Michael

*“Alright everybody, it’s time we all exchange our gifts!” - Michael*

Michael, a stone golem native to MiddleGround, is one of the primary characters in the Blocky Let's Play timeline, being present in both Season 1 and Season 2.

## Biography [Season 1]

### Creation

Michael began as a mossy stone statue, standing tall in an old village long forgotten in 1841 BLP. One day, the body of a Field of Dreams-originating archangel named Michael flew down from the skies, crashing directly into the base of the statue. Over the course of the next fifteen years, a lifegiving energy emanated from the archangel's corpse, flowing straight into the stone golem. Then, in 1856 BLP, the stone golem became an animated creature, walking away from the abandoned village knowing nothing but its name, Michael.

#### Early Life

Michael wanted to live a normal, human life. So, he integrated himself into a nearby town, assimilating himself into an average life, all while sporting a pale green tunic and tan pants. However, his uniqueness didn't go unnoticed, as Michael was the only stone golem to ever exist in MiddleGround. This attracted the attention of the Syndicate of Sorcery, a clan of witches. These witches were tasked by the Illagers to seek out everlasting life, and to harness it to their greatest ability. So, the witches found and became obsessed Michael, and how he was alive despite being made of nothing but rocks and moss.

They attempted to kidnap Michael numerous times in his young life, forcing Michael to constantly move towns to avoid being taken. Their harassments pushed Michael towards having to defend himself, and Michael quickly realized that, because the witches always had an abundance of healing potions, any wound he inflicted would be easily reversed, perpetuating the cycle of getting hunted down.

Michael, who wished to remain a pacifist in his early years, understood that wounding them wouldn't send the message he needed. Michael purchased a large dark axe from a local blacksmith, forged from ancient metals found in the UnderGround. Michael trained himself in the arts of axe combat, and dubbed this axe "King Crimson," taking it with him wherever he went. Then, the next time the syndicate members tried to capture him again, Michael swung back, dealing fatal blows whenever possible. Only one survived, a purposeful decision to allow for word to spread to the syndicate leaders. However, they were persistent, and continued sending witches towards Michael, resulting in more bloody battles.

After long years of fighting, the Syndicate of Sorcery was reduced to a fraction of what it used to be. Despite this, the syndicate never stopped, and continued sending scouts to spy from a distance and keep track of Michael's movements. Due to this, Michael decided to exile himself from the world completely. He used a small boat to cross the ocean, looking for any land he could find.

### The Island

Eventually, he found a small island of green grasslands and tree-covered hills, with nothing but a decrepit and abandoned McWay Café chain restaurant in a field. Here, he constructed a home inside a steep hill wall, hidden in a small valley of the island. He bore through the earth, spending months establishing hallways and chopping trees with King Crimson, all while feeding himself via fishing off the sandy beaches of the island. He also was sure to switch his common appearance, stitching himself a red wool sweater and gray jeans.

After a few years of solitude had passed, a small handful of individuals had discovered the island over time. These people were Conquest, Famine, and War, who were misfits in their own right, and while all butt heads frequently, a small community was formed on the island. Structures were constructed, such as a courthouse for settling disputes, a barrel for sharing goods, and a stage for local events which Michael hosted.

Then, in 2020 BLP, a pigman named Jack ventured onto the island, seeking out a treasure of sorts. He became integrated into the community, and was invited to an upcoming gift exchange event set in the coming days.

#### Christmas/Death

On December 24th, a particularly stormy day, the annual island gift-giving event began. Michael was sure to celebrate the occasion, stitching himself an ugly blue sweater to wear. The event itself worked in a sort of secret santa style style of gift-giving, and everybody was going through the process of opening their gifts. Michael was assigned to open his gift last, and upon opening it, noticed it was nothing but a note. He read the note, detailing in the form of a poem that he was about to die, and to look up. Michael reached for King Crimson as he looked atop the tree, where an assassin hired by Jack stood wielding the Excalibur, a powerful sword of legend.

*"Roses are red, violets are blue, you are about to die, look above you." - Jack's holiday note*

The assassin leaped down towards Michael as thunder struck, but Michael couldn't determine the speed he was falling due to the rain. Michael swung up with King Crimson, but he was too early, and the assassin slashed Excalibur across Michael's chest, killing him instantly. Michael fell to the floor, lifeless, and Conquest volunteered to haul his body to the Cathedral to have a proper final resting place.

#### Ghost

As Michael died, his spirit was ejected from his body, appearing as a sickly teal color with his sweater torn where he was slashed. His eyes were now lifeless, now glowing a faint white instead of yellow. Additionally, where his wound was, a glowing bright blue substance coated his body, almost like a sort of blood.

Instead of being sent to UpperGround as many souls are, Michael was redirected, and landed in the Field of Dreams instead. Here, he met Darius, the god of the Field of Dreams and head of the Divine Covenant, who explained that Michael was rerouted because of his archangel heritage due to absorbing Archangel Michael's energy. Thus, Darius explained that Michael was a necessary component to the Divine Covenant, specifically in Darius' plan to shape the world in his own image, primarily selling positive factors of the plan to Michael. Michael, who wasn't aware his soul was put off track, assumed this is his fate as a spirit, and agreed to help in Darius' plan.

As a spirit, Michael was able to travel between the Field of Dreams and MiddleGround, allowing him to view the world without interacting with it in any way. Initially, Michael wanted to exert justice over his death, wanting answers and payback about the betrayal that ended his long life. However, he didn't have it in him, and simply watched over his friends instead, trying to understand what brought about his demise. Michael was disturbed by the way they bickered and fought, and constantly wished there was some way he could intervene and stop the conflict like he would often do while he was alive. However, after only a few days, Jack formed an alliance with the horsemen to bring Michael back.

As this happened, Michael was quickly brought to the Field of Dreams, where Darius had told him the plan was underway. He gave Michael a proper archangel outfit, akin to the other angels that resided in the Field of Dreams. The outfit included a blue shirt with a golden collar and shoulder pads. Around his waste was more gold, with complex sandals strapped to his legs. Darius handed Michael a magical trumpet, informing him to blow it when the time is right to begin the plan to fix the world. Michael understood, and watched as the Field of Dreams disappeared in a bright white light.

#### Reborn as an Archangel

Conquest, Famine, War, and Jack took Michael's body to the Temple of Rejuvenation, and Jack began a ritual that would revive Michael. The ritual required each horseman's artifact to be placed on an ancient table, along with the Hades Rose, all with Michael's body in the center. As the temple sprung to life, lighting torches as Jack uttered ancient texts, a bright flash blinded the room, and Michael was brought back to life.

He sat up, sporting his new outfit as given by Darius. But now, he had a pair of angel wings to complete his appearance, and his glowing white eyes from his spirit form remained in his physical form, too. Michael also had the trumpet Darius sent down with him, explaining to the horsemen its future purpose.

Eventually, one evening, all the four horsemen got together with Michael to fulfill Darius' quest. Michael blew the trumpet, its sound echoing all through the skies of MiddleGround. Then, the world began to fall apart as the Apocalypse began. The sky turned orange, and the ground began to shake as fires broke out throughout the island's forest.

In the confusion, Michael's only thought and instinct was to get to safety. He lost sight of the horsemen, and ditched the trumpet, opting to grab King Crimson instead. He recalled a gateway to UnderGround that he had in his come, so he travelled through the portal, leaving MiddleGround in favor of the hellish environment of UnderGround.

### UnderGround Exile

Shortly after passing into the UnderGround, Michael's archangel power was spontaneously siphoned from him. His wings vanished off of his back, leaving cracks where they used to be. Additionally, his white eyes vanished with a blink, now reverted back to his original yellow eyes. Any of the energy that Archangel Michael gave to him that brought him such special powers was gone, and now Michael was left with nothing but his life.

Michael began to understand that MiddleGround was lost, as any portals he was once aware of were now destroyed. So, he began assimilating himself into life in the UnderGround, or as many called it, the Nether. Michael quickly picked up how to appease the Piglins, bartering with them to establish friendly ties and maintain valuable resources such as tools, cloth, and Hoglin meat.

After a few years of being on the go, Michael found a quiet cliffside in a warped forest, constructing a permanent home for himself. He made new, more humble clothing for himself, consisting of a long green coat, high brown boots, and a flowing cloak. He lived out a life of as much peace as he could attain, reminding himself of his time alone on the island. He held his memories incredibly close to him, as they were the only way he could remember who he was and what life was like before the Apocalypse.

While this motivated him to push onwards, things quickly became more complicated for him. After over a hundred years of living in UnderGround, Michael was walking along a precarious cliff when the fragile rock beneath his feat gave weigh, and he fell dozens of meters to the forest floor below. As Michael struck the ground, significant pieces of his head broke off. Additionally, one of his eyes was busted, leaving him with only one eye to see. This irreversible damage effected him not only physically, but also mentally.

After the incident, he begun to experience retrograde amnesia, and had incredible difficulty remembering events of his past. The only piece of his past that he could remember was his old home on the island. Virtually all other memories, including his UnderGround home as well as his own name, had vanished, leaving only occasional foggy traces in his mind. Clinging onto the only information he still had about himself, Michael immediately set himself to return to his house in MiddleGround, hoping to find more answers to his past.

He bandaged himself up, salvaging what pieces of him he could, and through a widespread search in UnderGround, Michael found a ruined portal capable of being rebuilt. So, after seemingly endless trial and error in reconstructing it, he was able to relight the portal and step back into MiddleGround.

## Biography [Season 2]

### Return to MiddleGround

Michael exited the portal, surprised to find himself in a large cavern covered in lively greenery. Michael was entranced by its beauty, but didn't forget his mission to find his old home. He found his way out of the cave, and spent the next few months traversing the world in search of it. The landscapes of MiddleGround had healed since he last saw it, and the land had seemingly been reformed, making it more difficult to rely on what little memory he had left of landmarks near his house.

Eventually, through what is possibly sheer luck, he was stumbling through a snowstorm high in the mountains when he took notice to some ruins tucked within a small valley in the hills. After staring them down for a moment, he identified that they matched with what little memory he had of the island, and he quickly located the remains of his old home shortly after.

However, his home was now far from livable, as ice formed within the walls, and the tunnels had caved in long ago. He spent a few nights within his home, taking the days to look over the ruins and see if he could remember anything else. However, the memories were long gone, and he gave up. So, with a shift of mindset, he began to try living a new life.

### JAMville

After leaving his ruined home in the mountains, he came across a plateau not far from it. There, he decided to purchase land from the landlord who lived there, and he began to build his new home. Although he couldn't remember his name, he continued to reinvent himself anyway, coming under the name of Chandler.

On occasion, he would leave JAMville on a day trip, heading up into the mountains to check up on his old mailbox, just in case somebody he may have known would reach out. On one of these outings, he was approached by Marty, a pigmen field researcher up in the mountains.

#### Josh

One day, a pillager entered Michael's house, taking refuge in the basement while Michael was out checking his old mailbox for the day. When he returned, he was shocked to see a man tucked away in his home. The pillager was initially scared of Michael, as he'd grown up hearing tales of a vengeful stone golem who had slaughtered those associated with Illagers. However, Michael calmed the Pillager down, explaining that he didn't really care too much. Michael said that the man can stick around in the basement if he wants to, so long as he helps pay the rent.

The Pillager was pleased, and introduced himself as Josh. The two formed a close friendship, and eventually, Josh moved out of the house and made his own home on the southern side of JAMville.

## Trivia

* Retcons:
	+ Michael's original date of birth was 1593 BLP as established by the "*any rock golem born after 1593*" video was published
	+ Originally, Michael was revived in a small temple that was tucked away beneath his home
	+ Michael's ghost appearance originally had him spattered in blood across his wound and body; instead, the red blood has been opted for a glowing light blue substance
	+ Although it was never made clear, the events of the video "*Raiding Party [BLP Animatic]*" aren't considered canon
* Despite being made of stone, Michael still needs to breathe, eat, blink, sleep, and more
	+ He also has no internal organs or blood, further complicating this fact
* Michael's stone golem appearance is based on Skin Pack 5 in the legacy console edition of Minecraft, where there was a skin named "rock man," sporting the iconic mossy slab-like hair and glowing yellow eyes that Michael has
* Michael is the only character to directly appear in both seasons of Blocky Let's Play other than War
* For no apparent reason, Michael hates chickens
* As of Season 2, Michael avoids eating any pig meat, as he grew beyond tired of it after eating almost nothing aside from it for 100+ years in the UnderGround
* Michael has undergone the most wardrobe changes out of any character in Blocky Let's Play
* Yes, the axe, King Crimson, is totally a JoJo reference
* Due to his immense weight, Michael cannot swim, so it poses a very strong threat against him
	+ One of Michael's greatest fears is drowning, so he doesn't go out on the ocean all too often
	+ Even though he weighs the most out of all Blocky Let's Play characters, he has been the only one capable of flight
* Because he is made of stone, Michael physically ages at the same speed a rock is worn down, making him practically immortal
	+ Despite this, he is (clearly) still capable of death via incredibly intense damages to his body
* In Season 1, Michael had a dog named Omelet
* Michael's Season 2 house is covered in lush greenery due to his immediate fascination in it after escaping the UnderGround

## Appearances in BLP Media

### Videos

* "*any rock golem born after 1592*"  Uploaded by CaptainFlare, March 12th, 2021
* "*The Horseman of Death*" (video)

Video Link (due to issues in video embedding)

Uploaded by MartyThePig, March 23rd, 2021

* "*Raiding Party [BLP Animatic]*"  Uploaded by CaptainFlare, May 1st, 2021
* "*I don't need it*"  Reuploaded by MartyTwoPig, January 6th, 2022
* "*Adrift [A BLP Short Film]*"  Uploaded by CaptainFlare, December 11th, 2021

### Written Works

* "*The Horseman of Death*" (book) - written by MartyThePig