#grian always goes to him in the end. do you understand me

[mummyscarian]

fuck you and your happy happy poly mumscarian

i dont want them to be happy easily i want them to fucking fight for it

i want them in the trenches, i want them at each other's throats

i want them to miscommunicate and hold grudges because of it

i want grian and mumbo to be best friends, i want them to be so close that it hurts when they drift apart

i want grian to feel abandoned by mumbo, yet he knows it isn't true, but he feels it anyway

i want mumbo to wonder if grian remembers that he stole grian's soul, and didn't that mean anything, that mumbo chose his soul?

i want scar to fall in love during 3rd life, only for grian to pretend like he never loved him back

i want scar and mumbo to be such great friends, too, and they feel like they can always rely on each other and that they understand each other

i want scar and mumbo to quietly resent each other, because grian loves scar more than he loves mumbo, because grian will always choose mumbo over scar

i want mumbo to realize he might love scar, but he doesn't know what to do about it, so he simply does nothing, because isn't scar in love with grian, not him?

i want scar to be so utterly convinced that grian and mumbo are destined only for each other, he can't fathom himself being apart of either of their lives, even though he tasted it, he tasted it, just for a second, in 3rd life (a world without mumbo)

and i want them all to be friends despite it all. despite all the resentment and the bitterness that's build up over the years. that lays lurking under the surface. they stay friends forever.

And it burns because they want to be something more.

[katalyist]

Life series!Grian a survivor not a traitor

Alternative title: I thought about Life series!Grian for too long again and because Tumblr doesn't have a character limit I'm putting my thoughts on the Internet.

I'm not normal in how while watching Cleo's secret life final episode there was a silent agreement that Grian was no loyal when they had that conversation with Scott when they were trying to convince Gem to be on their side.

"I mean, don't ask about Grian's loyalty"

And Scott response was "I have never seen a man drop a pair of sunglasses quicker in my life. As soon as Joel dropped, the bad boy glasses were off"

To which Grian responded "My boys died, what did you want from me?"

Like how is Grian seen has someone that betrays or isn't loyal to his teammates? HE IS LOYAL, HE IS JUST TOO COWARD. He has never betray a teammate first.

Look, for example to third life: He promised Scar his life, and altough he warns the rest of players at the beginning about the scams Scar was doing, he always do what Scar did, he helped him, he create traps and didn't thought on betraying him until Scar betray him first, until Scar did it, when he recovered he was so mad and just jump to them shouting out that Scar was a traitor. AND THEN when Scar apologies and offers Grian to have the win he refuses because he still considers Scar his ally, and then the cactus ring happens and he feels bad, he feels bad for killing Scar, I don't think a traitor would be that bad to the point of killing themselves

Then in last life, where he killed two of his four teammates and started his reputation as "allies killer". First of all, when he turned red he had the oppurtinity to just turn on them, sure, he went back to the nether and threat Mumbo, but it was mostly joking and I think the most messed up thing was how afraid he was of not having any teammates that he was willed his best friend but couldn't find the courage on himself. The next episode he has already a plan to go back with his team AND get Joel out of red, like- he planned a way to be back with his allies and get his new ally (that if I had to remember you, was the one that killed him, but Grian was perfectly with him because he understands it was for the red impulses) out of red. Once he gets his yellow life back and goes back to the southlanders for a happy teammate reunion and discovers Jimmy was exiled he doesn't hesitate in saying he doesn't want him back because he betrayed the southlands; they have the votation, he says 'no' inmediatly and is surprised that other people said yes but doesn't oppose to it.

When Mumbo and Jimmy turned red he didn't try to kill them until their few attempts of murder, he did not attack Mumbo when he tried to end cristal him, he didn't attack them, even when they had that terrible attempt of a trap for him and Martyn. He attacked them when Jimmy physically tries to punch him to the trap that he looses the little patient he had left and kills him and then Mumbo for trying to stop him. Then Martyn betrayed him because of the boogeyman curse and when Grian finds Impulse he sounds so wounded because of that but even then he doesn't try to go for him, he makes a plan with Impulse to put a Wither on the base of team B.E.A.S.T because they were one of the biggest threats. Once Impulse died he was back with Joel and he didn't betray or left him, even when he had the opportunity to join bigger alliances than him.

With that out of the way we arrive to the fatal Double Life, I feel that this is the catalyst of Grian's character misinterpretation, mostly because of the cheat situation but: 1, that him and Scar and soulmates doesn't mean they are allies (see the two pair of soulmates that were literally divorce) and 2, he really tried to protect Scar and be a good ally. He made a base, he warned Scar to not go to places he could die and he even trust him with the sugar cane, when he lost it he trust Scar the sand he isn't even that angry or dissapointed on him. It also applies to BigB, he was a great ally with him too! He gave him sugarcane, cookies, tnt, they didn't attack eachother and the only reason why he killed him was because he forgot BigB was soulmates with Ren in his red madness, he even had a funeral for him and apologise for killing him. That is not traitor behaviour if you ask me.

And then finally Limited Life (my excuse and the real season I wanted to talk because I haven't left that bread bridge), the season where Grian is in his most loyal teammate arc of all. He is a coward of course, he plays safe always, in every single season, and that is what ends up being one of the reasons why Joel ends up dead. The bad boys were too reckless and idiots (in an affectionate way, I love them) for him to not fear for their lives constantly, and yes they almost felt apart, but that was after Jimmy killed Grian. Grian left Jimmy get the kills, they were trying to save him, when Tango (the boogeyman) killed Jimmy he didn't took the two hours from him because that would had permakill him, at the end Jimmy didn't die because of him, he just slip from the platform. They had the funeral and all, he left diamonds at his grave as an offer.

With Joel it is a little different, Grian didn't betray him, he didn't kill him, but he wasn't there because he was afraid of dying, in the middle episode 7 Joel wants to murder the family because they wanted to kill Jimmy "It wasn't their fault he died" trying to persude him to not do that to which Joel answers "I'm gonna send Scar a message" and Grian almost begs "No Joel, you got to be careful or I'm gonna be alone. I'm gonna be a singular bad boy" but he doesn't follow him, he doesn't go to kill people with him because they don't have a plan and it's obvious they will die.

Grian is a survivor, when he notices things are getting ugly he looks for a way out. When Joel goes on his murderous rampage after they talk to BigB he reunite again with him and Pearl to offer himself as a ally, making a list of all the things he is useful for, selling himself because he knows he will be alone at the end of that episode and alone players are easy targets. At first he wants them to become bad boys, he doesn't want to leave the mark, but they refused, and a survivor has to do what they have to do. He isn't even hiding why he wants to be friends with them and they don't have a problem with that.

"I have already kind of accepted he's gonna die in a way" he says while making a trap for the nosy neighbours while watching how Joel died (again)

"I mean, you completely abandon him at this point" Pearl points out (and if I watched Pearl more I could talk about how Life Series Pearl seems to have really trust issues with people that is so confident in leaving allies behind because she keeps repeating how Grian is not with Joel, she is so 'I will die for you', and it was prove in the final of secret life, I love her so much).

And Grian doesn't deny it, he does try to excuse his behavior with a "Joel reaches a point where he just loses his mind completely and he was way past that a while ago. Jimmy's death has kind of got an adverse affect on him" just to be silent a second, finish placing the TNT cards and going "But I will have to go and see if he is okay in a minute"

He cares about his last truly ally even when he knows Joel will die, Grian can't just stand still and wait for it to happen "I'm gonna have to go and see if Joel is okay. He must be on less than an hour and if I don't say bye, I'm gonna regret it"

And once he is with Joel again he doesn't hide that he has allied with the nosy neighbours from him. It is the first thing he tells him actually "I've just been like making new friends because you have lost your mind". That is not betray behavior, that is not 'I'm gonna back stab you' or 'I'm leaving you now'. And Joel gets it, he gets that Grian is too coward to confront people directly, that he is not a pvper and accepts him like that. And then they have this conversation on Skynet while trying to get kills for Joel:

"Yeah, do you know what would be really funny? If I just knocked you off right now but I won't, I won't, I won't do that"

"I would do that for you. I would do that for you. Bad boys for life"

HOW IS THAT NOT LOYALTY? Grian, the one that is afraid of death, willing to die for his ally? Without hesitation answering that yes, he would do that for Joel. We have the hole "Kill me Joel. KILL ME" dialogue and scene after that even. Grian didn't wanted Joel to died, when he has five minutes Grian tries to tell him to kill him again before Joel denies. When they are going to see who Joel can kill is when he starts hesitating because he would lose two hole hours to get Joel back to just one hour, he is balancing saving his allies with keeping himself alive and at the end Joel's rampage ends up killing him and Grian is without his bad boy.

He enters in full survivor mode and downplays Joel's death in front of everybody but contradicting his discourse of 'It was getting expensive to keep him alive' once everyone is gone he tells Pearl and BigB they should have a funeral for Joel fully knowing they weren't his allies. He makes Joel a grave too, like they did with Jimmy and says some words for him. How could that not be loyalty? The last episode he uses the bad boy skin, all season he forgot to use it and had to be remember by the others to use it, and then he puts it even if he 'isn't a bad boy anymore' to honor his allies.

I think the most close he was to betray an ally was when at the end he enacted the sword and ally with Impulse and Etho whitouth talking it with Pearl and it ending with both Etho and Pearl killing eachother to be in peace. When they first met after Grian enactes the sword and Pearl goes to kill he tries to stop her, but he doesn't defend her (or Etho), he just tells them to stop. Grian character just... always leaves his allies do what they want? even if it is not the best for them, it is something he does with every one of his alliance really, he does his own and they do his own, Cleo actually points it out on their last episode while they are talking to the heart fundation and Grian gets bored and goes to do his plan to get Gem and Cleo is like 'yeah, he does his own things, don't pay attention to him'.

In Secret Life he was also truly loyal to the roomates, in part I think because he was afraid of loosing his only oportunitty to get some friends after three episodes of loneliness. Grian is always so desesperate to make allies every season, make people like him because it would mean someone would fight for him. The rommates is a very solid team and he reassures himself and they how he made the correct decision. They are not as attach as he was with his bad boys (that, talking about them, he had this weird no-alliance with Joel, changing hearts and not really attacking eachother until the very end) but it is stable.

Grian includes them in his plans, if they are not on board he respects it, but when he thinks it is something that can protect them he insists. He insists they should go to Joel's platform where he hide from the zombie apocalypse because it is the easiest to defend and they were chase by the people with more health on the server. When Etho died they took it seriously, when they are scaping he goes first through the portal that belongs to Gem, Impulse and Scott because "No point both of us dying" he could have left Cleo go first to be more safe but he didn't, he tries to make a trap to get Gem and the Scotts and he tells Cleo to back off because they would get hurt if they stay to close because he will manually activate it.

My conclusion? Grian is not a traitor, he has never betray his teammates until they cross the line first. He is a bad teammate? Oh, totally, not because he won't provide his allies with supplies or plans but because the moment it becomes dangerous, too risky for his constant safe plays he distants himself because he doesn't like risky plays, he is an expert in the 'long game' even if he won't win anything with it, he also has some kind of honor (if you want to put it that way) he won't attack the weakest unless he is corner to do it to keep himself alive, he always goes for the biggest alliance, the people with most hearts, the people with most potential of giving to bring them down with the rest.

As always thank you for reading how normally sane I'm about Life series Grian. Again, I write this mini kinda essays on the fly and don't check facts too much but Grian himself implying he is not loyal had me "are you sure about that?" and then this was write on my drafts. Thanks for coming to my Grian talk!

[arc852]

Not Just A Drunken Dream

Summary: Jimmy goes to class with Joel and Grian, but as the humans are running late, they are a bit less careful and Jimmy ends up on the floor of the busy hallway.

Fortunately, he is found and picked up before he can be crushed.

Unfortunately, it wasn't by Grian or Joel.

Warnings: fear, anxiety, stress, very minor injuries, and dangerous situations

Word Count: 6909

AO3 Link

If you click to read this on AO3 do not read the character tags or you will be spoiled on who the third main side character is. Just giving you guys some warning if you wanted to be surprised while reading it.

This thing was a monster to edit because I wrote it four months ago and it was really bad but it's all done and great now! I'm really proud of how this turned out and I'm excited for you all to finally know who the third main side character is! I hope you all enjoy!

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

 Jimmy decided he wanted to go to class with Joel and Grian again. At this point in time he had gone with them to class plenty of times before. It wasn’t all the time by any means, he didn’t want them constantly worried about him, after all. And also it could get pretty overwhelming for him too sometimes. But, he thought today would be a nice day to go out.

 He had learned that, while biology was definitely not for him, some of Joel and Grian’s other classes were a lot more interesting and easier to understand. Like Joel’s history class. He loved learning about human history, it was always so interesting to learn all about what humans had done. It was a bit terrifying at times though. The things some humans did…and to each other no less…

 Jimmy shook his head. Despite all that, he really did enjoy it and he was looking forward to sitting in on another class.

 “Sure, let me just grab my hoodie.” Joel said after Jimmy asked if he could go with them. Joel rummaged through his dresser while Jimmy waited patiently on the nightstand and watched as Joel put on a cream-colored hoodie.

 Grian was already at the door, impatient. “Come on, we’re already running a little late.” Grian said as he glanced down at his phone clock. Joel rolled his eyes but went over to Jimmy and scooped him up, gently maneuvering him into the front pocket. Jimmy slid off Joel’s hand as soon as he was fully in the pocket and watched the hand leave as he settled comfortably, leaning against the wall that was Joel’s stomach.

 “All set?” Joel asked, though Jimmy could already hear, and feel, him putting on his bag.

 “Yep!” Jimmy yelled and when they were given his confirmation they finally left the dorm room. Jimmy hearing the click of the door as they left.

 Due to running a bit late, Grian and Joel ended up walking a bit faster than usual, which Jimmy could tell from being jostled around a bit more. It wasn’t uncomfortable or anything like that, the hoodie pocket had always been pretty stable even with harsher movements, but it was noticeable enough. Jimmy didn’t mind it though and knew him being a bit jostled around was needed for them to get to class on time.

 They entered the outside and quickly made their way down the path and toward a nearby building. Thankfully for both of them, Grian and Joel had their classes in the same building today, which meant if they continued at their current pace they should be able to make it on time still. That also meant they wouldn’t separate until they were already inside the building and if Jimmy remembered correctly, Joel’s classroom was first.

 Jimmy knew as soon as they had entered the building because, once again, same as always,  Jimmy got hit by how loud it was. Except this time it seemed a lot louder than usual. They hadn’t even entered the classroom yet and already Jimmy felt like he needed to cover his ears. Jimmy could only assume that because Grian and Joel were late that they hadn’t managed to beat the crowd of students coming and going and bustling around the halls.

 This meant that the halls were quite crowded and combined with the fact that Joel was still rushing toward his classroom, it shouldn’t have been surprising that Joel would run into someone. But with Jimmy unable to see and in a pretty vulnerable spot, especially since Joel didn’t have his hands in the pocket with Jimmy at all, Jimmy was more than just surprised by the powerful weight suddenly slamming into the side of Joel’s body. 

 Jimmy couldn’t help himself as he let out a scream, one that was drowned out by all the other loud noises in the hall. He was moved violently towards one of the openings in the pocket. He tried gripping the fabric around him but the suddenness of the hit had given him no time to prepare and he was never able to get a good grip on the fabric. Instead, his screaming continued as Jimmy found himself rocketed out of the pocket.. 

 “Hey! Watch it!” He thought he heard Joel shout but it was quickly drowned out by the pain of slamming into the floor.

 Jimmy groaned, the pain of landing on his back was bad and part of him just wanted to lie there until the pain subsided. But then he realized where exactly he was right now, in the middle of the hallways, with what had to be hundreds of humans walking through it. He forced himself up, ignoring the pain in his back, and nearly screamed again as a shoe slammed down next to him. He quickly scooted back from it but then had to jump out of the way of yet another shoe. 

 Jimmy breathing picked up, the pain in his back all but forgotten due to the panic. This was bad. Where were Grian and Joel? Surely they had noticed he was no longer with them, right? They had to be looking for him right now, right? It was hard to tell from this angle though. Right now, all humans were just legs and shoes, all with the capacity to crush him without even knowing.

 That thought alone nearly made Jimmy’s heart stop.

 Another shoe came at him and Jimmy dove out of the way but he wasn’t quite fast enough. He made it but not without the shoe grazing him just a bit and causing him to wheeze as he harshly hit the floor again. He took in some fast breaths as he scrambled up again, knowing any amount of sitting still would kill him. He needed to get away from here. He needed to find cover.

 Before he was able to do that, however, another shadow fell over him. Jimmy tried diving out of the way again, thinking it was another shoe but the shadow seemed to follow him. He looked up only to freeze as he realized the shadow belonged to a hand. Jimmy was helpless as the hand descended upon him from the crowd of shoes and legs and wrapped around him completely. Jimmy couldn’t help but feel panicked, because what if this wasn’t Grian or Joel? What if some random human had just picked him up?

 But then he was quickly lifted and placed in a hoodie pocket, a red one, and Jimmy found himself relaxing. The red was familiar and the grip around him gentle. There was no doubt that it was Grian who had found him. Jimmy felt himself go completely limp and he let out a relieved sigh. The panic that had been building was finally mellowing out and Jimmy did his best to get his breathing back under control.

 He brushed his hand over Grian’s thumb and there was a slight bit of hesitation before the thumb brushed along his side back. Jimmy hummed and settled against the warm hold. Though as he settled, he could still feel that Grian was moving faster than normal.

 The noise of humans quickly died down but Jimmy knew it wasn’t because they had entered the classroom. They were back outside. He could only assume they were headed back to the dorm after what had happened. It made Jimmy feel a bit bad that they were missing class because of him. But the scare from it all also made him glad they were going back in order to make sure he was okay.

 Jimmy could tell when they entered the dorm building, it was always a different kind of quiet than outside. Jimmy waited as he listened for the sound of keys in a lock and it didn’t take long for him to hear it. Before he knew it, a door was shutting behind them.

 The hand still loosely wrapped around his body solidified into more of a stable grip and pulled him out of the pocket. The hand then opened, allowing him to sit up and on the open palm, his back only protesting a little as he did so. “Thank goodness you guys were able to find me.” Jimmy said, his words filled with relief. “I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if I--if…” Jimmy’s words trailed off as he finally looked up.

 That was not Grian.

 And it wasn’t Joel either.

 And suddenly Jimmy couldn’t breathe.

 “You’re actually real.” The human said in awe. And then he grinned. “I knew it. I knew you weren’t just a dream.”

 Jimmy could barely breathe, barely think, but even he was confused by the statement. A dream? What was he-?

 And then it hit him. 

 “Y-You’re…You’re him. The drunk guy that saw me.” Jimmy managed to stutter out, tears pricking the corner of his eyes. He wanted out of here, he wanted off this hand.

 He wanted Grian and Joel.

 The human winced at his words and used his free hand, the one not holding Jimmy, to rub the back of his neck sheepishly. “Ah, right, right. That was uh…” He bit his lip. “You remember that, do ya?”

 Jimmy sputtered, mouth agape. “Do I-? How do you remember?! I-I made sure you didn’t! At least, I-I thought I made sure…” Jimmy looked down at his hands, his eyes wide with panic. All this time, he thought he had been fine. He thought the drunk human that had seen him some two years ago now had been too intoxicated to even remember. But apparently, he had. And now, Jimmy was in his hands.

 “I, well, it took a while to remember it if I’m being honest. And then I actually did think it was a dream for a while. But it just felt so real and…” He shrugged. “I don’t know, something in me just told me it couldn’t have just been a dream.”

 Jimmy clenched his hands into fists as he grit his teeth. So the human hadn’t remembered while Jimmy had been watching but…then gained his memory back later on? Jimmy hadn’t even thought of that as a possibility. 

 “Uh, what did you mean by you made sure?” The human asked, breaking him from his thoughts and causing Jimmy to look up at him again. He flinched a bit as their eyes met.

 “I…I stayed for a while after you saw me, watching, just to make sure you had forgotten.” He warily admitted. “I-I figured two days had been enough time, and drunk humans usually never remember anything anyway so I really thought-” His breath hitched. “Guess…Guess I didn’t watch for long enough.” He said through a choked up sob, tears starting to roll down his cheeks. This was it for him, it had to be, caught by the one human that had kept him up for countless nights in the past.

 “Whoa! Hey, it’s okay.” The human said, panic making its way onto his features and through his tone. His eyebrows pinched together in concern as he saw the little guy crying. “Please don’t cry little buddy, I’m not going to hurt you or-or anything else that might be running through that little head of yours.”

 The human looked around the room, head turning a bit too fast in all directions before his gaze fell on his nightstand. “Here, I’ll put you down. I’m sure being in my sweaty hands isn’t fun.” He nervously joked as he finally moved away from the door and over to his nightstand. He then placed his palm down on it, allowing Jimmy to get off on his own.

 Jimmy immediately took the opportunity and hopped off, glad to be on solid ground again. The hand lifted and went back to the human’s side and Jimmy was both relieved…and confused. He wiped at the tears still on his face, trying to stop himself from crying anymore as he warily looked up at the human as he backed up a few steps.

 “There we go. Is that better?” The human asked and when Jimmy didn’t say anything, the human looked panicked again. “Ah, oh, um…Oh! Maybe some introductions are in order? Yeah, yeah, um, I’m Tango! It’s nice to finally meet you.” Tango gave him a smile, though it was one full of nerves. “What’s your name?”

 “...Jimmy.” He said hesitantly, still worried about what was going to happen but slowly calming down a bit.

 “Well, like I said, it’s nice to meet you Jimmy.” Tango said, his smile gentler now. “I promise I don’t have any, uh, evil plans or anything like that.” Tango said with a little wave of his fingers at the word evil. “I just, I saw you and I didn’t want to see you hurt or-or worse.”

 Jimmy bit his lip. That’s right, he had been so caught up in everything that he had almost forgotten but Tango really had saved him. If not for him, he might have actually been crushed before anyone else even had a chance to pick him up.

 And, well…this was going a lot better than Jimmy would have ever expected. Tango had even put him down when he saw how distressed Jimmy was. He asked for his name, he promised no ill intent…

 Tango was really reminding him a lot of Grian and Joel.

 There was just one thing he had to be sure of.

 “So…you’re not planning on, uh, keeping me? Right?” Jimmy asked, eyes pleading that the answer was no.

 Tango’s eyes went wide. “Of course not! That’s included in the whole ‘no evil plans’ thing!” Tango answered. So not only was it a no, but a resounding no. Good to know. Jimmy then watched as Tango knelt down, so the human was more eye level with Jimmy now. “You’re a person, Jimmy. And I make it a habit to not kidnap, trap, and hurt my fellow persons.” Tango sent him another kind smile and this time, Jimmy returned it, even if his was a bit shakier than Tango’s.

 “Thank you, Tango. That actually really means a lot.” Jimmy said. He supposed there really were more good humans out there. Still, a borrower could never be too careful, but it’s nice to see that Tango was one of them.

 “Hey, no need to thank me for doing the basic human thing.” Tango said with a shrug.

 Jimmy shook his head. “No, really. Because not a lot of humans would…would be as nice as you.” The ‘basic human thing’ in regards to borrowers was not kindness. At least, if all the stories Jimmy had ever heard was anything to go by. And even if Jimmy currently had a 3 out of 3 track record for finding the good ones.

 “Oh.” Tango said. “Oh.” He said again as realization hit him. Right, he supposed Jimmy had a point. A three-inch tall person falling into the wrong hands…the things his mind came up with made him shudder. “Right, yeah, um…sorry you gotta, uh, sorry you gotta watch out for stuff like that.” Tango said, not really knowing what else to say. “I wish humans could be kinder.”

 Jimmy smiled softly and it was then that he knew, fully, that Tango was good.

 “You’re kind though. And that’s really all that matters right now.” Jimmy said, his small smile turning into a small grin.

 Tango’s cheeks flushed and he rubbed the back of his head, laughing nervously. “Just, uh, just doing what I know is right.”

 Jimmy giggled at the human’s flustered expression. Jimmy found himself feeling a lot more comfortable around Tango. The fact that Tango had proven to be kind mixed with the way Jimmy was somewhat used to humans now, it was surprisingly easy for Jimmy to relax. “Mind if I ask you a question.” Jimmy asked.

 Tango let his nervous laughter die off and as he met Jimmy’s eyes again. “Yeah, of course. Ask away.”

 “How did you…how did you see me in that crowd of people anyway?” Now that Jimmy’s mind was free of panic, it was actually something that baffled him. He could understand if it was someone who was actively looking for him, like Grian or Joel, but the fact Tango managed to see him in that mess had to have been a miracle.

 Tango’s nervous laughter returned. “Heh, um, well. Funny story that, I uh, I’ve…kind of made it a habit to look down a lot. You know, just in case…I saw you again. Or another little person. I didn’t want to accidentally hurt you or anything.” Tango released a breath. “I’m actually really glad I did that now, or else you might’ve…ya know…” Tango didn’t elaborate, but they both knew what he meant.

 “Huh, yeah, that’s…yeah. I’m really glad you made that a habit too, actually.” Jimmy agreed, pushing any thoughts of what could have happened far from his mind.

 “Can I ask you a question too?” Tango asked and Jimmy, though not expecting Tango to want to ask his own question, nodded. Tango’s eyebrows furrowed as he thought about his question and how to ask it. “Why were you on the ground, in the middle of the hallway, in the first place?”

 Jimmy blinked, realizing that was a fair question to have, actually. “Oh, I fell out of my friend’s…pocket…” Jimmy slowly trailed off, realization hitting him. His eyes widened, his body tensing up again. “Oh my word! They’re probably still out there looking for me! I gotta-I have to-!”

 Tango’s own eyes widened at Jimmy’s sudden panic. “Whoa! Whoa! Slow down, what’s going on?”

 “I was on the ground because I was with my friends and some guy knocked into one of them and it knocked me onto the floor! They’re probably worried sick!” Jimmy tried his best to explain. He had to assume his friends had noticed he was missing by now and were probably scrambling around trying to find him.

 Tango blinked. “You’re…friends?” He thought for a moment. “Wait, do you mean…your friends are human?”

 Jimmy nodded, his body still tense and raring to get back to them. “Yeah, Grian and Joel. They found me a few months ago and ever since then we’ve been best friends. But they still think I’m missing or…or worse.” Jimmy ran his hands down his face. He was probably causing them so much worry. The thought was stressing Jimmy out.

 “Wait, did you say Grian and Joel? As in the Grian who constantly wears red sweaters and causes mischief, the Joel who has a green streak in his hair and also plays along with said mischief? That Grian and Joel?" Tango asked and Jimmy looked up at him with wide eyes.

 “Uh, yeah? W-Why?” Jimmy asked, wondering how the heck Tango seemed to know so much about Grian and Joel.

 “Because Grian and Joel are good buddies of mine.” Tango revealed and Jimmy’s brain short-circuited for a moment.

 “...Wait, they have friends?” It was not meant to be a dig at them but Tango laughed and Jimmy realized how bad that had sounded. He tried to backtrack. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way! I just, genuinely thought they were each other’s only friends.” Jimmy shrugged helplessly. “They’ve never mentioned other friends before, anyway.”

 Tango nodded along, his laughter dying down as he placed a hand on his chin in thought. “Yeah, that makes sense actually. Grian and Joel have sort of stopped hanging out with me and the guys outside of class.” He looked down at Jimmy. “Though I can see why now.”

 Jimmy frowned. He didn’t want to be the reason Grian and Joel had stopped hanging out with their other friends. He was perfectly fine being left alone for a few hours if they wanted to hang out somewhere else. He didn’t have to always be around them.

 He would need to talk to them about that later.

 “I need to get back to them.” Jimmy said, getting them back on track. “I can’t begin to imagine how worried they are.” Well, that was a lie. He definitely could imagine it and he hated it. He really needed to let them know that he was okay.

 Tango nodded. “Yeah, of course. Uh, where do you think they would be, if they realized you were missing?” The question gave Jimmy pause and he had to think about it.

 “Well…” He started, thinking out loud. “They probably would have retraced their steps when Joel realized I wasn’t in his pocket. Meaning…if they didn’t find me in the hallways or outside…they’re probably back in their dorm room.” Jimmy worked out.

 “That’s as good as any place to start.” Tango said with a nod. “If they aren’t there, we’ll just head back to the building. We’re sure to run into them at some point at least.” Tango said and Jimmy nodded in agreement with him. Whether Jimmy was right or not, they would get him back to them. 

 Tango looked down at Jimmy and paused, realizing he would have to pick up Jimmy again for this. “Uh, how do you, ya know, want to do…this.” Tango stuttered out, waving at the both of them.

 Jimmy looked at him confused. “What do you mean? You’ve already picked me up before, you can just do it again.”

 “I know I have! But that was, you know there was a lot of panicy panic and not a lot of thinkificating involved.” When he saw Jimmy in danger, it was more of an act now and ask questions later sort of thing. “Besides, I feel weird just grabbing you.”

 Jimmy tilted his head, puzzled. A human feeling weird about grabbing him? That was certainly a new one to Jimmy. Grian and Joel never seemed to have any conflicted feelings about grabbing him or picking him up. “Joel and Grian do it all the time, so I’m pretty used to it.”

 Tango hummed at that, not knowing what to think. “Well…I would prefer you had some say in being picked up. So…” Tango placed a hand down next to Jimmy, palm up and flat. “...Hop on?”

 Jimmy looked down at the hand, hesitant. It’s not like he had never been offered a hand before, he remembers vividly when that was all Grian and Joel did for a while after they first met, but it was such a rare thing nowadays that Jimmy wasn’t used to it. The difference between just being grabbed and being offered a hand was that, when it was offered, Jimmy was the one putting himself in that position. He was really and purposefully giving his entire self and safety to the human offering him the hand.

 He supposed, when he was just being grabbed, it was easier to just let it happen. 

 And not only that, but this wasn’t Grian or Joel offering him a hand. It was Tango. Someone who he had just met and despite proving himself to be like Grian and Joel, it was still nerve-wracking to put himself in his hands. Especially when Tango was making him make that choice himself.

 But he needed to get back to Grian and Joel, and Tango was the quickest way there, so he took a deep breath and stepped onto the hand. He moved toward the center and, feeling weird standing, he quickly took a seat. Jimmy then looked up at Tango and gave him a hesitant thumbs up.

 “There we go, okay.” Tango said and Jimmy could just feel how nervous he was. It was kind of sweet, in all honesty. Even Grian and Joel had never been this nervous to handle him. “I’m going to put you in my pocket now, okay?” Tango said and when Jimmy nodded Tango lowered him to his hoodie pocket and let Jimmy inside. Jimmy slid off the hand and watched as Tango pulled his hand away but kept it at the very edge of the pocket, just in case.

 “Ready?” Tango asked, still nervous.

 “Ready!” Jimmy yelled back and then settled in as he heard the door open and Tango start to walk the dorm halls.

 It wasn’t very long at all before Tango had stopped, making Jimmy wonder just how close Tango really was to Grian and Joel’s dorm. A sharp knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts though and he tuned back in, hoping Grian and Joel were there.

 Tango heard a series of harsh whispers coming from inside the room but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. At least he knew they were in there. It took a long moment, long enough where Tango thought about knocking again, but the door opened before he could, revealing Joel.

 He looked awful, honestly. Tango couldn’t help but wince at just how distressed he looked. And when Grian came from behind to see who was at the door, Tango noticed he didn’t look much better. He knew they would be worried about Jimmy but actually seeing them like this almost broke Tango’s heart. At least he knew Jimmy was in good hands, if their amount of worry was anything to go by. “Um, hey guys.” Tango said with a little wave.

 Joel blinked. “Tango?” He had not been expecting him, though really he hadn’t been expecting anyone. “What are you-? Ah, nevermind, we don't really have time to chat or hang out right now, so maybe another-” As he spoke, he was already in the process of closing the door but Tango cut him off.

 “I found Jimmy.” Tango said, not beating around the bush.

 Both friends froze and slowly, Joel opened back up the door and both him and Grian looked at Tango with wide, incredulous eyes. “I…I’m sorry, what?” Joel asked, not sure if he had heard that right.

 Tango gently patted his hoodie pocket with the hand not still in there. “I found Jimmy.” He repeated and then pointed to the inside of the room. “I think it might be best if I come in?”

 They stared at him for a moment longer before nodding slowly and moving out of the way for Tango to come inside. Tango did and the door was shut behind him.

 “Alright Tango, you better explain yourself.” Joel said, his arms crossed as he tried to appear threatening. However, his disheveled appearance and his worry were still showing through too much for it to actually work. 

 Grian, on the other hand, did a very good job at burying his emotions in order to stare daggers at him.

 “Right, right, hold your horses.” Tango said, and then reached into his pocket since he figured showing them Jimmy was the best explanation he could give at the moment. He felt Jimmy crawl into his palm and he made sure to get a solid grip on him before pulling his hand back out, being very slow and careful just in case. He then lifted his hand to chest level and held it out towards Grian and Joel, revealing Jimmy sitting in the center.

 “Jimmy!” They both shouted almost at the same time, voices overlapping each other. Before Tango could even react, Joel took a step forward and snatched Jimmy off his hand, moving to cradle him between two cupped hands. “Are you alright? What on earth happened? Where did you go?” Joel asked question after question in worried relief.

 “And how did you end up with Tango?” Grian chimed in, close to Joel in order to look over Jimmy as well and make sure he was okay. But his gaze was locked onto Tango as he asked the question, Tango backing up a bit with his hands up at the intensity in Grian’s gaze. He had never seen Grian act like this before and, well, Tango could admit that Grian was scary when he wanted to be.

 Jimmy, despite the too many questions, was just happy to be back with Grian and Joel. “I’m okay.” He decided to start with, since that seemed to be the most important thing to clarify. “I’m not hurt or anything.” He explained, even as Joel was using a gentle thumb to feel around his body for any injuries.

 “That’s good.” Joel said with a sigh of relief, though he didn’t take his thumb back. Instead, using it to rub Jimmy’s back comfortingly. “But what happened? I got to class and put my hand in my pocket and you were just…you were just gone.” Joel’s voice cracked at the last word and Jimmy winced. He really had worried them.

 “When you ran into that person in the hallway, I…I fell out and onto the floor.” Jimmy revealed, knowing the reactions weren’t going to be good.

 He was right.

 “On…on the floor. Of the hallway.” Grian said through gritted teeth and with wide eyes. “In the middle of that crowd! Jimmy, how…” how are you not dead, went unsaid but Jimmy still picked up on it. He was good at that since Grian and Joel never really liked bringing up what could have happened to Jimmy in certain situations. At least, not in any detail.

 “It was…terrifying. But I was picked up only a minute or so later.” Jimmy looked over at Tango. “I thought it was you at first, Grian, since I was put in the pocket of a red hoodie but it turned out to be Tango.”

 Both Grian and Joel looked over at Tango. Joel seemed to only just remember that he was there while Grian continued to look at him with barely hidden wariness.

 “So you…saved him.” Grian said. Tango just shrugged and Jimmy frowned at that, answering before Tango could.

 “He did! He saw me down there and grabbed me to save me!” Jimmy exclaimed.

 Grian’s eyes finally softened, his wariness still there but much less prominent and he could already feel himself relaxing. “If that’s the case then thank you, Tango.”

 “Of course.” Tango said, feeling better with Grian not looking at him all scary like anymore.

 Joel though, still holding Jimmy close to his chest, still looked confused. “Okay, that is great and all and we do really appreciate it.” Joel started, but his tone became more wary as he continued. “But how are you not freaking out at Jimmy existing? You’re being pretty calm about all this.”

 And Joel’s words, Grian’s wariness came back tenfold and he looked at Tango with much the same gaze as before.

 Tango gulped at that but held out his hands. “Well, you see, I-” He cut himself off when he saw Jimmy run a hand along his neck, telling him to stop and not say anything. Tango really didn’t know why, but he followed along anyway. “I…uh, got all of my freak out when I talked with Jimmy at my dorm?”

 Joel raised an eyebrow. “Why was that said as a question, Tango? What are you hiding?” Joel still seemed a bit untrusting toward Tango, despite Tango bringing Jimmy back to them.

 “I’m not hiding anything! I, well…” Tango glanced down at Jimmy for help. Grian and Joel noticed and followed his gaze and now all three were looking down at Jimmy.

 “Jimmy? Do you have something you want to tell us?” Grian asked, his brow slightly raised. 

 Jimmy looked at the three of them before he couldn’t help but duck his head a little. He was used to being around Grian and Joel, of course. But Tango being added to the mix…that was three humans surrounding him from all sides, staring down at him with their full attention, and it was just a little intimidating if he was being honest. 

 Jimmy bit his lip, knowing that if he told them the truth of how Tango knew about him, they would freak out. Probably on both him and Tango. But he also knew that at this point, Grian and Joel weren’t going to let it go. He either told them now with little fuss or spend an hour arguing about it and then end up telling them anyway.

 He really didn’t feel like getting into a big thing right now. He was starting to feel exhausted from this whole day. So, he sighed and decided to reveal it. “Tango isn’t really freaking out because…he already kind of knew about me.”

 Grian and Joel’s eyes widened and Tango bit his lip as he watched closely at their reaction.

 “...Okay, but how?” Joel asked and Jimmy knew he wasn’t just going to let him leave it at that.

 “Um…remember when I told you about that time, when you two were celebrating the end of your first semester with some beer? About, how uh, I almost got caught by that drunk guy?” Jimmy asked with a nervous smile.

 It clicked right away for the two of them.

 “Tango was the drunk guy that saw you?!” Grian shouted as Joel’s jaw went slack. Jimmy winced a little at Grian’s volume and their reaction. Tango also found himself wincing, his body tense as he prepared to run if he had to.

 “I thought you said he didn’t remember seeing you?” Joel asked, getting over his shock enough to speak. Jimmy huffed a little and looked down.

 “I thought he didn't, but according to Tango…” He trailed off and looked at Tango, who took the hint to finish for him.

 “I started remembering a few days later. At first I thought it had been a dream but I just…I had this feeling it couldn’t have been.” Tango repeated what he had told Jimmy earlier.

 “Well that’s���hmm.” Grian started, only to stop talking and hum to himself, unsure.

 “I guess I am glad it was you and not some total stranger.” Joel admitted. “That could have been really bad.”

 “Yeah, imagine my surprise when Tango told me he knew the two of you. Why have you never mentioned him or any of your other friends before?” Jimmy asked, looking between Grian and Joel.

 Joel blinked and then shrugged. “It just…never got brought up? And besides, we never thought you were ever going to meet any of them.” He looked at Tango. “Turns out you two met long before us.”

 Jimmy supposed that was actually kind of true. It had been at least a couple of years before he met Grian and Joel that he had had that close encounter with Tango. That was honestly weird to think about.

 “Oh shoot, is that the time?” Tango suddenly said, catching a glance at Grian’s alarm clock. How words pulled Jimmy out of his thoughts “I gotta catch a class in about 10 minutes, so I should probably head out.”

 Grian nodded but as Tango made to leave, Grian stepped forward. “Wait.” Tango froze at the seriousness in Grian's voice and looked at him nervously. “You’re not going to tell anyone else about Jimmy, right?”

 Tango’s eyes widened. “No! Of course not! I would never ever.” He said and then paused, thinking something over. “But, I mean…you know, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad for you guys to tell the others.”

 Grian’s eyes narrowed. “Tango…”

 Tango put his hands up. “I’m not going to say anything! You don’t have to worry about that. But…you know the guys. You know Impulse and Etho and the others. Do you really think they can’t be trusted to know about Jimmy?”

 Joel rolled his eyes. “It’s not about trust! It’s about not having so many people knowing about Jimmy. The more who know, the more likely it could spread.”

 “But only if someone spills the secret.” Tango said with a raised eyebrow. “And I really don’t think anyone would. But, anyway, it’s not really up to the two of you, is it?”

 Grian and Joel blinked. “What do you mean?” Joel asked with a huff.

 “It’s up to Jimmy.” Tango said. Grian and Joel paused and looked down at the borrower and Tango couldn’t help but hum. “It’s his decision whether he wants more people to know about him or not.” It was important he reminded his fellow humans that Jimmy should be making the ultimate decision on anything that involved the borrower himself. And something like this definitely fell into that category.

 Tango then crouched down so he was eye level with Jimmy and smiled at him. “They can tell you more about our other friends later, but I wouldn’t be suggesting this if I didn’t think everything would be okay.” He explained a bit more. “Besides, I think you would get along great with the rest of our group.”

 Jimmy blinked wide-eyed at Tango, taken aback by that last statement. “You really think so?”

 Tango nodded. “I do. Think about it?” Tango asked with a slight head tilt.

 Jimmy hesitated for a moment before he nodded. “I will. Think about it, that is.”

 “Great.” Tango said and then slapped his knees as he straightened up before heading toward the door. He looked back behind him. “Hopefully we can see each other again soon! Bye Jimmy!” He waved and Jimmy waved back with a smile. “And bye to you guys too, I guess.” He joked as he also waved to Grian and Joel.

 And with that, Tango was gone. 

 And since he was gone, that meant all attention was now back on Jimmy. He was finally brought away from Joel’s chest and held between the two humans. “You are okay, right?” Grian asked softly, wanting to make sure.

 Jimmy took in a shakier breath than he had intended but nodded. Despite everything, he really was okay. Tango seemed like a really nice guy and even promised to keep his existence a secret. His mind, however, couldn’t help but replay the terrifying parts of the day. Jimmy did his best to not think about it though and shove it into the back of his head. “I’m okay. Just a bit shaken up, I guess.” Jimmy said, allowing himself to be a bit more vulnerable with Tango no longer around.

 “I bet.” Joel said and Jimmy realized his tone was no longer bordering on defensive. “You fell out of my pocket, onto the floor, and ended up meeting another human today. I’d be exhausted too.” He said and then sighed and looked away. “Stupid of me to not have my hand in there with you.” He mumbled to himself, so quiet Jimmy only caught a few words. But before he could ask about it, the conversation moved on.

 “You’re back with us now though.” Grian said, not only to them but to himself as well. “That’s all that matters.”

 “Yeah, and maybe no more trips to classes for a little bit.” Joel recommended and Jimmy nodded. He had no desire to leave the dorm room for a long time after what happened today.

 “I second that.” Grian said and then walked over to his bed to collapse in it. Joel, who Jimmy expected was going to be holding him for at least the rest of the night, sat down on his own bed and seemed to finally relax.

 “By the way.” Jimmy said after a few moments of silence. Joel looked down at him and Grian sat up a little to do the same. “What, uh…what are your other friends like?”

 He looked to Joel first, who was frowning. “You can’t seriously be thinking about meeting them, right? I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

 Grian sat all the way up and rubbed the back of his head, sighing. “Joel, I hate to admit it, but Tango is right. That’s not our decision to make for Jimmy.”

 Joel sputtered. “It’s-I mean-Jimmy, you were the one who didn’t want more humans knowing about you in the first place!”

 “I know, I know.” Jimmy looked down. Meeting Tango had been nerve-wracking for sure but maybe it was only because of the way he had met him? Sure, he would probably still be nervous meeting the others despite knowing what he was getting into with them. But…maybe Jimmy wanted to try. Maybe he wanted more friends. Not that Grian and Joel weren’t good enough but more friends, more people to talk to, seemed…nice.

 Besides, if the others knew about him, he would no longer be stopping Grian and Joel from hanging out with them. They could all hang out together!

 Still…Jimmy couldn’t take making this decision lightly. He needed to think about it and calculate if the risks were worth it. But, honestly, if the others were anything like Grian and Joel, or even Tango, he figured he would be just fine.

 “I’m not sure about it yet. But…I am thinking about it.” Jimmy admitted and looked between the two to gauge their reactions. They both looked worried, which Jimmy thought was fair. “I would like to know more about the others though, in order to…reach that decision.” Jimmy continued.

 Grian and Joel were silent for a moment before Joel sighed. “Well…I guess we can start with Impulse. He’s Tango’s roommate.” Joel started and Jimmy was a bit surprised they were willing to do this right now but thankful all the same.

 The rest of that night he spent in Joel’s hands, listening to Grian and Joel talking about their friends.

 And once they had all laid down to finally go to sleep, after learning so much about these people, these friends of his friends, Jimmy couldn’t help but think about how much he wanted to meet them.

[pixiemage]

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

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

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

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[angeart]

Could totally do au rambles you say?? Tell me about this forest curse au? 🤲🤲🤲❤️

CURSED FOREST AU!!! yesss <3

i will warn, this might be a long ramble. (edit: it is a VERY long ramble) this is the au me and @stiffyck are insane about. i will also say, this idea was thrown out as a horror au. aaand as such, the most important content warnings are body horror and animal death. please be aware.

it's set in a fantasy setting, and the forest isn't actually cursed. it's the people who come there, each bearing their own unique curse, then choosing to stay there with the others (found family boatem <3)

i'll put the au ramble under the cut here.

It all starts with Scar, who is a necromancer. Now, necromancy is scorned upon, it's a forbidden magic and people hate it. Which then means they hate Scar.

Necromancy works in two ways: one is raising human corpses/skeletons, in which case, Scar would need to focus and consciously manipulate them, like a pupeteer. They do not move on their own. However, animals are a different story. Resurrected animals continue behaving as if they were alive, independent of Scar. They are technically not alive, though. If they get hurt, their bodies will not heal. (Jellie is a resurrected cat. Yes, there's a whole story behind this.)

So, Scar is hated and he has nowhere to go and maybe he raises dead just because he's lonely and desperate to understand himself. Down the line, he gets cursed by someone, and his curse is one of shapeshifting, which might sound cool, but here's the thing: Scar doesn't know. He doesn't know he could willingly change shapes, he doesn't know how to control it, and even if he knew how, it'd be an incredibly painful process. But not shifting isn't an option—the curse, when idle, lashes out. What this means is Scar's bones just randomly snap and break. They do heal quickly enough, but it doesn't take away from the pain of it.

In the end, Scar finds himself settling in a forest. Away from everyone. There's nobody who'd care about him and he's so tired of being hated. So he settles in an isolated forest. And he raises dead animals for company.

Now, enter Grian.

Grian, unlike Scar, has a nature magic. He used to be an animal healer. One day, someone's pet died in his care. Not to the lack of trying—he did everything he could. Still, it wasn't enough, and it didn't matter. On top of his own guilt and grief, Grian got cursed by the pet owner.

The curse causes Grian to randomly pass out/fall asleep. When this happens, his mind gets transferred into a body of a random nearby animal. He gets to be the animal for a bit, but once he wakes up, that animal dies. Every time. There's no way around it. He can't stop himself from passing out, he can't stop himself from controlling the animal, he can't stop them from dying.

Needless to say, he's not having a great time.

He doesn't stay as an animal healer. He can't handle the possibility of hurting the animals he's supposed to take care of on the off chance that he passes out near them. He goes away, but it doesn't matter how far he goes, the curse follows.

That's when he finds Scar's forest.

He stumbles upon Scar reviving an animal, and it startles both of them in different ways. Scar is used to be hated. To be judged. To be hurt. He feels like he needs to hide. Like there'll be backlash, any second now. But... it doesn't come. Instead, Grian looks relieved. He watches Scar do his magic, watches the animal start to move again, and for the first time in a very long time, he feels something akin to hope.

So he stays. He lingers.

This surprises Scar, because nobody ever stays around in this forest. He doesn't even know where Grian is sleeping. There's no place for him to sleep, no other houses, no bed. Does he just, sleep outside?

Scar doesn't know Grian avoids sleep like a plague (he has nightmares), and his "naps" always happen inconveniently (passing out), so yes, at this point, Grian sleeps outside in random places.

One day, Scar comes across Grian sleeping in a meadow in the middle of the day. Oddly, he can't seem to be able to wake him up. Later on, Grian comes to him, holding a bundle of something furry in his hands. He looks wretched.

He presents Scar with the dead animal, asking if he can "fix it".

This is when things properly start. Because even though Scar is confused—why is Grian so upset about this random dead animal, if it doesn't belong to him? What is he even doing here, why has Grian nowhere to go back to?—he's impossibly, desperately drawn to the idea of having someone around. Someone who doesn't hate him.

So he invites Grian to stay.

There's only one house at this point, so they make Grian a bed and they sleep in the same room.

Well, sleep. Grian avoids sleep. (At some point Scar catches on.)

And when Grian does sleep, he has nightmares.

Scar sometimes wakes up screaming too. In pain. When his bones break in the middle of the night.

They're both a mess, okay? But now they have each other there. For tentative comfort. For attempts at softness and safety, even though they still don't know about each other's curse.

They learn eventually, of course. At some point, when Grian feels like maybe Scar won't send him away (he kills animals after all, he's so so scared to admit it), they talk.

Scar doesn't send him away. Grian keeps bringing dead animals to him, and Scar does his best to revive all of them that he can. (This means, over the time, the forest fills with undead animals—random travellers who stumble upon this give the forest its name, the cursed forest, and attach a warning to it.)

Sometimes, Scar can't save Grian's animals. As they don't heal once they're dead—for example, if a bird falls when Grian wakes up, and it breaks its wings? It's more merciful to leave it be. They have a collection of graves like these. Scar carves skulls of the animals into the stone to mark them. Grian sometimes sits there, heart full of apologies and guilt and grief.

I'm going to move on to Mumbo now. And Stiff's idea here is so very interesting! Mumbo is a potion maker. He loves to try things, to tinker, to improve. He likes his craft. But. People don't.

People don't like potion makers. It's seen as a last option. Because the transaction involves trust. Because it's something they don't understand and they can't confirm. They have no way of knowing if the purchased potion actually does what the potion maker claims it does. Does it really heal? Is it a poison? Is it a truth potion? Is it just an overpriced drink that does nothing? Is it something harmful that will force them to come back and buy another potion to fix it?

So people are distrustful of potions. There's no real way to know if what you're getting is what you need. But Mumbo finds them intriguing and it's the one thing he's good at, and he doesn't want to give it up.

Mumbo's curse is hypnotising people, taking control of them in a way where they'll do what he says. It happens when he looks them in the eye. It makes him dizzy.

When Mumbo stumbles upon the forest, he's nervous. He's a travelling potion maker, never welcome anywhere for too long, and there's this scary forest with a terrifying reputation and Mumbo has to pass through.

He's so anxious about it—only to find that two animal-loving idiots live there. And Mumbo pulls himself together and goes to check if they need potions. Fully expecting to be turned away.

They don't turn him away. Scar's bones keep breaking and they could definitely use some potions for easier healing.

It's Grian who begs Mumbo to stay. He begs him to stay for Scar.

And Mumbo stammers an agreement, caught off guard. For the first time in his life, he feels wanted and useful. Appreciated. Trusted, even, on top of that.

They also find use for his hypnotising curse—when Scar's in too much pain, he asks Mumbo to hypnotise him, because it helps numb the pain.

So Mumbo makes his home in a forest that is a little bit weird, a little bit spooky (Scar has a strange sense of humour and leans into the rumours; he decorates the trees with skeletones and bones). But Mumbo figures, he's a little bit weird, too. So maybe that just means he finally fits in somewhere.

Then we have Pearl. Pearl used to be a healer. She helped people when they were hurt or sick, but sometimes she also recognised when people were beyond saving, suggesting "letting them pass on peacefully" (or in other words, "putting them to sleep"). Similar to what happened with Grian, this made some grieving people very unhappy, and led to Pear getting cursed.

Pearl's curse makes her extremely tired, in a way where she can only gain energy from other people. But it causes the other people crash from exhaustion—so she literally puts them to sleep.

She doesn't know how to fix herself or where to go with this. She's aimless, a little bit lost. Alone. Tired. So, so tired from being driven away from everywhere.

Until she reaches the cursed forest. She doesn't expect much. Maybe she'll just pass through. But she is so weary, and she finds houses, and maybe she could rest for a bit?

They find out what she does, and she expects yelling and threats, she expects them to be mad, to tell her to go away and never come back, but— They don't. They don't do any of that.

They look at her, take it in, and they don't send her away.

Instead, Scar begs her to stay. Because Grian needs sleep. Grian needs help sleeping safely. He's been avoiding it, due to the nightmares, but it's edging a limit and Scar is worried about him, and this could help.

So Pearl stays. And she's bewildered and it takes her a while for it all to sink in: that they want her here. That she can maybe help them.

That first nigtht when Scar and Grian spontaneously come over to her, asking if they can take a nap there? She's so startled, because usually people hate that she puts them under, that she can control them and make them pass out like that. But these two just came willingly to her doorstep asking her to do it to them.

She doesn't know what to think that first time.

But they keep coming back.

Later, they make sleepover parties at her house. It's all of them curled up around her, and she's still flabbergasted by the trust, by the way they let her do this.

The fog of exhaustion hanging over her finally starts to relent. And she thinks maybe she can be herself after all. Maybe it's okay to be who she is. Maybe it doesn't actually have to hurt or scare anyone. Maybe she can actually help and be a proper part of this little community they're building here.

Then we have Impulse! Impulse is a devil spawn or a half demon or something like that. He has horns, which gives him away. He's never done anything bad, never intentionally hurt anybody, but being good is not good enough, because people take one look at him and expect him to be evil. So he didn't do anything bad, but he got cursed anyway.

The idea of the curse is to warn people away from him. To "show his true nature" before people have a chance to get tricked. Basically, it distorts the perception of people around him—sort of like hallucinations (auditory, visual, the whole package).

It happens more often than not when Impulse feels strong emotions. It just unfolds in an area around him, and anyone who's near enough gets to experience something personally tailored to their own fears. It's disturbing. It's terrifying. Impulse can't control it.

When he comes to the forest, he doesn't get sent away for what he is (which is the first for him), and he's so scared that they'll send him away because of his curse instead. And it's this building anxiety that actually makes the curse flare out for the first time in the forest.

Impulse scrambles to soothe them, to calm them down, hurriedly explaining through his (and theirs) panic what's happening.

They still don't send him away. They know how it feels to be relentlessly followed by a curse and by hate. They promise him they'll figure it out.

Over time, they mostly learn to recognise where the hallucinations start and end—so that they don't have to always be afraid around him. They also recognise that they happen the most when Impulse is distressed, so whenever things start looking scary, they go and find Impulse to check up on him and make sure that he is okay.

(This is from the discord rambles: imagine them being enveloped in a very dark, disturbing hallucination. and instead of cowering or running away or panicking, they'd search through it, find impulse, and beeline straight to him. gently take hold of him and ask if he is okay. and how can they help)

The hallucinations add a nice flavour to things, because they can trigger other curses—think Scar panicking and breaking a bone, or seeing something and raising a dead creature to defend himself. Think Grian with waking nightmares thrown into the mix. Or him passed out, transformed into a small animal, already defenceless and vulnerable, when everything around him starts distorting into terrifying things.

Also, it's harder to know it's a hallucination when they don't know that Impulse is nearby.

They're still trying to work though it. To be there for each other.

Now, Boatem, right? And this is silly, but listen.

One evening, Impulse tells the others a story about a boat. It's a random silly story. His voice is fond when he says it. Everyone listens intently. (They all like stories.)

Both Grian and Scar like crafting items, and once when they have a sleepless night, they decide to distract themselves with crafting. They think of their new friend, and boom, suddenly a bunch of boats have been made.

They wonder how tall the boats would be if they stacked them on top of each other.

"Would they be taller than Mumbo?"

"Bet."

Others joke that maybe Scar and Grian need a different hobby, because making a pile of boats in the middle of a forest where nobody needds boats is a bit bonkers. (They don't care and make another boat.)

Impulse loves it, because it means they all remembered his story. It's very nice.

Then they all come together to decorate the boats. Grian uses nature magic—flowers and vines and moss. Scar decorates with bones. Mumbo uses his potion skills to stain the wood and make it colourful. Pearl carves into the wood and Impulse draws on it, creating little stories. (Jellie pitches in with her claws and mice offerings.)

====

Now, we do have a lot of different little scenes and ideas for this au. I think one of my favourite ones are the dancing scenes.

Scar used to dance with skeletons when he wanted some comfort. A gentle sway, being held. That kind of thing. But he's also good at dancing overall.

Grian doesn't know how to dance. So Scar teaches him—using a skeleton puppet. Think Grian huffing "When can I dance with you?" and Scar laughing under his breath: "When you stop stepping on the skeleton's feet."

Think of the first time Grian gets his steps right. He beams at Scar and bounces over, all excited, "Now will you dance with me?"

Think of Scar not used to actual soft warm hands on him. Not used to the firmness of human touch, the way it sends sparks across his skin. He's not used to this. It's making his head spin. It's making his knees weak.

Scar, who is expert at dancing, stumbles through his first dance with Grian, helplessly distracted by Grian's touch, by the body under his own hands, by the actual warmth of a living person. By the way it feels to dance with someone who looks back at him, who grins at him, wide and toothy and overjoyed. The way Grian wants to dance with him, not because Scar made him want it. He just does.

Scar has to stop midway through the dance. He feels so overwhelmed.

Grian teases him for stumbling when Scar's the one who's supposed to know how to dance. And Scar admits he doesn't remember the last time he danced with someone actually living.

Grian smiles at him fondly—so gentle and soft—and he suggest they take it down a notch. They can just slow dance.

And that's something Scar used to do with skeletons to self-soothe—he used it for comfort for so long. And now he's being held by Grian. He's no longer alone. There's someone who doesn't shy away from him. Someone willing to hold him gently.

Scar sways with him and he buries in face in Grian's shoulder and sobs as they dance.

===

ANYWAY, that all being said. Art!!

You've probably seen my art of the cursed forest au - with Grian being upset over a dead animal, and Scar coming over to cheer him up. There's little details there—the flowers in Scar's hair were gifted to him by Grian, and they're kept fresh by nature magic. They're made to last. The bone necklace Grian wears is a gift from Scar. He was nervous to give it to him, but death and bones are the only things he knows, so he did it anyway. And Grian wears it happily, and it makes Scar's heart ache—he feels accepted.

Stiffy also made art for this au!! It's Scar dancing with a skeleton and IT'S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING PLEASE GO LOOK AT IT but also before you do, cw bright colours, eye strain. HERE IS THE LINK.

I think that's. Uh. Enough from me for now.

@stiffyck if you want to add anything go ahead <3

[fitzs-space]

Watched Labyrinth last night with @galacticjay1, and my brain worms took over.

So woe, hermitcraft Labyrinth au be upon ye

Gem as Sarah, main character energy unfortunately but someone's gotta do it. she's the type to just end up in situations. that way the baby Toby can be her puppy Winnie. [alt option would have been Scott, cause Scott's got the vibe to just be in places, but he could not be bothered to actually go through the labyrinth]

Bdubs as Hoggle, just look at him. the tolken short guy whos forced to help and will complain every step of the way about it, and will completely kissass up to their boss. Also both having a prized possession always kept at their side [the Clock, and the bundle of jewelry]

Scar as Jareth the Goblin King, Yea. Who else.

Etho as Ludo, just vibes really. Quiet dude willing to help and can just do wild shit for no good reason. [alt option was Doc, cause he's got the tall brute force energy to him as well, by they said it didn't fit. Docs got more of a higher energy to him then what would fit]

Rens Sir Didymus, Dog Knight. eccentric mf who screams out soliloquys going on about saving the fair madden they have devoted their time and service to, is that Sir Didymus or Ren? yes. Ok those are the main ones, now onto the other characters met in the labyrinth in approximate order of appearance

Xisuma is the worm. look at that mf and tell me I am wrong, one of the lines is this dude asking Sarah to come in for a cup of tea. Id apologize to the Xisuma enjoyers, but this is tumbler and people know he's a bit of a wet paper bag kinda guy.

Impulse and Skizz are the door Guards, The guards have no idea what's going on and neither do those two. I know its Technically the "Four Guards" and It could be team Zits, but the vibe isn't there fully. the type of mfs to mislead someone by pure accident[Skizz], and also cause its a lil funny[Impulse]

Martin as the False Alarms, their entire roll is to dramatically shout false warnings at the people who pass. If I didn't make the man who abuses the voice effects on his GoXLR as the rocks who wait to shout at people, I'd be making a mistake. [listener ass bitch] Also there is straight up a line where one of them goes "oh please, we don't get to shout these very often, its only our job" in some posh voice, then go back to the deep dramatic shouting. and that's just Martin man.

Grian and Mumbo as the Door Knockers, vibes [its also funny to make everyone's favorite guys as characters only seen for five minuets at most] If any two guys are going to be subjected to living their life forever constantly shouting at each other barely being able to understand what the other is saying, it'd be those two. Grian would be the Left, would also scream if he couldn't hear someone [Watcher allegations also] Mumbo as right because the ring in his mouth could be drawn as his mustache

Tango's a Firey, look at him. Cartoon ass bitch, the entire scuffed greenscreen dance sequence is on par with his thumbnails. I know there are supposed to be five of the dudes, but shhhh Zedaph would also fit with these fuckers. the type of guy who could probably detach his head, but still knows that there are manners and its rude to throw someone else's head

Pearl as the Junk Lady, she's the cleaning lady and collects trash, was it ever a question? And Pearls gremlin voice is the exact same as the Junk lady's voice

Doc's the lil fairies at the beginning of the labyrinth, everyone say thank you to Doccy for butterfly truthing Doc.

Jellie as just all the goblins, Scar the Jellie king instead of the Goblin king. The threat of Winnie getting turned into a cat is kinda funny, also there's the Humongous? that's a Jellie panda

the only main characters Im missing is the Wise Man and the Hat, I just do not know who to put them as, maybe Xb and Keralis cause of vibe? or Xb and Hypno cause of the horsehead farms bit. I do not know.

All that will come from this is me maybe drawing Ren and Scar as the characters, feel free to do what you want with this, my brain just needed to scream about this really

[tweeksandturns]

After screaming about Scar and Pearl for roughly an hour, i have been convinced to share some of my thoughts. Which may or may not hurt. ALSO: secret life spoilers ahead, be wary. (all of the below entries are copy and pasted, and may not make sense altogether. some go with others, but maybe a little more of them are alone)

While Scar and Scott were half fighting with each other (Scott was trying to shoot him) he was talking about how he chose Pearl and their team over him, and Pearl and Scar were stuck together in the end, the two most wronged by their partners in Double Life (Martyn is up there, but he didn't really have it bad because he has always been a free roamer, unless he has someone to devote too) but Scott, the one who was talking to Scar about this, was also the one who left his soulmate alone. Maybe Scar saw that Scott was to blame. Maybe he saw some sort of hope in Pearls eyes that he wasn't going to tell Scott he was just playing both sides. And maybe Scar figured that she needed someone. And he could understand. They were quite similar, after all :)

Not a copy and paste but thinking about ship names (or duo name) whether platonic, qpr, or romantic, and a dear friend of mine said Moonflower, or Scarlet moon (i am a Moonflower girlie myself)

grian can go to Hermitcraft knowing that we are reaching the end of Hermitcraft (LAST SECRET LIFE SESH RECORDING was 9 days before the end and we have 5 now. how many minecraft days can our weirdo blobs fit) and he thinks, I can finally talk to scar about 3rd life because he's a winner now he remembers if we're doing backwards winners curse, and then be goes to talk to scar in scarland, but stops because. He's with Pearl. And the two of them are laughing and crying, but Grian can see just how close those two winners are so instead he turns and walks away, knowing that he's safe from the watchers with Pearl even if it hurts so badly.

AND AND. specifically. how they won. because it's not like, oh we can talk to each other and get answers from each other, its that it was the exact same method. Scott killed himself both times, and both Scar and Pearl were alone

grian can go to Hermitcraft knowing that we are reaching the end of Hermitcraftthey were both treated wrong by soulmates, (Grians cheating, Scott leaving Pearl), AND OMG that hurts so much more in that paragraph i wrote before cause what if Grian's like, i deserve it for how i treated him, because he knows that he unintentionally uses other players just so he can survive in the games (LAST SECRET LIFE SESH RECORDING was 9 days before the end and we have 5 now. how many minecraft days can our weirdo blobs fit) and he thinks, I can finally talk to scar about 3rd life because he's a winner now he remembers if we're doing backwards winners curse, and then be goes to talk to scar in scarland, but stops because. He's with Pearl. And the two of them are laughing and crying, but Grian can see just how close those two winners are so instead he turns and walks away, knowing that he's safe from the watchers with Pearl even if it hurts so badly.

quoting a friend (not the one who helped with the names) as a reply to my earlier idea of grian angst: "GRIAN THINKING HE DESERVES IT AUGH I LOVE THAT. the two soulmateless people becoming eachothers soulmates !!"

my reply to my friends words (the bit one line above this one), and the thing that really hit my the most: "no no not soulmates. that's two bittersweet for them. no they want something more fluffy, like tilly or jellie. Something like 'partners.' or 'Lovers' but never soulmates. Because really, as much as how they were treated hurt. their soulmates lead them too each other. And well, if you have a soulmate that isn't romantic, it's only fitting if they lead you to the person for you that is, whether they mean it or not.

Help i need sleep but the token semi straights are slapping me with swords-

[briefle]

attempts at communications

In the early morning haze, with the fog rising from the ground and the cold of the night still stinging nose and ears, the path to the two stocky towers must seem almost dreamlike. For someone trying to infiltrate the back of the fortifications, however, the steep mountain had only mudslides and dangerously unearthed roots to offer as welcome. And god, did Bdubs feel like he got the biggest welcome yet.

He made it. It's fine. Without a single scratch even! If you don't count all those scratches on his arms from helplessly grasping at anything to stand upright.

There's a tiny passage behind the painting in his room… Surely everyone knows it exists, but there it is still. He's decided not to think about that too hard.

His boots off, he doesn't make any noise at all.

"Hi Bdubs."

"GH— YES, HELLO."

Maybe some noise was made.

"What doing?"

"Hi Grian how are you I'm wonderful myself it's getting quite chilly outside it's probably because of that mountain you guys keep as a backdrop good for wind protection I think but man do temperatures drop over in this corner—"

"Right."

"So!"

He coughs, half politely and half a necessity after his rapid-fire panic, but the silence stretches on.

Grian unnerves him sometimes. There he is, pinned in place screaming at himself to think of something to say.

Lucky he speaks first, "Didn't see you walk up to the front door…"

"Oh, I just wound up back here. You know with how everything… last time… I just ended up resting here."

"Right."

"Right again! Yes."

Beady black eyes stare him down. How could Bdubs even forget he lives here, He moved in after most alliances were formed but fits in so seamlessly it's like he's always been there and a ghost at the same time. God the silence is getting on his nerves already.

"So, since we are both all right and everything is fine, I'll take my leave."

Half a step is all he manages to take.

"Which of them were you actually looking for?"

"I uh—"

"Even then! It's early. They're not here. Everyone knows it's just me here at this time."

He sighs, even pinches his nose. It reminds him a lot about Cleo's sigh. Makes him feel like he might actually be in the wrong here.

"Bdubs…"

"No, it's fine. I'll go."

"Listen. I don't think they care too much."

What.

"It's not something you're doing because you want to. It's a Task. You have to follow it. I don't think they're the type to hold a grudge for that. Even if they were, for you they'd find a way to make an exception."

"What."

Grian waits.

"I don't have to do anything. No one has to do Tasks. We could all decide to go on strike. Right now. Not do any task. At all. See how that goes."

"It's not— That won't work."

He laughs, "Sure it won't. You just say that because it's your show. Everything you say is because this is your Show. How many shots do you call here, huh?"

"Actually, Bdubs…"

"Let me see: out of everyone here just Scott, Cleo and you survive. Miraculously! No one even knew where you where and our little glade here isn't so impossibly big that 13 people can't find ANY of you."

"Well, there's the session time also—"

"Oh the one YOU announce?"

Grian narrows his eyes. He hasn't moved an inch this whole time and Bdubs feels like he could run a marathon with how much energy he's restraining trying not to pace back and forth.

"Who are we angry at here?"

"Y-You?! Clearly?!"

He doesn't answer. Again.

"Call them up right now, let me see them. I need to speak to Etho and Cleo both."

And then? There is no plan but he's sticking with what he has.

For now he's balled up his fists and crossed his arms. And scrunched his face for good measure.

"Is it an apology you're here for? Or over some sense of obligation?"

It's his turn to not answer. Take that. Seconds tick and blast it all, Grian doesn't seem too fussed about silence either way.

"Bdubs, what would you even tell them right now. That having denounced the Mounders as a red name you'd much rather join us full time? I don't understand."

"Of course you don't."

He sighs again. Maybe he is fussed. Maybe this is what Grian being driven up the wall looks like. Etho would have understood right away. He would have known his good intentions immediately. Surely.

"Just— Be careful, going back and forth from so many allies."

He almost wants to stand there some more. Yell some more. Then all but storms out of the place in silent frustration.

The air outside is not refreshing, it's just cold, and the fog isn't quite dreamlike anymore, it's just annoying.

He makes sure to be back before Pearl comes to.

[nerdyenby]

Lime time :D I’m watching Jimmy

Pregame

Joel and Jimmy’s messages 😭 “You’re gonna lose babe” “bro I’m going to knock you off in tgttos babe. But you always my bad boy xoxo” OH MY GOSH THEM

Jim seeing someone’s skin being Grian in a lot pink dress with cat ears “holy moly, you look good” this guy

I haven’t seen Callum’s costume but I gotta look it up now

OH MY GOODNESS CALLUM

I blame Sneeg /lh

Scott mentioning having two corsets on and Callums “oh that sounds kinda hot, let me see” GOODNESS

I need this team actually: Jimmy, Callum, Scott, and Lizzie it’d be incredible

Hi Kara!!!!!

I’m gonna blame Jimmy telling Scott “Good luck, don’t win” for cyan’s loss

“Should I take my performance enhancing drug?” “Uh… how much of this is a joke?” “… like 20%” “Oh yeah, take it”

“But also consider this: we’re gamers” “I do forget that sometimes”

Jimmy getting a flawless bowspam kill my beloved <33

“I like this team more every time we speak” so true Callum

Parkour Tag

Them talking for like three minutes about how fast Kara pees is ridiculous /pos

Callum’s in a silly goofy mood lol

I’m just vibing :)

Callum 17th lmao, I remember when that meme started

Rocket Spleef

ALL the graphics are cool!!

Bridge to Terebithia reference 😭

What’s with them and talking about sweaty hands??? Lol

Callum is just SPEWING references lmao

Sands of Time

“I’ll be daddy!!!” “You mean sand keeper?” The second hand embarrassment, my goodness

“Has anyone ever run back in?” Kara repping all the impulsive thoughts girlies, real and true

“I usually do it just because I don’t trust anyone to do it, but I trust you” this team is so sweet, Jimmy was so honored <33

Jimmy’s so good at this, everyone else I’ve watched was frazzled by it being early but he’s just in the zone

“Thanks for the update sand daddy” “no worries son” “… sand son?” “sand son.” I love them :))

Is there a reason Jimmy doesn’t fill it all the way? I understand keeping a sand or two in hand for emergency rescues but he consistently doesn’t fill it

This is one of the calmest sots I’ve ever watched, there is stress going on but they’re just so chill

Tied 3rd!!!!

Callum shouting out Ranboo first individual and everyone being so surprised and hyped for them :))

Sky Battle

Oh that was so sad :(

Literally what just happened lmao, the endings on this map are so chaotic (not a bad thing but it’s a lot and no one was ready)

Jimmy keeps dying in the most tragic ways, what the heck :(

Ace Race

I zone out for two minutes and Callum is talking about waffling??

I love when teams don’t mute but everyone goes silent so it’s just the occasional grumble /g

Ace race is so iconic, it’s such a chill stress

Jimmy keeps having tech issues :(

Battle Box

Callum’s all “not to IGL, but…” and proceeds to shyly be the best IGL I’ve ever seen, my man, don’t back down, you got this <33

That second round was so clean!!

“Callum my IGL” SO TRUE PETE!!

“First place shmirst place!!.. I don’t trash talk very well” “Yeah, you might need to work on that”

THEY DID IT :DD my lime <3333

Yo they’re so close to second!!!!! 70 coins, man

Grid Runners

Jimmy motivational speech :))

Pete blowing Callum a kiss through the dividers lol

“We’ve grid ran before” so true Callum cpk

The way they got light the lamps first when absolutely silent lmao

Kara carry?!!!!

You need shears Jimmy 😭😭😭

Kara is carrying, she’s been figuring out every room and calling the shots, good for her <33

TGTTOSAWAF

“Oh you little…. Jimmy I’m gonna need you to deafen real quick” Kara my beloved <33

Jimmy just laughing at Callum’s swear, so true

“Surely we all get one” yeah, there’s no such thing as a pg tgttos lol

Tgttosawaf should never be played in the last half, can I get an amen??

Jimmy’s having such a time :( his audio keeps breaking

3rd!!! Heck yeah!!!!!

Callum being excited about not being 17th lmao

Pete asking who he came second to and everyone excitedly saying Jojo and him being hyped for her “oh, what and honor” <333

Dodgebolt

This was such a fun team, great time :))

Kara rooting for Dave “he’s just like me fr”

Jimmy and Pete’s banter is everything, actually

Jimmy can’t catch a break!! What is up with the bad boys and having tech issues this MCC???

Them all having little to no preference is so real of them

[bluiex]

Well I'm in a better headspace than before, if it's Angst ya'll want.

This idea has swirled in my head for a while since playing KH DDD.

Takes place at the end of Double Life. Grian and the others are always stuck between worlds here, and Grian has mostly been searching for his friends. But instead finds himself in a desert of sand with Scar.

-

The person was over looking the cliff as Grian neared, the desert sun casting long shadows as the heat of the day turned to a chill. It brought back unpleasant memories. Staring at the remains of a ring of cactus's as he walked up to the person, the edges slowly coming into focus.

Here in the void between games, it was hard to make out things due to how this world wasn't very stable. Grian felt some hope that this might be one of his friends, maybe even BigB, "hey, who are you?" he asked, best way to start out, maybe they would recognize him.

Turning around, Grian found himself staring at familiar green eyes and a scared face. "Scar...?" he said a bit in disbelief, ofcourse he would end up back here, in a place of sand away from others. Why did he always find himself here, when each game ended, he ended up back here. Scar would welcome him back as always, and it would just repeat, Grian might be a little sick of it that this was his go to place.

Scar however said nothing looking at him with a sad smile, which this was different than before. Grian frowned, "Well... aren't you gonna say something?" he asked Scar, "Come on Scar, don't leave me guessing here, no welcome back, or even a hug?"

Green eyes stared at him still, and Grian found his annoyance fade to confusion, "Scar...?" he asked again, to his normally chatty friend's silence, eyes holding quiet fondness but something much deeper.

"You know," Scar said looking over at the ring of cacti, "This could have been different between you and me." his voice was calm, no joyous tone to it, just plain and mono.

Grian looked confused by this, "What... do you mean? Scar what are you talking about?" he asked him even more confused now.

"We used to be so close, me and you," Scar gripped his hands together, "But as the series went on, you weren't interested as much as I was... maybe I did choose to over look it, to maybe hope, like in this place, in a world of fake gold, I could make it real with you." he tells Grian.

Green eyes looked up at Grian with sadness, "Our bond allowed us to share pain this go around... I saw it as a chance to understand why, and you saw it as a burden on yourself."

Silence rang at that as Grian looked away, not wanting to see those emotions anymore. Not wanting to hear this anymore, "Scar, we had it once, but... not again, I don't want to do it again. Why can't you understand how I felt?" he asked him almost coldly.

Scar looked at him, then the sadness melted into a paned smile, "But I did Grian, I felt everything you felt, and..." he took Grian's hands into his own, Scar's hands were warm, he could make out the callouses on them from the many scars. He looked up at Scar confused, asking what he was doing, but Scar continued before Grian could say anything. "I'm ready to let go." he tells him.

For a moment there was a green string between them again, the string turning red soon after. And...

Grian felt like he hit the ground again, as the waves of emotions hit him. Memories not his own flood through, and Grian found himself gasping for breath as they hit.

Loneliness Unwanted. Anger. Longing. The bitter taste of blood and unrequited love.

He was alone always on a mountain of some kind, no one wanted to give him the time of day. No one wanted him. No one cared about him. Watching as the world goes by and people find a happiness that he never could. AS even someone who was suppose to love him, would go off with another to be happy without him.

All he wanted was someone to say the words, to fill the hole, even if it was friendship... he wanted to be loved, was that so much to ask for?

Grian's throat was tight, he felt tears running down his face, blurring the edges of Scar between the memories. Scar's memories, his emotions.

Scar's Grief.

The weight was then gone, and Grian stood there, looking down as tears fell at his empty hands. Scar was gone, yet the weight of his hands in Grian's was still there. Phantom feelings that let his body crashing in a dark, cold ocean.

The sun had long set, and the desert was silent, no... he... he was back at the Red Velvet. The cacti circle the ruined edges of the Jellie panda sanctuary. The black coated remains of what was once their home.

His chest hurt, he couldn't stop crying, how could one person, who always smiled, laughed, and carried on... carry so much pain?

Grian often would find himself for days avoiding people that he hurt. he hated feelings of negativity. He hated being reminded of his failings. Chasing that positive emotions with hopeful eyes that this time will be different. He learned to let go...

But not everyone was like him. Not every could let go. Some coped by smiling and pretending it was alright.

"It never was alright... was it?' Grian said to the empty air, his hands turning to fists as he felt anger. "Why didn't you say anything? Why did you continue to pretend to be alright?" he asked no one, alone, a bond broken.

But isn't that what he wanted?

Grian left Scar in pain every day these games started, and now... Scar's left him with his pain.

-

Roxas's Grief always gets to me, some characters are used and abused. Never really seeing a happy ending. Scar's Life Series Character always gave me Roaxs's vibes. Always smiling even though it hurt, to pretend, delude himself, he was alright.

Listening to Roxas's theme while writing this hits even harder. Grian and Scar deal with pain differently. Grian gets back up and is in a rage, Scar just smiles through his like he doesn't care...

Because if he thinks about it, he wouldn't be able to stop.

WAAAH IT HURTS MORE WHEN THEY LET GO AN MOVE ON *sobs in my cage* and Gri knowing the burden and pain Scar had.. HNNGNHNGBFB

[bloop-im-a-frog-now]

Okay, hi, I never usually do this, but I know a lot of Scar-centric fics, especially angst ones.

Let's start with homesick (are you still listening) by pastelitey, Fantasy/Royal AU fic when Scar’s brother goes missing and thus, he has to become King. So much angst, so much shenanigans, but most of all, heartbreaking story.

Keep My Heart From Being Broken by mayflowers07 is a fic that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Jellie gets lost and Scar goes above and beyond to find her back.

If you're a fan of TCD!Scar, then scar is Not Vibing by Huntress8611 is where Scar gets a panic attack from seeing Cleo and how she helps him calm down.

those maddening circles, that we must fly and dance our way around (Maddening Circles) by Interjection is a story of how suppressing your urges could do you more harm than good and Scar learns this the hard way by turning into a full Vex after an accident. How will the server help him turn back to the Scar they know and love and how will they prevent it from happening again?

Do you like it when authors give Scar PTSD about the life series? Well, BLARGH! by TheYesterdayShow got you covered! Scar gets anxious whenever someone is close to his pets, so when Jellie goes missing? Well, maybe hiding your separation anxiety is harder than you think.

Did it ever bother you that whenever Scar goes into an infodump session, people bemoan? Well, I'll bite my tongue and hold my words, no of course it doesn't hurt! by Loafabun explores that subject in such a nuanced way that I still about it as much as I think about Chem's fic.

You said you wanted more TCD!Scar fics? May I suggest scar's to-do list by thepigeoncat where they give him a canonical ending of his TCD series.

Hands in Fate (Our Fates are in Our Hands) by Atherixx is a mumscarian soulmate fic but Scar is the main character and boi does he go thru a lot before having his happy ending. Being a hybrid in a town that has history with hybrids might not have been the smartest decision ever.

Oh, more trauma tied to the life series, you say? Do I have a good one for you. Baby, just let me bleed in peace by mossman_mothman is Scar being paranoid after last life and just overall not having a Great Time until he can't take it anymore.

Have not seen a lot of Hanahaki fics before, but if you wanted Scar to suffer, boy do I have the fic for you. Crack My Ribs (Make Me Whole) by mgrnn is last life Scar having hanahaki disease and accepting it in some... questionable coping way.

I have two more fics left to suggest and that is just us, always us by thepigeoncat and You built your kingdom around me. Now I’m trapped inside these walls and all I want is to be free. by NebbyAxololt, two aro Scar fics that enjoyed immensely. The first one is Grian not understanding why he can't love Scar the way he thinks Scar loves him, the second being Scar hating being soulmate with Grian and just wishing to be doing his own thing.

Sorry for the long message, but I love Scar dearly and have almost read every fic about him and his traumas and sorry if you already read a good chunk of these fics. Hope you enjoy your reading!!!

I enjoy Grian but you literally have to swim through fanfics to find a story about anyone else jsksksksk someone please recommend me good Scar fics I’m parched out here! (I like angst >:))

[cosmosisfold]

my favourite things ab hermits speaking voices (just the ones i watch regularly):

doc: "duuuude" sometimes the random evil laughs he does. the rly surprised "whaaaat!" when something unexpected happens. this dudes genuine laughs are always so fun too, love them. good shit. very nice chill talking voice, soft but not gentle, yknow?

keralis: high pitched "mhmhm!!" giggle. sometimes starts a sentence and takes 3 different turns and then does a 360 before parallel parking his meaning. when other people talks he starts speaking before interrupting himself a few times. most recently stuck out to be in the kings finale at the end when all the diamonds were stolen and he was like "ren? ren? re- r. r- ren?" cause everyone was talking.

xb: heyyy guys welcom baek to hurmitcraf seasun nain! i may just be canadian but this guys accent is fascinating to me. "shoo [so]". and the GIGGLES MANNN. hes so calming to lsiten to but every word he says is so engaging? its like im on a call with him and im muted.

bdubs: every word this man says comes from a deep well inside his brain in which there is a sentient rat calculating every word he says. theres comedic mastery in everything he does. also "yes wonderful job."

scar: hellooooo my fello miners and crafters. when hes doing something whimsical and makes his words all airy and floaty. when he says his outro at 6x speed so you can't understand a word he says. "what in the world!" [a lot of people say that but Him specifically].

ren: he has so many voices. what does he need all this linguistics for. also his intro makes me want to get up and scream it from the rooftops. "now we're cooking with gas baby!". he has such a bouncy way of speaking paired with fun in-game body language, you can tell he loves what he does.

grian: hes so british

honorable mentions of ones i watch only sometimes:

xisuma: if his face was leaked i dont think i would be able to put his face to it. sorry hes just pixels. i expect this guy to tell me about his candle making business that he made after his wife and him slowly grew apart, and then he'd confess to having a secret gay lover and cry while eating plain crackers.

cub: he is so casual and chill in his words its amazing. literally unshakable. you could show him nuclear bomb codes and he'd go "woaa that's pretty intense haha." i do like when he goes "lets gooo"

[jadienjaystoriesandart]

Dream’s greatest issue is not developing a content-friendly way of venting frustration, like he is emotional and can’t control it when he gets frustrated which is the worst combination.

Him being highly emotional destroys any logical thinking during situations like this - his rant was him being an idiot and not acknowledging he had no context or what was possible for the game - i.e suggesting they should’ve ended the game asap or average coins which wasn’t built in. If he wasn’t so emotional he could’ve thought through it a bit more and shut up. Doesn’t help tthat he thinks he’s logical at these points so he sounds like the nerd emoji but everything he says is wrong 😭

The lack of control destroys any attempts to turn it into humour like a lot of other streamers do - Micheal McChill absolutely raging against Ace Race is funny because he has enough control to direct his frustration to make the content work still. Or even enough to walk away from the situation consistently, I know he has a few times in situations where he underperforms or a minor glitch happens, and will remove himself from sitautions a lot (re: muting to focus when not doing well, leaving stream quickly) - I know people will say he’s a bad sport if he leaves mid game to collect himself but anyone saying that doesn’t understand people work differently. Emotional + Not being good a controlling it is such a mess because it comes off as incredibly misdirected anger and there is no content it’s just cringe. It always feels like when he goes on a rant (even if I think this one was tempered because he did litter it with useless mcc praise) and acts like this that he will come down from it and immediately regret it. Tbh I’ve always hoped that Dream reconsiders therapy after his fr (and hopefully the improvement in mental health since hed be less paranoid and will be able to go outside and not have a panic attack 😭 will get him to be more included) < last bit is a bit too parasocial tbh but I just want him to improve because there’s always overblown twitter drama over something where people say he should “just not react like that” which isn’t helpful in the slightest when discussing an actual person.

Also while I’m here, I hate the way his fans defend him sometimes because they go about it the wrong way. Here they will say he has a right to express an opinion and I will agree, if that opinion is controlled and doesn’t have the two comments that were main issue in this case. One was the implying bias towards someone else - could’ve been a joke, Dream is bad at tone, but harmful still when some people think the entirety of noxcrew hate him (they could tbh but so long as it doesn’t effect their work it doesn’t matter if they do) && the other being the “criticism vs hate” comment because while true, there is a difference, they overlap a lot which Dream has experienced and already accepted before (“criticism comes with hate” - Dream, 2022). Plus his fans are only largely going to parrot his flawed critism that was made with no context to noxcrew on mass 😭 just tell twitter to shut up about mcc “crit” and half the drama surround you will be gone bro (it doesn’t work like that ofc but similar sentiment).

<Sorry for the random essay in the ask box, came from the buildmart post because I think buildmart defenders get overly hateful (I like buildmart) and the reaction to Dream is overblown but also I like critiquing my boy cause he’s a menace to mcc (mostly the twitter fans) & I want him to get better (less set ups by fans: he can ruin his own reputation sure but he lets his fans ruin it which pisses me off like don’t they like him? 😭) < been wanting an (actual) serious stream about twitter forever>

Don’t worry about it friend. I agree with you a lot on these points. I love watching Dream’s content myself he was the one who introduced me to many others I watch now. Eret, Foolish, Philza, Grian, Scar, etc…

I find it sad that when he get angry his fans see it as their gods given right to spread hate in his name. I don’t think Dream can control his fans, but rather he can be aware of what they do. He never seems to genuinely care when they are doing horrible things to other people saying it’s for him.

I remember Markiplier and Jacksepticeye sometimes telling their fans they do not encourage this behavior. And they truly meant it. And would block people who claimed to be a fan who harmed others online.

But I fail to see this with Dream, and it frustrates me. I get loving your fans but like with friends irl once they start to be toxic and do questionable things, you need to question is they are worth keeping.

I struggle myself with emotional ADHD outbursts. But I do my best to remind myself that I can’t let these emotions, this anger, cloud my judgement. I need to be careful with what I say and how I say it. I don’t censor myself but I take my words into consideration to how others will react to it.

I feel Dream hasn’t wound that yet in himself, and let his competitive side cloud his mind. He lets his anger take hold of his words and says them without think until it’s already too late.

Which sucks as I don’t want him banned from MCC. But the more he pulls this stuff I wonder how much longer until he does something that will really get him in deep water.

[sleepless-in-southlands]

This the Head. This the Tail.

Ao3

Summary: This is a story that begins after the beginning. This is a story that never ends. It's not inescapable. Maybe that's the best part. Maybe it's the worst. Content: 3L au, referenced death; inevitability, watchers, open/bittersweet ending Ship: Ambiguous Desert Duo

~

    There’s an argument to be had if the first time is the best or the worst. It’s an accursed cycle the first time begins, but it’s never a small thing that begins such a cycle.

    This prompts the matching question of the last time. Is the last time the worst or the best? Is the cycle worth its pain? Is the end worth its loss?

    These aren’t arguments Grian can have, questions he can’t answer. Neither beginnings nor ends are his specialty. He’s not the one of middles either.

    He’s not even Grian, not really. It’s a name for stiffer tongues to address him by, but that doesn’t make it his.

    Until it is.

    “I do not understand why you are doing this.”

    Grian’s feet sink into the desert sand the longer he stands in place. Blood drips off his knuckles, staining the cliff edge. He should be alone. That’s how this scene goes.

    When Grian doesn’t reply, doesn’t turn, sand crunches under foot as the other approaches him instead. Each step shifts the ground as it isn’t meant to be. If they weren’t already so close to the end, Grian would protest. As is, he supposes he can let it slide.

    Swirling purple barely contained to a player’s form comes to stand before him, eyes looking everywhere but mostly at Grian. “How long have you been here?”

    Anyone else would have lost count. “One thousand, six hundred and seventy-four times.”

    “This is excessive, even for you.”

    He’s sinking further into the sand. Too far. “Why are you here?”

    “We know how you get about your… loops. I am here to end this one.”

    “Leave, and it will end.”

    “Watchers stand out of time.” Grian’s companion tells him, as if he would somehow not know. “For us, your loops do not end until they end.”

    Grian doesn’t respond to that. Sand moves around his feet, resettling into the proper places. Grian’s walked this mountaintop enough times to know where everything lays, how to set it right.

    “Why do you not just save him?” The other asks, eyes shifting to the side of Grian, looking back towards the cactus circle. “Set things as you see fit. Let him live, win. Avoid ever meeting him. Free both of you from this cycle of chosen inevitability.”

    “I can’t save him.”

    “We will not judge. Some players always slip through our cracks. It is allowed.”

    Wind blows sand off the cliff edge. Grian resets them before they fall more than a block. “If I alter this loop, I alter all that resides within it. I can only save the player, not the one who belongs to this loop.”

    Every eye is on Grian now. He meets them all. “So I see. This player, in this loop, in this world. I thought you would know better.”

    Another breeze comes through, disturbing nothing even as it builds in strength.

    The poorly cut edges of his companion’s form constrict and stretch, eyes opening wider, purple skin becoming multi-hued. “You would doom him, yourself, us all, just to relieve the exact same moments over and over again? Refusing to change so much as a single grain of sand, so dedicated are you to him.”

    The malice in the words are sharp. The wind picks up in response. Nothing moves. Nothing changes.

    “The power of worlds, the fate of servers, in your hands, and you would disgrace it all for this? For him? Tell me, Ouroboros-”

    The wind howls. Grian’s eyes open where they hadn’t been and they are burning violet. If this is what is wanted, this is what he will provide.

    “I am Ouroboros.” He confirms, and in the other’s many eyes Grian sees the fear Watchers purport to never harbor. “I am the tail and the head. I am the destruction and the renewal. I am the beginning and the end. This is my loop, my cycle, my dimension. You don’t belong here. Go.”

    The storm dies away. Grian’s eyes close. Time moves back, the intruder removed, no longer obstructing Grian’s purpose. He steps up to the cliff edge, letting out a breath.

    “Begin again.” Grian speaks out to the world, tipping off the mountain as soon as the words leave his lips. By the time he hits the ground, it will once more be the grass of the starter zone, in a world filled with life unaware of what is to come.

    Cycle one thousand, six hundred and seventy-five.

[lockoutkey]

Hello key.

I am distraught.

Do you think the redlifes who became yellow ever experience urges to kill or destroy, to relapse into that feral mentality because they’re free from the influence of others while red. They control their own destruction, no one can tell them what to do.

Or do you think they regret the time they were red. Rotten to the core. Feeling so protective over their life so they don’t go back to it. They want to never feel such anger and bloodlust again. They’re afraid of their own demise.

Both.

What I’ve noticed about red lives is that they’re not driven by survival. It’s there, for sure. There’s a caution when making those tnt minecart traps that one wrong move could be their end. But what drives them is their wants. They don’t need anything anymore. They just take.

Cleo wants revenge. Bdubs and Grian want Etho and Mumbo on their side. Joel wants more red friends. There’s no rules about how they get these things. Sure, they can have some of those left over morals if they want. But when that overwhelming fog that cuts out any other thoughts besides destruction, it’s hard to keep them.

Etho bargened for Bdubs life and got BEST back together. They were working together on taking down the fence walls and huge divide when Bdubs messes up a swing and nearly takes out Tango’s hand. Tango laughs it off cause Bdubs is fine. Hes a yellow like them. But Bdubs has this tiny voice that’s telling him to do it again. Get a little closer. Do it to Skizz this time. Get Etho. His boots are low on durability and that soul sand is a big help. But Bdubs smiles and complains about the uneven terrain instead.

Joel finally goes back on yellow, and promises to stay with Scar on the mountain. He has a friend again. But the message in chat shows Scar has died. Joel is also me on the mountain once again. He’s all alone with a man who just lost everything in such a short amount of times. The mountain is so tall and fall damage is so easy on there. Red lives do stick together after all. He wants friends. He’s going to keep magical mountain as theirs. Hes been red for so long. Grian will understand why he’s back. Right? Joel has a house to fix and red glass to remove instead. He can think about friends another time.

Grian looks at his base now filled with traps. Hes proud of his friends for doing what they could to protect their home while he was gone. He knew it was protection from him. He understood. It was fine. But it would be so easy to rig a tnt minecart to blow near a wall Martyn kept sneaking out of to see Ren. Mumbo wouldn’t even notice a pressure plate by his door. Impulse already felt guilty, he wouldn’t mind seeing what a red life was like. Jimmy was a traitor, he should die anyways. He was too busy chopping trees. He called the others over, the forest had to be cut down more. They better not grow more trees.

Cleo didn’t mind being back. She wouldn’t mind going back to red either. It turned out she was always cursed, boogeyman or not. Scott and Pearl’s house was gone when she aligned with them. It wasn’t that bad. It would have burned anyways, just like that fort. She said it would on the first day. She kept her promise. She would burn it again. Not now though. She had better things to do than think about pink flowers and loyal dogs and traitors. She was green and had a place to stay.

[shiningstarlight101]

Part 2 of the hermitcreature au/which minecraft mob I add to which hermit 🌟

Part 1

Stress

With Stress there is one mob I thought of the most for her, Stress is a witch. She likes to help Scar out with trying to understand her magic more but it never really works out lol.

Iskall

Iskall is always associated with slimes, but Jevin is also a slime and idk how to feel about repeating creatures when there are so many mobs to choose from. The problem is that I don't have a better fit lmao. But hear me out, glow squid!Iskall-

Mumbo

With his new "peace love and plants" thing, I'm making him a passive or neutral mob. So there are 3 mobs I have in mind, a bat, bee or spider. And I'm really tempted to go for spider!Mumbo. Like, everytime he goes to work he has multiple arms to do as much as possible but he sucks at multitasking so it barely works. And his superhero thing he has going on could be spiderman Mumbo.

Etho

I see the au's who make Etho an ice elemental or other ice related thing and I raise to you: fox!Etho. Specifically artic fox!Etho. Foxes are said to be clever tricksters, which I think fits Etho pretty well. And it still keeps up with the ice theme.

Joe

No one actually knows what Joe is. He knows quite a lot, and you know he's always there if you need him, but he can't just be a human. So what is he..? Maybe they'll figure it out someday.

Keralis

So, you know how spiders have a lot of eyes and a big part of Keralis is his whole eye thing? Spider!Keralis. Now you may be thinking, "didn't you say you don't want repeats?" And yes, I don't. So I raise to you, cave spider!Keralis. He and Bdubs call themselves daylight buddies because they both stay calm and collected as long as they have enough light around them.

Ren

I saw an au that made Ren a wither and I really like that idea so I might also go with whiter!Ren 👉👈. My other option is endermite!Ren mainly because I remember watching streams of season 7 and how often he just used enderpearls whenever I watched. I think it would be cool if he was an endermite.

TFC

TFC is a wandering trader. He's always kinda there, vibin. And I can appreciate that. I see him as a retired wandering trader in the au, one that finally decided to settle after years of doing his job. Alternativly: elder guardian!TFC.

Beef

Cowboy. Literally. Mooshroom!Beef. I find it funny because of his butcher skin. I went with the mooshroom because they're better then cows, and the spawn island from season 7 was the mushroom island. Like, what if Xisuma hadn't seen Beef since season 5 and he suddenly met him again searching for a new world for the hermits, finding out part of him was mooshroom.

xB

xB was a difficult one but, bat!xB. I'm basing it off of his apocalypse base in season 7. His base was an apocalypse style, in the sky. Bats need to fly. (honestly with xB I really didn't know, please bear with me lmao-)

Hypno

Husk!Hypno. Yes I have a reason for this. No I will not tell you all just yet, it's for 🌠 angst lore.

Wels & Hels

These were genuinly difficult because I wanted them both to be the same mob. I was switching between Iron golems, snow golem & iron golem, and various nether mobs but I think I found the mob I want to give them. Blaze!Wels and blaze!Hels. Wels is a blaze that isn't provoked, and stays the way he is. But when upset, he can look rather close to Wels with smoke coming from him, and even fire if you've really pissed him off, which doesn't happen often (thankfully.) Hels is a blaze that is always in some angry state, causing him to always give off smoke and fire.

Xisuma & EX

So funny story, we have used up all the end related mobs (enderdragon!Grian, enderman!Pearl). And while endermite might still be available since I am probably going for wither!Ren, endermite!Xisuma feels wrong. So, shulker!Xisuma and shulker!EX. They both come from the end islands and the void itself. They are much more then just shulkers, but strictly 'mob' speaking, they are shulkers.