💫 It's Minecraft Darling 💫

Gameknight specific headcanons:

Users look doll like when they are not in the game. Like mannequins or marionettes. 

When Users are invisible (potions, cheats, spectator mode, etc) their server thread goes transparent. All the mobs on the server however have a sixth sense for when Users are around so they don't break the immersion.

The sixth sense is an unintentional survival instinct from the awakening. It's from Herobrine and its an instinct to be unnoticed so they don't get removed. (just so you know I don't like the stuff with Notch and the other users so I've retconed them) 

Herobrine hits the uncanny valley whenever he mimics something's appearance. This is very visible with the NPC's. 

Herobrine can be a lot more scary than he is in the books. He has kinda forgotten this instead locking himself into more human limitations. Think actively crashing and corrupting worlds. 

Entity's job was working with the AI of the various mobs. The server with Crafter's village is actually his. It's why he's able to put mods into it so easily.

Herobrine was Entity's pet project. He kept working on him for a while. Then when he was fired he decided to use him to get revenge.

Zombies try to be a hive mind. They over share about literally everything. It's why Monet gets odd looks but everyone still answers her.

Entity 303 was having a mental breakdown in his books. Man's was not all there. The magical fishing rod didn't "restore his empathy" or whatever the book said about it. It broke through his delusions and made him realize what he was thinking wasn't real. This is because I hate the "He's evil and just needs a hug" way it was treated in the book. You reread that part and it literally reads like "He's lonely and it's kind of his fault that he has "bad vibes" and potentially has anxiety! So he decided to kill people and be evil!" And the fact that apparently he was fired for (checks notes)... giving ideas for game mechanics is stupid especially if he was smart enough to break into backend systems to add mods to the source code of minecraft and delete an antivirus system from it. Rant over lol

Including real people into fiction has never been my cup of tea, but especially not in this case.

I don't like Notch. I personally hate Notch. Whenever I reread book 3, I have to gaslight myself into believing it's someone else speaking. The other users (some of which are clearly based on real YouTubers,) are so varied that I don't have any one opinion of them, but god do I get uncomfortable and thrown out of the immersion during the times when they appear. (Books 1 and 6 are the only instances I recall.) I would have preferred if we were just dealing with random user characters specifically designed to fit into this series, that way I could actually believe them showing up.

Entity's character makes me want to scream. Ignore the fact that we're bringing in another creepypasta figure, at this point I don't care because there's so many separate valid issues. What I care about is how this series copy-pasted the 80s cartoon villain personality onto this guy that's supposed to exist outside of the game and have a physical life and job.

I hate the fact that all the monster court characters act the same plus or minus one or two traits. Like that's annoying and adds to the repetition that plagues every level of writing in Gameknight999. But this case? This case?!?! Why does ENTITY act the same as them? At least the monsters have the excuse of being programmed to be "evil" (whatever that means) and so it kind of makes sense for them to be over-the-top. But Entity is probably 20+ years old, maybe around 30 is my headcanon. Why does he act like he's five? Why does he have a rivalry with a 12 year old kid?

I could go on for a lot longer about this, but for now I just want to touch back on the "redemption" thing. Because am I crazy, or was the solution to their problems to go on a collective drug trip? Am I the only one that read it that way? Because Entity just automatically switches from revenge to remorse because he saw the light. We don't even know what happened to him for sure in the end, so who knows if his revelation was permanent. Guy was not stable.

I love this series but it's one of those series that had so much potential. I try not to speak on it too much because that spoils the fun of the books. But there is SO much with this series that makes me mad. I mostly just deal with it as it is written for children but I think kids should have good books. Even if just to come back to when they're older and be like "wow this author thought about this". So… I'm going to get all my ranting out in one shot. Hope you don't mind.

For Notch, most of my beef with him comes from his IRL views and the fact that he feels so shoehorned into Minecraft lore. Like he's the god of the universe but there's never any lore built off of that. No sayings, no celebrations, sometime people don't even bother to change things like "oh my god" to "oh my Notch". Even in the Gameknight universe he's the creator of the world and he's part of the Deus Ex Machina at the end of the first trilogy and fifth trilogy (when Gameknight goes back in time). But beyond that he's ignored. It just feels so detached. Like we have to put him in the world because he made Minecraft. So I just pretend he doesn't exist in any of it. He doesn't exist in my au, and I've retconned him so he doesn't exist in my Gameknight fic.

The Users drive me insane. Like you said I wouldn't mind if there were more users like Shawny (ocs and only a few) but having massive (I might be hallucinating it but I think one of the books says six Hundred (600) but I do remember it was absurdly high) amounts is horrendous.

First off the logistics of a home computer handling that, one that's apparently decently good but still a home computer not built for handling servers is clearly not thought about beyond a throwaway line of "I don't know how much it can handle".

Secondly opening the server to literally everyone brings risk of griefers. I like to believe there is good in people and if Gameknight really did send out a call for help like that majority of people would show up to help. But I also know that a 12 year old who has a reputation for being a bit of an ass suddenly asking for help would attract people who would want to hurt rather than help. Especially if people think it's a mod or RP. Yet even though the series opens with Gameknight being one of these people, then a few chapters later facing down against those people, we never hear about griefers again.

Third and the biggest reason why I hate the users. Is because they don't exist beyond the big scenes where they're needed! Once again beyond the opening and the griefers in the first book we never see any "natural" users again. I don't believe that all these users will show up just to fight in one battle and then never be seen again. Especially on a public server. If people think it's a mod they're going to be harassing Gameknight and Shawny for it. If people think it's real it's going to either make the news or the government is going to get involved. If neither than at the very least people are going to be interested in this server. But instead we get vague references to them and never see them again!

As for Entity 303, I don't mind too much him being brought up as his creepypasta lore does attach him to Herobrine. My issue is that he feels uncreative and like a "oh shit I need a bad guy, but I killed off Herobrine". And then he's dropped and never brought up again. (I don't blame Mark too much as his publisher was apparently pushing hard for this trilogy to be released fast but it all still pisses me off).

Like you said he acts just like the monster kings. It's the whole reason why I headcanon Entity 303 has some kind of mental illness is because he reads like that. He does not sound like a mentally stable adult man. He talks to no one and then screams at Weaver when he responds. He's angry at a company who fired him and the reason makes me think that he's either not being truthful or there's something wrong that his making him believe that's the truth. He's trying to take down Mojang by using a very impressive virus he made and by stealing very valuable equipment to kill it from the inside rather than dealing with it through legal action or any other way. He is apparently so smart about the AI and software and other parts of Minecraft but also doesn't seem to realize that the server will be fixed with an update or something. It's just an infuriating mess! He is irrationally angry and making illogical connections. And then he's cured!?! By a magical fishing rod that connects their minds!?! (There is no way to write that and make it sound okay or even not creepy as I also headcanon him as about 30, and Gameknight is still twelve) And he may or may not have been left to die via the mods he installed!?! It drives me up a fucking wall!!

For my fic I've completely retconned Elytra Perils because Entity and Gameknight need to be friendly in it. And while the things that happen in the main book can be fixed with the logic of that alternate universe hasn't happened so you're technically at square one, the fact that in this story he manages to call a 12-year-old, threatens to kill people who he knows are alive and potentially kill said 12-year-old is insane. You can't come back from that! All the stuff in the actual series can be explained away by an "I didn't know/believe they were alive" but this short story blows that all up! He is actively putting a twelve-year-old in a saw trap through Minecraft!!! What the fuck!!

Also if he made Herobrine as like a Temu AM/Glados. I question his thought process even before he decides to harass and try to kill a 12-year-old. If he made an AI who's entire plan is to destroy humanity what does he expect to happen to him? Herobrine, first off doesn't seem to remember or know him, but also he doesn't seem like someone who makes exceptions.

Other things I want to get out of my system because AUHHGGG

The lack of care for Fyed at the end of one of the books. This man basically went against his only still living peer/sibling against a man who was basically his god/father/whatever to help people he really doesn't like. To help people who have hurt his people before and might hurt them again. It was a big moment and a very mature moment. And he doesn't even get any recognition. The ending literally has them saying thanks to the people who sacrificed their lives for everyone. Fyed's name does not appear at all not even as a mental thank you. This literally happens on the next page after his death.

The lack of war tactics on the Monster's side throughout the book. The best time they use them is during a throwaway battle. Other than that they always try and use numbers to overwhelm Gameknight. Herobrine is supposed to be this wicked smart AI but he doesn't know the first thing about fighting apparently.

The fact that the above always works. Gameknight should know by at least the third "Final Battle" that the monsters think numbers will overwhelm them. Instead he always freaks out and is wondering what to do until someone says something mildly generic and uplifting. To be fair. He is twelve. But he is also a twelve-year-old quoting The Art of War so I expect him to be a little smarter than this. The only exception is when Herobrine becomes a dragon. Because dragons are scary.

The changing of the worldbuilding. This is very nitpicky but it bothers me. I can't remember when but at some point NPC from within Minecraft say an idiom like, "Sitting Duck" or "He's toast". Then later in the series when Gameknight says those same idioms suddenly no one knows what he's talking about.

The "This is our new friend! He has a name!" so he's going to die. I understand that Mark is working with limited timing for emotional beats, and doesn't want to add to the cast too much. But also the only exception to this I can think of is Morgana. Everyone else who gets a name and a backstory is going to die by the end of the book and it will be the kick in the ass for Gameknight to save the day. It's boring especially if you're rereading the series