#i hope shubbles doing well is all i can hope for her

[ultra-raging-ghost]

I dont think im gonna be liveblogging for tubbo this morning, nothing against him but the wilbur shit really shook me up and it was the first thing i saw this morning when i put on my glasses. I need a couple hours to get my mind together and figure all my shit out mentally and then ill be liveblogging for bbh later, need the morning to recuperate after that shit

Ask box is open for anyone who needs to talk/vent

[wildpeachfarm]

This was hours ago but it's only just popped up on my dash for me but Rue bothers me so much (in reference to one of your anons discussing her)

Her initial post, after Dream posted a response that made me tear up as someone who's been in an abusive relationship, cut to her saying we don't want you here. Meanwhile she offered no words of support of her own (that I can remember, and if she did its been overshadowed by everything she's said and done since)

Meanwhile his post was the most powerful of any of the ones people made. Someone with a huge platform standing hand in hand with someone and offering such genuine words. And all she could say was get your brownie points somewhere else

Theres a tumblr post floating around how we need to stop caring if people's good actions are done for the right reasons cause if we police that, we'll see less good in the world and Rue sums that up perfectly

I don't care if *you* don't want Dream there, *I* do. I don't speak for Shubble, but between Shubble and Dream's posts after Wilbur's response I damn well near cried cause they hit so close to home. They were both the words of victims, spoken from a place of solidarity and pain. Rue essentially added nothing to the conversation but freaking people out. What she contributed too was a week of unnecessary pain and triggering people and causing a mass exodus and in the end only hurt caiti. Rue claims to speak for victims but she's part of the group of people that have made everything worse. She was reactionary and her actions didn't bring a single good thing to anyone

And again, beating the point to death about how she had more to say about George than Wilbur

It comes off as clout chasing and disingenuous. Sure, George fucked up. But it seems to have been a genuinely mistake vs Wilbur's very deliberate abuse and it's gross to paint the two scenarios with the same brush. I hope she's able to get help after whatever she experienced with wilbur, and I hope through time and reflection she's able to acknowledge her own wrongdoings

But as it stands right now, Rue clearly can't handle having a platform and she needs to go offline for a while. She is part of a problem whether she acknowledges it or not and something has to give sooner or later

honestly i have nothing to add to this you said it very well anon!

[thestreamdreampony]

Me adding my two cents is probably not gonna do much, but here I go, I guess:

I want to preface this with saying that Wilbur's content and Lovejoy have been incredibly important to me and I've put a lot of time, effort and money into supporting Lovejoy especially. So finding out about this, before finding out about the details, I had originally reacted with incredulous derision of twitter stans. And then erring on the side of caution about how things developed.

At this point there's almost no question that it's Wilbur, for the simple reason that Shubble would have cleared up his name if it wasn't. There's no way she would throw someone innocent under the bus, if she knew somebody else was guilty. Additionally, not a single person in Wilbur's surroundings has disputed any claims and have only narrowed it down further towards Wilbur. At this point it is incredibly unlikely she is talking about anybody else.

I do want to take a moment to comdemn those (mostly on twitter) who used this opportunity to dig into both Shubble and Wilbur's private lives, trying to construct a narrative of her abuse and in some cases going so far as doxxing Wilbur. It is entirely possible to support Shelby and condemn her abuser, without invading their privacy and endangering people's lives. Shelby's goal was to warn people and to make them more aware of the signs of abuse. As well as make it as clear as possible, who she's talking about without saying who it is directly, for a meriad of possible reasons. It was not an invitation to write abuse fanfiction about her private life.

That being said, the way I will feel about this in the long run will depend heavily on how Wilbur deals with this situation. I will definitely distance myself either way (slowly but surely), but his reaction to this will influence how I will act moving forward.

Should he stay silent or respond with insincerity/derision/defensiveness/etc., then that's it for me. Fuck him.

But should he come forward, own up to it, apologize and prove that he is working on himself, then I might be able to find it in myself to give him a second chance over time. I just don't believe that doing bad things makes you irredeemable forever and ever and ever.

We know for a fact that Wilbur has been struggling with mental health problems for most of his teen and adult life and from his solo music we are also aware that he is incredibly aware of the fact that he is the problem in his relationships. Expressing dark thoughts in music, does not automatically mean somebody is abusive. In fact, creating dark art is an excellent way to deal with harmful thoughts and impulses. I have literally never taken his lyrics to mean that.

However, his lyrics in YCGMA and MSR have always been incredibly autobiographical and do show that he is acutely aware that he's the unhealthy element in his unhealthy relationships.

We also know directly from him, that he has distanced himself from most of his social circle and sought out therapy as recently as 2 weeks ago in an effort to improve his mental health.

This does not excuse his actions whatsoever. Mentally ill people are still responsible for the harm that they cause and Shelby is unbelievably brave to tell their story. I hope they finds peace, I hope she has all the support she could ever need and I hope she has achieved her goal of making people more aware of how people end up in situations like this. She is an inspiration for standing up for herself like this.

But I also think that, should Wilbur come forward, admit to his wrongdoings and prove over time that he is working on becoming a better person, friend and partner, that he does not have to be shunned forever and ever and ever. He has a long life in front of him and I hope both for him and all his future friends and partners that he manages to find a healthy, happy way of living. This can happen, even while he never bothers Shelby, or the other people he hurt, again.

This is a best case scenario. I do think he is allowed to take some time to formulate a response. A hasty response to situations like this have never helped anyone ever, neither the victim, nor the accused. Taking his time to come to terms with the situation, which surely came as a shock, and to really think about how he wants to deal with this situation is much better than him writing a twitlonger as soon as he finds out.

Either way, I will distance myself from him and Lovejoy, slowly but surely. I won't get rid of the merch clothing I own because it was quite expensive and throwing it away is a waste of perfectly good clothing, but I won't find the joy I once felt wearing them. (I am salty about me being gone from home for a few months and having ordered Lovejoy merch, which had been waiting for me for weeks and then finding out about this literally the day I travelled back. It definitely felt weird as hell to unpack that stupid NORMAL longsleeve with his fucking face on it, while being hurt and confused and angry.)

Listening to Lovejoy's music, likewise, will never feel as euphoric as it once did, even if I go back to it. Which really sucks cuz they genuinly hit my sweet spot in music taste. YCGMA and SISV specifically, have been so, so important to me and removing them from my listening rotation i going to Hurt.

Interestingly, I don't feel quite as terrible as last time I had to suddenly cut a content creator out of my life. So I guess practice makes perfect lmao.

I don't know if me writing and posting this had any point. I guess I just wanted to get it off my chest and maybe it resonates with somebody.

Anyway, take care of yourselves. Take it easy and try to focus on other things, if this hit you hard (ideally offline). Try to meet with friends, maybe play some boardgames (or video games), go for a walk,read a book, have a coffee with a loved one. There's joy in the world, despite it all.

[qpenpals]

First of all, support Shubble and support all victims (which is a statement that while said a lot, seems not be followed as frequently, however i hope those who read this abide by it)

Second, I don’t support wilbur soot/william gold, and I don’t think that anyone should after this.

Third, while this situation is not about me, i have feelings and opinions about it that i would like to share, but even if you don’t read anymore,

Please watch shelby’s vod, and maybe try checking her content out, because while i don’t frequently watch her, i enjoy her streams and maybe you will too! her new hardcore series sounds great :)

This is quite long, but honestly this is kind of just for me to collect my thoughts, however if you read to the end thank you<3 im touched :)

ALSO ABUSE TRIGGER WARNING

Alright, so I have loved wilbur soot’s content for a very long time, 4 years or so. I watched the streams and listened to his music from the start. His content is entwined with many of my fond memories.

Earlier today, I had a breakdown over this whole situation, because, as I’ve been quite busy with school, my job, and other assorted things in my life, I found out about this morning. I had woken from a nightmare about my previous abuser. Who i will be talking about a lot more of as they really impacted my views on this situation.

However this nightmare had left me in a fragile mood, my girlfriend was still sleeping and i didn’t want to wake her, so to comfort myself i went to read one of my bookmarked fanfictions, this fanfiction, while i dont remember the title is one that i’ve found comforting for a very long time, so much so that when im stressed my partner has it saved to send to me so i can calm down.

It was a fanfiction about quackity and tubbo, wilbur soot was mentioned maybe 5 times, and the author had deleted it.

This caused me to try and find out why, so i went to their page and they had posted a temporary fic explaining what had been going on.

My first reaction had been disbelief, I then went to research everything. It was a lot to process.

I watched shelby’s vod. Before this i had mainly been disconnected from what i had seen, taking it it but not with any of my own feelings or thoughts really, just processing.

Shelby’s situation hits really hard for me because a lot of it mirrors my own abusive relationship of a few years ago. The wording Wilbur used against her, sounds like what my old partner would use against me. His actions, such as her having to clean and taking care of food, and amenities, were things i had to experience.

Abuse TW:

My old partner would physically abuse me through biting as well, he would claim that he just liked knowing i was his, and yet, like shubble, if i ever used our safe word, which happened so fucking often, he either wouldn’t listen, bite down harder on my neck, or fucking smile at me before letting go.

This got to the point that multiple times he had drawn blood from my neck, that i still have scars from today. And as i watch Shubble talk about her story which is ever so close to mine, I wonder that if I had watched this before, maybe i wouldn’t have stayed in that relationship.

I proceeded to stay in this relationship for 2 years before i realized how much harm he was doing to me, because i truly believed he loved me, because of all the lovebombing he would do.

End of Abuse TW:

And yet i felt pain aside from sympathy or memories, when learning of this, as the content Wilbur had put out had actually helped me out of this relationship, his music was pretty much all i listened to the months of healing after i got out and it helped, the art is good, and yet the author is one i cannot respect nor support in anyway now that i am aware.

i’d suggest watching this tiktok by @lasmanburg that really explains my thoughts and feelings on this

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTL1tb5Wg/

Right back to the content. I don’t believe that we should throw it all away, i don’t think that people should be deleting their art, fanfiction, or anything based on Wilbur. Because in the end it’s all art that we have created and interpreted and though the man who inspired it is horrible, all that has been made does not reflect his actions, but instead love and creativity from vast multifaceted community.

One can continue their writing and work because they are the ones creating it, not him, and besides most interpretations of him stray quite far from the source anyways

I think that one can continue to engage in his content as long as one does not directly support him, such as pirating his music, but personally at least right now listening to his music which brought me so much comfort-makes me feel sick. So think i’ll be taking a step back.

I don’t really know how to end this, i just needed to get my thoughts out honestly. I have therapy in an hour. I hope all of you who’ve made it to the end have a wonderful day and drink some water. I wish shelby well, and i’m glad she has been able to share this situation. And with that, I must now leave :)

[bonesandthebees]

Hope you're doing well, friend; your fics are what really got me into SBI just last year!

This whole situation is the first time I've actually felt nauseous from the Internet and felt the need to step back. I actually went to bed early to sleep the grief off after I found out.

Yet this morning, as I joked with my mother and helped clean the house, I found myself humming Your Sister Was Right as I worked. It made me realize that Wilbur Soot could write all of his problems down on paper and sing them in prose, but he can't, or at least couldn't for someone he claimed to love, address and curb those parts of himself.

I can. I won't keep financially supporting them, but I'll keep listening to what he's written because they remind me what I've grown from. That recognizing your problems is only the first step, and maybe having some background music will help you take action.

I'm still sad and angry about what he put her through and she deserves nothing but love and support right now. But for a fan, there is a freeing feeling in realizing you've surpassed someone you idolized.

That's my take, at least

we are shaking hands anon I also went to bed early the night I heard about the allegations because I needed to sleep all the nausea and anxiety off.

I think you put this very well. I don't really have anything to add but yeah, there's something freeing about the whole thing. And I'm so happy to see such an outpouring of love and support for Shubble after all of this

[tev-the-random]

So I may have come up with a whole Villain Jimmy AU...

Listen. I have way too many feelings about the events of Jimmy's Empires S2 Episode 31 and the immediate following stream. I also have way, way too many feelings about whatever the hell is happening in Sausage's and Shubble's lore and whatever is to come in Lizzie's, so I decided to only indulge one brainrot at a time and came up with... an interesting concept? I dunno, I'm easily entertained—

(There's a TLDR at the end if you don't want to read my insane and incessant ramblings o3o)

Ok so, after Walmart WRA kills Jimmy on the bridge for the kicks and giggles, Jimmy really starts questioning just what respect is and who his friends actually are. The conclusion? Dude has absolutely zero friends. Sure, he has this truce going on with Joel, and Katherine has been somewhat trustworthy so far. But actual friends? Nada. Closest thing he had were Scar and Tango, but they're gone now and he didn't even get a proper goodbye. His town is empty. He's alone.

Jimmy may be quick to anger, but this might be the first time he actually allows himself to be sad about it. There's something much more painful than rage crawling inside of him; be it guilt, self-hatred, loneliness, betrayal, there's just so much he's been burying under all the fighting that he can barely breathe through it all now. But once it's over, Jimmy's left with a strange feeling of clarity. This cold bitterness and complicated self-awareness that would turn into something far more sinister in the future.

The next day is really what decides his next course of action, though. He's touring the Old Sheriff around the server, kind of holding onto the last hope that someone might want him to stay after all. But then Fwhip comes along and decides that no, he doesn't get to have this, so they start bickering like the old divorced couple they are, like nothing's changed. Somehow, Fwhip manages to charm his way into the Old Sheriff's good books despite everything that Jimmy has said about his ex-deputy.

Martyn (that's what I'm calling him, he doesn't get his own name now) laughs at his jokes, makes little comments that... sound so familiar to Jimmy. This is how it all started: little comments ��� and this is how it's going to end. Maybe the Old Sheriff has good intentions. Maybe he does have the intention to stick with Jimmy and be a friend/mentor to him. But Jimmy, still raw from his most recent disillusionment, can't bear the thought of befriending someone only to have the rug pulled from under him again.

So Jimmy leaves Tumble Town in the dead of night.

Now, his first objective is to bring himself back to normal. He had to admit, no matter how hard he tried, it was hard to gather any respect from others when he was trapped in the body of a literal toy. He had already asked Joel to reverse this nonsense, but the god only offhandedly mentioned that this was Jimmy's true form and that it was how he was meant to look — which Jimmy took as "I have no idea how to, my name is Joel and I'm irresponsible with my powers and incompetent and also really short". So his next destination is the Witch Academy.

He had heard about the them from Shelby. She was a nice witch — or, well, nice enough. She was clearly going through some stuff at the moment, which is why he thought it would be better not to ask her for help to begin with — and was clearly able to change people's bodies, whether intentionally or not. So surely the people who taught her magic would be able to help him, right?

Little did Jimmy know that most witches do not, in fact, give a damn about helping other people. After travelling far and wide, he explained his curse to them, and all they did was close the door on his face.

Well, he's not having it! If the witches won't help him, he'll find someone else who will! This is when Jimmy starts travelling around in search of someone, anyone who could undo his curse so he may start his life anew. Through all the ensuing shenanigans, he gathers some... interesting allies.

It's not that he wants to ally himself with undead pirates; he may not be a sheriff anymore, but that doesn't mean he's about to become a criminal! But alas, when the boat he's travelling with is captured, it's not like he can do much else.

Jimmy is spared due to his... interesting predicament. Well, surely this tiny tiny man could be useful! Besides, didn't he use to live close to Pirate Joe? So in exchange for some information on Skeletron's rival and helping them get some treasure for a little while, Jimmy is dropped off at the next port with directions to a shady wizard who might be able to solve his problem.

When he gets to said wizard, they are already expecting him. You see, this is the same wizard who gave Scott his magic eye, and although I'm sure we'll get some actual canon explanation to it eventually, this is an AU in which the wizard may have some... ulterior motives. And they may or may not have been spying on a certain god who lives very close to Chromia. But that's a story for another time!

Jimmy wakes up the next day his normal-sized, human self again! It's almost overwhelming, how much he loves his own body right now. His chest quite literally aches... and that's when he notices a heart-shaped scar on it.

The wizard is still around. They explain to him that, to deal with the curse, they had to remove his heart. Literally. They stored it in this lamp, which emits a blinding red glow — an indicative of how strong it is, how much it feels. The farther away he is from it, the more detached he will be from his feelings. Although that would mean he should probably carry it close at all times, he should not forget that it is still his actual heart; you better keep it safe, kid.

Now that the deed is done, the only thing that the wizard asks for is a front row view when Stratos falls. Jimmy carries a lot of grief, clearly, and if they know anything about him — which they shouldn't, but they strangely do, — he is going to get back at the people who made him miserable for so long. It just so happens that the wizard also has a beef with Joel, so really, they both win in the end!

After some not-so-subtle persuasion and reminders of all the horrible things Jimmy had to endure in the past, the wizard manages to convince our ex-sheriff into going back to the empires to truly bring an end to this story of pain. He's never going to be able to start anew unless he gets rid of all traces of his weak past self, right? His enemies deserve to reap the hate they've sown fashioned in cold blood, right?

And so Jimmy concocts a plan, gathers resources and new (purely professional and with no emotional attachment, never again) allies, and returns to Tumble Town a new man with a new name. In the day, he's a charming and friendly traveller sneaking his way into the emperors' hearts. At night, he's a dangerous bandit carrying a lamp of dwindling red light, playing a game of metaphorical chess with the authorities to bring the pieces of his plan closer together.

-

TL;DR Jimmy leaves the empires bitter with his friends, searches for a way to turn back into a regular human and finds a wizard who does so in exchange for being able to watch the world burn. To reverse the curse, he had to lose his heart, which he now carries in a red lantern closely tied to his feelings. He goes back home for revenge.

Calling this one the Red Light Bandit AU òwó

[nobodywritingao3]

i feel kind of sick making this post so please excuse me if i sound like a rambling mess. i am not the type of person to talk in detail about my life in online places cuz i live in fear of this getting back to my abuser but shubble's story punched all my most sensitive spots and i want to talk about it

(really long sensitive post)

ive gotten kind messages from people that i havent responded to. the idea of responding to people individually kind of makes me feel sick. so im doing this instead. and im also going to vent really hard because i am not doing well and talking about this to my therapist is soul crushingly embarrassing because wilbur soot is a minecraft man and im a freshly turned 20 year old who pays rent and is respected by my therapist and i dont want to admit that i wrote fanfic about a 30 year old white boy i discovered in quarantine when i was 15. can you imagine that conversation? id have to explain what the dream smp is.

when i watched shubble's video for the first time, i was in total disbelief. i couldnt believe that wilbur soot had done these things but i knew that the liklihood of it being anyone else was pretty low. i chose to hope that the story was not about him, and that if it was that he was a reformed abuser who had reorganized his value system and respected his partners now. i had a lot expectations. then he released his statement and i was horrified. i was disappointed and kind of in denial. his statement was worse than anything i had prepared for as 'worst case scenario.' as time has passed my denial has mostly dulled but im ashamed and im embarassed and im badly triggered.

i kind of hysertically hoped that it was a sick prank that shubble and wilbur cooked up and would get horribly cancelled for, but its not a prank, theres no "haha sike" moment, and wilbur abused shelby.

his response undid me because i saw so much of my own abuse in the words he used.

abusers are really good at making people take a centrist "two sides to every story" stance. i dont know how to describe this to people who have never been abused, but i will do my best

most people are taught that when theres an argument between two people, both parties carry some amount of blame and if you want to resolve that issue, it's a good idea to look at your part in the dynamic. we're also taught to keep our disagreements between ourselves and to not involve other people in our drama.

these are sensible sentiments, but abusers are very good at manipulating these sentiments.

when a victim speaks up for themselves and they call someone an abuser, what they are saying is: "this person cruelly bullied me and hurt me and exerted control over me that i did not deserve or ask for or elicit."

that's a heavy accusation and it contradicts sentiments we are taught like "it takes two to tango" and "dont involve others with your relationship drama."

many abusers are charismatic people. id even say most. when you hear this accusation about someone you think is really cool, your natural instinct is to ask for their side of the story.

they will tell you some version of this:

"i am shocked and hurt that she would call me an abuser. we've been having relationship problems recently, and sometimes i lose my temper. im not proud of that. ive done a lot of things im not proud of. it's true that i did [insert played down act of violence] to her, but you wouldnt believe the horrible things she was saying to me. i lost control, and im so ashamed of myself."

this version of events makes the abuser seem reasonable, it makes the victim seem irrational and quick to blame and hysterical

from here, a lot of people will nod thoughtfully and go. "yeah. yeah. that makes sense. everyone has a unique perspective. the fact that shes attributing all the blame to him without recognizing her own flaws and contributions to the relationship while he does shows that hes the reasonable one here. hes such a chill guy. the things shes saying dont make sense at all. i probably wont say it to her face, but i think shes in the wrong."

wilbur's response hit all the beats im familiar with. it was so in line with everything my abuser used against me, and in line with what ive heard other victims say their abusers used against them, and in line with examples ive read and witnessed and had countless psychiatrists walk me through that reading it was like getting hit by a train.

the hope that i carried with me through that week was that wilbur was a reformed abuser. but reading that response gave me the gut wrenching confirmation that he wasnt.

thinking about it too much literally makes me sick and shaky in a way i havent experienced since my own abuser tracked me down the first time and gave me a beautifully wrapped gift. with my abuser, i had several years trapped with him where all the love i felt for him disappeared and was replaced by total hatred for everything he put me through. i wasnt expecting this from wilbur at all, and i feel fucking sick because this was a man i sincerely admired and looked up to a lot. i really liked wilbur soot. he released that response and this image in my head that i had of him was tainted by the memories of my abuser.

im reminded of one event several years ago where i was choked. i tried to ask for help but everyone who knew immediately reached out to him and asked for "his side of the story." i dont want to talk about what he did to me after that. all that matters is that in the end, no one believed me. everyone took his side over mine and insisted that i was lying or exaggerating or trying to get attention or trying to make him look bad. people who i loved and thought would always be there for me sent me paragraph long text messages calling me a bitch and a cunt. the person i loved the most in the world told me that i was out of line and said point blank that they were sorry, but couldnt believe me over the person who choked me. i had never felt so alone.

ive been having a rough time. i confided in a friend who is trying to escape his abusive husband, and he gently told me that this might mean i have "a type," meaning im naturally drawn to people who are abusive. after i escaped, i took a lot of solace in the fact that i was inspired so much by wilbur soot. i thought he was progressive and stood up for womens rights and was anti bigotry and all those lovely good things. this man i admired so much was the image of healthy, nonviolent, kind masculinity. finding out he isnt has made me question myself and my own judgment and it's making me wonder if the people i let in my life and the people im drawn to are people who i subconsciously know will hurt me.

as of now, its been a year and a half since i escaped my abusive family at 18 years old. i turned 20 like half a second ago. the past 18 months of my life have been devoted to looking into legal protection, getting therapy to undo nearly 2 decades worth of ptsd, trying to keep all my baggage to myself because i dont want to burden my friends anymore than i have, and holding down a steady job so that i can afford rent without having to rely on the parents of my friends to house and feed me and keep my location secret from an insane group of people who reeeeally want me to come back even tho im pretty sure one of them might """""accidentally"""" kill me one day

i feel ashamed and embarrassed by being this affected by wilbur soot. parasocial relationships are looked down upon and i feel like the perfect stereotype of a hysterical, delusional teenager / young lady finding out that her hero is "a flawed human being, just like you and me - seriously, what did you expect?!"

i already see people jumping to his defense, although i try to look away because that is also extremely triggering for me.

it is hard not to acknowledge wilbur's humanity, and i want to clarify that i do feel compassion for the amount of death threats, doxing, and isolation he is undoubtedly experiencing right now. no matter what you do, i dont believe that retributive justice or revenge is a proactive, sane response. i am sincerely worried that he will either try to kill himself as a last ditch attempt for sympathy OR that he will actually just kill himself from the public shaming. i do not want him to experience a mental health crisis and i do not want him to die, even tho he has horribly disappointed me and reminded me of so many bad things

this was kind of an insane post. im ready for it to get 1 note and then experience a horrifying amount of embarrassment as i realize that people read this and know disgusting amounts about me as a person, but i want to share my experience as someone who has been abused. i want to offer solace to people who are in the same boat and possibly reach someone who might have otherwise believed wilbur was telling the truth.

i want to end this post on a positive note, so im going to share some naive hope ive been repeating to myself for the past few days

i hope that people believe shubble. i hope she finds comfort and compassion and healing. i hope she can internalize that what happened to her was not her fault. i hope she lives a happy life surrounded by people who see her and care about her

i hope that the people close to wilbur make him confront this side of himself. i hope he fixes his abuse problem and reorganizes his values. i hope his network of people is strong enough not to abandon him entirely but to intervene and make him work on himself. i hope he stays alive and i hope that he becomes an advocate for abused women

this was cheesy and unrealistic but ive been sending my hope into the universe and trying not to shut down because i dont know what else to do and my two hours of government issued weekly ptsd therapy is already devoted to the horrible things i experienced firsthand

anyway

as far as my fanfiction goes???? i dont fucking know.

im not going to delete it. im definitely taking a break and at least stepping into a pause so i can properly reflect on what to do in the meantime. as a musician and writer and creative in general, i was inspired by many aspects of wilbur soot for years and i need a second to chill out and get a hold of myself

maybe ill complete my work. if i do ill upload the finished products in one go and probably orphan them. and maybe delete my ao3 account. god knows at this point

i am still cringing so hard at myself for making this post. it's very emotional and i try to sell myself as serious, intellectual person. maybe this post will be received great or badly or just be ignored. in any case ill be embarrassed so it doesnt really matter how anyone feels about me after this. if you took the time to read, thank you for hearing me out. and if you didnt, im glad that i got a little catharsis

[toasterrrr]

shubble is actually so brave for coming out this especially to so many people like its not like its just a few friends this is the whole fucking intertnet like the whole world knows now yknow its increably hard for victims to make statements and shit and to do thsi is actually so fucking shout out to her

but the amount of people ive seen defending wilbur soot is fucking mental. use ur brain and fuck ur parasocial relationship off,, hes committed a CRIME a FULL CRIME “oh but my wilby would never 🥺🥺” YEAH WELL HE FUCKING DID DIDNT HE hes addmitted it its all be confirmed dont even bother at this point these arent “allegations” this is real life plus the tosser made the worlds second worst apology ever actually maybe idve rathered he pull out a fucking uke

“im sorry you feel that way but i dont” is the whole plot summary sorry i dont wanna support that actual bullshit fuck how can that man sit there and type out how much of a “changed man” he is in his “apology” are you thick??? say ur sorry first up ?!?! nah noone even wants ur apology say thag to shelby and all ur other mates who uve manipulated and abused not some 13 year olds on twitter who will fall to their knees no mayter what u fo

also this is coming from someone who actually really looked up to this guy, one of the only ccs i genuinely liked and he was actually a fucking big role model to me,,. hes fucked up what he did was genuinely disgusting and disturbing and i hope he gets the worst payment ever i hope all his mods quit lovejoy disbands everyone unfollows he loses all his friends. money and fame truely get to people and this is such a real and clear example of this shit

i will NOT be supporting anything he does form this momet on. ive unsubsrubied unfollowed i wont be listening to lovejoy and if i do ill probably piarte it ngl thats a thing we can do ill burn a cd or some shit idk but i wont be giving anymore money than the cunt needs you can live with out it “it saved my life HE saved my life” i can not express this enough but and fully no offense if u say that but he reallt didnt u just liked his stiff and it gave u something to live for again he did NOTHING hes just some british guy in a screen who plays some video game and sings some song hes noone he doesnt know u u dont know him

hes a fucking freak and if you think thats okay that what hes done is okay and can actually be defended your just as much of a freak and fucked in the head as he is and u need be grow the fuck up and realise how this shit is mental behaviour

to conclude:

‼️‼️‼️ FUCK WILBUR SOOT ‼️‼️‼️

[thedroloisms]

Before I start, I wanna say all support to Shubble and she deserves truly the best, and I’m so glad that she is getting public support. But also I cannot hide that I have such a bad taste in my mouth on how ccs act. I know we shouldn’t make it about Dream, but I feel so fucking awful and pissed to see that everyone is supporting publicly Shubble (WHICH THEY SHOULD DO, GO GIVE HER ALL SUPPORT AND LOVE), while with Dream nothing. Just nothing. And they let their rabid fans continue to joke and claim Dream is a groomer. And they even have the courage to make grooming jokes and the next day supporting another victim because “hey at least this looks good on me”. I wanna believe it is genuine but after all the Dream situation, I’m looking at the ccs that are supporting Shubble with a very judgemental eyes and I can’t stop. I know it’s very wrong but I truly can’t stop think about it.

Sorry again for my ramble, I hope Shubble is able to get justice, she really deserves it

i feel u, i feel u. on one hand it's like ... well, i mean, this in itself makes it pretty obvious that these ccs don't think dream is guilty, bc this is the response that wilbur's allegations got from the content creator sphere. on the other hand, it's kind of sad how little attention a content creator in the space got after clearing his name. like, ,, false allegations are devastating to people. the personal, professional, and legal fallout of a false accusation can and has been life-ruining. people have compared the psychological effects of false accusations to losing a loved one.

it's like ,, while i understand why in this scenario so many people stayed silent for their own sakes, and because the way false accusations are perceived is so damn different from other scenarios, the psychological effects of these situations are severely traumatizing and involve isolation and constant stress in a way that's not unlike other traumatic situations where it's more socially acceptable to show support. just, yeah. it's sad.

all the support to shubble and i'm so glad people are speaking in her corner, especially in a content creator space where there's just so much hanging in the balance at any given moment and so much of their literal livelihoods can be destroyed by a tweet. i admire her bravery and i'm glad she's got public and private support, for sure <3 and no need to apologize for the ramble anon

[asterssunzephyr]

LORE. GIVE.

NOTES AS I GO: 1 I tried to finish this in one night however I have to be up at 5am 8/24. 2 I am watching Shelby Shubble's shubathon for her birthday. 3 If said shubathon is still going when this post is uploaded, go watch it :) 4 It is now 1:56 am 8/24, I am still watching the shubathon and have since showered.

Okay!! Im so sorry has taken me forever, I did not have the energy when you sent this last night. ANYWAY...

I tried to finish this in one night however I have to be up at 5am 8/24

You were very loose with this, I hope youre aware, so I will start at the most basic, with the gods I have bc I have NOT figured everything out for all the empires. This is a WIP au at all times of the day. All of this lore, at one point, does tie into the Crystal Cliffs: Academy for Magic (CC:AfM) au lore! Specifically with Scott and Xornoth.

Rivendell - The easiest

Rivendell has two canon gods, and one original god I made. This, ironically, reflects the royal family. There's Oytix - Goddess of Stars, Aeor and Exor - Twin Stag Gods. This reflects the royal family with three children being born since Alinar and Cohnal. They had a sister – Naexi. In this lore, Naexi was considered the champion of Stars, while Alinar the champion of Aeor and Cohnal the champion of Exor. Naexi lived the longest of the Riven siblings – being the one to live on and provide for the next generation of Rivendell royals.

This is seen later, in Scott & Xornoth's generation with a sister as well. In this au, Lauren (LaurenZSide) is canon to the empires universe. She's the older sister of Scott and Xornoth – as well as the champion of Oytix.

The Overgrown

The Overgrown has one god, which is The Spring – God of Fae. This is a nameless god, preferring to be known as "Spring" to everyone around them. Spring went into a slumber after the death of Alinar and Cohnal. The Spring that Katherine talks to in s1 is their concious, who wants the best for their land and leads her to the right answers no matter how cryptic they are. Every ruler of the overgrown has been handpicked by The Spring, regardless of how theyve behaved in the past.

Grimlands

The Grimlands has two gods in technicality, sharing one with two other empires. Sol - Goddess of the Sun and Diana - Goddess of the Moon. Theyre not related and Sol has a . . . complicated relationship with Exor. I can and will explain if asked about it. The grimlands also refers to Sol as the Goddess of Redstone (Grimlands corruption).

Crystal Cliffs

In the ancient days, the Cliffs once worshipped Diana, the goddess of the moon. As many people began finding logical and magical explanations, they ditched the idea of godly intervention for basically everything. Some people remember, but Diana is not worshipped like she once was in the cliffs, much less taught about in the Academy. Gandalf the cat remembers the most, he's been in the cliffs for just over six hundred years - he will not disrespect Diana, and he says goodnight to her when he goes to sleep if he can see the moon. The Cliffs doesnt get very cloudy, so he seems the moon almost nightly.

Gilded Helianthia (why isnt there a yellow on desktop?)

Gilded Helianthia has always and will always worship Diana, goddess of Moon. You'd think the farming queen and her empire would worship Sol, or A goddess of Harvest1. They worship the moon, Diana, because with out Diana and the moon then they would not sleep. If they do not sleep, then they do not have harvest days or a way to provide as they'd be consumed with fatigue. 1 The land of Gilded Helianthia becomes the building blocks of Sanctuary, where the Harvest Goddess - Madre de Girasoles (Later referenced as Santa Perla)

Mythland (look I only have so many colors to work with)

The start of Mythland worshipped one deity, the god of war Fern. Is ironic that a god of war is named after a plant? yes. Do I care? No. Up until the canon appearance of Xornoth, Fern was the only god in mythland worshipped. While people of Mythland considered Xornoth a god of corruption, he is not and they were worshipping Exor. Fern did not like the division of his people, much less did he like Exor. He has a rocky relationship with Sol, due to her relationship with Exor. Often times, Fern would butt heads with Sol, Exor, and Oytix.

Lost Empire

Zaerus, the god of pride and life. While the only one who has an official title amongst the pantheon. He loves his land, and has always done whatever it takes to save his people and the royal family. Zaerus will go to whatever lengths he must, including siding with Exor if he must. This caused issues during the first Prophecy, as Zaerus refused to let the then emperor help Alinar, as he prophesized that in doing so, the empire (one of great wealth and many people) would be lost to time. The emperor helped Alinar and Aeor anyway, which caused Zaerus cursing his bloodline and the empire to become lost within the jungle. The bloodline is now the one we canonically see as the Tiger Blood Prince and Princess.

Pixandria

Rhamus, God of Prophecy. Rhamus was the one to originally prophesize about Alinar and Cohnal; about Exor's betrayal to the pantheon. Although he knew virtually nothing about the betrayal, he knew Rivendell twins would have to pick a side - Aeor, or Exor. After the prophecy, Rhamus began to have scribes, or oracles, for his prophecies. The one to repeat the prophecy Rhamus had was the great grandfather of Pix, and after his great grandfather, he became the scribe of Rhamus. He knew the prophecy of war, and of the rapture.

Oceanic and Swamp Empires

This is the second easiet empire to work with, because Lizzie and Jimmy are gods themself, in technicality! Theyre the children of two gods, their father being an Axolotl and their mother being a Cod.

Kingdom of Mezalea

Also one of the easiest empires, as Mezalea as no gods. Joel himself becomes a god, but thats not until the end of season one and the start of season two. Mezalea has no gods, as they have no faith or souls to believe in gods. Other than Joel, Mezalea is simply an empire of dolls.

The Undergrove

Gnomes have strict belief in their deities, however as Shrub is away from her family and with the empires more they adopt the deity of the Wolf Spirit and eventually, under the guise of the wolf spirit when facing Xornoth, Joey and Sausage, the pantheon accepts Shrub as the wolf spirit - This leads to many confusing dreams for Shrub, as they are spoken to from the Pantheon during sleep. Shrub has not mentioned these "dreams" to anyone, and yet Pix knows. The Wolf Spirit is seen as a deity, whether or not Shrub is one.

[thedo0zyslider]

Explosions Across Lifetimes - Chapter Thirteen: Beginning Of The End - 5k Words Fwhip has to wonder if Xornorth knows what the phrase taking a break means, because there's more trouble not even two weeks after Scott and Gem came home.

A03 Link

Playlist

Fwhip spends the next week with Gem at the Crystal Cliffs. He's being overprotective, he knows that, but can anyone really blame him? Clara has the Grimlands covered anyways, he's sure of it. She's his favorite employee for a reason.

The Count thinks this is the slowest week of his life, and one of the hardest. Gem's not doing great mentally, but it's the best she can do. In some moments he would think about Scott, and would worry over how well the elf was fairing all by himself. He hopes Katherine or Jimmy dropped by at least once, and kept him company for just a few hours.

At the moment Gem’s off somewhere in her academy, trying to get back to her normal routine. Fwhip, having absolutely no interest in most magic, was hanging around. If Gem asked him to do something, fix some broken tech in the empire he would do it, but other than that he mostly felt like dead weight. But it was worth it, to make sure his sister was okay. And he wouldn't leave till he was one hundred percent sure of that and the paranoia finally left him. Another break never hurt either.

Gem’s familiar, Gandalf, didn’t seem to mind him hanging around though. He knows the cat usually follows Gem around throughout the day, and that it’s never been the most fond of him. It’s certainly never hung around the Count like this before. Your sister’s cat randomly following you around is unexpected alright, but this is a magic cat. So the little guy’s making Fwhip kinda suspicious that something’s wrong, and probably making his paranoia worse. At least he’s cute and likes to be cooed over, and makes Fwhip wonder if his other friends' pets are this irresistibly cute.

In hindsight, Fwhip feels more convinced that the cat was trying to warn him, because there ends up being a big break in this whole demon issue right around the corner. The start of it happens in the form of a message from Pearl, one he gets when Gandolf is sleeping in his lap; purring up a storm.

Pearlescentmoon: sausage just came by all distressed

GeminiTay: what did he say???

SolidarityGaming: possessed ooor???

fWhip: ??

Pearlescentmoon: he was unpossessed. Said he doesn't like being Xornorth's puppet anymore but he can't deflect because of the mind control stuff

Pearlescentmoon: we were gonna use this fighting arena before he went missing and now Xornorth's ordering a fight there

Pearlescentmoon: sausage thinks we can do something at this fight or we can save him

Smajor1995: that's….a lot

GeminiTay: I'm in.

Shubble: what about Joey?

Pearlescentmoon: he didn't say anything about him sorry

Katherineelizz: this sounds risky :/

Katherineelizz: you sure it's not a trick?

Pearlescentmoon: no, that was him for sure

fWhip: last time you said that I'm pretty sure that wasn’t him

Pearlescentmoon: well this time I'm certain

Smajor1995: why is it only this time?

Pearlescentmoon: because he looked scared . And sausage doesn't get scared like that.

GeminiTay: doesn't matter, tell him we'll do it

fWhip: !!!!????

SolidarityGaming: why are you so insistent on this Gem?

GeminiTay: because Xornorth might show up

GeminiTay: and i wanna kick that demons ass

Fwhip watched more messages be sent with a sigh. It was just stuff about the date of the fight, who could come, what they would do once Xornorth showed up. No,not once, if they showed up at all. Maybe if even it didn’t they’d get Sausage back, and Fwhip feels like trading the whole world to get his brother back most days. He scanned over the agreed upon arrangements in his communicator, only sending back a simple thumbs up when asked his opinion.

This all felt way too important to be discussing over text, but they were busy people. And no one could eavesdrop this way, could they? So maybe this method had its benefits. Fwhip was getting a little sick of House Blossom meetings anyways, the half dragon was pretty sure he’d been in Katherins empire more than his own recently. Which reminded him that he probably needed to go home the next day. Paranoia was still wearing away at the edges of his mind, but Fwhip couldn’t bask in his sister's hospitality forever. He was pretty sure he’d already gotten on her last nerve too, but that was normal.

The Count ran a hand through his hair, doing nothing helpful and making it look like a mess. He was pretty sure it looked like a mess regardless. Gandalf just looked up at him, blinking slowly. He met the cat’s yellow gaze, and the creature just let out a mrrp .

He huffed, going to scratch behind the cat’s ears. Gandalf purred at that, and rubbed his head into Fwhip’s hand. The little thing was surprisingly affectionate, which just endeared Fwhip to him a little more. He still thought this cat was some magic being with more sentiance than it let on, and would not be fooled by the cuteness.

Fwhip wasn’t sure if this cat was trying to warn him or comfort him, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

Arena day comes, and Fwhip doesn’t think he’s ever hated a string of numbers more in his life. He really isn’t excited for this, and has been glaring holes into his calendar for the past two days or so.

He landed in Pearl’s empire an hour early. The only other people there were Gem and Scott, who were preparing some magic thing. Pearl told him not to bother them, and Fwhip just decided to wait around until the grand event started.

Most people showed up, minus Shrub, Joey, Joel, Lizzie and Pix. Not exactly most actually, but about half of the emperors. He’d told Gem her and Scott shouldn’t come, that it probably wasn’t good for them to be close to Sausage again, but she’d argued back stubbornly. Both of them wanted to come, in case Xornorth showed his face. They were trying to perfect a spell against him, and this was too good on an opportunity to pass up. Fwhip hadn’t said anything after that, knowing he couldn’t change her mind; no matter how much he said it’d make him feel better if she just didn’t go .

The Count wished more people had shown up, because he didn’t feel very confident without all of them there. They were missing some valuable fighters too. Lizzie and Pix were both skilled with a trident, Shrub had a lot of wolves, and Joel was surprisingly good at combat, even if he didn’t partake in it much. According to Pearl, Xornroth liked to summon mobs. And six people against mobs, a demon, and maybe said demons pawns did not sound very welcoming. Even with the spell Scott was working on.

Seeing the arena doesn’t help his nerves. It’s more of a colosseum, and one of the smaller ones Fwhip had seen; granted he hadn’t seen too many of these types of builds. He wished Pearl and Sausage had picked a bigger spot for it, because it was sandwiched right between their two empires, on a plot of land that felt far too small for what was about to happen. It felt even smaller with all six of them standing in it, and was sure to feel even more tiny when their two opponents arrived. Well, one opponent and one maybe ally. The thing is also full of cactus, and he’s pretty sure they’re all going to fall on one at some point.

“He’s here.” Pearl said softly, and five heads turned at the sound, all of them having been waiting in the actual arena part.

Sausage stood there at the opposite end, Mythland’s side, and looked a little awkward. Fwhip, who’d been keeping a close eye on his sister, noticed how she went a little rigid. She hid that better than Scott though, who froze like a deer in headlights. Sausage noticed as well, and winced, especially when Katherine moved closer to the elf.

“Uh, hi guys?” Sausage called out a little hesitantly, and took a small step forward. Fwhip noticed Jimmy’s hand slowly shift closer towards his trident, the action not seemingly a conscious decision. A few other people did as well, but Fwhip found he couldn’t copy his fellow emperors. Sausage himself has weapons, including the staff, but his hands were nowhere near them.

Fwhip decided that Pearl was wrong last time, that whatever had attacked Jimmy hadn’t seen his brother, because the man standing in front of him was . He’d been so certain that that person had been Sausage, and was glad to admit he was wrong. The Count was also horrified how easily he believed it, even after seeing it with his own eyes. It was a little hard to wrap his head around honestly, that after all these months of worrying and trying to accept what was really happening, Sausage was standing right in front of him again. Not exactly the same as he had been before, but close enough, and that was better than just a week ago. A million times better than before.

“When’s you know who showing up?” Scott asked, seeming to break through his deer in the headlights stare. The way Sausage looks at the elf has a lot of emotions packed in, some Fwhip can recognize, some he looks at Gem with too. There’s other things he can’t decipher in there, but that’s not for him to investigate, not his story to tell. Especially not right now.

“It’ll probably take a minute. They do what they please.” Mythland’s king responds, and falls silent after that. He’s clearly unsure what to do, and it’s understandable. Besides Pearl, this is one of the first times most of his friends have seen him unpossessed in months, probably getting close to a year now.

“This isn’t a trick is it?” Katherine asks, deciding that they do have time to talk. She’d mentioned wanting too before, and was taking her shot it seemed.

“Not a trick. The staffs just here for appearances.” Sausage seems to spit out the name of his weapon, and his eyes flick to Jimmy as the cod asks the next question. Pearl, having done enough talking to the man, is letting the rest of them speak uninterrupted. Gem is oddly silent, Scott looks like he’s going through the five stages of grief again, and Fwhip wants to speak; he does so badly , but his tongue feels locked in place.

“Why….why do you think you can deflect this way?” Jimmy’s hand has moved away from his spear, and rests at his side. All his petty arguments with Sausage means he knows the man reasonably well, well enough to tell when he’s being truly sincere. Fwhip never thought he’d be glad for all those fights, but now he is, now that the tension in the air starts to lessen just a little.

“I think Xornorths gonna try and kill me here.” Sausage says it so casually it’s almost horrifying, and on the list of fucked up things no one should ever have to say. Fwhip’s been making a list of that, by the way, because his dumb friends keep saying the most terrible phrases about themselves. “It’s been getting annoyed with how I’m not, uh, compiling recently. Joey mentioned something about it a few days ago, something Xornorth had apparently said.”

“What if Joey’s lying?” Jimmy asks, and there genuine concern in his tone. He’s aware of how horribly that could go for both of the demon’s pawns if Joey had been lying.

“Nah. He’s never lied about what Xornorth’s said. Joey’s too smitten to even think of that.” Sausage’s answer was the most confident he would sound all day. They all fell into a stilted silence after that, not quite sure what to do.

Pearl cleared her throat, seeming to break the spell that fell over the seven of them. “We should probably start sparring now, just in case they show up soon.” She mumbled, glancing between all of them. She was asking if certain people were ready, if they were okay with this.

“Yeah.” Gem agreed, and no one else gave further comment. So the spar started, with Pearl flinging herself straight for Sausage. The Mythlander countered quickly, and it very quickly looked like one of their usual matches. True to his word, the staff was mostly just for display, and Sausage didn’t touch it one bit.

All seven of them started facing off against each other, not just against Sausage. Though they all got a turn against him, and Fwhip found that the other wasn’t truly attacking. The rest of them were confident in their movements, apologizing if they accidentally scrapped their opponent, never aiming for serious injury of course. Sausage looked confident from a distance, but when Fwhip actually fought him he could tell that his brother wasn’t really trying, and all the attacks were just for show.

It became a little fun, the whole thing, so much so Fwhip almost forgot what they were here for. The tension had left his shoulders, and he had long since joined in on some playfully banter. But nothing good lasts forever, not even the smallest moments like this. The Count’s closest to Scott when it happens, and catches how the elf suddenly goes rigid.

Sausage senses it too, but doesn’t show it, minus the fear now very evident in his gaze. Scott freezes again, almost losing his balance as he does. “ They’re here .” Is all Fwhip hears the elf whisper, before the sky seems to turn gray above them.

In the stands there's Xornoth, a look that one could call amused plastered across his face. They’re standing above their banner, one hung on the arena’s walls, and Fwhip doesn;t know how he ignored such an ominous object before.

There’s no warning, only the sound of rattling skeleton bones and the tell-tale sounds of Evokers and Pilligars now coming from the colosseum's inner wall. None of them speak, and they all lose sight of Sausage for one vital second, all six pairs of eyes focused on their now compromised exits. Gem and Pearl move to start attempting the spell, not caring if Xornoth sees it. Pearl, far too used to how the demon fights, is charging at the mobs as soon as she catches a glimpse of them.

She’s stopped when Katherine yelps, arm being sliced open. It’s Sausage, and he’s clearly a little different than he was a moment ago. Fwhip watches in shock as the fight, a real, actual fight, starts to break out, and calls to his twin. “Did he just get possessed?” He asks, moving away from a skeleton. It's a common, easy to kill mob, and the Count is pretty sure Xornoth chose them because of how annoying they are to handle.

“Not possession!” Gem called, her staff starting to glow a little. “He’s got a different aura to Joey!”

“Was he like this when he kidnapped you?” Katherine called, clearly a little puzzled. Fwhip was as well, not knowing how what Sausage was experiencing wasn’t demon possession. Blood red eyes looked pretty demon-like to him.

“Yeah!” His sister called. “I can explain more later!”

There’s not much conversation after that, and Fwhip hates how they’re basically being used as amusement for the demon. There’s vindicators now, swinging axes left and right, and every ruler has a swarm of vexes of them. It’s a little much for them to handle, as fwhip predicted, but they’ll manage. They have to manage.

Gem and Scott gave up on the spell, but not after struggling to fight it. Sausage, in whatever state he was in, had focused his attention on making sure they didn’t get room to breathe in between a barrage of attacks. And Fwhip knows that’s not his brother, because he;s using the staff, and he has to wonder what kind of mental hell the elf and the wizard are currently going through. The two stop even trying to attempt the spell once the Illuiosner’s and zombies show up, now having too many dangerous mobs around to do anything but fight for their lives.

There’s an Illusioner next to him suddenly, and Fwhip manages to knock his enemy away before they can activate a spell. The small space is starting to get overrun with mobs and people alike, and the Illuioner is quickly whisked off into another area, and replaced by even more vexes. Fwhip didn’t think his hatred for Evokers could increase so drastically in mere seconds, but here they are.

Ravagers were the next mob to be summoned. Which was great . Three ravagers in a small arena was a horrible combination, nevermind the vexes already floating around. He’s being swarmed by the little things currently, and they stop him from swooping in to save Katherine. About three Vindicators were on her, and she was backed into a corner. The half dragon sees her make it out, but not without some pretty nasty wounds to show for it.

It’s one of the last parts of the battle he sees though, because suddenly a Ravager next to him, charging. Already injured, the Count isn’t fast enough to dodge.

Fwhip let out a yelp of pain, horns slamming into his backside. He felt himself be flung into the air, wings thrashing out of instinct, before landing in a heap on the ground. He’d never really seen a ravager throw someone before, but knew they could. Because of course they could. What else were those weirdly placed horns for?

He was pretty sure something, or several things, made the cracking noise when he landed. It sure felt like he had several broken bones, pain shooting through him from multiple points. He heard the ravagers breath behind him, before the beast let out a roar of pain. Fwhip didn’t know who was currently saving his life, but he’s grateful.

There’s a flash of green and yellow, accompanied by a shout nearby. Someone’s crouching over him, making sure he’s safe until they can get a healing potion in him. He’s pretty sure it’s Pearl, being able to recognize the colors of her dress anywhere. His vision is a bit unfocused right now, an unfortunate side effect of being thrown like a ragdoll, and when Pearl leaves to rejoin the fight it takes Fwhip a good minute to see who replaces her. When he does there's a very familiar blonde fish guy in front of him, and it sends a whole wave of emotions through him.

Jimmy’s crouched over him, and all Fwhip can focus on his worried face, and how he hates that he’s worrying Jimmy. The half dragon has to turn his head a little awkwardly to even see the Codfather, but it's better than looking at the arena’s floor. He senses Gem nearby, and figures he’s soon to be dragged back into the colosseum walls. Not that that will do much about the vexes, but it is better than the open arena. His back is throbbing with pain, and he can only hope his wings go undamaged. He can't (and doesn't like to) use them very much, but he'd still prefer to keep them unharmed.

Until now he’s been laying on a useless heap on the floor, curled into himself best he can manage. Normally, he would’ve gotten up and kept fighting, even with a broken arm or leg, but this time it’s his back that's broken. He had landed right on it, before somehow managing to scramble into whatever position he’s in. Fwhip’s pretty sure he has several fractures, and really hopes they’re all fixable. His breathing’s been pretty labored and panicked as well, which wasn’t helping at all, considering he probably hurt some of his organs as well.

The Count has other injuries, but the most pressing one is apparently to his back. That’s what he hears Gem say, as she and Jimmy somehow maneuver him inside the colosseum walls. Fwhip’s aware that he’s basically being carried around, but focuses only on the ground. He does this even when inside, eyes now tracing the cracks in the concrete instead of the grains of sand.

Healing potions could be used in several different ways, but the most common way was to drink them. They could also be directly applied to a wound, for an ever faster result. That’s what Gem and Jimmy were arguing about when he finally tuned in, the two not even trying to be discreet about it.

“I don’t know which one is best!” He heard Gem hissed. “I’ve never dealt with this kind of injury before!” “If it’s external we should apply it directly!” Jimmy spat, and Fwhip knew exactly what glare he received.

“I don’t wanna risk moving his coat off!” Gem argued back again, and the Count had already had it with this conversation. He could sympathize with not knowing what to do in this situation, really he could. It was just a little irritating when people were arguing over how to heal you, as you were in pain is all.

“Just give me the damn potion!” Fwhip managed through gritted teeth. Both of them shut up and that, and he managed to down a healing potion in record time. They had decided to do both ways, apparently, as he felt the familiar sting of the potion on his backside; Fwhip hadn’t even realized it was littered with cuts as well as the bone being fractured, and it made him wonder what exactly he;d hit on his way down. The half dragon really wished these things worked just a minute faster, or at least that he’d been knocked unconscious about ten minutes ago.

Fwhip isn’t exactly sure what happens after that, just feels the potion start to work its magic. The pain lessens, but doesn’t go away completely. He’s moved out of the arena once the coast is clear enough, and doesn’t know where anyone else is. Besides Gem, who hadn’t left his side since she'd gotten to it. Jimmy, still relatively without major injury, had disappeared back into the thick of the fight at some point.

Eventually he passes out, frustrated and still throbbing from pain. He’s frustrated he couldn’t do more in the chaos of that battle, frustrated he couldn’t help his friends, and that they couldn’t even get Sausage back. He wonders if they even know what became of him.

After waking up late, Fwhip spent most of the next morning at Pearl’s dining table, being extra careful with all his previously broken bones. He’d been given two potions, maybe more, but was still a little concerned about just how much they’d managed to cover.

He’d been sitting there for a good two or so hours, doing nothing but thinking and processing, when he felt another person’s gaze on him. The Count turned, only to see Jimmy standing there, unable to tell if he was leaning against the wall casually or for support. Usually he;d have beamed a little at the sight of the cod, but all the ginger could manage for the moment was a nod of acknowledgement.

“You look horrible.” Fwhip observed, gaze traveling over the cod. The blonde looked like a mess, his hair sticking out in multiple places and his clothes still torn from yesterday’s battle. Jimmy just mutters in response. “I was on watch duty all night, making sure all the stray mobs died.” Well, that explained it.

“Where’s everyone else?” Fwhip muttered, worry itching at the back of his mind. He didn’t like being in the dark on everyone’s statuses, and was honestly a bit annoyed at passing out in the first place. Not being able to help for half of the fight didn’t sit right with him, and he wondered what the six of them would have accomplished without having to take care of his stupid back. He wondered if they could’ve gotten his brother back.

“Resting.” The blonde informed him, taking a second to stretch probably aching limbs. “Gem and Pearl are still working on healing stuff, and told me to check on you. I messaged everyone who didn’t show up, and all of ‘em responded but Shrub.” The ginger raised an eyebrow at that. Shrub was usually pretty decent about answering her messages, so the fact that she hadn;t was a little suspicious; especially after the day before. But maybe she’d been busy, or maybe she’d been sleeping. He didn’t know, and what their little gnome friend was up to was a problem for later.

Jimmy doesn’t mention Sausage, and Fwhip assumes no one else knows where he disappeared too. They’d tell him if he knew, he’s sure of it.

“Who’s hurt?” Fwhip failed to keep the concern out of his tone as he spoke, and hoped it wasn’t obvious how worried he was. He’d been worried since he woke up, enough to feel sick to his stomach and skip breakfast. Gem was gonna be so mad at him for that later, but he’d eat eventually.

“Katherine got pretty wrecked trying to protect us.” Jimmy responded, pulling out the chair next to him. “Scott needs bed rest again, more than last time.” The blonde looked tired as he spoke, and Fwhip is all the more aware of the dark circles lining his eyes. “He had a panic attack, I think. And Gem’s obviously been fighting off some sort of breakdown.” He doesn’t need to say why that happened, they both know. Fwhip was right, those two shouldn’t have come.

Instead of mentioning that Fwhip just sighs, and carefully moves to rest his head on Jimmy’s shoulder. “Hey.” The cod mumbled.

“Hi.” Fwhip’s response is a little deadpan, but Jimmy chuckled at the exchange anyways.

“Pearl said to give you another healing potion, just in case.” He mumbled, removing the half dragon’s head from his shoulder. Fwhip grumbles at that, feeling like a sick and whiny child. He does not want to take another healing potion. After this whole demon ordeal is over he hopes he never has to see one again in his life. The Count’s getting too used to all the injuries, and that is not a good thing to get used too.

He watched as Jimmy stood from the table, and moved further into Pearl’s kitchen. The cod returned a few seconds later with a potion carefully clutched in his grasp, and Fwhip held in another sigh. He’d suck it up and take the potion, not putting it past Jimmy to force it down his throat. And if he couldn’t do it then the cd would get Pearl, who definitely could make him take his medicine.

When Jimmy handed him the potion, Fwhip took it without complaint. Unless you counted a grumpy glare as a complaint, but Jimmy either didn’t or was too tired to care, so it wasn’t one this time. The Count wrinkled his nose at the taste of it, resisting the urge to spit out the magical elixir. Some people said these things tasted good, or even bland, and Fwhip had never gotten that. Every potion he’d ever taken had tasted disgusting on his tongue. He placed the now empty bottle down a little roughly, watching as the glass kinlinked against the table.

“How’s your back now?” The cod waited a few minutes or so to ask the question, until the healing potion had properly started to kick in. Fwhip just huffed, feeling like the thing was more numbing his pain than causing it. “Still sore, my wings don’t feel great either.”

“Maybe some more sleep with help that?” Jimmy suggested, trying to crack a weak smile at him. Sleep sounded wonderful, actually, and Fwhip let himself be helped into one of Pearl’s guest rooms. Her humble home looked small on the outsider, and always felt twenty times bigger whenever the Count actually entered it. He wasn’t even sure how many rooms she had, even after all these years of friendship. Too many, probably.

He ended up laying on his stomach, Jimmy shoving a pillow under him. It was one of the sleeping positions for a broken back Gem had told the cod about, apparently. She’d ordered Fwhip to sleep on his stomach, because of the whole injured wings thing; Gem didn’t want to risk putting too much pressure on him. His wings had always been a bit of a pain when it came to health stuff and sleeping, so he wasn’t very surprised anymore. He usually slept on his side, but would rarely switch it up, his wings usually being too uncomfortable to fold under him and not large enough to crush him with their weight.

Jimmy was sitting on the bed next to him, saying he wouldn;t leave until he was sure Fwhip was asleep. The Count appreciated it, knowing his thoughts would overwhelm him if he was alone. However he did not appreciate the topic of their conversation at all. Too personal, way too feely feely right now. “I get what you said,” The cod muttered. “About thinking you’re gonna lose me.” He muttered it into ginger hair, nuzzling his head into it.

“Not a fun thought, is it?” He mumbled, the other shifting closer, sadly not really being able to cuddle him like this. “I think we both have horrible luck.” He huffed, clicking noise emitting from his throat.

“And terrible anxiety.” Fwhip offered, and the other made another clicking sound in agreement.

“Why’re you so scared of that in the first place? I mean, I kinda get it, but I think we have different reasons?” That just made Fwhip want to know what those reasons were, which was another thing added to his list of things to think about.

He was hesitant in his answer, not really being the talking about his feelings kinda guy. He preferred bottling it up instead. Also this was a… hard subject, to say the least. “Because I’ve….never had anything like this before, so it’s special.” That explanation wasn’t everything, not by a long shot, but he thought it made sense.

“Yeah, yeah..” Was all Jimmy responded with, slipping a hand into his hair, running his fingers through it. Fwhip didn’t say anything else, and just leaned into the touch. Healing potions had some side effects, such as the occasional tiredness, and that one always got the Count every time he took one. He felt his eyes begin to droop, and was very content to fall asleep right here right now.

He fell asleep, purring quietly as Jimmy played with his hair. It was the worst sleep he’d ever had probably, and nothing got better when he woke up. Everything probably got a hundred times worse, actually.

[lunarsands]

Empires SMP S1 Fanfic: The Future Foretold Ch 2

Characters: MythicalSausage, PearlescentMoon, Pixlriffs, Jimmy Solidarity, LDShadowlady, Smallishbeans, Shubble, Joey Graceffa, fWhip, GeminiTay, Scott Major, Xornoth, Katherine Elizabeth, and three special guests

Relationships: platonic MythicalSausage/PearlescentMoon, implied MythicalSausage/Scott Major

Tags: Empires SMP S1 with allusions to Afterlife SMP, and allusions to Empires SMP S2, Canon Divergent, scosage adjacent

WARNINGS: Angst, Major Character Death, (it’s the end of S1 what do you expect?), Everybody Dies, but also, Everybody Lives

Summary: During his multiple attempts to save Pearl, Sausage ends up in the reality he and Scott created for The Wither of Mythland and The Angel of Aeor. He realizes that perhaps with their help he might be able to achieve his goal.

 Sequel to The Past Unmasked, Phantom Solitude, and Glimpses of Fate

(Also available on Ao3!)

[ Chapter One ]

---

Chapter Two

Sausage’s heart was pounding as he waited for just the right second. This was it. This was the one where he would finally be able to save Pearl. After years of repeating these events, memorizing every detail through countless repetition, trying to tweak every little change in the hopes that one of them would finally make a difference. The odd chance that he ended up in a completely other reality was the difference he had needed.

“Oh, it’s okay, it’s okay. Come on. I cannot leave this place without my cats—”

Now.

He ran out from where he had previously landed a hundred times before. “Pearl Pearl Pearl—!”

“Everything’s on fire, Sausage!”

“I know, I already saw. Pearl, come over here, quickly.”

“But the cats – my animals. I have to—”

“Trust me when I say there is no time for that.” He caught her arm, trying to be gentle but some of the dozens of memories began to replay and his fingers tightened.

“What? Well, let’s get higher, at least. It isn’t burning at the top of the beanstalk. Maybe you can explain yourself a little bit. Can you let go of my arm? I can’t fly with you clinging to me like this.”

Sausage bit his tongue; he wanted to explain. His heart ached to let her know more. But there wasn’t time. “Pearl, just— hold still for one second, okay?”

“And here you were telling me there was no time. Where do I get that one second from?” she joked. “Can you just—” She cut herself off. “Sausage. Why are they here?” She was looking straight at The Wither from where it had stepped out from behind the nearby tree. The Angel followed, although he seemed focused on Sausage, not Pearl. “Scott sent them back to their home. I saw it happen. Does this mean fWhip cracked the walls between realities along with everything else?”

“No, Pearl. Don’t worry about it. I just need you to stay calm. We’re going to save you. After all this time… I’m going to do it right.” His voice quavered and teardrops began rolling down his cheeks, but he smiled.

“Sausage, what are you talking about? After all what time? Come to think of it, you look… different. Is everything okay?”

That was right. In all his other attempts it had been a frantic scramble with no chance to note each other’s appearance. The years obviously weighed on him. “It’s fine now, Pearl. Just hold still.”

“Sausage, what…” Pearl glanced to The Wither, its hand outstretched toward the chest of her chest. “Oh. This is the end of the world. You’ve come for my soul. All right. Goodbye, Sausage. It was fun.”

“Pearl,” he whimpered, but kept his gaze on The Wither’s hand, holding his breath when it passed into her, and then he waited to see what her soul looked like. He had already felt it once, when she had gone to the dream realm to save him from the ice essence he had taken into his own soul. It would be warm, and probably be yellow like the sun. Or maybe white, with an iridescent sheen like her namesake.

When The Wither’s hand withdrew, Sausage’s stomach dropped. It wasn’t holding an orb. It was a chunk of some opaque, orange-colored gemstone. He didn’t have a chance to take in the details, distracted by how Pearl slumped motionless in his arms. “No – But – Th-That’s not a soul! That just looks like the kind of crystal Gem used to represent Pearl in the circle! W-What have you done?! Where is her soul?! This won’t work without her soul!!”

The Wither was just as baffled. “I – I assure you, it is her soul. I would not be able to remove it otherwise. I have never pulled out a representation before.”

“But it looks nothing like the other ones! You pulled a round one out of me – out of the evil me, too! And when my soul was sitting in the dream realm, it was still round! And I – And I’ve felt Pearl’s soul! It should be warm, and glowing, and-and that’s just a hunk of rock!” Sausage cradled Pearl’s head over his heart. Had they just killed her for nothing? But… at least it was more merciful than the burning and withering, right? He gently lowered her to the ground then stood with one hand held out, and said grimly, “Let me hold it. I want to know if it feels like she did then.”

The Wither saw the desperation in his eyes and decided it should lie to him. “It must not be touched by hands other than mine, or it will be lost. I will keep it safe as promised, Lord Sausage. We should continue forward as planned.”

Sausage clenched his hand into a fist and drew it to his chest, wanting to agree but doubt chewed at his resolve. “But… But what if something is wrong with it? Like – it solidified, or something, and the energy might be wrong? What if it can’t be transferred to a relic like this? We’ll go back… We’ll go back one more time, just to be sure!”

The Wither was hesitant to encourage a repeat of what had just happened, but then it sensed a life thread snap. “We will have to go back now, anyway. We have hesitated too long here – someone has fallen. Lord Sausage, you must be willing to act more quickly, and not question things next time.” It pressed the orange stone into its own chest. While not an orb, it was roundish, but a little bit flat as well, and did actually have a shape to it—

It disappeared from his view. Sausage pulled out the Staff of Mythland. “Back we go,” he said with a stubborn edge.

~*~

“Pearl Pearl Pearl!”

There was no answer this time. There was the fire, and the cats milling around, and the suspiciously-shiny goose wandered along the path, but Pearl was not in the usual spot. She wasn’t in the house or the barn or in any of the castle pieces along the beanstalk. Sausage’s cry of despair rang out over the area, and The Angel held back from flying up after him to drag him down to the ground; The Angel himself was unsettled, because the place felt chillingly empty.

Sausage then glided down but collapsed to his knees the moment he landed. “She’s always here! I didn’t always jump to the same spot, but she would be here, somewhere! We finally changed something, but now she’s somewhere else?” He threw a frightened glance at The Angel. “Can you sense her? Is she at the edge of her kingdom, maybe? Or�� maybe we changed it so she goes to Mythland to find me, instead of the other way around! We’ll have to waste more time looking for her there, but at least we’ll know where she now is on the next jump!”

He struggled to his feet and faced the direction of his home, ready to take off and begin the search.

The Angel stepped into his path. “I do not sense her. She is not here in this world.”

“Th-That can’t be right. Her empire is still here, it looks exactly the same, she had to have been the one to build it!”

“Yes, she was here. But no longer.”

The Wither, who was standing with the suspiciously-shiny goose petting its beak, turned toward them and held its hand against its chest, then drew out the orange stone. “How about now? Do you sense her now?”

The Angel turned to regard The Wither. “…Yes. Now I do.”

The Wither walked over, although was careful to keep both hands over the stone. “I believe that I now hold the very essence of Lady Pearlescent, and from the moment I removed it, she only exists in the form of this crystal – this sunstone – flower.” It held up the stone to show that it was carved in the shape of the head of a sunflower; the roundish part was the center, with divots to give the impression of seeds, and the petals had obvious individual details.

“Yet that is not the normal appearance of a soul,” The Angel commented, siding with Sausage on that part.

“I might have an idea why this is so. Lord Sausage, you associate Lady Pearlescent with these flowers, correct?” It nodded toward one of the nearby giant sunflowers that was not yet wilting from the heat of the fires.

“Y-Yes..?”

“I believe you have done this. Through expending your thoughts and energy, your intention to preserve her life in order to save her – you have caused her soul to be encased in this form. It became shielded, yet sustained her as you continued your attempts. We will not have to transfer her soul into a relic. You have inadvertently created one out of it already.”

Sausage took a few seconds to process that. He gazed at the sunstone flower head, aching to hold it to be sure. “I feel kind of like I should be relieved by that but, um, I’m also kind of disturbed. I don’t think I want ‘ability to transform souls to stone’ added to my list of specialties.” He clenched his fists. He had to believe in The Wither’s conclusion. “Come on. Time to get the others.”

The Wither sighed. Snap went another life thread. “Back again, once more.”

~*~

There was a rumbling in the distance but the Ant Hill seemed stable for the moment. Sausage headed into the tunnel where Pix had ended up falling; the Copper King would be further in than where he had found him before, obviously. Now, though, it was fine for him to call out to the other man. “Piiiix? I know you’re here. Something has happened. I need you to come outside.”

He heard the tap of the end of the trident on the floor, then Pixlriffs stepped out of another tunnel opening. “Ah, Mythical Sausage. Not blowing something else up, are you? I thought I heard an explosion somewhere.”

“Not me this time. But I’m not so sure it’s safe in here right now, so come this way.”

“This ant hill has stood for centuries. If all your mischief so far hasn’t damaged it, I doubt anything else will.”

“Fine, but – come with me.” Exasperated at Pix’s light-hearted ribbing, Sausage grabbed the wrist of his empty hand and unceremoniously hauled him toward the intersection where he would otherwise be buried by rubble.

“Well, I guess you’re just going to insist.” Pix went along but considered being wary. And when he saw The Wither move into view, he planted the trident and prepared to fight being pulled forward another step. “Oh, hello, who is this then? Just as I suspected, some new trouble from you.”

Without a word The Wither reached into the Copper King’s chest and pulled out not an orb, but a piece of pietersite in the shape of a lightning bolt. The trident clattered to the floor but Sausage took hold of Pix and set him down so he leaned against the wall. He then regarded the golden-swirled blue stone in The Wither’s hand, and murmured, “I guess I subconsciously protected them all…”

“Or the effect rippled. How many jumps have you made?”

“Lost count. Let’s go.”

~*~

Jimmy proved to be slippery for more reasons than one. He was already partway to the edge of Pixandria’s desert, and though he was a fair distance from home where the water was gone and panic was driving his steps, the slime still clung to him, and Sausage had to keep trying to adjust his grip on his arms. “Sausage! No! Please! Don’t try to take me back there! I don’t deserve to be a ruler anymore! Just let me go! Let me run away! I’m sorry! I’m sorry for everything I ever did! But please don’t make me go back!!”

For a second Sausage wanted to ask why he wasn’t at least running toward Rivendell. Not that finding Scott dead would do him any favors… “That’s not why I’m here! Will you just – STOP! – Calm down for one second!”

“No! I can’t! It’s all my fault! The water’s gone, the cod are all dead! I should never have— Oh my gods. What is that? What is THAT?! S-Sausage, tell me you haven’t—”

The Wither ended his frantic babbling when Sausage was finally able to hold him still long enough for the specter to reach into the Codfather’s chest and pull out a piece of green jasper with brown spots that was in a generic fish shape.

Sausage assumed it was meant to be a cod. He lowered Jimmy to the ground, then turned away and pressed on his temples. “They’re all going to freak out like that, aren’t they?” He sighed. “It can’t be helped. Let’s go.”

~*~

They stepped out onto the docks of Mythland in time to see Lizzie in her small boat, although not pulling at the oars at that moment in favor of mumbling over a book in her hands. “Queen Lizzie!” Sausage called out. He had to get her closer to the dock.

“Oh! Lord Sausage! I have something to tell you! I don’t know how much good it will do, but another prophecy has come true! It’s about the Blood Sheep! See, here!” She rowed over and held the book up toward him. “Streets will run red—”

“No time,” he interrupted, grabbing her hand instead of the book, which fell from her hold into the water.

“No! I need to check the rest! Let me go get it.”

“No, Lizzie, forget about it. Just hold still a minute.”

“What? What for? …Who is that?” She now stared past him as The Wither approached. “Don’t tell me there’s another prophecy I missed! Sausage, what is—”

She then emitted a short gasp and slumped against him as The Wither pulled out a piece of lapis lazuli flecked with gold in the shape of an axolotl. Sausage placed Lizzie back in the boat and pushed it away from the dock where the retreating tide would carry her away from Mythland; just in case anyone happened to spot her, and would hopefully not pin her perceived death on him, potentially impeding their quest.

~*~

They arrived in Mezalea to the tune of Joel swearing a blue streak, tramping back and forth in front of the giant crack that ran up the side of the Matral Palace. The ground was already rumbling again, and Sausage jogged toward him. “Joel! You should probably get away from there!”

“Not now, Sausage!! Are you blind?! Look at my beautiful palace! All that work! I had just put some finishing touches on it! This is so stupid!!” The Mezalean king stomped one foot and swore again. Too focused on the structure above, he didn’t look below, where the crack in the base of the palace began to spread through the ground toward him.

“Joel – um – maybe just calm down a second and move away from—”

“No, I will not calm down! Do you know how long it took me to build all of this?! How am I supposed to even begin fixing it?!”

Stomp. Crck - r u m b l e – CRACK.

The ground split open beneath him. Joel let out a squeak and tried to grab for the nearest edge. Sausage dived to try to catch his hand, landing right at the edge of the crack, himself, but missed. Joel plummeted straight down with a scream. “Angel!” Sausage yelled. “Fly in and catch—!”

Joel’s scream abruptly ended with another type of cracking noise echoing up from the newly formed crevasse.

The Wither shook its head. “Not enough time for that.”

Sausage pushed himself up, immediately taking out the Staff and reaching for The Wither’s hand. “We go back. We’ll get him before this can form.”

~*~

The second he heard Joel’s first swear, Sausage bolted over and grabbed his hand, forcibly dragging him away from the side of the palace and making sure to only stop when he was clear of where the new crack would end.

“Sausage-? What? Let go of me!” Joel squawked. “Can’t you see I’m busy? Look at my beautiful palace! Destroyed! How am I supposed to ever fix this?!”

Sausage kept his grip on the Mezalean’s hand, afraid he would feel it slip through his fingers at any second. “Joel, just be quiet for once.”

“Oh, be quiet, yourself! Do you know how long this took to build? I had just put—” Joel finally did stop when he caught sight of The Wither. “Oh no. Sausage. Have you found more demons I have to pretend don’t exist?”

Sausage gave a wry smile. “You won’t have to for very long, I promise.”

“Now what have you gotten yourself into? Honestly, you’re so much troub—”

Joel was cut off by The Wither reaching in and pulling out a piece of bismuth in two states; the already complex structure of the iridescent crystal formed leaves upon a tree trunk made of the unoxidized metal.

Sausage placed Joel in the shade of a nearby flowering azalea; not that it would matter if the cracks continued to spread.

~*~

Sausage felt bad at how easy it was for him to overpower the smaller gnome, but he had to stop Shrub before she got back to her wolf pack. The Angel had already warned that she would be surrounded by a dozen of them plus a giant Dire Wolf when he had followed her to her last location at the Undergrove. She put up a mighty fight, though, straining to kick him as he grabbed up the surprisingly densely packed pile of muscle that was a gnome under the arms.

“Hey!! It’s very rude for a non-gnomish person to pick up a gnome like this! It’s an insult, even! You also shouldn’t disrespect the wolf spirit! Put me down!!”

“I’m sorry, I can’t. There’s no time.”

“Oh, just you wait! I only need a second to call them, and then the wolves will teach you a lesson!” Shrub brought two fingers to her mouth and let out a whistle. Then she made another attempt to kick Sausage.

There was an answering howl, but then The Angel stepped out of cover, prepared to quell the wolves if they got too close.

“W-Who is that?” Shrub questioned, the glowing light from the figure catching her attention. “Or, what is that?” Then she gave a yell. “AAH! What is that?! Oh no oh on oh no. Please, not another demon!!”

The Wither let out a quiet sigh. This was going to get old, quick. As she struggled to squirm out of Sausage’s hold, it reached into her and removed a mushroom-shaped piece of dravite tourmaline.

The first three wolves appeared but stayed beyond the trees, pacing warily. “She’ll be safe, I promise,” Sausage said to them, carefully setting Shrub down on the ground. “We have to go now, but you can still guard her.” He lifted his hands up to show he hadn’t harmed her. One of the wolves growled at him yet then glanced at The Angel. More wolves appeared, but none moved any closer until the three interlopers were gone.

~*~

Sausage picked his way through the flaming rubble of the Lost Temple to get to Joey. He could hear him babbling about something from somewhere in the debris. And then it was Joey who saw him first. “Sausage! How are you? Look, I know I blew up your tower, but can you still do me a favor?”

He was awfully chipper for someone laying battered in a hole in the floor surrounded by the bits of his throne room that had collapsed inward. At least Sausage wouldn’t have to hold him still. He didn’t look like he could move far.

“Since, you know, you were Xornoth’s champion and all, can you tell me – has he contacted you at all? Has he asked about me? He’s been gone for so long, but I know he couldn’t possibly have forgotten me! I was even more special to him than you were, but I figured if he wasn’t able to contact me, surely he would contact you. We were both such good little puppets to him… He wouldn’t forget us even with the world turning to ruin. But that’s just what he would have wanted, isn’t it? Look, Xornoth! My empire is destroyed! It’s perfect for you now!”

“Ohgod. Joey, I’m so sorry.” Sausage couldn’t help but listen to the delusional ramble. Joey had to be the worst off out of all of them. “It – It’ll be okay, Joey. Just lie still for a—” Sausage jerked his head to side when he heard the sizzle of TNT. The fire had continued to spread and must have ignited a block hidden under other rubble.

The Angel had been on guard for other dangers, but in a blink he was swooping to grab Sausage and carry him clear of the explosion.

Joey was not so lucky.

Sausage looked away from the smoking mess. “We go back.”

~*~

“Sausage! How are you? Look, I know I blew up—”

“No time for that, Joey.” He stood directly over where the Lost Emperor lay, having made his way directly to him during this jump.

Joey managed to pout. “I was only going to ask if you had heard from— Oh!” He gave a delighted cry when The Wither moved into view. “Is that him? Is that my Xorny? You look so mysterious like that~”

Naturally, The Wither didn’t respond and only started reaching down. Its fingers barely touched Joey’s chest when he cried out again, disrupting its concentration.

“Oh, you must need some extra power after all this time! You deserve to get stronger! My heart belongs to you! You may take it! Use it to rain down even more destruction on this miserable world!!” He closed his eyes and smiled.

“Gladly,” The Wither rasped in a bitter tone. It pulled out a piece of tiger’s eye in the shape of a totem of undying.

The irony was not lost on Sausage as he went to put out the fire before it could reach the TNT.

“How could anyone love the likes of Xornoth?” The Angel practically spat. “Minion of Exor, incapable of care and compassion? This Lost Emperor must have an evil soul.”

“No,” The Wither said softly, now sounding sad. “It is not.” It cradled the totem in its hands. “Misguided. Infatuated. He sought love and was blinded by it. He did not know where to look, and he became intrigued as well as smitten. Xornoth took advantage of his blind devotion.”

There was something else to The Wither’s air that drew The Angel’s concern. And something was nagging at him, too. He turned to Sausage. “We will continue the quest, but leave us for a moment.”

Not having a choice since he would need The Wither to be quick on the next two, Sausage climbed out of the destroyed temple and went far enough to where he figured he was out of earshot.

“Are you sensing something out there, as well?” The Angel asked, then embraced The Wither when it began shaking.

It looked down at the gemstone still in its hands. “You loved a monster once, too. I am not saying Xornoth is redeemable at this time, but perhaps this mortal’s love could have made a difference to someone.” It then pressed the totem into its chest to store it with the others. “What is it that you are sensing?”

“There is a presence at the edge of my awareness. It is growing stronger each time we travel backward. I cannot determine the source, and yet… there is something. Have you felt anything besides the dead?”

“No, I have not.”

The Angel silently considered possibilities. “Then perhaps it is a holy presence, if only I can sense it.”

“Aeor’s return? Perhaps he will take pity and aid us.”

“Pray instead that we are not too late for any others.”

~*~

Sausage though that a plan to tag team the siblings would go poorly but it turned out trying for one at a time was an even worse idea as fWhip fled across the grounds of the Crystal Cliffs shouting for his life. “Gem? Gem! I’m seeing a bright light, Gem! I don’t think I’m doing so well after the explosion, after all!”

“Come back here, fWhip! This is for your own good!”

“I’m good right where I am, thank you! I’ve been through enough for one day!” fWhip tried to dodge around the side of a house but tripped over some of the very debris that had been flung over from the Grimlands. “Aaah! Oh, ow, I should never have used so much iron on the roofs. But who expects their entire city to blow up and land on the neighboring empire’s front yard?” He hopped up and down, clutching his foot, then scrambled again to escape.

The Wither appeared around the other corner of the building and neatly put its hand through fWhip’s chest as he passed by. fWhip turned toward it, brain trying to process if he was now hallucinating demons due to all of the turmoil of the past few hours, then he went limp as The Wither equally as smoothly drew out a piece of carnelian.

Sausage winced as fWhip landed on his side in the dirt, but… at least they had caught up to him.

Unfortunately, it was just in time for Gem to exit her tower with a satchel in one hand and baby dragon Violet perched on her head. Her eyes went wide and she dropped the satchel. “Sausage!” Her gaze went from him to fWhip to—

The Wither.

She looked at The Wither’s hands.

Then she looked at the still-burning chunks of the Grimlands that peppered the area. She calmly turned around and went back in the tower. They saw her a few seconds later at the top, standing on the landing platform. There was a roar and Sausage instinctively ducked, then took out the Staff of Mythland. Looks like they would have to make another jump to prevent her seeing all this.

One of the white dragon guardians swooped down and grabbed onto the tower, claws piercing stone and causing a rain of loose debris. Gem appeared to be speaking to it, then placed Violet behind its head. The dragon made a chuffing sound and a rumble, then flapped its wings, lifting off from the side of the tower. It circled overhead once before flying off toward the north.

Gem then glided down to the ground and walked to stand in front of Sausage. She studied his face; she noticed the difference in how he looked compared to what had been a mere hour or so ago for her at the central camp, when everyone had been gathered together. “The aftershocks are worse than we thought, huh?” She took out her staff and held it toward him, then said quietly, “Please be careful with the magic you’re using. I trust you, Sausage. I trust you’ll be able to save us.”

“Thank you, Gem,” he answered in an equally quiet voice. He accepted the staff from her, then she silently turned to The Wither and held her arms out in a show of no resistance.

The Wither reached out but paused. “Thank you, Wizard Gem. We are forever in your debt. Rest well for now.” It reached in and, predictably, pulled out a piece of amethyst.

This time Sausage acted more quickly and caught her before she dropped. He gently laid her down back-to-back with fWhip. When he stood up, he saw The Wither was now holding both her and fWhip’s souls. Both were in the shape of the vertical half of a flame, but when held side by side they could be interlocked into one full flame. Sausage smiled wistfully. At least neither was a wither rose. That would have stung more. He turned that smile toward The Angel. “Now for your favorite rescue.”

[empires-smp-out-of-context]

Did you finish watching “There Are No More Gnomes...” by Shubble and decide that you needed to quote the lines from it? Are you looking for a transcript so that you can properly look over the lines without having to look for the specific line that you remember?

Then look no further! I have transcribed the entire video, from start to finish, so that you don’t have to look any further.

Spoilers and length warning under the cut. If you are familiar with my other transcripts, you should be aware that they are long. “There Are No More Gnomes...” has a total runtime of 8 minutes and four seconds. Please let me know if the format needs changing.

Edit: Just fixed a missheard line

The video begins with a fade from black to Shubble’s enderchest. Xornoth speaks from inside it. Their voice is distorted.

Xornoth: Shrub Berry

The video transitions to a black screen, emulating a person shutting their eyes. The transition reverses quickly, showing Shubble waking up in her fairy circle. 

Shubble: Huh? Wha-? What?

Shubble becomes exasperated

Shubble: Man. Not again! Something weird is going on, and I think it’s time I asked my friends for help.

A transition from Shubble’s Undergrove to Katherine’s Overgrown. Shubble walks towards Katherine, who is in her potions building.

Shubble: Hello Katherine!

Katherine: Hi.

Shubble: Hey, thanks for meeting with me. I don’t know who I can trust while I have this power.

Katherine: Yeah!

Shubble: I have a bit of an emergency and I was hoping you could help me.

Shubble pulls the Xornoth crystal out of her inventory.

Katherine: oh.

Shubble: I’m not supposed to have this but I thought that Scott was too dangerous to have it and I just- I have a bad feeling that Xornoth might be kind of creeping through it and I need you to check if there’s any bad juju, corruption going on.

Katherine takes the crystal from Shubble and walks into the potions building, towards a caldron. Shubble follows behind her.

Katherine: Let’s see I’ll throw it in my magic pool.

Shubble: Yeah I’ve been having these bad dreams, I’ve been sleepwalking and I’m pretty sure Xornoth’s been talking through it.

Katherine: Yeah no, um - This seems to be totally fine.

Shubble: What?

Katherine: Yeah this uh- Yeah there’s nothing wrong with this.

Shubble: What, but- But what about my dreams?

Katherine: I threw - I threw it in my- in my magic uh, magic little pot there and nothing- nothing’s bad hap- No yeah nope. We’re all good

Shubble: Are you sure it’s working? Did you turn it on and off before you used it?

Katherine: stammers for a moment I’ll try one more time.

Shubble: Thank you!

Katherine: Okay. In the pot. Out of the pot.

Katherine walks to Shubble.

Katherine: We’re good.

Shubble: And its corrupted.

Katherine: No. Not corrupted.

Shubble: Oh.

Katherine gives Shubble the Xornoth crystal.

Katherine: It’s totally fine.

Shubble: Well, I mean I- I believe that you have all of the science and education to back up this claim. However, for personal reasons I will not be accepting it. Thank you bye!

Shubble turns and leaves the building, flying away.

Katherine: Faintly Oh okay, goodbye!

The video transitions from over the Overgrown to the entrance to Scott’s house in Rivendell. The door is open and Shubble walks in, yelling.

Shubble: Scott! Are you home?

Scott: Woah, woah.

Shubble gasps as Scott walks away from the bookshelf, so she can see him.

Scott: Oh.

Shubble: Oh hey you’re back.

Scott: Hi.

Shubble: I didn’t know if you were going to be here.

Scott: Yeah I’m back.

Shubble: Um.

Scott: Erm.

Shubble: I have some explaining to do.

Scott:  Yes you do, I’m back because of you.

Shubble: Gasps Oh. Were you- were you going to stay on your vacation if it wasn’t for me?

Scott: I mean, normally when someone steals your demon brother crystal that you locked away in your secret room that wasn’t so secret it tends to force you to come home.

Shubble: I just- Okay listen you went off the rails a little bit if we’re being fully honest. So I just- It started out completely, completely well intentioned but 

Shubble takes the crystal out of her inventory and gives it to Scott.

Shubble: I don’t want it anymore. Um- I think you need to check it out, I think Xornoth might be coming back, Scott. I think it’s been whispering to me and I’ve been seeing things and I’ve been having these weird dreams-

Scott: Whispering to you?

Shubble: Yeah I think he’s- I think he’s getting out, maybe you should check for cracks or something.

Scott walks over to his smithing table. Shubble stands on his table to look over his shoulder as he inspects the crystal.

Scott: Quietly, to himself Hmm, it looks the same.

Shubble: Talking over Scott, rambling I mean, are we really sure the magic worked? I mean Gem’s never-

Scott turns around, and Shubble goes onto the floor.

Scott: Gem’s magic’s never failed. It’s never failed before Shelby. And like, we did plenty of research into the spell.

Shubble: But Scott- He has to be coming back. There has to be something wrong with it.

Scott: Shelby I don’t- I don’t think there is. I- The crystals just basically a piece of jewellery at this point like-

Shubble:  Scott if there’s nothing wrong with it that- that means that my people are just actually gone. And they’re not coming back. But if, if he can- if he’s still there and- and he’s coming out, there maybe is a chance.

Scott: Shel- Shelby I’m really sorry, but I- The crystals fine. I- I don’t think he’s coming back.

Shubble backs away from Scott.

Shubble: But- But that

Scott takes a shaking breath.

Scott: I think that might mean your people are gone, Shelby

Shubble: Um. I think I’m gonna go.

Shubble walks towards the door.

Shubble: I’m glad you’re back, Scott. Crystal’s in your hands!

Scott: Faintly Sh-Shelby?

Shubble flees the house.

Shubble: Take care of it, don’t let it get to you! Goodbye!

Shubble takes off, flying over Rivendell.

Scott: Bye-

The video fades to black as music block notes play in the background. The notes play faintly, Non-diagetically. For another minute of the video, the only person who speaks is Shubble. The video jumpcuts to Shubble, standing in The Undergrove.

The dreams, the voices, the hallucinations. None of it was real? It was all in my head.

Shubble walks towards her portal.

Xornoth really is gone, and so is all the corruption. But my home - it’s too far gone. It can’t be saved. That was my last hope. None of my people are left.

Shubble takes out her bow and draws it, aiming the arrow towards the portal.

There’s nothing to go back for.

Shubble fires the arrow into the portal, and theres a jumpcut to black as a shattering noise sounds. The video jumps back in, facing towards her house. 

I worked so hard, to build my home again. But it’s a lie. None of it’s real.

Shubble walks towards her house.

I don’t have a home. I don’t have any people.

Shubble walks into her house.

I don’t have any family.

A jumpcut to her enderchest. She takes out a single block of tnt and a flint and steel from her inventory.

I don’t belong here

Shubble places the tnt block, lights it, and runs out of the house, jumping off the balcony as there is a quick fade to black. An explosion sounds during the blank screen. There is a jump cut to a panoramic shot of her villager area.

These aren’t my things.

A cut to a shot of her house.

This isn’t my house.

A cut to a shot of the bedroom in the house she built.

This isn’t my bed.

A cut to a shot of her mushroom castle.

This isn’t my castle.

A cut to the grave area.

None of this- None of this really belongs to me.

A cut to a shot of her mooshroom pen.

It was never meant for me. I was never a ruler.

A cut to an arial shot of her house and castle.

I was never royalty.

There’s silence for a second before the screen goes black.

I’m just nobody.

A cut to Shubble walking down her path.

I’m not fit to rule anybody. But I know somebody who is.

A sliding transition to the overgrown castle. From this point forward, there is another person talking to Shubble. The shot of the castle is silent. A jumpcut to Shubble walking towards the entrance to the castle.

Shubble: Hello? Is anybody home?

Shubble enters the castle.

Katherine: Hello! I’m upstairs in my throneroom.

Shubble: Hm! Coming up.

Shubble walks up to the throne room.

Katherine: Hello.

Shubble: Hello. Uh- Sorry I left in such a hurry last time we saw each other.

Katherine: Oh- Oh it’s okay! I’m just [Transcriber was unable to understand]

Shubble: You were right and I’ve decided - I don’t believe I’m responsible enough for this, and I’d like you to have it.

Shubble gives Katherine the one crown to rule all of empires. Katherine gasps, getting off her throne to pick it up.

Katherine: Oh, really?

Shubble: As long as you’re willing to accept any and all responsibility it comes with -

Katherine: Yes

Shubble: - And make a good rule!

Katherine: I will try my best. I will rule the world-

Shubble: Oh

Katherine: - Peacefully.

Shubble: Yeah. Shubble laughs Yeah! Peacefully! I believe it’s in good hands.

Katherine: Mmm! Thank you! Wait I will put it on-

Shubble gasps as Katherine takes off her normal crown and puts on the One crown.

Katherine: Tada!

Shubble: Ooooh! It looks good even your- Your gem’s in the front!

[Katherine says something, but the transcriber was unable to understand it]

Katherine: Yeah!

Shubble: I trust this to you, I’m sure nothing can go wrong. Good luck in your rule.

Katherine: Thank you!

Shubble: You’re welcome!

Shubble walks down the stairs, exiting the palace.

Shubble: Sweet I got rid of it!

The video cuts to black. From this point forward, the only person who speaks is Shubble. The video fades in to Shubble on top of her castle, in her wolf spirit skin.

The only time I ever felt like a real leader was when I was the wolf spirit. I’m not meant to lead as a gnome. Because there are no more gnomes. But the wolves? They need me. So I’ll lead them.

Jump cut to Shubble on the ground, collecting her wolves from where they’ve been sitting.

Alright everybody! It’s moving day. We have stayed here long enough, but I think it’s time for us all to leave. We’re gonna go live in the woods, like real wolves do.

Let’s go Gemini, Pluto. Let’s make sure we don’t miss anybody. Everyone, front and centre lets go! Come on Neptune, we’ve got a big day of travelling, we’ve gotta get somewhere fresh before the sun sets. Who are we missing? I don’t remember whos alive.

Shubble walks into her old house, freeing the Lord of the Moon from where he was sitting. She looks around for a moment.

Alright guys lets go- No don’t go in there, c’mon it’s dangerous in there! I blew it up.

A jump cut to the top of one of the mountains, where Lord Saturn sits. Shubble releases him as well.

There you are Saturn. And-

Shubble spots a wolf sitting in the distance.

Oh that sneaky boy. Mhm, sneaky, sneaky boy.

Shubble accidently punches the Lord of Uranus instead of letting him stand up. She then lets him stand up.

Oh my goodness I didn’t meant to hit. Oh my gosh I’m so sorry! Oh I’m so sorry! I don’t- Alright first mission when we get to where we’re going: We need meat, all I got are carrots. But don’t worry everybody, I’m gonna provide for us all. Now lets go get mother wolf.

A jump cut to Mother Wolf’s den. Shubble gets Mother Wolf’s saddle.

Last, but not least, come on Mother Wolf. It is time, for us to travel again.

Shubble gets onto Mother Wolf, riding her into the forest.

Alright everyone. I hope you’re all here! I hope you all have all the things that you need. All we’re leaving with is what we got on our backs, so I hope you got everything you wanted to bring. And we’re off into the forest.

Shubble rides silently into the forest for a moment, until the video fades to black. There is a jump cut to a while later, with Shubble and the wolves sitting around a camp fire as the sun sets.

This is just like camping! Anybody have any uh- any ghost stories?

All of the wolves bark at once.

Okay, okay. Not everybody at once. Just- Just one at a time, please.

Theres silence from the wolves.

Okay, I guess I’ll go first then.

Once upon a time, in a far away elf realm there were these two champions.

The video fades to black.

[bonesandthebees]

You know, I'm actually in a really weird spot about the situation. I haven't had significant mcyt brainrot in a while although the life series took over my brain during secret life. I've been into Persona again because P3R dropped, so I was almost completely disconnected.

But I've watched Shubble for seven years. I adore her. I watched him for maybe four years now, and while he was entertaining, I don't have the same nostalgia associated with him beyond the dsmp storytelling and the SBI gang.

Then Techno's bit happened, and well, SBI became a bit of a relic of the past. I love them still. It's just not the same anymore.

And then since I haven't had significant brainrot in such a long time, my only source of his presence at all was through your fics. Which is so important to mention because you're writing the character, not the person. And that's why I'm not as affected. I consider myself lucky.

Abuse is a horrible, horrible thing and I would never wish that on anyone. I feel terrible that Shubble had to endure all that. I hope she is doing better now. That is all that matters, supporting her. The dude can screw himself, the details do not paint a pretty picture for him.

-❄️

I'm honestly glad you're not that badly affected by it snowflake! it does mean a lot hearing my fics were your main source of sbi content and all that, I'm always so happy to know you're still around

and you're right, what matters more than anything rn is supporting shubble. they've said they're doing a lot better and I am so happy for her. I hope she can move on completely with all of this behind her.

[karmadraws]

MEXICAN PARTY!!!!!! WUUUUUUUUU

I leave here some sketches of the girls: 3 they are Lizzie, Shubble and Katherine and the first one and the second one is Gem :3

LET'S GOOOOO, MEXICAN PARTYYYYYYY

Everyone was calm to the party, Pearl did not separate from de Grian, Mumbo and Scar tried to get closer to Grian, some were already making jokes, everyone attended with typical Mexican costumes, those who arrived hungry were surprised that almost all the dishes Mexicans carry chili, and a couple in my corner of the place. Scott and Jimmy were together while Scott complimented Jimmy, "if your body were jail and your lips were chains, my sentence would be beautiful" Jimmy was nervous, Lizzie finally arrived and so they wouldn't kill him Scott didn't said no "mason compliment" (those who are not very family friendly) [I'll show you some later]

After a while, the party began to light up, everyone was more playful and they began to play rather heavy jokes, almost always at parties of this type there are things like eggs with confetti or the lottery and then they began to play, Tango, Impulse and Zedaph were playing marbles, they bet whoever lost had to eat a whole chili in one bite, so none of them was willing to lose, the others were also playing for a while, always with silly bets, the dumbest was for Xisuma, who accepted and in the end he was saved At the time of going to the food, everyone began to choose dishes such as tostadas de tinga, golden tacos, pozole, mole, and were even surprised with the party rice and the normal one (I'M NOT JOKING, IT REALLY THEY HAVE DIFFERENT TASTE) the first daring to eat something with spicy was Etho, all to annoy Bdubs with seeing who can handle spicy better, they were going to eat cochinita pibil with habanero, in the end, well, they couldn't hold out for long.

Finally after the food table was empty (EJEM SOMEWAY, MIRACLE I THINK) it was the turn of the candys, there were wafers with cajeta, chocolates, picafresas, tamarinds, mueganos, meringues, everything, even the best sweets like mazapanes. They were all playing with each other, Joey proposed that whoever could get a mazapán out of its wrapper without breaking it would give him something he wanted, and well after a while and running out of mazapán no one won. After trying even beer and tequila, the party seemed more like an authentic Mexican party, everyone living together, there was hardly any centerpiece on the tables, there was no food, it was getting late and there was nothing to do, although in Mexico parties they don't end because yes, one after another they proposed ideas to be there together until dawn, they played truth or dare, they danced and sang Mexican songs and the best thing came after 4 am, when everything began to calm down the others found Oli sleeping on the chairs, obviously they did not miss the opportunity and when Oli woke up he was going to have his whole face painted, Scar and Mumbo finally talked to Grian who rejected all compliments or nice words to annoy them for a while, Ren did not detach himself from Doc , Big B and Martyn who were getting along, Joel asked Lizzie to dance, Cleo shone in her dress along with the others, everything was being perfect, except for something, a couple had escaped from the party, katherine and shubble were not there, when the two came back the others soon made fun, they said things like "have you come back from behind the guayabo?" (Phrase used to say "they were girlfriends / boyfriends) while everyone laughed, even them, after all if they arrived at dawn, everything had been perfect. :3

BUENO, QUE VIVA MÉXICO CABRONES A PARTIR DE HOY SON CIEN DÍAS DE PURA FIESTA, WUUUUUUU NOS VEMOS MAÑANA, TENGO QUE DORMIR SI MAÑANA QUIERO COMER PAMBAZOS >:3 NOS VEMOS (SEE YOU LEATHER GUYS! HAVE A GOOD DAY! I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!)

What I'm saying? I'm going to sleep because I want pambazos :3

[c-r-ash-crash]

Emptober Day 16: Divided

"I think I may have found a way to get rid of the corruption," Scott began. Everyone's jaws dropped. "Holy wolf spirit," Shubble muttered. "How?" Katherine asked. "You're idea was right," Scott said with a small nod. "We need something from every single empire. I can make it into a potion, and that should banish the corruption permanently." "But how are we gonna get every empires sacred object?" Jimmy asked. "Each of us have enemies. I doubt they'll be very happy to help us."

"Gem and I can ask Sausage," Fwhip volunteered. "He's still recovering from the possession, but he'll be willing to help me and Gem." "I'll ask Lizzie and Joel," Jimmy said. "I don't have any quarrel with them." "I'll ask the others," Katherine offered. "I'm allies with most of them. Shubble, you wanna come with?" Shubble nodded. "What about Joey?" Scott asked.

The table exchanged a glance. "Well, he does seem to fancy you his brother-in-law," Gem mused. "That's gotta be worth something, right?" Scott stared for a moment, but then he flipped her a gesture under the table. "No one else has volunteered to go talk to him," Fwhip pointed out. "Besides, you're literally the chosen one. It's your job to go deal with Xornoth," Katherine said. Scott rolled his eyes. "Fine. But if I die, I'm blaming all of you." A chorus of laughter rang out as the rulers drifted out of the room to set out on their missions.

Jimmy had no problem getting sacred objects from the ocean empire and Mezalea. Lizzie and Joel were happy to help him, even if Joel was little confused about why there was a demon on the server.

Sausage was ecstatic to have the chance to help banish Xornoth. He had barely even waited till Gem and Fwhip had finished asking him before he was offering up his kingdom's sacred object.

Pearl had readily given up her empire's sacred object when Shubble and Katherine had asked her. It took a bit of convincing, but eventually, Pix was willing to give his up as well.

Joey however was a different story.

He sat on his throne, leg crossed in front of himself, twisting his crown idly in his hands. He glanced up as he heard something land with a soft thud. Scott was standing in the middle of his throne room, wings spread wide and hair tousled in the wind.

"Oh, hello, Scott," Joey said, turning his attention back to his crown. "What can I do for you?" "I need something from your empire," Scott said, no trace of kindness to it. "What's sacred to the Lost Empire?" "And why would I tell you that?" Joey said, with a raised eyebrow. "I just wanna set up a museum dedicated to all the other empires," Scott said. Joey snorted.

"We both know that's a lie, Scott," he said, finally making eye contact with his fellow emperor. "What do you mean?" Scott said. Joey had to admit, he was fairly convincing. But even still, he knew what Scott was really after. "I've been keeping an eye on you Scott, ever since you declared you were against my Xorny. I know you're planning to use something from everyone's empire to banish him. I'm not gonna let that happen."

"Why not?" Scott demanded. "He's just using you, Joey. He doesn't care about anyone, and he especially doesn't care about you. You're just a tool to him. You're the only one who can't see it."

Joey's hands stilled. "I know." His shoulders slumped a little. "I know, Scott. But I have to have hope. Maybe if I'm a good tool, maybe if I'm loyal to him, he'll see me as more." Scott didn't say anything. "What you're trying to do is noble, Scott," Joey continued. "It really is. But I'm not going to betray my Xornoth. Just leave. Please."

Scott hesitated for a minute, but then, he spread his wings, and flew away. Joey slumped against his throne, hands wrapped around his crown. Had Scott been right? He knew Xornoth was using him, but it was because Xornoth cared about him, right? Xornoth was giving him an opportunity, one he wouldn't ignore.

He shoved down his doubts, and set his crown on his head.

Emptober Day 16: Divided