#i know we were all laughing at the time because it looked like bdubs was drinking from the fountain of youth iykwim

[lorephobic]

sry im always living in the past but has anyone ever acknowledged from an impdubs perspective how fucking crazy it was when king ren made bdubs kiss impulse’s severed head

[slashmagpie]

“Pearl? Why are you in my house?” 

Pearl blinks up at Bdubs from where she’s sandwiched between the wall and the waterstream, curled up on herself in the narrow space. “Somebody destroyed all the lights in my base and now it’s full of mobs,” she says bitterly.

“It wasn’t me!” Bdubs cries, raising his hands.

“Well, I didn’t think it was you, but the way you just said that’s making me think—”

“No! I’d never! I swear!”

“...I believe you,” she says after a moment, and Bdubs feels himself relax. “Can I stay with you tonight? I don’t really feel like…” She gestures in the direction of her house.

Bdubs nods. “Oh, sure, for sure,” he says. Then, “Should we invite Joel over? His house got blown up too.”

“Ah, yeah, probably. Good idea, Bdubs.” She fumbles in her pocket for her communicator, eventually fishing it out. The screen is cracked. Her fingers shake as they tap against the glass. 

“Are you okay there, Pearl? You look a little…” Bdubs forces his hands to tremble. 

She glances up at him, face scrunching in confusion, before she lets out a small laugh. “Just the adrenaline, y’know.” She grins. “I’m red. It’s great.” 

“If it was anyone else, I’d think they were being sarcastic. But with you! With you, I’m pretty sure you’re being serious!”

She giggles, hitting send on the message and shoving her communicator away. Bdubs doesn’t feel his own buzz; it must have been a whisper. “You know,” she says after a moment, “I’m a little surprised.”

Bdubs blinks. “Surprised about what?”

“That there’s still three of us.” 

He laughs. “Yeah, I’m a little surprised, too! I thought for sure Joel would die today. For sure.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that.”

“Oh, no, never. But between you and me… that guy’s kind of a loose canon!” 

She snorts. “Throwing stones from glass houses, there, Bdubs?”

“Surely I don’t know what you mean.”

“Mhm.” She pauses, eyes glancing down to where her fingers pick at a stray thread on her hoodie sleeve. “That’s kinda what I mean, though. Joel doesn’t live here, and you’re making friends with half the server, I’m surprised I’m not spending tonight alone.”

“Pearl…”

“What?” She snorts. “I know how these games go, Bdubs. People don’t stay loyal. Not for long, anyway.” She glances up at him, eyes half obscured by her hair. “People like Joel, people like you? I know how this ends.”

And Bdubs—

Well, he can’t pretend he doesn’t know what she means. Can’t pretend he doesn’t remember Impulse yelling as Bdubs’ arrow had found home in his throat. Can’t pretend he doesn’t remember Etho backing away when Bdubs had tried to get just a little too close. Can’t pretend he didn’t fight when he promised he’d run. Can’t pretend he hadn’t taken advantage of his broken home. 

…He can’t pretend he doesn’t remember telling Martyn about their plans, or planning to do harm to Etho. Can’t pretend he doesn’t cross his fingers behind his back every time he makes a promise, just in case.

But at the same time, he remembers—searching for Cleo in a castle she’d been too dead to return to, pushing Lizzie to her death for a life he’d never received, taking two hands in his own and vowing to face the end as four instead of two, for once, for once in his life, choosing three and being pulled apart because of it—

Bdubs lets out a breath. “Pearl, hey, no,” he says. “I told you, didn’t I? I’m your weapon.” He gets down to his knees, lowers his head before her, feels her gaze burn into the top of his head.

“Bit late for that,” she says. “I’m my own weapon now, mate. Don’t need you to attack for me anymore.”

“Well, no—but—” He looks up at her. “Pearl. I’m yours. I promise.”

“Right. And you’re Martyn and Etho’s too, huh? We can share.”

“I’m using Martyn!” he protests. “That’s—that’s all it is—I’m usin’ him because he’s the first red and he knows his stuff! And Etho—”

“I don’t mind about Etho,” Pearl interrupts. “Like I said, I know you guys have your little thing going on. I don’t care about that.”

“I set a trap in his base,” Bdubs blurts.

Pearl blinks at him. “Excuse me?”

“I set a trap in his base. Tripwire hook.” He grins. “Right outside the bedroom. I—I think I got Grian, in the end? But—could have been Etho. I coulda—could’ve been Etho.” He swallows.

“And you’d have been okay with that?” Pearl asks, smile gone from her face, expression suddenly very serious.

“I—after I set it, I went up to them. Had a chat. Lied the whole time. I coulda—coulda told him. I didn’t.” 

“And you’re okay with that?” she stresses.

She sounds dubious. Bdubs can’t blame her. He feels sick, swallowing back the bile that’s building in his throat.

“I—Pearl.”

“Bdubs?”

“I learned my lesson, Pearl. I learned—don’t put all your eggs in one basket! Because—because either they die, and then you get left alone, or—or it gets you killed, and you die. You gotta—I have two hands. I can be loyal to multiple people. But then I learned—when you do that? People aren’t loyal back. They don’t trust you anymore. Nobody else…” He laughs. “I feel like I’m the only one who can trust people like that anymore!”

“So…” She frowns. “So you’re making friends with everyone so you don’t get betrayed or left alone?”

“Exactly.” 

“And you know none of us are gonna trust you for doing that.”

He swallows again. “Yeah, I know.”

“And you’re doing it anyway?”

“Well, what else—what else am I supposed to do? I can’t… I can’t go back, Pearl. That’s… I can’t go back. You know how it is.”

“…Yeah,” she says quietly. “I’m—I want you to win, Bdubs,” she says. “Out of everyone—I want it to be you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. So… You better not make me regret this.”

He blinks at her. “Regret what?”

She bows her head to him. “I’m your weapon,” she says, an echo of his earlier words. “And a bit more of a dangerous one at that.” Her smirk leaks back into her words as she glances up and winks at him. “So use me well, alright, Bdubs? I want you to win this.”

Bdubs’ heart is in his throat. He swallows it back down. It burns.

“I’ll do my best,” he promises. 

The door slams open, startling them both out of their skin.

“Hey guys—uh. What are you doing?”

“Oh, for—Judas Priest, Joel, learn to knock!”

“You invited me over! Or, Pearl did—hey Pearl.”

“Hey,” Pearl says. “Come on in! Sleepover at Bdubs’ time.”

“I can’t believe this is the last of our bases left standing. It’s, like, the worst one.”

“Hey!” 

“There’s no space in here!” To punctuate his statement, Joel slumps down against one wall, kicking Bdubs in the ribs as he does so. Bdubs grunts. “See?”

“It’s definitely not the most spacious…” Pearl acquiesces.

“Anyway. What were you guys doing before I came in?”

“Swearing loyalty,” Bdubs says. 

“Oh.” Joel blinks. “Do you need me to do that? Because I’m a Mounder for life. Loyal to the end.”

Bdubs and Pearl glance at each other.

“Somehow I actually believe him,” Bdubs stage-whispers, and Joel squawks in offence as Pearl barks out a laugh.

“No, I think you’re good,” she says. Leaning her head back against the wall, she says, “This is probably our final night.”

The three of them are quiet for a moment.

“Well,” says Joel. “We gotta make it to the end then, don’t we?”

He’s looking at Bdubs. They’re both looking at Bdubs. 

Bdubs nods.

“May the best Mounder win,” he says solemnly.

Joel grins.

[theminecraftbee]

“So I’m beginning to think I’m the problem,” Impulse says, and given Bdubs didn’t even know he was there it makes him jump a bit.

“Hey! Don’t sneak up like that! We were just playing a death game, don’t go standing in my blind spot!” Bdubs shouts, pointing as he does.

Impulse snorts. “I think you’d recognize someone stabbing you in the back either way. I know I would.”

Bdubs scowls. “Hey!” He’s ready to defend himself—he’d have you know he didn’t stab nobody in the back this time around! He was loyal to Cleo and Scar until the end, no matter how many jokes about Etho they made! And, you know, just because he wanted Etho to be with him too—wanted TIES back because so screw him maybe he regrets Team BEST a little—wanted, wanted, wanted, wanted—

Bdubs pauses. Bdubs closes his mouth again and thinks.

“What do you mean, you’re the problem?” he says, instead of any of that.

Impulse shrugs lightly. “I mean, this time, it wasn’t you who betrayed me. No clocks involved at all, just good-old-fashioned letting down my guard. Stupid me, right?”

Bdubs frowns harder. “That’s stupid,” he declares.

“I killed you by the way,” Impulse adds. “I know it was unclear. I was excited about it.”

“Oh, yeah, I know, I figured out afterwards, really rude of you, you know, I was fighting someone else. Basically kill stealing. I’m impressed. Good job.”

Impulse blinks. “Thank you?” he says.

“You’re welcome!” Bdubs says.

“You were supposed to—”

“You aren’t a problem, you’re a solution,” Bdubs says, finally having figured out his response to the earlier statement. “Oh, by the way, Mom carved some new stuff on your clock. She called me her favorite.”

“None of what you just said makes sense,” Impulse says, frustrated. “Don’t you get it? I finally got back at you and I’ve realized that fine, I don’t need to blame you for stabbing me, apparently it’s my fault!”

“Hey! Don’t take away my brilliant decision-making skills! I stabbed you in the back perfectly on my own, thank you very much. And I stabbed no one in the back this time. I—I—you made it to the top two for team BEST you know! I mean, TIES? Don’t ask me questions.”

Impulse stares at Bdubs for a while. Bdubs stares back. He’s very handsome. Perfect to go with someone like himself. They were the most handsome soulmates, back when they did that, and now—

“You know what, I’ll never understand you,” Impulse says.

“That’s good. I’m trying not to allow that. People are looking right now and I’ve gone to great effort to hide everything that makes me understandable, this go around. I think what’s in my head should stay secret.”

“This was pointless,” Impulse says. “Why did I come over here? This hasn’t made me feel any better at all.”

“…I could give you a clock,” Bdubs murmurs.

Impulse laughs, and laughs, and laughs at that. Bdubs doesn’t think it was very funny, but to tell the truth, no matter how much he’s acting to hide the thoughts he would hope no one saw, he doesn’t find it very funny either. He just finds it sad.

Some things are just sad. He hates it.

He hates this.

He hates it.

It was a lot easier when it was easy not to care.

“You’ll get them next time,” Bdubs says. “You got me.”

“Hah,” Impulse says, wiping his eyes. “I guess I did.”

[evolutiononthebrain]

Playground Life Games

I love the idea of Limited Life being a big game on a playground with school children. Not based on anything specific, just little bits i thought would be cute

***

Grian glances at the watch on his wrist. It’s Spiderman-themed, which is really cool, but not the most important part. The watch’s time display is the most important thing about the watch on his wrist.

3 hours from now, at 9pm, Grian and the rest of them had to go back to their houses. Curfews were so dumb, Grian thought, but his mum would kiII him if he was home late, so he didn’t argue much.

“Okay!” He shouts to his circle of friends. It quickly gets all of their attention. “Everybody’s watches set?” He checks.

It’s a few moments of everyone checking their watches, before Jimmy pipes up. “I don’t know how to set mine!” He whines. Groans come from the group.

Tango, standing next to Jimmy, grabs his wrist and tinkers with it for a moment before exclaiming, “Done! We’re ready, G-man!”

Grian nods seriously, glancing around the circle. “The boogeyman will be randomly chosen by whoever finds the piece of paper I’ve hidden first. When you’re the boogey-“ He’s unceremoniously cut off by Pearl shouting, “We know about the boogeyman! Can we go play now?” She asks.

To his utter shock and surprise, everyone else starts nodding and agreeing with Pearl.

Grian pouts, “Fine! Go!” He yells, throwing his hands up in the air. Everyone scatters like rats.

***

“Oh, Lizzie,” Joel sighs the girl’s name dreamily. He clutches his chest, leaning against the metal leg of the playground jungle gym the Bad Boys have claimed as their base.

Grian rolls his eyes, flicking the boy on his arm. “Lizzie,” He mocks the dreamy tone, high pitched, “thinks you’re lame.” He says. Joel glares at him, flicking Grian right back on the forehead.

Poor, oblivious Jimmy looks between his two teammates, utterly confused. “What about my sister?” He asks.

“Lizzie? Oh, I love Lizzie!” Scar interrupts their conversation. Grian really should stop rolling his eyes, or he really will get them ‘stuck like that,’ like his mum says.

But he can’t help it, not when Joel glares so hard at Scar that it’s shocking that Scar doesn’t light on fire and explode in front of them.

***

“They want to be known as the Mean Gills?” Jimmy says, again in his, seemingly, default state of utter confusion.

Cleo laughs loudly, “Mean Girls?” She asks, curious amusement on her face.

“No, no, Mean Gills!” Martyn chimes in, walking over. “A very clever pun, if I do say so myself.” He says, self-satisfied.

“It’s your team name, then?” Cleo asks, “Like, Jimmy’s whole ‘Bad Boys’ thing.” She snorts.

Jimmy makes an affronted sound. “I am the bad boy of the playground!” He says insistingly. Cleo laughs, verging on cackles, and hunches over as she puts her hands on her knees to support herself.

“Aww,” She giggles, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye, “Aww, of course you are, Jim.” She says, nodding patronizingly.

***

“Why can’t Ren play with us?” BigB pouts. He’s been asking that for the past two hours they’ve been playing. Grian hands him a stick, which they’re gathering for weapons.

“Because, BigB,” Grian starts, exasperated from having to explain this again, “Ren is at summer-camp all summer. It’s for werewolves or something.” Grian explains, crossing his arms.

“I miss him.” BigB frowns.

“You were literally cheating on him with me last summer. We were secret soulmates and you want to go back to your other soulmate?” Grian squints at him, almost offended.

BigB is silent. Grian throws his hands up in the air and walks away.

***

It has to be the hottest day of the summer. Scar fans himself uselessly with his hand. He starts to pull off his shirt.

Cleo turns around from where she was organizing their lunchboxes-turned-chests. The shirt is halfway pulled off as she shouts, “Scar!”

“What?” He asks.

“Keep your shirt on!” Cleo says loudly. In the distance, Scar hears Bdubs laugh from their farm. He sighs, pulling the shirt back on.

“Okay mom!” Scar chirps, just because he knows it annoys her and the heat is putting him in a gremlin, mischievous mood. Cleo groans, glaring at him as she heads off toward Bdubs at the farm.

Jokes on her, Bdubs thinks calling Cleo ‘mom’ is even funnier than Scar does!

[swamp-chicken]

for the writing prompts, sneaking out to see the stars + ethdubs? also j really like your writing style! :D

make a wish, 1,037 words

bdubs had thought it was all settled after ren stepped down. but really, nothing had been settled. there were still royal emeralds in the shops, inventories overflowing with pie, hermits asking for their diamonds back. they now had twenty useless diamond towers instead of four, and a giant statue of ren overseeing spawn. and--here was the kicker, the real rub, the universe spitting in bdubs' eye--they still needed to build roads!

so the hermits, in true hermit fashion, had called a meeting. and, in even truer hermit fashion, the meeting was stretching deep into the night, issues being endlessly hemmed and hawed over, cleo and jevin feuding, impulse diligently scratching out his notes, and no. roads. being. built.

bdubs balanced on the back two legs of his chair and kept his mouth shut. he had made ren king, that had been his solution. but noooo, the ungrateful public hadn't wanted that. oh no, we don't want fun quests and maybe a little bit of corruption and lots of beautiful roads! we want meetings!

bdubs rolled his eyes. he should be sleeping, but every time he tried to sneak out of the meeting tango shot him a venemous look. it was clear that as long as they were all stuck here, bdubs was stuck here too.

and then there was etho, sitting across the table from bdubs, so still that bdubs knew he had to be sleeping. bdubs pulled a few faces, just to check. there was no response from etho, but, down the table, scar stifled a laugh.

experiment inconclusive, bdubs folded a piece of paper into a neat little origami triangle. he took aim and flicked it full power. it flew across the table and nailed etho straight in the forehead. scar gave a bark of laughter which he smothered into a cough. etho startled awake with a snort, and, after glancing up and down the table, narrowed in on bdubs as the culprit. maybe it was because bdubs was covering his mouth, shaking in silent laughter.

etho jabbed his index finger towards bdubs, then drew his thumb across his neck. the message was clear. "you, dead." bdubs pointed to himself, a picture of innocence. "who, me?"

at the end of the table, false and xisuma were droning on about currency exhanges, apparently uninterrupted by the scuffle at bdubs' end.

bdubs shot his hand into the air.

"you don't have to raise your hand, you know," impulse noted. false and xisuma broke off their conversation and peered down the table.

"permission to speak?" bdubs requested.

"you don't really need permission to speak either--"

"I would like to request a fifteen minute recess! I need to walk around, my back is killing me."

"okay, old man," pearl snorted.

"objection!" bdubs shouted. "I am not old."

impulse sighed. "yeah, let's take a break. but you all better be back in fifteen minutes exactly! we still need to decide what to do with the diamond towers."

the table groaned.

bdubs all but leapt out of his chair. he hadn't been kidding, his back really was killing him. he joined the crowd of hermits as they shuffled out of the meeting room.

etho fell in to step behind him.

"follow me," etho said. "I want to show you something."

bdubs glanced over his shoulder at etho. "what, your fist in my face? I know how this goes, buddy boy."

etho huffed. "it's nice, I promise."

"your mouth in my face?"

etho made a strangled noise and grabbed bdubs' hand, tugging him out of the current of the crowd.

bdubs smiled and laced his fingers with etho's, happy to be led along for a little tête-à-tête with his beloved.

etho pushed open the door, the cold night breeze enveloping them as etho brought him outside. it was almost midnight, the moon high in the sky. bdubs shivered and leaned closer to etho for warmth. "what did you want to show me, cutie pie? a good time?"

"no," etho laughed, "the stars! you never get to see them, sleeping all the time." he was flustered for some reason, which was stupidly cute.

"ah, yes," bdubs intoned, facing the sky. "the stars." he was pretty sure he had looked at the stars before. he may have even been to some.

"there's an asteroid shower I've been keeping an eye on." etho said, pointing into the heavens. "that way, to the south." bdubs tucked himself against etho's front and lifted up on to his toes, trying to align his gaze with etho's arm.

"there, do you see?" etho asked, voice low. his breath tickled bdubs' ear.

bdubs squirmed, trying to ignore the heat ignited in his stomach. he squinted into the sky. sure, there were sure a lot of stars, but they weren't exactly moving... except--"wait!" bdubs gasped. "I saw a shooting star!"

"you gotta make a wish," etho prompted, lowering his arm and wrapping it around bdubs' waist, pulling bdubs flush against him. "that's one server, gone forever."

"oh," bdubs sighed, feeling a little wistful, remembering all the worlds he had left behind, worlds that he would never see again. there had been nether hubs and arenas, airplanes and death games, friends and enemies, castles and crastles-- and through it all, etho.

"I made my wish," bdubs said.

"that was fast," etho chuckled. "was it a good one?"

"pretty good, I think." bdubs turned in etho's arms and kissed his nose through the mask, watched his whole face crinkle into a smile. "and it's mostly come true, anyways."

etho hummed, eyes warm. "long meetings make you sappy."

"and you sleepy."

"are you trying to fight?"

bdubs leaned his cheek against etho's chest, smiling. "no, I'm not."

they stood quietly for a moment, etho smoothing his hand over bdubs' back. bdubs cleared his throat. "and, for the record, you're the sap. taking me stargazing, come on."

etho jabbed him in the side and bdubs pulled back, giggling.

impulse's voice rang out through the night. "hey! where is everyone? recess over."

bdubs pulled back, grimacing. etho's expression mirrored his. "well, back we go."

bdubs slid his hand into etho's and swung their joined hands between them. "I just want roads," he whined.

"I don't want anything!" etho countered.

"you poor innocent guy, getting swept up in all our nonsense. oh wait, you killed me at the king's vault."

etho snickered and tugged bdubs towards him, pressing a kiss to his hair.

they walked back inside and the door shut softly behind them.

[dmwrites]

“Hm, now this seems like the setup to a bad joke. A dwarf, an elf, and a janitor walk into a bar…” Bdubs grinned at them as Impulse, Gem, and Pearl sat down at the bar.

“This is a coffee shop, Bdubs, or did you forget?” Pearl asked owlishly, removing her armor. The others followed suit.

“I mean, I don’t think Ren and Doc over there are giggling because of the coffee.” Gem pointed out, and the soup group glanced over at the shadowy table in the back, where Ren and Doc were laughing uproariously, coffee mugs sat in front of them, but whatever was in the mugs made them wince every time they took a sip.

“I mean, one of them just lost the crown, I thought I’d bring out the special stuff.” Bdubs shrugged. “What can I get you three?”

“Wait, weren’t you also part of the whole crown thing? Who’s letting you run around free?” Impulse asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Hmm… the resistance leaders, I think, would be the ones to make that call.” Bdubs replied, winking at Impulse. “Are you going to put me in chains and cart me off to jail for my crimes?”

“No, no, we can’t have our Bdubs locked up.” Impulse replied with a goofy smile. Pearl coughed, although it sounded suspiciously like “simp” and Gem rolled her eyes.

“I’d like a hot coco.” Gem said.

“I’d love a tea with a little special sauce in it.” Pearl told Bdubs, who nodded.

“Just a coffee, please.” Impulse said.

“And it’s on the house, since you won, I guess.” Bdubs said, giving them a smile and bustling off to make the drinks.

The three seemed to noticeably slouch as soon as Bdubs walked away. Now they were sat down, and no one was watching them. And they’d won.

“We did it.” Pearl said quietly. “I almost can’t believe it.”

“I’m so glad we had all our friends to help us.” Gem nodded. She took out her sword and looked it over. “Oh dear, there’s some scratches in my knife from where I killed Bdubs.” Bdubs looked scared from over by the coffee pot, but Gem was sulking a little, and didn’t notice.

“It’s just, I dunno, I almost can’t believe it’s over.” Impulse said, fidgeting with his axe blade, which was sat in the seat next to him, too big to be put anywhere else. “I mean, this has been months in the making, and now it’s over and done with. What’s next?”

Bdubs came by with their drinks, which they accepted gratefully. He leaned against the counter as if to take up conversation, but something at Doc and Ren’s table behind them seemed to catch his attention, and he dashed over, saying “Woah, woah, woah! You can not do that in this here establishment, fellas! Get out of here!”. The soup group didn’t particularly feel like watching whatever they were doing that could cause Bdubs to kick them out- knowing Doc and Ren, it could be anything. So, they just kept talking.

“I guess we just go back to our normal lives.” Gem said.

“But what happens to the crown, and the diamonds! They’re still missing!” Impulse replied.

“Oh! Let’s start a detective agency and solve mysteries like the case of the stolen diamonds!” Pearl pulled out a small notebook and began drawing out a structure.

“Oh my goodness, you two!” Gem giggled. “We gotta chill for a bit. Self care! Live up to our name and eat some soup and hang out! I will personally start my hermitcraft villain arc if either of you start a plot line in the next two months, and that’s a promise.”

The soup group giggled about that. Rain was falling down outside, but it was warm and cozy in the coffee shop. The soup group drank their drinks and moved on to talking about nothing of real importance, while the ambiance of Bdubs fighting with Doc and Ren continued on in the background. The revolution was over, and maybe now it was time to rest.

[cc-coffee-writes]

Okay.. so I know I've not posted in a few days soo. I'm just gonna drop this argument scene from a kinda among us au I'm working on and... imma just run

K bye hope you enjoy!

(This does have character shipping.)

TW vauge talk of death/killing

Word Count: 879

"Hey Etho." Impulse looks past Skizz's shoulder. Skizz turns around and sees Tango and Etho.

Skizz looks at the two, he can feel possessiveness and anger wafting off of them, somewhat overwhelming him.

"Impulse, Skizz." Tango says. His voice is even, but Skizz is willing to bet that it's taking a lot of will for him not to let the anger that he felt show.

"So I was told by Grian and Martyn that you two were asked by them to stick close to Jimmy." Etho says nonchalantly. Skizz leans against the wall and taps on it twice, a signal to Impulse that something's off.

"We did, and we agreed," Impulse crosses his arms and shifts towards Skizz. "Ya know it's pretty scary what happened, and the two are just worried about their brother. I'm a little honored that they trust us enough to even ask. I mean that's kind of a big thing, a big sign of trust don't you think?" Impulse says like normal, though Skizz can see him looking at them with a tactical eye.

"Yeah, but we'll, since I'm Jimmy's Senior officer I'm just a little confused why they asked you… but I guess it is a trust thing." Etho looks Impulse in the eye as he talks.

Skizz glances at Impulse, he keeps eye contact with Etho.

"If you have something to say Etho just say it we're all friends here right?" Impulse says. Skizz looks at Tango and sees his eyes flash a bright red.

'Uh oh.' Skizz thinks. He taps four times, company it signals to Impulse.

Skizz watches as Tango steps forward. "I have something to say, why did they ask you two? Etho is his Senior officer and technically a co-captain. I am someone that Jimmy trusts and a Senior officer. Jimmy is safer with us."

Etho breaks eye contact with Impulse to speak with Tango. Skizz glances up at Impulse, who has his eyebrows raised. It's his way of asking for permission, Skizz nods yes.

"I think what Tango is trying to say is that we believe that Jimmy would be safer with us." Etho looks Impulse I'm the eye again.

Impulse just laughs a little and looks around to double check that the four are alone. He looks at Etho in the eye and walks forward stopping a step away from Etho.

"Why? Because you two aren't planning on killing Jimmy first?" Impulse flashes his golden eyes with a raised eyebrow.

Skizz walks up behind him on the same side as Tango. He puts an arm on Impulse's shoulders and leans against his partner.

Skizz senses the confusion coming from them and laughs. "Oh come on, you didn't think you two were the only duo on board did you? Because we did." He says joking a little.

Impulse glances at Tango whose confusion has overwritten his anger. "I have to say I don't know if it's smart or stupid to kill X first. It was definitely a choice." He looks Etho in the eyes, "but since we aren't planning on killing Jimmy he will be safest with us. I'm sorry if your planned alibi is messed up now." A small growl from Etho makes him pause.

Skizz starts talking not letting the other two get a word in. "But me and Dop here can take care of Jimmy and Bdubs. If you get my drift." Skizz says, stating their claims. He looks Tango in the eyes flashing the bright gold that comes with being mates to Impulse.

"Now listen here you jerks." Tango takes a step forward making Skizz step back to keep the distance between them. "You better keep you stupid blue mits off of them, do you understand my drift?"

Etho flashes his bright red eyes at Impulse. They both know that this could not end well, and both do not want that.

Impulse sighs with annoyance causing it to come out with a low growl. "You two also want to claim them." Impulse states. Etho nods.

After a second Impulse steps back from Etho and turns around to see the stare off between Skizz and Tango.

"Come on Tango Top." Skizz smirks. "We can make an agreement to finish this ship."

Tango growls and turns around to his partner. "I am not sharing my mates, Etho." He says as Skizz laughs at Tango pouting like a child.

"Tango we will just let it be Jimmy's and Bdubs decision once we finish this ship." Etho says trying to be smart about it all.

"Yeah and they'll go with the superior choice of me and Dipple Dop." Skizz says laughing a little.

Impulse looks at Skizz, "Don't." He says to Skizz unamused as Tango looks at Skizz growling.

Etho sighs and walks up behind Tango and rests his chin on Tango leaning down a little. "Tango calm down. We can deal with this later, spitfire." Etho wraps his arms around Tango in a grounding gesture.

Skizz raises his chin in a challenge. No one moves, the tension rising until they hear steps coming their way.

Skizz moves over to Impulse. Tango snaps out of it as Etho taps his hand three times, a signal that has calmed Tango down since before being with him, then moves away from him.

[bloop-im-a-frog-now]

If The Gods Were Kind — village pt.2

Hehe, another part!!! The 4th one this time of the world-building extravaganza. Well, it is kinda essential, but at this point, I am feeling like I’m writing a whole novel. I’m sure it’s nothing. 

Enjoy!

Master Post

— —

Content warnings: none that I can see, though, tell me if that’s not the case!

Cleo came back to entertain Scar, making sure all the monsters were leaving them alone. Bdubs then joined them, muttering how he was a great team player and wouldn’t be in the way if they'd told him what to do. Scar didn’t inquire, knowing Impulse, Tango and Etho asked Bdubs to leave them alone, much to his friend's displeasure. 

After a while of sitting, killing zombies, evading creepers and slaying phantoms, the other three finally arrived with Scar’s new mobility aids. Scar grinned and waved them where they were. Cleo stood up and dragged Bdubs away from them as Impulse presented Scar the two new fancy canes. 

They weren’t really that much fancy from the cane Impulse made, but Scar still found them astonishing. It was two oak sticks, thick enough his thumb only landed at the first phalanx of his fingers, and smooth to the touch. Just like Tango explained, there were elbow holders at the higher end of the crutches, made out of leather and there was probably wool inside to make it more comfortable. 

Scar put his cane in his inventory and placed the crutches on each side, resting his forearms on the smooth leather and gripping the handles. He tested them, walking around, evading holes, while having a big grin on his face. It felt so amazing to have people who care about him and his safety and who are ready to help him in this mysterious world. He looked back at them, noting Impulse left them, and shot them a wide grin.

“Thanks guys.”

Cleo patted his shoulder. “Anytime.”

“Yeah, if you need something else, please tell us,” Bdubs encouraged, expression open and big smile. 

Tango nodded before going back to help Etho with the crops. 

It was easier for Scar to walk, and it didn’t strain his hips and his back as much as the cane did. Phantoms still swooped in, but it let him practice switching between his cane and crutches during combat. He was still clumsy and received a lot of stings from the phantoms’ tails, luckily, Cleo always stood by his side.

Eventually, Bdubs groaned and stomped angrily. 

“Will somebody chop down that tree?!” he cried. “For goodness’ sake.”

Scar sighed, laughing. “Fine, fine, I’m working on it.”

He leaned on his cane and swung his ax, creating a dent in the trunk, before Etho elbowed him. Scar stuttered in his steps, switching immediately to his crutches for balance, and gave Etho a mock offended look. The masked man ignored him and placed dirt around the tree to protect it. 

Impulse ran, almost bumping into Scar and Bdubs. “Nobody hang out with Martyn,” he panted. Scar wondered where Impulse wandered off to come back red in the face.

He quirked an eyebrow, while Bdubs laughed. Tango slayed a phantom and patted Impulse on the back. 

“Yeah, don’t worry, he got me too.” He almost sound disappointed.

Bdubs snorted. “Yeah, it’s like a five-year-old receiving a whoopee cushion for their birthday.”

Scar wheezed at the comment, shaking his head. “A whoopee cushion,” he laughed.

While they were laughing at Martyn’s prank and his determination to scare everyone, Etho let out a chuckle.

“There, it’s been claimed. This is a historical landmark, you will not get rid of it.” 

Tango laughed after reading the sign.

“Historical landmark?!” Bdubs exclaimed, eyes wide and furious.

“We can just get saplings from the leafs, you know that?” Cleo raised an eyebrow to Etho, who glared in response.

“No one touches a historical landmark.” He made sure to burn his green and red eyes on everyone. Scar wanted to run for his life. But he also felt annoyed. “If you do, it’s a declaration of war.”

Bdubs scoffed. “As if!”

Scar wanted to point out to Bdubs that he was scared of Scar because he thought he would kill them, but knowing the man’s short temper (and short height), he simply hummed a random melody to himself. Tango let out a yelp from the sheep’s pen and groaned.

“Why are they always against me? I slept in a bed!!”

Impulse circled the tree. “We might be here for a while.” Scar had no intentions of staying here. He sat on the edge of the wheat farm, not wanting to get in the way and to relax the strain on his shoulders. “You guys seemed all cozy here, even got a sheep farm.”

“Yep!” Tango beamed. “We’re gonna—”

Etho shushed him, smacking his arm. Tango let out an “ow” and looked back at the four nervously. 

“Nothing!” he squeaked. “Nothing at all, we’re gonna make nothing at all!” he laughed nervously, rubbing his arm. 

Bdubs squinted at them.

“Oh-ho-ho, forming alliances!” He harrumphed. “I see how it goes. We let you sleep in our home, even let you guys vibe with us—”

“Yeah, I thought that was a thing,” Impulse chimed in.

“Lack of gratitude, that’s what I’m seeing!”

Phantoms screeched over them. Cleo was clearly amused by Bdubs’ tantrum and went to help Tango and Etho kill those annoying creatures. Bdubs signaled Scar to huddle up with him, which he gladly did after ignoring the ache that spread from his arms to his shoulder blades. He rolled his shoulders back, ate a piece of fish and grabbed his crutches to join his friend. Impulse also came close and Bdubs gave them shifty glances.

“I feel like there might be a natural war—”

“Oi!” Cleo called, making Bdubs yell and jump. “I wanna be in your not super secret conspiracy.”

Etho gave them an unimpressed glance. “So subtle, you guys. Didn’t seem suspicious at all.” 

Tango laughed so hard, he clutched his stomach. Bdubs’ red face crunched in anger, and Scar had a lazy smile on his face as the short man yelled at them, “really, no respect around here”. 

“Yeah, nothing about natural wars around here,” grinned Tango.

Bdubs crossed his arms. “We were not talking about natural wars!”

Etho loomed over him. “So, what were you talking about, hm?”

Bdubs stammered and Impulse cut in. “S’mores!”

“Yes!” The timekeeper pointed a finger at Etho’s chest. “We were talking about s’mores, and now I’m hungry.”

As the group laughed, Scar looked at the tree again, leaning back on his crutches. It looked very flammable. And it would piss off Etho, not that he wanted to declare war on the man. It was all in good fun, and he would still have contributed to raiding the village, just like he first planned. He glanced at Bdubs, who was still arguing, backed up by Impulse. Dawn was finally upon them, with the leave of the ginormous evil manta rays. The village was at peace at last. He smirked.

“Does anybody have a flint and steel?” he asked innocently, genuinely curious.

“Um,” Bdubs and Impulse both looked in their inventory. “No, sorry.”

Etho’s eyes widened. “Don’t you torch our village, Scar,” he warned.

“I wasn’t gonna, I was just asking,” he shrugged, trying to suppress the laughter in his voice to no avail.

Tango chuckled nervously. “Wouldn’t want the last villager to lose his home.”

Impulse sneaked past him, shoving something in his hand. It was the rough structure of a flint and steel. “Nah, it’s surely not for that.”

Etho collected some wheat, and looked beyond the village. “We were thinking about making this place more homely.”

“I think the holes make it very homely,” Cleo commented sarcastically.

“More like burning the tree down.”

At Bdubs’ mutter, Scar lighted the flint and steel, creating a flame that latched onto the tree. He snickered. He hid the flint in his inventory, a big grin on his face, even with the throbbing ache that became more prominent in his shoulders. He switched to his cane in order to put less tension on his upper body and joined Cleo and Bdubs gazing at the burning tree with mesmerized eyes.

“Uh oh,” Tango mused.

“Oh, he went there. He went there,” Cleo nodded solemnly. Scar could see her cheeky smirk.

“Oh no,” Impulse grinned.

“Etho!”

Seeing Tango and Etho struggling to die out the flames brought great amusement to Scar. He should burn things down more often. It felt great, this bubbling feeling that made his grin wider. He would cherish this new sensation, but he knew it stemmed from frustration. Not anger, no, why would he be angry? They were fighting over a tree, a dark oak tree. This was clearly fun and games. And he would add insult to injury.

“We gave them sustenance,” he started, talking with his free hand, “let them vibe with us, gave them great hospitality, and this is the thanks we get?”

“Thank you, Scar!” Bdubs exclaimed and huffed, hands on his hips.

“I feel like we felt we weren’t invited unlike when we invited you to our place,” Impulse tested the water between the two groups.

“We didn’t invite you,” Tango grumbled as he dug the cobblestone tower he made. Scar noticed even if the blazeborn sounded mad, his voice still left a cheer behind each word, as if this man was forever laughing.

“We didn’t kick you out,” Etho pointed out. “We just asked you not to steal our tree and here you are, burning it down—”

Scar snickered. 

“You immediately thought the worst of us,” Impulse chided, shaking his head.

Cleo sighed. “C’mon boys, this place clearly sucks. Let’s go find another one.”

“Yeah, we don’t want your stinky village,” Bdubs taunted.

As the group left the village, Scar lit up a few houses, just for the fun of it and because it was easier to light them without needing to hold his crutch. He couldn’t be more delighted to see such pain in Tango’s and Etho’s faces. He heard the masked man calling them invaders, raiders, but that was the least of his worries. 

He tried to catch up with the others, switching his cane to his crutches, but the iron armor made it harder for him to use his arms without the constant ache and soreness of his shoulders and upper arms. It became heavier and cumbersome, and Scar just wanted to take it off. He was then reminded of the zombie and skeleton encounter and decided to keep it on and push through the ache.

<- Prev _ Master Post _ Next ->

[wren-kitchens]

midnight ramblings

I was looking through my wips and found this so here you go lmao

it’s set (obviously) in s8, scarian, if you can think of any tws I need to put please tell me!

“I think we might die.”

grian and scar are perched precariously on the roof of the swaggon, occasionally having to pull the other back onto the flatter part of the slippery copper. the moon is big—hardly a fraction of what it’ll soon be—but big, and the blocks are flying too high for comfort, and grian hasn’t slept for weeks, and the world is in disarray.

scar had come to grian’s house a few hours prior, babbling about something to do with bdubs and the moon’s child and sacrifices that grian just couldn’t make out. but scar looked upset and scared, and grian knew that why he was feeling that couldn’t be helped or changed. 

so, because there was nowhere else really to go, grian brought scar up to the roof and tried to distract him. and it’s worked, they’re distracting each other (because scar of course noticed how equally terrified grian is of all this) very well. but grian is far to tired to filter himself properly, and to be fair it doesn’t seem like they have a lot of time left. so he says it.

scar scoffs a little. “you think, huh?”

grian is laying on his front, staring at midnight alley. “i’m fairly certain.”

“gee, what gave you that idea?” scar asks sarcastically. grian’s noticed that in situations where scar is scared, he typically reverts to sarcasm. he reckons it’s a way of deflecting. “couldn’t be the moon hurtling towards us, could it?”

“no, it’s the fact that we’re on a slippery roof.” grian says. “of course it’s the moon, scar.”

scar is quiet for a moment, and his voice is heartachingly small when he speaks. “why do you think this is happening, g?”

grian sighs. he wishes he could hold scar close and tell him it’s okay, that he can fix it. “I don’t know.” he admits. “I wish I did.”

“mumbo doesn’t.” scar says. “that much is clear.”

grian chuckles. “yeah. I should sleep at some point, whatever he’s doing isn’t working.”

“it’s a good phantom farm at least.” scar says. “i’ll give him that.”

“and the redstone on the statues is cool. or was, when it worked.” grian grins.

“yeah.” scar laughs along. 

grian looks at him. his eyes crinkle in the corners as he smiles. under them are dark smudges, not nearly as big as grian’s but still promenant. his hair is starting to grow shaggy, his suit jacket a little unkempt, skin stained with dirt and oxidised rust from the copper. 

he is, despite it all, beautiful. 

under the silvery light of the bulbous moon, scar looks ethereal. the way it floods his features akin to water over a marble statue makes grian’s heart swell. if grian were to die right now, with this image as the last thing he sees, he wouldn’t mind.

scar turns to him and grins. “taking in the view or about to fall asleep?”

“neither.” grian says easily. “debating whether or not to push you down the roof.” 

“hey!” scar pouts and grian bursts out laughing.

“okay, okay, you’re very handsome and i’m sorry for wanting to push you.” grian smiles. 

“too right I am.” scar says. “you’re very handsome too.” he adds, a softer note to his voice.

“why, thank you.” grian preens.

scar smiles at him, gaze lingering. grian watches as his eyes flicker up and down, from his eyes to his lips and back again. grian finds himself wanting to push his body into scar’s, be held by him until the end of time, scar’s hand in his hair and lips against his forehead.

grian sits up. “come over here, for a moment?”

scar’s eyes narrow with suspicion, but must notice the shy tone in grian’s voice as he nods, and shuffles up the roof to grian. grian immediately climbs into his arms.

“you’re like jellie.” scar chuckles, jokily petting his hair. “what’s up?”

“too tired to figure that out.” grian decides, face buried in scar’s suit jacket. “I wanted to hug you. you’re a very huggable person.”

“I get that a lot.” scar says, like he’s surprised. 

“anyone ever tell you you’re a very kissable person either?” grian smiles to himself.

“I- well, as a joke, I suppose.” scar says, starting to stumble over his words in the endearing way he does when he’s embarrassed. “why?”

grian pulls back and plants a kiss on scar’s nose. “‘cause you are.” he kisses his cheeks, grinning. 

he knows if he wasn’t sleep deprived to the point of it being a medical emergency, he would no way have the confidence to do this. but he mentally thanks mumbo for making this weird cult thing, because it’s lead to the rare treat of seeing scar flustered.

scar’s face fills with colour, and his eyes widen. if grian looks carefully, he can see that scar’s pupils are a little wider than normal.

“oh- oh, g, you’re. you’re very kind.” scar stammers. “I, um. thank you.”

grian’s face must visibly light up, because scar quickly adds, “whatever you’re thinking, mister, don’t do it.”

“scar,” grian says. “would you object to me kissing you.” 

grian doesn’t think he’s ever seen anyone more flustered than scar is right now. 

“I- well, I mean-“ scar is looking around frantically, avoiding grian’s gaze. “that, um. that’s an interesting question, i’m not-“

“scar, yes or no.” grian is starting to doubt his judgement. what if he was wrong, and scar doesn’t love him back, and he’s just ruined their friendship, and-

grian’s internal litany of impending doom is cut off when scar says,

“i- I don’t think i, ah. would object to that.”

grian blinks. “really?” he asks, poorly hiding his excitement.

“well, I mean,” scar turns and finally looks at grian. his expression is heartachingly shy. “you’re a pretty kissable person too.”

grian inhales. “oh.” 

“sorry, um. to clarify, do- do you love me?” scar asks, blushing at himself. “‘cause I don’t want to assume or anything.” he adds quickly. “not that it’s bad if you don’t- it’s okay if you don’t, obviously. I wouldn’t wanna pressure you into saying something you don’t believe or-“

grian presses a quick kiss to scar’s lips. when he pulls away, he grins shyly.

scar stares at him for a moment. “is- is that a hint for me to stop talking?” he asks.

“yes, because I can’t get a word in edgeways.” grian tells him. “how else am I supposed to say yes?”

“oh.” scar’s voice is ever so soft, and he’s looking at grian like he’s only the person alive, and it’s all too much for his sleep deprived brain but he’s so happy.

“if we die,” grian says. “will I be able to go out, calling you my boyfriend?”

“only if I can call you mine.” scar smiles, like he’s surprised at just how well this night is going. 

“then i’d say we have a deal.” grian says, burying himself in scar’s embrace again. 

“g.” scar says gently. 

“mhm?”

“we should sleep.”

grian reluctantly looks up. “I think you’re right.”

“I don’t think we should sleep here.” scar says. 

“scar,”

“yeah?”

“i’m too tired to move.” grian says.

“you nightmare.” scar says, so fond it almost breaks grian’s heart. “alrighty mr birdie, let’s get you to bed.”

scar opens his elytra, before scooping grian up in his arms. 

“i’m only sleeping if you stay with me.” grian says, eyes already drooping shut.

“i’m not leaving you, g.” scar assures him.

“i’m going nowhere.”

[liloinkoink]

i am thinking about grian and what must have been going through his mind at the end of third life. what do you think he thought about between the moments between scar’s death and his own?

like. he dedicated his life to scar and he killed scar, yes, we know that. but there’s so much more to that moment that i simply don’t think is considered enough

he had nothing. he had no friends. any loose allies he might’ve had were dead, and even if every other person on the server but scar was alive, he’d had nowhere to go and no one to lean on

he destroyed their homes—both of them!! monopoly mountain and the bunker!!—with his own two hands. he was the one who laid the tnt traps. he had no home to go back to at all

he didn’t even have his items. he lost them all when he went red. all his armor and weapons he wore at the end were stolen

and even if he had friends and a home and all his things? scar betrayed him

he didn’t just lose scar. every single fond moment he could look back on from all of third life will be weighed against the knowledge scar let him die. scar killed him.

and then he has to wonder did scar do it on purpose so grian could win? was he trying to rile grian up and make grian hate him so grian could kill him easier? then why double back and give grian permission to kill him? did he become faced with the reality of grian hating him and realize he couldn’t take it? did he want to go out as friends after all, even if it hurt more? or did he want to assuage some guilt he thought grian might feel? did he know he was going to make it worse by putting them on decent terms again? or did getting to say a real goodbye make it worth it? did he just want an opportunity to stall by sitting in a boat and insist on going to the desert and by saying goodbye to pizza and by burning every individual banner and enchanter? did he just want to make grian laugh one more time? did he throw the fight or was he just a bad fighter? did he do it so grian could win, or so he wouldn’t have to?

why, after everything, would scar betray grian? and why would he kneel in the pond and tell grian to kill him? how much of what he did was selfish and how much of it was selfless?

grian doesn’t get the answers to any of these questions and he literally never fucking will because the one person he could ask is dead and, really, probably wouldn’t have told him, anyway.

and that all happens in the span of like. not even two in-game days. grian dies in the swamp at night. he finds scar and bdubs at sunrise. their final fight is at sunset. that’s like, 20min irl. not even 24 hours if you were to make this Real. scar leaves grian with so many questions and absolutely no time to process a godamn thing

it’s all just. wild to me. yes, grian killed the man he dedicated his life to protecting, but god, it’s so much worse

[not-so-anonymous-scotch]

In Between Something - Last Life ethubs drabble

A/N: been busy w holidays and wanted to write up a little short bit of interaction between these two to hold over before my next bigger chapter. i was also drunk writing this and did not beta read lol sorry. on 500 or so words. Also during last life ep1 vaguely.

this is part of my fic The Killing type- read this par ton ao3!

There are bumps against his skin, healed over scars too pale to notice. In recent years he hadn't added many more- that's not really what he did anymore... even if it was the reputation he seemed to have. PvP master, cunning, sly- expected to kill in an instant he was threatened. Etho couldn't deny his skill- he was a veteran at the game, he knew how to play it well. Scars come and go- most go. But in this case they stack up, his skin can't keep up with it. Bumps and ridges that never go away.

“You know how... how everyone thinks you're so scary?”

Etho stared up at the sky as he laid back beside Bdubs, opposite to each other. “Yeah.”

It had only been moments after the first session ended, Etho knew Bdubs was lingering behind to put a few more blocks down. The server would be off soon, but Etho hung around regardless. For just a moment in the uncommon silence in this game.

“Do you think its kinda funny?” Bdubs looks at Etho from the corner of his eye. “I know you're good at fighting but.. you don't do it much.”

Etho was quiet for a moment. “Oh, um. I guess its kinda funny.”

“I mean- I mean its like... its just funny because, you know. We haven't really been doing things like... like that Death games-” Bdubs continues, “or, or UHC even. You were gettin' a lotta kills back then.”

Bdubs seems to say it with some kind of pride for Etho, impressed by what he was capable of. Etho wasn't unhappy with those incidents, not at all. It had just been so long.

“I mean, I still- I can still... you know, kill people.” Etho says quietly, looking over at Bdubs. “I have, recently.”

“Oh yeah, yeah I know but it's just,” Bdubs replies with a laugh. “its different ya know?”

“It is.” Etho pauses, running a hand along his chest where those faint scars lie. “It's... part of the games, like its expected. Not really a thing I just... decided to do. Like I really wanted to.”

There's more quiet between them, the night getting colder and their breaths billowing out as they breathe.

“I try not to really make it my...thing anymore, though.”

“Your thing?”

Etho clears his throat. “You know, the scary persona. It's handy, I guess... but-”

“You're not scary.” Bdubs interrupts with a laugh. “To me, because I know you.”

“Well I just- I didn't really think it'd catch on after all this time.” Etho sighs.

“So no more killing?” Bdubs asks, clearly with jest. “You wouldn't wanna kill my pretty face? Its been so long.”

“No... Or, yes?” Etho chuckles.

Bdubs hums. “Alright, alright- well I look forward to adding another scar when that happens.”

Etho feels Bdubs scoot closer to him.

He swallows. “You still have scars on you? From... years back?”

Bdubs nods, “Yeah... you'd think almost ten years later they'd be gone. But you got some pretty good hits on me- no matter how many respawns, some are still there.”

As they lay there, Etho sees Bdubs raise his right arm, a faint scar running all the way down. “You didn't kill me on this one but, hoo boy. It stuck around.”

Quietly, Etho looked at Bdubs' arm. He wasn't sure what to say. It didn't make him sad, or guilty. There was some kind of feeling tugging at him though, something different. He reached up and locked his fingers with Bdubs'.

“You want another scar to think about?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright.” Etho said, “Another time though, okay? I want to stick together this series.”

“You don't wanna kill me when we go red?” Bdubs looked over, grinning.

“No.” He kept his eyes on the night sky above. “Not this time. We're sticking together.”

[briefle]

attempts at communications

In the early morning haze, with the fog rising from the ground and the cold of the night still stinging nose and ears, the path to the two stocky towers must seem almost dreamlike. For someone trying to infiltrate the back of the fortifications, however, the steep mountain had only mudslides and dangerously unearthed roots to offer as welcome. And god, did Bdubs feel like he got the biggest welcome yet.

He made it. It's fine. Without a single scratch even! If you don't count all those scratches on his arms from helplessly grasping at anything to stand upright.

There's a tiny passage behind the painting in his room… Surely everyone knows it exists, but there it is still. He's decided not to think about that too hard.

His boots off, he doesn't make any noise at all.

"Hi Bdubs."

"GH— YES, HELLO."

Maybe some noise was made.

"What doing?"

"Hi Grian how are you I'm wonderful myself it's getting quite chilly outside it's probably because of that mountain you guys keep as a backdrop good for wind protection I think but man do temperatures drop over in this corner—"

"Right."

"So!"

He coughs, half politely and half a necessity after his rapid-fire panic, but the silence stretches on.

Grian unnerves him sometimes. There he is, pinned in place screaming at himself to think of something to say.

Lucky he speaks first, "Didn't see you walk up to the front door…"

"Oh, I just wound up back here. You know with how everything… last time… I just ended up resting here."

"Right."

"Right again! Yes."

Beady black eyes stare him down. How could Bdubs even forget he lives here, He moved in after most alliances were formed but fits in so seamlessly it's like he's always been there and a ghost at the same time. God the silence is getting on his nerves already.

"So, since we are both all right and everything is fine, I'll take my leave."

Half a step is all he manages to take.

"Which of them were you actually looking for?"

"I uh—"

"Even then! It's early. They're not here. Everyone knows it's just me here at this time."

He sighs, even pinches his nose. It reminds him a lot about Cleo's sigh. Makes him feel like he might actually be in the wrong here.

"Bdubs…"

"No, it's fine. I'll go."

"Listen. I don't think they care too much."

What.

"It's not something you're doing because you want to. It's a Task. You have to follow it. I don't think they're the type to hold a grudge for that. Even if they were, for you they'd find a way to make an exception."

"What."

Grian waits.

"I don't have to do anything. No one has to do Tasks. We could all decide to go on strike. Right now. Not do any task. At all. See how that goes."

"It's not— That won't work."

He laughs, "Sure it won't. You just say that because it's your show. Everything you say is because this is your Show. How many shots do you call here, huh?"

"Actually, Bdubs…"

"Let me see: out of everyone here just Scott, Cleo and you survive. Miraculously! No one even knew where you where and our little glade here isn't so impossibly big that 13 people can't find ANY of you."

"Well, there's the session time also—"

"Oh the one YOU announce?"

Grian narrows his eyes. He hasn't moved an inch this whole time and Bdubs feels like he could run a marathon with how much energy he's restraining trying not to pace back and forth.

"Who are we angry at here?"

"Y-You?! Clearly?!"

He doesn't answer. Again.

"Call them up right now, let me see them. I need to speak to Etho and Cleo both."

And then? There is no plan but he's sticking with what he has.

For now he's balled up his fists and crossed his arms. And scrunched his face for good measure.

"Is it an apology you're here for? Or over some sense of obligation?"

It's his turn to not answer. Take that. Seconds tick and blast it all, Grian doesn't seem too fussed about silence either way.

"Bdubs, what would you even tell them right now. That having denounced the Mounders as a red name you'd much rather join us full time? I don't understand."

"Of course you don't."

He sighs again. Maybe he is fussed. Maybe this is what Grian being driven up the wall looks like. Etho would have understood right away. He would have known his good intentions immediately. Surely.

"Just— Be careful, going back and forth from so many allies."

He almost wants to stand there some more. Yell some more. Then all but storms out of the place in silent frustration.

The air outside is not refreshing, it's just cold, and the fog isn't quite dreamlike anymore, it's just annoying.

He makes sure to be back before Pearl comes to.

[xelidonia]

Double Life SMP golden apple prompts

Just going to put these down before I watch ep5 for reference. Also, they're named after lines of "This Will End", because all good MCYT fic is based off of the Oh Hellos.

No, I am not afraid to die (it's every breath that comes before) -- Impulse and Bdubs are being hunted down, and one must eat the golden apple in order to have the strength to defend them both.

Heartache, I've heard, is part of life (and I have broken more and more) -- Martyn, holding a golden apple, threatens to kill Cleo unless Scott promises to sever their alliance and respect his soul connection to her. Eventually Scott promises to abandon her "until I'm red"... and the apple goes uneaten for now.

I can hope that this will end (with every line a comedy) -- Etho and Joel separately bargain for a golden apple, each saying they're going to kill the other, then it's revealed that they were planning to cure zombie villagers the whole time. "Were you ever worried?" "…No." "Aww, you trusted me?" "More like I knew I could just eat mine faster."

That we could learn to love without demand (but unreserved honesty) -- BigB receives a golden apple from Grian and debates whether to turn it over to Ren. He decides not to-- until Ren walks in on him holding it.

If I am not afraid to die (and you are crouching at my door) -- Jimmy can feel, deep down, that he's fated to die first. This is the way of the world. So he gets a golden apple for Tango, so his soulmate can have his own chance at life. Strangely, Tango doesn't seem happy about this gift.

And suffering is all there is to gain in life (then what is all this waiting for?) -- Pearl looks at her dog, thinks about her life, and then standing on the edge of her house, she eats her golden apple. Scott feels the regen and sees the hunger bar go up, and instantly knows what's coming. He tells Cleo to crit him with an axe, which she does just before Pearl can jump, neutralizing the apple's effect. She was betrayed at the last, but apple-less, she jumps again anyway to spite Cleo and they both lose.

I can see how this will end (in all its bitter tragedy) -- They've imagined this every day, talked about it at night, stewing and waiting while they eat and their soulmates take damage. Once they're both on their red lives, Scott and Cleo go to the Nether. They take golden apples. They eat them and jump into lava together, knowing they'll both die, but Pearl and Martyn will die first. They'll win this game like soulmates should: together.

I'll give you all I have to spend (and you'll give nothing back to me) -- Grain and Scar are trapped on a platform of wood that's burning up beneath them. There's no water bucket this time. The fall will deal 10 hearts damage. But, if one eats a golden apple and jumps, that one could survive while the other dies. Scar says that he knows Grian has an apple, because it was given to him by BigB. He tells him to use the apple and go live with the man who was obviously better for him, and only to take good care of the Jellies that survive.

I will wait for this to end (the back and forth, the battery) -- Bdubs is in the Deep Dark. Impulse is at home, tidying. Suddenly, Bdubs starts taking massive damage. Impulse eats all the food, but it's not enough. His hunger is full. He sees the apple, and eats it, giving them both regen. But it's not enough. Bdubs dies anyway, and all that Impulse could do is watch. He never gets to say goodbye.

For you, at last, to comprehend (the kind of love of which I speak) -- Scott and Cleo are building together when Scott finds a golden apple. They laugh and joke about it, saying that if they were normal soulmates they'd be pretty worried by it. They don't want to keep it around in case it falls into the wrong hands. Cleo decides to eat it, not for any nefarious purpose, not to rid herself of any bond, just to see how it tastes. And it is good.

[thesnailkiwi]

i wanna hear more about your weird vivid 3rd life dreams /not forced

Mkay mkay I really want to talk about this

First time it happened, or as I call it "first session". (Side note, everyone looked like their characters but realistic.)

Started out (normal?) And collected stuff. The usual. I didn't know anyone at all and it was weird. Everyone felt so familiar, yet I couldn't place who they were. I met Martyn pretty early on. We talked, and he threw seeds at me and ran off. I settled in the roots of a tree the first night (the rain was unpleasant to say the least). Eventually I dug out the area around the upturned tree and put a roof so it was kind of like a burrow. Boy, how I envied Dogwarts at the time.

I met Joel next. He... was something, alright. He insulted me half the time and actually does swear a lot. Oh, and he was like 5'6 so that made it even funnier. He was annoying, though. He kinda just broke into my house tbh.

After that, I heard about Tango’s game but thought it was too risky. I was also afraid because of Scar since I didn't know him and from the stories I had heard he was cruel and merciless. In my defense, he was a red.

I met Jimmy after his first death. He's such a nice dude omg. He's also easy af to fluster. I complimented him and he turned bright red. He, seeing my pathetic house, invited me back to the flower valley for the night. Scott was offended that he brought home someone other than him lmao. At first Scott was defensive but after Jimmy convinced him I was fine then he loosened up. I felt like a third wheel the whole time. Jeez Louise the sheer amount of affection between those two.

Ahaha the next day I wasnt too lucky. I got caught in a TNT trap someone set (I think it was the Crastle, but I'm still unsure) and exploded. Not fun, exploding. Let me tell you. At least it was quick ig.

Bdubs was grumpy about that since it wasn't meant for me. Sir, how am I supposed to know that when you set it near MY HOUSE?

This is where things started going downhill.

Dogwarts was starting to rise. I was allies with the flower valley so I quickly was introduced to the desert duo. I felt kinda bad for Grian since he couldn't use his wings, but realistic harpy things are weird looking. Scar was terrifying. My dude is like 6 feet tall, grey, and littered with scars. Jimmy was red and he still wasn't scary! Wtf!

Ah yes. The burning of the banner. How could I forget? I wasn't there for it, but Scott sounded scared when I visited them next.

I had seen Ren from a distance, and I was so, so angry at Martyn for becoming the monster he did. Oh yeah, and the two of them kept beating around the bush in their relationship and that was annoying as well. Like, dude, just tell him already.

I never really met the Crastle. But I did meet Martyn again and blow up on him about being part of Red Winter.

And here we are! The bunker battle.

I don't really remember much about this part. Pure adrenaline took over. But I did die to being shot by an arrow and falling into the lava moat. I ran back as fast as I could with literal leather armor. Jimmy was dead by then, and when Scott realized, oh jeebus bleebus.

Anger, sorrow, revenge. He definitely was NOT thinking clearly. Since I was closest to Jimmy in the battle, he blamed me for his death. He attacked me and killed me with his sword. Very uncomfortable way to die.

Session two.

Started out on bad terms. I killed a few of the villagers Grian saved and he definitely was NOT happy. I swear he meant the creeper for me and it agro-ed on scar instead. But we'll never know ig.

The Crastle became my home this time. Cleo was recruiting so I signed up.

It went how you think it would. Except this time I played Tango’s game. I failed and died.

Then Dogwarts invaded the Crastle. The others except Impulse got away, but then I realized he was a traitor. I got sacrificed on the altar. Dude the Red Winter axe is a huge ceremonial battle axe. Ren laughing is extremely eerie.

Then during the final siege, Martyn took my last life. Pretty anticlimactic if I say so myself.

Anyway, any questions? I can talk for hours.

I swear every time you send an ask, it turns into a whole essay lmao /pos

[c-r-ash-crash]

The Mountain's Different Now

Grian sat on the edge of the Magic Mountain, legs dangling over the edge of the sheer drop.  He had been standing a moment ago, but when memories of falling to the sands far below had filled his mind…well he had decided it was safer to sit down.

He could see why Scar liked this spot.  It was beautiful, easily defendable, and a beacon to the rest of the server.  You could see the whole world from on top of the mountain.  It was no surprise that Scar would choose to call such a place home.  From where he was sitting, he could see Scott and Pearl’s cottage as well as Ren’s tower.  Out of his periphery, he could just see team BEST’s base.  

Already, there were so many red lives.  Him, Joel, Bdubs, Cleo.  He wondered who would be next.  He wondered who would come for their lives first.

Behind him, he heard footsteps, crunching over the rocky soil.  They paused just behind him, and the two sat in silence for a while.  Finally, without turning around, Grian said, “You can relax, Scar.  I’m not here to kill you.  Or to ask for a life.  You can come sit.”

“How can I trust you?” Scar asked.  There was a teasing note to his voice though that told Grian he wasn’t serious.  Grian answered anyway.  “You can always trust me, Scar.  Third Life may be over, but I’m still bound to you.  If you’re going down, I’m going down with you.”

“Ah,” Scar said with understanding.  “So it’s one of those nights.”  He sat down beside Grian, and the two remained in comfortable silence for a while.  Once the sun had fully set, Scar spoke up.  “Have the Southlands kicked you out yet?”  

“Yeah,” Grian grumbled, kicking his feet against the cliff face.  “They didn’t even let me collect my stuff.”  Scar’s brow furrowed, offended on Grian’s behalf.  “Do you want me to intimidate them into giving it back?”

“Nah,” Grian said with a shrug.  “I would have done the same thing.  Besides, it’s probably all been raided by now.  Can’t say that I blame them.  It’s a tough world.  The fact that there are four reds doesn’t help.”  Scar hummed in agreement, and they fell back into silence.

After a few moments, Scar asked, “So, why don’t you want a life?”  “Oh don’t worry,” Grian said with a laugh.  “I’m gonna make you give me one tomorrow.”

“Why?” Scar didn’t bother to hide his confusion.  “I would give you one, no questions asked.  You’re still bound to me.  I don’t wanna lose you so soon.”  Grian shook his head.  “No.   I want to survive…but…”

He reached into the air, as if he could just pluck the words he wanted from the stars themselves.  Perhaps he could.  He had never tried.  Finally, he seemed to find what he was looking for.  “I wanna do it on my own terms.  I wanna earn it.  That life needs to be mine.  I’m not…”  His voice caught in his throat.  “I’m not letting them take that from me too.”

“Then why not take all my lives?” Scar asked.  “You and I both know that you could.  And wouldn’t the best way to survive be to make it to the end of the game?”  Grian’s shoulders tensed.  “I want to survive, Scar.  But I don’t want to win.”  “That didn’t stop you last time.”

Grian whirled around to face Scar.  “What?!” he demanded, angry.  “Well,” Scar said, holding out his hands out placatingly.  “You never wanted to kill.  You never wanted to be the villain.  And admit it, Grian.  We were the villains.  But you still did all that.  And you knew that it would bring you to the top.  I don’t think you wanted to win then.  But you still did. So what’s different now?”

Grian was still for a long time.  Then he leaned on Scar’s shoulder and relaxed into the familiar motion.  “I did want to win, Scar,” he confessed, voice small.  “I didn’t…I didn’t want to be on top.  I didn’t want to kill anyone.  But I needed to win.  So that I could protect you all.”

The empty night air stretched on between them.  Scar didn’t say anything, waiting patiently until Grian was ready to continue.  Finally, he did.

“We…we didn’t end up in the game by accident.  We’re here because-” he paused, not wanting to admit it, but needing to tell Scar the truth all the same.  “We’re here because of me.”

“What do you mean?” Scar asked gently.  “Third Life was a punishment, designed to torture me.  Take all my friends and pit them against each other.  Make me watch, strip me of any power to stop it.  I fought back of course.  I refused to let them keep me on the sidelines, forced them to let me play.  But they still got to feed on my suffering.”

“Who was punishing you?”  Grian didn’t miss the anger in Scar’s voice.  Instinctively, he curled in on himself.  

“When…when I was young, barely even an adult, I founded this server called Evo.  But it turns out that there were already beings there.  They…they took me.  It thought for years that I had been chosen, that I was one of them.  I thought that I too was one of these benevolent gods that protected player kind.  But after a while…I realized that I was just a glorified pet that they had stolen from its home.  When I realized that, I began looking for a way out.  When I found out that they had destroyed Evo…I did leave.  And it wasn’t peaceful or subtle.  I fled to Hermitcraft.

They…well they don’t like it when their pets disobey them.  I thought that if I won, that if I gave them a good show, it would prove that I could give them what they wanted.  I-I was even willing to go back with them if it meant sparing your lives.  If it meant sparing your life, Scar.  But then I woke up in Hermitcraft.  Everyone was safe, even the Evo members.  Xisuma couldn’t find the entities anywhere.  I thought that was the end of it.  But well…here we are.”  Grian gestured at the sky listlessly

“Who are these entities?”  Scar asked.  Anger radiated off of him, but one look at Scar’s eyes, so gentle and kind, told Grian it wasn’t directed at him.  It would never be directed at him.

“I’m not telling you,” Grian said.  There was no hint of mischief to his voice anymore.  That scared Scar.  He began to protest, but Grian held up his hand.  Scar’s confidence died immediately.

“Names have power, Scar,” Grian explained.  “If I tell you who you are, then they can find you.  And I don’t think they’ll take you as a pet.  You’d be the perfect thing to use against me.  And you don’t want to find out what it’s like to be their prisoner.  Trust me.”

He could still feel the anger rolling off Scar, not ebbed by his warnings.  “Please, Scar,” he whispered.  “Thank you for being angry.  It’s good to know I can count on you.  But please don’t go looking for a fight you’ll lose.  Please.”

There was a tense moment, but then Scar relented.  “Fine,” he grumbled.  “But if I ever see them, I can’t promise I won’t do something rash.  Now, do you have a place to stay for the night?”  The subject wasn’t particularly subtle, but Grian was grateful for it anyway.

He shook his head.  “You can stay with me, then,” Scar announced.  “And no, you wouldn’t be inconveniencing me, and yes I have the room.”  “But the rules!” Grian protested weakly, already allowing Scar to pull him to his feet.  

“Screw the rules,” Scar said with a wave of his hand.  “Besides, you showed me nothing but kindness when I was red.  It’s time I returned the favor.  Now come on.  It’s getting late.  I don’t want a creeper spawning.”

Grian allowed Scar to lead him into Magic Mountain, and the two slept peacefully, safe in the knowledge that the other was there.

[erstwhilesparrow]

@catgirldragon requested this transcript that i had just sort of sitting around in my google docs, so i figured i'd post it here! cobbled together from the limited life finale episodes of cleo, scar, and tango. post-death spectator mode conversations:

(scar dies 20 min into his pov, cleo dies 22:10 in her pov, tango dies 15:05 in his pov)

s: [talking to himself] wow, what a series, what a series! we’ve learned never turn our back on grian, but i had a blast, look at our clock tower, and of course, this was, hwoof—!

[cleo heard laughing]

s: wow, is that cleo?

s: hello?

c: [simultaneously, coming in] —never turn your back — our problem, scar—

s: where are you guys? [i don’t know where this line of dialogue goes but it’s somewhere in here!]

[it gets real confusing around here, ‘where are you guys’ just doesn’t seem to show up in cleo’s pov? instead, they hear from scar: “wowhahah… never turn your back, i suppose, never turn your back… well there we go guys, i hope you enjoyed limited life, fwoo! ” overlapping with cleo’s ‘never turn your back’ line above]

s: hi cleo!

c: hi! our problem is we’re too trusting.

[there’s a lot of cross-talk around here]

s: oh, hi family! it’s a family reunion!

c: it’s the family reu—! it’s ghost reunion! 

bdubs: guys, hey! heyyyy!

c: yayyy!

b: hi! hey!

s: this is beautiful!

c: aw, we’re all together!

[cut here in scar’s pov, video ends in cleo’s pov]

s: i was shot in the back. i-i was stabbed in the back.

c: me too! actually, i was shot in the face, but, you know.

b: yeah…

c: close enough. 

[scar has a cut here]

c: yeah, that’s okay though!

b: valiant fight against tango.

s: well, the thing was is i didn’t really want to engage him, because i felt it was unsportmanlike to kill him again? so i was kind of, like, hesitant? 

b: right. 

c: you see, that— yeah. [giggles]

s: because i wanted cleo or scott to get him? and then i let him kind of go, but then he came after me—

b: he ca—he—

s: —and i was like, “uh-uh-uh-uhhh.” 

b: yeah.

c: well.

b: yeah.

s: i don’t know, i just couldn’t kill him again, i just didn’t feel right!

b: he killed himself. he died of fall damage.

[tango arrives — there might’ve been a cut here?]

t: transparent people can hear me!

s: oh, hi, tango!

c: hey! tango!

t: ohh hey, all of you guys? you’re all jerks, i just want you to know that, thanks.

b: ooh, stop it!

c: you suck, tango, you suck!

s: oh, tango, it’s the afterlife, we’re all getting along now.

t: i didn’t get a single kill all series, all right? aw, scar wrecks me in pvp, time to hang it up.

b: [scar cuts out this bit but you can see it from tango’s: bdubs says, “tango, tango, was that a—”] but you died from fall damage, right?

t: y-yeah, chasing scar. i jumped off a two-block drop, boop! died.

b: yeah, two blocks, two blocks. yeah yeah yeah.

t: like most pathe—the most pathetic way to die, ever!

b: yeah.

s: i didn’t want to kill you! it felt unsportmanlike to kill you twice. 

[you also don’t hear this from tango in scar’s pov: “how much health were you at at the end there—?” while scar is saying, “i kept saying, at the end there, i didn’t want to kill you—!”]

t: how much health were you at there scar, at the end?

s: i—i constantly have been flirting with one heart.

[tango cuts his video here to do outro]

t: augh. did you have another—another stupid golden apple?

s: no, i just had one.

c: bets to win. martyn, right?

t: m-martyn just backstabbed impulse. you know, we—we—impulse was like, “hey, you wanna be teammates?” and of course, as i told my team, he’s gonna backstab us! and that’s just what he did.

c: well yeah, martyn is king backstabber—

t: he’s just the worst.

c: —but he’s going to win this one— [scar cuts to do outro]