#stacked lava stone fencing
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Patio Outdoor Shower in Hawaii Image of a medium-sized island-style backyard stone patio shower without a cover
#tropical landscaping#luxury homes#design build firm in hawaii#home remodel in hawaii#green home builders#stacked lava stone fencing
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Minecraft Tips
or, a list of things about Minecraft that took me forever to figure out, that might not be obvious to new players, or that I just found helpful
Equal parts gravel and dirt can be crafted into coarse dirt, and using a hoe on coarse dirt changes it to normal dirt, so you can effectively change gravel into dirt if you have at least 2 dirt blocks with you
I know the game technically teaches you this BUT: you can cure zombie villagers by hitting them with a splash weakness potion and then feeding them a golden apple. This is an easy way to populate a village you built yourself, I've done it in all my survival worlds. The easiest way to protect newly potioned and appled villagers is to dig a long trench, get the zombie villager to chase you, circle the pit until the villager falls in, and cover the pit so no mobs attack the zombie villager when it changes into a villager.
Killing fish is a pretty good way to get bones. I don't need a skeleton farm because automatic fish farms are probably among the easiest automatic farms to build
drinking milk stops status effects
Tiny slimes can't damage you. You can keep them as pets.
The fastest transportation method is, for some reason, a boat on blue ice. Many horses are faster than powered rails.
Suspicious stew can be crafted, even though it's not part of the creative inventory or recipe book, using the normal recipe for mushroom stew+one flower. Allium gives a couple seconds of fire resistance, poppy gives night vision, cornflower gives jump boost, blue orchids or dandelions give saturation, and oxeye daisy gives regeneration.
A lot of wooden items—fences, doors, bows, fishing poles, and so on—can be used as fuel in furnaces. It's not efficient but it's a good way to get rid of excess items
Sneak to add blocks to the side of a furnace or chest directly. Do y'all have any idea how long this took me to figure it out. (This is also how you add a hopper to a chest.)
gold or iron armor can be melted down into gold and iron nuggets
The fortune enchantment affects sapling drops from trees and crop harvests.
Early in game, smelting copper into ingots is one of the best ways to get XP fast.
Fishing odds are slightly better when it's raining.
When you first get a full set of diamond armor your first instinct may be to wear it on a quest into the Nether. Don't. Take a couple stacks each of gravel/sand and any stone and run repeated suicide missions until you've made a stone shelter around your portal and paths across surrounding lava lakes.
More nether navigation tricks: drop columns of gravel down precipices in the Nether and then add cobblestone to the side of the gravel columns to build stairs from the top down
If your nether portal goes out while you're in the Nether, a Ghast fireball hitting the inside of the frame will relight it. But please don't get caught in the Nether without flint and steel
Lava breaks your fall much like water does, and you can't drown in it, though it's very hard to move in. Fire resistance potions will let you exploit both of these things.
Fill a basalt delta with three- or four-block-high towers of whatever block you like, two blocks apart, in staggered rows. Occasionally place a block on the side of the towers' top blocks. This won't stop magma cubes from spawning, but it will stop the large ones from moving effectively.
Using silk touch to grab the red and blue "turf" layers in Nether forests lets you farm both kinds of giant nether fungi by bone-mealing mushrooms, though the turf colors and mushroom colors have to match up. The growth is unaffected by obstructions above and the fungus "foliage" blocks never decay like leaves do. I have no idea who thought that was a good idea. BUT doing this repeatedly will eventually completely obstruct the "sky", protecting you from Ghasts
Nether fortresses and bastions are found along a "grid" pattern, so when you find one nether fortress you can travel in a straight line to find another fortress or bastion. Villages do the same thing, except when they don't. (Really, how villages spawn is a total mystery to me.)
Bonemealing moss will straight up convert surrounding stone into moss. I have no idea why. Since bone meal can be automated using a dropper iirc, this seems like it could lead to some weird redstone contraptions.
Horses can survive falls that would seriously damage a player.
Animals can and will climb ladders. I don't know why. But if you push a sheep or cow toward a ladder, they will often automatically ascend it. I've used this fact for automatic farms before.
You can name literally anything using an anvil, even if you can't repair or enchant it
Soul sand placed underwater creates bubble columns that shoot you upward. Magma blocks create bubble columns that pull you down. You can breathe in the bubble columns.
Night vision potions, if you've never used one, will also let you see the ocean floor.
A water source block in an "ocean" biome will spawn ocean animals, whether there is room for them there or not. If you change a section of ocean into a one-block-deep pond, you'll still get fish in there
you probably won't like this one but. keep a notebook with the coordinates of important spots it is SO HELPFUL
I'll add more when I think of them. please note that I play bedrock and some of these might not work in java
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Stoneman Syndrome, Pt. 2
Warning for death, greifing, swearing, mild horror, and dolls.
Part one here!
You decide to swim for Boatem.
The air is thick with the acrid stench of burning wood. You don’t want to know what that gang lit on fire. You’re not likely to find out, either.
You’ve always been a good swimmer- front crawl’s your specialty, and as you pull up for another breath, you catch sight of another of them jerkily flying overhead. The Pronghorn Hybrid, by the look of them.
How the hell did this crowd pass the vetting process?
Or get past any of the anti-cheat plugins? That’s clearly a hacked communicator, what the hell?
You surface briefly, taking a few seconds to tread water and regain your bearings. Boatem’s getting closer- a lot closer, actually. You turn around, kicking against the warm seawater, and catch sight of-
Your heart stops.
It’s a glowing lavacast, slowly building up over the Octagon, cascading down the carefully-crafted sides and pouring into the ocean. It pulses and flashes, layers of lava and water flowing down each other and covering everything it touches with gradually-increasing layers of molten rock. If you were closer you’d hear the hiss of Doc and Ren’s masterpiece being slowly swallowed up by a wall of stone.
You blink tears out of your eyes and turn back. You need to get to shore.
Night falls just as you drag yourself up onto the beach, right by the pirate walker that graces Boatem’s shore. There’s sand stuck to your hands, and you wipe it off on the grass, craning your neck up to look at the village.
And at the rapidly-growing pile of TNT that several people are stacking up inside Grian’s Magical Alleyway.
In the distance, you hear something clank.
You spring to your feet and start sprinting, full-tilt, across the landscape. Jumping over torches, vaulting over fences- you don’t have time. This has to stop.
This is the actual world itself. This is the original. The hermits were here, here on this world, touching this soil, and these clowns want to totally destroy-
You skid to a stop by the base of Treeza, craning your neck up.
The door of the VW microbus is propped open, and Mumbo has his legs sticking out of it. Or, well, Stone Mumbo- a statue of the man, just as perfect as all the others. Except, well, there’s- You personally wouldn’t make a statue to have such an angry snarl on its face, long stone fangs dropping down from the roof of his mouth as Stone Mumbo looks over his shoulder at the back wall of his bus, looking in the direction of Grian’s alleyway.
You swallow nervously, and keep running.
Closer to, the rapidly-growing pile of munitions is a terrifying sight. Random bits of TNT are scattered everywhere along the mountain range, and you realize with cold horror that you’re pretty well powerless to try and stop this. You’ve got bare fists and about 49 baked potatoes, plus that pile of extremely useless diamonds you feel increasingly guilty about taking.
Looking up, you can see dozens of these people glitching around on hacked comms, with the exception of that wasp guy and the blue-suited woman with her stolen elytra. You spare a glance down at your comm, but it’s just a string of meaningless names- Peska_4, Cromtastic68- nothing and nobody you recognize.
In the distance, there’s another muffled clank.
You take a step back as someone- the Pronghorn hybrid (Cromtastic68 according to your communicator) floats down next to you.
“You here for the show? It’s cool, Peska said you had a talk and you’re on the same page. So here’s what we’re gonna do. Mitch there-”
And he gestures up at the wasp hybrid who’s still buzzing around placing bits of TNT here and there on the mountain-
“-Is gonna give you a lift up to that weird triangle up there so you can get a good look. Then you take a swan dive into the boatem hole after you take lots of pictures, alright? Always looks good to have an outsider confirm it.”
You stare at him like he’s just grown another head.
“I-” you look around frantically, trying to find someplace to hide. You don’t want any part of this. You don’t want to see this. And-
Then your eyes fall, somewhat desperately, on Impulse’s factory.
“Can I- Can I have- a look in there- first?” you protest, frantically trying to find some excuse to escape.
He tilts his head, horns tipping back and forth, and then he smiles.
“Yeah, sure. Go ahead. Run around in there, Mitch’ll come get you when it’s time. We’re doing that place next, though, so don’t spend too long in there. Or else.”
You smile weakly at the warning and take off for the factory at a brisk run.
The gates are open, wedged wide and welcoming, and you sprint through it. There’s no time to admire the staggering footprint of this place, or the huge spiralling smokestacks that soar into the sky. The row of delivery trucks waiting patiently in their berths all have the doors popped open, and an army of Stone Impulses have stepped out of the cabs of their trucks, huge snarls locked on stone faces.
You skid to a stop in front of the stairs heading up to the main entrance. You wanted to go hide somewhere inside the sprawling labyrinth of corridors that are sure to fill the walls of the factory, but you can’t. You won’t.
Because standing in front of you is a towering statue of Impulse. His wings are spread, and stone teeth shaped like needles are starting to poke up at odd angles from his snarling stone mouth. He clutches his stone cane with a death grip, and he’s strangling his stone top hat to death in his other hand. If he was alive, if he was a real person and not a statue, you’d suspect he was about to stomp on that hat and rip your head off.
Then you hear a scream behind you.
It’s not a human scream.
It’s a wail like a siren, piercing and filling the air, a grinding noise like air being driven through a crack in the stone. It fills the entirety of Boatem with its fury, angry shrieking and scraping filling the world in its wake-
You turn on your heel and sprint, full-tilt, towards the magical alleyway.
What you see outside the factory gates takes your breath away.
Dozens of statues, dotted all around the place, many multiples of different hermits. You don’t know how they got there, but they all look absolutely furious. They’re frozen in place- not moving, not breathing, just standing there, arms outstretched.
And clustered around the now-gargantuan pile of TNT is that stupid gaggle of morons.
“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!” Peska shouts desperately, “DID YOU DO THIS?!”
“THIS IS ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT!” you shout right back. But you make no motion to move towards them. You didn’t do anything wrong, and you don’t want to be anywhere near that giant pile of TNT…
“Yeah, you know what? Actually fuck this. I’m out!” And that’s that wasp hybrid you saw earlier, Mitch. He jumps into the air, his wings buzzing up to full speed as he starts to fly.
Everyone watches with bated breath as he takes off-
Not least of all the statues around you.
You blink.
And Mitch is falling to earth, screaming his head off, a stone statue of xB wrapped around him in a bear hug. The sudden change in weight throws Mitch off and he drops like a rock, careening straight for the ground-
But when he slams to earth, it’s not a splat or a crunch. It’s just the sound of fracturing stone, crumbling and bursting into a cloud of white powder and fragments.
Your communicator buzzes and you spare a glance at it-
<Mixtchol0gy hit the ground too hard and shattered>
<Mixtchol0gy has been banned.>
You glance back up and scream in fright.
Cleo and a half-dozen Tangos just took a step towards you, and they’re all scowling. You pivot on your heel-
Keralis’ stone eyes bore into your own, a look of disappointment so stark you feel ashamed for something you didn’t do. Stone…tendrils…poke out of the statue’s back, in a way that no human sculptor would be able to carve without it all collapsing immediately into a pile of dust.
“OH GOD OH GOD NO-”
“MITCH!”
“FUCK! IS THIS YOU? DID YOU DO THIS?!”
You swallow nervously, racking your brain for some solution. The statues aren’t moving since you’re facing them. They’re not moving. Maybe- Maybe-
Maybe if you get closer to that crowd, maybe you can get everyone out? Maybe-
“I- I think I can get us out of here,” you say.
Your plan is brilliant, actually. One person at a time takes a moment to type in the command into their comm to get the hell out of this place, and then when everyone’s typed it in, you’ll all look down and hit it at once. Easy.
You never get a chance to say it.
The air fills with a cracking, crunching noise, stone fracturing with a series of thunderous bangs- like a cliff being demolished with dynamite, it’s a wave that rolls across the crowd of statues.
Your eyes are locked on a stone Keralis as he…changes.
The stone around all of his joints breaks, cracks, snapping into rough spheres and ovals. Stone grinds against stone, and the statue-
The statue tilts his stone head with a hideous scraping noise, particles of dust shaking off in an instant. He’s moving. Right before your eyes, he’s MOVING.
The ball-jointed tendrils thrash wildly, as stone arms twitch and stone fingers flex.
And your heart stops beating.
They’re so fast. Stone blurs bounding across the landscape, eating up the distance with horrible bounds. Each slam of stone feet into the ground shakes the earth, and the screaming is nearly drowned out by the clattering of marble rubbing against itself.
You start to panic, turning to run, only to slam into a broad stone chest.
Beef- Stone Beef- is staring down at you, frozen face locked in a disappointed scowl. You turn around, frantically trying to escape, only to find yourself eye to eye with that same Stone Keralis, arms folded.
Huge stone hands, balljointed and ice cold, grab you by the arms.
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Monster-Making: Art Block Support
Use the Random Number Generator to help you pick out a mundane item to incorporate into the design or mythos of a monster / cryptid / creature you create!
Slinky
Vine
Revolving Door
Fountain
Glass/Cup
Lamp (Street or Desk)
Unfinished painting
Screwdriver or Wrench
Cables / Extention Cord
Piece of corrugated iron, any shape
Hay
Seeing Stone (Rock with hole in it)
Nail polish
Jar of glitter
Corset
Garden Hose
Glowing egg
Goggles (swimming, ski or pilot)
Pages from a book or tome
Adult Inflatable Partner (Possessed) or Other item (Likely Cursed)
Hairtie
Postbox (house or communal)
Paddlepop sticks
Hairbrush (Any kind) or Comb
Buttons
Baby Pram (Modern)
Baby Pram (Old-Fashioned)
Candle (any colour) - Large
Glowsticks
Scissors
Deck of cards that are not from the same game or deck (eg. Queen of hearts, Pokemon card, Jack of Spades from another set, 2 x magic the gathering cards from different releases)
Deck of Cards (regular)
Dog or Cat Collar / Harness with bells
Spoon (Wooden or Metal)
Life-preserver ring from an old boat
Art Project from a high-schooler
Decorative 'vase' found in student dorms
Small to medium statue of any kind found at an op shop
Thifted shirt that has an odd logo and can't be removed
Tweezers or Tongs
Empty DVD case
Body part or organ in a jar of ominous liquid (dusty)
Spice Rack
Spiderweb
Pen or Quill
Gravestone Intact or broken)
Roadflare or firework
Earring (singular)
Earrings (Plural)
Glow in the Dark Stars
Bandages
Crosstich project
Brochure or guidebook
Shard of stone or parchment with hieroglyphics, cuneform or runes on this
An actual helicopter
Cane or walking aid
Cushion
Potpourri
Cat toy (any)
Tennis Ball or Frisbee
Washing Machine or Dryer
Coathanger(s)
Succulent / Indoor plant (Any)
Garbage Bin or Compost Bin
Road Sign (Stop, Give Way, Speed Limit)
Gold and/or prosthetic Tooth (Own or taken)
Dentures (Any)
Bubble Wrap
Cheap Bottle of Bubbles and Wand
Computer Tower / Stack (No noted power source)
Set of coloured pencils
Ladder
A whole emergency vehicle (Fire, ambulance, police)
Fence post
Headphones (any)
Cardboard box
Single piece of fruit (unblemished, fresh)
A necklace of dolls' eyes
Bottle of pills, some potentially tic tacs
Feather Duster
Lava Lamp
Hot Water Bottle
Bullet or Artillery Shell
Thermometer
Weather Vane
Bucket
Cotton Thread (Spooled or Tangled)
Pins or Safety Pins
Sticky Tape and/or dispenser
A pair of shoes
Solitary shoe
All the missing left socks
Piggy Bank (Any form)
Hillshoist Washing Line
Plush toy or animal-shaped pillow/cushion
Beanbag
Aquarium
Sheet of Stickers (unused)
VHS Player or an old ATARI system
Paint (single colour or set)
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Part 2 of the Kirby no Copy-Toru! series!
Here's Cutter, using Cutter Boomerang and Hyper Boomerang. This art is of course based on Bubbly Clouds from Kirby's Dream Land, although it's appearance here is based on sprites from Kirby Super Star Ultra. The striped star pillars alone are recognizable enough, but the golden block patterns and jellybean-esque droplets in the clouds bring it together. Sir Kibble appears in the stage as well.
Cutter is also seen here using Cutter Drop and Final Cutter, and doing so within Stage 1 of Wild World, from Kirby: Triple Deluxe. The overgrown plant life of these ruins include the angular flowers, spiraling sprouts, and the cuttable grass as well. The second art also includes the stacked box-like seen later in the stage. Sir Kibble can be found late in the stage to give Cutter as well, fitting for cutting through the tall grass.
Here we have Bomb, using Bomb Throw and Double Bomb Throw. Where else would Kirby throw bombs wildly, than Dedede's Castle! More specifically, it's Stage 4 of Prism Plains, from Kirby Squeak Squad, which happens to be inside of Dedede's Castle, or one of them anyways. The ornate red carpet that drapes over the side of the wall, and the green patterned walls are what stand out. Foley can be found in this stage to give Bomb.
Bomb is back, preforming Bomb Bowl and Double Bomb Bowl, doing so in the tall forest of Fine Fields, from Kirby Triple Deluxe. The sharp grass with it's squarish pattern, and the patterned wood walls as well stand out. Stage 4 focuses on the forest, but it technically first appears in Stage 2 and 3. Despite appearing in that many stages, I couldn't find any Bomb givers anywhere!
Next is Ice, using Ice Breath and Super Ice Breath. Of course, Ice Kirby is drawn in an ice-themed stage, specifically the icy caverns first seen in Stage 2 of White Wafers, in Kirby's Return to Dream Land. It includes the geometric patterns in both the floor and the walls in the background, as well as the icy surface covering the floors. Chilly can be found rarely in the caverns, but less rarely elsewhere in White Wafers.
Our secondary Ice attacks are Ice Storm and Super Ice Storm, being preformed in Stage 1 of Ice Island, from Kirby Squeak Squad. This one really surprised me for some reason, they went all out! It includes the frosty trees, the snowy fences, the bluish-green grassy floor covered in snow, and even the pretty aurorae in the background! Pengy can be found throughout Ice Island to give Ice.
Here to combat Ice, is Fire! Using Fire Breath and Long Fire Breath, Fire Kirby appears to be in the Sub-Tree Area, the first area of the Great Cave Offensive, in Kirby Super Star. It's specifically based on Kirby Super Star Ultra, with the diamond patterned floor, colored grass (even if it's not really an identical color), and the stone faces. Interestingly, I couldn't find any Fire enemies or Copy Essences in this area. There is lava though!
Here, Fire Kirby is using Burn and Long Burn, doing so in the flaming temple found in Stage 4 of Volcal Volcano, from Kirby Squeak Squad. This one took me a bit to figure out, but the patterned floors, brick walls, and, of course, lava, eventually came together. Many Fire enemies can be found here, including Hot Head, Flamer, and Acchi.
Next is Fighter Kirby, using Quick Jab and Vulcan Jab. Kirby seems to be in the non-fiery areas of Mustard Mountain, from Kirby & the Amazing Mirror. There's gray and brown floor, rocky walls, and pine trees in the background. Boxin can be found in this area as well.
Fighter Kirby here is using Force Blast and Mega Force Blast, doing so in Raisin Ruins, from Kirby's Return to Dream Land. The blocky floors in the art most match the design of Stage 3, although the sandy wave-like hills can be seen as early as Stage 1. I couldn't find any provider of Fighter in the stages that use this floor type.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
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Pax and her Potions: Prt 2/3
Part 1 here I guess
@anxiousworm @vlanderzine I blame worm for infecting me with angst but also this kinda worked p-well ngl.
Grabbing a bundle of sticks, Pax shifted through her cloak to make room for the new stack of ladders beside her pickaxe, food and notebook. After clicking that both her parents were indeed asleep and that there was no one in the streets below, she pried open the wood planks to her bedroom and looked down.
The drop was easily at least a dozen meters off the ground, maybe more. There was a tree she could jump to, but Pax didn’t trust her athletic skill. Replacing the removed planks and ladders once she hit the ground, the amature alchemist frowned up at the redstone lamps.
Technically speaking, there were no dark spots in the city. The mayor had spent dozens of diamonds ensuring that there was no risk of monsters beyond the walls entering or appearing in the middle of the night. Even the rooftops were lit up with torches. It made sleeping difficult.
On the plus side, that meant most citizens were conditions to avoid darkened patches at all costs. So the dimmer alley with only a single light source was the perfect place to creep through.
Keeping a tight grip on her tool, Pax leaned out from the alley to the small procession of sleepy guards who were standing guard at the portal. One was leaning against the obsidian structure, the other fiddling with his sword. Looking into her inventory for a moment, she found a spare stick and threw it in the opposite direction.
That worked better than she expected, cliche as it was. Both guards jumped at the sound, raising their swords in alarm. With their heads turned, Pax dashed into the open square and ducked behind a set of tall bushes.
She was forced to wait several more seconds before they wouldn’t see her in their peripheral vision. Running up towards the portal, Pax suddenly stopped.
Staring into the swirls of violet energy, there was a palpable heat radiating from the frame. She would have compared it to a summer breeze, but that was too gentle of a metaphor. Hovering a hand just over the portal, a flash of heat made her flinch back.
A moment of realism crashed into her. This was dangerous, more dangerous than just stealing ingredients for faulty potions. This was another dimension, this was fire and monsters and possibly death.
“What are you doing?” Pax asked herself.
The guards were returning. She threw herself into the portal.
The heat she’d felt radiating from the portal was nothing compared to this. Pax coughed from the humid air and ashes stinging her throat. She wasn’t even in the Nether proper, having landed in the small hub that the miners used.
Stone brick and slabs decorated the small room, with little tables that the workers could use for their breaks. A corner of the hub was locked by an iron door, with the inside filled with chests. There were tunnels cut through in all four cardinal directions, with minecart chests and rails running down as far as she could see.
Pax almost considered breaking into the locked room for more supplies, but she knew that it was likely trapped against any real thieves. Instead, she chose one of the tunnels, squeezed her pickaxe, and began to dig upward.
In all her stories, they described caves as dark, damp and scary places. Where you could be faced with the growling maw of a zombie or a spider dropping onto your face at any moment. Digging in the Nether was some other kind of dread. Pax could hear the bubbling drip of lava through the netherrack, making her flinch every time the sounds grew louder.
When she finally broke through the surface, it didn’t seem like it was the surface. The sky - at least as far as ‘sky’ meant - was a distant roof made of deep red stone. Fires speckled the ground, with long streams of lava dripping down from the layers and layers of floating islands and cliffs.
The mines below her suddenly felt pitifully small in comparison. There was just so much to explore, she almost forgot what she was here for.
Nibbling on a small bundle of golden carrots, Pax made her way across the scorched landscape. As she walked, she heard an odd sound between a snort and a growl behind her. She heard something creak, then an arrow cut a gash across her cheek.
Screaming, the girl wheeled around and found a humanoid pig creature reloading a crossbow. It was the first, non-zombified creature she’d seen and Pax had a moment to marvel at another sentient creature from this realm. Until she found another arrow pointed at her face.
The girl dashed away in an instant, remembering to dodge the magma blocks haphazardly placed across the ground and the lava pouring down. Arrows whizzed by her and another lucky shot cut another hole through her cloak. It wasn’t until she was faced with a sheer cliff that Pax turned again.
Her hands were shaking so bad, she dropped the half-eaten golden carrot and clutched her pick like a sword. The crossbow was level with her face, growing closer after each tick. It was a meter away from her but her legs refused to move.
The piglin blinked, beady eyes glancing down to the dropped food. It lowered it’s crossbow. Pax relaxed her grip.
“Uh, hello?” She asked, feeling slightly stupid.
It bent down and grabbed the carrot, stuffing it into its mouth and chewing the carrot to paste. Pax grinned, “You’re hungry?”
She fished out another carrot, threw it to the ground, then pressed her back against the wall. The piglin���s face formed something that might’ve been a grin as it bent down to munch on the carrot.
To her surprise, it also dropped it’s crossbow and began fishing through what looked like an inventory. After it finished the second carrot, it dropped a pile of greenish-orange slime, picked up it’s crossbow and walked away.
Pax watched the mob disappear back into the misty red before she felt confident enough to poke at the strange substance. Her first thought was that it was some kind of weird piglin poop, but it lacked any poop-like smell so she dismissed that theory.
Whatever it was, the mob had offered it to her out of some kind of trade. It looked interesting at the very least, so Pax stuffed handfuls into her cloak and began to tower up the side of the mountain.
The height gave her a good vantage point to look across the landscape. And to her luck, there was a fortress a few feet away. Smiling, Pax climbed down, dashed towards the closest pillar and threw down the first ladders. Sticky ash clung to her skin, excitement and fear blending together into a heady concoction.
Once she made it up to face one of the barred windows, she tore down the fence that blocked her and climbed inside the fortress.
It was quieter than she expected, the red bricks insulating her against the ambient sounds of the nether. Pax could hear footsteps, though; a shambling, rattling sound that echoed down from some unknown place deep in the structure.
Flipping through her notes, Pax found the copied out section of her book on myths that detailed some of the old mages ingredients. She was pleasantly surprised to find that the weird slime the piglin gave her looked like one of them. The specific item she was looking for, though, was a deep red, fungi-like plant named ‘netherwarts’.
There wasn’t a detailed map that showed her where she’d find this plant, so Pax found herself wandering aimlessly. Despite the oppressive atmosphere, hidden monsters and any manner of unknown danger, she was absolutely thrilled to have made it this far.
Coming down from a staircase, Pax was about to start down the new corridor until she saw the plants. She started a scream of delight, then slapped a hand over her mouth and refused to breathe. The clacking sounds grew louder, closer.
She needed to get out, but she needed that netherwart. Jumping down and onto the plot of soul sand, she tore up the plants, grabbed a chunk of the cursed dirt to grow them on and ran back up the stairs and towards her exit.
Pax screamed this time when she came face to face with a blackened skull. A stone sword nearly cut a gash down her chest, then Pax felt herself fall. Rolling down the stairs, she forced herself to her feet and blasted down the new corridor.
Wither skeletons; even she didn’t think they were real. She swerved around corners, her momentum throwing her into the walls. From what few windows she could see, the fortress extended over the bowles of a lava lake. Digging out would just be suidice then.
The next corner she turned made her heart drop. The corridor broke away, the rest presumably resting under the magma below. Pax whimpered and turned, hearing the skeleton growing closer and pinning her between two options for a painful death.
She didn’t have any combat training and she certainly wasn’t fireproof. Shuffling through her inventory, Pax pulled out the rest of her ladders and looked up to the broken remains of the hallway.
Climbing up and onto the roof, she had even less protection from whatever might drop down, but she made sure to break the makeshift stairs so mobs couldn’t follow her at least. Backtracking from where she came and making use of her ladders, Pax soon found her original entrance and began to build her way down.
A new sound made her turn her head. Hovering in the sky, a ghostly white creature with tendrils and red eyes spat out a ball of fire.
Pax let go of the ladder, dropping her onto the ground from higher than she could tolerate. Shock buzzed up her heel and through her spine, nearly knocking her off her feet. The ghost-creature had closed its eyes, but hovered closer to her position.
Running with fresh bruises, she cried out and blocked her face as hot flecks of exploding netherrack pelted her thin cloak. Scrambling up the mountainside, Pax heard the shriek of another fireball and managed to throw one arm up onto the edge.
The impact threw her into the air, flipping her over before crashing into the pit the explosion left. Pain filled her senses; lingering along with the smell of burning hair. Agony flared all across her back, refusing to dull and growing worse as all her adrenalin was sapped from her body.
She had just enough sense left to try and bury herself with whatever materials she had left and prayed that the ghast would leave her alone. Biting her sleeve to muffle her crying, Pax waited in the dark with dying ember ticking her nose.
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JA ONE XTC
JA • • •
KEVIN HELDMAN lives in New York. This is his first piece for "Rolling Stone." (ROLLING STONE,FEB 9,1995)
THE FIRST TIME I meet JA, he skates up to me wearing Rollerblades, his cap played backward, on a street corner in Manhattan at around midnight. He's white, 24 years old, with a short, muscular build and a blond crew cut. He has been writing graffiti off and on in New York for almost 10 years and is the founder of a loosely affiliated crew called XTC. His hands, arms, legs and scalp show a variety of scars from nightsticks, razor wire, fists and sharp, jagged things he has climbed up, on or over. He has been beaten by the police -- a "wood shampoo," he calls it -- has been shot at, has fallen off a highway sign into moving traffic, has run naked through train yards tagging, has been chased down highways by rival writers wielding golf clubs and has risked his life innumerable times writing graffiti -- bombing, getting up.
JA lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment. There's graffiti on a wall-length mirror, a weight bench, a Lava lamp to bug out on, cans of paint stacked in the corner, a large Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) sticker on the side of the refrigerator. The buzzer to his apartment lists a false name; his phone number is unlisted to avoid law-enforcement representatives as well as conflicts with other writers. While JA and one of his writing partners, JD, and I are discussing their apprehension about this story, JD, offering up a maxim from the graffiti life, tells me matter-of-factly, "You wouldn't fuck us over, we know where you live."
At JA's apartment we look through photos. There are hundreds of pictures of writers inside out-of-service subway cars that they've just covered completely with their tags, pictures of writers wearing orange safety vests -- to impersonate transit workers -- and walking subway tracks, pictures of detectives and transit workers inspecting graffiti that JA and crew put up the previous night, pictures of stylized JA 'throw-ups' large, bubble-lettered logos written 15 feet up and 50 times across a highway retaining wall. Picture after picture of JA's on trains, JA's on trucks, on store gates, bridges, rooftops, billboards -- all labeled, claimed and recorded on film.
JA comes from a well-to-do family; his parents are divorced; his father holds a high-profile position in the entertainment industry. JA is aware that in some people's minds this last fact calls into question his street legitimacy, and he has put a great deal of effort into resisting the correlation between privileged and soft. He estimates he has been arrested 15 times for various crimes. He doesn't have a job, and it's unclear how he supports himself. Every time we've been together, he's been high or going to get high. Once he called me from Rikers Island prison, where he was serving a couple of months for disorderly conduct and a probation violation. He said some of the inmates saw him tagging in a notebook and asked him to do tattoos for them.
It sounds right. Wherever he is, JA dominates his surroundings. With his crew, he picks the spots to hit, the stores to rack from; he controls the mission. He gives directions in the car, plans the activities, sets the mood. And he takes everything a step further than the people he's with. He climbs higher, stays awake longer, sucks deepest on the blunt, writes the most graffiti. And though he's respected by other writers for testing the limits -- he has been described to me by other writers as a king and, by way of compliment, as "the sickest guy I ever met" -- that same recklessness sometimes alienates him from the majority who don't have such a huge appetite for chaos, adrenaline, self-destruction.
When I ask a city detective who specializes in combating graffiti if there are any particularly well-known writers, he immediately mentions JA and adds with a bit of pride in his voice, "We know each other." He calls JA the "biggest graffiti writer of all time" (though the detective would prefer that I didn't mention that, because it'll only encourage JA). "He's probably got the most throw-ups in the city, in the country, in the world," the detective says. "If the average big-time graffiti vandal has 10,000 tags, JA's got 100,000. He's probably done -- in New York City alone -- at least $5 million worth of damage."
AT ABOUT 3 A.M., JA AND TWO OTHER WRITERS go out to hit a billboard off the West Side Highway in Harlem. Tonight there are SET, a 21-year-old white writer from Queens, N.Y., and JD, a black Latino writer the same age, also from Queens. They load their backpacks with racked cans of Rustoleum, fat cap nozzles, heavy 2-foot industrial bolt cutters and surgical gloves. We pile into a car and start driving, Schooly D blasting on the radio. First a stop at a deli where JA and SET go in and steal beer. Then we drive around Harlem trying a number of different dope spots, keeping an eye out for "berries" -- police cars. JA tosses a finished 40-ounce out the window in a high arc, and it smashes on the street.
At different points, JA gets out of the car and casually walks the streets and into buildings, looking for dealers. A good part of the graffiti life involves walking anywhere in the city, at any time, and not being afraid -- or being afraid and doing it anyway.
We arrive at a spot where JA has tagged the dealer's name on a wall in his territory. The three writers buy a vial of crack and a vial of angel dust and combine them ("spacebase") in a hollowed-out Phillies blunt. JD tells me that "certain drugs will enhance your bombing," citing dust for courage and strength ("bionics"). They've also bombed on mescaline, Valium, marijuana, crack and malt liquor. SET tells a story of climbing highway poles with a spray can at 6 a.m., "all Xanaxed out."
While JD is preparing the blunt, JA walks across the street with a spray can and throws up all three of their tags in 4-foot-high bubbled, connected letters. In the corner, he writes my name.
We then drive to a waterfront area at the edge of the city -- a deserted site with warehouses, railroad tracks and patches of urban wilderness dotted with high-rise billboards. All three writers are now high, and we sit on a curb outside the car smoking cigarettes. From a distance we can see a group of men milling around a parked car near a loading dock that we have to pass. This provokes 30 minutes of obsessive speculation, a stoned stakeout with play by play:
"Dude, they're writers," says SET. "Let's go down and check them out," says JD. "Wait, let's see what they write," says JA. "Yo -- they're going into the trunk," says SET. "Cans, dude, they're going for their cans. Dude, they're writers. "There could be beef, possible beef," says JA. "Can we confirm cans, do we see cans?" SET wants to know. Yes, they do have cans," SET answers for himself. "There are cans. They are writers." It turns out that the men are thieves, part of a group robbing a nearby truck. In a few moments guards appear with flashlights and at least one drawn gun. The thieves scatter as guard dogs fan out around the area, barking crazily.
We wait this out a bit until JA announces, "It's on." Hood pulled up on his head, he leads us creeping through the woods (which for JA has become the cinematic jungles of Nam). It's stop and go, JA crawling on his stomach, unnecessarily close to one of the guards who's searching nearby. We pass through graffiti-covered tunnels (with the requisite cinematic drip drip), over crumbling stairs overgrown with weeds and brush, along dark, heavily littered trails used by crackheads.
We get near the billboard, and JA uses the bolt cutters to cut holes in two chain-link fences. We crawl through and walk along the railroad tracks until we get to the base of the sign. JA, with his backpack on, climbs about 40 feet on a thin piece of metal pipe attached to the main pillar. JD, after a few failed attempts, follows with the bolt cutters shoved down his pants and passes them to JA. Hanging in midair, his legs wrapped around a small piece of ladder, JA cuts the padlock and opens up the hatch to the catwalk. He then lowers his arm to JD, who is wrapped around the pole just below him, struggling. "J, give me your hand, "I'll pull you up," JA tells him. JD hesitates. He is reluctant to let go and continues treadmilling on the pole, trying to make it up. JD, give me your hand." JD doesn't want to refuse, but he's uncomfortable entrusting his life to JA. He won't let go of the pole. JA says it again, firmly, calmly, utterly confident: "J give me your hand." JD's arm reaches up, and JA pulls JD up onto the catwalk. Next, SET, the frailest of the three, follows unsteadily. They've called down and offered to put up his tag, but he insists on going up. "Dude, fuck that, I'm down," he says. I look away while he makes his way up, sure that he's going to fall (he almost does twice). The three have developed a set pattern for dividing the labor when they're "blowing up," one writer outlining, another working behind him, filling in. For 40 minutes I watch them working furiously, throwing shadows as they cover ads for Parliament and Amtrak with large multicolored throw-ups SET and JD bickering about space, JA scolding them, tossing down empty cans.
They risk their lives again climbing down. Parts of their faces are covered in paint, and their eyes beam as all three stare at the billboard, asking, "Isn't it beautiful?' And there is something intoxicating about seeing such an inaccessible, clean object gotten to and made gaudy. We get in the car and drive the West Side Highway northbound and then southbound so they can critique their work. "Damn, I should've used the white," JD says.
The next day both billboards are newly re-covered, all the graffiti gone. JA tells me the three went back earlier to get pictures and made small talk with the workers who were cleaning it off.
GRAFFITI HAS BEEN THROUGH A NUMBER OF incarnations since it surfaced in New York in the early 70s with a Greek teen-ager named Taki 183. It developed from the straightforward writing of a name to highly stylized, seemingly illegible tags (a kind of penmanship slang) to wild-style throw-ups and elaborate (master) "pieces" and character art. There has been racist graffiti political writing, drug advertising, gang graffiti. There is an art-graf scene from which Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiac, LEE, Futura 2000, Lady Pink and others emerged; aerosol advertising; techno graffiti written into computer programs; anti-billboard graffiti; stickers; and stencil writing. There are art students doing street work in San Francisco ("nonpermissional public art"); mural work in underground tunnels in New York; gallery shows from Colorado to New Jersey; all-day Graffiti-a-Thons; and there are graffiti artists lecturing art classes at universities. Graffiti has become part of urban culture, hip-hop culture and commercial culture, has spread to the suburbs and can be found in the backwoods of California's national forests. There are graffiti magazines, graffiti stores, commissioned walls, walls of fame and a video series available (Out to bomb) documenting writers going out on graffiti missions, complete with soundtrack. Graffiti was celebrated as a metaphor in the 70s (Norman Mailer's "The Faith of Graffiti"); it went Hollywood in the '80s (Beat Street, Turk 182!, Wild Style); and in the '90s it has been increasingly used to memorialize the inner-city dead.
But as much as graffiti has found acceptance, it has been vilified a hundred times more. Writers are now being charged with felonies and given lengthy jail terms -- a 15-year-old in California was recently sentenced to eight years in a juvenile detention center. Writers have been given up to 1000 hours of community service and forced to undergo years of psychological counseling; their parents have been hit with civil suits. In California a graffiti writer's driver's license can be revoked for a year; high-school diplomas and transcripts can also be withheld until parents make restitution. In some cities property owners who fail to remove graffiti from their property are subject to fines and possible jail time. Last spring in St. Louis, Cincinnati, San Antonio and Sacramento, Calif., politicians proposed legislation to cane graffiti writers (four to 10 hits with a wooden paddle, administered by parents or by a bailiff in a public courtroom). Across the nation, legislation has been passed making it illegal to sell spray paint and wide-tipped markers to anyone under 18, and often the materials must be kept locked up in the stores. Several cities have tried to ban the sales altogether, license sellers of spray paint and require customers to give their name and address when purchasing paint. In New York some hardware-store owners will give a surveillance photo of anyone buying a large quantity of spray cans to the police. In Chicago people have been charged with possession of paint. In San Jose, Calif., undercover police officers ran a sting operation -- posing as filmmakers working on a graffiti documentary -- and arrested 31 writers.
Hidden cameras, motion detectors, laser removal, specially developed chemical coatings, night goggles, razor wire, guard dogs, a National Graffiti Information Network, graffiti hot lines, bounties paid to informers -- one estimate is that it costs $4 billion a year nationally to clean graffiti -- all in an effort to stop those who "visually laugh in the face of communities," as a Wall Street Journal editorial raged.
The popular perception is that since the late 1980s when New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority adopted a zero tolerance toward subway graffiti (the MTA either cleaned or destroyed more than 6,000 graffiti-covered subway cars, immediately pulling a train out of service if any graffiti appeared on it), graffiti culture had died in the place of its birth. According to many graffiti writers, however, the MTA, in its attempt to kill graffiti, only succeeded in bringing it out of the tunnels and train yards and making it angry. Or as Jeff Ferrell, a criminologist who has chronicled the Denver graffiti scene, theorizes, the authorities' crackdown moved graffiti writing from subculture to counterculture. The work on the trains no longer ran, so writers started hitting the streets. Out in the open they had to work faster and more often. The artistry started to matter less and less. Throw-ups, small cryptic tags done in marker and even the straightforward writing of a name became the dominant imagery. What mattered was quantity ("making noise"), whether the writer had heart, was true to the game, was "real." And the graffiti world started to attract more and more people who weren't looking for an alternative art canvas but simply wanted to be connected to an outlaw community, to a venerable street tradition that allowed the opportunity to advertise their defiance. "It's that I'm doing it that I get my rush, not by everyone seeing it," says JA. "Yeah, that's nice, but if that's all that's gonna motivate you to do it, you're gonna stop writing. That's what happened to a lot of writers." JD tells me: "We're just putting it in their faces; it's like 'Yo, you gotta put up with it.'"
Newspapers have now settled on the term "graffiti vandal" rather than "artist" or "writer." Graffiti writers casually refer to their work as doing destruction." In recent years graffiti has become more and more about beefs and wars, about "fucking up the MTA," "fucking up the city."
Writers started taking a jock attitude toward getting up frequently and tagging in hard-to-reach places, adopting a machismo toward going over other writers' work and defending their own ("If you can write, you can fight"). Whereas graffiti writing was once considered an alternative to the street, now it imports drugs, violence, weapons and theft from that world -- the romance of the criminal deviant rather than the artistic deviant. In New York today, one police source estimates there are approximately 100,000 people involved in a variety of types of graffiti writing. The police have caught writers as young as 8 and as old as 42. And there's a small group of hard-core writers who are getting older who either wrote when graffiti was in its prime or long for the days when it was, those who write out of compulsion, for each other and for the authorities who try to combat graffiti, writers who haven't found anything in their lives substantial or hype enough to replace graffiti writing.
The writers in their 20s come mostly from working-class families and have limited prospects and ambitions for the future. SET works in a drugstore and has taken lithium and Prozac for occasional depression; JD dropped out of high school and is unemployed, last working as a messenger, where he met JA. They spend their nights driving 80 miles an hour down city highways, balancing 40-ounce bottles of Old English 800 between their legs, smoking blunts and crack-laced cigarettes called coolies, always playing with the radio. They reminisce endlessly about the past, when graf was real, when graf ran on the trains, and they swap stories about who's doing what on the scene. The talk is a combo platter of Spicoli, homeboy, New Age jock and eighth grade: The dude is a fuckin' total turd. . . . I definitely would've gotten waxed. . . . It's like some bogus job. . . . I'm amped, I'm Audi, you buggin . . . You gotta be there fully, go all out, focus. . . . Dudes have bitten off SET, he's got toys jockin' him. . . .
They carry beepers, sometimes guns, go upstate or to Long Island to "prey on the hicks" and to rack cans of spray paint. They talk about upcoming court cases and probation, about quitting, getting their lives together, even as they plan new spots to hit, practice their style by writing on the walls of their apartments, on boxes of food, on any stray piece of paper (younger writers practice on school notebooks that teachers have been known to confiscate and turn over to the police). They call graffiti a "social tool" and "some kind of ill form of communication," refer to every writer no matter his age as "kid." Talk in the graffiti life vacillates between banality and mythology, much like the activity itself: hours of drudgery, hanging out, waiting, interrupted by brief episodes of exhilaration. JD, echoing a common refrain, says, "Graffiti writers are like bitches: a lot of lying, a lot of talking, a lot of gossip." They don't like tagging with girls ("cuties," or if they use drugs, "zooties") around because all they say is (in a whiny voice), You're crazy. . . . Write my name."
WHEN JA TALKS ABOUT GRAFFITI, HE'S reluctant to offer up any of the media-ready cliches about the culture (and he knows most of them). He's more inclined to say, "Fuck the graffiti world," and scoff at graf shops, videos, conventions and 'zines. But he can be sentimental about how he began -- riding the No. 1, 2 and 3 trains when he was young, bugging out on the graffiti-covered cars, asking himself, "How did they do that? Who are they?" And he'll respectfully invoke the names of long-gone writers he admired when he was just starting out: SKEME, ZEPHYR, REVOLT, MIN.
JA, typical of the new school, primarily bombs, covering wide areas with throw-ups. He treats graffiti less as an art form than as an athletic competition, concentrating on getting his tag in difficult-to-reach places, focusing on quantity and working in defiance of an aesthetic that demands that public property be kept clean. (Writers almost exclusively hit public or commercial property.)
And when JA is not being cynical, he can talk for hours about the technique, the plotting, the logistics of the game like "motion bombing" by clockwork a carefully scoped subway train that he knows has to stop for a set time, at a set place, when it gets a certain signal in the tunnels. He says, "To me, the challenge that graffiti poses, there's something very invigorating and freeing about it, something almost spiritual. There's a kind of euphoria, more than any kind of drug or sex can give you, give me . . . for real."
JA says he wants to quit, and he talks about doing it as if he were in a 12-step program. "How a person in recovery takes it one day a time, that's how I gotta take it," he says. You get burnt out. There's pretty much nothing more the city can throw at me; it's all been done." But then he'll hear about a yard full of clean sanitation trucks, the upcoming Puerto Rican Day Parade (a reason to bomb Fifth Avenue) or a billboard in an isolated area; or it'll be 3 a.m., he'll be stoned, driving around or sitting in the living room, playing NBA Jam, and someone will say it: "Yo, I got a couple of cans in the trunk. . . ." REAS, an old-school writer of 12 years who, after a struggle and a number of relapses, eventually quit the life, says, "Graffiti can become like a hole you're stuck in; it can just keep on going and going, there's always another spot to write on."
SAST is in his late 20s and calls himself semiretired after 13 years in the graf scene. He still carries around a marker with him wherever he goes and cops little STONE tags (when he's high, he writes, STONED). He's driving JA and me around the city one night, showing me different objects they've tagged, returning again and again to drug spots to buy dust and crack, smoking, with the radio blasting; he's telling war stories about JA jumping onto moving trains, JA hanging off the outside of a speeding four-wheel drive. SAST is driving at top speed, cutting in between cars, tailgating, swerving. A number of times as we're racing down the highway, I ask him if he could slow down. He smiles, asks if I'm scared, tells me not to worry, that he's a more cautious driver when he's dusted. At one point on the FDR, a car cuts in front of us. JA decides to have some fun.
"Yo, he burnt you, SAST," JA says. We start to pick up speed. Yo, SAST, he dissed you, he cold dissed you, SAST." SAST is buying it, the look on his face becoming more determined as we go 70, 80, 90 miles an hour, hugging the divider, flying between cars. I turn to JA, who's in the back seat, and I try to get him to stop. JA ignores me, sitting back perfectly relaxed, smiling, urging SAST to go faster and faster, getting off, my fear adding to his rush.
At around 4 a.m., SAST drops us off on the middle of the Manhattan Bridge and leaves. JA wants to show me a throw-up he did the week before. We climb over the divider from the roadway to the subway tracks. JA explains that we have to cross the north and the southbound tracks to get to the outer part of the bridge. In between there are a number of large gaps and two electrified third rails, and we're 135 feet above the East River. As we're standing on the tracks, we hear the sound of an oncoming train. JA tells me to hide, to crouch down in the V where two diagonal braces meet just beside the tracks.
I climb into position, holding on to the metal beams, head down, looking at the water as the train slams by the side of my body. This happens twice more. Eventually, I cross over to the outer edge of the bridge, which is under construction, and JA points out his tag about 40 feet above on what looks like a crow's-nest on a support pillar. After a few moments of admiring the view, stepping carefully around the many opportunities to fall, JA hands me his cigarettes and keys. He starts crawling up one of the braces on the side of the bridge, disappears within the structure for a moment, emerges and makes his way to an electrical box on a pillar. Then he snakes his way up the piping and grabs on to a curved support. Using only his hands he starts to shimmy up; at one point he's hanging almost completely upside down. If he falls now, he'll land backward onto one of the tiers and drop into the river below. He continues to pull himself up, the old paint breaking off in his hands, and finally he flips his body over a railing to get to the spot where he tagged. He doesn't have a can or a marker with him, and at this point graffiti seems incidental. He comes down and tells me that when he did the original tag he was with two writers; one he half carried up, the other stopped at a certain point and later told JA that watching him do that tag made him appreciate life, being alive.
We walk for 10 minutes along a narrow, grooved catwalk on the side of the tracks; a thin wire cable prevents a fall into the river. A few times, looking down through the grooves, I have to stop, force myself to take the next step straight ahead, shake off the vertigo. JA is practically jogging ahead of me. We exit the bridge into Chinatown as the sun comes up and go to eat breakfast. JA tells me he's a vegetarian.
IF YOU TALK TO SERIOUS GRAFFITI writers, most of them will echo the same themes; they decry the commercialization of graf, condemn the toys and poseurs and alternately hate and feel attached to the authorities who try to stop them. They say with equal parts bravado and self-deprecation that a graffiti writer is a bum, a criminal, a vandal, slick, sick, obsessed, sneaky, street-smart, living on edges figurative and literal. They show and catalog cuts and scars on their bodies from razor wire, pieces of metal, knives, box cutters. I once casually asked a writer named GHOST if he knew another writer whose work I had seen in a graf'zine. "Yeah, I know him, he stabbed me," GHOST replies matter-of-factly. "We've still got beef." SET tells me he was caught by two DTs (detectives) who assaulted him, took his cans of paint and sprayed his body and face. JA tells similar stories of police beatings for his making officers run after him, of cops making him empty his spray cans on his sneakers or on the back of a fellow writer's jacket. JD has had 48 stitches in his back and 18 in his head over "graffiti-related beef." JA's best friend and writing partner, SANE SMITH, a legendary all-city writer who was sued by the city and the MTA for graffiti, was found dead, floating in Jamaica Bay. There's endless speculation in the grafworld as to whether he was pushed, fell or jumped off a bridge. SANE is so respected, there are some writers today who spend time in public libraries reading and rereading the newspaper microfilm about his death, his arrests, his career. According to JA, after SANE's death, his brother, SMiTH, also a respected graffiti artist, found a piece of paper on which SANE had written his and JA's tag and off to the side, FLYING HIGH THE XTC WAY. It now hangs on JA's apartment wall.
One morning, JA and I jump off the end of a subway platform and head into the tunnels. He shows me hidden rooms, emergency hatches that open to the sidewalk, where to stand when the trains come by. He tells me about the time SANE lay face down in a shallow drainage ditch on the tracks as an express train ran inches above him. JA says anytime he was being chased by the police he would run into a nearby subway station, jump off the platform and run into the tunnels. The police would never follow. KET, a veteran graffiti writer, tells me how in the tunnels he would accidentally step on homeless people sleeping. They'd see him tagging and would occasionally ask that he "throw them up," write their names on the wall. He usually would. Walking in the darkness between the electrified rails as trains race by, JA tells me the story of two writers he had beef with who came into the tunnels to cross out his tags. Where the cross-outs stop is where they were killed by an approaching train.
The last time I go out with JA, SET and JD, they pick me up at around 2 am. We drive down to the Lower East Side to hit a yard where about 60 trucks and vans are parked next to one another. Every vehicle is already covered with throw-ups and tags, but the three start to write anyway, JA in a near frenzy. They're running in between the rows, crawling under trucks, jumping from roof to roof, wedged down in between the trailers, engulfed in nauseating clouds of paint fumes (the writers sometimes blow multicolored mucous out of their noses), going over some writers' tags, respecting others, JA throwing up SANE's name, searching for any little piece of clean space to write on. JA, who had once again been talking about retirement, is now hungry to write and wants to hit another spot. But JD doesn't have any paint, SET needs gas money for his car, and they have to drive upstate the next morning to appear in court for a paint-theft charge.
During the ride back uptown the car is mostly quiet, the mood depressed. And even when the three were in the truck yard, even when JA was at his most intense, it seemed closer to work, routine, habit. There are moments like this when they seem genuinely worn out by the constant stress, the danger, the legal problems, the drugging, the fighting, the obligation to always hit another spot. And it's usually when the day is starting.
About a week later I get a call from another writer whom JA had told I was writing an article on graffiti. He tells me he has never been king, never gone all city, but now he is making a comeback, coming out of retirement with a new tag. He says he could do it easily today because there is no real competition. He says he was thinking about trying to make some money off of graffiti -- galleries. canvases, whatever . . . to get paid.
"I gotta do something," the writer says. "I can't rap, I can't dance, I got this silly little job." We talk more, and he tells me he appreciates that I'm writing about writers, trying to get inside the head of a vandal, telling the real deal. He also tells me that graffiti is dying, that the city is buffing it, that new writers are all toys and are letting it die, but it's still worth it to write.
I ask why, and then comes the inevitable justification that every writer has to believe and take pleasure in, the idea that order will always have to play catch-up with them. "It takes me seconds to do a quick throw-up; it takes them like 10 minutes to clean it," he says. "Who's coming out on top?"
#graffiti#ja#ja one#ja nyc#ja one nyc#new york graffiti#xtc crew#xtc#graff nyc#ja graffiti#ja one graffiti
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I never had the moments of remembering the good old days, they’re gone. Just gone. Nothing comes up when I think of them.
But for some reason whenever I hear the music. That faint piano as I open up a YouTube video or maybe just as I turn up my music for once, I remember so much about my first life.
That dirt shack I made on the hill.
The giant tunnel underneath I build from top to bedrock.
The wooden treehouse surrounded by a fence because the tree wasn’t tall enough for me to stay on.
The cut off mountain I build my first brick house on.
The first time I used rails as they were introduced to the game. The stonecutters actually having a use for stone. Torches having to be placed absolutely everywhere they could because of their lighting range. That moment of frustration when I fell into lava with my stuff. The stacks of cobble left scattered in my chest.
But most importantly I remember the sunset over the water on my first night. Staring over the unexplored ocean that will keep its secrets from me forever. But the spawn area on the beach I first set foot on, watching as the sun started lowering past the small dirt hill that rose out of the water. The beauty in it as I watched from the safety of my shack, running out to get a better view. That image will forever be in my mind and I’ll despise the day I forget it.
And the fact that I died the same night to a zombie.
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-November 13th, Factory Tyrant's Journal, Entry 3-
We're 3 entries in now, and I still forgot to add ToggleSneak to my modlist.
Oh well, I'll just have to deal with not having it for now, hopefully I remember next time.
Anyway, one of the greatwood trees I planted yesterday grew, so I'm going to start off by chopping it down.
I have an iron axe, so it shouldn't take all day this time.
I got around a stack and a half of logs from the tree.
I don't think I'll have to restock on wood very often, but I still don't want to have to do it manually, so I'll try getting into Forestry stuff, with my goal being an arboretum (tree farm).
Forestry adds a few of its own crafting stations that I'll need to get, the first one being a carpenter, which looks like a crafting machine for basic Forestry stuff, though it does require a decent amount of bronze to craft one.
Carpenters require RF power to function, but luckily they also accept FE power from my solar panels, and if I need more than that I can craft an electrical engine (Forestry) which acts as an EU/RF converter, then I can power it with my IC2 generator.
For now I'll just put my Forestry stuff outside by my quarry and hook it directly to my solar panels.
The next crafting station I need is a thermionic fabricator, which looks like it's only used to make various electron tubes (Forestry crafting component), fireproof wood, and as an alternate way to make glass, however it requires 4 gold, and I only have 3 (quarry hasn't found any, but it did find 2 more uranium), so I'm going to have to go mining again.
The mining trip resulted in 26 coal, 33 iron ore, 6 gold ore, 3 stacks plus 23 redstone, 1 rare earths, 16 lead ore, 11 silver ore, 17 electrotine, 5 nickel ore, 1 peridot, and 2 uranium ore.
In order to make an arboretum, I need 2 slimeballs and 2 emeralds for flexible casing (Forestry crafting component), which also looks like its used for other Forestry farms.
Since I don't have slimeballs or emeralds right now, I'm going to take a quick break and make the area in front of my cave look a little nicer, mostly just so I have an excuse to make a bridge over the river right in front of my door.
Now that that's done, here's what the outside of my cave looks like.
The dark tiles outside my door are arcane stone, which is a decorative block from Thaumcraft, I thought it was fitting since I'm using greatwood (also from Thaumcraft) for the bridge.
Greatwood doors and fences don't exist for some reason, though I think I could get away with using dark oak (I think that's what I did in my Thaumcraft world), I just don't have any right now.
The inside of my cave still looks the same, I'm not sure I'll end up remodeling it.
Anyway, this used up most of my wood, so I really need to get an arboretum set up, and I'm also running low on coal, so maybe I should start thinking about other types of generators, like geothermal generators (IC2), which burn lava to generate power, which will be incredibly abundant once I get a nether portal.
Emeralds and slimeballs are the only ingredients I'm missing for an arboretum.
I planted some sugarcane so I can sell paper to the village librarian, but I don't want to use a slime chunk calculator for slimeballs this time, so I'm not entirely sure how I'll get any.
I'm just going to focus on power for now, so I'll craft an iron tank (IC2) to make lava gathering easier, and a geothermal generator to convert lava into power.
A single iron tank can hold 32,000 mB, or 32 buckets, and keeps its inventory when broken, allowing for easy transportation of liquids.
While looking through JEI, I found something called a "slimalyzer" (Openblocks), I'm assuming it lets me find slime chunks without external tools, but it requires a slimeball to craft, so I need to find at least one slime first.
Anyway, I think that's all I'm going to be doing today.
-End Journal Entry 3-
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1.7.6.1 has been released!
We said smaller updates from now on.. which was a lie because this update is still pretty big.. But! we have spent a lot of time fixing almost every bug you guys suggested to us so thanks a bunch for your feedback! Please enjoy the start of our revised update scheme - with 1.7.6.1!
New Features!
Added Iron Trap Door
Added biome based water colour
Added texture pack button to options menu
Added togglable spawn protection to server.properties file
Sheep will now will eat grass to regrow their wool
Added /setspawn command
Added Extreme render distance
Added mob spawner and farmland to creative menu
Added sound effect for when mob spawner spawns a mob
Rebalanced Diamond and Steel again (Steel now has 4608 max uses and Diamond has 1536)
Trap Doors can now be placed free-standing
Added front-facing third person camera
Burning Arrows now set mobs they hit on fire
Olivine now smelts 2 items per usage in a Blast Furnace
Nether Coal now smelts 16 items per usage in a Blast Furnace
Fish now stack to 4
Slightly altered the textures for Mossy Logs, Block of Nether Coal and Blast Furnace
Added frozen lakes in ice biomes
Added keybind for changing the currently selected hotbar item (default is the left and right arrow keys)
Added Painted Plank Stairs and Clay Brick Stairs
Slightly redesigned sandstone labyrinths
Added tab-switching hotbar functionallity (press tab to cycle through inventory rows on the hotbar)
Added contact links on main menu
Improved Ghast aim, they now will shoot faster and will try to predict what direction the player is running in
Re-implemented spike block collision (and added special behaviour to make items ignore it)
Added mossy stone brick to labyrinth generation
Sheep now display their dyed colour on their legs, body and head
Sheep can now be dyed when shorn
Added block light information to F3 menu
Spinifex and Cobwebs can now be sheared
Bug fixes and minor tweaks!
Fixed chicken bottom of head texture
Gave torches a bottom texture
Began work on colour.properties file for texture packs
Algae now renders bottom texture
Fixed setting time in SP breaking redstone
Changed material type of Cactus, Ladders and Beds to wood
Changed step sound of bed from stone to cloth
Made pickaxes effective on mining redstone components
Almost every wood block and item is now burnable in a furnace
Fixed slimes not splitting if their health is below 0
Fixed olivine blocks not being smeltable
Dyes are now consumed when used on Sheep
Fixed Ghast hitbox being too small
Baby Slimes now despawn in peaceful mode
Pressing ESCAPE in the multiplayer menu now returns to the main menu
The player can now sleep in a bed if they are standing above it
Furnaces now no longer consume the bucket when smelting with a bucket of lava
Fixed betacraft skin server link
Coal, Redstone and Lapis ores can now be smelted
Crops now only drop 1 seed when broken before maturity
Fixed Cow horn origin and rotation issue
Fixed Cow udder texture
Slimes will no longer aggro creative players
Fixed saddles consuming themselves when used in creative
Fixed killing a pig with a saddle attatched not dropping the saddle
Doors, Fence Gates and Trap Doors can no longer be opened by punching them
Breaking TNT in creative no longer drops the item
Breaking the top half of doors in creative no longer drops the door item
Fixed Snow Layers crashing the game
Fixed texture alignment issue with purple arrow texture
Purple arrow breaking particles now use purple arrow item texture
Retro grass and farmland can now be turned into paths
Retro grass can now be tilled
Creepers and sneaking players no longer float above the ground
Beds can now be placed on transparant blocks and top slabs
Fixed rain phasing through Glass
Fixed mobs spawning in any light level during thunder
Saddling pigs and dyeing sheep now displays swinging animation
Pistons can now crush blocks against bedrock
Pistons can no longer push or break tile entities under certain conditions
Fixed cave cut-off bug
Fixed lighting issues involving Pumpkins
Breaking a lit Trommel no longer gives a lit Trommel
Fixed the guidebook crashing in multiplayer
Fixed the guidebook not updating in multiplayer
Fixed slime chunk particles being invisible
Ghasts now shoot players in creative when hit
/clear now also removes armour from inventory
Middle clicking mobs no longer gives bedrock or crashes the game
Fixed painted fence gates returning to their white variant when opened
Noclipped players no longer get pushed by water and other such blocks
Fixed slabs not being stackable under certain conditions
Fixed breaking double painted slabs not yielding 2 slabs
Fixed Trommel loot chance only updating on world reload
Crushing lit redstone no longer gives lit redstone
Fixed snow layer collision bug
Added bottom texture to spike block
Fixed Trommels not stacking items correctly
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The Legends Quest-Pt. 1
A thing I did for fun when I saw Adam’s idea behind the adventurer guilds and most specifically the Legends’ Guild, where you get a title based on the quest you did. Funny enough, I've already had a title of sorts for Rallis due to the fact that it's the name I use in Monster Hunter, so I looked at it and thought ‘well this could be fun.’ So I ended up writing my own Legends Quest to fit the title and it ended up being so much fun to write. It'll be split into a couple parts though because it's a bit too long for one post imo. Thanks for the inspiration, Adam!
Second part here: https://rallis-fatalis.tumblr.com/post/174585438262/the-legends-quest-pt-2
The Legends Guild... Gods was it imposing. Beautiful too, but man was it a step up from Champions and Heroes. Rallis walked toward the front gate only to be halted by the two posted guards. "Halt! Only members of the guild may go beyond this point!"
"I want to join," she replied. "A friend of mine even recommended I try. Maybe you've heard of him? Name's Dionysius. Tall guy, blue hat, magic strong enough to crack the kalphite queen open like a crab?"
The guards gave each other unsure glances. Rallis huffed. "Just let me talk to Radimus before I hop the fence and let myself in."
One of them grumbled and opened the gate. "Fine, but I'm walking you there. Don't try anything funny, understand?" Rallis gave a noncommittal yes and followed the guard inside. It was gorgeous inside the guild. Well kept gardens and elegant fountains framed a meticulously paved stone path all the way up to the guild hall proper. There were even statues of adventurers and plaques placed at the end of some of the paths in the gardens. Everything looked so crisp and clean, so different from the wild and messy gardens Rallis kept at home.
They neared the massive hall at the end of the path, but turned into a much smaller building nearby. The guard knocked on the door and opened it after a moment, leading his 'guest' inside. An older man sat at a large mahogany desk, a stack of papers on one side and a smaller stack on the other. He was scribbling away on one of them, so focused he hadn't seen or heard his visitors come in. The guard cleared his threat. "Radimus, sir! I have brought a guest who wishes to speak with you!"
The man slowly looked them over, face serious and calculating. He rose from his seat, pushing the chair in, and walked over to them. The guard visibly stiffened, nervously watching the man come closer. He gave the two a harsh stare, as if he were appraising a valuable antique. Rallis just looked up at the man, curiosity plastered on her face. Suddenly, the man broke out into a smile. "My, my! You're a new face, aren't you? Welcome to the Legends Guild! My name is Radimus Erkle. What can I do for you today?"
Rallis smiled back. "My name is Rallis and I want to join!" she exclaimed excitedly. "My friend said I could, said I've done a lot, and I want to try!"
The man thought for a moment, running a hand down his beard. "Hmmm, are you sure? The tasks assigned here are not easy. And you must already be part of the Champions and Heroes guilds to join, you know."
"Yup! Way ahead of you," she proudly stated. "I've been a part of those guilds for a long time. And I've done stuff and seen things they couldn't even dream of! I think I can do whatever you ask of me, if you're willing to let me try."
The man laughed. "Confident! Like nothing could stop you! I like it! In that case, maybe I will let you try." Rallis could hardly contain her excitement, having to hold herself back from bouncing up and down. "It won't be easy though, I can assure you of that." He went back to his desk and fished a single paper out of one of the many large piles and brought it back to her. "There is a place we need explored," he said. "No one knows its name, what is there, or anything about it. It is completely uncharted. All that is known is that it is said to be the home of something terrifying, a monster of incomprehensible power. Are you willing to explore the unknown, no matter what you might face?"
Rallis nodded furiously. "Yes! Absolutely!"
"Just what I like to hear!" Radimus exclaimed. "In that case, here." He handed her the sheet he was holding. "The details of what I want done are listed on here. Don't lose it! Come back with your findings and we shall see about your joining the guild."
Rallis grinned wide. "Thank you, Mister Radimus! I won't let you down!" And she sprinted out the door and out the guild before anyone could say another word.
Radimus chuckled to himself. "Quite the spirit in that one! What I wouldn't give to be young and adventurous again." He quietly resumed his work at his desk, eager to see what unfolded.
_______________________________________________________________________
Rallis looked over the paper in the comfort of her home. The place to be explored was an island to the north of the Wilderness, beyond the poisonous waters of the Volcanic Forge. She was to document everything there, from the structures to the wildlife to the weather and more. Every little detail was to be drawn, written, and documented. Rallis rolled the paper up into a notebook and brought plenty of supplies to write and draw with. She packed food and gear and anything she needed in case she got into a fight. She threw on her white dragonhide and frozen whip, but debated on the shield. "Winter? Champion? Hmm... it's gonna be near fire with that volcano so..." She pulled out a large rectangular orange shield with the fearsome face of a steel dragon plastered on its front. "Stahlflaam, you're coming this time!"
She wandered over to a room with a scrying pool and portal. She stuck her hand inside the pool and thought about a place deep within the Wilderness, an old destroyed fort frequented by demons. The pool turned an inky murky black and a distorted view of the place she wanted to go came into view within the portal. Rallis shook the water off her hand and leapt through.
The sudden change from the perfect climate of her home to the dry and chilly Wilderness was quite extreme. Rallis shivered, trying to shake the cold off. "Ok, first we gotta get a boat. Time to visit some friends!" Rallis skipped through the Wilderness, completely uncaring of the massive dangers it held. This place was no place for the living, and what little did live here were strong and dangerous. There was nothing to survive on, with all the plant life burned away and long stretches of land holding nothing but ancient charred skeletons and deposits of soot and ash. This was a place few humans ever frequented and that's why she was alright with it, even if it was creepy. There was nothing to bother her out here as long as she knew where she could and could not go (and luckily she did).
She soon neared a long stream of lava, happily purring from the heat it gave off as she stood close. She followed the stream west until it broke off in two directions, north and south. She followed it north, skirting around its edges until she reached a break in the lava with a sign staked into the ground. It had a skull on it with the words "DO NOT ENTER - DEATH INSIDE" hastily painted on the front. Appropriately, it had a bloody handprint dried in a permanent smear. Rallis rolled her eyes and stepped beyond the sign. It was much hotter the farther she walked in, the lava hissing and bubbling all around her. She stopped walking after a moment, lava surrounding her on nearly all sides like an island. Rallis cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted. "Niu! Sinmara! Anyone! Where are youuuuu?"
The island shook and rumbled as all around her, things started to crawl out of the lava, drops hissing as they burned they ground they fell upon. These things were massive and powerful, the lava sliding off of them like water. They slammed their clawed paws down upon the ground, swished their long bladed tails back and forth, and reared their fearsome horned heads around to face whoever dare disturb them. Three of these beasts stepped forward and Rallis just smiled and ran over, hugging one by the leg. "Ooohhhh hello friend," she cooed to it. "How are you today?"
The massive beast, a lava dragon, lowered its head and rubbed against her face. The other two dragons nearby came over to be pet as well. Rallis giggled as she scratched them all under the chin. "Ohhh you're all so sweet! Yes you are! I love you all so much." One of them purred in delight from the attention. Rallis rest her head against one of their muzzles. "I'm sorry to bother you but I have a favor I need to ask." They were at attention in an instant. "You know those pirates up north? I need your help uh... 'borrowing' a boat from them if that's not too much trouble." They gave her a determined growl, one lowering itself to her so she could get on its back. She scrambled up and the three took off into the skies towards the northern pirate encampment. Moments later, three dragons were flying through the sky with a small one man boat in their claws, angry eyepatched men 'yaaarring' after them.
The dragons dropped Rallis and the boat off where she needed to go, in the water by a small strip of land jutting out from the Volcanic Forge. She thanked them and they flew back home. Rallis unloaded her things into the boat and looked around. She didn't like this place much. She had forged two shields here in the fiery depths of the Forge, and it felt like something was watching her the whole time. It made her shiver just remembering it. There was also a massive boat crashed against the burnt shore, skeletons of men thrown about from what seemed to be a harsh impact. Odd thing was, that ship wasn't wood, but rather metal. Not a sight commonly seen south of the Ditch. There was a massive hole on the ship's front as well. At first, Rallis thought it was a type of cannon, but it looked like something could retract back into the hole judging from the chains that dangled off its sides. Whatever fit in there was long gone, though.
Rallis pushed her little borrowed boat farther into the ocean, steam rising as something disturbed the waters. The water by the volcano was scalding hot and poisonous to boot. It smelled horrible, like old rotten eggs, and definitely not safe to drink. Rallis scrunched up her nose in disgust and hopped into the boat, rowing into the vast uncharted sea.
_______________________________________________________________________
It was hard to tell the passage of time out in the Wilderness ocean. The sun didn't naturally shine in the Wilderness, giving it a permanent dark and barren atmosphere, and it seemed to be no different out on the water. The sky was dark, but not the shadowy black of night. No, it was a deep crimson red, like a bloody sunset. Rallis sighed, arms getting tired. She could have been rowing for 10 minutes, 10 hours, or 10 days and be none the wiser. She couldn't see the Forge anymore so that was progress at least. She couldn't see anything else either but she tried not to think about that. Getting lost on the ocean was infinitely more terrifying than getting lost on land. And she should know! She once got lost in the desert for a week trying to find some pretty birds.
Rallis carefully stood up and scoped out the horizon, trying to find any specks in the distance that could be land. Sure enough, far, far in the distance was a small black dot. She had to rub her eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on her. Nope. Totally real spot. Which meant totally real land. Rallis grinned and continued rowing full speed ahead.
That small spot certainly turned out to be land, but it was definitely not small. As Rallis neared, its imposing facade sent chills up her spine. It was an island made of sharp black rocks and bluffs. Jagged fangs of obsidian jutted out from the water on all sides of the island, acting as a protective barrier. It was hard to see anything on the island from down below in the water. A wall of sharp black rock acted as a wall, separating the inner part of the island from the outside world. Even the large open bluff stretching out over the ocean was impossible to see any details of, bramble thickets shielding it from view. All that was visible was what looked like the top of an imposing black building. "This place is creepy..."
She found a small rocky beach at the base of a mountainous climb and weaved through the rocks toward it. As she neared the shore, Rallis noticed a mass of white beneath the waves. She slowed and looked over the edge of her boat to gain a better view. 'Is that sand? White sand?' She gasped and scooted away from the edge, hands over her mouth. It wasn't sand. The white creating the ground in the shallows all around the island was bone. She was swimming over a massive graveyard.
"Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it," she chanted as she tied the boat down to a rock on the beach. She focused herself on the long climb ahead of her, desperate to ignore the ocean of bone only a few feet away. Crude stairs were carved out off the rock, salty air and winds smoothing them over and making them dangerously slick. "Good thing I have claws or this could be bad." Rallis gripped each stair as she climbed, talons sinking as best they could into the slick blackened stone, tail waving back and forth for balance. On either side of her was a menacing wall of rock, shielding her from both the view and the wind.
She eventually reached the top, panting and winded from the climb. She dare not look down. She could feel how high up she was and didn't want a visual reminder on top of that. The ground opened up at the top of the steps, forming a circle of paved stone framed by six decrepit statues and a pair or foreboding metal doors fallen off their hinges. Above where the doors would have been framed should they still have been standing was a weathered sign, onyx lettering embedded into stone. "Kreathkren," she read. "The Black Fortress."
Rallis took her notes out to start and get to work. She was better at building than drawing, but wasn't too shabby nonetheless. She examined the statues before she moved on. Most were broken, completely beyond repair, but one stood in mostly one piece. It was a large dragon, just your typical four legged two winged dragon, carved out of obsidian. It had rubies for eyes and the inside if the mouth felt almost oily. 'I wonder...'
Rallis lifted up her shield and willed it to set the statue ablaze. Fire flickered over the statue, disappearing into the air, but the mouth caught fire and burned, statue's ruby eyes glowing brightly. Rallis ooh'd and aah'd over it, taking good notes before moving on. She stepped over the fallen busted metal doors and stepped out into the island proper. The view was breathtaking, incredible, but also horrifying. There were massive buildings and equally massive statues everywhere. There was a courtyard with a fountain, two dragons coiling around each other near the top, mouths open presumably where water would shoot out. The craftsmanship of the buildings was also a sight to behold, black and gray stone interwoven into complex patterns, obsidian dragons decorating the roof. Some ever had red stained glass windows. Rose tinted glass lamps hung from black metal frames around every perfectly paved stone path. In the distance, closer to the large bluff she saw on her ride down below in the water, was a behemoth of a castle, larger than any she had ever seen. It had a large elegant contraption pointed toward the sky, like the eye of a needle cutting a hole through the sky. It was a magnificent sight to behold. There was so much painstaking care and beauty here... and it was all destroyed. Crushed, shattered, broken, and most unnerving, burned. Something large and powerful destroyed this place, something Rallis couldn't even begin to imagine the magnitude of.
She slowly surveyed the scene, cautiously stepping over piles of broken glass and warped metal hunks. It was unnervingly quiet, so much so that even the slightest scrape seemed to echo one hundred fold. The silence started to make her ears ring after a while. It was painful. Being in the middle of a town and having it be this quiet was just wrong. Honestly, she didn't even know where to start. This place was bigger than both halves of Ardougne for Guthix's sake! That was a lot of wreckage to sift through and document. She turned away from the looming castle in the distance and walked. 'Save that for last.'
Rallis drew a perimeter of the island as she walked, making note of any important features as she went. She explored what few buildings were left standing and found hardly anything at all. The houses held no clothing or signs of families living there, the shops held no goods to be sold, everything was gone and empty. There weren't even broken objects outside of the glass windows and toppled buildings and statues. "Jeez, it's like these people just... disappeared," she muttered. There weren't even corpses amongst the carnage, but she shuddered as she figured as to why that was, remembering the watery mass grave. "I have to go pull some of those up, don't I?" she whined. "Gross..."
It was just a repetition of the same structures on the eastern half of the island, mostly consisting of toppled homes and shops. One building had even been sliced in two from who knows what, halves discarded on the path like waste. Rallis made her way back to the center with the fountain and to the western half of the island with the castle. If the sliced open and crumbling buildings to the east were a sign of destruction, this was a sign of a complete massacre. Massive claw marks gouged holes into the ground, buildings were practically thrown out of the way, part of one even precariously hanging on the spiked top of the black rock wall like a hangnail. Blackened patches dotted the landscape, presumably from powerful fire. Rallis groaned. "I know it said 'monster of incomprehensible power' but if it's another dragon I swear..."
Rallis soon found herself at the steps of the massive castle. It was elevated above the rest of the city, dwarfing it all by comparison, raised and poised like something royal. It was absurdly tall, reaching far enough into the sky that it looked to pierce the heavens. Rallis squinted at the castle in confusion. It wasn't burnt or collapsing or clawed. Some of the onyx dragon ornaments had chipped or fallen, sure, but it was mostly intact. It was a pristine obsidian monolith against the mass destruction below, which she could see quite clearly from her elevation upon the top of the steps. 'This doesn't feel right...'
Rallis cautiously crept toward the hulking black doors, placing her hands on it to push it open. At once, it was like an electric current ran through her, jolting her back with ears pinned back and claws out. She growled at the door, but nothing happened. Her wings folded back behind her and her tail stopped swishing about, but she still flared her claws out. 'Something is here,' she thought. 'Something dangerous.' She slowly opened the doors, slithering through and sticking to the walls inside. Elegant purple carpeting lined the middle of the tiled walkway inside, onyx dragon statues standing in silent vigil as they watched visitors walk with their judgmental ruby eyes. Rallis peeled herself from the wall and walked down the hall, hating the openness of it all.
At the end of the hall rest a massive throne of obsidian seated upon a raised altar, framed against a wall of red glass in the shape of a circle. It cast a bloody light onto the throne below, illuminating every detail in a gruesome manner. Rallis walked over to the throne, curious. The light made it seem like something was in it, but it was just as black as the throne itself. She couldn't tell what it was. When she got a closer look, her ears shot up in surprise. 'A human?! But, but, 'Kreathkren!' That's not a human name. What is going on?' The human wasn't a skeleton either as she would have expected. It was just a man, though he certainly looked old, skin wrinkled and long beard white as snow. He was covered in something black and scaly too, like armor. From chest down he was almost encased in thick black dragonhide, white sharp spines digging into his skin to hold it in place. It looked fused with him more than equipment cloaked over him.
'How odd...' Rallis gave the scaled gauntlet a poke. It was harder than any dragonhide she'd ever felt. It felt stronger than most metal too. She reached to touch one of the spines holding the armor in place in his arm and screeched as something grabbed her. The man in the throne glared at her with cruel red eyes, crushing her arm with a gloved fist. "Let go!" she cried, trying to scramble away, but the man wouldn't budge an inch. He pulled her closer, grabbing her by the neck with his other hand and forcing her to look him in the eye.
"Kill... it..." he rasped. "Kill... it... THE FATALIS!"
He let her go with a scream, armor digging into him more. His hands weren't human any longer, clawed black talons growing over what remained of his fingers. Spines dug into his chest, further cementing the armor into place. Scales started to crawl up his neck, stopping once they reached his face. Rallis staggered back horrified, rubbing her neck where he had grabbed her.
"Kill it," he whispered. "Before it kills again." His head slumped forward, not to speak another word.
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Log #9 - Fear and Fortune
Now this is a good find. A zombie dungeon, right up at the surface - that’s infinite bait. The chests had five string in them, but what’s more important is the chests themselves - storage!
Speaking of bait, I need a fishing hut. And for once I realize that the fishing hut should just be my house, not a separate thing - I’ve burned a lot of daylight on pointless walking.
Before that was finished, I had a bit of a close call in the original home. Turns out the slabs I placed outside meant a skeleton could pop an arrow at me if they jumped. Patched that just in time.
With short term food taken care of, it’s time to get some iron, which means caving.
Caving in BTW is more difficult for a few reasons:
1. Stone stratification. There are three layers of stone. The second layer can only be broken with an iron pickaxe (although ores can be picked out with stone), and the third layer requires a diamond pickaxe or greater to break (although ores can be picked out with an iron pick).
2. Regular torches last twenty minutes before going out, and becoming unusable. This puts a great deal of time pressure on caving, and means that you never conquer a cave - you just get what you need and get out before the way you came in is cast into darkness again.
These, combined with other BTW factors like the respawn mechanics and near-to-death debuffs make caving terrifying.
This cave intersects multiple ravines, leading to dropoffs like this one.
Sometimes you get lovely one-block-death-nightmare holes like this.
Another intersected ravine, this one even deeper - its bottom reaches the third strata. I’ll be back for this one. For now, I’ve got 27 iron, as much as I need for a pickaxe.
Now is a good time to talk about the pick/axe/hoe dilemma. The pick takes three ingots, the axe takes two, and the hoe takes one.
The pickaxe allows you to mine ores from strata three stone, break strata two ores in a fraction of the time, and lasts as long as six to eight stone pickaxes.
The axe allows you to chop logs into planks. This unlocks doors, fences, signs, a safer building block, and the second tier of storage if you have sugar cane. It can also break several important blocks without damaging them - axles, gear boxes, and chests.
The hoe allows you to till dirt, and get hemp seeds from tilling grass blocks. Hemp plants can be ground in a mill stone to produce hemp fibers, which can be used in (almost) any recipe in place of string, making it a safe an reliable source of stone tools, as well as being used to make the windmill, gearbox, and axles.
One caveat to the hoe: Unless you harvest a hemp plant with shears (two iron ingots), the plant will be fully destroyed and the dirt will be untilled. This means that without shears, hemp farming is slow and painful.
The axe and hoe are the “defensive” choices, focusing on improving the state of a settlement without requiring any big risks. The pick is the “offensive” choice, requiring deep cavediving to make it useful, but potentially extremely rewarding, granting access to great quantities of iron and coal, as well as diamonds, gold, and redstone.
In the past, I have always chosen the hoe and axe as my first tools, my playstyle broadly being risk averse.
This time, having found a cave deep and dark enough, I went for the pickaxe.
I’ve returned, and this time I mean business. Time to descend.
Logs are great for staircasing in caves - the fact that they float means you can avoid spending stacks of materials just to get down.
...but more immediately noticeable, there’s another dungeon, right below me. That would have totally stopped my hopes to explore here - it’s at the wrong angle for me to tackle, I can’t tunnel around due to the tier 3 stone, but I had a clever idea. Remember how cobblestone is affected by gravity?
Dungeon sealed from above. Now, I can safely make it to the bottom of the ravine...
And nearly die to a couple skeletons. But I sealed myself off in time. Given that health regen in BTW is about half a heart per thirty seconds, and that torches only last around 20 minutes, this is actually a tough tradeoff - how long can I afford to wait?
I left at around five and a half hearts, when all of the debuffs were gone. I continued on my way, mining some iron ore when...
It happened again, and this time I cut it even closer - 1.5 hearts! I let myself regen a bit higher than last time before venturing out again.
Despite the insane risk, the loot was good - iron, coal, even some gold, as useful as it isn’t.
A third dungeon, this one skeletons. This would be extremely useful as an infinite supply of bones, if it wasn’t buried in the third strata past a nightmare ravine cave.
A couple more turns, and I broke out into this area -
This was a striking scene. An open chamber, full of pits of lava that illuminate everything even as they threaten instant death. Not to mention - redstone! That was one of my main hopes for this venture. Now I can make a compass, and try to get back to Liminal, or True Spawn, or something - as long as it’s not random wandering.
Despite that, I pushed further. Getting down here wasn’t easy, so I needed to make the most of my time. And I still hadn’t found what I was really hoping for.
There they are - three exposed diamonds, exactly what I need.
I made a beeline for the diamonds and then immediately started making my exit - I’m not about to become a parable of the follies of greed.
When I say “making my exit,” I don’t mean retracing my steps through the cave. It was a long and winding path I barely remembered, and the first half of it was probably dark again. I dug a staircase straight to the surface.
Sunlight!
And here I am, back in the same field that had the cave entrance, with my haul to show for it.
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S.V - Ep. 10: Proceed With Care
-------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. SUNHOUSE MOUNTAIN – Well Entrance – DAY
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Inside the large, mechanical braced well of Sunhouse Mountain, Zero takes in his surroundings.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) There's a rocket Booster Engine somewhere in this area. Watch out for the lava and proceed with care. If you touch it, you'll be instantly vaporized!
Zero nods as he looks below. A series of decorative dragon heads suddenly burst flame from the incinerators within their mouths.
[Insert Title Card – Proceed With Care]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
EXT. UKRANIAN JUNGLE – Rose-covered Fence - DAY
-------------------------------------------------------------------
X runs ahead towards a large mechanical wall. He kick-jumps over it and shoots down the hover gunners in his path. Then, he spots a Virus Spectre who taunts him.
SIGMA: (v.o, taunting) Hiiiii, X.
X: Hello…
X narrows his eyes and /shoots him down with his new Virus Buster.
SIGMA: (damaged, shocked) /What!?? /Auuggh.
X /smirks as the Virus ghost dissipates and moves on.
He kick-jumps over a second wall and then runs into a stack of unbreakable crates. They are guarding the entrance into the rest of the jungle.
X: Shoot. I can’t get through that!
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) You can grab the vines with your Wire Hook... Use the vines and climb up!
X looks up and gets excited.
X: Oh, I can just fly.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered, amused) Hahaha. Here we go again...
- cut to-
------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SUNHOUSE MOUNTAIN – Well Entrance - DAY -------------------------------------------------------------------
Zero takes a deep breath and nods.
ZERO: Here we go!
He drops down and slashes a sniper that was attached to the underside of the platform he was standing on. When he lands on a dragon head, he quickly dashes past it’s inner-flame thrower.
Below him, a second dragon head sets off it’s flames, while a sniper mechaniloid shoots at him from the far wall.
Zero holds his position and evades the shots while forming a Z-Buster.
ZERO: Hmph.
He takes an effortless charge shot to the sniper and destroys it. When the flames cease, Zero dashes past the dragon head and drops down further.
A dragon head right by the wall, shoots it’s flames up at Zero, but he uses his water-based air-dash to escape unscathed. He lands on a small platform, where a tiny sniper tries to shoot him. Zero just slashes it away and drops down again past some more dragon head defenses. The metal bracings of the well somewhat resemble that of a spine as Zero delves deeper into the layers of the Earth.
A few levels down, he finally makes it to flat land, well below the Earth’s surface.
-cut to-
------------------------------------------------------------------- EXT. UKRANIAN JUNGLE – Vine Climb - DAY -------------------------------------------------------------------
X flies up past a set of vines with a smile on his face. He passes by some deadly spiked bushes and a Sigma Spectre, which fails to keep up with him.
Just then, his flight-mode resets and X falls near the vines. He catches one with a wire-hook as Sigma’s Virus Ghost grins.
SIGMA: (v.o) Hehehehe. You’re mine!
X: Never!!
X blasts the spectre away with a charge shot. Then he jumps and flies out from the vine wall.
-cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SUNHOUSE MOUNTAIN – Underground Cavern - DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zero runs across the metal plated cavern as he can feel the heat well up around him. The path ahead becomes jagged with raised tiles and lowered ceilings. A sniper shoots at him from a nearby wall, but he easily cuts it down.
A flamethrower ignites, just beneath him. The flames almost burn his hand.
When the flames go out, Zero advances, but he is stopped short by a second flamethrower, which bursts in a different sequence. The one behind him goes off again, which throws him off as the room is only getting hotter.
ZERO: rrgh..
He looks for his opening and takes it, rushing out of there with an ascending hisuisho air-dash.
At a higher platform, a dragon head stares right into Zero’s face and ignites a flame, which makes him stop short.
ZERO: Eeeeh!
He narrowly avoids charring his face and waits it out. When the flame stops, he descends down a small set of stairs, lower into the cavern.
Zero walks on and wipes the sweat off of his face. It is only getting hotter, with every step.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Wait!
ZERO: Hm?
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) There's a lot of lava flowing below you. But we have no choice but to proceed this way. The lava comes at fixed intervals, so be mindful of the timing and proceed.
Zero walks on and spots a jumbo parraroid. After cutting it down to pieces, he sees two openings in the ground. He can feel the swell of lava rumbling below him until it bursts through the corridor beneath his feet.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Watch below you! Its too hot!! Wait until the lava has gone, then go down.
ZERO: Thanks, but this isn't my first rodeo.
Once the flow of lava has passed, Zero jumps down.
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SUNHOUSE MOUNTAIN – Pit – DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zero touches down to the ground and runs ahead.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Go before the next wave comes! Quick!
ZERO: Yeah, yeah I’m on it!!
Zero dashes ahead, steadfast. He can hear the rumbling behind him and begins to feel fear.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Hmm... Can you see the rock over there?
ZERO: Yeah?
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) The temperature is lower on the other side of the rock. If you take advantage of the terrain, you may be able to avoid the lava.
Behind him, the lava bursts and violently flows over to him.
ZERO: (worried) Oh God!! Lets hope so!
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Wait behind the rock when the lava comes, then proceed with care.
He dash-jumps and ducks underneath a mechanized rock as the heavy waves of lava pass over, around and seemingly through him. It is this small air-pocket and Alia’s wisdom that is keeping Zero alive right now.
ZERO: Whoooooooa.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered, excited) YES! It’s Working!!!
He smiles as he watches the lava move on.
ZERO: Damn, you’re a life saver, Alia.
-cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXT. UKRANIAN JUNGLE – Mountain Path – DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
X soars above a set of mechaniloids as he admires the sunset along the mountain path. When he spots a small cave entrance, he stops flying and drops down.
Running through the short cave, he is suddenly /cut off by a sharp weed that strikes him by surprise.
X: /Ht!
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Ooh, are you alright??
X: Yeah... I’ll be fine.
He narrows his eyes and blasts it away. Then, he walks slower. More weeds rise and fall from the ground and ceiling of the cave as X takes his time. He charges up and destroys the weeds one by one as he moves on.
Once he is out of the cave, he takes flight again and ignores the mechanized roses on the ground.
He reaches a long stone wall amongst the mountain, which seems to be an entrance the secret Repliforce Base.
X: Hmm, this looks interesting.
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. UKRANIAN JUNGLE – Secret Repliforce Base – DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) This is the secret base, I was telling you about. There’s no sign of any Repliforce soldiers in sight though...
He descends through the mountainous base as his flight power diminishes.
X: Hmm... We have Zero to thank for that... I still don’t know how I feel about that.
X drops down to jagged rock formations and encounters a series of mechanized roses, once again. He tries to ignore them, but he retaliates once they attack.
X: /Yah. /Hah!
He blasts two roses with charge shots and jump-dashes further down.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Oh, just forgive him, X. They didn’t have much of an alternative...
X: Yeah, but you don’t know how much he’s wanted this! ...I... I’m trying to get over it. I think what annoys me the most is that Sigma did this to us. He keeps pitting us against innocent reploids, and it’s tearing us apart!!
He weaves in and out of the winding cave, lowering himself further through the secret infected base.
ALIA: I hear you, X. I know this isn’t easy... Climb down there... But watch out for that big gap below you. There’s no sign of land for miles.
X nods and focusses on the mission.
X: Alright.
He flies down and spots a small a set of long wires in between two small land masses, amidst the mountain. He carefully sets himself down on the small land mass and focuses ahead.
X: (o.s, thinking) Okay…
-cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SUNHOUSE MOUNTAIN – Pit – DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZERO: (o.s, thinking) Okay…
From a second, protective shadow, he watches a large wall of stone break under the incredible heat and pressure of the lava surrounding him.
ZERO: (o.s, thinking) You can do this, man.
He runs and dashes as quick as possible until he is stopped by another wall. With a gasp, he can hear the rumbles of another lava wave behind him. He turns around with wide eyes, gulps and looks up in desperation. There is a strange hang in the metal ceiling. He thinks fast and kick-jumps up the hot stone wall to make his way towards the metal hanging.
ZERO: (cared) Aaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!
The lava rages on and covers him.
-cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. UKRANIAN JUNGLE – Secret Repliforce Base - DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
X jumps up and flies beyond the first wire. A gabyool spike patrols the wire as he passes it by.
X: Whoever set this trap up was guarding something…
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Hmm…
As X passes a second wire, he takes out his wire hook and anticipates his fall onto a third wire. When the wirehook latches on to the pole, he guides himself further along the stretch of the alcove.
Taking flight once again, he lowers himself to the next wire, but is cut off short by a weed mechiniloid, which sprouts from the mountainous cave above him.
X: (reacting) Ah!
He hovers in mid-flight and charges up. After a shot, he takes it out and drops to the wire, just to be safe.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Aha! Up there. Check it out.
X: Hm?
X looks up as he guides himself along the wire with the hook. He sees an opening in the cave with two prickly patches of moss on both sides.
X: I was right.
He carefully flies up past the spiky moss and through the narrow rock formation. He comes to find that hidden inside is another capsule.
- cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SUNHOUSE MOUNTAIN – Pit - DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The lava fades to nothingness and Zero drops from the hanging, a sweaty mess.
He runs ahead and spots another cracked stone wall far ahead of him. Before long, he hears yet another rumbling behind him.
ZERO: (frustrated) HuuaaaaAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!! I HATE THIS PLLAAAAAACE!!!!!!
With trepidation, he spots a similar hanging far away from the stone wall. He dash-jumps to the wall and kick jumps off of it. The reach is not enough. He lands and spots the wave of lava coming.
ZERO: (afraid) AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
In despair he jumps up towards the hanging and then once again in mid-air with tightly closed eyes as the lava passes him by.
- cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. UKRANIAN JUNGLE – Secret Repliforce Base - DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upon landing, Dr. Light forms from the protective barriers of the capsule.
DR. LIGHT: I'll give you another program for your Gaea Armor... This part will be very useful because you will be able to walk on damaged areas or otherwise harmful terrain...
X nods.
DR. LIGHT: With this Armor equipped you'll be able to reach places that you have never been able to before... Use it wisely.
X: I will.
With that, Dr. Light disappears and X steps into the capsule.
- cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SUNHOUSE MOUNTAIN – Pit - DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The stone wall breaks down, and Zero rapidly dash-jumps ahead towards a metal corridor.
ZERO: (worried, exhausted) /Hurr.. /Huhh.. /Haah! I can’t take.. much more.. of this place.
He continuously jumps and slashes at parraroids in his path as the corridor becomes more narrow. Behind him, he can hear a rumbling sound stir once again.
Zero grits his teeth and shouts in fear.
ZERO: AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Destroy the door in front of you!! Then you'll be able to proceed to safer area.
Zero dashes and air-dashes through the narrowing corridor as he can see the small stone door at the end of the cave. After a few quick slashes of the saber, Zero gets through it, while another wave of lava rushes over to his path.
From inside the cave, Zero continues to race ahead, but he takes solace once he finds his way to more metallic stairs and it sounds as if the wave of lava has passed, behind him.
ZERO: (exhaling, relieved) Phew… Safe.
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SUNHOUSE MOUNTAIN – Sea of Lava - DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zero finds himself in an opened up metallic area, mostly surrounded by molten rocks and lava.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered, warning) Well... This area is kind of like a sea of lava. There’s Probe Ride Armor ahead of you that could probably endure the heat of the lava.
ZERO: (smirking) Hmm…
He dashes and jumps past a rock and into the Ride Armor. Once activating it, his Mech is already knee-deep in the lava.
ALIA: Your path divides... You could go ahead or you can go below... If you go down, you'll have to actually go through the lava, which I don’t advise. If you go ahead, you'll be free from lava but... you can't proceed with the Ride Armor because a huge rock is blocking the way. Which way will you choose? The decision is yours...
Zero carefully looks down into the Sea of Lava from the cockpit of his Ride Armor. Then he looks ahead with a tense grimace.
-cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- UKRANIAN JUNGLE – Thorny Garden - DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
X flies along the rocky terrain of the Ukranian Jungle, ignoring more purple rose mechaniloids and a Sigma Spectre behind him. He comes across two more weeds, which /surprise him by sprouting from a nearby brush.
X: /Ah.
He charges up and blasts them both down. Then, he flies past the thorny spikes of a garden, which lead to a gate at the end of a rock path.
X lands with a satisfied smile.
X: There we are…
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re enjoying this.
X: There’s no time to waste. I just gotta get this Reploid to give me the Orbiter Engine and we’ll almost be ready to launch!
He runs and dash-jumps past a set of roses along the rocky steps to make it to the gate.
-cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SUNHOUSE MOUNTAIN – Sea of Lava - DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zero lowers himself through the lava, with the protection of his Ride Armor. Upon landing, we can see that a near-invisible shield barrier is protecting his head from melting away.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) So you have chosen to go below, into the depths of the lava.
ZERO: Yep…
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Just be careful… Ex-Repliforce soldiers are patrolling the area.
Zero narrows his eyes.
ZERO: (grinning) Are they…?
- cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. UKRANIAN JUNGLE - Axle the Red’s Lair – DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
X drops down from the gate, and into a moss-covered, broken down space center.
Rose pedals appear from the ground until a large rose sprouts up from a nearby set of moss. Then, from out of the Rose, Axle the Red makes his graceful appearance.
AXLE: What do you want with me?
The bio-organic reploid looks at X with a blank, calm stare. X returns the gesture by standing upright and offering a poised demeanor.
X: Nothing. I just want the Orbiter Engine.
Axle takes a breath and scowls at him, shaking his head.
AXLE: Are you a thief or something? You can’t just take whatever you want that easily. Go home, kid. Otherwise, I’ll call the Maverick Hunters.
X looks away and tries to hold back a chuckle.
X: (smiling, then serious) Do as you wish. Now.. Tell me where the Engine is!
AXLE: I told you. You can’t get it so easily. You’ll have to fight me for it.
X: (unamused) How original… If that is the easiest way to persuade you, /so be it.
X lets out a weary sigh and /pulls up his buster.
Axle tilts his head and puffs out his chest, eager to start a fight.
AXLE: Hey… You’d better watch your mouth… I’ll do whatever it takes to win! Nature doesn’t care. Nature doesn’t discriminate. It just wants to survive. I am Life, itself embodied into the perfect Rose. And I don’t care who you are. The Oribiter Engine is mine and you can’t have it. Let the battle begin!
X: No. It’s time for this to END!!!
X charges up in a battle-ready position and dashes towards his opponent.
-cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SUNHOUSE MOUNTAIN – Sea of Lava – DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the lava’s surface, Zero climbs a set of stone steps as he cuts down a small wave of Ride Armor soldiers, left and right.
ZERO: /HAH. /YAH. /RRAH! /AAHH!!!
With a charged rush, his mech destroys the last of Burn Dino-Rex’s men.
ZERO: There. And that’s the last of them…
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Are you satisfied?
ZERO: Excuse me?
He jumps across a set of mechanized steps and spots a way out of the lava.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) I understand that you had issues with the Repliforce in the past, but those people had nothing to do with it.
ZERO: (stubborn) Doesn’t matter…
He dash-jumps out of the lava as it drips down the chest and legs of his Ride Armor.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Why??
ZERO: (disturbed)
Not that it’s any of your business, but the Repliforce took something very dear from me. And I won’t rest until everyone is accounted for.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) You’re talking about Iris. I know…
Zero’s eyes widen, as he jumps out of his Ride Armor.
ZERO: Don’t! I’m not doing this with you. I don’t owe you an explanation for any of my actions.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered, sighing) You’re right. You only owe it to yourself…
ZERO: Hmm???
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Your mission is to focus on retrieving the Booster from Burn Dino-Rex. Nothing more; nothing less. Just don’t let your past history with the Repliforce cloud your judgement. That’s all I’m saying.
ZERO: Hmph. Why don’t you just let me do my job?
Zero looks up and sees a set of wires attached to various molten rocks, which lead up to a higher solid metal corridor above him.
ZERO: Regardless of his involvement, this guy is still a bad dude. And I’ll put him down if I have to!
He takes out his wire-hook and jumps up across a set of three wire poles. He quickly dashes and jumps up, as batton bones swoop down to attack him. He slashes them away and double-jumps toward into the gateway in the solid corridor above him.
ZERO: Now, Dino-Rex. We’ll finally get to settle this.
-cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. UKRANIAN JUNGLE – Axle the Red’s Lair - DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
X flies over to Axle the Red, who high jumps and cracks a vine-whip down at X diagonally.
X: /Agh!
He gets scratched in the face, but he catches the whip while gritting his teeth. He yanks the vine-whip, pulling Axle closer to him in mid-air. When Axle reaches him, X punches him in the face with a right hook, then in the stomach with a left hook. Once his flight mode wears off, X finishes his combo with a dropkick to the chest as they both land to the ground hard.
AXLE: (hurt) AHHHHH….
X jumps off of Axle’s chest and charges up his buster, wasting no time.
X: Give it up, Rose. I don’t want to do this.
He blasts him in the side, which causes him to roll over and get on his feet.
AXLE: Hu-uurgh… You could fool me.
X: I just want the Orbiter Engine.
-cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SUNHOUSE MOUNTAIN – Planning Chamber – DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
In an open chamber, Burn Dino-Rex has designed the edges of his room to look like teeth. Zero narrows his eyes as his opponent turns around and emits a quick flare of flames across his body.
BURN DINO-REX: Why did you come here, Zero? So, the Maverick Terminator’s here… Does this mean it’s time for me to die? Even after I’ve rescinded myself from the Repliforce!?
Zero takes a deep breath and exhales.
ZERO: No. I just came for the Booster Engine.
BURN DINO-REX: GHAAA HA HA!! That’s not all you want from me, is it, Hunter?
Zero twitches.
BURN DINO-REX: …You want to take my life, don’t you? You want to fight me, don’t you??
Zero lets out an exasperated sigh and snaps.
ZERO: If it’ll shut you up, then yes! I accept your challenge if you insist.
BURN DINO-REX: Bring it onnnn, Sinister Hunter!!!!
- cut to –
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. UKRANIAN JUNGLE – Axle the Red’s Lair - DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hunched over, the bio-reploid looks at him and catches his breath.
AXLE: Huhh..huhh..huhh.. TAKE THIS!
From his whip, he creates a large spike ball, which wildly bounces around the room, causing X to be wary. Axle the Red, high jumps once again and lands in front of X who is distracted.
AXLE: /Hah!
He /strikes X with a direct Spike Ball in the chest, causing him to back up a few steps.
X: Urgh..
X shoots rapid-fire out of his buster in retaliation, causing Axle to high-jump away to safety.
AXLE: Hey! Wait…
X: Hm?
X ceases his attack and Axle relinquishes his spike ball.
AXLE: Did you hear that the Earth will be completely destroyed!?
X: Not if I can help it...
AXLE: Everyone is in a panic and… That means we can steal anything we want, doesn’t it?
X’s hopes immediately sink into disappointment.
X: (sighing) Come on...
AXLE: You’re fun. You look strong… Maybe we can work together and split the rewards or something.
X: (upset) What a pathetic thief you are! Is that all you care about?!
AXLE: Hmph.. Then let’s keep fighting! I’ll treat you to a good one… because if you lose, you’ll be my servant!
X narrows his eyes and charges up.
-cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SUNHOUSE MOUNTAIN – Planning Chamber – DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Burn Dino-Rex jumps after Zero, who air-dashes right into him with his saber out.
BURN DINO-REX: Yaaah!!!
ZERO: Haaaah!!!!
Zero slashes him in the chest as Burn Dino-Rex grapples him in mid-air and slams him down to the ground.
ZERO: Auugh..
Burn Dino-Rex rolls off of him, turns around and bends allowing his back-burners to flare up. As Zero gets up, Burn-Dino Rex dashes into him with his flames out and smashes him against the wall.
ZERO: Aaaaghhh!!!
ALIA: (o.s, filtered, worried) Zero!
ZERO: No!!
He retaliates with a double-jump and a C-Slash, which /carves against the grain of Burn Dino-Rex’s head.
BURN DINO-REX: /Ht.
Zero lands on his other side, turns around and slices a 3-hit combo at Burn Dino Rex’s right side, then he dashes away.
Burn Dino-Rex stomps on the ground, creating an immediate eruption of fire amongst the ground. Then he violently roars at Zero.
BURN DINO-REX: RHHHHHAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!
He blasts out fire from his mouth, aiming it from the floor towards Zero.
ZERO: Ah!!
He dashes away, and feels an inner wind-gust from within his core. He instinctively tries something different as the flames draw near.
His eyes flash white as he performs a new technique; the Wind-Shredder. Learned from Spiral Pegasus, the Wind-Shredder is an after-image of Zero which dashes directly through Burn Dino-Rex’s flames and corrodes his system with wind currents.
BURN DINO-REX: (hurt, confused) Huuuooorrrghh.. Whaaaat??
He is flung hard against the wall and damaged.
ZERO: (grinning) Heheh.. Gotcha.
-cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. UKRANIAN JUNGLE – Axle the Red’s Lair - DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Axle gracefully jumps around and cracks his vine whip at X, creating more spike balls in the process.
X: No more! We’re wasting time.
X switches to C-Shot and cuts at him with rapid scattered shots.
AXLE: Ahh.. It’ll take more than that.
He dances around to the other side of the room and drops a seed on the floor.
X: Don’t worry!!
He switches to Tri-Thunder and shoots a few electric blasts around the room. The spike balls are destroyed immediately, but then a secondary clone of Axle sprouts up from the ground.
X: What the??!
His Tri-Thunder has no effect on the clone at all.
AXLE: Told ya it was gonna be a good fight.
He double-teams X with a twin of himself. Both of them strike a vine whip at X, which binds both of his hands.
X: Ah!
AXLE: Hah! I’d like you to meet my brother, Spike…
SPIKE: /Hyah!!
His clone twin pulls X hard down to the floor.
AXLE: Technically we’re the same person, but... I like it better this way. He keeps me company whenever I get lonely.
SPIKE: Hahahah.
AXLE: Hahahaha!
X looks up from the ground, annoyed.
X: There’s something severely wrong with you.
SPIKE: Oh shut up! What would you know??
He disappears back into a seed and suddenly sprouts up behind him.
SPIKE: /YAH!!
He /kicks X while he is down, causing him to /tumble and dash into flight as he makes his way over to Axle.
X: /Kughh. You need to stop this!!
X charges up and fires a piercing laser shot at Axle the Red, who twirls away and dodges it.
AXLE: Heh. You started it, kid.
X: And now I’m gonna /End it!!
X /switches to Wing Spiral and strikes a tornado from mid-air with his fist once again.
AXLE: (hurt) Aghhh…
He is flung up to X, who kicks him back down.
SPIKE: LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!
Axle’s twin charges up and releases a series of red rose pedals from his gem, which rain down around the room.
- cut to -
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SUNHOUSE MOUNTAIN – Planning Room - DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Burn Dino-Rex helplessly falls to the ground once again from Zero’s relentless W-Shredder attack. He quickly gets up and jumps back to a wall. He clings by the corner of a ceiling.
BURN DINO-REX: Huuurrrgh, you damn executioner! I will not lose to you!!!
He spits fireballs at Zero.
ZERO: Well, then we have a problem, because I sure as shit ain’t losing’ to you!
Zero dashes away from the first two, but a third fireball catches him in the back and forces him to the ground. A fourth one ‘causes him to /roll over in pain.
ZERO: /HAAUUUURRRGHHHHH…
BURN DINO-REX: Hahaha, yessss! /BUAAAAHHHHH.
He jumps back down and sets off a full flamethrower /blast at Zero.
Zero gets up and narrows his eyes, while carefully guarding his face.
ZERO: Aghh.. damn it… No!!
He struggles to walk through the flames until he jumps up and Hisuisho air-dashes through them. When he lands, he shifts into another Wind-shredder after-image dash. Burn Dino-Rex helplessly succumbs to his extreme winds. The flames immediately cease and Burn Dino-Rex falls to the ground again, hurt.
ZERO: (v.o, thinking) I don’t know how I’m doing this, but I’m glad it works…
- cut to –
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. UKRANIAN JUNGLE – Axle the Red’s Lair – DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
AXLE & SPIKE: Get Outta My House!!
From opposite sides of the room, Axle the Red and his twin clone strike a synchronized vine-whip at X, who quickly flies up to dodge the attack.
X: Not without the Orbiter Engine, first!!!
As his barrier protects him from falling rose pedals, X charges up and fires a piercing laser shot, which ricochets off of Spike.
X: /Agh, damn it!
He turns around only to find Axle the Red high jump towards him with a spike ball in hand.
AXLE: /Hahh!
X: Ahh..
He uneasily drops his flight mode and swings a Wing Spiral on the way down. This forces Axle down to the ground.
SPIKE: (gasping) Brother!!
He disappears into a seed.
X looks at the twin with a reflective brow, and turns back to Axle who is getting up.
X: I think I’m starting to get it now, Axle. You need power to keep your friend around, but you can’t because you’re losing!
AXLE: Just Leave me alone!!!
He turns to X frantically as the rose pedals from his head droop across his face.
X: Just give me the Orbiter Engine and I’m outta here.
AXLE: We’re all gonna die anyway, so what’s the point??
He dashes toward X with the whip in his hand.
X: To /Try, you imbecile!!!
X blasts him with a charge shot and punches Axle hard in the gut.
AXLE: /Uuuurrrgghhh…
He coughs up blood and drops his whip.
X: Come on. You’re hurting.. I’m gonna save this World, and I’m gonna save you, Rosered. I promise.
Axle stands up straight and looks at X deeply in the eyes.
AXLE: I am… beyond saving…
He gives X a crazed look as it seems his own insides are bubbling up.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered, gasping) Look out!!!
X: (reacting, nervous) Huh? Huaaaah!
X dash-jumps as far away as he can as he realizes that Axle is self-destructing.
AXLE: (crying, raging) GHHHAAAAAAAAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Bio-Reploid cries out one last time as he causes a massive explosion from within his core. The room sears with the scent of burning roses as X can’t help but tear up.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) The Sigma Virus even destroys nature... There is nothing in nature now, which is completely free from mechanical devices.
X shakes his head.
X: That’s so… sad!
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) I know… But, we've found the Orbiter Engine!
X: (gasping) You did!?
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) It's out in the jungle... A new recruit will be there soon to pick it up. Your mission is complete.
X’s eyes widen at the good news.
X: So we have recruits, now??
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) X.. Those reploids you rescued are so grateful to be alive, you don’t even understand. This is what they do. They’re Scientists, Researchers and Technicians! Swinging by to pick up Space Shuttle equipment is more than their speed.
X: Well, alright!
He walks over to Axle the Red’s broken corpse and spots his weapon chip labeled “Spike Ball”. He decides to pick it up, just in case.
X: How’s Zero?
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) He’s doing okay, but I think he could use an assist.
X: Yeah??
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Yeah. I’m gonna take you to him.
X: (nodding) Alright.
-cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SUNHOUSE MOUNTAIN - Light Capsule Area - DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
X is teleported, to a platform by a sea of Lava, where Zero’s Ride Armor lay dormant. Beyond the stretch of lava, another capsule awaits X.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Zero is just above you in that lair. But you should grab that upgrade, first.
X nods with a smile and flies over to the capsule. When he lands on the other side of the lava, Dr. Light appears.
DR. LIGHT: This is the program for the arm part of the Gaea Armor. With the arm part equipped, you can attack with the Gaea shot! While the range of the Gaea shot is short, it's powerful and can neutralize the enemies' energy bullets. You will also have the ability to lift heavier machinery or break certain bricks, once thought unsurpassable!
X’s eyes widen as he takes the hint and steps in the capsule.
- cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SUNHOUSE MOUNTAIN - Planning Room - DAY -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zero pants heavily as he swings his saber at Burn Dino-Rex, who whips his tail around and burns him in the back.
ZERO: Agh!!
He turns around and does a C-Slash, which causes him to land on his knees, exhausted.
BURN DINO-REX: /Haaugh. You’re running out of steam.
He opens his mouth and takes a bite out of Zero’s chest plate.
ZERO: /Gaaahhh!!!!
BURN DINO-REX: HAHAHAH. I have you now, Hunter.
He opens his mouth to take another bite.
A thin blue piercing charge shot immediately enters his mouth.
BURN DINO-REX: (choking) KUAAAGHH… WHAT!?
X: Hey! Why don’t you leave my friend alone, Maverick.
Zero turns to his partner, surprised and elated.
ZERO: X!!
X: Hang back, Zero. I’ll take care of this one.
BURN DINO-REX: Why You!!??
Burn Dino-Rex charges after X, who flies out of the way and blasts him with another Charge Shot.
BURN DINO-REX: /Ugh..
He spits fire at X, who drops down and ducks. With a quick switch to Goo Shaver, he lets the gel crawl across the ground. The icy gel melts upon the touch, barely affecting Burn Dino-Rex at all.
BURN DINO-REX: BAHAHAHAA. Nice try!!
He gets up and runs after X.
ZERO: Use wind, X!!
X: Right!
He runs and switches to Wing Spiral, swirling a windy uppercut at the beast.
BURN DINO-REX: Guaaaaahhhh!!!!!
He is violently pushed against the wall. X can already see the heavy damage inflicted upon him.
X: (v.o, thinking) He’s already in so much pain. It won’t take long to finish this.
X flies above him and activates his Giga Attack.
Suddenly, a set of piercing lasers rise and fall onto Burn Dino-Rex as his armor cracks.
BURN DINO-REX: Nn-nn.. Noooooo!!!!!!!
Inner-light peers through the cracks as Burn Dino-Rex explodes to his death.
Zero glares at the broken Reploid with a spiteful hatred knowing that even though the Repliforce is truly finished, it will never repair the damage done to his soul.
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) We've found the Booster Engine! Now the striking power of the Shuttle will be increased.
ZERO: Huh?
X: Yeah!!
ALIA: (o.s, filtered) There seems to be some more useful weapons lying here, but we don’t have time to investigate! Evacuate before you get sucked into the lava!!
They both nod and look at each other with respect.
Zero cracks a smile. X forms a smirk. The two bump gauntlets and teleport out of Burn Dino-Rex's lair.
-cut to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. NEW MHHQ – Control Room – NIGHT -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Caption - 6:23 AM
X and Zero teleport into the middle of the room between Lucas and Kirk, by Signas’ main console.
SIGNAS: (thrilled) Great job, guys! We have all the parts we need for the shuttle now.
The heroes smile and walk up to their Commander.
ZERO: Alright! So what’s next?
Signas turns around and types in commands on his console. He pulls up a window of the dock, where Alia, Douglas and a team of technicians are putting together the remaining devices for the Space Shuttle.
SIGNAS: Now it’s on them… Stand by guys. We’re going to launch this thing very soon.
X and Zero look at the monitor with determined faces.
-Freezeframe. Grainy Effect-
-Fade to Black-
#MMX Fanfics#Season V#Ep. 10#Proceed With Care#X#Zero#X vs. Spike Rosered#Zero vs. Burn Dino-Rex#Space Shuttle Complete
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Text
Roleplay Server Log #212
“Dress Fitting, Mouse Hunt, Judge and Painter”
-The next day-
[Doc] Is standing on a block in the vine room hanging a poster on the wall. The main image is three birds inside a bulb of glass, but there's lots of small things in the background too.
[Deer] Comes up from the lab- Doc? What is that?
[Doc] Steps down and backs off to look at it proudly- I have no idea! But I got it while I was irl and it just spoke to me for some reason. I've seen mideavil artwork online plenty of times and it looks like it must be a very old image.
[Deer] - It is certainly pretty, hey did Lie ever tell you what CP got her?
[Doc] No, I hope it was worth the trip though, what a miserable mess.
-HerobrineCP has left the server-
[Doc] Hmph. Let's hope he's just running errands. I certainly don't feel like I'm missing anything- Xe turns to look at Yaunfen, who's dozing lightly on the bed near the stairs and then returns hir gaze to Deerheart, touching the corner of her cheek lightly with one gloved hand - Everything I need, is right here.
[Deer] - Aww, you are my everything as well
[Doc] Makes a rather sappy contented face, but it's geniune. - OH! I have something for you too. - rustles around - close your eyes and stick out your hands.
[Deer] Gives them a curious look before following their directions-
[Doc] Puts the string of star- shaped lights in her hands, the little battery pack is glowing faintly orange from the mix of red and glowstone dust inside of it. The stars themselves are each lit and cycling slowly through a rainbow of different colors. - You can look now.
[Deer] Looks and makes a small happy little gasp- They're so pretty!
[Doc] Not as pretty as you, but I thought you'd enjoy them all the same. I think you're supposed to string them along the walls or drape them over tihings.
[Deer] - Ooh! We could make some copies to hang in Lie's green house! I bet that would look pretty as well!
[Doc] With all her colorful flowers? That is a really good idea, and maybe some on the porch by the mushroom umbrella? Make a regular garden party out of it.
[Deer] - Oh absolutely!
[Doc] But this string... I was thinking... could maybe be in our bedroom? A bit of mood lighting for playtime? - Eyebrow wiggle-
[Deer] - Of course, or maybe it would look better around me?
[Doc] Makes a very low noise that's purely sexual-
[TLOT] Is in the next room and takes a deep breath. - Ahhhh, that's nice... My lamb?
[Steve] Yeeess?
[TLOT] Perhaps you should do our housemates a favor and volunteer to watch Yaunfen for a bit?
[Steve] fake put-upon look - Oh must I?
[TLOT] I think I can make it worth your while later. I'm going to go give Lie her dress and make sure it fits. I'll be back in a bit.
[Steve] Oh all right-
[TLOT] Love you.
[Steve] Love you too.
[TLOT] Walks outside and takes a nice breath of air and rolls down into his cat form in a burst of fog. With a happy little roar he goes dashing through the sunlight dappled grass towards Lie's home.
[Endrea] Is lounging out front while her children play-
[TLOT] Playfully sneaks up on her in the grass.
[Endrea] Is too focused on Willow and Oak to notice-
[TLOT] Jumps onto her shoulders and gives a small triumphant roar
[Endrea] Looks and snorts at him- Hello TLOT
[TLOT] Gives her a big lick on the nose-
[Endrea] Rolls her eyes- If you're looking for CP you just missed him
[TLOT] Nope! Not after the sour puss today. I'm looking for Lie.
[Endrea] - I believe she's tending to an injured dog...
[TLOT] Then I may be of help. Thank you dear lady. - Does a little bow, switching his tail around, and then leaping to the ground. - dog pen? Or in the house?
[Endrea] - Dog pen
[TLOT] Ah, curses. I guess I need to shed my fur - He pofs up in the fog again and goes striding down the yard with his cloak flowing in his wake- Hey Lie?
[Lie] - In here! Stay still!
[TLOT] Goes to the gate. - Do you need any blood Lie? Is it bad?
[Lie] - Oh, this one just ended up playing a bit too hard and got bit
[TLOT] Silly dogs- leans on the fence- I brought you something when you're done. Though you may need to clean up first if you've been doing chores all day
[Lie] - Probably- She stands up after wrapping the dogs legs and she's covered in dirt, manure, and a bit of blood
[TLOT] Yeeeah, you may need a bath first....
[Lie] - I'll go set one up
[TLOT] How come you don't have one as part of your house Lie? I know you have some issues with the lava hardening on you.
[Lie] - Because normally CP is here and he'll usually toss me into the lava pool and then help me get it off
[TLOT] Get it off huh....? I presume that's a prelude to other things? - grins
[Lie] Freezes and blushes- Shut up
[TLOT] Pffft! I brought you your dress for the coronation, you should tidy up a bit and try it on.
[Lie] - Oh, okay- Lie quickly throws down some stone bricks and fills the space between them with water. She also puts up some banners so she has privacy, but TLOT doesn't have to leave
[TLOT] Pulls out a block to sit on and faces away from her- For the queen's modesty, of course.
[Lie] - I'm not a queen TLOT
[TLOT] Smiles softly- You're Cp's queen.
[Lie] Embarrassed noises-
[TLOT] I'm god to my mate, it's just a thing. It's nice to feel special.
[Lie] Slips into the tub- I'm not sure he has a term for what I am for him yet... Well, other than his
[TLOT] What do you consider him? The same?
[Lie] - My mate, my love...- Then jokingly- My constant project
[TLOT] Snorts - That he is! What's the saying? No work of art is ever finished, only abandoned?
[Lie] - Perhaps, oh, by the way, could you give me some Nether rack?
[TLOT] Sure! - He opens the creative and pulls out a stack- Do you have a new project? Or just planning on refacing some walls and floors?
[Lie] - Some more plants, I created a tree for the Nether some time ago, but I want to try and make some more
[TLOT] Ah, some potted plants for his office at least. Doc told me it's huge.
[Lie] - More for like outside, if I have to end up spending time over there, then I will add more foliage
[TLOT] What kind of theme are you going for? Things that match the surroundings? Or contrast?
[Lie] - Mostly just seeing what will grow, the one thing I have gotten to grow is a tree
[TLOT] You need hardy stuff that likes the infernal heat... maybe like cacti? Without the spiky bits?
[Lie] - Maybe, like I said, we'll see what springs up
[Lie] Finishes her bath and redresses herself before removing the bath and the banners-
[TLOT] Is still facing away and tosses the stack of netherrack over his shoulder so it bounces into her inventory- Can I look now?
[Lie] - Yeah, I'm done
[TLOT] Swivels around and takes a sniff of the air- Much better.
[Lie] - Hey! I didn't smell that bad!
[TLOT] sniggers- I'm just sensitive- he pulls out the dress- here you go-
[Lie] Takes the silk item, it's a long strapless white dress that has a short jacket which covers her neck shoulders and arms. The jacket sleeves end in a light flair. The jacket is a periwinkle blue and the edges of the actual dress are too, as is the mesh which covers her back which dips in a sharp v. The entire outfit should fit her form well once it's adjusted-
[TLOT] Pull it on and I'll nip or tuck anywhere you need it.
[Lie] Turns away and hesitates before quickly switching clothes-
[TLOT] Well? Is it okay?
[Lie] - Yeah, I mean the shoulders are a little tight, but I think it's supposed to be like that, it's not like my movement is inhibited though
[TLOT] I can give it a little slack if needed...?
[Lie] - I think it will be fine, thank you, now to work on those plants...
[TLOT] Well go ahead and shuck it off so you don't get it dirty.
[Lie] - Oh, right- Starts hurriedly changing back
[TLOT] Fumbles around and drops something, - ah dammit! - The spawn egg breaks on the floor and a very tiny mouse scurries away from him-
[Lie] - Er, was that a mouse?
[TLOT] Yes! Sorry Lie! I was carrying it to give to Grinny. Dammit, it went under your armor stand!
[Lie] - Don't worry, either the Vulpix's will get it, Hope, or one of the barn cats
[TLOT] You know... maybe you should get it.
[Lie] - Me?
[TLOT] Yes, try out your cat-like reflexes. I bet you could nab it easy.
[Lie] Blushes- Um... Uh...
[TLOT] You're already half undressed anyway, give it a shot. It doesn't have hardly any programming, all it can do is run from you.
[Lie] - Mmm... Oh alright- She concentrates and shifts into her cat form
[Mouse] Peeks out from under the boot on her armor stand and scoots back underneath.
[Lie] Crouches down and focus' on the boot-
[Mouse] Moves a little bit behind the stand and makes a break for the bookcases, wiggling between two volumes.
[Lie] Takes off after it and sticks her paw between the books-
[Mouse] Scuttles up the back of the bookshelf and tries to run past her-
[Lie] - Get back here!
[TLOT] laughs- Sounds like me when it's Karen's bathtime.
[Mouse] runs up the side of the butts pumpkin and tries to wiggle under the sign with no luck-
[Lie] Leaps at it, getting into the hunt-
[Mouse] Panicky squeak as it jumps off the pumpkin and tries to go under the bed instead -
[Lie] Tears after it-
[Mouse] Climbs the sheets as fast as it can-
[TLOT] Go Lie go!
[Lie] Jumps on top of it-
[Mouse] Poofs into a morsel with a bitty squeak-
[Lie] There's a tiny bit of blood on her fur now- Oh!
[TLOT] Good job! That was some nice leaping and pouncing!
[Lie] - I... I got a little caught up in it...
[TLOT] Hehe, I do some of our hunting the same way. Chickens are nicely challenging, and they taste good to boot.
[Lie] Bats the morsel towards TLOT- Yeah... You can keep this
[TLOT] Ah, no taste for the prize, Lie is only about the challenge. - He flips it into his mouth like a mint. - Your loss.
[Lie] Can't get to the bit of blood on her- uuuuuuuuungh
[TLOT] Little floof is fussy about her white fur huh? - He takes the damp towel from her bath and cleans off the little bit of blood. - Perfect.
[Lie] - Thank you- She stretches a little and flops
[TLOT] So where did Cp jet off too? You seem relaxed, so I'm presuming it was something mundane?
[Lie] - He went to get the ingredients Sam asked for, he'll probably stop here first to check over with Sam what he got to make sure it's all correct before taking it to his server
[TLOT] Ah okay. So still no on the plumes for Cp's armor? -grinning-
[Lie] - He'd burn it before you could even add it
[TLOT] I know. But it's a fun thought. I know a little secret too.... - conspiritorial wink-
[Lie] Perks- What is it?
[TLOT] I saw Doc's outfit...
[Lie] - Share the secret?
[TLOT] It's a dress...
[Lie] - CP won't be happy about that
[TLOT] Too bad. I think it looks nice.
[Lie] Giggles- Now where did my clothes get to...
[TLOT] Points-
[Lie] - Thanks- She jumps down and rubs against TLOT as she passes him
[TLOT] Reaches down to scratch her ears. - Little huntress
[Lie] - Mind opening the door to my room for me?
[TLOT] Reaches for her- of course.
[Lie] Let's herself be picked up and purrs-
[TLOT] Happily pets her and takes her to her room, he squeaks open the door and sets her daintily on the bed.
[Lie] - Thank you, she pulls her dress out of her inventory- Will you put this in that chest under the window?
[TLOT] Sure - He walks over and squeaks open the chest, pausing there for a moment with the lid open - wanted me to put it in your toybox huh?
[Lie] Freezes as her shape becomes indistinguishable from glowing so brightly-
[TLOT] Blinks in consternation- That's a bit blinding!
[Lie] Whines and tries to hide under the blankets-
[TLOT] Takes out a vibrating egg and it buzzes in his palm. - That's a bit weak though. I think I could juice it up a bit... - He tips out the batteries and lets them clunk back into the box. He pulls out a bit of restone and picks a few pixels off it before slipping some inside.
[Lie] - What are you doing?
[TLOT] Just some minor repairs. - He twists the vibe to high and the buzzing increases a lot- that's better...
[Lie] Tries to slip under the bed-
[TLOT] Aww don't hide. I have something nice for you.
[Lie] - So I can hear...
[TLOT] I can feel that curiousity radiating from you....
[Lie] - Shut up... I can't hear you!
[TLOT] Turns the little device off. - can you hear me now?
[Lie] Grumbles and her head pokes out from under the bed-
[TLOT] You're adorable.
[Lie] - So everyone says- She darts to the other side of the bed and crawls out, transforming back once she's clear of the bed and without her clothes
[TLOT] Eh, if you've got it, might as well flaunt it. Did you need anything else while I'm here?
[Lie] - No, I think I'm good- She pulls on her shirt
[TLOT] Maybe you should have some fun while you wait for Cp to come back? - with a quick twist he turns the vibe back on and reaches around to poke it up inside her-
[Lie] Shrieks and falls back onto the bed- TLOT!
[TLOT] Backs off quickly. - Just a thought.
[Lie] - Ngh!
[TLOT] I'm headed back. Take your time Lie, have a nice afternoon.
[Lie] - I hate you right now...
[TLOT] Wipes his upper lip with his forked tongue- that tastes like a bit of a lie...
[Lie] Groans and buries her face into the blankets-
[TLOT] Feels her growing arousal and sends a bit of it back to her -I'll just leave you to it. - waves cheerfully and departs
[Lie] Is muttering "I hate you" into the blanket over and over again. However her legs clamp tighter as her pleasure grows, but it's not quite doing it for her leaving her in a state of frustration-
[Splender] Perks as he receives a message from his brother and he rushes off to Doc's-
[Doc] Is talking to Alexsezia about the poster-
[Alexsezia] It is really interesting. What's with the green cat eating the sun?
[Doc] It's a lion. I don't know why it's green.
[Splender] - Doc? Are you here?
[Doc] Splender? I'm in the vine room.
[Splender] Teleports in- Oh, I didn't know you had a guest, am I interrupting anything?
[Doc] Nah, just a bit of chatting about art.
[Alexsezia] I've been doing lot of embellished stuff lately. Doc got me into looking at really old illuminated books on the internet.
[Splender] - Oh, okay, um, I have a message from my brother...
[Doc] Oh dear... not more bad news I hope? I saw Cp go out earlier...
[Splender] - No! Not at all! He's decided to send Judge and Painter here under the pretense of them checking on the others...
[Doc] They're okay in a digital enviroment? Mostly human?
[Alexsezia] There's a Painter? Judge sounds a bit serious though.
[Splender] - If it's brief they'll be fine, we've done it many times with the other pasta's when we needed to get them quickly from one area to another
[Doc] Okay... Splender? You're the expert, do I need to do anything in advance? Topics to avoid?
[Splender] - I think brother mostly just wants them to get used to this place and meet you before introducing them to the idea of having a child. Those two can get pretty defensive around strangers...
[Alexsezia] Can I stay? Or will they attack me since I'm obviously digital/human?
[Splender] - So long as you don't offend them it should be alright...
[Doc] Offend?
[Splender] - Like harsh criticism, violence towards children...
[Doc] I'll be gentle.
[Splender] - Then are you ready for me to get them?
[Doc] Gives hir coat a bit of a tug and fluffs hir hair- Ready
[Alexsezia] Tries to brush some of the cat hair off her, but it's hopelessly woven into her chainmail shirt - I hope they aren't allergic to cats....
[Splender] - Not at all- He creates an opening and steps through, quickly returning with two in tow
[Doc] Hello.
[Alexsezia] Cheerful wave-
[Judge] Is a young looking girl with short blonde hair in a short white dress with tall white boots, She carries a white sword but the thing which stands out about her are her eyes, they are deep and black with small specks like stars-
[Painter] Is taller than Judge with messy short black hair, he has a blue jacket and jeans on with sneakers. His white mask has a blood painted smile on it-
[Splender] - Judge? Painter? This is Doc and Alexsezia!
[Alexsezia] Looks only slightly unnerved by Painter's mask.
[Doc] Nice to meet both of you. I understand you wanted to check up on the others?
[Painter] - That's what Slender told us to do, he's starting to get a bit antsy what with so many people gone from the house
[Doc] Well the pokemon trainers are mostly downstairs if you want to come with me. Strangled has taken to crashing in Lost Silver's room, and Glitchy is often hanging out with them too. I've offered Strangled his own space but he usually tells me to go die in a fire or something similar.
[Judge] - I suppose we could start with them...
[Alexsezia] Opens the lab door for them
[Doc] Thank you-
[Alexsezia] So you're an artist? I am too.
[Painter] - I doubt we think of the same thing when we think of painters
[Splender] Teleports off to warn BEN-
[Alexsezia] Oh... do you only do walls and houses or something? I work mostly on canvas-
[Painter] - Oh no, I use canvas, it's my paint that's different
[Alexsezia] Neat! I make all my own pigments and dyes too!
[Doc] Watch out for the button at the bottom of the steps.
[Painter] - I gather my own paint
[Judge] Is getting a tad irritated at Alexsezia-
[Alexsezia] cheerfully- We're all crafty around here. Doc built this house.
[Doc] Blushes slightly-
[Painter] - I gather blood
[Alexsezia] Oh, so you just do monochrome work?
[Painter] - In a sense
[Silver] Is feeding his smaller pokemon-
[Doc] Hey Silver! Hows the team faring?
[Judge] Narrows her eyes at Silver-
[Alexsezia] Oh the little pink critter is adorable! I mean they're both cute but still!
[Silver] - Good, just feeding the smaller guys now, Strangled's taking care of the others
[Sylveon] Looks at Alexsezia- Syl!
[Alexsezia] Holds out a hand to see if it's okay to pet them-
[Doc] Silver has been a huge help with my own pokemon too.
[Espurr] Comes over and puts a morsel of food in her hand-
[Silver] - Er, Espurr? She can't eat that...
[Alexsezia] No, I can't, but thank you little one.
[Espurr] Takes it back using telekinesis-
[Alexsezia] Psychic kitty...
[Doc] So how's the Zweilous? Do you need another helmet for the second head or is it behaving better now that you have the badge for it?
[Silver] - It's doing better now, I don't think it needs another helmet
[Doc] Excellent. Any progress with MissingNo?
[Silver] - Not really... But it's not so loud anymore
[Doc] Hopefully it's because it's more relaxed now that it's not trapped? Poor thing might be a tad traumatized.
[Silver] - Maybe...
[Painter] - to cut down on time, mind telling us how Strangled and Glitchy are Silver?
[Silver] - Oh! Well... They're pretty good, I think Glitchy is exploring outside...
[Doc] I take it Strangled is still holed up in your room pouting?
[Silver] - Not right now, he's holed up down there feeding the larger pokemon and his
[Doc] Looks at the group - Up to you guys, bug him or leave him be?
[Painter] - I don't think we need to see everybody, that would take too long, just so long as we can get the general idea of how everyone is... That should be good enough
[Doc] Okay. - Looks at Silver- Do you need anything while I'm down here Silver?
[Silver] - No, I'm good
[Doc] Alright. last I saw Grinny he was in the kitchen. Smile is outside somewhere probably playing with Liu-
[Judge] - Liu? Oh, that's right, Jeff's brother's, right? He was somehow brought back?
[Doc] A bit proudly- I had a bit of help from a friendly witch. She helped me reclaim his soul. So yes, he's alive, in a sense.
[Painter] - Can we continue now? I'd like to get back to my projects...
[Alexsezia] Perks up a little - What are you working on? Subject-wise?
[Doc] Let's go then.
[Painter] - This and that
[Alexsezia] Been doing illuminations myself. Really old school. TLOT made me some gold ink so it really pops.
[Judge] Her hand is getting closer to her sword-
[Alexsezia] Trots ahead to hold the outside door politely-
-It's a lovely day outside with the sunlight sparkling off the deep blue waters of the bay and the sugarcanes bending lightly in the breeze.
[Judge] - It is bright out here...
[Doc] Yeah, it's nice. I prefer a good lightning storm though. - Leads them up the steps towards the road to the spawn
[gem] -is standing outside at spawn with eddy and Edward and her guardians-
[Doc] Hi Gem, got the whole group today huh?
[Alexsezia] Kneels and offers her arms to hug the little enders-
[gem] yea it's a nice day
[eddy and Edward] -hug alexsezia-
[Painter] - Who are they?
[gem] I am just you friendly space angel brine with my guardians and baby Endermen out for a day on this server.
[Doc] She's a digital glitch much like I am. Anyone with unusual eyes you encounter will likely be either a type of Herobrine or one of your creepypastas.
[Judge] - So many...
[Alexsezia] She's also a very nice neighbor. And BEN and Aven's roommate.
[gem] -sees judge angel's eye- wow your eyes are pretty
[Judge] Is surprised by this compliment-
[gem] they remind me of the beauty of space
[Judge] Has no idea what to say-
[Alexsezia] Looks at her straight on- Yeah! They do look like they have stars! I thought they were just black.
[Judge] Starts to hide behind Painter a little-
[Doc] Ah, don't be shy. we don't bite.
[gem] -makes a small cluster of stars and offers it to judge angel-
[Judge] Shies away-
[Painter] - She doesn't really like having her eyes talked about...
[gem] oh sorry I didn't know
[Doc] Oh, I see. It's just a thing around here. Lots of people with unusual eyes. - shows off hir own subtle green glow- Your housemate Cp's glowing white is almost the norm on this server.
[Painter] - Speaking of, he's been gone from the manor for some time...
[Doc] You guys don't know? He got married.
[Painter] Laughs a little- Yeah, that's a good one
[Doc] Honestly, I have a picture! Hang on- flips around in hir files
[Alexsezia] Nonono, I can do you one better - She pulls out a screenshot attatched to a bit of paper. It's Cp looking annoyed on the floor with Lie to one side and Notch and Stevie on the other. - The brine with the pretty white hair is his wife Lilinthia.
[Painter] Scrutinizes the picture, trying to remember details for later paintings- Interesting...
[Doc] Where did you get that?
[Alexsezia] I know people...
[eddy and Edward] -go over to judge angel-
[Judge] Looks down at them- Such strange little creatures...
[Doc] Ah, they're a miniature version of a common mob around here. The big ones are called Endermen, they're harmless unless you look directly at them, eye contact makes them go ballistic. But the designers who coded them were inspired by stories of Slenderman. - gestures at the little enders- Imagine those, but three blocks high; as tall as Cp.
[Painter] - Yeah we'll not mention that to him...
[Doc] Minecraft is a super popular game. I bet he already knows. It's not like it's an unflattering reference. Endermen are extremely formidible foes if you anger them. If they weren't deathly allergic to water, the players would be quite outmatched.
-There's a bit of laughter and the sounds of children playing a game up the hill-
[Doc] Ah, that reminds me. Lj's circus is down the coast. Our friend Herabrine and him worked super hard to repair everything. If you don't want to make the hike I can call for him in chat. If he's outside the woods he should hear me.
[Judge] - Please, the sooner we can get home, the better
[eddy and Edward] -wiggle there arms-
This message has been removed.
[Painter] - Such odd anatomy...
[gem] they are my cute little sweeties
[Doc] One of their game functions is to take random blocks, so the proportions were likely chosen to accomdate the block size. -types- Hey Lj? Two of your housemates are here to check on you. Can you come to the spawn for a minute?
[LJ] Pops into the air above them- Yeeees~?
[Doc] Gestures to Painter and Judge -
[Alexsezia] Hi Lj! You look great.
[gem] hey LJ how is the weather up there just as good as down here?
[LJ] - Well hello you two!
[Painter] - What happened to you?
[Doc] I removed his Insanity and... - xe turns to Lj can't see and points to the children playing nearby- a few other things got fixed too.
[Judge] - How odd... I think you looked better monochrome
[gem] doc fixes a lot of things I swear xe is the best at it
[Alexsezia] I'm suprised... I'd think Painter would prefer the monochome considering his artistic mein.
[Doc] Blushes- Thank you Gem
[Painter] - No, I prefer a bit of color
[Judge] - He'll paint in normal colors if the mood strikes him
[Doc] Hey Lj, hows the candy crop coming?
[LJ] - Alright, I'm not much of a gardener though
[gem] -starts to make a tiny nebula-
[Doc] If you need any help, let me know. Can't wait until those ice cream cone trees start 'fruiting' Haha.
[LJ] - Nor can I
[Alexsezia] Wants to poke Gem's nebula-
[gem] -notices alexsezia looking at the nebula- do you want to see it?
[Doc] Turns to Painter and Judge- Should I try and find Jeff? He tends to avoid me. But he might want to go back with you guys.
[Alexsezia] Please?
[Painter] - Sure, it's him, Jane, BEN, and Herobrine left I believe...
[gem] -hands it to alexsezia-
[Doc] Uses hir pinpoint to look for Jeff before calling out to him over the chat- Hey Jeff? Judge Angels and Bloody Painter are here. Did you want a ride back to the manor?
[Jeff] - Nah, I'm good
[Doc] Calls out to Jane in a similar way-
[Jane] - Not right now
[Doc] I presume you can read the chat? Jeff and Jane say they're good.
[Painter] - Chat?
[Doc] Oh, I guess technically you're not signed in. Hang on - Xe takes out a command block and turns on the chat for them - Just think about what you want to type and do the hand motions-
[Judge] Puts in garbled gook-
[Alexsezia] Good effort, keep trying!
[Painter] - It's okay Judge, I know you have to look at the keyboard usually...
[Doc] Jeff? Jane? Can you repeat? I've got Judge and Painter in the chat now.
[Jeff] - We're staying for now!
[Jane] - For once I agree with the moron
[Doc] Anybody seen Liu? I'm sure he's got Smile.
[Jeff] - How the fuck should I know? Although I'd like to have my dog back...
[Doc] It was just a general question for anyone to answer.
[Steve] Over chat - I saw him yesterday?
[TLOT] also chat - Not helpful Steve
[Steve] chat- Sorry....
[liu] -in chat- I am at my house
[Jane] - I don't know, maybe somebody should keep track of their damn dog!
[Jeff] - Bitch
[Jane] - Cunt
[LJ] Is snickering-
[Alexsezia] Chuckles and speaks aloud. She's holding the nebula gently- He's just mad that his brother played the hero last week and Jeff was nowhere to be found.
[Painter] - I don't understand...
[gem] -puts on her star crown-
[Alexsezia] One of our more belligerent Herobrine's kidnapped Jane for a lark and Liu battled valiantly to save her. MB just likes to rumble and if you kill him he'll usually just admit defeat and go home.
[LJ] Bursts out into raucous laughter-
[Alexsezia] You know Mix right? She delivered the killing blow!
[LJ] - You mean the little female brine?
[Alexsezia] Yeah! She has some kind of... of... power glove that shoots energy stuff!
[Judge] - I don't mean to be rude, but can we move onto the others?
[gem] -makes a rainbow planet crown and puts it on lj's head-
[LJ] - Ooo! Pretty!
[Doc] Well... we can go by Lie's house if you want to meet her. It's on the way to BEN's place and I think that's everybody.
[Painter] - And why wouldn't we be seeing Herobrine?
[gem] which herobine
[Judge] - Ours
[gem] ah cp you mean
[Doc] He stepped out for a minute. Lie probably knows why. He's free to come and go and he still has loyal mobs on his home seed.
[Painter] - Then lead on
[gem] -pick up eddy and Edward- adventure
[Gk] Flaps down from the sky and lands near them - More pastas?
[Alexsezia] They're just visiting-
[Painter] - The hell is that?
[Gk] I'm a dragon, duh.
[Doc] He's also a Herobrine.
[gem] hey gk
[Judge] - So odd...
[Gk] Minces along, obviously in a good mood-
[Doc] Herobrine's are as varied as the seeds that generate them.
[Lie] took the vibrator out but is now a bit frustrated sexually and is heading outside to work on more plants for the Nether-
[Gk] Gallops a bit ahead and startles her intentionally-
[Lie] Yelps- GK!
[Gk] a bit too loud- Hey Lie! Have you seen Endrea? I'm supposed to help her babysit.
[Lie] - She and the kids moved to the back of the house where there's a bit more shade
[Gk] Okay! Goes trotting around the back of the house-
[Doc] walking up the path with the group- I swear helping Cp's dragon Endrea take care of her babies has taken 100 years of cynicisim off his shoulders
[Lie] - Perhaps, out for a walk Doc?- She starts putting down some Nether rack
[Alexsezia] We have guests Lie!
[Doc] This is Bloody Painter and Judge Angels, guys this is Cp's lovely wife Lilinthia. Lie for short. She's also a Herobrine.
[gem] -is flying just above the group- are you bringing the nether out of the nether lie?
[Lie] - Hello
[Judge] Steps uncomfortably close to Lie, scrutinizing her-
[Lie] - Er...
[Judge] - Innocent
[Doc] I guess that's accurate?
[Painter] - It means she has Judge's approval
[Doc] Ah. She's Cp's everything. His queen.
[Alexsezia] chuckles - The keeper of the little red cat.
[Judge] Backs off-
[Painter] - Well, at least we'll have something to report back about Herobrine and his mate...
[Doc] He's happy. Things aren't always perfect, but he's got a rather volatile personality, even without his Insanity, and a lot of pain inside that he has a hard time expressing.
[Painter] - No shit
[Alexsezia] At least he's not trying to randomly grief us all the time anymore.
[Lie] - That's true
[Doc] So why did he jet out again Lie? Painter and Judge came partially to check on him.
[Lie] - Oh, he's getting the food supplies Sam requested
[Doc] Almost time for the party huh?
[Lie] - I suppose so, TLOT just brought over my outfit for a final fitting
[Doc] Do you like it?
[Lie] - Yes, I do
[Doc] Okay, as long as you're happy Lie.
[Alexsezia] Ooooh! I want to see! I'll catch up with you guys.
[Lie] - But... But my plants...
[Alexsezia] You don't have to equipt it! I just want to see! Real quick.
[Painter] - Onto BEN?
[Lie] - Oh alright
[gem] yay to the house
[Doc] It's a ways away, would you like a ride?
[Judge] - A ride?
[Doc] Oh yes. I get creative with a lot more then just my patients.
[Painter] Frowns beneath his mask- How so?
[gem] -is flying above the group in the circles with her guardians-
[Doc] Takes a few steps back and does a little flourish with hir lab coat; uncurling into hir dragon shape. Xe shakes out hir mane and tail, luxuriating in being essencially naked in the sunshine.
[Painter] Stumbles backwards- What the!?
[Doc] I needed to be bigger, there's plenty of things that would like to get in here and wreck this sanctuary. Cp and I are the strongest brines on this seed.
[Judge] - Well we know our Herobrine is strong
[Doc] And adaptable. Happily, so am I. It came in super handy when he was still being randomly violent. - Xe lays hir head down - just climb on and I'll carry you-
[Painter] Helps Judge on before climbing on himself-
[Doc] Ready Gem? We probably shouldn't race this time so I don't lose my riders.
[gem] we are ready
[Doc] Prances up on the air blocks and runs along, xe skims over Lie's horse pen to give them a good view and snakes around the roots of the gigantic tree.
[Painter] - So many painting subjects...
[gem] -is following close her guardians right behind-
[Doc] Look down there, some of our imported wildlife.
-Some of the mammoths are happily grazing-
[Judge] - So big...
[BEN] Is waiting out front-
[gem] -lands near ben- hey ben
[Doc] Makes a point of running near Aqua's pen to see if they'll pop out-
[Aqua] Looks at them from beneath the water-
[BEN] - Hey
[Doc] Makes a spiral down to the ground and loafs in Gem's yard. - Hi BEN, brought some old friends to visit.
[BEN] - Oh joy
[Judge] - Well hello to you to
[Doc] Clucks hir tongue- Better a friendly visit than a fight. I've had enough nonsense lately.
[BEN] - Whatever, you two have seen me, now get lost
[Splender] Comes out from inside the house where he had been playing with Hyrule- BEN that's not nice
[gem] oh splenderman I didn't know you where over would you like a cookie I made sugar cookies resently
[Doc] Twitches hir tail a bit- I had one, Snake gave it to me. They're quite good.
[Splender] - Oh yes! Absolutely!
[gem] I know I gave one to snake because he wanted to go over to your castle I wanted to make sure you guys had some -goes inside and come out with a stack of sugar cookies- if anyone wants of do take some
[Doc] Leans over and flicks out hir tongue like an open hand - pwese?
[gem] -puts a cookie on hir tounge-
[Painter] - Well, I suppose this is good enough for now, Splender? Can you take us back?
[Splender] - Certainly, Doc? I'll be right back
[Doc] Slurps it up and munches happily- Thank you-
[Splender] Takes the two pasta's and creates an opening, shepherding them through-
[Doc] At BEN - Well that went smoothly.
[BEN] Slumps a little- I'm just glad they didn't find out about Hyrule...
[gem] why?
[BEN] - Because Judge would have my head if she found out I had achieved something they had been trying for for so long
[gem] that makes it ironic because you weren't trying
[Doc] Well if they want to have a baby, I mean they'll find out eventually. But I'll protect your family as well.
[BEN] - Thanks
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How To Landscape With Rock
Written by Sherry Rauh and published on https://www.hgtv.com/.
Landscaping with rock is a great way to add character to a yard that is either very shaded or does not lend itself well to growing plants. Rocks can also be combined with flowers, shrubs, succulents, and trees as inorganic mulch. No matter how you use them, stones are an eco-friendly solution that saves water, reduces yard maintenance, and minimizes fertilizer use. Here’s more information about how to landscape with a rock.
How to Use Rocks in Your Landscape
Natural stone is one of the most versatile elements available for a landscape makeover. Landscaping with rocks adds texture and contrast, providing durable groundcover that requires little or no maintenance.
Choosing the Right Rocks for Your Landscape
The rocks you choose will help set the tone for the rest of your garden. Tawny beach pebbles or river rocks add warmth, while white marble chips help brighten up shady areas. Flat terracotta stones complement a tropical landscape, but can seem out of place in a more formal garden. For a minimalist modern landscape or Polynesian-themed garden, try black lava rocks. Check out photos of rockscapes online to see what appeals to you. Because stones last indefinitely, it’s important to choose a look you’ll be happy with for many years.
Replace Mulch
Rocks may be more expensive than mulch, but they have several advantages as a groundcover. The first is durability. Mulch must be replaced every season, while rocks can last the lifetime of your garden. Another advantage is that pale-colored stones provide striking contrast against deep-colored foliage and help brighten up shady corners of your landscape. “Call attention to a favorite shrub or specimen tree by surrounding it with medium-sized river stones. This creates the effect of a ‘living sculpture’,” says landscape architect Maureen Smith. Rocks will also discourage weed growth around your prized plant, but for the best results, install a weed barrier before putting the stones in place.
Use Rocks in a French Drain
Install a French drain using pebbles to create an appealing drainage solution in your yard.
Sidewalk Landscaping With Rocks
If there are no major HOA restrictions on landscaping your street strip, why not be creative? This sample from garden designer Rebecca Sweet features a colorful, eye-pleasing mixture of river rocks, mulch and ornamental grasses, and plants for maximum curb appeal.
Use Landscaping Rocks to Create a Fairy Ring
Stack landscaping rocks a few rows high to create a barrier between the plants and the play area in this DIY children’s fairy ring you can create in your backyard.
Asian Garden Design
This Asian garden uses stepping stones and rocks to create an organic landscaping design that blends beautifully with nature.
Create a Beautiful Vignette
A mixture of rocks, stone slabs, potted plants, ornamental grasses, and ground covers transform the border areas of this pool into a wonderful study in textures and contrasts.
Plant a Rock Garden
For a more exotic look, add a rock garden to your landscape. Choose an area that gets plenty of sun and install two or three small boulders. Surround the boulders with closely spaced low-lying flowers, such as portulaca (left), ground orchids or decorative cactus. Carefully fill in the gaps with smaller stones that complement the color of your boulders.
Create a Centerpiece
A large, unusually-shaped boulder can serve as an eye-catching focal point. Use as a tidy, low-maintenance centerpiece in a small garden, where an ornamental shrub might become too large or unruly. In larger gardens, a rock centerpiece can add visual interest to monotonous border areas, such as hedges.
Cornerstones in Herb Gardening
This beautiful front yard edible garden by Home & Garden Design, Inc features a quartet of raised beds with natural stones and a variety of cool-season favorites such as thyme, kales, lettuces, fennel, and parsley.
Round Fire Pit in Middle of Outdoor Kitchen
These homeowners have it made in the shade, with a built-in outdoor kitchen and stone fire pit that makes their yard ready for entertaining.
Front Entrance to Beautifully Landscaped Home
The front yard of this contemporary lakeside home features a beautiful, symmetrical design with concrete retaining walls, a gravel walkway, and green shrubs filling the landscape with natural color.
Stone Fence Close-up
A stone fence can add a charming sense of character to a yard and garden. This fence uses stones of different sizes and hues to fit in with the wooded landscape.
Build a Naturalistic Poolscape
Stacked stones and natural rocks are placed around this swimming pool to create an organic design that compliments the nearby lake view.
Rustic Fire Pit
A small fire pit embedded in a stone patio and circled by wooden chairs creates a rustic feel.
Build a Pond Border
Large rocks are the key to giving your backyard pond that fairytale look. The right type of stone will help camouflage unsightly black pond liners and provide contrast to the dark pond water. Avoid using even rectangular pavers. For the most natural effect, choose rocks that are similar in size but irregular in shape and color.
Create a Low-Maintenance Container Garden
Instead of setting up a container garden on your deck or patio, where the pots need regular watering, place them in a rockscape that’s within reach of your sprinkler system. Line the area with a weed barrier and set the containers on top. Cut holes in the barrier, so the bottoms of the pots can fit through and settle into the soil. Make sure the pots have adequate holes for drainage. Surround the pots with small stones in a complementary color. The result is a striking container garden that gets watered whenever your sprinklers come on.
Driftwood Bench and Natural Stone Fire Pit
This seating area utilizes driftwood for benches and natural stones to surround the simple fire pit. Its proximity to the dock makes it a perfect place to relax right off the lake.
Make a Stepping Stone Path
A stepping stone path is a picturesque option for those shady areas alongside your house, where there is too little sun for most plants to thrive. It’s also a practical way to keep shoes clean when walking up to a side door or back door. For a tidy look, surround large stepping stones with small pebbles in a contrasting color.
Original post here https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/landscaping-and-hardscaping/how-to-use-rocks-in-your-landscape-pictures.
The post How To Landscape With Rock appeared first on John French Landscapes.
John French Landscapes
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