#Bdubs moved back to green!

[rendiggitydog]

Big update! Change log is in the tags, plus a much cleaner look!

Doc link

[krashlite]

Anyways my hot take abt the cheater’s arc is that all four of them were in the wrong but it was mostly Grian’s fault things went so horrendously since man was the reason why the actual Cheating part of the cheater’s arc happened (characters, obviously)

But yeah here’s how they were all wrong yes

Grian was being incredibly controlling because he didn’t trust Scar to keep them safe. Man was scared of his own damn shadow for a lot of this, but his way of ensuring his own safety was basically to tell Scar to stand in one place and not move. He pretty much disregarded the fact that Scar is a grown man capable of making his own decisions And capable of keeping himself, and the both of them, alive. The fact that they were last on green doesn’t reassure him, only confirms that he is in the right for being so controlling. He thinks his behavior kept them alive. He only loosens up once they hit their red life since at that point danger is assumed. Grian DOES NOT learn to respect Scar here, just puts his paranoia on hold for another day. His conclusion is that he was right and Scar was unreasonable

Scar was pushing back against said control since he knew it was unfounded. Again, he’s a grown man capable of making his own decisions. He has a tendency to mock people to show when they’re being ridiculous, something he does here through being purposefully careless. It’s both to point out how ridiculous Grian’s being and a way to punish him for being so obsessive. Instead of having the intended effect, Scar just pushes Grian further away. He later winds up just following everything Grian says, which doesn’t address the root of the problem here. Except he has no way of knowing what’s wrong because Grian doesn’t tell him. From his perspective, the only thing that got Grian back at his side was murder- since the only times they actually stood on equal footing was when there was a plan for a kill or when that plan went well. Scar’s conclusion here isn’t that he was unsafe, but that he was boring. So it reaffirms that he’s in the right and Grian was being unreasonable

BigB is not and never was the mistress in this situation. Had Grian never approached him, he would’ve never left Ren. He was using his Secret Soulmate as an escape from normal relationship problems he was too scared to address. BigB mainly felt overlooked because he has a quieter personality than Ren, meaning Ren wound up making most decisions for the two of them. BigB did a lot to mirror Ren and to be Ren’s other half, but didn’t give himself space to be his own person in the relationship. This is something that’s brought up in couple’s counseling and something they at least started to address before dying. BigB never intended to hurt either of them, since he did love and value both Ren and Grian- something that’s affirmed by how he talks to them after dying. BigB and Ren talk about how they stayed together until the end and B takes the time to forgive Grian for murdering both him and his soulmate

Ren was doing his best to keep Box afloat but failed to meet BigB’s needs. Since B wouldn’t communicate what was wrong, Ren kept trying to course correct in ways that inadvertently made the situation worse. Ren’s instinct is to be protective- to find an enemy to defend against. That enemy was first Pearl and then Clockduo when Bdubs inadvertently got BigB killed. He also reacted to news of B cheating by distancing himself from BigB. Which, reasonable!! Ren wasn’t obligated to save them if B was the one who left. However, this action only pushed BigB away since Ren was so quick to assume they were over. Ren has a habit of isolating himself when something’s wrong, assuming the worst of a situation when things can be fixed. It worked out between him and BigB in the end but goddamn was that rough

Anyways the four of them are very!! Very messy, I love them dearly

[ahllohehn]

Gem's area ,or whatever the Oracle has, has two kinds of decorations cute cottagecore stuff, and spooky stuff like skulls and stuff

An excerpt from the Camp Oracle's Journal:

"I put some fairy lights and curtains around the cave to make it seem homier. I also made a really wide tent filled with blankets and pillows to add up to the comfiness. After all, it was going to be my home for the next few weeks until I had to go back to school. Actually, it’s gonna be my home for the next summers to come!

There’s not much yet, but I hope to add more soon. Grian’s sister, Pearl, came to visit for a while to get a look at the new oracle (aka me). She was really nice! She helped me out on setting up the decorations around my cave and even gave me an old plushie of hers to add to my tent.

It was a well-loved wolf plushie, if the way the seams were already threatening to burst from just how much it’s been hugged, probably.

I didn’t want to take it at first because, you know, sentimental value! I couldn’t just take away her childhood plushie! But she was really adamant about giving it to me. She reasoned that Tilly (the name of the plushie, by the way) would be safer with me than it was with Grian.

Pearl couldn’t take the plushie with her because she’s always on the move with the goddess Artemis, Hunters of Artemis duties and all that. “It’d be a shame if it got lost mid-expedition,” she said.

And who was I to reject after that reason, you know? So now I have little Tilly living with little Gem in the super comfy and cool Oracle cave!"

Thank you for continuing to read! Have a tour of what's inside of Gem's cave:

COMFY CORNER OF THE CAVE

Cat beanbags and plushies - The cat beanbag is customized to look like Jellie. It was mainly put there during times Scar comes by to hang out with her so he wouldn't have to stay for too long on his wheelchair while visiting.

Seawater rug - Personally sewed by Xisuma after hearing that Gem had interest in marine biology. He wanted her to feel happier when resting in her cave since the cave was too far from the shore and the sea.

Aquatic animal plushies - Impulse and Skizz excitedly came over to give her fish plushies as a welcome gift. The clownfish is named Skizzy. The shark is named Impy, named accordingly to who gave which.

Small foldable table - Gem doesn't fold it often as she keeps her art stuff on it. She draws and makes the pins here.

BY THE WALL

Skull-shaped fairy lights - Not always green in color, but she keeps it green to make everything feel creepy. She had normal fairy lights before this but Cleo jokingly replaced it with string lights she bought during Halloween. Gem liked it so she kept it.

Worn out sword / Worn out shield - Not hers to begin with. They're actually normal weapons Etho had forged as practice before. He gifts them to Gem everytime she wins a spar against him to act as 'spoils of war.'

DESK / CURTAINED SIDE

Desk - There's chairs facing each other on each side of the table. This is where she mainly meets the campers for personal prophecies.

A line of potted plants along the wall - Bdubs offered to give her plants he thinks Gem would like to care for. There's mostly small sunflowers and succulents along the wall. One of the potted plants grew a particular one Gem never saw before. It was only when Pearl came over and questioned why she had a moonlace flower in her cave that she realized she was growing a magical plant. Bdubs never answered as to why he gave it to her.

TENT

Where Gem mainly sleeps. In here, you will never feel uncomfy as she's probably got 20 pillows and 5 blankets in there. Pearl's old plushie, Tilly, lives there with her. Grian asks to come in and cuddle with it when he has a particularly rough day.

about au au tag discord

[fountainpenguin]

Tango POV Session 3 highlights (My first POV this session, jumping in with no spoilers)-

Skizz: "I want a giant blinking heart in the sky" Tango: "Cool idea :) You're doing the redstone, right?" Skizz: ... Tango: "YOU'RE doing the redstone for that, right?"

Skizz: "While editing I was like... 'Am I a loser?' Tango: "No, no, no! It was well before editing that I realized that."

I do love the server dynamics that give us gems like Mumbo sprinting across the ground yelling about how he has a quick, urgent thing he needs to do... Just an average day in the death game.

slkdjf Tango and Skizz finally found someone just as desperate and needy as them... Enter the man who has been shunned for 3 seasons because of his boogeyman kill. We love a BigB!!

BigB: "Skizz, this might be time to point out my weak building skills-" Skizzleman: "Oh no, don't worry. That's why we've got ourselves a Tango!" Tango: /incoherent shrieking and denials

Tango assigned homemaker by the narrative.

So just to be clear, we've got Tango "I will teach you redstone and cheer you on" (Mansplain), we've got BigB "There is no hole in the mesa" (Manipulate), and Skizz "I built the base" (Malewife). Good for them.

Skizz: "At my IRL job when I had to create blinking lights, I literally had someone go back to the breaker and flip it."

Tango, to Cleo: "That's all we are! Cringe 'R' Us!"

sdlkfj Tango hugging and comforting Torchy over how scary Etho's water bucket attack was. "If he comes back, I will take care of this."

BigB: "I have an anvil." Tango and Skizz losing their minds: "BEST TEAMMATE EVER!"

Heart Foundation: "We will join forces and gift our hearts to a randomly selected person. Everyone will like and protect us; we are creating our own plot armor." Etho, immediately after receiving his hearts: "I am a huge fan. Sign me up. Whatever I need to do to stay on. I will let you use the enchanting table. I would be dead if it were not for the Heart Foundation."

Gem and Scott riding up on their zombie and skeleton horses would be SO terrifying. Can't wait to see the fanart of that sdfklj

Tango killed it this session, he did not cut corners in babbling to Torchy.

Gem: "I think your task is to remove light sources from the server." Tango: "That would be very incorrect." Tango as he sprints away, muttering to Torchy: "I know?? They were standing right by us and they didn't even notice??"

Torchy has such boogeyman tendencies, geez. Is this Leven Thumps; did we confine the spirit of the boogeyman to a piece of wood??

Tango, raiding someone's base: "You want to? We could."

I enjoy the new rule about Yellows having one chance to call people out on their task. I think this is a good move to up the tension and also encourage people to do it because you only get one shot per episode. Don't wanna waste it!

slkdjf @ Tango chatting with Etho, Etho susses out his task, so Tango immediately runs to Grian to confirm the rules. Grian tells him no problem, Etho's green so he's in the clear. Tango runs off crowing in laughter.

Lizzie: "I've heard some weird things about you." Tango: "We are excellent today." Lizzie: "That's the weird stuff I've been hearing."

?? Is Tango's official canon that redstone exposure turned his eyes red? Neat.

lksdjf Skizz seething about Impulse.

Tango: "What did he do?" Skizz: "His task was to find somebody who's got greater than 25 hearts and find a way to - air quotes - "accidentally" get them to lose 5 hearts. So he made sure I lost 20."

Yeah, that tracks.

Freaking goodness, Tango put his entire heart and soul into this invisible friend task.

Bdubs' globe is looking amazing <3

?? Etho running up to Joel and saying "I love you?" What is the context; looking forward to figuring that out.

Etho: "I love you." Joel: "Okay, I know you're obsessed with me, I saw you made me your thumbnail of your first episode, but come on..."

Called out at the end!!! Devastating!!!

That is the end, but what a great session. So much death...

[whereispearlescentmoon]

Wild Life Pearl POV Live Reaction

Ooooo super powers!!

Sick ass guitar riff!

SHE CAN LAUNCH SUPER HIGH IN THE AIR?? I do wonder if she would be taking fall damage. Not that I want to risk it.

Impulse can teleport? CLEO SUMMONS ZOMBIES!! SKIZZ AND MUMBO ARE BACK!!! BDUBS CAN SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT! BIGB GETS CREAKINGS?!?

Invisible Jimmy?

Scott can become random animals!!! Perfect for subterfuge :)

Ghoul 1 and Ghoul 2!

Oh I just realized Pearl can leap super high. And she has a mace. And she doesn’t take fall damage from it! Hell yeah.

Ooo I’m gonna watch Cleo’s pov after this to see what convo with mumbo and Skizz.

Speedy boy Tango! Ooo Etho and Pearl have the same power.

They were slain? And she can bring them back every five minutes? Ah beautiful necromancy. DID CLEO DIRECT THEM TO MAKE FUN OF GRIAN?? AHSIWHWJAKHSJA

Bdubs can slow time? Makes sense for clock boy lol.

So Gem can speak to the dead? NO SHE CAN ASTRAL PROJECT?? SO SHE CAN GO IN SPECTATOR MODE??

Oh we’re friends with Ren now? Beautiful. Just like Last Life.

RIP Scar.

“Gem, I know you’re looking at me” Jeez Louise Pearl. And she breaks her mace right after. A beautiful wet cat move. Those aspiring wet cats can truly learn from her.

Ooo Impulse can swap places with people.

GRIAN CAN BORROW POWERS?? Watcher ass activities. SHE CAN FLY?

Oh does Tango freeze water when he runs on it?

Trap time! And Tanguini is here! Wait that’s how calibrated skulk sensors work?

And another failed trap….. Pearl has failed to kill Gem again… my beautiful pathetic wet cat.

Love their beautiful cane tower now has cherries.

Cleo ordered them to go kill Grian! I somehow doubt this will succeed.

Ren CAN BE OTHER PEOPLES SKIN???

MUMBO GOT THE KILL! W FOR CLEO AND MUMBO IN MY BOOK!

Oooo Scott can choose a mob if he clicks on it!

I am shocked that BigB’s face remains unburnt down.

Ooo Bdubs killed by Scar.

I need fanart of Pearl’s cute hat. HOW DID SHE GET POISONED?

“I did tell you not to fix it. I said don’t bother man” Yes Pearl I know and the way you said it made me go actually insane.

SCOTT ACTUALLY GOT THE KILL ON GEM! GGGG WIN.

Cleo died to a creeper. GGGG loss.

“Hey! My eyes yellow! Can’t be stealing my eyeball”

“This is my skin from last season! You can’t *incomprehensible*!”

“I mean what’s hilarious is you’ve gone for different eyes. So you two have basically just shared contact lenses,”

“This is the eye I lost in the portal that you didn’t remember.”

“Oh sorry. Guess it wasn’t important enough to remember” DAMN PEARL IS GETTING SASSY WITH GEM TODAY LOL

Skizz wants to talk to Impulse privately?

Glad to hear that while Skizz struggles, Mumbo has been a great minion for Cleo. Cleo once again picks a favorite son.

“Minions are to be seen not heard” HAKAHWIANAB Scott I love you

Ooooh wait. That’s why Pearl said cockroaches. Because Skizz and Mumbo can’t die.

And the only thing it killed was Mumbo. GGGG loss.

JUST LISTEN TO PEARL THEY CANT RUN FROM END CRYSTALS!

YEAH THEY GOT REN! GGGG WIN!

Not Pearl pulling out the creeper eggs lol.

Oooo Martyn’s proxy chat is way turned up.

Bdubs on red! BDUBS SHOUTING AND CATCHPHRASE ANS MISSING LOL. Martyn on red! Scott on yellow!

Gem was getting boring because she wouldn’t stop complaining about how Scott and Impulse killed her? And how much better she is than their team? Guess Pearl can stop worrying about seeming obsessed lol. Seems the GGGG live in Gem’s mind rent free.

Oh never mind. The cockroach spoiler was about Tango! And how they keep failing to kill him because he’s so fast! That makes sense!

“They’re trying to get everyone off green and little do they know, you’re technically green as long as you use that, right?”

“Right, yeah,”

“A secret green. Like you got so much potential. I swear like, you better win the series, mate,” Where have I heard this before *flashbacks to Pearl and Bdubs in Secret Life*

“I’m trying Pearl.”

“You have a big advantage.”

“I’m trying but this whole lack of being able to kill people isn’t boding well for us is it?”

“No dude. I can’t believe how much I’m sucking this season. I suck so bad.” It’s okay your pathetic wet cat nature is charming.

“I cannot get a kill to save my life.” Yours too buddy.

Joel got hoppies!

Are we literally all meeting up to kill Tango? No wonder Pearl called him a cockroach.

Aaaaand Gem killed Mumbo.

This is actually super epic for tango. The whole server is failing to kill him!

GGGG has taken down Tango and Joel! Two wins!

Omg Jimmy tried to kill Pearl. Congrats to Jay for a single Pearl and Jimmy interaction where Pearl didn’t even see him. I’m sorry.

Cleo is scared of Gem and Pearl just isn’t lol.

“Oh that’s so weird to see me like that. Is that how annoying I look?” Ur not annoying :( your skin looks really cool.

Tango on red!

Pearl! That’s somehow significantly nastier than calling them eyes.

BYE BYE MARTYN!

Oh no Pearl and Scott :( WAIT HI SCARLET PEARL!!! HI!!! HI!!

She commented on the red hoodie! She noticed their skins match!

Ren joined them? We have… six Gs at this point?

End of session! I see why Martyn was being super cryptic when someone asked how the session went. I think next session will probably be the last given how much of the server is on red, and that’s there’s no greens left to get lives back. Unless you count Impulse, I guess.

My final thoughts on the wild card are that it’s super fun! I love that they all got their own unique power, especially because some of the powers seem to be themed to them specifically like Cleo’s zombies and Bdubs having time manipulation!

[the-joju-experience]

Scar saw the poll turn green. He cheered to himself and smirked.

“About time someone acknowledged my sexiness,” Scar said to himself. He scrolled back up to the bracket, looking for his next competitor. He read the name and paused.

Technoblade.

He swallowed a large mouthful of air. Behind him, he heard the sick sound of steel scraping its scabbard.

---

“Doc, my brother from another mama!” Ren shouted. He leaned over the edge of the Perimeter, looking for his friend. “Did’ja see the bracket? We’re up against each other!” He heard nothing.

“Doc?” Ren shouted slightly louder.

“I heard, Ren,” Doc said. Ren turned around slowly, finding Doc standing over him in his ripped lab coat, taut muscles exposed to the elements that surrounded him. “And I’m sorry that your time in the bracket has to end this way.”

---

“Oi, Pearl!” Cleo said, landing next to their fellow hermit.

“Hiya, Cleo!” Pearl said. “Is this about the bracket?”

"Yep,” Cleo said. “I just wanted to stop by and say, no hard feelings.”

“Why would there be hard feelings?” Pearl asked.

“Well, no one’s heard from Zloy since I beat him into a pulp,” Cleo said. “I just wanted to make sure you knew there’s no shame in losing.”

“What makes you think you’re gonna win?”

Cleo arched her eyebrows menacingly and glared at Pearl.

“No, Pearl, I don’t think I’m going to win,” they said. “I know.”

---

“Hi Joel!” BDubs shouted. His head had just shot up out of a bush on Joel’s island.

“Good lore, BDubs!” Joel shouted, quickly moving his foot out of the way. “How did you even get here?”

“The power of my sexy prowesses!” BDubs said enthusiastically. He disentangled himself from the foliage and drew himself up to full height, which was not particularly tall. “You know what they’re saying about me on the Tumbles, right?”

“I think they actually think I’m sexier,” Joel said.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” BDubs said, attempting to throw his arm over Joel’s shoulder. Unfortunately, he couldn’t reach, so he awkwardly backed away with an outstretched arm.

“I am, as you know, a very tall and sexy god of lore,” Joel said. “I think that beats ‘weird mossy dwarf’ any day.”

---

Scott cursed as he slipped on a rock. He had been crawling through the wilderness for several hours, searching for his competitor, but he had finally come close. He checked his map one more time, seeing how far he had come. Looking up, he saw a small wooden cabin. He approached it and knocked on the door.

Etho opened it, allowing savory smoke to waft into Scott’s nose.

“What’s up?” Etho asked.

“I just came to tell you…” Scott said nervously, “we’re up against each other in the bracket...”

“Oh, that’s fun!” Etho said.

“And that I’m going to tell my fans that if they don’t vote for me they’re homophobic,” Scott said.

Scott couldn’t see it, but deep down he knew that Etho was frowning disapprovingly.

---

Grian walked into Mumbo’s base, following some weird, high-pitched noise from his own base.

“MumboJumbo!” a voice was singing. “I am hotter!”

"Mumbo?” Grian whispered hopefully. Following the sound, he walked deeper, approaching the slight opening in the walls of Mumbo’s vault. The noise grew, and Grian’s hopes grew with it.

Those hopes deflated when he entered and saw Slimecicle dropping slimeballs on every surface.

“MumboJumbo!” the autotuned voice continued. “Come and fight me!”

Grian sighed heavily, turned, and left.

---

Wilbur was walking towards his front door when he noticed Joe Hills sitting on his porch.

“Oh,” Wilbur said. “You’re Joe, right?”

"Yes I am!” Joe said.

“Is this about the bracket?” Wilbur asked.

“Oh, that silly thing?” Joe said. “No, not in the slightest! I just wanted to say howdy!”

“Do you want to come in or something?” Wilbur offered. “I have soup if you want it. And I’ve been told I make some pretty good burgers.”

“No, that’s fine,” Joe said. “I’m good just sitting right here.”

“OK, then,” Wilbur said, opening the door. He walked inside and looked around. On a hunch, he checked upstairs. Nothing was amiss. He came back down to find Joe sitting exactly where he had left him.

“Are you going to… move or something?” Wilbur asked.

“No, I think I’ll sit right here for the next…” he checked his phone. “22 hours and 57 minutes.”

---

Grian returned to his cave to find Quackity lounging on a dark oak stair in front of the portal.

“Hiya!” Quackity said.

"Oh no,” Grian said nervously. “What do you want?”

“I thought I’d skip ahead a bit and try to cut a deal,” he said. “You see, I know I can’t win against you. You’ve got way too many stans.”

“Look, if this is about the bracket, I don’t really care-”

“Look, Grian. I have an offer.” Quackity stood up and walked towards the hermit. “Let’s pool our votes and form a ticket together. We can be co-sexymen!”

“No no no no no,” Grian said. “I’ve heard this story before.”

“But I have to beat Wilbur!” Quackity said. “Come on, man. What the fu-”

“Nope!” Grian interjected, shoving Quackity back through the Rift.

Behind him, Grumbot lit up. He whirred briefly, and then spat out a message.

WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?

“This is a family-friendly server, Grumbot,” Grian said.

[freakyeahimacryptid]

use this ask as an excuse to post more about your life series winners au 👉👈 (i like the aesthetic of all the winners sharing a vast albeit eerily empty castle) (i am v interested) (forward slash not forcing)

OMG YEH OFC

Here are my ideas for the windows! (I only drew out three of them so far because i did them during history class)

Grians window is of him standing in the vast dessert. The sun is blaring behind his head and his hair and shawl are blowing in the wind. He has his macaw wings, but their tattered from explosions and the such— only one eye is visible, tears flowing down his cheek and a purple tint to his usual eye color. Only one hand is stretched out, the wind blowing red sand from it. The rimming is gold with soft spirals and edges, symbolizing the softness he felt for Scar (and a very bad doodle of it for you)

Scott's window is a little more elegant. He's standing on a tree, like he was when he got his last kill, and he has a hand over his heart. His other hand is outstretched in a pinky promise to the other two G's, promising his loyalty and the full truth. The scene is at night, with stars creating a small halo around his head. He's also starting directly at whoever is recreating this scene with a soft smile. The rims are shaper, symbolizing the harsh winter that Last Life took place during and the brutality of the game itself. Theyre silver

Pearl's window is the first one to not be directly looking forward, instead looking somewhere out of the scene. She's giving a salute as wind comes rushing at her and there's a glow from a nearby explosion. Her hands and knees have frostbite on them, and her eyes are tired from countless nights alone. Her tower can be seen in the background, and there's the moon behind her head. Stars scatter the night sky, but are flickering in and out of visibility. Tilly is sitting near her feet. The rims of this one are ridgid and broken, made of slowly oxydizing copper, showing her broken and decaying heart.

Martyn's scene is underwater, with seaweed flowing around him and coral poking out of his head. He has a hand raised with a timer striking 0:00 in it, and his other hand covering his eyes. The water makes his hair flow and his ears visible, making his window the only one to have ears included and not eyes. Even thoigh he's in the water, theres still a red planet—Mars—behind his head, reflecting against the waves and creating a contrast to an otherwise very green and blue window. There are bubbles surrounding him. The rim mimics the coral on his head, made of diamonds. Innocent and beautiful, but harsh and cruel if forged in the right ways.

Scars window is another unique one. His head perfectly aligns so it's infront of Bdubs's Earth-Base, somehow repaired from the fires. He's standing in a feild of sunflowers at night, facing away. The black of his cloak shows, as well as his hat, both adorned with lilacs and poppies over black fabric. His face is entirely obscured by the hat except for his sad smile. The rim is amethyst, mimicing the Evo symbol. There are swirls along it that look vaguely like writing from afar.

Cleo's scene is in a village. Pluto is behind her head and she's got a VR headset that she's actively taking off. She looks exhausted from the final fight, but happy that it's over with. One of her eyes is still blocked by the headset, the other changing between closed in relief to open and looking at people passing by. It changes whether she's due for another visit to the castle or not

Joel's is the only one expressing real joy. He's holding an enderpearl in one hand and a sword in another, the enderpearl having a comet-like trail behind it. Around his neck is a key to the car thats silhouetted behind him. There are references to various wold cards around him, like curls in the frame resembling snails, lighting striking in the back for the trivia bot, and a clock around his waist to keep track of how fast they're moving. Overall he just looks cool and happy to be there, a stark difference from the other winners

[k-didathing]

Startober Day 6: Runaway

Etho had been on the run for a long time. At some point, it felt like running was all he had ever known. Running became less like an action to him and more like a lifestyle.

Always be ready to move onto the next place.

Don’t get too comfortable.

Don’t grow too attached.

That’s how they stab you in the back, like everyone always does.

But when Etho heard rumors about a sanctuary, a haven for outcasts and runaways, forgive him for being a little intrigued.

Once Etho landed on the dense, jungley planet that the sanctuary was rumored to be on, he started a long trek through the tall green forests, even though he had no idea where this sanctuary could be, or if it was even real.

After a while of hacking through vines with his machete, Etho was getting tired. His tail began to drag in the dirt behind him, and the rhythm of his heavy boots started to slow. He was starting to consider turning back when a net suddenly wrapped around him, pinning his hands to his back and knocking him to the ground.

Yep, this was definitely the place.

He heard a whoop of victory from the treetops and watched as a man scurried down to meet him. Now, Etho had seen plenty of glares before, but until now, he had never seen a full one. The man’s face was covered in greenish feathers that framed his large, dark eyes, and a fluffy, feathery tail trailed behind him.

“HALT!” The man yelled, pointing a small weapon at Etho and forcing him to his feet. “What’s your business in Sanctuary?”

Etho tilted his head skeptically. “‘Sanctuary’? Is that what you guys call it?”

“Yeah? So?”

“I dunno… I guess I was expecting something a little more… poetic? Secretive, maybe?”

“Well, that’s beside the- HEY! YOU STOP RIGHT THERE!” Etho was trying to shuffle past him, but the glare blocked him with his weapon. “That’s not answering my question: What are you doing in Sanctuary?”

“I’m just a runaway, same as any of you.” Etho slipped effortlessly out of the n net, revealing that he had dismantled it entirely.

“WH-HOW?!” The glare exclaimed, his feathers puffing up in disbelief.

“Oh, I’ve been out of this thing for a while now.”

“I - whatever. Follow me. And do not wander off.” 

The two of them wandered through the jungle, the glare messing with some sort of navigation device as they went.

“So, what’s your name?” Etho asked. He wasn’t sure why he was even bothering. He should have simply asked the glare where Sanctuary was, or even steal his navigation device if need be, and teleported on his merry way. But for some reason, he wouldn’t - or couldn’t. Perhaps he was simply intrigued by the glare for some reason.

Nope. Don’t get attached. Don’t become too vulnerable. And don’t jump to conclusions.

“I’m Bdubs. I’m kind of a big deal around here.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, I’m basically a god to the people of Sanctuary.”

“A god?”

“Yep! Here, I’ll show ya.” Bdubs closed his eyes and rubbed his hands together, and after a moment of grunting with effort, all of his feathers erupted with golden light, and even his eyes seemed to glow. Etho had to shield his eyes a bit just to look at him. But then Bdubs’ navigation device began to beep at him angrily, interrupting his bravado. He dug it out of his pocket and groaned as soon as he saw the screen.

“This thing is busted,” he sighed. “But nobody panic — I’m a master when it comes to redstone. I’ll fix this in no time!”

Etho raised his eyebrows doubtingly. He knew what redstone masters looked like, and Bdubs certainly wasn’t the type.

“Hey, don’t give me that look! I am!” Bdubs argued. But after several minutes of tinkering with the device, the only result was more frustrated groans.

“Need some help?” Etho offered, grinning slightly beneath his mask. 

“No, I got it.” But after a while, Bdubs eventually gave in and silently handed the device to Etho. The device appeared to be slightly broken — it was nothing Etho couldn’t fix, but all of his tools were back on the ship. He closed his eyes, envisioning where his tool bag sat on his workbench. He held out his hand and reached through the void, pulling the bag to where he was now. But as soon as he did this, he noticed that Bdubs was staring at him wide-eyed. “How did that happen? Wait a second — are you an Ender?”

“Etho’s tail curled around his feet self-consciously. He couldn’t exactly hide the fact that he was an Ender — though his unusual skin color often made people second-guess what race he was. But even so, he preferred not to bring it up. It led to other questions — ones that Etho definitely did not want to talk about.

“What other things can you do?” Bdubs asked, his large eyes sparkling.

Etho thought for a moment, and noticed a large, alien fruit hanging from a tree many feet from the ground. He slung his tool bag over his shoulder and took a leap straight through the void, onto one of the tree branches. After waving his arms around to regain his balance, he severed the fruit from the tree with his machete, then leaped back through the void to meet Bdubs. The glare split the fruit in two and let Etho have half of it while they walked. The fruit had a rich, earthy flavor whilst still being sweet and refreshing, and Etho quickly finished the fruit, tossing the rind onto the forest floor when he was done.

“So, what’s Sanctuary like? How safe is it, really?” As Etho said this, Bdubs began to walk in front of him. They were approaching a tree, one larger than any other tree Etho had seen in the jungle thus far. Its branches were adorned with little yellow flowers, and its trunk consisted of a swirling, tangled mass of knots.

“Why don’t you find out?” Bdubs answered. As he drew near to the tree, the knots unraveled themselves, revealing a passageway straight through the heart of the tree. As soon as he passed through, the tree closed up behind him.

Etho hesitated as he approached the tree. But as he stood there, something about the light filtering through the branches seemed to speak to him, and three words rang through his mind: Come and rest.

The knots unraveled before him, and he walked right through the tree. As he passed through it, it felt like a great burden had been lifted off of him, one he hadn't even realized he was carrying. The feeling of eyes judging him, watching his every move, that he could never get away from no matter how much he tried. He felt like he had been holding his breath for all these years, and was finally able to exhale.

When he got to the other side, all he could do was stop and stare. A massive city sprawled out for miles before him, covered in colorful houses as people of all origins bustled through the streets. 

He felt Bdubs’ firm hand on his shoulder, reminding him that he wasn’t alone. “Welcome to Sanctuary.”

And for the first time in a long time, Etho stopped running.

(AU by @skimmeh and @kairamuwu)

[birrdies]

wpuld u consider “I can keep you safe, they’re all afraid of me.” For shadowrot? or really any Cleo ship. because she’s so scary…

Win Secret Life.

There's a certain peace that should come with knowing you'll lose. Etho's not fool enough to believe it's feasible to win; for him, anyway. But that does nothing to dampen the panic, burning bright through him and setting every nerve-ending alight. It's a familiar panic that slips back into his bloodstream, almost like it'd never left. The fear that comes with dwindling numbers, rolling thunder claps, and each audible heartbeat pounding in Etho's ears.

A wild animal that knows it's about to die won't just take it lying down, even if it knows fighting is futile. It'll still gnash its teeth and swipe its claws at anything that moves in its periphery, anything that gets too close or backs it into a corner. And Etho can't help but shake like one, pacing in the same stretch of grass until it flattens to dirt, churning every possible move in his head. A chessboard only Etho's been dropped in halfway through the game and he doesn't know where half the pieces are.

The task book weighs a million pounds, strapped to his waist, where the words taunt him again and again.

Win Secret Life. Win Secret Life. Win Secret Life. Win Secret Life.

"Hey—"

Their base had been overrun, what little defenses they'd managed to build ripped to pieces. It's not safe there, really, but it's not safe anywhere. Least of all out here in the open, the night sky an oppressive, suffocating weight draped over him, rivaled only by the silent stone statue at his back, hands outstretched, non-existent eyes cold and empty. This place is crawling with red names, it'd only take a second for them to come raining down upon him like hellfire.

"Etho."

Grian's gone, too. Not gone gone, but somewhere Etho can't see him, which is almost just as bad. That panic is an unfamiliar one that sinks its teeth into him, like the cornered animal is trapped somewhere inside of him instead, desperately trying to chew its way out. It's always been just him, by the end. He's had allies, sure— beneficial things to have, like weapons or gunpowder or redstone— but if he'd end up alone that would've been fine.

Would have been.

Where the hell is Grian?

"Etho!"

He stumbles, ripping from his mindless pacing by a pair of wide, heavy hands gripping him by the shoulders. Pale, green fingers twist into the fur lining Etho's collar. He stares at those hands, taking longer than it should have to remember that they belong to someone. He lifts his head, eyes suddenly heavy and tired as he faces Cleo whilst simultaneously avoiding her gaze.

With nowhere to go, his legs stagnant, the anxiety festers. A burst of kinetic energy bubbling underneath his skin like a boiling pot with the lid left over it. He tries not to shake. He doesn't know if it works.

"Cleo," he says, swallowing a gasp his body tries to force out. "We've gotta— We need to find somewhere to set up, fortify. Maybe team up with Bdubs and the others— we're outnumbered. They're stacked, they've got Gem, Joel, Scott—"

"Etho, stop." Cleo jostles him by the shoulders, pulling him in close enough that he couldn't squirrel away even if he tried. Her eyes are red. Nauseatingly red, so deep Etho can't believe he hadn't noticed them before now. "Stop, you need to calm down."

"If we don't act now it will be too late," Etho says, reaching for Cleo's wrists, though he's not confident whether it's to push her off or steady himself. Either way once his fingers have found her pulse point, he can't bring himself to let them go.

Cleo's face, usually stone carved sharper than any sword's edge, softens. Her eyes dim, her mouth tilts up at the corner, and she loosens her grip on his collar. The only thing keeping her hands there at his neck are Etho's. Now he's shaking.

"It's already too late," she says, and its the kind of news that should be delivered with a somber, hung head and the unspoken apology too dense to ignore, let alone breathe through. But Cleo's not sorry. She's smiling at him and he's never seen her more relaxed.

It terrifies him.

"No," he says, shaking his head. "No, it's not. We're still here. We can— We can do something, we just gotta find Grian."

"And do what?" Cleo says, raising an eyebrow at him. Her heartbeat is steady. Calm. Everything a red name at the end of their rope shouldn't be. "Aren't you tired of dying scared and alone and desperate?"

I'm tired of dying, Etho can't bring himself to say. I'm tired of trying and it never being good enough.

Instead, all he can do is nod.

"Then let's go out our way." Cleo grins at him, and it's the first thing to loosen that iron-like grip his ribs have on his heart. "Y'know, causing mayhem, being nasty."

It's tempting. There's few others (if any) Etho'd rather spend his final hours with. Because these are the final ones, if they even have that long, and no amount of panicking or planning or trap-setting will undo the scales that've been tilted against them from the beginning. But the thing about scared animals is that they're stubborn. And no matter how much he wants to give in and let go, he'll never be able to rid himself of that instinct. Not to win, but to survive.

"But the others— They'll be on our tail the whole time." What if they don't have the time to do anything? To live their final moments how they want; just because you don't want to fight doesn't mean everyone else will spare you the same courtesy.

"I'm not scared of some bumbling red names," Cleo says, her words as vicious as they are confident as she finally lets him go, forcing him to drop his hands down by his sides. But she doesn't leave him. She stays right there, within arm's reach, as she tugs free a flint-and-steel from her pocket. "I can keep you safe. For now, anyway. They're all afraid of me."

The laugh that bubbles out of Etho is a quiet, private one that hurts coming up. But he wouldn't have it any other way. "You are pretty scary, Cleo," he says. "What do you wanna do?"

"I think burning Scar's house is a good start," she says, flipping the flint-and-steel in her hand before activating it, watching the small flame dance.

[bloop-im-a-frog-now]

A Perfect Guide On How To Tame A Horse by Skizzleman

The first thing Skizz ever wanted to do on the Hermitcraft Server was taming a horse.

“Time to find a horse!” Skizz exclaimed to himself. 

That was supposed to be the easy part. The very long, but easy part. Except, it seemed all the wild horses were gone. 

“Where are the little fellas?” He asked himself. “I just wanna ride a horse!”

He had the perfect name in mind as well. He just needed a beauty, take it to his base and parade around the server with it. To show he was a true horse tamer. 

Maybe he should’ve gone to Bdubs, like Impulse suggested. 

No, he wanted to do this on his own, like the big boy he was. He scoured the lands, to find a horse, any horse, even if it was the slowest horse on the Server. Though, Zedaph still held that record, so, it wouldn’t be the slowest, but his point was still being made!

He’d do anything to get a horse right now. 

He passed a pasture, who looked exactly like the previous one he had passed. Skizz was starting to question his sanity, but most importantly, his sense of direction. Was he running around in circles the entire time?

That was when his muse appeared. A beautiful black stallion ate some green grass as it minded its own business, and Skizz immediately knew he had to tame this horse.

He gently approached it, with wheat in his hand as he called it over.

“Here horsie, come eat that good old sweet wheat.”

He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, and the stallion slowly walked towards him, sniffing the wheat in Skizz’s hand.

That was when he hoped the wheat wasn’t too old for the horse’s tastes. He’d hate to give expired wheat to such a handsome horse.

The black stallion started eating the wheat in Skizz’s hand, and the scarred man couldn’t help but smile. He petted the horse’s black mane. 

“Such a good horsie for good ol’ Skizzlie.”

The animal sniffled at the commentary, and continued to eat the wheat. When it was done, Skizz patted its neck and slowly came to its side to place a saddle on its back.

“There, there,” he petted the black, glistering coat. “Don’t move an inch,” he poked his tongue out of his mouth in concentration as he slowly placed the saddle on the horse’s back, “that’s it, just a bit more —”

The horse snorted and moved forward, making Skizz trip and fall face first on the ground. He grunted. 

“Oh, c’mon now! I was so close!”

He skipped to the stallion once again, and this time did not hesitate. He placed the saddle on its back, but before he could attach the straps, the horse neighed and trotted away from Skizz once again.

The scarred man groaned and hit his forehead.

“Stupid jerk! I just want a horse!”

He launched himself to the saddle, grabbing the two straps that needed to be buckled against the stallion’s stomach, and almost received a hoof in the face for his trouble.

“Hey! Jerk face! Watch it!”

The horse whined and trotted in the pasture as Skizz struggled to buckle the straps. He was a bit busy with not hitting his head against the hooves or the rocks or the flowers in the way.

“Just stop! Moving!”

He managed to buckle the main strap until the horse galloped. Skizz grunted at the change of speed, but continued fiddling with the straps. He was determined to keep the saddle safe and secure onto the horse, even if it killed him. 

Skizz buckled the smallest straps just before hitting his head on a rock he did not see. He let go and yelped in pain, putting his hands over his head as the pounding echoed in his mind. The stallion simply snorted and continued eating the green grass. 

That horse was almost the death of him. 

He groaned in pain. “Stupid horse and horse power.”

He raised his head from the ground and squinted at his target. The innocent jerk was still eating the green grass, but at least it had a saddle on its back. If Skizz just made a run for it and jumped on the saddle, he would start taming the horse.

And that’s exactly what he did.

He let out a warrior cry as he ran towards the stallion. It, on the other hand, neighed in terror, and just as it was about to gallop away from the running human, Skizz managed to jump on its back.

“Hiya!”

The horse neighed once more, and tried to get Skizz off of its back.

“Oh no, you stupid horse. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Skizz held onto its mane as it kicked its rear legs outwards, shook itself, and jumped across the pasture. He was struggling to hold onto the stallion, as he was shaken from side to side, jumping onto the horse’s back every time it made a sudden gesture. 

Eventually, the horse tired itself to the bone, and Skizz yelped in victory.

“Yeah baby! I did it!”

The horse on its side, dragging Skizz with it. The newest Hermit yelped in surprise, and didn’t hold on to the horse as his feet slipped from the stirrup. The stallion swiftly got up and left Skizz in the pasture, trotting away and beyond the mountains.

Skizz groaned.

“Stupid horse with his stupid jerk face and his stupid — stupidity!”

Then, something munched his hair as if it was wheat, and Skizz turned around hastily, sword in hand in case it was a hostile mob. 

But it was just another horse, with a dark matted mane, unperturbed by Skizz’s movements, and continued eating his hair. Skizz laughed.

“Hey there, other horsie,” Skizz laughed again as the horse’s tongue licked his forehead. “Hey! That tickles!”

The animal didn’t seem to care about Skizz’s protest, even when he stood on his feet, it continued eating his hair, following him around.

“Ack! Alright, alright, I get it!” Skizz shooed the horse away, only for it to stay by his side. He smiled. “Aw, you’re lonely. I don’t have a saddle for you, buddy, the other jerk took it away.”

The horse simply stared at Skizz, nudging its head against Skizz’s shoulder. Skizz chuckled.

“Alright! I get it! Jeez.”

He climbed on top of the horse, and it didn’t move. Not until Skizz clicked his tongue and nudged the heels of his feet against the horse. 

“Oh huh. A real Gluestick, aren’t you?”

The horse trotted towards Magic Mountain, where Skizz base was, and listened to every order Skizz gave it.

“You must’ve really had pity on me struggling with that other stupid, huh? Wait!” Skizz patted the horse’s mane with a wide grin. “Gluestick! That’s your name now!”

Gluestick neighed and continued its trot.

“Yeah, me too, Gluestick. Me too.”

[jadienjaystoriesandart]

The Funny Tall Man

Summary: Scar is just trying to take over a mushroom island, he did not agree to being a baby sitter. 

Warnings: Nothing really, this is Fluff and SFW, well unless you count Scar being an evil homewrekcer (literally, he burns homes) and Mother Spore being a mind controlling fae (who low key kidnaps people).

Notes: This is for @sporelings-au and @headless-witch  Tags: @riveraryy and @flooflepuff

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

HEP found itself working hard most days, as the Mycelium was spreading. Scar sighed rubbing his neck and popping it, his ears drooping down. He picked up another paper and read it over sipping on some tea, the rich flavor was nice. Everything was grown locally, everything in his office was grown by him. Giving the place a very lush feel.

Vines hanged down from the ceiling, the air was crisp and clean, the inside made of a hallowed tree. It was the exact opposite of the mushroom villages with air that was thick with spores. The air was near unbreathable by his people, who seemed to have a clear disdain of the Mushroom Sporelings of Mother Spore. 

While Scar himself has no true interest in the island, he had to admit that their encroach onto his territory made him act. Sure the situation had been minor. But Scar wasn’t a push over, and wasn’t going to let the, rather beautiful, Mother Spore think she could just go outside her island. 

He gave pause thinking back to the dear Mother of Sporelings. Beautiful she was, but also wicked. Her mere touch wilted all his plants, his babies, making himself prick with discomfort. Top it off in the past she’s kidnap Woodland Fae of his, and... changed them into these near mindless beings with her spores. Making his insides twist at the thought of it.

Scar wasn’t a fool, while he flirted and teased the mushroom fae, he knew not to let her near him for too long. Not to accept anything from her. Tea was nice, even if they never reached an agreement.

Mother Spore was unwilling to release and give back his people, and Scar as a result would not stop burning houses until he made his point clear. Besides, they were making the air near unbreathable in places too close to his kingdom. 

Signing the paper and putting it out in the out tray neatly the door opened. He looks up as Bdubs comes into the room. “Scar!.” he said, “The garden section is experiencing some wilting.” 

A frown, “Wilting?” Scar echoed bemused, that was rare for his plants to wilt. But as he reached out through the roots he felt the wilting in the area seemed to be spreading. A grimace on his face as he rose and left the room. Heading briskly with his cane clacking on the ground to the garden section.

The Gardens were where he grew most of the food for the main city. Tall fruit trees, small bushes of berries, and vegetables abound in the fields. A place where he was certain Mother was envious of. Perhaps he should make a basket of fresh foods... maybe he could win over the Mother’s favor yet.  Bdubs wanted this was over fast, but Mumbo, his second, wanted a little bloodshed done as possible. Mumbo in fact was the spear head of many political meet ups. Even if they bore little fruit. 

He frowned as he saw one of the blackberry bushes was indeed wilted, as was the strawberry plants, and the blueberries with them. “How in the world?” Scar looked puzzled as he touched the wilted leaves bring them back to their green glow. 

Slowly the plants did heal as his magic poured into them. But Scar noticed one area wasn’t growing at all, as he paused and moved over to the leaves.

“Shhh! He’ll hear us!” “These berries are so good!” “I told you not to touch the bush Ren!”

Pushing them back a squeal was heard as Scar jumped back from a wooden sword to his face. “What in the world!?” Scar yelped as he looked from the sword to an angry red eye glaring at him. 

This one looked familiar, as Scar wracked his brain for info, he remembered seeing this little one with Mother. He looked past the very defiant, somewhat fearful, sporeling to see others huddled together in the bushes. One with ears had a mess of blackberry juice around his lips. 

“What are you doing here?” Scar inquired as he pushed the wooden sword away easily, much to the tall sporlings annoyance. 

“none of your business!” he said in a puffed up brave voice, but Scar easily caught the waver in it. 

“We wanted to meet you!” Another said with him, the little girl with the pink dress and fairy wings said with a bright smile. 

Scar gave a look crossing his arms, “And wilting my berry bushes is how you greet yourselves?” he asked in a firm voice.

Head hung down at that, they looked guilty. “We’re sorry.” the slim child said with a small voice. “They were just so good looking, we don’t have things like this at home.” he said black eyes looking up at Scar.

The slight anger did fade at that, as Scar grimaced to himself, then sighed heavily as he rubbed his face and eyes. “Alright, come out now, so I can heal the plants, and I'll pick you some more berries... just don’t touch anything.” he said to the small kids. Watching as they all clamored out, and the tallest one eyes him with distrust herding them to the middle of the garden. 

Scar shook his head, as he got back to work, healing away the damage done. Smiling softly as he could feel the life returning to the bushes. “Woah.”  A tiny head poked over his shoulder as she stared in awe at how the bushes came back to life. “You can grow plants mister!?” she asked looking at him with wide black eyes.

A nod as Scar started to pick some berries, “Yes, one of my many talents.” he chuckled a bit. “Everything here I grew myself.”

This did get the kids to look around in awe finally taking in how tall the trees were, “We don’t have anything like this at home!” squeaked out the slime boy.

“Unless you count Mother’s tall mushrooms.” the one with horns said with a smile. 

Scar’s smile fell a bit, right, these little guys hadn’t seen anything green save for when they are near his territory. It also seemed they inherited their Mother’s powers of wilting things. 

“I see, well, this is just the section I use to grow fruits, there are place I also grow vegetables, trees for sap, and flowers.” Scar listed off.

“FLOWERS!?” the little girl in pink said in excited, “Can I see!? Please!?” she asked yanking on his tail coat. 

A bit startled by her outburst, Scar stared down at her, then to the children who also looked curious. Well, almost all of them, the one eyed child looked annoyed. “I suppose so, first off though,” he looked at each of them, “Names?”

They each listed off their names, Etho, Stress, Ren, XB, Jevin, and Impulse. 

“Well, my name is Scar... and I guess I can show you the flower gardens, But don’t pick any of them, The flowers are very delicate.” Scar’s voice was firm as they all nodded, eager giggles and jumping up and down. 

Shaking his head and holding back a smile, he had them all hold hands as he lead them along. The flower gardens weren’t that far, and he had no dout they’d be also eager to eat the berries he picked too. Though... “Does your Mother know you guys are here?” Scar asked them with a curious look back at the group.

“Uh... No...?” Ren’s ears flicked down at that. 

“We wanted to see where you go to Funny Tall Man!” Impulse said to him with wide eyes. “We... didn’t expect it to take this long though.”

Alarm bells were in Scar’s head, “When did you guys leave the Mycelium territory?” he asked.

Looking at each other confused, it was Etho who spoke up, “When the sun was rising.”

Scar paled a bit; it was nearing the afternoon now! These children had been out of their Mother’s gaze for over 6 hours! Goodness its no wonder they were hungry and looked tired. 

“Oh dear...” Scar groaned, no doubt Mother Spore was worried sick for them. Look, he might be in a war with her, but he was against using children in a war. Pitching the bridge of his nose, Scar took a breath, he’ll pen a letter to the Goat Father and Mother Spore. This was not going to look well at all, but he also didn’t want to send these kids back to walking on their own! They were lucky they ever found his area and didn’t get lose in the Wildwoods Forest!

Scar’s thoughts were broken as he heard Stress gasp, “Flowers!” she squealed rushing over, Scar quickly stopped her from grabbing on. Shaking his head firmly as she blinked and looked sad but nodded. 

Quickly though, Stress bounced back, “What are these ones called?!” she asked excitedly looking at the pretty purples and pinks.

“Orchids, they are very delicate flowers and very picky flowers too.” Scar told her, “They don’t like to grow for just anything, the conditions have to be right.” he said. Setting up a blanket on the gorund and the basket of fruits for the kids. Which they all quickly moved to sit down as Scar also got some water from the spring nearby. 

It was burning up today, no doubt they were thirsty. He took a breath to keep from fretting, these were Mother’s children, if a hair was harmed on them it’d be his neck. He was looking for a fight, not death. 

Stress ran over to another that Jevin was looking at, “Frogs!” the slime boy said picking up a white frog that squirmed in his grip.

“Yes, I have quiet a few of them.” Scar said then turned, “Ren don’t lick a frog please.” he told the wolf looking sporeling.  Ren froze with his tongue out, and carefully let go of the green frog with a pout. 

“What are these flowers called mister tall man?” Impulse asked looking at the ones in the water that were white.

“Lilies, these ones grow on pads that the frogs can use to stand on.” Scar told them, “See that stem under them, it’s goes all the way down to the bottom of the pond and is rooted into it.” he explained.

He watched as their eyes seemed to be filled with wonder, Stress rushing form the pond over to XB near a large tree, “What’s these!?” she asked pointing to the waxy leave tree with pink and white flowers.

“Magnolias,” Scar told her, “They are ever greens, meaning they don’t shed their leaves in the fall like Mape or Oak tress, but rather shed them year-round, they also come in colors of pink and white.”

XB picked up one of the dead leaves on the ground feeling it’s waxy coating with curious eyes.

Taking his hand, Stress lead Scar over to Etho and these tall yellow flowers, “What are these flowers?” she asked.

“Black Eyed Susans, and the tall ones in the back are Sunflowers.” Scar went over to a small machine near the sunflowers and held out his hand. Out came some seeds that were toasted, “Here.” he handed the two some. “Sunflower seeds are edible.”

Etho looked wary, but did take some, and after seeing Stress try some, he ate a few too. “Their salty.. but crunchy.” he said looking at the rest.

Scar nodded, “They are a good snack, but make sure you drink water as they are rather salty.” he agreed, smiling warmly at Etho. 

“Mister Tall Man?” 

Scar turned, “yes?” he inquired curiously walking over. 

He looked to see Ren pointing to some plants, “These ones don’t have flowers.”

Walking over to Ren, Scar nodded, “Sometimes they do, but not right now. These are herbs. The purple flowered ones are Lavender, the large leave ones that are bumpy is Sage, the dark green ones here is Mint.”

Stress peered at them, “Well what are they used for?” she asked watching Scar pluck off a few leaves and flowers.

“A variety of things, potions, medicine, rituals, even just to make some cooking stuff taste better, or just your house to smell better.” Scar let her smell them even if the tip wilted, “Jellie loves Lavender.”

Giggling Stress sniffed again, “It smells so nice!” she looked very happy as Scar couldn’t help but smile.

They went around looking at whatever caught the kids eyes, Lily of the Valley, Roses, Zinnias, Cosmos. The vining plants of Moon Flowers, Purple Passions, Morning Glories, along with other herbs such as Dill, Thyme, and Rosemary. 

And wrangling them back to take a break and eat something as Scar penned a letter and sent the bird on it’s way to find Mother Spore. The kids were luckily well behaved enough, if Scar had to stop Ren from pouncing on his tail and biting it. they obeyed his rules of don’t touch unless he gives permission. Jevin had fun catching frogs and other creatures, he suppose it was good he couldn’t kill the animals. 

Scar answered any questions they had about plants, within reason, mostly they asked about flowers and herbs. Perhaps it did break his heart a bit that these children had never seen green grass, blue skies, or plants this abundant. Nor could they touch them. 

It made him wonder how anyone could be happy as a Sporeling. Mumbo spoke little of it, even if he still cared for them, it was clear he had no interest in going back. Scar couldn’t say he blamed him, who would want ugly purple grass and only fungus growing around!?

He watched as the children did curl up and started to fall asleep. Etho fought it off for a long time before he cuddled with Ren resting. Scar took a breath, and petted Impulse’s hair watching the sun turn to evening time, and waiting for news from Bdubs on when Mother would come to collect her children.

He can’t say it was a bad day, Scar adores it when people are interested in in awe of his amazing terraforming skills. Even if these children had technically escaped form home and broke into his base. Shaking his head, Scar waited silently.

This was going to be a long talk with Mother Spore, but he would assure her they were fed and well taken care of. And hope she didn’t try to kill his whole garden!

Little did Scar know Mother would be quiet calm about the situation, and might even be curious about flowers herself. 

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Notes: If you guys want a oneshot of Mother Spore’s reaction and conversation with Mayor Scar then let me know. Other wise take your fluff!

Scar and Grian are both evil idiots in this one, and both had good and bad reasons for wanting this war. 

Up to Witch if it wants this to be canon. 

Anywho cute sporelings whoo! (Sorry it was a little rushed at the end it’s 10pm here XD)

[life-winners-liveblog]

Watching Double Life session 5

P5

Pearl: Baby Tilly!

Martyn: Stop screaming in my ear!

Pearl: Jeez Martyn, didn't know your ear was this sensitive.

Martyn: My ear is perfectly average.

Pearl: That was... strangely defensive.

Grian: Martyn can we have a quick chat?...again

3L!Scar: ...

~~~~~~

Scott: Those two are being weird.

Pearl: When are they not?

Scar: Ooooh!

Cleo: She got you there Scott.

Scott: Yeah, sure, why are they being extra weird today? Being extra and quirky is my thing. They are two of the three main adjectives used to describe me.

Scar: What's the third?

Scott: Gay.

Pearl: That one was pretty obvious Scar.

~~~~~

Cleo: You know don't you?

3L!Scar: Of course I know...so do you?

Cleo: I'm not nearly as blind as they think I am... I know much more then they are willing to share, That's for sure.

3L!Scar: ...

Cleo: Well then, let's go back to the others, It's rude to talk about people who are listening...or watching.

~~~~~~

Grian: We're back!

Scott: Welcome, how was you talk?

Martyn: Let's just move on.

~~~~~

Scar: Other me! No!

Martyn: Thart was...fast.

Scar: Nooo!

Scott: From green to red in half a session... That's impressive.

~~~~~

Grian: The ship is gone.

Scott: RIP.

Pearl: You will be missed...by two people...everyone else didn't really care.

Scar: The ship has sunk!

Grian: Well... kinda the opposite if sinking...it's on fire.

Scar: Yeah!

Scott: 🎶-Just like fire burning up the way🎵

Martyn: o7 I guess.

Cleo: I don't know where this arson is coming from but I love the way this session is going, more fire everyone.

~~~~~~

Martyn: Well Bdubs might be able to compete with Grian in challenge for worst tnt traps.

Grian: Shut up! I'm not that bad! ... Right?

Scott: ...well

Grian: Right?

Pearl: uhh...

~~~~~~

Pearl: And that's it...only one session left.

~~~~~

Previous

Next

First

[blackdiamond1038]

Secret Life Secrets

Session 5

Green- Successful

Red- Failed

It’s a lot of words. So many words.

Scott- You are in a game of tag between: Scott, Tango, Impulse, and Bdubs. If you see it at the break, you fail. The game continues in the second half and if you are it when the session is over, you also fail. You succeed if you are not it at the end of the session. Yellows have to guess exactly who is playing to make you fail.

Tango: You are in a game of tag between: Scott, Tango, Impulse, and Bdubs. If you see it at the break, you fail. The game continues in the second half and if you are it when the session is over, you also fail. You succeed if you are not it at the end of the session. Yellows have to guess exactly who is playing to make you fail.

Impulse: You are in a game of tag between: Scott, Tango, Impulse, and Bdubs. If you see it at the break, you fail. The game continues in the second half and if you are it when the session is over, you also fail. You succeed if you are not it at the end of the session. Yellows have to guess exactly who is playing to make you fail.

Bdubs: You are in a game of tag between: Scott, Tango, Impulse, and Bdubs. If you see it at the break, you fail. The game continues in the second half and if you are it when the session is over, you also fail. You succeed if you are not it at the end of the session. Yellows have to guess exactly who is playing to make you fail.

Jimmy: Task 1: Hit a green name with a sword until they block you with a shield. If you kill them, you also succeed. Task 2: Find a green name with at least 20 hearts. Take approximately 10 hearts from them any way you see fit.

BigB: You are the red name’s secret lackey. They just give you instructions on damage causing betrayal or trap creation and you must execute it without arousing suspicion from non reds. You can show the reds this task, but no one else.

Lizzie: Every time someone tells you to do something, repeat it back to them in a quieter, whiny voice for the whole session. [Re-roll for harder task] Get the server to sleep through the night.

Grian: You are mimic for the whole session. You must join in with whatever joke is being played out at the time, they do not need to ask. [Pressed success but realized fail in editing]

Pearl: Original owner: If this book is in your inventory at the end of the session, you fail. It must be kept in a player’s inventory at all times. If you give it to another player, you must keep a slot open in your inventory. If this has ended up in your inventory, you must try and return it to the original owner. You will need to re-roll for a hard task next session if this is in your inventory at the end of the session. This tan can not be called out by yellows and does not fail if read by others.

Joel: Backseat game Pearlescentmoon for 10 minutes. If they call you out, move onto another player. You fail if you have to move on more than 3 times.

Scar: Starting with grass seeds, work your way up to a golden apple. Minimum 4 trades.

Cleo: You are in a race with another player on the server. You must convince other players to give you their front door. The player with 5 doors first wins. Beware of yellow names.

Gem: You are in a race with another player on the server. You must convince other players to give you their front door. The player with 5 doors first wins. Beware of yellow names.

Mumbo: Turn any collaborative effort with another player into a competition. If you are called out, you can no longer compete with that player. You must win a minimum of 3 of the competitions.

Etho: You are a weeping angel. if someone is looking directly at you, you must not walk, run, or sneak. You can still turn, but not move for the whole session.

Skizz: Do the opposite of what green names instruct you to do, but not yellows.

Martyn: Task 1: Create a damaging trap in someone’s base. You succeed when it’s unintentionally triggered. If it’s discovered, you must make a new one. You can make multiple until one is triggered successfully. Task 2: Go invisible and hit at least 5 other people with a sword within one minute without being hit back. Task 3: Find a green name with at least 20 hearts. Take approximately 10 hearts from them any way you see fit. [Unfinished this session]

lemme know if I missed anything :)

[ahllohehn]

Ooc (keep not that I feel so bad for asking this rn)

Could we have some more ethubs?

Please

Bdubs blinked rapidly, biting the inside of his cheek as he tried to fight back a yawn. Sly let out a yip beside him and he waved a hand to shoo the little fox off, "M' fine, Sly," he slurred out before getting back to work on the field.

It's not always that the Hypnos side of his reacts, especially during the day. But it was in the middle of spring, he was weak to this season. The sun didn't feel too hot. The camp was peacefully empty. The slight breeze tickled his skin in a comforting way that made him oh so sleepy. Or maybe a god was aiming to communicate with him that's why sleep suddenly feels like a considerably nice activity right now.

He rubbed his eyes and pinched himself lightly to keep himself awake. Sly let out a few more yips before giving up on getting Bdubs' attention and running off to probably harvest whatever crops are harvestable.

The son of Demeter was able to force his eyes open for a while before he felt drowsy again. He was halfway through one of their few lines of raspberries when the urge to sleep hit him like a truck and he almost fell forward to join the greens in the soil, only to be caught by an arm around him.

Etho manhandled Bdubs familiarly into his arms, supporting the shorter man's entire weight on his one arm as he helped maneuver Bdubs' limbs to hold onto him like a koala.

Etho sighed and patted Bdubs on the back scoldingly, "If Sly hadn't gone off to get me, what would you have done?"

Bdubs huffed and weakly kicked his leg in protest, "Pr'bly stay soooo awake," he grumbled as he rubbed his face violently against Etho's shoulder in an attempt to snap himself awake through vigorous movements.

Not that the son of Hades allowed him to, bringing up a hand to Bdubs' nape to hold him in place, "Because you're definitely showing signs of being sooo awake," he copied sarcastically.

"Why are you trying so hard to fight it anyway?" Etho stood up with Bdubs in his arms, who had to grip at him tightly to stop himself from falling, "Tryna.. get Sly raspberr'es f'r a job well done f'rst," Bdubs whispered, moving his head to side to look at the fields longingly.

The taller demigod chuckled softly, "Harvest anymore and that damn fox will get too fat to work with you."

Bdubs whined but didn't protest as it was getting harder to stay awake. He instead shut his eyes and buried his face to the side of the taller's neck, "Tuck me in. Wh'ever's tryna reach me is prolly gettin' desp'rate," he muttered softly.

Etho ghosted a quick peck on the side of Bdubs' face, barely noticeable due to the mask he wore so it could be mistaken for a simple face nudge, "Rest well, my dreamer."

He whistled Sly over to grip the basket Bdubs wasn't able to fill before leading the way back to the cabins.

Hopefully Bdubs wouldn't mind the cold of the Hades cabin while he 'hibernates'.

[fountainpenguin]

Actually, thinking more about Secret Life Session 7 in-universe (This time drawing inspiration from the Limited Life Clockers dynamic):

- Bdubs is still living at home with Etho and Cleo (and Grian, a cousin to someone in the family if we use LimLife canon) - Scar moves out to start a shop and live on his own (and tbf, considering how chaotic the Clocker dynamic was in LimLife, I don't blame him. Live your life, you funky sunflower dude) - Scar rushes home asking Etho for villagers (For human contact? Help?? Safety in numbers???) - Scar is the first one targeted by Gem's boogeyman infection - He survives!! - Gem singles out Bdubs, backs him in a corner in a tiny cave, and kills him instead - Gem builds her army (3 dead, several injured) and all this time, she doesn't look like a threat because she's just a Yellow hanging out with a scary Red and fellow Yellows - Gem loops back to Scar with a bigger army - Scar runs home, pursued by Gem's army (including his own brother), and dies on Etho and Cleo's front lawn - While all this is going on, Etho killed Grian's pet and is trying to salvage the situation sldfjk - Later, Scar returns home and kills Etho in the lake in front of the house, pretty close to where Scar himself died - Etho insists he will not kill Cleo despite being infected with the curse - Cleo cuts ties with everyone (including Grian, the other surviving relative) and she hunkers down. Last Green standing. - Grian says good-bye to his beloved(?) pet magma cube and runs off on his own - Special shout-out to Impulse asking if he can be the DJ of the boogeyman army because I think it's funny - Etho, who is Yellow and clearly using that to his advantage, rushes towards Joel shouting "Let's group up! Let's group up! Boat Boys forever!" - Honorable mention: Joel shouting over his shoulder, "I know you're one of them, Etho!" He expertly avoids death for a while before turning back to yell "Etho! It's not worth it, Etho!" as Gem cuts him down - Grian makes a stand at home base. He escapes! - Bonus points to Gem stepping in front of Scar as he shot an arrow at Tango sldkjf - Cleo hides out while Etho, Bdubs, and Scar have her on their checklist to kill. Several more dead, many injured. This neighborhood is in ruins - Cleo drowns. She does not get infected by the curse - Also worth mentioning that Martyn, who in LimLife canon was godfather to Scar and Bdubs, gets left alone by the army for the entire session because he's already Red, so he's very much awkward monkey puppeting in the background and that's hilarious

Just a big Clocker fam yikes all over skldjf

[And it was all for what? In the end, the whole army had to press Fail... The chaos. The destruction <3]

[mcytadventevent]

mungbean is creating for Day Twenty One!

Prompt: Sky / Stars

Her piece is written, featuring all of the life series members!

Credit Links:

https://archiveofourown.org/users/madame_mungbean

https://www.instagram.com/madame_mungbean

(Piece below the cut!)

 Left No Crumbs

Flurries of white specks fell from the void above. The frigid temperatures had teeth sharp enough to bite through the thickness of his coat and puncture his skin, while each breath produced a puff of fog. He trudged through dense snow, arms quivering while staggered street lights pop on as the sun sinks below the horizon. His face was numb when he finally arrived at the door of Lizzie and Joel’s house, where all the Lifers had decided to gather before Christmas. They wanted to craft, help decorate, and just spend time together in the off-season, since some of them would be busy during the holiday and some were going out of town.

After a simple knock, the door swung open to a welcoming expression. Lizzie. She was dressed in a purple sweater. “BigB! You made it!” Catching his gaze on her outfit, she stretched the sweater before her. The long-sleeve contained an abstract silhouette of a small person with wings. Various colored, mini pom poms were glued around it, and the whole thing was overly garnished with glitter. “What do you think? Pretty ugly right? It’s supposed to be an angel.” She stepped aside to let him in.

It did look hideous, but something about the placement of the fuzzy balls reminded BigB of flowers, and with it, past memories. “It looks more like a fairy to me.” He stepped past her, hanging his coat with the pile of others on the hooks by the door. Swinging around, he gestured to his own sweater. “What do you think of mine? Eh…? Eh…?”

His green sweater held drawn strings of multicolored lights across it and a melted cookie with a wonky face at its center. “Oh… it’s wonderful!” Lizzie exaggerated, gaining a laugh from BigB. Lizzie waved a hand. “The rest of them are in here.” She guided him through the house and into a conjoined dining and living room filled with laughter, bickering, light music, and familiar faces. The refreshing scent of pine danced in the air, along with a faint smell of cinnamon and vanilla.

“BigB!” numerous voices welcomed, then returned to their activities.

Grian, Scar, Etho, and Bdubs were circled around a board game on the living room floor. Behind them was an L-shaped couch that faced a fireplace and an empty pine tree. Cleo sat cross-legged on the couch, munching on a bowl of popcorn while watching Martyn, Ren, Scott, and Jimmy sorted through ornaments from a tote box on each side of the pine and placing them on a small table. A short step ladder also rested beside the tree for later decorating of the top. Behind them all stood a wooden dining table where Gem, Pearl, Impulse, Skizz, Tango, and Mumbo played various games, such as Jenga and Uno.

“Now if you’ll excuse me…” Lizzie began. “I must attend to the-”

“Cookies?” BigB finished with the peak of his brow.

“How’d you know?”

Tapping his nose, BigB jokingly responded, “My nose can smell cookies from miles away.”

Lizzie laughed as she exited the room, leaving BigB in the room of growing chaos. Martyn was the first to call him over, “Hey BigB! Want to help us decorate the tree?”

“Sure!”

Grian exchanged a smile with BigB as he passed the group on the floor. Scar flung Grian a side eye, while popping a small peppermint candy cane into his mouth, “Well, Grian? Make your next move, carefully.”

“This game is too long,” Grian complained, tossing a pair of dice on the Monopoly board and moving his metallic hat across its properties.

Scar smiled all too brightly, leaning towards him with a wink, “But we can finally have a monopoly.”

“What makes you think this will turn out any different than our previous attempts?” Grian shot back.

Lizzie re-entered the room with a large plate of cookies. She crossed the loud space, placing the dish on a small table that sat on the border of both rooms. “Excuse me everyone!” Lizzie attempted through the cacophony of voices. “Excuse me!” She waited till all heads turned to her, most of them did. “Do not eat the cookies until I get back!”

“You got it!” Martyn shouted from beside the tree. She nodded towards him and escaped the room.

On the floor, Scar was next to move his pawn across the Monopoly board when he landed on a sensitive space: Liverpool St. Station. “I think I’ll purchase this railroad,” he announced, placing his money in the bank.

“NO!” Bdubs screamed. “YOU CAN’T HAVE THAT TRAIN! THAT’S MINE!”

“Now Bdubs, that’s not how business works,” Scar crossed his arms with the shake of his head.

“HOW COULD YOU! THAT WAS MY ONLY PURPOSE IN THIS GAME! I WANTED ALL THE TRAINS!”

“So how about,” Etho interjected. “I make you a deal, Scar.”

Scar’s brows raised at the word “deal” as he scooted a little closer. “I’m listening…”

Grian perked up, “No, Etho. Don’t make a deal with him. He’ll find some way to scam you.”

Scar sifted through his property cards. “Now Grian, Etho wants to make a deal. Let the man speak.”

“I’ll trade you Vine Street if you give Bdubs his last railroad,” Etho proposed.

“Well, you see, Liverpool St. Station costs more than Vine Street. However, if you throw in Marlborough Street, we have a deal.”

“Then you’ll have all three orange properties.”

“Those are my terms.” Scar shrugged with a crafty smile.

“Alright, give Bdubs Liverpool St. Station, give me The Angel Islington, and I’ll give you both Vine Street and Marlborough Street.” Etho finalized.

Scar scratched his chin before extending his palm towards Etho. “Deal.” They shook hands, then exchanged cards.

Upon receiving his, Bdubs illuminated, almost bouncing as his grin widened. “THANK YOU ETHO!” He threw his arms around the man. “ISN’T HE JUST THE BEST!” Etho glanced away, offering no change in expression.

Joel entered the room and passed them with a tray of steaming mugs and a bag of marshmallows. Bdubs perked up, like a dog at the sound of his favorite toy. “IS THAT HOT CHOCOLATE!” His head snapped to Etho, locking gaze. “ETHO, YOU WANT ONE?” Etho shrugged. “I’LL TAKE THAT AS A YES!” Bdubs jumped to his feet and raced after the hot chocolate.

Joel set the tray on the dining table and called out for the room to hear, “Hot chocolate has arrived!”

Gem sprang to her feet, abandoning her Uno match with Pearl. As she did so, her knee knocked into the table, collapsing the intense game of Jenga beside her and causing an eruption of complaints. “Sorry guys,” she shrugged. “Hot chocolate.” Skizz stood next, followed by Tango. Skizz grabbed a second mug for Impulse while Tango got one for Mumbo.

“Hey Joel!” Ren called from across the room, positioned beside the tree.

“Yea?” Joel swung around to face him.

“We got the lights on, but do you have a piece for the top?”

Joel put a finger to his chin. “No, I don’t believe so.”

From the floor, Grian stood, puffing out his chest confidently. “Make way everyone, for I am the star!”

A handful of chuckles emitted from multiple people, while Martyn playfully responded, “Oh yeah? Then what are you doing on the floor? You’re supposed to be in the tree!”

“You’re not shiny either,” Jimmy added.

“Just watch, I’ll show off my brilliance!” Grain said, walking to a box by the pine, pulling out a strand of lights, and entangling himself in them.

Jimmy giggled, “What are you doing?”

Determined, Grain ignored him, hiding the step ladder behind the tree and ascending it. When his knees appeared above the tree, he threw his arms in opposite directions and widened his stance as far as the ladder allowed, assuming the shape of a star.

“Quick, someone plug him in!” Martyn shouted.

Joel raced to the back of the tree, grabbing an extension cord on the way. He took the plug dangling off Grian, connected it to his cord, and inserted it into an outlet—cueing a mixture of awes and laughter—and darted to the front.

“How do I look?” Grian asked, wrapped unevenly in dazzling white lights.

“Stunning!” Mumbo chuckled from the crowd of laughter that had gathered around the base of the tree to witness Grian’s shenanigans.

“Well, the tree is not going to decorate itself,” Grian urged light-heartedly.

A handful of people grabbed ornaments and placed them on the tree. Keeping his arms extended, Grian carefully repositioned himself, balancing on one leg and extending the other. For a split second, Jimmy thought he saw wings in Grian’s shadow, but he guessed it must have been the trick of the light. He watched as Martyn nearly placed a shiny red ornament on the tree when Grian glanced down and whispered, “Not right there…”

Martyn playfully said, “Oh why, all seeing one?”

Grian responded, “There’s too much red there, move it someplace else.”

The laughter continued until Tango emitted a loud and unsettling gasp. A cold breeze whisked through the room, snuffing out the only candle on the dining table. Everyone fell silent, turning to face Tango as the crackling fire laughed from the hearth. “The cookies are gone!”

“What!” Joel shoved his way past the crowd to find an empty plate on the small table that Lizzie had left them on. He placed his hands on his hips and faced the group. “Alright, who ate my wife’s cookies?”

Everyone glanced towards each other, but no one responded.

Grian stepped forth, clearing his throat. “Ahem, it looks like this calls for…”  he fisted his hands before his chest, securing a brown trench coat around his shoulders, a Deerstalker hat on his head, and straightened the glasses on his face. Removing a magnifying glass from an inside coat pocket, he threw it into the air. “An investigation!”

Jimmy rubbed his eyes, blinking a few times. Since when did Grian get a coat? Let alone down from the tree and untangled from the lights so quickly? He glanced around, but no one questioned it except for Mumbo who giggled, “Nice magnifying glass.”

Grian smiled, stepping beside Joel. “Alright. No one leaves this room until we find the perpetrator. Now… who’s got information regarding this incident?”

“PEARL WAS CLOSEST!” Bdubs exploded.

Pearl threw her hands up in defense, “Yeah, like I ate all those cookies in one go.”

“So there’s an accomplice…” Giran thought aloud, tapping his chin. “Maybe multiple.”

“It’s probably BigB,” Ren commented.

Everyone turned around, staring at BigB in his cookie sweater. He stared back at them, narrowing his eyes. “That’s just cold.”

“Skizz is looking pretty guilty right now,” Cleo chuckled from somewhere in the group. The crowd turned to Skizz. Fidgeting his fingers, his eyes widened as he glanced at all the staring faces.

“Okay! Everyone sit on the couch!” Grian instructed. People squeezed themselves onto the large couch, some sitting on the floor while others sat on the arms of the couch. Grian pulled over a wooden chair from the dining room and placed it in front for all to see. “Pearl you’re first, come sit in the chair.”

“Uh, okay.” She rose from the floor and sat in the chair. Joel flipped the light switches, transforming the room into a void where only one ceiling light cast a ray over the chair Pearl sat in, and the wavering light from the fireplace dimly illuminated the rest of the crew gathered on the couch.

“So,” Grian began. “What were you doing when Lizzie delivered the cookies?”

“Playing Uno with Scott and Cleo.”

“And then what happened?”

“Well, Scott went back to help decorate the tree and Cleo left to refill her snack.”

“Did you see either of them take a cookie?”

“Nope. Although, I continued playing Uno with Gem, so I didn’t see them afterwards.”

“Did either of you leave the table after that?” Grian turned his back to her.

“Yea, I went to the bathroom after Joel came with hot chocolate.”

Grian whipped around, throwing a finger at her. “Ah ha!”

“Please don’t start that again,” Martyn teased from the couch.

“But I didn’t take a cookie,” Pearl defended. “I came back and sat on the couch with Cleo and Gem.”

“Hmmm…” Grian rubbed a finger under his chin. “Then I call Cleo to the chair.”

~ ~ ~

“So,” Grian stood before the chair, pushing up his glasses. “What did you do after Scott left for the tree?”

Cleo stared into his soul, her eyes the look of death. “Went to the kitchen, got myself some more popcorn, sat on the couch and watched the chaos.”

Grian nodded. “Valid. No further questions.”

“WHAT?” Jimmy’s voice rang from the couch. Cleo only laughed. “But she could have easily left something out!”

“I’ll ask the questions here.” Grian jabbed a thumb to his chest. “Plus, she had to mom Monopoly for us.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well…”

~ ~ ~

Around the Monopoly board, once more, sat Grian, Scar, Bdubs, and Etho.

“Scar, stop harboring the money!” Grian complained—an untouched hot chocolate sitting beside him. “You’re supposed to give us two hundred dollars when we pass GO.”

“Uh, uh, uh,” Scar waved his finger. “You did not remind the bank, and your turn has passed. That’s not my fault.”

“YOU’RE SCAMMING US!” Bdubs attempted to swipe the money from Scar’s hand, but Scar moved it from his reach.

“You’re a horrible banker.” Grian crossed his arms.

Scar smiled. “Actually, it’s just how business works.”

Grian stared him in the eye. “Let me be the banker.”

Scar splayed his palms over his organized money set up. “No! I chose to be the banker first!”

“And I’m regretting it. Hand over the money!”

“How do I know you won’t do the same or worse!”

Cleo pushed herself up, abandoning her bowl of popcorn on the couch, and stepped between the two bickering children. She sat, squeezing herself between them and forcing them to scoot over. “That’s it. I’m the banker now.”

“YAY!” Bdubs threw his hands into the air.

Scar griped, “Ah Cleo… please don’t!” He sent a pleading expression to the man ahead of him. “Etho, tell her-”

Etho shook his head. “I’ve got no say in this.” Cleo nodded in approval.

Scar’s head drooped as he handed the money he kept from Bdubs to Cleo. “But Grian was the Bad Boy, not me!”

~ ~ ~

“Huh,” Jimmy said from the couch. “I don’t know how I missed that whole interaction.”

Grian’s eyes narrowed towards Jimmy. “Sus. But I’ll come back to you later.” He adjusted his hat and pointed his magnifying glass at one person. “Scott! Your next to the chair.” Scott exchanged places with Cleo. He plopped in the seat, arms crossed. “So, tell me your run through of the story, starting with your match of Uno.”

Scott locked eyes with Grian, reciting his story, “I played Uno with Cleo and Pearl. Left to help untangle a strand of lights for the tree, then stayed to sort ornaments with Ren. You should know, I was by the tree and your crazy Monopoly game the whole time.”

Scott purposefully left Jimmy’s name from the story in hopes Grian would forget about him, but Grian targeted him anyway. “And Jimmy was a part of that, right?

“Yes, bu-”

“Jimmy! Come to the chair!”

Scott released a sigh of frustration, and stood—arms still crossed. “What about you, Grian? How do we know you aren’t the one to blame?”

“He has a point.” Martyn chimed in. “This could all be a set up to blame someone else.”

Grian set his magnifying glass on the table of ornaments and plopped in the chair. “Fine.”

But Jimmy saw something different. When Grian sat in the chair, he sat in his ugly sweater from before his wardrobe change. No long coat, no hat, just his red sweater wrapped in a green tinsel garland. Jimmy blinked a few times. “How did yo-”

“So Grian!” Martyn stood, allowing Scott to take his place on the couch next to Jimmy. “What were you doing during the cookie incident?”

“Playing Monopoly, until I became a star.”

Martyn studied him when Impulse called from the couch, “He came to get hot chocolate.”

“Yea, he did,” Tango confirmed.

“So,” Martyn stroked his chin. “Leaving something out of the story, are we?”

Grian sighed. “I wasn’t gone that long. I chatted with BigB briefly, got hot chocolate, then went back to Monopoly.”

From the couch, Scar narrowed his eyes; his heart chipped once more. Grian’s words confirmed his suspicion. Grian had met with BigB in secret, again.

Martyn swung around to spot BigB sitting on the floor. “Can you affirm his alibi?”

BigB nodded. “We talked about which ornaments would look best on the tree.”

Scar sighed with relief. He remembered it was nearly Christmas. His mind was still stuck in the games that he forgot BigB was no longer a threat, he was a friend.

Martyn shrugged. “Seems clean to me.” He sat on the floor in front of Scott and Jimmy as Grian rose from the chair.

“Alright, back to business.” Grian adjusted the coat on his shoulders, leaving Jimmy to wonder if he was imagining all of this. Grian picked up his magnifying glass from the table and swung around, tipping the brim of his hat to face Jimmy. “Now back to Tim!” Beside Jimmy, Scott rolled his eyes—his distraction had failed. What did he expect, Grian never cut Jimmy any slack.

~ ~ ~

Jimmy shifted in the chair awkwardly, and Grian leaned towards him, magnifying glass over his eye. “What are you hiding Timmy?”

“This is just an uncomfortable chair,” Jimmy laughed nervously.

With the magnifying glass, Grian moved to the side of Jimmy’s face, less than an inch away, analyzing any change in his facial features. He noted a single bead of sweat dripping from the suspect’s temple.

“OKAY! OKAY! It was Scott!” Jimmy finally burst.

“JIMMY!” Scott shot to his feet, throwing him a look of betrayal. One Jimmy has seen before, so he knew this one was more playful than previous.

“Go on Tim,” Grian pushed, still looking at him through the glass. Jimmy had to pull his head back to avoid being touched by the thing.

“When Scott came over to help me untangle a strand of lights, he brought each of us a cookie, so we ate them.”

Scott said, “Yeah, but they were the only ones I took. The rest of the cookies were still there!”

Grian tapped the magnifying glass in the palm of his other hand. “So, there are more cookie thieves.” He scanned the couch, studying each face, eyes landing on a familiar anxious expression. “Mumbo.”

Mumbo nearly jolted. “Uh, yea?”

“To the chair!” Grian directed him with the point of his finger. “You know something.”

“Uh, I highly doubt that.”

“Mhm,” Grian pursed his lips, nodding. Mumbo sat neatly in the chair. “Now tell Mumbo, what were you doing during this crime?”

“Well, uh, after Gem knocked over our, uh, Jenga match, we played Clue an-”

“Ironic… who did it?”

“What does that hav-”

“Who did it, Mumbo?” Grian leaned closer, magnifying glass nearing Mumbo’s face.

“Um… Colonel Mustard.”

“And who was that?”

“I don’t really see how…” Mumbo trailed off as Grian came uncomfortably closer, removing the magnifying glass between them, narrowing his eyes in a fixed gaze. Mumbo’s eyes darted around the room until he cracked. “Skizz. It was Skizz.”

Grian whipped around. “Skizz! You’re next!”

~ ~ ~

“Now what’s your story?” Grian stood before the chair, crossing his arms with a skeptical glare.

“The same as Mumbo’s. I was playing Jenga, then Clue.”

Grian noticed the way Skizz’s eyes looked past him for a split second. “And your group involved Tango, Mumbo, and Impulse, correct?”

“Correct,” Skizz nodded.

“Then, am I safe to assume your whole group took a cookie?”

“What?” Skizz rubbed his arm, and avoided eye contact. “Why would you say that?”

Grian paced before Skizz. “According to Pearl, she and Gem left the dining table to join Cleo on the couch. And while I was busy shining for everyone at the top of the tree, Joel was the first to join us from the table while the rest of you straggled your way over.” Skizz glanced towards Tango who looked away, Mumbo who scratched the back of his head, and Impulse who just shrugged. “So…” Grian ceased his strides, turning to Skizz. He grabbed the arms of the chair with a glare. “I’ll ask one more time, did your group take the cookies, Skizz?”

Skizz whipped his head away from Grian’s expression. “YES! Yes we did! We, we saw the cookies on the table, and, and Impulse said, ‘Why not,’ so we each took one and ate them!” Grian straightened, brushing his hands with a “job-well-done” and a smile on his face. Skizz released a large breath, “Oh, that felt good.” And for a moment, Impulse swore he saw a halo appear above Skizz, but it must have been a trick of the single light cast above him.

Joel stood, hands on his hips, and switched his gaze between the group of known cookie thieves. “I can’t believe you all ate them!”

Tango raised his hands in defense. “Now hang on here. We didn’t eat them all either. There were two cookies left. Someone ate those too!”

Martyn raised his hand, rising from the floor, “That would be me. I ate one and took the last to Ren while Grian was busy being a star on the tree. I only saw two and assumed everyone had been eating them, so might as well finish the job, right?”

Cleo added, “Yeah, I ate one when I returned from the kitchen.”

“Me too,” Pearl admitted. “I took one on my way to the bathroom.”  

“And I took one after Pearl left,” Gem stood. “They just looked so good! And you can’t have hot chocolate without a cookie.”

Bdubs sprung up from the floor. “I AGREE. I TOOK ONE FOR ME AND ONE FOR ETHO WITH OUR HOT CHOCOLATES! GRIAN HELPED.”

“Yea, actually…” Grian faced everyone who was now standing. “I took two, one for me and BigB, then took a third to Scar.”

Joel confidently raised his voice. “I also ate one—two actually.”

Gem threw him a curious look. “Joel, you ate them too?”

“Of course!” He rubbed his stomach with both hands. “My wife makes delicious cookies.”

Silence encompassed the room as they all stared at one another…

Until Mumbo spoke. “So… we all ate them…”

“Yup.” Martyn nodded.

“What are we going to do!” Skizz erupted. “Lizzie told us not to eat them yet. We’re greedy, horrible people!”

Impulse gently pat him on the back, offering his support.

Tango turned to Skizz. “Whoa, chill out man. We’ll make up for it. No point in dwelling on the past.”

“Tango’s right,” Etho said. “We have to tell Lizzie when she gets back. It’s the right thing to do.”

An upbeat melody came from the hall. Lizzie’s hum. Everyone faced the open entryway awaiting her arrival. Their heads dropped, holding a guilty posture. Lizzie’s hum ceased not too far from them, and BigB was the first to speak. “Sorry, Lizzie, but… we ate your cooki-” When BigB’s voice cut off, the rest of the group looked up to find Lizzie with a tray of freshly baked cookies in her hands.

She burst into laughter. “I knew you’d all eat them. I was just curious how long it’d take! I made more.” She nodded towards the tray. “And there’s a third batch in the oven now!”

The lights of the dim atmosphere snapped on, encompassing the room with warmth and comfort yet again. Colorful strands of lights illuminated the hearth where a soft fire clapped, and gentle Christmas music played in the background. Was it always playing? Jimmy wasn’t sure, nor did he know who turned on the lights because he didn’t think anyone moved.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Gem exhaled a breath of relief. “I was really worried there for a second.”

Smiles stretched along everyone’s faces as they raced to the tray of cookies, thanking the baker as they each grabbed a warm cookie. When Jimmy arrived at the tray and snatched a cookie, he glanced towards Grian who was dressed in his ugly sweater once again. The mysterious man smiled at him, and Jimmy began, “How did yo-” But Grian put a finger over his lips, taking a cookie and departing from the crowd.

“There’s plenty to go around.” Lizzie beamed as she watched their faces brighten upon each bite of her cookies. “Sharing is what Christmas is all about! Now who is ready to start karaoke?”

~ ~ ~

When Scar finished his solo, he exited the designated stage area—which was in front of the couch—and returned to a spot beside the couch, beside Grian. The crowd clapped at his performance. Sweat dripped from Scar’s forehead. He wiped it with his sleeve and attempted to fan himself, but when that wasn’t enough, he removed his ugly sweater. Grian caught this movement from the corner of his eye and yelled from instinct, “SCAR PUT YOUR CLOTHES BACK ON!” He noticed the white T-shirt Scar had on underneath and smiled. They both burst into laughter, reminiscing old times.

Lizzie stood before the crowd—the tree still unlit behind her, but fully decorated—and picked up the microphone. “Alright, who’s next?”

“That’s us, G.” Joel and Jimmy rose from the couch, each placing on a pair of shades.

Grian nodded towards Scar, who smiled back, and joined his karaoke group. He, too, took out a pair of sunglasses and rested them on his head. The performance began as they attempted to sing “Jingle Bell Rock.” Each of them sang good at first, but they drastically got worse. Their voices fluctuated and cracked on purpose, attempting to reach notes they knew they couldn’t. At the end of the song, they crossed their arms with Jimmy and Joel leaning their backs against Grian who stood in the middle and said, “Bad Boys out,” before dropping the mic.

“Oh, that was great,” Cleo teased.

Martyn clapped. “It was horrendously good.”

Jimmy smiled. “We’re the only awesome band around.”

“OH YEA?” Bdubs shot to his feet. “WELL, I’VE GOT A BAND OF MY OWN!”

Joel said, “Uh huh, And what’s it called?”

“B.E.S.T.! IT STANDS FOR ME, ETHO,” he glanced around the room, laying eyes on two other people. “UH, SKIZZ, AND TANGO!” He got up, beckoning them to join him in the stage area. “COME ON GUYS.”

“Have at it.” The Bad Boys took off their shades, exiting the stage area. Grian whacked Jimmy on the back. When Jimmy looked at him, Grian gave him a smile and nod of approval as the three Bad Boys returned to the couch.

Etho, Skizz, and Tango stepped forward, discussing with Bdubs which song they should do when Bdubs raced off. He shortly returned with pointy elf ears over his own, and shoved a Santa hat on Etho. “SAY IT! SAY IT!”

Etho rolled his eyes. “Alright, just for you.” He cleared his throat, and emitted his deep voice, “Ho, Ho, Ho!”

“THAT WAS PERFECT!” Bdubs pointed towards Lizzie. “NOW CUE THE MUSIC!”

They all began the song “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey with the crack of their voices, “Ahh~”

Mixed reactions waved through the crowd. Some “Boos,” some “Oh no’s,” and some closed their ears while others laughed and cheered them on.

When their song ended, Lizzie and Joel had everyone gather around the tree to finally light it for the first time. Everyone counted down, “3…2…1!”

Beautiful white lights illuminated across the pine, highlighting the fun ornaments that garnished it. Jimmy glanced at Scott, finding the multitudes of lights reflected in his eyes—sparkling like stars in a vast night sky—reminding him of some distant memory he couldn’t pinpoint.

People went back to games, karaoke, and cookie eating while Jimmy and Scott stayed by the beautiful tree. Behind them, Grian horribly sang “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” while a group composed of Tango, Bdubs, Scar, and Impulse sounded like they were gambling over Lizzie’s cookies. His friends were wild, dramatic, and rambunctious, but it was what he loved about them.