#and i am so normal about grian AND etho promising to stay loyal to their team with cleo even if they turn red

[artsy-book]

THE IT IS HERE AND IT IS NOW! GRIAN'S SESSION 8 SECRET LIFE RECAP ^-^

OH MY FUCKING GOD! GRIAN'S TASK! ARE YOU KIDDING ME????

I CAN'T WITH THIS! OF COURSE IT'S TIM

he's already making fun of jimmy I can't with this shit

JIMMY WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS!!!!

i love jimmy's silly tasks for grian and that grian HAS to do them

GRIAN I HATE YOU! WHY WOULD YOU MENTION THAT THE PORTAL COULD BE TRAPPED AS YOU ARE GOING THROUGH IT!!!!

love grian being like "we have to have some words with timmy about the words in this book"

grian practically said yes at the same time as jimmy in response to bdubs asking about killing scar. yeah i'll be normal about that

jimmy is the worst angel ever and i both love and hate it. this is so good i love this task

these interactions grian is having with etho and cleo with ghost jimmy are so fucking funny

JIMMY'S YELL WHEN ETHO SAID THAT HE MISSES MUMBO THE MOST OF THE FALLEN PLAYERS! OMG I CAN'T THAT IS SO FUNNY!

grian and etho making fun of jimmy WHILE JIMMY CAN HEAR THEM IS GIVING ME LIFE

I AM SO FUCKING SICK! "if we all turn red today, i'm sticking by ya," GRIAN I WILL SCREAM

GRIAN WITH THE "Heu! Heu!" i love it ^-^

i love that jimmy is still giving grian just weird tasks. its so silly

oh grian is getting some helpful info from jimmy

LMAO MARTYN JUST DISAPPEARING MID SENTENCE

god that crystal almost wiped grian right out...

"you have my heart etho" I WILL DIE OKAY! YOU CANT DO THIS TO ME GRIAN

JOEL BLEW UP HIS OWN TNT CANNON LMAO

"'he got me with a berry bush' YOU got you with a berry bush!" god i love cleo so much

"oh i almost looked at the enderman" etho please, you cant do that to me again

jimmy is being so helpful! i love it! grian is his boy!

oh etho isn't doing his task cause it only works on their team and it requires calling something out. yeah i'm fine about that

OH SOMEONE TRAPPED BDUBS' BEDROOM! GRIAN ALMOST DIED AGAIN!

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

A writing request, if you would like! I'd love to see Skizz and Martyn hanging out and getting closer after 3rd Life ends. Like just the both of them missing their respective hermit besties because they're both so busy with the new season and whatnot, and the two of them bonding further over it. Their friendship was the best and I wish we could have seen more of it on screen

such an underrated friendship T_T i miss them sm

and no i am definitely not in denial over Martyn saying he would betray Ren if it came down to it. nope. no. no way. definitely not. nada.

...

Sitting alone at spawn, Skizz wonders not for the first time why he’s out here alone. The ruins of the 3rd Life world, a place full of both painful and wonderful memories, is not exactly the first choice for a hangout spot. Grian has granted everyone access to the world, exactly how it was left at the end of the series, but nobody ever comes here except Skizz.

And maybe one other person.

“Room for one more?”

Skizz glances up and spots a familiar face coming towards him, his usual smile on his face.

“Oh! Hi!” Skizz’s expression brightens. “Didn’t expect to see you here. Yeah, ‘course, sit.”

Martyn sits down on the grass beside him. “You here for the nostalgia, or…?”

“Kinda. Legacy’s been really slow lately so it feels like being here is just as productive as being over there.”

“I know what you mean,” says Martyn. “So, um… How’s you and Impulse these days? After the whole, uh… stab-in-the-back thing.”

“Ah.” Skizz nods slowly. “Yeah, it’s… progress has stalled a little. I felt like we were almost back to normal, but then Hermitcraft Season 8 started and he’s been super busy with that. They all have; Impulse, Tango, Etho, literally everyone I usually hang out with. It’s hard to repair your relationship with someone when you don’t get to talk to them even once a week.”

“Yeah, I’m having the same with Ren. We promised to hang out as often as we could but I haven’t even spoken to him in a few weeks. That’s why I’m really hoping Scott will put me on a team with Ren for MCC.”

“MCC?” repeats Skizz. “Oh, you mean that tournament thing?”

Martyn nods. “Yeah. Scott organises the teams; I’m currently expecting a message from him to let me know who he’s put me with.”

“Oh man, I can’t even begin to imagine how epic you two would be together on an MCC team. You could win it for Dogwarts!”

“3rd Life is over, dude,” says Martyn with a chuckle. “Dogwarts doesn’t exist anymore.”

Skizz laughs back. “In my heart, it still does.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, Dogwarts was…” Skizz hesitates, searching for the right words. “...a sense of community that I’ve never felt before. Legacy is incredible of course and I love everyone on there, but it took ages to build up that kind of connection. With you guys, I just… It almost felt like love at first sight, you know? We bonded so quickly and even though I’d never met you before 3rd Life and I’d only interacted with Etho and Ren through Among Us before, I felt like I’d die for you guys as soon as Ren gave me the Dogwarts banner.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” Martyn says, to Skizz’s surprise.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I came into this expecting to do whatever it took to win, but I came out of it with at least two new friends for life.”

Skizz decides to ask a question that’s been on his mind for a long time now. “Martyn, if you and Ren had made it to the final few, what would you have done? Would you have stayed loyal to him?”

Martyn falls silent.

Skizz frowns at him, but his friend’s lack of a reply is really all the answer he needs. “Oh… I see.”

“Okay, listen. I’m not sure, alright? I wanted to win, but I don’t know if I actually would’ve been able to go through with betraying him. Frankly, I choose to see it as a “the situation didn’t arise so I don’t need to think about it” kind of thing.”

“Huh. Fair enough.”

After a moment, Martyn gives a quiet sigh. “Okay, I don’t think I would’ve actually done it. Ren… He… He was the first person I’d met in a long time who really took the time to get to know me. I stayed with him out of necessity at first but he was… he was - IS - different than anyone else I’ve ever met. You know?”

“I think so,” says Skizz. “There’s just that connection, huh? When you know instantly you’ve met a friend for life. I got that with you the second you said you’d go through the underground tunnel to back me up against Grian and Scar.”

“Really?” chuckles Martyn. “That moment?”

“Yup. We hardly knew each other and our alliance wasn’t properly cemented yet but the way you talked, like it was never in doubt that you’d come to my aid, just clinched it for me. I knew then that I’d be bonded with you guys forever.”

Martyn thinks for a moment. “Looking back on it now, I think the moment I realised was when you revealed the tunnel you’d spent ages and ages building. That kinda made it fully sink in that “oh, we’re really in this together now”.”

“Oh yeah, I get what you mean.”

A short silence follows this, punctuated by Martyn’s communicator going off. He quickly checks it. Skizz watches a smile slowly spread over his face.

“Message from Scott,” says Martyn, his voice mostly controlled but with a slight tremor.

Skizz stares at him, hardly daring to hope. “No way…!”

Martyn’s smile widens into a grin. “Yeah! It’s me, Illumina, FalseSymmetry, and… and Ren.”

“Oh my gosh! You guys are gonna represent Dogwarts at MCC!”

“And that’s an AMAZING team, too,” Martyn adds. “False and Illumina are extremely good. I think we might have a real chance.”

“I totally believe in you guys!” Skizz sighs enviously. “I really wish I could watch you out there.”

Martyn glances sideways at him. “Well… there ARE spectators at the event. It’s by invitation only, but you and I both know the organiser of MCC, so…”

“Wait…!” Skizz’s eyes widen. “You think I can actually get to watch you guys in MCC?!”

“Yeah, I think we can arrange that!”

Excitement floods Skizz like a waterfall and he instinctively grabs Martyn in a hug. After a slightly startled moment, Martyn laughs and hugs his friend back.

Finally, Skizz releases Martyn and stands up, stretching out his limbs. “You wanna go for a walk and throw rocks at the ruins of the stupid desert?”

Martyn grins back and gets to his feet alongside his friend.

“Yes, yes I would.”