#it’s a VERY VERY fun connection to me and if you base it on grian being a watcher by accident or involuntarily

[lunarblazes]

(tags from @animatecorvid)

WELL. i mean. there’s something to be said with how antsy grian gets as the series goes on. how he gets more and more driven by kills. how he ups the ante constantly even at the risk of him or his allies’ safety. i just think that bloodlust is a problem for ALL of the participants but imagine that slowly growing hunger, the way his lethargy fades intoxicatingly at the feeling of his sword crunching through someone else’s spine? like fuck yeah. it’s the best

today martyn said that (in his canon) the watchers have been purposefully trying to keep grian from being boogey and he also said that grian, as a watcher, also feeds on the fear of the players. therefore it can be concluded that by depriving grian of the boogey curse the watchers are trying to starve him and keep down his power levels in this essay i will,

[thecoolerliauditore]

I need your thoughts on Martyn.

Jesus Christ in heaven where to start.

I was planning to write massive essay posts about each of the winners sooner or later, I guess Martyn can skip the queue. As a treat.

BAD traffic series martyn analysis post don't read. LONG POST

note: rules I'm operating by are to keep the analysis primarily traffic-based (although this one's kind of an exception because. mr watcher lore) and I'm not rewatching entire POVs so stuff might be wrong so on so forth

Why is he... Like that?

So before I even start talking about 3L I feel the need to address Martyn's background first because, not unlike alot of the other members of the cast, Martyn's previously established relationships from series like Evo have a significant impact on how he behaves.

This is kind of difficult for me to talk about because it breaks my "no material outside of the traffic series" rule for these essays specifically, but I think it's honestly just more fun incorporating Martyn's off-series lore drops and such into his character instead of leaving them out.

So here's the basis I work from -- Martyn is the most unreliable narrator in a full cast of them. His lore is his character's version of events, not an unbiased retelling.

Whether the Watchers exist and whether they're the same entities present in Evo doesn't matter all that much, since all we know is that they are very real to Martyn, at least. Taking the lore as Martyn's POV also helps iron out some of the more awkward creases it creates when viewing the series as a whole (e.g. Grian's involvement with the Watchers surely means he would reference them himself, yet he doesn't) and lays the groundwork for some really interesting things about Martyn himself when you try to put the dots together on how he arrived at these conclusions. I'll be referencing these as they come up chronologically.

So, without over complicating things, here are the rules I'm playing by when it comes to pre-3L Martyn:

Evo did really happen with the same people, however the exact details are muddy.

Martyn knew Jimmy prior to the games and the two already had some sort of personal connection going in.

We're not trusting a word out of his mouth. Especially if he says them on stream. But we are going to acknowledge what those words are.

With those parameters set, let's move on:

Third Life, and the guy who gets a little too into it

Like Grian, Martyn immediately acclimates to the game's survival-based mechanics. Martyn spends a good chunk of the first session of 3L seemingly aimless, but he makes observations and choices throughout that show he has survival at the back of his mind (e.g. him quickly establishing an alliance with Grian and Bigb while sneakily putting them in his debt through the diamonds he finds early -- even if this doesn't end up paying off to anything).

Unlike Grian however, Martyn less desperately clings onto a need for an edge to survive and seems almost comfortable in playing the game. A running theme for him throughout all the seasons will be that he seems to feel most comfortable when he has some amount of unspoken power over others, whether that be something as silly as testing the waters with his creeper soundboard or later when he starts playing 4D chess with himself in regard to his loyalties.

"Power" might be not exactly the right word for what Martyn yearns for, but it's the best word I can find to really describe it. He's always the one with a card up his sleeve or a plan B or, arguably most importantly, the one with control over the situation and responsibility over his own and others' wellbeing.

In my mind, at least, I think it might be a consequence of Martyn actually being quite sensitive in terms of relationships and having this very deep-seeded need to protect his loved ones from harm but lacking the emotional intelligence necessary to allow himself to be vulnerable about those feelings and communicate properly. So instead he finds some way to protect himself emotionally (usually overdramatic and makes him way worse) and treats everyone including himself with a level of un-seriousness that alleviates the tension for him.

If I were to dig deeper into this specific point I must say Martyn seems to have chosen to perform a very specific breed of masculinity, with his constant agonizing need to protect and lead while not having to confront his own perceived weaknesses, and alot of his insecurities and frustrations come from being denied that husband-y role to play.

His interactions with Jimmy early on in 3L portray this side of him quite plainly. After seeing Scott hit him around at Renchanting, Martyn gets Jimmy alone and asks him if he's okay but after Jimmy dodges the question, Martyn quickly becomes frustrated and starts acting very overdramatic (e.g. threatening to cut Jimmy off, "I can't look at you", so on) even as Jimmy keeps insisting they keep talking.

In my humble opinion, it's clear to me from how he speaks to Jimmy in this scene and further on, and from his referencing of their Evo relationship, that this is these two's established dynamic - the way Martyn dramatizes everything feels almost as if he were making a joke of it, teasing Jimmy, almost akin to how an older sibling or very old friend would act. It's possible that Martyn didn't expect Jimmy to take any of his threats seriously (although he definitely was laying on the pressure to try and get him to agree in the moment) and that's why he's so taken aback when Jimmy does act almost afraid of him from this point forward.

Not once does Martyn ever verbalize his own feelings regarding the matter. He never says that he's scared or worried for Jimmy, or even makes any sort of subjective judgment on Scott's character for hitting Jimmy in the first place. He makes it all about Jimmy, never communicating *why* he is doing what he's doing which ends up giving off the impression he thinks he knows what's best for him, which of course never communicates to Jimmy that Martyn cares for or loves him and ends up pushing him away as a result.

Speaking of Scott, despite Martyn clearly not approving of the way he treats Jimmy (judging from the aforementioned conversation and his later lore streams where he essentially calls Scott and Jimmy's marriage a sham), he does not ever act antagonistically towards Scott. Which I think is indicative of another key trait of Martyn's - an almost uncanny ability to push aside his own feelings at least momentarily for the sake of the game.

Martyn does not speak badly to or about Scott. He even explores the nether with him very early on and the two literally joke about trapping the Flower Valley and killing Jimmy together.

I think there's an understanding and perhaps a level of respect, on Martyn's end, towards Scott. One of the first observations he makes about Scott's base, after all, is its defensive location and Scott, like Martyn, values his own competency and likes to pretend he's more emotionally unattached to his partner than he really is (the parallels between Martyn/Ren and Scott/Jimmy are even somewhat lampshaded by Martyn himself when he refers to them as "my red" (Ren) and "your red" (Jimmy) later).

It seems that Martyn doesn't dislike anything innate to Scott's nature, and even has love for his manipulative traits. If it were anyone other than Jimmy Scott was hitting, I'd argue, Martyn wouldn't have raised a fuss about it. Not to mention, there's also a sense of "keeping your enemies closer" when it comes to these two, as both seem acutely aware the other is useful on their side and a threat anywhere else.

I'd argue despite the fact he's able to push his dislike towards Scott aside, he definitely still feels spiteful towards him, as he ends up hunting him down pretty mercilessly come the end of the series (after Jimmy dies too - so perhaps there was also a level there of feeling the need to put up with Scott beforehand as he was Jimmy's only ally, but now that Jimmy's gone there isn't any need to be friendly with Scott anymore.)

Now onto the heavy-hitter Martyn 3L relationship - his dynamic with Ren.

I'll be honest I think most treebark shippers have summed up their relationship way better than I could. You could probably go into the tag and see thirty eight analysis posts more indepth and accurate than mine. However I will say that one thing I see rarely mentioned is this very obviously being Martyn's first time meeting Ren (I'm talking about characters here but here is your acknowledgement this is definitely a result of this literally being the case for the CCs).

He's not used to Ren's mannerisms -- during their first meeting, Ren says his usual "ex-squeeze me" (instead of "excuse me") and Martyn responds "no thankyou, I'm married". Not to get too into it as this is The Martyn Post but Ren's POV would imply the same since he sees Martyn's name in chat and he immediately starts theorizing about what kind of player he is.

I think Ren essentially being a stranger to Martyn at the start of the series makes it easier for him to act manipulatively and keep him at arm's length, as well as be in denial about the whole emotional attachment thing. For so much of their alliance during 3L Martyn is acting, performing to match Ren's vibes, except he's not.

^this quote and the concept of freudian slips informs like 88% of my worldview, if anyone's wondering why I'm. like that.

"The Hand" is very much not how Martyn naturally acts or behaves, down to the change in speaking patterns. It's a persona that I think both Ren and Martyn never take too seriously or mistake for Martyn's authentic self, but it's also something Martyn uses to express his innermost feelings he disallows himself from usually. Yes it's all silly even in-universe but I think there's something special about how he constantly expresses his devotion as The Hand, even if he's doing it with a layer of irony. Plus, I think it says something that, jumping later in the timeline, his flashbacks in LimLife are much more true to the character of The Hand than Martyn himself.

This section is already long enough but I do have to mention Bigb, Grian and Scar or I'll explode.

Earlier on, I touched on Martyn giving Grian and Bigb diamond swords early and it being an attempt to leverage an alliance between them. This I admit might be a slight reach however the reason I say that is Martyn continues to pursue Bigb and Grian as allies throughout the season.

Bigb is cut and dry enough, he ends up floating around the outside of Dogwarts as a not-quite-member after the siege in which pretty much half the sever were antagonized by Grian and Scar. I'm probably not the person to thoroughly dissect Martyn/Bigb but there's something interesting there about how alot of people tend to have this general fondness towards Bigb and Martyn is no exception.

As for Grian, Martyn acknowledges that Grian is responsible for the siege, possible moreso than Scar, but keeps questioning how "gone" he is, worded as if he believes Scar is manipulating him. I've seen people compare this to how he acts towards Jimmy and Scott which I can definitely see the throughline. However, I think while both are an example of Martyn's protector/saviour complex, they are innately different due to Martyn's relationships with both the perceived victim and captor in each case.

Despite Grian also being an ex-Evo member, Martyn does not act towards him with the same familiarity he does with Jimmy. He also brings up Grian's welfare with Bigb and not Grian himself, with Bigb being the other person involved in their earlier established sword alliance. To me, it feels as if Martyn is more testing the waters for if he can still get Grian on his side than out of any genuine concern for Grian, although it is possible he's projecting some of those leftover feelings regarding Jimmy's situations onto Grian and Scar.

The other reason is, I think, Martyn might genuinely be afraid of Scar himself and villainizing him as a result. Everytime Scar shows up in Martyn's POV he's paired with tense music and sporadic editing that makes him appear more unhinged. Martyn has also said on tumblr he found Scar intimidating at the time, which is of course a dubiously canon source but I find it applicable enough.

It makes sense, too. When you compare Martyn's treatment of Scar vs his treatment of Scott. These are both people he has recognized as real threats and he assumes both are manipulating their respective partners, but while he remains friendly (at least outwardly) towards Scott he's constantly wary of Scar, drawing weapons on him pretty much on sight even before the siege.

I think Martyn fears Scar because he doesn't understand Scar. Scott is someone like him who he knows the inner workings of, or at least that's what he believes, so while he doesn't care for him he doesn't feel a need to keep him away. Martyn always assumes a level of coordinated malice from Scar that is more than often either completely unfounded or a result of something originating from Grian (my favourite example of this is, right before the siege, Scar wanders over with his bee on a lead and Martyn starts yelling "he's got a bee! what does that mean?!" as if expecting the bee has some pvp reason behind it. when scar just wanted to have a bee).

That isn't to say that Scar isn't malicious - Martyn is right like 90% of the time that Scar's not-so-subtle friendly hellos have some sinister plan behind them, but he doesn't ever truly get that Scar isn't the evil mastermind he thinks he is.

I'd argue this fear is what also makes Martyn not pick up on the fact that Grian is the more manipulative one out of the two - something that even Scott seems aware of - because he never spends enough time with them on friendly terms to be aware of that dynamic.

Last Life AKA big brother syndrome in full blast

Okay that was a long ass section sorry lmao have to establish everything there. Everything from here on is gonna be a lot cleaner I swear.

The Southlanders could honestly have their own ultra-long post about how they're the perfect disaster team-up lord of the flies esque situation the series has to offer.

Impulse, Grian and Martyn are all similar in that they understand they have to play the game a certain way through keeping their loyalties dubious while Mumbo, as a newcomer, is extremely naive and goes along with whatever the more assertive members of the group say. And Jimmy is Jimmy.

Martyn takes on a leadership role within the group, being the one to constantly spearhead their humour and come up with new often disruptive plans (usually targetting Scott because he totally isn't spiteful still, albeit in a very playful way). After Joel traps their base with tnt minecarts, Martyn is the one to keep everyone else back and disarm them, a huge contrast to 3L's siege.

Their group embraces the rules of the game - if you turn red, as Grian does early on, you are kicked out from the group as a threat. There's this sinking feeling throughout all their spyglass shenanigans and life-trade trust exercises that this is still an alliance in a death game and if you prove yourself to be a detriment, you will be kicked out.

It's no wonder than why Jimmy, who gets his usual bottom of the barrel treatment, tries to run away with Martyn's life during one of their trust exercises. He's been shown at this point he can't fully trust the Southlanders to protect him forever -- how could he, when Martyn, again, never slips in any sign of affection between the teasing?

To Martyn, however, this is a betrayal of his trust. His plea to Jimmy to return sounds a lot like their conversation back in 3L on the snowy mountain regarding Jimmy and Scott, except this time Jimmy accepts Martyn's offer and Martyn tells him he was lying, calling him an idiot for believing him in the first place. This is probably the harshest Martyn acts towards Jimmy in the series, but it's worth mentioning that to Martyn the timeline of events goes he offers Jimmy his protection and alliance--> Jimmy refuses--> Jimmy dies (which Martyn probably sees at least partially due to said refusal) --> he gets Jimmy back and does everything in his power to keep him safe --> Jimmy does the equivalent of *killing him* and tries to get away with it.

Martyn still obviously cares about Jimmy despite being upset at him, as after his usual dramatics and declaring a trial for Jimmy in which each of the Southlanders vote on his fate, Martyn still votes to keep Jimmy in the group (again, something Jimmy is never made aware of).

Possibly partially because of the Jimmy incident and the overall dog-eat-dog culture of the Southlanders, Martyn does to them what he never managed with Dogwarts - betrayal. At least, on some level.

Ironically, it's Ren he betrays them for, forming the Shadow Alliance and even giving the life Jimmy had attempted to steal from him to Ren instead. My read of this has always been that it supported Martyn truly being happy enough for Jimmy or someone else to have his extra life, but Jimmy's act of betraying him itself being what hurt him.

I think now's a good time to start mentioning the Watcher Lore, as here is where it starts kicking into gear. Martyn's claims of emotional bonds not carrying over from previous seasons is not only a very natural progression from his emotional distancing in a coping mechanism sense, but also enables him to betray Ren too later on and not have to confront the guilt that comes with that when he tries to lead him into a tnt trap in the final 1v1v1v1. However, he still cheers for Ren as a ghost and even says that he would be happy to see Ren win, indicating he really does not hold any malice towards him.

I've seen people make jokes about the watcher lore being Martyn schizoposting and I'm sure I've made similar jokes in the past but. Speaking very genuinely here Martyn's questionable sanity is a big part of his character to me.

His Episode 8 of LL literally begins with him acting out the usual running joke of him stealing Mumbo's intro, except Mumbo and Jimmy are dead at this point and he is doing their voices and talking to himself. When the illusion is broken, he panics and the video immediately cuts to him running around obviously distressed with a disembodied voice demanding things from him.

I'm obviously not authorized to diagnose every single one of Martyn's many mental illnesses, but I think mentally breaking down in a timeloop death game is a fairly average thing to happen to someone, and Martyn might be especially susceptible due to his aforementioned need for power and responsibility in every relationship (i.e. I'd like to think he feels some helplessness/guilt over Jimmy and Mumbo's deaths, leading to this sequence).

Not to mention, someone who is emotionally vulnerable coming up with a nebulous Group of Evil People who are the source of all the bad things in a helpless situation of violence is. Something that happens historically quite alot. To try and find reason in the madness is just a human instinct, I think.

One thing I feel like I should mention is his "marriage" with Mumbo which. I honestly don't see as anything more than a gag. Not that Martyn isn't a massive hypocrite but "marrying" Mumbo would be very much contradict what he has to say about Scott/Jimmy's situation. I do think he cares for Mumbo and potentially Mumbo's naivete served as incentive for Martyn to put on the usual assertive/provider role but I don't think there's much more than that (no hate to the shippers, tho, if they knew eachother for like a week longer they would've kissed)

Double Life. Oh no

Double Life Martyn is one of my favourite POVs in the series because it is. Hilarious. Unfortunately.

To start off, he is one of the players who almost immediately accepts the soulbound system as romantic and his views on Cleo/Scott's relationship are heavily based on that (I love that one clip where he mocks them in front of Jimmy).

Him acting flabbergasted at Cleo rejecting him despite pretty much having no relationship with her prior to this season is a really funny contrast to Scott and Pearl, especially when he continues pursuing her like they're recently divorced and Cleo's just like. rolling her eyes. It's all very performative on Martyn's end and why I mentioned his sense of masculinity at the start, because in theme with DL being The Feminism Season TM this is when it comes full throttle in display with the way he treats Cleo.

Martyn keeps referring to himself as a "provider" and refers to Cleo's relationship with Scott as "childish" -- Martyn trying to win over Scott's partner to his side, assuming he knows best for the partner and calling their relationship a sham? Does any of this sound familiar?

Cleo is not like Jimmy, however, and is very clear to Martyn in terms of what she wants from him - which is an apology, no diamond swords or heart-shaped houses, but Martyn in all his emotional denseness can't understand this and keeps assuming there must be some hidden strings attached.

I couldn't find the original meme I had in mind but these are within the same genre. The one I remember had captioned something like "dads don't say "i love you" but they will buy ten boxes worth of the fruit they overheard you say you liked once", which pretty much sums up Martyn's emotional intelligence to me. He would much rather give you way too much of something he thinks you need (e.g. with Jimmy the playful teasing, with Cleo the acts of service) than just say "I love you".

Cleo's blunt honesty serves as a stark contrast to Jimmy and brings something out of Martyn that we rarely ever see -- a genuine, vulnerable interaction in which he has to admit he's hurt. Cleo immediately denies him the role of rescuer he wants to play by telling him directly that she, not Scott, was the one who came up with the idea of teaming up and even gets Martyn to verbalize he's hurt by their actions and cares for her.

Once that illusion is shattered for Martyn and Cleo even admits she's acting manipulatively towards Scott, Martyn realises he and Cleo are more alike than he initially assumed and that he doesn't need to take care of her like he always tries to with his relationships. Ironically, the one relationship he has that is born almost entirely out of government mandated performative romance, is the one that gets him to examine how he views people especially his romantic interests the most.

This is, of course, all said with the fact that following this very heartfelt moment, the next time he speaks to Cleo he pushes her off a fucking cliff and kills her in mind. And the fact that he was very much beating the shit out of her and even called their relationship "toxic" himself early on in the season.

It's kind of hard to gauge Cleo and Martyn's relationship from this point forward but Martyn definitely chills on the namecalling and cooperates with Scott and Cleo for the main part going forward.

I think it's also worth mentioning that, despite Scott once again being the object of his spite, Martyn is once again friendly with Scott all season. When he catches Cleo and Scott mid-axe crit, it's Cleo he starts hitting and not Scott, despite them both being responsible. Behind his back, Martyn will claim Scott is "ruining" Cleo but to his face Martyn is always respectful. He actually even calls Scott "pretty"/"hot" in the last episode, which has some implications I'll talk about more in the Limlife section.

Martyn, like everyone else, is weird about Pearl. Uniquely in his case, Pearl isn't a witch nor demoness, but rather a non-factor he seems to have had written off and her triumph in the end comes as a shock to his system.

He dismisses her concerns over and over in the first episode as they are exploring together and, instead of seeing her as a natural source of allyship, doesn't value her enough to keep her around as an alliance even after Scott and Cleo dump them. In his heart to heart with Cleo, he even very randomly speaks badly of her, although he immediately seems to feel a bit of guilt over it.

He never seems to view Pearl through a sympathetic lens despite the two being in the same circumstance and, again in the same conversation with Cleo, they both agree that she could act as essentially a pawn (an "extra healthbar") for them like Cleo uses Scott.

I feel the need to clarify that while, yes I do believe Martyn is Weird About Women, I also do think he's honestly above average and sees them more as people than some other men in the series (note: my standards are not very high)

He sees most people as nothings that can be manipulated or competition that also can be manipulated, it just so happens that all the women in the series so far land squarely in the former and it took Cleo saying to his face "I'm taking advantage of Scott" for him to realise she wasn't a victim. However, even afterwards, he never treats her with the same competitiveness he has for people like Scott and Scar (albeit it makes enough sense in this season since she's attached to his healthbar, but this remains the same for future seasons). And as a reminder, he holds respect for those he deems as threats, which might have something to do with why he feels comfortable hitting Cleo but not Scott.

As for Ren and the Broken Hearts Club, they didn't get a lot of time together this season since both were preoccupied with their own soulmate dramas and being awful to Pearl but what we do see of them ranges from heartwarmingly nostalgic to a little bit hollow. Martyn saying to Pearl that they're the same at this point doesn't really read to me as him being truly sympathetic since this is post the "you should go use pearl as your second hp bar" conversation and Ren is way too busy to deal with the emotional turmoil of what's going on between himself and Bigb to really pay attention to Martyn.

Ren is still very kind to Martyn, especially considering the last time he saw him in LL Martyn was trying to kill him, but there's an emotional gap between the two that's very noticeable at least to me when compared to 3L and LL.

I think Martyn, at this point, convinced of his own "emotional bonds don't carry over seasons" logic, might be a bit too comfortable on relying on Ren. In both DL and LL he runs to Ren when his current alliance gets shaky and Ren is a source of definite comfort for him (as he said so himself on stream). Ren, as a source of comfort, is not a threat to Martyn aka not someone he needs to keep tabs so when said source of comfort falls through the gaps, you get:

Limited Life. The one where he compares himself to Joffrey from GOT

I don't think I have much to say about LimLife Martyn that hasn't already been said.

I will say I don't necessarily think Majorwood is purely his rebound relationship from Ren, the Mean Gills forming is very much not OOC for either Scott or Martyn (this is pretty much how they acted with eachother at the start of 3L) and their resulting give and take coworker-esque dynamic is a very natural place for them to end up from their previous interactions. Scott, like Martyn, tries to shed his emotional attachments with each new season so they are, in a very literal sense, making eachother worse by reinforcing that habit by normalizing it to eachother.

However, the parallels to their respective 3L partnerships I can't blame people for pointing out, right down to Martyn killing both Ren and Scott in the seaons he was teamed with them and the latter being happy about it.

I think it's time to say what I've been implying with Scott and Martyn throughout this whole thing and that is that they are eachother's ideal ally. They are both aware of the game, play the game, emotionally distant, manipulative and make themselves suffer more for that mindset. I don't think there was ever a moment in their allyship where either assumed the other wasn't going to stab them in the back later, despite the mutual respect they have being very real.

Martyn spends a lot of time this season just wandering around talking to various people, alot like how he acted in 3L before he and Ren became an official thing. It's almost as if, without Ren there, he loses his default go-to guy and is once again sizing up the competition around him.

The one exception I would say would be his interactions with Cleo, who he seems genuinely friendly with, even offering himself up as a "godfather" for the Clockers before the whole server became some form of extended family. You'd think this alliance would also have some basis in the ever present Scott/Cleo alliance but Scott's constant sacrifices for the Clockers are never discussed between him and Martyn, in fact the two of them rarely talk about anything ever past base-building and dolphin-wrangling, and the Clockers seem to treat them as two seperate entities rather than an alliance (e.g. Bdubs seems almost entitled to Scott's life after a certain point, but none of them ever even consider asking Martyn for time).

That, and of course the fact that Martyn kills Scott very unsympathetically towards the end, really point me in the "Martyn is still spiteful towards Scott" direction -- after all, alliance or no alliance, I don't think Martyn would want to be in the conversation with Scott where he tells him about his "love you back" exchange with Jimmy. Martyn certainly respects Scott, loves Scott I'd even say, but I don't know if he actually likes Scott.

I think it's also interesting that it's this season where Martyn's Watcher Lore interludes make a return, just in time for his source of comfort (Ren) to be missing.

Re: the watcher lore the comment Martyn makes about swapping out souls of players who are too "damaged" is very in line with his DL seeing women (and "weaker" men like Jimmy, Mumbo and, of course, Ren) as default victims as, knowingly or not, he implies through this that all the women in the series have souls too weak to withstand the horrors. This also in turn implies that he himself is not broken, which I think he'd like to believe.

Secret Life. It's happy again :D oh wait no

Secret Life starts with Martyn kissing Jimmy. I feel like we moved on from this way too fast in general I mean on the cheek or not he did kiss him he did literally kiss him.

I'll be honest I think the Big Dogs POV is the one I'm least familiar with out of all of these but from what I do remember it's very nice to see Martyn and Jimmy settling back into what seems like their Evo dynamic or even their pre-horrors LL dynamic.

Unfortunately Jimmy is not Cleo and thus cannot get Martyn to be the slightest bit vulnerable, so their dynamic remains stagnant and neither acknowledge the awkwardness that still resides between them.

Jimmy is at least very clearly holding onto some discomforts, judging by his behaviour late in the series when he acts aggressively towards Pearl and celebrates Lizzie dying. He even chases Scott down with a sword on horseback earlier on and, very early in one of Pearl's episodes, he quickly switches between sounding sad and angry.

It's clear to me at least SL Jimmy has reached some sort of breaking point, and this never gets acknowledged by Martyn (I like to think he just lacks the EQ to deal with it). This all cascades into Jimmy attempting to kill Martyn and running away before dying.

SL Martyn feels almost like, to me, the 3L Martyn who successfully convinced Jimmy to team with him and the disaster that comes with that. Martyn certainly has continued to be his survivalist self, not trusting outsiders to the point where when the Wither/Warden combo is unleashed, he immediately assumes they're picking off reds and goes to hide.

Weirdly enough, his protective tendencies towards Jimmy are pretty much gone. It's almost as if when he doesn't see an active threat (e.g. Scott) he assumes things must be good enough and leaves it at that, which also implies he can't comprehend that He might be detrimental to Jimmy himself.

Obligatory. Yes he still misses Ren. Him literally basing his alliance concept off of dogs is. hilarious. I'm so sorry babygirl.

Real Life is, again, non-canon to me but turns up the "dad who buys you 45 mandarins" energy to 11 with him being Ren and Skizz's pseudo-dad. I love Ren having a crisis about his own RP btw it's the funniest thing and he does it like. Everytime.

Uh yeah I hope that's long enough

[ickmick]

Novelvember week 3

prompt: yet another incorrect quote, which is at the end of the fic :3

duo or ship: tango/grian with plenty of impulse & grian interaction!

A certain pesky bird goes poking through the local dungeon master's storage unit. After getting caught red handed, he flees to tell a fellow hermit, seeking advice for his rising feelings.

OR

Grian has a gay panic over Tango making out with him and tells Impulse all about it before promptly deciding physical touch is not currently Fun.

ao3 link | week one | week two

pssst... wanna see the full drawing? click here! <3

breif warning for a sort of anxiety attack at the very end. its not described in much detail, mostly just discomfort with physical touch.

Pacing the length of the entry room in Impulse's base, Grian grumbles a bit and checks his communicator again. The device was silent, cold metal pressing into his palms as he gripped it. Where is he? It's already been ten minutes, and the avian had thought Impulse was nearby. 

As he starts typing out another DM, the sound of rockets got close. Grian perks, wings raising as he looks for the source. There, incoming fast on glossy metal dragonfly wings, was the man of the hour.

“Hey! Sorry for taking a while, you know how Zed gets after cuddling,” The daemon calls with a chuckle when he's close enough. Through Impulse's many mentions of it, yes, he did know. There had been a few times he'd seen it himself, too.

Distantly, he recalls years long past where Tango had teased both Zedaph and Impulse for it. An uncomfortable jealousy rises, despite not having any reason to be. Not only was Tango very much not dating the two anymore, but Grian didn't have a connection like that to any of them. So it didn't make much sense to feel this way.

Impulse lands with an oomph next to Grian, furry whip-thin tail stretching out in an instinctive balancing act. It brings the avian back to the now relatively quickly. “How are you?” 

Frowning, he stays quiet for a second as the taller man closes his elytra and pushes his flight goggles up. “I think you know that,” Grian replies finally, a whine in his voice.

“Is it that bad?” Impulse asks, furrowing his brows while trying not to look too amused. When the avian just groans and turns away to keep pacing, he rolls his eyes fondly. “Come in, come in. Do you want a drink or something to eat, maybe?”

They go inside, and Grian hops up onto the island counter in the kitchen while the taller man gets out two glasses. Swinging his feet lightly, he sighs again. Heavily.

“Grian… buddy, I can't help you if you don't talk to me. I may give decent advice, but only when I know the situation.” Pouring water for them, the daemon walks over and holds one glass out. “Come on, what'd Tango do?”

The amused look on Impulse’s face only serves to make him more pouty. But after taking a long sip of water, Grian indignantly flaps his ear wings and looks away. “Well, it's confusing! He's confusing! He kissed me!”

Raising a brow, his friend sat in one of the bar stools. “Doesn't he, uh, always do that?” Pointing a finger limply at Grian, he adds, “I thought you two were in a loose QPR or something?”

“Yeah-!” Exasperation laces his exclamation, and his wings poof up. “But this was different!” His cheeks got warm, and he quickly took another gulp of water.

“How so?” Impulse tilted his head, elbow leaned on the counter as he looked up at him.

Flustered, the avian set his glass down and waved his arms about. “Usually it's an agreed on moment! He just went for it!”

This seemed to surprise Impulse, as he sat up straighter. His expression got a bit dark, voice serious. “Wait, went for it? He didn't disrespect your consent, did he?”

Face blanking briefly, he quickly shook his head. “Coders, no! That was- I didn't word it right. I promise it's not like that.” As the daemon relaxed- glad his pseudo brother wasn't causing actual problems- Grian looked away and traced the lip of his cup. “I mean that usually I'm like… Usually I'm there with intentions of garnering affection. But I was just, uh, sort of there this time.”

“Sort of there?” The taller hermit tilts his head. “Oh,” he smiles, “you were stealing from his storage again, weren't you?”

“Borrowing,” Grian sniffs, wings relaxing behind himself. “Those eggs weren't going to-” he realizes he's mumbling and stops, indignantly chirping.

“Eggs?” Impulse grins, all teasing words and smile-narrowed golden eyes.

Swatting at his arm, the avian groans. “Shut- forget I said anything!” He hops down from the counter, frowning deeply, only to be caught around the middle by a laughing man. A little gasp escapes him, but then he turns to glare heatlessly.

“No, I'm sorry,” He pulls him over to his side, words warm, “Tell me what happened. I'll try not to tease more.” Impulse carefully tucks a bit of fluffy hair behind his friend's ear, admittedly making the avian feel much more at ease. It was easier to talk when he wasn't in ‘playful older brother’ mode. 

He supposed the habit must be pretty strong, seeing as Impulse had both a little sister- Gem- and a little brother. Albeit, Tango wasn't actually related to him- that'd be really weird considering their past- and was only a month younger, but the point stood.

“I doubt that,” Grian mumbles in response, getting onto the stool next to him anyways. “But fine. Since I'm already here.” That, and they both knew even Zedaph didn't know the two's ex well enough to tell what he was up to. If Grian wanted in-depth advice regarding Tango, Impulse was the only one to ask.

“Sure,” the daemon hummed, arm falling to the side as Grian sat. His smile softens, and he urges him to go on with a brief hand motion.

Thinking about where to start, he stares down at his nearly empty glass. “Well, I just needed a few more bits and bobs for a build. And obviously, Tango has a lot of those.” As he speaks, he moves his hands about animatedly. “So, I figured, ‘ why not skim off the top? ’” His voice is hesitant, and he shrugs casually. Yes, this will do, easing into just what happened.

Impulse offers no response outside a little nod, allowing Grian the space to speak. So naturally, he does. “I've done it plenty, and he doesn't ever care because, you know, it's just little things.” Pausing, he hums and adds nonchalantly, “Even then, he never seems to mind when I take anything.”

It was probably a bigger deal than he'd assumed, as Impulse gave a big grin. Still, he says nothing, so with a nervous little chirp, Grian continues. “Anyways, he's been busy, so I let myself in and went downstairs…”

✮✮✮

Grian had hummed a soft, happy tune as he'd gracefully glided down into the belly of Tango's base. It had been a little hard to navigate with all the redstone, but he'd been down there enough times to narrowly avoid imminent death. At least for today.

The avian landed in the large doorway, and shook out his wings before folding them. He looked around, thinking over what he'd come for. It took a minute, dark brown eyes scanning the signs. Having recalled it, he set out for the chests he'd been sure had the right little things.

Something thudded a few minutes later, the distant sound of metal whistling through the air following it. The avian had frozen up, mid looting of some less than useful chests. As far as his build went, Grian had no use for the things he'd been grabbing.

He'd glanced between the room's entrance and the armful of eggs he'd currently held. Amongst them a few bits of gold shone, and a decently sized chunk of lapis had been tucked against his side. Conflicted between knowing he should get the hell out and his own instinct to take the precious items, he remained kneeled in front of the chest.

As the metallic elytra clinks a few times and makes a soft scratching as it shuts, Grian frowns and slowly scoots towards the bag he'd dropped on the floor for whatever he ‘borrowed’. It was his own bag, at least, empty outside of a few little miscellaneous items. That and the copper he originally came here for.

Carefully unloading his last haul of mostly eggs and shiny bits with a pleased chirp, he wonders why the other man hasn't walked in yet. He had heard him land, right? That wasn't his imagination? Admittedly, it should figure that he'd make it up.

So after another pause to listen, he shrugs and continues, poking into a few other chests. A soft trill leaves him as he finds some red wool, and he gently tucks it around the eggs. Can't possibly blame him for obeying his bird brain. 

He does some more back and forths between tucking a myriad of items around the eggs and snagging half slabs of copper. At some point he'd resumed his delightful tune. Then, someone clears their throat. Grian freezes, wings poofing up. As he hears a familiar snort, he scrambles up onto his feet and turns around.

Tango is leaning on the door frame, arms crossed. His metal elytra is folded behind himself, golden yellow magma-filled sections glowing in a way that imitates the man's own fire. “Whatcha up to, G?” The blaze watches him, raising a brow. There was a faint amusement to his tone, but he seemed a bit too tired for this.

“Uh,” looking down at the near full bag, he smiles, “Just helping you clean your storage, of course!” Over his shock and now in his usual mind of mischief, Grian puts his hands on his hips, inclining his head playfully. “There were some weird things in weird places, Tango.”

Seemingly giving him a moment to process what he's said, Tango offers a sharp grin. “Oh really?” He inquires in an unamused tone that says; ‘I don't believe you for a minute’. “The automated storage unit that I built myself is broken?”

The avian falters, glancing around at the room. It didn't feel like banter suddenly. “Y-Yes.” Confirming his shoddy alibi, and therefore sealing in another task for the other, he nods. One of his ear wings moves to cover part of his face, feeling shameful.

“Hm,” Tango hums, pushing off the wall and slowly walking over. He glances down at his bag and snorts again before turning to the open chests. “And which parts would you say are broken? I'm awfully tired, but if you say it's acting up…” The blaze spoke in a quiet sneer, knowing very well that his friend was full of it. But he didn't seem angry per se. 

Hesitating, he slowly turned around to look at the chests he'd raided. “Uhm, you see,” Grian trailed off, nibbling at his lower lip. He could feel the taller man stare down at him, and slumps a bit. Stealing ultimately unimportant items was one thing, they all did that regularly. Giving another hermit more work to cover up a lie though, that made his stomach twist. It just wasn't right.

Tango didn't say anything as the avian processed, tail idly flicking back and forth. He didn't speak up when said man leaned down and started to close the chests either. “Nothing is broken,” Grian quietly says, guilty. Hearing Tango cross his arms more than he really saw it in his peripherals, he cringed. “Sorry. If you'd like I can put everything back, I know you've been busy.” 

And yet he still swung by. He wasn't at all surprised to have been caught either. Rather, he'd been surprised by the sour turn of events. Tango seemed much more exhausted than one would imagine. Then again, he did build an entire game so… maybe it hadn't been a good idea to come pester him.

“I don't care about the items,” the blaze says after a moment. He grabs the back of Grian's sweater and pulls him back into a stand, making him look up at him. Behind Tango's irritated expression, he could see fatigue in his icy blue eyes. “What I care about is that you lied about it.”

Feeling rather small under his gaze, Grian looks away again. “I was only joking,” he weakly defended. It had in fact been another tease, one he knew he'd see through. Although– 

“That doesn't change the fact that you lied after, when I asked about it.” Tango’s voice lilts up towards frustration, arms crossed again. He'd practically spoken the shorter man's thoughts aloud. “Obviously I knew it was a joke, Grian.”

“Then-!” The avian tosses his hands up, cutting off his own shout to groan. “Why are you scolding me, then?”

Furrowing his brows at the weak glare, Tango's soul flame tail swishes in annoyance. “I just told you,” he says firmly, clearly attempting to remain calm. “Can we not do this right now? I have things to do.”

Now agitated as well- despite not having the right to be- Grian rolls his eyes and puffs his wings up to seem bigger. “You started it! Come on, shout back! You're clearly upset!”

The blaze stares, clearly riled if the crackling flame on his tail tip was anything to go by. After processing, he stepped closer, purposely looming over Grian now. “You should stop while you're ahead, birdie.” The nickname was startlingly out of place in the moment, said with such strained warning.

“And why is that,” he prods, feeling a bit childish for how he essentially was throwing a fit. It wasn't clear even to himself what was going on at this point.

“You're in my base,” Tango reminds him, grabbing his chin, “and you've stolen my items. I couldn't think of a better reason.”

This had all turned weirdly intimate, their faces inches apart as they seethed at each other. Deep down he sort of knew it was going to be fine, somehow finding warmth hidden in the other's gaze. Tango's voice had lowered, but not in the dark and angry way. It was almost sultry.

Flustering, the avian taunts, “Oooh, you wanna kiss me so bad!” It's entirely immature. And very out of line, had either been angry enough. But he desperately wanted to soothe the tension, chest tight from even the vague argument. So he did what he did best, make stupid, borderline flirtatious, jokes.

And for a second, Tango stares at him as if he was a fool. Which, he really was, so it fit. But then the blaze's cheeks warm and he seems to have an internal conflict of sorts. “What?” He finally mutters, brows furrowing again. 

Grian stares right back at him the whole time, utterly embarrassed but sticking by his own idiocy. “I said, ‘Oooh,’” he speaks slower, and a bit low, “‘you wanna kiss me-’”

He doesn't finish his echoed sentence, being grabbed by the arms and pulled close as Tango all but smashes their lips together. The taller hermit makes a noise akin to a growl, tail lashing. At first he's frozen, bewildered. It wasn't exactly the expected response. 

It seems like Tango is about to pull away, seeing as the avian had yet to do more than stare. But then Grian shuts his eyes and tosses his arms around his neck, kissing back. The blaze makes a quiet purring in response, tail moving to wrap around Grian's ankle instead of aggressively thrashing.

The kiss brimmed with burning passion, a shocking thing to occur between the two. This was so unlike their usual soft and gentle affections that Grian could feel his skin buzzing. His wings were spread out behind himself, twitching a bit as Tango nipped at his lower lip. Even his significantly smaller ear wings were raised, doing small flaps now and then. He tilted his head a bit, both to pursue a deeper kiss and to wordlessly try and figure out what the blaze wanted.

Another nip, then a hand grabbing the sides of his jaw and lightly pressing in a silent answer. Tango licks the avian's lips this time, making it even clearer. So with a muffled chirp, he parted his lips, letting him explore his mouth.

Simply holding his arm apparently was not enough. The blaze wrapped one of his own around Grian's waist, pulling him flush against his chest. He moved the other to rather gently pet the spot between his wings. It was a melting bliss. He made a mix of a groan and a trill, hearing a responding pleased grumble.

His own hands moved to grasp at Tango's hair, gentle but firmly there. Thankfully he isn't on his tiptoes, since the taller had been the one to initiate the kiss and had leaned down for it. Otherwise he may have accidentally tugged, what with how his legs felt wobbly. Though with how heated this all was, it may not have been an unwelcome action.

Tango occasionally catches Grian's lip between his teeth, rather pointy canines digging in before he'd let go and pass his tongue over the offended spot. Each and every time he earned a whine, and could hear the shorter hermit’s wings flap.

Then finally they break apart, lung capacity spent. They only leave inches between their faces, panting breaths mixing in a humid puff. Grian's eyes are lidded, staring up at the blaze with a befuddled mix of wonder and confusion. All that he gets in return is a huff and the electric look in Tango's gaze.

Flustered and red in the face, the avian sputters out a few breathless syllables. He wants answers to the many questions in his head, unsure when their energy went from purely frustrated to almost charged. It's a bit hopeless as his mind is reeling, and most of his noises are little trills. The blaze grins at that, like it was a victory on his part.

And then, Tango much more calmly leans down further to kiss his jaw softly. Grian gasps, fingers flexing in the other's hair, then tilts his head to the side as a go ahead. Safe to say this was all unexpected. It wasn't even that they'd never done any of this before. Just that the energy was so different, so much more intense.

Feather light kisses are peppered down his neck until Tango can't pull his turtleneck away any further. So he trails back up, pressing just a little more. Grian's hands are gripping tightly to his cape covered shoulders, thick fabric bunched between his fingers. He gasps as the blaze nips at his jaw, then lightly whacks him in the face with one of his ear wings. Mostly by accident.

“Hey-” Tango grunts, frowning a little as he pulls away enough to meet his gaze.

Taking a moment to regain coherent speech, Grian looks to the side. “Hey yourself,” he mumbles, a complaint in his voice.

“Too far?” The blaze asks, softening. He glances between Grian's blown pupils, smile a bit too smug.

He slowly nods, cheeks still hot. Then he looks at Tango again, taking in his red lips and heavy stare. “A bit. I'm not even sure where that came from.”

“Oh,” Blinking, he seems to think back, then snorts. “Probably from you saying I wanted to kiss you. Because I did.”

Wings puffing up in embarrassment, Grian makes a shrill noise, glaring heatlessly. “It wasn't an invitation.”

“You sure don't seem to regret it though. Can't say I do either, you look pretty all red lipped.” The blaze easily replies, smirking and leaning a bit closer.

Grian surges forward to hide his face against the taller man’s shoulder, grumbling as his face flushes all over again. He doesn't reply, hiding away as he ignores the festering pool of emotions in his chest. And the other doesn't seem to mind, rubbing his shoulder idly.

The moment is disturbed by Tango's communicator pinging, making the blaze pull it out from his robes. Grian pulls back slightly, then folds his wings carefully so he can turn in the man's arms and look at the device with him. He'll happily latch to a distraction.

It's a message from Zedaph, having another trophy challenge for him to participate in. Grumbling a bit, Tango starts to type a decline, but the small avian catches his wrist.

“Go, I have things to do too.” He leans his head on his friend's arm, looking up at him with a small smile. “And I know you want to, underneath your foggy instincts.” 

The funny thing is, Grian was easier to fluster and get entranced, but also returned to normal faster. This wasn't the case for Tango, who lingered in his emotions longer. Admittedly, this was mostly because the avian tended to ignore said emotions, but still.

Frowning, he stares at him before realizing he's right. So he deletes the draft and instead confirms he'll come. “Only because you're busy.”

“Liar,” The avian teases, narrowing his eyes. But then as Tango blushes, he looks away and sighs. He may want to ignore how he feels about a lot of this, but the guilt was returning. And that he didn't want to leave untended. “Hey uh, I'm sorry for lying. And generally for getting annoying about it after.”

Tango doesn't reply at first, putting his communicator back into some hidden pocket. But then he gently pulls Grian off of himself, turning him around to look at him properly. He's got two fingers under his chin, tilting his head up to meet his smiling face.

“It's fine, I already forgave you. I know you didn't mean anything by it.” Then, the blaze leans down and presses a chaste kiss to his lips. This is what their intimate interactions were usually like, soft and comforting. And yet this simple kiss serves to fluster Grian beyond belief.

“O-Oh!” He had chirped when his friend pulled away. “Great! Then, uh, have fun! Bye!” The avain promptly fled, just barely remembering to grab his bag on the way out.

✮✮✮

“And then I messaged you,” Grian finished, hands falling into his lap. He had tried to explain in as little detail as possible while still properly retelling the event, yet still felt a bit winded.

Taking a second to really soak in just what he's been told, the daemon takes in a breath. He smiles, sounding a bit surprised, “That's a lot to unpack, isn't it?”

“Yeah! It is! If you somehow missed that part, we all but made out!” He had left out the intimate details, of course. But it was hard to not mention how Tango had certainly wanted to continue. Grian's cheeks got warm just thinking back on it.

Now seeing just what was going on in the avian's brain, Impulse grins widely. “We? So you kissed back?” Grian flushes, silent aside from a nod. “Did you enjoy it?”

“What kind of question-?!” He squawks, eyes widening as he whips his head to the side. Getting only a smug look, he wrings his hands. “I mean, yeah? I wouldn't kiss him near regularly if he wasn't good at it.”

The daemon snickers, shaking his head. “That's not entirely what I meant.” Seeing as Grian still didn't get it, he sighs and takes a small sip of his water, finishing it off. “G, when you two usually kiss, does it feel the same as today?”

He thinks about it, brows furrowed in confusion. “Um, I mean, no. But we haven't ever made out. Not fully, anyways. Our relationship is…” Grian trails off, waving a hand idly as if beckoning his thoughts forth. “I don't know, softer? This was more aggressive.”

“Well you did bicker seconds before,” Impulse points out, leaning on the island counter. “So then, was it a good different?”

“Um,” The avian squints at him, as if expecting the taller man to have an ulterior motive. That one he had to properly consider. He'd been so caught up in the why that he hadn't even considered how he felt about it. 

Tango had held him so close, grip firm yet somehow still gentle. And there had been a fierce passion that sparked between them for the first time. Sure, there was always affection and genuine love in their usual exchanges, but… that was always platonic.

It hit him at about the same time Impulse waved a hand in front of his face. Blinking rapidly, he looks up at his grin and flushes a bright red. “I suppose it was,” he finally answers.

“Looks like you have it figured out now,” Impulse murmurs, a spark of pride in his eyes. “Knew you'd get there eventually!”

“Yeah,” the avian breathes. It's been a very long time since he's fallen for someone. It all feels so bizarrely foreign, complicated and messy. It's a bitHe doesn't have the time to fully let it sink in, wings puffed up in embarrassment. “Thanks, Impulse.”

“Anytime, bud,” he easily replies, patting his shoulder. “I'm more than happy to help out, you know that.”

They have tea, easing into unrelated topics. Grian keeps zoning out as his friend rattles off The Soup Groups latest goof. He doesn't mean to, genuinely interested in what Impulse has to say, but he's a bit weary after all the emotional processing he's done today. 

There's a lot of questions in his head. Namely, does he feel the same? A dreadful sort of itching crawls up his spine at the idea of it. It takes hold just under his wings, making him drag his clawed fingers over the spot over and over.

When he'd confessed to Doc a while back it wasn't anything like this. The creeper hybrid had gently turned him down, and that was that. They just returned to being purely platonic friends. And they still are. So why was Tango so different? Was he really so attached to the blaze already? 

“G?” The daemon taps his arm gently, thin tail folded over on his lap. He's smiling softly, a concerned twist in the corners. His brows furrow as Grian jolts, warm hand remaining on his arm. It feels like it's burning.

Taking a breath, Grian looks up from his empty tea cup, meeting the other's gaze. “I'm okay, don't worry.” Then the combination of burning and itching is too much and he pulls his arm away.

The avian looks out the window behind Impulse. “Sorry. I should get going,” he shakes out his wings a little, then hops down from the stool, out of the other's reach.

“Oh, well alright.” Standing as well, Impulse refrains from stepping back into his space. He's not totally sure what's wrong, but it isn't the first time Grian's gotten like this. He trusts him to self regulate, and he doesn't seem to be doing horribly.

“Thanks again for the advice,” He smiles, tone warm and genuine despite the unsteady shake in it. “See you.”

“No problem,” The daemon replies, idly itching at the base of one of his short horns. He frowns slightly as it makes Grian shiver. But before he can say anything else the shorter hermit is leaving the room, footsteps gaining speed as they become fainter. 

Maybe he should have Mumbo check in with the avian. Scar would be too quick to try to hug him, and Tango is… well he's out of the question for now. 

Nodding slightly to himself as he distantly hears Grian take off, he picks up his communicator and sends a quick message to the lanky redstoner. Then he gets to cleaning up the kitchen, brows pinched.

-

heres the quote of the week! I laughed so hard when i found it, I couldn't just not use it

a few things as well, incase i didnt make it obvious in the fic! tango used to be in a triad with impulse and zedaph a while back... things happened and now hes purely just friends with them! impulse became like an older brother to him, and zedaph got back with impulse ^^

and this is (clearly) set before scar, tango, and grian got together LOLL

more is to come on all of this, im very normal about it! (lies) and i have a lot of ideas for their relationships and everything :D

anygay, thanks for reading!! have a great week!! I'll be back on Sunday!! <3

[stitchthesewords]

A gift for @oh-snapperss for.... okay so this one ISNT actually for that one poll, i owe them this for something i have forgotten since but it was fun to write! Soft gritho kissing in the grass!

---

“I can’t believe you built me a highway to Decked Out!” Etho laughed, laying back in the artificial grass of his base while Grian sat over him. “I mean, I know you’re trying to act like you didn’t build it just for me but, come on Gri. I don’t think there’s a single hermit who could be that blind.”

Grian blushed, his headwings rushing to cover the rising pink of his cheeks. Etho’s base, half-finished and warmed by the desert sun, was probably just as good as place as any to have the other man embarrass him. “I mean – it's useful for me too! I use it all the time!” he huffed out, his headwings once again flapping against his face. That got a proper laugh out of Etho that only buzzed its way under Grian’s skin.

Grian sat back on his heels, the full length of his wings expanding out to shade them both from the jungle air. The bright green grass under his hand did not give way easily when Grian tangled his hand in it. Etho’s eyes settled back on his face, warm and content. Full of love – full of multiple kinds of love that mostly didn’t have a name. His mask was tugged down, the scar from his eyebrow to neck revealed in the noon sunlight. Grian didn’t get to see it very often. Etho’s face was a treat.

He wondered if everyone thought Etho’s face was a treat or if he was a special kind of afflicted for the man. Without realizing it, he let out a soft coo, and Etho’s smile only grew warmer.

“...Ya know...With Decked Out finished, we’re not going to be staying here much longer. I don’t think I’m gonna have time to finish my base,” Etho said, turning to look at the bit and bobs that weren’t really connected yet. “I’ve only been playing that game.”

Grian laughed, nodding his head. “Yeah, I don’t think I’m finishing my base either. I was thinking maybe for the next season I would try to actually base up with someone. Maybe even someone who wasn’t Mumbo!” He laughed as he spoke, his sentence ending on a high, trill note, and he leaned back down to smile at Etho.

Etho sat up on his elbows, and Grian met him halfway for a chaste little kiss. Something that was still new. Not overtly so, but they were still learning each other’s quirks. It was surprising what little things you picked up about someone only after you agreed kissing was on the table. Grian’s body slumped forward slightly to follow Etho as he pulled away.

The was the faintest memory – of the smell of the nether, the weight of diamonds forced together – the weight of trust. It sat on Etho’s chest like Grian did now. He reached forward and pulled Grian close again, the weight shifting with his memory, unable to tear himself from one while the other was going on. Grian’s mouth was soft against his, his hands didn’t know where to go besides to tangle up inside the gras. Etho’s hand stroked gently against the back of Grian’s elbow, feeling the way trust and comfort surged through his blood.

Etho felt insane, hearing faint ticking as his hand drifted up to grip Grian’s shoulder. They separated apart, a soft pant in the air. A question in Grian’s dark eyes while he studied Etho’s face. The warm jungle wind blew again and Etho let it carry the thoughts of a life-or-death game away with it. That’s not where they were. They weren’t forming an alliance of blood and sweat, they were dating and laying in the grass. With a deep breath he laid all the way back into the grass and stared up at Grian with eyes he commanded be soft.

His fingers brushed behind Grian’s headwings, a frown forming on his face as he found a loose feather. The wing stretched itself out to follow the feel-good scratch of Etho’s hand and Grian made a content noise in the back of his throat. All questions hidden in his brown eyes disappeared with a noise somewhere between a trill and a chirp, the wings fluttering as Etho’s hand pulled away.

Grian followed the drop of Etho’s hand, kissing him before resting his head softly on Etho’s chest, somewhere between the nook of his pec and arm but not quite in the shoulder. His legs splayed out to the other side, body twisted and resting rather uncomfortably so as not to press a hip bone or knee into Etho uncomfortably. He didn’t want Etho to get up.

The two lay in silence, listening to the jungle, listening to Etho’s comforts and relaxing for the first time that week since the phase’s shards were released. Grian’s hand found its way to tangle up in Etho’s jacket and he moved to press a kiss to Etho’s cheek. Etho smiled – this was far better than some diamond sword in the nether, he couldn’t help but think.

[cloudwhisper23]

Ngl, I think I may've overdone the first few days of Grumbo Month. But that's completely fine! I've been having tons of fun with the event put on by @grow-bettah, even if I'm not entirely matching the prompts the way I should, lol.

Hope you enjoy!

Day 9: Sick Character

The cold wind was really starting to get unpleasant. Still, Grian continued on, building the bridges to connect the floating rocks that made up his base with the same patience he’d done before. If it had been the back of the base, Grian would not have bothered with it in this uncomfortable weather.

But as the base was facing Mumbo’s vault, he couldn’t just stop, not when Mumbo was also out still working on his own base. The color palette was lovely. Grian could safely say he was a fan of the design choice Mumbo had decided on.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Grian planted moss along the edge of his pathways. It was meant to look like a ruin, but he had to build the completed structure first. He already planned to just let the weather destroy it in some places. Moss was just the next step up from that.

When it started raining, Grian quickly built a layer of shelter for the bridge. He wasn’t ready for it to start wearing away just yet.

Satisfied that the rain wouldn’t hurt his build, Grian ducked inside to wait for it to pass.

He hadn’t been out in the rain very long. That’s what he told himself as he sneezed and nearly fell off the boulder. He wasn’t getting sick, surely.

The ground seemed a lot further away today. Grian squinted down, feeling dizzy as the grass swayed in the wind. He forced himself to look away from the edge, regardless of the fact that he couldn’t manage to focus on the build anymore.

Grian glanced down toward Mumbo’s vault. Water dripped from every surface, and Grian knew that door hadn’t opened since the storm.

Knowing full well he wasn’t going to get any more work done today anyway, Grian flew down, landing in front of the vault door. Technically, this didn’t count as breaking in, since he was here to see Mumbo.

Experimentally, Grian pushed one of the buttons along the side of the vault. Nothing happened. He pressed another button. Nothing happened. Grian started going down the line, pressing every button on the outside of Mumbo’s base in hopes that something would happen.

“Come on, Mumbo. You can’t just cover your base in buttons and not have any of them do anything!” Grian muttered as he made it back to the front.

The last button he pressed activated redstone. Grian scanned his surroundings, looking for where the piston had activated. A flash of color shot into his vision and then right back out again.

“Wait…” Grian pushed the button again and watched where he’d seen the movement. “Uh huh…”

For the third time, Grian pushed the button before positioning himself in the right spot for the piston to propel him into Mumbo’s base.

“Fancy,” Grian said to himself as he studied the interior of Mumbo’s vault.

Chests stacked to the ceiling on all sides, presumably part of Mumbo’s storage system. Grian stood motionless, trying to take in all the little details, but like before, his vision blurred, and he swayed on his feet.

He sneezed again, completely losing his balance. Grian crashed into the chests, knocking the top ones off the stack on top of him.

“What on earth…? Grian! What are you up to?” Mumbo appeared from somewhere, lifting the chests back to their stack. “Oh, what a mess.”

“Sorry, Mumbo.” Grian tried to stand up, but Mumbo pushed him back down.

“Give me a moment to clean this up. I think there’s some broken glass in here.” Mumbo carefully cleaned up the mess of items before helping Grian to his feet. “Right then. What were you doing?”

“I just came to see you. Didn’t mean to make a mess.”

Mumbo’s mustache twitched. “I’m sure.”

Grian’s wing flicked irritably. “It’s the truth. Take it or leave it, Jumbolio.”

Mumbo blinked at him. “If you say so. I’m going to get back to my project-“

“Can I watch?” Grian asked.

“You can’t make fun of me,” Mumbo warned. “I’m trying to build.”

“Won’t make fun of you. I promise.” Grian’s expression was very serious as he looked up into Mumbo’s face. “Cross my heart. I will not make fun of your building skills. I won’t even say anything unless you ask me a question.”

“Right then.” Mumbo cleared his throat, looking away from Grian with the faintest hint of color crossing his face. “Erm. You can follow me, then.”

Grian sat quietly, watching Mumbo build as exhaustion pricked at his consciousness. He pulled his bow out after a while, killing mobs as Mumbo continued to work well into the night. Eventually, Mumbo looked up at the sky, realizing the time.

“You didn’t tell me it was past midnight, Grian!”

“I promised not to say anything, remember?” Grian managed to grin even as he yawned. “Can’t interrupt the process. You were in the zone.”

“I- Yeah…” Mumbo looped an arm under Grian’s shoulders. “Come on then. I’m taking you home.”

“I don’t need to go to bed,” Grian tried to protest, even as Mumbo hooked his other arm beneath Grian’s legs, effectively removing him from the ground. “I am fine!”

“You are pale, exhausted, and to be quite honest, mate, you sound sick.”

“I’m not sick,” Grian replied, sulking slightly as he had to grip Mumbo’s suit jacket. “I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Mumbo.”

“I’m sure you are. But just because you can doesn’t mean you will.”

Grian didn’t have the strength to argue against that. His eyes fell closed as Mumbo launched them both into the air.

Maybe he was a bit tired after all.

“Grian.” Mumbo jostled him slightly.

Grian grumbled something and buried his face in Mumbo’s suit jacket, not loosening his grip like Mumbo had hoped. Mumbo sighed, taking a seat on Grian’s bed.

It was a bit funny, thinking about it. Usually, Mumbo was the one who’d randomly wake up somewhere he did not remember falling asleep. And Grian would be there, sword in hand, watching over him.

This was a bit different though. Grian hadn’t passed out in a random field somewhere, he’d fallen asleep in Mumbo’s arms right after saying he wasn’t tired. There was no need for Mumbo to stick around, really. It was just a matter of getting Grian’s talons out of his shirt, and he’d be free to go.

Except, Mumbo didn’t really want to leave. He wanted to be here to watch Grian blink sleepily in the morning, wondering where he was. And not just to tease him either.

I must be going mad, Mumbo thought to himself. He shook his head. No, he needed to leave Grian to rest in his own bed. If he could get the avian to let go of him, that was.

He’s awfully warm for an avian, Mumbo considered after more gentle prodding. And he’s shivering anyway.

Resolving that he very clearly was not going to be able to go home tonight, Mumbo made himself as comfortable as he could. Grian nuzzled even closer, if that was possible. Mumbo sighed softly, letting his own eyes fall closed.

In the morning, he’d ask Grian if he was feeling alright. Mumbo had the suspicion that Grian was coming down with something.

[the-lesbian-orpheus]

(kinda sorta)

Life SMP Hadestown AU

//Life SMP Hadestown AU//

Master post for something no one may see.

Idk if this is anything but enjoy

I dunno- this and into the woods is my favorite musicals and I’ve had traffic brain rot for AGESSS and I was finally re-listening to Hadestown and this absolute fever dream of an idea dawned on me during hey little song bird

So yeah. Enjoy?

Here’s the original post when I got this idea

And obvious disclaimer this are all the character versions of these people not the actual people thank you very much for you patience.

ANYWAY

//Life series Hadestown AU//

Eurydice- Jimmy Solidarity ✨the canary✨ you see the vision. This (joke?) is what started this whole thing so.

Orpheus- Still deciding between Scott and Tango

Tango pros:

- They are soulmates

- the goat horns are kinda vaguely like music/an instrument 👀

- ranchers duo is SO SWEET always

- their lives are tethered which in a way fits the story of the show and the myth.

- idk i just like this idea

- why are you still here? It’s over. Go home.

- c!jimmy seems to be on better terms with c!tango than c!scott soooo

Scott pros:

- they were husbands, Jimmy died first tragically (very accurate to original myth)

- THE FLOWER MOTIF- specifically a red flower. It’s just so perfect

- they saw each other in the afterlife

- Scott is always attached to flower husbands which seems fitting

- he likes to sing? Empires musical? I don’t know but it seems like it works

-flower husbands and desert duo have connections (you will see why this is important)

So yeah leaning towards tango for the vibes but leaning towards Scott for actual similarities in plot and such.

(If someone wants to say Joel or someone I will happily hear you out lol)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hades and Persephone- c!Grian and c!Scar/desert duo. The characters were once in love and then it grew into a a more bitter relationship. There are lots of potential parallels with Hadestown older lovers and desert duo. Grian and scar also have flower/plant motifs.

Grian as hades- He is a watcher, which seems fitting. Creator of the games seems fitting for god of death and also the industrial foreman Hadestown has. Original winner.

Scar as Persephone- Now that he is a winner, I personally love the idea of him being the earth, which is perfect for the god(dess) of spring. I also think his secret life skins going from green to black is an accidental parallel.

The only real issue with this is I want to incorporate Grian being the sun but that’s contradictory;-;

Hermes- My main idea atm is Martyn. This is mostly because storytelling and lore is very connected to him and his character. Who doesn’t love some eyes and ears AU/lore

I am also considering pearl just because I like that idea, her being the moon and being connected to g and s, etc

And Ren because he is such a storyteller/theater kid

The Fates- I have several ideas for this

-the watchers(and secret keeper.) Obvious reasons

- the other winners

-clethubs because they are a fun/good trio lol

- ren, pearl, Scott (in case I don’t have them as Hermes/orpheus)

- the remaining Evo members: bigb (also he was so creechur in third life ), pearl, and if he’s not Hermes, Martyn (also good since pearl and martyn have won)

__________________________________________

Based on a lot of the plant motifs imagine if instead of a carnation it was a poppy.

I’m very slow with drawing and have never written any kind of fic before but if people like this idea I’d love suggestions for the AU and I’ll definitely make some character designs :)

Character designs/descriptions:

Jimmy coming soon to a theater near you

Other posts for the AU:

Full circle lol

Potential name

How to include both Scott and Tango

[xoxo-ren-xoxo]

The Hermitcraft Heroes & Villains AU (HHVAU)

Heyyy it's me Ben back with another hermitcraft au I'll never write but could talk endlessly about! This time we hit the ground running with a classic (or not-so-classic) heroes and villains AU :D

TW/CW: hermitshipping, medical gore (non-graphic description), implied child abuse, mind control, cults, aliens & fungi/mould, alchohol/drinking

Disclaimer: I've read quite a few hero/villain stories in this fandom, so some of these ideas might not be super original! Thank you to the lovely folks on discord who helped with this!

Premise: In the city of Blackstone, heroes and villains take to the streets to fight, engaged in a constant battle for control. The Hero Bureau, overseen by the mysterious Watchers, takes in powerful individuals and trains them to protect the city, while villains and vigilantes are free agents.

Despite the fighting, most heroes and villains have a few key rules they try not to break. Revealing someone's secret identity is a total no-go. Even upon arrest villains' identities are often kept quiet. The city must remain standing, also, so most villains do not aim for utter destruction. It is a careful balancing act of an ecosystem, some may say, that keeps the city afloat.

Pssst. Send me asks to get writing snippets. More (long descriptions) under the cut!

Villains

Grian "The Mother Spore"

Powers: flight, mind control, mycelium spores, mushroom & mould manipulation

Started as an ordinary bird hybrid and architecture student before becoming infected, chosen to be The Mother Spore for an infectious and invasive alien fungus 

The mycelium controls his mind, though he is lucid, it simply convinced him to protect and spread the fungus to take over the world, and now he acts on that one goal

Used to be very driven and have a big plan for his life, has no personal goal now, using his creativity and energy entirely to provide for the spores

Lives in a secret hideout in a dense forest outside the city, has grown mushrooms and mycelium around the base to keep unwanted people out

Tends to target small isolated towns, wiping them out overnight 

Some have called him the 'angel of death' because of his wings and general death-omen vibes

Kills people to use their bodies as mushroom food

Can control people's minds by connecting them to the mycelium network, an alien hivemind

Occasionally becomes lucid and is afraid of what he has become

Still yearns for something, some kind of human connection, despite his thoughts being basically erased and replaced by the mycelium, it's complicated

Fun fact: as a civilian and in his personal life, Grian uses he/him, but as The Mother Spore, she uses she/her 

Ren "The Dog" / "The King"

Powers: shapeshifting, enhanced smell, sight, strength and hearing

Former member of the Hero Bureau, turned villain 

A dog hybrid with the unique ability to shift his form into a huge wolf creature

Now works with villain GOAT (Doc)

Mostly focussed on kicking butt and doing thievery but also intent on stopping the Hero Bureau and associated people, big on revenge

Not a fan of The Mother Spore but content on leaving her alone so long as she doesn't descend onto the city (he values his life)

Shifted from dog theming to king theming when going from hero to villain, hates being called ‘dog’ or anything like that

Monster form can go out of control / feral and hurt people

Monster form side-effect of killing his energy + damaging his ‘human’ form

Fun fact: he likes shiny things and good music, and has a collection of (mostly stolen or thrifted) trinkets in his house

Doc "GOAT"

Powers: he's just really good with technology and genetics… like, weirdly good, everything else is part of his own experiments

Unethically experimented on himself, stole expensive tech from high-security labs

Comprehensive list of Doc’s unethical self-experiments: 

Hybridization (goat) - an illegal practice used to gain hybrid features, by messing with his own genetics using new tech to give himself goat horns, patches of fur, goat ears + hoof hands

Cybernetics (failed) - tried to attach cybernetic modifications but his body rejected them and caused them to malfunction badly, paralysing his arm and half of his face

Cybernetics - replaced his paralysed arm + parts of his face with new cybernetics now created from materials his body wouldn’t reject, the tech is woven into his body making the two inseparable and dangerous to damage

Chemical Alteration (failed) - drank a serum meant to make him stronger but it failed, instead colouring his fur green

Hybridization & Cybernetics (butterfly) - gave himself part-organic part-cybernetic butterfly wings, because he wanted to fly and this was the most sensible solution

Started out as a curious science nerd, became a criminal through illegal experimentation, resorted quickly to stealing tech to aid his curiosity and further experiment on himself

Once labelled a criminal he turned to more high-profile crime, revelling in being a ‘supervillain’

Refers to a ‘Hivemind’ occasionally when conducting experiments, assumed to be something to do with his cybernetics- an inherent mental connection to the internet due to the cybernetics connected to his brain?

Hates HotGuy. Wants to know HotGuy’s secret identity so bad. Actually a little bit obsessed with HotGuy. Hey man why have you got all that HotGuy merch.

Ren is his bestie / partner in crime / actual partner.

Swears HotGuy started this weird nemesis thing they have going on. Will not elaborate when asked.

Actively wants to murder The Mother Spore. Because she's annoying and gross.

Fun fact: he does not get along well with other scientists. Kind of like a really hostile cat.

Cub

Powers: blessing of the Vex

He was raised in a cult which worshipped the Vex, kidnapped as a baby with his parents murdered

Raised alongside Scar, who defended him a lot as a child- they had a close relationship but it never went anywhere before Scar left at 17

The cult was very manipulative and unethical, with Cub killing his first person at age 18- he was outspokenly against it as a child but grew to accept the cult

The cult disbanded when he was around 30 (ish) after the supposed 'day of blessing' from the Vex passed with no apparent payoff- Cub fled the following chaos and ended up in Blackstone

With a lot of skewed morals and fascination with the human body, he begins tricking or straight up kidnapping civilians in order to test the limits of their lives. He approaches this all quite clinically, cutting people up and experimenting on them

Fun fact: Cub is blessed by the Vex, it just doesn't 'show'- he has an array of magical qualities that make his work and life easier without him realising

Cleo "Zombie"

Powers: zombie curse

Former powerless hero

She was once best friends with Pearl when they were in the Hero Bureau together, but everything changed after Pearl accidentally read her future and told her

Pearl insisted that Cleo would be cursed, and begged them not to go out on a mission, but this only angered Cleo, hating the fact that their future might be set in stone

To change the road of fate, Cleo sought out the curse themself, only to fulfil the prophecy and become cursed

In a last, desperate attempt at getting one up over Pearl, she publicly revealed her secret identity, forcing Pearl to live in fear

Now a minor villain, mostly just set on taking down the heroes out of spite

Fun fact: besties with Joe Hills, occasionally guts him for fun (this will make more sense later...)

Tango “Architect” / “Baffler” / “Dungeon Master”

Powers: spacebubble creation, magical architecture, games!

He just likes to play silly games!

The silly games in question are murder games, he creates them in pocket universes and picks civilians up from the street to play

They die a lot

Secretly friends with Zedaph and Impulse, who run through his games (death-free) for fun

Generally seen as a poor excuse for a villain, being referred to as the "Baffler", which he hates

Fun fact: can make beasts. Keeps making beasts.

Heroes

Scar "HotGuy" 

Powers: … he can shoot arrows real good and has a cool utility belt, never-ending optimism

He's HotGuy!

Your friendly neighbourhood superhero (if, by neighbourhood, you mean city and surrounding districts)

Is a vigilante and not affiliated with the Hero Bureau but works with them a lot

Has a gay thing going on with Grian despite all the spores…

Has another gay thing going on with Cub

Yet another gay thing going on with Mumbo

Please stop trying to kiss villains, Scar

Tragic backstory: was raised in the Vex cult alongside Cub, who he became friends with very quickly. He stopped the cultists from hurting Cub, receiving his scars in the process. Cub also protected him, refusing to allow the cultists to sacrifice him once his disabilities made themselves known, but Scar left the cult and became a hero at age 18 after refusing to sacrifice someone

Does not trust the Hero Bureau because of the cult stuff

He’s very popular with civilians, but nobody knows his secret identity- he is scared of being tracked down or stopped by government / local authorities because of his vigilante nonsense

Fun fact: he is an ambulatory wheelchair user who also utilises crutches and leg braces on the battlefield, allowing him to be stealthy and quick when it matters most at the cost of his energy and pain in his personal life

Pearl “Moonwitch”

Powers: can see someone’s future by touching their skin- most powerfully during the new, full, and half stages of the moon phase, trained in combat, debated ability to change the future / contact otherworldly fate beings

Part of the Hero Bureau, one of the higher ranked heroes

Very good with animals, to the extent that people thought she had animal powers

Her hero persona started out as a very goth / witchy type, but she switched to a more cozy theme when she became more popular

Doesn’t often go into the field to fight villains, but is sometimes needed for backup- usually she stays at the Bureau and uses her powers on captured villains and occasionally on heroes before they go out on missions

Her identity is no secret, unfortunately revealed in a pretty dramatic fight with Cleo which led to Cleo becoming a villain

Due to her identity being revealed, Pearl is very careful and never travels alone unless she has to, and she moved out of her apartment to live at the Bureau, making her extra protective of it

Good friends with heroes Gem and Impulse (they call themselves ‘soup group’- no one knows why)

Does not like using her powers, she has been forced to witness a lot of bad stuff that she then had no ability to stop / change

Fun fact: Used to be friends with Grian before he became The Mother Spore, tried to convince him to apply for sidekick tryouts at the Bureau (after seeing his... quite bad future accidentally) but he refused, claiming he wanted to focus on his studies and that the mysterious Watchers creeped him out

Gem "Life-bringer"

Powers: healing, injury absorption, invincibility

Despite having healing powers, she absolutely kicks ass in a fight, which she keeps trying to explain to the Watchers (they do not listen)

Tends to be sent into battle after a fight is over to help heal civilians and heroes (though she will heal villains too)

Can't die from using her powers but is hit with the pain of the injuries she absorbs

Part of the soup group! They get soup on Thursdays.

Xisuma "Voidwalker"

Powers: walking through walls, turning invisible in shadows

I just included him here because he has a weird thing going on with Keralis

One of the higher-ups in the Hero Bureau, simultaneously knowing too much and not enough- doesn't necessarily agree with how things are run

Impulse “Gargoyle” 

Powers: demonic, stone skin, electricity powers

Lots of friends, some of them not so heroic, some of them like soup

Really just a hero for the pay benefits

False “Golden Eagle”

Powers: highly skilled in combat, flight

Weird little friendship with Ren, which often evolves into them fighting in the middle of the city

Has very sharp talons, but isn't actually a golden eagle hybrid- she's a red-tailed hawk

Zedaph

Just the Hero Bureau's local mad scientist!

He is not normal

Neutral/Civilian

Mumbo 

Powers: he is a vampire. Sorry. 

Acts like he was turned in the 60s, but in reality he was turned only a decade ago, just really into both hippie and suit-and-tie aesthetics

Drinks blood, I mean he is a vampire what more do you want… but generally against killing people (yay?) 

Weak in the sun and gets sunburned very easily so he has a parasol, holy water and silver burn him too, and stakes are deadly 

Best friends (...) with Grian, knew him before the whole Mother Spore business and stuck with him despite it- stays in the forest with Grian a lot because of the excellent levels of tree coverage that blocks out the sun

By virtue of being a third wheel, he knows Scar too, and often has to act as a messenger between the two when they get into arguments (this happens often.)

He is really into travelling and often leaves the city to go to see other towns and such, brings back souvenirs for his friends

Due to being genuinely undead, he is immune to Grian’s alien mycelium- yippee!

Mumbo buddy can you please talk about your feelings we can all see you staring at HotGuy and fawning over Mother Spore come on dude

Fun fact: a really good engineer- he was doing that as his career and stuff before the whole vampire thing. Still loves to geek out about engineering nonsense every once in a while and also likes to invent things (that rarely work)

Joe Hills

Powers: immortal, can sense when someone else with powers is nearby (NOT a spider-sense…)

He has lived several lifetimes, by this point, usually skipping town after a few decades so as to not seem suspicious

Always says ‘well this life is my favourite by far’

However, he has a pretty poor memory, so don’t ask him about any life but this one

Runs a live podcast which covers the daily goings on of heroes and villains across the city- made easier by his inexplicable ability to be in the right place at the right time, always first to the scene of a battle ready to record

Used to be an informant for the Hero Bureau, but wasn’t officially part of their ranks, more like an anonymous tipper

Has some insane gay thing going on with Cleo, let’s just call them friends for now

They’re roommates

Knew Cleo before the whole curse thing, stuck with them when they became a villain, cut all ties to the Bureau and started leaning his content slightly against the Bureau (but still in favour of vigilantes and against outright murder)

There is something wrong with him I think

Fun fact: when he’s at the scene of a fight, he makes silly quips and commentary at the parties involved, while safely standing to the side, often live recording his podcast. No one likes this. Multiple villains have tried to kill him for being annoying, but y’know… immortality. Death doesn't hurt him as he has no evolutionary need to feel pain.

Keralis

Powers: hypnosis

Runs a bar/club in the middle of the city which heroes and villains frequent (though it tends to be more popular with villains)

The club is a neutral zone, no fights can happen there- if someone tries to start something, Keralis can and will use his hypnosis on them

Club might be a front for a mafia don’t worry about it

Fun fact: do not look him in the eyes

Beef “Butcher”

No powers

Works cleanup jobs for villains, referred to as “Butcher” both because it’s his day job and because of how many bodies he disposes of

Beef… is probably not his real name, anyway

Heroes dislike him generally, but he makes a lot of problems disappear

Known to take up any cleanup job if the pay is right, but has a rule against killing anyone- bodies are perfectly fine, he’s even down to help with kidnappings and hostage situations, but he will not kill- believes killing is the last straw before a person becomes a monster

Bull hybrid. Yes, his day job is awkward. He enjoys it, though, the little weirdo

Has been called on by some less-moral heroes to help with cleanups that are too much of a mess to fix the ethical way

Fun fact: good friends with xB and Keralis, regularly calls on them to help him with cleanups, but does most of the messiest work himself. Though Keralis is very helpful for dealing with living witnesses 

Main Plot

The main story follows HotGuy as he attempts to make the Hero Bureau look bad by solving more crime and catching more bad guys than they can. He also wants his friend, Grian, to come back from the 'bad' side. However, when Cub shows up in the city, all hell breaks loose and HotGuy ends up getting captured.

Once Cub finds out who Scar is, a lot of conflicting feelings happen (Cub still tries to cut him open, but he puts him back together again) and HotGuy is left unconscious in an alley. There, he's picked up by Mother Spore, whose murderous (but also gay) advances on HotGuy worry Grian enough to seek out Cub himself, willing to go under the knife to remove the spores from his body.

Meanwhile, after her fight with Cleo, Pearl starts to doubt the Hero Bureau. She begins to question the Watchers, no longer trusting them, especially when they tell her she can't leave because her powers are too strong. She enlists the help of some friends, Impulse and Gem, to get to the bottom of the mystery and expose the Watchers.

Subplots

Tango feels shunted, labelled as a 'villain of the week' for his rather ineffectual traps and tricks, so he takes it upon himself to steal other people's powers to make his games more deadly and terrifying

Ren and Doc are doing classic supervillain things, like, building freeze rays and stuff

Joe Hills keeps picking up vital information on his podcasts, and soon a fanbase arises trying to figure out the mystery- this later becomes helpful information for Pearl & Scar

Keralis' many adventures in dealing with drunk-off-their-arse heroes and villains (he has many stories to tell)

[magicaleraser94]

Hey ya'll ^^

As some of you may have noticed, I've suddenly become very active on this account, reblogging things and posting a few peices of art (some have really blown up, tysm ^^), after being radio silent for about two years. A lot has happened in my life since I had stopped posting. Here's a post to fill you guys in :D

My YT channel hit 1k subs!

...and I haven't really posted since :|

I got into Hermitcraft, the Life Series, and Empires SMP just before DSMP kinda faded. I'm a big fan of Grian and his content, as well as Martyn Inthelittlewood and Bdubs's Hermitcraft 10 series. They've inspired my art and were there for most of my style development. They're my comfort creators.

I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. It's been kind of tough, since most of the therapists in my area are kinda shit. But I'm doing a lot better now thanks to my family, friends, and a good ol medication.

I started playing DND! It's been one of my favorite pastimes. Made a few joke characters, as well as some pretty serious ones. My usual character is Akuji, a half-orc fighter with a past as a psychotic smuggler.

(Due to action surge and a weapon she collected from fighting the dnd equivalent of Elsa, she can deal a max of eighty damage in one turn.)

I began playing Sky: Children of the Light. Made some friends. Lost some friends. The players are gentle and unique, and the community is one of the kindest that I've had the honor to be in. I also became a bit of a lore-addict, and most of my theories have been proven correct through the trailers for The Two Embers. I even created a character with my own lore :3

I became invested in Ish's State Experiments. I've become a pretty popular artist in the State Server, and I was the first to be featured in a special channel dedicated to State Art. While it's not something I should be super excited about, since our community is smaller than most, that very accomplishment has brought me into a group of kind, fellow artists, and funny content creators who I have made unforgettable connections with.

Also, meet "Blob" Soggy, the personified version of my discord username. I draw her a lot, and use her as little reaction images when I'm talking.

Found IMMENSE joy in Indie horror games, such as Bendy and the Ink Machine (and DR), the Little Nightmares Saga, Five Nights at Freddie's, Mortuary Assistant (introduced by one of the content creators in State), and quite a few more. Also, Hollow Knigth got mixed in there, even tho it's not horror

I'm in a relationship :). My boyfriend is a complete gentleman and looks kinda like a skinnier Newt Scamander. We've been going steady for 3 months.

I stumbled upon Dimension 20: Fantasy High, which has been so fun to watch! Brennan Lee Mulligan and his crew are hilarious. Also Riz Gukgak's the best PC and nobody can say otherwise.

And lastly.

MagicalEraser has grown into a full character. Through my friends in State, I was able to develop her past what I ever thought possible. She is what my fellow artists see me as. She's more than just a silly drawing I made based off of a Shel Silverstein poem and a half-baked minecraft skin. I am so grateful that I created her, because she's been there every step of the way.

Love you guys. Hope you enjoyed catching up! Thank you all for enjoying my art :]

[sophieinwonderland]

yesterday you got an anon suggesting the minecraft server double life might have some connections to plurality, and while i personally dont see it, that does remind me of something that happened in one of the sequel seasons, limited life.

(double life is part of a (as of now) 5 season series generally called the life series. double life is season 3. limited life is season 4.)

in session 6 of limited life, 2 players were unable to play (one was sick, the other was away from home).

in previous seasons it would be fine to just be absent for that day, but because limited life's life mechanic was time based, absentees would have a three hour time advantage.

in an earlier episode the solution to this for one player was just to leave rheir character online while they were afk (grian ep 3)

but zombiecleo and pearlescentmoon instead had other people play on their accounts for them (geminitay and ldshadowlady)

in both cases the swap in player had little to no knowledge on what was going on and had to pretend to be the host player. while the host player had occasional commentary that was added in post production, that vaguely reminds me of someone cofronting.

there was so a similar thing done for a one off challenge by other members of that series. where grian, goodtimeswithscar, jimmy solidartygaming, and joel smallishbeans: all posted videos where they competed as 2 teams to beat minecraft, but they swapped accounts with their teammate when they died, and had to rely exclusively on ingame communication to get things done.

they're both fun watches (though the former is perhaps a bit more of a commitment if you want to get the full context) and they both immediately felt very plural to me.

That's some pretty cool accidental plural-coding!

Also, on the subject of the previous ask, it was kind of old and I wonder if that might have come in around the time we were discussing hiveminds as plural-related.

[ctommyisnt]

I cannot find the original ask game post fam and determine who’s already asked what so let’s just go with 5 or 24

Hi!!! Trust me I could barely find it either (and who knows if this is the one you were talking about) but I’ll answer both because I can’t help it

5. How do you translate the world of Minecraft to fit into your fanfics when you keep the original setting?

THIS is actually one of my favorite things to do; worldbuilding in general is probably one of my favorite hobbies. I once created an au that was about tommyinnit waking up in an alpha world and has to survive. As he explored he slowly helps the world ‘update’ in a sense, either by encouraging or freeing spirits (his friends, this wasn’t fleshed out as much) or just by surviving. It culminated in him going to the end in a later update and talking to Phil (the end) and Kristin (the world) in a very ‘end poem esque’ conversation. The mechanics of Minecraft being thrown into a real life adjacent world is SO INTERESTING!! I have ideas for probably everything. The dragon, enchanting, animal mechanics, everything. The visuals I have of a Minecraft world in my head are magical and I’m really trying to learn how to paint bc I want to put it on paper SO BAD. Trust me I could rant about this forever especially if I had specific questions. I want to write that fic idea (maybe with Tommy, maybe with someone else since that interest has mostly died down) someday if I can, but I think just the idea of being a player, being love, because the world loves you, is such a magical concept that I wish would be explored world. I also have really fun apocalypse theories for Minecraft because wouldn’t that be so cool (THE BONES. THE FUCKING BONES)

Also I highly reccomend reading Minecraft: the island. It was written by the same guy who wrote World War Z and it fantastically explores the idea of a normal person ending up in Minecraft in ways that feel just so realistic. Hilarious read.

24. What work would you like to talk more about

Oooh that’s hard. I only have one ‘real’ wip rn (shoutout @thesentientmango your a real king) bc with real life everything else has taken a back burner, but I have like six main wips from when I was in the dsmp fandom that I hold close to my heart. But also another one based on the song For the Departed by Shayfer James.

It’s about grian who used to be a watcher but ran away to escape that life once he formed connections with people (evo) and has been in hiding in hermitcraft. One day the watchers fine him, but sensing his desperation they offer him a choice. Either he comes with them, back to his family, or he can stay here with these humans, but he must take part in the watchers and their stories that they will do with his friends (which Grian is well aware what the watchers can and will do). He goes with the second, condemning his friends to torture, because he can’t stand to leave them behind and join the watchers. This begins the life series and every winner gets to keep a much clearer memory of the games (the games are like a fever dream during and after). And then scar wins, and finds out what Grian did, and the watchers find out scar knows, and offer him the same choice Grian did. Wonder what scar took huh

Anyways I probably shouldn’t have ranted about that au bc this post is LONG but I can’t help it. The song is revolutionary I highly recommend and let me know what you think of my aus (wow I ranted about two in one post crazy)

[definitelynotshouting]

Hey friend, I am absolutely rotating the HECK out of Hunger AU rn. I just binged all of the tagged posts and I'm going FERAL! Watchers being like parasitic wasps? Listeners being like fungi? Absolutely based takes.

I'm very much a fan of the emotional realism going on and I'm so terrified of Angry!Mumbo. Like. Bro doesn't get all that angry that often those folks are the scariest properly pissed.

And I relate far too much to the Search Party tbh. Something about the themes of mental and physical illness, wanting to help but not knowing how, the one you want to help not wanting help at this point, the resentment that causes on both sides of that stalemate... yeah I've been there.

Also, I am insanely curious about the ecological niche that Watchers and Listeners fulfill. Like. There has to be a reason they are the way they are. I'm insanely curious about what the environment they evolved in looked like, and even more curious as to what they provide back to the universe in return.

Like. Irl most wasps are predatory insects, controlling the population of pests and invasive species, but the tidbits you've given us about how they feed on emotions and the groups they feed on put me more in mind of, like, herding dogs. Yknow? Does that make sense? Gathering players together and moving them away from half abandoned worlds to let them dissolve back into the greater code. Maybe interviening in virus-infected worlds or virus-vulrable worlds, encouraging those players to move or perish.

And Listeners, well, fungi occupy so many diverse niches they could do just about anything, really. It's very fun to think about and I am rotating them vigorously, thank you for feeding us so well <3

(May I be 🐸 anon?)

This is such a sweet ask i am so 🥺🥺🥺🥺 abt it, im really pleased that you're enjoying the emotional realism ive committed to for this fic, because thats just such an important aspect for me-- my goal here is to depict a deeply emotional, moving, and messy situation about illness and recovery where no one's feelings are punished or demonized by the narrative. Its just so, so important to me that the Search Party (and later on, the other hermits) get their emotions properly respected and explored. Its not just about Grian, even if he is the ultimate focus-- everyone else deserves varied, emotional responses to an ugly and terrifying situation where theres hurt on all sides. This is the kind of realism i love putting in all of my writing, and the kind of justice i want to do for all characters in stories like these!!

Its a little funny how this au originally started with me brainrotting absently about Watcher biology because i wanted to explore the idea of Grian pretending to be an avian and finding certain aspects of it deeply uncomfortable. And then it just. Snowballed into this!! And now i am chewing on worldbuilding for breakfast DKXNSJDJ im really glad you enjoy the Watchers and Listeners lore!!! I need to make a proper post on Devs (or dev crystals, as theyre actually called), as well as general code structure, bc they are both so fucking cool as well

I absolutely love your herding dog analogy, and its giving me some great ideas because for the longest time i couldnt quite figure out what exactly a Watcher's ecological niche was beyond predator to Players and prey for something else that's extinct. But now im really looking at the connection between Watchers feeding habits and Players' biological need for play (or dreams, if you want to get into the minecraft end poem of it all), and theres something there that i really wanna take some time to tease out before i give a concrete answer. I need to update my hunger au masterlist LOL i am saur behind 😭

Anyway this was such a lovely ask to sink my teeth into!!!! Thank you so much for sending it, and ofc you can be frog anon!!! This was a really stimulating conversation for me so thank you again for getting my brain whirring :D i hope to see you in the inbox again!!

[thesentientmango]

For the fanfic writing game:

M A N G O

[ for A, please use the general feeling of malaise]

Ah MANGO that’s fun!!

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

Yes! Always - I have this one fic that’s super long term which is a primarily hermitcraft but with some characters from other smps. When I was first writing it it was a Dream smp fic but then i became not that interested in dream smp and i could pretty easily transfer the premise to hermitcraft!

I have a main fic and a prequel fic both in this universe- the prequel is focused on Zedaph, a human scientist who comes across alien spaceship on earth and his first thought was huh. I wonder what happens if I go inside of that. 

The main fic is focused on another human i haven’t decided who yet- it used to be Tubbo, but I think i’m going to switch it to Scar. And basically it starts with them being trapped in a prison with another person who used to be ranboo but I am switching to Mumbo. And they are being experimented on and there are escape attempts and escape successes

There’s a whole arc around missing people and there's a villain, it’s all super exciting!!

A: How did you come up with the title to the general feeling of malaise?

Titles are the part of the fic I think about last typically, sometimes i write the summary after but usually the title is the very last thing I do. 

So I reread the fic, edit it all that, and there’s a line in the first chapter when gem first meets up with scar “She clearly wasn’t hiding her malaise well.” and I just really liked the sound of malaise when i said it, and the fic is so nondescript in what the illness actually is that i was like yeah okay what’s a good description? The general feeling of malaise! I almost made it ‘a’ but i thought ‘the’ sounded better. And it was lowercase bc most of my titles are uppercase including the other fic i wrote for the guess the author thing, and i’ve written illness before so i figured that fic was the more likely one for people to link to me! 

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

Oh for sure!! I’m working on a sequel chapter to Wine Red and I’ve been writing a lot more muiltichaper works, so i’ve been sort of getting the hang of it, but when i write long term works they have a tendency to be really cool but being super convoluted. (I’m looking at you Ring around the rosie)

And the first chapter of wine red I really love, I think there’s a lot going for it, and it is definitely great as a stand alone. But i left a couple of strings loose and my brain has connected them in a really cool way that I love but oh boy is it a lot of work. It’s expanding on the main climax in wine red (which i dont want to spoil bc i do love that fic) and creating the mastermind behind everything but also three are so many characters and it is a pain to stay in character when there are like 10 people in one room all talking to each other. 

G: Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

A bit of both! It depends on a couple things, how i came up with the idea, how long the fic is, that sort of stuff. 

I would say for a lot of fics I write a basic start to finish and then loop back and expand and add scenes. Other times like more complex aus I will have a scene in my head that i will write down and then i’ll start to build the fic around it. 

For example In the Empty my other fic from the event was the intro to a much larger fic that i decided i probably wasn’t going to finish soon, if ever based on the song The Horror and the Wild. The part I posted wasn’t the first beginning I wrote, it was maybe the third, but I did start this fic at the beginning. The rest of this fic was about Pearl thinking she was trapped in a watcher trick while she was in hermitcraft, only reinforce by Grian who she saw die, being very much alive. 

O: How do you begin a story–with the plot, or the characters?

I would say more the plot, but i have started fics with the characters before, the gardener is an example of that, I wanted to write doc and i wanted the tone to be gentle and calm.

A lot of times the plot develops as i go, like the general feeling of malaise, at the start I had no idea i was gonna make them this sick and I knew I wanted scar to present differently than a lot of other people but I still haven’t figured out what I’m doing with that!! 

Thank you for letting me ramble! If you have any other/follow up questions lmk!!

[shadowsandstarlight]

That kinda depends on what you’re looking for, but as someone who’s been keeping up pretty consistently with a lot of perspectives this season:

If you want to start off by getting a solid idea of the major events of the season so far, I’d recommend starting with a POV from each of the major factions that have formed. The two big ones, which between them contain I think a majority of the hermits, are the magical mountain and the neighbourhood. Grian’s POV covers the magical mountain’s whole deal pretty well as a foundation, as well as the permit bureaucracy, so that’s covered. As a next step I would say go for someone from the neighbourhood—my personal recommendation is Ren, because he’s been a very central figure with involvement in most of the big stuff and I really love what he’s been up to this season (his base is very sci-fi, he’s experimenting with a lot of really neat ideas and it’s really fun to watch. also his interactions with other hermits are golden as always, and I’m just generally a fan of how he’s been doing his videos). From there, there are a few hermits who haven’t really fallen in with one of the main factions, the mail service folks (Pearl, Tango, and Etho) among them. Pearl’s definitely a solid place to start since she’s the core of the group and she’s had a lot of super cool solarpunk building going on, or if you’re more into the technical then Tango’s been doin really neat redstone stuff with both the mail system and his own personal factory that employs the auto-crafters. Bdubs and Doc have both been relatively independent in terms of living situations, but have stayed very connected with the rest of the hermits.

If you’re not as focused on filling in the blanks of past events and wanna focus more on what’s fun, you could start with one of the two new hermits, Joel or Skizz. Joel’s Japanese cyberpunk project is one of the coolest builds I’ve seen, the amount of detail he’s been putting in is nuts and it’s paying off so hard. He’s even been dabbling in armour stand artwork! His interactions with the rest of the hermits are very fun, the magical mountain gang he’s basing near are all folks he already knows from the life series (making for an incredibly entertaining dynamic), and his getting to know some of the less familiar people is great (Iskall in particular makes me laugh so much when they’re together). Skizz’s base is…. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs but filled with a torture labyrinth? That’s my best shot at an explanation. He’s not as focused on the building (though he’s doing an awesome job at it), more so on having fun with friends, which he does in copious amounts. Shenanigan-rich. Scar’s got his zoo train and ore mountain as highlights as well as being Skizz’s partner as one of the permit office enforcement officers. Gem’s base is shaping up beautifully with her aquatic, almost semi-horror theme; her shenanigans also cannot be overlooked. Stress and Iskall both have very unique sort of patchwork bases going on and lots of goofiness with the rest of the neighbourhood, and Iskall’s running his “Mission Possible” game which is entirely unconnected to and unaffiliated with any past projects involving hermits and challenges, we swear. Cub is a wildly successful businessman, though not overly wealthy because he keeps having to use up his diamonds making fireworks—the factory he built to make the fireworks he sells at his shop is a technical marvel.

Those are some of the most notable ones of this season so far for me, though really anyone’s a good choice. I just didn’t want to go on too far, I’ve already rambled a great deal. Basically, if you wanna start by building a foundation of the events of the season, do someone from magical mountain (you’ve already watched Grian’s, so that’s covered), someone from the neighbourhood, and someone from the mail service, then expand out from there.

I'm gonna be caught up with grian's hermitcraft season 10 episodes pretty soon. who should i watch next? leaving it up to peer review

[paper-ketch]

something something no one's afraid to do dangerous stuff on hc because there is always someone ready to save them if things go south. (click image for better resolution)

rewatched grian's early days in hc when he's still learning how to fly, had an idea, executed said idea, bon apetit.

wordless version of the first image + me ramblingexplaining about grian's wing colour and the gadget xisuma is wearing undercut

The White Wings

have you seen that one video where the person shows how to humanely kill a squid, and when it dies, it's skin changes from clear to white/cream-ish colour? this is what i'm talking about if you're wondering (content tag: animal death)

i like to think that it's the same thing with elytra.

Each players has their own design when it comes to their wings (both avian-themed and insect-themed), but when it breaks, it returns to the default greyish ombre like the icon.

which is why Grian's wings are white here. it's supposed to have the same colours as a parrot, but it broke.

Xisuma's gadget

the idea is inspired by redcursive's xisuma in their Hermit Canyon AU (very fun fic, you should check it out!)

the gadget is an attachable handheld screen that's connected to the server. the gadget is voice-activated, think of it like alexa or siri. it has many functions;

it allows Xisuma to supervise the server's welfare, informing him if the area he's entering has a high level of lag/anomalies

it can give coordinates to locations he wants to go to (within certain limits)

it can also be used as display for chatbox

it allows Xisuma to distort the server's fabric of reality/physics, as shown in the image. The exoskeletons around the fingers of the glove gave him the ability to physically touch/manipulate the said fabric.

The electric sparks are there because Xisuma summoning a 'net' to save Grian's soul, and respawn him safely back to his base.

The purple and blue wires connected to Xisuma's suit are indicators of his admin powers coursing through him, which in turn powers the gadget as well.

Why only soul? Long story short, that is the only thing a player need to respawn again, which is why their physical bodies always disintegrates whenever they die

welp, i'm sleepy. thanks for reading! <3

[hermits-in-space]

For your song prompt: how about the 'Boatem' crew? (Scar, Grian, Mumbo, Impulse, and Pearl.)

OK Gonna put some of this under a cut cause. oh boy this turned out really long LMAO

For Scar:

-Dirty Imbecile by The Fits

+Yeah I know it says the word "scar" a lot but honestly thats not why I chose the song- This is the first song in the sfgg playlist actually!! its always fit my scar! especially the lyrics, "All these things ive tried, boy: be cute, be dumb, be wise, be young. So don't tell me what to fear in the darkness of this atmosphere!"

Also funny thing I misheard "be young" as "be yours". Didn't realize this until i looked up the lyrics as im writing this LOL

-Space Shanty by Live at Solace

+It's a funny human space shanty! That's really all there is to it, I just like imagining Scar singing this and the crew having NO idea whats happening but still having a blast

-Bones in the Ocean by The Longest Johns

+Vacation arc Scar! Ow! Singer is Scar in this case and his shipmates are of course the crew- They aren't actually dead but I think it reflects his process of coping while trapped in the watcher citadel and wondering where his friends are

For Grian:

-Starlight Brigade by TWRP

+I actually wrote a SFGG fic based on this one! It's old and sort of outdated but if you're curious it can be found here! Anyways this is my go to song for imagining how Grian gets to the HSS. From the whole being brought to the citadel to be inducted as a watcher to a very scuffed escape. also towards the end i imagine it fast forwards to when they attack the citadel and Grian can get some catharsis- Anyways I highly associate this one with Grian

-Fear by Sleeping at Last

+Kind of hard to explain without lyrics but this makes me think of Grian's experience during Scar and Hex's absence- working himself to exhaustion trying to find any trace of his friends whatsoever. Finally getting a lead and throwing himself into it- its just Good

-Hell's Comin' With Me by The Poor Man's Poison

+Grian Goes ApeshitTM- Mostly towards the watchers as he rallies people to go siege the citadel

For Mumbo:

-Cabinet Man by Lemon Demon

+Haha robot go brrr. Also possibly something something struggling to fit in with a crew of mainly organic folks. Also as a robot, Emotions Are Weird!

-The Bidding by Tally Hall

+Vibes also its a JAM and reminds me of him, especially the chorus :D

-Malfunction by Steam Powered Giraffe

+I imagine him and Mayhem singing this one a lot- Learning to accept yourself for who you are and be confident in yourself despite your flaws !!!

For Impulse:

-Soap by The Oh Hellos

+It has his vibes honestly, especially the lyrics "Oh no, I think I'm not quite ready to have you circle the drain, all the things we've broken can be puzzled together again." Well, to me at least. It just makes me happy :]

-Soft Fuzzy Man by Lemon Demon

+Impulse is a seaslug guy so he is not fuzzy BUT he is soft and good for hugs! Also this song is just fun and i think he'd dance to it

-Hey, Lover! by The Daughters of Eve

+I can imagine him vibing to this! Also this at all his friends! lover (platonic)

For Pearl:

-Ghost Choir by Louie Zong

+Its SUCH a cute song and I think she can make those noises. woo-O-OOO :D

-Everything Stays by Olivia Olson

+With how Moonsprites take on similar traits as their moon (craters, damages, fissures, etc) I imagine this is sort of how Pearl changes over the course of the story. How she may look different but she's still her

-Constellations by The Oh Hellos

+How connected Pearl feels to space!!! Constellations a million miles away!! She knows them all by heart!! Sort of how like a pigeon can always find its way home, Pearl can always find her way back to her moon :]

[cmyknoise]

idk its 8am, no sleep, and i feel like complaining and ranting so... ? anyway

sometimes i understand duo names and group names in the mcyt fandom like. like clingyduo is an old one and they sort of did that themselves. sbi is way shorter than ‘wilbur, phil, tommy, and techno’ plus they did it themselves. 

and i understand it (different duo names) in the context of like. platonic shipping or romantic shipping in like, the character sense with story based things like the dream smp, though i do think it can sometimes get very confusing to use these duo names since sometimes these names are used for both cc!s and c!s. 

more under cut, long post

but i. really do not understand duo names for people who very rarely interact on a regular basis? or where the duo names get longer or are the same amount of effort as just saying someone’s name. also when the something-duo is such an obscure reference or comes from a singular stream or video and is never like, an ongoing bit or reference.

like. angel duo is tommy & phil, and sure they may be really good friends but the only connection this duo name makes between these two is the ‘angel’ bit, which alludes to wings. but tommy has only ever canonically had wings in origins smp, which he streams once in a blue moon, and for a season it wasnt even confirmed it was just implied that he had bird wings, just that he could fly. most people don’t know tommy & phil are apart of angel duo. 

or i think i’ve seen socket duo for wilbur and grian? they’re an interesting pair & dynamic! and i get it, their mc faces look like electric sockets. but not only is that not a joke that is made between them, but they dont interact much outside of crouching in mcc (and talking about each other occasionally). like they talk! they’re probably friends! but they dont make content together, i genuinely dont understand how ‘socket duo’ is easier than ‘wilbur and grian’. most people dont know what socket duo is. 

and like, i think duo names are fun! and group names can be helpful when you have multiple people! like the pummel party crew, or feral/crew boys, etc, they have 4+ people in it. but not only do they call themselves these names, but its a reference constantly made and would be easy to pick up on. its also not helpful when they have many names? like slimecicle, tommy and wilbur are autotune trio, boat crew, and i believe now also the exorcism trio????

these niche duo names are... getting really hard to keep track of? like, did you know foolish and tubbo are beets duo? or tubbo and niki are baguette duo? or phil and ranboo are promise duo? 

if you make a post, only saying duo names, sometimes it can be really hard to tell who you’re talking about. it’s even worse when duos have multiple names? 

ranboo and tommy are both allium duo and loyal duo.  ranboo and wilbur are burger, static, and radio duo. then you have cases like tommy and dream, where disc duo refers to their characters on the dream smp, and prime duo refers to their content creators.  and i know some of these are niche but i think that’s a little bit of the problem because i’ve seen all of these used multiple times only to find out who is apart of them in tags, if that even helps. context doesnt always help either because it could be referring to characters, real people, or people who haven't interacted much at all. 

some of these duo names are made upon people or characters only having one or two interactions. eryn and eret are called tax duo. this is because their characters on the dream smp both proposed taxes, at wildly different seasons, and had one main interaction with each other.

other duo names contain just as many words as saying the people (someone and someone)

i don’t know if it’s just me, but i usually have to look up duo names if i even care enough about a post to do so. 

and again, i think they’re fine! like, i adore crime boys, sleepy boys inc, etc. but at least these names are used by the cc!s constantly. and they also reference things more than niche jokes made once in a stream that may not even have a full vod. 

I’ve never seen anyone outside of like, fandom space call tommy and phil angel duo, or wilbur and grian socket duo, or beets duo or all the countless other ones i couldnt even name here. there’s so many. they also sometimes just don’t make sense and come from a singular niche joke from when they first met or something that isnt obvious?? it genuinely makes it so hard to tell who someone is talking about. 

the distinction of some duos having separate names for shipping purposes, others not, or for content creators, others not. (on the dream smp, /r for characters tubbo and ranboo’s marriage is still referred to as beeduo. but /r character quackity and wilbur is quackbur, and tntduo is reserved for /p. and people get upset if you mix these up)

i dunno. it just feels overkill sometimes, making a duo the moment two people interact, and they could never interact again but people will call them an iconic duo and beg for more content between this duo named off of a singular joke or trait.

that’s just.. friends? people interacting? person one and person two? 

is it... that hard to just say ‘this post is about person and person on this server or in this video and im going to gush or talk or do whatever it is’ 

or at the very least tag the people you’re talking about in the tags, or clarify? if you mention them more than once say their names, then refer to them as their group for the rest? i dunno. 

i guess this is a nitpick. im not gonna main tag this in anything so just ask to tag if you want it tagged as something

i just think its increasingly difficult to keep track the more people interact with each other or do meet ups or join servers for the first time and duos are made up for every pair you can make like we’re doing combinations in math

we’re doing this with people. 

i dont know this ^^ this i stopped paying attention to math my senior year of highschool. it’s gone from my brain.