#what ships are we having here dragon?

[laismoura-art]

How about some avatar au for your atla fan heart.

Mortal Kombat avatar au with our ocs.

🌊🪨The avatar au 🔥🌪

Water tribe:

It's obviously the lin kuei but with bi-han being more of the master at water bending and kuai liang, Lisa making fun of him while he's practicing the other students.

Bi-han: what type of whining is this!? Back in my day we trained in the cold winter's at night and no matter how cold it got I never stopped training.

Lisa: yea you just cried and begged father to let you in-

Bi-han: YOUR CATCHING FISH TONIGHT!!

Kuai liang: I need jasmine tea, for this..

Earth kingdom:

The Edenians, special forces , harumi and Johnny and kenshi from the earth nation it's all out order and chaos maybe the umgadi could be like the dai lee.

Harumi: has the war really stopped in ba sing se?

Kenshi: I don't know if it's pretty peaceful there. Tanya do you know anything about it?

Tanya:*visibly sweating* um maybe..

Sindel:*the tea is exceptionally good today. I hope no fire nation are here.

*two fire nation run aways: yea.. It's fire nation free. Would you like some moon cakes with that?

Sindel: oh you know me so well.

Fire nation:

The netherrealm, suchin and the shirai ryu together being in the fire nation except they aren't demon's and such. The avatar is to be from the fire nation in the avatar cycle. People are expecting asmodeus to be the avatar and this got hatsune banished and settled with hanzo hasashi in the earth kingdom.

Asmodeus: make way for the avatar fire Lord people the strongest in the world

Sareena: is he always this much full of himself.

Jatakaa: careful you might get banished.

Suchin: ARE YOU ALWAYS THIS FULL OF YOURSELF!?

hatsune: hey master i made you some tea.

Hanzo: *drinks tea and spits it out* Ugh this tea is nothing but hot leaf juice!!

Hatsune: master hansi that's what all tea is..

Hanzo: how could my own apprentice say something like that!?

Air nomads:

The white lotus plus Raiden and fujin in the air nomads. Liu kang is a, fire nation adopted by raiden and learning air bending not knowing he is the actual avatar. Kung Lao is a air nation prodigy like Liu kang but kung Lao is, hoping to go through greater lengths and be the best air bending master in the world.

Kung Lao: geez I hope asmodeus isn't the avatar.

Liu kang: yea it's not like he'll cause a war if he isn't.

Kung Lao: say what would happen if you became the avatar?

Liu kang: I won't be the avatar and besides I am not that responsible he monk raiden never let's me feed the baby bisons.

Kung Lao: true, want to play air ball?

Liu kang: sure!!

Later

Liu kang:*avatar state after some shit asmodeus did*

Kung Lao:.... The world is either in peace or doomed....

Yoo Dragon!!! This looks sooo cool!!! :O 💖💖💖

Sorry it took me a while to reply, I actually wanted to gather and develop some ideas that came to mind! And it turned out ENOURMOUS!

So I hope you enjoy:

💦For the Water Tribe:

I was wondering, since this is the Lin Kuei, I imagine the previous chief was involved in some pretty shady stuff, imagine he even made a deal with the fire nation at some point in an attempt to hold some of his remaining power? Imagine if he even sent some of his men to war to fight by the Fire Nation? Of course his plans backfire (literally, lol) and he ends up dead and Bi-Han ends up as the new chief!

I imagine that after years of shitty decisions from the chief, this Water Tribe ended up a mess and on the brink of destruction, so Bi-Han took it upon himself to make things right and return the Tribe to its previous glory!

The only problem is: He is the youngest chief they ever had and he is painfully inexperienced! So he is hardly taken seriously. He also doesn't trust the elders of his Tribe, given how they didn't do much to prevent the previous chief to mess up, so he relies on the youth, his twin siblings and friends, Hydro, Cyrax and Smoke (he's still deciding if Sektor can be trusted, as he is related to the previous grandmaster)

Though Kuai and Lisa often tease Bi-Han (as siblings do) they are his big supporters and do everything they can to be good advisors! Bi-Han is happy to have them around, even if he has to hear a joke or two at his expense...

🌿For the Earth Kingdom:

I like that Harumi is part of the Earth Kingdom, and you know she's my flower girl, so I was thinking: What if she was originally a waterbender from the Swamp?

Imagine, she was born in the swamp and learned to waterbend the flora around her, when she grew up she wanted to leave to explore the world (or at least the Earth kingdom, she was particularly curious about Omashu and Ba Sing Se (surely none of these cities will disappoint her… lol))

Imagine if people sometimes mistake her for the Avatar cause she is a waterbender born in the Earth Kingdom, lol!

Also, I LOVED the idea of the Umgadi being the Dai Lee!

Imagine this: Li Mei was once a Dai Lee soldier who got promoted and then learned what the Dai Lee was actually like (means to conspire against the kingdom and manipulate the royal family) Li Mei couldn't stand to be part of it and tried to leave, reveal the truth, only to be taken to the Lake Laogai. It was years ago and now her memory is coming back, but she still struggles to show everyone the truth.

Lucky for her she's not alone! The young earthbender Tanya was promoted just as she was and upon finding out the truth, she also could not stand to be part of it (it also helped her decision the fact that she is secretly dating the Kingdom's elder princess, Millena), but instead of trying to expose the truth, she tries to stop the Dai Lee from the inside with the help of a few trusted teammates and Li Mei as their coordinator. Together, they will bring the Dai Lee down!

🔥For the Fire Nation:

Damn, your girl Hatsune just can't catch a break when it comes to her shitty brother, can she?

Well, at least she's with Hanzo! I imagine Hanzo was once a soldier, one really mean and scary, maybe? the type that would almost burn the Earth Kingdom's capital to the ground? But pulled back after say... a family tragedy?

So now he seeks a more peaceful life for himself, hidden in the Earth Kingdom and taking care of this fellow Fire Nation girl who was just so wronged by her own family? 

I wonder if Suchin is so confident in talking shit about Asmodeus cause she knows she's one of his top girls and the moment she leaves his side he will get killed! (Little he knows, Suchin and the girls would rather get the job done themselves, lol)

🍃For the Air Nomads:

Ok, I absolutely ADORED the idea of the Avatar being from a Nation but being raised in another one! Cause it's such a fun concept, like, Liu is raised by the Air Nomads and is taught to live by the air nomads beliefs and the first attempt at bending from him will be at air bending, and as the Avatar he WILL succeed, so just imagine how it would be for this kid who is a airbender through and through who will one day find out not only that he's the Avatar but also a firebender by birth! That would be a WHOLE LOT to take!

Through the dialogues I can see that Liu already knows he's a firebender and Avatar, but I wonder how he found out. The idea of this coming as a shock and a big reveal is just soooo cool!

Also makes me wonder when did Raiden learned all this, if he knew from the start, if he had some suspicions as Liu was growing up, or if he found out just as Liu did (My bet i on the second one)

PS: I love that whenever there's an Avatar x MK AU, Liu is ALWAYS the Avatar!🤭 I think it's suiting for the "Chosen One", lmao!

[violentdelightshavevioletends]

Dain’s signet means people are afraid of being touched by him. Sloane’s signet means she’s afraid to touch other people.

They are each others balance.

A first year in Fourth Wing (a marked one he was warned about of the rebellion he was raised against) & the third year Wing Leader whose father is responsible for killing her brother; making them “should-be-enemies” yet, they have impeccable chemistry. Challenging each other as one of them was rather by the books (but is slowly fraying/changing) and the other a walking rebellion, pushing them into the gray middle ground; creating a balance between them. From the moment one first says, "I’m going to hurt you" & the other "gods don’t I know it" —

… Much like "You’ll be the death of me & "she’d be the best thing that ever happened to me, I’d be the worst thing that ever happened to her" … sound familiar?

Making them the balance to the last time this happened.

Their signets are the balance, and may very well change the war… Her siphon as a signet which could be the counterpart to the Venin; as instead of draining life, she is “life”. And where a main character is now missing (what may be) crucial memories, his signet allows him to find and see memories; which could help if they don’t wish to be found.

They are the balance.

[marysblo0d]

Every time I think about this I wanna buy a gun

[hyperfixate-on-ninjas]

Shipping Lloyd with the Source Dragons is kinda funny.

Cause when we compare Lloyd’s other ships we kinda see an overwhelming gap in the dice roll there.

My guy got a toxic crush and a girl he only knew for like…a day.

And somehow the guy managed to pull LITERAL GODS.

Like my brother in Christ really did say ‘Third Time’s a charm’

[cable-salamdr]

If I and some others were to make a ninblr zine (theme yet to be fully determined) who would fw that

[yourmajestybee]

I saw Wicked the movie (I had already seen the musical!) and now I got wizard of oz on the brain so here’s my pitch for a rise of the brave tangled dragons au

Are y’all seeing the vision??

[koushuwu]

“You should know very well that I adore you. There is no love purer than mine.”

Another absolutely gorgeous commission done by @iwanttobeaseme. Once again it’s a 10/10, and I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to to a commission. This one, just in time for my birthday on Sunday. A present for me, from me and @feitanporter. I love you. Thank you for wanting to take part in this for my birthday too. I love you <3

[gravyhoney]

Lord help me…..

Nobody tell Raine.

[kingelend2022]

So. Was anyone gonna tell me we got old man yaoi in A Minecraft Movie or was I supposed to watch it myself and find out (silly)

[camellcat]

had an idea while in the shower...

hiccup - buffy toothless - spike astrid - faith stormfly - drusilla tuffnut & ruffnut - xander & willow barf & belch - harmony & jesse fishlegs - kendra meatlug - ? snotlout - cordelia hookfang - wesley stoick - giles gobber - jenny valka - joyce cloudjumper - angel

y'all pickin up what I'm putting down here?

[hauntingblue]

ENIES LOBBY TIME!!!

Sanji's face here.... he Knows he is going to fuck him up

THAT IS SANJI??? 😨

Holding them in my hands again....

Sanji struck a nerve there akdjaoajkq

Increible trio btw.... look at the evidence

............ me next please 🙏🏻

That is love right there I can see it

What if we all killed ourselves (except usopp is telling her the opposite ajahkdhsakjd)

I need sanji to go insane like this more often.... after the timeskip it doesn't happen as much and I love to see him suffering

This is so funny.... there is no denying to her face card

"It's not like she actually wants to die" well yes she does, but no because you know she doesn't really. It is in a quantum state right now

Luffy is such a menace akdhaksjkaak

TELL EM!!!! THAT'S MY GIRL!!!!

Look at franky worrying about robin.... do not fret luffy is coming and he will NOT lose!!!!!

This is zoro remarking how usopps fear of being left behind makes no sense.... this is so good.....

This is so endearing but it also breaks my heart....

Who is that sultry binch... (I don't recall this attack AT ALL and i'm sure we never see it again)

They botched his bbl.... 😔😔😔

Luffy's face here... he was convinced she wanted to go with them but was compelled to do otherwise but no.... he thought wrong and he can't fight to her.... I've just been staring at this page for minutes like damn.

Nevermind.... this is something your mother would say "you want to die??? Just wash the dishes and you can do whatever you want later"

"If you wanna die, or whatever...." this is so good like he knows what he is doing.... he Knows.... look at her face. After knowing how luffy and ace were as kids this just makes more sense (oda didn't think about this i'm sure but damn does it fit) also the slight manipulation.... look at all of us we're already here and look how we all miss you already... you know that post about luffy being selfish but his selfishness is jusg kindness to others... yesh

Thinking about robin's cinderella lifestyle.... why did her mother leave her with that aunt and why didn't some archeologist take her in?? Because she doesn't complain about anything just like she doesn't respond when that mother accused her of hitting her child without reason... that's so fucked

Alright this is funny (and also true)... I'm sorry fellow women....

*Justin Bieber voice* I like your laugh... dereishi shishishi

SHE'S GONNA ASK HER MOM TO TAKE HER TO THE SEA WITH HER??? LIKE SHE DOES AFTER WITH LUFFY??? MY GOD!!! I just bursted into tears like I got punched in the nose I can't keep going ajdhakajk

I lied i can keep going... but head in my hands over this....

Find out how my emotional stability survives this arc in ennies lobby part 2. coming soon

[xylofondue]

Am working on something

My finger hurts but i can do this :,)

[johnbly]

WIP game!

i was tagged by @tortoisesshells ✨

so i have two fics going one rn: 1) in the boat purgatory in at world's end, james comes across gov swann and the two have a final conversation together (not using that for this since i haven't done too much but something to look forward to i guess) and 2) bolt's "what if james had a dragon" fic and subsequent discussions and questions has me now doing a "what if hornblower had a dragon" fic so here is an excerpt from that:

“Who are you?”  The dragonet is speaking French, and internally Hornblower swears. Is French the only language the creature knows? It’s no issue for him, of course, but how can it be expected to be a British dragon if it only knows French? “Captain Horatio Hornblower, most recently of the HMS Sutherland,” he replies, also in French – awkwardly so, because it’s a ridiculously formal introduction to make to a dragon, but in light of never having conversed with one before he’s fallen back on the old habit of saying more than is necessary. “That is not a French name,” the dragon says. In English. “Non – no, it is not. You speak English, then?” “I do.” Pause. “That was a long introduction. I hope you don’t want me to use it whenever I want to call on you?” The idea of a dragon wanting to call on him at all is no less ridiculous than having a conversation with one, but it – he? The voice is deep – has a point. “You can call me 'Hornblower',” he says.

i don't remember who all is writing things that hasn't already been tagged, so if you see this and are a writer, feel free to share!

[ariichive]

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩

the children of okhema would never miss the chance to play house with the prince of kremnos and his beautiful princess.

mydei x reader cw: fem. reader, fluff, children, phainon appears, soft mydei :) slight angst but it's nothing intense, not proofread

"they're just like the couple from the stories we read!"

in the garden of life, two siblings were staring intensely at you and your lover, mydei, tease the infamous verax leo.

"they are! [name] definitely fits the description of a princess!" the younger sister, penelope, said to her older sister, ellie.

ellie nodded her head in excitement. "yes and sir mydei..."

the two went quiet as they thought of the right words to use.

"is he like the scary dragon that sweeps the princess away?" penelope pondered with a hand on her chin. ellie shook her head, "i don't think so. maybe the evil merman who tries to sink her ship?"

penelope disagreed with her sister's idea, gosh this was difficult for their young brains!

"i got it!" penelope shouted excitedly, "the barbarian who kidnapped princess [name] from her kingdom!"

ellie gasped in shock at her sister's brilliant brain. "penelope, you're a genius!"

"didn't your parents ever teach you it's rude to talk about people behind their backs?"

the girls squealed as mydei's baritone voice came from behind them.

"h-he's gonna get us!" ellie held onto her sister for dear life. "we're going to be fed to his lion!"

penelope had tears start to brim her eyes at the thought of being eaten by verax leo. she's seen that lion bite people's hands!

mydei panicked as he noticed the fear on the two girls' faces, he kneeled in front of them. "t-there is no need to be scared. apologies if i frightened you two." mydei did his best to smile at the sisters, but that only made things worse.

"o-oh my god, ellie, he's going to eat us!" penelope cried out as a flash of hurt crossed mydei's face.

he could already here the whispers around him.

'he's scaring the children? a true kremnoan.'

'where are those girls' parents? he's going to hurt them...'

"is everything okay here?" your gentle voice broke through the tension. "l-lady [name]!' ellie said as she ran up to hug your legs, almost knocking the two freshly bought cups of gelato out of your hands.

"p-please save us from the barbarian," penelope said as she ran to your other leg. you looked at mydei in confusion, but the way he avoided meeting your eyes was enough for you to figure out what was going on here.

"barbarian? silly girls, i don't see a barbarian anywhere." the sisters let go of your legs, and you crouched down to their eye level. "you don't?" ellie said, her tears now dry.

you handed each of the girls the treat, which was initially met for you and mydei. "no, all i see is a handsome prince and his two loyal sidekicks."

"a handsome prince?" ellie said in wonder as she peeked at mydei, who now stood next to you with his arms crossed.

"his two loyal sidekicks?" penelope said with barely concealed excitement.

"we're the prince's sidekicks!" they said at the same time with big smiles. "that's right! and the prince's sidekicks always say thank you to him for paying for the treats!" you gestured to the treats in their hands.

"t-thank you, lord mydei." ellie said sheepishly.

penelope nodded, "thank you for being a nice guy! w-we're sorry for calling you a barbarian..."

mydei simply shook his head, "don't worry about it," he paused and put a gentle hand on each of the girls' heads. "a prince could never be upset at his two loyal sidekicks." he ruffled their hair.

the girls giggled as an idea popped into ellie's head. "prince, we have to help you protect princess [name]!" penelope nodded in agreement.

"yes, we can't let anyone take her from you!"

mydei laughed as he looked at you, "there's no need to worry about that. i'm strong enough to not let anything take her away from me." you smiled at his sincerity, knowing he was speaking the honest truth.

"you may be strong enough to protect her from evil, but what about from another man?" ellie said matter of factly. "yeah, another man!" penelope said, piggybacking off her older sister.

you smiled nervously at the three of them, knowing this wasn't going to end well. "that'll never happen."

mydei's happy expression turned stone cold as he ignored your words, "another man?" he said to himself. ellie took it upon herself to continue this story of hers. "yeah, like what about..." she scanned the area at the same time a certain white haired chrysos heir walked into the garden, "him!"

mydei felt a sinister smile take over his face as he looked to where ellie's finger was pointing, one the girls tried to copy. "yeah him!" penelope said with an 'evil' smile.

you thought she looked quite adorable and decided to play along. with an overly dramatic gasp, you put a hand to your heart. "do you girls really think duke phainon would try to take me from prince mydei?"

"who wouldn't want you for themselves?" mydei answered in their stead, eyes not leaving the unsuspecting phainon. penelope nodded, "duke phainon... the prince's rival in both battle and [name]'s heart!"

ellie grabbed a stick off the ground, breaking it in half and handing the other half to penelope. "we'll take him down for you, prince!"

"w-wait-" you tried to intervene only to be cut off by mydei. "this is why you both are my most loyal sidekicks. if you defeat him," he stood between the two of them, "i'll give you half of my land."

"we struck gold penelope!"

"we did, ellie! wait what do we do with land?" penelope's question went unanswered as ellie started to run straight towards phainon. penelope wasted no time to follow after her sister.

you watched as mydei snickered to himself, yelling out, "hit him in the knees and ankles!"

you could faintly hear phainon letting out surprised yelps.

"he's never going to let you live this down," you shook your head in faux disappointment.

"he'll have more important matters to worry about," mydei let out another laugh as he watched ellie try to poke phainon's eye with the stick.

just as you predicted, phainon was not going to let this go easily.

"mydei, you absolute menace!" phainon’s voice rang out through the garden, followed by the sound of frantic footsteps. ellie and penelope were cackling as they chased him, their sticks raised like weapons of war. "call off your tiny assassins!"

"assassins?" ellie gasped, eyes shining. "prince mydei, can we be your royal assassins too?"

"absolutely," mydei grinned, clearly enjoying himself. "but first, you have to prove yourselves by defeating duke phainon."

"you're a tyrant!" phainon accused, dodging a swing from ellie. "lady [name], are you really going to stand by and let this happen?"

you sighed, pressing a hand to your forehead. "girls, maybe we should show mercy?"

"mercy?" penelope repeated, looking at you like you’d just said the most ridiculous thing in the world. "but he's the prince’s rival!"

"he’s also a duke, and dukes have a lot of money," you pointed out, a knowing glint in your eyes. "and if he’s grateful enough for your mercy, he might even reward you."

phainon perked up immediately. "yes! i’ll pay you both handsomely to stop attacking me!"

ellie and penelope paused, considering the offer.

"how much?" ellie asked, lowering her stick slightly.

"enough for you to buy all the sweets in the market," phainon bargained, straightening his coat.

the girls turned to mydei, seeking his input. mydei smirked, crossing his arms. "a true prince values loyalty over gold," he said, playing into their game. "but... i suppose even the best assassins have to make a living."

ellie and penelope huddled together in deep discussion before finally coming to a decision.

"okay, duke phainon," penelope said, pointing her stick at him one last time. "we accept your offer. you live to see another day!"

"oh, thank the heavens," phainon exhaled dramatically, brushing dust off his sleeves. he shot mydei a glare. "you're raising a pair of little mercenaries, you know that?"

"loyal mercenaries," mydei corrected, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

the chaos soon enough calmed down, phainon now being dragged around like a doll. (he looked tired, but you could by the small smile on his face he was enjoying himself).

"lady [name], since prince mydei is your true love, does that mean you’re going to have a grand royal wedding?"

"yeah!" penelope gasped, eyes shining. "like in the stories! with a big castle, and a golden carriage, and—ooh! a feast with an endless dessert table!"

you blinked, caught off guard by their enthusiasm. "well, uh—"

"of course," mydei interrupted smoothly, tightening his hold on your hand. "the grandest wedding my kingdom has ever seen."

your face warmed at his confidence. "i don’t recall agreeing to that."

"why wouldn’t you?" mydei smirked. "who else could be worthy of you?"

"so humble," phainon muttered under his breath, dusting off his blazer.

"i want to throw the petals," penelope declared proudly. "but only if they’re pink."

"and i’ll be the royal wedding protector!" ellie added, brandishing her stick. "i’ll make sure no evil villains crash the ceremony!"

"me too!" penelope joined in, striking a battle-ready pose. "no scary mermen or evil barbarians allowed!"

mydei chuckled, clearly entertained. "i’ll be counting on you both."

you sighed in defeat, though you couldn't help but smile at their enthusiasm. "i suppose i have no choice but to accept my fate then."

phainon scoffed, adjusting his cuffs. "i pity whoever has to sit through a wedding planned by these two."

"oh, you’re invited, duke phainon," ellie grinned mischievously. "but only if you survive long enough to attend."

phainon paled slightly, taking a step back. "you’re both terrifying."

"thank you!" the sisters chirped in unison.

as mydei pulled you closer, his lips brushed against your temple in a whisper of victory. "see? even the children know we’re meant to be."

you rolled your eyes, but your heart betrayed you with its quickened pace. "remind me again why i put up with you?"

"because you love me," mydei said with a grin.

you huffed, but your smile gave you away.

i loved writing this, probably won't be the last we see penelope and ellie! :)

[dragonagecinema]

What Veilguard Could Have Been

Very saddened to hear the news about Bioware. As much as I was disappointed with Dragon Age The Veilguard, it was a fun game and I did not wish for the series to end. That being said, for those of you who haven't seen the artbook, I want to share the initial ideas and concepts of the team behind the game. Here's what Veilguard could have and should have been.

Characters from Previous Games

Morrigan, Dorian and Isabela were supposed to be our advisors. They also had better outfits.

Sten, Cole and Shale were some other characters featured in the artbook. An early idea for Cole was to act as a compassionate voice to Solas.

The Divine was supposed to make an appearance, sending out ships to hunt Solas in the hopes that his capture will restore peace to Thedas.

We were supposed to receive assignments from the Inquisitor.

Another idea was for us to return to the Fade and rescue whoever was left behind in Inquisition.

Solas as a True Leader

Elves from all over Thedas were supposed to answer Solas' call, as presented in the ending screens of Inquisition.

Solas' appearance was supposed to be more of a surprise.

Solas was supposed to return like a regal figure out of the distant past.

Game Mechanics

The game was focused more on espionage and sneaking around. We were supposed to go on cool missions, like infiltrating the Archon's throne room.

Another idea was for us to ride adult griffons, hunting dragons.

Or to go on secret missions in Tevinter, accurately depicted here with slaves and slavers.

Story and Setting

The dwarves were supposed to be fleeing the underground by the thousands. Cause is left unknown.

We were supposed to go to Par Vollen, the home of the Qunari.

Companions had the option to betray us.

We were supposed to go in disguise to a ball in the Necropolis.

Another idea was for Solas to interrupt our mission, wiping half of our team off the board and forcing us to make an unlikely alliance.

Solas was supposed to summon a Titan in the final battle.

We were supposed to get a happy ending with our love interests.

Headquarters

And last but not least, our base was first supposed to be a ship, sailing to all the places we would visit.

We would have a war table room, similar to Inquisition.

The ship could get stolen and we would have to get it back.

However, thematically, boats don't line up with the spy theme. They're too easy to spot and attack. So the ship was transformed into a submarine.

The submarine was already named The Dumat, after an Archdemon.

These are just the parts I found most interesting from the artbook, which has more than 200 pages. I wonder who saw all these ideas and went nah, let's scrap them. I guess we'll never know.

[theminecraftbee]

If Cleo hadn’t known Joe for longer than either of them have known Hermitcraft, she might be concerned about Joe having an argument with himself about which of his six contingency boltholes to hide the two of them in and discuss plans. She might be even more concerned about how blatantly questionable several of them are—she didn’t even know Etho had an attic, let alone one Joe knew how to break into and had hidden a bed in. However, Cleo’s known Joe since longer than either of them have known Hermitcraft, and frankly this is an impressively minimal amount of bafflingly designed anxiety-induced disaster prep for him, so she just lets him guide him into the room and sits cross-legged on the floor.

“No one ever remembers that the overworld smells different,” she says with a sigh.

“For example, here it smells like Etho’s socks,” Joe responds. “Why does he keep socks in the attic, Cleo? I still haven’t figured it out!”

Cleo snorts. “He’s a very strange little man.”

Joe shakes his head. “No, no, if he were a strange little man, I’d know. That’s what I am!”

“No, you’re a strange little puppet these days. Entirely different.”

“Oh, right.”

The two of them sit in silence for a bit after that. Cleo just breathes. They are supposed to be dead or exiled, and they are not. “Supposed to be dead but they’re not” is like, Cleo’s entire thing as a zombie, and Joe’s entire thing as a person, so that’s not what’s making Cleo’s heart race. Maybe Joe’s right; maybe it is the smell of socks. Maybe, though, it’s that the world is different colors. Everything isn’t the same awful grey and red, stretched out endlessly across the horizon.

A fuzzy puppet hand is placed on her own. Cleo looks down.

“Sorry I couldn’t talk to you the whole time. I was being hunted for sport,” Joe says.

“What? No, don’t answer that. Scar. That was obvious. Don’t know why I bothered asking.”

“Doc also kind of wanted to?” Joe says. “But as we both know, Doc’s really bad at making threats that are actually actionable. It’s sort of embarrassing. Cub, also, although Cub and I were mostly engaged in psychological warfare. It’s kind of a shame he exiled himself; who else has an appropriately complex relationship with fireworks and comic sans?”

Cleo snorts. “Never change, Joe.”

“I can’t promise that. To live is to change,” Joe says solemnly.

“Walked into that one,” Cleo says.

They both fall silent a little longer.

“The fact you called me at all, uh. Texted me. Kept me company. Fought a dragon? The drop shipping? I—”

“If my best friend goes mad from loneliness I’m not a very good friend,” Joe says.

“Still, thanks,” Cleo says. “Thank you. It was—thank you.”

“Anyone would have,” Joe says, and all at once Cleo is laughing and sobbing into their hands. Distantly, they can hear Joe panicking; he’s never been very good at other people’s emotions. It’s just—nothing, for days, and everything now, and the edges of their sleeves are still singed from Grian’s attempt to render it all pointless, and Joe’s right here, and Joe’s right here, saying:

“It’s alright, Cleo. I mean, it’s not, there’s an authoritarian government that isn’t letting me play Permitmaster. But it’s okay, for some definition of that, I think—”

“They really wouldn’t,” Cleo manages between choked breaths.

“What?” Joe says.

“You said it’s what anyone would do and they really wouldn’t,” Cleo says.

“…really?” Joe says, and he sounds so idiotically baffled and so exactly like Joe Hills, constant in Cleo’s life since before either of them knew what a Hermitcraft was, that she breaks down into sobs again. Distantly, she recognizes that this is a symptom of having ridden a horse across the nether roof for enough days in a row that her ability to emotionally regulate snapped a little. Immediately, though, she can’t stop thinking about how lucky she is.

Joe smiles, strangely kind for a puppet, and leans his entire felt body against her. He stops talking for the moment. Cleo knows it’s more that he’s probably panicking internally than out of any desire for silence, but…

She’s really, really lucky.

By some miracle stroke, they’re both left alone long enough for Cleo to pull herself together, and then, to the sound of distant fireworks and sirens, they escape Etho’s attic, laughing.

Together they really are going to be so annoyingly unstoppable.