#but it turns out all the hermits make great content???

[trainchomp]

i’ve been catching up on all the hermitcraft i’ve missed (i’m watching every hermits videos this season and ohmygodtheypostsomuch) and i’m about to get to docs forced exile I cannot wait

doc "i'm not a baby" m77

[fluffypotatey]

okay so:

the year is 2021. the month is june. the new season of hermitcraft, season 8, has just started, and everything is great! the hermits are all messing around, having fun, building insane things within the first week of the server being active, and generally having a good time. everyone's collected themselves into little factions, pranking each other, and it's all the fun, lighthearted, mostly-vanilla content hermitcraft is known for.

and then the split between minecraft versions 1.18 and 1.19 is announced. the delay of new terrain, and especially of new mobs like the warden, considerably disrupt several of the hermits' plans. but it's fine, they'll figure something out, they're professionals, and it mostly goes unnoticed.

about two weeks later, on november 9th, grian turns to mumbo jumbo in one of his episodes, and asks the famous question that would seal hermitcraft season 8's fate:

"mumbo, is the moon... big?"

suddenly, the fans panic. they search back through videos and streams, and realize that the moon had been abnormally large and stuck in a full-moon phase since october 30th. the Moon Big event has begun.

this is where the roleplay really starts. once the moon's size has been brought up, the hermits start a weird combination of scrambling to figure out why the moon's growing, and how to stop it- but also of ignoring it, hoping it won't be a problem, hoping someone else will deal with it. the moon keeps getting bigger, more hermits start realizing it's going on, and a creeping sense of dread starts to grow. but it's fine. it's fine, right? they do little plotlines like this all the time. they'll figure something out, the moon will go back to normal, and we'll laugh about it when this is all over. it's fine.

and then, blocks start flying away. just floating up out of the ground, and falling right back down! like for a moment, a square meter chunk of dirt has decided it's a ballerina and leaped out of the ground! but it's fine, right? the blocks are coming back. no lasting harm is done. they're going to fix it all... right?

the moon gets bigger. it's growing every day- local hermit weirdguy joe hills measures it every stream. the blocks start flying higher. gravity starts getting... weird, with players getting the slow falling effect at random, and being lifted off of the earth themselves. the players form cults and rituals and whatnot to try and appease the moon, convince it to leave them alone, making plans to escape. nothing works. things keep getting worse, and the moon keeps getting bigger. but it'll be fine. these storylines never leave lasting harm, or at least they never have before. they'll be fine.

and then the blocks stop coming back, just floating into the sky forever. the players have the slow falling effect more than they don't now. the moon is now so big it's visible even during the day, and fills the entire sky at night. they start planning their escapes in earnest, and say their goodbyes. some hermits jump into a void hole in the overworld (it was the centerpiece of their village). some flee to the End, some to the nether, some just fly with elytras and hope they can get far enough away in time. one brave hermit, tango, flies himself to the moon in a futile attempt to blow the whole thing up before it can crash.

but in the end, the moon crashes into the server, and everything they'd built was destroyed. and the whole time, there'd been nothing any of them could've done. season eight was over, a full six months before anyone had expected it to end, and season nine wouldn't start until about three months later. and im still not okay about it.

(here's a cool animatic of the moon's crash! honestly i dont think you need too much hermitcraft knowledge to get the gist)

(also the moon crash happened on the day before my birthday lmao.)

….

holy shit

[cattimeswithjellie]

I was thinking about The Tunnel Bore Incident. Because by the time they blew it up, Doc already had more diamonds than he'd need for the rest of the season twice over. And I had this idea about what Doc might have actually said to Grian and Scar. I feel like he would probably have taken them into a Discord call, and told them quite plainly: "I built a gigantic, intricate redstone contraption, and you two managed to cause a chain reaction that blew the entire thing to pieces. Luckily for you both, it was no longer strictly necessary. In any case: You owe me." And then he would Pause Dramatically. "So as payment, you and I shall spend the next little while making Content out of this catastrophe."

Something like that.

This would definitely be on-brand for Doc, who derived a great deal of evil joy at the beginning of the season explaining on Twitter exactly how dead Joe Hills was going to be for stealing the live shulker he left at spawn, only to wind up giving Joe another shulker so that he would still have a pet shulker at his base (and then never building a shulker farm of his own and leaving the reclaimed shulker at spawn for another year.)

The thing is, some people got very scared and worked up over both these incidents because for one, maybe they have trauma from other SMPs in the past they don't understand that all the Hermits are adults, professionals, and most importantly colleagues who all have a vested interest in the world they are creating together. Much like in the Life Series, nothing goes in front of the audience that the creators are not okay with. We know that the Hermits don't always agree on things, but we also know that they keep their disagreements private and settle them behind the scenes.

In both these cases there was an injury to Doc, from Joe when he played a prank that was far more difficult to fix than he intended it to be (Joe has a surprising natural aptitude for the horrendous task of moving live shulkers around), and Scar and Grian obviously for blowing up a massive piece of machinery. Joe has a lot of anxiety about prank wars because he's had problems with them in the past, so the dispute was settled quickly with the return of the purloined mob and, despite Doc's Twitter bluster, with minimal impact. Scar and Grian, on the other hand, love prank wars and escalation, so rather than grabbing a Litematica schematic and fixing the machine (or begging Impulse, Tango or Xisuma to do it for them) they compensated Doc for the loss with three or four episodes of highly entertaining content and an excuse to put his highly-trained supervillain mind to work.

Honestly, Doc is one of my favorite content creators on the server because he has this dichotomy to him, where on the one hand he _loves_ building death robots and war machines and turning the power of the Hivemind towards ever-escalating retaliations, while on the other hand he loves making artwork and pretending his slimes are tomatoes. He clearly has a lot of affection and respect for his fellow creators, and it's very funny to watch him feigning rage and annoyance when he'd rather be charmed by Scarland and all the balloons and cat ears he got from it. Most Hermits need the occasional all-out Server War for enrichment purposes, but nobody (except possibly Grian) gets as much enjoyment from them as Doc. He's so great.

[bluemoon1331]

Hello, hello! Welcome to my main blog, where the DCA fascination consumes! My alt blog is @sharetheartman, go check it out if you wanna see the amazing art this community has to offer!

My Ko-fi (if you're able to help a struggling writer, very much appreciated. Can request written commissions if you want): BlueMoon1331

Below is a list of all my current fics on A03 and planned AUs! Give them a read if you love fantasy and the DCA! (Updated to divide between the SFW and NSFW stories)

<<<<<First up, the SFW section!>>>>>>

Finished Works:

One Lost Star- You are a bit of a hermit, living solo off the land since the death of your grandfather. Until you draw certain godly attention, that is.

Scarlet Masquerade- The sole heir to your kingdom, you find yourself caught in the tangled web of the automaton emperor's plans. However, things are about to go from bad to worse when you catch the interest of the deadly automaton assassin sent to end you.

WIPs:

Cosmic Journeys- Trapped in the depths of depression, you seek an unfortunate out. The nearby land owner won't let that happen, though. Thus begins a journey of self-worth and finding hope in a world of madness and compassion, monsters, saints, and everything in between.

Come and Go- A Megamind-inspired AU with Sun as Metroman, Moon as Megamind, and Eclipse as Titan, while you are a delivery driver caught in the middle.

Unusual- An oceanographer, there is no place you'd rather be than scouring the depths of the seven seas, studying its plant life and creatures, in particular the infamous mers, beings most of your co-workers are quite wary of. They don't seem to mind you too much, though, a fact you try not to put stock in until an encounter on the beach near your house flips your entire world upside down. Strings of fate and a battle to rule the oceans with you as the key? Ridiculous. Right?

Of Metal Parts and Roadside Shenanigans- You are a trucker traveling home before unwittingly tripping headfirst into a giant mystery. (More of @deceptiveshadow's Blood Moon cause I love him and cannot help myself.)

One-shots:

Party Crashing 101- A piece inspired by the mafia episode from Helluva Boss. Badass, protective reader ftw XD

Blooming In Adversity- You and the princesses were great friends in your youth, until you had to move away. Years later, you return, your friendship blooming anew. However, dark plots turn in the background, and it may be up to just you to save them.

Phantom Tide- You are a siren, crushed under betrayal. Sun and Moon are brothers recovering from the throes of grief. Perhaps you may be just what each other need.

Connotations- Your duties as a druid are fairly life-consuming, but you have happily devoted yourself to them. Keeping the peace is not the easiest, but you do it all the same. Unfortunately, the arrival of contesting priests threaten your efforts, setting you on a collision course to meet three of the forest's most powerful caretakers.

Diamonds and Iron- Being a rather big-time mafia boss, of course Eclipse needs places to stash away his income. As an outdoor enthusiast, you love visiting the local motorsports arena when you can afford it. Oh, who's that standing in the middle of the track, where you can't see?

Birds of a Feather- You are stuck as the basically powerless manager to the newly opened pizzaplex. With problems everywhere you look, you're not sure which one to focus on or handle first. Perhaps you could find a kindred soul in a certain mechanic, however. (Based in the EAPS universe)

<<<<<<<<<NSFW area ahoy!>>>>>>>>>>

Finished Works:

Never Play Cat and Mouse With Vampires- Living alone is a necessity, your skills in hunting, magic, and evasion giving you all you need for contentment, or so you tell yourself. In your newest home you, unfortunately, find that your capabilities only draw the infatuation of three local creatures that are intent to finally capture you and make you theirs. Annoyingly, they may just get that chance.

Dancing In Orbit- The lunar vampire is the last of his kind, a deadly plague on the Earth that refuses to yield despite the uncountable years that have passed since the last of his kin and kind died off. You, running from your intertwined past, seek to finally put an end to that, with some help from friends old and new.

Familiar Constellations- The vampires get a bit quirky about you, especially when you egg them on. Mature. Very, very mature. Good gods they are rough, but you love it. After all, you can get a bit rough with them, too.

Gravity- Featuring another of @deceptiveshadow's lovely OCs, Nova. Normally quite the quiet and cat-like companion, you join him for a round of games in which his behavior becomes increasingly odd. That's nothing compared to when you strangely wake in the tower the next day, having no recollection of how you got there, and what comes after.

WIPs:

Embers and Ash- Ghost hunting is your profession, and you are damn good at it. Which is why you don't think twice when you're hired to cleanse an abandoned mansion of its otherworldly resident. Too bad this job is not the cake walk you thought it would be.

Burning Stars- You run your farm alone on a world teeming with aliens and humans, content with your animal family and helpful community, even if you keep the latter at arm's lengths. Until your peace is interrupted by a certain intergalactic bounty hunter, anyway.

Rosewood's Serenade- The eldest child of your kingdom, you have trained since birth to be all your home needs and more, intent to take the throne when the time comes, marriage or no. However, your parents harbor a secret, a deal struck when disaster threatened to destroy all they hold dear, and you soon find yourself meeting a most intriguing being...

Demonic- The saying of Hell is empty for all the demons are here has never been more apt. Caught smack dab in the middle of the infamous Hell-Day event, you come out with an unexpected passenger woven into your soul. Now, you secretly fight to preserve the fragile balance between mortals and the demons trapped on Earth, all while contending with the fact your new neighbors are the very ones responsible for sealing the gates, the infamous Celestial Graces. They also happen to be the mortal enemies of the one currently living in you. Fun times all around, especially with devil himself on your heels, seeking to reclaim what he lost.

Along the Akesh- Blessed with visions since your youth, you were taken and raised by the temple, becoming one of the highest-ranked priests, second to only the grand heijut himself. With an awe-inspiring festival and ritual that happens only once every five centuries under way, you are eager to meet the moon god, one of the many you have had the pleasure of conversing with throughout your prayers and oracles, in person. Things take an unexpected turn, however, when the temple must pay recompense for an accidental screw up with a gift left by an old friend. You are about to learn just how intrigued you and the moon god truly are with each other.

One-shots:

Bleeding Feathers- You weren't supposed to go into the exclusionary zone, but that's never been a problem for you before. This time, however, you might just get more than you bargained for. Fan piece for @deceptiveshadow's harpy au! (Not TSAMS)

Color Theory- Moving back to your late grandma's cabin, you pray for things to finally settle down. Unfortunately, her myriad of secrets seek to come back and haunt you, but hey, it might not be all bad this time. You could use the comfort of an old friend. Another fic inspired by @deceptiveshadow! Their god Blood Moon this time. (Not TSAMS)

<<<<<<<Lastly, miscellaneous potential AUs!>>>>>>>

Lich King AU- With the three realms in shambles, cut off from each other, it is up to the most powerful warriors of Earth to fend off the lich king and his Elite army, including his own brothers. You, whom offers them a secret safe haven and relaxation when they need it, cannot deny your love for Sun and Moon, nor they you, but with Eclipse hounding for any weakness he can use against his kin, is the danger really worth it? You find the answer may be coming sooner than you would like when the two go missing after a fight.

Spirited Away AU- You have moved to a more remote region in hopes of forgetting a troubled family life. Content to spend your time among the lush jungles of the land, you inadvertently stumble upon an obviously long-forgotten temple. Curiosity eats at you, and you cannot help get closer, initially unaware of the myriad of eyes watching you, until you spot...an icy blue leopard? It's a good thing you helped those snakes and that spider on your way here.

Harem AU- You saved them from certain death, and now the clan of vampire brothers serve you. For years uncountable, you have pulled the strings, quite happy to cause chaos around the world when it becomes too dull for your liking, going from hero to hero. On blood soaked ground, you are content with your helpful vampires, though can things really stay the same forever?

Skyrim AU- Every place has its demons, no matter how reclusive or small. You consider yourself one of them. Seeking an escape, you move to Solstheim hoping for a fresh start. How unfortunate for you that you would arrive during the island's darkest hour. Cults, strange creatures, a frost giant king, and the arrival of two Dragonborns drag you right back into the spotlight, dredging up your past as you all race against time and the greedy daedra of knowledge to stop each other's destruction.

Then There Was One- You wake up to an empty world. You don't comprehend how or why it happened, just that everyone seems to have vanished in the blink of an eye. Cars sit vacant in traffic, meals left uneaten, internet full of messages that abruptly stopped hours ago. You try to live on your lonesome, keeping yourself distracted, and ignoring the gnawing loneliness. Except, well, you might not be as alone as you think, a fact you find out far too late when your page gets flooded with AI messages and bots are suddenly knocking at your day. Just what the hell kind of universal joke was this robot apocalypse you were stuck in? Or...do you have this all wrong? Your new companions may yet help you figure it out.

[days-until-burnout]

Heyy:3

I'm the anon with the tangtho request, and I have returned with an ethubs request in maybe a modern au neighbor setting??

Your posts have become a part of my day and remind me to invest time into writing too so thank you for that <3

thank you for coming back and reading! it's a weird feeling to know people read these daily lmao and go crush that writing! ain't nothing stronger than you are<3! without further ado, your ethubs _____

📧 Day 59 -

Characters - Etho/Bdubs Words - 1,006 Time - 30 mins Content - Modern AU

Bdubs stands in front of his neighbor's door, knocking for the third time as he grows annoyed. Not only did he have to walk down to the ground floor for his mail, but then he had to walk up again after being told they might have accidentally put it in his neighbor’s pile, which they might have taken already. He had already checked with the person on his left, then the person in front, leaving him only with one more room or a potential Karen-scene downstairs. 

Truth be told, as he crosses his arms after knocking yet again, huffing with tapping feet, he has been having a horrible, no good, week. And to top it all, his set of paints might be with someone else. All he wants is to paint, just anything, a scenery, some forest, hell, even just throw paint into the canvas. It was a very, very no good week. And tomorrow, he has work. Just, great. Wonderful. 

It is almost midday on a Sunday, yet he is so ready to crawl into bed and call in sick tomorrow, staying all day in bed being miserable sounds like an amazing idea. Horrible for his schedule and everything else, but he is in no state to be making logical decisions. 

He sighs. Stinkin’ paints, he mutters to himself as he accepts defeat, unenthusiastically admitting that maybe his neighbor is not home. He knows nothing of them, having recently moved in, and by the lack of encounters, their schedules did not align at all. A little unfortunate, seeing as he gets along with the other people on the floor, but it is whatever. Win some, lose some, and now, all Bdubs really wants, is to pass out for the next four—

“Oh, something I can help with?”

Bdubs startles, blinking before shaking his head, then turns towards the voice. 

There, standing in front of him, is a guy he has never seen. He has unnaturally even white hair and pale skin, an almost faded scar running down his left eye, a black mask covering the lower half of his face. Bdubs notes, in a state of stupor, that he is wearing a short sleeve shirt and shorts with sport shoes, a gym bag slung across his shoulder. And Bdubs notes, creepily so, that he is sweaty. The muscles he can, and is, literally staring at are glistening with sweat, his eyes tracing up the arm to shoulder to the covered collarbone to the exposed neck to the mask then—

“My mail. Give it back.” He blurts out when their eyes meet, realizing how idiotic he is being. His words and his harsh tone take the strange by momentary surprise, both frozen on the spot. The stranger, a nice looking stranger, blinks then looks away, fishing for his keys in his bag before walking over, stopping a couple feet from him. 

“Uh, I need… to open my door?”

“Damn right you do!”

The guy stares at him with wide eyes, then a squint, and Bdubs steps aside, dropping his eyes in silent shame. If his internal thoughts were audible, he is sure the whole building would collapse. Regardless, he hears the keys then the lock unlocking. Slowly, he turns his face to the door after hearing some footsteps walking away. The door is wide open, giving him a direct view into the kitchen with no sight of the guy. He stays on the spot, not wanting to intrude, taking the distance to kick himself mentally. For being a creep and for being an asshole about being a creep. Not a good first meeting, and more than even, he thinks that he wants to become a full time hermit. Surely there are some jobs online, and he can get groceries delivered, and he can never show his face to the world ever again. 

The world meows. 

No. 

What?

Bdubs jumps back when something brushes past his leg, dropping his head to find an American Shorthair cat arching its back as it rubs against his leg. It meows and purrs, not at all scared of the giant. He breathes out, relaxing somewhat as he kneels down, extending his hand and the cat sniffs it. He smiles when the cat pushes its head against his fingers, wedging itself into his palm, and he takes the hint, promptly caressing and scratching its tiny head. 

“Hey, buddy, brave one, aren’t you?” He coos, and the cat replies with a purr. 

“More than someone else, it seems.” 

Bdubs looks up to see the guy walking over with a box in his hands, stopping just on the other side of the door. The shoes are gone and replaced with slippers, the bag gone, but the mask is still on his face. He grows curious about his face, which only reminds him how creepy he is being. After his earlier interactions, he has no doubt he has burnt the bridge without even finding it. 

Bdubs squeezes the back of his neck with his free hand, looking away in shame, “Sorry. Just… It’s been a rough week and I just wanted my package.”

The guy hums. 

“I’m, uh, Bdubs, by the way. Your neighbor, literally next to you. It’s, uh, unfortunate, huh?” He tries to joke, but his laugh is dry. 

“No, I don’t think so. Oreo likes you.”

He nods, looking at the cat who is now seated, staring at him with a curious look. “I, hm, I think I like Oreo too.” Gently, he gives its tiny head a final scratch before standing up, sighing as he prepares to confront him again. “Sor—”

“Oh, yeah, I’m Etho. And here’s your package.” 

The guy, Etho, passes the box into his chest, and he clumsily grabs it. Oreo meows then trots back into the apartment. Before Bdubs can say anything else, Etho gets ahead of him. 

“Well, then, I’ll see you around.”

The door closes with a click, and Bdubs stands in place like an idiot. Etho did not just wink at him, did he?

_____

ngl. i struggled to come up with an idea. my brain's been fixated on a different ask, but man, i keep fumbling the bag and missing my chance to write it ;_; anyways. ethubs

[fishnapple]

As a professional tarot reader, I imagine you got a busy life outside of that whether it's another job or social obligations. I like how you conduct yourself both on your blog and when making personal interpretation reports for others. How do you tend to manage yourself, schedule, and energy to make the creative-spiritual content that you do? You seem to genuinely enjoy what you are doing. 🥰 Do you have any general or practical advice for people thinking of starting out in becoming a reader for others? 🤔

Hi, thank you for such a lovely message💓🌰 (I feel like sending some chestnuts). Somehow the word "conduct" reminds me so much of Saturn, and then Saturn reminds me of chestnuts.

Your question took longer to reply to than I expected. As I wrote, I realised that this is quite a broad topic. If I were to write to my heart's content then it would turn into an essay, so I will try to keep it concise as much as possible 👀

A bit of context: I quit my corporate job that used to take up more than half the time of day. After being a corporate clown for 9 years, now I just live as a hermit and do freelance jobs. Maybe I will stay as a hermit for the next 9 years then begin another journey, who knows. I'm not that good at self management, but my life right now is pretty simple, so it's easier to manage. I will share some of my personal experiences and observations about time management, creativity and spirituality here:

Time

Routine: Doing readings at a certain time of the day. I just found out recently that I do divination reading best at night time, rather than during daytime. I keep a general timetable in my head so I can have a general idea of when to do something (and not following it).

Checklist: I also keep a checklist of tasks I need to complete on time (PACs, personal readings), the feeling of ticking off boxes can be pretty satisfying 😆.

Space out readings: For PACc, I only read one group/day to keep the energy and length balanced between each group (if I do all the groups in one go, later group's reading length will suffer). For personal readings, I do the opposite, I tend to read all the questions in one go, but won't read for more than one person in one day.

Productivity

Enjoyment: Are you doing readings for your own enjoyment or as a duty? Do you genuinely like the questions, the topics? Do you feel comfortable doing readings for certain topics, for certain people? I don't think divination can be something that you can force yourself to do, especially when reading for other people.

Motivation: What are you trying to achieve when doing readings? for fun, for practice, for gaining knowledge, for digging out people's deep dark secrets, for money or for other reasons? Being clear on what motivates you will give you a better direction.

Perseverance: I like how every time I ask Tarot about my path, I always got the 8 of pentacles. Routine practice is good, don't compare yourself with other people, keep your gaze on what you're doing.

Guilt & Fear: I have productivity guilt sitting in the dark corner, ready to nag and whip any time I dare to be idle. Thanks to this, I was actually able to do lots of things. Doing something creative is also a good way to relieve stress for me, so the more stressed I am, the more productive I become *quietly, begrudgingly mumbling a "thank you" to Saturn aspects*. Guilt and fear, sometimes, can be such great motivators, with the right dose of course. (on the topic of fear, I once asked my friend if they didn't have any fears at all, what are the things that they would do? My friend answered "nothing, If I didn't fear anything, I wouldn't do anything at all")

Creativity/ Energy

Creative energy pool: Not to be confused with general energy pool. I don't know if other people feel the same, but for me, creative energy has a definite allotment for each day. If I use up that energy for one creative activity then I can't do another creative activity in that same day. So cramming many creative activities in one day can be counter intuitive. Doing divination, in my opinion, can also be a form of creative act, as it's about translating the messages inside you into a visible form of communication. So be mindful of that aspect.

The cyclical nature of creative energy: Some people are able to maintain a constant flow of energy, but in my case, it can be sporadic, it waxes and wanes like the moon so if I ever find myself feeling uninspired, I will just leave it and do other things, because I know it will come back later. If you find a topic or a question unappealing, maybe leave it for a while, read other topics then come back to it later.

Energy level: This is about the general energy level. Each person will have a different peak time for doing something during the day. Find out about yours and ultilise it. The tone and quality of a reading will reflect your energy, doing a reading when you're tired or physically unwell will have a negative impact on both the reading and you, not to mention the receiver of that reading if you read for others.

Interaction with energies: Be aware of your interaction with other people's energy, reading for others is a two way connection. Having your moods and thoughts be influenced by other's energy is real. Some will energise you, others can leave a bad taste but don't let that discourage you.

In the end, the most helpful advice I can think of is take it easy, keep doing what you enjoy and keep it fun & meaningful (even the soul searching, deep introspection readings needn't to be all dark and heavy, facing your demons can be like those dark fantasy novels, but it can also be slice of life comedy, none is less meaningful than the other)

I hope this can be helpful somehow. Have a great weekend ahead. 🌼🎐

[risingsuntarot]

1--2

3

What are you currently not seeing ?

My lord I'm so sorry I've been gone for so long I kinda jus felt so unmotivated and kinda went hermit mode for quite a while so I apologize for my absence!! Anyways I wanted to make a come back with a reading regarding being trapped, blinded or stuck on something that is unfortunately, hindering your process ;+(

Also * will indicate a reversal from here on out also only three piles because I wanted to get this out ASAP !!

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Pile 1

---Cards pulled---

5 of Coins/4 of Wands*/The magician

3 of coins*/The Moon

---Clarification---

9 of coins/9 of Swords/The hierophant

Ace of wands/3 of wands

There is most likely a financial or material issue happening, I heard "just enough to get by"

It looks like you lack in what you currently need as well? But despite this you are content or try to come off that way

Maybe you just moved into your own apartment recently? Or now have to pay rent or something along those lines

A new responsibility within your family/home life too

There's a lack of confidence here especially within self and home life

Something or someone in your home isn't making you feel quite safe? Or you get nightmares about them (if this is the case please seek help!!) that might be a very specific message BUT Could also be ready as you may be dealing with flashbacks at this time due to financial or material loss !! Maybe you grew up in poverty or an unstable home? Or your parents/caregivers weren't able to provide necessities?

It looks like with the magician and the hierophant there is a gift on the horizon or a very promising belief or like system? Maybe a change in routine or spending habits and thinking will help tremendously

I see that on your end for some your guides are frustrated with your lack of effort and motivation to make your thousands of ideas a reality

They absolutely love your creativity tho don't get me wrong

Maybe you have a hard time focusing right now and have many great ideas to put into place but lack motivation or resources as well so this leads to lack of movement or commitment

Sadness, restless emotions and late sleepless nights are prominent here, someone may deal with insomnia here but y'all sleep schedule is wack (same tho)

Feeling blocked and frustrated >:+(

---ORACLE/ADVICE---

Summer - "Bask in Joy and Light"

"Rise up, open your wings and shine. Bring your projects and plans into into the light, into manifestation" as soon as I opened the guidebook lil

DEADASS do that's just that, start off easy with a lobes hobby, draw something new or listen to a new genre, learn that new music sheet that has been challenging you or even get into a new type of skill to re motivate you !!

This also indicates summer may be your time of change!! New opportunities, new memories maybe even knew people

I feel like this is the perfect time to go outside, bask in sunlight and enjoy a nearby park or go on a nature hike, try meeting new people at libraries, bars or events even book clubs?

I'm getting a message to connect more with water so swimming or maybe even kayaking?

The big message here is try something n e w but I'm also being told to "loosen up" I'm tensing up a lot with this reading

Bumble bees maybe significant to someone :+) or honeycombs cereal? Lmao honey and bee related things here

---Channeled Songs---

Ego brain - SOAD

"You see my pain is real

Watch my world dissolve

And pretend that none of us see the fall

As I turned to sand

You took me by the hand

And declared, that love prevails over all"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Pile 2

---Cards pulled---

Temperance/9 of Wands/Ace of cups*

Knight of Coins/6 of Wands

---Clarification---

5 of Coins/The Lovers*/8 of Coins

The Moon/Queen of Wands

Okay so there's a sense for reluctance from this pile tbh like to fully acknowledge the truth

I keep wanting to say what happened so you may be being asked this question a lot

For one there is guilt over either healing and moving on or from not healing and moving on from a difficult situation but for most it's a romantic connection

I feel like voices were silenced, and you were constantly fighting for you right to be heard, seen or acknowledged fairly

It was a toxic dynamic that you still look back on to this day but almost feel indifferent but it seems it's just suppressed emotions and memories that you have yet to actually acknowledge

You seem to be a BIT too logical with what happened, like everything was supposed to be this way even this you didn't at all anticipate it if that makes sense

Like you knew what it was exactly, no bs and people tried convincing you otherwise

It looks like someone may come to you to talk about what happened although you may be reluctant to actually open up and speak on your side or even acknowledge that it hurts

It's like you go on about your day with a heavy rain cloud over your head and this person can see :+(

it maybe a friend to help you through this for some possibly offering you a type of hype sesh or even help you glow up a bit even if it's confidence lol

---ORACLE/ADVICE---

Wolf- "Take care of your needs"

I feel like you definitely need rest here, this card says "Do everything you need to do to be at your best, Then move beyond your fears and limitations"

it feels like a state of I can FINALLY get some rest from running and running and running

You've been in survival mode for so long or you just genuinely feel exhausted from the expectations around you or the trauma in your past

Know that's it's okay to just chill out and it's okay to be on your own for a while it's all part of the process, in fact I believe your guides are asking you to spend time with yourself more

Self care and YouTube days are recommend :+))

---Channeled Songs---

Around the fur - Deftones

"Please don't fuck around and die like this

'Cause I love her"

Brand new numb - Motionless in white

"All of my flaws, I wear 'em with honor

A purple heartbreak for all we've suffered"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Pile 3

---Cards pulled---

The Hierophant*/King of cups/4 of Swords

Wheel of fortune/5 of wands*

---Clarification---

Ace of Swords*/5 of Swords/Queen of Coins

The Hermit*/Queen of Cups

This may be a more masculine in terms of energy for this pile but I'll still read the same

So it seems there was a hypocrisy or an act that went against your morals and you were quick to act and deliver your opinion... "sharply"

You stood your ground and what you believed in in your heart despite the haters lol, and despite the arguments or how many people you had to leave behind something about conflict here

Although the way you did this was quite nonchalantly and someone was not a fan I'm picking up on black hair and green for the description for some reason

This person tends to be the center of attention? Or is very attractive, or maybe even a bit out of place almost ? But you not caring is pissing them off

I see there's gonna be change to the situation but someone may have to trail off onto their own path :+( a bit shunned almost but it's a high probability it's this other person

It's possible someone with the same morals and values as you is helping the conflict "die out" but not caring or almost standing in solidarity

---ORACLE/ADVICE---

High Priest - "Intend and Create"

"Recognize you have the power to change you life. Face your fear and align with the light"

Kind of a plain message but with this card I am getting that you can literally move anyway you want with this and just move on

It seems your intentions were nothing but pure in the end so no Karma was ever delivered to you

How unfortunate for the other person :+pp

It also seems some may follow in your path a bit here but spirits asking you to reach out to someone like a teacher for further guidance if you feel stuck

---Channeled Songs---

Riptide - Grandson

"I've tried getting better, did all of the twelve steps

Whoever would'a thought? Whoever could've guessed?"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

[sunflower-cathedral]

Lets Talk About The Perception Of Ren This Season.

Going to try say this as politely as possible, this season it just feels like some people are Infantilizing and really boiling down the relationships he holds with certain hermits to something that it's not + turning Ren into a one dimensional person and character.

I wanted to try address a couple things in this post regarding that; How the fanbase has been reacting to how hermits are treating him on camera mainly (Long Post, so it's under Keep Reading <3).

Regarding how the neighbourhood of ministries have been treating Ren;

They are all very close friends. and have been for up to 10 or so years. Please, for the love of everything holy watch old series like Foolcraft, Hermitcraft UHCs, the Renskall Podcast, older seasons of Hermitcraft etc. Hell, even watch my favourite VOD; Sea Of Thieves. You quickly learn the dynamic they have, and the fact they all go off on playful banter (and also re: British Humour/Love that Cleo and False have mentioned off-handedly in streams and videos before being typically brash and sarcastic. Also not to mention how Martyn is British; I'll get to that later though.) There's a really specific dynamic where Iskall, False and Stress are close friends with him and care about him deeply; and Ren has openly talked about how much the Hermits have helped him out during IRL struggles. The roles and performance they put on for the camera is not going to always reflect how they treat each other off camera, let alone show how much they all deeply care for one another. Cleo has outright mentioned how much they care about Ren on stream too even. A lot of hermits have mentioned how much they appreciate Ren, and have complimented him + said affirmations on stream.

Regarding hermits ribbing him/not playing along;

If something happened that was uncomfortable for Ren or Too Much, it would've been mentioned after and not included in anyone's POVs. Ren's whole kinda thing is being a Theatre Kid, his whole thing is being dramatic and taking up roles for the sake of creating fun storylines and contents for the other hermits to either play along with or turn into something else. If a hermit took it a way Ren wasn't happy with He Would Bring It Up To The Hermits Because They Are Adults And Communicate Amongst Each Other. Like I mentioned above, the banter is very much more part of british humour and culture/attitude, as well as their general dynamic going on.

I've even seen concerns of it being bullying, which is far from the case. I think a lot of us longer term viewers have a better grasp of how much they all care about each other and how deep the friendship goes.

The other concern I have is how like, the joke of him being a 'Wet Pathetic Dog' is kind of going a bit overboard to the point where it's the only defining factor people are mentioning about him? and that like, so much so it genuinely feels more like the fanbase is infantilizing him or making him out to be this damsel in distress who needs to be rescued. He's a grown adult man, who can more than easily speak up for himself and advocate for himself. Minimizing him down to this pathetic useless character who can't do anything is just rude and misses the point of the characters he tends to play when doing storylines. He tries his hardest to organize server events and include all the hermits in things, which is both great for content and a great show of how much the hermits are willing to go along with his ideas and either see where it plays out or evolve it further. Mind you there's always MULTIPLE if not ALL the hermits being willing to play along in these events!! from the mining event this season to the king Ren arc last season all the way to log fellas in season 4.

[cielcreations]

Hazbin Hermits - Prologue

AN: Hermitcraft/Empires/3rd Life Series X Hazbin Hotel AU.

Meaning lots of cursing, fighting, blood, violence, flirting, shipping, sexual innuendos/implied sexual content, and pretty much everyone is a bad person to some degree.

If you don't like your favorite characters made to be not so great people, then do not read.

"Good afternoon! I'm Katherine Killjoy!"

"And I'm Joey JaxHammer! Chaos outside pentagram city today, as a turf war is raging on the west side between notable kingpins Lord Fwhip and self-proclaimed spunky powerhouse Mythical Sausage!"

"That's right Joey! After the recent extermination, many areas are now up for grabs! Demons all over Hell are already duking it out to gain new territory!"

"Those two seem to be really going at it, huh?"

"Looks like they're fighting tooth and nail for that hotspot!"

"And I'd like to nail their hotspots, am I right, fellas~?"

"Haha, you are a limp dick jackass, Joey! Or should I say-" Katherine poured her hot coffee on his lap, the man hissing and moving before she could actually spill it on his dick, "-no dick?"

"Bitch." The man hissed.

"Coming up next, we have an exclusive interview with the younger son of Hell's own head honcho, who's here to discuss his brand-new passion project!"

"All that, after the break!" Joey exclaimed, taking his mug and pouring his coffee on Katherine's head.

"YOU LITTLE SH-"

The two looked away from the TV. The blue haired demon tugged the tie a bit tighter, just to make the prince look more presentable.

"Okay." He finished, stepping back, "Are you ready? You remember what to say?"

The blonde took a deep breath, his purple eyes widening in excitement as he exclaimed, "Yes! Let's do this!"

"Just, look at me, and I'll mouth it to you, Zed." The man grabbed the prince's shoulders.

Zed had light blonde hair with brown ram horns, pale skin, wearing a black suit with a red tie, no shoes so his hooves could breath.

"Ugh, come ooooon, Tango, I know what to say!" Zed reassured, smiling, "But, I do think we should make it a bit more interesting! I-I mean, I don't want to go up there and sound robotic, you know?"

Tango, normally, had yellow hair, that could change into different colors depending on how hot he got. Since he could control fire and such, his hair would change colors to match the fire type and, sometimes, it could even turn on fire. His skin was pale with a bit of a blue tint, his nails sharpened into claws. He wore a black crop top and black shorts, long black heeled boots. He also had black belts wrapped around his waist with golden buckles, black cloth to create an overskirt. (Art of Tango by @/lunarcrown)

"I get that, babe, but this is serious." Tango reminded him, "You can't go up there and squeal and giggle the whole time. It's adorable, yes, but not all sinners are going to trust and believe in your project unless you look serious and you know what you're doing."

"I told you through a fit of excited squeals."

"Yeah, and I listened because I know and believe in you." The demon motioned to the others, "These sinners don't. They don't know you, they barely know your older brother, and they certainly won't believe in you at first. It's why you gotta go up there, show them who's in charge, and act like this plan is full-proof!"

"But we don't know if it is..." Zed reminded.

"Your right, and neither do they." Tango booped his nose, "Which is our advantage. No one knows if this works, but if we act like we're the experts, people believe."

"Prince Zedaph? Five minutes before we're live." A demon called.

Tango smiled at the blonde, kissing his forehead, "You got this! I'll be right behind the camera, so if you need me?"

Zed nodded, smiling, "Don't worry, I got this!"

He turned around, walking to the desk and smiling, offering his hand, "Hi, I'm Zed-"

"Katherine Killjoy." The female anchor hissed, "You can put that away. I would say it's a pleasure to meet you, but that would be a lie." She then sneered, "Look, my time is money, so I'll keep this short. You're not here because we wanted you here. You're here because Jeffery couldn't make it to his cannibal cooking segment! You may be some royal bigshot, but that doesn't mean shit to me! I'm too rich and influential to giving a flying fuck about some tux wearing demon 'prince'-" (she put "prince" in quotations, as if Zed wasn't one) "-wants to advertise."

Zed narrowed his eyes, "Listen-"

Katherine leaned forward, glaring, "So don't get cute with me, or I'll fucking break you!"

"And we're live!"

Katherine zoomed to her seat, tilting her head so much, it sounded like she broke it, "Welcome back!" Once Zed was sat down, she spoke again, "So, Zedaph!"

The blonde's eyes twitched as he smiled awkwardly, "It's Zed-"

"Whatever! Tell us about this new passion project you've been insistently pestering our news station about!"

"Welllllll..." Zed looked around at the demons, Tango standing by the camera man with a smile and thumbs up. He smiled and took a deep breath as he spoke, "As most of you know, I was born here in Hell and growing up, I tried to see the good in everything around me. Hell is my home and you are my people. We just went through another extermination and we lost so many souls! It breaks my heart seeing my people being slaughtered every year!" He slammed his fist on the table, sighing, "No one is even given a chance and I can no longer stand idly by when the place I call home, the place I love, is constantly being destroyed!"

He stood up, smiling, "So, I've been thinking, isn't there a more humane way to hinder Hell's overpopulation? Perhaps we can find a new alternative way to save souls through redemption? I think yes, and that's what this project aims to achieve! Ladies and gentlemen and everyone in between, I'm opening the first of its kind! A hotel that rehabilitates sinners!"

Everyone was silent, staring at the man.

Everyone outside stared at the TV.

One in particular tilted his head in curiosity.

Everyone in the news station... started laughing.

Zed shrunk in on himself as Tango moved to stand beside him, his blue hair turning into flames as he glared at everyone.

"What in the nine circles makes you think a single person in hell would give two shits about becoming a 'better person?!'" Katherine cackled, "You have no proof that this actually works and you want people to be good just because?!"

"You have no proof it doesn't work!" Tango hissed, flames surrounding his body, "Besides, we already have a patron who's showing incredible improvement!"

"Ooooooh, and who might that be~?" Katherine sneered.

Tango leaned forward, intentionally burning her wooden table with a smirk, "Oh, just someone named, SmallishBeans."

"The pornstar?" Joey asked.

"You fucking would, Joey." Katherine glared before snickering, "In any case, that's hardly an accomplishment! I'm sure you can get that hooker to do anything with enough lube and sugar!"

Tango continued to burn her table, the woman looking ready to scratch his eyes out as he drew little doodles, "I beg to differ."

Zed also perked up, smirking, "He's been behaved, clean, and out of trouble for two weeks now!"

"Breaking news!"

Katherine perked up before she smirked, pushing the men away, "We just received word that a new player has entered the ongoing turf war! Let's go to the live feed!"

They turned to the TV and Tango pinched his temples as he tried to control himself, Zed muttering out, "Oh shit."

"Oh shit, indeed!" Katherine exclaimed, "It appears the one to join is none other than porn actor Joel, aka, SmallishBeans!" She looked at the two, "What a juicy coincidence! I bet you feel real stupid right now! How does it feel to be a total and utter failure?!"

She began laughing, everyone did, once more.

Tango tried to control himself as Zed clenched his fists.

The prince looked at Tango with glowing red eyes, "Fucking, show them who's boss."

Tango smirked, his teeth sharpening to points, "Gladly."

He jumped across the table, lighting everything on fire as he began to beat Katherine and Joey.

***

The prince and his boyfriend sat in a limo, across from the other sinner. The sinner had brown hair with a green streak in the middle of his hair, matching his green eyes and green antenna. He wore a long white and light green suit blazer, the top unbuttoned and showing off his muscular chest. He had black shorts and long, knee length black heeled boots. To top it off, he had green transparent fairy wings on his back.

They watched as he rolled the window up and down, clearly in his own little world. Eventually, he seemed to notice the two were staring at him.

The brunette stopped, leaned back, and shrugged, "What?"

"'What?' 'WHAT?!'" Tango screamed, his hair turning to blue, almost purple flames, "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, JOEL?!"

"Ugh, I had too, I owed Sausage a solid!" Joel huffed, "Isn't that one of those 'redeeming qualities'? Helping friends and all that?!"

Zed leaned into the window with a groan as Tango reprimanded him, "Not in turf wars that result in genocide?!"

"Meh, you win some, you loose a few hundred!"

"Joel, that was really not cool." Zed groaned, "You just... You made us look like jokes!"

"Nah, chill out, jokes are funny! I made you all look sad and pathetic!"

"Oh, cause that's any better?!" Tango growled.

"Look, I had to!" Joel argued, "My reputation was on the line! You know what people would say if they found out I was trying to go clean?! Not to mention, people would know where I am and try to break into the hotel to get some of me! Do you want a whole mob down there?"

"Listen, if you want to stay here, you need to take this shit seriously!" Tango demanded, walking towards the brunette, "We're not going to give you a free room, free food, free whatever else if all you do is fuck around! So, you either sit down, buckle the fuck up, and try to redeem yourself and help the hotel's reputation, that you burned to cinder!" He glared, flames coming out of his mouth, "Got it?"

Joel groaned, "Okay, fine, whatever."

"C-Calm down, Tango." Zed offered his hand, Tango moving to sit beside him again, "I-It's not over yet, we can still try! It'll be okay!"

The limo stopped at the hotel and the three went inside. Tango flopped on the couch with a groan, Joel grabbing a popsicle and sitting in a chair. Zed groaned and went to go upstairs, only to stop.

Someone knocked on the door.

He walked towards it and opened the door.

In front of him stood a tall dirty blonde man with his eyes closed, wearing a blue striped coat with dark blue sleeves, the coat falling to his knees. Underneath the coat, he wore a white dress shirt with a black upside down cross on the chest, as if to resemble a tie, long black dress pants with bright blue cuffs. Over his feet, he wore black heeled boots that rested under his pants. Behind his back, he held a long thin cane with a sentient vintage style microphone attached to it.

The whole time, he smiled.

Zed shrunk a little as the man opened his eyes. He had black sclera with blue eyes, staring down at the prince.

"HELLO!" He spoke, his voice altered to sound like that of a broadcast.

Zed shut the door on instinct, "Uh, Tango?"

"Whaaaaat?" The flame demon groaned.

"The Radio Demon is at the door!"

[arcanarubinaito]

Borrowing Clothes

This is rough, unedited, and kinda rushed! I’ll probably edit it later because there’s a lot of missing content, but I wanted to get the rough parts in before the deadline XD

For this Vesuvia Weekly prompt, I thought I’d indulge in a bit of writing that isn’t necessarily canon to Muriel and Auric’s story, but sweet nevertheless.

This takes place in what I’d call the “Heart Hunters/Tales Universe”, where it’s clear the routes haven’t taken place but there’s still a relationship between any given LI and the MC. Great for writing character dynamics and interactions, in a sort of nebulous adjacent setting without a clear storyline.

Summary:

It’s a cold day, and Auric wants to spend it bundled up with his favorite person.

Tags:

SFW (<18), 1.2k Words, Vesuvia Weekly, Borrowing Clothes, Muriel, Muriel of the Kokhuri, Auric Alnazar, Auric the Apprentice, Apprentice OC, Original Character(s), Romantic Relationship(s), Muriel/Auric, Muriel/OC, Fluff

It was an unusually cold day. Auric shivered as he made his way down the trail, gripping his shawl around him for what little warmth it could offer him. A basket was slung over one arm with a loaf of Selasi’s pumpkin bread wrapped in cheesecloth, a small bottle of black mead, and some smoked eel parcled off to the side. It was a rare treat to visit Muriel’s hut these days, so he figured it called for something special. A little something in exchange for how often Muriel had to come into the city just so they could see each other.

The shop kept him busy, but with any luck Auric would be able to rent the space out to someone else soon. He just needed the chance to discuss it with Asra first.

A gust of wind buffeted against Auric’s side, carrying with it the salty sea air and a few leaves that found purchase in his hair. With a huff, he swatted at the stray vegetation and tried to clear it all away and make himself look at least a little more presentable.

The door opened before Auric had the chance to even knock, Muriel’s massive form lurking in the doorway. He was wearing his cloak, a sign that he had been about to leave. Surprise flitted over Muriel’s features as they stared at one another, before the larger man shuffled awkwardly to the side to let him in. “I didn’t think you were coming today.” Muriel murmured, watching Auric step inside. He glanced out at the overcast sky, and Auric understood what he meant.

“I said I would, didn’t I?” Auric replied, bustling over to the table to set the basket down. Inanna was stretched out by the fire, lazily swishing her tail back and forth as she watched both of them. Their eyes met for a moment before Inanna huffed softly and turned to rest her head lazily over her paws, closing her eyes. The apprentice smiled faintly before turning his attention back to unpacking the basket.

“You did…” Muriel pulled his cloak off, hanging it back up on the wall. He made his way over to where Auric stood, hesitating for a brief moment before wrapping his arms around the smaller man from behind. As always, the hug was as loose as possible; and as always, Auric rested one hand over Muriel’s arm and leaned back against him, guiding his arms to hold him a little closer. “It’s also cold.” The hermit murmured against the top of Auric’s head. “You’re cold.” There’s a brief pause before one of Muriel’s hands lifted, picking a stray leaf out of the apprentice’s hair.

Auric’s mouth twitched. He could tell Muriel’s eyes were fixed solely on the food he’d brought, and Auric carefully unwrapped the small packages. The smell of spices and eel wafted through the air, a very odd combination but not entirely unpleasant. “Ah, but I’m warm now.” Auric took one of Muriel’s hands and pressed a soft kiss to his knuckles. “I’m already forgetting how chilly it is outside.” Muriel grumbled softly in response before he pulled away to fetch the two plates and cups he owned.

“... are you staying tonight?” Muriel asked quietly, setting the wooden dishes out carefully. Auric cut a couple slices off the loaf, serving it and the eel onto both plates while Muriel uncorked the bottle and poured a bit of mead in both cups. While the question was worded one way, it meant another thing entirely; ‘I don’t want you walking home tonight in this weather.’

“I’d like to.” Auric reached across the table after they both sat down, and Muriel took his hand. Three soft squeezes; I love you. Muriel gave four more in return; I love you too.

-<>-

They slept in. Or well, Muriel slept in. Auric could never sleep too long once the sun was up, but he was more than content to rest in Muriel’s arms until he woke. He gazed out the window, taking in the swirling patterns of frost and light amount of snow that had settled in the clearing just outside. He snuggled in closer to Muriel, pulling the furs a little further over them. The fire had died down during the night, making the morning a bit chilly against his bare skin.

Muriel stirred a little, pulling Auric a little closer with a soft grumble. He pressed his face into the pillow with his mouth resting against the back of the apprentice’s head and his warm breath blew through Auric’s hair in soft huffs. A few minutes more, and Muriel’s eyes finally fluttered open with reluctance.

“Morning.” Auric brushed a soft kiss against Muriel’s cheek, taking quiet delight in the way the hermit’s cheeks reddened. He crossed his arms over Muriel’s chest and rested his head over them, idly tracing a heart over where Muriel’s beat.

The larger of the two men blinked the sleep out of his eyes, not yet sitting up. His hand lifted to brush some of Auric’s hair out of his face, curling the multicolored strands around his fingers loosely in an idle gesture of affection. “Morning.” Muriel’s voice rumbled, deep and croaky with early morning drowsiness. Auric could see the other’s lips curve slightly, a warm and sleepy smile.

It took a while for them to get up and moving, but Auric wasn’t in a rush. The shop was closed today and he didn’t have any errands to run until later that afternoon. There were plenty of little sleepy kisses exchanged between them until finally Muriel was awake enough to get up. They both shivered a little in the chilly morning air, and Muriel was quick to tuck the furs back around Auric until he could get the fire started again.

Breakfast was leftover pumpkin bread warmed by the fire, filling the hut with the scent of warm spices mixed with myrrh. They ate on the floor near the fire this time, Muriel listening as Auric rambled about his dreams.

When it finally came time for Auric to leave, Muriel gently grabbed his arm to stop him before he reached the door. In his other hand, the hermit held the scarf Auric bought him months ago. “Wait,” He murmured, draping it over Auric’s shoulders and fussing with it for a moment. “It’s still cold out.”

Auric was frozen for several seconds before he reached up to take his hands, his eyes shining softly. “Thank you.” He said softly, stretching up as far as he could to brush a kiss against Muriel’s cheek. The man’s face was flushed, his eyes focused on everything else but him for a little bit before he finally dragged his gaze to meet Auric’s.

“Just… bring it back when you visit next time.” Muriel mumbled, dipping down to brush a very brief kiss against Auric’s cheek in return. His hand reached out to open the door, the other pulling out of Auric’s grasp to grab his own cloak. “I’ll um… walk you to the city.” He added quietly.

The apprentice smiled, taking Muriel’s hand. With his other, he gently grasped onto the scarf wound around his neck and pulled it up to partially cover his face against the cold as they set out together.

[melon-wing]

Stand Up [Grian/Doc]

[Fanfiction Masterlist]

This request is a little old, I hope you’re still hanging around and are happy with this take, anon :) Recommended Song for this story. I listened to it on loop while writing. ~*~

Grian smiled fondly, looking over to the field from the wall he was sitting on. Their little Empire was slowly but steadily beginning to grow. Well… Slow for the Hermits’ standards that was. Jimmy had been rather shocked at seeing all their underground farmwork. He should have known from Grian‘s stories, but then again, seeing it was a whole different thing than hearing about it. Maybe he should invite Jimmy over one day just to get to see the stupid face he’d make at all the farms there.

Impulse was in the middle of a rather boring discussion with Doc about how to build a farm that was efficient enough for their needs, but not so efficient it would crash this world‘s economy. Grian was pretty sure Jimmy would be a bit mad if they did that. Though if the rift stayed closed much longer it would happen sooner or later. The Hermits were rather bad at holding back. And some of the worst offenders had come along with him.

Impulse drew something onto the parchment that was laid out on the table between them and Doc made a thoughtful face, his sharp teeth biting down on his bottom lip, one hand ruffling his combed back hair.

Grian was pretty sure he didn‘t even realise he was doing it. But it was really an adorable sight. Nobody ever really believed him, but the moment he had fallen in love with Doc was when he heard him talking about complex redstone. Not that Grian understood a word he said about his world eating machines and complex circuits. Just the sight of Doc being so passionate about the most complicated redstone that he lost his usually so stoic demeanour, his eyes sparkling, hair slowly getting messier as he kept touching it in thought. Well nobody could blame Grian for thinking it was a rather attractive sight to behold.

Impulse glanced over in his direction and the moment they locked gazes, he laughed quietly, turning to Doc to mutter something, which made Doc look up at him, his thoughtful features softening into a smile. He put down the pen, muttering something to Impulse before walking over to him, the soft smile only growing.

“You’re doing it again”, Doc just said the moment he stood in front of the wall Grian was sitting on, their faces for once being on the same level so Grian didn’t have to look up at him.

“Doing what?”, Grian replied, feigning innocence.

Doc let out an amused huff. “Well according to Impulse you’re looking at me like a love sick attention starved puppy. His words, not mine. Though I see what he means. It’s adorable.”

Grian’s smile just got a little wider, his heart fluttering at the compliment.

“You can’t blame me. I rarely ever have the opportunity to watch you like this in Hermitcraft. We’re always so busy building the next big thing back at home. I’m enjoying it very much.” Grian glanced past Doc at Impulse and then back to Doc. “Though I will let Impulse know that I’m certainly no puppy.”

Doc hummed, leaning forward, resting his hands on Grian’s legs to lean in between them. “Yeah. You’re much more like a fox. Sly, smart… Probably why I like you so much. I’ve always been fond of foxes. Though you’re still not as quick in a fight as a fox. You think too much.”

Grian put a mock pout on his face. “Hey. I can fight. I beat you in like… a couple of wars. And I won the little murder game me and the others were part of!”

“You win because you’re smart. And that is not a bad thing. Not everyone can be a great fighter. But you don’t have to worry. If anything ever happens I’ll just follow your brains and be the muscles you need.” Doc then fully leaned in, putting a gentle kiss onto Grian’s pout, making him melt below the touch, a little content noise leaving Grian’s mouth. And suddenly he was being lifted up, letting out a high pitched squeak of surprise, clinging onto Doc’s body like a panicked koala. Doc just chuckled, holding him close, never once breaking the kiss as he held Grian up as if he weighed nothing.

Grian smiled softly once his racing heart had calmed down, not letting go until Doc finally let him down onto the ground gently, following him with his lips, bending forward until Grian’s feet touched the ground only then separating.

“I love you, little guy.”

“‘m not that little”, Grian grumbled in slight annoyance, though he had to admit that in this new world the Hermit’s fell a little below average size wise which made him even smaller in comparison now. Doc on the other hand fit right in, his tall height now just the average like all the other men here, that is if you didn’t count Joel’s godly form or Jimmy’s toy size. Grian still didn’t get how these lore revealing potions worked, but then again… He didn’t understand a lot of things in this world.

“Well. You’re big in all things that count”, Doc said in a teasing voice that made Grian blush and stutter at first, until Doc gleefully went on, “I meant your heart Grian. What else would I be talking about? Get your mind out of the gutter.”

Grian grumbled some choice word under his breath, hitting Doc in the stomach softly. “You’re an idiot.”

“I know. But I’m your idiot, am I not?”

Grian couldn’t stop the smile from returning back to his face and he got on his tiptoes, barely able to land a kiss onto Doc’s cheek. 

“Now… While I think it’s cute to have you watching me work I think I remember you having a date with Scar and Jimmy in Tumbletown. You told me yesterday, remember?”

That made Grian’s heart drop as he quickly looked at the sky. “Oh fudge”, he just exclaimed, giving Doc another quick peck on the mouth before hurriedly taking out his Elytra.

“Thanks, love, see you later. Don’t explode our base with your redstone.”

“Will try!”, Doc called after him as Grian took off quickly, flying over to the little Western Town.  

His eyes lit up when he finally reached the small town and he could see those two and Tango already standing by a large train that Grian knew at first glance had been built by Scar. That man was just too talented. His builds just stood out, even back home with a bunch of talented builders. Scar was always special. He just had the perfect attention to detail. When Grian landed he looked over at Tango, smirking at him when he realised how close Tango was standing to Jimmy, his tail resting around Jimmy’s waist. Well, well, well… He had never given those two much thought but maybe something great would come out of their accidental trip to the Empires World.

Tango must have noticed his gaze, as his cheeks turned a slightly dark blue and his eyes darted off to the side, his fingers twitching so close to Jimmy’s hand, his tail wiggling a little, but yet he didn’t move away. How cute. Grian could work with that. Playing matchmaker would be so much fun. And Jimmy would need it with how daft he was when it came to emotions.

They were in the middle of a deep discussion about how to connect Tumbletown to the Hermit’s area, when multiple beeping sounds came from Jimmy’s communicator. Jimmy looked at his wrist in confusion and then pressed a button to see the little holographic screen.

“Fwhip. Weird. He doesn’t really message me anymore lately. Rather comes over to bother me and-” Jimmy stopped, his eyes darting over the messages, eyebrows furrowing. “He says something weird is going on over at the portal. It apparently activated again, but it’s no longer purple. It’s… gold.”

The moment Grian heard that it felt like someone had grabbed his heart in an iron grip. “What?”, his voice sounded far too high, almost foreign to his own ears and Jimmy gave him a weird look.

“It’s gold. Do you know what’s going on? It’s yours after all. The rift on your side I mean. Is it supposed to do this? Does it mean you guys can go back?” As Jimmy asked that question, his eyes darted to Tango, looking slightly sad.

Grian didn’t answer right away, his mind running in circles, but his silence was enough for Scar to get worried at least. 

“Grian. What’s going on? You’re as white as a Ghast. What does the portal turning gold mean? Is it… is it bad?”

And finally Grian moved into action, head whipping around to Scar, looking at his bright blue eyes. He then turned to Tango, his face becoming more and more worried. “You’re in danger. You need to hide. They’re coming. I need to- I- The portal. We need to block it. We need to destroy it. They’ll come through.”

“Who’s coming, Grian?”, Scar sounded worried, gently grabbing Grian’s arm.

Another beep from Jimmy’s communicator. He looked at the screen. “Fwhip said some people walked through. Him and Sausage are gonna try and talk to them.”

“Tell Fwhip to run! Tell him they can’t see him! He’s not human! They can’t know!”

Jimmy looked at him in confusion, not reacting to his words and Grian felt almost helpless. “Jimmy! NOW!” Hearing Grian use his proper name and raise his voice like that must have shaken something inside the other man and he quickly typed a message into his communicator, sending it off. 

“Grian, mate, what is going on? You’re scaring me.”

Grian shook his head, fumbling through his inventory. “No time to explain. You need to take Tango and Scar and hide them somewhere. Get as far away from spawn as possible. In some cave or some area that doesn’t look inhabited. Somewhere where they won’t look.”

“Grian? Who’s ‘they’?”, Tango looked worried as well and Scar’s head was tilted to the side, his face full of confusion. How did they not understand that there was no time for explanations? They needed to leave now.

“They hunt non-humans. They shouldn’t be here. Jimmy. Please. Promise me that you’ll protect them. I can’t worry about everyone here. That is one less person I need to protect.”

Jimmy glanced at Grian and then his face hardened as he nodded. “Make sure my friends are safe, yeah?”

Grian nodded and that seemed to be enough as Jimmy started running, pulling a very confused Tango behind him, Scar throwing one last confused glance at Grian before running off as well. He was lucky Jimmy knew him well enough to see that this was serious. Any second he lost discussing the situation would just make it worse.

Finally, Grian pulled out the rockets from his inventory, rushing up into the sky and darting off into the direction of the portal. He needed to warn everyone. He needed to stop the portal. He couldn’t let them in. Not again.

While flying at a neck breaking speed he somehow miraculously managed to get out his communicator and shoot off a quick message.

<Grian> Danger! You need to hide! They’re coming! 

<Grian> They’re after non humans.

Grian could hear countless beeping noises after he sent his message off, but he kept going. He didn’t have the time for explanations. If he would manage to close the portal before they came through there would be no need to fight. They’d all be safe.

His mind drifted to Doc. His fingers twitched, the urge to drift off to their area almost overwhelming. He wanted to go there so badly. He needed to make sure his boyfriend was safe, but in moments like this… He couldn’t risk the life of everyone on the server just to save Doc. So many of his friends were in trouble. Not just Doc.

And if they got Fwhip…

He just prayed they didn’t figure out he was the admin of this world. Fwhip looked inconspicuous enough. They would underestimate him for sure. Fwhip just needed to pretend someone else was the admin and maybe they wouldn’t gain that advantage. Grian had seen admins be forced to teleport everyone over under threats of torture before, he didn’t want to witness it again. 

Finally, after flying over a mountain range he could see the portal glowing in the distance. The eerie golden shimmer might have looked beautiful to him a decade ago. But he knew better now. It meant nothing but destruction and suffering. The glow made him feel sick, a coldness spreading inside all the way to his bones.

When he was close enough to see shapes by the portal, he stopped in the middle of the air, out of breath, looking down at the figures, dread slowly filling him. As quickly as he could he landed in one of the trees, hidden behind the leaves, looking over at the portal.

He was too late.

Multiple people in uniform were standing right outside the portal. They had weapons drawn, pointing them at a group of people sitting on the ground, their hands folded behind their heads. Their weapons were emitting a golden glow, containing the same magic that powered their portal. He peeked through the leaves. Fwhip was kneeling there alongside Sausage, Pix and Xisuma. He felt almost guilty at the relief he felt when he realised Doc wasn’t there. But if he didn’t stop them it was only a question of time until Doc was their prisoner. They rarely ever stopped until they had every inhabitant of the world captured. He needed to stop them before it came to that. Someone landed next to him on a branch and Grian whipped around, his hand glowing purple as he thrust it forward only to hit a light icy blue mist that stopped him in his tracks.

“Scar?”, he hissed, looking at the man leaning against the tree trunk standing on a branch next to him. His eyes were glowing brightly, his own hand held out in defence. “You were supposed to hide! You and Tango! Don’t tell me you’re all-”

“Tango went with Jimmy. I couldn’t go without knowing Cub was safe. You wouldn’t abandon Doc either, so don’t expect me to run. Cub’s a vex as well, so that means he’s in danger if what you said is true. Looking over at the portal it seems to be.” Slowly the blue mist dissipated and Grian realised that Scar’s eyes were now focused on the purple magic surrounding Grian’s hand.

“Care to explain?”

Grian sighed, his eyes darting off to the portal again. Maybe having someone help him wasn’t too bad. He was pretty sure he could take those soldiers, but if they were to call for backup… It had been a long time since he had been in a proper fight. Practising magic from books and against mobs just wasn’t the same

“I’m a Watcher.”

Scar let out a short quiet huff of amusement, but he must have realised Grian wasn’t joking. “But… That is just a fairytale. Nothing but some old people's stories to scare children into behaving. Telling them of the ever present Watcher in every world that punishes you if you misbehave.”

Grian shrugged. “Well it’s true. I’m your Watcher. Not you as a person. Your world’s. I wish the part about every world having one was true, but we’re a bit understaffed. No Watcher on Empires at the moment but me.”

Scar followed Grian’s eyes to the portal, eyes darting between all the figures moving around as more soldiers stepped through. Commands were being shouted, but they didn’t quite reach them. Though Grian was pretty sure it was orders to search for more people in this world. Calls to find the admin they already had. Luckily they musn’t have figured out they already had him or they would be torturing Fwhip right now instead of just guarding him. “So what are they? What’s going on here?”

“They’re what we call the Hunters. They believe that non humans are… below them. They capture them and take them from their worlds.”

Scar’s eyes widened. “What?! What will they do with them.”

Grian remained silent, watching their friends, his heart sinking as he saw two soldiers drag a struggling Cleo and a very unconscious Joe towards the place in front of the portal. Cleo was quickly tossed to the side where Xisuma and Fwhip were kneeling while they put Joe on the ground next to the other humans. So they were already separating them into groups. They knew Xisuma wasn’t human.

“Grian. What will they do?”, Scar hissed, a low, almost threatening tone that Grian had never heard before. 

“They sell them. It’s human trafficking, Scar… Well not so human, but you get what I mean. Once they’ve rounded up everyone- Once they leave through the portal, they’ll all be gone, scattered over the worlds, sold for a fortune. We need to stop them now.” Grian turned to look at Scar. “Listen. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys what I am, but that’s kind of part of the job. I’m just meant to watch. I wasn’t even meant to stay as long. I kind of took an extended leave to stay with Doc.”

“So the Watchers aren’t really there to stop misbehaving children, huh?”

Grian shook his head, smiling bitterly. “No. We’re… The Watchers were formed to fight them. Most of us are just liberated slaves with a talent for magic.”

“So you…”

“There’s no time for all that now”, Grian interrupted the question. While it was indeed true that they couldn’t just sit here and watch for much longer, he already despised the thought of talking about his own past with the Hunters. “We need to hurry before any of them are transported through the portal. Even with our magic we won’t be able to bring them back.”

Scar’s muscles tensed again at the reminder and Grian could feel his magic well to the surface. If he’d ever had any doubt of Scar’s strength, the amount of magic radiating off of him now would have proved him wrong. It wouldn’t be enough. Sadly. But this wasn’t Scar’s fight. It was his.

“Listen Scar… I need to ask something of you. Something dangerous. Will you still trust me?”

They looked at one another again. Scar’s eyes searched his for something, some sign that he was lying or that this was some elaborate prank. 

“What do I need to do?”

“I need you to distract them. Not for long, don’t worry. Half a minute should be enough to disable the portal if you manage that long. Any more would help, but I don’t think that’s possible.” Scar raised an eyebrow, looking at Grian questioningly. 

“You think you can defeat them?”

Grian’s eyes darted from one soldier to the next, looking closely at the weapons they were carrying, taking everything into account, thinking of every possible scenario. “Yes”, he finally stated, his voice full of confidence. He wasn’t saying this to make Scar feel better. He was sure he would be able to take them.

“Grian…” Scar hesitated for a moment. “How strong are you exactly?”

Grian just smiled cheekily instead of giving an answer. And it seemed to be enough of an answer, because Scar nodded. “Okay if you tell me how you plan to go in, I think I can-”

A scream stopped Scar mid sentence and in the way his magic flared to the surface Grian could immediately tell who’s scream it must have been.

He tried to stop Scar, to grab a hold of his arm, but even with the difference in power between them, an enraged vex was too fast for even Grian. There was barely anything that could stop a vex protecting its mate. Scar jumped from the tree before Grian had even fully grasped the situation. He could just watch as Scar burst right into the middle of the soldiers, where Cub had now been dragged to, bleeding from a wound on his head. 

The soldier holding on to him fell without even a sound as Scar pounced on him, a glowing blue claw ripping into his body and practically tearing his heart out. Grian was frozen in shock. He had seen a lot of violence in his life, but Scar had always been so calm and gentle that Grian had thought his vex nature must have been rather dormant. This proved him very wrong.

Grian thought of jumping in as well and helping Scar in the fight, but he saw almost no way they could get out of it without losing. If he were to dive in now without a plan he’d lose most of his advantages. With the portal still open they’d immediately call for backup. How much more of them could he handle before even he would fall? And he knew this time he wouldn’t be so lucky to be rescued. The experiments they’d do on an imprisoned Watcher… He didn’t even want to imagine it.

Grian cursed silently, balling his hand to a fist, watching as multiple other soldiers were on Scar a moment later, their weapons sparkling with magic energy as they pressed them into Scar’s body. A shiver ran through Grian. He remembered how those felt. How they drained your magic and felt like electricity running through your whole body. Scar kept trying to fight, taking down another soldier before he went down, soldiers jumping forward to put him in chains. He felt so helpless, just being able to watch. He felt like he was somehow betraying Scar by letting him fight on his own.

And finally as the chains bound Scar completely they were able to fully subdue him, throwing him towards Cub where Scar stayed lying on the ground, breathing heavily, covered in bruises.

Damn it. That meant the ‘easy’ route was out of the question now. There was no way Scar could help him in the condition he was in. Grian needed to get close to the portal on his own. There was only one way he could think of that would get him close enough. Though that meant he couldn’t go guns blazing to destroy the portal. He summoned a small gem from his inventory. It was a deep purple and he knew that they might realise what it was once they saw it. They might see it inside his pockets so Grian did probably the stupidest thing he could and put it in his mouth instead before jumping out of the tree. It was tiny enough, just as small as a candy… In this difficult situation, it was the best place to hide something like that. It would make destroying it all the more easy.

He could feel his heart racing as he started walking along the roads, not even a single weapon in his hand. It felt like he was knowingly walking into a trap. But he wouldn’t. He knew what was lying ahead and he needed to go there to make sure everyone was safe.

It didn’t take long, walking up the road before he heard the shout of a soldier who had spotted him and seconds later two were running towards him.

“Stop right there, put your hands up!”

Grian froze, eyes widening, looking at them as if he had not expected their presence, feigning complete innocence  “What is going on? Who are you?”

The soldiers didn’t answer, instead rushing forward, pointing their weapons at him. Grian quickly raised his hands, eyes darting from one to the other, doing his best to look confused at their presence.

“We discovered another one along the road. He looks human enough. We’re gonna take him over to the others to check him.”, one of them spoke into a little microphone stuck to his ear and he must have gotten some reply as he pressed the weapon against Grian’s chest, not yet activating it. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll follow our orders now, boy. No funny business. We’ve got some of your friends waiting and they might get punished if you misbehave.” Grian just nodded hurriedly, pretending to stumble forward in his hurry to walk over. One of the guys snorted, giving him an unimpressed look. Good. Let them underestimate him and lower their guard. The Hunter that had just spoken walked up to him, patting down his pockets, making sure he hadn’t concealed any weapon below his sweater. They didn’t check for the gem hidden inside Grian’s mouth and seemed happy enough with this more rough search. “Walk. Now.” One of them walked behind him as Grian followed the first hunter. They hadn’t even bothered chaining him up like Scar. But then again, none of his human friends were. How stupid of them. They were just inviting magical beings to mess up their plans. Not everyone looked non-human. If he didn’t want to comply and walk up to the testing with them he could have easily just killed them. They even knew there was multiple vex in this world and still decided to underestimate someone like that. They had always been so sure of their power as their sheer number overwhelmed a world. Like true bullies hiding in a crowd.

As they rounded the corner to the place in front of the portal multiple eyes were locked on Grian. He could see devastation in his friends’ eyes as they believed another one of them to be captured. Grian knew that nobody had expected him to be the big rescue. But in Xisuma’s face he saw some sort of hopelessness. Maybe X had thought he’d come up with a plan after all. Xisuma didn’t know he was a Watcher, but maybe he thought Grian would be the one to rally the troops. He wished he could signal his admin that he had a plan, but he wouldn’t take any chances.

He was shoved forward towards one of the hunters who had a sceptre in his hand that looked different than any of the other weapons. It was a long metal staff, a yellow shining gem attached to the top, magic swirling inside. A detection device. Grian just hoped they hadn’t advanced any further since he had last encountered them during his training days. 

When they were in front of the man they stopped and Grian was shoved forward. He let himself fall with the momentum, landing on his knees. The sharp intake of breath at the stinging sensation in his hands was the only thing he didn’t fake at that moment. The sceptre touched his head and he could feel a cold wave wash over him. It felt like slimy cold tendrils were creeping all around inside him. It felt like last time. He knew they were searching for something. Some magic or something else that gave them the evidence they needed that he might not be fully human. Grian closed his eyes, pretending to be overwhelmed by the feeling when all he did was focus his magic to evade the search that was going on. He had been trained for a situation just like this, but it still took a lot of power to control his magic to move in such a precise way inside of him. When the feeling finally receded he took a shaking breath, looking up at the hunter with the staff again who looked at him slightly less hostile.

“He’s worthless. Put him with the other humans. Continue your search.  There has to be more than those five. They always flock together on these kinds of worlds where they are welcomed as if they’re human.”

“Can’t we just make them talk?” One of the soldiers groaned, apparently annoyed by the inconvenience of having to do some work to enslave this world. It was almost baffling to Grian how much they always treated their hunt like the most boring and necessary job. 

The sceptre carrying hunter stopped, let out a hum and then smiled, stepping back to Grian who still hadn’t stood up, grabbing a hold of his hair and pulling his head back.

“You want to tell me how many more monsters are in this world?”

“Not a single one except for you guys”, Grian hissed through gritted teeth and if he didn’t have the gem still in his mouth he would have spit right in that man’s face for even daring to ask him a question like that. None of them would betray one of their friends. “Then tell me who the admin is. We just want to have a little talk with them.” Grian forced himself to keep looking at the man in front of him as his eyes automatically wanted to dart over to where Xisuma and Fwhip were being held. From the way the guy was watching him he had hoped for that sort of reaction as well. “Kiss my arse.”

He earned himself a slap in the face. His cheek was stinging but he still smiled at the man, getting a weird sort of satisfaction from the annoyed look. He was pushed over to the side where his human friends were still kneeling. He wondered if the distance was close enough for the gem to shut down the portal. He wasn‘t sure and he couldn‘t risk anything. He hadn’t used this kind of magic a lot before, only ever in training. But if he waited too long things might turn sour as well. Grian looked around. He needed a distraction, but only Scar knew about his plans and he was knocked out cold.

Grian was pushed to his knees as well, right behind Joe who was lying on the floor. A quick glance showed Grian that the man wasn‘t as out of it as he had assumed. So he had woken up and was just pretending now. They locked eyes for a moment but Grian slowly looked away again, not arousing suspicion.

There were so many paths this could go on. He didn‘t know which one might work. He couldn‘t reveal his hand too early or he knew alarms would be sounded and things would change for the worse. If he spoke to Joe to clue him into any sort of plan, they might hear him and watch more closely. 

He gazed over at the ‘non human’ side of the prisoners. Scar was out. Cub was probably not able to fight as well as he usually did. Especially not with Scar in danger. Cub was holding onto him tightly right now, throwing glares at anyone who stepped a little too close to his unconscious mate. Xisuma’s powers were more defensive and passive, not suited for what he needed. Fwhip… Grian wasn’t sure of his powers. Cleo was strong, but she’d prioritise Joe’s safety if it came to it. Not that Grian could blame her. Grian didn’t need to think any further.

There was an explosion close by and a loud shout of a voice that he recognized too well. His head whipped to the side to where a group of people were charging at them, weapons drawn. Doc was right there at the front, yelling bloody murder, a trident in his hand, the enchantments on it letting electric sparks fly, his eyes both glowing a bright red in his anger. And there behind him were the rest of the server. Everyone. Even Tango and Jimmy, whom he had sent away, were there,  fighting side by side as they clashed against the soldiers.

This was perfect. This was the distraction he needed. And he needed to be quick. This was a situation that would make them call for backup as soon as they realised how strong the others were. Grian let his leg fly out, taking out the legs under the soldier guarding the prisoners that was closest to him. He fell forward and Grian jumped forward, over the fallen body, darting in between enemies and their weapons, rushing towards the portal. He had almost reached it, when a hand grabbed him, pulling him around and if he hadn’t been pressed against a heavily armoured body he would have certainly fallen from the sudden impact.

“Stop! Or I will kill him!”

There was a weapon at Grian’s neck. A simple iron sword. He was out of breath, looking over at where Doc was fighting, suddenly stopping in the middle of his tracks. They locked eyes and Grian could see the utter devastation and a fiery rage. The others seemed uncertain as well and Grian wanted to roll his eyes. They were sort of adorable. Had they really charged in without thinking of the possibility of a hostage being taken? Sure… The others who had been imprisoned had reacted quickly in a sensible way and ran away from their guards to be tossed weapons by their friends and pulled the wounded out of danger. Only Grian hadn‘t. He had run right into the enemies.

So now he was the hostage.

And he could see his friend’s weapons being lowered slowly one by one. They were ready to give up to make sure he’d be kept alive. It was sweet, but also kind of stupid. Even if he had been human… They shouldn‘t just throw their lives away like this.

The guard pulled him back a little towards the portal. Grian didn‘t struggle. He could see the soldiers now pointing their weapons at the others, encircling them, making sure they couldn’t run over to free him. Another step closer to the portal. He looked at Doc. He could see a desperate look in his eyes as fear overtook him. He expected them to pull Grian through the portal to never be seen again.

„Grian!“ Doc screamed for him and Grian smiled. A wide victorious smile. The gem was in between his teeth now. One of the soldiers looked at him, noticing it, but the moment he opened his mouth to shout out a warning it was too late. Grian bit down on the small crystal. It shouldn‘t have been possible, but the gem was a special artefact and the moment he put pressure on it it exploded into a wave of pure magic that sent an explosion like wave into every direction from where he stood. The soldier behind him flew away from the force, hitting the wall hard and crumbling to the floor. The others were far enough away to just be pushed away.

The moment the wave hit the portal it turned off. There were screams of shock and a multitude of weapons pointed in his direction now. But he didn’t mind. Every weapon pointed at him meant one less hunter threatening his friends. He let his magic flow free. Purple wings of moving energy sprouted from his back, glowing eyes appeared on every uncovered part of his body, opening up one by one.

“A Watcher! He’s a Watcher! Get reinforcements!”

“We‘re cut off!”

“Attack!”

A mix of screams and shouts rang around the area. Grian knew he should focus on the soldiers, but instead his eyes were zeroed in on Doc. He had always been scared of this moment. He should have told his partner before, but it had somehow never been the right time. He had always managed to pull up some sort of excuse. 

Doc’s mouth was open and his eyes wide in shock. Grian averted his eyes, smiling sadly before raising his hands when the first hunters ran up to attack, making them fly through the air and land unmoving a few metres away. “This world is under my protection. Now let me tell you what I think about you attacking my friends.”

He was pretty sure he heard a delighted cheer somewhere from the side and it made his lips twitch upward as Jimmy’s voice filled him with warmth and comfort. At least one person would still be by his side after this was all over. Even when he was sure Jimmy was just as shocked as the rest he had already recovered, calling out encouragement.

They changed their focus from Grian now, trying to get a hold of his friends, probably trying to hold them hostage against him. But as one grabbed a still slightly dazed and distracted Doc, Grian’s magic started flowing around him like tendrils, swelling up with his anger, grabbing the attacker around the waist and throwing him up into the sky. His magic was swirling freely around him now and it felt so good. He hadn’t been able to let it run this free in so long, always having to hold it back and contain it. He could hear the power in him rejoice as it spread further and further. 

The fight was over before it had even begun.

He still stood close to the portal, breathing heavily, feeling the drain of using this much powerful magic had put on his body. All his muscles were shaking and it was a wonder he could still stand up after all of this. The ground  all around him was littered with bodies, none of them one of his friends, not a single new scratch on their bodies. When the adrenalin finally stopped running through him he realised that all eyes were on him and the purple haze dancing around him. 

He wished he knew what they were thinking right now. If they’d hate him or fear him. He didn’t know what to do. He had just single handedly whipped out a small army after all. This was not a thing normal human beings did. Not even non-humans. After being granted the Watcher’s blessing and being trained for so long, he was ridiculously overpowered

He tried to call his magic back to at least look like his old carefree self, but now that it was unleashed it didn’t want to retreat. It always had a bit of a mind of its own. It would probably take at least a few hours or a few days to get the eyes on his skin to disappear. He gave a little glare at them and they only looked back at him. If he wasn’t so used to it, he’d be creeped out by his own power, so who was he to blame the others if they were?

His head was hanging low as he was still breathing heavily. He didn‘t dare look at them. He had lied. His whole relationship was built upon lies. Doc had enjoyed being the strong one and protecting him. Every other love declaration had been filled with promises to always protect him after all.

“Grian.” Doc‘s voice was soft and there were steps. Slow. Hesitant. Grian didn‘t dare look up, not even when Doc entered his field of vision. His eyes were locked onto the green feet sitting inside those ridiculous pink crocs that Grian had once gifted him as a joke. 

“Looks like all those wars against you really had no chance of ever being won, huh?”

Grian‘s head snapped up. “I‘d never use my magic for that!”

When he finished his sentence he looked right at Doc and saw the softest and kindest smile there.

“I know. That sounds just like you. Making things unnecessarily hard on yourself just to have more fun. You always loved challenges. If someone were to hold back their overpowered magic it would be an idiot like you“, Doc said, his voice warm as he put a gentle hand onto Grian‘s cheek, never once flinching as the purple haze around Grian moved, snaking around Doc‘s arm. He knew the eyes would be moving as well, looking at the fingers touching him or right at the man in front of him. It should have been unnerving and disturbing, but Doc seemed to be completely unfazed by it. 

“I- I lied. I lied to you. We‘ve been dating for so long and yet I have never told you the truth about who I am. I should have… I just thought- I trusted you, I swear. I was just afraid. And it was against the rules. I couldn‘t. And it was a convenient excuse not to and-“ The hand moved from his cheeks to his lips, a single finger pressing against his lips making him stop mid sentence as Doc made a shushing noise.

“Grian. It doesn‘t matter. You saved all of us. You ran straight into danger to save us. Why would we fear you? Are you scared of Cub and Scar?“ Grian shook his head. “Are you scared of Tango?“ He shook his head again. “Are you scared of me?“

At that Grian let out a soft laugh as the tension slowly left his body. He could feel tears well up in his eyes as relief flooded him. “How could I? You‘re the biggest softie in the whole wide world.”

“Then there‘s no reason to think we‘d be afraid of you. Surprised? Sure. But I could never be scared of the man I love.“

“Wouldn‘t you prefer I was just a human that you could protect? You always loved that.“

Doc chuckled, shaking his head the way you might at a small child, as if Grian had said something so very obviously stupid.

“Sure. It was nice to think you‘d need me. But then again, now I never have to worry about you. I‘m not with you because I can protect you and be a strong man. I‘m with you because I love you. Whether you need to be protected or you protect me. What does that even matter when we love one another?“

“So you don’t care?”

Doc smiled and shook his head again, putting a finger under Grian’s chin to tilt his head back ever so slightly before leaning down, stopping right before their lips met. “I love you. Then, now, and forever. Nothing will change that”, he whispered before moving the rest of the way, as if sealing his promise with a kiss. Grian could feel his magic move on its own, the purple mist slowly surrounding them, pushing Doc forward, as Grian went to put his arms around him and all of the eyes closing, as Grian’s own did.

He could hear his friends cheering from the side and he knew that he should have never worried. They accepted him just the way he was, no matter what that might be.

[cantsomeoneelsedoit]

Ch 58: Eyes of the Dragon

This chapter starts with three lead pages before the title page, which I think is a new record for UU. Tozuka's like HERE TAKE THIS FLASHBACK, TOO! WE CAN MAKE IT FIT!

He really makes the best appetizers, too, bc Shen's origin story is guaranteed to be interesting. Unlike some of the other Negators, his life was already rough even before his ability awakened; maybe that's why he relies on his physical strength more than his ability since it's just second nature to him.

It turns out that Shen was once a fighting street urchin with a heart of gold! Notice how Mei is telling him in this scene and the scene from the previous chapter that she already has enough and Shen doesn't have to fight. But Shen isn't easily satisfied!

Little Shen was a streetwise orphan who wasn't content to just exist. Something was always driving him to try to create a better version of himself and the lives of those around him.

Unfortunately, Shen wasn't able to win the tournament. Still, his showing as the untrained-but-incredibly-gifted-kid was enough to gather the attention of someone.

Shen has a Xianxia origin story: A plucky orphan who has some kind of unquenchable drive for strength, plus a dependent sibling and "eyes of the dragon," is recruited by an old master whose current #1 student is poised to become an unwilling rival, and so he joins his mysterious martial arts school to train to become the very best. We're still missing some Chinese magicians, alchemy, and immortal hermits to complete the genre lmao. Tozuka may yet surprise us!

His teacher's ability to sense strong chi/ki/talent will be important to the story later.

But first, the title page:

Poor Shen! He really would've enjoyed training that way! He just can't sleep at night knowing that there might be strong opponents out there.

"Hey, Shen, I heard you're pretty strong!"

Shen's like a little brother trying to get all the JUICY DETAILS about Andy's EXCITING ADVENTURES and TALES OF COMBAT while Andy's like "Actually it was extremely traumatizing. So anyway, about the firework monsters..."

A mysterious staff appears! And is that Summer's core?

The Summer arc has so many gorgeous panels. I really like the white space in the next one.

It's Feng! And he's put the core into one of the Juniors before setting them loose to cause destruction.

The UMAs take off and shoot vertically up the skyscraper. Andy tells Shen to stay back and fight Feng, but Shen's already gone!

Fuuko and Mui both get caught in the crossfire of the guys yelling at each other.

Feng scoffs at Shen because he eagerly chased after the Juniors instead of recognizing that Feng was the greater threat. It seems that Shen hasn't yet mastered the ability to sense a person's strength.

Another zombie fight! Feng's prayer beads produce four jiangshi who take fighting stances. Shen hits that subscribe button right away.

This is finally Shen's chance to fight the great fighters of the past, just like he wanted!! Just look how happy he is!

The jiangshi attack at the same time with a variety of styles, kind of like the enemies Bruce Lee faces as he fights his way up the tower in the movie Game of Death. He also fights Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which is totally worth watching.

Interestingly, Game of Death is an unfinished movie. I believe that fact gives us a clue about the Artifact of the same name in UU, but I'll have to come back to that later.

Shen uses his ability in a fabulous double spread. He's literally punching their faces in! That's our boy!

But something interrupts his smile...

Even though he beat all four easily, both Shen and Mui are unsettled. He has a dark shadow on his face instead of his usual grin, and she's worried what this means for Shen's future.

Holy shit! It's that guy who beat Shen at the tournament in the flashback! And Feng killed him at some point?! If Feng has already killed off Shen's old rivals, then Mui is right to be worried.

This spread is so cool. Feng was testing the waters with Shen, asking if his emotions would affect his fighting. Shen reassured Feng that he was just here to test his own strength and find satisfaction in the battle itself, and Feng grinned right back at him. These two seem like a perfect match!

Masterpost

[spiderdramaqueen]

i’ve been thinking about this for some time now, but after watching mumbo’s new episode i just can’t hold this thought in anymore. so. hear me out.

what if ren doesn’t feel any guilt about what he did as a king of the hermitcraft?

[DISCLAIMER: 1) in this essay i talk about rendog’s character/minecraft persona, NOT ABOUT CONTENT CREATOR;

2) i’m not trying to make ren look evil or to make anyone think he has any ill intentions towards other hermits. i just found the thought about ren not feeling guilty interesting and decided to dwell on it for a little bit just for fun.]

back to the topic.

yeah, we can all agree, that it seems kinda out of character, at the first sight. after all, ren is a kind soul, always ready to help his friends out and all that jazz. but i think there’s much more to it.

firstly, let’s go back to rentheking dethronement. episode 20 of ren’s season 9. when hermits find out their diamonds are nowhere to be found, ren just... changes the subject. he doesn’t try to explain everything or fix it, no. he just goes on about how he will banish himself to the cage of shame, and then quickly leaves the scene.

later on, he indeed spends some time in said cage and seems to regret his actions.

hermits forgive him pretty quickly tho. and there probably wouldn’t be a need to doubt ren’s sincerity, unless...

let’s move forward to hermitcraft/empires crossover. episode 21. after going through the rift, ren is awake in the grave, where’s “the kings of old” are supposed to lie. upon hearing about that from pixl, ren says: “i’m not a king anymore, they took it away from me”.

even tho ren didn’t confront pixl directly, it seems pretty obvious that ren is upset and salty about the fact that he was dug out of the grave by pixl. he expresses his annoyance about it many times to viewers and other emperors. he even sells his giblets to emperors just to piss pixl off, because ren knows he would want to collect them all.

“thou he is a gentleman and a scholar, i think doctor pixlriffs needs to pay an annoying price for exhuming us a few weeks back. don’t you guys agree? i mean, seriously, it was so peaceful and quiet in that tomb before he rudely awakened us from the dead”, - rendog in ep 23

“he [pixlriffs] awakaned me from a deathly slumber; i was fast-asleep in a tomb, having a lovely time in the afterlife, he ripped me asunder from my slumber” - ren to shubble in ep 24

why are you upset about being dug out of the king’s grave, ren? is it because when you lie in the grave that is supposed to be the last resting place for the kings of old, at least you’re still considered to be a monarch? do you miss your kingship that much that you would prefer to be a dead king rather than alive peasant?

well, you can say, this proves nothing. yeah, he might be missing his time as a king, what’s about that?

let’s talk about ren’s reaction to other hermits bringing up his past deeds.

when keralis brings up missing diamonds in ep 26 and blames king, ren immediatly denies his responsibility. when keralis presses, he is quick to accept his guilt and turn the whole conversation into a joke. what could cause such reaction? one could say, that maybe he feels so much shame, that it’s hard for him to even listen about what he’s done, but what if he just can’t accept his defeat? what if he thinks he’s in the right?

let’s hear out what ren has to say about his kingship.

“i was just telling sausage, pixl, that a great and wonderous king used to live here, before he was dishonorably removed”, - ren to sausage and pixl in mythicalsausage’s empires s2ep33

and, finally, the dialogue between mumbo and ren in mumbo’s ep 7:

mumbo: i mean, are you happy with what you did as king? it sounds like... you weren’t the best king

ren: i was a great king to start with, i sorted out hermitcraft economy, and then, mumbo, they partied in my private area and that just changed everything.

all things considered, i don’t believe ren feels any kind of remorse about his time as a king. he calls his king self a great king. he blames hermits for his downfall and spiral of madness. he thinks his dethronement was unfair.

he misses his kingship.

...or maybe he’s just being dramatic and i hyperfixate and think too much

[the-lone-writer94]

The Devil In The Mirror

Jack Delroy x Original Character (Female)

Summary: Set a couple of days before the events of the film. Jack finds himself at a party in Studio 54, there he meets a mysterious woman, and he can't quite shake the feeling that he's met her before... from a place where he doesn't dare dream of.

Age rating: 15+ (sex implied, not graphic)

Word count: 2,044

Note: This fic has been sitting in my drafts for probably four months now. It is a bit rushed, as I just wanted to finally finish writing it at this point, but I'm glad that I finally did.

An array of purple lights illuminated and filled the club, followed by a thick layer of cigarette smoke hung in the air, meanwhile the music that was being blared from the speakers were drowned out by the overlapped voices that carried through the club. 

Jack Delroy stood awkwardly in the entrance as his eyes scanned the sea of bodies before him. He had never been in Studio 54, but had certainly heard of its reputation. Nonetheless, Jack wasn’t interested in being here, in fact he’d rather be stranded at sea with no lifejackets than here. 

Leo Fiske, Jack’s producer of Night Owls, emerged beside him. Jack felt a force being shoved into his body, he peered down and saw the two glasses of bourbon in Leo’s hands. 

“Loosen up, Jack.” Leo said. 

Jack pulled a face, as he grabbed the glass from Leo’s hand and downed the contents of it. “Why did you bring me here?” 

“You’ve been a hermit since Mad-” Leo began. Jack shot him a cold glare, and Leo paused, immediately feeling regret for uttering Jack’s wife’s name. “Well, you’ve been a hermit… and I’ve been trying to help you save the show. But, people are iffy about coming on… think that you’ve lost your edge.” 

“So I’m not as jolly… after what I’ve fucking been through.” Jack muttered. His hand slipped into his jacket pocket, and drew out a pack of smokes. He fiddled with the empty glass in his hand, not having even remembered drinking all of the bourbon. Jack managed to light a cigarette, as he inhaled and exhaled deeply. 

“I want you to meet some people. Maybe it’ll help with the show.” Leo suggested. 

Jack scoffed. He knew exactly what was happening with the show, and that it wasn’t good. Frankly, Jack knew that this was somehow going to be the end of the road, but at the same time, he didn’t seem to want to let go. 

All of a sudden, Jack felt a presence near him. From his peripheral vision he noticed a man with beautiful blonde hair that resembled a lion’s mane, he wore a blue floral printed shirt with it unopened, followed by tight blue jeans. Jack turned, as he recognized the man before him, which belonged to Robert Plant, the lead singer of Led Zeppelin. 

“You’re that bloke from the telly.” His strong British accent slurred. 

“Robert Plant!” Leo exclaimed and pointed. 

“Great show… great show.” Robert repeated, Jack forced a smile. He never quite knew what to say in situations like this. “The guys and I always watch Night Owls after our shows in our hotel rooms.”

“Thanks.” Jack muttered beneath his breath. 

“Wouldn’t it be great if you guys came on the show?” Leo suggested. 

Robert stumbled in his stance. “Sure, sure thing- I’m sure Jimmy would like that too.” 

Leo opened his arms and stared at Jack. “See.” 

Jack rolled his eyes, as he took another drag of his cigarette. “I’m sure that’ll be nice,” he said, and cleared his throat. “I’m going to get another drink.” He added, using it as an excuse to remove himself from the awkward conversation. 

Jack spun on his heels, and could still just about make out the dialogue shared between Leo and Robert in the distance. He rubbed his forehead as he tried to navigate his way through the club towards the bar. 

Somehow, having managed to push his way through the sea of bodies, Jack slumped over the bar counter. 

“Bourbon, neat.” He said to the bartender, who nodded and poured Jack the drink. Jack sighed again and washed it all down, slammed the glass onto the counter. “Another, please.” 

“What troubles you?” A voice asked him, the voice was as sweet as honey and was like music to Jack’s ears. 

Taken aback, Jack turned his attention to the side. Perched on the bar stool, his eyes looked the woman up and down. She had dark hair, and porcelain skin, with high cheekbones, and a layer of dark kohl painted along her eyelids. Her crimson silk red dress draped across her slender body, the ends flowed across the ground. It was then that Jack noticed the long black fingernails, which somehow resembled talons to him. Nonetheless, the woman certainly bore a mesmerizing look. 

The thought of being another with a woman definitely had not occurred to him, and he never truly pondered what life without Madeline would look like. But, at that moment, he couldn’t help but picture his new reality. 

Jack smirked. “It’s all good now that I’m talking to you darling.” 

The woman smiled. 

“What’s your name sweetheart?” Jack asked. 

The woman shook her head. “No, no… you don’t get to know that just yet.” 

“What? Oh come, on-” Jack whined, and then added, “well, what’s a beautiful woman like you doing here alone?” He figured, using flattery to try to sweeten her up. 

The woman’s mouth curled into a smile. “I help people.” She answered, and raised her martini glass towards her lips. 

Jack’s brows furrowed. “What exactly do you mean by that?” 

Suddenly, the woman leaned forward. Gently, she placed her hand on Jack’s hand. “I know about your troubles Jack.” 

Taken aback, Jack’s gaze locked with hers. It wasn’t exactly a secret that his show wasn’t going well, which Jack only assumed is what this woman meant. Although, a hint of anger shot through him, after all, no one had truly been that bold as to say it to his face, aside from Leo. 

“Listen,” he said, and drew back, “I don’t know what you’ve heard about the show-”

The woman scoffed. “I’m not just talking about the show. You’re lost Jack. I can see it in your eyes.” 

Jack shook his head. “That’s really none of your-”

“Jack, it’s okay… let me help you.” She said. 

Jack smirked. “And, what are you? Some sort of a guardian angel?” 

“I’m far from that, believe me.” 

The woman closed the gap between them, her fingertips gently grazed Jack’s thigh, before her fingers found its way knotted into Jack’s hair. Then, her hand softly caressed the side of Jack’s face. Suddenly, Jack felt a strong desire possessed over him, something which he had not felt since Madeline. 

“Come with me, Jack.” She whispered into his ear, feeling her hot breath against his skin. 

The vision blurred before Jack, and he suddenly found himself light-headed, before he cursed beneath his breath. Believing that the alcohol had managed to do this to him. 

Jack tried to catch his breath. He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Okay.” He finally managed to answer. 

The woman smiled deviously. Jack must have blacked out, as he suddenly found himself in a cloakroom. His body pressed against the wall, as the woman draped her arms around him. He grabbed onto the woman’s wrists as he planted his lips on her skin, leaving a trail of kisses along her arm. Jack, then pinned the woman against the wall, a mountainful of coats descended down onto the ground. As Jack lowered the woman onto the ground, he shifted in his position on top of her. 

His lips found hers, and she parted her lips for him, which immediately Jack slipped his tongue into her. The woman deepened the kiss, as Jack felt the desire intensify. He just had to have her. 

Jack’s fingers found it’s way hooked onto the strap of her dress, as he slid it down and repeated the action on the other side. He then gazed upon her beautiful bare chest, as his hands caressed the side of her breasts. 

The woman wrapped her arms around Jack’s neck, as she pulled him closer towards her. “Do you give yourself to me?” She whispered in a seductive tone. 

Jack held his stare with the woman, as he looked deep into her eyes. For some reason, he could see the distorted images of the shadowy tall trees, engulfed by a blanket of darkness reflected in her eyes.

“Yes, of course.” Jack uttered. 

Jack shook his head, he felt her hand extend towards his face, the tip of her razor sharp nails draped across his skin. Which he most definitely saw the talons. 

The woman hiked her dress up, her fingers hooked into Jack’s belt as she undid his pants. Almost immediately, Jack was inside of her, he felt the tightness and the wetness. As he watched the woman moan beneath his touch. Jack lowered his lips onto the woman’s neck, as he left a trail of kisses. Her talons dug into the back of his neck. They were an entanglement of limbs, and in that moment Jack did not think of anything else except for her. 

Unsure of how much time had passed, Jack found consciousness slowly returning to him. He remained on the ground on top of the mountainful of coats. His head was spinning, and he rubbed his temples. 

“You’re not supposed to be in here, sir.” A voice said. 

Slowly, Jack pushed himself into a seated position. The light blinded him, and he shielded his gaze from the light with his hand. 

“What?” He muttered in complete confusion. 

“Sir?” The voice said again. 

Finally, Jack regained his vision. Before him was a scrawny guy, who probably wasn’t even twenty-one.

The fragments of what had just happened were returning to him, like pieces of a puzzle. The woman was nowhere to be found, and he pondered whether or not he had imagined her. However, he stared down at his disheveled clothing, and noticed the deep crimson red lipstick stained upon his shirt collar. Which was evident enough that he had been with a woman. 

“Sir, you have to leave.” The scrawny guy said. 

“Yeah, yeah- just give me a second.” Jack muttered. After several moments, Jack managed to push himself onto standing, as he tried to regain his balance. 

Somehow, managed to stumble out of the cloakroom, he was immediately back in the crowd of people at Studio 54. It was as if time hadn’t moved at all. The music was still blasting, and the sea of bodies moved towards the rhythms of the beat. As Jack gazed upon the carefree and joyful faces before him, a wave of melancholy washed over him. How he longed to feel nothing. 

Jack made his way through the crowds, in search of Leo. He retraced his steps, and managed to journey back to where he had last left Leo. 

To his luck, Leo remained in the same spot. Although, now he had made himself comfy on the maroon suede coach which was backed into the corner of the club. Beside Leo were a couple of guys in suits which Jack did not recognize. 

Jack crossed the path and took the seat beside Leo, which he immediately noticed his presence. “Where have you been?” Leo asked. 

“I met a woman.” Jack answered. 

Leo smirked. “Alright-”

“She wouldn’t tell me her name.” 

Leo scoffed. “The reason why these women don’t tell you their names is because they’re married.” 

Jack shook his head. “It wasn’t like that… at least, I’m sure it wasn’t. Do you happen to know who was on the guest list? She’s tall, beautiful, dark hair, has an accent, and was wearing a red dress.” 

Leo raised his eyebrow. “Debbie Harry?” He answered, and then shook his head, “no she doesn’t have dark hair. You do realize that description practically describes every single woman at this party,” he answered, and then added, “why are you so jittery, anyway?” 

“What? No I’m not.” 

“Well, anyway, whilst you’ve been off gallivanting. I’ve been making connections.” 

“What are you talking about?” Jack questioned. 

“The Halloween special for your show! I’ve landed you some interesting acts, we’re just talking about it now. And, I think it’s going to make a Hell of an episode. Might even save the show.”

Jack’s gaze met with Leo’s. Whilst, he should have felt nothing but joy knowing that he could potentially save his show. He couldn’t help but feel a pit form deep inside of him, that he had somehow done something terrible. Had given himself up for another shot to hold onto his fame, that he had made a deal with the Devil.

[overnightheartbeats]

Watching his friend jump back into his old work without a hitch was amusing. Isaac couldn't lie, he had missed having him around at work, though they had all been very supportive of his decision to retire. Isaac had been tempted to ask for details, why now? But, he recalled Laurel pulling him aside at some point and practically making him promise to not question it or try dissuading him. That's really all he needed to know. Besides, he did seem pretty content with his new work and Isaac got to say his best friend was a firefighter. Win, win scenario except for now. He raised an eyebrow at the comment, frankly, he couldn't picture a world where he's running a background check on that girl or vice versa. Again, Isaac definitely used the worst example. He had a point though, he was willing to do it and Isaac should've done the same for Jazz. No matter what. "I guess so, can't picture you two doing all that, but you're right. I should've stuck to the paranoid bit. Hey, you can still blame them for shit, even more, if you don't know them. It's not like they'll come out of the woodwork to contradict you," he shrugged casually. It's something he had done, once or twice. Blame his deceased parents for whatever he was angry about at the time. Not great, he knew.

His head fell back, focusing on the ceiling for a moment, before looking back at Eli. "Appreciate you man, but it's not about being a hermit. It's not lost on me, the danger I'm putting you all in because I decided to try something as silly as love, the genuine way. Instead of taking precautions and being smart." The basics of his job, and he neglected it. "I'll need to reevaluate a lot, probably go back to basic training with the new recruits," he muttered. Isaac always took pride in his work and the work it took to get there. "And if this takes a turn for the worse, I'll need to confess my stupidity to the unit chief. Loop them in, probably." A dry chuckle escaped him, of course he always knew what to say. It was a fair point. Looking back, he had a good streak for bringing people into his life. "Nettie, true. I might still be redeemable there."

He nodded as a knowing smile tugged on his lips. Isaac knew they technically weren't a team anymore, not in the professional sense, but seeing his friend's smile at the mention was worth it each time. Even though she was now assigned to someone else, the real team was still here in this apartment. "I know she feels the same way." It was hard to not feel a twinge of envy at the connection. That's what he wanted. Not a work partner, but a true partner in life. Someone he could truly be open with, rely on, and be there for. It's what he had hoped for when he dove in with Jazz, not the exact same way, but the idea of building something with someone, it was intriguing him to say the least. "Project Christmas, yeah I'll have to do a thorough deep dive into her now. Good point there. She maybe well-trained, but so are we." And whatever he lacked, he hoped his friends could make up for it.

"Lying about the job pays off sometimes." Isaac stood up from his chair, though he still felt out of the loop. He knew that he could only continue feeling this way in this room. Once he stepped out and went back to her, everything had to be as it was. They couldn't afford to alert her. "Williams is leaning towards leadership change, strike when they're weak or distracted kind of situation. Knowing what we know now, that seems obvious. Here I thought she was just passionate about it and I was losing my convincing power. It's uh...Lotus...something." Lotusland? He couldn't be sure, but Eli was very quick to discard the places on the list, "that one fits, agree. I can't go, for obvious reasons, but might be time for you all to get your yoga in. Maybe Laurel, play on that pending friendship thing. Jazz swears she doesn't like her, so could be an in if she's pretending." A shake of his head, chuckling at the tv cable. "Wouldn't dream of messing with her tv, I'll fix the cable. As promised. I assume dinner is cancelled, so I'll just go drop her off. We can regroup afterwards?"

-

Heading back to Jazz was the slowest walk he ever did, full of sighs and practicing his smile. Back to action. He knocked on the door, and walked back inside. "Hey, sorry I left you here. That tv cable made me look very dumb, but I finally got it. What do you say, we head out to your place instead and grab dinner on the way?"

To say Eli missed the intrigue of being a spy would be an understatement but he also felt like he retired at the right time. His head wasn't in it. His heart wasn't in it. Since he died everything changed and with that the career change happened as well. Not looking up at Issac since he was busy keeping an eye on the laptop he hummed in response. "I mean, if I didn't know laurel and we were dating then yes I think I would have background checked her. Surface stuff but I'm also paranoid and that is unfortunately how I was born. I'd blame parents if I knew them." He had to raise his head to just give him one look. "Come on man. Family looks out for each other. This is not the thing that will make you turn into a hermit. I hope you know that we will not let that happen. Also, if we are being frank, you chose Nettie as your friends with benefits so you haven't completely lost your touch. Jazz might just be the one bad apple in the bunch."

A formidable team made him smile. He would always say Laurel was the better agent, she always had been. But being her partner for so long and being referred to as a team still made him proud. "No one else I'd rather have watch my six." That went beyond actually being romantically involved. He was always her biggest fan. "Hey, you're not stupid. Knock that thought out of your head. She's well trained. She knows what areas to work on. Remember Project Christmas, the US had sent out those standardized tests to see which kids would be able to be trained as sleeper spies? Jazz could have been one of those kids." Not that he knew for a fact but something his mind had come up with on the spot.

"Really glad you didn't. We'd have lost the upper hand." He stated as he refrained from letting out a sigh. Hearing that there was movement he couldn't help but feel on edge. "Key players coming out of the woodwork. Either they're changing leaders or trying to take over someone's territory. She never misses yoga. That makes me think that could be the spot where she meets her handler. Pick a place that most people would overlook. What's the name of the yoga place?" He didn't need to look very far, Texas only had a few within the mile radius. "There's three that are between warehouses, that is too obvious. Backdoors would be a thing. It has to be something that hides in plain sight. Like," he scrolled further and saw the one that was sandwiched between a pottery shop and a malt shop. "This one. There's no point of entry on either side. You'd have to walk out the studio to get into either of these stores. Seems like we found our target. Hang for a second." He got up and got his switchblade and cut the tv cable that hung near the wall. "Can't forget to fix the cable. If Laurel misses her night time shows there will be hell to pay."

[nightmarist]

General backstory to Necromantic, a bit long and still fixing details.

Sigurd is the overall villain of Necromantic. He used to be a devout priest who worshiped the main creator pantheon of his old world, but each god began contracting an incurable, strange illness simply called god-sickness. They were bound to mortal form, turned into beasts, and hunted. Sigurd is the one ho killed them himself, with the help of mercenaries at the time. He collected their god-souls into himself, being the at-the-time most powerful sorcerer-priest.

He thought he could heal death. So he set out to find such a thing, studying magic and isolating himself as a hermit, neglecting his priesthood duties. His unnaturally long life was odd at first, but it became more and more noticeablyoff-putting to the few remaining, aged priests of the old religion who tried to keep the history and belief alive. But eventually, the last priest of the Usherian order died, leaving Sigurd the endling to an entire history.

Sigurd experimented with death-magic, becoming the first necromancer. He tried all he could but none of his subjects were ever, truly, alive. Only puppets. He tried collecting souls and putting them in corpses, and it worked. But only temporarily before second death, the soul too attached to the corpse to be extracted, and also faded.

He grew increasingly frustrated and he began to feel the pinpricks of age catch up with him. Obsessed and desperate, he found a difficult solution: find a sorcerer powerful enough to contain his own abilities and possess them.

And he did. He found a youth with incredible, powerful potential and trained him, for years, practically raised him as family. Only to steal his life.

Sigurd did this for centuries, accumulating the minds and memories of those he possessed, losing more and more of himself in the pneumatic soup.

But... If this worked... Then the god-souls in him have also become part of it. He decided he needed vessels - individual mortals strong enough to contain the powers of god-souls, and force them to become the new gods and fix the world’s disasters that have exponentially increased since their deaths.

In this time, he has created a many failed experiments. Aiden and Morain, for example, twin brothers of the Shining Plains, he aided their quest to free their people and conquer their conquerors. But with a price they didn’t know they would pay.

Somehow someway i want them to be immortal, and tied together. Like Dragonheart. Dragonheart is a very specific reference I want to make in which Sigurd either saves them or tricks them into immortality.

With that in mind, I want Aiden to become a king, and a horrible one at that. When Aiden rose to kingship, Morain rested contently at his side as counsel. But they grew distant. Morain was further dissatisfied by his king-twin’s decisions, Aiden no longer heeding Morain as he sought greater power and bloodlust, god-sickness rearing its ugly madness in him. Morain threatened to kill himself to free the kingdom of Aiden’s terror. So Aiden imprisoned him.

I’m not sure if I want it to be a failed god-posession or not, I’ll have to spin it in a way that feels cohesive with the story, Sigurd’s experimentation, and the eventual main protagonists fixing the mess they didn’t know their former mentor made.

Mishala and Adham I want a similar story with Sigurd’s interference causing a horrible tragedy. Where they rose to glorious power defending their people with intense power and magic, herald as Empress and Emperor. Their two children safe, a sorcerer and a knight, and Adham’s brother Nasir an excellent arcanist.

I want Sigurd to have attempted to give them the god-souls, but it went wrong, They were taken to it at first, but Adham grew mad with god-sickness. God-sickness caused a great many ailments in all five of them. Adham’s madness caused him to attack his family, kill his children. Empress Mishala, struck with grief, the Kingdom was torn asunder by their god-like power. Even when Sigurd took back the souls, Adham was still rife with god-sickness. Sigurd abandoned the kingdom, the family, leaving the youngest child bedridden and weak, Mishala angry and vengeful, and Adham with occasional army-led attacks on the kingdom.

He lied in wait, to seek out champions across the world, bring them together through a series of challenges, and force the gods reborn. To be absolutely certain they would be powerful enough to handle the god-souls. Hand-picked and watched carefully throughout their false trials as they slowly uncover the truth of their mentor’s origins and plans.

Decades later, as the main cast of heroes, in search of Sigurd, their mutual master, had suddenly vanished, they come across a request from the King of Shining Plains. He tells them he has a prisoner, one who refuses to eat or drink. He requests they convince him to do so, and bring him to the castle.It would eventually be revealed they’re twins, and the protagonists are horrified by Aiden’s past, but refuse to kill Morain. Instead, their roles become switched, and Morain keeps Aiden imprisoned while he rules instead. No one else alive remembers or knows Aiden had a twin.

With the protagonists’ interference, Adham and Mishala with would strike each other down, killing each other, leaving Nasir to rebuild the Everdawn empire from ashes and bone.

Sigurd cares not for the destruction he leaves in his wake. All without knowing the gods would have been set to be reborn if he hadn’t interfered, and now the world is so unstable without them, forcing their rebirth would end it to be remade.

I’m still padding the ways in which Sigurd meets the heroes and gathers them, etc. Among other details of course.