#current picture of Grian

[blisteringstar]

What's your role in the tragic play?

Tortured Love Interest

you're so hot. sorry about the horrors. you're the kind of person people immediately notice. whether you have a distinct style, are more outgoing, or are just plain beautiful, you make an impression. people usually feel the need to protect you, which probably frustrates you to no end. you're not weak! you're not fragile! you're not helpless! but the people in your life tend to disagree. maybe it's your lover, the protagonist, trying to keep you out of their own turmoil. maybe it's someone responsible for you in some way, keeping you away from your lover, while they head down an increasingly dark path. regardless, all you really want is a sense of autonomy! unfortunately, you're very likely to die before that happens. the audience will be so caught up in the grief your death causes the protagonist that they forget to grieve you as a person. you deserved better, but unfortunately, this is not your story. maybe it should have been.

Thank you @houserosaire for tagging me

Quiz here

[theminecraftbee]

Grian comes to again, flat on his back, and groans. Distantly, he hears Scar yelling an apology. It’s hard to tell if Scar had accidentally dropped sand, accidentally kicked one of the dragon eggs currently littering their bases (causing it to fall), or had missed concrete somewhere and caused that to drop, but the apology, this time, was at least sincere, so he’s fairly certain Scar didn’t intentionally knock Grian out. Doesn’t mean Grian hadn’t been knocked on his ass by, what, a pavlovian reaction to sand? But it means Scar hadn’t been intentionally exploiting it.

He’s rubbing his head when he hears them chittering distantly. He looks up, and then he Looks up, just to make sure he’s not imagining it, and… yep, they’re there. The Watchers. They’re busy happily chittering about the fact that Grian passes out when any block falls to the ground. Of course they are. He wonders if this is their fault. Probably not; Watchers may be annoying, but they can’t see the future, so it’s not like they’d have known about the egg thing ahead of time. No, they’re probably just amused at his suffering.

Joke’s on them. This is mostly just going to make cleaning up slower. And they’re going to have to deal with that too, on account of the fact Grian can’t do much else until it’s done.

He’s trying to hit another egg with a piston when he hears, distantly, “shoot, the beach!”, realizes what has happened, and then he’s waking up on the ground again. He stares at the sky for a moment.

“Trust Scar with sand, I thought. He terraforms all the time, I thought. He won’t keep messing me up with it, I thought.” He groans.

The chittering of the Watchers gets louder. He hears a lot of ‘Scar’ and ‘sand’ and ‘he can’t bear it’ and. Great. Grian’s pretty sure he knows what comment is coming next—

you’ve never left that desert.

“So this is your fault!” he says, accusingly. “Why! All it’s done is make my life more confusing!”

Indistinct noises. At one point, when Grian had been more one of them than he is now, he had been able to tell all of the voices apart easily. Now, the Watchers are somewhere between the wall of incomprehensible, horrible sound that they are to mortals and normal voices. He has to strain to pick out anything overly specific. He supposes if he chose to go all Watcher again he’d be able to tell what they’re saying, but frankly, they’re all annoying, so why would he bother? Better to stick to things as they are.

He messages Scar: If you drop sand one more time I am going to figure out how to add more dragon eggs to your base.

Scar messages back: its an accideet

Grian responds one more time: lol. accideet.

He takes a moment before standing up to check around himself. Scar does seem to have moved on from whatever he’d been doing with terraforming to keep dropping gravity blocks, so it’s probably safe to stand without passing out again. What had he been doing? Right. Eggs. Piston.

you never left that desert, Grian hears again from the wall of noise.

“Right. That’s me. Never left,” Grian says. Honestly.

can’t stand the sight of scar and sand.

“You know you guys are reaching, right?” Grian says.

never left—

“I would if you’d let me!” snaps Grian.

Indistinct chittering. Deep breaths. He’s fine. He's apparently developed sand-based epilepsy or something, and is trying to find the solution to that, but. Fine. He’s fine. It’s not like arguing with Watchers is ever actually worth it. They never change their mind. The thing is that they tend to think they know exactly how he works, and no matter how much he tries to refute their baseless assumptions, they still have a picture in their head, and they still keep working off of it.

A strange shudder runs down his back.

you never left that desert.

“Look, it’s not that I’m not over it,” Grian says. “I’m actually pretty over it. I’ve been over it since Last Life, really, even if none of you believe me.” He puts another egg in his inventory. “Scar’s my friend and he’s a weird guy and I like him, but it’s not like I’m not over that stupid game. Wouldn’t keep playing it if I weren’t over it, would I?”

Indistinct chittering about tragedy and deserts and dramatic final suicides and, look, Grian is good at telling stories. That’s the whole point. That’s why these guys won’t leave him alone. But sometimes, he swears…

“So you know, I would have left the desert by now. It’s just that you all haven’t. So guess who’s still stuck here? Believe me, it’s not me who’s not over it. If you wanted me out of the desert, you could let me leave any time you’d l—”

He has a second’s warning before he’s on the ground, dizzy, hoping he hasn’t gotten a concussion. He glances down at his communicator.

Mumbo says: that was me this time my bad

Shakily, Grian types: you have 10 seconds. start running.

The chittering gets more distant. Grian gets up. He checks to make sure his wings are on. He goes to light a rocket, but not before shouting: “Scar, if you do anything with gravity blocks while I am actively flying I will kill you dead!”

“Have fun buddy!” Scar shouts back. Grian’s not sure Scar actually heard a word he said. Well, hopefully there will be no sand falling from his hands while he goes to murder Mumbo, then. If there is, Grian’s—well, Grian’s going to have a broken bone at that rate, but he’s recovered from far worse falls. Some of those have even been Scar’s fault, by some measure or another.

He Looks back up at the mass he knows are the Watchers. “If this is you all’s fault because you never seem to have gotten over the whole desert thing, I’ll find a way to, I don’t know. Inconvenience you greatly. Not sure what I’ll do, but I’ll figure it out.”

The chittering gets way more fond, then. Pleased. They want him to do that. Can’t even threaten the assholes properly, they like it. Honestly, Grian doesn’t know why he bothers. It’s not like they’ll listen. No matter how many times he says he’s over it, it’s not like they’ll listen.

(Sometimes, he hates that he’s so good at stories.)

Right then. Time to wreak havoc on his friends for exploiting his very exploitable weakness, then. This sword’s got sharpness on it, right?

------

(originally written for @hermitcraftguesstheauthorevent, and posted on ao3 here; now that it's revealed, i figured i'd go ahead and post it here, since it really matches the cadence of one of my tumblr things more than an ao3-only fic. enjoy!)

[pixiemage]

So do you ever, like - accidentally get inspired to create a whole AU based on an old Tumblr text post, and you know you can't add it to your actual fic list because your existing WIP's are waiting for you, but you end up writing a snippet of it anyway? Yeah. Yeah, me too.

Jimmy knows he's not fully with it when he walks into the villains’ bar this time. He has a new name on his list from Make-a-Wish - Supreme this time - and he's only halfheartedly searching the by-now-familiar faces for the person he needs to talk to. He's not registering much of anything though, and it becomes apparent when two people step in his path and he doesn't notice until he's almost running into them. It's Joel, and it's Tango - Trickster and Phoenix - and the expressions on their faces are different flavors of the same thing. Anger, maybe, but not at Jimmy, simmering below the surface in Tango's case and being held back by a tense jaw in Joel's. And concern too, he thinks, concern and sympathy and- "Hey Songbird," Tango greets him, sounding just to the left of the normal fond tone he uses when he sees Jimmy. "How're you holding up?" "I...sorry?" Jimmy blinks, not quite understanding, and Joel casts a glance around the bar before settling back on Jimmy. "We heard about Mercy." Mercy - oh. Mercy Children's Hospital. Susie. Jimmy's chest goes tight and he swallows past a lump in his throat. A warm hand settles on his shoulder and he's steered over to a booth in the corner, Tango sandwiching him in on one side and Joel taking a seat across the table. Jimmy sucks down a shuddering breath. "...you heard?"

Joel scoffs. "We've been trying to find that bastard since the news broke this morning," he bites out. "The minute the Count gets back we'll know where he is." "You - what?" Jimmy stares, surprised. "You're trying to find him?" "Absolutely." Tango, this time, his arm around Jimmy's shoulders emanating a warmth that he hadn't realized was helping to calm him down. "We're going after that jerk the second we have the chance. The guy crossed a line, big time." Oh. Oh, gosh. Jimmy's vision just barely begins to blur with tears, and he feels Tango's arm tighten around him. There's quiet murmuring around him but he can't bring himself to listen. They're going after Vortex. Jimmy's biggest mistake in his life, and here Tango and Joel are ready to help fix it the second they have the chance. And Grian always said villains weren't to be trusted... "There's a bunch of others who signed up for the mission," Tango is saying, and Jimmy tunes back in. "Supreme and Iris and  Worm Man and some o' the others. They were pretty pissed when they found out-" "And we'll keep your name out of it, o' course," Joel goes on, and Jimmy blinks away tears to focus on him better. Joel rakes a hand back through his green-streaked hair and shrugs. "You're not involved. Keep your record clean, all that-" "No."#Jimmy is almost surprised to hear himself say it, and Joel looks surprised too, his eyebrows flying high. "What, you want us to leave him alone? Dunno if I can do that, Jim-" "No, I mean I want to be involved," Jimmy insists. "I want in." This time it's Tango who's surprised, ducked forward to catch Jimmy's eye. "You sure, sweetheart?" he murmurs, his hair licking with tiny flames. Concerned, probably. "It's not gonna be pretty." "I'm sure." And he is. He's seen fights before, and he's been in even more. He's fought criminals on the streets who were going to hurt people, and he's not about to balk at going after someone who already has. "I can handle it." "You're gonna need to hide your identity," Joel drawls, his voice low. "Wouldn't want our favorite civilian going to jail on our account." "I know," Jimmy nods. "I've got something I can wear." He's already picturing the yellow-and-black costume currently hanging at the back of his closet, of the feather-trimmed mask in his top dresser drawer. The suit and the mask that even Tango doesn’t know exists, not yet. Jimmy ponders for a moment before making a decision. His eyes catch Joel and Tango's in turn. "Actually...I think there's something I need to show you."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The arrest had gone far smoother than expected, in Grian’s opinion. It’s not often that a high-priority villain is found bruised and bloody and practically gift-wrapped right where an anonymous tipper said he would be. Sure, vigilantes were kind enough to help them take down bad guy when they were able, but this time was different. This time there was no masked wannabe hero trying to take credit for a takedown, no signature calling card or note beyond the unsigned “He’s all yours, boys” that had been scribbled on cardboard hanging around Vortex’s neck. It had felt odd, is all, though Grian had agreed with his partner when Scar had said he was just grateful to have the guy off the streets. As Grian slips into his apartment through the bedroom window and shoulders open the door to grab some food, he has to force himself to brush the buzzing thoughts aside. He can ponder oddities later. It was a long shift, and he’s about ready to crash the second he gets some fuel in him. It's only when Grian is tugging off his mask and setting it on the table by the bedroom door that he realizes he's not alone. Familiar yellow wings catch his eye, and when he turns, he spots Jimmy sitting on the couch in the middle of the room. He looks exhausted, his Canary costume on and his mask hanging around his neck, and his hair is a wreck - like when he's anxious and has been running his hands through it constantly. "...heya Tim," Grian greets him slowly, not sure what his brother's presence here means just yet. He drops his crossbow on the table and crosses the room, sinking onto the coffee table in from of Jimmy so he can see him better. His expression is one of a man worn and run down, something shadowed in his eyes that has a frown tugging at Grian's lips. He almost opens his mouth to ask what he's doing here - but then he spots the dark stains on Jimmy's fingerless gloves, and the patch of red that's barely splattered across the yellow parts of his suit's design.  It clicks, then. The timing of it all, the villain - Vortex - that Grian and Scar had been called in to take care of tonight. The man who Grian also knew had been spotted at the Mercy Children's Hospital a few days ago, where that little girl had- "You were there," Grian says, not a question, just a fact. "Tonight. You went after him." Jimmy sucks down a shaking breath and nods. Grian would almost say he looks guilty, but he doesn't think Jimmy would feel guilty about going after the person who hurt one of his kids. Perhaps he feels guilty that a kid got hurt at all. "They helped," he says shakily. "All of - you know, the ones who said yes to visits with the kids. They've been trying to do better, and when Vortex-" He trails off, and Grian shifts over to the couch, tucking his brother under one of his wings and letting Jimmy slump sideways against him. "He's locked away, Jimmy," Grian tells him. "I promise. You did good."

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[mof17]

On my Watcher Grian shit again (sorry for the bad quality image)

was listening to these really dark ambient dark academia playlists (by Wave on YouTube if you’re wondering, highly recommend)

but I picture this is as maybe Scar seeing Grian’s FULL watcher form for the first(?) time? This happens during no specific time I guess, maybe season 9 ? Grian felt the need to just be in his true form for awhile, so he bout, something nice within his base (because that thing had ZERO interior I tell you)

scar happened to wander inside to ask Grian for something but ends up being met with this godly being, but before he sees Grian, he sees this mask on the floor (belongs to Grian) and picks it up, and that’s when he sees Grian’s Watcher form right in front of of him.

But Scar doesn’t end up remembering it because Grian panics and uses some of his powers to put Scar asleep and he eventually goes back to being in his normal form and destroys all evidence of the situation even happening. Scar asks about it later being like “I had this insane dream last night.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah! You were—at least I think it was you, but you were this cool god-creature thing!”

“Oh, well that’s a nice dream, Scar.”

and he continues to deflect any of it being real.

But a funny little aftermath thing, Xisuma is able to see when Grian uses his powers, both being admins (former and current) and all. Xisuma ends up lecturing Grian on putting Scar temporarily asleep and gaslighting him.

[mcytblingsbracket]

Welcome to MCYTblings!

Hello everyone! I have decided I really enjoy running brackets, so I am here to run a mcyt siblings bracket! I'm personally familiar with the empires/traffic life/hermitcraft side of mcyt, but any mcyt fandom is allowed here for this bracket :D

Obviously, this is characters not creators and this is for fun/entertainment, so please keep this lighthearted! You can submit siblings from canon, fanon, or personal headcanons, even ones commonly shipped together, just don't do shipping content in the context of them being related.

Current Blog Activity: Finals are currently running! Vote for your favorite sibling(s) and create propaganda!

TAGS

#mcytblings polls

#mcytblings info

#mcytblings propaganda

#mcytblings update

INFO

Polls are set to one week and I'll post the next wave of polls soon after it ends.

If you tag this account with propaganda, I will reblog it. If you reblog a post with the text box, I will reblog it. If you put propaganda in the ask box, I will reblog it. Basically I'll reblog literally anything, I'm not picky.

Submitted siblings can be literally anyone. They can have age gaps, it can be found family vibes, it can be adopted, it can be biological, it can be any amount, etcetc! For example, you can submit Grian&Pearl as siblings, but you can also submit Grian&Pearl&Jimmy&Lizzie as siblings or whatever else :D

Once we get to the end, if all runs well and people enjoy this, there is a chance to run another bracket with a new set of submissions. New siblings can be added and old siblings who lost can make a comeback. Depends, honestly :p

Profile picture is drawn by @joifee https://joifee.tumblr.com/post/740267745344651264/roseblings-my-beloved-late-night-drawing-they

This account is run by @deityoftherain who uses they/fae/star pronouns. As one may expect, be as wonky and fun with your headcanons and such when doing propaganda :D

Bracket

Winners

Jimmy & Lizzie aka Seablings

[gladumfdoodles]

Hello hello! I was curious what your reasoning was for all the different bird wings for different seasons w/ grian, i think they're all so cool and i understand the s7 and s10 one but i'd love to hear more about the others and how you got them if you have time :D!

(P.s. Love you're writing, currently in the process of reading the princess bride au and the writing for that is so good)

post this is referring to

i am so glad you asked my friend!! here is my reasoning behind each of the different birds I chose for Grian:

season 6: Cory's Shearwater

Grian based in the ocean for this season, and shearwaters are sea dwelling birds! I also wanted a bird with brown and white feathers, the brown so that it matched Grian's hair, and the white for poultry man. His feathers are much more tame because he's still finding his feet within the hermitcraft server, hence why they match his hair

season 7: Crimson Macaw

pesky bird!! Grian based in the jungle this season, and now that he's more adjusted to the server, he's perfectly fine with showing off!

season 8: European Starling

listen I know everyone hates these guys cause they're an invasive species but come on, they look absolutely stunning. hang on, let me get a better picture of them just so you can see their plumage better

absolutely gorgeous. I thought it fit his season 8 base, the midnight alley, very well, with its mystical and magical vibe. also, starlings are very social creatures, which matches up with boatem very well. also if you've ever seen a murmuration of these flying at night, it's absolutely terrifying and beautiful at the same time, and that combination of horror and beauty really matches the season 8 feeling

season 9: Hermit Thrush

going back to our brown roots, season 8 was pretty stressful, so I'd like to imagine he wanted to take season 9 more calm and relaxed, hence the feathers matching his hair. Also, hermit thrushes live in mountainous areas, which fits in with his rocky base. Finally, I saw that the hermit thrush was a brown mountain bird with the name "hermit" attached to it and it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up

season 10: Kingfisher

this one is pretty self explanatory, Grian's entire thing so far for this season is taking it slow, and kingfishers are known for their patience. Also, fishing. I think about 80% of what Grian's done on hermitcraft so far is fishing. so he gets the fish bird

thanks for sending in this ask and letting me ramble! I love birds and I love hermitcraft so this was very fun for me :]

(and thank you!! the princess bride au has been very fun to write, so I'm glad you're enjoying it <3)

[definitelynotshouting]

context: ik most of my asks are pretty disorganized, stream of consciousness type of thing but GEEZ this got out of hand. you know that thing cats do when they bring you a dead mouse and *they're* super proud of it and you're just like dude.. why /lh

i usually put whatever my immediate thoughts are after reading the chapter and this time i thought it might be fun to write it out before. can you tell im running on five hours of sleep?? lmk if this made any coherent sense because even i dont understand it!!

so last chapter ripped my heartt out and stomped on it. i am LIVING for the way this whole thing was written, gorgeous prose as always <3. i was very curious as to wether Mumbo would question Grian but i think him NOT doing that was SO in character, and i adore it. I feel like w/ some fics (my own writing included) Scar is the ONLY one Grian relies on for support (in ANY area), and whenever Mumbo is even in the picture, he's just kinda "there", he doesn't check up on Grian or broach the topic of whatever is currently plaguing our little bird guy (basically, he's not involved in Grian's life despite being "his best friend"). And the way you characterized him was just So Real?? I would wager a guess (correct me if im wrong ofc) that part of it is that he just DOESNT know, (because Grian is oh so good at telling half truths and privately justifying his self sabotage) but a part of it is also him being lowkey willfully ignorant. he doesnt WANT Grian to be sick (mentally or otherwise) but definetly knows that SOMETHING is up. he really WANTS to help fix whatever is going on (evident by the gold farm) but he doesnt know what Grian needs or how to help him.

i have been OBSESSING over how Grian saying goodnight to Mumbo was ACTUALLY his goodbye to him but Mumbo DOESNT KNOW AND ITS EATING ME ALIVE. (also thought it was super interesting how Grian sort of took Mumbo leaving to sleep as "permission" to do the deed)

side ish note: how tf does Grian even plan to do that?? ik he's got the spider eyes and i *think* he's planning to turn the healing potions into weakness potions but like?? how is he going to do that??? i would assume that the gang would be watching the potions AS they were brewing, and even if they weren't, healing potions and weakness potions are.... vastly different colors. (unless im mixing them up with something else). also aren't they going to walk in on him prepping or already being in the middle of it and just save him like last time? the team as a whole has done a pretty good job on keeping an eye on Grian (from just a "this person can't walk" standpoint) so far. is he waiting for a chance when everyone is busy or does he plan to use MORE weakness potions to make it stronger or quicker?? im interested to see if he's even going to follow The Plan, because up until this point he's been pretty careful with trying to make plans and sneak around EXCEPT for the spider eyes basement adventure, which makes me wonder is he'll get more frantic/desperate as the appointed time draws closer.

Real talk though, Mumbo (and everyone else) is going to be beating himself up over not noticing when stuff goes down (which i would assume would be next chapter, but idk). Also, the fact that Grian asked him to stay means A LOT. To me (and idk if this is what you meant to convey) that signals that a part of him WANTS to stay. theres a part of him that wants to continue to experience the comfort and joy he gets from his friends, but he feels like he's only going to continue to hurt them, so to him this is the ONLY option to keep them safe. also the majority of his existence is just misery and pain so thats probably not helping. (PLUS the whole slew of mental health issues, this is not purely self sacrificial).

anyway, i LOVED this chapter as always, it was like chicken noodle soup for my overworked little soul and i savored every bit of it!! (also, no need to apologize for not having enough spoons!! i dont have any chronic illnesses but i know that shit sucks. this is a particularly long ask for me so dont feel compelled to answer everything in it, or answer right away. hope ur doing well <3)

-🐛

BUG ANONNNN THIS COMMENT IS SO SWEET AND I LOVED READING IT OMGGGG

you hit the nail exactly on the head for where im going with mumbo's characterization-- there is 100% a level of willful ignorance there. Ive always felt like mumbo is the kind of guy who has a thing about avoidance-- he feels very much like a character who will absolutely do his best to ignore things that hes decided arent his business (right up until he stops LMFAO) and part of that in hunger au is him being so anxious for grian to get better that he stops looking at the red flags grian is aggressively waving around. It'll work out!! He's sure of it!! Grian even directly said he's trying to get better!! And i think if he looked at that for longer than it takes for him to flinch away from the entire subject, he would see how much of a bald lie that is.

But he doesnt, because thats a LOT to deal with, and hes never really??? Seen this side of Grian before??? Not the way Pearl and Scar have. Theres a lot of intricacy there that i feel im skimming over but like Mumbo is very much keeping his own sanity in mind here too and thats another painful factor to the whole situation. Idk i have lots of thoughts about it and about the choice here to depict Mumbo giving in to that willful ignorance, and how its going to affect his and Grian's relationship in the future of the fic

(Quick tw for frank discussions of suicide below)

You've also completely nailed the subtext i was getting at with Grian asking Mumbo to stay-- smth ive always felt is a bit underrepresented in narratives like these are how at its most base core, suicide and suicidal ideation are often about needing something to fundamentally change in your life. It takes a LOT of both hopelessness and sheer willpower to actively try and overcome your body's instinctive will to survive. That instinct is baked into our very cells; when someone commits, it means their hopelessness for meaningful change to happen in their lives was so strong it overpowered everything else. And that is something deeply, deeply tragic, and also something i really wanted to respectfully highlight in this portrayal-- how bad things are when you spiral that far. Grian is starving to death. He wasnt lying about maybe having a week to live-- the intermittent feeding has kept him alive longer than anticipated, but its like trying to wall off an avalanche; theres only so much you can do in the face of all that :( and that hopelessness, in combination with how guilty he feels for what he did to his friends, has manifested in him feeling like his only recourse is to kill himself... but at the same time, that instinct to survive and KEEP SURVIVING is still blaring in his veins, and that manifests as him asking Mumbo to stay. Its a bit paradoxical, but its meant to really show how bad his mental state is, that he is willfully ignoring all the frantic signals his body is screaming at him to try and stay alive rn 🥺🥺🥺🥺

Also, with the potions-- without revealing too much about how this is going to happen, Grian is planning on making fermented spider eyes and using them to turn the healing potions into harming potions, which he'll then drink in the in-between to make sure he dies immediately. Now.. i know how this is gonna go, and i know the exact mechanics around how this is gonna shake out, but smth to keep in mind is hes not thinking logically anymore, he has FULLY capitulated to his own storm of emotional wreckage. So yes there are DEFINITELY some questions to be asked about how hes gonna try and get this done, but in all honesty they mostly boil down to "sheer opportunity" which you'll see a bit more of in the next chapter >:] but yeah its meant to be a bit illogical skdbwkdjskd since he just isnt thinking coherently anymore at this point :(

Bug anon thank u for my entire life this comment was so sweet and so wonderful to receive, i really love it when my writing is analyzed like this and seen and understood!!! Its amazing its such a wonderful feeling to have your work be seen like this and its something i very much do not take for granted :]]]❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ tysm for the ask i am seriously treasuring it SO MUCH rn (and also thank you for the well-wishes!! Im doing my best to stay silly out here HEHE)❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[ask-tangotek]

Hello Hello Ev'rbody!

My name is Tango S. Tekk of the Tek variety! You can just call me Tango or tangotek!

I live in a server called Hermitcraft with my 26 other friends! Sometimes I leave to visit other servers but I don't usually stay long. My favorite servers to visit are one that's like a minigame and parkor themed world that I think I heard Etho call mcc once and my other favorite server is one with a small handful of friends that has some modifications to give it steampunk properties! I haven't visited either in a while though.

I know there was something else I used to do, another server, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was...

I'm a blazeborn human/ender/blaze hybrid. I mainly have traits of a blazeborn; like fire immunity, hotbloodedness, and hydrophobia; however I my enderian background makes for some overlap; such as hydrophobia.

I have an enderian tail but the end of it is a flame, as is my hair, though it rarely ever burns hot enough to actually burn anyone. That and my ears are really the only ender parts that are uniquely ender so most people don't actually realize it.

I've got access to the internet, and by extention Tumblr, through my holo-pad. Xisuma hooked it up a bit ago for us all to use! It doesn't quite fit the season of the steam so I haven't been using my holo-pad much but when I learned I could use Tumblr I rushed to get it out of my storage.

Someone on another server had told me about Tumblr a long time ago and I've been excited to check it out since :)

I think that's about all from me! I'm excited to be able to chat with everyone and answer all your questions!

That's all for now! Send me your asks!

Extra information under the cut

More Information and OOC:

Tango (Nicknames welcome)

age unimportant, he/him (they/them acceptable)

Blazeborn/Enderian/Human(ish) hybrid. His hair and tip of his tail have fire and he has an ender tail and ears. He is allergic to water, immune to fire, and isn't affected by negative effects (such as hunger and poison)

When he gets nervous, angry, or overwhelmed with emotion he has the tendency to burst into flames. His clothes are (usually) fireproof.

All minecraft servers are worlds and Tango lives almost exclusively in Hermitcraft. He will occasionally leave to visit other servers, like the life server or the create server. Each hc season is a new world and Tango refers to them as "the season of _____" (ie: season of the steam (10), of the dungeon (9), of the eyes (8), of the cartoon (7), etc)

This is c!Tango only! Some headcanons and cc! facts may apply (like a close knit between impulse, skizz, zed, and him) regardless of the season or lore base.

[More may be added to this eventually]

Watcher (Mod, OOC)

Obligatory: I Am Not Tango. I just wish I was

23, it/its

Most comments will be in the tags instead of in the post unless it is a Watcher comment that applies and needs to be carried on in reblogs

Has seen most of hc8, hc9, and to current hc10. Has not seen the life series

Watcher likes watching Tangos blog and will likely change his profile picture according to a lot of what's happening in the current lorbeez

This blog will be very lore and headcanon heavy

Tags:

[ askificator skdoodler | ask ] - general asks and answers

[ reblogificator | reblogs] - reblogs lol

[ "we had a taste before" | life series lore] - lore and headcanons relating to the traffic series

[ season of the steam | hc10 lore ] - hermitcraft season 10

[ season of the dungeon | hc9 lore ] - hermitcraft season 9

[ season of the eyes | hc8 lore ] - hermitcraft season 8

[ season of the cartoon | hc7 lore ] - hermitcraft season 7

Friends:

Jimmy - @ask-jimmy-solidarity

Xisuma - @ask-xisuma

Etho - @asketho

Grian - @ask-grian

Bdubs - @askbdubsblog

Guidelines:

Gem - @ask-gemgem

Joel - @ask-smallishbeans

I'm not making a super solid guidelines right now. Just use your braincells and don't be a jerk. If I have to I will eventually.

No NSFW. I may be an adult but not all adults like that stuff.

YouTube names only. SmallishBeans can be Joel but Zedaph is not Kris. No exceptions. I will not publish posts with non-youtube names.

Random Info:

Mod primary blog: @ethoslabbed

All profile pictures and headers drawn by: @daily-tango-doodles (and occasionally their main)

Divider graphics by: @saradika-graphics

Have fun!

[bad-traffic-smp-ideas]

Do you remember the first ever boogeyman reroll? When something happened that took Pearl out of the picture, and Martyn became the new boogeyman?

The players weren't told exactly what had happened, only that the current boogeyman was unavailable, incapable of killing, and a new one would have to be chosen.

Even Scott and Cleo didn't know what it was. There were no visible injuries on her, no sign of what had caused this. They couldn't lie, it was a bit unnerving. They'd never seen her sleep before and now it was impossible to wake her.

Shame she missed the wither, but hey, at least the timing worked out perfectly. After all, Grian had just killed Mumbo in front of Martyn, filling him with enough grief and rage to kill Grian if only he had permission to- oh hey. Wouldn't you know it.

The beings that assign the boogeyman also want Grian dead. Of course they would chose Martyn for this reroll, he's the one they've been talking to this whole time. And of course they'd tell him to kill Grian, and of course he'd go along with it, he's on the same page as them about it.

The canary died moments before Mumbo did. The endgame has just begun. There's no more waiting around. They said it Themselves. "Your time has come to sever ties".

They would have still cursed Martyn and told him to kill Grian even if the latter hadn't killed Mumbo. Martyn would have still taken the opportunity to avenge Mumbo even if They hadn't told him to.

No one made Grian kill Mumbo. That was just them being doomed by the narrative as usual.

But the last thing Pearl knew before everything went dark was the stare of a thousand eyes.

Shoutout to the people who write stuff like This in my inbox. You are the thread that holds this blog together. I love you.

[sulatni-flerida11]

htbahb au dump !! because the brainrot is too strong

general context things

currently, the characters are in their college years. even though the plan is to have the main storyline happen when they already have jobs, their college years established dynamics between them. some dynamics luckily haven't changed over the years, but others may take longer to rebuild.

cleo owns an apartment close to uni, and they share it with grian & etho.

joel & scar live as interns on campus.

lizzie, jimmy, bdubs, and pearl are also interns, with lizzie & pearl as roommates in a different building and jimmy & bdubs living across joel & scar

au prolly takes place in a semi-rural area; it started as a town with a small population and lots of farmland, but it's slowly evolving to follow other highly urbanized cities.

the town hasn't gone fully urban since it takes pride in utilizing its land with locally manufactured agricultural resources and artisan goods.

courses/classes they're taking prolly

cleo - agriculture, major in horticulture (with sculpting at the side)

joel - agribusiness management & entrepreneurship (he's not super into it yet)

scar - economics

etho - agricultural chemistry (secretly also likes music)

grian - literature (also enjoys photography)

lizzie - music (likes to experiment with different art mediums tho)

bdubs - architecture

jimmy - agriculture, major in animal science (was formerly majoring in horticulture)

pearl - economics

and other dynamics between the group !!

lizzie sometimes pulls bdubs & cleo to her experiments. every summer break, they take an art related class together. so far, they've done painting and dancing. (bdubs has already enrolled them in a modeling class for the upcoming break, but the other two don't know yet.)

joel, pearl, and scar would discuss their business and/or economics related classes to grian, and grian just smiles and nods in respect (of them and their friendship) even if he doesn't understand most things they're saying. ("wait, what is a griffin good?" "griffen, grian, with an e.")

the real reason why joel, pearl, & scar talk about their classes to grian is because they like messing with him. (he's not as good with hiding his confused look as he thinks.)

whenever jimmy and cleo have floriculture assignments that involve getting flowers, they pick their flowers from a private flower field in another district of the city. sometimes, they'd discuss the flowers there, ways to care for them, flower meanings, etc. sometimes, joel and etho join them. as loud as they are, they've only had one instance where they almost got caught. (they never brought joel and etho with them since then.)

pearl & scar buy newspapers daily by the campus gate to chat about the current events, especially ones relating to their degree. they quickly befriended the newspaper vendor as he also had a lot of food for thought regarding the things going on. their discussions help them a lot, aiding them in their essays and analysis about economic policies and applications.

etho would sometimes ask lizzie about music theory. what was supposed to be a few messages would end up in hours of them talking about music. eventually, lizzie found out about etho's music hobby, and she's the only one that knows.

grian owns a polaroid camera, and he sometimes takes candid pictures of the gang. his subjects are usually cleo & etho, mostly because they're his roommates and he spends the most time with them, but there's also a handful of pictures with scar & pearl.

joel and lizzie started dating after scar, bdubs, & pearl convinced him to go to an open mic event in the dorms during their first year; lizzie happened to be one of the performers.

if you've made it this far, any thoughts on what music genres/artists each life series member listens to? totally not for oneshot purposes in this au,,,

[angeart]

fic recs

speaking of fanfic tropes, i was meaning to make a post about my absolutely favoritestest fics that live in my heart rent free.

in no particular order:

• you came at the brink of the end of the world

[AO3 link] - by anonymous

currently unfinished at 84k words and 21/? chapters

insane about this one. insane. it's beautifully written and scar calls grian trouble (best thing ever and nobody can convince me otherwise) and grian is a bundle of unknown magic and memory loss and trauma and it's just overall great. trust me.

this is from the official fic description:

[grian is falling from the sky, scar has more magic in his blood than he realized, and everyone else is so much better at seeing than they are]

tags include strangers to lovers, slow burn, hurt/comfort, memory alteration, pining, found family...

---

• and like an arrow, you broke me down.

[AO3 link] - by mochiwrites

currently unfinished at 81k words and 14/? chapters

traumatised sad birb grian gets thrown straight from the grief of 3rd life into the middle of last life. of course the first thing he does is get away from southlands (martyn???) and beelines for scar. there's confusion and emotional damage and man. it hits hard and it's wonderful and i absolutely love this one. also a beautifully written fic (yes i'll say this for all of these bECAUSE THEY ARE!)

tags include angst, hurt/comfort, PTSD, survivor guilt, protective scar/grian, touch-starved scar, and canon typical things like violence and referenced suicide

---

• closer to another shore

[AO3 link] - by remrose

currently finished at 56k words and 15/15 chapters

this one is sooo heartfelt and heartwrenching and sad and good and. it just makes you feel things. the way they delicately navigate around each other. the way it all goes up in flames anyway because they can't have it any other way. the way their steps keep bringing them inevitably back together.

scar and grian start as exes, with the circumstances of their break up murky and mysterious. and scar needs help, and grian offers himself.

there's a lot of pain and guilt and weakness (because how can they help but be weak towards each other?) it's wistful and tragic and hopeful. it's. it's something. (and did i mention it's beautifully written?) (it is) (just go read it really.)

(i'll also throw this bait at you. this bit. this: Grian was the absolute most infuriating man Scar knew. It was a shame he loved him to death.)

tags include soul bound, mating rituals, panic attacks and anxiety, hurt/comfort, chronic illness, insomnia, guilt, slow burn

---

• lost in the dark (he's got a heavy heart)

[AO3 link] - by definitelynotshouting

currently unfinished at 51k words and 9/? chapters

this one. THIS ONE. gosh where do i even begin. there are some deep, raw, self destructive feelings here. grian is a watcher in the sense that he is a creature that feeds on emotions, and he's dangerous and starving, and things have gone so very wrong. he just doesn't want to hurt anyone ever again. he's going to do everything he can to take himself out of the picture just to prevent that. (yeah this one is HEAVY.)

the writing. the writing. it's so so so beautiful. i know i keep gushing about the same thing for all of these fics, but. there's something so intricate and pretty in the way the words are woven in this one. i'm absolutelly entraced by the language. it's so pretty.

this is the hunger au if any of you are familiar with that name.

like i said, this one is a whole different kind of heavy. tags include angst, hurt/comfort, suicide attempt, starvation, eating disorders, body horror, trauma, self-harm, injury... (the light at the end of the tunnel is the recovery tag mkay)

------

if you go read any of them, make sure to look over AO3 ratings and warnings and tags for cw/tw stuff!

[nekodere07]

The bleak future

This artwork is from my Tango reincarnating into an otome game AU (despite the concept, it's platonic bec I can) that's currently still in my ideas notes. Hopefully I'll actually be able to write it in the future, otherwise I'll cry 🥲

Story summary:

Tango doesn't remember until the 6th timeline, but he reincarnates into a world similar to an otome game he played on his deathbed. Unfortunately, he's the son of a duke, who's the villain of the story along with his henchmen Impulse and Zedaph. With Grian as the crowned prince and friends with Scar, Mumbo, Ren, and Pearl, they save the world from the "demons" who terrorize their kingdom. Tango has been treated terribly his whole life for having red eyes, and even lost his beloved parents (Joel & Lizzie) and Zed in the future--losing everything in the process. So, he descends into darkness and joins the "demons" but is defeated by Grian's party. In order to change his future, Tango goes back in time again and again with Impulse's help. However, his memories don't transfer with him so nothing has changed for the past 5 timelines. Until a certain Skizz comes into picture during the 6th timeline, that is.

[multishipper33]

could i interest you in random shit, all of the time?

[this is a disclaimer/side note. Disclaimer: I am currently high on George Micheal & Desert Duo. Side Note: I will be posting the sillier, unrelated version of this to my Wattpad so if you know me on there you get the fun fact! Anywhat this popped into my brain a little bit ago. Fuuuun. Enjoy my peeps & pops!]

y’all.

Careless Whisper.

Yes, that song.

Desert Duo.

picture it right here, right now

go on, you’ve got time

close your eyes

not really, keep on reading

the intro is flashing through all of the Life Series

and then we cut to 3rd Life Grian

blah blah blah he gets emotional

and then the chorus is Grian dancing with Scar in all of the life series, and you know where it ends.

at the end of the chorus, sl!Grian disintegrates into a ghost & his ghost continues dancing with Scar before pulling away, leaving him alone

we have a few key lines here, plus blah blah blah scitties!

“The careless whisper of a friend.” Oof, that hits you right in the gut. Whispering sweet nothings into his ear? Friend? Anyone? Hm?

“Was what I did so bad that you had to leave me alone?” Man, that one goes hard. Scar is all alone in Secret Life, after all.

now, we need something for our other Scarian season: Double Life!

they’re now tangled up in the soul strings, lives going down until they both die.

now, the screen divides into three parts. 3rd Life, Double Life, Secret Life. 3rd Life shows Grian while he’s still alive dancing with Scar’s ghost. Double Life shows their ghosts dancing together, the soulbond slowly tangling them together. Secret Life shows alive Scar dancing with Grian’s ghost.

then 3L & SL close in on DL, making it a two-way split.

the ghosts face away from the border, slowly disappearing as alive Scar & Grian from the various seasons back up against the border and sing the song. Careless Whisper.

“Never without your love.” Ooh, this is curious. They turn to walk away from the wall before this line, pivoting and doing the hand on the wall in the same place thingy as they sing that.

then, 3L Grian moves over to the infamous cliff. He whispers, hence the song’s name: “I know you’re not a fool.”

SL Scar watches this and chases after him but can’t reach in time, him banging against the wall as the border closes and makes him fall.

“Now I’m never gonna dance again, the way I danced with you.” Scar looks to the sky, patterns in the stars looking suspiciously like end credits.

So there’s my animatic idea! I can’t animate and I normally don’t share these things with anyone but I thought with all of the “Scar won aaaaa what will he be earth or eclipse” jazz it would fit right in.

uh thanks for reading this far

peacefully succumb to the void of unconsciousness, my peeps & pops!

[canarydarity]

time for more worm baseball au brainrot!! just needed to come over here and shower you with more compliments on chapter 2 <33

Just a quick question, who all is on the Yankees, and are there familiar faces on Grian’s team in Chicago or is it just him and them Scar?

Hiii cloudy 🤠🤠!! Woohooo im glad its being enjoyed !!!

Okay so. I'm going to say way too much in response to this now <3

So this is...currently the Yankees line-up:

Jimmy, number 7, Right fielder

Joel, number 25, Catcher

Skizz, uhh didn't assign him a number, First base

Zedaph, 12, Second base

Bigb, 2, Third base

Scott, 5, Shortstop

Pixlriffs, 14, Left fielder

Fwhip, uhh didn't assign him a number, Pitcher

and in typing this out, I realize I just never assigned anyone center field. so thats absolutely hysterical, NO idea whos manning that position. Baseball teams usually have around 26 players, but only 9 play the field at a time so thats really all I was worried about!

and then, of course, we have Tango working as an analyst for the team, Impulse as the coach, and Bdubs and Etho as announcers!

The first thing I wrote for this fic is in the last chapter, back when this au was a single scene rather than a whole chaptered guy, and its something that needed quite a lot of people. And since it was just a SCENE at the time I sort of just. plucked random life series and empires cast members from my brain that I could SEE playing baseball. which is so funny to me. Cause now its this and the cast is genuinely sort of random, but also makes sense. To Me.

As for the CUBS!

So, that also did not start as a story, that just started as background for Jimmy's plot. Grian was Jimmy's brother and he's a pitcher for a rival team, and I just picked the Cubs completely randomly. I was originally going to have Scar be in This Fic, but then because I couldn't leave things well enough alone...I said....well what if desert duo offshoot...what if there's one story for each brother. And by THAT time...I had already filled out a LOT of the Yankees cast and was like "well, oops."

There are definitely other recognizable names on the desert duo side though! but I will say, that one is as of right now much much much less fleshed out. The Cubs lineup will likely include many other hermits, such as Iskall, Rendog, Keralis, Doc, joehills (I think he'd be a fascinatingly confusing announcer), Beef—etc! Like I said, it's currently not really planned :) but thats the idea for if it ever becomes A Thing.

What is planned is that Grian (number 16) is the pitcher , Scar is the catcher, and then because it was too absolutely ironic to NOT make happen. I did make cubfan135 the coach of the chicago cubs. A decision I both vehemently hate and absolutely adore. When talking about grians plot and going "cub has to be there" my brain went now hold on a second...cubfan....his name can't possibly refer to the baseba—oh look at that. it does. and ta-da I couldn't NOT do the funniest thing ever in this universe.

Mumbo will also absolutely be there because he can't not be. but my brain refuses to picture mumbo jumbo playing baseball so he just. he. i have no idea what he will be doing But He'll Be There. Trust Me.

Anyway Ive rambled quite enough :)) I hope that answers your question !!!

[that-bat]

I have developed a new flavor of autism so pretty much all my recent work has been life smp focused (including several unfinished things)

These were both made like a week ago I think? I’m currently in the process of making a lineup of designs for Grian throughout the seasons but these are my current ones for 3rd and limited life. He’s based on a cactus wren and a crow respectively tho the wren might be inaccurate cause pictures were hard to find

[pastelitey]

Shining Only With The Light You Gave Me

happy Valentine's Day, @peskybirb! i came up with this lovely little Scarian fic for you for the @mcyt-valentines exchange, i hope you love it!

Scar is a human and Grian is a star, this Scar knows for certain. What he's currently hung up on, though, is the question of how much time they'll have together before Grian is inevitably called back to the cosmos, and if stars can learn to love the way that humans so vulnerably do. read on ao3!

When Scar had seen the falling star, he thought the world was ending.

It was just like how he’d pictured the apocalypse would start—with a bright flash and a thunderous booming noise. He’d been up late that night because he couldn’t sleep, so he went into the kitchen to make himself some chamomile tea. He didn’t even like tea, but one of his friends had said something about chamomile tea helping you fall asleep, and Scar liked having little things to believe in, so he chose to believe it was true.

Thankfully when the impact hit, it wasn’t enough to shatter his windows or cause an earthquake like it usually did in the movies. He was lucky to be facing away from the screen door leading to the backyard, because he might have just been blinded by the intense white flash if his back wasn’t towards the windows. He nearly lost his balance when the ground shook and for a moment he thought he was having a nightmare—a really vivid, eerily descriptive nightmare about armageddon.

After Scar had successfully sidestepped the kettle he’d dropped onto the floor, he made his way to the backdoor and wrenched it open. His backyard was small and a little uneven, but whatever had landed in his property had been falling at a high enough velocity to leave the ground even more disturbed than it had been before. It was the middle of the night and in any normal occasion he would need a flashlight, but whatever had found its way into his backyard was emanating a glow that lit up all the surroundings. It was late fall but the backyard was absolutely sweltering, so much so that Scar could already feel sweat beading down his forehead.

He stood in the doorway and stared at the figure that picked itself up from the newly formed crater in the ground. Scar had to raise his hand to shield his eyes, only picking out bits and pieces of the angelic figure in front of him. As the seconds passed it was easier to make out the features of the whatever-it-was that he was not-looking at. Maybe it was his eyes adjusting to the brightness, or maybe it was the whatever-it-was shifting its form.

Glowing, golden skin that pulsed with little veins of light. White-hot hair that was untamed and unruly. A thin, shorter stature. Large, pitch-black eyes that didn’t not resemble black holes.

It dawned on Scar that maybe he wasn’t the protagonist in an apocalypse movie, after all; e was actually the star of an extraterrestrial movie, and he’d just been visited by his very first alien. 

“Hello?” said Scar, unsure what else to do. It was still hard to look at the alien, even though the brightness was dimming with every passing second. For some reason he wasn’t scared, not in the slightest. If anything he was excited.

The alien opened its mouth—or, Scar thought that was what it was trying to do, it looked a little more like a hole opening up relatively where the alien’s mouth would be, and revealing a neon red wall of color. A garbled, static-y noise was the only response Scar got, and it hurt to listen to, similarly to looking at the alien’s appearance.

What happened next was a blur. Scar wasn’t sure if it was due to the radiation the alien was clearly giving off, but later he found it hard to recall exactly what happened after he found the alien. He remembered bringing the alien inside once it had cooled down(it was also giving off immense amounts of heat, he remembers that) and trying to give it some tea. He thought that it broke the mug and he vaguely remembered cleaning up spilt tea the next day, and it certainly would explain what happened to that mug that just randomly disappeared from his cupboard.

What Scar did remember most from the whole encounter was that he figured out the true identity of the being that had crash landed in his backyard. It wasn’t some world-ending apocalypse harbinger, and it wasn’t an alien coming to abduct him for unethical science experiments in space.

It was a star. A star had fallen into his backyard.

How cool was that?

- ✰ -

The next morning things were a lot calmer. Now that Scar knew what he was dealing with, he felt confident he could make progress towards communication with the star. And eventually, maybe he could figure out why the star had crash landed in his backyard and help get it back home.

Or stop it from taking over the planet, but he was hoping that the latter was the less likely of the two. Glass half full, and all!

The star looked different when he came out of his bedroom. Its appearance was more or less similar to what it had looked like when he originally found it, but it was definitely becoming more and more human-like every time he saw it. That morning the glowing skin had dulled, even though there was still a vague yellowish tint present. The star had definitely cooled down a lot but still retained a high enough temperature that kept the room heated without the boiler’s help. Its hair was still that white-hot color, but looked more textured. The most notable of differences, Scar appreciated, was the eyes were no longer black vortexes, but had slimmed down to regular old eyeballs, with irises and pupils and scleras. The star was dressed, thankfully, although Scar wasn’t sure what he would see if it were undressed, since it appeared to be mimicking his appearance. Gosh, he couldn’t wait to start learning!

It was really slow going, and even though Scar had been expecting that, he really wasn’t enjoying the language barrier separating the two of them. Part of him had been hoping that it would be like those alien movies where there’s a miraculous speech translator that allows the two species to communicate effortlessly, but Scar should have known better by that point that this was nothing like the movies.

The star seemed to understand Scar perfectly fine, but its speech was still that horrible garbling noise that made Scar feel like he’d broken a bunch of glass in the garbage disposal. They were at it all morning—Scar asking simple questions, only for the star to try and answer to varying degrees of success. Apparently the star was better at mimicking appearances than it was at mimicking speech patterns.

They took a break around lunch time, and Scar decided to investigate the crater in the backyard after he’d had his meal. No debris had been left over from the crash, thankfully, so he reasoned that the star literally fell out of the sky. The damage could have been a lot worse, but Scar still wasn’t sure how he was supposed to explain to his landlord and the landscapers what had happened. He’d already decided no one could know about his new star friend, he didn’t want the government coming to abduct it!

Scar had been pacing around the crater and inspecting it from various angles for five minutes by the time the star came out to join him. It stood just beside him and stared down at the hole, as well. Slowly, it crossed its arm against its chest, copying Scar’s posture. It made him smile.

“Sorry.”

It wasn’t much at all, but Scar could make it out amongst the garbling and radio static. When he looked at the star, it was staring up at him with those dark eyes. He hadn’t yet decided if they were more like black holes, or a window into the dark cosmos themselves.

Scar’s smile widened. They were making progress.

“It’s okay,” he said slowly, hoping it registered. He put a hand on his chest. “Scar.” He sounded out the consonants of his own name, hoping he got the point across.

The star said nothing for a long moment. The heat rolled off of its body in waves and was comforting against the chill in the early November air.

Finally, the star opened its mouth and tried again.

“Scar.” It reached out and put a hand against Scar’s chest in roughly the same spot Scar’s hand had been moments earlier. The touch was uncomfortably warm, but Scar couldn’t find it in himself to care. The star was talking in english! And it said his name!

Scar had a good feeling about this.

- ✰ -

The easiest way to get the star to learn English quickly was through movies, and thankfully, Scar had plenty of those on hand. It was as simple as popping a movie into the TV and letting the star watch while he was doing other things around the house. He was a little nervous to leave the house for work at first, but when he made it back home the star was exactly where he’d left it: sitting in front of the TV and watching through the entire Star Wars cinematic universe.

Once they had nailed spoken language, things moved quicker. With every passing day the star became more and more human-like, and slowly its speech began to become more coherent and less like a broken radio. It was still uncannily warm, but Scar didn’t have to be worried about it breaking or melting his appliances anymore (he’d already had to buy a new hairbrush, order a new toaster, and one of his kitchen chairs now had scorch marks on it).

But the biggest issue of all was figuring out personal information about the star. The star certainly knew things about Scar—his name, his routines, his food preferences—but Scar knew nothing about it. Where did it come from? Was it from the Milky Way, or some other far off galaxy? How was Scar supposed to refer to the star? Did it have a preferred name, preferred pronouns? Could stars even comprehend the complexities of gender?

Scar decided the best way to go about it was to let the star show him where it came from. If the star was from the Milky Way, he could use a simple google search to help locate where the star came from, and maybe find its name along the way!

Unfortunately, the star didn’t seem to understand what Scar was trying to do. He gave the star the benefit of the doubt, since it must be a lot different to experience the cosmos in person compared to a laggy computer screen propped up on Scar’s dining table.

After what felt like hours of trying to navigate through the poorly rendered versions of the cosmos that were available on Google, they finally got somewhere. While looking through pictures of the very outermost parts of the Milky Way, the star got very excited and kept pointing at the screen—the star really liked pointing, Scar had discovered. When he zoomed up on one bright ball of light in the picture, the star seemed to approve that it was indeed a representation of the very same one that was currently sitting in Scar’s kitchen. He couldn’t blame the star for getting excited at seeing a picture of itself; if one of Scar’s pictures went viral on the internet, he’d be ecstatic, too.

It was easy to find the name after locating the star. It must have been Greek or Latin or something, because Scar had never heard of the name Grian before.

Because they hadn’t tackled reading, yet—Scar didn’t even know how to begin explaining nor teaching the star how to read—Scar had to do the honors of ensuring that that was indeed the star’s name.

Imitating how he’d introduced himself the other day, Scar slowly put his hand on the star’s chest, palm flat. His hand was met with a warmth, but not an uncomfortable one, this time.

“Grian?” he asked, looking up to meet the star’s dark eyes.

The star’s lips curled up into a smile as it gently placed its fingers on Scar’s wrist. It may have just been the fact that the star was from the vast expanse of space, but its smile was spectacular.

“Grian,” the star confirmed. There was a kind of uncanny beauty about the star—the faint glow, the golden aura that outlined it if Scar unfocused his eyes, the way its smile formed inhumanly but kindly all the same. It was only then that Scar realized that he didn’t have to go outside at night and look up at the stars if he wanted to see a picture of beauty, he already had one right in front of him.

- ✰ -

Grian was a very fast learner, and soon enough, Scar was letting him come along with him to run errands—oh, and he’d decided that since Grian was presenting as masculine most days that he would use he/him pronouns for him, until Grian could properly grasp the concept of pronouns and decide if he wanted to go by something else. Going to the grocery store was great to introduce Grian to lots of different things, but the stuff Grian seemed most captivated by was the architecture of the city.

Scar assumed it was because there weren’t really buildings in space—or at least, not that he knew of. So he was more than happy to take walks with Grian along the strips of buildings and houses and just let the star look. Seeing Grian’s face light up everytime they passed by a new, intricately-designed building was like watching galaxies form in front of his own eyes. Scar didn’t think he’d ever get sick of looking at Grian.

“Very nice,” Grian would say with a sage nod. He had his hands folded behind his back, which Scar found kind of odd. Where had he picked that mannerism up from? “Very nice, indeed.”

“What do you like about this one?” They were standing in front of the city library, and if Scar’s memory served him right, it was at least a century old. It was a very pretty building, even if it didn’t get much business nowadays due to the changes in technology—it was snow capped thanks to the late December weather, with icicles hanging from the carefully sculpted eaves and frost dusted across the surface of the glossy windows.

Grian had to take a moment to consider Scar’s question. “The colors. And shape.” Scar supposed that was a good enough explanation from someone who was still learning the English vocabulary. He was going to leave that as that, until Grian confidently declared, “It’s very chobblesome.”

Scar very nearly choked on his own breath. “Excuse me?” Grian turned to him and blinked idly at him—his blinking was slow and often happened only every five minutes, but at least he understood now that humans were expected to blink. “What was that word you just said?”

“Chobblesome,” Grian repeated in the same exact tone of voice.

“And where did you hear it?” Scar snickered.

The star shrugged. Scar thought that must have been the first time he’d seen Grian shrug. “On your internet.”

Well, it didn’t explain everything, but Scar would take that as an explanation. Maybe he was going to have to curate Grian’s exposure to the internet a little more strictly from now on.

“Sure, sure. It’s chobblesome,” Scar agreed.

Grian’s smile widened, and he returned his attention to the library in front of them. “Told you. Chobblesome.”

There they stood, in line with one another as they admired a century old building. A strange pair, for certain—an extraterrestrial being hailing from the outer edges of the galaxy, and the man whose backyard he had crash-landed into by some cosmic accident. It was altogether very odd, but as Scar stood beside Grian, his hand at his side and itching to be held in Grian’s own, he felt pretty comfortingly ordinary; as if he was any other man in the world yearning for some company.

- ✰ -

“You sleep too much,” Grian greeted one morning as Scar walked into the kitchen. His eyelids were heavy with sleep and there was a yawn caught in his throat, but seeing the glorious sight that was Grian always seemed to have a way of waking him up.

Scar hummed as he began making himself a cup of coffee. “Humans need to sleep! We can’t function if we don’t!”

Grian’s expression was set as he pointed at the screen of Scar’s laptop. “Humans sleep one three out of existence. That is too much.”

With a simple smile, Scar corrected, “One-third.”

The star at his kitchen table nodded. “One-third,” he repeated back to Scar.

Scar shrugged as he finished filling the kettle and began to heat it up. “Like I said, we humans have so much to do, we need time to rest and build up more energy.”

“Stars do not sleep,” Grian said, an edge of snark in his voice. “Stars do not have time for sleep. We spend all our time shining.”

That brought a frown to Scar’s face and he was glad he was currently facing away from his new friend, because after Scar had explained emotions to Grian, he now questioned every time Scar frowned.

Why are you here, then? Scar wanted to ask, but kept his mouth shut. He was a little afraid to hear the answer, because he didn’t want to make Grian think he wanted him to go home. He wanted the exact opposite, in fact. They’d spent just over two months together, but Scar couldn’t even fathom what life would be like without him there. It was selfish, but Scar didn’t want Grian to leave, not now or any time in the near future.

“Stars are not humans.” Scar decided it was a good enough end to the argument. He watched the coffee pot’s timer tick down until it was ready to drink. He could hear the slow, rhythmic tapping of his laptop keyboard as Grian typed something.

“Humans are not stars,” Grian agreed. There was a strange new cadence in his voice, one Scar hadn’t heard before. When he looked over his shoulder Grian had closed the laptop and was staring at him, offering no explanation as to why he sounded sad just a moment ago. “I can have coffee?”

Scar shook his head. “Nope.” When Grian frowned—something over-dramatic and almost uncanny—Scar couldn’t help but smile a little bit at his antics. “You can’t even taste it! Plus it just burns up and makes a mess.”

Grian stared at him with an intensity behind his black-hole eyes. “Humans need to drink. I can have coffee.”

“You’re not human, though,” Scar reasoned. He poured himself a cup of coffee and noticed that Grian was now staring at the mug.

He waited for Grian’s rebuttal, which was inevitable, as ever since the star had been able to create his own voice and craft his own personality, he had begun to develop a habit of talking back to Scar.

“You like coffee, so I will like coffee,” said Grian slowly, like he was almost shocked that he himself was saying it.

Scar gave a hefty sigh and turned away, hoping to obscure the flush that was rising in his cheeks. “Fine, but like I said, you can’t even taste it!”

He poured a second mug of coffee and when he asked Grian how it tasted, the star did not know how to describe such a sensation he could not experience. He expressed that being a human must be hard and Scar laughed, but Grian was right, of course. Being a human was hard, especially when you were beginning to fall for someone you know you shouldn’t be falling for.

- ✰ -

Almost every night had become movie night, and after they’d burned through Scar’s entire collection of DVD movies, they turned to streaming services and cable to get their fix. Scar had since learned that since Grian was having to regulate his temperature while being on Earth, he couldn’t function very well due to not being used to existing at such a low temperature constantly. Scar’s solution was, of course, to bundle Grian up like his life depended on it. Which, it very well may have, considering what Scar knew about the life cycles of stars.

Scar’s clothes were big on Grian, but he didn’t seem to mind much. This particular night he was wearing one of Scar’s bulky sweaters he got from a Disneyland trip, complete with a thick blanket shared between the both of them as they sat on the couch, watching The Breakfast Club. Scar considered it a classic, so it only made sense that he’d make Grian watch it, too.

The movie was coming to a close, and just as Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson’s characters leaned in to kiss, Grian made a noise of confusion from beside Scar.

“Why do they do that?” asked Grian.

Scar fished for the remote and hit pause, not wanting their conversation to overshadow the ending of the movie. “Do what? Kiss?”

“Yes,” Grian said plainly.

Scar shifted in his seat, not quite sure how to approach this topic. It certainly wasn’t the first time that Grian had watched a kiss scene in a movie, so why ask about it now? And more importantly, how was Scar supposed to explain the concept of love to a non-human being?

“Well,” he started off with, cringing at himself already. “It’s what you do with someone who is special to you!”

“Special?” Grian asked, looking up at Scar curiously. His fringe was messy and long, but his mesmerizing eyes peeked through his hair all the same, captivating Scar just like they did on that very first day. 

Scar nodded slowly, licking his lips and exhaling shakily. “Yeah! Someone who— who means a lot to you.”

Grian turned back to the TV, and just like that, the moment was over. “Okay. That makes sense.” He gently put the remote back into Scar’s hand. “We can continue.”

Scar’s hand trembled slightly as he pressed the un-pause button, and when Grian rested his head against Scar’s shoulder, he just about felt like he might be the one who would be imploding in on himself.

- ✰ -

“Do you miss the stars?”

It had become a habit of theirs to have late-night conversations when Scar couldn’t sleep. This was on account of the fact that Grian had decided to start sitting in the rocking chair in Scar’s bedroom and waiting for him to fall asleep. Even though it was a bit creepy at first, it seemed to make Grian happy to keep him company during the nights, especially since he himself couldn’t sleep, so Scar allowed it.

The rocking chair creaked rhythmically in the darkness of the room. Scar stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom, and although Grian’s light had dulled almost entirely during their time together, in the pitch black of his room, Scar could make out the faint glow emanating from the rocking chair corner. “Sometimes. Not a lot,” came Grian’s reply after a moment of contemplating the question. “It is lonely. Your planet is more exciting.”

That elicited a small, sleepy chuckle from Scar. “I don’t blame you.”

This was all to say that Scar didn’t want Grian to leave. He knew how these stories ended, with the extraterrestrial being returning to their home in the stars and leaving behind the human who sheltered and became attached to them. Scar had other friends, yes, but it was different with Grian.

“Why do you watch me sleep?” Scar eventually asked, trying to distract himself from the sad contemplations.

“You are vulnerable when you sleep,” Grian swiftly explained. “I can protect you.”

“Do you think a burglar is going to break in or something?”

“It is just in case. I will protect you.”

Scar let out a yawn as sleep finally began to come for him. “Whatever you say!”

“I do say.”

Scar giggled as his eyelids began to droop with fatigue, allowing himself to be carried off to the land of blissful dreams wherein his star-friend swore allegiance to him and only him, with his nonexistent heart laid out before him, prime for Scar’s taking.

- ✰ -

It wasn’t until they got to the planetarium that Scar realized what day it was. 

He’d decided that it might be nice for Grian to experience space the same way that humans could: through simulations and projections. Maybe it was a tactic to try and give Grian a taste of home so that he’d stay behind on earth a little longer, but Grian didn’t have to know that!

It was a 45 minute drive, but Scar didn’t really mind all that much. Plus, it gave him an opportunity to expose Grian to some of his favorite music albums, which helped to calm him since he didn’t particularly like being in the car very much.

But it hadn’t dawned on Scar that it was Valentines’ Day until they were inside the busy planetarium and saw all the couples walking around, holding hands and being all lovey with one another. He cursed himself for picking possibly the worst date for them to go to an attraction such as this, but they'd already paid for their tickets, so Scar was going to have to make due with what he had.

“They’re too small,” Grian said as they looked up at the diorama of all the planets that hung from the domed ceiling. They slowly rotated along on a track around the largest of the figures, that being the sun. The domed ceiling in this room was painted black with projected white specks of stars, and Scar absentmindedly wondered if one of them represented Grian.

“Well they had to fit them into the room!” Scar said, holding back a snicker. His words did little to assuage Grian, who was frowning up at the diorama, still.

Eventually after a moment or two of Grian continuing to stare while teenage couples milled about the room, he eventually pointed up at the little blue and green orb that was third from the sun. “That is us? Earth?”

“Indeed it is!” Scar said, shuffling a little closer to Grian as a group of middle schoolers dashed through the room, all clutching scavenger hunt assignments and brightly colored pencils. Scar looked back up at the diorama when he was certain he wasn’t going to be run over, and barely registered a hand brushing against his own as a troublesome thought came to his mind. There were eight planets in their solar system, as well as countless other interstellar planes of existence like moons and asteroid belts—what were the chances that out of all of the places Grian could have crash-landed, it just so happened to be on one of the only planets to have known traces of intelligent life? And why Scar, of all people? How insanely lucky was it that out of all the cosmic accidents that could have occurred, Grian just so happened to crash-land into Scar’s life?

Grian pressed his shoulder against Scar’s, breaking the man out of his trance. “Tell me,” he said, looking up at Scar with excited eyes and a sneaky grin. “The earth revolves around the sun, correct?”

“Yeah, it does!” Scar only now registered the feeling of Grian’s hand brushing against his. He tried not to get his hopes up as he pressed his palm against Grian’s, holding the star’s hand gently in his own. Maybe Grian just didn’t want to get separated from Scar in the busy planetarium! 

Right?

Grian’s smile mellowed out, losing its edge of shiftiness. “So it is special to the sun?”

Scar considered the question, chewing on his cheek. “Well, I mean it’s not the only planet that revolves around the sun, and it’s by no means the closest, but—” He cut himself off when he looked at Grian again and caught the glimmer in his eyes as he looked up at Scar. For a second, Scar forgot how to breathe. He wasn’t imagining this, he couldn’t be imagining the way that Grian was looking at him right then—like Scar was some grand, regal feat of architecture that Grian had stopped to stare at on the street.

Suddenly, Scar began to understand.

Swallowing his previous words, Scar said instead, “Sure, sure, the earth is special to the sun!” Then, squeezing Grian’s hand in his, “And the sun is very special to the earth, as well.”

Grian smiled at Scar and it felt like a warm embrace, like the sun on his face after a particularly harsh winter. And for a moment—one self-indulgent, wistful moment—Scar expected something to happen.

But then Grian was pulling him along to the next exhibit, using their interlocked hands as a sort of tether by which to string Scar along through the planetarium. Scar felt floaty for the rest of the day, and Grian’s hand in his began to feel right. It began to feel like it belonged there.

Scar didn’t want to get his hopes up, and yet…

And yet.

- ✰ -

It happened on an unsuspecting day; Scar had a feeling it would. 

The chill in the air had finally given way to the first throes of spring and Scar was delighted to not have to be bundled up everytime he left the house. He was working on dinner while Grian watched him, seated from his usual spot at the table, the spot that had become his own during their time spent together. They were discussing the most recent movie they’d watched and Scar was already brainstorming what they could watch next, when it happened.

“Scar,” Grian said, as casual as ever, said in the same way that Scar could feel himself getting used to, “I have to go back to the stars.”

Scar exhaled shakily, letting his shoulders droop. He wasn’t surprised in the slightest, he’d been expecting to have this conversation eventually. But it didn’t stop him from being overwhelmed by the waves of anticipatory grief, the currents tugging at his ankles and threatening to pull him under.

“When?” Scar asked, doing his best to remain strong and cavalier. He didn’t turn to look at Grian, fearing for his own dignity if he met the star’s gaze during such a vulnerable moment.

The chair squeaked against the floor behind him as Scar prodded at his food in the pan, having already lost his appetite. “In the morning.”

A humorless chuckle fell off of Scar's lips. “So soon? I thought we had more time.” His voice wavered before he could get it under control, but with a sniffle and a clear of his throat he was himself again.

“I have been away for too long,” was Grian’s response, and it was much closer, now. He must have been standing just a few feet away from Scar, but he refused to turn around and look at him. “But I will come and visit!” Grian amended, and though there was a clear promise in his words, Scar could only take them at face value.

The thing was that once Grian left and was out amongst the stars again, he was going to experience time much differently than Scar would. What may only be a few months for Grian would be years back on earth, meaning that the next time Scar would see Grian probably wouldn’t be for a few decades or so. 

Grian was a star. Grian would live forever, but Scar’s human life would only last so long. Grian was probably already thousands of years old, and still had infinity to go. Never before had Scar ever felt so infinitesimally small.

Scar shook his head. His throat felt like it was closing up. He could feel Grian’s presence behind him like a specter. “It’s not going to be the same. You can leave, but it won’t be the same.”

“Scar.” A hand on his arm. Scar froze. “I do not want to leave, either.”

When Scar rounded on Grian, there were tears already streaking down his face. There was no point in hiding them any longer, so he gave himself into the emotions.

“You don’t have to. You could stay.”

Grian frowned, shaking his head. His hand was still ghosting over Scar’s bicep. “I cannot. The stars need me.”

It was selfish, very incredibly selfish, but it was Scar's last ditch effort at convincing Grian. “And what if I need you?”

Grian’s eyes misted over, his long lashes fluttering delicately against the warm tones of his skin. Scar couldn’t imagine what his world would look like without Grian in it; he wouldn’t imagine it. Grian reached upwards and began thumbing away his tears, and Scar melted into his embrace, wondering distantly where he’d learned to do that. But when Grian leaned upwards and brushed his lips against Scar’s, he did not have to think about where Grian had seen that before.

In fact, Scar didn’t think at all. He simply let his eyes flick shut and drew Grian closer to him, never wanting to let go. Grian was clearly inexperienced from only ever seeing the act of kissing being performed on TV, but it didn’t deter Scar. Even if it was simple contact, the mere brushing of lips against one another’s, Scar let himself be overwhelmed by the euphoria of it all. Grian’s hands framing his face was a feeling he never wanted to forget, and the inherent warmth that came from holding him so close was a sensation he just might miss for the rest of his life.

Grian pulled away first, as he was condemned to. There was a strange, unfamiliar intensity to his words as he spoke to Scar, “I will come back. This is a promise.”

Scar knew deep down that all this time their meeting had been a product of a cosmic accident—a right time, right place kind of thing. But what had transpired afterwards had been of their own volition. Scar could have cast Grian out, he could have called the cops, he could have tried to get Grian back home on that very first day.

But he chose Grian, and he liked to think that Grian chose him, too.

So, against all odds, Scar cracked a smile, because he knew Grian wouldn’t lie to him. “I’ll be here when you come back.” The unspoken words hung heavy in the air around them—But I’ll be different, a little older, maybe a little wiser. But they weren’t important right now, Scar decided. He needed to cherish what little time he had left with Grian before he went back home to the stars.

Seeing that Scar had been able to muster up a smile, Grian’s expression softened. Scar wondered how many more times he was going to be able to get lost in Grian’s eyes before he left. 

“You are my earth, Scar.” 

In that little kitchen, Grian shone just like the sun, and he was shining just for Scar.

- ✰ -

They had agreed the most painless way was for Grian to leave during the night, while Scar was sleeping. That way they didn’t have to go through the painful motions of having to say goodbye—instead, Scar could tuck himself into bed and convince himself Grian was still perched in his rocking chair, watching over him.

Grian would watch over him, just from much farther away, now.

He watched out his window just long enough to see the shooting star arc through the sky. It would be out of sight within minutes, but simply seeing the light shoot across the sky filled Scar with a wistful hope.

Grian would return to him one day, Scar had no doubt about it.