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zedif-y · 13 days

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omg!!!! joel + "afraid" maybe???

Joel isn't afraid of water.

He grits his teeth, forces a smile when Grian looks over at him, head tilted in question. He shakes his head.

" 'm good," is what comes out of his mouth, casual as anything. "Don't wanna get wet."

Which is true, you know. He's not lying. He's just... Kinda not feeling the whole swimming thing right now. Even though he said he would. Multiple times.

...Nothin' wrong with that. A guy can change his mind, can't he?

Grian looks unimpressed, "You went to a beach party to people watch?"

Ugh.

"You went over here to judge?" Joel fires back. An itching something creeps under his skin. "I'll put sand in your wings, Grian, don't think I won't." Grian huffs.

"Someone's tetchy today," He mumbles. He stretches his wings, large swaths of red feathers that catch the sun, "Whatever. Call me if you need me, I'll be over by- Mumbo, are you sunburnt already?!"

Joel watches him go, amusement on his lips as Grian runs off. He lets out a breath.

Why'd he agree to this, again?

("Hey," Impulse says. "So, the other hermits and I were planning something, and we were wondering if you'd wanna-")

("Yes," Joel blurts out, then— "I mean no- I mean! What're- what's the plan?")

(Joel fights a wince.)

(Nice save, idiot.)

(But Impulse just smiles—thank the gods—and goes, "Well, it's nothing fancy or anything. Just a hangout at the beach. Grian found this awesome spot-")

And Joel promises he was listening. He was. It's just, you know. Exciting? 'Cuz he's one of the new guys and it's a whole new server to get used to and they actually want him to hang out, and that's great and he's got plans for builds, farms, and, and.

Maybe, just- maybe. He wants this to work out. Really wants this to work out. Wants to be here to stay.

Because like— Joel's a Hermit now. A real, bonafide Hermit, even though it doesn't feel real. Even if it hasn't quite sunk in yet.

So. You know. What's the harm, right?

("I'll be there," Joel says at last, grinning in a way that he hopes is casual and not painfully eager. "When's it happening?")

Joel can't help but wonder if this is turning out the way he wanted it to, though.

The heat prickles at his skin, leaves him sweating and uncomfortable in his rolled up shirt and pants. He fans himself with the front of his shirt, just watching the others pass the time.

Hermitcraft's got a variety of members— Jevin laughs as xB drenches Keralis in a spray of water, halting when sand is thrown his way in return. ("You know that sticks to me!") Xisuma's in swim trunks and his usual helmet, fanning himself with his hands like it'll stave off the heat. Tango doesn't even break a sweat.

Something worms into his chest, an ugly, twisting feeling that curls around his lungs.

Joel grimaces. Oh, what the heck.

Biting his lip, Joel looks down at his chest, under his shirt. He doesn't exactly grimace, but there's nothing happy about his face, either.

Again, ugh.

Joel sighs, shaking his head. He goes back to people watching, ignoring the prickling discomfort under his skin. This is fine. This is fine.

At the corner of his eye— Pearl stands by the side, cracking jokes with Etho. They're both still wearing jackets. It makes something in Joel unfurl, just a little bit.

He tears his eyes away before they spot him.

The thing is— Joel doesn't, like, hate himself or anything. Not anymore, or at least not right now. And he's not afraid of water, despite how intensely he stared at the sea. It's just, it's...

Joel chews on his lip, picking off dried skin. The small tears bleed, droplets of blood on his tongue as he licks them away. He barely realizes he's doing it— and by the end, his lip twinges a little, reddened and sore.

Sweat makes his clothes cling to his skin. Joel wishes he hadn't agreed to any of this at all.

"You got room for one more?" A voice asks, jolting him out of his thoughts.

Joel turns to look— "Zedaph," He says, surprised. He scoots over his (frankly, way too large) beach blanket, "Yeah, I've got- yeah. You can sit."

Zedaph grins, "Just Zed is fine," He tells him, sitting next to Joel.

He's not in his usual getup right now, Joel notes. Not that he'd know. He's only talked to the guy twice, seen him in meetings. But something about the lack of a cardigan, although understandable, strikes Joel as a bit off— it's like seeing your teacher in casual wear outside of school. Makes sense, but it's kinda weird.

"You gonna swim?" Joel asks, just for something to fill the air. By the water, Scar gets pinched by a crab. Joel snickers.

Zedaph watches on, amused. "With how hot it is, I feel like I already am," He huffs. He rifles through his inventory, a pink fan appearing in his hand, "But no, I don't think I will. It's a nightmare on the wool."

Joel hums, makes sense.

"How about you?"

Joel frowns— he doesn't mean to, it just kinda happens— and says, "Uh, dunno. Maybe? I don't-" He makes a face. "I said I would, but now 'm not sure."

After a beat, Zedaph shrugs. "Well, you've got time," He says at last, and that's that.

They settle into people-watching, for the most part. Just watching the other Hermits bask in the sun, laughing and splashing around as the day goes on.

It looks— it looks fun. It looks so fucking fun.

Joel grits his teeth, the hand gripping the front of his shirt tightening without his notice. What the heck. What the heck.

Frustration gnaws at him, eyes caught on the way they all carry themselves, loose and carefree. Not at them, obviously, it's at his stupid, like, brain—

Joel lets out a breath, deep and measured.

He wanted to come. He said he'd come, join in and swim and whatever else. But now he's here and he's sitting in the shade and not even talking to Zedaph because he can't get a hold of himself, too worked up over nothing as he agonizes over the fact that his shirt is clinging to his skin and it's wrong and it's weird and it feels like, like.

Joel lets his gaze drop to the sand at his feet.

It feels like if they knew, if they saw him the way he saw himself, then they'd, like, regret inviting him here. Or something. Here being the server and the world and not just beach party.

Which, which is stupid and he knows this, but it's so hard to shake— like, how did he even get here, again?

Joel bites back a groan. Today is an awful day to have blummin' imposter syndrome.

For goodness' sake, now he's sulking.

After a while, Zedaph speaks up.

"Are you alright?" He asks, eyebrows drawn together. Joel wants to evaporate on the spot.

He shakes his head, then grimaces. Now he's acting like a toddler.

"Oh," Zedaph says, looking a bit lost. Joel can relate. "...Thirsty?"

Joel blinks. "Huh?"

"Sorry," Zedaph's cheeks flush pink, shaking his head, "I'm not very good at this. D'you want to talk? I can listen if you want."

Joel thins his lips, weighing his options.

He thinks that in another world, another time he probably would've just kept this to himself. 'Cuz he can handle this, he's not a kid. But somewhere along the line— the line of repeatedly bottling shit up, having it rattle and shake and eventually explode— he sort of. Well.

Maybe he realized that that doesn't work. Anymore.

So, "It's stupid."

Joel winces. Great start.

"I mean, it's not. I guess. It's just, new guy jitters, you know?" He tries to explain, watching as understanding dawns on Zedaph's face, a knowing smile that puts a balm on the static-y feeling in Joel's veins. "I'm sorta freaking out about, everything? Even the ones that don't make sense."

His cheeks burn red, "Like the way I'm all sweaty and gross and— I kinda don't want people to see, my body—?" He cuts himself off, his face pinched like he swallowed a lemon. "It's, you know. Not just because of gender things, but it is kind of that, but it's... Gods, Zed, just tell me they aren't gonna kick me out."

The last words come out in a rush, high-pitched and not squeaky as they tumble past Joel's lips. Zedaph blinks.

"Before I joined Hermitcraft, I was falling through the sky with my own sick on my head," Zedaph starts. Which. "Before that, the first ever thing I did was dig a hole in the ground and call that my home. And make an egg farm. But mostly the digging."

Joel tries very, very hard to find where this is going. (A fool's errand, from what he's heard about Zed, but still.)

"When I was asked to join Hermitcraft, my first thought was— really? Me?" Then, he laughs. "But they were serious! And I even asked Tango, then, if it was some elaborate prank. But it wasn't! They really wanted me on here!"

Zedaph gestures around them, "It's easy to get caught in your head, I get that. But we know what we're doing—" He pauses. "When it comes to this, at least. When the Hermits invited me, they knew what they were signing up for— vomit and worms and holes in the ground. And possibly a hint of death and malpractice. Of all sorts."

The knot, slowly unraveling in Joel's chest, starts to loosen up.

Somehow. What was that about death?

Zedaph nudges him, "So lighten up, yeah? Nobody's getting kicked out." Joel manages a smile.

"Thanks, Zed-"

"I mean, if people got kicked out for being sweaty and gross, there'd be no one left!" Zedaph leans in to stage-whisper, "What, you think Impulse didn't sweat in season 9? With all that lava?"

Joel snorts, "Point taken."

Zedaph grins. He leans back, resting on the base of the palm tree they've settled under.

"Take your time to figure out if you're swimming or not," Zedaph tells him, purple eyes glinting under flecks of sunlight. "But nobody will mind if you just stay here. Promise."

Joel nods. This time, smiling comes easier.

"Okay," He replies. He lets out a breath, watches as the sun shines down on the beach, "Thanks, Zed."

"Not a problem."

---

(Joel doesn't, in fact, end up swimming.)

(He watches the sun set on the horizon, eats barbecue at the makeshift grill Skizz brought. It's only the best thing he's eaten all day.)

(Joel laughs at something Gem said, so hard that his lungs kind of hurt.)

(Sitting around a bonfire, shirt smelling like smoke, his anxieties lay forgotten, for now.)

(Joel doesn't swim. Maybe he won't for a while.)

(But there will be more opportunities to try.)

#THEY ARE NOT ALL GOING TO BE THIS LONG. PART OF THIS IS OLD WRITING AND I JUST ENDED UP FINISHING IT SKLDJHGSDG #joel smallishbeans #zedaphplays #zedaph plays #hermitcraft #hermitfic #hermitblr #mcyt #mcytblr #ryan's writing #ask games #anon #hermitcraft season 10 #hc s10

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enpr-ss · 25 days

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Hermitcraft charity stream 2022 Highlights:

- 25k goal being broken by the Australians even before the event started, and the jokes about ending the stream there and seeing them next year

- Getting Martyn to do the donation readouts is GENIUS. He makes it actually entertaining to listen to!

- Martyn listening to Ren the most lol

- The bell bringing back Techno money bell memories

- Basalt Assault being broken by too much boomification (as predicted by Bdubs)

- Doc falling into Dunk Tank in the final winner-take-all round

- All the goofy skins (especially Grian’s cursed skins) and IRL costumes (Pearl’s old man mask, and Tango’s millions of hats)

- Every time Etho is confused about his fanbase

- Grian finishing backwards because “it’s the only way he can see” with his built-in rear view mirror

- Pearl getting to keep her horse from Horse Course!

- “Coming in not least but last” - Bdubs

- Scar actually doing so well on all the games actually?! I didn’t realize he was second on Horse Course

- “MY BLADDER’S FULL OF URINE” - Bdubs

- “While we were on our pee-pee break for the weak bladder people” - Doc

- Etho’s elytra glitching, with Cleo and Grian hitting him around

- Racers stealing other boats. Tango and Cub winning the race by a mile through switching drivers at the bubblevator

- Jevin fell down the powdered snow section LOL!

- Iskall fixing the Hermit Incentives redstone by just moving the dispenser and the button

- The speed at which Doc’s diamonds DISAPPEARED and then all the subsequent mocking just as a 5k soon came through

- Ren: “Nothing will calm your nerves more than Grian’s gong”

Grian: screaming “LALALALALAAAAAL” as he smashes the gong repeatedly (twice)

- Bdubs being spleefed by Tango (VIA PREINSTALLED REDSTONE) into a hole and Doc not caring because he doesn’t have any diamonds. And then Etho punching Tango into the same hole.

- Grian: “I need everyone to take a really nice deep breath in through the nose-”

Everyone: *exaggerated gasps and choking noises*

Grian: “We’re doing that again because everyone FAILED at breathing”

Doc’s panicked breathing and getting TNT to blow everyone up

Scar: “Can I get another dong real quick?”

Grian: “With a g, yes you can.”

- Scar made Panda Resue (lol) in ONE NIGHT?!?! But with no pandas lol

- Doc on strike until he gets his diamonds back

- Bucket rush more entertaining than expected and Scar absolutely killing it

- Hermits interpreting the 350k goal as returning Doc’s diamonds (THEN GRIAN RESTEALING THEM AND SETTING 400K AS THE GOAL FOR THE RETURN LOL)

- All the lore that I’m getting it discover as a new fan!!!

- How the hermits are perfectly quiet whenever another is explaining game rules or when Martyn is reading out donos.

- Impulse being absolutely on the ball with all the drumrolls

- Etho and his pvp player head + item collection mechanics

- Scar absolutely bowspamming yellow team, and Red Team continuing to kill for the spawn mechanics lol. ALMOST WINNING BY 1 POINT!!!

- Martyn with the stellar Battle Bane commentary!

- Scar donating on behalf on those who cannot donate, and apparently this is a common thing with him??? Amazing.

- The carts will have hermitcraft plaques!!

- Glasgow family’s 1k dono: Donated in memory of Technoblade.

- All the smooth backend operations by fans and others! Nothing broken amazingly.

- Doc still asking about the diamonds and Martyn announcing that he had them in a plot twist and logging out

- Only 1 week of prep??!! Insane

- $425k raised!!!! Incredible!!!!!

- Bro when Ren and Tango said Joe’s beard had legos and pinballs in it THEY WERE NOT JOKING. Omg. I genuinely thought the mechanical part was like part of his microphone set up. A SIX DOLLAR HUNTING KNIFE?!???? FROM THE GROCERY OUTLET??? WITH BRASS KNUCKLES??? FOR PIZZA???? This is my first time watching a Joe stream. is he always like this. His transparent facecam overlay is also cool; I like it better than the usual corner ones. HE ACTUALLY WENT WITH THE CRAYOLA SCISSORS??? No mirror only OBS??? His concern with accidentally hurting himself is not being able to talk and violating TOS LOL. HES GOING TO FILTER OUT THE BLOOD SO THAT TWITCH DOESNT BAN HIM. He’s doing it in the worst way possible as a commitment to the bit. He’s so hostile to capitalism it’s great. All after an 8 hour driver from Chicago. MUMBO COSPLAY LOL

#hermitcraft charity #hermitcraft #gtws #grian #docm77 #joe hills #itlw #etho #rendog #pearlescentmoon #bdubs #tango #impulse #this has been sitting in my drafts for a while #better publish before someone mistakes it for the new charity stream like they did with decked out lol #enpr-ss

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fountainpenguin · 27 days

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"And I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem... but if I know you, I know what you'll do..." (x)

---

New Dog's Life chapter today! ~ 3rd Life series fan-season

Chapter 29 - “Melt (Jimmy, Pearl, Sniff)”

❤️ Read on AO3

💛 Start from Chapter 1

💚 More Pixels Imperfect fics

---

Jimmy's NOT about to lose this game. He takes the slimes' turf war banner where no one will ever find it... outside New Star Station's perimeter. Meanwhile, Pearl and Rhetoric visit Mumbo's flat to borrow his llamas. Scar and SnifferMyFeet unwind after a long evening of glitchy code.

(First 1,000 words under the cut)

---

SolidarityGaming - Canary (Ex-Cockatiel)

Status: Not losing

Event planner & health teacher at New Star Station Education building

🖤 🧡 💚

They'll never find him. Never, ever, in a billion years. Jimmy muffles his giggles in the crook of his sleeve, snuggling up in the sky blue wrinkles of his jacket. Overworld's sky, anyway. Voices echo outside the cave, half drowned in the noise of the moat from up the hill…

This is fun. Everyone's looking for him. They think they'll catch him - think he'll make a mistake - but they're not going to win. Nah, not him. It's like playing Decked Out all over again, except this time he's without Tango or Etho shouting encouragement in his ears. Jimmy wedges his shoulders back against the bedrock blocks, keeping every breath slow and even. His fingers curl more tightly around the banner in his hand. It's blue and green, marking slime territory. It's not a real rule about borders and where different species can go. Everyone's just having fun. It's a game. It's a point system. It's currency. It's play.

And I'm winning. He's staying alive. He's not getting caught; he's not the first one out. He hunkers in his long-legged ball of limbs, fluttering his wings, and listens with a tight-lipped smirk to the people walking around outside.

"Do you think he's hiding in Tango's room?"

"They'll be exes by morning, then. Can you imagine walking in on your blaze boyfriend with a slime border flag? What do you do- Thump it in front of the toilet so he can't use it this month? 'Babe, c'mon! Don't be like that!'"

Uproarious laughter. Jimmy breathes softly in his sleeves, smiling only to himself. It's not his place right now to correct them on the whole "boyfriend" thing. See, they'd catch him then. That's how he'd lose the game. He stays on the other side of the bedrock wall, rolling his thumb across the banner wool.

"Maybe they had a fight," chimes in a third voice. "Maybe Jimmy wants to bother Tango. Maybe he's breaking up with him."

"Didn't see him with a token tonight."

"I don't think he's seeing anyone."

New voice: "Yeah, he- I guess he thinks he'll be waking up betrothed any day now. Urges must be getting pretty serious. Not sure why he bothers, though. The chances his partner's in New Star must be astronomical."

"Didn't he use to date the mayor?"

Jimmy's fingers twitch. He doesn't open his eyes. Doesn't answer. He is winning this game, no matter what they say about him. It's the most important thing in the world. Everything pulsing in him is screaming for it. To burrow. To win. To stand up and fight, though he's trying to keep that urge tamped down.

"I think ZombieCleo's dating him now."

"Yeah, what happened to his ex? Wasn't he married to a bat girl?"

"I think so- I heard they divorced." The voices start moving away, heading farther along the border road. Someone kicks a rock. It bounces, smacking, and the last speaker lifts their voice again. "Say he is in Tango's room. Does that mean we own the turf all the way out here?"

"If it does, he's wrecked the borders. It's going to be a pain to manage a huge spike in the path."

The words fade out. Jimmy loosens his grip on his limbs, breathing deeper breaths. His foot comes down with a thump, heel pressed tight to bedrock. He unfolds his wings. The banner's soft and squishy in his hand. He gets off the block he's been sitting on and starts to stretch. It's dark in the cave, even with his brightness settings turned all the way up. But…

… It doesn't look so dangerous. Scott always made it sound, well… like this place was a death pit crawling with mobs. Jimmy turns his head, gazing farther up the path. He's definitely win the turf war if he took the slime flag all the way up there. The other slime hybrids are fussy tonight, but they'll appreciate this when everything is said and done. War isn't about who's right, but about who's left, isn't it? And there aren't any mobs. Jimmy pulls his britches up a little higher for the show of it, sticking his thumbs in the waistband. He's got the belt, though he could really use a cowboy hat and some boots with spurs. It's too bad Ranger's off the clock tonight. It'd be fun to get a little recording done.

Every step he takes up the bedrock path sends a shower of bedrock down behind him. It isn't steep, though sometimes it's easier to grip the walls and pull himself along that way. Luckily he has wings. His aren't too big. The tunnel's narrow, but flapping them helps him keep his balance. He wrinkles his nose, crumpled fingers pinching, and moves step by step up the path. At one point his foot skids. His hand scrapes the wall- he nearly lands on his wings. Jimmy hisses. He adjusts himself, bracing his palm against his knee, and starts moving again. And you know why?

"I'm not going out first. I have to do this. They're never going to find me now."

The cave doesn't smell damp or moldy. It's quite dry, actually. Almost unnaturally so. No dripstone. Jimmy listens for throaty witch cackles, ravager grunts, or passing wardens. None echo back at him. Maybe they're not real. Only the whirr of the bullet path. It hums and crackles with snapping white energy. Leaping. Guzzling. I didn't know the bullet path reached all the way out here. Is this a different one?

It only takes a minute or two of walking before he's at the top of the bedrock path. The ceiling's not as high as he'd like it to be, but it's high enough. The cave glows. The bullet path gushes, spraying data stream particles in the air, and rubs against its banks. There are no rocks in its center. Nothing but pure, empty energy. Jimmy takes every step with smothered breaths, dangling the slime flag from his hand.

[Full chapter on AO3 - Links at top]

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aquaquadrant · 11 months

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OK OK OK I AM. DEFINITELY OVERTHINGKING THIS BUT ITS 2 AM AND THAT MEANS ALL MY IMPULSE CONTROL IS GONE AND I GET TO RANT ABT HOW AMAZING OF AN AUTHOR YOU ARE—

So, patho. In the dictionary, pathos is a form of persuasion in which the author uses emotoions to convince the reader of something. AND THEN PATHO HAS DIFFICULTIES WITH BEING VULNERABLE AND FEELING EMPATHY, AND HAS THIS ALOOF APATHY ITS ITS AAAAAA!!!

AND THEN, AND THEN!!! ETHOS IS WHEN YOU USE YOUR STATUS AND REPUTATION TO MAKE SOMEONE TRUST YOU

AND PATHO NEEDING TO HAVE HIS REPUTATION, GETTING ANGRY WHEN PEOPLE DONT KNOW WHO HE IS!!!! HES MIRRORING HIS DOPPLEGANGER IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE AND AHARHGHHH!!H!!!! ITS SO INSANELEY SMART AND I DONT KNOW HOW YOU DO IT!!!!! YOU ARE SUCH AN OUTSTANDING AUTHORR!!!!!!!

ALSO, ALSO, THE SYMBOLSIM AND THE REFERENCE TO TANGO IN THIS LINE- "With what Patho's learned, they don't need Bravo's cooperation to create a functioning portal. They just need him, his physical data. And he knows they'd be willing to hold him here against his will to get what they want, to keep him trapped like some kind of experiment, like an animal."

TO HAVE BRAVO MIRROR TANGO, AS SOMEONE THAT HAS WHAT HELS TEK WANTS, TO HAVE BRAVO BE SCARED OF BEING LIKE TANGO BOTH SUBCONCIOUSLY AND CONCIOUSLY AAAAA ITS GENIUS!!!!

I HAVE LOST THE ORIGINAL POINT OF THIS ASK BUT WHAT IM TRYING TO SAY IS I LOVE SYMBOLISM N STUFF LIKE THAT AND I WNAT TO TELL YOU HOW AMAZING YOU ARE AT THAT!!!! AJSKDHADJALHSDS

WELL THANK YOU B’)

listen i will never be annoyed by ‘rants’ abt my fic. even if they’re rambling. bc i myself am a ranter and rambler when it comes to the silly little worlds i create in my silly little stories and it makes me v happy when other ppl have such strong feelings abt my writing.

etho and patho are so dear to me. yes!! the symbolism!!! that’s partly why i chose patho instead of logo (but also bc logo just doesn’t sound as good or similar to etho LOL)

mmmm yeah that parallel w bravo was very deliberate. i wanted to show that he understands, and fears, exactly what it’d mean to be at the complete mercy of hels tek. cuz then homeboy turns right around and says he’s fine doing the same to tango bc he’s ‘just a hybrid.’ the delusion runs deep, fellas.

that’s partly atlas’s fault. as he said in part 5, he’s a fan of the psychological long-game. he could have tried harder to keep bravo completely in the dark the whole time, to make him think hels tek was soooo innocent. but he thought it more prudent to twist bravo to their point of view, so slowly and carefully that bravo didn’t even realize he was playing right into atlas’s hands.

#hels to pay au #HTP ask #pathbubs

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siriannatan · 1 year

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Canary and A Mermaid

LimitedLife / Au / Flower Husbands

I'm putting the entirety of the blame for this existing on Scott settling on the water.

Might have some mild (thus no tag) Limited Life spoilers

Song Jimmy's singing: Steffan Argus – Ship in a Bottle

AO3

Scott heard more warnings about humans than he cared to count. Martyn warned him The weird harpies did (Cleo, Bdoubs, Scar), the dwarves (Tango, Impulse, Skizz), and the weird elf (Etho) living with the dwarves all warned him whenever they passed by the lake or saw him just floating down a river. But when the weird humans settled in an old ruined house by one of Scott's favourite smaller lakes, he could not help his curiosity and watched them instead running back home as everyone told him to do.

There were three of them. All rather loud and obnoxious when together. The two shorter ones remained noisy even when separated from the rest. but the tall and pretty one would get quiet and just mumble something Scott couldn't quite catch from his hiding spots.

And he played a small instrument with strings and sang pretty well for a not a mermaid. Scott was somewhat tempted to join in but he didn't know the songs and didn't want to destroy the nice melody so he just listened and tried repeating it when alone. Martyn would be so angry if he knew.

Most of the songs the human - Jimmy as others called him - sang were happy and cheerful. At least from what Scott could understand. He was not an idiot so he usually observed from a fair distance and Jimmy didn't sing too loudly anyway so he could have missed something.

You can fit everything you know In a bottle for you to show Pick your brain apart and put it in And build it again with needles and pins...

Jimmy started in a forlorn, shaky voice, pulling at the strings. He was sat on the sandy bank of the small (by Scott's standards) lake. Barely paying any attention to his instrument as he looked up at the clear sky. Scott couldn't really see his face but he slowly got louder and louder and...

Oh, captain, let's make a deal Where we both say the things that we both really feel I feel scared and I'm starting to sink And I only sink deeper the deeper I think Oh, captain, oh, captain, deal Oh, captain, deal, oh, captain, deal, oh

There are red spots under your eyes From when you cry into the sky Ocean waters rising above your neck, mmm You feel the glass start to crack

Scott was a simple man, for a mermaid. He liked pretty things and Jimmy's voice was really pretty so of course on the next 'Oh, captain, oh, captain, deal Oh, captain, deal, oh, captain, deal, oh' he joined in and clearly startled the human who froze to look for the source of the noise. And now Scott had to decide if he should flee or stay and talk to Jimmy.

Scott obviously chose to stay. He'd care about Martyn's warnings later. Nothing he saw about the humans made him scared. And it wasn't like they swam that well anyway so if he was wrong he could just swim away. "Sorry, I couldn't help it," he said after pulling himself onto a rock a bit closer to the coast but not so close Jimmy could just grab him. "You've got a nice voice," he smiled fanning out his earfins.

Jimmy was shocked to say the least. One moment he was having his me time away from Joel and Grian and the next there was a whole damn mermaid in front of him. That's not what 'retirement' was supposed to be. But here he was. "Um... I'm sorry if I disturbed you?" he offered. Offending magical creatures was a very bad idea. And even if this one said it liked Jimmy's voice it could be some game. Better save than sorry, and Jimmy had nothing to defend himself with. He was not expecting any creatures this close to the ruined mansion they set up camp in.

"No, no, I live in a different lake, this one's a bit too small for that," the mermaid smiled and showed off pearly white, sharp as-heck, pointy teeth. "I like your singing, it was a nice song, I'm sorry I interrupted," the mermaid said and slipped off the rock.

Jimmy expected it to get bored and left so he was a bit shocked when teal hair broke water just by the beach and the mermaid left the water. Teal scales morphed into a pair of pale legs. And to Jimmy's dread, all it was wearing now was a tunic, stopping barely at his thighs, made of weird, almost translucent material. and it was wet and clung to their skin.

"Um... I kind of have to..." Jimmy started saying but the mermaid sat next to him on the ground and smiled. Jimmy hoped it was supposed to be a smile.

"Can we sing together sometime?" it asked before Jimmy could collect his thoughts. "The name's Scott, by the way, and I already kind of know yours."

"Su... sure?" Jimmy stammered out and got an even wider and scarier smile in return.

"Great, unfortunately, I have to go, but next time I won't be hiding, don't worry," Scott said leaning in and gave Jimmy a kiss on the cheek and was gone. No goodbye or anything. Just gone as suddenly as he appeared. Almost as if Jimmy imagined him. But the cold feeling on his cheek persisted and there was a wet patch on his shirt from when Scott's hand briefly rested on his shoulders.

After a minute of just sitting there, Jimmy hurried back to the mansion. Before Scott changed his mind about eating him.

Back on his way home Scott was beyond giddy for the next meeting with Jimmy. He was even cuter up close.

#my stories #my stuff #limited life #limited life shipping #flower husbands

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liauditore · 10 months

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number 1: when/how did you get into hc?

number 19: favorite design?

and number 23: first impression of a hermit and how it did or didn’t change

1 - when and how did you get into hermitcraft?

I'm actually a pretty recent fan. I got recommended Lizzie's Last Life POV in April I think? It was completely random and I wasn't into MCYT at all but I remembered watching Lizzie as a kid and it was like 3am and I couldn't sleep so I was like why not and then my life literally changed forever.

I had to, completely unhinged, BEG my friends to watch this stupid ldshadowlady series that had the best storytelling I'd seen in anything ever with me. @kanohirren recognised Bdubs and Etho's names and we got curious so we watched their POVs as well. Cue "he loves me" and now neither of us are the same.

We ended up also watching 3L and DL and LimL when that came out and needed extra dosages to keep us going so we ended up watching Etho's Hermitcraft 7 (Shad-e-e's!) and various Hermitcraft 9 videos (mainly Pearl, Scar and Ren). I've watched a little bit of season 8 as well so I know about the whole moon big thing.

So yeah this is cursed but hermitcraft is basically my "they're all alive and well and happy and not dead" copium fanfic for the life series.

Sidenote he's not a hermit but I listened to screw the nether maybe too many times as a kid and lost it a bit when i realised it was the same martyn.

19 - favourite hermit design? (whether yours or someone else’s)

OUHGHKLGLHKKLHHKFHL THERES SO MANY GOOD ONES NOOOOOOOOOOO.,

ummm uh just to machine gun fire a few there's luminousslime's buttercups, applestruda's gem and doc (and basically everyone else), hybbart's tango, jay's gem has won my heart, lunarcrown's hels!bdubs and hels!etho are maybe cheating but i care them and so has basically any interpretation of bdubs as a small (evil?) creature. First example that popped up in my mind was kanohi's accursed gremlin.

In terms of my own designs my style's gone through a bit of a shift recently so I've actually been meaning to redraw everything 😭😭but from what I've done so far I do really like my Pearl and Bdubs.

23 - what was your original opinion on hermitcraft/a hermit? did it change?

For MCYT as a whole tbh I used to be kind of a hater 😭😭 as someone who only really watched the occasional captainsparklez ig i didn't really "get" roleplay and all the fanart and stuff that was everywhere when DSMP was popular. +the whole character vs CC stuff.

((note here I don't actively dislike DSMP because I never got into it and wouldn't know I just choose not to interact with it out of my own reasons. I don't mind talking abt it or seeing it and so on))

I always knew hermitcraft existed but again I wasn't really into MCYT as a whole so I didn't think it would really be my thing ig?

And now look at me 😔😔

for individual hermits I had a very visceral reaction the first time I saw bdubs' skin like EW EUGH WHAT IS., THAT. and now i think he's the cutest ever.

#asks #hermitblr

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queer-enderdragon · 3 years

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I need a break from A Thing i was doing so!! time to join this hermitblr trend that i thought was really funny-

Ranking hermits (personas) by how much i want to fight them :>

Mumbo: a total spoon, but contrary to popular belief i suspect he's actually quite beefy, so i could just go all in and bite first before he has the opportunity to think how to defend himself 9/10

Xisuma: he definitely has some muscle under all that armor, and i could definitely try but.... he's very sweet and could cry if he told me he was disappointed on me qwq 1/10

Grian: this man is basically me but with a red jumper and enough energy to actually do proyects, but i relax listening to Justice's album cross slowed. We both have an ace under the sleeve, and it could be very interesting to see what comes out of the fight 9/10

Joe: He's definitely not a good fighter, but before i could even touch him he would probably distract me with history facts or just talking about anything really. he knows how to tell a story and i really like hearing him talk 6/10

Impulse: Im going to chase and beat him up until he goes the fuck to rest, like my man what the fuck do you mean you changed the color of your base again?? 11/10

Bdubs: This dude is the definition of feral and always carries knifes with him, even if i wanted i cannot do much against him and my only hope is to run to the nearest jungle 3/10

Cubfan: If i ever in my life get the chance to even try defeat mister cub-invincible-fan 135 vex, i will take it with no regard of my own well-being and do my best. but i feel he'll go easy on me anyway u.u 135/10

Zedaph: If i try fight him i think i will have a 50/50 chance of winning, but if either of us gets distracted once we'll probably forget we were fighting and just play around on his cave of contraptions.... 8/10

TFC: This man needs peace, not a fight. besides, he's a good dude and i respect him too much to even ask for one 4/10

Iskall: Yeah, i know he was basically a hitman at one point, but we all know he can fall in the same trap twice. if i go fast enough maybe i can make him trip and leave him in the floor a few seconds 8/10

Stress: She once carried a whole giant pumkin with one single strength potion yall... she might be sweet but shes basically funtional feral. I'll lose in the fight but i would be totally worth it 10/10

Etho: he'll either beat me in the funkiest way possible without touching me or i wouldnt even see him coming and i'll be already in the floor 10/10

Xb: He's very chill and i bet it would be a very fun fight 8/10

Scar: I emotionally cannot fight him. he's just so sweet, i cant..... and also he has vex, i literally cannot go againt those little bastards 7/10

False: It would be an honour to fight her. I would possibly not win at the end but i'll enjoy having my ass beaten by her 111/10

Keralis: As long he's not wearing that damn skin he always used in decked out or is under water, i'll happily beat him up with my "go to h*rny jail" bat n_n /lh 7/10

Cleo: she'll destroy me with words, besides... how the hell do you beat up a corpse 8/10

Jevin: honestly i dont wanna fight him, just,,, poke him a bit to see what sound his slime does 6?/10

Ren: the fight would be so damn theatrical and fun, i would enjoy every second of it 10/10

Doc: he may have fought a god and won, but im very reckless and want to see if i can with the challenge 8/10

Tango: he used ravagers for a game he made alone in minecraft vanilla, i wont fight this man unless if its with my "get the fuck to rest" bat like impulse 7/10

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windfighter · 3 years

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Apparently we're fighting the hermits now? Okay then, I'll go too!

Keralis - Keralis is great at escaping and I am great at missing. We'd be in a stalemate until he realizes he can fight back. He'd call me sweetface and ask why I'm doing it and I'd die from regret (or from a creeper that sneaks up on us while we're fighting). He has a pretty but punchable face. Might fight him, but would rather just tour his base. 3/10

Rendog - Have you seen his wrestler-skin? I stand no chance, but maybe I can use the opportunity to unlock hidden background lore for my own character. 5/10 because we always need more lore

False - No one raises a sword against the queen. 0/10 but I'll enjoy watching her fight the rest of you.

Ex-eye-suma - People say he's punchable but I just want to hug him. 0/10 because even if I tried he'd just look at me and I'd put away my sword again.

cubfan135 - Mr 135 fan of the cub has it coming. I love him but holy carp does his grinding put the rest of us to shame. 8/10 I would get completely destroyed but it would be worth it.

B of the double of the O - This man is feral. He carries knives hidden under his shirt every day. Little does he know I also always carry hidden knives. Our defeat will be mutual and everyone watching will wonder what happened. 4/10 because I don't actually want to fight someone with that much feral energy.

Beef - Would fight him only because the shaders. Would proceed to get completely destroyed. 7/10

Mr Goodtimes - I would win but at what cost? At least he would laugh in confusion while it all goes down. HIs laugh would distract me and his right hand enemy bdubs would come in and slay me at the last second. Oh looks lite I didn't win after all. 0/10

Tango - This man regulary handles ravagers. No way in Hel I'm fighting that. I'd try and he'd sick his iron golem/ravager army on me. My only hope of escape is that the ravagers and iron golems get distracted by each other. 4/10 because at least it'd be an amazing sight watching that army march against me.

Iskall - We'd both be too busy laughing our asses off at the squeakies on top of pacific. Also they're a former hitman and I can't even hit a bale of hay. 0/10 would much rather just hang out with them

Impulse - Would absolutely fight. I'm going to deck him so he finally gets some sleep. Will challenge him to a pillow fight in hopes that it'd help. He would build a pillow fight minigame and proceed to completely wreck me. I will lose but at least there'll be a new minigame for everyone to try. 10/10

Grian - Not as feral as bdubs, but definately chaotic. I stand absolutely no chance and when I try to fly away I'll wreck myself against a wall. Our battle will be quick, unspectacular and forgetable. There's no reason for such a battle. 0/10

Welsnight - Something about him makes me want to fight him, no matter how awesome he is. He will defeat me twice - once in battle and once with a great disstrack. What did I do to deserve that? I'll love him for it. 6/10

Mumbo - Only one I stand a chance at defeating because even if he's secretly buff he's a disaster and a spoon and he'd be distracted enough by something for me to land the killing blow. If we fight near his redstone machinery I will lose tho, because I'd be too busy trying to see what's going on. On the plus-side he'd be too busy explaining it to actually fight me. 0/10 because there wouldn't even be a fight.

ZombieCleo - No, just no. She would kill me with her sarcasm and I would thank her (and then she'd proceed to kill me with her sword just to get my head). 2/10 because it would be fun to see my head in her armor stand scenes.

Etho - Ladders might not be as good at PvP as he once was (his own words) but I have never actually done PvP and I can barely defeat a zombie. He would stand still and I would miss him. He would teleport away and then proceed to headshot me wih a firework. 4/!0 because at least my demise will be colorful

Joe Hills - We'd start fighting then it'd turn into a poem writing marathon. He'll tell me I made a good attempt at rhyming and then teach me about the history of poetry. I didn't know I was interested in that but I can't stop listening. His dogs will tear me apart while I'm distracted. 7/10 because honestly poem writing marathon with Mr Hills sounds like a great time even if it will kill me.

Zedaph - eeeeeh... I'd try but then Tango will arrive to either help him or help me and I'm not prepared to take that chance. There is also a chance that Zedaph just straight up feeds me to Bone Apetite and I'm not sure how good my remains are for bonemeal. 1/10

Hermitcraft recap - will absolutely fight. I have no chance because they will tagteam me and I can't even hit the broad side of a barn in daylight. They might be too busy with making the next recap show and that'll allow me to take them, but that would be dirty and I would rather not. 9/10 because it'll be pretty hilarious.

#windy rambles #hermitcraft #there's a few I didn't list #I'm not subscribed to the others #I almost added Dream by mistake #it you wanna know - no I would not fight Dream #I would lose before he even gets a wood sword #it wouldn't even be funny #at first I was just 'I won't fight anyone'#but then I started and was like #'you know actually I will'#I added hermitcraft recap just for the lolz #why are we even fighting the hermits?#this was actually pretty fun to type out #y'all are much funnier than I am tho

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bpoole500 · 5 years

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Tusk Revisited

This fall marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Tusk, Fleetwood Mac’s defiantly offbeat opus that was underappreciated in its time, even as it presaged trends in music.

After the unprecedented success of 1977’s Rumours, the Mick Fleetwood/John McVie/Christine McVie/Stevie Nicks/Lindsey Buckingham incarnation of Fleetwood Mac pretty much had carte blanche to do whatever the band wanted. A situation like that gives an artist several avenues for their potential next act.

Many acts have followed up a landmark album with “Part 2.” Think of Adele’s 25 or Michael Jackson’s Bad. The artist delivers a follow-up that’s very much in the vein of their big last album. Reviewers will tend to be less enthused, but it will sell well and produce more hit singles, usually pleasing most fans and the record label. It’s a good career move, even if the follow-up can’t help but be overshadowed by its celebrated predecessor.

Other artists respond to a significant breakthrough album by, essentially, not following it up. Perhaps a live set might emerge or some earlier recordings are repackaged for the new mass audience that came aboard for the big hit. There could be live shows. But in essence, the artist just chooses, for any of a variety of reasons, to sit it out. Look no further than the trajectory of Lauryn Hill after The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Fans usually never understand it, even if it makes sense to the artist.

And then there’s the path that Fleetwood Mac took with their follow-up to Rumours. As has been pointed out many times, there is no topping an album like Rumours, a collection that earned strong critical accolades, major sales and cross-genre airplay dominance. It’s one of those albums that, even decades later, remains a strong seller, as new generations discover it (and often access it in new ways, thanks to media evolution). Warner Bros. would certainly have been thrilled if the band had delivered Rumours II. That would have played well with fans, as well.

But that ignores the fact that Rumours was a “lightning in a bottle” moment, the kind of personal/professional alchemy that a band can’t plan. And in the case of this group, likely would not have wanted to re-live even if they could have.

Instead, the band followed the third path that acts sometimes embrace after a major success: go in an unexpected direction. No description drives record company execs to the antacid bottle more than “experimental.” Especially when its affixed to the new album of a key act. But that’s what Fleetwood Mac did with Tusk.

Buckingham is widely acknowledged as one of the guitar virtuosos of the rock world. He’s also recognized for his love of studiocraft and production experimentation. So with a blank check, the band essentially handed the wheel to their resident mad genius and let him steer them into waters that took a different path from the era-defining sound of their recent hit. The result was Tusk, a double album misunderstood at its time, that only years later would be embraced as a lunatic masterpiece.

While Buckingham was thoroughly grounded in the classic rock idiom, he listened to, and was inspired by, everything that was going on in the industry at the time. The restless energy of post-punk and the trashy electro-sheen of new wave. The fearless disregard of tradition of art rock and the sonic collage experiments of industrial music. He was inspired to go beyond what a band could produce using instruments and voices, using production not just as a facilitator, but as a sonic medium in its own right. He wrote numerous songs that sounded little like what he’d produced before and then wrapped his feverish sonic ideas around Christine and Stevie’s more traditional compositions, pushing them to unexpected places. At its core, Tusk was a major, mainstream classic rock band charting the future of alternative music.

As has been pointed out many times, Tusk often feels like the mash-up of two different albums: Buckingham’s paranoid opus, full of sharp edges and nervous tics, contrasted with the more conventional songs produced by his partners. It’s not an unfair paradigm, but even though Tusk has Buckingham’s imprimatur firmly stamped on it, it’s still definitively the work of a band. Drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie follow their guitarist’s lead and achieve the kinds of beats and rhythms necessary to execute Buckingham’s ideas, while the layers of harmonies he envisioned wouldn’t have hit with the impact they did without the unique interplay of his voice with Christine’s and Stevie’s.

Still, Buckingham did go in some startling directions. Bits of everything from rockabilly and the Beach Boys to punk and World Beat are evident in the mix, the album often presaging trends that would dominate the music scene in the decade that followed. The title track is a prime example of Buckingham’s ideas coming together in a striking manner. It boasts the sinister paranoia of many of Buckingham’s contributions, using almost tribal rhythms that referenced African sonic traditions half a decade before Paul Simon’s landmark Graceland. Married with layered harmonies, distorted guitars and an actual marching band, it was like nothing else on the charts in 1979.

“What Makes You Think You’re the One” was another moment where Buckingham managed to translate his impulses into something with commercial appeal, working nervous energy, edgy rhythms and echoes of doo wop harmonies and instrumental flourishes into an engaging stew. Throughout, Buckingham’s songs were filled with off-kilter melodies, production tricks and distortions, layers of harmonies that pushed song structures that could have been familiar into some places listeners hadn’t been before. He borrowed the economy of punk, with most of his compositions clocking in within the range of two to three minutes, often ending abruptly or on an unexpected moment of dissonance. He surrounded the songs with spacey, detached qualities, adding propulsion even to quieter moments. With titles like “The Ledge,” “Walk A Thin Line,” “I Know I’m Not Wrong,” “That’s Enough for Me” and “Not That Funny,” with unsettled lyrics and performances that communicated a certain alienation, Buckingham’s songs more dared listeners to engage with them than invited them in. It’s not what you might expect from a superstar release, but it was brave and creative.

While some critics were inclined to dismiss the more conventional tunes that Christine and Stevie composed, one of the more fascinating aspects of Tusk was seeing how Buckingham co-opted those songs to fit his vision for the album. You got Christine’s sunny SoCal pop and Stevie’s mystical rock and folk run through Buckingham’s offbeat paranoia, for some often interesting results.

Take Christine’s “Think About Me,” a charming Top 30 hit that’s often overlooked today. Buckingham’s production is drenched in the surf pop of the Beach Boys, but spikes it with fuzzy edges, jittery harmonies and wailed vocal counterpoints. Deceptively simple songs like “Over & Over,” “Brown Eyes” and “Honey Hi” took on more complex structures as Buckingham injected the emerging New Wave ethos into them, giving them layers and textures that pushed them out of Christine’s usual comfort zone, adding tension and friction that provided contrast to her cool, clean vocals. Even a gentle ballad like “Never Make Me Cry” got a jolt from the subtle pulse of a strummed electric guitar that Buckingham ran throughout.

Unsurprisingly, Stevie’s songs provided a robust canvas for Buckingham’s production work. Tusk is best remembered for hit single “Sara,” one of Stevie’s more engaging poetic explorations. Even in the edited version (which chops off nearly two minutes, including the entire second verse), it’s a beguiling mix, with Buckingham using a complex layering of harmonies that builds slowly to surround Stevie’s lead, giving an exotic charm to the mix, while he adds fuzzy touches to the edges to give the song an insistent energy. He transformed “Angel” into a harbinger of the country-pop that would come to dominate Nashville a decade later and gave a jittering, unsettling edge to the gentle “Storms” that set out a roadmap for the contemporary folk sound that was right around the corner. Most daringly, Buckingham used Stevie’s mystic rock opus “Sisters of the Moon” to pioneer the template for the dance rock that would become a staple of alternative radio.

Fans and critics didn’t know what to make of Tusk. The title track became a hit because anything that Fleetwood Mac released after Rumours would have made the Top 10. “Sara” and “Think About Me” succeeded with radio as the best examples of the band’s traditional sound melding seamlessly with Buckingham’s futurist production. But many critics at the time didn’t get the album and fans who had bought Rumours in droves didn’t embrace Tusk. It was seen as a failure and would set the stage for a retrenchment (the far more conventional Mirage (1982) and Tango in the Night (1987) would bring this chapter of the band to a close on a more commercial, mainstream note).

But Tusk has had a healthy afterlife. While it hasn’t enjoyed the long-term sales power of Rumours or the group’s eponymous 1975 album, it has remained available consistently and won over new converts over the years. Critical re-evaluations of the album, especially in the context of the ‘80s alternative revolution that followed, came to appreciate how ahead of its time Tusk was and what a crucial touchstone it became for the development of modern rock music. It grew into an “artists’ album,” one of those works cited by other musicians as one of their influences. Both “Tusk” and “Sara” have remained in regular rotation on classic rock and soft rock radio formats, while “Sisters of the Moon” developed into a cult favorite among Stevie’s loyal fans. The band included several cuts from Tusk on their various “best of” collections and incorporated them into their latter day tours to strong effect.

Tusk makes almost perfect sense when viewed from a remove of forty years. Fleetwood Mac took advantage of the opportunity that success afforded them to go out on a creative limb. And in the process, thanks to Buckingham’s feverish creativity and work ethic, helped advance the evolution of rock and alternative music.

#music #rock #Fleetwood Mac #Tusk #Lindsey Buckingham #Christine McVie #Stevie Nicks #retrospective

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