#hels! martyn

[silverskye13]

For a hurt/comfort idea, how about the Red King treating Martyn after he gets back from the rooftop escapades with Tanguish? Poor guy is really not used to roof running and was probably all kinds of sore and bruised from the experience.

To say Martyn walked himself down the cells would be an overstatement of his ability, at the current moment. Being tired, hels, being exhausted were feelings he wasn't exactly used to, but was at least familiar with. Every warrior at some point pushes themselves a little too far and pulls a muscle or breaks a bone, and has to spend long hours recovering even after the health potion hits. But damn, the rooftop running was a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Martyn still didn't know how in the hels Tanguish had intended to keep running.

"Just two more streets and it's a straight shot to the Colosseum--"

Bullshit. Just two more streets and Martyn would drop dead, more like. Everything hurt now. Everything. Of course his arms and legs. But also his back, his ribs, his teeth and jaw. Bracing for impact -- and then actually impacting -- had jangled more than just his nerves. Also every time he took a step on his left leg, pain went shooting through his hip. Also his fingernails hurt. His fingernails. From gripping ledges and shit. Gods and saints, he hurt in places he didn't even know you could hurt! The heels of his feet felt bruised.

He was bleeding too -- no stab wounds, thank the gods. But he'd taken a cut to one arm, and a cut near his ribs where a stab had tried its best to be fatal and he twisted. The cuts were the easiest to deal with, oddly enough. He was used to that kind of harm from the Colosseum. Right now they itched, and made his clothes feel gross and sticky. They would sting when he cleaned them later.

Ugh. He didn't want to take a bath. If he sat down in the water, he really didn't think he'd be able to stand up again.

Martyn blinked, a motion that somehow made the back of his head ache. Stress maybe, or just the unharmed parts of his body getting jealous of all the complaining the rest of him was doing. In front of him, his cell door wavered in and out of focus, his tired eyes denying him sight unless he really, really concentrated. Martyn sighed and opened his door. Then he realized he couldn't open his door, because he locked it when he left. He tried in vain to remember the passcode for his key.

He couldn't remember the passcode for his key.

"Bloody hels," Martyn scowled and kicked his door, and yelped when he felt the kick travel all the way up his leg to sink hooks into his hip. He hopped on one foot, waiting for the tenderness to subside, only for his other knee to decide to stop cooperating. With an inglorious shout and tumble, Martyn crumpled to the ground in a heap of sore muscles and bitter bones.

"Bloody hels!" Martyn whined, drawing out the phrase into a howl that, while unhelpful, at least made him feel a little less frustrated. Martyn lay on the ground, taking some solace in the heat radiating up from the floor. It sank through his coat and into his bones, taking some of the edge off his soreness. He knew if he lay here too long, he would get stiff, and standing would become a crippling labor.

He couldn't bring himself to stand.

Martyn had resigned himself to his fate of sleeping in the middle of the hallway, when the tip-tapping of clawed feet pulled at his attention. Martyn didn't have to see Red coming down the hall. He would always recognize those footsteps. The odd incongruence of muffled paw pads and scraping claws was something that could only be his Lord.

Martyn tilted up his head to peer at Red as he came to a stop in front of his door. Martyn and Red's cells were side-by-side, and Red already had his hand resting on his door, long claws keying through the combination lock Martyn had insisted he keep locked when he was out. With the habit of long memorization, Red keyed it in, opened his door--

-- and stopped just as he took one step over the threshold. The long, wolf-like ears twitched and swiveled. He tilted his head, the blinding crown, pulled low over his eyes, glinting in the dim light.

"Am I really breathing that loud?" Martyn asked sardonically.

Red wrinkled his nose in a confused expression and looked down. He couldn't really meet Martyn's gaze with the crown on, but he nearly did.

"Me Hand," Red said, his voice a low rumble, "how come thee to the ground in our hall?"

"Just dropped something, my Lord."

"Aye? And... What be it that you have dropped, me Hand?"

"Myself, mostly."

Red snorted half of a laugh. Then he sniffed, and sniffed again, and asked, "Why do ye smell of blood and..." He gave another long sniff, his nose wrinkling at whatever the smell was. "Be that... roof tiles?"

"You're uncanny, you know that?" Martyn asked. When Red only waited patiently for a response, he added, "That would be because I got in a knife fight on a roof, my Lord."

"Me Hand."

"Yes, m'Lord?"

"Be ye possessed by a particularly knife-fond soul of a pigeon? Or be ye so bored with the errands ye run, that ye must make challenge for yourself?"

"I don't think that question deserves an answer."

"Need ye help, Hand?"

"What? Me? No," Martyn waved a dismissive hand, and even managed not to wince when he did it. "I'm just... Resting. Give me five minutes I'll be up, quick as a wink."

Red gave him a long-suffering sigh. He reached up to his iron crown, gently wrapping claws around it to begin lifting it away from his eyes. The moment his fingers touched the metal, whispering sprang to life in the air around them, and the lights in the hallway reddened. Martyn tried to get his arms underneath himself to shove himself upwards.

"Woah hey don't that's not-- you don't have to do that--!"

Martyn pushed up, let out an inglorious wince of a noise when his whole body shrieked its chorus of aches, and promptly fell back over into his side.

Red lifted the crown off of his eyes, pushing it back onto his head where it flattened his long ears uncomfortably. He fixed bright, glowing red eyes on Martyn, bloody tears drifting from his eyes to fizzle I to nothing in the air around his face. The whispering intensified into barks, growls and howls, noises that sat just on the other side of true hearing and made the insides of Martyn's ears itch and burn.

Red looked Martyn over, taking in his harms with a cold, eldritch stare. Red had a demon in him. Something to do with black altars and Hermits on death worlds and sacrifice. When the crown was off, the demon stalked forward, and Martyn could see it now, writhing behind Red's eyes, a caged and hungry thing made of teeth and claws and baleful intent.

"Me hand," Red hummed, his voice a resonant double as the demon barked and growled his words along with him. Martyn marvelled that such an evil thing could shriek behind his Lord's voice, and yet still couldn't lessen the depth of concern and care in Red's tone. "Do not hide your harms from me. Ye ken I would give ye the world if ye only asked it."

With that, Red stooped and gathered Martyn up in his arms. So close to the demon, Martyn felt like his bones were vibrating. He felt like, if he could listen hard enough, he might be able to hear whatever the howling thing whispered when it wasn't gliding along the edges of Red's voice. Curiosity compelled him to ask what the demon thought of him, what it whispered to Red in the dark hours sealed behind the crown. Mindfulness told him he already knew what the demon whispered. It was a suspicious creature born of fear, after all.

It was not the demon that carried Martyn into his Lord's room though, no matter how loudly it barked around Red's eyes. Martyn liked the way the demon made Red look. A long red smear followed his Lord when he moved, trailing him in phosphorescence that reminded him of neon signs leaking their plasma. Sometimes he thought something, and the thoughts would turn into visible sparks that danced and jittered like absentminded lightning, his very essence a long exposure ribboned across the world.

Martyn was so transfixed watching it, he didn't realize Red had brought him to his bed until he was being laid gently on it. Then Red reached up to his crown and lowered it over his eyes again, and with a final barking growl, the demon vanished off Red like it had never been. His Lord diminished before his eyes, small, weary and contained -- but more his Lord than he had been when the demon was awake.

"You're uncanny," Martyn said breathlessly, his voice full of adoration.

"I be only what I must," Red hummed, leaning down to kiss Martyn gently on the forehead. He smelled of blood and winter, and his kiss was cold. "And ye be resting where I can keep ye safe."

"Who's going to hurt me down here?" Martyn chuckled, though he sunk into Red's bed gratefully. He had the softest pillows in hels, of that Martyn was convinced.

"Perchance a stray roof tile may swear vengeance upon thee and thy household for thy offence," Red grinned. He lumbered to a dresser and pulled out a rag and some bandages, and after some feeling around the room, returned with a ewer of water as well. He helped Martyn to sit, and with great care removed his coat and shirt, and began tending to his wounds.

"You're not supposed to do this part," Martyn informed Red. "I'm supposed to take care of you, my Lord."

"Aye, but how will ye take care of me when ye be in pieces?" Red asked patiently. When he finished cleaning the cut on Martyn's arm, he kissed just above the spot. A ritual. Something to seal the healing. "Tend to me as I tend to thee, and if my care be lacking, me Hand, leave me to bleed, as I deserve."

"I would never," Martyn breathed, and he meant it.

Red finished cleaning the cut on his side, and kissed him there too. Martyn squirmed at the closeness of breath somewhere vital. He knew Red would never betray him -- it was not in his Lord's nature -- but the paranoid creature that made Martyn him screamed that he would be so, so easy to kill right now, and Red's claws and teeth were sharp. And, though Red would never dream of harming him while he was vulnerable, he was sure the demon would, if given the chance. The demon had done it before.

The demon was not the one who eased Martyn back into the bed, and drew blankets over him. Nor was it the demon that traced a gentle claw over his arm, drawing patterns and symbols into his skin as he hummed, and soothed Martyn to sleep.

It was Red, his Red, who curled up beside him when finally sleep took him, his head resting gentle on the hollow of Martyn's collar, matching their breaths. It was Red, his Red, who hummed quietly for long hours, and brought him cold compresses when he woke in the night too sore to stay asleep. It was Red, his Red, who kept him safe.

The loyalty of a dog and the master who keeps watch for it, Martyn would think, wry and sardonic, as sleep came for him again. I would rather be a hound than a squire, I think.

[jestroer]

So uh yeah, Redstone and Skulk by @silverskye13 is definitely my favourite fic ive ever read and im totally normal about it. And here's some character designs! :D

[aries-of-spades]

AYY guess who finished the thing!!

So, somehow in just under a month, I put together an animated/animatic movie trailer for Redstone and Skulk(a really awesome fic on AO3) by @silverskye13

I'm actually pretty proud of how it came out, seeing as I've never made an animatic before. And it was really fun to plot it out, record the voicelines, and mix all the sound elements. So I definetly want to do other animatics in the future.

[aquaquadrant]

So you mentioned hels!Martyn slightly in another ask and I just need to know one thing.

Is his laughter fucked up?

Story behind this ask is Skizz's Lim life affirmations and him telling Martyn how much he loves Martyn's laughter and how contagious it is.

So is Martin's laugh fucked up? Is it the most eerie and unnatural sound that will haunt your nightmares? I need to know.

ooooh u know what, i like that for him. i can get behind that.

imagine being alone in a dark forest, woken by the sound of howling. you scramble for a torch just in time to see a giant wolf towering over you, bloody teeth bared in a snarl, and perched on its shoulders- among the broken points of old arrows and swords from fallen players- is a man, and the last thing you hear before the wolf’s jaws close around you is shrill, manic laughter.

[hermitcraftkinfessions]

Just coming to say, I've infiltrated, yall let me in like, 2, 3 times, now all my non fictionkin friends that are just getting into hermitcraft, think I'm one of yall. They think I'm a hermit.

-a Martyn littlewood where he's not supposed to be

y'know it be like that sometimes, assigned hermit by friends!!

-Mod hels

[herculeese]

Mmmm.

Martyn doesn't know how to math [Cleo died because of that fact]

What do you mean Double Life was more than a year ago!??? WHAT DO YOU MEAN??

Also bonus Pearl

[lunarcrown]

Imagine if hels martyn was like his anime inspired avatar turned up to 11

And that’s how he gives the watchers an interesting show because he uses flashy lights loud music and bright colors (blinding neon green)

He can have a very impractical anime inspired fighting style that involves needless jumps and twirling for the sole purpose of looking cool for an audience 

HAHAH yessss he’s SO flashy and extreme (ANYTHING for the ‘fans’……)

aqua talked a little about him in this ask here and I actually started drawing Smth WAY BACK that’s still sitting in WIP status but MR ONTHEBIGGERLOG HIMSELF!!!

(With all his long anime hair) (and Rend :} )

[darkaviarymc]

Ok but imagine how funny it would be if the other shadow in Martyn.

Martyn and Ren being "normal" about each other? Doc jealousy? We KNOW from experience that Hels hath no fury like a goat father scorned. It all started when Martyn touched my Rendog.

The first war of HC10 is Martyn and Doc fighting over Ren.

Someone (probably Skizz or Scar) points out that "Doc Martens" are boots and something something feet. Grian immediately logs off once this is said and goes on vacation to Niagara Falls without telling anyone.

[deityoftherain]

Traffic Life Superpowers AU Memes pt.1

Under the cut are a bunch of memes and silly character dynamic posts that I've made for my au, some from the perspective of being in universe making memes about their city's local superpower scene on the internet and some by us in our reality, under the cut that I posted in my discord server. There are spoilers for the fanfics in the series above, you have been warned!

Name Quick Guide hero villain vigilante/other civilian (look at #traffic life superpowers au or click on their name for more information on their powers and etc)

Tango is a vigilante named Phoenix Scott is a villain named Starflower Pearl is a villain named Scarlet Moon Lizzie is a hero named Shadowlady Etho is a hero named Slab Joel is a hero named Helter Skelter, or Hel Skel for short Skizz is a semiretired hero named Skizzleman BigB is more of a semiretired, private sector hero named Tip Martyn is a villain named Knight Ren is a villain named The Red King Cleo is more of a floater but is working with the heroes as of now named Zomblaze

Grian is a civilian working for the Traffic City Hero Agency as a therapist Scar is a civilian working at an animal shelter that he owns

Scarlet Moon and Starflower are a villain duo called "Galaxy Duo" The Red King and his Knight are a villain duo called "Dogwarts" Shadowlady, Slab, and Helter Skelter are a hero team that often work together

more memes

even more memes

masterpost

I love them all dearly <333

[katkat030]

Hermitcraft/Life Series Fic Recs!!!

I am absolutely insane about so many of these and I genuinely can't recommend them enough. Like the post that inspired this, I'll probably tag authors if I know their Tumblr urls, but please let me know if you want me to remove any and I will!

Fair warning that most of these have shipping!

-

But oh, the bloom by @sillyfairygarden (read here) ongoing.

Ough. Whimsy, Pearlescentmoon, the best version of desertduo I've ever read, and indecipherable sounds of me screaming. If there's one fic I ever want people to read, it's this one. There's a reason I'm putting this first, as much as I hate to pick favourites! Warning: you may will fall in love with the story. Possibly my favourite author - cannot recommend their works enough <3 (The Champion's Banquet also made me go not just a little insane)

It's an absolute necessity to highlight the tags on this one: blows a kiss to the sky. for all my pearliemoon lovers searching for wonder and whimsy in the world around you // Now with more angst! // a man leaves the life he loved to explore the beauty of the world

More fic recs under the cut!

you came at the brink of the end of the world by Anonymous/ @louiessleeplessnights (read here) ongoing.

I don't know how to even begin describing this. I think it made me fall in love with Boatem all over again. It's hilarious, sad, beautiful, Scar calls Grian trouble, they're both idiots and in love, and it's everything I'd look for in a published novel and so much more. This fic permanently altered my brain chemistry and I cannot recommend it enough times. SO SO SO well written. Warning: it's rated explicit, but a few updates ago it was just mature - chapter 20 and the first half of chapter 21 are the ones you might want to skip if that's not your jam! It's just kissing but it gets... a bit heated lmao.

An excerpt from the description:

[grian is falling from the sky, scar has more magic in his blood than he realized, and everyone else is so much better at seeing than they are]

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Redstone and Skulk by @silverskye13 (read here) ongoing.

Once again lost on how to describe this. Could I leave it at "please please please please read it I love it so much", by any chance? The worldbuilding is so fleshed out, probably my favourite example of characterisation I've ever seen and the descriptions are everything.

Helsknight and Tanguish (the hels version of Tango) are the duo ever. There's no shipping in this, just intense platonic bonds and lifetime devotion featuring a cranky knight and a pathetic wet cat. I love them so much.

Excerpt from the description:

Tanguish is Tango's hels, and they get along a lot better than most hels and their hermits should. Unfortunately, the universe wasn't made to house both of them. Helsmets were made to return to their hermits eventually, making a complete person. Except what happens when the hels is the stronger of the two? What happens if they really don't want to be?

-

there are many downsides to being a marine biologist by donnerstag/ @martynsimp69 (read here) complete.

Unashamed to say I binge read this in exactly two days; 26 chapters, an epilogue, accompanying mermay oneshot collection (read here) and nearly crying later, I'm here to say you should totally check it out too. Because fis 🐠 and mermaid Martyn Warning: some unethical experimentation, and I think there's mention of alcohol.

-

Hot Tea by @tunastime (read here) complete.

The Ethubs fic ever (and the first one I ever read!) This is what introduced me to *gesturing vaguely* whatever the heck they have going on, and I haven't been the same since. Warning: brainrot.

I'm once again stealing something from the description since tumblr oh-so-helpfully destroyed half my draft:

“Let me over,” Bdubs says again, and as he sees Etho open his mouth in protest yet again, he lurches forward, stuttering out his words. He nearly knocks the tea out of his own hands. “Just—just for tonight. Just tonight.” Etho knows he has to divide the base between them. It's the only way to settle, now, knowing everything between them. How Bdubs shouldn't be there. Etho builds the fence. Etho divides them. And Etho divides himself in the process.

-

Between Us, We Have An Ocean by inkachu (read here) complete.

Only recommending this because it made me cry, and it's so well written. No shipping, just a foster care au in which Gem and Etho are... siblings. That doesn't even begin to cover how much the story really gripped me. It's soft, it's sweet, it's sad, it's amazing. Warning: I haven't cried while reading a book in probably a decade, and this is the one exception. Not to worry, I promise it won't hurt too much (saying how it ends would be a spoiler, but I promise the ending won't haunt you forever).

It's so gooood.

An excerpt from the description:

“My mum couldn’t take care of me, so she gave me to Canada.” Gem announced cheerily, swapping her red pencil for a yellow one, drawing what could only be a sun in the top corner of her page. “Then Canada found me a new mum.” Etho clicked his tongue. “Right.” “What about your mum?” “She uh, Couldn’t take care of me either. So I go to other people’s houses and they take care of me for her.”

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From the Archives by @sixteenth-days (read here) complete.

there's also an extra bunch of character studies/AUs/very cool bonus stories called From the Archives: Marginalia (read here) complete (?)

riverbed and mouse hole/black hole from Marginalia are my personal favourites. Playing around with like the physical structure of a text that way is super inspirational. I have all of the main fics downloaded to reread offline whenever I'm travelling/away from home! There's no need to know anything about The Magnus Archives to understand - personally I'd never heard of it before reading this. Also no shipping in the main fic :)

-

lost in the dark (he's got a heavy heart) by @definitelynotshouting (read here) (author's explanation of the premise here) ongoing.

Warning: I'll give the warning for this one straight up, there are heavy themes like suicide and depression - Grian is going through it! If you're going to read it at least heed the ao3 tags :)

I'm stealing an excerpt from the fic to explain this one:

This hunger is a low rumble deep at the core of him, steady in the same way one might test a newly healed bone. The kind of fragile after a respawn, when your skin has knit together but the echo of pain still lingers. It doesn't hold him hostage anymore– he can muster the strength to look past it, and that, out of everything that's happened to him over the past year, is what's most frightening.

-

Time to Kill Today by RimeThyme/ @going-to-the-sun (read here)

Featuring THE Ethubs song ever, some cool references to Mindcrack, and a really ineresting take on their relationship over the years. <33 read it, you won't regret it!

-

Laugh rule - list of titles that made me laugh, mainly oneshots

THE DIVORCE OF THE CENTURY by glossyblue/ @good-chimes (read here)

The Government Institute for Ghost Supervision (G.I.G.S.) by glossyblue (read here)

The Rules of Buttercup Camp by glossyblue (read here)

Dead Heat by glossyblue (read here)

Interlude from Another Reality: Married Life by sixteenthdays (read here)

-

Okay 2 more fic recs and I'm done, I promise xD

You Could've Applied Online by Anonymous (read here)

Actually hilarious and such fun to read! Stealing something from the description again:

Bdubs stuttered over his words, hand holding the knife tensing around the handle as he looked around the room. Was he being pranked? Did Scar do this? He couldn’t think of another conversation that had confused him more than this. Etho’s eyes crinkled around the edges, mouth subtly changing into what Bdubs imagined was a smile as he felt irritation creep into his mind. “You’re joking right now.” Another shift under the mask. He was definitely smiling now. “How’d you guess?” Or: Bdubs kills someone (on purpose), makes people angry (NOT on purpose), and somehow gets a boyfriend in the process. Or was he a bodyguard? Bdubs doesn't really know himself. Oh, and Etho just wants to pay his rent on time. Preferably without another dead roommate.

-

Spring Blossoms by Fire_Cat (read here)

Ethubs, Stardew Valley-esque. Super fun read, highly recommend :D

Stealing from the description once more:

Burnt out and exhausted with city life, Etho packs up and moves to the old abandoned farm his parents owned before he was born. It's sat empty for thirty years and it's not in a good state, but he's determined to make the most of it. The town is full of good people, and he quickly finds friendship in abundance. Amongst them all though, one stands out. Bdubs is kind and funny and exceptionally talented at a number of things. He's handsome too, and Etho can't help but crush on him, just a little bit. They get along fantastically right from day one, but Etho keeps his feelings to himself. It's just a crush, it'll go away. And besides, it's not like Bdubs would ever like him back... Right?'

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If you end up reading and enjoying any of these, PLEASE go and give the authors some love in the comments! Writing really isn't an easy feat (or quick)

[red-velvet-0w0]

arlight so i was thinking about the norse god heimdall, and how his death acts as a sort of canary call, the first to die in ragnarok, but with his death warning the others of what is coming. and that got me thinking about, you guessed it, canary!jimmy. And then I thought "but what if life series norse god symbolism" (or maybe even AU not sure)

So I present:

Jimmy - Hiemdall (for afformentioned reasons)

Martyn - Tyr (martin is the Hand to Rendog, Tyr loses his hand to the fenrir wolf)

Rendog - Fenrir wolf

Scar - Loki (he just is okay I cant really explain it)

Grian - Odin (eye themes, omniscience, is the most powerful, complex love hate relationship with loki/scar)

Scott - Frey (god of nature & peace, dies from not having a sword, like how scott refuses to kill)

Joel - Thor (it just fits idk)

Lizzie - Sif (Joels wife, also kinda fits)

BigB - Bragi (god of poetry, bigb is skilled manipulator)

Etho - Ullr (god of hunt, duels, and winter)

Bdubs - Narfi (tricked by odin to turn on brother (impulse))

Cleo - Jormungandr (something about dripping poison into the world feels very on brand for them) (not as an insult) (more as a compliment if anything)

Tango - Mimir (god of inteligence who (depending on the version) dies due to his own actions)

Mumbo - Kvasir (god of innovation and invention)

Skizz - Baldur (hes just a sweet guy who dies too soon)

Impulse - Vali (betrayed by an brother (bdubs) and death lead to "binding" of loki/scar)

Pearl - Hel (she just is)

Gem - Freya (goddes of love but also battle)

[silverskye13]

In which there is a gift.

[kaihuntrr]

part twenty-four: burning red.

Martyn asks Pearl a question.

Rain slid down the window behind Martyn. He could only watch the shadows of the droplets slipping down as he remained in uneasy silence. He didn’t know how long he had been in there, or how long he was going to stay there for. The old, dusty air filled his lungs, making him feel like he himself had gone stale. There was no sound but the soft pitter-patter of rain that fell and danced on the rooftop. Martyn kept his head down. There was no point in looking around the room aimlessly. 

All this time he’d been imagining his flawless escape plan. But his limbs were numb. His body ached. His throat was sore from screaming in desperation. His heart yearned for company, even if it was that stupid Scarlet Witch– it was despairingly lonely in here!

His eyes were weary, but he dared not to close them. What if he had another nightmare? What if he dreamt about Scott dying before his eyes again? It wasn’t worth it. Any rest he’d get would be negated by the exhaustion from the nightmare. 

The world fell silent as the rain slowly subsided, leaving Martyn to watch the last few droplets of rain slide from the glass window and listen to the whispers of trees rustling in the night air. What he wouldn’t give to get himself out of these ropes, to reunite with his friends, and to get some answers from Pearl. 

At this point, he felt like he deserved them. 

His mind wandered, thinking of what to ask the witch once she returned. How did she meet the sea princes? What kind of treasure did she take? How did she survive staring at one and not feel the way he was feeling? Was it normal to think a sea prince was beautiful? Should he be–

Martyn shook his head. Maybe not those last questions. 

Martyn swung his head up and down out of boredom, moving however he could to feel blood returning to his limbs. The motion. The movement. Something to do instead of just sitting there and waiting for help to arrive. 

That was when he looked up at the wooden beams.

And saw a singular blue eye stare at him from above. It was glowing, just like Pearl’s. 

But it wasn’t Pearl.

Martyn’s skin paled as he felt ice prickle over his skin. How long had that person been there? Were they just watching him? He could see the sole of a boot highlighted by the edge of the moonlight. Someone was definitely there.

“Hello?” Martyn squinted his eyes against the darkness as he looked up at the stranger. “Can you help me out? A crazy witch trapped me in here.” He jerked his body, proving that the ropes were tight and unmoving. 

The stranger, in complete silence, stood up and walked along the wooden beams, away from Martyn.

They couldn’t just leave him there!

“Wait– please don’t go!” Martyn shouted desperately. The stranger stopped and stared at him. “I need to get back to my friends, back to the island where I belong. I promised someone important to me that I’d stay alive….”

He could feel the warmth of Scott’s memory over him. The ginger’s smile burned in his mind’s eye. He remembered the promise they made not too long ago. It felt like an eternity now, as Martyn recollected everything else that had happened in just the past few days. Now he had to grapple with his feelings about the sea prince, the terror that was Pearl, and his longing for Scott. 

Scott was everything to Martyn. His anchor. His reason for hunting. The fire that kept him burning all this time. He needed to come home. He needed to come home to Scott.

“It’d kill him if I broke my promise,” Martyn’s voice quivered, trying to keep himself from picturing what-if scenarios and Scott’s heartbroken face as his own heart twisted and tightened around him. He chuckled weakly, “It’d kill me too…. I couldn’t stand myself if I made him cry....”

A round of silence passed. Martyn stared at the floor in defeat. He felt so stupid, so weak. He’d poured out his heart to a stranger who wasn’t going to help him. He’d be alone again, this time stewing in all these awful thoughts–

The stranger sat on the wooden beams again. They appeared to be shuffling around with what little sounds they made, until eventually, they pulled out a knife, the blade glinting in the pale moonlight, and sheathed it. Were they going to cut him out?

Instead, they spoke, their voice a mumbled whisper as a singular word escaped from their throat;

“Catch.”

The stranger dropped the sheathed knife behind Martyn, the blonde catching it before it could fall on the floor. The handle was cold. Martyn held the grip of the blade tightly. He could cut himself out of the ropes! It would save him from Pearl, but a part of him wanted to stay a little longer to find out what’s happening in that witch’s brain.

He was saved.

“Th-... thank you,” Martyn looked up at the stranger and beamed, relief rising in his chest. The stranger nodded and stood up, walking along the wooden beams again as Martyn called after them. “Wait-! May… may I see you?”

The only response Martyn got was the stranger’s light footsteps leaving the room and the distant sound of a window opening then closing behind them. The stranger was gone, and Martyn was left to his own devices once more.

At least now, he had hope. 

Martyn could leave whenever he felt like it, but he wanted to get some answers from Pearl. Actual answers. If he pretended to be stuck and hopeless, she might be more inclined to answer anything he asked. If she thought he was unable to escape, she might just tell him more than she intended to. He could even catch Pearl by surprise if she turned her back on him. 

Plus, if his friends were on the way to get him, he could stall Pearl and distract her long enough for the Canaries to set up an ambush. Martyn nodded to himself. It sounded like the perfect plan. 

Hopefully his friends would come and find him soon. He wanted to see their dumb, smiling faces again. It’d only been a day, but he missed them so much. He wanted to hear them laughing, talking about stupid things, doing stupid things together. 

Martyn flinched as he heard the sound of something splashing into some deep, large body of water behind him. What was that?! It didn’t matter. Martyn shook his head. He needed to focus. 

Martyn unsheathed and maneuvered the knife between the ropes that tied his hands together. He tried to position it carefully so it wouldn’t cut any part of him but also so he wouldn’t drop it. He took a breath, gritted his teeth, then jerked his torso forwards as he pushed the knife backwards. The knife must have been wickedly sharp because it sliced straight through the ropes with barely any resistance. Martyn caught his breath, moving his arms around to the front. He went to slice the ropes off his torso, but hesitated. Instead he wiggled it over his head, relieved that he could actually feel his arms again. Then he bent forwards to cut the ropes off his legs, swinging them a few times before he stood up. 

He looked at the scraps of rope on the ground. Pearl would definitely notice those if she saw them. So Martyn carefully picked up all the scraps of rope, then quickly stowed them in the shadows behind the couch before returning to the chair. Martyn strapped the knife’s sheath to the back of his belt, so it sat over the small of his back. 

He kept the knife in his hand though, sitting back down and pulling the remaining loop of rope back over his head and settled it in the same position over his torso, crossing his hands behind him, and pressing his legs against the legs of the chair. He slipped the knife under the loop of rope around his torso, so he could cut it off him when he was ready.

Martyn let out a long breath, back in the same position as if he’d never moved.

Perfect. Now he just had to wait.

So he waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

…Playing a damsel in distress was really boring, wasn’t it?

Martyn wanted to move around some more, but he’d be risking Pearl catching him if she came back without warning. All he had to do was sit around and pretend to be the same moping, sad self as earlier. He stared at the floorboards, looking at the light from the window. What time was it? How long would it be until morning? Maybe when they all got out of here, off this stupid island, the sun would rise like those fairytale endings. He chuckled at the thought.

But how were they supposed to outrun a sea prince? There had to be some way to escape. There was no way the Canaries were going to die on this island. The Kites too. They were all going to make it out whether Pearl liked it or not–

Martyn jolted up as he heard the sound of a door slamming open.

Seemed like he didn’t need to wait anymore.

“I’m back!” Pearl announced in a cheery, light tone. She entered the room with a bright smile on her face and a little giggle. “Did you miss me?”

Just act. Act like you’re still stuck here.

Playing pretend a little more wouldn’t hurt. If he asked the right questions, he could learn something from Pearl. Martyn expected it to be a bit difficult, though. He suspected that a lot of people had spent a lot of time hounding her for some type of answer over the years. 

Martyn rolled his eyes. “I was making friends with all the little bugs around,” he glared at Pearl with his eyebrows raised. “So no. I didn’t.”

“Bugs making friends with other bugs, how cute,” Pearl crossed her arms and strode into the room. “Speaking of friends, I don’t think they’re coming to save you anymore.”

Martyn blinked. “Why’s that?”

Pearl motioned behind her, towards the outside. “On my way back home, I noticed a couple of footsteps,” she sat on top of the dusty couch and shrugged. “It looked like they were leaving.”

She… she didn’t think Martyn would actually believe that, right?

Martyn laughed. “You seriously think I’ll believe you?” he shook his head. Pearl could have chosen to lie about anything, but that? There was no way the Canaries would just leave him there. He’d be fine. “I know my friends. They’ll save me.”

His friends were probably plotting something while Martyn was stuck here. Maybe it was some elaborate distraction, something to lure Pearl away from him. The Canaries would risk anything to get one of their own back, so Martyn was certain they were going to do so here, too.

Martyn felt the urge to lurch forward and sever the rope already, just because of that lie.

“If you still want to believe that, sure,” Pearl shrugged, shaking her head. “I’m not stopping you.”

“I will, thanks.”

A brief silence washed over the two until Martyn shook his head, glaring up at Pearl. “What are you going to do with me?”

“I want to wait a little longer,” Pearl glanced at the window then looked at Martyn with a small smile. “When your friends try to leave and die in the process, I’ll play a game with you.”

It made Martyn’s skin crawl to think Pearl sounded so downright gleeful when talking about death.

Keep acting.

“What kind of game?”

Pearl shrugged. “A game of tag, hide and seek, just anything simple and fun. I’m sure Hunter would love that,” she chuckled. Pearl’s gaze faltered, her voice slipping into a muttered sigh, “But I’m also sure Chromia wouldn’t really enjoy it….” 

Chromia. That name was familiar. 

That was the name Pearl uttered the night Martyn had left his room. She’d been talking to someone else and had briefly mentioned that name, among the other weird statements of hers. 

“Who’s Chromia?”

Pearl blinked, seeming surprised that Martyn had heard her muttering. Her expression was unguarded as she looked at him, but eventually she began to talk.

“...He’s my best friend.” Pearl’s expression softened as she looked at the ground, a warm smile on her face that was unlike any expression Martyn had seen her make so far. She sighed, raising one of her wrists to stare at a bracelet, which was just a shell attached to a piece of string. Martyn squinted at it. The shell was small, about the size of his finger, but… it had a strange blend of colors that he’d never seen on a shell before. It was orange and blue, the particular hues reminding him of Scott’s eyes. 

“I’d do anything to make him happy,” Pearl murmured. Her eyes rose to meet Martyn’s, her gaze sharp and dangerous, “even if I have to do some… unsavory things.” 

“Like making deals with sea princes?” Martyn tilted his head. Now was the best time to start questioning her. “How did you even do that?”

Pearl’s expression twisted into a sneer, she looked at Martyn with an eyebrow raised. She crossed her arms, effectively hiding the shell from his view, her hands gripping her arms tightly. “Are you always this fanatical when it comes to them?”

“Well,” Martyn leaned further back into the chair, silently hoping the knife wouldn’t fall on the ground if he moved too much. “If all you’re gonna do is wait, and I don’t have anything to do, why not talk about it?”

Pearl glanced from the cased opening and back to Martyn, thinking to herself. She hummed and raised an eyebrow, likely skeptical of Martyn’s motives.

Come on, take the bait. 

Pearl’s eyes narrowed. “You’re a strange one,” she muttered. She sighed and shrugged, placing her arms on the sides of the couch as she tilted her head. “But fine, I’ll bite. Ask away.”

I’ve got you now. 

“How did you get a sea prince to guard the island?”

“Simple,” Pearl closed her eyes and shrugged. She opened them and wiggled her fingers in front of Martyn, “Magic.”

Figured. 

Martyn bit his tongue. She wasn’t going to give him direct answers. It probably would’ve gone a lot better if he had her pinned the same way she’d had him before. Though, even then she’d probably still be purposefully vague just to mess with Martyn’s head.

“The treasures,” Martyn found his voice, tilting his head, “what are they?”

“You think I’d tell you that easily?” Pearl raised an eyebrow. She chuckled before continuing, “They’re priceless, that’s for sure. You can’t even touch them.”

“Then how were you able to see them?” Martyn raised an eyebrow. She had to be special or something…, right? “The residents said you’ve seen what the princes’ treasures looked like, and the sea princes made a deal with you, after.”

“I have my ways.”

Martyn tried to look annoyed as he could, glaring at Pearl with a disgruntled expression as she laughed.

“What? Did you think I’d give you actual answers?” Pearl pantomimed wiping a tear from her eye and sighed. She stood up from the couch and dusted herself off. “It’s funny how you think I’d do that. You hunters are unbelievably dumb.”

High on her ego. 

An idea tugged on Martyn’s mind. If he could catch her off guard, maybe she’d let something slip.

Any other question would render the same response, and Pearl would likely go off and do something else. Martyn needed her to stay, at least for this last question. He was sure she would have some kind of reaction to this one.

Pearl began to walk away, a dramatic sigh escaped her as one of her hands held the wooden frame of the door. “You know, I might just step out for a little–”

“Why do sea princes look human?”

That caught her off guard.

Pearl turned slowly, her eyes wide and smile dropped. “...What?”

Pearl gripped the cased opening, Martyn tried not to flinch as the wood cracked as the witch’s hand tightened.

“I saw what one looks like. Nothing like any beast I’ve ever seen,” Martyn said seriously, leaning forward. “Why do they look like that?”

Pearl was silent. No response, no smile or laugh. Pure silence.

The moment dragged on.

Suddenly Pearl’s eyes were looking everywhere but at Martyn as she forced a grin onto her face. “What- what are you talking about?” she muttered, waving her hand dismissively. “You can’t have seen–! The sea princes don’t look like that! You’re- you’re lying! You’re lying! They–!”

“You’re the one who’s lying, Pearl,” Martyn snapped. He had her now. “The one I saw fits every single description from the old legends; adorned in a crown more elegant and dangerous than any king, and bearing the heartbeat of the ocean itself, it is a mythical creature that looks different from any other beast, the largest thing in all the oceans, a god in flesh. That is the Prince I saw.”

It was a deafening silence.

“...I’m right, aren’t I?” Martyn muttered. Pearl’s expression remained the same. Wide eyed and shocked. Martyn pressed her, “So answer me. Why do they look human?”

Martyn’s final question lingered in the air as Pearl hissed, like she tasted something sour.

“...Who?”

Pearl was across the room in an instant, slamming Martyn to the floor with a hand on his throat. The knife severed the rope as he jerked while he fell, but ended up pinned in his hand, dangerously close to his back, his arms pinned beneath him by the wooden back of the chair. 

“Who?! Who showed themselves to you?! Who let themselves be seen and let you walk away from it?!” she roared, her nails digging into Martyn’s neck. Her scream was a deafening roar like thunder and lightning crashing into a turbulent sea, her nails like claws prying into his skin. “I shouldn’t have entertained your little questions. I’ll crush you like the bug you are right here and now–”

Martyn and Pearl froze as the door in the adjoining room slammed open. A set of heavy footsteps charged into the room revealing–

“CLEO!”

Martyn’s heart did somersaults in his chest. They were here! Cleo had their gun out and was aiming it at Pearl, but they dipped their head in response to Martyn and smiled. 

Pearl blinked. “How did you– tsk, never mind,” she sat up, though kept her hand cinched around Martyn’s throat. Somehow, in almost an instant, she slinked back into her eerily calm persona. “It’s a pleasure seeing you here, but I’m a bit busy with your little bird.”

“Don’t even try it,” Cleo was focused, her eyes narrowed. “I’ll shoot you.”

Pearl rolled her eyes and smirked. One of her eyes twitched. “And that worked out so well last time, didn’t it?”

Cleo shot at Pearl, hurriedly pulling out their second gun as Pearl moved past each bullet like a rhythmic dance. Bullets zipped over Martyn’s head and struck the wall on the far side of the room, causing the old wooden boards to splinter. Pearl glanced between them and the broken wood.

“Aw, my poor walls!” Pearl laughed, unbothered. She pulled out her sickles, walking closer to Cleo, and farther from Martyn. “I thought you’d remember those little toys of yours don’t–!”

Cleo fired another shot. Pearl smoothly dodged, a smirk crossing her lips.

“I don’t care what you said,” Cleo hissed, “give me Martyn now, and I won’t hurt you.”

“You… you can’t be serious, right?”

Martyn could see the grip on Cleo’s gun shake as Pearl walked closer. He wriggled his arms out from under the chair and pulled the loose rope off him, silently thanking the stranger who gave the knife to him as he sheathed it at the small of his back. Martyn carefully stood up, careful not to make a sound but making sure Cleo saw him moving into the line of fire. She tipped her head a bit, deliberately not making eye contact, but indicating that she could see him. Martyn grabbed the chair by the legs and lifted it, taking a few slow steps creeping up behind Pearl.

“You hunters are all the same,” Pearl swung one of her sickles around in some egotistical display, then pointed it at Cleo. “All so annoying, all so–!”

Martyn dug in and swung the wooden chair over his head. It hit the back of Pearl’s head with a heavy wooden sound.

Pearl crumpled to the ground.

Martyn stared at Pearl’s unconscious body for a couple of seconds, his hands hovering over the sheathed knife in case she’d sprang from the floor.

So he waited.

He could hear his breaths coming in and out, the calming sounds of his heartbeat, and the rushing of footsteps–

Martyn let out a small yelp as Cleo held him in a hug.

“It’s good to see you again,” Martyn murmured as he hugged her back. He wasn’t sure what to say, but he knew that it would only be a matter of time until Pearl stirred. “We should get going.”

Cleo nodded, “Definitely.” They broke the hug and moved swiftly towards the door, Martyn following close behind. Cleo got out first, looking back at Martyn as he glanced at Pearl’s body again. 

His eyes narrowed as he saw an odd glittery stain on her hood. That was where he hit her, so that should be blood, but… blood wasn’t glittery.

Martyn shook his head. He couldn’t focus on that.

“Scar, Bek,” Cleo called out, “Martyn’s here!”

Martyn jogged out of the house as he could smell smoke. A fire? He turned to see Scar and Bek coming from other sides of the cabin. Scar grinned widely as he approached, and Bek let out a relieved sigh. 

“Martyn! You’re alright!” Scar cheered happily. Cleo motioned for the others to follow them as they made their way back into the woods. Scar looked at Martyn’s wrists and tilted his head, “Were you tied up?”

Martyn looked at his own wrists. Though it hadn’t really been visible in the shadows of the house, there were some noticeable marks of rope. “Yeah,” he muttered, rubbing his wrists, then he shook his head at the whiff of smoke. Something’s burning. “But there’s no time to be talking about it now, we have to go!”

Cleo ran forward, with Martyn, Scar, and Bek following behind. As they entered the woods, they were greeted by Grian, Krow, Puffy, and Katherine. 

“Martyn…,” Grian breathed, smiling wider as he looked at Martyn. Martyn could see the tired look in his eyes. Grian must’ve been restless in searching for him. Something in his chest warmed. Just like he knew they would. “Let’s get going.”

Martyn nodded. They had to leave, to get out of this island– now.

“This way!” Katherine ran forward, motioning to the others as they hurried inside the forest. 

Martyn stayed behind for a moment to stare outward at the burning cabin. Bright flames blinding the serene darkness of the night, the winds stoking the embers. He squinted against the bright light, expecting Pearl to burst through the flames, expecting an outburst as fiery as the burning cabin–

But nothing came.

Only the breeze of the evening brushed against his skin, the hairs on his arm standing on end as a chill settled over him. 

Did he just-.... 

Martyn’s skin paled.

Was Pearl dead?

Martyn took a shaky step back.

Was Pearl dead because of him?

Martyn knocked her unconscious. She didn’t stir even as he and Cleo left. And now the building was engulfed in a blaze. Martyn thought he could feel the heat of it from where he stood.

She-.... She’s…!

“Martyn!” Grian called out. Martyn’s body went rigid. “We have to go!”

Martyn turned and ran straight into the forest.

The clouds parted, revealing more of the moonlight for the hunters to see by. The hunters dashed through the forest, pushing branches and bushes out of the way, jumping over fallen logs as they made their mad dash out. How far was the exit? Just how long did they need to run?

All Martyn knew was that his friends knew where to go, and they’d make it out.

Katherine led the group in panicked breaths, shaking her head to try and remain calm. 

Martyn tried to think. There was no way Pearl died then and there, she was powerful enough to possess magic and make deals with the sea princes. She was quick. Martyn wasn’t sure what the plan was, but it wasn’t a plan to kill her… right?

The earth shook.

“DID YOU REALLY THING THAT WOULD KILL ME!?”

Pearl’s voice boomed unnaturally, shaking the trees and the ground around them. 

She survived. Of course she survived. Martyn only ran faster, hoping the numbness of his legs wouldn’t kill him as he struggled to keep up with his friends.

Martyn felt his heart drum against his chest.

Grian turned back and motioned to Martyn. “Faster, Martyn, come on!”

I know! Martyn wanted to snap back, but he only nodded and tried to force himself to go faster. There was no time to argue. His chest heaved as he frantically tried to keep up with the others, determination burning through his chest as he tried to motivate himself to get out.

Keep your promise, Martyn echoed in his head. Stay alive for Scott.

Martyn finally began to run faster.

Martyn heard a distant sound of something being uprooted and… smoke. 

Smoke!

Fire!

It was spreading to the forest!

Martyn glanced behind him, seeing glimpses of dark smoke rising into the air, blotting out the stars as distant orange lights danced in the distance. As if Pearl wasn’t a threat enough.

Multiple footsteps rattled the earth as the hunters made their escape. Left, right, up and over, down under. Martyn was getting lightheaded from all this running. Did the forest need to stretch so long?

“YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN’T RUN FOREVER.”

Pearl’s voice was distant, but it was bellowing in anger and… some other emotion Martyn couldn’t describe. It was jarringly loud despite the distance. All he could do was focus on the path and allies ahead of him.

One word kept repeating in Martyn’s head as his heart pounded out of his chest and his nose filled with the smell of smoke. Fire enveloped the trees, blazing and blinding as it chased the hunters through the collapsing forest. One word rang in his ears long after all the others.

Run.

[rocketspleef]

Martyn ITLW is Evbo's Hels. Is this anything

[aquaquadrant]

oh, you mean martin onthebiggerlog? yeah, he’d actually make rend worse, i think. keep him as a personal attack dog.

The only way to survive RendthyWolf is to LARP with him.

LMAOOOO shakespeare in the park but with a giant man-eating wolf.

maybe there was a time when that would’ve worked, back when he wasn’t in full wolf mode 24/7. but i’m afraid he’s too far gone now. he’s basically an animal at this point.

[jqsalas]

Hermitcraft & Friends Species Headcanons

Bdubs: Land Dweller

Beef: Bull

Cleo: Zombie

Cub: Ursa Minor

Doc: Amalgamation (Creeper, Cyborg, Goat, Butterfly)

Etho: Eldritch Being (Unknown)

False: Avian (Eagle)

Gem: Shapeshifter ~ Born a deer, Usually a Deer

Grian: Wellex, Eldritch Being (Sun God)

Hypno: Shadow Person

Impulse: Void Ravager

Iskall: Zombie, Cyborg

Jevin: Slime

Joe: Ghost

Joel: Alien

Keralis: Eldritch Being (Unkown)

Mumbo: Redstone Bug

Pearl: Eldritch Being (Moon Goddess)

Ren: Wolf

Scar: Shapeshift ~ Born an allay, Usually a cat

Skizz: Angel

Stress: Butterfly

Tango: Blaze

TFC: Hermit

Wels: Shapeshifter ~ Born a dragon, Usually a mouse

XB: Guardian

Xisuma: Voidwalker

Zed: Goat, Enderman

Evil X: Voidwalker

Hels: Shapeshifter ~ Born a dragon, Usually a dragon

Badtimes: Vex

True: Avian (Eagle)

Martyn: Shapeshifter

Jimmy: Avian (Canary)

Big B: Human

Lizzie: Fairy

Scott: Elf