#grian is chill and has the most kills (fall)

[i-am-arobazzz]

i just love that head canon (from @ alienssstuff) that each series happens in a different season (from fall in TL to summer in 24L) it also felt like it matched the winners somehow, so yeah have a fanart about it :)

[remthegremlin]

sorry im still insane about wlsmp but like so many of the life series “traditions” were broken this season and i think thats just so interesting.

the canary curse is officially broken, no more excuses no more “oh well its been passed on- oh its this doesnt actually count or” yeah no none of that- jimmy is a beast and he did so well he deserves credit for his skills 😤 he got 12th out of 18 so try and canary curse that my boy is a rockstar 😤

most of the fanon interpretation of watcher!grian is him hiding it which was kinda supported by the fact that grian being the admin of the past life series didnt really matter bc he kinda was on everyone’s level- but wild life? he was IN CONTROL. he activated the wild cards he called the end of the sessions he KNEW THINGS other people didnt and oh man thats fucking tasty its refreshing! grian was such a character this season- he fully leaned into the admin position (and for us we see it as him leaning in to the watcher aspect) and people were commenting on it? they knew he knew things when previously it just wasnt mentioned by anyone. im insane about this i love watcher!grian that fully accepts who he is and uses his powers for chaos and fun

the TEAMS- the teams this season were incredibly interesting. we had the bamboozlers who everyone assumed were gonna all go out first bc they were all bad at the game and accident prone and considering the fact that the very gameplay was all out of wack yeah it was kinda expected that the clumsy players would slip up first- but they didnt! they ALL made it to the finale. the four Gs- everyone was making jokes about how they were forcing themselves to stay together and how they were gonna fall apart and it was gonna be so toxic but they were one of the strongest alliances besides gem and joel- and even bigb who betrayed cleo still kinda stayed apart of the team- which speaking of bigb he was AMAZING this season with the creaking bit he had going but also he socialized more and instead of being a total loner he tried being part of the four Gs and yknow what i’ll take it. and the fanart of him skyrocketed this season so bonus points! but yeah the four Gs, destined to fall apart stayed together to the very end and im so happy they beat the divorce allegations. JOEL AND GEM. these two. these two were AMAZING. they truly played to the game- they didnt take things too seriously, they had fun- and most importantly they stayed together. i think what im trying to say here is that the teams this season were just so much fun to watch and it didnt feel like they were held together with tape and glue and i love that. the chemistry was top notch. i just started rambling here but i loved them!! the tuff guys, renwood, and the spanners (???) were phenomenal as well but we already knew those guys have great chemistry with each other. i definitely lost my point here oops.

last thing- wild life was so fun and it feels like the shift in the life series has settled and now everyone is just having fun and i think thats amazing for them. the shift definitely started with secret life- thats where the canary curse was broken, thats where scar won against all odds (the no regen? and scar winning? impossible- but it happened), where grian finally died an honorable death (i say this bc all of his deaths previously he’d been unhappy with- yknow the i dont feel good with scar, dying in a frenzy, dying to a warden, falling to his death- but secret life? he died trying to win a 3v1 and legitimately could have won. if gem hadnt been so high in hearts he definitely could have survived), and grian being the admin was actually relevant bc he knew things others didnt (and that scene where the end portal went off in the court house god that was good food for the watcher!grian fans) where the mechanism of the series was fun and chill and not just about killing, and of course- the tone of the series was fun and wholesome rather than completely hostile like the other 4. secret life was a nice transition to wild life and im so happy that the lifers seem to be having so much fun now.

IN SHORT. i loved wild life! i love how different it is from the other series. and im so glad that the lifers are having fun and leaning in to the insanity of it all. amazing. and this was just supposed to be a little paragraph about the broken traditions but i started rambling. my bad lol.

ALSO JOEL WON! the silliest, wildest man won! isnt that fitting?

[honestlyboringperson]

The mean gay and the even meaner bisexuals. And Pearl. (Persona 5 AU)

Also I just realized that Scott’s yellow eye is in the wrong socket. Eh, too late.

Southlanders

Team B.E.S.T.

Fairy Fort

Magic Mountain + Cub

More Information Below!

Scott - “Prism” - The Star Arcana - Dionysus/Sigyn

Sarcastic yet intensely devoted and loyal, Scott is known for his business “Chromia”. He sells dyed goods along with one of a kind clothing, along with the actual dyes themselves. He’s relatively well known throughout town due to his social media presence, and helps the Phantom Thieves with a calling card utilizing social media. Pearl and Scott are notable for their distaste of each other, which differs from their closeness a few years back. According to him, Scott only really joined the Phantom Thieves for his own amusement rather than agreeing with their goals.

Dionysus is Scott’s persona. Dionysus is the god of wine, revelry, orchards, and madness. I mean, Scott did join the phantom thieves for his amusement, so his persona is one of festivities. Another aspect of Dionysus is his Orphic version known as “Zagreus”. If you played Hades, you probably have an idea of who he is. He is the son of Hades and Persephone, and is the god of rebirth. The “rebirth” aspect of Zagreus can refer to the amount of times Scott barely escaped death from SEVERAL people.

Anyways, Scott’s Ultimate Persona is Sigyn, the norse goddess of mercy and compassion, and wife of the trickster god Loki. When Loki was caught and punished after he killed Baldr, he was sentenced to be tied under a venomous snake and have it’s venom fall into his eyes, Sigyn shirked his punishment by placing a bowl or basin above him to catch the venom before it falls into his eyes. However, some venom does get in his eyes when Sigyn goes to empty the bowl and Loki’s pained squirming causes earthquakes.

Pearl - “Carmine” - The Moon Arcana - Little Red/Diana

Pearl is a journalist, who often pulls all-nighters and stake-outs to get her scoops. Although chill and laidback during the night, during the day is a ball of feral neuroticism from the lack of sleep. She often finds herself in odd situations to find her scoops, usually seeking out seedy parts or town to report on the criminal activities. This also led her to meet a strange man covered in sunflowers saying she resembles his god in his religion and some oddball bar performer claiming she pushed him out of some godly realm. She is also one of the Pupil’s victims with false memories implanted in her. In this case, she believes Grian is her younger brother. She owns a little dog named “Tilly”.

Her Persona is Little Red, as in Little Red Riding Hood. More specifically, the version she and the huntsman along with her grandmother feed the wolves rocks after the huntsman cuts them out.It then dies either by drowning in a well where the rocks weigh it down or where the weight is just too much for it to handle and it dies. I mainly chose this for the ✨aesthetics✨, with a red cloak and giant terrifying wolf. I suppose it could represent the two sides of Pearl; the chill and laidback Pearl during the night and the feral (albeit kind of sad) and sleep deprived Pearl during the day.

Anyways, her Ultimate Persona is Diana, the Roman goddess of nature, hunters, wildlife, and the moon. She’s often equated with Artemis, but also has an association with Hecate, god of witchcraft due to both of them having crossroads under their dominion. Pearl could theoretically have any of these goddesses, due to their themes aligning with Pearl during Double Life where she goes kind of stir crazy and lonely. Heck, Hecate is even accompanied by a procession of dogs.

Cleo - “Ghoul” - The High Priestess Arcana - Bloody Mary/Durga

A sculptor known for her ornate, detailed, and beautifully haunting sculptures. She was one of the first people that managed to befriend Etho, most likely due to her similarly intimidating aura. She is roommates with Joe Hills, a strange man who often speaks through a puppet on his hand. She had to become more intimidating due to people with less than favourable intentions often flock to prodigy artists. However, if you have her back, she’ll have yours and will always make sure she fulfills a promise or repays a favour.

Her persona in the metaverse is Bloody Mary. She’s most known for her urban legend, where you can summon her via going into a dark room (usually a bathroom) with only a candle and reciting her name three times. Although there are several different origins she may have had, this version is specifically Mary Worth. She was a woman who lived in the woods who was accused of witchcraft. She was burning on the stake when she cursed the village, resulting in the vengeful ghost we know today.

Durga is the Hindu goddess of protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. She has the ability to unleash divine wrath on those who oppress and is often depicted riding a lion or tiger wielding multiple weapons and fighting demons. Cleo is both someone able to intimidate those into avoiding her and protecting her allies, represented by the combination of the aspects Durga represents. Also the motherhood aspect is calling back to when she was part of the c(l)ockers as the “mom”.

Gem - “Satyr” - The Strength Arcana - Atalanta/Freyja

Gem, although she may not look or act like it, is a former mercenary. She is retired, but not after making herself known through her feats of strength and her near inhuman fighting abilities. As of today however, she spends her days working as a lyricist and LARPing with her friends, as well as regularly bugging Etho. She can crush apples with her bare hands and is both well liked and feared by the rest of the phantom thieves.

Her initial persona is Atalanta, a famed hunter from Greek mythology. She was raised by bears and is the slayer of the Calydoanian Boar after Artemis wasn’t honoured with a sacrifice. She was also possibly a member of the Argonauts, where she fought along side them at the battle of Clolchis. She was a rare example of a female Greek hero in the frat house of the rest of the Greek heroes.

Her Ultimate Persona is Freyja, the Norse god of love, beauty, fertility, war, and gold. She and Odin equally spilt the soldiers who died in war into two halls, one belonging to Freyja. She wears a necklace called “Brísingamen”, obtained through trickery but was broken when she got so wrathful, the hall shook. Thor utilized said necklace to disguise as her to steal back his hammer Mjolnir.

[blueishspace]

Last Life if everyone had only one life (and failing a boogey meant instant loss)*

*(Since the Boogeyman loses importance with only one life I made it so failing means dying right there)

The random lives things doesn't happen because of the premise of the au, everyone gets 1.

Without life trading Grian never scams Scar, this would change a lot if Scar had actually stayed bitter about it past session 1...but he didn't so the change is for now irrelevant.

Bdubs kills Grian as a Boogey kill... Grian is out, just like that. He's the first player out the game, a big difference from his second place in my version of Third Life.

Without the life trading mechanic Tango never makes the "You bet your life" game.

Without life giving there is no Southlanders trust exercise, they are slightly less close... With Grians absence they are also very much weaker.

Mumbo still dies when raiding the bastion, he's the second player out. Jimmy, Martyn and Impulse only have eachother now.

Joel still targets Lizzie as a Boogeyman and still falls to his death in the process, Joel is the third player out. Both Grian and Joel are out before most other players, this has huge ramifications.

Lizzie also still dies killed to a zombie, I doubt anything else could have happened. She is the fourth player out.

As Mumbo is dead Scar can't kill him to get a boogey kill... Considering it was middle to end of the session I doubt Scar can find somebody else... Scar fails to get a boogey kill and is fifth out of the game.

As Joel is dead nobody comes for Scott, he and Pearl continue building their base in peace.

Lizzie is dead so she can't become the boogeyman, this means that the boogey scales a session, making Ren and BigB the boogeyman in session 3 instead of session 4.

Neither Ren and BigB are as trusted by Pearl as Lizzie, Pearl Isn't killed by a boogeyman instead staying safe with Scott.

Unless the find someone else which is dubious Ren still kills Skizz, BigB still kills Cleo. Skizz and Cleo are the sixth and seventh out.

It's likely Martyn allies with Ren and BigB in a sort of very premature version of the shadow alliance but bringing Impulse and Jimmy along.

"We can still be friends" never happens since Grian, Mumbo and Joel are all out of the game... The fandom is an entirely different place.

Bdubs still dies by falling from the nether fortress... He's the eight player out.

Etho can't kill Scar because of the Boogeyman curse since Scar is out already, he can't kill Bdubs either (the person closest to Scar when he was killed in canon) since he's also out so... Etho fails and is ninth out... BEST is now only ___T.

With the Impulse, Ren, Jimmy, BigB and Martyn team on one side Scott and Pearl recruit a newly allianceless Tango... Similiar to what they did Cleo in the og timeline.

Of the 6 only Scott and Jimmy become boogeyman as the other four are already out by this point of the game.

Tango is never killed by Bdubs, he just chills with Scott and Pearl. Scott flirty nature means that Flower Ranchers is born a season earlier with Scott as the middle link instead of Jimmy.

Scott still kills Impulse to get rid of the boogey curse, Tango appreciates the loyalty despite the curse. Impulse is tenth out.

Jimmy doesn't accidentally kills himself since Lizzie died before making the trap that killed him... Still, with how few people are left he definitely fails to get a boogey kill and is out eleventh.

Scott never has to escape Mumbo or Joel so he never kills himself by accident.

Pearl still makes the Boogeyman trap, BigB still opens it and dies... Since the boogey curse has scaled a session Pearl doesn't have to leave halfway and remains the boogey... Until BigB dies twelfth curing her. This means the boogeyman curse is no longer scaled by a session as it catches up.

Martyn still kills Tango, Tango is out 13th.

Only four players remain: Ren, Martyn, Scott and Pearl. No matter what happens it seems they are meant to be...

...However it happens earlier then canon and Scott is boogeyman. Scott still doesn't turn on Pearl out of principle but doesn't willingly refuse... Despite this Scott fails and is either killed by Martyn and Ren while trying to get them or just fails and is out. Either way he is out of the game 14th.

Pearl still boogey kills Ren, leaving her and Martyn as the last two players... Pearl is the clear victor between them.

Last Life is won by The Moon.

(Third Life but with only one life)

(Double Life)

[frozenjokes]

long list of mcyt ships and my dumbass opinions this post was getting too long and I have so much more to say

skizzpulse: needed to write about this because I don’t ship them at all but something is deeply weird about them in a way that is neither platonic or romantic. They have transcended human definitions of Relationship to me. No they’re not a QPR either. They’re weirder. Whatever you’re thinking they’re weirder. Do not separate. Attached at the hip.

etho: etho is in a realm of his own where I simply can not ship him. he’s not doing the romance. he’s not doing the qpr. he’s not doing shit. And it’s not because he can’t pull bitches; he is swagless and a loser in a way that brings ALL the boys to the yard (as opposed to Grian who is similar except he can’t pull anyone), he’s simply getting weird with it. He walks right past any sort of relationship into something deeper; resident sopping wet animal. aro/ace also but this isn’t nearly as relevant as the autism

cubscar/convex: favorite hermitcraft ship and it is not even close. It is NOT EVEN CLOSE. in the way scarian are both covered in lighter fluid and holding matches, convex are also doing that except it’s become a game of who can set the other on fire without being lit up themselves, and they’re both having the times of their lives (ends with both of them on fire every time without fail and it’s usually scar’s fault). they’re insane about it. the vex shit???? insane. their minds are beautiful and deeply wrong. I think they should kill each other.

solidaritimes: I will never forgive Scott smajor for separating scar and Jimmy in secret life he has no idea what he took from me. In a world where Jimmy is often the butt of the joke (by his own volition, I understand) the sheriff deputy thing was fucking beautiful. Sunshine and rainbows, love and support and adoration and everything good and healthy. A massive breath of fresh air and easily my favorite part of the hermitpires crossover. They mean everything to me. I’ve never seen such losers be so in love. Failgirl power.

redscape: another banger. These guys are GOOFY and I think Scar hits a magical combination of being Completely Exasperating vs Setting Off Mumbo’s Bullshit Radar which makes them bounce off each other in a lot of fun ways. They are versatile as a couple between banter and shenanigans and dedication, it’s a pairing I generally think of as very healthy and fun and if you also like all of these things don’t read my Boatem Ghosts AU because I make redscape awful and Mumbo pays the full price! Whoops! I love to think about them falling fast if I am writing them as romantically/sexually inclined characters, where Scar is frustrating but at the same time charming and silly in a way that draws Mumbo in. Mumbo on the other hand challenges Scar and chips away at his facade in ways he finds exciting. I like a Scar that wants to prove himself to Mumbo, win him over, where Mumbo is just lightly exasperated about the whole thing.

cleo/cub: probably the only pair on this list that I think are friends normal style. I just really adore normal style friends cleo and cub feuding about their museums so I had to tell you. I need to write them as friends more often. I love thinking about cub helping cleo fix up her stitches as well as other maintenance on their body. guys who nudity doesn’t matter to they’re both just chilling with their shirts off. special platonic dynamic to me.

ranchers: I don’t care about ranchers

moonrot: I don’t normally ship cleo and pearl in most of the smps or whatever. However. The specific dynamic they have in my boatem ghosts au makes me a little insane I really like them together. Pearl is a little bit deranged in her Wanting Revenge On Scar but ougghg that pirate scar’s hanging out with… she’s so cool… and then Cleo brings them to the ghost island and Pearl thinks she’s even cooler cleo is So Awesome ougghggh and then she gets worried because Scar is a Ultra Murderer TM so she’s quite protective over Cleo and doesn’t like Scar being around them AT ALL but her ass is dead so she’s not doing shit about it. The pining once Scar is out of the picture is Out Of Control. I should write a one shot about this.

ethubs: I think this is the only ship I can honestly say has ever been too weird for me. I think they’re deranged in a way that makes my skin crawl. I am deeply afraid of them. They’ve never kicked it normal style in their lives. I look at them and I don’t know what I’m seeing. It scares me. I respect this ship deeply and leave freshly slaughtered sacrifices at an altar once a week in a hope that will be enough for ethubs to leave me alone.

[mochiwrites]

I 100% agree that grian is one of the most loyal lifers, im just genuinely curious how you view/explain double life?

I LOVE being asked this omg okay SO

points to grian's most defining character trait being loyalty. it just doesn't make sense to say the grian cheated when he's literally. so loyal????

that being said, grian did not cheat on scar in double life !!!!!! why? because there was no relationship for grian to cheat on

allow me to explain. it's as simple as neither grian nor scar were ready to be thrown back together when they were in double life. grian, who's still carrying the guilt of killing scar in third life (because he has the world's biggest guilt complex), and scar, who had an incredibly rough time in the previous game. neither of them were prepared to be in each other's orbit as soulmates because neither of them had healed from the past two games

looking at grian first, we saw how destroyed grian was at the end of third life after killing scar. he was upset and guilty, to the point that he took his own life

and then we move to last life, where grian avoided teaming with scar, and stayed away from scar. why? so that grian couldn't hurt him, so that grian couldn't kill him. and yeah you can point out that grian and joel threatened scar to get some lives out of him but grian is pleading with scar the entire time to stop running, he doesn't want to kill him, etc etc

being teamed with scar for double life, literally having their souls connected, is like a nightmare for grian because he's so worried about being the reason why scar dies again. yet he's drawn to scar anyway because he loves him (and vice versa)

as for scar... well... he's starting double life fresh out of last life, where he spent majority of the season alone and taken advantage of. he's isolated and lonely, and he really doesn't have any true allies to lean on. he's backstabbed and left to rot. he went from having grian at his side, this strong relationship, to suddenly having nothing but the cold winter mountain top and people using him for what he has… and now they’re suddenly forced together again when they’re not ready for that

and scar didn't even want his soulmate !!! he didn't care about finding them, seemingly happy to settle down in the jungle with the jellie pandas. he didn't want an alliance, because some of that winter chill from last life was still there and he couldn't handle the risk of being left alone again. he didn't stay with grian until grian pleaded with him to stay

but they're forced together by fate and now they exist in the same space, falling into old habits (kind of), but there's still this separation between the two of them. there's still this distance that neither of them are willing to cross simply because they aren't ready

there's no relationship in double life, just two hurting people who haven't healed, and who aren't ready to heal together just yet. as for grian's thing with bigb, it was just an alliance. he got extra resources for himself and scar, and I take him keeping it a secret from scar simply as a refusal to communicate

NOW DO I THINK THAT'S HEALTHY... no. there's definitely some communication issues going on between the two of them. grian keeps pushing scar away because of his fear of hurting him, scar keeps distancing himself because of his fear of being hurt. neither of them handled it particularly well

but not once did grian betray scar. grian never plotted against him, never actively stabbed him in the back, none of that. everything grian did was to keep both himself and scar alive

[mxmarsbars]

made a little analysis thread on twitter and thought I’d share it here too if that’s chill ^_^

anyways traffic!impulse using self destruction and the destruction of others as a way to cope with his own frustration and resentment throughout the life series: a messy ramble-y post because I’m crazy.

most of this behavior really only starts after third life. his destructive behavior before then is usually outward and not with malicious intent. instead, he hurt others in third life because he was asked to. it was a part of a greater plan he was undoubtably loyal to and that would later get him killed and tarnish his reputation for seasons to come.

that’s why in last life, he’s much more open to antagonistic behavior (which he barely partook in before and only would if asked of). this mostly includes all the stealing he did that season, the numerous break ins, and of course, spawning the wither. this could also include his personal insistence on becoming the boogeyman and even planning it out in advance (which would later get him killed, his own hubris). he was itching for it to be his turn.

it’s such a huge shift from how he acted in third life, and why? personally, I think it’s because of all the strain and pressure put on him by others and their disdain towards him. specifically the rumors spread about him and the reluctance of others to believe and trust him after what he’d done the season prior. which for some people is justified, like ren and etho, but for others, like bdubs, is not. and this was shown to upset impulse a lot, given how it resulted in him being thrown under the bus, even by his own teammates.

but he’s supposed to be nice and considerate and smart to make up for all he’s done, right? that’s why he sticks with his alliance the whole time and makes a point to be loyal to them and them only. but that doesn’t stop the resentment and anger boiling, and he can only take so much before he has to let off some steam, and destructive behavior seems to be a means to do so.

it turns from him doing bad things because he’s asked to to him doing it because he wants to, to cope. which is why when all else fails and the southlands fall apart, despite him taking the measures to prevent it earlier on, he helps grian spawn the wither, even with the risks and deaths. and he insists on doing it at best’s base, because they ruined him. it gets him killed. he should’ve been smarter.

it gets worse in double life, specifically when homewrecking is proposed. while he’s not the one to bring it up or start the rumors, he soon grows comfortable enough to start talking smack himself. him and bdubs deliberately try to ruin the relationships of others, and they tell themselves it’s to steal away half of each pair for their own benefit, but maybe there’s more to it. maybe they ARE projecting, just like joel had said.

it doesn’t help that impulse is having his soulbound questioned and bdubs “needs” a clock and the horns won’t shut up. when they’re exposed, he takes his destruction to the deep dark. he throws snowballs, he spooks unsuspecting people, he yells into the dark when he finds out his voice can trigger the sensors. throughout the season, he makes multiple efforts to cause distress in the deep dark, malicious intent or not. and maybe it’s to cope with the fact that bdubs keeps sending him down there or etho won’t stop yapping about how bdubs doesn’t want him or how bdubs put a major target on their backs.

and this is when self destructive behavior really starts, too. impulse gives away valuable resources when he realistically could’ve not, he takes risks he absolutely doesn’t have to take (despite how much he values his and, by extension, bdubs’s life), when he’s linked to the fishing rod sequence of death, all he says to bdubs is that it was fun while it lasted. and then he loses their first life trying to get a music disc.

whether he means to or not, he’s slowly killing himself and his soulmate, too. and eventually, by the time he’s red, he just gives in. he starts blowing horn (surely there’s some symbolism there), he terrorizes those better off than him, he wants to cause problems. yet there’s always still some humanity in him that shines through, regardless of his destructive ways of coping.

but this isn’t about that. before the final fight, he even grabs the golden apple him and bdubs had been stashing away, saying if they can’t win, no one can. he would’ve ate it. he should’ve ate it. yet he didn’t, and he died by bdubs’s hand again. more resentment grows.

by limited life, it’s obvious he’s open to dabbling into more chaotic pastimes. bdubs’s ignorance and unwillingness to see his flaws and apologize only fuels the fire. when he’s chosen as the boogeyman, he has a time with it. but he still has the mind to know not to hurt his team, even refusing to use skizz’s accidental death to cleanse himself. but he bombs bread bridge freely, somehow even getting tango and skizz to help him. it’s almost concerning how much fun he has with it.

then of course there’s the complete destruction of bread bridge, which he happily takes part in. and tango’s boogey kill on bdubs, in which he lures bdubs to his demise (something he had been itching to do for seasons). he amasses a huge kill count over the season, his first time murdering anyone since third life.

most of his behavior this season turns more outward, and he grows more keen on sustaining himself the more faith his team puts in him. he is also shown to hold other alliances much less dear than ties, even if they benefit him. this results in the betrayal of many, most notably mean gills in the finale. he fights like hell, he gets his final revenge on bdubs and ends his season, and yet it still isn’t enough.

he begs martyn to kill him, because he’s alone, and he’s scared, and he did all he was asked to do. but they keep him around, despite his pleas. he’s given the illusion of free will, a chance to win, to be given a fair fight. martyn slaughters him in cold blood. a cruel betrayal.

secret life feels like a reset, and most scores are settled, and secret tasks heavily dictate how the sessions go. he isn’t given the chance to cause mass destruction like he could the season prior. he’s not sure if he wants to. most of his mistakes are honest, no self destructive or malicious intent, same with his tasks.

he’s with a team he can trust and confide in. they help him. they care about him. his first two deaths are consensual and willing, something’s he’s never known. the season is rough, but he’s happy. he tries to use his trap as he’s being chased, risky as it was, a final act of stubbornness.

he dies, alone and scared, hearts quivering. nothing’s new. he’ll just have to be ready to cope again tomorrow. get some blood of his hands, whether it’s his enemies or his own.

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

Wake Me Up, Let This Be A Dream

(A twist on session 7 of Secret Life)

Years have passed since the beginning of the end. It had all started with mythical creatures appearing out of thin air.  Manticores and griffins appeared in the forests. Selkies, sirens, and sea monsters ruled the seas. Unicorns appeared along with other mythical animals, but these myths were not the downfall of humanity.  Among these creatures, giants resided, ruling above every other creature.

The monstrous humanoids started decimating the human population. At first, few people were killed, as not many giants existed. As giants multiplied, whole communities seemed to disappear after a few giants had passed through the area. Anyone's guess was whether they were eaten, crushed, or disappeared. Countries were falling quickly as the populations were decimated. Granted, giants were still few compared to humans by the time the human population was nearly extinct.

The governments of the world had tried to destroy them with military power, but the most powerful creatures were immune to the bullets and bombs. Any attempt failed, only making the mythical beasts more aggressive. Soon all the remaining governments fell into the hands of giants. They were the rulers of the world now.

When the world first ended, many giants were feral, consuming whole cities of people and destroying everything in their path. But this was short-lived, many gained sense and started communicating and talking with humans. Only a few retained the feral mindset. Some even tried to compromise with the world's governments before resorting to destroying them after the attacks. Many giants decided to settle in small groups and built large houses to live with one another. Many of these groups were secluded to only their members but used trained griffins to send messages to other groups. Soon small societies popped up as giants began bartering and trading for essentials with other groups.

With the new species appearing, the natural world changed around as well. All trees now stood as tall as the great redwoods and continued to grow taller. Besides trees, plants became larger as well. Cites were quickly being overgrown by these new exotic plants. New magical rocks also appear to spring up in canyons and bluffs. Fresh water became scarce and hard to come by with the new creatures. Weather patterns have changed as well. Summer has heated up to exceptional levels. Winter temperatures have plummeted deep into the negatives. Fall and Spring can change instantly from warm sunny days to bone-chilling, frostbiting days. With all the odds stacked against them, nearly all humans have gone extinct, with a few exceptions…

=============

              A blue-haired human male dashed through the large colorful leaves and bushes, hopping over log-sized twigs that fell from the large tree around him. His blue jacket wrapped tightly around his waist, leaving him in a once-white tee shirt with a blue heart. His jeans were dirty and ripped in several places. In his arms, he carried large bird feathers. An aggravated screech sounded from behind closed him. A creature with an eagle’s head and a lion's body bound through the foliage. Large, feathered wings propelled the creature forward, but the monster was missing several feathers, making it hard to fly.  The guy didn’t even look back as he bolted towards his goal.

Anger chirps and caws continued to chase down the human. The human continued dodging and ducking swipes the massive paws of the exotic beast delivered.  Leading the creature down towards a seemingly dead end, trapped between a couple of saplings and a large, towering boulder. The human spun around to face the angered lionbird. Slowly, it prowled forward, claws flexing as it backed the blue-haired guy into the rock. Just as the creature pounced, the human dived into a small hole dug between the roots of one of the saplings. The guy shouted as he dove, “Now Grian!”

A red sweater-wearing sandy-blond haired man sprang from the top of the rock, holding a crossbow loaded with purple stone-tipped arrows. Firing the arrow, he hit the beast mid-air in the back leg. The fabled icon cried out in fury and pain as electric poison sunk into its body, causing it to bite at the arrow and favor its back leg.

The new human called out, “Cleo it’s poisoned! You can go for the kill!” He shouted.

A red-haired, green-skinned woman with a black stone sword dropped out of the branches of one of the trees, landing square on the creature's back. She used the momentum of the fall to stab the sword deep into the neck of the griffin. The creature screamed as she pulled the sword through its neck and she slid off the side, pulling the blade down with her. She pulled the sword out of the griffin as the wound bubbled and spread. The griffin fell dead a few seconds later due to the poison and wither coursing through its body and the neck wound.

Cleo sheathed her blade and called out, “Scott! You good?”

Said person pulled himself from the hole, brushing himself off, grumbling, “Next time I’m shooting the shot with my bow and Grian is baiting.” He shoved his feathers he grabbed into his backpack and then pulled out a knife. He started removing the feathers of the griffin’s wing.  

Having just slid down from the boulder, Grian squawked in offense. “Hey! I hit it, didn’t I? You should have said something sooner!” He put his hands on his hips. “And you need to be bait Scott, you’re the only one fast enough to outrun those things.” Scott rolled his eyes and grumpily plucked the griffin.

Cleo chimed in as she knelt to assist Scott. “I kinda agree with Scott, Grian.” A smirk played on her lips. “He is a better quick shot than you.” Grian made an offended noise. “But you are right, you are the only one who can outrun them, Scott.” Cleo pointed out.

Scott sighed, “I know but I’m tired of fighting to survive every day.” He gathers up the feathers and turns to his friends' worried expressions. He quickly amends. “I want to live, not just survive. For the last few years, it has been a struggle to stay warm during winter and find food. We were lucky to discover that the new stones made killing these things easy.” He gestures to the dead griffin. He slips on his hoodie and picks up his full pack. Then he began walking towards their home.

Cleo mimicked his actions, throwing on her pack filled with feathers and falling in step with him. “I know we aren’t living a glamorous life like you are used to, but we are alive.” The women comforted him. “After those berries that turned me green, we were glad to be alive. So, let’s be grateful for what we have.” She suggested.

Scott sighed defeated, “You’re right Cleo. Thank you.” He said with a smile.

“Hey! You guys left me!” Grian squawked as he ran up to them, carrying a bunch of fur. The duo looked over at their short friend and giggled a bit.

“Sorry, G. Didn’t mean to, it just got in my head.” Scott apologized as they headed towards their current base.

Together, they walked in relative silence. Occasionally, they will discuss what other preparations they need to get or set up before winter sets in. Taking care to avoid predators, they arrived at their setup at sunset. Even though it would have been an hour’s walk, Scott and Cleo were not taking any chances to be caught by surprise. Whenever they saw something out of place, they hid beneath roots, behind rocks, or under large leaves.  

Their camp was built beneath the roots of one of the many large trees. The roots were tightly woven together making a great defense to keep out predators. There were gaps between the roots allowing entrance from all angles. This was perfect whenever they were chased down by something that could kill them. The gaps allowed sunlight to seep in during the days which was a bonus.

Scott slipped into the knitted roots, followed closely by Grian and Cleo. Inside, a fire pit was dug out in the center, and embers glowed faintly from an early morning fire. A cooking pot rested beside them; remains of breakfast were evident in the pot. Encircling the fire pit were their three sleeping bags and a miscellaneous survival bag. Preserved food, water bottles, and first aid supplies filled the bag in case of an emergency.  A pile of twigs, the size of logs to them, were gathered in the corner of the heaven. Overall, a safe place to live. But life in an apocalyptical world is never that simple.  

After he set his pack down, Scott walked over to the embers, stoking them with a stick, and blew on them to reignite the flames. Mimicking Scott, Cleo sets her bag down and grabs two branches. She brought them over to the fire pit as Scott got a small flame going. While the other two were working with the fire, Grian gathered the material they collected from the griffin and got to work on crafting gear to withstand the winter chill.

The blond started by using the fur he collected. He had enough fur to craft mittens and boots. He used fabled spider thread to stitch it together, and as treads, he used exotic mushroom bits that were comfortable and similar to rubber, so it was waterproof. Next, he moved to creating cloaks. He retrieved the feathers out of Cleo’s and Scott’s bag and laid them out into three groups. Each group is going to be turned into a cloak. He grabbed more spider strings and began stitching them together. Griffin feathers were perfect for cloaks because they were insulating and waterproof.

Once the fire was going, Scott grabbed some ingredients from their food rations and began cooking dinner. He decided to grab some dried boar meat, strange purple peas, green carrots, and light blue leaves that felt frosty to the touch. He grabbed a water bottle after a last-minute thought. He grabbed the pot and poured some of the water in, rubbing the remains of their breakfast into the water to clean it somewhat, and then poured it out. He set the, now clean, pot in the fire, then placed the rest of the water in the pot and tossed in the other ingredients.

While Scott cooked dinner and Grian made the winter gear, Cleo brought up some important topics while taking inventory of their weapons and sharpening them.

She was wiping off her sword with a leaf when she inquired, “We all agree we can’t stay here for the winter, correct?”

Scott hummed as he stirred the stew he was making. “Agreed. The ground will soon freeze here, leaving us vulnerable to hypothermia even with our sleeping bags and gear. It would be better if we could find a tree hole like last year.” Grian piped in.

“Nah, I nearly slipped off the icy bark multiple times.” Pulling his makeshift wooden needle through another stitch, he added, “Though I agree we need to leave. We’re gonna get snowed in here. Plus, there isn’t water for a good two hours from here. We can’t be making that trip constantly.”

Cleo nodded, now sharpening the clean sword. “So what direction are we heading? We can’t go North again. It’s much too dangerous with all the yeti that come from hibernation.” She remembered, causing a shiver to go down the two guys' spines. Both will never forget the near-death encounter with one of their first year.

Grian frowned as he looked up. “We can’t head west either.” The blue-haired male and redhead looked at the blond confused. He explains, “On the news, I remember them saying tar pits have appeared in that direction. I know it’s been ages, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

Scott nodded in agreement. “So southeast it is.” He stated the others agreed with him. “We’ll head out in the morning. We don’t have much time before winter.” He took the soup off the fire, filled three bowls, and passed them out.

They ate in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company. They were quite a rag-tag group of people. An architect, rockstar, and teacher. All very different, but all survivors. After dinner, Scott cleaned up and packed while Cleo prepared their weapons. Grian added the finishing touches to the cloaks. Then all of them settled into their sleeping bags to sleep.

The trio headed southeast early the next morning as the sun rose above the horizon. Scott shouldered his pack, the pot tied onto it as well. His new cloak was tightly wrapped around his shoulders, the morning chill nipping at the bare skin of his face.  Grian trailed beside him, heaving along his pack and the emergency bag. His face was half hidden in the collar of his sweater, holding his cloak tightly to his chest to keep it closed. Cleo took charge, leading the way. On her person, she carried her pack along with extra weapons.

They traveled for nearly two days before they found something interesting. As they headed in their chosen direction, the large forestry began to thin out. What was even odder was that more hostile creatures seemed to thin out as well. Realizing this, the group exchanged glances before continuing onwards. With every step they took, everything began to paint a picture. A large imprint in the dirt, crushed bushes, and tree stumps without a tree present. Flattened bushes and grass seemed to become normal the farther south they when.

Scott was getting bad vibes from the area. He admitted his reluctance to continue going forward with the group. Both Grian and Cleo agreed, but Grian pointed out they didn’t have much of a choice. Winter was coming too fast, and they couldn’t backtrack. They were running low on water and food. Going back would only spell trouble for them. Scott agreed with Grian’s assessment of the issue, so they all continued, but with caution.

The feeling didn’t leave Scott if only increased as they traveled.

It was one of the coldest days of the year when the trio stumbled upon a large wooden wall. They all cautiously advanced towards the structure, not sure what to make of it. On closer inspection, the wall was made of large planks, identical to the wooden fence humans had in their backyards. There was a human-sized hole in one of the nearby planks.

Cleo turned to them, “I’m going in.” Grian quickly grabbed her arm.

“Like you are! We don’t even know what's behind there!” He viciously argued. “It blocked off for a reason.” Cleo spit back.

“But what choice do we have? We can’t go back! If only one of us goes in, the other two can escape.” While Cleo and Grian had a heated discussion, Scott snuck over to the hole.

Crouching down, Scott peeked into the crack, not prepared for what he saw. A house. A ginormous house stood looming over him. He stumbled back in awe and shock, falling onto his butt. Finally, Cleo and Grian took notice and rushed over to him.

“Scott! Are you okay!? What happened? What did you see?” Cleo fretted over him, double-checking him for injuries, as he was the youngest of the group. The red sweater-wearing mischief maker nodded in agreement.

“I-I-” Scott stuttered for a moment as he collected himself, “It was a house. A…a very large house…” Cleo raised an eyebrow with confusion.

“A house? What do you mean Scott? Explain.” She demanded him, picking him up from the floor. Grian stood back, giving the younger boy a stern look.

Swallowing hard, Scott tried to explain. “I think could be a giant den, but it looks just like a normal human house!” Scott grabbed both of his companions’ hands and dragged him over to the niche in the fence. “It’s easier to show than explain.”

They all crouched, the blue-haired boy doing it first, his friends mimicking him quickly. Grian gasped and laughed in disbelief. Cleo muttered a quiet, “No way…”

The house itself was more of a cottage. It was quite small, and the siding was wooden but had some technological advances. The roof was constructed out of stone and wood with a chimney coming out of it. The whole house was painted dark, almost black, purple, and grey, giving a sharp contrast to the bright pink and red of the garden that sat nestled in the space between the fence and the house.

 A bright pink brick path cut through the garden, with red bricks outlining it. Garden beds were sectioned out, the path acting as a barrier. Many plants had blackened and withered; colored leaves scattered around their bases, branches barren. There were a few exemptions,  a still-green pine-like bush, and a few stubborn flowers.   

Standing up, Scott crawled through the gap, tossing his bag through first. Cleo and Grian grabbed him by the ankles. “What do you think you're doing!? Are you nuts!?” Cleo shrieked.

“You can’t possibly be thinking of us going in there, do you?” Grian added, a bit frantic.

Scott kicked away their hands and asked, “What choice do we have? We either go through here to continue our journey,” Scott looks back over his shoulder with a grin, “Or we are set for winter, living off the giants.” Cleo and Grian shared a nervous look before letting the younger boy go.

Scott finished climbing through a brushed himself off, glancing back to see Cleo making the trip next. Grian commented, “I hope you are sure about this Scott.” He quickly army crawled through once Cleo got out.

Scott nodded. “I am sure. We can check it out, if we think it's too dangerous, we can grab some food and water then leave.” He explained his logic.

Cleo slowly nodded, “I see. That makes sense. Giants need mountains of food to survive so it’s only inevitable for them to have food lying around.”

Grian added, “And gallons of water somewhere. Which we need desperately.”

Scott grinned, “Plus, think of how warm it will be?” He pulled his cloak tighter around his body. “The giants will have fires or something to keep their house warm, in turn, we will be warm.”

Cleo sighs, defeated. “Fine. We’ll check it out,” She stressed, “But! If there is any sign of danger, we are leaving.”

Both guys silently celebrated, then picked up their packs, heading into the looming shriveled-up dead plants of the flower bed. Cleo sighed and shook her head, following the two numbskulls to prevent them from causing any trouble.

=============================

              Traveling through the garden was uneventful except for a close call with a sphinx. The trio hid underneath a few loose leaves and waited for it to pass before continuing onto the house. When they reached the side of the house, they quickly discovered a hole in the siding, leading underneath the house. From there, they managed to shimmy up a pipe, cross a support beam, and avoid live red stone wires using some skilled parkour and teamwork to get into the wall of the house.

Cleo and Scott gave one last tug, helping Grian up through the clean-cut hole where the wires lead into and spread throughout the house. The three of them glance around, pausing momentarily to get their bearings. Before they could leave, the vibration of giant footsteps shook the wall they inhabited. Cleo instinctually crouched down, seeming to be getting ready to spring into action at the drop of a hat. Grian froze like a deer in headlights, looking like he was about to leap back down the hole they just arrived through.  Scott felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest, trying to leap out of his chest. He held his breath, stiff as a board till the footsteps faded away. The group collectively breathed a sigh of relief. They quickly gathered their stuff and scurried in the opposite direction of the footsteps.

After traversing the walls, they finally settled into a corridor that seemed to have a lesser giant presence. Grian heavily flopped onto the floor next to his pack, going limp against the board acting as the floor, grumbling, “I hope this was worth it. I’m exhausted and sore.”

Scott looked up at him from digging around in his pack and tried to reassure him. “It’ll get better from here on out. It was just a pain to get in here.” He pulled out his sleeping bag and laid it out on the floor. “We won’t have to move anymore so we can make a proper bed at some point. And once we get a layout of the house, we can find a better space to call home.”

Cleo viciously shushed them, whisper-shouting. “Keep your voice down you two, we don’t want to alert the giants to our position.” She warily eyed the walls around them, like a giant would burst through any second. Scott rolled his eyes but lowered his voice.

“Tomorrow we will explore deeper into the interior of the house, find a water source, and get more food rations. Those are our top priorities.” He pulled out the meager food rations they had left and passed them around to the two. Grian sat up from his sprawled-out position, accepting the food and plan without any comments.

Cleo took the food before hesitantly questioning, “What if one of us gets caught by a giant? Then what?”

The question honestly catches Scott off guard. He always knew it was a possibility in the back of his mind, but he never planned for it to happen to any of them. The blue-haired male pressed his lips together as he contemplated the answer.  Logically, it would be best for the others to escape while they had the chance. But Scott knew deep down neither of them would abandon each other.

He sighs heavily, “Look Cleo, we both know the logical answer, but we also know that we won’t follow through with it.” He gives her a tired smile, feeling Grian observing the conversation silently. “It’s been a long day. Let’s sleep on it and we can discuss it in the morning.”

The redhead huffed but gave an equally tired smile. “Fine, okay yeah. We’ll figure this out when were aren’t dead on our feet and our brains are mush.” The rest of the night they spent in heavy silence.

The small red-sweater fiend fell asleep first, snuggled deep into his sleeping bag, snoring softly. Cleo was quick to follow, her arms tucked under her chin as she lay on her stomach, passed out cold, drool dripping down her chin. The only one still awake was Scott. He tossed and turned for hours, Cleo’s question echoing through his mind. With a frustrated sigh, he got up from his sleeping bag.

The ex-rockstar went to his pack, changing his shirt and slipping on his favorite jean jacket. Then he grabbed his bow and quiver, glancing over to the other two frequently in case they get woken up. As he was about to stand up, he decided to grab his knife as a precaution. He stood up, making a silent promise that he was just going to go on a quick walk and then be right back.

              With a light bounce in his step, Scott set off down the corridor toward where most of the noise seemed to be coming from. Going on walks or runs always cleared his head if he had trouble sleeping. This would be no different.

              The beginning of the corridor was normal, dark, empty, and chilly. He still was alert in case, but it didn’t seem like anything was there.  As he went deeper, he noticed there was a soft glow emitting from farther down the hallway, as well as warmth coming from the source. He bit the inside of his cheek, debating if he should check it out or not. Knowing it was stupid, he continued onward.

              As he approached the light, the wall warmed up, making Scott melt slightly. The heat felt good against his icy skin. Along with the heat, he could hear faint murmurs getting louder, causing him to slow his pace down and be more careful. The murmurs soon turned into voices, that turned into loud booming voices. Soon he recognized that he was heading toward where the inhabitants of the house were. The closer he got, the lighter his footsteps got.  He turned the corner to where the heat and light were the brightest. He was relieved that the way was empty, but he did find a crack in the wall.

Now that he was close enough, he could understand what the giants were saying. Mindful not to make a sound, the blue-haired boy crept closer to the hole in the wall. He crouched down, kneeling beside the opening, preparing himself. He peered out and made an audible gasp at what he saw.

From his position, Scott could tell it was a living room area. A large yellow couch sat in the center of the room in front of the cobblestone fireplace, which had a nice large blazing fire in it, heating the surroundings. The walls were decorated with shelves of pants and paintings. On each end of the couch, lamps powered by red stone sat. A bookshelf filled with books was pressed into one corner of the room. But none of those things caught Scott’s attention.

It was the giants themselves. Two giants sat on the couch, chatting to one another. One seemed to be female and the other male.

The female sat facing towards the wall where Scott was hiding. She had reddish-orange braided hair, with mismatching-colored eyes. One a dark green, the other a bright red. A pair of deer ears and antlers sprung from her head as well. He was wearing a red T-shirt and black overalls. The man sitting beside her laughed at something she said, allowing Scott to see his face.

The guy had a yellow mark, like a scar around one of his reddish-brown eyes. In his brown hair, two yellow demon horns poked out as he moved his head. Glancing at him more, the small human notices a demon tail lazily swaying near the floor. Black spiked bracelets were on both his wrists, as well as a black sleeveless leather jacket resting on him, and a shirt with a yellow “i” underneath it.

Scrambling back, Scott couldn’t believe his eyes. His back hit the other wall harshly, but he couldn’t care less as he tried to get his breathing under control. Tears threatened his eyes as he closed his eyes, his heartbeat deafening in his ears. He grabbed his pants to ground himself. ‘No, no.’ He thinks to himself. ‘Those can’t be them. Gem and Impulse died the day the outbreak happened.’

Covering his mouth, Scott opened his eyes, trying to muffle his sobs, eyes locked to the grainy wooden broad. His body trembled as he remembered it. He wished he could have been there for his bandmates. Movement out of the corner of his eye catches his attention. His eyes widened in terror as he noticed Gem look-alike moved slightly to the left…and was certainly looking directly at him.

The teal-haired human scrambled backward, away from the hole, away from the imposters. He clambered to his legs and booked it down the dark corridor. Hot fat tears dripped down his chin as ran, calling himself a coward for not protecting his old friends, practically family. The survivor bumped into several walls; his vision blurred from the water in his eyes. He hardly noticed the chill growing as he ran.  

              He finally slowed down when the tears slowed down, and his cheeks were icy from the cold in the air. Wiping his eyes and then closing them, he took a very deep breath, to calm his racing heart. Once his heart was beating normally, Scott opened his eyes and headed back to Cleo and Grian, convincing himself that he was just tired and imagining his friends.

              When he reached the small camp they had, Scott put his bow gear away then his knife. After putting his gear away, he climbed into his sleeping bag. He glanced at his current friends. Both Grian and Cleo were knocked out cold. Grian was still snoring away, and Cleo had rolled onto her side. He watched his friends sleeping peacefully before relaxing, deciding that he should just focus on the present instead of the past.

With that, Scott got comfortable and drifted off into a deep sleep.

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

              During a temporary intermission, Scott stepped out from backstage onto the street for a quick breather. Brushing his hand through his hair, stressing over the night’s events. Gem collapsed suddenly during their last song. Impulse had caught her before her head could hit the floor. They called an intermission even though Gem had woken up a few moments after she passed out, claiming she was fine.

Due to Impulse’s and Scott’s insistence, they got a venue nurse to check her out. Impulse noticed Scott was stressing out by pacing around, so he told the guitar player to go take a breather to calm down. Reluctantly, he listened to the drummer but had him promise to tell him what the doctor said. Said drummer grinned, nodded then shoved him out the door, telling him that everything would be alright.

So here he was now, standing outside a backstage door on the unusually warm September night. Sighing, he headed down the street, pulling up the hood of his blue zip-up hoodie to avoid attention. Drunk concertgoers stumbled out of the bar, laughing, and giggling around him as headed down the street. His original plan was to walk around the block and return backstage to check on Gem.

His walk was doing its job as he slowly started to calm down after turning the first corner. He started to think more rationally now that he was calmer and could face the diagnosis. Turning the corner to the street that would lead him back to the concert, he was met by a gaggle of girls, who recognized him. Resigning himself to his fate, he pulled out a pen and started signing autographs.

Once the girls were taken care of, he made his way back to the alleyway. As he was about to enter backstage, the guitar player was startled by the sounds cracking around him. He spotted cracks growing up the side of the monstrous building. He couldn’t get a clear view from where he stood, but a noticeable dent in the domed roof had started to bugle out. He backpedaled away, knowing he was in a dangerous position, Scott ran for the alley exit.

With a loud crash, debris came raining down from the once-pristine concert hall. The cyanette made it out of the alley just in time as the concert hall's walls collapsed. Dust and screams filled the surrounding area. He spun around, trying to see what was happening, shielding his eyes from the cloud of debris threatening to blind him.  

Coughing harshly, Scott stumbled out of the dust cloud, using his shirt as a mask as he guided other blinded spectators. Once on a clear street, he glanced back towards the concert hall. A sudden terror stuck through him as he spotted something out of a fairy tale. A monstrous giant was standing in the middle of the venue where he and his friends were just playing minutes ago.

The back was facing Scott, a wave of messy hair trailed down the back and it had something growing from its head.  He couldn’t get a good look at the giant before more chaos broke out. The survivors of the building collapse sprinted out of the rubble, covered in dust and dirt.   

Realization struck Scott like a lightning bolt. Gem and Impulse. They were still in there. They could be trapped under the rubble. The first instinct he had was to run back to get Gem and Impulse. He started running towards the venue as people ran away from the giant. Before he had a chance to go farther, a female police officer snagged his shoulder dragging him away as he kicked and fought.

Just as Scott was getting desperate, another giant grew from the rubble. This one grew into a sitting position. Taking advantage of the rock star’s momentary shock, the officer dragged him farther away, pulling him toward the subway tunnels. From there, she ushered him towards a group large group of people who were all survivors of the incident.

She then explained that they would be evacuated when the next train came, this being the fastest and safest way to get them all out without issues. The guitar player tuned her out, staring at the stairs, hoping that any minute his friends would be carried or come walking down them. Many people whispered and murmured, clearly anxious about the situation.

Suddenly the whole station shook, and the fluorescent lights swayed from where they were hung. The officer quickly grabbed her radio, pressing it up to her mouth. The station shook again, some dust falling from the ceiling, making the crowd cry out in fear. The cyanette flinched as a thunderous thump came from above them. She informed the crowd that the giants were on the move.

She looked grim and panicked as she shouted over another footstep that the two were heading towards the station. The cries of the terrified people echoed off the walls of the subway station. Scott’s blood felt like ice in his veins as he felt the ground shake harder, all the oxygen was stuck out of his lungs as panic consumed him.

A cheer and the screeching of wheels knocked him out of the all-consuming panic that overcame him. The subway train pulled into the station, opening all its doors. The crowd quickly swarmed into the small tram. The officer tried to do crowd control, but everyone was in a panic. Scott kept looking over to the stairs, and then to the train. Biting the bullet and praying to Aeor, the teal-haired boy slipped up the stairwell, ignoring the call of the officer, leading to the ground level. The ground around him shook with the weight of the giant as it came closer.

As he reached the top of the stairs, he was met with a startling sight. Buildings were toppled and cars were wrecked. In front of him, the giants were walking together, taking off building tops, seeming looking for something. One of the giants spotted him, making him step backward. His foot slipped on a step, making him fall down the stairs partly.

He groaned, pain echoing through his body. Thunderous hurried footsteps pounded toward him, causing him to force himself up. A loud creaking sound caught Scott’s attention as he glanced up. A part of the office building above him broke off and hurled towards him. He covered his head with his arms and then blacked out. But before, he swore he heard Gem call out his name…

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

Scott jolted up in his sleeping bag with a gasp, looking around frantically before realizing where he was. He grabbed his chest, doing quiet breathing exercises before he relaxed fully. Once calmed down, he noted that Cleo and Grian were already up. They both were looking at him with concern from where they stood.

Cleo was the first to speak, “Scott bud, you good?” Her voice echoed the worry in her body language. All he could do was nod as he stood up stiffly. He moved around robotically. She paused in stuffing her pack.

Grian huffed, “Scott, we all know you are not okay. So what’s wrong?” Scott scowled, hating that Grian could see through him. He packed in silence for a few more minutes while his friends patiently waited for him to respond.

He finally sighed, “It was just a memory.” he said softly. “The day the apocalypse started; my bandmates were in the concert hall when it started.” He viewed Cleo’s and Grian's reactions. Cleo looked sympathetic told him and murmured, “Oh Scott…”

Grian had a similar expression. The ex-rockstar simply shook his head. “It’s in the past, no need for sympathy. We all lost someone so it's water under the bridge.” He hefted the pack onto his shoulder. Grian and Cleo shared a concerned look before looking back at him.

Cleo spoke up, “We are here if you ever need to talk Scott, death isn’t something that can be taken lightly.” She walked over and gently patted his shoulder. “We got your back bud.”

Grian came up onto his other side and nodded. “Yeah, if you wanna talk, we're here to listen.” Scott scoffed at them but smiled slightly at their comfort.

“Thank guys, I appreciate it.” He gives each of them a quick hug before stepping back. “Now let's get going, we need to find water and food.” He turns around before they can respond, heading down the path from the night before.

The others quickly caught up to him. The three of them chatted quietly as they walked through the wooden corridors. The farther they traveled, the quieter they became till they were silent. The sound of creatures moving became clearer as they headed towards the giant's living quarters. As Scott examined the walls around them, he realized that they were closing in on where he was spotted last night.

A pit of dread grew in the cyanette’s stomach as the hole from last night seemed bigger last night. Grian slowly approached and grimaced as he stepped in something sticky. He pulled his foot out easily, making Scott breathe a sigh of relief. The dirty blond walked across the sticky spot without trouble. Cloe followed next, then Scott. He glanced out of the hole but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

Traveling deeper into the house, they soon smelled something delicious. They all perked up as they knew they were getting closer to the kitchen. Grian blushed as his stomach rumbled loudly, making Scott and Cleo silently chuckle. With a pep in their step, they sped up, knowing they were close to their goal.

The voices of the giants became clear and loud, letting them know they were in the right place. The trio slowed their pace. Grian looked nervous and anxious. Cleo looked determined, pressing her lips into a thin line. Scott’s blood rushed through his ears, but he felt an odd calm flood his system. He pressed his ear against the wall, curious what the giants were talking about.

“Are you even sure this is gonna work?” A feminine voice asked, skepticism in her voice. A masculine voice replied, “Of course! I made it, didn’t I?” A smug voice answered. “You say that now.” The female voice countered as she seemingly left the room as her voice got farther away.

Scott felt the tension leave his shoulders as the male voice gets farther away as well. He turns to his found family and whispers, “They left, we’re in the clear.” Cloe nodded but said, “Still we need to find a way in and out quickly because we don’t know how long.” Scott nodded in agreement. Grian frowned a bit but nodded as well.

They explored more of the wall, getting increasingly nervous when they thought they found a loose board, but it was glued over or something was blocking the entrance. It was later in the day when they finally found a perfectly round hole in the wall, looking like it was drilled. Cleo was hesitant to use it, but when Scott’s and Grian’s stomachs groaned, along with her own, she relented.

 Grian peeked out first, not seeing anything unusual, he ushered for Cleo and Scott. When Scott stepped out, the breath was knocked out of him. The kitchen around them was so large but beautiful. Flowers were painted along the cabinets; pink trim gave life to the bland wooden counters. A black and white checker floor covered the area below them. But what caught his attention was the paintings hung on the walls. They were landscape paintings, of a beach, a meadow, and a forest. He shook his head, to stop getting distracted.

Looking over, Cleo and Grian seemed to be in awe as well, except they were looking at something else. The guitar player’s jaw dropped as they spotted what they were staring at. On the counter, a large cake sat. Drool pooled in Scott’s mouth as it was decorated with berries and white and pink frosting. Swallowing, Scott also noticed a fruit bowl next to the cake.

Grian took a step towards the cake before Cleo grabbed his shoulder. She whispered to him furiously, “We can’t. It’ll be too noticeable.” Grian whispered back, “Come on, one berry.” He begged. Cleo brazenly shook her head. “No. Too dangerous.” Scott couldn’t help but agree with Cloe’s sentiment.

“The fruit bowl could be good.” He points it out. Cleo looked over to Scott and nodded. “Yeah, that seems more reasonable.” Grian crossed his arms but reluctantly agreed. Scott headed towards the fruit bowl, having to walk around the edge of the cake. Cleo and Grian followed behind him.

They all froze as a quiet click was heard. Scott glanced around trying to find the sort of noise. It was only when he looked down, he realized he had stepped on a mechanical button. He felt the blood drain from his face as he hopped off in a panic, turning to his friends.

“Run! It’s a-“He doesn’t get to finish his sentence as his feet are suddenly pulled out from under him, making him yelp. Two more cries follow as well. He felt himself get pulled unwillingly to a metal circle, his friends joining him shortly after. He looked down at his shoes, his eyes widening in panic. They were coated in metal flakes, making them magnetized.

Realization hit Scott, the sticky stuff. It was glue. And they walked through it. And it was filled with these metal flakes. Cloe was trying to pull herself off the magnet, while Grian struggled violently.  Scott began trying to get his shoes off to escape but giant footsteps made his blood go cold.

Scott’s breathing picked up as the Impulse-looking one entered the kitchen and cheered loudly, making all the humans flinch harshly. “Gem! I caught him! And two others.” Scott covered his ears with the loud voice, tears threatening to escape his eyes. It’s not them. It can’t be.

His breathing picked up as the giant came closer to them. His struggles got more desperate to get his shoes off. A scream rang through his ears, and it took him a moment to realize that it came from him as Impulse-look alike reached for him. The horned giant seemed taken aback by his sudden cry, pausing in his advances. His friends were shouting and yelling at the giant to leave him alone.

The Gem-look-alike came into the room. She walked over and frowned then scolded the horned giant. “You idiot, you’re scaring him. Don’t just try to grab him.” She crouched down and in a very soft voice, “Hey there Scott, can you count to five for me?” The ex-guitarist couldn’t help but close his eyes and picture Gem holding his hand, rubbing circles on his back as he calmed down from a panic attack. He quietly counted to five, taking deep breaths as he did.

Opening his eyes again, he was considerably calmer, but his heart rate spiked as he saw the giant smiling down at him. “There you go. It’s okay, we’re not going to hurt you.” She reassured them. Cleo spit. “Yeah right! And how do you know Scott? Let him alone!” Cloe struggled hard.

Scott croaked, “You can’t be them. They died the day of the outbreak.” Tears rolled down his cheeks as he lay on his back, trapped. Both his friends and giants looked at him. The deer giant frowned, “Oh Scott, no. I am Gem and that still is Impulse. We just look a little different and bigger.”  Gem tried soothing Scott by touching him.

He flinched away from the large hand, sobbing, “Let us go then, please.” He begged, adrenaline and fear blocking out the hunger and thirst he felt. “Please Gem.” Both Gem and Impulse shared an uneasy look before Gem sadly shook her head.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t in good conscious.” She said softly, making Scott’s throat close with terror. “You three look like you are about to drop dead in a day. You are all so skinny and it’s scary.”  She explained, as Impulse carried in a fish tank-looking thing but built for a human.

Scott didn’t have it in him to shout or yell as she gently pried him off the magnet and placed him into the tank. She did this with Grian and Cleo as well. Grian shrieked and tried to bite her as she picked him up. Cleo glared but didn’t do much, not wanting to cause them to get angry.

Gem looked at them sadly. “This will be only temporary.” She comforted. “We just need to humanify the house and get you guys healthy.” Scott glared at her through tear-filled eyes, through gritted teeth he mutters, “I hate you. I hate both of you. You are not them.” Shock then hurt filled Gem’s eye but she replied, “You know you don’t, you just need to get used to us like this.”

Impulse looked hurt as well as he added, “I’m sorry for scaring you all. But it’s true, this is only temporary. I hope you’ll trust us soon as well.” He carried the enclosure over to a table and placed it down gently. The walking made the humans flinch harshly. Impulse apologized softly then turned away. Impulse and Gem left the room after that, saying that they were giving them space to adjust.

Scott bushed his hand through the plush carpet bottom of the tank, glaring at it like it had wronged him. He immediately took off his shoes and chucked them at the glass around them with a frustrated cry. He watched them bounce off the glass onto the floor. He wiped his eyes and examined their temporary home.

There was a little kitchen area in one corner, it had a fridge, sink, and oven. Another was a walled-off room with a door labeled ‘bathroom’. The room the three of them seemed to be in was a living room of some sort, it had a couch, coffee table, and loveseat. Looking over to the last side of the tank, it was also walled off but with two doors. Both were labeled ‘Bedrooms’ in fancy bold letters.

Grian shrieked, “How did they know that we were here!? We were so careful.” He threw up his arms in frustration as he flopped onto the loveseat. Scott’s stomach churned with guilt because he caused this. Cloe scowled at him. “Get off there, we are not entertaining them with thinking we’re comfortable.” Grian huffed, “What’s the point? We might as well take advantage of this situation.”

Scott walked to the miniature kitchen and looked through the cupboards, to get away from the arguing of the other two and through curiosity. He was pleasantly surprised to find that they were filled with grains and dried fruit. He looked in another and found plates, cups, and silverware. He took three cups hesitantly and walked over to the faucet, filling them will water.

Once all three cups were filled, he walked back to the other two, who had stopped arguing when he turned on the water. He handed each of them a cup and said, “Here, we need it. I don’t care if it’s dosed or poisoned, we will die of dehydration if we don’t.” Grian eagerly down his cup, while Cleo cautiously sniffed it before sipping it. Scott slowly drained his cup. The water felt nice on his dry throat.

Cleo finished her cup and sighed. “That helped clear my head.” She looked at Grian. “I’m sorry, I suppose you’re right. We can rest up and regain our energy for a while then we can escape in due time.” She walked to the kitchen, placed her cup in the sink, and grabbed dried fruit for each of them, passing them to Scott and Grian.

Scott nodded and whispered, “I’m sorry, it’s my fault we’re in this mess.” He took a small bite of his fruit. Grian shook his head, swallowing as he did. “Don’t blame yourself, it was bound to happen eventually. We’re just lucky it was your old friends.” Grian happily munched on his dried fruit. Cloe gently hugged him.

“Don’t blame yourself kiddo, we all agreed to go into the house,” Cleo reassured. “So don’t blame this completely on yourself.” Scott sighed and replied, “Okay…” He still felt guilty for not telling them he was seen last night but decided to change the conversation.

Scott walked to one of the rooms and looked back at them. “I’m gonna take a nap. I’m exhausted. Wake me up if they come back.” He said before opening the door and closing the door behind him. The bedroom was simple, a bed and a wardrobe were the only two thing decorating the room.

The cyan-haired boy climbed into the bed and curled up in the sheets. Tears pooled in his eyes as he buried his face into the pillows, hiccupping softly as he thought of how Gem and Impulse could do this to him. Sobs escaped him as he dragged Cleo and Grian into this mess as well. It was all his fault. He soon cried himself to exhaustion, his unconscious consuming him. His last thoughts before he fell unconscious were “I’m sorry everyone.”

[pixiemage]

I would love to hear your conclusions! 👀

-🍂

[This is related to this post my sleep-deprived brain decided to write up after pulling an all-nighter recently.]

Which Hermits would be able to hold a baby properly? And how would they behave with a kid? Let's find out! (And remember, this is he c!Hermits, not the cc!Hermits. Half the cc!Hermits are parents irl, but most of the c!Hermits are NOT. So that's what I'm basing this on. :3)

Part 1 | Part 2? | Part 3? | Part 4?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Doc - Oh my god he can absolutely hold a baby properly, and he's also likely to bluntly correct the way someone else does it if they're doing it wrong. He gets quite excited about kids, actually, and practically melts when there's one in the vicinity. The dude turns into a puddle of goo if a baby smiles at him. But he'll also turn on a dime and get pissed and deadly-scary if he thinks someone is about to hurt a kid.

Bdubs - Loudly proclaims that he can hold a baby properly. Isn't entirely wrong. He's mostly got it right and he's surprisingly more careful than some of the other Hermits might be. He's an absolute PRO at getting a baby to sleep - but he also forgets his own volume, so the second someone else tries to take the kid from him or the second he thinks someone else is gonna wake the baby, it's Bdubs' own loud voice that wakes the poor kid up in the end.

Etho - He can hold a baby but he looks awkward and uncomfortable the entire time he's doing it. He's likely to hand off the kid for someone else to hold, but he also quietly enjoys being in the same room while it's happening (though he'd probably not admit it openly unless asked directly). Despite his hesitance to hold a baby, Etho somehow also has Dad Reflexes, in that if he sees a kid about to fall or get hurt from across the room, he'll be across the room in half a second to stop it before it can even happen. Ninja Dad Mode Engaged.

False - Similarly to Etho, she's more likely to feel uncomfortable being put in charge of a kid. It's like a completely foreign language. She'd be the most awkward babysitter ever. (Also might forget that kids shouldn't have swords in her desperation to find an activity to keep her ward busy.) She not exactly the type to actively choose to put a kid in danger, it's just that she Does Not Get how kids are supposed to work.

Cub - Definitely can hold a kid properly, though he doesn't boast about it like Bdubs. It's one of those things he just Knows How To Do and nobody knows where he learned it. He's pretty chill if he's gotta take care of a kid. He treats the task with the same level of interest as any other project he might undertake. Also likely to talk to a kid like they're an adult. (Also might involve them in a mild prank or two, but nothing reckless. Just innocent fun times!)

Scar - Shockingly good with kids, and can hold a baby like a pro. He's still a little accident-prone so he's had moments where he drops a baby and manages to catch them with vex magic. No kid has EVER been hurt in his presence but he's certainly given other Hermits a heart attack with how close he's gotten. (But being dropped and caught seems to make the kids laugh so - no harm done? I guess?) He's also amazing at telling stories because his brain is full of them...and he's also prone to Disney Movie Marathons if he ever has to babysit.

Grian - Oh god. Uh. Can he hold a baby? Yes. Should he hold a baby? Absolutely not. This man is too chaotic and inattentive to be responsible for a child. I mean look how Grumbot turned out! The first one had an existential crisis and got locked in virtual reality, the second one banished most of the Hermits to a parallel world for a few weeks (and might have killed Scar in another life), and the third one plotted world domination before he was destroyed. Grian would likely take a real kid for flying joyrides even if they were far too small for that kind of thing. No. Do not. Give. Grian. A child.

Gem - This woman can absolutely be trusted with any child any day of the week. She's naturally good at it, though sometimes she might get nervous and ask for help just to make sure she doesn't do anything wrong. Not that she needs it. She's gentle when she needs to be, but also fun-loving and high energy if a kiddo needs play time. She also LOVES to play dress-up and pretend...no surprise there.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Part 1 | Part 2? | Part 3? | Part 4?

(I'll probably continue this later...but there are a TON of Hermits and I might have underestimated just how long this post would be xD)

[nerdyenby]

Purple time :D I’m watching Dave

“I got my gay lil boots” I love him

“Is Ranboo Gwen Stacy?” nonbinary people get it lol

This team is so chill and confident, I love them

Buildmart

The strats!! They’re so on it

“I am so bad at building fast” Dave literally shut up, you’re killing it

Oh no, Mysty got stuck ;-;

THANK YOU!! This team has such good awareness and communication, so many people would overlook four stone when asked for cobble, but not them!!!

Bingo

Dave and Mysty just freaking dive bombing 😂

THEYRE INSANE!!!!

The winning team acknowledging how much the game order is messing up red ;-;

Dave did so well!!!

TGTTOSAWAF

Elaina’s excitement :))

Mysty carry!!!

Dave being shocked that he got fourth in the rng map 😂

This team is so strong, they got so many bonuses!!

Mysty top three and everyone hyping her up <333

Parkour Tag

I love when you can tell a team has been talking and strategizing a lot beforehand :))

“I wanna get tagged” “Pick me, pick me!!” them <33

OH MY GOODNESS 16 SECONDS?!??? She’s so cracked, holy crap

Gizzy comms are so good, I can’t even describe it

Mysty and Dave numbers one and two!!!!

It’s the bare minimum and they’re also nonbinary but the way Dave instantly corrects himself when they slip up Mysty’s pronouns makes my heart so happy

Ace Race

“They did gay-ify it a little bit, too. Or ace-ify it” <333

They’re all top 25???? This team is wild!!!

They’re killing the movement!!

Sandkeeper

Ela “this is your pilot speaking” so real!!

The impulse to run straight back into the portal is so real

Dave crashed 😭😭😭

They’re so on it, they’re absolutely killing it

Elaina is such a good sandkeeper!!!!

They’ve been doing so well and the vibes have been incredible, great team, great time <333

Meltdown

That was wild, they played it like battle box and it worked

They popped off!!

That fight against lime was so fast, I missed the whole thing lol

“I’m cold, I’m cold again” best comms actually, I love Ela

They went crazy, everyone did amazing!!

Dave and Mysti top three again!!! Nonbinary people win these

DAVE FIRST INDIVIDUAL!!!!

Gizzy 3/3 pride dodgebolts, he’s just so gay

“I wish someone would battle my box fr” GIRL 😭😭😭

Battle Box

“It’s a good day to be gay” so true Ela!!

Them talking about cocktails and Dave’s “God, we are a gay team, huh?”

Purple realizing orange is the only other 4/4 team

“And no pressure, but I heard that — all the teams that don’t win — noxcrew will take away your gay” Gizzy 😭

Oh my goodness Dave’s pvp is so satisfying to watch, I haven’t watched his pov before I don’t think but wow, they’re so smooth

Dave getting on to Ela for sleeping on Zeuz

Mysti’s “we got conc’d” in chat 😂😂😂

Mysti being sad about killing Grian, saying he’s the only mcyt they watch

“I just realized if I steal all of Dave’s kills I might get first individual” “Stop, that’s why I didn’t say anything” I love their chemistry so much

“It’s crazy that I’m about to get five aces in a row” so true Gizzy!!

THEY ALL POPPED OFF!!!!

Dodgebolt

Elaina’s so excited :))

#mygazza!!!!

Ela and Mysty popping off!!

That trade 😂

I thought Dave was about to walk off the edge there 👀

“Take your time” *Purple Pandas take the crown* “Get out of here!!!!”

The most even dodgebolt possible, they both killed it!!

“Slay!!! See that’s what happens- you gotta have that 4/4 gay team, that’s all you needed” REAL!!!!

Them talking about how this was a crazy well-rounded team and everyone carried at times :))

Ela has ace accessories?? Yooooo

Ela falling off the edge the second they start smack talking lmao

“Wait no, we want blue to win Elaina” “Yeah but shubble’ son the other team, I love shubble” “true” “Shelby is cool” we stan Shelby Shubble in this household!!!!

This was such a good team, the vibes were amazing <333

[eluminium]

The Life Series, Curses, and One ImpulseSV

Canary curse this, Beansanity curse that. Let me tell you about a much more subtle and less noticed curse haunting the Life series, and also im gonna tell you because I'm not coping with Double Life ending, and I want to make others suffer the same realizations I had.

Let's talk about the Bridle Curse. Let's talk about Impulse.

(Btw if you wanna know why I chose the name Bridle Curse then just scroll to the bottom there's an explanation. But you could also read the post and try to figure it out yourself ;) )

Impulse is, for the most part, a pretty all bark no bite guy. I'm pretty sure he ranks as one of the lowest in terms of kills. 3 kills in 3rd Life, no kills in Last Life (unless you count that time Scar died to the lava trap outside of the Southlands and the assist on the Bdubs Wither kill, then he'd have 1 and a half), and no kills in Double Life. 

(Btw this is more reason for him to GO OFF HIS ROCKER ALREADY COME ON IMPULSE YOU HAVE AT THE MAX 4 AND A HALF KILLS OVER 3 SEASONS. GO CRAZY. MURDER.) 

All in all, Impulse is a chill man, here to fuck around and find out.

But the thing that's fun with him is that in every single Life season so far, he's always had a sort of "purpose" or "goal". Something that defines his entire season, something everyone remembers. 

In 3rd Life, his purpose was to be a mole/spy to gather information for his allies, the Day One Crew. In Last Life, his purpose was to help Grian summon the Wither, going so far as to straight up head to the Nether and get a new skull after he failed at getting the already existing third one. And in Double Life, he was a homewrecker with Bdubs. All of these things are what he is remembered most by, they were his purpose in a way. Of course, almost every single member of any Life season usually has their POV defined by a certain role or goal. But it's here where Impulse diverts from the average.

He always loses his red life soon after his one defining thing can't continue anymore.

Think about it. In 3rd life, he was the mole, the traitor inside Dogwarts. When did he die? After Dogwarts was brought to ruin and (almost) every Red Army soldier lay slain. You can't continue being an inside man when there are no more major enemies to infiltrate. And even then, he had already shown his cards. He was never gonna be able to keep his schtick going, no one trusted him. His purpose was fulfilled, he had served his role. Bdubs betrayed and shot him not long after.

In Last Life, he was part of the Southlands, but his big season-defining act was the Wither. Gathering the skulls, passing them around, and finally helping Grian summon it. When did he die? Right after the Wither was sent back to where it once came. His entire role surrounded the Wither. With it gone, and no chance in hell to summon another one, he had no more use. He got shot by Scott seconds after.

In Double Life, we got him and Bdubs being homewreckers. Spreading gossip, trying to lie, (despite Impulse being just, a horrible liar, especially when put on the spot), and break up other pairs. When did he die? Right after the last attempt of the series to separate a pair. They've escaped, and they're digging a staircase out. And one last time, they try to throw suspicion on someone, by throwing it on Scott against Pearl. It fails, obviously. The Divorce Quartet were too close, ironically, and they're the only ones left. The possibility of Impulse persisting in his purpose was nonexistent. Not long after making it to the surface, they're found by Pearl and slaughtered, with Bdubs accidentally delivering the final blow onto Impulse.

Every time Impulse's purpose is completed or irrelevant (or both), he falls.

BUT WAIT, IT GETS WORSE! THERE'S MORE.

If you pay close attention to the little list I just made, you may notice another pattern. Impulse is not only killed when his role can no longer be played but he's killed by the purpose itself OR by the person who GAVE him that goal.

Who gave him the mole role in 3rd life? Team Crastle. Who killed him in the end? Bdubs, the last surviving member of Team Crastle. What caused his death in Last Life? Two arrows from Scott, who wouldn't be there if not for the Wither, and would not have taken those shots without it. Who gave him the homewrecker role in Double Life? Bdubs. Who killed him in the end? Bdubs.

(Speaking about Impulse's LL death...I mean, come on. What more evidence is there for the universe to want you dead than being killed by someone who broke the rules to do it. Scott wasn't red, and Impulse didn't attack him directly. Scott shouldn't have shot Impulse, logically. I'm just saying, sounds like divine intervention to get rid of Impulse after his purpose was complete. No, I'm not a conspiracy theorist stop looking at my board of red string like that-.)

Impulse is a tool. He's a tool that performs one single thing and is then discarded. He does what he does, and when he has run out of benefit, in the eyes of the universe (and in the eyes of his allies, consciously or unconsciously), he's thrown away. Broken. Never given a proper chance to fight back. Ambushed, caught off guard, and denied a choice. Whether that is to be a man on the inside, to summon an eldritch abomination, or to sow seeds of distrust, it all ends the same. When he can no longer do it, the curtains fall. He's more useful dead than alive.

That's his curse. Cursed to only do one noteworthy thing, and die shortly after, by the very hands that used to wield him.

It's ironic how he didn't pick up horse riding until Double Life. You'd think a one-trick pony would gravitate towards them.

(I called it The Bridle Curse cuz a bridle is the face thing you put on a horse. It's a tool used to steer horses. I couldn't decide if I wanted to name the curse after the tool concept or the one-trick pony concept so I just combined them. And I mean, Bridles are very specific to horses and has like, one purpose...I'M TRYING HERE OKAY COMING UP WITH NAMES IS HARD. Feel free to suggest like, another name if you want.)

[good-chimes]

Double Life Episode 1 Primer

Hi tumblr, I wrote this to drag in my friends but you get it as well. Intended for newcomers and people who need some quick initial grounding for DL-set fic. I make no pretensions to total accuracy, we're running on 100% Vibes.

It is a BEAUTIFUL DAY in a small area of Minecraft and fourteen people are FINDING LOVE.

We start with BDUBS, who is Just A Little Guy with a powerful voice and a nose for drama. Bdubs is fresh out of a series of entanglements with friends ETHO, IMPULSE and other hermitcrafters in a previous series where they had a variety of tumultuous relationships and all got murdered. Bdubs is excited to quickly realise his soulmate is IMPULSE, a large, quiet, agreeable type also in the hermitcraft polycule, who given enough time and thinking space is able to break minecraft apart like a rubik's cube. In this quickly functional and loving relationship, Impulse inspires Bdubs to build for beauty over defence, and they settle into a MID-CENTURY MODERN HOUSE and keep being hit up for food by all their less competent friends.

'Less competent' does not include ETHO, a murder machine with a keen fighting edge and no sense of direction, who has tragically been ejected from the hermitcraft polycule because they've all married each other and/or Scott. Etho is initially wary about being soulbonded to JOEL [Smallishbeans], largely known for stealing other people's wheat and being Grian's best murder friend in Last Life, something that doesn't often endear you to anyone. Joel switches all his energies to being a Huge Etho Fanboy and Etho is reluctantly charmed. They build the RELATIONSHIP--a two-masted schooner on top of a hill--commit some minor crimes, and look forward to the PvP endgame when SmallEtho will be the most terrifying team on the server.

Meanwhile having no luck with mining is TANGO, a positive ball of energy who tells everyone he is not a builder despite being one of Minecraft's most impressive redstone architects. Tango is hopefully prodding everyone, excited to find a soulmate (as long as it's not Scar, because he doesn't want to die). Tango's long history of redstone projects do not stop him from ping-ponging haphazardly around the server failing to equip himself until he is blown up by a creeper, leading to a very awkward chat at spawn with JIMMY [SolidarityGaming], who has just blown up as well, because it turns out they're soulmates.

JIMMY, a wet cat relentlessly bullied by everyone who knows him, is initially gleeful to have the high ground for once in his life, but quickly realizes Tango is both good at bullying people and also distraught at having killed them both. They fall into a sweet and incompetent flurry of supportive activity and mutual hype during which Jimmy takes twenty minutes to make a water bucket and Tango is delighted for him. Against all odds, they collect several animals and start to build THE RANCH.

BIGB is still looking for love, and can optimistically find joy in being bonded to any one of his friends (except Scar please not Scar). After a series of disappointments where everyone else is also devastated not to be bonded to the sweetest person on the server, BigB eventually finds REN, a character who could make a convincing three-act drama out of mildly spoiled milk, who immediately evicts everyone from his cave so he can choose carpets with BigB. Ren has prepared multiple plans for his soulmate and is excited to tell BigB about them in a monologue that lasts through the entire construction of BOX, a cobblestone box meant to repel invaders through its sheer retro ugliness. Ren proceeds to invite everyone for tea. They do not show up.

GRIAN, a prank-motivated chaos nexus, is horrified to find he is soulbonded to SCAR, a previous ally of Grian's whom he beat to death with his bare hands on a desert mountain and then divorced so hard it nearly set the server on fire. Scar, a happy-go-lucky type prone to fatal accidents and surprisingly chill about their mutual history, is nonetheless easily distracted by animals and ignores the soulmate race in favor of obsessing over a herd of pandas modded to look like his cat. Grian decides not to tell Scar they're soulbound, instead following him around in affection and exasperation until he finally drops several stalactites on Scar's head to drive the point home, hooks him with a fishing rod, and drags him back to his base. Grian has started to build the spiked wooden RED VELVET KEEP; Scar, after his pandas are cruelly evicted from the keep, builds the PANDA RESERVE.

SCOTT, a man rapidly running out of patience with everyone else's shenanigans, and CLEO, who never had any patience in the first place, efficiently round the whole server in hope of finding their soulmates. This act of emotional vulnerability goes unrewarded when their respective soulmates fail to show up, and Cleo and Scott decide to defy destiny and settle down as a pair on their own terms, where they begin to plot crimes of their own, an opportunity which honestly they deserve. They build TWO PERFECTLY OKAY HOUSES separated by a nice BRIDGE and are FINE WITHOUT THEIR SOULMATES.

MARTYN, a man who when two or more people are gathered magically turns it into an event of which he is the emcee, has spent the first episode accomplishing a series of daring deeds together with PEARL. They raid the Nether and sell what they can find. This does them no good when they finally trail back to Scott and Cleo, by process of elimination their soulmates, who immediately divorce them for abandonment. Presumably to keep the streak going, Martyn breaks up with Pearl as well and RUNS OFF.

PEARL, rejected in turn by Scott, Cleo and Martyn, is Absolutely Fine. No, Really. She hasn't just experienced repeated trauma at all, and is definitely feeling on good terms with humankind. Pearl settles down with a WOLF, which is definitely not going to come back to bite anyone, and the EPISODE ENDS with the PIECES ALL ON THE CHESSBOARD.

[luci-cunt]

im about to go to sleep but when i awaken i hope to find an essay from you on how i get into hermitcraft

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (just got home from work and I have a new puppy so I will be dead for the next week but here's this very quick overview bc I love you and also Hermitcraft)

SO--YOU WANNA FALL DEEPER DOWN THE MCYT HOLE BC DSMP WASN'T CONVOLUTED ENOUGH???? TIRED OF INCOMPREHENSIBLE LORE AND HARD-TO-FOLLOW PLOTLINES FILLED WITH ANGST AND TRAUMA??? WANT SOMETHING A BIT MORE LAID BACK????

OH BOY DO I HAVE THE ANSWER FOR YOU!!!

First of all: Hermitcraft is essentially a series where a bunch of super talented and pretty longstanding mcyt-ers play on a single minecraft server for a period of a "season" and build absolutely fucking insane bases and vibe together. It's all very structured and organized so on every member's channel u'll find playlists for each season.

(oh and by longstanding mcyt-ers I mean literal pioneers in the mcyt community, people who have redstone inventions named after them bc they've been around longer than the redstone itself--etc)

The server is super chill!!! Everyone is very nice and they all get along super well and coordinate things on a discord server so that everyone's got all the info and they also prioritize building over basically everything--which means like, fire tic is off (meaning fire cannot spread), you do not steal anythign unless you will pay it back at least like twice over (once Grian accidentally killed ppl so he grinded them out full enchanted netherite armor/tools + some blocks and this is literally just like, what everyone does)

But!!!! besides all that!!!! where do you start *watching*!!!!

There are something like,,, 30 members on teh HC server??? more??? I cannot remember. Every one of them posts Hermitcraft episodes to their youtube channels, but there's also a HC recap youtube channel dedicated to weekly recaps of all hermit activity which you can find here!!

The thing about HC is that everytime there's a new update to MC, or even just the server starts to get stale--they throw out the world and start a new, completely empty one from scratch and thus is a new "season." Currently we're only a few episodes into the 8th season!

I watch a very limited scope of HC but--here are my limited reccomendations

GRIANNNNNNNN: because of course, we love grian, we stan grian, he has cats--what more could you ask for? Yes you've seen him gracing your screen in MCC and killing it, and you've also most likely seen him in fanart comparing him to Philza bc both are badass MC players with ✨wings✨he's chaotic and super creative and very kind! he also builds lots of mega builds and they are *incredible.* You're gonna wanna watch him if you want some good, lighthearted gremlin content.

Goodtimeswithscar: my BELOVED!!! This man is like, chaos but make it absolutely harmless. He is Dr. Doofenshmurtz levels of unfunctioning in the best ways possible. Mans tries so hard to be a villain and he just akjsd;lfja;sldfkj cannot pull it off and I adore him so much for it. Also he's got a new vibe every season--last season he was a wizard who lived in a giant snail before moving into a massive mining-construciton-thing??? And this season he has very much Howl's Moving Castle vibes. He also streams on twitch!!! Which I would totally recommend bc he's very chill and fun to listen to. You're gonna wanna watch him if you want a little bit more spice to your episodes--what is that spice exactly? Just watch and you'll see >:))

Some honorable mentions of ppl I don't really watch but love:

Pearlescentmoon: she's a new member to the HC server this season and I love her!!! I've only seen her a bit in Grian and Scar's vids but she took down an entire build just to rotate it like 90 degrees we stan an icon.

Mumbojumbo: a redstone fucking madman--also like--posh?? but in an unoffensive way?? I have no idea this man is so white but also I love him?? that doesn't describe him right just--just watch something of his and you'll understand.

Bdubs: my BELOVED!!! he's just aslkjd;flajsdflk everything, idk man just watch a vid and you'll be in love he's just aslkjdf;lasjkf everything. His starter house is a massive moon with a clock hanging from it it's so pog I love him so much watch his videos

OH AND WHAT'S THAT???? YOU GET HOOKED ON HC CONTENT BUT THINK,,,,,,, 'HM--THERE'S NOT QUITE ENOUGH MURDER IN THIS'???

BRO I"VE GOT THE ANSWER FOR YOU!

(also it's very short--I think there's only like 8 episodes cuz there was only 8 sessions--it's complicated but Grian explains it in the first ep dw)

3rd Life SMP

(everyone has 3 lives--losing the first 2 means nothing, but once you die 3 times you goal becomes to kill every other player on the server. It does not go over like this. Roleplay ensues. Gays are had. What the fuck why does Ren have a scottish accent--why is he dead--MARTYN WHAT--)

You want wholesome gays with a bit of angst but an overall happy ending that will make you cry???

Watch Mr. Gaming and Scott Smajor's POV

(they live in a flower filled valley in little hobbit holes and they are husbands and they are not going to murder people bc that is not what nice people do and--oh my god did you just fucking kill my husband alright murder is ok--)

You want lighthearted, roleplay light hilarity???

Watch Grian and Scar's POV

(there's a llama named pizza, grian is bloodthirsty and not even on his red life, and scar really just would rather steal cookies and scam ppl out of their nice clothes than kill ppl)

You want somethign I can't even really describe but there's royalty involved?? and people dying for one another and very dramatic rp??

WATCH THE RED KING AND HIS HAND BRING UPON THE RED WINTER

(there's not even an explanation I can give here, I love them, they're killing it)

(there are other awesome ppl on the server but that's who I was mostly watching, also--Maj--to get you invested here's some mostly spoiler free cool fanart to hook you and some shitposts that are hilarious and very accurate <3 XDD)

Be warned tho man,,, that last episode--on anyone's POV alk;jsdf;lajsd it's ajlsd;fkjsad;lfkj just

Ok sleep time now, I had to cuddle a needy puppy like, throughout this whole thing and typed most of it with one hand you would not believe how hard it is to find and link this many things with one hand if you do not click on every single link I will know and I will stab you <3

[skitter-kitter]

@figleafiddle dared me to, so here’s a big list of all my desert duo fic ideas I never wrote!

- - - - -

LL and HC scar get swapped early on, (like between episode 1 and 2 of last life) scar falls off the mountain and dies and when he wakes up he’s at spawn with only the memories of HC. He winds up wandering to the Southlands (biggest area and landmark) and runs into Grian, and Grian is… off put, until he realizes that scar doesn’t remember anything. Third life— or Monopoly Mountian— or their final duel.

And so, Grian decides to help protect Scar. To protect the last of that memory. To protect the last good thing he has.

(LL scar is also not having a great time in Hermitcraft haha)

- - - - -

Someone makes a hunger games rip-off on Hermitcraft and it ends up with a bunch of third life duos reconnecting and deciding this time will be different. The “districts” would be Ren and Grian, Scar and Impulse, Mumbo and Martyn, and I didn’t come up with any more haha

- - - - -

This is less desert duo, but I was inspired by the idea of the Boatem Hole being alive and scar being it’s favorite, so I wrote a bit for it.The air burned against his skin. His lips turned a light blue in seconds. His hand flinched back, even as he flew into the void.

The air burned against his skin. His lips turned a light blue in seconds. His hand flinched back, even as he flew into the void.

The darkness was everywhere. There were no stars— no moon.

Only the void… and the soul-deep chill that bathed in it.

The smoke in his lungs burned— like a phoenix reborn. Frost prickled across his skin. With every second that passed it grew harder to beat his wings, to urge them to fly, fly fly—

The boat was long gone by now. Spirited away by the void.

His lungs ached. Scar opened his lips— to beg, to scream— but no sound came out. It wasn’t like anyone would have heard him, anyway. It wasn’t like anyone would dive in after him, anyway.

Scar smiled bitterly.

With wings iced over— a flightless bird— what kind of phoenix was he?

With no mega base what kind of Hermit was he?

(Send an ask if you want the full WIP!)

- - - - -

There was going to be a sequel to his own god about scar growing lonely in a world with only the two of them and Grian taking him to a bunch of other worlds (hermitcraft, empires, Dream SMP, maybe even revisiting third life) and trying to find a home. Scar refuses to stay at Hermitcraft because— “they seem happy” (talking about HC!Grian and scar)

- - - - -

There was also going to be a sequel to Seraphim about the Red Army kidnapping Scar and trying to convince him to join them. It would delve into Martyn and Scar’s friendship and how betrayed scar felt about Martyn joining Ren. There would be more about Scar being looked down upon for his powers (specifically for them taking away free will) and the red army offering him “freedom”

- - - - -

At one point, I was writing a ficlet about Dream and Scar making the deal to go back to scar’s world. It would have been a bet, that if scar won he would go alone and be free. If Dream won, scar would owe him and they would go together. Dream won.

“We’ll visit your old world.” Dream was grinning underneath his mask. “You can grab some mementos, then… we’ll come back.”

Scar glared at him.

“We’ll come home… and you can visit your old world anytime you want to! Doesn’t that sound amazing?”

(Send an ask if you want the full WIP!)

- - - - -

I had this WIP that was about the boogeyman curse spreading to the Hermitcraft server and how it causes a divide in the groups. Boatem gets together to stay safe, and Grian is very suspicious of everyone. He worries the most about scar because of their history. In the end, Mumbo tries to leave to get something and Grian and scar accompany him. Scar ends up killing Mumbo (but in a way that the chat message wouldn’t reveal it was him) and Grian agrees to keep it secret it was him. Grian and scar become much much closer but it isn’t until they come back to Boatem that they find out Mumbo hasn’t respawned.

Permadeath has been turned on… and in the morning, another Boogeyman will be chosen.

- - - - -

There was a ficlet about Grian and Joel going through with using the obsidian box.“I’m sorry, Scar.” The cruel thing is— he does sound regretful. Even as he pushes Scar into the obsidian box. Even as he watches Scar burn, once, twice, three times— Grian never looks away.

“I’m sorry, Scar.” The cruel thing is— he does sound regretful. Even as he pushes Scar into the obsidian box. Even as he watches Scar burn, once, twice, three times— Grian never looks away.

Red meet green— yellow— red.

Grian smiles. “You ready to join us?”

And it’s all Scar can do, now. It’s the only option left. He has no more lives, no more allies.

Grian and Joel are his winged saviors. And Scar, a peasant— a fool— graciously takes their offering.

- - - - -

Here is a WIP about Grian and Scar talking after the second session where Joel turned red. Scar is secretly still allied with him.

Grian smiled, and sighed. The world loved repetition, didn’t it? Loved to drag them back together— to let him see what had become of Scar.

Allowed him to watch as he turned from a simple conman, to a trader of souls, to a Boogeyman.

From no allies, to one, back to none again.

(And, maybe that was a lie. And, maybe Scar was never alone.)

“I’m sure you couldn’t,” Scar murmured. He sounded… regretful. It’s that familiar cadence,— I have a plan, I have a plan— the fear, the numbness, of Scar’s betrayal.

Scar betrayed him, in a swamp.

Grian killed him, atop a mountain.

The world loves repetition.

“What do you want?” Grian demanded. He turned to look Scar— betrayer! Betrayer Scar!— in his eyes. Green, like a meadow. Green, like trust. “From me. From…” From us. He grimaced at the instinct. At the memory of their alliance. “From the Southlands?”

Scar hummed, glancing back toward him. His eyes didn’t show regret— didn’t show the usual pride and arrogance. He looked sad.

(Send an ask for the full WIP!)

- - - - -

This WIP is about the winners of Third/Last Life being able to walk through and revisit the old worlds. Ren wins and finds Scar is with him.

“I died here. I— I didn’t see the creeper, or hear it, I guess.” His hand balled into a fist by his side. “Grian felt bad and gave his first life to me.”

Ren hummed softly.

“Were you there?”

Ren’s red eyes tore into him, annoyance in the man’s eyes. “No. Martyn was— he told me about it.”

For a long moment, Scar stared at his grave. What would have happened if Grian hadn’t lured the creeper? They’d already considered the desert monopoly, hadn’t they?

(With every week that passed it got harder and harder to remember who was where— who was on what side. All Scar ever truly remembered was Grian— Grian was by his side. Even if his friend didn’t remember that, Scar would.)

Surely, they still would have wound up with Pizza, with Monopoly Mountain. They would be the final two no matter what. Scar would die by Grian’s hands, no matter what.

“Where did you lose your first life?”

Ren grimaced, a snarl on his lips. Scar waited. Here, at least there was time to wait for the other’s reply. There was no rush to get supplies, no rush to get allies.

Just them— just two former enemies.

“Outside Dogwarts,” Ren answered after a minute. “Your explosion trap.”

“Oh!” Scar laughed.

(Send me an ask for the full WIP!)

- - - - -

This is a fic about Grian and Scar having a very bitter, angry reunion in Hermitcraft after last life!

Scar’s quiet mourning began to burn away, a fierce anger replaced it. Scar gritted his teeth. His hands balled into fists.

He was holding himself back. From what?

Scar sighed. His hands relaxed. He slumped forward, looking Grian dead in the eyes.

“You left.” It was a quiet accusation. Almost a question. He was tempted to give excuses, but Scar knew him better than that.

In the silence, Scar looked into Grian’s eyes pleadingly. He wanted the truth. He wanted an apology.

Grian scoffed under his breath.

“You left me to die.” Scar seemed more… disappointed than angry. He must have seen it coming ever since that first life.

The wind whipped against his hair. A chill set into his skin. Anger kept him warm.

(Send me an ask for the full WIP!)

- - - - -

I had a canon divergence au about scar getting chosen as the boogeyman more often, and having to kill a bunch. He keeps a lot of his lives, but when Grian comes to get his revenge scar is the boogeyman and kills him. The red kill doesn’t count and scar is annoyed, until Mumbo comes to ask for Grian’s body. Scar says that the price for it is a life. Mumbo hesitates and as they negotiate Scar inches closer until he kills Mumbo.

He gets boogeyman again and Joel comes to talk to him and a fight breaks out and Joel dies. Scar rigs his body with explosives as a final goodbye. When he’s on the other side of the world, he watches Magical Mountain explode. In the chat, he sees Lizzie’s death message.

A grieving widow comes for her husband's body, and dies for the sin of caring.

- - - - -

This WIP is called “The Holy Land (Takes No Prisoners)” and it’s about people dropping scars crystals outside his house. They’re blessed and wind up creating a circle around his house, trapping him and whoever is with him inside. Scar, Grian, and Joel are trapped together.

Scar ignored it.

This collective ignorance— it was the closest thing to privacy they were allowed.

The universe created a circle around Magical Mountain. A circle of crystals— luck, protection, friendship, it didn’t matter— to keep them trapped there. It had been up for the last day or two.

Grian decided to busy himself by replanting Scar’s farm. He offered to make a larger, underground farm for him.

Scar refused the offer.

He knew, if he looked outside, that Grian would be building it anyway. In this world, his opinion didn’t really matter. It didn’t matter if he asked people to leave their weapons at the door. It didn’t matter if he told them he was out of lives to spare.

They just—

(“Either you give us two lives, or your life ends here. Permanently.”)

They took, until he had nothing left to give.

Until he was red.

(Send me an ask for the full WIP!)

- - - - -

Grian offers for Scar to kill him. I do not know when this is set haha. Third Life AU

“I don’t care anymore.” Grian’s voice is stilted— broken. His voice is deep with exhaustion. The memory of tears. “Just do it— kill me. Chop my head off and get it over with.”

And Scar— the merchant, the manipulator, the murderer— can’t do it.

He knows Grian will come back. He knows red eyes will meet his with a cruel smile. He knows Grian will never be kind again.

“No.” Scar’s hands shake as he drops the sword. “No, I can’t.”

I will share more of my WIPs in a part two!

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

hooray for open ask box! how about Martyn, or Etho, or Ren seeing Skizz’s ghost on the altar?

hell yeah i love writing about Skizz, even in death :D

cw blood, dead body

…

Less than a day after Skizz’s abrupt death, Martyn returns to the crastle alone, with a sombre mission. His stomach drops when he sees Skizz’s body hanging upside down over the ramparts, exactly where it fell the moment Skizz died. It’s horrifying to see the blood still dripping down the walls of the crastle, the gaping wound in his chest clearly visible.

An arrow shoots into the ground at his feet just in front of the drawbridge, causing him to stop.

“What business do you have here, Red Army scum?” snarls Bdubs’s voice.

Martyn carefully lays his sword and shield on the ground, before standing back up with his hands raised to show he’s no longer armed. “I come in peace and I come alone.”

A pause follows this.

Martyn looks up and finds Bdubs’s face just visible through a slit window. Another face can be seen through the slit window just to the left but this one is less visible, so Martyn can’t identify who it is. He suspects it might be Impulse.

“What do you want?” Bdubs demands, though his voice is less hostile than before.

“All I want is to retrieve Skizzle’s body so we can bury him.”

Another pause.

This time, a different voice comes from the castle: “His body stays here.”

“Scott-,” Martyn begins.

“No, I’m not budging.” Scott’s voice is full of grief and anger. “He killed my husband and my friend. I want his body displayed exactly where it is. You’re lucky Grian and Bdubs talked me out of slicing his head off and displaying it on a stake.”

Nausea rises in Martyn’s throat at the grisly image. “Please,” he says, almost begging. “He died in battle just like Timmy and Cleo; he deserves a proper burial. We… We need to say goodbye to him.”

“Do it here,” Scott snarls, “cuz I’m not budging.”

Bdubs’s face disappears from the slit window, but his voice is still just about audible to Martyn on the ground. “Scott, I think we should give them Skizz’s body.”

“What?!” Scott’s voice snaps back. “Why would you even consider that?! Don’t you care that he murdered your best friend?!”

“Yes, but I’m not thinking of Skizz,” responds Bdubs. “I’m thinking of Cleo. She’s been avenged already, Scott. Jimmy’s been avenged. Do you really think either of them would want us to deny him being laid to rest, despite everything he did? What’s the purpose of that? Skizz is dead, Scott, and seeing his body on display is only going to remind us of our losses every time we look at it. In order to start healing, you gotta let go of your anger.”

Bdubs’s voice cracks and he says something else that Martyn can’t quite hear.

Martyn waits anxiously, wondering what will happen. He’s half expecting Scott to just shoot him there and then, or at the very least destroy Skizz’s body out of bitterness and anger.

But eventually, the door to the crastle opens and Bdubs appears, holding a crossbow at his side. “You can come in and get it,” he says. “Tango will help you take it back to Dogwarts.”

Martyn lets out a quiet sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

As he crosses the drawbridge, Bdubs gives him an odd look. “You’re really okay with walking into the enemy base on your own with no weapons? What if this was a trap and we just killed you right here?”

“I did consider that possibility,” Martyn admits. “But I decided that my mission is more important.”

Bdubs nods slowly. “Okay. Fair enough.”

Martyn follows Bdubs up to the first floor, where Tango is already starting to pull Skizz’s body inside. Now that he’s closer, Martyn can see that Skizz’s eyes are still open, so he kneels beside his body and gently closes them.

“We can use one of the coffins outside to transport him,” says Tango, his voice low and serious. “And you can keep it to bury him in.”

“Thank you,” says Martyn. “After we bury him, you’re welcome to visit his grave whenever you wish.”

“What about me?” Impulse asks quietly, standing on the upper staircase.

Martyn turns and looks him dead in the eye. “Like I said. Tango, you’re welcome to visit anytime.”

Impulse blanches as Tango nods gratefully.

…

It takes the two of them less than ten minutes to carry the coffin to Dogwarts. As they get close to its walls, Etho and Ren dash out to meet them.

Etho takes the burden from Tango, who steps aside to a safe distance, keeping a wary eye on Ren.

“Thank you for returning Skizzle to us,” Ren says, all hints of his former fake accent and overly dramatic tone gone.

“Of course. I hated seeing him left up there like that.”

“I know you can’t give anything away but can I just ask… how’s… how’s Impulse?” Etho asks hesitantly.

Tango briefly makes eye contact with him but has to look away. “I wouldn’t hold out any hope that he can be saved if I were you. He wasn’t just there when Skizz died; he watched him die and did nothing to help or comfort him. There’s no coming back from that.”

“Oh my god…” Ren breathes out, suppressing a shudder. “How did this happen, Tango? What turned him into such a monster?”

“Trust me, Ren…” Tango turns to face Ren, a sombre expression on his face. “...I wish I knew. Anyway, I’m gonna head back now. Give him a good sendoff.”

“We will,” promises Ren. “Thank you.”

Etho and Martyn carry the coffin into Dogwarts and to the site that they have already picked and prepared for the burial. All three of them lower the coffin into the freshly dug grave and then kneel down beside it: Etho to the left, Martyn to the right, and Ren directly in front.

“Today, we celebrate the life of our good friend and loyal ally Skizzleman,” Ren begins. “Right from the start, even before he fought for us in battle, he proved himself a dedicated friend to Renchanting. He provided me with shelter when I was nothing but a lowly travelling merchant. His leather made the book that created the first enchantment table we ever used. And his cobblestone helped build the walls of Dogwarts that still stand to this day. He took care of us, he fought for us, he killed for us, and in the end, he died for us.” He addresses the coffin directly. “Thank you, Skizzle. For everything.”

He clears his throat. “Does- Does anyone else have anything they want to say?”

Etho nods and gently tosses the allium he’s holding onto the coffin. “Nothing special, just… Thank you, Skizz. For always being there for me.”

“I have some things to say,” says Martyn quietly. “I honestly didn’t think much of Skizz at first. I thought he was a nice guy but not someone I could see myself even being friends with. But he became so much more than that. We shared the same drive, the same passion and commitment to our convictions. When the two of us were out there fighting, it was like we’d known each other for years. But most importantly, he would always put his life before others, even mine, and even after he turned red. He was fun to be around and he always made me laugh.” His voice cracks. “I’ll miss you, Skizz.”

Twirling the tulip he brought from outside, he drops it into the grave, on top of Etho’s allium.

Ren wordlessly starts to scoop dirt over the coffin, and Etho and Martyn join him. Finally, once the coffin is properly covered, Ren plants his flower - a poppy salvaged from Skizz’s destroyed home, over the top of it and sits back.

After a moment, he starts to sing softly: “Fill to me the parting glass, and drink a health whate'er befalls. And gently rise and softly call: good night and joy be to you all. But since it fell unto my lot, that I should rise and you should not, I gently rise and softly call: good night and joy be to you all.” (this song is The Parting Glass, sung by The High Kings)

This breaks the dam. Martyn hurriedly rises to his feet and flees towards the altar, tears falling freely from his eyes. He drops to his hands and knees in the centre of the stone platform, hanging his head and crying openly.

He hasn’t cried like this in a very VERY long time. It’s just so unfair to him that Skizz, one of the kindest people he knows, is gone so soon from the server. There’s so much he wishes he could have said back there. How he blames himself for not stopping Skizz from charging in there, how much he dreams of slaughtering Grian for taking Skizz away from them, how he wishes it was him who died instead. But he couldn’t manage it.

A chill suddenly runs down his spine, causing him to involuntarily look up.

His heart skips a beat.

Standing a few blocks away on the altar is the ghostly image of Skizzleman, back to normal except for a slight magenta tinge to him. He’s smiling kindly down at Martyn, his eyes sparking with a kind of energy that he hasn’t had for a long time.

He holds out his hand to Martyn, who hesitantly reaches for it. Despite not being able to touch it, something helps Martyn to his feet, some kind of invisible energy.

Martyn gazes into Skizz’s face and manages a smile. “Goodbye, Skizz,” he whispers. “Good luck.”

The words “you too” echo in Martyn’s ears, not spoken by anything of this world.

“Martyn,” calls Ren’s voice. “Are you coming?”

Martyn automatically turns to look at Ren. “Yeah, I’m coming.”

When he looks back, he’s alone on the altar.

[frozenjokes]

I’m trying so hard I’m trying so hard I’ll give them designs I promise I’m trying. Only thing here that hasn’t been explicitly talked about in the fic is Scar’s little wings but I imagine they fold into his suit most of the time and the only place I probably would have written them in is in the first fic where he lets himself fall from a building and probably also while fighting CuteGuy the couple of times that happened for the purpose of balancing himself.

They are both haters btw they are two nuclear bombs they make each other so much worse (cub is watching, mildly amused. as long as they don’t start killing each other he is chilling. they do that often though.)

I still have no idea what I want CuteGuy’s actual costume to look like so I will simply not draw it!

poultry man costume is like two steps away from being a fursuit. it’s basically a fursuit. Grian in this au had a furry arc because I SAY SO. he likes making costumes and he’s unemployed he’s been to cons and he has a great time! hotguy would say oh I like your furry suit and Grian would just Close His Eyes. yeah you guys came to the cubscarian fic for the canon furry Grian right. This is what you’re here for. Anyway.