#but when she sees martyn she's just like “oh. him.”

[boo-gutzz]

Hey guys promise I'm normal today haha. Not at all thinking about when Scott was asked what was up with the crystal crown in 3rd life and basically said "Oh! That's my grief. Because my husband died". Imagine loving so bad and your grief being so great it has no place to go other than to become tangible, concentrated. Visible for everyone to see, all the time. Becoming a literal symbol of how much life you have left.

Also Scott still having the crown later? Man. His grief never left him. He's still mourning. "Past loves linger like phantom limbs". Scott is so so haunted by himself and he will never heal and move on. Sure, Jimmy's back, he's here, but its just not the same. Jimmy came back but his husband's still gone.

And yeah, sure, Scott isn't alone, but its just not really the same. Maybe Martyn's blonde hair feels the same way under Scott's fingers, maybe Pearl has the same little squint to her eyes when she smiles, maybe Cleo's laugh is barked just as brightly as Jimmy's was, but its just never quite enough. You know

[disorganised-bagel]

i miss her already :')

[solsays]

Lifers x Crane Wives

I saw someone comment on a life series TikTok or something to try and pair all of the lifers to a crane wives song, without repeating songs. so obviously I spent an hour doing it

Grian—Tongues & Teeth (self explanatory if you’ve EVER heard this song)

Scar—Steady, Steady (this whole song is about how their partner is walking out but they still want to be “wild and free” which is just SO Scar coded)

Tango—Ancient History (he keeps teaming up with Skizz and I feel like this song vibes with that, it also just feels very Tango)

Skizz—Icarus (this man always gives himself up for his teammates I swear, and he fuels them to keep going. It also says “oh brother, brother” which feels like Skizz talking to any of his teammates to me)

Impulse—Allies or Enemies (Impulse has been very iffy on a lot of his alliances throughout the seasons, especially in third life and with the amount of playing all sides that man has done this songs feels right)

Cleo—The Glacier House (this. this is literally just her leaving Fairy Fort. The song is talking to/about her from probably Lizzie’s perspective, but like the last line is 100% as if Cleo was speaking)

Bdubs—Unraveling (Bdubs relies so heavily on his teammates, and when he doesn’t have that stability *cough* Etho *cough* he just kinda doesn’t know what to do so this song fits)

Mumbo—Keep You Safe (this man is by no means an aggressive/reckless player [see: Joel or Martyn] and he feels like he’s just here for the vibes and honestly? Love that for him. This song is about fear not keeping you safe and watching your friends run high risks, which just is very accurate to how Mumbo plays this series. I also feel like he could fit Rockslide when he goes red cause he goes from standstill to “drop dead sprint” in terms of aggression)

Lizzie—Shallow River/New Colors (Lizzie is the only one I put as two because both of these songs are just so fitting. Shallow river—“wasted all for the title, wasted all for the crown” reminds me of Lizzie trying to kill Scott and ending up dying herself instead. I also feel like parts of it could be dead Lizzie talking to Joel, the only person who is really mourning her. New Colors—“don't tell me that I can't, I need this“ and “I give up my air, to breathe” also feel very accurate with how she is trying so hard and just keeps failing )

Jimmy—Canary in a Coal Mine (no further context needed, we all know Timmy)

Scott—Little Soldiers (this is very flower husbands, but also just feels like Scott looking back on the last seasons including Pearl, Jimmy, Martyn, all his reluctant exes. Also this man is the watchers’ like least favorite person ever and this gives that vibe)

Pearl—Ribs (i changed this from New Discovery because Ribs is entirely about somewhat angrily protecting and helping yourself because nobody else would, and it really strikes me as Pearl with the some things having been good (Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss) and some being bad (divorce quartet))

BigB—Not the Ghost (this man is so incredibly odd, he just constantly feels like he is being haunted by the watchers and just going about his life, he is the human personification of gaslight and we love that for him)

Martyn—The Hand That Feeds (he HATES the watchers with every ounce of his being, and with Ren gone I think this guy’s only purpose is just to spite them)

Joel—Sleeping Giants (go listen to it. That’s all there is to it, it just feels very Joel-ish, this lad is absolutely fucking mental)

Ren—Once & for All (this song feels like war and being betrayed, and Ren has been betrayed so much so it just fits. I mean come on “my blood’s forever on your hands” tell me that isn’t 100% something Ren would say)

Gem—Show Your Fangs (Girlboss moment, we love Geminislay. This woman is not someone to be underestimated and this song very clearly says that so it’s very Gem in my head. She doesn’t have enough lore yet to make it angsty but ONE DAY)

Etho—Never Love An Anchor (I can’t explain it, this song just has Etho vibes. I mean “It’s a secret I keep tucked inside my chest” just seems very him, I can’t really tell you why)

[salemoleander]

"My teeth hurt," Martyn says.

He and Scott are on the deck, enjoying the morning sun before it has the chance to get humid; Scott is busy crafting sugarcane into paper while Martyn is (ostensibly) trying to carve a bowl.

"What, like- cavities? We've only been here for a few days, and I know you're eating the same fish and dried kelp as me." Scott pauses, holding a fresh sheaf of paper. "-and if you're not, and you've been holding sweets out on me, I'll be pissed."

Martyn huffs a laugh, then grimaces when pain shoots up through his sinuses. Ambling over to the table, he half-sits, half-leans on the back of one of their deck chairs.

"Nah, same food as you. Man, I don't know what I did. TNT to the face carry over, d'you reckon?"

He grins, and Scott blanches. Well, shit.

"Alright, what's wrong with my mouth?" Martyn asks, stress rising when Scott doesn't answer. "I've still got teeth, right?"

Scott nods sharply. He wavers on an answer for a moment before sighing. "Yeah. You've just got some new ones, seems like."

‐---------------------------------------------------------------------

The hard part of suddenly having shark teeth, Martyn quickly discovers, is that they are not particularly designed for beings with lips, and certainly not ones that talk.

He tells Scott this, nursing several sore spots on his lips and tongue.

"Have you considered talking less?"

"Oh, screw you."

Scott rolls his eyes, and they go back to sorting through chests in companionable silence. Waves gently lap against the edge of their island, while bamboo canes creak and shift. After a few minutes Scott says, "In the- last time. I remember being relieved, a bit, that even though Cleo and I chose each other-"

"Exactly the conversation I wanted to have," Martyn deadpans.

"Would you shut up? Honestly." Scott smiles, but his jaw flexes as he does and Martyn resolves to shut up and let him say this, whatever it is. At least for the next ten or fifteen seconds. Probably.

"Anyways. I was a tiny bit relieved that I was paired with Pearl, because she was human. And I'd seen how it was for BigB getting canine features and Joel getting whatever the hell from Etho, and you, y'know..."

"Rotting?"

"Eugh. Yeah." Scott looks through their fence-lattice walls and out to the water. "But Pearl didn't stay human."

Martyn raises an eyebrow. (For effect. If Scott is doing a dramatic monologue towards the ocean, Martyn at least gets to make faces, whether or not Scott sees him. Them's the rules.)

"She got kind of... wolf-y? Or more accurately, the game made her wolfy. Not like Ren, not nearly that elegant a combination."

Scott's voice is bitter, an edge to it that Martyn associates with fireworks going off too-close by. "I woke up one morning and my teeth were sharp and there were too many for my mouth. And it hurt, and the worst part was knowing this wouldn't be happening if we'd just done what the game wanted."

Blinking, Martyn says, "Oh." Brilliant. Nailed the response, there.

"I just wanted to tell you. That it might- those might be my fault, because it seems like whatever runs this game doesn't like me very much. There's a reason I set up alone out here."

Martyn- ignoring the ache from his jaw and the kernel of self-interest that tells him to get while the getting is good- scoffs. "None of that, thank you! I don't care if bloody Herobrine has it out for you, we're sticking together."

Relief washes over Scott's face. Martyn adds, "If whoever runs this circus thinks unlimited knives for teeth is a punishment, they're mad."

"Clearly! You were already enough of a menace." Released from whatever tension kept him still, Scott reaches over to flip another chest lid up and starts rifling through. "It's like trying to annoy Joel by giving him too many TNT minecarts."

Martyn snorts. "Right! Once my mouth gets the memo about where everything is now I'll be doing fine- probably better than I was before! A supernatural entity trying to tell me who I can be friends with? C'mon, nothing that stupid is busting the Mean Gills up."

He almost believes it.

[fountainpenguin]

Secret Life finale highlights for me:

- "My strategy: Kill Skizz and Tango. Will happen at some point... Or, just maim them and watch them die in a corner." - Scar

- Scott on Grian's loyalty: "I have never seen a man drop a pair of sunglasses faster in my life [than last season after Joel died]."

- I think I reblogged someone's speculation weeks ago that at the dawn of final session, everyone's task book would just say "Win Secret Life." Congrats to them for Apollo's gift of prophecy.

- Martyn's beat of pause before saying to Joel "Welcome to the Out of Context video."

- At the start of the season, Etho said Joel was the first one he wanted to kill because "He's cheeky." When Joel is asked who he wants to kill, he says "Etho." Glad you're enjoying your rivalry, boys, smh...

- Joel, once again giving into his Shrek origins, watching Bdubs' wool globe go up in flames and chirping "My world's on fire; how 'bout yours?"

- Tango does not break his "pathetic death" curse. Just blipped out of existence. Love that for him.

- Spitting, crying... BigB panics and flees into his creepy backrooms for safety. Immediately vanishes into the tunnel maze. Scar pursues and skids to a halt because he hasn't seen it yet and is thoroughly creeped out.

- Scar coming up to surface and trying to describe how BigB disappeared. Martyn looks down at where they're standing and is just like "Oh, that's the backrooms." Mental image of Scar as that meme that goes "The. what."

- Scar describing BigB as a sneaky squirrel. "Squirrel" was the name of BigB's horse in Double Life.

- Joel's anxiety about entering a Nether portal on the final episode, specifically because of how he and Etho perma-died in Double Life

- Whatever was going on with Martyn flinging ender pearls up the ladder seconds before he died

- Additionally, people in the background commenting that they think Martyn's teamed up with Cleo and the only reason he was near them was an attempt to bear down and kill them

- Scar to Bdubs, watching Cleo and Etho from a distance: "Look at this- Mom and Dad are bringing their new ugly stepson to meet us, Bdubs." /camera pans to the warden chasing them

- Bdubs tells Scar that Cleo said he was her favorite son and Scar IMMEDIATELY, without responding or even waiting for Bdubs to finish his sentence, jumps a wall and books it to Cleo to confirm... Mental image of him swinging dramatically over it with one hand, his shawl billowing behind him

- Scar chases Cleo while they're both being pursued by a warden, asking her if he's her favorite son. Doesn't let up until she assures him she "just said it to keep Bdubs happy." what is wrong with the Clocker family.

- Joel somehow pulled off a beautiful PVP kill on Skizz despite having only 2.5 hearts

- In earlier episodes, Joel had people say "The florist sends his regards" on his behalf before striking. Before killing Skizz, he says "Scar sends his regards" since Scar really wanted to kill Skizz but bequeathed the fight to Joel instead.

- Scar trotting up to Etho and Cleo, who are watching him from a cliff, and announcing "I am not up to anything nefarious!"

- Scar's weird spiky wall design is really pretty

- slkdjfskldjfsklj?!?!?!? I had a bullet point on this list that said "Honorable non-finale mention to Scar getting both the Green and Yellow kill on Etho this season" but now I see I need to correct that:

- Shout-out to Scar killing Etho - in Etho's front yard - THREE TIMES this season. Etho rushing back to his base, tripping over his feet and saying "I'm going home, everybody- I'm dying at my home-"

- Scott to Scar: "I went down to BigB - to get him - and I see what you mean; he does just talk his way out of things so you feel bad; you just leave him." / Scar: "That's why you don't let him speak. You just inner monologue. You start talking about Star Wars so you can't hear his charms."

- As Scar drives his sword into Cleo, he says "Good-bye, Mom- This is for you telling Bdubs [he's your] favorite." Geez, dude. Scar killed both his parents; this family is a mess. Bonus points for Joel fumbling in the background like "Oh my gosh- Scar, you savage-"

- I watched multiple POVs until I was caught up to the standoff between Gem & The Scotts vs. The Mounders... So picking up from there with Scar's POV b/c his is the one I randomly started with today: I love how Joel basically went "I am once again throwing caution to the wind and charging into battle with a murderous Red rage in my eyes and no one behind me" like he ALWAYS does.

- Bdubs and Scar decide to back him up... Amazing.

- Scar has gotten 4 kills (Tango, Etho, Cleo, Impulse) and he was super close to getting BigB as well before Scott sniped the kill. Geez... The man is vicious today. During Limited Life, Grian made a comment that went something like "Of course Scar is only destructive / successful when I'm not on his team" and honestly? Yeah...

- Pearl begging Scar to kill her- Pearl warning Scar that if she perma-kills Gem, she'll go up 10 hearts- Scar refusing, insisting that he doesn't want to turn on her because it feels lame...

- Scar got Gem, he got Gem... GeminiSlay is DOWN!

- SCAR SWEEP WITH THE BOW!!

Oh my goodness, I saw his episode title ("Can Villain Scar Win?") and the words that went through my head were "Welp, that's a spoiler that he's dead." I see I was wrong.

GG, SCAR WIN!!! Man who wanted so desperately to have friends, only to trip and fail time and time again... GoodTimesWithVictor!!

My heart, Scar letting that zombie knock him down to half a heart... playing up like he didn't just watch the lightning bolt mark Pearl's demise. He wanders, calling out to Pearl, asking where she went... quietly giggling and muttering to himself as that zombie pushes at him... GG, Scar. GG.

My goodness, is this the only time we haven't seen the winner die in their perspective? Scar slams that success button for winning the game, gets 5 hearts, turns back, and that's it... That's the game. End scene.

What a LAD!!

[ween-kitchens]

this one actually makes sense as a standalone fic tbh but it's too short for me to be bothered with formatting

anyway mumscarian with touch averse scar finding other ways to show affection! more specifically, stiff's no touchy scar <3

scar smiles to himself as he watches mumbo and grian from across the room. it’s midwinter, and it’s been snowing so incessantly since last night that they haven’t been able to leave the house all day, so they’re all cozied up indoors. 

buried under a mountain of blankets, scar is half asleep on the sofa, occasionally commenting on mumbo’s prowess (or lack thereof) in the mariokart game he’s playing against grian. grian is on the floor next to the other sofa, and the two are swapping with increasingly creative insults whenever the other wins.

scar is deeply amused by the whole situation. both mumbo and grian are as bad as each other when it comes to mariokart, and scar enjoys the annoyed squawking that grian makes whenever he mentions jimmy being better. mumbo, it seems, shares that enjoyment—though he stops laughing when scar brings up how badly he lost against martyn last time they’d played.

“you absolute-!” grian shouts suddenly, startling scar for a moment. “this is why you had to program grumbot to like you!”

mumbo bursts out laughing.

“that’s your best one yet!” mumbo grins. “oh, i’m gonna have to write some of these down.”

“already on it!” scar tells him, waving his phone. “so far i’ve got ‘you’re like if jimmy didn’t have good looks’, ‘scar could play better than you and he doesn’t have a controller’ and ‘when beyoncé said ‘to the left to the left’ she did not mean right now’.”

grian cackles. “I think I got that one from scott, i’ve been talking to him more lately.”

“I am telling jimmy about the first one.” scar grins. 

“no- you can’t tell him that!” grian squawks. “i’ll never hear the end of it!”

“I know.” scar says mischievously.

“it’s okay g,” mumbo reaches down to pat him on the shoulder, mock-comforting. “joel will make more fun of you than we ever could.”

“oh no.” grian groans into his hands.

“I owe joel so much for making fun of you when I can’t.” scar says solemnly.

“and martyn.” mumbo nods. “if anyone knows how to commit to a bit, it’s them.”

“hear hear.” grian says miserably, but when he moves his hands, he’s smiling. “another round?”

“you’re on.” 

scar leans back on the sofa and begins to gaze at them again, a syrupy pleasure pooling in his stomach. his eyes trace their features with utter adoration; the mischievous light that dances in grian’s eyes as he teases mumbo, the soft smile as mumbo tries to pretend he’s offended, the comfortable warmth that fills the room.

he loves the way grian’s whole face lights up as he laughs, the way his eyes crinkle in the corners, the way his giggles ring through the room. he loves how mumbo can’t quite disguise how much he’s enjoying himself, how his grin is fond and warm, how he keeps laughing to himself like he can’t help it.

wow. he really loves them, huh?

mumbo glances over at scar and sees him looking. he goes a little pink, but smirks playfully. “see something you like?” he teases.

immediately, grian whoops, and the words ‘you win!’ flash on his side of the screen. scar bursts out laughing at mumbo’s outraged expression as he realises what just happened.

“what?!” he exclaims, voice pitching higher. “wh- no, that can’t be fair, scar distracted me!”

“hey, I was staring at you both equally.” scar teases, and something warm blooms in his chest as grian blushes. “you just happened to look at me.”

“scar, you’re just too pretty.” grian says solemnly. 

“oh.” scar pouts, mock-upset. “okay. i’ll just.. leave, I guess..”

he starts to stand up, and both mumbo and grian shout at once for him to stay.

“nuh uh, I didn’t mean that in a bad way.” grian says. “I will get one of those.. shepherd hook thingies and I will keep you in this room!” 

scar laughs, imagining it. “g, I love you, but do you really think you have the strength for that?”

grian squawks in protest and mumbo cackles. “it’s okay, i’ll help you.”

scar raises an eyebrow. “do you think you have the strength for that?”

“hey!” mumbo exclaims, and scar giggles at the twin outraged expressions on his partners’ faces. “neither do you!”

“I never said I did.” scar says cheerfully.

grian sticks his tongue out at scar, who copies him.

“one more game?” mumbo offers.

“whoever wins this one gets to eat the first cookie I decorate.” scar tells them. he has never seen two people look more determined in his life.

scar could never understand the people who would tell him that he ‘couldn’t really love someone’ because he refused to hug anyone, or that if he loved someone, he’d make an exception. even before he was old enough to know to what extent, he’d always known it was bullshit. 

but now..

gosh. scar doesn’t think it could be possible to be more in love than he is with mumbo and grian, and he still doesn’t hug them. in fact, he thinks he might have fallen deeper into love when he realised just how much they respect that about him—no strings attached.

as he watches mumbo whoop in sheer delight, getting to his feet and jumping on the spot to celebrate his victory, and grian struggling immensely to look truly upset as mumbo picks him up and spins him around, scar doesn’t think there could be any better partners in the world. 

so maybe they show love in different ways. if he had the chance, scar wouldn’t change a single thing.

[mentalisill]

Ranking every Life Series Member based on how much I could beat them in a fistfight to the death (But I'm overconfident)

Characters not Content creators because I think I would be able to beat up most of the ccs and always winning isn't any fun

Also: I'm basing this off of when they were most insane, so like Griand and Joel when they were red in LL and Pearl in DL, if they haven't gone batshit crazy then whoopsies their loss

Lizzie - I say fairies aren't real and she explodes easy

Etho Slab - I do not think for the life of me that Etho Slab would be able to defend himself against anyone

Mumbo - I don't think I need to explain this one

Martyn In Thy Littlewood - pussy queen cry baby wet cat man I would Punch him and he'd run away to Rendog crying, but also if he gets possessed by the watchers or whatever that as in LimLife I'm dead but I think I could beat him before that happens

Joel Smallishbeans - All I have to do is call him short and he crumbles, although it might take me a few punches to get him down

Jimmy Solidarity - Doomed by the narrative lil canary man

Impulse - You see, you would think "oh impulse is tall and broad he would beat you in a fight" NO! I'll bite his ankles!!!!!!!

Bdubs - He's sneaky!!!! He's my fave!!!!!! he's so amazing!!!!!!! but I would be able to beat him he might've killed the end dragon but he can't kill me

Scott Smajor - Now, this one is tricky, I think I'd be able to beat Scott but I have a fragile ego so if he insults me too much I'll start sobbing

Cleorrrr - I wouldn't be able to hit her at all nope she'd win

Tango - a cheeky fella, has fire hair, I would put up a good fight but since its a fistfight and I don't have a weapon or armor I'm getting cooked alive

Grian - He'd beat me up while making fun of me :(((((((( I'd be on the floor sobbing and it wouldn't be no "I'm sorry!!!!! Scar!!!!! No!!!!" moment no. I'd be crying and he would LAUGH! But if we also take into account WATCHER GRIAN??????? FUCK THAT NOPE IM DEAD

Pearl - She'd kill me no doubt in my mind I am NOT winning this

Scar - He'd swindle me to death ????????? also he's buff

Gem - Uh huh yeah okay no I'm not winning???? No????? I'm just???? not?????? Not only would she kill me but she'd insult me while doing so

BigB, Skizz, Ren - I wouldn't have it in my heart to beat any of them actually I think I would try to hit one of them and it would deflect and I'd hit myself instead

[jellieland]

It's just like them, thinks Martyn, miserably, To want to make these things stick.

He's always been an "act first, weasel your way out of any potential consequences later," kind of guy, so immediate, painful and permanent consequences to his recklessness strike him as unfair, unwarranted, and quite possibly a personal attack.

But, well. Here he still is anyway. What's he going to do about it?

His ankle burns where the baby zombie clawed at it. His legs ache from the dripstone, and the dripstone, and, yes, the dripstone again, and also walking off Mumbo's house and perhaps slightly misjudging his landing.

His ear keeps ringing and most of his right side stings from the creeper that decided, quite rudely, to sneak up on him and then blow up directly in his face about half a second before he could raise his shield. And the gravel later on, that he'd seen falling but still not managed to avoid, hadn't helped with any of that either.

He can feel blood dripping down his back in no less then five separate places, along with his arm, his shoulder, and the side of his head—that last one bled a lot and got onto his bandanna which was pretty annoying, actually—all from his many encounters with what he thinks were probably, at a conservative estimate, about a billion skeletons.

He doesn't quite glare up at the Secret Keeper. The healing they'd given him had been too much of a relief for that; his vision had stopped swimming, that head wound had stopped bleeding so much, and it was significantly less painful to walk. But the look he gives them is certainly glare-adjacent.

"You do know injuries aren't supposed to stick around like this, don't you?" he mutters, bitterly. "I know you like twisting stuff, but this is ridiculous. It's unnatural, is what it is!"

Someone snorts behind him.

He turns, and he sees Cleo. Neat, meticulous stitches are visible across their skin. Martyn hasn't met many people with scars before, but she's one of them.

The only new one is what looks, ironically enough, like a zombie bite on their arm, entirely healed over.

"It's really not that hard to deal with if you're just patient," she says.

"Ah," he says. "Well. That's my problem right there, then, isn't it?"

"It certainly looks like it," they say, amused. They're laughing at him again. He can't even be mad, since all in all, he totally deserves it.

"Yeah, alright," he says, a bit indignant just for the sake of what remains of his pride. "No need to rub it in! I hope you realize that if healing just worked normally, I'd be doing really well, actually."

"Hmm. Right, you do tend to throw yourself off of cliffs, and then try and work out how you'll save yourself on the way down, don't you?" She gives him a knowing look. "But look on the bright side—when you do die, you'll get to be perfectly healthy again for... I give it ten seconds. After that, you'll start making decisions."

"Hey, I'll have you know I went to the Nether for ages, and got out without a scratch on me that I didn't have when I arrived!" he retorts.

"Oh, so you can be careful, you just choose not to be?" They raise a judgemental eyebrow.

"Well... I mean." He half-shrugs, then winces. "I mean. Yeah. Yes. You know this about me."

There is a brief pause. She gives him an unreadable look, eyes catching on the blood seeping through his shirt. "...Yeah. I guess I do."

He glances over at the Secret Keeper again, bold and unmoving against the unnaturally darkened sky.

When he looks back, Cleo is still watching him. "You didn't even bandage those, did you?" they ask, with a touch of what most people would think was disdain. "Let alone stitch them up."

"I mean, no? It's not like it'll do anything, is it?" he asks, taken aback. "The good old 'Powers That Be' want us to bleed, and they want us to keep bleeding! Who am I to argue?"

She narrows her eyes as though she doesn't quite understand his point. "I'm not saying that would fix it. I don't think any of us are going to live long enough for that method of healing to work." They shrug. "Would make it hurt less, though."

Now it's his turn to narrow his eyes. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," she says. "At least, so I've heard. For me, it's mostly about making sure I don't start physically falling apart, because it's really inconvenient when that does start happening."

He nods in acknowledgement. "Well, maybe I'll give it a go if I have the time." It all sounds a bit far-fetched to him. Much better to spend time working towards completing the next secret task he gets, or persuading people to give him the healing they have to spare, rather than losing hours on something that wouldn't actually help him in the long run.

(Maybe it's an echo, maybe it's just who he is, but Martyn's time is precious, and he is not giving it up for something so monotonous. Who would find that interesting?)

"Alright," they say. "If you're sure. But no one else is going to do it for you, you know."

He snorts. "Cleo," he says. "You're funny." She, of all people, should know he's already well aware of that.

"Right," they say, dryly. "Well, unless you want anything else I think I'm done here."

"Nah, not really." he says, then pauses. Frowns.

As unconvinced as he is, she really didn't have to say that to him. She deserves at least something in return.

"I will say," he says delicately, "if that advice really does help. You should probably keep it to yourself. You know. Death game, and all that."

All at once, their expression turns cold. "I think it's my business what I choose to give up, actually," she snaps.

Martyn's eyes briefly flick over to the Secret Keeper. "I mean..."

"No. I meant what I said." They cross their arms. "It's up to other people what they choose to do with it. But what I give them is up to me." She glances at the Secret Keeper, and then back to him. "No one's ever been able to tell me what I owe, or don't owe, to anyone." They smirk, and give him a piercing look. "You know this about me."

"...Yeah," he says. "I guess I do."

There is a short silence.

"Well!" He claps abruptly. "I won't keep you!"

"No, you won't," she says. "I'd best be off. This might come as a surprise, but I do actually have better things to do than hang out around Grian's creepy rock all day."

"Fair, fair." He chuckles, and raises a hand in farewell as they leave. "See you around."

Once she's out of sight, he goes back to staring at the Secret Keeper.

It's quiet.

"They're doing pretty well this time, huh?" he says. "If she keeps going like this, she probably won't get another happy ending, will she."

The air is very still, here. It's as though the place is trapped in night, even when he can see the sun in the sky.

The Secret Keeper does not answer him.

"I know you, though," he says. "You won't let it be all about being careful. That would be boring."

The thought nags at him that Cleo hasn't sounded as though they'd found any of this boring. Surely there had to be more to it than what she'd said? There had to be.

If there wasn't, then what was the point of all this pain?

He shifts, and his shoulder twinges, and he hisses quietly with frustration.

"Things already stuck," he says, unhappily. "They already stayed. I thought that was obvious."

The rock just stands there.

Judgemental. Impartial. It's impressive how it can manage to be both.

Martyn sighs heavily, and winces, and turns away. He looks towards his extremely small, entirely copied base, and a place where the sky is capable of letting in the light.

He pokes gingerly at his head wound. It's shallow, but painful.

"Maybe just this one," he mutters. "Could repurpose my bandanna. Although I guess I should probably wash it first. That would be smart." He wipes at his face. "If I don't then blood's going to start getting in my eyes. But not in a cool way, just in a way where I'll fall in a ravine by accident or something."

Nobody responds. That's ok. He hasn't exactly endeared himself to anyone, recently.

In a game that's even more about trust than usual, there's a part of him that doesn't mind being a lone wolf, as it were. At least for now. Harder to stab someone in the back if you don't let them get behind you, right?

He can make this work. He'll just have to adapt. He's good at that, usually! He just has to find the angle.

After all, he may not be patient, but he is persistent.

And he suspects being a liar will come in handy, for this one.

[definitelynotshouting]

Can you tell us something about Martyn or Scott in your hunger au? Completely your choice on what, I just want to see what they’re like in your au

[A COMM CALL; QUIET SPEECH FILTERED THROUGH LOW CRACKLES OF STATIC]

MARTYN

I'm not gonna lie, I didn't actually expect you to help them.

SCOTT

[A RUSTLE]

Why not? It's not like I had to do anything, really. Just— point them in the right direction and, I dunno, let them sort it out.

MARTYN

[Dryly] Yeah. I guess I just thought you'd be more... angry.

SCOTT

Me? I'm not— I wouldn't say I'm angry. Why, are you angry?

MARTYN

[SLIGHT PAUSE]

...

Y'know, that's hard to say. I don't think I'm not angry, but I'm not, like... actively mad, either?

SCOTT

Well, there you go, then. It's about the same for me, not much else to it.

MARTYN

...

Fair 'nough, I suppose.

SCOTT

Honestly, I'm surprised you're not more angry, considering all your— y'know, stuff.

MARTYN

What, just 'cause I knew Grian way back when?

SCOTT

Well yeah, obviously. You've known each other for a long time.

MARTYN

Have we? I'm not so sure anymore.

...

[Almost speaking to himself] He's felt weird for a while now, ever since he came back from Evo.

SCOTT

What's that supposed to mean?

MARTYN

Call it a hunch. I dunno, but he just feels— off. Wrong. Different? I can't put my finger on it.

[RUSTLE OF FABRIC, AS IF FROM A SHRUG]

Or— well, he did. Not like I've seen him around in a while.

SCOTT

[HUFF OF LAUGHTER]

Your superpower is freaky, Martyn, did you know that?

MARTYN

So you keep telling me.

[Teasingly] BigB thinks it's cool, though, so I don't give a damn what you have to say.

SCOTT

[Audible smile] BigB's got the superior opinion, yes, of course.

[A PAUSE]

MARTYN

...

So have you had any news yet? About if they've found him or not?

SCOTT

[With some surprise] You really want to know?

MARTYN

Yeah, man, tell me. He's still— I mean, I guess friend's a strong word now, but I still care.

SCOTT

Um, yeah, Jimmy said—

Hm.

...

MARTYN

[SMALL INCREDULOUS NOISE]

Jimmy said, did he?

SCOTT

I'm not sure why you're surprised. We do still talk, y'know.

MARTYN

Oh yeah, just— wasn't sure, is all, what with the whole— y'know, after the whole ranchers thing.

SCOTT

[Stiffly] Jimmy is... look, just because he has a boyfriend now who isn't me doesn't mean we can't whisper sometimes. Also, this is like, one of the least romantic topics you could ever talk about, so—

MARTYN

[BARK OF LAUGHTER]

God. Tell me about it.

SCOTT

Well I would, but you're too busy trying to interrogate me about Jimmy. I've got better things to do than sit here and pine, y'know?

[BRIEF SILENCE]

MARTYN

So, they found him?

...

[Press X to doubt] Right.

SCOTT

[LOW SIGH]

Yeah, they found him. Tango told Jimmy, who then told me; a bit of he said, she said...

He's in pretty rough shape.

MARTYN

[SMALL SCOFF]

That so?

SCOTT

According to Tango, yeah. Look, I didn't ask for any details, don't shoot the messenger. All I know is Jimmy said he's really sick.

MARTYN

[Wearily] Yeah, that sounds just like him. Goes haring off into the— the bloody sunset and comes back wrong immediately after. That's great.

[Slightly more upbeat] Cool, man, well— thanks for keeping me updated. I 'ppreciate it. Good luck with Tim.

SCOTT

[A LONGER SIGH]

I don't nee—

[ANOTHER PAUSE]

Okay, yes, yeah. I'll keep you up to date as best I can.

MARTYN

Maybe whisper Tango directly while you're at it. Cheers, Scott.

SCOTT

Mhm. See you around, Martyn.

[CLICK]

[crystaljellie]

I’m doing it I’m yapping.

Okay so my life series fantasy AU

Basically Joel and Jimmy were isekai’d into this fantasy world. Everyone else is already part of the world. Jimmy basically wake up with Grian standing over him (Grian is a parrot Avian in this as per usual) and Jimmy totally freaks out.

And all I know from there is that Jimmy and Grian overthrow Ren and Joel heads to the feywilds and meets Lizzie. Oh and flower husbands meet and kiss by a lake, I’m sure there will be angst I’m getting there

So now actually about the guys

Bdubs

Moss spirit

He lives in the forest and loves to cause chaos

But also he helps people get in an out of his forest because it’s dangerous at night

Being a moss spirit Bdubs body is basically just made up of moss

Bdubs and Grian have issues, and when I say issues Grian causes problems and Bdubs has to deal with the aftermath

BigB

BigB is a fae who lives outside of the fae wilds

He has a bakery in the main city of the kingdom Ren and Martyn rule

He frequently speaks to the royal order something something maybe suspicious things

He’s best friends with Tango who he met through Skizz

Etho

He’s an Arctic fox

He lives in the ice realms which are relatively near the southern realms which is where the kingdom is

Jimmy breaks into his house by accident at some point and Etho just is like

‘This guy is my kid now’

Jimmy has no idea how to escape forcibly assigned son

Scar

A desert elf (desert duo ref)

Scar used to live in the kingdom before moving to the desert realms with Grian (they’re boyfriends)

Scar is a falcon tamer, usually he just tames regular falcons but was called into the city square to deal with a particularly pesky boy which is how he meet Grian

He also still has a wheelchair but it has like magic powers, Scar used his desert elf powers to make it so his wheelchair can drive across sand.

Grian

A Parrot Avian

HE CAUSES PROBLEMS ON PURPOSE

He has little bird legs and he likes to fly onto Scars falcon brace

And he takes shiny things from shops in the kingdom

He’s the one who recommended Scar go back to the desert

Impulse

A Sun Imp

There are lots of different types of Imp’s

Depends which realm they were born it

Impulse was born in the sun realm

Martyn

He’s a wood elf

And he and Ren have issues

Ren and Martyn learn to stop tyrannic ruling

I’m gonna get the watchers involved somehow

He’s being given instructions and visions

He tries to follow them but it only leads to dead ends

Or death

Lizzie

She’s a Fae

And the High Queen of the fae

So she lives in the feywilds

Do her people lowkey kidnap Joel?

Yes but that’s a separate issue

Mumbo

He’s a vampire :3

But instead of drinking your blood he’s more like

Sunburns…

And can’t enter a building without permission

Sometimes you’ll just see Mumbo walking around with an umbrella

Everyone knows he’s a vampire

Sometimes they offer him blood he always says no though he thinks it’s rude of him

Skizz

Skizz is an angel

But he’s also the most unlucky person in the world

He was the first person to buy from Tangos shop and they became good friends because of that

Skizz is aware of the watchers due to his angel origins

Scott

Scott is actually a star born

But he disguises himself as a Sea elf

He lives in solitude behind a waterfall in a flower meadow

He has long elf ears and coral in his hair that looks like it’s arranged slightly like a flower crown

Starborns have the ability to take the magical abilities of their surroundings or their friends, so Scott has magical powers relating to water and flowers, but this can change based on his surroundings in which he can gain additional powers (Water and Flower related powers will not change because he’s lived in the meadow for so long)

Something with him and Acho (his brother) having an argument, causing them to split from each other and adorn disguises heading down to the over realm

Scott has spoken to the royal counsel before but they do not like each other which is why he did not choose to live in the city, He is courteous with them but only really visits the city to speak with Impulse who he made friends with while living in the city.

Starborns being a rarer and more hunted but also very powerful species and kept track of by the royal order so he was mainly there to fill out paperwork

Tango

Tango is a fireborn

Fireborn do not have parents they spawn from fire and are only found in the Nether realms (Not to be confused for the Nether World) At the age of 16 Fireborn creatures will leave the Nether realms to find a home for themselves. The only fireborn who reside pass the age of sixteen are those who are unable to leave or caretakers of fireborn young.

So when Tango was 16 he left to the southern arms to set up a mechanics shop

When Tango gets angry his fire hair goes blue

Tango also had a mechanical arm :3

Pearl

Pearl is a lunar moth

She and Grian are siblings

They cause problems together I love them

I sadly don’t have much for anyone else right now :(

I’m working on it, but they’re my sillies and I can’t wait to make this a fic it’ll be so fun

[life-winners-liveblog]

Watching Double Life- session 1

Part 4

Martyn: By the amount of times you and other me have stumbled into eachother randomly one could reasonably assume you are soulmates.

Pearl: Nope, would have probably been a better experience if he was.

Martyn: Huh.

Scott: I'm more worried everytime you mention anything about your soulmate...who are they!?

Pearl: Ah! You'll see.

~~~~~

Scott: What- what are you doing?

Pearl: Going into the nether, clearly.

Scott: I- why?

Pearl: Why not Scott?

Scott: That's...thats not- you were in iron armor and with almost no food! The nether is dangerous.

Pearl: Yes...and?

Scott: You share your life with someone! And you didn't even know who it was! I- you can't just... waltz in the nether without a plan! It's self- ...uselessly reckless... especially when you aren't the only one that suffers from it...

Pearl: Oh? That's... funny.

Scott: ... What is?

Pearl: You'll see!

~~~~~

Scott: I...don't like this, It's giving me anxiety.

Scar: Well it looks like they are getting everything easily?

Scott: That's...good...very good...but I'm more worried about Pearl's comment... she's been... looking at me...often.

Cleo: Very weird behaviour from her! She looks like she bit a lemon.

Martyn: ... I see it.

Scott: ...Very helpful.

~~~~~

Grian: ...so other me is soulbound to Scar?

Pearl: Yeah mate.

Grian: I...we're soulmates? ...

Pearl: Yeah.

Grian: I- *cough* that's...uh...good for them.

~~~~~

Martyn: He hasn't told him?

Cleo: Oh wow, that is definitely a decision he could have made.

Grian: ...why? Other me, why?

~~~~~

Scott: A game show sounds like a great idea!

Grian: Somehow It's going to go wrong anyway.

Scar: Probably! Very wrong.

Martyn: Obviously.

Pearl: Yep.

Martyn: When does it not?

Cleo: Would it be nearly as fun if it didn't?

Scott: ... Well there goes hoping.

Cleo: Here here Scott.

~~~~~

Scott: *gasp* Pearl? You were soulmates with other me?

Pearl: Yep...

Scott: Oh that's great! It's...wait...

Pearl: ...yep.

Scott: I...did I?

Pearl: You'll see.

~~~~~

Grian: Did he just-

Pearl: Abandon me? He sure did.

Scott: ...uhh...

Martyn: More like you abandoned him.

Pearl: What?!?

Martyn: He's right, he waited and you let him down.

Scott: ...hmmmm...guys?

Cleo: Well this is going to be fun.

Scar: Double Life Scott shouldn't have done that! We know that Pearl searched for a while!

Scott: I...hmmmmmmmmm...can you-

Grian: ...but did he know that?

Scar: Grian? I tought you were on my side!

Grian: I'm not on anybodys side, there are no sides here, I'm just trying to be objective.

Cleo: Since when?

Scott: ...guys? Guys!

Grian: Character development, you should try it.

Scar: Well I still think he shouldn't have.

Pearl: ...Thank you Scar.

Scar: It was wrong of him to just abandon Pearl like that!

Scott: ... I ... I don't think that it was.

Pearl: ... Scott?

Scott: It wasn't kind...but Martyn is right...it wasn't... wrong either.

Previous

Next

First

[pixiemage]

I’ve recently re-read your magebound au and was wondering if you had anymore snippets you would be willing share :)/nf

Ahhh hi! I'm glad you enjoyed it!!!

I honestly love that AU so much. I really need to get back to it when I can; there are a LOT of people whose stories I have planned out in my head, I just haven't had time to work on them hah.

That being said, if you're curious to see a character I haven't posted anything for yet, I HAVE been working a little scene in recent weeks for a prompt I got a while back. I made an MCYT Playlist Prompt two months ago, and then I immediately got busy after making it and didn't have time to do it lol...but this request from @i-am-oshawott caught my attention:

[Playlist D, Track 3] Magebound - "My Heart is Split" by Kerrigan Lowdermilk

It's a song I associate with Grian in this AU, for obvious reasons once you listen to it and read what I have written for it so far! <3 Enjoy!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(...)

Grian felt as though perhaps he should be more grateful. If it weren’t for Mumbo, he was sure he never would have survived out there alone in the woods, as injured as he’d been after escaping the Watcher Coven. The fact that someone had found him and brought him to safety was a blessing in and of itself.

The Hermits were kind too, kind and a little kooky…the best kind of company to keep, in Grian’s opinion. Xisuma had been more than welcoming and Stress had been a spot of upbeat and chaotic positivity as she helped him heal. His wings were almost back to flight-ready thanks to False’s advice, and with the potions Joe Hills had been brewing for him, his magical core was finally feeling closer to normal than it had in years.

(Not that it would ever be normal again, as much as he hated to acknowledge it. The experiments the Watcher Coven had performed on him to strengthen his magic in order to better their own…he was sure it was practically irreversible. The most Joe’s potions could do was help him stabilize so he could regain full control over his magic again. For that, he would always be thankful.)

But back to the point…he thought perhaps he should be more grateful for all the Hermits had done for him, all the kindness and care they had provided in his time under their protection. But…something was missing.

Or rather, Grian was missing something.

He missed his home. He missed his flock. He missed the Evolution community and the mages that resided there, the other familiars like him who he had grown up with, and the witches and hybrids that he’d come to call his family. Martyn and BigB and Taurtis and the rest…

And Jimmy and Pearl. Grian heaved a sigh and drew his knees to his chest where he was sitting on the front stoop of Mumbo’s home. He rested his cheek on his knees and gazed unseeingly out over the lawn. He probably missed his siblings the most. Pearl may not have been a blood relative, but she was as close to a sister as he’d ever had, and up until the Watchers had taken him Grian couldn’t remember a day he hadn’t spent alongside his little brother Jimmy.

It had been years since then. Jimmy wasn’t a teenager anymore, was he? He’d probably lost all the juvenile plumage in his familiar form, and Grian hadn’t been there to see it.

…but Jimmy was still alive at least, and for that, Grian would gladly give another thousand days in captivity if it required.

The door creaked open behind him, but Grian didn’t bother moving.

“Oh! Grian! Hullo, I was just about to look for you.” A shadow fell over Grian and he glanced up to see Mumbo leaning over him, a small smile peeking out from beneath his mustache.

“It is lunch already?” Grian asked, wondering how long he’d actually been outside, but Mumbo shook his head.

“Not quite, mate,” he told him. He sidestepped Grian and trotted down the front steps. He must have been working on some invention or another because he was missing his jacket and tie, and Grian could see red smudges on his rolled-up shirtsleeves. “Xisuma just sent me a message. He’s got a surprise for you at the center of the village. C’mon.”

Grian made a face at Mumbo’s extended hand.

“I don’t like surprises,” he whined, his one unbandaged wing slumping against his back. “Can’t you just tell me what it is?”

“Sorry buddy, X didn’t say.” At least Mumbo looked apologetic about it. “I’ll stick with you though. If you wanna duck on out, I can cause a distraction.”

Grian pondered this. It seemed like a fair enough offer. So with a very put-upon sigh Grian took the offered hand, letting Mumbo drag him to his feet amid Grian’s undertone grumbling.

“It had better be a good distraction,” Grian told him flatly after a moment of silent walking. “Lots of flair and pizzaz.”

“Oh, absolutely!” Mumbo nodded. “I can do pizzaz. I’m Mr. Pizzaz. Mr. Mumbo Flair-Pizzaz Jumbo. Master of distraction.”

Grian had to fight against the grin that threatened to overtake his expression.

“Good to know I’ve got an expert,” he quipped, hearing the laughter under his own words. “Does Mr. Pizzaz have a business card? I’d love to recommend you to my friends.”

“Yup! Definitely!” Mumbo said, mirth starting to seep into his voice. “Business cards by the boatload. I could get you one the second we’re back at my place. They’ve got - ya know - glitter, and beveled edges, and everything–”

“Glitter?” Grian gaped at him, finally letting out a proper laugh. “Who puts glitter on business cards?”

“Well - well Mr. Pizzaz, obviously,” Mumbo chuckled brightly, his mustache curling upward with his grin. “Careful around him, it’s infectious. Once you go glitter you never go back–”

Grian snorted and fell into giggles, rolling his eye at his newfound friend. It was a shame they hadn’t met sooner. Their senses of humor were such a perfect fit…and in the aftermath of the horrors he’d endured at the hands of the Watchers, Mumbo had become an unignorable bright spot amid the shadows.

Perhaps Xisuma had seen it from the start. Perhaps he’d placed Grian in Mumbo’s care for that very reason.

They were approaching the center of the village by now, and Grian felt his feathers stand on end against his will. He didn’t like the unpredictable. He used to, he was sure he used to - he was certain surprises once held a good connotation once upon a time - but as it stood the unpredictable had come to mean danger in recent years. The unexpected held too much risk, too much fear. Perhaps Mumbo could tell that his humor had only been a half-successful distraction because the back of his hand brushed against Grian’s, an awkward attempt at comfort.

“Like I said,” Mumbo told him in an undertone, “if you need out you let me know, an’ we’ll go. But whatever X has got planned can’t be bad. Right?”

Grian nodded stiffly. Right. Right. Xisuma had been nothing but kind. They all had, really. He took a deep, shaking breath and tried to reign in his anxiety. He had nothing to fear here. It was called a Sanctuary for a reason.

…voices met his ears. Bright voices. Painfully familiar voices. Grian’s breath caught in his lungs and he swallowed past a lump in his throat, his eyes widening and a fragile, careful hope welling in his chest.

They rounded the corner. Sun-yellow feathers caught his eye, and he froze…and it was suddenly very difficult to breathe.

Jimmy was there by the fountain, taller than the last time Grian had seen him, with shorter hair and longer limbs and a little less of the boyish look he’d had as a teen. His wings were on full display - properly grown in now, though his feathers were just a tiny bit messy - and he was slightly turned away from Grian. He was bickering with Martyn - Martyn - over something Grian couldn’t make out, the feathers around his ears flared. Martyn looked older too, though somehow exactly the same, the same familiar fond exasperation on his face as he spoke with Jimmy that Grian had seen hundreds of times. There was a tension in his brow too, one that matched Jimmy’s, one that matched Pearl’s. Pearl was there too, a rich red traveling cloak hanging around her shoulders that Grian remembered had once belonged to her aunt. She was less animated than Martyn or Jimmy, her arms folded tight over her chest as she chewed on her nails, glancing between them silently.

She was the first to spot Grian.

Pearl’s eyes landed on him and Grian could hear her gasp from across the courtyard, catching the attention of Martyn and then Jimmy in quick succession. They turned to follow her eye and fell immediately silent, their expressions shifting through too many emotions for Grian to even try and decipher. Not that it even mattered. They were here. They were real. They were–

“Grian,” Pearl breathed, and it was like a spell broke.

“Grain!” Jimmy was running toward him in an instant with the others hot on his heels, and Grian met him in the middle on unstable legs. He and his brother crashed together in an engulfing hug on impact, clinging to each other like a lifeline, with the desperation of those who feared the other would vanish if they even dared to let go. Pearl crowded in on the right and Martyn on the left, a warm hand on his shoulder and another on his arm and fingers clinging to the sweater on his back.

Grian sobbed before he even knew he was crying, shaking in Jimmy’s arms and not caring that he was probably leaving damp patches of tears on the shoulder of his brother’s shirt. He didn’t care.

They were here. They were alive. They were okay. It was all worth it.

“I can’t believe it,” Martyn choked out, an emotional laugh in his words. “When they told us they found you, I didn’t - I could hardly believe it. We’ve been looking for so long–”

“Told you he’d make it,” Jimmy said shakily. “I told you. I did. I said–” His breath hitched and his wings shuddered, curling forward around the little group where Grian’s one unbandaged wing had fallen slack. “–I said ‘He’s Grian, he’d never give up. He’s stronger ‘n that.’ And I was right. I was - I was right.”

Grian chuckled wetly, weakly, unsteadily, leaning into his flock and burying himself in the feeling of home.

(...)

[riacte]

Fuck it, posting the False-Martyn Secret Life body swap AU the distressed clowns cooked up in the copium lounge when it dropped.

Basically we wanted False in Life series soooooo bad and we wanted Renchanting soooooo bad and was like. Hey we can just make up our own stuff right. Hey what if body swap AU. So she could go to play Life series and Martyn could find Ren on Hermitcraft. Hey what if we just did that yeah.

-

False is falling.

Well, she's falling, but she's doing it in a nonchalant way, and she's actually very confused about the whole thing, but she's trying not to show it.

"Do you know why you're here?" the Watchers seethe, their many voices echoing in the void.

False is unaffected by the Watchers. "Um, no? A bit of explaining would be appreciated, thank you."

"The Watchers are hungry," the Watchers continue. "Ravenous. Distressed. Depressed. Straight up delusional. We crave more blood. Drama. Stories."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, but what does that have to do with me?"

"The Watchers want you. " A pause. "We've always had. Since like, 2021."

False blinks. "Oh. I'm… flattered?"

"Copium can only sustain us for so long," the Watchers continue grandly. "We're good at creating crumbs out of thin air, but we're at our limit now. We hold on until we can't anymore. So, please. We need you here."

False shrugs. She's still falling. "Sure. Why not? This seems fun. I'll join you in a heartbeat."

"… You seem unaffected by us. We're gods. We control the universe. We control you. We have interesting fanon portrayals. AND WE'RE MEANT TO BE SCARY!!"

"Dude, I'm literally falling into the void," False points out. "Voices aren't really scary compared to that."

"… You're an interesting one, False Symmetry."

"Charmed," False replies drily. "Anyways, where do I begin?"

The Watchers explain the rules to her and how she'll be sharing the body of another player. "Martyn. Hmm. Well, I guess that might as well happen," says False, who is on Tumblr and has probably Seen Things.

“By the way, he's somehow down to half of his hearts already."

False gasps, highly offended because she'll be starting out with a disadvantage. "Martyn's done WHAT NOW-"

-

A confused Martyn wakes up inside the Hermitcraft server. Fortunately for him, the gears in his mind turn quickly. He picks up the communicator next to him and instantly understands the situation.

Ren: Falsie!! When are we gonna meet at the race? :D False: would 11 in the morning be ok? Ren: Yes!! See you there!! RD <3 <3 <3 :)

Martyn gasps dramatically. Is this what it feels like to have Ren answer your DMs?

[fountainpenguin]

Scott, Gem, and Martyn Secret Life Ep 1 commentary:

"Geez Scott, why are you so creepy?" / "Everyone needs a hobby <3"

Crying at Scott booking it across the grass to break up Scar and Jimmy as fast as humanly possible and they just start huffing and grumbling.

Scott after running into Pearl, Cleo, Jimmy, and Martyn - "I've bumped into every single one of my exes already..."

slkdjf Skizz apparently cut himself saying "I just wanna cause problems" out of his own POV but Scott got it all on tape

Skizz staying within 10 blocks of Gem is even funnier from Scott's POV because he needs Gem to hold his hand while he follows Scott around a corner... The delicate balancing act of obeying Scott's come hither but also pulling Gem along.

The dead silent push in on Scott's face when he notices Gem inching her base away from his and he's dreading starting his "obnoxiously attach your base to someone else's" task over.

Impulse: "Scott, is my cottagecore-ing okay? :)" / Scott, sweating his pretty little head off as he speed-builds so Gem doesn't catch him in the act, not even turning around: "Yep- looks great!"

Gem, emotionally trudging across the map with Skizz and Scott hanging off her.

I appreciate Gem's commentary of "How much room does this man NEED??"

Gem watching Scott un-merge their bases: "Oh, thank you" / Scott: "What do you mean by that. Why is that a relief to you."

---

Impulse and Gem going over the cliff is funnier with the context that Gem's task was to convince someone to "take a leap of faith while also ensuring they take no damage."

Mental image of Gem begging Impulse to take a flying jump into the water while Impulse is grabbing her by the shoulders and trying to force her into a cherry wood boat because it's cherry wood it's amazing Gem come on slkdjf

Gem: "How much more iron do you need for a chestplate?" / Impulse, taking a moment to pretend to count: "... 8 :)"

Gem, addressing the viewers: "And Skizz follows me around for an uncomfortable period of time."

In Scott's POV, he's just watching unhappily from the distance as Gem starts taking down her wall, but in Gem's POV she actually asked him if she can move her base over and he's just like "Yeah... Yeah, you can if you want to :')" slkdfj

Underappreciated irony in Scott being the one to make a big deal about how clingy Skizz is when he's literally fusing his base's roof with Gem's

It's spawn egg-topia!!

Scott: "I'm making the executive decision to separate our cottages." slkdjf Scott recovers from being possessed by the spirit of clinginess and wakes up like "What HAPPENED last night?? What is this garbage??"

---

Holy cow Martyn dropping from 30 hearts to 12 within like 20 minutes.

lksdjf Martyn: "Let's see if there's any response in the chat to my Cover Me With Diamonds achievement :)" / Gem, Scott, and Impulse immediately triple enchant / Martyn: "Oh :'D"

??? Custom zombie spawner? Neat

He started at 30 and went down to 5.5 hearts?? Geez, dude.

It's funny because in Double Life, I didn't notice Martyn taking that much damage compared to anyone else, but I feel like now I understand why Cleo was so irritated with him lskdjf

Martyn at the start of this episode: "Ew I don't want cherry wood" / Martyn trying to complete his secret task: "Where is all the cherry wood??"

Martyn speedbuilding in panic and quiet, then Joel cracks a joke and Martyn laughs and you hear Bdubs offscreen going "You got Martyn with that one" <3

sdfklsjdf I like how Martyn's idea of copying Lizzie's house involved rushing over to hers and destroying her bed to match the fact that his copied house did not have a bed

Wheezing at Impulse being just 2 steps from pushing the success button but Martyn starts trash-talking cherry wood and Impulse immediately goes "Take that back, take that back right now!" with this guttural snarl and starts stomping towards him because he wasn't cured from his cherry wood obsession yet... Beautiful.

[silverskye13]

Okay so first before anything and everything else I simple must tell you that the new chapter made my day so good already (I just woke up) and thank you so much I love your writing immensely.

Second, onto my question of the day: How hard is it for Helsknight to notice Tanguish is bruised/bleeding? Cause I sort of assume it blends into his skin. Or does Tanguish bleed warden shriek blue? Like, if Tanguish himself does not notice, would Helsknight?

Also with the new scene of Martyn struggling to climb roofs I would love to see a scene where Helsknight and Tanguish encounter a warden specifically for the funny bit where Tanguish is like "oh wait you can't see" and Helsknight is like "you can????" Tanguish being immensely cooler than the Colesseum fighters but only in very specific/usually unlikely circumstances has become my new favourite part of him.

Ahaha I'm glad you liked the chapter! It was definitely a fun one to write. Poor Tanguish's terrified bravery at one of its finest hours. Definitely not projecting but I think protagonists who Do It Scared and still show symptoms of fear [stammering, shaking, etc] are underused in fiction. Every time I've been in a conflict I've been shaking like a chihuahua. Maybe I'm the weird one?

And gosh, your questions are always so in depth. I have to really sit and think about the answers.

In short! I think Helsknight would notice. Tanguish bleeds red. I don't think I've ever described it properly [his internal monologue panics a little too much when he's hurt, poor guy] but I don't think his blood is abnormal? I guess? In which case, red bruises on dark skin might not get much darker, but they do change the undertones of the skin. Random red-purple blotches on our little teal-blue guy will stand out. Also, his sculk lights are on his skin, and they probably stop glowing when damaged? In which case a particularly bad bruise or a cut would look purple-black and dull, compared to tealy-black and glowing everywhere else.

Helsknight! Would notice. I think whether he would actually say something about it would depend on how bad it is. If it looks like Tanguish just tripped on something, well, the man goes rooftop jumping. He would be expected to collect scrapes and bruises. Anything that looks like it came from self defense though, he'd get a little touchy about that.

Ahaha and Tanguish as super-specifically proficient in things is also something I enjoy about his character. I feel like everyone is like this? It's a very human thing. I don't think I'm good with word choice, until a friend points out something they thought was artful. My roommate doesn't consider herself good with kids, until she's the only adult in a room who can convince a scared child to ride a horse. We all have our little proficiencies.

Tanguish's are fun because he, along with you the reader, also hasn't quite figured out just how good he is, and what he can use those skills for.

Ahaha Tanguish and Heksknight vs a Warden would be hilarious. Helsknight, blind, kinda spooked, who really doesn't want to admit it's too strong for him to swing a sword at. Tanguish, politely guiding him away, occasionally stranding him places so he can sneak back and distract the Warden. That would be a fun little scenario.

[sharffffff]

Joel punched the side of his helter skelter out of exasperation. He had just failed his task, task he was so happy about, a chance to get back at Scott - and the only reason he failed it was his own blumming stupidity. How is it he’s the only one that forgets to put two minecarts above the door instead of one? How come blumming Scott knew it was him from just that one small mistake?

He even hired all the reds - well, not himself, Jimmy hired Martyn for him - to help him with this Scott problem, and even though he has failed, he wasn’t going to tell any of them that that had happened. He still wanted Scott to be hurt, he still wanted to be the cause of that, as a revenge for countless deaths in the past. Joel even gave Jim a Power 3 bow, just to make it so much better.

As he tried to calm himself down with nice thoughts of turning red and murdering Scott on the spot, he tripped, spilling his entire water bucket all over his crops, ruining his day even further. Everything that was able to go wrong, was going wrong.

“Can this day get ANY BLUMMING WORSE?!” Joel shouts at nothing, at the sky, but most of all, at himself. And is if to receive the answer, he heard the loud explosion in the distance. He was almost ready to ignore it as some failed trap, but something catches him. The sense of familiarity. He has heard explosions like this before. Yes, not too many times, he was pretty early to be out far too often, but this sound has still ingrained itself in his memory.

“No, nononono, don’t be Jim, I can’t lose Jim yet,” Joel pulls out his player list, and breathes out the sigh of relief, still seeing Jimmy’s name on the list. Maybe now that he has survived a bit longer Jim will stop believing in that nonsense about canary curse. But who has died then? As he reads through the list, a realization sinks in, and he lets out a deep, guttural scream. This day kept getting worse.

He rushed to spawn, hoping that someone would know something about what happened to Lizzie. How could she die? HOW COULD SHE DIE? He arrived to see Scott explaining that Lizzie brought him to the End to try and push him off the edge, but accidentally looked at the enderman and was the one to be pushed off instead.

Joel stops for a moment, trying to catch his breath as it eludes him, trying to calm his heart. Lizzie died… trying to kill Scott? Trying to do what he, Joel, asked her to do? Did he just send her to her death in hopes that she would help him finish his task? Did him not telling her he failed it kill her? Joel couldn’t breathe. Why couldn’t he breathe?

Then he glanced at Scott, looking so smug, telling everyone about how he took a few hits from Lizzie’s axe but got away from the corner. How Lizzie looked at an enderman while trying to look at him. How that enderman killed her. How looking at Scott killed her. How Scott killed her.

Joel could breathe again, but not because he was calm, oh no. His vision went red, how it usually only does when you, well, turn red, and his breaths were still short and heavy, and he was fueled with rage. It wasn’t Joel who sent Lizzie to her death. It was Scott who killed her, it was Scott who sicced the enderman on her, it was his fault, it was entirely his fault.

And even though he could not do anything about it right now, the second he turns red, Scott will be gone, rules be damned. But even the rules of following the tasks instead of just attacking wouldn’t be able to stop Joel from ending Scott’s series. Scott was going to die from Joel’s hand, it was only a matter of time.

Now, though, the only thing Joel could hope for was that this day wouldn’t get any worse.