#dragon mom grian au

[prismadog]

my mind is a jumbled mess right now cause I have far too many thoughts and aus bouncing around in my brainspace like the dvd symbol on a tv screen. at this point, I can't get any progress done on any of my aus so I'm gonna make a post here to sort out the aus and my thoughts.

AUs that NEED to be worked on 1. the Creed of Gods and Men [empires s1] - - Xornoth adopts child!Shubble au 2. Crowns of Orchids and Fields of Poppies [empires s1] - - Jimnoth au, Jimmy x Xornoth au [slow burn enemies to lovers] 3. Dragon Mom Grian au (hermitcraft s8) - - Grian gets possessive/motherly over the Tegg (dragon egg)

AUs that I'm actively thinking about 1. Among Us Empires au (empires s1 x among us) - - Empires season 1 are crewmates on the Skeld, Jimmy and Lizzie are Imposters 2. the Harbinger [double life] - - Team Rancher takes Revenge for their son's (the Warden) death 3. Evo Server Prison au [evo smp] - - the Evo players are trapped in their server, more players are added, life series stuff also happens

AUs that I'm semi-thinking about 1. Watcher!Grian meets Hermitcraft au [hermitcraft 5 or 6] - - Grian is a Watcher who's caretakers sent him to Hermitcraft to escape danger, he spies on the Hermits from a distance 2. prisoner Jimmy au [empires s1 / pre-empires] - - young Jimmy is a prisoner of Mythland who's given to the Elfking of Rivendell as a "gift", includes child Scott and Conner (Xornoth) 3. Mythland x Codlands Arranged Marriage au [empires s1] - - Jimmy reluctantly marriages Sausage in order to stop the war with Mythland [slow burn enemies to husbands to friends to lovers, non-con / dub-con elements]

I think I need a little input here on what to work on cause honestly, I'm at a standstill with all these thoughts and aus. I know the Jimnoth au is (or was?) a semi-popular one here, and I wanna work on that, but I need something else to work on too otherwise I'll get burned out.

so anyone got any thoughts on these aus?

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle's Traffictober - Batch 3

3rd batch of Traffictober one-shots are up on my AO3!

Full series - Find full list and tags here

Batch 1 Post - Traffictobers 1 to 7

Batch 2 Post - Traffictobers 8 to 14

Batch 3 Post - Traffictobers 15 to 21

Batch 4 Post - Traffictobers 22 to 31

Below are Gen and T-rated Traffic SMP fanfics (one-shots) of various lengths. Pop on by if you think you may enjoy:

15 - “Scottagecore” (Link) - Scott and Pearl cuddle while Scar tries to rip apart their bird feeder.

Last Life - Exploring how soft and in sync the galaxy duo soulmates were before their Double Life break-up drama.

16 - “Gem Is (Not) Great” (Link) - Wearing someone else's skin is a big responsibility.

Limited Life - Gem takes a shower to rinse off outside code, then dresses in Cleo's skin... as ready as you can be when you've had no time to prepare to play a death game you've never even watched.

17 - “Dogwarts Lullaby” (Link) - Martyn introduces Ren to caramel apples.

3rd Life - Brief character study of the Martyn & Rendog relationship during their Dogwarts arc.

18 - “Mum's The Word” (Link) - The phantom hybrids have charcuterie dinner with their mom, the Phantom Dragon, before she goes on her date with Ren.

Double Life - Couldn't stop thinking about Episode 2 where Ren and Martyn have a long talk about how badly Ren wants to date Martyn's mom and he even specifically uses the words "Ask your mom if we're still on for later" but also everyone in the Pixels Imperfect universe was hatched from a dragon egg.

Probably my second favorite of all the Traffictobers because I am a sucker for animal people politics and family drama <3 It's goofy and has a wacky premise but super fun worldbuilding. Martyn delivers souls like they're pizzas; it's great.

19 - “Blue as the Desert Sun” (Link) - Side effects of having a corrupted player file may include body and species dysphoria.

Double Life - Grian awkwardly offers Scar what comfort he can when Scar gets too sucked into his reflection.

20 - “For Sale: Bird Wings (Never Worn)” (Link) - [NW AU] - Grian runs off with a stolen Totem of Undying. It saves his life, but at what cost?

Neighborhood Watch AU - First chapter of a short multi-chapter that introduces the "all 5 seasons of roleplay lore and mechanics are squashed together in one serious universe" worldbuilding.

Grian possesses the last Totem of Undying in the known world for about 4 minutes before he blows up.

21 - “Seeing Scarlet” (Link) - Bdubs never was good at controlling himself on red.

Double Life - Dramatic interpretation of Bdubs' axe misclick on Impulse during their finale fight against Pearl. Impulse stop perma-dying from hits to the back challenge (Impossible)

I had a ton of fun with this batch. Enjoy!

[starlight-matrix]

I don’t normally post original stuff here but part of me just really wants to put my ideas out in the world, so that they exist even if I never end up turning them into a full story.

Anyways, here’s a Life Series pirate au!!

- technically based in 3rd life, but follows other dynamics from later seasons

- scar and ren are rival pirate captains. ren is a seasoned pirate, he’s been doing it far longer and is far more feared. scar is new to the trade but very quickly made enemies and a reputation for being impossible to kill

- scar’s first mate is grian, of course. they’re best friends and it’s undecided whether or not scar begged grian to become a pirate with him, or grian lost a bet of some kind and being a pirate is his punishment

- also on scar’s crew: cleo and bdubs, his mom and brother; tango and impulse, mutual friends of cleo; scott and jimmy, allies of scar’s

- affiliates to scar’s crew include mumbo, who is an engineer friend of scar and grian’s who is terrified of the open sea. they keep trying to convince him to join their crew, with dubious success. also gem, who is either a bounty hunter/assassin/guard for hire who has her own beastly reputation and whom scar constantly tries to scam (unsuccessfully)

- ren’s ship is called the scarlet hound and his crew is generally referred to as the hounds (but meant like “hound’s” bc ren is a werewolf and they’re all “his”)

- martyn is his first mate, is one of if not the only member of ren’s crew who has been around since the beginning of ren’s pirate career. their crew has changed many times due to deaths in the field

- other members of ren’s crew include: skizz, etho, and bigb (of course); pearl, who was an outlaw in a similar vein to gem before she became allies with ren and martyn; Joel and lizzie (Joel was an enemy of ren’s but lizzie and ren got along and became allies, which forced Joel to put his opinions aside so he could follow lizzie)

- hybrids/fae exist! ren is a werewolf; lizzie is a pixie/fairy; scott, grian and Jimmy are avians; cleo is a zombie (she was revived from the dead by a necromancer); tango and impulse are both different species of dragon/netherborn

- there’s a little bit of empires crossover in that Rivendell is a real place with a lot of influence in this world; xornoth isn’t evil (yet) and is the current ruler. the cod empire either does not exist or is not affiliated with jimmy. other empires may exist but aren’t relevant to the story

- after xornoth rose to power, he and scott had a falling out and scott ran from Rivendell to pursue his own life, and either met jimmy afterwards or brought him along (this would make Jimmy a Rivendell citizen)

- Scott and Jimmy then met scar and grian, who invited them to join their pirate crew. they accepted for the thrill

- cleo and Etho are exes, in the same vein of limited life where scar and bdubs are their kids and Cleo took them in the divorce. no idea if they’re biological kids or not, don’t think it really matters. a large amount of the beef between the two crews is bc of this

- another point of contention is impulse, who was childhood friends with skizz. they went down different life paths for a while and met again after skizz had joined ren’s crew; impulse joined as well, only to betray them months later and steal valuable information from ren’s office on the way out

- impulse had joined scar’s crew during their time apart and they’d already planned on getting impulse into ren’s crew to steal, they just hadn’t planned on impulse being friends with one of ren’s crewmates

And that’s about all I have so far!! I have some vague plot ideas for a maaaaaybe 2 part fic someday, but who knows if it’ll ever exist for real. Feel free to comment any opinions or ideas for this au <3

[byakoyuuki]

So after some time seeing sorcere! Jim AU, that AU give me a Ideia. Sorcere! Jim by @give-grian-lore

Wizard! Jim AU

Barbara Isn't Jim's mom in this AU! But Jim and ger meet in the hospital and she helps him and douxie when they need.

Jim is a wizard, uses shadow magic, like Morgana in this AU, jus cause' I told it would be cool UwU.

I just want to play with the idea of Melin and Lady of lake having something! Lmao

Back at Arthurian era

∆ Jim is the biological son of Merlin and Nemune.

∆ Merlin didn't wanted a children, so he talks with Arthur, so the (badass) king talk to his wife, so Gwen and Arthun adopt Jim.

∆ James Pendragon

∆ James la Fat????

∆ Nah! Jim is a Pendragon.

∆ Jim is the prince of Camelot

∆ Aunt Morgana!

∆Morgana call Jim "Little Lamp" and children.

∆ Jim, like his mom always loved magic creatures, everything who is relations with magic he will love it.

∆ After Gwen's death, Arthun is really sad, who is protective with Jim.

∆ Everyone who meet Gwen before, and meet Jim will see the dead woman at Jim.

∆ Jim loves Douxie, and his magic, after hearing that Melir got a new apprentice he was really anxious too meet the old guy.

∆ Bro Douxie!

∆ Jim naturally have a ability to shadow magic.

∆ At him teen age he desenvolved magic, and stop growing at 16 (becoming a Semi-mortal like Douxie).

∆ Jim is Merlin apprentice, but he likes more to be teach by Morgana and Douxie.

∆ Jim is a good sword fighter!

∆ After some time Jim start to call Doxie big brother.

∆ Arch have to auto-sacrifice wizards.

∆ Jim's favorite magic creature (except wizards) are Trolls and Dragons.

∆ Jim cookes fish to Arch, when he can.

∆ Gwen dies nearly from Jim's birthday, so he doesn't really into that kind of stuff.

∆ After Jim's magic manifest, Douxie give him a Charm bracelet (Douxie did it to him)

∆ After his mom death, he start also to not really like his father, but still loves him, just don't like in the old days.

∆ Jim have a Welsh accent, just like Douxie do (but everyone thinks it's a British  accent)

∆ Douxie teach jim how to play lute.

∆ Douxie and Jim playing together.

∆ Jim as Lady of lake and Merlin's biological son, he will be a powerfull Wizard.

∆ After jim getting his powers Arthur push him child further away

∆Jim doesn't know he real parents. (just after some years of the camelot fall he discover that)

after camelot fall

∆ Jim and Douxie lives together as brothers also with Arch.

∆ After some centures be learn Troll, Elvish, Orcish (with douixie) and but now he is trying to learn ancient draconic.

∆ He also know Latin.

∆ Different from Douxie, Jim's monsterology isn't rusty.

∆ Jim and Douxie meet Zoe (sometime between Camelot and Arcadia), and Zoe become Jim's big sister.

∆ Jim, Douxie and Zoe are a magic bros trio!

∆ Jim still train his magic with Douxie, Zoe and Arch.

∆ Jim saw Shakespeare, and loves it.

After many years (Aka in tge Arcadia oaks)

∆ Jim goes to Arcadia Hight, and Douxie goes to Arcadia acadamy.

∆ But Jim started to go to Acadamy, but was to hard to him, so Jim give up and started Arcadia hight.

∆ Confidence Jim.

∆ Charm Jim! Likes Douxie.

∆ Punk Jim!

∆ Jim is popular with the girls at school

∆ After some weaks at Arcadia he began bests with Toby

∆ Friends with Eli.

∆Steve don't likes him, he seems Jim as a kind of rival.

∆ Jim speak to Eli that he likes the misterys things that the boy talks, but doesn't believe in it.

∆ Eli had a crush and Jim for some time, but Jim just see him as a friend.

∆ Jim can read hands, just like Douxie (Douxie teach him back at Camelot), so Jim start using that as a work for some money.

∆ Claire likes Jim.

∆ Jim and Claire cheating up, with papa skull songs.

∆ Jim plays a second guitar at Douxie's band.

∆ Jim is a good actor.

∆ Good at History and P.E.

∆ Jim play Romeo role at the play, Steve never was the Romeo.

∆ Jim can detect magic (like Douxie at Wizards and Claire at Trollhunters).

∆ Jim isn't surprised about Claire behing the Trollhunter

∆ Jim get the Shadow staff, and is easer to use it for him.

∆ Jim know about somethings about Troll law.

∆ Barbara meet Jim and Douxie at hospital, Jim get hurt. They say that was caused by some skate tricks.

∆ Jim know how to skating.

∆ Jim have a skate, not a bike.

∆ Jim still likes Vespas.

∆ Arch knows abou the Trollhunters and also helos them (he doesn't tells Douxue and Zoe about it).

∆ After Jim use the staff to do the full portal, the get more powerful, and don't know how to control it.

∆ Morgana possessed Jim (like Claire at show.

∆ Morgana still call Jim little lamp, children.

∆ After Morgana possessed him, Jim tells Douxie and Zoe about the Trollhunters.

[give-grian-rights]

i thought i might share my ideas for how the twin/brothers au goes

when Wilbur and Grian’s parents split up, neither actually wanted the twins. each of them, however, hated the idea of their former spouse having them both even more than the idea of having a child, so Grian went with his mom and Wilbur went with his dad. they were young, and their memories of the time before were hazy. Grian went to Japan, all by himself, and Wilbur went to a boarding school in England. neither parent paid the twins any attention, and so Wilbur and Grian grew up separate with only faint memories of the other.

Dream was born years later, after their mother had remarried, but time had not changed her views on children. He was sent to live with an uncle in another world, learning how to survive in a wilderness far unlike his world of birth. He knew he had older brothers only from a few scattered clues, but that was enough for him.

Once Wilbur graduated school, he was quick to leave. Setting a course for another widely populated server with a guitar in his hand, he didn’t look back. The next day, Grian made a deal and destroyed the world, gaining immortality and the guilt of having killed his twin brother.

Grian was taken by Watchers for training as Wilbur began to build a career as an entertainer. Dream, still the youngest, learned how to run and fight, how to survive in the cruel worlds, and how to slay dragons. Dream eventually made two close friends, a bespectacled man named George and another who wore a white hairband named Sapnap, and the three of them set off to explore and adventure through the many worlds the universe offered.

Eventually, Dream and his friends settled down. They found an empty world and began to make it home, inviting friends to join them. This whole time, Grian has been doing Evo and training with Watchers, who tell him that he has a younger brother (and maybe even that it’s Dream) for some reason, maybe motivation? Dream meets Wilbur randomly, but they become good friends, and Dream invites Wilbur to join the SMP. L’Manburg happens, and it’s all the same bc Wilbur doesn’t know that he has another brother and Dream has almost forgotten that he has two older brothers. Eventually, Wilbur goes to an MCC and meets a teenager who looks strangely familiar and introduces himself with the name of his long-lost, presumed dead, brother. Wilbur doesn’t believe it at first, and reacts a bit strongly, but Grian proves it somehow. They compete in the tournament pretty much as usual, but exchange numbers and plan to meet up again.

Grian visits the Dream SMP, where Wilbur has been living for a while, and gets a tour. Eventually, Wilbur gets to explaining the war, and starts grumbling about “Dream, the stupid little green bastard” who Grian figures out is their brother, just as Dream himself happens upon them. In his excitement, Wilbur maybe forgot to tell Dream that he was inviting Grian, so Dream is confused when he sees Wilbur with what looks to be a younger, hyper, version of himself. Stuff happens and Grian lets it slip that actually all of them are brothers, and the other two have a quick moment where they try to wake up.

other things: grian, tommy, and tubbo as youthful chaotic bastards that everyone quickly learns to avoid

Wilbur angst as he remembers Grian and how close they used to be

people find out about this and all just die bc how is this real??

smajor had an idea that this might be the case when he invited grian to mcc and he is absolutely thrilled when they tell him. he did not predict dream being a part of the family tho

wilbur and dream fistfight the watchers asmr

anyways, i love this au, can’t sleep, and have thoughts! thanks for reading all of this! have a good day!

___

HASJDUIASDA OMG!!! this is... oh god oh god i love this i think you did a really good explanation for your thoughts. THere’s just so many explanations and possibilities for this au and!! I love it!!

also.... god tommy, tubbo, and grian. Grian teaching them how to be even more fucking chaotic?? I stan

[prismadog]

I wrote a thing! Is it a great thing? probably not cause I've only had a few hours of sleep and I'm ready for a nap - but it's a thing!

a Dragon Mom Grian thing! featuring the Tegg and babysitter Rendog! (gonna write a few more babysitting fics later but this is all I got for now)

fic below the line!

also this is kinda sorta based loosely on an ask I answered ages ago about the hermits and babysitting the Tegg.

-------------

Rendog

Grian paces back and forth where he stands in the middle of his alley. He needs resources but he can’t just leave - the Tegg can’t just be left alone with no one to watch it. 

What if a mob wanders by and breaks it? Blows it up? He won’t be here to protect it. But he can’t just take it with him. He’s going to be running around giant caves. The Tegg would be in just as much danger if he takes it with him. But he can’t leave it here. The Alley isn’t always the safest. 

But what other option is there? He desperately needs resources - it’s been a long time since he last went gathering and he’s getting low. He can’t finish the alley if he doesn’t have blocks to build with.

He didn’t have this problem before when tag was going on.

“Wait a minute…” Grian stills as a thought comes to him, “That’s it!” 

He pulls out his communicator and types in a quick message…

does anyone want to babysit the Tegg for me so that I can grind some resources?

There’s silence for only a minute, then the device beeps a few times - he’s got messages. He starts reading them and his wings droop with every “sorry, I’m busy” and “wish I could but I’m in the caves” or “I’m currently in the Nether”. Must be a busy day for Hermits everywhere.

*beep*

hey man, I could use a break so I’ll watch the pup for ya

you will?

yeah dude, been grinding myself for ages, Ren Diggity Dog needs a day off

I’ll be right over with the Tegg!

After confirming that Ren was at the RV, he stashes away his communicator, and checks the Official Swaggon Egg Sling™ to make sure it’s secured for flight. Then, and only then, does he spread his wings and fly off.

It’s a short but slow flight to Ren and Doc’s beach - can’t be too careful afterall. What if he goes too fast and the egg gets damaged? Or worse - he flies into something and breaks the egg? So slow and steady it is.

Ren is waiting for him on the beach and waves to the winged hermit as he starts descending. “What’s up, my dude?” he greets with a toothy grin.

Grian lands lightly in the soft sand. “Not much, I just really need to get building materials for the alley, but I can’t take the Tegg with me and I can’t just leave it by itself, you know?”

“Yeah man, I hear ya. Doc has me watch the little goatlings sometimes. It’s a great excuse to chill out and enjoy the beach.”

“Relaxing is good,” his fingers tap against the sling. Ren’s trustworthy, he won’t let anything happen to the Tegg, it’ll be safe in his hands. Still, he worries. “It’ll be safe here, right?”

“I’ll protect it with my life if danger dares show its face here.”

Well, that’s as good a promise as any. And he really does need to get resources. And Ren is available. What’s he even trying to convince himself of? He’s already made the decision.

Grian huffs a sigh, exacerbated with that little worrywart Mother Hen voice in his head, “All right.” He unfastens the sling with one hand while the other supports the Tegg, then passes both together to the dog hybrid. “Do you want me to help you put the sling on?”

Ren chuckles, “Nah, I got this, ain’t no different than the goatling ones Doc makes.” His hands make quick work of the straps and within a minute, the sling is secured on his torso. “See?”

Renthedog has made the advancement [The Next Generation]

“Hey, lookit that, got an advancement. Sweet.”

“Congrats,” he says, then shifts his feet. “Well, guess I should get going. Resources aren’t going to grind themselves.”

“All right, have fun, dude!”

“Yeah, yeah I’ll try.” He stares at the Tegg for a long moment, wings moving behind him, then he takes a deep breath. “I’ll try to be back in a few hours.” Before he can change his mind - because that voice is yelling at him to stay - he spreads his wings and flings himself into the sky. 

“See ya later!” Ren waves to Grian as he flies off. He looks down at the heavy dragon egg and grins, tail wagging. 

-------------

It’s late, far later than Grian planned, when he returns to the beach, tired and inventory full of overfilling shulkers. The sun is barely over the horizon and the sky is quickly filling with stars.

He only meant to be gone for a few hours, not the whole day.

“Hey dude! Welcome back!” Ren greets as the winged hermit lands nearby. “Didja get everything you needed?”

“Hey, Grian,” Doc calls out from near the RV. He disappears inside.

“Hey guys. Yeah,” he stifles a yawn, “Yeah, I think I got everything. Sorry that it took so long.” He walks over as the dog hybrid starts unfastening the sling.

Ren waves a hand, “Ain’t no thing, dude. Can’t rush a good grind. ‘Sides, we don’t mind.”

Doc steps back out of the RV, this time with drinks in hand. “Sit with us and relax.”

The offer is a good one, he’s tired from digging ore and fighting off mobs, more tired than he’s been in a long while. He should go home and rest, but…his muscles ache and his wings are heavy. 

A short rest won’t hurt. “All right, maybe for a bit.” He drops beside Ren with about as much grace as a newborn calf. Ren passes him the Tegg and Doc gives him a cold soda. “So how was your guys’ days? Any trouble?”

“Nah, pretty chill. Spent most of it under the umbrella.”

“Did have to chase a couple chickens away from the fire,” the creeper takes a seat nearby after giving Ren a soda too. “How was the grind?”

Grian sighs. “Long and not fun. Got everything I need but got into a few fights with mobs. Also had a couple close calls with hoglins but it wasn’t too bad,” he shrugs. “Hopefully won’t need to go back out for materials for a while.”

“Yeah,” they agree.

The three of them sit around the fire, chatting like old friends, while the sky darkens to night and the moon rises. 

Grian finds himself getting sleepy. But he doesn’t want to leave, or more like, he doesn’t think he can leave. He had a very busy and mildly stressful day. He should go home and get the Tegg in it’s nest.

Maybe he could close his eyes for a moment. It couldn’t hurt to rest them for a few minutes.

Besides, Doc is telling a story about his baby goats - it would be rude to interrupt. Yeah, he’ll just close his eyes for a moment, just until Doc’s story is over. 

So he settles in, letting his eyes fall closed and listens to the creeper hybrid’s low voice. It’s surprisingly soothing.

“I can’t believe how much damage a couple of kids can do to a redstone circuit,” Doc shakes his head. “Gonna be a while longer before the Octagon is up and running.”

“It’s cool dude, but maybe keep the kids at home?” Ren chuckles. “Hey, Grian, did Boatem have this much trouble getting…uh, Grian?”

The winged hermit has his head resting on his arms on top of the dragon egg, his eyes are closed, and he’s breathing slowly. His wings are slack behind him.

“Grian?” Ren pokes him but the hermit doesn’t stir. He smiles, “Guess the babysitting gig ain’t over yet, dude.”

Doc laughs quietly then stands. “Well we can’t just let ‘im sleep there. Should get him into a proper bed.”

Ren carefully takes the Tegg from Grian, expecting to wake but all he does is slump forward into Doc’s arms. Doc picks the smaller hermit up easily as if he weighs nothing, and carries him into the RV with his partner following.

The two of them clamber into the bed and get comfy with their guests - Ren takes the space closest to the wall with the Tegg in his arms and Doc plops down next to him with Grian laying on top of him. The bed is barely big enough for the two of them, let alone three hermits and a large egg, but that just means lots of cuddling.

Grian snuggles down against his friends and rivals, and falls into a deeper sleep. One wing moves to cover Ren and his egg, and the other drapes over Doc’s side and onto the floor.

Ren and Doc smile at each other.

Nothing better than a cuddle pile.

-------------

[prismadog]

need some help here, hermitblr. what item would you most connect to each hermit / in season 8?

I mostly just need help with these few because I'm not sure what would be the best option. if you have better suggestions, lemme know please.

Gem [her shoes?]

Xisuma [pink armor?]

Keralis [???]

Tango [big eye sunglasses? grey vest thingy?]

Stress [flower crown? pink sweater?]

False [goggles? red striped shirt?]

Hypno [bandana?]

xB [jacket?]

Jevin [white sweatshirt?]

of course the ones that I have so far [listed below] can be up for debate as well. reason I'm asking is because there's a part of the Dragon Mom Grian au where Grian makes a nest for the Tegg with one item/article of clothing from each Hermit (without their knowledge).

here's what I got so far:

Grian: red sweater

Mumbo: suit jacket or Hawaiian shirt

Scar: Swaggon top hat

Impulse: classic i-shirt

Pearl: sweatshirt

Ren: blue sunglasses

Doc: torn lab coat

Cub: lab coat

TFC: classic tfc-shirt

Bdubs: moss cloak

Etho: headband

Iskall: classic green shirt

Joe: classic @ -shirt [or poetry book?]

Cleo: armor stand [or orange leg warmers?]

Beef: apron

Welsknight: helmet

Zedaph: lab safety goggles

Evil X: evil helmet or red armor

[prismadog]

I've made a part 2 to the sad dragon mom with an egg that won't hatch fic thingy I made uh...a day ago? two days? idk, the other day. Also, I've named it "Making a Nest a Home" [not the best-fitting title but it's the best fit I could make with a stupid headache]

there's also an Ao3 thingy for it! Here's the link -> ao3: making a nest a home

here's a link to part 1 -> making a nest a home part 1

“Well, boys, I think we’ve done it,” Pearl says, taking a step back from their work.

“Have we?” Mumbo asks while Impulse says, “We finally did it,” and Scar says, “By golly, we did, didn’t we?”

The four members of Boatem stand back from the table, admiring their creation. On said table sits an extremely large nest - one big enough for a person, or well, a small hermit with wings and a dragon egg. 

It took them no less than a week, a lot of trial and error, and running on nothing but coffee and energy drinks to complete their nest. They had studied different types of nests from various books, asked False about her eagle’s nest, and even talked to Ren about his chickens and their nests. And then they went to work and did the impossible - they made a nest that couldn’t fall apart.

Pearl carved the base of the nest out of obsidian - a task that was far more difficult than she realized. Mumbo and Impulse put their heads together to make a machine that lines the underside of the base and can not only change temperatures based on the user’s preferences, but also expand and morph into a protective shield should the user need it to. Scar provided many materials to the others and spent his time making bedding for the nest, bedding that’s tear-resistant, is heavy enough to provide a feeling of safety but also is breathable so that one doesn’t get overheated - it’s also soft to boot.

“Well, it looks…functional,” Impulse says.

“Very functional,” Scar agrees.

Pearl nods, agreeing as well, “and it won’t fall apart.”

“Well, it uh, certainly looks all right,” Mumbo says, “but uh, maybe a bit plain?” The others look at him, heads tilted or brows raised, and he feels like he said something odd. “I, well, I mean, it’s sturdy, but uh,” he shifts where he stands, fingers twitching, “don’t you think that the nests we saw were, uh, I dunno, a bit more…fancy?”

They look at the nest again. Their nest looks good, but it doesn’t look like False’s or Ren’s. False’s eagle’s nest has mushrooms, and banners, and strings of bells, and moss. Ren’s chickens have nests with fur, and ribbons, and copper wire woven into the mix. And the nests they read about had all kinds of things mixed in, anywhere from sticks to paper to shiny strips of metal.

Their nest…is plain.

“Oh I know!” Pearl exclaims, “I’ll add one of my Padllama co. carpets!” and from her inventory, she produces said carpet, a pink one with colorful dots all over it. She drapes it over the side of the nest.

“Oh good idea, Pearl,” Impulse says. “I’ll add something too, but, I need to go back to my base and get it.”

“I have something too, but uh, it’s in Treeza currently.”

“Well, I, always moving two steps ahead, have an extra Official Swaggon Top Hat™ on me at all times,” Scar says, digging through his inventory for a long moment. “Uh…on second thought, might be in my other pants.”

“Go get your things so we can add them.”

“Right.”

“Okay.”

“Be back in a jiffy!” 

*

Mumbo is the first back, suit jacket in hand. “It’s been awhile since I’ve worn any of my suits,” he says, “But maybe Grian’ll like it?” He places said suit jacket on the edge of the nest next to Pearl’s llama carpet.

“I’m sure he will, Mumbo.”

Impulse is the second to return, one of his t-shirts draped over his arm but also has a bag of amethyst shards in his hand. “I didn’t know if the shirt or the amethyst would be better so I brought both.” He sets both items in the nest.

Scar is the last to return, a second top hat in hand, but he’s holding it upside-down as if he’s ready to pull a rabbit from it. “Sorry I took so long, guys, had to find my Hat Shulker.” He walks over to the nest, tips his hat, and three fish toys tumble out. “Jellie wanted to contribute too so she offered some of her toys,” he says, setting his hat in the nest.

They all take a step back to look over the nest again.

“Well, that’s better than before,” Pearl says, “But, it’s still missing something.”

“What if we get stuff from the other hermits too?” Impulse asks. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind contributing if it meant helping a fellow hermit feel better.”

“That’s a great idea, Impulse! Grian’ll love that.”

“So, uh, do we go all as a group or uh, split up?”

“I say we split up so we can cover more ground.”

Pearl pulls out a map of the server and spreads it out on another table. “I’ll take the center here where Gem, False, Stress, and Jevin are. And I can stop by Etho and Iskall’s too.”

“I can visit the west here where Doc, Ren, and Wels are,” Impulse says, “I can stop by Cub and TFC’s bases as well.”

Scar glances over the map, “Well, I’m interested in seeing the Evil Empire so I’ll go there, then I’ll stop by Big Eyes Bay.”

“I guess that leaves Joe and Cleo, Xb and Hypno, and Zedaph for me, huh?” Mumbo asks. “Sounds all right.”

“All right then, boys, we have a plan,” Pearl claps her hands once, “visit each hermit and ask them for an item, explain the situation if you have to, but tell them it’s a secret and that Grian mustn’t find out.”

“Right,” the other three say in unison. They leave Pearl’s base and fly off in different directions.

Soon, they’ll meet up again, hopefully with an item from each hermit. And hopefully, they can cheer their friend up.

*

[prismadog]

I wrote a part 3 to the Making a Nest a Home fic! [dragon mom grian au] ~whooo (I'm vry tired)

it's honestly not a very long chapter, none of them are, but I can always go back later and rewrite them when I decide to do the full fic for the au [idk when that'll be].

anyway, here's the ao3 link -> Making a Nest a Home Chapter 3

and the links to part 1 and part 2.

-------------

a Nest Perfected

The four Boatem Members meet up again in the evening with the items from the hermits of the server, and they add them to the nest with grins shared. It took them all day to visit the few hermits on their lists but it was a productive day. 

When the special items are added, they step back and take another look at their creation.

“It looks a bit full now,” Impulse says, “But I don’t think he’d mind.”

“It looks really quite cozy,” Mumbo says.

“Who knew nests could look as comfortable as this one?” Scar wonders aloud.

Pearl nods, agreeing with them. “Well, boys, I think we’re ready to give it to Grian, yeah?” They agree and she pulls out her communication device.

<Pearlescentmoon> hey, Grian, where are ya?

There’s a little *ping* a minute or so later with their friend’s response.

<Grian> I’m trading with villagers then I’m going to stock the train. Why?

<Pearlescentmoon> no reason. how long will you be down there?

<Grian> Pearl. what’s this about?

<Pearlescentmoon> it’s a secret ;p 

There’s silence for a long, long moment, at least a few minutes. Then, there’s another *ping*

<Grian> I know you’re up to something but to answer your question, it’ll be about an hour. maybe a bit more.

<Pearlescentmoon> great! stay there with your villagers and don’t come out until I say so

<Grian> …ok

“All right, boys,” she says, putting the device away. “Let’s get this packed up and into Grian’s base. He’s gonna be busy for another hour which’ll give us more than enough time to move the nest into his base.

“I have an empty shulker we can use for the hermits’ items,” Impulse says and pulls out a yellow shulker. “Though, we’re gonna have to carry the base by ourselves, I think.”

“I can carry the machine part,” Mumbo says while Pearl says, “I’ll carry the base.”

“I’ll carry the blankets,” Scar says.

They start packing up the items in the shulker and quickly find that one shulker isn’t enough and that several items have to go into their personal inventories - oh well. They get everything sorted then grab the components that make up the nest itself, and they leave Pearl’s base.

It’s a short distance to Grian’s Midnight Alley and on the way, they discuss the best location for the nest. Impulse suggested the Griangotts Bank but that’s still under construction so Mumbo suggested the Magical Menagerie - turns out that it’s a little too loud once you get through the door. Scar then suggested the Dead End, mostly because he’s really proud of his work, but they vote against it for lack of interior space and zombies spawning in what spaces there are.

After looking at a few buildings, they settle on the Barrel Beast. It’s a bit messy and there’s barrels everywhere, hence the name, but it’s a good building with a cozy interior and not-too-bright lighting. Plus, as a bonus, it’s near the entrance of the cave so if anyone wants to visit, they don’t have to wander too far into the unconstructed bits to find Grian. And, and as another bonus, the nest with all the different hermits’ items will add a little color to the place.

So, the four settle on the Barrel Beast and get to work on setting up the nest again. It doesn’t take long, maybe 10 minutes to get the base and the machine put together again, then Scar takes a few minutes to get the bedding situated. Getting the different gifts in the nest takes a lot longer to arrange - they can’t just dump the items in the nest and call it good, they have to make it presentable and aesthetically pleasing.

Pearl’s communication device pings and she finds a message from Grian there.

<Grian> I’m done trading, is it safe to come up?

She looks over their work, “He’s done trading. Is there anything more we have to do?”

“Nah, I think we’ve done all we can,” Impulse says.

“It looks am-a-zing,” Scar says with a grin.

“Don’t think there’s much else we could, uh, do, in all honesty,” Mumbo says.

She nods once and types out a response to Grian.

<Pearlescentmoon> yup! we’re all done up here. come to the Barrel Beast

<Grian> ok

She puts away the device again, excited to see her friend’s reaction.

-------------

[prismadog]

So in Dragon Mom Grian, does Tegg become Free Babysitting™️? Also Grian just… napping with the rest of Boatam around him.

I've had images in my head of Grian making a giant nest in his base and when he's feeling particularly motherly/loving/cuddly [and sometimes a bit lonely], he kidnaps the Boatem Crew and takes them to his nest and holds them close with his wings wrapped around them. they don't mind at all and the five of them just chill out for a time in the nest and cuddle.

[this got a bit long so I'm sticking everything under the "keep reading" line]

as for the babysitting...yes and no.

at first, it's just a game to be played, albeit with a little anxiety on Grian's part and a bit of concern from others about their fellow hermit who's constantly visiting them and asking after the tegg – how's the tegg doing? is it being cared for? mobs can't get to it right? how's the tegg doing? is the area creeper-proof? it hasn't been damaged, right? how's the tegg doing? etc

Grian doesn't fully realize that he's being protective over the tegg – he's sure he's just asking after it because it's the only one in existence and ya know, he has to make sure it's all right because it's the key factor to the game. and he is kind of overseeing the game so there's nothing wrong with asking the players if it's safe, right? of course there isn't!

to the players involved in the tag game, at first they're like, oh, he's just checking in because 1) he's overseeing the game and 2) he just wants to make sure it's okay because it's the only dragon egg in existence. then they notice that the longer a player has it, the more frequent his visits, like every few days or so. the more concerned parties eventually go to a member of Boatem and are like "hey, is Grian all right? he seems a bit anxious?" and the Boatem member is just like "yeah, G's developed some motherly instincts towards the egg but don't worry, folks, everything's fine and he'll get better once the game is over"

then the game ends and Grian gets the egg back and he seems a bit more normal, though, he does spend a lot more time at his base. Boatem notices that his protective instincts seem to evolve to where he's watching over their village more and that he kind of follows any visitors around. they're at first like "huh, that's weird" then after a couple incidents where one or so members get hurt, they realize that "oh, his instincts don't only care about the egg but us as well, neat! we've got our own personal guardian angel watching over us."

Grian notices a change in himself eventually, though, it takes the Boatem Crew to bring his protectiveness to light. after he's like "huh, this is weird, since when did I become such a mom?" he accepts it after some time but sometimes, the instincts are a bit much – examples include but not limited to...

he has to gather resources but he doesn't want to leave the egg alone, he knows it's safe but still...what if it's not? [this is where babysitters will come into play]

pulling the Boatem Crew out of danger should they be in it, or getting in the way and protecting them while getting rid of the danger

stalking any visitors from a distance and sometimes swooping down on them from above should they be doing anything deemed a threat [ex: Evil X trying to set up a cryptocurrency derpcoin notice board near their portal].

the near-constant need for cuddles. at first, he doesn't realize he wants cuddles until sometime later when he's giving Scar or Mumbo a hug, then he's like "oh...this is really nice actually, we should hug more often". cuddle sessions become a regular thing in Boatem – usually after one of them [mostly Scar] respawns but also just as a weekly/bi-weekly slumber party.

and now babysitting – only with a select few are chosen to watch over the egg when Grian has to do some resource gathering/adventure stuff. it's not that he doesn't trust everyone on the Hermitcraft server, it's only that he trusts some more than others with watching over his precious egg. these people are: Impulse, Pearl, Bdubs, Gem, Joe and Cleo, Doc and Ren, Iskall, and TFC.

he finds that they all make wonderful babysitters and they treat it as though it's more than just an egg, like maybe it's actually Grian's child or smth?

Impulse teaches the egg about making candy and sings the Candyman theme song thing to it

Pearl gives it llama rides or carries it in a kangaroo-esque pouch when she's pranking people. she'll also share stories about the old Evo days and stories about Grian being a bit of a menace (affectionate).

Joe reads the egg poetry and Cleo teaches it about armor stands.

Gem carries it around in her antlers while she builds because she needs her hands to work and she believes it likes to feel tall – she has a special harness/pouch she uses so that it's safe from falling.

TFC takes the egg into the mines with him and has a special basket installed onto his minecarts so that he can talk to it while he works without it being in the way. he usually talks about either some adventures he's had or about the different ores/resources that can be found in the mines.

Iskall has a backpack that he wears and he'll talk to the egg while he terraforms since Etho's always doing his own thing. he also likes to take it to the very top of the base and show it the amazing view.

Bdubs has a special moss hoodie that's made with a pouch so that he can carry the egg around and teach it about horse breeding and pretty redstone. if he's babysitting at night, he will tuck it into a bed and read it a story.

Doc also carries it around in a pouch-harness thing that he straps to his chest and he talks through any redstone issues in the way a coder uses a rubber duck – he already uses the harness thing to carry baby goats with him while he works so why not use it for the egg too?

Ren finds that the babysitting is a great opportunity for a day off – he'll either nap in the rv with it or he'll chill out with it on the beach next to the rv. sometimes Renbob visits and the two of them will make flower crowns together and cover the egg in flowers.

[prismadog]

I wrote another thing. Not great, again, but not bad. It's also gotten a bit long so I'm gonna have to do this in parts otherwise you'll end up reading a fic that's like several "do you love the color of the sky" posts combined.

So, there's at least going to be two parts to this, maybe three if part 2 gets too long, but hopefully it won't.

I should probably also say that this is another Dragon Mom Grian au fic, idk where in the timeline it takes place exactly, but who cares. I was gonna do another Babysitting the Tegg fic but decided to do this one instead. then I'll work on part 2 and maybe something for a new au idea I had where Hermitcraft Grian and 3rd Life Grian swap places.

Making a Nest - Part 1

There’s something wrong with Grian.

All of Boatem could see it. 

He’s quiet, reserved. He’s distracted, absent from any present conversation. He wanders around his cave or he stays cooped up in his house. He doesn’t really go out, not even to prank people.

The only time he ever really seems relatively close to his usual self is when he’s coming to his friends’ rescues or stalking a visitor to the village. But even then, it just isn’t the same.

Grian just isn’t himself.

It is…worrying…to say the least.

So.

So four out of five of the Boatem Crew hold a meeting, a secret meeting, one that doesn’t include their favorite gremlin.

They meet up in Pearl’s mountain basement - Pearl, Scar, Mumbo, and Impulse. Pearl had set up a little area away from the entrance ahead of time, and brought out drinks and snacks - milk and cookies - when the others arrived.

“So…” she starts, not really sure what to say, “Uh, we all know why we’re here, right?”

“Because Grian isn’t Grian?” Mumbo asks.

She nods. “He’s been quiet, more quiet than I’ve ever seen him.”

“I noticed that he’s not making as much progress on his base,” Impulse says. “I thought it was burnout at first but when I talked to him, he just seemed…distant.”

“I don’t think he’s been sleeping much. I’ve seen him from the Swaggon just wanderin around and carrying the egg,” Scar says through a mouthful of cookie. “Even in the middle of the night.”

“He has been carrying it around a lot, and talking to it sometimes,” Mumbo agrees. “I expected that after tag ended, but uh, he’s not as chipper as he was. He’s just, well like Pearl said, quiet.”

“Do we know why he’s like this?” Impulse asks.

They all look at each other, just as clueless as the next.

“Well, it’s not burnout,” Impulse says. “That much I know from when I talked to him.”

“I tried talking to him the other day when he was stocking the train but he didn’t really say much,” Pearl says. “I wanted to do a prank with him but he said he “wasn’t up for it”. That’s weird in of itself so I asked if he was feeling alright and he just shrugged.”

“I thought that too! He almost flew into one of my houses a few days ago.” Mumbo munches on a cookie. “I asked him if he was all right and he just brushed me off.”

Scar hums, taking another cookie for himself. “It’s gotta have something to do with the egg.” He mutters ‘oh shoot’ when drops the cookie in his glass of milk. “Maybe if we all go over and ask, he’ll tell us what’s wrong?” He fishes the drowned cookie out of his glass and shoves the whole thing in his mouth before it falls apart.

“Is that the right thing to do? What if he shuts down on us?”

“If talking to him one on one didn’t work, then we need to go together,” Scar tells Impulse. “Unless we want to ask someone else to talk to him?”

“That’s an idea, I’m sure Xisuma wouldn’t mind talking to him,” Mumbo says, “but maybe we try fixing this ourselves first?”

“Should we go over now?”

Pearl sets down her glass of milk and stands. “Let’s do it and do it now before we chicken out.”

The other three members stand as well and head out of Pearl’s base, discussing quietly on how to approach Grian once they find him.

They still don’t really have a plan when they come across him in his cave, after several minutes of searching.

Grian is sitting near the cave wall on top of one of his buildings - the Magical Menagerie. He has his arms folded on top of the dragon egg in his lap and his eyes closed. His wings, now a dark grey with spots of violet, drape over the tiles of the roof.

“Hey, Grian,” Pearl calls out, landing several feet away. “You awake?”

His dark eyes blink open to look at her. “Yeah,” he replies quietly.

“Mind if we join you?” He only gives her a shrug in response - as good an answer as any, she supposes. She turns towards the alley below, “Hey, guys, up here!”

Seconds later, Impulse joins her on the roof, then Scar who barely misses the glass ceiling, and then Mumbo who stumbles to a landing and almost falls back off. He would have too if Pearl and Impulse didn’t grab his arms.

“So what’s up?” Grian asks, still sitting in his spot. He sounds, and looks, tired.

The rest of the crew looks at each other for a long moment, then Scar steps forward. 

“Well, Grian, glad you asked. We’ve been having a meeting - I know, I know, we didn’t invite you, but there’s a very good reason for that - it was about you. You see, my fine feathered friend, we’ve been worried about you.”

“O…kay?” 

“You’ve been a bit off, Grian,” Impulse says. “For a while now I’d say.”

“You also seem tired, mate. And we’re just, uh, really worried.”

Grian’s wings shift a bit behind him, the feathers fluffing up the smallest amount. “I’m fine, guys,” he says though his voice is low and almost scratchy, as if he’s been sick or hasn’t been talking much. “Maybe a bit tired but I’m fine.”

Pearl takes a step forward, her moth wings unfolding partially behind her, “You’re not fine!” she says, her voice louder than normal but not shouting. “You’re not fine one little bit. You’re not talking to us, you brush us off when we try to ask you what’s wrong, Scar’s seen you up at all hours of the night, Mumbo says you almost flew into his houses, and you don’t want to do any pranks with me.

“We’re really worried, Grian, and we just want to know what’s wrong,” her voice quiets as she says this.

“Please just tell us what’s wrong,” Mumbo says.

“Whatever’s bothering you, we can help,” Impulse says, “We’ll do everything in our power to help you fix whatever’s wrong.”

“Just talk to us, Grian. Please?” Scar asks.

The hermit looks away, at the roof maybe, and his arms encircle the egg, hugging it close to his chest. “I…I don’t know,” he mumbles. “Nothing’s really wrong…exactly…everything’s going well - the train’s making sales, I finished the night sky, I made the buildings, and I’m even starting to fill them.” 

The dark wings shiver behind him and cover his shoulders, almost like a cape. “Everything’s progressing wonderfully,” his voice is still quiet, “Everything’s going great.”

“But?” Impulse asks gently.

He hugs the egg tighter, his wings shift to cover his sides. He doesn’t look at them, at his friends, for a long long moment. “It should’ve hatched by now,” his voice is barely a whisper, barely a breath of air.

The cave is silent again, aside from the mobs that fill the Menagerie of course. 

“Uh, mate, you do know it’s just a, uh, an item right?”

“Mumbo, you can’t say that,” Pearl says. They all know how Grian’s been with the egg, all motherly and protective of it since he got it. They all know that it’s not exactly a normal reaction from their friend, but they can’t just say that or that the dragon egg is just another item of their world, even though it is.

“It’s not,” Grian says over the top of Pearl’s voice. “It’s not just an item,” he says this with absolute certainty, dark eyes almost glaring at the redstoner. “It’s not just an item, it’s not just a trophy, it’s not just a decoration, it’s not just an achievement to be made.” His wings flare slightly, the feathers puffing up. “It is an egg, Mumbo, and it’s supposed to hatch. Eggs are supposed to hatch - the dragon egg is no different.”

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Mumbo chuckles nervously. “R-right, my bad. You’re right.”

Grian stares him down for an uncomfortably long minute, then huffs and turns to look away from everyone. “Of course I am,” he mutters.

“Uh, have you tried making a nest?” Impulse asks. “Birds usually make nests, right?”

At that comment, the hermit practically deflates, and his voice is quiet again, “I tried but I’m no good. They all turn out terrible. I tried making them like birds do but they fell apart. I tried using blankets and pillows but that fell apart too.” He sighs, “no matter what I try, it ends up falling apart and feeling cold and boring and lonely anyway.”

“Maybe we could help?” Scar asks.

“There’s no point,” he mutters, “it’s impossible.” He pulls his wings closer, wrapping them around his body and almost completely blocking the other Boatem crew members from view.

“Well, that sounds like a challenge if I’ve ever heard one,” Pearl says. “If we can break bedrock, then we can build a nest that won’t fall apart or look boring.”

There’s a scoff from behind the dark wings. “Good luck,” Grian mutters with a hint of bitterness in his tone.

“C’mon, boys, we’ve got work to do.” She leaps off the roof and soars away, straight out of the cave.

“We’ll see ya later, G!” Scar follows after Pearl.

Impulse gives him a quiet, “We can figure this out,” and at the same time, Mumbo tells him, “You’ll be chuffed to bits when we do,” and they both drop off the roof and fly after Pearl and Scar.

Grian just sighs heavily once they’re gone. He doesn’t believe them.

*

[prismadog]

I decided to finish the Making a Nest a Home fic all in one go [not like it was very hard considering it's not that great, but oh well, it wasn't meant to be a masterpiece to begin with]

There's technically speaking, two chapters - one an actual chapter and the other more of an extra scene. I'll put them both here in one post.

ao3 link -> Making a Nest a Home chapter 4 [the extra scene is uploaded as a chapter 5]

-------------

Gifts Given

They stood side by side in front of the nest, blocking it from view as best as they could, and they waited for their friend to show up. It took him a few minutes, he was underground afterall, but he finally stepped through the doors of the Barrel Beast.

The Tegg, his most prized possession, was in an egg sling. 

“All right, what’s going on, guys?” he asks, looking at them with slightly narrowed eyes. He still looks tired, maybe more so than a week ago when they swore to make him a nest that wouldn’t fall apart.

“Well, we made you a promise, didn’t we?” Pearl asks.

“Did you?”

“Yeah, mate, remember last week?” Mumbo asks, fidgeting where he stands. Impulse places a hand on his elbow to keep him steady and from wandering too far and giving away their gift.

Grian just looks confused. “No?”

“Oh sure you do, Grian!” Scar exclaims. “You were all moody and broody and sad over not being able to make a proper nest -” the avian frowns at the unintended slight “- and we took that as a challenge to make one that wouldn’t fall apart.”

“And we did it, Grian!” Impulse says. “We made you a nest!”

They all move aside to reveal the nest they made - Pearl and Scar both stretch out their hands in a dramatic reveal kind of way.

Grian’s dark eyes glance over the thing in the center of the room - they had to mess up the floor a bit in order to put a raised platform there for the nest to sit on - then he walks over. He moves around it, reaches out a hand to touch a couple of the items.

He’s very quiet as he examines their work.

“The base is made of obsidian,” Pearl says.

“And Mumbo and I made a machine that’ll regulate the temperature for you -” Impulse starts.

“Or you could adjust it yourself,” Mumbo finishes the sentence.

“And Jellie and I worked hard to make you the finest bedding that our famous Swaggon technology could create!” Scar says.

Impulse notices Grian picking up one of his i-shirts. “We also lined it with some of our own belongings to make it more comfy.”

“And we asked the other hermits to lend you something too,” Pearl tells him. “There’s a birch deer carving from Gem, a pink sweater from Stress, a pair of goggles from Stress and some feathers from her eagle, then Jevin gave you a bouquet of orchids, and then there’s a headband from Etho and Iskall gave you one of his green shirts.”

“TFC gave me an option of carvings he made and I thought you’d like the deepslate parrot and the diamond ore dragon the most,” Impulse says. “The old labcoat there is from Cub, the stuffed lizard toy is from Beef, the stuffed chicken with the cool sunglasses is from Ren, then Doc literally gave up the lab coat off his back, and Wels gave you his cloak.”

All while they talk, Grian is quietly looking at each item they point out. He could probably figure out what item belongs to what hermit on his own, but they tell him anyway to fill the silence. He runs a hand over a moss cloak.

That’s Scar’s cue to start talking. “I visited the boys at Big Eye Bay and the X brothers,” he says. “Bdubs was kind enough to give you one of his comfiest moss cloaks, then bush-boy gave you one of his favorite azalea bushes, Tango gave me a whole pile of Big Eye sunglasses and Fifi - lemme tell ya, not as mean as he looks - gave you what I hope is an animal bone from his collection - it’s the thought that counts, right? Then the X boys both gave up one of their helmets.

“By the way, I’m not supposed to tell you this,” Scar lowers his voice, “but Evil X was very touched that we’d want something from him too. He got all emotional behind his helmet and it was very cute.”

“I uh, I visited a few hermits too,” Mumbo says, playing with his sleeves. “I went to Joe and Cleo first and they both gave you books, uh, Joe gave you one of his favorite poetry books and Cleo the uh, the armor stand statues book thing. Then I went to Horse Head farms and Hypno gave you one of his bandanas - he had so many in his pockets - and XB gave you a horse head - uh, stuffed horse head, I mean. I went to Zedaph last and uh, he gave you a stuffed sheep toy.”

Silence fills the room again and it stretches on for a long, long time, as Grian looks over and carefully touches each item.

“So…” Pearl says slowly after several minutes. 

But before she can say anything more, their friend looks up at the four of them. His wings start shaking and tears fill his eyes. “G-uuuys…” that single word is wobbly and his voice cracks. 

The tears fall.

“Oh, Grian!” Pearl rushes to his side.

“It’s okay, buddy,” Impulse is on his other side, a large hand on his shoulder.

“Oh, oh, is it that bad?” Mumbo asks as him and Scar crowd the avian as well.

“Grian, it’s okay,” Scar says.

“Guuuys,” Grian sniffles as more tears fall. He tries to wipe them away with the ends of his sleeves but his efforts are in vain. “Guuuys, this is t-too much.”

They look at each other briefly then Impulse wraps an arm around the short hermit. Pearl does too, then Scar and Mumbo join in. They might even shed a few tears of their own.

The Boatem Crew stands there huddled together for quite some time, just cuddling. Later on, they’ll go back to their own bases and let Grian settle in his nest at his own pace, but right now, they just want to cuddle.

-------------

Grian's Nest

As the sun inches closer to the horizon, most of Boatem leaves the Barrel Beast to return to their own bases. Pearl and Impulse offer to restock the G-Train for him and they refuse to take ‘no’ for an answer - he gives them the shulkers and watches them leave.

Then he’s all alone. Just him and his dragon egg. Standing in front of the nest that his friends worked so hard to make for him.

“They’re so amazing,” he says quietly, hand running over the covered edge. “To think they went through all this trouble for me,” he glances down at the Tegg, “For us.”

He can feel the love radiating off the nest, from the obsidian base to the temperature device to the bedding, and to each and every special item from every hermit on the server. 

He’s drowning in their love and affection but he doesn’t think he minds too much.

“Well, Teggy, shall we test it out?” he wonders aloud.

The Tegg stays silent.

Grian carefully removes the Tegg from the sling and places it on several shirts, then stashes the sling in his inventory, and he carefully climbs in too after toeing off his shoes. He lays down beside his egg and gets comfy, his wings shiver and feathers ruffle as he does so.

It’s a lot roomier than he first thought, despite all the different items in the nest, but it’s cozy, very cozy.

He pulls an armful of items close and rests his head on the yellow sheep from Zedaph that’s tucked under Doc’s lab coat.

Different scents fill his nose and it’s like he has the entire server at his side. He relaxes more, wrapping his arms around the dragon egg, and pulls a few items over his shoulder to cover him.

For the first time in what feels like forever, Grian falls asleep quickly and without trouble. And when he does, he dreams of his friends and family.

-------------

[prismadog]

does the egg ever hatch?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

I dunno

>:3

[prismadog]

you guys wanna see Grian with the dragon egg?

of course you do! and don't try to say different because who wouldn't want to see Grian with his Tegg? nobody, that's who.

here he is! Grian with the Tegg, or more specifically Dragon Mom Grian :)

details about the design plus close-ups below the line!

design details:

Grian's wings are dark in color because since getting the Tegg, his Watcher magic transformed his wings to be more Void-like. most people draw him with dragon wings [which is totally cool!] but I decided to stick with feathered wings because I like his fluffy feathers more.

Grian has the classic dark eyes, though I chose to make them more purple instead of black to match the wings. his eyes also have speckles in them to better reflect the Void.

his hair also has speckles in it for no reason other than I like giving characters hair speckles. his hair is a little different from how I normally draw it because I was trying to play with gravity [idk how well that worked] he also doesn't have the braid that Watcher!Grian does [I kinda really like the braid but I left it out because this is Dragon Mom Grian, not Watcher!Grian]

I tried a couple new brushes to give his sweater and his jeans a bit of detail - the sweater I used a "cloud" brush set at a darker red to try to give it a slightly old/worn look; and I used a "gauze" brush set to a dark grey to give his jeans that classic denim look.

I didn't really know what to do for his shoes so I went with converse. I've seen a lot of people draw him with converse, but mostly just bird feet [wonderful design choice to make him more bird-like, but I didn't feel like struggling to draw bird feet so I gave him shoes instead]. I chose a pair of multi-colored high-tops because I like colors and I like high-tops.

the Tegg has both purple splotches and colorful speckles - I wanted the Dragon Egg to reflect the Void, just like it does in-game. the Tegg is actually the inspiration for Grian's wing colorization.

close-ups:

1) the Tegg: here you can get a nice lovely close-up of the speckles and the splotches that make up the surface of the Tegg. it took quite awhile to figure out how to get it to look like the Void, but I got there eventually. I absolutely love the speckles! I used purple/pink since the egg has purple spots, then I added blue/green to make it more space-y/Void-y. 2.1) Grian's Hair: I went through several iterations before deciding on the tone of the hair speckles - I didn't want them too over-powering so I went with a base of warm colors and then added just a sprinkle of pink/purple to match the rest of the design. 2.2) as for his eyes, I debated on whether or not to add the speckles and in the end, I added them because 1) why not? and b) speckles are awesome. also, the speckles kind of give him a not-completely-human kinda vibe [though that could just be me thinking that] 3) the shoes: the colors for these are actually a nod to my Watcher Grian design, or more specifically, the Watchers Gren and Lue. there's not much reason for the choice other than I was too lazy to choose other colors. Dragon Mom Grian and Watcher Grian are from different aus and are two separate entities so there's no correlation other than a lazy artist. 4) the Void wings: speckles! speckles galore! he has not only purple splotches but also dark speckles, the same purple/pink speckles that his eyes and the Tegg has, but also blue/green speckles to not only add contrast but to also match the Tegg.

Fun Fact #1: the Tegg is the reason why Grian's wings changed colors, and also why he has speckles in his eyes. somehow, someway, it has something to do with his Watcher magic/abilities, idk how...yet.

[not-so-fun?] Fun Fact #2: Grian hated that his wings changed to match the Tegg. the colors remind him of his time with the Watchers and any reminder of that is bad - very very bad.

[prismadog]

so...I've been thinking about working on a couple more aus/fics.

I know what y'all're gonna say - "dude, you don't even have regular updates on the two fics you're currently writing - why would you want to write more fics? you won't update those regularly either"

I know, and I'm sorry for that. it's just...my thoughts are that if I keep all my focus on those and crank out chapters like there's no tomorrow, then I'm going to burn out sooner or later. this happens all the time when I start working on something and I'm trying to take things slow so it doesn't happen for these fics.

but also, I'm getting bored in between working on the Found Family au fic and the Jimnoth au fic so I'm thinking...maybe if I have another fic to work on, then I can cure a little bit of that boredom without burning out. ya know?

so...

Potential Fics

Corrupted Jimmy: after the raid on the Cod Empire, Jimmy loses everyone, all his people, and in his moment of despair, Xornoth is there promising retribution for the wrongs committed against him. he accepts a deal and falls from grace and disappears, corruption spreads and alters to the point where even the water isn't safe. some canon things like ice powers and axolotl-Lizzie still happen. Jimmy is the one to kill the dragon and free Xornoth. Cod are infected with corruption and salmon are killed.

Among Us - Empires crossover: the cast of Empires in an Among Us setting [ie, SPACE and on a spaceship, some liberties will be taken]. siblings Lizzie and Jimmy are Imposters, sent by their people on missions to wipe out crews. their next mission in to infiltrate Captain Pixlriff's ship and take his Crew down as they've done to others. but they quickly find that this crew isn't the same as the others - they're all a little bit weird and somewhat chaotic. Lizzie finds love in a weird little man named Joel and Jimmy finds the friends he's always wanted [and maybe some love too in a certain teal-haired man]. Joey is Joey, ie big simp for an Imposter. Xornoth is here as well, though human and named Conner [he tries to get everyone to call him "Xornoth" tho and they play along].

Watcher Grian: Hermitcraft season 6. the Watchers sent Grian to a random server when their base was attacked by other Watchers - they had taken a Player from the Universe and would face punishment for said action. Grian has no memory of life before the Watchers so as far as he knows, he's a Watcher and the only family he's ever known [the two Watchers who took him from Evo] has been killed. he finds himself alone on the server, just barely managing to survive, until one day a Player [Xisuma] enters the world. more Players [the other Hermits] follow and Grian doesn't know what to do, at first. he decides to just Watch them for now but his Watching only fuels his curiosity and soon, he starts studying them and watching them build. Watcher Grian is a curious guy and a perfectionist so if he sees a mistake, he fixes it, but he only does so when nobody is around - the hermits actually know he's there but keep their distance for fear of scaring him off, plus, he leaves little rhymes on signs for them.

Sleep-Deprived Sausage/Jausage/Jausmajor: takes place after Sausage returns from the spirit realm and he's trying to make amends with those he hurt - this is a more difficult task than what c!Sausage went through [I like canon but I think Sausage was forgiven just a little too quickly by some folks]. Sausage suffers from nightmares and gets little sleep. eventually, he decides that to combat the nightmares, he just won't sleep at all - hence the "sleep-deprived" part. this causes all sorts of problems like hallucinations, weakened immune system, loss of time, etc and it affects him greatly. he and Jimmy are working together for the first time in ever and he's unwell, he collapses and Jimmy is there to help him. Jimmy calls in Scott and together they take care of Sausage, though it's very reluctant on Scott's part because of the kidnapping, but he helps because Jimmy asked him to.

Dragon-Mom Grian: pretty much regular Hermitcraft 8 where Grian makes the game of Tegg. the game starts out fine but as time goes on, Grian starts to become anxious whenever the egg is in someone else's hands. he finds himself doing bird things like making nests and his wings change color to resemble the void [something he hates because it reminds him of the Watchers - unlike in WatcherGrian, he hates the Watchers here]. Grian also seems to become more suspicious of non-Boatem people when they wander into Boatem, and he becomes a little more protective over Boatem/its inhabitants. these changes continue even after the game is won and Grian gets the egg back. the Boatem members eventually realize that Grian is basically following dragon/bird/mom instincts.

if you wouldn't mind, maybe helping me out on deciding which one(s?) to work on alongside Found Family and Jimnoth?

[prismadog]

hey my dudes and bros and gals and pals and everything in between and not :)

instead of working on fanfics, I made some art!

y'all remember the corrupted poppy drawing I made for to Love my Enemy?

yeah, decided to try redrawing it in my art program and I gotta say, I'm pretty goddamn happy with it [even though it was a complete and utter pain in the ass to draw, color, detail, and finish].

I got two versions for y'all. a normal one and one with an ender eye, idk why, I just thought it might be cool if it could see.

THIS took so many hours, like all the hours but really only cause I was experimenting with different brushes. Most of the brushes were plain painting ones with a couple of oil ones used.

But ya know, I think I did all right - I experimented with brushes, I made something living, I have light sources - and I gotta say, as difficult as it was, it was a helluva lot easier than painting with a real brush and canvas.

I think I'm gonna rest for a day or so, ya know, recharge my batteries and see if I can find where my sanity ran off to, and then I'll get back to working on fanfiction again.