#it damaged my relationship to the duo of grian and scar

[logosbot-tm]

I have a favourite thing to do, and that's disliking something, and ranting about it to people who understand what I'm on about. Because I dislike a lot of things, and I have opinions and feelings about why, but I'll only talk about it to someone who already agrees w me in that area. So that I can vent out my frustration and then move on to focusing to what I enjoy.

Decided not to post hate or negativity onto tumblr because I'm sorry, but if I dislike something... then that's my opinion and my view of that thing.

And I'd hate to ruin someone else's experience.

[fountainpenguin]

??? Rewatching Cleo's Ep 3 of Double Life and I have to share these rapid highlights I did not remember:

- Scene cuts, so I don't know the immediate previous context, but Scott had just posted in chat "You two sound like you could use a Relationship Ranch" - Etho discussing the Relationship Ranch and saying he thinks it's only for couples. - Bdubs muttering that Impulse is "gonna be mad" he's taking the risk of venturing to Dig Party - Etho then asking Bdubs and Cleo if they're a couple. Which is hilarious considering Crastle Duo's main interactions this season were Cleo yelling at Bdubs that "she knows they're divorced and he's with Impulse now, but he doesn't get to lie to her" and then later trying to mug him (alongside Martyn) - Cleo responds to the "You're not a couple, are you?" question with "No, but we can pretend" - Crossing a dangerously thin bridge above the ravine and Bdubs (walking ahead) whispers "Cleo, don't." - Cleo laughs and asks if "he needs her to chastise him again" - Bdubs begs her not to, then gets to the other side (where he won't fall) and tells Cleo she can hit him now

Hilarious. (Source)

Consider: Double Life Etho has memories of Bdubs and Cleo being married and thought they were still together two seasons later despite Cleo moving out and Bdubs marrying Impulse??

Alternatively, DL!Etho under the impression that Bdubs and Cleo broke up, but Cleo has gotten back with him, possibly to get Martyn to leave her alone?? Or else that Martyn and Cleo in a poly relationship with Bdubs and Impulse because of the agreement that Martyn gets to eat their cows? Discuss.

Bonus-shout out to Etho because I switched to his Double Life Ep 3 POV to see if I could get more context, and he skips the above conversation and goes straight to Dig Party, where he's telling Scar that he should take all the sugarcane for himself so Grian has to depend on him in the relationship, and I forgot how much I love Character Etho's weird approach to relationships. Like jumping off cliffs to punish Joel every time Joel takes damage.

Etho, your mental image of healthy, balanced relationships seems kinda skewed and I'm starting to see what was going on with you trying to rebuild your relationship with Cleo in Limited Life despite being divorced in the roleplay canon and repeatedly chased out or killed when you come home; are you okay?

I know this wasn't the point of the post, but speaking of Etho's unhealthy relationships... Secret Life Etho fawning over Joel and telling him "I love you" and that he misses Double Life, "back when Joel still cared about him," and getting all up in his grill while Joel assures him that he still cares about Etho, but he's with the Mounders now, my beloved...

They are all so silly.

[thecoolerliauditore]

I remember last year finally watching Pearl and Scott's last life and. I think I experienced... the same thing that people who dislike FH did in 3L but with Pearl? I was encouraged to watch it by a friend because they said that gaslight gatekeep girlboss was super wholesome and loyal to each other, and that Scott even turned red rather than hurt either of them. But when I watched it, idk it wasn't as bad as I've seen some people describe FH but I was just struck by how often Scott calls Pearl insane or crazy or unhinged just for... existing? Playing the game? Being just a little bit silly sometimes no more than anyone else? He acted like she was a wild animal he had to reign in even though she didn't do anything crazier than what he did. Sometimes he would just randomly call her insane it felt like. It made me finally understand what people meant by those words being ableist with how often he threw them around! It got really uncomfortable!

I got sold GGG as a very cute wholesome winners POV, and I guess compared to everyone else in LL it was, but only if you compare it to other LL teams. People said he was suddenly mean to Pearl in DL, but he mostly repeated a lot of the things he already said about her in LL! I was expecting there to be some shift in how he treated her. Makes me scared to watch Jimmy and Scott's 3L POV if this is what people consider Scott being wholesome!

FASCINATING. this might be my cue to go rewatch GGG Last Life.

I'll be very open and say it's been a fair amount of time since I've sat down to rewatch LL, so I might be looking back at Scott and Pearls relationship with rose tinted glasses -- I spoke a little bit on the soft manipulation that existed between them still, like when Scott yelled at Pearl to kill Joel, but my impression of them is fairly wholesome. Then again I watched LL first and didn't have the context from 3L so the first time I watched their POV it was just. Haha funny blue man cute accent.

So take the rest of this with a grain of salt, at this point I'm fully prepared to say something like "Scott never hit Pearl" and someone will link me their equivalent of the sugar cane scene from 3L lmao.

So I can offer up some semblance of an explanation, if that helps at all to explain the perception gap. One thing is like you said, they were wholesome in comparison to the rest of the teams in LL, which I'd argue were the most disastrous in the series with the damage the "reds can't team with non-reds" rule did to them.

3L teams were also pretty bad, but when you went to compare FH to other teams you had other duos like DD and Renchantyn that had their own issues but served as a very solid point of reference for how they seemed to genuinely respect their partners. Thinking about the clip where Grian and Scott leave Scar and Jimmy to pull the lever on exploding Monopoly Mountain and Grian is trying his best to say he's worried for Scar through gritted teeth because he's Grian and Scotts just like. Well Jimmys probably gonna screw this one up 🙄 A very one to one comparison point presented directly for the viewer.

Scott and Pearl, on the other hand, were the only duo in LL amongst a bunch of massive teams that were falling apart all around them. It gave them this "us against the world" feeling, so to speak.

Maybe if Team BEST was more honest about being Teams BE and ST then we would've had a better comparison point and Scott and Pearl would've seemed way more insane, but then again I've had people vague to me that LL Ethubs is their 3L FH so I'm biting my tongue on this one.

Another thing that I think is more poignant is the factor of hindsight. Scott calling Pearl insane Now is horrifying because of what he did in DL and his calling her that being very much more serious.

In LL Pearl really didn't have any baggage attached to the word "insane" afaik? Unless she got upset at him and I've just forgotten cus it's been too long which is a very likely possibility.

So at the time it just seemed like. Pearl being Pearl and Scott gripping his head in stress and going aughhhhhhhhh ahhhhhh. Which is like. Fine at least to me. Her antics made his blood pressure go but he still went along with them more often than not and stuck by her side.

"She didn't do anything crazier than he did" is SUPER true btw LL Scott is a menace but I also must point out this is a point in hypocrisy but also a point in Pearls personality rubbing off on Scott that season. He was always a crazy arsonist but now he's a crazy arsonist without the angst.

Like the POV is haunting to me now that I have the context of DL and beyond and Scott being serious about the "insane" thing but before I got that context it really did just look like. Pearl being some sort of animal that has wandered into Scott's base and started gnawing at the curtains and Scott trying to scare her away with a broom yelling at the top of his lungs YOURE INSANE. YOURE INSANE. But also the creature if it leaves will Take All of His Lives Away so he has to learn to live with her and through her learn to be a little more chill. Which is the main appeal of that POV, to me at least.

compare say. The part in LL where Pearl steals one of Scars crystals and is genuinely being silly and antagonistic by running around giggling. And Scott's thrown his hands up and going "I DONT APPROVE THIS BUT IM NOT HER BOSS DONT LOOK AT ME". To Episode 2 of WL where Pearl is like? A little bit cheeky to Gem and Gem literally scolds Scott for not "controlling" her well enough and Scott apologises and promises he'll do better. <- ?????? Everything I type out this interaction I have to remind myself it's real btw like what.

and I must say they do have a lot of really genuinely cute moments that season that might be blinding me shoujo sparkle style to the horrors. Like their staring into each others eyes ritual thing for boogeyman assignments, for example. Compare that to the um. Axe crits.

ANYWAY. fascinating insight. To rewatch Pearls POV I go (<- clown makeup is locked and loaded)

[stiffyck]

I’m back and as promised, more desert duo

As winter starts getting closer it becomes more common for the server to have more cold and rainy weather, which brings some consequences. If it starts raining with barely any prior warning, you can bet that once Grian gets back to his base he’ll get welcomed by Scar standing at the entrance holding a towel (which gets promptly throw at Grian’s face so he can dry himself) before they both find a good spot to deal with the wings. What they don’t tell you about dating an otherworldly being is that he’ll have way too many feathers (according to Scar) but oh well, they always figure something out don’t they?

Scar on the other hand is more likely to get caught on a storm because it didn’t look that bad and he’s only missing this little detail- So it’s always a welcome surprise when suddenly the rain stops pouring on his head thanks to an umbrella being held over his head, as Grian gives him time to wrap up the building for the day before they head home. Once back, it takes some work with the hairdryer before there is just a red-black-white fur ball getting to work on looking less puffy (Red panda Scar lives in my head rent free, but in my head he’s a shapeshifter so he can be anything he wants… kinda like Barbie y’know?)

ALSO, as much as I love angst, I feel like there is also a chance for nice interactions. Have you ever seen an oxpecker bird? The little guys that have a mutualistic relationship with hippopotamus? In my head that’s how MagicEater!Scar is, so once the hermits find out they’re mad but not because of what he is, rather because he couldn’t trust them enough to be himself… so he was surely surprised once the shulkers started to show up at Scarland, they were always filled with trinkets that smelt of love, that when Scar’s curiosity finally won over him the first thing he noticed after biting it was the blurring of his vision and something warm on his face? He didn’t know what the amulet he was currently chewing on had��� was it fear? maybe damage over time? It really didn’t taste like any curse he had eaten before (they were the only constant food source he could find, no one wanted them like no one wanted a Magic Eater loose in their server. They tasted horrible.) and as the light warm feeling started to spread over him as a blanket on his shoulders it finally downed on him, it wasn’t a curse. If during the next meeting his eyes where glossy as his thanks were said in what was barely loud enough to be a whisper, no one would say anything as he got surrounded in a hug.

Grian wasn’t the best at enchanting things with blessings, as even though they were technically neutral deities it was more common for mortals to earn their wrath, but he can’t help but feeling the stumbling as he wove his magic to be worth it when he saw the smile Scar gave him each time. After all, his magic was quick to regenerate so he didn’t mind sharing it

-Possessed by guys kissing for the 4th time (I’ll just be signing as 👻👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨 next time, i think)

WAILS THEY ARE SO SWEET YES YES I LOVE ALL OF THIS!

[sxthee]

My blog's just revolving around them now, huh? Gods, there's no escape for this chronic brainrot—

ANYWAY.

You know how when you brainrot on desertduo sm, every song you hear is just about them???? I just had a ponder and invisible strings by taylor swift vaguely represents them???

OKAY HEAR ME OUT—

(Ramble under the cut)

I believe this song can be taken from Grian's internal dialoguing. Like Grian slowly having a soft spot for Scar and realizes he's not all that bad as soon as he slowly got to know him better. Also a great allusion to Double Life that makes use of the "soulmate" thing, wherein that idea is usually represented with strings tied to people (to which where the song will be used!)

Paragraph one. Grian crossed various places just in hopes to find his soulmate (and is walking on grass), and coincidentally, met (or revealed) him surrounded by the greenery. Teal was the color of the shirt could be just his shirt getting wet from the river water that could be visioned as teal-looking. You used to work at to make a little money just basically describes Scar's conman days way back on Third and Last Life, where he would "work" to make a "little money" to which that would be resources.

Paragraph two. Grian was baffled and confused as to how everything fell exactly to where they were at. There weren't any clues to give him a sign of this eventual thing, and for some reason, it's so intriguing. And to him, it's kinda funny at how of all things, he was tied to him. He could not believe that.

Paragraph three. Bad was the blood of the song in the cab (on your first trip to LA) ; clearly, there was somr "hate" in Grian. Hate because he was paired with Scar — someone who's prone to disasters (and whatever Grian has going in with him lmao-) And there was some slight argument between them to which where they should base. Scar wanting to reside in the jungles(?) with the Jellie pandas, and Grian on a hill across Joel and Etho (but it wasnt much of an issue because Scar came to terms with it anyway by creating a compromise himself by bringing the pandad to their base, and it's because he's Scar). While that bad blood part was more on Grian, the "secret soulmate" thing was definitely a bad blood between Scar, BigB, and Grian.

Paragraph four. Now THIS. This is what I believe to be the epitome of the desertduo in this song. As time progressed and they spent more time each other, as what most would agree (and have portrayed them), they would slice each other open out of love, and bleed them out of love, yet they are the remedy to that because they love each other. Like two forces dancing, colliding and creatinf pressure and damage as they draw closer, yet every repel they take would take then closer, to only repeat the cycle again — something like that, that's how their relationship works. And the repetition of the isn't it just so pretty to think all along there some invisible string, tying you to me? Is like something that Grian repeats in his mind over and over again. Yet again, as if he was in disbelief, yet amazed. Like.. "What the hell?" And simultaneously "Wow, he's gorgeous".

Paragraph five. Forgive me if I may have made a mistake in connecting the lyrics to the "canon" story, but as far as I could remember thanks to the desert duo dynamics I see on my feed, Scar was the one who saved Grian, like his blanket — his comfort — amidst the battlefield that they were in. Maybe Grian was still scared of hurting Scar so he pushed him away, yet Scar had his arms warmly open for him, locking away Grian's insecurities by barb wiring, and by forgiving him, and forgetting the past and wanting to move on and live with him in this new life they have. They've gone through so many hardships, and even if they had briefly separated via alliances on Last Life, somehow, they would still wound up to each other's side. (Also, with Watcher Lore being applied + the power of fanfiction, A string that pulled me out of all the wrong arms right into that dive bar: it could be Scar pulling or saving Grian from the watchers without hesitation)

Paragraph six. It's not "canon" compliant, since the two of them are just so— (iykyk) Anyway. If we are to restate this into a fanfiction with no angsty ending, we could say that Grian eventually came to terms with the past and is no longer chained to it.

Paragraph seven. It was at this point as if Grian had accepted it that it was kinda a wonderful thing. He was intrigued and found it beautiful that they were tied by a mere string. Scar gave him a hard time (he did too) and misunderstandings and quarrels were created in the process too, but in the end, it still felt like heaven. Blissful. To be by his side.

But of course this is Grian who were talking about. He may have accepted it. But he won't ever openly admit it.

JSNSKFNEJJRNRNR i have no idea if this made any sense, or had i correctly remembered how it goes to connect it to the lyrics. this is literally just all over the place, i apologizeeee JESNFNDNN what are your thoughts about this?? (-v-")7

[goldstargloww]

i just ranted in my friend group discord server about 3ld life and im just gonna copy paste it all here

spoilers for: 3rd life, last life, double life sessions 1-4

story trigger warnings: trauma, suicide, abuse, exclusion, bullying, insanity portrayed negatively (all in universe, except the swearing is from me lol)

typed trigger warnings: swearing, caps

all characters are c!, not cc! !

okay, ffs, why is friends messing around with small light roleplay sO EASY TO MAKE DRAMATIC

grian just

causing chaos because its fun and he isnt hurting anyone (...debatable)

aND THEN KILLING 2 PEOPLE AND WATCHING 2 OTHERS GET SHOT TO DEATH-

"im still kind of in a little bit of shock because i was just playing the fishing rod game" nah what you mean is "so i just committed murder while having fun and now im traumatized"

andthefucking- like- desertduo just happening by chance every single season

and grian slowly going insane while scar has already accepted that he's chaotic

but them only being able to lean on each other in the end

and the first time that happened they had to punch each other to death

the second time they were separated in the chaos of last episode war and both individually died

and now theyre gonna be forced to die together

and then fucking flower husbands

scott (canonically) sobbing over jimmys last death as he had been shot in the middle of a war that scott also died in, and scott had no time to process it until everyone finally left him alone and he just built a grave and broke down

then latching onto pearl in last life and them being the one duo that never broke up in any way as they had agreed to not go face to face in the final battle

and then in double life, scott latched onto cleo as that was the only other person he had any sort of positive personal history with, and they went looking for pearl and by the time they found her they were pissed that her and martyn had just ignored looking for them

so pearl was left on her own, martyn wanted revenge but also wanted to be with cleo, cleo and martyn had beaten each other up, and scott was just like yeah no bye

and then pearl, at first going into some sort of hiding, as she stays awake longer, 5am pearl our beloved loses her dog and just takes it out on the world, freezing herself in a snow bath purely to hack away at scott's health and openly being suicidal just to get back at scott because why should she care? she has nothing left, nobody cares about her, and scott hurt her for (from her pov) no reason. she has nothing to lose and may as well get revenge

scott's view of pearl is just changing for the worse as pearl isn't with it and nobody knows how to handle that, describing her as having gone batshit psycho and wanting nothing to do with her, so much so that he tries to break up other couples (and in the process, having to have ren also be openly suicidal due to a failing relationship), yet still caring for pearl, because one, he kinda has to as he doesn't wanna die, and two, he knows pearl, they spent and entire lifetime together from day one, she's not in a good headspace and scott knows it's his fault

grian's going crazy trying to keep scar from being chaotic as hell, all the while causing his own chaos, subtle enough to not be recognized until the damage is done and even then nobody learns their lesson. he's seen scar be suicidal ("you can slay me and take the enchanter") as well as pearl ("do you want to die?!" "YES!!"), he's seen scar slip further out of touch with reality, talking people into doing things that isnt worth it in the slightest, and he's seen scar latch on to things that they can't give attention to right now. he's seen scar take every risk possible and not realizing the dangers of it - and if he does, he couldn't care less. grian's seen jimmy be excluded and tossed aside and made fun of, and while grian does this too, he sometimes feels bad for him. he's been preyed on for is gullibleness, he's been excluded just because he's jimmy, and he's been tossed into rivers and left to drown just because it's funny

grian's gone to bigb as an escape, and the two want to do something about it, but their universally decided soulmates and the stigmatization of others make it hard - bigb doesnt want to be the reason ren's suicidal, and grian doesn't want to be either - grian also doesnt wanna just up and leave scar, as he's gonna get himself and therefore both of them killed or worse

enjoy my rant, 3ld life lives in my brain rent free every weekend

[memryse]

pspspsps you got any thoughts on the parallels between 3L + LL Grian and Scar? aka like...the red life + green life stuff, their relationship, ect. just any thoughts u have abt the two of them at all, really :D

OHH YES. MANY MANY MANY. i will try my best to word them as best as my 2am brain can (probably not well) (i rambled a lot. it was great)

starting off the series with grian owing scar a life and then losing it. it's just not funny really is it Grian you can't say everything is null and void and then do that. you're playing with my feelings here

grian has so much respect for scar as a businessman because he's seen him in action. there's this part in tango and skizz's pov where grian calls scar a businessman, skizz is like no he's a thief and grian just goes "well he hasn't swindled me!" and then tango tells him to "do the right thing" and tell scar to put the enchanter back at spawn, to which grian is like i am obviously not going to do that. i love that interaction

3L!scar and LL!grian both turning red by dying of fall damage during a lighthearted conversation with their best friend? absolutely not happy about that one either

especially not the part where their immediate reaction is to go up to that friend and ask if they can still be friends. except these scenes have completely opposite vibes

literally fuck you grian for not making the secret alliance with scar. we could've had a grian scar mumbo trio. i mean grian hunting him down is also going to be great but WE WERE ROBBED

you know that time during session 2 when grian explains that he thinks scar didn't kill him because he knows that if grian turned red he would "hunt him down to the ends of the earth"? and now we're actually getting that happening potentially maybe please? yeah i feel normal about this. i'm a reasonable human being

the sheer level of MALICE grian has towards scar right now oh my god. you can hear it in his voice. "i'll give you that deal on preorder" "all of a sudden he's happy to make a deal for a life, that's convenient" jesus CHRIST grian i haven't stopped thinking about this for the last three days

i'm normal about desert duo and spend an amount of time thinking about them that would be reasonable for any typical and sane human being to do

i just ended up talking about LL!desert duo but in my defence the brainrot is so fucking bad. it's such a contrast to 3rd life. from "is this where we show our true allegiance? to each other and no one else?" to scar being on grian's list and he will hunt him down to the ends of the earth and kill him without mercy because whatever soft spot may have still remained for him is gone. and they clearly still have some tie together because they just always seem to be interacting and really grian i think it's a bit far to put scar on your hitlist over a deal cancellation that you know was your fault. I am not okay about desert duo literally ever

[sleepless-in-southlands]

Masterlist

Link for the tumblr post embedded in fic title, link for the ao3 posting embedded in the (ao3) following it. This masterlist contains only basic content descriptions and summaries, follow either listed link for more detailed and accurate information. My writing tag is #m.y funky words My prompt-fill tag is #filling graves (prompts) My ao3 is Sleepless_in_Southlands Last updated: December 28th, 2023

Stand-alone fics

Protect the Southlands (ao3): Last Life canon-divergence fic. Southlands-centric. Grim. Open ending.

If you are intolerable (ao3): “If you are intolerable, let me be the one to tolerate you.” -Taylor Jenkins Reid. Third life follow-up/aftermath fic. Desert duo. Hurt/comfort. Happy/hopeful ending.

Save Me a Seat (in the aftermath) (ao3): The Southlanders are reunited. Last Life ‘no permadeath’ au. Southlands-centric. Hurt/comfort. Happy/hopeful ending.

three things I know to be true (ao3): A slightly different interpretation of third life’s ending, inspired by the poem “anglerfish”. Desert duo. Hurt/no comfort. Major character death.

How to Accidentally Date Your Servant (ao3): Scar’s a prince, Grian’s his much-too-charming handservant, and Mumbo’s a tired older brother. Oblivious gay antics ensue. Scarian (duh). Fluff/getting-together. Happy ending.

The Winner’s Guide to Surviving Survival (ao3): In the wake of winning third life, Grian struggles. Third life follow-up/aftermath fic. Grumbo. Hurt/comfort, recovery fic. Happy/hopeful ending.

This isn’t a Love Story (ao3): It’s fate. Third life AU, no permadeath AU. Desert duo. Hurt/comfort, getting together. Happy ending.

This the Head. This the Tail. (ao3): This is a story that begins after the beginning. This is a story that never ends. Third life AU. Desert duo. Inevitability. Open/bittersweet ending.

Well Dressed Mess (ao3): Long hours of hard work in a full suit won’t lead to anything bad happening, right? Hermitcraft s9 fic. Hurt/comfort, overworking. Happy ending.

This Predacious Song (ao3): Paths to the Nether are built out of good intentions, and upon returning from Last Life carrying something that should’ve been left behind, Mumbo is forced to face the terrifying possibility that he’s not the person his friends think he is. Hermitcraft s8 + Last Life fic. Hurt/comfort, violence, trauma, recovery. Happy ending.

Fic series

Legacy of the Watchers (ao3): When Grian first escaped the Watchers, he thought that’d be it. He had to be more trouble then he was worth. But when the Watchers come back after him anyways, making Mumbo collateral damage in the process, he starts to question if he’s really just another player. Much hurt for eventual comfort, eventual happy ending. Major character injury, body horror elements, and trauma/its effects are present throughout the story. Series is currently: unfinished

Out (ao3): Grian got out. And he refused to get dragged back in. Major character death (temporary if you continue reading the series).

Skin, and What Lies Beneath (ao3): Come Nether or high water, Grian is going to find Mumbo.

The Bitter Taste of Sweet Berries (ao3): An abandoned cabin in an empty world is as good a place as any for a bit of catch-up and heart-to-heart, right?

Lucky Jumbo (ao3): Hermitcraft + Inscryption crossover. What happens if, at the end of Inscryption, the OLD_DATA decides to save Luke? What if he finds himself falling into Hermitcraft, and on top of the charming Mumbo Jumbo? Crackfic treated seriously, falling in love.

Lucky Jumbo (ao3): Luke finds himself in Hermitcraft and falling both on and for one Mumbo Jumbo.

All Bets Off (ao3): Five times Luke and Mumbo just barely managed to hide their relationship, and the one time they didn't even try.

Offer Me that Deathless Death (ao3): Luke just wanted to get some diamonds for Mumbo. It should have been fast. It should have been easy.

Dinosaur Discoveries (ao3): How does Joe know what a dinosaur is?

This a Vision of Violence (ao3): Mumbo was a lot of things- a master redstoner, an expert crafter, an incredible boyfriend. But he wasn't a fighter. Right?

Simple Seeds and Complicated Code (ao3): So, turns out, Luke might have brought a few things with him when he was transported to Hermitcraft without realizing. Oops.

Walking on Sunshine (ao3): Now that Luke knows he has carry-overs, what better way to spend his time than trying to figure out just what they are?

Bloody Fruits au (ao3): Hermitcraft season 7 mayoral race, mob au and fruity. Main focus on leader of The South, Mumbo, and his right-hand Grian, and leader of the Glass Empire, Scar. Heavily features blood, violence, trauma, and homoromanticism.

I’m Calling Your Bluff (And Calling You Mine) (ao3): As a mob boss, falling in love with the competition wasn’t usually a good idea. If only someone could tell Scar that.

All Cards Down (I’ve got Your Hearts in My Hand) (ao3): Three men with severe trust issues and a perchance for violence walk into a casino...

Your Eyes are in the Sky (Mine are on You) (ao3): In their line of work, the past was never truly the past. Some nights made it feel more real than others.

The House Always Wins (With You I Never Lose) (ao3): A look into both the pasts and presents of Grian, Mumbo, and Scar.

Prompt-fills

Mumscarian (Mumbo x Scar x grain) with exhausted Mumbo: What it says on the tin. Short fluffy fic.

Team PIG: The pranking plans of hc s9 Pearl, Impulse, and Gem. Humor, fluff.

Redstone Commercial: Mumbo’s attempts to teach Scar redstone, and Scar’s attempts to ignore Mumbo entirely in favour of selling him his wares. Humor, fluff.

Grumbot Angst: Grumbot on waiting for his dads. Angst, hurt/no comfort, unresolved ending Grumbot Comfort: The hurt/comfort follow-up to Grumbot Angst, in which Grumbot doesn’t have to wait much longer. Happy/hopeful ending

[memryse]

for the hc game: grian? :0

i'm choosing ll!grian specifically for obvious reasons ^-^

realistic headcanon: well i refuse to part with grian having wings but i also refuse to consider him actually having the capability to fly because it just does not make sense for 3L/LL. so i think the game simply... neutralises him. his wings just don't work. i mean, they're still there, so he can glide and such, but he can't fly. and it just doesn't make sense, because they seem to be in perfect condition? no visible injuries and there's no indication of any internal damage either. he spent a lot of time in the early sessions jumping off the southlands towers (he put water below, dw) because he's sure he should be able to fly.

unrealistic, but funny headcanon: i just finished tango's session 7 and i was thinking a lot about the new group of reds and how authoritative grian sounds when he goes "pay attention, boys. this is what happens when you betray team red" and i'm just. thinking about grian and joel holding an impromptu red life boot camp for these new reds while they hide out in the roctopus. classes include "how to not cry yourself to sleep at night out of loneliness", "how to look your former best friend in the eye as you threaten their life" and "gorgeous interior design that gives off appropriately murderous vibes". no i'm not letting that evil home economics post go

angsty headcanon: mm i think grian and joel's relationship has soooo much potential for Pain and i want people to talk about it more. the fact that both times grian has turned red, it's involved a freak shot from joel that grian didn't know about until it was too late. and grian respawns with joel's arrow in his back. but he gravitates towards working with joel anyway because joel is something familiar. joel doesn't need to go in the book. red lives definitely can and do hold grudges against the people who turned them red - look at lizzie, for example. and yet grian is running around blowing things up with his murderer like they're lifelong friends - and taking charge, the second time around. i think the first time grian was red that must have been horrifying for the southerners to witness, especially that final goodbye on the hill. grian leaving them for the man who'd put an arrow through his neck only minutes before. seemingly not holding a grudge despite still being mad at bdubs after like three sessions. ouch.

also i want to throw in a bonus one. less about grian specifically i'm just... thinking about grian and mumbo and impulse and groups of five. do you think they ever look at scar and pearl in boatem and something just feels... wrong? even if they don't all remember last life fully, sometimes when it's all five of them, it doesn't feel right. grian gets the feeling he should be keeping scar out, sometimes - it's supposed to be the five of us against scar, he thinks, but he doesn't really know who "us" is.

i reject canon and substitute it with my own: desert duo actually won last life together and didn't kill each other this time and everything ended happily. not for the fifteen other people that were brutally murdered, mostly by them, but that's fine they are allowed to kill people and they should do it more. desert duo won last life and the world is at peace.