Hey everyone! Awhile back, I created a discord server for this series! Sometimes we talk about TLO, but we also talk a lot about Hermitcraft and the Life series and... well, anything really. We also have a minecraft server, which you can find all the details for through the discord as well. A few of the server members there are actually recreating a lot of things from my books -- such as the temple and the elven village (the village square is the picture above). If you're interested in either or both of these, you can check out this link (which will also be in the comments!): https://discord.gg/uGAW7B2NMy

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Grian could feel it in the air, everyone could. He could almost smell it, nearly even taste it. As a player and as a Watcher, he recognized it deep within his code. Another Update Day was upon them. Such was a day that players celebrated as much as Christmas, even more so in most cases.

But as much as he wanted to be the blind player like he had been back then, his eyes had been opened. All his memories of the day were of an all-too-naive boy serving the Watchers.

And just as he had begun to praise himself for having meltdowns about twice a week (as opposed to multiple a day), he spiraled right back.

Sometimes, they came at embarrassing times. Like at meetings. Like this meeting, for example.

He tried to twiddle his thumbs to try and distract himself. Heck, he even tried to sleep through it (which he often did unintentionally). It wasn't like he was paying attention anyway, but neither worked.  

"I personally am in favor of staying here in this season at least until the next update." Iskall proposed, momentarily snapping Grian back into reality.

"I mean, there's so much potential yet! Sahara's only beginning and with a group like me, Mumbo and Grian? No one could possibly stop us! We'll be the most omega shop this server's ever seen!"

"I think we've already got that in the bag." Scar hummed, a playful smirk on his lips and a twinkle in his eye as he leaned forward, his intertwined fingers supporting his chin. "There's no need for all that fancy moochie redstone stuff. ConCorp already owns the server."

"It... is a rather fascinating plot line,"  Xisuma reluctantly agreed, tracing a finger on the desk like he often did when he wasn't so sure of where a conversation was going. "But that brings us back to my point. We're having that capitalistic problem all over again, the shopping district is massive as it is..."

And that brought things full circle again. That had been one of the main points of leaving, along with having to travel thousands of blocks to get the new items.

Joe began speaking now, talking about... Grian didn't even know what anymore. The tightness in his chest pulled him away from the conversation again, the swirls of his thoughts thickening like a thick syrup and dripping down his body starting from his shoulders, going down his back.

When he thought of Update Day— when anyone did in fact— all he could think of Watchers. They were the ones who prepared such a day, after all. They were the gods that coded the universe through fate.

He didn't like to think of Watchers. He liked the days that he played with his friends, completely forgetting the beings that surely would kill him if they found him. Maybe not just him either, but all of his friends.

"G?" A voice whispered in his ear. Mumbo, of course. At some point, the man had gently grabbed his sweaty hand. "You need a moment?" He had said the last part out loud, the spoon. When Grian looked up from the table, he couldn't help but notice that everyone was staring at him, though some politely dart their gazes away quickly.

"I— I'm fine." He spoke the white lie, tensing ever so slightly as a result. He took a breath to try and calm himself. "I just... don't know. I feel like there's too much potential here to start over yet." He was probably echoing people, but he had to say something.

Stress glanced at Cleo , whom she was sitting next to. "We... kinda drifted into talking the Update Day festivities actually..." she spoke softly. If it hadn't been clear that he wasn't really paying attention before, now it sure was. "But... this is your first Update Day with us, isn't it, Grian? What kind of traditions do you have?"

Grian couldn't help but nod with a bit of hesitance. Surely he didn't want to mention the way in which the gods of such days celebrated. That left Evo, which... how exactly did they celebrate again? A group gathering, he supposed, to solve riddles. To dance to their unexpected parting, to become a Watcher itself. Even saying the Watchers made a riddle for them in particular — especially every single time— was rather suspicious. That was often reserved for large servers or important people like The Convex.

"I... don't like talking about it." He admitted with a frown. "It's... not exactly a good holiday for me." Even that felt to close to the truth. Even after all this time, he didn't want them even hinting at his past.

"Hey, that's alright too." Impulse assured. He gently bumped into Tango and then Zed, who were beside him. "We have a bit of a complicated relationship with it too because of the Watchers."

For a brief moment, it made Grian's heart spike, thinking they had drawn the connection. A moment later, he got himself to ease, telling himself it was because of their connection to the Watchers, not his. The Watchers had ripped their friend away; no one knew why he felt this way. "R-right..." he nodded.

"We try to party with everyone, but there's been some years that we just couldn't bear to." Tango continued for Impulse. The fire that was his hair had nearly smoldered at the sadness.

"Right," Xisuma picked up as their Admin. "We'd be honored if you joined our celebration, Grearian, but we understand if it's too much for you."

What did Grian ever do to deserve these people? For a reason he could not explain, even those simple words made him burst into tears. Mumbo silently moved to hold him against his chest, not minding how his undershirt was gradually getting wet.

"If you pardon me..." he whispered, glancing at the others for a fleeting moment before looking back at the top of the dirty blonde's head. With a bit of maneuvering, he managed to pick Grian up without disturbing him too much and headed out the door.

It hadn't been the first time he had cried in front of everyone, but it sure was embarrassing regardless.

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Phew... Don't worry, I shouldn't be time skipping any more after this... I hope.