#almost always at grian's house i think he just feels safe there

[solargeist]

for over a week now i keep thinking abt grian and kid xelqua. something abt him taking care of this alternate universe child version of himself. i just stare at the ceiling and my eyes blur

[azurbright]

May ask for a sickfic please?

You decide who got hit with the whole shebang (fever, headache, fatigue, stomach pain... you decide) and who's taking care of whom.

Totally not related to the fact that I am currently burning up but am basically home alone for now so there's nobody to be sweet to me about it

-🐈‍⬛ (if that's not taken. I'm here for the first time ^^)

This is so cute, Mumbos a little silly goose and likes to overwork himself to sickness and Grian wants him to stop.

(DISCLAIMER: I'm writing about the characters they portray and their minecraft personas not the people in real life)

"Mumboooo" Grian flew down next to Mumbo scaring the life of him almost.

"Oh gosh" He sniffled quietly. "Grian you scared me." He sucks the snot back up into his nose.

Grian laughs "Sorry Mumbo" He says sort of in a sing song voice. He then notices that Mumbo seems a little off today.

He cocks his head to the side a bit, "are you feeling okay?" He asks Mumbo worried for him, he knows how he overworks himself.

"Huh, oh yeah. Just a little sick" The tall mustached man seemed to be lost in thought at the redstone before him. He sighs and turns to Grian and notices him staring. "What?"

"Mumbo you're sick? Why aren't you stopping?" Grian questions the man, he holds his hand up to the tallers forehead and feels the warmth radiating off of him. "Good lord, you're running a fever. We've got to get you home." Grian attempts to grab Mumbos hand.

"What? No? I have to finish this contraption." Mumbo argues with the winged boy, but he wasn't giving up that easy.

He grabs Mumbos wrist somewhat more forcefully this time, "No Mumbo, we're going home."

Mumbo sighs and nods, deciding his mind is just too feeble right now to disagree. He does feel sick, and he feels like he could pass out any moment, but he doesn't want to worry Grian anymore right now.

"Thank you Grian, I wouldn't have stopped if you hadn't dragged me away." Mumbo smiles at the gesture. Grian had always been such a good friend to him. He didn't wanna ruin that by telling Grian he was in love with him.

"I know, you've got that work ethic." The avian sighs, "sometimes I think it's too strong." He mutters almost to himself. What Mumbo didn't know was that Grian was also in love with him, he wanted to care for him and make sure he rested when he was sick.

Grian brings Mumbo back to his house and quickly puts him into his bed, "okay! I'm gonna be your personal nurse for today Mumbo." Grian smiles, jokingly saluting to Mumbo.

"Mm thanks Grian, you're the best." He says sort of delirous.

Grian hums and runs into Mumbos kitchen to grab a cup of water so the sickly man can hydrate. He brings it back to him and helps him sit up. Grian sits on the side of the bed next to Mumbos knees. Grian hands Mumbo the cup of water with a tender look.

"Grian you really don't have to do this, I can take care of myself." Mumbo sighs and takes a sip of water.

Grian smiles again, "I know, but I want to take care of you. You're important to me." He takes Mumbos hand in his own after the ravenette sets the cup down on the side table.

"Okay, lie back, I want to try something, and I want to know what you think." Grian has that mischievous look in his eye. Mumbo however does comply laying back against his pillow.

Grian climbs on top of him laying his chest next to Mumbos heart beat. "Grian..? What're you doing?" He asks nervously.

"I'm listening to your heartbeat and breathing, hush" Grian hushes Mumbo. The redstoner decides he's going to take advantage of this situation and he wraps his arms around the smaller limply.

"O-okay," Mumbo stutters out the word quietly as Grian lays on top of him. The compression of the boy is actually nice and makes Mumbo feel safe. He feels more relaxed. He slowly drifts asleep arms wrapped around Grian like his favorite stuffed animal.

Grian looks up gently and smiles. He attempts to climb off him, but Mumbo just turns to grip on tighter so that they're both laying on their sides now. Grian blushes even though he knows Mumbos asleep.

Grian loves him, he knows for sure. He'll be sure to let him know after the two wake up from their cuddle session. And with that, Grian too fell asleep in the arms of his beloved.

~~~

I hope you enjoy and get better soon <3

[hermit-lover]

Hellooo I’ve come again to ask for another request since yours are still open!! :)) I can’t remember if I wrote this already but I loved the platonic xisuma oneshot you wrote and was gonna ask for another one but this time X asking Boatem to babysit the reader for the day and the reader and Boatem Crew getting into lots of shenanigans!! : DD thank you and have a good day/night!!

-🪨

Boatem Babysitters

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Character: Boatem x Child!Reader

Type: Series blurb (3) (3.3k)

Theme: Fluff, platonic

Summary: When Xisuma is needed off-world, its up to Boatem to keep you safe and entertained. Lets just say their better at one aspect than other.

TW: Mentions of respawn mechanic, panic, jokes about kidnapping

A/N: Lovely to have you back 🪨 (Rock anon) :D. Boatem is not childproof at all, this is a horrible idea X, but some good shenanigans.

The sun was bright in the sky, hot rays basking your shoulders and cheeks. Squinting against the onslaught you toddled after your dad, following the familiar green armor. His hand tucked safely around yours. It always annoyed you that you couldn't feel all his skin this way, but the smooth cold press of the armor was welcome in the heat.

"You remember what I told you?" Dad asks suddenly, pausing before a strange splay of houses, with a pole of boats going into a large hole. The houses were mismatched but somehow felt woven together. The start to a large-chair? of rocks, what seems to be a mountain range, a factory? and a couple of homey looking houses. The scenery almost completely distracted you from the question, but you managed a response.

"Course!" You chirp back, eager to run around this new territory and touch EVERYTHING. A stern but gentle squeeze of your hand reminds you where you should be focusing.

"Can you repeat it?" He asks, quirking an eyebrow underneath his purple tinted visor. You've always wanted to try on his helmet, but he says its to delicate to play with. You sigh, dramatically.

"Behave, follow any orders they give, don't run away, don't eat food off the ground, and avoid nighttime and dark spaces." You recall the words he had engrained into you from the moment you had started getting other babysitters. Speaking of, the prospect of seeing the funny cat man, the bird, and the mustache man excited you. They had never babysat before!!! Maybe you could get away with not following some rules! Papa K was always quite strict when it came to enforcing things. Dad sighs, letting some tension drop from his shoulders and letting go of your hand.

"Good now-" He's cut of by the sound of rockets, and his head turns to follow the sound. Excitement rushes through you suddenly, and you cant hell but crane your neck to look for the source. A black blur swoops down, and lands clumsily onto the grass. Straightening out almost as if flustered.

"Sorry if I'm late! I got really into building and-" Its the mustache man!!! His posh accent contrasts dads own, and he sounds so fancy- paired with his suit- you want to have a tea party with him!!

"Your alright." Dad assures, "I was just going over the rules." He nudges you gently towards the mustache man. "Kiddo, this is Mumbo, Mumbo this is my kid."

Mumbo- but you prefer mustache, nearly stumbles over himself to offer you a handshake. Sort of silly, you think, because kids don't do handshakes, but it makes you feel special. His fingers are long, and very gentle and he shakes your hand softly. Theres a weird red stain on his palm, and when he pulls away you realize theres some on your own hand. Curiously, you sniff it- then sneeze harshly as dust infiltrates your nose.

"Ah- sorry!" He's wiping his hands down the front of his jacket now, smearing the red dust onto the black suit coat. You giggle at his antics. He flushes. "I-um Impulse and Grian should be here soon." He informs both you and Dad, but the words are instantly lost on you.

"What's your base?" You ask, tilting your head and trying your best to coax him with puppy eyes. Mumbo crumbles immediately.

"Uh well-" He turns to point at a weird...tree Gollum? Holding a van? "Thats my starter base- the tree is called Tereesa." That pulls a giggle from you. Tereesa- like tree- a smart name. He smiles, eyes crinkling and creating a sort of sparkle you enjoy. "-And that's the beginning to my mega base!" He's pointing to the big weird chair, but before you can ask-

"I'm here!" A loud voice announces behind you. You jump, spinning around and nearly crashing into Mumbo. Instantly hands clasp your shoulders to stop your decent. The voice belonged to the bird! Golden hair and bright red feathers glitter in the sun- he probably didn't need rockets to fly- which explained how he was so quiet.

"About time!" Dad scolds him, "I was waiting for at least two of you to be here- sure Mumbo could probably handle it but I like more eyes."

"Sorry X." The bird rubs the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. "Well im here now! and so you can skaddle off to whatever important admin business and we!-" He leans towards you and Mumbo, nudging you with his elbow. "Will have a great time."

Dad pauses only a moment, squinting at the pair suspiciously before sighing and shaking his head.

"You better keep 'em safe- alright?" He asks, and the pair enthusiastically nod. "Okay- good bye hug." Dad opens his arms and you throw yourself in, nuzzling into his armor. A wave of sadness passes over you- and you lean back with puppy dog eyes.

"Do you have to leave?" You ask, his eyebrows furrow, but his eyes stay impossibly soft.

"I'm sorry Kiddo, I told you I'll be back before sundown." He reassures you, reaching forwards to pat you on the head. "Love you." He smiles.

"Love you too!" You respond enthusiastically, finally letting go and letting him stand. He pulls up his communicator- and is gone in a flash. The momentary silence is deafening.

"Sooooooooo..." The bird starts, "What do you want to do?" hmmm, what DO you want to do? You consider your options. You could....see their bases?

"Show me around?" You request, turning to face the pair. The bird looks enthused and Mumbo smiles as well.

"Course!- though thinking about it, maybe we should avoid the Boatem hole-" Mumbo trails off, thinking hard.

"Yes. We absolutely should avoid throwing Xisumavoid's child into the void." Another voice agrees from behind you- WHATS WITH IT AND PEOPLE APPROACHING FROM BEHIND???

You spin around, nearly knocking into the bird and Mumbo, who catch you again. This sight is very different- not the cat man but a new person! He has a yellow top hat, odd yellow suit, and a HUUGGGEEE purple bowtie. You almost want to ask if he got dressed in the dark!- but his eyes shine with amusement and affection, and his stance is casual. He smiles at you, offering you a handshake.

"Impulse- Wonderful to meet you." You reach for it immediately, his much larger hand easily grasping yours. Its warm and surprisingly smooth- but something odd presses between your palms-

You pull away and find a small hard candy in your hand. A gasp pulls from your throat before you realize it. Candy!!!! He gave you candy!!! Instantly he moves up the list of 'favorite people'.

"Oh c'mon Impulse thats a cheap move- buying favor with candy?" Bird man sounds disappointed, but you honestly couldn't care less. Impulse holds up his hands in surrender.

"If it works it works." and it works indeed.

"Thank you Mr.Impulse!" You chirp, remembering your manners before cramming the candy into your mouth. It's sweet and smooth, coating your tongue in mouth watering goodness. It's a flavor you can't quite place, but you don't care, its amazing. He chuckles, seeming amused by your reaction.

"Theres more where they came from." Impulse winks, and Mumbo stifles a laugh. His gaze snaps to the offending spoon. "What?"

"Sorry its just- your offering candy to a child you just met-" Mumbo breaks off into giggles and you gasp in realization. Your eyes widen and you stare at Impulse, gaping.

"Dad told me not to accept candy from strangers!!" You squeak, shuffling to frantically hide behind the pair.

"No no-" Impulse seems slightly panicked now, "I'm babysitting you just like those two- Xisuma trusts me." You just glare out from your spot behind Mumbo. He sighs, "Look, do you even know the bird's name?"

Hmmm....

oh.

"No...I guess I don't..." You squint at the bright red bird now, who squawks and glares at Impulse, before turning sheepishly around.

"I'm Grian." He offers a hand, its smaller then Mumbo's and Impulse's, but has a pointed claws extending from his nails. Your slightly worried he may hurt you- but hes extra careful to avoid that. Then, he spins around to face Impulse. "Now they know!" he declares, making the other shake his head fondly and approach.

"So whats the plan with activities?" Impulse asks, and you break into a grin.

"Show me your bases!!" You bounce on your toes, looking at the mismatched group excitedly. Nods all around.

"Mumbo's first!" Grian decides, grabbing said mans hand, and your own, to pull you towards the structure. Admittedly from afar it seemed quite cute- but as you approach...

Its large claws and gaping maw hang over you- its shadow completely consuming you and your small group. Instinctively, as Grian pulls you closer, you start to slow, tucking behind the cozy looking red sweater. The creature- Tereesa, as you learnt, stares down at you. Its beady eyes dig into your soul. Shivers run down your spine. Grian is talking, but the words are muddled compared to your heartbeat in your ears.

You jolt as a hand is delicately places on your shoulder.

"It's okay. It's just a build, it cant hurt you." Mumbo's voice is low, his grip tightening only a moment before releasing. The tension releases from your shoulders- right- just a fake tree.

"So what do you think?" Grian spins around with flourish, seemingly happy to take the role as tour guide. You fumble- having not payed attention.

"Its cool!" You nod, hoping your convincing enough "Sorta scary." he nods, too enthralled to notice anything wrong- but Impulse laughs under his breath.

"Next we should go see Scar's!" Grian declares, the other two nodding along. But this begs the question-

"Who's Scar?" You ask, Grian looks offended- but Impulse cuts him off.

"I think you call him 'Cat man?'" He tilts his head, watching to make sure it's correct. You gasp- of course!! Jellie!!! You bounce excitedly.

"Yea! I wanna see Jellie!!"

"Oh- so you know his cats name but not his?" Impulse laughs, nearly knocking off his top hat as he leans back. You glare, crossing your arms.

"He never told me his name! And Jellie likes me so I like her and want to know her name!" You defend immediately- and its true!! When Jellie had escaped she had spent her afternoon basking in the sun on your lap while you colored outside. When the cat man had found you two he was so frazzled he didn't introduce himself! Now you'll remember. "Can we go see Jellie??" "Of course!" Grian chirps, butting in. "I'm sure Scar will be delighted to show her off- she's practically his prized possession!" His wings flare out- but he catches himself. "Right-can't fly-" He murmurs, offering you his hand. You eagerly accept, threading your fingers together, then sticking your other hand out. You fumble. You have two hands...but there's three people! What happens now? Mumbo steps forwards, accepting your hand, and, seemingly sensing your distress, offers his other hand to Impulse. Who shakes his head, but accepts. Now satisfied, you tug the line forwards. Scar's base turns out to be the series of houses, a winding path beginning to be strung amongst the homey, pointed roof houses. The color pallet of reds, browns, blues and grey blends into a pleasant environment of peace and warmth. The roofs in particular catch your eye- copper! It was easy to find, but apparently really annoying to make the nice blue Scar had. There was so much of it! Scar must be super cool!! Thankfully- instead of sneaking up on you like the others- you notice Scar immeditly. He to wore a top hat, but his was a lovely shade of red compared to Impulse's bright yellow. A matching suit, and monocle. What's with people and dressing so fancy here? Then, just as you had noticed him, he notices you. "Well hello there!" He calls, waving with the hand not on his cane. Not wanting to let go of any hands, you tug forwards. Your group shuffles towards him as he strides to meet you. "What's with this little entourage-hm? Getting up to some mischief?" The words are accusatory, but the sparkle in his eye and gentle smile tells you that even if it was the case, he wouldn't be mad. "No Mr. Scar, we're here to see Jellie!" You inform him, practically vibrating with excitement. "I like your base! Lots of blue copper!" "Thank you, thank you." His infectious smile grows at the compliment, and blush dusts his cheeks. "And it would be my absolute pleasure to present lady Jellie-" He bows, gesturing into the very house he exited from. Peering inside- you spot her! Fluff curled up on a plush couch just inside. Unable to help yourself you squeal, letting go of your new friends to dash inside- minding to wipe your shoes to not track mud onto the carpet. At the commotion, she lifts her head, blinking sleepily.

"Hi Jellie- remember me?" You blink back, grinning at the small creature. She perks, letting out a long thrill. You reach a hand to cart if through her soft fur- giggling when she presses into the touch eagerly. Her wide green eyes watch you contently, pupils wide and comfortable. Scar always took such good care of her- her fur was free from tangles, and she smelt vaguely of flowers. You pet behind her ears, and enjoy the purrs that vibrate her small body. "She likes you a lot." Scar's voice rumbles behind you, gentle enough to not startle. It's almost reminiscent of Jellies purring with the sheer amount of fondness it's laced with. "I like her a lot." You respond, craning you neck to glance at the fancy man. He grins widely at you. "Are you planning to spend all your time here cuddling Jellie?- Not that I'd object to it, certainly makes our job easier." Ah so he was told. You hum, genuinely considering it. You liked Jellie a lot! But...there was more bases...so many cool things to see... "Sorry Jellie, but I think I want to keep exploring." You tell the cat, watching her watch you. She meows, and you'd like to think she's saying 'Go have fun!' With that you stand, turning and offering your hand to Scar. "Okay- I want to see Impulse's base now" Scar's hand is warm, calloused and scarred skin odd against your own, but he's so careful and sturdy in a way that's distinctly him. You don't mind. The group is still waiting, stopping their conversations at the sight of you and Scar. Then, you notice another problem. You had two hands, as did Mumbo, Grian, and Impulse- but due to Scar's cane he could only hold one hand! and if he was holding yours- he couldn't hold someone else's! But...you didnt want to NOT hold his hand.... Before you can worry any longer Grian accepts your hand, taking Mumbo's, and then Mumbo holds Impulse's. The line is a lot more uneven this way...but it solves your problem! "So you said you wanted to see Impulse's base, but I think we should stop at Pearls before- she'll want to say hi!" Scar informs you, and you nod along. Pearl..thats such a pretty name! Maybe..

"Is her base the purple one?" You ask, and Scar nods. Excitement sparks, its such a good color!! "That's a great idea Scar." Mumbo adds, making the other man beam. "Hey- I'm the tour guide!" Grian objects, "Maybe I'll just avoid Pearl's base completely in protest!" "Well that wouldn't be very nice!" A new voice cuts in, and you realize abruptly you were basically already there. Their bases were so close together!! You squint for the new person, and find a lady leaning against the fence of her porch, watching the group with a smile. "Hi!" You greet, waving your hand, still clasped with Scar's. Your toothy smile clearly catches on, and she grins back. "Heya Kiddo!" Skipping her steps, she effortlessly strides to you. "Want a tour?" Its clearly mostly to annoy Grian- but you cant help the excitement. "Yea!!!" You nod enthusiastically, and he huffs, releasing your hand to allow you accept Pearls. Her hand is soft, but still bore the marks of tons of building- like Scar or Papa K's. As she gently guides you to her garden you decide you like it. The garden is a wide range of flowers all in bloom, purples, reds, yellows, blues, pinks- every color imaginable!! You want to touch them- but the fear of breaking the delicate blossoms holds you back. Pearl begins to name them, pointing to each and explaining a bit about them. Her voice is soothing, but carries and energy to keep you from falling asleep. As the sun beats overhead, and the gentle breeze ruffles your hair, you cant picture a more perfect day- A loud yelp makes you jump. You spin around, terror clutching you for a moment. Your original group had wandered a bit, until lingering around the large tower of boats and pit. Impulse, Mumbo, and Grian. Where was Scar? Horror clutches you as you notice his hat at the edge of the hole- and you lunge forwards before you can think. Your legs carry you quickly, and you skitter to a stop, landing harshly on your knees. Reaching to pick up the hat and peer in. Did he fall in? Was he okay? Why wasn't anyone doing anything? When your unable to see him down the hole, you lean further, peering into the dark depths below. Further...just a touch more- The ground under your left hand crumbles- and the sudden lack of support sends you forwards- For a second you feel weightless, fear clouding your mind and tears springing to your eyes- Wind whips by- Then your abruptly caught- slight pain pulling in your shoulders at their newfound strain. "I've got you-" A voice growls, labor clear. Your tucked into a chest- immediately burring into the soft material- and your brought to the surface. The grass under your feet has never felt more reliving. Knees buckling, you bring your savior down with you. "You're okay." A hand pats your head, the voice rumbling the chest you were clinging to. "You're safe."

Slowly, your heart slows, and the tears fade, while your limbs still shake- confidence begins to dribble back. Eventually, you lean back, blinking up at the person who caught you- Grian. His eyebrows are drawn into a worried expression, but he smiles upon seeing your face. "That was scary, huh?" you nod in agreement, sniffling. "Where is Scar?" You ask, still caring despite the shock of the event. Grian chuckles, clearly still recovering himself. "Don't worry, he's okay- he's back home." "B-but why was his hat here?" You ask, now searching for the offending garment. "Uh- well- Xisuma can explain later." He promises, seeming to awkwardly avoid the topic. Not want to cause any more stir, you simply nod, vowing to remember to ask later. Mumbo appears in your vision, and offers a hand. You take it, letting him basically pull you to your feet. The rest of your group lingers nearby, clearly wanting to approach, but also wanting to give you space. They all apologize, check in to make sure your okay- and Impulse gives you more candy. Then, a small warping noise. You gasp, spinning excitedly to see him. Dad stands right where he left, having just warped back from where he was. He spots you as well- and you waste no time in launching yourself at him. "DAD!" You squeal, letting your self burry into his chestplate. You wish it was the soft material of his shirt- but when he hugs back you deem it okay for now. "Hey kiddo!" He greets, voice tired, but warm. "How was your day with Boatem?" "I nearly fell into a big hole!" "You What."

[nix-writes-mcyt]

This one might be a bit specific but I can’t stop thinking about it- Winged Grian x Winged Reader where for some reason (be it sudden injury or sickness or something), Reader almost falls out of the sky while flying. Maybe they catch themselves, maybe Grian catches them, maybe another hermit catches them and rushes them to Grian. Whichever way it happens, he’s absolutely terrified and takes care of them while they’re sick/injured?? It’s fine if you don’t want to do it but I just had to share! (I adore your work, btw! ❤️)

It's alright. I really enjoyed writing this, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy your works. (If you haven't checked her out she writes some really great stuff, I would highly recommend taking a look!)

Risk Everything To Save You

Oneshot Contains: Winged!Grian, Winged!Reader, Fluff, Near Death Experience, Reader Being Shot (accidentally), Brief Description Of Injuries --------------------------------------

Flying. Oh it was one of your favourite things in the world to do. You were one of two on the server to be gifted wings, meaning you didn't need an elytra to fly.

The other winged hermit was Grian, who you were close to. Very close. In fact the two of you had been in a relationship for some time.

Despite this the two of you didn't get to fly together very often. You worked on separate projects, which took up a lot of time. Other than that your time together was spent grounded, around the house or with friends. Flying together wasn't something that happened often.

So days like today were special. Ones reserved specifically for the two of you to fly together. And, as always, it was heaven.

You've already been up in the air with him for almost an hour, messing around, racing, doing tricks. It was fun, just like it always was.

But today something had gone wrong. There had been a few hermits brushing up on their bow skills. Grian didn't know about it, neither did you.

All it took was one arrow. Out of the sky you fell.

Falling was never something you enjoyed. With flying there was so much control, so much precision. You can't remember the last time you fell.

Now it's all you can think about. The wind rushes past you, the air unforgiving as it whistles in your ears, offering you no resistance, no comfort.

As you fall faster and faster toward the ground Grian gains more speed. His arms are outstretched, he shouts for you, but you can't hear him.

You're scared.

You must be close now, your adrenaline hides all pain from the arrow wound. What's coming will be so much worse.

The wind stops howling, you find yourself in complete silence. Weightless. Yet still so aware of what is to come.

Except it doesn't, no. You feel no impact, no pain. Nothing. The world is dark for while. But, gradually, the silence lifts.

You can hear people in the distance. Searching for them is hard since you can't see. Their voices get louder as you search.

Suddenly there is light. You can feel. Something has changed.

You're laid on a soft surface, there is a familiar pressure on your hand. One that's comforting. That reminds you of home.

"You're home. You're safe. I'm going to look after you." Grian's voice is clear and close. He isn't far away.

You want to call out to him but you still feel so heavy. You hear a knock, footsteps. Someone else is here.

"Is Y/n okay?" Another familiar voice. Mumbo. "They're injured, recovering. An arrow that close to the base of the wing could have been fatal. Let alone the impact they nearly had."

"I heard, you caught them just in time." He caught you. Grian caught you. He risked himself for you.

"It was close.. I nearly didn't have time. I'm glad that at least they were unconscious at the end, they didn't have to feel it." You can tell he's upset. His thumb rubs your hand slowly, you can feel a small drop land beside it.

His thumb wipes it away. It hurts you to know Grian is crying. "I was so scared Mumbo." He whispers, "I thought I was going to lose Y/n. I couldn't let that happen, no matter the consequence for me. I can't lose them."

He cries more now, thumb no longer moving across your hand. You have to let him know you're okay.

With any strength you can pull together you squeeze your hand, it takes a tremendous amount of effort but you manage. Even though it's not much it's enough, Grian sniffling as he realises what has happened.

"Y/n?" He asks, you hear him lean closer. You focus on gathering as much energy as you can, managing to slowly open your eyes. You can't open them fully, but you can enough to see his face.

His eyes are red and puffy, hair a mess. His face is scratched on the left side. You can't see any other injuries now but you know there has to be more. "Grian." Your voice is hoarse, having not had anything to drink in a while.

But it doesn't matter. Grian tears up again, a smile breaking out on his face. "You're awake. I'm so glad you're awake." He sobs.

"I'll go tell the others." Mumbo says, you see Grian nod, but his eyes stay on you. He reaches over to the side, his hand coming back into view holding a glass of water. Sure enough he has more injuries, small cuts and a number of bruises. He must have landed on his left side after he caught you.

Realising you don't have the strength he helps you to drink, something which feels so good after going without it.

"You have no idea how worried I've been. I haven't left your side." He states, now rubbing your hand once again. "I knew you weren't gone. I caught you in time. But I was so scared it might still happen."

You can't imagine how it must have been for him. One minute you were flying beside him, the next you were plummeting to the ground with no control. Even though he caught you you were still injured, still unconscious.

But if it wasn't for Grian you'd have ended up a lot worse. Potentially with no hearts left at all.

"Thank you." You manage to say, which causes the winged man to laugh quietly. "You don't have to thank me, Y/n. I love you. I love you and I wasn't going to let that be it. I couldn't lose you. I'm injured too, yes, but you're here, you're safe. I couldn't ask for any more than that." His eyes are soft, his smile genuine.

He really did risk everything for you. "Grian?" "Yeah?" He asks, squeezing your hand just a little bit tighter. "I love you too."

[a-smol-storm-gt-nomfs-blog]

Soul stealing part 2 Road to recovery (tw for vore)

Tw for soft (safe) noms NSFW BLOGS PLEASE DO NOT INTERACT (sorry I just don’t like that stuff much /I’m asexual)

It’s been about a week since the Incident. Grian barely ever leaves his house, Mumbo feels pants and really hasn’t been much better. He could still almost feel the shivers and tears of the man he hurt those 5 days ago. Mumbo placed his hand over his empty storage. He remembers Grian’s flinching, the way he panicked when Mumbo tried to just give him a small pat. He clutched his belly. He needs to speak to Grian.The question was how though. The one time Mumbo managed to catch Grian outside he froze and flew away in a panic. It made Mumbo feel sick. “What should I do?” he asked no-one in particular. He moved his hand from his storage as if expecting an answer. As if Grian was still in there. Mumbo wanted to cry, to just fall into the Boatem hole and disappear. Hope that everyone just forgets him. He scared- no, hurt Grain, his best friend, in such a way he couldn't look at him, they could barely sit in the same room. The aftermath of the Boatem meeting wasn’t any better. Pearl was pissed at him, Impulse tried to reach out to both of them. As for Scar, he hadn't heard much from him. He definitely wasn’t avoiding Mumbo like Grian was. Wait, Scar. Why didn’t he think of this before? Scar always found a way to help Grian, maybe he could help Mumbo. Mumbo went to reach for the door but paused. Would Scar help though? The tiny is an amazing friend, but would he help Mumbo after what happened with Grian? The redstoner wasn’t sure. His hands shook, never leaving the knob. But if begging was what it took to get Grian to talk to him, he'd do it a thousand times over.  Mumbo turned the knob to the door and opened it. Bright sun hit his face as he pulled out his elytra. After grabbing a few rockets he dipped down before flying up. He passed over Grian’s house, looking at it with a pained expression. He could almost see Grian curled up on his bed in tears just like when he was in his storage. He almost fell to the ground, firing a rocket just in time to not hit anything. Focusing his eyes on the surprisingly huge starter base, Mumbo flew in a few circles before landing as softly as he could.  He waited a second, the words caught in his throat, before finally shouting, “Scar?” He waited for a little, his foot digging in the soil beneath him. The silence left his mind to wander again. The taste of Grian hit sharp on his tongue and he wanted to cry. He hated that he thought of that. He hated that he liked it. He was removed from his thoughts when Scar shouted a “Hey Mumbo.” The redstoner turned his head to face the tiny who made a motion with his hands to wipe his face. Mumbo did just that and wanted to punch himself. His sleeve was coated in drool he didn’t even know had oozed from his mouth. “Am I really that good looking?” Scar joked from above, causing Mumbo to bite his lip. “D-do you think that we could talk-” Mumbo looks around, “-somewhere more private?” He nervously played with his fingers while asking. His eyes were everywhere but Scar, mostly back at Grian’s base. “Yea sure step on in,” Scar said, waving Mumbo inside. Mumbo pushed through the ground doors Scar had built for the taller members of the server. Scar entered through a smaller door and onto a platform that was at eye level for Mumbo. “So are you here for my services?” Scar started, his voice in his casual business tone. Mumbo grit his teeth, frowning.

“No, It’s about Grian actually.” Mumbo turned his head when talking about him, moving his eyes only to see Scar’s reaction. The tiny’s head was in his hand and he let out a hum. “What about him?” Scar asked. Mumbo thought he heard a slight bitter tone in Scars voice making him nervously scratch the back of his neck. “I uh, I want to try and make it up to Grian, I was a bad frie-” “IT WAS YOU!!!!” Scar shouted, interrupting Mumbo who put his hands up in defense. “Wh-what?” Mumbo began to panic, his mind swirling. Did Grian tell them? Did he explain how awful Mumbo was, how Mumbo hurt him? “Grian was very suspicious when I talked to him a few days ago,” Scar said, his tone softening. “He seemed scared, of what I wasn’t sure at first. But he brought up a question, one I never imagined him asking.” Mumbo raised his hands from his head to look at Scar who stared right back. “Aren't you scared of being eaten? That you might accidentally die?” It broke Mumbo, his hands covering his face. He might have even started crying. He wasn’t sure anymore. He hurt Grian way more than he even knew. He felt Scar land on his shoulder and press against his arm. “You regret it though, don’t you?” Mumbo’s lips quivered in response to Scar’s question. “Y-yea,” he responded, his voice shaky as he pulled his hands off his face and wiped his tears. “How about turning the tables then?” Scar asked, presenting the idea to the sobbing man. “How- what do you mean by that?” Mumbo asked, turning to look at the smaller on his shoulder. “Well you can shrink to about my size too, right?” Scar asked, trying to remember if Mumbo actually could or not. Mumbo nodded his head, catching onto what the man was saying. “So, I let him eat me?” Mumbo asked. He honestly wasn’t against the idea, it sounded painful though. “Well, not eat, store, but yes.” Scar responded, smirking. “Store? He doesn't have a storage stomach though.” Mumbo asked, confused. “Sure he does, it’s just a different name. It’s uh like another word for plant.” Scar mumbled the last half, resting his hand on his face trying to think of the word. “Uh, you mean crop?” Mumbo guessed. “Yeah, that.” Scar replied.  “Huh.” Mumbo said, going into thought. “Uh, how exactly do we do that though?” Mumbo wondered aloud, “I mean it’s not like he's very happy to see me, like at all.” “A gift,” Scar said, his smile widening. “I’ll message Impulse, he might be able to bring us a box, then also deliver it to Grian. It won't be super suspicious then.” Mumbo didn’t get much time to react before Scar had his communicator out and was typing away. Mumbo was all for it. If this was a way to make Grain talk to him again, he’d do it. He just hopes Grian doesn't just throw him out as soon as he opens the box. “He’s on his way,” Scar said in a sing-songy voice. He turns to Mumbo who smiles back, just not as large as Scar’s. It was surprising though how such a small man could wear such a big grin. Scar flew off Mumbo’s shoulder, flopping onto the platform before giving Mumbo a thumbs up. Mumbo then began to shrink, his clothes shrinking with him. Once again thanking Doc for making size changing clothes. Mumbo made his way to the ladder in the corner. Climbing up he meets Scar at the tiny doors that go outside. He still has to duck a few times to get under things and soon they are at the door leading outside. When they opened the door they could spot Impulse just passing Grian’s house. He took a slow landing. A blue and white striped box in his hand with a see-through ribbon tying the top and bottom together. On it was a tag labeled Mumbo. “Heya Scar, and uh Mumbo?” Impulse said Mumbo’s name in a confused tone. “Y-yea I’m here.” Mumbo anxiously replied. “The box is for him actually,” Scar said, taking the attention off the redstoner beside him. “Really?” Impulse asked confused. “Why?” Scar opened his mouth to respond but Mumbo cut him off. “I’m going to see if Grian will feel better after I return the favor.” Impulse looked at him confused. “What do you mean by that?” Mumbo blinked. “You mean he didn’t tell you?” Mumbo asked, shocked. “Uh tell us what?” Iskall looked at Scar who just looked at Mumbo. Mumbo sighed. “I swallowed Grian the day before the meeting. I uh, It’s how I became normal again.” Mumbo placed a hand over his eyes trying not to cry. “Grian didn’t know we had storage stomachs and so I ended up scaring him really badly.” 

“I, It was never on purpose I didn’t want to scare him.” Mumbo added as he wiped the tears from his face. “I was being a spoon, a really big one too.” “Oh.” Impulse said, putting his hand over his own mouth. His fingers dig slightly into his cheeks. “And you’re going to-?” “Let him store me, yea.” Mumbo finished the question for Impulse who nodded in understanding. Impulse lowered himself sliding off the ribbon, and poked a few holes in the box so Mumbo could breathe. He places the bottom half of the container by the edge of the platform. Mumbo stepped in and layed down. It was surprisingly comfy. Impulse slowly moved him up and placed the top of the lid on followed by the ribbon. Impulse took his time to walk instead of fly. Mumbo could feel the movements slightly. Thankfully Impulse had a good grip so Mumbo wasn’t tossed around almost at all during the quick walk. He felt as Impulse stopped and crouched down. Then he heard a knock. It took a little while but the door opened. “Heya Impulse,” Grian said, his voice sounded groggy. “Hey.” Impulse said in his usual chirpy voice. “I have a delivery for you.” Impulse showed the box to Grian who took it gently in his hand. He most likely read the tag from who it’s sent from, because he sighed, but at least he didn’t toss it. “Thanks Impulse,” he said, turning back to his door. “You're welcome, have a great day.” Impulse called out as he went to take off. Mumbo felt as Grian pushed the door open feeling the box lean a little. The sound of talons became obvious as they clinked against the wood floor. Mumbo had to put both his hands around his mouth to stop the pleased noise that came out. Why, why now of all times did Mumbo have to taste the goodness of-. No NO NO DO NOT THINK OF GRIAN LIKE THAT HE IS YOUR FRIEND NOT YOUR FOOD. He couldn’t help the bit of drool that slipped once again. He snapped out of it as he felt the box was gently placed on the table. He felt the box get pushed aside a little,then the sound of a pencil on paper. Looking out one of the holes he could see Grian focused on something, a pencil in his hand and that same hand pushed up against his mouth. It was weird, Mumbo thought. He’d never seen Grian so focused. He watched as the man traced another line on what seems to be planing paper before it got erased just as quickly. Grian went back to thinking, but every once in a while the avian's eyes would flicker over to the box Mumbo was in. Grian caved. Putting the pencil down he reached for the box. Untying the ribbon he pulled the top off making Mumbo blink a few times also covering his eyes with his arm. “M-Mumbo?” Came Grian’s confused voice. Mumbo lowered his arm. “Hey Grian.” He smiled yet his voice still shook. Wow, it was odd seeing Grian like this. Looking down at him, his face froze with confusion and shock. The builder’s eyes looked back and forth taking it all in as if suddenly he’d wake up and it would have all just been a dream. “I, you, what?” Grian asked, he seemed startled still, but his feathers had yet to rise, so at least Mumbo was getting somewhere. “I wanted to apologize, like really apologize.” Mumbo said. His arms moved some while he spoke, giving him exaggerated movement. “So I have come here to offer myself to you.” This made Grian even more confused. “Offer as in what exactly?” Grian asked, looking around the room seeming to become a little panicked. Mumbo’s heart dropped. Even this small Grian felt nervous to be around him. It made Mumbo sick. “I want you to eat me.” It was much more forward than Mumbo anticipated, but it was the truth. Grian froze. “You want me to WHAT?!?” He stepped back a little, eyes focused on Mumbo. “I said I want you to ea-.” “No, no I know what you said.” Grian sucked in a breath and pinched his nose. “Just why though?” “Because I was awful with how I treated you when I did it, I want to make it up to you. I-I’ve missed you, Grian.” Mumbo pleaded. This caused the avian's feathers and wings to droop down. Grian reached out his hands picking up Mumbo gently. The smaller man took in a breath expecting to be lifted up to Grian’s face but felt surprised when he was placed over his heart. The hands holding him flattened out giving him a hug. “I’ve missed you too, Mumbo.” For the first time in a while Mumbo lifted his eyes and saw Grian smile. Mumbo hugged him back smiling and laughing so happily. He missed this, and honestly it was nice. Being able to be held by Grian. Grian was warm, soft and his sweatshirt was like a bed. He understands why the tinies like using Grian as a bed at sleep-overs. Mumbo let out a comfortable hum. Grian must have felt it because he opened his eyes to look down at him with a soft smile. A few minutes later Grian cupped Mumbo up once again moving him back onto the builder’s workbench. The smaller watched as Grian pulled his chair back over and bent down to pick up his pencil. The redstoner was confused to say the least. “Grian?” Mumbo asked, confused. The builder stopped what he was doing to look back at the baffled man on his desk. “Yea?” Grian asked, waiting for Mumbo. “Aren't you going to yuuno.” Mumbo waved his arms pointing to the taller’s mouth who just gritted their teeth. “M-Maybe later Mumbo, I’m a little busy.” Grian said, trying to change the topic as he went back to drawing. So the smaller walked over trying to get a good view on what Grian was up to. It was his building in the mountains. This outline was more directed on the buildings going in. Off to the side there was a piece of paper that listed different blocks Grian planned on using in it. Some had been crossed off, seeming to be used already. Mumbo made sure to stay clear of Grian’s hands so that he wouldn't mess it up. He watched as the outline for the building was drawn, sometimes erased and drawn over again. If this was what being a builder was like Mumbo was glad he wasn’t one. When Grian placed down the pencil Mumbo decided to go bug Grian again. “Grian?” He asked. The Avian looked tense, already guessing what Mumbo had to say he responded with a more honest answer this time. “I-I don’t know Mumbo, I’m sorry. I’m just not sure I actually want to.” Grian glanced down nervously at his hands then back to the slightly shocked tiny. “Why not?” Mumbo was very confused now. “Well, isn’t it scary though?” Grian paused and took in a breath. “D-Don’t you think?” Oh so that's what this was about. Grian was still scared, he was scared about someone getting scared, like he did. “Grian, I-” Mumbo wanted to cry. “Was I-” Mumbo choked on his spit for a second. “Was I that horrible?” Grian looked over at Mumbo, starting to regret his word choice a little. He places his head in one of his hands. “I- Are you sure Mumbo?” Grains eyes Mumbo trying to look for any signs of him being unsure or scared. “Y-yea. I’m a little nervous, but I trust you, Grian.” This caused Grian to let out a slight nervous sigh but his hands slowly came to wrap around Mumbo. He was brought up but not right in front of Grian’s face yet. “I uh, just tell me when you're ready?” Grian ended it with more of a questioning tone, his smile still showing how nervous he was. Grian took one last deep breath before moving his head closer and opening his mouth. Mumbo was confused for a second when he wasn’t shoved in. He blinked before realizing what Grian was doing. Mumbo tried to be gentle, avoiding the man's slightly pointier teeth. Avians have been known to eat a lot of meat, wait then so why does Grian eat so many golden carrots Mumbo thought to himself. He shrugged, continuing in, trying to avoid hurting Grian’s tongue. Once inside, Mumbo sat down, his back starting to warm up from the nervous breaths of the larger being. The mustached man placed a hand on Grian’s tongue. It was odd, he could feel the slightly lumpy surface under his hands as he petted his friend's tongue. Grian let out a pleased hum before his cheeks puffed out and a hand covered his still open mouth. Mumbo let out a giggle. “Do I taste good?” He could feel Grian hold his breath. Mumbo stopped for a second. “I promise I won’t freak out if you think so.” He could feel Grian's breathing return. Then he let out a Mmm-hm telling Mumbo that yes, Grian thought he tasted good. Grian’s tongue lifted up licking Mumbo and letting out more amused hums. Mumbo gently pushed against it when it got too close to his face. Grian took it as a challenge. The slimy muscle pushed back harder, nearly pushing the unsuspecting Mumbo over. “Grian please.” Mumbo said pushing back even harder now. So Grian stopped causing Mumbo to fall over. Thankfully Grian expected this so instead of the hard teeth Mumbo landed once again on the squishy saliva drenched tongue. “Ewwwwugh.” Mumbo groaned as He went to wipe his face. He could hear Grian laughing trying his best not to accidentally choke on or spit the redstoner out.

Grains tongue lifted suddenly, causing Mumbo to let out a few nervous, but quiet uhs. The tiny froze as he felt his back pressed against Grian’s hard palate. He heard a swallow, but felt no tugging. Then he was slowly placed back down. The tiny stayed still for a moment processing what happened. So that’s what he means by ‘when i'm ready.’ Mumbo stretched out as much as he could, hands gently petting the tongue. Mumbo’s back legs practically tickling Grian’s throat. Mumbo lifted his head from the soft, squishy surface he was on and called out. “I-I’m ready Grian.” The taller man tried to get the best “You sure?” out. Mumbo said yes and a few seconds later he once again felt the tongue rise. Then Grian swallowed. Mumbo felt the tight, yet gentle tug of Grian’s throat muscles on his legs, pulling him about 3/4th of the way into the avian’s throat who’s head shot forwards and mouth opened, and let out a pained grunt. His back teeth clenched and his breathing became heavy. “You okay there, bud?” Mumbo asked. One of his hands reached out to pet Grian’s tongue again. The builder’s breathing turned to panting and a hand moved up gently holding the large amount of Mumbo in his throat as if he would fall. “Y-yea I think so.” Grian’s hand rubbed his neck as well as Mumbo’s trapped chest and legs, relaxing the smaller a little. “You’re just a-.” He stopped to suck in some air. “A lot larger than Scar.” “So you’ve done this with Scar before?” Mumbo asked curiously. “Yea.” Grian responded, taking a few breaths of air. “A lot actually. He always came to me when I was stressed, upset, or not feeling well.” “No wonder he told me to do this.” Mumbo said slightly quieter. “He gave you the Idea?” Grian asked. Mumbo could feel as the avian removed his hand from his neck. “Yeah,” Mumbo said, removing his own hand from Grian’s tongue. Mumbo could feel the shift in air as the builder gave an airy laugh. “That is such a Scar thing to do.” It became silent for a little while after that. Mumbo listened intently to the larger’s breathing. Thankfully Grian kept his jaws parted so Mumbo could have some light. “Y-you ready?” Grian asked, shaking Mumbo from his zombie-like state. “I uh, yeah sure.” Mumbo responded. He watched as the light disappeared as Grian’s mouth was closed. The tongue in front of him lifted once again pushing against Mumbos face slightly. Mumbo felt as the throat gave him another gentle tug pulling him down. It was kind of tight, but Mumbo could still breathe. He could also feel the air woosh past him as Grian huffed. There was a muffled thumping Mumbo could hear as he slid down farther. “Grian’s heart.” Mumbo quietly said aloud. It was actually pretty relaxing. As he approached it got louder, Mumbo swore he even felt it on his legs a little bit as he passed. The redstoner stopped not long after most likely nearing his destination. He could hear the gulp a little before it reached him. Sliding him into an open space giving Mumbo much more space to breathe. It was small, but not tight. The tiny could easily spread out and still have about a fifth of an inch from his head to the farther wall. It was surprisingly drier here than Mumbo thought. He pushed himself up and felt for one of the walls. Mumbo felt it move under his fingers making him flinch back. Then he reached out for it again. He touched it with the tips of his fingers, feeling as it pulsated backwards and forwards. “Woah.” Mumbo said under his breath. “Are you okay in there?” Grian asked, spooking the redstoner a little bit, who pulled his hand away as if he had just stolen from a cookie jar. “Y-yea.” Mumbo responded, slightly embarrassed. He felt the floor under him shift up and down as Grian laughed, scaring the poor tiny a little as he slid around. Mumbo felt something lightly pet his back. Confused, he turned around and gave the wall a gentle push. He could feel what seemed to be Grian’s hand on the other side. He could feel Grian’s hand slide off and the wall shift back to its normal spot. Mumbo with nothing better to do followed it. When he found it again he turned around and sat against it getting comfortable. Grian was quiet, most likely going back to drawing his blueprints. Mumbo could hear Grian’s heartbeat. It was really relaxing. Mumbo pressed his hand against the floor giving it a gentle pet. For a second Mumbo swore Grian held his breath, causing the tiny to lift his hand, but he couldn't be 100% sure. Mumbo lowered his hand back down and rubbed the fleshy floor. Then he heard a coo or purr of some sort echo throughout the body that contained him. “G-grian, did you just purr?” Mumbo asked. “Uh, no? W-what are you talking about?” Maybe Grian could have gotten away with it, maybe. But Mumbo could hear his voice pitch change up slightly. “Oh really?” Mumbo asked playfully, his hand lowering to rub the floor in circles. He could feel Grian trying to hold his breath making Mumbo laugh. When Grian couldn’t hold his breath anymore because of the tiny’s contagious laughter, Mumbo could hear it. It was nice to hear, Mumbo was surprised he had never heard Grian make the sound before. “Why don’t you do that more often?” Mumbo asked, finally stopping the petting, though Grian continued to purr.

Grian went silent. “I had a friend, he used to love to make me purr.” Grian sucked in a large breath. “I- Sorry can we not talk about . . . It?” “Y-yea.” Mumbo looked down at his hands for a second. “S-sorry.” “I- It’s fine Mumbo.” Grian’s hand came down gently pressing and rubbing on the tiny’s back. That same tiny heard a yawn echo from above his head. “Tired?” Mumbo called questioningly. Grian let out a quiet and very much tired yes. “I’m going to let you out.” He said. Mumbo could feel as he stood up. “WAIT!!” Mumbo called out, louder than he meant to. Grian stopped moving, probably nervous he hurt or scared Mumbo. “I uh, well, I mean we just got to talking again, you know?” Mumbo let out a couple small nervous laughs. “Besides I don’t have anything to do back at my base, it would be boring.” Mumbo tried not to stumble over his words to cover his very obvious lies and excuses. “Then what if we wake up, and think it’s just a dream, and maybe you return to being scared of me again or s-somethi-.” “Okay Mumbo.” Grian cut the redstoner off. “I won’t do it then.” Mumbo let out a sigh of relief. “I’m going to get ready for bed then, do you think you can handle it?” Grian asked, being cautious of the smaller person.  “I think I’ll be fine.” Mumbo said, glancing around, or as much as he really could. Mumbo could hear the faint clicks and scapes of Grian’s talons against his wood floor. Almost everything was very muted for Mumbo; besides when Grian brushed his teeth, the soft echo of words when Grian spoke aloud some messages, and of course the one time the avian stubbed his toe when turning a corner too quickly. Currently the two were sitting in Grian’s bed; well, if you would count Mumbo as being on his bed. Laughing randomly at stuff that happened in chat, or old stories and memories. Mumbo did most of the talking, his stories a range of failed pranks to redstone accidents. Grian laughing at a lot of the stupid moments. Grian got some great laughs out of it. The tiny was happy that he could make his friend laugh so hard even if it squished him once or twice. Another yawn slipped past Grian’s lips. It had been the third one in about the last five minutes. Mumbo patted the walls a few times making Grian huff with annoyance. “Come on Grian, bed time.” “Ok fine DAD.” Grian put emphasis on the dad part, making Mumbo snort, the crop crunching in a little as the avain reached over and placed his communicator on the bed side. “I uh, you okay with me moving to lay down?” Grian asked with a sweet softness in his voice. “Yeah go ahead.” Mumbo felt as Grian first slid his legs forwards stretching them out before turning on his side trying not to tip Mumbo over by moving too fast. The tiny heard the avian let out a slightly saddened sigh and press his hand to his crop. Mumbo placed a hand on the one that pushed slightly in towards him. “Bad thoughts before bed?” the redstoner asked. “Yeah.” Grian responded, purring as he felt the tiny rub the fleshy walls. Mumbo listened as Grian let out some happy huffs and pleased hums. Eventually the avian’s noises became quieter and his breathing slowed. The tiny slowly stopped rubbing the wall and turned around to press his back to it. Mumbo could feel Grian’s hand fall slightly as he fell asleep. The pulsing walls gave Mumbo’s back a massage which the redstoner gladly accepted. He placed his arms under his head placing a barrier between the slightly damp muscles and his face. Mumbo didn’t know how long it took him to fall asleep, but the faint beating of Grian’s heartbeat lulled him and he felt his eyes start to close. Mumbo wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep, but he woke up to Grian’s voice. “Chocolate covered cherries.” He heard the avian saying, his voice brighter than it had been the day before. Mumbo stretched accidently hitting the crop a little harder than he meant to. Grian let out a quiet oh telling Mumbo it might have hurt Grian a little. “Did I wake you up?” Grian asked,  hand slightly indenting the wall and shoving at the redstoners back. “No, at least I don’t think so.” Mumbo replied, placing a hand on Grian's, giving his best playful shove. The builder gave a shove back, pushing Mumbo away from the wall a little. “Well, I’m going to let Mumbo out real qui-.” “NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” The man in question shouted out. Mumbo could sense the shock radiating from Grian. “I, uh well, nevermind then.” Grian said his voice shook a bit but it soon became laughter. Mumbo could hear the really distant voice of someone else. It was too quiet to hear who specifically who it was or what they said. “Hi Pearl.” Grian said, his voice becoming chipper. She said something this time it was louder but not enough for Mumbo to understand the Astrialian’s words. “Oh, Mumbo’s being a big baby right now.” Mumbo sat up quickly pushing his head against the flesh ceiling. “Am not.” He said loudly, but not as loud as the no he shouted beforehand. Grain once again laughed, letting out a long wheeze causing the ceiling and floor to squish Mumbo who pushed back at it. After a couple minutes when Grain’s laughter died down Mumbo felt two much smaller hands pushed against the wall by him. Of course the peace didn’t last much longer as the three erupted into more laughter. Mumbo could actually hear the other tinies this time. Freaking out a little as he fell into the wall. Grian seemed to then lean back, sending him into the far wall. Mumbo used the flesh wall to push himself back up. He could hear the voice of Pearl who was saying something about him, but he wasn't sure what. Grian let out a blissful sigh. “I really should let Mumbo out though.” “Noooooo, please.” Mumbo whined. “Mumbo, we both need to eat and you need to get ready for the day.” Mumbo huffed angrily, crossing his arms like Grian could see it. “Fine.” “See you later guys.” Grian waved before walking back to his house. “Do I really have to get out?” Mumbo asked, looking up at the roof of the fleshy containment he was in. “Yea, sorry. I’m hungry and if I tried to eat with you in my Crop, it would send you first probably.” Mumbo flinched at that. “Oh.” He said nervously scratching his neck. “Real quick, how long have we been out?” “Oh, uh hmm I think maybe 10-11 hours?” Mumbo blinked, <em>wow</em> the redstoner thought to himself. He knows he hasn’t been sleeping well, but to be out for that long was still a huge shock to him. “You ready?” Grian asked nervously, his breathing shifted to a slightly faster speed. “Y-yea I guess.” Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the walls pushed in. Mumbo’s legs crunched trying to stop him from moving, and his hands pushed against the wall behind him. He hadn't realized the floor was even moving much until the walls squashed him and started to push him into a much easier to push position. Mumbo definitely didn’t miss the feeling of his face being squished. The walls then started to push him up. When he broke back out into Grian’s throat it was more spacious. Mumbo got a second to breathe before being pushed up more. The huffing and panting became much clearer as the tiny was pushed up past Grian’s heart. When Mumbo managed to finally reach his head and some of his back into Grian’s mouth once again they both stopped for air. “Would it be easier for me to try and work my way up?” Mumbo asked. “N-no It’s fine.” Grian asked, letting out one last forceful shove. The Avian shifted his head straight as Mumbo carefully removed his last bit of leg from the builder's throat. The jaws parted, making Mumbo blink, but when his eyes adjusted he could see Grian’s hands just outside waiting for the redstoner to crawl out. Mumbo made his way, trying to be careful of Grian’s tongue as he knew it hurt to be stepped on or be hit by a knee. He slid out into Grian’s hands, minding his teeth, then turned to look at him as the avain’s head drifted backwards. “H-hey.” Mumbo says, soaked but smiling. “Hey.” Grian says back, smiling. Mumbo could tell he was a little concerned. Both could still feel the awkward energy that hung over but Mumbo broke it. “I should probably go back and take a shower.” “Do you want to use mine?” Grian offered, “I even have something you could use to dry your clothes with.” His eyes flashed upstairs and back to the tiny. “Yea sure, if you're okay with it.” Mumbo saw a smile grow on Grian’s face as he turned towards the stairs, cupping his fingers around the saliva covered tiny. Mumbo sat on his knees looking around Grian’s house. He really hasn’t been in here much surprisingly, it was very pretty to say the least. It didn’t take them long to reach the room and Grian pushed the door open. Stepping inside he moved his hands in a direction to a smoke machine of some sort. “If you rinse your clothes and place it on the top, it should dry them. Might smell a little like smoke but I’m sure it will come off after a wash.” Grian explained then looked down at Mumbo who nodded. “Grian, is it okay that I stay for lunch?” Mumbo asked as Grian lowered his hands down to let the man on the floor. “Yea sure, want anything specific?” He asked. “Not necessarily no.” Mumbo had to bite his tongue before he slipped out a you. “I’ll yell if I think of something?” The ending came off as more of a question but Grian seemed to get what he ment. “Yea sure.” The avain looked around to see if there was much else the man might need. “Uh well soaps and stuff should be near the back on the side and if you have any questions just call okay?” Mumbo nodded “Will do.” Then waited for Grian to leave the room before shifting back to normal size. (Time skip bc I don’t want to tread the line of nsfw) Mumbo had spent his time thinking to himself, only drooling a few times thankfully. Most of that came from the smell of the food being made. Mumbo fixed up his hair with his hands before coming down the stairs. Grian was focused on the food so he gave a gentle knock on the wall beside him. The avian straightened up and turned around. “Hey Mumbo, almost done, sorry.” “It’s no problem, I just didn’t want to scare you.” The short silence after that sentence said it all. The timer going off thankfully broke it. Grian turned off the timer and stove. Leaning down, he pulled open the door then carefully pulled out a tray. On it sat a rather large chicken surrounded by many mix and match sliced vegetables. “You think it will turn me into a avain like you?” Mumbo asked jokingly. It caused Grian to laugh who also tried his best to not let go of the food. “Well I sure hope it doesn't,” The avian responds, placing the tray on the table. Mumbo let out a few chuckles at that. “So, how's the mega base planning coming along?” Mumbo asked as Grian started splitting portions. “Pretty well I’d say, just need to get the actual buildings down now.” The avain pushed Mumbo’s plate to him before sitting next to the redstoner with his own and started to eat. Mumbo waited a bit to eat himself. He hadn't realized when Grian stopped eating, but he looked up at the avain who quickly began to shove food into his mouth again. Mumbo could see how his feathers were fluffed though. It was going to be a long road to recovery for them.

[writing-the-end]

LoL Chapter 56- Ancient Quarrels

Masterpost

A Wizard Hermits tale (AU, designs, ideas belongs to @theguardiansofredland)

Ex returns home with new friends, but struggles with the reality that his old stomping grounds have grown up without him, all while learning more about the history of dark magic.

-----------------------------------------

“I thought I told you to come alone.” Xisuma states, staring at the rainbow haired twins. No matter how much the two try to blend in, the ever shifting colors of their locks always stand out. 

“I thought you could use the help. You clearly need it if you reached out to me.”  Ex steps off the pirate ship, followed by the king and his brother. Ex tries his best to keep his gaze on the ground at his feet, the grass, sand, and dirt. He doesn’t want to see what Xisuma and all his friends have done to the safe haven they found together. As brothers. He doesn’t want to see what he's missed, what he’s been too afraid to claim for his own. He doesn’t want to see how much time has changed the island he once called home. 

But Ex stumbles over a rock, his books scattering from his arms, while he plummets to the ground. He could let go of his remaining scrolls and books, but these articles are ancient and invaluable. He’d rather break his nose than let go of them. 

Lucky for Ex, he doesn’t have to choose. One of the hermits grabs him before he gets a mouthful of dirt. Ex opens his eyes, forced to look at the island. And he sees everything. 

It looka exactly the same. It looks completely different. The grounds were the same- the same rocky shores, soft beaches, hills, forest, even the lake at the center on the north side of the island. The grass the same green color, the sky the same blue, the distant mist and waves dancing together. But dotting the island now stood a menagerie of buildings. Where there used to only be the tower of stone he and X built, now a glass biodome rests on one side, a barn on the other. Smoke rolls free from the chimney of a weaponsmith’s house, and just off the island a cloud floats low, the white tower upon it open to the breeze of the sea. 

Ex collects his books, and slinks off to the guild hall. Sor follows Grian to help with Apatia, to make the decision on how to move forward with his recovery. Tris follows behind Ex, taking in the open sea and sky. So unlike Milliara. 

It was exactly that which drew the void twins here in the first place. They dared enter the Ashioll sea because it was quiet, peaceful, unlike Milliara. Back when there were only two- they didn’t need anyone more. They didn’t want anyone more. In the end, Ex got to be alone, moreso than ever. Without even a brother. 

Being back on Eremita was painful, but as a healing wound would be. For the first time in years, his brother reached out to him. For the first time, they were putting aside the argument so long ago and working together. Like they did when they were young. 

At the same time, both X and Ex set out their books on the same table. At the same time, like mirror images of one another, they set out their maps, their inkwells, their quills, even their books ordered the exact same way. The similarities between the two were uncanny, leaving the hermits baffled as they watch them. If it wasn’t for Ex’s white hair, it’d be impossible to tell them apart. 

Ex speaks first, pulling the red fabric of his cloak away from his face so the hermits can hear him. “The last known insurgence of dark magic was over a thousand years ago. Before Lairyon became a kingdom, near the end of the ancient ones’s time. As we all know, Addows is the only place that still has significant and readable history of the ancient ones. Everything disappeared just like them.” 

“And no one knows why.” Tris adds in, sitting down and plucking a book. He flips through the pages. “The ancient ones had magic more powerful than most wizards. Very few forms of ancient powers survive today- including angelic magic.” 

The hermits look at Grian, but he simply shrugs. He knows nothing about the ancient ones, just that they’re… well, ancient. Iskall speaks up, resting his cheek on his hand. “Could it be that it was the dark magic that wiped them out?” 

Both of the void twins and Tris shake their head, and begin to answer at the same time. Ex and X glare at one another, and Tris takes the moment to answer instead. “No, it’s not like there’s a sign of a fight, or a struggle, or anything. Just...one day they were all over this kingdom, and then- poof, gone.”

“But the ancient ones weren’t the only people here. The kiplings have been living in these waters longer than anyone. And if we cross reference the information King Sormena gave me access to in the royal library, and the deep sea libraries of the Kiplings, we can start to get an inkling of understanding.”

“My gods you’re so boring even now.” Xisuma groans. “We dont need the whole story, and Lairyon doesn’t have time. What did you learn and how can we use it to defeat Dolios?” 

“Well…” Ex bits his lip. “We didn’t learn how they defeated the dark magic all those times before. But we did find the location of one of their lost cities. Tris and I believe it could even be the ancient capital of theirs.” 

The hermits groan, some even dramatically flopping back in their chairs. It seems all they ever have are breadcrumbs, leading them around in circles all across Lairyon. TFC speaks up first, though even he seems exhausted. “It’s better than nothing. It’s our only hope at this point. So where is it?” 

“Tris had pinpointed the general location of the lost city in the Ashioll Fjords, but together we were able to determine the exact location.” Ex plucks a quill from the table, dipping the tip in the ink and marking one of the many divots and crests of the northernmost part of Lairyon. All the hermits lean in, peering at the location. It looks no different from any other part of the fjords, or even the rest of Lairyon. 

“If anyone knows how to defeat Dolios’s dark magic, it has to be the ancient ones.” Etho states. “They did it before, we just have to do it again.”

It gives the hermits hope to know this isn’t the first time, they aren’t the only ones in all of history to face dark magic. Ex looks up at the hermits, a question that’s been dancing in his mind finding its way to his tongue before he can stop it. “Why did you guys ever decide to do this? What in the world made you guys think you could take on a dark wizard? Be the chosen few like the ancient ones?”

The hermits look at one another, as if they’d find an answer in the stares and faces of their peers. But no one has the answer. Though Joe is more than willing to come up with his own. “Perhaps, in this story, there are no chosen ones. No destiny or prophesied heroes. Perhaps it is just by the choice of normal man, who chooses to make a difference, who chooses to stand up and fight, that is really what makes a hero?” 

“Is this what I missed when I left?” Ex questions Xisuma, who nods solemnly.

“What will we find in the lost city?” Grian questions. 

“I dunno, it’s lost.” Tris quips, causing Grian to blush when he realizes his question. “But if it’s anything like Addows, you should be prepared for ancient ones magic and the stone buildings they made their cities from. Apart from that- you just gotta look in the right place.” 

The hermits realize they’re going in on this blind. Once again, they have little more than a hope, a thread of a lead, taking them somewhere in search of answers. Whether it was Gildara, or the Champion’s Cup, or even the Forest of Memories, they’ve always been chasing the same specter of knowledge. Hoping to find something more. 

“But you won’t be alone this time.” Ex points out. The hermits turn to face him, his face so familiar, yet so vastly different. “King Sormena volunteered to go along with you, to give aid on your search.” 

Tris averts his gaze, his jaw set tight at the mention of his brother joining the hermits. Doc raises his hand, almost condescending. “Won’t Dolios notice the king is gone?” 

“He’s not in Milliara right now. The Wanderers informed me of that- where he is, I don’t know, but this is a rare opportunity that we can’t waste. You’ll need every mind and magic to figure out the puzzles and clues that the lost city may have. I’d best get packing if i were you guys.” 

Groups disperse off, back to their homes, caves, ships, and clouds. Once again preparing, as a whole guild, to go off on another adventure. Even Tris disappears, either to go find and argue with his brother, or get a pint of beer from Cleo. But one person stays behind. 

Xisuma doesn’t ever look directly at his brother, but he always turns his head just slightly to be able to see Ex shuffling papers. His body is aimed out from the guild hall, looking over, across the island of Eremita. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, X speaks up. “Will you be able to take care of Apatia while we’re gone? I don’t think he can go back to Milliara with you.” 

Ex raises an eyebrow. It almost sounds like an invitation to stay on the island. Almost. “I guess if no one else will, I can offer my help. And glean information from him about the magistrate. Perhaps I can talk to Ian about engineering a prosthesis… Kiplings aren’t really meant to live without their fins.” 

The void mage shakes his head, listening to his brother continue to ramble on under his breath. So many years apart, and yet the same old Ex. For the first time in years, after so long hating his twin, refusing to talk to him, removing every sign he ever existed on this island, now he’s standing in their guild hall. And for the first time in years, Xisuma feels like he can let go of the anger and tension from that fight so long ago. 

Ex steps up beside Xisuma, and the two gaze over Eremita. They watch as Keralis and Zedaph round up sheep for their midday meal, Iskall, Mumbo, and Grian arguing over what kind of redstone they could possibly need on their journey, Wels and False sharpening the blades of their own weapons and others. 

He doesn’t want to admit it, but Eremita looks more alive than it ever was when it was just the two of them. The colors of all different wizards, from all walks of life. All a part of this guild that Xisuma has found. All this, that Ex was afraid of. “You’ve done a good job building yourself a home. Finding yourself a family. Guess you didn’t really need me.” 

Xisuma turns, and removes his mask. For the first time in years, Ex can see his brother's face. They can both see the scars they left on each other. On their skin and in their hearts. Xisuma’s fingers run along the scratched out marking in the metal. Wishing he could take that fit of anger back and fix it. “I didn’t do this without you, though. When I wasn’t sure what to do, it was always your annoying voice that guided me to the right decision.” 

“We have the same voice.” Ex points out. 

“Exactly. No matter what, no matter what I did, you were still with me, a part of me. But when I didn't know what to do, I thought about what you would choose. And it always led me in the right direction. Even though you weren’t here, I still needed you. I still needed my brother.” 

To hear that word come from Xisuma’s mouth, to hear him call Ex that- brother. All these years, all he ever wanted was his brother back. To have a family again. Ex can feel tears stinging at the corners of his eyes, but he doesn’t want his brother to see him crying over such a simple thing. “I think it’ll be nice to have a family again. It...it feels good to be home.”

[votederpycausemufins]

another chapter for Summoning family (now that it has an official name) and this time i’m remembering to ping @petrichormeraki!

 stayed near Grian as he cried on the bench while Tommy, Techno and Phil yelled at each other. Jellie had moved from their lap and into Grian’s arms, not caring how tightly they were hugged by the distraught avian. 

He listened as Grian mumbled sadly, trying not to listen too much and hear something that he didn’t want to be shared. However Tubbo was still able to make some things out. It sounded like they hadn’t even been around for a year yet. Sure they were programmed and built older, but they weren’t even a year old. There was also something about a box and virtual reality which Tubbo wasn’t completely sure about. Perhaps they had just started as programs in some sort of computer before getting bodies.

Carefully, Tubbo put a hand on Grian’s shoulder. The avian jolted slightly, but otherwise didn’t react.

After a bit more waiting, there was a shout from Mumbo as he arrived. Grian immediately sat up, hoping for good news. “Please. Please tell me y-“ He didn’t need to finish the sentence, the redstoner looking like as much of a mess as Grian currently was. “No. No no no no no. Please th-they can’t. N-not again please.”

Jellie jumped off of Grian’s lap when Mumbo sat down on the bench. He hugged Grian as the builder continued to cry. “I- Xisuma said that he couldn’t force a respawn. As far as the world is concerned, they did respawn, but that they also aren’t in this world. I… I already checked their old bodies, and they’re not there. X also found the world we went to to rebuild them, but they’re not there either.”

Grian nodded as he pressed his face into Mumbo’s shoulder, letting the jacket absorb his tears. “If you think of anything else, I’m sure we can get someone to look into it, but, until then I could-“

“N-No. pl-please don’t r-replace them. I-if we find them… a-and they come home to that…”

“Alright, I won’t.”

Tubbo watched as Grian continued to cry before getting up and walking over to Tommy and the other two. “Can you three please stop arguing! I’m pretty sure that’s just going to make it worse. Instead we could try to help figure out what exactly happened to those kids.”

“Tubbo, you heard what Grian said. They didn’t respawn.” Tommy replied, crossing his arms, still upset at Techno.

“And Mumbo said that it was more an error with the respawn. From what they can tell, they respawned, just not here.”

Tommy’s brows furrowed at that. “So they could be somewhere else?”

“Yeah, they’re not sure where though.”

“G’s a Watcher, so he could try looking, but at the same time he’s already been a mess the past few days.”

“So we’ll need to try and do that on our own.” Phil piped up. “Where have they tried looking already?”

“They said something about the world where the two of them were built, but they weren’t there. Other than that, I think they’ve only looked here.”

Phil nodded. “I’m not sure what worlds Mumbo had been in, but I’ve heard a little about where Grian’s been. There’s a chance they could be in one of those worlds.”

“Also the chance they could be back at the old castle.” Techno huffed, reluctantly willing to help.

“Alright then. Let’s get to it.”

“So we are going... where now?” Grumbot piped up as he continued to follow behind Ghostbur, carrying Jrumbot who was holding what seemed to be a special type of blue dye.

“We’re going to Sam. I’m sure he’d be happy to help you!”

“And who exactly is that?” The robot spoke apprehensively, though he was pretty sure it was a different Sam.

“Someone who’s going to help!”

As they walked along what Ghostbur was calling the prime path, someone else showed up, coming from the other way. “Oh! Puffy! Hello! It’s me Ghostbur!”

“Hi Ghostbur. Who are these two following you along?”

“I’m not sure! They’re new and needed some help so I was looking for you, but you weren’t home so I was going to Sam next.”

“Well, now I’m here so I can help out.”

“Thank you Puffy!”

Grumbot took that as a chance to speak up. “I suppose now we will be returning to your house?”

The sheep hybrid nodded and Grumbot followed behind her now, though Ghostbur gave Jrum some more of the blue dye before he left. “So, I haven’t seen you two around, so I’m guessing you’re new here.”

Grum nodded. “Indeed. My brother and I arrived today on accident. We wish to go home as soon as possible.”

Before Puffy could ask for clarification, Jrumbot started with another bout of crying, clinging tighter to his brother. Grumbot patted his brother’s back before moving his hand higher and quickly pressing the power button at the nape of his neck, forcing the younger robot into sleep mode.

“Is he alright?” Puffy asked, a bit concerned about the sudden silence.

“Yes. He is simply sleeping for now. He should be better once he wakes up again.”

“So he’s your little brother I assume?”

Grum nodded. “Correct. He was built eleven days after I was. That being said, his programming and mine make us seem older and have a larger age gap.”

Puffy nodded as she opened the door to her home, letting Grum and Jrum inside. “Sorry if it’s not the best in there. Wasn’t really expecting to have anyone staying over any time soon.”

“That is alright. We were not aware that we would need to stay someplace other than home for the night. May I ask what you have in terms of redstone.”

“I’ll have to check.”

“I see. If you do not have an adequate amount, my brother and I can take shifts gathering some more.”

“Might not be the best idea. You only just got here, so you will need to get gear first before anything like redstone.”

“Redstone is extremely important for us.” Grum replied. “We are powered by it after all.”

“Well… alright then.” Puffy said after some slight hesitation before searching through her chests. “This is all I have right now.”

Grum took the redstone and put it into his inventory. “Jrum is the one who has the blueprints for what we will need, but I believe I recall what items we need, so I will begin to craft those.”

Puffy tried to make more conversation, but Grum brushed her off and began to work. He did want to talk with the sheep hybrid, but he knew that it would take more energy. As he began to craft, he glanced at his readings. Full health, almost full hunger, battery at 73 percent. He was glad they had been charged well before going to the shopping district. He glanced over at where Puffy had taken Jrum. Though Grum knew he technically had the better brains, Jrum had inherited their daddy’s knowledge of redstone. If push came to shove, Jrum would be more important than him to have full charge, so he was prepared to transfer power if needed.

“I have crafted all that I can. Are there any important questions for me before I put myself into sleep mode?”

“Well I messaged the admin here and he’s coming over to greet you.”

Grumbot nodded. “I see. How long will it take before he arrives?”

“Not too long. Even with everything he does, he still finds time to greet new members to this place.”

Grum nodded again before moving to sit next to where Jrum was sleeping. “I believe that will be important enough for my brother to be awake.” And he gently shook his brother, the screen on his face lighting up with a loading bar before his face reappeared.

“Nggh… I wanna keep sleeping.” Jrum grumbled a little.

Grumbot shook him again. “You will need to be awake soon. The admin of this world will be arriving shortly to meet with us.”

“Xisuma?” Jrum asked before sitting up. “Oh… right…”

“He may be able to assist us with getting home, so you should not feel too down.”

Jrum nodded before scooting closer to Grum. He then pulled out what looked like a diamond block and hugged it, making Puffy’s eyes go wide. “I thought you just got onto the server. Did you get that from Ghostbur?”

Grum looked between Puffy and the block before realizing the issue. “Oh no. That is not a diamond block. It just appears to be one. It is something from our home. Jrum, can you allow her to inspect it?”

Jrum looked nervous, but Puffy gave him a kind look and he reluctantly gave it up. The hybrid looked it over quickly before handing it back, Jrum hugging it tighter than he had a number of moments ago. “Huh, it does look like one, but it is smaller as well as lighter than a block of that size would be. Where did you get it?”

“Dad bought it for me when we found a trader selling it.” Jrum meekly answered. “Since he gave us more than one I have more at home… but this one I always keep with me.”

“Well you might want to be a little careful with that. Someone might think it’s the real deal and there are a few people who might want to take it.” Puffy didn’t want to scare the kid, but it was better he knew just to be safe. The reasoning still didn’t help the tugging at her heartstrings when the young robot hugged the toy block ever tighter, the slightly plush material warping slightly from the pressure.

Grum pat his brother’s head to give some comfort. “I am sure that as long as we reside in Puffy’s care it will be safe.”

Jrum nodded a little but stayed quiet as they waited, but they didn’t have to wait long as a man in green wearing a white mask entered Puffy’s home. “Hi Dream. These are the two kids who showed up.” Puffy greeted the admin and led him to the bots.

“Hello. I am Grum and this is my brother Jrum.”

“Well it is nice to meet you. I didn’t expect anyone more to be joining us so soon.”

“Well, we did not expect to end up here ourselves. I believe the last thing that happened before we ended up here was us dying and our respawn brought us here instead of where we likely would have appeared.”

Puffy took a step closer to ask a question. “What do you mean ‘likely’?”

“Oh, my brother and I have kept safe since our creation so we have not needed to respawn before today.”

“Well.” Dream spoke up, getting the attention of the bots again. “I’m sure those here would be glad to accommodate you as you get started here. It shouldn’t take too long for you to get settled especially with Puffy’s help.”

Grumbot frowned. “Settled? I am sorry, but we would like to get home as soon as possible. Our parents and family will likely be worried about us.”

“I see. Well I’m sure we can do something about that, but there’s no telling how long that might take. So it’s probably best if you prepare for the worst case scenario. But I’ll try my best to help with getting you home.”

Grumbot tried to ignore the feeling that this admin wasn’t telling the entire truth. But at the same time, Grum knew not every server was perfect and he and his brother were brand new. There was also the fact that they likely weren’t supposed to be here and the admin was wary, like Xisuma was when Tommy first showed up as well as when he briefly met with Tubbo and Philza. Even if this admin was wary of them, Puffy would likely give them more answers if he asked, so there was little worry.

“I supposed that is a valid argument. Though may I ask, do you have someone here that is proficient with redstone? We may need to meet with them with a concern of ours.”

Dream nodded. “Yeah, there’s Sam. He’s pretty good at that stuff and I’ve commissioned him for some work. He’s likely your best option.”

Grum nodded. “That name was mentioned by Ghostbur as he was planning to take us to him when we originally could not locate Puffy.”

“Well then, I’m sure you won’t have any trouble there. Now I need to go back to other things.” Dream said before leaving. Grum frowned as the feeling of worry returned. The tone of the admin’s voice sounded off there. It wasn’t anything too prominent, but Grum had caught it nonetheless.

“Well, I guess we should go visit Sam if that’s what you two are worried about.” Puffy suggested and Grum gave a small nod while Jrum started nodding furiously to his side.

“Yeah! Here! I think I can print out the blueprints for what we need! They’re probably going to have to be a little different because when daddy made them, it was in a place with kinda different redstone mechanics, but it wasn’t too bad and I can help out too!” And Jrum started printing out some schematics for a new redstone charger for him and his brother.

“Until then, I think I will need to conserve power.” Grum spoke up. “Jrum, how are you doing?” Jrum immediately looked down to the ground and twiddled his fingers. Grum sighed and pulled a cord out from himself. “I’m sure you need the charge more than myself.” And he plugged the other end of the cord into Jrum’s side before putting himself into sleep mode.

“We’ve checked all the worlds we have access to. And the admin from the other worlds haven’t seen anything?” Phil half grumbled as he sat in a chair at the table where Tommy and Mumbo were looking through some documents.

Mumbo shook his head. “No. I got a message from Ilmango just before you returned. He was the last one we were waiting on. I mean, technically there’s still one place we haven’t checked but… no they wouldn’t be there.”

Tommy looked up from what he was doing. “What are you talking about? What could possibly be left?”

Mumbo looked like he regretted saying anything, but Phil did what he could to get the redstoner to answer. “I… There… Hermitcraft has a sort of… parallel world. It’s not a different dimension, but the two are loosely connected. I’m sure if they somehow ended up there, Xisuma would have noticed, but…”

“But what?”

“There’s a chance True could have done something with EX’s help, so they still could be there without anyone knowing.”

“True?” Tommy asked. “Who the fuck is that? Is she their admin? Cause if so, that sounds like something Dream would try doing if he thought of it.”

“No, EX is the admin. It’s just that they had a sort of…” Mumbo waved his hand as he tried to think of what to say. “They had an election of their own and to them, she’s about as highly powered as an admin.”

“Alright, that doesn’t sound too horrible. If we’re just checking on the place we shouldn’t have to deal with all that. What is this place?”

Mumbo fidgeted, not wanting to answer, but Tommy did his best to convince him. “O-Okay. Um, It’s called Helscraft. I believe they’re on their fifth world as opposed to our seven.”

“Why does that matter?” Tommy asked.

“Because Helscraft is home to the Helsmits. They’re sort of like… our evil copies. We haven’t interacted with many of them, but the few we have met haven’t been the best. There’s EX who’s the admin. We’re not completely sure he’s really a Helsmit, but again, we don’t know that much. Helsknight is the first one we really met. After that was True and Bad Times.”

“So that’s… X, Wels, False and Scar?” Tommy asked, making sure he was following along, to which Mumbo nodded. “Yeah, Dealing with an evil False does not sound fun. But I still think we should try. I mean, We have Philza Minecraft and The Blade on our side. If anyone can deal with these guys, it’s them!”

Mumbo sighed. “Alright, but we’ll still need to check in with Xisuma before we try anything.”

“Alright, deal.”

[hyperactivelittlebee]

Moments in the dark (Hermitcraft)

The rain pounding on the roof of the old-styled house, the crashing of thunder, and the soft mechanical whirring inside the chest of his lover is all Ex can seem to hear. 

He knows it's way past midnight. 

He knows he should be fast asleep right now.

But he just can't bring himself to. Not when he can wake up to something much better.

Ex can feel, smell, taste, and hear it all. He's too overwhelmed with stimuli to fall asleep; In addition to him being a voidling, years of living with the danger of someone potentially backstabbing you just does that to a person.

But he knows it's no longer like that anymore. He knows he's perfectly safe, perfectly relaxed, and perfectly content with where he is, but his senses remain heightened none-the-less.

Ex can feel Npg gently playing with his hair and running his fingers through it at a slow, gently, caressing pace. His nose is bombarded with the familiar homely smell of spruce, oak, fire and redstone that the Android seemed to constantly radiate. He can feel Npg's fingers slowly and gently gliding across his torso and arms, tracing the endless plethora of scars and making small designs.

Unlike Ex, Npg doesn't need sleep. Not when he's an android. He simply prefers to lay beside Ex and lull him to sleep.

Ex doesn't mind one bit.

Reaching up slowly, he takes Npg's dainty hand in his own larger one, giving it a gentle squeeze as he let's his eyes open to look at the Android. In the dark, his eyes glow a soft red, painted Redstone circuits on his cheeks glowing dimly. He can make out the shape of Npg's shadowed face as his eyes adjust to the darkness, and for a moment he almost thinks he's woken up to an Angel.

"I've awoken you, haven't I?" Npg's voice is quiet, making Ex chuckle softly, "Yea, but I really don't mind…" His voice is slightly hoarse from sleep, but he knows the other can hear him perfectly well.

Shifting, Ex props himself on his elbow before pulling Npg closer, nuzzling his neck gently.

"If you are to make any progress tomorrow, you need sleep Ex!"

"I know…"

Npg was about to question him again until he feels the void-being start to trail soft, lazy kisses along his jaw and neck. Unable to contain himself, he starts to giggle as he feels the other's long hair tickle him.

That little mechanical giggle makes Ex's stomach do flips, his heart practically melting at the soft sound. To Ex, he’s the only thing that matters in this moment. The pounding rain doesn’t matter, the terrifying thunder doesn’t matter- all that matters to him is the fact that he’s here, laying beside someone who loves every atom of him. Someone who see’s the many scars on his body as someone whos fought long and hard and came out alive. A lover that understands his fears, understands what it feels like to be abandoned, and knows why Ex needs a constant lingering touch to know he’s real.

Ex hated dwelling on thoughts about his life in the void. About the freezing, emptiness of it all. About wanting to jump and end it everyday. About taking the role of the villian just to feel like he had purpose, even when Xisuma told him he always had purpose without the Villainous act.

About feeling nothing but cold numbness as he physically fought his reluctant twin brother, day in and day out.

Npg felt just the same.

Spending a decade locked in a dusty old closet, forgotten and alone, waiting for Grian to come back to him and give him purpose once more; it took a toll on the android. It made him understand that as much as he loves it- life wasn’t just about happily building rustic houses. Life hurt. Being alive hurt. Being forgotten was even worse.

Of course, he’d come to understand it wasn’t Grian’s fault.

Grian had been pulled from the world so suddenly he never got to tell anyone that Npg was locked up.

So Npg spent years there. After a year, he began to be scared.

By year three, he tried calling for help.

By year six, he began to go insane with loneliness.

By year seven, he started beating and pounding on the door. Clawing at it, screaming for someone- ANYONE to find him- until his voice box started to glitch out, slamming his head against the walls, sobbing for hours on end. The darkness was torture and that little closet was his personal hell.

By year nine, his voice box was broken, the paint of his model chipped badly from him scratching it, dents all over his metallic body from slamming the walls and door, and simply laying limb as oil leaks from his mouth; having given up all hope of being free and shutting himself down.

By year ten, the door opened. He was found.

He was found by Ex, who brought him home and worked relentlessly to repair him. He gave him aspects that set him apart from Grian without even knowing he was alive. Gave him a newer, more vibrant coat of paint, a nether star for a power source, new gears-

Then, Npg woke up.

He woke up, and the hermits welcomed him with open arms.

He woke up, and Xisuma updated his commands to make him a shiny, new, independent android instead of an old, rusty, alpha grade robot.

He woke up, and he was reunited with Grian- someone he was yearning to stick beside.

But he never left Ex behind.

And eventually, that friendly loyalty led to a loving relationship.

They both filled in parts of each other hearts that they'd been missing.

Npg helped Ex with his trust issues, Ex helped Npg with his monophobia. They made each other feel loved and understood. Ex made him forget about that personal hell.

To him, the white haired man was everything.

The scent of smoke and pumpkin spice in his soft snowy hair, his warm muscled body wrapping around his own, those warm, soft lips pressing to his neck ever so gently.

The pair lived for moments like these. When the storm rolled in and they could lay together, curled around each other exchanging tender touches and loving whispers with one and other.

As Ex pulled back, he pressed his lips to Npg's gently, heart skipping as he felt the other lean up into it. This kiss wasn't sexually charged- none of them were- but instead were simply gentle and loving. The voidlings hand ran up and down Npg's body but cupping his cheek, the other intertwining their fingers.

When they separated, Ex simply rests his head on Npg's chest, listening in once more to hear the whirring of his gears inside.

Was it perfect? Not in the slightest.

But were they happy? More than they'd been their entire lives. @gridoc

[raediggitydog]

In which one member of the nHo loses his beans

Vintage Beef woke up to an unfamiliar scene. Instead of his humble shack, he sat up to find a large, unfamiliar bedroom. He stumbled out of the room to find the rest of the house, which was wood with a cute chimney in the front room.

“Where on Earth…?” He stepped out the front door onto a small porch, reeling from the strange scene.

He stood on a small plateau, and just below him in a shallow valley, countless colorful buildings blended together, filled with the din of loud, cheery voices.

“Heya Beef!” A man in knightly armor waved happily as he flew past Beef, gliding down into the bright valley. Beef waved slowly, unsure of who that man was.

Beef returned to the house briefly, finding some armor and elytra hanging by the door. Strapping the wings on, he soared down, landing on a concrete road. He wandered down the street, examining the assorted buildings with curiosity.

“Yo Beef, whatcha lookin for?” A young man in a red sweater bounded towards him.

“Ah, hello there! What’s your name?” Beef reached out for a handshake.

The man cocked his head, blond hair falling into his face. “Is this a game? It’s me, Grian!”

Beef flushed awkwardly. “Um, I’m not sure that we’ve met before. Where are we?”

“This is hermitcraft- Are you sure you’re feeling alright?” Grian pressed his hands to Beef’s cheeks, making him uncomfortable.

He stepped back, eyeing Grian. “Hermitcraft… Never heard of it.”

Grian simply blinked. “Uh, I can’t tell if this is a prank. I think Mumbo is- HEY MUMBY?”

“DON’T CALL ME THAT IN THE SHOPPING DIST- Oh there you are! What’s wrong?” A man, evidently named Mumbo, trotted around the corner, straightening his red tie. A cute smile poked out from behind his sleek black mustache as he greeted them. “Hey Gri, hey Beef! What’s going on?”

“How do you all know my name?” Beef asked, exasperated.

Mumbo cocked his head, identical to Grian. “What are you talking about? We’ve been on the server together for nearly a year now, are you pranking us?”

“No! I’ve never met you two, and I’ve never been here! I fell asleep in my home in Mindcrack, and suddenly I’m here!” Beef gestured wildly around him. “I just want to go home!”

Mumbo and Grian were silent, and Mumbo’s brow furrowed. “Mindcrack… I’ve heard that name somewhere…”

“Maybe X will know,” Grian suggested.

Mumbo snapped. “Good idea, let’s go!”

The pair, followed by a confused Beef, took off, flying across the so-called shopping district. Along the way they passed multiple other people, each waving happily. One person, however, Beef recognized. “Doc?”

Mumbo nearly fell out of the sky and Grian did a flip as Beef tearfully greeted Doc. They landed in the clearing below them, and Beef gave Doc an enormous hug.

“Dude, where have you been?We all thought you were dead!” Beef sniffled into Doc’s shoulder.

“Bro, I was just in Hermitville this week, I wasn’t gone that long!” He chuckled, patting Beef’s back. “You always were a sensitive one.”

“No! You’ve been missing from Mindcrack for nearly three years! Why didn’t you tell us where you were going?”

Doc cocked his head, just like Grian and Mumbo- it must be a hermitcraft thing. “Mindcrack? I left, and you were the host of my farewell party! Besides, we just moved to hermitcraft, it wasn’t a big deal… Are you feeling alright?”

Beef felt very small all of a sudden. “Why do none of you believe me? Am I losing my mind?”

Doc frowned thoughtfully- a familiar sight that almost made Beef cry from nostalgia. “This is very strange. We need to go see X immediately.”

Beef followed the three, flying closely to Doc. It was all too strange. Just the other day he was building a cute house on stilts, and now he was here. Doc was here too- Beef hoped he could get home, simply so he could tell his friends that Doc wasn’t dead.

“Here we are! X should be waiting for us down there.” Mumbo spiraled down into the base slowly, while Grian opted to dive straight down. Doc kept an eye on Beef as they descended gently.

“Hello boys! What do you need today?” A man in full body armor greeted them cheerfully. He was intimidating, despite having a lilting voice.

“We’re not entirely sure, honestly.” Mumbo wrung his hands.

“Beef doesn’t remember hermitcraft- at all.” Doc glanced at Beef.

“But he does remember Doc, because they were on Mindcrack together,” Grian pointed out.

“What’s your name?” Beef added.

X stood silent for a moment. It was impossible to tell his expression from behind the helmet. “Well. I’m… not sure. I’m sorry, everyone.”

“What!?” Mumbo and Grian exclaimed in unison.

“But I thought you were an admin, with powers and stuff!” Grian cried.

X shook his head sadly. “This could be an issue of any number of things. Unfortunately, there’s no safe way to find out. I suppose our best course of action is to help Beef become reaccustomed with hermitcraft until his memory hopefully returns.”

“What? Why can’t you send me back?” Beef began to tremble.

“I’m sorry Beef, but you’re having delusions of some sort. We need to do some research until we can figure out what’s going on.”

“Im not delusional. No, no I can’t stay here!” His vision blurred. “I can’t! I have to get home! They need me, I have to go back! Please send me back, please!”

“Beef, calm down, we’ll figure this out!” Grian set a hand on Beef’s shoulder, but Beef whirled around, slapping him across the face with a crack.

“DON’T TOUCH ME! This is all a dream, you’re not real! This isn’t real, it isn’t real!” He collapsed, his limbs going numb.

He didn’t notice Mumbo and Doc approaching from behind until they had grabbed his arms, restraining him. He fought them violently, attempting to bite their arms as they dragged him away.

“No no NO I can’t! I can’t stay here! You have to let me go! Bdubs will find me! He’ll find me and kill ALL of you! Bbuds where are you!? Help, someone HELP! Let go of me you demons! I have to leave! Let me GO!” He fell to the cold stone floor, convulsing as he sobbed.

“I’m sorry Beef, this is the only way.” Mumbo whispered through tears. He shivered, watching his poor friend Beef writhe across the stone floor of the jail cell, unaware of his own actions. “I hope you feel better soon.”

[triple-a-enderdragon]

Fire always means good things, right?

First | Previous | Next

Not many hermits usually see the early hours of the morning, but today was a special occasion. Once False alerted Iskall and Jevin, the only other hermits awake, the three of them worked to mobilize the rest of the gang. It went smoothly, except...

Most of the hermits had made it to the pavilion outside iTrade waiting for the stragglers to fly in. Once Impulse has confirmed where Xisuma's respawn point was, Iskall flew off to check; just to make sure X wasn't there. He came back with nothing to show, confirming everyone's fears.

Impulse was pacing back and forth, anxiously awaiting the arrival of one of the last hermits, Cub. Now that X was out of the picture, the two of them would have a tough time to figure out what was going on. Suddenly Impulse was glad he talked to X when he did, otherwise they would have has a much harder time than they already did.

He looked towards where the Strike Team was deep in conversation, wondering what they were talking about. They drew more attention to themselves as the conversation turned into an argument between False and Iskall on what they should do next. False caught Impulse's eye and beckoned him over.

"Impulse! You may have noticed that Iskall and I can't agree on what to do next. Can you be the tiebreaker? These three aren't helping," False said, pointing to Python, Biffa, and Wels; who looked like they didn't want to get involved.

"Of course! What do you have in mind?"

"I think we need to create a plan, make sure everyone is safe. After what we assume happened to Xisuma, no one should be alone if possible. We need to figure out what's happening before we do anything rash." This last point she directed at Iskall, who didn't seem convinced.

"We still need to find X's body! Are we just going to leave him in the Nether!? He's our admin!" Iskall protested.

"I know that, but—" False was interrupted by a beep from her communicator; in fact, the mumble of the assembled hermits died down as they all received the same message

[cubfan135 was blown up by Creeper]

False and Iskall exchanged a look.

"Ok, you win. But you're finding Cub, not X," False said. "Don't go into the Nether, Iskall. We can't afford to lose you."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful. You know where he was coming from?" Iskall asked as he prepared to take off.

"He should have just been coming from Concorp, but..." False gestured helplessly.

"I'll find him."

False watched the disappearing silhouette. "I know you will." She turned her attention to the assembly of hermits, somehow not noticing Tango's absence. Impulse, tuning out her address to the others, did.

~~~

Flying over Concorp, Iskall was on the lookout for creeper holes. Starting at the entrance, his search area slowly, yet steadily, increased.  A few minutes passed, he found nothing. Not wanting to risk Cub's items despawning, Iskall tried a different method. Closing his right eye, he focused on his left. Slowly, he could feel his diamond sense coming online. He expanded this sixth sense, taking great care to ignore anything in chests, until he could feel a set of armor and tools. This had to be Cub, he could feel it.

And so, grabbing his rockets, Iskall took to the skies once more.

~~~

Tango was alone. Hiding amongst the foliage of Big Logs, he tried to make sense of what had happened over the last few days. First the change to the Nether, then the dreams, then...

Even before Iskall left to look for Cub, Tango knew, as he had known with X.

Cub wasn't coming back any time soon.

Oddly enough, he had felt Cub's death before the message popped up; same with X. He didn't want to know what implications this had. Maybe it had to do with the figure in his dream; the looming column of fire that burned him when no other fire could. Paying what was owed.

I made you who you are.

A death he never got, a deal never made.

Let's see if you have what it takes.

"Tango?"

Startled, Tango looked up to find Grian, his new wings spread out awkwardly behind him.

"H-what? How did you find me?"

"You're bright red, dude. You stick out like a sore thumb."

"Ah, I see.." Tango hadn't taken camouflage into account.

"Impulse and False said they need to talk to you."

Let's see if you have what it takes.

~~~

Back in her base, False was impatient. Once her address to the hermits was done, Impulse had informed her that Tango was missing, and he may be important to what was going on. Immediately she sent Grian off to look for him and had been waiting for them since.

While she had paced back and forth, Iskall had come back with a worrying charge; Cub's limp body. He and Impulse then left to bring Cub to the infirmary beneath the Ministry of Truth, leaving him in Joe's care. They, too, had yet to return.

At the sound of a rocket firing, False's head snapped up. Tango and Grian were gliding in to meet her. As they landed, False admired Grian's tawny wings and how quickly he had adapted to them. In the few days since he mysteriously received them, he had improved tremendously.

As Grian stepped forward to greet her, Tango stayed back. That told her he was hiding something.

As Grian started to say something, he noticed False was looking right passed him, at the man behind him. It was a cold, calculating look, one that made him pause. He looked between False and Tango, before settling awkwardly into a corner.

Minutes passed and the tension only grew. He was almost relieved when he heard rockets overhead. Almost; things could only escalate from here.

As Iskall and Impulse touched down, False addressed them; her eyes never leaving Tango.

"You boys took your time. Is Cub safe?"

"Yes, Joe said he would watch him; to see if anything changes," Iskall answered.

False finally tore her eyes from Tango to look at Impulse, who was, in turn, looking at Tango.

"Impulse. You said Tango was important to what's going on, care to enlighten us?"

Impulse took a deep breath and, ignoring Tango's pleading eyes, said, "According to X, the Nether's been acting up." At this, False noticed Iskall stiffened. Interesting. Impulse continued, "And recently Tango's been acting weird around the Nether. I believe the two are connected."

Everyone turned to Tango. He looked at the ground and sighed.

"At first, I noticed the change in the Nether. I could always feel the Nether, how it changed between updates. This was different. It felt...off." False started to interrupt, but Tango stopped her. "You asked for an explanation, let me explain."

"At first I brushed it off as an update, even though we're not due for one for a while. Then..." He had to compose himself. "Then the dream. A being of fire. But at the same time, it wasn't a dream." Tango rolled up his sleeve, showing a rather nasty burn. "It shouldn't have been able to do this, but it did." He rolled his sleeve back down. "It didn't say much, except that I was being tested. On what, I don't know."

False was again about to say something, but was interrupted by Iskall.

"Grian? You ok, dude?"

Everyone turned to Grian, who looked like a deer in headlights. All he mumbled was, "So this is what she meant?" before taking off.

Immediately, False signaled Iskall to follow him. It wasn't safe for anyone to be alone at this point in time and she couldn't let anyone risk their lives doing something rash.

Hoping that would be enough, she turned back to Tango and Impulse, the latter already showing the strain of his responsibilities. The three of them would have to handle the crisis; and with the Strike Team backing them up, she knew it was more than doable. But in her heart, without Xisuma's constant and reassuring presence, she couldn't quite believe it.

~~~

Grian heard rockets behind him. Not what he wanted to hear, since he wished to be alone. He only hoped he could out-fly whoever it was and lose them in the trees below. It was dangerous to fly an elytra underneath the canopy, but with his wings, Grian was as agile as ever.

Diving into the forest, Grian dodged and weaved between the trees like he had never done before. He could still hear rockets, but they were  above him, and further behind. His plan was working. What he hadn't thought about was how quickly night was falling; he had to make a temporary shelter here. Was that dangerous? Yes; but he needed to be alone where no one could find him.

He didn't account for his pursuer's excellent tracking skills, as three minutes had barely passed when he heard a knock on the wall.

"Grian. Are you going to let me in, or will I have to break in?"

Grian groaned. Of course. "Go away, Iskall. I want to be alone."

He heard shuffling outside, followed by, "Well, that's the thing. False said no one's supposed to be alone outside of well-lit areas." Iskall paused. "You may be able to tell, but this is not a well-lit area." Another pause. "I could lure a creeper here if you want-"

"Okay, fine!" Grian broke the two dirt blocks serving as his door, glaring at the man standing beyond them. "Happy now?"

"Not yet, hang on..." Iskall gave a whistle and instantly a massive husky appeared beside him. "Since you mind my company, I thought you wouldn't mind hers."

"I don't mind your company, just...right now I would rather be alone," Grian said as he watched Venus waltz into his makeshift house.

"I know. I'll carve out my own little room, that way I'm just two dirt blocks away, if you need me." Iskall watched as Venus started poking through Grian's pockets. "And she's here for some non-human company."

Grian absentmindedly rubbed the husky's head. "That I think I can handle."

~~~

The night passed uneventfully; the early morning brought a message from False.

[falsesymmetry to: iskall85, PythonGB] Iskall, Python, Nether. Bring back Xisuma's body asap. Do not risk anything. We're counting on you.

[votederpycausemufins]

So, happy eggs benedict day to those who watch dsmp. I’m sure you’ll have fun today! I know I will when you all read this chapter and freak out at the end! also gonna apologize for the formatting. I wasn’t sure how to replicate what I did while writing it, so I’m doing that instead.

@petrichormeraki​

“Hey Tommy?” Phil took the teen over to the side, wanting to speak with him. “Since Grian is still talking with his admin-”

“He’s my admin too. You saw that the other me was in their world.”

“Right, fine. While he’s talking to your admin, I’ve got a question.”

“Alright, shoot.”

“When you were talking with that other you… D-Did Kristen show up?”

“Mumza? Uh, no. Why d’ya ask?”

“Well, I guess you wouldn’t know. She wasn’t really around when you were growing up. But she’s sort of… a goddess of death.”

Tommy’s eyes widened. “She’s what?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, no. Mumza didn’t show up. You did. Or the other version of you. I guess you’re the death god there instead of her.”

“Right. Well, anything else happen, mate?”

“After the other you showed up, the other me got taken away by him and told me the thing to say to Xannes.”

“Alright. Thanks for telling me Tommy.”

“Theseus. Theeeeeeeseus. Theseus! Wake up!”

“Ugh… where am I?”

“Prison. Specifically Base Iridium.”

Theseus shook his head to wake himself up more. “Wait where the fuck am I?!”

“I just said you’re-”

“No what the fuck is this?!” Theseus shouted and tried moving around, only making the sound of chains jingling.

“Ohhhh, enchanted bedrock casket to make sure you can’t move. But hey, At least we get face holes. Aaaand you’re hyperventilating.”

“How do I get out?! Let me out!”

“If I knew how to get out, I would have aaaaaages ago and gone to see Sense!”

“W-Wait, S-Sense like the e-evil r-redstone guy?”

“Yes! With a wonderful mustache and sexy suit of his~”

“Oh eww gross. You’re just as bad as him.” Theseus cringed.

“How’s he doing?”

“Half starved to death and had his vocal cords ripped out.”

“He. What.”

“The new emperor of Helscraft or whatever did it. Kicked him off the throne and trapped him in whatever was there instead of the nether.”

“No! Now I need to get out!” Chain rattling filled the air.

“Uh hey, what’s your name by the way?”

There was a pause from the rattling. “Oh you heard I changed it? It’s Grifter now.”

“Uh, didn’t know you started with anything else.”

“Hiii Puffy! I’m baaack! Did you an’ Grum talk about stuff?” Jrum walked into Puffy’s home holding a lot of quartz in his arms. He knew he could just put it in his inventory, but this was more fun.

“Yes we did, though… well it was a little rough for him, so he’s... out building a place for you to stay near your charger until you can get home, alright?”

Jrum nodded, accepting the answer without question before setting his haul down on a table and picking up a piece quartz to chew on. “I made a new friend! His name is Michael!”

“Oh, that sounds nice.”

“Yeah! And then I went exploring and I found a big cave!”

“In the nether?” Puffy asked, only half paying attention right now while hoping Jrum would get distracted talking. She knew the bot’s brother wasn’t really out building after his panic attack, but duckling Dream had been kind and offered to help the child.

“It looked kinda like it, but no. It kinda looked like something Uncle Scar would make. It was pretty. He once built a humongous drill to get to the nether. A-And then some of the nether started climbing out, but the hole was waaaaay too big so it didn’t have any chance!”

“That sounds creative.”

“Yeah! He also made a magic village with a big magic crystal, and apparently it helps connect to the hels dimension, so I made a friend there!”

“What’s that?” Puffy asked with a tilt of her head. 

“Oh, the hels dimension is a place parallel to this dimension, but it’s not like another dimension like the overworld and the nether are different dimensions to themselves, hels is like… us, but through a mirror! A funhouse mirror! Like my daddy is really good at redstone like me, and he can get frazzled at times, but he’s really nice. But then there’s the hels version of him who’s like a big mean evil scientist!”

“Oh really. And I suppose you made friends with your hels version?” Puffy asked with a small smile, but Jrum frowned and found his antenna to tug on, squeezing the little blue ball at the end.

“Uh, no. Grum and I were built by our dads, but in hels, they got separated and so they couldn’t build us. So… we don’t have our own hels versions.”

Puffy frowned sadly. “Do you want to talk about that?

“Yeah. I’ve tried telling my dads, but they just sort of reassure me without really listening.”

Puffy got a chair set up for Jrum, ready for an impromptu therapy session which she hoped wouldn’t end as bad as the last one. “Now, what’s bothering you most?”

“Well, the fact that we don’t have our other versions kinda hurts because it sort of makes me feel like we’re less real. I know my dads say that we’re of course real, but it doesn’t hurt less because they just sort of say it and not give reasons. In fact, they sort of give us less reasons because they were really protective about us respawning since they didn’t know how that would work. I mean, I guess they had a reason to worry since Grum and me are here now, but the fact they couldn’t trust us with that kinda hurts.

“And then we need to be charged up as well as eat, but we don’t need to worry about phantoms. I guess it’s a trade off, but no one else has to deal with that! It feels weird! From what Xisuma said, he needed to mess with some files to get us read properly by all his admin stuff, and he didn’t need to do that for others sort of like us, so why are we different?!”

Puffy hugged Jrum to comfort the now crying robot. The small whispers of reassurance helped a little, telling him he really was a person and that he would be safe. Jrum was glad for them he didn’t like the mess he was in, and the fact that it came from not really being a person made it sting even worse. So he was very happy to find someone who would listen and understand.

System hard drive crash. Attempting recovery. Recovering… Recovering… 92% of data recovered. Rebooting… Rebooting… Essential data missing. Please insert external drive for troubleshooting.

External drive connected. Reading external data. 16 files located. Do you wish to replace data with files? Backing up old files. Backing up… Backing up… Data has been backed up. Replacing data. Replacing… Replacing… Replacement complete. Restarting. One moment.

Restart complete. Checking systems. 100% data found. Implementing… Implementing… Files implemented.

Are you sure you want to rename this machine? Renaming… Renaming… Renaming complete. Restart needed to fully implement. Restarting. One moment.

Welcome. Please continue with s s s set u u up. Ch ch choose a l l lan. :) 

Grumbot sat up with a start. He was pretty sure if he wasn’t a robot, he’d be breathing heavily. He put a hand to his head before looking around. It looked like he had been put in a room with a bed, but he didn’t recognize it, and no one else was there.

Grum tried to remember what happened. Had he run out of battery? Or had he gotten damaged. No, he had been trying to [: )] and it didn’t work out. He had also been with Puffy, so perhaps this was another room in her house. It wasn’t one he had seen before, but he also hadn’t really gone exploring.

Getting up from the bed and stretching, Grum decided to do just a little bit of looking around the room to make sure this really was Puffy’s place. He didn’t want to end up in someone else’s place and get in trouble. Though perhaps it was a similar situation to [: )] when they showed up on [: )].

That was another thing he almost forgot. Jrum. Was he okay? He didn’t know how long they had been separated and if it were long enough, he could have gotten in trouble. He had always taken after their [: )] and if the people here weren’t the happiest about stuff like that, it might not end well.

Well, as he looked around, the place seemed safe, and after carefully breaking a piece of the wall before putting it back, he was still at Puffy’s home. He attempted to contact Jrum, but it seemed that function wasn’t working. Possibly because they were no longer in [: )] and it was something there that allowed a direct connection between the two of them.

Grum’s eyes landed on a piece of paper he hadn’t noticed before. It seemed to be a note of sorts, so he read it. It seemed to be from the admin. He wrote how Puffy said Grum passed out and she went to check on Jrum to make sure the same didn’t happen to him. That if he would like, the admin could check him over and make sure everything was fine and there were no programming issues.

The robot rolled his eyes. He wouldn’t have any issues. [: )] and [: )] had built him just fine, Plus Jrum had gotten the two of them updates from [: )] so they were even better. There was no reason to see the admin, especially because…

Because…

Because why? This person was the admin, so he would just be making sure the server ran as smoothly as possible. He likely was just worried. That was all. What admin wouldn’t? And they hadn’t done anything to make Grum think otherwise. If they did, then maybe he would need to be wary. But so far, nothing. 

Puffy suggested they get a treat for Jrumbot to help him cheer up and Jrum wiped away his virtual tears before following her. As they left, neither of them noticed the small red plant wrapping around the antenna and connecting to the now red ball on the end of it.

“Ah ha. Nice joke Theseu- wait a second.” There was silence. “You’re not my brother.”

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

[votederpycausemufins]

me: you first started writing this story 12 days ago, take a break also me: CHAPTER 16 BAYBEEEEE

@petrichormeraki

Grian realized waiting was easy. No one was running around or trying to hurt him. People were trying to give him seeds and played music! And the voices liked how nice people were being too. But at the same time, the Watcher couldn’t help but worry. Why wasn’t Tommy back? Maybe he should go through himself. But it was a small portal. An enderman could barely fit, and to a watcher, those mobs were rather short.

What if you just got smaller? But he looks so dope like this! maybe he’s like a… i forget the animal but if he can get his head through he can get the rest through. Why’s he trying to go through anyway?; he’s basically a giant monster who’ll be attacked if he goes through. But he’s powerful. He’ll be fine!

Grian had move voices talking, and one seemed very convincing about going through the portal. Yes, it was a perfect idea. He just needed to squish himself through the frame. A number of Hermits tried to stop him as he started to move. He shook a wing as a lead caught on it. Another tried to catch him, but he moved out of the way and it managed to tie Mumbo up. Oh! He could bring Mumbo as well. Two heads would be better than one. He gave a chirpy laugh as Mumbo seemed to scream as he went through the portal. Grian followed behind, though he struggled squeezing everything through. There was a flash of white light, and then nothing.

Dream could feel the Watcher enter the world. He made sure that Tommy had no easy escape from his current prison before the former admin left the room. He walked in the direction of the portal. Everyone was here and his new piece of leverage had arrived. All that needed to happen now was destroying the portal and having the powers of admin returned to him.

Mumbo’s face hit grass as he ended up on the other side of the portal, tied up in the rope of a lead. He started to look up and had to squint at the bright sky. Had he blacked out and the storm had passed? But looking around, the only familiar thing in his vision was the infinity portal and Mumbo realized he had gone through it.

There was a squawk as Grian came through the portal. Mumbo tried to get up and reach his friend, but the fact that he was tied up had slipped his mind and he ended up just essentially wriggling around. Grian leaned down to look at him and Mumbo met the Watcher’s eyes with a gasp. Mumbo remembered when Grian was using his watcher powers, he could see how the eyes almost never looked at the same place, always focused on watching everything. The two main eyes may have just looked purple, but Mumbo could always see the symbol of the Watchers that seemed to have imprinted itself within the pupils.

But right now, all the eyes looked down at Mumbo. They all looked glossy and somewhat unfocused. Instead of their purple color they had a reddish-magenta hue and the symbol of the Watchers was absent. “G-Grian? Are you okay?”

I mean, obviously he’s not. Yessss, stare into his eyes! If Grian’s a bird, does that make Mumbo some kind of-

Mumbo immediately started to try and get out of the robes that tied him up. No. No this couldn’t be happening. He had told them no. They said they wouldn’t try again. Grian had made it very clear that Mumbo was under his claim as a Watcher. He shouldn’t be hearing voices.

After a bit more struggling, Mumbo was free. He was able to stand up and brush himself off, then start to put Grian towards the portal. “Alright Grian, back in the portal.” Grian just moved out of the way and chirped at Mumbo. “Don’t be such a spoon of a bird! In the portal!” He tried again with no luck. He was about to try again when he noticed someone approaching. Mumbo had no clue who they could be or what they might do. He had heard some of the horror stories Tommy had told, so Mumbo decided his best option was to hide.

Using Grian as a wall between him and whoever was arriving, the redstoner stayed quiet, trying to listen. He could hear them approaching, walking on the grass, and then they stopped. Mumbo nearly peeked out from behind Grian, but then they spoke. “No clue why the Watchers put up with you. You’re clearly out of your element Grian. But that being said, you’re useful. And now you’re in a world with people more like you than any of those Hermits. No reason to leave.”

Mumbo’s heart dropped as he heard what sounded like a beacon powering down and then the magic of a portal shattering. As if living in an unknown world wasn’t bad enough, now there was no escape. 

And we’re stuck here. Mumbo’s a genius, he can fix it. He’s only a genius at redstone, it’s hopeless. Maybe he-

Mumbo forced himself to stop listening. Grian had started to move and he needed to follow to stay hidden. Until they reached the nearby forest, there was no other place to hide. Mumbo slowly kept in step with Grian, creeping his way until they finally reached a tree. He used that as cover instead and to finally see what was going on.

The redstoner recognised the man donned in lime green that stood next to Grian. He was the one to show up in Hermitcraft and come after Tommy. One that many of the horror stories had been about. And for whatever reason, Grian was following behind him. Mumbo wanted to shout, to reason with Grian, but his fear for his own life kept him hidden and quiet. 

Mumbo watched as the two left, and then he felt safe enough to move. Grian had made Tubbo the admin, right? And he had made… someone else one too. But he couldn't remember their name, and Tubbo’s communicator still likely wasn’t working. Nonetheless, he tried, only to get an expected error message. Who else could he contact?

Tommy! Ranboo. Fundy might work? Tommy might be with Philza so either of them. Wilbur or Techno? Quackity! Sam. Why would you ever try Quackity? Because you can, lol. 

Mumbo didn’t know all the names, but Tommy and Philza seemed the most reasonable. Mumbo sent each of them a private message, summing up what was going on and trying to give a warning. There was no error message, but also no reply, so the redstoner could only hope they saw the messages. And then he started moving, hoping to find something to help him, like a place to stay or materials.

Dream toyed with Grian’s addled mind. If only he knew how easy it was to capacitate the dream slayer. He could hardly believe that this was what he had been terrified of for so long. He could enjoy this for a while, but right now, he needed to do what he planned to from the start. He had summoned Tubbo and Ranboo, knowing they would have their guards down. As far as they were concerned, Dream couldn’t do anything and they could do anything as admin. Oh how wrong them were.

Dream walked to another room and sat at the table, leaning back in his chair as he waited. It only took a few minutes before Ranboo and Tubbo appeared in the room. Tubbo seemed a bit disoriented from the teleport, but Ranboo as an enderman took it well. “Tubbo, Ranboo, how good to see you.”

“You should be in the vault Dream.”

“You two have something that doesn’t belong to you.”

“Grian made me the admin.” Tubbo spoke up, sounding confident. Dream smiled at it, he had no ideal anything he tried would be futile. Anything either of them did.

“Well, he doesn’t have to keep it that way.” Dream stood up, walking to the doors. Tubbo and Ranboo looked ready to attack, but then he opened the door.

“Grian?” Tubbo sounded hurt and worried for the Watcher. The essentially mindless beast gave a trilling coo which left the admin pair unsettled.

“Now, you have something that belongs to me.” Dream spoke. He filtered his own thoughts into the mind of the Watcher and then he could see the watcher magic flow around Tubbo and Ranboo. Dream felt energized as the admin powers were given back to him and he saw the pair grow exhausted from the energy being drawn from them. Now everything was just how it should be.

Mumbo kept chopping at trees with his netherite axe, gathering resources. He Put down an ender chest and was glad to see all the usual contents were there. He used some of the diamonds he had to craft a chestplate, thinking that would be a bit more useful. One shulker box was cleaned out of items Mumbo wasn’t completely sure he would need and instead house more essentials.

As he cut down another tree, there was a wave of energy leaving Mumbo looking around. There was nothing obvious that it could have been. It still left him on edge, and he put his supplies away, switching to his sword.

Creeping through the forest, Mumbo was prepared to attack. Even if he wasn’t the best fighter, or really a fighter at all, at least he might have an element of surprise. Above him, the sun was starting to set, helping him even more as his black suit and hair blended into the shadows. Mumbo was starting to wish he had gone to False’s sparring sessions more, but there always seemed to be one redstone project or another he thought was more important.

Light caught Mumbo’s eye and ahead he saw a fire. For a moment he thought it would be a lava lake, but there were blocks all over the place, some of sorts that couldn’t generate naturally. That could be someone’s home. Or possibly even former home. If it were the first, then Mumbo hoped it would be someone to ally with, if it were the latter, the land being abandoned could do well as a shelter.

Mumbo continued forward until finally he reached a place that seemed to be a crater. There had been some sort of explosion, destroying the place. While it made Mumbo sad to see what was likely a very nice build destroyed, it also gave him hope that it would be safe now. That was until he heard someone speaking.

“Stupid stupid stupid. Now I’m stuck here and have to rebuild and-”

Mumbo knew that voice. “Tommy!” He ran towards the blond.

“What the fuck?” He heard Tommy say before he slid down into the crater and stood next to the boy.

“Tommy, that Dream guy, he got Grian and-” Mumbo started to explain before freezing.

“Grian?” Tommy asked, staring at Mumbo with magenta eyes.

“T-Tommy?” Mumbo drew his sword. Was this some copy? A trap? What?

“Yeah, what the fuck do you want?”

“I… What’s going on? Who are you really?”

“Oi, I’m gonna ask the fucking questions.” Tommy crossed his arms. “Who are you and what are you doing in Logstedshire?”