Please enjoy the first installment of a new series I'd like to call Gamemode 0!
If you're waiting for Mianite Season Four (ha), this will hopefully tide you over. Gamemode 0 is a highly produced mini-series that tells a story through text, dramatic audio narration, a musical score, and images. It stars a villain who was an edgy Grim Reaper in 2015 and it poses the question—how much has Kikoku Botan really changed since 2015?
That question will be answered over the course of – I'm guessing – seven-ish chapters? The first chapter, which you're about to read and hear, is based on a Minecraft RP session held in a single night. Those present for the session include World Historian's original writer (me) and a group of talented role-players. More info under the cut!
Here's the cast:
Moth @robotmothpie as Ginkgo Belshem
CloudF11 @silent-moons-camp as Cloud Endernatus
Metal @mx-metal as Omu Vulcan
Honor @cult-of-athar as Fateshaper (the Big Bad)
Matthew (me) as World Historian
(All characters are voiced by me.)
Background:
The project was Mianite Etherealis. We played on a private 1.12 server for two years, ending in early 2023. The chapter you're about to read (titled Session One) covers the RP session that brought World Historian into the narrative.
I would almost go so far as to say that you're about to experience a canon World Historian mini-series with implications for all World Historian content in existence.
Is it actually canon? I don't know. It's as authentic as you'll ever get for WH, that's for sure. I've spent the last nine years developing the cosmology being used here. I planted the seeds for it when I created World Historian in 2015.
But no, Gamemode 0 isn't Dec-and-Tom-approved canon. And my astounding co-writers aren't offical Mianite writers. And Etherealis isn't a piece of lost Mianite media, though you can think of it that way if you'd like.
Vision:
Gamemode 0 will follow the plot of Mianite Etherealis for one more session, then embark on its own original plot centered on World Historian.
That being said, my aim with Gamemode 0 is to dig up a piece of the past and link it to the future. This series is one of many projects that could result from that effort. If it sees enough support, it could grow beyond text, images, and audio. We have endless headroom here.
If you're looking for Botan's history in Ruxomar, you'll find it. If you're hoping for a glimpse into Akemi and Mina's lives, you'll get it. If you seek all manner of strange World Historian lore, consider it yours.
We have plenty of chapters to take us from the past, to the future, and back again. I could just list the plain facts about World Historian in a lore post, but as a storyteller, I could never be satisfied with that.
Disclaimer:
The players own their characters. Most of the dialogue and actions in Session One come straight from the corresponding RP session. I'm just putting it all to a narrative and making readability tweaks for first-timers.
Shout-outs:
Happy birthday yesterday, Honor! We love you!! I guess this is one of your presents. Thanks for letting World Historian take over as the big scary dude for a session. And sorry for writing out our best boy, Oleander. We should co-write something someday.
Cloud, thanks for going back to our defunct Minecraft world to set everything up and take the awesome shadered screenshots for Session One. Also thanks for making c!Cloud such a great POV character. He carries Gamemode 0.
Thank you, Moth, for the un-shadered screenies, for being my PR person, and for supporting me generally all the time. PDA PDA aaaaa!
And thanks, Metal, for being the cool one. B)
Calls to action:
Mianitees, shower love upon my friends. I know Moth and Cloud would jump at the opportunity to answer asks about their passionately crafted OCs. And so would Honor and Metal, I suspect. With the right motivation, who knows what they could create?
The link will send you to my Substack blog, where you'll be able to read, listen, like, and subscribe to my newsletter. The paid subscription has no advantage over the free one; most of you will pick free, but if anyone would like to support me financially, that would be super appreciated. (If we get some traction with subs, I'll set up sub goals and a budget for upgrades to my production.) I plan to release Gamemode 0 chapters as frequently as I can, but I will post something to my Substack every month—Mianite related or not.
Also please like and reblog this Tumblr post if you dig it and want to see more.
Here are some World Historian pics that weren't included in Gamemode 0 Chapter One but still deserve to be seen. @silent-moons-camp took the first one; @robotmothpie took the second and third.
The stupid portal was, at some point, World Edit mirrored. Lmao my bad. It used to be cool and asymmetrical. Man...
And here are a few pics that were included in the chapter but I still want to show off again. Courtesy of @silent-moons-camp.
If you're interested in checking out Gamemode 0 Chapter One (pinned post), I'd deeply appreciate your feedback! I've gotten one verbal response from outside the core group so far and it's been motivating, but more interaction from the community would really put a fire under me to create Chapter Two.
These types of projects take a lot of work, from the writing to the narration to the voice-overs to the editing to the music... Hey, I guess I put that on myself, but I wanted to make something special for everybody. <3 And I tend to get carried away.
Constructive criticism will be super valued. If you think something didn't work in Chapter One and you have suggestions for edits or future installments, let me know in a post or an ask or whatever.
In the meantime, I'm getting back into illustration, so you'll see some of that. Lots of original content, as well as some Mianite stuff. (I might even take requests.) Let's hope I've still got it.
