#Mumscarian Rift AU

[stitchthesewords]

Pragmatic Developments in Concorp Testing Protocol Chapter 1

WC: 6,045, Ongoing.

Relationships: Pre-Relationship Mumscarian

Additional Tags: Android Scar and Mumbo, Portal AU

Summary:

The companion cube buzzed slightly. Just slightly. Not enough that it was ever noticeable until now, two hands pressed into its sooty faces as Grian stared at the big gaping hole in what was once a parking lot. He brushed away some debris and crouched, staring into ConCorp. Staring into ConCorp again. What was he doing?

A HC X Portal Au, taking place in the wake of the end of Portal 2. Or, at least, a version of the end of Portal 2.

---

The HC x Portal AU I share with @made-nondescript is here it's finally here yippeeeee. I am so normal about the robots. We're both so incredibly normal about the robots. I tried to write this in such a way that even if you haven't played the games you could understand what was going on - and if you have played the games, well, there's some significant changes into how the past story progresses that I hope it's still enriching for you! Enjoy!

[sneezinbird-new]

i really want to make mumscarian to canon in my au/fic but also see them so platonic

aaaaaaa

i just remembered that qpr is a thing

[totallynotagremlin]

Hi hi

Last song: i have my sleeping playlist going so uhm fade by launder, its chill vibes good song

Currently watching: my partner and i are watching avatar the last airbender(animated series not whatever theyre doing with live action) but me personally, rain world video essays

Current obssession: rain world, specifically the itterators and the ancients, good shit right there

@sparksnevadas @stitchthesewords @braxiatel @mochiwrites @loombarrow @atherix DUDE IM BAD AT URLS HELP

6 is fine i gotta get up

@future-oscarwinner thank you for tagging me!!

get to know you better game! answer the questions and tag 9 people you want to know better

last song I listened to: I'm not sure but I'll go with

currently watching: iZombie

currently obsessed with: I'm really into everything F1 related rn with a sprinkle of drawing the same flowers over and over again

tagging @justnerdystuffs @keysmashhhhhhhh @sugaroto @alalumin @darkside-cookies @mne-bolno @formulapisces @summergirl2408 @purple-amaranthe

[mochiwrites]

You say you dont want people copying your work but you dont seem to have a problem with other mumscarian aus that clearly draw heavily on songbird like rift au? Explain

anon wdym? 🤨

on a serious note:

first of all, belle (stitchthesewords) is a very dear friend of mine, and I happen to enjoy rift au very much. SECOND of all, rift au existed before songbird did. and I'll have you know, belle helped me plan songbird's base storyline. we talk about fic ideas all the time??

I'd genuinely love to see how you think rift au, a fantasy crime story with a resistance against king ren, draws "heavily" on songbird, a fantasy murder mystery with a deeply rooted theme of humanity. these two aus HARDLY have any similarities between them. so I'd love to see what you think is heavy influence.

the only similarities is the fantasy genre, and that mumbo is a vampire. other than that, the stories are two completely separate entities.

I'd rather people not copy my work, this is correct. but taking inspiration from it is fine?? as long as the inspiration inspires your own idea. this may shock you, but songbird took inspiration from the midnight series. and before you assume that series takes heavy influence from songbird, midnight existed first, hope that helps!

there is a fine line between taking inspiration and copying someone's work. copying songbird would be someone taking the plotline and ripping off of it. however taking inspiration would be putting your own spin on an idea or concept.

also it's not like I'm religiously stalking the mumscarian tag to see the fics either???

I don't know if you think I'm supposed to have a problem with other writers taking inspiration from me, but I don't. as long as the plot isn't a straight rip off from my own work, people can go crazy! creativity inspires creativity. that's how stories work! and that's okay. inspiration does NOT equal copying. are there some stories that draw a bit too much influence from my works? yes, I've seen them. and it's not like I can stop people from doing what they want. the most I can do is say "hey, please don't copy/rip off of my work" and hope that people are kind enough to listen.

as I always say, fanfic writing is a hobby, it's not serious or "professional" like publishing a book is. and BOY anon don't look at how publishing works, you might be upset over how the book marketing is done (spoiler alert: agents will ask you to compare your story to at least two other books that are similar to yours!)

you're allowed to take inspiration from the things you read.

and next time? you might want to check if the writers of the two fics you're claiming are "similar" are friends.

[atherix]

HELLO :D

DO YOU HAVE ANY GRIAN CENTIC/MUMSCARIAN FIC RECOMMENDATIONS? BOTH YOU AND MOCHI HAVE LEFT ME IN PAIN AND LONGING FOR MORE OF THOSE KINDS OF STORIES! I NEED MORE LONG, HEART ACHING, PHONE GRIPPING STORIES TO READ! THANK YOU

'ALLO :D

Hehehe @mochiwrites <3

Well well well! I in fact do! I am on mobile so I can't really do any links but I'll tag the authors

So of course you already know about Mochi and @idioddyssey, but I would be absolutely remiss to not recommend the following;

Rift AU from @stitchthesewords is of course a must! They also have some others, including a Portal AU, I recommend anything they write! Rift AU is specifically a fantasy AU that is focused in S9, where it's mumscarian vs King Ren, with Vampire Mumbo, Elf Scar, and. Well. Grian. Grian is a fun mystery.

Grian's Involuntary Holiday at Skullcrusher Mountain by @sparksnevadas is also a necessity for any mumscarian rec list! A hero au that revived my faith in hero aus, it features hero Grian and villain Scar! Mumbo is missing and Grian strikes a deal with Scar :) and things go wrong of course but I won't spoil it hehe

Equinox by @braxiatel is. Mm. I don't like cheating stories BUT ITS SO GOOD. I AM. LOVING THIS. So I made an exception and I'm mad that I didn't read it SOONER. It's a Hades and Persephone AU, but time is a bitch and they're bad at communication. I love it. Void has ideas for other stories too, and I am SO EXCITED about them!!

Of course there are more out there, but these are the fics that come to mind first that are long and mumscarian-centric (aka they're not a background pairing but are instead the front and center pairing, and are not just implied). Totally not biased in that these are my friends, of course :)

[cheesnt]

Have you red Home for the Holidays by Stitchthesewords on AO3? It's Mumscarian and not just Redscape, but its really really cute and they REALLY make sure to connect all three lines in their Mumscarian [They also have a Superhero AU on their tumblr w established Redscape -> Future Mumscarian, and an au they call the Rift Au thats going to be Mumscarian but rn no one's gotten together but Mumbo DID drink Scar's blood like. Super Gayly in one of the fics.]

anon what have you done, now i miss mumbo on hermitcraft even more (/lh)

this was the most wholesome thing ever. and scar literally laying in the middle of the road was so funny. i might read their other fics at some point

fic link

[nova-skittle]

aah!! happy valentines day @stitchthesewords !!! oh goodness gracious i cant express how proud i am of this drawing by no means is it perfect but,, i read through the rift Au and when i tell you i loved it let me tell you i loved it so much mWAh among my top two fics!! anywho i couldnt help but draw these three because who can resist a little mumscarian on valentines day!! i absolutely love the idea of grian being the african gray parrot and !!! i had so much fun drawing elf scar hes so <333 yeah!! i do have,, i did wind up doing some sketches for like,, at least four of the other hermits if they were in the rift au, gonna post those when i finish all of them + i'll b sure to tag you!! i cant express how much i loved drawin these little fellas n remembering to include bits from the fic <333 theyre just so lovely n you wrote them so detailed!!! have a lovely valentines day <33 (just now realized i didnt sign these >:( silly me) (oh and i have no clue how to do cuts but at this rate it'll prob be below the cut, i'm gonna add in the background bc i did nOT listen to the oh hellos on repeat for four hours for that background to go unnoticed (not that i'm complaining i love the oh hellos but anyway))

<333 i love scars starter base so much <3333 ANOTHER EDIT!! i was silly n didnt tag @mcyt-valentines apologies D:

[stitchthesewords]

From the Void... - Rift AU Story #7

Rating: T

Word Count: 2,435, Incomplete.

Relationships: Pre-Mumscarian, Convex[The convex is NOT pre 👀]

Characters: Mumbo Jumbo, Grian, Scar, Cub

Additional Tags: Fantasy AU, Hurt/Comfort, Vex Cub, Vampire Mumbo, Elf Scar, Avian Grian

Summary:

There was a tug. Cold though it was, it filled Scar with a warmth all its own. He couldn’t exactly say he was happy to be where he was, given the circumstances, but any excuse to see Cub, especially before he was supposed to, was a welcome one. Scar followed the glowing ball of light as it exited from his chest. It was the only thing visible in the staticky space of the void. He spread his fingers and felt the familiarity lap at the place between them. It licked at the nape of his neck, and he let it enter his mouth and nose and fill him entirely before taking a step forward.

---

HOOOOOOOOO BOY IT HAS BEEN A MINUTE HI YALL. I started a new job, a tree fell on my house, I broke my laptop, uhhhh. It's been a time. Second time in my life I've achieved AO3 writer status 👍Anyway I am. SO excited - Cub and Scar lore, Fae lore, the rift is baby- you know how it is.

Also my delightful friends @braxiatel and @atherix decided we should update together so you should go read his update of Equinox [And, if you haven't read it at all, you should do so here] and her update of Midnight [Which, if you haven't read Midnight, you should do so here] too!!!

[mochiwrites]

Do you have any fic recommendations? If so, name top 10 go! :D (preferably containing Scarian or Grian in the main storyline)

why yes I do !!!!

I haven’t been able to really read much fic because of school n my own works, but what I can give you is my friends super awesome stuffs !!!!!!!! these will all be mumscarian because uhhhh that’s all I really read! :D

we have!!!

midnight by @atherix <3

rift au by @stitchthesewords <3

grian’s involuntary holiday at skullcrusher mountain by @sparksnevadas <3 (you’ll have to be logged into an ao3 acc to see that one!)

equinox by @braxiatel <3

all of these very lovely and wonderful people are creating some amazing fics and I Fully suggest checking them out <3 and no I’m not just saying that because I’m Very biased :3

( also there’s a blog for scarian fic recs! @scarian-fic-recs !!! there’s some good stuff on there too <3 )

[stitchthesewords]

Get asked :D

💘

And back at u 🎙

💘Is there any posted fic you want to rework/re-edit/re-write? - Im ngl I am. ACTIVELY fighting the want to pull Rift AU down, rewrite it, and repost it. I'm trying to force myself with being okay with retconning some things, or uh. Forgetting that grian shot someone for a few fics. It's fine. It's shock. Grian was uh. In Shock. But also I kind of want to revisit To Find a Wet Rat. I sort of rushed it a bit for Mochi's birthday but I think the mumscarian dynamic in that one is fascinating. IDK

🎙️which one of your fics would you like someone to make a pod-fic of? - oh gosh uh. Rift AU, when its finished, as a podfic??? would be INCREDIBLE. No one has ever made podfic for my work before. Or like, the Portal AU too. All the like, BIG stories as podfics would be so fun to me.

Fic Writer Ask Game

[stitchthesewords]

PLOT TWIST….. ITS ME. MINI. CRASHING INTO YOUR INBOX!!!!!

hi, henlo beloved friend, it has. Taken me a lil bit. BUT !! I have gotten around to reading rift au :yoda:

IM LOVE?????? knowing the Secrets™️ that I know… uwahhhhh I love seeing everything playing out sm !!!! mumscarian my beloveds omg. I love seeing them begin to bond and UEUEUEUE SCAR AND MUMBO SLEEPING IN EACH OTHER’S ARMS…. GRIAN AND MUMBO BY THE RIVER…. THEY?????

also I absolutely love how there’s a universal agreement that scar finds some random person and is just “come sleep at my house. you want to do some jobs for me?” he is So silly I love him.

ALSO STARING AT REN AND MARTYN….. <- normal about treebark

I love it, and I’m super excited about what you’ve got planned :3 <3

OH MY GOD?????? I WASNT EXPECT THIS AT ALL i told you this already but i almost cried very happy tears in public FGLKJDSRGDALFAD

MUMSCARIAN IS SO GOOD THAT RIVER SCENE BETWEEN MUMBO AND GRIAN IS LIKE MY FAVORITE THING RN IM SLKFSDHGKLDGSFD AND REDSCAAAAAAPE

Also yes of course have you seen Scar he just. FEELS like a collector of random people truly i love he. He is perhaps. too trust, yaknow :)

AND THEN TREEBARK IM. I WANT TO DIG INTO THEM SO BAD MOCHI YOU HAVE NO IDEA RATTLES THE BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE

EEEEEEE THANK YOU MOCHIIIIIII

[stitchthesewords]

Hullo! I think ive asked this before, but do you have any random headcanons for pearlo? I cant help it she's my bias

-🍂

OH! LEAF ANON. I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT PEARLYPOP

I cant. SHARE most of them but I have thought about her and she will play a very important role in Rift au. Soup group. 🥺

I need to get an excuse to send mumscarian out to soup groups many bases so I can introduce Pearl and Gem, rift AU needs more Women.

BUT I do love me some Moth pearl, I love the whole night thing - I need to actually watch pearl [and gem!!!] so I can get a better grasp on. What the HELL she's doing for s9??? Something about aliens???????? I think???????????? I love it. Love when women.

I would love to incorporate her and Gem's whole thing into Rift au im. ROTATING them.

[stitchthesewords]

Touching 48 for mumscarian? :D

Okay hi I am NOT gonna lie this got way away from me whoops. This is 1592 words of dancing, beloved mutual. Fun fact, one of the first fanfics I ever wrote was a ballet au for [REDACTED] fandom. I uh. I might. Maybe. Like dancing.

Prompt List Here, if anyone wants to request some more!

Prompt – Touching 48: Dancing with each other

“It’s supposed to be an excess storage room, but I suppose it will work for this too,” Mumbo said, setting down the jukebox. This was the same place Grian found a few days prior when he’d gotten lost in Mumbo’s vault. Grian chirped lightly, the question having been answered without being asked. He moved to make room for Scar to come all the way up the stairs.

He and Scar promised to teach Grian to dance a few months ago. The two of them were still old school in some regards, and hosting balls occasionally was apparently something they just did. Mumbo went digging around in the shulker box he’d brought with him, too, and pulled out a simple chair he’d brought for Scar to use. The elf smiled fondly at him and took it, leaning forward onto his staff.

Mumbo held his hand out to Grian and, when Grian hesitated, reached the few inches further and pulled him to his chest. With a laugh, he spun both of them around, so he was facing Scar. Grian stumbled over both his feet and grimaced.

“This is probably not a good sign for how the rest of this lesson is gonna go, huh?” he asked.

“Nonsense. You’ll do fine. You’re usually more coordinated than I am,” Mumbo said, calling for Scar to turn the jukebox on. Something classical started to reverberate off the walls of the room, and it wasn’t the cleanest sound, but Grian could follow it.

Mumbo moved his body back and Grian followed a little slow. He laughed and readjusted how he was holding Grian’s hands, pulling him close and wrapping an arm around his back. “Okay, maybe I should explain what we’re doing. Just – follow my lead. Step forward when I step back,” he said.

“How am I supposed to know when you step back?” Grian asked.

“Listen to the music!” That was Scar, shouting over the jukebox. Grian laughed and he readjusted his talons, wiggling them a bit as he got a light dusting of blush on his cheeks.

Mumbo smiled down at him and he led the dance again, and this time Grian felt less like he was stumbling forward. That was, in part, because he was staring at his feet. They went a few steps back, and then Mumbo said softly, “We’re going to turn now.”

Grian didn’t know how they were going to go about turning but he soon found out and once again was stumbling after Mumbo, who laughed and held him up with ease. Out of indignancy, his wings puffed up. “You did that on purpose!” he said.

Mumbo was still laughing but managed to reply, “In regular dancing you wouldn’t even get a warning that your partner was about to turn!”

Grian huffed. He shook his head as he righted himself and he and Mumbo started to move in a straight line again. “And how am I supposed to know if my partner is about to turn me?” he asked.

There was a fondness sparkling in Mumbo’s eyes. “You feel it. It…becomes intuitive, when you’ve danced with a partner for long enough.”

Grian huffed, still following Mumbo’s lead. It almost surprised him when they turned again, but Mumbo was right; Grian felt it beforehand and was better able to follow it. He huffed and Mumbo laughed softly, slowly bringing them back closer to the jukebox and Scar. He felt Mumbo start to turn again and was able to follow, surprised when they kept turning. That was almost a stumble, but he was able to save it to Mumbo’s sheer delight.

He felt Mumbo moving his arms and was surprised to find Mumbo separating them slightly. He led Grian’s hand up over his head and instinctively Grian twirled. His eyes caught Scar’s for a split second and he heard Scar cackle from the shock on his face. The music changed. Mumbo pulled him back to his chest.

Grian was aware what they were doing could barely be called dancing, but his cheeks were still pink, nonetheless. “Does this make everyone feel as on display as I do right now?” he asked, muttering mostly under his breath.

“Dance is a form of expression, so yes – but this kind of dance especially. The sort of dance that was saved for fancy parties at castles and manors for rich people? Every single person was judging your every move – every partner you picked was something social,” Mumbo said, still leading the way. Grian was definitely starting to get the hang of it and felt less like he was just stumbling after. Their tempo was slightly different now, but Grian could still follow it.

“Why do it then?” Grian asked.

Mumbo hummed with the music that Scar picked, spinning them both in a circle as he guided Grian to an as of yet unused portion of the floor. “It’s fun. Some of the only fun you could have back then was snubbing noblewomen and men of their dances. Well – okay that’s not exactly true, but still. It was a part of it. And people look nice when they do it.”

Grian laughed and let Mumbo twirl him, yelping when he felt Mumbo let go of his hands. Before he could really panic and flail, Scar caught him. They were in much the same position that Grian had been with Mumbo, and his face burned as he realized they were probably very used to passing partners off to one another at balls. Hopefully he was the only one they ever passed off who got to see them later.

“May I have this dance?” Scar asked. Grian’s face fell at the smug look on Scar’s but then they both laughed as they went back to the simple routine Mumbo worked on. Scar was just as good at leading a dance, Grian noted. He felt slightly different to follow, slightly different cues on turning or moving, but Grian followed anyway. Back, left, right, forwards, it was all starting to feel like second nature. Something Grian could come back to and do.

As the music ended, Grian was twirled yet again, and a part of his brain was pretty sure that was too much twirling, but then Scar did something he was not anticipating and dipped him. With the hand that was twirling him and the hand on his back, Scar led him into a quick dip that caused Grian to yell out of shock. Scar laughed, though it was one of his smaller ones. He helped Grian to stand back on his two feet and kissed him gently before letting him go.

“You’re a great dancing partner, honestly,” Scar said,  glancing around the room. “I mean, I would much prefer if our setting was a little more….oomph, but I suppose I can fix that later.”

Mumbo called out a ‘HEY’ where he stood near the jukebox and Grian glanced over, laughing at how red his face was. With all the spinning they’d done, Grian felt dizzy, and he went to sit in front of the jukebox, wanting to save the chair for Scar. Scar, on the other hand, went for Mumbo, and tugged him back out to the floor.

The vampire stumbled after Scar, but they glided into their position like men on a mission. Grian didn’t know what he looked like dancing, but he was sure it wasn’t nearly as smooth and well-rehearsed as what these two were doing. He watched them with rapt attention, sitting up a bit straighter as the new song began to pick up.

They danced after one another almost as if they were competing. Or showing off. ‘Every person judged you’ echoed in Grian’s head and he wondered how many years, how many dances, it had been the two of them competing for each other’s attention while trying to pretend they weren’t. Passing partners back and forth like they passed him, a way of saying ‘prove you’re better’. A silent flirt.

They twirled each other with ease, the only difficulty being Mumbo’s slight height advantage. For the two of them it was back and forth and Grian wondered if they remembered he was even there. If they were so melded in that moment, they could hear each other’s thoughts. Grian watched as they glided across the room and could almost picture them in froufrou outfits, surrounded by aristocrats and stained-glass windows with moonlight shining through.

The music was coming to a close and Grian watched as Scar’s eyes went wide and Mumbo dipped him instead. Scar laughed and said, “I wanted to do that to you!” Mumbo kissed him and then pulled him up.

They came over to the jukebox and the room fell silent, the machine set up to automatically turn off at the end of the record. Grian had to shake himself out of the minor trance he’d gotten himself into and pulled himself up. He almost fell as Mumbo picked up the jukebox, not realizing Grian was leaning his weight on it. Mumbo shouted and caught him and the two of them looked into each other’s eyes for a moment. There was a soft laugh as Mumbo quickly kissed Grian to make up for almost knocking him over and then put away the jukebox and the chair.

“Well, I think that about wraps up the lesson for today, hm?” he said, guiding Grian and Scar back to the stairs. “Why don’t we go get something to eat?” Grian didn’t have it in him to disagree.

[stitchthesewords]

hand-holding 12 for Rift <3 👀👀 You know I'm a sucker for some possessive mfs

Also maybe... hugs 16 your choice <3

I am also a sucker for some possessive mfs and lightly angst human contact. You've fed me

If any wants to send in their own, Prompt List Here.

Prompt – Handholding 12: Possessive Handholding

Getting separate by Ren’s court was not the best thing they’d ever done; Scar would admit it. There were no weapons in sight, and they were in the middle of town, however, so he was willing to let it slide this once. Grian was on the other side of the road, staring up at Cleo on their horse and Mumbo was only a foot away from Scar, so it wasn’t like they were completely separated, either. Still – not exactly ideal.

“Good evening, Scar!” Martyn said. He hopped off his horse, another barrier between the two of them and Grian, and made his way into Scar’s personal bubble. The man had gusto; Scar would give him that.

The elf leaned back slightly, looking at Martyn down his nose. “Evening,” he said.

“And what are you fine gentlemen doing out at this time of night!” Martyn said. His gaze travelled to the shop they’d caught Grian slipping out of,  and Scar’s gaze followed. Well, Grian’s distraction had worked! That was good. Scar’s face broke out into a grin.

“Ah, well, you know. Out for a walk,” he said. A walk that happened to be near Hermit Town’s bank, of course. The diamonds from their little exchange sat quite nicely in his money bag.

“A walk! Yes, oh, of course. The Vampire, I always forget,” Martyn replied. His gaze went to Mumbo, who was looking at the entire court with disdain. “I’d hate for a pretty face to burn up in the sunlight.”

That caught Mumbo’s attention, but he clearly didn’t properly hear what Martyn had said, because he looked to Scar, confused. Scar’s shoulders raised slightly, and he took a step to be right next to Mumbo and took his hand. “Yes! Would be a shame if he were to get a sunburn, you know,” he said. The smile was still on his face, but his slightly sharpened teeth glinted in the moonlight. Mumbo didn’t have it in him to ask what was going on because he was too busy staring at where Scar’s fingers entwined with his claws.

“A sunburn? Scar it’s nighttime – and I put on sunblock before we left-“ Mumbo said, sounding deeply confused.

Scar squeezed his hand a little tighter but didn’t actually explain what was going on. “Well – you know, we really should get going! It is late after all-“ he said, tugging Mumbo along with him. The taller man stumbled and followed, his confused expression going from the back of Scar’s head to Martyn’s face to Grian working on untangling himself from Cleo’s cornering.

Martyn’s eyes narrowed but he looked over to Cleo and with a frustrated sigh, said, “Have a good night then, Scar.”

Prompt – Hugs 16: ‘Not Wanting To Let Go’ Hugs

Grian scrambled to hold onto the back of Mumbo’s dress shirt, feeling his talons rip the cloth under his hand but not really caring. His wings flapping wildly behind him and Mumbo sputtered, saying something to Grian that wasn’t really processing in his bird brain.

The air smelled awful. Burnt and metallic. Grian was pretty sure this is what blood on fire would smell like. The charred remains of a project Mumbo had been working on sat in the yard on the vault, its smoke trailing up into the sky. Grian’s breathing was heavy but still quick as he practically climbed Mumbo, both of them covered in ash and dirt and soot from the explosion.

Mumbo’s claws hands found their way onto Grian’s back and neck, scratching lightly, and eventually the gears in Grian’s brain started turning enough to hear Mumbo saying ‘We’re okay’ over and over, softly. Grian took in a deeper breath and he scrambled again, just slightly, as he felt Mumbo moving.

“’m just sitting on the ground,” he muttered. Sure enough, Grian felt Mumbo sit and adjust how Grian had positioned himself so that it was more comfortable for both of them.

Grian clutched the fabric in his hands a little tighter, hear it rip, before letting go and going to pull away.

“No – no,” Mumbo said, his own grip on Grian tightening. His arm brushed Grian’s wing. “Just – just. Let’s just stay here for a moment.”

Grian couldn’t – wouldn’t – argue with that.

[stitchthesewords]

Hand holding 33, anyone in the rift au 👀

This gave me a FANTASTIC excuse to do a lil ethubs mwah

Prompt List Here!, if anyone wants to send another!

Prompt – Hand-holding 33: Bandaging the other’s hand and not quite letting go

“You need to be more careful!” Bdubs’s shouted, sat cross-legged in the room he designed for the two of them. There was a moss carpet, though Ren seemed convinced it was simply green, and Bdubs couldn’t help but wiggle himself a little more firmly in place on it. He huffed, frowning at the redstone burns on Etho’s hands, raw and tender. They were fresh. Etho was experimenting with new contraptions for the King’s Labyrinth, so he knew where they came from, but it didn’t make Bdubs any happier.

“I am being careful. This happens when you work with redstone,” Etho said, wiggling his fingers under Bdubs’s gaze. “See? They’re fine, they still work.”

Bdubs tutted and a vine slithered across the room to the two of them. Under Bdubs’s free hand, the one not holding Etho in place, he pet at the bud knotting itself into the floor and taking root. As he pulled his hand up, the plant followed, maturing before their very eyes. Aloe Vera. Bdubs said a soft apology before he broke off one of the thick leaves to get to the gel inside it. Both Bdubs and Etho felt the tiniest pinprick of pain, so small both had easily learned to ignore it.

He took a glob of the gel and began to gently massage it over the burns on Etho’s fingertips and palm. The masked man, though his mask was currently around his neck, didn’t argue. He did, however, glance to where his gloves had been discarded that morning. Bdubs’s followed his line of sight and scowled. “See! If you would just wear those, I wouldn’t have to bandage up your hands all the time!” he shouted. Etho’s chuckle made him puff his cheeks out.

“How do you know I don’t want you to bandage my hands, huh?” he asked.

Bdubs made an indignant noise and dropped Etho’s hand. He crossed his arms, feeling the aloe smear on the inside of his upper arm. He scrunched his nose up, and then snatched Etho’s hand back up before Etho could even think to move away.

Etho made a little wince that caused Bdubs’s face to soften as he dug bandages out of their bedside table. Etho didn’t necessarily need them, but there were a few small blisters and they would do better with padding. Bdubs left those spots free of aloe and wiped his hand on his pants before he moved to unwrap the little rounded adhesives. He sealed up one of the blisters of Etho’s hand with precision that came from doing the same ritual time and time again.

Bdubs sat up a little straighter as he dropped his arms in a mockery of letting go of Etho’s hand, and Etho bent his head down a little so he could tempt Bdubs into a kiss. The other hand could wait a few seconds, even as Bdubs didn’t let go of the first.

[stitchthesewords]

working on a mumscarian au that takes place in a vaguely season 9 esq world because I want ancient cities mm mm mm

Scar is an Elf, of course; Mumbo is a Vampire, of course; Grian is an Avian, of course - Grian is also a watcher but I'm approaching it less from a 'Watchers are Gods/God-like dieties' and more from a 'Watchers have been given the curse/gift of visions' - And Grian came from the Rift, because that's where the watchers come from

And the Warden is something akin to a god - sort of. A harbinger of the apocalypse is more like it. And Grian, who comes from a different world, from a cult no less, recieving the visions of what could happen if the Warden were to have its way

But at the same time, Mumbo and Scar run an organized crime ring in Hermitia [as far as I know s9 hasnt gotten a good town name to use yet so] and they think they're dragging Grian into their world, when Grian is actually dragging them into his - and there's the juxtaposition between the dangerous life of crime [wherein I put guns in minecraft because guns are just better for this] versus the quiet danger of trying not only to find this thing in Grian's visions *if it even exists* but to stop it

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