late now to turn around and he wouldn't hesitate again. He'd much rather be indebted to Bdubs than to Doc, seeing what that maniac made him go through. After calming down a little Grian put a smile on his face and trying to pretend that everything was alright and going according to plan. Doc should be close by now after all.

"Just around the corner there! I prepared a nice little surprise for you. You just need to get it", Grian said and giggled a little, pretending that he had been able to convince Bdubs to come down here without knowing about the prank. As he looked at Bdubs stupid grin, Grian had to keep himself from looking too fondly at his friend.

"Wow, that is so nice! It is really amazing to have so many friends on this server! I can't wait to see the surprise!"

Bdubs let go of Grian's arm, throwing him one last smile. He jogged up to the corner and then turned to Grian, throwing him one last wink before walking on. A second later there was a deafening boom and hot wind and dust blew through the mine, making Grian's skirt flutter up.

"Well done." Doc stepped out of a side mine and Grian hurriedly pushed the fabric of his skirt down, throwing a glare in Doc's direction.

Doc didn't seem all to impressed by his glare and just kept walking over as Grian slowly stepped back. It only took a few steps for Grian's back to hit one of the walls and Doc's grin widened. He was looming over Grian, one hand pushed against the wall, the other gently resting under Grian's chin, making him look upwards. "Such a good boy, Grian. I feel like offering you something in return for your hard work."

"You are gonna let me keep my diamonds and the emeralds I traded."

An amused laugh left Doc's mouth as he shook his head. "No way. My villagers, my emeralds and my compensation. But you know I heard the rumours... Little Grian walking around and collecting kisses for some challenge. I'd be inclined to give you one more for your collection from the goat himself", Doc whispered in a low, promising voice. His thumb was gently caressing Grian's lower lip and Grian could feel his heart racing.

"Yeah...", he breathed out quietly, not sure what else to say below Doc's looming presence. The moment he answered Doc's lips were on his. It wasn't gentle and he knew his lips might be bruised and swollen later, but he didn't care. He put his arms around Doc, pulling him closer. And then he could feel a hand travelling up his leg, making his way under his skirt. Grian let out a little moan into the kiss, pressing his body even closer to Doc.

He needed to feel more. He needed... He wanted...

Suddenly an image sprang into his mind. Scar standing in front of his door, smiling at him, cheeks red and waving.

Grian pressed his eyes shut, trying to get rid of that thought. He didn't even know why he was thinking about that all of the sudden. He was about to get it on with one of the hottest guys on the server. This was no time to be distracted. He needed do savour this moment. It had been so long since he had any fun. He didn't even know why he had stopped going around the server looking for some fun... He had done it so often last season. And he couldn't even say that he was too busy getting started any more.

A hand grabbing his ass hard brought him out of his thoughts and back into the present. The tongue in his mouth was completely dominating him and he loved every second of it. They separated for a second and Grian opened his eyes again to look at Doc. Doc, who looked at him with such a hungry expression it send shivers through his whole body.

"How about we take this somewhere more comfortable? Not that I wouldn't just take you against this wall, but you don't seem like the type to do it outside."

Grian licked his lips, his heart beating so incredibly fast. He was trying to compose himself to give an answer, but words seemed to fail him at the moment. He hadn't expected for this to head in this direction, no matter what Bdubs had said. He finally settled to simply nod, earning himself a dark chuckle from Doc.

"Well then..."

Grian squeaked when he suddenly felt his feet lifting of the ground. Everything around him was shifting and suddenly he was lying atop of Doc's shoulder, like he weighed nothing and was just a sack to carry around. And he found himself kind of liking it...

The way up the stairs seemed to pass way too fast and it was as if only a few seconds had passed when he was thrown onto the pink sheets of Doc's bed. He looked up at Doc looming over him and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"I wanted to do this since I put you into this dress, you know? You look so fucking sexy in it.", Doc growled out, climbing on top of Grian, his hand caressing Grian's hip softly. "So fucking pretty."

And then his lips were on Grian's again and Grian could only whimper at the touch.

Doc was slowly unzipping the side of Grian's dress, pulling the fabric down.

Grian was about to get lost in the sensation, his hips bucking upwards on their own accord. And suddenly he froze. His mind going back to the desperate kiss he had shared with Scar in the End. The way Scar had looked at him. The way his heart had started beating faster. Oh damn it. Why was he thinking of that now?

Doc stopped suddenly, looking at Grian in question. He had probably noticed the way he had tensed up. "You alright?"

“Yeah. Yeah, keep going… Your hand was a little cold. That’s all”,he lied and smiled, letting his own hands wander over Doc’s back.

Doc looked at him as if searching for something, but then shrugged and bend down again, his lips going for Grian’s neck, gently nibbling the skin there. His mouth kept trailing down, leaving a burning hot trail on Grian’s skin.

Grian felt a wave of pleasure running through him, closing his eyes again as he threw his head back, only for his mind to go back to the time when he had made out with Scar in his base. Suddenly this felt so wrong and he didn’t even understand why. He just knew that he didn’t want to do it any more. He put his hands onto Doc’s chest and with gentle force he pushed the other away a little.

"I... Sorry, I can't. I'm just... I don't know. You are a fucking attractive guy but I'm... I guess I'm not in the mood. I keep getting distracted."

Doc heaved a sigh, but without Grian needing to say anything else he pulled the dress back up, patting his head and then standing up again. "Your clothes are in the closet around the corner. Take your time. I'm gonna go work off some steam."

“I am really sorry, Doc”, Grian mumbled, lowering his gaze. He honestly did feel bad for stopping, even if he hadn’t wanted to go on.

“No need to apologize or explain. It’s alright.” When Doc had almost reached the stairs down, he turned around again to look at Grian. "If you ever change your mind about this, you know where to find me. No pressure though. I prefer my partners to enjoy themselves…"

Grian stayed in the bed for a few more seconds, starring up at the ceiling. Damn. What had just happened? He must be really tired or something like that. Maybe he had been going around kissing too many people that his brain started mixing everything up… Yeah that sounded about right. Maybe he just needed to spend a few days without kissing anybody and then he would be focused on the task again…

It couldn’t have anything to do with Scar. All of this was just a game after all.

[mythrilhusk]

Why Can’t You Trust Your Own Eyes: Part 3/?

Part 1 | Part 4

Technoblade takes both regen pots from Hannah and breaks them over Dream. Some of the mist curls around his own wounds, but the smaller, broken man gets the brunt of the healing. Techno's kindness seems almost paradoxical with the brutal ease with which he fought her and her friends during the Banquet. If Bad hadn't dragged her away, he would've killed her, or she might've managed to kill him after a harrowing battle. 

"Thanks," Techno chuffs warmly, eyes twinkling. "We appreciate this." 

Hannah nods, a smile quirking at her lips. "You can't stay here long. Sam will want to search everywhere." 

"Yep." Techno slurps his bowl of mushroom soup. "We've got a destination in mind." 

"We do?" Dream perks up. 

"Yep." Techno doesn't elaborate. "We'll pay you back for this, by the way." 

Hannah hums, considering her options. There's one in particular that's looking more and more appealing. "How much?" 

Technoblade shrugs, smiling. "You wanna negotiate right now?" 

"I've got an offer for you," She replies. "You're pretty stacked, after all, I think you could afford my services." 

"Alright, let's hear it." 

Hannah smiles haughtily. "You first. What are you willing to pay me?" 

Dream tugs quietly on Techno's cape, glaring warily at Hannah. Technoblade unhooks his cape and casually wraps Dream into a burrito before turning back to the bartering. "I've got several villagers. I can give you permanent trading access to them." 

Villagers would be useful. She hasn't exactly captured any of her own yet, after all. "Hmm, tempting. And that would be for?" 

"That would be for the hospitality you've given us," Techno says, crossing his arms. 

"Hm, alright. I want to sweeten the deal for both of us, though." Hannah grins. Dream huddles in his cape-burrito and remains silent. Techno nods for her to continue. 

So she spreads her arms and offers, "I'll go with you, and give you weapons, armor, and food for the journey. I'll protect you, both of you, and I won't betray you to any of your hunters." 

"K, and what's the price?" Technoblade picks at his tusk, seeming bored, but Hannah can tell he's at least somewhat interested. 

"Six netherite blocks." 

"That's a bit steep for what you're offerin', not gonna lie," Techno laughs, then sobers. "But I'd say it's doable, perhaps, if we add on one more little perk. Help us with our goals, and it's a done deal." 

"What kind of goals?" Hannah Rose tries to hide her intrigue. 

"Oh, you know, mercenary stuff. Killing people, dismantling certain builds. Vengeance." 

Hannah pulls a book and quill from her inventory. "Three. Three missions each, and you give me one netherite block per completed mission." 

She nibbles on the feather quill, musing over words. When she finally glances up, Technoblade holds out his paw for it. 

He reads through it, humming thoughtfully. "Alright, this works for me. Dream?" He gives the book to his companion. 

Dream reads through it and confirms his acceptance with a silent, sullen nod. Technoblade takes it, signs it, and hands it back to Hannah. 

After storing the book in an ender chest, Hannah sorts through her chests, looking for her spare sets of armor and weapons. Technoblade grabs a diamond sword, tutting at the lack of netherite. 

Dream flinches back when Technoblade turns around. "Please, sir, I'm sorry!" He whimpers, curling deeper into his cape-burrito. Anger stabs Hannah's heart at the sheer terror in his quavering voice. 

Techno immediately sheathes the sword and kneels before Dream's bed. He directs Dream's attention to the wall. "Hey, hey, look at this. Cool, right? The gold melts at a lower temperature and seeps into the blackstone." 

Hannah watches, concerned and bemused, as Dream claws petulantly at the gilded blackstone. "Shiny," He mutters. 

"Yeah, uh, wanna use a tool for that?" Techno jerks his head at Hannah. 

Sighing, she tosses an iron pickaxe over. "Technoblade, a word, please?" 

"Yeah?" Techno smiles innocently at her as he assists Dream in digging up the gilded blackstone on the wall of her not-so-secret-anymore base. 

"How am I supposed to protect him if he's triggered by fucking swords?" She crosses her arms, trying to hide her concern. 

Techno's eyes darken and he glances away. "Don't worry about it. Do what you need to, and I'll take care of him." 

"Right," Hannah sighs. "Okay." She watches Dream as he cradles the gilded blackstone with an expression of innocent delight. He's been hurt far, far more horribly than any person deserves to be hurt. 

"Okay, I think you should put it back, now," Techno gestures to the hole in the wall. Dream snarls and curls protectively around the block in his hands. 

"It's fine. I have plenty," Hannah reassures. "Keep it." 

"It's mine," Dream states, and that's that. 

Techno shrugs, patting Dream's shoulder gently. "So, you got a plan?" 

"I've got a nether portal," Hannah starts, but Techno shakes his head. 

"I think we should avoid the Nether if at all possible." 

"Alright. We've got two options for escaping without being noticed." Hannah takes a deep breath and lets it out in a huff. This is it. "Either we go underground, or we disguise you both. Sam will be watching all inter-aether communications, so even if you have other allies, you can't tell them where we are." 

"Disguises?" Technoblade raises an eyebrow. "How exactly are you gonna disguise this?" He gestures to his sturdy piggy self. 

Hannah smirks and reaches into her ender chest. "Don't fucking doubt my methods." 

Several misses and two successes later, Hannah steps back from her handiwork. "Perfect." This'll be the easiest six netherite blocks she's ever earned.  

Technoblade frowns behind his mask of makeup. "All this stuff on my face is irritatin'," He deadpans. 

"Shut up, I'm committing this to memory." Hannah grins, then gestures for Dream to come out of hiding. "Come on, it's not that bad." 

"I like the floofy robes," Techno says cheerfully, swirling his dress around. He's actually rather wiry beneath all the shaved-off fluff, and his mane has been braided into a fetching crown, complete with flowers. His old crown has been stored in the ender chest. "But I fail to see how this helps us. They'll recognize me, at least, I'm kinda the only pig person on this server." 

Dream sulks behind Techno, draped in his cape and dressed up in a sparkly leotard and cargo pants. His broken mask has been replaced with a beaked masquerade mask. His green, fluffy feelers peek out from the sides. "I want my mask," He growls. 

Hannah hands it over, and he slips the cracked ivory mask on underneath the more colorful one. "This won't fool Sam, yeah. But if we're lucky, anybody who encounters us will be confused, and we can strike first, leave no witnesses." 

A splash sounds from the entrance. Hannah whirls around, drawing her sword and ignoring Dream's whimper. 

Bad's voice echoes through the unsecret base. "Hannah? Sam sent me to check on you. Are you okay?" 

Hannah takes a step forward. But Bad is her friend. He let her-- made her-- join the Eggpire. She can't- she can't betray the Eggpire like this. She can't kill him. 

Besides, the Egg wouldn't let her. 

++++

AN: I’ve put the first three parts up on AO3 as one chapter ;p 

Part 1 | Part 4

[maryellencarter]

jesus fuck. i went and explored some while waiting for my baby cows to breed, looking for a village, and i did not find any, so i finally looked at the map on chunkbase, and the closest four villages are all about a thousand blocks away from spawn. jesus murphy

just. how. i mean it's very nice that i got a trident from my very first drowned kill in this world, but without a villager i can't fucking put mending on it in order to heal it up and use it! i can't make an iron farm or basically anything. i could try to make a fucking *nether tunnel* to the nearest goddamn village, and bring back villagers and make a villager breeder, or i could go... hm.

there's a village at about 550 by 650 positive, and the closest jungle chunk to it is about 450 by 700 positive. of course we want to build in or near the jungle because that's the point of this spawn. so... hypothetically. if one was to pack up house and move all the way over to that jungle chunk sort of near a village. it'd still be about... *makes pythagorean theorem noises* something like eleventy-one blocks as the crow flies, according to my phone's square root calculator function, but even on foot i can do something like 4+ blocks a second, so that's like half a minute's quick trot on foot, way faster if one has a minecart or a good horse. my iron farm in the abandoned village seed was something like 127 blocks from my base camp so none of my tools sould interfere with it. i could probably just convert the village itself into my iron farm, or leave the village as the place for trading (it's a taiga village which are pretty visually nifty so it depends on what exactly the layout is and whether it is full of horrible ravines i would have to patch up) and build the iron farm 100 blocks away in a different direction.

i've never built any distance from spawn before. it's a little nerve-wracking, because if you don't have your spawn set on a bed -- say you're traveling to a woodland mansion and you have to pick up your bed each morning and then you die -- then you get sent back to your original spawn, not to where your base is built, whoch could be annoying.

maybe... hm. let's see. maybe before i leave, i should build a compass, find my original spawn, put a spare bed there and probably a chest with some food and handy tools, and make a note where it is relative to both the little base i've been building and my new near-village base.

i think it would be smart to finish getting all the bookshelves i need before i move. i'd want to pack, at minimum... the enchanting table, the lapis, the food, some stuff to replant my garden (so basically potatoes, wheat seeds, and sugarcane; we'll find cocoa beans along the way since we'll still be in a jungle), the diamond pickaxe, the iron pickaxe, the iron sword, a stack of cobblestone for tools, all the remaining torches (it's kind of a shame i used up so many on the cave systems around here but i wasn't expecting a thousand blocks overland to the nearest village!), all the remaining wood... might as well leave the animals in their pens, i can make more fencing later. bring a furnace, a crafting table, all the valuables like gold and redstone and diamonds.

gonna have to dig a new strip mine. nothing to be done about that. is the entire minecraft world just made of gravel under the surface? i guess we'll find out.

it'll be interesting to see what i can actually fit into my inventory and how many trips i have to make. (i did peep the woodland mansion coordinates and it's around -15,000 by 6870, so it's very much closer than the one in the abandoned village world, only like 16k blocks as the crow flies if my math is right. a lot of that is ocean too, which means fast traveling unless a drowned decides to throw a trident at my boat and dump me in the water, which reportedly can happen. i am so deeply uncertain that i want to tackle a woodland mansion in unpeaceful, though! they're very full of strong dangerous enemies who can kick your ass.)

[traceemerald]

-January 5th, Factory Tyrant's Journal, Entry 19-

Today, I'd like to make my arboretum automatically send resources to my storage system.

Since I also don't want all my digital storage space taken up by spruce logs, I'll set up a small physical storage system to store the things produced by my arboretum, which mostly includes spruce logs, but also includes spruce saplings and small amounts of sand.

I'll be using a void chest (Railcraft) to destroy any excess items, although I need more obsidian for one of those, so I'm going to go grab some, and hopefully not toss my philosopher's stone into lava this time.

Once I got back and made a void chest, I put a stack of granite in there to see exactly how it works.

Void chests have the same capacity as a wooden chest, but each item stack inside will be gradually destroyed at 1x hopper speed, or 2x hopper speed if there's only 1 stack in there, so theoretically I could fill my void chest fast enough to outspeed the item destruction, but in practice that's not actually going to happen.

Anyway, I also crafted an ME storage bus, ME export bus, and a capacity card (all AE2).

I believe I've explained ME storage busses in a previous journal entry, ME export busses take items matching their filter out of digital storage and put them in their attached container, capacity cards increase the size of AE2 item filters.

I was thinking I'd have to build an overflow gate using hoppers, but it turns out ME export busses won't take items from physical storage that's connected through an ME storage bus, which makes things a lot simpler.

I made an ME import bus after that, to see if it will put items into physical storage, and it does, so all I need to do now is set up an input chest for my storage system.

ME import busses still allow you to set a filter, but unlike export and storage busses, import busses will work without a filter set (in which case they'll import any item).

I've added an input chest to my storage system and connected my arboretum to it, so now I don't have to manually unload it, although right now I only have 1 bulk storage chest set up (for spruce logs), so anything else just goes directly to my storage cells.

It also turns out that ME export busses can take from physical storage, so I'm going to have to think of other way to handle item overflow.

I looked up some stuff about AE2, and found that I should be able to use an ME level emitter (emits a redstone signal when the network has a certain amount or more of a specified item) and a redstone card (allows import and export busses to turn on/off based on redstone signals) to control item overflow by only turning on my export bus if I have at least 7,020 spruce logs in my storage system (a single diamond chest can hold that many items).

I also feel like it's worth pointing out that while I was doing this, my advanced miner has finished charging, and has now started mining, and the mining area is actually a lot larger than I thought it would be.

I think the mining area is 65x65, not 33x33, luckily nothing else I've built is within the area.

Now I'm going to try to automate crafting using AE2.

Crafting automation wasn't that hard to figure out (although I did have to look some things up), and I crafted some new AE2 devices, a 4K crafting storage (keeps track of which crafting tasks still need to be done), a molecular assembler (basically an automatic crafting table), a few patterns (each pattern holds a single crafting recipe), an ME pattern terminal (encodes recipes onto patterns), and an ME interface (moves items around to complete crafting tasks, also holds encoded patterns).

So far the only patterns I've encoded are the ones necessary for crafting advanced circuits (IC2 crafting material), because they require 4 unique crafting steps to make (insulated copper cables, iron plates, electronic circuits, and advanced circuits), and I wanted to see my new crafting system could handle it (it can).

Crafting still isn't fully automatic, but now instead of needing to craft an advanced circuit myself, I can just tell my computer to make an advanced circuit and let it handle the rest.

The next recipe I'll automate is probably going to be geothermal generators, since I know I'll need more at some point, and they're annoying to craft.

I'll also need to automate crafting of furnaces, basic machine casing, tin cables, insulated tin cables, tin plates, tin item casing, RE batteries, iron item casing, glass panes, and universal fluid cells, since all of those are required for geothermal generators.

Yeah, IC2 has a lot of crafting.

This reminds me of Factorio in a way, it's easy to make 1 of something, it's way more difficult to make something that makes that same thing for you.

Anyway, that's going to be it for today.

-End Journal Entry 19-

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Water Symbols and Ties Between Grady and Terminus: “A” Rewatch by @wdway

This is another re-watch from @wdway. She totally saves my butt on busy weeks when I don’t have time to write new theories, lol.

Here are her observations:

Hi ladies! I hope you're both doing well. I did a rewatch of s4e16 A, series number 51. I think it's important to mention that this episode was co-written by Scott Gimple and Angela Kang.

It starts out with a flashback of the prison and then we have Rick, Carl's and Michonne talking about how hungry they are. Later, they catch a rabbit in a snare. I thought about how much rabbits were featured in this back half of s4. It emphasized the size when Rick says, "A small one." Later, Michonne mentions again it was a small rabbit. This made me think of Lennie talking about the little ones.

I'll skip over the Claimers, other than the car scene where Daryl and Rick were talking. Daryl brings Rick a bottle of water. There's no label. It's just clear. It's actually a good size bottle and he sets it down in front of them. He brought water = Beth into that scene. They brought Beth into the Terminus part of the episode with the use of symbols that we were totally unaware of at the time. We gradually realized them as the seasons went on, the water being a huge symbol.

This is right after they jumped the Terminus fence and found this door propped open. Notice it says that it's a fire door, a way to escape. I think this can be considered a water symbol, just as a fire pull or ceiling sprinkler would be. I cropped this shot so that you could read the sign on the door a little easier. I do want to mention that Daryl is next to Rick and they are the only two in the shot.

Rick and co come out into a common area or plaza and are about to get a plate full of meat when Rick notices objects from people from the prison. He takes a guy to use as a shield against the sharpshooters.

I just mentioned how the door was the symbol of water, even though it was a door. Well, this is similar. That red object against the wall is a fire hose holder. I know this because I noticed it at the end of Us when Maggie and her group first came into Terminus. I noticed how it said fire hose. You can also see the fire hydrant next to it and if you look closely at the base, it's just a prop. There's a bottom section that should be buried or would be connected to some type of piping if it was real, so these are not objects that were already at this location. That means they're symbols.

Notice how this little corner is visible during the majority of this scene. We see it to the side or behind Rick almost the entire time. So, we have a fire hose and a fire hydrant. Both Beth symbols because they = water.

Look straight above the fire hose stand. There are 2 diamonds at the top of the building. I don't think they’re original to the building because of the shadowing around them. They appear to simply be tacked up, serving no particular purpose other than being diamond shaped, which = Beth.

Now look at the corner next to the hose and hydrant. There is a sign on the brick wall that I believe refers to the hose or hydron. It reads, “emergency water key, replace when used.” Just in case we didn't know this was a water reference, they wanted to make sure that they let us know, but I really like the fact that it's a water key.

I just needed to point out Daryl's Poncho which, ironically, he didn't notice, but Rick did. 

The three small pictures underneath it are original sketches of the Native Americans’ Thunderbird.

Our little group starts to run for their lives. We follow them as they run past a boneyard, turn different corners, and then all of a sudden we see this shot.

Notice the fire hose stand, a tire, the yellow objects, the abandoned car with a shattered windshield and these stacked train cars. During this shot, we hear a female voice calling for help. Here's the funny thing: we never see our group running through or past this, so this is staged simply to show us symbols. In one of the five flashbacks was of Rick coming into the prison with Beth/Judith sitting on the steps, Patrick was sitting on the floor in front of Beth's cell, making something out of Legos. Carl is cleaning his gun. Rick stops to talk to Patrick and Patrick thanks Rick for picking up the Legos and he makes a comment about that they are for ages 4 through 12. I've always thought that was somewhat odd.

I just want to throw out an idea to you. This might actually be a comment about the story arc lasting from season 4 through season 12. I'm not talking about the series ending at 12, I'm simply thinking that this storyline, Rick, Beth, Daryl and Carol will continue through season 12.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Love it all! I especially liked the fire and water stuff you pointed out at Terminus and how they brought Beth into it. The combination of water and key is especially interesting. You did spark one idea from me.

And I know I sound like a broken record on this point, but could Terminus have foreshadowed the helicopter group? (Yes, I know I’m saying this WAY too often, and all the things I point to and consider probably do NOT directly equate to the helicopter group, but think of it as a mindset shift on my part. I’m kind of considering all things in light of the helicopter group.)

I was thinking that Terminus was where all the train tracks met, right? And we’ve seen more than one representation of the train tracks representing character paths. So, it would have made more sense if all the characters had met up at Terminus. And most of them did. Beth was the exception. But if this was a foreshadow of all character paths converging at some future point, then that would make sense. Because Beth is the one that’s been gone for a long time, but since then, others, such as Heath and Rick, have also disappeared.

So, all paths need to converge at some point, and we believe that will happen in some way via the helicopter group. See why I’m thinking this? I think what you’ve found here backs this up.

Another insight? Remember in 5x09, we see some train tracks with the camera moving forward along them, and the tracks disappear into the woods up ahead. Maybe those tracks represent Beth’s path, and the fact that it’s going to disappear for a while. But it will reappear and meet up with other character paths at some future point.

Which also reminds me of a kind of famous passage in the book of Revelation about a woman who gives birth to a child but then goes into hiding in the woods. Most scholars interpret it (a total analogy) as that the true gospel Christ taught would go into hiding for a while (Dark Ages) but re-emerge later. I don’t know if this is what they were going for or even considering, but it’s what I thought of. Might be a similar template. Anyway, great rewatch. You always have eagle eyes.

@wdway:

I cannot tell you how much I agree with you. I definitely think Terminus was tied to the helicopter people or, more precisely, that Terminus is connected to Grady and it is Grady who had a connection with the helicopter or what the helicopter group was at the beginning of the turn. I believe it's around a year-and-a-half into the turn when Beth was brought there, and I believe they have evolved over the 10 years.

Dawn pretty well confirmed that there was a group coming soon, so it makes total sense that it could be a military-type organization. I'm going to show you some shots that will totally bring back what I've been obsessing about all the seasons.

Top one is Hansen, Dawn's Superior until he went crazy. I know the second shot is really dark. This is the best I can do with trying to lighten it. Do you remember this at the end of No Sanctuary, where they give a bit of a backstory of Terminus being taken over by this big guy who terrorized them? I believe this guy is Hanson.

Isn't it strange that they tell a backstory about a group that TF has taken down and that they go to a lot of effort to make this person hard to see?

That's right. I think the crazy guy from the train box car is none other than Hanson. If you look at Slabtown and Coda, this person is discussed several times. An awful lot of screen time is taken up with a story of how Hanson went rogue. What's the need of that when Grady is about to be left behind and, more importantly, why do we repeatedly see a picture of him?

The first picture I showed above has his badge next to it. Another question of why do we need to see that? I'm going to throw out a crazy idea. Why not, haha. In the very dark picture below, the guy seems to be wearing some kind of large belt buckle. I think it might be a gun or something stuck in the front of his pants, but I think there's a badge there.

I guess there's a definite yes to me, believing that all of this relates to the helicopter people. More importantly, the new series The World Beyond apparently did not want to start until after we see episode 16. I've said this before. I think at some point, not necessarily the first episode, but I think somewhere within it we will see Grady, pre-Beth.

@frangipanilove

I love you take on Hanson. I totally agree that they alluded to something that we haven’t quite seen yet, and I would love to see Grady tied to the helicopter ppl somehow. I have wondered a lot about the tattoo guy from Terminus and what the deal was with him, and your pics show a remarkable resemblance between Hanson and the crazy terminus dude.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

It would explain the defunct cop cars at Terminus, if Hansen left Grady and arrived in them. And as you’ve said, the weirdness of some of this that hasn’t yet been explained.

That’s it for today. Anybody have any thoughts on these insights?

[the-pan-ace-writings]

Chapter 4  Stairs and Bloody Boots

   First Previous  Masterlist

Riona sat down at the bar again, She was working on her pipboy entering new data and decided she should go to its Diamond City, she's heard there's a detective in town and she's running out of ideas on where to look for Shaun. Dogmeat sat comfortably at her feet, leaning his head on her ankle. She was working on plotting the points on the map of her pip boy when someone slid into the seat next to her. 

   She smiled, “Doll last night was fun but im skippin’...” she trailed off when she looked at who actually sat down next to her. He was dressed in a similar manner to her, old military fatigue pants, a duster missing a sleeve, a scarf tucked in neatly under the lapels and a cap with a single bullet hidden in the band around it. She immediately dropped the smile, “whataya want?” she pulled her pip boy out of his sight and leaned back a bit more. 

   “Nothing” he turned back to his drink, his face looked roughed up, the stars of bruises forming around his jaw. She continued working on her pipboy till she felt him lean over to look at it. “You from a vault or something? Haven't seen anyone else with Pipboys” 

   She glared at him,” found it.” it was short, curt, meant to disengage him but it seems that wasn't going to dissuade him.  

   “What are you going to Diamond City for? They're not the friendliest people around” he jerked back when she reared up to look him in the eyes, sneering 

   “Im lookin for somethin’. What's it to you?” 

   “I'm a hired gun, names MacCready.  I could help you.” He leaned back on to the bar, he had an arrogance that she didn't particularly like. She noticed the sniper rifle that he had leaning on a chair next to him, she wasn't any good at long arms, particularly any scoped targeting, she performed her pistol and a sword she carried, She thought about it, shes had a few close calls because shes had to dive in head first, and as much as Dogmeat was helpful there's only so much a dog can do. 

   “Are you any good? I'm not looking to get shot.” She watched the cocky smile pull at his face. 

   “I've been doing this since I was a kid . I know my way around. Now what about you? How do I know I won't end up with a bullet in my back?” 

   “You don’t. That's part of the risk, right?” she spun in her chair, placing her boot on the bar of his chair, She stood out in the bar, she was a medium short height with stark white hair, something she woke up to after the cryo pod, its something she tries to ignore. She's almost always loaded with junk that leaves a faint tingling after her, Her trench coat of torn up at the bottom and swung near her calves when she walked, her face was slightly scarred, deep scratches ran still pink across the corner of her mouth. She kept a bandanna around her neck that was slightly stained with blood that she often  filled with when she wasn't pulling at her piercings. He looked her up and down taking in her unusual character. 

   “Can't argue with that.” 

   “How much for the help?” she started standing up, placing some caps down for her drinks last night and now. Dogmeat stood up with a clatter of claws, she leaned down to fix his bandanna and scratch

   “Price is 250 caps... “ he looked at her again “ upfront, and there's no room for bargaining” 

   Rionia looked him in the eye, pulled a small pouch out and filled it with his caps, when she placed it in his hand she jerked him closer eyes never leaving his. 

   “You pull any dumb shit and youll wish you stayed with the gunners. “ she nodded at the patched scar near his hairline then roughly pushed him back into the chair, he just stared up at her and dumbly shook his head before hiding the caps in his duster. 

   Riona put a dent in her cap supply before leaving Goodneighbor stocking up on stimpacks and some rad away. She's yet to injure herself to a point where she'd make herself sick using multiple stimpacks but she has a feeling that the road to diamond city might be difficult. MacCready seemed surprised when she dumped out the majority of her pack on Daisy's counter, filling it with what he called useless crap to purchase the few stimpacks. 

    Riona had to admit that she didn't like walking among the ruined city of boston, all the talk building set her on edge with the way they creaked in the wind, MacCready looked just as off putting but kept his mouth shut. Something she wished he did when she went to abandoned containers and trash bins to dig through. 

   “What are you going to do with all that crap? I'm not carrying it for you” He smirked at her after looking around them towards the buildings, 

    “I'm not asking you to. And they are useful you'll see.” she slipped an empty can into her ruck tossing him a look as she carried on point, sword in hand and her eyes occasionally checking her pip boy trying to keep them on track. 

   MacCready was about to make a comment on how he didnt understand why she even bothered with the small items like cans when the crack of a rifle firing sounded pieces of the pavement flung up next to Riona. He watched her face turned to steel and her pull up the bandana that was normally settled around her neck, Dogmeat bolted into the alley and he immediately heard screaming. 

      Raiders. 

   Riona followed Dogmeat her sword raised and electrified, the screaming quickly cut off in a gurgle, more gunfire sounded MacCready could hear it plunking off metal and he hoped it wasn't from her chest plate as he steadied himself on the rusted out shell of a car, trying to make quick work of the riflemen on the balconies above them, once they dropped he rushed to take their position. Riona was fighting at the bottom of the stairs MacCready was trying to get to, she was being backed up further on to the stairs, He could she something in her snap as the Raider tried to slam brass knuckles into her, she shoved the hilt of her sword straight into her nose and with a snarl she snatched the Raiders jacket lifting them up and threw them down the stairs leaving them sprawled out on their backs to which she dropped down onto them with a wet crunch spattering her and the ground around them in crimson. She walked away unphased. 

   Dogmeat had run by them out into a more open area which looked like the main camp to clamp down on the arm of a harnessed Raider dragging him to the ground it took only a few seconds of MacCready scrambling up the stairs for him to get a headshot on the Raider Dogmeat had pinned. 

   They made quick work of the rest of the Raiders. Blood spattered Riona, her hair speckled in red that she looked at distastefully. She looked up at the perch MacCready was in and shouted to him. 

   “Cready! Start searching for them!” She already had the two closest to her stripped and left without any valuables. She heard Cready whistle behind her. 

    “You think you could of taken it any harder on her? She doest even have a face anymore” He called out to her, clearly impressed, he pulled off her knuckles and slipped a few caps out of her jacket pocket. 

   “Ya needed up there and I wasn't about to be cornered. She shoulda thought of that before backing me up there” Riona snickered as she pulled a stimpack off a sniped Raider. She made short work of stripping the base dropping a moderate size pile of chems down between where she dropped her ruck, a few syringes of medx and psycho clinked together, and she dropped an inhaler of Jet down as well. “No wonder they were so hyped up, coulda killed an elephant with what they had here” 

   “A what?” Cready knelt down next to her as she was repacking her ruck, fiddling with the caps he dropped on the pile. She looked up at him in a brief moment of confusion. 

   “Uh.. I don't know how.. Don't worry bout it it's not important. Keep the caps” she took the junk from his hands shoved it into her bag and tossed it over her shoulders straightening. She pulled her bandana down leaving a clear division between the gore and smooth skin. She looked down at the dog frowning at the amount of blood on him. “Did cha have to make a headshot so close to im’, hes soaked.” she rubbed a piece of semi clean fabric over his face. 

   “Don't hear him complaining” He dropped the caps into his pocket standing up. “You ready to hit the road again?” he raised his hand up to the horizon for a moment, stacking his other on it before mumbling. “We probably got about an hour and a half before its dark, we might be able to get to the tunnel if we push and don’t hit any trouble” 

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