hey wats up. i played mc:am on netflix and it was so bad. it was so fucking bad and i loved it so much. anyway i noticed the lack of multichapter novelizations of the game ft female jesse (if you know of some good ones hmu), and sort of started writing and then the first chapter just flowed out. i really loved jesse's voice actress too. patton oswald was great as their male voice actor too but i loved the almost valley girl sort of lilt that female jesse has to her voice sometimes. you dont see it a lot in characters who have the role of main hero in a fantasy adventure story. Like she is SO SASSY

anyway this isnt as much as a novelization as it a retelling. im going to be following the story and dialogue for the most part, there will definitely be changes because the storys a little weak and the characters could have been really great if they'd worked with them a bit more. so stuff like that. ive also taken a lot of liberties with the game mechanics. crafting and players' inventory work sort of like a magic system, though it hasnt really been touched on in what ive got written so far and i dont think it will be, i think i'll just sort of keep it a passive type thing.

also i thought itd be nice to set it in fall because 1, i just really love fall, and 2 its fall atm so its like a fun little thing.

this is red hair clip jesse, but you can visualize her however you want. i do have some descriptions of her in here but you should be good otherwise. honestly, this is a very half-red hair clip jesse. their clothing color is different and she changes shirts in chapter 4 for reasons that will remain unnamed. and you can imagine this as all blockey or you can imagine this as more realistic, which is what i had in mind while writing. some face claims would probably help but again, i dont see this thing getting a lot of traction lmao, also I want to let you guys imagine her however you want mostly.

anyway, it just felt like a waste to spend so much time writing a multi chapter fic and not post it. idk the update schedule yet but ill figure it out probably.

romance wont be a main factor in this but pairings are up for grabs. i have some end game ships in mind but just know that there wont be any major age gap ships or axel/jesse or olivia/jesse no matter how cosey they may seem. theyre just bffs who all love each other a whole lot and i really like the whole aspect i have going on with them.

last thing: im aware my writing isnt all that good, and ask that if you give and constructive criticism you take it easy on me, bc im genuinely trying here hgkhgkjh. like i know i tend to overdescribe things and make stuff more complicated sounding than it really is and use italics and commas a lot when they arent really needed but im really trying i promise

alright so this A/N has been going on for a while now, i'll quit talking and just let the story start

TL;DR: mcsm was super bad but i loved it also i am bad at writing but i am trying my best lol


In the protected lands around Beacontown, there was a treehouse built over a thick oak, its creaking branches stretching out and tangling with the surrounding forest. The teak-brown timber was a wooded, shaded haven crowded with native plants. Gnarled roots that wove through the dirt like snakes collected tangles of weeds and clusters of cup mushrooms.

The first floor of the treehouse was small; crowded, with clothes strewn over the floor and three low hanging hammocks varying in size and material. Each hung by a cramped window, the sunlight that cut through the leaves outside casting a watery light across the room from the lumpy sheet glass.

Through the trapdoor above was an arid, sunny cabin. The interior contained a collection of banners and painted flyers aligned evenly over the walls. There was a medium-sized hay bale wedged into a corner with a small, handmade water trough; both placed over a threadbare towel covered in discarded carrot tops.

A dented empty armor stand, bare aside from an obscenely large carved pumpkin wedged over the top, was set next to a compact seating area. The space was warmed by an old furnace fashioned into an oven and open heat source, giving the room a smokey, nutty aroma. Across from the kiln were two chests, both set around a workstation dotted with dusty red fingerprints that caught the light in subtle shimmers.

The sound of wood connecting against wood carried out an open window of the top floor, accompanied by grunts of exertion and the occasional very dramatic battle-cry. A pair of dark calloused hands idly spun a small draw-string bag with R. Dust neatly stitched into the front with crimson embroidery around their fingers.

Thick, natural hair tied into pigtails skimmed the surface of a red tunic with bronze clasps down the right side covering a thin, white shirt. Brown boots with protective gray padding tapped boredly against the floor, their owner leaning against the open window and looking out at the rising sun. Setting the tiny sack down, she turned towards the noise, watching another girl hash it out with the armor stand. Exhaling loudly, she once more glanced out the window, tapping her fingernails against the framework. Dark skin illuminated by the morning glow contrasted harshly against silvery round earrings, large enough that they nicely framed her wide face. She pulled her lips together in thought before speaking up.

"Would you rather fight a hundred chicken-sized zombies," She turned to the room's other occupant, "Or ten zombie sized chickens?"

The second girl paused momentarily before continuing at a much less frenzied pace, thinking.

"Just to be clear, you wouldn't have any weapons or armor. So you'd have to fight them with your hands." She made grabby motions with her fingers.

The other held her sword still, brown eyes meeting brown and faintly shaking her head as she answered. "I'd have to go with the giant chickens. Not because I want to or because I think it would be easy, but because they would be an abomination."

And then she was back on the dummy, the splintered wooden stand looking ready to collapse and fall apart from exhaustion with any hit.

"Imagine their giant feet—"

"Like I said, an abomination." She playfully narrowed her eyes at the other.

"So you're only in it to see a town get destroyed. I see. I'm making a mental note of this for later, Jesse. Just so you know."

"I didn't even say anything close to that, Olivia."

"It was heavily implied. But don't worry, this secret is safe behind these iron locked lips." Olivia made a zipping motion over her mouth, frowning when Jesse gave a snort of laughter.

"What?" She asked defensively.

"You can't hold a secret for your life, 'Liv. Like, you know this, so like why did you even say that?" She asked, biting the inside of her cheek in mirth.

"Yes, I can!"

Jesse continued to snicker, getting back into position with her sword when her pants—well, overalls, fell around her feet, leaving her standing in a thin pair of breeches. She sighed, slowly leaning her wooden blade against the wall and looking down at the denim, then up to Olivia with a face that said 'you should feel bad for me.'

The other girl only crossed her arms and gave her friend a withering look. "Please just use that belt I gave you already."

"It makes me look bad." She whined.

"Yeah, but one day that's gonna happen in public and no one's going to believe you when you tell them those are pants. It just looks like you're trying to wear Axel's long underwear."

"Okay, one? Gross. Two, these? Are clearly pants. I am clearly just wearing pants. Some red pants. On my body."

"Shin length is long-john length, Jesse. Just accept that you're wearing two pairs of underwear." She teased.

Jesse sent her a glare, bending down and roughly pulling her light blue, nearly gray, overalls back over her knee-length pants and securing the hooks over her chest. In hindsight, haphazardly tying the loops together around her middle had been a poor choice. Dusting off the denim, she reached down to the crooked pant cuffs, rolling them up to their proper place just above her ankles.

Shaking out her brown hair, she accidentally dislodged her red hair clip and sent it across the room. No longer pinned back, her hair took advantage of the new freedom to drape over her face. Olivia stepped up from where the clip had skidded to a stop at her feet, taking Jesse's hand and pressing it into her palm. She closed Jesse's fingers over it, giving her hand a light pat.

"Thanks," Jesse said as she dropped the accessory into her overall pockets, futilely puffing air at the strands overtaking her face

Using two fingers, Olivia pushed the dark locks open like a curtain to reveal Jesse's olive-toned face, giving her an apologetic look.

"I was only messing with you."

"I know." She said, taking the hairband Olivia offered and throwing her head forwards, pulling her hair into a ponytail. "I would probably hate you if you weren't so lovable and nice, and a genuinely good person… But you're very annoying."

"Weird that I was just about to say the same to you." Olivia shot back, smiling. She closed the distance between herself and the open window, leaning her lower back against the sill and letting the mid-morning chill wash over her.

Jesse, on the other hand, had picked up the training sword and went right back to duking it out with the jack-o'-lantern. She was working out right next to the furnace, despite having crowned herself the sweatiest person alive over the summer and decreeing all heat was illegal. She kept adjusting her deep yellow, half-placket linen shirt; all four buttons undone and long sleeves pushed up her arm as she pulled at the collar to vent the hot air out. Olivia thought about saying something to her—that she could just move the dummy away from the furnace or take her overalls off, but remained silent. She figured the other girl would work it out on her own eventually.

"So. Abominations aside, why don't we put some focus on those one hundred chicken-sized zombies." Olivia piped up, watching Jesse bounce from one barefoot to the next in front of the pumpkin like it had personally offended her. "What was your verdict on those then, just not abominable enough?

"The little tiny… little zombies? Those are easy." She made a vague waving gesture like she was shooing the idea away.

"A hundred of them. Crawling all over you. With their tiny hands."

"Okay, yeah? And?" She prompted, but Olivia was already slinking over, badly imitating a zombie and wiggling her fingers up Jessie's back, ducking out of the way with a laugh when Jesse spun and began delivering slap after slap from the flat side of her blunt weapon.

"Do not do that!" She yelled despite her grin.

Giggling, Olivia had sat on the ground with arms crossed over her legs. "Well? Tiny little zombies. One hundred of them, to be exact. Answer the question."

"What is the question supposed to be again?" Jesse asked, tone one of mild exasperation.

"Your thought process behind what you decided. Specifically the choice you didn't take."

"I told you—"

"Answer cannot be they aren't abominations." She cut her off quickly, "Which I disagree with more than I can put into words, but we can put that discussion on hold for now. Save it for another time; let it age like a fine wine."

"Fair." Jesse nodded in agreement. She lowered her sword, resting the balls of her hands over the pommel. "The chicken sized zombies—"

"A hundred of them."

"A hundred of them." She nodded, pausing. "...I mean… all I'd need is like, a shovel."

"It'd be that easy?" Olivia had started making zombie noises at her again from her position on the floor.

"Yeah, I'm telling you, way too easy."

Olivia rolled her eyes and Jesse blew short a raspberry in her direction, turning her focus back to practicing her forms and sweating her soul out.

"Sooo, I've got the daylight sensor on the roof…" Olivia began, standing and walking to one of the various paper sugarcane lanterns set around the room. She laid down a redstone wire, connecting the last of the light source to the roof sensor she'd spent most of yesterday rewiring down into the treehouse.

"Mh-hmm?"

"And If I did this right, these redstone lamps should turn on once it gets dark."

"Mh-hmm."

"Solar powered and everything, so no need to worry again about old, smokey torches or the price of lantern oil again!" She said excitedly, focused on pressing the dusty, string-like red wire into corners for a tidier appearance. "Plus, I didn't want to just leave Reuben here in the dark while we're at EnderCon—"

"Um, he's coming with us?" Jesse stopped and looked to Olivia with an arched eyebrow. It had been less of a question and more of a statement.

Reuben, at the sound of his name, awoke with a bolt and jumped down from his warm little nook of pillows Jesse had stacked for him around the middle of their old tweed couch. He landed as gracefully as any pig could manage and ran headfirst into the armor-stand with a surprised snort. The smiling pumpkin skewered over the spot meant for a helmet bobbed precariously, and Jesse shot forward, grabbing its sides to hold it in place. She peeked over her shoulder at Olivia, giving a sheepish look.

"Really?" Olivia asked. This could have been a reaction to one of two things. It could have been directed at Reuben or directed at her. Or both of those combined. Jesse decided on the latter, just to be safe.

"Yes really. What kind of question is that? Of course he's coming."

"Okay, I'm not saying he shouldn't come. I'm not!" Olivia held up her hands defensively at the other's tone. "I mean it's—don't you think it's a little weird that you take him with you everywhere you go?"

Jesse had popped the top off the carved pumpkin and was on her haunches, feeding it to Reuben who had rolled to his back and was kicking his short legs in delight, her sword forgotten on the floor behind her. Olivia cocked her hip, crossed her arms, and waited for Jesse to come back from pig-land.

It was only when her distraction heightened to her tickling his stomach and cooing "Sweet boy, my handsome boy, the chubby baby—" That Olivia loudly cleared her throat. Jesse froze and looked at her like a kid caught in the act of doing something bad, dropping the piece of pumpkin and standing up like she hadn't just been absolutely lost in the sauce of having a cute pig in her near vicinity.

"Do you not see yourself?" The pitch of Olivia's voice had risen drastically. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Jesse. He sort of makes us look like, I don't know. Amateurs?"

"People love pigs, Olivia! Reuben's totally my wingman."

"I'm being serious!"

"I am too! People always want to talk to the girl with the pig."

"You mean talk about the girl with the pig. Like, look at the weird girl with the weird pig. How weird."

Jesse had moved to the fat, cobblestone windowsill Reuben had perched himself on, said pig's ears flapping in the motion of looking between the two and chewing bits of pumpkin that were stuffed in his bulging cheeks, causing him to drool. Jesse looked down and smiled, giving him a short pat over his soft ears, smoothing them back.

"Reuben's my best friend."

"I thought I was your best friend."

"Well—both of you are! You're both my best friends! Axel's my best friend, you're my best friend, Reuben's my best friend. I have three best friends and there's no law against that." She said with a tone of finality. Olivia smiled back after a few moments, sighing.

"I didn't mean anything by it. I'm glad he's coming." She walked over and ran her fingernails under his chin, yanking her arm away with a disgusted noise when he inadvertently slobbered over her wrist. She looked over at Jesse who was trying not to laugh and smiled. "I know that wasn't exactly a fight but more of a disagreement—but still, friends?"

"Friends." Jesse shoved her shoulder playfully, receiving one double the force in return followed by Olivia wiping her wet wrist over Jesse's shirt.

"Hey! You know this stuff doesn't come out!"

Olivia snickered, grabbing Reuben who had thankfully finished swallowing moments before with a "Yoink!" and diving for the couch to avoid a shove war. Last time they let that happen, Axel ended up with a bruised rib. He hadn't even been participating.

Jesse picked up her sword and placed it against an empty rack, making her way over and sinking into the lumpy sofa pads with a contented noise. They leaned shoulder to shoulder in silence for a few minutes, Reuben curling up in Olivia's lap, taking in the Autumn air the open window gave passage to. Jesse could hear the faint hum of bees getting in the last of their work before the chill set in if she strained her ears. She could imagine them weaving in and out of the large clusters of Pennyroyal close to their treehouse. It was just mint, but Olivia had convinced her Pennyroyal was a much cooler name. She would miss it when it went dormant for the year. No more spider repellent, or minty soaps, or Axel's fresh tea. She swore on her life his tea tasted better when the leaves were heat dried on top of the furnace and dropped straight into a mug of hot water rather than the little bags of air dried, crushed leaves Olivia would help him make. She was outnumbered and outvoted in this opinion, though.

"Turn around?" Jesse suddenly asked, breaking the silence. Olivia smiled, dimples overtaking her cheeks as she complied, turning sideways on the sofa, ignoring the string of annoyed squeals coming from the pig over her crossed legs. She slid off her hat and goggles, swatting away Jesse's hands and pulling her pigtails out herself, hair poofing out upon release. Jesse was not at all good with braiding when it came to Olivia's hair, and they were both well aware of this. She could maybe pull off half a head of sloppy box braids, but that was the extent of her talent in that department.

However, Jessie enjoyed playing with hair, and Olivia enjoyed having hair played with, so it more or less worked out. The former could make a mean French braid, which they decided seemed to work the same for most hair types, granted it was done right.

Olivia slumped her rigid body as Jesse began to work out the stray knots and part her hair as neatly as she could with just her hands, sectioning it off piece by piece to make into twin braids. She hesitated before speaking up.

"Wanna talk?"

Olivia was silent for a long moment, seemingly hesitant before she rubbed a hand down the side of her face.

"…I just don't wanna give people one more reason to call us losers." Olivia finally said, releasing a gust of air from her lungs like she'd been physically holding her words back. "I'm getting tired of it. I'm tired of being a laughing stock."

"Who cares what other people think?"

"I know. I'm just… It wears you down." She leaned her elbow against the back of the sofa directly to her right, resting her head into her hand while being careful of Jesse's own hands working through her hair.

"Embrace being a loser, Olivia. And if you do that, you can be like, whatever you want to be." She said matter-of-factly, neatly braiding down her scalp and the length of her hair.

"What if I want to be a winner?"

"No, except that. Anything else, though." She said jokingly.

Olivia said nothing, but a tiny smile had made it onto her face for a few moments.

Jesse tied off the end of the right braid with the bands Olivia handed to her, tugging its sides outwards to give the strands of hair some breathing room. She took a moment to place a hand over Olivia's shoulder and give a quick squeeze before moving onto the other side of her head.

"We are not losers, Olivia."

"We lose all the time. It's what we do."

"Okay, all right, that might be true… but if that's the case theeeeen, we win at losing!"

Olivia sighed into a resigned but happy enough sounding laugh. "All right, fine."

"Honestly, you say you're not a loser Olivia, and you really aren't one. You're like, the least uncool person here, and I'm not totally sure why you hang out with us, much less live with us. So go out and show everyone else that." She said.

"You know what? Fine, yeah! I'm going to win! If only just to spite life; spite it for thinking it can do this to us just to get its kicks."

"Yeah 'Liv! That's the spirit!" She cheered, snapping the second and final hair tie into place. Jesse sat back, looking over the surprisingly well-matched braids with a single satisfactory clap of her hands.

"I think I do decree these braids done."

Olivia turned, smiling warmly at her. "Thanks. For more than just the braids."

"You're welcome." She said, poking the other's back.

Olivia grabbed her hat and goggles, pulling both over her head in one fluid motion. She pulled one of the braids over her shoulder and inspected it. She shrugged her shoulders as she raised her eyebrows, "Not bad, Jesse. Definitely better than last time."

"We said we wouldn't bring that back up—"

A deep hissing noise made both of them stop, muscles frozen as they sat suspended in their movements like statues. Reuben trilled nervously, wide awake and swiveling his head every which way in alarm. The small hairs covering his body stood on end.

"Do you hear that?" Jesse said slowly, cautiously standing and circling around the hatch, keeping her front to the trapdoor at all times as she backed up towards their dusty weapons rack, reaching behind her and grabbing its single occupant. A wooden training sword was better than no sword at all.

Olivia stood with measured movements, gently grabbing Reuben and placing him firmly on the floor. She reached behind her and clutched a pole leaning haphazardly against the wall. It was marked with lines they had burnt into it a few years ago to use as a base of measurement while crafting. She broke it over her knee in a single movement, holding the two pointed ends up.

"How did a Creeper get over the walls! It was only dark out a few hours ago!" Olivia whispered harshly, knuckles white. Jesse could only shrug helplessly, biting both her lips together.

Reuben ran behind Jesse to the windowsill, wheedling his way under a flattened burlap sack of preserved white clover. Olivia saddled up next to Jesse, copying her stance and dropping to one knee. She looked at her with a nod and Jesse nodded back, holding her sword to the ready.

The latch swung open before they could even reach for it, banging against the floor hard. A green figure with the distinct face of a Creeper rose from the hole with arms out wide and making, in retrospect, a very fake and explicitly non-Creeper sound.

Jessie shrieked and hit it once over the head, immediately dropping the blunt sword and quickly retreating to stand on the top of the sofa. Olivia didn't even use her weapon, instead throwing the sticks at the opposite wall in panic as she screamed and ran across the room to slide behind a crate. Reuben squealed with the same intensity of the two girls, if not louder, scrambling in place before falling straight off the stone surface, practically seizing up and hitting the floor with a thud.

"AUGH! Freakin' ow, you guys!" The green mass cried out, a hand holding the top of its head gingerly, "Jeez-louise, you really got an arm there, Jesse."

Olivia poked her head out from her hiding spot as Jesse slipped and nearly fell behind the askew couch, managing to catch herself in time.

"Axel! You jerk!" Olivia yelled, hitting her fist over the crate she was crouched behind.

"Sustained head injury aside, that was awesome." He laughed nasally, grabbing the mask and pulling the front up to reveal his face, "Tada! You guys totally freaked out—oof!"

Reuben head-butted him in the stomach, leaving a wet stamp of his snout and a good amount of post-pumpkin drool behind on the green jacket. Axel had doubled over, his mask sliding off the rest of his head and plopping against the floor in front of him.

Sunlight glinted off the two single brass fasteners that hooked over the front of his parka, pressing down over a line of buttons concealed by a short flap of cloth. He uncurled his body, pulling back the gray, quilted drawstring hood, tousling his thick hair. The hood's neckline piled high around his collar practically hid the entirety of his neck, the thick drawstrings faded and frayed. It was visibly old and well-loved, puckered lines of past repairs and mend jobs covered the woolen fabric like scars. A matching pair of fingerless cloth gloves covered his palms and simple water damaged leather sandals were strapped across his feet and over the back of each ankle. His reddish, torn, shin-length pants completed his Homeless Man Couture ensemble.

Jesse climbed down from the sofa as Olivia rounded on him, "What is the matter with you?!"

"I brought you good times and I'm being punished for it?" He held his hands out, face set in a frown. He looked down for his mask but his slobbered front caught his attention. "Great, now this thing is gonna have pig stank on it. Reuben, you know this stuff's impossible to wash out, I thought we were buddies. Why does this smell like pumpkin? You know—"

"You scared us half to death!" Olivia slapped the front of his chest to bring his attention back.

Jesse picked up the mask from the floor and looked it over. There was the same illusion of a Creeper's patchy, crusty skin from some seriously good crocheting. She could hardly see any stitching unless she turned it inside out. Axel deserved major props for this. Not that she would ever subject him to the unbridled horror that is being complimented on his own talent for needlework and cross-stitching, revealing that his "Secret Hobby" had never been secret to begin with. She got the feeling sometimes he even forgot it was apparently supposed to be confidential information.

"Axel, this mask is amazing."

"It is, isn't it?" He said with a grunt, pulling the rest of himself up into the second floor. He took the mask back from her outstretched hand.

"Yeah, super convincing. I really thought you were a Creeper for a good second."

"I noticed." He rubbed the top of his head and not so subtly looked down at the wooden sword that brushed against the heel of his sandal from where it lay on the floor. Jesse winced.

"Uh, yeah… I'm really sorry about that. At least Olivia didn't attack you with what she had." Jesse looked to the sharp sticks laying innocently on the ground at the opposite side of the room. Axel followed her gaze.

"Aw man, was that our ruler? What d'ya do that for, Olivia?"

"I mean, it was a pretty appropriate reaction." Jesse quickly cut in at the sight of Olivia staring at him with her hands on her hips, looking cool and collected but with a harsh glint of murdur in her eyes.

"Well, broken rulers and skulls aside, the looks on your faces was worth it. I had no clue you two could scream that high—"

"Did you bring the fireworks?" Olivia interrupted, done and ready to move on from this conversation.

"Of course I did." Axel made a show of directing her attention to the deep, bulging pockets roughly stitched into his jacket. He walked over to Reuben, leaning down to pat his back, "I even brought something for the little guy."

With a flourish, he pulled two dark items out from underneath the front of his hoodie. The two purple bundles of cloth popped back into their original shapes: A set of felt wings and a second crocheted mask, this one supported with flexible wire. Judging by the dull circles under his eyes, he likely had hours poured into making it into a clean-cut, simplified replica of the Ender Dragon's head.

"Nice!"

"You brought Reuben a disguise?" Olivia asked incredulously.

"Um, we're going to a convention, somebody's gotta wear a costume."

Axel shifted onto one knee, waving Reuben over and helping him step into the wings' harness. Jesse jumped over to help, barely containing herself, but was shooed away with a chuckle. Double checking the tightness of the soft straps to make sure no chaffing occurred, he nodded and grabbed the dragon head from his right and slid Reuben's own into the opening. Only his snout was visible from the faux mouth, the hinged jaw bobbing with every movement made.

Olivia glanced at Jesse, who looked close to tears, and snorted. "You are such a mom."

Reuben shook his body, the unfamiliar feeling of the harness taking a moment to settle. It took less than thirty seconds later for the room to fill with muffled squeals of glee as he circled the space. He was jumping over furniture, the dragon's jaw oscillating and wings flapping with every bounce, attempting to mimic a roar more than once. He stopped and jumped onto a low bookshelf next to a poster for Endercon with a painted rendition of the Ender Dragon's head, comparing the image to his own shadow.

Jesse was melodramatically leaning over Olivia, who looked resigned to her current fate. "I can't believe you did this, he looks amazing… like, he looks so good. My handsome boy."

"Oh, well thank you."

"She meant Reuben, Axel. She was calling Reuben handsome."

"Ah."

The pig jumped down and leaned against Axel's legs with tiny oink; a thank you.

"I mean it only took, like, a million hours to make it. You see these eye bags?"

"All right, all right." Olivia said, addressing not only Axel but Jesse as well who was beginning to lay her entire weight over her, "Axel, you did a great job, and Jesse; if you don't get off me, I will let you fall."

"Gravity… Increasing on me…" She bent back farther over her friend, feet sliding against the floor.

"Oh no, we are not doing this again!" Olivia was almost crouching, "Axel, would you like to intervene, maybe?"

"Hah, no I'm good." He watched the two with amusement, stopping when he caught Olivia's glare and blanched. "Oh, that was a rhetorical question, okay."

"I am bedrock, I cannot be moved," Jesse said with an arm over her eyes, Olivia looking ready to collapse.

Axel walked over and picked Jesse up, her arms pinned to her sides as she was held out. He was grinning, "I have a pun that I think fits this, but I can't get an idea of where exactly to apply it."

"Please don't."

"How about, you are no longer set in stone?" He said, ignoring Jesse who had begun to groan loudly in his hands, kicking her feet, "Get it, because I moved you, and set in stone, and you said you were bedrock. I don't know if bedrock is a stone, though. It does have the word rock in it, so maybe like—how about if you were just obsidian, instead? It would make this a lot easier."

Jesse went limp in his hold, muttering, "I'm going to pretend to be dead… and that you were the one that killed me… 'till I am put down."

She stuck her tongue out to the side with a "Bleh," closing her eyes.

"Well, if you're dead then I guess it won't hurt any if I dropped you on the floor." He said, moving to hold her horizontally and raising her up.

"Wait what—"

She screeched when there was a sudden absence of Axel's hands under her and she was falling. Then just like that he grabbed her out of the air less than a foot from the ground, his snorting laughter in her ear. She punched his shoulder, rolling out of his hold and hitting the floor.

"I thought I told you to never do that again?!" She yelled, pointing at him with an accusatory finger.

"I was told to intervene." Axel shrugged, grinning at Olivia, who shook her head in disbelief.

Jesse sat up on her legs, stroking Reuben's ears when the pig came up behind her and pushed his way under her arm.

"That was awful and I did not deserve it."

"Yeah, you did." Olivia smiled, sticking her tongue out. She shifted her focus to Axel, who was also sitting, his legs thrown over the escape latch as he tightened his sandals. "Axel, you definitely brought the fireworks, right?"

"Yep! I'm also ready. Just gonna be waiting on you two." He slid over easily to grip the ladder, his head disappearing down the hole.

"Good, I'm ready too, we've spent enough of the morning up here and I think we're going a little stir-crazy," Olivia said half to Jesse, half to herself. She climbed down the first steps of the ladder, stopping to look at Jesse and Reuben.

"See, now he's your wingman." She said, looking at his wings.

"Stop."

"You know if he were really your best friend, you wouldn't let him go outside dressed like that." Olivia looked over Reuben's costume and then to her. "I know I wouldn't."

"The only thing more dangerous than putting a costume on a pig is trying to take it off." She said ominously.

"Thanks for the sage advice. We'll meet you downstairs, all right? We're pretty early, so go ahead and check that we got everything for me. Just to be on the safe side?"

"Got it." She shot Olivia finger guns with a wink, turning back to Reuben as Olivia vanished down the ladder.

"Alrighty, Reuby-booby, let's get on it." She stood up, stretching her back. She rolled her eyes at the loud whine Reuben made when her fingers left him.

She nonchalantly smelled her clothes, then ponytail, gauging her hygiene and shrugging with one shoulder. "Not that bad. If I get grody enough, I can just chalk it up to you needing a bath."

Reuben looked as offended as he could with his chubby pig face. Jesse smiled, leaning down quickly to pinch his cheeks before he pulled his head away from her hands with an indignant squeal.

"Okay, okay I'm sorry." She held her hands up. Turning and making her way to the couch. She pulled apart the pillow bed, stopping at a second squeal of protest. She grabbed her satchel from its spot among the pillows, looking to the distressed pig, her eyes half-closed.

"Okay, you need to cool it. I can make literally the exact same thing again later tonight, but right now we are going to EnderCon and I need to get this bad boy," She held up and slapped the back of her satchel, "Ready and filled up with any last-minute things."

Reuben gave a pathetic oink and sulked over to her, bumping the top of his head against her leg.

"I know bud, I know. Your life's so hard and no one understands." She strapped her bag over her chest and shook it a bit, feeling its weight against her back. She could just put this all in her inventory, but enjoyed the quaint feeling of carrying supplies around in a leather bag.

She'd only packed the basics: Their tickets, some of Axel's jerky wrapped tightly in a square of old cloth, Olivia's sun-dried peach slices drawn up with string inside a paper bag, raw chestnuts for Reuben, her own roasted sunflower seeds, an insulated sack of gunpowder in case there were any firework related issues, four reused glass containers of water, and two hand-sized bags of Olivia's half smelted, crumbly redstone dust that she rolled into redstone wire herself; It worked infinitely better than any she or Axel could buy or attempt to make.

She thought for a moment before snapping her fingers and jogging to the window, pushing it open and rolling the line of laundry in until she found what she'd been looking for; Olivia's long sleeved white shirt. The other girl had insisted that tonight would be warm, but she was notoriously bad at predicting the weather. Jesse folded it up tight and unzipped the side of her bag, reaching back and shoving it inside.

She grabbed her leather boots and pulled them on, closing the window, but not before quickly pulling the rest of the dried laundry out and throwing it into a clump on the couch in case it rained. She patted the back of the satchel, checking for the lump of their small bag of emerald chips, satisfied when she felt it and shook the pack to hear the coins lightly clink against one another.

A glint of light caught her eye from the top of a chest by the work station. Nearly tripping over Reuben, she made a B-line for their crafting table, stopping at the box.

"Hm, flint and steel, not too shabby. What do you think, should we bring it and burn other competitors' builds down?" She looked down at Reuben, pocketing it as he rolled his eyes the best he could behind his mask, which is to say not much.

Thinking a moment, she opened the chest as well, pushing aside a few different things along with their small stash of iron nuggets, holding up an item triumphantly, "Shears! Definitely taking these. Never know when I might need to shear me up a sheep."

She removed the shears from the chest and pulled at the leather to check the sharp edges were securely shut together. Jesse barely held in her sigh at the incessant noise Reuben was making for being ignored. "No I am not ignoring you, and no I am not talking to myself, Reuben. Seriously, you're like right next to me, I'm not by myself."

She dropped the shears in one of her front pockets away from the flint. She didn't particularly feel like the two accidentally sparking a fire at any point in the day.

Closing the chest, she was met with a poster of Gabriel the Warrior, painted and signed sloppily by the artist; bought last year at the Con by Axel. Leaning over the chest with her elbows, she stared at the brush stroked face with a "Hm." Tiny cloven hooves pitter-pattered against the wood floor behind her and stopped at her heels. She rested her head into a hand, looking at the undersized pig.

"You think we'll ever get that famous?

Reuben only stared at her. Well, from her perspective he more-so just turned his head in the general direction of her voice, his snout was still the only visible part of his face. The opaque, purple eyes hid his own and seemed to work like a two-way mirror. It was almost a little off-putting, Axel had really gone all out.

She took his continued silence as a no. "Hey, it's not impossible. Maybe… maybe we'll get famous for our sweet poster collection."

She stood and tore her attention away from the picture, closing the chest and continuing around the room, checking they had everything they could need. She grabbed their handheld clock, then hesitated before taking her wooden sword and sliding it through the denim tool holder Axel had sewn into her overalls for her. Lastly, she picked up a fat lump of Olivia's fast burning charcoal from her stash, wrapping it in a thick paper. Better safe than sorry.

Wiping her hands together and placing them on her hips, she took another once over of the room before giving a nod.

Pulling her hair free, she felt around the shears for her hair clip, fingers brushing against it as she plucked it from her pocket and clipped her hair back in one easy motion. She smiled over at Rueben who had gone to laze near the latch.

"Ready?"

He gave a short oink, raising his head and looking in her direction. She smiled, a quick exhale leaving her nose. Walking over she crouched down onto her knees in front of him.

"Here, let's fix this. It's weird and I miss those little peepers of yours."

A snap of a few buttons and some adjustment later, she was able to shift the mask back so the mouth opened to show his entire face. His eyes turned to little crescent moon smiles as he tapped his feet against the ground at the sight of her smiling face. Maybe he actually hadn't been able to see, she thought mildly.

Hefting Reuben under her arm and receiving a kick in the ribs when she commented on his heaviness, she carefully made her way down the ladder, mindful of his wings. She bypassed the small first floor hidden within the tree's leaves where they slept. The room was crowded and small. Sometimes only Axel slept down there, passed out in his hammock and snoring so loudly he could scare monsters away. They tried not to give him much grief about it; Axel was embarrassed enough about it as it was. Thankfully, Jesse usually fell asleep before Axel and she slept like the dead. Olivia swears on everything there is that one night Jesse began snoring and was giving Axel a run for his money in just how absurdly loud she was being.

She dropped down the last three steps, setting Reuben down and straightening his felt wings out.

"That's everything?" Olivia asked.

"And more." Jesse slid a thumb under the bag's leather strap, pulling it and letting the weight snap back over her chest.

"Then let's roll." Axel clapped his hands together, looking at the two

"Yeah, roll out."

"Roll outta town."

"Roll on down the road."

"Roll—"

"Guys," Jesse cut them off, "Let's go?"

The air began to warm as the sun rose higher, finding its way through the trees' leaves and checkering the ground with dappled light, lighting the dirt path ahead of them. Reuben oinked past them, reveling in the sound of his cloven feet sliding through the leaves and underbrush. Pushing his snout against the ground and noisily chuffing through the dirt, he darted ahead.

"Reuben, stay close! You've already eaten!" Jesse called after him, running and grabbing him away from a huckleberry bush. He attempted to look at her innocently despite the deep red berry juice staining his mouth. "You aren't fooling anyone with that. C'mere"

She pulled down her shirt sleeve from where it was gathered at her elbow, wiping under his snout with the side of her wrist, uncaring of the gathering stains. She rolled her eyes at his griping as he tried to dodge her hand. She licked her thumb to scrub it over the remaining splotches of berry.

Setting him down, he took off, giving her a scornful look.

"That was seriously one-hundred percent unnecessary," Olivia said, coming up to her side.

"I dunno, it was kinda funny." Axel watched Reuben rubbing his face against the ground, attempting to dirty it again.

"No, you're both right. He knows better than to go guzzling down food like that not even thirty minutes after he's eaten. It was just his punishment." She snickered, pushing her now blotchy sleeve back up. "He absolutely hates when I do that."

"You gotta start taking me on you and Reuben's little forest adventures."

She and Olivia entered into a short but heated conversation on the difference between babying Reuben and baby-babying him, Axel occasionally adding his two cents as they walked.

Through the thickest patch of forest in their area, the sky vanished almost completely; only a few fragments of blue remained—like scattered pieces of an impossible jigsaw puzzle. The sun's heat had not quite penetrated the area, leaving a pleasant chill from the night.

Jesse was looking forward to the end of the Con. She enjoyed the event more than anything, but there was something about walking home with her friends after a full day of enjoying themselves, stomachs full, feet hurting, Reuben asleep in someone's arms, and the yearly haul; a bag stuffed with leftovers, EnderCon giveaways, game prizes, and the occasional trinket or self-indulgent purchase from the pricey merchants—When the day was growing old into the night and the warm hearth called as the moon climbed up from the tops of the oak and birch trees. When they arrived home and spread their purchases and finds across the floor despite drooping eyes. When they fall asleep together on the couch, huddled close to their re-purposed furnace.

Lost in rose-tinted memories and the sweet surrendering scent of the late morning dew, she nearly missed Axel's words.

"So I heard a pretty juicy rumor about the building competition, but you guys have to promise not to say anything."

"Okay, let's hear it." Said Olivia, who was jumping across the path, landing on the brittle, brown leaves crunching underfoot with every other step and pushing their papery remains deep into the soft soil.

"This is top of the line info you're getting here, so remember we need to keep it hush-hush."

"Axel." Olivia paused in her leaf hopping.

"Also, it's in two parts. Each part more exciting than the last—"

"Spit it out, Axel." Jesse finally said.

He grinned at them conspiratorially. "Part one. The special guest at this year's EnderCon is none other than Gabriel the warrior him-freakin'-self!"

"Woahoh, what's part two?" Jesse asked, giving Reuben a smile when he trailed back to join them, likely listening in on the conversation.

"Part two, according to my sources, the winner of the building competition is gonna get to meet him personally." He looked to Olivia, "It doesn't mean anything if we lose! We'd still get to see Gabriel! But if we win? Oh, man! That would make up for all the losing."

Olivia gave him a look but said nothing.

"It's not that big of a deal. EnderCon will be fun either way." Jesse said.

"What? No, hold on, let me try that again" He cleared his throat, placing a hand over his cheek like an old, stricken housewife, "What?"

"He's right, Jesse. Incredibly so. This is a huge deal! Meeting Gabriel would be a dream and an honor." Olivia paused, appearing to think. "But compared to Ellegaard though—just, wow."

"It'd be so cool to meet him. It's a total bummer that he's the only member left who still shows their face. Or isn't missing." Axel crossed his arms behind his head, a wistful look veiling his features. "Now, meeting Magnus? That would be absolutely nuts."

"Oh please," Olivia said, shaking her head.

"Hey Reuben, better be careful in that costume, buddy. The last time Gabriel saw a dragon it didn't end well."

Jesse concealed a snort of mirth, slapping Axel's shoulder as she looked to Reuben's bemused looking face, his head cocked.

"He's joking, bud. Don't worry about it, no one's gonna slay you."

Ahead, the trees thinned back out into regular forest, if a little less thick than usual, and they were washed with unfiltered sunlight.

Olivia looked around, pursing her lips. "So, does this source of yours make posters for a living?"

"Huh?"

They stop in front of a particularly dense cluster of trees leftover from the thick brush they'd only just passed through, all sporting two or more postings with either the EnderCon logo, Gabriel's Face, or the Order of the Stone's Amulet.

Jesse walked up to a sign partially covered by a thin, droopy branch. She pulled it up and over the post, standing back.

"Gabriel: Keynote Hall - sold out." She read aloud.

"Yeah um, my uh, source doesn't exist. You guys are my only friends." He said lamely, rubbing his neck.

Jesse stepped back over, giving Axel a small pat on the arm. "Let's just go, we have a full hour's head start."

They continued on, meandering through trees and bushes until they found the main path; the one their old one had failed to connect them with.

The smell of the food stalls was already becoming more and more potent. Jesse breathed in at the same time as Reuben, thinking about all her yearly favorites she would get to eat again after the competition—not to mention the merchants set up in front of their caravans. She was willing to face their spitting llamas for that nice jar of melon-dandelion paste she was almost out of. Sweet-smelling, smooth skin would easily make up for any spit that would no doubt end up in her hair as it did every year. She swore those things had it out for her.

"So," said Olivia, "Which of the order would get you as hyped as Axel on milk day?"

"Hey what the heck—"

"I dunno, I'm sorta neutral, I guess." Jesse shrugged.

"Oh, yeah okay, neutral. As neutral as the Gabriel poster you pinned up in the treehouse." Olivia teased.

"Oh come on! Everyone thinks he's cool, and it's a nice poster! It's a really, really nice poster! You can't fault me for that."

"No, but I can fault you if you don't have a favorite! Are you leaning towards any of the members at all? Come on, join the cool kids and pick a favorite!"

"Well aside from Gabriel, Ellegaard—"

"Right? She's incredible, isn't she?"

"Yeees… she is pretty cool. But Soren—"

"Soren?"

"—Is pretty cool too. Like, The Architect, Builder of Worlds, Leader of the Order of the Stone. All those are all super impressive titles—don't give me that look, Axel!"

"But I mean… Soren? Jesse, I mostly respect your opinion sometimes, but no one has seen or heard from the guy in years, no one has any idea where he is. Not even the Order."

"Okay, just because someone's missing or dead or whatever does not revoke their fan-having status." She scoffed. "I know I'm not the most builder savvy person when it comes to large scale, hands-on projects—the communal bedroom at home is a testament of that Olivia, so don't you dare say anything because I am well aware, put that finger back down."

Olivia closed her mouth and lowered her finger, Axel sniggered.

"But he was all about creating, designing, planning stuff out, and I can check off at least one and a half of those as things I am average to moderately good at."

After a pregnant pause, Axel slowly spoke, "…So, any other reasons besides he was awesome and cool and also the guy in charge?"

Jessie looked down, thinking, a finger curled over her lips before looking back up.

"He's got a nice mustache."

Olivia nodded sagely. "There's no counterargument to that."

"I've got one of those."

"No, you do not, Axel. You have little kitten hairs."

He snorted, feeling around his chin with a large grin.

"Yeah."

"Guys, let's stay focused. We have a competition to win. We can't fall behind just because we got a little too chatty." Jesse snapped her fingers at them, "We're nearly there, and we haven't even done our customary 'halfheartedly throw ideas around like spaghetti and hope one of them kinda sticks to the wall and then show up somehow less unprepared than before,' like, come on!"

"We never win. And this year we're got Reuben with us." Olivia rested her hands on her hips, looking like she would give anything to be at home passed out on the couch.

"We're going to win, because—"

"Jesse, what are you talking about?"

"Because, up 'till now? We've hated losing! But today. Today my friends, we're going to start learning how to love winning." She was silent for a moment before blowing at a lock of hair that had slipped loose from her clip. "That… didn't sound as good as it did in my head."

"No, no. I'm with that." Axel clapped her back supportively, and she almost slammed face forward into the dirt with what would have likely been a sonic boom at the force behind it.

Righting herself from her near stumble, she looked to Olivia, who was covering a laugh with her hand. Jesse waited for her to finish, lips pulled thin across her face.

Finally, Olivia nodded, a few chortles escaping her when she removed her hand. "Alright. Me too. I'm with it."

"Oh, wait a minute. Wait a minute." Jesse grabbed their arms, pulling them forward into the shade of a tree, "We're thinking about this all wrong!"

She let go of and stood in front of them, beaming, arms out. "The point of the building competition isn't just to build something. You have to do something to get noticed by the judges!"

"Okay then. So how do we do this?" Olivia asked, Jesse's smile spreading to her. Reuben walked up by Jesse's side, unintentionally whacking her in the shin with his admittedly not very pointy or dangerous wings.

"We don't just build something functional, we build something fun!"

"After we finish the fireworks machine like planned, we build something cool on top of it!"

"You might be onto something…" Olivia said, shifting to rest her weight on one leg.

"If you wanna get a reaction out of the judges, you build something scary." Axel added, "So how about we build a Creeper."

"Wouldn't an Enderman be better? I'm more scared of Endermen than Creepers." Olivia piped up from his left. Jesse tapped her chin in thought.

"They both have their moments. Both pretty scary." She heard Axel say lightly.

"All right, let's build the creeper."

"You're going with Axel's idea?"

"What's wrong with my idea?"

Olivia dropped her arms to her side, letting out a short breath, "Nothing, It could totally be cool."

"It is cool."

"Yeah… you know what? This is a good start. I think it's the first time we've decided on something aside from the initial idea before actually getting to the competition." Olivia nodded. She looked to Jesse and gestured to her bag with her chin. "Think we got everything we need?"

"It wouldn't hurt to grab a little more."

"Let's get to grabbin' then."

"We're so prepared. We can't lose! Like, cannot. Bring it in!" Jesse stuck her hand out, and they tightened the circle they were in, hands on top of the others. Reuben jumped onto his hind legs and leaned his front hooves over their hands.

"Dare to prepare, on three. No, Preparing is daring. Nope, that's the same thing." She shook her head, "Forget it. Team on three, together. One, two, three!"

All three hands and one little hoof went into the air.

"TEAM!" Jesse and Olivia shouted.

"Prepare!" Axel said at the same time, just barely louder than his regular voice.

And Reuben had tried to roar again, but this time it sounded like a very old pig getting butchered in the middle of the forest.

"Don't worry, we can workshop that."


jesse, axel, and olivia all share one (1) singular brain cell and they have to take turns using it.

im basing a lot of endercon stuff off of the fair that comes into my town around october-november and festivals at plantations that have corn mazes set up and other autumn-y things & a lot my own experiences. i havent posted any writing in a long time so i'd love to hear what you think. i also need some motivation to finish editing chapter 4. idk what it is with it but i am STRUGGLIN