#i was going to watch it after i caught up with tangos s10

[eydilily]

someone gave an ask for queen pearl/santa pearla IM SO SORRY i have yet to watch empires...

[clockwards]

the people demand lore of your fic!!!!! :D

fic lore fic lore!! for reference, here's the fic:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61166887

just going to dot point dump information so here you go! I'm also planning on writing a longer fic thats superhero AU based with some of these concepts, so look out for that :D

Every "smp" is a different timeline/universe, and they are all technically happening at the same time

Watchers are capable of "slipping" through these universes and experiencing them at will, while maintaining knowledge of the others

Grian, as a Watcher, sees people he likes and goes "you're with me now <3" and inflicts this power on them (without asking or telling)

Watchers are not evil, but their morals are skewed a little due to not seeing their people and deaths as final

When dead in any timeline, a character has their memory restored of all timelines. They are, technically, momentarily on the same level as a Watcher, but without the power to move into their other worlds. Similarly, they do not particularly care about death bc they are aware they will reawaken alive in another timeline (although they don't know that when alive)

"Slippage" refers to Gem’s knowledge and memory of her friends blending together over multiple universes (in this, mainly hermitcraft and wild life, but also some neutral worlds and a superhero one)

The water thing is about her base in hermitcraft s10!

Martyn as a Listener is aware of other timelines and can basically glean knowledge of them by listening into the communal stream of consciousness. He does not have a good time with this and pities Gem immensely for getting caught up in it all

Grian doing all this makes him basically the serial adopter of Watchers. You have no choice, you are Family now. This consists of himself, Gem, Cleo (i have my reasons), Jimmy (well not quite, but he's getting there), and Martyn as a kind of estranged cousin who does not want to come to family dinners

The red light at the top of the skyscraper is blinking at the rate of how many people have died so far. The third blink after her conversation with Martyn symbolises his death, and the nearly constant light at the end shows that everyone has died (bar Joel)

Deer Gem, mountain goat Joel (siblings), not-quite-avian-anymore Grian, moth Pearl, candlestick lookin' ass Tango, Etho is actually made of stone (homunculus type deal), extremely normal boy Martyn, bunny Lizzie

Important for you to know that a female rabbit and deer are both called a doe, so Joel fondly refers to his sister and his wife as his does (little guy standing between two very protective women)

Feel free to ask me any more specific questions!

And now you may have a bit I removed/changed for the ending

At the top of his dinky little tower, Gem watches as Grian prepares for a funeral. She’s not sure who died, but he doesn’t seem too upset about it, so she doesn’t ask. Sanctity of death, and all. He tosses clothes to the side, muttering to himself. Without his shirt, she can see the tattoo on his back, the skeletal remnants of his wings poking through the skin. She can tell where his hands would have to lay to line it all up, squares inked on his palms like supplication.

Next to her, Mumbo swings his legs like a child.

“Think he’ll say anything? He’ll be mad when he comes back if Grian doesn’t.”

“What, like a eulogy?”

“Yeah, you know, honour the dead.” He elbows her side, cracking a grin. She smiles back wryly.

“I don’t think you’re honorable at all, Mumbo.”

He laughs genially, mock-bowing as far as he can while sitting on a bed.

“Dead or alive,” she adds for good measure, lips twitching as his giggles taper off.

Grian’s got a black blazer on, shirt unbuttoned, no tie in sight. He’s running his hands through his hair, peering out the window every time he passes, as if he was expecting to see some parade of chaos happening way down below the skyscraper.

“Which are you, Gem?”

“I’m always honorable, you know that.”

The elevator dings brightly, and Grian runs in, somehow looking worse for wear every second.

“Not exactly what I was talking about, but sure.” Mumbo smiles at the closing doors. “Want to see who turns up and cries?”

“Nah.” The ceiling is blurring slightly. “I should go to bed.”

“Aren’t you already?”

Stone slips to hardwood. It blurs together every time she blinks, like she’s drunk, like she’s floating. She remembers dying like this, once.

She’ll do it again one day.

For now, she rests.