#new life smp au

[shyrose57]

Cha-ink. Cha-ink. Cha-ink.

This is the sound the button makes. The Pearlescent Model 2.0, fondly nicknamed Pearl by its creator, pushes the button. This is its only job.

Cha-ink. Cha-ink. Cha-ink.

The door pushes open, swinging just a bit more than its meant to under the force of an excited customer. The immediate start up of chatter masks the faint clank of contact when it tilts the machine off its course.

A pause, as it attempts to process this sudden turn of events. The Pearl surveys the area, searching for its button.

There, by a customer's side. A box, with buttons. He turns to sweep back through the door. The Pearl follows, trying to keep pace with the button box in order to press them, as it is designed.

Through the streets. To a house.

The button box goes into a bag. The Pearl goes into the bag. It presses the buttons.

(A grunt of effort, as the bag is shifted to aa shoulder.

"Oh, that got heavier...what did he do to my camera?"

The pilot does not check the bag)

Through the streets. To a field. To a plane.

Into the air.

The bag sits on a solid surface. The box stays inside. The Pearl presses the buttons.

It is all as it should be.

And then it isn't. A barest shift in the air, something utterly electric rolling over the plane.

The engine sputters.

Inside the bag, The Pearl pauses, hand still on the button.

It is....no longer necessary to push.

The button needs to be pushed. It always needs to be pushed.

The Pearl turns away, opening the bag in search of another process to start.

It lays eyes upon the customer in the same moment they see it.

The customer shrieks. The plane jolts sideways. Then down.

It is as if all the central wires in it's chest have been frayed and entangled. It shoves itself against the customer's side, clinging to its shirt at the demand of some protocol it has never dealt with before.

A choked gasp, near swallowed by the screaming wind.

"Wh-Pearl?!"

They hit the ground.

--------

LISTEN. What if. She was just a little guy. Who was trying to figure out this whole new world/sentience thing with everyone else? And also she knew Sparrow.

[aura-bird]

Encounter AU

So a few days ago I pondered this question. After some thinking and ideas, I bring you this~

Its basically an AU where Sparrow has an unfriendly encounter during his Nether expedition.

This AU contains spoilers for some events in Outsiders SMP.

----------

Like in canon, after Sparrow gets his blaze burners from the nether he has to now either build a new portal or find one.

He eventually comes to a crossroads of sorts. Either trek through a soulsand valley, bridge over a lava ocean, or head back into the domain of the creature that is probably still hunting him.

Hearing said creature's hiss in the distance behind him, he decides on the soulsand valley.

Now, Sparrow has heard many folklore tales about this biome. How it hold the souls of people who got lost and never made it to an afterlife...and those who were damned to never reach one as punishment.

Of course, he takes these stories with a grain of salt as he is a man of science and innovation.

So he's walking through the valley (avoiding skeletons and ghasts and other monsters that very much want to kill him), when all of a sudden, a thick fog rolls in.

He is then greeted by a sickeningly-friendly tone that makes him cry out in panic/surprise and he bolts. He runs aimlessly through the fog and trips, eventually picking himself up and dusting off his clothes.

When he looks up he sees a person before him. They have long brown hair tied in a ponytail and are wearing a green & brown tunic that matches their brown pants and gloves. Their body, despite it's slight transparency, looks as if it was covered in burns and their face bore three diagonal lines that looked like claw marks across one eye.

Sparrow questions who they are and the stranger apologies, introducing himself.

"Sorry, where are my manners? My name is Owen. What brings a human like you to this forsaken realm?"

Sparrow explains he needed blaze burners for a project and then questions if c!Owen is a hybrid.

c!Owen simply laughs, a malicious sound that sends a chill down Sparrow's spine.

"Me? A hybrid? I cannot think of anything more insulting than being a lesser species."

Sparrow does NOT like how c!Owen says those words, hearing the contempt and spite in his voice. Still, being polite Sparrow apologizes.

"O-Oh, sorry I um...didn't mean to insult you I just...everyone else I've met so far has been a hybrid of some sort or at least had powers. I've met a person who can teleport, another that can shoot fireballs from his hands, even a swarm of bees taken humanoid form."

He pauses before continuing, asking if c!Owen does not like hybrids and then adding that he himself finds them fascinating.

"You are a man of science then? I can respect that. I was a soldier myself."

So the two of them talk a bit more. Sparrow mentions how he seeks to learn about hybrids as he wants abilities of his own and c!Owen eventually gives his whole spiel about being a soldier, the war between humans & demons/tieflings ending through peace and how he had to stop it; just the whole arrogant hero-complex shtick he had near the end of Outsiders.

He then mentions that he tried to protect the people in the maze by killing all the demons/tieflings they were imprisoned with (sans the one who sold him out) and as thanks, they left him to burn to death in a dungeon. Whatever greater power in the universe exists then deemed him vile and so he's been damned to the nether for eternity, never to see an afterlife.

At this point, Sparrow is now horrified and scared and with that, c!Owen begins to make a suggestion.

"If you wish to get powers of your own, why not capture the hybrids for experiments? Learn how they work, how their designed, how to take their power for yourself. They're lesser beings compared to us humans anyway, no one will miss them."

It is here that one of several things can happen:

Good Ending 1:

Sparrow ponders the idea, but the horrifying image of Scott helpless in a tiny cage, his body bloodied and his eyes dulled from drugs or torture comes unbidden to his mind.

The very thought of doing such horrible things to those he calls his friends sickens him and he snaps at c!Owen for even considering such a thing.

"No wonder your soul is damned to this forsaken place! You are a monster, moreso that the beings you hunted! I'd rather try the method of dying to get abilities before I subject the innocent to any kind of harm!"

At that, he bolts, leaving the fog and c!Owen behind.

He then returns to the overworld and after building the mixer that will allow him access to brass he decides that if he refuses to experiment on hybrids...then he'd experiment on himself instead.

Cannon events follow with him building his machine.

Good Ending 2:

Similar to the above good ending, Sparrow snaps at c!Owen and flees...but c!Owen being the vengeful spirit he is doesn't let him get away easy.

Sparrow leaves the fog and c!Owen behind, unaware that in his fleeting c!Owen possessed his body.

From here, Sparrow and c!Owen become a 'Jekyll and Hyde' scenario as both their consciousnesses battle for control.

Sparrow sometimes wakes with blood on his hands and/or clothes or some horrible device/machine he doesn't remember building/designing as c!Owen uses him as a way to exterminate the hybrids ('cause he's is very much a speciesist and Sparrow gave him a new goal to pursue).

Sparrow eventually notices that some of the hybrids' abilities have mutated, meaning they've died. A few of them act afraid of him and make any encounters short; further adding to Sparrow's confusion since he doesn't remember doing anything to insult or scare them.

Eventually what's going on is figured out. Sparrow either discovers the truth by himself or the hybrids do (because they're worried and want to help) and confront him about it.

If Sparrow figures it out then he knows can't let c!Owen in on the fact he's aware of his presence. He needs to plan a way to separate them from each other while still making c!Owen think he's got all the cards here.

Maybe he lets the hybrids in on it in a very subtle manner so they can help, maybe he experiments on himself to try and expel c!Owen from his body because he doesn't want to put his friends at risk. Regardless, he's either successful or he fails and it's then up to the hybrids to save him.

If the hybrids figure it out then things are a bit easier as c!Owen would have no idea of their plans. They all work together to try and figure out how to save Sparrow from c!Owen.

The hybrids then would confront Sparrow.

If the man is himself he is confused about the sudden intervention and even more confused when his friends end up enacting their plan. What that is, I have no idea but it probably does involve them unfortunately having to kill him at some point. If c!Owen is in control when they confront Sparrow, he comments about it.

"Impressive that you managed to figure it out, didn't think you had the capacity to achieve that."

They first demand Sparrow's release and c!Owen just laughs at them because that is not happening. He's waited far too long for a host he could use to escape the purgatory he was trapped in.

Since c!Owen doesn't release Sparrow, they proceed with the plan.

Ultimately, in the end c!Owen is either expelled from Sparrow's body or just obliterated entirely. Life then returns to normal and Sparrow finds that with his death, he now has abilities like his friends.

Neutral Ending:

Like in the good endings, Sparrow snaps at c!Owen with the same speech. This time, however, when he turns to run one of his feet is sucked down into the soulsand, trapping him.

c!Owen now has a devious and sadistic grin on his face as he strides up to Sparrow, relishing in the man's helplessness.

"Brave words, but this is MY domain. Thank you for the tip about other lesser beings being around, you've given me a new purpose!"

At that, c!Owen, being a vengeful spirit, takes control of Sparrow's body and possesses him. Sparrow is forced into his subconscious and c!Owen gains full control of his body.

He poses as Sparrow for a time, but ultimately, begins his quest to wipe out all the hybrids. Some hybrids face permadeath, others don't.

The hybrids don't understand why Sparrow is suddenly so bent on their extinction and while some try to fight back, some of them (like Scott) can't hurt the one they called a friend.

At some point, it's discovered that Sparrow is possessed. Whether by Sparrow forcing his way to control for long enough to beg for help or simply someone is reborn with powers to tell what's going on.

Either way, they try to find a way to kill or expel c!Owen while still saving Sparrow. Maybe they do and Sparrow is left with all his lives or even just a single life remaining, maybe they don't and while they do stop c!Owen's conquest, Sparrow faces permadeath.

This is unfortunately a scenario where not everyone survives to the end. Who lives and who dies is up to interpretation.

Bad Ending 1:

Sparrow takes c!Owen's idea to heart and thanks him for it. c!Owen then leaves him and Sparrow returns to the overworld with purpose.

He then begins to plan how he will capture the hybrids, what experiments he'll need to run, and basically just throws all morals out the metaphorical window.

Several machines are built in a secret lab, and Sparrow's plan to capture and experiment on the hybrids begins.

In the end, he gets what he wants...and the hybrids all perish. Sparrow is the only victor here.

Bad Ending 2:

c!Owen possesses Sparrow in this scenario in a way similar to the 2nd good ending with the human not aware of his presence. This time though, instead of taking control of Sparrow's body and mind on occasion, c!Owen makes him experiment on the hybrids; a voice in his head telling him he wants this and that it's the only way to get powers.

In the end, like the above bad ending, all the hybrids permadie and Sparrow gets what he wants...

...or, at least what he THOUGHT he wanted.

With the hybrids all dead, c!Owen is quite pleased with himself and thanks Sparrow for his help before leaving the human's body.

It is then that Sparrow is hit with the reality of what he's done. What he does as a result of this realization can vary, but I'd imagine his guilt would eat away at him really badly.

[shrimpchip123]

doodles of my friends' fic!!! first isn’t canon just pure self indulgence from yours truly LOL

[stiffyck]

Pilot scar but what if I made him a bit eldritch

[of-chaos-and-flame]

Concept art for this au/crossover idea I’m working on

[whattodoattheendoftheworld]

Roomies band au

C!Cleo gives the energy of someone who has the singing voice of a god, but will unintentionally destroy any instrument they touch, while C!Etho gives the energy of someone who can play any instrument known to man with varying levels of successfulness while still being decent at all of them, but can't sing to save his life, so I propose this: a band au where they make little songs and such in their garage together.

Grian would get dragged into editing everything for them simply because he lives with them and they don't want to do it themselves. He especially hates editing anything Etho has created because his stuff, every single instrumental ever, is so much more to edit than Cleo's vocals.

They would post their songs on a YouTube channel Grian set up for them after Cleo bullied Etho into letting her.

All of their songs become emo the moment Etho gets his hands on them and Cleo allows it without resistance.

One of their songs is a platonic love/rant song Etho wrote about Joel and he always says that it can be about anything the listener wants it to, or makes a stupidly complicated story for what it's actually about, but it's really just about Joel and Etho can't lie about it. It's probably called "Neck Kisses" or something to match Joel's Spotify playlist. Of course, Cleo bullies him into releasing it since it unironically goes hard. (Think "You Stupid B!tch" by Girl In Red, but with less romantic undertones.)

The second Bdubs finds out about their little band/duo thing, he goes completely feral. He immediately becomes their #1 fan, makes merch for them and begs them to show him unreleased songs. I can't decide if it's actually because he loves their music or if he just wants to be supportive.

Joel, on the other hand, finds out about it and lovingly hates on them. Not publicly or anything and not really to Cleo - it's mostly just him making fun of Etho, so really just the usual for them. He calls himself their de-hype man nonetheless.

The merch Bdubs makes is surprisingly high quality for hand-made stuff, mostly consisting of shirts and jumpers decorated with song lyrics and names and maybe a few socks and some custom kazoos. He and Grian team up to make them an official merch website.

I like the idea of them just being like a small indie band that appreciates every like and nice comment they get, so Etho has some kind of heart attack when they hit a hundred subscribers. Of course, Bdubs convinces/forces them to celebrate the, albeit small, achievement and invites everyone even vaguely involved, so it's just Cleo, Etho, Grian, Bdubs and Joel cramped inside of Cleo, Etho and Grian's garage, drinking and eating snacks together and having a marathon of every bad horror movie they can find.

They also have a friendly rivalry with "Gem and the Scotts", (since someone commented that and I loved the idea) but don't really focus too much on rivalries since half of the band (Etho) is too busy obsessing over their de-hype man.

Thinking about it now, they probably started by making covers of songs made by bands like Paramore and Twenty-One Pilots, probably some Panic! At The Disco as well. Then Cleo came up with a song about something going on in their life and asked Etho to do the instrumentals for it. Asking him to do backup vocals for her taught them that he was awful at singing since he outright refused, leading to them teaming up to create the actual band.

They're one of those alternative/indie emo bands - like Fall Out Boy and such.

I have no idea what their band name would be- it could be something simple, like just "The roomies", but I feel like they wouldn't want to leave Grian out since he isn't actually in the band. Maybe he could play the kazoo or something??

I enjoy imagining Bdubs asking about what Etho does in the band since he has never thought about him being musically talented and Cleo just takes him into Etho's room - it's filled with different instruments and merch of different bands, like they all have their own special spaces and stands. Bdubs is flabbergasted.

Despite their friendly rivalry with "Gem and the Scotts", they don't really interact with them tons because Joel has this weird hatred for Scott that he has never ever explained - No one can ask about it either since he'll just start to angrily mutter names under his breath. Cleo has deduced that it must be because of something that happened in high school, but nobody knows much more than that, except Bdubs who keeps his lips firmly sealed. (Thank another comment for this.)

[foxxology]

Imagine if wardens could summon Owen

Imagine if Grian sneezes and Owen just pops up on hc

/j

I think it would be the opposite >.>

Owen gets agitated and suddenly Grian appears ripping from the ground as an angry Warden

oh no i might have to draw this......

[spyglahass]

The Hunt and the Hunted AU art dump time uwu

(+ some comic sketches I found that I never finished)

[itsabirbe]

and its here! not the most proud of E!Owens hair but its fiiinnee.

(this was made before hooks death during the kidnapping so pirate owens just kinda bored)

[ccssketchbooknstuff]

Gem's first origin has got me buzzy thinking....

Gem mainly uses the turtle in my miraculous boatem au but I couldn't resist making this design! maybe she's a bee in an alternate au, or maybe she's subbing in for a mission with this miraculous.

anyway, the chibi cat hero next to Gem is Katherine from a nature wives au fic called "Feelings for the Kat" by @rodentlady, which apparently was inspired by my au. Coincidentally, they've posted a fic with a bee-themed superhero version of Gem. Go check it out!

[mysterybutknown]

Flower Husbands but since Jimmy surrounds himself with loud and talkative people, he never gets to voice his opinion or hobbies on many thing.

That's until one day (our resident Ken-doll) Jimmy is caught his room, cross-dressing (as barbie lol), and it makes Scott question just how much he know about him.

Will these new discovery lead to a breakthrough in Jimmy's self-esteem, his relationships with his friends or even with Scott? Can he pull off being 2 people at once???

FIND OUT NEX-

[doodleswithpaint]

[ You can’t see me- behind the screen ]

[flowers-for-the-grave]

New Life Superhero/Villain AU!

My ideas for (some) of the creators in New Life as heroes or villains.

Heroes:

Jimmy - 'Cold Guy'

Gem - 'Inferno'

Sausage - 'Phoenix'

Owen/Sparrow - 'Copper'

Jimmy can manipulate ice to obtain super speed as well as create icy barriers to shield himself and others. Some joke that his abilities and Martyn''s are so similar that they could be siblings, but Jimmy refuses to divulge whether or not he was born with his powers.

Gem can control and manipulate fire. She accidentally burned fWhip with it when they were children and has never forgiven herself for it since. She believes he is dead.

Sausage can also manipulate fire, but unlike Gem, he can use it to fly as well as being able to heal people in a close radius to him. As a result, he chooses to fight long-range to avoid accidentally healing the villains he's fighting.

Sparrow is more durable and can fight longer than the others, as well as needing less rest and food. He tends to go on nightly patrols because of this. He stays away from Scott as they were friends as children.

Villains:

Scott - 'Mycellium'

Martyn - 'Blizzard'

Pearl - 'Golem'

fWhip - 'Trickster'

Scott has the power to summon and control fungi, and can grow them on people and animals to control them. In the past he used his ability on Jimmy, and Jimmy now has a scar on his chest from it.

Martyn can control ice to make himself impervious to attacks. He, like Jimmy, refuses to reveal how he got his powers, but for very different reasons. Martyn has scars all over his body and only Scott knows the reason for them.

Pearl has the same abilities as Sparrow and uses them so that she can carry out the harder work with less risk (e.g: bigger heists with higher risk of injury, taking on cops/vigilantes whilst the others continue what they're doing). She refuses to fight Sausage, but can't recall or explain why.

fWhip can shrink himself and uses this ability for breaking and entering, as well as stealing. Gem believes he died, but in truth he just shrank himself and ran away. He hasn't told her the truth, but holds nothing against her.

So what do you think? Who else could be a hero/villain? Any interesting backstory ideas?

[thetomorrowshow]

Grian was obliterated by a sonically-charged shriek

GoodTimeWithScar died

“Tim?”

Jimmy doesn’t look up. Not yet. Instead, he gazes down, closer, at where Scar had spontaneously exploded into nothing, his possessions flying every which way. It had been a lonely death for both of them. Like his own.

“Tim,” Grian says again, and Jimmy looks up at him. He looks . . . like himself. A bit frazzled, a bit of Red still glinting in his eyes, but that’s just Grian, really. Behind him, Scar waves, fully clothed once again.

“Why are you here?”

Jimmy almost laughs at that, because where else would he be? He’s always been here, in a sense. So has Grian.

Grian’s different, though. Grian fights back. Grian doesn’t want to be here.

Jimmy closes the eyes he has on Martyn and Pearl and Etho and focuses all of his attention on Grian. “I have to be here,” he says eventually. “You know that.”

And maybe Grian pretends he doesn’t know, but the look Scar gives him is not insignificant. Scar knows Grian quite well, has been around him long enough, will stay with him (Jimmy can See the strings that still connect the two, can See that their futures are sewn together into one seam). Scar knows a thing or two about Seeing.

Grian snorts. “Who are you hanging around for this time? Scott, Martyn, Joel—the game’s over, Timmy. Go home.”

“Funny,” Jimmy mumbles, a pang echoing through his chest. “That’s just what Tango said.”

“Listen to him,” advises Grian, patting Jimmy heavily on the shoulder. “You’re on a new server, aren’t you? Something about kingdoms?”

Grian knows full well where Jimmy lives. Jimmy feels his eyes sometimes, late at night when they’re both supposed to be fast asleep, a foreign sense of panic and then relief at finding him exactly where he’s supposed to be. He humors Grian, though, nods.

“Right. Go there. Forget about these guys, they’ll be along soon enough. Yeah?”

There’s something hopeful in Grian’s tone, in the way he almost-but-doesn’t grab Jimmy’s hand. 

Jimmy hates disappointing people.

He shakes his head. “My work here isn’t done,” he says softly. “You know that.” 

Grian’s jaw tightens, his face smoothing over into blankness.

“Fine. Do what you want, I can’t stop you.”

Grian could try to stop him, if he really wanted to. He was always so powerful. But the avian glances at Scar, then back at Jimmy, and Jimmy wonders briefly if Grian really thinks Scar doesn’t know.

After all, if Scar was any less aware of the situation at hand, he wouldn’t be able to see Jimmy at all.

There’s not another word from Grian as he stomps off, disappearing into the mist that surrounds them. Scar hangs back, shoots Jimmy what’s likely meant to be a calming smile.

“He’s just grumpy that he got us killed, don’t worry about him,” Scar says jovially. Then, quieter, more considerate, he adds, “He’s scared for you. He thinks you’re . . . employed against your will, shall we say.”

“I’ve been a Watcher for quite a bit longer than he ever was, thanks,” Jimmy retorts, and to Scar’s credit he doesn’t even blink. “And he knows what I am, who I am. Tell him if he’s got a problem with that, he can bring it up with the Prophecies of Old, all right?”

Scar grimaces. “I’m sure he knows . . . whatever that’s all about. Season Eight just spooked him, is all. And then this. . . .” he clears his throat. “He'll be back to regular-ol’-Grian in no time! Well, gotta get back to my theme park. See ya, TJ!”

And then Scar’s gone, mist covering him in one great cloud and then breaking apart to reveal he’s vanished. Jimmy nearly laughs—typical Scar and his magic tricks.

There’s still four pairs for him to Watch. And from what Jimmy’s seen (and what he’s Seen) of this game, he knows which ones are going to lose.

His going first had been a given, really—he has to be outside of the game to really manipulate anything. Tango had been an unfortunate byproduct of that.

Next was Ren and BigB, mostly due to Grian’s trap prophecy—and maybe Jimmy ought to find an assistant, because it’s getting rather hard to keep track of all these prophecies and bring them to fruition, but he managed that one rather nicely and then made certain that none of Grian’s traps worked for the rest of the game, which ultimately led to his downfall.

It’s just the four pairs left now, and it’s easy to push subconsciously for the portal to be trapped, and even easier to push both Joel and Etho through it. He had planned for a while for them to die, but Etho’s slippery and Joel’s unexpected, so he feels some sort of vindictive pleasure when Joel swears his way through the After and into the Beyond (trying to forget the abject horror with which he Listened to Joel’s agonized pleas for Etho to find safety, to not feel this pain).

Impulse and Bdubs are an easy choice after that, even though Pearl really should not be able to win that fight. Bdubs Sees a bit more than he should, sticks his tongue out at Jimmy as Impulse pulls him back to Hermitcraft, seeing nothing.

And then he has to end it.

Jimmy can See his friends, the smudges of dirt and dried blood that paint them, the haggard lines of exhaustion in their faces. He can Hear the desperation in their thoughts, the way their voices beg for mercy.

He’s perhaps the only one who can grant it.

And he’s made his choice.

Maybe it’s the ghost of his voice that whispers for Martyn to turn against Scott, and maybe he chooses Martyn because of how well Martyn Listens, but Martyn just tilts his head, nods, and nocks a firework.

Cleo doesn’t want to go along with him, but she has to. Jimmy makes sure to eliminate all of her other options. He sends them after Pearl. He wants to give the victor a little more victory before the end.

When they die, they appear beside Jimmy just as everyone else has, but unlike everyone else, Jimmy speaks to them.

“Hey, Martyn,” he says, and Martyn looks every which way before his face dawns with comprehension.

“Timmy,” he chuckles, even as Cleo frowns at him. “Thought the voice sounded like you. Third again, Tim—have you got something against me?”

“Who are you talking to?” Cleo asks. “We’re alone.”

“It’s not your turn yet,” is all Jimmy can say. He’s not sure when it’ll be Martyn’s turn—there’s dozens of prophecies he has to sort through before deciding which threads to follow next time, and he doesn’t even know if any of them have Martyn as a winner. The Watchers and Listeners alike are rather frustrated with Martyn lately; he wouldn’t put it past them to make him suffer for a while.

“That sucks. Least I didn’t kill myself this time, am I right?”

“Sure. Good job, Martyn.” Jimmy tells him, voice purposefully placating. Martyn doesn’t sputter in outrage, though, as he would in the games. He just shoots a tired smile in the opposite direction of Jimmy (who Sees it anyway) and says,

“How long are you here for?”

Cleo rolls her eyes and steps into the mist, past death. Martyn lingers, waiting—hopefully, almost—for an answer.

Jimmy checks up on Scott and Pearl. They’ve still not met up, yet, Scott taking a moment to rest before finding her.

“Not long,” he says after a moment, the bloodlust that’s been plaguing everyone’s thoughts for so long (and giving him a horrid headache) finally beginning to abate. “Why?”

Martyn shuffles his feet a little bit, shrugs. “I dunno. Figured you might not want to be alone after this, might want to hang out. Yeah?”

Jimmy doesn’t remind him that he’s got an entire server to return to, plenty of friends waiting for him. He knows that Martyn’s not asking for Jimmy’s sake.

“I’ll message you,” he promises, and Martyn smiles again before fading into the mist.

Then all that’s left is the victor.

And Scott.

And Jimmy, of course, but he doesn’t ever really count himself when it comes to these games, even when he’s still within them. He’s always out first, he always has to be—and not only for prophecy purposes. Grian really doesn’t like Watchers—or any sort of outsider—intruding on his territory, but someone has to be there to make sure there’s safe passage to another world.

Scott’s making his way toward Pearl now. Pearl’s still cuddling her dogs, telling them all about how she won.

And then Scott’s there, just behind her, and maybe it’s a little push from Jimmy that puts the idea in Scott’s head, gets him to start unbuckling his chestplate.

It’s not like Scott will ever know. With the Red bloodlust, Scott would be lucky to even recognize thoughts that are his own.

Pearl doesn’t like it. She doesn’t like Scott’s tower of tnt, doesn’t like that he’s talking to her, could be a distraction—her fingers flex around the sweat-stained leather of her sword hilt, ready to block any attack that comes, ready to slash the wire of a fishing rod—but Scott simply smiles, congratulates her, and lights his pyre.

She screams, quick and cut-off because soon enough Scott’s dead and just afterward she’s dead.

The world relaxes under Jimmy’s hands, held taut for so long. He relaxes as well. It’s over. It’s finally over.

Scott turns up before Pearl, and Jimmy, knowing all, knows why—he’s let her ghost linger for a few moments, long enough to say farewell to her dogs.

Scott looks around, and there’s a light behind the fading Red in his eyes that tells Jimmy exactly what he’s looking for, exactly what he’s remembering.

“No happy ending this time, eh?” he asks with a quirk of his lips. Jimmy chuckles. Scott can’t hear him or see him, though, so it’s a moment of humor reserved for himself.

Scott turns to leave, but pauses. “Don’t forget MCC this weekend, yeah?” he tosses over his shoulder. Then he’s gone.

And it’s just Jimmy.

And Pearl, who has suddenly appeared.

“Oh,” she says quietly, then louder, “hello? Is anyone here? Scott?”

She’ll leave soon enough and forget her loneliness, so Jimmy turns his attention toward more pressing matters. The world’s going to collapse entirely soon—otherwise it would just be taking up space—and Jimmy helps it along, grabbing a line of code and yanking, watching it unspool an entire hill. That’s always going to be satisfying to him, no matter how many times he does it.

A sound from beside him—she hasn’t left yet, oddly enough. “I’m still alone,” Pearl sniffles, and one unseeable eye blinking open before her shows Jimmy that she looks so terribly lost, tears just forming in her eyes. “Except I don’t even have Tilly with me, here. It’s just . . . me.”

What’s left of Pearl’s tower folds in on itself, vanishes as the world itself begins to twist. Box crumbles. Jimmy winces as his own grave cracks and disappears.

Pearl’s crying, Jimmy realizes with a start, a fat tear rolling down her cheek before she can stop it. She rubs at her eyes with the torn sleeve of her hoodie, takes in a shuddering breath.

“I wanna go home,” she whispers to no one, and Jimmy wonders why she doesn’t. “Which way is home?” 

Oh. If Jimmy isn’t mistaken, she’s glitched. 

It’s not the first time he’s had to deal with a glitched player in one of Grian’s death worlds. Last game, Bdubs’s final death had glitched similarly, leaving him stuck in the limbo of the void. He’d started to become Watcherish for the week that he was stuck, looking down at the game below and eventually Seeing. It had taken Jimmy far too long to try the simplest solution, the one that actually got him out, after working through dozens of different ones.

This time, he takes Pearl’s hand before he tries anything else.

She gasps, but she doesn’t let go. Instead, her grip tightens around Jimmy’s not-quite-corporeal hand.

“I’ll lead you home,” he tells her, knowing she’ll hear nothing.

Pearl, to her credit, follows.

She doesn’t stop crying, which is awkward for Jimmy, really, because how is he meant to comfort someone to whom he is nothing more than mist right now? And sometimes her cries are less anguished and more angry, and that’s a whole issue that he really doesn’t want to deal with so maybe it’s better that he can’t help.

She’ll start feeling better once she’s on Hermitcraft again. Red still stains her skin and mind, leftover from being Last. Both Grian and Scott had each had a particularly difficult time shaking off the despairing bloodlust after their respective wins.

But neither of them had glitched. Both had moved on almost instantly to their next servers. Pearl is stuck here with all of those warped feelings.

He doesn’t envy her position. He does pity it.

It’s not a short walk to Hermitcraft, but not a particularly long one either—Jimmy leads her into the mist for maybe ten minutes before he starts feeling the pull, that distinct Hermity feeling that tells him in gentle whispers that this is where Pearl belongs.

He releases her hand and her defenses shoot up, face guarded and one hand ready to punch while the other grasps aimlessly at nothing.

She needs a final push, then. If she were more in her right mind, she would have sensed the pull of her home.

And she just looks so terribly lonely.

So Jimmy forces all of his strength into giving his body weight and wraps her in a hug.

She’s surprised, and murder is still very much at the forefront of her mind, but after a moment she relaxes into it, hugs him back, her hands grabbing for a body that isn’t there to her. She sighs, butts her head up against him, her head finally going quiet enough that it isn’t grating on Jimmy’s ears.

“Don’t know who you are,” she says. “Too tall to be Grian, which is who I expected, really. Thank you, though—whoever you are.”

“You’re welcome,” Jimmy responds, and she still doesn’t hear him, but she lets him ease her into Hermitcraft’s current before releasing her to disappear into it.

And he’s really been alone for quite some time, but finally he’s alone-alone, with no more voices and faces that he has to keep track of. He can just close all of his eyes and stop Seeing and stop Listening and just Stop for a moment.

There’s so much paperwork to do.

He could stay here to do it. Once he’s done overseeing the destruction of the server he could just hang out in the timeless nothing of the void, where no one can bother him and he can get it done on time, rather than cram it all into his schedule the night before the deadline.

Or he could go back to Tumble Town, finally get a chance to relax. Stretch out in his own bed with Deputy Norman by his side. Get dirt under his fingers, feel the mesa sun beat down on him, build something with his own two hands. It’s really not a tough choice to make.

He’s always been more Player than anything else.

So Jimmy goes the way Joel and Scott went, follows the thread that whispers of Empires until he finds the current, lets himself be washed away into it.

He’ll definitely do some of that paperwork tomorrow. Totally.

-

Jimmy wakes with a gasp, lungs frantically filling and refilling after so many days in the void without needing to breathe. He’d forgotten how much of an adjustment period properly having a body is (at least it’s not as bad as waking in the Cod Empire had been; the air of the mesa is much thinner and doesn’t feel like soup sliding down his throat).

Other than his breathing, it’s quiet. Not quiet in the way of the void, the suffocating silence only broken by the words of the dead. Quiet in the way of the world—wind kicking up a bit of sand outside, the cry of a faraway bird, Norman purring at the foot of the bed.

He thinks maybe he’ll build a shop today.

Jimmy takes a few more long minutes to figure out how to breathe and move before forcing himself up. He rolls out of bed, pulls on his jeans and buttons up his shirt. He grabs a bite of hardtack before stepping into his cowboy boots, dusts the crumbs off his hands and pins his sheriff badge onto his vest.

He’s about to step out the door when he realizes he’s almost forgotten the most important part! On a hook by the kitchen table is a beautiful ten-gallon hat, and he swings it on and fingers the part of the brim that’s already wearing thin before marching out the door, ready for a day of living.

A violet eye blinks open in the back of the hat.

[stiffyck]

MY MOTHERFUCKING VOID PILOT SCAR AU IS CANON I AM LOSING MY SHIT HELLO????

"going throught the void"

thiS IS STRAIGHT UP JUST MY AU OH MY GOD I NEED TO SCREAM ABOUT THE AU HERE

[arthropod-concoctions]

(AO3 - prev)

Martyn swiped his finger across a page of the enchanted book, sketching a pose, and watching as the armor stand in front of him mimicked it. He took his finger off the paper with a flourish, and the stand froze, staying in position. It wasn't a particularly impressive pose, but Martyn smiled proudly anyways.

“This thing is awesome,” he said to Joe, who had flown in to drop yet another shulker box full of various types of stone at Cleo's doorstep. Ze said that they would know what to do with it; somehow, Martyn doubted that. “You wouldn't happen to know how to replicate it, would you?”

“Oh, that's easy, just take a book and title it `Statues',” Joe replied. Around zir head floated a rainbow of small multicoloured eyes that stared directly at Martyn.

“Right,” Martyn said, looking back at the eyes. That sounded like far too easy a process to be possible on just any server. He tried not to be too disappointed; he wouldn't have had any time for making statues in the Life games anyways, and, well, where else was he gonna do it?

“And another thing... do you know if Cleo has a change of clothes stashed anywhere?”

Joe hesitated for a moment. “...In their cross-server inventory, probably?”

“Sure, but I'd feel weird just digging through that. And I had a look around this block of skyscrapers here, but I couldn't find a wardrobe or anything.”

“Oh, fair enough. Well, I don't know about Cleo, but you can borrow some of my clothes if you want?”

“Sure. Do you have anything in green?”

Joe smiled and looked at Martyn through zir green glasses, and Martyn looked at zir green fingerless gloves and green hairtie and felt a bit silly for asking. “Oh, I've got a few things. I'll be right back!”

---

Half an hour later, Martyn was standing next to a shulker box overflowing with clothes, dressed in... not the most ostentations outfit he'd ever worn, considering a certain December MCC, but it was probably in the top ten. Cleo was a bit taller than Joe, so most of the clothes left the belly exposed, but Martyn had managed to find a chroma green pinstripe suit that fit well enough. He stepped out of the room in Cleo's base he'd used to dress up, and made eye contact with Joe, whose face lit up.

“Found something you like?” ze said.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Martyn replied, laughing. “I feel like I'm ready to play for the Lime Llamas with this fit.”

“I don't watch sports, but yeah, I think you look great!”

The two of them walked out into Cleo's courtyard, where someone was waiting for them; someone who appeared to be a blue slime in a hoodie and jogging pants.

The slime looked at Martyn and stifled a laugh. “Wow, looks like I chose the right day to go check on Cleo's replacement,” they said, then held out a slimy hand- more like a stump, really, Martyn couldn't make out separate fingers. “I'm Jevin. Nice to meet you.”

“Martyn,” Martyn responded. He tried to shake Jevin's 'hand', but only ended up slapping against it before Jevin withdrew it. It had the consistency of a water balloon. “You're a friend of Cleo's?”

“Uh- yeah, a friend. Totally. Mhm, we're best friends,” Jevin replied, nodding. “That's why I'm here. Friendly reasons.”

“Right. Friendly reasons. Definitely not `collecting blackmail material for Cleo' reasons.”

“Exactly! See, you get it,” Jevin said cheerfully. Martyn looked at Joe, who shrugged. Zir rainbow eyes shot a few glances at Jevin occasionally, but most remained trained on him. Suddenly, Joe gasped.

“Wait, I haven't even shown you the best feature of this outfit yet!” ze said, then began rummaging through zir inventory. Eventually ze pulled out a strange flashlight of sorts. “Check this out!”

Ze shone the light on Martyn; he looked down to realise his body had vanished. From the neck down, all of his body which was covered by green fabric was completely invisible.

Martyn laughed deviously. “Oh, that's fantastic. Say, can I borrow that light for a bit?”

“Sure,” Joe said, handing Martyn the flashlight. “As long as you bring it back by the end of the day.”

“Yeah, I can do that, no problem,” Martyn replied, then went back into his little changing room. After some rummaging, he found a piece of fabric big enough to cover his head, protesting snakes included; then, he pulled out his chat and began typing a message.

<ZombieCleo> Tim, where you at?

<Tango> the shopping district

<Tango> zedaph's giving me a tour

<ZombieCleo>coords?

Taking the makeshift mask with him, he went outside to meet Joe and Jevin again. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a rancher to prank.”

He shot a glare at Jevin, who appeared to be taking a picture of him, then took off flying with Cleo's elytra.

Despite receiving precise coordinates from Jimmy, Martyn had quite some trouble locating him and his new friend in the shopping district. Partly because the district in question was a headache-inducing mess to fly over, and partly because all of Tango's distinctive physical features were now blue for some reason.

He gently glid down to the ground, careful not to make any noise, and landed behind Jimmy and a blond Hermit who he guessed must be Zedaph. He'd been shining Joe's flashlight onto himself, rendering him entirely invisible except for his hand. He trailed behind the two of them, slowly closing the gap. Eventually he could hear what Zedaph was saying:

“And this is the hole where... Actually, I have no idea what this hole is for. It wasn't here last time I went shopping. There's hoppers at the bottom... d'you reckon we should throw something in, see what happens?”

“You know, Zed, this tour isn't very good,” Jimmy said. His accent was unmistakeable, even in Tango's voice, which didn't seem to have changed with his colouration.

Martyn was right behind them at this point, so he spoke up: “Yeah. Zero stars.”

Jimmy yelled out and whirled around, flailing his arms about in a panic. His arm collided with Zedaph's, and expelled some kind of red flash; then, Zedaph yelped too.

Martyn began laughing, pulling the cloth off of his face and pointing the flashlight down. “Oh, that was beautiful,” he said between laughs.

“Wh- Cleo- Martyn- how did you- what are you wearing?” Jimmy sputtered.

“More importantly, what were you thinking?” Zedaph added, rubbing his arm where he'd collided with Jimmy. “Do you know how annoying redstone burns are to heal?”

“Sorry, Zed,” Martyn said. “Didn't mean for you to become collateral. Hi. I'm Martyn, by the way.” Martyn extended his hand to Zedaph, who crossed his own arms, pointedly not shaking his.

“Wait-- sorry, Zed, by the way-- what do you mean 'redstone burn'?” Jimmy said.

“Well, you know, with Tango's redstonyness... he never zapped you on accident?”

Jimmy shook his head. Martyn piped up: “Wait, are you saying Tango just has redstone tasers hidden up his sleeves at all times?”

“No- he- because he's a redstone sprite, guys come on!” Zedaph exclaimed, clearly expecting Martyn and Jimmy to know this.

“I didn't know that,” Jimmy replied immediately.

Zedaph looked at Jimmy, looking very offended on Tango's behalf. “Seriously? You were married to him, and you didn't even-”

“We were not married!” Jimmy interrupted him. “We were soulmates, not-”

“About the same thing, isn't it? Still, not a very good soulmate if you didn't even know what species he is.”

“I thought he was just a regular guy!”

“He has red eyes!” Zedaph and Martyn said in unison.

“Not anymore though, they're blue now,” Martyn added. “Zed, what's up with that anyways? Why does Hermitcraft get the blue raspberry flavoured Tango?”

“Because of...” Zedaph trailed off, then sighed, and pinched his nose. “You know, I figured because you were his husband- soulmate, whatever-” he waved a hand at Jimmy, who's opened his mouth to protest- “I could skip the `introduction to Tango' part of this tour. But I guess not! Follow me, let's turn this tour around.”