#but don’t excuse grian’s either???

[scribblesouturname]

“NO ONE KNOWS THEM BETTER THAN I DO!!!!” and then they babyify grian for all their yhs fan content?? screaming. crying. i have a rant of this that i WILL share the next time i come across someone making grian out to be the saint of yhs bc one of the MANY points of yhs is that all three of the main characters are supposed to be like,,, stupid teenage boys!! and overall BAD people!!! GRRR GROWL BARK!! stop DEMONIZING sam STOP IT!!! ppl who demonize sam rlly don’t understand mental illness lol.

[solargeist]

random watcher grian/scarian 3rd life thoughts I have that I can’t string together

-grian experiencing watcher instincts, but specifically just the possessive protective part, he falls for scar very hard (protect the shiny ! Bird brain bird brain)

-Grian needs glasses. The watchers don’t give him glasses so he uses their enchantments to see usually. However that’s not allowed in the life games, so he can’t see well, this is why he keeps messing up his traps. (I think scar catches onto this, and despite being scar’s bodyguard, scar leads grian around)

-despite falling in love with scar, grian will not tell him. They share a bed, only for warmth though-to survive the cold nights. They take baths together, but only to save water, grian has every excuse ready. He won’t let scar confess anything either, if the moment feels too romantic he’ll change the subject. They could actually have sex and he’d still find a way to excuse this

[mochiwrites]

I desperately need to do something with this secret life au I have bouncing around in my brain. so! snippet/warm up time.

( it’d be really cool if I got any asks about it. and maybe some reblogs 👉👈 )

———————————

Grian’s wings flutter at his sides as he stands before the Secret Keeper. He feels his feathers ruffle with the wind as a breeze goes past, the wings at his head twitching. He’s oblivious to the world around him, eyes glued to the mossy rock formation in front of him. It’s a good thing it isn’t night, else Grian could be at risk of losing very precious hearts if a mob were to sneak up on him.

Though that isn’t something he has to worry about, not at the Secret Keeper statue.

He purses his lips, crossing his arms over his chest as his eyes practically burn holes into the statue. Or well, they probably would, if the statue were made from something flammable. He feels like he’s entered a staring contest with the Secret Keeper, a weird feeling for a lifeless statue.

Except this statue doesn’t feel very lifeless. It’s been making Grian a bit uneasy since the game began, leaving him to wonder if They did something to it.

There’s certainly something odd about the statue, Grian knows this for sure. He’s felt drawn to it since the game began, like it’s been calling to him. Whispering at him. He isn’t exactly the Listening type, it’s all lost on him. His Eyes don’t do him much either, unfortunately.

“What is it about you?” he muses, speaking to a statue that cannot speak back. He stares at its face, the wide eyes and curved mouth that seems frozen in a smirk. The hood looks like it’s been intricately cut out in the stone, like someone had been an agonizingly long time into making sure it was perfect.

This isn’t the first time Grian has done this, just stared up at the Secret Keeper. He can’t help it. The statue feels so familiar, like Grian has seen it somewhere before. No… maybe it’s more than that.

It’s like Grian knows this statue, the Secret Keeper. There’s this nagging feeling in the back of his mind, tugging on some part of him that he doesn’t have access to. It tugs on his soul, his very being and essence, and like being led by string, Grian finds himself back here every time.

He doesn’t understand.

Grian takes a step forward, and the hair on the back of his neck stands on end. The wings of his feathers fluff up. “Who are you to me?” he questions, desperate for some kind of answer. “Why do I feel like I know you?” It’s pointless, he knows. A statue isn’t going to suddenly start speaking to him. It’s inanimate. Stone. It will not answer. Yet Grian stubbornly asks his questions anyway.

He stares up at the statue, frustration dipping his brow as his lips tilt low.

“Whatcha doing?”

A startled squawk sounds from Grian as he turns around on his heel, brown eyes meeting blue. He finds the amused face of Martyn, forcing the avian to let out a breath.

“Martyn,” he sighs, “You can’t do that, man!”

Martyn immediately breaks into laughter, very clearly finding enjoyment from Grian’s reaction. “Sorry, sorry! You make it too easy dude. You’re even easier to sneak up on than Timmy is.”

Grian looks at him as if offended by the comment, “I’ll have you know that Tim is very easy to startle. You just sneak up on me when I’m deep in thought!”

“Too busy ogling the Secret Keeper to notice me sneakin’ up, huh?” Martyn retorts, lips curling into a slight smirk.

“I wasn’t ogling it!” Grian’s wings fan out, flapping slightly in agitation. “I was studying it!”

Martyn hums, not buying Grian’s excuse but not bothering to call him out on it. “And what were you ‘studying’ this time, Grian?”

He pauses now, steam being pushed out of him at Martyn’s question. His wings drop along with his shoulders as he lets out a quiet breath, turning his attention back to the statue. He doesn’t answer immediately, staring at it with a confused expression. “This might sound crazy but… does the Secret Keeper feel… familiar at all?” he slowly asks as he looks back to Martyn.

The man stares at him, looking absolutely lost, if a bit concerned. “You feeling alright dude? Or is this your task or something?”

“I’m perfectly fine, and no it’s not my task.” Grian frowns. “Can you just answer the question?” Thinly veiled patience is laced in his voice, something Martyn can pick out easily after having known Grian for so long.

“Alright, alright,” he sighs, directing his attention to the statue in front of them. He hums, narrowing his gaze slightly. “Nothin’ familiar about it I’m afraid. Creepy smile though.”

“Creepy?” Grian parrots, joining Martyn in looking at the statue. He frowns faintly, “I don’t know… I think it’s kinda nice. Cheeky. A bit silly, y’know? The smile of someone mischievous.”

Martyn turns to look back at Grian, eyes shining with soft concern, “Look, Grian, unless your task is to spend hours ogling this thing, you might wanna get a move on. We’re in a death game, remember?” His stare turns a little colder, harsher. “We’re not gonna be all buddy buddy for very long.”

Grian knows he’s right. There’s no point in wasting time trying to figure out a brain puzzle with no clues. He’s not focusing on what’s important (isn’t the important thing that missing piece? The fracture somewhere?) and it could cost him greatly. Except his eyes trail back to the Secret Keeper’s gray ones (he wonders what they’d look like if they were green), staring at them. It’s like those eyes stare right back at him.

He frowns before sighing. “Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s just hard not to be curious,” he weakly argues, shrugging. “I feel like I know him from someplace, except I don’t know where.”

Martyn is quiet for a moment, eyes faraway. “…I guess I get that,” he relents, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Have fun with your stone Romeo. I’m gonna hit the road and get back to completing my task.”

Grian makes a spluttering sound at that, “S-Stone Romeo?! It’s nothing like that!”

( Above them, the Secret Keeper watches on in sadness. This feels like some kind of punishment. It’s agony, torture. It’s worse than hiding away in his valley all alone, wishing for friends. He wants to reach out. ‘I’m right here!’ He wishes to scream.

He Watches as Grian spares him one last glance, hesitation in his expression. He turns on his heel and walks away.

Scar wishes he could call for him.)

[emberdragon34]

Exiled - An angsty Permit Office Convex oneshot

Spoilers for Cub and Grian's latest videos!

I was sad about events so I decided to write angst.

I think it just made me even sadder.

GoodTimeWithScar whispered to you: Cub we need to talk

GoodTimeWithScar whispered to you: at comfort room

You whispered to GoodTimeWithScar: coming

I look over from building my house in exile. It’s the day after I arrived here. Honestly, I expected this message sooner. I knew Scar would be upset by my decision. I knew he’d want to confront me about it. But it’s still hard to stomach. With a deep breath, I tidy up my blocks and take to the air towards spawn. The sound of Scar’s calming recordings reaches me as I land outside. He’s here, alright. I slow down, trying to keep my emotions in line as I enter the building, all the way through to the comfort room. I pause just inside. Scar’s there, sat hunched on the couch, staring off into the distance, listening to his own comfort tapes. My heart sinks and twists with guilt. I knock on the wall.

‘Hey,’ I say. He pauses the recording, turning to face me. It’s clear he’s been crying. He probably hasn't slept either. 

‘Why did you do this, Cub?’ Scar whispers. ‘Why?’

‘You know why,’ I reply. I try to keep looking at him, but his expression is too upset, too betrayed. I glance at the ground. ‘You felt their influence growing too. I couldn't put the server in danger.’

‘We can control them, though.’ Scar slips from the couch, stepping closer. ‘There’s the Safe Room below the Permit Office.’

‘We chased Joe across the server for 5 hours in mindless bloodlust.’

Scar doesn't reply. He’s on the verge of crying again.

‘No one was hurt.’

‘That’s not an excuse.’

Scar’s silent again. Another small step closer. 

‘What if I need you?’

‘You can come to exile…?’ It’s a terrible answer. We know it’s a terrible answer. We know it’ll do nothing when Scar wakes up mid-panic attack after a nightmare about Secret Life. The nightmares that have only grown more frequent with this exile threat. ‘Look, man, I’m sorry. But imagine what would happen if they took control while we were hunting No Poe. Or- or made us hurt Skizz and Grian to ensure their loyalty or some shit. It’s almost happened already. I couldn't risk it. I had to leave, and do it before they tried to stop me.’ I fall silent, just before I start crying. Part of me screams for doing this. Part of me hates myself for leaving.

‘Oh Cub…’ Scar steps even closer, close enough to run a hand through my hair. I place mine on his cheek, wiping away his tears.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Surely there were other options…’

‘It would’ve taken too long to find them. The Vex were out for blood. I can hide out here and cause harmless chaos. You can stay with Grian and Skizz and stop Beef and Joe.’

‘I want to be with you, Cub.’

‘I’m sorry, man.’

‘It’s not the same with Skizz or Grian. They're great, but Skizz doesn't know what I've gone through and Grian’s gonna blame me and laugh at me for messing up like he always does,’ Scar’s about to cry. His expression haunts me. I can't find a reply. I can't make this better. I desperately try not to start sobbing.

‘I knew I shouldn't have taken the roll of Permit Manager,’ I mutter, vision blurring with my own tears. ‘I knew they were always going to get involved.’

‘Don’t say that…’

‘You know it’s true, Scar,’ I look up at him. ‘The Vex were always going to jump at a chance for power. And get upset when people question it.’

‘It’s not fair!’ Scar bursts out. ‘It’s not fair that they’re always just…’

He starts sobbing. I pull him into a tight hug. Scar hugs back, just crying into my shoulder.

‘I know,’ I murmur. The pit of guilt in my stomach only grows. ‘I know…’

‘When will this end, Cub?’

‘I don't know.’

‘I just want to build my zoo, and hang out, and play Hungry Hermits and TCG, and not have to worry about spawn being 30 million blocks away,’ A pause. ‘About you being 30 million fucking blocks away…’

‘I’m sorry,’ is the only reply I have.

‘Stop saying that.’ mutters back Scar. ‘It’s not your fault. It’s the stupid vex that forced your hand.’

Silence. My mind struggles through options to help Scar, make anything right, comfort him.

‘How long do you have here before returning?’ I land on.

‘Tomorrow morning.’

‘Well… all my spacey bits were in my ender chest. And it’s a clear night…’ Scar knows what I’m implying.

‘Are there any good spots around here?’

‘I’m sure we could find somewhere. If you wanted to.’

‘Yeah.’ Scar snuffles back a sob. ‘Yeah, I’d like that.’

We step from the hug. Tears still run down Scar’s face.

‘Should we go now?’ he asks.

‘Yeah, yeah. The sun'll be going down soon…’ I leave the room, Scar following silently. It’s a short flight to an appropriate mountain. The setting up of our stuff is bittersweet, far slower than usual. Neither of us want this to end. Scar barely speaks. I can tell he’s fighting tears the whole time, as we sit down together, cuddled up in a blanket, staring up at the stars. With so little light pollution, they're incredible. I smile.

‘You know what I love about space?’ I murmur. Scar glances over.

‘What?’

‘That no matter where you are, whatever world, however far away you are, the night sky stay the same. The days will pass the same, the constellations are still the same, the science is the same.’

‘Even 30 million blocks away?’ Scar asks.

‘Even 30 million blocks away.’

I think he smiles at that, hugging closer. Before shifting position, moving his untouched plate of cake closer to me.

‘Do you want some? I don't have the appetite for it.’

‘No appetite for cake, man?!’

‘Well, I’m sorry! We’re gonna be 30 million blocks apart from each other for weeks. Of course I’m feeling bad!’ It was supposed to come across humorously. But it doesn't. Scar falls silent again. His tears shine in the moonlight. ‘Notch, I’m gonna miss you.’

‘You can visit every day.’

‘Not if I’m to be keeping up Poe duties for Grian. Hunting down Joe and Beef. I won't get to see you, Cub. We can't hang out, and all because the stupid Vex…’

‘Honestly, we needed some more Permit action over here anyway. It was too cozy,’ I admit.

‘Too many fish religions,’ Scar replies. We manage to laugh at that.

‘Indeed.’

Scar yawns. He rests his head in my lap, still staring at the sky.

‘Try get some rest. I know you haven't slept,’ I suggest, running a hand through his hair.

‘If I fall asleep, I’ll miss dawn. We won't get to say goodbye properly.’

‘Then we can do it now.’ The words don’t want to come. ‘Goodbye, Scar.’

‘Bye Cub.’

‘Go exile Joe for me.’

‘I will. You make sure he has the worst welcome in the history of welcomes.’

‘Oh, don't worry about that, man. Don't you worry…’

Scar laughs, a sound I’m going to miss.

‘And I’ll visit whenever I can.’

‘You’d better… and watch my base for me. I don't want anyone touching my diamonds.’

‘On it, Permit Manager Cub!’

‘That’s what I like to hear. And find that blackstone permit, Scar.’

‘Hmm… what?’ Scar feigns ignorance. I sigh, amused.

‘Never mind.’

We fall silent again, still looking up at the sky, until I drift asleep, holding Scar close.

And wake up on my own.

[inkieflame]

The Crows in the Garden (Are Laughing at My Expense)

A Scarian/Grumbo oneshot

A Hermitcraft AU

Content warnings: grief or something

1100 words

Aka, Grian has been stealing flowers out of Scar's garden to take to Mumbo. Scar tries to put a stop to the flower thievery.

Author's note: this is an old fic that I wrote a while ago so... Uh. Not my best work. Enjoy anyway <3

The flowers are beautiful, but they do not grow in the abundance they once knew so well.

They have slowly thinned out, now only specks of color among the late summer greens. Part of the reason behind their new sparsity is the turning of the season. Poppies and Lilacs will not grow in the cold.

But the biggest reason is Grian.

He finds himself walking past this garden yet again, just like he always does every month on this day.

“He would like these ones again.” Grain sighs, reaching out to cup one of the flowers in his palm. “It’s sad they won’t be growing for much longer.”

He wraps his grip around a few of them, and pulls them free. They are tucked into a small bouquet. Grian looks down at them, red and purple.

He bends his head until the scent of them fills him, and murmurs, “I’m sorry you won’t get to see these again until next spring.”

“HEY” someone shouts from the other side of the garden.

Grian’s head snaps up to scan for the voice. An angry man comes crashing through the shrubbery with near-disregard for the plants. He’s wearing khakis that are uncomfortably short and a shirt unbuttoned to his stomach. The excess of skin that Grian can see is covered in a scattering of scars.

“Excuse you!” the man stops in front of Grian, “you’re the one who keeps stealing my flowers, thief! They’re very hard to grow and you are not helping with all your thievery!”

Grian doesn’t know what to say to this. The man looks him up and down, eyeing the nice outfit Grian is wearing. He always dressed up on this day.

“Where are you going?” the man says, as though he were suspicious of Grian. “are these flowers for a date!?”

The uncomfortable smile that slips through doesn’t go unnoticed. Grian can’t help the feeling in his chest when he thinks about the recipient of these flowers.

The man smirks, “They are!” He says. “You think I’m just going to let you snatch those flowers because you’re a little lovesick? Well I’m not!” he paused, “What’s your name?”

Grian swallows, “Grian.”

“well, G,” he says, “Scar Goodtimes, pleasure to make your acquaintance. You seem like a fine guy! Very- very fine indeed. And I’m sure you have a very important date to be getting too.-“

“I’m actually-“ Grian starts, but Scar keeps taking.

“A man like yourself, surely you have high standards!” Scar was saying, “is this a first date? You must go on a lot of first dates to keep taking my flowers! Maybe you need someone to help with quality control. I happen to consider myself a bit of a matchmaker, I could-“

Grian sighs and tunes out of the obvious rambling that this man is about to delve into.

“And off we go!” Scar declares, and began to march down the road.

Grian hesitates, “Excuse me?”

“We’re going to meet your date!” Scar says, “Well, you’re going on you’re date and I’M here to see weather or not this date is good enough for flower thievery!”

Grian’s stomach twists, but his feet start dragging down the path again. He hangs his head, trying to look as uninterested in conversation as possible. It obviously isn’t working, but the lilacs smell nice.

“So who is the lucky girl? Or guy, I’m not- I don’t- the flowers would be loved by either, I’m sure, I didn’t mean-” Scar is saying.

Grian can’t drag his eyes away from the red of the poppies. He remembers the first time he took flowers to his favorite person. The poppies are the same shade of red that his eyes had been.

“Grian?” Scar waves in his face. His eyes are green, nothing like poppies. “Does the special someone have a name?”

Grian takes in a deep breath, “Mumbo.” He says at last.

It is hard to say the name so casually after it was replaced by pet names. After it was whispered to it’s owner. After it was yelled, crying and begging. That name carried so much weight with it now.

Scar is nodding, “Sounds like a man who would like flowers. He better be worth the thievery.” He laughs. Grian hasn’t heard such carefree laughter in so long.

“But he can’t be the first one? I assume you’ve been a flower thief since the beginning, because they never would grow like they were meant to! I thought I was a bad bot-an-ologist! Botany-gist! Uh, Biologist!”

“Botanist.” Grian supplies.

“Exactly! You made me think I was doing it wrong!” Scar whines.

Grian swallows, hoping to shut down the conversation, “You did fine.” He takes a left turn down the street and Scar follows him without a second thought.

“I mean, have you ever tried to grow something?! You’d be frustrated too!”

Grian huffs. His grip around the flowers tightens. He wants to be left alone, even if this man was charming and lively. He needs this time for himself. He needs it.

“Where are we going by the way?” Scar asks, “All the coffee shops I know of are on the other side of town. Are you not a coffee fan?”

Grian does not answer this question. He doesn’t know how to explain this to Scar at this point. It’s too hard for Grian to say, because then he has to acknowledge that Mumbo really is gone. He abandoned Grian to this aching, lonely existence.

Scar finally stops talking when Grian steps into the yard. The realization has hit, but Grian doesn’t wait for it to sink in. He has a destination.

He approaches Mumbo, who waits for him in a far corner of the walled area. The are still flowers left here from last month, but they don’t carry any vibrancy with them anymore. Grian gently kneels to take back the old flowers and replace them with new ones.

“Oh.” Scar says, hovering behind Grian like a shadow, “Oh, I’m sorry.”

Grian doesn’t look up from where he is knelt at the gravestone. He keeps tracing the carved words with his gaze, convincing himself they’re not real. Like he hasn’t been here on this day every month for over a year.

“It’s alright.” Grian whispers, “You didn’t know.”

Scar shifts awkwardly, “I’m sorry.” He says again.

Grian pulls himself to his feet. He struggles to move away from the grave. His eyes slip down to where the new flowers lay.

The flowers are beautiful.

[slashmagpie]

“Okay, but seriously,” Grian says, long after the session’s over, when the long night falls and the three of them are camping out in Bdubs’ bedroom because it’s the only bedroom they’ve got. (Other than the shrine, of course, but that’s outside, with the dark and the mobs, and it’d been trapped earlier, so. Probably best not to sleep there, really.) “What is it with you two and Bdubs?”

Cleo and Etho glance at each other. “What do you mean?” Etho asks, trying for light-heartedness and not quite sticking the landing. It’s not his fault his heart is doing something weird in his chest. 

“You know, the whole, complimenting Bdubs thing?”

“I thought it was Etho’s task.”

“I was pretending it was my task so the yellows wouldn’t call me out.”

“Huh. Smart.”

“Thank you, Cleo! See, I can be smart sometimes.”

“Sure. Sometimes.”

“No, but—” Grian breaks off, seeming to struggle with his words. “You built him a bedroom. You didn’t build me a bedroom. You didn’t even build you guys a bedroom! I guess I’m just—I’m a little confused—”

“Well, that’s just Bdubs,” Cleo says with a wave of her hand. 

“But what does that mean,” says Grian, distressed.

“It’s just—it’s—you know! It’s Bdubs!” Cleo also sounds kind of distressed, now. “He’s—you know—he’s got that weird thing with Etho.”

“Hey, don’t put this on me!” Etho cries, and now he’s distressed, too. That’s the problem with the three of them, he thinks: they’re all easily distressed. And that’s a bad thing to be, in a game like this. “You guys have a weird thing too!”

“We do not!”

“You do! He doesn’t call me Mom, you know.”

“That was—that was last season. It’s a different universe. It’s fine.”

“Uh-huh. And Third Life…?”

“You—! Well, what about Last Life, huh? What about that, Etho?”

“Hey now, that’s unfair!”

“Mhm! Maybe you’re being unfair, right now! Maybe I should get to be unfair back!”

“I have no idea what’s going on,” Grian says. 

The two of them go silent. They’re not looking at each other anymore. Suddenly, Etho is grateful for his mask. He has such a terrible poker face, is the thing. If he didn’t have the mask—

“Bdubs is like a baby duck,” Cleo says.

Etho frowns. “Excuse me?”

“He’s like a baby duck,” Cleo repeats, “and he just latches onto you and starts following you around.”

“Imprints,” Etho offers.

“Yes. That. And then it’s like… well what am I gonna do? Leave the baby duck alone? To die in the cold? I may be cruel, but I’m not that cruel.”

She nods, like this explanation makes sense. It makes plenty of sense to Etho. He nods in agreement.

“He’s a grown man,” Grian says, despair in his voice.

“You just don’t get it, Grian,” Etho says. 

“No, I don’t!” Grian agrees. “At this point, I’m not even sure I want to get it! I don’t have to go along with the bit anymore. I don’t have to be part of—whatever this is.”

“You don’t want to be part of our alliance anymore, Grian?” Cleo asks, something sharp in her voice. 

“No, no, I didn’t say that!” Grian holds his hands up in surrender. “I want to be part of the alliance! I just—don’t want to be part of whatever’s going on with Bdubs.”

“Oh, well that’s fine,” Cleo says, relaxing back against the wall. “You don’t have to be.”

“Right,” Grian says, sounding doubtful, unsure. “And what Etho said, about the, uh…” He mumbles the word foursome so quietly it’s almost inaudible. Etho’s got good ears, though.

So does Cleo, apparently, who promptly kicks Etho in the ribs.

“Ow!”

“That’s not a thing,” Cleo says. “Very much not a thing. Ignore Etho, he’s—he—he sucks.”

“Mean to me,” Etho says, but he’s grinning beneath the mask.

“No, no, we’re besties. I’d never be mean to you.” 

“Except for when you are.”

“Except for when I am, sure. But you deserve that.”

“I don’t understand you two,” Grian says with a slow shake of his head. “I don’t understand you guys at all.”

“Aww, Grian, you’ll get used to it,” Etho says.

“I don’t understand you either, so we’re even,” says Cleo, and Grian barks out a laugh.

[funkyplantguy]

Saw u doing asks and realized I was late and then thought “hey why don’t i ask anyways bcs you can use this as an excuse to write whenever u want”

Soo here I am ‘:D

I LOVED After Midnight, actually read it a couple times now, and saww that you’ve been wanting to write more of it, and I rlly would love to hear about either how Scar and Grians first actual date goes or future relationship.. Literally anything u write I will read :3

Also the background/cub and mumbo burst in was incredible and i keep thinking about one liners from it that had me dead 😭✨

Also also I’ve been thinking of drawing a scene from when they were at the party, or just Grians outfit, bcs idk what it was but I keep picturing him with mushroom vibes like this- 🍄 What kinda outfit did you have in mind tho im curious??

OMG MAGGYYYYY IN MY ASKS ?!???!??? HELLO HELLO HELLO BELOVED HELLO !!!

WAAUUUUGH thank you!!! after midnight is something that i absolutely did not intend to be anything more than a one-off smut for scarian smooch fest, but something which has (happily) become more! i'm planning at least two more one-shots in the same universe (a first date fic for scar and grian, of course, as well as a first time fic for cub and mumbo), and then...who knows! maybe i'll have them go on a road trip, or something silly like that. it's kind of nice to just have a "basic" au (since almost midnight is just. a college au, essentially) with which to just have a good ol' silly goofy time with between my other projects/zines/events! and i'm so honored and flattered that people have enjoyed it in the way that they have <3

HAHAHAHA YEAH - i absolutely adore writing dialogue; i was giggling the entire time writing that scene to be so honest with you. i also adore cub and mumbo. cumbo <3

WAUUUUGHHH?? MAGGY ART???? MAGGY FANART???? i weep and sob and cry. you are SO correct with the mushroom vibes - i pictured him in a maroon corset top (something strapless) and a short, tight black skirt. maybe some thigh-high boots, too? honestly, go wild - you've Got The Vibe, our brain cells are connected and i will GREATLY cherish any art you may or may not make for this silly little au <3

[errorryx]

unraveling — part one, season eight

read on ao3 | hermitcraft, 2.2k words

This fic was written for the MCYTblr AUfest (@mcytblraufest)! My artist was @ghastspidergwen, who made this beautiful doll for the AU! please go give that post lots of love, it would mean the world to me <3

—

There are two new server members this season, and for most of the hermits, this is their first look at either of them. It’s probably a little intimidating for Pearl and Gem to be stared at from above by everyone else, but it’s difficult for most of them to remember to be courteous about it, because they're too busy staring at Pearl.

Players on Hermitcraft have always come in all different shapes and sizes, but none of them have ever been anything like Pearl. She’s a player like the rest of them, that much is obvious, but her body appears to be made out of wool, rather than any sort of organic material. Her eyes are buttons, and she has soft fuzzy antennae protruding from her hat that look like feathers.

Pearl stares back up at them, a slight grin on her face. She has yet to do much in the way of moving. Finally, when it comes time to introduce herself, she hops up to join the rest of them, moving around as easily as any other player.

Eventually, one by one, the hermits come to the conclusion that everything must be in order after all. They graduate from staring to sneaking occasional looks, and they do their collective best to treat her like any other player.

Because if there’s one thing Hermitcraft is known for, it’s things that defy logic with their very existence. And in that respect, Pearl fits right in.

—

Shortly after the Boatem Pole incident wraps up, it occurs to Mumbo that he’s gone and joined another club for the season—and that one of the other club members is a newcomer that he’d really like to know more about.

He figures Grian is his best bet for information about Pearl, seeing as he’s the one who invited her to the server in the first place. Mumbo finds him offloading his inventory into the start of what’s sure to be a formidable chest monster, and asks, “You know Pearl pretty well, right?”

“Of course!” Grian says. “We’ve been friends for years.”

“Has she always been…you know.” Mumbo carefully considers his choice of words. “Did she use to look any different?”

Grian shrugs. “Maybe.”

“You don’t know?”

“A lot of people have looked a lot of different ways over the years.” Grian closes the lid of the chest. “You can’t expect me to remember everything.”

He has a point, unfortunately. “What about since the last time you saw her?”

“You mean ten minutes ago? I doubt she’s changed much since then.”

Mumbo rolls his eyes. “Before today.”

“That was…a couple months ago, I think. Or a couple years. One of those.”

Sometimes, Grian is an extremely frustrating person to hold a conversation with. “I just want to know why she’s made out of yarn and stuffing!”

“Oh! Why didn’t you just say so?”

“Because—” Mumbo stops, realizing he might be equally at fault here. “I thought it would be rude.”

“Well, to answer your question,” Grian says, “I haven’t the slightest idea why she’s like that.”

“You never asked her?”

“I thought it would be rude.”

“That’s never stopped you before,” Mumbo points out.

“Excuse you! I don’t go around asking why you’ve got that mustache.”

Mumbo strokes the mustache in question, feeling a little self-conscious. “I think it’s a nice mustache.”

“Me too,” Grian says. “I also think Pearl looks nice the way she is.”

“So do I,” Mumbo agrees quickly. “Really, I do.”

“Glad we agree!” Grian pats him on the back, and Mumbo leaves even more confused than before.

—

Grian’s still thinking about his conversation with Mumbo when he goes to ask Pearl for help with a build.

The build in question is actually a prank on Mumbo, but that’s not why it’s on his mind. In the few weeks since they spoke about Pearl, it’s occurred to him that there is something a little different about her—he just can’t quite put his finger on it.

“Have you gotten a haircut recently?” he asks her. “It looks nice.”

“Don’t be silly,” Pearl says. “You can just tell me you like my new wings!”

Right, of course. The wings. Grian feels a little embarrassed that he didn’t realize. “I do quite like them,” he says. He knows that Pearl’s wings have been there since the beginning of the season, it just hadn’t occurred to him that they were new. Like he said to Mumbo, he doesn’t keep track of these things.

“I appreciate it.” Pearl pokes him in the shoulder. “I like yours too, you know.”

“Yeah, well—” He rolls his eyes, his feathers instinctively fluffing up at the acknowledgement. “They aren’t exactly new.”

“I still like them!”

“Thanks.” Grian takes a closer look at her wings. They’re grey moth wings with a similar texture to the fabric that makes up the rest of her body, though they have more detail than any of her clothes. With such a small wingspan, they shouldn’t be aerodynamic enough to get Pearl off the ground, no matter how little she weighs. “You can’t fly with these, surely.”

“Not with that attitude I can’t.”

“I’ll be very impressed if you manage to prove me wrong.”

“Oh, yeah?” Pearl walks outside through the left-side door, and Grian follows through the trapdoors in the center. “Watch this!”

The way she rises is odd, to say the least. Grian is intimately familiar with the process of taking flight, and he’s pretty sure Pearl’s method violates the laws of physics. It’s not so much that she’s flying as it is that she’s being lifted, like an invisible hand is pulling her up by the feelers and holding her there, letting her dangle inelegantly in midair.

“Ta-da,” Pearl says, spreading her arms open.

Grian squints up at her. “When did ‘Suma give you access to creative mode?”

“I’m not cheating,” Pearl says, offended. She turns her back in midair, displaying her wings, which are slowly flapping back and forth. She begins to bob around in the air, sort of like a slow-motion hummingbird. It’s only marginally more convincing than her initial ascent.

“Fine,” Grian agrees, if only to get her to stop. “You can fly. I’m impressed.” 

Mostly, he’s disturbed. His wings itch just looking at her.

“Thank you,” Pearl says, and much to Grian’s relief, lands beside him. “So what’s this about a tree war?”

The vague plans that have been taking place in Grian’s head will require flight for them both, but he really, really doesn’t want to watch Pearl hover like that ever again. “First things first,” he says. “Let’s get you an elytra.”

—

Keralis is no stranger to the unusual. He knows he’s a little unusual; people tell him so all the time! And unusual things are constantly happening around him, only some of which are his fault. But Pearl is really something special.

The first time she comes to visit, Keralis ropes her into a scheme he’s just come up with, which is to get a clock from Bdubs so he can do some interior decorating. This is only part of his motivation—he takes to the extraordinary like a moth to a flame, and there are many extraordinary things about Pearl. He wants to discover them all.

Like her player head, for instance. Normal player heads, dropped in the event of a player's death, have a very simple effect: when equipped, they give someone the physical appearance of that player from the neck up. Usually they don't feel like anything, but Pearl’s head behaves a little differently. The first time Keralis tries it on is a very disorienting experience.

He and Pearl continue to meet up over the course of the season, hatching various schemes to try and swindle Bdubs out of even more clocks. Tango joins them for their third meeting, and Keralis wears his Pearl head again. It still feels very funny, and he decides that sharing is caring. “Here, put on a Pearl head!” Keralis says, throwing Tango his spare.

Tango puts it on, and now two Pearls are looking back at him. “Is it supposed to feel like my head is full of cotton?”

“Yes, that is perfectly normal,” Keralis assures him. “You get used to it!”

“He’s right,” Pearl agrees. “I’m very used to it.”

Keralis squints at her in suspicion, but he currently has buttons for eyes, so he’s not sure if anything actually  happens. “Was there a time when your head was not full of cotton?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Pearl says, “what with the cotton in my head and all. Makes it hard to remember these things.”

Keralis respects and admires that Pearl wants to maintain an air of mystery, so he laughs along. But he does not quite believe her.

—

On the day they decide to tear down an entire castle and rebuild it on Bdubs’ mountain, Keralis and Pearl wind up killing each other for fun midway through the project. Mumbo arrives with his end crystals to further complicate things, and after several rounds of recreational murder, Keralis puts on Pearl’s head again.

He knows what to expect by now, so the strangeness of it doesn't catch him off-guard. The interesting part comes when Pearl retaliates by putting on one of his heads. Keralis isn’t sure what he expected, but it’s not a knitted version of his own face staring back at him, complete with oversized black-and-white buttons for eyes.

“You've got a lovely head on your shoulders, Pearl,” he says. “Not terrifying at all.”

Mumbo turns to look at her too, and jumps about a foot in the air. “Good heavens!”

“What?” Pearl says, the picture of innocence. “Have I got something on my face?”

She blinks—and, come to think of it, Keralis can’t remember whether or not he’s ever seen Pearl blink before. Maybe he has, and he never noticed, but it’s hard not to notice when her eyes are so much larger. Mumbo seems to notice the same thing, because he asks, flabbergasted, “How on earth did you just blink with button eyes?”

Pearl does it again, twice in a row. Keralis is no closer to understanding how she does it, but he’s all the more invested in watching her to find out. “How do you blink with your goopy eyes?” Pearl asks.

“Oh, very easy. We use our eye muscles!” Keralis tries to demonstrate, but finds himself unable to do so. “Sorry, one second.” He pops off the Pearl head that he’s wearing and bats his eyelashes. “See?”

“Muscles, right. I’ve heard of those.” Pearl stretches her arms up to her head. “You used to have some, right, Mumbo? Do you still have ‘em?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because you’re a potato? Last I checked, potatoes don’t have muscles.”

“Yes, but surely…” Mumbo looks down at his arm, poking the skin—the peel?—around his wrist. “Oh, dear. Do I have muscles? How am I meant to tell?”

“I know!” Keralis draws his axe. “We can slice off a little piece of you and look inside!”

Mumbo goes faintly green, resembling a poisonous potato. “I would really rather you didn’t.”

“No, I like this idea,” Pearl agrees. “Aren’t you curious, Mumbo? I know I am.”

“And we could also find out what your head looks like on Pearl’s head,” Keralis suggests.

Mumbo sighs. “Fine,” he says. “But only because I strongly suspect you’re going to do it anyway.”

“I promise I will be careful,” Keralis says, crossing his arms behind his back. “Just a teeny tiny slice.” 

“I don’t want to watch.” Mumbo holds out his arm and looks in the opposite direction.

Keralis cuts into Mumbo’s arm. Unfortunately, he misjudges the amount of strength needed to cut through a potato with a large axe, and ends up slicing off Mumbo’s entire hand. “Oopsy-daisy.”

“Ow,” Mumbo says, as Pearl picks up the hand from the ground. He sounds more annoyed than agonized.  “Really?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay! Five minute rule, remember? You will be good as new after a nice respawn.”

“He’s potato all the way through,” Pearl reports, showing the hand to Keralis. “You don’t even have bones, Mumbo, see?”

“Can I get that respawn now?” Mumbo asks, still refusing to turn his head.

“Of course!” Keralis slices him through with the axe, then does it again. The hand that Pearl’s holding disappears, as does the rest of Mumbo, who pops up at the nearby respawn bed while Pearl picks up his player head from the ground and plops it on.

Similarly to Keralis’s head, Mumbo’s head on Pearl’s body is made out of interwoven material with button eyes. This time, however, the yarn has been replaced by what appears to be little strips of potato peels.

“Well, that’s distressing,” Mumbo says, summing up what they’re all thinking.

“I can’t see what this looks like,” Pearl says, “but it smells like raw potatoes in here.”

Her specification of raw gives Keralis an idea. “I wonder if we could put Potato Boy through a furnace?”

“I think I’ve had enough scientific experimentation for the day,” Mumbo says, gathering up his things from the chest. “I need to put an end to this whole potato business as soon as possible.”

After he leaves, Pearl walks over to the crafting table. “We could put his head through the furnace.” She crafts a furnace and sets it down, taking off the Mumbo head. “Aw, it won’t go in.”

“Too weird for normal Minecraft,” Keralis says, shaking his head.

Pearl laughs. “Story of my life.”

—

Next part >

if you read this all the way through and enjoyed, please consider reblogging!

[cloudwhisper23]

Another prompt underway! This is yet again for @grow-bettah's Grumbo Month event! I hope y'all enjoy!

Day 16: Vampire

Mumbo didn’t like to keep secrets from his friends. Honest! He didn’t like it one bit, not when it meant he kept having to make excuses for why he couldn’t join Grian’s silly fish diet, or Scar’s completely vegetarian diet. His friends gave him odd looks when he declined, and Mumbo knew he could only pretend nothing was wrong for so long.

Being cursed to be a vampire wasn’t very great on a multiplayer server, regardless of how supportive your friends would pretend to be. Their reaction went deep enough that Mumbo could sense it now.

Still, Mumbo supposed he couldn’t complain too much. Iskall had figured it out quite quickly and immediately set about figuring out how to help him sort out his difficulties, encouraging an End bust expedition so no one would question the newfound strength of Mumbo’s wings amongst other treatments to prevent the sun from actually doing any damage.

The End bust certainly helped. Iskall was still busy with other projects, but the fact that he’d been willing to help Mumbo out with this was much appreciated, as was his ability to keep the matter a secret. Mumbo was also in possession of the item frame permit, something that justified the number of cows he’d been killing.

The blood wasn’t very fresh, but again, it was better than starving. The texture of the raw beef in his mouth wasn’t ideal either, but Ren had managed to do it for years by this point, so Mumbo really couldn’t complain. Or well, he could, but he wasn’t going to complain verbally. Certainly not around the other members of Magic Mountain.

Good days ended with blisters and bloody fingertips as Mumbo built up more of the mountain near his base. Bad days were spent curled up in his death chamber having delirious conversations with his llama.

Mumbo quickly found himself getting sick of the constant fluctuation between good and bad days and decided it was time to go out and converse with the other hermits again. Socializing was a good thing, he told himself, clasping the modified elytra onto his shoulders.

Maybe it was time to pay Grian a visit? If he was home, that was. Last Mumbo heard, he’d been dragged away from the dock to help with permit problems.

It would be good to pay Grian a visit, Mumbo decided. If only to distract him from his difficulties at the permit office. With a sigh, Mumbo stretched his wings before jumping from the hill toward Grian’s base. Please be home.

Grian was in fact home when Mumbo landed on the stained surface of the dock. His wings were pulled tight to his body, hardly moving as he went through barrel after barrel in search of something. Curious, Mumbo stood still, observing the increasingly panicked sounds in Grian’s breathing. What had his friend lost?

“You alright there, mate?” Mumbo finally said.

Grian’s wings didn’t so much as bristle, but Mumbo still smelled the frightened scent from Grian’s body. “Uh, yeah. Hey, Mumbo.”

“What are you looking for?” Mumbo asked, relieved that the fear seemed to vanish as soon as Grian registered who was there.

“Oh, nothing important. Just something for a project.” Grian’s wings gave nothing away, once again.

That struck Mumbo as odd, considering how he could tell Grian was still obviously in distress about whatever was missing. “Right…” Perhaps Mumbo wasn’t the only one hiding something?

“So, what brings you over here? Not planning on fishing, I assume.” Grian settled down on one of the piles of barrels.

“Just a social call,” Mumbo answered. “Your base is looking fantastic, by the way. I love the… bird house?”

Grian’s mouth twitched. “Don’t go there.”

“Right.” Mumbo cleared his throat. “So uh. How have you been?”

“Great. Well, as good as I can be with this stupid fishing curse.” Grian gestured vaguely. “It’s been great, figuring out the restrictions and the grudge the ocean holds.”

“Pardon, fishing curse?”

Grian sighed. “I haven’t been doing this as a bit, Mumbo. I have to keep fishing. I have to eat exclusively fish. And if I go into water…” He jumped down, pulled his boots off his feet and sat down on the dock, dipping his feet into the water. “Well, this happens.”

Mumbo’s eyes widened as webs grew between Grian’s toes and scales shimmered on his ankles. “Yeah, that’s… Wow…”

“Mhm.” Grian sounded less than pleased. “It’s manageable, I guess. But still, it’s pretty annoying.”

Mumbo nodded silently. Should he tell Grian about his own curse? It wasn’t the same sort of burden, but maybe there would be some kind of solidarity in knowing that he wasn’t alone in his suffering. Maybe? Or would Grian take it as one-upping him?

Mumbo stood quietly as Grian dried himself off. The faintest frown flickered across Grian’s face, but it was gone before Mumbo came out of his thoughts.

“Well, if that’s all…” Grian trailed off, looking at Mumbo again before going back to his barrel search.

“I, erm.” Mumbo coughed. “It’s unfortunate that the ocean cursed you.”

“Yeah.”

“If, um. If it helps, you’re not the only one.”

Grian paused. “Are you implying that Gem has a curse too? Because honestly, I think she’s more blessed by the ocean than cursed by it.”

“Well, a blessing and a curse are practically the same thing depending on how you look at it. But,” Mumbo added hastily at Grian’s scowl, “that wasn’t what I was talking about.”

“What were you talking about then?” Grian resumed opening barrels.

“The… the moon cursed me.”

Mumbo didn’t know what he was expecting. But he finally got a wing twitch out of Grian, even if it was only one on the side of his head. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I’m… a vampire. Yep, I’m a vampire this season.” Mumbo nodded, chewing his lip.

“You-“ Grian turned around. “You have to be joking. I thought you were just a bat hybrid this whole time!”

“I was.” Mumbo scratched his neck anxiously. Claws dug into his skin, and he stopped. “Look, mate. It’s like your whole… fish thing. Sort of. Mine just built on what was already there while yours added something completely new.”

“This is why you refuse to eat my catches,” Grian said, half to himself. “So you have to drink blood? Wait, you’re in the sun. How does that-“

“Iskall’s been helping me out some.” Mumbo unclipped his elytra and stretched his wings, the aches well worth the expression on Grian’s face. “We went End busting so no one would question my ability to fly.”

“Yeah, that would… and the sun too, I’m assuming?��� Grian was still staring, like he was memorizing every detail of Mumbo’s wings.

“Yep. And as for the blood, I do have to drink it, but it doesn’t have to be hermit blood.” Mumbo nodded to himself with that one.

“So this whole time…” Grian shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. “Mumbo, is that why you’ve looked so sickly?”

“Pardon?” Mumbo blinked. He wasn’t anticipating this reaction, although it wasn’t an unwelcome one. Grian wasn’t afraid in the slightest, instead concerned about his wellbeing.

“Mumbo K. Jumbo,” Grian said sternly. “Have you been drinking stale blood?”

“Erm… maybe?”

Grian’s wings twitched. “Why?”

“Because it’s what I have available? I don’t have my cow farm set up yet, so I just-“

“Cow’s blood.” Grian shook his head again. “Mumbo. Did the thought never cross your mind to ask me for help?”

“It did,” Mumbo replied honestly. “But you seemed so busy, and well-“

“I’m never too busy for you.”

Mumbo’s mouth opened, but he couldn’t find any words to say. Grian smiled sadly. “Mumbo, if you need blood, ever, you can ask me for some. I don’t mind.”

“I couldn’t possibly-“

“You could.” Grian crossed his arms. “Remember when you ate my soul to become more human again?”

“That’s different-“

“That’s worse! And I was only opposed to it because I had levels! You aren’t going to drink me dry. I know you.” Grian’s mouth set in a determined line. “Actually, you probably need some right now, don’t you? You’re so pale you’re nearly translucent, Mumbo.”

Mumbo could feel his fangs pressing into his lower lip, but he still protested. “It’s not the worst thing in the world, Grian-“

“You need to drink blood that’s actually good for you.” Grian persisted.

“Fine. Just this once.”

“I won’t hold you to that,” Grian answered softly, stepping forward to offer his wrist to Mumbo.

Mumbo frowned, but he said nothing more before sinking his teeth into Grian’s arm.

It was far sweeter than it should have been.

And Mumbo hated that he didn’t regret it.

[the-somwthing]

I gotta talk to people so bad so I’m just gonna spout something that’s been on my mind for a while

I see a lot of people always describing Joel and Scott’s rivalry as one sided. Like, Joel just hates Scott and Scott doesn’t care? And while I feel like that statement is technically true, it doesn’t really describe the situation very well.

It sort of implies that Scott’s never out to get Joel, and Joel is just coming after Scott for no reason. I won’t deny that Joel does like to come after Scott without provocation sometimes, but like… we are ignoring the fact that 3/5 Joel final deaths have been at Scott’s hand?

In two seasons, those kills were a result of a deliberate hunt to get rid of Joel specifically. In Last Life, I’ll give him a bit of a pass, since Joel did kind of start the fight with a big explosion and had been the “villain” for the entire season, it makes enough sense to try to end him like that.

But in LIMITED LIFE?? As a Joel viewer I am NEVER getting over the feeling of watching his final episode (not negative, just baffling in a way I find pretty fun lol). Scott randomly says “Joel needs to die” and everyone just agrees I guess? And then Joel is being witch hunted. “Oh but it’s because he was getting so many kills! Duh!” Grian had more. Grian LITERALLY got a quad kill (ON SCOTT FOR THAT MATTER) and Scott’s like “JOEL is the problem, the murderous evil of the server”. LIKE HELLO?? They’re literally allies, Scott could’ve said “we need to get rid of the bad boys” but he was COOL with Grian. He was letting Grian LIVE. Like HELLO??? WHAT DID JOEL DO FR 😭 Joel was literally just trying to survive btw, his fighting back was very defensive rather than offensive, and would back off when not being actively attacked. With the exception of trying to get kills cuz he was on less than ten minutes, of course. But Scott had been hunting him before then.

And then I guess I have to mention Secret Life’s Scott-Killing-Joel. I don’t think that final kill was especially targeted on either of their sides, the battle just turned out that way. I could rewatch to see if there’s more to it but for now this is how I see it.

Okay, I’m turning this into a full analysis of their rivalry, idc, I’m literally obsessed with their dynamic. I’m adding a cut here.

ALRIGHT WHERE WAS I. RIGHT. Finished explaining the final deaths, but there’s stuff before that! Let’s take a look at their rivalry 🥰

Let’s go in order, shall we? 3rd Life!! I am obsessed with them in this season ahahahhaga anyways. Joel comes after Scott unprovoked. Simple, this is how everyone sees their rivalry. HOWEVER. Joel is FULLY WILLING to work with him anyways. Maybe you could excuse the dark oak thing as it was early on and they were just trying to take down a monopoly. But in the finale they reconcile and spend much of the session together. They established early on that Joel had been trying to kill Scott, but they’re both perfectly happy to team up instead (which btw they did because they both happened to be allied with Scar).

Then Last Life. Joel does hate Scott in it, but I’m not sure I would say it’s without reason. Joel being boogey in ep2 was majorly important, and he killed Scott. But that wasn’t targeted. He had attempted multiple times to kill other people. Scott was one of the only (and closest) people who didn’t already know he was boogeyman. Then of course Scott tells Pearl they can fight back and has her kill Joel, sending him to red. Perfectly reasonable for all parties imo, and a good enough reason for Joel to target Scott seeing as being red early on had a huge impact on him.

Of course LL is also where Joel says Scott just looked at him funny one day and that’s why he hates him, which is a great line. I do believe he would bother Scott just for the rivalry, but unlike in 3rd Life, Scott had done things to make Joel never consider stopping.

Then Double Life. Erm. Literally nothing, except that I believe the only reason Scott and Pearl were the last pair is because Joel wasn’t there to kill them, since apparently he’s the only one who can make them lose lives. Wild. They were guaranteed to win ever since the lava portal trap. (obviously I’m joking but like how is he the only outside force to kill that pair). I will clarify for analysis sake that Joel’s first kill on them had nothing to do with Scott, and the second kill was to Scott but it was because of the life colors, not really anything about their rivalry. It was technically targeted at Scott specifically but not cuz he hated him, instead because Pearl had a weird “alliance” with the reds.

Then Limited Life!!! What the heeelll was happening lmao. I already talked about the final moment so before that. Erm. I’m blanking out I’m listening to bad romance it’s distracting me. You know what let’s move on I can’t remember what they did, the final death I explained previously is enough data for now.

Secret Life. Oh boy. I’ll say it again, I was secretly hoping for more Scott/Joel dynamic when it started but I doubted it would happen but we got FED!!! I was so excited when I saw the assassin task (as was Joel). Anyways. Throughout the season Joel was doing the whole hating Scott thing, Scott caught onto the bit and played into it somewhat by talking more about how Joel always hates him for no reason. We SHOULD be able to disregard Joel targeting Scott for the assassin task as it was a task, but to be fair after reading it Joel said “oh my gosh is this my dream?” He was super happy to be assigned to assassinate Scott LMAO. That has to count for something.

I feel like the rivalry was fairly obvious, so I need to point out the outlier moments in SL. While Joel goes on about how Scott should die, he happily trades with him and swapped gifted hearts with zero hesitation. In the final session, he and Scott ended up on the same side. I believe Joel may have been slightly annoyed at being on a team with him but accepts it nonetheless. The only reason Scott ends up killing Joel is because their team won, so they had to turn on each other. As previously stated it wasn’t especially targeted, it was a 2v2.

And then if you noticed from me saying 3/5 games, I’m not counting Real Life, but I’ll bring it up here. Scott literally says “since it’s real life we can be friends now since we’re friends in real life” (one of the many reasons I consider RL noncanon tbh, Scott literally mentions in-universe that this season is different so they can act differently, also what is the in-universe explanation for “friends in real life”). Aside from a reminder that Joel doesn’t actually hate Scott irl and this is just fun game rp stuff, this shows that Scott really did catch onto the rivalry bit, and really does just bring it up more. Joel had just arrived when Scott brought it up. Joel agrees to being friends in Real Life. This holds little relevance to my analysis since I don’t view RL as canon but you can keep it in mind.

Now that I’ve laid out their rivalry in a simplified summary, let me ACTUALLY analyze it! What did I mean all the way back at the start of the post when I said “Scott and Joel’s rivalry being one sided is somewhat accurate but I feel it misrepresents their relationship”?

Well, I believe it’s true that (at least up until Secret Life), Scott didn’t care about the rivalry while Joel did. But that doesn’t mean Scott never targeted Joel, as I said he’s witch-hunted him twice. It’s just it was never personal to Scott. I once saw a post(s) I really enjoyed, an analysis on Scott. Saying that he doesn’t actually value being loyal, he values being fair. Then there was the addition that it’s based on what he thinks is fair. I feel like this is 100% true for his thing with Joel. Scott views Joel as a force that has to be stopped, he’s gone too far, he needs to be stopped, it’s only fair for all the suffering he’s caused. He doesn’t stop to think about how killing is the whole point of this game, how other people are doing the same things, how many times he has killed Joel. Joel hasn’t killed Scott permanently before, he has killed him though, but not as much as Scott has killed Joel. To Scott, that doesn’t matter, Scott kills Joel for a reason, for justice, while Joel kills just for the sake of it. Whether or not that idea is true is up to you to interpret for yourself, but to Scott it’s true. Joel is more of a wildfire that needs to be put out than a rival.

Let’s look at Joel’s side of things. He does hate Scott and target him for no reason. The rivalry is one sided, where Joel sees a rival Scott sees some random danger that needs to be dealt with. I can’t tell you why Joel hates Scott. It’s not really the point of my analysis. I’ve seen ppl say it’s because of previous series they’ve had together (they’ve been rivals for ages!) but for my headcanons they don’t remember those, tho very few feelings from their past lives may linger, so perhaps that does explain it. For the sake of my analysis though we won’t be looking deep into why Joel likes to poke at Scott. It’s cuz he looked at him funny one day remember?

So we establish that Joel needlessly attacks Scott. But if you’ll notice from my summaries, he is fully willing to put aside that hatred. It’s conditional (yes it is the default, but still). If Scott treats Joel kindly, Joel will attempt to reciprocate it. Let’s look at this again:

3L: Joel targets Scott, Scott kind of just gives him a disapproving look every time and doesn’t fight back. Joel ends up feeling somewhat guilty, and in the end has no problems teaming up with Scott.

LL: Scott was the main cause of Joel turning red, Joel targets him constantly. Scott ends up permanently killing Joel to put an end to his madness.

DL: erm. Well it’s worth mentioning Joel never specifically targeted Scott for no reason. ALSO WORTH MENTIONING SCOTT BURNED THE RELATION??? This season was a bit of a switch-up. I need to rewatch to see if Scott had any good reason to do that lmao I don’t really remember, I hardly remembered he was responsible.

LimL: Scott deems Joel to be a server menace who needs to die, Joel (who doesn’t really understand why he needs to die) tries negotiating many times but Scott insists. He kills Joel.

SL: Joel gets task to target Scott, is thrilled. He fails miserably, losing people he cares about in the process. Vows to kill Scott, it’s like his main goal now. Still accepts every peace offering from Scott with little to no hesitation, to the point of eventually teaming with him until they’re forced to go against each other and Scott kills Joel again.

So basically you can see, every time Scott does something to wrong Joel, Joel goes hard on the rivalry, while if he doesn’t and offers peace, Joel will lay off. Secret Life was a weird middle ground, where Scott had done things to wrong Joel, however those things weren’t entirely his fault so when he offered peace to Joel, Joel would still accept. A confusing time for Joel I’m sure.

I will say a disclaimer here, I’m not saying Scott shouldn’t ever fight back against Joel. If he’s targeting you for no reason, it’s your decision if you’ll try to befriend him to make him stop or fight back. I support fighting back. I’m just saying that befriending him is a proven method to work, but I don’t think Scott has exactly noticed that and instead just assumes that Joel will stop at nothing to end him.

Another thing I wanted to talk about but forgot what the natural and intuitive transition into it was gonna be. Scott has permakilled Joel 3 times. Joel has permakilled Scott 0 times.

Joel had started the series off picking on Scott for no reason, and has never succeeded. Scott has won this battle three times. At this point, it’s honestly finally somewhat justified for Joel to come after Scott. That guy has specifically targeted and hunted him out of 2 seasons, and took him out of a 3rd as well. Joel has taken Scott out of 0. At this point, I feel like Joel needs that closure, to finally kill Scott, and who knows if he’ll ever get it. If you look at the fandom, even fans are hoping Joel will kill Scott because of this. So imagine how Joel feels! But obviously Scott wouldn’t just let him (okay. Well. Actually. It’s Scott. He kind of lets people do that all the time. But only allies…). Scott will be waiting for Joel to target him once more, and deal with it the way he always does. But who knows if it’ll turn out different?

Which reminds me that I pinpoint SL as the season Scott finally notices this “one sided rivalry”. We all know Scott loves drama, so when he finally noticed Joel had been hating him the whole time, he kept bringing it up. And it wasn’t just for SL only, he brought it up the moment he saw Joel in RL. I don’t count RL as canon but it does prove that Scott hasn’t let go of the rivalry now that he’s finally realized it. I don’t know if there will be a 6th season, but if so I wouldn’t be surprised if Scott brings up the rivalry. Idk if he would make it a big deal, but he would surely at least mention it.

Anyways, if you think I’m done with my little analysis, you’re wrong!!! I’m done with the things I see as pretty factual, but now we’re gonna get into more fanon headcanony type of territory!!!

…but, maybe I’ll make that its own post. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!

[solargeist]

autistic thing for grian —

simply not talking/engaging in convos he’s not interested (/comfortable?) in. and therefore trying to passively observe while also just tapped out, either cuz he’s too focused on Appearing to blend in or because there’s nothing interesting enough to tether his attention. complicated when it’s with the watchers, because they see so much potential in him with the things he loves, but what happens when they see him reacting passively (or just not reacting) to something that doesn’t engage him? what happens when he can’t keep up with a certain type of energy when they’ve seen him excel in others before?

-🔑

ohhh I agree, and that’s an interesting thought…!

I think the Watchers would defo be confused by his interest varying, I can imagine the Watchers almost excitedly telling him abt the history of something and Grians not rly… reacting.. and just pointedly staring, they pause in case he wants to ask questions, but he doesn’t, so he awkwardly fumbles at the sudden silence.

They think he should push himself, he knows this too, but also doesn’t understand why he doesn’t care, other things are just more interesting, and that’s his excuse to them.

I think his interest level varies day by day too, but I think as long as he does the work well, they don’t care too too much…. Though disappointing when he’s not enthusiastic abt it, he rly is a perfect Watcher otherwise.

I also think that this is sorta worse momentarily after leaving the Watchers, he’s trying Too Hard to appear normal to the Hermits that his interest seems very forced.

[stitchthesewords]

I heard you were looking for an excuse to write drabbles/hj

uhhh just something with the mumscarian being soft

In exchange for a mumscarian vote I bring you fluffy s9 mumscarian! o7 keep em comin', our fight isnt over!

---

There was something in the air at the entity as the three of them sat on the bridge one warm afternoon, enjoying lunch. It was warm, drifting and weaving through the three of them like a ribbon as Scar leaned over Mumbo, feeding him bites of sandwiches. Grian leaned back, the warmth circling around his head as he sipped on lemonade from Scarland.

From their place on the bridge, they could see all 3 bases, plus a few more. The flag of the Perimeter was barely visible in the fog, for example. Grian smiled fondly in the direction of the buttercups camp before turning back to Mumbo and Scar, laughing as Scar toppled off Mumbo’s lap to land beside him on the bridge instead.

“Be careful. We’re up kinda high, ya know,” Mumbo said, sitting up a bit to make sure Scar was alright. Scar’s grin had not broken on his face, and he used Mumbo leaning over him as an opportunity for a kiss. Mumbo’s ties always made for an amazing handhold.

“Worried about lil old me, darling?” Scar teased, Mumbo’s cheeks flushed a lovely color of pink as he right himself and pulled Scar upright too. Not to be forgotten about, Grian leaned forward over his legs with a pout.

“Mumbo gets kisses, and I don’t now? What is this – some sort of grand Anti-Grian conspiracy?” he asked. His tone was light, and his tricolor wings were spread out to either side of him, just catching the edges of the bridge.

“I’ll have you know I was coming to give you a kiss, mister!” Scar said, leaning forward onto his hand to place a kiss on Grian’s nose. That wasn’t good enough for the avian, who moved his head until their lips slotted together. It was nice, the warm breeze wrapped around their little picnic again as Scar parted ways.

“Well, that didn’t feel very ‘Anti-Grian’ to me, personally,” Scar said. He pushed his short hair back, his own face flushed. Grian didn’t know if it was from the kiss or the sun.

“Well - I still think there’s something going here – maybe Scarland needs a few dozen chickens so it can sort itself out.”

“Grian you wouldn’t dare-”

“Who, me? No – no, I wouldn’t, that’s more of a poultry man thing anyway.” He wore a grin on his face as Scar reached out to tug him closer. He ducked out of the way, silently saluting Mumbo and Scar before diving off the edge of the bridge, his wings open to catch the wind under them. Mumbo’s noise of concern was almost covered entirely by Grian’s own joyous cackling.

[m0on-shro0m]

MOON TELLS THEIR DREAMS!

So last night’s dream, was a fun and silly dream, where we follow Martyn, like watching him go his way on the Ultimate Survival SMP? I’m pretty sure that’s where we were but I didn’t watch much of that SMP because I was focused on another- either way we were on some SMP.

Everyone in the Life Series was there and other people such as most of the Pirates cast and all but I can’t recall if they were actually there but it was a conscious thought.

Martyn is hanging out with Jimmy, Scott and I think Forever from the QSMP too. They were all having a fun time before Grian announced there was now a turf war again? I don’t know it was sudden and all Martyn thought was “I need to get The Red King”

So literally watching everyone scatter and mostly watching Martyn rush on a horse he somehow got and started typing in chat where Ren was. As he typed that, he ran into Ren and I think was Bdubs? I can’t recall who it was and that’s the first name I thought of. Sadly Martyn excused himself all sad and then just ran off with his horse.

At some point Martyn hopped off his horse and typed out “Is there a Mum buo?” which meant he was asking for Mumbo his dear HusbAhand

Then Bdubs showed up with said Mumbo. He was bragging to have the redstoner on his side but Martyn wasn’t having any of it, as he pulled out a diamond sword. Threatening Bdubs to free Mumbo— and Mumbo himself was just confused on what was happening.

Martyn and Bdubs struck a deal, can’t remember what exactly but Mumbo was given to Martyn.

Then the two husbAhands reunited and did jumping and hugged, happy to be together again.

Then the dream ends there and I wake up to Minecraft music playing.

[royallygray]

So in your superhero-soul link-au thingy the skyblings and the seablings are all siblings. So how does that work?

Like are they all avians but also with fins and gills? Do we get moth Pearl or avian Pearl or fish Pearl? Does Lizzie have bird wings? Do they have to keep not being human a secret or are they just open about it? Are they all full siblings or are some half siblings or adopted? Please ive been thinking about this for so long.

WHAT DOES PEARL LOOK LIKE IM DOING AN ART

Firstly, omg omg omg omg OH MY GOD OH MY GOD??? YOU WANT TO DO AN ART?? FOR MY SILLY LITTLE AU?? OH MY GOD :D

Secondly, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE QUESTIONS AGDHLSJDFSDFJ (gives me an excuse/a prompt to rant :D)

I’m so honored.

It gets a little (read: a lot) extensive bc I like to give a lot of background and reasoning for why stuff is the way it is but in case I get rly unclear the direct answers to each question will be at the end.

Grian and Pearl are biological siblings that share both parents (they have two moms, one is trans and one is cis, and they are fantastic parents who are so in love with each other. Both are avian hybrids.) Pearl is one year older than Grian. Their family name is Azure. They don’t have fish traits.

Grian has the traditional parrot red-yellow-blue wings and Pearl has midnight blue wings with gray and white speckles on the bottom half. Idk if they have the ear wings.

Lizzie and Jimmy share a dad, who is a piscine hybrid. (Piscine is basically just the word avian (relating to birds) for fish. Saying fish hybrid sounded significantly less cool so I found this and now they are piscine hybrids. Also it sounds like pool in spanish which. is fine i guess fuck you latin.) The dad’s last name is Marina, because of the relation to fish and the sea and stuff, but it’s also Marina and not Marine because I’m pretty sure I was listening to Oh No! or Seventeen (by Marina) while creating the name.

Jimmy’s mom was human, and Lizzie’s mom is fae. Lizzie is the same age as Grian, and they’re about five years older than Jimmy.

Lizzie has piscine traits (fins, gills along with lungs, ear fins) AND has fae wings and her eyes tend to glow. The piscine is from ESMP1 axolotl and the fae is from the Fairy Fort in LL. Jimmy is supposed to have piscine traits, (cod, courtesy of ESMP1) and he was born with them. However, within the day he was born, the fins and gills started either falling off or self destructing, respectively. He started growing wings (which o7 to the nurses of this imaginary hospital jesus christ) and the ear wings. So within the day he was born, he completely transferred from being a healthy piscine baby to an avian. And due to the yellow downy feathers, Jimmy’s mom knew that he was the canary. (also rip Jimmy’s mom you will be missed o7)

So Jimmy’s mom (Last name Solidarity. Jimmy's last name was supposed to be Solidarity-Marina) was besties with one of the Skybling moms, and she was basically like “hi bestie you have avian kids, right? mhm so essentially my kiddo was a fish and now hes not a fish and he’s a bird and this is a problem because I think he’s the prophecy which means that he’s got a TARGET on his head and I want my son alive. if you guys accept him into your family, it will look significantly less suspicious. also i’m not gonna make it that childbirth took a lot out of me”

negotiations were made between the four adults (jimmy’s mom, seablings’ dad, skyblings’ moms) and jimmy got very subtly adopted before his mom died. (o7, we will miss you)

When Jimmy’s somewhere from two to four, Lizzie (age ~7-9) gets adopted too because her dad is too unstable and he is BARELY keeping it together. Jimmy’s mom was the love of his life (i’m pretty sure lizzie was either the result of a one-night-stand or a mildly brief fling) and he is Not Okay. So it was arranged that Lizzie got adopted by the Azures, which she was thrilled about bc they’re cool as fuck.

(also Lizzie’s mom (Last name Shadow. Lizzie's last name is Shadow-Marina) was Not really prepared for a child. She was not emotionally prepared for the commitment of a child, nor did she actually have a stable paying job. By the time that seablings’ dad gotta go, she’s also not qualified to adopt Lizzie since there’s just a bunch of shit that she’s got going on in her life. But she does hang out with Lizzie monthly throughout her childhood with the Azures, and they still visit occasionally throughout Lizzie’s adulthood. she’s more like the cool aunt than the mom)

When the Azures adopted Lizzie, they had a pool installed in their backyard (the Azures are solid middle class. They can afford a pool bc of hybrid pensions. Hybrid pensions are basically just getting more resources to accommodate for your traits. The Azures have the Avian Mansion Pension, which is just a ginormous house because you gotta have space to stretch your wings. basically enrichment/some basic needs for hybrids)

When the kids started learning magic, specifically shifting magic, they wanted to learn how to shift to be more alike to piscine hybrids. Throughout childhood, Pearl, Grian, and Jimmy all got better at shifting to piscine hybrid traits. This hobby was to help Lizzie feel more included in culture stuff, but also if Jimmy randomly started becoming a fish again, his body wouldn’t have to build something from scratch and it would be less painful and easier to adapt to.

Pearl shifted into a salmon piscine hybrid, Grian to a cod piscine hybrid, and because Jimmy wanted to be like his cool older brother, he also shifted to a cod piscine hybrid.

(shifting is a type of Guise Magic. it’s basically glamor from through the sky blue cracks au or the Mist from PJO/HoO.)

Basically, if you draw her younger, it’s totally plausible to draw Pearl as a fish. and you could technically draw them all with fins and gills.

Lizzie never particularly cared about trying to imitate avian wings since she had her own fae wings.

I haven’t quite decided what the social system does about hybrids. Generally, I’ve been trying to make it so that humans and hybrids literally have the same social status and stuff so technically they’re equal. However, I did also make stuff like avian mansion pensions exist so idk. but they don’t need to hide their hybrid traits in public

SUMMARY BECAUSE THAT WAS REALLY FUCKING LONG LMAO:

Pearl and Grian are full avian hybrids. Jimmy is also an avian, although born piscine. Lizzie is a piscine hybrid. (Piscine is like the word avian (relating to birds) for fish.) Lizzie is the only one with fins. She has gills and also has lungs. When born, Jimmy also had gills and fins, but they dropped off and got replaced with wings and ear wings.

We get avian Pearl, but Pearl, Grian, Jimmy, and Lizzie used to roleplay as fish to practice magic for if/when Jimmy ever returned to being a piscine, and also to make Lizzie feel more included and learn some about her culture.

Lizzie does not have bird wings, but she does have fairy wings.

In this AU, hybrids aren’t treated any different than humans. They’re open about it.

Pearl and Grian are full siblings. Jimmy and Lizzie are half siblings. Jimmy and Lizzie are adopted into Pearl and Grian’s family, although Jimmy thinks he’s biologically related to Pearl & Grian (until he learns he’s not, at some point in the plot).

Hope this was clear and interesting :]

[frozenjokes]

Signing Back In, Apparently- 6

Prev/Next

*suggestive*

Everything was fine, fun even, until Oli started talking. Mumbo had settled behind Scar, content to watch everyone else distracting and making fun of him. It was surreal after all, for the Kestrels to be holding an event like this. To try and get Scar to admit his ghosts were real. They had no idea. Well, everyone but Oli at least. Apparently, Oli had quite a detailed idea.

“Now I know you tell me whenever you see me to mind the noise, or don’t think too hard about, or whatever, but gosh Scar, you are so loud in that room of yours! And I get it, everyone talks to themself from time to time, so I wouldn’t have said anything if I hadn’t heard who you were talking to! I mean, you even call them by names! The night you had your, for lack of a better word, seizure, you were talking to a Grian! And then there was another night where you were talking to someone else! I heard his voice!”

“Oli,” Scar spoke through gritted teeth, words almost like a growl, “Oli, shut up.” Mumbo tensed, backing away. Grian stopped what he was doing immediately, straightening up in alarm. Impulse raised his head in a confused gesture, but Pearl didn’t seem to notice.

“I thought you just had another pirate over for the night, you know, but I didn’t recognize his-”

Pearl sat up immediately, noticing Mumbo’s and Grian’s mortified looks for the first time, “Another.. What’s he talking about? Grian?”

Scar leapt from his chair, passing directly through Pearl to grab Oli by the wrist, “I told you to-” Pearl yelped in surprise, floating up to avoid the fray. But no one answered her.

“Guys? Who else was talking with Scar?” she asked again, her tone gaining a sharper edge, “Was this with the ouija board?” Pearl’s gaze turned to Mumbo. He nearly tripped over himself trying to avoid her eyes. “Mumbo? Why didn’t you say anything?” A look of hurt flashed across her face, and Mumbo heard Scar gasp as Martyn pulled him off Oli.

Grian floated between them, trying to block Pearl’s view from Mumbo, “He told me. Don’t get angry, it’s more complicated than I can explain quickly right now. Impulse doesn’t know either.”

“Well- okay-” Pearl looked very much like she was struggling with this idea, “But if Mumbo used the ouija board with Scar.. I.. What did Oli mean by ‘had someone over for the night,’ did something happen? Mumbo, did you get a chance to attack or fight or- I don’t understand.”

“Well he did almost kill Scar!”

“No! Nothing happened!” Grian and Mumbo spoke at the same time, giving each other startled looks.

“Guys!” Pearl’s voice raised an octave, looking between them rapidly.

“Pearl, it’s okay, just give them a chance,” Impulse drifted behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder. But it was clear he was also quite confused.

“I think I’m just going to excuse myself here,” Mumbo waved a hand and turned away.

“Okay, so, you guys know dementors right? From Harry Potter? Like how when they kiss you, you d-” Grian tried his best, but he did not get to finish.

“WHAT?” At the same time Pearl yelled, Scar cried out in pain, clutching his stomach. He started to say something else, but none of the ghosts were listening. The cracks in Mumbo’s own form were starting to splinter. “Mumbo! I’m going to need an explanation please!”

“He didn’t intend to kiss Scar-”

“Grian! Stop trying to protect him.”

“Well stop attacking! I told you it was complicated!”

“Pearl, you need to calm down. We are going to figure this out,” Impulse strode past her, standing beside Grian, but she pushed through both of them, making a beeline straight for Mumbo.

“I want to hear it from you,” she said, voice terrifyingly even. There was no escape. Backed into a corner, his fear shifted into hot anger.

“ Fine,” Mumbo spat, “I got Scar to use the ouija board with me. I had questions. I still have them. It didn’t work the way we expected it to, and we kissed. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Mumbo- that's not-” Grian tried to cut in, but neither of them were listening now.

“Why? ” Pearl hissed, eyes wide and shocked.

“I don’t know! Maybe I just wanted to! Sit on that! You’re so obsessed with hurting him, you haven’t even considered that not all of us care! I’m not interested in sitting around and being miserable, just to try and make Scar feel the same way.”

“What do you mean you don’t care? Scar murdered us with a goddamn smile on his face! He’s still hurting us. Since when do you care more about Scar’s wellbeing than ours?”

“I didn’t say that! I don’t care about him any more than you do. Maybe I just want to know why he did what he did- Grian cares about that too! Is that a crime? And you know what, maybe I’m just trying to find out. Or maybe I’m just being selfish! God fucking forbid I do something for myself.”

“Grian didn’t kiss Scar. Grian is still fighting him, just like the rest of us! Have you already forgotten what Scar did to him just a couple days ago?”

“Guys, please don’t-” Grian tried to get between them, followed closely by Impulse. But the words were already on Mumbo’s tongue.

“Well, maybe , Grian provoked Scar first.” The regret hit Mumbo instantly, making him stumble back. Grian’s eyes burned through his, shocked and hurt, but before he could open his mouth to apologize, Pearl was on him.

“How dare you ,” she snarled, closing the distance, “No wonder you abandoned ship to see Scar when Grian needed us. All of us. ‘Finding out what happened’ right? What, was that just a prime opportunity to make out with Scar while we were all distracted?”

“That is not what happened-”

“I don’t believe you!”

“Pearl! Mumbo! Stop it. Both of you. Look what’s happening to your bodies- we don’t want a repeat of this,” Impulse shoved himself between them, pushing them apart with his hands. The sudden separation shocked Mumbo into listening. He looked at his hands. It wasn’t just the cracks splintering apart his form; the lines that separated his body from the air shifted too. He looked up to see Pearl, whose own body was fluctuating and unstable. She met his eyes.

“Get out of here.”

Mumbo didn’t have to be told twice. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Grian, so he looked at the rest of the dining hall as he left. It was empty. Mumbo closed his eyes. Well, there was one person who could tell him what he missed. At this point, he had nothing left to lose.

On his way to Scar’s room, he ran into the Kestrels in the tavern. Well, the Kestrels and Scott. Based on the way they were speaking in whispers, he had a feeling Scar was upstairs. He lingered just long enough to hear them speaking about ghosts, and more specifically, how to get rid of them. Mumbo wasn’t keen to stick around.

Scar wasn’t doing well. Mumbo heard his strangled whines from outside, which Scar was usually relatively good at hiding. Inside, he was laying face down on top of his sheets with his shirt off, retching into his pillow. Christ. Surely even Pearl wouldn’t take joy in watching this.

Scar never looked up, so Mumbo went to him, waving a hand gently in front of his face. It took a couple seconds for Scar to even notice. Scar’s face was red and splotchy, slick with sweat, as was the rest of his body.

“Come on,” Mumbo said, knowing full well Scar wouldn’t hear him, but he got the message loud and clear when Mumbo pointed across the room. With uncoordinated limbs, Scar pulled himself out of bed and to the floor, where the ouija board still lay. Mumbo sat across from him. They didn’t speak as Mumbo laid his hands across Scar’s, the only sound being Scar’s shaky sigh of relief. Mumbo let Scar’s warmth wash over him.

“You know, Impulse doesn’t usually get this upset. Never had it that bad before,” Scar drew a hand to his throat before quickly putting it back on the planchette, “Well, besides that, would you believe me if I told you it wasn’t that bad?”

“No. Absolutely not.”

Scar laughed, falling forward into Mumbo’s shoulder. His brain short circuited a bit, but he decided not to think too hard about it. The warmth was all that mattered.

“You’re fuckin bony. Did you know that?”

“You’re sweaty and gross. Did you know that?”

“Don’t be mean.”

Mumbo laughed, not that Scar heard, but he would feel the soft bounce of his shoulders. It was all too nice. A wave of bitterness coursed through him, that Scar would never have allowed himself something like this when the crew of The Flying Jellie lived. They could have had this. No complications. Mumbo squeezed Scar’s hand to get his attention.

“Mmm?” Apparently, that counted as a question.

“I need something from you, if you’re not too tired.”

“Right now, I’d do anything you ask. Whatcha need?”

“A distraction. A kiss. Anything to forget about today for a while.”

“Why, Mumbo Jumbo, I would be delighted to indulge you,” Scar smiled into his shoulder, moving ever so slightly to his neck. Mumbo tilted his head, closing his eyes. It felt so good to breathe. For it to hurt when Scar nipped at his skin, then kiss it all better. To not think for a while.

Scar moved a hand to the back of Mumbo’s head, brushing his hair with delicate fingers. It was so amusing for Scar, being who he was, to be so gentle. Mumbo ran a curious hand down Scar’s chest, absently considering his many scars and curves. He wondered about his own marks scattered along Scar’s back, moving to trace the rougher patches of skin with grim satisfaction.

“You really made a mess of me back there,” Scar mumbled, turning his gaze to Mumbo’s lips.

“Good.” Scar didn’t hear him, but he understood, responding with a grin. God, Mumbo hated that smile. He grabbed at the side of Scar’s face, pulling him up into a kiss. A rush of anger fueled his passion, a messy impulse to never see that grin again. He clawed at Scar’s cheek and grabbed at his hair; anything he could think that might wipe it away, but the telling curve of Scar’s lips never faded. Honestly, it was starting to make him more difficult to kiss.

“Didn’t take you as the aggressive type! Bad day?” Scar snickered on Mumbo’s lips as he took a moment to breathe.

“Shut up.”

“What did I do to piss you off so bad-” Scar yelped as Mumbo tugged on his hair, catching himself with an arm. Mumbo took the opportunity to push him back further, climbing on top.

“You’re going to have to move the board, Scar.”

“Gladly.”

[liloinkoink]

Hello! I recently ready your treesekai AU and had a blast with it! It's so well written and had me thinking about it for days X) I don't know if you've answered this elsewhere, but we're you referencing something specific from the Life series with Grian almost lighting Bdubs on fire? Part of me felt like it was maybe the lava elevator from 3rd Life but I wasn't too sure. (I think I shamelessly also just love Desert Duo so much and am so hilariously entertained by a Grian mad with jealousy, ready to commit a murder)

first of all, thanks for giving me a good excuse to announce: hey guys i edited treesekai like two weeks ago to include more information on scar’s route, just for my own amusement. edits added like 200 words or so. if you’re a treesekai fan you might wanna check that out. (i also edited lamplight a ton too)

second, nah, that doesn’t intentionally reference anything from third life (tho the lava elevator would be a good guess). what it does reference is a plot point in normal isekai which shows up from time to time

honestly, when i was writing it, i was actually thinking of Rose setting Zeroni’s manner on fire in The First Night with the Duke in a last-ditch effort to keep Ripley away from Zeroni by killing her. it is shockingly common to see the love rival character attempt something drastic in these sorts of comics (not just isekai, but any historical or fantasy romance comic) to keep the attentions of the love interest character on themselves

which, hmm. granted, now that i think about it, i probably should have done attempted kidnapping rather than fire, since i feel like you see that in isekai slightly more… oh, well. fire is more grian, anyway. and, admittedly, i don’t usually get further in any one isekai than episode three anyway, so while i’ve started reading something like a hundred isekai comics, i’ve only read, like, maybe ten of them further than episode four. maybe fire IS more common, i dunno

(which. fun extra trivia for the AtPM game canon. i think this is the sort of game with little sprites on dialogue boxes, but they only have a handful of basic expressions and backgrounds, so any like action scene just shows up as a black screen. hence why this is a smaller fire and not a whole room fire the way an actual isekai comic scene might go—easier for the fictional devs to handle without too long on a black screen)

either way, the fire’s entirely from normal isekai, not third life

anyway. thank you for your ask and your interest! glad to hear you’re having fun