#and you can pair Grian with Mumbo or BigB

[randomapplekey]

Soulmate keychain fan-merch idea 🚦💞

I imagine doing one for every member, so you can mix and match them!

[fountainpenguin]

Things that happened in Martyn & Cleo Double Life canon:

Cleo hoping to find her soulmate and start a life with them

Cleo dumping Martyn without giving him a chance to explain his side of the story, but hearing him out when he comes to her later

Martyn watching Cleo through his spyglass and telling the audience she seems safe and happy even though he thinks it's weird she's outside at night

Martyn, after he's had time to consider how he wants to play this, spinning a story about trying to be a provider for her and Cleo explaining that she wanted him, not things

Cleo not being remotely impressed by the "I was providing" sob story, lol

Martyn calling Cleo selfish for choosing to be with Scott because she's supposed to be HIS soulmate and he wants a partner

Cleo willing to forgive Martyn if he meets them halfway

Martyn refusing to meet them halfway because he doesn't think he did anything wrong

Martyn screaming about how Cleo's building bridges with Scott but "When will she think about mending our bridges???"

Martyn explaining to Cleo that he doesn't understand why his Session 1 actions bothered them

Martyn centering his character arc and roleplay on trying to win Cleo back without actually apologizing

Cleo giving Martyn a flower and stating that if he loses it, she'll be real cross with him

Cleo chasing Martyn out of her yard because he tried to put an HOA sign on her base and she wanted to make it clear that she wasn't associated with them and their hate for his base (even though she does think his heart base is strange)

Martyn attacking Cleo after she said attacking is a form of affection to her

Cleo setting boundaries with Martyn and explaining what he can do to get her back

Cleo sighing when Scar set her up on a date with Martyn, but taking the chance to talk to him instead of walking out

Cleo genuinely wanting Martyn in her alliance

Martyn and Cleo giggling constantly when they chat

Scar asking if Martyn wanted him to play a romantic music disc for him and Cleo (and Martyn getting excited and saying yes)

Martyn offering to take Cleo's armor and weapons to the deep dark so he can enchant them and bring them back while she stays safe

Cleo gifting Martyn diamonds, expecting nothing in return but not wanting him to die from lack of a good sword

Martyn and Cleo forming a secret alliance that allows Cleo to live with Scott while being on good terms with Martyn

Martyn expressing frustration that Cleo wants to keep this alliance secret because he wants them to be public allies; Cleo softly shushes him when people approach and might overhear

Martyn telling Cleo that she's putting out a lot of mixed signals because she keeps reeling him in and then pushing him away, claiming he is very confused about where he stands with her

Martyn teasing Cleo by punching her off a cliff and accidentally killing her and feeling so bad about it that he apologizes profusely despite roleplaying as someone who refused to apologize for Session 1

Martyn and Cleo immediately threatening Bdubs together when he said hi to them while they were hanging out, sdkfj

Martyn genuinely apologizing to Pearl for dumping her after Session 1

Martyn hiding under Cleo's bed while she defends him from an enderman attack

Cleo offering to let Martyn move into her house after Etho and Joel grief his base; Martyn saying he might take her up on that

Cleo and Martyn agreeing to move out and base together at Box

Cleo trusting Martyn with the location and resources of her red life base

Martyn rushing to Cleo's aid in the deep dark and trying to turn everyone against him instead

Cleo responding to Martyn's panicked shouts for her to eat by opening her inventory to get food (and drowning because she forgot she was in water)

Cleo hanging back and letting Martyn attack Scott while she does nothing to stop him from doing so, implying as much as she likes Scott, she won't kill Martyn (and herself) for him (and/or she trusted Scott to handle himself even though he ran away while Martyn was shooting at him)

Things that did not happen:

Cleo unwilling to forgive Martyn or consider being his friend and partner

Martyn and Cleo hating each other

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk

[minziemoon]

Life Series Rare Pairs I Wanna See More Of

Inspired by everyone else on my tl posting their dream team lineups for a life series season, I decided to do my own by thinking of the most random combinations I can imagine that would be entertaining to witness. Some of these are gonna be more detailed, some are just for vibes, and some for shits and giggles. Also I haven't watched every single pov of every single series, and I have the memory of a goldfish sometimes, so forgive me if these aren't all THAT rare. 🙏

1. Cleo + Jimmy

- This duo materialized itself in my brain after a random wild life episode from Jimmy's pov where he had a near death experience and ran to Cleo for comfort. It's occupied a lil corner of my brain ever since.

- I think Jimmy would really benefit from someone like Cleo on his side. Someone who you know you can rely on and come back to whenever you're in need of help. Unless you betray them, Cleo is such a good teammate and has a mom/older sibling feeling to her.

- I can imagine she'd spend half the season convincing Jimmy not to go poking fun at ppl and making enemies, only for her to snap once someone kills her unjustly and goes on to commit arson apon half the server. Then the roles would switch.

2. Gem + BigB

- The difference between Cleo and Jimmy's paragraphs to these two... I told yall some of them are just fueled by the potential of vibes.

- I have no clue how these two would function together. They barely even interact. But that's exactly why I want them together!!!

- I feel like they'd be really wholesome. Knowing Gem she'd bring out the best in him... but I also feel like B would once again betray or back stab her in some way. Either way I've become too curious and invested now.

3. Grian + Pearl

- The fact that the skyblings themselves are a rare pair nowadays is concerning. They don't interact NEARLY enough. The amount of wasted potential is to cry about.

- I feel like they'd be all up in other ppl's business. If Pearl were to turn red before Grian, I think he'd have the same dynamic with her like with red lifer Scar in 3rd life, supporting and encouraging her crimes from afar, really birthing another menace on the server.

- They'd have the time of their lives while red together and I'd be SEATED.

4. Mumbo + Tango

- One episode they're the most miserable wet cats on the map, the next their trap kills half the server. Their fate as a duo would be a gamble.

- Idk if their combined brain power would cancel each other out or multiple. Most likely cancel out. Because putting an uncontrolable nervous wreck with the ticking timebomb of unhingness CAN NOT turn out positive.

- Still, it would be SO entertaining and probably make for funny quotes.

5. Lizzie + Bdubs

- It felt like my brain glitched a lil when remembering these two.

- I feel like they'd be weirdly wholesome?? Like they wouldn't stress each other out. Maybe Bdubs' vocal coards could finally catch a break from yelling every episode. Also lowkey feel like he'd try his best to protect her.

- Pls Watchers, let them build some cute cotteges in the woods somewhere in peace 🙏

6. Ren + Scar

- Ik they aren't THAT rare to see together, but the fact that they've never been close to teaming before is astonishing to me.

- If Scar doesn't turn Ren's thing with Martyn into a love triangle by the end of the season, no one else ever will. The Red Winter would rise once again, but with two kings this time.

- I just wanna see theater kids have fun, okay? Sue me if you must. Martyn can join in too I would not mind in the slightest.

[ponderingsoflife]

What if the soulbounds with poor relationships were caused by the character’s real soulmate being in another world? Pearl gets stuck with Scott because Gem isn’t there. Ren gets stuck with BigB because Doc isn’t there. Martyn gets paired with Cleo because Mumbo isn’t there (I will die on this hill thank you very much). BigB is paired with Ren because Skizz isn’t there (this is another hill I will die on) Or in a more platonic soulmate sense, Cleo is paired with Martyn because Joe isn’t there, and Scott is paired with Pearl because Owen isn’t there. Do you see my vision?

You can also go as far as saying Joel has Lizzy and Etho has... well I’m not sure who, but someone in another world waiting for him to, but they're just super chill about it unlike everyone else, they know who they’re really bound to and they’re not gonna let a silly little death game bother them.

Grian and Scar on the other hand, are soulmates, they’re just pissy about it.

[kianaisspiraling]

*inhales*

WILD LIFE WILD LIFE WILDLIFEWILDLIFEWIL—

Okay okay so so far I've only watched Grian's pov but I'm gonna be binging soooo many others right after this.

First off- Skizz, Mumbo and Grian is just. Such an unexpected and silly group, I love them. Skizz, loyal to the bone. Grian, loyal but can switch sides if needed; won't betray you first. And Mumbo; the least loyal guy on the server, goes completely bonkers the moment he turns red

They also all just like. Carry themselves so seriously? But will very quickly devolve into being incredibly silly? So so silly. They will NOT last long, they're gonna fall apart faster than the Southlands for sure with the cheating allegations Mumbo is throwing at Grian, but it'll be hilarious :)

Grian: apologizing for knowing the wild cards beforehand

Me: smiles and adds it to the pile of Watcher Grian lore

Moving on from them:

*inhales again*

MISSING DOG FOUND-?!?

AND WE GOT TREEBARK BACK!!!!!! :D

The sheer happiness I felt when I saw Ren back oh my void, we missed you buddy. Martyn immediately pairing up with Ren whenever they are on the same server has my heart. They're theatre kids your honor. Can't wait to see Ren pull out his guitar <3

We also have TEAM CRINGE-FAIL-?! Lizzie, Scar, Jimmy all on the same team-? That's amazing. It would be hilarious if THIS is the season Tim wins. SURELY having such a high concentration of loser (affectionate) energy will circle around to make them clutch. Surely. It's their moment.

Smth smth, Lizzie and Scar were the only two people alone last season. Smth smth, Lizzie died first and Scar last. Smth smth, Scar reaches out an unconditional hand to Lizzie, offering her an ally because he knows what it's like to be without. Smth smth, Lizzie accepts because she knows waiting for allies leads to none. They're friends now :)

I also heard Scar brought the reputation points back?? If that's true then oml we're so close to getting a Third Life parody. So so close, especially with Scar falling off a cliff and dying while singing, claiming that everything that touches the light is his. It is SUCH a good season for us folks that never left the desert. Bonus points if Grian ends up with Scar after the Sub-One Club inevitably crumbles.

We've ALSO got the op, terrifying duo of Gem and Joel. They are going to be SO unhinged. They will be the chaos group this season, mark my words. They will inevitably fuck shit up and I am WAITING for it. Manifesting Gem or Joel win >:)

And over here we've got three of the divorce quartet (Scott, Pearl, and Cleo) allied with the local supportive dad (Impluse). Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone outside or in between, we once again have the girls, the gays, and ImpulseSV. Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss, girldad <3

The three of them just reminiscing on Double Life while Impulse stays quiet, internally remembering his little life in the suburbs with Bdubs as they stirred the pot and watched drama unfold. He DOES NOT have anything to add to this conversation on messy divorce.

Also apparently Scott canonically believes that HE'S the reason Jimmy broke the canary curse and Scar won in secret life?? Because he stopped them from allying together last season or something?? That's just wonderful to me. I don't think he's entirely wrong either, they would've destroyed each other SO quickly

Now, getting on to BigB and whatever he's got going on. Something DEFINITELY happened to him in that hole last season, because he is getting increasingly cryptic. OF COURSE he would live in the Pale Garden with the Creaking. Where else would he go??

I absolutely love everyone making BigB a Creaking hybrid, but hear me out: BigB has ALSO been made a watcher by the fandom in previous seasons because of things like the Nosy Neighbors in Limited Life and his Whole Thing in Secret Life, right? You know what the Watchers are often compared to? Biblically accurate angels. You know what the Creaking has been compared to? Weeping Angels. BigB is a Weeping Angel.

(Maybe Weeping Angels are a type of Watcher. they're closely related to the Creaking; perhaps they made it?)

(I have not watched Doctor Who, though I'd like to. All I know is that Weeping Angels are VERY Watcher-core to me <3)

Finally we have a classic trio of Etho, Bdubs, and Tango. They're taming horses, they're non-stop bickering, they DO NOT share, it's every man for themselves. Tango is third wheeling Ethubs so much rn. They get on each other's nerves. They're besties, after all they keep putting themselves together no matter how much they bicker. Team BET ily <3

Love that Etho IMMEDIATELY tries to ally with the local Watcher for inside information, but Grian refuses to give it to him. It was worth a shot, buddy. I adore every second of screen time in which Grian and Etho interact. They are SUCH a good duo for me. One Stick Wither and Etho's Dishwasher, you will forever be famous <3

Anyhow, I think that covers everything I have to say for now, having watched one pov and scrolled Tumblr for a while. I cannot WAIT for this season, as there's a lot of stuff from previous seasons coming back, with Renchanting, the divorce quartet, Scar bringing back reputation points, and more. I can't wait to see this unfold :D

[izoexa]

I will never ever get people who say the teams in the life series are getting repetitive like what do you mean??? The most common people i hear this about is Grian and Scott so lets look at who they teamed with.

Grian:

3rd life - Scar

Last life - Mumbo Jimmy Martyn Impulse

Double life - Scar and kinda BigB

Limited life - Joel Jimmy

Secret life - Cleo Etho

Wild life - Skizz Mumbo

Scott:

3rd life - Jimmy

Last life - Pearl and later Cleo

Double life - Cleo

Limited life - Martyn

Secret life - Impulse Gem

Wild life - Cleo Impulse Pearl

Is there some repetition and more likely pairings? Yea of course. People naturally gravitate to those they're more familiar with and with a small number of members repetition is bound to happen. But by no means are they recycling old teams. And for gods sake we're getting a new mechanic every season that spices things up, and its not like people are locked to the teams they start out with. Betrayal and later team ups are common. Alliences and enemies are formed.

And at the end of the day, if you dont like a certain team you can just. Not watch their pov. Thats whats great about the lofe series. Dont wanna follow a certain cc? No problem you still get a full fleshed out story from the other povs.

[smoozie]

tell me about your life series aa au 🙏

I'm so glad you asked!!

Let's begin with who I think could be a defense attorney

Mumbo

Gem

Scott

Scar

And of course, it's not an AA au if the defense doesn't have their weird girl co-counsel!

Mumbo gets Lizzie! I absolutely adore their dynamic (from what we get to see) and it is very reminiscent of Apollo and Trucy (for me). Lizzie would fake hold herself hostage and Mumbo would cry because he was worried abt her.

Gem gets Impulse! Again I love their dynamic. Gem is probably the one who screams defense attorney to me most, and considering her relationship with Impulse it seems fitting he supports her in court.

Scott gets Jimmy! Flower husband fans will be pleased. To be completely honest, this pair up was more a matter of these two being the last ones in their respective categories, but I think it offers an interesting dynamic. The cool and collected with the more wild co-counsel. Typically the defense is very uncool and never collected. This one is giving Kay and Edgeworth if u squint (a lot).

Scar gets Bdubs! Fun fact, Scar was originally also a co-counsel, but the idea of him and Bdubs on defense together was too good an opportunity to miss. Bdubs 100% is giving weird girl energy. His thing is moss. All the weird girls have a Thing (Maya is spirit channeling, Trucy is magic, Kay is thievery) and Bdubs's Thing is moss. I haven't figured out my other "weird girls" things yet tho. I am open to suggestions.

Now for the prosecution we have

Grian

Etho

Cleo

Joel

Pearl

I think the vibes here aren't as strong as the defense but they still make sense.

Grian might be the weakest on this list. I know he often gives himself the label of detective, but he just didn't seem the type in the AA universe. The reason he's on prosecution is because he is stubborn and impulse enough to accuse the most likely subject and stick with that till the end (ignore the Jangler incident in s6). Also all of Edgeworth's sprites give Grian. Grian fits the Edgeworth sprite gallery to a T

Etho just feels like a prosecutor. He's smart, prepared, calm, and smug. I could see some Blackquill parallels here. He would also bring a bird to court that might attack you.

Cleo is another that just feels right at the prosecutor's desk. She is witty and sarcastic. It would be difficult to persuade them. Cleo also loves a bit of corruption, a past time for most prosecutors.

Joel is abbrassive and head strong. He is SO Franziska Von Karma. He would attack in the middle of court. He would attack the judge. He would call you stupid in the exact mannerisms of Franziska's "fools". Joel is sooo an overconfident prosecutor who is actually so fun and beloved.

Finally, Pearl. She was especially hard to place. I had trouble deciding between defense or prosecutor for her. In the end I settled on prosecution, but I think it would be fun if she had a Godot situation. That is, she was a defense attorney but switched after some traumatic incident (maybe she worked with Scott before!). Pearl can be calculated when she needs to be and crazed when she wants to be. She would provide an interesting opponent. Especially given her connections to most of the defense attorneys.

Now for our detectives:

Bigb

Tango

Ren

Skizz

Bigb somewhat aloof but silly. He let's the defense into crime scenes because they gave him a cookie. He often works with Grian, who likes Bigb too much to scream at him abt anything. Bigb is also prob like Ema Skye with her snackoos.

I could see Tango similarly to Gumshoe. He often works with Pearl and Etho (PET Mail), and he trusts them to prove someone guilty if they really are. He also gets along with the defense attorney's well, so he lets them investigate, as long as they promise not to tell his superiors.

Ren is giving Gumshoe in a much more "pathetic wet cat" way. He is underpaid. He is running around constantly. He is too tired to stop the defense getting in. He often works with Cleo. They have a similar dynamic to Edgeworth and Gumshoe.

And Skizz. He is excited to do his job. He gets along with everyone. He lets the defense in because he trusts that they are doing the right thing. He doesn't think it's fair if they don't get to investigate!

And finally, the judge

Martyn. I can't explain why, it just is Martyn. Somehow it makes the most sense. Martyn.

[mcytadventevent]

mungbean is creating for Day Twenty One!

Prompt: Sky / Stars

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

Credit Links:

https://archiveofourown.org/users/madame_mungbean

https://www.instagram.com/madame_mungbean

(Piece below the cut!)

 Left No Crumbs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“How’d you know?”

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

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

“Sure!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yea?” Joel swung around to face him.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jimmy giggled, “What are you doing?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Everyone glanced towards each other, but no one responded.

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

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

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

“PEARL WAS CLOSEST!” Bdubs exploded.

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

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

“It’s probably BigB,” Ren commented.

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

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

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

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

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

“Playing Uno with Scott and Cleo.”

“And then what happened?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~ ~ ~

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

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

Grian nodded. “Valid. No further questions.”

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

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

“What does that mean?”

“Well…”

~ ~ ~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~ ~ ~

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

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

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

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

“Yes, bu-”

“Jimmy! Come to the chair!”

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

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

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

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

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

“Playing Monopoly, until I became a star.”

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

“Yea, he did,” Tango confirmed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~ ~ ~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mumbo nearly jolted. “Uh, yea?”

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

“Uh, I highly doubt that.”

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

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

“Ironic… who did it?”

“What does that hav-”

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

“Um… Colonel Mustard.”

“And who was that?”

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

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

~ ~ ~

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

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

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

“Correct,” Skizz nodded.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yup.” Martyn nodded.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~ ~ ~

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

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

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

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

“Oh, that was great,” Cleo teased.

Martyn clapped. “It was horrendously good.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[tiredfoxtf]

What other alliances in the life series would you like to see? Like for Lizzie, Pearl, Scott, Grian, etc?

Hmmm, let's see.

Mumbo and Joel I think, yeah we did have the Mounders, but I actually would love to see deeper look into Joel's dynamic with him? Actually that goes for Joel and Bdubs too, the two are a hilarious pair of dry humour and a comic book character. Generally Mounders in the SL were mostly isolated, because for the most part they were off doing whatever crazy task they had.

Just generally more Mumbo alliances, him and Grian are gravitating naturally towards each other as well Scar, but I really would love him interacting more with all of non-Hermits in the Life Series.

Mumbo and Scott can be very utilitarian alliance, because Scott is very strategic and he can see how Mumbo's skills can be used and all that. He is probably the most strategic ally Mumbo could have to survive to 8 episodes at the very least. That is if Mumbo won't turn on him like he likes to do to just cause chaos.

Lizzie and Scott could be fun. To go full on queer cottagecore with a taste of murder. Which kinda similar to Gem and the Scotts, but it's actually not, I swear. It's a very different kind of flare.

Grian and Ren, actually, can be interesting. Red bois are kinda lone wolfs (pun intended) unwillingly, so them teaming up can be fun. Given especially Grian's very grounded and Ren's over the top theatrical nature they would be fun. And Grian will probably keep up with Ren's antics and have fun with him. They probably would go red kinda soon-ish and cause chaos on purpose. But they don't really need to go red for that.

Gem, Skizz and BigB is another "unlikely, but weirdly wholesome" alliance in my opinion. Gem and BigB generally would be a very interesting scenario since they are both sweet, but scary people. And Skizz just being Skizz would be their hype man. Put Impulse in the mix and you'll get BIGS. (This is mostly a joke, but it's actually more likely that way)

Martyn and Pearl would be horrifying together I ain't gonna lie. But so is Grian and Scott. Pairing up winners is honestly scary thought, because well, they have what it takes to win those series, man. Martyn and Scar maybe. But there are generally not a lot of people who want to pair up with Scar. Which is RUDE, imo.

Impulse and Martyn can be fun together, though. Didn't interact that much in the South Lands so maybe a come back. Or Martyn and Bdubs, Martyn would have soooo much fun teasing and joking around with Bdubs, they would be a comedic duo.

Cleo and Mumbo would be hilarious. Essentially it would be like Cleo took in another "son", just as chaotic as two other ones. Or Cleo and Jimmy. Cleo just has this "tired and done with everyone's shenanigans, but also chaotic in their own way" energy. Most of the pairings with them would be that way.

[listener-symphony]

Sorry for being so inactive, I’m going to do another “randomly generating pairs of every single character” here just for some interactions, also I’m still not 100 on what to do with Real Life so we will just pretend it doesn’t exist until I have an idea I’m happy with and prepared to use.

——

SL!BigB: Hello Ren it’s me your soulmate!

DL!Ren: Hello! You’re not… my actual soulmate, but, technically you are..? It’s complicated.

Gem: I wonder what it would be like if I had a soulmate… Like, who would that be?

SL!BigB: It’s me.

DL!Ren: But you just said you were MY soulmate!

SL!BigB: I’m cheating on you

DL!Ren: NOT AGAIN 😭

—

3L!Ren: I’m jealous. I wish I was stuck to a giant werewolf.

DL!Scott: …No, you don’t. Pearl is a nightmare and she’s even more terrifying now that she’s bigger.

3L!Ren: But she’s so cool! Okay, maybe I’m not jealous of you, I just want to be her.

DL!Scott: You want me attached to you? I’m honored…

—

LimL!Pearl: So, your wife can talk now! How’s that been?

SL!Joel: Um, been pretty good honestly, not many ways for this to go wrong.

LimL!Pearl: Cool! Has she said anything about possessing anyone?

SL!Joel: what

—

SL!Martyn: 🚨‼️ASK FORCE COMING IN‼️🚨 I’ve noticed no one has asked you any questions?

DL!Grian: LEAVE ME ALOOOONNNEEE

—

SL!Mumbo: This tower is DEFINITELY bigger than Gem’s was, right?

SL!Pearl: Yeah, I’m sure, especially cuz we don’t have a model of Gem’s to compare it to.

SL!Mumbo: Hey, we don’t need one! It’s so indisputable!

—

LL!Cleo: You chopped a guy’s head off right? Was it fun?

3L!Martyn: …

LL!Cleo: Was it fun?

3L!Martyn: …

LL!Cleo: Sounds fun. Did you have fun?

3L!Martyn: …

LL!Cleo: You look like you had lots of fun doing that.

—

3L!Cleo: I just want to say, thanks for winning instead of Dogwarts.

3L!Grian: Oh, yeah, no problem… couldn’t let those guys win.

3L!Cleo: Yeah, not with the way they were acting. I don’t know what I would be doing with myself if the guys worshipping Ren actually won.

—

DL!Impulse: Hey, you’re married to Joel right?

LL!Grian: ? no?

DL!Impulse: Great, so I was wondering if you had any advice on being married to Joel..

LL!Grian: We’re not married.

DL!Impulse: It’s just been really difficult for me to figure out what to do with Joel, you know? So I’d like some tips from an expert..

LL!Grian: I’m not married to him why would I be the expert on being married to him

—

LL!Scar: Oh, why hello there! Welcome to my lovely magical wizard tower! It’s not often people visit, especially not by flying in through the window!

DL!Scar: Oh, I get complaints about doing this all the time around here, so I’m glad this tower is different! You said you don’t get a lot of visitors?

LL!Scar: No, I’ll be honest with you because you’re me from the future… I am extremely lonely.

DL!Scar: Ohhh, well that’s fine! Who cares, right?

LL!Scar: I care! I want friends! We finally don’t have to murder each other and I still hardly have any friends!

DL!Scar: You don’t need them! This amazing wizard tower is all you need!

LL!Scar: Well, thank you, but I’m not so sure…

—

DL!Cleo: I am very shocked and disturbed by the fact that you decided to make yourself responsible for some… rowdy kids.

LimL!Cleo: Bold of you to assume I chose the mom life.

—

LimL!Scar: Can you perform “I Killed Bdubs With A TNT Minecart”? Because the Impulse I know killed Bdubs with a TNT minecart.

SL!Impulse: Okay :D *starts playing the drums and improvising a song about killing Bdubs with a TNT minecart*

—

LL!Bdubs: I looove Etho

SL!Cleo: …Okay? Well I already knew you were the number one Etho fangirl.

LL!Bdubs: That’s true.

—

DL!Joel: BOO! 👻

3L!Jimmy: AAAAAAAHH!!! Oh my gosh dude you scared me!!

DL!Joel: BE SCARED BE SCARED BE SCARED

3L!Jimmy: AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

—

LimL!Scott: What’s that?

SL!Lizzie: [It’s a device that lets me talk]

LimL!Scott: Oh cool! I want a cool little device!!

SL!Lizzie: [Well not this one. You have a face.]

LimL!Scott: I dunno, saying two things at once would be pretty cool…

SL!Lizzie: [I can’t think of a single reason you’d ever want to do that]

—

DL!Jimmy: Tango 🥰 Rancher 🥰

SL!Tango: Oh my goodness. Hello??

—

LL!Etho: Hey Skizz.

LL!Skizz: Hi! Where’s the rest of team BEST?

LL!Etho: I think I saw Bdubs go to that human Cleo, and Tango’s talking to himself.

LL!Skizz: …Huh?

—

3L!Scar: Hello Scott, I was wondering if I could have those crystals?

LL!Scott: …I… don’t think so? Why do you want them?

3L!Scar: They look nice!

LL!Scott: I thought my Scar was supposed to be the crystal guy… well, you can try to take one, but they might be stuck around my head.

3L!Scar: Let’s find out! *tries to pull one of the crystals away, but it won’t move past a certain distance from Scott’s head*

LL!Scott: …Well, this is pretty entertaining.

—

LimL!Skizz: …I kind of miss being in just my underwear.

SL!Grian: I’M LEAVING

LimL!Skizz: WHAT?! NO ONE WAS SUPPOSED TO HEAR THAT!! NOOOO!!

—

LimL!Tango: Please don’t tell me you died really embarrassingly

LL!Tango: 😬 …

—

DL!Bdubs: WHAT THE…

LL!BigB: yo.

DL!Bdubs: I DIDN’T KNOW TERRY WAS IN TWO SEASONS…

—

LimL!Grian: I’m a bad boy

DL!Pearl: You better not mess with this place…

LimL!Grian: I WASN’T GOING TO!!! YOU ARE VERY SCARY, I WAS FRIENDS WITH PEARL!!

—

3L!Skizz: I’m sorry for killing you.

LL!Jimmy: ? I’m not the Jimmy you killed.

3L!Skizz: Oh I know, I just figured I’d apologize to all of you, cuz apparently I started something.

—

LL!Pearl: IF YOU WERE GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, OR GIRLBOSS, WHICH ONE WOULD YOU BE?

LimL!Martyn: Gatekeep because I’m going to crush you if you get any closer.

LL!Pearl: BUT THAT’S SCOTT!!!

LimL!Martyn: No he’s Gillboss

—

LL!Ren: Dude I swear someone is singing songs about killing you

LimL!Bdubs: WHAT

—

SL!Jimmy: ARF ARF

3L!Etho: …hi?

SL!Jimmy: You gotta say it back, dude!

3L!Etho: Oh, uhh… do I have to?

SL!Jimmy: YES!!!

—

DL!BigB: yo I’m Terry

SL!Bdubs: WWHHHOOOO???

—

SL!Skizz: So, you love Jimmy?

DL!Tango: Yes he’s my Rancher 🥰

SL!Skizz: Aww, that’s sweet!!!! I hate him.

DL!Tango: 😨

—

LL!Impulse: For a CLOCK???

3L!Bdubs: Yeah! 😁

LL!Impulse: …… you know, that explains a lot.

—

LimL!Joel: Ew 🤢 Boat boys? 🤮 Disgusting 😒 Etho you suck 😡

DL!Etho: …what… happened between seasons…

—

DL!Martyn: Do you have fairy magic that could help me win over Cleo

LL!Lizzie: n- CLEO?????????? I DON’T THINK YOU WANT THAT…

DL!Martyn: But she’s my soulmate!

LL!Lizzie: I’m so sorry to hear that

—

SL!Etho: *bumps into 3L!Joel* Oh sorry! I wasn’t looking! Boat Boys!

3L!Joel: WHAT DOES THAT MEAN

—

3L!Tango: You having fun up there?

3L!Impulse: What the?! Yes, yes I’m having lots of fun up here in exile.

3L!Tango: Okay, just checking.

—

LL!Martyn: Can you perform a song about winning Last Life? Because the Scott I knew won Last Life.

SL!Scott: Sure!

—

LL!Mumbo: Why didn’t you invite ME to team TIES?

LimL!Etho: …There’s a lot of very obvious answers to that question.

—

3L!BigB: Dude I think there’s a song about you killing Bdubs

LimL!Impulse: what

—

LimL!Jimmy: Flower Husbands 🤢 Hashtag Not Saying I Love You Back 😎

3L!Scott: Okay, rude!!!

—

LimL!BigB: Maybe I will go see what everyone’s up to

LL!Joel: hey 😁

LimL!BigB: Oh no. Okay I’ll see what everyone in the opposite direction is up to.

LL!Joel: oh come on!

[epicfranb]

GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS i got an idea for a new au 😅 BUT HEY i believe it's ,y first actual Life Series AU, and i called it: nth life_

The usual team, no new characters, no lizzie and mumbo (sorry lizzie and mumbo), they get 3 lives (tho that could be changed) and their goal is... to survive in the void. (inspired by this video lololol)

Initially i wanted them to have some time on the surface, they they have to go down and survive in the void for as long as they can. i struggled to imagine how that would go, so i uh... accidentally might've made a Made in Abyss crossover 😅

So, each session, the guys go down lower and lower in the world. first it's just caves, then it's the deep dark, then they start going deeper and deeper... the nether and the end are also layers, they can't just go there whenever they want. And i want to add some cool mc mods in there to spice things up (mostly so layers are cool and different, but also mods that let them find or make food where there isn't any in vanilla)

Now, i don't want to copy Made in Abyss in that going back to the upper levels has more negative effects the lower you go, but i do want some sort of drawback to doing so. I think the lower levels could be opened up gradually, so nobody rushes, and the lower you go, the better materials and equipment you can get, so players are discouraged from staying in one place for too long, and setting up permanent bases IS NOT ALLOWED. You do need materials from every level to survive the void though.

Void really fucks with people's heads. The closer they are to it, the more paranoid and anxios they become. Some wil also become aggressive, have hallucinations or derealization, thinking they're in previous season or in a different series bringing up things that didn't happen and people that aren't there (Grian searching for Mumbo? Etho paranoid that Gem is out to get him? Pearl and Cleo feeling like Lizzie and Gem respectively possess them?)

With that, i think it could start out silly,similar to how the normal series usually goes, but, as theygo down, it gets more serious in tone and even steps into the horror category. that could be neat.

I either don't want watchers there at all, or have a non-obvious interpretation from fanon? Something like in OFF, DDLC or Undertale, where the player is a separate character in the story, but here it's the reader. Idk yet if the reader will be able to make choices or not. Could intepret watchers in some fun way, but only if it adds something to the story. They don't need to be there and they're only canon to Martyn anyway im pretty sure

I guess the reader could make a choice of whose story to follow, mirroring how you choose POV's when you're watching the actual series. Like, Martyn and Cleo are doing something, and there's Joel and Scar somewhere else at the same time, and you choose who to watch. Could also add replayability/rereadbility (is that a word??)

I imagine the whole thing as a text adventure, with cryptic vibes like "breaking the 4th wall/they know they're in a game" and "liminal space/backrooms". there could also be puzzles for the audience to solve to make it more engaging and immersive :)

Maybe i could start out by deciding who teams up with who. I don't want to pair up people who i actually want to pair up, cuz that could make me focus solely on them (looks at clethubs), but i still want the teams to go well together and have fun dynamics.

Some brainstorms from 1 am me:

For Jimmy, i want him to team with someone as stupid+silly+goofy like himself. Current options include: BigB, Martyn, Skizz (i might go w him) and Ren. Any combination of them could also work.

The team i'm 100% decided on is... Etho, Pearl and Cleo. Girlbosses + a wet rag

Joel and Bdubs would be suuuuper fun. Tango, Joel and Bdubs? Do i want a team that just gonna yell at eahc other all the time? Perhaps yes,

But Scott and Bdubs... sounds chaotic.

I want Grian with Impulse!!

Scar and Ren are left? Scar and Joel could be a good combo.

Aaaand that's everything for now. It's not an au i believe i can work on by myself though. as much as i like this concept, it feels like one of those that i will abandon very quickly, especially seeing as i have other au's i'd like to work on... but i want to at least do a lil bit on this one!! so uh... if anyone gets the vision and wants to collab... i invite u :D

[coldwind-shiningstars]

hello! :D ao3 wrapped ask game: any combination of [6, 9, 16, 29] ?

6: Favorite title you used: It's a chapter title, but “The Cradle of 100 Years of Bliss” from @stripedroseandsketchpads and my TGCF Utena AU.

9: Favorite pairing you wrote for this year? Gotta be BigB/Grian I think, I definitely consider myself A Scarian Fan but it's the Main Fandom Ship so BigG kind of snuck up on me? Listen, they're so sweet, and they're having a great time, even if they are both cheating on their partners. Hard to top a ship where you make eye contact in the relationship therapy waiting room (you are attending relationship therapy with your partner because they know you are cheating but not who with).

16: What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag? I only used it twice this year but “unreliable narrator,” I tend to have trouble with the additional tags but basically all my narrators are unreliable!

29:Favorite line/passage you wrote this year? Can I just say all of cam account parenting? It's so fun format wise and I think I did a good job Conveying The Themes (sexism, metafiction.) otherwise, I'm offering this bit from the upcoming chapter of The Time We Get This Right (double life locked tomb AU):

“How are you so good at this?” Scar asked, eventually. “My fingers always get all tangled up.”

“I noticed,” Grian said, laughing at him. “I don't know. I just used to braid a lot of grass, or flowers for flower crowns, and things, just to have something to do, you know? And I always wanted long hair, I just don't want to grow it out. It'd reach my chin and just look awful and then I'd make Mumbo cut it.”

Scar turned as far as he could with Grian still holding his hair, and clasped his hands. He practically had stars in his eyes.

“I could grow it for you right now!”

Grian scowled and nudged him back around.

“No thank you,” he said. “You keep offering things like that, you know I'm never going to take you up on it.”

“Why not?”

“Well, I don't trust you, for starters! But also I've never really liked using necromancy on living people. It freaks me out. I know you do it all the time but you just don't hear about anyone else using it like that.”

Scar put a hand on his chest. “I'll have you know I've never gotten a bad review, mister!” he said, all affected offense. “No unsatisfied customers here. And, anyway, you let me use you as a flesh puppet the other day –”

Grian shrieked “STOP” and physically covered his mouth with one hand. Scar laughed at him behind the barrier.

“I'll do it if you never phrase it like that again,” he said.

“Really?” said Scar. His eyes got even bigger. He moved away from Grian's hand. “Oh, Grian! You won't regret this. No unsatisfied customers! If it doesn't work out we'll just shave your head and try again.”

“No, we won't,” Grian said. “Hold still, let's try and get this done before you say something else that makes me change my mind.”

[bluiex]

This thought has been spinning in my mind for a while. Reading these ideas of Cub and Mumbo showing love to Scar, who often drinks himself numb, to drown the love Grian has for someone else.

-

Their eyes were covered by the blindfold as they tied the string between Scar and Mumbo and Cub, it was a deep purple color. The string gleamed with magic. The witch pushed aside the long white hair as the finished the knots.

"Soulmates are old magic." she told the three as she pulled out a pair of scissors. They looked so old, worn, and maybe once gleamed but no longer. Scar wasn't sure what he had been expecting, maybe things that changed the course of your life weren't meant to be so glamorous though.

"Being around for as long as I have, you learn these magics." the witch told them, as Scar looked at the purple thread that twined between his hands, he noticed now it seemed to follow his vein patterns. "People can have more than one soulmate, though it's rare."

Covered eyes looked at the three of them, "Know this, once you do this, there will be no going back. This process can only be done once in a person's life. If truly there is love, you will feel it... but if there is none, you all will not be able to feel love ever again." her voice was dead serious.

Scar swallowed hard, fearful eyes looking at Mumbo and Cub. But, they only nodded firmly. "I'm not leaving," Cub's others hand found Scar's. Mumbo smiled in agreement as he also held that hand. The warmth Scar felt drowned out the feeling of Grian's own to BigB. It was real, their touches were real, they were more than anything he ever got from Grian.

The witch nodded faintly as she tossed back her long hair, "Then we'll begin." she said in a calm voice, placing hands between the three connecting threads that were tied together.

Her hands glowed a soft color, "Magic is about intent," she whispered, "the purest of all magics is that of Love. True, selfless, and unrequited Love." She watched them as they all stared at the colors, soft reds, greens, and blues. "it can't be tricked, it can't be fabricated, and it can't be forced. Love is strange like that." she smiled at them.

Scar looked at black and brown eyes, and his own green started to shine. It was... warm. So very warm. The warmth wrapped around him, it tasted of something so sweet, it smelled of steel and leather, it was lips against his skin that nuzzled his skin. The wind was soft, bringing the feeling of something so much more.

A life Scar had longed for. The image of Mumbo petting Jellie as she licked his nose, and Cub looking back at him with soft eyes. As his hand took hold of his, feeling the calloused yet gentle fingers. And a road in a green forest that stretched on forever.

Scar vaguely caught a glimpse of it, a thin, pale hand reached out and grabbed the red thread on his finger. And with a swift motion, the rusty scissors creaked, and...

SNIP

Scar's eyes widen as he felt the cut, sharp for a moment, Panic, Pain, it hurts! But... the pain was pushed down it faded away as quick as he felt it, and then he felt something else.

Worry, concern, anticipation, and... love. love. love.

The purple thread slowly turned a soft green color as it clung to his skin. Scar took a shudder of a breath, in and out slowly as the witch moved her hands away. And the knot was no more, just strings of threads between them. That faded away slowly, yet... their weight was still there on their hands.

Shakily Scar looks at his hand, then up at Cub and Mumbo. "Scar?" Mumbo asks softly, "are you alright?"

Green eyes focused on him, then came the feelings. Rushing over him, and filling his chest again with warmth. It was soft, it smelled like Mumbo's workshop, brushing over the roof of his mouth when he inhaled.

Scar looked from Mumbo over to Cub, and the warmth stayed still. But the scent was different, it was like snow, a calm winter morning inside, candy canes.

Their hands then found his cheeks, brushing away the tears he didn't know he was crying. Words didn't really need to be said, as Scar hugged onto them both and started to sob.

You're okay. You're safe. We're here. I love you. I love you.

Their touches felt more than anything, their hands on his skin, it was everything he wanted. It was more than he expected a bond to be. Just like the stories he was told as a kid.

They didn't hear their helper leave, as she shook her head with a small smile. She knew she was thanked just by their reactions. it was rare still for a soulbound to get this to work. Their love must be real as she thought, or she'd never have offered it.

In all the years she's lived, she's never seen such colors between people. Something told her they'd be okay. Now to leave before the other shows up, she frankly didn't want to deal with the Untethered One.

-

Astar is a character of mine who is sort of immortal, but mostly she's here to help the plot.

I needed some fluff okay?

Oh and Grian no doubt felt the cut of the thread. It hurts like hell when your thread is cut. How will this affect him, who knows! Up to you.

Scar is now bound to both Cub and Mumbo.

OOOOH JADE I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!! I've had it in my head too that the three of them look for someone who can cut the bond between Scar An Grian and connect it to Cub and Mumbo instead.. I'm so happy you did this and it's so well done UWAH

[a-fable-lost-to-time]

Grian: I've decided to have myself and all the other winners explain our game here so anyone who doesn't know about it can read this,sooo *he takes a breath*

________

Grian: Third Life is simple, it was me and some of my friends are put into a death game where we each have three lives. The alliances were Me and Scar as the desert alliance. Bdubs, Cleo, and Tango as the Crastle alliance with impulse acting as a mole for them against dogwarts. Dogwarts was Ren, Martyn, Bigb, Skizz, and Etho, Ren declared himself king, the Flower Husbands were Timmy and Scott, and Joel was by himself. eventually there was a war between dogwarts and everyone else, with me and scar being the mains one opposing them. By the end of it all the final to were me and my scar and we settled it in a brawl to the death in a cactus ring

Scott: ok so my game was called Last Life, each player was given between 2-6 lives, you could give a life away, there was also the boogeyman curse, where if you didn't kill a green or yellow name by the end of a certain amount of time, you would go immediately to your last life. The alliances were, Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss , which is Cleo, Myself and Pearl, The Southlands, which had Impulse, Grian, Jimmy, Martyn and Mumbo. The Fairy Fort, Lizzie, Bigb and Ren , Cleo used to be apart of this but she was betrayed by bigb when he had the curse there was also a shadow alliance with, Martyn, Lizzie, Ren and Bigb. Joel and Scar were technically an alliance but it didn't really seem that way. Joel and Grian were chaotic. Grian unleashed a wither. And in a four way free for all with Pearl , Martyn, and Ren, where ren killed Pearl, Martyn was blown up by his own end crystal, and a zombie killed Ren, I ended up the winner

Pearl: my game is called Double Life, each player had three lives, but they also had a soul mate , if their soulmate took damage so did they, and if the soulmate died they died. the pairs were, Impulse and Bdubs, The Ranchers Jimmy and Tango, Boat Boys Etho and Joel, Scar and Grian, Ren and Bigb. though Bigb and Grian had a secret soulmates thing, they basically cheated on their soulmates. and Then Me and Scott were soulmates and finally Martyn and Cleo were soul mates.. but sense me and Martyn took to long to find our soul mates. Cleo and Scott decided to ditch us for each other. I went kinda crazy and tortured Scott using the soulmate link, i also formed the Broken hearts club with Martyn and Ren.in the end me and scott were the last ones standing and He blew himself up to make me the true winner. oh also tango summoned a warden at one point

Martyn: my game Limited Life was quite different, instead of lives everyone had 24 hours, with each death taking of thirty minutes, and each kill giving the killer an hour, also usually only reds could kill but in my game yellows could kill greens..the boogeyman returns with a twist, if you kill someone you gain two hours and they lose one hour. the alliances were myself and Scott as the mean gills. Tango, Impulse, Etho, and Skizzleman as TIES. there was the clockers/family with Cleo as the mom and Scar and Bdubs as her sons, Etho was the absent father. Pearl and Bigb were the nosy neighbors, and Joel, Jimmy and Grian were the bad boys. In the end it was me, scott and impulse. they were trying to do a fair fighr, but something came over me and i snapped betraying them both, and taking the win

Scar: my game was called Secret Life the lives were back, everyone had thirty hearts but no regen, we could give a heart to one player per session. The game also had secret tasks we had to complete and couldn't tell anyone about , if we succeed we could turn it in to the secret keeper for up to ten hearts and if that would put whoever received it over thirty hearts it would give rewards instead , if we fail we would get nothing. There was also an option to trade for a harder task, if it was succeeded the rewards were doubled, but would take ten hearts. yellows could make you fail if they guessed your task correctly. and if a red killed another play they would get ten hearts the alliances were Gem and the Scott, The Mounders, which included Pearl, Joel, Mumbo and Bdubs. The Big Dogs, Jimmy and Martyn. then there was Etho, Cleo and Grian. The Heart Foundation, Skizz, Tango and Bigb. Then me and Lizzie were by ourselves. Bigb Gaslight everyone. The secret tasks made me do stuff that was considered villianous. Gem opened the end portal, Bdubs killed the dragon. Lizzie threw a party and only her husband showed up. Etho and Grian summoned a warden and wither to fight each other. Gem was the catalyst for an apocalypse that only scott, cleo and grian made it out of. Cleo became a human afterwards. In the end it was me vs pearl and i beat her in a bow and arrow duel to win

Cleo: my game was called Real Life, a handful of us were hooked up to a virtual simulation with the same rules as third lifeand had wires and chips put into us, that made it so if we died in the simulation our bodies would also die. the alliances were myself, Pearl and Scott, with Gem eventually joining. Martyn, Ren and Skizz. and then the red club which consisted of, Jimmy, Grian, Impulse, Scar and Joel, though everyone in that but jimmy died quickly and he started working with bigb . the winner was decided in a 1 v 1 v 1, between myself, Scott and Gem.

_____

Grian: hope this helps

[ajfoxships]

Ohhh this is such a cool concept and the pairs rolled are really interesting.

my thoughts on this concept are in wall of text below, but I will preface this by saying I have yet to watch limited life all the way through so this is from the perspective of up to double life anyway if anyone reads this enjoy :)

Lizzie/Joel would probably end up completely chaotic the minute they go red and the fact they rolled together in the same group as Jimmy and Scott makes me think it might be a empires S1 repeat when it comes to those four

Jimmy/Scott would be hilarious to watch seeing as Scott would outright refuse to die first so he’d probably act similarly to how Grian does with scar

Scar/Bdubs is hermitcraft S7 all over again the mycelium war is a good reference for what would happen if those two team up. I could see that team going out first as opposed to Jimmy/Scott given how accident prone scar can be + Bdubs being a complete enabler whereas Scott would be responsible and try keeping Jimmy alive

Cleo/etho is really interesting because those two are some of the most dangerous people on hermitcraft (if you exclude doc) and I can’t think of anyone who would want to be on their bad side. I could definitely see them winning or at least getting final 3. unfortunately this is a well known fact so these two would be a huge target for any boogeymen or reds letting them set up would be a bad move and everyone knows it

Ren/Grian is a powerful pair either one is terrifying alone but put the two on a team and there will be carnage. ren is known for putting himself in a position where he has power and would definitely come up some crazy scheme, however Grian is the one who would enact said schemes no matter what life Grian is on he is someone to be feared the man released a wither and blew up three people, the latter while green. This duo would definitely be dramatic and dangerous with a good shot at victory.

tango/pearl these two are kinda wild cards they would definitely raise hell but like OP said they have different kinds of chaos, so they may be an open threat or maybe they’re just pulling the strings to further a larger goal the not knowing is definitely something that would intimidate other players so these two would probably have a target on their backs

Skizz/mumbo these two are definitely a different story than what we usually see if mumbo goes along the redstone/end-crystal route then this team would be a formidable stealth operation. to be completely honest I don’t know that much about skizz’s skill set and strategy’s but he usually gets pretty far so I could see this team in the top 4

Gem/BigB this team definitely has some underdog qualities to it gem usually gets overlooked but is very skilled at pvp and being able to fly under the radar is a useful tactic especially in the early game when it hasn’t deteriorated into all out war having the few reds on the server focus on other players while you set up is a massive advantage, unfortunately I don’t know much about bigB but from what I’ve seen he can hold his own in combat and makes good alliances (most of the time)

Impulse/martyn I really don’t know much about these two but impulse can definitely be a threat seeing as he seems to be willing to do just about anything to win (respect for helping Grian release the wither because goddamn) martyn seems to always have the right alliances (Ren, the southlands, pearl/Cleo/Scott) it usually gets him past the halfway point so I would expect them to make it pretty far

Double life,, 2!!!!!!!

I was bored and decided to re-roll double life soulmates and see if i could think of anything fun with these new pairs

so i took the double life cast plus Skizz, Lizzie, Mumbo and Gem because i wanted to include everyone

(i know that Gem was only in one session but we had an odd number and shes a lifer to me)

the pairs generated was

Joel and Lizzie (im not kidding)

Skizz and Mumbo

Pearl and Tango (it rolled Pearl and Scott first but i didnt want any doubles so i rerolled it)

Ren and Grian

Cleo and Etho (omg theyre back together...)

Scar and Bdubs

Jimmy and Scott (flower husbands,,,,)

Impulse and Martyn

Gem and BigB

now theres some absolute gems in this

first things first, the true soulmates: Joel and Lizzie

they were the first thing i rolled and it was so perfect omg,,,,,, obviously they are the power couple, the girlboss malewife. very chaotic duo and possibly a bit dangerous

next up: Skizz and Mumbo

now because those two dont interaact like at all from my knowledge i cant say much for sure, but i feel like the two of them would make a very fun team. with Skizz's impulsiveness and Mumbos redstone abilities i feel they could do some very fun stuff. I dont think theyd get very far but theyre here for a fun time, not a long time

Pearl and Tango

this one is kinda interesting. we have established that Pearl is crazy, we know that, but Tango is too just in a completely different way. Pearl doesnt beat around the bush much, she there and you know it. while Tango often works in the back seat in the middle of some crazy plot like Dare to Flare, Bet your life, or bringing a warden to the surface. combine these two and youd get some fun results.

Ren and Grian

first thing that came to mind: the dramatics. Grian is the known war starter and Ren is known roleplayer, do i need to make it obvious??? they would be SO fun to watch. Just by thinking about im upset that this isnt already a thing, god. I feel their shenanigans would be on par with the Bad Boys.

Cleo and Etho

if limited life taught us anything its that these two = divorce and im so here for that. this feels as if it be Cloe + Martyn Version 2. and considering and Etho on his own is a bit more pathetic then Martyn it would be very pitiful to watch. Cleo would be out girlbossing(as they do) and Etho would be struggling to do much, that or Etho would be also fine on his own but i think itd be better if he were a little pathetic yk

Scar and Bdubs

these two are impulsive idiots and would do nothing but enable each other and im so here for it. they would go on a million different mini mission in a single session. youd get whiplash from watching them. but i feel like this would make them either very dangerous or not threatening at all. who knows

Jimmy and Scott

flower husbands. what more do i have to say? Scott would be the pro player that he is while jimmy does nothing but get himself killed. theyd make an okay team is third life is anything to go by. i feel Scotts skills at the game and Jimmy's lack of would just balence themselves out a bit. who knows, maybe Jimmy would be the second one to die with a soulmate like Scott

Impulse and Martyn

a southlanders duo! these two were hilarious back in last life and they would be again. theyd make a pretty decent team i think. I mean these two were top two in limited life. theyd be a good mix of shenanigans and actual decent plays, a very good balance i think

and last but not least Gem and BigB

now this ones a thinker because Gem was only ever in one session of the game and did not once interact with BigB(if im remembering correctly) but going on assumptions i think these two would make a great team. first of all i think theyd be semi-wholesome. with Gems cottagecore vibes and BigBs general BigB-ness i think theyd be very cute. but also quite dangerous. Gem is a known PvPer (GeminiSlay!) and BigB makes his own good plays fairly often as well. Otherall very cute, but threatening team

this was a fun thinking exercise

and i want to hear your thoughts in the notes!!!!!

[marzghost]

Just finished rewatching Avatar by James Cameron ( just to refresh the old memory box and let me tell you ,nine year old me definitely did not have the mental capacity to appreciate said movie) and I'm just over here buzzing with a new au for the hermits/empires crew and if you can't already tell it's 100% inspired by said movie.

The Hermits and emperors would be like the Na'vi while the watchers/listeners would take the place of the "sky people"/humans.

Grian, Jimmy, and Pearl would be the three with Avatars known as Shells who are sent down as spies for the watchers and listeners in order to gain information on how to take what they want from this new strange plant/server. In this au the watchers and listeners don't refer to what they are but to what they are allowed to know about combat by the void. The Void is the compound in which they work for whose main mission is to find planets with powerful energy sources so that they can take it and sell it to the highest bidder.

Jugavians are what the hermits and emperors species will be called and they are a bird like race that can't fly without the help of elytra ,another native species to Hermpier. Jugavians are tall beings with large eyes ,winglike ears, tails that fan out with feathers at the end with a pair of small wings on it right before it fans out, and a large blue gem in the center of their chests (lapis). They are generally kind and welcoming people but ever since the takers appeared have become suspicious and aggressive. Jugavians are all one species with the type of birds they are based off of as different types of subspecies.

Shells are the lab grown Void versions of Jugavians made specifically for their hosts in order to gain the trust of the jugavians so that they can figure out their weaknesses and take what they want. They appear to be exactly like jugavians but are missing the pair of wings that can be found on the tails of real jugavians.

Down below is a list of all the hermits and emperors. I've already decided what birds some of them would be based off of as well as the roles Grian Jimmy and Pearl each have working for the void. I'm open to suggestions for anyone without an assigned bird already. I'll also be drawing up an example for what Jugavians look like.

Grian: Watcher: Head researcher and the one who picked both Jimmy and Pearl to be part of project Shell. He has some combat experience due to his watcher status. Is twin brothers with Jimmy. His shell is a, you guessed it, Red Macaw variant.

Jimmy: Listener: one of the few Negotiators working within The Void. As a listener he isn't really allowed to know combat other than the bare minimum. Twin brother of Grian and is actually the younger of the two. His shell is a Canary variant.

Pearl: Watcher: Pearl is a soldier and the cousin of both Grian and Jimmy. As a soldier she has the most combat experience of the three and is meant to protect both Grian and Jimmy while they do their jobs. Her shell is a Snow owl variant.

Bigb: listener: pilot

Martyn:listener: Driller

Ren: Leader: Harris Halk

Bdubs: Second in command to Ren: Potoo bird

Tango: Farm builder: Red Avadavat

Doc: Weapon builder/ Scientist:Harpy Eagle

False: Head Warrior:Bald Eagle

Scar: Second in command Warrior: Red Tailed Hawk

Mumbo: Inventer :Inca Tern

Oli: Singer: Cockatiel

Karalis: Builder: Japanese Long Tailed Tit

Xisuma: Farm builder: Great Eared Nightjar

Impulse:

Gem:

Cub:

Iskall:

Stress:

Etho:

Ijevin:

Cleo:

Joe:

Xb:

Beef:

Zedaph:

Hypnotized:

Lizzie:

Joel:

Sausage:

Scott:

Pix:

Fwhip:

Katherine:

Joey:

Shelby: