#the mad king of mezalea

[minecraftbookshelf]

Marriage of State AU Character Designs: The Mad King of Mezalea

Joel actually has three major looks through the course of the AU; Prince of Mezalea, Trophy Husband, and King Joel, with the subcategories of "armor" for each.

They all have the same base design of "human", differing by (apparent) age and general sense of style.

Some Joel Skins to start us off and provide the base we're working off of, and also the Mezalean banner because color pallet

And also, because it is actually relevant, (bear with me here) some samples of Mezalean architecture.

The Matral Palace and the Villager area.

Based off of Joel's final skin, the vibe is kind of "Victorian military dress uniform" however there is something very, very important to take into consideration from a worldbuilding perspective.

The Mesa is a warm weather biome. Its a colorful desert. Which means high temperatures during the day and cold at night. So tight-fitting, thick fabrics in a Victorian style would be incredibly impractical.

So we turn to the second possible source for fashion inspiration: The architecture, which gives mostly Byzantine vibes.

So what would Byzantine clothing look like, especially for nobility?

First off, taking into account that the Byzantine Empire lasted for approximately a thousand years and, naturally, underwent some dramatic changes in clothing style during that time, we'll pick a specific vibe out of the options. I settled on a bit of a mix between Early Byzantine (think the Theodora Mosaic shown below) and Middle Byzantine (see the mosaic of Emperor Constantine IX below)

And here are just some screenshots from my pintrest board for Mezalea and Mezalean!Joel, because if I put all these on here separately I'll hit the image limit too soon.

(General disclaimer: yes, Pintrest has an art theft problem, yes Pintrest is much harder to effectively use now due to the pervasiveness of ads on everything, no I don't use it for like, formal things. It remains one of the best ways to collect visual references and figuring out The Vibes)

(Yes, we get to go full Material Gworl vibes for the Mezalean King, as is only right and proper.)

General characteristics I'm adopting here for Mezalean clothing:

Brocade (and bejeweled) kaftan/kaftan-esque outer layer. This is a formal wear thing, and is absolutely a "showing off the wealth" power move.

Lots of Big Chunky Colorful Jewelry

I don't know what it's actual name is, but that general style of having jeweled tassel-like things hanging from the front sides of the crown/headdress.

Light-weight and loose fitting under-layers.

And of course, bright colors.

Prince Joel: Before he became part of the main cast in an epic fantasy adventure spanning several hundreds of years and an entire continent (and the adjacent ocean) Joel was the youngest of three princes with two older brothers who were both married and had kids.

Which is to say, it did not look like he would ever be the king.

His role in the kingdom was very much that of an ambassador to and direct connection to their people. He spent a lot of time working on fishing boats and in the mines and quarries. While he did receive a standard royal education on things like diplomacy and combat, international interactions were not his focus at all, much more involved in the day to day operations of his own home. (And yes, that is a very vital aspect of the idea of "royalty" in general, supposedly, and that being a particular point of Joel's upbringing will make more sense when I get around to writing and posting the post about how royalty functions in the Empires. tldr; its related to the whole thing where Pixlriffs accidentally redefined "war")

Basically, Prince Joel = the first skin, the simple green one. He's wearing more lightweight, practical clothes that allow him to engage in physically demanding dirty work without costing a fortune every day. He still dresses up for formal events, but he doesn't even attend all of those and he is far from a daily sight in court.

Trophy Husband: For a couple hundred years, Joel didn't live in Mezalea. Instead, he was one half of the chronological first arranged marriage in the "au in which all the marriages are arranged" situation. And this one was the one that most resembles the set-up of a generic "period" bodice-ripper novel (though that is not how it played out ultimately, for the parties involved, despite the romance that does happen.)

Basically, this is his War Prize Era. In which Lizzie won a husband in combat and then didn't really know what to do with him.

During this time period, Joel mostly wore ocean styled clothing, though during formal occasions he would wear a notable amount of Mezalean accessories, that were part and parcel of the treaty with him. (I'm trying so hard not to derail this into just a breakdown of the events of the Joel & Lizzie arc of the au im trying so hard)

He did tend to mix Oceanic and Mezalean clothing, due in part to Oceanic clothing being primarily designed for underwater wear, while he lived above the surface, finding the balance of practicality and appearances demanded by the political nature of his existence at the time. (Also a personal comfort thing as Mezalean clothing tended to afford more skin coverage and also had shoes) Once he and Lizzie were more comfortable both in the world and with each other he had more opportunities for personalization and tended towards Mezalean styles in oceanic colors. He did develop a significant appreciation for the Oceanic idea of skin-tight under-layers for water travel.

King Joel: He did end up back in Mezalea as king, which is when we hit the style closest to the second skin, which mostly for this is really an indicator of color scheme. Formally, he is now wearing the full Kaftan and Jewelry look, day to day its more of "colorful, simple, and lightweight" because he still is very active in the day to day commerce of his empire. He does usually wear significantly more jewelry than he did as a prince, he grew a taste for it during his trophy husband era XD. The details of his day-to-day wear are also fancier. finer fabrics, more embroidery, brocade hems, etc.

Most of his earrings are gifts from Lizzie, some in Oceanic colors, some in Mezalean, but all with little chips of prismarine to remind him of her even when she can't be there.

Armor: Joel's armor preferences are simple netherite plate. He also does have a ceremonial trident, as a member of the Oceanic royal family. His is gold-plated.

-

art

Lizzie || Jimmy ||

AU Masterpost

[theminecraftbee]

also look man. joel has reminded me of my stupid little blorbo the mezalean king now. i am once again spinning. he was such a WEIRD little guy who's whole personality was "loves his wife", "also loves jimmy", "cool palace", "kill horse", "magic isn't real", and "weirdly feral energy". and then he DIED OF SADNESS. after almost swearing to end his final episode. WHAT A MAN. MISS THAT WEIRD LITTLE THING.

[m0ther-of-p3arl]

i cannot put into simple words how much i adore joel's tool and armor names

like honestly this man comes up with the funniest shit and it's so dumb but its such a JOEL thing to do my god

here are a few that have come up in my empires s1 binge

he's my favorite and so ridiculous

[lurking-lark]

A different topic in honor of the Empires Team winning in MCC.

First and foremost, that was an amazing thing to watch. Beautiful. The communication is just on point. They did admirably in individual games but just blew the waters off everyone else in team games.

Scott's quick-wittedness and leadership skills really put the team on track. His advice and tips helped the team calibrate themselves on what they should focus on. Fitting for the King of Rivendell who mounted the plan to seal Xornoth.

Joel, once again, proving himself to be an adrenaline junkie. Once he gets the ball rolling, it is just to the moon and beyond for him. Mad King of Mezalea and Lonely Red Wizard of Last Life indeed.

GeminiTay, or better yet known as GeminiSlay. Proving herself to be the queen of Skyblock in Skyblockle. Wizard of the Crystal Cliffs, taking charge of the game she had never played before but ultimately winning it in the end.

Fwhip who has not been in MCC for almost a year but proving he still got the skills. Excellent Sandkeeper and an even more jaw dropping Buildmart player. The way he fly through those recipes and builds. What do you even expect on the Grimlands' inventor extraordinaire?

But the best part will always be the final round in Dodgebolt. Because what better way to finish MCC and prove the strength of Empires SMP than having the famous Roseblings be the last people standing in their team? What more poetic way could it end than Fwhip shooting an arrow and ending the competition just like how he pulled the trigger and caused the Rapture?

Thank you for the event. Thank you for the teams. It was absolutely wonderful.

[khyann]

I miss Empires S1

I miss the alliances, the friendships, the betrayals and the healings

I miss the individual storylines that managed to connect to eachother and to the main plot

I miss the characters and their arcs

I miss their mistakes, I miss their attempts to fix things

I miss their failures and successes in their arcs

I miss the small bits of lore that made you feel you were just observing a tiny part of a massive world

I miss the Copper King, the Codfather, the Guardian of the Overgrown, the Wolf Spirit, Aeor's Champion, Xornoth's Champion, the Farmer Queen, the Great Wizard, the Mad Tinkerer, the King of Mezalea, the Queen and Goddess of the Ocean, the Ruler of the Lost Empire, the Demon

I miss that world

[theconstellationprincess]

House and Home

Chapter 8: Care

Summary: It’s a bit blurry from there, honestly.

People are talking and touching him, and then no one is talking or touching him, and he’s not sure which one is worse.

Warnings: self-worth issues

( @froggymarsh ) (so sorry for the delay, writers block sucks!)

-

It’s a bit blurry from there, honestly. Pix dips between headspaces, rapidly switching from small to big to somewhere in between and then right back to one end of the spectrum. People are talking and touching him, and then no one is talking or touching him, and he’s not sure which one is worse.

He must close his eyes at some point, because he eventually opens them and he’s in his room, the sun is setting, and Fwhip is sitting next to him, asleep. Scott is curled up in a chair, also sleeping, which surprises Pix. He’s never seen Scott asleep before, something to do with his elvish heritage. He carefully slips out of bed; neither of the others wake as he walks out of the room. He strains his ears, just barely hearing some soft chatter down the hallway. He knows he’s made a fool out of himself, that he’s upset his friends, but he still wants to be around them.

He finds Lizzie, Joel and Codfather in Lizzie’s room. The door is open, but he hesitates a bit, unsure if he’s welcome. Lizzie notices him first, and her small smile drops. Pix flinches, taking a half step back before Lizzie is practically leaping off the bed and grabbing him. He gives a very dignified squeak as she scoops him up and drops him on the bed between Joel and Jimmy.

“Hello,” Pix greets, a bit winded from the shock of it all. Joel gives him a significant look that Pix has no hope of deciphering. He and Joel had always gotten on quite well, they’d spent a lot of time together while Joel was growing up, and Pix had been his primary caregiver for sometime before the Ocean Empire returned. Joel had been one of the first people to know Pix regressed at all, and he’s always felt a bit of a connection to him. It would- it would hurt him, a lot, if Joel decided he didn’t want to be friends anymore, or dissolve their alliance entirely.

He shifts his gaze to Jimmy, who looks like he’s doing an impression of an angry pufferfish out of water. Pix frowns, feeling slightly ambushed despite the fact that he’d approached them of his own free will. He was trapped between the three of them, as Lizzie had reclaimed her spot on the bed across from Joel and Jimmy.

“I know we’re not at the bunker, but I hereby call this meeting of the Codfather Alliance!” Jimmy announced, pointing at Lizzie who shut the door with a flick of her tail. Pix felt a bit of awe at the thick, he’d love to be able to do something like that, but alas, he was small and also human. “And it’s a bit of a trial, because Pixlriffs-“

Pix flinched, shoulders up to his ears as he faced one of his longest friends, despite it not being a long friendship at all. He doesn’t quite know what that says about him. “Codfather I-“

“Lied to us about something that could have gotten him hurt, and is hereby sentenced to forced self-care.” Pix doesn’t think Jimmy should get to play judge jury and executioner but he was the leader of the alliance so-

“Self care?” Pix repeated, mouth dropping open. That’s not what he’d been expecting at all, he’d thought- it’s not that he didn’t trust his friends, but he rather thought he’d be kicked out of the alliance. “But-”

Because people seem to have a thing for cutting Pix off, Joel interrupts before Pix can even begin to explain why he doesn’t deserve this. “As King of Mezalea, I second this.”

“And as Queen of the Ocean Empire, I third it!” Lizzie adds with a sharp toothed grin, reaching towards Pix, and for a moment he’s scared, but then her nails are scratching his scalp and it feels wonderful so he just hums and lets her.

“Pix, we’re not mad at you for lying about your kingdom, that’s just politics, but we are upset that you lied to us about something that could have put you in danger.” Lizzie explains softly, her hand that’s not currently making Pix purr cupping his face and forcing him to look up at her. He swallows.

“I was safe though, no one but me knew I was a regressor.” Pix replies, brows furrowed. He tilts his head a bit when Lizzie bites back a smile and Jimmy snorts into his palm while Joel giggles. “What?” He asks, whining a bit because he doesn’t like to not understand jokes.

“Honey, we all knew. I mean, I don’t know if all the emperors knew, but we certainly did.” Lizzie tells him, lips twitching and tail swishing behind her as she barely represses the giggles that are freely falling from Joel’s lips.

“What!?” Pix repeats, voice little more than a squeak. “But- what- how?” It’s Joel who replies this time, words interrupted by his fading laughter. Joel, who Pix knew very well. Joel, who knew Pix very well. Joel, who had once spent an afternoon finger painting the walls of Mezalea with Pix and- oooh.

“It’s a bit obvious, Pix. You do a really good job of hiding it most of the time but,” Joel shrugs, fidgeting with his sash a bit as he chooses his words carefully, “You’ve got a thing.”

“A thing?” Pix repeats, feeling a bit lost. The three of them share a look, but it’s Jimmy who replies this time. Honestly, Pix is having a bit of a crisis, because he had thought he was great at hiding this, and if he wasn’t, does that mean his advisors know? His citizens?

“Only to people who know you, bud. But a thing, you just- you look like you could really use someone taking care of you, y’know?” Jimmy states, and he does as if it’s a well known fact. It’s not that he’s not right, Pix would almost certainly benefit from a little extra care from his friends, but he can never accept it. He hates to be a burden, but apparently, that's not what he gives off. No, he gives off needy and wanting and selfish and-

“Ah ah, no overthinking. We’re going to take care of you tonight, because you need it, and then tomorrow we can deal with everything else, okay?” Lizzie chastises gently, her scratching never pausing. Pix is nodding before he can stop himself, unable to curb the desire to be good, because if he’s good then his friends will care about him and want to take care of him. He’s no use to anyone if he’s more trouble than he’s worth, so he’ll use this self care night to convince his friends that he’s easy to take care of and that they never have to worry about him.

[insomniaruler]

The evolution of esmp Joel (for a fic I’m planning)

1. Joel, the teenage king of Mezalea

Crowned young due to tragic accident, killing the old king & Queen

2. Joel, king of Mezalea, the great architect,

Begins to rebuild Mezalea to it’s old grandeur

3. Joel, King of Mezalea, horse slayer

Start of S1

Is know for his hatred of horses

4. Joel, King of Mezalea, Husband of the ocean Queen

Marries into the oldest empire, gaining a extremely powerful ally

5. The Mad King of The Mesa

Post Rapture deep in denial Joel exiles the family of and executes anyone who dared mention the names of the lost emperors

Mezalea falls into ruin as the king retreats into his palace

6. The ghost of the sculptures

Looters say they were driven out of the old palace by a crazed ghost, wielding a chisel, looking like the king of distant memory

Attacks expand out of the palace to the ruins of Mezalea

7. Joel, Got of Craftsmanship

People leave tribute to the ghost, trying to get it to cease its attacks.

This accidentally creates a new god. The god of craftsmanship

8. Joel, God of the open skies

As the shattered earth heals as does the religion. Joel takes the mantle of the sky but still has domain over statues and architecture

9. Joel, God of Stratos

Start of S2

[siriannatan]

Aftermath of a World Taking a Tumble

Joel's damn episode had me write this in about two hours...

AO3

Warning: Character death

"What... Who? Joel? What happened to your robe? And your beard? And why are you suddenly short?" Jimmy asked when a weird guy looking a lot like Joel approached him with a grin. And called him a cod king but that was not the weirdest thing. 

"What do you mean? I'm totally tall and handsome. It's you who's suddenly short. And where's your Codfather head? And why are you in a Mesa and not a swamp?" the not-Joel laughed in a very Joel manner.

Not that Jimmy was listening to him. His brain halted at Codfather. He heard that somewhere. But where... When? From whom? By whom? How?...

An image of Scott. But not Scott. Much less colourful Scott, dressed in white teal and with golden antlers in his hair. Smiling at him and... bleeding. Sword piercing his chest. 'Scott! No. No. Nononono....' Jimmy's own voice flashed through his brain.

And the image was gone. Leaving the sheriff stunned. "Wha... Anyway, what brings you to Tumble Town?" Jimmy asked the not-Joel to distract him from that space-out moment he had.

"Well. I'm not quite sure but this place sure is drab and there was this plot belonging to a god Joel and being the greatest king I do feel a bit like a god so I build a small replica of my palace. I do not have any idea how I got here though. One minute I'm in Mezalea, minding my business and next I'm here, in a cave," the not-Joel rambled, very much like Joel, and led Jimmy to the plot Joel claimed just the last day. 

On the small floating island was a small but nonetheless magnificent palace of terracotta on a bed of moss.

"I had no energy for the interior so..." not Joel was back to talking but Jimmy was not there. All he could see was a ruin of a much bigger and grander palace this small build was replicating. And dry ocean. With a distant ruin that could maybe have one day been floating... 'Joel... what hope is there left for this land? Exor is free. Scott sacrificed himself for nothing... There's nothing left...' once more Jimmy's own voice rambled through his head.

"You okay Jimmy? You're making the same face fWhip does when he sees Scott's shiny accessories," not-Joel asked, waving a hand in front of Jimmy's face.

"Yeah..." Jimmy forced himself to smile as more flashes went through his head.

fWhip. Eyes wide and full of tears. Wings torn and burned. Begging him to end it. "Please, Jimmy. Don't let it take me over... I'd rather it be you than the madness that takes me..." the half-dragon begged him and... Jimmy listened. Stabbing him and with that one motion killing the last person he loved...

"I... I should go... maybe try doing some lore and it'll get you back home. You love lore, right? I have a thing to do somewhere else, come by whenever though, bye," Jimmy forced a smile and flee away. No. He fled.

He flew to a distant and empty part of the mesa and crumbled. Stopped holding back the flood of memories filled with fire, blood and madness overtaking great rulers... His friends. And the plan.

Pearl's plan. He recalled. Requiring the death of all the old gods to... restart the world. Erase what was before. Erasing Exor was the only way to stop him after he consumed Aeor's power from Scott. The thought of the elven king's end had Jimmy sobbing. 

Only three would remember. The three still standing and not consumed. Pearl. Joel. And Jimmy. They'd be the new gods, keeping the world from falling to darkness again...

But there was one flaw... They could not choose gods of what they would be. There was no time for that. They were on borrowed time from the start. fWhip's death bought them mere seconds in the great scope of things but it was enough to pull it off. Barely but enough.

And so, Pearl became the goddess of life and harvest. Joel of skies and thunder. And Jimmy of...

Death...

A force he could not fully control at the time. A power that would consume him but Pearl could not have that so... she sealed his memories. And the seal was breaking. And it hurt. Almost physically as he screamed as the last seams broke letting him out... and releasing a wave of death killing everything in fifty block radius around him.

Joel was maybe a bit disoriented as he appeared in the LORE CAVE in Tumble Town. But as confused as he was he did not miss Jimmy's scream. Or the distant shiver of pure death energy. "Tell me he didn't... Damn it, Pearl..." Joel almost cursed and flew at probably record speed to the source of the scream. As a god, he'd be fine but he could not risk anyone else finding him. They were mortal, they would die.

What he found was one of the worst outcomes. Jimmy was back to being an about eight feet tall fish-demi god but his scales were visibly duller in colour and some missing and one fin on his tail was just bone. He was obviously undead. The god of death to be more precise. A god of death who just got all his worst memories back. And was crying and shaking and comforting people was never Joel's strong suit. But there it goes... and no Lizzie to help him.

"Jimmy? You okay bud?" he asked, careful and not too loud to not startle Jimmy too much.

"Okay?! OKAY?! I saw the past you and all my dang memories are coming back and... How many years it's been since? How many!? And..." Jimmy yelled and sobbed even harder.

"I know but, it's been a long time... I told her to not do it... She said it's the best way to do it but... It felt so wrong to eventually agree but... I just couldn't watch you suffer like that. I'm so sorry Jimmy. I should have stopped her," Joel apologised, pulling the other god into a hug. "I'll help in any way I can... we're still brothers-in-law after all..." he added almost choking as his own memories reminded him of the past. As if being stuck in Mezalea for several hours wasn't bad enough...

They sat like that for a while until Jimmy calmed down.

"I couldn't even mourn them..." Jimmy sniffled, pulling away.

"No one says you can't do it now... I doubt I ever really stopped actually," Joel sighed, patting Jimmy on his back.

"Ugh... What am I going to do with being a dead cod demi-god? Everyone's used to the toy bit," he groaned staring at his webbed hands. There were holes and a few missing bits but it was obvious he was not human even if his other fins and fishtail were somehow missed. He would not talk about the height. "I'm taller again," he chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah," Joel rolled his eyes. "fWhip's going to have a heart attack if he finds out you're technically the god of law. And I'm pretty sure you can turn back... not sure though since I never do it," he hummed.

"Don't talk to me about fWhip or Scott for a little while, I just had to relive their deaths..." Jimmy sighed. "I should go back and try to either figure out how to turn back into a toy or make all my doors bigger..."

"Okay, and congratulations on reincarnating an elf," Joel chuckled as Jimmy slowly walked away.

"Not much of a feat once their gods are dead and can't stop you," Jimmy tossed with a shrug and a skeleton rose from the ground. "Oh go away," he huffed at it and it fell to pieces.

As things turn out Jimmy could not turn into anything other than his godly form so he ended up having to explain it to everyone. And got called handsome for a dead man - or fish.

[this-tumbleweed-surecan-fish]

The King of Mezalea is dead.

No, go back, before that -

The Kind of Mezalea isn't dead. He's alive. But he's the last one. He is alone.

Oh, yes, the King of Mezalea is alone. The loneliness is like a poison he can't stop breathing in and it has taken root in his bones from where it is growing and growing and will never stop growing.

The King of Mezalea has wandered the realms and buried who he found. There is no one left to bury. He hopes that those he didn't get to are still out there somewhere. If so, they'll come back looking for survivors, just like he did. So he waits in his palace, where people will think to look for him when they come.

He hopes it'll be his love.

The ocean is gone, leaving his dead kingdom too quiet and his darling wife must've gone with it. He's only found her wedding ring. She probably lost it in the chaos. He has to give it back to her.

At daytime, he watches the horizon, at night the stars.

One night his wife is there. She smiles and offers him her hand and asks him to come with her.

"Are you real?" he asks because he cannot remember how long he's been waiting and it feels like a miracle until her smile fades and she asks if it matters. It does. So he keeps waiting.

He loses all sense of time.

He knows that the loneliness and the grief that he refuses to face are slowly eating him up from the inside.

He knows that he's dying.

The King of Mezalea dies of sadness.

No. That's not quite right.

Someone else is faster than the sadness.

He stands with the King's blood on his hands and names himself after the endless night sky and the movement of it all and the love that refused to die with the rest of the foolish King and the madness that shows him the Goddess of the Sea in the fog.

He walks from the body of the mortal he used to be and forces himself to never look back.

The new God that isn't the King of Mezalea carries two wedding bands that aren't his and tells the Universe that he is innocent in this murder.

Listen, he says, the King of Mezalea died of sadness.

[minecraftbookshelf]

@passivedecept replied to your post “what even Happened during the MOS rivendell...”:

Okay but the coup not being actually planned as coup really fits xornoth? Xornoth, in my head at this point at least, is the act first think later type (scott is the think a lot first and act dramatic later) So for xornoth to burn the palace and killed their parents. Being smug they won. Only to surrdenly realise that... who are all these people following them and- why are they expecting them to make more choices and- OH!

​Yeah it was very much not planned as a coup. They went in with full scorched earth intentions of the "leave no survivors" variety.

(Neither of the Rivendell Siblings is anything even approaching emotionally or mentally stable.)

Fortunately Something Happened (before they got too far with the earth scorching luckily, though not soon enough that there aren't consequences still that they will be dealing with for a very long time) and was the catalyst for a wild change of plans.

It was very much a hostile takeover, and a good portion of the Rivendell populace approached it kind of like a hostage situation for quite a bit of time (Scott was the hostage in this scenario) It took some time (and a wedding) but it turns out that Xornoth is actually Not Horrible at being king. It helps that their parents were, in fact, absolutely terrible at ruling in addition to being terrible in general and so despite...Everything, things have actually been improving in Rivendell at a slow but steady pace.

(The second winter of Xornoth's reign was the first winter in nearly a generation where no sickness swept the city and no children or elderly died. The Power of Trade with Helianthia.)

[hundredsofsmallbirds]

y'all ever think abt the mad king of mezalea dying of a broken heart

[animartiin]

I posted 1,209 times in 2022

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Blogs I reblogged the most:

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My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

the Canary can't sing, won't sing

not yet

not so soon

he has fallen but once and that is not enough

but he can speak

can utter harsh words and spit accusations

bury that man in blame 'till he drowns

say "it's all your fault

you should have been more careful."

he doesn't though

the thought crosses his mind but he says no

in the forest at the beginning of the end, he says,

in not quite these words, "It's not your fault"

to bleed and to fall is the Canary's life

more so than some others

but there are worse things than endings

there are worse people than those who bring about them

the Canary takes the hand of his killer

his spark in the coalmine

there is nothing to forgive

99 notes - Posted June 24, 2022

#4

"The power of belief and disbelief is too often underestimated or outright forgotten."

The power of belief and disbelief is too often underestimated or outright forgotten.

None know this so well as Mezalea and its citizens. They know from experience that certain things, not all things, but certain things only have power if you give it to them. Faith can make or break a plan, can lead to the death or survival of a people. Faith, or the lack of it, in certain circumstances can make for the greatest of defences.

Thus, if the Mezalean King says that he can see nothing, if the Mezalean King says that he can hear nothing, there is nothing to fear, nothing that can hurt you. The one they call "Demon", "Corruptor", "Champion of Exor", has no power on your shores of red sand and terracotta, cannot bring harm upon any of you whilst you still live and breathe and deny his existence.

Likewise, if the Mezalean King says "fight for our allies", if the Mezalean King says to defend those to whom he has sworn his heart, you will. By whatever higher being or beings you may or not believe in, you will; because Mezaleans are nothing if not a loyal people. It is only right, in their eyes, that they should do so. Saltwater or driftwood1, it's all the same. To shed blood, sweat or tears for those you love, regardless of who or what they are, in battle or in art, is the greatest of gifts.

He is undoubtedly a man who delights in bloodshed and beauty, stubborn as anything when it comes to grudges, yes, but he is also one who places love and loyalty highly, willing at times to forgive and forget those same past insults2. Furthermore, it was this admiration of beautiful things and natural stubborness that caused Mezalea to become what it is today. He, as well as all those who looked at this mad man and decided that he was the one they would follow, transformed an all but empty, arid mesa into a colourful and brilliant nation brimming with life.

After all, among the first things any visitor catches sight of upon entering the Matral Palace is testaments to said love of his; embassies built by his beloved wife and brother-in-law, given pride of place inside of the palace he had spent so many long years carefully building up block by block.

It's because of all this that King Joel has his people's trust. Something which I think we can all agree is far from misplaced.

-------------------------------------------------------

1 An Oceanic phrase denoting bonds of both blood and chance, meaning that the ties between family and friends are equally as precious, though the exact meaning is untranslatable into any other tongue. The phrase "blood and water" is similiar, though the meanings don't quite match up well enough for one to be substituted for another. I picked up the phrase during my stay in the Ocean Empire a little while ago and I couldn't resist the opportunity to make use of it (especially considering the fact its queen, Lizzie, is married to King Joel, making it all the more appropriate).

2 Long story short, a few decades back, when Mezalea was still sorting itself out and wasn't quite standing firmly on its feet, Count fWhip called King Joel poor. His Majesty, being His Majesty, took offence to that insult and held a petty grudge against him for years. Right up until a couple of years ago when he suddenly went right over to the Grimlands to play the Count a song (occasionally nicknamed the “Kiss Track” by some) asking that they put aside their past conflict and become allies (suggesting that they go bug and/or kill one of the other rulers if I remember right).

111 notes - Posted February 2, 2022

#3

Team Rancher team pet chickens. They are nicknamed after each other.

(Already posted this in the Team Rancher discord a few days ago. Can’t believe I forgot about it ‘till just now.)

113 notes - Posted July 3, 2022

#2

tubbo what. sir, what is your obsession with the cage life.

140 notes - Posted October 21, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Anyways, I have come to the conclusion that Pearl is 10/10. An absolute delight.

162 notes - Posted January 21, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[violetpunk666]

OML I don't know if this was intentional or just an amazing coincidence but Joel literally says in 3rd life

If your The Red King, I'm going to turn into The Mad King

and this is 3rd life, so like, before empires SMP was a thing— [vibrates]

[kjclfaller]

Would be funny if all of Joel's clones were taller than him, like the only reason why our Joel was appointed king was because he was the shortest

[sleepsart]

The mad king of Mezalea could not be killed by anything other than loneliness and grief.

[ ID: A drawing of Joel from Empires season 1, drawn from the torso up. He's looking up and crying with an expression like he's trying to keep a neutral face. He's frowning slightly. He's wearing a dark cloak and a round-pointed crown, as well as a set of round earrings. He has short curly hair with a stripe though it. End ID ]

Tag list: @luna-spacedoodles @convexers @renchanters @tangodyke @grey-nova @chimbamuerto @gardenergulfie @oakskull @sadgeish

[harley-the-pancake]

I think it would be funny if Jimmy’s game nights were canon

The codfather and the mad king of Mezalea are a staple, and they often invite the count of Grimland, the Ocean queen, or the ruler of Rivendell

They also invite the disembodied entity that Jimmy wants to say has a number of eyes. He wants Jimmy to lose.