#sword/pick/axe/shovel/bow

[sumwan]

I thought it would be interesting to look at c!Dream's inventory and ender chest both before and after the prison.

Before the prison

The latest time he showed his inventory before the prison was on August 31, 2020, when he was remodeling the Community House [x]

Armor, weapons, and tools

Netherite Helmet (Protection IV, Unbreaking III)

Netherite Chestplate (Protection IV, Unbreaking III)

Netherite Leggings named "Punzo Chaps" (Protection IV, Unbreaking III, Mending) (given by c!Punz after c!Dream fell and lost his armor)

Netherite Boots (Protection IV, Unbreaking III, Feather Falling IV, Depth Strider III, Mending)

Netherite Sword named "Netherite Sword11" (Sharpness V, Unbreaking III, Looting III, Fire Aspect I, Mending)

Netherite Pickaxe named "pp2" (Efficiency V)

Netherite Shovel (unenchanted)

Netherite Axe (unenchanted)

Bow (Punch I, Unbreaking III, Power V, Flame, Infinity)

Crossbow named "DEFINITELY NOT PENIS" (Quick Charge III, Piercing IV)

Shears

Food and support items

2 full stacks of arrows

16 ender pearls

1 water bucket

56 golden apples

2 enchanted golden apples

2 full stacks of steak plus one stack of 62 and one stack of 25

Various building blocks for remodeling the Community House

Ender chest

He doesn't show his ender chest in this stream, so the latest I could find was on July 31, 2020, which is shortly before the L'Manberg revolution war. [x]

1 full stack of diamonds and a stack of 22

2 full stacks of golden apples and a stack of 11

4 full stacks of iron ingots plus two stacks of 32

4 enchanted golden apples

1 dark oak log

60 arrows

1 full stack of steak

Diamond helmet (unenchanted)

1 pink bed

3 full stacks of ender pearls

1 potion of swiftness

1 netherite ingot

1 Cat music disc (not c!Tommy's disc)

1 Blocks music disc

After the prison

The last time c!Dream showed his inventory and ender chest after the prison was on April 22, 2022. [x]

Armor, weapons, and tools

Full set of enchanted Netherite Armor (given by c!Punz)

2 Netherite Swords (one given by c!Techno and one picked up from c!Bad during jailbreak)

2 Netherite Axes (also one from c!Techno and the other from c!Bad)

1 Netherite Pickaxe (given by c!Punz)

1 Netherite Shovel

1 trident (Riptide)

Shield (either given by c!Techno or picked up from c!Bad)

Bow named "Wardens Bow" (Infinity, Flame, Power V, Unbreaking III) (picked up from c!Bad)

Food and support items

1 splash potion of fire resistance

1 splash potion of strength II

4 full stacks of golden apples

10 enchanted golden apples

2 stacks of steak, one of 59 and one of 57

1 milk bucket

2 water buckets

1 full stack of regular arrows

54 harming arrows

1 full stack of obsidian

12 TNT

4 full stacks of ender pearls and a stack of 9 ender pearls

2 WARDEN ACCESS keycards

Various random items and stacks of dirt

Ender chest

53 diamond blocks

46 iron blocks

1 lava bucket

1 full stack of steak

1 full stack of flint

2 full stacks of gold blocks

6 netherite ingots

1 book and quill (unknown content)

2 full stacks of golden apples

1 full stack of feathers

1 full stack of arrows

7 nether stars

There's a lot that can be said about this, but I'm sure it's very normal to have two swords, two axes, and four stacks of golden apples on you at all times.

[lavaramen]

1Bow 2Axe 3Pick 4567differ from project 8rockets 9Food

Not a sword person I prefer the axe; Bow has infinity; Pick is silk touch; Baked potatoes; Always shield in off-hand unless project requires a totem/blocks/others (shield has custom banner + mending+ unbreaking 3 if possible)

Inventory also has an organization: Bundle in top left (In bundle: Crafting tables, Anvils, Ender chests, stonecutter, Clock); Fortune pick; shovel; looting3 sword if I have one, all on the left

On the right, top-to-bottom: Arrows; torches; extra rockets and food

Aaaand I keep everything at tip-top durability

Out of curiosity, does anyone else organize their Minecraft survival hotbars? This is how mine looks, for example, with slots 1-4 being my sword + tools, slot 5 being my bow, slot 6 being food, slot 7 & 8 being miscellaneous, and slot 9 being for torches. I'm not sure if this is standard, but it's how I've always done it.

[loving-jack-kelly]

there is something so disconcerting about seeing somebody's minecraft hotbar and they order their tools differently than yours

[biohazrd]

love naming all of my minecraft tools after resi characters bc my brainworms are real <3

[weathermanpolls]

Alright, Glim-Glam is your Isekai partner. You also get to get one OP thing.

Sword: Classic storied / hero weapon. The most versatile of melee weapons.

Other Melee: Despite how much emphasis there is on swords, there are plenty of other weapons. Spears, Axes, Hammers, Maces, Picks, Flails, etc.

Tool: Something not meant to be a weapon, and definitely works as a too. But, that said, you can definitely fight with it. Sickles, Scythes, Bills, Mauls, Hoes, Shovels, a Folding Chair, etc.

Exotic Weapon: Meant to be a weapon, but specific and rare. Boomerang, Chakram, the crescent swords the Night Elves uses in WarIII, the various glaives the Night and High Elves use in WarIII, Crossblade from Darksiders, Khopesh, Twinsword, Nagamaki, Sun-Moon blades, Katar, Ball and Chain, Giant Scissors, Tessen, etc.

Pre-Modern Ranged Weapons: Bows, Crossbows, Slings, Spear Throwers

Firearm: For obvious reasons. You get the ability to either make ammo for it, or use magic through it, (like Dante).

Musical Instrument: It doesn't have to be something simple like an ocarina, as you know fully well how to maintain it.

Tool: Shovel, Maul, Bill, Hoe, Trowel, etc. You can use it like a weapon in a pinch, but it's mostly a tool.

Pen / Stylus / quill: The Pen is mightier than the sword. Especially if you can use it in magical ways.

Magic Accessory: It's a magickal world, so it could be something like a magic painting, or a comb, or mirror, or something.

Boots: Shoes, boots, magic or mundane. We tend to focus on more exotic things, but as someone who was in the infantry, I can tell you, a good pair of boots are worth their weight in gold. They can also be magickal, to allow you to walk without draining stamina, or do super leaps.

Computer: Smartphone, Tablet, ReMarkable, Laptop, Desktop, etc. It will be powered by magic.

You will be proficient with it's use.

You will be proficient with it as a weapon.

You will know how to maintain it.

You will know how to create anything it needs, like oil and ammo.

You will be able to use magic with it, (at least as much magic as you are capable of of).

This is not Konosuba, so Goddesses are off the table.

A magic talking horse won't seem that out of place for an isekai protagonist. You're probably going to get op magic and unique magic items.

Rarity: Most feminine of the Ponies. Very supportive, if sensitive. From a practical perspective, she's a seamstress, giving her fine dexterity, and has a magic spell to find gemstones, which would likely give her a bonus to appraisal. She will probably be your only source of food that is not burnt bread and pottage.

Fluttershy: Contrary to most logic and precepts of Pony magic, she has Wild Empathy. Along with basic flight and the power to land on clouds. As her name implies, she is extraordinarily shy.

Rainbow Dash: When the three tribes united, the Pegasi never fully demilitarized. Of the Pony's martial race, she joined the martial class. She can fly faster than the speed of sound, and her first instincts when cornered are to kick. Very brave, to the point of being foolhardy. Her job before being a Wonderbolt was literally controlling the weather, though not through spells, but through moving clouds.

Applejack: Earth ponies draw their power from the earth, which gives them great strength, and an affinity for plants and animals. Applejack takes this to the extreme. Her big brother is built like a tank, and when using hysteric strength can pull a house off of it's foundation, without noticing. Applejack is built like a tankette.

Pinkie Pie: If you take Pinkie Pie, your isekai existence will now follow the magic rules of comedic timing. Instead of MacBeth you'll get Much Ado About Nothing.

Starlight Glimmer: A bold scholar with magickal abilities. To put this into context, when the God Princesses were having a spat, she felt it would be a good idea to (thankfully temporarily) reverse their destinies. Whatever you want to do in the isekai world, Glim-Glam will help you. Just be careful what you wish for.

Trixie: In a world of real magick, Trixie is a traveling stage magician. She's basically Zatanna, but rather than being good and heroic is more chaotic neutral. If you bring her, you are not going to be a traditional hero. More of a shady vagabond.

Cutie Mark Crusaders: Since they will isekai as fillies, you get all three. They are chaotic, and have not yet unlocked their destinies. To quote Arizona from Them's Fighting Herds, (quoting her dad, Texas), "Sometimes the thing that got you into trouble is the thing that will get you out again."

Tempest Shadow: For those that was a (redeemed) villain. She has power and ferocity, and was only redeemed because of the power of princesses.

Generic Martial Orders

Royal Guard Stallion: Pick which one you want, (not Flash Sentry). The closest to Knight Classic in the setting. They have strength, dexterity, and armour, and will fight valiantly for you. The main downside is that this is MLP, so they likely will fight non-lethally. Have the Unicorn power of telekinesis, allowing them to use any weapon, or help you in other manners.

Night Guard: Pegasi blessed by Luna. I gave them night-themed powers, borrowing from their God Princess. There is no lore in canon, but SOMETHING happened and gave them bat wings, and they only appear with Luna.

Wonderbolt: One of the other Wonderbolts. You might think that not being main characters would mean they don't have main character syndrome. You would be wrong, as they were patterned off of real pilots.

Crystal Paladins: Again, very little in the lore, but they exist. I gave Crystal Ponies high Spirit, and allow them to heal.

Them's Fighting Herds:

Arizona: Basically Applejack, if she was a Cattle nomad instead of a Pony apple farmer. Cattlekind pull carts and wander the prairies. Arizona became the "champeen" of the prairie, because no one else wanted to. Cattlekind would rather spend time just wandering around. Basically like Hobbits have to kidnapped to go on adventures. Her "magic" abilities have her use a lasso.

Velvet: Rarity if she was a Reindeer. As an aside, Feared Love United have them unite with Winter Deer. Anyways, Reindeer are the great northern civilization in a world of uncouth yokels. *eyes Arizona* They have winter magic, and basically have fairy servants.

Paprika: Never played as her, but she is an Alpaca, obviously patterned after Pinkie Pie. The difference is that Pinkie Pie knows when enough is enough, while Paprika's zany antics have almost killed everyone... a few times.

Oleander: Twilight Sparkle, if she spent less time on friendship, and more time reading a daemonic grimoire. She can summon an unknowable horror from beyond, (that she calls "Fred", because his name is basically impossible to pronounce). Unicorns in this setting are more classical unicorns, i.e. holier than thou high elves.

Pom: A sheep. She has the timidness of a sheep, but comes with a pack of dogs that does most of the fighting for her.

Tianhuo: Rainbow Dash if she was a dragon horse. She can manipulate her firey main to glide, and can breathe fire, (a bit), and is an expert martial artist.

[islib]

Hermitcraft living costs

aka Someone Please Renew The King’s Quests, These Empires Kids Are Broke

sooooo I’m mildly insane and decided to approximate some basic needs costs on HC just so I could see how difficult it might be for the Emperors to get themselves set up without resource grinding (outside of diamond mining ofc)

Now there’s every chance a bunch of them will get various hand-outs and support, but just assuming they’re going from absolute scratch to basic full set-up (D stands for Diamonds):

Armor set: 24D basic full set + 25D elytra @ Wings and Things = 49D

Tool set (2 picks, axe, shovel, sword, hoe): 14D

Enchantments (from iEnchant): OPT stands for commonly foregone enchants that may make certain tasks more difficult or take up durability

11*2D(Mending) + 11*2(Unbreaking)  = 44D

+ Armor Enchants ( + 4*2D (Protection) + 10D (OPT - Swift Sneak) + 2D (Aqua Affinity) + 2D (Respiration) + 2D (OPT - Depth Strider || Frost Walker ) + 2D (Feather Falling) + 2D (OPT - Soul Speed) + 4*2D (OPT - Thorns)) = 14-36D

+ Tool Enchants ( + 2*2D (Sharpness || Smite || Bane - Axe & Sword) + 2D (OPT - Sweeping Edge) + 2D (Looting) + 2D (OPT - Fire Aspect) + 2D (OPT - Knockback) + 5*2D (Efficiency) +  5*2D (Fortune || Silk Touch)) = 26-32D

+ Bow Enchants ( + 2D (Infinity || Mending) + 2D (Power) + 2D (Unbreaking) + 2D (OPT - Flame) + 2D (OPT - Punch)) = 6-10D

Altogether just enchanted tools & armor come up to ~153-185D.

On a server that’s been mined through to heck and back. Better get a villager setup fast, before you owe Impulse your firstborn.

[sorrelssurvivalendventure]

Entry 0.3

Step one: tools and armor. I'll be wearing the armor on my body, but tools alone takes up a whole nine slots. That's a seventh of everything I can carry. I'll be enchanting this for a while, even with magic to help me. No bow or arrows. Once I'm at my new home, I won't be able to get any flint for arrows or string for bows, so I'll just have to hope I don't get into any situations where I need ranged weapons. Like, for example, trying to slay shulkers or endermen.

[ID: Minecraft screenshot of an ender chest containing two netherite hoes, a fishing rod, shears, a netherite sword, two netherite picks, a netherite axe, a netherite shovele, and a full set of netherite armor. End ID]

[redorich]

Heyo, I'm not sure if you would want to. But if you ever wanted to write a sequel? to your nightmare hermit craft tommy. I would be so down. Your work is amazing! 🐌

Anonymous asked:

The day Dream and the rest of the server find out about Tommy with the hermits, I can see dream (and possibly others) going there to “collect” Tommy thinking no one will put up a fight, only to have all the hermits protecting Tommy in there own ways with Xisuma at the front being the badass admin that he his, teaching dream a proper lesson.

-------

Tommy, his best friend, his brother, and some of the hermits spend weeks planning out how they're going to save Dream from the dreamon possessing him. Unfortunately, none of that matters in the end.

Tommy gets a message on his communicator. It's Technoblade.

<Technoblade> dream figured out you're alive and forced tubbo to tell him your location. he's invading hermitcraft TODAY.

<Technoblade> he's bringing george, sapnap, bad, ant, phil, ranboo, quackity, and fundy. i'll be there but i don't know how much i can do to stop them.

Techno won't answer any of Tommy's messages, won't pick up the phone. Fuck. On the verge of hyperventilation, Tommy takes off into the sky with the elytra that he only ever glides with, and spams rockets as fast as he can because fuck his stupid hangup with fireworks and the trauma behind them, he needs to see Xisuma now.

The admin is busy making another tower for his base, but drops everything when Tommy explains, in gasping breaths, the imminent danger. Xisuma teleports every player to the town hall, then takes off to remove all valuable items from the spawn area he created before anyone gets the chance to ask him what the teleport was for.

Tommy takes charge with help from the hermits that are more experienced in leading. He knows exactly what the opposition will be bringing, how many they'll be facing, the tactics they'll use.

Bdubs sets up beds in the town hall for everyone to set their spawns, while Doc rigs the place with every nasty trick he can think of. After working on his Target minigames for so long, Cub knows which hermits are the best with a bow. He forms a group and they strategically perch in the HEP tower. The bookstore becomes free to everyone who doesn’t have maxed-out gear, and Etho sweeps in behind them all, methodically looting every store that has anything the enemy could possibly get a benefit out of if they stole it. Stress sets up a makeshift potions lab on the front lawn. Cleo fetches her everything she needs.

Meanwhile, Ren loots his Quadrachopper for apples, then hands them off to Iskall to make stacks upon stacks of golden apples. Jevin darts off, but shortly returns with several shulker boxes of ender pearls. Each hermit has at least two totems of undying courtesy of Impulse.

This is what these people can do with less than a day to prepare, Tommy wonders. There’s enough supplies here to have taken back L’Manberg three times over, before it blew up. Still, these are the people that spar to three hearts instead of to the death. They shy away from making others suffer. Their calluses are born of concrete and stone, pickaxes and shovels. Dream’s calluses are born of blood.

The time comes. Stress packs up her brewing stands, places them inside the town hall on any space that isn’t a bed so she can keep supplying the fighters. Tango lets his lava bucket warm his shaking hands. Doc clutches his trident, resolute in his role of protector; no enemy will breach the town hall so long as he is there.

Messages of intruders joining the server flood the chat. Instant chaos. Three withers spawn all at once, and Grian sets about aggro-ing all three of them so he can dogfight them in the sky. Bad, George, and Ant head straight for the town hall. It’s the most important building on the island, as well as the most spacious, so the hunters correctly guess that town hall is the hermits’ base of operations. The three are met by Iskall, who stalls them long enough for Tango and Impulse to show up. Their fight pushes down the street to the steps of the town hall, so Doc joins in the fray. It’s an evenly matched fight.

Sapnap makes his way to the town hall as well, in order to support his fellow hunters, but Keralis cuts him off. In true Keralis fashion, the man taunts Sapnap until Sapnap completely loses sight of what he was meant to do, and instead chases Keralis, who narrowly evades him at every turn.

False engages a footsoldier-- Quackity-- in a battle that is tooth and nail. She nearly loses her arm to Quackity’s axe when Fundy makes the battle a two-on-one, but Fundy nearly loses his entire head when Techno roars triumphantly and swings his Orphan Obliterator sword at him with both hands. Quackity screams, fuelled not by his lungs but by his blinding hot rage at the betrayal. The battle is on.

It’s not all battles, though. Several hermits rain arrows down upon their enemies from the rooftops; meanwhile, Dream himself stalks through the streets under the effect of an invisibility potion, setting off TNT and End crystals indiscriminately. He isn’t the only invisible person, though-- Etho goes completely without armor, sabotaging anyone he can and collecting another invisibility potion on the way out of town hall each time he dies and respawns. Mumbo, eager for a chance to help, runs damage control as best as he can by putting out fires while Wels watches his back.  Ren and Cleo run elytra interference; xB does the same from the ocean with a riptide trident.

Once Ant is down, Impulse feels safe in allowing Doc, Tango, and Iskall to take on George and Bad without him. Impulse peels off from the group to confront the nervous-looking man edging his way closer and closer to the town hall. The closer he gets, the more his heart drops into his stomach. Tommy’d described this Ranboo guy, but he’d neglected to mention that Ranboo was not a fucking adult. Impulse doesn’t think he can do this. He can’t inflict this level of violence on a kid, for all that Ranboo is an older teen. 

Ranboo’s too good at fighting-- another child soldier, Impulse’s mind whispers-- for Impulse to be able to afford to be kind, but Impulse does anyway and Ranboo kills him. Stress gasps when he respawns, but steadfastly gives him everything he needs to go back out into the fray. His hands shake. This had better end soon, one way or another.

[narrator-navigator-storyteller]

accepting ideas for my tools and armour in minecraft. things that need names:

helmet

chestplate

legs

boots

sword

bow

silk touch pick

axe

shovel

hoe (update: named kim petras)

elytra

should i ask in discord? yes. am i asking here? also yes.

[pronounsrus]

minecraft maybe!

Dont mine at night! /lyr

i have the creeper mob here

----

Axol/Lotl/Axolotls/Axolotl's/Axolotlself

Axol/Axolotl/Axolotls/Axolotl's/Axolotlself

Ax/Axe/Axes/Axe's/Axeself

Block/Block/Blocks/Block's/Blockself

Bat/Bat/Bats/Bat's/Batself

Bee/Bee/Bees/Bee's/Beeself

Blaz/Blaze/Blazes/Blaze's/Bazeself

Bed/Rock/Bedrocks/Bedrock's/Bedrockself

Bow/Arrow/Bows/Arrow's/Bow and arrowself/Bowself/Arrowself

Craft/Craft/Crafts/Craft's/Craftself

Creep/Creeper/Creepers/Creeper's/Creeperself

Cave/Spider/Cave spiders/Cave spider's/Cave spiderself

Cobble/Stone/Cobblestones/Cobblestone's/Cobblestoneself

Dia/mond/Diamonds/Diamond's/Diamondself

Dia/Diamond/Diamonds/Diamond's/Diamondself

Ender/Man/Endermans/Enderman's/Endermanself

Ender/Dragon/Ender dragons/Ender dragon's/Ender dragonself

Ender/Pearl/Ender pearls/Ender pearl's/Ender pearlself

End/Ender/Enders/Ender's/Enderself

Ender/Portal/Ender portals/Ender pordal's/Ender portalself

Glow/Squid/Glow squids/Glow squid's/Glow squidself/Glowself

Gol/Golem/Golems/Golem's/Golemself

Ghast/Ghast/Ghasts/Ghast's/Ghastself

Gol/Gold/Golds/Gold's/Goldself

Husk/Husk/Husks/Husk's/Huskself

Iro/Iron/Irons/Iron's/Ironself

Iron/Golem/Iron golems/Iron golem's/Iron golemself

Mine/Mine/Mines/Mine's/Mineself

Mine/Craft/Minecrafts/Minecraft's/Minecraftself

Mob/Mob/Mobs/Mob's/Mobself

Moo/Shroom/Mooshrooms/Mooshroom's/Mooshroomself

Ocel/Lot/Ocelots/Ocelot's/Ocelotself

Pick/Axe/Pickaxes/Pickaxe's/Pickaxeself

Pig/Lin/Piglin/Piglins/Piglin's/Piglinself

Pig/Piglin/Piglins/Piglin's/Piglinself

Phan/Phantom/Phantoms/Phantom's/Phantomself

Sword/Sword/Swords/Sword's/Swordself

Sto/Stone/Stones/Stone's/Stoneself

Spi/Spider/Spiders/Spider's/Spiderself

Sli/Slime/Slimes/Slime's/Slimeself

Skele/Ton/Skeletons/Skeleton's/Skeletonself

Skele/Skeleton/Skeletons/Skeleton's/Skeletonself

Snow/Golem/Snow golems/Snow golem's/Snow golemself

Spaw/Spawn/Spawns/Spawn's/Spawnself

Spawn/Spawner/Spawners/Spawner's/Spawnerself

Shov/Shovel/Shovels/Shovel's/Shovelself

Village/Villager/Villagers/Villager's/Villagerself

Wood/Wood/Woods/Wood's/Woodself

Wool/Wool/Wools/Wool's/Woolself

With/Wither/Withers/Wither's/Witherself

Zomb/Zombie/Zombies/Zombie's/Zombieself

Zombie/Piglin/Zombie piglins/Zombie piglin's/Zombie piglinself

🌲/🌲/🌲s/🌲's/🌲self

💎/💎/💎s/💎's/💎self

⛏/⛏/⛏s/⛏'s/⛏self

⚒️/⚒️/⚒️s/⚒️'s/⚒️self

🏹/🏹/🏹s/🏹's/🏹self

🧊/🧊/🧊s/🧊's/🧊self

🕋/🕋/🕋s/🕋's/🕋self

🪓/🪓/🪓s/🪓's/🪓self

💀🏹/💀🏹/💀🏹s/💀🏹's/💀🏹self

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

uh, writing rq: spare 3rd life red!ren speculation, maybe martyn and ren both choosing violence? as a treat?

this was fun to write lol i think Ren deserves a little violence as a treat

cw: mentions of suicide (nonpermanent but better safe than sorry)

...

  Martyn enters the Renchanting building for the third time that day and finds Ren still pacing around, brow furrowed. He stands in the doorway for a moment, arms folded, and watches him. Finally, he says, “Are you planning on doing anything else today, boss, or should I just go home early?” 

  Ren doesn’t respond. Just as Martyn opens his mouth to say something else, Ren’s head snaps up. “Huh? What? Oh, yeah, yeah, that’s fine.”

  “You didn’t hear what I said, did you?”

  “Something about going home early.”

  Martyn scoffs and shakes his head. “Seriously, you’ve been walking around aimlessly in here all day, thinking way too deeply about something. What’s going on?”

  Ren hesitates, turning fully to face his assistant. “Okay, to tell you the truth… I’ve been thinking about going down to red on purpose.”

  Martyn’s eyes widen in alarm. “What?! Why would you do that?!” 

  “Because I’m sick and tired of people waltzing in here and just taking what they want,” snaps Ren. “I’m tired of being intimidated and walked all over and not taken seriously. If I was on my red life, at least people would be more wary of me and less likely to walk all over me.” 

  “That doesn’t mean you should deliberately die,” Martyn responds urgently. “I cannot stress enough how bad an idea that is.”

  “Well, there doesn’t seem to be any other-.”

  “No, listen.” Martyn grabs Ren’s shoulders. “You don’t have to go down to red in order to cause some chaos.”

  Ren frowns at him. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, Grian killed you, right? What’s HIS colour?”

  “Green…” Ren blinks as realisation dawns on him. “Wait…”

  “And Tango with his lava death trap. He’s on green too but he still killed two people. You don’t need to be on red to cause some chaos.”

  Ren grins at the hushed excitement in Martyn’s voice. “Should you really be condoning this? Isn’t it your job to keep me out of trouble?”

  Martyn shrugs, a slight smirk on his face. “You could argue I’m doing that by not letting you kill yourself.”

  “That’s a very valid point. So do you have any ideas?”

  “I have a few. Would you like some form of revenge or just to cause some random chaos?”

  Ren thinks about this for a moment. “Let’s start with revenge.”

  “Gotcha,” says Martyn. “So even though Grian was the one who actually set the trap, it’s fair to say he was doing it on Scar’s orders. If we bait Scar into striking one of us, we can retaliate and even maybe “accidentally” catch Grian in the crossfire. What do you think?”

  “I like it! Are we allowed to build a trap beforehand or does whatever we do have to be done in that timeframe of a red life being angry at us?” 

  “Um… No clue. But I can find out.” 

  “Hello there!” calls a familiar voice from above.

  “Oh no,” groans Ren. “Not Scar again. It’ll be hours before I can get him outta here again.”

  “Here’s your chance, boss,” says Martyn excitedly. “HE came to YOU. Kick him out! Show him we won’t be bullied or pushed around anymore!”

  Ren considers this. “You know what? Yeah! I’ll do it!”

  He dashes up the stairs and out into Dogwarts. Spotting Scar near the entrance, he charges over to him and jumps to a stop right next to him. “Scar, get the hell outta here!”

  Scar blinks. “What? I just wanted-.”

  “I don’t care what YOU want; I want you to get out and leave me alone. NOW. I’m only giving you one more chance.”

  He almost hopes Scar doesn’t leave; he’s been waiting for the opportunity to get revenge for killing him. 

  Scar doesn’t move. “Ren, you’re still on our kill list, you know. I don’t think it’s wise for you to-.”

  He breaks off as Ren whacks him with the flat side of his axe. 

  “OW!” he yelps. “GEEZ, what the heck?!” 

  “I told you to leave!” Ren crows. “I gave you two chances!”

  Scar throws his arms up to protect himself as Ren hits him again, on the shoulder this time. 

  “Get out before I start using the sharper side,” Ren warns triumphantly. 

  “W-Wait, don’t! Grian! GRIAAAAAAN!”

  Ren draws his arm back to hit again before he notices Grian crouched atop the wall, aiming a bow and arrow at him. 

  But Martyn appears out of nowhere, running along the top of the wall, and hits him off the wall with a shovel. 

  Grian yelps as he lands heavily on the ground. He half-runs half-limps over to Scar, the two finding themselves with an axe-wielding Ren on one side and Martyn, who has traded his shovel for a sword, on the other. 

  “What’s WRONG with you two?” Grian demands. “You’re not allowed to attack us if Scar doesn’t attack first!”

  “Yeah, see, we implemented a new rule here at Dogwarts,” Martyn responds. “If we tell you to leave twice and you don’t, that counts as an attack. We are allowed to defend ourselves against attacks.”

  Grian’s voice rises to a shrill shriek. “You hit me with a shovel!” 

  Martyn matches his tone. “You were about to shoot my boss!”  

  “Because he was trying to murder my friend!”

  “Because your friend keeps waltzing in here like he owns the place!”

  “Enough, enough!” Ren yells suddenly. “Listen, Grian: I’m done being nice. I’m done trying to get through to you two. I’ve asked nicely and I’ve demanded and I’ve threatened, but you refuse to listen to me. I’ve made it perfectly clear time and time again: you. Are. Not. Welcome. Here. So I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way you two will listen to me is if I kill you both.”

  Scar immediately leaps behind Grian. “No, wait! I’m on red! If you kill me, I’ll die permanently!”

  “Then that’s a great incentive to LISTEN to me!” Ren snaps back. “Now get out, both of you. NOW.”

  Neither of them move.

  Ren heaves a sigh. “Do I need to show you I’m serious?”

  He picks up Martyn’s shovel from where he dropped it earlier and swings it at Grian, smacking him in the stomach. As Grian doubles over and stumbles back, Ren hits him again in the shoulder, then swings it at Scar. 

  “GET OUT!” Ren screeches.

  Scar loses his nerve and bolts for the door. Filled with adrenaline and not really thinking clearly, Ren takes off after him, jabbing him in the back with the shovel. 

  “NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO!” screams Scar. “REN NO! NOOOO!”

  Ren takes one last swing at Scar, but he misses and trips over. By the time he looks up, Scar has all but disappeared over the horizon.

  Panting and now with a sore knee, Ren gets to his feet and half-limps back towards Dogwarts. 

  Hearing a yelp, he glances up and is just in time to witness Martyn shoving Grian off the top of Dogwarts’s wall again. “Stop running around on our walls!” Martyn yells after him as Grian takes off running. “Go away!”

  Ren grins at the sight of Grian and Scar fleeing from him in fear, as he reenters Dogwarts and closes and locks the doors. 

  “That,” he says, as Martyn jumps down from the wall, “was the most fun thing I’ve done in this world.”

  Also grinning, Martyn starts to respond when he happens to glance down. “Oh, boss, you’re bleeding. Come here, let’s get that cleaned up.”

  Ren follows Martyn inside and sits down in his chair, only just noticing blood leaking from a cut in his knee. It must have happened when he fell over outside. 

  Martyn kneels down in front of him and starts cleaning the area around the cut. 

  “Thanks so much, Martyn,” Ren says gratefully. “For, um… For everything. Including talking me out of killing myself. That probably wouldn’t have ended well.”

  “It really wouldn’t have,” chuckles Martyn. “This was a much better option. Honestly, it felt good to kick Grian outta here. With any luck, they’ll spread the word that we’re no longer to be trifled with.” 

  Ren grins. “I think this is the start of a new era for us, Martyn. There’s a lot for us to do before we get to the level of power I know we can achieve.”

  “Well, before you go off and achieve that power, you’re gonna go to bed and rest that knee of yours,” Martyn says. 

  Ren gives a quiet chuckle. “Whatever you say, Martyn. I trust you.”

  Martyn freezes momentarily. It’s been a long time since someone said that to him.

  “What’s up?” says Ren, noticing this. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I…” Martyn clears his throat. “Sorry, it’s nothing. You get to bed now; I’ll lock up.” 

  Ren watches Martyn head to the door. “Martyn?”

  Martyn pauses and looks back. “Yeah?”

  “Thank you for always taking care of me.”

  After a moment, Martyn smiles. 

  “No problem, boss.”

[enderwalk-updates]

Feb 25, 2021

INVENTORY [START]

Row 1: flint and steel, hoe, pick 1, 26 stone, 29 black [?] stained glass, 16 torches, 2 magenta stained glass, 1 boat, 1 bed

Row 2: 3 grey dye, 3 white dye, 1 saddle, 2 grey stained glass, 7 golden apples, 2 enderchests, 15 magenta glass panes, 1 light grey dye, 6 arrows

Row 3: pick 2, 61 netherrack, 1 cake, 3 bones, 33 golden arrows, diamond sword, 16 light grey stained glass, 56 glass, Do Not read

Hotbar: blockbeard’s sword, axe, 35 baked potatoes, shovel, pick 3, bow, trident, 2 signs, water bucket

INVENTORY [END]

Row 1: flint and steel, 3 stone brick slabs, 42 emeralds, 44 yellow concrete, 1 boat, 5 spruce wood fences, 10 black dye, 16 torches, 23 spruce trapdoors

Row 2: blockbeard’s sword, water bucket, enderchest, 2 wood planks, shovel, 6 golden apples, 3 black stained glass, trident, 64 black stained glass panes

Row 3: pick 1, 26 laips, hoe, 10 lanterns, pick 2, bow, 43 black stained glass panes, 20 dirt, Do Not Read

Hotbar: 38 black stained glass panes, 14 stone brick stairs, axe, diamond shovel, pick 3, 1 arrow, 56 baked potatoes, 42 concrete powder

ENDERCHEST [START]

Row 1: totem 1, totem 2, Do Not Read 1, Do Not Read 2, 59 lapis blocks, 54 emerald blocks, 64 iron blocks, 64 gold blocks, 50 diamond blocks

Row 2: trident, totem 3, 20 diamond blocks, 4 spawners, 1 enchanted golden apple, 38 netherrite ingots, 64 iron blocks, 64 gold blocks, 64 diamond blocks

Row 3: golden shovel, 30 allium, 2 infested stone, 28 iron blocks, 1 netherrite ingot, 64 gold blocks, 64 diamond blocks

ENDERCHEST [END]

Row 1: totem 1, totem 2, Do Not Read 1, Do Not Read 2, 56 lapis blocks, 64 iron blocks, 64 gold blocks, 50 diamond blocks

Row 2: trident, totem 3, 19 diamond blocks, 4 spawners, 1 enchanted golden apple, 38 netherrite ingots, 64 iron blocks, 64 gold blocks, 64 diamond blocks

Row 3: golden shovel, 2 stone, 2 infested stone, 25 iron blocks, 54 emerald blocks, 1 netherrite ingot, 64 gold blocks, 64 diamond blocks

[maryellencarter]

so. the complete list of the best enchants to have on things in minecraft.

* things you can enchant: helmet, chestplate, armor pants, armor boots, sword, axe, pickaxe, shovel, hoe, bow, crossbow, trident, fishing rod, shears and elytra. (technically you can also enchant things like a shield, a flint and steel, or a carrot on a stick, but i doubt i will.)

* you can only get an elytra (a sort of minecraft hang-glider wing device) if you have gone to two other dimensions and defeated quite a lot of rather tough enemies including a boss called the ender dragon. yes, a minecraft dragon looks just as doofy as you are imagining if not more so. idk if i'll ever be bothered to do that, but all the enchants an elytra can have on it is unbreaking iii and mending anyway. i feel like given the number of items i'm going to wind up needing those two enchants on, i might create a librarian villager for each one, although it is extremely tedious. mending cannot be gotten from an enchanting table though so a librarian for that one is a must.

* shears: can have mending, unbreaking iii, and efficiency v. it is... unlikely that i would need enchanted shears, unless i was trying to clear an entire mineshaft or abandoned village of cobwebs as fast as possible. which i am much less likely to need to do once i have an iron farm, because iron farms drop string. (they generate cats as well as golems, and the cats drop string when they die. sadly there is not a way to spare the cats' lives.)

* fishing rod: this needs mending, unbreaking iii, luck of the sea iii, and lure iii. i will likely acquire all of these by fishing up enchanted fishing rods.

* trident: needs mending on it before i use it at all, because it is very close to being worn out, so i need to be able to heal it up. also needs loyalty iii so it will come back to me when i throw it. can also have unbreaking iii, impaling v (better attack damage against any creature in contact with water, including being in the rain), and if i want, channeling which means if i throw the trident at a creature during a thunderstorm, the creature is struck by lightning. there is an enchantment called riptide where if you throw the trident and it is raining, you will fly to where the trident went, but it is incompatible with loyalty which i'd rather have.

* crossbow: is very handy because you can walk around with it already drawn and ready to fire. cannot have infinity, but can have some other useful enchants. mending, unbreaking iii, and the specialty enchantment quick charge iii which lets you draw it even faster than a regular bow. then one chooses between multi-shot, which gives you a shotgun-like effect on a spread of three arrows (only one is consumed, but the crossbow's durability goes down by 3 so you really need mending on a multi-shot crossbow), or piercing which lets you shoot through more than one creature and also pick up the arrow afterwards. even though i am really not a good shot, i will probably prefer piercing because it means i don't have to carry stacks and stacks of arrows.

* bow: you can have either infinity or mending on a bow. i prefer infinity because then i don't have to farm chickens. you can also have unbreaking iii (very important so you don't wear it out as fast since you can't heal it with mending), power v which does more damage, punch ii which knocks the creature backwards a ways -- i don't like that for hunting in peaceful because it means i have to run farther to pick up the drops and xp, but it could be extremely handy against enemies -- and flame, which sets the enemy on fire. i don't really like flame because you don't get the xp if the creature burns 5 seconds or more before dying, and also it's hard to see past flaming arrows when you miss but they do not give light. so i would probably want infinity, unbreaking iii, power v, and punch ii, at least on a fighting bow. for a hunting bow, probably just infinity, unbreaking iii, and power v.

* hoe: technically, you could enchant a hoe. i guess if for some reason you wanted to collect the leaves from an entire forest in no time flat, you could enchant a hoe with mending, unbreaking iii, efficiency v, and silk touch. or if you wanted to get more saplings from the leaves, you could swap out the silk touch for fortune iii. you can also increase the maximum possible number of drops you get from food crops with fortune iii, so i guess if you were doing truly heroic amounts of farming by hand and you wanted to be as efficient as possible, you could certainly use an enchanted hoe. or you could build an auto farm and put in way less effort.

* shovel: i need a shovel with mending, fortune iii, unbreaking iii, and efficiency v asap so i can *clobber* all this gravel and turn it into flint. maybe even a diamond shovel if i want to go a little crazy.

* pickaxe: i need one with fortune iii and one with silk touch, and they both need mending, unbreaking iii, and efficiency v. these are some of the most basic enchanted tools one needs in minecraft.

* axe: there are a few uses where a silk touch axe comes in handy, like picking up campfires from under your beehives, moving the beehives themselves, or getting melons instead of melon slices from harvesting melons. (you do not usually get enough melon slices to make a melon from harvesting a melon, so it would be smart to silk touch harvest the melons in order to get more emeralds per harvest.) i don't find anything a fortune axe would be useful for.

* sword: mending, unbreaking iii, looting iii (more drops per kill), sharpness v (more attack damage) *or* smite v (more attack damage against undead specifically, good for farming a zombie or skeleton spawner) *or* bane of arthropods v (more attack damage against spiders specifically, also slows them for a second). you can also have knockback ii if you want your hit to push the creature away, and fire aspect ii if you want to set them on fire.

* all armor needs mending, unbreaking iii, and protection iv. for the shirt and pants, those are the only relevant enchantments.

* one wants two pairs of boots. the first pair will have mending, unbreaking iii, protection iv, feather falling iv, and depth strider iii. the second pair will have all of the above except swap depth strider iii (which lets you swim faster) for frost walker ii (which lets you run on top of the water, putting a temporary layer of ice on it, and could be extremely handy for exploring).

* and a helmet. the helmet needs mending, unbreaking iii, protection iv, respiration iii, and aqua affinity. whew!

[racke7]

Weapon summary for writers

So, for a while now I've been thinking about what constitutes as a good “beginner's weapon”.

Obviously, we're excluding firearms and things like crossbows, because for all that it can take years to become skilled at it, it's not uncommon to figure out enough of the basics to be lethal within an hour.

Now, first it must be said that the “usefulness” of any weapon is based entirely around the situation they're used in.

A mace for example is a brilliant way to fight off a heavily armored opponent, but kind of loses a lot of its comparative usefulness when fighting unarmored opponents, as another weapon may be able to chop a limb off instead of just bruising it.

A spear is king on an open battlefield, but largely useless during the boarding-action of a ship at sea.

A shield is extremely useful for a number of reason, but also a massive pain in the ass to carry around for long periods of time if you're not going to be seeing active combat. And armor works much the same.

In other words, context is key to finding out the usefulness of a weapon, and equipping a beginner with an “easy to use” weapon that is useless for the purpose of whatever fighting is going to be occurring is pointless.

So, let's try to sort out a few general rules of thumb.

Swords

Swords are brilliant side-arms, meaning that they're very easy to carry around with you through everyday life. This is also the reason why they're so prominent on the battlefields, because people carry them around as backup weapons, since they won't get in the way.

Swords are rarely above 1,5kg in weight (usually hovering around the 1,1-1,2kg), though depending on the weight-distribution they can feel easier or harder to move (basically, the principle of leverage). The closer the weight-balance is to the hilt of the sword, the easier the sword is to move, however it also loses on “chopping power” because the tip of the blade becomes lighter than the base.

Needless to say, in order to swing a metal-stick around with a single hand does require a certain level of physical fitness. This can be mitigated with bigger grips that allow for two hands, since this gives the wielder more leverage against the weight of the blade. (Please note that rapiers are one-handed swords.)

There are straight swords that are “chopping oriented” and there are curved swords that are “stabbing oriented”, but generally if there's a curve in the blade there's an assumption towards chopping.

In order to properly chop with a sword, the blade needs to align with the direction the cut is aimed in. Basically, you can't cut someone by hitting them with the flat of your blade. However, because a sword is “springy” it's not quite enough to get the blade “kind of in line” with the chop, since it will want to bounce away rather than bite into the enemy. This is the kind of thing a person who works with swords for a long while can still screw up on a regular basis (though, obviously there will be improvements over time).

With this in mind, swords are very easy to bring with you, but depend highly on the skill-level of the individual to use. However, they're not impossible to learn how to use, and they're a moderately effective weapon for both offense and defense. And they're certainly better than nothing.

Bows

Bows are brilliant weapons of death, but they're difficult to aim, and even more difficult to use.

Highly dependent on a very high level of upper-body strength, a bow very much isn't the kind of thing you can pick up over a weekend (an actual combat-bow that is, ones with a smaller draw-weight are entirely possible to learn at least the basics of over a weekend).

A bow's ability to pierce armor largely depends on the draw-weight of the bow and the shape of the arrows. But it also depends on the kind of armor that the enemy is wearing. Plate or mail, what type of mail, etc.

Bows are an extremely effective weapon for hitting someone “over there” without allowing them the opportunity to come “over here”. They're therefore often included with fortifications, whether that be stone walls, hastily erected palisades, or even a spear-wall.

Bows are also very delicate weapons, because they're designed to survive the forces in one specific direction, and anything that interferes with that even a little can easily break it. The string of the bow is also very sensitive to things like moisture, and leaving a bow strung for longer periods of time is very bad, as it would deform both the string and the bow.

Shooting a bow is physically exhausting, easily on par with shoveling snow for several hours, and it will give you the muscles to prove it.

Axes

An axe works by using the momentum of the swing to hit the enemy with a chopping-blow. It's a highly offense-oriented weapon, with basically nothing at all going for it defensively.

It's fairly easy to use, because it can be considered a kind of “advanced club” and humans instinctively understand how to hit people with a club. (This is in fact one of the problems most people have with trying to wield a sword, in that a sword isn't best used when treated like a club.)

However, it has drawbacks in that there's a fairly small edge with which to hit the enemy. This can lead to a powerful chopping-blow being turned into an easily-ignored nuisance when you end up hitting the enemy with the wooden handle instead of the metal edge.

As mentioned before, axes also lack defensive options, to the point where anyone with a sword could likely slice off the unwary person's fingers without too much effort. Which is why axes were used almost exclusively with a shield readily available, which could defend the hand holding the axe and allow the wielder to use their entire reach without worrying too much about overextending.

Because it relies heavily on the momentum of the swing (and isn't constructed as a piece of wobbling metal, but instead as a solid chunk of it), an axe relies a lot less on the importance of edge-alignment than a sword. But it's also likely to be a bit more exhausting to swing around, since the weight-distribution makes it harder to leverage it into a swing.

Maces

Much like axes, maces work by hitting the enemy really hard with a swing. The difference being that they lack the chopping edge, and instead deal “blunt” or “piercing” damage, depending on the shape of the mace.

It has a lot of the same weaknesses that an axe does, but has even less to worry about with edge-alignment than the axe. It does however come with the drawback of not being nearly as focused on having “stopping power”.

Primarily it's designed for a person with armor to hit another person with armor. It has a very “consistent” kind of stopping-power, regardless of how much armor a person is or isn't wearing. But that also makes it compare a lot less favorably to something like a sword or an axe when fighting against unarmored opponents.

Shields

There's a lot of different kinds of shields in existence, everything from tower-shields to tiny bucklers, and they're all useful for very different kinds of situations.

Tower-shields are useful in a formation of pikes, kite-shields and “viking”-shields are useful for pretty much anyone not using a two-handed weapon, and bucklers are very easy to carry around if you happen to get ambushed on the way to the grocers.

Despite the fact that they're defensive things, they can be used offensively. Not just in smacking an enemy with it, but in using the shield to cover the hand that holds the attacking weapon, thus allowing them to “overreach” without actually overreaching. It can also be used to bat aside an enemy weapon and close the distance in order to hit them with your actual offensive weapon.

Daggers

Much like swords, not all daggers are the same. Some are made for stabbing, some are made for cutting, some are made for crafting, and some for decoration.

In general, a dagger designed for stabbing will have a diamond-shaped straight blade and some kind of hilt to keep the hand from slipping onto the blade when the dagger is “stopped” by the enemy's body. This is a very effective design for getting through armor, particularly mail.

A dagger designed for cutting will have a wider and thinner blade, often curving at the tip, and with another curve at the back of the hilt to keep the dagger from slipping out of the hand when swinging it around.

Daggers made for “crafting” can come in a wide variety of different shapes, and daggers made for decoration can come in even more shapes than that. (Note however that a blade with any kind of “irregularities” is going to catch on something the first time you try to use it, and is not unlikely to either sprain your wrist or twist the blade beyond recovery.)

Spears

Spears (halberds, pikes, etc) are the kings of the battlefields, and are especially deadly against cavalry. Best used in massive formations with shields, spears are easy to manufacture and not all that difficult to train a group of “peasants” to use.

Spears are basically useless in close-combat however, and are therefore highly vulnerable to enclosed spaces and enemies that somehow makes it in close despite the wall of spears. (This is why the Roman legions carried a short-sword to go along with it.)

Recommended method for dealing with a spear-formation is probably to retreat over a marshland and then pelt them with rocks as they try to follow you. Basically, they're too dangerous to risk engaging with unless absolutely necessary.

Summary

If you have a character who joins the army as a peasant, give them a spear. And maybe a few lessons in how to use a short-sword.

If you want a “single warrior“ kind of untrained battle-genius or something, give them an axe and a shield (most people of that time would at least be able to chop firewood, and even most people these days can swing a baseball-bat for an hour-or-so before their arms start trying to fall off).

Even if the enemy is so numerous that it’s “impossible to miss“ with a bow and arrow, don’t give a bow to someone who doesn’t know how to use one. They’re more likely to hurt themselves than the enemy.

[ankhlesbian]

FEFemlash February - Day 2 - flower crowns

Game: FE Three Houses

Pairing:  Leonie/Hilda

Rating/Length: T for canon-typical violence, ~1.5k words

Leonie and Hilda are sent to collect plants for the Professor. It's an easy enough task... until it isn't. Fodlan really could use less plot-convenient bandits.

Hilda groaned. For the fifth time in the last twenty minutes alone. Leonie had lost count of how many times she’d heard that in the past hour that they’d been on the road together. It had been funny the first time, but now Leonie was just sick of it.

“Hey, no one’s forcing you to come along. Feel free to go ahead and turn back if you’re just gonna be sour company.”

“Actually, I am being forced. Professor Byleth found out about all the weekly chores I wasn’t doing. It was this or shoveling pegasus dung.” Hilda sighed dramatically, taking one hand off the reins to wipe at her forehead.

“Good to know you like me more than pegasus poop,” Leone replied dryly.

“Well, I thought I’d be able to sleep on the way, which is why I chose this. But the road’s way too bumpy!”

“You can have a nap before we head back. After you help me gather the flowers the Professor wants.” Leonie patted the side-pouch she’d tucked the alarmingly lengthy parchment into.

“I swear they made up that list just to punish us. There’s no way one person needs all those useless flowers. They’re pretty sure, but we have most of those in the Greenhouse. This is a waste of time.”

“I think I saw some poisonous ones on here. Too dangerous to just keep in a public space.”

Hilda squawked in disbelief. “Were they gonna warn us?”

“They did. I even have gloves.” Leonie stared her down until Hilda averted her gaze with another groan. Leonie knew Hilda didn’t hate doing anything. Leonie was wearing a charm Hilda had made for her, all of her own volition. She supposed it made sense to only want to put effort into things you were interested in. It just seemed pointless of Hilda to come all the way to Garreg Mach if training, let alone fighting, wasn’t one of those interests.

She would never say it in front of Hilda, but Leonie was also a bit miffed at being asked to run errands an hour away from the monastery. Sure, knowing some common harmful and helpful plants was a good survival skill to have, but picking a bunch of random flowers didn’t exactly seem relevant to any kind of training. Training to be a florist, maybe.

But at least it was an excuse to get to ride. She gave her mount a friendly pat on the neck. “It’s fun to stretch your legs to some new scenery, huh?”

“I bet my horse would rather be napping. I’m sorry, poor girl, the Professor’s a big meanie.” Hilda cooed.

Leonie elected to let that comment slide, lest she get drawn into another circular argument. They were close enough now that she didn’t need the distraction.

They found themselves, appropriately, in a large meadow. One of the edges bordered the damp ground of a swamp, which was where Leonie suspected the more dubious plants would be growing.

“I call not the muddy side,” Hilda made a face. Leonie rolled her eyes, but let out a little huff of amusement. She hadn’t expected any less.

“We’ll make it fair.” Leonie pulled out their list and ripped it cleanly in half, handing Hilda her portion along with a pair of gloves. “Don’t slack. I’ll be watching!”

“Yeah, yeah, the sooner I finish the sooner I can be back in my room, you know.”

Fair enough. Leonie would leave her to it, then. She focused on her own tasks. All the swampy flowers were on her list, so she opted to gather those first. Give the muck some time to try before she put her feet anywhere near her horse.

It was a cloudy day, so the sun wasn’t as merciless as it could’ve been. But, it was still late spring-time, still hot enough to make Leonie crave some water like nothing else, though. It’d be a reward for when she was halfway done.

On her way to retrieve her flask from her horse, she snuck a peek over at Hilda. She was crouched down, diligently plucking flowers. And… weaving them together.

“Hilda!” She turned to face her fully, hands on her hips. Couldn’t that wait ‘til they were done?

Hilda looked up, face poised to argue, and then her eyes widened. “Leonie! Behind you!”

And then Leonie felt an arrow dig into her shoulder, sending her staggering forward. She caught herself before she fell, whirling around to keep herself between the enemy and Hilda as she drew her bow. Her bow and quiver were slung over her back, and they had managed to block most of the impact, so she could still shoot.

Well, she’d shoot if she could see anyone. She heard Hilda scrambling to her feet behind her. Had she packed a weapon?

“Bandits?”

“What do you want? Come out and face us!”

The forest around them was silent, and then came three more arrows, released too quickly together to be from just one person. Leonie swore and ducked, hoping Hilda was doing the same.

There were no more arrows, but there was squelching. They’d been hiding in the swamp?

“Yer students of Garreg Mach, aren’t ya?” Of the three ruffians who emerged, this one was clearly the leader. They were all dressed in drab clothes, covered in various stains and tears, but this guy was the largest, and he had the most impressive weapon. A large, silver axe, untarnished. He must’ve acquired it recently for it to be in such good condition.

“And what about it?” Leonie kept her bow trained right on the boss’ forehead, more as a threat than anything. She didn’t want go straight to lethal shots. She’d be faster than either of his two lackeys. Or else they were both toast. Leonie had brought her lance, but it was on her horse’s saddle. No chance to grab it now.

“Lots of children of nobles. Bet yer family’s would pay a pretty ransom for yer safe return.”

“There’s commoners there, too. You’re looking at one.” There really wasn’t any way to pass Hilda off as a commoner, though. And even this guy was smart enough to know it.

“Get them!”

Leonie let her arrows fly, going for the uncovered parts of the sidekicks. One arrow pierced right into his knee, sending him tumbling to the ground. It wouldn’t be a deep hit, but it would help. She got the other grunt in the shoulder (hah! payback!), and then he was on her, sword drawn.

She deflected the first hit with the metal limb of her bow, stepping backwards she went. If she could just get to her horse—

Except, the boss had gone to the side and was right behind her. Her only warning was the sound of metal whooshing through the air. She twisted at the last second, and instead of having her head chopped off, the axe tore through her collarbone and chest. And now her back was exposed to the other man’s sword.

“HIYAH!”

The head of a lance appeared inches from Leonie’s side, sticking straight through the stomach of the lackey. The boss jumped back as Leonie fell to one knee, clutching her wound. Hilda withdrew the lance, whirling it menacingly as she stepped in front of Leonie.

“I was already sweaty, and now look. Why didn’t you guys just mind your own business?”

The lance had a disadvantage at such close range, especially with Leonie in the way. She fumbled for her bow. It was dented, but she could still help. He went for a hefty swing, feet planted firm, that Hilda deftly caught, lance held horizontal across her face. He had left himself wide open. Leonie fired, right at the radial nerve. The man grunted as his hand involuntarily flexed, his grip on the axe loosened. So of course Hilda jerked the lance up, tearing his weapon from his hands.

“I’ll be taking this. Leonie, catch.” Hilda tossed the lance away with one hand, smugly catching the axe with the other. Leonie smiled weakly through her pain, groping for the lance and using it to stand herself back up as Hilda finished off the two remaining foes. Unfortunate, that such a peaceful day had come to that. But she supposed the mercenary life wouldn’t really be any better. Better to get used to it now.

“Hey, are you okay?” Hilda was frowning, right in front of Leonie now, peering at her wound. “I don’t know any of that first aid stuff.”

The ache was fading now, and the bleeding had mostly stopped. “It looks worse than it is,” Leonie assured her, taking a moment to retrieve her jacket from her waist and press it to her chest. “Oh- oh no!”

Hilda looked around. “What? What?”

“I- it’s silly. But I was wearing that charm you made for me. I, uh, think it got caught in the crossfire. Your hard work’s been wasted.” she said mournfully. It didn’t have the same rustic appeal to it that Geralt’s did, but it had still been a thoughtful gift from a friend. A friend she’d spent all day arguing with. “I’m sorry.”

Hilda gaped, hands fluttering up to help hold Leonie’s compress. “I can make another one. A better one. There’s plenty of good material here. What do you think I was collecting extras for? Just shut up for now.”

Maybe she’d lost more blood than she’d thought. She let herself be man-handled back towards her horse, wound now thoroughly wrapped.

“The Professor can come get the rest themself if this is what’s going to happen,” Hilda grumbled. “You! You’re not getting this kind of effort out of me again, so you better savor it. My gentle, tender, nurturing touch. And.. don’t die. I’m making you an even better charm. This one will bring good luck. And be made of stronger materials.” And then Hilda sighed, and pressed a kiss to Leonie’s cheek.

Her face went warm. So she still had some blood left after all. “No dying. Got it.” How could she, knowing what she had to look forward to? It’d be a waste.

[seripixelbiologist-ffc]

The actual first chapter of The Fabled Blue Rose

I toss and turn in my leaf green colored bed as the night slowly fades away into day but the hold of sleep refuses to take me. I can hear my wolf pack waking up from there sleep in the puppy play yard that is connected to my yard so I know it’s almost time to work. I sigh realizing that I had not slept a wink, but soon smile as the zoo needs tending too because there’s so much to do in the zoo! Though it may be exhausting at times I really love my job! I get up, get dressed in my zoo attire, grab my backpack and walk down the stairs to the kitchen and start getting ready for the day. I put my bag down on a chair at the kitchen table and look through its contents while saying them out loud “the sword of light, my steel leaf armour, a bow with some basic enchants and arrows for the bow of course. mole fingers my shovel, chickpickedi my pickaxe, a regular axe with some basic enchants on it,10 safari nets, shears for collecting plants, a crafting table, and my phone plus some food for me and the dogs”

It may seem weird that a zookeeper needs weapons and tools, but this world is still very wild and monsters can lurk around any corner. Though my home and Zoodessia are usually safe as I’ve lit up everything quite well, but the off chance that there is a monster I want to be prepared. My stomach soon growls for food so I quickly prepare some. After I eat, I prepare more even food for the day ahead and place it in my bag. I turn on the camera drone that was made by professor Cowplant the 3rd while getting ready for my weekly livestream, It flies up and points its camera at me. I look at the drone with vines painted all over it to help it blend in with the greenery then say to it “alright live stream in 10 seconds”

The drone is voice activated so it doesn’t need somebody to control it and I find that very handy when in the exhibits or out on expeditions as I usually travel without other people. I swing my bag over my shoulder saying after the light turns red meaning its recording and live streaming “hey everyone! And welcome back to Zoodesia zoo!”

I wave at the camera as a small screen slides out of the drone so I can see the comments and say “I was just about to get one of my wolves to accompany us for today and I figured why not let my fellow biologists choose! So which wolf or wolves should we take today?”

When I look at the comments I see most saying Lily or Tate, then a few for Pine and Ash i say “let’s let Tate and Lily rest for a little longer and we’ll take Pine and Ash, Alright?”

Soon after I walk outside to my backyard which has many mixed gardens growing and hear the barks of my wolfpack. Which consists of Lily, my very first wolf and companion in this world along with Tate, her brother, Iris, Tates mate. Ash and Pine plus Devon, Pine’s mate and their puppies who are grown up. I walk across the bridge that connects my yard to their play yard and call out “Lilly! Tate! Iris! Ash! Pine! Devon! Puppies!”

But none of them are up at the gate like usual I call again but still no wolves, I look at the camera and say “this is unusual, but I get to show off the newly renovated puppy play yard to you guys!”

I see some of the commenters are worried asking if they are ok, I smile and nod replying while opening the gate “they are doing really well guys I just let them rest after our last plant expedition”

The play yard has toys scattered around and is about 20 metres larger than before so the wolves have more room to run. The Wolf den got a bit of an upgrade also as its a bit larger and has a floor instead of grass, I walk further into the yard after closing the gate gasping in surprise at what I see whispering “you guys can see this too right?”

I glance over the comments and they basically say what I’m thinking-

Commenter: that’s not one of your wolves! *Gasp*

Another commenter: who is that wolf!

Random comment :it’s big!

Another comment: how did it get in there!

And many more, a lot of them are telling me to be careful also, I take a deep breath and look over again just to make sure I’m not dreaming. A pure black wolf is standing nose to nose with Lily, neither are hostile at each other, I stand very still unsure what is going on as questions keep popping up in my head like popcorn. Why is this wolf here? Who is it? Is it friendly? Lily starts to cautiously sniff the wolf then after a few seconds her tail starts to wag, I whisper remembering I’m still streaming “I have never seen this wolf before, but it looks like Lily has. You need to remember that she was once a wild wolf so she has relationships that I never knew about, that wolf most likely was once apart of Lily and Tate’s pack, he’s huge so most likely as the alpha male of their former pack”

Lily soon barks happily at the huge wolf and after that Tate comes over and inspects the wolf then the others come over with their tongues out. It’s then I notice Tate and Lily look somewhat like the wolf visitor sharing a similar build, i say out loud relaying my thoughts “guy’s I-I think that’s their father… Can you see the resemblance in the black wolves build to my wolves? The snout is very similar along with the proportions of the legs to the body”

After quickly glancing at the comments and seeing some of the watchers agree with me I say “ok I’m gonna call over Lily and Tate… Lily! Tate! Over here!”

All the wolves look at me including the black wolf that is giving me a refined almost royal feeling, then Lily and Tate run over to me. After taking turns jumping up on me and licking my face, they sit there rumps on the ground and look up at me both of their tails are wagging a mile a minute. I can tell whoever this wolf is they are happy to see him, I ask “Lily? Tate? Who is this? Your dad?”

The duo nod and then bark at the older wolf as if asking him to come over, he complies walking over cautiously. I kneel down near a dog dish and slowly taken some of the chicken out saying lowly “hi you must be hungry”

The wolf nods, I blink this is the first time I’ve interacted with a pure wild wolf in a while but I don’t ever remember them picking up on human speech this fast. It took Lily and Tate a few days to understand me properly, I slowly bring my hand out to the wolf and open my hand revealing the piece of chicken. I say “take it you’re hungry”

The wolf sniffs my hand and the chicken carefully then takes a small piece, after he gulps it down he wags his tail, gently taking the rest of the chicken from my hand. When he sits down I know the bond has been completed and say “what should your name be?”

I look at the floating drones screen and see a lot of people wanting his name to be Shadow, Onyx, or Slate, I think hrmmm well… He does have black fur and no name is jumping out at me. I look at him and say “Hmm Shadow? Onyx? Or Slate”

He looks at me again seemingly not impressed with those names then I look at his stunning green eyes and one name calls to me “Ceder? Would you like your name to be Ceder?”

The wolf simply nods and starts to devour the contents of a food dish as I stand there saying “well I guess you are hungry”