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hccn-overseer · 2 years ago

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Issue 6, 5/24/2023 - The Overseer

Issue Masterpost About the Overseer

Before our wonderful stories, I would like to give a shoutout to one of our writers, Lydia! You will notice, she wrote most of this week's stories and made many of the games as well to help cover other people who are busy this week! Lydia, you absolute madlad, we appreciate you so much on the team and this server, please do not do that again.

This week’s news is once again accompanied by a PDF version of your latest news brought to us once again by the lovely Cheer! Pick it up right here for your viewing pleasure!

Show Off Your Citizen Creations with Citizen Jams!

By Lydia

Creative minds of all kinds, listen up! The Hermit Citizen Hub has introduced a weekly community event, inviting all artists and writers to participate through a series of prompts released each Friday. If you are looking for an excuse to draw your citizen but are feeling shy about it, or you feel you are running out of ideas, here’s a way to scratch that itch to create with the Hermit Citizen Hub’s new Citizen Jams! All forms of artistic mediums are welcome!

Citizen Jams, or creative prompts focused on encouraging all members of the Hermit Citizen Hub to show off their citizens, were created by Gene, also known as FireApyr, on May 11th. Found in the Discord server, these prompts have encouraged a greater number of people to broaden their citizens’ horizons through various scenarios and costumes. This thread, Citizen Prompts, can be found under Citizen Art, with a specific thread linked in the initial post to Citizen Prompt Suggestions. Your fellow citizens have added several suggestions and there is always room for more!

These suggestions have a wide range, including but not limited to displaying your citizen wearing their favorite pajamas, participating in Zedvancements, showing up in Empires, appearing in pixel art, appearing as a Villain (or a Hero if they are already one), attending a board game night, during their favorite season, drawn with the opposite color scheme of their design, cosplaying a Hermit, and training a Warden.

Two prompts and many submissions have debuted on the server as of May 24th, much to the delight of our server member participants! The first prompt, suggested by Hyo, was “Your Citizen as a DND Character,” prompting artwork of citizens as paladins, rangers, wizards, and more. The second prompt, suggested by BitterTea, for this week, is “Your Citizen at a Tea Party.” Please leave your submissions to the Citizen Prompts in the overall Citizen-Art thread. We look forward to seeing your citizens in all kinds of situations and costumes!

Now onto other news below the cut!

Affiliate Summaries

By Roo

Bdouble0: Bdubs has shark grabbers, platform boots and a stepladder now.

DocM77: They’re plotting something. There’s been no further explanation.

GoodTimesWithScar: New HotGuy merch!! Not IRL, which has been a disappointment, but they’re enjoying the new graduation hats nonetheless. Hotguy may have a shotgun in future events, it is unofficial.

Grian: They anime-d Grian?? I think. It’s honestly really concerning.

ImpulseSV: He’s sweeping your chimney right now. No, it’s not a threat. Goats are great at sweeping chimneys.

MumboJumbo: They joined the biker gang and also predicted the future. Mumbo affiliates, if you are looking for a job that is NOT in a biker gang, the Seers is always open. (/j. Kinda.)

PearlescentMoon: She’s so small!!!! Itty bitty pearl :)

Rendog: They’re all so excited about the boat race! Yay for boat races. The newspaper should probably cover that, huh.

Welsknight: They’re working hard on the scrapbook! It’s looking splendid so far.

XisumaVoid: He’s a hermitcitizen now? Apparently. He’s also adopted everyone, so if you’re looking for a father figure, we’ve got one right here. He’s at the Scarland lost and found.

ZombieCleo: They’re just vibing and getting absorbed into other games! A lovely time, really.

If you do not see your affiliates here: Yet again, this is because some channels have not been active or are not notable. Please notify us if there have been any typos or misinformation.

Citizen Appreciation: Topaz, the Quintessential Patron of the Arts!

By Lydia

If you have ever visited the art channels of the Hermit Citizen Hub, you know that every artist is on the edge of their seat as they read the latest compliment from our endlessly hardworking artistic cheerleader, Topaz. Since April 19th, our fellow citizen and adamant patron of the arts, Topaz, has tracked down each art piece posted in our Citizen Art channels on our Discord server and to leave positive affirmations for each artist’s piece. She points out specific details and praises each piece for the artist’s personal flair, highly motivating the spirits of every drawer, painter, pixel artist, and crafter who crosses the threshold from merely observing others’ art pieces to sharing their work with a larger audience in that of the Hermit Citizen Hub.

Topaz is a fellow artist herself, having depicted her own Hermit Citizen as a member of Pearl’s cleaning team, who also takes care of Bdubs’ horses and leans into her medium as a video game character, providing her own sound effects when jumping and upon deaths. She lives in a treehouse north of Mumbo Jumbo’s vault and shows her skill strengths in Mining, Exploring, and Overall Dexterity in navigation. She is also a very decent prankster and builder. Many citizens recognize her art style for its high emphasis on bold shapes and straightforward colors, with thick outlines to give her work that extra punch of polished realization. In addition to her own citizen artwork, she has also created fanart of The Life Series, Empires SMP, fellow citizens of the Hermit Citizen Hub, has shared her own artistic improvement in redrawing her older character art, and has drawn several Hermits for the Hermit A Day art challenge. Topaz also crochets in addition to drawing traditional and digital artwork. All citizens are encouraged to take a look at her pieces in the art channels if they have not done so, yet!

Topaz’s eye for both her own and others’ artistic traits is exceptionally perceptive. In her affirmations, she highlights every wonderful peculiarity and characteristic that each artist wishes to convey. Everything from the details of how meticulously textured a character’s costume is, to the dynamic color choices of each character’s design, to the uncanny lifelike nature of a character’s eyes, and anything else that you may not say aloud but want to make a known idiosyncrasy of your artwork, will be featured in Topaz’s assessment of your piece. Another staple of Topaz’s affirmation is the returned “Thank YOU!” to each person’s gratitude, turning it back to the artist for sharing their inimitable creative styles and depictions of both their own and others’ characters.

Topaz’s unbridled enthusiasm towards her fellow artistic community is returned as frequently as the awestruck members can muster, many of whom had insisted that she receive recognition for her crucial influence on the server. Because of this, Topaz has received a special role in the Hermit Citizen Hub in honor of her foundational presence as the quintessential patron of the arts: Hermitcity Art Society, as a seal of appreciation from the moderation team. This was given in reflection of the thanks that the community would like to show her. We would like to congratulate Topaz for her emotional labor, support, and dedication to this community, and we wish her all the best!

Weekly Weather Report

By Lydia

Wednesday - MOSTLY SUNNY, High 19 Degrees, Low 10 Degrees. Balloons in the shape of Withers are expected to fly through all areas.

Thursday - WINDY, High 22 Degrees, Low 9 Degrees. Several sets of DND dice will roll through all areas. Enjoy your free dice!

Friday - RAINY, High 26 Degrees, Low 11 Degrees. There is a 65% chance of rain to be iced tea instead of water.

Saturday - SUNNY, High 24 Degrees, Low 12 Degrees. Whirlpools may form in all oceans.

Sunday - PARTLY CLOUDY, High 18 Degrees, Low 7 Degrees. Temperatures are expected to drop in the early afternoon. A low growling may be heard from The Rift from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

Monday - RAINY, High 23 Degrees, Low 12 Degrees. Umbrellas will be provided to any passers-by in the shopping district, courtesy of The Overseer.

Tuesday - MOSTLY CLOUDY, High 26 Degrees, Low 9 Degrees. Jellyfish are expected to wash up on many shores. They will be entirely transparent.

Wednesday - WINDY, High 20 Degrees, Low 11 Degrees. Sand storms are expected around 4:00 PM. Make sure you have a way to cover your face.

WARNING: Explosive Wither Skulls Hovering Over Scarland Central Square All citizens in Scarland are recommended to remain on high alert due to Docm77’s retaliation to The Incident (Grian and Scar breaking his Redstone). Several explosive Wither Skull Mines have been transported to Scarland’s Central Square by Docm77. They hang ominously over Scarland’s main central street. They will very likely reign destruction upon Scarland in the near future.

Editor's note: Again, if any of our readers are rich and generous, we ask for assistance in paying Rainy’s ransom. The kidnappers’ identity is still unknown, but leaving a pile of diamonds on the doorstep of the Overseer offices may be enough to reach them.

Come and Visit the Citizen Shops and Services!

By Lydia

A number of citizens in the Hermit Citizen Hub are hard at work making sure that their shops and services are in tip-top shape for the benefit of all who visit the Hermitcraft server. With the addition of an officially documented list of shops and services, we are happy to share the wares and whereabouts of our community’s bustling businesses, many of which are always on the move for your convenience! Enjoy exploring and meeting your fellow shop owners, for there is always help right around the corner! The following is a collection of official citizen businesses that help us liven up the server with everything from materials in bulk, to clinics, researchers for hire, and more!

Do you need to send a package, letter, or perhaps a collection of prized trinkets to your favorite citizens? 10K Blocks is a delivery service run by Hyo the Human that can handle everything and anything YOU need to be sent to anyone on the server! Diamonds are the commonly accepted form of payment, but if you’re short on diamonds, sentimental items will also suffice for anything you’re looking to swiftly ship to your companions! If you would like to make a delivery order, come and visit the Hyo Delivery Interaction thread!

Do you think you might have a slight touch of Watcher Trauma? Do you experience growing anxiety over your safety as an affiliate of Grian or Scar? Are you getting a twinge of bloodthirst, but afraid of hurting your companions? Glowberry Therapy, with multiple locations across the server for your convenience, is here with open arms to help you process everything from finding that your companions have been captured by The Watchers to recurring guilt over setting off an unfathomable chain of events in your past! Therapy from Theseus of Glowberry Therapy is available if you only ask him with a message in the Citizen Talk thread. Therapy is free, but donations are especially appreciated.

Do you crave cookies, pies, cakes, muffins, or any small pastries? You’re in luck because Z (or Zee) has your perfect fix with Painted Wings, their mobile vendor cart running all through Scarland! For just a few diamonds, usually within the 1-5 range, you can taste just a lovingly baked magical treat! Send Z a message in the Citizen Talk thread if you find your stomach growling!

Is your curiosity about a certain mob or biome itching the corners of your brain? Come to Cloud’s Office, located in the Shopping District, and see Azure Clouds to find yourself a researcher who will tell you anything you want to know about these creatures and locations! Send them a message in the Citizen Talk thread for any of your creature and environment studies needed! Any chance for them to share their knowledge is a chance for you to look at your chosen subject with brand-new eyes. All they ask for is 1-10 diamonds (depending on the level of danger) and an attentive ear!

Do you need any medicines or potions? Come to The Pharmacy, located in the center of the shopping district, run by Ender R. Enderwoah! Prices fluctuate based on Ender’s mood and your own demeanor, so put your best face on when you stop by! If you’re pleasant enough, you could even find common items for just a diamond a piece! Find Ender’s thread, The Pharmacy, and leave them a note!

Are you looking for materials from the deep dark areas of the Overworld? Sculk Shriekers, Deepslate, Glowberries, and more are available just east of iBuy at The Quarry Crop, run by Ashes! Give them a message in Citizen Talk, and keep your inventory open for materials in bulk! Prices vary depending on the danger factor, but are well worth it!

Are you looking for a prosthetic or mobility aid from one of the most skilled crafting citizens on the server? Look no further! You can find something perfectly suited to yourself and your style from On the Move! Located at a small workshop near the beach behind iBuy, you can purchase individually customized, hand-crafted, efficiently made, personalized prosthetics and mobility from Fin! Find their Citizen I.D. card and leave a message for them!

Do you need a child, pet, or an inebriated companion to be looked after? For 2 diamonds per hour (or a stockpile of building supplies), you can drop off your ward at The Copper Clinic and Daycare, run by Doc Zero in the Shopping District! In addition, if you are injured or looking for a medical check-up, you may receive a free referral to The Pharmacy as well, though donations are appreciated! Find Doc Zero’s Citizen I.D. card and leave him a message or leave him a message in the Citizen Talk thread if you’re looking for a sitter or clinic!

Many of these shops and services are just getting started, and are more than ready for a full string of customers! We hope you all enjoy your stay in the Hermit Citizen Hub, no matter how long you plan to be with us!

Lost and Found

By Lydia

The following items were brought in from across the server this week. As nobody knows who they belong to, they have been categorized as lost. If you recognize any of the following or would like to report a lost item, do reach out to us at [email protected]*

*Not a real email address

Item 1: A blue glass bottle with a scroll inside. The scroll shows a blueprint for a hot air balloon station. This bottle was found near Keralis’ shipyard. The blueprint seems to be recently drawn, however, the paper is turning yellow due to age. When asked about these blueprints, no one in the area had claimed them, nor had they heard of any plans for a hot air balloon station. The blueprints are drawn in colored pencil and the bottle itself glows in the dark. If this bottle belongs to you, please tell us if you are still planning to create a hot air balloon station when you come to claim it!

Item 2: An old notebook containing transcripts of a quiz show. This notebook is a spiral notebook with an orange and yellow cover that contains several transcripts and notes from a quiz show of an unknown name. It is unknown what the title of the show was, as it was never written down. The transcripts of the show appear to involve a tumultuous style of hosting which involves bringing in contestants to fist-fight each other before answering questions related to various Minecraft mobs. To the person who owns this book, please know that we have been very entertained by its contents!

Item 3: A cloth doll found near Enchantea depicting a gothic baseball player. This doll was found in near-perfect condition just outside of the shop. It is approximately 11 inches tall and has a black baseball uniform with gothic jewelry around the neck and wrists, with four ear piercings. It has curly green hair and silver button eyes. A patch of a peanut shell is sewn onto the back of its shirt. Neither a baseball nor bat was found with it.

Item 4: 6 2-inch coins made out of brass, all depicting images of fish tails and birds’ wings. These coins are green and surprisingly heavy. Four of them appear brand new, but the others appear to have rusted over many years. Each coin depicts two fish tails and four sets of bird wings, specifically the tails of Rainbow Trouts and the wings of California Condors. Anyone holding these coins notes that they feel as if they are about to be chased down by a threatening being, and everyone we have asked refuses to touch them. If these coins are yours, please claim them as soon as possible.

Item 5: A beige amphora made of clay, depicting the image of several Striders walking across a lava lake filled with dominoes. This amphora was found near Total Chaos. The artwork is painted in shades of orange, red, and dark turquoise. The images are crudely drawn and one of the handles is missing. Nothing was found inside the amphora, and it appears to have never held anything at all, as the inside is perfectly clean. If this amphora belongs to you, please consider displaying some of your plants inside of it!

Spectating Science: Warden Science with Tango Tek for Decked Out

Recapped by Cirrus, the Shoebill, written by Lydia

Scientific advancements throughout the Hermit Citizen Hub and among the Hermits themselves continue onward, allowing greater insight into familiar faces. Any citizens who are interested in the instinctual behaviors and idiosyncrasies of creatures of the most dangerous caliber are invited to share their theories related to the focused mob of this article. Wardens today are not as mysterious as they were during their first debut on all servers, however, this does not deter many from inquiring more about the aspects that we do not fully understand, or that we may elaborate upon concerning these sensory beasts.

While last week’s edition of Spectating Science focused on the study of Ravagers from the perspective of your fellow citizen, a biologist and animal behaviorist, Redfeather, this edition focuses on a single day’s experiments conducted by your Hermit, Tango Tek, as he fine-tuned his knowledge of Wardens and continued the early planning stages of his hand-crafted dungeon-crawler game, Decked Out.

Wardens are set to be integrated into the third and fourth levels of Decked Out as the primary threats to Players attempting to collect their artifacts and escape the game with their life. In addition, Wardens were stated to have many intimidating traits that can be used to strike the right level of haste and panic in these Players, but they needed great adjustments to their environment due to their many setbacks. Tango Tek’s live broadcast from May 17th featured trials and experiments conducted on these Wardens in a two-and-a-half-hour session. These experiments centered on necessary changes to increase Warden sensitivity and aggression to make the levels a greater challenge than the previous ones.

One of the Warden’s most significant obstacles, according to Tango Tek, is the extended length of time that a Warden takes to find a Player. This required several assessments of both traversal and sensitivity ranges at the beginning of his broadcast. His initial tests aimed to assess the traversal capabilities of the creatures, finding that the presence of lava slows down a Warden’s walking and running speed, causing it to struggle through its presence. Soul sand will also slow down a Warden’s walking speed. A flow of lava will also easily push a Warden in the stream’s direction, making it unusable for a Warden’s pathing. Wardens do not take damage from lava and are capable of swimming up walls made of lava, but this is not an ideal construction. Instead, Tango Tek settled on using fire in the place of lava for the time being, because it works well to slow down the Player while allowing the Warden to walk and run at its normal pace.

A given advantage for Wardens is their ability to move in a path toward a Player despite their inability to see, and this remains consistent even with the presence of trivial, small dead ends in maze settings. Larger dead ends may cause issues for Wardens, which affects the layout of the third and fourth levels to accommodate a Warden’s initial patterns of pathing. Tango Tek stated that he would likely make each corridor 2 blocks wide at a minimum. He also added that railings are imperative to any staircases if a Warden may risk falling off of them when chasing down a Player.

The next tests conducted centered on Darkness and the sound of Wardens’ heartbeats. Wardens give Players within a 20-block radius the effect of Darkness, which lasts for twelve seconds and is reapplied every six seconds, in addition to creating the sound of an audible heartbeat from approximately 50 to 60 blocks away from a Player. Each Warden’s heartbeat accelerates depending on how aggravated it is, meaning that multiple Wardens will not synchronize their heartbeats with each other. These heartbeats come in tandem with the effect of Darkness given to each Player. The level of Darkness pulsing can physically be changed by each Hermit through their out-of-world settings, and can even be set to not pulse at all. Tango Tek stated, however, that this is not an ideal way to play the game and interferes with the way that he wants them to experience the game’s environment. He also confirmed that the primary heartbeat sound effect that was added to Decked Out overpowers the heartbeat of the Wardens, but he does not see this as a large issue and prefers the sound of the Decked Out sound system to take priority in order to build up the Player’s sense of urgency.

The most intensive tests during the broadcast related to the aggravation and ability of a Warden to track down and kill a Player. With the help of a data pack created by his friend, Grifter, Tango Tek proceeded to measure the way that Wardens’ aggravation becomes affected by different factors. The first section of these intensive tests related to distance, a Warden’s sense of touch, projectiles, and a Warden’s use of scent. Wardens sniff when they are idle and can detect all Players within a 25-block radius. This does not make them aggravated, but it does send them on the path to the Player. A Player walking is the first step to aggravating a Warden, with the others being a Player throwing a projectile that physically contacts the Warden and touching the Warden with one’s bare hands or a weapon. A Warden that is hit with a projectile is easily aggravated faster than in any other way that a Player may antagonize it. A Warden’s roar is also a sign of its aggravation rising. Sneaking is the Player’s first line of defense against aggravating a Warden. If a Warden is not able to reach a Player with its long arms, it will release a Sonic Shriek, dealing a heavy amount of damage as well. A Sonic Shriek has a range of 16 blocks horizontally and 20 blocks vertically.

The second part of this intensive period related to environmental sounds and how they affect a Warden’s attention. Wardens always prioritize the vibrations of a Player over the vibrations of other objects but are also drawn to other objects that create sound within their vicinity. Wardens will not use their sniffing ability when they are distracted by noise-making objects when the Player is over 16 blocks away, which limits the way that Tango Tek may use such elements in relation to Wardens.

The third part of this section involved Tango Tek running through a maze of three-block-tall walls to get to the other side and successfully outrun a Warden. He then added more Wardens upon realizing that merely one Warden proved to be unsatisfactory. The testing area ranged approximately 70 by 70 blocks, the approximate size that Level Three is planned to match. Level Three may be larger, and will also include vertical portions. The goal of creating Level Three is to make the terrain harder for the Player to navigate, but easier for the Warden to traverse and track the Player down. Due to the set of Wardens placed within the testing area taking a longer amount of time to track down the Player and become aggravated, Tango Tek needed a solution to enhance the Wardens’ sensory input. These tests confirmed the need for a new set of experiments to increase the Wardens’ range of aggravation and tracking time.

The final portion of the broadcast showed Tango Tek’s solution to these timing issues. Tango Tek, through the use of calibrated sculk sensors (a future addition to the game), amethyst blocks, and pistons, successfully increased the range of a Warden’s aggravation from 16 blocks to a full 50 blocks. Through the connection of these “nodes” (single units consisting of a calibrated sculk sensor, amethyst block, and piston), he not only increased the range of aggravation but significantly increased the speed of a Warden tracking down a Player and shortened the time in which a Warden would become aggravated by said Player. He describes this grid format of nodes in the way of activating them through the pistons, set off by the amount of clank generated by each Player. During the Player’s run, they will activate the connected calibrated network depending on how long they stay in the dungeon. Despite this critical improvement, Tango Tek must moderate the nodes that are used throughout the entire dungeon to ensure that the game is not too difficult for the Player to complete.

The broadcast ended shortly after this experiment, leaving its viewers with a greater understanding of the capabilities, setbacks, and potential enhancement of Wardens. With this research and experimentation, Tango Tek has greatly enhanced the intelligence and threat levels posed by Wardens to Players for Decked Out, specifically through increasing their range of traversal and aggravation towards the Player. Thanks to Tango Tek’s use of calibrated sculk sensors, Wardens will be a more formidable presence as they take center stage in Levels Three and Four of Decked Out. The overall goal in this endeavor is to encourage the Player to be stealthy and quick, rather than to frustrate them and tempt them to brute force their way through the dungeon.

We invite any applied researchers to bring forth any growing developments that they would like to share in this segment and look for Cirrus, the Shoebill, for an interview about themselves and their work. In addition, tangents and rambles are more than welcome. No discovery is too small, and it is never too late to teach your fellow citizens something new!

[If you would like to be interviewed for Spectating Science, please look for Cirrus’s Citizen I.D. card in the Discord server and leave a note for them.]

Ask the Seers

By Seers Jester, S, Vi, and Nes

Has your favourite little guy been put into a situation they can’t get out of? Do you have questions about how a mountain appeared on top of your house last night? Question no more, for The Seers are here to help! Questions can be submitted through the ask box and are collected throughout the week.

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Dear Seers, I took your advice and got things done :] Bobby now has a better room with much more space, and the cats are finally getting along with him! Too well actually. Call me paranoid, but what do I do if I feel like my cats and warden are trying to plot something against me? I feel like the snack barrels aren’t gonna safe anymore. - Paranoid Cat And Warden Parent

Hello Paranoid Cat And Warden Parent,

Apologies for the delayed response, we here at The Seers all mysteriously disappeared to a death game. But we’re back now! Hopefully just in time to save you from your scheming pets…

The most important thing is to find out why they’re plotting, have you not been feeding them their favourite snacks often enough? Are they not getting enough attention? Did you step on one of their feet last week? Figure out why they’re mad and try to bribe them with extra of whatever they’re mad about.

If that fails, separate them. They may be friends, but if they’re dangerous they cannot play together. I’m not saying rehome any of them, just maybe move Bobby away from your base until things blow over!

If you try that and Bobby ends up escaping and returning to plotting with the cats, make a noise machine. It will entertain him long enough for him to forget about whatever they were plotting about.

If all else fails, pack your bags and leave. Perhaps consider the perimeter, because that’s probably more safe then your house right now. - The Seers

ADVERTISEMENTS

By Jamie

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Have a package to deliver? A letter to send? Contact Sirius Postal Services NOW for all your mailing needs - the cheap, quick, and easy way of delivery! All letters and packages are insured to get to their destination at precisely the correct moment, whenever that may be.

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Come by Ashes’ shop just east of iBuy for various 1.19 blocks! Don’t want to bust your hands mining deepslate? Not to worry, in The Quarry Crop you can buy things in bulk! Be sure to clear out your inventory before shopping. Disclaimer: Prices may vary depending on the danger factor.

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This week’s Garden club meeting is being held at Etho’s Alien Gateway! He may be washed up and late to the season but things are going swimmingly for this wet cat! Members please remember to bring your most exotic flowers so we can make Etho feel a little bit better.

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Have those pesky SSS members lit up your base without your permission? Are you losing your mob buddies at night because of safety precautions? Here at the SUS we can fix that! Your base will go back to exactly as it was before, and you’ll no longer be lonely on cold nights.

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Fun and Games

This week's fun and games are brought to you by Lydia once again and Azure

Word Search by Lydia

Crossword by Lydia

Coloring page by Lydia

Brain Teasers by Azure

And that’s all for this issue folks! Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful week!

#issue #hermitcitizen #pdf edition #hccn affilate happenings #hccn weather #hccn lost and found #hccn ask the seers #hccn advertisements #hccn fun and games

32 notes · View notes

watcheraurora · 5 months ago

Text

Masquerade

I'm a big fan of a masquerade ball. Figured I'd take the opportunity 1.7k words

I wrote this back in February and for some reason never posted it. Enjoy!

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You're Invited! The honor of your presence has been requested at Scarland for a masquerade ball in honor of the Grand Opening of the park. Please show up dressed in your best. Food and music will be provided, as well as a dancing area and tours of the park. Looking forward to seeing you there! Date: Aug 25, 2023 Time: Sunset Warm Regards, His HoTGuyNess, Scar GoodTimes

Scar grinned broadly at the invitation. It looked fantastic. He copied it twenty-something times and put all the invitations in a shulker box. Withdrawing a few rockets from his inventory, he pivoted and shot for his nearest neighbor's base. The floating rocks emerged from the mist within seconds.

"Griiiaaan! GrianGrianGrian! Hellooooo there!" he called as he swooped over the storage area, then peered down into the hole beneath Mumbo's vault where the Rift loomed.

Grian was down there, tending to his sheep farm.

Scar dove in and landed hard against the stone floor. He winced. "Grian! I have a favor to ask."

"Yeah?"

"Is Pesky Bird Mail still in business?"

Grian raised a brow as he turned away from the sheep farm. "Maybe. Depends on the price and the delivery."

Scar pulled one invitation out of the shulker box. "One of these to every Hermit! Item frames are included for the delivery. And I have half a stack of diamonds that might have your name on it if you'd like to deliver them all." He passed the invitation to Grian. "That one's for you, by the way."

"A masquerade?" Grian asked.

"Yeah! I wanted to say a cosplay party but I figured this would be more classy and formal. More appropriate for a theme park opening."

Grian laughed. "A cosplay party would have been appropriate for you and your theme park too, let's be blunt."

"Aw! Why didn't you tell me that before I had the invitations all made!" Scar complained.

"I didn't kn—oh never mind." Grian shook his head. "Sure. Fine. I'll do it. I didn't want to finish the back of my base today anyway."

"No, no wait! Impulse is going to be so mad if you don't—"

"Too bad I already took the job. Thanks Scar, byyyeee!" Grian snatched the shulker box from Scar's hand, spammed rockets to get out as fast as possible, and disappeared into the world fog.

Scar sighed and placed the half stack of diamonds in one of Grian's double chests, sent him a message saying that's where it was, and headed back for his base.

—

Aug 25, 2023

"Holy cow, Cleo! You look a-may-zing!" Scar said as Cleo passed through the Scarland turnstiles in the gorgeous, grand, dark teal gown from Ren's king reign.

"Thank you, Scar," Cleo replied with a flattered smile, going to join the others that had already arrived. Impulse had been early, dressed in grand dwarvish armor with gold beads woven into his beard. Ren was also exploring Main Street, all dolled up in his kingly robe from before he was overthrown.

The rest of the Hermits slowly trickled in as sunset ticked closer. Tango was in his finest fur-lined black coat, his soulfire hair burning close to his head and a warden mask on. Mumbo had on his usual suit, but with a red bowtie instead of a necktie and a mask to match. Iskall had on a lime green, bamboo-patterned suit and mask, and he came in laughing his head off with Stress. Who, of course, had on the biggest, pinkest and purplest, most gorgeous princessy gown Scar could even conceive of and a glittering tiara above her lace mask. Gem turned up in a flowing, light elvish gown with flowers woven into her hair, trailing off the ribbons of her mask. Pearl had on a black dress patterned with stars and moons and a mask of lunar moth wings. Grian had even forgone his usual red sweater—or jumper, as he called it—in favor of an all-red suit with a black shirt and shiny grey tie that was a few shades too dark to match his silver mask. False had gone for a suit instead of a dress, but also wore a ceremonial gold sword and mask to match the long necklace she wore instead of a tie. Doc was in a suit with one sleeve removed to show off his cyborg arm. Wels had on his best armor. Most of the other Hermits were also in suits. Even Cub and Zed, who Scar half suspected would both show up in lab coats. Bdubs' suit was made of moss. Etho's still included his facemask. Xisuma'd simply polished his helmet and exosuit and hadn't bothered with a mask.

Scar himself had on a royal blue suit with Jellie embroidered on the pocket, to mimic his Imagineer uniform. He also had on a Jellie mask and a HoTGuY symbol tie bar.

Music was playing over the park's speakers. Pleasant, masquerade ball music. Scar smiled, looking at all of his friends milling about. All dressed up to celebrate with him.

He slung on his Elytra and flew up to be above everyone. "Hello, hello, hello, my fellow Hermits and Crafters! First of all, I just wanted to thank everyone for joining me tonight. Second of all, I just realized that tonight looks like we're gonna end up in a murder mystery. Third of all, everything in the park is open tonight. Help yourself to popcorn and churros and ice cream. I have Jellie ears and hats for whoever wants them, too. If anyone wants a tour, Impulse, Pearl, and I are prepared to lead groups or individuals as employees and the founder of Scarland. And just have fun! If anyone wants to dance, the street is open!"

His friends clapped and cheered. Scar swooped down to mingle among them, beaming with pride.

Slowly, the Hermits spaced out across Main Street. Enjoying themselves. Stress and Iskall were "dancing" (throwing each other around and cackling). Conversations revealed that everyone had traveled to Scarland via the Nether, rather than Elytra, to make sure the wind didn't mess anything up. Except Grian, who never seemed to look more than barely-windswept even when going max speed.

Scar rode the trolley around its little endless circle when he needed to take a break and get off his feet, Jellie sat beside him, her tail draped slightly over his cane. "Well, Jellie, we did it," he said. "We opened."

She mraowed in response. Scar scritched at her and she leaned into it.

The trolley trundled by Impulse, Tango, and Etho having a conversation about Impulse's redstone work in the park. Scar was mostly just grateful Tango had left his underground cavern where Decked Out 2 was still being worked on to come to the party. Poor guy needed a break.

A quiet whisper of a breeze alerted Scar to the fact that he wasn't alone on the trolley. He turned. Grian was standing in the main passenger area, leaning against a support pole, folding his wings in. Despite not having owl wings, Grian always seemed to fly near-silently. "Congratulations," Grian said, grinning. "This really is quite the achievement. And it's a beautiful park."

"Well thanks," Scar replied, a big smile forming on his face. "The work was worth it."

Grian nodded. "Yeah, yeah."

The two rode the trolley for a bit. Passing Mumbo laughing with Iskall and Stress about something. Passing Pearl with Jellie ears on being silly with Gem. Bdubs appeared to be trying to drag Etho away from the conversation between him, Impulse, and Tango. To which Etho was obviously smiling behind his mask—his eyes were crinkled at the corners—and standing still as a statue while Bdubs was physically tugging on his arm.

"The Hermits are good people, Grian," Scar said. "I'm happy to be one of them."

"Me too," Grian replied. Scar glanced back again.

The sun disappeared behind the castle. Then below the horizon.

And the fireworks show began.

The other Hermits all gasped in surprise as the music changed to go with the fireworks show. Grian sat next to Scar on the trolley boarding stairs on the opposite side of Jellie in order to see better after Scar stopped the trolley from moving.

Lights and colors washed over the faces of a group of friends enjoying their lives together. Cleo and Joe were leaning on one another as they laughed at something. Keralis and Xisuma were quietly admiring everything about the park. Doc and Ren were having a discussion about something, but both of their faces were fixated on the fireworks.

The trolley sat behind them all, close to the turnstiles, allowing Scar to see his friends basking in the glory of everything he'd built in his park.

Grian tapped him on the shoulder. "Y'know, I'm not very good at it, but do you want to dance?" he invited.

Scar beamed. "Sure!"

They hopped off the trolley and danced, slinging one another around to the Disney-like music—Grian always being mindful of Scar's cane—without a care in the world. Even Bdubs didn't want to go to bed just yet, instead watching the fireworks while Tango hid under an awning to stop phantoms from spawning.

The masquerade lasted until dawn. Impulse asked Gem and Pearl each to dance at one point—which devolved into the Soup Group all holding onto each other and spinning in a circle until momentum sent them all crashing to the ground.

Scar couldn't help but smile the whole night. And as dawn came, he didn't want it to end. But it would be okay. There were more celebrations to be had in the future. And he'd spend them all with his beloved friends around him.

As he and Grian stopped dancing, he scooped up Jellie and held her, danced with her, and kept her in his arms as he walked his friends back to the turnstiles to go home. They all promised to return, and thanked him for the fun night and great party.

When he and Jellie were alone in the park again, he sighed. "Well. There's more work to do, Jellie. What do you say?"

She mraowed again.

"Exactly! Let's get changed and let's get to it!"

#hermitcraft #Hermitcraft fic #GoodTimesWithScar #Scar #featuring a lot of the other Hermits but not really prominent enough for me to include them all in tags #Aurora Writes #Rory Writes

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