It all started off so simply. Joy was trying to make a potion that would allow her to speak with piglins. She was always needing Nether materials and it would be nice to have the ability to trade again since the villagers still hadn’t forgiven her for the incident that had taken place oh so long ago. It was hopefully in its final stages, she just needed some help testing it. That’s where Legundo, the server’s resident piglin hybrid, came in. She would drink the potion, ask him to say some things in his native tongue and see if it was properly translated. Then, she would say some things and he would let her know what language he heard them in. They both decided it would be best to test this at Joy’s house to keep any mishaps contained since her more customized potions could be a bit wild. It wasn’t until they were walking up the path that Legundo noticed something strange.

“Hey hey hey! Wait a second, did you see that?” Legundo asked as they approached. “Seems you have a bit of a haunted house!” There’s a laugh in his voice as they both stop and peek through the window at what was clearly Viking, rummaging through Joy’s rather unorganized potion collection. 

“Oh! Maybe he needs more fire resistance? The poor guy keeps running out. Maybe he’d be interested in testing my newest potion out with us! I’ll go ask and-”

“Wait!” Legundo stopped walking and put a hand on Joy’s shoulder. He gave her a mischievous grin. “Viking’s always scaring people by just showing up out of nowhere, right? I say we give him a taste of his own medicine! He’s got his back to us right now so as long as we stay quiet and take it slow… Oh yeah, this is gonna be great!”

The two nod at each other and carefully make their way to the door. Legundo took the lead as they snuck through into the sitting room area that had been taken over by Joy’s latest project. Surprisingly, Viking still hadn’t noticed them, too focused on all of the potions that had been haphazardly pushed to the side. Legundo took a deep breath as Joy did her best to stifle her giggling. 

Just as it looked like Viking was going to turn around, Legundo screamed, “BELL NOISES!” causing Viking to jump and let out a high pitched screech, almost seeming to phase out of the physical world for a second.

Legundo and Joy shared a laugh at Viking’s shriek. They were quick to stop when they heard the shattering of glass. The shimmering red cloud that had escaped the potion bottle was instantly drawn towards the phantom, mingling with his semi corporeal form. 

“Guys,” there’s a tremble in Viking’s voice, ”I don’t- Something doesn’t feel riGH- AH!” He’s suddenly clutching his chest as the potion properly takes hold. He grits his teeth, trying to keep from screaming as it suddenly feels like he’s burning from the inside out. His knees give out as tears begin streaming down his face, the only thing keeping him from bashing his head on the floor are the sudden arms around him. He’s not quite sure who caught him, but he doesn’t have it in him to care as he curls into them and screams. The noise tears its way out of his throat as he feels as his spine almost seems to twist. He vaguely thinks he hears someone mention milk and someone else say it’s too dangerous and the thought would almost be funny if his mouth hadn’t just been filled with blood as something forces its way out of his gums. There’s a weird sensation in his chest, like someone has pushed two observers together and set off a piston with them. If he wasn’t in a constant state of almost dead, he’d think it was a heartbeat and that it was dangerously high. His screams reach an impossible volume and the arms around him just hold tighter, seeming to not care how the hand that isn’t glued to his chest is practically clawing into theirs. Through the pain and confusion he thinks he can feel leather, a belt of sorts, thinks he can fit a face to the arms but then the agony crescendos and all he can think is that he’s dying again and he’d never get the answers he was looking for. He thinks someone tells him to breathe. He wants to laugh, say that he’s not needed to do that in a long time, has only been doing it lately to keep the others from freaking out more. His lungs are burning. That can’t be right though because he doesn’t have any, shouldn’t have any. In a haze he sees what he thinks is his hand but it’s not right, it’s a pale but no longer transparent with thicker, almost claw-like nails on the end and that’s not right. He’s not alive, not really so why isn’t he transparent anymore? The burning has stopped but he still feels warmer than he has since he died. That weird pounding is still going on in his chest as well. He sucks in a breath, and then another. Noise starts filtering back to him and he realizes he’d stopped screaming at some point. The chest he’s leaned against rumbles as the person speaks.

“That’s it, just like that. Keep breathing, you’re doing great.” A calm and gentle mantra, the tone almost unfamiliar when coming from Legundo. This close to him and the man almost seems to purr. They’ve started gently swaying, rocking side to side as the tears finally slow. “Hey bud, you seem to be coming back, that’s great.” His voice stays at an almost whisper and he starts rubbing circles on Viking’s back.

On first attempt to speak, all that comes out is a hoarse croak, leaving him coughing until Joy comes over with both a bottle of water and a clearly labeled healing potion. Viking alternates sips of each until he feels like trying again. “G-guys? What just happened-” a cough escapes his throat, making him wince. “What happened to me?” There’s still the weird movement in his chest but it’s slowed, he’s starting to think that it actually is a heartbeat but still doesn’t know why.

“That potion you dropped,” Joy starts, looking nervously around the room, “That was a highly experimental project I was working on. I was calling it a Nether Potion for now. It turns things into their Nether counterpart.” She nods at some crimson roots sitting in the corner. “Those used to be beetroots. It’s been two weeks since I dropped some of that potion on them and there’s been no sign of changing back. I never even thought about what it might do to a person but,” She pauses for a second, looking between him and Legundo, “It seems you two now have some things in common?” She cringes a bit at her attempt to make light of the situation.

“Wha-” before he could finish asking, Legundo cut him off.

image one:

"DOMINION WEEKS

graphic design is my passion"

2:

"DOMINION WEEKS:

• A chance to create something of every Dominion member!

• Each character and prompt gets 2 days each, so no rush!

• Will run from March 1st, 2024, to April 9th

• 4 optional bonus prompts throughout the event

• All artforms allowed!

tag is #dominionweeks

CCs, feel free to interact!"

3:

"SCHEDULE:

Every number represents 2 days

1. dalilred

2. Shadowmech

3. Sneve

4. Nukeri

5. Special 1

6. Taneesha

7. SwitchBackMongo

8. VikingPilot

9. NotNotBrock

10. Special 2

11. Fixxitt 412

12. GradyTV

13. CodeNeon*

14. RNJoy

15. Special 3

16. Legundo

17. it_ryan

18. Jammers

19. Kiply

20. Special 4

* Josh's new username

(If this confuses you, don't worry, I will announce each day when they happen)"

4:

"SPECIAL PROMPTS:

Special 1:

Favorite Moment/ Build

Special 2:

NPCs/ Pets

Special 3:

Different Series/ Crossover

Special 4:

Loony/ The Void