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#rancher/pearl thoughts
tubbytarchia · 3 months
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I totally don't care that this trio didn't happen A GIRL CAN DREAM
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the3rddenialist · 1 year
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More Seasons AU
By @ndn-craft
(tell me if tagging you is annoying)
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hybbart · 1 year
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Day 672: After pushing themselves a bit too far, both ranchers get simultaneously hit with a bad day...
Short story below
The ceiling fan spun at a meandering pace above, barely loud enough to hear and barely strong enough for the breeze to reach down. Jimmy watched it dully, the uneven sway of the lamp cord making it hard to focus on the blades’ rhythm. Or maybe it was how deep his breaths had become. He could feel it, how little his gasps pulled in, almost entirely supported by the tube forcefully pumping air through his nose. It felt as though his lungs had forgotten how to breathe despite how hard they tried.
It was a really bad day. They didn’t happen often – Jimmy could hardly remember one that had ever been quite this bad – but they didn’t have to. If he took his tubes out right now he would simply suffocate to death no matter how hard he tried. Part of his mind resigned to it, as if he would wake up every day after this way, completely irreversible. It was more like gas prices, he knew. It would get worse than it had ever been before going back down, but not quite as far down as it was before, just that little bit worse, creeping up like he wouldn’t notice. Not just the struggle to breathe, but the awareness.
Besides him Tango whimpered. For a brief moment instinct chased away his thoughts, replacing them with concern for his rancher who was rolling onto his side to curl up. He grasped at his shoulder in agony, and Jimmy’s heart was overwhelmed with the weight of guilt. It’d been him who had hacked off Tango’s limb with a fire axe, after all. Maybe if he’d held out just a little longer someone with more medical knowledge could have done it far cleaner or saved his arm. As it was now, Tango’s shocked nerves flared at a wound that had long since healed. It always ached, just a little bit. Today it was visibly swollen, and Tango himself agreed to take some of their precious little medication to ease it. A bad day.
His heart constricted painfully.
“Tango?” Jimmy whispered, as if the sound might hurt his companion. Tango struggled to roll over and look at him, eyes distant and teeth gritted. If he weren’t a blazeborn he’d be sweating, Jimmy was sure.
Careful not to disturb the pained limb or pull on his mask, Jimmy scooted closer. Revy whimpered where he lay between their legs, ears pinned. He could smell both their bad days, but there was nothing else that could be done about them. 
Tango strained to put on a smile for Jimmy, but it was more of a grimace. “What’s up, buttercup?” He teased, voice nearly too raspy to understand.
Jimmy stared at him and let his face fall.  “I don’t know.” He admitted. His own breath came in heavy puffs, unable to reconcile his muscles with the air being forced into his lungs. They couldn’t even hold each other for comfort. 
“Pearl’s taking care of the animals and crops.” Assured Tango.
“And when she’s gone?”
“She won’t leave us before we’re back on our feet.”
“But what about next time?” He pressed, feeling his heartbeat pick up.
Tango’s face softened and turned full towards Jimmy despite his pain. “Jim, it’s okay. We just pushed ourselves a little too hard this month and it caught up with us. We’ll be more careful.”
“What’ll we do when just finishing the chores is too much?”
“That’s not something we have to worry about yet.”
“It doesn’t feel like it.” Jimmy warbled, taking in a deeper breath. “It feels like we’re losing.”
“We aren’t losing.” Claws reached out to brush back Jimmy’s bangs which were damped with cold sweat. It continued past his ear, and repeated. Jimmy leaned into Tango’s hand, searching for any comfort he could attain. “We have each other, we’ll take care of each other.”
Jimmy frowned. “Except today.”
Those words finally seemed to give Tango pause. Jimmy took the opportunity to continue. “You’ve thought about it too. I can’t take care of myself if something happens to you. If any of my machines break down or the power goes out, or when it gets worse. I know I stopped breathing last night.” He paused to even his breathing. “And what’ll you do, if you can’t get out of bed and you’re all alone? If the pain gets worse and we’re out of medication?”
“Don’t talk like that.” Tango tried to sound firm, but Jimmy just shook his head.
“We’re out here pretending nothing is wrong, playing ranchers. There’s no ambulance if something happens, and they have as few supplies as the rest of us. We’re always fighting just to keep the power on to keep me alive. What’ll we do if a storm comes in the winter? We’d just waste away in our bed.”
There was a shuffling beside him – when had the world become so blurry? – and an arm wrapped its way across Jimmy’s shoulders. Instinctively his hand went up to cling to it. Tango’s forehead pressed into Jimmy’s shoulder. His breaths came out as shaky as Jimmy’s own, and immediately the avian wanted to apologize. Everything he said they already knew, there was no reason to let it all spill out. What was wrong with him?
But Tango pressed himself as close as he could through his pain. “Let’s think about it when we’re feeling better, okay?”
Jimmy knew what he was doing. They’d done it before. It won’t make a difference this time. His brain assured him. It’s just facts it doesn’t matter what mood we’re in if it’s facts. If we do it’s just because we forgot how bad it was. That’s why he can’t come up with a counter. Even while another part of his mind knew Tango was right. His miserable thoughts were sure they were true.
Silence fell across the room, filled only by the whirring of Jimmy’s machines and the distant clucking of chickens mixed with wild bird song. Light streamed through the windows, accompanied by a soft breeze. It was a shame it was such a nice day.
He could feel Tango relax against him, nudging his whole body just a bit closer until he was half-slumped onto the avian as he let his arm slip down to Jimmy’s ribs into a more comfortable hold. Jimmy let his head fall to the side, resting it atop Tango’s. Uneven heat radiated from the blazeborn still. He kicked himself for putting those thoughts in Tango’s mind too when, for once, it seemed like they hadn’t been.
“I’m sorry.” Whispered the avian. “I’m just scared.”
“I know.” Tango cooed. “I know, So’m I.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” 
But Tango shook his head. “We’ll think about it when we’re feeling better. We’ll talk to the others.” 
“Okay.”
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1849 - an Elvis Presley One-Shot
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Summary: It's 1849 and the height of the Oregon Trail. Pearl, an innocent and inexperienced young woman, is plucked from the prairie and into a marriage with rough and tumble rancher Elvis Presley. She's practically paralyzed with fear on her wedding night. But all is not what it seems: he is actually loving and kind with her, and, with a little gentle coaxing, she soon comes to find out the true meaning of what her husband affectionately calls his "manly duties."
Beneath a velvet sky embroidered with stars, the sweeping prairie of the Willamette Valley undulated endlessly, its breezy grasses frosted silver in the gentle moonlight, swaying like the swells of a wheat-colored sea. The air, redolent with sagebrush and wildflower nectar, whispered tales yet untold. 
A weathered log cabin, sturdy as an old oak, nestled harmoniously amid the untamed expanse. Inside, flickering candlelight danced upon the rough-hewn walls, casting writhing shadows that capered about. This humble abode was far more than a shelter; it housed two hearts newly joined in matrimony's sacred covenant. 
Upon a mattress of timber and homespun linens lay the newlyweds. The sounds of crickets and distant animals floated on the night air, a natural lullaby straight from the land itself. They reveled in the hushed serenity of their nascent life together.
A stillness Pearl finally punctured with a question. 
"Elvis?" she pouted, her reedy voice not fully her own. "You've stolen the blanket." Mistaking her complaint for invitation, Elvis sidled closer, his sturdy frame a barrier against the cool night air. He slipped his hand atop her opposite side, ensconcing her between his bare chest and muscular arm. "Might I perhaps have them back, please?"
He nuzzled nearer, his tone playful. "Chilly? Lemme warm you up, then."
Now, with mere inches between them, his radiant skin-heat seemed to flow directly into her own, quickening her heartbeat. She swallowed, her voice quavering slightly. "Do you... have a nightshirt, perhaps?"
"A night-what?" His confusion, genuine or feigned, hung in the air between them, charged with the unspoken energy of their touch.
Pearl closed her eyes, seeking refuge in inky darkness, away from the maelstrom roiling within. She wished to be anywhere but perched on the precipice of her wedding night, an apprehensive innocent bound to a man whose depths were only just beginning to unfurl before her. 
Her thoughts meandered to distant places: endless prairies beneath boundless skies, their splendor unfettered and raw. She pictured the wind's caress, laden with wildflower perfume, conveying whispers of age-old tales. How she yearned for freedom, to roam unconstrained by society's fetters!
Her heart ached for the unknown, the thrill of novel faces and locales. Perhaps in a bustling metropolis, pulsating with a mosaic of sounds, she could vanish into the crowd, shedding her naïve bride skin. Or on a lonely mountain peak, inhaling the crisp air, losing herself in nature's majesty, finding peace in its seclusion. 
No, she banished the thought, Elvis Presley never feels fear, and I'm a fool to think otherwise. 
Somehow, this realization lent her the strength to open her eyes, letting curiosity temper her fears. Yet, the echoes of a strict upbringing whispered doubts, and she might feel more at ease about it all if Elvis kept some of his clothes on—at least for the night. She broached the subject of modesty. “A nightshirt. If you have one in that chest over there, I’d appreciate you wearing it,” she ventured.
Unlike Pearl, Elvis had no such compunctions about their intimacy, nor was he concerned with modesty. His hands, calloused from the laborious toil of ranch work, possessed an innate understanding of the contours that ignited pleasure. His lips held secrets of countless stolen kisses and whispered promises. He cocked a sly smile at her request.
“Honey, you know I don’t own no nightshirt. The closest I come is wearing my long johns in the winter, and now that I got you to keep me warm, I reckon I won’t wear ‘em anymore.”
“Then what, pray tell, shall you wear?”
In one smooth motion, Elvis lifted her until she sat upright before him, noticing with some relief that his trousers remained in place. Strong fingers carded through her hair, treating the auburn strands as delicately as silk. 
"Y’know, the first time I laid eyes on you, you know I imagined you wearin’ nothin’ but your beautiful hair?”
Pearl froze, stunned by the vulnerability his words implied. To be so exposed, with only her hair for modesty, sparked an instinctual alarm...yet also fascination. Like a deer in a rife’s sight, she wrestled with the storm of fear and curiosity Elvis's revelation provoked. 
Firelight danced in his eyes, flecks of gold glittering in that captivating blue. With care, Elvis gathered her hair over her breasts. Though clothed, Pearl shivered at the suggestive act, a blush creeping up her neck. 
"Just like that," he murmured admiringly. "Sweet little rosebuds begging to be kissed. Peekin’ out to me and all."
Sitting there, Pearl felt Elvis's gaze wash over her like sunlight piercing through fog. His words stirred something deep within, blossoming warmth that spread from her cheeks down through her chest. But it didn't stop there. A swirling eddy gripped her belly, intensifying into a molten pull that sunk her deeper into this newfound swell of feeling. No one had told her a wedding night could feel like this. 
She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing away the betrayal of her body's response. 
Noticing her blush, Elvis leaned back, a gentle smile playing on his lips. "Seems I might be pushing my luck tonight," he mused, his mouth settling into a bashful grin. He caressed her cheek, his calloused thumb rubbing soothing circles into her skin. “My God, you are so lovely.” Though his touch was gentle, she tensed. "Little Pearly, are you really that nervous?"
Pearl's heart raced, her cheeks burning with a mix of fear and longing as she took in the sight of Elvis's bare chest. The raw exposure of his skin, the dance of muscles beneath, stirred a whirlwind of emotions—curiosity, vulnerability. Fear. An evil desire she wouldn’t dare name. The way he looked stirred a terrible hunger deep within, and she couldn’t help but long for a barrier between them, a shield to temper the intensity of their connection.
With a voice touched by nerves, she mustered the courage to voice her yearning. "I would probably feel better if you put on a shirt," she ventured softly, unaware of the intoxicating effect her request had on Elvis, who looked back at her with a mix of amusement and reverence. "Are you sure you don't have one, Elvis?"
"I can do it with a shirt on, but I reckon I’ll have to take my trousers off sooner or later," he quipped, then caught himself, noting the joke wasn’t helping. "Is there anything else troubling you, darlin'?"
Pearl straightened, clearing her throat. "I’d really appreciate it if you just get on with it, please. I want to get this over with. We can talk afterward, alright?"
Elvis's smile faded, his thumb stilling on her cheek. "Ah, honey, I’m so sorry. I need a good whuppin’, that’s what I need," he said, nudging his nose against hers playfully. He twirled one of her curls around his finger, breathing in her scent. "I’m just a big ole oaf, is what I am. Here I am jokin’ my head off and you’re as nervous as a fawn. I should be making you feel good instead. Makin’ you forget what it is you’re so scared about.” 
Pearl’s eyes crossed trying to peer into his, so she let them flutter closed.
Cupping her face in his rough palms, Elvis lifted his forehead from hers, leaving a ghost of warmth behind. He pressed a feather-light kiss to the tip of her nose. Pearl's heart fluttered at the gentle gesture, her grip tightening on his broad wrists as he guided her back onto the bed. Sinking into the mattress, she felt a mix of trepidation and trust as Elvis settled above her, forearms bracketing her shoulders.
“My wife,” he whispered, chest grazing her breasts as he bent close. “Don’t be afraid, sweetheart,” he murmured, full lips barely brushing hers in a whisper-soft caress. “I’ll make it real nice for you. Pearl, I will never intentionally hurt you. I swear it.”
“Elvis...” She parted her lips to speak, but his mouth stole the words. His breath was warm and sweet with a hint of black coffee as she sucked it in. Soft lips trailed over the contours of her mouth, leaving desire in their wake. But when his probing tongue intruded, Pearl recoiled in shock and apprehension, questioning the unfamiliar invasion. 
Pearl's world narrowed to the feel of his lips. They ignited longings within her, each touch kindling dormant desires. 
Her racing heart stumbled over itself as his tongue gently challenged her limited experience. Fingers digging into his arms, climbing to the solid assurance of his shoulders, she wondered, silently pleading, What's happening to me?
Desire, raw and unbidden, surged within her. Yet a shadow of doubt whispered too, questioning her boldness. Still, as they kissed, warmth bloomed inside her, promising pleasure, promising connection. Though separated by her thin nightgown, his touch blazed lines of fire over her skin, pulling her into a dance between longing and hesitation. 
For the first time, Pearl reveled in the forbidden delight of passionate kisses, a realm unknown to her sheltered life. The caress of his mouth on hers was a dance, each movement stirring longing she hadn't known existed. Every press and yielding response painted a portrait of contradictions—firm yet molten, unyielding yet accommodating. She prayed they would do this part of it frequently, whatever came next.
Catching her lower lip, he rolled it tenderly beneath his tongue, gently nibbling. Oh yes, she adored kissing. Their kisses grew bolder, back and forth, until his chest pressed firmly against hers. Her pounding heartbeat drowned out the owl's hoot outside. Arching against him, she dug her nails into his shoulders, overwhelmed by urgent, indescribable desire. She pressed into his rippling heat with greater intensity, seeking solace in his muscular frame.
Again, he delicately caught her lower lip between his teeth, rolling it tenderly beneath his tongue and gently nibbling on it.
Oh, yes.
She adored kissing him. Their kisses escalated until she was deaf to everything but her pounding heart. Arching into him, nails digging into his shoulders, she was overwhelmed with desire, seeking solace in his heat.
He relinquished his hold on her hair, breaking the kiss to embark on a tantalizing exploration of her face. His lips traced a path along her cheek, leaving a trail of teasing nips and touches that sent delightful shivers coursing through her body. With deliberate intent, he traveled upward, caressing her temple before retracing his path down to her eyelids.
Oh, what sensations!
His mouth against her sensitive skin was pure ecstasy. Venturing to her ear, his breath resonated as he nibbled her earlobe, flicking his tongue along the tender hollow beneath. A soft moan escaped her. Descending to her neck, his kisses made her tremble, breath hitching. She adored his skillful, desiring mouth. His presence enveloped her, intensifying the longing within, and she felt a curious pooling in her lap that startled her. Their hips pressed together, moving slowly, heightening the achingly sweet yearning in her veins. Lost in the moment, she faintly registered his trembling hands worrying the buttons of her gown, finally easing the fabric open. A gentle breeze brushed her bare breasts, sending delicious shivers down her spine - an unfamiliar yet delightful sensation.
A faint whisper of caution echoed in Pearl's mind, a remnant of scriptures urging caution against such intoxicating desire. Yet the allure was too powerful to resist. She surrendered to cascading waves of pleasure, losing herself in the intensity of their connection, exploring the passion dormant within her. The world fell away. All that mattered was the electric current drawing them closer in a dance of yearning and surrender. 
"Good Lord," he rasped, voice thick with desire. "I can’t even breathe, I want you so bad.” 
His scorching tongue blazed a path over her taut, yearning nipple. A jolting shock seized her, stealing her breath, causing her heart to falter. His mouth enveloped her with fervent intensity, sensations reverberating to her toes. Wide-eyed, she glanced down to see his flawless face nestled against her breast. Gradually he retreated, teasingly tugging her nipple, teeth capturing the pulsating bud before releasing, only to repeat the exquisite torment. 
Shock rippled through her, leaving her gasping in disbelief. Yet he drew her back into his mouth, swallowing her essence with unyielding passion. Panic gripped her and she screamed, pushing against him with all her might, cries echoing. What is happening? What unspeakable act is this? Oh mercy!
She felt betrayed. His audacious promises were deceitful lies! He personified sinful, impure yearning. This pleasure was too good to be true. 
As Pearl's piercing screams reverberated through the air, the sound struck Elvis like a lightning bolt, jolting him from his haze. Fear and concern etched his face as he sprang up, heart pounding. Reaching out with trembling hands, he gripped her shoulders urgently, as if to anchor them both. 
"Darlin', what's the matter? Did I hurt you?"
She screamed again, scrambling away and hastily closing her gown with trembling hands, desperately trying to conceal herself - a raw, vulnerable moment, reminding them both of past wounds. 
"Leave me be! Don't you lay a hand on me! You deceived me, you lied!" she cried, anguished.
In the corner, Get Lo, the loyal hound, rose with a mournful howl as footsteps and voices neared the cabin. Fists pounded the sturdy door, causing it to tremble. 
"Boss!" Red's voice echoed. "Hey, boss!" More commotion. "Stand back! I'll kick it down if I have to!"
"No!" Elvis shouted. "It's alright, Red! Don't break down the door!" 
"Show yourself then, damn it! How do I know someone ain't holdin' a gun on ya?"
"God damnit, I'll be right there!" Elvis shot an anxious look at his bride, now wedged into the corner between the headboard and wall. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry. One second and I’ll be right back, alright?" 
But she appeared more inclined to a tooth extraction than entertaining that idea. Elvis muttered an oath and went to the door, lifting the bolt and cracking it open to let Red glimpse him in the flickering candlelight. "We're alright. Weren’t nothing, Red. Just a misunderstanding, is all." 
Red's eyes blazed with desert-sun intensity. "A misunderstanding? She nearly shook the soul out of me, Elvis!" His voice held the edge of a man ready to face a nest of rattlers. "A misunderstanding?" 
Elvis bowed his head, a shadow of remorse etching across his face. "I’m sorry, Red. This is my doing, not hers." 
Red shot a knowing look and without a word, Elvis eased the door closed, his hand lingering on the bolt before it fell into place with a gentle thud. He turned slowly, his gaze drawn to the bed. 
Pearl clung to a pillow, her eyes wide pools of darkness against her pale face. Fear and disbelief swirled within those inky depths. 
"You lied!" Her shrill cry pierced the heavy air. 
Brows furrowed, Elvis sank onto the mattress. "Sweetheart, I swear I didn't deceive you. Please, tell me what I did wrong."
She wrapped her arms around herself, clutching her shoulders with trembling hands. "You lied! You gave me your word!" Her voice broke on the accusation.
Elvis leaned forward, elbows on knees, straining to read her face in the dim firelight. Though just minutes ago passion had flowed between them, now she recoiled from his touch. Her chin jutted out defiantly. "Why did you lie?"
Steady but tinged with desperation, his voice cut through the tense silence. "What lie?" His eyes searched hers for any glimmer of understanding. He fought to remain calm amidst the storm raging within the room. "Sweetheart, please, tell me what you believe I lied about."
Her lips twisted in bitter disbelief. "Don't play dumb. You said you conducted yourself righteously, like the brethren." She spat out a harsh laugh. "None of them would ever behave as you did. You lied, plain and simple. And I was foolish enough to believe it." 
Elvis ran his fingers through his disheveled hair, frustration creeping into his voice. "I did not lie."
"You most certainly did!" she shrieked, the words piercing the air. "You claimed to be free of impious inclinations!"
Elvis replayed his actions in his mind, struggling to pinpoint his misstep. He could only surmise he had unintentionally caused her harm. "Did I hurt your breasts when I kissed them? I didn't mean to come on too strong." 
She let out a scream, shielding her face with her hands. "Do not speak such vulgar words! I am not married to you! Do you hear me? I am not!"
"Pearl, you’re not talkin’ sense. People don’t marry and unmarry over a misunderstanding. They engage in con-ver-sa-tion," he implored, sounding out the word slowly. “We need to talk this through.”
"Well, I did not enter into a marriage. I was deceived!" 
Elvis sighed, running his fingers through his hair again. "Deceived, married...we have to talk. Please, tell me what I've done."
She persisted in hiding her face behind trembling fingers, oblivious to her gaping gown and the exposed breast it revealed. The nipple he had showered with affection remained erect, illuminated by the flickering fire. It seemed to beckon for more—a request he would gladly oblige if only she were more receptive. 
"You know perfectly well why I'm upset," she accused, voice muffled.
"No, I truly do not," he confessed. Shifting to all fours, he moved closer, examining her tender nipple. Pink and raw, it stood erect, pulsating with her quickened heartbeat. He was too rough, he concluded with regret. 
Grasping her knees, he gently unfolded her legs before straddling her thighs. Palms planted on either side, he focused on her quivering hands. "Pearl, please lower your hands and look at me." 
"No!"
"I promise I won't do it again. Alright? I'm truly sorry. From now on, you hold the reins. Whatever pleases you is exactly how I'll do things, I swear. You just have to tell me what feels nice and what doesn't." 
"Well, that certainly wasn't nice!" 
"Then, you guide me on how you want it, and I'll follow your lead." 
Pearl jerked away, a sob catching in her throat. Swirling emotions tightened her chest. "How can I trust you're not lying?" 
Elvis sighed, the sound resonating deep within his broad chest. "Have I ever lied to you?"
The faint scent of leather and tobacco enveloped her as he leaned closer. She inhaled sharply. "Yes." 
He raked a hand through his dark locks. "Sweetheart, let me show you the truth." 
His warm breath grazed her ear, evoking memories of his teeth grazing her sensitive flesh. Goosebumps prickled her arms. "Was it nice at first?" His deep timbre reverberated through her.
"Yes." 
"Well then, we'll only do what feels nice. I promise." His voice was like rich honey, urging her to taste its sweetness. 
She peered at him through splayed fingers. "Do you swear it?"
His eyes smoldered like blue flames. "Honey, I don't just swear it. I'll prove it to you."
His head dipped lower, warm lips finding her breast. She jerked back with a shriek, her elbow catching his ear. 
Elvis recoiled, clutching his head. "Damn it, Pearl Marie! Now I know I didn't hurt you that time!" 
“Scoundrel!” Shame flooded her cheeks. She scrambled to escape, but her nightgown snagged beneath his knees. Strong hands grasped her shoulders. She balled her fists. "Don't touch me! If you do, I won't be responsible. I'll fight like you taught me and I’ll break your nose this time!" 
"Why are you fighting me?" Hurt and frustration etched his rugged features. 
She trembled, anger and confusion swirling within. "Why? You do a thing like that and you ask me why? You lied! You promised to do things proper, but you didn't!"
"A thing like what?" Elvis began to grasp the situation, though he struggled to believe he had it right. "Kissing your breast, you mean?" 
She covered her face again, trembling. "Stop saying things like that!" 
"Like what? Breast? Nipples? Titties? Yer cans?" he started to laugh. She made a keening sound. Get Lo joined in, throwing back his head and emitting a playful bark. 
"Shut up!" Elvis yelled, his frustration mounting. Get Lo continued to howl, but Pearl jumped in surprise and began holding her breath. "Not you, honey." Elvis shot a fierce glare at the howling hound. "Get Lo! I don't need you interfering none!" The hound fell silent and grumbled. 
Elvis figured he had his answer regarding the matter of the breast. He rubbed his face wearily and blinked. "Pearl, do you believe that kissing you there is ungodly?" 
She removed her hands from her face, gaping at him in astonishment. "Of course it is! You promised to do things the regular way, and you lied!"
Realization washed over him. So that’s what this was about. “Well, what is the regular way, Pearl Marie? I guess maybe I ain’t real clear on that.” 
The fire’s amber glow illuminated her face, but darkness still shrouded her eyes. She perched on the edge of the roughhewn log bed, hands folded primly in her lap. 
"You're just supposed to do your... thing!" she insisted, biting her lower lip. 
Elvis cocked his head, his brow furrowing. "My thing? What exactly is my thing?"
She shrank back against the headboard. "Just... you know. And nothing else!" Her words came out in a nervous rush.
Elvis sank back on his heels, disbelief etched on his face. "Is that what your mother told you? Honey, I think there's been a misunderstanding here."
"No, there hasn't!" She sat up straight, her voice sharp. "She spelled it out plain and clear!"
Elvis's mind raced, recalling the tales he'd heard about the strict sects with their restrictive ways. The kinds of places that squeezed the lifeblood out of a man. His gaze drifted to the plain black dresses and gray undergarments piled against the wall. A hollow feeling settled in his gut. 
"Pearl Marie, are you saying the men in your church never touch a woman? They just...do it and leave it at that?"
She turned her face away, her chin quivering. "Yes. And Ma said I should just lie there and meditate, ignore the... goings-on while it happened." 
A laugh burst from Elvis's lips before he could stop it. Hazel eyes flashed accusingly at him and he threw up his hands. "Honey, I ain't laughing at you. I swear it." He struggled to compose himself, leaning back against the sturdy log footboard. Maybe he should change the subject, but he couldn't help it. Laughter shook his body until he had to clutch his stomach, tears streaming down his cheeks. 
"I ain't making fun, truly," he managed between fits. "Just had a funny thought is all."
He wiped his eyes, regaining a shred of control until he pictured himself in a black suit and hat, dutifully making sterile love. That image shattered his restraint. He laughed again until his sides ached, finally going limp against the footboard. 
"Well, damn," he muttered, wondering what had set him off in the first place. Wasn't funny at all. The woman he loved wanted to recite psalms while he moved inside her. Heaven forbid he disrupt her concentration. 
"Are you finished?" she asked crisply, buttoning her dress up to her throat once more. 
Elvis looked up at her. "Reckon I am."
"Then let me take this opportunity to inform you that I don't believe we are compatible. Our marriage would be a disaster unless you abandon your sinful desires."
He sat up and met her gaze directly. "That just ain’t gonna happen. Ain’t nothin’ sinful about a man makin’ his woman feel good.”
She wrapped her arms around her waist, dropping her eyes. Longing pierced his chest, for he did love her. But he wouldn't surrender his principles to appease her church's notions of marital duties. There was nothing unholy about wanting to worship every inch of her. If she believed otherwise, well, she was just as confused as the rest of them. He knew she'd be happier once he showed her the truth.
"Remember when I said we're coming at this from different angles?" he began gently. "That it might take some time to find middle ground?"
"Yes," she replied.
"Well, I was righter’n I thought." He gave her a tender look. "But that don't mean we ain't meant for each other. Just means we gotta compromise, both of us."
"I won't compromise my beliefs." 
"Honey, I ain’t concerned with your beliefs. It's your body I got my sights set on," he said, throwing her an innocent look, although looking harmless wasn't one of his natural talents. "We can work this out."
"How? I won't permit the things you did earlier. I won't!"
“Well, tell me something you will allow, and we’ll take it from there.” He leaned forward, propping his arms on his knees. With effort, he kept his mind off the image of himself in a suit. "What do the church men do exactly?"
She looked down at him from the side of the bed. "My mother told me that on my wedding night and every night thereafter, I should lie still on my back. She told me that my husband would come to me at night and join me in the darkness under the quilts. He would lift my gown to my hips and fulfill his manly duty swiftly. And there wasn’t much more to it than that," she gulped, her voice trembling. "And if I wished, I think of something else like prayer or meditation until he finished."
Elvis suppressed a chuckle. One stray laugh and she'd never forgive him. Instead he stroked his chin, hiding his smile. 
"Well, now, you see? We already got half of it licked. At least now I know what I can and can’t do," he said. 
Wary hazel eyes searched his face. He realized he'd shaken her world more than he’d thought. It was no laughing matter.
"So you might be willing to compromise?" Hope tinged her voice.
"Well, now..." Elvis considered swiftly."Is kissing like we did before allowed?" 
"Yes," she answered.
He stroked his chin. "Let's see if I got this right. From your collarbone down to your hips, that area's off limits."
"Correct," she nodded.
"But from your hipbones down, that's free territory?" 
"Correct," she confirmed.
"And in the area that’s mine, is there any rules?" he asked, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
She appeared bewildered. "Rules?"
"Your ma told you their rules. So what do the church men do when they fulfill their duty? Tell me plain so I'm clear."
She shook her head. "She didn't say. They just... do it." She waved her hand dismissively. 
Bingo.
"So, there ain’t no rules how I do my manly business."
"Not that I know of. That’s your business. A wife does not concern herself with such matters," she responded.
Elvis raised an eyebrow. "So, I can do my business as I please?"
She hesitated, sensing a trap but unable to grasp it. In her innocence, she couldn't fathom his motive. Guilt pricked Elvis, but experience had taught him that sometimes conscience was a man's worst enemy. 
"I suppose you can," she finally answered. "It’s your business, after all."
"And you ain’t gonna protest? ‘Cept if I hurt you which I’ll try my damnest not to do." he asked. "Do I have your word? You just gonna think about scripture and let me do my thing? Let me conduct my manly duties as I see fit?”
She blinked at him warily. "You swear you won't engage in vulgar acts above my hips?"
"Honey, not unless you ask," he assured her.
"Why would I ever ask such a thing?" Incredulity filled her voice.
"Just leaving it on the table is all. Do I have your word?"
"Yes, you have my word," she replied.
Elvis suppressed a grin. "One more thing. How much time do I get?" 
She gaped at him, eyes wide. "Well, I don't know. How long does it take?"
"Well, that's the thing. Sometimes longer than others. Can I have all the time I need?" he proposed.
"I... suppose so," she hesitated. 
Elvis raised his hands. "Well, there you go. A com-pro-mise, just like you said. You promise you’re okay with this?"
She eyed the rumpled quilts where she had lain just moments before. A crease formed between her brows. Reluctantly, she nodded, though her pursed lips revealed lingering doubts. 
"I promise," she replied, sounding skeptical. "On the condition that you swear to be content with the brethren's way of conducting ourselves, forever."
Elvis lifted his right hand. "I swear on my mama's grave, I won't lay a hand or lip on you from hips to collar—'less you ask me to."
“Shall I lie back down then?”
“I reckon.” 
With a resigned sigh, she slid back onto the feather mattress. Stiff as a plank, she squeezed her eyes shut and folded her hands over her chest, bracing herself. In a small voice she called out, "Elvis?"
“Yes, darlin’?”
"Don't forget the quilts." 
In response, Elvis reached behind, his fingers brushing against the rough woven quilts. Gripping the edges, he rose to his knees and gently peeled back the layers of fabric. 
"Covered up to your chin?" he asked, his voice a tender whisper. 
She nestled into the quilts' warmth, squeezing her eyes shut as if blocking out the world around her. "Please."
Elvis tugged the quilts up to her chin and slipped underneath beside her. "I can lay my arm over you, can't I? I've done it a million times already," he whispered, his warm breath caressing her cheek.
"Yes. That should be fine.”
With a feather-light touch, Elvis curved his hand around her waist, fingertips pressing into her soft flesh as he drew her closer. "Come here, sweetheart. You're still scared." Propping himself up on his elbow, he gazed down at her closed eyes, placing gentle kisses on each delicate eyelid. "I'm sorry for how I acted before, for shocking you. You know I would never do it on purpose."
She turned her cheek toward his lips, savoring their tender brush against her skin. "And... I'm sorry for hurting your ear. Are you alright?"
"I’m fine," he reassured, his voice low and soothing. 
Elvis started to tenderly brush her hair away from her face, tucking back silken strands behind her ear. "You’re so beautiful it breaks my heart. Have I ever told you that?"
She lifted her lashes, a smile gracing her lips. "Oh, Elvis." She embraced his neck tightly, inhaling his familiar scent. "I apologize for all the cruel things I said."
He held her close, pressing his face against her hair that smelled of waterlilies, feeling as though he possessed all the world's riches in his arms. "It ain’t nothing, I know you didn’t mean it." She pressed her body closer to his, molding her curves against his hard contours. He couldn't help but smile, a spark of desire igniting within.
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Kissing. 
Pearl's lips melded with his, sparking an electric current that coursed through every nerve. The celestial stars themselves seemed to pale in comparison to the heavenly sensation surging within her. She yearned for more, quivering in anticipation of his touch. He claimed her mouth once again, exceeding her loftiest expectations. With torturous slowness, he traced her lips, exploring their delicate curves and coaxing soft sighs from her throat. As their bodies pressed together, his chest grazing hers sent delicious shivers dancing across her skin. She dismissed the friction as accidental, though an aching need stirred within her. 
Each kiss scattered her thoughts, shattering her inhibitions. Clinging to him fiercely, she sought to draw him closer still, desperate to merge their souls. Her nails dug crescents into his shoulders, stinging pain he appeared oblivious to. His lips blazed a trail down her neck, igniting an inferno beneath her skin. 
"Oh, Elvis..." she breathed, the words trailing off as emotion choked her voice. 
“What, darlin’? Am I wanderin’ too close to your collar?” 
Sensing the question hanging in the air, tears pricked her eyes. With a single word, she could end this exquisite torture. His taut muscles revealed his readiness to comply. Yet the thought of halting him brought inexplicable sorrow. Her fingertips glided over his shoulders, feeling the power coiled within him—power that belonged to her. 
She recalled his sudden embrace the night before, his body pressing down, dominating yet tender. He could have taken anything, but treated her like fragile glass. Always in control, yet somehow still hers to command.
Last night, when she'd elbowed him in the ear, he'd instinctively withdrawn, putting needed space between them. The irony was not lost on her; she had become a threat to him. But it was his tenderness that stirred her emotions, now bringing tears to her eyes. She was deeply moved by his unwavering care and protective nature. Oh, how she adored him, her heart overflowing with immeasurable love.
"Sweetheart, you're crying. Did I do something wrong?" His words were laced with concern, a genuine desire to understand and make amends. Pearl found herself unable to form a response, emotions rendering her speechless.
"Should I stop?" he asked gently, his voice conveying both worry and willingness to fulfill her wishes. 
“Oh, Elvis!” she finally managed.
His hand slid from her waist, slipping between her and the mattress, pulling her closer against his solid chest. "What's the matter, darlin'? Are you scared? I promise, I'll be gentle with you. Don't be afraid," he whispered in a soothing tone.
"I love you!" she exclaimed, clinging to him, seeking solace in his embrace. "I'm not afraid. It's just... oh, Elvis, I love you so much it hurts." 
He tensed, her words both balm and challenge to his heart. "I love you," she said again, conviction ringing in her voice. "I love you more than words can express."
A tremor rippled through his sturdy frame. His rough, calloused hand were splayed across her back, yet he treated her like the most precious treasure. Despite his strength, his touch remained gentle and caring. "Oh, darlin’," he whispered, voice quivering. "I love you too. With all that I am and all that I’ve got. But it shouldn't make you sad."
"I'm not sad! I'm happy!" she insisted.
He pressed tender kisses to her other cheek, tasting the salt of her tears. "Well, damn..." Frustration and bewilderment colored his tone, making her giggle uncontrollably. She felt his lips curve into a crooked grin against her skin as he continued trailing kisses along her ear. "Pearl Marie, will I ever understand you? Crying because you're happy. Darlin’, sometimes I swear you’re just plum crazy. You don’t make a lick of sense!"
She tilted her head, surrendering to his kiss, the word "lick" igniting a fervent desire for him to tease her sensitive spots with his tongue once more. As if sensing her need, he found a delectably vulnerable spot just below her ear, eliciting a soft gasp as she melted into his touch. 
"Yes, right there. Just like that. Oh, yes..." she whispered huskily. Her gown began to shift as he tugged it up, initially causing a spike of fear. But then his palm caressed her bare thigh, sending waves of pleasure washing over her.
Each touch felt like butterfly kisses, leaving her skin tingling with anticipation. Her heart pounded against her chest, and her breath turned shallow and unsteady. With feather-light fingertips, he traced a path to the very core of her being, teasing and tantalizing her with every stroke, only to trail away and trace maddeningly sweet patterns along her knees. It was as if her very essence had turned into a molten syrup, yearning to flow and merge with his touch. The quilts shifted, and suddenly she felt the moist, silken press of his lips against her thigh. Startled, she opened her eyes wide and stiffened with a mix of surprise and uncertainty. 
"Elvis, what are you..." Her words faded to a breathless moan as his tongue flickered, tracing delicate spirals that kindled liquid heat low in her belly. 
Through the quilts, his muffled voice vibrated against sensitive flesh. "Just relax, darlin'. I'm tending to business." 
"But, I don't know if..." She clamped her knees together, but his broad shoulders gently eased them apart. 
Pearl clutched the rough-hewn headboard, pulse racing. Was he really going to...? Oh Lord, the man aimed to kiss her there. Shock paralyzed her even as exquisite sensations spread like wildfire across her skin, urging her to surrender. 
"This ain't proper," she managed, but her resolve wavered under the intoxicating caress of his lips. 
He lazily circled her inner thigh, tongue painting glistening trails that seared like summer sun on bare skin. "Hush now, you're sweeter than cherry pie." His warm breath raised gooseflesh. "Let me take care of you."
"Darlin', reckon this here's how it's done?" 
"Elvis, are you sure 'bout this? I... I can't rightly tell."
"Start meditatin’, sweetheart. This here's my territory, not yours. Got it?" 
She closed her eyes, her voice quivering. "Mediating?" she repeated, sounding mighty puzzled. Drawing nearer, he raised his shoulders, leaning in closer to her. "No need to fret, darlin'. Remember what your ma told ya. Jus' lay still and don’t pay me no nevermind." 
He continued his tantalizing journey upwards. She twitched, tightening her grip on the headboard, her gaze fixed on the heavens. 
"I'll holler when I'm done, alright?" 
Done? Pearl felt an intense longing surge through her core. Close her eyes, that's what she was supposed to do. But... oh, dear heavens. "How long will it... will it take?" she managed to inquire. 
Rough palms grasped her backside. Pearl's eyes widened, a soft gasp escaping her parted lips. Merciful heavens, he meant to... 
"Just as..." he trailed his tongue along her inner thigh, sending shivers of pleasure with every teasing lick, "just as long as it needs to, darlin'." 
The first slow lap of his tongue drew a shuddering moan. Fingers clutching the sheets, she stared skyward. This couldn't be real. But the wet heat enveloping her dispelled all doubts. 
When he found that one exquisitely sensitive spot, her body jolted as if struck by lightning. "Elvis, I can't..."
"You can, darlin'," he purred before capturing her swollen flesh. 
"E-Elvis?" she stammered, her voice vibrating as if it traveled through her vocal cords on a wild bronco.
"Darlin', this part ain't your concern. Jus' lie still and let me handle my business, ya hear?" 
"Oh God, please..." She twisted handfuls of his hair, no longer caring what was proper. 
His low chuckle vibrated through her very core. "That's my girl. That's the rule," he drawled firmly. "This here's mine to do as I please, without your fussin', right?" 
"Y-yes." 
"Well then? You lie still and quit your worryin'." 
With that declaration, he resumed his gentle lapping, causing her to arch upward uncontrollably. Small, high-pitched sounds escaped her lips. She clung to the headboard, her body rising higher and higher. "Oh my... oh my... mercy, mercy!"
“There’s a girl. Give it to me, darlin’.” 
"Yes. Oh, yes," she breathed out, her hands digging into his scalp. "Oh, my God! Oh, dear heaven. Oh, pardon me! I'm meddling again." 
He chuckled again, the deep rumble shattering her thoughts as his mouth claimed her sensitive flesh. His tongue swirled and flicked, sparking a blaze that raced through her veins. Digging her heels into the mattress, she arched up, surrendering completely as her hips moved with his. Muscles twitching to his rhythm, the pressure built sharper and sharper within her. Just when she thought she couldn't take anymore, his mouth surged, fiercely pulling until she fractured with a cry, sensations bursting in a kaleidoscope of colors. 
She was precious to him. 
Throughout his life, Elvis had longed for a woman to love and make his bride, but only now did he truly grasp the meaning. She was his salvation, a woman woven from delicate lace and sunbeams, with eyes as vast as the summer fields. She was warmth and radiance, the tender blossoms of spring. A beautiful and perfect gift. It felt as if he were discovering love for the first time. And in a way, it was. For Elvis Presley was a tough man with an untouched heart. Until now. 
This girl held his heart in her hands, capable of making it sing with joy or bleed with sorrow. With a single arch of her spine and a lift of her slender hips, she could ignite him with bliss. He adored her. Her guileless urgency and unwavering trust nearly moved him to tears. No reservations. Just pure vulnerability. And as she shattered in climax, he tasted the rhythm of her heartbeats in the sweet throbbing of her flesh. Afterward, he tenderly caressed and kissed her, soothing her delicate sensitivity, easing the ache that lingered. 
When her breaths steadied, he hovered right over her. With her eyelids drooping low and a dreamy smile on her lips, she looked up at him. "Are you done?" 
Elvis leaned in for a kiss. "Nah, sweetheart. I'm just lettin' ya catch yer breath afore we go at it again." 
Her eyes widened. "Again?" 
He grinned and shifted to lie beside her, propping himself up on one arm to get a good look at her face. How beautiful she was, basking in the afterglow of the pleasures he brought to her for the first time! 
Beneath him, she gasped as his finger delved deep into her slick heat, back arching, breasts straining against her thin nightgown. He watched each expression dance across her features - surprise, wonder, rising urgency. Teasing and pulling back, he brought her to the edge again and again. When she arched, nipple grazing his chin, he flicked it lightly. 
She cried out, quivering, "Oh yes!" 
Another deep stroke had her whimpering, begging for more. 
Grinning, he met her gaze. "Want me to show 'em some lovin'?"
"Oh, Elvis. Do it again. Please." 
Elvis lowered his head, gripping her nightgown with his teeth, and pulled it up her slender frame, exposing her bosom. 
Elvis' fingers trembled as he grasped the thin fabric of her nightgown, the white cotton soft like a wisp of cloud between his teeth. With a gentle tug, he peeled back the garment, exposing her bare breasts to the fire's amber glow. Rosy peaks puckered in the chill night air, beckoning his touch.
"Ask me nice, darlin'," he murmured, breath warm against her chest. 
Frustration flared in her eyes. Snatching a fistful of his hair, she wrenched him downward. "Just do it already!"
That sure as shootin' had "please" beat to hell. And he reckoned he had every right to tease her mercilessly before giving her what she desired. 
Elvis swept his tongue slowly around one taut nipple, tracing its shape, feeling it swell beneath the caress of his mouth. A flick of his tongue made her gasp, then he returned to circling, building anticipation. When he finally closed his lips over the bud, its softness overwhelmed him. He suckled gently and was rewarded with the honeyed taste of her skin. 
To his surprise, her body began to writhe, hips undulating, fingers twisting the sheets. The telltale pulsing against his palm revealed she was cresting that peak of ultimate pleasure. Twenty-one years without a lover's intimate touch, and now she came undone in his arms. 
He savored each tremor that wracked her slender frame, the way she arched and cried out with abandon. Elvis brought her to that precipice two more times, worshiping her with his mouth until his own need could be denied no longer.
Rising above her, he gripped her legs behind the knees and nestled against slick, molten heat. Still lost in rapture's haze, she gazed up with heavy-lidded eyes, oblivious to the pain that awaited. The primal urge to plunge ahead warred with his vow to cherish her. 
"This'll hurt just once, darlin'," he whispered, hating himself. "I wish to God it weren't so." 
She blinked, her gaze fixed on his face, her eyes shimmering in the warm glow of the fire. "I understand. Just hold me close through it all," she implored softly. "With you beside me, it won't hurt as much. I won't feel afraid."
Tears blurred his vision. Elvis gathered her in his arms, surrounding her with his strength. She wrapped both arms about his neck, clinging tight. "I'm not scared anymore," she breathed against his cheek.
Though brave in word, her body tensed as he positioned himself at her entrance. In that moment, he would have given all he owned to spare her even the slightest twinge. The not knowing tormented him—how much agony she might suffer as he forged ahead. With infinite care, he nudged inside, felt her passage resist and then give way as she flinched in his embrace. The small cry that escaped her lips shredded his heart.
He buried his face in the silken veil of her hair, cursing the merciless act love demanded of him. To harm the one person who mattered most gutted his soul. 
But the cabin cocooned them in its embrace—the familiar smells of woodsmoke and pine, the fire's soothing crackle, the handcrafted furnishings whispering of shared memories. Their sanctuary through so many storms past would shelter them through this too. 
"Do it," she insisted, though her body still trembled with fear.
Panic jolted through him like lightning. "Jesus, I can't! I'm hurting you!" He started to withdraw, terrified of damaging her delicate frame. She was far smaller and tighter than any woman before. The risk of forcing himself deeper made his blood run cold. "You're too small, sweetheart," he choked out.
But before he could pull away, she lifted her hips, impaling herself upon him in one swift motion. 
Elvis' heart stopped mid-beat. He felt her tight channel give way as she took him fully inside. Fear for her clouded his mind. 
"Oh, God damn," he uttered, his voice laced with a mixture of desire and vulnerability. A soft, fragile laugh escaped her lips, and he felt the tension gradually dissipate from her body. With a tenderness that matched the love he held in his heart, she pressed her damp cheek against his neck. The touch of her wet skin against his sent shivers down his spine. In a hushed whisper, she reassured him, her words carrying a profound truth. "It’s all right now," she murmured. "It doesn’t hurt as much as I thought." 
Pearl gasped, her back arching off the rumpled sheets. Elvis hovered above, his elbows planted on either side of her shoulders, beads of sweat trailing down his furrowed brow. His hips rocked in a steady rhythm, eliciting soft mewls and whimpers from his wife. 
"Is this okay?" His voice was gruff, laced with restraint. Pearl's eyes fluttered open, pupils blown wide with desire. She nodded, breathless.
Elvis maintained his pace, relishing the slide of skin against skin. Pearl's nails raked down his back, leaving angry red trails in their wake. Her thighs tightened around his waist, pulling him deeper. 
"Oh!" she cried out, the sound sharp in the quiet cabin. "Don't stop, please..."
Elvis complied, quickening his thrusts as Pearl's moans grew louder, more desperate. Her hips bucked to meet his, the bed frame creaking in protest. The musky scent of their lovemaking permeated the air. 
Pearl's inner walls clenched around him as her climax crashed over her. The sensation tipped Elvis over the edge, his own release pulsing through him in waves. He collapsed on top of his wife, their hearts hammering against each other. 
As their breathing slowed, Elvis nuzzled Pearl's neck, inhaling her familiar floral scent. Her fingers lazily combed through his hair. He pressed a tender kiss to her collarbone, overcome with gratitude and awe. 
No longer was he a lonesome wanderer. Pearl had become his sanctuary, a beacon guiding him home. Elvis held his wife close as sleep overtook them. The distant howl of coyotes echoed outside their cabin, but they felt no fear in each others’ arms. Here, tangled together, they had found their own private heaven.
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pixiemage · 24 days
Text
Cut the Line
OR: Tango comes home to find Jimmy holding a golden apple...but not everything is as it seems.
[A/N: I told myself I would ever write full Rancher angst...]
[This work can also be read on Archive of our Own]
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Tango’s stomach dropped, a dread building in his chest that he hadn’t been expecting when he’d come home with iron and food for his soulmate. His eyes were locked on the shining golden apple sitting in Jimmy’s outstretched hand.
“...where’d you find that?” he breathed, tension straining the soulbond.
“Pearl,” Jimmy told him. His voice was calm, even, unfazed - as though it was just another normal day and he wasn’t holding the potential end of their bond in the palm of his hand. “She was saving it for herself, but when I asked for it, apparently she thought I needed it more.”
Oh. Tango slowly closed the front door behind him with a quiet click. He cleared his throat, his eyes still lingering on the golden apple. His tail coiled around one of his legs and he forced himself to turn away, crouching in front of their chests so he could put away the iron he’d mined. He could pretend to be normal, maybe, for a little while longer. Just for a few seconds. Iron went in, tucked away in the corner, then what little gold he’d managed to find…gold he’d been intending to use for a courting gift. (Might not get to use at all, now. His fingers lingered on the unrefined ore, sooty fingerprints clinging to the half-shiny surface.)
“Why?” he asked finally, standing and letting the lid fall softly shut. He turned around and sat on its edge, fiddling with a chunk of undusted redstone he hadn’t put away. “Why’d you ask for it?”
Jimmy blinked, looking confused.
“For…you?” he said slowly, his head tipping to the side. “So you don’t have to be stuck with me and my curse anymore.”
Tango’s blood ran cold, an impressive feat for a blazeborn. His eyes went wide and he stared at Jimmy, waiting for him to laugh, or crack a smile, say he was joking. But he didn’t. He looked so innocently serious about it, as though he actually expected Tango to just be okay with what he was suggesting.
“I’m not - I don’t–” Tango choked out, shaking his head slowly, and he pushed himself to his feet since Jimmy wasn’t moving. He dragged a hand over his face and tried to compose himself. “Jimmy, I’m not stuck with you. I’m with you, willingly. Soulmates, teammates, partners - ranchers. I’ve got your back.” Jimmy still looked lost, confused, as if he didn’t quite understand, and Tango closed some of the gap between them. “Buddy, I’m not going anywhere.”
“But you could,” Jimmy blurted out, holding the apple higher for Tango to take. “You could, if you wanted, and–”
“But I don’t want,” Tango cut him off. Jimmy was still holding the apple between them so Tango took it gingerly from him, barely giving it a look before tossing it toward the bed. Jimmy let out a startled chirp and went to follow it, but Tango caught his arm in one gentle hand. He drew Jimmy’s wide eyes back to him. “I want you, Jimmy. I like who the game chose for me, and if I had my choice I’d pick you again in a heartbeat.”
Jimmy shook his head slowly, his lips tugging into a frown and his brow scrunching up in a quiet distress that Tango could feel in the bond.
“You shouldn’t,” he said, sounding unsteady for the first time since Tango had arrived home. “Tango, you shouldn’t, I’m - I’m bad luck. I’m cursed. It’s not worth staying for if–”
“Jimmy.” Tango shook his head, at a loss for what to say to convince Jimmy that he was so very wrong. “Jim, you’re so worth it. You’re worth–” He was worth everything. Tango stepped closer, stepping forward into the light filtering in through the window and meeting his soulmate’s eyes beseechingly. “Jimmy, tell me you want me gone, and I’ll go. If you can tell me honestly that you don’t want me for a soulmate I’ll - I’ll talk to Grian, okay?” Jimmy’s eyes had turned shining and his jaw had gone tense, his wings puffed behind him. “But I don’t think–”
Jimmy snorted.
Tango blinked and trailed off, watching as Jimmy’s confused and conflicted expression gave way to barely restrained amusement.
“...what?” Tango asked, and Jimmy snickered.
“Sorry, sorry, you have–” He reached up, his thumb brushing over the end of Tango’s nose, and when he turned his hand to let the light hit it, there was a red shining dust clinging to Jimmy’s skin. Redstone. “I didn’t notice until you stepped into the light, but it’s–”
“CUT!”
There was a splattering of laughter and groans from the gathered cast and crew on set, and Tango glanced toward the front door when Cleo shouldered her way in.
“You and Mumbo, I swear–” she grumbled, fishing a compact mirror from her back pocket and holding it out for Tango to take. “How you even manage to get redstone on you in a scene without redstone as a focus will never cease to amaze me.”
Tango smiled sheepishly and glanced at his reflection, chuckling weakly when he spotted smudges of red dust along his right cheek and his nose.
“It blended in with your freckles for a while,” Jimmy commented, taking the cloth from Cleo before she could do anything, leaning in close to get a good look. “Here, let me–”
“Thanks rancher,” Tango winked, and Jimmy went a soft pink as he carefully dabbed at his scene partner’s face. (He did a very good job of pretending he wasn’t affected by Tango’s comment, but the flutter of his wings betrayed him. Just a little.)
A few more people spilled in through the open ranch door, resetting props and fetching the fake golden apple from where it had tumbled across the floor. Grian was among them, a tousled script in hand that Tango knew was covered in red and blue scribbled notes and comments.
“Why don’t you two take twenty?” he suggested in a low voice once he was close enough. He tugged off his glasses and tucked them into his shirt. “That was a really good take, by the way…until Tim broke character.”
“Hey!”
“Yeah? Really good?” Tango repeated, hoping Grian was being honest. It had felt like a good read, and he and Jimmy had seemed to play off each other really well with emotions and timing and everything. But he knew it always looked different from the outside.
Grian grinned lopsidedly.
“Really really good,” he insisted. “Considering we’ve been running this one for almost an hour, I’m impressed neither of you have fallen into muscle memory yet. It still feels real and spontaneous, and you’re getting comfortable enough with the lines that I’m starting to really feel it as an audience member.” He patted Tango on the shoulder and rocked back on his heels, heading back for the door. “You’re doing great! Take a break, you deserve it. We’ll take it from your entrance when you get back.”
“Don’t mess up your hair before we get back or I will kill you,” Cleo drawled, and Tango snickered when Jimmy actually went a little pale at the threat.
“I’m…just gonna go check on Norman,” he mumbled, slipping past Cleo and vanishing off the set.
A passing crew member took the chunk of redstone from Tango as he passed and Tango wiped his hands on the cloth Jimmy had left with him, not wanting to end up with more dust in places it wasn’t meant to be. Cleo took it from him the moment he was done.
“You know he’s terrified of you, right?” Tango teased as he trailed after Cleo, both of them leaving the ranch behind so the crew could finish their reset. He snatched a water from the snack table as they passed. “You could be a little nicer to him.”
“I’ll be nicer to Jimmy when he stops wiping his hands on his costume jeans,” she muttered. “Honestly, you’d think he’d remember they’re not his. You all go for lunch, and he ends up with crumbs and little stains that I have to get out before the next shoot.”
“He’s a bit forgetful,” Tango shrugged, though there was an affectionate tone to his words that he couldn’t hide if he tried. “But he always apologizes. It ain’t like he’s doing it on purpose.”
Cleo huffed and tossed the redstone-tinged cloth into a bin near her makeup station.
“Go find your boytoy,” Cleo snipped at him, making Tango choke on the water he was sipping.
“Wh– ngah, hah, um–” He let out a light, nervous laugh. “My what?”
“Your soulmate,” Cleo sing-songed, dropping gracefully into the comfortable chair she’d all but demanded be brought in for her corner of the set. “Go on. We both know he’s waiting at his trailer for you.”
Tango felt his face warm, and he was sure there were tiny sparking flames dancing in his hair beneath Cleo’s knowing gaze.
“How…?”
“Oh my giddy aunt, you’re obvious,” she drawled. “Have you seen you two? Pearl an’ I have a bet going to see how long it’ll take Grian to notice, because - well - it’s Jimmy, and Grian has a hard time picturing Jimmy as anything but his Adorable Baby Brother. Took ‘im two months to realize Scott kept coming around because he and Jimmy were dating.” She grabbed a magazine off the makeup table and flipped through it idly. “‘Course, almost everyone else knows by now. It’s hard to miss.”
What.
“Go kiss your damn boyfriend already, he’ll probably cry if you don’t show up,” Cleo teased. She prodded Tango away with her foot. “Go on. Go get ‘im, tiger.”
If Tango happened to walk just a little too fast to get away from Cleo’s smirking stare, that was his business and nobody else’s. (And maybe Joel’s, since Tango almost ran the poor guy over in his hurry to get to Jimmy’s trailer. But Joel wouldn’t ask. Probably.)
Tango didn’t bother knocking when he arrived at Jimmy’s trailer. They visited each other often enough that there weren’t many boundaries anymore, and it wasn’t as if Jimmy wasn’t already expecting him. So Tango let himself into the small and cozy space, smiling softly when he spotted his partner near the far window, gently misting the few plants sitting on the small table there. They didn’t have a ton of room because of the limited space a trailer provided, but Jimmy always managed to make his feel homely anyway.
Tango crept up behind him on soft feet, enjoying the way Jimmy’s feathers fluffed in pleased surprise when Tango’s arms wound their way around his waist from behind. He chuckled lightly and pressed a kiss to Jimmy’s cheek.
“Hey sweetheart,” he sing-songed. Jimmy melted against his chest with a soft twitter.
“Tango,” he huffed, though he sounded more amused than anything. “You scared me!”
“Who, little ol’ me?” Tango squeezed him once before letting him go, giving Jimmy space to turn around and face him properly. There was a sparkle of mirth in his grin and his tail danced lazily behind him in a teasing sort of way.
Jimmy rolled his eyes adoringly. He set the plant mister aside and let Tango reel him back in, folding into Tango’s hold like he belonged there. He was kissing Tango before the netherborn had a chance to make another quip, his eyes falling shut and a pleased little hum muffling itself against Jimmy’s smiling lips.
“Took you long enough,” Jimmy murmured softly between kisses, his hands trailing over Tango’s costume vest aimlessly. “Thought you weren’t gonna come.”
“Cleo,” Tango told him. “Got sidetracked.” He guided Jimmy away from the window so they wouldn’t bump into the plants, not minding a bit when his legs collided with the couch. He sat down when Jimmy nudged at his shoulders, unsurprised when he immediately found himself with a lapful of cuddly soulmate. They’d ended up here dozens of times before, and by now it was comfortable and familiar, these small precious moments of closeness stolen between scenes or long after filming had finished for the night. He and Jimmy just fit together so naturally…he couldn’t fathom a life or universe where they hadn’t found each other.
Jimmy picked up where they left off as seamlessly as if they’d never stopped. It was all slow, lazy kisses and warm affection, Jimmy’s hands barely stopping themselves from tangling in Tango’s hair (they still had a shoot to finish, afterall), and Tango’s thumbs tracing gentle circles against Jimmy’s hips where his grip had loosely fallen.
“How long do we have?” Tango asked breathlessly, and he felt Jimmy’s arm shift against his shoulder to check.
“...twelve minutes.”
“I can work with that.”
Jimmy let out a soft giggle and pressed his forehead to Tango’s, their noses barely brushing.
“We’ve done more with less,” he teased, and Tango grinned.
“Damn right we have.”
It was still a damn miracle Etho hadn’t found them in that closet.
Jimmy kissed him again, his mouth migrating away from Tango’s, pressing his lips along Tango’s jawline in a slow and gentle trail, mouthing lazily at the spot below his ear and nuzzling his face into the crook of his partner’s neck. He settled there for a moment, seeming comfortable and content, and Tango was smiling adoringly when he pressed a lopsided kiss against Jimmy’s hair.
“Comfy?” he teased quietly, and Jimmy let out a warbled little chirp of affirmation. His wings went lax at his back, draping across the couch on either side of Tango, and a low rumble arose in Tango’s chest at the coziness of it all. “Not gonna lie, twelve minutes of cuddle-actions sounds awesome right now.”
“Just wanna be close to you,” Jimmy murmured, snuggling in just that little bit closer, and–
“What the hell are you doing?!”
Tango jolted, and so did Jimmy, his wings afluffed and his head jerking up to stare at the door.
“Grian!” Jimmy squeaked. “Hi! We - er–”
“What?!” Grian sounded flabbergasted and he looked it too. If his jaw was any lower it would’ve hit the floor, his eyes nearly bugging out of his skull. “You - he–”
“Do you need something?” Tango asked casually, much to Jimmy’s amusement if the choked-back laugh he stifled in Tango’s shoulder was anything to go by. “We still have eleven minutes before we need to be on set.”
Grian gaped at him, his mouth opening and shutting like a fish.
“No,” he said finally, sounding a little hysterical. “Nope. It can - you know what, it can wait. It can - yeah. Ten minutes. On set in - yes. Okay. Right.” He floundered for the doorknob, missing once or twice before he finally dragged his gobsmacked stare away from the couple on the couch. He yanked it open and paused, his wings an agitated mess of red and yellow and blue.
“…how long–”
“Two months,” Jimmy told him sheepishly. He was peeking out at his brother past golden feathers, his wings having curved forward slightly in a half-hearted effort to hide. “We wanted to enjoy it without the attention for a while, ‘cause it was new an’ all. Kept it quiet, you know?”
“Fat lot o’ good that did, lad,” Joel said bluntly, sticking his head through the open doorway and earning startled reactions from all involved. “Just about everyone knows. ‘Cept you, Grian.”
Grian squawked and Tango felt his face warm, his hair sparking alongside Jimmy’s resulting spluttering.
“E-Everyone?” he stammered, and Joel shrugged.
“Most everyone.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Don’t snog in closets on set, idiot.”
Jimmy went pink and Tango sank into the couch. Oh. Oh, geez. Maybe Etho wasn’t as oblivious as Tango had assumed.
He cleared his throat.
“…mind giving us those last five minutes?” he asked, his voice a little high-pitched. At Joel’s smirk-lined snickering, he let out an inhuman strangled wheeze. “NO, not - we were just cuddling! C’mon, man–”
“Mhm. Suuuure,” Joel drawled. He hooked Grian’s elbow and dragged him out, letting the door fall shut. From outside the trailer, Tango heard his last quippy remark: “Use protection, lads!”
Jimmy’s embarrassed twittering was muffled in Tango’s shoulder, his wings almost entirely cocooning them now. Tango ran a soothing hand through his partner’s hair, catching slightly on the light gel that kept it looking so adorable during filming.
“Do you want me to fix your feathers, sweetheart?” he asked, earning a grumble from the avian in his lap.
“…no,” he said finally, sounding a bit defeated. “They’re meant to be a little messy for the scene anyway.”
“Mm.” Tango nodded, trailing his claws against Jimmy’s scalp. Jimmy melted under his ministrations, snuggling into Tango’s chest like he had been before they had been so rudely interrupted. “How about tonight, when we’re done filming?”
Jimmy pressed a lazy kiss to the side of Tango’s neck, and Tango could only assume that was a nonverbal yes. Then Jimmy sighed. He dragged himself upright and glanced at his watch, sending a weary smile in Tango’s direction.
“Almost showtime,” he told him. “Ready to go stop me from breaking up with you again?”
“I’d do it a million times if it means I get to keep you,” Tango grinned, tugging Jimmy down into one last kiss before letting his partner go. Jimmy pretended to be unfazed but Tango could see the way his wings barely fluttered and his cheeks warmed, the nonchalant mask near-transparent to someone who knew him as well as Tango did. He was far more affected by how affectionate Tango could be than he let most people know.
A million times, Tango had told him. And it was true. A million and more, if it was ever needed, he’d fight for Jimmy again and again. In any world.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[A/N - ...and I still haven't! Written full Rancher angst, that is. I might be physically incapable. Oops! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
ALSO HAPPY BELATED APRIL FOOLS! Sorry for the heart attack at the beginning there, I don't know WHAT came over me! 🤪 Craaaazy! This was ALWAYS meant to be an Actors AU! Obviously! Totally! I definitely didn't start writing proper angst and then make a left turn to keep myself happy!!!
(I actually didn't do that either lol. The original plan was to write an entire angsty Rancher break up fic with the WORST grammar and spelling and OOC-ness you've ever seen in your life, but I couldn't force myself to write badly. It wasn't happening, folks. So you get fluff and sillies instead lol. Hope you had fun!)]
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seafoamwaffle · 1 month
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Next Stop: Pelican Town // Stardew Valley AU
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Ever since @norinenglish posted about their stardew ranchers fic concept I haven't been able to get the idea out of my head, so I've decided to make it everybody's problem.
I'm not going to be following the farmer's story beat for beat, instead, I'm just taking it as a loose inspiration and seeing where it takes me. Is there going to be more? Who knows, certainly not me!
First draft of Jimmy coming to the valley can be found under the cut :D
The bus travelled down the lonely highway, the slight unevenness of the road sending Jimmy’s head bumping against the window. There were endless mountain ranges just on the other side of the glass and peaking between the small crevices he could even see the ocean. Verdant grass covered every inch of the place—such a far cry from the dull greys of Zuzu City. 
Which, he supposed was the point. Looking back at it, it was only a matter of time before the city chipped away at the last bits of himself until all that remained was just a shallow husk of a being. It was too loud, too full, too much. 
Though who was he kidding? He could blame all his recent troubles on the city all he wanted, it wouldn’t get him anywhere. There was no guarantee things would get better in Pelican Town either. 
Positive thoughts, Jimmy, warned Pearl’s voice somewhere in the back of his head. Positive thoughts. 
Right. Things at least—probably?—couldn’t get any worse than they had been. And now he at least wouldn’t have to burden his cousins with coming all the way out to Zuzu City to keep an eye on him. 
It had been their idea to have him move back to Stardew Valley in the first place. Grian had suggested he stay with him up in the spare bedroom of his cabin, though Jimmy had resisted the idea with all his might. He’d caused them enough trouble as it was. The last thing they needed was to have him leeching off their kindness at all hours of the day and invading their personal space. 
After that conversation though, the incessant need to move out of that city to get away increased tenfold, until his small apartment full of stuff that wasn’t even his own began closing in on him, until there was no longer enough space for him to even breathe. 
“What about Gramps’ old farm?” Grian had asked as they were lounging on the couch one evening. “You wouldn’t have us breathing down your neck all the time there and we’d be a few minutes walk out if you ever needed company.” 
“Have you been to that place at all in the past few years? It’s so overgrown you can barely get to the house!” Protested Pearl. Her legs were draped across the both of them while she nursed a bowl of popcorn in her arms. 
“Okay, so it needs a little bit of cleaning up—”
“Understatement of the year.” 
“—but it would solve our conundrum here, right Timmy?” 
Two sets of eyes turned to stare at him as Jimmy shifted uncomfortably in his seat and pretended he’d still been paying attention to the long-forgotten movie playing in the background. 
“I… I think I’d need to sleep on it.” 
Up until that point he hadn’t thought about the old ranch much. Though he had spent most of his early childhood there, he and his mum moved to Zuzu City after Grandpa passed away. He can’t even remember if they ever came back to visit, although that’s not exactly something he could ever blame her for. What was there to return for besides memories now painted over by grief?
He had loved that place to bits as a kid. How could he not? It was a pocket of the world that always felt as if it had been carved out just for him, endless fields and meadows he could run around until he could no longer catch his breath, chasing around friends whose faces he could barely recall anymore. And the animals—the chickens, the cows, the goats, creatures that at times understood him better than any person could. He wanted to become a vet because of them, though that dream was now long forgotten, locked away with every other ambition. 
It had been the happiest he’d ever been. 
That realisation had hooked its claws underneath his ribs and refused to disappear, reminding him of its existence with each breath he took. 
He could have that again if he gave it a try. 
At first, he attempted to squash that idea down as best he could, to lock it away in a small box tucked at the very back of his mind. It tasted too much like the sickly sweetness of false hope and he wouldn’t—couldn’t let himself be overtaken by it again before he inevitably came crashing down into reality. 
But it was too persistent, growing louder and louder the further down he attempted to push it. So, when he had gone through the few things he still owned from back then and found the deed to the old ranch tucked between photo albums and Grandpa’s old books, it felt as though fate had made the decision for him. 
❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀
It was all too soon that the bus hissed to a halt at a small clearing with barely any indication that there was a bus stop to begin with, besides a ticket machine tucked to the side that anyone could miss easily if they didn’t know it was there. With dread and anticipation both mixing in the pit of his stomach, he stepped out into the open. 
“Timmy!” 
Before he processed what was going on, there was an arm that hooked around his neck, pulling him down enough for Grian to reach and ruffle his blond hair. It took him a moment to pull out of the grasp. 
“What happened to a good old-fashioned hello?” 
“Welcome to Stardew Valley!” A theatrical voice boomed from the side, immediately catching Jimmy’s attention. 
On the dirt path leading to the bus stop stood a man dressed in elegant reddish clothing. He leaned heavily on an ornate cane while his other hand held a matching tophat. A wide smile overtook his features. Behind him he caught a glimpse of Pearl, sitting on a wooden fence.
The stranger made his way over to them. “I’m Scar, mayor of Pelican Town.” He offered a small bow, before placing the tophat back on his head and offering Jimmy the now free hand. 
“I’m—I’m Jimmy Solidarity.” He stumbled over his words as he shook the hand of this clearly important man. His brain wasn’t going to let him forget that for weeks to come. 
If he noticed anything amiss, Scar didn’t comment on it. “I’ve heard a lot about you! It’s not every day someone new moves it. It’s quite a big deal! The entirety of Pelican Town is anxious to meet you.” 
The words sent Jimmy’s stomach tying up in knots and though he attempted to cover that up as best he could, the pitying look Pearl sent his way told him he hadn’t done a good job at it. 
“How ‘bout we take him to the cabin first, yeah? I’m sure others are gonna be able to wait until he gets settled in.” 
Scar’s smile never wavered. “Why of course, of course. Just follow me!” 
An uncanny feeling crept up his spine as they walked down the dirt path he must’ve walked through thousands of times as a child. It seemed much smaller now, the wooden fences surrounding it were much worse for wear. Something so familiar growing into something foreign. 
They stopped once they reached another big clearing and oh—he’d thought Pearl had been exaggerating about how overgrown the property had become. But weeds and debris stretched as far as he could see and where there used to be fields full of crops now grew sturdy trees. 
And the house… Well, it looked as though no one had set foot in or around it in more than a decade, which he supposed must have been the case. 
“Told you it was bad,” Pearl half-snickered, though there was no real malice in her tone. 
“You’re exaggerating! With enough time this can all be fixed up easily.” 
“Says the carpenter. The house looks like it’s being held together with duct tape and Gramps’ old stubbornness! Are you sure this is even safe to stay in?” 
Grian waved a hand in dismissal. “I went to check it over a few days back. It’s not a luxury hotel or anything, it’s covered in about an inch layer of dust and I’m pretty sure most of the wiring and plumbing needs to be redone, but it’s not going to collapse at a moment's notice.”
“Reassuring,” Jimmy chimed in, though his gaze wouldn’t leave the old house. It stood tall, with warm-toned wooden walls and a big front porch leading to the reddish front door. The attic window had been broken, with plastic stapled on from the inside to prevent rain from soaking the inside. 
This was what had become of his childhood home. A broken, empty mess. 
“I mean, it’s got character, it’s rustic!” Scar jumped in.
“Crusty’s a better way to put it—” 
“Listen,” Grian jumped in, cutting off whatever Pearl was about to say. “I’ll help you get it back into proper shape as long as you’ll get all the materials, deal?” 
Jimmy mumbled something vaguely affirmative as he continued staring at the overgrown ranch in front of him. 
It was going to be one hell of a fresh start
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intrawebs · 8 months
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A list of misc. Hermitcraft/Life Series fics from someone who loves AUs
There is no smut on this list
❤️ = Angst  💜 = Fluff 💛 = Fic I recently added
No Romance and Romance Optional
❤️Hermit Hybrids (In Progress Series) by Flickersprout - "Loosely connected fantasy AU with background dystopian elements. Mostly exploring the Hermits as a magic found family and all their different ways of being nonhuman." Can be read in any order! I'd suggest starting with The Colors of Friendship cause it's the earliest chronologically, ZombieCleo's great, and it's a good introduction to the world.
❤️the sanctity of the mundane (Completed Series) by crabbunch - “Snippets of life on the Double Life server; mundanity can reveal the most interesting things about people, after all.” This series makes me crazy. The only happy pairs are Boat Boys and Ranchers hell yeah
From the Archives (Completed Series) by Sixteenthdays and zeph - “A collection of statements from the archives of the Void Institute.” A Hermitcraft/Life Series Magnus Archives AU with Grian as the Head Archivist and Pearl, Mumbo, Scar, and Impulse as his assistants. Can be read with no knowledge of the Magnus Archives.
Interlude From Another Reality: Peacock's Eye by Sixteenthdays and zeph - “‘My assistant,’ announced Scar Goodtimes, newly-promoted Head Archivist of the Peacock's-Eye Institute, to nobody in particular except maybe the paused audio recording software on his laptop, or perhaps the small pile of tape recorders his predecessor'd left piled on a shelf in the corner, or arguably the little peacock-feather eye logo that dotted the office as haphazardly as it did the entire Institute, ‘is weird.’
(In which Scar is Grian's Archivist, and Grian is Scar's assistant.)” Sort of an AU of the Magnus Archives AU? Haha. But it’s completely divorced from the canon and can definitely be read stand alone.
❤️Shining and Polished (But Never to Plan) by SaltyServal - “A cough makes Grian freeze in his tracks, shakes him to his core. Despite all the signs, of all the things he was expecting to find in this cave, a truly sentient creature was not one of them. That’s what scares him the most.
He turns, grabbing his dagger and pointing it at the newcomer, who simply smiles at him, fangs and all.
‘Why hello there.’
tldr; Grian is an avian desperate to keep his wings, and he'll do whatever it takes to save himself. Even if it means stealing from a dragon.
(It turns out there's more to the dragon then he thought).” A fantasy AU with bird!Grian and dragon!Scar
oh captain (let's make a deal) by birrdie - “No one on these shores knew Scar’s name. Aside from Tango, of course. No one feared the humble, white-sailed ship docked on the south side of the port. This, like the tides, would eventually change with time. They would know his name soon enough. The greatest pirates all rose from humble beginnings like a phoenix from ashes. Scar was no different from them; that much he was sure of. And it would not take him long to prove it.
Or; Scar is a Captain of a humble pirate crew of one. That is, until a discovery on the shore shakes things up a bit.” A heaping helping of greedy pirate Scar and mysterious crewmate Grian, with evil Boat Boys and innocent Solidaritek as a garnish.
❤️starry eyes stare through me by whatcaniwriteinthis - "'You know,' he says. 'Gotta have a good show: high stakes, violence—' He nods at the room, at the 24 children learning how to use weapons, how to start a fire, how to find food that won’t kill them.
'An unlikely allyship,' Scar finishes, smiling a little. Grian smirks back.
Grian is this year's male tribute from District 9. Clearly, the odds are already not in his favor. But he has to get home to his sister and to do that he has to play the Games. Give them a show. Stay alive. Remember to step out of line is to threaten Pearl. Don't get too attached to the Career that agrees to be his ally, but not to put a damn shirt on." Angst without a happy ending. Made me cry
❤️Stained Glass Sunlight (In Progress Series) by Cosmic_Retribution - “The Watchers had seemed so nice, is the thing. So… disarmingly hospitable.
When they’d set out for the ruins, they’d gone in search of some magical beasts reportedly plaguing the area, according to the flyer they’d taken. What they’d found instead was an empty city and a group of mages and scholars studying… something. They’d been cagey about what. Certainly not the history of the place— the Watchers arrived long after the fall of Dogwarts, content to live and work inside the city’s corpse with no special reverence for the grave it lay ruined in. They had no stake in its fall, or its future, or the preservation of its once-hallowed legacy— but its bones, certainly, served as protection enough for their studies.
The beasts were the only thing troubling the Watchers’ work, or so they’d said. Strange, then, that Grian and his party never once saw a trace of them.
How long after, until his friends realized Grian was gone? That they weren’t safe?
Two decades ago, the city of Dogwarts met its demise. Today, a traveler meets god wearing the mask of a merchant, looking for a miracle.
These two things are not as unconnected as they appear.” Grian and Scar’s version of the lamplight AU(below). Featuring bored god Scar and oblivious paladin Grian.
Lamplight (In Progress Series) by skelew - “Welcome to Lamplight, a DnD/Fantasy Third/Last Life Renchanting AU. Ren is a god stuck in the form of living fire. Martyn is his sole follower. Martyn and Ren help free one another from imprisonment by the Watchers and are now traveling the world on a two-man adventure of fond companionship and occasional arson.” There’s angst but really just in the first fic. The main series has no shipping but skelew has written some treebark one shots that are also in the collection.
❤️dandelion wishing by skelew - “The white lily is known to symbolize purity, innocence. It is also a symbol of mourning, a popular choice to decorate the casket at a funeral. This is due to their beauty, yes, as well as the fact their smell can cover up the scent of a decaying body. Dandelions are best known for their magic, but no dandelion survives a wish.
The King of Dogwarts is not dead.” A Martyn and Ren centric fic about coming back from the dead.
❤️Wooden Mausoleum by skelew - “‘To take the life of one you love an agony Martyn understands far too well. It’s not something he’d wish on anyone—not on his worst enemy, and certainly not on his dearest friends.
Least of all would he wish it on Ren.’
Or, for the Red King, there are fates worse than death. How fortunate he is that his Hand will never let him meet them.” Dogwarts makes it to the end of 3rd Life but Martyn has a betrayal arc.
💜Performance Evaluations by glossyblue - “From The Desk Of His Majesty’s Most Private Of Areas: A True And Accurate Evaluation Of Growth Opportunities For The Knights Of The Square Table, The Loyal Court of Ren the King, As Suggested By The HR Department. (Note to self: when did we acquire an HR department? Ask Bdubs.)” Super cute and funny performance evaluations of the knights from the King Ren Hermitcraft arc.
The H.T.G.Y. Files by glossyblue - "Research scientist Cub didn't intend to make a person. He just came up with the plans. But when a competing team looking to make a supersoldier gets hold of the genome he invented, Cub is pulled in to stop them screwing up—and whatever he expected to find, it wasn't someone like Scar." This is part of a series called Lab Escape but the other fic has a ship that's not in this list so I can't put it in. But I really recommend the whole series!
💜The Government Institute for Ghost Supervision (G.I.G.S.) by glossyblue - “HIGHLY SENSITIVE: G.I.G.S CLASSIFIED. Audio logs for a team of supernatural agents investigating reports of a ghost at a local high school.GRIAN: Yeah, Skizz, why did you let Scar set something on fire? Pretty irresponsible.
SKIZZ: [noise of incoherent outrage] You try stopping him, buddy.” Goofy GIGS story
fixed and dilated by iamsolarflare - “Anything waterdwelling knows from bait.
---
Or: xBCrafted deals with the people around him, and a secret he's been keeping for one hell of a long time. Not the ‘old enemies hunting him down’ type, no - this should be fine, as long as nobody pries. It's the way you should deal with secrets like this, really, just don't let people know. No questions, no answers.
Hypno never got that memo, apparently.” An xB and Hypno fic where neither are human and neither wants to talk about it. Even if you don’t watch them I recommend it.
on the getaway mile by Odaigahara - “‘You want me to do what?’ the civilian asked disbelievingly, and Scar’s body language shifted to that of an impatient trainer, one whose fuse was running short. It was a precursor to bad things, like being tased or forced onto a treadmill for hours; Mumbo flinched even knowing it was an act, and the civilian cut off with a squeak, so Mumbo knew he felt the same way.
Or possibly that was the gun. Scar having a gun seemed more likely as an explanation, now that Mumbo thought of it.
Stealing the car would be better, but they had no idea where they were going, and neither of them was familiar with road laws. What if they hit a person while driving? What if there was some sort of kill switch in the car that the owner could flip to blow it up with them inside? Anti-villain tech had to be wild, from what the Foundation had on hand– and they were villains now for sure. Not just for defying the Foundation, but for this. Heroes didn’t take the actions he and Scar were taking.” Heroes Villains Scar and Mumbo take civilian Grian hostage for a road trip! It's not as bad as it sounds
💛counterclock by scarabies - “When it’s over, Impulse finds him in the throne room.
(or, Bdubs and Impulse chat after a rebellion ends. Can be read as either platonic or romantic.)”
Scarian
💛Through the Sky-Blue Cracks (In Progress Series) by Amethystfairy1 - “This is a compilation of all the pieces that take place within my Over-City/Under-City AU, which is also a Hot Guy/Cute Guy Superhero AU, though that's not the only thing that'll be going on!”
❤️coliseum by artanogon - "Grian is on a mission: kill the Red King of the Third Precinct. Unfortunately, when he travels to the capital where the king resides, he lands in a spot of trouble with a local merchant when he accidentally destroys the merchant’s shop. After he enters into a contract to help pay off the damages, he discovers that there might be another side to Scar under the silver-tongued salesman— and that he’s not the only one who wants the Red King dead." This one made me cry. Happy ending but it gets worse before it gets better.
Picture Perfect, Trapped in Eternity by CloudySkyFlight - “Grian's an architecture major in college, minoring in art history, and when the largest, and supposedly most haunted, collection of royal portraits in the world is displayed in a museum only a few hours away from his dorm, he gets up early to go see it.
Scar's been dead for centuries, living in a royal portrait he cursed to hold his memories and soul, waiting for the moment his best friend would come back to him. Several centuries later, he wakes up to see a brunette that has the looks and soul of his friend, and Scar knows that he cannot let Grian leave without him.” Starts out with Scar sort of kidnapping Grian? But the mood quickly lifts from there
and everything is you by eastwards - “‘Oh my gosh. I’ve got paint on your face.’
Grian moved to wipe the paint off, but Scar shook his head, ‘No the other side, here let me-’
He held Grian’s head steady with one hand, the other carefully brushing across his jaw. With an affirming noise, Scar nodded and bid Grian farewell, as he wandered back to his station in the studio. Grian held his hand up to where he had touched him, feeling his head begin to warm. How troublesome.
artist au w/ scarian wooo”
somewhere between the surface and the seabed by LovesickPrince - "It's a classic tale of love: Grian, a mer from the depths of the sea, makes a deal with a sea witch to exchange his voice for a pair of legs and go visit the human whose life he had saved. Only in this case, Grian is more interested in the sea witch than the human.
(If only someone had bothered to tell Scar, the sea witch in question, about this divergence)."
💜Dead Heat by glossyblue - “Jimmy's having a meltdown, Ren and Martyn are flirting outrageously, Tango gets cruelly betrayed and Grian and Scar are being unrepentantly weird about each other in every shot. It's the nation's favourite no-holds-barred elimination game. It is, of course, the Great British Bake Off.”
A Certain Je Ne Sais What by glossyblue - “Literally any one of Grian’s friends would be a better soulmate than Scar, and Grian is going to prove this scientifically.
Grian’s already felt it, a pinprick in his thumb. He’s familiar—he’s so painfully, unforgettably familiar—with the way Scar sees something and is already reaching out to touch it before he’s asked questions like 'what is this' and 'is it bad news' and 'is it going to hurt me, Scar, and by extension the unwilling bystander my physical sensations are now linked to'. Scar just immediately reaches out.” Grian tries to convince himself that anyone else would be a better soulmate than Scar while proving that Scar is the best soulmate for him.
❤️wait the worst is yet to come by glossyblue - “‘Grian is smirking at him. ‘I know, Grian, I know,’ Scar says. ‘Trade by name and trade by nature–okay, Scar by name but still trade by nature–we are going to be in business, opening soon, special rates for favorite customers of course–’
‘But have you done it yet,’ says Grian.
‘No?’ Scar says. ‘We only just started.’
Grian bounces on the balls of his feet, delighted. ‘Okay. Okay, okay, so. You need to know how it works, then, don’t you? Kiss me.’” Scar centric Last Life AU where you transfer lives by making out. There’s a sex scene but it’s not smut. Angst without a happy ending.
heart under your sleeve by Anonymous - “Scar was easy to love, as mortifying as that was to think. Grian didn’t think he was in love with the artist, it was far too soon for that, but he knew it would be easy for anyone to love him.
In the back of his mind, he wondered if Scar had met his soulmate, then shook his head to dispel the thought before it could fully form.
“Look, we can’t bring in a live panda, but if you want, we can try and connect with a zoo in the area so that they can set up a live stream of their panda exhibits,” Grian compromised and Scar brightened again. He ignored the sweeping feeling of relief in his chest as he opened his laptop, typing in a quick search for nearby panda exhibits. “Maybe we can even get one of their handlers in to give a talk about pandas.”
“Perfect!” Scar agreed, putting on a bright grin. Grian smiled to himself in turn.
Soulmate AU: You are born with a birthmark, similar to a tattoo, that is shared by your soulmate. Grian is a curator for an art museum. Scar is an eccentric artist who is just as attractive as he is infuriating to work with. Everything goes sideways when Grian realizes they're soulmates.”
💜If you like it… by GoodTimesWithScar - “‘Hello,’ slurs Scar, ‘you wouldn’t happen to know where a man such as myself… would find… an eligible bachelor to spend a little bit of time with?’
Grian blinks. ‘Oh, you are plastered.’
or, the ‘you got so drunk you asked your husband if he was single’ trope, but with added mumbo being 100% done with this nonsense.”
💜Well It’s Not Quite Narnia, But- by Raichett - “It’s just past seven in the morning when Grian opens his built-in wardrobe door to find a man dressed in something close to a green and gold matador outfit standing inside.
---
Or: Grian is not giving up this dirt-cheap rent flat for anything, not even the strange (if fun) goings on around the place and the elven king coming in through his closet.”
💛my ever after / is holding you by LovesickPrince - “Grian has been many things.
A servant of a respected noble family. A survivor, with bruises on his skin and hidden wings tied down to his back. A rebel, sneaking away for a night of wonder in the heart of the kingdom - and a curiosity, gawked at by all as the King himself swept him into his arms and spent hours by his side.
When Scar spent days tracking Grian down and helping him escape the cruel grasp of the Watchers, Grian thought his life couldn’t surprise him anymore. Pledging his life to serve Scar was all he could do to thank his King.
Of course, being the personal servant of the King comes with its' own risks - and now Grian could add ‘hostage’ to his list of titles.
Or; someone decides kidnapping King Scar’s beloved servant was a good idea. It really wasn’t.”
i live in a hologram with you by remrose - “‘Anyone in there would be lucky to be graced with your company.’ Scar told him. His face was calm but at his sides, his hands tightened and knuckles went white.
‘Stop trying to sweet talk me, I've already caught you fleeing.’ Grian stalked another pace forward, eyes alight with mischief and excitement. ‘Where are you going?’” Scar’s bad end in the treesekai AU (which you need to have read to understand).
Treebark
💜love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books (In Progress Series) by GoodTimesWithScar - “treebark theatre kids au, with ren as the male lead and martyn as the very distracted spotlight operator!”
💛Through the Sky-Blue Cracks (In Progress Series) by Amethystfairy1 - “This is a compilation of all the pieces that take place within my Over-City/Under-City AU, which is also a Hot Guy/Cute Guy Superhero AU, though that's not the only thing that'll be going on!” The first treebark fic is quite a ways down (It’s called Dagger and Rose), but I believe in yalls ability to figure out the setting through context clues.
❤️Sgt. Pepper’s Broken Hearts Club Band by harpydora - “The sign next to the door just reads, ‘Support Group,’ which frankly doesn't leave a great impression for the gathering inside. Martyn double-checks the Facebook event on his phone, but he's unfortunately certain he's in the right place: a support group for people whose soulmates are no longer with them.” The double life broken hearts club in a modern AU.
wild things can't get comfortable by donnerstag - "Ren and Martyn steal what small moments of comfort they can get.
Several loosely-connected scenes from Dogwarts as Ren struggles with his feelings towards the Hand of the King."
Scribbling the lines (from you to me) by Siri_Spy - “Martyn and Cleo are soulmates… but what exactly does that mean for them? And with Martyn starting to fall for the over-the-top president of his RPG club, and Cleo starting to realize that they might be a little late to the ‘disgustingly in love’ phase… something needs to change.
What will that something be? Well don’t look at me, I’m the one who wrote it. Look at yourself, and ask yourself: Why don’t I know?
Exactly. That’s what I’ve been wondering. Anyway, what are you still doing here? Go read!” A really sweet modern AU about Cleo and Martyn.
not the ghost by csillagvizsgalo - “Martyn tags along with his friends on a ghost hunting trip (he has seen people who had weirder hobbies anyways) for fun in an old run-down castle museum that has definitely not been kept properly. It's all fun and games, and he definitely doesn't believe in the supernatural, so it's not scary at all, until he starts noticing things lying around in areas that nobody has been to in ages, that remind him of memories of events that he never experienced, hundreds of years ago. The voices aren't helping. Well, the one Voice.
The Not Ghost of the Castle (he is a very dedicated cosplayer, thank you very much) takes a liking, and possibly some recognition, to Martyn, and while he spends the night terrorising Martyn's friends, the two of them build an unlikely bond and friendship.
The Red King just wants to rest, and so does Martyn. But not everything is as easy as it first seems.” Ren pulls out all the stops to try and intimidate Martyn but Martyn is a little rude to him and completely ruins it.
Wild Life: A Conservation Podcast by donnerstag - “Ren and Martyn, hosts of a popular little nature and conservation podcast, go camping together as part of a season finale special; discussions of the future, for both the show and themselves, ensue. Featuring: a campfire! innuendos! and even a little bit of kissy, perhaps?”
💜Dead Heat by glossyblue - “Jimmy's having a meltdown, Ren and Martyn are flirting outrageously, Tango gets cruelly betrayed and Grian and Scar are being unrepentantly weird about each other in every shot. It's the nation's favourite no-holds-barred elimination game. It is, of course, the Great British Bake Off.”
A Romance Route For The Doomed Villain?!? by skelew - “These days, Martyn doesn’t really have a lot going on. This is where the dating sim comes in.
Granted, if Martyn knew he was going to die so soon, he maybe would have tried a little harder at, like, holding down a job. Or maybe not. It's not like he has a lot of time to think about it.
Or, Treebark Isekai Romance Parody Which I Spent Far Too Much Time On.”
❤️I Think I’ve Seen This Film Before by GoodTimesWithScar - “In which Martyn fails to get the guy - but he doesn't let that stop him for long.” Set in the treesekai AU (the fic above), which you need to read to understand.
💜I should’ve known it would be you - water/woods by theorionsound - “Martyn sort of expected to fall in love with Ren eventually.
On their bi-annual hiking trip, Ren and Martyn get lost in thought. Mainly about eachother.”
❤️To Sit in Hell With You by dirtybinary - "Ren pulled Martyn close, breathing in the smell of soot and cinders still clinging to his clothes. 'You never kept secrets from me, back at Dogwarts.'
'Sure.' There was something knife-bright in Martyn’s eyes. 'And I’m a good little Southlander now.'
Martyn's playing every side in the death game. He's a loose cannon, he's a wild card, he's a selfish bastard who's going to betray everyone in the end, even Ren. Probably. Most likely. Any minute now."
Solidaritek
💜Red Bandit AU (In Progress Series) by scribblingdragon - “A Empires Season 2 AU with Jimmy as the Sheriff of Tumble Town, and Tango as a local bandit that is slowly, forcefully, being domesticated. Shenanigans ensue from there.”
💛❤️💜Hels To Pay AU (In Progress Series) by aquaquadrant and lunarcrown - “Angsty Tango-centric Hermitcraft/Double Life SMP AU”
❤️The Highwayman by EnvelopedByOblivion - “Fate walks many paths - but for each person, it only wears one face. Sheriff Jimmy Solidarity’s fate is a handsome red-eyed highwayman who saves Jimmy from a group of bandits. Despite being on opposite sides of the law, something keeps bringing them together, tangible as gravity and inevitable as death.
Which will get to them first? What will win out – a growing relationship between them, or their obligations to the life they’ve chosen for themselves?”
💜Let Me Show You Everything I Know by MassiveWaffle - "Jimmy Solidarity is an ordinary guy. He goes to his grad school classes during the day, works at the campus library in the evenings, and neglects his friendships a little too much. Then, engineering student Tango enters the library for some help, and Jimmy finds his friend group growing, and his life inexplicably changed."
A Nestcommunication by YacintheMorning - “Tango just wants to make the ranch a home for both him and his avian soulmate. Unfortunately, he knows almost nothing about avians. But the least he can do is try, right?” In which Tango is accidentally way too forward.
💜A Lesson in Listening by YacintheMorning - "Grian's brother is moving to town and staying with him while he house hunts. While introducing him to his friend, however, Jimmy and Tango seem to make quite a connection. Determined not to suffer through the pining, Grian and Impulse attempt to play matchmaker."
💜He loves that horse by ThatTallQueerBassist - “Tango uses his horse training knowledge to get Oreo back in shape after all the drama of being stolen back and forth.
Unfortunately, this panicked Jimmy at first.
He quickly calms down once he finds Tango training Oreo just outside the walls of their ranch.
They chat, and everything is well in the world again.”
SmallEtho
There’s, like, no AUs for these two!
❤️The Best Soulmate by BlocksRuinedMe - “‘But everyone else didn’t know that - it was possible even Bdubs didn’t know that - and yet he carried on like that, all the time. All about Joel’s soulmate. Bdubs didn’t respect Joel, and fuck that.
Fuck that.
Joel had been fantasizing about killing Bdubs for weeks.’
The Boat Boys have made it to the end of Double Life, standing with Impulse and Bdubs, watching the divorce quartet crumble. Joel has a plan to make Etho win Double Life, whether Etho likes it or not.” Joel being an unreliable narrator because rage clouds his thinking is really something I wish there was more of. You definitely want to read the tags before diving into this one btw.
Holy Father, judge my sins by giddyfenix - "Joel and Etho as the seven deadly sins. After all, what were they if not corrupted?" The lust chapter has a sexual scene, obvs, so skip that if you so wish.
A list of facts and problems by giddyfenix - “Joel had never realized it was possible to feel someone in your bones until Etho came along.”
Amores anacrónicos by giddyfenix - “Don’t be further than 10 blocks from Etho for 10 minutes. One attempt only.”
You held his hands, it felt like flying by Prudent_seer - “Etho doesn't believe in soulmates. Doesn't believe in fate, destiny or an invisible little string tying two people together indefinitely. It was ridiculous, maddening even to think of two people who were made for one another; made perfect for each other by the "universe's almighty will". With that being said, he had someone in mind that was pretty damn close. So when Grian threw them in a world where these soulbounds did in fact exist in a tangible form, where health and pain was shared with someone else, he sought out the person whom he thought was his match. Only to literally fall into the life of his actual soulbound.
It was Joel. And with that Etho cursed the universe for its twisted sense of humour.
//
Creative rewrite of double life through the eyes of Etho, who learns to love his soulmate.” There’s sex but it’s not smut, you know what I mean?
when everything burns, they burn together by TheYesterdayShow - “No one for Joel because he's always been a loner. For as long as he can remember he's been on his own in these games—in the first one he had his cottage on the hill (so long ago that he can barely remember what it looked like, he can only remember it burning and the flames licking up at him and melting his skin and the smell of his hair and he has to put it out—), and in the games since, he's been alone. Alliances that last little more than a week, here and there, and somehow he always ends up at Grian's side at the end of things, but he's never actually teamed up with anyone else.
He doesn't want a soulmate.”
etho has said parkour tag! by panch_owo - “Neither Cyan or Aqua make it to finals, which means the rest of the event is unimportant!
And instead of dwelling on their non-team, they go on another round of tag because it's them.” No smut but a lot of innuendo
More Powerful Than Fear Itself Is The Will To Win by smoothlikebutter - "After a devastating crash ends Etho’s racing career with the McLaren Formula One team, he’s forced to take significant time off to recover. While his fans are eager to see him again soon, what they don’t know is that Etho’s crash was worse than reported; he had to re-learn how to walk and talk before he could even think about racing again. But the desire to get back in a racing car is a strong motivation, so Etho pushes himself to his limits… However, his team couldn’t wait forever. His replacement is talented and the endless competition of motorsports is ruthless. Now Etho has to prove to his old team— and to the whole world— that they were too quick to forget about him. And what better place than the 24 Hours of Le Mans?
ConCorp is eager to snap up a big name like Etho. They’re entering under the Garage 56 innovative category this year, and their CEOs aren’t interested in much more than publicity so the pressure is low. But they’ve also signed Joel, a ruthless pro endurance racer who isn’t about to settle for anything less than the top step of the podium and a champagne shower at the end of the race. And honestly? That’s exactly the kind of teammate that Etho needs." Had me dancing around my room with excitement. Etho's character arc is amazing.
We're a Couple of Freaks by smoothlikebutter - "Joel is a weapon. Etho is also a weapon. They're professional monster hunters, and they've got a job to do tonight: clear out a ton of undead from an abandoned old mansion. Simple, right? This could only possibly go wonderfully well.” Epic Smalletho Souleater AU
❤️Blurring The Lines by FountainPenguin - “Dad always goes overboard with presents. They're never something traditional that a kid would ask for, either. It's always something he had left over in the back of his truck after a project or something stupid he bought after sipping a few too many potions and regretted sober.
One year for Scar's birthday, when he and his cousin Grian were playing in the sandbox out back, Dad and his friends arrived unannounced with four oak saplings. Dad didn't grab his arm or anything (Dad basically never touched him except on rare occasion to brush sand from his hair before loading him in the car; he always said it would make Mom mad), but he used words and praise and empty promises to drag Scar away from his and Grian's game to plant them right away.
Maybe Dad gave so many gifts because he was never around in summer. As early as April, he spent every weekend out fishing with his cousin on his houseboat...
AKA - That Scar-centric standalone piece about the Clocker family in contemporary suburbia.”
And goodness you’re bleeding (What a wonderful feeling) by knightinshiningarmor - “When the relationship burns, Etho feels an intense burst of emotions that leads to a revelation.”
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radioactive-mouse · 8 months
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“I think I was meant to have a brother,” Scott confesses one day, lounging in the grass with his hand clasped gently with Cleo’s. His shoulder still stings from the axe she put into it this morning, and he’s sure Pearl’s does too. The two of them watch whatever kerfuffle she’s getting herself into with the ranchers from across the canyon as the early afternoon passes by.
“Huh,” Cleo answers, raising an eyebrow. “Okay?”
“Maybe that’s weird,” He admits, his free hand winding itself into the grass. “I never had a brother, for the record. Just been me and my mum and dad growing up. But…”
But the house always felt too big, He doesn’t say. He doesn’t tell her about how he’d grown up wishing for someone who’d stomp around in puddles with him on a rainy day, who’d wake him in the middle of the night to soothe their nightmares, who’d bring him bundles of dandelions from the back garden when mum asks them to do the weeding. He doesn’t tell her he’d always thought that his dad’s office down the hall should’ve been a bedroom.
“Maybe you’ve got a long lost twin or something,” Cleo jokes, because apparently he’s been quiet for entirely too long. “You’re a bit old for the whole parent trap routine though, if I’m honest.”
Scott laughs, shoving his shoulder into hers. He recoils, wincing at his still-healing wound.
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sneaky-geeky · 1 year
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It’s been said before but there’s something about how relationships in the life series change, but never really fade.
Something about how the Bad Boys and TIES are supposedly enemies and Jimmy was the first to celebrate when Tango blew up, but then instantly went to him and apologised. How he explained that it wasn’t him who’d dropped the minecart, because even now he wouldn’t want to hurt his rancher. Something about how when Scar saw Grian sat on a llama, his mind went to the past and he was sure that Grian would be mad at him even though they’d hardly spoken in this world. How despite that, he knew that Grian of all people would understand illegally killing because you got caught up in the moment. Something about how when Bdubs was attacked his first thought was to cry out for Etho. How he ran away from his own allies to find shelter at someone else’s base because that was where he felt safest. Something about how Scott let Cleo kill him, because that was the soulmate he chose and if he had to die at least it would be by her hand. Something about how Cleo still won’t turn her back on BigB and warns Pearl to do the same, because they might be allies for now, but she’d learnt the hard way that that wouldn’t last. Something about a clock, or a rose, a pufferfish, or a diamond sword.
They’re all so connected in a web of alliances and betrayals and murders. Almost any kill is an echo of previous actions, or revenge for half forgotten wrongs, or the breaking of trust between two people who would once have died for each other. They’re living and dying in the present, with each minute more precious than the last, but there’s no escaping the past.
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tubbytarchia · 3 months
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In my head I'm constantly rotating around the idea of Ranchers and Pearl... This is largely unfounded but I just. can't help it... I just think they'd make such a cute trio and it's what all of them deserve in DL especially. Further thoughts below but please also have this from Pearl's POV
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I have never been able to stop thinking about how Pearl was the first person to genuinely help the ranchers when they requested it, and the way she only asks for food in exchange because she's hungry, gets some steak thrown at her and she immediately gobbles it up. Then Pearl watching them try their best to get goat horns, doesn't even judge them for their complete incompetence (does snicker to herself a little but that's just cute), offers to try it herself, gets it immediately followed by Jimmy's unbridled joy and Tango's unbridled praise
Then Jimmy went and broke my heart by shooing Pearl away in session 3 like everyone else </3, but then pearl comes back later offering him a horse and this time she only asks for friendship in exchange <3. But then she HAD conversed with Scott before and Scott basically just said "I've emotionally reduced Jimmy into nothing before and you can too". In the end Jimmy gives her the horn that she got for him in the first place </3 Then Pearl and Martyn steal the horse back but Pearl pretty quickly feels remorseful and returns to Jimmy to once again ask for friendship in exchange for the horse. Jimmy refuses but Pearl gives him the horse anyway and RAHH Jimmy being genuinely surprised like, baby... he just doesn't expect much at all from anyone at this point does he lol. And Pearl all "No, that's not me, I felt too bad" and Jimmy still asking for reassurance "You sure? Are you sure?". Then they kind of established a friendship before parting ways when Pearl admitted she no longer had Jimmy's horn (had given it to Martyn already)
So obviously that didn't amount to much, they didn't interact a lot before Tango and Jimmy died but COME ON THEY'D BE SO CUTE... The ranchers who are most everyone's laughing stock and Pearl who has been largely ostracized for not even doing anything wrong, and completely alone. Except she does have Tilly, she loves her dogs and she also ushers a donkey into her tower all "here you go my little lovely", ALSO housing Oreo, the very horse that'd been traded back and forth and that the ranchers had so desperately wanted. Oreo WAS left there by Scar because he had to make a swift escape from the top but... you know. Anyway point is I think her and the ranchers have a little bit in common in that, I could totally imagine Pearl enjoying taking care of the animals. Also don't forget how she was struggling for food in the beginning just like the ranchers. But they managed to make do because they had each other, unlike Pearl. So the ranchers could give her supportive company!! Can you imagine how delightful they'd be towards her... The same way Jimmy would usher Tango into the ranch as he fled from mobs, scared and starving
That's about it but PLEASE. SURELY I'm not the only one who can see this. Ranchers housing Pearl would be the absolute cutest, they don't judge each other etc... Imagine an AU in which she does score a proper allyship with them, finally finding happiness in some human company only for them to die first and Pearl being left all alone again with all the other Lifers who considered her crazy
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Here’s a valentines special (pretend this a other day with no chaos) :3
Velvet: ranchers taking a while..
Rancher: um velvet..?
Velvet: oh! hey love! Um Hi!
Rancher: hello! I- um.. I made you this!
Hands flowers
Velvet: oh! T-thank you! It’s lovely.. I made you some muffins for.. you know..
Rancher: I love you! I-I mean I love them! But I also do love you..! Thank you!
(This is my favorite awkward couple)
Bone: miss dahlia! I finished everything! Would you like me to take care of your homework as well?
Dahlia: no. It’s alright, I’ll survive. Take today off early since today is apparently special or whatever…
Bone: *gasp* really miss dahlia??!?!
Dahlia: *Sigh* yes… Stop wagging your tail and go before I change my mind.
Bone: yes sir!
???: …Martyn im really sorry!
???: I miss you, you know?
???: whisper said to stop sending this but I can’t
???: happy valentine-
Pearl: you should really stop listening to those! It won’t stop the fact you’re lonely!
Martyn: shut it and go away.
Pearl: suit yourself!
Pearl leaves
Martyn: …
Blood: sire I made this for you!
Winter: a paper crown..?
Blood: I’d thought you’d like it.. I’m sorry I’ll throw it away..
Winter: I do like it so stop thinking like that. it’s very pretty thank you.
Blood: I’m glad!
TW!!: Abuse & Forced love/Toxic relationship(is that what’s it called? Idk :P)
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. You sure?
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.you’ve been warned!
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Red: you did what.
Grian: I-I’m sorry red! I didn’t mean to-
Red hits Grian and Grian falls to the floor
Red: if you didn’t mean to then why is it broken? Your Mine Servant remember? Act like it.
Grian: I-i didn’t mean t-to.. I-I’m so- so sorry
Red: say who you belong to.
Grian: I-i belong t-to you.. red..
Red: Good, now Kiss me.
Grian: b-but r-red i-
Red grabs Grian by the collar and kisses him
Red: remember this: your mine and no one else’s. And if you dare defy me again I won’t hesitate to hit you again.
Grian:…
Red: happy Valentine’s Day.
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Scar: Scott! Scott! Scottt!
Scott: um yes scar..?
Scar: I heard you make things for everyone you care about in Valentine’s Day! So I made this for you! I carved it myself!
Scott: oh! Thank you scar.. I’ll put it by my nightstand! Anyway now we-
Scar: wait! I made more things!
Pulls out five boxes
Scar: do you wanna go alphabetical order? or maybe biggest to smallest?
Scott: oh god…
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tev-the-random · 2 years
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I AM AN ABSOLUTE JUMBLED MESS, SO HAVE SOME OF MY MESSY THOUGHTS ABOUT THE CROSSOVER TODAY, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:
So far, we've got Tango in Gobland, Scar in Tumble Town, Pearl and Joe in Chromia, Cleo and Xisuma in Eversea, Keralis and Jevin in Sanctuary. Impulse and Grian are kind of making their own places. Did I miss anyone?
There are two kinds of emperors in this crossover: the ones who stick to the lore and claim they don't know the Hermits and the ones who drop everything and yell "MY RANCHER!".
Pix fits the second category, though a lot quieter.
Pearl fits the first, which is strange, considering her role as Literally God. At this point we really can't be sure of what exactly this means for Pearl or for Sausage. What is she?
Gem is her own category. There's something very sus going on with her.
Jimmy absolutely freaking out over seeing Tango again though-
I think at this point it's canon that either people have nametags floating above their heads or everyone is wearing an actual name tag and that's how they all know each other's names even though they never met.
Scott just got a magical flash grenade to the eye. How is this man seeing anything after the entire sky erupted in magic light-
Sausage. I'm not surprised. Not even disappointed. Xisuma most certainly is, though.
Is it a custom in Sanctuary to kiss people on the cheeks or is Sausage like... actively making out with newcomers? I know this is a very weird question, but it's Sausage we're talking about.
Joel adopted the one night armour stand joke lmao-
Tango freaking out over every little thing he sees.
Murder is canonically legal in Empires.
Grian is a force of chaos, as expected.
Rancher duo collabs again, pog? With horns and everything?
And Tango is now an engineer in Gobland, which means Fwhip might have some more to do other than poke the Sheriff. This crossover is a win all around for Jimmy, except for the toy jokes, which may increase, but I will thoroughly ignore that-
There's No Curse In Glimmer Grove.
Sausage keeping tabs on all the Hermits. That' either means that he's not as unsuspecting of them as he may seem or it implies that all Hermits are now their own empiresonas-
Grian's appearance in Tumble Town was so incredibly ominous, holy sh-
Shelby trying to be hospitable but at the same time being a witch inviting unsuspecting people into her hut in the cursed swamp after claiming the fog eats souls and pulling out a scythe. I'd be terrified.
Hats and mounts get passed all around. Is this a crime?
Why does only Pearl get an outfit change? I mean, I know why, but like, canonically speaking, why did it happen?
Still, I felt a bit teary-eyed upon seeing the Arena Duo together again, the Gilded Helianthia dress only made it better. I missed these guys interacting so much, and I don't know if I'm in denial like Sausage or if I'm just about to open a Word document to write an entire one shot about it-
Sausage had a vision of Gilded Helianthia, I'm not ok
Oh god, now we have both Joel and Scar yelling LORE in the same place, save us-
So convenient that E!False decided to travel far away right when HC!False shows up. Smart decision, yes, but at the same time, the fanfic writers must now assemble to make the two of them meet.
Ok, so apparently some people remember the Life series and some people don't. I guess that means that some of the characters, such as Jimmy, Joel and Scar, are the same characters from the Life series after they lost their third life. Other characters, such as Scott and Pearl, are not. But what does this mean?
Fwhip sounded so hurt for a moment when he thought Jimmy made Scar his new deputy. This man is not ok.
Soup Group? Soup Group.
Big ears Scar is cursed.
Sausage is too hospitable for his own good.
Scar's deputy and moral support arc. I'm happy for it, but at the same time, I don't trust it.
On one hand, I do think the wallpaper in Tumble Town looks very pretty and it would be so sad to destroy it. On the other hand, Jimmy deserves some dignity and shouldn't take this slander anymore, I swear to god-
Poor Impulse is so confused, why is this cat lady yelling at him, why are animals walking on two legs, where is he, he's having a crisis-
Stratos' class system gets called out, finally.
Just when Joel was so close to convincing the fandom that he's tall, the Empires' folk shut it down and confirm that they're only playing along and he is not, in fact, tall. Short king is back?
Katherine, when you go around telling everyone, including literal strangers your secret, I don't think it can be considered a secret anymore.
Fwhip encourages crime, such a good deputy of the law.
But then again, it's not stealing, it's borrowing-
Seeing the empires from the Hermits' perspectives is crazy, I hadn't realised just how massive these empires got.
The Hermits are staying for a while. I'm so happy this isn't going to be a one-episode thing, I'm dying to see where this goes!
(I'm trying to watch as many perspectives as I can. Some of them haven't come out yet, and I don't feel like watching Keralis' hour long episode. Can someone tell me what happens there?)
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earmuffstar · 2 years
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alright! I have watched at least one pov from every duo so here’s my liveblog thoughts for this session:
- bigb and ren is like watching a ship with a hole in it that is slowly filling with water but instead of patching the holes theyre trying to scoop up the water using buckets and dump it over the side. last episode bigb jokes about how ren's the muscle and the brains and he doesn’t bring anything special. from the very start of the 3rd episode bigb's making sure that ren's not going to leave him for martyn. ren got insecure in his relationship and formed his own alliance but immediately fessed up once it seemed like bigb wasn't leaving him. they went through full-on couples therapy together where they worked out why they were feeling insecure or angry, why they were unhappy currently, how they could do better, and resolved to trust each other. and then it turned out that bigb really HAD abandoned ren for grian as his secret soulmate and lied about it.
- team rancher now have Many IOUs the other duos are going to cash in on (2 from jimmy to bdubs, one from tango to etho)
- “GET DIGGIN, BOYS!”
- pearl, completely normal: hey guys look out theres a warden coming
- etho, sneaking by jimmy in plain sight: you cant see me :-)
- the cycle of jimmys horn: jimmy -> pearl -> martyn -> joel -> grian -> jimmy. all in one session.
- you know what would have been funny. it would have been funny if tango dug the warden hole right under grian and scar's base and someone fell down it while they were digging around for the sugar cane
- I'm starting to notice that certain duos gravitate together every season. martyn and ren, of course. cleo, bdubs, and etho, even if it doesnt seem so at first. 
- i love tangos minecraft body language. its about the little head shakes and nods.
- ren: pearl is an evil demoness, practicer of dark magic, bringer of chaos, bane of the server, omen of death, those who approach her shall breathe their final breath. two seconds later: pearl's so nice
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crystaljellie · 1 month
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An Analysis of My Scott Playlist
Big long post as promised <33 roughly 40 songs
I've Had Enough by Melina KB
This song in the context of double life is very interesting to me, but I also like to see it in Scott talking to Jimmy (Sorry flower husbands truthers I love soft and kind flower husbands too but we have all seen what happened in limited life they do have some slight issues)
"Cause you miss the way I let you walk all over me" | Again could work in both contexts, Scott never really went out of his way to stop Pearl from doing what she does with the powdered snow, sure he did retaliate but you can tell at some point he just gets used to it. And then in the context of Jimmy I'm thinking very especially about limited life flower husbands and Scott giving up time for Jimmy.
"I'm done with shutting up I've learned a lot better" | Maybe in this of Scott thinking he's learnt to stand up for himself? And I say think because I'm talking about how he thought he was in the right in double life (None of them were) It's also funny because he has the confidence so strongly in double life where he makes his feelings known and then it's just like... 'Oh yeah you can kill me!!' And I know it's part of his whole making everything fair thing, but still
"Admit you did it we all know you did it" | We all know you're the one who left me when you went to the nether, tormented me, screwed me over repeatedly. Both Pearl and Scott do not understand each others perspectives of the situation and villanize the other for it.
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Washing Machine Heart by Mitski
"I know who you pretend I am" | Limited life Scott and Martyn, Martyn pretending he's serving his king again, Scott being alright with it because he knows Martyn is by his side for more than just that reason, and he's right Martyn is.
It's a pretty short analysis here but it's mainly I guess about Scott wanting allies and wanting to be loved by them but they always have someone else more important to them than he is
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The Moon Will Sign by the Crane Wives
"All those empty rooms" | Something about Scott being alone after Jimmy died in 3rd life, empty rooms with no noise to fill them
"We made our peace with weariness and let it be" | The weariness oof being forced into death games over and over, the blood brings chaos the familiarity of death brings peace
"I shine only with the light you gave me" | OKAY NOW HEAR ME OUT ON THIS ONE You might be saying "But Scott was the one who lived longer in that relationship and is literally seen as the stars" But have you ever considered Jimmy was the one everyone loved more, jimmy was the one to make strong alliances, Jimmy was the one there was fuss over when he died. Scott was only able to be strong because he had Jimmy by his side and without that 'light' he was simply a tool of vengence
"Instead you hoarded all thats left of me" | In the sense that Jimmy unknowingly kept Scott's ability to love another other than him, and all his courage and faith in the world. Not that Jimmy was doing it on purpose but it still happened anyways
"I want to feel the fire that you kept from me" | NOBODY TALK TO ME THIS IS 100% SCOTT TALKING ABOUT RANCHERS. I DON'T CARE IF YOU LIKE RANCHERS AND HATE FLOWER HUSBANDS OR WHATEVER BUT YOU CANNOT TELL ME THIS IS NOT SCOTT BEING BITTER THAT JIMMY GAVE MORE LOVE TO TANGO THAN HE EVER DID TO SCOTT. HE WANTED TO FEEL THAT FIRE OF A LOVE HE NEVER GOT TO KEEP
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Two Slow Dancers by Mitski
Another double life-coded song
Very much Scott and Pearl
"And We've both done it all a hundred times before" | More so in reference to last life, they've played the death game before they know how it goes
"it would be a hundred times, easier if we were young again" | If they were young and still filled with faith, if Scott hadn't won last life and learnt the pain of winning and become bitter in the season following
"We get a few years and then it want's us back" | Not necessarily a few years but more so like the gaps between the games, a bit of freedom and then the watchers want them all at each others throats
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Evelyn Evelyn by Evelyn Evelyn
Surprise surprise another Pearl and Scott one
"Why do we bother to stay? Why are you running away" | Scott and Pearl with their conflicting feelings at the start of double life, with Scott wondering why he should stay and Pearl not wanting him to leave her
"We grew up closer than most, closer than anything, closer than anything" | In either they grew up close in last life or their soulbound in double life, either way their fates are intertwined
"What if they find us? They're not looking anyways" and it's counter part line "I want to be famous, they're watching us anyways" | WATCHERS WATCHERS WATCHERS!! There's so much about this that just gives, hiding away from the watchers or giving into their whims
"At your side I feel like a ghost" | It can go either way in my mind, Pearl not feeling adequate enough to be seen and Scott feeling like she's killing him
"A parasite needs a host- I'm only trying to do what is best for us!" | because Pearl only wanted to help her soulmate, not that Scott didn't but he felt so betrayed and then it turned to a feeling of her leeching onto him
"You're always trying to be somebody else" | THIS!! Because Pearl wasn't acting like who she used to be and who Scott became friends with, she became 'somebody else' in an attempt to bring him back.
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Little Soldiers by the Crane Wives
"Beneath the table you would offer up my bones And all the dogs would lick your fingers" | As in how Jimmy does things at Scott’s expense to get people to trust him or to get time and hearts and such
"And I dragged you through every room inside our home" | Scott struggling to get Jimmy to do anything with him anymore and feeling like the effort he puts in is not enough
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November by Sparkbird
"Admit it, you were never going to get it I was always going to get it" | Can't explain why but this gives last life Scott killing Ren
"Maybe that's relevant somehow, can I explode now" | ....boom boom at the end of double life :3
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Allies or Enemies by The Crane Wives
"And I swear I didn't mean what I said" ...I live by the belief that Scott didn't actually mean to tell Pearl he was 'breaking up' with her, guys trust me it was the watchers. But also apart from that it could be anything
"Are we allies or enemies this will be the death of me" | Scott in secret life, not understanding what his teammates actually think of him
"All is fair in love and war but I can't fight with you anymore" | FLOWER HUSBANDS LIMITED LIFE GUYS!!
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Canary in a coal mine
CANARY IN A COAL MINE IS SCOTT’S SONG NOT JIMMY’S I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL
"Am I the only thing that keeps you safe when the light is gone?" | Scott being the only person to protect Jimmy in third life and protecting his memory even after he’s dead
"I’ll be worth more than all the silence left in my way" | The silence referring to how Jimmy doesn’t really interact or talk to Scott outside of third life, he is silent towards him, and Scott is hoping that he’ll be more than that to Jimmy if he tries hard enough
"I’ll sing you songs until the darkness does recede" | Scott calming Jimmy down when he needs it always being there to reassure him, keeping his hearts safe and him armoured in 3rd life
"Will you forget about your love for me?" | If Scott is no longer able to keep chasing after someone that won’t come back from him will that love that they once had in 3rd life be forgotten for good?
"And when you break the surface, oh, without me" | When Jimmy meets new people achieves new things and finally manages to break the curses all without Scott because no matter how much Scott tries Jimmy won’t let him help
"Please don’t return me to the dark of all the memories, yeah" | The dark actually being hope don’t give him any more hope that those memories could be recreated
"I will save you when your lights go out" | Scott is giving him time which continues to live being his breath, Scott’s love for him keeps him alive and that act of love is letting Jimmy kill him for time, saving him when he needs it most
This song is so so Scott coded most if not all the lyrics fit his perspective of things, the song is associated with Jimmy mainly because he is the Canary in the coal mine which sure fair enough but the lyrics themselves don’t fit his personality or his view of things, I guess some things could refer to how the winners and others have left him behind and he is weighed down by the curse but nothing else really fits him. 
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Misery Meat by Sodikken
"You want a taste of my brain? Okay, it's yours anyway, A bite of my eye alright I won't put up a fight" | Scott giving his time away and hearts away for other people with little complaint
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This is going to be part 1, and I will reblog this later with part two
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jarxix · 1 month
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Rancher Duo fanfic
Characters not CC.
Warnings: Smut, this is a smut fic. implied self harm. Egg laying. Mating cycles. Don't like don't read.
Timeline: After they rebuilt the ranch.
When you see ~~~*~~~ that is when the smut starts.
Work count: 2,271 (Longest one I've made so far)
It was early spring, the mating time for avian's.
Jimmy shifted in bed. Double life just had to start around the start of spring. He groaned, this was the worst time for this.
He sat up and looked at the time wondering if it was early enough he could just get up for the day and not have Tango ask why he was up so early.
4:24 AM. It was too early to be awake, but he felt like he couldn’t sleep. He curled up on his side. The warm feeling in his stomach was getting extremely annoying, He needed to do something about it.
He looked over at the bed, that was only a few feet from his, where Tango was sleeping. He sighed and pulled his pants down, he hopped Tango was a heavy sleeper.
.
.
.
He must have fallen asleep after he took care of himself, because the next thing he knew Tango was softly shaking him awake. He sat up, yawning, and Tango softly smiled at him.
“A little tired today, huh?” Tango said, Jimmy simply nodded. While the canary avian was still waking up Tango had put on his shoes on and walked to the door.
“Hey Jim, I have to meet with Impulse and Bdubs! See you soon!” He waved to the avian before leaving, closing the door behind him. Jim sat there, he had stuff to do today, so he got up and began to clean himself up.
When he went outside he walked right to the animal pens, grabbed the shears next to the sheep pen and walked in.
once he sheared all three sheep he took the bundle of wool he got inside the house and placed it on his bed. After re-arranging the blankets, pillow, and wool, he decided he needed more wool.
.
.
While he was walking around looking for more sheep, a wolf started barking, he tensed and looked around, was the wolf barking at him?
Suddenly a wolf ran out of the bushes right at him. He screamed and fell over, but before it was able to attack him he heard someone yell. “TILLY! Tilly, down!”
He heard the wolf, Tilly, sniff then paw steps walking away from him. He opened his eyes and saw Pearl sitting on her horse.
“Hi Jim.” She said. “What are you doing here?” Her smile was unsettlingly bright.
“I umm..” He swallowed. “I was looking for sheep.” Her smile got wider somehow.
“Well, you’re not going to find any on Tilly’s hunting grounds.” She opened her arms and giggled. “She made sure of that”
Jimmy looked around. Through the trees he saw a bit of Pearl’s tower. Oh
“Why are you looking for sheep anyway? Don’t you have have sheep? Did they die?” Jimmy sighed.
“I just needed more wool. There wasn’t enough from our sheep.”
The moth hybrid reached into her backpack and pulled out two bundles of wool.
“Wanna trade? I get a lot of wool from the sheep Tilly kills.” She said holding out the wool. Jimmy opened his backpack, and pawed through it to see what he could offer.
“I have some iron..?” He sort of offered. Pearl hummed. “How much?” Jimmy counted his iron.
“I have 12. I’ll give you.. 5?”
“How ‘bout 8?” Jimmy thought about that for a moment. “Isn’t that a bit much for some wool?” She rolled her eyes.
“Alright, I’ll take 5.” She held out her hand, and Jimmy handed her the iorn, and she handed him the wool.
“Alrighty! Now you better get out of here, before I have Tilly make you leave” Jimmy turned to walk away. He walked a little faster than normal, for some reason scared that pearl would attack him or send Tilly after him, even though she’s green.
.
.
He had arranged the wool on his bed until he was happy with how it looked. He stepped back to admire his work, when the door opened and Tango walked in.
“Hi, Jim.” The blazeborn grinned at him, then looked over and saw the wool nest Jimmy made.
“I see you made a nest out of your bed.” He patted Jimmy’s back. “anyways, I have something to show you.” He lead the avian outside.
Two horses were standing just outside the barn, tied to a fence post with leads.
“Bdubs tamed some extra horses so he let us have them!” Jimmy looked at them. One of them was a gray horse with white splotches, and the other was black with white hooves.
Jimmy walked over to the Gray horse, and Tango helped him to get on. Then he untied them from the post, and got onto the other horse.
“Wanna race?” He asked excitedly. Jimmy got the horse moving and said “Sure!”
They rode the horses to a small clearing with the edge of the forest a little ways off.
“I’ll race you to the forest. Ready, set. Go!” Both of them took off, after a few moments Jimmy realized his horse was faster. He laughed as he heard Tango shout, “Hey! Slow down! No fair!”
Jimmy made it to the trees first. When Tango made it to the trees he said, “Your horse is pretty fast.” Jimmy fluffed up his feathers. “Thanks.” “Wanna trade?” They both laughed, and headed back to the ranch.
They parked the horses in the stables they had.
“I’m gonna make myself some food. You want anything to eat?” Tango asked. Jimmy felt his stomach growl at the thought of food, he hadn’t eaten yet. He looked at the time.
8:22
“Sure!” Tango smiled at him. “What would you like?”
“Fruit salad? Do we have stuff for that?” Tango looked around in the cabinet.
“We don’t have any strawberries.. I can still made it, it just won’t have strawberries. Or I can make you salad, and go get strawberries tomorrow.”
“I’ll take the fruit salad, thank you!” Jimmy walked over to his nest and sat down while he waited on his fruit salad. While he sat there he noticed a small gap in the wool and blankets. His feathers twitched, he didn’t want to rearrange anything. On the floor next to Tango’s bed was one of his pajama shirts, Jimmy grabbed it and used it to block up the hole.
.
“Jim! Your salad is done!” Jimmy got up and walked to the kitchen. The blazeborn grinned at him when he walked in.
“Your food is on that counter.” He said pointing at a counter. Jimmy walked over and grabbed the bowl of fruit.
“Thanks Tango!” He said as he walked out of the kitchen. He got comfortable back in his nest and looked at his fruit salad, it was made of blueberries, mango, apples, banana, and kiwi.
It was nice of his mate to make him food. He froze in the middle of taking a bite, Tango wasn’t his mate, they were soul bounded but not mates. Stupid bird brain. He scolded himself.
A hand landed on his shoulder and he jumped, almost choking on the kiwi he had in his mouth.
“I didn’t mean to startle you..” Tango chuckled. “You were just sitting there staring of into space.” Jimmy looked up at Tango who was holding his own plate of food.
“Sorry I was thinking about..” He hesitated. “About upgrading the barn?” Tango squinted at him before saying “Alright, just checking.” He said as he sat down on his bed.
.
After they ate Tango went out to take tend to the animals, and Jimmy got ready for bed. It was earlier than he normally went to bed, but it was fine.
He was in bed and asleep before Tango got back inside.
~~~*~~~
Jimmy groaned as he woke up slowly. Stupid instincts. He moved around until he was able to get his pants off. He didn’t even get them off all the way before he grabbed dick and started pumping his fist up and down at a fast and harsh pace. He moaned loudly not even trying to muffle them.
He tried to think about anything but Tango, but it was hard with the soul bound thing messing his bird brain.
After a few minuets of fighting with his thoughts he gave in and let himself thing about Tango. He grabbed the shirt with his foot talons and then pressed the shirt to his face, it still smelled very much like Tango.
“Ah.. Tan-go..” He whimpered before he could stop himself. He kept moaning his name, unable to stop himself, and he bucked his hips almost uncontrollably.
He screamed Tango’s name as he came into his hand, breathing heavily as he came down from his high.
His ear feathers twitched when he heard a muffled moan and sat up very fast at the sound and looked over at Tango’s bed. Tango was sitting up staring over at Jimmy, his hand covering his mouth, and his other hand holding his own dick. The blazeborn’s eyes were wide and his tail kept twitching.
They both sat frozen for what felt like forever, before Tango cleared his throat.
“U-umm.. Hey, Jim..” Tango said awkwardly. “Sorry, I just heard you… And..” Tango swallowed. “I was going to ignore it but.. You m-moaned my name and..” Jimmy looked down realizing he shouldn’t have been so loud and careless. “Sorry, Tango.. It’s mating season for avian's and the soul bound is messing with me, making me think you’re my mate..”
Jimmy stayed looking down even when he heard the rustling of sheets and footsteps.
“So.. Your instincts are causing you to want to… mate with me..?” Tango asked. Jimmy simply nodded.
“Well… I don’t mind doing that with you..” Jimmy felt the blush that was already on his face redden even further.
“I mean.. If you’re ok with it..” Jimmy said as looked up at him. Tango sat on the bed in font of Jimmy and pulled him into a soft kiss. Tango’s lips were a lot warmer than a normal persons lips. He felt warm hands trail along his body, eventually resting on the side of Jimmy’s face and his hip pulling him closer, deepening the kiss.
At some point he felt teeth bite his bottom lip, Jimmy opened his mouth and Tango pushed his tongue in. The blazeborn's hand moved from his hip down to cup his balls and softly sqeezeing them making Jimmy moan into the kiss.
Eventually they both needed air so they pulled away from each other, a thin string of spit connecting there mouths'. Tango pulled of Jimmy’s shirt, and he kicked his pants the rest of the way off. Tango then pulled his black tank top, his pajama shorts, and underwear off, leaving them both naked. Tango put a hand on the avian’s chest.
“Before we start is there anything I should know?” Jimmy tilted his head at Tango. “What do you mean?”
“Anything I should avoid doing? Or anything you like? I like to make this as enjoyable as possible for who ever I’m doing this with.” Jimmy thought about that for a moment.
“You can touch my wings, just don’t pull any feathers. I like being choked, with hands or with.. You know..” He cleared his throat. “And… I have a bit of a… A sent kink..” He felt a little embarrassed saying that last part, but Tango smiled at him and nodded.
“Is that why you stole one of my shirts?” He said teasingly pointing at the pajama shirt, and Jimmy felt his face burn. But before he could look back at Tango, he felt teeth on his neck, then softer bites trailing up his neck and behind ear causing him to moan.
“Do you want to top, or should I?” Tango whispered in his ear, making Jimmy shudder.
“You, please.” Tango pushed him onto his back and trailed his hands all over Jimmy’s body, tracing every curve and line on his body.
Jimmy noticed that when Tango’s hand got to his wrists he traced his thumb over the faded scars on Jimmy’s wrists, but Jimmy forgot about that when he felt Tango line up with his hole before slowly pushing in.
When Tango was all the way in Jimmy felt a hand on his neck, sqeezing his neck, limiting his ability to breathe. Tango started very fast pace tearing an extremely load moan out of him. Tango’s hand moved away from his throat, and Jimmy gasped, and was followed by more moans.
Jimmy let his eyes slip shut, but almost as soon as he did something was pushed against his face. He grabbed it, keeping it pressed against his face, it was soft fabric, and smelled so much like Tango. He let out loud cries and illegible mumbles, taking deep breathes in between to smell the fabric he held.
“T-Tango!” He screamed. Hands brushed through the yellow feathers of his wings, grabbing feathers but not pulling them.
Tango’s thrusts got less often and a lot harder, before he pushed all the way in and came with a loud groan. Jimmy didn’t though. He was confused why Tango was trying to push farther in, when he felt something a little bigger push into him. Jimmy let out a startled squeak. An egg. Jimmy realized.
Another egg pushed in after the first, Tango ran a hand through Jimmy's hair. "A little more." He growled into Jimmy neck.
Jimmy wrapped his arms around the blazeborn's back as a third egg was pushed in. "One more.." Tango sounded a bit breathless. He dug his talons into Tango's back as the last one was pushed in.
When he was done Tango pulled out and pulled Jimmy into a hug.
“You did so good, Jim.” Tango sounded a bit tired.
“I didn’t know you could lay eggs.” Jimmy said, brushing his hand over where the eggs sat. Tango reached and began to play with the head of Jimmy’s dick.
“All male blazeborn's can. Don’t worry, they’ll despawn before anything living can grow.” That's good. Jimmy thought. He didn’t really want kids right now.
"I'll clean you up in the morning, but sleep for now." He trilled softly as he came into Tango’s hand.
“Thanks for helping me with that, Tango.” He mumbled as he fell asleep.
“Anytime Jim.”
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darkaviarymc · 4 months
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I kinda did a half-ass job explaining my views in the tags of that last post because, well, there's only so much you can concisely put into tags. So I'm just gonna make my own post.
I'm going to preface this by saying that you can do whatever you want forever and I'm not here to be the analysis police.
HOWEVER! I have Opinions and a right to voice them.
Grian is a very important, significant, and integral part of Scar's arc through the life series and vice versa. You cannot effectively discuss one without acknowledging the impact and involvement of the other. Even analyzing SL in a vacuum, Scar being forced to turn down Grian’s offer of friendship when both of them were desperate for alliances was a significant event for both Grian and Scar in the series. Desert Duo is important to Scar's win, and Scar's win is important to Desert Duo.
IT IS 100% GOOD AND CORRECT TO FACTOR THIS IN.
So I get it. I'm as feral a Desert Duo enjoyer as the next person. It's easy to get fixated on your favorite part, especially for the 90% of us who are some flavor of ADHD/Autistic. Hyperfixating is what we do best.
But so is overanalyzing.
SO THAT BEING SAID...
Scar is his own separate character away from Grian, and I think people centering Grian/Desert Duo when discussing Scar's win and journey through the Life Series to get there are doing a disservice to Scar's character and arc. Especially when people focus on Grian at the expense of Scar himself.
The loneliness of Magical Mountain and effectively losing Joel in LL was a stark contrast to 3L and forced Scar to learn self-sufficiency. The rivalry and subsequent tentative alliance with Team Rancher and the disruption to his alliance caused by BigB in DL forced Scar to rethink everything he thought he knew about how alliances worked. The family dynamic and watching Bdubs die in LimLife was the first time he’d ever had to truly grieve a perma-death, even if only for a short time before his own demise.
And Scar took all of this with him into SL. With the knowledge and experience he gained from everyone he'd crossed paths, hearts, and swords with, he made himself into the Scar we watched push that final success button.
He did that. He did that as all of his experience plus his own wit, tenacity, and resilience. He is far more than the sum of his parts, those parts being allies and enemies of every season.
And yes, one of those parts (and a very significant foundation piece at that) was Grian and that damn desert.
We are all shaped by our lived experiences and those we shared them with. But no person can be defined by a single thing. The cactus ring isn't the only thing that made Scar who he is. Grian isn't the only person who made Scar who he is. Magical Mountain, Joel, Jimmy, Tango, Cleo, Etho, Pearl, Bdubs, BigB, Gem... all of them contributed.
But more importantly, Scar made Scar who he is.
I think something ccScar says a lot can be applied to cScar here: life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. And it's how Scar reacted to the people and events that he encountered that won him Secret Life.
TL;DR: It's OK and even important to bring Grian into the discussion of Scar's arc. But it's a great disservice to Scar's character to make Grian his ENTIRE arc.
PS: Yeah ok fine I'll say it now: I THINK THEY FINALLY LEFT THAT DESERT!
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