Minecraft Diaries
is a web series created by Jessica Brauvera, a.k.a. Aphmau, taking place in the world of Minecraft. The series has a fantasy-based style and a rich lore, and became one of her most popular. The first episode was released March 11th, 2015, with a 100 Episode first season, which concluded on September 28th, 2015. A second season, also with 100 episode, began on October 2nd, 2015, and concluded on June 5th, 2016. After a hiatus, the series was rebooted for a 3rd season, which began on February 19th, 2017, and is currently on indefinite hiatus. A remake of the first season entitled Diaries: Rebirth, focusing more on plot and removing survival elements from the original Season 1, began airing June 5th, 2019. The most recent episode was released on September 29, 2019 and since then it has also been put on an indefinite hiatus.
The series skyrocketed in popularity, and eventually spawned an expanded universe of mini-series. Most notable among these is MyStreet, an modern-day take on the characters that eventually surpassed the original in popularity.
WARNING: All season 1 spoilers are unmarked. Spoilers from Rebirth specifically may still be marked.
Minecraft Diaries provides examples of:
- Accent Upon The Wrong Syllable: Lilith Garnet's name is always pronounced with extra emphases on the "net".
- Action Mom: Aphmau. She has four kids and still manages to get involved in the action.
- Ambiguously Human: What exactly a Shadow Knight is never fully explained. Vylad says that Shadow Knights are not fully "human" and not fully "other", but it's all remained rather vague.
- Amnesiac Hero: On Aphmau's first trip to Scaleswind, we find out she has no memory of her parents or the rest of her past. Fully Justified in the Season 2 finale: as Lady Irene, she erased all her memories so she would be able to feel emotions again.
- Another Dimension:
- The Nether, a burning fiery hellscape and the home of the Shadow Knights.
- The Wyvern Dimension, which is home to wyverns and large trees that can't be found anywhere else.
- Irene's Dimension, where time moves much slower than in the Overworld.note
- Arranged Marriage:
- The marriages of Dale and Molly, as well as Emma and Corey, were technically arranged by Aphmau. Justified in that the early episodes were more gameplay-focused, and getting "NPCs" married was a gameplay element. Thankfully, they turn out okay. This is averted in Rebirth.
- Aphmau, under the Meif'wa Curse, is betrothed to Prince Fenrir of the Southeastern Wolf Tribe. They would've gone through with it, too, if Laurance hadn't activated his Shadow Knight form and slaughtered the guest, including the King. When we see him again in Season 3, it's clear he still holds a grudge.
- Early in Season 3, Hailey is betrothed to Baldr of Skystead. They do get married, but are divorced almost immediately afterward, after Lady Irene's persona takes over Aphmau's body and she takes a page out of Laurance's book (i.e., kills a lot of guests and guards).
- Betty and Veronica: Oh, yes. Most of the emotional drama in this show is the fight over Aphmau's Archie. In Season 1, Garroth is the Betty to Laurance's Veronica. Then, in Season 2, Laurance becomes the Betty, with Aaron who Aphmau eventually sleeps with as the Veronica.
- Bodyguarding a Badass: Any of Phoenix Drop's Guards that are specifically protecting Aphmau are guaranteed to be this, given her powers as Lady Irene and all.
- Brother–Sister Team: Nekoette and Dmitri at the Guard Academy in Season 3.
- Cain and Abel: Gene and Dante. Garroth and Zane.
- Casanova Wannabe: Laurance and Travis, most prominently, but several other characters get their moments, notably Brenden.
- Cat Girl: Kawaii~Chan, Michi, and the former's daughter, Nekoette~Tan (though she does have a human father). The Meif'wa are a cat-people species.
- Aphmau, Katelyn, and Laurance are temporarily turned into Meif'wa by Michi.
- Cloudcuckoolander: The Chicken Shaman and Chad are notable examples.
- Clueless Chick-Magnet: Aphmau is a gender-bent version, and she gets less clueless as the series goes on.
- Combat Sadomasochist: Ivy is implied to be this.
- Cool Big Sis: Kiki is this to Brenden (though the older sibling is actually unclear).
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: All of Aphmau's children, as well as Aphmau herself, due to being born almost 1,000 years ago, have at least one deceased biological parent.
- Dual Wielding: Dante wealds dual Katanas. His daughter also inherited the skill.
- Dying Town: Phoenix Drop, at the beginning of the series. Wholly Averted by the end of Season 1.
- Ear Ache: In Rebirth, Gene gets part of his left earlobe cut off by Lillian in Episode 4.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: As mentioned above, the first season was far more survival-based than anything. Most of Season 1 also includes a face cam.
- Rebirth is an active attempt to avert this, restructuring Season 1 to be more plot-focused and linear.
- Evil Costume Switch: A variant. After Laurance is turned into a Shadow Knight, his hair is unrelatadly dyed from its original orange to its natural brown, and his eyes are turned light blue.
- Fiery Redhead: Averted with Kiki. Nicole is a straight example.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: Not quite a Queen, but Lord Jenna of Skystead definitely qualifies.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: A couple of examples, but Garroth and Emmalyn are the most prominent. Averted with Lord Jenna.
- Half-Human Hybrid. Nekoette is half-Meif'wa, Leona is half-Werewolf, and Travis is half-Demon.
- Happily Adopted: Levin, Malachi, and Lillith Garnet. Also, Yip.
- Happily Married: A few couples: Donna and Logan, Dante and Kawaii~Chan, and Emmalyn and Kenmur. The latter gets split up by Kenmur's death.
- Healing Hands: Aphmau gains these after absorbing Irene's relic. They've disappeared since she gave birth to Alina. She also had them as Irene.
- Hell: The Nether in a nutshell. It even has the fire and brimstone motif!
- Heroes Prefer Swords: Most of the main characters have swords as their main weapons.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Aaron sacrifices his life to kill Zane and free Garroth from the Irene Dimension. Needless to say, Aphmau does not take it well.
- A Hero Is Born: A variation. Aphmau was effectively born in the pilot, as a new person in the body of Lady Irene, despite already being at least in her '30s.
- High Fantasy: Absolutely.
- Long-Lost Relative: Dmitri and his father, Dante, and sister, Nekoette.
- MacGuffin: The Zonoralian amulet and the cursed amulet that temporarily turned Alexis into a Shadow Knight in Season 1. The two eventually fuse into an entirely new amulet, that transports the crew to the Irene Dimension, setting up the season's final conflict.
- Mind Manipulation: Gene has Magicks that lets him manipulate memories.
- The Mole: Brian, at the end of Season 1.
- Mysterious Stranger: Aaron for a good half-Season post his introduction.
- Mystical White Hair: The only two characters with white hair, Sasha and Travis, are a Shadow Knight and a half-demon respectively.
- Non-Indicative Name: We never see Aphmau writing in a diary, though she does bring it up in some earlier episodes. The Minecraft part has faded away, sans for the Nether still being termed as such.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: For a solid time, Aaron is only referred to as "The Stranger".
- Our Mages Are Different: Magic is referred to as "Magicks" and a naturally gifted person can have only one specialty. Witchcraft also exists but is an entirely unrelated discipline.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: They have organized themselves into groups called "tribes" and while some take elements from Native American culture, others behave more like European-Style monarchies. They also have the ability to displays wolf-like ears, though it doesn't seem particularly common.
- Put on a Bus: Lillian is presumably still stuck in the Irene Dimension.
- Also, Molly, Emma, Dale, Corey, and Brian never return to to the Phoenix Drop Settlement and are presumably taking refuge somewhere else.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Played straight with Shadow Knights but downplayed with Lucinda.
- Sanity Slippage: Zenix initially poses as a benevolent village guard, but is revealed to be a Shadow Knight. He burns down the wolf village and later attacks Aphmau directly. In Season 2, Sasha gives Aphmau the news that Zenix went completely mad, traveling to the Nether and absorbing or outright killing the Shadow Knights.
- Shared Universe: with MyStreet, which is set in the same world but hundreds of years later.
- Slipping a Mickey: Michi drugs Aphmau, Katelyn, and Laurance with tea when they land on her island, and promptly gives them the Meif'wa Curse.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Visher, particularly in Rebirth. He only appears in a handful of episodes before Sasha and Gene blow him up, but he introduces us to merchants, Werewolves, and the neighboring village of Bright Port, as well as (in the remake) heavily influencing Aphmau's idea of what it means to be a Lord.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: The only major glasses-wearer is Emmalyn, who is very studious and well-read.
- Steampunk: Nicole has this aesthetic in her clothing, and most of Chad’s inventions also have this vibe.
- Super Mode: Aphmau and Garroth's Divine Forms, Laurance and Vylad's Shadow Knight forms, and Travis's Demon form.
- Supernatural Gold Eyes: Aphmau has weird, ambery eyes, and is certainly powerful.
- Third-Option Love Interest: Aaron is the one who ends up with Aphmau.
- Time Skip: 15 years between Seasons 1-2, and 3 years between Seasons 2-3.
- Wedding Episode: There are two, one for Logan and Donna's wedding in season one, the other for Emmalyn and Kenmur's wedding in season two.
- Wedding Smashers: Laurance at Fenrir and Aphmau's wedding.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: Visher in Rebirth speaks with a truly bizarre combination of European accents.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Lo. Even Aphmau admits he looks good in a dress, and his intentions are nothing but noble.
- Year Outside, Hour Inside: One minute in the Irene Dimension is a year in the normal world.
- You Wake Up in a Room: Aphmau wakes up in a forest with no idea who she is in the pilot, and Vylad promptly leads her to Phoenix Drop, (Or Garroth and Zenix bring her in Rebirth) kicking off the rest of the series.
