#like collecting powdered snow from cauldrons

[n1et]

Overall I've found that 3 to 5 shulker boxes are good enough to clear out a trail ruin, which is slightly endgame but I like that the loot table fits in a reasonable space.

Tho to be honest I don't know if the inventory problems are that big of an issue in the trail ruins directly, I think that finding the structure should be a bit of an ordeal and it's ideal to set up at least a small camp around it, roleplay it a bit, excavate it from the top down and expose all the rooms.

What I do despise about 1.20 are the carved bookcases

For years all comparators did was read how full something is, but now mojang decided to add an inane exception where a comparator simply reds the last interacted slot of a bookshelf and outputs that as signal strength even when that slot was interacted with by a hopper thus making what should be a relatively simple contraption that just empties all the books from a shelf once it's been filled nearly impossible without jankery.

They could have followed or even expanded on the precedent of the lecturn which emits a pulse each time you flick a page, they could have simply made the bookshelf emit a pulse of respective signal strength depending on which slot you pulled from, but no. They just really wanted to have a fun block that you can use to make cliche secret door with, but in affect made a block that is useless for every purpose aside from that one. I am frankly tiered of those deadend additions that fail to integrate into the larger game's systems, at this point the game is just getting bloated for the sake of endless content, that doesn't need to be there. Spyglasses are virtually useless with how intrusive the overlay is, I think the only reason they exist is to justify geodes, which in turn exist just to look pretty.

And I really don't mind adding more types of rock, just make it actually interact with the rest of the game, diorite granite and andesite are kinda annoying, but at least you can craft them into eachother in limited capacity. Smooth bassalt is nice because while it does only generate in geodes you can smelt normal bassalt into it, calcite on the other hand? There is no reason for it to be so rare. It is unrenewable and only comes from geodes in smaller quantities, or if you want it in larger quantity, from a portion of a specific mutation of a mountain biome that is so rare I did not it know it existed before specifically checking the wiki for sources of calcite. I have to this day never seen it, I have not even seen it on a biome map.

I think that the rate mojang is putting out updates is unsustainable and the updates themselves are unpolished and confusingly both cater to the casual audience and make the game more annoying to play in certain aspects.

The Qol and engine rewrites are spectacular, and I don't mind the new wood sets and variety, but please just take a 2 or 3 year gap in updates and actually playtest things properly instead of having a 2 week release candidate window.

Minecraft 1.20 thoughts:

The highlight is, of course, the cherry blossom grove biome and cherry trees. The cherry wood just looks SO GOOD with everything. I've made so many builds incorporating it already and it's so easy to work into a color scheme. Cherry wood. Hhhhhnnnnghh. Such a delicious shade of pink. I want to eat it.

Also really excited about the bamboo wood set, it looks amazing and adds a lot of functionality to bamboo.

Feeling pretty positively about the armor trims, though I wish there were more where the decorative material was more dominant in the color scheme.

Trail ruins and archaeology: Mixed feelings. I think archaeology is a fun mechanic, I like exploring the trail ruins, but they really, really turn inventory management into an absolute nightmare.

There are many different varieties of pottery sherds, I think at least 20. Sherds of different types do not stack. There are 4 armor trims that can be dropped by suspicious gravel in trail ruins. Trims of different types do not stack. The trail ruin structures themselves include many different varieties of terracotta and glazed terracotta, (at least 6 different colors of each) and—you guessed it!—each type stacks separately.

Additionally, suspicious gravel in trail ruins may drop any of several colors of candle (I have found red, purple, green, brown, and blue candles) and any of several colors of glass pane. The process of digging the ruin out will fill your inventory with at least 6 stacks of gravel as well as a lot of dirt, coarse dirt, cobblestone, and flint.

To top it all off, unless you want to enchant your brush with Unbreaking, you will need to carry multiple brushes because the brush breaks before the ruin is fully cleared.

Even with multiple shulker boxes clearing a ruin fully in one trip is impossible. What were the devs even thinking??? Are we expected to throw away the candles and other "junk" drops and ignore the glazed terracotta, mud bricks, and other tedious-to-obtain blocks in the structure itself?

This update shares with 1.19 the bizarre attribute of the devs supposedly being very focused on the player experience, while seemingly not noticing key parts of the player experience. The new mechanics and features in both have some incredibly fun and engaging elements to them but also some glaring problems.

I'm pretty much just indifferent to the clay pots? They would be more fun if they incorporated some basic colored patterns and/or actually could be used for something.

Changes to sign editing, and hanging signs are both fantastic.

The "Netherite Upgrade" is shit and I'm not sorry to say it.

Like...netherite is already so incredibly tedious and difficult to obtain that it's almost not worth bothering with. 4 ancient debris is needed to craft a single netherite ingot. You need 16 ancient debris to upgrade a full diamond armor set to netherite, and 8 more if you want to upgrade a sword and one pickaxe. If you don't have Mending on all of them, basically go fuck yourself, because from that point you will need multiple netherite ingots to repair a piece of equipment in the same way you would need multiple diamonds to repair diamond equipment. All of this for a set of equipment that will be fucking gone if you die and can't recover it.

And yet the devs have decided to??? fucking...add a generic, painfully uncharismatic new item to provide another barrier to obtaining netherite gear? because it's too easy or something???

I haven't broken into the other new additions very much, but I will try to obtain a sniffer egg soon...

[dzmoot]

On Namasis, the Moon of Toons, our protagonists were taking a well deserved break from their chaotic adventures following their journey to the Wacky Worlds. There was Zappy of course, sarcastic wisenheimer who was neck deep into his brand new arcade game, Super Mikey Cousins. Gallantly, as the game's protagonist Mikey, he collected his golden rings, squashing several tomato monsters into ketchup, laughing maniacally like he was Dr. Frankenstein or an evil nutcase in a straightjacket. Before he knew it, he beat his previous high score.

I am the greatest gamer in all of Tuundom!

Nearby, Kruonch, the kind and sometimes cantankerous father figure was rolling his eyes as he read the news of an upcoming meteor shower. He decided that today was as good as any other to break out the old cigarette holder and blow smoke puffs around his own head. He then nearly swallowed the entire thing upon reading the score of last night's basketball game.

Blasted! Those darn Fossils blew it against the Copernicus Craters!

Downstairs, Hampire, blood sucking chemist like Grandpa Munster was trying out his new plug in cauldron. He was fixing up a cure for boils for his friend Peter Pimpelpopper who got himself a bad case of pus filled boils after eating a contaminated lunar sushi. His friend Mitchell Manhees went to visit his aunt down south of Inkwell Village and brought him some fresh powdered root of asphodel and he was anxious to brew something with it.

Lastly, there was the feisty little doll Siobhan, simply bored and down in the dumps. She didn't tussle with her dolls in the dollhouse, nor did she finagle with her beloved Ippicus snow globe or draw any pictures of characters to come up with funny names for. She just sat there, festering away in the sea of boredom she made for herself, sighing and longing for something exciting to come along. Lizardton Longleggs was attending a reptile convention and Zilch, his candy corn headed ghost dog was staying with the gang for a few days. He quietly floated over to Siobhan and offered to play fetch with his beloved bone, but Siobhan just turned back around and sighed once again.

Sorry Zilch, but it's just one of those days. If only there was something to do beside sit around this place and stare at the rug.

Then she rose off the floor and patted him on the head.

I wanna go somewhere, somewhere exotic, somewhere I've never been to before.

Zilch whimpered and Siobhan smiled.

Ha, I know I've been to a lot of exotic places in the past but there are so many other places to explore!

Then she ran over to her sketchbook and opened it up, showing Zilch the pictures she drew of Razlaobo.

That's Namasis in another dimension. It was inhabited by weird creatures and had blood instead of water. Then we got eaten by a skull monster and helped a fish and some glob creatures fight fidget spinner monsters!

Zilch gagged. Siobhan turned the page. She then showed Zilch a picture she drew of Zappy and the alternate versions of himself he encountered on Goorak.

When Zappy defeated that Crony guy, he accidentally ripped the manyverse and brought in different Zappies. Then this little worm tried to kill all of them and Zappy found some ring and came looking for us while we were out looking for him!

Zilch began sniffing the pages as Siobhan quickly shut the book on his little black nose. She laughingly apologized.

I'm saying that there are all these other universes and we could explore each and every one of them, but how could we do it.

She then frowned as she opened up her sketchbook again, showing the drawing she did of the Ring of Carconoicus, nearly identical to the way Zappy described it to her.

Too bad that ring turned to poop. We could have used that.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a grand rumbling was heard beneath Siobhan's bedroom floor. Zilch quickly phased through Siobhan until his candy corn head was protruding from her chest. Then the entire room trembled and swerved back and forth like a swing in the park. Siobhan was getting scared but before the fear could be cranked up any higher, the trembling and swerving stopped. Her fear dissolved.

Whew! Must have been a moonquake!

A relieved Siobhan turned around, the smile on her face quickly turning to an open mouth as she saw someone in the room with her besides Zilch. It wasn't Zappy, Kruonch or Hampire. She screamed as Zilch barked but their howls of terror were muted out by the screams of the other individual who flailed his arms around like some sort of tribal dancer.

As Kruonch dashed upstairs, his daughter fainted on her favorite cat shaped rug. Zilch flew under the desk to hide as Kruonch flung the door open. There was nothing there and he looked down at his daughter.

Ah! Poor kitten's exhausted! I must have heard those next door neighbors playing torture chamber again!

As he closed the door, the individual emerged from the other side. He took his large banana fingers and started poking Siobhan in the forehead until she came to. Zilch emerged from under the desk and started tugging on the fellow's pants. After tearing a piece of his pants off, he realized it was edible and devoured it in seconds. Siobhan was still terrified but came to realize that this guy that she feared was made entirely of food!

Your pants are made of roast beef? Your jacket's made of cabbage and your hair is spaghetti? Are you some sort of buffet table reject or something?

The food fellow smiled revealing no teeth in his mouth, strands of melted cheese in their place. Then he began to talk.

You never heard of me, have you, little one?

Siobhan shook her head.

Can't say I have. And I really don't like you just entering my room like that!

The fellow continued, his spaghetti hair flailing in the air like tentacles and his meatball eyes pulsating like possessed ground beef.

The humans of Earth are quite familiar with me, but you Tuuns, I can't believe you have no idea about me! Why, those Earthlings have even written a song in my honor, a song about me and my wondrous ladle!

Siobhan stared at Zilch, his little black eyes glimmering in curiosity.

I still don't understand.

Then the fellow stuck his banana hand out into open air, moving the digits ever so slightly as a metallic rattling was heard from afar outside. The rattling got louder and louder, closer and closer until a large blackhole opened up and from within came a massive soup ladle which the fellow quickly clasped, cradling it in his arms like a newborn for several moments before placing it in it's proper position under his arm. Siobhan's mind was blown. It was as if it shut down and started up again.

Okay, who the heck are you?

The fellow's cheesy mouth opened yet again.

There was a man who lived on the moon and his name was Aiken Drum. I AM AIKEN DRUM!

Siobhan kicked Aiken Drum right in his eggplant foot but it didn't phase him one bit.

Why are you here?

Leaning on his ladle like a walking stick, Aiken started circling around Siobhan and Zilch.

My dear girl, it was you who summoned me from below the moon's surface! Did you or did you not say that you would like to travel the multiverse?

Siobhan wasn't sure if she should answer but Aiken could read her facial expressions like a book. He patted her on the head.

It's alright, deary! Curiosity, did, what do they say on Earth, killed the cat, right? Not only did it kill the cat but it skinned it and wore it's fur as a coat! I should know, I killed a cat made of cabbage once and that's how I got my coat!

Siobhan was getting a little tired of this goon.

Get to your point before I get my daddy up hear to kick your....

Out of thin air, Aiken summoned a bar of soap and shoved it into Siobhan's mouth.

Now, now! I was going to give you my magic ladle, but not if you're gonna have a mouth like a toilet!

Siobhan tried to talk but she nearly gagged with the horrid tasting soap on her tongue. Aiken quickly withdrew it and continued.

For one day, you can have my ladle. It's not just good for playing music you know! You and your friends can travel to as many universes as you want just by pointing it in the air, spoon side up and saying CHUTES AND LADDERS!

He then handed the ladle to Siobhan who examined it very carefully. She was a little excited, but a little skeptical as well.

How do we get back to this dimension?

Aiken snickered and began to eat one of the pepperoni buttons off his shirt.

Point it in the opposite direction and say LADDERS AND CHUTES of course! I know you'll have a blast. Once you've seen all the things I've seen, you'll be a brand new Tuun!

He then approached Siobhan and held out his hand.

You can trust me, deary. We're friends now, right?

Siobhan's skepticism slowly melted away as she stared at her new companion. She truly wished Moto was there to read the guy's heart and see if he was truly sincere, but he didn't seem all that bad. So to be safe, Siobhan didn't shake his hand but instead pulled a large strand of spaghetti hair out of Aiken's head. He yelped for a brief moment but quickly chuckled and brushed it off.

Alright, Mr. Drum, I'll take your word. But if this turns out to be some sort of hoax, I'm coming for you, we're all coming for you and we're bringing garlic bread!

Aiken laughed again.

Alright, little one. You drive a hard bargain. Have a good time and take good care of the ladle. I'll be back for it tomorrow.

And within moments, Aiken Drum was gone, a few drops of tomato sauce left in his wake, leaving Siobhan, Zilch and the ladle alone in the room. Siobhan gazed at her new prize as she excitedly dashed downstairs.

[veneli]

Valentine's Love Potion

I just realized that I could've made love potions for Valentines in the apothecary. It's not too late, right? Disclaimer: it's not actually edible, there's fictional ingredients in it. This is just to uh, match the aesthetics of the blog's apothecary setup <3

To make this actually edible, replace Stargrass with a sweet herb or mint (if you like mint) or crushed tea leaves, and use rose tea for the rose water. Basically makes a very sweet rose-y syrup that you can drizzle on pancakes or waffles!

Recipe to a Love Potion - leave the person you give this to infatuated with you! Only works if they have feelings for you, though. It just enhances their attraction towards you by a little.

A single rose blossom collected under a full moon

5 tablespoons of honey! Any type will do - older honey yields a stronger, deeper aroma and taste

3 tablespoons of sugar (packed brown sugar or granulated is fine)

1/2 cup of dew water collected at sunrise

2 blades of Stargrass, crushed and ground in a mortar and pestle

strawberries for colour and taste - as many as you desire

Instructions:

pour the collected dew water into a small cauldron.

kiss the heart of the rose, and place it in the cauldron. Water should cover the rose.

drizzle honey around the rose, and sprinkle the crushed Stargrass into the cauldron.

pour sugar into the caldron.

light a small fire and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally until the sugar, honey and Stargrass have been dissolved and incorporated. Mixture should be thickened to a syrup-like state.

remove the rose. It should be covered in syrup. Leave aside to cool.

dice the strawberries and crush for juice. Strain out the seeds and save for later.

drizzle the strawberry juice into the potion. Do not stir!

pour the potion into a vial. The mixture should have swirls of strawberry juice in it.

leave to cool on a rack.

when the rose is cooled, crush the crystallized blossom in the mortar into a fine powder.

Sprinkle a pinch into the potion and cork the vial.

Give to whomever your heart desires!

(yields 3 potions)

alright, that was so fun to write !!!

The idea stems from making your own syrups/candies, it's a pretty simple concept that we Canadians do almost every year if there's sufficient amount of snow! Maple Taffies, ever heard of them?

Boil maple syrup with sugar until it thickens, and pour it on the snow to cool and harden. Then, right before it's about to become completely solid, take a popsicle stick and roll it up into a lollipop-type of thing! Sticks horribly to your teeth, but hey, more candy to save for later :D

instead of making a Love Candy though (that would be very interesting, I'd love to do something about that) I thought love potions, yes, apothecary, yes, valentines, yeah, then totally forgot about it because I didn't write it down immediately :p So here it is, valentine's content, 4 days after valentines. To justify my tardiness, there was not a full moon until 2 nights ago, so the rose wouldn't have worked as well. Thanks everyone <3 and happy Valentine's to my wonderful mutuals and followers who support me so much TvT

you deserve a tag @unhappyriver @bittersweet--chaos @the-sugar-crash @chaoskidslaughableattempts @internettz @lovelexis @cha0t1cl0v3 @themonotonysyndrome@moonandstarlightsposts @avior-the-beloved @softredrobin @bruh-im-aggro @sweetheartmilo @cottagecorexboy @raaanciid @floofdeloop @hellenhasdied @lovelylonerliterature @sunflow3er @marrsdean Apologies for the mass tag! Thank you moots! happy (late) valentines <3

[luminashdawnwing]

Reflections of the Past

Luminash did not feel the cold. While his robes whipped around him and whirls of white powder were lifted off the ground by Icecrown’s frigid wind, a ripple, a fold, in space held the magister aloof from such concerns. His only thoughts were, as they had been many years before when he last stood in this place, of all that the Scourge had taken from him, from all of his people. The threat of the Scourge had been broken, the fallen avenged, their blood, crying out for justice, calmed and put to rest. Freed of the new Lich King’s grasp, though, the ravening hordes truly were unleashed, and seemingly driven by some yet-unknown will. And so he had come, just as he had before, answering no call to arms, but rather the spilled blood of Quel’Thalas. Unmoved by the blizzard raging around him, the magister raised his gaze from the gentle slope before him, which dropped precipitously into a ravaged crevice with walls of black ice, swarming with the Scourge and reeking, even at this distance, of decay and the plague cauldrons of the Cult of the Damned.

Above it all, the sky had been shattered. How, Luminash still did not know, but before word of the Scourge had ever reached Silvermoon, he had felt something wrong in the world’s fabric, as if the fine, beautifully delicate threads of space had been snagged suddenly on a gnarled branch and just as suddenly rent, like a child, blissful in its ignorance, losing their footing while climbing a tree. The feeling was just as gut-wrenching, just as unexpected, and over just as quickly as a fall. It was not until word came of Scourge in the Ghostlands and along the Dead Scar growing bolder, carving new paths into barely-healed glades, and news of a broken sky opening like a hungry mouth over Icecrown that Luminash put the two together. Now he himself looked up into that gulf, its edges jagged as broken glass, and stared into what seemed an infinite dark.

Suddenly, Luminash was jolted from his thoughts by the crunching of footfalls in the snow behind him. Dangerous, it was, to lose oneself out here. Nearly drowned out in the wind, but still audible now that the magister focused more closely, there were sickly gurgles, nonsensical babbling, and gnashing of teeth in addition to the footfalls - sure signs of Scourge. The sounds brought back memories best left buried, the slaughter of the Dawnwing line, the proud spires of Silvermoon brought to ruin...

With barely restrained fury, the magister whirled around to face the approaching undead. Instead of the bleak plains of Icecrown before him, he instead saw the eternally vernal forests of Eversong. Rather than a sky marred by a hungry abyss, the sun filtered through the leaves, the sound of their rustling in the breeze concealing the gibbering of ghouls scrabbling at the earth around the trunks. He was no longer alone, but standing with a handful of others, ragged Thalassian militia wearing Dawnwing colors - how long it had been since he had seen that silver sunrise? He was not a magister, simply a scholar, untried by combat, untested in politics, stomach twisted in knots and blood running cold at the sight of the monsters’ pallid flesh sloughing from their bones as they ran, clawing at the ground like beasts. Untethered from where he truly stood, struck by the icy hand of a fear he had not known in many years, Luminash barely reacted as the ghouls descended upon him, teeth and claws tearing at his robes, though they met more resistance than they perhaps expected with the armor plates sewn onto the fine fabric. While snow whipped around the magister and his assailants, he only saw the canopy of Eversong, the sun growing wan and the leaves growing sickly and black as he fell under the ghouls’ onslaught. This place, this time, though... It was not right. There was, beneath the stunned terror of the scholar, an inkling of recognition that something was wrong, that, despite it all, he had stepped into the same river twice. Overcome now not by the weight of memory, but by the realization of the present, with a shout filled both with anger and fear, Luminash unleashed a concussive blast of arcane power that hurled the pack of ghouls away, some of them thrown from the hill upon which the magister stood, the clattering of their bones on the icy ground echoing from below, others struck with such force that their sinews came undone. In the end, only one managed to struggle to its malformed feet. Luminash looked down to his torn robes with a grimace, running his hands over fresh wounds, blood staining the tips of his fingers. He shook his head as he advanced on the lone ghoul, rage simmering just beneath his calm, collected exterior. With each of his steps crunching into the snow, roiled as it was by the ghouls’ approach, his wounds closed, though it was strange, unnatural, as if they were being torn open in reverse, teeth and claws un-ripping flesh, jagged gashes disappearing as if they never had happened. Around him, the driving snow even seemed to be thrown back whence it had come for a moment, until the river of time came undammed, and resumed its flow. “Whatever force drives your kind this time, whatever has come from the shattered sky and hurled you against our world...” Luminash raised his hands to his sides, palms up, and the ghoul rose as well, letting out a panicked series of wet gurgles as it was lifted from the ground by some unseen hand. “You will find us no easy prey, not this time. Not after all we have seen, all we have done. All the fallen we have avenged.” The magister brought his hands together before him, and the ghoul shrieked in pain as it clutched at its stomach, clawing as if trying to dig something out. Back in Eversong, Luminash stood, the weight of the ghouls lifted from him, and breathed a sigh of relief. Too late did he see the cost of his safety - the militiamen lay dead at his feet, one breathing its last as he pulled his blade from the back of the final ghoul. As the wind grew foul with plague and the trees began to rot before his eyes - was this truly happening so quickly? - Luminash turned and ran, back to the Dawnwing estate, a warning on his lips: They cannot be stopped. “There will be no shattered spires, no blackened forests this time. We cut out your heart, your Lich King once.” Finally reaching the squirming monster, Luminash looked into its glassy, dead eyes, “Whoever sees me through your eyes, little one, you must know this...” The magister leaned in close and whispered, “You will be stopped.” Separating his hands, the fabric of space rent before him, and in a single instant, the ghoul was no more, its form twisted beyond recognition ever so briefly before the release of energy sprayed its rotten gore across the snow, leaving nothing more than a smear of blood and bone. Stepping carefully around the ruin of his assailant, Luminash turned to make his way back to the Argent forward camp where Jaskian would be awaiting his return. He spoke to himself as he walked away, “Never again.” Whether the words were to bolster the resolve of the magister in Icecrown or to reassure the frightened scholar dashing through Eversong that not all would be lost, he could not say. ( @kharrisdawndancer for Jaskian mention! )

[everly-kindred]

Eve’s Diary - Entry #53

Date: 12th of March, 2027

Dear Diary, 

I’m trying to write in you more frequently, like I said I would, so here we go! 

I wanna say first off that I did a big tarot reading like I said I would, since Ostara is coming, in precisely a week! But I’ll put my translation of the cards down at the bottom, after I write about everything else. 

I’ve been having a lot of dreams about frogs lately, and it reminded me of when my Gran took me to this rose garden. There were this big stone rings, like giant hag stones, and my Gran told me they’re called fairy stones and that hag stones can be held up to your eye, and if you look through the hole, you’ll see faeries. She’s a muggle, and that’s a legend that has existed for centuries, for them. 

I wonder if they really do see faeries… What happens if a muggle comes across a faerie? Like… our kind of faeries? I should ask the Care of Magical Creatures professor next chance I get.

Anyways, this garden was sort of a like… loop within a circle shape, with little bridges going over these ponds with fountains, and the whole thing was surrounded by a little stone wall, and filled with benches and rose bushes and little trees. It was a tiny park, but beautiful. And I remember there were so many frogs, and I spent ages trying to catch one, while my Gran relaxed on a bench and read her book. Sometimes she’d stop and laugh at me, though, especially when I almost slipped in the pond for probably the tenth time that day. It was a good day. 

Did you know that frogs lay eggs and the eggs float in clusters on top of the water? I wonder what would have happened if I scooped up some of the eggs and water and kept it in a jar… It was this weird, greenish yellow slime, with little black dots in each center. I think tadpoles are rather cute, actually. 

Well, my frog dreams reminded me of that. I still need to ask Gallo what it means. Maybe it’s just because it’s been getting warmer? The snow and ice has started melting, and it’s been looking like it might rain.

I’ve been doing watercolors and sketches, and I’ve thought about getting on my broom and flying high enough that I could sketch all of Hogwarts. I think that’d be a rather magnificent experience, don’t you? Terrifying, too. I’d want someone else there to catch me if I lose balance and fall. It’d likely be best done on an extra thick, sturdy broom. 

The other thing that’s been really pressing on my mind lately is the gold cauldron in the potions shop, in Hogsmeade. I can’t remember if I’ve already written about that in you, but I’ve been daydreaming about it for months! Well, I day dream about a lot of things - wand making, bread… well, baking it and other things, the stories I want to write, making cute music boxes… But the gold cauldron especially! I want to save up for it, which would be very rewarding… It would also be rewarding to win it in some sort of competition, though. 

Though, the fountain outside of the Great Hall was sort of… whispering to me in a weird way. Like, I was drawn to it. So I took my last galleon and I wished for the gold cauldron! I hope it was worth it… I was also kind of thinking about rabbits and fairies at the time too, though, so I hope I didn’t muddle it up.

Something odd and… kind of nice happened the other night, which motivated me. I was running from Peeves (he was trying to dump mud on me) when I ducked into the dueling room, and came across one of the girls in the dueling club there. Her name is Briony Boggs, and she’s a Gryffindor. We got to talking, and she told me how my wand needs me for guidance, and I have to lead it. That I need to be confident with it for my spells to go off, and if I think I’ll fail, I will. So I’ve been trying to change the way I think about things ever since. 

As far as what’s actually been happening in school, I’ve been going to my classes like normal. Though, of course, classes aren’t normal by usual standards. Something weird is always happening, but that’s just how it goes isn’t it? The ravenclaw boys were fainting in herbology… I think they don’t wear their earmuffs on purpose when handling mandrakes. I successfully cared for this plant called moly, though! I didn’t overwater them and I wasn’t too rough with them or anything! 

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, we talked about different subjects and how they might be used in defending oneself from dark wizards. My anxiety was too high during that class, though, I didn’t hear much of what was said and I don’t remember a whole lot of what I did process. Basically, as soon as I walked in, Vikander told me to stay after class. I thought it might’ve been because of my clothes, because we had a really odd notice from him to wear house pride stuff instead of uniform and… some people wore uniform and said it’s because they were told by him to be careful of sudden odd changes of behaviour… or something like that.

Anyways, it wasn’t about that, though. He wanted to ask me about my vision. So I went up to his office, and the Healer and one of the Phoenix girls were there, Nicole I think. And he took off his glove which seemed to be like… alive or something. And his hand was all burned but I did my best not to stare. Then he put his hand on my head and asked me to think about the memory of the vision very clearly, so I did. I guess he has some sort of… mind reading magic when he touches people’s heads? I dunno. I got hot chocolate out of it, though. So that was cool. I wonder what he thought of the vision… How he felt when he saw what I saw, especially the part with him in it. 

I went to dragonology, and we talked about how dragons are similar to seekers - specifically Viktor Krum. I was a bit distracted, though. Did I mention that Professor Eastwood’s eyes are orange? It’s the most… unique eye colour I’ve ever seen! And, I mean, Blightly’s eye is all red and scarred, and Dracheblume has purple eyes… Plus there are a few people with two different coloured eyes at the school, too. But his are orange and like… glowing. 

In Artificer club we made a thing called a PMRA which is this like phonograph with legs and it moves and dances around and plays music and can record stuff for you! We built them and then Bonnie cast the spells for me to enchant mine, and also Marigold and this Gryffindor boy named August’s. 

You can feed the PMRA sheet music or give it records to play. I went to the music room and grabbed some sheet music for Celestina Warbeck and the Weird Sisters, and also some of the Beetles and Peter Paul and Mary… Oh, also the Mamas and the Papas. It’d be cool to build up a music collection for it! 

For now mine sits by my dorm bed, and I have it play music very quietly for me at night. Someone in the dorms is a bit of a snor-er and someone else talks in their sleep… I’ve been told I also talk in my sleep. Well, mutter more like. But occasionally I’ll be sleeping and then some girl a few beds away from me will start muttering strange things like… especially food related things. She must dream about lasagna an awful lot. 

There've been some glitter pranks around the school, too. If you step on a trigger on the ground, you get splashed with this powder paint, and it gets everywhere and passes so easily onto other people, so some students (lookin’ at you, Peach) will go around and purposefully try to spread it. I think it’s funny, even if it’s messy, but when have I ever been a stranger to messiness? Most of my clothing is covered in paint stains…

It’s funny timing, though, because the ministry is now in the school. They’re investigating the forest. Apparently, a bunch of students were caught there, and now there’s all these aurors and occasionally Minister Merriwether walking around. The scary thing, though, is that apparently they’re putting a barrier up around the school, and if you cross it, you’ll… disintegrate? I wonder if that’s painful… I imagine so. I hope the animals know to stay away from it. 

Anyways, that’s all I can think of to catch you up on, so that means it’s tarot reading time. I think I’ve done this spread before, perhaps last spring? It’s a six card spread and you make it in the The first card asks what I ‘need to decay’ or rather what I need to let go of. For this, I drew the Emperor. While he represents masculinity and a leader, he also represents a giver of sorts… So either there is a masculine presence in my life that I need to let go of, or I need to stop… providing for other people? I don’t know. This one didn’t make sense to me. I’ll have to think about it. I don’t think I’m particularly giving, and if I am, I don’t see how I’d be too giving… 

Second one asks what will ‘fertilize me’ which actually means what do I need to learn from. I drew the five of swords reversed. This card, in reverse, would mean something like the desire to be mean, maybe because of wounded pride. So perhaps I am to learn from a moment in which I wanted to be mean instead of kind? Maybe it means I need to learn from any desire I might have to act when I’m angry. I’m not sure. I’ll keep it in mind though and treat it like a warning for the future. 

For the third card, it asks what will ‘nourish me’ which is what I can look forward to. I drew the Chariot. The Chariot is a card of control and victory so… I’ll try not to jump to conclusions or assumptions about what that means and jinx myself. (butboydoIsurehopeit’stalkingaboutquidditch)

The fourth card asks how I ‘burst forth from the earth’ or rather what seeds I should plant for the future. For this, I drew the Magician. I’ve had this card before, and it seems like it shows up a lot in my readings. So as we know, this means power, concentration, dedicating myself. Focusing on strengthening my… smarts and wisdom and stuff. So the seeds I should plant are the seeds of learning, which makes a lot of sense since… I’m in school and all that. 

As for the fifth card, it asks how I ‘grow tall’ which means what skills I should be focusing on and improving. The deck gave me the ten of swords. This card is a card of deep suffering and sadness, so if I’m needing to focus on a skill and building on it, perhaps it should be the skill of… healthily expressing sadness? I guess I do bottle stuff up sometimes.

And finally the sixth card asks how I will ‘blossom’ or rather where I need balance, and for this, I drew the nine of wands reversed. This card is a card of encouragement, confidence, and facing down fear, so maybe it’s telling me that I need to balance out my anxieties and my defeated attitude with bravery and courage. So that I am realistic and honest with myself, but also willing to take a risk and push myself to my full… potential?

Anyways that’s my reading. It felt good to get back into it and do a big one for once. I’ve just been pulling one card or doing three card readings everyday or every other day. My back hurts from sitting over my diary and writing, so I think I’m gonna lay down and go to bed.

Much love, Everly

[ Eve’s Wiki Page ]

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[anapedias]

How To Get Powdered Snow 85

How to get powder snow. You can get it using a bucket on the powder snow block or the cauldron with snow.

AINOLWAY Instant Snow Fake Snow Powder for Cloud Slime

The powder snow set is a set trainer skin in pokemon unite, one of the many available fashion outfits in the game.

How to get powdered snow. Once the player has the powdered snow in their bucket, they are able to place a. Whatever you need to do, get it done. You only need 2 buckets of powder snow and 1 cauldron.

Is there something i'm missing here? I've been trying to get powdered snow for the past few days and i've already gone through 4 snowstorms. Powder snow can then be.

A cauldron in a snowy biome fills with powder snow when it is snowing. When it is filled, take your empty bucket and interact with the snow in the cauldron to get a powder snow bucket. Once the cauldron is filled with snow, you can scoop it out with a bucket.

How to get powder snow in minecraft 1.17. Powder snow was a block that was announced with the biome vote for the mountains biome that won the vote, and it was also announced at minecon live 2019. It can be collected using a bucket and placed down by using.

Can you farm powdered snow? In order to do this, you must always pick your lines (mind your surroundings, batman). Doing so will place a block of powdered snow on the ground.

Also, what is different about powder snow than other blocks in minecraft. The problem here is a devilishly simple one: Once the cauldron is full, players can pick up the powdered snow by using an empty bucket.

To do this, all you need to do is hold the bucket and interact with your desired spot. To get powder snow, place a cauldron outside in a snowy biome while it is snowing. Cauldrons are essentially tubs that can collect water, lava, and powdered snow.

Powder snow farming is the renewable obtaining of powder snow, a block useful for traps and technical purposes. Powder snow spawns naturally in areas where there is regular snow, and it looks indistinguishable from regular snow so the only way you can find it naturally is by quite literally stumbling across. Being in the snow slows down all movement and causes mobs and players to slowly freeze and take damage.

I set up 4 cauldrons at different y levels and this is the only result. You can also acquire powder snow by placing a cauldron when it snows in a snowy biome. The laws of physics play a major role in snowmobile powder riding.

Keep your head up and always look ahead of your snowmobile. The bucket of powder snow, as the name suggests, is just a bucket of snow. In addition, they are an important injection for each one you open of several thousands.

Powder snow is a trap block that can be obtained from snowy slopes and groves biomes. The key is to keep your snowmobile moving through the snow. Mobs fall right through the block and so can the player.

With a cauldron set up in a snowy biome, it will slowly accumulate powdered snow. Or does it just take a very, very long time to get any powder snow? Tutorial explaining how you can get the powder snow block.

When it is filled, take your empty bucket and interact with the snow in the cauldron to get a powder snow bucket. Placing a cauldron in a snowy biome, an ice biome or high enough in the air that the regular rain is snow, will collect powdered snow until it is full. How to break bedrock with powder snow.

You can now place a block of powder snow anywhere you want. Just like capturing pokémon, each egg gives you a certain amount of powder snow. As of version 1.17, it is only obtainable from cauldron s placed in cold biomes, where powder snow accumulates in the cauldron as it snows.

Unlike normal snow, you will be able to walk through powdered snow. I left a cauldron out for a full cycle of snow, and i didn't get any powder snow in the cauldron. Powder snow naturally generates in groves and snowy slopes.

This will slow you down and apply the freezing effect. Read on to learn how to get the powder snow set fashion outfit, what it looks like, and how much it costs. This method is essentially a glitch that appeared in version 1.17.

How do i get powdered snow in the minecraft 1.17 update? So whereas on the piste you can just push up against the hard pack, try that in. Those of 10 km give more than those of 5 km and these in turn give more than those of 2 km.

Log in or sign up to leave a comment. In order to get this snowy block, you will first need to find a biome where it can snow. Pick your lines through obstacles before you reach them;

Powdered snow can be placed directly on the ground by using a bucket. Powdered snow can also be gathered using just a cauldron and a bucket. To get powder snow, place a cauldron outside in a snowy biome while it is snowing.

Do mountain biomes just not work? All you have to do is find a snowy biome and place a cauldron in open and when it snows, it automatically gets collected in the cauldron and then you have to use an empty bucket to have it. You can now place a block of powder snow anywhere you want.

Powder snow accumulates only when it is snowing. At this point, you just need to wait for some snow to roll around and fill up the cauldron with powder snow. You can then use this bucket to make powder snow by.

Using bone meal is the best way to make them grow fast. After you’ve done that, you will need to craft a cauldron and place it down somewhere outside where the snow can fall on top of it. Opening eggs walking is also a good way to get a good amount of these objects.

[msbunnee]

Just A Kiss

Hello! This is my submission for the Fairy Tail Valentines Gift Exchange. I wrote this for @stardresss and I hope you like it! I apologize if it seems like it runs through the story quickly...I had a lot of detail in mind and tried to compress a lot of it. This is also the first fic I’ve written in about 6 years, so again I apologize if its not up to par. Enjoy!

Title: Just a Kiss

Author: MsBunnee

Pairing: NaLu

It was a bright, cold morning in early February. A blanket of snow had fallen the previous night and the forest was sparkling with the reflection of the sun's rays. It looked as if it was going to be a peaceful day in the quiet wood, until a loud boom reverberated through the still air.

The disruption came from a small cottage nestled near the outskirts of the forest, which currently had black smoke billowing from the blown-out windows. Inside, amid the chaos and general unholiness of destruction, was Lucy- hacking her lungs out. She had stumbled to one of the windows and was trying to make sense of what happened, although she had a pretty good idea of whom was responsible.

As soon as the room had cleared some she whirled on her mischievous familiar, a now slightly-blackened blue cat whose lack of air could've been from either the explosion or from laughter, but Lucy was now intent that the reason be her hands around his neck.

"What the hell did you do, cat?!?!" Her face was absolutely lived, although slightly less intimidating now that the smoke left streaks of ash all over her face. Nevertheless, she yanked him by the scruff of his neck and held him up at eye level.

The blue cat (known as Happy), had stifled his laughter and tried to look as pitiful and contrite as possible. "Aww Loooshi!! I just wanted to make you smile! You've been so busy lately that you don't have any time for fun!"

"Yeah I bet," Lucy growled, dropping the feline and looking around. Her cottage was covered in soot and whatever substances had been in her cauldron- at least nothing was melting. The blonde witch ground her teeth. She couldn't believe how reckless and hindering her familiar was. He was supposed to be a helpful companion, not a dangerous crackpot full of pranks!

She sighed and walked over to her cupboard, beneath which was hanging a keyring with an elaborate set of keys. The magical tools warmed in her palm, sensing her presence. Lucy selected one and disentangled it from the others. Holding the key in front of her, Lucy began to chant. A warm glow began to emanate from her and her cottage seemed to wait with bated breath. Even Happy was silent as he watched his master work her magic.

Lucy finished her chant, and there was a moment of silence. Then, with a blinding flash, a summoned figure stepped into this plane and bowed to the blonde witch.  She wore a simple black dress with a white apron and kept her pink hair held back with a simple yet elegant hairband.

"Good morning Mistress! How can I assist you today?"

"Virgo, thank you for coming so quickly. Would you please help me clean up this mess?"

The summoned maid glanced at the ruined cottage and snorted. "Please Mistress, let me handle this inconvenience. I'm sure your time is better spent delivering punishment to those who deserve it." She eyeballed Happy, who stuck his tongue out at her. Virgo snapped her fingers, and in the blink of an eye Lucy's cottage looked as if it had never been touched. Surfaces were sparking clean, utensils were organized, and even Lucy and Happy were cleaned up. The only thing that wasn't back to normal were the windows- they were still blown out, but at least there wasn't any splinters or broken glass lying around. Lucy sighed in relief.

"Thank you so much Virgo!" The maid gave a deep bow. "It was my pleasure Mistress!" And with a spin of her dress and another flash of light, the spirit was gone.

Lucy clapped her hands together. Really, she should be doing something more to chastise her unhelpful familiar, but it was true that the witch was extremely busy. Valentine's Day was coming up, and with the holiday of love came lots of paying customers. While Lucy had an affinity to summoning and contracting spirits, her real specialty was crafting high quality potions.

Ever since she was little, Lucy loved to research potions and their magical effects. It was a complex and precise art, with little room for error lest you accidentally melt your client's insides or blow yourself up. However the rewards were often greater than the risks, and Lucy was a pretty smart practitioner. Nearly all of her potions crafted worked exactly as they were supposed to- sometimes better. Her high-quality concoctions gave her a decent living wage and allowed her to get some of the rarer ingredients for her specialty brews. The little shop she ran in the town of Magnolia had a lot of commercial potions for the public; popular little elixirs that gave the drinker short bouts of luck, or medleys that improved cognitive thinking, and philters that could let you perform parlor tricks.

Lucy enjoyed crafting all of these, for she reveled in the delight of others. Non-magic clientele were the best, for their appreciation of her magic cemented Lucy's happiness in her work. As far as holidays are concerned, Valentine's Day is the best. Not only did business increase for Lucy (hey, you had to pay taxes somehow!) but she was a firm believer in finding your true love and the general spirit of the holiday. Love potions in and of themselves weren't very effective for it defeated the purpose of true love, and Lucy refused to do business with those who wished to control others. However, potions for confidence, luck, and beauty were popular and relatively harmless. In fact, that was what she was working on before she was so rudely interrupted.

A couple days prior the blonde witch was visited by her friend Juvia, a gorgeous naiad whom had fallen in stalker-ish love with Gray, a winter warlock. Lucy had quickly talked Juvia out of a love potion (not only was it immoral, but would she be happy with a forced love?) and had sold her on a confidence booster instead. The potion she was brewing for Juvia would give her the confidence to approach Gray, the mental fortitude to articulate what she wanted to say and calmly relay it, and a slight negative emotion inhibitor, in case things went south. Lucy knew Juvia well enough to know that if she was rejected she wouldn't handle it well and would probably cause torrential downpours for the rest of the month, and she was NOT dealing with the floods again. Even with magic, it took ages to get the mildew smell out of her store.

Lucy made her way over to her cupboard again and opened the wide doors. There were tons of vials and beakers full of colorful liquid, boxes and pouches of bones and amputated creature parts, powders and pastes and more. After several minutes of searching through her ingredients, an agitated Lucy gave an angry huff and slapped the cupboard doors closed. The force of it shook the structure slightly, and a mollified Lucy steadied it with a careful touch.

"What's wrong?" Happy tentatively ventured. Lucy narrowed her eyes at the blue fur ball.

"It just so happens that my last batch of salamander scales was in that brew that you decided to detonate."

Happy seemed undeterred. "So why don't you go buy some more?"

Lucy leaned against her counter and rubbed her temples. "It's not like they're in the market down the street. It's an exotic item, and it takes weeks for the supplier to collect and ship them here."

After a few moments of thought, Lucy pushed herself off the counter and went to her bookcase. Happy could hear her muttering under her breath while she skimmed the spines and pulled random tomes from the shelves.

"Really should've thought of this...Valentine's Day...stupid cat...no choice...cocky narcissists...pickles..."

A thoroughly confused Happy magically sprouted wings and went to hover over Lucy, watching as she brought the tomes to the kitchen table and started rifling through them. Finding the appropriate pages and sections, the witch then started to gather utensils and ingredients; chopping this, grinding that, squeezing whatever that was, and combining it all in her cauldron. She snapped her fingers and instantly there was a fire underneath, slowly bringing the medley to a boil. When it looked like she was finished, Lucy pulled a particular spellbook towards her and propped it up to see it better. She looked over her shoulder at Happy and gave him a warning glare.

"Now, stay out of the way and keep quiet. And whatever you do, try not to give away any information. I mean it. Do. Not. Speak. Are we clear?"

Happy pulled his paw across his lips with a zipper motion and gave her a thumbs up. Lucy rolled her eyes, knowing that somehow he was going to be the death of her. Very gently, Lucy tipped a beaker of red liquid over her bubbling concotion and let three drops fall.

The potion started to sizzle, quietly at first but then it steadily grew louder, until it resembled a dull roar. The fire underneath the cauldron flared, and suddenly the temperature in the cottage skyrocketed. Happy flew a little ways back and landed on the open...well, broken windowsill, thankful for the winter air at his back as the heat from the cauldron pushed against his fur.

Lucy stood her ground before it, her eyes focused even though sweat started beading on her forehead. She held her arms out in an open stance, willing her magical energies forth to help direct the flow and find what she needed. She moved her lips in a low chant, gently calling, sifting, searching; the air turned dry and hotter still, and Lucy grit her teeth, pushing through the barriers of the planes. She needed to find one, just one willing soul...

All at once, like the line of a fishing pole suddenly snapping, there was a great flare of heat- Lucy had thrown her arms up to shield her face, sure that there were flames in her home. And then, the heat was gone. The temperature in the cottage had relatively returned to normal as the heat leaked out through the windows. Slowly, Lucy lowered her arms and looked towards her cauldron.

There was no one there. Lucy stood still, shocked and puzzled why it didn't work. She turned to reach for the spellbook to see if she missed anyth-

"Hey."

Lucy's heart nearly shot through her chest. She whirled around to see her visitor leaning casually against her kitchen counter. He looked like an average male human, but had unusually pink spiky hair. He was also built well, with very defined muscles cut in his torso that she could see. He looked relatively casual for a demon...not that she expected horns and a tail or anything. He was wearing a form-fitting black tank top, dark jeans, and a toothy grin; disarmingly normal.

Lucy suddenly remembered her purpose for this entire ordeal and closed her mouth- when had it opened? She schooled her features to look calm and confident; she was the one in control, she had summoned him. His dark eyes were glittering at her and his grin widened; apparently he had caught her staring.

Nevertheless, Lucy kept her façade of authority.

"Hi, I'm Lucy. Thank you for coming." The thank-you, of course, was just a formality. Technically the act of summoning was an act of force- an irritant, if you will. Those to be summoned feel the pull of the call from the summoner until it gets too unbearable to ignore. It was generally better to go and make a deal and get it over with.

The pink-haired demon straightened and took a few steps toward Lucy. "Name's Natsu! Nice place you got here." He glanced towards her windows and saw Happy, and his grin grew even wider, if that were possible. "Hey buddy! I've never seen such a cool blue cat!"

Happy puffed his chest out in pride and was about to respond before Lucy interrupted him by clearing her throat.

"Please, don't inflate his ego. If it gets any bigger I'll need another cottage to keep it in."

Happy glared at Lucy as Natsu laughed in a warm, boisterous tone that filled the cottage with a comfortable ambiance. Lucy felt heat rush through her veins and blush her cheeks...did his voice do that? Or was it still hot in here from the summoning ritual? Not that it really mattered.

"Anyway," Lucy continued as Natsu's chuckles died down and he turned his attention to her once again. "The reason I called for you is because I need your help retrieving some ingredients for my potions. I don't have a lot of time left before my deadline and it would be impossible for me to get them myself."

Lucy watched as Natsu's eyes flickered around the cottage again before settling on her with a smirk. Something in the way he looked at her put the witch back on guard again. She had almost forgotten that demons tended to be mischevous devils with hidden agendas. She wondered what sort of agenda Natsu had, if he had one. He seemed like a genuinely warm character; it was hard to imagine him conspiring ulterior motives.

"A scavenger hunt? Sounds like fun!" He folded his arms against his chest and looked down at her. When had he gotten so close?! He was so close that Lucy could feel heat coming off of his body in waves similar to the pulse of a heartbeat. It was a gentle heat, one that she wanted to be enveloped in...like being wrapped up in a comforting blanket on a cold night. But the proximity of the demon male also kept her thoughts racing, making it hard for her to keep a cool head and focus on the task at hand. Lucy masked her rising nervousness with a small chuckle and stood her ground, staring resolutely back into his dark eyes. She returned his smirk with a smile of her own.

"Fantastic! The first thing I need is a batch of salamander scales from the monster in Hell's Valley. That potion is supposed to be ready tomorrow evening so that ingredient takes top priority. I also am in need of Stellaria leaves from Mount Hakobe, and the fangs of the blue basilisk on Galuna Island."

Natsu tilted his head nonchalantly, as if she had asked him to get her bread, milk and eggs. "Piece of cake."

There was a moment of silence as Lucy waited for Natsu to continue. This was the part that she had anticipated from the start; the make or break moment in which Lucy had to choose between her customers or her dignity. Her reputation would suffer if she couldn't deliver on time, but what if he wanted something she couldn't procure? What would a demon want, exactly? It wasn't like a couple of rare materials was worthy of her soul or something.

"So," Natsu started, breaking Lucy's train of thought. "I accept your task of retrieving the ingredients for you, and in return..." He leaned down closer to Lucy, close enough to where Lucy could ascertain the scent of woodsmoke and pine.

"...you give me a kiss."

All the gears in Lucy's mind ground to halt and stuttered. Wait...did he just say...what...did she hear him correctly?

"A...kiss?" She echoed, trying to connect the dots in her brain. She knew what it meant, she wasn't an idiot, but why on earth would that be of any value to a demon like him? Was there some sort of trick he was playing that she couldn't foresee?

His dark eyes now glowed like intense embers, pinning Lucy with a stare that made her legs weak and her heart lump painfully in her throat. He moved his hand and gently held her chin up so they were only a few mere inches apart. His voice was low as he murmured, a timber of husky velvet that promised granted wishes and fulfilled fantasies, and she couldn't help but be pulled into the reverie of what a kiss with him would be like.

"I return with the requested materials within the timeframe, and in exchange you'll grant me the precious gift of your lips against mine...or, if you prefer, I can kiss you. I'll be sure to make it worth your while..."

Lucy was still stumbling through the fog of her mind which was quickly being consumed by a rush of desire. She blinked, trying to wrap her head around the offer.

"That's...all you want? Your services in exchange for a kiss?"

Natsu grinned, and a fang poked out from between his lips. Lucy's eyes locked on it, and suddenly all she could think about was that canine tugging on her bottom lip, his tongue begging entrance as his hands tangled in her long blonde locks.

"That's all."

Lucy swallowed, and the action helped bring her back to her senses a little bit. Her analytical mind examined the situation; the kiss was defined as a kiss, nothing more and nothing less. As far as she knew, her desire was her own, and she was of sound mind. She couldn't think of anything else that the demon could gain from the bargain, and it was easy enough. After all, it was a harmless little kiss.

Her chin still in his palm, Lucy looked up at Natsu through her lashes and gave a coy smile of her own.

"I accept your terms on the bargain Natsu. We have a deal."

"Awesome."

The demon finally stepped back out of her personal space, his charasmatic smile radiating warmth as his facial features lost their previous intensity in exchange for a more carefree aura. He rolled his shoulder back until it cracked, and Lucy could see excitement in his dark eyes at the prospect of adventure. Lucy understood the feeling; nothing felt better than traveling the land and exploring places, learning something new with each and every journey. She almost envied him in the aspect that she couldn't go herself.

Natsu turned and took a few steps away from Lucy. "Well, if I suppose I should get going if we're going to keep our bargain. Bit of a time constraint, ya know." He looked over his shoulder at Happy and gave the feline a little wave. "See ya later little buddy!"

And with a quick wink at Lucy, Natsu departed in a flash of fire. The flare of heat that accompanied it made Lucy flinch involuntarily, and she stood still for several moments, mulling over exactly what had just transpired between them. A quiet sniggering sound pulled Lucy's attention to her blue familiar, who was mushing his paws against his mouth to stifle his giggles. He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"You liiiiiiike each other!"

Lucy flushed a deep crimson and was about to deny the claim out of habit, but stopped herself. It was fairly obvious that she was charmed by the pinkette, and their deal had been kind of...intimate, for the lack of a better word.

The blonde witch shrugged and avoided looking in Happy's direction; his mocking would only instigate her anger and she was wholly unproductive when she was angry.

"Well he certainly is...charismatic," she admitted. "It was an easy enough deal to take- a couple of kisses in exchange for my materials is practically free labor. And I highly doubt that he likes me in that way, Happy. We just met barely ten minutes ago. It's more likely that he's using me for some ulterior motive or another."

"A kiss."

"What?" Lucy finally glanced towards Happy, confused.

"In the contract he said 'a kiss'. Singular. You just said 'a couple of kisses'. You're assuming he's going to kiss you more than once."

Lucy's mouth hung open for a moment while she processed what he pointed out. Afterwards she became flustered all over again.

"Ok, he was exceptionally charismatic! Maybe I do have a little crush on him; whatever! Just because he's cute though doesn't mean that he doesn't have some scheme going on behind my back!"

Happy flew back into the comfort of the living room and made himself comfy on the back of the small couch. He was still grinning ear to ear.

" Whatever you say Looshi. In any case, the deal seemed pretty cut and dry to me. Unless you make another one, you shouldn't have anything to worry about."

Lucy mulled the advice around in her head and had to agree. At any rate, there was nothing she could do about it until he showed up again. And she still had a lot of work to do in the meantime.

Lucy busied herself with other ingredients and orders so as not to fret over the situation; she wouldn't get much done if she kept daydreaming about fiery strangers and kisses yet to come.

The next time Lucy saw Natsu was not, in her opinion, under the most optimal circumstances.

In fact, she was fast asleep in her bed when an intense heat washed over her and the accompanying light caused her to bolt upright. Her eyes darted around the room as she tried to focus on the disturbance, finally landing on Natsu as her heartbeat returned to normal rhythm.

He was crouched at the end of her bed, grinning at her startled appearance. Moonlight that shone through the window she fixed earlier that evening was giving his form an ethereal glow that she couldn't tear her eyes away from. A couple beats of silence passed before he lifted his hand in greeting.

"Yo."

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Lucy hissed in a high-pitched whisper.

"Four o'clock in the morning," he replied easily. A light snore caused the demon to turn his head and find Happy, whom was curled up in his hammock in the corner. Natsu gave a soft smile and consequently lowered his voice as he turned to Lucy again.

"I wanted to get these to you as soon as possible."

He withdrew a small pouch from his pocket and held it out to her. Lucy scooched towards him and gently took the proffered satchel from his outstretched hand. Her fingertips lightly grazed his and she could've sworn she felt a kind of resonance from them.

Ignoring the odd feeling, Lucy tugged on the drawstring of the pouch and smoothly tipped some of the contents out onto her open palm. Shiny ruby-colored scales glittered in the moonlight like sparkling embers. She stared at them for a few moments, admiring their luster before she gave a satisfied hum and returned them to the pouch. She turned to the pink-haired demon, who was watching her intently, and smiled.

"They're perfect. How did you get so many in such a superb condition?"

Natsu gave her a toothy grin. "Fire salamanders are something of a specialty of mine. "

Lucy could believe it. She felt Natsu's natural body heat from where she was sitting as it enveloped her in a comfortable warmth. She closed her eyes in contentment, a smile tugging on her lips as she imagined Natsu wrestling with the giant fire lizard. She wished she could've seen it.

A few moments later Lucy remembered that she was not alone and should probably try not to fall asleep in the presence of company, and opened her eyes to see Natsu watching her closely. The intense look in his dark eyes was back, and Lucy was suddenly aware of exactly what she was wearing- a sheer silk nightgown that molded to her form and ended above the knee. A strap was currently sliding down one shoulder and Lucy shivered slightly as Natsu's eyes roamed her figure. She felt a blush dust her cheeks, but she refused to be awkward about this.

"Like what you see?"

Lucy smirked as Natsu seemed to be at a loss for words for a moment. She enjoyed this, this game of sorts that she had going with Natsu. She didn't know if any feelings he had were genuine, but quite frankly she didn't care at the moment. She had had plenty of failures when it came to the love department, and although the recurring Valentine's Days were sometimes lonely, she had felt she was better off. To be honest, this was the most fun the witch has had in years, and she had no intention of shrugging off romantic motive now.

Lucy's heart thumped in anticipation as Natsu crawled closer to her and his scent invaded her senses again.

"So Lucy..." She shivered at the way her name rolled off his tongue. His voice was soft and low, a slight rumble soothing to her ears. "I do believe you owe me a kiss."

Well, she made a contract and she had to deliver. Not that she particularly minded upholding her end of the bargain. With no reservations Lucy slowly moved closer and tilted her head up, finally connecting them with a gentle press of her lips.

Lucy didn't expect sparks or fireworks- she learned a long time ago that that stuff was usually reserved for fairy tales. But she was a witch after all, and she did believe in magic. Natsu's magic was a strong, sensual heat. She felt it pulse in his aura; a steady ebb and flow of emotion and passion. Lucy felt it concentrate and flow from their point of contact. It spread from her lips to throughout her body and tingled in her fingertips. It felt like wildfire, racing through her veins in a fervor to awaken locked inhibitions. She felt that if she let it, his magic would whirl her away in a fantasy that she would never wish to return from.

Lucy tentatively broke the kiss and opened her eyes- she didn't remember closing them- and shyly looked up at him through her lashes. Natsu was still; his eyes were also closed as he appeared to savor the moment. A few heartbeats later they slid open and gazed at Lucy as if she was the most beautiful creature in all of the planes of existence. His tongue slowly skimmed over his bottom lip in an attempt to taste her. Deciding it wasn't enough, he lowered his face to hers but stopped before he made contact.

"That was-" he paused, unsure of how to proceed. Lucy's heart felt like it was doing backflips. She had made him speechless! She felt a rush of adrenaline that made her feel powerful and sexy. She felt as if she had control- that if she decided to, she could wrap him around her finger and bend him in such delicious ways...

Natsu had finally decided on a word. "Incredible."

His eyes were dark and hungry as they bore into Lucy's chocolate irises. "And definitely not enough."

He leaned down to initiate the kiss this time, but Lucy chuckled and softly pressed her forefinger to his lips. "Now now, I believe the deal was I would give you a kiss when you delivered my ingredients to me. Nothing more and nothing less." She gave him a sly wink.

Natsu stared at her with a look of slight bewilderment before his features morphed into a feral grin, somehow both intense and playful.

"Is that so?" He murmured softly, his eyes glinting in the darkness as they roved over Lucy. He shifted his weight so that he sat back on his heels, kneeling in front of her on the bed. He spread his hands in front of him with the palms up, reminding Lucy of a suave entrepreneur trying to make a sale. "Well, we can adjust the parameters of the deal a bit if we so desire...?"

He ended the sentence with a questioning note, probing for an answer with a little hope dancing in his eyes. Lucy, instead of viewing his antics as lecherous and off-putting, found them rather endearing and brought her finger to her chin, tapping it as if in thought.

"Hmm...well I guess we could do that. I mean, we never did discuss what kind of kiss we could have. And I'm assuming you'll be wanting more than one, seeing as you only brought me one out of the three ingredients that I asked for."

Natsu waggled his eyebrows and Lucy pressed her hand to her mouth to muffle her giggles. "Well, multiple deliveries mean multiple payments and more chances to see you...you tend to notice things, don't you?"

Lucy wasn't prepared for the change of direction in their flirty conversation. She eyed him and tried to figure out what he was thinking. His excitement was still present underneath his questioning stare, but he was patiently waiting for a genuine answer. It was as if he was actually trying to get to know her while simultaneously attempting to get in her pants...although to be fair, he was already in her bed.

Lucy gave a small snort. Alright, might as well be straightforward then. She dropped her guise of being coy and looked the demon in the eye. Natsu didn't seem bothered by her change in demeanor; he just continued to stare at her curiously.

"What exactly is your angle here? If sex is all you wanted you could've just put that on the table and have the offer accepted or rejected. If you wanted to be sly about it I could see you playing this game and working your way up to it; a kiss here, a touch there, and maybe I would be more receptive to the idea if you wound me tight enough. But it seems like you genuinely want to spend time with me and get to know me...what is the point? Is there something else you want that you can't outright ask for?"

Natsu sat quietly, processing Lucy's inquiries. He had actually blushed when Lucy had spoken about sex so boldly, which had surprised the witch. She thought she had him pegged as a player but then he talked about spending time with her...and she sensed the sincerity in his words.

Natsu placed his hand on the back of his neck and gave a nervous laugh.

"Actually...the thing is, I really don't have anything I really want. Money doesn't interest me, but I love adventure. I like testing my limits and taking on the world, and your job offer is actually what I really like doing. And...you're really nice Lucy. I know this is only the second time we've met, but honestly I could tell from our very first encounter that you were kind, sweet, smart, and really caring. I could see it in your familiar, how he was happy and comfortable. I could see it in your work, how everything is meticulously placed and your potions were for the betterment of others. I could see it in your contracted spirits, in how carefully cared for your keys are, and the love I can feel radiating from them. And most of all, I can see it in you. You are a friend to everyone who needs one; a girl who does her best for the good of others, who hates to disappoint them, who likes to try new things and experience everything for herself."

Natsu lowered his gaze, took a breath and continued. "And...because of all that, I knew that I wanted to be close to you. I want to be your friend, your companion...and perhaps, a lover, if you'd take me..." He said that last part so quietly Lucy almost didn't hear him. Almost, but it was said and it was heard. He looked up at her again.

"I figured if I could draw out our encounters, you would grow to like me back and want me around more often. And the kissing...maybe I was a little too forward, but I really do like you, and I'd love to kiss you like that all the time."

Silence reigned as Lucy, in a state of shock, attempted to process all that he had said. The silence grew increasingly uncomfortable for Natsu as he waited for Lucy to respond- he clenched and unclenched his fists and was in the process of biting through his lip.

Lucy just couldn't wrap her head around how incredibly observant the demon was. He managed to deduce all of that about her in a matter of what...ten minutes? And he liked her? Like...was attracted to her? Wanted to spend time with her? She might've been out of the game for too long because for some reason this concept seemed extremely foreign. Was it possible he really could be a potential partner?

Just as Lucy realized how awkward the situation had become and opened her mouth to respond, a voice broke the silence between them.

"See Lucy? I told you he liiiiiiked you!"

"HAPPY!" Lucy screeched and whipped her head around so fast she cracked her neck. Natsu burst out laughing, the sound instantly filling Lucy's bedroom with an aura of warmth and happiness, just like before. Lucy was blushing fiercely, but Natsu's laughter was contagious and soon she found herself giggling beside him at the absurdity of the situation.

Once things had settled down, Lucy rubbed her eyes and grinned at her contracted demon.

"You know what Natsu? I'd like that. A lot."

Natsu's heart fluttered. "Really? The...kissing, too?"

Lucy's blush returned full force but she nodded. "Yes, that too."

Natsu grinned and leaned forward to give Lucy a quick kiss on the lips. Before Lucy had a chance to respond Natsu had jumped up from the bed and took a few steps back.

"I'm gonna grab the rest of the things you need for your potions Luce! That way you can be free on Valentine's Day." He gave her a wink and Lucy felt a warm glow that she hadn't experienced in a long time. She watched him with a big stupid grin on her face.

Natsu gave Happy a salute. "See ya later, Happy! Sleep tight, Luce!" And with a flash of fire and a flare of heat, he was gone.

Lucy sat in her bed, stunned. She wasn't sure if this was real, or a really good dream. Oh dear lord if this was a dream she hoped she would never wake up. She fell back against her pillows and giggled.

Happy called out from his hammock, "I like him!".

Lucy grinned at the ceiling and waited for her heartbeat to return to normal.

"Me too, Happy. I like him too."

[traceemerald]

-July 13th, Journal Entry 95-

It's time for me to get back to work on my nether hub, and make it easier to get to and from the snow biome.

Upgrading that part of my nether hub didn't take as long as I thought it would.

While I was over by the snow biome portal, I stepped into the overworld to check the weather, and since it was snowing, I waited for powder snow to collect.

Since there was also lightning, I went to the nearby snow village and turned one of the villagers into a witch, who was promptly killed by the village's iron golem.

I now have Very Very Frightening, and also Surge Protector, somehow.

Either I can get Surge Protector with a trident, or a random lightning bolt struck somewhere else, and didn't start a fire because there's snow everywhere.

Either way, I now have 2 out of 3 weather-related advancements.

None of my cauldrons were full when the snow stopped, but at least one of them is 2/3 full, and another is 1/3 full, so at least I've made progress.

Also there's apparently a random regular pig in the nether now.

Once I got home, I realized that I have too many bows, so I turned them into dispensers, in case I need those later.

Now, for exploring sector 4-1, which is just north of the portal that the pig is next to.

I managed to finish exploring the entirety of sector 4-1, here's what my map looks like now.

I've had the materials to craft a conduit for a while, so I might as well craft one, and put it with my other stuff for How Did We Get Here?, I also put a stack of prismarine bricks there, too.

I'm going to go ahead and upgrade the road to my guardian farm, just so I don't have one section of my nether hub that doesn't have soul soil.

Another thing I might as well do is sell some stuff, so I'm going to go do that.

I guess that's it for today, I really need to get around to figuring out a way to get How Did We Get Here? so I can start building the area for it, and start capturing the required mobs.

-End Journal Entry 95-

[crying-piglin]

Caves & Cliffs 1.17 Update info so far

(This will be sorted in categories)

Caves-

Cave sizes have been tweaked to allow massive caves

New biomes-

Lush Cave-

-Generates under new azalea trees

-Glow berries, and new coral-like flower

-axolotls can spawn here

Mesh Cave-

-Confirmed only on twitter, but small, tube-like caves that are 1-2 blocks wide

Underground lakes-

-The natural sea level for caves has been randomized, so waterfalls and other things are possible as well as underground lakes.

Dripstone Caves-

-Stalactites and stalagmites generated here

-Stalactites can fall from the ceiling and cause damage.

-Stalactites drip water that can be collected in a cauldron

-Stalagmites cause large amounts of fall damage

Deep Dark-

-Candles now exist- similar to pickles

-The sculk growth spawns here as well as wardens

-Sculk sensor and The Warden exist

(I’m not going to explain those, go look it up, its too much.)

-Stone is slate in this area

Mountains-

-Better and amplified generation

-Goats

-Snow and ice now found at the mountaintops

-Powdered Snow that acts like quicksand.

New Structures

-Warden’s Dungeon- increased warden spawns- (all we know so far)

-Amethyst geode- Non-Mineable cave that grows Amethyst crystals used to make telescopes.

-Archaeological excavation- Where ceramics and other items can be found via sifting.

New Mobs

-Axolotl

-Glow squid- Mob vote Winner!

-Goat

-Warden

Other things not mentioned:

-A whole lot of specific blocks that don’t have many uses yet

-Copper, new ore that ages and oxidizes and can be used to make a lightning rod.

-Custom ceramics from artifacts from Archaeological sites.

-Brush that is used to sift through blocks for artifacts at Archaeological sites

-Bundle, can hold up to a stack of any item.

-TELESCOPE FOR ZOOMING IN- made from Amethyst and Copper

Optifine for bedrock :P

[headspace-hotel]

You have the only correct opinions on minecraft updates ever and have better takes than the entirety of Twitter and YouTube. If it’s okay with you could you tell us about some more of your ideas about the directions for the updates?

Hooooo boy that's a long list

Honestly I would go a similar direction as the original plan for the "Wild Update" but focus more on improving/expanding something about a wide variety of existing biomes, particularly incorporating "newer" features and blocks into "older" biomes

Oceans

Caves and Cliffs fucked up the oceans terribly, sad to say. I hate encountering a big body of water and not being able to tell if it's an ocean or just a flooded open cave.

Lakes and oceans aren't in different size classes anymore. An ocean should be bigger than a lake

The solution: keep existing ocean biomes but add a new "abyssal ocean" biome that stretches at least down to y=0. Below y=20 or so the light level becomes very dark, and deep ocean fish spawn. It appears opaquely dark blue from the surface

the ocean floor in all ocean biomes should be made of primarily basalt variants where there would be stone

Sunken debris on the dark ocean floor. Maybe just a box. A metal box, not unlike a shulker box, that requires a specific process to open, and has...Something inside. I want the player to realize that it's important but take FOREVER to figure out how to get it open

Clams you can dig from beaches, giant clams, and pearls+pearl blocks. Need I say more

cold biomes

Freezing effect is a threat in all cold biomes, when the player stops moving outside at night or when it's snowing, when the player gets wet in a cold biome, and of course when the player falls in powder snow

Campfires stop the freezing effect.

ICICLES.

ICICLES. They have been WIDELY requested and asked for by players. It would be incredibly easy to implement—like, just recolor the stalactites........oh, and when one drips on you, you get 5 seconds of freezing

People have also been begging Mojang for a cold/icy cave, and I agree. Ice! caves! with! icicles! To make them more worthwhile to visit, they should contain ✨frostflowers✨, similar to spore blossoms, except 1) you need silk touch to collect them and 2) they will only grow on blue ice

jungles

So, jungles should be the most biodiverse biome. They're jungles. They should also be more challenging to survive in

Pitcher plants. They hold water, like cauldrons. They are the breeding ground for...

...Poison dart frogs! Which can be used to craft poisoned arrows.

A Rafflesia "stench flower." Zombies are drawn to it, maybe?

other forests

Temperate forests should have random mossy patches. You agree. Reblog

Deer. One in five spawn with antlers, which can be several sizes; the largest antlers have a 1% chance of spawning. Any two deer can breed, but antlered deer will fight each other. Antlered deer drop their antlers after breeding. They would be fast enough that the only way to kill one is with arrows.

Songbirds. Like tropical fish, they would be a single mob with lots of colorful variants

arid biomes

A lush desert that has more plant life, similar to real deserts.

A scrubland biome that serves as an intermediate between savanna, desert and badlands.

Patches of thorny brambles that spread over the ground in scrubland biomes.

Some deserts should have red sand and red sandstone. Currently red sand spawns in a single layer in badlands and red sandstone doesn't spawn at all. It's awful

Other mobs

cave fish, to add life to the aquifers

catfish for swamps and rivers

Crows. Earn their trust by feeding them, and they will give you gifts. But harm one and all the crows start attacking you

Just imagine seeing the death message "[Name] was pecked to death by crows." I would be in hysterics

HUMMINGBIRDS.

General

There should be more potions. Potion ingredients are probably the best reason to incorporate Random MacGuffins into new structures.

Off the top of my head: if you wanted to do something similar to the Echo Shards but less MacGuffiny, you could put an essential ingredient to a Potion of Retracing in the Ancient Cities. It makes a glowy particle effect linger on blocks you've walked on recently, more intense the more recently

Add plants that function as medicinal herbs to remove particular status effects from you, while giving you a brief positive status effect (as suspicious stews do).

Fruit trees. Everyone has been saying this since forever. I imagine apple trees could grow as orchards outside villages, or occasionally singly in forests.

Corn is the best candidate for a new crop in my opinion. Corn could be more than 2 blocks tall, obstructing visibility and allowing for the construction of corn mazes. You could also make corn meal or popcorn with it.

But just imagine how terrifying it would be to be lost in a corn field and hear zombie noises around you

Structure updates

Updated mineshafts. Now instead of a single central room, they can contain several larger rooms that each have a chance of generating a vertical shaft above them, stretching up to 30 blocks tall, with the remnants of stairs. A fraction are "collapsed" and filled with gravel and dirt.

About 20% of these rooms contain piles of TNT, and another 20% contain piles of raw ores

The ends of mineshaft tunnels can also connect to small rooms with chests containing lanterns, compasses, empty maps, etc...

dungeons have several multi-roomed variations, a few have walled-off "secret" rooms, some only generate in the deepslate layer.

The one new structure I would for sure add: mountain castles. This is also a widely requested idea that no one would be mad about. They could be various in size, ranging from a single tower to a large intact structure with like a dozen towers. Some castles could be so crumbled they're unidentifiable piles of cobblestone.

the castle dungeons sometimes contain zombie villagers, and there are other hints that the castles were once inhabited by villagers.

there are a couple unique blocks found in the castles that can be used as villager job blocks, even though they don't naturally generate in villages.

[lilac-reading-nook]

Ravenclaw × Slytherin (Part 4)

"The Shrieking Shack?!" Ravenclaw exclaimed in surprise.

"Trust me," Slytherin soothed her with a soft peck just above her hairline. He took a few bills from his wallet and pressed them into her hands.

"You get the book and I'll take care of the rest."

"The rest? What are you on about?"

"It's a surprise. A proper one this time, I promise."

"Okay... I trust you. I'll see you... at the Shrieking Shack, then."

"See you soon!" Slytherin called over his shoulder as he sprinted away.

Ravenclaw stared at his footprints in the snow, thinking. What was he planning? She was intrigued... and a little bit wary.

While Slytherin saw to his secret preparations, Ravenclaw made her way to Tomes and Scrolls. The familiar smell of books greeted her, a stark and welcome contrast to the aromatic chaos of Madam Puddifoot's tearoom. That's not to say the book shop offered a single, simple scent. Each volume contributed something unique. Some tomes wore a chocolatey musk on their well-worn leather jackets, with yellowed pages fraying at the edges. Others were fresh off the printers with crisp pages and a sharp pine scent. Age and youth, history and possibility. Black ink given color and vibrancy, knowledge and life through collected experience.

Libraries and book shops were the home away from home that Ravenclaw could count on wherever life took her. She would stand among the towering, overfull shelves to quietly rifle and rustle through pages to her heart's content. Doing so put her mind at ease.

A gentleman poked his balding, age spotted head around a nearby shelf. Ravenclaw recognized him as the shopkeeper.

"Can I help you find anything?" he asked. His voice was a touch hoarse.

Ravenclaw smiled kindly. "I could use a recommendation, if it's not too much trouble."

"Why, it's no trouble at all for my favorite customer!" He grinned, the reddened orbs of his eyes nearly lost in the folds and creases of the surrounding skin. His wizened face glowed with renewed energy and vigor.

Ravenclaw was glad that she could bring out this lively side of him during her visits. While she never failed to find a good book on her own, she appreciated his grandfatherly company.

"Well, let's see... What are you in the mood for today, my dear?"

"I was thinking a mystery with a bit of romance, but I'm open to anything, really."

"I see..." The old man nodded to himself, deep in thought, and hobbled down the aisle to find a particular shelf. His arthritic fingers stroked the spines of several volumes before settling on one.

"How about 'The Lycan Auror' by Delphina Perguese? You'll like the main character, I reckon. She had an unfortunate brush with a werewolf, you see, but she's determined to retain her position as an Auror even in the face of her newfound lycanthropy. There's romance too, between her and her longtime partner and friend. Of course, a relationship between two female co-workers, one of whom is hiding her lycanthropy, is bound to cause all manner of drama. It doesn't overpower the plot, though. Sound like anything you'd be interested in?" By the time the shopkeeper had gotten to the end of his question, he'd long since run out of breath and was noticably wheezing. He held the book out to Ravenclaw with a trembling hand.

"Yes, thank you," she accepted with gratitude.

"It's my pleasure, miss," he said, adding, "You know, that book was a favorite of Remus Lupin during his later years as a student at Hogwarts. Smart lad, that Lupin. Used to come here often with young Sirius Black on his heels. Of course, that was a very long time ago." The shopkeeper's expression was wistful.

Ravenclaw thanked him for his time and paid for the book, which she tucked under her arm. She hoped it would suffice for whatever it was Slytherin had planned.

Outside, snow continued to fall. The cold powder dusted her hair and clothes as she began to make her way towards the Shrieking Shack.

Meanwhile, Slytherin was frantically wrapping up his preparations. As soon as they'd entered Madam Puddifoot's, he'd known it wasn't the place for them. Now he had a vision of their date as it was supposed to be. With a few last waves of his wand, his work was done. Everything was as he'd imagined. He hoped Ravenclaw would like it.

The Shrieking Shack awaited her. It was as she had expected, a dilapidated building with boarded up windows. Its wood siding had been weathered and cracked over time. Cautiously, she stepped up to the front door and knocked.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?" she called out.

Silence.

Ravenclaw ran her fingers through her hair, as she often did when she was nervous. Where was Slytherin? Was she too early? Should she wait out here, or...? The door creaked open. Ravenclaw's eyes went wide. She took a step back.

"Is someone there?"

A soft light appeared among the shadows inside. It flickered as if beckoning her forward. She hesitated, casting a look behind her. Still no sign of Slytherin out there.

Hugging the book to her chest, Ravenclaw crossed the threshold into the Shrieking Shack. The door slammed itself shut behind her. She jumped and squealed in spite of herself, spinning around to face the source of the sound. The light at her back threw her feminine silhouette onto the heavy wooden door like a shadow puppet screen. It was... unnerving. Even more so when a second shadow joined Ravenclaw's, taller and thinner. It raised its arm to lay a single finger on her shoulder. She shrieked and threw herself sideways at the door.

Slytherin chuckled. "It's just me."

Ravenclaw straightened, one fist clenched at her side, and strode up to him. Even in the dim lighting, Slytherin could see her expression was fierce.

"Of course it's you!" she shouted and punched his upper arm.

He grimaced. "Ow!"

"You deserved that."

"Still worth it. I meant what I said before. You're cute when you're scared."

"Try anything like that again and I'll show you what it means to be scared," Ravenclaw snapped. "I'm the new head of the Hogwarts dueling club for a reason."

Slytherin massaged his arm with a scowl. "You're a force to be reckoned with, that's for sure," he admitted. "Now, if you're quite done punching me, would you like to see the real surprise? Or shall we continue to stand here in the dark?"

Ravenclaw went quiet.

Slytherin pulled out his wand, muttered a spell, and flicked his wrist. Candles ignited throughout the room as if in a chain reaction, illuminating the space with a gentle, wavering light.

Ravenclaw gasped. While she had never set foot inside of the Shrieking Shack before, she'd heard and read enough about it to know what it was supposed to look like. This wasn't it. The infamous peeling wallpaper and broken furniture had all been repaired. A blanket was spread out on the floor in the middle of the foyer, laden with an assortment of foods and sweets from a handful of different Hogsmeade shops. From Honeydukes, there were cauldron cakes, pumpkin pasties, chocolate frogs, licorice spiders, treacle fudge, crystalized pineapple, toothflossing stringmints, and -- of course -- two small boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. In addition, there was a meat and cheese tray and--

"Is that fire whiskey?" Ravenclaw asked, astonished.

"Yup. It's best not to ask where that came from."

"Wow. You really went all out."

Slytherin laughed half-heartedly, embarrassed. "No, no. If I learned anything from today so far, it's that going all out spells disaster. This... This is simple. Do you like it?"

"Oh, of course! This is really nice."

Ravenclaw took Slytherin's hand and leaned into his shoulder, admiring the little haunted house picnic he'd set up for them. Coming here to this abandoned building, she hadn't known what to expect from him. This was a pleasant surprise.

Slytherin kissed the top of her head. "I'm glad you like it. C'mon, let's sit."

The two fifth-years settled in next to each other on the blanket with their knees touching. They smiled and blushed but did not move apart. Slytherin passed Ravenclaw a cauldron cake. She set 'The Lycan Auror' down on her lap while she dug into the moist dessert. Slytherin glanced at the book.

"That's an interesting title," he said. "I don't think I've ever heard of an Auror who was a werewolf before."

Ravenclaw licked stray chocolate crumbs from her lips. "Well, I can't say I've ever heard of that happening either, but I reckon it must, on occasion. The Ministry surely wouldn't want anyone to know, assuming they would even be aware themselves. So it's entirely possible there's a 'Lycan Auror' on the job right now," she reasoned.

There was a light in her eyes when she talked to someone who cared to listen no matter how silly or outlandish her ideas might seem. Slytherin was content, no, honored to be the pair of listening ears she longed for.

"What did you ask me to pick a book out for, anyway?" she asked.

His smile was shy and guilty. "Well, I needed to keep you occupied while I set up here," he confessed, "but also..."

Ravenclaw raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

Slytherin's sheepish grin grew. "I was thinking that we could read it together, maybe. If you'd like to."

Her face froze without expression. "I think," she began carefully, "no, I know... That is the sexiest suggestion I've ever heard, or read, in my entire life."

Suddenly, she was kissing Slytherin, and he was kissing her, their faces painted in shadow and flickering candlelight.

When their lips finally separated, Slytherin and Ravenclaw curled up together to read. Thus, the two young lovers found a safe haven of their own making in a haunted house and the tender pages of a good book.

[logandiggory]

Logan looked down at his plate with a few russet potatoes and a slice of toast with blackberry jam. The Great Hall was still filling up with the students who intended on taking their time getting to the second term feast. Perhaps it was because a bunch of them fell asleep on the train and were woken by aurors walking through the train to prevent sleeping students from missing their destination. A whole lot of first years came in together giving Logan the impression that they had done precisely that. The quiet in the hall gave him the time to reflect on the events from the past holiday break. He took a sip from the goblet of whatever nonalcoholic mead was on the table and faded into his thoughts.

The cemetery was barely covered in the white powder which confused Logan a bit as the whole of the town was nearly to their necks in snow. He walked over the hill and watched the people in the shops nearby file into them quickly as another gust of wind blows through. He pulls his coat together and keeps walking forward until he comes to a patch of snow that looks out of sort. He squints a little and pulls his glasses from his pocket. He bends down placing his knee on the snow as he sifts through the snow. He recovers a small green twig that he knows is not in fact just a stick. He places it betweens his hands to warm it as he continues walking until he gets to the curve and takes a left on a newer area of the cemetery. Logan picks up the green, stick-like creature and places it on the striped blanket before observing it for harm. He notices that it’s arm is twisted in a way that it shouldn’t be. Without causing more harm to the creature he waves his wand over it. It was something that Hagrid taught him, not exactly the hardest of healing spells but something that would heal most creatures. He opens his journal to make an entry. He begins with a sketch of the creature followed by it’s classifications, much like the way Newt Scamander had done previously. Had you asked Logan who he aspired to be like you would be correct to assume he would say Mr. Scamander. He always carries a copy of Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them with him nestled safely in his leather briefcase. The briefcase was probably his most treasured possession as well as the many things that held residence in it. He holds his wand up to the briefcase, mutters a spell, and places the small creature inside. With the sound of the smallest blade of grass breaking, Logan turns his head to see someone approaching. Logan immediately recognizes the boy with the messy black hair and the lightning scar. Logan seems to get up to leave when Harry speaks up, “There’s no need. We can both remember him. Pay no attention to me if that makes you feel better.” He smiles and pulls a biscuit from his pocket offering it to Logan. He wipes his hand on trousers before taking the biscuit with orange bits, “Pumpkin?” He hesitated to take a bite as he placed the stub of a pencil between the crisp sheets of his new journal. Harry laughs before answering, “ I think so. It’s a Weasley recipe. I’m staying up there during holiday.” Although Logan had never stayed at the Weasleys he had visited a couple times with Amos and Cedric a few years ago. The Weasleys house had been absolute madness, including the twins throwing cauldrons into a rather putrid pond, nearly setting their house on fire, and then there was an explosion in the garden shed. Logan just assumed that it must always be like that at the burrow. “I’m at my Uncle’s over holiday, which probably doesn’t compare to being at the Weasleys.” Logan fidgeted with the tarnished gold latch on his briefcase. Harry cleared his throat before speaking, “If you want to come over on New Years Eve there will be fireworks, just over the hill at the Weasleys.” Logan nods, “I just might take you up on that.” The two went their separate ways after leaving leaving an assortment of conjured flowers.

BANG! Logan looks to his right as a plate fell from the table and hit the stone floor. A couple students helped to clean up the mess with a flick of their wands and another student consulted the small boy as he cried about spilling his food. Logan cut a potato with his fork and began to think about the day before Christmas.

Logan is seen walking into an empty shoppe with the intent to buy Christmas gifts for his closest of kin. There he finds an assortment of candied fruits, something that he knows his mother will love. Convinced to purchase two fruitcakes from the older baker who insisted that his family will love them. The fruitcake, a sign of greetings, cake made from fruit pieces and other bits Logan simply couldn’t make out on closer inspection sat in the basket as he continued to walk around the shoppe. The smell of fresh snow engulfed the small store as the windows were nearly covered by it. The old baker kept his eyes to his knitting as he watched a scarf magically construct itself. The colours, like the flag waving from a corner of the stuffy little hobble, were vibrant even when the days were not. Logan picked up a stack of cinnamon sticks wrapped in a orange ribbon, felt their texture and placed them into the wire basket. Shrimpy, his moke-salamander hybrid, was an odd sort who raided the house of cinnamon after ten at night. After his aunt caught sight of the scaly thing she nearly threw a stunning spell when she saw him licking the bowl of potpourri.

As his eyes roamed from shelf to shelf, he felt a little guilt that he hadn’t been spending as much time with his family because after all it was the holidays. He looked back to the baker and wondered about his life. Did he have a family? Maybe he had a wife, four children, ten grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren; or maybe he was just alone? Perhaps he had a cat named Mr. Tuffs that slept at the end of his bed, keeping his feet warm at night. The somber old man’s tired eyes matched Logan’s as a loud crashing sound drew their attention. He checked around the wooden floor to make sure that he hadn’t dropped anything. There wasn’t even the slightest thing present on the surrounding area. The old baker spoke up, “Ei’ don’t be worrin’ ‘bout that lad, the bar’s next door it is, and they often get rowdy ‘bout this time of year.” Logan nodded quickly picking up a jar of pickled beets and shuffled to the cash register. Pecan taffy was chosen last minute as it was too tempting to pass up given his occasional sweet tooth. “Happy Christmas to you an’ yours!” The elder man gingerly placed the items at a leisurely pace as Logan fished coins from his pocket. The last galleon in his pocket was slightly warm to touch as he didn’t realize he’d been turning it over time and again whist shopping. “Happy Christmas” he replied back shivering at the cold he was about to face. Before he could leave his neck was greeted with what seemed like a hug, made of the most vibrant yarn. He knew almost instantly that this must’ve been the scarf the baker was working on. “But I can’t.” Logan mumbled to the man almost guilt-riddled. He waved a hand and said, “It’s a gift. Besides no one ever buys my pickled beets and it seems like a fair trade.” Logan smiled as he wrapped the scarf tighter around his neck. “Happy Christmas and Happy New Year.” He bared his biggest smile upon sight of the old man’s toothy grin and waved farewell to the old baker until next Christmas.

Logan tugged on the scarf he currently wore, something that a girl on the train snickered at, thinking about how although it wasn’t the nicest scarf he owned it was the one that made him the happiest. He brushed his hand over it as he finished eating the food on his plate while falling back into his thoughts.

After returning to his Uncle and Aunt’s home, he places the presents on the table next to the fireplace. Upon the mantle sits a reminder of the reason that he often feels lonely, especially around the holidays. He breaks eye contact with the shiny trophy and takes for the kitchen, as the smell nearly carries him there. The smell of freshly baked biscuits and a newly baking pie allowed his senses to clear and he had an idea. He took for the stairs and made his way into the basement. He pulled his wand from his pocket and illuminated the dark room. He walked to the large mirror something that might be a vanity mirror if it had been on a dresser with a seat in front of it. It was leaned against the wall and had collected a layer of dust. Logan sat in front of it and wiped his sleeve over most of the surface. The blue eyes stare into the mirror as he sits focusing on his own appearance. He notices there are grey eyes staring back; he leans in as he investigates the change. With concentration, he seems to manipulate his physical features and looks at a stranger he created. Almost every feature was different something that Logan decided was important to practice. He closed his eyes and opened them to see himself again, which was a bit of a relief. He thought for a moment and repeated the process to produce someone that made his heart tinge. He touched his face tracing his cheekbones and almost had to force himself to change his appearance. It had felt like so long since he had seen him. He forced his eyes closed and to clear his mind. One after another he practiced his appearance changing from one person to another. A girl with huge eyes and stringy blonde hair to a boy with large teeth and brown hair to a boy with the lightning scar. After being exhausted from physically changing himself he took himself upstairs to eat a feast of the most delicious desserts he had eaten in a while. He even tried the fruitcake something that wasn’t too bad even though his eleven-year-old self would have told him otherwise.

Headmaster Dumbledore made a short speech before sending the students off to their common rooms. Logan looked into the crowd of students making their way out of the Great Hall and spotted the tall ginger Ravenclaw whom he had an awkward experience just before leaving before the holiday. Logan didn’t know exactly how any of it happened nor why she had liked him in that way because she was a girl that all the boys were after. The puzzling situation could have had Logan scratching his head in that comedic way he saw in Muggle films. He saw her approaching him and decided against running away from the situation that others would more than likely eavesdrop on. Her long red hair cascaded from a plait and a purple headband and matching jumper weaved through the students standing around talking to their friends. Logan stood still fidgeting with his scarf until she was standing directly infront of him. She leaned in, and he could smell her sweet smelling perfume, and said in a low voice, “Can we talk?” It was three words that he didn’t want to hear because it never lead to anything good. They walked outside of the hall and down a hall that barely had visitors. She spoke first, something that Logan found refreshing because he was never the first one to start conversations. “I know I was forward when we went to the party together, but I just want confirmation that you don’t feel the same way that I feel about you. I mean I completely understand if you don’t but I can’t go on assuming that you do when you didn’t contact me over holiday.” Logan cleared his throat and began stuttering over his words before they came from his mouth, “Eleanor, I’m s-s-sorry about th-that. I just h-had a lot g-going on and I…” Before he could finish his thought he was cut off by Eleanor, “Logan, it’s okay. I understand. Family stuff during holidays are tough, my parents are divorced so I really do understand how crazy it gets.” Logan shakes his head, “El I’d like to be friends with you.” She smiles softly, “I’d like that too. We’d better be off to our commons before someone takes off house points and we both know that either of our houses will like be affected in that way.” She laughs and Logan follows as they walk in different directions towards their common rooms.

While in the Hufflepuff common room, the students are celebrating coming back to school something that happens everytime there is a break from school. The younger students usually make decorations from the craft books and supplies that line a whole shelf on one of the bookshelves in the commons. There is usually refreshments and light food served as well, even after the feast that they just left. Sometimes Logan would make an appearance during something like this but after the confrontation that he had just encountered, he decided against it. He made himself cozy in his bed as he read a book about Magical Sea Creatures of Norway, just one of the books that he got as a gift for Christmas. Logan hears the crowd getting smaller as time passes and a couple hours until midnight there is hardly any noise coming from the commons. He moves from his bed and makes his way into the small circular room and by this time there is a student making the sofa his bed. This isn’t uncommon in Hufflepuff common room, it is rather common in fact. Logan has fallen asleep on the sofa himself once or twice and was woken up in the morning by someone offering him coffee. Another thing about waking up in Hufflepuff commons is you will always wake up with a blanket over you and a pillow under your head. No one knows who started it but apparently it’s something that has happened for decades without actually making it a rule. Logan picks up a knit blanket from the stack upon the table and places it on top of the guy with his hair covering his face. For a moment Logan thinks he recognizes him but passes up the idea when he remembers that Goliath is a Slytherin. Why would a Slytherin be sleeping in Hufflepuff commons? Sure it was easy enough to get in, that wasn’t the question.

Shrimpy meets eyes wth Logan before diving off his shoulder and onto the sleeping Goliath. They meet eyes again before Shrimpy turns its head and shrinks in size and slips under the blanket. What wizard has cinnamon on his person, even when he’s sleeping? How was Logan going to get this tiny no more than two inch creature from Goliath without waking him up? He could use Accio but it shouldn’t be used on living things including humans nor creatures. Logan lifted the blanket and shook it gently before noting that he would have to search the guy for Shrimpy. Goliath woke up rather soon after Logan started whispering “Shrimpy” in hopes of him coming upon request. Goliath snorted and groggily said “I’ve never been called that before.” Logan was so embarrasses that he could have crawled into the wall and lived there for the remaining school term. “U-Uh no. It-it’s my crea-pet. Pet. I think it’s in your pocket.” Through sleepy eyes Goliath said, “Sorry can you run that by me again? Your pet is in my pocket?” Logan spoke quietly as his cheeks were pink in colour, “Just. Just-can you check your pocket. Please?” Goliath looked confused, “Uh sure.” He checks his trousers pockets and finds nothing but he continues to check other pockets on clothing. “Is it invisible per chance?” Logan shakes his head “No it’s a salamander who loves cinnamon.” Goliath pats himself in an overdramatic way before stopping and looking towards the back of the sofa as a broken cookie emerges from the cushion and a regular sized Shrimpy appears. “I don’t know mate, that doesn’t look pocket-sized. Considering you said that it shrinks I’d say it wasn’t a muggle salamander nor a fire-dwelling salamander. I think you’ve got yourself a moke. As they tend to shrink and often have odd behavior when it comes to strangers.” Logan nods and continues to hold onto Shrimpy as he shrinks in size. He shakes his head. “Sorry about him. He’s doesn’t like anyone except Hagrid and myself.” Goliath waves his hand, “It’s alright, he’s just a curious moke. I dabble in care of magical creatures myself. In fact, the best chapter in the book you’re reading is the chapter about the hippocampus, there are not only photographs of the creatures but an interview by a muggle that was nearly eaten by one or so he says.” Logan laughs a little and looks at the book, “Interesting. Can I ask why you’re sleeping in here instead of your commons?” Logan hopes that this question does not offend Goliath as he glances his eyes to the floor. Goliath laughs off the question and says with joy in his voice, “It’s the most comfortable!” Logan hands him the blanket that was placed on him earlier, “If you don’t put it on yourself, someone else will. It’s Hufflepuff unspoken tradition.”

[traceemerald]

My journal entries may end up being less interesting for a while, since I just keep working on the same stuff, but I'll still continue to make them regardless.

-July 5th, Journal Entry 89-

I'm actually going to try breeding 3 types of animals today, since it will probably be more convenient to do all of them together.

These animals are horses, donkeys, and a mule.

I will have to tame another horse for this, as well as a pair of donkeys, but I won't be taking them home with me.

Finding a second horse was really easy, but for some reason I couldn't even find a single donkey, and eventually gave up my search.

I decided to make a lightning rod to set up near my house, just so I have something to hit with my trident to test if there's a thunderstorm happening, which there isn't.

I'm going to try to finish filling out the map of sector 6-3 today, and I'm also bringing a saddle and some leads in case I find a donkey I can bring home.

Actually, it's raining, I should be going to check my cauldrons.

Soon after I got to my cauldrons, it stopped snowing, so no powder snow collected.

Now I can try to finish sector 6-3, but it's starting to get late, so I probably won't be able to actually finish it.

I did find an ocean monument at 3680, 1345, though I didn't go inside.

As it turns out, chunks were generating faster today, so I did have enough time to finish the map, but I ran out of rockets part-way through, and had to stop flying.

Here's what the map looks like now that I've completed sector 6-3 apart from a few stray pixels that are a bit hard to see without looking really close.

Unfortunately, I didn't find any new cats this time.

-End Journal Entry 89-