#lava challenge cod

[synthe4u]

.cod #10

A/N: I INTRODUCE MY 'DREAMS' aka my writings that would only make sense if I was dreaming (they're not actual dreams)

This will include misspelling, missed punctuation, military inaccuracies, cursing, etc. This is not meant to be serious writing nor sensible. It's more of a hit and run; confusion and never gonna get back to you. i have warned you.

og note name: .gen z -cod

Gen Z Reader X COD Characters Platonic

masterlist

“Hey, Z, how did ya get so good”

“I used to do the floor is lava challenge with my demon siblings and they used to try and make me lose so I parkoured and made them fall.”

“Okay….”

Or like Reader has very good leg strength

[zhukzucraft]

Wild Life - Chapter 2

A fan-made Life SMP session project by Zhuk and Schmomo

>Chapter 1< or >Read it on Ao3<

“So you’re breaking up with us,” Martyn said, matter of factly.

“Is this supposed to be shocking?” Cleo asked, “You leaving to go be with Etho, instead?” She laughed a little, cycling through her inventory for her iron pick. 

“It’s nothing personal!” Bdubs insisted, quickly, “I just feel bad for the guy, you know?”

“He is washed up,” Grian agreed, his voice carrying from up high where he was building up their tower of cobble. 

“Exactly. Wait, no! No, he’s not!” Bdubs huffed, “But it was harsh how we all ditched him.”

Yesterday had been a mad dash for resources, like all first days in the Life games tended to be. Bdubs’ plan for starting the Life game challenge had remained the same as always: stick to Etho. But that hadn’t really played out the way he wanted it to. When he’d circled up with his group near the exposed iron vein on the side of the mountain, everyone had realized at the same time an important fact: He, Impulse, Cleo and Skizz were all dogs. 

Etho was not. 

“He’s a cat, Bdubs,” Martyn said, his tail swishing about in warning behind him, “A filthy feline, if you will.”

“Shouldn’t we be building bridges?” Bdubs tried, his own short tail quite flat against his body.

“No, we’re building a tower,” Grian called from above. 

Cleo snorted, trying to cover her smile with her free hand. 

“The man is lost without me,” Bdubs continued, “And I really just want to check on him, is all. Don’t you trust me?”

“Not at all,” Cleo said with a smile, “But go on then, find your cat boyfriend if it’ll calm your anxious heart.”

Bdubs rolled his eyes, turning away and padding to the edge of their platform. After the iron had run dry, Skizz and Impulse had ventured further up the mountains. Bdubs knew his history with fall damage well enough to stick to more solid ground. Cleo had decided to join up with Martyn and Grian who were discussing some grandiose plan to take control of the entire lake. He had followed them without a second thought. 

Now, he stared out at the vast expanse of water before him, “You know, we really should build a bridge–”

“No bridges!” Grian shouted, “That’s the whole point!”

Bdubs threw his hands up in the air, defeated with his teammates–former teammates? It was unclear at this point. Bdubs was about 65% certain he would come back to them. Maybe less so now that this base Grian and Martyn were insisting on would prevent him from any kind of sustainable horse travel. 

He pinched his nose and jumped into the water, shuddering as the cold temperature hit him. He pushed through, diving down past the many salmon and cod to head to shore. By the end he was doggy paddling, which was fitting he supposed. When he reached the shore line he shook himself out, his ears floppy atop his head and smacking him ever so lightly. 

His comms buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out. 

Solidarity has made the advancement [Diamonds!] Smallishbeans > ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Smallishbeans > HE’S THE FIRST ONE?????? Smajor1995 > just wait for the swimming in lava message to appear soon enough Skizzleman > i don’t have anything to contribute but as another S name i felt the need to say something GoodTimeWithScar > same! Grian > Your username starts with G, scar GoodTimeWithScar > are we starting our own train now, G? Solidarity > DOES ANYONE HAVE FOOD THEY CAN THROW DOWN MY HOLE?

“Poor fella,” Bdubs sighed out without even a hint of pity. He put his communicator away. He glanced around, seeing the remnants of other players from the falling leaves and missing dark oak trunks. He decided to keep to the edge of the forest, just in case. After a few hundred blocks, the dark oak gave way to a plains biome and–

“HORSE!” Bdubs shouted, sprinting over to the magnificent herd of beasts. There were six of them, all deep browns and blacks. Some were even spotted with white. “What beauties,” he praised as he petted one of the wild mares, who shook her mane out at him. He hauled himself onto her back, only to be bucked off. He was no stranger to the process, however, and kept at it, taming the entire herd by the time the sun was shining directly above him. 

“Now I just need a saddle,” Bdubs said aloud, before frowning. Right. He needed a saddle. What were the odds he’d stumble upon a dungeon anytime soon? He wondered if they were using the leather recipe in this game. That would be oh-so-fortuitous. 

He hadn’t been paying attention, and the horse he was seated upon had wandered further into the plains, toward the great big snowy mountain they’d all pillaged for iron yesterday. He wondered if Skizz and Impulse were still up there. Why were all his friends moving into such horse-hostile environments? Bunch of scum, the lot of em. 

The land opened up in front of him and he let out a surprised shout of terror. He quickly jumped off the horse, only to land precariously at the edge of the gaping ravine. 

That was a close one, Bdubs thought to himself, imagine being the first to die. And to fall damage too. 

He scurried backwards, giving himself a few blocks of distance. Sheepishly he looked around to see if anyone had seen him shrieking. Luckily, no one was around. 

Where the heck was everyone? Had no one decided to settle in these plains? He frowned, turning all the way around before getting himself dizzy. How was he supposed to find Etho with everyone hiding? Everyone was still green for void’s sake! There was no need to be so un-neighborly yet. 

“Cowards! All of ya!” he shouted out to no one in particular, cupping his hands around his mouth to make sure his important message carried. 

“Is someone out there!?”

Bdubs startled, looking around for the owner of the voice. 

“Hello!?” 

He narrowed his eyes, following the voice several blocks to the right. He stopped right before the ground gave way to another hole. 

“OH THANK THE VOID!”

All the way down below, surrounded by dripstone, was Jimmy. In full diamond armor. 

“BDUBS YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!” Jimmy shouted, “I'VE GOT HALF A HEART AND NOTHING TO MY NAME!”

“I don’t know about that,” Bdubs called back, sitting down on the edge of the hole, “You’re covered in diamonds.”

“I’ve got no wood, no tools and no food,” Jimmy lamented, “Please, do you have any food to spare?”

“How’d you manage this?” Bdubs asked, his ears perking up.

“There was some mild panicking when I dug into lava,” Jimmy said, “Very mild. I may have thrown half my inventory into it. These are minor details. Anyway, can you spare a mutton? I’d take it raw at this point.”

Bdubs cringed, “You’re lucky Scott didn’t hear that. He’d never let you live it down.”

“Scott’s dead to me!” Jimmy shouted back, “He and Joel and Etho found me just to laugh! The nerve!”

“Etho?” Bdubs blinked, honing in on his mission with laser focus, “You know where he went?”

“You get me outta this jam, I’ll take you straight to him, I swear on my half of a heart.”

“And one of your diamond pieces,” Bdubs added, standing back up. 

“You’d take the shirt off my back in my most trying time?”

“If it’s made of diamonds? Of course!” Bdubs replied, rummaging through his inventory, “After all, my hand might slip and grab my lava bucket instead.”

“ALRIGHT!” Jimmy shouted, “Just please! I can’t live down being yellow first again.”

Bdubs chuckled, taking mercy and flooding the hole. Jimmy quickly swam up, clawing his way onto solid ground and giving himself a firm shake to dry himself off. His long fluffy golden tail rained water droplets everywhere.

“Ah, a fellow dog of culture, I see,” Bdubs noted.

Jimmy cracked a smile, “Once a big dog, always a big dog. Woof, woof.” He picked himself up, taking off his diamond boots and handing them over. “Now please, some meat would be nice.”

“Oh I don't have any food on me,” Bdubs replied casually, slipping the armor on. “Should have probably grabbed some before leaving my crew, now that I think about it.”

Jimmy let out an anguished cry, hands shooting out to take hold of Bdubs shoulders. He dug into the iron armor there, “Are you KIDDING ME?” he shouted, close to tears, “Do you have any idea what I’ve been through!? Wave after wave after wave of creepers and zombies hounded me down there. Half a heart, Bdubs! I could trip and it’d be the end of me.”

“I’ve got a bed if you want to set your spawn here,” Bdubs offered with a bright cheery smile. Jimmy screamed out in aggravation. Bdubs patted his shoulder.

“Oh, that explains it.”

Jimmy and Bdubs turned at the sound of a third voice, and emerging from one of the rolling hills of this biome was Mumbo Jumbo of all people. 

“Mumbo!” Bdubs exclaimed, giving a friendly wave. “And on top of a mound!”

“Hmm? Oh! Yes! Once a mounder, always a mounder,” Mumbo replied with a grin, carefully hopping down the blocks to make it to their sides. His skin black and white tail shot out for balance. “Although, I’ve graduated to new heights this go-around. You could say I’m a mountaineer, now.”

“Well, ain’t that nice,” Bdubs complimented, “Are Skizz and Impulse with ya then?”

“Oh yes!” Mumbo assured, “BigB too.”

“Lovely catching up,” Jimmy interrupted, eye twitching, “But we have pressing matters at hand! Mumbo, do you have any food on you, bud?

“Hmm? Oh. Oh right, food. That would have been a good idea, wouldn’t it have been.” Mumbo realized aloud, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

“YOU PEOPLE ARE IMPOSSIBLE!” Jimmy screamed.

Bdubs laughed, patting Jimmy’s shoulder and spreading his other arm out over the horizon, “Look, we’re in a plains biome, I’m sure we can find ya something to munch on.”

“All the animals are gone already!” Jimmy snapped, “This is the life series not Hermitcraft!”

“There’s plenty of horses,” Mumbo pointed out, unhelpfully. 

“I CAN’T EAT A HORSE.”

“Not hungry enough, eh?” Mumbo replied. 

Jimmy paused mid scream to laugh, “Alright, that’s a good one.” He then returned to screaming, “I’ve got two ticks left in my hunger bar before I starve to death. And that’s gonna be on both your consciences now, I hope you know.”

“I’m sure I can convince Etho to part with some snacks when I find him,” Bdubs assured.

“Isn’t Etho a cat, though? At least, that’s what Impulse told me,” Mumbo said, “Why are you looking for him?”

“Because I’m me, Mumbo, that’s why,” Bdubs snapped. 

“Right,” Mumbo said, “Should have expected that. Anyway, if you’ll excuse me I need to collect some redstone down in that ravine. No reason, of course.”

“Of course,” Bdubs played along. He waved as Mumbo pushed past them, black and white spotted tail wagging behind him. He turned back to Jimmy, “Now which way did Etho go?”

Jimmy sighed,  “He went further up, toward Scar’s place, I think. Have you been there yet? Last I saw him he was making some sort of shanty on the lake edge.”

“And that’s where we shall go,” Bdubs announced. 

“I can’t sprint,” Jimmy said, looping an arm around Bdubs’ as a preventative measure. “Don’t you dare leave me behind.”

Bdubs laughed, but acquiesced. Slowing his pace down as they walked through the peaceful meadows. It was strange to see so few mobs and people. Eerie, really. But eventually from the fog appeared a new structure at the lake's edge. A fishing hut made of oak and spruce, already with a nice pier jutting into the water. 

Scar came into view first, arms waving about as he spoke to three other players. Even before he rendered, Bdubs could tell the tallest silhouette to be Etho, most likely standing beside Joel and Scott based on Jimmy’s previous recollection.

“ETHO!” Bdubs shouted, abandoning Jimmy completely to sprint over to him. 

Etho’s head shot up, and there was a soft crinkle around his eyes as they lit up in recognition. “Oh snappers, it’s a Bdubs!” he exclaimed, lifting  his hand to wave at him. 

“Why, hello there, Bdubs,” Scar intercepted, coming in between them before Bdubs could go in for the hug, “Welcome to my dock.”

“Right,” Bdubs nodded. “It’s a nice dock.”

“Thanks, I made it myself. Took all my wood,” Scar continued proudly, his gray and black tail swishing dangerously behind him.

“That’s not even true,” another voice snapped, and Bdubs quickly saw Lizzie coming into view. She was munching on a fish, her small ears folded close to her head, “I made the dock. You only made the shanty.”

“Details,” Scar waved off with his ever present smile. 

“Food!” Bdubs shouted, pointing at the half eaten cod in Lizzie’s hand, “Jimmy needs some! Lizzie can you spare a fish  for the starving man behind me?”

“Oh, Bdubs,” Joel groaned, his striped tail drooping in disappointment, “You actually helped him?”

“He was supposed to stay in the hole.” Scott clicked his tongue, shaking his head. 

“Dogs, amiright?” Joel offered cheekily. Bdubs couldn’t help but let out a petulant little huff at that. 

By that point Jimmy had finally staggered over to them, doubling over to rest his hands on his knees. “One tick! One tick left and I die before your callous eyes!”

“I’ve got food, Jimmy,” Lizzie assured, digging through her inventory, “But you’ll have to swear your undying loyalty to me first.”

“FINE!” Jimmy agreed. 

“See, this is how you get into so much trouble, Jimmy,” Scott commented, “You agree too quickly to things.”

“The man’s on death’s door, Scott. You can’t blame him,” Scar defended, even as he took out his own cooked cod to eat in front of him.

“To seal the deal I shall give you this!” Lizzie announced, handing over a bone. 

“Am I joke to you?” Jimmy growled, holding the bone, “You expect me to eat this? Just because I’m a dog? Har, har, har, everybody.” He pretended to give the bone a bite, only for his jaw to snap right through it. He blinked, surprised, nostrils flaring and bringing the bone to his mouth to properly chew on it. 

And then he ate it completely. 

“Oh,” Lizzie said, dumbfounded.

Joel started to laugh, “Did he seriously just–”

“There’s a terrible bone joke just waiting to be made here,” Scott snickered, politely covering his smile with his hand. 

Jimmy’s face colored, “Shut up! Just hold on a second,”

“Did it work?” Bdubs asked, intrigued. His floppy ears did their best to perk up.

“It…worked,” Jimmy confirmed, eyes widening 

“So I can punch you now? Thank void I’ve been having to hold back this whole time–” Joel started, pushing his way forward and winding his arm back.

Jimmy screeched, high pitched. Etho’s arm shot out to grab Joel by the scruff of his shirt while the poor golden retriever quickly ran behind Bdubs. “It didn’t FILL me up! I’m not anywhere close to healed yet. Get away from me, Joel!”

Lizzie stared at one of her bones, appraising it. Carefully, she raised it to her mouth and gave it an experimental gnaw. She grimaced.

“Let me try it,” Bdubs pawed at the bone, curiosity having gotten the best of him yet again. He immediately managed to snap it in half with his teeth, despite missing several. His eyes widened, “Huh. It’s not half bad!”

“This must be a dog thing,” Lizzie murmured, putting a finger to her chin, “I mean you can feed bones to wild wolves so it sort of makes sense.”

“Wait a tick,” Jimmy said, straightening up, “Wouldn’t that…Wouldn’t that mean…” He let his voice fade off as he rifled through his inventory to pull out a piece of rotten flesh. 

“Oh that is vile, Jimmy!” Joel snapped. 

Jimmy took a bite. His eyes widened. “NO WAY! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?”

Bdubs tilted his head to the side. Jimmy handed him another piece of the zombie flesh and he took a brave bite. An explosion of flavors hit his tongue all at once. Savory rich barbecue with just a hint of heat at the edges. He could feel himself salivating for more as he gobbled up the supposed rancid meat. “Oh my! This is gourmet!” 

“Are you telling me, I’ve been panicking for the past few hours when I could have eaten any of the 40 pieces of rotten flesh in my inventory!?” Jimmy cried, sinking down to his knees. 

“This is amazing,” Joel snickered, “I’m glad you dragged us out here, Scott.”

“I’m full of great ideas,” Scott preened, flicking his hair back to emphasize the point. His blue gray tail swished behind him for added effect.

“Anyway,” Etho said, finally making his way to stand by his old friend, “Fancy seeing you here, Bdubs.”

“Etho!” Bdubs shouted, remembering the whole point of the day. 

“Shouldn’t you be with your pack?” Etho faux sniffled, turning his head to the side. 

“I came to check on you!” Bdubs insisted, pushing toward him. “Sure, I was led astray momentarily, but here I am in the end! That’s got to count for something, right?”

“I’m not letting more people move in with me,” Joel growled, putting his foot down. 

Etho patted Joels’ shoulder, lifting his other hand to scratch the back of his own neck, “Ya see, Bdubs, after that whole debacle, I kinda joined my own alliance. A Fe-liance.”

“Oh.” Bdubs took a step back, wounded. “Oh, I see.”

“Aww man, Joel,” Etho caved immediately, turning to the tabby cat, “Can’t we keep him?”

“Absolutely not.”

“But look at him. How could you say no to that face?”

“Easily,” Joel said. Scott laughed. 

“Gentlemen,” Scar clapped, grabbing everyone's attention once more. Lizzie made a loud ahem, her tail lashing out in warning. Scar quickly amended, “And Lady. Although this has been quite the joyous reunion, I do believe you three came here for business?”

“We came for information, actually,” Scott cut in, taking a step forward, “From Lizzie, really. I hear you’ve got quite the advantage in this game, this time around.”

Lizzie blinked owlishly, “Whatever do you mean?”

“Oh, she’s good,” Bdubs whispered to Jimmy and Etho, who were standing closest to him. 

“That’s the same look you pull half the time,” Etho huffed, crossing his arms.

“Game recognizes game,” Bdubs nodded. “Did I say that right? Gem taught me that one.”

“Joel told me everything,” Scott said bluntly. Joel’s ears pinned back, betrayed. 

Lizzie scowled, turning to her husband, “Joel! You had one job!”

“I didn’t know it was a secret!” Joel snapped, tabby tail lashing behind him.

“Of course it was a secret!” Lizzie huffed. She crossed her arms, glaring up at Scott. “Well, you already know, then. No fall damage.”

“No fall damage?” Etho repeated, eyes widening a fraction. 

“At all?” Bdubs added. “Well, wouldn’t that be nifty.”

“Interesting,” Scott continued tapping his chin, “What else do you know?”

Lizzie glowered, “Maybe that’s all I know.”

“Oh, come on now,” Scott started, his tone lilting as he bent forward to get closer to Lizzie’s face,  “You expect me to believe the great LDShadowlady spent all of her imperial days as a cat and learned only one thing?”

“Oh, Scott,” Lizzie said, turning her head shyly to the side, “You’re gonna make me blush.”

Joel visibly scowled. 

“Anybody got blocks?” Etho asked, “I gotta try this no fall damage thing.”

“Oh, it’s amazing Etho,” Joel egged on, eager to latch onto any distraction from his wife’s annoyance at him, “I went all the way to the height limit. You saw!”

“I did see,” Etho agreed with a light laugh. 

“Lizzie’s got cobble in her chest,” Jimmy pointed out, uncrouching from the chest he’d been rifling through.. 

Lizzie whirled around at him, “Jimmy! I saved your life and you’re going through my things?”

Etho grabbed two stacks easily, turning towards Bdubs, “What do you say, wanna give it a shot with me?”

Bdubs reddened, but he took the offered stack, “Oh, well, when you ask so nicely how could I possibly refuse?” Then he pocketed the stack and put his hands on his hips, “Are you CRAZY? I’m no cat! You think me a FOOL?”

Etho cackled, “Just keeping you on your toes, is all.” He wiped at his eye, and hopped up onto a block, “I’m still gonna check it out for myself, though.” 

Bdubs watched with growing wariness as Etho ascended upwards. He could hear the bickering around him start to die down as all eyes veered toward the white cat in the sky. 

“You know, this has me thinking,” Scar started, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, “We could be a whole traveling circus. Think of all the trapeze arts! No safety nets. It’d be spectacular. People would pay a fortune to see it. And there would be absolutely no clowns.”

“Shh,” Joel shushed, “He’s gonna jump. Jump into my arms Etho!!” he extended out his hands, only to be nudged in the side by both Scott and Lizzie adding up to one solid tick of damage against him. 

Etho did jump and, without a drop of water,  landed on his feet before them. His tail pointed straight out for balance and his own eyes were wide like even he couldn’t believe it. Then he turned toward his audience and asked, “Did that make you jump?”

“Oh, BROTHER,” Bdubs lamented, rolling his eyes. Hopefully, his lambasting would cover up the jealousy and admiration festering just underneath the surface. 

“I didn’t go that far up,” Etho admitted sheepishly after a moment, stepping away from his stack, “But you know what, Bdubs? I bet you could water bucket clutch from that height.”

“No way,” Bdubs said.

“Perhaps we should change the saying from scaredy cat to scaredy dog,” Joel goaded. 

“Good one,” Scott replied flatly. 

“It was NOT,” Jimmy snapped, “Don’t listen to them Bdubs! You don’t need to prove nothin’.”

“Of course I’m not doing something that stupid,” Bdubs assured. 

“I’ll give you this saddle,” Etho offered. 

“Alright,” Bdubs sighed, pulling out the stack of cobblestone and starting to hop up into the sky. He ignored Jimmy’s squawking and Joel’s cackling, instead focusing on not slipping off his precarious tower. As he reached the halfway point he realized very quickly how stupid he was being. “Committing to the bit never did me wrong before,” he murmured to himself. He blinked and then snapped aloud, “Except for every time it did! What the heck am I doing up here!?”

He stared down at his audience and pursed his lips. He couldn’t mine down to them now. He’d never live it down. He’d bring great shame not only to himself but to all of dogkind. Plus, he really did want a saddle. 

“You’re a professional, Bdubs,” he reminded himself, shaking off his nerves and squaring his shoulders. He pulled out his bucket of water, counted to three, then counted to three again, and then finally psyched himself out enough to just jump at the number two. 

BDoubleO100 fell from a high place. ImpulseSV  > OH NO! IntheLittleWood > First Blood TangoTek > Jimmy you can breathe now! ZombieCleo > I let you out of my sight for FIVE MINUTES

Bdubs opened his eyes at spawn and let out a frustrated scream. He stomped around trying to let the anger out. Oh, he was going to murder Etho, his eternal alliance be damned. He started hoofing it to the otherside of the lake, lamenting his lack of horse. His lack of anything. Especially with the sun already starting to set. It wouldn’t be long until night befell them. 

“Bdubs! Over here!” he heard Jimmy shout. He turned his head to see that both Jimmy and Lizzie were running toward him, meeting him about halfway. 

“We grabbed your stuff,” Jimmy said quickly as he started chucking items out of his pockets and onto the ground. 

“I gave Etho quite the tongue lashing too,” Lizzie assured, “Put the fear of the void in ‘im for messing with my dogs like that.”

“Your dogs?” Jimmy questioned. 

“I gave you each a bone, didn’t I?” Lizzie reminded him. 

“I’ve got a bone to pick with a certain someone,” Bdubs interrupted, pushing past them after accounting for his relatively small amount of things.  He sprinted the rest of the way and in no time he found exactly who he was looking for. 

“ETHO, WHAT THE HECK!” Bdubs shouted, glaring as the white cat seemed to curl in on himself nervously. His white ears pinned so close to his head they became lost in his unruly hair.

“I swear I was gonna put down some water as a safety last minute,” Etho muttered, not looking him in the eye. He rummaged through his inventory and pulled out a horse saddle, “You still want the saddle?”

“I don’t want your BLOOD SADDLE!” Bdubs bellowed, stomping his foot for added effect. “I want my life back!”

“Uh,” Etho started, glancing over to his alliance for help. 

Joel stepped in easily enough, “Sorry, Bdubs, we don’t speak dog.” He grabbed hold of Etho’s arm, pulling him away, “Etho! Scott! Uh, we should go work on the base! That isn’t here!”

“Right,” Etho agreed as he allowed himself to be dragged, “We’ve got a tree to build.”

“You’re even building trees without me, now?” Bdubs called out, “I hate you!”

“Quite the tragic break up we’re witnessing, huh boys,” Lizzie commented, shaking her head solemnly where she stood between Jimmy and Scar. 

“What, you and Joel?” Scar blinked. 

“What? No! Bdubs and Etho!” Lizzie snapped. 

“But you’re sticking with me right? Not following your husband out there? I take loyalty very seriously here, Lizzie,” Scar warned. 

“Of course!” Lizzie waved off, “That man’s dead to me.” She ignored the strangled cry of I heard that from Joel, instead giving Scar a bright cheery smile. He echoed it and the atmosphere seemed to grow a bit tenser, enough for Jimmy to take a wary step back. 

“Timmy, where are you going?” Scar asked, turning towards him.

“Yeah, Jimmy, you’re one of us now, remember?” Lizzie cautioned. 

Jimmy swallowed, “Uh, right, about that. You know, you two being cats, and us being dogs–”

“The circus doesn’t discriminate,” Scar waved off. 

“You took the bone, Jimmy,” Lizzie reminded him sternly.

“Erm, Bdubs, what do you think?” Jimmy tried, turning desperately to the silent pug still watching the trio retreating in the distance.  

Bdubs ignored him entirely, instead screaming out “WAIT!” at the top of his lungs. 

Jimmy blanched as he watched his fellow dog sprint away from him, calling out a desperate plea of, “Don’t leave me here alone!”

Bdubs caught up to the cat trio easily enough. He stood right in front of Etho, who still looked too sheepish to meet his gaze. With his sternest glare he demanded, “Give me the saddle.”

Etho gave a nervous chuckle but handed over the item all the same. “So…we’re good now? No hard feelings?”

“Nope,” Bdubs answered with a cheery smile, “You’re absolutely dead to me!” He then swiveled round, racing back to  join Lizzie, Scar and Jimmy where he left them. 

“Oh, thank the void you didn’t abandon me,” Jimmy sighed out in relief. 

“Abandon you? No! Never!” Bdubs assured, throwing an arm around the taller dog, “We’re bone brothers now.”

Lizzie cheered and Scar gave his own approving cackle as he swept them all in for a group hug. From within the inner circle, Bdubs continued, “Alright, new family, here’s the deal. I’ve got intel I can share about a whole host of these TRAITORS on this server.”

Still, even as he shared all he knew about the locations of the other players and their species, he couldn’t help glancing behind his back every now and then, just in case. And each time his eyes met only the empty landscape, he felt the cold wrap around his heart just a little bit tighter.

[dragonbma]

What are some scrapped concepts from any of your AUs?

Oh boy I wish I had seen this ask sooner because I have SO MUCH to say. Can of worms has officially opened! The peak 2023 brainrot I had last year spawned countless (around 20) MC:SM AUs. Most of which were one-off ideas where I just wanted to design something without thinking too much about a story. Since then, I’ve whittled it down to a handful I still doodle and write for behind the scenes. (Listed below)

Scrapped design/plot concepts:

Starting off with my favorite AU, Possession!Vos had a plethora of designs before I decided I didn’t want his looks to change much and that just surviving the plot was deviation enough. He almost looked like this whenever Romeo was in control: (essentially Romeo’s side profile would manifest and obscure half of Vos’ face, mirroring whatever expression the other half had)

If I had to think of which AU had the most scrapped scenes, that award goes to the Drowned!Vos AU. The poor aftermath of that story was reworked so many times (mostly because I was indecisive just how antagonistic Romeo would be to the man he cursed to be a soggy zombie forever.) In the first draft, Romeo was so mad that Drowned failed to kill Jack that he completely abandoned him, but that since changed to the Admin being an ongoing antagonist who teleports over when Drowned is alone to belittle him. (Slight gore warning for this next bit.) In one of the more devious scrapped scenes, Romeo enchants his boots with Frost Walker and partially freezes Drowned solid before stomping his leg and breaking it off.

Oarfishposting, while also going through three name changes throughout its time (cod help me), also did a complete 180 in plot. It was almost a basic mad scientist plot where Romeo captured and experimented on any “losers” that couldn’t win his challenges. The adventure trio of course lost the temple, but since Sammy was too far gone and Jack got the hell out of there, Vos was all that was left. Oarfish!Vos was very close to resembling a Frankenstein amalgamation. Of course I am much happier with the final story because a world where everyone is half animal and there is a god trying to trap the rarer hybrids in temples is much more unique and fun to play with.

For the last scrapped plot point I’ll mention, there was a fun idea I was playing around with in the Fantasy Trio AU where instead of Mage!Vos getting turned to solid obsidian, he is instead trapped in a mirror dimension. The mechanics of the challenge were as follows: adventurers enter a large, circular room in the castle and are presented with a myriad of doors along the walls. The floor is a giant mirror which reflects everything above it… albeit slightly different. Anyone one who enters the room has a moving statue reflecting their actions; So long as the statues are not shattered, they can swap places with their statues to enter the mirror dimension. (Their statues would then exist in the real world until they swap back.) Doors in the main room have no knobs so Mage opts to swap places with his statue to start opening the doors in the mirror dimension which do have knobs. Most doors lead to nothing, but some spawn enemies. TLDR: They eventually find the boss of the room, a large drake with a key around its neck, but it headbutts Mage and shatters his statue, rendering him unable to swap places back to the real world after the drake is defeated.

Scrapped AUs:

One AU I scrapped entirely (because Jack doesn’t die from the mess cliff fall) was a Death Trio AU where once Jack re-enters the Sea Temple, he’s haunted by ghastly apparitions of his old friends and how they died until he too eventually meets his demise in the Underneath. Vos’ skin is entirely obsidian and he can cry lava. Sammy bears resemblance to the elder guardians, now sprouting fins, scales, and their one giant eye. Though he doesn’t actually die in game, Jack’s downfall would have been the mesa cliff he falls off if Jesse refuses to give Porkchop their swords. His dead form gets a desert face covering and he leaves a trail of sand he coughs up.

Mercraft: Fish Mode started out as an AU where all characters were merfolk, but I decided it would work better as just a drawing challenge instead of Mermay.

Some crossovers I really didn’t do much with were MC:SM x Flight Rising, Night at the Museum, Wings of Fire, Pokémon, and The Odyssey. Most of these were me wanting to design stuff so I’ll try to sum them up quick. The FR and WoF AUs were excuses for me to draw the cast as dragons. The NatM crossover spawned from a dream where I found a modded version of MC:SM where you play as Jesse, Petra, or Lukas (all night guards) and tended to the museum. Other characters were museum exhibits such as Gabriel being Teddy, Reuben being Rexy, and the Admins as the Egyptians; In all honesty I remember very little from the dream save for Romeo (Kahmunrah) shaking Vos (Jedediah) around in a brita filter. Pokémon AU spawned from me rewatching “Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea” and realizing there’s a character named Jack whose partner is a chatot. The main premise is the basic “everyone has a partner Pokémon” AU where the adventure trio visit the Sea Temple (guardians are huntails, elder guardians are gyarados, colossus are regice… and there’s also a type: null there for uhh plot reasons.) Lastly, I just love The Odyssey so making Jack, Vos, and Sammy > Eurylochus, Odysseus, and Polities was too good to pass up. Plus Polyphemus works perfectly as an elder guardian + Romeo as a very pissed Poseidon.

Main AUs: Vos Possession AU, Drowned!Vos AU, Oarfishposting, ‘Neath!Vos AU, Champion Vos AU, and most recently Admin Accomplice

Secondary/Hiatus AUs: TempleSwap, Fantasy Trio, Abyssal Symptoms, Chipped!Vos, Angel, and Sentry

Honorable mention to the one-off crack AUs that I scrapped immediately because they were just for giggles. Holepunched AU: the obsidian cage does not open when it falls and uh just lands on Vos. 💥 Rip. It was nicknamed Holepunched because Sammy’s ghost has a gaping hole in her chest from the guardian beam and Vos’ is just sliced in half. Feather Falling AU: Vos survives all those years on one heart, but ultimately takes fall damage when Jesse releases him. Funnily enough, that one was made on a whim where I was just trying to cause a friend psychic damage, but she did me one better by saying it would be worse if he didn’t poof upon hitting the floor, but only dissipated when Jack tried to hug him. :[

[abbyindenhaag]

Izu

When we were planning this trip, and I was asked if there was anything I especially wanted to see, I said I would like to see some of rural Japan. Where? Maybe the Izu peninsula, where the Shogun TV series was filmed. Bart was pretty skeptical, but I was firm. Izu.

Everyone acted like it would take a lot of legwork to get there, but it was really just 45 minutes on a train spur down from the Hakone area, along the coast. For such a short distance, I was shocked at the difference from Hakone. The air felt much warmer, and there were citrus trees in fruit (yuzu, I think) and flowers actively blooming all over the place.

The town we were staying in, Izu-Kogen, was quite small, and seemed to be mostly famous for its “teddy bear museum.” We did not stop in to evaluate the cultural importance of this landmark. For me, the main attraction was the Jogasaki coast: a stretch of impressive cliffs formed by lava eruptions from a nearby volcano. I will let the photos speak for themselves:

Super volcanic, very spiky rocks that were actually quite challenging to walk on. (The real trail was on smoother ground further away from the edge, where there were more plants and soil.) Especially with the wind, it was a very dramatic locale.

Our home for the night was a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn. This meant more traditional food — I feel like such a picky Westerner being so precious, but it continued to be a bit difficult — but also a traditional sleeping experience. Namely, the inside of the room was all tatami mats, and while we were at dinner someone on the staff came and set up some pads with fluffy comforters on top. Like so:

The beds pads were not really comparable to Western beds, but they were still comfortable to lie on, especially if you like a firm surface. As a noted floor aficionado, I was very happy with it, and only slept poorly because I had started to develop a cold. Bart slept perfectly well. The only issue was that the beds were not available *before* dinner, when we both wanted a nap (see above re: developing cold). So we had to make do with sleeping on the floor, like beasts. No photo was taken of me in my little nest, but here is Bart cozying up with a stair:

The ryokan had a number of private onsens, and also provide us with traditional robes for going to and from the bathhouses. I was skeptical they would keep us warm, but they actually did a very good job, especially when paired with the over-jacket (not shown because it’s not as pretty). The onsen was super nice, and had big glass windows looking out at bamboo etc.

We tried to explore the town a bit before leaving the next morning, but didn’t find a lot to report. Bart made an analogy to Cape Cod, or at least the Outer Cape — it seems like a very seasonal seaside sort of place, where wealthy people go to escape the city. Of the people we did see there, they were typically middle-aged or above, and we saw a LOT of fancy cars. Mini coopers, Porsches, a Maserati, and those were just the ones I recognized. The cars were not exclusively fancy, we also saw a lot of normal-people cars and pickup trucks, but it set the tone. The other remarkable thing was that we had a lot of trouble finding a cafe that would sell us a cup of tea to take away, but along the road to the coast we found a vending machine that actually sold HOT milk tea. Bart thought it might give him stomach troubles but was desperate enough to try it anyway, and was pleasantly surprised. The US has a lot to learn, clearly.

Up next is the final new city of our visit - Kyoto!

[cumbermovels]

Floor is Lava Challenge is coming back to me after I proceeded to make fun of how the mc dodged all the zombies 😭😭😭my mind be everywhere

Edit: Just asked several people abt the floor is lava challenge. Cod & atsv

[weareallstardustfallen]

empires recap - week of sept 25

the videos released from saturday, september 25 to friday, october 1 were:

-lizzie’s episode 16: she works on her tunnel, and trades with pixl

-fwhip’s episode 23: he finishes the interior of the forge, agrees to attend pearl and sausage’s arena, and takes gem’s sword to upgrade

-scott’s episode 20: he burns the arena invite and takes jimmy on a date to solidify an alliance and thank him for rescuing him

-pixl’s episode 24: he starts work on a turtle sanctuary, is blown up by sausage’s prank, and works on recovering his items

-katherine’s episode 21: she builds a babytown, shows scott and gem around, and decorates her section of lizzie’s tunnel

-sausage’s episode 33: he succumbs fully to the corruption during the arena fight, fights and loses against gem, and travels through the spirit realm to return to mythland uncorrupted

-gem’s episode 14: she attends the arena fights, fights and kills sausage, and meets with him after his return

-jimmy’s episode 16: he discusses his prograss and plans for the wall, meets with scott, and goes with joel to help perform his disstrack

-scott’s episode 21: he builds a more permanent place for his stag, successfully uncorrupts the crystals, and visits katherine’s babytown

-katherine’s episode 22: she attends the arena fights and starts work on a megabase

-joel’s episode 22: he attends the arena fights and builds a super-smelter

detailed recaps under the cut!

lizzie 16:

-lizzie continues construction on the tunnel, starting with a dungeon-themed section and trading with pixlriffs so that she can get pointed dripstone for a dripstone-themed section, which she also tries and fails to catch a bat for -after the dripstone section, she makes a deepslate-themed section, an end-themed section, an end city-themed section, a crimson nether-themed section, a warped nether-themed section, a snow section, and leaves the last section for katherine to decorate -she runs into katherine, and discovers that the tunnel doesn’t work two ways -she sets up an alert system, composed of a constantly-ringing bell near the entrance to the tunnel, on both sides -she notes that the eye of xornoth has disappeared

fwhip 23:

-fwhip discusses his new computer, and mentions that while he hasn’t been able to record as he’s been setting up the new pc he was gathering resources -he goes to collect ice in order to make a basalt generator, also powered by xornoth crystal lava -he goes to expand the sugar cane paddy, and starts a road from the grimlands to shubble’s empire in hopes of setting up an alliance between them -he goes to visit her, and they commiserate about their shared distaste for joey while he leads her to the road; she agrees to finish the road to her empire -he completes the interior of the forge and goes ancient debris mining to get a block of netherite -pearl and sausage arrive to invite him to their newly-built arena; he and sausage shoot each other several times, but he agrees -he uses the completed forge to create a new powerful bow, and heads over to convince gem to let him upgrade her sword -while he’s there, he places deepslate redstone ore around the dragon egg in order to keep it warm, despite her objections -fwhip: “insert happy egg noises here” -he brings her to the forge and shows her around; she notes that he’s gotten weirder -though not without protest, she allows him to take her sword and one of her crystals to upgrade it -he works on his librarian villagers and replenishes his rocket supplies; afterwards, joel and jimmy arrive to perform a diss track -he takes down all of the xornoth crystals and stores the lava; afterwards, he works on plotting the next section of the megabase

scott 20:

-scott plans to pay jimmy back for saving him from sausage and joey’s kidnapping, and decides the best way to do so is take him on a date, which he plans to make a “love cave ride thing” for, and solidify an alliance with him -he sees the arena invite from pearl and sausage, and burns it -with it thus taken care of, he returns to his planning for his and jimmy’s date, and starts excavating a cave -he terraforms and decorates the cave, with foliage, a blanket in their colors, their banners, cod named things that are significant to him and jimmy, the pufferish of peace, and then builds the actual rail -he builds a heart-shaped tunnel which he hides in case the first portion doesn’t go well, and a balcony -he puts on a flower crown and goes to find jimmy to ask if he wants to go on the date; jimmy says yes, and he gives jimmy a poppy upon arriving in rivendell -he shows jimmy the cave, including the cake, which prompts jimmy to run around to lose hunger; when he asks scott to do the same he briefly drowns to lose hunger -“i’m drowning for you!” -jimmy asks him to keep it secret, to which scott agrees; jimmy asks if they’re becoming allies, and scott says if he wants to -he shows jimmy the heart-shaped tunnel and the balcony; scott says he built it just for jimmy, and jimmy again asks him to keep it between them -jimmy asks to take the poppies, and destroys the flowerpots not realizing he can right click to get them -jimmy leaves, and scott says it went well

pixl 24:

-pixl shows that the tentacles have recovered and multiplied, and hypothesizes that he’ll have to join forces with the other empires to actually defeat them -he reads the letter from joel, and agrees to give him what copper he has -he meets with lizzie, and trades her some pointed dripstone for two turtle eggs so he can populate the river with them; she suggests bringing axolotls to take care of the salmon in the river -he starts work on a turtle sanctuary, with a small cave so the eggs can hatch without being harmed, and decorates the area around it -he describes his plans for a residential area inside something akin to an anthill to the north, and shows a block palette for it -he sees the arena invite from sausage and pearl, and plans on attending -he shows the newly-hatched turtle, and helps it grow up with seagrass -he meets with joel to give him copper, and doesn’t currently have as much as he needs; he provides him all of the copper in his ender chest and aging farm -joel mentions the mythland embassy, which pixl was unaware of; after they finish collecting the copper they go to see it, and find out it has a perpetual bell-ringing device. pixl says it’s probably a trap, but enters anyway; when he opens the door, several tnt minecarts fall from the door, which he hits with his sword, detonating them and blowing up almost all of his items -pixl says it was a prank he can respect, but says he’s still going to ruin sausage’s life for it -he adds candles to the vigil for himself and katherine, whose death showed up in chat, and notes that he has no idea if the count is still accurate -afterwards, he works on getting his items back, and goes to fwhip for help in getting his armor and sword recovered before the arena fight, hoping to use his forge, and pays him in calcite for the netherite

katherine 21:

-katherine shows the eyeball, corruption, and crystals, saying that her land is overrun, though she finds the crystals pretty; she gets rid of the corrupted trees -katherine plans to create a baby town for people to stay in if they need; she steals some of the other empires’ blocks in order to build them -she starts with a tower of her own kingdom, and builds miniature versions of all of the empires before she works on paths, terraforming, and general detailing -she leaves something specific to each empire in the corresponding building along with a chest and bed, including corruption in joey’s -she puts her list of official allies in her own tower, which includes all but three people -she builds a baby town sign and shows off all of the building -scott and gem visit, and she shows them around; they comment on how many allies she has, and point out that she’s allies with the people who kidnapped them; they remove sausage’s sign -they are unenthusiastic about joey and sausage’s mini builds -scott mentions he un-corrupted the gems, and points out that they’re above key locations in everyone’s empires, which katherine had not noticed -she shows off lizzie’s secret tunnel, and builds a section of the tunnel themed after lizzie’s empire; she sends a bunch of purpur to test it -she notes that the eye is gone

sausage 33:

-sausage begins by reading his will, explaining that he’s sorry he wasn’t strong enough to resist the corruption and dictating how his belongings should be split up -it transitions into possessed sausage, who is deriding the sappiness -sausage says that it all ends tonight, and everyone will be coming to the arena; he’ll go full corrupted and sacrifice every other emperor -he explains that everything is in order and things will be fine without him, regardless of whether or not he comes back; he says that at least a zombie villager still has hope of being cured, but he doesn’t, as only a more powerful being could even stop him and there’s none other than xornoth -he mentions the mythland embassy in pixandria, and talks about pixandrian spies who tried to warn pixl, but it was too late; he cuts back to when he was building it and the trap he laid, and footage of pixl’s death via his ravens -he says that after the arena fights, “you’ll never see your king again” -they welcome the others to the arena, and accost fwhip for trying to sell things on their land without a permit -they proceed into the arena fights, beginning with joel and pearl vs fwhip and pixl; the gunpowder boys win via fwhip burning to death a few seconds after joel -pearl and pixl fight with just axes and shields; pearl wins -joel and pearl fight with axes and shields; it ends in a double kill -they introduce xornoth, and pearl immediately challenges him as the others start to panic; it spawns pillagers, ravagers, zoglins, and vexes, among other mobs, which the emperors defeat; he introduces his champion, who turns out to be sausage, and he starts hunting down the others, able to kill them in one or a few hits -xornoth directs him to kill them all, and he does so -afterwards, sausage notes that gem got away, and goes to the crystal cliffs to find gem and potentially pick up the dragon egg -he comments on the artifact in his inventory, not recognizing it -gem comes to confront him, and tells him to stay away from the egg; when he threatens to take it and burn it, she says she will protect it with her life, and they start to fight -they engage in a chase and fight both through the air and on the ground, traveling between gem’s towers; she retains the upper hand for most of the time -they end up in her largest tower, which is the place she’s most powerful; suddenly, he switches to his possessed voice, and says he’s sorry. he gives her the staff and begs her to kill him, which she does -he wakes up unpossessed in the spirit realm, which is a room with a table and several gateways with void behind them, one of which is a lit nether portal -there are five unlit portals on the sides, one lit one, and a central unlit portal; there’s also several broken portals -he finds a book on the table, which details that he must travel back to past lives in alternate realities via the portal, and bring back what he loves most to activate the central portal and either be returned to life if the gods deem him worthy or sent to the next plane of existence if they don’t -he goes through the portals, and ends up in his hardcore world, where he correctly guesses that the thing he cares about most is bubbles, since sir carlos said she would guide him back; he retrieves that world’s bubbles, and notes that she’s not the same bubbles as he summoned to empires -he returns to the spirit realm through a portal decorated with cyan candles and warped nether blocks; he repeats the process with his oneblock skyblock world, sourceblock smp, his hardcore season 1 world, legacy smp season 1, and his singleplayer world in the season 3 area -the final world is in mythland colors, and provides him armor and elytra when the other ones did not; he comments on it, but since the final portal is open he ignores that and the broken portals and says goodbye to the council of bubbles before he goes through -he ends up on the bridge in mythland, where gem finds him; she says that she’s missed him, and he says that he’s missing memories; when she shows him the staff she took from him, he says he wants nothing to do with magic, and drinks the potion she gives him -he asks if they can be in an alliance again, and she says they’ll have to talk to fwhip; they agree he should go sleep for now, and she tells him not to use the leftover sleeping potions. on his way to bed he asks her to deal with the demon cats and says he might be xornoth’s target now, and that he’ll say how to defeat xornoth when he wakes up

gem 14:

-gem tries to think of what she can do to make the egg hatch, but is interrupted by fwhip putting deepslate redstone around the edge; he says it’s to keep it warm -he shows her the grimlands forge and asks to upgrade her sword; reluctantly, she agrees, and provides a crystal to use for it -she finds a build request from jimmy to build custom swamp trees, and says it’d be fun; however, she’s interrupted by seeing some pillagers, who she puts in boats and names loon, viktor, and aries, making them her first citizens -she goes to the codlands and builds four custom trees -she works on pacifying the pillagers, and successfully has each one break their crossbow; she says she’ll make buildings for them soon -she finds the arena invite, and says she’ll go to make sure everyone stays safe, since she warned pearl about sausage -she spectates the arena fights, and shoots katherine after joel dares her to; when xornoth arrives, she helps fight the mobs, but drinks an invisibility potion and flees when sausage begins hunting the other emperors -she ends up back in her tower, and sees sausage approaching the dragon egg; she confronts him, and tells him to leave the egg alone -they start to fight, and she chases him, declaring that he’s in her mountains, and they fight in her towers, ending in the largest of them; she tells him that she’s most powerful there, and he gives her his staff and begs her (in his normal voice) to kill him, which she does, getting the “serious dedication” achievement from his scythe -she goes to mythland to look for him, and finds him on the bridge, unpossessed; she tells him she’s missed him, and he asks if he killed people at the arena, since he doesn’t remember -he reacts violently to the sight of his staff, and returns her crystals, saying he doesn’t want anything to do with magic; she agrees, and gives him a potion to drink -she encourages him to go to bed, and he does -she returns to the crystal cliffs, and checks on the hat, which says that she can take it now; she does, and works on fortifying the crystal cliffs by taking down the original gatehouse and replacing it with a larger redesign, and puts her grumpy panda in the gatehouse in a boat -she catches some more pillagers, and adds one to the tower of the gatehouse -she says she’ll study ways to stop xornoth, and ends the video with some behind-the-scenes and bloopers clips

jimmy 16:

-jimmy shows the two new pieces for the fanart shack and his cat, norman -he shows off the custom trees which gem built, and the back wall of his megabase which he built -he shows the area where the next wall will be, and explains that he had to remove a mountain which was in his way, so fwhip helped blow it up in return for an iou, which fwhip used to make him carry a salmon; jimmy hid it under one of the tentacles, refusing to carry it around, although he can’t destroy it -he says that he’s going to put the wall in and fwhip will terraform the crater by next episode -he says that he accidentally deleted his footage from his and scott’s meeting, but scott sent his footage, which he’s using -scott leads him into a cave decorated with foliage and various significant things to the both of them, including a cake; jimmy runs around to try and lose hunger so he can eat it; scott drowns to do the same -jimmy asks if they’re becoming allies; scott says if he wants, to which jimmy agrees -scott leads him down the “tunnel of love equivalent” and to the balcony; jimmy attempts to take the poppies but doesn’t realize he can take them without breaking the flowerpots -he says he has something from katherine that he needs to see, but before that joel arrives to deliver his diss track to fwhip; it actually ends on a compliment -joel and fwhip decide to fight scott together, and jimmy says he can’t because he and scott solidified an alliance -jimmy specifies that he didn’t know they were going to go after scott, and finds katherine’s message, so he goes to go see the baby town she’s built; he finds it overwhelmingly cute, and wonders why xornoth doesn’t have a build

scott 21:

-scott plans to make a space for jimmy to build an embassy, relocate his stag, and research the crystals, since they’re copied off of the one in his enchanting tower and there might be a way to reverse their corruption -he starts with the stag, and decides to build him a cave, but before he can he notices the eye of xornoth in the background; he tells it to go away, and decides to keep his voice down when he talks about defeating the corruption -he goes back to dig out the cave, and decorates it with plant life and gold to mimic the cave he was found in and protect him, and moves the stag in -he goes to study the crystals in the library, hoping to find some way to fix them; he discovers that he could be able to turn them back using something to channel his magic and things from the other empires, so he collects things from each of the embassies, some gold, and alinar’s antlers to channel with -he says he hopes he was some kind of witch in a past life, and combines the items in a cauldron; they turn into a set of splash potions which he uses on the crystals. there’s no immediate change but when he goes to sleep and wakes up they’ve changed to cyan, yellow, and white, with gold inside, and the eye is gone -he puts away the antlers and says that his citizens will be glad he’s finally doing something -afterwards, he and gem go to katherine’s baby town, where she shows them around, including her list of allies; he points out that it’s most of the server, and gem accuses her of having no loyalty -katherine says she likes xornoth’s crystals, and he explains what he did to them, and points out that they’re above key locations; katherine hadn’t noticed

katherine 22:

-katherine says she’s really never done a megabase, so she wants to do one; she doesn’t have much space in the flower fields, so it’s going to be in the air -she finds the arena invite and says she’s interested, so she plans to spectate -since she has some new heads, she drops off the duplicates and adds a new floor to her head collection -she attends the arena fight to spectate; gem shoots her on a dare from joel -xornoth arrives, and she asks to receive any heads people get from the mobs it spawns; when xornoth directs sausage to kill them all, she tries to run, and is killed multiple times; however, she manages to obtain more mob heads -she decides that the crystals are pretty but it seems like a good idea to remove the lava, and does so; afterwards, she works on planning for her megabase, and collects wool from her sheep and from scott before she builds a large grass platform and the wool framework for the building

joel 22:

-he plans on working on both the interior and the outside of the megabase; for the interior, he intends to light it up and also work on building a super-smelter -he notices a weird shadow, which is probably a texture glitch -he works on lighting up the palace, though he has some problems with creepers exploding and damaging the palace; he leaves the holes for the meantime though he says he will leave it -the palace isn’t entirely spawnproofed, but he decides to move on anyway -he finds the arena invite, and decides to go -“you know me, i love hurting people” -he removes xornoth’s banner, saying he doesn’t know what it is, and puts it in a corner; he also teams up with pearl to fight fwhip and pixl, and loses by burning to death a few seconds before fwhip does -he dares gem to shoot katherine, which she does, killing her -he fights pearl using an axe and shield, ending in a double kill -xornoth arrives, but joel actually can’t hear him, and asks gem and fwhip why pearl is talking to herself; when sausage starts attacking people, he drinks an invisibility potion he was given by fwhip and leaves -he goes back to working on the interior, and gets to work on the super-smelter; he pauses to kill some horses to fill up his horse head room, and gathers some wood for chests before he works on the super-smelter, which takes multiple tries as he continually notices pieces of redstone that he’s missing. however, he eventually manages to get it working -he builds a room around the super-smelter and works on filling in the missing copper, then builds the two missing walls and places some of the moss in the center

[condorbill36-blog]

Culinary adventure around Iceland

There are many reasons to explain Iceland’s popularity today. The Blue Lagoon, the Fjords, the waterfalls, the glaciers, the horses, the puffins, and the whales come to mind. Then there is Thor and the food. Oh, the food. What is produced in Iceland is some of the purest and most full of flavor and respect. There is a love for tradition in Iceland and what the land has given the people. The traditions that came during the time of the Vikings have remained over time.

On this magical island, in the middle of the Atlantic far up north, there is truly something special that happens to the food. To truly comprehend the role food plays in Iceland, you must understand how the land, sea, people, and traditions come together to influence the culture around food. The residents of Iceland have a deep respect for all of these influences and the abundance of resources it has been bestowed with.

The Land

Iceland is a country made up of rich volcanic soil. Trees do not grow high. In fact the joke is, “If you get lost in a forest in Iceland, stand up”. There are multiple reasons to explain this fact. The growing seasons are short, yet fruitful. There are very rocky cliffs and mountains that are not useable for growing, but provide other resources like rich mosses and greens. They provide sustenance for the Icelandic free-range lamb to feed on once they are set out in spring.

The land is also affected by the light and often, harsh weather. There are 24 hours of light during the growing season, causing many plants to become confused if not native to the land. And while produce is not abundant, root vegetable, berries and nutrient-rich greens are. Animals, plants and people have had to adapt to respect the growing conditions they are provided. Finally, the land is alive with geothermal hot spots, providing for both green house growing and hot pots to cook in. Today, people are still cooking meals and breads in the earth.

The Sea

The sea around Iceland is key to both the sustenance of the people and its commerce. The purity of the sea provides a fertile growing ground for fish, sea kelps, and aquaculture in the form of muscles, and more recently oysters. Farmers are now also using the sea to farm fish on the land, using seawater as well as the nearby geothermal heating.

Iceland has some of the best regulations on fishing and you will not find the greed present in other countries. There is a kindness and respect for what the sea provides. Fishermen understand that without carefully monitoring and regulating fishing, they could destroy both their diets and livelihoods.

The People

The culinary wonders of Iceland would be nothing if not for the people. First, you need to understand their kind nature. The people are welcoming, inclusive and have a true respect for both their history and the land. This translates to a profound respect and proudness of their food. When an Icelandic speaks of a red currant or an arctic char their face lights up. Many farmers and fishermen today still live on the farms and fish with two and three generations of their families.

When people speak of the food of Iceland, it is in terms of what they have, not of what they do not have. They speak about the success of others with pride and have the same reverence for the home chefs as the chefs at leading restaurants. The people are not just kind to others, but to the land and the many benefits and nutrition it provides them.

The Traditions

Over generations in most countries, traditions are pushed aside for what is easier and what is in style. This does not hold true in Iceland. Here, tradition is deeply rooted in everything that encompasses food. The reason is simple; the land, sea and weather drive the way in which food is both produced and consumed. Although maybe there is something to the tradition of the elves… It is no gimmick that today bread is still baked in the land; it is both delicious and possible. Why heat an oven when you can use the land? Electricity is very expensive and solar is tough during the winter months, so using the earth is just smart.

Sheep with their newborns are not set out to the mountains to feed for the summer because it is convenient. It is because this is where the animals can find the food that best suits them. Then, the farmers all gather at the end of the season and work together to bring the animals home. Tradition drives the way food is raised, farmer, caught, prepared and served.

The Innovation

Iceland is not just driven by tradition. In order to both meet the needs of the residents and demands of the exports, there have been some wonderful innovations over the last few years. The two main innovations have been greenhouse farming and aquaculture.

Greenhouses have been around for a while, but are not seeded in deep traditions. Over the years, Icelandic farmers have been determined to provide for themselves and others as best they could. They knew that with the natural geothermal resources, they could grow produce in greenhouses. Today greens, strawberries, vegetables, herbs and more are grown for year-round use.

The second way in which the land, the water, and the geothermal resources are being used is with growing fish. Muscles and oysters are being farmed. In fact, oysters were one of the original farmed products in the world. The fish farms are producing some of the most delicious fish being shipped all over the world. Not only are they using the geothermal resources and the ocean waters, but also gravity in building the farms, so that very little non-natural resources are needed.

The Food

If we look back at traditions and natural resources, it is evident that there are key foods that drive the culinary pedestal for Iceland; cod, char, salmon, lamb, berries and rye. Other foods of import to the diet include birch, seaweed, salt, and herbs. No matter what meal you sit for, you can be assured that bread, butter, skyr, lamb and fish will play a role. Also influenced by the Nordic countries, you will find open-faced sandwiches and flat breads.

Restaurants to Experience

Iceland is full of restaurants that specialize in the native food. In fact, trying to find a restaurant that does not serve local food can be a challenge. It is hard to go wrong when picking a restaurant and equally hard trying to make a decision about which cafe to stop in for a quick bite. They are all so wonderful.

Here are a few restaurants that should be on your where to eat list!

The Fish Company - Located in the old part of downtown Reykjavik, the Fish Company is the local favorite. The menu is covered with local seafood, meat, produce, and more. Start with the Reindeer Carpaccio and then enjoy the “Around Iceland” tasting menu for dinner. The meal features the local cod, gravlax, lamb, honey, and so much more. The meal is also perfect for a Einstok beer pairing. While the food is the highlight at he Fish Company, the restaurant is beautiful. The cozy setting is filled with intriguing artwork, candles, and soft cozy nooks. Grounded in being both “exciting and homey”, this is the perfect Nordic infusion cuisine from the true heart of Iceland.

OX - Inside the hip and busy Sumac Grill and Bar behind a hidden door in the back, is a restaurant that has been years in the making; OX. OX is a kitchen transformed from Chef Thráinn Freyr Vigfússon’s grandfather’s home with the cabinets hanging on the wall and the true spirit of Iceland in the room. At OX, you will sit with 10 other people and enjoy true magic happen in front of you.

The ingredients are fresh from the land and sea and even from deep in the earth. The bread course is Hverabraud, which is a geothermal rye bread, baked in the earth. Course after course, the creations that chef put in front of us had textures and flavors that not just pleased the palate, but also made you think. Through the twelve courses we had reindeer, langoustine, scallop, cod, lamb, skyr ,and so much more. OX is a must each time you visit Iceland!

Lava - When you think the Blue Lagoon, you think tourist destination with a restaurant. You do not think an amazing dining experience. But that is just what you get. The Lava Restaurant is built right into an 800 year old lava cliff overlooking the Blue Lagoon, one of the Wonders of the World. The Lava Restaurant is gourmet, serving only the finest ingredients and dishes of Iceland.

I enjoyed the beer-cooked blue mussels from Reykjanes, and I drank the broth when I was finished. For the second course, I enjoyed the fish of the day, right off the boat from the neighboring town on Grindavík. And dessert, well I had to enjoy the local greenhouse grown strawberries with mint, coconut and almonds. What a perfect meal before spending an afternoon in the Blue Lagoon!

Mimir - A brand new restaurant in the Raddison Blu Saga in Reykjavik, Mimir is centered around one idea and that is preparing the best local ingredients to please their guests. The menu changes with the seasons to keep everything with local producers. The plates are meant to share and can be ordered small or large. I suggest getting small plates and getting a lot of them. Some of the dishes you should not miss include the white cabbage, the langoustine with beetroot apple and speck, and the arctic char. But do not leave without having dessert. You have to order your own order of the waffle with ice cream, salty caramel & bilberry.

Two other restaurants not to miss

Hja holla - You have two options to enjoy Hja holla and I ate at both. The original is in the town of Grindavík, very close to the Blue Lagoon. The other is in the airport when you are leaving Iceland. The food features local, delicious, healthy Icelandic dishes and some great sweets and cakes, too. We suggest doing take-out to have on your plane ride home.

Krauma – Located in a natural geothermal bath and spa, Krauma just happens to be a fabulous restaurant. And Deildartunguhver, Europe’s most powerful hot spring, is a stunning setting. At Krauma, there are many options, but the fish plate and the goat plate should not be missed.

Top Tips When Visiting

Whether you are experiencing Iceland on a stop over, have a few days, or touring the entire country over a week or more, the best tip is that you need to eat local. Here are the top tips on getting there, where to stay, and what not to miss.

Getting there

Getting to Iceland is pretty easy from most major cities and both WOW and Iceland Air are expanding their service. From most east coast cities, Iceland is a quick 5-6 hour flight with ticket prices not to be missed. If you are using Wow or Iceland Air to continue on, you should plan at least one night for your stop over.

Where to stay

If you are only staying for a stop over or for a few nights, staying in Reykjavik is the best choice. You then have the ability to fly to other parts of Iceland easily and also use the many tours that depart from Reykjavik. Staying in Reykjavik also provides you easy access to many local delicious restaurants right downtown.

The Raddison Blu Saga, located a short walk to downtown, is a great option both for price and the culinary choices right in the hotel. There’s the award-winning Grill and the newly opened Mimir listed above. Breakfast is included and you can taste many of Iceland’s finest and most popular dishes.

Do not miss

Any three of these “not to miss” spots are perfect for a stop over, but if you have time, be sure to visit all of them.

Blue Lagoon - One of Iceland’s best mistakes is one of Iceland’s best spots. The Blue Lagoon is literally a byproduct of the geothermal water plant being built. The rich nutrients and minerals in the water provide your body with both a real treat and many say healing properties.

Golden Circle - If you want to see it all in one day, take the Golden Circle and Frioheimar tour. This will allow you to see so many sites, including the spot where the American and Eurasian tectonic plates pull Iceland apart, the Geysir that shoots every 4-8 minutes, the powerful Gullfoss waterfall, and the Frioheimar greenhouse.

Reykjavik - What some consider the heart of Iceland, this major city is where you can find all of what you need to explore. The international airport is also located in Reykjavik, making it a perfect starting point for your culinary adventure.

There is no better word than respect to describe the food of Iceland. There is the utmost respect for all aspects of food and food production in this country, which explains why the culinary experience of Iceland is truly wonderful. Just be sure to buy some ingredients to take home and know you can always find some Icelandic Provisions Skyr at your local market.

Source: https://www.thedailymeal.com/travel/culinary-adventure-around-iceland

[sustainhealthmagazine]

A Sensei Retreat

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New partnership with Sensei Retreats introduces a new concept in fully customisable, science-based programming for mind and body, including meals by Sensei by Nobu

By TRAVEL EDITOR FOR SUSTAINHEALTH 

PUBLISHED: 22:12, 09 November 2019 | UPDATED: 22:42, 09 November 2019

Welcome to Four Seasons Hotel Lanai at Koele, A Sensei Retreat, the first all-inclusive wellness experience offered by Four Seasons, and a unique offering in the Hawaiian Islands.

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“Together with our partners at Sensei Retreats, we’ve created a retreat where guests can experience it all in one location.  Uniquely crafted itineraries are entirely fluid and adaptable, even as the journey is unfolding for our guests,” says Hotel Manager Said Haykal.  “And, those travelling together can enjoy individual programs tailored to their own interests while also benefitting from shared experiences.”

An evidence-led approach to wellbeing focusses on three practices - movement, nourishment, and rest - which are connected and enriched by one another, helping guests get familiar and maintain a conversation with body and mind. These three practices are the basis for programming, and integrating elements from all categories lead to a balance that is at the heart of the Sensei philosophy, as well as helping guests discover new patterns and experiences they can implement in their everyday lives on a consistent and ongoing basis.

From private spa hale to world-class cuisine, guest will enjoy a luxury of limitless choices including body treatments; personal training; group classes and lectures in yoga, meditation, fitness, nutrition, mindfulness, Hawaiian culture, art and enrichment, meditation and cultural immersion,; and enriching activities on land and sea; all while experiencing the beauty of the secluded island of Lanai.

Customised Programming by a Sensei Guide

Each customised itinerary is prepared in advance in consultation with a dedicated Sensei Guide.  Throughout, the experience is optimised utilising technology – such as thermal body mapping and sleep analysis - along with coordinated input from the Sensei Guide and team of on-site wellness practitioners to uncover opportunities for growth and enjoyment and adapt the program to individual guest needs.

At departure, guests leave with a review of learnings and suggestions to continue on a path of wellness once at home, including the option to check in with one’s Sensei Guide.

Don’t Miss Experiences

Two essential experiences at the Koele retreat are private guided sessions and Sensei Featured Experiences at the Spa.

Guests have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with Sensei Guides, many of which have Masters degrees in their fields of practice, for guided sessions in topics such as nutrition, fitness, mindfulness, stress management and yoga. Every session is fully personalised according to each guest's intentions with offerings from a private cooking lesson to a personal Vinyasa class focused on building core strength or refining a challenging pose. The sessions complement the 10 to 16 daily scheduled classes and lectures led by trained wellness staff and visiting experts. 

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Three Sensei Featured Experiences showcase the key components of the philosophy, offered in the 1,000 square foot (93 square metre) private hale.  Private spa hale are designed as individual sanctuaries, with treatment areas, indoor/outdoor showers, infrared saunas, Japanese ofuro bathtubs, private plunge pools and lounge areas; two hale also include watsu pools.

 “Move” is a two-hour treatment focussed on the importance of mobility and movement, and features a segment on land or in a private pool where water shiatsu includes floating, rocking, cradling and stretching with the help of a trained therapist.  “Rest” takes the art of unwinding to a new level, beginning with a soothing, skin-nourishing bath and continuing through breathwork, face and scalp stimulation, and finally, a transformative full body massage.  “Nourish” takes advantage of the Koele Retreat’s tropical location outdoors among bamboo and banyan, with massage oils and body wrap using local oils and extracts.

Dining at Sensei by Nobu

Chef Nobu Matsuhisa has long been at the forefront of innovative cuisine grounded in Japanese sensibilities and clean ingredients.  Guests of Four Seasons will enjoy a wellness menu created by Chef Nobu and his team in close collaboration with Sensei’s nutritionists.  On the Sensei by Nobu menu are such Nobu favourites as the world-renowned black cod with miso, as well as a new selection inspired by the bounty of the steps-away Sensei Farm Lanai, and the neighbouring islands and waters of Hawaii.

For example, one’s day might begin with a simple yet carefully prepared breakfast bowl featuring seasonal fruits and berries, or a traditional Japanese breakfast of baked fish, omelette, miso soup and condiments.  The lunch menu might include a fresh gazpacho with hydroponically farmed tomatoes, avocado and grilled shrimp from Kauai, while dinner choices range from fresh seafood and locally-raised meats to vegetarian options prepared in Chef Nobu’s signature style.

Additional options also include the Koele Garden Bar, and private hale, poolside or 24/7 in-room dining is also available.

An Island’s Worth of Recreational Opportunities

With 90,000 acres (36,000 hectares) of nearly untouched wilderness ranging from pristine beaches to mountains, red lava cliffs and lush rainforests, Lanai is a playground for lovers of all things outdoors.

 At the Hotel’s sister property, the beachfront Four Seasons Resort Lanai, guests can avail of a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course as well as diving, snorkelling, fishing, sailing and other ocean-based water sports.*

Beyond the two properties, Lanai City is a charming village within walking distance from Koele, highlighted by boutiques and galleries showcasing the creativity of island residents.  Also near the Hotel, Lanai Ranch at Koele offers horseback riding, there’s the Lanai Archery and Shooting Range, and the Adventure Park has ziplines and rope challenge courses.  

Sensei Guides can also arrange excursions further afield on foot or in a 4x4 off road vehicle, with tips on where to find the prettiest views, the secret beaches and the best spots for a picnic.

All the Details

Retreat packages at the adults-only Four Seasons Hotel Lanai at Koele include accommodations in 96 light-filled rooms and suites opening onto private balconies or lanai, newly decorated by Todd-Avery Lenahan of TAL-Studio, who also conceived the overall design of the Hotel.

Also included are flights from and to Honolulu aboard Lanai Air, and ground transportation to the Hotel as well as shuttles to Four Seasons Resort Lanai and Lanai City.   The minimum stay is three nights while seven-night vacations are highly recommended to maximise the experience.

Begin the Journey Now

To embark on a fully customised, science-based wellness retreat for mind and body, call 1 800 505 2624 or click here for more details.

*While nearly everything is included at Four Seasons Hotel Lanai at Koele, A Sensei Retreat, some activities are offered at extra cost.  Inquire for details.

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[grassshrimp56-blog]

Culinary adventure around Iceland

There are many reasons to explain Iceland’s popularity today. The Blue Lagoon, the Fjords, the waterfalls, the glaciers, the horses, the puffins, and the whales come to mind. Then there is Thor and the food. Oh, the food. What is produced in Iceland is some of the purest and most full of flavor and respect. There is a love for tradition in Iceland and what the land has given the people. The traditions that came during the time of the Vikings have remained over time.

On this magical island, in the middle of the Atlantic far up north, there is truly something special that happens to the food. To truly comprehend the role food plays in Iceland, you must understand how the land, sea, people, and traditions come together to influence the culture around food. The residents of Iceland have a deep respect for all of these influences and the abundance of resources it has been bestowed with.

The Land

Iceland is a country made up of rich volcanic soil. Trees do not grow high. In fact the joke is, “If you get lost in a forest in Iceland, stand up”. There are multiple reasons to explain this fact. The growing seasons are short, yet fruitful. There are very rocky cliffs and mountains that are not useable for growing, but provide other resources like rich mosses and greens. They provide sustenance for the Icelandic free-range lamb to feed on once they are set out in spring.

The land is also affected by the light and often, harsh weather. There are 24 hours of light during the growing season, causing many plants to become confused if not native to the land. And while produce is not abundant, root vegetable, berries and nutrient-rich greens are. Animals, plants and people have had to adapt to respect the growing conditions they are provided. Finally, the land is alive with geothermal hot spots, providing for both green house growing and hot pots to cook in. Today, people are still cooking meals and breads in the earth.

The Sea

The sea around Iceland is key to both the sustenance of the people and its commerce. The purity of the sea provides a fertile growing ground for fish, sea kelps, and aquaculture in the form of muscles, and more recently oysters. Farmers are now also using the sea to farm fish on the land, using seawater as well as the nearby geothermal heating.

Iceland has some of the best regulations on fishing and you will not find the greed present in other countries. There is a kindness and respect for what the sea provides. Fishermen understand that without carefully monitoring and regulating fishing, they could destroy both their diets and livelihoods.

The People

The culinary wonders of Iceland would be nothing if not for the people. First, you need to understand their kind nature. The people are welcoming, inclusive and have a true respect for both their history and the land. This translates to a profound respect and proudness of their food. When an Icelandic speaks of a red currant or an arctic char their face lights up. Many farmers and fishermen today still live on the farms and fish with two and three generations of their families.

When people speak of the food of Iceland, it is in terms of what they have, not of what they do not have. They speak about the success of others with pride and have the same reverence for the home chefs as the chefs at leading restaurants. The people are not just kind to others, but to the land and the many benefits and nutrition it provides them.

The Traditions

Over generations in most countries, traditions are pushed aside for what is easier and what is in style. This does not hold true in Iceland. Here, tradition is deeply rooted in everything that encompasses food. The reason is simple; the land, sea and weather drive the way in which food is both produced and consumed. Although maybe there is something to the tradition of the elves… It is no gimmick that today bread is still baked in the land; it is both delicious and possible. Why heat an oven when you can use the land? Electricity is very expensive and solar is tough during the winter months, so using the earth is just smart.

Sheep with their newborns are not set out to the mountains to feed for the summer because it is convenient. It is because this is where the animals can find the food that best suits them. Then, the farmers all gather at the end of the season and work together to bring the animals home. Tradition drives the way food is raised, farmer, caught, prepared and served.

The Innovation

Iceland is not just driven by tradition. In order to both meet the needs of the residents and demands of the exports, there have been some wonderful innovations over the last few years. The two main innovations have been greenhouse farming and aquaculture.

Greenhouses have been around for a while, but are not seeded in deep traditions. Over the years, Icelandic farmers have been determined to provide for themselves and others as best they could. They knew that with the natural geothermal resources, they could grow produce in greenhouses. Today greens, strawberries, vegetables, herbs and more are grown for year-round use.

The second way in which the land, the water, and the geothermal resources are being used is with growing fish. Muscles and oysters are being farmed. In fact, oysters were one of the original farmed products in the world. The fish farms are producing some of the most delicious fish being shipped all over the world. Not only are they using the geothermal resources and the ocean waters, but also gravity in building the farms, so that very little non-natural resources are needed.

The Food

If we look back at traditions and natural resources, it is evident that there are key foods that drive the culinary pedestal for Iceland; cod, char, salmon, lamb, berries and rye. Other foods of import to the diet include birch, seaweed, salt, and herbs. No matter what meal you sit for, you can be assured that bread, butter, skyr, lamb and fish will play a role. Also influenced by the Nordic countries, you will find open-faced sandwiches and flat breads.

Restaurants to Experience

Iceland is full of restaurants that specialize in the native food. In fact, trying to find a restaurant that does not serve local food can be a challenge. It is hard to go wrong when picking a restaurant and equally hard trying to make a decision about which cafe to stop in for a quick bite. They are all so wonderful.

Here are a few restaurants that should be on your where to eat list!

The Fish Company - Located in the old part of downtown Reykjavik, the Fish Company is the local favorite. The menu is covered with local seafood, meat, produce, and more. Start with the Reindeer Carpaccio and then enjoy the “Around Iceland” tasting menu for dinner. The meal features the local cod, gravlax, lamb, honey, and so much more. The meal is also perfect for a Einstok beer pairing. While the food is the highlight at he Fish Company, the restaurant is beautiful. The cozy setting is filled with intriguing artwork, candles, and soft cozy nooks. Grounded in being both “exciting and homey”, this is the perfect Nordic infusion cuisine from the true heart of Iceland.

OX - Inside the hip and busy Sumac Grill and Bar behind a hidden door in the back, is a restaurant that has been years in the making; OX. OX is a kitchen transformed from Chef Thráinn Freyr Vigfússon’s grandfather’s home with the cabinets hanging on the wall and the true spirit of Iceland in the room. At OX, you will sit with 10 other people and enjoy true magic happen in front of you.

The ingredients are fresh from the land and sea and even from deep in the earth. The bread course is Hverabraud, which is a geothermal rye bread, baked in the earth. Course after course, the creations that chef put in front of us had textures and flavors that not just pleased the palate, but also made you think. Through the twelve courses we had reindeer, langoustine, scallop, cod, lamb, skyr ,and so much more. OX is a must each time you visit Iceland!

Lava - When you think the Blue Lagoon, you think tourist destination with a restaurant. You do not think an amazing dining experience. But that is just what you get. The Lava Restaurant is built right into an 800 year old lava cliff overlooking the Blue Lagoon, one of the Wonders of the World. The Lava Restaurant is gourmet, serving only the finest ingredients and dishes of Iceland.

I enjoyed the beer-cooked blue mussels from Reykjanes, and I drank the broth when I was finished. For the second course, I enjoyed the fish of the day, right off the boat from the neighboring town on Grindavík. And dessert, well I had to enjoy the local greenhouse grown strawberries with mint, coconut and almonds. What a perfect meal before spending an afternoon in the Blue Lagoon!

Mimir - A brand new restaurant in the Raddison Blu Saga in Reykjavik, Mimir is centered around one idea and that is preparing the best local ingredients to please their guests. The menu changes with the seasons to keep everything with local producers. The plates are meant to share and can be ordered small or large. I suggest getting small plates and getting a lot of them. Some of the dishes you should not miss include the white cabbage, the langoustine with beetroot apple and speck, and the arctic char. But do not leave without having dessert. You have to order your own order of the waffle with ice cream, salty caramel & bilberry.

Two other restaurants not to miss

Hja holla - You have two options to enjoy Hja holla and I ate at both. The original is in the town of Grindavík, very close to the Blue Lagoon. The other is in the airport when you are leaving Iceland. The food features local, delicious, healthy Icelandic dishes and some great sweets and cakes, too. We suggest doing take-out to have on your plane ride home.

Krauma – Located in a natural geothermal bath and spa, Krauma just happens to be a fabulous restaurant. And Deildartunguhver, Europe’s most powerful hot spring, is a stunning setting. At Krauma, there are many options, but the fish plate and the goat plate should not be missed.

Top Tips When Visiting

Whether you are experiencing Iceland on a stop over, have a few days, or touring the entire country over a week or more, the best tip is that you need to eat local. Here are the top tips on getting there, where to stay, and what not to miss.

Getting there

Getting to Iceland is pretty easy from most major cities and both WOW and Iceland Air are expanding their service. From most east coast cities, Iceland is a quick 5-6 hour flight with ticket prices not to be missed. If you are using Wow or Iceland Air to continue on, you should plan at least one night for your stop over.

Where to stay

If you are only staying for a stop over or for a few nights, staying in Reykjavik is the best choice. You then have the ability to fly to other parts of Iceland easily and also use the many tours that depart from Reykjavik. Staying in Reykjavik also provides you easy access to many local delicious restaurants right downtown.

The Raddison Blu Saga, located a short walk to downtown, is a great option both for price and the culinary choices right in the hotel. There’s the award-winning Grill and the newly opened Mimir listed above. Breakfast is included and you can taste many of Iceland’s finest and most popular dishes.

Do not miss

Any three of these “not to miss” spots are perfect for a stop over, but if you have time, be sure to visit all of them.

Blue Lagoon - One of Iceland’s best mistakes is one of Iceland’s best spots. The Blue Lagoon is literally a byproduct of the geothermal water plant being built. The rich nutrients and minerals in the water provide your body with both a real treat and many say healing properties.

Golden Circle - If you want to see it all in one day, take the Golden Circle and Frioheimar tour. This will allow you to see so many sites, including the spot where the American and Eurasian tectonic plates pull Iceland apart, the Geysir that shoots every 4-8 minutes, the powerful Gullfoss waterfall, and the Frioheimar greenhouse.

Reykjavik - What some consider the heart of Iceland, this major city is where you can find all of what you need to explore. The international airport is also located in Reykjavik, making it a perfect starting point for your culinary adventure.

There is no better word than respect to describe the food of Iceland. There is the utmost respect for all aspects of food and food production in this country, which explains why the culinary experience of Iceland is truly wonderful. Just be sure to buy some ingredients to take home and know you can always find some Icelandic Provisions Skyr at your local market.

Source: https://www.thedailymeal.com/travel/culinary-adventure-around-iceland

[wandertheory-blog]

Iceland—land of Fire and Ice. Admired for its otherworldly allure, Iceland seems more like the setting of epic-fantasy series Game of Thrones than an actual place; a world with sweeping landscapes home to mysterious creatures and iron-willed men whose mettle has been forged by punishing cold and broiling volcanoes.

In the midst of walking among Viking ruins and climbing up snow capped glaciers I discovered a dreamscape of natural wonders possessing enough lore, mystique and heroism to fulfill any fantasy-lover’s imagination. It may exist sans gratuitous violence, nudity and the dragons of HBO programming, but the thing that makes Iceland so astoundingly beautiful is that it really exists. (And for the record parts of HBO’s Game of Thrones were filmed in Iceland).

“The problem with driving around Iceland is that you’re basically confronted by a new soul-enriching, breath-taking, life-affirming natural sight every five goddamn minutes. It’s totally exhausting.”

—Stephen Markley, Tales of Iceland or “Running with the Huldufolk in the Permanent Daylight”

Iceland is one of the youngest countries in the world, at least geologically speaking. Once home to settlements of Vikings, the country thrives with modern Scandinavian traditions, old Norse myths and an ancient mysticism that has run deep in the country’s veins for over two-thousand  years. The people here have an inherent respect for the awe-inspiring, imposing natural world that surrounds them. Adventure beckons at every bubbling hot spring and bizarre, lava-encrusted rock formation. It’s the kind of place you find a bottle of Lysi (Icelandic cod liver oil) at your breakfast table for an extra shot of vitality and the pronunciation of common words like “Eyjafjallajökull” make asking for directions a timid traveler’s worst nightmare.

Starting the Road Trip and Some Car Advice

Like most of our European vacations Max and I decided to forgo the standard tour bus and drive across the country in a economical rental hatchback. We departed in May, missing the swarms of tourists who visit during the high season (June-August), just as the spring days begin to lengthen and the promise of summer sunlight seems eternal, averaging up to seventeen hours of daylight! Our path was the classic Ring Road—1300 km of mostly paved coastal roadway circling the country. After we picked up our rental car we promptly discovered why ninety percent of vehicles in Iceland resemble some kind of hybrid monster truck. The sad truth of the matter is that two-wheel drive cars simply don’t cut it on the rugged terrain and snow covered mountain passes. A tense commute to Northern Iceland found us being dug out of snow by sympathetic travelers in better equipped vehicles. More than once Max and I found our car careening wildly on partially snow-plowed roads that bordered plunging drop-offs! I’ll admit in retrospect the danger was exciting, but at the time it was damn terrifying. My advice: Don’t skimp on four-wheel drive or GPS.

The car we did NOT have on our road trip.

Viking History at Þingvellir

The first stop on our road trip and only 23km east of Reykjavík was dramatic and expansive Þingvellir. The very first democratic parliament in the world was established here in AD 930. The Vikings were a progressive bunch. Forgoing a Nordic monarchy they called their nationwide council the Alþing, entitling all free men to participate in the dispensing of justice and passing of legislation. At the height of its day nearly every important decision affecting Iceland was made here, including the country’s kristnitaka (the taking of Christianity), which had been heatedly split between Christianity and Paganism. Families, tradesmen and singles would travel across the country to attend the Alþing’s annual assembly hoping to barter, settle disputes and find partners for marriage.

Þingvellir is not only a historic site, but also a stunning paragon of geology. The site rests toward the fault lines separating the North American and European tectonic plates. The gradual separation of the earth from these two points has created valleys of fissures and rifts that feature incredible geological aftermath and unparalleled views.

Geysir

Our next attraction was Geysir—a once gushing hot spring that shot plumes of water reaching 80 meters into the sky before it became clogged in the 1950s. Rumor has it ceased to work when troublesome tourists threw stones into it in an attempt to set it off.

Luckily the hot spring Strokkur is just a stone’s throw away. Strokkur is much more reliable than more famous Geysir, actively gushing up to 30m of water every 5-10 minutes. You can feel the geothermal heat of the springs as steam erupts into the air and dissipates in the sunshine. The location is surrounded by gurgling brooks, the ever present stink of sulfur and errant tourists removing gloves to dip their fingers into boiling water.

Vik and the Black Coast

Iceland’s Southern most coast features an exotic ebony beach made of black basalt sand with dramatic rock formations and mossy basalt sea stacks. The coast offers some of Iceland’s best wildlife watching; in some areas colonies of puffins and other sea birds nest and flit about the rocky outcrops.

Lava Fields

No matter which direction you go in Iceland you are bound to stumble upon stretches of lava fields, some even spanning hundreds of miles. This is because the country is home to nearly 130 active and inactive volcanoes and the reason it is the youngest land mass in Europe. You’ll find evidence of volcanic existence everywhere—from melted, twisted hunks of metal that once served as road bridges to open-roofed, windowless houses blackened by soot and no longer inhabitable.

As a native Texan I found the lava fields to be fascinating and unlike anything I had ever seen. I was drawn to them like a moth to a flame. They’re surprisingly springy, covered by thick carpets of lichen that allow you to bounce across the fields like a human Super Mario. I was later warned by locals toward the end of our trip that many of these fields contain “false” bottoms and are responsible for more deaths than the volcanoes themselves. Alas, I have kissed my dreams of becoming a lava-hoping Nintendo player goodbye and have accepted admiring the lava fields from afar. But they sure are pretty…

Waterfalls

Chances are no matter where you turn, you are also going to encounter a stunning foss (waterfall). Some trickle lazily down mossy banks while others gush mightily with the potency of Thor’s hammer. Many are easily viewed and accessible while others require a perilous and slippery trek. All are unique and nearly unadulterated. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Gullfoss (Southwest Iceland)

Seljalandsfoss (South Iceland)

Gljúfurárfoss (South Iceland)

Goðafoss (North Central Iceland)

Glacier Hiking at Vatnajökull National Park

Glacier hiking on Europe’s largest icecap was a firmly established bucket list item for Max and me. After a quick briefing from our tour guide on safety and glacier navigating we strapped on our crampons, helmets and set off to climb up mighty Vatnajökull Glacier.

Hiking in a polar climate means an ever-changing scope of body temperatures. One minute I was heaving yourself up the frosty incline panting, while beads of sweat trickled down my back; the next moment an arctic breeze would rip through my clothes like wind through a mosquito net, reminding me just how far north I really was.

After an impromptu Cliff Bar picnic we were challenged by our tour guide to execute a perfect “viking pushup”, which meant securing your ice-pick horizontally into the glacier and using it as a rail to lower yourself down to imbibe some of the trickling glacial water. We were warned not to brush any pieces of ice with our hands or face because the ice was jagged and extremely sharp. Below is my ungraceful attempt at a “glacial facial”.

Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon

Ethereal icebergs glow cerulean and turquoise, drifting atop the serene lagoon of Jökulsárlón. The lagoon is so picturesque it has been featured on the silver screen in blockbusters like Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Batman Begins (2005) and the James Bond flick Die Another Day (2002). A large portion of my camera’s memory card was used in ardent admiration.

Searching for the Lagarfljótsormur (Iceland’s Lochness Monster)

As we made our way Northeast we began to hear whispers of a giant serpent dwelling in massive Lake Lagarfljót (near Egilsstaðir in East Iceland). Sightings of the monster, also called the Lagarfljót Wyrm have occurred since 1345AD and still continue to the present day. Many locals contest the Icelandic legend’s existence and have the recorded video evidence to prove it. A lucky farmer was awarded 500,000 ISK (roughly $4,300 USD) by the Fljótsdalshérað municipal council in 2012 for filming the alleged creature swimming through the glacial water of the lake. http://icelandreview.com/news/2014/08/25/truth-commission-lake-monster-does-exist

Standing at the edge of Lake Lagarfljót I saw neither hyde nor hair of the myth, but to be fair searching conditions were extremely cold that day.

Blue Lagoon

No trip to Iceland is complete without a pilgrimage to its famed geothermal spa: The Blue Lagoon. Although slightly expensive and overcrowded, there is no sensation quite like floating around milky blue waters full of nourishing blue algae, silica mud and mineral salts that rest at an inviting 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Here you can slather on silica mud masks, sip on Icelandic beer and experience the pummeling effects of a hydraulic powered massage from one of the steamy spa waterfalls.

DCIM100GOPRO

DCIM100GOPRO

Trolling Around

Although Iceland was officially Christianized in the year 1000 AD, barbarous trolls, angelic Faye and the mysterious Huldufólk (hidden people) still seem within the realm of possibility.

Troll mythology abounds here in the North and with so many eerie rock formations dominating Iceland’s lava fields, it’s not hard to see why. Icelandic legends entertain that suspicious looking rocks and other geological formations were once trolls caught out at sunrise that have been permanently turned into stone.

We spent a night at Fossatún Country Hotel, located among the rolling hills and tumbling waterfalls for which West Iceland is famed. The hotel takes a particular interest in troll mythology and features troll-themed statues, games and walking paths. Inspired by the beautiful surroundings of the hotel, host Steinar Berg has written  a charming collection of children’s stories based on old folk tales with beautiful illustrations by Brian Pilkington.

The grounds offer stunning views at sunset and plenty of fun and silliness for kids or those young at heart.

Reykjavík

Iceland’s capital is a hotpot of culture featuring a hip nightlife, quirky fashion, graffiti-gilded walls, uber-trendy coffee houses, edgy bars and an eclectic music scene that has made international waves with musicians like Björk, Of Monsters and Men, Sigur Rós, and Ásgeir Trausti. Reykjavík also serves as the gateway for excursions and adventure activities that depart outside of Iceland’s biggest city (population 120,000—whopping standards compared to Iceland’s sparsely populated mainland.) The National Museum of Iceland and Saga Museum are brilliantly curated and worth a visit. A colony of celebrated cats lords over downtown Reykjavík and even have their own Facebook page:@CatsOfReykjavik.

Icelandic Food and Drink

Food in Iceland is often locally grown, organic, both exquisite and expensive. The climate and soil are relatively inhospitable for producing crops, but Icelanders long ago have learned to harness the abundance of natural resources. There is no shortage of greenhouses powered by geothermal energy and we spied many of these along with farms hosting sheep, Icelandic horses and even reindeer while driving along the countryside. Lamb is a particular staple of the Icelandic diet. A large fishing industry also helps to sustain the Icelandic economy and for the culinary adventurous there are rarities to try, such as Minke whale, puffin and fermented shark. (Icelanders have traditionally depended on aboriginal subsistence whaling; however, despite enormous global controversy and a moratorium to cease commercial whaling enforced by the International Whaling Commission, Norway, Iceland and Japan still partake in commercial whaling.) Langoustine (Icelandic lobster) is a Southeastern specialty and typically comes grilled and slathered in garlic butter. Skyr, Iceland’s creamy low-fat version of yogurt, is heavenly on its own and a topping on most desserts. Hverabrauð or “hot-spring-bread” is a traditional rye bread baked underground using geothermal heat and also worth a try.

For drinking coffee is the norm, but you’ll be hard pressed to find any alcoholic beverages outside of Reykjavik and other large towns. Bottled water is a thing in Iceland, but it’s superfluous (and to many downright dishonest)—all tap water comes from Iceland’s pristine glaciers and tastes delectable.

Considering Visiting Iceland?

Iceland possesses a wild and haunting beauty that sinks deep within your veins. Its unending sky and ever-changing landscape are elemental, linking us to our primordial past and epic history. For more information check out a copy of Lonley Planet’s Iceland and visit the following sites:

For more information on Iceland visit: http://www.iceland.is/

For more information on Reykjavik visit: http://www.visitreykjavik.is/

Cheers and Happy Travels. XOXO.

Jess

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