#terra snap-dragon

[shiny-kaibernyte]

Ooo is it ok if u write a drayton x reader where reader is really reckless and always takes on challenges such as doing 7 star terra raids and goes off on different adventures, and he gets worried and protective and the rest of the bb elite 4 find it cute and funny

Hope this is what you asked for. I'm kinda bad at writing this stuff 😅

Tag along | Drayton x Reader

Pokémon Scarlett and Violet Indigo Disk DLC Spoilers ahead!

After one to many raids where you get hurt. Drayton decided to finally ask you to let him come with you. Though things didn't go exactly as he had hopped.

Warnings: Small argument, Fluff, protective Drayton

SPOILER WARNING: No spoiler warning. Unless you don't know character names

“Drayton, I'm not so sure about this…” Your voice cut through the silence of the BB League room. Drayton had asked you completely out of the blue to let him tag along on your next raid. Which happened to be a black crystal 7star. “You’ve never even done a raid before.”

Leaning against the table, he simply turns his head and smiles, his pearly fangs flashing at you for a moment before pleading his case. “So? I’m a fast learner, I have good Pokémon too, gave you a challenge, didn’t I? Plus, you make one hell of a teacher.”

“True I do.” A snarky smile crosses your face for a moment, the sound of Crispin snickering in the corner at the self-confidence. “But even if I could show you about raid battling. I'm going to a 7 star… these aren't exactly teaching material. Especially given what's inside the crystal.”

“What’s inside? A larger than average Scorbunny? If so Drayton really should go.” Lacey teased, prodigy Drayton’s face with a gleeful smile. His own face scowled slightly at the remark.

“Maybe it’s an angry Trapinch coming back to taunt him! That would make for a spicy dish!” Crispin added, spinning his pan around.

Drayton’s head snapped up, and he stared at his fiery friend. “We do not talk about the Trapinch man! My ass still has NOT recovered from it… neither had my ego.”

“Think more… giant psychic mouse thing with serious anger issues.” You admit holding back the laugh that just wanted to leave your lungs.

“Well, that wasn’t what I expected… But hey! That's never stopped me before. Don’t forget which one of us helped you with the legendary hunt.” Drayton pestered, still clutching onto any string he can, to convince you to let him come. Anything to give him that edge up on you, if the dragon egg eyes won’t work. Then good old fashion pleading will have to do - and he’s about 5 seconds from doing that.

“Drayton, I love you, but I can't bring myself to let you come with me on this one! If it was a 4 star then yeah totally. But this is huge! These sorts of raids, I can't bring someone so inexperienced into the palace. I wouldn’t even bring Kieran!” You argued, it was no surprise that your pleas fell upon stubborn ears.

“That’s exactly why I want to go with you! It pains me whenever you come back from one of your raid trips hurt… or bruised. And I can't help but think to myself that I could have done something to help you. Take the load off of you!” His voice cracked slightly, not out of sadness or hurt, but more out of the fact he couldn’t do something to protect you. Drayton knows you can handle yourself, you’ve proven that to him on many occasions. But at the end of the day, you are still his treasure, and he wants to protect you, needs to. “Just let me come along this once! If I cause you problems, I’ll never ask again, just please humour me.”

Before you could even give him a response, Lacey’s voice cut through the tension, it was soft-spoken but clear. “Come on, let him… let him.”

“SHHH. It’s getting good…” Crispin's equally soft voice cut after hers, somehow eating popcorn. Where did he get that, why are you asking? He’s the chef, not me.

“Can you four stop bickering. You are ruining my concentration.” Amary’s scolded, the sound of her pocket watch snapping closed followed her voice. “In case you 3 have forgotten, we have a meeting to get to with the director. You have 5 minutes, don’t be tardy.” 

Amary’s left the room not long after. The 4 of you left dumbfounded in the room, it wasn't until Drayton’s voice chimed up again. “Okay, I was not the only one who had no idea she was in the room, right?”

“I think she spawned in?” Crispin answered with a question of his own.

“How long has she been here? I've been here all morning? Did she drink an invisibility potion… What does she know that we don’t?” Lacey’s brain scratched as well.

“I think it's like a Spinarak thing. If you stand still, they can’t see you.” Your fellow companions laugh at your remark, it's a dumb reason, but what isn’t. During the laughter, you take your chance to leave. Grabbing your bag and heading for the door, only for the sound of it shutting in your face to follow. Peering up, you notice Drayton’s somehow moved from the other side of the room to close the door. His face was one of worry. He couldn't keep eye contact with you, anytime he tried, he just looked back at the door then at you again; as if silently asking you to let him come with you. His face reminded you of the first time he admitted he loved you. That silent protective plea of his. Never spoken through words. With a deep sigh of defeat, you take a step back from the door and stretch your hand out towards it. “After you, dragon boy.”

“YES! I WIN!” Drayton proclaimed jumping up for a moment fist in the air victorious. Lacey elbowed him directly in the ribs moments later, Crispin crying of laughter on the floor trying desperately not to whack himself in the face with his frying pan. “Ow right, right. Thank you, love! NOW LET'S GO KICK SOME MOUSE BUTT!”

[glwstic]

Rec List 8: The Witcher

-  Just a song of safety by LeWanderinGaal

'Some said the Sandpiper was so amazing he wasn't even a person, just a song of safety that carried on the wind. Said he could enchant guards with just a hum of tine. I've heard some say he's an elf mage in disguise, strong as a dragon and beautiful as Francesca. When we met him, sure he wasn't any of those things, but his songs were good and I can't but thank him for saving me and mother' Elven child's diary - Cintra 1264

or

Jaskier's face will forever be a memory of freedom for some, Sandpiper the name of the saivour of elves. And I wanted to explore how Jaskier's deeds deserve some more recognition and how him arguing with the deck guard seemed...wrong, especially if Jaskier had been helping elves for a while by the moment we see him. If other favourite concepts and headcanons for him made their way into this well...

Oneshot,  11,751 words

-  as every step I choose to take by restmyheadatnightcontent

The fire follows him.

He cannot seem to escape it - in moments of quiet he can still feel his fingers burning, with every mouthful of food that he eats, all he tastes is the horrid mixture of blood and smoke, and it takes everything he has to swallow it down and not empty his stomach, and he is constantly looking over his shoulder, catching glimpses for that lingering shadow, waiting for the moment when that black figure and that singular flame catch him again.

Most days, he has a handle on it.

Or at least, he does his best to convince everyone that he has a handle on it.

Oneshot, 1,492 words

- reconstruction by SparrowFlight246

Jaskier's burned hand gets infected in the aftermath of everything.

It complicates things, a bit.

Oneshot,  6,363 words

-  (I won’t) Scream Into the Night by Chaos_Breeds

Ciri didn’t react to that, looking into the distance again. “The thing is,” she whispered, voice raw and aching. The voice of a girl who had seen so much death and destruction, and was trying to brace herself for more. “I’m not really worried about you two.”

There was a long, blissful second where Geralt had no idea what she was referring to. And then suddenly, he heard far-off humming, snippets of ‘Toss a Coin’. His blood ran cold.

“Jaskier,” he realized.

———

Jaskier isn’t like the rest of them - the world is much, much more dangerous for a bard than for Witchers and witches and magical princesses. Ciri and Geralt try to deal with that knowledge. Jaskier helps.

Oneshot,  1,803 words

-  The Path Not Taken by sospes

Jaskier comes across an injured witcher in a backwoods town, months after the events of the dragon hunt. It all just sort of escalates from there.

5/5 Completed,  40,149 words

-  Advantage by sospes

"The drugs have been made specifically for you, to keep you docile. Didn’t want you snapping my neck mid-vengeance, did I?”

Vengeance? “I don’t even know you,” Geralt spits.

The lordling laughs. “Oh, the revenge wasn’t on you."

Jaskier made a mistake. Geralt suffers the consequences.

Oneshot,  10,448 words

-  like a flame that burns the candle by unseenbox

Yennefer lights a fire. Jaskier has some opinions to offer on the subject. Together, they find a way to cope.

Oneshot,  2,363 words

-  resurge infra terra by asweetepilogue

It seemed the alderman had been wrong when he said that the creature’s bite killed instantly. Shame Jaskier was only figuring that out now that he was several feet under.

Oneshot,  1,256 words

-  so hard to say (so easy to do) by asweetepilogue

Jaskier gets left behind, and Nilfgaard is not forgiving of his sacrifice.

Oneshot,  3,165 words

-  so hard to do (so easy to say) by asweetepilogue

They can’t get out of this. He knows it, Geralt knows it. Ciri is starting to, her eerie green eyes wide and frightened. Jaskier can hear them, men shouting off to their left and the sound of footsteps behind them. It’s over.

Nilfgaard closes in, and Geralt has to make a choice.

Oneshot,  698 words

[ilikekidsshows]

He's so happy

That's probably the most genuine happiness he has experienced in a while

Basically, Luz's message is "info dump info dump info dump, love you bye"

Hahaha

"I could have totally taken them, Amity"

"One of these days I will try Terra Snapdragon"

"I'm going to snap her dragon, if you know what I mean"

[rcsetorn]

⭕️- Favorite Pokemon? and/or 🐋- share a Weird/funny story?

(Feel free to answer only one or both. Whichever you prefer. 💕)

◈ ╼ ༺ :|     Munday Questions || @asheanon  |: ༻ ╼ ◈

⭕️- Favorite Pokemon?

This was the question that made me decide on that particular meme. Rhydon. I love Rhydon. He will forever be on my team even if I don't like Rhyperior. Rhyperior is definitely not superior. Aside from it's cool look, that lightening rod ability is a blessing in team battles. And then my powerhouse had Earthquake, Thunderbolt, Surf, and Megahorn. Nerd out for a bit, but I want a plushie of Rhydon. Even if I'm not incredibly huge on Pokemon as I used to be. Favorite legendary is Lugia. Because after the 2nd movie, how can you not love whirlpool bird dragon?

🐋- share a Weird/funny story?

I'll share this funny one just because you. XD Not exactly haha funny, but I used to plot out this Kuja x OC Dissidia story called Silverlight. I still have some of my notes from my young self. That OC was to be the deciding factor between the war of Cosmos and Chaos to end the cycles, but it was up to the Warriors of both sides to convince her to come to join their side. But everyone is like... "she doesn't know how to fight, how is she supposed to be the deciding factor?" and start training her before she snaps, goes through a transformation she can't control, and it takes all 20 fighters to stop her. But all characters were to spend time with her and help her grow in some way. More or less. Terra was to be her best friend, and the Chaos Warriors were set on pushing Kuja towards her since he's the manipulator and they wanted to bully him around. I still think about it, mostly because of the name of your own Starlight story. Just the similarity in name.

[skloomdumpster]

Can you do Bloom & Sky in an old, black & white mobster-style movie with fancy dames & sly fellas? Bonus points if there's a feather boa and/or a piano, LOL!

a child raised on TVD and Gossip Girl is a woman who wants tv shows to have more balls and thematic parties, please and thank you.

-----

Bloom tugs at the knot of her dress. It ties around her neck, then leaves all of her back exposed, before the shiny black fabric reappears just before her ass starts and continues on to the floor, with a long slit allowing her to move around. It's a gorgeous dress yes, but she's terrified it'll move out of place and reveal that she's got a magic knife strapped to her upper thigh.

"Stop doing that" Stella snaps at her, sipping the dry martini in her hands, "where is he?"

"I don't know, why don't you ask a couple more times, maybe we can summon Sky out of the floor" Blooms scoffs and Stella turns her head to glare at her.

Tonight, she's in red and it makes her blue eyes even more sparkly, her frown even more disgusted than normal.

"You're such a prick, Bloom" Stella scoffs, fixing the feathery boa she's using to conceal the brooch which has been planted to her cleavage. It's high-tech magic, something that makes Bloom snort just thinking about.

Terra can't wrap her mind around it, but Musa is all over it. She's got a bunch of online hacker friends, one of whom was willing to provide the brooch in question.

Across the room, the pianist starts playing and people move around, taking up the dance floor. Bloom glances at the large grandfather clock, then back to Stella and they exchange a nervous look. If Sky's not back yet, then maybe... Maybe he was caught...

"Princess Stella" a man has the nerve to approach her and Stella visibly winces, but with Queen Luna being the cunt-royale extraordinary, Stella really has to appease to anyone in the court who's willing to side with her. She allows the man to plant his lips briskly over her gloved knuckles and then he's pulling her to the dance floor.

Bloom's alone and panicking by the minute. If Sky failed then not only the mission is jeopardized, but Sky is in danger and that does not fly well with her at all. She knows he's her biggest, most explored weakness.

Her hands are sweating when the music ends, the crowd shuffles around, exchanging partners for the next one - a singer steps on stage, white gloves up to her elbows, black hair reaching her waist in soft angelic waves - and finally Bloom sees him.

Making it down the stairs, clad in a black tuxedo, hair pushed back and a blinding smile on. He's a movie star, Bloom thinks dreamily, letting out a sigh of relief, crumpling down on her chair in an unladylike manner.

Sky crosses the ballroom, navigating between the dancing couples and makes it to her a minute too late, because another guy gets there first. An older man with a goatee, asking for a dance with the Dragon Flame. He even calls her as such, the Dragon Flame. Some men should be slapped with sense across the face, see if they got a hint.

She's looking offended and floored at the old guy, trying to come up with a witty response, but she's never been really good at that, when Sky steps in. Exuding confidence.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Valinor, but I believe the Dragon Flame already has a date" he says, all calm, before promptly turning away from the man, looking at Bloom. His smile is so smug, it makes her cheeks burn, "do you wanna dance?"

She takes his hand, allows Sky to guide her to the middle of the ballroom, leaving behind Mr. Vallinor, one of the main philanthropists for tonight's fundraiser and the whole reason why the thing was thematic.

Sky twirls her once as they step into the ballroom and then his cheek is to her temple and her hand in his, as he easily guides her around. Bless Silva's ballroom classes. She trips once, Sky's hand on her waist squeezes her a little tighter, but he doesn't even mention it.

"What took you so long?" she whispers, looking past his shoulder. She's wearing huge heels tonight, part of the reason why Sky's hands on hers are holding her up every time he makes them step around in a complicated pattern.

He turns his head and his lips brush over her brow, twist in a smile as he leans in to whisper in her ear, "don't stop smiling" she forces a smile on, "may have had to knock out a guard, but everything is fine."

He wasn't meant to knock out anybody, it was an in and out type of mission, they just needed the damn magic book back. Bloom squeezes her eyes shut and Sky bites at her earlobe, "keep smiling, B."

Oh yes, she forces her lips to keep smiling, throws her head back in a false laughter, only so she can glare at her boyfriend. Against his shoulder once more, she whispers, "that was not the plan."

"It was either that or let him kill me, I figured you'd be less upset with the choice I made," Sky scoffs, before kissing her cheek, "calm down. Nothing bad is going to happen."

"What if he wakes up?"

"He won't be a problem," Sky reassures her and Bloom nods slowly. He's never let her down, Sky always comes through with everything. She sighs and then intertwines their fingers, allowing Sky to dip her.

"Let's enjoy the night then" she says and Sky smiles, nose brushing on hers as he leans over her, his hand on her naked back.

"We have until Stell gives us the sign" he agrees, straightening her up, nose to nose. Maybe these rich people parties are not such a waste of time, not if she gets to see Sky in that, not if they waltz around the ballroom for six songs in a row.

[boyakishantriage]

"You scared kid?"

A single human. Sure she'd hijacked a tank, but no matter. The rescue-

She threw his bodyguard beside him. Cocking a primative device, her arms shattered as she threw a blade through her leg. Looking up, dear in the young fish's eyes. His line were cousins to a superhuman lineage on Terra, he rose. Grasping the spear from the wall.

"Well alright. We fight in the old way."

She drew back her sword, taking a stance in the hall as the guard were pulled aside by the shadows.

Blades met, sword catching Trident as she slammed the weapon down. The water recoiled to her grasp, titanium forced from the waters into a steaming weapon as she kicked the young Lord's hand. The youth screaming as she sighed. Drawing her newly forged weapon.

"You're-"

"No. Just some pirate."

Black magic, illegal because of it's nature of requiring pain and suffering. But a loophole. If I grew pain out of those who had struck the empire hardest, they could not prosecute such under hurting others.

So, those of the sea who struck down ships with powers of the dragon kings. Well, just some pirate huh?

The young fish whined, hand healing by the ocean as the Terran struck ground, the rake boiling and simmering in her hand as it morphed. A broad farmer's tool, a forward hoe, edge sharpened for war with one side made to work as an axe. Metal formed across her shorter weapon's arm and chest, metal hissing against her body as the youth growled.

"Angry kitty."

Insolence. A human had invaded our realm and taken-

The sea, waters swirling and striking to the call of a prince. My son was alive, and clearly calling for help. This. No, pride comes later. The king called out to his father, the old dragon rising its head as it snapped fingers. A command, 500 soldiers to follow the mark. Immediate, protection of royal family. In other words, national security raise 500 soldiers to heed for their nation.

Blades met, Trident striking as it met curled rake, weapon drawn down to counter as the prince danced away.

"Not bad footwork."

That. Was surprising. She were still advancing, both hands on rake as she swung the large weapon like a hammer.

"Same to you. I- presume-"

"no. The. Elders. Died, you lot killed them."

The weapon slammed against the bubble, the woman electrifying the water back into the bubble as she used the shaft to parry the trident. Catching the weapon, she swung. Axe head blunt as it threw the guard into the sand out the bubble.

"You lot?"

"yeah- Your folks on... Terra. Killed the elders when I was tracing some old stories."

Her weapon morphed, the weapon lightening to her body, blades appearing on her arms as the weapon extended across her body.

"... I doubt-"

A blade sliced across his neck, beard sliced off.

"Doesn't matter. Hurt my kid, I kill you. Now die."

Weapon clashed, broadsword narrowly evaded, as a trident was thrown. Pinning the prince's weapon to the ground. Laughing, she slammed the ground.

"EXVONI, POMANU WQUALKCYER"

The ground erupted in lighting, her body steaming as the water became electrified. The sphere expanding as she rushed forward, grasping the pinned weapon, boot slamming it down further as she ran in for the kill.

A blade caught hers, the guard having recovered enough a trident blocking the weapon. A bare glance in both surprise and delight, a grin as she pushed the weapon down. The prince letting go of his as the two weapon slammed against each other, body morphing into an aquatic demon form. Claws, man, red eyes of wrath and gluttony. Pride, the thing howled. Roaring into the ground, aquatic wings erupting explaining her response as she grasped her head. Howling down, the sand shifting to stone. The bubble erupting as lighting erupted across components.

Madness, a beserker's rage.

[loverboy-ish-fr]

[cross-posted from the creative corner forums, link in rb]

1. milton, the mossy pohip

summary: the coliseum team - rosie, florence, and belvedere - spar with beastclans, and come up against a mossy pohip.

-----

Rosie clacks her teeth, gnashes at the air, making that wretched sucking sound with her tongue against the back of them. Her nerves, her anticipation, and Florence is more than understanding, but the sounds grate at his nerves and if she carries on for much longer there'll be a friendly-fire tussle about it. Belvedere will watch, nonplussed, possibly calculating whether it'd be worth it to patch either one up afterwards - should there be any wounds at all, that is, which is unlikely despite the aggravation.

"Rosie."

She pauses, eyes wide as she tilts towards him. She blinks once, twice, thrice, in rapid succession - the absolute picture of innocence.

"My dearest..."

"Ye-es, sweet Flori?"

She teases him, rotten Tundie. He lunges at her with a snap at the air near her face, and she laughs, giggles, half-stepping back. Crowds in closer, as though he's about to nip at her face, then-- drags his tongue flat across her face. Rosie splutters and laughs again, trying to get away.

"You do that on purpose, dear."

"Oh, sometimes!" Her grin is as wide as a summer's day is long: unabashed.

"You two should get ready," comes in Belvedere's even tone, "I see a couple of Deer getting bored."

"A throuple of Deer," Rosie 'corrects'.

"... yes... of course."

Rosie hums, pleased with herself, leading the way, and the two larger dragons follow suit.

***

Wood Ear and White Rot Deer; Lilium and Petalmane Floron; Travelling Garden and Terra Tortoise; Rosaline and Buttercup Strangler; Fingi of Moonlight and Sage; Alstroemeria and Myosotis Foxes; Aspen Gall Dryad and Barkskin Watcher; Five-toed and Venomtooth Pilco; Frostbite and Sunbeam Dryard; Maned and Flora Cerdae; Palefoot and Ruffletail Tadhop; Grove Piper and Spotted Faun - all fought, all vicious, all for the sake of fun. Some were more willing to talk afterwards (but offered little in the way of contacting them again), others preferred to move on immediately post-spar.

And still, after a good long afternoon of sparring, Rosie still itched for another round. Belvedere was tending to a minor wound, and mulled it over, and Florence was in two minds about it: go home to rest, or finish with one last round, a flourish.

They agreed.

Such hubris granted them the audience of a Mossy Pohip.

"... Ah."

"Mm."

"..."

The Mossy Pohip grinned at them, lumbering closer to the coliseum clearing.

"Good evening, little hatchlings." The voice booms, low and bassy across the clearing, and he receives a muted chorus of 'good evening' in return. "Let us fight!"

Rosie nods, shaking, but still hoping for the best - whether they win or lose (and quite frankly, she's sure they'll lose), it should be fun.

The Pohip surged, a beast of such phenomenal power that it didn't matter if he was accurate or not, his attack still shook the ground and caused even Belvedere to tremble and waver. Rosie's Mana Bolt and Enfeeble was little use against him; both Florence and Belvedere's Scratching seemed to slide right off of the Pohip, barely giving him pause; Eliminate just about worked, but even then the Pohip never faltered. His jaws would come close, incisors large and crushing, as he'd sling a Mist Slash at either one of them, or cast Shroud to blind the two Arcane dragons, leaving Belvedere to flounder unassisted.

They lost, of course, with Belvedere being the last to collapse on his side, exhausted and on the verge of passing out; Florence was still clawing at the ground, despite being so winded, and Rosie had already lost consciousness, limp on the ground. The Guardian watched as the Pohip came closer, apparently wanting more from his winning.

"I must say, little hatchlings," he boomed again, only just causing Rosie to stir with a groan, "you all gave quite the fight, but I have won, and so must collect my prize."

Prize? Belvedere frowned; this was all for the sport of it, there was no prize.

"And I must say... I am rather... hungry."

Oh. Oh no. The Guardian struggles, manages to skitter backwards, only bearing both Florence and Rosie in half a mind, hoping the Pohip focuses on him rather than his wards (his friends), even when his heart is hammering away in a panicking hummingbird rhythm. He doesn't get far, too exhausted, and the Pohip too persistant even if he wasn't. His breath hitches as the Pohip gets closer, jaws wider again, teeth glistening with saliva, closer, closer, closer--

Then the Pohip pulls back, holding his head aloft and his mouth now mostly closed. Hm?

"But... I am a... vegetarian." Then the Pohip grins, and laughs, and it is as booming as his talking voice, so much that Rosie claps a paw over her ear, and it disturbs nearby birds from their resting places.

"A good fight from you all! What a good fight!"

He stays for a little while as the three dragons recuperate some, allowing Belvedere to rest against him. Tells them his name is Milton, and it's more than even the friendliest of previous sparring 'enemies' had given, so they lean into idle chatter for an hour: chatter about preferred climes; talk of ideal holiday destinations; favourite vegetables and fruit; Milton mentions a crush on a Flowering Pohip called Florentina.

When the three are able to stand without wobbling, Milton bids them a goodnight, and they the same to him. On the way home, they consider whether or not to fib a little - say they won every fight, yes even against a Pohip. Rosie decides against it, deciding a little humility for one's hubris - her own, no-one else's (although Florence would call it arrogance) - would be worth it.

-----

can't end these things satisfactorily enough to save my life lol but anyway this was a fun little exercise :^)

[o0-iris-0o]

Iridescent | Xiao x Reader

Chapter 1/?

Warnings

Depression | Anxiety | Suicide attempt

Summary

This is a wip for the next part in my Luminous series. Since it's only a draft it is subject to change when I release the full version.

Have you ever wanted to be Xiao's companion? Well now you can! Be aware, this may be an arduous journey, so be sure to prepare beforehand.

Staggering through the long unkempt grass of Nantianmen I’m able to make out a massive tree in the far distance, its transparent cerulean branches stretching into the sky above, seemingly fluorescent even in the rays of daylight. In all of my journey, I’ve never seen a sight that holds as much beauty as this; but that’s one of the reasons I've saved this stop for last. 

As I traverse the field of slippery grass, map clenched in either hand, I'm lost in thought recalling excerpts of past books I've read.

Though I’ve not read any of my geography, history, or nature books in many years, I'm almost certain the name of this tree is Dragon-Queller. It would be helpful if this map were a bit more detailed in landmark names, but I’m sure that I’m close to my destination. I suppose I can take a short break up ahead at the tree and plan out the rest of my route from there. 

Irregular gusts of wind blow through the fabric of my worn cloak as it's securely fastened around my neck, causing the edges to snap against the currents. And the firm dirt beneath my feet grows spongy as I draw closer to the tree, the soles of my boots suctioning to the ground. I’ve learned that every region of Liyue has its own unique environmental aspects, some making the terrain more complex to traverse in its own way. I’m quite used to the muddy terrain of marshes after the long time I spent around Sal Terrae and Dihua Marsh, though this stern wind is something I hadn't anticipated. 

With only a handful of clumsy stumbles I finally make it to Dragon-Queller. Looking up at the towering tree, I can't recall ever getting to see a tree as gigantic as the one before me. I can’t help but to stand in silence, taking in the awe-filling sight. 

Words cannot begin to describe how joyful I am having gotten to experience this for myself. My previous life would have never allowed for such a journey, and if someone were to have told me many years ago that I would be standing here now, I'd be inclined to believe that they were blatantly lying to my face.

Reluctantly, I peel my gaze away from the majestic tree and pick a similarly large tree root to sit down beside, in the driest spot I can find. As I take my seat, the grass is still moderately damp from the moist surroundings, but it isn’t too much of an issue. With care, I slide the straps of my backpack off my shoulders, making sure to place my bag delicately on my lap while the wind fills my nose with the earthy scent emanating from my surroundings.

Freed of the perpetual weight on my back, I relax, unrolling my map to take a closer, more detailed look at the area. With ease, I spot my current location and move on to my destination at hand, Mt. Hulao, which is, as expected, right beside Dragon-Queller. 

My attention ascends from the creased, slightly yellowed paper in my hands to the birds soaring past the golden mountain off to my left, its size putting even Dragon-Queller to shame. At its peak are incredibly large glistening amber rocks jutting out from the mountainside. 

Surely an adeptus must reside there. It’s truly an enchanting location, and I’ve never come across such large ores replicated anywhere else across the nation. 

Bringing my gaze across the sky, there are numerous, albeit, smaller rock formations extending upwards from the surrounding waters of a lake below. Vaguely, I'm able to spot a series of rope bridges slung across each one, almost lost within the mist of the clouds. But such a sight raises the question; how in Teyvat am I supposed to get up there? 

My eyes fall back down to my map, hoping to spot a clear path, but it's difficult to distinguish any smaller paths with the lack of detail. 

As my attention is fully immersed in the paper, there's a subtle rustle of the grass that I pay no mind to until I hear the snap of a branch which startles me. With a jump I immediately grab a tight hold on my belongings. 

Ugh no… has my luck finally run out? I've been so incredibly careful to steer clear of any monsters or thieves for such a long while now, why must it happen now? 

I wait a long beat, preparing myself to run at the sight of some horrible monster popping out from behind the root, but there's nothing, not even another sound. Surely a monster would have shown its face by now. Maybe… is it a person? With an exorbitant amount of courage, I call out, "H-hello? Is someone there?"  

There's no response. 

Perhaps it was just an animal.

I ready myself to stand, wanting to take a look before departing, but just as I’m about to rise from my seat there's an audible set of footsteps. Tension rises once again as I'm ready to spring off the ground, watching in fear as a shorter stature man with dark, slightly tousled hair steps out from behind the tree root. He stares at me blankly, mirroring my own expression as I scrutinize his unwound posture. At first glance, there seems to be no signs of hostility.

"Sorry. I was just leaving." He mutters to me and begins to turn around to walk off.

Seeing as he has no plans to stick around and harass me for my belongings, I think it's fair to assume he's not a threat. "W-wait! Um… do you think — Can you help me?" I quickly fumble to find the right words that’ll catch his attention. Thankfully he stops, pivoting back to me. "Do you know how to get up to those bridges? I'm trying to get to Mt. Hulao and I'm not sure which way to go." 

"There is no longer a bridge across, it's broken." He answers with a blunt, solemn tone.

Of course, I would run into some issues just as I'm reaching the end… I can't let this stop me though, there has to be another way up there. Maybe I could even put this wind glider to use. Thank goodness I snagged; I nearly didn’t even bother.

"Oh… well, do you think you could still show me the way up?" As the words leave my mouth, I catch the stranger's brows narrowing ever so slightly, almost unnoticeable.

"Why?" 

Why? Why is he questioning me? I guess if I choose my story right, it shouldn't be an issue for me to explain my intentions, but I'm not exactly sure what he's asking. Why do I want to go up there? Why am I asking him to show me? "Well, I-uh, I've heard that adepti live in these mountains, so."

Surely every person in Liyue knows of the adepti. I believe that should be a sufficient enough reason that won’t require further questioning.

He pauses before answering, "This place is dangerous, you should leave." Allowing me no time to respond, he suddenly turns around, carrying on his way. 

I have little doubts that I could eventually find my way up there, but how long will that take? If I take too long the food in my bag might go bad and then… then I'll be empty-handed. 

A deep pain sprouts in my chest, lasting only a fleeting second, but sharp enough to force me to call out again, "Please? I-I just… This is really important. I don't have a lot of mora, but I can still pay you for your time." 

My plea is enough to stop him in his tracks, but only to scoff, "You're wasting your time." 

My face contorts at such an openly false statement. "Bringing offerings to the adepti isn't a waste of time! …at least not to me. I'm just asking that you show me the way, you can have all my stuff if you want — e-except my offering…" I won't need them anyway.

There's another moment of silence, a moment where hope surges through me as I wait quietly for his response. "I do not want your belongings." He sighs to himself before turning back, "I can take you up there. But when you are done, you must leave." 

The anticipation dissolves into a sense of relief at the sound of his words. Now my plans are back on track. 

Hurriedly, but carefully, I grab my bag from my lap, its contents clunking around as I secure it over my shoulders and shoot up from the grass, "Alright, thank you! For helping me." I then rush over to the stranger's side, not wanting to waste either of our time, and we immediately set off. 

The ground under our shoe's sloshes with each of our steps as we make our way over to the nearby dirt path, not a word coming from either of us. 

Silence never bothered me; I've lived most of my life in it and honestly prefer it. I've found that my words often bother those around me. But I can't help but to feel that my silence also bothers others as well. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Y/N, what about you?" 

"My name… isn't important." He answers, keeping his focus forward. His lack of conversation does ease my nerves, putting my harsher thoughts to rest. So, I gladly leave it at that. 

As we continue on down the winding path, I can't help but to be distracted by the sights; curiously observing the plant life, different ores embedded into the base of the mountains, how massive the rock formations in the water actually are when I'm standing under them, and the clear glistening body of water itself is absolutely beautiful as the rays of sun beam off of the tiny waves. 

The golden color of Liyue never gets old to me, even the flowers and grass take on this honey hue, as do the curving trees and aged rocks. Though the aura of Minlin is completely different from anywhere else I've visited, it feels absolutely magical, almost as if I'm walking through an extraordinarily hazy dream. 

I become so captivated by my surroundings, I nearly miss that my guide has begun to deviate off the path, heading towards a ladder fixed against a vertical rock wall. Swiftly getting back on track, I hurry over to the ladder. My eyes trail up, following it to see a set of wooden platforms and even more ladders that reach high into the sky, to where the bridges are. The stranger allows me to climb on first and the wooden rungs creek under my newly added weight. 

Continuing up, it's obvious that these ladders haven’t been well maintained. The wood's worn and rough, and I begin to hope that I won't be pulling splinters out of my fingers by the time I reach the top. Perhaps I should have kept an eye out for a pair of gloves when I had the chance. But I carry on, the ladder shifting as we ascend. 

As we've nearly reached the top, I struggle to catch my breath, and once I securely climb up onto the platform, I find myself taking in sharper breaths thanks to the thinness of the air. 

I wait at the top of the ladder, attempting to catch my breath as my guide promptly arrives. He briefly stops, asking if I'm able to continue and I assure him that I am fine before we start for the bridge before us. 

Taking my first step onto the wooden panels, the bridge shifts down with my weight, swaying ever so slightly. I grab onto the frayed rope railing, its surface cold and coarse as I steady myself. Finding that I'm secure, I take in the misty environment, peeking over the side of the bridge and I'm able to spot the path we once followed. My eyes wander to the lake under us, pretending to take on the role of a safety net, though I doubt it's possible to survive a fall of this height even into a body of water.

We traverse the succession of bridges until we reach firm ground once again. A short stroll down a small path leads us to a tiny set of stone steps that we ascend, up to a plateau. This isn't Mt. Hulao — as it's in the far distance — and instead of boulders of golden ore, what we find is a picturesque pond nestled in the center of the clearing. In the middle of the pond lies an island adorned with a single tree and a table. 

This looks like the perfect place for me to make my offering! Though, what an odd place to put a table. How often is it even put to use in such an obscure location like this? 

My guide leads me around the perimeter of the pond while I admire the tranquil beauty of this place. The sun, already beginning its descent, casts its warm rays our way, yet the crispness in the air is a harbinger of the approaching evening. Gazing at the color-shifting horizon, I can't help but shiver at the thought of how much colder it will be once the sun has set.

Drawing closer to the pond's edge, the ripples on the surface reveal a trail of stone platforms submerged just below the waterline, leading to the central island. I examine the meticulously embedded carvings, deeply etched into each rock, surprised that the flow of water hasn’t yet eroded the partners. Without a second to spare, we tread onto the first platform and follow the path ahead, each step echoed with a splash, resonating through the plateau. 

Finally, we’ve reached our destination, an island that boasts a simple yet elegant tree, adjacent to a stone table surrounded by three chairs. "You may leave your offering here." The stranger informs me, gesturing to the table. 

I take initiative to slip the strap of my bag off one shoulder, adjusting it for ease of access as I go on to say, "This is a truly beautiful spot, you have a good eye." Opening my bag, I cautiously pull out the box that I have stored inside. It's a container that I was able to craft myself with fine wood and a glass top that I… found. I was even able to come across some paint that I used to decorate the outside for a better presentation. Its contents: almond tofu that I had previously made just before arriving in Nantianmen. I've spent many years perfecting this dish just for this moment, so it's bound to be absolutely perfect. 

Placing the container onto the table, I extend an invitation to the stranger, "You're welcome to join if you'd like." 

"I uh — who is this offering for… exactly?" It hardly sounds like he's in favor of the idea, but I explain anyway. 

"Conqueror of demons. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the name since he isn't that well known, but he plays an incredibly important role in Liyue and keeps everyone safe. Without his protection, who knows what would become of our nation." As I excitedly rattle off my knowledge about the adeptus, I turn to the stranger only to see a distant stare on his face. Suddenly it hits me; I must be boring him, so I try to backtrack with an apology, "Oh, sorry… I've just read a lot of stories about the adepti in the past and know a lot about them." 

Even now I still can’t control the babblings of my interests, I thought for sure that I had put an end to this appalling habit. 

"It's alright. Just… make it quick." He utters, bringing his arms up to rest across his chest. 

I give him a nod of my head then regain my focus on the central matter. Bringing my hands together, I interlock my fingers delicately and firmly press my palms together, continuing to dip my head and shut my eyes. 

In the recesses of my thoughts, I speak words that bear the weight of my gratitude and personal message. Even without spoken words I know my message will be heard beyond this realm. 

I allow my mind to become momentarily detached from my body as my planned script veers into a more emotional speech from my heart. I let go of everything, everything that I’ve kept locked away, everything that's swelled up inside me over the past years. 

As my silent words draw to a close, a weightlessness overcomes me. Be it from simply acquiring an outlet for my grievances, or an authentic divine exchange, it’s as if a great burden has gradually relinquished its hold on me. However, as I slowly unseal my eyes, an overwhelming emptiness now lingers. 

The air around me, now frigid, nips at my skin as an ever-expanding hollow hole takes form in my gut. Tears collect in the corners of my eyes, but I deny them escape. I've finally reached the end of my journey, seen all the wonders that this magnificent nation holds, and now, the beckon of the stagnant void is clearer than it's ever been.

I turn to the stranger to my right; the same distant stare occupies his expression as he glares at my offering set on the table. He doesn’t speak or move so I break the silence, which in turn brings his awareness back, “Thank you again for bringing me here. I am grateful.” 

His gaze gradually lands on mine. “There’s no need to thank me. I should be leaving now.” As he turns to carry on his way, he briefly pauses to say, “I-I hope… that you make it home safely…” and with that, the emptiness that shrouds me thickens.

~

I’ve made it to the top of Mt. Hulao. 

Laying on a velvety bed of grass, my gaze is fixated on the celestial body above, twinkling stars strewn carelessly across the galaxies. The icy wind atop the mountain carries a sweetness to it, one that I'm fond of. 

I can't believe that the final moments of my life have been filled with such breathtaking sights, it almost makes me want to hang on a little longer, just to selfishly experience more. But I know there isn’t much left for me here. After so many tiring years of trying to find my place, trying to pin-point where I fit, I know now that I do not fit anywhere, and I simply do not have the energy or want to keep looking. 

I've come to the conclusion that some of us, as cruel as it may sound, just weren't meant to be here. It's the only answer that I've received. Sometimes I wonder if I was born into the wrong world, that maybe one of these millions of stars is my true home. Or maybe this is just one stop along a vast journey. Whatever the case, I couldn’t be sicker of trying to justify my presence in a place I know I am not wanted. My life has been a series of unfortunate events, and no matter how many times I try to turn it around, it only gets worse. As though the gods themselves are urging me to just give up.

As my thoughts go on, cold tears stream across my cheeks.

I remember my first taste of freedom after being locked up for so long in that godforsaken estate. It was exhilarating, being on my own, setting my own path. That is, until I was met with the harsh reality of things. The world beyond the walls of an isolated lifestyle is hardly an easy one, I can hardly even manage to communicate with others without receiving odd glares or people speaking ill of me. It's almost as if they look at me as though I’ve grown a second head or badmouth me to the point, you'd think I'd done something unforgivable to them. Yet, I’ve only ever treated others with the politeness and respect I'd want in return and still, after all this time, I cannot understand what is wrong with me. 

Why do they treat me so differently? Is it the way I look, or the way I speak? Is it because the clothes I wear are worn and tattered? Why would that be enough reason to justify their cruelness? I can’t stand it anymore; I just want to be alone. I no longer wish to interact with such horrible people. If they don’t care for me, then I won’t force myself into a place where I’m so blatantly unwanted. But now, well, I can’t even afford to take care of myself anymore. 

I was hoping, at the beginning, that I’d be able to find a place of my own, make a decent living and carry out my dreams. But when you’re treated like an outcast, that becomes quite difficult. There isn’t much you can do without money, and it’s getting harder to hold my own. At this point I just miss having a steady flow of food, a few different clothes to wear, and a warm bed to curl up in. I want nothing more than to just go home, but I don’t have a home. Now things are so unstable that I couldn't be more exhausted of hanging in the balance of uncertainty. 

My thoughts drag on, only getting faster and more cluttered as the moments pass and soon, I’m unable to control my sobbing. 

Thank goodness no one can hear my cries all the way up here, but it wouldn’t matter either way. My feelings never mattered, I never mattered. They’d just stare at me like some idiotic lost child, pointing and laughing behind my back, avoiding eye contact, or pretending as though I do not exist at all.

Haphazardly, I sit up from the ground, desperately wiping the tears from my face but they only continue to drown me, “I hate it here! I just want to go home!” I cry out, “I don’t know what else to do!” My morbid screams echo through the empty sky. Rushing blood pounds against my head with every pulse as the familiar headache makes itself apparent. I don’t want to feel this pain anymore. 

Rising from the solid embrace of the grass, my senses muddled and my vision a blur, I stare out at the sea of clouds beckoning to me. Without a second thought, I summon a surge of momentum. The wind whips past me as I seal my eyes shut, for I know this is the only view I do not wish to see, and the ground beneath my feet disappears, leaving my own weight to drag me down like an anchor. 

It's sealed in fate, my journey has concluded, and now,

I'm falling…

But

…something hits me…

…and I'm lying on the ground once again.

In a state of disarray, heart pounding against my chest, my eyes remain tightly shut as confusion permeates my mind. Scrambling to piece together what just transpired, my consciousness couldn't be more evident, stirring a great unease from within. Did I fail in some unfathomable way? 

The thought of opening my eyes only to find myself trapped in the confines of the same pain ridden world overwhelms my mind and my chest constricts. Yet amongst my racing thoughts I begin to hear a heavy panting to my left.

Could it be that someone caught me? This doesn’t make sense, that wouldn’t even be possible. But this bizarre explanation is the only reasonable one that my mind settles on. How could someone catch me from such a height, who in this world would even harbor such a desire to save me? 

Not a single face materializes. 

With uncertainty, I cautiously open my eyes. My vision instantly sweeps across the glistening expanse above, the same stars flickering in an unbroken rhythm, mocking my hopes, and my eyes brim with a renewed sorrow. Amidst my spiraling despair, my gaze gravitates towards the presence beside me and my line of sight settles upon a pair of familiar amber eyes, glaring harshly at me.

It’s him — my guide from earlier this evening. His hand clutches his chest as he struggles to regain composure and catch his breath. But as my gaze descends, something else steals my focus, forcing the stream of tears to start anew. 

It's beyond me how I could have managed to overlook such a detail. I couldn't have. Attached to his hip rests a dark, glowing mask adorned with horns — a distinct symbol that had been depicted in the books I’ve read. I watch as the mask dissolves into tiny particles, fading into nihility within mere moments, leaving no trace of its presence.

Grinding my teeth, I promptly bring my hands to cover my face, continuing to sob uncontrollably. 

I’m lying here on the ground in absolute ruin in front of the Conqueror of Demons himself, how unbelievably pitiful. 

Through my shattered cognizance I’m hardly even able to form a comprehensible sentence in my mind, and all I’m able to choke out is a pathetic, “I-I’m sorry…”

The next moments are filled with my miserable cries before the adeptus speaks up, “It’s… okay. Are you able to sit up?”

If it were anyone else, I’d most likely ignore their request and lay on this cold earth until I rotted away, but I muster the strength to pick myself up. Trembling, I wipe desperately at my cheeks, but I doubt I look any less disheveled as the tears are simply endless. 

“Here.” he speaks softly. 

I pivot towards him, and my eyes are drawn to the object cradled within his outstretched hand. Through my haze of tears, I see first the dim powdery blue glow, then the cryo symbol embedded within the wintery glass, realizing he’s holding a cryo vision. Does he think that it belongs to me? 

My fatigued voice stammers out, “It — that doesn’t belong to me,” I try to inform him, “I-I don’t have a vision.”

“It was lying here beside you, take it.”

I chose not to question it. Reaching out a hand, I carefully take it into my possession, glaring down and observing its shimmering frostbitten insides. 

Is this some sort of sick joke? Why would the heavens bestow me, a shell of a person, with such potent power. Insinuating that my meaningless life is meant to go on. I nearly want to throw it in the nearby body of water, just to reject the notion. 

My grip resentfully tightens around the pointed metal frame, digging deeper and deeper into my flesh as the adeptus beside me begins to stand from the ground. “Come with me.” he says, reaching out two hands to offer his assistance.

My sorrowful eyes shoot up to meet him before I accept his support, taking his hands and lifting myself from the ground. My legs shake under me as I rise, but I'm able to get back onto my feet and follow silently as he leads me out of the area.

~

Harsh shakes startle me awake and I spring up from the plush bedding under me, nearly flinging the sheets off while I’m at it. In a frantic bewilderment I look around at the unfamiliar and rather empty room that surrounds me, until my sight stops on the person standing beside the bed. We both stare silently at one another, his eyes widened as though I’m the one who startled him, then he reaches for a tray settled on the nightstand. He hands it over to me, saying, “This is for you.”

Grabbing hold of the handles on either side, I lower it carefully onto my lap and take in its contents. There are two absolutely delicious looking dishes, a basket of steaming rice buns and a bowl of warm soup which gives off a mouthwatering aroma. There’s also another bowl of carefully cut fruits. “Did you make this yourself?”

He shakes his head, “It was made by the chef.”

Chef, am I at some sort of estate? Recalling my hazy memory of yesterday, I’m able to collect the pieces of what happened, and the current situation becomes clear to me. Following my episode, he led me back to Wangshu Inn, which explains the previously mentioned chef. 

As my gaze fixes back onto the food in front of me, my stomach grumbles at the sight. But before I take a bite of anything, I have to say, “Thank you for bringing me here, and for this food, Conquer of Demons. I am extremely grateful.” 

He seems to slightly grimace at my words. “There’s no need to be so formal. You can just call me Xiao.”

I’ve never come across this name in reference to the Conqueror of Demons. But if this is the name he truly wishes for me to use then I will, “Xiao… are you certain?” 

He nods his head as he takes a seat on the bedside, and I grab one of the rice buns from the basket. Taking a bite into its soft, warm texture. 

I cannot recall the last time I had a hot meal. I’d gotten used to coming across Cuihua trees and snacking on the fruits throughout my days, and the last ingredients in my possession were used to make the almond tofu. I can't deny though, there's nothing better than warm, cooked food.

As I'm savoring every bite of my meal, Xiao quires, “You are a traveler, yes?”

I finish chewing the remnants of the rice bun in my mouth before responding, “I’ve been traveling across Liyue for a while now, so you could say that, yes.”

“And you do not have a home?”

“Um… no, not anymore at least.”

The only sound that echoes through the empty room is the soft ticking of a clock that is affixed to the wooden panels of the walls. It’s the only thing keeping the silence at bay as I watch the adeptus stare down into his hands rested atop his lap. He fidgets with his fingers while a slight worried expression occupies his face. 

In every story that I’ve read he’s been depicted as this intimidatingly frightening being. Yet here he sits before me, nervously asking questions. 

“I feel that — us meeting was not a coincidence, and it is not easy for me to explain this, but I…” His words trail off into a small, frustrated sigh and I wait as he collects his thoughts. “I wish for you to stay here with me. You will help me.”

Though his words sound closer to a demand, I take it more as an offer. It’s an odd request though, why ask a weak human like me for help with adeptal matters? 

“Truthfully, I’d be happy to stay here, but I'm not sure how much help I'll be to you.”

“It’s fine. I will train you, and you will be capable of fighting by my side.”

Perhaps I did die last night. Brought to an identical universe, but one where I’ll be an apprentice to an adeptus? Not just any adeptus at that, one that I dreamed of meeting all my life. This is all beginning to feel a bit too surreal and for a moment it's as if my head is spinning.

It’s not like I had planned anything after my journey's end, and now I'm staring at a blank canvas. If he really thinks that he can train me, then I don’t see why I would pass up such an offer, "Alright. I'll stay here with you then." 

His eyes seemingly glisten at my response. "You will? Okay... I must go, but I will return tonight. We will discuss your training then."

[panzerkatzee]

NaNoWriMo Journal V

Soooo…. uhm… remember how I was like: "Oh nooooo… I don't know if I will make it much farther than the daily minimum… weeeep…"

I uhm… kinda overshot it.. a bit.

Wrote ~5200 in total yesterday, finishing two chapters, still working on Chapter VI, which will be done soon aswell.. sooo yeah..

Daily Task - Action scene inspired by the fourth image of my pinterest start page. 200-300 Words max. (Story below)

Today's song: Extra Terra - Neural Link

Why is it on my playlist? Well… I suppose the title already makes it kinda obvious… buuut as I like to profusely explain things… let me tell you. ITS A) AMAZING.. B) BADASS C) exaCtly what I imagine playing in Clubs all over the fantasy world I created. I am a huuuge fan of the Cyberpunk Genre… something I never quite realised until listening to Extra Terra's music. Normally I am not huge on the umbrella term of EDM… sure I dance to it sometime and my favourite cheer-up music is absolutely (Russian) Hard Bass, thanks to my lil' brother, who showed me DJ Blyatman. Buuut.. most of the rest isn't my kind of tea.. except for this dark, rhythmic Cyperpunky music.. it's like Luminary, which blows up on Bookstagram at the moment.. it gets me to dream about a futuristic world, with huge sky scrapers, neon lights and crushing hypercapitalism.. Soo… I would give Extra Terra a lot of credit, when it comes to inspiring me~

Buuut enough of the chit chat… let's get to writing. I actually already did write half a paragraph before remembering, I hadn't faced my daily challenge.. but that's a good thing.. means the hyperfocus has finally come and the book is going to get finish…

Although… I will have to do some cleaning up and editing the stuff my alphareaders flagged, which should come first…. eat the frog and all..

Sooooo its 17:01, first real break for the day after starting this morning. Another chapter done, second one is at the halfway point. I introduced a new character and had her have quite the dialogue with my protagonist… Writing is sooo fun right now… Buuut… I will treat myself, with a hot bath… bc I earned it and need it.. tbh.

Smell ya later, suckers <3

Daily Challenge

By AeLi Kim

The bodyguard hefted her lance, while the two attendants made a valiant attempt to user the lady away from the party that had waylaid them in the alley. Too late… the two bouncers from Ashin's, Fjinna had hired only yesterday, upon realising three people might not be enough, had closed in from behind, and now blocked the way, shiteating grins on both faces. Brutes…, the mage thought with an exasperated huf, before reaching for the veins of golden energy, thrumming just at the tips of her fingers. Air and water, best for controlling a fight. In the end she didn't want to kill a guard just doing her job. Nodding to Barn, he tightened his enormous fists on the club and barraged forward, embodying the inevitability and majesty of an Isenbergen landslide. The sharpened lance, adorned with the House Song dragon, its maw opened around the sharp blade, snapped foreward so fast, only Fjinnas affinity for messing with time, made her even realise what was going to happen. Not wanting to see her friend gutted in the high street, having to deal with some very prickly questions and Legion pursuit, the aspiring career criminal, made a snap decision to completely and utterly change the plan. Her fingers moved forward just as fast and a wall of ice rose in front of the lancers charge. By no means strong enough to stop, but sufficient to slow. Ice burst with it glacial ringing, as the guard battered through it, giving Barn the time he needed to adjust his stance from offense to defence. Still sparks flew as lance met the iron studs of his club and Fjinna surged forward. The gust, rustled through her robes as it carried her over the guard and hurled down a trio of ice spikes, hoping to sow some confusion and create more obstacles for the soldier to maneuver around. A miscalculation, she sensed, before feet touched the ground. Of her opponent mostly. That bitch fought mages before. A realization scraped along the edges of her mind as she drew the rapier from the cross belt, tyring to get in close from behind. But it was as if the wind, usually a kind and loving friend, had found someone better. At a rapid pace, the woman swirled and twirled, almost causally warding of the smaller attackers fast stabs and the giants laboured swings.

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "Follies at the Coven Day Parade" from The Owl House

Salutations, random people on the internet who most likely won't read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

AND IT'S BACK! After six months, Disney's latest hit that they shunned, called The Owl House, has made its return! And the fandom lost their gosh dang minds while waiting for it! It's not like we could have watched other shows to fill the void in the next six months. No, no. People had to add more Hootys to the Owl House, adding more scars to Hunter's face, bald Annes, LEGO Edas, and this one dumb schmuck who thought he could write a drabble a day during his fourth year of college (Seriously, what was I thinking).

Not to mention the dozens of people who shipped Hunter with everything but the kitchen sink.

And there's the f**king sink. Gosh dangit. WHY COULDN'T HUNTER HAVE BEEN THE ONE CONFIRMED TO BE AROMANTIC?! And why did I have to draw that?

Whatever. The series is back, and now we don't have to rely on MoringMark to keep us sane in its absence. Now, with that said, let's see how "Follies At the Coven Day Parade" reintroduces us to the sadder side of Season 2!

...Yup. This half of the season's the sadder half. Might explain a lot about what happens in this episode, doesn’t it?

Spoilers below.

WHAT I LIKED

Luz Making Another Video for Camila: A solid way to start after how we left things off in "Yesterday's Lie" while also showing Luz's motivation for this episode...and maybe the rest of the season. The first time Luz made a video for Camila, I think there's a reason why she deliberately chose to stick around the Owl House and show off the people inside. And we see that reason here. Luz may not mind the day-to-day wackiness of the Boiling Isles, but she knows Camila will have a heart attack if she sees what happens to a student who gets detention. The fact that Luz probably getting detention a lot back in the human realm might not do much to ail Camila from said heart attack.

Also, Hooty shedding his skin to wash it or something will undoubtedly give anyone nightmares, let alone Camila.

Still, this was a nice way to begin the second half of a season. It continues from the events of "Yesterday's Lie" while showing Luz has to try harder to convince her mom to let her stay. Or at least visit the Boiling Isles.

The Kids Theorizing About Why Belos Wears a Mask: There are two things to love from this.

One, this shows just how much these kids are, well, kids. They're goofing off, coming up with crackpot theories about what Belos has under his mask, with only Amity being the closest because, of course, she is. She deals with what's more likely, not what's more fun.

And two, this actually comes into play later when Belos actually reveals his face. Don't worry, I'll get into that. For now, I just want to allow us all the time to appreciate how well-tight this series and its script are. Something as simple as kids shooting the s**t turns out to be an integral moment of foreshadowing, and I loved how easily it went over my head. Yeah, that's right. A kids' show managed to have a solid use of foreshadowing in a way that surprised this grown adult. Granted, I'm a person who ate a crayon when he was eight, but the point still stands: These writers know how to tell a good story.

Amity Learning Spanish: These writers also know EXACTLY WHAT THE FANS WANT! Seriously, I cannot begin to explain to you how precious it is that Amity is learning Spanish for Luz! It shows how committed Amity is to the relationship, where she wants to find out as much of Luz's culture as is available to her. And that's everything a ride or die Lumity shipper like myself could ever hope for!

Plus, she calls Luz a sweet potato! COME ON! COME ON!

Luz Kisses Amity on the Cheek: COME! ON!

I'm telling you, we're one Lumity episode away from a full-on kiss on the lips. And when that happens, prepare for all social media sites to snap like a twig!

Eda and King Know About the Promise: On the one hand, I would have loved to see Luz tell Eda and King rather than having that confrontation off-screen, especially when Luz directly lied to them the second she got back. BUT, on the other hand, I am so glad that Luz isn't keeping this big promise she made a secret from the people she loves. Lesser writers would milk that type of thing for unnecessary drama, and I'm glad that Dana Terrace and her talented team are above that. Granted, Luz still keeps the secret from her friends and Amity. But even that doesn't last long.

Besides, it shows how much Luz cares for Eda and King for them to be the first to know the truth. They're practically a second family to her. The least Luz could do is tell them something that could potentially jeopardize it. So, not only is telling Eda and King the truth a great moment of dodging a cliche, but it also shows a great deal about their relationship.

Luz’s Reaction to Raine: On the topic of relationships, can we admit that we're all Luz here? She's a die-hard shipper like the rest of us. So, of course, she'd be obsessed with the idea that Eda once had an ex. One that Eda had a spy keep tabs on...which is a tad bit creepy, but at least it paid off on knowing what happened to Raine after that fight with Darius and Ebberwolf.

And Luz is all there for the idea of bringing Eda and Raine together. Which, yeah, that's adorable. But it also shows a lot more about how much Luz cares about Eda. She wants a mentor to find happiness and would do anything to give her that. Especially if that means partaking in a kidnapping.

Why Luz Wants to Help Kikimora: But it's not just shipping that motivates Luz. When she sees Kikimora worried about not seeing her family again, you can see in Luz's expression how badly she connects with it. Luz wants a solution where everyone is happy, getting an ending where she can get everything that she wants. Luz might have trusted Kikimora too much, but you understand why. She's pretty much on panic mode 100% of the time, thanks to her promise with Camila, having only the briefest of pauses to worry about someone she loves. It's really heavy to think about, making you feel for Luz so hard.

Man, I wish there was a moment of levity, so I didn't have to think about how bad Luz is hurting...

Edric Selling Fireworks: ...This will do.

I consider this another moment of the writers knowing what the fans want. And Edric selling illegal fireworks that got his dumb ass in the hospital for testing out? Yeah, that's about a lot I could ask for from him.

Willow Working Out: Again, THESE WRITERS KNOW WHAT WE WANT! Ever since Dana confirmed that Willow works out on the weekends, fans clung onto that like a life preserver in a sinking ship! So, I'm betting that it's great to see visual confirmation rather than just taking Dana's word for it. It also adds an extra 'screw you' to any jerks left who thought that Willow was fat. She's not. She's buff as FU--

Amity and Willow’s Talk: --UDGE, do I adore this scene! This season needed another Willow and Amity one-on-one session, and the writers delivered. Amity, who is beyond worried for her girlfriend, goes to the one person she can vent these feelings to. Willow listens, offers advice, and even provides a distraction for Amity to focus on (while also explaining why Willow's hair is different in the promos. Cool). But I want to focus more on...a certain reaction from Willow.

When Amity admitted that she was glad they could do things like talk and braid hair again, I believed her. However, note how Willow doesn't say, "me too." She just hums and lets Amity continue the braiding. Heck, Willow doesn't even look as happy as Amity does. Willow just looks down with...not a frown, but a smile either. It's more like acceptance. Willow accepts Amity, willing to let her have this moment even if Willow herself isn't exactly comfortable. It speaks volumes about Willow as a character and her relationship with Amity. She's still not willing to forgive and forget just yet (yet being the key-word there), but she isn't going to let Amity suffer. That's not who Willow is. She's the type of person to act better than to let a grudge define her. And that's just wholesome.

Terra Snap-Dragon: But enough about wholesomeness. Let's talk about the latest villain added to this show's roster, whom the fandom will undoubtedly turn into a GILF. I'M CALLING IT NOW!

To be honest with you all, Terra Terra-fies me! Ha! Puns to hide the fear.

But, no, seriously, something is unsettling about this woman. She's one of those "nice" types of villains. She doesn't act malicious (for the most part) as she moves and speaks with a kind and caring smile. A smile that's fake as f**k, but at least she uses it to hide her heinous actions, making them seem not as bad as they would have been. Oh, Terra's still bad, don't get me wrong. But she could have done much worse. For instance, she could have killed Raine. But instead, she drugs them, making Raine still alive and well. Just...not without their core memories. It's sick and twisted, but at least it's drugging Raine instead of lobotomizing them, making Raine a shell of a person they once were.

Still, with how easily Terra could have crushed Luz without Amity's interference or how quickly Terra dealt with Kikimora and Princess, it is clear that Terra is NOT a person you want to mess with. She may try to act nice at first. But if you get on your bad side, pray that she'll show mercy to you.

Raine: And trust me, it's weird to consider what happened to Raine as merciful. Because, as I said, they're still the same Raine. They act caring enough to talk to Kikimora about her nerves, crack a few jokes, and still have stage fright when the center of attention. It's just their memories are changed, and that's almost worse than being held prisoner in...whatever the hell that coven brand wrapped them in. But, at the same time, it's a preferable position. Eda just needs to reach out and grab that part of Raine that still remembers who they are. We already see evidence that the effects of Terra's drug are possible to fight off and that their feelings for Eda are almost enough to do it. They still let Eda go after the fight, not wanting her to get caught and shedding a tear when she leaves. It shows a sign that the real Raine is still there. But, as is, they're a shadow of their former selves. And that idea is enough to break anyone's heart, including Eda's, who only leaves because she has no choice.

Yeesh, things got heavy again. Can we have another moment of levity?

Hooty and King’s Escape: Thank you.

Yeah, this was funny. Seeing these coven guards run away in fear of a float of Belos is just comedy that writes itself.

Amity Helping Luz: You love to see an awesome girlfriend in action.

Personally, I love that, despite her issues, Amity is still there for Luz and doesn't bring up the video until after the crisis is over. It shows that she understands a little something known as priorities, trusting that they'll talk about it when the time is right.

Luz and Amity vs Kikimora: But as cool as it is to see one awesome girlfriend in action, two is even better!

Seeing Luz and Amity work together in a fight is, ONCE AGAIN, everything a fan like me could want! The way they move in unison, come up with power-moves and hold each other's hands when things get too intense is...PERFECT! It's a perfect moment that goes on just long enough to make their fight against a well-trained witch and her dragon believable while still giving us that epic goodness.

Luz and Amity Talk: Unfortunately, the epicness has to come down sometime.

First, can we all appreciate that Amity never watched the video? Because I sure do. Amity all but crucified Luz for thinking she read Amity's diary. It makes sense how much Amity prioritizes privacy, so she wouldn't cross that line, no matter how badly she might want to. But that doesn't mean she won't confront Luz about it.

When Amity asks Luz about the video, she makes it clear she won't pry but still states that she can't help if Luz won't let her. It's a genuine moment of communication that not a lot of shows take advantage of. Most would let Luz keep the secret indefinitely, hurting Amity more by telling the truth after months of indirectly lying. And it makes me so happy that Luz came clean. Well, sort of. She does admit to Amity what happened with the portal but still hides how upsetting the whole ordeal is. When Amity confronts Luz, she looks away, almost about ready to cry. But when she turns back, Luz is smiling, almost as if to say, "Yeah, my life is beyond confusing at the moment, but I'm fine!" Except that she's not fine. She looks about ready to throw up from her anxieties at any second, with one bad day being all she needs to crack and crumble. But she doesn't tell Amity that. Instead, Luz tells Amity what she wanted to know, keeping a brave face for everything else. Amity could through it. We know she can. But ut for the moment, she'll let it pass. For now.

Belos’ Announcement: And from the wholesomeness, we go to the downright malice.

Now, this scene shows what makes Emperor Belos an effective main antagonist. Listen to how he announces the Day of Unity. We know it's bad, and our main cast knows it's bad, but the rest of the Boiling Isles doesn't. And it's all because Belos doesn't present the Day of Unity as something to be feared. He states it as a solution, saying that it will bring them all to a form of utopia. And, to provide a bit of trust to his community, he finally reveals what his face looks like, letting everyone know how badly wild magic may have scarred him and that he's willing to share that with his subjects. His speech and his face reveal are something that proves he's more than just a dictator. He's also a diplomat. One that knows how to work a crowd, hiding his malicious intentions behind nice words and grand gestures to distract them from who he really is. Something that real-life dictators do, and that's what makes Belos an effective threat. He seems plausible to happen.

“We’ll take it one day at a time”: This is a great way to end the episode. Everything is in a state where no one knows what to do or how to fix things. Raine is brainwashed, the Day of Unity is in a month, and Luz still doesn't know what to do with her mom. And yet, they end on this statement, "We'll take it one day at a time." There's a sense of hope to those words. Despite how bad things are now, our characters will get through it. They just need to take it slow and work through each problem as best as they can.

It's not a happy ending, but it's a hopeful one. And I couldn't have asked for a better way to end such a perfect episode...That is, if the episode was perfect.

WHAT I DISLIKED

Kikimora: Yeah...I didn't buy Kikimora wanting to leave the Emperor's Coven for a second. I honestly thought that with how heavy-handed Kikimora was acting, she was actually planning to pull a double-cross. But, no, she really was considering leaving. Which makes no sense. She nearly killed children just to get in Belos' good graces. I sincerely doubt her own family would have been enough to make her reconsider things, considering how quickly she chose against them the second Kikimora realized a promotion was possible. I guess there's no one better to use for an inevitable betrayal against Luz, meaning the real problem isn't how they wrote Kikimora in this episode. It's how they wrote her in the series. If the writers wanted her second thoughts to be believable, show Kikimora being somewhat objecting to ideas made by Belos instead of showing blind loyalty for him. Also, you know, DON'T HAVE HER ALMOST KILL CHILDREN! There is a spark of character development in how she now looks scared to be working for Belos, but her role in this episode still falls short...Even shorter than her.

A-OH! Got her! Haha...but seriously, the writers kind of fumbled this time around.

IN CONCLUSION

I'd say that "Follies at the Coven Day Parade" is an A-. Kikimora might not have been best utilized, but everything else works so well. The episode delivers on everything fans could ever want, presents new character and story developments, and shows why these characters and their relationships are so endearing. It's the best possible way to return to the new season, making me excited and terrified for what's to come next. And given how that's pretty much the theme of Season 2, I'd say "Follies at the Coven Day Parade" did its job right.

(Oh, and I also saw the new episode of Amphibia. It’s a solid mix of being wholesome, awesome, and hilarious. Anne’s parents are still the best, and Mr. X is as entertaining of a villain as he is a competent one. And the ending felt very ominous while leaving me curious to see what happens next. A definite A+ for sure…and, yes, this is how I’m reviewing both shows from now on. Because Disney just HAD to play them both back to back)

(Them sons of witches…)

[distressedgold]

ooc: Actually bouncing off that last one-

Gimme other Coven heads attempting to be jerks/snide to Hunter about his position as Head of the Emperor’s Coven and him just finally LOSING HIS SHIT on them because FUCK YOU I WAS STUCK LOSING SLEEP AND HEALTH BECAUSE LILLITH KEPT DUMPING ALL HER ACTUAL WORK ON ME AND ALL THIS GRANTED ADDITIONAL TITLE DID WAS GIVE ME SOME DAMN CREDIT FOR THE WORK I WAS ALREADY DOING! FUCK OFF YOU GODS DAMNED PRICK!

[amozon28]

Arent your friends supposed to be at the dat of unity? . . . Thats right! The emperor has eyes everywhere

Ooooooooo noooooo starting to think those snap dragons at the hideout were terras doing.

[acerace]

...you have opened my eyes to a vast universe of VintageBeef lore that I was unaware of. I knew about the New Hermit Order, of course, and the UHC invention, and I've watched a few of his CTM things but -- I will take all the info and lore you feel like giving out because Beef is amazing and my knowledge is so small.

Vintagebeef my beloved <3

So the thing is, right, until about 2016 I only watched two (2) youtubers- Vintagebeef for Minecraft and aDrive for Pokemon (and funnily enough both of them are named Dan irl). So I've watched most of Beef's videos over the years and have a general knowledge of most of his stuff, except because it's been like a decade I don't remember where most of the lore comes from XD

The thing with him is that he doesn't do Lore tm the way other mcyters often do lore- he doesn't have an extensive RP series to draw from like Grian, doesn't have a solo world with steadily increasing amounts of lore like Etho or Zisteau, and while he's played on SMPs and been involved in storylines before it's not really the focus of his episodes unlike with Evo or Legacy or Empires

So where does that leave us?

IRL, Beef always has multiple series running at the same time. Often he's playing on an smp while doing a singleplayer, often modded, series as well as a CTM or modpack with a group of friends. For example, right now he's playing on Hermitcraft, doing weekly Pixelmon and Building a Zoo episodes, and a CTM map with Slip. And to me, this translates to one thing: Beef is an adventurer. He travels frequently- he explores a world and when he decides he's done, he leaves for the next one. That's the basis of my personal interpretation of his series and his character for my writing.

Ok so reading this back, this got extremely long and didn't explain much in the way of lore, somehow? If anyone has any additions to add please do so, I am very definitely leaving out a lot and would love to see what other lore people remember and are using for Beef! I didn’t include the Hermitcraft stuff since my memory of season 4 is blurry (his base was themed after the Martian, that much I know, and he and Iskall were buddies :D) and most of the s5 NHO lore is best watched from Bdub’s perspective from what I remember, and the only s6 stuff is a single line in Hermitgang and then the Area 77 arc with its possibility of an NHO reunion which we did not get rip. And s7 of course had the cloning machine and also the Podzol Party as the main lore. So all the original rambling is still below the cut though it is very long, and I'm gonna bullet point the main stuff here instead:

Actual canonical things:

Invented UHC and was the only survivor of the first ever uhc (Mindcrack UHC s1)

Married to an ender dragon (one of the UHCs I think), later father to a different dragon (Mindcrack season 3? I think?)

Might not have legs if you choose to take that joke as canon (Mindcrack s2)

Was a wizard (RAD)

is a zookeeper (Building a Zoo) 

Had a wife and kids (Sims in Minecraft)

Part of the Trial of the B Team court case (Mindcrack)

NHO founder, founder of the Podzol Party (Hermitcraft)

Created a cloning machine that sort of works (Hermitcraft)

Played the Forest which is I believe the first time he and Keralis played together (look up the trigger warnings for this one, it's a horror game)

Was the creator/owner of Sourceblock SMP (featuring some familiar faces if you know Legacy, Empires, or MCC) and there is literal magic from a mysterious sourceblock of water that teleports people and summons mobs and probably more stuff that I haven't seen yet since I'm still watching it myself

Things you can infer:

Good with animals (Life in the Woods, Pixelmon, Ark)

Is a car nerd (irl and all of the car games he's played)

Is a highly experienced adventurer who has traveled through dozens of worlds both vanilla and modded, across multiple dimensions (Twilight Forest, the Aether, the Betweenlands, Limbo), completed dozens of monuments, fought in blood sports, survived apocalypse after apocalypse, tamed dinosaurs, and played a lot of prop hunt and golf with your friends

If you're looking for what to watch for lore purposes, I'd say the Mindcrack UHCs and Team Canada's RAD series are pretty good, definitely Sourceblock and HC s5, plus the Diversity CTM maps and Ruins of the Mindcrackers maybe? And Mindcrack Prank Wars for the chaos and the origin of Team Canada. And if you can handle horror than the Forest is fun and if you don't do horror you can watch the Pojkband play golf or prop hunt they're hilarious I love them sm I want a Pojkband reunion So Bad 

Beef's first series was a singleplayer series in beta 1.4_01 though he had played the game extensively before that, and was a big fan of Guude, having watched his own Minecraft videos. The series was functionally a hardcore one where if he died Beef would delete the world and start again! I haven't actually Watched this series so idk if he died or how often lmao. When Guude made Mindcrack, which was btw one of the very first Minecraft SMPs, he also hosted a competition for people to join, and Beef submitted a video (which is still viewable on his channel I believe!) and won, and was added to Mindcrack in season 2 :D (fun fact, Guude said that even if Beef hadn’t won he would have added him anyway) 

Two running jokes emerged from Mindcrack- pulling a Vintagebeef and Beef doesn't have legs. The first is a reference to Beef dying of fall damage (I believe the exact instance was him trying to jump into his swimming pool and failing spectacularly) and after the incident, every time someone died of fall damage they were pulling a Vintagebeef. The second joke comes from Guude, who joked that the reason Beef wasn't going to a convention was because he didn't have legs, and then he pranked Beef's base by building a giant pair of legs at the entrance to his castle so you had to walk between them to get into the base. This joke has long since died and both Beef and Guude feel pretty bad about it iirc because there were people who genuinely thought Beef was disabled and were emailing him supportive messages and stuff oops. So if you go looking on the Salad or find old Mindcrack fics, you might see references to Beef having prosthetic legs!

Mindcrack also brought about the creation of several Player groups- Team Nancy Drew, Team Canada, and GOB to name a few relevant to Beef. Team Nancy Drew consists of Beef, Pauseunpause, Guude, and Baj, who formed to investigate a prank on one of the members but I forget who. They're named Nancy Drew after the detective! Team Canada also formed in retaliation to pranks, with it consisting of Beef, Etho, and Pause, the three Canadian members on the server (not including Adlington who moved to Canada but never joined the group). There was also a Team America who pranked them with American flags everywhere. GOB is Guude, OMGChad, and Beef, who played stuff like the Ragecraft, Pantheon, and Monstrosity ctms together but that's way down the line lol

Team Nancy Drew is also notable for inventing UHC. It was Beef's brainchild but it was the four of them who first played it! The first UHC had the four of them working to kill the dragon with no natural regen, with everyone dying but Beef, who "won" the UHC. The second uhc was still dragon focused and iirc is where Beef married the dragon? Memories are hazy but they do kill the dragon in this one I think. UHC was then revamped as a pvp event and became a regular Mindcrack game every few months, featuring most of the Mindcrackers and several special guests, including Dinnerbone, who as we know Thanos-snapped Doc's arm out of existence as a result of Doc killing him in one of them

In one of the seasons of Mindcrack, Beef invited swedish Mindcracker and good friend Anderzel to go caving with him and invented ABBA Rules caving, where the winner takes it all. ABBA Rules is a game where each ore (and also dungeon loot like nametags) is assigned a point value and the person with the most points at the end wins and gets to keep all the stuff collected from the game.

In Mindcrack season 3?, Beef punched the ender dragon in an... awkward area, so when the dragon died and left the egg behind, Guude said Beef was the father of the egg XD I don't remember if I watched s3 so I have no idea if anything Happened with this concept but *history of the world voice* you could make lore out of this!

So Team Canada has played a Lot of CTM maps (which fun fact were pretty much invented by another Mindcrack member, Vechs, with his Super Hostile series! Super Hostile has a bunch of things called "Zistonian", which are references to another Mindcrack member Zisteau, who has a very wild singleplayer series with even wilder lore but I digress). In Ruins of the Mindcrackers, they had a running joke that Beef was Etho and Pause's mom, which is a joke we can leave in the past actually /lh. They also played all the Diversity maps, Sky Factory, Terra Restore, Uncharted Territory uhhh and a couple more ctms and adventure maps! Each map kinda has its own story so in Diversity 3 for example they were trapped in a simulation? I think? Team Canada also recently played the Roguelike Adventures and Dungeons modpack, aka RAD, in which Beef was a wizard with a magic staff that could do anything from summon lightning to control hostile mobs.

Sourceblock SMP is a vanilla survival 1.14 series that ran for one season and the series starts with each of the Players being drawn to a strange sparkling water source that, once they touch it, brings them to the Sourceblock world. It also summons a giant zombie at one point. There's probably more lore for this series but like I said I haven't watched it all the way through yet 

He has a Patreon server called VintageCraft and has done a series or two on there as well, and played a few UHCs with them, so lore that how you will! 

Beef also played a few popular mods, notably Pixelmon, Life in the Woods, and Feed the Beast, with LitW being singleplayer and the other multiplayer. He's also recently played the Zoo and Wild Animals mod a lot. He did a short series with the Minecraft Comes Alive mod where he married one of the villagers and had two children, so that's canon now :D he’s played a Lot of Pixelmon starting when the mod first came out iirc (he chose Turtwig in his first series and built a Grass gym, then made a Normal gym in another series in uhh 2016) and he still plays to this day. Quite a few Hermits played on his Pixelmon servers with him, like Wels, Etho, Iskall, Stress, Slip, Zueljin, and also Guude and Phedran (a Mindcrack adjacent player and creator of the LitW modpack) and a few Mindcrackers on the older servers 

Mindcrack and friends played a lot of other games too- 7 Days to Die, Ark Survival Evolved, Unturned, to name a few, so you can pull a lot of lore out of these as well. Speaking of friends and non-Minecraft games, Beef teamed up with Pause, Keralis, and Slip (a former Hermit) to play the horror game the Forest, which saw them stuck on an island trying to survive against terrifying mutated human... things. They played it a few times as the game updated but as afaik it's the first time Beef played with Keralis and possibly Slip and since the game starts with the Player's airplane crashing, that could totally be how Beef first met them in-universe 

I... think? that’s everything I mentioned in the tags? There is probably way more stuff I’ve forgotten that stems from inside jokes and things that happen within each series, but I hope that was a) helpful and b) at least somewhat comprehensible lmao 

[yourbestdream]

smoking the shit that made terra snap dragons

[jimmy12427]

The Exorcism of Liam

"There's something wrong with Liam. I need your help" is what Theo hears at 3:38am from his boyfriend.

What do you mean something is wrong with Liam??

I mean he's acting "different" now help me. I had him chained up in the basement but he has super super strength, like more than usual. I caught him using a salt circle and chained him to the tree in the back yard. I called everyone & they're on the way. We need to do an exorcism.

You have Liam chained ⛓ 🔗 to a tree in the back yard??

Is that all you heard. Get up & help me!!

Ok, ok.

The rest of the pack show up not too long after that. Stiles instructs them to gather in a circle & join hands. He also tells them not to leave that salt circle under any circumstances. He also tells them not to look Liam in the eye or to respond to what they hear. Then Stiles begins

"Regna terrae, cantate Deo, psallite Domino per caelum, caelum antiquos, glori Patri "

Lydia & Theo knowing Latin say in English what Stiles just said & the rest repeat after them.

"Kingdoms of the earth, sing unto God, sing praises to the Lord by way of heaven , the heaven of the ancients, and the glory of the Father,".

This pisses the demon in Liam off. He lashes out.

Your sister says hello Theo. She cant wait to see you again. She's gonna pick up right where she left off. Chasing you & ripping your heart out, over & over & over again. He let's out an unworldly laugh & lightning dances across the sky. Stiles again recites more Latin

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo, omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te... cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque æternæ perditionìs venenum propinare... Vade, satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciæ, hostis humanæ salutis... Humiliare sub potenti manu Dei; contremisce et effuge, invocato a nobis sancto et terribili nomine... quem inferi tremunt... Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine. Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos.

Theo & Lydia translate. "We exorcise you, every impure spirit, every satanic power, every incursion of the infernal adversary, every legion, every congregation and diabolical sect. Therefore, diabolical legions, we adjure you ... Cease to deceive human creatures, and to give to them the poison of eternal damnation; ... Be gone, Satan, inventor and master of all deceit, enemy of man's salvation ... Be humble under the mighty hand of God; tremble and flee when we invoke the Holy and Terrible Name at which those down below tremble ... ... from the snares of the devil, deliver us, O Lord . That Thy Church may serve Thee in peace and liberty to serve, we ask Thee, hear us."

The demon lashes out this time at Stiles. Come on, you can do better than that. You hyper active murdering home wrecker. You killed you mother. That dirty whore. You made your dad drink way too much. All you ever wanted was Lydia Martin, that prude bitch, but once you got her, you found out you like getting fucked up the ass, so you fuck that abomination Theo Raeken. How many people have you guys murdered now??

Stiles snaps & puts all his energy into the exorcism. Theo & Lydia try & keep up & try & translate. Stiles eyes glow. First yellow, then blue, then red, & finally purple.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica, ergo draco maledicte, ut ecclesiam tuam secura, tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos!"

"We exorcise you, every impure spirit, every satanic power, every incursion of the infernal Devil, every congregation and diabolical sect, therefore you also cursed dragon. So that your Church can serve thee in secure liberty, [We] beseech thee [as] We pray, hear us!"

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas omnis incursio infernalis adversarii. Omnis legio! Omnis con... potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii. Omnis legio! Omnis congregatio et secta diabolica! Ergo, Draco maledicte et omnis......legio diabolica, adiuramus te! Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii. Omnis legio! Omnis congregatio et secta diabolica! Ergo, Draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te!"

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo, omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te."

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus. Adiuramus te, cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque aeternae perditionis venenum propinare"

"Et secta diabolica, omnis congregatio, omnis legio, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis spiritus, exorcizamus!"

Liams head drops & when he looks up he tears up & sees Stiles. It's over. Theo helps Stiles get Liam down. Liam apologizes to all of them for what was said. They get him to the master bed room, Stiles was thankful he bought the Texas king sized bed. It could sleep like 6 adults!! Theo kissed Stiles good night as he cuddled him & Stiles made sure to touch Liam with either his arm or leg to ground him & let him know he was there. They were there.

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 142

Another late chapter... I’m really batting a thousand lately, seems like.

So, work has been insane, but @baelpenrose reminds me to post when I forget, thankfully. And this is SUCH a fun chapter.  I hope you all enjoy!

I dropped into a seat in Mess Hall Seven with a groan, so exhausted that I barely managed to get soup and a grilled cheese from the console.  Tyche yawned and nodded in agreement before poking at her sushi bowl idly. It was six Von-days after the last drill, and between coordinating increased training schedules for Shelters Three and Seven and helping Charly plan kink-night at the Undine, we were wiped.

“People are ungrateful,” she muttered before managing to barely balance a piece of salmon into her mouth.

I muttered something that hopefully sounded like agreement before I scooped up a bite of my soup with one wedge of sandwich, too lazy to even bother with the spoon. “Remind me why we don’t have Vati and Hannah handling the practice schedules?”

“Because they are handling the extra evacuation drills with Jokul and Arthur.”

Personally, I thought they were getting the better end of this deal, but since the raging success of their first Food Festival, it really was only fair. “And the relocations for those who need it,” I admitted. “Except mine.”

“Conor may actually strangle one of them if any of your plants don’t make it,” she pointed out, gesturing with her chopsticks for emphasis after having given up and using her fingers to eat her lunch. “Not to mention I wouldn’t wish packing with Maverick on anyone.”

“He’s letting me pack the books and textiles.” I shrugged in acceptance after taking another bite of soup-dipped sandwich.

We picked at our food in silence after that, grateful for something resembling a reprieve, before we were interrupted by a flurry of grey hair and enthusiasm landing in one of the nearby chairs with a heavy thunk. “Good afternoon, Madams Reid.”

“Hey, Jokul,” I muttered as Tyche just waggled her fingers at him. I really think I liked it better when he was trying to kill me. Right now, I might even let him do it.

“I know you are both on your meal period, but I wanted to test the waters on potentially scheduling a community activity,” he rushed out.

Tyche guarded her lunch with an almost feral aggression, having heard what happened the last time Jokul had interrupted my lunch. “That should really be something you run by Al-”

“Worthington, yes, I know,” he interrupted. “However, I know you are both quite busy and I wanted to be respectful of your time. As such, I will make this as brief as - ow!” He snatched his hand back away from the other half of my sandwich, rubbing where I had slammed my spoon down onto it.

“I have no idea where the food stealing comes from, but don’t,” I warned him.

“Rude, got it,” he nodded in a terrifying impression of Charly’s normal demeanor. “As I was saying, I recently learned a new type of game from Terra, from the Before.  It involves teamwork, and encourages creativity and escapism, and I think it would be a very good community activity - “

I surrendered to my urge to groan. “We are not doing a redux of Settlers of Cattan. Arthur stabbed someone last time.”

“I didn’t press charges…” Jokul pouted, glancing at the scar on the back of his wrist briefly. “Besides, it was only a fork. Clearly he didn’t mean it, there were four knives in arms reach counting my own.”

Tyche cocked an eyebrow at me. Seriously?

I pursed my lips and wrinkled my nose in response. Yep.

“So what game is it this time?” I asked hesitantly.

I was reward-bombarded with a grin. “It’s called Dungeons and Dragons! Somewhat like a video game, but with more people, and using writing implements and paper. Oh, and different kinds of dice, very important. One person is something of the narrator, to give the game a kind of structure, while the other players act as characters in the game… Ivan introduced me to it, and it is quite challenging with the right people.  The dungeon master - that is the narrator - has to re-evaluate the story based on the actions of the other players, but the players themselves don’t know what the dungeon master is going to do. It is very much a social diversion, and there are many classes….”

As Jokul continued to gush, he was rather oblivious to the fact that Tyche and I were stuffing our faces as quickly as possible to avoid interrupting him or laughing. We had both played when we were younger - in fact, we had been introduced to the game by our mother.  There had even been a very overwhelming pop-culture movement in our youth around the game, which further emphasized just how far out in the boonies Jokul had grown up.  As shocking as it was that he was just now discovering the game, it came at exactly zero surprise that he enjoyed it so much - it was right up his alley of interests.

About fifteen minutes and two more grilled cheeses into his retelling of the campaign he was part of, Charly and Arthur squeezed in with us, their own lunches in tow.  As seemed to be a growing trend, Arthur reached over and snagged one of my sandwiches before I could react, shoving half of it in his face.

That was apparently enough to snap Jokul out of his story. “Hey! Why didn’t you hit him?”

“His deathwish, not my problem,” I shrugged.

Around the remains of my lunch, Arthur managed to enunciate. “Told you, Noah fissed the dairy allergy.”

“Bleargh,” I gagged comically. “It’s okay, think I’m done anyway.”

Jokul’s hand swatted Arthur’s out of the way to steal the rest of my food. “As I was saying, Ivan was quite clever with his resolution to deal subdural damage to the player who was very much ruining the storyline by insisting his character was immune to magical sleep…”

“Oooooo! I love tabletops!” Charly squealed, bouncing in her seat. “What setting are you playing in right now?  My favorite was always Exalted…”

“Miss Harper, I think we are discussing different activities.” Jokul sounded supremely confused, but my heart broke a bit.

Arthur shook his head. “Maybe not Exalted, but what about Ebberron? Swordhaven, maybe?  Just tell me it isn’t Ravenloft… I know you haven’t been fucking around in a Dark Sun, but I beg you to tell me you aren’t playing Ravenloft.”

“I’m not sure what those are… Ivan introduced me to Dungeons and Dragons. There is only one setting.”

“So… Greyhawk or homebrew,” Arthur nodded. “Best place to start, get the basics down.”

Jokul’s head pivoted toward me and Tyche, squinting in annoyance. “You knew, didn’t you? And you let me prattle on…”

“You were so… happy….” I explained plaintively. “We didn’t want to ruin that for you.”

Tyche nodded. “We both remember how fun that first campaign is. And honestly? We’ve been having a kind of crappy day.  It was nice to hear someone be excited about something that isn’t work related.”

“But I came to you to discuss making it a ship activity…”

“Originally, yeah,” I shrugged. “That was maybe the first thirty seconds.  After that, you were doing what literally every tabletop roleplaying person has done since the beginning of time… telling stories about the fun, dramatic, and frankly stupid shit the people in your party are doing.”

“Says the two-foot eight halfling rogue,” Arthur scowled.

“I rolled it at random, it was fifteen years ago, get over it!” I threw my hands up dramatically. “At least I wasn’t mated to a frickin’ deity.”

Charly giggled uncontrollably while Jokul goggled at us. “Exalted is broken in all the fun ways.”

“You literally sacrificed, and I quote ‘all of your fucks to give’, for necromancy.”

“That was your idea!”

Jokul turned toward Tyche, waiting for her to say something. She just held up her hands defensively. “I was a murder monk-bunny.”

Arthur snorted. “You were the Black Rabbit of Inle….”

“Well if my wife would have just stopped dying…!”

“At least none of us were the Platinum Knight who pissed his pants every time he confronted his favored enemy,” I laughed. “He never did live that one down. Every. Single. Dragon. He would crit fail his roles.”

“Oh, please,” Arthur intoned drily. “Did I ever tell you about the time one of my players managed to make ‘Notice me, Senpai’ into the most terrifying in-universe warcry imaginable?”

Charly choked before swatting his shoulder. “Not in front of my pasta. Please.”

Jokul, however, looked both horrified and intrigued, egging Arthur on. “Barbarian whose entire clan worshipped a god named The Senpai…. Just imagine, a barbarian in a rage, bellowing ‘NOTICE ME, SENPAI!!!’ before just scything down thirty men with a broadsword.”

At this point, I was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down my face. “Please, please tell me there was a kilt and pigtails involved….”

Jokul touched his own hair, before straightening as seriously as possible. “They are warrior’s braids, Councillor.”

That was it, I couldn’t take it anymore. I just put my head down on my folded arms and waiting to either pass out from laughing so hard or from exhaustion.  A few deep breaths and a spinning head later, I managed to wipe my face on my sleeve and realized the conversation was continuing without me.  Just as I was clearing my throat to let Jokul know he should be fine to start organizing something and to send me a rough outline, Arthur dealt the final blow.

Leaning over, he whispered over my shoulder. “By the way, the barbarian’s name was Drystan of the Doki-doki tribe.”

I was proud that I managed to get up and dash into the hallway before collapsing against the wall in maniacal laughter.  I barely registered Hannah’s voice behind me asking everyone at the table if I needed medical assistance, and that did not help.

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