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Apparently, Season 11 is the Season of Whimsy on Hermitcraft. This wasn’t planned from the jump, but then again, seasons rarely are planned from the jump–they still aren’t sure whose idea it actually was to spawn in the Nether–and once a bit has taken hold, its spread is inevitable. Debates resound between the Hermits over who is Whimsical, and who is Not, and what one can do to improve their whimsical standing, or stand in defiance of it if they prefer.
What exactly whimsy is, is a subject of debate and individual definition, of course. That’s half the fun; arguing over what it means.
Rendog needs little prompting to be whimsical, of course; by nearly any definition, he’s been rolling in the whimsy for basically every season, and this season is no exception. Magic and lore is most definitely a whimsical thing to center a base around.
In point of fact, Rendog treats his whimsy with a grave intensity, and the oxymoronic nature of that is not lost on him. He doesn’t dabble in whimsy, he doesn’t add a dash of it, he doesn’t enhance a build with whimsy. It is Serious Business to be thoroughly magical and whimsical, and something to worry himself over for every block he places, every location name, every bit of backstory (but of course, he can’t worry too openly, because that’s Not Whimsical). Diagonal builds are incredibly difficult, but they’re also whimsical, so he Has to learn them. Circles in Minecraft are whimsical, and so there Will be circles.
Ren’s even gone so far as to be soliciting whimsy from the other Hermits, through asking for a magical item from each of them and centering it for some kind of magical build. Since they can define what a Magical Item is to them, the resulting variance is a puzzle for Rendog to solve in his builds, and nothing’s more whimsical than a magical puzzle! (Except for a giant hat, perhaps.)
On the other hand, Welsknight is not a man of whimsy. This is a known thing about Wels–he has declared it such, loud and proud, even when nobody actually asked. He’s very certain and settled in his skepticism, his anti-whimsicality. He doesn’t dislike the whimsy around him, of course–one does not remain a Hermit for long with an active distaste for their brand of shenanigans–but Wels asserts that participation in it is not for him.
However, the rules of said non-participation in whimsy seem to be incredibly…convenient. The tightrope that Welsknight manages to walk between Refusal and Engagement is a circus-worthy performance.
Wels can speak Villager, that’s completely normal, but not this New Young Kids These Days Villager Slang. Wels isn’t part of the Canadian Space Program, but he’s not gonna give the game away when Mumbo doesn’t notice them sneaking up on him. Conversing with Joel is a dance of exactly how blatantly he can know that Everything Is Fine And Normal, obviously, nothing going on but whimsy here, which Welsknight of course knows nothing about. His correction of Rendog’s counterspell is just proper pronunciation, and has no implications on Wels’ acknowledgment of magic and its whimsical implications, of course. Anyone would know it’s “In-can-tah-tum”, that’s just how Latin works!
One might think that these stances–whimsy and skepticism–might drive a wedge between Rendog and Welsknight; and one would be quite wrong. They’ve been doing this bit for years. Instead, it works as equivalent exchange; two weights on either end of a scale, creating balance.
The Mage and the Knight. The seriousness in the whimsy, the playfulness in the skepticism. No duo more classic than the Funny Man and the Straight Man of comedy, and one doesn’t work without the other.
Wels still doesn’t like Ren’s giant hat, though. Not for being whimsical, that’s fine. It’s just so big it gets in the way when he tries to kiss him. Ren just laughs, and says it’s payback for the knight’s visor.