#grian in a bottle made me lose it

[frozenjokes]

Rage Room (I’m Loving A Losing Battle, But I Can’t Quite Seem To Let Go)

in which aromantic scar finally tells his friends what’s been happening between him and Grian, and how he processes the space between them

“It’s just- not fair!” Scar smashed the bottle against the tile floor, the glass pelting the ankles of his reinforced pants.

Bdubs clapped behind him, though stopped when Scar turned around, visibly not in the mood. Admittedly he knew he was shooting low when he went on, but Scar didn’t care, “And I’m kind of pissed off about Etho! If the roles were switched, I would be there, and he said he’d be here last time he missed.”

“Oi,” Cleo cut in, about as unamused as Scar figured they’d be. “No friendly fire.”

“Is it really friendly fire if he’s not here.” Scar huffed, but Cleo knew better than to take his words at face value, and shut him up with a firm glare.

“And you better start talking before I make you pay for all of this.” Her words were rugged, but Scar knew she didn’t mean it, and he could take as much time as he needed. But really, if he was taking shots at Bdubs, he probably should cut to the chase. This was why they were here. This was why they had all made this pact in the first place.

“Grian is.” Scar started, stilted, “Sorry, Bdubs. I shouldn’t have said that. Grian won’t talk to me anymore. He doesn’t- want to talk to me.”

“What?” Bdubs said, eyes flying open, and yeah, no one here was really caught up with his whole.. situation. Anything that felt close to Mumbo he tended to avoid, and basically everything about Grian in the past weeks was Mumbo adjacent.. and also a little sensitive. Not something he was eager to talk about. Scar was more than a little pent up, and based on the expressions of concern across Cleo and Bdubs’ faces, it must have been pretty obvious. “Weren’t you guys hanging out nearly everyday for- I don’t know, it’s been a month at least, right? Did something happen? Hasn’t Grian been driving you around everywhere, too? You’ve sure been asking me a lot less.”

“Yeah. We were.” Scar spoke stiffly, picking up another empty bottle and spinning it in his hands. He chucked it at the wall, aiming at the newly set up targets Cleo had implemented a couple weeks ago. A good choice. Fit with the theme of the axe throwing/rage room combo. The bottle shattered near the bullseye, unsurprising, given their whole friend group had pretty tight aim. Still satisfying. “Until he went and fell in love with me.”

The memories burned like open wounds, like red, angry flesh, like sunburns on your eyelids, like the stinging smell of bleach. Cleo said something, some sort of assent, but Scar didn’t hear it, smashing two more bottles for release, though he didn’t feel any less like his ribs had been torn from his chest, hanging limply on hooks, dripping on his face from his place on the cold ground, bleeding out, dying, but never quickly enough.

“I don’t like labels, alright, you all know this, but Grian says aromantic, and that works for now, because I don’t love him like he loves me and that’s fine. That’s fine! That. Is. Fine.” Scar took a bat, needing something bigger, needing more release, and the old TV would work just fine, “And you know how I feel about dating. I like it. I like to get to know strangers, I like to feel things out, and I like to be close! But you know who I don’t like to date?” The question wasn’t meant to be answered. Scar swung his bat, splitting the TV screen with a satisfying crack. “Friends. Good friends. Friends that mean a lot, friends that I can’t afford to lose when everything goes to shit.”

Scar hit the TV a couple more times, physically battling away distress, “I was so afraid when he brought it up- dating. I was so afraid. I couldn’t just date Grian, because it would end and I would lose him and maybe he’d say we could still be friends and I would say yes! Yes, please, please can we still be friends, and he would say that’s okay, and then two weeks later he’d slam me with a message about ‘needing space’ and ‘not wanting to talk for a while’ and suddenly, suddenly my heart’s being ripped out of my chest and stomped on, but it would be fine, right? It would be fine, because after he’s taken his time, we could be friends again, and things could return to normal. No!” The TV was hardly satisfying to hit anymore, reduced to shattered glass and warped plastic under Scar’s assault.

“It never just. Goes back to normal. You try, and you try and you try, but they just can’t do it, they just can’t love you anymore, and suddenly your best friend is slipping away and there’s fucking nothing you can do about it. Because you dated them. Because you took things ‘to the next level,’ because you made something volatile without even knowing, and the next thing you know, it’s blown up in your face, and you’ve been completely blindsided again.” Scar’s arms shook, and gently, from behind, Cleo laid a hand on his shoulder, sliding down his arm to take the bat he was gripping so tightly. Scar let go when they touched his hands, but his teeth remained locked, grinding near painfully.

“Deep breaths, Scar. Breathe with me. Let me count for you,” and Cleo did, counting to five and back again, forcing Scar to take a step back. Scar wasn’t someone who particularly valued meditation or breathing; it was often too difficult to focus, especially alone, and he was easily frustrated knowing how he should be feeling, but Cleo had a way of grounding him, and when Bdubs was doing the same exercises at his side, Scar didn’t feel so stupid. And it did help. Fives minutes to breathe really did wonders sometimes; it was a shame Scar couldn’t quite manage to utilize the tool as effectively when he was alone. Not that he ever remembered to try.

And now it was quiet, and Scar was so vulnerable, and there was no more anger to hide behind, because it was all just sadness, stiff and aching so impossibly deep.

“I thought if we didn’t.. date.. I thought things could just be normal. That nothing would change. But every awful thing just got expedited- he doesn’t want to see me, he doesn’t want to talk to me- he needs space, he said he needed space, but I know what that means now.” Scar had to sit down, and Bdubs joined him, Cleo standing close by. “I feel so helpless. And it didn’t even matter. I just wish I knew so badly, so I could have said yes, so at least we might have had a chance before it all went to shit. I could keep my friend a little bit longer. I wish I understood how he felt. I wish I felt what he felt. Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard.” Scar let his head drop to his hands, voice muffled under his palms, “I just kinda hate myself sometimes.”

Cleo put a hand on his shoulder, a question of touch, and one that Scar accepted with closed eyes. “It would still be hard, Scar. I can promise you that. If this isn’t what you want to hear right now, then you can let me know, but I have to think Grian and your other exes of the past who you haven’t kept in contact with were and are just as torn up as you. Maybe they need to let go for themselves, but I can tell you from personal experience, that doesn’t make it hurt any less. It doesn’t make you miss them any less.”

“But when people leave me, it’s always because in some way, their lives would be better without me,” Scar felt like wailing, but in reality, his speech was far more soft, “And my life is always worse. It’s always worse. Like I’m just a plague on my friends, and I have no idea how to fix myself to keep this from happening.”

Bdubs squeezed his hand to get his attention, and Scar knew what was coming, he just couldn’t love himself right now.

“There’s nothing to fix, Scar. You’re one of the most delightful people I know, and I mean that. The way you navigate the world is inspiring.”

“Just doesn’t feel like it right now.”

“It doesn’t have to,” Cleo said, something faraway about the words, “You just should know, that’s all. How we feel.”

“I just wish I was normal.”

“I don’t,” Bdubs snorted, something so passionately reactionary, Cleo laughed, and Bdubs himself looked a bit surprised by his own words, then a tad embarrassed, “I mean, come on. You’re a complete monster, and I love it. I love how comfortable you are about touch, I love how physical you are, and I love how normal you make it feel. Sometimes I want to fall asleep on my friends’ shoulder, or hold hands, or just be held, you know? And no one does it like you, Scar, no one. I think everyone ought to take a couple pages from your book.”

Scar wasn’t quite sure what to do with that, but it wasn’t the type of thing you argued about. You just had to accept it. In all honesty, having people to love him when he couldn’t manage it himself felt indescribably secure. Like a heated blanket wrapped tightly over his shoulders when he was so, so cold. But he couldn’t acknowledge it either, not when he couldn’t breathe the words. So he let it hang, hoping he’d remember to say something later. He knew he would. For now, Scar dodged around the words, stuck in his own raw truth.

“I don’t want to go through this again.”

“I know,” Cleo kept their hand on his shoulder, and Scar wanted to cry.

“And I- Okay, so I can’t really talk about this.. NDAs and such, but I was working on something with someone- something cool, all three of us, Grian included. And at the same time Grian.. cut contact.. I haven’t been able to reach this other uh- colleague, and I don’t know what happened! I don’t know anything, and I have no way of contacting this other guy, and Grian doesn’t know either, and I was so excited, but it just feels like everything is falling apart around me. And- and don’t be mean about the other guy, please, it’s not his fault.” Cleo looked quite skeptical about that, but a pleading look from Scar was enough to get her to leave well enough alone, “I just wish I knew why. Or if he was coming back. Might not have been able to communicate that anyway though, there’s a bit of a language barrier.”

“Can’t use google translate?” Bdubs asked, and Scar couldn’t stop the bitter laugh that escaped his throat.

“Hadn’t thought of that,” he mumbled, which was enough to get Bdubs to let it go. Cleo didn’t look happy, but she didn’t push either.

“That fucking sucks,” she said instead, and Scar laughed in earnest, along with Bdubs, the entire air feeling just a little bit lighter.

“It does,” Scar sighed, resting a cheek on his fist, “Guess I have to find something new to throw myself into. I just really wanted this. I really wanted this.”

There was a long silence, Scar having nothing else to say, and his friends in a similar boat. There wasn’t much to say. They knew. Scar knew they understood. But there was nothing anyone could do. Nothing that could make this any less horrible. But Bdubs did perk up after a minute, catching Scar and Cleo’s attention

“We could go skiing!” Bdubs suggested, to a chorus of groans from Scar and Cleo. Bdubs huffed, affronted as he crossed his arms, “You two need to live a little. Even if you suck, you’re both exhausted by the end of the day, which would do Scar some good in my opinion, and I know you’d be able to take the time off for an impromptu trip.”

“I don’t even think you like skiing,” Cleo rolled their eyes, a laugh under her voice, “You went on one trail ride in those mountains and it changed your life, that’s what. There are no wild horses out there, Bdubs, the guide lied to you.”

“She did not lie! There are horses, and they’re going to see me and know.”

“Know.. what, exactly?” Scar teased, and Bdubs puffed up, as if this was the most blasphemous question Scar could have asked.

“They will just know. And anyway, Etho believes there’s horses out there too, he does, and he wants to see them just as much.”

“Pretty sure Etho is also fucking with you,” Cleo said, smug, and Bdubs gasped.

“Never!” But something stopped him from ranting on; a short pause, a bit of uncertainty. A guilty glance in Scar’s direction. “I’m really sorry he’s not here. I told him- I don’t know. He said something came up last minute and wouldn’t explain. I’m not happy with him either- quite frankly, I’m embarrassed.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Scar rubbed his neck, frowning, “It doesn’t really bother me much, Bdubs. I don’t want you to feel bad.”

“It’s fine if it bothers you! It bothers me! And you’re right, he’s not here, so I think a little friendly fire is well deserved,” Bdubs paused, eying one of the few bottles that were left, “May I?”

“Be my guest.”

Bdubs snatched at a bottle, flipping it in his hand, nearly dropping it trying to look cool, then whipping it at the target across the room, the entire thing smashing right on the bullseye.

“Oh, score!” Scar smiled, and Bdubs pumped his fist.

“Yes! You know, I already feel better. This is great, Cleo, have I told you this is great?”

Cleo looked pleased, exactly the cat who got the cream, “You have. And I know. So how about you boys throw back a couple beers to replace these bottles, and we do a little axe throwing.”

“Are you paying?” Scar asked, hopeful, innocent, but Cleo snorted, shaking her head.

“Uh, no. Don’t let that hold you back, though.”

“Oh, come on,” Bdubs whined, but not without his signature grin, “What’s the point of free rage room therapy hour if it’s not all free?”

“I’m not going to make you pay for the axe throwing either, and that is not included in our little deal, so the least you can do is drink.”

“You can’t make us pay to axe throw with you because we all know you’re going to whoop our asses,” Scar shot back in fake accusation, but Cleo shrugged, a crooked smile across her lips.

“You have fun.”

“I do,” Bdubs assented, earning a sharp jab from Scar’s elbow.

“We don’t! Unless you buy us each a beer, then we do.”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Okay fine,” Scar sighed, fully intending on a large tip regardless, since despite her sharp tongue, Cleo would still refuse any sort of compensation for an outing like this, “But you also have to drink.”

Cleo scoffed, the smile never leaving their face. “Who do you think I am?”

***

It was fun. Of course it was fun. Scar lost pretty miserably in nearly every round, though that could be accurately attributed to the fact he was more than a little tipsy, and Bdubs, always spying an opportunity to get an edge, took full advantage. Though, to his credit, Bdubs was having a great day in general, overtaking Cleo in score multiple times, and even winning one or two games. A feat, even against an inebriated Cleo, which, in all honesty, was pretty much the only way Scar or Bdubs could ever surpass her. Etho.. It was safe to say Etho had little talent for the sport. Didn’t matter how much instruction he got, he was nothing short of miserable every time all four of them got together to play. Actually, out of the four of them, Etho was probably the only person who improved when he was drunk, which was always hilarious to see. You’ve never seen a fire lit under someone’s ass like you did when Etho managed to squeak ahead of Bdubs or Scar, the cackling of Cleo only furthering their panic.

Scar did wish Etho was here. He wished he wasn’t so flakey sometimes.

Regardless, when they were done, Bdubs was only two steps away from sober and plenty able to drive. Scar was relieved to have to ride, and even more so that he hadn’t brought his own car in the first place. It was a nice drive home, anything but quiet, and really, just what Scar needed. The less time he spent alone with his own thoughts, the better. Though, after such a nice evening, tonight was going to be a little easier.

Thanking Bdubs for the ride, Scar stepped out onto the cobblestones once they reached his apartment, taking a deep breath before going inside. It was okay. He was going to be okay.

But there was one little habit he had developed, a little something he couldn’t quite shake despite knowing it wasn’t doing him many favors. It had only been a week since Mumbo had disappeared, but Scar refused to miss it if the mermaid ever did return- he couldn’t, even if Grian wouldn’t be in the picture anymore. This still meant something. Scar wasn’t about to give it up so easily.

The trail cams were still open on his monitors when he sat at his desk. Of course they were. Scar never closed them.

So there he sat, chin in his hands, eyes glazed as he watched every angle of that little cove. The trees, waving gently in the breeze. The sand, shifting ever so slightly in the presence of bugs and crabs. But mostly he watched the water. Scar never stopped watching the water.

[goldstargloww]

curses, coincidences, and deity influences

so um. i kinda wrote an essay of some sorts

version that might be easier to read is at https://goldstargloww.neocities.org/goldsaysstuff/

the canary curse

canary call, the first to fall / forever caged in different walls. everyone knows this one - canaries were used in coal mines in the 1900s as a warning to miners that there where toxic gases such carbon dioxide or other asphyxiant gases in the air, which would effect small warm blooded animals faster than larger ones due to their quicker respiratory exchange. canaries were found to be more sensitive and effective than mice as they showed more visible signs of distress. canaries were brought into mines in carriers and cages to save the miners, often at the expense of their own lives (though sometimes they had little oxygen bottles to revive the birds)

this is jimmy. jimmy is always out first, without fail, in every season. he's the first one to be struck with lightning and separated from everyone else.

3rd life; died in a war with his husband despite being in a bunker.

last life; died because he got a bit too greedy as a red life and tried to push his brother-figure into a trap, and then faced the consequences.

double life; got caught and strangled by an enderman, leaving his cursed by proxy soulmate to die alone.

limited life; once again got too greedy as a red life and fell off the bridge along with the tnt minecraft he tried to push off of it. in fact, this wasn't even supposed to ever happen. he was supposed to die earlier, when etho got his boogey kill, but he got the incorrect amount of time subtracted from his total. he wasn't supposed to be alive - he was dead before he hit the ground.

two deaths from trying to keep himself safe, two from fall damage, two from greed. ironic how a bird dies twice from falling to his death, huh?

the canary in the coal mine analogy is actually vaguely referenced in the very first parts of 3rd life session one. martyn's digging down and asks bigb to sing for him so when martyn can't hear him anymore he knows he's dug too deep and it's time to leave

miners attempted to revive their canaries because of how much they relied on them. jimmy, however? no potential for revival there.

attempts to break the curse have been made. they've never succeeded.

jimmy's never seen anyone permadie. he's never seen a dead body. the day he does, if ever, is surely gonna hurt. "that should've been me".

the watcher curse

this one isn't really official, it's more of a pattern, and one harder to 'prove'. those who are watcher aligned (ex. grian) tend to cause themselves and their allies to lose or die early.

grian

grian caused scar's death in 3rd life.

all the southlanders died in last life, hell jimmy and mumbo were to his own hands, the two he was closest to.

he killed bigb in double life despite them being secret soulmates.

all the bad boys and clockers died in limited life, many because of him, notably scar.

the listener blessing

pretty much the opposite to the watcher curse, where everyone who's listener aligned (ex. scott, martyn, pearl) tend to cause themselvs and their allies to win or live longer.

scott

grian won third life with scar as second place - scott was allies with both of them

scott himself won last life with pearl, his closest ally, in the top four

pearl (and technically scott, in a sense) won double life with the other half of the divorce quartet as second or third/fourth place. tilly death do us part!

martyn won limited life by betraying his own mean gill, "and i wouldn't have had it any other way."

scott has been allied with every single person who has won one of these death games up to limited life.

martyn

dogwarts, despite not winning in the end, certaintly got very close to it. and martyn was the last of the king and his hand to die.

he made it to the top four in last life and in double life

he won limited life, maybe not the most honorably, but it's been coming all the way since red winter and his plan for red spring. and the watchers were notably involved in this win, too. "THIS IS A DEATH MATCH FOR A REASON."

the phoenix curse (etho)

every odd numbered season, etho loses his last life to fire/burning. in even numbered seasons, nothing fire/burning related even really happens

unnamed (joel)

joel always tends to end up alone and desperate for kills

the watcher's self fulfilling prophecy

the idea that because us, the watchers, the viewers, believe in these curses and stuff, makes them true

the canary curse

the idea that the watchers pushed jimmy off skynet in limited life to continue the canary curse

the widow curse

sort of ties into the watcher curse and listener blessing. the thought that with grian, he causes his allies to die and him to be left standing. with the listener aligned players, they're the only ones left standing until the end.

referenced by scott and cleo in third life, when their husbands die they'd make the widow's alliance

grian never being boogeyman

grian is a watcher who's inserted himself into the games. if he wasn't ever meant to play, if he was only ever meant to watch, why should he be a valid entry?

could be tied to the amount of lives he got in last life, as well. he wasn't meant to be there in the first place. why let him play longer?

the AFK session (grian)

canonically (to eyesandears), grian was pulled away from his body during the AFK session. "pause, unpause, we paralyze / a vacant stare for wandering eyes."

the watchers are pissed that grian keeps getting to play. they're trying their best to rip him out of the games and return to their grasp.

the border

"here's the thing about being beyond the veil - we're already dead."

being beyond the border doesn't protect you. it only hurts you. grian knows this because he's a watcher

bigb's invisibility

bigb was briefly invisible to scott during a fight in limited life due to a glitch in the game. what if this is just because the watchers hate scott with a passion and wanted to make his life harder? we already know they hate him

the fact that it was bigb, a former evo member, is interesting too…

playing by the rules - compliance and refusal

martyn either tries his hardest and fails, or obliges against his will.

his attempted boogey kill on scott failed and the shadow was very upset with him for this. they gave him one job and he failed.

he was very clearly influenced by the watchers to break the notion that red lives should all of a sudden be honorable at the final few again.

scott's outright denial

scott tried the whole boogeyman thing once in last life, but the next time he straight up refused to play by the rules. he told everyone he was the boogeyman and laid out his plan of playing as normal unless a situation arises where he could steal a kill.

he denied his soulmate in double life and went and got a new one

rushed boogey kill in limited life instead of building up the suspense the watchers wanted

has technically won 2/4 games.

bdubs being unwatched

bdubs didn't record his limited life perspective. he could only have been watched through others's perspectives, or heard about.

[siriannatan]

Witch's Captain - Convex (CubScar) Pirate!AU

I felt terrible the whole day and then I saw This art by @virtual-paint

AO3

Good Times, the most feared pirate ship in the seven seas. Just the mere sight of its flag had ships attempt a futile escape just to be pillaged and sunk by the cheerful crew. There were many myths surrounding the ship, its crew and, of course, Captain Scar himself. Deadly with a bow and a wielder of wild magic. Known for stuffing survivors of his attacks into small boats and shooting them himself as they tried to row to the nearest islands. Some said he's part siren due to his devilishly good looks. Others that he sold his soul to the devil for power. His ears told a tale of a sad kid from the slims, laughed off for his half-elven blood and desperately trying to become something more. Terribly enough to sign a deal with a rather dangerous being.

Sea Witch was a myth. A legend told to children to scare them from playing near the docs and make fun of new sailors. A shanty sang about them in taverns, deep in the night when everyone was a bit too drunk to care about possible consequences. But Scar knew different. He knew Cub was more than real... He was the very ocean gently swaying his ship where it was docked by the Skull Island - save heaven for pirates and all other scoundrels. Cub made Scar who he was now and all he had to do was run little errands here and there and... be Cub's once he could no longer sail. Scar was not quite sure what that meant but he had nothing to lose when he agreed. And of course, Cub occasionally visited Scar in his quarters deep in the night when most of the crew was asleep and Scar stayed up charting their next adventure.

Or, like tonight, when Good Times was docked and all the crew out in the town having fun, drinking and gambling away their pay. The ship was kept safe with Scar's magic and reputation as a ruthless pirate captain.

Scar always missed the exact moment Cub showed up. He never made any noise and knowing him he might have been there for a long time. Staring at him until he got bored of that and decided he wanted Scar to amuse him properly. Opening the window to let in the breeze. Scar always got tense for just a second when the glass rattled as it slammed open. He knew it was Cub but he stayed silent as a pair of cold, clammy hands rested on his shoulders, just for a second before they started to slip forward and under Scar's wide-open shirt, sending shivers up and down his spine.

"Working hard again, captain~?" cub hummed in his ear, drawing out the last word longer than necessary. "Planning another long adventure? Gathering stories for me?" the witch carried on talking, glancing at the map Scar has been hunched over for most of the evening.

"It can wait if you need me for anything," Scar shrugged, putting his quill away and closing the bottle of ink. He made the mistake of trying to work when Cub visited once. The next journey after that was filled with storms and sea monsters mess. He swore to himself never to annoy Cub if he could.

Cub was silent for a while. "No, there's nothing I need now, maybe other than you having a rest for a change," he said and pulled Scar away from his covered with maps and notes desk and towards the bed. Dropping his favourite coat down to the floor and giggled as Scar bit down any complaint he might have had about it. It was just a coat, he could get more. Cub was much harder to please.

"It's fine..." Scar assured as Cub pushed him to the bed.

"Of course it is, I'm here and not tormenting those two navy captains who think they can capture my chosen captain," Cub scoffed as he joined Scar on the bed. "Tell me about your latest adventure?" he asked settling up close to Scar.

He was as ever pretty and fickle as the ocean but Scar has never regretted accepting his deal. Even when he was plagued by bad weather after flirting his way out of Grian and Mumbo's clutches. "Okay, so it all started..." Scar started and Cub hummed an encouragement as the heavy fog set around the whole island.

[jadienjaystoriesandart]

Notes: this is a short one, all you need to know if Father Spore AU and Mumbo Angst. Don’t have much of a summary, just that everyone reaches a breaking point.

-

The world had seemed like it was crumbled, as the lab was destroyed. Another lab gone by the Resistance members, to stop progress on all research of the infection and how to stop the spread of the mycelium. This time it was no doubt a message with the destruction done to the area. 

Mumbo grunted in pain as he sat up, his body ached, his ears could hear the groan of metal from the root like systems that had dug into it. Tall mushrooms grew out of the ground and destroyed the building, vines clawing into the metal as nature seemed to reclaim everything at a rapid rate.

It’s no doubt to Mumbo that some people might not have made it out. Some might already be infected. He took a shaking breath, and sat on his knees as he gripped the ground. He took in deep breaths in and out, his shoulders tensing and untensing. 

He heard someone coming over to him frantic, but he didn’t care as he let out a small sob of a sound. He started to rock a little back and forth as another sob shook his body, tears ran down his face as he covered his mouth a bit. But holding them back meant nothing anymore.

“Hey.” he heard Ren say to him, “You okay?” 

What a dumb question, did he ever look okay the past few days? Did anyone notice he looked like he was losing sleep? Mumbo sniffled as he felt the hot tears run down his cheeks and his throat felt closed up tight. Like it was hard to breath, and each breath was a shaky strain intake. 

Sniffling again he looked in despair at the ground, “I’m just making everything worse.” he said finally, voice cracked and tight. Gripping his muddy pants with fists, dark eyes looking at the slowly turning purple ground, glossy and puffy red.

Ren’s ears flicked at that, “Hey, you’re not, you’re not making things worse Mumbo.” he said trying to sound comforting.

As if that was the truth, they all knew it. Everything he did lead to more people being infected, hurt, or worse. Another sobbing breath as Mumbo was trying to keep breathing, his chest hurt as he was also trying to hold back full on cries. Ren was looking at him, and seemed at a lose on what to say. Then he got up and held out his hand.

“Come on, we need to get out of here before it becomes more infected.” he told Mumbo, who just sat there.

Shaking his head a bit Mumbo hiccupped a bit trying to talk, “ren, what does it matter what we do next?” he asked him bluntly. Tears dripped down onto his pants, Mumbo didn’t have the energy to wipe them away.

Ren held back a whine above him, “We can still do this Mumbo.” trying to sound reassuring to him.

Another shake of his head and sniffle, “How?” was all he could whisper, how in all that is religious or none could they do this!? “Every step we take forward is just 3 back Ren. We are getting no where with a cure, no where with learning what they are, and no where near stopping this.” each word was a strain on his tighten throat, bit back through whimpers and gulps of hard air. 

Silence rang as Ren shook his head, “Mumbo, we need to plan our next move, you need to... find what out next-”

“I DON’T KNOW What the Next Move is Ren!” Mumbo go tup and screamed out, feeling some of the pain in his chest leave at that, allowing out the bottled up emotions. “I don’t know what to do!” he yelled at him turning his back as more tears started to fall down his face. 

He could tell Ren has possibly pinned back his ears at that and tail drooping, hand reached out to Mumbo, but making no moves to move forward to him. Mumbo let out another sob his shoulders shaking.

“I didn’t want this position! It was a prank by me and Grian!” he snapped finally at the wolf hybrid, “I didn’t even expect to win, it should have been Scar! He knew what he wanted to do!” he cried out letting out more body racking shakes and sobs. 

Mumbo didn’t want to look up at thee pity in the others eyes as he cried, “I’m not a leader Ren, I never have been, I... I don’t know what to do. Im following blindly to people who have no clue either and no solution other than killing!” he looked up at the darkening sky his face scrunched up as he was gritting his teeth to try and hold back it all. 

The silence that stood again was telling between them both, Mumbo finally did rubs his sleeve to his nose and face with a shaky breath. Looking back down at the ground, “Just go home Ren.” he finally said, going to walk away.

“hey let me at least walk you-” he reached out to Mumbo who yanked him arm away.

“Just leave me alone, Ren! Just go fucking home!” Mumbo screamed at him swearing loudly, as Ren took a step back. He watched as the mayor left him alone stomping off... possibly going to be alone for a bit.

And Ren could have gone after him, could have done something more. Grian might have done that in the past when he wasn’t infected. But... he just stood there and watched Mumbo vanish in the distance. 

Neither of them aware of two people watching the exchange silently.

[myoduri]

doodle!!!

[theminecraftbee]

The thing about the Void, Scar thinks quietly to himself, is that it’s empty.

There are a million purple sparks, of course, and white and green and they’re all shimmering, moving when he moves his head. But they’re also... empty. He couldn’t reach out and touch them if he tried. He can’t reach out and touch much of anything, actually - just Grian to one side of him, and Impulse to the other.

Now, normally, Scar would be fine with this! He has trouble reaching out and touching things and moving around all the time! The fact none of them can properly change their trajectory at this point is even something he’d planned for - he knows a lot of things about space, and one of those things is “a lack of friction or things to push off of makes it hard to move”. He would have included air pumps in the suits to move around with, but in a rare moment of self-reflection, he’d decided that they would have all used all of their air jetting around and then promptly suffocated, a thing Scar did not want to happen.

So, they’re in the void, and they can’t move. And normally, with his friends nearby, that wouldn’t get to Scar.

But sometimes, he looks out, and...

It’s not frightening, he tells himself, not really. The void itself isn’t frightening. He’d certainly fallen into it enough this season, let alone to speak of last season when he’d been selling shulkers. He’d done enough raids through the End, hovering over the void, that he’s not scared of nothingness, not really.

What’s frightening him is not nothingness.

It’s that it’s not nothing. It’s that he can look out, and out, and he never seems to stop seeing, and it’s empty, but it’s not nothing, and he’d thought this idea was genius but he doesn’t know how long it’s been and everything is so, it’s so big, it’s so endless, and he has no control over any of it, just nothing nothing nothing n -

“SIXTY-FOUR BOTTLES OF FIZZY LIFTING DRINK ON THE WALL,” Grian practically screams.

“That doesn’t even WORK,” complains Impulse, as he has for the past, oh, how long does it take to sing thirty-five verses of the song? “Come on, man, the syllables are all wrong!”

“Why do you have so much fizzy lifting drink anyway,” says Mumbo.

“YOU TAKE ONE DOWN YOU PASS IT AROUND,” Grian sings over top of everyone else.

Pearl groans and covers her ears with her hands. “Make it stooop,” she says. “You aren’t even on-key. The louder you get, the worse -”

“SIXTY-THREE BOTTLES -”

“If I had a bottle to throw at you I would!” threatens Impulse, and Scar’s dragged back into his own skin, and the world seems... less horrifically empty, honestly, with that much horrible singing filling it.

“Sixty-seven,” Scar says.

“SIXTY-SEV - you made me lose count!” complains Grian. “Well, now I just have to start over.”

Mumbo, slowly, reaches to grab Grian by the throat. Scar leans back to admire his handywork. Ah, yes. They say hell is other people, and Scar’s a vex! That’s some kind of demon, or maybe fae, or maybe illager? (He’s never really checked.) The point is, he knows hell! It’s the five of them, in a circle, able to brush fingers against each other, falling, waiting, together.

Now, to wait for another strategic moment to interrupt Grian.

[strawberrylemonz]

A Mother for Two

Welcome to the continuation! As always, time to dedicate these chapters! Hope you all enjoy, especially @applepie1000

@petrichormeraki I will fist fight you lmaooo /j

Part 3

Part 4 [CURRENT]

Part 5

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

“You two sure you have everything you need?”

“We’re sure, Xisuma, jeez. It’s not like we’re leaving for good, we’ll be back by tonight.”

Grian snickered as Tommy was swiftly swatted on the backside of his head by Xisuma. Huffing, the boy griped as the group walked over to the portal leading to the Hub. As Xisuma gave the two another look over, Grian finally spoke up.

“Tommy and I will be just fine. We’ll just set up the fliers, get supplies, get our asses back here. Done, easy work.”

“Yeah, easy work!”

“Nothing is easy work when the two of you are together for too long. Just don’t cause too much trouble, nothing more than usual.”

After bidding farewell to Xisuma, the two boys walked into the portal. Instantly, voices chatting with each other filled the silence. The two stepped out of the portal and into the Hub. Players of all kinds here entering and leaving several portals. As the two made their way through the portal transportation section, Tommy examined all the portals. 

Hermitcraft

Stampy’s Lovely World

Pixelmon

MCC

Hypixel 

Cops and Robbers

There were so many portals to so many places. He had only been through the Hub to get to MCC. He was always focused on getting to his destination that he didn’t stop to look closely at every other portal around him. Stopping in his tracks, he stared at a ruined portal. It was grand and beautiful, but falling apart. It was cracked and broken, no longer activated. The giant sign above it proudly held it’s name, keeping the world from being forgotten.

SMP EARTH

Grian was walking when he felt something off. Turning around, he noticed that Tommy wasn’t following him. Tilting his head and looking around, he saw that Tommy was just standing there, staring. Excusing himself as he pushed passed the crowd, he eventually made his way to his brother. Before he could get onto his brother for immediately separating from him, he saw what his brother was looking at. Making a humming noise, he nudged Tommy before pulling out a large banner. Tommy nodded in understanding, and helped Grian unravel the banner. Working with haste, the two strung up the banner on the inactive portal. Once it was secured, they stood back and admired their work.

GRAND OPENING!!!! 

HERMITCRAFT PROUDLY PRESENTS:

INNIT AN ADVENTURE?!

We, in Hermitcraft, happily invite you to join us in the opening day of our latest amusement park, Innit an Adventure! Created by our very own TommyInnit, we encourage you to spend the day with us! Come join us as we make unforgettable memories! Keep an eye out for festival week, and join us for a wonderful night of dancing! 

Are you innit with us?

“Looks great!”

“Of course it does, we made it.”

“Yeah yeah, lets just finish the set up.”

Smiling, the two boys set up two podiums underneath the banner. Taking out a good amount of pamphlets and fliers, they neatly set them down on the podiums. Content, the two began to walk away from the portal as people began to stop at the ruin, murmuring in excitement for the adventure park. 

“This is going to be a success, I can already tell you that. Good job, baby brother.”

The two laughed as they made their way through the portal Hub. Grian noticed some people he recognized and waved them over, already pulling pamphlets out of his bag. Tommy laughed as he looked around, fliers in hand, searching for anyone who was willing to get one. That’s when he saw it. Gulping, he quietly walked up to a neon green portal. 

DREAM SMP

Reading the sign attached to the portal, Tommy saw that only whitelisted people could enter. He was whitelisted. He could walk in, right now, and possibly lose his final life tied to the world. Shaking his head, he snapped himself out of his thoughts and scoffed at them. He liked it in Hermitcraft, he didn’t want to leave it for a terrible past. He didn’t have to worry about permanently dying in Hermitcraft. He didn’t have to worry about losing his shit or having said shit used against him. 

“Although...”

As Tommy mumbled to himself, he eventually came to a final decision. Nodding to himself, he crumbled a couple fliers and chucked them into the portal, sending them to the SMP. It was common knowledge that, even though people couldn’t enter, they could send items. With the fliers crumbled up, it would appear as if random passerby’s just threw trash in, making it easy for Tommy to deny inviting them.

Tommy knew that he didn’t want to go back to his past, that much was crystal clear. But what was stopping his past from going to him? If they missed him as if and wanted to see him again, they would need to make the effort. Humming with approval, he walked over to Grian, who was finishing talking to his acquaintances. 

“Hey, big man, maybe we should send some of the fliers and pamphlets into the portals.”

Grian thought for a bit, before nodding in agreement. Taking half of Tommy’s fliers, Grian gave him half of his pamphlets. Nudging towards the main server, he explained his plan.

“I’ll handle the portals and the travelers, okay? You go out and hang up banners and set up more podiums. Meet me at Feast Street for lunch, okay?”

“Okay, okay, calm down. I can do this, I’m not useless.”

“Far from it. See you later, Toms, love you.”

Tommy stood in silence, watching his brother walk away. His brother’s proclamation of love had caught him by surprise. A smile formed on his face as a warm feeling bursted through his chest. Looking around, he found some crates nearby. Standing on them, he inhaled before hollering out.

“GRIAN!”

He saw his brother turn around, confused. He felt his face flush as a couple of strangers faced him as well. Ignoring them, he yelled out in confidence through the crowd.

“LOVE YOU TOO, BIG BROTHER!”

He saw Grian laugh, a big smile painted on his face. The two exchanged waves of goodbyes before turning their separate ways, ignoring the cooing noises from the crowd. Tommy laughed as he situated his satchel. Nodding, he made his way down to the capital city.

--------

Things were going great for Tommy. Do take note of the use of past tense, just pointing that out there. Now, Tommy was being scolded as if he were a child again. For Nether’s sake, he was 18! Yet, here he was, being scolded for something he didn’t do.

“I swear that I didn’t do shit!”

“Then why are you being so defensive?”

“Because you’re accusing me of crap that I didn’t even do!”

Apparently, according to the stupid shopkeeper that was currently giving him a hard time, some kids were going around and stealing stuff from the shelves. Due to the stress, the shopkeeper immediately accused Tommy of being apart of that group of kids. She wouldn’t let him leave, even after he explained himself. So there he stood, feeling like a helpless child once again.

“Is something the matter?”

Tommy turned to see a petite woman standing behind the shopkeeper, arms crossed. Despite her height, or lack of it, she seemed very intimidating. At least, that’s what the shopkeeper seemed to believe.

“Oh, ma’am, my apologies! I was just reprimanding this deli-”

“My son. You’re reprimanding my son.”

“Son???”

“SON??? WHAT???”

“What is she doing?”

“NEW PARENT POG???”

“Huhhhhhh??????”

“FINALLY OBTAINING A MOTHER, POG???”

“MUMZA???”

“MOTHERINNIT???”

Tommy perked up at this, peering over at the lady once more. The shopkeeper seemed flabbergasted at how blunt the woman was with her. The woman, however, stayed firm with her stance and gaze. 

“You’re son, ma’am?”

“Yes, my son. How many times do I need to repeat myself? I sent him in here to buy some fresh fruit to snack on before lunch, but I now see that was a mistake.”

“W-Wait, no! Ma’am, I didn’t-”

“We will find a different shop to go buy fruit at, instead. Do think about things before acting. Here,”

The woman grabbed a flier and a pamphlet from Tommy, handing it to the shopkeeper.

“You can make things up to both me and my son by telling shoppers about this. Now, we shall take our leave. Come on, dear.”

The woman held her hand out to Tommy, who nodded his head and took it. She led him out of the store and to the street, ignoring the apologies coming from the shopkeeper. Once they were a good distance away, she let go.

“Sorry about that, but you seemed stuck with her hounding you like that. I was going to ask for a flier or pamphlet, but figured I should help you instead.”

Tommy blinked a few times before laughing alongside the woman. Chat was laughing alongside them, taking a liking to the mysterious woman who had saved their little pogchamp.

“Ah, I should introduce myself. I’m Kristin, very nice to meet you! I’m originally from SMP Earth, but I somehow ended up here many years ago.”

“SMP Earth? Holy shit, I’m from there, too! I’m Tommy, by the way. Well, my actual name is Thomas, but everyone calls me Tommy. I’m from Business Bay, but I eventually became the youngest prince of the Antarctic Empire.”

“Youngest prince? Are you Phil’s brother?”

“What? Nah, he adopted me as his son.”

Tommy was startled as the woman, Kristin, began choking on air. Alarmed, he pat her back as he gave her a water bottle he had on him. After a while, she raised her hand and nodded, indicating that she was okay.

“Wow, he has a son. The world is ending, hah.”

“Four, actually. He has four sons.”

“Oh my god, I’m going to have a heart attack.”

Tommy laughed before asking what was on his mind. Judging by the breezy feeling that moved across his starry face, he knew that Clara led this woman to him.

“How do you know Phil?”

Kristin’s face brightened up as a small blush painted her cheeks.

“Er, how about I tell you about it as we walk?”

“Better yet, why don’t you tell me and my older brother about it over lunch?”

--------

Grian was not expecting Tommy to come back with an older woman. He didn’t mind, however, after hearing how she saved his brother from the shopkeeper’s rage. Laughing, he ruffled the younger boy’s hair. 

“Haha, you found a mother!”

“We’re brothers, so wouldn’t that make her our mother? Sheesh, dumbass.”

Kristin laughed out loud in the background, holding her stomach and she doubled over. Tommy happily smiled, very glad to have someone appreciate his language. Once they all gave proper introductions and a reason as to why Kristin was with them, they all got food and sad down at one of the outside tables.  After getting a few decent bites into their meals, Tommy spoke up.

“So,  how do you know Phil?”

“Ah, yes, that old fart-”

She smiled as both boys snorted at that statement. Taking a bite out her bread roll, she waited for them to settle down before. Nodding her head, she continued.

“It’s true, he is! Anyways, I knew him when I lived back on SMP Earth. I was, well, am the princess of a smaller kingdom back there. Phil’s parents had started a small kingdom of their own, the Antarctic Empire. My parents, along with his, arranged for the two of us to be married to one another. I would have usually thrown a fit at an arranged marriage, like I always did when they brought up suitors, but Phil and I actually liked each other, so we agreed. I disappeared before the wedding, however, fell through my mirror and into a hardcore world. Once I made it out of there, I ended up here. Been here ever since.”

Grian started choking out of surprise. Tommy and Kristin both moved quickly to help him, worried. Once he gave them a sign that he was okay, he adjusted himself.

“You’re Queen Kristin?”

“Queen?”

“Yeah. I read it in one of the books in the archive when I was younger. Although you disappeared, you were still married to my dad, and the two kingdoms were merged into one.”

“What?”

Kristin stared at Grian, confusion and disbelief painted her face. Suddenly, she groaned and hit her head against the table. 

“This explains why some of the things I bought took way too long to finalize! My last name has been Minecraft this entire time!”

Tommy and Grian shared a look of disbelief. This was the only thing she was concerned about? Being married to Phil wasn’t troubling or shocking news to her at all! Suddenly, Tommy’s eyes widened as he gasped, pointing at Kristin. 

“WHAT THE FUCK?! THAT MAKES YOU MY ACTUAL MOTHER.”

--------

Kristin helped them finish setting up banners and podiums. She also aided them in passing out fliers and pamphlets to passing people. Once they ran out, she walked them over to the Hub. As they stood at the entrance portal to Hermitcraft, Tommy hugged Kristin, who ran her fingers through her head. She may have been new to the whole mother thing, but her caring instincts were enough to comfort the young boy.

“I wish I could come, I really do, but I’m not on the list. I’ll have to wait until opening day.”

Before Tommy could whine, Grian spoke up. 

“What if we got you on the list? Would you move in, then?”

Kristin laughed as she pat Grian’s shoulder, a smile painting her face.

“Of course! I just found out I had family! You guys aren’t getting rid of me that easily. Here, take this. If you guys get me on the list, use this to get to my house.”

Tommy brightened up as he was given a compass labeled Kristin. He nodded as Grian promised. 

“Bye Kristin! See you around!”

“Bye Tommy, Grian, I’ll see you two soon.”

The boys watched as she walked away, a pep in her step as disappeared into the crowd. Nodding to each other, Tommy and Grian went home.

[ruler-of-the-universe-boy]

“Sorry guys, I'm not feeling like myself today..” Sam excused after fumbling with the keys again to get the door open and entered inside once he got it

Taurtis shrugged slightly, “It’s fine dude, it makes sense after you got hit with toilet paper.” he said, making Grian in the background snicker slightly. He also made Sam look maybe slightly embarrassed

“Excuse you! Rowan was the one who threw it!”

“Well maybe you should’ve dodged it with your rat powers!”

“Sam’s a rabbit hybrid.” Grian butted in

Taurtis blinked and looked at Sam, then squinted. “Is he?… Then that ruins his birthday gift…”

Sam rolled his eyes and dropped his bag with the others, “Now I know what we need to get you for your gift; glasses.”

“Hey I can see perfectly fine!” Taurtis stated, “But it’s only when everyone is really close to me, it doesn’t work when they’re far away.

“Alright then you can look at the tv while I try cooking us dinner,” Grian said, slightly shoving Taurtis

Sam opened his mouth to speak

“And no you’re not helping again Sam.”

He closed his mouth with disappointment, “Fine party pooper, I’ll just be in my room until the canned soup is ready!”

“That's all we have you idiot!” Grian yelled towards Sam who ran up to his room

The rabbit snickered for the others to hear and closed his door, and coughed. He looked and snatched the old water bottle from the desk, sniffed it to see how old it actually was, and just took a sip

“Hm, you really live like this?” he chuckled towards the closet, his voice deepening suddenly. “At the edge of losing everything everyday, that must’ve been fun.”

Only a sound of movement was heard, and it stopped as the rabbit predicted. He stepped towards the source of sound and carefully opened the closet to not make much noise

Inside laid upon a bloodied Sam tied up in ropes to prevent him from doing anything, and having cloth around his mouth to quiet him especially. It was difficult to do it in midnight but the rabbit figure made it work, it’s not like Sam was the toughest challenge he fought against

“My my, look at all of this blood I need to clean Sam… What? You’re still in pain?” the rabbit figure said above the real Sam, he tsked, “And here I thought you were the strong one between us, guess not!” he chuckled once more, making Sam wince

The rabbit examined the weaker one, using his hand to lift the head. “You were a pain in the ass to tie up and were a bigger one after trying being you.” the figure scoffed, “And to dye my hair for this? Better hope your little friends have enough money for breakfast!”

Sam shuddered in fear from every word he said, his jaw clenching around the cloth in order to bare the pain on his bloody shoulder and thigh, but now he was sweaty and exhausted. His vision barely got a good look of his clone or whatever he is, and his fear grew when the clone looked exactly like him, or maybe when he hoisted him out of the closet in a harsh manner

“Shhh, you don’t want your friends to come up here, trust me.” the figure threatened when Sam let out a gasp of pain. Not bothered with the blood at the moment, the rabbit opened the window and got Sam in position

“Don’t pass out too quickly.” was all Sam heard when he looked at the person who gave him such a sinister smile, and he felt his body get thrown out the window and onto the ground in a swift second

Blood stained the cloth suddenly as Sam wheezed heavily when his chest jabbed onto the rocks. His body was already more limp that it already was with the muffled footsteps behind him

His heart pounded with his eardrums burning from pain, puffing for air and weakly looked up at the grinned rabbit. From the simple look his body was drained from energy, shutting down as it was carried again in arms

“Pathetic.” Mas mumbled to the boy, but Sam heard it before passing out to his relief

[bellshazes]

can't sleep, here's an excerpt of the next do it again chapter to motivate me to finally finish it

“Terrified of you,” says Etho. The day after he got out of the hospital he mostly spent sleeping, but he’d followed Bdubs down to the Southlands right at closing time. There was no use trying to stop him, and it had been pretty priceless to watch him lecture Grian and the other barista for a full uninterrupted five minutes about the dangers of caffeine overdoses and interrogating them with gusto about what exactly they had mixed in that drink. While Bdubs was working up to explaining exactly how generous he was being in not pursuing any legal action given the cost of ER trips these days, Etho snagged a nametag off the apron that had been draped over the drinks counter, presumably in a now-ruined hope of ending the shift quickly, and slipped it into his pocket before turning back to smile placidly over Bdubs’ shoulder.

It had been funny, even, when Bdubs turned to jab him in the shoulder to emphasize that they were not under any circumstances including but not limited threats, bribes, extortions, blackmail, gifts, incentives, deals, bargains, or manipulations allowed to serve Etho coffee for at least a full week and probably not for, like, a month after. Possibly never again, given their irresponsible business practices.

At that point, Bdubs had finally let off enough steam to pause long enough for the guy in the back, who had been shuffling anxiously back and forth in and out of sight behind the expresso machine to say, “Is this guy… are you…?” He couldn’t seem to get the question out.

“Yup, yup,” said Etho. “It’s no fun being stuck in the hospital overnight. I basically don’t remember the last twenty four hours at all, but I hear it got pretty bad.” He shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets, pleasant as could be.

Bdubs had swiveled to study him for a moment before turning back. “He’s the scary one, bud. So you better remember twice as much, got it?”

There was panicked nodding, and then Bdubs, apparently satisfied he’d made his point, had grabbed his elbow and dragged him back out into the street.

“You sure know how to make a point,” Etho said, finally letting himself laugh.

“Yeah, well. Wait until you hear the lecture I’ve got saved up for you, mister I almost died from coffee because I don’t even know what.” Bdubs kicked at a pebble on the sidewalk. “I’m going to get you a water bottle with a D-ring and weld it shut so it’s permanently attached to you. Dehydration! If you’d bother to listen to me when I tell you to take care of yourself we wouldn’t have had to go through all this.”

“I’d never lose my keys again,” Etho said thoughtfully.

[hermits-that-craft]

Forgetting and Leaving - Part Three

This is the final part to the short story! It’s been a wild ride :D - this part is 4747 words long (perfect planning lol). Once again : Stuck au is owned by the wonderful @target-block! Go check them out!

before i forget again: this is not cannon to ray’s au!

Wels’ dreams weren’t all that different. Sleeping for months will do that to a person, and though Wels’ doesn’t entirely mind the repetitive dreams, the knight has to admit that they’re getting old. Not that he’d ever complain - he came to an agreement with Cub after the first month that they could swap at any time. No, Wels waves goodbye to Cub, letting the man think that his dreams aren’t predictable, letting him leave Wels alone in season six again. He isn’t mad, he offered this to Xisuma, to the hermits. He knows that this power of his is the only thing that he can trust in this empty world, so as he walks back to his base he lets his mind wander to what Cub told him about season seven. How is Iskall going to collect the amount of leaves he’s going to need for the tree? How will Cub make the inside of the pyramid? Are Etho, Beef, xB and Hypno adapting well to the change? Did the other hermits tell them why they moved to season seven?

Cub wouldn’t answer his questions about it, so Wels assumes that he doesn’t know.

He worries for Doc and Scar. Cub didn’t have to say it, but Wels knows that they blame themselves. Of course they do - even though no one blames them. It’s in the twos nature. Wels is glad that Scar chose a place with a lot of hermits, and he’s even more glad that Doc has Bdubs, even if Cub says that they have been fighting. Doc needs someone with him, to remind him that it isn't his fault.

Wels finds his bed, sinking down into the soft bed sheets. He knows that he could spend the month elsewhere, in someone else's base, all he would have to do is leave a sign. He doesn't. Wels lets himself fall into the bed, the same dreams repeating in his head.

---

Evil Xisuma yelps as the gravel blocks update halfway through his walk. They should have updates minutes ago, sending him down into the cave when he first arrived at the edge of the gravel. His body screams and he pulls out a healing potion, taking a swig.

"You alright Ex?" Impulse - Orchid, now - calls down to him.

"Peachy." Ex lies, struggling to stand up. Orchid glides down to him, hitting the floor hard. "You alright?"

"This world has started to glitch too." Orchid, Impulse, whatever, mumbles to himself. "Why can't we ever find a world that isn't glitched?"

"I'm sure you will, eventually." Evil Xisuma says, "It'll be lonely here without you."

"What? We're going to go to the next update, not a different smp. Sorry Ex, you've been with us for years now. You're stuck with us." Grian, Rose, Poultry Man smirks. "We're not leaving you behind."

"I'm not allowed to go to the next update." Ex says plainly. Ren/Daisy offers him a hand, helping him up. Glowing white eyes stare at them from the edge of the cave. "I've told you a million times - I can't go through the update."

"I could help you go through. I won't be able to meet you all in that world, though." Herobrine says. "I can meet you all in the next one though."

"Why? Why can't you meet us in the next world?" Daisy frowns.

"Don't worry about it." Herobrine gives Evil Xisuma a knowing smile, as though he knows exactly why Evil Xisuma can't go to season six. "I'm sure you'll find more people in the update."

Evil Xisuma pales, panic seizing his throat. Xisuma doesn't want him back, that much is clear. Why would Herobrine send him back if he knew that?

---

Scar sits on the top of Larry, acutely aware of Xisuma watching him in the distance. He's tired of being watched, but there isn't much he can do to stop Xisuma from doing that. It'll only make Xisuma think that he's planning something.

So Scar watches the sunset, letting his body relax, letting him look tired from behind but not so tired that it's clear he's faking it. Scar's gotten better at lying, or maybe Xisuma has gotten worse at telling the difference, because as Scar stands and yawns Xisuma doesn't do anything. Scar turns, seeing Xisuma on the top of one of his trees.

Caught red handed.

Scar grins, waving at Xisuma, who flies down to Scar. Xisuma lands, nearly falling off of Larry. Scar helps him up, and he notices how tired Xisuma looks. Scar knows that he can't look better, but it's still worrying.

"Did you come for a reason or are you just admiring my build?" Scar asks playfully, ignoring the invasion of privacy, the bags under Xisuma's eyes.

"Oh, uh." Xisuma struggles to come up with a decent answer, and Scar sighs.

"Long day? I know my side of the jungle is relaxing, you should take some of the magical crystals I made - free of charge. Get some rest, X." Scar feels performative, like he's lying to the admin.

"You look like you need sleep as well." Xisuma dodges the request.

"You have a spare inventory in your eye bags. Go sleep," Scar takes a breath in, the humid night air doing nothing to calm his nerves. "You can't be a good admin if you're going to fall over constantly."

Xisuma blinks, his shoulders slumping. "I didn't think you could notice."

"X, if you say that Doc and I shouldn't blame ourselves for the hippies disappearing, then you shouldn't blame yourself." Scar takes Xisuma's hands in his own. "Let yourself rest, or you'll end up under constant watch as well. Trust me, it isn't fun."

Xisuma frowns, his mouth opening and closing under the mask before he nods, taking off into the skies.

Scar will have to work fast to get out, before Cub arrives to make sure he's asleep.

---

Orchid watches as Daisy and Rose make last minute preparations before they leave. Daisy looks upset at the idea of leaving the netherboard base, though he still doesn't understand how Daisy knew what the netherboard is. Orchid watches as Ex lands with Herobrine, a look of fear on his face as the cryptid tells him about what will happen as they cross the barrier. Orchid doubts that Ex has never gone through an update, but he doesn't blame Herobrine for going over the exact method that Ex would be traveling, given just how panicked the poor man looks. 

Daisy and Rose leave the building, smiling at Orchid, who just sighs.

"Maybe the next world will be nearly abandoned as well so you don't have to go mining, Orchid." Rose suggests, making Orchid smile. 

"Maybe you'll know how to work the farms too!" He suggests to Daisy, who gives Orchid a sad smile.

"I don't want to leave here. I'm not sure why. It feels," Daisy struggles for a word, "like home. Like I've been here before."

"I know." Orchid nods as Ex leads them towards the end portal, still talking to Herobrine about something. The two men seem almost nervous about letting the Hippies know what is being said.

The hippies?

Where did Orchid hear that before? Who told him that? Why does he remember someone calling them that? Why can't he remember what they sounded like? Why can he only think 'green' when he tries to remember them? 

"Orchid?" Daisy asks, his hand on Orchid's back. Orchid clutches his head in his hands, pain blooming behind his eyes, a wither rose against his forehead. "Orchid!"

"Ren?" Orchid - Impulse? - Orchid mumbles. "It hurts."

"Orchid, take some deep breaths in, does anyone have a regen potion?" Grian - Rose - G̷ria̷n̕R̢os̵e calls out. Orchid tries to take some breaths in, tries to breath. It hurts, it hurts so much. Someone strong picks him up and begins to walk, something is pressed against his lips.

Something makes him black out.

---

Stress paces around her base, Bdubs and Cub standing nervously in her door frame. She had truly believed that Scar and Doc were making progress, that they hadn't been bottling up their emotions like - like before. She will have to sit down and talk to the two men once they get them back, but it's clear that isn't the main problem there.

"Hey guys." False says plainly, landing in the skull. Cleo exits Stress' portal, waving at the group. "I guess we're finding the area 77 boys again?"

"We can't lose more people to time travel."

"Where's Xisuma?" Cleo asks, looking around the room. "Please tell me someone got Xisuma."

"He's coming." Cub says. "I told Keralis, we've been trying to get a hold of X for too long."

"Too long?"

"A minute." Bdubs says plainly. "A minute too long - We need to go looking for them now, before they do something stupid."

"Are we late? Shishwammy was asleep." Keralis' voice echoes around the room as he and Xisuma walk towards the group.

"Sorry guys, Scar said that I looked tired." Xisuma rubs the back of his neck, his helmet under his arm. The bags under his eyes go on for seemingly miles. Xisuma looks dead, like a breeze would send him flying.

"He isn't wrong. You need to shleep." Bdubs smiles, though there's clear sadness and guilt in his eyes.

Stress takes a deep breath in, turning to face the wall. She has to come up with a plan, and soon. A hand touches her shoulder gently and she nearly jumps out of her skin, looking up at Cleo. The zombie smiles at Stress, who blinks back tears. A plan. Planning. Stress is smart - surely she can think of something.

"Xisuma, can you find their coordinates?" Stress asks, not looking away from Cleo, who smiles at Stress.

"I can do you one better - I can teleport us there."

---

"Is he going to be alright?" Rose asks Herobrine as they run to the portal, glitching blocks serve as the only things left that proves that they were even there to begin with.

"Of course, Orchid is very resilient." Herobrine says, standing on the edge of the end portal. Rose freezes, trying to calm his breathing. "Are you alright Rose?" 

"Fine. We need to go now." Rose swallows, but he makes no effort to cross into the end. Daisy sighs, pushing Rose and Ex into the portal. Herobrine sends him a slight glare and Daisy smiles brightly.

"It made them go, didn't it?"

Herobrine laughs, pushing Daisy into the portal before jumping in with Orchid.

---

Scar and Doc sit, talking around a campfire. Doc throws some quartz into the fire occasionally, listening to Scar as the short man explains his plans for a mega base.

"I'm worried about it being too much, you know?" Scar says, finally relaxed. No one is watching him from a distance, just Doc. "I mean, it is a giant drill."

"That could work in your favour though," Doc points out helpfully, drawing the drill into the dirt. "You could fit a lot of farms into there, it'd keep you busy, and it would show up well on a map. Very clear and obvious."

"Still, I do like working on a block by block radius. I mean, detailing is easy in the micro, macro detailing can get repetitive." Scar frowns. "I don't want anything to look like I've just copied one side to the other."

"But, on the other hand, you are going for an industrial feel. A side could go undetailed."

"I want a divorce. I can't believe you would say something like that!" Scar throws a marshmallow at Doc, hitting him in the face. Doc gasps, catching the marshmallow before popping it in his mouth.

"Do you think that you could get the marshmallow into my mouth?" Doc asks, smiling at Scar.

"I bet I can!" Scar boasts, throwing a new marshmallow at Doc. Doc opens his mouth, diving to catch the marshmallow. He catches it, landing on his side. The two men burst out laughing, Scar clutching his sides as he looks at Doc. Doc lies on the ground, trying to save face with a victorious look, which only spurs on Scar's laughter.

The laughter doesn't last long, a branch snapping in the distance. Despite the calmness of the Taiga forest so far, Doc steps in front of Scar, his sword out and ready to fight any mobs that come their way. Doc doesn't even notice the protective stance, though Scar does, and Scar rolls his eyes, standing up himself. He turns towards the noise, his sword out.

Two people stand, hidden poorly in the bushes. Blonde and orange hair making them stand out against the dark forest. Scar frowns, poking Doc's side and pointing towards the two women. False and Cleo stand out in the forest like concrete in a rustic build. 

"False, Cleo, you two can come out." Scar yells, rolling his eyes. "You aren't slick, it's obvious that you're here."

The two women jump up, surprise written across their faces. False has her sword out, an angry look in her eyes. Cleo's eyes only tell surprise, though Scar can't tell if she's genuinely surprised or just hiding it well.

"Did you think that we wouldn't notice? Can't have five minutes privacy on the hermitcraft server to talk to a friend." Scar doesn't understand why he's so mad, why he's decided now is the time to say something about it. Cleo and False aren't even the people who normally stalk him and Doc, but Scar can't stop the train of anger that he set off. "We aren't fools, we know that if we go to find them we'll be stuck there. Stop treating us like we're stupid."

"Scar," Doc warns him, sending Scar a confused look. "False and Cleo aren't-"

"They were hiding in the bushes, Doc. They were sent here. It's obvious. The hermits don't trust us." Scar sends False and Cleo a look that pins the two girls down. Ignored Vex magic screams. "Why else would they be here."

"Scar, calm down." Doc commands, his hand on Scar's arm. "It's not their fault."

Scar rips his arm out of Doc's hand and takes some rockets out of his inventory, taking off into the night air without another word. Doc is right, of course, but Xisuma, Bdubs, Stress and Keralis suddenly being in the small clearing that he and Doc had cleared only serves to make Scar more angry.

He spent so much time spawn proofing the area. Xisuma is sure to rip it out now.

---

The sleeping man doesn't stir. Not as four new people arrive on his server. Not as the people cry as they struggle to remember where they are, what the place that seems so familiar is called. Why it is familiar. No, the sleeping knight doesn't stir, not even as the evil version of one of his closest friends leads the three men towards the shopping district. He doesn't stir as the winged man struggles to explain the playful, joking hatred he has towards concorp. He doesn't stir as the man with short brown hair checks a bookstore called I-trade for money. No, the knight doesn't even stir as the werewolf breaks down in front of the stock exchange, unable to know the sense of mourning that he has for the building. It's been four years.

The sleeping man doesn't rouse, not as the lost hippies and the evil clone make their way towards hermitville, their sense screaming that it is necessary, though they don't know why. The knight turns onto his back, but he doesn't move as the lost ones exit the portal. His breathing deepens as they walk towards his castle. He doesn't wake as they find him, sleeping like the dead. He doesn't rouse as they scream. He doesn't feel the werewolf's hands on his shoulders, trying to shake him awake. He doesn't stir as the ex watcher tries to use magic to find his name.

His eyes blink awake as Evil Xisuma asks him to wake up, using his name.

---

Rose jumps back as the sleeping knight throws his arms around Daisy, sobbing into the man's shoulder. Daisy wraps himself into the hug, sobbing onto the knight's shoulder.

"You're back. You're all back, you came back." The knight says, and something clicks in Rose's - No. Something clicks in Grian's mind. Memories come back in waves, washing over Grian. Tears slip down his face as Wels pulls him into a hug, holding him and Impulse and Ren. Wels wipes the tears from Grian's eyes before pulling him into a tight hug, chanting 'you came back' over and over.

It's too good to be true.

Grian is home.

"Where is Tango?" Impulse suddenly gasps. "Zedaph? Where are they? They must be so worried I can't believe I forgot them!"

"You forgot?"

"I, uh," Impulse frowns, racking his brain to find the memory. It's one that he remembered before Wels woke up, but it's buried itself under the newly unlocked memories. "I might have killed a watcher who cursed us on their dying breath."

"IMPULSE!" Wels snaps, looking at said man with a wide grin. "That's the best thing I've ever heard."

"How did the curse break then?" Ren mumbles, wiping his face with the palm of his hand. "They said that we'd never remember."

"Herobrine said that you all would remember once Wels woke up." Evil Xisuma, Ex, says gently. "I guess it's my time to go now."

"No." Ren says, taking Evil Xisuma's hand. "You're stuck with us. You don't get to leave now, you're stuck with us and Xisuma can deal with it. You're a hippie bro now."

"Bring it in Evil X." Wels says, offering a hug to the clone. "I'll message Cub in the morning, then we can all go to the next season. But you have to explain Herobrine to me."

"Oh he's my Dad."

"Impulse you can't just say things like that."

---

Cub lands behind Scar, who sits on the edge of a cliff overlooking the hermiatic sea. Scar clearly notices the man, his body tensing and his shoulders shaking, but he doesn't move to say anything.

"Scar," Cub takes a deep breath in, not knowing where to start. "You should have told us, we could have-"

"Save your breath." Scar mumbles, standing. "You wouldn't have changed anything. You aren't going to change anything. Just, just take me to your base or wherever Xisuma wants me. I want this day to be over."

“Scar,” Cub takes Scar’s hand, stopping the shorter hermit from walking any further. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not trusting you, I’m sorry for treating you and Doc like glass. We shouldn’t have, I shouldn’t have. You’re my best friend, I should have trusted you more.”

Scar turns to Cub, and Cub finally sees Scar’s face. Tear’s stain his cheeks and his eyes hold no anger, just tired acceptance. Scar pulls Cub into a hug, and the two vex men hold onto each other until the sun rises, apologising and talking, telling each other how they feel. Cub falls asleep at some point, still holding onto Scar.

“Now, as much as this is a sight for sore eyes.” Joe says, a dog licking Cub’s face until he wakes up. “I’d rather you two didn’t fall asleep where I want to put my lighthouse.”

Scar rubs his eyes, sitting up. Cub checks his communicator, not expecting anything other than a few angry messages from some very worried hermits.

Welsknight: Cub, I need you back ASAP Welsknight: They’re back.

“The hippies have woken up Wels.” Cub mumbles, a wide grin on his face. “Wels has the hippies!”

Scar’s face goes slack before he also grins, taking the communicator from Cub’s hands. Joe and Scar read the messages before Scar jumps up, whooping in joy, falling off the cliff and into the ocean.

“Go get them, Cub.” Joe says, pushing Cub’s back. “Go get the hippies back.”

---

Grian doesn’t know why he’s so nervous. It’s just Cub, and Wels did explain everything to them last night. Ex seems about as nervous as Grian is, not expecting to be accepted as quickly as the Hippies will be. It’s been four years. It’s painful to stay here.

But he wants to. There are so many things that have been left unfinished.

They won’t come back to season 6. Grian never wants to looks at a quartz block again.

"We have to go to the netherhub." Wels says, gently touching Grian's back. "You alright?"

"There's so much we didn't finish." Grian mumbles, pulling his brown sweater closer to him. "This wasn't supposed to happen, we were supposed to come back."

"It's not your fault." Ren says, smiling sadly. "We're going back home now."

"But here is home." 

"No, home is where we are." Impulse pushes Grian's side, ruffling the hippie's hair. "Home is where the hermits are."

"Yeah." Grian smiles wistfully. "I'm going to prank Mumbo and Iskall. I'll fill their bases with flowers and chickens."

"I'll set up a base close to Doc. Keep an eye on him." Ren smiles. "I can't wait to see him again."

"Speak for yourselves, Tango and Zed aren't going to let me set up a base unless they can see it." Despite Impulse's words, he sounds happy, as though he can't wait for that to happen.

"How about you, Ex?" Grian asks, turning to the clone. "What are you going to do?"

"Apologise to Xisuma and then find somewhere to live, I guess." Ex smiles. "Away from flowers, I hate flowers."

"Why do you hate flowers?" Wels asks, smiling quietly.

"He's scared of them."

"Impulse please stop." Ex groans. "You can't keep saying things, I can never leave this place. You've killed me, I'm dead."

"Good."

"Impulse!" Wels protests, pushing the man. "Stop it, he's going to end up looking like a tomato."

"Ha, sucked in Exy!" Grian laughs as they follow Wels through the portal. The heat of the nether doesn't stop the group from joking, Grian and Ren pushing Impulse around while Wels and Evil Xisuma lead the group forward. They all glide down to the giant map, Impulse pushing Grian off the ledge as Cub exits the main portal.

He doesn't look real, not to Grian. Three of the four years that the hippies were missing he didn't remember Cub, and of the first year he was more focused on survival than he was on the hermits that they accidentally left behind. But Cub is here, his beard sporting a few white strands of hair, and his face has worry lines where there was uncreased skin before. He's lost his usual scientist get up, a gaudy pharaoh's outfit adorning his skin, and his more tan than he was before they were lost. But he's here, Cub is taking them home.

Tears roll down Cub's face as he approaches, gently tapping the hippies as though he can't believe that they're back. He steps back, looking over to Wels and Evil Xisuma with a gleeful look on his face before Grian wraps him into a hug. He smells like sand and ocean and grass and home, and tears spring to Grian’s eyes. Impulse and Ren wrap themselves around Cub and Grian, joining in the hug. Wels joins the hug as Impulse pulls Evil Xisuma into the hug as well. 

They’re going home.

---

The hermits stand nervously around spawn, shuffling on their feet. No one was prepared for Cub to leave in the morning, and besides from Joe and Scar, no one knows why he left. Joe called a meeting - Mandatory, emergency : You Must Not Miss This type meeting, though he refuses to say anything about why he called it.

The meeting did give Xisuma, Stress, Bdubs, False and Cleo enough time to apologise to Scar, though Joe had to force it out of them. Scar and Joe stand apart, hopeful smiles written on their faces. The sun ducks behind a cloud as Scar whispers the reason the meeting was called into Doc’s ear, and Doc picks Scar up, swinging him into a hug. No one is told why they are so happy, though Joe’s hopeful grin turns into a large smile.

Cubfan135 joined the server Welsknight joined the server Grian joined the server ImpulseSV joined the server Rendog joined the server EvilXisuma joined the server

---

Mumbo stares at Grian, noticing all the small differences between Past Grian and Current Grian. His hair is longer, his eyes are tired, he looks the same but different, freckles and tans and small cuts litter his face. There’s a burn on his lower hand, hidden under the sleeves of his coat. His coat is brown, and he’s wearing a black t shirt under it. There’s a rose around his wrist.

But the way that he smiles, the way he stands. That’s Grian, that’s his best friend.

Mumbo pulls Grian into a hug, barely able to form words. He notices Iskall, hugging Grian tight as well. They’re safe. They’re back. Grian’s back.

---

Doc puts Scar down, walking over to Ren with an incredulous look on his face. Ren’s hair is long, tied back in a ponytail, with a blue dress shirt on and a daisy around his wrist. There’s stubble on his face and grass stains on his knees.

“I’m not asleep, am I?” Doc asks, breathlessly. He can barely contain the tears that make one of his eyes go blurry. “I better not be dreaming.”

“You aren’t.” Ren punches Doc’s side lightly. “I wouldn’t let you.”

Doc breaks down, crying into Ren’s shoulder as they hug. He knows this isn’t a dream, even if it feels too good to be true. Ren is back, Ren is safe, and he isn’t going to let Ren go until Ren wants out of the hug. He can’t wait to show the werewolf around.

---

“I’m asleep again.” Zedaph mumbles. “I’m asleep and dreaming and I’m going to wake up and Tango will ask if I’m crying.”

“Zed,” Impulse has tears in his eyes. He’s got a black sleeveless shirt on with a brown vest, and a sword lays on his side. He’s a lot more buff, stubble rests where he is normally clean shaven. “Zed I swear, this isn’t a dream.”

“I know,” Tango’s breathless, holding out something to Impulse. “It can’t be a dream, because you have an orchid where you’re meant to have this bracelet.”

Impulse breaks down, falling on his knees as he cries. Zedaph and Tango wrap him into a hug, letting him release the tears that he clearly needed to. The three men hold each other, not letting go. Not even to eat when Joe brings food at lunch, nor when Stress brings soup at dinner. A point of contact remains as they eat and the three men fall asleep at spawn, tangled together. They don’t want to wake up separated.

---

“I’ll leave now.” Evil Xisuma mumbles, shifting uncomfortably as Xisuma watches him. “I know I’ve overstayed my welcome.”

“You haven’t.” Wels brushes off Evil Xisuma’s comments. “You’re the one who brought them back. You’re the one who woke me up. You’re the one who broke their curse. Like Grian said: You’re stuck with us now.”

“Curse?” Xisuma says, frowning. “What curse?”

“Impulse killed a Watcher and was cursed to never remember what's important, and the other hippies got the curse as well.” Evil Xisuma mumbles, careful not to let the other hermits hear. The sun sets and though most of the hermits had left, the hippies and their friends had remained at spawn. Scar and Cub also had stayed, Scar apologising to the hippies for more reasons than any had cared to count. “They didn’t even remember their names when I found them.”

“Thank you.” Xisuma says, smiling. “Thank you for taking care of them.”

“It wasn’t just me!” Evil Xisuma raises his hands. “Impulse got adopted by Herobrine!”

“I never said I was adopted!”

“Impulse I will take away your rights to say things again!” Grian smiles as he looks up from the pictures of Mumbo and Iskall’s megabases.

“Yeah man can we have a nice moment.” Ren laughs, watching the stars with Doc. Tango and Zedaph laugh, cooking marshmallows over an open fire.

“Don’t take his speaking rights away, he still hasn’t told us about his family reunion with his Dad.” Tango laughs, picking up a marshmallow and popping it into his mouth. Xisuma smiles, watching the group.

His family is together again.

[writing-the-end]

Loving LoL so far and was curious if you could give a complete list of every hermit and their magical affinity or if there was one somewhere ^^

So @theguardiansofredland is the genius that came up with all this but was too lazy to answer this himself so here’s what he copied and pasted to me. First failing in discord and then google docs. We share one braincell.

Check under the cut!

Wizards and their powers

Xisuma: Void magic. A catch all destruction magic. Can create small black holes that can suck up and destroy most anything. He can even specify what can get sucked into it. That way he doesn’t end up killing his friends.

EX: Supernova magic. Able to create light and giant bursts of hot plasma and gas. Like a sun but more light. Also can use more light based magic. Like creating a shield of plasma balls around him so whatever touches it will get hurt. Or can send out little homing missile balls of light.

TFC: Mineral Magic. By touching or ingesting metal or crystal he can gain different powers based off what the mineral is. For example Lapis lazuli can give him water breathing and malachite can give him water/storm magic. However these only have a max limit of an hour before he has to touch a charged crystal or metal again. He can charge crystals and metals in the moon light

Joe: Poetry magic. An inscription magic. He can make spells or summon creatures by making poems. The longer the poem the more powerful the spell. However what gives it true power and strength is the passion poured into the poem. He has to physically write the poem on paper for the spells to actually be cast

False: Blacksmith magic. Anything that can be made in a forge she can summon and control. She can also summon liquid, molten metal and burn people. And can heat the metal of the things she summons. The more things she summons the more energy it takes.

Stress: Ice magic. Can make and create anything out of ice. Even living statues of ice that can fight for her. Also can summon icy winds and snow. Can frost over the floor to make it ice, and create huge ice sculptures and icicles.  She herself however is not immune to the cold. And enough fire can easily put her power to shame.

Cleo: Underworld magic. Has control of ghosts, ghouls, skeletons, the undead, and anything pertaining to the underworld. Can make things rapidly decay and die if she so chooses. But she has to touch them in order to do it. She can release a terrifying scream that paralyzes any who hears it for a few seconds. Up to a max of 1 minute. However it does mean everyone, even allies.

Zed: Shepherd magic. Basically like the pied piper. Can have any animal or creature aid him Disney princess style. He can also have them fight for him like Pokémon. This is all creatures, even the mythical ones. He can even use his magic to control people. However this takes a lot of energy.

Tango: Hellbound magic. He can summon demons and other beings from hell. But his main thing is calling upon the power of the demons and can transform into something like a demon. With increased power, new abilities and power, but most importantly (to him) wings that let him fly and fire magic.

Impulse: Detonation magic. Explosions motherfucker. He make things go boom. Can create a myriad of bombs and explosives. He can also create explosions from his hands. Charging explosions and then letting them go boom right when he needs them to. However it is limited to his hands. But with this powers he can propel himself forward and up and all over the place. Launching himself through the air. He can however run out of juice very easily and fast. It’s like sprinting at full speed. You can practice to do it for longer but it still wears you the fuck out. If he gets too drained he can end up passing out or throwing up.

Cub: Portal magic. Can create portals to other places. (Like wormholes) Can even jump dimensions with enough studying. However the longer the distance the more power used. He needs to concentrate or else the portal will end up someplace random.

Scar: Terraforming magic. Can manipulate any element and thing to his whim. He can make mountains out of molehills, and change and terraform anything. But he really is only good at terraforming Earth, Flora, and Water on a large scale.

Doc: Puppeteer magic. He can puppet/posses creatures and objects. It’s like Zedaph’s but not as limited. And it’s powerful. Able to control people and things like machines. He can even give them buffs and powers. Even see through their eyes and control them like a first person video game. However this leaves him standing in a trance wherever his true body is. Leaving him open to attacks. And for the people he’s puppeting, he has to have line of sight on them.

Ren: Imagination magic. Can make up spells and create anything using his imagination. Oh you want a water bottle? He’ll just summon one with his mind creativity. His most powerful ability however is to copy and use another person’s magic. He can only use it for about an hour before it disappears. And he has to make contact with the person he wants to copy. He can do this by touching them or gaining a small bit of them. Like a hair, a piece of their clothing. As long as it has come into contact with the person he can use it. However he has to use it carefully and not too much or else it can backfire bad. He has Wolf ears and a tail cause he copied someone with werewolf magic but he performed the spell wrong. But instead of starting over he pushed on with the botched spell. And now his canine parts are a consequence of that.

Jevin: Slime magic. Can create warriors of jelly to fight for him (like lapis does with creating warriors out of water) as well as create walls made out of slime. Or slow down people by shooting it at their feet. He can use extra sticky slime to stick people or objects to walls and surfaces. But other than the sticky slime, the slime can be easily destroyed. Having the consistency of Jello

Keralis: Insect magic. Can have abilities of insects! Giant moth wings, venom, spider legs, able to have ant strength (like lifting 10 times his own body weight). However he can only use the powers if he eats the insect. So you’ll see him just drinking mango and moth smoothies and nomming on baked crickets.

Bdubs: Plant magic. Able to grow, control and take on the abilities of plants and fungi. He can even turn his limbs into vines and tree branches. The bigger sized and more plentiful amount of plants take a more concentration. And plants are not immune to fire or blades. And if the plants are coming from bdubs’ body, if they get cut or burned it hurts him. The plants sprouting from his body acting like extra limbs.

Iskall: Radiation/Nuclear magic. Can create a nuclear substance (iskallium) that can burn through things like acid or thermite. Can also channel this into bolts of radioactive lightning or fire. He can’t overdo it tho. He’ll end up getting weaker and even at points be paralyzed for a good bit if he uses too much energy/magic

Mumbo: Redstone and Electricity magic. A rare thing to have 2 types of magic. But he has it. He can create almost anything out of redstone (both animated and statue like Stress) and can use it as a conductor for his electricity. But he has poor control over his magic. Going into magic surges where his magic goes out of control. If he gets more worked up or overwhelmed the problem only gets worse. 

Grian: Sky Angel Magic. One of the rarest magic in the world. He has extremely powerful wind and storm magic. Summoning storms and creating blades that shred through everything. But he also has tremendous healing abilities. Able to make people feel energized again or physically heal their wounds. He can sprout wings that allow him to fly and he can create currents under his wings so he goes even faster. A last ditch power surge is his archangel mode. Gaining a boost in power and radiating blinding light from himself. It’s like looking at the sun. His powers are boosted and he gains light magic. However afterwards it leaves him completely drained and he is usually asleep for a few days. Grian is also very fragile. A glass canon if you will.

Etho: Shadow magic. Can slip and disappear into the shadows. Can use the shadows around him to create temporary weapons and diversions/illusions. With enough power he can even turn his physical body into shadows, making it hard to strike him. However, shadows need light. And he is powerless in darkness.

xB: Whirlpool magic! Can create whirlpools and small typhoons. To either harm or suck in unsuspecting people and ships. He has the basic Kipling abilities of water bending (I couldn’t think of a better explanation). But as a deep water Kipling, his eyes are very sensitive to light. At night he glows brighter than a sea lantern. Sharp claws and teeth allow him to draw in prey.

Beef: Taurus magic. Able to use the powers of the mythical bull as well as transform into it. He can also transform into more powerful beasts. However he needs to keep his emotions in check or else he’ll lose control of himself and become full beast, losing sentience and will. It takes a while for him to return. His kind nature conflicts with his magic, making it hard to stay in control when using lots of magic

[melon-wing]

Sleeping With the Enemy 1/2?

Grian had never planned to be in some secret relationship. He had wanted to let everyone on the server know that he was no longer single. He wanted everyone to share his happiness. He only needed to tell his closest friends first. The Architechs were like a family to him and he needed them to know before everyone else… But that was the hardest part. He kept putting it off again and again. He always had some excuse why it was a bad moment. He knew he was lying to himself, but he just got so scared when he imagined what they’d say. Had he been dating anyone else it would have been so easy. He would have told them right after it had happened a year ago.

They were sitting in one of Sahara’s meetings again. It wasn’t much of a meeting any more. The business part had been forgotten hours ago. They were just hanging out, talking and having fun.

“So~o, Grian”, Iskall drawled, a grin on his face, “I noticed there is a certain someone who has feelings for you. You Casanova.”

Grian’s eyes widened, his heart racing. Had his secret been uncovered?

“What?”, he squeaked out, Mumbo and Iskall laughing at his reaction.

“Yeah I can’t believe you didn’t notice. Usually I’m the spoon and even I got the message.”

“What… Who?” Grian felt nauseous If they were to call him out on his secret… What if they told him he shouldn’t begin this relationship when he was already in it. What if they…

“Rendog, obviously.”

Grian’s thoughts came to an abrupt halt, completely in shock. “Wait… What? Ren?!”, he exclaimed, shaking his head, not really believing what he was hearing. Ren was…There was no way. He would have noticed. He would have realised.

“Did you never notice how he looks at you? It’s like you are a pile of diamond blocks. He absolutely adores you. And while I think he has a strange taste with that, you should totally go for it.” Iskall was still grinning, amused at his shocked expression. “I can help you. I’m a good wingman. And…”

“No!”, Grian interrupted him, before he could go any further, before he could get carried away with some crazy plan.

“But Grian. He really likes you. He’d be a nice match. I’ve seen you guys work together during the whole Hippie Camp thing. You’d be perfect for each other..” Mumbo sounded so hopeful it almost broke Grian’s heart. They only wanted his happiness after all. And he? He kept lying to them like a child scared what its parents might say.

“I don’t like Ren… Well I do. Just not like that. Sorry guys. It’s nice of you to want to help me, but I…”

He hesitated.

“I am…”

The truth was at the tip of his tongue. It would be so easy to just tell them now, but a part of him liked how much easier a lie would be.

“I’m not interested in relationships at the moment. I just want to work on Sahara and I’ve got so many other projects…”

His friends looked disappointed for a second, but then they smiled again. What did he do to deserve such good friends?

“Well then… Let’s not talk about that again.”

Iskall sighed at Mumbo’s words, obviously dissapointed and looked back at the clipboard in front of him that had been abandoned hours ago.

“We should finish this meeting soon. Me and Mumbo still have to work on improving the redstone. In the meantime… Grian, we still need a few more resources and since you… don’t have anything better to do here…” “You meant to say: Since my redstone skills are rubbish and you don’t want me or any potatoes near your overly complicated circuits ever again?” Grian grinned and Iskall burst out in laughter at that.

“Yeah and that. Sorry, mate. But in all honesty, we are really running low on a few things. I made a list. Maybe you have time to get some of the items we need while we keep working here.”

Grian took the list from Iskall, nodding at them. “Well I’m off then. See ya.”

He stood up, strolling over to the hole in the window, carefully touching the edge of the window.

“We should really fix that. It doesn’t look very professional. Concorp doesn’t have any holes in their buildings.”

“Ah fuck Concorp. We’ll beat those bastards.”

Grian looked over his shoulder at Iskall who laughed. Mumbo even smiled a little, throwing a fond look at Iskall. Grian forced a smile and hurriedly stepped out of the window, his Elytra activating a split second before he hit the ground.

~

Grian stepped into the Nether hub out of breath. He was covered in sweat and dirt. That and blood. A whole lot of blood. Far too much blood. He had been so concentrated on farming Quartz, that he hadn’t noticed the Ghast flying up behind him. The fireball had hit him in the left side, burning his hand and leaving a gaping hole in his side and back. He needed a healing potion. Why hadn’t he taken one with him?

His vision got a little blurry as he tried to find the right portal. He needed to get somewhere safe. Not his base… He’d never find the potion in time in his mess. Sahara. Mumbo and Iskall would still be working there. They’d help him. But where was the portal.

Grian blinked a few times and smiled when he finally spotted it, taking a few shaking steps forward. Suddenly the whole Nether looked like it was swaying and he stumbled. He closed his eyes, preparing to hit the ground, but something grabbed his arm and spun him around. A little shriek left his mouth and he grabbed his sword, about to swing it, but another hand grabbed his sword arm.

He was staring directly at Scar and Cub. Scar, who had caught him and now held his burnt hand carefully, Grian’s sword just centimetres from his face. The sword had only stopped thanks to Cub holding his other arm. Grian breathed a shaky sigh of relief. Cub let go of him and he dropped his sword.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“We worried…” Scar said, looking absolutely horrified at the extend of the wounds. “I felt you getting hurt. I thought you’d die if we didn’t find you.”

“You don’t have to worry. That’s only a little wound. It doesn’t hurt that much. Nothing a little rest won’t…”

Before Grian could even finish the sentence, Cub had pushed a potion bottle against his lips.

“Drink.”

And Grian did just that, blindly trusting that the contents would help him.

The potion tasted sweet and warmed him from the inside. The pain slowly faded, the wounds closing and the redness of the burns turning into a soft pink until everything was healed.

Scar raised Grian’s hand to his lips and pressed a little kiss to it. Grian felt his face growing hot and he was sure that wasn’t the potion.

“Scar… Not here…”

“We were worried Grian”, Cub just stated in a matter-of-fact way, putting a gentle hand on Grian’s face. “We can feel when you are hurt and it is scary. You are not like us. You are more… fragile. We don’t want to lose you.”

“It was just a Ghast. Nothing too dangerous… But… I’m sorry for making you worry. You saved me.”

He felt Scar’s grip on his hand tightening. Cub closed the distance between their faces, their foreheads touching.

“I know”, he whispered and planted a soft kiss on Grian’s lips before letting go. Scar was still clinging to his hand as if he was afraid to let him go.

“Scar? I’m alright. Everything is fine. You healed me. Thank you.”

And finally the worried expression lightened a little bit and Scar smiled at him softly. “You know, there are advantages of having amazing magical vex boyfriends, Grian.”

Grian laughed at that.

“You forgot to add overbearing. You guys just worry too much. I would have been fine.”

“No you wouldn’t”, Cub replied in his calm voice. But Grian heard the hint of worry underneath.

“No, I wouldn’t… But… Damn, I don’t want you rushing in every time something happens.”

“Why?”

Scar’s question startled Grian. He had never thought about that. He was just… Any time his boyfriends came to rescue him he felt so stupid and embarrassed and…

“I don’t want to be a burden, okay? I want to handle things myself so you guys don’t decide you are better off without me again. I mean… You started out together and I think… I think I might be scared that you decide it was a mistake to add me into your relationship…”

Grian didn’t dare to look them in the eye. But he felt Cub’s arms wrap around him from behind, lips against his neck. And then Scar was right in front of him, kissing him with so much passion it was hard for him to doubt they’d ever leave him.

Out of the corner of his eyes Grian thought he saw the flash of a light, he turned his head slightly, earning a disgruntled noise from Scar. There was nothing there. Maybe just his imagination or a reflection from one of the glass blocks.

Scar’s hand impatiently turned him back and he was kissed once again, blissfully closing his eyes.

Those two were really the best thing that could have ever happened to him.

[stowaway-macaw]

Biome Curse (Part 7)

Scar woke up to the sound of Jellie batting at the glass bottles attached to his belt that he had hung off a hook on his desk. He awoke easily since he wasn't as active the day previous and lifted the belt away from Jellie, not that she stopped swatting at the colorful crystals. As Scar put the belt back on his waist and started reaching for his cloak, he realized that Grian wasn't in the room. For about five seconds, Scar panicked, thinking that maybe that the only person who still remembered him had either left or been taken against his will. Then he remembered the pendant. Breathing a sigh of relief, Scar held the pendant so he could see it but the cord remained around his neck.

He was about to call out when he suddenly felt a presence nearby. He let the pendant fall and opened the door to the snail, hoping to face the strange entity that had forced a curse on him. He couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the presence until it spoke.

My wizard is awake. My wizard looks well rested.

Scar nodded slightly and an eerie silence followed and Scar had finally spotted the bird eyeing him and chose to pretend like he couldn't see it again.

The bird is missing again. Did my wizard send him away again? The jungle thinks my wizard should keep a tighter leash on his bird.

Scar was thankful for the question, despite sounding slightly like an interrogation. It told him that the jungle couldn't know whether or not Grian was inside the pendant.

"No, he's inside the pendant." The voice perked up immediately as soon as the words left Scar's mouth.

Fantastic. My wizard knows what is best for the bird. The bird should know that it is most free under the jungle's care. The jungle sees that my wizard needs no assistance. The jungle will now focus elsewhere.

And with that, Scar heard the flapping of wings and the blur of red disappeared from his view and eventually, so did the presence. Scar heaved a sigh of relief and held up the pendant again.

"You can come out now!" He called to the glass encased feather. Nothing happened.

"Hello?" Still nothing. Scar was getting increasingly nervous and desperately wanted to call out Grian's name, especially after getting such a positive reaction from the jungle when he told it that Grian was in the pendant.

"Hey, come out already!" Finally he was surrounded by the familiar whirlwind of color and Grian finally appeared in the middle. He looked dazed and held a faraway gaze that stared right through Scar and was barely responsive. The blank expression was worse looking since Grian's mask was on top of his head rather than over his face. To Scar, he looked pale, but it was hard to tell since he was still semi-transparent.

"Uh, are you okay?" Scar asked, anxiety rising in his throat for the third time that morning. Grian's head dipped slightly in what was probably a weak imitation of a nod.

"Noooo, oh no. You're obviously not okay! Hey, come back to me!" Scar had no idea that the affect would be this bad and guilt swelled up inside him. What had he done? He tried to grab Grian's shoulders, and remembered that his mask was still off when his fingers passed right through the arms of his friend.

"Put… put on your mask." Scar's voice failed him as the dread and guilt continued to grow. What if Grian was stuck like this? What if he had permanently cost himself his only accomplice in this wreck of a situation? What if he had lost his friend forever? All these questions and more wreaked havoc in Scar's mind as Grian's hand moved to pull down his mask. Scar stared intently at his friend's blank eyes until his mask was all the way down and his form solidified. The vibrant purple eyes behind the mask were the only thing visible and suddenly shot wide open. A desperate and ragged gasp filled his lungs and Grian nearly collapsed. Scar moved to support his heaving friend. After a handful of seconds, Grian spoke up.

"Nev… never… never again…" Scar's worries were shoved aside by Grian's words, but he still felt the guilt.

"We're going to… keep this mask on… unless it's absolutely necessary… Also… " Grian was finally able to stand up straight and looked Scar directly in the eye.

"Don't you dare blame yourself for this. There was literally no way you could have known." Scar was taken aback by the harshly encouraging words.

"How did you know…?" 

"It's so like you to blame yourself for something like that. Seriously dude, I'm fine now so all we have to do is keep my mask on. Easy." While Grian's words did banish some of the guilt, some still lingered since he could still hear the weakness in Grian's voice. Scar decided that would be good enough for now though.

"If anyone is at fault, it's that darn bird." Grian mumbled to nobody in particular. Scar chuckled slightly.

"Not calling it a pesky bird?" Scar teased. Grian huffed in playful frustration, but Scar could tell it had some genuine disgust to it.

"Yeah right. Pesky birds are pesky, not downright life-destroyers." Scar snorted at the comment and he could see the smirk on Grian's eyes. Then the two fell silent, an unasked and unanswered question hanging in the air. Scar vouched to break the silence, knowing that it would be better if the two discussed the issue now rather than later.

"So, what was it like?" Scar asked very hesitantly. Grian's gaze averted down to his bare feet, and he remembered all too well what it was like.

"Not pleasant. It's like not having a body, but still being conscious. You don't really feel anything, but at the same time you can feel a lot. Like dreaming but worse. It messes with your mind and your memories. You lose yourself in a space like that. Time doesn't matter, emotions don't matter, it's so... backwards. That and… I..." Grian's voice faded out into a mumble that Scar couldn't hear, and his face was now completely facing downward so Scar couldn't even see his eyes. His mask was covering both his expression and his voice which made it even harder to discern what he had said.

"What?"

"...name" was all that Scar could make out from the marginally louder mumbling.

"I really can't hear you." 

"I forgot my name." Scar could finally see how tense Grian was and his voice cracked at the statement. Scar couldn't see the tears, but he knew they were there. Grian had forgotten his name. Neither of them had heard or said their name in two days, but after being practically forced into being something that wasn't who they were, it was all they had to hold onto from their normal life. Scar knew what it was, but he still couldn't say it. He felt a pang in his heart and moved to embrace his friend.

"We're going to solve this. I know it." Scar spoke with quiet confidence. Admittedly the confidence was completely staged, but "fake it 'til you make it" was a useful philosophy in times like these. It took some time, but the two had eventually composed themselves.

"You ready to go back?" 

"Sure am."

"Alright then. Go ahead and follow yesterday's plan and try to make some progress with Stress, but this time, avoid taking off the mask as much as possible." And with that, Grian nodded and took off in the direction of the cowmmercial district. He did his best to bury the morning's events in the back of his mind, but doing so proved to be quite difficult. When he arrived at the barge, Stress was already there waiting, but this time, someone was with her. As Grian got closer, he could hear their conversation and realized that the other hermit was Xisuma.

"-tell me sooner!?" The admin seemed angry.

"Look, I had to be cautious! I wasn't sure if one of the hermits would try to hurt him!" Stressed yelled back, obviously feeling, well, stressed.

"This is crucial! If he had been someone dangerous, what would you have done?"

"Please trust me when I say that you'll understand why I knew he wasn't. As soon as he shows up, you'll see!" Grian had landed already and was standing quietly to the side, but figured that then was as good of a time as any to speak up. He cleared his throat and the two squabbling hermits whirled around to face him.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" He asked, trying his best to look as reasonable as he could in spite of his attire. Xisuma stared at him in shock, but not at the colorful clothing. Rather, he looked into his eyes and saw and felt exactly what Stress had felt when she first encountered him; the familiarity, the trustworthiness, and even a tiny hint of nostalgia.

"I… see what you mean…" the three stood there for a bit, until Grian broke the silence.

"So… did she tell you about her wish?" 

"Yeah… but she didn't say what it was. She said she had made a deal with you…" Grian nodded and explained some more.

"Yeah. All I ask for in return is information on the magic in the jungle." At his words, Xisuma planned his next move carefully.

"Why do you want that information?" He asked gently, and noticed that the eyes behind the mask drifted downwards.

"Something very… unfortunate has been done to my friend and I. We're doing what we can to reverse it." After hearing this, Xisuma was positive. He was so sure after hearing that there was another person like this one, that these people were the answers to the problems spanning the whole community.

"What's your name?" Xisuma saw the man visibly wince, as though the question had physically hurt him.

"I… genuinely wish I could tell you. All I can tell you is that I have the-"

"The ability to grant our heart's desire, yes I've heard the line." Stress was somewhat dismissive about how he dodged the question, but Xisuma learned why with her next sentence.

"If you want a name so badly, then give one to yourself! It might not be what name you were given, but I think a name chosen by you or your mysterious friend will be more personal than any other. That's why nicknames are so popular!" Stress surprised herself with her outburst, as well as the two standing in front of her. Grian himself wasn't sure how to process it, but he wasn't given much time before Xisuma spoke up again.

"Well, we need to call you something. What about bird?"

"I will be content with literally anything but that." 

"Alright, strong no on that one." Xisuma thought some more after the speedy rejection of his first idea. Stress suddenly chuckled and smiled slightly.

"Why not play off that line you keep repeating. "Heart's desire", right?" When she suggested it, Grian perked up.

"Oh that works out. See, our situation is pretty complicated. There's this voice that keeps commanding us to do things and it's pretty intent on me just being something that belongs to my friend. It calls me bird, so I really don't want you guys to call me that. But if you call my friend "Heart" and if I'm "Desire", then I'm literally "Heart's desire"! As much as I hate to be considered a belonging, the nickname should make the voice happy if it ever finds out about it. I'm just happy that it's something you guys suggested instead of that… thing." Grian explained in the best way he could, and the three decided to stick with the silly titles either until the issue was fixed, or a different nickname caught on.

"Also, before we tell you all that we've found, we recruited some extra help." Xisuma said, changing the subject. Grian tilted his head.

"Who?"

"A friend of ours named Etho. He's… got a way with loopholes. I told him to meet us here, so he should be here in a little bit. He's going to help us with the whole magic spell situation. I thought I'd introduce you two since I can't get much research done about the jungle, but I ran into X here and ended up spilling our deal." Stress said, looking slightly sheepish. Grian thought for a moment.

"Etho, huh?"

"Did I hear my name?" The voice came from very close to the group and all three hermits jumped and cried out at the sudden appearance. Lo and behold, standing there was the familiar masked face of Etho. 

"You're early!" Stress cried, a hand on her chest as she slowed her rapid breathing. Etho smiled with his eyes, innocently.

"Yeah, it sounded important so I got here early. Don't worry, you don't have to explain much; I've been listening for a while." His face returned to neutral.

"I'll help. Where do we start?"

[star-captain]

Pirate Attack- Part Two

I was really excited to finish this story, the climax was really fun to write. Hopefully my next piece should be the official start of ‘Wandering Stars’, a story arc of Red, Avon, And Ecto. It’ll include adventure, mysterious enemies, and the infinity portal to hermitcraft!

Anyways, here’s Pirate Attack- Part Two. Red and the hermits are planning their assault on Xisuma’s guardian farm, but it’s not without dangers to dismantle a massacre. 

Red is @theguardiansofredland​ ‘s gremlin.

Red has seen ships before, but never has he seen one that’s still afloat. At least, not one as big as the Juggernaut. It’s busy, crewmembers shifting past him like fish through a coral reef. The other hermits are impressed by the ship and it’s crew. At the helm, Cleo looks like the captain everyone knows she is. Her burning orange hair waves in the wind that fills the sails. She is the pirate queen. 

The galleon sails away from Sahara’s shores, off towards the deep ocean where Xisuma’s farm resides. Mumbo and Iskall start planning intricate redstone devices to take out the machine, and Cleo is hard at work ordering her ship and plotting the course. Red can’t help but clamber onto the bowsprit, the wood beam jutting out over the water. It’s dangerous to be out there, where one slip could mean plunging into the ocean. Even though Red can’t drown, the Juggernaut could hit her, and barnacles are sharp. 

She can’t help but watch the water as the ship cuts through the waves. Water parting ways and cradling the hull. It curls upward, before peaking and turning to whitecaps that escape in the wake. Red can feel the seaspray on her face, cool water cleansing her of negative thoughts and feelings. The ocean changes color depending on the depth, starting at a light blue among the shallow coral, deepening into a forest green, before navy blue takes precedence over the deep ocean. Yet each wave, each ripple is a different shade of the whole mosaic. It’s art, the ocean, and the ship is a paintbrush mixing colors across the canvas. 

“The others are talking about things way over my head, and I honestly just wanna be out of Cleo’s way. Mind if I join ya?” Red looks over their shoulder, seeing Grian standing precariously on the bowsprit. Red nods, and he takes a seat next to them. “We’ve met before. You scared the life out of me. I didn’t really hear anything you said, I just knew you were not happy to see me.” 

“Do you blame me? You were about to take a pickaxe to my home.” Red chuckles. 

“Iskall explained things to me. I feel really bad for that now. No hard feelings?” 

Red pauses, thinking for a moment. “Nah, hopefully things can be smooth sailing from now on.” Just as they say that, the boat hits a large wave. Grian clasps onto the wood for dear life, while Red grabs hold of line connected to the sails. “Though now that I know where you live, you might have trouble on your hands if you mess with my stuff.” 

“I don’t mind trouble. I’m usually the start of it as well.” The two look up to the distance, able to see Xisuma’s farm. The massive, star shaped angles float in the sky, like shards of glass floating down from the heavens. Grian can’t help but look at the build in awe. Red can’t help but growl with disgust. Xisuma’s massacre machine is simple, and powerful. And because of it’s simplicity, it’s almost impossible for Red to break it for long. 

“I always forget how incredible this all is. Just out here, in the middle of nowhere.” Mumbo states. The entire ship is quiet, observing the structure. 

“And you’re sure Xisuma is alright with us destroying the farm?” Cleo asks, leaning on the wheel to get a better view beyond the sails. 

“Well, we aren’t going to aim for all that.” Iskall points out. He looks to Red. “I think you know more about this than any of us. How is his farm built?” 

Grian and Red slide off the bowsprit, though they all look over the starboard side into the water. Red points below the surface. “All those walls are the...farm.” She frowns at calling it such a thing. She doesn’t think it’s like a farm. It doesn’t raise things, just kills what’s already there. It’s a butcher shop. “I’ve tried to destroy it before, but...uhh...it’s quite a hot project.” She shivers remembering the lava that would sometimes spill out, nearly catching her fins on fire. 

“I think Mumbo and I can mess with the redstone inside.” Iskall offers. Mumbo smiles, holding up a repeater board and vials of redstone dust. 

“I can fire on the outer walls, knock it down and hopefully stop the farm from running.” Cleo saunters to the group, nodding her head at the cannons all lined up and ready to fire. 

“And from there, Red and I can go in and make sure it stays off for good.” Grian finalizes.

“Hopefully we can save the guardians while we’re there.” Red adds.

“Won’t they fire their bubble lasers at us?” Grian makes a little noise for effect. 

“The ‘bubble lasers’ are the least of your worries.” Red states with a chuckle, clambering onto the side of the ship. Ready to get to work. “I’d be more worried about the lava if I were you.” 

The group disbands. Iskall and Mumbo take a headstart, rowing off in a shared boat into the entrance of Xisuma’s base. The two boys are giddy, feeling like real pirates infiltrating an enemy fortress. From the ship, Cleo can see the two disappear into the prismarine structure as she hangs from the rigging way up high. Below her, her crew scrambles to fill each and every cannon with gunpowder and a cannonball. They’re broadside with the base, and plan on making multiple trips around. Firing on the defenseless structure as low as possible. And on the stern of the ship, waiting for the signal, is the pair of troublemakers. Grian holds an assortment of material to keep from drowning, whether it’s a respiration enchanted turtle helmet or a few bottles of water breathing. Mother Cleo is not letting any crew perish on this trip, there will only be one zombie. 

A whistle cracks through the air, followed by a bright yellow burst of the firework high above sea level. Mumbo and Iskall are in, and getting to work together reconfiguring the redstone to leave a surprise. The Juggernaut fires with such force the boat recoils backwards, cannonballs flying into the water and busting through the sand. The sails fill and the ship begins to move again. But Grian and Red aren’t onboard anymore. 

They’ve jumped ship, swimming towards the destroyed sand wall that the Juggernaut leaves behind. Grian is painfully slow compared to Red, but they do manage to get to the remnants. Grian removes blocks that Cleo’s cannons didn’t break, before swimming lower to block out the dangerous lava below. He can’t help but wave to his fellow architechs through the glass. He’s not sure if they’re laughing or arguing, covered in redstone dust and making a terrifying machine of madness. Higher up, Red rips apart the stone that traps her guardian friends. The fish struggle against the current of the moving water, but Red manages to pull them free. 

That becomes the system. Cleo bombards the farm, Grian moves in to clean up, and Red frees the guardians from an untimely death. About halfway through, the pirates hear noteblocks going off. At first at irregular and changing times and tones. But as they continue, the music begins to become recognizable.

Dunnnn na. Dunnn na Dunna dunna duna dunadunadunadunadunaduna. Grian nearly spits out his water breathing potion while hearing the song. Onboard the Juggernaut, Cleo laughs. “We’re gonna need a bigger boat!” 

The music stops after awhile, Iskall and Mumbo making their escape back to the ship. Cleo has also made a full circle of the base, raising the sails. The only people left in the attack are Grian and Red. Grian eventually swims back as well, taking a look at the pair’s work. “I think I have all the lava blocked off. No fish is getting cooked anymore.” 

“I want to do a lap, make sure no one is still stuck.” Red advises. Grian looks up at the surface, then nods and starts to rise. Red swims along the destruction, observing the pirate attack’s results. The current of the moving water is strong, but nothing she can’t handle. Every part of the sand wall has been removed, and repurposed to cover the lava below. No guardians are stuck in the remnants of the farm- except one. 

It’s a young guardian, still gaining the strength to swim. It’s little, about the size of a salmon. The guppy can’t escape the torrent of water. Red swims over, reaching out to tug the guardian to freedom. “It’s okay, sometimes you just gotta keep swimming. With a little help.” 

She pulls it to freedom, only to trade places. The current is strong, almost as strong as a magma block. Despite Red swimming up with all her strength, she’s losing ground. But what does it matter? Grian got all the lava, she can just let it push her to the bottom and swim out there. 

Except when Red looks down, it’s not sand below. Grian missed a few blocks here. The water starts to get hotter. Red attempts to surface as fast as he can, but it’s not match. This water was built for death, and he’s stuck in it. 

On the Juggernaut, the hermits have gone quiet. Grian thought Red was right behind him. There didn’t seem to be anymore guardians, so he should be back by now. Cleo is starting to go into her motherly mode. “Someone should check on him.”  

“I don’t have any more water breathing. Only my helmet.” Grian tugs the turtle shell off his head, blond hair flattened by the helmet. 

“I’ll look.” Iskall swipes the piece of armor, and clambers down the ladder to the water. The boat is still moving, so he grips the ropes tight and ducks his head under. At first he sees nothing, no sign of the kipling. Maybe he just left? But then Iskall spots him. Red is struggling, losing strength and a battle against the water current pushing him down. 

Down towards an uncovered patch of lava.  There are only two or three of those, sources that Grian didn’t realize existed. It’s separated from the water, so falling in is a death sentence. It was built to kill. Iskall gasps as he resurfaces, scrambling up the side of the ship to the deck. “Red’s stuck, being pulled into a part of the farm still active.” 

“We need to save them.” Cleo demands. She starts to clamber over the railing, but Iskall pulls her back to the deck. 

“Red can’t manage to swim through that on their own, how are we supposed to be able to? We need a different plan.” Iskall observes the deck. Mumbo pulls out his remaining stock of redstone, Grian shifts through stacks of sand. They don’t have much time. But it’s Grian’s clever little mind that comes up with an idea. 

Below the water, Red is getting exhausted. No matter how hard she swims, she can’t escape. A part of her is glad that she was the one to get caught, because a human could not withstand such a current. At least her new friends aren’t trapped here. The lava below is getting closer, and Red’s muscles scream for her to give up, to let go. To stop postponing what seems inevitable now. Of all the ways for Red to perish, she never expected to die in these damned guardian farms. 

She can’t fight any longer. She can’t get her arms to push, her legs to kick. Red becomes dead weight, and the current pulls her faster towards the seafloor. Towards the lava. She can see the surface, the sunlight refracting the light above her into broken shafts. The water at her back keeps getting warmer, closer and closer to her demise. And in all of this? She accepts her fate. She saved her family, other guardians by tearing this down. She closes her eyes, letting the water sweep her away. 

An explosion can be heard, muffled from above the surface. The sound of water splashing, pushed out of the way of some solid. Red collides into the seafloor, the jolt snapping her eyes open. She slips out of the water current, pushed along the seafloor. Away from where lava was. Was. Now it’s filled with sand, and the flowing water harmlessly pushes her out of the way. 

She’s alive. Red breathes in, not thinking she’d have the chance to do that again. All she can do right now is lay on the sand and breathe in the water. She watches as an anchor is lowered down, and crawls onto the heavy metal. Red holds on with what little strength she has left, practically collapsing onto the wooden deck as soon as she can. Whatever the hermits are saying, she can’t hear them. She just needs to breathe, and remind herself that she’s still alive. 

“Wha-what did you do?” Red finally manages to ask. Cleo wraps a blanket around him, and hands off a cup of tea. 

“Iskall saw you were having trouble, so we devised a plan.” Cleo states. “Or, well, Grian did.” 

“We pooled our resources together. Iskall and Mumbo took one of Cleo’s cannons and modified it to shoot sand blocks that I had.” Grian nods his head over to the contraption. Redstone is all over the deck in a haphazard way, in no way compact or pretty. 

“You did all that for me?” Red questions. 

“We weren’t just going to let you die. Hermits stick together. I’m sorry we couldn’t put it together faster.” 

“No, no. Don’t be.” Red looks at them all, and smiles. “I’m just glad to not be a fried fish.” 

The whole crew stares for a second, before realizing it’s a joke. Grian laughs first, bubbling up into a throaty laugh. Mumbo and Cleo realize soon after, and Iskall breathes out his laugh last. “Let’s get back to shore,” Mumbo states. “I don’t want to be here when Xisuma arrives and starts hearing the Jaws music but doesn’t know where it’s coming from. And every other surprise we left.”

[okaytimeswithscar]

sick and tired of trying

want a fic where i project on ex so hard he cries? no? too bad im posting it anyway

also available on ao3

trigger warnings: panic attacks, implied self harm, implied suicidal thoughts, past violence

Ex heaved for breath as he ran through the shopping district, weaving between the colorful shops and glancing behind him at the absolute horde of hostile mobs that were chasing him. Honestly, would it kill these hermits to light up their builds for once? Screeching to a halt outside of iTrade, he all but threw himself into the nether portal, holding his breath as he was transported between dimensions.

Stumbling out on the other side, he fumbled for the switch on his helmet that would let him breathe nether air as he tripped over his own feet and fell onto the dark glass floor. Finally managing to hit the switch, he had a minor coughing fit before figuring out how to breathe again.

Ex pulled himself up off the ground, leaning on the portal frame for support. As he did, pain shot through his ribs, and he winced. Oh, yeah, not supposed to exercise in a binder. Forgot about that. Well, it wasn't as if he really had a choice anyway - it was either "run like hell" or "get brutally murdered by monsters", and Ex didn't fancy losing his gear and ending up wherever he'd slept last again.

Sighing, Ex glanced around the empty nether hub, trying to decide where he wanted to go. Xisuma's base was a definite no - his relationship with his brother was still very strained, with X only having unbanned him fairly recently. Ex didn't particularly want to interact with any hermits at the moment, for that matter. He'd been feeling awfully self-conscious all day, like every person who so much as looked in his general direction was judging him.

Deciding the best course of action was to find a place nobody but him (and X, but he was likely busy with other things) enjoyed being in, Ex headed for the portal that would put him closest to the nearest stronghold. This time, he switched the settings on his helmet before going through, resulting in a much smoother exit as he came out in the overworld.

Ex's mind wandered as he slowly made his way towards the stronghold, going over everthing that had happened since X had been convinced to unban him around two months prior. Most of the hermits hadn't seemed bothered by his return (if they were, they sure weren't saying so) and some seemed... far less than bothered.

At first, Ex had been kind of annoyed by their attempts to befriend him. However, he'd ended up developing a soft spot for several of them; Stress, Zedaph, and Grian being a few of the lucky ones. Keralis and Bdubs had even managed to convince him to build a house in the aptly named "New Guy Village", and even if his building skills were subpar and he was barely around - preferring to explore and sleep wherever he found himself - they seemed content with him just trying.

Of course, you can't mention hermits trying to befriend Ex without talking about Joe, who was the reason he was even here in the first place, having smooth-talked X into unbanning him entirely on his own with several hours worth of vaugely threatening, philosophical poetry. Ex asked him why on several occasions, but Joe only answered with cryptic prose that Ex didn't get anything out of except that Joe though he "deserved a second chance, a chance to change, a chance to try again."

Entering the stronghold didn't startle Ex from his musings, though he did briefly remark to himself that the hermits seemed to have remembered that torches existed while fixing up the stronghold. He stepped through the portal and came out on a cobblestone platform, hitting the buttons that detached his helmet and pulling it off. He breathed deeply, enjoying the crisp coldness of the End, a stark contrast to the slightly stale air his helmet filtered for him. He began to walk across the precarious cobblestone path to the main island, slipping back into his thoughts as he sat down with his back against one of the obsidian pillars.

Ex pondered for what seemed like the millionth time about his name. Ex, short for Evil Xisuma, was... not his favorite way to be addressed. He disliked being written off as just an "evil" version of his brother. He'd had his own name, a while back, but thinking about that one felt even worse than being Ex. He'd tried to think of new names for himself, but none ever seemed to fit, and he doubted he could get anyone to stop calling him Ex anyway. He hated being labeled as evil no matter what, even if nobody truly meant it that way anymore.

He'd never really wanted to hurt anyone. He felt abandoned, bitter at being left out of everything, so he lashed out at anyone who he could. Everything hurt, and he bottled it up, but it all had to explode eventually. Ex knew he had been out of control, destroying everything indiscriminately as he raged on. He knew X had to stop him somehow. It didn't stop it from hurting when his own brother, his younger twin who he'd looked out for and loved all his life, faced him down and banished him to the void right at the beginning of this new season.

Everyone knew this reasoning. Everyone knew it hurt X to do that too, to be suddenly alone and without his older twin for the first time in a very long time. And now, everyone knew Ex was trying. Trying not to lose control again. Trying to make up for the things he'd done. Trying to let others in. Trying to change, trying to fix it trying trying trying. Ex was so sick and tired of trying. It was all he could do, but it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to atone, it wasn't enough to participate, it wasn't enough.

It wasn't enough, and his stupid ribs hurt, and his eyes stung but he wasn't going to cry, he wasn't, but that wasn't enough either and Ex curled up into a ball next to the obsidian pillar and he couldn't breathe, his chest was tight and it hurt, but he wasn't going to look at himself right now, he couldn't handle it, the emptiness of the void was right there, calling him, he couldn't do this, he couldn't do this, he dug his nails into his arms, the wounds there still far too fresh, it hurt but he didn't care anymore, it was too much, not enough, too much-

-and suddenly Ex was sobbing into someone's shoulder, and someone was holding him tightly, and someone was whispering to him but he couldn't understand them, and he tried to scratch at his arms but someone held him so he couldn't, and he couldn't stop crying but they just held on, and they whispered again and Ex could hear them, just barely, but who was it, who was here-

"Ex, ex, hey, hey. Hold on. You're okay. It's okay, you're okay." -Joe, that was Joe. Joe was here and Ex let some tension go and wrapped his arms around him and cried, but Joe just whispered that he was okay, that it was gonna be okay. Ex relaxed into him, Joe leaning up against the pillar as they hugged, reassuring Ex as he slowly calmed. Ex pulled his head off Joe's shoulder, his eyes red and with tear stains running down his face. He pulled back from the hug, moving over slightly to sit next to Joe, still holding on to his arm. Joe simply let him, taking deep breaths as Ex unconsciously followed his example.

"...Joe?" Ex said quietly, his voice hoarse from sobbing.

"Yes, Ex?" Joe replied just as quietly, sounding concerned.

"...thank you. For everything, I mean. Letting me come back, and being my friend, and this..." Ex turned away from Joe, but still didn't let go of his arm.

"It isn't a problem. I believe that everyone deserves another chance, including you, and by gosh I'm gonna get you one. That's the JoeHills Difference!" Ex giggled quietly, smiling slightly as he finally let go of Joe and stood up, Joe doing the same.

"Hey, what were you doing in the End anyway?"

"Oh, just collecting some obsidian in return for gracious compensation at the hands of one X-I-Zumavoid."

"He's... paying you to mine obsidian?"

"Precisely! He seemingly needs a sizable amount, and has decided the wisest way to procure a large quantity would be to enlist as many individuals with a diamond deficiency as possible to obtain it for him."

"...I didn't really understand that, but okay."

"Would you be willing to assist me in this obsidian-aquiring venture?"

"I... sure."

Ex, still slightly confused, and still trying to wipe his eyes discreetly, followed as Joe, rambling on about something or other, strode towards a half-mined obsidian pillar. Ex grinned as he played along, pretending to understand the other man, and deciding that maybe, just maybe, this was enough for now.