#[or well. at least fake ones. elytra! :)))!]

[sunnydayaoe]

[stitchthesewords]

Ethubs kissing be upon you! There is just the like. MILDEST, mildest moment that could be read as suggestive, but I wanted to warn you anyway. Taglist and drabble under the cut!

Bdubs pressed his head underneath Etho’s chin, not really caring if Etho was uncomfortable. Well, no, okay, that was a lie. He cared if Etho was uncomfortable, sure. But he didn’t care right now. Etho was laying back on his stairs and Bdubs was laying on his chest and he couldn’t be happier, even if the blocks underneath Etho were digging into his back.

“You know, I think you’re doing something cool out here! I mean, yeah, it could use a little work, the solid water floor is uh. Well, it’s something, but. This looks amazing, baby,” he said, taking in the beginnings of Etho’s base. The dolphin trapped in a one block hole in the middle of it chirped and broke up the noises of the jungle occasionally.

“The water is an integral part!” Etho said, faking his annoyance in his voice. “I need to be able to go so fast that I can’t even turn. You get used to it eventually.”

Their hands were threaded and pressed between them and, yeah, okay, Bdubs had to admit it wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world. They were only even laying here like this because he crash-landed into Etho when he flew over with his elytra. He wasn’t about to get up now though. The only ever really cuddled when they were going to sleep and sure, Etho’s arms weren’t wrapped around him (trapped between their chests as they were) but it was close enough. Bdubs had his head picked up just enough to look Etho in the eyes.

He was too busy explaining how the water…thing worked to notice how Bdubs was staring at him, but he certainly noticed when the moss-covered man leaned and kissed him through his mask. It was sweet, chaste. A short peck, but Bdubs couldn’t help it. He wanted to look at Etho like he was the thing that powered the sun.

Etho giggled nervously. He never seemed to get used to Bdubs’s affections even all these years later, and he squirmed around, trying to free his hands. Bdubs bared his weight down more, squeezed Etho’s hands in his, making it clear he didn’t feel like Etho moving, either.

“…Anyway, so, the plan is-“ Etho continued after a moment of more nervous energy. Bdubs really should pay more attention to what he was saying, but he was too busy thinking about how pretty he was. A thought possessed Bdubs and, as the other was talking, he leaned in like he was going to kiss Etho again. Instead, he bit down on the edge of the mask and pulled it down in one fell swoop before Etho could really process what he was doing and stop him.

“Bdubs!” he squeaked.

“Wanted to look at your pretty face,” Bdubs muttered back, smirking to himself when Etho’s face turned red. Etho no longer cared if the other hermits saw his face, but he still preferred to cover it up – and well, right now, Bdubs preferred to see it. Before Etho could protest further, he leaned in and kissed him; really kissed him this time. Squeezed their hands together and held Etho in place while time itself felt like it was grinding to a halt. Etho had that affect on even the sleepiest of kings and gods, at least Bdubs thought so.

When they parted, Etho had to take a deep breath. Bdubs did too, though he registered it less than the rise and fall of Etho’s chest. He wanted to lean back in, but now Etho was well and truly squirming and managed to free a hand, using it to try and push himself up. “Come on…My…My back hurts…” he muttered, biting on his lips which had grown far more pink.

Bdubs grumbled and sat back, crossing his arms. “What if I like trapping you on your own stairs, huh? You ever think about that?”

There was a moment of silence from Etho before his face went from pink to red and he shoved Bdubs, not back but to the side. Didn’t want him to fall backwards, after all.

“You’re the worst,” Etho said with no bite to it.

“You love me,” Bdubs replied.

“I do.”

@atherix @braxiatel @greatbridge @ellalily @lesbianwilby @em-mermaid @loombarrow @sparksnevadas @aceofthefandoms

[stormjay0]

Two Hermits, Passing in the Night

Thought I’d write a lil something about how the hermits are still friends despite the war :)

Whoosh. Silvery-lilac wings unfolded in the early dusk. The days were getting shorter now, and Grian hadn’t kept track of time as he stocked the barge for the next day. So now, as he headed back to his mansion for the night, it was already growing dark, far past a Bdubs-acceptable time. He could almost hear the builder’s protesting voice in his head, loud and indignant. Oh, wait, he actually could hear Bdubs- turning a sharp corner in the air, Grian spotted him talking to Scar by the bottom of the town hall stairs. Intending to scare the pair, he landed gracefully behind a marble pillar (that he had built, by the way!) and peered around it at them.

Bdubs was talking passionately about some plan to foil the Mycelium Resistance, with a sleepy Scar nodding along, half-listening. When he finished his tirade, Bdubs seemed to realize for the first time how low the sun was. With panicked movements, he yelled a goodbye to Scar and flew towards his base, clipping the pillar Grian was standing behind with his foot. So much for scaring both of them.

Scar began to walk away, getting his arm caught in one of the straps of his elytra as he struggled down the brick-and-stone path. Grian took the opportunity to swoop down behind him and follow in his footsteps, silent as a cat.

After trying to adjust his elytra for an unnecessarily long time, Scar turned his head to better see what the problem was- and upon seeing a very close Grian face, jumped nearly out of his skin with an unmayorly screech. Grian sank down laughing hysterically, tears coming to his eyes as Scar tried and failed to assume a dignified face, smoothing down his suit. Grian gasped for air a few times before composing himself, and addressed Scar with an exaggerated bow.

“Why good evening, Mister Mayor of the Glorified Hay,” he joked.

Scar attempted to look serious, but, failing yet again, couldn’t help but smile. He hid it with his own over-the-top greeting.

“The same to you, Sir Foot Fungus Leader,” he said with an exaggerated fancy air. The two looked each other deviously in the eyes for a moment before bursting out laughing. Grian moved beside Scar and they started walking together, chatting as old friends do.

“Can I get you a drink?”

...

The sun had sunk ever lower in the sky, turning it a beautiful navy blue. The two builders sat atop the old MooPop factory roof, taking in the chaotic beauty of the shopping district.

Scar handed Grian a dusty glass bottle and used the side of the roof to open another for himself.

“Bottoms up!” He downed half the glass in a single gulp and leaned back to look at the stars.

Grian wrinkled his nose at the concoction of carbonated mushrooms. “You guys drink this stuff?” He swirled it around suspiciously.

Scar raised an eyebrow, smiling sideways. “I thought you guys loved mushrooms! Isn’t that your whole thing?”

Grian tried a sip and immediately spat it out. “Ugh! We like it on the ground, not in our mouths. Besides, it’s about the principle!”

They both giggled a little at the playfighting. Although they were currently on opposite sides of a war, the two were too close of friends to stay enemies all the time. Here at least, after hours, they could banter like they always had.

Scar sat up and pointed into the formations of stars. “Hey look, those stars look like a big Jellie!”

Grian looked up, squinted, and looked incredulously at Scar. “Since when did Jellie look like a straight line?”

“Well, if you turn your head sideways, squint, and focus on those two the most- it’s a perfect Jellie!”

Grian bopped Scar on the head with his full bottle of MooPop. “I think all these carbonated mushrooms have gotten to your head, Mr Mayor.”

As if summoned by the starry likeness of herself, Jellie turned the corner of a smokestack with a purr-muffled meow. The two watched her amble her way over to them, and with an air of grandeur, settle into Grian’s lap.

Scar gasped in fake betrayal. “Jellie! You can’t sit in his lap! He’s the leader for the other team!”

Grian grinned smugly. “The Great Jellie has chosen!” He scratched her on the head as she settled into his thick sweater.

Grian and Scar might’ve been leading opposing sides of a war, but they were friends, first and foremost. And as much as each would never admit it to the other, they had sorely missed nights like this, when they would stay up late in the deep jungle, talking into the night. And so, neither one minded when the other kept the conversation going for hours, and neither one minded when they fell asleep to the sunrise as it began to warm the slate tiles of the factory roof.

[art-of-e]

i’ve been playing some minecraft recently, and ghasts were getting on my very last nerve so naturally i had to make a ghast character, she’s technically half human and half ghast but yknow

so yeah! meet solana/seraphina (fi goes by both names all the time because i couldn’t decide on one, but i might change it so that one is a fake name and one is a real name who knows)! she’s a human/ghast hybrid who is about 16 and on the run from her ghast family (and the law), and also fire emotions because there is no time for those, fi must run from her ghast family (and the law)! despite having a fiery spirit and being born and living in the nether, she’s a stone-cold nomadic assassin who has a knack for robbing (and killing) wealthy piglins and getting into fights with higher-ups in charge of guarding fortresses like blazes.

fi can often be aggressive and can seem callous, and there’s not much under that cold exterior but she’s always wanted people to travel with, maybe friends, maybe family that isn’t her ghast family, she’s just lonely and kinda sad. fi has a sort of pet strider (i don’t have a name for him yet, and idk if i ever will) who fi cares for a decent amount, but she’ll never admit that and doesn’t consider him a friend or anything.

design notes:

fire boots are enchanted with soul speed (not sure how much, but if i were to guess i’d say 2 or 3

i originally dyed her hair orange at the bottom to resemble alex’s hair and create a little bit of intrigue (like oooo was fi’s hair originally orange but then it turned grey????? who else in minecraft has orange hair hmmmm ooooooo) but then i gaussian blurred it a lot and it created a sort of gradient that i just fell in love with the look of, so i went with that because pretty (the alex “theory” i sort of planted can still be taken from that but it isn’t my intention to have communicate it anymore so take that as you will)

the gold bits are for both visual flair and making sure she doesn’t get attacked by piglins

i’m not completely sure what fire cape is made of yet but i’ve thrown the idea around of it being made of phantom membrane (like with an elytra) and the material being an import from the end, which would mean that the two dimensions trade resources with one another (which could be a reason for endermen being in the nether a lot, as well as the towers in the end being made of obsidian, which piglins tend to have)

fi has a wool shirt and leather pants on, it’s easy to see where the leather could’ve come from but where the shirt would’ve come from is still a mystery because she’s never been outside the nether (at least i don’t think fi has, i’ll figure it out for sure eventually)

i spent a decent amount of time on this, so reblogs are appreciated! feel free to ask any questions you have about her :)

please don’t compare her to any already existing characters, and if you say anything shitty about her pronouns/neoprounouns i’m blocking you

[vitamx]

along came a rabbit

[Read on AO3!]

along came a rabbit, hopping through a diamond portal.

---

Grian thought he was having a pretty good day.

 He had restocked some deals in Sahara NOW, turned in a bunch of dyes to Iskall, and had even begun sketching down some ideas for a brand new event for the server!

 He thought that today couldn't have been any better.

 It was nearly dusk now- just an hour 'till- and he thought to himself, maybe I could go to sleep early.

 He thought to himself, I should get some well-earned rest.

He thought to himself, today was such a good day.

 He thought not to himself that perhaps the day's events were not yet over, he thought not to himself that maybe his day could still turn upside down.

And upside down his day turned, like a jammed clock that finally began moving, quickly jittering itself back into place.

  I wonder- fate itself must've pondered.  I wonder, should there be something wrong?

Yes, there must be- send it through, send it through!

 Fate whispered and it cackled.

  Grian breathed in the floral air at the hippie commune, a satisfied smile on his face as he took off his flower crown at last.

 "It was a good run," Grian hummed to himself, content with the conclusion such a big event had on the world.

 Of course, he was saddened and mellow, his attempts of getting back to Evo with the time machine now thrown out the window- but overall, he was content.

 He was happy.

  Fate murmured amongst itself, hurriedly pushing the frantic white rabbit through the diamond portal.

 So much fun, so much fun, fate thought to itself. This will be so much fun to watch.

  A short and muffled 'ding' sounded from Grian's inventory, and he pulled out his communicator, settling in front of the campfire comfortably. He wondered who was messaging him- was it Iskall asking for more dye? Mumbo asking about his Poultry Man's latest prank?

  What he did not expect, was Xisuma asking if he knew of a young man with rabbit ears.

What he did not expect, was for his gut to flip upside down, and for his blood to run ice cold- or for shivers to crawl up his spine, for fate to laugh at and mock him to his face.

  Grian felt sick.

He felt nauseous.

  And all of a sudden, he was there back in the bus, trying to keep Taurtis awake, trying to keep Taurtis alive, trying to keep himself alive, trying to drag them both out of the wreckage- he was staggering up to Sam, expecting him to ask if he was alright, expecting him to wonder why he was harmed and injured, only for him to dress him up as Taurtis, only for him to force him to act like Taurtis and go by his name and talk like him and make jokes like him and get hurt if he even mentioned that he wasn't him.

  ("Haha, yeah! You're nothing.")

 And all of a sudden, he was back in the tiny wooden shed, hands clasped over his mouth and hiding for his life, he was terrified of someone he thought was his friend, who was laughing like nothing was wrong, he was forcing plastic bags down his throat, crying and desperately trying to keep himself quiet, and Sam was there, laughing and smiling in front of him, knife clenched in an unwavering grip, calling him Taurtis...

 He isn't Taurtis. He was never Taurtis.

 (Was he truly just kept around to fill in for when Taurtis was gone?)

 But whatever keeps you happy Sam, whatever keeps you sane Sam, please don't hurt me, Sam-

   Grian hadn't realized he had thrown his communicator onto the ground, hadn't realized he was shaking and hadn't realized he had begun to cry.

 It couldn't- it can't be him. Grian refused to believe that it was.

Although he certainly wouldn't be going to find out for himself if it really was or not.

 Grian thought he was having such a good day- thought he had finally made peace with his past, thought he was ready to focus on the present, on the future, for once in his life.

 Of course, fate could never let him rest, could it?

 ---

 At first, Sam was confused- even more than that!

 These people were all crazy, he thought.

He did see a green cyborg-man staring down at him in shock when he first came out of the strange portal, and after that, he had seen people flying over to him in a flurry with fake wings.

 Elytras, they were called.

 They sure would've been helpful for Yuki, he thought with a dark chuckle.

They all wore diamond armor, too! Like it wasn't rare or expensive, like it was just another piece of clothing!

 (They had laughed when he asked if they were all part of the yakuza.)

 He was confused- and being confused made him angry. He didn't want to be confused, he wanted to understand, he had to understand, that way he could become such lovely friends with everyone!

That way people could like him!

 That way he could find his way back to his best bud Taurtis!

 (Taurtis has been gone for quite some time now, and he can't quite take it much longer. Taurtis betrayed him, he had left him, after all he's done for him. And he was furious.)

 But they had all looked at him in confusion.

Why was he the weird one now? He's never the weird one!

He would've gone crazy, would've lost his mind, if he hadn't overheard one thing from the "admin"- the man in the helmet- Xisuma.

 "I wonder when Grian will show up," he had murmured to himself in concern. "He's seen the message, but he isn't coming over."

 Gree-on! Gree-on was here!

He didn't like Gree-on that much, what with his, well- overall everything. He wasn't that likable. He wasn't pretty, he wasn't nice (to him).

 (He cried too much, too- why are you crying? Don't be crazy, you're Taurtis!)

 In fact, he was a bit of a debby-downer in the fun games they would always play back at their old high school.

 (It's just cops and robbers, Yuki, yeah! Come on, do you wanna play with us?)

 Sam thinks that maybe he had scared Xisuma a bit when he had grabbed his arm and asked if this "Grian" was a brit with strawberry-blonde hair and red sweater, but that was fine!

If Gree-on was here, then so could Taurtis!

 Now he just had to wait it out.

 (Gree-on was taking fairly long to get here. After Sam had showed up and everything, he can't even bother to greet him? How ungrateful, how rude, how utterly disgusting.)

 ---

 Grian tried to stop himself from shaking- he truly did.

But his heart kept leaping out of his throat, and his mind raced with old memories, as well as possible new ones, too.

 (What would Sam do to him? Would he be angry? Would he be happy?)

 He had locked himself inside his RV, and was curled up messily on his bed. Would someone come and find him? Probably.

But it was better than sitting out in the open- it was better than sitting out where Sam could get to him. At least there were walls around him to keep anyone out, to keep Sam out.

 He still wasn't sure if this man with rabbit ears was even Sam- why was he so scared? Why couldn't he stop shaking?

 The logical part of his head told him everything would be okay- the entire server is your friend, they wouldn't let you get hurt if the "man with rabbit ears" really is Sam. It'll be fine, why are you so scared?

And the rest of him was terrified. The rest of his mind raced frantically- he's here, he's going to hurt you, he's going to dress you up and make you act like someone else, he's never going to let you go again- you're trapped with him now.

 Distantly, the sound of fireworks filled the air, and they were getting closer and closer.

Grian froze up and clasped hands over his mouth, holding his breath and scrambling to the far corner of his bed.

 The server probably thought they were friends- thought Grian would be happy to see him. Sam always wrapped every person he found around his little finger, to believe every word he says, to be the person he wanted them to be, not the person they actually were.

 (He'd seen that so many times with Taurtis- he had told Grian once in Evo, "it used to be 'hey, let's go walk around town', until it was "you're coming with me to steal from shops around town.'")

 "Grian? You there, dude?"

 Ren's voice, accompanied by many other short murmurs and whispers, spoke out to him, knocking on the door to his RV. Grian shut his eyes tight, burying his face in his knees, hoping, praying, that they would go away, that they wouldn't make him go and see Sam. That Sam wouldn't come and see him.

 The iron door clicked open anyway.

 He heard Ren walk up to him hesitantly, placing a comforting hand on Grian's shoulder, making him flinch, and lift his tear-stained face to look up at Ren fearfully. To say Ren was frightened was an understatement.

 "Grian, hey, hey, what's wrong? What happened?" He asked quietly, hugging onto Grian protectively. "Why are you crying?"

 Grian was quiet for a moment, listening to the worried whispers right outside his camper van. He took in a shuddered breath, and raised his head to look back at Ren, opening his mouth to speak.

 "Please don't bring him in here."

 Before Ren could even register what he said, the iron door slammed open, and in scrambled a frantic rabbit-eared young man, a wide smile on his face.

 "Gree-on!" He called, his smile and eyes widening, as if he had finally found a piece of prey that ran from him. "There you are! I was waiting for you, dummy! You know, a good friend would've actually come to see me," He scoffed, eyes narrowing before he quickly smiled at him once more.

 "But that's fine! You were obviously busy having some sort of crisis!" He laughed, hopping up to Grian, pushing Ren out of the way (who was much more than confused).

 Grian stayed silent, before wordlessly standing up from the bed, staring at Sam with tear-soaked eyes for a good few seconds. And he walked straight past him, his shaky hands clicking open the door to his RV, stumbling outside.

 Letting out an offended gasp, Sam quickly followed.

 "Gree-on! Gree-on, it's rude to ignore people!" He called, grabbing tightly onto Grian's wrist to keep him from walking away.

 Grian's head snapped towards Sam, his eyes widening in fear before settling on a bitter glare. The small crowd around him was silent in both confusion and worry.

 "...What?" He asked quietly, his voice quavering. Sam let out a short laugh, looking at Grian in wonder.

 "Are you really gonna start crying? Come on, Gree-on! I didn't even do anything this time! You're just gonna make me feel bad for no reason now." He said, talking like he was scolding Grian as if he were a child. "You're still such a bad friend, even after we were all reunited and stuff!" He huffed, glaring.

 Mumbo and a few others raised their voice at this, shuffling forward threateningly, but Grian couldn't bother making out the words they were speaking.

He stayed silent, looking at Sam incredulously.

 "By the way..." Sam began, his grip from Grian's wrist unwavering, "Where's Taurtis?"

 It was such a simple question, really. But the way Sam smiled innocently at him, the way his hand tightened ever so slightly- he was threatening Grian. It was like he was telling him, "if Taurtis is not here, then I will make him be here".

And Grian was terrified, he began to shake again, and weakly tried pulling his arm from Sam's grip.

 (It was useless to even try.)

 "He's..." Grian began, his voice weak, his eyes darting around fearfully to the worried crowd around them. He swallowed a lump in his throat and looked up at Sam with a glare. "He's gone."

 Sam's smile fell from his face, and his eyes narrowed to glare right back at him. He pulled Grian's wrist, leaning closer to his face.

 "What?" He asked, his eyes wildly danced around Grian's face for any trace of a lie. "You're- what did you do to him? I've been looking everywhere for him- I've gotten arrested because I've gone places I shouldn't just to find him so what the hell did you do to him?" He hissed, his glare quickly turning into a snarl.

 Grian flinched, and scoffed, ripping his wrist from Sam's grip painfully.

 "What did I do to him? Don't you mean what you did to him? You were- You were such a horrible person to him, Sam! To him and to me! I don't know where he is but at least he's away from you!" He snarled, pushing Sam away from him.

 Mumbo and Iskall had run up to Grian, standing beside him protectively (although still quite confused).

 "You're just making shit up now!" Sam yelled, his eyes wild with anger. "He loved me! He needed me! He would've died a long time ago if I hadn't taken him with me!" He screamed, pushing past Mumbo and Iskall and grabbing a hold of a tuft of Grian's hair.

 "I don't need a Gree-on, I need a Taurtis! Just disappear!" He snarled.

 Eyes widening in fear, Grian reeled his hand back, punching the center of Sam's face, and dropped to the ground shortly after.

Sam was silent- everyone was silent.

 Until it wasn't silent anymore.

 "You." Sam growled quietly, staggering back up to his feet, blood dribbling from his nose and dripping down his chin, staining his teeth red.

 He stared down at Grian with a wide grin.

 "You're gonna regret that," He rasped, pulling an all too familiar iron knife from his pocket.

Grian froze up, his eyes filling up with terror. He knew he couldn't experience permadeath in Hermitcraft- he knew for a fact that he would respond if Sam hurt him too badly.

 But what if he didn't?

 He didn't have much time to dwell more on that thought- Sam had lunged at him, swinging the knife in his hands towards Grian's face, grabbing a hold of his neck.

His head slammed against the ground, his breath being knocked out his lungs. Everyone had rushed forward angrily, quickly grabbing and disabling Sam's ability to attack or run away, and Ren, Impulse, Mumbo, and Iskall all ran up to him, lifting him up.

 Grian's head was spinning- and the side of his chin stung and felt damp, too. He blinked slowly, grabbing onto whichever arm it was that was holding him up. Sam was yelling at him, calling him horrible, calling him a liar, calling him crazy. But his yelling grew quieter and quieter, and when his head finally stopped spinning, he saw that Sam was being dragged away by Doc and Scar.

 He let out a shaky sigh, and his breathing began to settle into a calm rhythm.

  He was gone.

  Everyone had asked him nonstop for answers, who he was, why he was so hostile, who the hell was Taurtis- things like that.

To say that the server was in shock from those answers was an understatement- they were horrified.

 Xisuma reassured him that Sam would stay locked up in Area 77 until further decisions were made.

 Grian stayed in the hippie commune with Ren, Impulse, Mumbo, and Iskall for a few days.

He spent a lot of time with each of them- treating the cut on the side of his chin with Impulse, gathering more shulkers of dye for Sahara with Iskall, showing off the redstone of his dye farm to Mumbo, making flower crowns and harvesting their farm with Ren.

He nearly forgot Sam was locked up somewhere in Area 77, probably screaming his head off and losing his mind more than it was already lost.

 One quiet morning, Grian woke up to a global message who's sound echoed throughout his camper van.

  Samgladiator has been banned by XisumaVoid.

  With a tired smile and a weight lifted off his chest, Grian flopped against his bed and closed his eyes.

He would always be scared of Sam, that would never change, and he would always be haunted by the time he spent with him.

 But Sam was gone now, and he wouldn't see him for a long, long time- and hopefully never again.

  Distantly, a white rabbit stirred in a world, eyes Watching his every move.

 ---

[rendiggitydog]

Infighting

Part two of the epic twology

"I missed this," Grian sighed happily. "Didn't you Mumbo?"

Grian mumbled to himself, waving the fake Mumbo's arm. "I'm glad you agree! I'm just sorry Iskall is refusing to come to our meetings, he's going to miss out on all our projects."

"Hey, where's Mumbo?" Iskall's cold voice called from the door.

Grian didn't turn around. "He's right here. We're having a meeting if you'll excuse us."

"That's not Mumbo you fool. Have you seen him?"

"...no."

Iskall nodded, though Grian couldn't see it. "Some friend you are." Iskall strapped on his elytra, flying out of the building.

Grian sighed a breath of relief. "Glad we got rid of him, right Mumbo?" Grian glanced at the fake Mumbo, and his grin fell. "Iskall's right. We need the real you back. Sorry, fake Mumby."

Grian kicked over the stack of blocks, flying out the window.

—

Iskall paced across the room. "What is he doing? He hasn't made it to any meetings this week. He says he's 'busy'."

"I tried visiting his base, but he's been avoiding me like the plague..." Grian shifted in his chair, agitated. This was the first composed conversation Grian and Iskall had had in the last 2 weeks.

"We need to just go over to his base together and get him out here. He's a key member of Sahara, and he needs to pull his own weight." Iskall pulled on his elytra, huffing.

"Fine, let's go."

The pair flew over to Mumbo's island in silence, not noticing anything out of the ordinary. They glided in circles a couple times calling his name, but there was no response.

"I think I just saw something move..." Grian dove swiftly, crying in triumph as he found his target. "There you are!"

"Ah Grian, you need to leave. Please." Mumbo shoved him away, refusing to make eye contact.

"What, why? Why haven't you come to any meetings?"

"Sorry, very busy. You need to leave."

Grian frowned, but obeyed, flying away. Iskall caught up with him, curious about what happened.

"Nothing new. He just kicked me out, saying he was busy. I wonder what he's working on."

"Whatever it is, it shouldn't take precedence over Sahara. We're a team!"

"Hey, give him a break. He deserves it after all the redstone he did for Sahara," Grian defended.

"Picking sides are we? Maybe you should go home and play with your parrots if you're not committed to this project." Iskall snapped.

"Why are you yelling at me? Mumbo is the one you should be mad at!"

"Listen, if neither of you are going to step up, then I will. Just go home." Iskall shook his head, diving into the shopping district.

Grian heaved a sigh, rubbing a tear from his eye. He banked around the statue of hermity, flying back to his base.

Two more weeks passed without a word from Mumbo. Xisuma tried countless times to fly to his base, but Mumbo was either nowhere to be found, or kicked X out immediately. From what X had noticed, Mumbo was fraying at the edges, with his eyes dark and dull and his clothes old and stained.

"Iskall, get down here!" Xisuma stormed into Sahara, fuming.

Iskall instantly flew down from the ceiling, landing next to X. He fidgeted with his suit buttons, but froze as Xisuma's glare pierced him.

"I've had enough. You and Grian are going to fly to Mumbo's base and get him out here. The whole server is suffering from this nonsense, and I'm ending it right now."

Iskall nodded vigorously.

"Well? Go get Grian and get out of here!" Xisuma shooed him off. As much as X felt bad for Iskall taking the brunt of his anger, he felt satisfied that at least one of the Architechs got a piece of his mind.

—

Grian and Iskall circled Mumbo's base, both hesitant to land. "Hold on, I see a weird dirt thing over here." Grian drifted to a stop next to a dirt pillar, which had a small book attached.

To Grian and Iskall,

I'm sorry I've been absent at Sahara lately, but I've been taking some time for self care. If you would like to see me, flip the first and second to last levers. Please be sure to leave all your items behind, as I'm worried they may agitate my situation.

Love, Mumbo

"Found some switches!" Iskall beckoned Grian over.

"It's not like they were hidden," Grian mumbled.

"Oh yeah wise guy?" Iskall snarled, but Grian ignored him, stuffing his items in a shulker box.

"Put your stuff in a box, Mumbo doesn't want it downstairs."

"Well that's dumb, why did he say that?"

Grian shrugged. "Don't ask me genius, ask Mumbo." Grian flipped the switches. "Nothing happe-"

The floor crumbled beneath them, sending both plummeting to the bottom of the pit. Without their armor on, they were left at half a heart and in significant pain.

"...ow."

"No kidding. An infinity room, man?" Iskall stood stiffly, running a hand across the wall.

"Mumbo's gone bonkers..." Grian stood as well, sighing as he stared into the emptiness.

"He's not the only one..." Iskall muttered.

Grian chose to ignore his comment, instead running his hands across the walls, searching for a hidden exit. Iskall joined in silently, but after only a second Grian called out in surprise.

"It's no exit, but there's a book here! It looks like it got left behind from when he was building the room." Grian skimmed the first few pages, eyes growing larger and larger as he read more. Iskall peeked over his shoulder, and gasped loudly, reading an entry out loud.

Diary, Grian showed up again. I kicked him out. I just can't look at his face without crying right now. If he and Iskall would just make up everything could be okay. Please, I just want to see them hug and laugh again.

Iskall stopped reading, swallowing thickly. Grian silently shoved the book in his pocket.

"..Hey Gri, how long have we been fighting? Like for real?" Iskall whispered.

Grian shook his head. "I'm so sorry dude. I got caught up in running a business, and I forgot to treat you like the friend that you are..."

"No, I'm sorry. I started it as a joke, but I got caught up in it too."

"Let's help each other do better, okay?" Grian sniffled with a smile.

Iskall smiled at Grian, and the two hugged, albeit slightly awkwardly.

A loud sobbing startled the two, and they glanced around, looking for the source. Mumbo stumbled through the wall, tears pouring down his face as he threw himself into the hug.

"Mumbo? What's wrong?" Iskall carefully patted Mumbos head.

"Thanks guys. I missed you," Mumbo whispered.

"Are you okay?" Grian asked, but realization was already setting into his features.

"You were fighting so much that running the business or talking to you together was impossible. I'm just glad we can all be friends again."

"No, we're sorry Mumbo. We should've realized what we were doing." Grian choked out.

They sat on the floor of the infinity room quietly for a long time before a hushed conversation started up. Before long, things had escalated into wild laughter and shouting, just like normal.

"I missed this."

[spruceplank]

Glitch08

First // Previous //Current // Next >> ——— Also on ao3!

At first it wasn’t noticeable. Maybe the blocks you just broke would suddenly go back to where they had been. Maybe your hits wouldn’t connect with the mob you were hitting. Then it slowly got worse and worse. And then the world around them started to vanish.

And that was only the beginning.

It was almost strange, to be going back to normal life now. After what had only happened about two weeks ago, just going back to normal life was kinda strange. Thinking back on it, he couldn’t help the feeling of dread in his gut. Everything that happened one after another, and they didn’t have any answers either. Not even a real idea of what might be going on.

 It had been rough. Because of the rain they had agreed to camp out in the stock exchange together as it wasn’t worth it to try and fly somewhere when their elytra were soaked. It had only seemed to rain harder once Grian was thrown back into the fountain. The rain pelting them so hard he could feel it in his bones. 

They filed inside, splitting off as they did so. Mumbo carried Grian inside off to the left and he followed after his mustached friend. Ever since Grian had first done that at False’s place he’d been extremely worried. Then after what just happened he was extremely concerned. For the most part Grian looked relatively unharmed. His hands were fine which was surprising because he had literally just crushed a diamond sword with his bare hands. That should’ve left marks but it hadn’t. Then there was his back. He watched Mumbo set Grian down so he was laying slightly on his side and oh god. Large gashes cut through Grian’s sweater and undershirt into his skin. Bruises covered his friend’s back in shades of blues and blacks. Blood coated the frayed edges of his sweater and shirt. This, this was horrible.

Fishing around his inventory and pulling out his enderchest, he quickly dug through his shulker boxes, and managed to find a potion of regeneration. Uncapping it he poured it onto Grian’s back, coating each of the gashes as evenly as he could. Slowly but surely, the wounds faded a bit and the bruises dulled. What he ended up seeing instead was a pair of faded, jagged purple scars between Grian’s shoulder blades. The kind of scar that wouldn’t ever heal. That was something else. He shared a look with Mumbo, who looked worriedly over Grian with a frown. Things were only growing worse with each new thing that happened.

After a small discussion he walked away from his fellow architechs to go check in with the others. Looking around he finds most of his fellow hermits are asleep in small piles scattered around the main entrance hall. Doc, Ren, Cub, Scar and False were asleep across from him in a small pile.

Impulse and Tango the latter whom had Zedaph sleeping on his shoulder were quietly talking. A little further down X, Wels, Python, and Jevin are still worriedly hovering over Biffa waiting for him to wake up. He walked over to where Impulse and Tango were talking in hushed tones and joined in on their conversation.

“Well the first thing was Stress falling into the void, but things are progressing faster than we can figure out what’s wrong.” Impulse said.

“Then came me and Zed getting trapped. That was definitely man made. There’s no way that was naturally generated.” Tango added, lips pressed tight, eyes far away. Impulse placed a hand on Tango’s shoulder.

“Then Scar got trapped.” Impulse added.

“Then Falsie got possessed.” He input, looking over to where she slept leaning against the wall, sandwiched between Ren and Scar. He looked a little further down the hall, whispering as he continued, “And then Biffa.”

Tango nodded to where Mumbo and Grian were across the hall, “Grian’s been possessed too, but something other than what got Falsie and Biffa.”

“Is there any common thread between them?” He asked though he knew full well that none of them had any idea what was going on. Tango shook his head slowly, fist clenched in his lap.

Impulse looked around at the others scattered around them. He seemed to be arguing with himself about something between the far away look in his eyes and the way he bit the inside of his cheek. He looked back at both of them before taking a deep breath and sharing what he was thinking, “Well whatever is possessing Grian is different from what had False and Biffa. We don’t know anything about where Grian came from before we found him in this new world. He doesn’t remember anything either.”

“You think that something about Grian’s past is related to this?” he asked unsure.

Impulse took a deep breath, eyes still slightly far away before speaking, “Well we all know how we get new worlds right? Xisuma gets those weird dreams when we can all feel it in the air that the time is soon to start again. We all spend a week gathering supplies and completing the journey to a new world that has always been empty before. No matter how far we travel in a new world its always empty, there’s nothing else there. Sure others have come into our world when we’ve been there for a while and such, but we know they’re coming. Grian showed up in that new world and it was just as much of a surprise for him and it was for us. And the others before knew they were coming to join us. They knew the universe had sent them to us and they could remember where they had come from.”

“But Grian woke up only knowing his name and how to survive. No past memories of learning anything or people he had met before. And he couldn’t have come from a single world, he was too used to interacting with others for that.” Tango finished the thought.

He thought about it and realized something about all this, “That’s only about Grian though, what about what’s happening in the world, to all of us?”

Both Impulse and Tango looked at each other and then back to him. Before anyone else could say anything though, X walked up next to them, “How’s Grian?”

“I gave him a regen potion for the wounds on his back, he should be fine after he gets some sleep hopefully. How’s Biffa?” He asked looking up at Xisuma who stood next to them. Xisuma looked more worn out that at least half of them combined. The length of their struggles hit him at that point, how long had they been going without a break? X especially?

X looked over his shoulder at Biffa who was in the middle of whispering fiercely back and forth with Jevin and Python. X smiled slightly and turned back to them, exhaustion clearly worn on his face, “Fine now that he’s awake. His eyes are back to normal, he remembers what happened I think, but because Doc stunned him with the lightning to get him to stop, he says his head hurts and he can’t make sense of it yet.”

“He’ll probably remember after some rest.” Tango said, looking past X and then back at their leader, “Something we all could use.”

X looked around the hall, “You’re right I suppose. But we don’t-”

He shook his head and cut X off, “Rest now, we’ll talk in the morning when everyone’s awake and able to process things better. We’re running on like no sleep.”

X sighed, “Alright you win. We’ll talk in the morning.”

 Except in the morning there really isn’t much else to discuss. Biffa does remember watching when Jevin died though he was not in control. Aside from that and feeling guilty about the situation he can’t remember else more other than he wasn’t the one in control. Grian didn’t wake up until two days after with a concussion and no recollection of anything that happened aside from that they left False’s base.

With nothing else to go off of, they all tried to go back to their normal lives. So here he was out on his mooshroom island of doom half heartedly building things. He’s half tempted to tear down his build and start all over again when he hears someone call his name. Peering over the wall he’s building on he sees Stress waving up at him. Well he could’ve used the break anyways.

They spend a majority of the afternoon making slime block trampolines across the mooshroom island of doom. By the time the sun sets and the stars rise they’re exhausted. Laying back on one of their trampolines looking up at the stars when Stress breaks the silence, “Thanks for that.”

“What do you mean?” he asked her.

“Taking a break to just goof around with me.” She shifted, sitting up and looking out over the ocean before speaking again with a sad tone in her voice, “Usually all of us are having fun and being silly but after everything that’s been happening. Well it seemed like no one was having fun anymore. So thanks.

He looks at her smiles and gives a wide grin in return, “Anytime.”

And later when he waves her off through the nether portal, all he can think about is that the worst is only yet to come.

Though he thought the worst was only yet to come, this was far worse than he ever imagined. When he and Mumbo decided to get together to fix some of Sahara’s redstone this was not what he imagined would happen. 

“I still don’t know why you wanted me here.” Grian complained yet again from his spot on a row of shulker boxes over by the window. The never ending storm raged on behind him, lightning illuminating the shopping district as thunder echoed overhead. He stuck his head around one of the modules to look over at Grian.

Mumbo also stuck his head out around the redstone to look over at Grian before sighing, “I already told you -”

“If you say its to supervise you again I am going to throw another potato in the system.” Grian cut off not sitting up as he laid staring up at the ceiling. He knew it was a joke, but to threaten Sahara - their most beautiful and brilliant creation of doom - that was just too cruel.

“You would threaten to break this fantastic system yet again? Grian, I feel so betrayed.” He mocked fake hurt, “Do not take out our lively hood just because Mumbo wasn’t macho enough to say he missed hanging out with you.”

“Lively hood?” Grian echoed back in shock, sitting up to stare at him with a look of done that words could not otherwise convey.

“Macho enough?” Mumbo sputtered out looking offended as he whipped around to face him.

Grian shook his head and continued to diss their brilliant creation, “At what point have we been making enough diamonds to call this a lively hood? We haven’t even broken even!”

“I am so macho enough!” Mumbo grumbled out, looking actually upset at that comment.

He shared a look with Grian. Okay when he said that he was just trying to distract Grian but this was a whole new can of worms, “Are you really hung up on that part?”

“Yes!” Mumbo exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

Grian rolled his eyes and groaned before shooting back, If you just wanted to hang out you could’ve just asked me straight away like a normal person!”  

Mumbo didn’t answer for a minute, before he turned back to question his earlier statement, “Wait why did you call Sahara our lively hood?”

He couldn’t hold it any longer and burst out laughing, “BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Mumbo! Is all that redstone gone to your head?! You’re lagging worse than the server does!” Grian choked out between laughs.

“Look its been a long day and one of my villagers got turned into a witch and now both of you are distracting me from this very important work!” Mumbo groaned, rubbing at his face which smeared redstone all over it in the process.

Grian looked around and took in what Mumbo had been doing before commenting, “Ah yes, placing hoppers, the most important part of all of Sahara.”

Mumbo’s eyes lit up, the way they always did when he was about to talk about anything redstone related, and started his explanation, “Yes! They’re super important! Otherwise-”

“Wait Mumbo, aren’t those hoppers backwards?” he interrupted. He could clearly see the exact same thought process he had just gone through when looking around the warehouse. Every hopper he had placed today was facing backwards. It hurt, it hurt a lot to realize it, but to watch Mumbo go through all five stages of grief in such a short span of time. Who else but their favorite spoon?

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.” Mumbo whined.

“Well maybe he’s just gone bananas Iskall, are you sure he wasn’t the one with the concussion?” Grian added trying to at least salvage the situation just a little.

“Grian, Grian, Grian, you have to know that Mumbo already went bananas. How could you forget Molebo and the great bananas incident?” he threw back, barely containing his laughter.

Mumbo turned away from the great spoonage of hopper placements to defend himself, “Look that was not my fault! Either of you could’ve just shot me a message to confirm you saw the emergency code!”

“And get you caught for fraternizing with the enemy? That ruins the whole point of a mole Mumbo!” Grian threw back, smile wide as he giggled.

“How was I supposed to know you saw the message then?!” Mumbo snipped back, anger fading a bit at the friendly jabs.

“Look you were the one who picked up the wrong book of orders.” Grian defended.

Mumbo paused for a minute, clearly remembering the situation at hand before he threw his hands up and yelled, “Argh I am not arguing about this again! It’s over! It’s done! We won the war! It’s in the past!”

“Clearly your spoon tendencies aren’t though.” he said under his breath before asking louder so the others could hear, “How many of those hoppers have you even placed?”

Mumbo looked around the warehouse sadly, “Ugh… Too many.”

“Wow maybe you did need me to actually supervise.” Grian said shocked.

“At least you didn’t start putting the… oh no no no please do not tell me you had started to do the item filters without even realizing it.” he started so hopeful. It would just be an easy fix to tear down the hoppers and fix them. Sure it’d be time consuming but no harm done, but Mumbo seemed to droop closer to the ground with every word he said. Even his moustache seemed to try and sink closer to the ground. No, no, no that was hours of work for nothing!

Grian seemed to realize the gravity of the situation as he looked between both of them, “You didn’t”

“Oh no Mumbo how far did you get?” he questioned, hoping it was only like half way through even though he knew it was the worst possible outcome knowing Mumbo.

“........” Mumbo mumbled something under his breath that neither him nor Grian could hear.

“Don’t turn into mumbleJumbo, answer the question.” Grian prodded.

Mumbo whined high pitched before sharing with the class, “....I only had two more to go…..”

“Okay that’s waiting until tomorrow I refuse to redo that all today I am already exhausted.” He threw his hands up in defeat and started to put his tools away.

“But if the sun never rises when does today end?” Grian wondered, watching him.

“It ends after I go to bed.” he threw back.

“If only that worked to reset the day/night cycle. Or even just made it stop raining.” Mumbo said wishfully as he looked out the windows.

“Please let it stop raining I can’t fly in this weather! This is ridiculous and the nether portals are still getting broken randomly and I refuse to get stuck in the nether!” Grian yelled angrily at the sky. In response the storm only seemed to pick up, thunder rumbling loudly over head as rain seemed to soak the ground faster than before.

Sighing he knew there was only one answer, “Well guess we’ll just have to have a sleepover then.”

“Yeah we can go sleep in the vault, you know among our vast riches earned from our lively hood!” Mumbo gripped from where he was packing things into a shulker box near the wall.

Grian laughed, “I don’t know if there’s enough room for us in there Mumbo between all the air our lively hood has earned us!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah I get it.” he muttered. Grinning with the sudden thought he yelled at Mumbo his rebuttal, “At least I didn’t surrender in the build off!”

“Oh come on! Low blow Iskall, low blow!” Mumbo yelled back.

“Yeah just like your entry in the contest, low!”  Grian called out, hi-fiving him as they both laughed.

This, this was what he missed. Stress was right, when was the last time they had fun? Though as they feel asleep to the rain outside and the light of the end rods in the vault, he couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in his gut. That they’d gotten to comfortable with the way things had become. That soon, soon they’d pay a high price for lowering their guard so much.

  How long had he been here? There wasn’t any sense of time stuck in the void. Something caught his attention though, there in the distance, was that light? He moved closer, slowly drifting through nothingness. In the vast expanse of black, there was a hole. Shaped like a nether portal there was a white void, surrounded in obsidian and nether brick? A sign was on the top part of the portal.

HermitCraft 6

One of them is here

Wait, how was there a way back? What had caused this? Whatever it was it couldn’t be good. Not that it was his problem anymore. He’d been banned from that place. But without that presence in his mind, he’d come to terms with a lot of things. And whatever had managed to cut through the void to that world, it was dangerous and powerful. He could help, warn them about it.

Resolved to help those he could’ve come to call friends, he entered the portal. As he did so though, he noticed something odd as he stared into the void as it vanished. In the never ending vast expanse of black nothingness, two white eyes stared back at him.

[maxs-muses]

Tailor

A small ficlet I made for @ask-elementalhermitcraft ‘s AU!

This is just how I picture Rendog’s reskin would go in this universe.

Mostly just a slice of life, and hermits being hermits. (And Wind being Wind.)

___________

It’s been a while since the war ended.

In fact, it was more than ‘a while’. It was a good deal of time that had passed, and the majority of the hermits had taken the time to relax in whatever way seemed fit-be it working hard, “retiring” (and subsequently, un-retiring), or legitimately relaxing.

Time didn’t mean much to The Wind. Sure it was aware of its existence, and its passage, but its main concern was usually itself. However, for its partner, Grian, things were a little bit different. He was alive, and fully ready to continue with his most recent projects, alongside Mumbo: The Sahara Project. Of course, he can’t do it alone-and so they had made the decision to invite Iskall to Architech, their group.. it had gone swimmingly, and the new addition to their group, he knew, would ensure that things go even better. Yes, things were going great-and that wasn’t even taking into account his new ‘Sherlock Grian’ thing. The Wind seemed to think the name was fitting... Well, at least he was able to custom tailor a suit fit for his wings. He’s had to get good at that... as these thoughts ran through his head, Grian received a notification on his communicator:

[Renthedog: Hey, Grian? May we speak for a bit?]

Grian blinked in confusion. He hasn’t spoken to Ren much-apart from helping him deconstruct the fatal rollercoaster on the railway station.

[Grian: Sure thing! Let’s meet in over at my base?]

[Renthedog: Sounds great, be there soon!]

Grian paused, thinking. What could he want?

_______________

Grian awaited Ren in his base, wings twitching ever-so-slightly. He doesn’t know why he feels so nervous... The Wind swirled around him comfortingly, and he felt himself relax slightly. It would all be okay-the days of animosity are behind them. Ren’s arrival was heralded by a firework going off, and he slowly swooped down into Grian’s base. Grian smiled at the sight of him-but then paused. Ren’s clothes were... not in the best state, to put it kindly. Rips, tears, and hastily stitched-up seams marred his ensemble.

Grian furrowed his brows. “Hey Ren! What’s up?”

He continued his examination of his clothing. Ren shifted, adjusting the sunglasses gifted to him by Mumbo. “Well... you see, I’ve been wearing these clothes for a while now, and they-well-you know-aren’t in that great of shape...” Not in that great of shape was putting it kindly, in Grian’s opinion. “And-I noticed that you have a lot of outfits, and I was... I was wondering if you could help me make one.”

Grian paused slightly, thinking. Then, a smile broke on his face. “Sure thing! I’m down to help.” It would be nice, having a non-building project going on... a nice change of pace.

The Wind, particularly, was excited. It had been the one to help Grian design his many outfits using various materials they found. The only thing it seemed to lack was utterly awful fashion sense-thankfully, this was usually tempered by Grian. The Wind snapped its attention back to reality as its Favored began to speak. “Why don’t you come on up to my greenery room, and we can think things over better there? It’s got much better atmosphere.” That it does...

_____________

Ren breathed in the fresh air of the top floor of Grian’s base. It was a stark difference from the rest of it, with grass and trees all around opposing the aesthetically pleasing, but harsh, concrete, the happy chirps of the parrots and somewhat out of place clucks of a chicken contrasting with the rushing water and vaguely technological background noise of the other levels. Privately, he thought this was a great addition to his base of operations... Ren turned at the sound of a swooping set of wings, and smiled at the sight of Grian-fittingly, dressed in something somewhat resembling a tailor.

“Lookin’ good, dude!”

Grian beamed. “Thanks! Now.. let’s get started!”

__________________

The wind churned, spreading its awareness out in boredom. Happy though it was its Chosen was interacting with the ‘Hermits’, it was always so much fun to go on flights with him... but at the moment, he was simply helping one of them reconfigure his outfit. The Wind turned its ‘gaze’ for a moment, and couldn’t stop a feeling of amusement at the sight of the hermit in a... cow outfit, of all things. Grian was, it seemed, equal parts disgusted and amused, and seemed to be struggling with the choice of laughing or being sick. He settled for a cough, and for telling the other to get that abomination off.

The Wind felt proud of its Chosen-goodness knows it was hard at first to get interactions going... it spared a chance to brush up against Grian’s side in an almost playful manner. He in turn chuckled, slapping at the air slightly. “Pff. Hey. Where ya been?” The Wind ‘laughed’, and didnt reply. Grian, in turn, huffed. “Fine, be that way... ah. Also, I’ve had some ideas for materials we might need, and I’m gonna go over them with Ren... can you go gather them while we work here?” The Wind hummed in acknowledgement and whooshed off to locate said materials...

__________________

“Aaaaand.... finished!”

Grian beamed at their handiwork. Ren, in particular, felt like a new man-who wouldn’t, when one’s ensemble underwent such a dramatic change.

“Grian, this is awesome! Lovin’ the wristwatch.”

Grian and the Wind chuckled. “At the moment, it’s essentially just a block of fakeness-but if you want you can try to combine a Clock with it, well, who knows!” Ren laughed as well. Grian grinned and continued. “Also, the threads were coated in some special slime I got from Iskall-it shouldn’t tear very easily. By that I mean, very few things can rip through it.”

Ren’s eyes glittered under the shades. “Sweet, I’m immortal.”

Grian did a comical double take. “A-Wh-No wait!”

Rendog, who had his trident out jokingly, laughed. “Kidding, dude, sorry.”

Grian exhaled, shaking his head. “Ahh.. right. Seriously, though, be careful.”

Ren smiled. “Of course, dude. This diggity dog ain’t gonna just stab himself to see if the threads would hold up.” Grian nodded. “Yeah...”

A small silence fell momentarily. It was surprisingly comfortable. Ren yawned. “Well... I should be headin’ back home. This whole clothing marathon worked me out!”

Grian smiled. “Heh, same here... see ya, dude!”

Ren smirked, and tipped his shades. “Seeya!” And then, he was gone. And Grian let out a tired breath.

The Wind carefully took hold of him... then sent multiple well angled gusts to throw Grian down the hole, around the bottom base area, up just because, and plummeting down only for Grian to land an inch from the ground on a comfortable patch of air. Grian, understandably windswept and shocked, took a moment to recover before shaking his head in mirth. “Someone’s feisty tonight, eh?” The Wind ‘chuckled’. “Ah.. thanks for helping me out with Ren, by the way.” Grian’s eyes glinted teasingly. “Of course, when anyone else is involved, you immediately go and collect ingredients... and when it’s me, I suddenly crash into hillsides and builds for no reason.”

Grian was shoved off of the air pillow, and he promptly laughed. “Heh. Love ya too.” Yawning, he headed to his bed.

____________________

As Ren flew back to his area under the peaceful moonlight, he noticed that this was the most streamlined and least danger inducing elytra flight he’s ever had.

[quartz-slab]

@fake-it-until-you-hermit asked me for some ex content, so here it is! I’ll be taking hc requests for at least the next couple days if anyone wants to see more of my writing.

After once last circle over the shopping district to lose some of his speed, Evil X swooped down to land neatly in front of Xisuma’s kelp shop. Or at least, that was the idea. In reality, he realized at the last second that he was still flying too fast, attempted to slow down, and somehow accidentally disengaged his elytra so that his swoop became more of an uncontrolled tumble. He just barely managed to land on his feet, running several steps forward to keep himself from falling before coming to a stop next to one of the shop’s pillars. 

“Stupid things,” he grumbled to himself, shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to get the elytra to settle more neatly against his back. “I don’t understand how Xisuma uses them all the time.”

Elytra mechanics still didn’t quite make sense to him, since he normally never needed to use them. If it were up to him, he wouldn’t have bothered this time either, but apparently it would be “out of character” for him to teleport instead of flying. As if switching to a green suit and fumbling around in the air like a baby bird being tossed from the nest for the first time would make the hermits believe that he was actually Xisuma.

But his counterpart had promised him a stack of TNT and a distant part of the server to use it on if Evil X would impersonate him for the day, for reasons he’d mostly tuned out, so he’d let this farce play out until someone inevitably recognized him. After all, Xisuma never said he had to impersonate him well. For a chance to mess up the Hermitcraft server a bit, he could put up with some embarrassment.

Tugging absently at the neck of his unfamiliar green suit, he went to go inspect the chests in the kelp shop. His main job for today was just to be seen doing normal Xisuma things, like checking the profits in “his” shops or gathering resources, although he’d been firmly banned from touching any in-progress builds. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought his counterpart was just tricking Evil X into doing some chores for him. It’s what Evil X would have done, if their roles were reversed, but he had to admit that it didn’t sound like something Xisuma would do.

There were a few diamonds in some of the chests, which he took out and shoved into his inventory without counting. It didn’t matter to him if the hermits were under or overpaying; they weren’t his profits, after all. Just as he finished checking the last chest, a cheerful voice rang out from behind him.

“Hey X! How’s the shop?”

It took several seconds for Evil X to realize that they were talking to him, and he quickly whirled around to see Jevin standing on the path outside. “Yeah, that’s me. Hi.” Hearing his voice without the distortion his normal helmet caused was extremely weird, and he had to resist the urge to cringe at the sound. “The shop - I mean, my shop is doing fine. Just got some diamonds from it.”

Jevin was giving him a strange look, but he didn’t seem suspicious, so Evil X was counting that as a success. “...Good for you, man. Glad to hear it. Hey, are we still on for that end raid on Friday?”

Was that a trick question? If he said yes and there wasn’t actually an end raid, it would be obvious that he wasn’t who he was pretending to be. But if he said no, Jevin would want to know why. After thinking out over for a moment, he decided to go with what seemed like the safest choice. “Uh, yes?”

“Awesome.” Jevin flashed a quick, friendly smile. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too. I will...definitely be seeing you then,” Evil X replied uncertainly. That seemed to be the right answer, because Jevin nodded and lifted one hand in a lazy wave as he turned and walked further into the shopping district.

So that hadn’t been a trick question, apparently, but just a friendly check-in. More than the weight of the elytra or the sound of his undistorted voice, having such a casual interaction with someone who wasn’t Xisuma was probably the weirdest part of his day so far. It was a strange feeling, but not necessarily a bad one. He almost thought he could get used to it, although he wasn’t likely to have the chance to once he went back to being himself.

At least his assignment today would be more enjoyable than he’d expected, if it was that easy to fool the other hermits.

[lordvonthunderporkvi]

here we go again

(hey at least it’s only 12 pages this time)

I -clap- AM -clap- NOT -clap- READY -clap- FOR -clap- THIS

It really can’t download fast enough can it

EPISODE 5: GO

WHOA ROMEO IS NARRATING

Romeo could you stop being the salt master for one FREAKING MINUTE PLEASE

“Jesse is a perfect example of what we call a ‘bad friend’” no I’m a great friend you on the other hand killed one of your friends and imprisoned the other who’s the bad friend now

Alright buddy do you WANT me to throw you in a dumpster because that’s what you seem to be asking for

See Romeo your problem is that you’re too attached to Jesse and company it’s to the point of being creepy and destructive this is why they don’t “appreciate” your “gifts”

Also because your gifts include a stupid cursed gauntlet that I can’t take off but you know whatever

You will never be Jesse

“The better Jesse” keep telling yourself that Romeo

HE ACTUALLY BELIEVED IVOR’S STORY WOW

Oh really

I won’t get to see how much better you’ve made Beacontown

Okay keep telling yourself that Romeo

Wow Jack’s sure had a change of heart

“I don’t want to end up like Fred.  I don’t want Beacontown to be like Xara’s town.”  don’t worry Petra we got this

Binta you bean

Guys do you maybe think just waltzing in like you own the place might be a bad idea even though technically you do own the place

Romeo’s gonna die he X’d out Lukas’s face

I like how the soundtrack is like a dark version of the episode one opening credits soundtrack

DON’T KILL THE PIGS

WE DON’T KILL THE PIGS IN BEACONTOWN

Romeo did it ever occur to you that all this lava might be a fire hazard

Oh look it’s me-wait no

AXEL AND OLIVIA NO THAT’S NOT ME

Just WAIT THEM OUT don’t SNEAK INTO THE SHOP WHILE THEY’RE IN THERE

Romeo you-

I’m gonna kill Romeo

He is threatening to destroy Redstonia and Boomtown nice Romeo way to be subtle

I am going to kill you Romeo

I am going to kill you s l o w l y a n d p a i n f u l l y

He just destroyed Champion City for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON RIGHT IN FRONT OF STELLA’S EYES

Lluna no

I don’t think Jesse has ever said “eh” in her life way to be subtle Romeo

YEESSS OLIVIA AXEL

Stop talking so FREAKING LOUDLY

Axel no offense but you two aren’t exactly the brightest sometimes I think the others will have no problem telling that’s not me

hah

yeah

A “pretty good Jesse impression”

Because I would totally put posters of myself up all around town, completely change basically everything about the town into a lava-and-fire version, and destroy Champion City to PROVE -clap- A -clap- POINT

That’s totally something I would do

Petra what’s wrong

“Stella sucks even when she’s on our side” nice to know that you haven’t changed at all Petra

I’m sorry this is a sad moment I’ll try to be more sad

Oh what, you mean #potato451?

Careful Jesse he could be listening you never know

Don’t SHOUT did you not HEAR ME HE COULD BE LISTENING

Alright I have a feeling this lever will advance the plot so I’m not gonna pull it yet

That he is Axel

“He’s just been...missing.” LUKAS

Jack named the parrot Archie

I bet he’s Nurm’s and Nurm made Jack keep him

-when- we defeat Romeo, Binta.  Not -if-

Okay shut me down Jesse “don’t think we’re going to be able to read our way to the tower” geez

Good idea Petra

Okay I think that’s everything

Pull the lever Kronk- er, Jesse

“By the tides” Vos and Jack use the same expressions

Whaaaat was that

Petra just sliding in to save the day

NURM

HAH I TOLD YOU WE’D FIND YOU

IVOR

“Jesse, I’m a ninja.  Where else would I be?” perfect

JACK IS FANBOYING OVER IVOR

Could this episode get any better wow

This game is great nice throwback to episode one

Did Ivor’s text color change

I like how he tried to be cool and say his names and stuff and then just gave up 10/10

Frankly I’m surprised he fell for your deception hook line and sink he should be smarter than that

How thought it’s embedded in the bedrock

Romeo have some common sense don’t just talk about the primary terminal when it is the only thing that can defeat you

I mean don’t stop being stupid because it’s helping me a lot but man you’re almost painfully stupid

Axel he killed one of his friends and imprisoned the other and still thinks THEY’RE “bad friends” no we can’t just reason with him

“Jesse taught me to keep the explosions in boomtown” good job Jesse

“I’m formulating a plan”-Jesse wow this episode is just a treasure trove of great lines isn’t it

JesseCon

Romeo why are you like this

Help us Stella

Montage we got a montage-

THIS IS AMAZING

“Are you sure I can’t just blow up the stage?  That would be distracting.”  for the love of notch Axel no you can’t just blow up the stage I thought Jesse taught you to keep the explosions in boomtown

“Then we wait for the big fireworks finale!”  “the...what?”  “It’s Romeo. I promise you there will be a huge fireworks finale.”  22/10

This planning montage is actually the best thing that has ever or will ever happen in this game

Petra was just surfing Jack up a waterfall what a time to be alive

“Explosions, excitement, explosions...I love it!”  keep going Axel honey you’re doing great

Stella will help us are you kidding me she knew that “Jesse” was the Admin before literally anybody else in the town

“I could follow her to them and then we wouldn’t have to talk!” me at every social event ever

“Great. Can I say how much I don’t like this plan?” Petra hush this is a great plan

Woohoo I’ve got my overalls back

She’s almost fooling me I think we’re okay

“One serving of Admin, coming up.”  Jesse that’s just weird

An ocelot LUKAS WHERE ARE YOU-

There’s a golem over there careful Jesse they might be equipped to know exactly where the Admin is and if they’re equipped to know exactly where the Admin is then they’ll know that you’re not the Admin

Oh look a piston contraption I’m gonna step on it

It’s Ivor from the very first episode all over again

“Your greatness” no

I’ve got golems at my disposal nice

Crap

HIDE

that ‘s not Stella

NELL

The statue is following her wow

Oh no

OH NO

HE’S GOING TO NOTICE THE STATUE FRICK

It’s Nell get it right Romeo

There’s Stella

Romeo is so thick sometimes I swear like he hasn’t once thought “hey maybe my city is being infiltrated by the real Jesse”

Wait nevermind he thinks the real Jesse’s dead

NO NELL NOOOOO

This is great watching Jesse try to be Romeo trying to be Jesse might just be the purest thing on this world

You just found out now that I’m back because I just got back like less than- I would say 2 hours ago but Minecraft time is different sooooo

See Petra I told you we’d be fine

“I happen to be an excellent actor.  I shall get into character.”  you do that Stella

Way to be subtle guys

No Binta that’s an awful idea

“I’m glad that we as a town could come together to celebrate-- of course it was mandatory but I sense that you wanted to come anyway.”  that is such a Romeo thing to say

Shut up Jack

“That’s like planning a birthday party without...well...without any fireworks!” such a tragedy

We MAKE fireworks that’s what we’re supposed to do Petra

Lukas’s book!

Stop talking so loudly he is going to hear you

“Only then you will scatter the shadows and reveal your goal”  that was weirdly deep Jack

BINTAAAA

She is a lot freaking stronger than I thought she was wow

Oh no

How can one person be so clumsy

Actually my real question is why did they let Jesse do the stuff a clumsy person could mess up easily Petra could’ve done the elytra-ing and we still would’ve been fine

Pick up the waterfall someone is going to see it

Are those withers

Who was that

Oh hey Nell

Stampy?

Stacy?

LUKAS

Does he still think the Admin is the real Jesse

Darling you’re right the Jesse you know wouldn’t do any of that stuff the Jesse out there is a fake

Dear notch don’t say it out loud he could be listening

That’s right only room for one crazed egomaniac

I like how Stampy has an army of parrots resting on his shoulders

frick

Come onnnn

Your office in MY town

I told you to pick up the waterfalllllll

COME ON

GIVE ME BACK MY FRIENDS

“Smug, arrogant, insignificant” wow I didn’t know the Admin was describing himself

Romeo’s impressions of the citizens are pure gold 10/10

are you KIDDING ME

ROMEO

WHY -clap- ARE -clap- YOU -clap- LIKE -clap- THIS

Yes because FJORDS are the biggest thing here

noooooo

Agreed Lukas such a jerk

FIND THE TERMINAL SPACE NOWWW

LUKAS

THERE ARE STAIRS -RIGHT THERE- JUST CLIMB UP THEM

Hey by the way where’s Xara

Where is my wife I want my wife back

THIS PLACE IS COOL

Well yeah Jesse we look around with our eyes what else would we look around with

Romeo doesn’t have any friends

Don’t fall off

Unlike season 1 episode 5, that is actually the Void and it doesn’t have any land beneath it

“Enter your password to begin a new program.” what

I bet that the chest is a creative inventory

How about the normal potato it isn’t “#poisonedpotato451”

Just try both of them it’s not hard to figure out

What is this freaking grid for

Wait

I bet it’s that symbol from episode 1 that like nobody talked about ever

No it isn’t

OH i get it

I think it was probably a bad thud

IT WAS A GOOD THUD

FFFFFFFFFFFFFRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Okay so that post I made about the golden gauntlet was sort of incorrect  Romeo didn’t make it

Again?

Romeo’s been human before?

What

OH MY NOTCH

SCREW OFF ROMEO DEAR NOTCH OH MY GOSH

Don’t TELL HIM THAT

Just GREAT there are COLOSSI NOW

Was that a freaking hand pun

Vos except not Vos

This gauntlet is awesome okay

Cool an Admin-color-palette snowman Admin

No I’m not happy to see you you are the Admin not Petra

We’re back at the cabin

..does he not want to be home?

THE GAUNTLET FELL OFF

GET IT GET IT GET IT

HAHA YES

HE’S HUMAN NOW

It’s breaking we have to go we have to go we have to go

ohhhhh my goshhhhhhh

Nope darling you’re coming with me

RADAR

XARA?  WHERE IS SHE

RADARRRRR

That enderman just RIPPED THE COLOSSUSS’S ENTIRE HEAD OFF

BEACONTOWN IS SAAAAAAAAAVED

Blondie

Even Radar acknowledges his lack of shirt wow

Ivor’s ninja clothes were his pajamas

Of course I’ll take care of Lluna

Hey look we’ve got season 1 pre-armor Petra

Goodbyes?

What are you talking about Jack

Oh they’re just going on an adventure okay

Group hug

LUKAS IS MOVING INTO BEACONTOWN

No Axel we’ll be together again

Axel is me saying goodbyes

..

Sorry Petra I have to stay

I’ll see you again okay?

RADAR’S RANTS

My wish came true

Woohoo yeah let’s have lunch with the followers of Soren

AIDEN!

MY BOY

WP stands for White Pumpkin wow Cassie’s back “Look out” don’t worry your little behind Cassie I’m looking out

It’s the opening credits theme again!

I’m crying this is incredible

I really have no words

Thank you Telltale for such an amazing journey

[minorillusions]

A short fic for a friend about a supernatural Fake AH Crew. 

Warning: Crude language, violence

Jeremy had never meant to join the Fakes like this.

He’d always been a B-Team; putting out their fires while dreaming of holding the match. Sure, occasionally Trevor would insult some other mob boss and they’d have to fight in an alley, or Matt and Lindsay would come up with a crazy hacking scheme. But they never had the notoriety, the immortality, of the Fakes. Jeremy had been fine with it.

It took four days for the Fakes to find them in the warehouse. The so-called ‘wolf pack’ had been encroaching on Fake territory for months, but the main crew had been in the midst of planning a major heist – the B-Team thought they could handle it.

Lindsay was the least injured – they found her struggling and tied to a pole, hands raw from trying to escape. When they took off her gag she told them what had happened, and showed them the blood under her nails with a wicked smile.

Trevor and Matt were together, bruised and broken but alive. The restraints on Trevor’s chair were cutting into his broken ribs, but he and Matt were still throwing sarcastic jibes as Geoff untangled them. Matt’s arm was shattered in two places – he told Geoff proudly that he never talked.

It was Jack who found Jeremy in the back. None of the crew was sure why they’d chosen him, except that he had been the loudest; cracking jokes and lightly veiled threats. “’The Fake’s will get you’” Lindsay recounted when they asked her later, “He said it with a grin that sent shivers down their spines.”

Dried blood caked the side of his face and neck, his breathing shallow. Jack tried to wake him, but the slash running down his side threatened to open every time it was jostled. Ugly puncture wounds ran down his arms, his throat – scars he would have for the rest of his life. The wolves had bitten him, the bastards; and yet Jeremy had managed to hold on for four days, dying in a small room.

They put him in Ray’s old apartment. Gavin thought it was an ironic twist of fate that the penthouse had an open bedroom right when they needed it most. The crew waited, nervous, as Geoff and Jack brought Jeremy back. Even with their supernatural help it took weeks. Enough time that when the moon came about, none of them were ready. Michael managed to seal the door, but when they entered in the morning Jeremy was bleeding again, the room torn to shreds.

Jeremy came into his new self slowly. It took a while for him to accept he wasn’t human any longer. As he healed, the rest of the Fakes slowly resumed heisting. Gavin and Michael even returned one night weeks later, bloody and grinning, to drop the sunglasses of the wolf pack leader at his feet. As Jeremy’s strength returned Geoff let him help on preparation, and then let him tag along for their next raid on a nearby gang. Jeremy ended up providing cover fire as the Fakes retreated, saving Ryan from a headshot by the gang’s kappa sniper.

Perhaps that was why Geoff assigned him to Ryan for a small mission in silencing an informant gone rouge. They sat for an hour on a rooftop, waiting for the target to show themselves. Jeremy was delighting in the wind, savoring the moment as Ryan stepped back from the scope and sighed.

“You’d think a criminal mastermind who have the decency to show up on time”. The mask muffled his voice, but Jeremy could still hear the annoyance about his target’s punctuality.

“Why do you wear that thing?” Jeremy nodded towards the dark skull covering most of Ryan’s face.

He shrugged. “Why do you wear that thing?” he retorted, waving towards Jeremy’s cowboy hat and brightly colored clothing. Jeremy looked down at himself, confused.

“Because it’s cool as hell?”

Ryan snorted, turning back to the scope on the roof. “Little ostentatious, don’t you think?”

“Said the man in the skull mask and clown makeup.” Jeremy muttered under his breath. “And you didn’t answer me.”

“I don’t have to tell you anything.”

Jeremy huffed and sat down on the edge of the building, looking out over Los Santos. The day was extraordinarily clear. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. That was one thing he was certainly taking advantage of – his sense of smell was eons beyond his human nose. He could catch the exhaust from the cars below, and the barbecue shop two blocks down. If he really concentrated, he could almost locate the underlying scent of blood from the safe house ahead of them.

“Enjoying yourself, wolf?” Ryan’s voice snapped him back to the present, where the man was giving him a curious side eye.

Jeremy shrugged. “Bored, mostly. Also, please don’t.”

“What? It’s what you are.”

“Yeah, but I don’t call you ‘human’ when I want to get your attention.”

Ryan turned around, but Jeremy could feel the smirk on his face. “What? Did I guess wrong?”

“You really don’t know?” Ryan asked. He sounded slightly surprised. “I thought our attributes would be common knowledge of the B-Team.”

Jeremy shook his head. “We’ve got some guesses, but you guys are surprisingly hard to pin down.”

Ryan was still watching the building, thoughtful. “Such as?”

“Well we’re pretty sure you’re all effectively immortal, given the amount of explosions you’ve survived.” Jeremy started. Ryan chuckled, but denied nothing. Jeremy plowed ahead with slightly more confidence. “Matt and I thought Gavin was a drake for a while there, ‘cause he’s obsessed with gold. But Lindsay insists he’s some sort of fae. Says he’s too flighty for a dragon, and it explains the… well, everything."

Ryan chuckled. “Yeah, he’s flighty alright. You should see his elytra.”

“He’s got wings?” Jeremy asked, incredulous.

“Yeah. Pretty well kept secret – you didn’t hear it from me.”

“Next you’re going to tell me Michael’s really some sort of fire spirit.” Jeremy grumbled, glancing towards the building. “Trevor insisted he turned to dust once, but we’ve only seen him use flames when he fights.”

When he looked back, he could almost feel the grin below Ryan’s face mask. “Seriously!?”

“You’re close; he’s a jinn.” Ryan was now leaning on the side of the building, only half paying attention to the scene below. “He’s got a great grandparent or something that passed it along to him. Pretty neat stuff.”

“That explains why he and Lindsay get along so well.” Jeremy said. “Or, well, the general love of chaos.”

He kept guessing, trying to pin down the rest of the crew. With each guess, Ryan seemed to grow more and more amused. Jack was not a mage, or a dryad, or a kappa. Geoff wasn’t even close to a kelpie, and it had the Ryan almost in tears, laughing. And then there was Ryan himself….

Finally, Jeremy leaned back; frustrated. “Can’t you just tell me?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Ryan smirked, sitting comfortably against the roof’s edge. “You haven’t even guessed any of the Gents yet.”

“Can I have a hint?”

Ryan seemed considered. “Well, Jack mostly works with earth and magic dampening.” He looked at Jeremy like it was supposed to be obvious. “Also, very hard to kill.”

Jeremy opened his mouth to begin guessing again, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

“Ryan!” he hissed.

A car was pulling into the drive of the abandoned safe house. Ryan started to his feet and rushed to the sniper set-up, trying to compose himself as he looked through the scope. But he hadn’t been paying attention - there wasn’t a clear shot as a woman walked straight into the high-rise.

“Damn it!”

He quickly began to disassemble the weapon, kicking over his duffel to Jeremy. “We can’t let her leave the building.” Ryan said in a low voice, snatching a small pistol out of it before turning back to his work.

Jeremy opened the bag to find an absurd number of weapons and explosives. He smiled to himself and took a share, strapping whatever he needed to himself.

They eventually cornered her at the top floor, a line of unbroken windows looking over the Los Santos skyline. Unfortunately, she had been ready for them. Rough hands restrained Jeremy and knocked his sunglasses to the floor with a crack. Ryan did not struggle as another thug held his wrists.

“You Fake’s think you’re so smart.” The informant hissed, pulling out a pistol. She got up into Ryan’s face, detailing plans Jeremy had never heard of. He, meanwhile, continued to squirm, trying to find purchase on his captor. He only stopped, horrified, as the woman leveled a gun at Ryan’s head and calmly pulled the trigger.

Jeremy didn’t remember if he cried out as his crew member stumbled backwards, but he did remember gasping as Ryan slowly stood back up, putting his hand to his forehead to feel the wound. He remembered the woman’s terrified face as Ryan, bloody and smiling, began to laugh.

“Geoff sends his regards.” He said, leveling his own weapon at her and taking careful aim. “And, of course, so do I”

The woman panicked and began to unload. Each bullet ripped through him, jerking him backwards and leaving a bloody hole. The other men dropped Jeremy. They tried to make for the door, but Ryan was faster and it closed with a wave of his hand.

It was this fight that Jeremy learned he could force a half transformation. Claws were a hell of a lot more effective in close quarters than hands. He took the goons as Ryan quietly interrogated the woman, not at all phased by the holes she’d put in him. In fact, he looked almost pleased by the end of it as Jeremy slid against a wall, relocating the pistol he’d dropped earlier.

He watched the Vagabond surveyed the scene. The man’s wounds still bled, most startlingly the one from his forehead, but Ryan didn’t seem to mind. He made no move to staunch them as he checked the still figure on the ground.

“Nice work” he said in Jeremy’s direction, indicating the broken window to his left that Jeremy had knocked a man through. Served him right for cracking his glasses.

He watched as Ryan slowly drew off his mask to reveal the painted skull beneath. With one hand, he wiped his blood from his eyes before checking the makeup on it. Ryan frowned at the red on his fingers, seeming to not notice the trickle that still ran down his face.

“What are you?” Jeremy panted, tired. Magic apparently took a lot out of you.

Ryan looked over at him and grinned. “Luckily for you, on your side.” He turned as sirens began to wail down the street. “Shit. Geoff wanted this to be done quietly.” He glanced over at Jeremy as he slowly put his mask back on. “You wouldn’t be able to survive a six-story drop, would you?”

The ride home was remarkable only in the fact that they pulled up to the Fake’s warehouse in a heavily damaged police car. Geoff was livid, and made Ryan take it down to the waterway to burn it. Jeremy watched later as Ryan was verbally berated by Jack for taking so many wounds, which Ryan waved away.

Jeremy, on the other hand, sat patiently while Jack examined his own wounds. He was astonished when she declared that the bullet wound in his shoulder was already half healed. 

“Yeah, you’re pretty hardy now.” Ryan said from the corner, straightening. He led Jack and himself out of the room, before turning back with a final smirk. 

“Welcome to the crew.”

The door shut behind them. Jeremy took another second to touch the mostly healed wound on his shoulder. It had felt like fire, bursting onto the scene filled with policemen. He’d never been so scared. But there was something alive there, something that thrilled and shocked him all at the same time. It felt like lighting a match.

A few minutes later, Jeremy slipped out of the room and headed back to the torn-up bedroom in the penthouse. Back towards his home.