slabtek

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to cope with whatever past life session 7 was i redrew the old aspet art

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t4t aro4aro nerd4nerd

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Thinking bout etho and tango blowing stuff up and giggling and having fun a la new boom tech stream when they were prepping the factory. And they turn to each other after all's said and done and theyre both just covered head to toe in soot cartoon style. Tango takes off his goggles so he can see better because he just keeps smudging the lenses by trying to wipe them and it makes etho burst out laughing with one of his big laughs that get interrupted by giggles while hes gasping for breath. And tangos just giggling confusedly asking etho what's up and etho, still laughing, tells him he'd got a really bad soot line around his eyes. Like theres just circles where his goggles were that are untouched and it looks stupid. Tango sputters and says he wants to see whether ethos face with the mask had fared much better! It obviously hasnt but ethos not going to let him have the upper hand so he starts running as tango lunges over to yank at his mask. And then they chase each other around the server on elytra until they forgot what they were even doing and idk . Stand there gasping for breath and just looking at each other

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thinking about slabtek

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If you saw that no you didnt

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The sandwich is a very important plot point

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cozy times

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what do you mean this didnt happen in 3rd life

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" Only one thing comes to those who wait,

It's never too late to embrace your fate,

May death come swiftly and gently to you,

Mayhem, cry mayday, and oncoming doom. "

6up 5oh cop out (pro/con) - will wood & the tapeworms

or, an etho and tango team up that probably won't happen but a guy can hope

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I'm almost done with my major work!! I did this as a mental break from drawing it over and over again 😞

Also a doodle of one of my major work characters

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tanghtapple ... yaoipple ..... appletek.....

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Stumble

Pairing: Etho/Tango Tags: Minor hurt/comfort, Minor injuries (nothing graphic), fluff, minecraft respawn mechanics Summary: Etho has a bit of a rough ending to his recent Decked Out run and Tango patches him up.

A little gift for the wonderful @ethosiab enjoy some slabtek!

fic under the cut or on Ao3

It's Etho's third run today alone, and the game has barely started yet, the dungeon only having opened its doors two weeks prior. It is all so new and fresh for the Hermits, and for Tango to watch. But this is what all the hard work of the past year has been for. The payoff for every moment of his time, sacrificed to tickle this exhilarating feeling out of his friends.

And none more than Etho.

Because this is what Tango truly was waiting for, for the past nearly 3 years now. Watching Etho set foot inside his game, getting to spectate how his mismatched eyes take in every bit of it, analytical as always. The light footed steps he makes through the dungeon and the way it almost seems like he's bribing the inhabitants with how much sheer luck he sometimes has.

It is mesmerizing to watch. But it is even better when he gets to laugh about every misstep Etho makes - because that is where the other part of the joy in making games lies. The challenge that comes with it and seeing others fall into every carefully calculated trap. Especially with a certain someone who has been herding the ravagers around his dungeon like they were sheep on a field, rather than large beasts in a frozen cave.

Nothing makes Tango laugh just as much as a random pathway closing in Etho's face and hearing the high pitched frustration in his voice as he accuses Tango of flicking a switch. Sometimes he really wishes he had one, just for Etho, to make his life a little harder at times. The question whether Tango actually would flick it is a different one.

What also sets Etho apart from the others, despite his skill and absolutely unreasonable luck, is the banter. Gravitating towards each other with teasing and taunting, Tango can't keep his mouth shut when he watches Etho play, and the other one rarely minds, even if Tango laughs at his misfortune, or audibly rolls his eyes when the vex seem to purposefully let Etho go.

But it also goes the other way round. Etho knows Tango loves hearing his thoughts about the game as a whole, or even just the little details he notices. Nobody gets the challenges, the way to play and enjoy it, as much as the one man who tries to use every loophole against the dungeon master. Every corner that isn't intended to be climbed, Etho does with a smile that Tango can't even see but he can hear in his voice that it's there, when Etho calls out, "Thanks for leaving this one in, Tango."

Most of the time when Etho gets injured, Tango can laugh about it. It's never anything serious, or permanent. Nothing more than just a little uncomfortable, fixed by a simple respawn.

This time though, he pulls in a sharp breath through his teeth, his tail curling around his ankle in a tense movement. It is a specifically rough one, just on his way out of the frozen crypt, a ravager catches the tall man off guard, as they so rarely do, this one having wandered quite a bit probably. It hits him good, causing Etho to stumble down the stairs into the more open caverns, right in front of Pumpkin, who was seemingly only waiting for this to happen.

As always, when a run ends, Tango is already up and ready, trying to get there before the players respawn. It is always worth the hassle, better to be there in person, than just spectating. Being able to see the actual smile on people's faces, as if they didn't just end up as ravager food.

Just as Tango makes a swift landing in the grand hall, the icy scoreboard next to him, the dark red door opens and Etho comes out of the dungeon.

"That looked-" - "Don't say anything", Etho interrupts him immediately. There is this familiar mixture of annoyance mixed with the adrenaline and the undoubtedly fun time Etho had, in his voice.

"You placed those ravagers there on purpose." Etho accuses him in a rather whiny voice. Oh it is one of those times, huh?

"I wish I had the power to do that. No, these two sniffed you out on their own. Might need to consider a shower or something." the blazeborn teases back, with a sharp toothed smile on his face.

Etho rolls his eyes and gives Tango a shove, but when the gesture is returned, not even too forcefully, there is a sharp inhale. Though normally not the most observant, Tango's ears managed to definitely pick up the sound in the eerily quiet hall.

It happens sometimes, after a respawn. The large, fatal things are taken care of but the smaller, annoying bits are left to heal on their own. With a sigh, Tango steers Etho to the small blue cot that somebody must have set up here a few days ago, Tango barely noticed when it happened. But it is here now and he practically deposits Etho wordlessly on it before starting to dig through the chest next to it.

Apparently it has been used as a dumping ground by everyone for anything. Sticks, snowballs, a piece of string that Tango better not find to be missing anywhere vital, right outside the entrance gates, and somewhere, glowing at the bottom, he pulls out a small, glowing bottle.

"Aha, someone left something good behind for once." then immediately grumbling about, "This place isn't a garbage dump, you guys know that, right?" before plopping himself down next to Etho.

Just as Tango knows he doesn't need to insist, Etho knows not to refuse him. They're both their own unique brands of stubbornness so it is easier to just let the other do their thing.

Helping Etho shrug his long coat off, does barely anything to assess the damage, so Tango pulls on the hem of his shirt and in a moment it gives way. A few bruises and a shallow cut litter Etho's pale skin, mostly on his torso and one on his arm, right next to the ladder tattoo that he's got there.

Tango never questioned if Etho would let anyone else do this, not really his business.

But so, the Dungeon Master ends up patching up his favorite player, dumping drops of liquid onto a rag and rubbing it over each bruise and cut.

"'m cold, Tango" Etho whines, drawing out the last syllable of his name enough to make the blazeborn chuckle.

"Should've thought about that before taking a tumble down the stairs, skippy." But still, his tail comes to rest in Etho's lap, the blue flames radiating warmth like a living furnace. Warm but never enough to burn, at least on Hermitcraft.

As Tango works on patching up his back, Etho seems distracted enough to start playing with said tail in his lap, moving it around mindlessly. A fond smile finds its way on Tango's face. "Having fun there?"

A simple hum is the only reply he gets.

When Tango moves on from one arm, wanting to check if there's another space in need of a bit of a healing potion, Etho starts purposefully leaning onto Tango, the taller man clearly using his height to his advantage.

"Hey," Tango calls out, obviously seeing that Etho is doing this to annoy him, placing all his weight on him. "You're being annoying." But any attempt to push him off, or to weasel out is useless.

"But you're warm" Etho whines again, but Tango can hear him smile. Little shit. "I'm injured, Tango, you gotta be nice to me"

This earns a laugh alongside the usual eyeroll. "I'm always nice. Patching you up." He pats Etho's other shoulder that is not leaning on him and, of course, touches another bruise, just his luck.

Now at least, Etho lets him finish up. Working on his left arm reminds Tango of the times he needed help, begrudgingly, with his mechanical one. Normally he can easily do the maintenance himself but there have been a few times where another set of hands was needed, and Etho's just are the most skillful ones sometimes. Especially when the elbow joint needs to be oiled from an odd angle or that one time his shoulder got stiff from a few bits being misaligned. He'd practically resigned himself to having to live with it for the rest of his life until Etho wordlessly sat down next to Tango who was in the middle of scribbling in some notebook, screwdriver in hand. So he understands maybe just a little how Etho feels right now, accepting help.

But Etho being Etho, means that the second Tango is done, he has an arm around him and the full weight of one tall, Canadian man on him, draped over him like a very clingy cat, entirely preventing him from getting up.

The fondness doesn't leave his voice, even when Tango pretends to be annoyed, "You can put your shirt back on and let your local heating pack go now, you know? Or just. Yep, just lean more on me, that's also fine. Anything else you want while we're at it?" Rolling his eyes and crossing his arms isn't enough at this point but that's all Tango can do.

Seemingly thinking for a moment before replying, Etho muses "Hm, yeah, I wouldn't mind a massage, if you're already offering."

Of course. Tango can't help the snorting laugh that escapes him, pushing back against Etho, enough so that the taller man needs to sit up. "Oh, anything else you want? Hot chocolate? Need someone to tuck you in?" An arm comes to rest on top of Tango's head, which is clearly not comfortable for Etho, because he's not that short. No, he's doing this purely to annoy him.

"Wouldn't mind that either. Your bed is always so nice and warm"

Tango is trying very hard not to react to that comment, but Etho knows just how to get to him. Trying to over play any flustered feeling in his chest, Tango laughs out, "Yeah, because I sleep there. Tango. Blazeborn."

Hmm." Etho makes no effort to move away, off the cot, now having settled for leaving his lanky arm slung around Tango, not a care in the world.

The comfortable silence between both men gets interrupted when the announcement, "The dungeon is ready for its next victim" comes from seemingly everywhere suddenly.

"Wanna go for another run? I'd watch," Tango offers, looking up at Etho's face. He can see him think it over, consider how many frozen shards he still has for this phase, maybe even make a plan about how deep down he'd be daring to go.

"Hmm." The most noncommittal answer possible as Etho picks up his shirt and coat, getting dressed again. Waiting another moment or two, but no follow up comes, so Tango asks, "is that a yes then?"

Maybe that was a mistake because now Etho seems to have made his mind up and that whim makes him lean enough against Tango, moving to get his legs onto the cot, so he can fully lay down, taking the Dungeon Master with him. He is basically getting crushed by the lanky man, scrambling below him to get a little bit more comfortable despite the head at his neck and the wild, white hair poking at his face.

"Tomorrow. Not getting up here."

And with that, Tango resigns himself to his new position as a heated pillow. With this certainty in Etho's voice, he knows that this is a lost cause. Might as well make the best of it now.

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SLABTEK/TANGTHO DISCORD SERVER!

It's here! If you like etho and tango, shipping or otherwise, join and come vibe with us! This is just a little space to share art, fic, and talk about aus/headcanons and whatever else centered around etho and tango. Join here!

if the link doesn't work lemme know, esp if you're seeing this in the future and wish to join

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my beloveds <3

(what are they even called, do we know yet? any ideas?)

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i didnt ever post these did i?

whatever. go my tangos. (here's the blockbench file, free to use with credit ^_^)

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Past Life but the hybrid characters are human if their hybrid mob didn't exist in the version they're playing in.

This idea has been rolling around in my mind for a while and I have no idea what to do with it but I like it.

Enjoy my pitch of this idea through a short Tango POV of him waking up in Episode 1 as a human cause Blaze mobs didn't exists until Release.

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When getting taken into a game, it always felt a little strange. One second you were knee-deep in redstone noodles, trying to fix a janky armor stand with too many arrows and not enough logic, and the next, the room started spinning. Your stomach dropped. That five-second warning was all you got before the world blinked away and you woke up in the middle of yet another cursed Life game, the Watchers licking their lips and laughing at your expense.

Tango was used to that by now. The sudden shift, the nausea, the general “ugh” of it all.

This time wasn’t different.

Except… it was.

He braced for the usual, heat flooding his body, the spark in his chest reigniting, the comforting pull of fire curling under his skin. But there was nothing.

No fire.

It wasn’t cold, either. Just… neutral. A flatline of sensation. Unsettling in its quietness.

His ears twitched. Or they were supposed to. His tail should’ve lashed in warning, slicing through the air in discomfort. But he felt nothing but the memory of those movements, phantom instincts that didn’t translate.

Frowning, Tango opened his eyes. The world greeted him, but it was all wrong.

Where it was usually dimmed, colors filtered through the red-tint of his goggles, softened to keep from burning his overly sensitive eyes, now it was oppressively dark. He reached for his glasses out of habit, slipped them off, and rubbed at his eyes.

That was the first red flag.

He took in the landscape. Sparse trees. A single type of leaf. No grass variants. Everything was moving just a little too choppily, like someone had dropped the framerate. And a strange symbol floating at the center of it all. 

Oh. Right. Jimmy had explained this to him once, some kind of thing about The Watchers. And how they liked their little nostalgia traps.

Where were they? Pre-update era? Beta something?

He filed the info away, barely, because that wasn’t the biggest issue right now.

He could see. Without the glasses.

No pain. No sensitivity. Just… sight.

The realization hit like a piston to the gut.

He ran a hand through his hair… hair. No flame or flicker, just hair. Trying to ground himself and froze.

His fingertips were blunt. No claws. Just soft, human nails. His skin was smooth, pale, unburnt. He looked down and turned over his hands. Gone was the soot-stained ash black creeping up his arms. Gone was the warmth. His palms were pink and unfamiliar.

He stumbled back a step, turned quickly, and reached behind him.

No tail.

His ears, he touched them, rounded. Human.

His breath caught.

Why was he human?

His heart beat louder than it should. Faster.

He wasn’t alone. Around him, the other players stirred groaning, stretching, blinking against the light. But something was wrong with them too.

Feathers had been replaced with skin. Wings gone. Horns missing. Markings faded. Muted, dulled-down versions of who they were. And all of them were clearly trying not to panic.

He wasn’t the only one.

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re the “director’s cut” reblog thing:

i’d LOVE to hear more about the porch scene i chapter 4 of moe. honestly just chapter 4 in general but the whole porch scene is probably my favorite scene in the fic. etho and tango my beloveds!!! that scene is just so good

hai Vortex!!!

okay. Chapter 4 porch scene aoughhhh how I love it.

Etho and Tango's characters mean a lot to me because they're both guys that find themselves in similar issues. They're friends but not in an emotionally vulnerable way and when Etho takes the step to ask Tango whats going on, they unlock this CRAZY friendship. I mean they are talking about EVERYTHING no matter how dirty, or gross, or heartbreaking. The two of them turn into the bestest of best friends by the end of that conversation.

I think a lot of it has to do with trust? Like you'll notice that Tango has trouble sharing how he's feeling about Jimmy because he's never had too before. Etho asks "why Jimmy?" And Tango tries not to answer, he says "have you seen him?" but they've been friends and lab mates for coming up on 3 years now, Etho knows Tango has more reason than that. So he jokes too, "He's still 12 in my eyes."

Tango takes that as an out. Etho doesn't let him run. This is because Etho watched Jimmy grow up. I don't think it's explained very well in the story yet so I have some text set aside for chapter 7 that explains Etho's place in the Proctor family. What you need to know for this yap sesh to make sense is that Etho and Jimmy are close. He cares for Jimmy the same way an older brother would (kind of), and he loves Jimmy. Etho loves Tango too though.

This is why, when Tango does explain his this with Jimmy is, Etho understands that the conversation is very unbalanced. So he shares a bit of him too, like an exchange. (Is this something that NEEDS to happen in a conversation? NO, and thats why I love these these two science brain guys who are trying to navigate a very emotional conversation)

Etho pulls the conversation a littttttllleee to far. He shares something raw enough that he hopes Tango will open up to the same level. when that doesn't work, they find something to bond over (big brown eyes tm) that opens the air and allows them to be vulnerable with out feeling vulnerable.

Etho pulls it back somewhere serious because he knows Grian is going to be a roadblock for any of Jimmy's relationships. He's truthful and says "I'm on your side here," He makes sure Tango knows that someone in Jimmy's FAMILY is rooting for them, "I think you're great for Jim." gives Tango an outside prospective of how people view them (as a pair <3). Then he addresses that Grian is protective and will take a moment to warm up to the idea of his friend dating his brother.

When Tango has a...valid panic moment about that. Etho gives unwavering support. He physically steadies Tango. He stops Tango's spiral of thoughts and gives him advice to hold onto. He gives Tango advice that he wished he has followed, the kind of advice that makes or breaks a relationship. (Etho's such a real one damn)

THEN When Jimmy comes out??? He GIVES THEM PRIVACY AOUUGHHHH. He puts his full brotherly trust in Tango to take care of Jimmy. He knows that Tango is a good guy and that Jimmy is safe with him.

This whole conversation opened up doors for Tango and Etho's friendship that I can't wait to explore in chapter 6. Like, Tango explains somewhere in that scene that he and Etho hang out a lot, that he's crashed on Etho's bed ect ect. I reveal in 6 that he has keys to Etho's apartment, and they have scenes where they openly talk about embarrassing things and don't feel like the other will judge. I think that Etho has seen Tango as his best friend for a while and that Tango is just dense as all hell. He didn't realize he had something this good until he let himself relax and open up. His relationship with Etho also lays out some very interesting things about Zedaph later. How Tango and Zed used to interact, how they do now. What does distance do to best friends and does that make Etho a stronger friend than Zed? all questions I try to answer. All that matters is that Tango has 100% two people in his corner and he's going to need them when I throw him in the trenches later lmao.

uhhhhh yes! I yapped :)