#etho is compared to grian sometimes

[astrowarr]

grian, etho, and cleo are just....

sometimes love is three damaged people knee deep in lifetimes worth of loss and grief, painting their walls green together. maybe love is those three people thinking over a dinner table, "you wouldn't die for me, and there's no greater solace than that."

love, actually, goes like this. let me look at all the damage you've done, both now and before, and let me raise you this: every wound you have inflicted, i too have exacted. all the havoc you have wreaked sits in a mirror with all the desolation i will soon impose. because if all six of our hands are stained bone-deep with blood, and there are no others to compare, doesn't that make them just hands?

[megabuild]

"Is Etho's Lab Autistic?" - the greatest thread in the history of MCYTblr, locked by a moderator after 12,239 pages of heated debate,

NOT INTENDED to be a diagnostic resource or an "accusation/truthing" of Etho being autistic, but rather comparing autistic criterion as printed in the DSM-5 with various clips and common autistic experiences, since he has many autistic fans who relate to him. Also because it's a little funny and it's always fun to see more Etho clips. Some of these clips may overlap categories.

A: Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction.

Unaware of social conventions or context; makes socially inappropriate comments (especially to strangers)

Bdubs: "One of the first things he said to me... Bdubs, you are always sick. I never get sick."

"I was at the DMV, for like, fifteen minutes."

(Gem: "Sometimes the things that come out of your mouth are... unexpected.") "That's how you get laughs, Gem."

Lack of theory of mind (difficulty or inability to recognise cognitive differences- assumes everyone thinks similarly and will understand any references or explanations made, no matter how particular)

"PLETHORA!"

"It's the same noise tigers make when they chuff."

"Feel free to boo if you wish." ("Boo!")

B: Restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests or activities.

Idiosyncratic or metaphorical language (language that has meaning only to those familiar with the individual's communication style) (also extends to a very particular or idiosyncratic sense of humour that appeals only to themselves)

"The Office is a good show..."

"Objectify them! Objectify them real good!"

"What's the deal with bathroom... peanuts...?"

"This is probably the greatest story you will ever hear in your lifetime."

"And he's like, Etho, don't go in there."

Echolalia (immediate or delayed repetition of sounds, words or phrases)

"Meow!"

"Deh-deh-deh!"

"We got go get wool!" (More mature jargoning than echolalia, but still)

Rigid thinking (difficulty or inability to understand humour, irony, or implied meanings)

"That's Not What That Is."

"I don't have social skills, Grian.."

Particular interests, often on unorthodox things or with uncommon levels of intensity

Sourcing exact clips for this one is tricky, but being a Minecraft YouTuber is one of the most autistic things a person can do imo.

Specifically, a redstone Minecraft YouTuber. Who invents stuff like the Nexus.

(On fireworks, something he's made frequent references to and also tried to make as a kid) "I'm like a kid in a candy store right now!"

Anxiety around change/transitional periods

"Whenever I'm recording a new series with a bunch of new people, the stress... I start to feel it in my stomach." (Gem: "Aw, that's anxiety!")

C: Other things I felt were relevant but couldn't decide on a category for

"I used to go out after rainstorms and pick (worms) up..." (Guude: "Would you let them go ever, or-") "No, I usually forgot about 'em... found 'em later all dried up..."

Cleo: "To be fair, Etho never claims he's a grown up, he just sort of.. giggles and runs away."

"Guys? GUYS?!"

Hiding in the bathroom at MCC

Vaxxed?

Mannerisms such as his "sleepy" or monotone voice from earlier years, or "whisper-shouting" rather than actually yelling.

Thanks

[shepscapades]

Hiii I LOVEEEEE your DBC AU so much!!!!! You've given me a concerning level of brainrot =w= I just have question about the new part that just came out: why is Etho going crazy? Is it bc of the trauma? Or is it smth else?

HI thank you!!! <3 It’s been mentioned here and there (I think I talked about it in the Part 1 post), but it’s probably not a bad idea to recap every now and then for any new folks. (I then proceeded to write everything out more detail than I’ve ever talked about it before!) so hopefully this makes things a little more clear! Gbjdghkvjm

Etho, who was still trying to get used to a full range of emotions on top of his first life series, had a REALLY hard time with how Last Life ended— the adrenaline and fear of Death Games’ Survival of the Fittest and being pit against all of his friends is one thing, but something about his relationship with bdubs was so much more important to him, and he essentially blames himself for bdubs’ permanent death in the series. He vividly remembers (has recorded + logged the memories of) himself telling bdubs he wouldn’t give him a life unless he killed one of the other reds— remembers bdubs saying he’ll kill to earn the life, remembers him looking so earnest and determined, vividly remembers the moment the message rang out that Bdubs had gotten his kill, and the message that Grian had killed Bdubs shortly after.

Etho never quite forgave himself for being the self-perceived reason bdubs dies (after all, he should have just given bdubs the life if he really cared and wanted him to survive), and he takes this grief back with him as they return to Hermitcraft Season 8. As someone who’s very new to feelings of guilt and failure, you can imagine how hard he took this— reviewing the memories again and again, trying to understand why he made those decisions, realizing how selfish he is, comparing his “failure to protect bdubs” to when he was first assigned to Bdubs, when he sacrificed himself to keep Bdubs safe.

As the moon situation escalated and hermitcraft got increasingly busy, Etho couldn’t find it in himself to confront bdubs (maybe not seeing himself fit to deserve bdubs’ forgiveness, or fearing Bdubs’ disappointment or anger with him) and his fears and regrets kind of slowly ate away at him until it shut him down. It’s actually a recurring theme for Etho that, because of the damage he sustained from the creeper blast that caused his deviancy, his systems are actually kind of fragile when it comes to pushing them to their extremes. When he feels an extraordinary amount of overwhelming emotion, his thirium pump starts to work in overdrive, and thirium starts leaking from all of the places his shell is cracked— his face, his shoulder, and his arm.

So the idea is that, Etho returns to Season 8 trying to… more or less forget about what happened— except he can’t, he’s obsessed with what happened, and his emotions start to overwhelm him until thirium starts to leak and whatnot. But I think deviants are fairly used to “dismissing” warnings, as sometimes their thirium pump will skip, their temperature will rise, or other system updates may happen when they feel certain emotions, and Etho is so distracted (or. Trying to be distracted) that he doesn’t realize he’s dismissing Thirium Loss notifications until it’s too late. He begins to shut down with Last Life on his mind, and the system errors that follow are all garbled out.

This technically happens before the moon destroys the server, which means etho is offline, or broken, or what have you, when the server gets destroyed, and this is actually what truly glitches him out. When Xisuma and Doc try to reboot him at the beginning of season 9, Etho’s system is caught on a glitch: Etho had shut down thinking about last life, so his programming is trying to eliminate the threat who killed bdubs as an attempt to fix what happened (bdubs dying). Etho’s trying to eliminate grian (who isn’t a threat anymore, because this isn’t last life, last life was ages ago) but he’s not thinking straight and can’t process anything beyond the Desperation+Fear+Guilt. Since Grian’s not in the room, he goes for the next best thing: the person who might be able to tell him where Grian is: the server admin. Doc just gets in the way of Etho trying to get to Xisuma, so Etho “decommissions” Doc in an attempt to remove him from the equation.

So um. Yeah! That should be everything more or less explained… hopefully it also clears up some details you may or may not notice in the comics! Etho starts leaking thirium throughout the destruction comics, Etho goes for Xisuma first… Etho having memory flashbacks of Last Life. If anything is particularly confusing feel free to ask more questions! But it’s kinda nice to be able to write out how I’ve logic’d out all of this happening in my head hehe (i plan on posting the DBHC Etho playlist soon with a brief explanation of each song in Etho’s timeline, so hopefully that will help too!) :]

[yetanothermcsideblog]

I don’t normally compare fandoms but I love how unhinged Minecraft/minecrafter lore can get like. “Yea fuck you this is Grian he’s a god but he’s also a chicken he pissed off a goat human creeper hybrid person who grows tomatoes in a pit the size of a country also he toys with death” or “hi this is etho everyone loves him nobody hates him he’s from Canada he invented redstone but he learned everything about redstone from a guy who invented a trading card game in minecraft named Vintage Beef who used to be a skinless flesh creature until he became a butcher.” Idk sometimes the best lore comes when you don’t try

[kingscourthouse]

YOU'RE ALSO DOING AN EPIC THE MUSICAL HERMIT AU?? :O

TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT /nf ofc I'm just really curious as to how our ideas compare and contrast :D

I'll be honest it's not really set in stone. It started as a joke concept of Boat Boys since I was talking to my friend about how they're obsessed but infatuated like how Odysseus is with Penelope in the Odessey.

<Massive ramble incoming>

It's very loosely based on Epic since there's some things in epic that would be hard to work around and also I feel bad putting some people in certain roles. Since it's loosely based on it, everything I post about it won't always be following the story because I had this really stupid idea of Grian following Scar to the underworld after he died bc he's in love. /silly

Over all its a very stupid au.

Mainly its Joel fighting in the war for years so he can return to Etho. Unlike Odysseus though, Joel carries an oar given to him from Etho everywhere he goes. The end is sharpened into a spear and is enchanted with fire aspect. The bands wrapped around his arms are from Scar who believes they will bring him safety. Throughout the journey, Joel will cycle through a lot of looks as he grows in age and changes. Near the end of the war and beginning of the story, he's inspired by his Stratos outfit. As he's in the underworld his hair grows out and covers more, he looks more like (my design) of Bad Boy Joel from Limited Life. Only difference is that instead of his hair being wild, it's long braids that he's never touched. And then when he finally returns home he'll look more like his skins in the early Life Series with long hair, long beard and obviously out for blood. He's a man with a trail of bodies and isn't afraid to leave more.

Beef takes the place of Eurlylocus, as Joel's second in command and a brother in arms. Beef is the one of the people always by his side and knows what Joel is fighting for. He makes the most level headed decisions but won't hesitate when he thinks it's time to kill or leave. While Joel wants a peaceful way out, Beef will do what it takes to make sure their men survive. When perishing in the storm, Beef is found with Scar in the underworld. Speaking of llamas-

Scar takes the place of Polites. Throughout the story the amount of scars he has grows from his working on the ship. Most on his face and chest are from the war, but a good portion of the ones on his arms are from working on the galley. He uses a bow and his sharp aim had gained him a title in the war, but he's actually fairly strong, tying ropes around his arms and fallen men to drag them across the battlefield. He'll tie the rope to multiple oars on the ship so people can have breaks. A lot of his scars are barely seen as scars now and more as his stories. A walking display of honour and comradery. Some say he was blessed by one of the gods for his silliness and bravery. Sometimes being near him you can hear faint laughter. Some think it's the messenger god. Others believe it's the vex that haunt the lotus eaters. Scar is a mystery to a lot of them.

Now that we got the boring ones out of the way (/that's a joke, I love them)

THE GODS

From what ones I've posted so far there's a few that I think I've finally settled on.

Skizz takes the place of Posiden. And yeah yeah I hear you, Xb would've made a great Posiden he's literally known for guardian stuff. But while I agree, I think Skizz would make a better fit to match the energy and motives from the musical.

Instead of Skizz having a son and that's what sends him into drowning Joel's ship, Skizz made a friend. Which is odd for the gods seeing as they're above everything. Skizz found a cyclops one day on the shores with his sheep. He would spend his days around it til eventually the cyclops just told him he knew he was there. Weirdly enough, he ended up becoming really attached to this cyclops. They became close friends and something that Skizz really cared about, even if he couldn't see him that often without being caught or seen. When Skizz returns one day to see that his friend is blinded and suffering, he goes into a rage and follows Joel to make him pay.

The cyclops is Impulse. He's kind, but if you wrong him then it's over. His sheep were a gift from Skizz and to have them slaughtered is a crime that won't go unpunished.

Gem is Athena. I actually struggled with who to make Athena because so many of them would make a great Athena. Honestly all the female hermits I've struggled with. Gem is Athena, the god of wisdom and war. She helps Joel until she realises the mistake she's made and leaves him to suffer his own consequences. Gem can take the disguise of a deer and sometimes owl. She was gifted her two fish, Aylin and Lucien, by whoever will be Circe. One of the moon and one of light. They are disguised under her cloak as a part of the patterns she wears but are used as messangers and omens for those who look. Her fish are actually how she found out that Skizz had gotten attached to Impulse. She promised she wouldn't tell and mostly teases him about it.

GRIAN. Ough sorry but I LOVE how Hermes is depicted in Epic. There's no way I couldn't make him Grian. He has a habit of watching everything that's happening. Especially with Scar. He'd whiz through the battlefield unseen by the gods just to grant him small blessings at a time to aid his fight. When he returned eventually to the ship and found that a bunch of men had died, including Scar, he started taking longer trips to the underworld. It's not often he stops to sightsee. Always places to go, places to be, orders to be carried out and messages to be sent. But for once he doesn't take the quickest route. Will take detours. He won't get close, he never has and never will. But he'll spot Scar's spirit mindlessly singing and spreading hope throughout the underworld, and will enjoy it for only a moment before leaving. When helping Joel, he wants nothing more than to see him escape safely. Though he does mess with him a bit. Pulling a few pranks here and there until he reveals himself. After the underworld saga, Grian is seen carrying Scar's old bow that had been blessed by him. If anyone asks he'd just say that he was taking back what was rightfully his. He has no use for it, but it is his none the less.

Circe and Aeolus are still in the works because as I said before, I keep switching the female hermits to and fro and can't decide. Though I've got an idea of who I want them to be.

Idk man this whole au was supposed to be a joke to teach my friend about the Odessey through Epic and it somehow became serious and I really like it and like designing it and oh my god I cannot wait for Thunder saga because then we get to see more of the full pantheon and I already have ideas of who's gonna be who.

But yeah. That's ehhh.... That's all I can think of off the top of my head. What's hard is not confusing this with my Hades au which is a whole 'nother can of worms I do NOT wanna touch rn XD

[limelocked]

The hermits in hermit who are just barely Not unknowable horrors, but it’s emphasis in barely

The hermits talk about how sometimes their bodies change, not like how this or that companion tried to liken it to regeneration because it just Happens rather than being conditioned on their death, grians feathers change colors per season and the bones sometimes change to get him entirely new wing shapes, tangos hair turned blue once he became the dungeon master, Cub is the closest of any hermit to have regenerated when he turned from an old man to a pretty young thing a few seasons back

They say that they don’t really know how it happens, Etho says it’s the scripts and everyone laughs but it’s clear from unit follow up that Etho was serious and the other hermits don’t quite remember talking about it, Mumbo and Grian who allegedly share a soul claim that it might be the watchers, Joe who is considered the most reliable source says that it’s the audience and doc agrees and talks about many examples that have hit him specifically

Unit workers theorise that the world the hermits come from is malleable and controlled by godlike beings, Kate hears about the machine Grian built to travel in time and she hesitates to compare it to a tardis because it’s obvious but it can’t be

The hermits aren’t an active threat to humanity but they are Fucked Up and so is the world they come from

[kairamuwu]

so did Scott and jimmy know each before the game and weather or not they did

was there any pair of more that really did know each other before the game

Yea!! I wouldn't say they were overly close but Scott would sometimes visit/tormentor jimmy whenever he was traveling nearby.

As for other people that knew eachother before the games, grian and scar had met once but only briefly

Aside from them most of the prior connections are just like scar and Joel both being vindicators (they never met tho and were different ranks) and Joel and etho being from the same home planet as kids (again never meeting)

So jimmy and Scott probably know eachother best compared to others :D

[vapemaster42069]

More headcanons [c!s only, no cc!s]

Mumbo can't do math for shit, both because dyscalculia and because trial by fire is much more entertaining. Everything he knows about redstone has come from fucking around and finding out. Will the comparator detect this signal from the skulk sensor? Yes. Why? Fuck if he knows. He's spent a lot of time in and around the Deep Dark recently. Wardens, if approached slowly, are surprisingly soft and like to cuddle. They don't understand the low stress threshold of human ribs, however. He keeps having problems because Wardens are clingy, and they cry when he leaves, and when other people cry he starts crying, so his nights usually end up with him stumbling into his vault, sleep-deprived and on the brink of tears, holding the remains of some redstone project to his chest. Grian is slightly worried. He's created another shrine.

Pearl has a Jimmy shrine. For the bit. Sausage has considered searching for it for his Lore.

Scar is actually an incredible fighter, but his general discombobulation is so convincing of his ineptitude that no one trusts him to do shit without falling flat on his face. He's like a sleeper agent.

Etho's mask started as an inside joke during Mindcrack, when he showed up with a cold and wore a medical mask, and Bdubs kept calling him "cutiepie" with the mask on. This is a 15-year bit. The commitment is unreal. Bdubs doesn't even remember why Etho wears a mask. It's a self-contained bit. This man is insane.

I've mentioned this before. False eats raw eggs for the protein. She keeps the shell on. She says the shell adds texture. She doesn't like cooked eggs, actually. Her breakfast consists of protein-powder oatmeal and raw eggs with the fucking shell on. She doesn't drink tea, coffee, or anything with caffeine. She is rawdogging life like no one else.

Doc has formed an incidental emotional attachment to several eggs that a bird laid on the roof of his base. Creepers don't fuck around with eggs. Grian has caught him sitting up there, avidly speaking to them about his plans for the Perimiter, and moved on with that "What the fuck, Doc" look on his face. Doc also regularly sneaks soft blankets up to his roof to wrap the eggs and protect them. He gets extremely nervous when other people enter the base, in case they harm the eggs. There's a betting pool on what he's hiding and when the server will explode. X knows about the eggs. He started the betting pool. Doc has a stake in it.

When Beef was younger, someone told him he didn't sound Canadian enough, so he started emphasizing his accent. His voice is stuck this way now. It's like a long-term bit with unconsentual commitment. Goddamn Canadian man. He likes black licorice.

Tango has built a secret room into DO2 that contains a dinner table, fake candles, and cardboard cutouts of the cast of Friends. Zed has located this room. He's afraid to ask about it.

Zedaph doesn't like waffles. He's vegetarian, but only because Impulse dared him to be. He eats raw eggs with False for the bit. She's not joking.

False drinks oat milk. I cannot emphasize this enough. What is wrong with her./lh

Ren decided that their weekly meetings were too boring, so they now have a weekly segment of whatever he wants to present to them. At one point, Joe did a presentation on the most effective way to create presentations. There's a lot of Star Wars. Sometimes there are musical segments. One time, (emphasis on one time; it'll never happen again. The event has become legendary at this point.) he convinced X to do karaoke. X is the Dancing Queen. While his vocal register doesn’t quite reach that of ABBA, he put his entire xisussy into it and the performance was sick as fuck.

Impulse can't dance. He's tried.

Pearl can breakdance. It is terrifying and enormously impressive.

Scar knits.

Iskall and Mumbo have a thing where they have to do the sickest dap every time they see each other. It’s getting painful. Mumbo's pretty sure one of his finger bones cracked last time. They always try once, fail and do the "LOOK AT MY ELBOW. RIGHT HERE. NINETY DEGREES." spiel. Mumbo has to fix his musache afterwards from the fucking shockwave of incredible dappage.

Whenever Etho enters a room, Iskall yells "YEAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! CANADAAAAAA!". Etho is amused, but won't admit it.

All of the non-Americans make up random shit to confuse the Americans. Etho claims you have to remove your shoes when you enter a room, per Canadian tradition. Stress insists that it’s insulting to English people to not dock your chair after you’re done eating. Doc nods respectfully to the geese that live in the Perimeter. Mumbo and Grian make up British words. Keralis makes innuendos. It’s unrelated to his birthplace, but worth mentioning. Iskall has a closet full of an impressive variety of brooms that he chooses from according to occasion, as per a fake Swedish tradition.

Impulse cooks with olive oil, not butter.

Ren cooks with butter, not oil.

False rawdoggs the pan and uses nothing. It’s a non-stick pan, she says. It’s fine, she says. It’s not like she’s cooking eggs on it anyways, she says.

Doc blasts music when he’s working. He sings along enthusiastically, loudly, and poorly. It startles the birds in the Perimeter, but is extremely endearing.

Mumbo listens to music in his earbuds while he’s working. If you startle him, he will scream like a small cornered animal.

Grian almost never sleeps in his base. He has little nests hidden across the server like a hornet, as well as regular spots in the shopping district, on various roofs, in Scarland, and inside Mumbo’s vault.

Gem makes eyeliner out of various types of fungus.

Cub is almost singularly responsible for the phantom lag issues on the server. During season 8, the sheer volume of phantoms following him was enough to trigger a lag hotspot nearly as slow as Boatem’s. His sleep schedule is absolutely fucked. If you want to collaborate with him, usually it’s in the dead of night, like two to four am. He also goes on walks at night, when he wakes up. If you see a dark shape lingering at the edge of the woods, slowly approaching you, it’s probably a sleepy Cubfan looking for more coffee.

One time Ren and Skizz (ik he’s not a hermit but he’s got hutzpah, alr?) got into a call after a Life series session. So many variations of “dude” and “man” were used, their conversation became nearly incomprehensible to everyone around them.

[wixelt]

So Gem is supposed to show up at one of the temples, as is Iskall. You said that Gem lands in a swamp, but that brings to question what she's actually doing when they arrive, as does Iskall. One of them should probably be stuck on a green tile in the first temple and the other would end up traveling disguised with Valeriana.

I think Iskall's familiarity with redstone traps would make the fact that the first temple doesn't behave comparatively properly would frustrate the heck out of him and get him stuck, while we'd need someone with a deep understanding of powers to help ground a very panicked Gem.

This would mean Gem might show up at the Bizarre Baazar, but she's hidden so that none of her face or hair is visible and she may have even retracted her antlers to hide better.

Anne may strike her as odd, but a human being here doesn't at first mean much, at most it means others got pulled through that wierd rift. Until she senses her power from the music box.

She may attempt to steal the backpack but someone gets to it first, and she probably competes against Anne for the bag. Both lose to Hop Pop probably, and Valeriana explains the full situation and how they'll be able to get her powers put of the stones but Gem won't be able to interfere until they come looking.

The next time Gem would be seen would be the second temple, at first as a familiar shape in the treeline that leads the hermits away from the temple grounds so that Anne can be tested without trial breaking interference. She probably manages to serve as a distraction long enough for the rest of the group to make it part way up the mountain, but depending on who is with them (probably False since Stress and Anne are both here) she's probably caught pretty quickly.

Going to take these in-order. I know there's a follow-up, but i'll address this first, then correct anything contradictory on the next reply. Call it seeing my train of thought in progress. :P

Gem & Iskall's reunions with the larger group are intended to come at the temples. The plan was that Gem be already at a temple, whilst Iskall's visiting a different one by chance when the group gets there.

The mental image of Iskall getting annoyed by the first temple's traps & getting himself stuck is hilarious, & solves the timing issue in a more realistic way. He's been there for about a week - unable to move from the spot - by the time Anne & Marcy turn up with False, Mumbo, Grian & Etho in tow.

Cue Grian laughing his butt off, to Iskall's irritation.

As for Gem, while the idea of her hanging with Val is great - & that's just the right person to help her, I feel - there's some parts of the above idea that don't work without big changes to Season 1 as it is currently.

So this is what i'm thinking:

Gem turns up in a swamp/near one of the temples & - after her depowerment induced panic attack - runs into Valeriana. Being the wise person she is & perhaps knowing more than she lets on, Val agrees to help Gem & brings her along in disguise.

Gem thus learns a lot about the grand scheme of things long before any other main character, though Val keeps some pieces to herself, as Gem's reunion comes sometime in Season 2 & it'd derail things beyond what's already planned for some things to come to light early.

But she's seemingly not with Val when the spooky newt travels to the Bizarre Bazaar, because if she was, there'd be no way a reunion wouldn't happen. If False goes with Anne & sees her, that's an instant reunion, while even Anne alone would start enough of a conversation to eventually lead to a reunion (Gem's only seen amphibians up til now, so she would notice Anne as an anomaly).

So when False - who would be there out of curiosity - & Anne visit Val's stall, Gem's coincidentally elsewhere in the Bazaar. Its a tragic comedy of almost-meetings, & Val doesn't help as she's very much the sort to make sure things go a certain way by only telling Gem there were "others" at the stall when its far too late for them to go back & track them down.

And Val didn't get names, anyway. You know damn well if Gem heard the name "False", she'd book it back down the road no matter what.

Thus this means there's no direct encounter, though maybe the theft of Anne's backpack turns into a bit of a chain of different folk stealing from each other as the group chase it down. Maybe Gem's one of the figures briefly holding the bag in this chain - having sensed a familiar power inside it - but is stolen from immediately & is too disguised/out of view for False/Anne & her to notice each other.

Val tells her they're leaving before she can make a second attempt.

When Gem later realises her friends might've been there, she kicks herself, but does get that talk from Valeriana about there being "a way of things", & that she'll see her friends again soon enough.

Which does mean her final, actual reunion with the others comes at the second temple. She doesn't know how she feels about leading the Hermits (definitely False, but i'm curious why also Stress, beyond maybe the Swamp Gals connection?) away from Anne, but she complies & Val tests Anne alone.

She gets a bit of flak for it, afterward, but the others are too happy & relieved to see her to be bothered by it for more than a few seconds.

After this, Gem may still stick with Val still due to unfinished business, but eventually leaves her on good terms & is with the rest of the Hermits by sometime before Season 2's end.

Now, onto the second post...

[locality-writings]

I should preface this with

This is a backup account. I am the real person, I just did a really fucking stupid thing and accidentally deleted my blog.

But anyways!

Hi, I’m Local. I'm a biracial poc who somehow stumbled their way into this hellsite.

I’m a writer and artist who likes to spam about

Hermitcraft (Main thing)

The Owl House

Lego Monkie Kid

MCYT

TLOU

GHOST (The band)

CoD MW2 reboot

My Tags

#locality writing - For my fics and anything related to writing. #locality thoughts - Brain dump. Literally anything I think about to post will be on this tag. #local reblogs - reblogging tag, duh #reblog for awake people - timezones reblog because sometimes I post shit late at night. #locality art - Art tag. I'm going through heavy art block and mental health issues so this tag will definitely be lacking compared to the writing.

My Fanfictions Actively Writing

No Fanfic — working on a real story + school for now

Fics On Hiatus

Memories Mossed and Staring Eyes

A series revolving around mystery, a disappearing Grian, and the hunt for him

2 Works, 5 Chapters

It Began With A Tug

An AU fanfiction inspired from MawoftheMagnetar's fanfiction series Eldritch Horror Keralis (Great read, highly recommend)

1 work, 2 chapters

Fics To Come

The Definition of Trauma Is Etho-centric Fic

Is This Really YOUR Story? Personal story, not a fandom based one :)

[hermitcraftkinfessions]

Sometimes I wonder what the Watchers were. I've seen people compare them to angels but. I'm not an angel, if anything I was more of a demon (of course I was also something else besides a Watcher but still-). I remember having Watcher powers meant that you could See things. Know things. It was similar to TMA's beholding powers. But I couldn't do anything with minds or memories or stuff, I could look to see something, sure! But there was always a weird disconnection that came with it. I was always aware I just just an invader.

Any other hermits that were Watchers/were in close contact with them? If so what would you compare them to? - Etho/Voidling

(For context I am 95% sure I was a Watcher)

Our scar has watcher DNA from being soul linked with their grian but has never understood what it meant or why their DNA got fused so we can't help you there... Someone else may be able to though!.. -Mod hels

[thatreallyminecraftsmygender]

(you can add a read more on mobile by tapping and holding down, I believe) Dude. Dude. Rhythms of home. You have no idea holy smokes. My tags were short bc I was sleepy but now it is Rhythms of Home Appreciation Time. First of all, "their friendship is older than most world's"?? Oh my gosh. Because yeah they've gone through so many worlds and servers and heck seen each other die a thousand times but they're still together aaah. And the music scene ahdjak. I imagine that maybe they started out with only a couple songs that they both actually liked and they argued about who's music to play, but now their music's basically the same, and they still argue and make fun of each other like they used to. Next, "the future always flinches first" holy crap that's such a raw line. Like, I kinda want to put that on a patch now. "More legend than alive" oh my. I've spent a few minutes typing something, then backspacing, because I can't really put my thoughts into words here (sleepy need coffee) but suffice to say that last paragraph made me tear up a little. I need to add rhythms of home as a tag on my blog so I can go back and read all of them for the days that everything buzzes and the mind is a little foggy.

Jsjshshshhsbsbskka THANK YOU

Holy shit hearing it might help on foggy days means the fucming world to me thank you

I have a few confessions, the music idea comes from a discussion I was having with @carpe-shovelem and it hasn't left my mind since, you're absolutely same wave length with the starting out different but growing together in such a way that the lines of taste blur and it's hard to tell if the music is good or its the memories attached. They still tease each other about it even tho they both know all the lyrics. The future flinches first is a line from welcome to night vale, paraphrased I believe! We are the sum of the media we consume

As for the 'more legend than alive',, I think about people being nervous around Etho a lot, and how he has this reputation as a prankster and a genius, and he is Absolutely both of those things but sometimes when people engage with him they seem to engage more with the concept of him than etho himself. It's not a criticism in anyway, All the hermits know Etho is just a guy, hes a person, but there is an element of being star struck because he's just So Important to Universe as it is now... I just think sometimes it would be hard to connect with people if you are hero to so many, the echos of your actions and inventions reaching other before you do kinda thing,,,

I always feel the contrast in how beef and etho talk vs etho n others, something in the way Beef talks to Etho with his chest, like hes not scared to fuck up. I imagine it must be tiring to have people expect so much of you, even if you can do it. Beef talks to Etho on the ground floor, they both know Ethos skills but it's never a big deal, it's just another part of him, it's just an aspect. You know? So yeah

Sometimes Etho feels more like a collection of other people's perceptions than a person, and Beef helps ground him in his own realness, a perosn who likes to dry herbs and go for walks, who messes up the order of their words, a real person with everything that comes with.

[memryse]

thinking about this conversation from when etho and bdubs were going with scar to finalise the contract after etho killed scar, but specifically this line

scar: you know what? when i killed mumbo, you know, i felt really bad. and i assume you really, really feel bad about killing me, right, like you have a tear that you're holding back right now, and you're like "gosh, love you, scar!"

this line really made the cogs in my brain start turning, as does literally everything else that scar says in last life.

because what scar says here is not at all consistent with what we saw in session 2, the one where he killed mumbo. let's compare with some lines from that session.

directly after killing mumbo:

*laughing for about 10 seconds straight* guys, welcome to magical mountain, can i sell you a free enchanting pass? come on over!

and later, to joel

i did avenge you, to be fair. mumbo, i burned him to death, which was enjoyable. i heard him cry, so it was.. that was a thing.

so there are a couple different interpretations i can get from this.

the first would be that scar was simply lying about feeling bad about it, trying to evoke some sympathy from etho. that'd definitely be consistent with my initial assessment of scar's character, but i do think there's something deeper to this.

well, don't get me wrong, i think scar was just saying things to get sympathy either way (he gets being the boogeyman, he was honestly way more mad about the enchanting table than he was about dying lol), but i'm wondering if there was maybe a grain of truth to him saying he felt bad.

the thing about scar is, he puts on a persona - i don't mean this in the "cc!scar is roleplaying" sense, i mean that the character scar puts on this facade of being a businessman, who cares for no one but himself and only himself. he's confident in his skills, his ability to talk his way into (or out of) anything. even when he's addressing his audience - when he's talking to himself, technically - he keeps this up, with his "wizard business tips". his confidence that he'd outsmarted the southlands and that they wouldn't actually hurt yellow snow, for instance.

but occasionally, scar lets things slip. his upset over losing yellow snow, for instance - his overconfidence in himself cost him his pet. session 4, he never says to anyone that he's upset over the horse. but he asks grian to get him a new horse nonetheless. (in session 5 he does openly talk about being upset about it, but in session 4, that was the one moment he made any kind of reference to it)

and until session 5, scar is on top of the world: seven lives, no deaths, only one lost to grian's "horcrux". he's never experienced any real loss - he's never died, he's as far removed from death as he can get with such a high life count. he's too high up to even be able to remember what it must feel like to fall.

after etho killed him, scar finally understood what he did to mumbo. he's not going to just openly say it, that he finally knows the weight of losing a life. but he'll drop offhand hints at it, hoping that he's not alone, that etho understands this remorse he's suddenly feeling. can't let the entire mask slip, but sometimes you can see the cracks in it.

(but then etho's second betrayal of scar is revealed, and scar knows that he won't feel any of that guilt when it's etho's life that he takes.)

[tearosepedall]

BONUS!

this is some bonus content for The “I Am Fragile Yet strong Rooted, what am I?” Comic!

this post I'm gonna post some unused drawings and concept I have for this the Last Life fan comic

before I start THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT from both the Tumblr and the twitter folks-

this is one of the view project that I was VERY nervous to put out because on how much time I put in it and the general content of it (Violets is not something that I typically do myself and seeing all the reply and tag just made it all worth it- even if it doesn't get to 100 notes or what ever I am still very proud of my self for finishing a big project to completion and doing something that I always want to do myself- that is making a webcomic, and Last Life kinda kick me up to gear to finally making one and upload it for the world to see - Baby steps!

OK- ENOUGH OF ME BEING A SAP A** LETS GET RIGHT INTO THE CONTENT

First of all the title “I Am Fragile Yet strong Rooted, what am I?” or "Fragile yet strong rooted flower" on Twitter. (I like the Tumblr title more btw)

what does that mean? well I was referring to a Dandelion

I was searching for flowers (the theme of Etho calling Bdubs "Fragile flower") that has Deep roots (To symbolize how deep there bond actually is) and it turns out, its Dandelions!

Not only is Dandelions fragile (when there in the puff form) there also available in minecraft it self!

Grian was gonna play a more prominent role in this comic. being kinda like an antagonist to Etho and more personal

originally, I was gonna fit a lot of semi original headcanon of mine in the comic but decided against it because it doesn't make the story flow properly

one of those idea was making Grian killing Bdubs a more personal kill because he was kinda jealous of Etho for Bdubs loyalty compared to his many allies that left him. the problem with this is I only watch Etho's pov (and a couple of pov preparing for this comic) so I don't know the full context of the Southlanders and who betray who- But I know Grian has been betrayed.

I ultimately scrapped it because it made comic outstayed its welcome and make the story just out of focus. (The final concepts of the coming is showing that Etho care about Bdubs and explains his betrayal, if we fit to many concepts in to a short comic it would just be overwhelming so I scrapped it)

and also I don't want to go watch a 7 25 minute long video just to make a comic with so little time frame to make it (at the time before the delay for session 8, sorry Grian)

I was gonna hammer in the idea that Etho want revenge for Bdubs death and Grian just want Etho to feel what he felt- I even sketch them in the homage to Naruto Shippuden Kakashi and Obito's first awakening the mangekyo sharingan sharingan (but I deleted that skech to save space...)

OK on to the next one!

Etho and the other Green (and yellow) team were gonna say more stuff

here is the Dialog :

originally, I was gonna re purpose what The green said post Bdubs death to use it at the start of the comic "Oh we should probably wait because he might clame a kill" that something along the line of that-

Etho was gonna say a lot of stuff in the final frame explaining "bdubs gotta earn it" to cope but end up just the green asking if etho is ok and etho respond with a simple "I'm Fine"

but I end up making the Green say lest because "Less can sometime be louder" oh and here's the finish unlettered panel (a shame I didn't use this because I LOVE the expression in this but decided against it because it makes the story no flow well)

speaking of removing finish panel because they don't make the story flow well HERE'S MORE

The first one would appear after Scar treat "I'll be back etho"- can you see how that can't flow after that epic moment lol

as for the 2nd one- it was originally gonna be the beginning of the flash back to show Bdubs and Etho's banter and dynamic- but like the first problem, this just bog down the story and it was an original concept by me, Etho never mess with Bdubs like that in Last Life so I decided to remove it despite me loving the expression, it just doesn't fit well lol

This one is a montage after that Mumbo cristal incident and Etho begging Tango to give Bdubs a live

I also play with the idea of Tango just slowly descending into villainy because people (Etho) keep making him give live to people (Bdubs) you can see little Tanggo being grumpy and little skizz comforting him in the unused finnish panel of the comic lol

Alternative to the original Fight scene (before I watch Lizzies POV) and Illusion reunion.

nothing much but I got to say- I was VERY please when I see Lizzes POV that she manage to hit Bdubs with a couple of shots or rockets in Bdubs direction point blank. The whole time I was drawing those panel I was thinking "Heh Bdubs is getting Tubbo-ed lol"

and the 2nd one- I just want the last couple of panel to became quiet and the big embrasse from Etho would not be quiet so I change it.

This was the first panel I draw

and that's it! again thank you again for the kind support yall have been giving the comic- Hope yall have a good day or night and Thank you for read this 07

[redorich]

I absolutely adore the hermit canyon au both because you have such a fun writing style and because it just makes it so blatantly clear how much of a different level the hermits are on compared to the dsmp folks. Power mad admin who's effectively a god on the server? Just vore him, it's fine! Spooky egg that brings madness and suffering to everyone who interacts with it? Grian can handle it, give him 30 seconds. It's such a good portrayal of their differences and I'm absolutely delighted by it

thank you!! i try very hard to cultivate a writing style that's fun, rather than a slog. and yes, the difference in power level is absolutely one of my favorite tropes, so i'm glad so many people enjoyed it! speaking of the hermits' casual wielding of insane levels of power.....

"So, how are you going to fix the Era Three life system anyway?" Cleo asks. She and Xisuma are casually walking down the main hall of the canyon.

Xisuma never goes anywhere alone anymore. Even though a survivable amount of magic has been returned to the Dream SMP server and Xisuma is no longer infirm, all those months of staying by his side have left a lasting impression.

"Hm, it basically comes down to a charisma check-- have you ever played Dungeons and Dragons, Cleo?"

"Not really," Cleo admits, "but Joe does and he's talked about it before. Charisma check?"

Xisuma stops walking, opening the door to the small meeting room in the heart of the canyon and holding the door open for Cleo. As she passes through, he explains.

"We have a source of magic, and we have a plan to implement it. The only obstacle is convincing Mojang that they should; hence, charisma check."

"Hey, Xisuma," Joe greets as the admin follows behind Cleo.

"Hello, Joe," Xisuma returns, surveying the room. The chair at the far end of the table has been left open for the admin, and unlike the meeting with the Dream SMP representatives, the Hermits don't give a fuck about who sits where and what that says about their status.

Doc is sitting in the place two seats from Xisuma's spot, leaning back in his chair so that only two of its legs are on the ground and his croc-clad creeper toes are kicked up on the edge of the table. A few spaces down is Joe, minding his business and reading a book (upside down-- it's more of a challenge that way) and across from Joe is Etho, sitting patiently.

With a shrug, Cleo snags the nearest chair and turns it around so she can sit in it backwards and still face the table. No one planned on her being here, and she has no idea what's going on, but no one has really told her to leave, so that's pretty much implicit permission.

After making his way to his seat, Xisuma addresses the table. "Are we all ready? Etho, do you think you can convince whoever shows up?"

Etho hums in thought for a moment. "Yeah, I can do that. Still need to actually get one of the gods here, though."

"I'm on it," Doc says, already on his communicator.

Cleo squints at Doc. "You have the gods on speed dial?"

Doc shrugs. "We text sometimes."

"About what?!" Cleo says.

"Basketball."

Cleo squints at Doc. "Don't you, like, hold a grudge or something against Dinnerbone? I mean, he did literally rip off your arm."

"Got a cool robot arm out of it, though," Doc says placidly. "It's got a screwdriver in it."

"Like a Swiss army knife?" Joe chimes in, putting down his book.

"Yeah," Doc says proudly, "bottle opener too-- for beer."

"As fascinating as Doc's Sonic Screwdriver arm is, we do have something to be doing," Xisuma reminds the group wryly.

"Oh yeah," Doc says. "Agnes is coming."

Cleo drums her fingers on the table. "When will she be here-- oh!"

A radiant figure emitting soft yellow light appears on top of the table; although the figure is bright, it doesn't hurt to look at. The glow dims and the light coalesces into a small woman with pale yellow hair. The woman-- presumably Agnes of the Mojang pantheon-- opts to sit side-saddle on the table instead of in a chair.

"Hello! It's nice to see you again, Doc," she says, "oh, and Etho as well-- and Herobrine?"

"I go by Joe now," the man says simply.

Agnes smiles. "My bad, Joe. Now, what did you need me for, Doc?"

"Er, it's actually about the three-life system," Xisuma cuts in.

"Yes? What about it?" Agnes tilts her head.

"It was... a good system, doing what you could with the lack of magic," Xisuma says diplomatically, "but we think we've found a way to fix things. Joe?"

Joe takes over, setting his book down on the table after carefully bookmarking his place. "So the issue is the lack of magic, right? You couldn't support updates and player respawns after Notch took what he did."

"This is correct," Agnes says with a service industry smile, likely not appreciating the reminder of her pantheon's failure.

"So, use the In Between," Joe says. "It's got so much extra magic that it keeps sending people back in time; I was stumped on a way to fix it, but if you can give the magic to the players it's a win-win."

Eyebrows raising to her hairline, Agnes's face falls into a considering moue. "I'd much rather use it to push the next update," she says. "The Caves and Cliffs update is one of the biggest yet."

Cleo's unbeating heart sinks in her chest. Is this it? Is their only way to help these people going to be appropriated by well-meaning yet selfish gods?

"People are dying!" Cleo shouts. "Isn't that more important than your stupid update?!"

Agnes turns to look at her for the first time, and Cleo refuses to be afraid.

"I know it must sound callous of me, but... well, people die," Agnes says gently. "They always do. Even Era One players aren't immune. The better thing to do would be to improve their quality of life while they can still live it."

Shoulders rising in anger as she suppresses the urge to bite and kill and devour, Cleo takes a breath to rage when Etho of all people cuts in.

"Remember that IOU you gave me?" he says. There's a twinkle in his eye that only intensifies when Agnes groans.

"Don't tell me," she says. "You're seriously going to use that now? On this? I gave it to you centuries ago, I thought you'd forgotten!"

"Nope," Etho crows, "just saving it for a special occasion."

Agnes sighs, bringing a hand to her temple. "And what am I supposed to do about the Caves and Cliffs update?" she says tiredly.

"Cut it in half?" Etho shrugs.

"...Fine." Agnes disappears, dimming the room from the lack of her godly presence. Within a few seconds (relatively speaking, as time is more of a suggestion than a rule when you're powerful enough), a wave of magic washes over the group. It explodes outward from the table like ripples from a cannon ball, washing over the entire server. The change is palpable.

"Etho, I could kiss you right now," Cleo says, relieved beyond measure.

"Please don't," he says with a smile. "After all, I don't know where your mouth's been."

Cleo raises an unimpressed eyebrow, pretending to mull the situation over.

"Yeah, you make a good point," she says, and the group bursts into laughter.

[martuzzio]

The idea of Ren joining the Amputees-Only club sounds so bittersweet... cuz before he knew they were having fun, but also knew that they were allowed to have a bond like that. He never expected to join them.

I can honestly imagine in his first few meetings there's a few times where Ren just cries, poor guy...

Rendog's first Amputee's Only Club Meeting (written under the cut because this one is longer than normal)

Despite what the universe seems to think, Doc is a pretty easygoing guy. Yes, he does look scary as hell and yes, he was a mob boss at one point, but that doesn’t mean he’s a violent person. Well, he’s violent when he needs to be, but that doesn’t mean he enjoys it. In reality, his favorite moments are all from quiet parts of his normal, boring, daily life as a hermit.

In these everyday moments, Doc likes to process things. He likes to sit in the greenhouse and watch the bio bees work alongside the robot bees. He likes to brush his fingers on the plants and let his half-robotic brain process the data into something that resembles touch. He likes to listen to Grian and Etho chat as they work.

He observes small moments like these because that’s all he really does. He takes in data and processes it. He uses the processed information to judge his surroundings and react accordingly. Sometimes this means that he uses his data to laugh at his friends who make dumb jokes. But sometimes he uses the data to run, hide, or fight back. When all you do is process data to keep yourself alive, it becomes very hard to ignore incoming information.

This is how Doc eventually locates Ren. He wasn’t planning on finding where his longtime friend wheeled off to, much less go searching for him, but Doc unfortunately decided to take a more leisurely route to the bridge and his camera eye caught the slight movement anyway. Doc has to give it to him; the man knows how to hide. The werewolf is in a lesser-used community room, curled into a dusty couch that’s been shoved into the corner. The chrome wheels of his temporary mobility aid reflect off of the window overlooking deep space. Ren has his left leg drawn up to this chest. His stump of a right leg rests on the couch cushion, shunned. Ren’s obviously hid because he doesn’t want to be found, but unluckily for him, Doc was specifically altered to notice things.

Ren’s flinch when Doc claps his hand on his shoulder is almost unnoticeable. Ren looks like he’s either been crying or had a bad allergic reaction to the dust. Doc assumes the former.

“Cub was working on your new parts earlier today. They look pretty sick,” he ventures.

Ren looks like he has the entire universe on his shoulders. “That’s wonderful,” he mumbles. He opens his mouth as if to say more, but instead sighs and slides his eyes shut.

Doc plops down on the couch and slings his arm over the back of the rest. The action makes Ren recoil again, this time more visibly, and Doc pointedly ignores it. Instead, he says, “As much as I want you to come see what Cub is making, you will go to him when you feel like it. There is nothing you need to do right now besides heal.”

Ren barks out a wet laugh. “Bro, I appreciate you so much, but how can stumps heal?”

Doc’s cybernetic hand twitches in sympathy. “You know what I mean, man, and we both know it.” Doc replies. He looks down at the sliver of space between his leg and Ren’s and chews his words. Ren shifts his gaze to Doc’s arm, then to gaze directly at the creeper’s face.

Doc feels uncomfortable in a way he’s never felt before. All of the other amputee hermits were already amputees when they joined the crew. They had time to heal, be angry, and let go in their own ways. He did, too. But now, with Ren sitting next to him, suffering through the same kind of anguish Doc felt when he first woke up from being operated on, Doc suddenly doesn’t know how to act. How do you comfort someone who literally lost a third of their body? As much as Doc knows what that feels like and as much as he wants to help his friend, he might not be able to. He might not ever be able to.

It’s the single most heartbreaking thing that Doc’s realized in a long, long time.

This revelation causes the duo to sit in silence for a long while. Then, Doc gets an idea. His eye shifts to look at his friend. Ren narrows his eyes tiredly but waits anyway.

“The Amputees-Only Club meeting is in a few minutes.” Doc murmurs. Ren is silent, but he plows on. “I think you should come,” he pleads. “I think everyone would be very happy to see you.”

Ren’s throat clicks as he swallows. “I’m sure they would.”

“I would be very happy to see you.”

Ren’s eyelids squeeze together. “I know you would.”

“Then let’s go,” Doc insists as he pushes himself to his feet. He turns around and smiles as much as he can at his friend, still curled up on the couch. Ren gazes exhaustedly back. “I think it would be a good idea.” He wishes his smile weren’t so frightening.

Ren moves to rub his eyes with his hands but remembers he’s missing one of his arms a little too late. The resulting crumpled expression immediately burns into Doc’s deep storage memory. “I don’t know, Doc.” The werewolf manages after a long moment. “I appreciate you trying to help, but…”

Doc understands. Of course he does. When he first joined the hermits, the idea of a weekly club meeting exclusively for amputees sounded farfetched at best and belittling at worst. Hell, he didn’t even think there were enough amputees on the team to warrant a club. Imagine his surprise when three other people showed up to his first session, all excited he was there to hang out with them.

With this in mind, all he can do is repeat, “I think it would be a good idea.”

Ren stares up at him, and in that moment, he looks as old as Xisuma. But then he gently closes his eyes, inhales slowly and shallowly, and motions for Doc to drag his mobility aid closer. Doc complies immediately.

The journey to the meeting room, like every other journey on the Hermit Craft, is long. It’s made even longer because of Ren’s inexperience with his aid, but Doc doesn’t dare to offer his help. They eventually end up in front of the elevator that Doc remotely called beforehand with his brain chip. When the doors open, Doc lets Ren wheel in first.

Ren is silent in the elevator. Doc tries to catch his expression, but his friend’s unruly hair blocks his vision. “We’re playing cards tonight.” He mentions.

“That’s what you do at every Amputee-Only Club meeting.”

Doc shifts his eye back to the elevator door. “…Correct.”

Ren doesn’t reply.

When the duo finally reaches the Club meeting room, Doc pauses outside for a moment instead of directing his brain to open the door like normal. He glances down at Ren again and murmurs, “if you don’t want to go back, or to your room or something, that’s—”

“It’s fine,” Ren interrupts. He sounds defeated. “We walked all the way here, so we may as well go.”

Doc activates the door without another thought.

The door slides open and reveals the club room. It’s small, smaller than the average community space on the Hermit Craft, but it feels warm. The soft yellow color painted on the walls matches pleasantly with the yellow of the couch cushions. Joe definitely was the one to orchestrate that. There’s a small kitchenette in the corner that’s set up to have nice views of outer space. Various game tables fill the rest of the room, a few surrounded by five chairs. Doc wonders if Ren will notice the new chair addition. Maybe he already had.

The most interesting part of the space, though, is the people within it. TFC is bundled up on the couch, snoring pleasantly and covered in at least ten blankets. His usual plate of cookies is already half eaten. Iskall is standing at the kitchen counter, fiddling with a teacup filled with a mysterious bright pink liquid. His outfit has a few suspicious-looking singe marks at the hem. Finally, Scar is sat at the poker table in the middle of the room, crossed legs resting on an adjacent chair. He’s sorting through a pile of yellow and orange chips. To Doc’s continued wonder, the stack of bright blue cards resting near Scar’s elbow have miraculously not been knocked onto the floor yet.

When the doors open, Scar and Iskall look over. Ren immediately shifts at Doc’s elbow. Doc waits a moment to let Ren speak if he wants to, but when his shorter friend remains silent, he clears his throat in a grinding noise and announces, unnecessarily, “We’re here.”

Scar is so excited that his eyes have turned into little slivers of green. “Ren, I’m so happy you decided to tag along!” He kicks one of the chairs out from the table and clonks his foot on it for emphasis. The blue cards wobble on the edge of the table but still refuse to fall. “Sit down! Iskall can get you something to drink. Have you ever played poker?” He leans forward with the question. “It’s difficult, but I think it’s fun!”

“Uh, I haven’t.” Ren replies awkwardly, still at the door alongside Doc. “I’ve never even heard of it before.”

“Yeah, I would be surprised if you knew about it. It’s one of those old-timey games from TFC’s era.” Iskall says from across the room. He is now by the couch and is gently patting TFC’s fluffy hair to wake him. “Don’t worry that you don’t know. We’ll teach you.”

Ren tries and fails to make a pointed noise of interest, but he still seems intrigued. Doc feels the knot in his chest loosen a little. He rolls his shoulders to relieve some tension and moves to sit down. By the time he turns his head to look back, Ren is already wheeling forward to join him but looks lost as to where he should sit.

“Howdy, Ren. Sit next to me so I can teach you, but I’ll only teach if you’re willing to listen.” TFC, now awake, grumbles good-naturedly as he heaves himself off the couch. With his large frame still wrapped in a dozen blankets, he looks like a huge bear compared to Iskall. Which is impressive, Doc thinks, since Iskall is nowhere near frail. TFC’s metal prosthetic clonks on the floor as he walks over to the poker table. As he sits down across from Scar, he says, “There’s no point in just sitting there and gawking at us. Grab a seat.” He uses his leg to nudge the chair to his left.

Ren blinks and maneuvers his aid to let him sit down next to the astronaut. TFC procures a blanket from his pile and offers one to him. Ren, after slowly settling in his chair, accepts the pink fuzzy blanket. Doc accepts a purple one.

TFC lances over to Ren as he saves the blue cards from the edge of the table. “Poker’s good fun. You’ll get it in no time.” He snorts and flicks his gaze to Scar, who is busy stacking the chips into a pyramid. “This one always makes sure we have a great, long game.”

Scar looks up and winces minutely in a false apology. “Sorry about that.”

TFC chuckles. “Boy, I’ve never had better games than when I play with you.”

Scar’s grin almost sparkles. TFC and Doc grin back and Iskall hides his laugh in his shoulder.

“Anyway, ready for your first game with us amputees?” TFC brings the conversation back to Ren, who suddenly looks a lot more uncomfortable.

“I,” he begins, his eyes flicking to TFC, then Doc, before looking down. “I, well, uh…”

The table is silent. Iskall is staring at the table with his hands in his lap. TFC sighs and begins shuffling the cards. Doc, as much as he wants to clear the air somehow, can’t seem to find a way to do so. Scar just looks sad. He looks right at Ren, almost through him.

Ren stares back, eyes wide.

“You don’t want to be here.” Scar says quietly, finally. It’s not a question. Ren’s choked response makes the ex-convex smile slightly. “You can say so, Ren. You’re not going to hurt our feelings. None of us want to be here. But, as much as we may want to, we can’t change what happened to us.” He falls silent again as he looks at a particularly twisted scar on the back of his left hand. He rubs at it harshly with the pad of his thumb before Iskall stops him. “This might be selfish,” Scar continues, softly, “but I’m happy that I at least don’t have to sit in here alone.”

For a long moment, the table is silent. Then, with a rush of noise, Ren makes a sound like he’s dying. In a certain way, Doc thinks, he is.

“I don’t want to be here,” Ren confesses as his open mouth contorts and tears roll down his face. “I don’t want to be here.”

All Doc can do is wrap his arms around everyone else, encasing Ren and his other amputee friends in his embrace, and wish he could do more.