#love you bdubs you’re my everything

[goodtimeswithscared]

yesterday i spent twelve hours watching the limited life bdubs’ pov, here’s my favorite moments :3

[cassberry]

(Looking to watch 3rd Life, Last Life or Double Life? Here you go!)

If you are looking for a guide of some Limited Life episodes to catch up on for no particular reason at all (certainly not a new season being around the corner), I've got you covered!

Now I'm not going to lie, trying to curate this list for Limited Life broke me. The mechanics of this season meant that you gained time by killing other players and in doing so it felt like 50 things were happening all at once constantly across the server. As such I haven't been able to get absolutely everything onto this list, but I did try my best to get all the important events and a wide range of perspectives!

WARNING: Incredibly long read more where I go over why I picked certain POV's and what to expect. I do so love to ramble. Spoilers ahead!

SESSION ONE

Skizz - Breaking from tradition from recommending Grian first because you need to watch Skizz's POV first out of everyone unspoiled. The way things unraveled this episode felt like a sitcom in the best and worst ways lol 

Grian - Just a good solid first episode honestly and with the start of the Bad Boys™ how can you not love it. 

Scar -  I really have no words for whatever is the dynamic of the Clockers because you really just have to see it to understand. It’s a fun episode and as Scar, Cleo and Bdubs have set up near spawn, you always get to see something interesting. 

Big B - Big B’s episodes are always a treat as he does super long ones that give you a little more insight into what's happening on the server, rather than just the big events. But if you wanted something specific to watch, his last 10 minutes of this episode were a blast. 

SESSION TWO

Joel - Bad Boys Bread Bridge was both the most amazing and ugliest build on the server and I’m so glad it was made. Also Joel gets some amazing kills this episode that are so tense to watch. 

Martyn - Look this one is here because of a little personal bias. Martyn shouts me out in the episode so I couldn’t not add it lol It’s also a very good episode in of itself in that it introduces the Mean Gills and I’ll always be a Mean Gills supporter. Also that Tilly roast? oof 

Pearl - Pearl is constantly on the move this episode and living up to her Nosy Neighbour title so watch her episode if you want some good gossip and to see the lay of the land. 

Tango - Tango always delivers a solid episode and as he was building the TIES Tower a majority of the time he receives a lot of foot traffic through the area creating some fun interactions. 

SESSION THREE

Scar - And in this episode of Limited Life, Scar rediscovers the joys of minecart TNT. 

Impulse - Impulse is such a fun boogey to watch, and the way he edited this episode around his thought process of who to kill was great. 

Grian - Kind of a different episode this session as Grian was sick so he was afk the entire time. It was very very very funny to watch, but as he wasn’t interacting with anyone you’re going to miss a lot of context if you only watch his POV. You should still give this a watch though! 

Joel - Watching poor Joel run around after Grian trying to keep him safe was incredibly entertaining lmao 

SESSION FOUR

Scott - I believe Grian said it best, but this session felt like a final session with the way the yellows were chasing after the greens. It was pure chaos the entire time and Scott beautifully evading them all until his descent into yellow was perfection. 

Tango - Tango is here for the same reason as Scott but as the last green the final hunt for him was terrifying to watch. 

Cleo - I love Cleo’s episodes and this one was just a joy. She was slightly sick this week but I feel like that only lowered her inhibitions to do some out of pocket stuff. 

Jimmy - The exciting saga of Judge Judy and Executioner continues in Jimmy’s episode this week and if you didn’t know anything about it, that's ok! Neither did anyone else on the server except for Jimmy, Pearl and Big B lmao consider this the best episode to watch if you want this plotline covered. 

SESSION FIVE 

Etho - Considering the episode starts off with Etho having to babysit Bdubs, then an awkward family dinner and an explosive game of catch, I really couldn’t have asked for a better Etho video. 

Big B - This session was a lot more calm than the previous, so there was a lot more alliance talk happening. Big B has a great perspective on all that as he and Pearl get up to a tonne of mischief that causes some problems with some alliances they already had. 

Scott - Once again this was an alliance building week and Scott’s episode really highlights some of the more fun things that happened to make and break some relationships. 

Grian - Poor Bread Bridge o7 you will be missed. Thankfully M-Rye 5 was there at the end to rain chaos from above. (<-sentences that make no sense out of context) 

SESSION SIX 

Cleo & Pearl - I couldn’t choose between either of these two this session. Both Cleo and Pearl were out sick so they handed over their accounts to two other players. I won’t spoil who they are but these episodes were amazing. 

Jimmy - The Bad Boys were going through it this week goddamn lol It never stops being funny how much of a mess everything becomes when they get together. 

Martyn - It was his birthday this session and he’s just a little guy! Surely nothing would go wrong at his birthday party? And certainly not caused by him! 

Tango - The last half of Tango’s episode is just a comical amount of deaths that only get funnier and funnier as the time between them shortens. 

SESSION SEVEN

Skizz - Oh Skizz. You are too good for this world. His ending for this episode was heartbreaking and Affirmation Station will live on in my heart forever.

Scott - I love watching Scott run around the map and hunt people down because he is so good at the game! I believe he had the highest kill count this session and I loved every minute of it. 

Joel - (Major Spoilers) Ah Joel it just wasn’t meant to be! But hearing the desperation in his voice grow higher and higher as the clock ticked down was nail biting. Scar - Just a good Scar episode honestly! Shows what the Clockers are up to during all the chaos and a great view of the server devolving into anarchy.

SESSION EIGHT 

Martyn - WOOOO YESSSS LETS GOOOOOO (<- does that count as spoilers???)

I distinctly remember being on the edge of my seat this whole episode and Martyn delivers in every way possible for a fantastic final episode of the season. 

Impulse - I haven’t mentioned it yet but Impulse’s editing this season went wild and it's none more apparent than in this episode. He and his team went crazy for the finale. 

Etho - Such a fun episode!! The twist at the end with the diamond sword coming into play was everything I could have wanted and more. 

Pearl - It was really a toss up between Pearl and Scott for this last spot, but I loved her perspective for the one last minigame on the server. 

BONUS 

Bdubs - Do you have a spare 12 hours to dedicate to Limited Life? Then oh boy does Bdubs have a video for you! Instead of weekly videos he decided to collate all his episodes into one mammoth video which was an absolute blast to watch over a weekend! It’s a really interesting POV to watch because when LimLife was airing Bdubs would just appear all over the map and we never had any idea what he was doing so it was awesome to have some concrete evidence of his shenanigans. Definitely give this one a watch if you’re in the mood for a marathon! 

IN SUMMARY…

I swear if the next season is as messy as this one, I think I’m going to have to start taking notes when it's airing because I think this took years off my life haha if you think I’ve missed anything please tag it because I would love to see it! I definitely could have added more POV’s per session like I did with the Last Life and 3rd Life guides, but I think a more curated list helps keep down the overwhelming nature of trying to watch a million Limited Life episodes. 

But really, I loved watching Limited Life live so I’m glad I give myself an excuse each new season to go back and watch the season over again. There are so many little foreshadowed moments that you don’t see on the first watch and honestly it all just makes me more excited for the new season! Thanks for reading <3

[slashmagpie]

“Here’s what happened, okay. We were on a date with Clebert—”

“It’s not a date.”

“—and, and Etho walks by and she, she looks at him, she’s like whoa.”

“She just catcalls him, like woohoo!”

“Woo!”

“I’m out, yeah!”

“You got it wrong, me and Etho are besties! We’re not—we’re not—it’s not romantic.”

They’re not sure why it feels so important. 

It’s not that Cleo has ever really—well, that’s not quite—they’ve never argued about it before, is the thing. Like—with Bdubs. With Bdubs, right, people had—they’d assumed. It’s what people do. Even Scott, and Scott is—Scott is Scott. He knows about these sorts of things. And even he…

“Bdubs is your ride or die, Jimmy’s mine, he’s my husband, and he’s with them, so I’m kind of—but I don’t ever want to fight you.”

“If Bdubs betrays me—if our husbands die, yeah?”

Husband. Because that was the word Scott had been using, for Jimmy, and Bdubs had been Cleo’s Jimmy, in a way, so it had—it had made sense. Use the same words for the same thing. And then—being married is kind of a funny bit, isn’t it? So later, when Bdubs and Impulse had been lying to them—

“Bdubs, I know we’re divorced and you’re with Impulse now, but did you really think you could lie to me?”

And whilst Cleo’s not sure they put too much stock in Ren’s claims as to what he’d caught Bdubs and Impulse doing in the woods, they know that whatever those two had going on wasn’t quite the same. They’d said it was, but they hadn’t really meant it. Not really. Marriage—marriage is a funny bit, really, is all it is. 

After all, last season, with Etho—being divorced is also a funny bit. 

“I’m not calling you wife.”

“You can call me Cleo!”

He still doesn’t call them wife. Still calls them Cleo. Calls them bestie, now, too, ironic grin beneath his mask. Etho’s not too big on PDA, either, which is—nice. Not that Cleo doesn’t like it, it’s just—

“It’s platonic,” they insist to Tango, to Skizz, and see their eyes sparkle. They don’t get it. They don’t get it, and it makes Cleo’s skin crawl, because—

Cleo’s loyal, is the thing. When they say ride or die, when they say allies, when they say husband or soulmate or my boys—they mean it. If you’re theirs, you���re theirs, and that means everything. 

But it doesn’t mean—

Romance is a funny bit. It’s a like a costume, really. Pull it on, pull it off, kiss and hold hands and sleep in the same bed and say your vows for the fun of it. Then shrug it off at the end of the day and go back to being friends. There’s no—they don’t feel any of those sappy things, really. It’s not them. Sure, Cleo loves people, loves their friends, but not—like that. They don’t want anything to do with any of that. The aesthetic of it, the performance of it, the drama of it? They’ll take it. But they’ll leave the rest. The mushy, goopy, complicated feelings soup part of it—that’s not theirs. Other people can deal with that. Cleo will be off dealing with better things.

It’s—it’s like being a woman, really, in that Cleo doesn’t really mind that people see them that way—plays into it, really, loves the aesthetic, has fun with the performance—but they don’t really feel it. And they don’t mind that other people don’t exactly understand—

Until they step too close, say something Cleo really doesn’t like the sound of, and then they’re snapping, “I’m not a woman,” with such force it makes the perpetrator flinch.

It’s the same thing, this, Tango and Skizz stepping too close to their toes, getting in their personal space, and it bubbles up out of them before they can stop it. It’s platonic. We’re platonic. And the fact that other people aren’t seeing that—

It itches. Prickles. Stifles. Hugs their bones like an ill-fitting coat.

It’s one thing to wear a costume, to put on a show—but Cleo will not be stuffed into a suit without their permission and put up on a stage to read a script they never had any intention of performing. 

“We’re just besties, we’re not in a romantic relationship,” they tell Tango. He blinks at them, and they can see that the words don’t quite go in—

It itches.

Maybe if Cleo makes being besties the new bit, the itch will stop bothering them quite so much.

[frozenjokes]

Hermitdragons Masterpost (Wings of Fire x Hermitcraft/Third Life AU)

Grainshifter (Grian) was born to the Nightwings under one full moon, giving him the power to read minds. However, as fortold by Nightwing seers, he also possesses animus magic, a power that the Nightwings will use to bring their tribe into greater glory, becoming Watchers that feed off the strong emotions of the other dragon species, particularly fear. When Grainshifter attends Jade Mountain Academy in disguise as a Skywing called Grian, the Watchers take notes, and years later they surprise him with his very own death game featuring all his friends.

hello hello! this fic is on hiatus, and while I would like to finish it one day, it is my first foray into fic writing basically ever, and my writing has improved dramatically since a year ago when I started to write this. It’s been a while since I’ve reread this, but I have been told it’s good! lol. However! There’s still a lot of content (70k words and SO MUCH ART) so let’s get into it!

Fic One - Ruler of Everything

After Grian betrays Nightwatcher secrets to one of his best friends, Scar, he is punished by the Nightwatchers and placed into a death game with all of his past friends from the academy. However, there are two dragons he does not know; Scott, a Seawing who seems mostly normal, and Martyn, a dragon whose mind he can not read at all. Whose mind no one can read. Whose body can not be manipulated by animus magic. Soon, it is clear that Grian is not the only dragon here that is being punished.

Fic Two - Mechanical Hands (this fic does not exist but in theory it would after the first)

Grian comes to terms with his relationship with the Nightwatchers, finally realizing and accepting that they do not love him, and only want to use him. He teams up with Martyn in a shared goal of destroying animus magic, but a massive problem still stands; they’re both still stuck in these death games. And their friends are still under the Nightwatchers’ magical control. As the games go on, things are starting to feel hopeless, but revealing the secret of Martyn’s immunity to animus magic that he has so desperately tried to keep might just be the solution these trapped dragons need to escape.

Beyond these summaries, I’m going to try and keep these story explanations brief, however, if you’re interested is All Of The Art + commentary + more story explored through the art, then you can keep reading under the cut :) also just as a warning there is a lot of undetailed cartoon blood below

Designs

before writing, these were my first pass of most of the designs in the series! As you can probably tell from the references of the main three characters at the top, Scar, Grian, and even Martyn have changed quite a bit, and if I ever return to this series, other designs will probably change as well. Except Joel and Bdubs. Those are peak. The biggest change from these designs, is that Jimmy is not actually a dragon in this fic!(which is why I included the third picture with him, Scott, and Grian) He is super human, and he dies first for A REASON. He just looks the way canon Jimmy does, minus the wings.

Full Pieces

I made two fully rendered pieces for this fic. To the left is a scene from the academy where Pearl, Ren, and BigB are play fighting in the mountains while Grian and Scar watch. Grian is very uptight in the academy, struggling socially, and his friends, painfully aware Grian comes from a bad home situation and possibly raised in a cult, are trying to help him relax and have a nice time in school while he has the chance.

On the right is a scene from far into the death game, where Scar is overtaken by the magic of his red life, and is threatening to force Grian to kill all three Dogwarts dragons, and at the same time, blowing himself up in the process. The dragon on the left is Skizz and I hate his design, however the little tie thing is hilarious.

Chapter Headers

I made a ton of headers for the chapters of this fic, though most of them are broken on ao3 as far as I’m aware. However, you can see them here!

dragons featured in order of appearance: Scar, Pearl, BigB, Grian, Martyn, Scott, Jimmy, Ren. This isn’t actually every header but I’m going to run out of images and these cover most of them. The ones I left out aren’t anything special.

Mini Comics + Misc Art

I have literally run out of image slots. But that’s okay (most of the stuff was covered, but if you want to scroll through the hermitdragons tag then feel free). Hope you enjoyed regardless! This series is still very close to my heart, and even though I kind of lost touch with it, it’s something I still love dearly. Thanks for reading :)

[give-grian-rights]

Hermitcraft Fic Rec!

HELLO. i have hundreds, HUNDREDS of hermitcraft fanfiction bookmarked and living in my brain without rent. Breaking this up into categories for some of my PERSONAL favorite fics in the fandom- including categories for shipping, crossover, and worldbuilding.

Some of these fics are from 2019 but generally speaking you don't need knowledge of past seasons you should be able to pick up on just about all of them. a lot of these are mostly included BECAUSE they're older and therefore, harder to accidentally stumble upon. put in no particular order.

If your fic is on here and you'd like it removed, send an Ask with the fic, a dm, etc

World Building

The Parting Glass / To Pass The Jungle You Have To Go All The Way Around - Sekrap.

Doc has been trying to forget. He has done everything everyone told him he should do to make the memories go away. And still the jungle calls for him. / He was a monster. Then, a man. Now, a machine. Doc, once a normal Creeper, was not meant to live. Let alone become a Player. He learned to speak, he learned to fight, he learned to build. Some things stayed the same. aka- the Domestic Creeper au.

____

Carpet Trick - CrazyCatMeow

You all know the double carpet trick right? What happens when that joint with a tired mad scientist meet.

Mob hybrids can't see carpets <3 extra silly and very lighthearted

____

Window Pane - blueticked

Tango and Impulse discuss the brand new presence of Helsknight.

It's not a coincidence that all the evil personas have red eyes.

Tango is a Hels, struggling with self-acceptance and his place in Hermitcraft, which was never meant to be for him. in my head ALL THE TIME

____

"I know" - KindaJustHere

Bdubs was used to death. He was used to being killed by his fellow hermits. He was very used to being killed by Grian. Maybe a little too much.

(This is based off Grian’s episode 61 of hermitcraft season 7 where Bdubs says “I know” and shoots himself) BDUBS SELF ESTEEM ANGST!! Griangst !!!! Emotionally fucked up Grian from YHS !!

____

Hiss and Scratch - TheNerdyTurtle96

Doc is a mad scientist who isn't afraid of anything. Actually, that's not true. His only weakness is cats.

exactly like it said it is . SO GOOD AND CUTE

____

For the Record - Anonymous

Tango shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I did. Xisuma’s teaching Impulse some Galactic Standard so he can cheat at enchanting or something. Apparently Xelqua’s, like, some sort of god in Xisuma’s culture? It was kind of unclear, I wasn’t paying attention when Impulse told me.”

“Huh,” Grian said vacantly. “How about that.”

oops! Grian is Xisuma's god. amazing

____ GrianMC - SixteenthDays

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Techno says frankly.

“You know,” Grian says again. “Your- Watchers.”

Techno squints for a moment before understanding visibly dawns behind his eyes. “Ohhh, you mean Chat?”

(On watchers, and Watchers.)

This IS technically a crossover but its more worldbuilding than anything else. its literally so funny. i love it

Crossover

These Days I Don't Feel Like Myself At All / Mercury (No One Can Unring This Bell) (Series Ongoing) - RoguishOne (DarkWolfMoon)

TommyInnit had died. Again. To Dream. Again. And it sucked exactly as much as he thought it would because he'd wanted to move on and have a chance to actually live this time. Seems he won't be getting that.

Then he gets pulled out of Limbo, but he doesn't wake up back in the cell with Dream or next to his bed on the server. He doesn't wake up on the Dream SMP at all.

Little does he know that this is the least of his worries.

i want to scream and cry and hypervenilate thinking about this fic series. literally cannot recommend it enough. your life will be ROCKED. THE WRITING IS SOOOOO OGOOOD . i just want to shake. i cannot put into words what this fic makes me feel.

____

Shells in the Foam (a Hermit!Tommy fanfic) - Cedarwhisp21

When Dream attacks Tommy in Logestshire, Tommy runs. Badly injured, he somehow manages to slip between worlds and wakes up in a badlands biome, on a server far from home, with no other players in sight.

The Hermits are surprised when a new player logs in, and confused when no-one's at spawn. Five days later, after waiting for the new player to introduce themselves, Xisuma uses his admin abilities to access their coordinates. He takes Impulse with him to welcome the new player to Hermitcraft, but instead of the beginnings of a base, they find something a lot more concerning.

NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION. the NUMBER ONE kudo-ed hermit fic . by my beloved. and using the one of the beloved au by pertrichormeraki . its so good and im sooo glad i was here for the ride of seeing it unfold <3

____

let me give you a piece of my mind - Interjection

Dream and Grian practice building for MCC, and hold a conversation in the process.

Or,

Grian gives an outside perspective on Dream’s actions. Dream is having none of it.

Grian is a fucked up lil guy <3 Dream is a piece of shit

____

He would not die - Nicoforlife

If phil could save only one person from this place, that would be enough.

Tldr I made phil a watcher :)

Watcher Phil and Grian !! ! !!

____

Scared as hell - Nhi_theuserof_this

Grian was one of the closest people to Fundy at this point. He wants to be honest, really, but with the rest of his family history being a total train wreck, he spends an awkwardly long time dancing around what he wants to say.

Tldr; Grian is Fundy’s uncle, Fundy comes out to him

OK SO THIS ONE. WAS BASED OFF ONE OF MY AUS but i had to include it. ok .short and sweet

It was just a game - QuasarsFaults (UNFINISHED)

Taurtis Has been on the server awhile now, he's made new friends, a really tasty toritos shop, a new job working with Concorp, and he's even made this really cool pirate rollercoaster. So why did his and Scar's idea go so wrong?

OK. so i honest to god cannot remember if this is my au or if i just partook in it. i think its my au. who knows. either way seeing this again makes me want to work on my own Taurtis-Became-a-Hermit-Instead-of-Grian fic

Shipping

heartfelt confession - mysteryguest

it shouldn't come as a surprise to iskall, he thinks, when he finally settles on a term that feels just right. and yet, it is. and it's dreadful, feeling that urge, that need to tell someone, without knowing if they would accept you or not.

at least he knows the person he can trust the most with this info is his boyfriend, mumbo.

non-binary and bigender Mumskull !!! coming out. finding identity. finding pronouns.

____

I Hate You (I Promise I Don't) - BewitchingNotes

If someone asked Grian why he was relentlessly pranking Etho now that he was finally back in Hermitland, he'd say it was just for pure fun.

To Etho, it meant Grian was mad at him.

To everyone else, Grian had a huge crush on the redstone user and obviously didn't know how to communicate it.

OR: Grian just wants Etho's attention, Etho misreads this as Grian being mad at him, Grian thinks Etho hates him because of his pranks and everyone else just wants these boys to communicate properly already. Grian's love language is pranks...i love it

____ A Study Of Love in the Universe Itself - 2point5

Love had a strange meaning on Hermitcraft, where everyone loved each other. 

OR

Joe looks into the different ways he loves some of his fellow members, and what that means for him as a human.

ITS A SERIES TOO AND ITS SOOOO GOOD i love it . Joe x Cleo x Bdubs x Etho . what more could you want. and their sexualities and how they perceive love is . OAUGHHGHGGHHGHGHBHGHFHHVIJXFSHDF IUSDHIUSAHDUIA

[norinenglish]

Team Rancher - Guide of Canon - Tango Episode 1

I rewatched Double Life to take notes to help me with canon-compliant fics and decided to share it here so it could help others. The notes are after the cut. They are EXTENSIVE.

I plan on posting everything from Tango's POV at least. Might do more in the future.

Guide of Canon: Team Rancher Tango's Episode 1 - Tango's Episode 2 - Tango's Episode 3 - Tango's Episode 4 - Tango's Episode 5.

Tango's Episode 1: What a start!

Intro: Tango narrates, “We are soul-linked to another player. If one of us takes damage, we both take damage. We share a health bar. And if one of us dies, we both die. So let’s hope we get soul-bound to someone good.” 

*

He refers to his soulmate before meeting them as, “If my partner just plummeted off a cliff, I’m dead.” ; “My teammate just took damage”; “Imma go try and find my partner” and refers to people as being linked. 

*

Tango takes the test with Scott, Grian and  BigB on the Goat Mountain. Later he finds Bdubs in a ravin (Bdubs already found his soulmate but tells Tango to try anyway.) Cleo comes into the conversation and spank-tests Tango.

* 

He goes into the cave without a shield. While he fights two zombies and a spider, a creeper falls on his head and explodes. He screams “Nooo!” for a long time before and after respawning on top of a birch tree. 

Jimmy respawns after a second and immediately says, a tad angrily, “What happened, Tango?”

“Hi, hi. I’m so sorry,” Tango says, instant regrets in his voice.

“Take me through it, what’s happened there?”

“There was some caving, and then there might have been about seven zombies and a spider and,” Tango says as a goat bumps into Jimmy, “you’re being butted!”

Tango descends from the tree. “And then I was focusing on the army approaching me for one direction and uh yeah the old creeper from behind. I'm so sorry!”

“Oh my gosh. Alright, let’s meet up in a bit. I need to go get my stuff before it despawns.”

“I don’t even know where I was, I just lost everything, yeah. I’ve no idea where I was.”

“Oh, my gosh!”

“This is less than good. I have no idea…”

“DUDE!”

“Well, let’s go. This is extra bad.”

“I need to, wait, I need to- Where was my bit.”

Tango seems ready to follow Jimmy, while Jimmy is panicking about his things.

“We’re just wandering around, like panicking in circles and OH NO!”

Jimmy laughs at Tango’s over-dramatising the panics he feels. It seems to calm him a bit. They get on top of the tree (to see their surroundings better?). Tango apologizes again.

“No don’t be sorry, it’s gonna happen-”

“At least we know-”

“I feel like I’m gonna die in the future and you’re gonna have to take the punishment of it.”

Before Jimmy finishes his sentence, Tango is already reassuring him, saying: “That’s fine, that’s fine.”

*

They decide to start again collecting supplies. Tango is still hang up over their death.

“I feel horrible that I died, but I feel worse that I just took you down with me!”

“No, it’s gonna happen all the time! It’s gonna happen all the time today.” (probably referencing other duo dying like this.)

They hear a horn in the distance and Tango remembers that he lost his. 

“YOU HAD A HORN?”

“I was horn boy! And now it’s gone.”

They hide a chest inside of a tree they call a safety box. Tango puts a stick in it.

“At least we don’t have to bother trying to find who our soulmate is.”

“And honestly, how many people had you met before that? I had met like 7 or 8 people.”

*

Jimmy goes to find his stuff. Tango retraces his steps and gets supplies. They settle on the edge of the ravine/river across Cleo and Scott. They talk about their plans with Tango gets rid of the grass and Jimmy jumps around.

“What are you thinking of building?” 

“I think just like a big shack for both of us to.. you know.”

“To shack up in. I like it, yeah.”

“And then we can get a little farm outside and we need to plant some seeds.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love it.” They start cutting the trees. “And then, maybe we can both go on an adventure. Either way, I’ll go get sheep and you get cows-I think that’s the best.”

“I am on board with this plan.”

“I’m not good with building at all, Tango, so, uh.”

“Oh, I was hoping you would say you were! You’re not the builder? Oh no!”

“Wait, are you not the builder?” Jimmy asks with good humour in his voice.

“I’m not a builder, no! Oh well, we live in a dirt hut.” [laughs]

“We might be in trouble here.”

*

Jimmy leaves to get animals and mine. Bdubs comes to chat. “You found your soulmate.”

“The hard way.”

Seeing Jimmy get the [Not Today Thank You] achievement, Tango says “Jimmy’s down there, he must be dying i should probably help him” and goes into mine with him. Jimmy asks about Tango having a shield, worried about their safety.

“We may have to…. beg.”

“Yeah, I am OK with this… strategy, yeah.”

Tango gives him his boots because Jimmy has no piece of armour and Tango also has pants. “Because if you die, I die, so.” “We’ll share whatever we got, it’s pitiful, but…”

*

Jimmy leaves to beg for iron while Tango starts to build their “super ugly house”. Tango tells him to keep an eye out for animals of any kind - preferably chicken.

“My man said he couldn’t build.”

“Ha! It’s a box, it’s a box! It’s not much!” while laughing.

Tango makes fun of his build with good humour, but Jimmy gives him genuine compliments. Jimmy reveals the bucket of water he got and Tango praises him: “Look at you! You go on a mission and you come back with goods. This is what I like to see. This is what I like in a partner. Well done.”

Tango keeps insulting his house building but Jimmy answers with “I love it.”

When it’s done, Tango places placing the single bed and says: “It’s a humble start.”

“It is, it is! It’s all we need right now.” “It actually looks great. I think you’ve done a great job here.” 

Tango laughs awkwardly and a tad in a self-deprecating way.  

“I’m not just saying it! I think you’ve done a great job!”

“This is the ugliest house ever-”

*

They have three eggs and Jimmy throws them in a hole they made for their chicken operation under the house. The last one hatches and they cheer. 

*

They leave on a quest for chicken (and maybe “future begging”). Tango finds some and escorts them back home. “Come on little guy, you’re destined for greatness, let’s go!”

*

Etho and Joel come by and they chat.

Joel asks, “Is Jimmy- Is Jimmy… OK?” 

It is ambiguous what he’s really asking about. Tango takes it as an inquiry about what Jimmy’s doing. “Well- he’s out. We went out hunting chicken and I’m back and I already brought back three chickens and he’s brought back none.”

They chat a bit more about horns and how stupid trying to build on the pillager outpost is before they leave. 

“If you see Jimmy, tell him we have chickens!”

*

Tango takes care of the chicken operation when he hears Jimmy calling for him. 

“Tango? Hum… Where are you?”

“I’m in the house,” Tango responds right before he opens the door to see Jimmy back, multiple cows in his tow. “OH! YOU’RE AMAZING!”

They praise each other on their respective luck with animals.

“We’re good for something!”

“We’re ranchers. Team rancher!”

Jimmy makes a side room for the cows and Tango takes care of the chickens again but they escape in the basement. “I might not be cut out for this ranchin’ thing.”

*

They want to have goat horns. Jimmy offers him the option to stay in the base or to try and find Grian with him. Tango chooses to go into the caves to get iron because they’re pretty naked, but acquiring a horn is “imperative to team rancher”. 

Tango changes his mind quickly though and decides to go beg instead of digging. He finds BigB, Ren, Cleo and Scott. Begging fails. They discuss bases. 

Scott says, after looking at Jimmy and Tango’s: “You are paired with Jimmy. It’s as good as it gets.”

“Here’s the thing. We teamed up and we were like ‘this is a good spot for a base’ and we kind of looked at each other we just assumed the other person knew how to build they were like ‘nope’ ahah.”

They see Jimmy on a bridge with Joel and Etho and Tango thinks he’s being cornered so he leaves to go help Jimmy. We don’t see whether he gets to them or not.

*

Tango ends up in Impulse and Bdubs’s house. 

Impulse, when Tango asks him about being with Bdubs, responds: “Feels pretty good. My partner’s great, he doesn’t die.” At this point, it’s a jab aimed at Tango, rather than at Jimmy.

Tango comes home at night starving and unable to sprint, screaming “HELP!”. Jimmy escorts him inside.

Joel comes by to steal wheat and makes fun of them for not having proper armour. Jimmy tries a different approach and asks him to take his shirt off but gets axed in the face. Joel gives them a few potatoes because he feels bad and leaves. Jimmy apologizes for trying the new approach but Tango doesn’t mind, he’s hung over the fact that Joel was stealing their crops. They continue tending to the field because they are starving. The episode ends.

[errorryx]

blood moon – part three

read on ao3 | read part one | gemcyt/life series, 3.2k words

for this update, i scrapped an old scene that provided context but was otherwise very boring. if you're curious, there's a longer explanation available in my ao3 notes.

—

Bdubs woke up in the late morning to the sound of several people arguing in the next room. He recognized Grian and Cleo’s voices, so he got up to see what all the fuss was, only to run right into Pearl in the hallway.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Pearl said in a low voice. “I was just…”

“Snooping around?” Bdubs attempted to deliver this line with an intimidating glare, but he only managed a yawn.

“What? No, of course not! I just wanted—I wanted to talk to you, actually.”

“Why’s that?”

“Grian said you were an expert on building. I had a few questions for you.”

“Really?” He brightened. “What else did he tell you about me?”

“He said if I had any questions about making a base, I should go to you first.”

“Well, he’s absolutely right. I know everything there is to know about building. I built this base we’re standing in now, you know. It’s called a crastle.”

“It’s lovely,” Pearl said. “Probably my favorite base! Don’t tell Grian, though.”

“Oh, you flatterer.” Bdubs waved her off modestly. “I do my best. So what were your questions?”

“Do you know what a chimney is?”

…A chimney. Right. Yes, he definitely knew what that was. “It’s the top part of a fireplace,” Bdubs said with perfect confidence.

“And what’s a fireplace?”

“Why, it’s the place you put fire, of course!”

Pearl looked baffled. “Why would you need a place to put fire?”

This stumped him for a few moments. Why would anyone have a place for fire in their home? “It’s a very complicated question,” Bdubs said. “I could explain it, but it would take all day, and I’m sure you’d find it very boring.”

“Right, of course.” A small smile appeared on Pearl’s face. “I wouldn’t want to take up all of your valuable time.”

“Is there anything else you want to know?”

“I guess I want to know why you’ve all started building bases for yourselves in the first place,” Pearl said. “They’re very lovely, but I don’t understand what they’re for, exactly.”

“Oh, of course! You’re a pearl, so you’ve probably never had a space just for yourself, right?”

Pearl blinked. “I guess not.”

“When me, Cleo, Tango, and Impulse first got here, we found lots of old ruins,” Bdubs explained. “That’s where we got all our books. Let me see, where is it…” He got up and looked through the nearby bookshelf. “Here it is! Man-Made Wonders of The World.”

He presented the book to Pearl with a giddy smile. Pearl took it, flipping through the first few pages with delicate hands. “What’s a man?”

“It’s short for human,” Bdubs said. He was very proud of having figured that one out on his own. “They’re a type of life-form that used to live here on this planet a long time ago. Cleo thinks they’re extinct, because otherwise we would have found one by now.”

“And they built all these? Without gem technology?” Pearl’s eyes widened. “Where are these structures? Have you seen them all?”

“Well, that’s the problem,” Bdubs sighed. “This planet’s really big, and none of us have a working ship anymore. If we had one, we might be able to explore, but it would be a long journey on foot, and Cleo doesn’t believe me when I tell her I can make sure we don’t get lost.”

“That’s a shame,” Pearl said, so quietly that Bdubs almost missed it.

“Wait a minute!” he said. “You must have had a ship to get here, right? Where is it?”

Pearl looked very much as if an agate had just walked in and caught her goofing off. “Well, you see—”

“Bdubs!” Cleo called from the other room. “What are you shouting about?”

“Coming!” Bdubs answered. “Don’t go anywhere,” he told Pearl, before poking his head into the other room.

He was greeted with the sight of two unfamiliar gems, a rose quartz and a peridot, the latter of whom seemed to be attempting to hide behind Grian. (It wasn’t working.) “These are Lizzie and Mumbo,” Cleo told Bdubs. “They came here with Pearl, apparently. Pearl was just here a second ago, but…”

“Oh, she was talking to me!” Bdubs said. “We were having a wonderful little conversation about bases.” He glanced back into the hallway, but Pearl had already disappeared. “Huh. She must have wandered off.”

“Seems to be a habit of hers.” Cleo didn’t look too happy. “You entertain our guests for a minute, and I’ll go make sure she’s not rifling around in our storage.”

“Sure thing!” Bdubs’ arms instinctively went to perform the diamond salute, but he knew Cleo hated when he did that, so he disguised the gesture by clapping his hands together. “So how did you guys all get here? Where’s your ship?”

“They claim there’s no ship,” Cleo said on their way out of the room. Her tone of voice clearly indicated that she didn’t believe them.

“It crashed,” Lizzie told him very solemnly. “Horribly. Went up in flames and everything. Big disaster.”

“Funny coincidence,” Bdubs said, “that’s exactly what happened to ours.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Pearl through the window, in the process of sneaking away. She met Bdubs’ gaze for a split second, and gave him a wink before vanishing from view.

—

Scott was out in the garden when Jimmy heard a visitor knocking at their door. Usually he waited for Scott to tell him what to expect, but it had been a while since they’d had any surprises, and besides, Scott rarely gave him a straight answer when it came to the future. So instead of waiting for him, Jimmy got up and opened the door by himself.

“Hi! You’re Jimmy, right?” Pearl stuck out her arm, and he took it, bewildered. “I just learned about handshakes from Bdubs. Did I do it right?”

“Probably,” Jimmy said with a shrug. “I wouldn’t know. What’s up?”

“You fuse a lot, right? I wanna talk about fusion.”

She must have seen Flower Agate at the party last night. “Yeah, sure. Come on in.” Jimmy stepped aside to allow Pearl to enter. She took a few steps, only to be stopped by the sudden appearance of a wall of ice between them.

“No,” Scott said evenly from where he stood at the back door, his arm outstretched. “Not happening.”

“Scott, what’s going on?” Jimmy backed away from Pearl, who looked just as confused as he felt. “Is something wrong?”

Scott ignored him. “I can’t tell what you’re planning,” he said to Pearl, “but it won’t work. You’re going to get yourself and a lot of other gems hurt.”

“What are you talking about?” Pearl asked. The ice only came up to her waist, but she didn’t try to step over it. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.” Her voice trembled on the words.

“Maybe not, but you will.”

“Is this about a future vision you saw?” Pearl said. “Just tell me what it was, that way I can—”

“I’m not taking that risk,” Scott said. “Just stay away from me and Jimmy.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” Jimmy interrupted. “Can’t we talk about this? I’d rather have nobody get hurt, if that’s an option.”

“You and I can talk about this,” Scott told him. “But you—” he turned his attention back to Pearl, “—need to leave.”

Before Pearl could respond, Scott pushed the ice wall further forward, forcing her out the door. It slammed shut, and he hurried over to lock it.

“What has gotten into you?” Jimmy asked him. “Wouldn’t it have been a better idea to talk it out with her? What harm can one pearl do?”

“You really have to ask that question? You’ve met Joel.”

He couldn’t argue with that—Joel had caused a lot of trouble when he’d first arrived. But for the brief time they’d spoken, Pearl had been perfectly pleasant. “Can you at least tell me what’s going to happen?”

“I can’t,” Scott said.

Jimmy rolled his eyes. “Yes, you can.”

“No, I can’t. There are too many possibilities right now. We’ll have to wait it out and see how things end up.”

Jimmy loved Scott, he really did, but sometimes he made Jimmy want to tear his hair out. “Then what’s the use of future vision if we still don’t know what to do?”

Scott didn’t answer him. Jimmy looked down to see a small ring of ice encircling the hem of his skirt.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said hastily, reaching to pry Scott free of the ice. He set him down on the couch. “Forget I said that. How about tonight? Can you see what happens tonight?”

“We go to the party,” Scott said slowly. “We fuse again. It’s—I think there’s a new fusion? It’s hard to see as Flower Agate.”

“So that’s good, right?” Jimmy asked. “We’re safe.”

“I think so.”

“We’re safe,” Jimmy repeated, with more confidence this time. “We’ll be fine.”

He hoped Scott believed him. He wasn’t sure he believed himself.

—

Mumbo was at a party with a bunch of rebel gems, and people were fusing.

At least, that’s what he thought they were doing. Pearl had warned him this would happen, but it was one thing to hear about it and quite another to see it for himself. Right now, the sapphire and the lapis lazuli were involved in a dance that made Mumbo want to politely avert his eyes—yet at the same time, he couldn’t look away.

“This is…a lot,” he said.

“Yeah,” Pearl agreed. “Are you freaking out? It’s okay if you’re freaking out. We can go back to the ship.”

“No, it’s alright!” Mumbo couldn’t imagine going back to the ship and letting this happen without him. “We can stay.”

The sapphire and lapis finally fused, and he got to watch in real time as their forms merged into one. It was slow and confusing and oddly beautiful. He let out a gasp when the ball of light finally solidified into a single figure, which stood taller than most of the other nearby gems.

“I’m trying to be supportive of Gri,” Pearl said. “I know he likes this. When he fused yesterday, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so…”

“Happy?” Mumbo guessed, searching for Grian in the crowd. He found him talking to a blue gem, with Scar somewhere off in the distance. Maybe Grian didn’t always fuse with Scar, then. Maybe he liked to branch out. “He seems really at home here.”

He’d officially reunited with Grian that morning, which had been wonderful, but…strange. Tense. Mumbo had been expecting everything to promptly return to normal once they found Gri, but it was becoming more and more obvious that that would not be the case. Even worse, Pearl seemed to be in denial about it, and Mumbo had been taking cues from her for long enough that he had no idea what to do.

His attention was pulled to the nephrite and green jasper he’d met earlier, who were—well, if the previous fusion dance had made Mumbo want to look away, this one made him want to bury his head in the ground. Still, he watched. He’d never seen anything even remotely like it. He couldn’t imagine himself ever making moves like that, but perhaps he could manage a twirl or two. Would he have to take off his limb enhancers?

“I don’t know what else to do,” Pearl said.  “Do you think if I fused with him, it would convince him to choose us instead of them?”

“Huh?” The second fusion dance had reached its culmination, but a third and a fourth had started up. Mumbo managed to tear his eyes away for a moment to look at Pearl. She had taken on an odd in-between color, which corresponded with the sun’s current position most of the way below the horizon. “Beg your pardon, did you say you were thinking of fusing with Grian?”

“I might as well try.” Pearl got to her feet. “I’ll just go ask him. No big deal, right?”

Mumbo was fairly certain that Pearl and Grian fusing would be a recipe for disaster, but he doubted Pearl would listen to him. “He’s been talking to that blue gem for quite a while now. You might be interrupting something.”

“I don’t care.” Pearl was fully red now. “We’re losing him. He’s in love with this planet. If we don’t offer him something better, he’s going to realize he prefers it to us.”

“Surely there’s a better way than—”

Pearl had already begun walking away before he could finish. Mumbo didn’t follow her. He’d seen enough of Pearl in her red state to know there wasn’t anything he could do except watch the disaster unfold in front of him.

“Boys,” a very sarcastic voice said behind him.

Mumbo looked up to see Rose Quartz—no, Lizzie—taking a seat in the grass beside him. “What’s a boy?” he asked.

“Not sure!” Lizzie said. “I heard Cleo say it earlier, just like that. I think it’s an insult.”

“Boys,” Mumbo repeated, trying to mimic her derision. He watched Pearl storm up to Grian and grab his arm, pulling him away from the blue quartz. “I really don’t understand pearls.”

“Me neither,” Lizzie said, with a little huff of exasperation. “Want a flower? I’ve been picking off the petals for fun.” She passed Mumbo a small white blossom with long petals, the stem severed halfway down.

Mumbo methodically plucked every third petal as he watched Pearl and Grian’s conversation from afar. He didn’t dare approach them, but he couldn’t help but wonder what they were saying.

—

“What are you even saying?” Grian said, throwing up his hands. “Have you gone mad?”

“Am I not good enough to fuse with?” Pearl asked. “You’ll fuse with spinels and quartzes but not me?”

“Pearl, I’m not—” Grian cast a glance at BigB, who was trying to mind his own business. It was proving to be a very difficult task. “I haven’t even fused with any quartzes yet, I’ll have you know. And besides, it’s not about what type of gem you are.”

“So why not? Spit it out.”

“I don’t think this is a good time.” Grian looked wary, but his mind was clearly made up. “Not while you’re still red.”

“That’s it, then?” Pearl threw up her hands. “You won’t fuse with me because I’m off-color?”

BigB winced at that one. “Woah, okay, I don’t think that’s—”

“Don’t you start,” Pearl snapped. “I’m talking to Grian right now.”

“Actually, I was talking to him first,” Grian said, before BigB could figure out a polite way to exit the conversation. “I know you’re still adjusting to living here, Pearl, but BigB didn’t do anything wrong.”

Pearl gave him a look of pure fury, then turned the same gaze on BigB, who immediately put up his hands in surrender. “Fine,” she said. “I get it. You’d rather hang out with your new friends.”

“Pearl, I don’t—”

“Whatever, Gri,” she said coldly, and turned on her heel, walking away into the dark.

Grian sighed. “I’m sorry you had to see that,” he told BigB.

“Did you know her from somewhere?” BigB asked him. “That really didn’t seem like a conversation between two gems that met yesterday.”

“I guess there’s no point in keeping it a secret if she wants to have loud arguments in front of people,” Grian said. “Yeah, I know her. At least, I thought I did.”

“That bad, huh?”

Grian shrugged. “Something’s going on with her, but I have no idea what it is.”

“You think it has anything to do with the whole color-changing thing?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen her do that before.” Grian stared off into the woods where Pearl had just disappeared. “I’ve never seen any gem do that before.”

“Me neither,” BigB said. “I bet if anyone knows, it’s Ren. He’s seen a lot of weird stuff.”

“You think he’d know something?” Grian looked even more worried at the prospect. “I’m not sure if I should bother him with this.”

“I can ask him,” BigB volunteered. “I don’t mind.”

He looked around at the rest of the party, finding Ren lounging in the grass by himself. He was surprised Ren and Martyn hadn’t formed Red Diamond yet, considering all the other fusions that were going on, but he wasn’t about to question it. “Hey, Ren! Can I ask you something?”

“What’s up, dude?” Ren waved him over. “Is something wrong?”

“Not with me,” BigB said. “I just wanted to ask, have you ever seen a gem change color?”

“Hmm.” Ren took a moment to think. “I can’t say I have. Not permanently, at least.”

“What about temporarily?”

“Well, that’s a different story. I’ve seen it happen a few times.”

“You have? Really?”

“Sure, have, m’dude. It’s pretty funky.” Ren sat up straight, immediately towering over BigB. “Happens sometimes on planets with different types of suns. Most gems look about the same, but sometimes a gem will go a bit—well, I don’t want to say off-color, but—”

“So it’s just a trick of the light?” BigB asked.

“Sometimes,” Ren said. “Sometimes nothing else happens, but—haven’t seen it myself, mind you, but I’ve heard certain gems will start to go a little off the rails, if you know what I mean.”

BigB laughed. “Like we all did when we got here?”

“Hey! Not all of us!”

“You’re right,” BigB said. “It was mostly you and Martyn.”

Ren sighed. “I suppose you’re not wrong. Why were you asking about color-changing gems, anyway?”

“You’ve met the new gems, haven’t you?”

“Seen ‘em, yes. Not really had a chat with any of them yet. I was planning on introducing myself, but I was worried I might intimidate them with my size.”

“You could always shrink down,” BigB suggested. “But yeah, Grian and I just talked to Pearl, and she was kind of…the wrong color? Last I saw her she was close to the same color as Grian, but this time she was red. Is that normal?”

“She was red, you say?” Ren looked alarmed. “Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure. Saw it with my own eyes. Grian said it happened last night, too.”

“That’s…not good,” Ren said. “Where is she now?”

“She got upset and ran off.” BigB pointed in the direction he’d seen Pearl disappear. Ren’s frown only deepened.

“We should probably go make sure she’s okay.” He got to his feet, then looked down at BigB and hesitated. “Maybe I’ll take your advice on that shrinking thing. Wouldn’t want to scare her.”

BigB watched as Ren shrank down to match his height. Amusingly, Ren’s gem stayed the same size, making it look huge on his chest. It was odd to be able to look Ren in the eye, but BigB found he quite liked it.

“Alright, you lead the way,” Ren told him.

“Just you and me?” BigB asked. “We’re not getting anyone else?”

“We don’t need a whole group for one pearl,” Ren said. “She’s not hostile, is she?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then I’m sure we’ll be fine!” Ren flashed him a grin. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

—

<Previous part | Next part>

(I'll update this fic with the next part when it's done, but you can save it on ao3 if you want to make sure you catch it!)

if you read this all the way through and enjoyed, please consider reblogging!

[ishi-like-human-stone]

double life smp is a real sitcom.

I don't know if anyone said this, but I just realized that Double Life SMP represents the stages of development of relationships with its soulmates. I don't know if Grian intended it from the beginning (most likely not), but the fact that the couples themselves were accidentally formed is even tragicomic. Furthermore, I'm not talking about the shipping itself (it's a pity)  but rather the platonic one??? I hope you understand. 1 - falling in love - Jimmy and Tango. Before that, they practically did not communicate on the Life SMP series, rarely crossing paths. Why are they the first? Yes, they are stupid (/pos) clumsy, they still accept one another. When you are just getting to know each other and there is literally the purest fluff in the air. Their ranch and warden plans mAKE ME CRY MORE THAN TITANIC FANS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT- 2 - burning love - Etho and Joel. The same candy and gift period. When you're full of energy, you practically go crazy and do everything to your other half, for example, wear a shirt with his face on it OR BUILD A DAMN SHIP - that's how they are MAXIMUM crazy-chaotic, your honor. 3 - golden age, marriage - Bdubs and Impulse. Already more or less calm, they live together. And everything seems to be wonderful! But like all relationships at this stage - they begin to face the problems of life together, for example, as Bdubs snoring (although Impuls is used to this). Isn't it cool to have big parties with friends at home? 4 - stagnation - BigB and Ren. It is still a calm period, perhaps the calmest of all. B U T is it good? The same period where one secretly finds another person, and the other begins to notice it. Future weed seeds are scattered. 5 - the beginning of the rift (HAHA) - Grian and Scar. The relationship between the couple itself is increasingly strained, there are many misunderstandings, ALTHOUGH SOMETIMES THEY STILL HAVE GOOD MOMENTS!! Unfortunately, the first person is still not talking about the other person, the second person is already aware of it. Someday, desertduo will have fluff… someday…. 6 - conflict - Cleo and Martin. Oh... this is where the bullshit begins - the second person goes about his business\interests, and when he comes back he understands - there is nothing left to do, to fix. Your once soulmate is now happy with someone else and openly says so, disowning you in public. 7 - the end - Pearl and Scott. Not together, estranged even. At first the first one still does not understand why exactly this happened, but in the end she reconciles. Looking for peace in a faithful friend - a dog. The second is happy with the other. Maybe the second will try to save the relationship at the very end, but it will already be too l a t e. // Thanks for reading! I hope to hear others though about that. My English is still not good, so I asked for help from beautiful @octopuss-y <3

[bloominhf]

What is fear?

Macaw: It’s being stuck with this idiot 24/7, and worrying that he’ll fall off a cliff.

Panda: Well now, that’s not very nice! But fear is thinking about losing my connection with him. Or dying, and never seeing him again. It’s- horrible. To know that at any moment you could die and the string would be cut and that’s it. The end. By the by, did you remember to feed the cats Gri-

----------

Dog: Watching him leave me. For another.

Frog: Don’t. Not now. Not here. Fear is having no trust in the person you’re bound to. I’m scared. I’m scared. And I don’t know how to change that.

----------

Horse: I dunno, death, I guess. Wait, no, a divorce! I don’t want a divorce. Impulse don’t divorce me, cuz then I’ll have to kill you!

Donkey: Bdubs don’t worry! I’d never divorce the best soulmate in the world, that’d be foolish now wouldn’t it?

----------

Snake: Oh, easy, letting this guy go feral when he’s on red! Not my fear though, everyone else’s fear. My own perception of fear is the loss of a loved one. Or him.

Tiger: They have every right to be as afraid of you as they are of me, Etho! But fear is never having enough TNT, or whatever. I dunno, I don’t do fear!

----------

Canary: Um- Fear is- Everything. Everything could kill you if you’re not careful. But especially fire. Fear is fire, either metaphorically or literally. The fear of smoke and flames and heat and-

Lion: And that is the most deepest and most paranoid thing you’ll ever say! No need to be scared of fire when I’m here, my love! I’ll protect you no matter what. To the ends of the earth!

Canary: Heh, yeah! To the ends of the earth!

----------

Rabbit: Pfft, fear? Never heard of her! I’ve got all I need to combat anything ‘scary’ right here! Right- Cleo?

Bat: Oh? Oh, yeah, yeah! Um, fear is- not knowing what will happen. Where he is.

----------

Ocelot: Don’t know, don’t care, not finding out and not listening to it. If it doesn’t bother me, then I don’t need to think about it.

----------

Wolf: Fear is stupid and I don’t need it! I’ve got everything in the world! Everything! My dogs, my tower, my cloak, what more do I need?

Love.

I need love.

[stitchthesewords]

Any specific part of Iskall and Vault Hunters that you are feeing particularly normal about? Because I am very normal about the names of vault gems and vault gem ores. Also Iskall and the Vault Hunters sounds like a really cool band name.

Alas, dear anon, I have taken my Total Normalcy in a completely different direction. Observe.

Etho's hand was soft where it found itself just under the hem of Iskall's shirt. This was home. This was familiar. He nudged Etho's mask down, eyes tracing over the scar that went through his lip before leaning in for a kiss. Etho's lips were soft, pliable, and all Iskall could her was that his beard wasn't too itchy.

The cold seeping out from his gut was like waking up because he started falling. The familiar bite of something sharp buried in his stomach as the eyes of his loved one stared back at him. For a moment he couldn’t process anything but Etho’s face. A whimper made itself known past his lips, unable to ask the question he so wanted the answer to; ‘why?’

Iskall collapsed, the ground never coming to meet his body. Instead he fell past a cascade of familiar faces, familiar hands, feeling as cuts rained down upon his body as the hermits had their fill for blood. That was the only reason he was here. Bloodlust.

Iskall sat up in his bed, the quiet and desolate moon casting long shadows on the room. He clutched his chest, the other hand coming up to rub over his good eye. These nightmares were depriving him of much needed sleep. Ah well, there was always another day as he crawled free from the comforter to begin anew. To find better comfort in the arms of his lovers.

----

“You look exhausted,” Etho said, huffing and pushing some of Iskall’s hair out of his eyes. A tired chuckled pushed out of Iskall and dissipated into Etho’s chest. Iskall pressed his head just up into Etho’s neck, just a bit, feeling the soft fabric of his mask/shirt rub against his forehead.

“I feel exhausted, I suppose,” he replied. Iskall cleared his throat and turned to press a kiss into the underside of Etho’s cheek. “And - while this has been nice, I really need to get back out there...there’s so many missing still, and – Bdubs and Cleo need more materials to make half this base even useable.” He sighed and tried to lean away from Etho, but that masked man’s hand found its way to the back of Iskall’s head and held him in place.

“We’re all capable of doing things on our own, Iskall...You don’t have to do everything. Let them work, let yourself rest just a little bit longer.”

“The longer I rest, the longer someone stays trapped.”

He moved, just slightly, in Etho’s arms to look at the man’s face. Even with his mouth hidden, Iskall could see how worried he looked. “You won’t be any good to someone exhausted in one of those vaults...The two of us barely made it out when you saved me, how are you supposed to help someone in the state you’re in. Rest, let them build, let us work, let us help,” Etho shook his head as he spoke, his mouth pressed into Iskall’s forehead and the words escaping around the skin. Iskall took a deep breath, angry that he couldn’t really argue with that logic.

“...Only for a bit. Only for a bit, until I feel like getting back on my feet,” he muttered. Etho shuffled to free one of his hands and pull his mask down, wanting to kiss Iskall without the barrier in the way. He was beautiuful, was all Iskall could think as Etho dragged him up to give him a real kiss, one with all the love and support pulled into it the other man could muster.

He ended with his head rested on Etho’s shoulder and the sound of Cleo and Bdubs working outside broken up by the sounds of wind and wildlife before finally closing his eyes and letting himself be taken by warm, comfortable slumber. The first real sleep Iskall got since this ordeal began

----

"Wh-BDUBS- Oh my god-" Etho untangled one arm from where he pulled Iskall to safety in order to wrap it around Bdubs. His moss cloak was tattered and it looked patched up, but as far as Etho could tell, bdubs was okay. The shorter man scrambled to press as close to him as possible and it registered, as everyone talked over each other, that bdubs was thanking Iskall like his very life depended on it. Iskall, slumped into Etho's side, gave a small smile and a thumbs up. "I had to keep him from going into the vaults," Iskall muttered into Etho's shoulder. Etho couldn't answer, mouth blocked by bdubs's own, two small hands cradling his cheeks in desperation

----

"I'm going with you! The vaults can be run cooperatively and we have a better chance with two people going!" False snapped a stick and threw it over her shoulder as she spoke, watching the two ends disappear into the vault portal she blocked Iskall from accessing. "Then two people might die instead of just one! There's no point-" iskall huffed, trying and failing yet again to move around her. False was quick, stepping in from of him and shouldering him back from the portal. "Not gonna work on me, bud. I know what I'm getting into! I have all the same supplies you have. Let's do this together." False blew some hair from her face as Iskall started to argue. She felt the need to roll her eyes, looking back at the multichromatic swirls emminating from the portal itself. It felt like she was looking at her own stomach. With a deep breath in, iskall still trying to argue with her, she turned on her ankle and dived through before he could stop her.

[tunastime]

2023 Writing Roundup!

Rules: Share what you wrote this year! It can be works you posted to Ao3, Wattpad, Tumblr, or anywhere else! You can share everything you wrote or just the ones you’re most excited about.

@bidoofenergy thanks for sending this my way! let's hope mobile formatting doesn't kill me <3

this year was pretty busy for me! I graduated uni in december, had a big project in january, started an SMP with some friends, moved out, got a new job and moved across the state, traveled a bunch, went to at least three other graduations... it was a lot! and I got a lot of writing done!

January

some ask game ficlets (here and here) with more tagged from the past few months!

Night Swims [Etho, mentioned Bdubs, 4746 words]

written for a follower milestone! follows etho post last life as he returns to his modded world and tries to make things easier for himself (and fails); an entry into the hot tea series!

Back Around [Etho/Bdubs, 6227 words)

the technical final entry into the hot tea series! etho returns back to hermitcraft after double life, looking to repair things with bdubs

prove to me that angels do love us (Scar/Grian, Pearl, 17203 words)

grian and scar learn to deal with grian's watcher tendencies, and each other. grian learns some new things about himself, and scar learns to love him. finished in january, but had been going before that!

February

official first chapter of SEN came out, in the midst of the sexyman poll. lots of personal fics and joke fics and gifts being written in Feb/Mar <3

March

On Life Series Season 4 [Jimmy/Tango, 1545 words]

jimmy and tango talk just as season 4 of the life series starts--speculation on what could and couldn't happen, and what memories might've followed them there

Let's Talk about Feelings [Etho, Tango, 1316 words]

etho and tango talk about their respective people in limited life, and how hard it is to talk to them

Promise I Held (Just Out of Reach) [Etho/Bdubs, 3788 words]

another entry into the coveted series of ethubs through the life series, cowritten by @oh-snapperss <33! bdubs and etho try to talk with little time on their hands during limited life

April

On the Wolf and the Canary [Joel, Jimmy, 3490 words]

joel and jimmy talk, finally, have a true heart to heart, after limited life. it's real sweet, somehow!

May

moving was the worst and also SEN was kicking my butt, also writing personal things!

June

listen man I just quit my job I had to keep searching

July

working hard or hardly working? (SEN drafting)

August

Close to the Heart [Tom/Ben/Harry, 3701 words]

a quiet morning for tom, ben, and harry. my first bangarry fic! posted in honor of the yogscast ship bracket.

Ficlet post that an anon asked for--throwback! [Etho/Bdubs, 993 words]

No Place for Strangers [Grian, BigB, 2333 words]

grian and bigb, both watchers, have a conversation near the end of limited life; it's an interesting conversation, to say the least.

September

no fics :( working for yourself is pretty hard man! also editing SEN!

October

Stretching Endless Night [Etho/Bdubs, 29740]

bdubs and etho pilot a ship through space on a return mission to their home. partway through, etho has an accident--a bad one. this tells their story of recovery.

SEN Fake Ending [Etho, Tango, Bdubs, 409 words]

the ending of SEN where etho and bdubs don't make it; a joke chapter that I wrote to exploit the Major Character Death tag on AO3 for one night

A Gear of the Heart, Turning [Etho/Bdubs, 2847 words]

an entry for @shepscapades' DBHC au--etho and bdubs in last life, trying to figure out their relationship and etho's 's deviancy. still.

Fake Fic ask meme [link to the first one! there were a lot hehe]

To Take A Slice of Twilight [Ben/Tom/Harry, 4594]

tom, ben, and harry explore the twilight forest in a world away from home. one of my first entries into the yogscast extended universe, assisted by @shepscapades and @myketheartista

November

Behold, Beholding, Beheld [BigB, Grian, 1285 words]

bigb talks to grian shortly after secret life starts--a look into bigb's watcher tendencies in another life series

December

Spotify Wrapped ask meme [link to the first one! there were several in that tag :3]

In the BG i've been working on SEN ranchers, a big dogs fic, and SEN docsuma! I published a total of 81,043 words ! what the hell. girl. um.

If i were to actually tally the amount i wrote this year it would probably be a good 30k more, since I have so much I wrote for just me, or just friends, or that isn't up to my publishing standard, or I can't post until later—all that stuff. Sometimes you write gift fics yk! fun stuff <33

thanks again bidoof!! I'm gonna tag my guys @oh-snapperss, @wren-kitchens, @hitheeprithee, and @stitchthesewords, as well as anyone who wants an excuse to talk about their stuff! (tag me in that!! I wanna see!)

have a happy near year y'all! much love to everyone who hung out this year <333

[mxmarsbars]

I'm immediately going to all of my favorite artists to compliment them after finding out how anonymous asks work. AND YOU'RE ONE OF THEM

I don't even know where to start, I have your twt open with your art on another window right now

The Etho killing Skizz art, I don't even have any words to describe it. THE SUN BEHIND ETHO IS SUCH A GREAT PART OF THE PIECE. IT BRINGS ATTENTION TO THE TOP AND POPS OUT. AND SKIZZ LOOKING SO CONTENT WITH HIS DECISION AND ACCEPTING OF ETHO BEING THE ONE TO TAKE HIM OUT T_T /POS

MARTYN'S LIMITED LIFE FINALE ART IS SO AMAZING AND DETAILED TOO. I LOVE HOW IN THE TOP RIGHT CORNER IT SPLITS AND HAS GEM & LIZZIE ALIGNED TO CLEO & PEARL'S FACES. THAT IS SO COOL

Also I just really wanted to point out the art of Bdubs kissing Impulse while stabbing Etho. I just really like that for no reason in particular (I really like Etho)

Impulse hugging Bdubs too, I love it so much. And the one with Etho just being like 😐 and the sparkles in the background

AND THE CLEO ART FOR MYRA'S DTIYS. THE LIGHTING AND HAIR IS AMAZING

The White Castle art of Etho as a Ghost and Impulse hugging Etho are probably two things that got me interested in White Castle. I didn't even THINK of them before. But now they're one of the duos I really like. Then again I love any Etho duo. BUT THEYRE DEFINITELY ONE OF MY TOP 5

The composition in your art is so amazing as well, it really highlights specific details really well and implies ideas VERY well

The art of Impulse with the cherry blossoms are so cute too. And BigB being all creepy makes it VERY unsettling /pos

You did an AMAZING job making BigB look as unsettling as possible

The weeping angel Etho art too <333

ALSO THE IMPULSE "LAST WORDS OF A SHOOTING STAR", IMPULSE WITH A STAR OVER HIS EYE, AS WELL AS THE VERY RECENT SCAR ART. THOSE ARE ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECES. EVERYTHING ABOUT THOSE ARE SO COOL AND AMAZING

THE VERY CLEAR IMPROVEMENT IN THE 2023 ART THREAD TOO. Your art from January is STILL VERY COOL AND AMAZING, but I love how your art very clearly improved from January to December. That's such an amazing accomplishment to do in 12 months

I hope you have a GREAT and amazing day/night! \o/

I just had this big ol smile on my face while reading that entire thing like oh my goodness gracious

just?? thank you?? for such kind words and for also keeping up with my art?? I feel so appreciated and seen and?? like I’m about to explode /pos??

I don’t even know how to respond I’m just all jumbled up and giddy and like wowzers!! just know that I REALLY appreciate everything you said like so so much it is making my brain go BOOM!! >_<

whenever I hear stuff like this, no matter how detailed or specific, it always makes me just so unbelievably happy. I love being reminded that I exist and can be perceived and people LIKE perceiving me.

thank you genuinely so much this brightened my day like a lot :]

also you’re welcome for getting you into white castle aka one of the best duos like ever because I say so B]

[oh-snapperss]

the ethubs hot tea/stargazing concept

So I’ve had this concept rolling around in my head for a long time, but I don’t plan on writing a fic for it, so I wanted to put some of the brainrot and ideas I had for it here instead! I have a very short drabble for part of this as well I’ll post and link in this post later after I’ve polished it.

First of all, this entire concept came from this song. I would highly recommend listening to the song just cause it’s so good and by one of my favorite artists, but you don’t have to listen to understand the post:) 

Concept: During Last Life, Etho and Bdubs never managed to say I love you to each other, mostly because they never could find the right time (read: they were both too cowardly to say it). It’s not said until months later on Hermitcraft when Bdubs and Etho are finally reunited for the first time since Last Life.

and below ensues the gayest shit I've ever written involving hot tea and some stargazing so enjoy!

some of the lyrics that really made me think about this:

hold you in my hands like hot tea Knowing I'm safe 'cause you want me (Ooh-ooh) sitting in a garden at your feet You and me only Holding on and on You're clawing at the corner of my heart, I Can't afford to lose you any longer (Ooh-ooh) holding you like hot tea You and me only Holding on and on

Etho spending his exile hyping himself up to finally say it

Going into exile partially because he feels like he couldn’t keep Bdubs safe in LL and wanting to prove to himself he can keep Bdubs safe (ex. the raids/defeating the dragon_

Bdubs waiting and waiting and waiting for Etho, knowing he’ll turn up at some point

Etho winding up in Bdubs’s basement... Bdubs finding him... flinging himself into Etho’s arms because it’s been months... Etho almost saying it and getting cold feet again... Bdubs turning to leave the basement

“I love you!” 

Bdubs turning back and it’s just. a moment of eye contact before Bdubs is kissing Etho finally and he mumbles “Love you too” back

something something they wind up outside idk i think this screenshot sums it up best

something something the silences during LL never felt right because there was always so much left unsaid but the silences they fall into that night feel comfortable

there’s a special trust you gain when you spend a night like that with someone and just saying everything like your dreams and hopes and thoughts instead of bottling it up 

they start out that night just talking about simple things like Bdubs’s builds and where Etho was but as the night deepens they talk about deeper things.. wind up holding hands...

as the night goes on Etho and Bdubs find themselves closer and closer and the vibes are just. It’s not cloud nine because cloud nine would describe the moments just when Bdubs first kissed Etho earlier that night but it’s comfortable and content and safe, and it’s a very warm and soft feeling they have

When the sun starts rising they stumble back into the tower.. make one last mug of tea... stumble up stairs there are so many stairs and for what...  and yeah they just crash into bed and they’re fucking out for most of the day

the lyrics of the song just scream ethubs in hermitcraft to me i meannnn just look at this:

Looking into your eyes (endlessly) Falling into your lap (desperately) Sitting at your feet Soaking in all your energy Oh, right now, I wanna be Held too close

and a bonus screenshot: 

and finally i just wanna throw out a personal headcanon i like, not just for hot tea but in general i like to think that etho and bdubs have matching tiny braids in their hair like. in the back on the right. you can barely see the braids but sometimes they can be spotted:)

if you read this far, thank you! my insanity knows no bounds and i WILL ramble about my ethubs headcanons nonstop

and a special thanks to @peskyybird @bananasofthorns​ and @exactlymypoint​ for letting me brainrot literally all of this in their dms. yall are real ones LMAOO

[b-dubs-valdubs]

ethubs, cooking for a sick friend even though they're bad at it!

hi!!! whipped this up for you, i had way too much fun with this so thank you for requesting !!

(ps. one of the flipping things that happens to bdubs has also happened to me: have fun guessing which one jdjdkf)

enjoy!!!

——

Etho sniffed, squeezing his eyes shut; trying to calm the pounding headache behind his eyes. Great. He was sick. Bdubs was so going to make fun of him for this.

As if on cue, the man himself came waltzing into Etho’s room in the monoloth. He was, Efho noticed, still wearing his morning bunny slippers, and carrying a wobbling tray of tea.

“Here, take this,” Bdubs handed Etho the mug, smiling gently. “Made it fresh just now. Don’t say i never do nothin’ for ya…”

Etho sipped it gently, movements small. He swallowed, stifling a cough. “Mmmh, it’s… good. Thank you ‘dubs”

Etho winced. His voice had come out a lot more croaky than he would have liked.

Bdubs had also seemed to notice. His eyes widened — all but slamming his own mug onto the table.

“You’re sick?” he asked, incredulous — yet a hint of triumph sneaking into his tone.

Etho was too groggy to put up a veneer of pride. He nodded vaguely.

Bdubs cackled slightly. “Etho — the Etho — sick?!” He chortled; way too proud of himself.

Etho scowled at him. Sheepishly, Bdubs ceased his laughter. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be glad about that. You just rub it in my face all the time.”

Etho rolled his eyes, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Can you make me breakfast…?” he requested, almost pitifully, “It’s an awful long staircase to climb for-“ (cough for emphasis) “- such a sick person…”

“Oh, you little fragile flowe-“

“Hey, you’re the fragile flower, you jerk!”

Bdubs raised his brows. “Oh, so you don’t need my help then?”

Etho sighed. “Ok fine… I’ll have some pancakes.”

“I didn’t hear a please?”

Oh he looked too pleased with himself.

“Are you gonna help me or not?”

Bdubs cackled. “Okayokayokay… the finest pancakes coming right up!”

——

They did not, in fact, come right up.

Everything was going downhill.

It was stupid anyway, Bdubs thought to himself, accidentally smearing more flour onto his forehead as he wiped his brow.

He was almost out of pancake ingredients, having used most of the things in the monolith kitchen just for this.

Why couldn’t Etho have wanted something easy to cook — like — a bowl of cereal?

Huffing, Bdubs turned his attention to the hob and stared down the pancake sizzling there. He would not be defeated by some half-fried dessert!

Seizing the handle, he flipped the pancake into the air. It flipped gloriously, acrobatically even—

Before getting stuck on the ceiling.

Bdubs muffled a frustrated scream; glancing despairingly at the gradually depleting batter. He would have enough for two… at most.

He had to make these count.

Flipping the second pancake, he made sure not to propel it as high as the first. Although, it was more of a slide than a flip, as it tumbled off the edge of the pan and scewered itself on the dial of the oven; ripping in half and splatting onto the floor, pathetically.

“How does that even HAPPEN????”

Deep breaths Bdubs… in and out…

The final one had to be perfect. If he could bring one really great pancake to Etho… today would be a success.

He prepared it dillegently; making sure the batter formed the pancake in a perfect circle. When it came time to flip, he steeled himself, practicing the motions to himself before grabbing onto the handle.

“Not too much, so it lands up on the ceiling; not too little so it dies on the floor.” he repeated to himself constantly.

He flipped.

With the perfect force to take the pan clean off the handle.

Bdubs screamed a “No!” to give Darth Vader a run for his money, collapsing onto the kitchen countertop and sinking onto the floor in a fit of despair. He wanted to get the pancakes right for Etho! He aanted Etho to taste them and be wowed by his cooking prowess! He wanted Etho to tell him he loves the pancakes he had lovingly prepared for him!

Many wasted eggs later, here he was.

But — was it always so hot in here?

SHIT-

He lept to his feet and fanned the small fire with a discarded tea towel, as if he needed any more stress. He had knocked over some tissues near the flame!

He wasn’t panicking for a while before, luckily, the sprinklers came to his rescue.

Drenching him in the process.

He sighed heavily, having turned off the hob, and all was blissfully quiet around him. It was too early for this — he would have no compunctions with crawling back into his bed and starting the day over.

But, he still had to make breakfast for Etho. As the ceiling pancake falling onto his head so graciously reminded him.

——

“Breakfast is served,” Bdubs muttered grumpily.

Etho peered up at him, snickering a little to himself at Bdubs’s wet cat-esque complexion. “What happened to you?”

Bdubs glared at him, handing over the tray without a word. Etho inspected it, humming.

“Bdubs, this is cereal.”

[rqshrubs]

YOULL SPEAK WHEN SPOKEN TO

Hellloooo I’m Bdubs or shrubs I don’t mind what you call me!! I’m a para and I guess radqueer but also not really kinda idk honestly I have no opinions ever I’m just a guy no brain head empty

Im an age regressor and I love my family and my boyfriend skizz (in our system) ((he might make an acct))

I’m sourced from everything!! All seasons of HC and all seasons of the life series!!!

#⏱️ family never dies ;; Clockers posting

#⏱️ time runs out ;; LimLife posting

#⏱️ Hermits crafting ;; hermitcraft tag

#⏱️ HOARD ;; hoarding identities

#⏱️ little sprout ;; I’m regressed be cautious!!

#⏱️ whispers from the wind ;; answering asks

Also I worship my bf, Skizzleman who is a god and no one can tell me otherwise, I kiss the ground he walks on. If you’re interested in him let me know I might start a fult :0

[theminecraftbee]

yo a persona au? I want to know more <- persona my beloved

gonna take this as a free space to talk about what I want so. let’s talk about impulse’s hanged man social link, who as it turns out is also his foil/the hidden bad guy, and person I was rotating in my head a lot in the car going to pick up dinner earlier: bdubs.

so, I think bdubs joins the party deceptively early—like, he’s not the last guy, or very obviously suspicious early on. in fact, he’s very happy with impulse! unfortunately. okay so like. impulse’s central arc in this is sort of that his tendency towards being a people-pleaser leads to him trying to be everything for everyone and also his existential crisis over being the one guy aware of like, the game mechanics of confidants and stuff, leading to “oh god are any of my emotions here actually real”.

bdubs… has always been singularly devoted to one guy. and bdubs got his special little guy well before impulse got here, and that special little guy happens to be our story’s big bad. (or at least, the human one.) it is because of bdubs’s singular devotion to this person—and difficulty being devoted for real to other people outside of his use for them—that lead him to realize that, with the help of his own abilities as a persona user, unlocked before the start of the story, he could find people’s negative selves and drag them into the negative world, taking out people that our story’s big bad wanted removed and accelerating the terrible end the world was going towards.

(side note: possibly making the big bad here like, a religious organization or something. idk if that works well enough thematically but I do sort of like the idea of “evil god that wants to send everyone into a deep sleep/eventual death, possibly because it has decided humanity’s impulse of creation only creates evil things, and therefore humanity’s will to create must be destroyed”. and the idea of it having a church associated with it and that church having bdubs be deeply devoted to it, even secretly, is fun.)

over time suspicious things pile up about bdubs, especially as the link between victims, the big bad, and bdubs also pile up. however, impulse is loyal to all of his social links—the least he can do is trust them if he’s busy using this social connection for his own gain, right? the least he can actually try to help them, even if it’s not for altruistic reasons, right?

so I think, first, that either bdubs’s social link is suspiciously automatic or you have to get it to like, rank five to get the true ending. (note that to actual impulse he wouldn’t notice it’s automatic but you know suspiciously to the player.) then after a certain point you’re locked in and at like, rank 6, impulse goes to confront bdubs, and maybe also warn him, and like. they’re friends they’ve bonded bdubs is… part of the team so he’s also under the fool… he keeps on saying how much he loves impulse… right?

and the confrontation is basically. yeah, but that wasn’t a real connection. we were useful to each other, right? and bdubs talks about the big bad and his actual goals and tells impulse to tell no one. and I think we have a clock moment except now impulse also has “I gave you everything like I gave it to everyone else, oh god what if this is also all for nothing.”

INSERT VERY DESTABILIZING SOCIAL LINK RANK UP WHERE IMPULSE BASICALLY RANKS UP WITH BDUBS FOR BDUBS BETRAYING HIM.

…yeah so remember how I wanted to do a thing an actual persona game probably wouldn’t and have impulse have a bit of a breakdown over being everything for everyone all the time? right now like, throw in the horrible realization that bad things can cause social link rank ups. and I think that’s the final straw here; this idea that he’s pouring so much into these relationships that he’s not even sure are “real” because he’s doing them for bullshit magic reasons and that the bullshit magic will sometimes say “the path to win directly involves hurting you and people you care about”.

and impulse just sorta… shuts down a little bit? he’s horrified and upset. and he badly scrambles to try to warn the others but he wasn’t prepared for any of this.

which gives bdubs the opening he needs to drag impulse’s own negative self into the negative world, because this is the point that impulse hits such high degree of burnout that, despite being a persona user, despite arguably being THE persona user… the negative world can technically infect anyone if they’re upset and burnt out enough.

and then in the most self-indulgent but fun twist for me in the world, the next day, the news impulse was found in his apartment, having contracted sleeping sickness, gets conveyed to the party. we, the player, know bdubs is a traitor, but the party does not. and impulse’s social links and the party decide that, that’s impulse. they’re going to save him.

and THEN we get to have the sappy but also sad “this is what makes our leader despair” maze as like, the penultimate maze, which is also the one you fight bdubs in. undecided on whether bdubs can actually be saved as well. also gameplay-wise it’s a very difficult dungeon and the ultimate fight is very hard, but if you’ve raised your social links, it gets easier, both because you’ll have a better equipped party and because the people who have bonded with impulse want to try to help him, and that energy makes the enemies weaker the better you’ve done bonding with everyone.

…but there’s my idea for that.