#he gets hunted down by Skizz and dies

[tubbytarchia]

"Scar died so much because he was trying to protect Jimmy" NO? LITERALLY NO?

Do you guys just go into any Life Series with preconceived notions that shape the story as you want it rather than develop interpretations based on what is actually happening on screen

[the-hipster-nugget]

I think we need to talk about Scott’s third life death scene more often, specifically about the scene directly afterward with Martyn and Ren.

It’s so fucked up that Martyn chases after Scott, not hurting or actually touching him but follows him so his king can get a chance to kill him, but Martyn doesn’t touch Scott. Instead he yells after him these half baked apologies and explanations, trying to tell him “I didn’t want Jimmy to die!” That is actually insane.

As Martyn is chasing that boy he connected with at the start, the one he entered the nether with; they went through this worlds actual hell together. Now Martyn is tasked to take after Scott to not let him escape, someone he used to be close to, he chases with death in mind because his king commands it.

And Scott finally stops to face martyn, as the pathetic hand tries to tell him “we didn’t mean to kill your husband” is SO fucked up. Out of everything Martyn said, before having to watch his king murder him, he tells Scott that it was never his intention to harm Jimmy.

Upon Scott’s death, Martyn does not cheer or rejoice, he just lets out this pathetic noise of defeat after Ren murdered Scott for good. Martyn stands there feeling null and empty, while his king goes into hysterics.

Ren also, upon killing Scott, is immediately rushed with guilt and horror at himself. Starts sobbing, “how many more do I have to kill to this violence comes to an end?”

“It’s dripping into my eyes… I can’t see, I’ve been blinded by violence my hand.”

Ren sacrificed himself using Martyns hand, allowed his head to be chopped off so that he could become a red name- but even after all that, he cannot kill without guilt. Other red names like Skizz and Joel get this bloodlust and hunt like a predator. While Ren, the wolf king, kills and then he cries. He sobs and begs for Martyn to hold him. He’s a red name supposed to be thirsting for blood but it isn’t giving him that rush it should. He had Martyn take his head, and all for what? What was this all for?

He’s a red name, and the king of a red kingdom, with a red shield. He brought red winter in his wake, but he stays awake at night shivering in fear about the death of others. In his heart, Ren is too good hearted to kill without remorse. Despite it being his job, and something he sought out to do on purpose; he feels horribly guilty.

The blood dripping into his eyes blinding him is insane symbolism. Being a red name gives him this urge to kill, and it blinds the players. But doesn’t give Ren a rush of ecstasy or excitement, it scares him. Ren feels so blood thirsty that he gets dizzy, and it makes him want to cry. It makes him scared of himself, and he breaks down as yet another person died at his hand.

He begs Martyn to hold him, and all he can think about is before he had to murder another person. He never wanted to become this red king, never wanted his crown to be stained in blood. He wanted to hold Martyns hand, and enchant with him. That’s all he wanted, was a life of peace with his dear friend. Martyn was his friend, not his hand.

Ren asked for this, he prayed for red winter, but now that it arrived, he is so so cold. Ren just wanted to feel the warmth of spring.

Neither of them wanted to kill Scott. Neither of them felt satisfied watching Scott lose his final life, but they murdered him together anyway. They killed him, and then they cried about it. They hold each other in the dead of winter.

“How many more people do we have to kill before all this violence comes to an end?”

The red king just wishes red winter would finally end. He’s tired of his bloody crown weighing down his head, his weak scarred neck struggles to hold. Martyn holds his king in attempt to comfort him, but all he thinks about is how eventually, they will have to die too. Maybe if they’re lucky, they’ll die together.

[aquaquadrant]

Philophobia

Word Count: 5,271 Warnings: Shipping, inappropriate/crude humor, paranormal activity, suspense/mild horror, descriptive kissing, mild language Summary: For architecture major and paranormal skeptic Grian, his friends’ after-hours ghost hunting group was just an excuse to spend time with his crush, Scar, without having to actually ask him out. But one fateful night, he finds there just might be things in this world that are scarier than emotional vulnerability… even if only by a very slim margin.

A/N: Did someone ask for a Phasmophobia-inspired Scarian au? Oh yeah, my friend @lunarcrown did! Inspired by the art she made here.

So this is kind of a modern-day college au (not set within the fictional universe of Minecraft), howEVER there are some fantasy aspects in that non-human species (like mob hybrids/monsters) still exist cuz they’re fun and I’m not giving anyone a normal modern name cuz that’s too weird. This is only Phasmophobia-inspired in that GIGS have a ghost-hunting group that functions the same way, but rarely find any conclusive evidence, and don’t have unlimited lives cuz they aren’t playing a game. With that out of the way, hope y’all enjoy, please reblog/comment if u do! - Aqua

~*~

Philophobia

~*~

“I think this is gonna be the one, guys,” Impulse says, turning their van into the driveway.

The suspension creaks as they roll over gravel, rattling the frame in a way that hums through Grian’s hollow bones. His arm is cold where it presses against the window; it’s almost sunset and Impulse has yet to get the van’s heater fixed despite his promises. Stupid demon blood keeping him warm while Grian shivers in the stupid custom pleather jumpsuit that Scar insisted they had made, for their stupid ‘brand’ as a stupid ghost-hunting group. Great, his stupid zipper’s come down again- he stubbornly zips it back up because unlike Scar, he doesn’t like constantly having his bare chest out on display.

Of course, he hasn’t got as much to show off as Scar, who must be getting up at 3 am every morning to work out in order to maintain all that muscle. No wonder Scar prefers to keep his zipper down to his belly button, and doesn’t seem to have ever met a shirt that fits him properly.

… Not that Grian’s ever paid much attention to that sort of thing. 

Grian gives an exasperated sigh. “You’ve been saying that about every case we’ve had for three years!”

“No, no, I really mean it!” Impulse insists. “I feel it in my bones.”

“Yeah,” Scar agrees, leaning forward so his shoulder brushes against Grian’s, “you know Impulse bones good!”

The earnest nature of his statement- and the unexpected physical contact- makes Grian flush. “Scar!” he shrieks, swatting Scar’s shoulder.

“What?” Scar defends. “What, he- he’s got big and strong bones, wonderful bones…”

He acts as if he’s got no idea he said something that could be taken the wrong way. And if it weren’t for the upturned corners of his mouth and the barely-restrained laugh in his voice, Grian might actually believe him.

“Dude,” Skizz chuckles from the front seat, “shut up, that’s awesome.”

Impulse sighs. “Anyway,” he says pointedly, “the place recently had a change in ownership. Previous owner passed away-”

“From murder?” Scar gasps.

Another sigh. “No, from liver failure.”

Grian snorts. “From all the drinking he did to forget about the ghostly hauntings?” he presses, exchanging a cheeky grin with Scar.

“No,” Impulse says, with the patience of a saint, “just normal old-age organ failure. The guy was ancient, and some kinda recluse. House had been in his family since it was built, but uh, he had no living relatives, no will when he died. So the bank took ownership and it’s been sitting off-market for like, fifteen years, til some hot-shot investor thought he could flip it-”

“Ughh,” Grian groans, tipping his head back against the seat. “Investors are the worst-”

“I know, I know,” Impulse soothes, “but um, he’d barely begun when things started happening. Contractors reported it day one, then the owner experienced an event himself and called us. So it’s basically still untouched.”

They haven’t even reached the end of the driveway yet, passing by seemingly endless rows of tall, gnarled pines. Admittedly, Grian’s curiosity is piqued. When he agreed to join this stupid ghost hunting group three years ago, he didn’t do so in the hopes of actually discovering any real paranormal activity. The whole idea is laughable. Ghost hunting is a pseudoscience, at best. Just a bunch of idiots scaring themselves silly in an empty house- and now they’re the idiots! Even their name is stupid: Ghost Investigation Group Services, or GIGS, embroidered on their ill-fitting pleather jumpsuits.

But despite his outright skepticism and dislike for pulling late nights in his already extremely limited free time, Grian’s got one very good reason for agreeing to join.

And his name is Scar.

Grian spent half a semester pining away at the fellow architecture major from across the lecture halls of their many shared classes. Charismatic and easy on the eyes, it was inevitable that Grian would develop a bit of a crush. But as they spent more time together during class projects and conversations in the hallway, he found out just how kind-hearted and passionate Scar was, and how easy he was to talk to, and how strong his arms looked in long-sleeved shirts…

… Yeah, ‘crush’ perhaps isn’t the right word.

So when Impulse- the engineering major who Grian was partnered with for physics lab- got the brilliant idea to start a ghost-hunting group with his best friend and roommate Skizz, and Scar expressed interest in joining, Grian made a split-second decision in a moment of weakness. He maintained his skepticism, claiming that he wanted to tag along just to prove how silly the whole idea was. Impulse was fine with it, while Scar said Grian had to wear the same uniform as them, and the rest was history.

(To be fair, that was before Grian knew it’d be a pleather jumpsuit.)

So here they are now nearly three years later, rumbling down a long gravel road in the dark and cold, up late on a Saturday night even though he still isn’t finished with his condominium model that’s due at 8 am on Monday and he’s fresh out of popsicle sticks. Moments like these almost make Grian wish he could just ask a guy out like a normal person, so they could spend time together without chasing pretend ghosts around dusty houses all night.

But that’d require him to talk about his feelings. Ugh, he’d rather let the ghosts get him.

“Alright.” Impulse slows the van to a halt. The doors unlock with a heavy clunk. “What do you guys think?”

Grian isn’t expecting much when he glances out the window. But the sight that greets him immediately prompts a hasty exit from the vehicle, scarcely noticing the sudden chill, his jaw dropping open in awe.

It’s a Victorian. Not a house that someone has mistakenly called ‘Victorian’ just because it looks old. A genuine, honest-to-goodness, Queen Anne’s style two-story Victorian manor with an asymmetrical facade and a rounded corner tower and a generous wrap-around porch, silhouetted against the fading light of the evening sky.

Grian reaches for his flashlight. Sweeping over the exterior, his breath catches. Knots of ivy creep up the walls, and there are a few places where the intricate wood trim has been lost to previous repairs and weather damage. A couple of the windows are bricked up. Most of the paint is faded and peeling. But overall? It’s beautiful.

“Oh man,” Grian murmurs, pushing his glasses back up, “look at the shape of it... look at the dormers!”

A second beam of light joins in; Scar’s emerged from the van. “Lots of character,” he says, sounding similarly entranced. “And still in great condition! Oh, it’s beautiful. It’s enough to make a man cry.”

Impulse hops out of the driver’s seat, chuckling. “I knew you two would like it. It’s an ‘85.”

Grian gives an appreciative whistle. “Look, I still don’t think we’re gonna find anythin’,” he says with a sideways look at Scar, “but I gotta tell ya… if- if I were a ghost… I think I’d haunt a proper house like this. Not those builder-grade boxes in the suburbs.”

“Right?” Impulse says, his forked tail flicking through the air. “That’s what I’m sayin’... I uh, I think this place has real potential.”

Skizz, who’s come around the van to stand with them, nods thoughtfully. “Definitely somethin’ special ‘bout it, that’s for true,” he says, exchanging a look with Impulse. Then he claps his hands together. “Alright gentlemen, let’s get movin’!”

Impulse and Skizz turn towards the van, heading to open the back.

Grian stares after them, squinting suspiciously. That wasn’t just any look. That was a Look. A Look that he knows all too well. They had that same Look on their faces at last year’s frat mixer, when they rigged the speakers at the Heta Kappa house to play ‘Margaritaville’ every time someone flushed a toilet.

It means that they’re Up To Something.

… Grian’s sure he’ll find out sooner or later.

“Well, Grian,” Scar says, hands on his hips as he surveys the property, “if it’s any connotation, at least we’ll get to study some real architecture tonight.”

Grian gives him a bemused look. “Consolation?”

Scar blinks. “Cono- what, what’d I say? Con- coronation?”

“Don’t worry ‘bout it, ey,” Grian chuckles, patting him on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”

~*~

“Check it out, dude,” Skizz calls excitedly, “temp’s dropping in here! Five degrees colder than the rest of the house!”

Grian makes a noncommittal noise. “It’s an east-facing room and the sun’s only just set, of course it’s colder than the rest of the house,” he says, idly passing his UV glow stick over an armchair. No prints, of course. “I doubt they’ve updated the insulation anytime within the last two decades.”

“And hey, look,” Impulse chimes in from the corner, “I’ve got EMF 1.3!”

Grian doesn’t even look up. “There’s an exposed outlet in here and I’ll bet the wiring’s older than I am. And in any case, it’s still below the recommended threshold.” Ew, okay, now that’s a suspicious UV stain on the floor, but not of the supernatural kind…

“Oh, it’s definitely not up to code,” Impulse agrees. He waves his EMF reader around a bit, making the pitch warble. “But I dunno, I think this must be the ghost’s favorite room. Might not be here right now, but I’m getting some real vibes…”

Grian rolls his eyes. “Sure…” 

Twenty minutes in, and despite the house’s hauntingly elegant construction, it’s been the same old story. The house is empty and quiet, as abandoned houses tend to be. Quite sparse, as most of the furnishings probably went to auction. The furniture that’s left is covered with tarps and every surface is coated with a fine layer of dust. He can smell mold somewhere in the floorboards and there’s apparent water damage in the ceiling.

The only renovation attempted thus far was the removal of some cheap linoleum tiles that were laid in the kitchen at some point- a renovation Grian can heartily agree with, there’s some absolutely gorgeous hardwood underneath- but they didn’t get far. The removed tiles are still sitting about in a haphazard pile, hammer and chisel abandoned on the floor beside them. Frantic footsteps smeared in the dust and powder paint the scene of a terrified contractor fleeing for their life from the reported ‘ghostly hauntings’. 

In any case, they haven’t heard any activity from the spirit box, nothing unusual has stood out on UV, and the salt Impulse laid out is still undisturbed. Surprise, surprise. Grian’s spent most of his time admiring the elaborate wooden trims lining every wall, scuffed as they are. What he wouldn’t give to properly restore this place…

“Hey, Dipple Dop?” Skizz calls suddenly. “Your radio working okay?”

Impulse gives him a curious look. “Huh? What, is there-” He pauses, glancing down at his radio. “Oh. Oh, yeah. Yeah, actually, mine’s on the fritz, must be overdue a battery change.”

“Oh?” Grian tilts his head innocently. “You don’t think it’s a ghoooost?”

Impulse purses his lips. “I don’t think everything is a ghost,” he says mildly. He clips the radio onto his belt, turning to the door. “I’ve got extras in the van, hang on…”

“I’ll go, too,” Skizz says quickly, slinging an arm and his wing around Impulse’s shoulders. “Buddy system! You know what, I- I’m tellin’ you, you never split up when hunting ghosts. That’s how they get you, dude.”

Oh. Oh, no.

Grian gives them a warning Look.

They give him a cheeky Look back.

“Yup, yeah, that’s true,” Impulse says with obvious feigned sincerity, steering Skizz out of the room. “So uh, you two keep at it, okay, and we’ll be right back…”

“Oh, okay!” Scar says cheerfully, busy setting up the tripod over in the corner and completely oblivious to their scheme. “Have a great time not getting murdered!”

Grian opens his mouth to protest, but Impulse and Skizz are already gone out the front door. Leaving him and Scar completely alone. Totally by coincidence, surely. Oh, he knew his drunken confession to Impulse at the school’s annual bar crawl fundraiser night would come back to bite him eventually.

It’s almost insulting, in a way. Like they think the only reason Grian hasn’t made a move is because he hasn’t had ample alone time with Scar. Like he needed them to give him an opportunity. But if he’d wanted to confess to Scar, he already would have. He’d have had it well done by now. They could give him a little credit.

See, the thing is, he’s thought about it. Plenty of times, in fact. But the issue he keeps coming back to is that if he tells Scar about his crush on him, then Scar will know about it. There’ll be no going back at that point. And if Scar doesn’t feel the same way- well, Grian can kiss their friendship goodbye. So yeah, no, he doesn’t think he’ll be making any dramatic love confessions tonight, strangely enough.

The risk of an awkward silence developing is astronomical, so Grian clears his throat. “Man… isn’t this place somethin’,” he says, then immediately fights the urge to cringe.

Scar, luckily, gives an emphatic nod. “It is, it truly is amazing.” He straightens up, dusting his hands off as he turns to Grian. “You know who’d really love this place, is Gem?”

“Oh, yeah, for sure,” Grian agrees. He busies himself with the UV, so he’s not just standing around. “We should take some pictures for her.”

“Oh, good idea!” Giving the tripod a final once-over, Scar wanders over to Grian. “So, any fingering goin’ on, yet?”

Grian nearly drops his glow stick. “Sorry- any what?!” he screeches, whirling around on Scar.

“You know, ghost fingers!” Scar says, perfectly innocent. He holds his hands up, wiggling his fingers in demonstration. “On the- on the glowy light?”

Grian takes a deep breath, face burning. “Oh Scar, buddy, you gotta think through your words better before you say them, alright?”

“Whaaat?” Scar pretends like he doesn’t know. “What, I’m just- you’ve got the stick, you know, little glow stick for when the ghost touches, uh-”

“Nevermind,” Grian groans. “Anyways, no, I haven’t found any ghostly handprints and I never will, because ghosts aren’t real.”

Scar folds his arms. “Well, hey, maybe the ghost is just polite! You know, he- maybe he’s just minding his business, not touching anything or- or anyone. Just because we don’t get anything on UV doesn’t mean ghosts aren’t real, I’ll have you know.”

Grian sees the challenge for what it is. “Alright…” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his spirit box. Holding the transponder to his lips, he belts out, “Where ahhre yewww?” in his best imitation of an over-exaggerated pop-punk accent. If Impulse and Skizz are eavesdropping through their radios, he hopes he gave them a start.

Scar laughs. “Oh man, been a while since I heard that one! You-”

I’m close.

Grian jumps so badly he nearly drops the box, his wings puffing out involuntarily. “What?! Wha- who said that?” he demands, spinning around.

Scar blinks at him. “What? Did you hear something through the box?”

“I- I dunno?” Grian says uncertainly. The box seems to be working as normal; when he holds the receiver down, there’s a faint hiss of static, and the bulb remains white. No further noises come from the speaker.

After a couple seconds of tense listening, Grian feels silly. Way to play it cool. He switches the box off with an exasperated sigh. “No, of course I didn’t hear anything through the box. Like I said, ghosts aren’t real.”

Scar hums noncommittally. “Oh, Grian... you know, there are some things in the world that can’t be explained.” 

Grian snorts. “Oh, yeah? Well, I- I got a few explanations for ya.” He counts on his fingers. “It could’ve been this old house creaking in the wind, or an electrical surge causing feedback through the transponder, or- or, not to mention, Impulse and Skizz pranking us through the radio?”

Scar snickers. “That does sound like something they’d do, I’ll give you that.”

“Yeah.” Grian slips the box back into his pocket. “And y’know, being in a creepy abandoned house, after dark, out in the middle’a nowhere... it’s easy to think you’re hearin’ things.”

Scar rolls his eyes, but his expression is fond. “I know, I know, so you’ve told me. But one of these days, mister, you’re gonna eat your words.”

“Right,” Grian drawls. “I’m so scared…”

The front door slams shut.

That makes Grian pause. They always leave the front door open while out on a job. It saves time when they have to go back and forth from the van, and saves battery life on their radios when they can just shout to each other through the open doorway. Obviously this job is a little different, because Impulse and Skizz have clearly got it in their heads to try and get him and Scar together, but he wouldn’t think they’d go so far as to-

The lights suddenly flicker and go out. But in the split-second before they do, Grian sees a shadowy figure silhouetted against the door.

Pure instinct takes over. Grian spins on his heel, grabs Scar by the arm, and absolutely flies down the stairs to the basement. He knows they’ve disturbed one or two piles of salt but right now, he can’t bring himself to care. His wings are bumping against the walls and he’s certainly never tried carrying someone as big as Scar before but he doesn’t stop, doesn’t even process the ache of it rattling through his body. He bursts into the basement, feathers flying, and careens towards the back of the room, around a tall shelving unit, and into the corner.

There’s a heap of boxes stacked up in this corner; Grian unceremoniously shoves Scar over top of them, dropping him in the narrow space between the boxes and the wall. He’s wedged in as far as he can himself, laying across the boxes, his double pair of wings preventing him from squeezing in beside Scar. He’s still got the UV light clenched in his fist, he realizes belatedly- he braces his forearms against the wall to try and cover it, fanning his wings out behind him to block it out from the rest of the room. Glancing back over his shoulder, he tries to gauge how much light is getting through when a noise makes him freeze.

Footsteps.

They’re soft and light- certainly not the heavy boots of Impulse or Skizz. No, they sound almost barefoot. And as they gently tap down the stairs, the sound of giggling fills the air. It’s a feminine voice. Young, like a child. Like a little ghostie girl is prancing down the stairs to murder them.

Grian thinks he might pass out. Can ghosts actually kill people? How would they do it if they’re incorporeal? He’s never considered the question before, he never thought he’d have to because it’s ridiculous, ghosts aren’t real, of course they can’t kill people-

The footsteps stop. 

Grian isn’t sure if he’s still breathing. He doesn’t dare move. A chill runs up his spine, making every single feather stand on end. He can almost hear the high-pitched violins that would be playing right now if this were a horror movie; the cheesy, overdrawn kind of horror movies that are always playing at the drive-in that the four of them watch while piled into the back of the van in a tangle of limbs and spilled popcorn and oh god he’s spiraling now because he’s about to be killed by a ghost-

Bye-bye!

The chill recedes. Somewhere in his peripheral vision, he sees the faint glow of light from upstairs return.

It’s over.

Grian’s mind is spinning. What was that? What was that? It seems impossible, it doesn’t even feel real to be in this situation right now but he is, there was a ghost, there was a ghost. It feels insane to even think it. But the residual adrenaline coursing through his body reminds him it was very real, he just encountered a ghost.

A ghost! Oh, after three years of very loudly decrying the entire concept as rubbish. He can’t believe it. He really can’t believe it, this is the absolute last thing he expected to happen tonight. Ghosts are real. Ghosts are really, really, real. He doesn’t know what to do, who would ever believe him? Is this how the others have been feeling this whole time? God, he can’t believe this-

“G...?” Scar’s voice pipes up hesitantly. “What... what are we doing?”

Oh, right. Grian glances down at Scar- and his heart jolts. He’d been so focused on getting away from the ghost, he’d acted without thinking, so only now does he realize the... predicament he’s put them in.

Scar’s slumped against the floor beneath him, head tucked just below Grian’s arms. His long legs are still draped over the box that Grian’s laying across, resting on either side of his waist. And due to the odd posture Grian’s in, his chest has been thrust rather close to Scar’s face, lit by the soft purple glow of the UV.

This is probably the closest Grian has ever been to sitting in Scar’s lap.

Grian’s not proud of the yelp that escapes him. “Sorry, sorry!” His wings flail as he struggles to push himself off of the wall, stumbling back onto his feet. It’s clumsy and uncoordinated and he nearly falls backwards, his heart pounding.

Scar manages a laugh, easing himself up off the floor. “No, no, it’s okay, I- I just... what- why’d you bring us down here?” he asks, dusting off his jumpsuit.

Grian catches his breath. “Wait, you... didn’t hear the creepy ghost on its way to kill us?” he asks, frowning.

Scar‘s eyes widen. “What? There was a ghost?”

No way.

“Are you-!” Grian throws his arms up. “Honestly, I- I know avians have better hearing than most but that’s insane. She was laughing! Laughing and skipping down the blumin’ steps! And you didn’t hear any of it?”

“No…?” Scar shrugs helplessly. “I’m sorry, okay! I- I don’t know, I was- a lot was happening, you- you’re grabbin’ me, pulling me down the stairs and into this little corner, I didn’t know what was going on! I didn’t know, I- I was all disconbodulated- disco- bobo, bobumated? I was a little distracted, okay. Jeeze, give a man a break…”

“Distracted?” Grian repeats incredulously. “You’re the one who actually believes in ghosts, here, how could you get distracted? What do you…”

He trails off. Scar is very clearly fighting to avoid looking at Grian, but for the briefest moment, his eyes dart down to Grian’s chest. Suddenly confused, Grian follows his gaze, and-

Oh, for goodness sakes. At some point during his frantic flight, the stupid zipper on his stupid jumpsuit came down again, exposing a frankly scandalous amount of skin. Not Scar-level of scandalous, but pretty close.

Grian immediately feels himself turn red. “Oh. Uh- right,” he hastily pulls the zipper back up, “sorry ‘bout that…”

Wait. Wait just a second. 

Scar was distracted from a literal ghost hunt going on... because Grian’s bare chest was showing? Does that... does that mean he liked it? 

Scar’s avoiding his gaze again. His cheeks are tinted pink.

“Scar...?” Grian ventures carefully. “Were you... lookin’ at my chest?”

Scar’s cheeks darken. “Ah, I- I- don’t- I mean, why would you- I didn’t mean to, it’s just...” He fumbles for the words. “What- what am I- hey, your pecs were basically in my face! I wasn’t trying to look, I- I just-”

“Scar,” Grian says, keeping his voice light and teasing, “did ya… did you like what you saw?”

Scar splutters for a moment. “Well, sure, Grian,” he tries to laugh it off, “I mean, anyone- anyone with eyes can see you’re uh, you know, you’re- you’re pretty attractive. I- I’m secure enough to say it, I don’t care, it’s- sure, of course, you’re very muscular! You’re a- you’re a muscular man, it’s just not always obvious with the sweaters you wear. Or- sorry, you call them jumpers in Britain land, right, they’re jumpers-”

“You been checkin’ me out, Scar?” Grian asks, caught somewhere between playfulness and utter disbelief.

“Uh...” Scar rubs the back of his neck. He exhales slowly, clearly debating with himself. “I... maybe? What... what would you say... if that were the case?”

Grian swallows. His heart is absolutely racing now, and he’s broken into a cold sweat that’s definitely not supernatural in origin. The air between them feels fragile; he’s acutely aware that a single word from him could swiftly plunge them back into the realm of safe familiarity, of casual light-hearted teasing between friends. Scar’s always said things that bordered on the flirtatious, and Grian can hide behind the plausible deniability of teasing. This entire interaction doesn’t have to mean anything. It can be easily moved past and forgotten.

And yet, strangely enough… Grian doesn’t want it to. Maybe it’s the post-haunting adrenaline or the fact that he could’ve died tonight, but all of a sudden, he feels like taking a chance. Like he could finally say what he’s wanted to say for the last three years. He managed to hold his own against a blumin’ ghost, for goodness sakes- he should be able to face his own feelings head on.

He takes a breath. “I’d say that’s a relief… ‘cause I’ve been checkin’ you out since day one of first year.”

Scar stares at him for a long moment. His expression is utterly unreadable. The silence draws on long enough that Grian feels a spike of panic, worried that maybe he’s mishandled the situation-

 “... oh my god,” Scar says finally. “Really?”

It sounds like the good kind of surprise. Grian offers a shy smile. “Yeah, yeah,” he admits. “I- Scar, I know I’m real good at playin’ these things close to the vest, but uh, I- I’ve had a massive crush on you since... basically since the day we met.”

“Huh.” Scar blinks. “You’re serious. You- you’re not pranking me right now?”

That startles a laugh out of Grian. “No! Scar, I don’t- we just survived being hunted by a ghost, I’m not pranking you!”

“Well, that’s- that’s amazing!” A grin spreads across Scar’s face- and man, oh man, does he have just the most wonderful smile. “Oh my gosh, G, I don’t- you don’t even know how long I’ve been waiting for this.”

The relief is almost overwhelming. “Yeah, me too!” Grian laughs, half-dazed and half-giddy, running a hand through his hair. “I- I even- look, the whole reason I even joined this group was as an excuse to hang out with you!”

Scar’s mouth falls open. “No way! That’s- that’s the whole reason I joined in the first place, too!”

Now it’s Grian’s turn to gawk. “Are you joking?”

“I’m not!” Scar insists, “I swear, I’m not- Impulse said he wanted to start the group and maybe we’d all join and get to hang out and I thought ‘hey, ghosts are cool and Grian is cool’ so I just-”

“Oh, I can’t believe this…” Grian groans, hiding his burning face in his hands. “We really are idiots, we’ve wasted nearly three years…”

Scar’s hands close around Grian’s wrists, lightly pulling them down from his face. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to make up for lost time,” he says smoothly, leaning in.

Corny, but Grian will allow it. He closes the gap, tilting his head up to meet Scar’s lips.

In that moment, everything else fades away. All the nervousness, all the second-guessing, even the bombshell discovery of the existence of ghosts- there could be one standing in front of them right now and Grian wouldn’t care. The way Scar gathers Grian in his arms, hands gently roving through his feathers- it’s bliss. It’s perfect.

Scar kisses him strong and purposefully, with no trace of carelessness or haste. He doesn’t rush. There’s intent written into every single movement, jaw working to deepen the kiss. Grian curls against him, hands splayed across Scar’s chest. He can feel Scar’s heart pounding through his flushed skin, and it’s wildly exciting- to think Scar is just as breathless as he is. 

Growing bold, Grian dares to slip his tongue into Scar’s mouth, and the noise he makes- part surprise, part delight- sends pure electricity fizzling up his spine. His mind is starting to drift away from him, lost in the sensation of weightlessness, of floating, that almost makes him feel like he’s gone completely incorporeal- like his own spirit has become untethered from the mortal coil.

Then Skizz’s voice comes down the stairs.

“G-Sharp! Scarface! You down here? We just saw a freaking ghost on the cams, and- oh my god!”

Grian breaks away from Scar, but not quick enough. He turns to see Skizz and Impulse standing at the bottom of the stairs, expressions shocked. And then, as if they’d rehearsed it, they both break into massive shit-eating grins and spin around to high-five each other.

“Woo!” Impulse cheers. “We got ‘em! Ladies and gentlemen, we finally got them.”

“Yeah, baby!” Skizz pumps his fist in the air. “Oh, I love it!”

“Oh, would you two stop it?” Grian huffs, but he’s not really cross. Hard to be cross when he’s on cloud nine. “The ghost did most of the work, alright?”

“That’s right,” Scar sniffs, winding an arm around Grian’s waist. “You know, I- I’m startin’ to think you all were in cahoots! Cahoots, I say!”

“Dude, if only,” Skizz laughs, walking over to clap them on the shoulders. “Could not have planned it better, that’s amazing. Well done, gentlemen!”

“Yeah, it’s about time!” Impulse adds, crossing his arms. “I was starting to think we’d graduate before either of you fessed up, I- I had to take drastic measures…”

“Impulse,” Grian says warningly, “if you’re about to tell me you started this whole paranormal investigation group just as a way to push me and Scar into confronting our feelings, I swear-”

“No, no,” Impulse assures him, chuckling. “I really do like the ghost-hunting deal, don’t worry. But uh, we did deliberately ditch you guys in the hopes that something would happen.”

Scar waggles his eyebrows. “Oh, things happened, alright.”

“Scar!” Grian swats at him, but he’s laughing and it feels good. It feels right. After all this time spent worrying about worst-case scenarios, about denying his feelings for the sake of maintaining the comfortable mundanity of his comfortable life, it turns out the scariest part was the fear itself.

The irony doesn’t escape his notice. A bit on the nose, if he’s honest.

“But in even bigger news,” Impulse graciously continues, “you saw the ghost? And you believed it? You, Mr. Non-Believer in all things ghostly?”

Grian sighs. “Yeah, yeah, I know…”

“This is incredible!” Skizz claps his hands together. “Okay, okay, we gotta go cleanse the area and I wanna hear everything, got it? Don’t leave a single detail out!”

Grian slips his hand into Scar’s as they follow Impulse and Skizz back up the stairs. “Yeah, alright,” he relents. He supposes he’s due for a lot of ‘I told you so’s’. But really, it’s a small price to pay for the life-altering knowledge that ghosts are real… and for finally finding the courage to believe in something extraordinary.

Scar hums. “Wait, details about the ghost or about the kissing?”

“Scar!”

~*~

[dmwrites]

Martyn was yelling. Martyn was yelling and coming at Impulse with a desperation and fury that rooted him to the spot. It didn’t make sense, Martyn was… cheating. Scott was dead, gone in a flash of fire that Impulse couldn’t even begin to comprehend. And he was facing down a man who was all greens and yellows and reds and-

There was a slice through the air, a pain so brief it might have been imagined, and then-

“I’m so proud of you, homie buddy!”

“For goodness sake, Skizz, put on a shirt!”

Impulse tried to extract himself from Skizz’s chest, but his friend only pulled him closer.

“Let him breathe a little, Skizz, he just died, after all.” Tango’s voice floated up somewhere to the left of him, and he felt a pat on the back. “Nice work, man, second place ain’t too bad.”

Skizz let Impulse go, finally, and Impulse was instantly being congratulated by his other friends, Scott giving him a distracted smile, Pearl sticking out her tongue before hugging him tight.

“You’re a good guy, Impulse. Thanks for sticking by me.” Etho came over and clapped Impulse on the shoulder, a small smile in his voice and a twinkle in his eye. “You fought well.”

“Thanks, man.” Impulse beamed at him. “You did too. Not washed up at all.” He chuckled, and Etho grumbled good-naturedly before wandering back over to The Clockers.

Skizz was standing next to him still, almost vibrating with energy.

“You’re being ridiculous.” Impulse told Skizz. “You should be congratulating Martyn when he dies. Or Scott, for that matter- there was no way I would have won even if we’d all played fair.”

“Come, walk and talk with me, buddy.” Skizz said, floating in the direction of the TIES tower.

They passed by the small group around Grian, who were watching Martyn below, still alive and on the ground. He caught a bit of conversation as they passed.

“We should probably slash-kill, G. Game’s over.”

“No, let’s leave him for a moment.” Grian mumbled, watching Martyn with a troubled look on his face.

The tower was empty, and Skizz and Impulse perched on the edge of Skynet, watching the other dead players float around.

“Dude, I said it once, but I’ll say it again- I am so proud of you. You’re like a warrior, man!” Skizz crowed.

“But I didn’t win!” Impulse exclaimed, although he couldn’t help but smile at Skizz’s enthusiasm.

“What- are you kidding me, dude! I told you- all of you before I died- team TIES gets top three, and you got to second place!”

“Well, second is a poor replacement for first…” Impulse grumbled.

“You know what, dude?” Skizz said, snapping his fingers, “I never did get to your affirmation, did I?”

“No, but I’m not, like, offended.” Impulse replied.

Skizz cleared his throat. “Impulsesv, my bestest friend-”

“You don’t have to do this, I’ll be okay without my affirmation.” Impulse interrupted.

“Shut your face and let me say nice things!” Skizz waved his hand dramatically at Impulse to make him shut up. “Impulse, my friend. You know, when I was doing these affirmations, I had to study people, even the ones I knew before. But you… it was easy to come up with the words. Perseverance. Focus. God, man, look at what you did. You wanted to win, and the way you hunted, killed… it was incredible. You never stopped, and I could tell how badly you wanted to win. You put your mind to it and you just go, man. If death herself hasn’t stopped you, I’m sure you would have walked right through Martyn’s axe to get the win.”

Impulse laughed. “I think you’ve been hanging out in the afterlife for too long, man, you are making less sense with every sentence.”

“I’m just proud of you, man.” Skizz smiled.

“Careful, Skizz,” Impulse teased, “people are gonna start thinking you’re some kind of angel or something, with how nice you’re being.”

“Ha! Whatever, dude.”

Skizz and Impulse started trying to elbow each other off of Skynet, laughing and waiting for Martyn’s life to end. The sun was setting, and there was that bittersweet taste of second place that settled heavy on Impulse’s tongue. Not good, not bad, but at the end of the day, there were always people who loved him, so it didn’t really matter.

[minecraftbookshelf]

Life Series Scarring Headcanons: Part 5

The final installment!

If you haven't yet, check out Part 1 for a full explanation and context

This one covers the last three players, Solidarity Gaming, TangoTek, and ZombieCleo

Jimmy Solidarity

Like the other Assigned Birb Man, fall damage is arguably his nemesis

Third Life: Somewhere along the way it became fanon that that arrow from Skizz caught him in the throat and when I decided I was sticking with that I did not yet realize what that would mean for his death scars and the pattern thereof.

Last Life: He died to fall damage trying to escape from Grian (after accidentally initiating combat by jokingly hitting him with a baked potato) He fell from the roof of Mumbo's house down into a space by some wooden stairs, and with the angle it looked like he would have hit the side of his head on the edge of the stairs. So that's what he did :)

Double Life: He was killed by an enderman. In Everen's animatic he is basically strangled by it, and Mr. Gaming blue-screened because, as he said, that is his visualization on how that went down so. Canon.

Limited Life: Fall damage again, on the other side of his head this time, he landed on rock after falling/being pushed off of/whichever version you prefer Skynet. RIP canary man. Better luck in Season 5? (I kind of don't want him to have better luck tbh. The narrative consistency is very satisfying.)

The other half of Team Rancher

Tango of the Tek Variety

Squeaky cartoon man is right up there with Scott on the "someone please help him" front tbh. Cringefail Flower Ranchers Hours apparently.

Third Life: He died at the battle of Dogwarts to fire damage from behind that finished him off after a lot of cumulative damage, mostly from Martyn.

Last Life: The famous last words of "I know what I'm doing". Blown up by his own trap. The scars are centralized on his arms and the front of his torso, with a space where his arms shielded his body. This was his only kill of the season.

Double Life: He has phantom scars from Jimmy's enderman death.

Limited Life: Fall damage claimed yet another victim. He landed feet first and so his ankles shattered nanoseconds before he hit his head and was officially out of the series, leaving him with a scar both on his forehead and thin lines up his lower legs, similar to the ones from Grian's wrists.

Cleo

Third Life: Skizz killed them while they were making a (very nearly successful) attempt to kill Ren outside the Crastle. Skizz came from behind while they were focused on Ren and killed them with The Skizz Blade. They deemed it "worth it" for the chance to almost take Ren out.

Last Life: She was killed by Joel while she and the other late-game red lifers were hunting him and Grian down. He had a terrain advantage that allowed him to reach that high, since she is significantly taller than him. EDIT: When I get the opportunity I'm going to be updating the diagram to include the blow from Boogeyman!BigB that killed her, because that falls under the category of "important enough thematically and character-wise with long enough lasting impact" that it gets a scar.

Double Life: They died from fall damage during the final confrontation with Pearl. This is one I took some creative liberties with and interpreted "fall damage" as "accidentally fell on a sharp branch". This killed both them and Martyn.

Limited Life: She was killed by Pearl with an axe during a fight with the Nosy Neighbors in the endgame of the season.

It is also worth noting that most of Cleo's scars from the games are either only partly, or barely visible, due to the whole Zombie Thing and the fact that in some of the places the scars would be she just...doesnt have skin.

-

Part 4

[vivianquill]

They were a pack, not a hoard.

You know, there's something almost poetic about the boogeyman infection from session 7.

To me it wasn't a hoard of zombies, it wasn't a mindless hivemind of drones, it wasn't even a posse- a mob of borderline reds.

It was a pack. A pack of rabid wolves, vicious and bloodthirsty and hungry.

The way each early addition to the pack was ready to turn around and bite their new alpha in Bdubs, Scar, Pearl, Etho; the way they ran like Pearl and Scar; they went looking for comfort with Impulse and Scar and Skizz; And again, in Scar's case especially-- they tried to go back to the survivors. But that didn't work, not once the survivors caught on to what was happening.

There's something in the way that each of them wanted to hurt the one who killed them, only to be called off by Gem and kept in line as they hunted for more.

The only thing keeping the pack together was Gem's seer force of will, at least until they grew so large and forgot about everything else except the need to kill, to hunt, to cannibalize their own.

There's something poetic about the cursed ignoring Martyn, the only one to start red, the only one to start the session as a 'dog.' There's something poetic in the survivors tolerating him at their fringes, like tossing food to a dog you find on the street, but not letting them too close, because they're still a stray dog-- something you can never fully trust.

From his perspective, he was so out of the loop and had no idea about any of the curse until the survivors told him.

It was interesting to see how the alliances broke down. And not just the alliances, but the people themselves:

How Gem ignored Scott-- until she went red. Gem used Scott, and then turned on him the moment it made sense. She was the ringleader, the alpha of the pack, patient zero.

How Impulse not only embraced the curse-- He begged to be infected. He volunteered. He was one of the more dogged (hah) of the crew, in it from the beginning and already half-mad with bloodlust already from his previous tasks. Taking hearts from Skizz, the fake-boogey task, the games of chicken, being unable to kill ANYTHING for an entire session, etc. He still ignored Scott, though. even letting him get away when they were alone. And he was the most threatening, always coming in from a direction no one expected.

How Bdubs didn't want to kill Pearl or Joel-- He didn't have to, Pearl died to Gem and Joel to Etho and Scar and Gem. He was so hesitant to kill Impulse, asking him again and again if he really wanted this. Bdubs was also the first to find Etho, the first to welcome him to the pack.

But Etho still remained loyal to Cleo and Grian, not attacking them, not killing them, not ratting them out, nothing. He even jumped in front of an arrow meant for Cleo. He brought up a warden with Pearl, but that's just chaos, and you can hear a warden from miles away. And with all his experience in Decked Out-- well. Wardens aren't that scary. Not for him, not for a lot of the more Hardcore Decked Out players-- Gem, Grian, Tango, Pearl, Impulse, and even Bdubs and Cleo and Scar, to an extent.

Cleo going out on her own terms, instead of letting herself be killed. Her checking in on Scott, on letting Bigb hide with them, even when Bigb ratted them out (getting himself killed). She was running and hiding for so much of the last half of the session. Her sharing her dogs, making sure everyone else got some, fighting back when cornered and hitting like a TRUCK. Letting Joel leave after he respawned on the shrine for his last time.

Grian hiding on top of the tower-- Watching. No one thought to look up. Being the first to figure out the curse, being helpless to stop it, causing Etho's death-- and then denying it.

Pearl going 5am feral, not targeting Cleo until Cleo killed her dogs, pulling out a warden with Etho-- and then another on her own. Hiding her first dogs, making sure they stayed safe. Not helping to kill Joel, but happily scooping up the zombie flesh and the xp left behind.

Joel not wanting to hide, thinking that he'd be fine-- until he wasnt. Wanting to go out with a bang and flooding the server with zombies-- but once he was got he didn't hesitate to throw his lot in with the pack.

Scar. There's a lot to say about Scar. Forced to push everyone away from multiple tasks, going feral on his own without an alliance to hold him steady, holding his own with his bow and killing not one, not two but THREE people. Trying to go back to the survivors, burning Gem's book, running away and turning to shoot the pack that was trying to collect him. Getting sent into the nether first, almost getting that hit on Cleo that would have turned her bloodthirsty and rabid just like the rest of them-- Everyone disregarded him. He has the biggest target on his back, the pack only tolerated him because he was one of them. Almost like Martyn with the survivors.

Scott, oh poor Scott. The first to die that day and one of the only two to complete his task. He was used, kept sheltered by Impulse and Gem, abandoned in the grove. He was hiding alone in the dark while Cleo drowned and Bigb was burnt to death. He had no idea.

Speaking of Bigb. While it wasn't his yell that allowed them to be found-- it was one of the main factors. He's so confusing to everyone, going mad down in his backrooms alone and not quite counting himself a part of the heart foundation. Screaming "BANISHED" at everyone who even looks at him wrong. The sheer irony of Tango's death: The end glitch, his wolf, the fire-- everything.

And the rest of the heart foundation, Skizz attacking Joel and Scar, even when they were running away-- it cost him his life. Immediately turning around and attacking, screaming to Tango and Bigb in a familiar refrain-- ("There's a way we can still be friends-- You could join me." turned into) "COME TO THIS SIDE-- I want you back, buddy."

Tango, back from his amnesiacold --amnesiafood-poisoning as it were-- confused and getting teased and trying to fulfill everyone's wishes 'wrong'. Being killed by Bigb's wolf, getting confused as being 'one of them'. Getting thrown into the deep end at having to pull a warden out of his lake and point it elsewhere-- A victim of tragedy and circumstance. Not to mention the heart getting burnt down. Maybe the canary's bad luck is rubbing off-- just not onto the person we thought it was. After all-- He and Jimmy have always been together in being doomed by the narrative.

[sophieeee0105]

I just want to discuss how throughout the life series, Etho’s episodes 4, 5 and 6 are always just constant fricking chaos for absolutely no reason.

third life:

Episode 4: he launches multiple missiles at the crastle, stealing his redstone back each time and is then blamed for being apart of Grian’s triple kill

episode 5 +6 (well session 5 + 6) were in episode 5: he made the Dorito walls, then death my firing squad occurred, then he made an enderporter, launched a tnt cannon at the crastle as a distraction, (also joined dowarts officially during this), and also was part of pizza’s murder, then had his castle burned down for the first time, then got sniped by Scar for tryna steal stuff from the desert (cuz his enderporter broke), and then had the entire bit of being terrified of Cleo despite being the only red in the conversation

last life:

Episode 4: Was genuinely a menance the whole episode using invisibility pots to sneak around peoples bases, and also stole the brewing stand from Cleo’s body in full view of like 4 people

episode 5: had to deal with a red roommate, no tango and also being the boogeyman, and made an enemy of scar in the process

episode 6: whatever the stack kill carnage was, bdubs boogey betrayal, tango rage crystal which became Etho’s rage crystal where he threatened 3 reds, ultimately getting skizz killed after a failed tnt cannon

double life:

Episode 4: fishing rodding the warden, near death via attempted entrance of mineshaft, death by fishing rod, murder of Pearl, near death by witch, threatening of grian and scar, becoming successful hitmen killing the ranchers

episode 5: the red army, skulk sensor trap kill, THE SHIP BURNS EVERYTHING BURNS

episode 6: red army attempt 2, literally wanting Scott dead the entire episode, Etho and bdubs cannot be separated and everyone knows that and deals with it as the server splits in two, death by trapped portal

limited life:

episode 4: green hunting day, “thank you Joel you saved me so now I can kill you”, failed attempt at trapping Scott’s bed, ETHO IS WASHED UP CONVERSATION

episode 5: blowing up bread bridge and his children, awkward family supper

episode 6: dies multiple times (mainly to his son or his own stupidity) and generally doesn’t have a good day, bucket clutches multiple times, kills scar with a fishing rod

secret life

episode 4: fails listening comprehension with Martyn, aha meme with Jimmy and becomes like an uncle tryna fit in with the kids

episode 5: be nice to bdubs day, weeping angel task causing way too many problems, somehow getting involved with the tag task because of bdubs, pearl’s hot potato book and his inability to return it to her

episode 6: bringing a warden to the surface while everyone else goes about their day normally, get set on fire but Pearl for seemingly no reason, becomes friends with Jimmy who was feral to half the server, the wither and warden fight in the centre of the server, killing 2 reds and he succeeds his hard task

[enpr-ss]

Oh no is this going to happen again?

HOW DOES CLEO KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THE EASIEST TASKS?!?!! Mumbo absolutely losing it evident in the high pitch of his voice.

Omg another replacement.

WHAT IS THIS DUAL TASK HOLY SHIT. Well at least it’s not a pokemon battle where their task success depends on their creature winning. Bro a wither is so much easier than a warden? Where’s tango when you need him. LOL MUMBO. He’s so dead.

Grian knows EXACTLY what he’s saying and what the fan response is. He’s totally pandering. It’s great. Rip Mumbo. MARTYN AT THE PERFECT TIMING. The wither painting in the background is honestly perfect setting. BDUBS?!!!! LOL Is there a special mod recipe for nametags? Omg Mumbo. HE WALKED OFF AGAIN!!! The heck is wrong with his resource pack. Well at least he didn’t lose the footage or the audio.

How does grian only have half a heart left. Bro. PEARL TORMENTING ETHO AGAIN!!! Omg was it Lizzie?!?!

ETHO’S DISHWASHER!!!! THE SHADE!!! TRULY WASHED UP!!! They even had the suspenseful tension music.

Wait jimmy’s dead already? And Lizzie after? SKIZZ?!?! Omg everyone’s dying this session. Wait Lizzie died first? Then why funeral? Etho you mad man.

OH MY GOD I GOT JUMPSCARED!!!! That’s the most terrifying thing ever.

“There’s a point Grian, when Chaos Scar comes-“ *sees the warden finally* “OH MY GOD WHAT IN THE WORLD”

What’s the meaning of 1 Stick Wither?! I don’t get it. BRO THAT SHRIEK ATTACK ON MUMBO!!?! SO COOL. rip Mumbo truly. WHO JUST DIED?!?! Is Scar STILL running from the wither all this time?!?! LOL. grian telling Scar to combat log. I can’t believe that worked.

Why would Grian aggro the wither before going to secret Keeper??! Why. AND HE DIES AS HE HITS THE BUTTON LOL. BIGB NO. SCAR. who got the last hit?! Etho hit the button asap!!! What you lingering around for.

Did that make you juuuump? MUMBO DIED TO HIS OWN FENCE POSTS?!?! LOL.

Omg canary curse broken

What a session. I really thought Etho had the harder task but I guess not.

That moment of silence and Grian and etho turning to look at each other when Mumbo is so close with his shotgun guess.

THE REVERB LOL. AND THEN BDUBS COMING THROUGH.

“Craft yourself some boots” immediately fails and makes an illegal helmet. Is mumbo’s task to disobey grian every other command? Why would he get on the strider. HE JUST WALKED OFF THE BLOCKS INTO LAVA AHHAAHA. THE BELATED LADDER.

The blazes omg. And the belated saddle. Skizz?!?!

The tense music! OMG HE DROWNED?!?

GRIAN CHEATING WITH ADMIN PRIVILEGES LOL.

Bro the warden spawning right behind Etho….

Scar just casually chatting while etho lures the warden in the background. Jimmy screaming. That clever invis pot. Everytime someone encounters Scar he’s just running for his life screaming for help. What a good view of Mumbo getting absolutely hunted down.

WHY WOULD YOU NEED TO HELP THE WARDEN?!? AND HE BROKE THE GAME BY DYING ON THE BUTTON LOL.

[blueishspace]

Last Life with divine domains

Part 5: Session 7 and 8.

Fandom:

Well, for starters the suggestions from part 3...

@shortystack75, I loved all of them especially the idea of parallels between Hades and Persephone and Scott and Pearl...though I feel knowing the fandom only the Watcher/Listener connections are popular.

As for @easily-distracted-by-fandom I do agree that Bdubs causing Grian death not once but twice is...fascinating... Also, even though Jimmy wasn't red for long I love the idea of him going feral and I desperately need that fanart.

Now, for the ideas from last session:

Thank you @easily-distracted-by-fandom for the quotes "crying over burned flowers in the burning rain" "your tears fall from the sky", and yes everyone is freaking out because of Listener Martyn.

Exciting news, we have someone new to suggest stuff! @imnotthepersonyouseek! I love the idea of a Tango "look what u made me do" animatic, it sounds like something the fandom would come up with... I love even more the idea of a Magical Mountain found family. Especially with Jimmy starting out as an enemy, being kicked out from his team and being welcomed in by Scar...

Also, you say Justice blinds...but "Justice is blind" is like the perfect quote when it comes to the Martyn vs Grian situation.

Session 7

Pearl is chosen as the boogeyman, Grian sighs in relief at there only being one boogey.

Since Scar wasn't in this session because of being sick he doesn't get to link anyone for the session.

Martyn once again is given 3 rules to choose from: One more boogeyman is added to the session. (Two sessions in a row? That's ...unlikely) Every boogeyman must have 2 kills to be cured. Nobody is allowed to use armor. As a red all of these can help with taking out greens, I think the armor is eliminated because of it also hurting him so... Let's say he chooses two kills just because It's new.

Let's focus on the ex team BEST... while Skizz is a red and teams with the other reds Etho and Tango are split up and need allies. As they are all enemies of Magical Mountain none of them attempt an alliance with it... This leaves the shadow alliance on one side and the Scottage on the other... I feel like Etho gravitates towards The Shadow Alliance leaving Tango to go with the Scottage. I do think Tango and Cleo can understand eachother a bit as they have very similiar situations...

Lizzie as a red life definitely goes after Joel, it definitely doesn't go well for her with Joel being part of a pretty op team but she definitely tries.

At this point Pearls electricity cut offs like in our world causing another boogeyman to be needed... In our world Martyn was chosen but this can't happen since he's red so the boogeyman is *randomizer* Grian who panics as he realizes he has to get double the kills in half the time.

Mumbo and Jimmy don't die as they aren't anywhere near Grian and Grian doesn't die as he is nowhere near Martyn... BigB still dies though as he's still hunted down by Lizzie... And then opens Pearl's chest trap and explodes going straight to red.

Skizz doesn't die...yet... as he isn't working with Impulse to get a kill and he's probably with Lizzie and the other reds.

As for Grian's boogie kills... Well, he definitely goes after Jimmy and Mumbo considering not only is Magic Mountain his biggest enemy but because of both of them choosing Magic Mountain over him in some way... ....As for the wither he still spawns it as it was his objective since the start but BEST is no more and so he doesn't do it near their base... He probably does it near Magical Mountain as again they are his biggest enemies and he does it probably soon after getting his kills because of the timing of the session so...

A red life Jimmy with almost nothing on him would find himself face to face with a wither and Secret Life shows us what Jimmy does in that scenario... Die.

Jimmy is, despite everything, the first player out of Last Life. Considering he also died in Third Life...the canary curse is born... 2 of his lives were taken by Grian in some way.

Etho makes a similiar deal with Bdubs, offering a life for a death so Lizzie still dies and Bdubs is killed by the other reds for his betrayal.

The session ends with a lot less deaths then canon.

Lives

Scar and Joel have 4 lives.

Etho, Mumbo, Ren, Pearl and Scott have 3 lives.

Cleo, Tango, Impulse and Grian have 2 lives.

BigB, Skizz and Martyn have 1 life.

Jimmy, Lizzie and Bdubs are out.

Session 8

Scott becomes the boogey at the start of the session...since he's a green life he actually does something about it or at least plans on it.

Scar already had it out for the southlanders but now Grian went and killed Mumbo and permakilled Jimmy... Grian is getting linked to Impulse.

Martyn gets 3 rules to chose from (just to clear things up... Yes, being red life gives Martyn more chaotic rules to add, I use a different wheel): Nobody is allowed to use names for the whole session, All (current) yellow lives become boogeymen and All red lives must kill another red life... As a red life the second one is a fun one because it adds four Boogeymen to the mix.

Grian got confused when an extra boogeyman popped up, then he was disconcerted when as a Boogeyman he was told to get two kills... And, now suddenly he becomes a boogeyman out of nowere?!? Funny thing Martyn has no idea Grian doesn't understand what's going on anymore because of him.

A while later Etho runs into a creeper and goes boom... If Pearl still tries to use Scar's enchanter then she is also killed by either him or the skeleton.

Grian still gets Ren, just for another reason: The boogeyman curse... Meanwhile Tango doesn't explode himself as he's not in the snow castle anymore... Joel also doesn't get Pearl this time.

Cleo still kills BigB but Ren doesn't get to kill Scar...

As for Scott, well, Joel and Scar are the perfect target if we consider they have 4 lives and Scar did kill him a while ago so It's only fair.

Tango... well, he can get Etho or Ren at this point in time and Etho betrayed him as much as Bdubs did choosing Bdubs' side so... Etho goes red.

As for Impulse he could go after either Magical Mountain or Scottage... I think Magical Mountain is the better option at this point in time, maybe Mumbo of Scar? Maybe Scar can offer the bonus life for not getting killed? After all he likely still has it... Now Martyn and Skizz are both very anti-Scar by now so I think Scar still ends up dying during the session. As for Impulses boogey kill is likely Scott.

Lives

Scar, Joel, Mumbo, Ren and Impulse have 3 lives.

Scott, Pearl, Grian and Tango have 2 lives.

Skizz, Etho and Martyn have 1 life.

Jimmy, Lizzie, Bdubs and BigB are out.

Fandom

You know the drill people, I know I'm going to love what you guys are going to say.

Previous part

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First part

[conivolos]

lil funky gigs thing i wrote!! link to the ao3 :D, and the yt links to the vods i based it off of (kinda), impulse, skizz

------

The drive back from a successful bust, Scar thinks, is one of the best parts of his entire week.

Impulse and Skizz sit in the front of the car, himself and Grian in the back. It's storming somewhere up ahead, but for now, there's light raindrops falling overhead, so quiet you can barely hear it over the softly playing music from the car’s speakers--one of Impulse’s old cds with a weird mix of Blink-182 and instrumental synth pop on it. Mostly Blink-182, though. The shine from the street lights outside illuminates the car in bright light for barely a second, before the night swallows them once more.

Scar watches the raindrops on his window as the desolate night speeds past, eyes occasionally catching on a reflective sign. 

His fingers quietly tap against the car door, poorly imitating the beats from the radio, before a sudden thought pops back into Scar’s head. He perks up a little, sitting up higher in his seat, a grin starting to split his features. Grian’s eyes flick up to meet him, moving from where he was looking out the window.

“Hey, remember what I said about me not dying lately?”

“You literally died just before,” Grian protests, tapping his foot against Scars shin.

“Yeah, but I only died once! So I think it still stands!” Scar says, nodding enthusiastically at everyone and surreptitiously tapping Grian’s foot back with his own.

“Who’s still standing?” Impulse asks, gaze still trained on the road ahead.

“My slurpee suggestion! I’ve survived enough this week that I think I deserve a slurpee for my good work!” he nods enthusiastically again, as if that alone would convince them.

Skizz laughs from the front, glancing at Scar in the rear-view mirror, “You’re not wrong there, bud.”

"Slurpees do sound like a good idea, and it'd be good filling up on gas sooner rather than later..." Impulse murmurs after a moment of consideration.

"Sooo, is that a yes?" Scar asks hopefully.

"Ah, why the heck not."

"Yes!"

“Where are we even going to find a petrol station out here?” Grian pipes up, less asking a question and more of just making a statement.

“I saw a 7-11 when we were driving up here,” Impulse explains, switching lanes (while indicating, mind you, just because they're the only ones on the road doesn't mean he can be reckless).

“Oh, of course. There's a 7-11 down the road from a creepy prison. Makes perfect sense,” Grian despairs, slumping in his seat.

Impulse snickers, turning off into the exit.

“Well of course there is, Grian!” Scar starts and Grian turns to glare at him. Undeterred, Scar continues, “How else would we get our post ghostbustin’ slurpees?”

“We have not busted a single ghost the entire time we’ve been ghost hunting, Scar,” Grian says plainly.

Scar shakes his head, “Slurpees are still an important--nay--vital (vital, Gri) part of ghost hunting!”

Grian rolls his eyes, Impulse and Skizz snicker from the front. “You’re right about that, Scar,” Impulse remarks, and he spots Scar’s responding grin in the rear-view mirror.

“Oh! That reminds me,” Scar starts, leaning forward slightly, “Skizz? You still got a tummy ache?”

Skizz gives a dramatic but ultimately lighthearted groan, “Yeah, but I think this slurpee is gonna fix everything that's ever been wrong with me,” he says, the distant crackle of thunder almost drowning out Impulse’s responding laugh.

“That's a tall ask,” he says, flicking on the indicator once more.

“Hey!!!”

Impulse giggles, and they round a corner. And through the slight fog and rain of just-past-one-am, the bright, flickering 7-Eleven sign blinks into view. 

Scar pumps his fist, this close to bashing it into the car’s ceiling. 

Skizz wheezes and Impulse shoots Scar a concerned look, “Don't hurt yourself, Scar.”

Scar shakes his head, nearly bashing it into the window. If he noticed, Scar doesn't acknowledge it, choosing to carry on talking instead, “You underestimate me, Impulse. I'm far too much of a professional to fall for the car’s evil tricks.”

Grian snorts and Scar turns to him, playfully affronted.

“What? Grian, it’s true--!”

“What’re you talking about? I didn't say anything--”

“Y’know, if we were any further from the stop, I'd be concerned,” Impulse murmurs to Skizz, who snickers in response.

“I know, right?”

“What’s--what’re you talking about?” Scar asks, apparently halting in his bickering.

“Oh, nothing. don't worry about it.” Impulse smiles, turning into the bay.

“We’re only seconds away from sugary heaven, homies!”

“Skizz!”

And Impulse has barely stopped the car before the both of them begin to clamber out of Scar’s door.

“You could’a just--okay.” Impulse blinks then sighs, pushing the button by the door and climbing out himself.

The gas station doors slide open at Scar and Grian’s approach, and their shoes squeak on the scuffed linoleum as they scuttle in.

“Get me one too!” Impulse calls and Skizz spins around from halfway across the bay and shoots him a thumbs-up, smoothly walking backwards into the building. Impulse laughs and shakes his head, making to fill up the car.

Skizz turns around to see Scar immediately making a beeline for the slurpee machine in the back corner, who’s loosely followed by Grian.

As he reaches the machine, Scar tugs the sleeves of his jacket down over his hands and goes to grab one of the bigger cups from the stand. After a quick moment of consideration, flips the tab for a blue looking drink.

“Why are your slurpee cups so big,” Grian complains over the sputtering noises of the slurpee machine, frowning at the rows of cups, “This doesn't make sense.” 

“Whaddya mean?” Skizz asks, sidling up next to him.

“The medium size is as big as my face, Skizz,” he exclaims, “this is too much sugar to be healthy!”

Skizz chuckles and sighs, patting Grian on the shoulder, “Welcome to America, buddy.”

“America sucks, I wanna go back home.”

“Well, too bad! You're stuck with us, G!” Scar chimes in, momentarily pausing with shoving a lid onto his drink.

And while Scar and Grian bicker over whatever in the background, Skizz hesitates over Vanilla Cola and the Traditional Lemonade flavours for Impulse. He stares them down for a second before shrugging and flipping the tab for Vanilla Cola.

“Skizz, which one are you getting?” Grian asks after he finally selects a cup (the smallest option, of course).

“Raspberry and passionfruit, or whatever it's called,” he responds, long since decided, “What about you, G?”

“The only non-sugar one,” he groans, and Skizz snickers.

As they talk, the door to the gas station slides open with a quiet squeak. Impulse walks in, quickly spotting the rest of his team and making his way over, droplets of rain in his hair. “What's happenin’?” he asks, stepping beside Skizz.

“Got you Vanilla Cola,” Skizz explains, thrusting said drink into Impulse’s hands.

“Oooh, thanks.”

“Impulse!” Scar exclaims, interrupting him before he can take a sip, “Go pay for stuff so we can leave again.”

“Need not bother, dippledop!” Skizz says before Impulse can even think about protesting or fishing out his phone. “I’ll pay for us.”

“With what money?” Impulse asks.

“You shut up!!!” 

At that, Skizz digs through his pockets for a moment before he finds his phone. He blinks. The screen’s cracked more than usual and it doesn’t turn on when he presses the button. “It’s fine, it's fine,” he stresses at Impulse’s poorly disguised snort. “I was planning on paying with cash anyway.”

“Who still keeps a wallet on them nowadays? It's 2023 for pete's sake.” Impulse murmurs, only half sarcastic, as Skizz shoves his phone back into his pocket and sets about looking for his wallet.

“Skizz baby, that's who!!”

“...Who’s Pete?” Scar stage whispers, slurpee clutched close to his chest, leaning slightly closer to Grian, who giggles not-so-quietly in turn.

Skizz eventually retrieves his wallet with a celebratory ah-ha, brushing off the lint; some of it landing on his shoes. He opens it with a grin, which it immediately drops off his face. He upturns it, shaking the wallet out; more lint falls out.

Skizz takes a sharp breath and Impulse pats him sympathetically on the shoulder. “Maybe I should just pay for it?” he suggests.

“Yeah! Impulse is the sugar daddy, let him pay for the stuff,” Grian adds.

Skizz huffs, defeated, “You’re all a bunch of jerks…”

“Love you too, Skizz,” Scar says, draping an arm across Skizz's shoulders. “You know, if we were in like a cartoon,” he remarks, “A fly would’ve flown out of your wallet.”

And Skizz has barely enough time to choke on his laughter before Impulse hands his slurpee to him and walks over to pay for the drink, a sheepish look on his face.

They watch from halfway across the store as Impulse talks to the cashier, him laughing nervously as they don't return his smile.

Grian hums, “You know what I'm craving right now?” he says, swirling the straw in his cup and properly turning around to face Scar and Skizz.

“Slurpees?” Scar suggests, taking a sip of his.

“Ice cream?” Skizz asks, shifting the things in his hands so he doesn't drop them.

“Cheese.”

“Cheese,” Skizz echoes.

“Cheese.” Grian nods.

“Why--why cheese?”

Grian shrugs and takes a sip of his slurpee.

Skizz blinks at him.

Scar sighs wistfully, shaking his head, “If only they had a cheese flavour.”

“The hell are you guys talking about?” 

“Oh, Impulse!” Scar gasps, jumping a tad and dramatically clutching at his chest, “You scared the living scars outta me!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Impulse chuckles, taking steps towards the exit and jokingly beckoning the others to follow, “C’mon, we’ve got one more ghost-house to bust-ghost.”

“Oh, please tell me it isn't another prison,” Grian gripes, falling into step beside him.

Impulse laughs, “Not exactly.”

“What? The hike school?” Skizz asks as he and Scar catch up.

“Nooo, no more walking today,” Scar stresses, and Grian nods.

Impulse huffs, unlocking the car doors, “I know, I know. The ghost-house this time is one of those suburban-y ones.”

“One of the ones by the beach?”

“That's the one.”

“Woop!”

[hptx7777]

Kind of Secret Life spoilers

Lizzie becoming our canary like Jimmy

Seablings but make it canary

Mumbo can join so the three of them become the wettest cats of the Life series /j

The fact Jimmy was so ecstatic about how he isn’t the first out INFRONT OF JOEL,, also Joel quite literally lost his close friend, wife and ally in one session in the span of like 20 minutes

Mumbo was just having a terrible episode from the strider to then his own fence posts he used to stop Martyn who then were how he couldn’t run away quick enough and get killed by the Warden

He literally speedran from being proper secure to literally out the series, probably a first lol

Also Jimmy was having such a good antagonistic session last time too dude you were over 35 hearts and somehow still died?? Well the trend of Jimmy dying when the reds start dropping still exist so. I would of loved to have seen Skizz and Jimmy ‘dance’ but It was so dramatic lmao

Joel technically was the reason Lizzie died. Had he not told her to hunt Scott down she wouldn’t be first out,, yeah man that sucks you caused your wife to die that must suck really bad

Joel mourning and being depressed about his wife dying: 😭

Jimmy right in front of him: 🤩🥳😆😁😄

[sheasshovel]

HEAR ME OUT

Scar as Apollo and Gem as Artemis…

Starting with Gem;

-HER ANTLERS!! Deer are sacred animals to Artemis and she is also the goddess of the moon and thats so shiny duo crumbs (pearl as the moon).

-Pearl could also work as a follower of Artemis though because of her disastrous double life relationship with Scott. Followers of Artemis swore off love and lived a life of chaste, which aligns well with Pearl having forgiven Scott after she won but never having the same relationship with him that she had in Last Life.

-Artemis herself also swore off love of any kind.. and guess who wasn’t there for Double life for a soul bound?

-Her only Allies in sl, besides the moon herself, were Scott and Impulse. Both of which could work as devout followers of Artemis because of their rejection of their own respective soulmates. Scott acknowledges his past lovers as his exes and never (to my knowledge) expresses wanting to get back with them. Impulse, too, never hesitated to attack the mounders even if they had Bdubs on their side. Impulse and Bdubs had a great relationship in Double Life but I like to think that, for this theory to work, they’ve just decided to keep that relationship in Dl.

-Besides the moon, Artemis is also a symbol of the hunt which is exactly what she did in sl sessions 7-8; hunt people down with the aid of the moon. Imagine moonlight illuminating her path as she stalks her prey….

Scars turn;

-Now, Apollo isn’t the god of the Sun (that would be Helios… or Grian in this case) but rather of sunlight, but the sun is still a huge symbol of him. Not to go all desert duo on you but the crumbs are there. Scar also covers himself in sunflowers in sl, a flower known to always be facing the sun, basking in its light. It’s worth mentioning that Scar was only close to winning when he and the Sun were inseparable in 3rd life, and he actually won when he was faced with the symbol of the moon and the moon herself.

-This is more silly but Apollo is highly connected with musical arts (specifically the lyre) and could you imagine if that scene where Grian and Scar were singing together wasn’t just Scar being oblivious but instead Apollo using any chance he can get to showcase his musical talent to the Sun?

-Apollo’s gift of Prophecy… Scar “we all die in the end” would be more prophetic if we all collectively gaslight ourselves into believing that he died after hitting succeed on his task. But in these death games, everyone knows by now how it ends. I think Scar acknowledging this is somehow foreshadowing how he wins though; by murdering everyone who stands in his way, not accepting sacrifices and turning on his temporary allies the second its clear that it would benefit him. When he said everyone would die he truly meant EVERYONE would die, and a majority will die to him or his twin (Artemis).

-Apollo and Artemis are both known for using Archery, but Scar is literally Hotguy come on now. His last kill was an arrow to Pearl that knocked her off of a cliff, an ARROW at the MOON. Scar is an incredibly skilled bow user and I would include this in Gem’s part too but I’m pretty sure she’s gotten more kills on sl by sword.

-Lastly, the Muses. Apollo, being the god of arts and music, was the choir leader of the 9 muses on Olympus. Now, Scar was never friends with more than 2 people at a time in the life series but lets look at his kills instead. In session 9 alone, he got 6 Permakills and 2 assists (Big B and Skizz) which brings us up to 8. Not enough but he lasted for 9 sessions, which is pretty cool if you interpret every session as a muse. Each session’s task being a huge influence on how Scar acts, even if he fails the task.

I think the 9 muses, Gem’s preferred weapon, and Apollo’s connection to medicine and Scar’s lack thereof are the weakest parts of this delusional rant but I still love the idea of the final battle in sl featuring the moon rejecting Artemis and a battle between the Twins. Apollo winning only after destroying the moon herself, who lost her will to win after the events of Dl. Apollo having once been allied with the Sun, and the Moon once having her win handed to her by her soulmate. Anyways Shinyduo Desertduo and Scar/Pearl narrative foils real and true.

[tubbytarchia]

Some Tango, rancher and Etho (!?) thoughts as I finished up Tango's POVs for 3rd, Limited and Secret Life

I've said it before and I'll say it again, it is near empty in this skull of mine so bear with my poor analysis skills if you can call it that. This is walls of text that I'm not expecting anyone to fully read but it's nice to get my own thoughts in order for the future, somewhat!

ahem Tango thoughts

Tango's loyalty KILLS ME. Similarly to Impulse in 3rd Life he recognizes the value in allyship but struggles to maintain any concrete ones, and then goes from a double agent to someone playing all sides, but even so, whoever his allies are at a given moment, unless he's been severely wronged by them, he's straight devoted to them. He seems to switch on a dime in 3rd life going from team to team, but that's not because of lack of care and he puts his best foot forward for them anyway. He wants to be trusting of and trusted by Etho even after their alliance strains, he was quick to defend the Crastle and offer reassurance to Cleo even after declaring the Crastle to be his enemies, he fought against Dogwarts alongside Impulse, refusing to back off even when it became certain death after Impulse died, etc

He might have a tendency to die stupid deaths but he did seem to have his value recognized unlike Last Life, where he was allied with the same people for almost all of it. He sacrificed a lot for team BEST to ultimately get no more than a pat on the back. I already made a post about this but I'm not gonna shut up about it!! The way he kind of gets tossed around begrudgingly when he's very rightfully upset about Dbubs killing him, and others just keep joking about his anger and treating him as dispensable, ahh it saddens me. Skizz WAS nice to him but even he, in the end, came over to try and threaten and intimidate Tango once he was red. Reds in Last Life took the breaking of any previous alliances seriously, as did Tango once he was also red, but even so

Then ofc Double Life <3

And in Limited and Secret Life he seems to have his value largely recognized again and is able to secure good teams, to whom, again, he's SO loyal to. He always has been, ever since 3rd Life and even in Last Life after the boogie incident. I don't think he ever wronged his teammates in ANY substantial way. He very openly made a deal for Scar to kill BDubs and that's probably the worst he's done, and even then, not like Scar did a very good job... But Tango is also someone who often talks big game (eg "oh just wait until I'm red" etc) only to not be very fatal to anyone. He threatened BDubs a lot but ultimately, hardly harmed him

Tango's devotion is undying and he really wants to trust people. He'd rather put up with team BEST making fun of his rightful anger than leave or harm them, and he's quick to join back up with the Crastle because he wants people by his side. He makes himself a good asset to prove his trustworthiness, if even subconsciously, because he certainly trusts whoever he manages to settle with first. I was kind of surprised at how much faith he had in team TIES as he was being hunted down by the entire server for being the last green name. He hardly ever doubted them and wasn't afraid to immediately come out of hiding upon finding them (and ofc then sacrificing himself for Skizz)

Tango's response to combat is VERY often to cower away somewhere. Maybe he's just being cautious but nevertheless his immediate reaction tends to be to back away, and he's admitted many times himself that he just hesitates. I think this has happened a few times but in LimL in particular he called Etho out for fleeing combat when the Bad Boys attacked them and the Clockers, even though Tango did basically the exact same thing. As if he doesn't even always realize when he's cowering off to the side? But seeing the ways that he usually gets himself killed, yeah! Understandable! Lol. And yet when things get dicey, he more often than not goes against this nature to abstain. Third Life, instead of fleeing from a battle against 3(4?) people once Impulse dies, he goes back in and dies. Last Life, he takes one for the team by charging at a minecart (though granted, in the moment he didn't seem to think it'd kill him, he did charge in without much thought). Limited Life, he refuses to disengage and gets himself killed in his pursuit of Scar instead of eating to heal from his half a heart of health and Secret Life.... oh ho ho

Tango's not as literally sacrificial as Skizz or Scott, and he might not be very good at protecting his friends due to his tendency to abstain from combat (because he's not much good at it so again, understandable) but he's very firm about who his friends are and man, does he do his best. 9/10 times he makes a good effort at best (lest we forget, the man has gotten very few legit kills across all five seasons) but then there are times like when he physically put himself between Etho and Martyn in LimL when Etho called for his help, even when it looked like Tango was trying to maintain distance from the confrontation. And Secret Life...!!!

First of all, got half the server to support him in the last session by giving him hearts ofc, very nice, very cute, very deserved. But secondly, I will not stop thinking about him going against Scar's deal. He was so very adamant about not hurting, let alone killing Skizz and very begrudgingly accepted Scar's offer for a heart in exchange for him swiping Skizz once. Only for Tango to start attacking Scar later, proclaiming that he could never betray Skizz. My condolences to Scar but fuck yeah, king shit!! He showcases his loyalty again but also just straight up initiates combat and goes at it for a bit. Like many times before he just gets kinda feisty as things get closer to the end, I suppose! Even when he doesn't really have many hearts to spare. I'm here for this

I have thoughts about Etho and him specifically too but thats below

Rancher thoughts

Firstly just some rancher moments that I'm sure all the rancherers already have seared into their brains but I'm noting them for me because I've seen them for the first time now:

Jimmy in LimLife, all bad boy, hits Tango and then immediately turns around to apologize to his rancher

When Tango gets blown up by Joel, upon returning, Jimmy bombards Tango with questions about how it went down

And it stuck out to me because it reminded me so much of the way Jimmy tries to inquire Tango about the amount of hearts he dealt to him in Secret Life (and ofc Tango being all indirect with his replies which ends up sounding like some strange off-brand flirting). Also Tango intentionally running into Jimmy's TNT and then sticking around him instead of fleeing. Also also "I like seeing Tango's reaction when he sees me, it's nice, he makes these weird sounds". That entire ordeal in session 5 is such gold

When Skizz is doing his affirmation thing with Jimmy in LimL, Tango and Impulse eavesdrop and Tango jokes about how embarrassing that was and that he needs to throw up right to their faces. And the way Jimmy had absolutely zero hostile reaction whatsoever. Even when it quieted down and he thanked Skizz, Skizz referred to "those idiots" and Jimmy's all "what idiots?" lmao. But then maybe he was just too taken aback by Skizz's kindness (of course he's also in on the jokes and doesn't always play up the upset factor, but I mean, it WAS his rancher very loudly voicing his disgust), which breaks my heart just a wee bit after all the kindness he got from Tango just one series prior, the same Tango who barely partakes in all the jokes going around at Jimmy's expense. But then, it's not like he made any direct jabs at Jimmy, I don't think he ever has but I might be wrong? And was playfully disgusted by the corny interaction in general, including Skizz

Ok I knew of this one but Jimmy interrogating Tango when his task was to talk to Torchy, but also I just love it so much that Flower Husbands is kind of in the mix too with Scott telling Jimmy to do the thing, for Jimmy to then attempt to do the thing, then defend Tango to Scott's face, to then attempt to do the thing again and get it completely wrong even though Scott knew exactly what Tango's task was and gave Jimmy all the pieces

Pearl giving Tango a pity flower only for Jimmy to immediately walk over and accidentally pick it up. Reminds me of when the same happened with baked potatoes in DL

I don't actually have a lot to add here for the rancher stuff, except that I think it's neat how the nature of Tango's alliances aligned? Which I just went into detail about but I think it's poetic that it went from Tango struggling to find one sure alliance, to Tango being in a mostly stable alliance but his worth largely unrecognized, to assigned soulmate ranchers, where Jimmy gave him all the affirmation in the World, even as the others made fun of them, and then Tango having very dependable alliances since then. Something something the way Jimmy rightfully supported Tango, seeing him for all his worth, and then Tango not having to settle for (much) less since then. That's just the way things happened to go but hey, I don't know about you but I see fanfic material and stuff about Jimmy leaving a mark on the course of Tango's Life series, or something

Going back to the Skizz affirmation thing for a moment too, I think it's also neat to compare how good he is at voicing intricate affirmation vs, well, Tango. Jimmy seemed so very genuinely touched by Skizz's kindness, something he obviously isn't subjected to a lot, except for Tango in Double Life with all his ornately worded "Great job!"s and "You're awesome!"s. That's just the thing that I love about ranchers sooo much that they're hardly ever graceful in what they do or say, more just bundles of strong emotions than anything, but they mesh oh so perfectly

suddenly Etho thoughts

Unrelated to ANYTHING but Etho's so cute!! Like ok, what else is new but ahh, just stuck out to me, probably because Tango keeps getting allied with him one or another way for half the seasons. I grinned so widely each time he went around "team meeting, team meeting!" or "banana!" in his small voice, and for me, nothing so far has topped the moment of him running into the TIES group, yelling for someone to help him craft some powered rails

Ok anyway it was SO nice to see his undying loyalty towards Tango in LimLife after what happened in 3rd and Last Life. It reminds me so much of his heartwrenching loyalty in Secret Life where he absolutely refused to give away his teammates' locations even as the success of his task depended on it. In the manhunt in session 4, the one person who saw Tango, completely vulnerable before he could continue his escape attempt was Etho, and the WAY Etho doesn't have immediate vocal reactions like so many of the other lifers do and can just stay silent is soo. I don't know man. It works wonders to make him intimidating but then there's also moments like this, the way he stays totally silent on more than one occasion so as not to risk betraying his teammates, and when he does speak, it's to give false information or whatever it takes to protect them. And just as with Cleo and Grian, in LimL with Tango, he was defending the last remaining green/s! That adds absolutely nothing lmao just an observation that I felt the need to point out

In Secret Life Tango and Etho also team up somewhat at the very end, at which Tango says "I'll carry you, as usual" which is a line that tickles me. Like, true, Tango has done a lot for Etho in their previous alliances but in LimL, it felt a lot more balanced, if not the other way around altogether. Again, the manhunt!! Not that Etho's attempt to misguide the others helped at all, but it's the sentiment that matters... Etho had Tango's back all throughout LimL and that makes me so happy. deserved

[captainschaos]

It's always been Etho and Skizz.

When the seventh session begins, the two stand together, and without speaking they know they are each revisiting their matching sides of corresponding memories. The clock ticks as always, growing and louder and more sinister with the crimson hue of their names. They're running out of time. But they've been here before.

The Red Army runs over the fields, banners flying, shields held high. Skizz and Etho are beside each other, two soldiers, two brothers. In that time they could be how they truly were. The reaper, not just ferrying dead for duty, but able to look his fellows in the eye, to stand on even ground and be in the middle of it all. The fae, empowered to both place his traps, his trickery and watchful eye repaying each slight he'd been paid through the games, along with the fun of the chase. They smile at each other as they run with the Army. Always watching each other's backs. Always together.

This session, they're on the hunt. Etho especially, even though Skizz's clock ticks louder than his. Etho doesn't like to let it show, but he's far more bothered by it than the reaper. Skizz is used to being so near to death. Etho envies it, in many ways, but he just feels trapped when he doesn't have a safety net between him and the end of his run in the games. But if nothing else, even when his hunt fails, Skizz keeps coming back. If nothing else, Skizz can be a soften the blow.

It's always been Skizz and Etho.

They stand together in the Hero's Hideout, arms crossed, meeting each other's eyes across the room as Tango and Bdubs scream at each other in the middle. Even separated by the quarrel, they're together. Because that's a truth that supersedes so much, a truth that can be relied on. When Skizz turns red, even when he threatens what remains of Team BEST, Etho knows he'd never really hurt them. It feels temporary, if nothing else. They were red before, they'll reunite on red again.

Which made it feel like a stab to the gut when Skizz died before Etho ever got there.

This session, Skizz has a duty to finish. He wants to hunt, and he does, when he can, but the kindness he can give will always be more important to him than the blood he can spill. After it, when he's delivered the words the others deserve, he stands alone on his tower and looks over the server. Maybe he did it. He made a safe place, one of warmth and protection and maybe, just maybe, some sort of hope. He's always envied the guardian angels. But maybe he's managed to do what they do in his own right.

Now it's down to Etho.

He'd had to get used to it in Double Life. He's had to get used to it in Third Life and Last Life too, but only at the end, only when chaos had broken loose and he was too busy fighting to save his skin to sink into it. But in Double Life, Skizz was never there to begin with. But still, it was different. The alliances were picked for them, unless you were Cleo and Scott, so he didn't need to worry about it as much. But still, every moment Skizz wasn't there, it felt like something was missing. Etho felt exposed, vulnerable and unshielded without the reaper's wings at his back. Maybe that's why he'd been so willing to partake in Joel's fury, to hunt wildly and recklessly. Without his guardian angel, there was no being safe, was there?

Now it's down to Etho.

The group is waiting for him when he gets to Windsor, and he just has to look at Skizz to know. His eyes are a deep, darkening, fading crimson, and his proud wings hang almost limp behind him. His sharp halo is so faint it's barely visible, and Etho knows. But he refuses to believe it at first, can't help but be shocked as Skizz starts to take off his armor, hand Etho anything he thinks the fae might want, and put the ax in Etho's hands.

As the seventh session rapidly approaches its end, Etho and Skizz are standing in the same memories. All the time they've spent together here, the shared hunts, the fight against the clock. Their time in Last Life, trying to make the server a better place, trying to be heroes. And their time in Third Life. Fighting under the same banner, in the same army. Under the same king, who Etho knows Skizz is thinking about as he bows his head and bares his neck.

You're a stand-up guy, Etho tells Skizz. You're better than me. You're kind, you're strong, you're good. Just like the guardian angels you've always wanted to be. I love everything about you, Etho tells Skizz. I'm going to miss you. I've loved every moment with you. I love you. I just wish you were better at this game, Etho tells Skizz. I wish you were more like me. I wish you could win, I wish your kindness weren't a weakness, here. I wish you'd be playing with me longer.

And then he swings.

And even his faeish ears don't hear Skizz's response through the stifled tears.

Now... it's just Etho. And the clock keeps ticking, even as Skizz's last moments flow into Etho's timepiece.

Guess he'll have to get used to it again.

[There will be one of these for each week! This is 7/?]

First // Previous // Next (when updated)

[minecraftbookshelf]

Traffic Life Scars: Smallishbeans

All updates will be made to this post specifically as we get new seasons and new final deaths.

Welcome to my series of MS Paint diagrams following the headcanon/concept that every minecraft death leaves a scar, and while most of those do not continue past the end of the server, the final deaths leave permanent marks on the cubito. (And also some other deaths that have significant impact on the story, the cubito, or both, these are extremely rare.) I did take some creative license with the deaths, mostly in the sense of figuring out how to handle Fall Damage in a slightly more realistic context, as well as figuring out approximately where final blows would land based on the respective positioning of the cubitos in question. This project has also shown some interesting patterns in how some of them tend to die. On with the show!

Third Life: Ren killed him in the desert with The Skizz Blade, orphaning his wolves in the process. Joel was turned away from him when the final blow was dealt and he came from the side, so the location of the scar reflects that, angled the way it is because Ren is taller than Joel.

Last Life: He died to a splash potion of instant damage from Scott when the late-game reds were hunting him and Grian down and he was cornered by Scott and Ren in an ironic twist on how Third Life went for the three of them.

Double Life: He and Etho came back from the Nether to a portal that had been trapped with lava and they burned to death. Etho died first so Joel's scars are a little lighter since they are technically from a phantom death, even though he was receiving more or less the exact same injuries at the exact same time.

Limited Life: He was shot from below by Scott, given their respective positioning I thought it made sense for him to get hit under the chin.

Secret Life: Listen. Listen. Listen. I watched Joel's death so many times from so many povs. No one got the hearts from his death. Not Gem, not Scott, not Scar. So it was one of Scott’s wolves that did the final damage that cost him his life. Something something narrative parallels something something Third Life.

Real Life: Joel got cornered in the mineshaft by the Red Army Reunion Tour and while trying to fend off Skizz and Ren on one side was killed by Martyn who came in from the other. Third Life can stop haunting the narrative quite so strongly any day now fr.

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[Bdoubleo100] [Bigbst4tz2] [Ethoslab] [Geminitay] [GoodTimesWithScar] [Grian] [ImpulseSV] [InTheLittleWood] [LDShadowlady] [Mumbo Jumbo] [PearlescentMoon] [Rendog] [Skizzleman] [Smajor1995] [SolidarityGaming] [TangoTek] [ZombieCleo]

SERIES TAG

[mcwhytubers]

i think skizz is gonna kill people no matter what this next session once he hits yellow but I’m really hoping he get boogey and hunts them down

it’ll also be hilarious if he got boogey in the half hour before he turns yellow and instantly kills someone because they think he’s not a threat yet (while also mirroring the two ways he died last session)