#long live renchanting. long live dogwarts

[theminecraftbee]

25 for the wrapped drabble!

25: "Bremen", PigPen Theater Co.

It was part of the plan, everbody would stand On their hind legs, hands holding high the other Like a tower of brothers, and the one on the top Would crow warnings and call in the morning And call out the storm that was coming The one on the bottom would steer 'til the road was clear And people would learn to rejoice and to fear our coming

It is, ironically, a mild, wet temperature over Dogwarts, the sort of weather that mostly feels dreary rather than being properly cold, or snowy, or icy, or any of the sorts of things that the kinds of people who claim to bring forth winter would be expected to have over their fortress.

"Oh, come on, you've gotta be cheating!" says Skizz, throwing his cards down on the table. They're stained a strange purple. "Dippledop, tell them that he's cheating."

"I mean, I don't know, Skizz," Impulse says. "You aren't good enough at cheating to have taught me how to spot it..."

"I mean, you're the one marking cards," Martyn says idly.

"You know I can't help it!" says Skizz. "It's my ender-what's-its. My purple scales. My, my general, uh, what's a good word for it -"

"Ourple," Etho says.

"What?" Impulse says.

"He's ourple," Etho says, and then doesn't elaborate at all.

"You know, if you're going to accuse me of cheating, why not accuse him?" Martyn says. "I mean, look at him. He's wearing a mask while we're playing poker. That's basically against the rules."

"I don't have a face, man," Etho says.

"Did you mean -" Big B starts. Impulse puts a hand on his leg. Big B stops.

"I'm just saying," Martyn says, as he takes the distraction as an excuse to palm one of the cards using and replace it with a king he's been keeping in a pocket. He knows the king won't be suspicious largely because he's been keeping track of the cards Skizz has had, and the king he's about to put in his hand is the same one that Skizz had three hands earlier.

Martyn is going to win, like, so many meaningless favors from people who are all definitely going to die before Martyn can call them in, but hey. He's definitely going to die before he has a chance to worry about it, either.

(At one point, it had been about winning. He's good at cheating.)

"You know what, yeah! That is cheating! Show us your face, huh, Etho?" says Skizz, pointing dramatically. Big B snorts into his cards.

"Uh, I mean, I don't know, man," Etho says, putting his hands up and nervously backing up. "It's like - you know I don't take this off..."

"Actually, yeah," Impulse says. "I sorta wanna see you try to keep a poker face. Take it off, Etho."

"Woah, woah boys. I know we're all friends here, but I don't know if I'm ready for a strip tease," Martyn says, which makes Etho turn bright red, and also makes Big B flustered enough that Martyn can see his hand. Okay, that's not a threat. Not that Big B's a threat to anyone, really, but he's still green for a reason.

Skizz isn't a threat for a completely different reason. His heart's right there on his sleeve. He has a shit hand this round. He gave that given that well away the moment he drew it.

That leaves Etho and Impulse to figure out.

"I - oh, geez, guys," Etho says. "I -"

"Take it off!" Skizz starts chanting. "Take it off! Take it off!"

"I'm - I like you guys, but I'm not taking off my mask!" Etho says. "Impulse, Impulse, we're buddies. You should understand!"

"Yeah, but like..." Impulse says, before shrugging. "I mean, if it really upsets you, I guess... Guys, maybe we should stop."

"Naw, don't try to talk him out of it!" Skizz says.

"Haha, you know, I want to see it too," Big B says. "It's a bonding thing, right?"

"Oh, well you can't argue with the bonding thing, now can you," Martyn says.

"Guys," Impulse starts saying, and then there's the sound of a creaking door, and everyone stops at once as the courtyard changes from dreary and wet to a certain chill. If Martyn didn't know any better, he'd say it's the chill of the grave, but there hadn't ever been any for him, so. Probably not.

Instead, it's just...

"My loyal Dogwarts," says Ren, quietly. "What is all of this commotion about?"

"We're playing cards, My Lord," Martyn says immediately. "See?"

He shows his hand to Ren. Ren chuckles.

"Well, laddie. Show me how you win at cards."

Well, the answer to that's 'by cheating'. But he can't really show Ren that, now can he? He's got to keep some things in his pocket. Besides, it's not like any of the favors in the pot matter.

They're all gonna die before they matter. Some of them already are.

Martyn loses the hand to Impulse. He collects the favors with a sheepish grin. Ren barks out a laugh. "You'll get them next time, laddie."

"I'm sure I will," Martyn says.

"Mom, Ren's playing favorites," Etho whines.

"That's - that's unbecoming a knight of -"

"Yeah, Ren's playing favorites," Big B says.

"I mean, dudes, uh, I mean - my loyal Dogwarts -"

Martyn laughs so hard that he forgets to pay attention, and loses the next hand too.

[lotsadeer]

Alright, Renchanting Mecha AU Lets Go

Our characters, as I have come up with them so far:

-Doc: Mechanic and bioengineer. One of Ren's closest friends. -Ren: King custom mech -BigB: Ren's old pilot, retired. -Martyn: Renegade on the run from a shadowy organization, steals Ren -Cleo and Bdubs: Bounty hunters sent by Doc to recover Ren -Scar and Grian: Ren and Martyn's rivals

Obviously I'm still working on the other characters. this is incredibly loosely based on the Life Series, mostly for the primary cast of characters, but also Hermitcraft is a big part of this. I am taking these characters and using their dynamics as a framework for a scifi au because why not

There's a whispered myth among Core military pilots about a ghostly white wolf that stalks the edges of the Outer Rim. Only known as The Red King, it is as ferocious as it's pilot is ruthless.

I'm not gonna sit here and write the entire fic I intend to write (with @strangeharpy's help because they're exceptional at mecha aus) but I will give folks interesting tidbits!

Ren used to be human and Doc transferred his consciousness into a mech to keep him alive.

Martyn was able to steal Ren because he was in the middle of having his comms system fixed by Doc.

Ren and Martyn have to trust each other to survive being chased by both random bounty hunters and The Watchers.

BigB isnt dead! Just retired! His call sign when he was Ren's pilot was Cookie

BigB called Ren "The Canid King" since the King custom looks like a white wolf Doc calls Ren "The Lonely King", for reasons :) Martyn calls Ren "The Red King" because naming a mech [colour] [model] is really common among pilots and can help them maintain a low profile, but also because of how the oil from eviscerated mechs looks like blood as it splashes across the white panels of Ren's chassis.

The universe they live in is very Divine Cycle from Friends at the Table and also Star Wars inspired. I've never watched Gundam, but I have watched Gunbuster and Diebuster so theres some of those influences as well. There is a central empirical governing body maintaining hold on a core number of planets. At the edge of the galaxy, the Outer Rim, are planets left behind or ignored by this empire. Amongst these spaces, different factions emerge. The Fairy Fort, The Crastle, The Southlands, The Family, The Bad Boys, Magical Mountain, Dogwarts, they all have their time trying to sway the political landscape of the galaxy.

I have more but this is getting long so uuuh send me asks about it I guess

[hwasang]

Love those renchanting designs, they look great in your style! You guys have any fun headcanons about them you wanna share? I'd love to hear em!

thank you!! what i love about this ask is that you know my gf and i feed each others brainrot over this. anyways, we got a few

i think martyn is fox coded but lexi says he is more cat coded but also will go with fox coded.

i need to do a fucking line up but there are so many people thats so many people to draw TAT but really martyn isnt Small, hes 5'8", its just that ren is Massive

ren loves to bite, which was already drawn out by this person, but we also believe that martyn is Into it, and also has gotten to a point where, unless its the neck, he doesnt really gaf.

we both like to make them gnc but martyn is more obviously so. ren paints his claws, and likes to wear long skirts if the weather calls for it while martyn is a lot more creative with his expression

i consider ren more of a shifter than a werewolf, but i still like calling him a werewolf. mandatory moon shifts are still fun. hes also horse sized doggo. he likes to flop onto people he loves, in or out of wolf form. again martyn has gotten used to this.

i usually don't use the name dogwarts for a couple of reasons, one of them being how i headcanon the red army as a pack, like a proper one and everything. AND OH BOY THAT REQUIRES ITS OWN POST HONESTLY

I AM UNWELL ABOUT RED ARMY

i have many many thoughts abt how ren, martyn, skizz, etho and bigb interact with each other, how its changed their relationships fundamentally with those closest in their lives. ren had false and doc, but now hes got four others who he needs to have close at all times because he wants to take care of them and thats impossible bcus three of them are not on hermitcraft server, theyre not /home/ with him, and it drives him a bit batty and makes it easy to take advantage of him. doc, etho and false can only do so much.

and of course ren and martyn are proper soulmates, not whatever was going on in double life. no wonder bigb thought ren was cheating on him

OH AND I HAVE A WHOLE LIST OF THOUGHTS ABOUT MARTYN AND THE EVO KIDS

[mosscloakenthusiast]

Treebark Week day 6 - win/lose

It doesn’t hit either of them what has happened when Ren kills Grian. 

It doesn’t hit them as they walk back to Dogwarts to regroup and plan their next move.

It doesn't hit them as they realise how late it is and settle to rest in the cave under Renchanting. They sleep in shifts. Because it hasn’t hit them yet.

It hits Ren when he checks his comms to see who’s left. Martyn is asleep. He could kill him, he’s asleep, can’t defend himself. He doesn’t. He doesn’t share with Martyn his realisation.

It hits Martyn when Ren starts acting more relaxed, more domestic, working beside him rather than insisting that one of them stays on watch. He wants to pretend it hasn’t. Let them live like this forever. He knows he can’t.

—

They both realise that the other knows. They both wake up each morning to the sounds of the ghosts on the wind, begging for a fight. They try their hardest to ignore it.

Without people to rule over, Ren slips from The Red King back to Ren, who happens to be red. Without a king, Martyn loses his position as The King’s Hand, becoming Just Martyn once again. It does very little to appease the red in both of them, but it is nice to just be Ren and Martyn, who don’t have a banner or domain or title, just each other and the fast-setting sun.

Ren and Martyn love each other more than they could ever properly express. Ren and Martyn don’t have to worry about keeping their people safe, or making deals, or Grian’s hidden bombs. Ren and Martyn are a single togetherness against the echoing empty world.

Not a word is spoken when they start sleeping in the same bed. It’s for warmth, for protection, nothing more, they tell themselves. They both know it isn’t true. They both keep it to themselves if they notice how inseparable they become, rarely in separate rooms, knees touching under tables, holding hands and not letting go. It’s so they know they haven’t lost each other, they say.

At some point they feel able to talk about what has happened again, talking of wars and scars and beheadings. They realise that, if they’re honest, it was never The Red King’s kingdom. It was always Ren and Martyn’s. Always.

When they kiss it feels as easy as breathing. As if they’d always done it, just off-camera. They stop making excuses for not crafting an extra bed and always holding hands and wanting to be so close. They feel almost at peace. They get better at ignoring the ghosts.

They tell eachother everything, pretty much. Loud stories told under a burning sun as they replant their crops, confessions whispered in the dead of night. They forgive and they hold each other close and they repair anything broken from the times they found the hardest.

Ren doesn’t tell Martyn that with each day that passes he feels the scar on his throat grow larger, threatening to rip open. He doesn’t tell Martyn he’s been killing small animals to keep the bloodlust at bay, that the red in him begs for a death, even if it’s his own.

Martyn doesn’t tell Ren the eyes he feels settling on his face, the force pulling him to Watch. He doesn’t tell Ren about the part of him that cleans his axe every day, practices the motion of bracing to be killed.

— 

It hits Martyn when Ren takes his hand and pulls him outside to the Altar.

It hits Ren when Martyn hands him an axe and kneels.

It hits them that this always had to happen. They’ve both been preparing for this, without telling the other.

It hits them when they’re both begging the other to kill them that they were never going to get away with living.

They argue. They scream at each other. Sit softly and hold hands and the axe lies between them like a promise. 

Martyn caves. Part of him knew this would happen, he will always do what Ren asks. He thinks, he hopes, that death is better than winning and being left alone. That Ren forgetting he exists is better than remembering he no longer does.

Ren feels familiarity kneeling on the Altar. He doesn’t feel afraid. He has been ready for this for a long time. It’s even the same axe.

Martyn hates himself. But he can’t let Ren down.

—

It hits Martyn that Ren is dead. And he is alone.

[indigo-flightly-falls]

Indigo you should tell me about Dogwarts

-@10piecechickenmcnugget

*tail starts wagging at incredibly high speeds*

As a warning this post is going to be all over the place and long because I Have Thoughts about these blockmen.

So first off, they are so fucking loyal to each other. I am stressing that because they came together during 3rd Life. The season of loyalty, but also betrayal. Dogwarts is the only team besides Flower Husbands to have not turned on each other at any point at all. (besides Martyn planning to betray Ren. But that's not canon so-)

And also they're just so fun to watch? Like you see them in any non-dogwarts pov and you think they're scary and they know what they're doing at all times, and then you watch a dogwarts pov and they're. goofing around. Ren and Martyn are roleplaying while Skizz and Etho do their own thing. BigB is somewhere. Maybe in the caves. Do they have a plan? No. But they're going to fight anyway.

Also they had a snowball fight with Grian & Scar at one point. During Impulse's 6th episode at the end you can see it. They called for a snowball fight in the middle of a war. What was happening.

And on the note of Impulse, Ren, Etho & Skizz all trusted him. Martyn was a bit suspicious but he trusted Ren's judgement. They all let Impulse into the group because he gave them some arrows. And where did it get them? Impulse killed two of them. Martyn's second life and Etho's final life.

Also Etho & Impulse during 3rd Life is actually just tragic. They were friends for a while, and Etho never distrusted Impulse until the end of episode 7. They were based together. They literally lived together. And the Impulse is a traitor. And he permakilled Etho in the end. And then until Limited Life they were basically enemies. (Traffic! Etho & Impulse is a topic for another day tho)

Actually if I'm talking about duos and how they interacted, Etho and Skizz. They've never not been teamed and they're so fun to watch. They just have a way of working together and it's amazing to watch. Most underrated traffic duo in my opinion. Like, they were working together at the end of episode one. They've been teamed the entirety of the traffic games and I think that's really interesting.

Actually Etho & Skizz seem to mirror to Ren & Martyn. They had basically never interacted before 3rd Life, but they've always allied together afterwards. They've both partaken in a execution of each other, to give an advantage to the team (Ren was killed by Martyn so he could actually attack Scar instead of being forced to only use self defense, and Skizz was killed by Etho so that Etho could have a bit longer to live). I am going crazy about this whole thing

I don't have as many thoughts about BigB because I'm still currently working thought his pov so take a very mini rant:

I love the traffic fandom, I do but like. STOP EXCLUDING BIGB FROM DOGWARTS. Yes, he was absent during session 7. He was still part of the team. He's a red banner. He's also always been teamed with Ren. Dogwarts, The Fairy Fort/The Shadow Alliance, the Box Boys. They've always been teamed and I think more people need to acknowledge that.

You've probably already heard a bunch about Renchanting. I love them but like. Could people stop filling up the Dogwarts tag with just Renchanting? Please? Please stick to your own tag. I just want content of my five silly guys.

And going back to Dogwarts as a whole, they react so fast to everything. Like that time when Etho went out to try to rob Desert duo and got killed? Within like three minutes, max, almost all of dogwarts was there. They prioritized Etho's wellbeing over anything else in that moment. And when Martyn killed Ren, Skizz was ready to fight Martyn without a second thought. And when session 8 started, and BigB was vulnerable, they all went to make sure he could get out from the caves without dying.

And also a fun fact I will never get over, Skizz forged the Red Winter axe if I'm remembering correctly. Skizz's impact on that whole thing is so direct, but next to nobody knows about it. And another thing I remember, is that when Skizz stormed the Crastle, nobody went in trying to get the axe. They all went to stop (or at least help) Skizz, who rushed in. His bloodlust overcame everything else, and he ran. But not before giving everyone a golden apple. Which was also the last thing Etho ate to try to keep himself alive.

And I remember seeing a comment about both sides losing at the end of session 7. Grian & Scar seemed like they lost because two people on their team died and the desert trap didn't work. Dogwarts was out numbered. They had lost a teammate to being permakilled, and one to being a traitor. They were 3 against 8. And then 4 against 8 by session 8. But they were still outnumbered. There was next to no way they could've won. Maybe if Skizz hadn't died, they'd have more of a chance. Maybe not.

It's two years to late to wonder about what-ifs anyways.

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

Flower symbolism time :DDD

Also known as I have a list of flowers that make me think of dogwarts.

Alliums - strength, you're perfect Catchweed - Clinging, do not let go Pink hyacinth - harmless mischief Forget me not - Do not forget me, remembering, links to the past Black rose - beauty, farewell, impending death Yellow rose - caring, platonic love, welcome back, friendship Meadow clover - Revenge, I promise Ivy - Endurance, dependence Holly - Defense, difficult victory attained, enchantment, good luck, am I forgotten Yew - Leadership, silence, honor Zinnia - Absent friends, friendship, loyalty, thoughts about absent friends Yucca - A friend in need, best friends Immortal flower - Cheerfulness under adverse conditions, immortal remembrance, eternity Bluebonnet - Forgiveness, self-sacrifice, survival pink bluebonnet - memories of those who died, struggle to survive Garden heliotrope - Devoted attachment, devotion, eternal love Dogwood - Durability, duration Cedar - Goals, I live for thee, I live you you, think of me, strength Milkweed - Hope in misery

....I think you get the point. These guys have a lot of flowers.

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

Anyways it took at least 45 minutes (probably closer to an hour) but here's my thoughts on Dogwarts :D

Now my laptop is begging for an update so if you don't hear from me for a few days you know why (<- has a laptop that hates updating).

[scopop08]

Little Soldier by The Crane Wives is such a treebark coded song, and i will be elaborating.

On the broken backs of all the words we spared

Like little soldiers in the trenches

It was a march we made towards ruin and despair

But we held hands all the while

Holding everything they wanted to say to spare the other, carrying on despite everything, hand in hand, leading themselves to their own destruction. The literal war they were in, holding on to the slim and fast fading hope of victory and steadying eachother through.

I swear that I loved you

Oaths sworn to the other, taking that trust and love and looking on it in retrospect, saying "I'm sorry. I knew we couldn't win. I know everything I said and did. I swear that I loved you then despite what happened."

Beneath the table you would offer up my bones

And all the dogs would lick your fingers

This applies more to Ren, offering himself up to the Red King, letting the flames and hunger consume him as the Red King's influence tore through Ren's original intent and kindness. Being worn down completely.

And I dragged you through every room inside our home

But you still held me at night

What Ren put Martyn through the entire time, having to behead the person closest to you, watching as every bit of who you once loved is stripped away by the fear and violence he had created. Staying by his side through it all. Being a loyal hand to the crown that is consuming everything you stood for, seeing your ideals slip away right before your eyes. No matter what Ren put Martyn through, Martyn couldn't leave him, he was in too deep. It's his home too.

I swear that you loved me

Martyn seeing the Red king destroy Ren, steadying himself in his cause with the memory of what Dogwarts was when it was just Renchanting. Reminiscing on the nights they spent together in that terribly cold basement, the look in Ren's eyes as he promised Martyn that they wouldn't only survive, but win. How the dog's face lit up as he talked about enchanting, how his smile softened as he looked at him. Ren loved Martyn, Martyn swears it. No matter what was happening at the end, how much of Ren was left. He loved Martyn.

We didn't give up, we wouldn't dare surrender

It was an honest loss

Self explanatory, they fought their hardest until their last moments, protecting their home. (Protecting the person that was their home). Dying at their own alter, hearts and teeth laid bare.

Now the aftermath will ring with songs you've sung

All of our words sent home in boxes

The battle of Dogwarts, the mark the two left, would signal the very beginning of the end. Nothing would last much longer after, directly responsible for the outcome of the series, even though they wouldn't live to see it.

I fought with tooth and nail before the flag had flown

But you were already gone

Martyn was fighting for Ren and by Ren's side since the very beginning when he stumbled across Renchanting. In tandem, the Ren that began third life with Martyn was gone before the final battle of Dogwarts, before the flag had even been made, much less flown. Martyn fought for his king until his final moments, if there were no weapons we wouldn't have hesitated to stake his life in a battle of bare fists to protect Ren. Ren who, by that point, was long gone, hollowed out by the fury of the Red King and used as a vessel for blind violence. Martyn could've looked Ren in the eyes as they both bled out on the alter and instead of any recognition that his partner was laid there, dying before him, he would've seen the eyes of a wild animal. Terrified and furious, ready to chew it's own limbs off before it surrended to death.

I'll swear that I loved you

Both of them justifying the outcome to themselves as they fall through the void of death before moving on to whatever would come next. They'll swear that it all happened because of the love that they held for each other. Ren never would have summoned a war god and let it tear out everything that he stood for until he was an empty shell if he didn't think it would protect Martyn. He was sacrificing himself in the hope that the act would allow them to win, Martyn to live. Martyn only stayed once everything started to fall apart because of his love for Ren. Because he was desperately clinging onto the fond memories of before the real war started.

They have to swear that it all happened because they loved each other, because if they didn't, all of it would be meaningless. Everything they put the other through had to have happened out of love, because otherwise it would've been out of cruelty, a mutually assured destruction.

[quinn-styx]

Okay, okay, so, idea- it is angsty so feel free to pass if you're uncomfortable writing content for...I guess reader death? and I'll try to think of something more neutral. I won't hassle you for a specific character since I'm not sure which creators you watch for 3L/LL, but I'm a sucker for characters avenging a pacifistic reader's death (someone who just tried to help others, no matter how many lives they were on), like completely seeing red or holding them as they die/disappear (not really sure how the fandom perceives death in Minecraft haha.) I'm not ashamed to say I've watched every perspective for 3L and LL so go wild and choose whoever you feel like writing for! Reader can have any gender identity or romantic orientation, it's not important to me <3

Sorry this took so long! There will be a part two because I got a bit carried away and want it to be more drawn out <3 anyway! Here's part one :)

Warnings: Reader death, violent thoughts/blood lust, this is mostly just angst honestly, out of character 3rd life characters (I'm working on that)

Summary: You just got kicked out of the renchanting crew on suspicion of being a spy, so you go to the desert people for refuge.

Your alliance didn’t form immediately. It took time to plant itself and slowly bloom into a precious saguaro flower, rather than the black dahlias and orange toned lilies that used to surround you in the mountains of renchanting. You tried not to think about it too much, but it was hard when there was so much quiet in the sandy biome surrounding you in the late night as you walked to the house atop monopoly mountain. The argument played on repeat in your head, the accusations echoing a bit louder than the rest.

The other people of dogwarts called you irrational, a liar, a cheat, but most of all they accused you of being a spy. You had done nothing but help them in their times of need, brewing the best potions and even helping people outside of the faction when their red lives would befall them, even when you swore yourself to pacifism after finding yourself on your yellow life. Or at least as close as you could get to it in a death game. People you once knew had died in your arms, people who had no relation to the factions, people shot down with the enchanted bows made in the very settlement you found yourself in.

You had been cast away for defending the sand people. While it was simple enough, the impact hit a lot harder than you ever could have expected. You were all friends before this. And you especially were friends with Scar. You met on hermitcraft, and you grew close rather quickly. He was kind, he always had a positive spin on the issues that arose, but most of all, he made you laugh. And, with no fail, when you laughed he would smile that same accomplished smirk that always seems to show itself whenever he does something he set his heart on. Now being so far from each other felt almost painful, and him being dubbed an enemy to your faction of dogwarts certainly didn’t help. 

You rotated the thoughts in your mind, you knew that they wouldn’t like it, but this felt so extreme. Being kicked out so suddenly was bad, the fact they made you leave right at sundown was considerably worse. You trudged forward regardless, slowly going up the stairs and finally reaching the door. You were met with music, a disc of some sort must be on, meaning they were hopefully still awake. 

With a heavy breath you knocked three times on the door. The disc stopped and you heard muttering inside, though it was nothing you could make out directly. After what felt like forever, the door opened. You looked up, trying to find the right words only to be met with your eyes starting to gloss over slightly.

“Y/N? What happened?” Grian asked as you were ushered through the door, he quietly muttered for you to come in as led to a small sitting area. You were pretty sure this was your first time to not just admire the house from afar.

“They kicked me out,” You stated, while you had thought about everything that happened, what you would say when you got here barely crossed your mind. “Where’s Scar?” was the next thing you had said.

“He went out on a walk, I was prepping some early breakfast.” He looked at the boots you had on, they seemed more worn than the last time he’d seen you. “How long were you walking? It’s nearly morning,” Concern laced his voice. Before you could respond the door opened again revealing Scar as he held up a small bouquet of flowers. 

“Grian! I got more flowers for the rooms,” He walked to the kitchen area before coming back out and looking around, “Y/N!” He walks over almost immediately and you get up and open your arms, in which he holds you in one of those bone crushing hugs he always does. He pulls away before lightly cupping one side of your face and noticing the small cuts from accidentally running into a few more branches than you’d like to admit on the walk over. “What brought you here?”

A sad smile graces your face as you tell him how you just wanted things to calm down, and how much it backfired a hit you right back just a few hours early. He smiles and pulls his hand away, the cold of the desert attacking just as it had before. “Well you’ll always be welcome here, do you have a bed? We can get you set up in the room,” He held your hand as he led you away and Grian followed, this would only be the beginning of the better half of these god forsaken death games.

It took only a few weeks for Dogwarts to go completely off the rails. Threats made left and right as the Red army’s possible intentions settled themself deep in your uneasy heart. You loved living on monopoly mountain, but as you had a mob death dropping you to a red life you felt afraid. And over time this fear led to a deep paranoia. You barely left the desert, sheltering yourself in what made you feel safest. You relied much more on the others, and tried to push away that blood lust that crept in in the middle of the night as you lay in bed tossing and turning. Nobody told you it would be this hard. You knew just how much you had to lose now.

Your hands shook lightly as you layed in bed, it was always so cold now. You heard a knock come to the front door, Grian and Scar had already left to go do something, leaving you with the job of looking after the desert for the time being. You get up, wobbling slightly as you steady yourself before another knock comes to the door. “I’ll be there in a sec!” You shout, trying to not hurry yourself too much as not to put pressure on the scars that still burn from the creeper explosion that landed you here. 

You walked quickly to the door and opened it, finding yourself face to face with Martyn. A mountain of apologies spilled from his mouth as it mixed together with something or other about orders and requirements. You saw a shining sword in his scabbard that was brandished in enchantments, the thoughts you pushed to the back of your mind ran forward, etching themselves into the very crevices of your brain. Everything began blurring together as you saw him reach for the sword. You grabbed the closest thing to the door, an iron hoe that was left sitting in the entryway and blocked as the sword swung down atop you.

“We could have stayed friends, Y/N,” Martyn said as you swung the tool forward, he threw himself back as he saw the deep red in your eyes. “We could have,” You retorted, progressing forward as he continued to try and swing his sword. “But that's not how it worked out, is it?” 

Before you could even think, he hit the iron tool out of your hand and you fell into an embrace, the sword pierced your stomach as you heard a melancholy “Sorry, Y/N.” fall from his lips. He pulled away as you fell to the ground, he left without another word. Your thoughts were racing, unsure of which would be the last. A message was sent out on the communicators in the server chat. 

<InTheLittleWood> Desert boys you might wanna go check on Y/N

[pixiemage]

(Yes, another 3rd Life analysis post, but I’m actively watching it for the first time so it’s on my mind.)

I made a post yesterday about a moment between Martyn and Big B, where they're talking about being the "Blue Sword Boys" from Day 1 and about how maybe they need to team up and save their third BSB member, Grian, from Scar. (Evo boys, Blue Sword Boys, alliances...interventions.) I also noted that this took place the same day as the explosion outside of Renchanting that was set up by Scar and Grian, taking Ren's first life in a calculated (and semi-botched but still successful) attack. But I've realized something else about their alliances.

Day 1, Grian and Big B and Martyn dubbed themselves the "Blue Sword Boys" after Martyn divided his first found diamonds between them so they'd each have a diamond sword. They made jokes about alliances and bonds forged...but by the end of the first session that was partially forgotten. By then, Martyn had already become Ren's marketing manager in exchange for using Ren's enchanter. By then, Grian had accidentally taken Scar's first life and pledged loyalty to him (temporarily, but seeing as Grian doesn't lose his life until well into the series, his promise lasts a very long time.) By then, Big B was forging a path on his own, and though he later forms a near-neutral alliance with both parties, he doesn't stick with a teammate for very long throughout his run in the series (at least not from what I've watched so far).

Technically, if things had gone differently, Grian and Martyn could have still been on the same side. Maybe Monopoly Mountain and Renchanting could have been a monumental alliance that dominated the server until the very end.

But that's not what happened.

No, instead, Scar and Ren managed to butt heads often enough - and formed opposing alliances, seeing as Ren sided with Team Crastle who were most definitely NOT friends with Scar after the Pizza kidnapping - that by the time we get a few weeks in, a major divide in allegiances has already split the server. Grian is still steadfastly loyal to Scar because of his life debt, and Martyn has been promoted from a lowly employee to a valued ally at Ren's side.

And then we reach the Bombing at Dogwarts.

This, to me, cements loyalties across the board - even cementing the fact that, at least right now, Etho has no true loyalty because he's playing all sides. But amidst the chaos, we see Martyn steadfastly defending his boss and partner Ren, and we see the beginnings of the King and the Hand roles they'll end up portraying until the end of the season. We also see the way Grian - despite claiming for weeks that he's only doing what Scar says because he has to, and despite exclaiming that "This server was meant to be collaborative!" when other green names started choosing sides on Day 1 - has taken on a more chaotic role than in episodes previous. Grian is the one who plots out the TNT minecart trap, Grian is the one who sets it up, and Grian is the one who laughs like a madman when the trap actually goes off and claims three lives.

Despite still having a green name, he's already "off the deep end" and enjoying being on Scar's side, a phrase pulled straight from Big B's mouth when Martyn suggests they might need to save Grian. (Again, I already commented on this in that other post, but it's significant to this too.)

But rewinding a bit - I said earlier in this post that if things had gone differently, Grian and Martyn could have still been on the same side, and I stand by that. Grian didn't choose to fight Martyn. No, Grian only chose to stand by Scar, and Martyn chose to stand by Ren, and Scar and Ren were the ones fighting...at first. But because of flimsy allegiances that transformed into unbreakable partnerships, it became Desert Duo vs Renchanting Duo, Monopoly Mountain vs the Kingdom of Dogwarts.

TL;DR: Though Grian and Martyn end up on opposite sides in the 3rd Life war, they began as allies on Day 1. They didn't choose to go against each other, but because their newfound main allies - Ren and Scar - were enemies from early on, Martyn and Grian ended up seeing each other as enemies by association, something which might not have happened if Scar and Ren had never become enemies in the first place. Renchanting Duo and Desert Duo team-up anyone?

I still haven't finished this series yet even though I know some of the major plot points that are coming my way...but holy shit wouldn't it have been insane if all four of them had been allies from the start? (And maybe Jimmy and Scott too, since they seem to be friends with both sides at this point?) The writer in me wants to see where this concept could have gone if only things had happened just a tiny bit differently...

[riacte]

Dogwarts / 3rd Life Cheat Sheet for MCC 15 Purple Pandas

Ren and Martyn were buddies in Season 1 of the 3rd Life SMP and they are an alliance known as the Renchanting duo/ Kingdom of Dogwarts. Now they’re finally teamed up, and the 3rd Life SMP members have a habit of referring to 3rd Life in MCC. The Ren-Martyn fandom also talks about Dogwarts a lot. If you have no idea what is a Dogwarts and why people love them, no fear! This post will try to explain it in simple terms.

3rd Life SMP is a SMP started by Grian. Season 1 has 14 members (roughly half are hermits, other half are friends of the hermits. You can find the full list in the description of Ren’s 3rd Life videos.) Everyone on the server has three lives— the first life symbolised by green names, second by yellow names, third by red names. If you lose all three lives, you permadie. Green names and yellow names are not allowed to be hostile unless they were attacked first, but the goal of red names is to kill everyone on the server. The three lives are also symbolised by three hearts, like this:

(Fun fact: Because of the green-yellow-red colours, the subtwt for 3rd Life is called traffictwt after traffic lights. The 3rd Life tumblr fandom is occasionally referred to as trafficblr.)

3rd Lifers record every week for three hours at the same time with proximity chat. The server has a small border to encourage interaction. They are eight sessions in total, and they’re all cut into YouTube episodes (no streams!), so it’s fairly bingeable.

So what’s the deal with Martyn and Ren?

Ren decided to set up an enchanting shop during the first session. Martyn was wandering around and having fun scaring people with creeper noises until he came to Ren’s enchanting shop. Martyn then used Ren’s enchanting service without paying (essentially a robbery), but Ren let Martyn go on the condition Martyn would act as a walking free advertisement. Martyn agreed, and they became business partners. Martyn actually coined the name Renchanting and its motto “Don’t be a Dog, be a God”. Ren named Martyn as his “marketing manager” (which sounds a little like Martynmanager).

True to his word, Martyn went around and spread the good news of Renchanting to everyone. Martyn brought business to Renchanting, and when Ren was being threatened by customers (who harassed Ren into lower his prices/ giving out enchantments for free), Martyn acted defensive of Ren and even said Ren was being “bullied”. Ren was being taken advantage of because he was too nice. (Martyn did do some stuff not related to Ren, but since this is a Dogwarts cheat sheet I won’t be mentioning that.)

Then came GoodTimesWithScar. The main “villain” to Renchanting, if you will.

Basically, Scar was playing the role of a cartoon villain. He scammed people out of their armour and possessions, and eventually found his way to Renchanting. At that point, Martyn and Ren were loyal to each other. Scar asked for Ren’s enchanting table. In return, when Scar turned red, he would not kill Ren and Martyn. Ren appeared to be torn, but due to Martyn depending on him and the business, he refused Scar’s offer (“you can’t take the enchanting out of Renchanting!”). Scar also acted condescending to Martyn (Martyn was seen as Ren’s “minion”). So Ren and Martyn were officially on Scar’s kill list, but Ren did not regret it.

At some point, Ren got tired of people walking into his store and stepping all over him, so he built high walls around the Renchanting building. Everyone (including Renchanting themselves) broke through the walls, and this was a running gag. Ren declared himself king by wearing the crown he got from MCC9 Blue Bats.

Note: Ren was kind, and it was the cruel world that forced Ren to be defensive. Other POVs paint them as the villain but Dogwarts enthusiasts will say that is not the case AT ALL.

Time passed. Scar turned red. He and his buddy Grian set up traps at Renchanting, and one blew up Ren and a bunch of other people. Ren, now a yellow name, was furious, but could not get his revenge because yellow names were not allowed to hurt other players. So naturally, Ren decided to become a red.

Ren renamed an axe to “RED WINTER IS COMING” and gave it to Martyn to chop his head off. (There’s some dramatic roleplay here, highly recommend a watch.) Martyn painfully did, and the message “Red Winter is Coming” was shown in the chat, which told everyone that Ren meant business. To test Martyn’s loyalty, Ren told Martyn he could kill him if he wanted to. Ren, freshly respawned and without armour, punched Martyn. Martyn, as a green name, could attack Ren due to Ren attacking first. However, Martyn did not kill Ren, and dramatically declared Ren was the one who showed him life, and thus he would return the favour.

So Ren was known as the Red King (with grey skin, bloodied MCC crown, and a Scottish/pirate accent). Martyn became known as the King’s Hand, and called Ren “my lord” “my liege”. Later, Martyn acquired an outfit with a cloak and a red hand on the back of the cloak, which is now used to symbolise Martyn.

They established the Kingdom of Dogwarts (after Hogwarts and the enchanting/magic gimmick) to find more allies (notable ones include Ethoslab and Skizzleman). Allies could stick a Red Banner in their base to show loyalty, members were called Red Knights / Red Army.

A Red Banner (the design is supposed to be blood dripping down):

Without spoiling too much, Ren and Martyn remained loyal to each other till the very end. They were very dramatic (even jokingly called homoerotic by some lmao) and had many hardcore quotes, and are highly beloved. They are the most dramatic and RP intensive group on the server. So people want Dogwarts, the king and his hand, together again.

A small sample of quotes that might be referenced:

I think going red next week is in my fate. It’s in my cards. There will be blood, for this. A king cannot be king without war. (Ren)

I won’t do it! You took me in when I was a lowly traveller, goin’ across the lands, searchin’ the four corners of this world. I learned that there was nothing in this world for me. Nothing but walls, corners, edges. And you know what? You showed me life. As much as I’ve taken it from you, you gave it back to me in bucket fulls. and I just- I’m with you. This is us now. This is us. (Martyn)

If we're going to survive the Red Winter, we gotta do it together, laddies. Hand in hand. Rotten hand in hand of the living. To the end! (Ren)

It’s just the world versus us. (Martyn)

(Note: Dogwarts refers to the group of people allied with Ren and Martyn, including Etho and Skizzleman. Renchanting duo refers to Ren and Martyn ONLY)

Other references:

Joel notably screamed “THE RED KING DIES TONIGHT, FELLAS!” with a crowd of wolves following him

Dogwarts killed Grian and Scar’s llama Pizza because Scar stole a Red Banner

Jimmy and Scott were flower husbands. Jimmy thought Renchanting was going to sacrifice Scott.

Everyone else in MCC (Grian, Scott, Jimmy, Joel) were enemies with Dogwarts

The 3rd Lifers reference 3rd Life a lot despite it being over. Martyn even fought for Dogwarts in MCC14 and MCCP but failed. Haha.

The fandom commonly refers to Purple15 as King (Ren), Queen (False), Ace (Illumina), and Joker/Hand (Martyn) after playing cards.

This is it, I am tired, this is probably too long but I feel I skipped a lot of details. If anyone has anything to add or correct, feel free to do so. Also, I’m pretty certain this won’t appear in the tags, so please reblog! Thank you, and Red Winter is Coming.

(I might add a reblog detailing False’s very much fanon involvement in Dogwarts, and why everyone was so hyped for Renchanting + False.)

[memryse]

Third Life Duos Edition Three: C(r)astle But No Monarchy?

I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO GET TO THIS i have been very busy with uni and i want to give them the justice they deserve. so here we are!! i’d also like to preface this by saying i have only watched cleo’s pov from this duo, not bdubs’ yet, so i can’t comment on him in quite as much detail and i also haven’t seen the crastle’s session five since cleo’s footage got messed up for it (i think bdubs is next on my list? i’ve been more preoccupied with empires lately though so i haven’t gotten around to it)

the first thing that always stands out to me about the crastle people is that they get lumped in as a red/green life duo, but they really never were that, because bdubs turned red right at the end of session five and then wasn’t in session six, which is when cleo turned yellow. they’re a very iconic duo, but i would consider them much more equals than the red/green life duos.

and they always were equals, together right from the very beginning. it wasn’t an alliance of convenience or mutual benefit or anything of the sort - just two friends, who spawned with each other and stuck with each other. while it might seem like they’re opposites - tired babysitter cleo and excitable red life bdubs, the same kind of formula that grian and scar are often slotted into - cleo and bdubs are more like two idiots who possess one (1) braincell between them, which is used exclusively for plotting various dastardly acts. 

they’re actually a hilarious duo to me because they had great ideas with the building of the crastle. fortified with a moat + magma blocks, only one point of entry, the archer slits in the walls? but then with literally... anything else their brains just go out of the windows. and i love that.

but back to talking about their relationship and development, what stuck out to me the most about them was bdubs’ attitude towards losing his lives. green life? everything’s great, they’re friends having a great time and building their tiny castle. yellow life? suddenly, the paranoia sets in. bdubs is instantly suspicious of cleo trying to get bdubs to turn red - he says he’s scared that she wants him to die so that she can “use [him] as a tool” and order him to kill people. and that is incredibly interesting to me, because red lives do not have to be bound by alliances if they don’t want to be. if bdubs were to turn red, he doesn’t have to listen to her orders. if anything it’s the exact reverse, the red life would be able to order around a green life, as we saw with both the desert duo and renchanting duo. which suggests to me that even in the midst of the paranoia of suddenly being a fresh yellow life, bdubs never even considered the possibility of betraying cleo. their alliance to one another was that strong.

this loyalty holds strong for the entire rest of the series. but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t develop! firstly, we see bdubs lose that paranoia towards cleo - in fact he grows to relish the idea of becoming cleo’s weapon. he’s happy about it! which i think stems from two places: first, he’s practically frothing at the mouth for revenge against the sand people, and he absolutely needs cleo’s direction on what to do with all of this anger he suddenly has. secondly, there’s a server-wide perception that the crastle is one of the weaker factions on the server (or at least bdubs wasn’t being taken seriously, everyone was definitely rightfully scared of cleo). the crastle needed a red life to pose a proper threat - what good are harming arrow crossbows if they have to wait for someone to attack them first? so bdubs is happy to make the sacrifice and turn red.

cleo, on the other hand, remains fairly static in terms of her regard for life (hers and others’). she’s impulsive. she starts off her series stealing a llama and hiding it just because she can, the middle of her series she’s doing arson, she ends her series attempting to take ren out in an ambush. losing her life was more of an “if it happens, it happens” deal. what changes is her attitude to other people. she’s friendly to everyone at first. then becomes more closed-off, more distrustful - presumably stemming from things like etho just showing up and attacking their castle. she doesn’t trust impulse (...does anyone?). but eventually, she develops a real fondness for tango, for scott, and she’ll put her life on the line for more than just bdubs eventually. but not quite as willingly.

like i said, the crastle people’s dynamic doesn’t change all that much throughout the series - it’s their individual actions that are fun to analyse; just look at how cleo acts during the session where bdubs isn’t there, for example, and how they bicker about it the next session. if anything, these solo actions complement their dynamic as a duo, and really highlight how it was the two of them against the world, from the very beginning. nobody else was afforded this loyalty. look how easily bdubs betrayed impulse. bdubs and cleo’s loyalty to one another was unmatched.

“bdubs is my ride or die. that’s it. if he kills me, then i will go out as an honest person.”

and i will leave you with that.

----

bonus fun fact: everyone knows about the zombie siege of dogwarts the night cleo died but i want to talk about it anyway because it is like. definitely a top 5 3rd life moment. potentially even top 3

bonus fun fact 2: in bdubs’ first episode, he talks about everyone being on good terms and not being against each other yet whilst stood directly on the hill above the lake where scar took his final life. somebody on twitter pointed this out but i did go and check this specific moment myself

bonus fun fact 3 cause i gotta add one every time i guess: that lake? yeah that one where scar also asked grian to kill him? it is directly next to grian’s original base, the one he abandoned to join scar. it is also on the other side of a hill from the day one alliance base, you know, the one involving scar and bdubs. oh 3rd life. you make me so very sad.

[iammissingautumn]

Okay there’s something so. strangely soft about Grian and Scar in 3rd life. Like.

We start off with Scar trying to get Grian to scam people with him, it doesn’t work and later Grian ends up accidentally killing Scar and deciding to sacrifice his first life to him to make it even. Scar jumps at this, he’s excited and happy to have a partner in crime.

They work together, try to get monopolies, fail, make a home, try to make plans, Scar collects pets and gets people to trust him/be his friend. Grian pulls those aside gets to never trust him. Grian shares his resources with him, they build up cactus and lava precautions, Scar dies.

The moment Scar sees Grian after his second death he gives Grian flowers and asks him to still be his friend even though he died thinking their deal was over. Grian reminds him that after Grian’s green life he’s out, not Scar’s. Scar is happy and they get back to it, Grian encourages killing after Grian suggests it since he’s red and he’s supposed to. Scar doesn’t do much with it. Grian comes up with a plan, Scar is the distraction.

The trap kills three people in one shot after not working. Grian laughs and yells in joy as Scar celebrates with him. They visit Solidarity who is aligned with Scott, Grian jokes that they switch places (which would take Grian away from Scar), they go home.

Grian makes a creeper farm so they can get more gunpowder for more tnt for later. They get netherite. Grian comes up with bubble elevator lava plan. Scar is the distraction. They get another red life out of this kill. Grian laughs. They get threatened by Renchanting duo and leave to Scott and Solidarity’s base. They make allies out of both being against Renchanting. Grian says that the moment he dies he’s out of him and Scar’s partnership. Scar ignores this. Scott says even if their alliance is broke they still are allied with both of them. After the deal Grian pulls flower husbands aside and tells them not to trust Scar no matter what. Grian goes out to find Scar and has to help him not die from mobs.

They fight with Sizzle, Red Army attacks them after Grian takes Skizz’s banner. They run to their base. Red Army kills Pizza and Bubbles. Scar says he needs to kill one of them. Grian says they can’t take them all down by themselves and suggests burning down Ethos castle. Later, Grian makes a banner in memory of Pizza and “it warms my [Scar’s] dead heart”. Scar burns Ethos castle. Grian traps their base with tnt. Grian starts to make a trap, Scar makes some allies, Grian worries at leaving Scar alone for long, they find Etho in their base and chase him out. Grian shoots Etho off a ladder, Scott Solidarity Grian and Scar shoot at Etho and Scar lands the killing blow (his first kill). Red Army comes to collect Etho’s stuff Grian put in a chest, backup for Grian and Scar come. Scar tries to get the red army to go through their rigged home and Grian and co. run away effectively abandoning him to the army. They go to dogwarts and Grian attempts to rig another trap but has to escape and works on his one in the desert not knowing where anyone went.

Scar comes with shame to break the news of the house and how Tango almost died. Grian mostly shakes this off, returning to the trap. They work together on it, setting up for the future.

They’re partnership comes with a softness of caring for each other, Grian mostly shrugging off the destruction of their house, Scar giving Grian flowers in hopes he won’t leave after his second death. They way they share things, work together in root but branch away to do their own things as they advance. Yet Grian is so set that Scar is gonna betray and kill everyone, a man self proclaimed to not have his strong suit in pvp or traps. While Scar makes deals Grian urges against the arrangement. While Scar is making friends Grian is working on a trap. For someone so dangerous he seems strangely scared of Scar who just got his first kill on 6th session. Grian fights to make sure Scar doesn’t die but says the moment he gets on yellow he’s leaving Scar. It’s such a fine line he walks, and really it brings the question if anyone outside of Scar would be willing to disconnect the two. Scott and Solidarity seem willing but what about others? Who won’t excuse the lives lost due to him working “under” Scar. What happens? He moves in by the flower forest? He makes a new home all alone? He goes back to Scar?

What happens if no one accepts him? What happens if he joins the red army? What happens if he fights Scar himself? Kills him even? What then?

What happens to the flowers Scar gave Grian, the bases they made, the creeper farm, their shared resources.

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

Idk if youre taking requests, but if you are could we have some Ren and Martyn fluff/angst content? The finale was amazing, and the fact that they'd died side by side and within seconds of each other just feels so bittersweet... maybe they meet up again in the afterlife like Scott and Jimmy did to live happily ever after ;w;

bruh i think you read my mind cuz i was already starting to write something similar when you sent this ask LOL

...

Ren sits bolt upright with a gasp, his hand automatically flying to his chest. But the arrow that ended his life is no longer there. His skin is back to its normal colour, his eyes no longer heavy with the weight of responsibility. He’s back in his normal clothes.

The Red King is gone.

He finds himself in a blank world, a ghostly world. This must be the afterlife; he can see several people he recognises a short distance away.

But before he can start to get up, he hears another gasp in a familiar voice and turns sharply to find Martyn sitting up next to him, dazed and anxious.

“Martyn!” Ren gasps.

Martyn stares at him in dismay. “I’m sorry, Boss! I tried to avenge you but Scar just cut me down, I didn’t stand a chance. I’m so sorry I let you do-.”

Ren wordlessly pulls Martyn into a tight hug, cutting him off. Initially startled, Martyn quickly hugs him back.

“I’m proud of you,” he murmurs. “And call me Ren now. Please.”

Martyn squeezes his eyes shut, releasing a few pent-up tears. “I should’ve been able to save you, Ren. I’m sorry.”

“No no no, you did amazing," Ren reassures him. "I’m so proud of you, Martyn; you stayed with me ‘til the very end. You’ve no idea how much that means to me. Thank you.”

“Guys!” comes a yell. “Ren! Martyn!”

The two move apart to find Skizz rushing towards them, a wide grin on his face.

“Skizzle!” Ren calls happily.

Skizz jumps at the two of them and grabs both of them in a hug, one arm wrapped around Ren’s shoulders and the other around Martyn’s.

“I missed you guys so much!” Skizz beams. “What happened? How’d we do?”

“Scar took down both of us within half a minute of each other,” responds Martyn sadly. “BigB is the only one left.”

“Aww… Hey, at least we're together again. C’mere.”

He pulls them into a tighter hug, causing both of them to laugh.

Then Ren happens to glance up and spot someone else standing nearby, watching them with a hopeful look.

“Etho, get in here,” he laughs.

Beaming, Etho joins the group hug.

“Sorry we didn’t win, boss,” says Martyn with a quiet chuckle.

“Hey, we’re all back together again and none of us betrayed the others to win,” Ren responds warmly. “In my book, we did win.”

Martyn laughs. “That’s such a cliché.”

Ren grins back at him. “I know, but it’s the truth for me. I love you guys so much; thank you for sticking with me to the end. It means more than I can possibly express.”

“Aww!” Skizz beams. “I love you guys too. Hey, are you gonna go through that archway thingy?”

Ren glances at him in confusion, mostly due to the sudden change of subject. “What?”

Skizz points over Ren’s shoulder to a glowing door set into the edge of the world. “That thing. Jimmy went through it not long after I arrived here and Scott went through it almost immediately when we told him where Jimmy went. Apparently, it’s some kind of door to the afterlife.”

“Afterlife?” repeats Martyn. “What, like heaven? I thought we were supposed to go back to our normal worlds once everyone’s died.”

“I think that’s more of a choice. I guess most of the Hermits are gonna choose to go back to Hermitcraft but if you don’t wanna do that yet, you can go through the door and get yourself an afterlife.”

“Huh.” Ren frowns at the door. “That’s really… intriguing.”

Martyn watches him steadily. “Are you thinking of going through?”

“Honestly, yeah. I’d love to know what the afterlife would look like for me.”

He gets to his feet and walks over to the doorway, lifting his hand as if wanting to touch the shimmery space in between.

After a moment, he turns back to face his friends and gives them a smile. “See you later, guys.”

Before any of them can reply, Ren steps through the door.

A blinding light surrounds him for a few seconds. When it finally dies down, Ren finds himself back in Dogwarts.

Except it’s not quite Dogwarts. At least, not the one he knows.

It looks exactly how Ren always envisioned it looking, how he wanted it to look someday but ran out of time. The walls stand tall and firm, and the Renchanting building is a proper castle, complete with a large version of the Dogwarts flag flying proudly above it. Sprawling out from the castle are the farms: carrots, wheat, and potatoes, complete with a detailed-looking scarecrow. And finally, the altar stands in the middle of Dogwarts, majestic and proud.

This is Dogwarts.

And yet, something feels odd. He can’t quite put his finger on it, but something doesn’t quite feel right. There’s something… missing.

“Ren?”

Ren turns to find Martyn standing on the altar. “Martyn? What are you doing here?”

“I came through the door,” Martyn replies, stepping off the altar. “I wanted to come to the afterlife with you.”

“Really?” Ren stares at him. “You don’t want to go home?”

“Wherever you are is where my home is,” responds Martyn with a smile.

“Now who’s being cliché?” Ren teases.

Martyn laughs. “I know, I know. But honestly, when I walked through that door, this is exactly what I pictured as my destination. My guess is the door reads your deepest desire and gives it to you as your afterlife.”

“Which means you and I both wanted the same thing: to live together in Dogwarts.”

“Seems like it.” Martyn smiles. “So. This is it, isn’t it?”

Ren smiles back. He’s figured out what was missing, and it’s definitely not missing anymore.

“This is home.”

[ravs6709]

Oh my gosh Ravi I will gladly give you the run down on the traffic series (you're correct, that is the right term :3)

Basically the traffic series is a hardcore minecraft server with a twist. It's a server run by Grian, who you might have heard of? he's a pretty popular guy from hermitcraft. The series is made up of him and a bunch of his friends (some from hermitcraft some from other places), and the goal is to be the last one standing. The series is also COMPLETELY improv, so nothing is scripted, nothing is planned out, everyone just logs on for a couple of hours a week and they record, and what happens happens.

Depending on which of the series you watch, the twist is different. I'm going to use 3rd life as an example because that was the first one, but you can watch Last Life and Double life with no prior knowledge of 3rd Life.

In 3rd life, everyone got three lives. Your first life (your green life), your second life (your yellow life) and your final life (your red life). (The color coding is where the name "traffic series" and "trafficblr" comes from!) There were no rules for green and yellow lives (you were supposed to avoid killing other players but that kinda went out the window xD), but once you turn red your goal is to try and kill as many other players as possible. This rule for when you turn red is a general rule that stays for the every different version of the series.

Really what makes these series so amazing is the dynamics between the players, and how factions just start to naturally form. For instance, in 3rd life, the four main factions were the Flower Husbands (Scott & Jimmy), Desert Duo (Grian & Scar), Renchanting/Dogwarts (Martyn & Ren mostly but also a couple others), and the Crastle (Bdubs & Cleo). These factions all formed naturally, with no team ups being planned before hand. (Actually, Ren & Martyn had only ever talked once before 3rd life and are now close friends because of their accidental team up!)

Each of the factions had something different and amazing to offer, and you start to genuinely get invested in everyone. The first person I watched was Scott and i was devastated when Jimmy died (Scott gave him a funeral and everything ToT).

What really sold 3rd life was the ending, which was just *chef's kiss* SO GOOD like I CANNOT BELIEVE IT WAS NOT SCRIPTED kinda good. I'm not gonna go too in depth in case you decide to watch, but like, it grabbed me by the heartstrings and still has not let go. It makes my brain go crazy.

I personally like watching one perspective from every faction or group, just to get the full story, because literally everyone has unique strategies and plans and it's so fun to see what everyone does, but there is absolutely no need to watch more than one person. Like you won't get the full experience, but you will still get a good experience.

If you want to start watching it, or are even just considering it, I can also give you a run down on Last Life and Double life to see which one might interest you the most, incase you don't want to start with 3rd life! I can totally give you recommendations for povs to watch in each series! :D

(I'm not as familiar with Last Life because that one is my least fav of the series. I still LOVE it tons but double life and 3rd life just speak to me more)

Oooooooh that sounds cool!!! Based on the posts I've seen the dynamics are vv interesting and i feel like they would live in my brain

Okay I've never watched anything by any of these people but I've seen enough posts that i do vaguely recognize names

I kind want to watch more minecraft stuff again because its been a while!!! How long is 3rd life?

[gardenergulfie]

My beloved mutual... where should I start with last life/third life and how are they connected help im so lost

Hohoho you have come to the right person!

3rd Life and Last Life are multiplayer hardcore series with twists! The goal is to be the last one alive. The two series are recorded in sessions, 3 hours each friday where everyone on the server does stuff and they can't play outside of these sessions. In 3rd Life everyone has 3 lives, green yellow and red, and when they hit red they hunt down the other players. In Last life you start with a randomly generated amount of lives, 4+ for dark green 3 for green 2 for yellow and 1 for red (though you cant start red), and every session someone is chosen to be a boogeyman and they have to kill someone or be turned red.

3rd Life is 8 sessions long and has 12 povs. Everyone's vids can be found in this collective playlist, sorted by session. I would recomend watching 3rd Life by picking a few povs and watching each of their vids for that session one after another for a more accurate experience. 3rd Life had 4 main factions so watching one pov from each should show you everything. I will list the factions and bold my recomended povs from each one. The factions are Crastle (Zombiecleo, and BdoubleOO,), Renchanting/Dogwarts (Rendog, Inthelittlewoods, Ethoslab, and Skizzleman), Flower Husbands (Scott Smajor and SolidarityGaming), and Red Desert (Grian and GoodTimesWithScar). There's also ImpulseSV, TangoTek, BigBStatz and Smallishbeans, who were mostly factionless. I would watch one of them as well.

Last Life is ongoing as of now and the sequel to 3rd Life. However, its not connected to 3rd Life much and can be watched on its own. It as of now has 4 sessions and 15 povs, wth everyone from 3rd Life staying and LdShadowlady, PearlescentMoon, and Mumbo Jumbo joining. The factions are less defined so watch anyone you want. Yu can find everyone's videos on their youtube channels.

Hope this helps!

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

I heard you were taking 3rd Life requests! I just want Renchanting duo fluff. Nothing specific unless you want me to specify a bit

Renchanting duo, you say? fluff, you say??

…

“Boss, are you really sure this is necessary?” asks Martyn.

Ren nods, handing him a sword. “You need to get used to using that arm again after your injury. Better sooner than later.”

Martyn flexes the arm in question. Ever since he fell off the outer wall a few days ago, his right arm has been almost useless. It isn’t broken but it’s been hurting almost every time he uses it. “Okay, as long as we start slow.”

“Of course, yeah.”

Ren gets into position with his sword, his free arm held behind his back. “Ready?”

Martyn nods, in the same position as Ren. “Yeah, ready.”

Ren lunges with his sword, performing a strike that Martyn can easily parry. The last thing he wants to do is hurt his loyal friend further.

The two fight back and forth for a while, their moves slowly becoming quicker and more complex. Martyn’s arm starts to ache but he ignores it. He’s sure he’ll be fine.

After about a minute, Martyn manages to disarm Ren and lunges in for a “finisher” blow, intending to deliberately miss to indicate the end of their fight.

But Ren turns to look at him, and Martyn is wrenched back to that day when he stood in front of his king and executed him with an axe. Ren is standing in front of him now, unarmed, with a similar look on his face.

This throws Martyn off and his foot slips, causing his entire body to twist sharply to the left, wrenching his shoulder.

Immediately, pain flares in his upper arm and he drops to his knees with a cry, clutching his arm in agony.

“Martyn!” Ren gasps, dropping down beside his friend. “Are you okay?! I’m so sorry, I-!”

Martyn’s groan cuts him off and he bends down, attempting to lift his friend to his feet. “C-Come on, come back to the house.”

Ren guides Martyn to the employee area under Renchanting and takes him to the living quarters. After sitting him down in the armchair, Ren dashes off to fetch some ice. Returning to Martyn, he carefully lifts Martyn’s sleeve and applies the ice to the wound.

Martyn lets out an involuntary hiss, causing Ren to wince. “Sorry, Martyn.”

“No no, it’s fine. It just hurts.”

“Yeah, no wonder; looks like you twisted it pretty badly. What happened back there? You froze.”

“I’m sorry,” murmurs Martyn. “It’s just that… As soon as I knocked the sword out of your hand, I got reminded of the last time we were like that. Me standing over you with a weapon, you defenceless…”

He trails off, but Ren has already realised what his friend means. “Ah… I understand. I’m sorry I had to put you in that position, but you did well. You did better than I ever expected. But I do understand that it’s not something you’ll be able to forget in a hurry, so just let me know if you ever need anything from me to make it better, okay?”

Martyn nods slowly. “Thank you. I appreciate that. And I’m sorry for what happened.”

“Not your fault, Martyn. You should get some rest; goodness knows you deserve it.”

After a moment, Martyn says, “Do you mind if we just talk a bit?”

“Oh, yeah, of course,” says Ren, pulling up the other armchair and sitting opposite Martyn. “Is there anything in particular you want to talk about?”

“Well, it’s just…” Martyn clears his throat. “You’re on red. And there’s a possibility I’ll die before you but at the moment, it’s not looking super likely. I was just wondering… what do you want to happen if you die before me?”

Ren hesitates. “Well… I’d like you to take up the mantle of the Red King. Even if you’re not red at the time. I’m not asking you to go down to red on purpose like me; I’d just really like you to take care of this place after I’m gone.”

“Are you saying you want me to be your heir?” Martyn asks slowly.

“Yes, I am,” says Ren warmly. “You’ve proven your loyalty and dedication time and time again, not just to me but to our whole alliance. There’s nobody else I’d trust Dogwarts to when I die.”

Martyn stares at him for a moment, before briefly closing his eyes, releasing a few tears.

“Oh no, y-you’re crying…” Ren grimaces. “I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?”

“N-No, I just…” Martyn wipes his eyes with the back of his hand. “I’ve never had someone trust me that implicitly before. I swear, My Liege, I’ll take care of Dogwarts to the best of my ability, now and in the future, no matter what.”

Ren smiles widely and leans over to give Martyn a careful hug. He’s never felt so full of love as he does at this moment.

“I know you will.”

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

so I was the anon who requested that one Joel story and I gotta say it’s so good! it made me smile! if you could, please could you write some more fluff with Joel? I rly like his interactions with everyone ngl

i’m glad you liked it!! i hadn’t written Joel before so i was really hoping it was good lol

this one is intended to be a kind of alternate ending to Joel’s second death

…

SmallishBeans went up in flames

Joel sits outside what used to be his house, gazing at the notification on his communicator. He used to hate his yellow name. Now he misses it more than anything else.

Even more than his house, which, thanks to the fire, has completely burned down, destroying most of his things. He managed to save most of his valuables, except the diamond armour he had been wearing when he died, but all the resources and food he’s spent so long gathering is gone.

Along with his yellow name.

Finally, he gets to his feet and starts walking off but stops as he spots something lying on the ground. It’s a burnt scrap of fabric, and when he picks it up to inspect it, he realises it’s the Dogwarts flag Ren and Martyn gave him. Incredibly, the fire only burnt off a few inches off the ends; it’s still very much recognisable as the flag. And it reminds him of one particular thing:

He has allies out there.

Tucking the flag into his pocket, he sets off determinedly towards Dogwarts.

Unfortunately, the sun has just started to set when he leaves, so within minutes, there are mobs everywhere. Dodging around a pair of skeletons who have started shooting at each other, he takes off running to avoid a baby zombie, but he’s so focused on getting away that when he slows, he doesn’t notice another mob sneaking up on him until it’s almost too late.

The creeper explodes, sending him flying backwards. Now on four hearts of health, Joel picks up speed, ignoring his growling stomach, bruises on his knees, and aching legs. He’s about three seconds away from losing his third and final life.

Finally, he spots the walls of Dogwarts and puts on a final burst of speed, managing to reach the gate without any more trouble. He knocks loudly on the door, but gives that up and hurriedly enters anyway when he spots another creeper approaching him.

On the other side, he sits down heavily against the door, starting to shiver against the chilly night air. He’s battered, he’s cold, he’s hungry, and he’s upset. He doesn’t know how much more he can take before he gives up entirely.

“Joel?”

Joel glances up to find Martyn standing a little way off, lowering the sword and shield in his hands. “Geez, dude, I thought you were a mob. Are you okay? What are you doing here so late?”

Joel’s mouth opens and closes uselessly as he attempts to explain the last hour.

Thankfully, Martyn realises pretty quickly. “Oh no, you died, didn’t you? Did you come all the way here at night? Come on, I’ll take you inside.”

Martyn helps Joel to his feet and guides him down to the living quarters underneath Renchanting. He sits Joel down in an armchair near the dying embers of a fire, before fetching a blanket for his friend and reigniting the fire in the fireplace.

“You wouldn’t have any spare food, would you?” Joel asks hesitantly.

“Yeah, ‘course. Hold on a sec.”

Martyn again leaves the room and comes back with half a stack of bread, which he hands to Joel.

Joel gratefully gobbles up the first loaf, then starts nibbling his way through a second.

“Whoa, you were hungry,” remarks Martyn. “So what’s happened? How come you’ve travelled all the way here at the most dangerous time of day?”

“I didn’t mean to time it so badly,” starts Joel, pulling the blanket around his shoulders. “I just… I don’t have a home anymore. You saw my death in chat, right?”

Martyn nods slowly.

“Cleo dumped lava on my home. It burned down; it’s all gone. I only managed to save a few valuables.”

“Oh…” Martyn frowns sympathetically. “I’m sorry, Joel.”

“A few valuables and this.” Joel pulls the singed flag out of his pocket and shows it to Martyn. “Your banner. It reminded me that I’m allied with you. So I thought I’d come here and see if you’d help me.”

“I’m really glad you did come here,” says Martyn warmly. “We can help you get back on your feet.”

“In exchange for what?”

“Nothing but your continued loyalty. Joel, I get that you’re cynical, but we’re not a regime that demands everything from you but gives nothing back. Quite the opposite: all we want is your support and in return, we WILL take care of you. I promise.”

Joel’s slightly suspicious frown relaxes. He’s known Martyn for a while; he trusts him. “Okay,” he says, giving a grateful smile. “Thanks.”

Martyn smiles back. “No problem. Now, I’ve got a bedroom ready for you; it’s got a sign with your name on it next to the door. Fresh sheets on the bed and everything. Feel free to stay here in front of the fire for as long as you want before you head to bed.”

“Thank you, Martyn,” says Joel again. “I really appreciate your help.”

“Absolutely no problem.”