#clockers fic ideas

[its-muffin-tyme]

Fic Prompt of the Day

AU where Scar is Hotguy but in the Clockers universe and also Shade-E-E's exists

Imagine being one of the most well known superheroes on the server, and the guy with the totally-not-a-scam shop who keeps causing trouble is your whole dad

imagine Hotguy at headquarters and a lower level hero gets a ping and is like "Oh, we've got a complaint about Shade-E-E's again..."

And Hotguy just has to bury his head in his hands like "no.... why...."

Hotguy, showing up in person, in hopes of getting Shade-E-E's to actually stop their scams once and for all: :) Etho, gearing up to address Scar as his son one time in his entire life: >:)

[jadienjaystoriesandart]

I’m tempted to write a sit com style of Limited Life.

It follows the Clockers, a family of a single mom, Cleo Clocker, and her two sons (who we think are adopted) Scar and Bdubs Clocker (who we also swear that those aren’t their real names).

The local biker gang, Bad Boys, Grian, Joel, and Jimmy (who we aren’t sure are related but people speculate Jimmy and Grian are. And that Joel has a wife we don’t see)

The neighbors, Pearl and BigB (of which we think Pearl is Grian’s sister but isn’t confirmed. And is dating BigB to piss off her brother.) who are very nosey and tend to get involved in the family drama because of this.

Their absent dad, Etho Slab (Formerly Clocker), as he causes problems in the families life trying to ‘reconnect’ with his sons. And running a bar with his old college buddies Tango, Skizz, and Impulse. (We think they are in a poly or something. But none of them are straight.)

And the two resort owners, Scott and Martin, well ‘resort’ is an Airbnb they rent out and make great money with. (We think they are in a relationship (?), but Scott acts weird around Jimmy, and Martyn seems to have some weird trauma around Cleo. We aren’t sure why, but something happened.)l

Noted Plot points.

- Grian and Scar used to be a couple when teens, and Grian cheated on Scar with BigB.

- BigB was under the assumption that Scar was into this, and has tried to get Grian to do a threesome.

- Pearl is ‘dating’ BigB because both want to make Grian jealous. (It’s working)

- Scar still has feelings for Grian but also hates his guts. Several times through the series they have hate sex.

- Bdubs has some ‘dad’ trauma. And constantly looking for Etho’s approval.

- Etho only ever liked Bdubs and doesn’t like his eldest son Scar. He thinks Cleo had an affair. (Fans speculate that Scar is adopted)

- Fans speculate Joel has a secret wife that he hides form the Bad Boys and her name is Lizzie. They think she’s Pearl’s best friend or former girlfriend before she got with Joel.

- Gem is Cleo’s girlfriend in this, but people seem to think she’s Cleo’s sister which is confusing as to why.

- Renchanting is a closed down shop after Ren broke up with Martyn and left for a different city.

- The place takes place on a costal town a few miles away from a city. So Beach shenanigans (And Scar in a tight swimsu-)

- Jimmy is always having doubts of being a Bad Boy and seems to have a crush on Tango. (Fans love the angst for this shit).

- Bdubs and Scar have a great brotherly relationship even if they don’t see eye to eye.

- Tango, Impulse, and Skizz all keep trying to get Etho to ‘man up’ and actually be there for his kids. (Or at least Bdubs, Scar is doing fine on his own it seems). While also being bad influences on him for ways he can get Cleo to not hate him.

- they also own a tie shop business on the side of their bar. And no one knows why.

- Fans speculate the family is in a gang or mafia, but aren’t sure what. There is little evidence but it is scary how this little bit shows a darker picture.

- fans also speculate both Scar and Bdubs aren’t Cleo’s or Etho’s kids due to the stupid always changing their ages. Hence the mafia theory.

- both Scar and Bdubs are whores, and so is everyone else. I don’t make the rules.

-0-0-0-0-

This is about all I got for now. But if I come up with more ideas, I’ll let you know.

[crystaljellie]

Dropping another Scar thing because idk, Scar angst

Leaning against the stone pillar, the clouds block the moon out, and the stars seem to be flickering, growing dimmer. Of course, that couldn’t happen. The world doesn’t work like that, but then again, it had been days without the sun, maybe weeks? Nothing moved here, so it was hard to tell the difference between days if there were any at all. The Secret Keeper and grown vines around it, engulfing it to the point where only its glowing purple, now opened eye, was visible. 

Scar had long since stopped pushing that button, but every now and again, he thought, would one more push be it? If I pressed it one more time, would they let me go home? But that would only send him spiralling further, so his back turned to that success pillar, he doesn’t look at the button. 

He can’t understand why they’ve left him here; he wants to go home; he wants to go home so badly. There aren’t even ghosts watching him now; the bodies that used to exist around him have long since decayed. That’s why he doesn’t go looking anymore.

That’s why he just sits and thinks and cries.

He thought that maybe if he won, he wouldn’t be lonely anymore, that it could end, and they could hold him and love him. That he wouldn’t be an outcast. But how lonely is it, being the last one left in the world? How lonely is it that even his own body has begun to decay? How lonely is it that he can’t even see his own row of hearts?

Maybe it was the last time. Maybe there is no next time for him, for anyone. Maybe he killed them all. 

‘I’m so sorry mother’

The quiet sounds of a lullaby played in Scar’s mind, the turning of a music box, the same repeat song, a feeling of familiarity.

He hummed a soft note. But what need is there to be quiet in the land of silence?

So he kept humming that same song, a song of which he didn’t know where it had come from.

Only that Cleo had taught him it.

So he thinks of them.

And he thinks a little of the sun, and maybe one day it will rise to shine upon him once again, and he can sing alongside the birds.

Or maybe he’s left like a dog, howling sombre sorrows to the moon. 

[flamingspud]

Now, Cleo couldn't speak for every family, but if they had to take a guess most families wouldn't really have more than one Christmas A&E story, maybe two in the worst cases. Cleo's family had six.

It’s once again Christmas at the Clocker’s house, but this year Cleo is determined to keep anything from going wrong.

Fic under cut

It was midday on Christmas Eve at the Clockers' house, and Cleo was getting ready as they had invited a few people over for a festive party, (the idea hadn't originally been theirs, but now that it was approaching they had to admit it was something to look forward to.)

There was one problem though: her family's record at getting themselves injured on Christmas.

Now, Cleo couldn't speak for every family, but if they had to take a guess most families wouldn't really have more than one Christmas A&E story, maybe two in the worst cases. 

Cleo's family had six. 

The first time was when Joel was eleven, he had managed to swallow one of Jellie's chew toys. In retrospect it was funny as hell, but at the time Joel's distressed squeaks frightened the lot of them.

Next was Scar, when Jellie had managed to bring the tree down on the two of them in a cacophony of screams and smashing ornaments.

The year after that was Grian, who had slipped on an icy footpath and broken his elbow. It had taken them a little longer to bring him to the hospital than ideal, as they hadn't immediately realised it was broken. He still hasn't forgiven them for that one.

Then it was Jimmy, he had reached across the table to grab some more roast potatoes, and his sleeve had dipped just close enough to one of the candles to go alight. They managed to put him out right away and he only had minor burns on his arm, but lets just say they don't have candles at the dinner table anymore.

The year after that… Cleo shuddered at the thought, not wanting to think of that incident ever again.

And finally came last year, when Bdubs ate rat poison as part of a dare.

This year, however, was going to be different, as Cleo vowed that she wasn't going to let anyone get hurt. Well, at least not enough to require professional medical attention. 

Baby steps.

It wasn't quite Christmas yet, but as there would be a lot more people around they figured it wouldn't hurt to be prepared. 

They had just finished cutting up some brownies they had made when their two sons ran in from outside, where they had been having a snowball fight with their friends.

"Mom!" Fourteen year old Bdubs yelled as he ran inside. "Scar maimed me!"

"No I didn't!" Sixteen year old Scar protested, "it was just a snowball!"

Cleo turned to face them, leaving the knife on the counter.

"That's what we thought when Grian broke his arm," she said, "Here, let me see." She then took Bdubs' face in her hands so that she could take a look at it. It was probably fine, but this year Cleo wasn't going to risk it.

Scar rolled his eyes.

"Scar, why don't you put the brownies on the table?" Cleo suggested, their tone indicating that it wasn't a request.

Scar groaned. "Fine."

Once she had decided that Bdubs was fine, she sent the two boys up to their rooms to change into dry clothes.

It wasn't long after that that guests started arriving.

Ding dong.

"I'll get it!" Seventeen year old Joel called, making his way to the front door. Him and his brothers had been to the first to arrive, as always.

When he opened it, who was on the other side but Jimmy's boyfriend-not-boyfriend, Martyn. He supposed Scott was there too.

"Hi," Joel said, somewhat disappointedly. He was hoping it'd be Lizzie.

"Well would you look at that, it's mistletoe!" Martyn, who was nineteen, said, pointing to the headband on his head. A wire stuck out from it, a piece of mistletoe stuck to the end.

It hung right above Scott and Joel's heads.

Seventeen year old Scott shook his head and let out a groan. "Martyn, it's not as funny as you think it is-"

"Ew, get away from me!" Joel exclaimed, cutting Scott off and shoving him away from him. And into an end table. Oops.

"Joel!" Cleo scolded, rushing in from the kitchen. 

"It was deserved!" Joel quickly retorted.

"Still, we don't need anyone getting seriously hurt."

Joel rolled his eyes. "I didn't even push him that hard."

"I'm fine," Scott insisted, righting a photo frame he had accidentally knocked over in his stumble.

"You sure?" Cleo asked, shooting Joel a pointed look.

Scott nodded. "Yep."

"What're we standing around for? Let's go party!" Martyn said, making his way down the hall and further into the house.

The others followed, but not before Cleo could grab Joel by the shoulder. "Don't do something to break any of your necks."

Joel sighed. "Yes Cleo."

"Good."

While this was going on, some of the others were in the living room trying to find something to do.

Fourteen year old Pearl absently grabbed a bottle of water and flipped it. She hadn't thought much of the action, but the others were impressed.

Mumbo, who's also fourteen, scoffed. "Anyone could do that."

"Oh yeah?" Pearl asked, "prove it."

Grian and BigB (both fourteen) were watching him, so of course Mumbo grabbed the water bottle.

He tried to flip it, but it landed on its side.

Pearl was not impressed, but Mumbo was not about to give up.

"That was a warm-up."

He quickly grabbed the bottle and threw it again, and this time it landed upright.

"See! In fact, I can do it twice in a row." He then proceeded to flip the bottle again. He smiled smugly at Pearl.

The girl rolled her eyes, and snatched the bottle from between them. She then proceeded to flip it four times in a row, only messing up on the fifth.

She smiled at him, while he frowned, and before they knew it they were going back and forth to see who could do the most bottle flips in a row while the others watched.

BigB turned to Grian. "Who do you think's going to give up first?"

Grian tilted his head from side to side. "Knowing them it could go either way."

Meanwhile, nineteen and sixteen year old Jimmy and Scar found themselves by the tree, examining the presents underneath it.

"What're you two up to?" Martyn asked, approaching them.

"Trying to guess what we got for Christmas," Jimmy replied, shaking one of the boxes next to his ear. "There's something loose in here."

Martyn crouched down next to the two of them, and Scar scooched to the side to make room for him. 

"This one's from Bdubs," Scar said, picking one up. It had candy-cane wrapping paper on it.

"What do you think you're doing?" The fourteen year old brother in question demanded, seemingly appearing out of nowhere behind them.

"Trying to guess what's in our presents," Scar replied nonchalantly.

Bdubs was not happy with this response. "You're not meant to do that! Those are surprises for tomorrow!"

"It's not like we're going to open them," Jimmy explained.

"Mom!" Bdubs called, "Jimmy and Scar are trying to find out what presents they got!"

"Don't upset your brother," Cleo shouted back from where they were in the kitchen.

"But we weren't even doing anything!" Scar complained.

"I don't care!"

Bdubs' smile made Scar want to punch him in a way that only brothers can, however he put the present back. Jimmy did the same.

He was staring daggers at him when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Joel called, running for the door.

Unfortunately, it was just Etho.

"Hi Joel-"

"Ugh, it's just some loser," Joel muttered, turning away and walking back to the living room without any sort of a greeting.

"Ok…"

"You can hang out with me you know," Scott told him.

Joel made a face at him.

"I thought you were warming up to me after the funfair?" Scott said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"That doesn't mean I like you," Joel said with a huff.

Scott shook his head with amusement.

The doorbell rang again. "I got it!"

This time when Joel opened the door, he saw who he was waiting for. 

"Lizzie! Hey." He leaned on the doorframe to give the illusion of being cool.

"Hi!" The other seventeen year old smiled at him. "Thanks for inviting me."

"It was no problem," Joel responded.

"Hi Lizzie," Scott greeted, suddenly behind Joel.

"Hi Scott," she replied cheerfully, before turning back to Joel. "You didn't tell me Scott was invited."

Joel tried to hide his frown. He had forgotten about him. This proved quite the problem, as he had been hoping to spend some alone time with Lizzie.

"It hadn't come up in conversation."

Joel closed the door behind Lizzie.

"Should we play a game or something?" Scott suggested.

"Sure!" Lizzie agreed.

"I'll see what we have," Joel said, turning and heading for the press where they kept their board games. 

"Excuse me-" he said as he stepped between Pearl and Mumbo's bottle flipping contest.

The bottle Mumbo had just tossed landed on Joel's foot and fell over.

"That's not fair!" Mumbo insisted. "Joel intercepted it!"

"Well you're going to have to start again," Pearl informed him without remorse.

Grian groaned loudly. "For the love of god, can you do something else? You've flipped that thing hundreds of times at this stage!"

"It is getting a bit repetitive…" Pearl admitted.

"You're just saying that because you're in the lead!" Mumbo exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at Pearl.

"You could always try doing cooler tricks," BigB suggested.

"Yes!" Mumbo snatched the bottle. "I can have it flip twice in the air before landing, watch."

It took him a couple of attempts as the others awkwardly watched, but he eventually managed to complete the trick.

"Hah. Beat that."

Pearl considered her options before picking up the bottle. "I'm going to flip it with the lid off."

The others watched in anticipation as she took the lid off of the bottle. She took a deep breath, gathered her thoughts, and threw the bottle;

It proceeded to fly into a lamp, knocking it to the floor.

Grian quickly picked up the bottle before it could pour too much water onto the ground, while BigB picked up the lamp.

It didn't take long for Cleo to come into the room after the racket they made. "What are you guys doing?" She exclaimed.

"…bottle flips?" Grian answered sheepishly.

"Hand me the bottle," Cleo said, putting their hand out.

"But-"

"Now."

Grian sighed and gave the half-full bottle to his aunt.

"Thank you."

The teens all watched as she took the offending object out of the room.

"…so does that mean I win?" Mumbo asked hopefully, breaking the silence. 

"Mumbo!" Pearl exclaimed, "I was clearly better than you."

"Were not!"

"Were too!"

"It felt a bit overkill to take the bottle away from us on the first offense," BigB thought out loud, breaking up their bickering.

"That's probably because 'our family has a knack for trying to get ourselves killed on Christmas' or however she puts it," Grian explained, using airquotes to exemplify how ridiculous he thought the whole thing was.

"Seriously?" BigB asked.

Grian nodded. "Yeah… once I broke my arm and it took six hours and thirty four minutes for anyone to believe me."

"Oh. That's…" Mumbo said, surprised.

"I know, I'm truly a martyr."

He then got up to go get something to clean up the water.

Cleo put the water bottle on the counter before going back to join the other adults.

"This is quite the party you have going on here," Etho commented, looking around at some of the Christmas decorations.

"I know," was Cleo's response. 

Etho nodded awkwardly, unsure where to take the conversation from here.

Luckily for him, Martyn intercepted.

"Etho, hi!" He greeted, standing between them.

"Hi?" Etho was realising he didn't actually know Martyn, only hearing of him third hand from Tango talking about Ren and Jimmy.

"I wanted to ask on behalf of Scar and Jimmy if they could try and guess what you got them-"

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Bdubs yelled.

"I mean, you said BigB got some of his presents early because his parents are divorced."

"Yeah but Etho's spending Christmas with us so it doesn't count!"

"Guys just leave the presents alone," Cleo asked them, as Scar and Jimmy joined them in the room.

Jimmy raised his arms in the air in frustration.

"That's a shame…" Martyn said. 

He then glanced up. "Oh, would you look at that-" the others in the room moved their eyes up to see what Martyn was referring to- "it's mistletoe."

Bdubs' jaw fell open, Scar threw his hands back and into the air, and Jimmy was coming up with excuses as to how he didn't actually know Martyn, he must've just broken in.

"Um…" Etho glanced quickly between Cleo and the plant attached to Martyns head, frozen like a deer in the headlights.

Cleo took a big step backwards. "No way, not gonna happen."

"That's a shame," Martyn said, before going back to join the others.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Cleo heard Jimmy hiss as they left the room.

As Martyn was shunned from the group for his antics, he went to see what Scott and the others were up to.

"What's going on over here?" He asked.

"Cluedo," Joel responded. He was still annoyed by the fact that Scott was third wheeling with him and Lizzie, but he couldn't come up with and excuse to make him go away.

"Oh, fun! Can I play?" He asked.

"Sure, but you're not being on my team," Scott replied, picking a card to show Lizzie.

"Fine; Joel I'll be with you," Martyn decided, sitting next to him.

"What? No, I want to be on my own…!" Joel insisted.

"We're gonna make a great team Joel, I can feel it."

"You can be with me if you want," Lizzie suggested, patting the ground next to her on the other side of Joel.

"Nah, I'm alright here with my buddy Joel." Martyn put an arm around Joel's shoulder, who was scowling.

A few more rounds were played when a grin formed on Scott's face.

"Oh no, he knows it," Lizzie said as realisation dawned on her.

"Dammit…!" Joel cursed.

"Um- was it Mr. Green in the kitchen with the candlestick?" Lizzie guessed, before looking in the envelope.

She dropped it back into the middle of the table in disappointment. "No dice."

"Ok, Martyn it's down to us," Joel said, looking at his options. They had figured out who did it and where; Colonel Mustard in the kitchen, the only question left being was it with the gun or the dagger?

"I'm going to guess the gun-"

"Hold on," Martyn interrupted, "I think it was the dagger."

"Why?"

"Because Scott smiled when I said it."

Joel shook his head. "No, he's obviously bluffing."

"I've known him longer than you, and I'm pretty sure it's a double bluff."

Joel looked Martyn in the eyes. "And you're one hundred percent sure?"

"Absolutely."

Joel sighed. "Fine. Was it Colonel Mustard in the kitchen with the dagger?"

Joel reached for the envelope and opened it up. Colonel Mustard. The Kitchen. The Gun.

Joel let out a slow exhale before putting the cards back. 

"Oops," was Martyn's feeble response.

"Martyn," Joel said dangerously, "I'm going to kill you!"

Martyn took that as his cue to run, and Joel was right on his tail. "Get back here!"

"So, I guess I win," Scott said.

"Guess so," Lizzie agreed, sorting her cards.

"Honestly, I had no idea what it was, so it was handy you two threw your guesses away."

Lizzie frowned.

Meanwhile Joel was chasing Martyn around the house. It was during this hazardous chase that Joel accidentally knocked the bottle Cleo had put there earlier off of the counter, spilling water onto the ground.

It was around this time that Scar had made his way back to the tree, and was rooting around the presents once more.

"Scar! Don't make me get mom again," Bdubs threatened.

"She'll have to rip the present out of my cold dead hands," was Scar's response.

"Oh, that's it!" Bdubs snapped, and tried pulling the present out of Scar's hands.

"Give it back!" Scar shouted, pulling back on it.

"Mom! Scar's trying to open his presents again!" Bdubs yelled.

"For goodness sake you two will you give it up-" Cleo said, speed walking over to the tree. As they went by the counter they didn't notice the water on the ground. 

"Woah!-" As she slipped she went to grab the counter to catch herself, where the knife she had been using earlier still was, as she had forgotten to put it away in the chaos.

Cleo then said a string of words that I am not allowed to repeat here as their hand made contact with the knife.

In their quest to make sure nobody got hurt, they forgot to look out for themselves.

"Cleo!"

Everyone gathered around her in seconds, her right hand being clutched by her left.

"That looks bad," Etho commented.

"Looks like you'll need stitches," Scar added.

"It's not that bad! Bdubs, get me my sewing kit from the other room-"

"No! No one's getting the sewing kit, you're going to a hospital!" Jimmy told her.

"Seriously, it's fine-"

"I'm already getting the car keys," Jimmy said finally, walking out of the room.

Cleo groaned. "Party's over everyone."

"Wow, someone going to A&E on Christmas Eve? That's a new record for us," Joel commented.

"It's not as bad as swallowing a chew toy," Jimmy commented with grin as he walked back in with the keys.

"At least I didn't light myself on fire!" Joel shot back."

"Hey! That was traumatic for everyone involved, yours was funny."

"At least everyone believed you when you said you were injured," Grian interjected.

"Shut up about your arm Grian, it's been four years!" Joel retorted.

"Remember when you made me eat rat poison-" Bdubs started.

"Guys!" Scar suddenly shouted. "Mom needs to go to A&E, remember?"

"Oh, right-" Jimmy quickly left with Cleo (who had wrapped their hand with gauze by this point) to go to the hospital, and it wasn't long until most of the guests had left.

Joel was in the middle of cleaning up the puddle that got them into this mess when Lizzie approached him. "Hey."

"Lizzie?" Joel stopped what he was doing. "What are you still doing here?"

"Well, I figured I'd give you a hand with the cleanup," she explained.

Joel waved her off. "Nah, I've got it covered, you don't need to stick around."

Lizzie frowned and grabbed the mop in Joel's hand. "Joel."

"Huh?"

"I have been trying to get a moment alone with you all night, I even tried catching you under Martyn's stupid mistletoe at one point, and when I finally get one all you want to do is clean a puddle."

Joel dropped the mop. "You were???"

"Yes! I thought I was being obvious about it too."

Joel hadn't even realised.

As he was busy staring at her like an idiot, she leaned closer to him. "There isn't any mistletoe, but I was hoping that maybe I could still get a Christmas kiss…?"

Joel blinked, snapping himself out of his stupor. "Y-yeah!"

The two leaned closer, and Joel could confidently swear that that was the best Christmas present he got that year.

"Ew."

"Grian!" Joel exclaimed, suddenly jumping back from Lizzie. "Aren't you supposed to be doing dishes or something?!"

"I finished those and decided to come in here. Now I'm going to need to bleach my eyes."

Joel rolled his eyes at his brother's dramatics.

"I should probably get going now," Lizzie decided, "Merry Christmas you guys!"

Joel followed her to the door. "You too!" He called after her. Once he closed the door after her, he turned on Grian. "What was that for?"

Grian shrugged. "I was making sure you didn't forget about me again."

"Grian!"

"Merry Christmas Joel!"

It was the early hours of the next morning when Cleo and Jimmy finally made it back, just in time to spend Christmas morning with the others.

If you asked Cleo, they would take a guess that most families wouldn't really have more than one Christmas A&E story, maybe two in the worst cases. 

Cleo's family had seven. 

[frozenjokes]

can not draw or function but someone on one of the mumbo mermaid fic chapters said oohh I bet Etho is a secret mermaid that has a human form somehow! And that was not the plan. That was not even a little bit the plan. But the idea is so fucking good the plan has changed.

Etho is a mermaid who strayed too close to the surface during a fierce storm, getting caught up in the currents and unable to escape before he was thrown against an outcrop of spiked rocks off the coast of a small island. These rocks would have super killed him, but luckily, Joel is there to curse him forever save his life! In this AU most everyone is human and there were no planned magical elements (mermaids are just one of many other species that be chilling on earth) but I’ve made an exception for Joel, who is a silly little witch guy. Complete recluse. Prays of the downfall of others. Stands out in thunderstorms wondering if any boats are going to crash into his Island Of Doom so he can laugh at them.

So Joel finds Etho and goes whoa! sick! a mermaid and not a dead one this time! Better make sure he stays that way! And hauls him back to his little swamp cottage somehow (yeah) and with the help of magic saves Etho’s life, only leaving a scar that starts at his forehead and goes basically alllll the way down his tail like snowtuft from warrior cats. however. Before saving his life Joel has Etho, delirious from blood loss, make a pact with him, one that is just basically like. Heyyyyy what if I bound our souls together after you’re all fixed up so *I* can also be a mermaid because that’s sick as fuck!!

and basically at the end of this all, Joel creates some sort of pendant that allows the two of them to switch forms, except Etho gets zero say on whether he’s mermaid or human, and it is entirely up to Joel’s whims. Despite the Everything, they manage to get along well enough, and Joel (with the help of some magic) helps to teach Etho English and other important things that will help him out if he ever decides to leave the island. Which he does! Humans are kinda sick and Etho wants to know more about the world!

However, given that mermaids are Extremely Rare and humans are Assholes, Etho can’t just tell people what he actually because they’re probably trying to kill his ass and sell his parts for shitloads of money.

Fast forward.. Bdubs gets an eccentric roommate!

I haven’t worked out exactly how they meet but Bdubs definitely peels Etho up off the street or something because Joel, being who he is, doesn’t know jack shit about how to prepare a Not Human for human culture, but that’s okay because Etho gets lucky!

Etho and Joel have a system of sending each other detailed schedules so Etho can be ready when Joel needs his legs, but Often Enough, Joel will decided to switch with VERY LITTLE WARNING, and Etho will have thirty minutes (the change is not instant) to find a body of water or a bathtub to Park himself until Joel finishes whatever it is he needed to do.

Bdubs found out very quickly that he and Etho could not have one shared bathroom. Etho refuses to tell him why he has locked himself in and when asked how long he’s going to be, the answer ranges from an hour to multiple days. Bdubs has stopped asking questions. Cleo and Scar, on the other hand, are extremely fucking baffled by Etho all of the time. They make up conspiracy theories about him. None of them are ‘Etho is a secret mermaid.’

anyway I love the clockers‼️

[deityoftherain]

the warmth you bring - LimL!Snowbugs Fanfic w/background Flower Ranchers

Rating: Teen

Relationship: M/M

Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Status: Completed Oneshot

Word Count: 3,436

Summary: Tango knew he was being dramatic, but whose idea was it to include so much fucking water this season? Team T.I.E.S. was set up by the shore, Mean Gills created the Coral Isles in the middle of a body of water, and The Bad Boys’ Woodland Mansion was absolutely flooded. He was cold, shivering, and staggering blindly, the fire within him suffering greatly. Ironically enough, the one who helped restore his warmth to him was a creature of the water himself...

Full fanfic underneath the cut! Please reblog, leave kudos on the AO3 fic slash notes/likes here on Tumblr, comment either place, and etc if you enjoy the story :D

“How embarrassing,” Tango murmured, teeth chattering as he tugged his leather jacket tighter around him. “This has to be the worst timeline.”

He knew he was being dramatic, but whose idea was it to include so much fucking water this season? Team T.I.E.S. was set up by the shore, Mean Gills created the Coral Isles in the middle of a body of water, and The Bad Boys’ Woodland Mansion was absolutely flooded.

Water didn’t kill him, but it wasn’t his favorite thing to be submerged in. Being a blazeborn with his blonde hair turning into fire whenever it felt like it and his body temperature consistently hot enough to cook steak on, water didn’t tend to agree with him.

In fact, he was steaming, much like what would happen if one tried to place water down in The Nether. Water attempted to escape by rolling off of him, but much of it sizzled away before it had a chance to drop into the ground.

He was cold and shivering, straight to his core. It was like a winter’s frost nipping right past his skin and working straight to his bones, gnawing away at his insides. The fluff of hair at the end of his tail was trying its best to spark, but it was rather pitiful to watch. His clothing clung to him, heavy and noticeably darker from the fabric holding the water.

Still, Tango continued to stagger further, blindly making his way through the terrain. He just needed to get back to T.I.E.S. Tower. There, he could change into a backup outfit and sit by the furnace. Maybe, if he was lucky, Skizz or Impulse would be there when he arrived and give him their famous platonic cuddles. And, void, did they give some good-ass cuddles–

Maybe even Etho would see how necessary it was to get Tango to his typical body heat again and cuddle him. Tango knew Etho wasn’t huge on touch, especially casual touch, but perhaps he would make an exception? That was to say if he was even here and not checking in on the Clockers. I still don’t understand what is going on with that dysfunctional “family”...

A coughing fit forced itself from his throat, wheezes rattling within his lungs. Spots continued to pepper Tango’s vision and each step took far too much energy. How long had he been under for the water to affect him this badly? Tango had tried to go see Jimmy at The Bad Boys’ base, but he was acting weird, for lack of a better word. He had been all game! It was like some switch got hit the second they spawned into this world because Jimmy wouldn’t even give him the time of day. 

Everyone knew, including Tango, that Jimmy never processed dying very well in these games– and he’d died a few times already, hours slipping away in a moment– but there weren’t even any reds on the server yet! What was his deal?

Even if there were reds, couldn’t Jimmy see how bad he was hurting? How much he was thinking about him? Tango had thought their relationship was better than that. They were boyfriends, soulmates, ranchers, yet it somehow didn’t matter to him?

Tango was generally confident in his standing within relationships, but Jimmy’s behavior had caused him to doubt himself. Had he thought that allowing their relationship to become romantic was a mistake? Tango knew he wasn’t Scott, but that was something Jimmy had told him he liked. Jimmy’s relationships with each of them were different, but he loved them both. At least, that is what he claimed, and Tango believed him!

Did he believe him? Of course he did! 

What sort of question was that? This was Jimmy! His funny, charming, caring Jimmy! This was just some weird funk he was in for some reason. Maybe he should plan an intervention of some sort. He was sure Scott would join him if he asked.

Tango had previously pulled Scott aside to talk about their boyfriend’s recent behavior, so he knew that he was having some issues with Jimmy too. They counseled each other about their shared partner, and it honestly made their relationship stronger.

He and Scott weren’t together romantically (yet), but they had discussed that possibility after Double Life ended. They hadn’t wanted to rush it, but if something happened between them, everyone involved was okay with them exploring it. If anything had come from Jimmy’s bizarre behavior, it was that Tango has got to spend more time with Scott than he might not have otherwise.

Besides, Tango had his team as his support system! He wasn’t reliant on only Jimmy, after all. They had their own lives and relationships outside of each other, naturally, but whatever was happening still hurt quite a lot. Tango missed Jimmy, he missed his rancher…

Yet, here he was, soaked to the bone from escaping through the waterlogged mansion in order to avoid The Bad Boys’ blades.

If had the energy to cry, he would.

Tango staggered over to a tree before harshly throwing himself against it, using it as a crutch. Where had he even ended up?

“Tango, is that you?” a voice– Scott, he recognized– asked, tone infused with concern and worry. “Void, Tango! I thought there was a forest fire or something with how much– What the fuck happened to you?” “Too long,” Tango started before another coughing fit contracted his lungs, forcing him to hunch over. His arms wrapped around his stomach, a mix of water and spit expelling from his mouth. “Too long in water. Cold.”

Scott hesitated reaching out to him with his webbed hands, ear fins twitching. The lore effects of the server had taken a liking to Scott, gradually turning him more and more fishy as the tattooed timer on his forearm clicked down. “Will I hurt you? I’m not as warmblooded as I used to be.”

“Uh,” Tango responded unintelligently, his brain as jumbled as a beginner’s trying to figure out an expert’s redstone contraption, “who knows, so, uh- I think I’m gonna, uh, gonna go nini, sleepify, faniticate-?”

He placed a hand against his forehead and squinted his eyes as he continued to babble. What was he even saying? Whatever it was, it was utter nonsense, even to himself. His energy was so low as the fire within him struggled to keep up. Next thing he knew, everything went black.

.

.

.

When he woke again, everything was warm. It was so warm and so unlike that before that he couldn’t convince himself to open his eyes. Tango snuggled further into the blankets, cocooned by the layers. A blissful purr rumbled in his throat, not used to such comfort during one of these games.

A soft mumble that sounded sort of like the word “cute” and that reminder of the games jerked him awake, arms flailing out to help push him upright. The blankets fell with him, leaving the upper half of his body exposed. He had been sleeping with bare skin against blankets, no longer wearing the clothes that he had been wearing last.

Tango squeaked, pulling the blankets up to cover himself, not used to casual nudity. The commotion alerted the other in the room (could he even call this little shack a “room”?) that he had awoken. He blinked rapidly, trying to get his eyes to focus. “Who’s there? Where am I? How– ugh, my head– how long has it been?” “We aren’t far from where you passed out,” Scott answered nonchalantly, as if it wasn’t a big deal. “And don’t worry about your time; it hasn’t been that long. I convinced Grian to give us our mid-session break early. And, hm– and sorry for removing most of your clothes, but you weren’t going to warm up if I left you in them. If it helps, I set up this place by myself and didn’t invite anyone else to help so you could have your privacy.”

They were in a simple six by six room composed of oak planks, clearly tossed up in a short amount of time. The walls and furniture were fairly bare with Tango only making note of the bed he was on, a furnace that acted like a fireplace and a place to cook, and a few stray fences that his clothes were draped on.

Scott was standing in front of the furnace with an iron pot he must have pulled out of his inventory. There was no way he had time to do all this and go mining while he was unconscious, right? He stirred whatever was inside, not looking towards Tango in the slightest, supposedly to respect Tango’s privacy. “Soup’s almost ready. You’re okay with fish in it, right? Living over water and being able to swim really fast has given me access to a lot of fish. Like, a fuck ton of fish. An insane amount of fish. I do understand why Jimmy enjoyed swimming so much on the first Empires home server now, though.” “Uh, yeah. Yeah, fish is good.” Tango stared at the back of Scott’s head, gaze trailing the long, cerulean (or was it more cyan?) blue waves of his hair. The fire inside him was very pleased with the affection for the other man sizzling within his mind. 

Yes, the blankets and removal of the wet clothes helped tend to his inner fire, but Scott was just… so good. Was this what Jimmy saw in him? Someone who would convince Grian to stop a session early and start the break simply because Tango got a little too wet? Someone who could easily be a force of nature to be reckoned with, and often was, when he felt like it? Someone who cared less about winning and bragging rights, and more about having fun and playing fair? If Scott had wanted, he could have slain Tango in his weakened state, and no one would have held it against him. It was part of the game, after all! Scott could have taken Tango’s time for himself, but he didn’t. Why didn’t he? Tango wasn’t sure he would have been so kind… They weren’t even on the same team, yet Scott was taking care of him, practically nursing him back to health.

Scott left the soup to cook a little longer, moving over to the fence posts. He sang softly to himself as he checked the state of Tango’s clothing, assumingly to decide if they were dry enough to give back to Tango or not. Deciding it was sufficient enough, Scott removed the clothing from the fence posts and folded them neatly. “Are you decent enough?” “Yep,” Tango confirmed, pulling the blankets tighter around him to preserve the pleasant burning temperatures it managed to capture. His hair was a joyfully content flame, lighting his area of the room better than the torches. “You, uh, you didn’t have to do any of this careificating stuff, Scott. You could have just dropped me off at T.I.E.S.” “I could have, but I didn’t want to,” Scott dismissed with a shrug, acting as if it were no big deal. He set the clothes down at the foot of the bed before turning back to the soup to let Tango change. “You clearly were suffering outside of what is to be expected for these games, plus I care about you. Not only as Jimmy’s other boyfriend, but as a friend of your own right.” Tango tried his best to ignore what Scott’s words did to him and, instead, focused on the fact that he didn’t want to leave the blankets. He truly didn’t want to, but he knew he should take the opportunity to get dressed while he had it. 

The last thing he wanted was to end up having to streak back to T.I.E.S. Tower, almost completely nude, because Grian had decided that was a long enough break. He pulled on his shirt first before tugging on his pants and then the jacket last. They were nice and toasty from being near the furnace, another happy purr rumbling softly within him as his tail flicked idly behind him.

Scott summoned two bowls from his inventory and scooped a hearty helping of the soup into both. He picked up one with both hands to carry it to Tango, pressing it into his hands when he was ready. Their hands brushed against each other briefly, barely any contact at all, but it was enough to get Tango’s heart racing. “Thanks.” “You’re welcome.” Scott flashed him a smile, his lore-magic-sharpened teeth on display. Tango’s teeth were naturally sharp as well, but it wasn’t often he saw it on other people. He found that he liked it, wanting to know what Scott’s teeth would feel like against his skin, against his neck, against his lips…

Tango ducked his head as if to hide from the daydream, swallowing down roughly as his gaze fell to the soup. He took a spoon and shoved some of it into his mouth, not trusting himself enough to not say something stupid.

Scott picked up the second bowl he had prepared for himself and settled down on a nearby chair that Tango hadn’t noticed before. “Eat up. I’m not sure how much more time Grian will give us before he starts the session again.” Tango didn’t need to be told twice. Not only was the soup spectacular, dancing happily on his taste buds, and it especially heated him from the inside. Scott had done a fantastic job warming him from the outside so far– where had he gotten so many blankets, actually– but this was on another level. The flame on his head grew larger as a grin widened on his face.

“Do you like it?” Scott asked, raising an eyebrow with a satisfied and somewhat smug twitch of his lips, his very kissable lips…

“Like it?” Tango scoffed as if he were baffled at such a simple descriptor. “Scott, I fuckin’ love it! I haven’t had such a good soup in awhile, not usually bothering to put in the time.” “Good.” Tango wasn’t sure if he was just seeing things, but he swore that Scott puffed out his chest slightly and straightened his posture, head held high. “I’m glad.”

Tango placed his mouth around the bowl’s rim and drank the soup like it were water in a cup, not able to get enough of it fast enough for his taste. He shot back the remaining broth before setting the bowl back down in his lap. “Can I have more?”

Scott laughed, extremely amused, but he stood up anyway. “You can have as much as you want until it’s gone.”

“Woo!” Tango cheered as Scott took his bowl to fill it up with more soup, kicking his dangling legs excitedly. “You’re the best.”

“I know,” Scott claimed lightheartedly with a wink over his shoulder. He approached the pot, gathered Tango more soup, and then brought it back. “Now that you’re awake, how about we catch up some? It’s been a few several timer-hours since I’ve seen you.”

“Oh, don’t I have a lot to catch you up on!” Tango started, promptly rambling about all that has happened since they last caught each other up. His mouth moved as fast as he could think, which was extremely, for his brain was always all over the place. Still, no matter how many tangents he went on, Scott looked at him the same, listening intently and asking questions when Tango would shut up long enough for him to have room to.

Void, I love him.

The thought hit him, coming and going in a flash, but the sentiment stayed. Tango loved Scott, and Tango loved Jimmy, and that was okay. He loved them both, his affections for Scott not taking away from his affections for Jimmy. Tango could only hope Scott felt the same, but he didn’t dare to disrupt their friendship, not yet anyway. Not when everything with Jimmy was still up in the air.

Sometime soon, Tango promised himself. I will tell him soon, but not now. Now, I’m just going to enjoy what we have… and enjoy what they had, he did. They talked all the way up until Grian alerted everyone that the session was going to continue in five minutes or so through their communicators.

As a way to display his gratitude towards Scott, he helped take down the small building Scott had thrown together, tucking the bits into his inventory. Between the two of them, it didn’t take long to deconstruct the building and make it like it was never there at all, ignoring that there were a few less trees in the area.

Tango pulled the blocks and bits out of his inventory, handing Scott the floating, shrunkified versions of the blocks for him to tuck away. His communicator buzzed, and then buzzed again, and Tango could practically see Grian counting down in the server’s chat.

“I need to go find Martyn,” Scott told him like it was his excuse to leave, but he didn’t actually make any moves to leave. He stayed standing where he was, right in front of Tango, close enough to touch him.

“I should check in with my guys too,” Tango agreed with Scott’s plan of action, but also didn’t move. They stared at each other like they were studying the various hues and shades of color in their eyes. Scott’s eyes weren’t their usual blue because of the color indication of their lives, but they were still Scott’s.

Perhaps Tango should work on not being as impulsive as he was, but that was difficult to do when he wasn’t even sure what he was going to say until he said it half the time. No real thought or consideration went into his actions as he rocked up onto his heels, greeting Scott’s cheek with a kiss, before stumbling back. “Thanks again! Bye Scott!”

If his heart was racing previously, his heart had skyrocketed far into the sky based on how hard it was beating in his chest. Tango hadn’t expected himself to be so forward, for he had thought he had agreed with himself to wait. Apparently, he had other plans and didn’t even know it! 

Tango tried to flee, not wanting to face the possibility of Scott’s wrath. When Scott got angry or upset, he was scary! Tango may even say that Scott was scarier than him when he got like that, and Tango was the one perpetually on fire!

Despite Tango’s nerves, Scott wasn’t angry or upset. In fact, Scott must have taken the cheek kiss as some sort of sign. Scott reached out to Tango, managing to pull him in and prevent him from leaving. Before Tango could say anything in response, Scott brought their lips together for a kiss. A needy, beautiful, desperate kiss… it was everything Tango had daydreamed about and more, and he wanted nothing more than to have these kisses on the regular.

Scott grazed his sharp teeth against Tango’s lips, who moaned in response. Being this close to Scott– this intimate with Scott– was addicting. He attempted to deepen it, but Scott pulled away instead. Tango attempted to follow his lips, only managing to stumble forward. 

The only reason he didn’t fall flat on his face was because Scott caught him in his arms. Tango would have loved to stay in his hold, but Scott only helped him stand on his own two feet before removing his touch. 

Scott ran his tongue against his teeth as he tilted his head, satisfaction clearly displayed on his features. He didn’t stay there long though, stage whispering “See you around, firefly.”

In between blinking, Scott managed to slip away without Tango knowing which direction he had gone. Scott was frustratingly swift and quiet at times, making him a hard man to find when he didn’t want to be found.

Tango was left where he stood, dazed as if drunk on Scott’s kisses. He raised a hand to his lips, brushing his calloused fingertips against the sensitive skin. His tail swayed giddily as giggles grew in his chest, a wave of triumph overtaking him. Scott had kissed him! Tango rigidly shook his forearms tight to his chest, jumping up and down as he attempted to keep himself contained. It didn’t work and he soon didn’t care, allowing himself to stim happily all the way back to T.I.E.S. Tower. Maybe today wasn’t such an awful day after all.

[fountainpenguin]

Your fic "Shut Up and Fish" got me thinking... are you implying that Grian's snail is a spark?

"Shut Up and Fish"

"That's hard," Grian concedes, not looking up. The pink snail's watching, its tail patting the dirt. Grian cradles the turquoise snail's limp eyestalk in his hand. Snails are tricky creatures… They don't signal their injuries with the crook of their tails like dogs do, and they're not immune to fall damage like cats. Gingerly, easily, he brings the snail's neck to his chest and gives it a little hug. He makes a little noise. This world is beautiful if you know where to look. "Please," begs the voice in the wrinkles of his damp and dripping clothes. "You'd be a better dad to Tim. You'd be a better husband- I want what YOU have… That's MY life. Give me back my body!" Grian ignores this, peppering sloppy kisses on the snail's sweet head. It nudges into him, cuddly and sloppy and alive. Beautiful, sparked son of a thing. He'll tell Grumbot sometime, but Grumbot might not love to know he's got a snail for a younger brother now. And he laughs again, because it's stupid. It's just… It's really stupid. But he nuzzles the snail and the snail nuzzles back, and the voice in his head wails and scratches at him in the strain of Gem's boat anchor against the pebbles and sand.

In the Pixels Imperfect canon, a creature or build that is portrayed as having sentience beyond that of its basic mob AI (if applicable) needs an AI spark. Grumbot and Jrumbot are perfect examples of "portrayed as sentient" vs. "offhand joke about the build being a child, but not followed through with." Jrumbot is a non-sentient build and Grumbot is a sentient one.

Grian's snail is played as sentient - Grian even makes a huge deal about Scar "not playing the game right and making the snails do things they wouldn't do" - so in the Pixels canon, the snail is a sparked build.

Sparks don't have to be perceived as offspring- they simply embody whatever the intended roleplay was. Grumbot initially referred to Grian and Mumbo as Creator 1 and Creator 2 in Hermitcraft canon, then swapped to addressing them as dads after a certain point (to their surprise), which underscores the idea that in-universe, he is sentient and making his own decisions.

That said, Grian considers the snail his biological son, yes. His baby boy who does crime.

I have some news about Box from Double Life, wheeze...... BigB made it VERY clear in canon that Box is sentient enough to "say its first word," and Ren jumped up and down all giddy exclaiming that he was "such a proud papa," confirming that he sees it as his child.

When they're in couple's therapy, BigB explains that he "knew Ren would like it if Box had a hand so it could reach out and give him a hug." Also, special spotlight on BigB bragging about how "Box is going to need to find a soulmate" because that's so funny. I like how after BigB goes red, he invites Martyn to Box, he says "We look forward to seeing you. That's 'we' as in me and Box."

Shout-out to Martyn and Cleo getting "We will take care of Box in your absence" signed and agreed by Ren and BigB "by law and by will." Sorry you two are horribly broken up, but congrats on ur giant son. They will not nurture it, but they will definitely look at it and go "... Huh."

Guess who has one thumb, canonically wears a monocle and walks around looking like it's been "punched in the face," is technically in the Clocker family tree via Martyn, rocks he/it pronouns, and is heir apparent to Dogwarts in the Neighborhood Watch AU.

[soemthingsparkly]

i would absolutely love to share a rant!

all the characters are so psychologically fucked up in such a realistic way that i didn't see represented much. grian venting to tango about feeling left out. the fact that he felt left out at all over something so small. they're so codependent and i love it.

and then there's scott and jimmy's dynamic. scott kissing jimmy and then jimmy venting to grian and then grian just responding with "HE DID WHAT??????" and then at the cafe. the idea of someone doing something they shouldn't have and then having a panic attack over a third party's opinion on it is so... idk how to say it. like i said, a type of fucked up that you don't see talked about much and i relate so hard to it. it's clear scott's probably trying his best out at least trying a lot to not hurt jimmy but he's failing miserably and i don't think he even realizes it. and like. yeah. ive been there. i don't actually know why scott broke up with him but i get the vibe it was supposed to be like. to help jimmy in some way. like "oh wait ive been toxic maybe i should end this for his sake". but doing that obviously hurt jimmy, especially since he didn't say *why* he did it. and scott obviously did something really drastic and sudden so he's not doing well either and he really wants to go back to jimmy. he knows he's being manipulative and it's not on purpose but in trying to stop and be better he keeps making things worse. and like. this is all a side thing. this fic is mostly about mumscarian and you threw in this flower husbands sideplot but it's still so fleshed out and so *real*.

and speaking of the mumscarian thing the way you write their friendships, especially grian and mumbo's is amazing. it's not like. a stepping stone to a romantic relationship even though they are going to end up in one. very "not more than friends, different from friends" vibes /vpos. it doesn't feel like they're ending up in a romantic relationship. it feels like they're making their relationship romantic and i love that so much.

grian just texting mumbo that he's bored gives such hcs7 vibes and like he yeah they're so codependent and it's so obvious from grian's side my god

and the way you write pearl is amazing, she's got this sibling energy and it's great.

the way you write all of them is amazing actually. i can hear everything they say in their voices. the clockers are on point, especially scar and bdubs.

i could keep going im sure lmao but anyway great fic i love it if you read this ill cry /pos

This has been sitting in my ask box for a while because I just love it so much anon and I was like~~~ how do I respond to such a long ask with the same level of enthusiam?

I wanna break this ask into chunks and there's bits of your ask I wanna respond to directly, so...

all the characters are so psychologically fucked up in such a realistic way that i didn't see represented much.

I'm glad you think so! I definitely feel like I'm being a little bit risky with how I'm presenting some of the, I suppose, human consequences of being human?

I think a lot of what fandom (in general) consumes gets a little over-sanitised these days. Our favourite characters aren't allowed to be flawed like real people, they must be flawed in a way that is either endearing, entertaining (sarcastic or snarky), or easily forgivable.

But that's not always that interesting when it comes to wanting characters we can truly relate to?

Grian gets upset he's left out not just because he has Trauma™, but because he does have a co-dependancy on Mumbo that borders on unhealthy. Tango tells Grian to, in not so many words, get over himself and try and have fun - not because he knew Grian would respond well to it, but because he's blunt and doesn't know how to comfort people gently. Bdubs makes fun of Scar for being disabled, because he knows that everybody in that group chat understands he's joking and that his comments will never leave that group chat (in-world that is, of course, everybody who reads the fic will read them).

And Scott for example, is not a very well-liked character amongst readers at the moment, but he's absolutely one of my favourite to write. You put it pretty well here:

he knows he's being manipulative and it's not on purpose but in trying to stop and be better he keeps making things worse.

Like yes, exactly. He's trying to do better, but the actions he takes that he thinks (or is being co-erced into believing via mental illness) will make things better, keep making things worse and he doesn't really understand how to do it right. And haven't we all been in that position before?

And yet up until chapter 17, we've only ever seen into their dynamic from the outside. We've only ever seen Scott's actions from Jimmy's POV or from the POV of someone who cares about Jimmy.

And somehow it's Jimmy, of all people, defending Scott.

It's absolutely fascinating to see readers reactions and I'd be so happy to talk about this forever and ever and ever, hehehe.

And what you said about Mumbo and Grian's relationship, here:

very "not more than friends, different from friends" vibes /vpos. it doesn't feel like they're ending up in a romantic relationship. it feels like they're making their relationship romantic and i love that so much.

I'm actually SO glad you feel that way about them, because that's exactly the way I feel about them, too. They're not just friends, so much as they're Grian and Mumbo. The idea of them being friends almost suggests an alternative of them being not friends and I just don't there's a way in this world that they can exist and be without one another. So yes, I love this a lot and I love that you feel that way about them.

Thank you so much for this absolutely beautiful message - I am such a fan of analysing characters and their interactions and all that. Frankly, thank you for giving me a space to talk at length about the way these characters are in this fic!!

Here is a tissue for the tears, I hope you don't cry too hard. Remember to stay hydrated <333

Lumi <3

[gammagoop]

Random Acts of Kindness

Small Limited Life fic I wrote for fun ^_^

Featuring Grian and Etho, with other members mentioned (do not tag as ship)

Warnings: emetophobia, lots of anxiety, and talks of death

Words: 1,574

fic is under the cut ⬇️

“Do you want to enact the sword?”

Etho stood, above him, higher than him, in the dirt and ruins of wooden structures. They were almost unrecognizable, as if decades had rotted away the wood and weather had trampled the crops. Joel had tilled this same sweat-soaked soil just a few weeks prior.

Grian’s face lit up at this, seeming to react with real emotion for the first time since Joel had gone out. He dropped his own weapon onto the ground, not bothering to consider the danger of doing so in the tidal wave of emotion.

“YES! Yes! I want to enact the sword!” He clapped his hands together.

His world hit him like a train, like a surprise thunderstorm, his mind reeling as he grasped desperately onto this new semblance of an ally. Etho was close enough to his state. He still had Impulse, but Impulse wasn’t here.

“Oh my god!” His breath ran out of him in a huff, and he felt dizzy all of a sudden, heart pounding blood in his ears.

Etho laughed how he always did, jumping down heavily onto the dirt below and tucking his weapon— the titular sword— away as well. A sign of peace, of agreement.

Grian couldn’t help himself, he reached out and grabbed Etho’s hands, pulled them near his chest and squeezed them. Felt Etho’s blood running in his veins under his fingernails, how warm another body could be.

Etho squeezed back as if he didn’t know what to do. His eyes squinted a bit like an awkward smile.

“I— I—“ Grian was suddenly aware of a tremor through his body, making him feel nauseous. He stepped back shakily, panting, blood loud, releasing his ally’s hands.

“Oh, Etho, I— Don’t feel so good—“

He bent and lurched and vomited into the mud.

“Oh,” Etho said, surprised, unsure, “Are you okay? You’re not sick, are you? You can rest if…”

Grian lifted his head “No— I—“ He heaved a bit. “I’m fine. It… happens,”

“Anxiety?”

“Yeah, that would be it wouldn’t it,”

Etho’s eyes softened, and he fumbled through his inventory for a minute. He pulled out a flask of water, and outstretched an arm to offer it to Grian.

“Drink this, I filled it up with clean water around 30 minutes ago,”

Grian already had water, he thought, but took it anyway. He stumbled over to the end of the bridge, where the wood was, and sat down among the upturned roots of potatoes, legs feeling too tired to hold him anymore. He drank about a third of the flask in two large swigs, just to get the acrid taste out. Etho sat down next to him, more smoothly, and put a hand on his back.

“Don’t go too fast,” He warned.

Grian panted heavily. “Right, yeah, don’t wanna barf again,”

“Mhm…”

They sat like that for a minute. It was nighttime, the sky cloudy enough to obscure the moon.

Grian caught himself expecting to hear the footsteps of Skizz on Skynet below, or the shouting from the clockers, or an explosion somewhere, or Jimmy and Joel running back to the mansion with their hair sticking out and damp from sweat, a bit bloodied, Jimmy stumbling a bit, and looking for Grian.

But it was quieter than it ever had been, trees rustling in waves against the wind.

“…Do you miss your teammates?”

Etho asked, as if it wasn’t obvious. Grian laughed dryly.

“What gave you that idea?”

A pause.

“I think we all do,” Etho responded, unhelpfully.

“You still have Impulse,” Grian pointed out, “Pearl still has BigB and BigB has Pearl. Scott and Martyn are probably going to make it to the very end together— and the Clockers can all be a happy family together in the sky,”

He looked up, as if to see them there. They might be watching, he supposed. He wouldn’t put it past them— out of everyone left on the server, they probably wanted to look down on Grian and Etho the most. He wondered if Jimmy and Joel were watching too. He wondered if they were even still floating around this world, or if they’d long since moved on. It made him feel dizzy again so he tried not to wonder too much.

“Yeah…”

The air was stiff between them. Grian pulled his knees in to sit criss-cross. Etho seemed to be listening to the sounds of the night, the shuffling of the living things below. It was always hard for Grian to tell what Etho was thinking, and he figured that must be the case for everyone. Maybe that’s why Scar was afraid of him.

Grian wasn’t afraid of Etho, not really. He wasn’t any more afraid of Etho than he was of Tango or Martyn or anyone else on the server. But he did feel squirmy around him, like he wasn’t meant to be there. He felt like he had to prove himself to even stand in proximity to Etho— but Etho didn’t seem to want that. There was nuance in the way the other man tapped his pinkie finger against his knee. Maybe he wasn’t coming up with some mastermind scheme to reinvent the and-gate — maybe he was just trying to think of what to say.

Joel had been paired with Etho in the time prior to this one. Random chance, of course, but they’d seem to hit it off quite well. Joel was just better with people than Grian was— he was more casual, if he made a mistake he brushed it off and kept rolling forward. Maybe there was something to the whole positive self-talk thing.

Confidence. Grian recalled it now, Jimmy telling him about the encounter he and Joel had had with Skizz. The affirmations, Grian remembered his own well.

Skizz had hit the nail on the head with each one of them, probably the whole server if he had to guess. Joel was confident, and Jimmy was quick, and Grian was a leader, and Grian was alone. And Grian was alone. And his Jimmy and Joel were dead. Grian was alone.

Grian let out a sudden sob, and rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses.

“You haven’t really been alone before,” Etho murmured.

For all his generic comments before, Grian felt like Etho had looked right into his soul for that one.

“Guess I haven’t” Grian mumbled back.

Etho didn’t say anything for a bit as Grian cried, tears puffing up his eyes and cheeks, not really caring anymore about trying to quiet himself.

“I— I just,” his voice trembled, “I don’t know what to do with myself,”

He was snotty and red-faced now. He removed his glasses, “Can you hold these?” He handed them to Etho, who obliged, and pressed his palms to his wet eyes.

He sniffed, and coughed a bit.

“Etho, honestly I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t remind me of this. I could’ve gone out— I would’ve gone out,”

“I don’t know, you’re pretty good at surviving,”

“No, like—“ Grian squeezed his hands into fists, feeling his fingernails dig little crescent divots into his raw and worn palms. He glanced down, and then away from Etho.

“I would have gone out on purpose,”

Etho was silent for a moment.

“Oh,”

Then,

“Can I ask why?”

Grian opened his mouth, but his brain didn’t produce any words for him to say. He made a small noise in the back of his throat, and coughed.

“I don’t know…”

He said, feeling small.

“I just… I was thinking, that whole time with Pearl and BigB, like… I felt like I didn’t really… belong? Anymore? That there wasn’t anyone out there for me, anyone to go home to, like all my relationships had become temporary. Like… I don’t know. Like there wasn’t really… a point…,”

He grimaced, shifting uncomfortably.

“It sounds really bad when I put it like that,”

Etho was quiet. God, he was always so quiet. Grian almost wanted to scream to drown out the silence. He swallowed thickly, hands fidgeting and pulling tufts of weeds from the dirt, digging his fingers into the soil.

“But you didn’t,” Etho finally spoke.

“No, I didn’t get to,”

Etho hummed, idly cleaning Grian’s glasses with the hem of his shirt. Grian hadn’t realized how dirty they’d gotten, dusty and smattered with grime.

“I guess… maybe it proves something, yeah? If you had, you wouldn’t be here now. I would have never, uh, reminded you. Proves there’s… there’s always gonna be more, out there for you to find…. to…. be with,”

“This, too, shall pass,” Grian murmured like a recollection.

“Uh, yeah,” Etho said.

He raised his hand and hesitated, before gingerly patting Grian on the shoulder.

Grian looked up at him, met his eyes. He leaned into the touch, and then into a hug. His wet cheeks stained Etho’s jacket, but new tears didn’t fall.

They parted, and Grian grunted, shaking himself out. Etho gave him his glasses back, and he smiled back at him in thanks.

They each stood, Etho smooth and Grian shaky.

He thought about Joel lightheartedly teasing him for being sappy, he thought about Jimmy asking him if he was okay. He thought about Etho, standing beside him, gloved palms hoisting Grian up from his cliff, and onto solid ground again.

“Thank you,” He said, “You really didn’t have to do that,”

Etho laughed, “What else was I going to do?”

[bisexualmcqueen]

not really a srs poll i just wanted to compile my ideas do you see why im paralyzed with choice (also semi art block)

edit: yellowjackets as in tv show premise not as in attacked by bugs

[zeddyke]

ive got so many ideas for fics even tho i have like three wips going rn. one is a regular robot tango s8 chara study. but the other two are ehmm the clockers limited life mommy kink fic and a scarian weight gain and feederism welcome back s9 fic 😶 ehmm *comically scratching my head. theres just so many fun ways to explore kink thru the hermits

[its-muffin-tyme]

clockers fic idea and also prompt, courtesy of me:

scar, like bdubs, was born with white hair. he has white hair when etho leaves for like, most of a year, when scar is 12 or 13

he comes back to a scowling teenager with dyed-brown hair, who says he dyed his hair so no one would say he looked like Etho anymore

and Etho, who does his best to act unbothered, honestly feels his heart ache

[grimaussiewitch]

Yep! There have been multiple instances of the creators acknowledging fanfiction and do not care about it. Bdubs and Scar talked about it, Martyn has read the fics from the limited life zine, Cleo has talked about the hermits being grown ass adults and will speak up if there is something that they don’t like and at the end of the day, how do you ask 18 grown ass adults if they want fics of their minecraft ocs.

The op of the reddit post even asked the other commenter how if they explain what happened to Ren in third life. That was straight up dramatic theatre kid energy he put in. I highly doubt he’s like that 24/7 irl with the bad Scottish and all.

Both hermitcraft and the life series have degrees of roleplaying in it. It’s never the main focus but if someone wants to put on a character or make a storyline for themselves they can.

We got the logfather court, Ren The King, moon big and hot guy to name a few.

Then we got Dogwarts, flowerhusbands (especially Scott’s ending), 5am pearl, the clockers and all of Martyn’s personal lore.

I can’t understand the idea that the creators wouldn’t expect fanfics being written. At the end of the day, Cleo’s wise words come to mine:

“The hermits are all grown ups, we are not lost and we do not need saving. If we want to stop something, we will come out to say something”

Help girl I’m accidentally got into an argument on a third life sub reddit because the guy thinks you shouldn’t write fanfics about minecraft YouTubers.

How do I explain the separation of character and content creators because they wouldn’t accept my example.

There’s a big difference between faceless youtuber ZombieCleo being written as a zombie and Tango Tek who irl is bald and doesn’t have red eyes is written with hair and red eyes. How do you explain that to someone??

[its-muffin-tyme]

clockers au where scar is also hot guy and etho definitely has some sort of criminal enterprise

and someone working with/for etho has gotten into some trouble and needs some protection, but not anyone who is actively recognized as Part Of Organized Crime by those in the know, for reasons

and Etho's like "Yeah, I got you! Hold on, let me call my son and see if he's willing to talk to me"

and then he leaves and there's a hushed conversation and he's like

"Don't worry! He'll be here in 10 minutes. You're in good hands"

And then in walks freaking Hot Guy.

[[ps. this concept specifically can be used as a fic prompt ^-^]]

[its-muffin-tyme]

I have so many clockers fic ideas and snippets and i know this is 90% a Poll Blog but if i don't post something about these i will go insane

So, uh, here's one:

Etho and some of his friends being like, futuristic space bounty hunters, while Cleo and the boys are on their and Etho's home planet. One day, while working, one of his team finds two teen boys have somehow made it to space and are causing massive chaos

You'll never guess who fathered them!

[fountainpenguin]

Blog Stuff

^ Like, "FYI if you want to block tags" stuff

Little announcement here: Factor It In is on hiatus for now, probably for the rest of 2023. I know where the story is going overall and I know where the next chapter's going, but I struggled more than expected with the "Torus" voice (took like 6 weeks longer than the other chapters and all of it painful :'D)

I don't want to face a timecrunch struggle with TJ and Rose POVs (two characters who will be new to me), so I'm taking the bi-weekly update stress away and putting the 'fic on hiatus for now. But I wrote 77k before a hiatus was needed so I'm proud of that <3

We've got some 130 Prompts coming up as well as "Unicorn Years" for Origin in September (and hopefully a special Friday the 13th piece in October). In other words, FOP stuff is still bi-weekly as usual.

-> As a reminder, the 130 Prompts are posted in the order they are for a reason. You don't have to read them all if you don't want to, but extra context is always nice. If you've been dragging your feet on "Looking Back" by any chance... I might recommend that before the next update, which is "Sentry" ;)

On the "off" Friday I'm planning one-shots for various fandoms, especially shorter character studies. Really want to practice capturing a variety of voices, some quicker one-shots, and maybe I'll try some characters I don't use a lot. Or I'll be self-indulgent and focus on my faves... who knows.

Hoping to post more Come What May as well since you guys were excited to see it back <3... and it would be nice to actually finish a non-one-shot 'fic for the first time in. 7 years.

It's probably been obvious, but I also took a long hiatus from digital art. Traditional art is more comfy for me and I've been trying new digital programs, but haven't fallen in love with anything (i.e. I've been a vector artist for 10 years and moving from my safe space to different programs and styles is... painful).

I think I'm ready to start pushing my comfort zone, but be forgiving of my digital style because I'm playing around with new tools and this is a big jump for me, ha ha. I think I'm going to do some silly, low-stress fanfic doodles with very little attempt to make them look good, just testing stuff out.

I miiiiiight have a few PMV / animatic ideas, so we'll see

By nature of me posting art for my own 'fics, spoilers be upon ye if you're not up to date with my writing. Relatively recent stuff and/or stuff I consider "big" will get the #ridspoilers tag, but stuff I wrote 6+ months ago is less likely to get the tag, so that's how that goes.

-> #Dog's Life spoilers will get a unique tag because the weekly updates and drama make me say "Yeah, a special tag makes sense," so if that's a 'fic you think you want to read someday without spoilers, consider blocking that sooner rather than later :)

-> I'm also adding a #Pixels Imperfect tag to stuff from that universe (and I'll go back and add it to the chapters I already posted). "Pixels Imperfect" is the series name on AO3 for my digital gremlin Traffic SMP content (Everyone can freely wander around New Star Station outside the game and just puts on their roleplay hats when they go in, everything under this series fits under one umbrella of universe canon, etc.)

-> #Neighborhood Watch is the series name for "we take the roleplay lore seriously, this is their life, no digital world and no roleplay hat to take off" Traffic SMP content. I haven't posted anything for it yet, but I've got stuff in the works (I'm playing with a couple "making every season as canon as possible in one storyline" pieces and </3 it's big divorce speedrun hours for Clocker fam rn)

As for the other 'fics, I've been posting stuff like Origin, the 130, and Knots for 7 years and I feel okay about how that's going- I don't normally get spoiler Asks, but my general rule is to wait 1-2 weeks before I say anything spoilery on my blog. I think that's been working fine and we've got a good system, so I'm not changing anything there.

Lastly - and this is also part of the reason Factor is going on hiatus - it sounds like Traffic SMP Season 5 is just around the corner. For my followers who don't know much about this Minecraft deathmatch series, the creators only play for a few weeks - I think the shortest season was 6 weeks and the longest was 8 - and each creator puts out one episode a week (usually Friday).

So, it's a pretty short chunk of time and I don't want to be juggling too many things while it's coming out. I think this year I want to jump in and create some nice content while it's ongoing instead of just doodling off to the side and keeping it to myself... I need to dig up my old liveblog doodles I never shared, hm.

-> The traffic story canon gets reset every season (i.e. it's unscripted play, there's no continuous plot, and each season starts relationships from scratch), so if you've been enjoying any of my Traffic SMP reblogs, consider looking into it and riding that wave while episodes come out for a couple weeks and we can be hype together <3

-> Stuff for that season will be tagged #traffic spoilers, which is the tag I use across all the seasons, and I'll make a new post with my Season 5 spoiler tag once we get the name reveal.

-> As is traditional when I liveblog, I'll also use the tag #Riddle watches Traffic so you can block that too if you like. Just wanted to let people know in case I have any Traffic SMP followers who want to go in blind and don't want to risk seeing my posts before they have time to block my spoilers tag. #traffic spoilers still covers everything, including new season.

-> I also need to look into maybe switching from Traffic Life SMP as my blog tag to Traffic SMP because I think that's. the right name and it would probably be smart to tag properly... hm.

I think that covers everything I wanted to say. I'll add a list or link to my pinned post as well so people can figure out what to block for spoilers and stuff.

Thanks for enjoying my blog!