#and we know grian thrives on having control

[angeart]

Howwwww did you angst the world tour?? 🎀

this question made me giggle so much oh i'm glad you asked :3c there was so much yummy grian angst in the hc world tour!

it's all about grian and his penchant for destruction. he doesn't even mean to! he's not trying to be pesky; quite the opposite. he's curious but restrained, trying to be good, trying to follow instructions. he's not malicious at all! he's just there to see what people were up to, open and friendly and curious, eager to look and learn and praise. not a bad intention in sight... and yet things seem to break wherever he goes. everything he touches goes wrong.

the guilt churns, acidic and overwhelming, and grian's miserable. why is he like this? he's trying so hard, why is this the only way he can ever be? why can't it stop?

spoilers for grian's world tour video below <3

plantie pointed out to me how, during the tour of scar's train, when grian got rid of scar's arrows—the glitched ones that doc put there—he was so desperate to point it out after scar just glossed over it. as if he wanted to show that he can do something good. he can be helpful, he can fix things instead of just breaking everything.

but then we have all the other things, right? grian can't escape it.

when he was with etho and the mushroom farm exploded, he sums it up in a wretched if confused apology: "i'm so sorry. the two times i tried to use it, i broke it :( and created a water source floating— which i don't know how it happened— and flung the TNT, which i really don't understand—"

they move on, but it's so clear it lingers.

etho isn't blaming him. he's amused and brushes it off and moves along, unbothered, but grian himself can't wrap his head around it. about that propensity to breaking things, even unintentionally. the way nothing is safe around him.

he tells etho: "i can't stop thinking about your mushroom farm. why does everything i touch break, in new and unexpected ways?"

(not to mention when etho's showing him frogger and grian plays, almost instantly etho goes: "uh-oh, the game's broken", with a little huff of laugh. it wasn't exactly tied to anything grian did, but still something i wanted to point out, since grian was there for it <3)

and then grian goes to zedaph, right?

the very first game zedaph shows him. the very first. grian plays the way he was told to, the way he was meant to, and— he breaks it.

zedaph just laughs and moves them on.

(just sprinkling in a side note that zedaph's furnace minigame also didn't seem to work the way it should've—)

by the time grian gets to pearl's, it's starting to be a pattern that's so clearly eating away at him, making him anxious. he doesn't want it to happen again!

and yet.

pearl invites him to play her wordle game, and grian mindlessly goes and pushes the wrong button trying to start it... instantly stepping away with a quiet groan of a dread-filled "...oh-" followed by: "i just— ruined it already."

there's something about the mood switch. the way he seems more restrained and tame, silently upset with himself, trying so hard not to mess things up further. questioning why this is happening again. why he can't stop making it happen.

he walks over to the reset game button and asks, carefully: "can i press reset? is it gonna hurt? 🥺👉👈"

pearl reassures him he can, with a sigh noting that it'll just take a while.

there's an almost hysteric laugh from grian, followed by an exasperated, upset scream. "everything i touch breaks! when i went to e— i broke etho's thing when i went to— not frogger, his— his mushroom farm i— it blew up."

"you blew up his mushroom farm?? how? what did you do?!"

"yeah, i— i broke zed's game, instantly, pretty much, it's—"

"oh my gosh :("

"sorry 🥺"

pearl is quick to reassure him, though. "well, luckily for you, this is— you doing that (pushing the wrong button) does not break the game. it's just, you now have to wait for it to reset."

she makes sure grian knows that he didn't mess up anything terribly here. he didn't break pearl's game. it's okay! it's fine!

and then grian right clicks to open the book, and instead makes bonemeal pop out of a composter.

i think at this point pearl is a little bit taken aback by how wrong everything really seems to be going around grian. she makes sure to say, "it's fine," again, just so grian won't start worrying about it all again. "you're clicking on everything that people do not usually click on today. but it's okay. it's still not broken! it's not broken, it's alright, it's okay— i've got failsaves for people like you."

it's so sweet how she really tries to soothe him— and yet she can't help but let out that last remark.

people like you.

those few words surely lodge in more than all the reassurances. they're like splinter, proving grian right.

eventually, he gets to skizz.

during the tour of skizz's base, skizz shows him a horse statue and starts talking about how he lost his first horse at an event that grian was also a part of. and grian's stomach instantly sinks.

he asks hushedly, a bit confused, trying to remember: "was i there?"

skizz laughs. "you were absolutely there, dude."

which leads grian to ask, uneasily: "did i do it?"

skizz waves his hands, quick to easily reassure that no! that's not it, grian didn't do it!

grian lets out an oh with such palpable relief, and goes on to explain about how, "i remember witnessing it, but sometimes it's hard to disentangle whether i did it or not. coz i tell you what, on this tour i've broken everyone's stuff."

nobody was upset with grian when things broke, but here he is, several hermits down, still unable to leave it to rest. because it's him. it's him who did all of that, somehow, and he didn't mean to, but it doesn't matter. it happened anyway.

and now he can't even tell what is and what isn't his fault anymore.

the guilt is deep rooted, leaving anxious assumptions and dark, jagged precipices. how much did he destroy? what else should he be feeling guilty about? how far does this go?

he keeps breaking things, and it's such a blur that he can no longer tell what is and what isn't his fault.

the tour continues, and he delves into skizz's pyramid. and it's just— it's just a tunnel to swim through. nothing to mess up, besides potentially dying to suffocation, right?

and yet you can hear skizz shrilly exclaim: "oh he's going to end up breaking something!!"

and, (plantie's words: ) grian hearing that and just wondering, is that all i'm good for? is that all i'm known for? is that all i am?

there's no room for doubt; not really. that is what grian does, all the time, whether he wants to or not. he breaks stuff. he just— he doesn't mean to. and this tour is one big show of how powerless he is against it. (how everyone expects it from him anyway.)

despite it all, grian perseveres, trying out skizz's game, stubbornly dedicated and trying to win. (to pass; to have something to be proud of, at least—) and he gets to the powdered snow section.

there, he jumps across to a pathway that he was meant to circle to through the snow instead.

it's not breaking anything, not really. not even the rules. it's not cheating! he's just— he just did something skizz did not expect, but that was entirely possible within the game's design, even if not intended. he exploited it to his advantage; a risky, tricky shortcut.

and yet skizz remarks with a laugh: "this is what grian does! he breaks games!"

no matter what grian does... is that all he'll ever be?

is that all they'll see?

he fails getting through skizz's game, is thanked for play-testing, praises it all, they talk it all away, and...

and then grian goes to tour mumbo's base.

and fails to even die properly to his llama—

and then mumbo shows him his archive machine, and instantly panicks when grian gets curious about it, begging him not to touch anything. and grian says: "your stomach just fell through didn't it?" and after mumbo's immediate agreement, he adds: "and rightfully so. coz, almost everything i've touched on this tour has broken."

there's not a sliver of surprise to mumbo's anxious rushed: "yeah, yeah yeah! please stop now." because, of course things have broken. of course what grian touches is bound to go wrong. of course—

and then mumbo very carefully tells grian what to do with the machine.

grian does as he's told.

mumbo looks up and pauses, a frown crossing his face as he takes it in. he notes that grian probably did it too fast—

(something went wrong)

(something broke)

mumbo says: "i can't believe you come along and every single thing in my base starts [going wrong/breaking/malfunctioning]"

and then grian mysteriously ends up with an extra book from mumbo's machine, much to mumbo's dismay. grian's confused, cogs spinning as he tries to figure out what did he mess up this time to result in this.

it's clear mumbo wants grian away from his machine. it's not safe. (grian isn't safe.)

"maybe just give that to me and maybe just step away from the contraption. and then— maybe just leave me to—"

grian's upset and bewildered voice cuts in: "i didn't do anything wrong this time :(("

he's trying so hard.

he's trying so hard to be good and do things right and not mess anything up.

(it isn't working.)

(it's never bound to work, is it?)

mumbo ushers him away, and ends up showing him another cool invention—an elevator. except the second mumbo hits the button, a creeper shows up and explodes it. (it's midday.) (it wasn't even meant to be there.)

this one isn't grian's fault at all, but with everything that's happened— well, it's easy enough to link it to grian's presence. like a bad luck omen.

apprehensively, grian asks if the elevator broke, and mumbo—a bit bewildered by the reality of it—says that no, it seems to still work. "amazingly," he tacks on, disbelieving.

grian's relieved. "ohh, i thought we were in big trouble there!"

besides himself, mumbo anxiously agrees: "augh. i was like, if every single creation that i show breaks in some fashion, i'm just gonna quit."

because this isn't normal. none of this is, least of all everything at once. it simply doesn't happen.

(not when grian isn't there, anyway.)

mumbo notes that he needs to work on his lighting, and grian nods wisely saying it's a perpetual issue, but the anxiety is digging its talons in now, unrelenting. (what else is going to go bad in grian's presence? what else will he mess up? what else will he break? why is he like this?)

another remark that comes after this is mumbo's nervous: "i've actually just built up the automatic sorter which does this—which you're not gonna touch. we're banned from touching any redstone contraptions!"

and what can grian do but oblige? (but he can at least look, right?)

but does it ever change anything?

does it matter?

-

at the end of the day, the others don't think too much about it.

they all say their part, pass their judgment, wave their hands, dismiss, move on. it doesn't keep them up at night.

... i think it might keep grian up at night.

a cacophonous collection of word snippets, aimed at him or woven around him, digging under his skin until it bleeds. a noose of inescapable fate, a tightening band around his chest that promises he can only ever be one thing:

a vessel for destruction.

it doesn't matter if he wants to be.

shackles and chains and a cosmic inevitability written into his skin, etched into his bones, tangled into his bloodstream. and an ever-rising guilt like stormy sea, far above his head now, drowning him.

(maybe he's not meant to be near other people and their things.)

(maybe he's not meant to touch games that were constructed with so much effort and love and passion poured into them.)

(maybe he shouldn't—)

==========

bonus screenshots from discord DMs (with extra sprinkles of hmtb mentions):

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bonus hmtb quotes because i kept thinking about it:

He always destroys the things he loves most, after all.

and:

He destroyed everything he touched, and when there was nothing left, he destroyed the only remaining thing: himself.

-

[auriidae]

PART 2 ‼️ me & my friends when we are stuck at life (pt 1) (pt 3)

character notes under the cut!!!!!

both in true hs canon and in this au, rage represents chaos. and lifeseries grian is so undoubtedly linked to chaos above all else — he thrives off it, subsists on it even. if it’s not something he can seek out it’s something he’ll initiate. but — make no mistake, the anarchy he initiates is very much limited to within the game. he doesn’t break the game system, he works within it and disrupts whatever system the players are trying to put in place… for the benefit of the game itself. and again, with heirs being played by their aspect, it only makes sense for him to be one. rather than jimi, though, he’s okay with this — being an agent of chaos ties him to it intrinsically, and that makes him feel so, so alive. he’s okay with being controlled, for the most part, because it also means he’s in control. at least at the beginning.

i wanted to make eethos a mind player so bad you don’t understand 😔 but i think he is closer to void in reality. either way he’s a thief — dealing in redistribution of his aspect only to himself, whether consciously or unconsciously. i think void makes sense for eethos because he’s such an unknown to many of the other players (and also to some extent probably himself). a thief of void — taking the mystery from others, knowing them and their secrets and cloaking yourself in them, making yourself an unknown. if void is an aspect more focused inward, also (i like the idea that the central struggle of void players’ character arcs are more personal than some of the other aspects), we could have eethos vs the mortifying ordeal of being known + choosing to stay. which comes back to his class, with thieves having to let others have their aspect as well in order to fully complete their character arc. with that being said eethos “wghats the deal wiht abtrhoom pesnis” mind player will always be real in my heart ok

beedub oh beedub my beloved rogue beedub. rogues typically have the problem, right, where they are capable of redistributing their aspect for the benefit of others but never for themselves. so they try to find others who can help them with it but really just have to learn to stand on their own (and end up finding a source of their aspect that way). this specifically throws beedub n eethos’s friendship into the saddest light because beedub is okay with giving everything to his friends + allies (esp eethos) while quietly hoping they will help him in return, but the thing beedub wants eethos (as a thief) is incapable of giving to him. he can only take, and that’s where their sort of falling out where eethos starts avoiding him and spending more time with others comes from. eethos needs to learn to give to others (not beedub) and beedub needs to learn to stand on his own. ethubs makes me sad. BUT ANYWAYS hope as the aspect of imagination, of being caught up in seeing what could be, of love and trust unconditionally without paying mind to the possible repercussions. that is pretty bdubs-coded i think. he’s a hope player and he’s going to be ok guys he’s going to be fine :)

again feel free to ask me questions abt them !!! lifestuck is in my brain

[novastardoughnut]

Limited Life/Double Life Watchers Wrath Theory

i have a personal theory about the lore connections between limited life, double life and by extent last and 3rd life being that double life didnt have any to speak of.

so as we know in the first 2 series Martyn was called to by the watchers to take out Grian for participating in 3rd life and not simply observing as he was supposed to do being a watcher. the watchers were also not particularly fond of Scott refusing to boogie on at the end of last life thus why they tried to get Martyn to kill him (killing himself in the process). they also denied Scott a true send off of his choosing as with Grian in 3rd life, he was struck down by lightning while grian jumped off a cliff.

so I think in double life they paired Scott and Pearl up again but as a way to torture Scott. i subscribe to the theory that the watchers influenced Martyn to keep Pearl and Scott apart from each other because they were friends in last life using tilly as a familiar of sorts to control and manipulate her. Tilly was in a sense spiritually connected to the watchers, acting as the dark whispers in Pearls ear corrupting her in a much more effecting way than with Martyn hence why she "turned red" so early. the watchers were taking this once close friendship from last life and turning the dagger against Scott for winning the game even though he refused to play "correctly". at the end of double life some part of Scott recognises the watchers influence over Pearl and he yet again choses to not participate, if he fights her the watchers get what they want (the conflict and bloodshed they thrive on) so he chooses to let pearl win after all its what she wanted and blows himself up for Cleo his chosen soulmate because at the end of the day a part of them were still friends and had that connection from their previous series. additionally that's why Grian was paired with Scar, its another way of taking a former alliance and twisting the dagger against them. its also why Grian up until this point has never been picked out as the boogeyman

when Martyn handed over Tilly, something happened to Pearl (partly out of the watchers wanting wrath against Scott, partly because of Martyn's disappointing performance the previous two times and partly because she played her job far better than Martyn did) meaning that connection to Pearl remains. she is still connected to the watchers in a way thus why she asked for tilly from Martyn in episode 2 (I mean she is part of a group called the nosey neighbours who are always watching. seems watchery to me). character Martyn seeing the results of the double life games and how Scott got to the end of 2 different life series I believe that Martyn figures that collaboration with Scott as part of the Mean Gills and maybe being a listener or at the very least aligning with them or somthing (we still know not an awful lot there) is the best way to try and break free from the games if its at all possible. additionally the reason why BigB is in the Nosey Neighbours with pearl (and by extent Dogwarts and the shadow alliance) is because the watchers are trying to spite Grian for breaking the rules and getting involved by ensuring that they can never be together (making sure that there is always someone connected to them or under their sway keeping big B as a form of prisoner) (its why they conveniently lead to BigB being the first red life in double life through death by enderman and creeper (eventually leading to grian killing him at box accidentally))

tl;dr the watchers are angry at Scott and Grian so made Pearl (Scott's Last Life ally) a watcher and made sure Grian was with Scar not BigB and also never the boogey man

if anyone has an alternate theory or can expand of this I am more than willing to hear it out because i am by no means a master of last life lore. also if this theory has already been thought about by the community well its still a really cool conspiracy theory

[a-pipit]

Get Your Head In The Game - Chapter 2

{Pearl POV}

She took Gem by the hand, smiling and leading her to the portal. “Hurry up, Impulse!”

“C’mon! We don’t have all day!” Gem let go of her hand to run up to him.

“I’m comin’, I’m comin’!” Impulse called out, laughing as Gem took him by the hands and brought him over.

She smiled over her shoulder, and she walked inside the portal. “See you on the other side.”

“Welcome, to Swap Life.”

 - Between two and six lives -

- Randomly linked to another player -

- Randomly chosen Boogeyman -

- Use a Forced Swap -

- Cannot set your own spawn -

- Lives can be traded -

- When you turn red, you become hostile -

- Lose five hearts if your link dies -

- Lose your final life, you are out of the game -

- Swap health and places with another player -

- Last man standing Wins -

Good luck, you’ll need it.

She sat up abruptly, hands on untouched grass, a campfire crackling and smoking, the sun rising, and a panicked whispering to her left.

Grian’s gaze was dating around, the color seemed to drain from his face, his hands curled, his wings wrapped around him, and his nails dug into his palms.

Everyone that came into the portal, every single hermits except a few, every player who had and hadn’t played in the life games, was here. Passed out and curled up, they were all unconscious around the campfire.

Gem was half curled up on the ground in front of her, on her side with Impulse behind her in a similar position. She smiled softly and moved Gem closer to Impulse, then she stood up quietly to address the only other awake player in the area.

“Psst, Grian!” She whisper-yelled, evidently startling him.

His head snapped up, panicked for a moment before it slipped away, appearing sheepish instead.. “H-Hey, Pearl.” He smiled weakly.

“Grian. Do you have any idea where we are?” She stared at him incredulously.

“I know, I know! But I can’t control when they happen, you know this!” He defended.

As upset as she wanted to be, she knew he had a point. She sighed. “I know…”

“Look, I’ll explain it to the new guys once they’re all awake, can you get our usuals up?” Behind their brown, near black, eyes, she could tell plans and solutions were forming.

She gave him a look over, his tensions less evident now, she sighed. “Yeah, I can do that.” She nodded.

He smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Pearly.”

She smiled. “Anytime, Griba.”

She turned away to face the sleeping crowd, a mix of people who seemed to thrive here and ones in a world so unlike them.

“This won’t end well, will it?” Only one way to find out.

She started with Gem and Impulse. She knelt down beside them and shook Gem gently. “Gemmy, wake up.”

She hummed sleepily, blinking blearily and pushing herself upright. She seemed calm for all of a couple moments before she looked at her, emerald green eyes sharp.

“Right now?” Gem hissed quietly.

She nodded. “Right now.”

Their eyes widened, they looked between Impulse and the rest of the Hermits. “But, they’re all here!”

Her lips pressed into a line. “Yeah, that’s the issue here. Grian said he’ll sort it out, but for me to gather our usual cast and wake ‘em up.”

They took in the information before nodding, expression serious. “I’ll wake up Impulse and who I can on the right, you get the left.”

She smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Gem.”

They waved it off. “Just a favor for a friend, now let’s get this going before the others get up.”

She smiled, letting Gem turn to Impulse while she headed to the farthest left she could where there was people. Cleo was laid on False’s shoulder, while Tango was rested against a tree with Zed on his lap.

Since Cleo seemed to be in a a more open position, she went to wake them up first. She gently moved them away from False, who only stirred slightly.

She looked Cleo, who was unsurprisingly, still asleep. She was a really light sleeper at night, but it took a lot more to wake her up during the day.

She shook them by their shoulders while whispering, “Cleo, Cleo, Cleo…” which she repeated till said Cleo opened her eyes.

There was a strange look in her eyes, which turned to a slight panic when they spotted False. 

Their head whipped back to her. “The others are here!” She gasped.

She nodded. “I’ll get to the point here. Grian’s going to sort them out, wake up the usuals and tell them the same, try not to wake the others up.”

Cleo nodded. “Right.” 

She moved to the next closest, Bdubs and Etho, while Cleo went to Tango. She could be less cautious here, so she went to Bdubs, who would wake up fairly quickly since he’s got a strict sleep schedule and this didn’t fit.

“Bdubs, get up.” She whispered, tapping them on the shoulder.

It only took a moment for them to wake up, and Etho followed quickly after. They both seemed to know where they were. 

“New game?” Bdubs asked.

She nodded. “New game.”

“But the others are here too.” Etho realized.

Bdubs jumped, looking around the area to see what they saw. “Oh, that’s bad.”

She nodded. “Wake up the usual players, keep quiet, Grian’ll sort the others out later.”

“Tango!” Cleo hissed.

She turned to see Cleo’s nose wrinkled in disgust, and a now awake Tango smiling with mischief and a bit of sheepishness.

“What’s up, Cleo?” Etho asked.

“Tango licked my hand!” She shook it out, glaring at the culprit.

He snickered quietly, gently moving Zedaph off him and leaning them against the tree.

She sighed and smiled, fond, tired, and amused, and went to look for the next Lifer. Gem and Impulse were on the right side with Joel, Scar, Skizz, and Mumbo, who were making work of the remaining on their side.

This was sure to be a game to remember.

 <3  <3  <3 

She paced back and forth, fingers intertwined behind her back, black boots creating prints in the grass from the same steps being taken so many times. All their ususal players were awake and here, minus the non-hermit players. Namely Martyn, Scott, BigB, Lizzie, and Jimmy.

There was a tree behind her,  the others were in a shape resembling an oval. A couple of them stood, like Impulse on the left and Cleo on the far right, while some laid or leaned, like Tango on the tree or Bdubs who gazed at the clouds. The others were sitting in whatever position they found comfortable.

“What is Grian doing…?” She muttered, drawing a hand over her face.

Who knew how long they had before the others inevitably woke up. Whatever Grian needed to inform them of, he needed to get his butt over here before there was no time for it.

Footsteps that weren’t hers came from the right, she halted her pacing to see Grian push through the greenery.

“Look at that, man of the hour finally arrived.” Tango joked.

At least that got something resembling their urgency through her brother’s head, they looked a bit sheepish. “Sorry about the wait, just had to check a couple things.”

Ren smiled. “It’s alright, my dude. But, wha’da we do about them.” He gestured to the other hermits. “They shouldn’t be here.”

Grian grimaced. “Yeah, it’s not great. They’re all linked up to the life system already. There’s no way to get them out of this that I can think of.”

“So, they’re playing this time?” Impulse inquired.

Grian nodded. “Yeah…”

“Well,” Joel started, not seeming evidently bothered by the sudden attention on them. “Let’s give ‘em a real show then, yeah?” They gave a toothy grin.

Her frown turned to a small smile. “Just don’t get too intense right away. But, yeah, let’s give them a game they’ll never forget.” Her eyes flashed crimson red for a moment, then fading as if it was never there.

Chatter amongst them switched to a range of topics, from previous games, to trying to guess who would be out first, to the eventual endgame.

“That’ll definitely be interesting.” Skizz mused with a laugh.

“Not something they’ll see from us usually.” Impulse laughed.

“Like when you get mad!” Tango quipped in. “I think I’ve heard you yell all of twice ever, and it’s always here, nowhere else.”

Blush brushed their cheeks, an embarrassed smile on their face. She smiled fondly, leaning against their shoulder.

Ren, who was to her right, perked up, eyes trained on a spot beyond the trees. “Everyone quiet for a moment.” He whispered.

Conversations silenced near instantly, everyone looking in the direction of something. Etho seemed to hear it too, along with Joel. There were footsteps, fairly loud but not unreasonably, and a bit slower than a normal pace.

“…Ello?” Stress came into view, perking up as she looked them over. “So this is where you all got off to. Was starting to worry back there.” They smiled.

She sent a look to Grian. “Your cue?”

Grian nodded, standing from his spot. “C’mon, I’ll fill you all in.” And led Stress away from their group.

She could only wish him luck explaining their mess of a situation.

{Grian POV}

He led Stresss back to spawn, where the other hermits were doing various things, thankfully not leaving the area.

“Hey everyone.” He greeted, smiling a smile he knew they wouldn’t see through.

“Grian?” Beef looked at him. 

He waved. “Right, so I’ve got a bit of explaining to do here.” He sighed. “Welcome to the seventh life game, and your first.

“Life game?” False echoed.

“A life game is a game that I host every couple months. Limited lives, a random twist, last man standing wins. That’s the gist of it anyways.” He explained.

“I think we’re gonna need a lot more than just that.” Doc huffed.

“Figured as much.” He sat down on the ground.

“So, this is a game called Swap Life. You’ll be given a number of tradable lives ranging from two to six. Four lives and over means you’re dark green, three means you’re lime, two makes you a yellow,” He listed off his fingers. “And when you turn red in your final life, you become hostile.”

“And when you lose your final life…?” Hypno asked.

“When you lose your red life, you’re out of the game. As a red life, that’s your goal, to eliminate as many players as possible.” He explained.

“There’s a randomly selected number of killers every session called boogeymen. They can be chosen so long as they aren’t red, and must kill by the end of the session, or they’ll be set to their final life. As numbers grow, the chances will become less likely.”

“How long is a session?” Zedaph asked, leaning forward.

He thought about it for a moment. “About nine-ish days, give or take. The games usually range from six to nine sessions.” He stopped to think for a moment. “I think that’s all the important aspects of the games. You’ll figure out the rest as you go.”

He pulled out his comm, preparing to start the games and get the others back over here, when he heard his name.

“Grian, I’ve got another question, if that’s alright.” Stress spoke up.

He looked back up at them. “What can I do for ya?”

“You and some of the others were back there, why’s that?” She looked behind him, where his usual players were talking before.

Some part of him thought he should’ve expected this kind of question, but at the same time, he hadn’t expected anyone to pick up on that little detail. 

He switched from the command to start the game to a normal chat message.

[Grian] > Everyone to spawn

He looked back up at her. “Remember how I mentioned this being the seventh life game?”

As he said that, his Lifers appeared through the trees. Some at the front with others peering over their shoulders, weaved between trees and filling the empty spots. He smiled at them, then turned back to the others. 

“All of them have played the games at least once, I was just explaining a couple things to them in private.” 

He should’ve expected the chaos that broke out from there.

 <3  <3  <3 

“Skizz!? Tango!? Impulse!?” Zedaph exclaimed in disbelief. “All three of you!?”

Tango snickered. “Since the first game.” 

“What can I say? It’s fun.” Skizz shrugged.

 <3  <3  <3 

“Etho?”Beef laughed, a bit of shock in his tone. “Of all the people, I never in a million years would’ve expected you to play a death game.”

Etho rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s an interesting change of pace.”

“Oh c’mon Etho! Just admit it’s fun!” Bdubs shoved them lightly.

 <3  <3  <3

He looked around at all of them, all his players that were going to be playing the games. He knew they weren’t ready, but it couldn’t hurt to pretend just a bit longer, could it? 

[myundeadgayson]

okay, now i’m actually watching Joel’s 3rd Episode of Last Life and let me give some of my favorite moments (spoilers ahead!):

THE NEW SKIN!!! HE’S LEAKING BLOOD MAGIC. THAT’S SO COOL, DUDE. the potential for how creepy that looks is EVERYTHING TO ME!!

the dynamic of him and Scar is just. Wonderful to me.

it’s a bit poetic how Scar, the first to reach his Red Life in the previous season and spent the rest of the series living with a Green Life, is now living near the 1st Red Life of this season.

guess we’ll see if they make it as far as Grian and Scar did last season with this dynamic.

anyway, the fact that any time they communicate, Scar breaks some blocks between them like it’ll help. it’s an effort! and it does make Joel laugh, thus bringing some good vibes!

it makes me think that perhaps Scar is the only one left to see the good in Joel. considering they were closest to each other before Joel lost his lives, i think this is Scar clinging to the one ally (the one friend) that he had/has despite all the dangers.

even if it puts himself at risk, Scar REALLY wants to keep what small ties he did have to someone else. (he’s a bit lonely.) and i think it makes Joel feel better knowing at least someone out there doesn’t fear him entirely. it can’t be easy being ostracized from everyone else for something you couldn’t control.

their tentative friendship gives me life.

moving on, Joel cheering about Lizzy!!! SHE AVENGED HIM!! WE LOVE IT HERE<3333 (rip Pearl tho)

AJDKHSGKDJH GRIAN’S SCREAM PLSSSSS

MANS SCREECHED SO LOUDDD. I’M AJSHLKJHSGD. THAT WAS AMAZING TIMING.

Grian: [talking to Scott and Pearl] yeahhh, he set the trap up wrong ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Grian, not even 10 minutes earlier: [casually watching Joel set the trap wrong and not saying anything] yeah, that’ll 100% kill them:)

Etho and BDubs askghdSKHKDG. PLEASEEE. That part is SO FUNNY.

JUST ALL OF 17:22 to 17:35 is just THE BEST THING.

awwww!! well at least we spared Big B!

eh, we could have totally tricked Big B into the trap with enough convincing, but it’s all good. i’m happy we spared him!

Joel, casually sees a forest fire: oh this looks fun:) let me join in:)

IT’S THE FACT I KNOW THAT SCOTT CAUSED THE FIRE TO BURN THE TREES OUTSIDE HIS WALL. AND I WAS WONDERING IF HE ACTUALLY PUT THE FIRES OUT AFTER. WELP, GUESS NOT.

we love Scott SMajor. support your local gay arsonists.

NOT JOEL GOING TO SET THE SOUTHLANDS ON FIRE AFTER. SCOTT, WHAT HAVE YOU STARTED.

well... Scott did say those walls looked very flammable. Joel just proved it was true.

technically that means that Scott didn’t burn down the walls like the Southlands probably expected, but he DID indirectly influence it.

i’ll count that as a win for Scott.

“everyone can’t have walls. i need ways in.” -- Joel Beans, 2021 right after committing acts of terrorism

HE LEFT A TRAIL OF FIRE PELASEHGJKWS.

HE’S LIVING HIS BEST LIFE COMMITTING CRIMES AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I’M HAPPY FOR HIM.

he’s a little unhinged, but it’s fineee:)

KSDHLKG HE STILL MANAGED TO SHOOT MARTYN. GOOD SHOT.

“be careful martyn, my second name is legolas.”

okay, that’s the end. that was such a ride tho. i’m thriving and i can’t wait to see what happens next with Red Wizard Man.

[slimesidian]

Who’s Really In Control

A look into Grian’s mindset as he’s corrupted by the mycelium spores.

TW: manipulation, parasitic mannerisms, suicidal thoughts (near the end), abuse (let me know if i missed anything, please

- Mod Obsidian

¤¤¤

He won the election. 

He wasn't sure how, and he wasn't sure… why, but he won. (He still wasn't sure when he decided to run. He should be more worried about it than he was.)

He looked at the diamond throne, then out at the land he'd run to protect. He'd actually done it, he'd actually won.

Grian headed home, and it wasn't until he got there that he realized he didn't remember the speech he gave after he won.

○○○

He was… hearing something. Voices.

He didn't know how he didn't realize it sooner. But they weren't… his thoughts. 

Plant more mycelium. More mushrooms. They deserve to grow and thrive.

Get some friends to help you! You need more people to help preserve the mycelium and mushrooms.

Mumbo isn't enough. You need more people. It'll help.

He realized he was still in the shopping district. He shook his head, trying to dispel the… the thoughts. 

Grian walked home quicker than he usually would.

○○○

His hands were purple.

Well, not entirely. It was like… strings, traveling up his fingers. (He didn't want to say roots. They were probably roots.)

He tried to wash it off, but it wasn't just stains from working with the mycelium. It was… (a part of him. growing into him. a virus) stuck to him. Or something. 

The mycelium is fine. It's probably from something else.

He didn't completely believe the thoughts that weren't his.

○○○

The mycelium is important. Make sure it's growing. Make sure the mushrooms are growing. Make sure-

Grian tugged at his hair, trying to block out the thoughts that weren't his. He let out a noise of frustration and got up before freezing.

There was something on his head. He scrambled over to the bathroom, panic sprawling up his throat. His breath stopped short.

There was a. a mushroom. In- in his head. He tugs on it slightly, and his breath gets shallow when he realizes that it- it is in his head.

He fell back against the wall, trying to calm his breathing and stop his panic. He pulled up his sleeve. The purple had crawled all the way up his arm. His vision blurred.

The mycelium is good.

(The mycelium is bad bad bad-)

○○○

Grian was in the mayoral building. He didn't remember getting there.

He was doing something. He wasn't doing it himself.

He froze up for a second before ripping his control back to him, stumbling before whipping around. He looked around the room, tense.

Oh, come on. We're not that hard to see.

"Who are you?" Grian whispered, backing out of the building. The voice laughed.

Oh, you know who I am. You've just been denying it.

"Okay, fine." Grian sighed, glancing at the mycelium ground around him. "What do you even want?"

We're keeping ourselves safe. You think we want to die? No one wants to die. You were available.

"You-" Grian swallows, trying not to shake. "Have you been- been taking control of me?"

Only recently. It took a… long time to get there. You are our host, after all.

"I'm not just gonna let you do whatever you want, you know." Grian pulled down the sleeves of his sweater. "It's not like I want you here."

Oh, we know. You won't be a problem for long. You'll give up eventually. 

Grian huffed a laugh. "You don't know me very well. I don't give up very easily."

○○○

It was getting stronger.

Grian rubbed his eyes, trying to keep himself from shaking. From cold, from stress, from sickness? He wasn't sure.

He broke out of it, a lot, at first. But it seemed to get stronger every time. 

He didn't do it as often anymore. 

He could also… remember, now. Remember what was happening when he wasn't in control.

He- the mycelium had taken control of Impulse and Ren now, too. He remembered his panic, how he tried to snap the control. (Not them not them not anyone else please-)

He remembered how he immediately stopped talking when he heard each of their thoughts in his head.

He probably would've been crying.

Grian shook his head, rubbing at his eyes and shivering. It was… so cold, down here. And damp. He didn't really have much choice, though. 

The spores need a damp place to grow. You are sleeping down here. You are ours now, even if you don't believe it yet.

Grian was going to be so sick if- when he got out of this.

(Was he going to get out? No- stop. He was, he was, he was-)

○○○

He'd been trying to tell Scar what was happening, as subtly as he could. When he was in control, at least.

And something had gotten through, because he had come to check on him, with Mumbo and Iskall.

He wasn't able to get control back while they were there.

So, they left, still with no real evidence that something happened. Grian sighed in frustration.

We told you you couldn't do anything. You are ours now. It's time you gave up and accepted it. We have control.

Grian didn't say anything, his thoughts stuck in his head.

He had a chance, there. But it was too strong, and he couldn't warn his friends. He hadn't been able to do anything.

There's nothing you can do about this.

(There's… there's nothing I can do about this..)

○○○

Grian kind of just… floated there, for a while. It wasn't like he could do anything. (There was nothing he could do, he was useless here, it had control, he could do nothing nothing nothing-)

Anyone else connected was probably… worried about him (did the mycelium get everyone else on his team? Did he really fail that badly? But what could he do?-). But he never really tried to communicate with them. He could see what was happening, what it was doing, but it was like he was… fuzzy. He couldn't really do anything about it. (He couldn't do anything if he tried.)

He sighed, and it felt like the fuzzy numbness overtook him.

○○○

His…. friends were here. Mumbo, Scar, and Iskall. He could vaguely hear them talking to him- to it.

He didn't know why they were here.

He was saying something to them. Whatever he said it made them look… shocked, he thinks. Something like that.

More people came into the room.

It looked like Scar was preparing a spell. He didn't know what it was for. (It was probably for him. He was hurting people. He gave up. They were getting rid of him. (A part of him thought, finally.))

His friends were fighting. (They were fighting because he hurt them. Because he corrupted them. It was his fault-) Scar looked like he was almost done with the spell.

Grian saw Scar fire the spell off before pain engulfed him and he saw black.

[hermitcraftheadcanons]

Zombie Apocalypse AU Masterpost

"There are a few groups that aren't aware of each other's existence. (Architechs, NHO, Convex, ect.) The NHO are made up of all men from millitaries across the globe. Cleo isn't a zombie either, she is a zombie whisperer. She can communicate slightly with zombies and they aren't usually negotiable."

(Paraphrased,) from @creator0fchaos' Zombie Apocalypse AU entry for The Follower Input AU.

Headcanons to start us off:

-Convex were two men from a small buisness. Jellie is also around but she's injured and is mostly carried around by Scar.

-Etho got bit pretty early on and everyone in the NHO knows they're gonna have to do something about it but they're putting it off. Etho seems fine.

-Bdubs is slowly going completely feral. (Possible reference to season 5's jungle feral?) DocM joked he had rabies and the two got into a fight.

-Iskall lost his eye after Mumbo accidentally slashed him with a knife while trying to protect Grian from a hoarde. Iskall ended up getting lumped in with the Architech group because Mumbo feels super guilty about it.

-Xisuma and Keralis came into contact with the NHO for a bit. Keralis and Bdubs nearly became friends but Beef and Doc scared em away. Angst.

-The zombies fear False.

-XB originally planned to just stay in his house and not go out. He was prepared, okay? He had tinned food to last him at least a decade, zombie proof armour and god knows what else supplies. His friend, Hypnotizd, is fleeing to there because he knows XB knows what he's doing.

-Wels wears armour because it's the best he had. Same with Biffa and Xisuma. In this AU, they probably wouldn't be wearing armour if not given the circumstances.

-Jevin has turned this into a game to kill as many zombies as possible.

-Impulse, Tango and Zedaph are all just having a good time trying to survive in the woods. Their main goal is to open a tin of beans Zed has but they don't have a tin opener.

-Rendog found a tin of dog food while scavenging. He was hungry and ate it. He now has an addiction to tinned dog food.

-Wels wears medieval armour in the zombie au because at one point he was trapped in a museum by a horde and like, the armour was technically there. On display. No one was using it.

-Etho wears the mask as kind of a mental reminder not to bite his friends.

-Joe and Stress are hanging with Cleo and even if the small group isn’t the best equipped or prepared, they have thrived thanks to Cleo’s ability to whisper to zombies. It might not stop the zombies but it buys the group time to escape.

–Zombie!Etho is hiding the fact that he’s turning, if not already turned into a zombie, from the rest of the NHO because he loves being with his friends. The problem is that it’s getting harder every day to control himself and he’s constantly fighting between telling the rest of them about it, and having them put him out of his misery to keep them safe, or just keep hiding it, afraid that one day it’ll be too late he won’t be able to control himself and bite them all.

-Someone gets like a really bad case of the flu, this is problem because usually survivors have to stay in the move consistently to survive and that’s hard when someone is really sick, it also bad because all pharmacies have been raided and there’s no medicine.

-Grian originally came from Sam and Taurtis's group but due to Sam's insanity, Grian pulls away and went surviving on his own. That when Mumbo came to photo and knowing that he won't survive the zombie wasteland alone, Grian took it as his task to convince Mumbo make a partnership with him.

-Joe was playing D&D when the outbreak started, and Cleo was in his group. They treat it as a game sometimes, though they toned it down a bit when Stress joined because she was still grieving Iskall. Stress makes them stay around where she lost Iskall, but Joe and Cleo don't mind because she has a base set up there.

-For no fault of his own, the nHo crumbles while doc is in control. They had been losing members for a while but when beef, Bdubs, etho, and doc part ways it’s the draw the broke the camels back, so doc is the only one left of the nho, the rest of them, having either left or died. Doc blames himself for everything going so wrong.

-For the zombie AU because nobody's representing my boy X: Xisuma is known as a master at evading the zombies (he can fight them well if needed but he is best at avoiding incidents altogether). He claims to wear the mask for practical reasons, but what the others don't know is that it hides how terrified he is. He hides his fear because he doesn't want people to lose confidence in him, but getting turned and losing control of his mind is his worst nightmare.

-TFC’s gone for a bunker theme for s6+s7, so maybe, he finds a nHo member, and just drags them down into his bunker, probably chewing them out for walking around alone?

-For the zombie au is ethos mask like a medical one, or was he in a kakashi cosplay for some reason and kept it because all the pockets were practical and then started wearing the mask because he got infected.

-After Stress and Iskall reunite, Joe and Cleo join the Architechs. False joins them after seeing Cleo whisper to the zombies and realizing that the group severely lacks fighters. I need the hermits to (at least mostly) get together!

-TFC is obviously a disaster prepper who has a fully furnished bunker that can house a lot of people. He has been broadcasting this to other survivors using a radio. Unfortunately, he lives in the middle of nowhere and it is a trek to get there, but the Vault (as he calls it) is self-sustaining. (I know this is obvious, but nobody has done anything with TFC yet, and that's a shame)

-Even though he’s scared about not being alert enough to protect his team, Xisuma hides his sickness, which is easy with the helmet, because he’s the leader and he can’t be weak. Due to the pain of the flu and the heat of fever staying trapped inside his helmeted eventually falls to his knees and breaks down.

-Mumbo is wearing a suit because he was on his way to a job interview when the outbreak started, he just never bothered to change clothes.

-Etho used to love making up little tunes, and that hasn't changed since he was bitten. Nevertheless, the others in his group haven't heard him make music since. He blames a lack of instruments because of being on the run from zombies. The morning after he left, though, they find an old recorder where his sleeping bag was, and once they hit play they're greeted with songs in a familiar style, backed by improvised instruments.

Even without saying anything they *know* what had happened, and the recorder is taken along on their journey to a safe haven. Sometimes, when the feeling of missing their friend gets too much, they put on the music in the evening and just allow themselves to cry.

-Well, i was thinking maybe stress was a loner, but like, not completely alone, she was with someone else, probably Cleo or Iskall, but they got bit, she felt too bad to kill them so she wanders around with a zombie friend on a madeup leash, sorry if it sounds sad but i like angst and it seemed like a good headcanon -🐿️

-TFC is the one to get to Beef and break down the wall he had built up after a while of wandering alone after breaking off from the nHo. He finds Beef fighting a group of zombies and after observing how violently Beef was hacking down the zombies, TFC did not see a hardened fighter, but a broken man and went to talk with him.

-Alternate timeline idea when grian was still traveling with Sam and tortoise. Sam end up doing something that results in grian and tortoise getting bitten, because of that Sam leaves them. Now grian is not a normal zombie he doesn’t crave human flesh but rabbit flesh because he’s so hell-bent on getting revenge for what Sam did to him and tortoise, tortoise ends up tagging along. Cleo ends up finding them and discover their not normal zombies and inviting them to stay with her group.

-For the zombie apocalypse AU, RE: Cleo and Joe's DND game - imagine them going into a fight and just screaming "ROLL INITIATIVE!"

-Ok but imagine if like that one anon said, grian was already a zombie but like, one that only wants animals. I imagine they could probably get him to behave normally and imagine the mumbo turning angst but grian is already a zombie and just helps him not loose himself.

-For the Zombie Au, instead of killing Mumbo before he turns, the group locks him in a room and leave him there in hopes that they can bring him back once theres a cure. Whether or not, Mumbo wants to be saved is up to you. If Cleo's still in the group then you could have her "talk" to Zombie Mumbo for bonus angst.

-After finding out that Etho's still out there, Beef becomes more determined than ever to help find a cure. In the bunker he often ends up buzzing around Scar and Cub, desperate for something to do to help. It can get a bit awkward but they understand he's just desperate to see his friend again and are usually able to provide small tasks to help him keep his mind busy (with something other than worrying for Etho) while they continue working toward a cure.

(All those above in red are from our community's lovely Anons!)

-Vintagebeef was the first to notice something was off about Etho. He asked Etho about it but Etho assured him he was fine. Beef asked, 'what if you spread it to the other people in group?' Etho claimed that 'if it was contagious without physical contact, everyone would have caught it by now.'

-Speaking of Vintage Beef, he feels the most lonely and hopeless out of all the NHO members. Etho is probably gonna die from being a zombie soon. Bdubs and Doc are always at each other's throats and Beef fears one of them may accidentally kill the other. He's terrified that he may be the only one left.

-Hypnotizd is the most likely to be bit next. Dude’s running to XB’s house basically defenseless until he gets there, we have no clue how far he has to travel.

(-@tomcatacaphe.)

-You could very easily bring s5 nho angst into this au... Etho leaves to protect his friends from himself, Beef leaves because he can't bare to see his friends fight so much, Bdubs and Doc get in a fight and Bdubs storms off, and Doc is left to try and lead the nho by himself (since you said it's a kind of paramilitary thing here). Ouch.

-Knowing Mumbo's love for bunkers and the dragon bro bunker from s6, the architechs have probably settled somewhere underground to have a somewhat normal life. And, given the combined tech prowess of Iskall and Mumbo, they could easily rig up defence systems to help.

-in regards to that ask about X getting ill, maybe that's where Keralis joins him! He's totally the type to stay with you when sick! :D

-Continuing from that anon, if I may. So far we have Griam, Mumbo, Iskall, Stress, Joe, Cleo, and False all living together... The chaos xD ! You could even bring in hermit challenges as smth they make to, y'know, lighten the mood :D

(-@rebloging-extravaganza.)

-OOF I never thought about Taurtis wandering alone but that's sad. Iskall was also originally with Stress. They are wandering together until a snow storm separates them. Iskall finds Mumbo and Grian and then Mumbo thought he was a zombie cause this man just came out of nowhere. Grian and Mumbo took him in. When Iskall came back to the place where him and Stress gets separated, they saw each other again. What's the first thing he did? He hugged the hell outta her.

-Stress was tired cause the next thing she knew after the storm is that she’s alone. So, she thought for the worst, she thought Iskall was dead. She made a small shelter in the place, tamed a lot of dogs and even made a gravestone for Iskall.

When Stress saw him, her first thought was to get the weapon from the sheath and attack but Iskall started talking. The next thing she knew was she is crying and hugging him tight. 

(-@penumbra-rui.)

-After Beef leaves the nHo, he becomes quite a loner. He gets a nickname from other groups even though they don’t know who he is: the Butcher. He gets the name because when groups are being seized down by dozens of zombies, Beef comes in and kills the zombies - every single one - with only his token bloodied apron left behind, waving on a stick. He has hundreds of those aprons and is never seen killing the zombies by the besieged groups.

-When Impulse runs away, he runs into BDubs while in a run down brick building with part of it having been blown up in what looks like a plane bomb. The building seems to have been a local demolition business known simply as ‘Boomers.’

-Before the apocalypse began, Scar was an upper level agent of the FBI tasked with protecting top level cancer researchers across the United States. One of those top cancer researchers was patient 0 and was the original discoverer of the zombie infection (patient 0 was not a Hermit). However, Scar believes it’s his fault for not having intervened when he could have. It’s now his mission to find a way to fix it. He comes across business mogul Cub, who may have the funds to help.

-https://hermitcraftheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/618407386827423744/hypno-has-been-living-with-xb-for-the-last-two XB and Hypno meet: A post too long to copy paste here.

(-@creator0fchaos.)

-After Tango explodes the beans Impulse claims he’s leaving. Z and T think he just kidding but when they wake up the next morning Inpulse is gone. Now Zed and Tango are on a mission to find impulse while also terrified that he’s been bit.

-Continuation of the impulse leaves thing, tango and Zed find and save him just in time. They all reunite and are happy. The problem is that Zed was bit in the process, for now he’s binding it, because tango and impulse were so happy to be reunited and zed didn’t want to ruin it.

-Zed never ends up telling his friends that he was bit, the figure out themselves a few days after it happens. At first they’re mad that zed hid it from them, telling him how he could have turned and hurt them. But a minute late they break down in tears realizing what the bit means for them all. They will discuss what to do in the morning but for now they will grieve.

-Even more of the zit story: In the morning they decide to keep zed around until he really starts turning, they will then kill him so he’s not a zombie, zed protests this wanting them to kill him now, fearing for the other’s safety, but he’s actually really happy to have a bit longer with his friends. Impulse feels guilty because this never would have happened if he hadn’t left, tango also feels guilty because if he never exploded the beans, then impulse wouldn’t have left and zed would be fine.

(-@lookitsspacekween.)

-Xisuma is known as a master at evading the zombies (he can fight them well if needed but he is best at avoiding incidents altogether). He claims to wear the mask for practical reasons, but what the others don't know is that it hides how terrified he is. He hides his fear because he doesn't want people to lose confidence in him, but getting turned and losing control of his mind is his worst nightmare.

-Xisuma could be that person who gets the flu from an earlier submission! It would really scare him because of not being as alert or functional to avoid the zombies. I feel like he doesn't have a set group of people he stays with, so someone would probably find him holed up somewhere with a bad fever and decide to stay with him.

-If Mumbo ever gets bitten his zombie form is his cursed skin from after he sold his bits, it NEEDS to be lol.

-I came here to post immune!Rendog only to find that someone already did! Anyway, Ren is immune, which is good because the man gets bitten A LOT (the diggity dawg is not the best fighter). I feel like he gets lost and comes across the NHO base, and Doc won't let him in at first because he's covered in bites. He probably puts him in a containment cell out of typical Doc paranoia but eventually figures it out.

-Doc tried his hardest to be distant with Ren (because he thought he was going to turn/die soon and didn't want to get attached) but Ren just asks questions and talks 24/7 until Doc gives in and talks to him out of loneliness. Doc probably keeps him in containment for a really long time, first for fear of him turning and then because he's afraid Ren will leave (like everyone else left him.)

-Ren is very calm and cheery through the whole containment thing because he FULLY believes this is all a dream. Like, okay, this German robot man says I'm going to die in a week? Cool! Have to remember to write this one down when I wake up. Doc cannot convince him otherwise and it frustrates him to no end (when he does realize it's real though he's going to have a full breakdown.)

-Mumbo focuses in way too hard when he's working and blocks out everything else. If he gets bitten it will be because he was too absorbed in a redstone project and forgot to check his surroundings.

-When Mumbo gets bitten, Grian makes it his duty to comfort him and keep him calm until the end. Iskall, however, is overcome by guilt. He had been out for supplies when it happened; usually it was his job to watch Mumbo's back while he worked, alternating between fighting zombies and giving jokingly snarky commentary on Mumbo's redstone. He definitely blames himself and won't let the others out of his sight afterward.

-A break from angst! Zombie whisperer!Cleo's talents work by communicating with the infection in the zombies' bodies. Immune!Rendog has the infection, it just doesn't affect him in a dangerous way. Therefore, Cleo is now a Ren whisperer. Hilarity ensues.

-Once Xisuma starts feeling a bit better, he organizes his group to dig underground tunnels for people to travel with less chance of zombie attack (construction Keralis is a big help!) The leadership comes naturally to him, and the hard work is a good way of building up his strength again. Working late into the night on the tunnels is also the perfect excuse not to sleep....

-(post-cure). It takes several weeks, but Doc finally manages to find Etho. When he receives the cure his first words are "Thank you" and "I'm so sorry" (like a true Canadian). While his mind is returned to him, some parts of his body are too decayed to be salvaged, but that's no obstacle for Doc. He builds custom cybernetics and eagerly welcomes his old friend back to the land of the living.

(-@shadeswiftdraws.)

-Mumbo, being really good with redstone, obviously has anti-zombie weapons he made himself. One day he goes out scavenging to find Grian fighting zombies armed with only a large hunting knife, a sledgehammer (probably from whatever build he was working on at the time of the outbreak), and his tiny gremlin speed and agility. (-@my-cat-is-a-bastard.)

-One of the Hermits (up to you which one) is somehow immune to the zombie virus. The catch: they don't know until they get bit. Them and the rest of their group is scared and prepares to kill them when the transformation is complete, but it never happens. The scientist of their group does a couple of tests and discovers their immunity!

-I was thinking about it for a bit, and I doesn’t seem like there’s been much done with Ren... (besides eating dog food lol)

-Happy ending time 'cause I can't stand seeing them all turn! Once Doc realizes Ren is immune, they venture out trying to find another group to create a cure. After gathering some/most of the other Hermits, they come across Scar, and they work on and create a cure/vaccine. The rest of the Hermits take it, and maybe they're even able to cure Etho and the other zombified Hermits! (Sorry if this is too cheesy/happy; I just want everything to be okay, y'know?)

-All everyone speaks of are the physical changes, but one must set the record straight: No matter how horrifying the outward changes are, the mental and emotional ones are far worse. Your friend’s behavior will take a turn for the worse. They’ll become more aggressive, more impulsive, less cautious. They’ll start fights for a laugh, they’ll yell and thrash and scream at the mildest inconvenience, their mind will devolve and fade away. By the time you must say your goodbyes, they will no longer be the friend you knew. They will be childish, angry, insane, and horrible in every way. Even if they fight the illness and outer changes, their behavior will still be impacted and subject to change.

Be wary of this if you choose to let your friend live, and prepare not only your body, but your mind, for the worst.

-Patient Zero could be GenerikB.

(-@12u3ie.)

-I feel like team ZIT keeps putting off taking care of Impulse. Like Etho, Impulse just keeps fighting the changes. They all expect him to wither away, fall down and die one day, isn't that how it always goes?, but that's not how the infection works. They don't get sicker and weaker, in fact most of the people who die from one bite actually die from gangrene and/or septic shock. (Human mouths are GROSS.) But our boys don't know this. They've taken good care of his bite, even if it felt pointless at first, and avoided infection, and as a result he's physically completely healed now. So they end up never NEEDING to kill Impulse, but at what cost? He's constantly anxious about losing control. He can barely even sleep, what if it makes him sleepwalk and he bites his friends then? Tango and Zedaph see him changing still. They see his skin getting pale and dull, his eyes growing hollow, even see he's losing a lot of weight, but they put it up to his sleeplessness, to how they have to remind him, almost force him to eat real food. What sort of life does Impulse really have now? Is it really better to just end it? (What if he and Etho meet?)

Sorry, I've just seen the way this subversion of the Zombie Bite = Zombie Dead trope is going with Etho, and I HAD to get bitten!Impulse in on it as well. Now I can't stop thinking about exactly how this virus works, so I'm gonna hit post before I get WAY too into it and make a text wall.

-https://hermitcraftheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/618456845293633536/the-first-thing-you-notice-is-the-bite-it-stings How the virus works. (Tw gore, worms.)

(-@basaltdragon.)

-Bdubs definitely slept through the beginning of the apocalypse and had no idea what was going on for a while. He just kept doing his normal thing until someone told him what was happening. (-@miss-oleum.)

-I saw a post that mentioned Taurtis in the zombie apocalypse au, so I think this idea would be cool? I think from context clues Etho and Beef are kinda traveling together, but what if they run into Pause! Pause is super stoked to finally be around people in this mess (Team Canada, no less!!) but the dread kicks in when he notices the look in Etho's eyes, and how much paler he is than usual. Maybe he even notices the signs before Beef (who prolly def. noticed but is in severe denial about it). (-@853dragons.)

-https://hermitcraftheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/618477192694939648/you-know-what-im-just-going-to-add-my-2-cents-on

-To the surprise (and delight) of everyone in the Bunker, Beef is a deasent Redstoner. He's still a bit rusty at it tho. But he Knows how to work around those dust if he put his mind it. And after the... Insident with Mumbo, they need all the help they can get with the Redstone. And the first time he fix a redstone contraption on his own he said to his spectators (any Hermit of your choice), "What? You thought I was all Beef but no Brains?"

(-@tearosepedall.)

And now, Writing!

-It's the hunger that's the worst. Gnawing and ever-present, no matter what he eats, he can't escape the emptiness that's settled into his stomach. Etho stares dully down at the can someone - probably Beef - had pushed into his hands, before spearing a handful of syrupy fruit and swallowing it. It does little to satiate the hunger crawling through his every being. And why would it? It's not fruit he's hungry for anymore. (Anon.)

-Fear curls around him like an unwanted friend, a fiend of mist and smoke that blankets his nerves and quickens his heart. He stares dully at the scene before him, at the massacre his group had just barely avoided, as an awful storm of what-ifs swirl through his mind. His hands shake. "X?" Someone asks, "Are you okay?" Xisuma sucks in a deep breath, curls his hands into fists, and turns towards Keralis. "I'm fine," he lies. (Anon.)

-"Hello there. If you are listening to this, we are gone and long forgotten. This base of ours is yours to use now. I'm sure there'll still be some supplies and cans of food left-" "Not if I eat them first!" "Gr- Grian! I'm recording!" "I know that, you spoon." Grian took a few steps forward and stuck his face up to the camera lens. "Hi there!" "Grian! This is serious work." "C'mon, we're always serious! What's wrong with a little bit of fun during the zombie apocalypse?" (12u3ie.)

-(Biffa's POV) I met Xisuma a couple weeks ago. He saved my life, and I joined his crew. We're good friends now, and I hope he trusts me. It just seems like there's something off about him, but not in a zombie way. The way he hesitates before saying he's fine, how his eyes widen for just a moment before battle... the way he mumbles in his sleep about an evil counterpart... (12u3ie.)

-Hands corral him, pushing him forward. Mumbo twists and writhes, trying to escape from the iron grip pulling him forward. Where his tongue still capable of forming complex sounds, he would be protesting vehemently. Nowadays, words are harder to come by, too clunky and heavy for his tongue to try. As it is, he can barely even manage the word no. 'I don't want this!' He screams, but only Cleo spares him a glance. Her eyes shine, wet with tears and pity that turns his stomach.

"We'll find a cure," Someone else promises. From a haze of shattered memories, a face forms. It takes another moment for him to remember a name. Grian. His voice is flat, toneless, but edged with iron and a promise. With one final pull, he's dragged into the windowless room, lined with lockers and benches. Mumbo's breath rattles heavily in his chest, as the iron door swings shut behind him. "I'm so sorry." Whispers seep through the thin walls. "I can't believe he bit Ren." (Anon.)

More to be added!

[writing-the-end]

LoL Chapter 13: From the Sea

Masterpost

A Wizard Hermits tale (AU belongs to @theguardiansofredland )

Eremita, the island the hermits call home, has always been their safe haven. No one dares to enter the Ashioll sea. They are safe on Eremita.

Until now. 

_________________________________________________

Etho hates night. Funny, for a shadow ninja mage. Except that the night has no shadows, unless the moon is bright. People always think that shadow means darkness, but Etho knows it’s the exact opposite. Shadows need light.

Either way, he hates the night. And walking back from Xisuma’s tower, he huddles close to the lantern he carries. At least the wind has died down from the storm, though the dirt paths that traverse from home to home are muddy and clinging to Etho’s shoes. Ugh, those are going to be a pain to clean, the fabric takes forever to dry. 

A rustling noise in the tall grass brings him out of his internal complaining, and Etho raises his lantern to see farther ahead. The grass at the edge of the beach shifts, a low groan escaping the darkness beyond. Etho groans. “Cleo, if this is another prank of yours, it’s not working. You can’t prank me.” 

No answer. Etho steps closer. “Or maybe it’s Grian. May I remind you that time I let you sleep in when you were supposed to be training? I’m cashing in that good favor.” Still nothing. “Grian?” 

A fireball erupts from the grass, sending Etho diving into the dirt to avoid his hair being set on fire. The projectile crashes into the stone roof of TFC’s cave, embers falling off and onto the grass below, where it fizzles away on the wet ground. For a second, Etho wonders if it’s Tango pulling the prank. He wouldn’t be surprised- the ZIT trio has had their hand in a number of pranks on the island. 

But the form that appears from the grass is none of Etho’s friends. The grey form saps all the warmth from Etho’s lantern, tattered remains of a robe falling apart as the husk wizard moves. Empty eyes of the soulless remains lay on the shadow wizard, and fire collects in the husk’s hand. Aiming for Etho. 

Just enough fire for a shadow to be cast. Seconds before he almost becomes roast ninja, he sinks into the shadow realm. Racing across the dimension, he finds the next closest shadow- False’s forge. “False! We’re under attack!” 

False snorts awake, bouncing her head off the stone oven behind her. At the single word ‘attack’, she’s on her feet. The blacksmith grabs the nearest weapon, a sakura yari, swinging the three pronged spear at the nearest threat. The tip of the blade was still burning red. “Where is it, who is it? Are they pirates, zombies? Zombie pirates?” 

“We already have one of those, and she’s on our side! There’s husks on the island.” False blinks away the sleep lingering in her eyes, tossing the half made spear in lieu for her claymore. 

“I’ll wake up Impulse and Tango, you go get the others awake.” False orders, and the only two awake hermits split apart again. 

Well, two of three. Of course, the local poet was awake, quill running across his non-magic journal. Writing poems and essays for no reason other than he likes to. Joe will admit it was his...guerrilla tactics of writing and the passive aggressive nature of his works that got him kicked out of his past three previous guilds. Lucky for him, the hermits thrive off his witty nature and smarmy quips, whether they be elegant or crass. He hardly looks up when he hears the sound of howling, teeth snapping. He leans back, looking at the ink on his journal in the dying candlelight. Once he feels satisfied with the way his words weave together in his poem, he sets it down. 

And notices the fight going on outside. His glasses jolt off his nose, the library shaking and shifting to the noise of an explosion. Joe sighs, seeing hellfire rips across the pathways, greenery, and gardens in the center of the hermit’s living quarters. Tango really can’t hold himself back, can he? 

Joe stands, shutting his book and placing it on the bed stand. He digs the feather to rest along his ear, pinning it in place with his glasses. He brushes the grumbs of his late-night snack off his pajama pants, and steps outside. 

“Hey Joe!” Zedaph calls, riding atop the back of a peryton. “How’s a little late night fighting for you?” 

Zedaph points forward, and his small army of local wildlife charges. Joe blinks the weariness from his eyes, and jumps into action. The husks appear from the darkness, flanking Impulse in the smoke his explosions have created. Well, it’s a good thing he has his quill. 

If there’s one thing Etho’s glad about, it’s Impulse and Tango’s bright magic. The fires of Tango’s hellbound magic, the bright blossoms of Impulse’s explosions, they cast bright shadows all across the island. One second Etho’s racing from False’s forge, the next he’s skidding out of the shadows in front of Wels’s cottage. He brushes his fingers against the wooden door, but senses no shadows beyond the walls. Dammit, he’s already asleep? Etho must’ve really given him a workout training together. 

“Wels!” Etho calls, clambering onto his roof. There’s a chimney, and the fire is out at the bottom. Etho shrugs, and jumps in. Etho presses his hands and feet against the cobbled material, slowing his fall into a silent roll. His shout was less silent. “Wels we’re under attack!” 

The paladin leaps from bed, brandishing a knife Etho didn’t realize he even had. Does...does Wels sleep with a knife under his pillow? He shakes his untamed hair from his eyes, locks free from their ponytail as sleep disappears from his. “Who’s attacking? Lemme at em.” 

“Husks, now come on man, we don’t have time to waste.” Etho helps Wels find the bare essentials of his armor, sifting through his friend's dark cottage till his fingers run against metal. What Etho wouldn’t give to light a candle, just to help. And more shadows to run through. Once Wels is ready to fight, the two bust down the door together.

Most of the other hermist are awake, battling across the island. Grian swoops low, weaving through ashen bodies and casting wind spells to send them knocked to the ground. From there, the other hermits are able to deal swift blows, whether with weapon or magic. Wels and Etho glance at each other. “Bet you I can down more enemies than you.” 

“You’re on, paladin.” Etho grins, pulling free his weapon. A deadly short sickle unfolds from the metal chains around it, twirling in the air behind Etho. He dashes into the middle of battle, unleashing his kusarigama upon an unfortunate wizard’s husk. Not like there was anything left- just the dying body. It wasn’t even a zombie- there was no life remaining. 

He whips the chain out, snapping the iron bell at the end against the husk’s arm. It breaks the spell being cast, turning the blighted body’s attention to Etho. But the ninja is gone, invisible in the dark night. Leaping from behind, the chain snatches it’s victim by the legs and pulls them out from under it. Etho rolls away pulling the husk with him. And digging the curved blade into his opponent. Ash breaks around him like shreds of paper, the husk gone. 

Iskall traps a small pack of colocolo, laughing as the demonic rats sink into his puddle of iskallium. Melting away to ash and green goop. He turns his gaze onto his next enemy, looking out across the roiling sea. The husks are attacking like an army, but what are they after? How did they even get here, know they were here? Stress zips by, skating along ice and freezing a line of monsters escaping the sea. Marching into land in a perfect line. Like they’re being commanded. 

His emerald eye glints, training on the darkened water before him. There’s something out there. No- someone. Iskall turns, searching for TFC in the crowd of fighting hermits. “Hey man, there’s someone out there!” 

TFC turns, hand reaching out with his hand behind him and casting a defensive spell. The attacking husk, the remains of an arcane guard falling back. TFC switches the bloodstone in his hand for Iolite. “Hey Impulse, give me a bit of light!” 

“You got it man!” Impulse calls, waving a series of bright explosions around TFC. Not only do the explosions keep husks from attacking the distracted guildmaster, but it blossoms enough illumination to see beyond the dark waves. What he sees just beyond the light doesn’t really help. He catches a glint of something shiny, but what he notices most is the form's reaction to the light. They step away, movement fluid and living. 

A commander, someone controlling the army. TFC growls, eyes narrowing. This must be the dark mage, the person causing all this. Someone has to grab them. “Stress!” 

The ice wizard skids to a stop, spikes of ice digging into husks in a concentric circle around her. TFC nods out to sea, where she follows the two boys’ gaze. It takes her a minute to fix her eyes on the darkness, but it’s easy to notice the shadow figure- they stand out against the ripples and waves of the ocean. And they definitely don’t look like they’re falling apart like a husk. “Alright, let’s see who’s causin’ my friends trouble ‘ere.” 

Stress sprints forward, thick snow boots pounding against burnt grass. Her eyes remain fixed on the person out at sea, standing on the water as if it were tile. The form doesn’t move, and for a second Stress swears she can see a glint of white teeth grinning back at her. They think she’s forgotten about the ocean, the waves crashing onto the shore. She jumps over the first rippling wave, crashing weakly against the shore behind her. 

And when her boots meet water, the sea beneath her freezes. The ice skims across the waves, traveling her with it like a sled across snow. She jumps over a wave, running over the water. Each place her feet touch water, ice freezes outward and supports her weight. The figure seems alarmed, struggling at Stress’s approach. She gets close enough to see a hand move. 

A massive rogue wave rises above Stress. Threatening to swallow her whole, the crest falling towards the ice mage like an avalanche. Stress raises her hands, magic swirling free as she attempts to protect herself. The wave crashes. 

From the shore, TFC watches. Xisuma and Iskall are holding back the husks, allowing the guildmaster to focus on his wizards. Do his job, both as a leader and a father figure. The wave crashes in on itself, revealing the sea behind it. He can’t see the figure. He can’t see Stress. Behind him, TFC hears the hermits calling out, the sound of the fight quieting. But he’s not focused on that. He’s worried about Stress. 

Oh, what he wouldn’t give for xB to be back. To have a kipling to dive into the water and search for Stress. But him and a few others were still gone, on a mission in east Lairyon. TFC frets, pacing back and forth. He knows Stress is strong- she’s the strongest hermit out there. She left her title as a duchess purely for the desire to pursue her magic, to be free and have fun. She can lift even the heaviest of weights, something that she loves to boast over after a few beers. Stress is strong, and tenacious. But he still worries, the same way he worries over every hermit. He’s their leader, and their his guildmembers. They’re his family- he’d be worried if any other one was out there.

 He’s going in. He steps a foot down onto the beach, but snaps his head up at the sound of water splashing. Stress is at the surface, sputtering but alive. Her heavy robe weighs her down, and she crawls herself onto a slab of ice, kicking her way to shore. 

Stress washes onto the sand, her lungs aching and fist clenched around something. The wave throttled her, forcing her deep into the water with no idea which way was up. She wasn’t the only one down there- the figure was also knocked over by her magic, thrown into the ocean. They disappeared, but not before Stress grabbed hold of something at their waist. Whatever she holds right now. 

“Did we win?” Stress questions, seeing her friends surrounding her. They’re bloody and bruised, ash and husk cinders smeared on their face. But she’s just glad to see them all. 

“As soon as you and that stranger went under, they retreated.” Iskall looks up, grimacing. “Sorry about your barn, Zedaph.” 

Zed shrugs. “It wasn’t your fault, I’m just glad my sheep and other critters are a-okay. Plus, now I can build an even better one!” 

“What’s in your hand, Stressy?” BDubs questions, pointing to her fist. Stress sits up, welcoming a blanket from Ren’s imagination magic and the warmth of Tango’s hellfire. 

Stress looks down, raising the material up. “Its ahhhh…” She peers closer, realizing what it is. She sobers up, her back straightening like she’s at a noble dinner. “It’s a Guild Council belt.” 

The gold tassel strings at the end of the rope sash is enough for them all to know. Only those seated on the Council are given such adornment, a symbol of their dedication and hard work to the kingdom. Iskall bites his lip, pieces falling in together. “I don’t think this was a random attack. Not like Danes or Gildara.” 

“There was actually someone ‘ere, orchestrating the whole thing.” Stress adds, nestling deep into the blanket. Gods, Ren knows how to imagine a soft, warm blanket. “Someone from the Council of Guilds. And someone who obviously don’t want us involved anymore.” 

“This is...a lot bigger than it first appeared to be.” Xisuma breathes, staring at the gold string, flickering in the light.