Minecraft (Dark Horse Comics)/SftOPlot

=== "Birthday Boy" ===
A man named Julian explains to the reader that he generally hates his own birthday as he prepares for work. The day, which coincidentally is his birthday, goes terrible from the start. Julian ends up missing the 7-AM train to work, so he takes a taxi instead. Another man named Nick calls Julian on his smartphone, asking if he’ll be on to play Minecraft tonight. Julian says that he won’t be able to as he is working late. Upon arriving at work, he is asked by his boss if he got the message about working late. Julian says that he did and starts to bring up his birthday, but the boss says that he can talk to human resources about arraigning a cake, noting that it would be six to eight weeks before one is delivered. Julian ends up working through the whole day, finishing up a quarterly report before 8-PM. He then rushes back home and starts playing Minecraft on a VR headset. Nick meets up with Julian, and soon the two head down into a mine to find some lapis lazuli.
As Nick and Julian head down the mine, they get attacked by numerous hostile mobs such as spiders and skeletons. The two then find some lapis in a cave on the other side of a canyon and start collecting it. Just then, some slimes begin to fall down from the ceiling of the cave, causing the floor to crack underneath. Nick holds on to the edge of the canyon as Julian fends off the slimes. The latter then grabs onto Nick as he tries to grab the bag of lapis lazuli, but the two end up falling down to the base of the canyon. As they head back up to the surface, Julian is greeted with cake and the phrase "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" made out of blocks of lapis lazuli. He, Nick, and their friends then continue working on their tower of lapis, with Julian mentioning to the reader that perhaps sometimes his birthday can be okay.
=== "A Creeper’s Tale" ===
A creeper is seen in a forest, befriended by a spider and a wolf. The three end up building a small house out of dirt and decide to meet up tomorrow. That night, the creeper is asleep in the house when two skeletons appear, saying that she is useless for acting like a person. The skeletons then break a glass window, drawing the attention of the spider and the wolf, who end up attacking the skeletons. They run off as the spider and the wolf calm down the creeper, saying to her that she can explode, but only if she either gets too excited or tries to talk to someone. The next morning, the spider and the wolf meet the creeper once again, surprised to see that the house is surrounded by a lava moat, in which a pressure plate is connected to a dirt circle on top of it. The spider and wolf are amazed at the creeper for setting it up, and decide to gather their other animal friends to show it off. As the spider and wolf are away, a person then appears, walking toward the house. The creeper starts to warn the person about the lava moat as it approaches the person, causing itself to explode and the dirt circle to give way to the lava moat. The person, blown back by the explosion, soon notices the pressure plate on the ground, suggesting that the creeper was trying to warn the person, and starts walking toward a ridge. Later, the spider and the wolf return, with no creeper in sight.
=== "The Witch and The Pillager" ===
A witch, later named Denise, prepares to throw a potion at an unsuspecting villager, but the villager ends up being shot by a pillager named Darnell. He and Denise then have an argument about who would’ve been responsible for going after the villager. Denise then throws a potion of poison at the villager in frustration before it scurries off. Denise and Darnell then hear construction off in the distance and decide to head over to it, realizing that its a fortified village. They have a bet, where whoever takes out the least villagers moves away and forfeits all hunting rights. The village is then ransacked by Denise and Darnell, and the two barely escape when an iron golem tries to attack them. A few days later, Denise suggests ransacking a village nearby, but Darnell says that he has to get back to his pack of pillagers. The two once again have a brief argument before parting ways, with Denise going to ransack the village alone. She is lost in thought about Darnell, however, and a villager suggests that she communicate with Darnell and be open to compromise. Denise responds by throwing a potion of poison at the villager, saying that she’ll never work on a compromise, but she leaves the ransacked village visibly sad. Just then, Darnell appears, making Denise wonder as to where his pack of pillagers went. Darnell says that he ditched them to look for her, as he states that raiding a village isn’t as fun without her. The two apologize and reconcile as they raid the village. Afterwards, the two kiss as they look around for more villages to raid.
=== "A Pig’s Tale" ===
A player spawns in the Overworld, determined to build an empire of his own. By the next day, the person’s health and hunger run low, and soon notices a baby pig. The person doesn’t have the courage to kill it, however, so the pig ends up following the person wherever they go. The pig then knocks the person off a cliff into water, with the person vowing revenge on it. By day sixty-five, the player has built their empire, with several traps set up for the pig. Unbeknownst to the player, the pig oinks right behind the player, who ends up falling down the side of the castle. A week after that, the player sets up a trap involving doors and a pressure plate, but the pig knocks the player into it. Four weeks after that, the player gives up on killing the pig, knowing that it had destroyed the empire and dodged everything the player could think of, and decides to start anew. Now over a million blocks from spawn, the player builds a shelter underground, soon reaching the bottom of the world, open to a void below. The player begins to sense that the pig might’ve followed them here, and it has, much to their own belief. The pig begins to explain why it followed the player, but the player says that it can’t speak pig. The pig then pulls out a sign which says that the player had a carrot in its back pocket. The player then tosses the carrot to the pig, who munches it down and then holds up another sign asking for more carrots. The player then decides to head back to the empire with the pig. Some time later, the empire is rebuilt with carrot farms and statues of pigs everywhere, and the player also has a new friend, that being the pig.
=== "A Strange Shore" ===
A man washes up on a shore, soon finding a village. He is not greeted warmly by the villagers at first, but as he accepts a flower offered by a baby villager, they welcome him. Another villager gives the man a bowl of mushroom stew. Just then, another villager warns that the sun is setting, so everyone heads inside a house to sleep. That night, the man notices several hostile mobs, only to duck for cover underneath his bed when he notices an enderman. The next morning, the man discovers that a majority of the village was destroyed, so he decides to help rebuild it. He makes a pickaxe at the blacksmith’s shop and then heads off into the world unknown, doing whatever he can to help rebuild the village while also getting stronger himself. Later, with his diamond armor equipped and the village not only rebuilt, but expanded, he notices a woman washed up on the shore. The man helps the woman toward the village, where she is greeted warmly by the villagers.