Role!Swap Crossover: A Wandering Fighter Meets A Familiar Traveler Also Known As The "Let's Make Traveler!Isabeau

a stage of grief we never heard about before...

[Pt 1] [Pt 2] [Pt 3] [Pt 4] [Pt 5] [Pt 6] [Pt 7] [Don’t Let it Reach the Heart]

Doc and Xisuma despairingly endure the fallout of Etho’s violent boot up at the dawn of a new season—but only barely.

[This fic concludes the Destruction short comic series, which follows the chaos and panic that erupts after Doc and Xisuma try to get Etho back online at the start of Hermitcraft Season 9 after a very rough Season 8 finale leaves him glitched and broken. The comic is set to Joywave's Destruction, but this fic is inspired loosely by Overwerk and Jordan Macdonald’s Feedback and Bassea’s fever dreams / by your side.]

[I need more bugboy Tango. He's so beautifully unhinged, and I love it. This is my favorite hermitcraft au]

[ Thank you and I love him tooooo! Let me use this ask as an excuse to share this vision I had. Do you get the reference?]

looking through your docsuma tag.....love them. wish they had one more combined braincell so they could realize their feelings

HERE'S THE THING THOUGH OKAY the problem is actually that they're both too smart about their feelings. you've got me down a horrible rabbit hole okay let me do my best to explain without being a freak(reading this back over, i failed <3).

Xisuma takes longer to realize, first of all. He's got so much to deal with coming out of s8 and through the beginning of s9 that quite frankly he's really just grateful to have another friend he can count on and trust, and he's so consumed by getting the androids back in working order on top of his actual season 9 plans (on top of Cleo shoving self care down his throat and demanding that he make a better habit of taking breaks and taking care of himself, which takes a LONG time to adjust to, if it can be argued that he ever does) that he doesn't really realize he's developed feelings for Doc until his heart beats him over the head with it randomly one day. Probably sometime in S10. Even then, because of said busy-ness, I think Xisuma has a very hard time getting over the meta-ness of a creator developing feelings for his creation and the selfishness of that reality amidst all of his other responsibilities, and he is likely too scared/overwhelmed to entertain the thought of the feelings themselves, much less the likelihood of reciprocation or the fantasy of a relationship.

Doc, on the other hand, realizes he is developing feelings for Xisuma kind of steadily throughout the course of s9, since that's when they start spending so much more time together in the lab working on androids and improving android tech. As a general statement, Doc is very aware of himself, all of the time. His awareness of the self is very important to his sense of normalcy and control, so any time he experiences a new emotion, he notes it, logs it.

So, while he's very aware of the feelings he's developing as they happen, he doesn't quite put a name to it/realize what it actually is until he talks to Tango and Etho, funnily enough--It's definitely one of those moments where Tango or Etho or whomever are explaining their struggles with the physical manifestations of their... idk, lovesickness-- ie, thirium pump rate irregularities, temperature fluctuations, influxes of feelings they've described as a combination of longing, affection, want, happiness, yearning... and Doc, as the unbiased third party to put 2 and 2 together, explains to them that those are obvious signs of romantic attraction, only very belatedly realizing several hours later that those are the exact symptoms he hasn't quite been able to put a name to. Naturally he's exceptional about being quiet about this realization until he slips up during a maintenance check-in with Tango sometime after, who is not doing well in s9, and Tango (mid romance-ranting) catches the passing of a wistful expression on Doc's face and calls him out for "totally thinking about someone right now" (Teasing aside, tango promises to keep Doc's secret).

So, despite knowing well his feelings before X ever develops his own, Doc is actually very, very careful about them-- He knows more than anyone else how busy Xisuma is. He knows how stressed X is. He also knows Xisuma seems to be more knowledgeable when it comes to emotions and feelings, and despite the clear signs that Xisuma shows interest(?) in him as well, Doc can only assume there is a good reason nothing romantic has happened between them-- he trusts Xisuma more than anything, and he--firmly-- will not breach this trust by acting on something Xisuma does not seem to be ready for (or does not seem to want yet(yet?)). Therefore, Doc is patient, and even though as Season 10 develops and Doc becomes aware of the likelihood that Xisuma could return the feelings, he trusts Xisuma's emotional intuition more than anything. He, painfully, recognizes Xisuma's discomfort (or hesitation), concludes that there must be a missing variable in this equation he cannot grasp, and decides to let Xisuma lead because of it. He will not push farther than he feels Xisuma has.

It's definitely one of those "fell first" "fell harder" type situations I think. I'm normal about them. can you tell

the idea of isekai time loops is rlly good ive just decided

-

Martyn jerks awake, scream caught in his throat. He wobbles terribly in his hammock, then falls to the floor, gasping for breath.

Somewhere to his left, someone barks a startled laugh. “Woah, man,” Skizz says, voice a little shaky from the scare. “You good?”

“Yeah,” Martyn breathes, then gulps in air. “Yeah,” he repeats, steadier this time. “Sorry, dude. Nightmare, I guess.”

“Oh- I woulda’ woken you up if I’d known you were having a nightmare. You seemed like you needed the rest, so I figured I’d let you sleep in.” Skizz rubs at the back of his neck. “We’re late right now, actually.”

Martyn blinks. “For what?”

“The engagement party!” Skizz says. “For Prince Bdubs and his Majesty! Etho came in earlier to grab us, but I stayed back.”

“For me.”

“For you!” Skizz grins, and Martyn raises a brow. “No, really! I wasn’t slacking, I mean it!” A beat. “…It doesn’t matter. Let’s go get ready.”

-

Suiting up in armour is second nature enough that Martyn doesn’t really have to think about it. Thank whatever deities are up there for that, because Martyn needs to think.

Because, well, he’s back to the beginning of the game again, apparently. And it means all his work has failed.

On the other hand, it’s good that he’s back, because his last memory before an option box appeared before his eyes was Ren’s dead body in his arms.

His fingers freeze on a buckle at the thought.

Can he go through it again? Can he get Ren to love him again? Can he do that?

The idea is terrifying. That Ren might not even allow him to approach, and he’ll learn that Ren has died again and he won’t be able to do anything about it and-

“Suited up, dude?”

Martyn blinks. Turns to look at Skizz.

“Oh. Yeah! Yeah, lead the way.”

Skizz gives him a strange look, but starts out the door anyway. “Come on, man, let’s find Etho.”

-

Martyn didn’t manage to work up the nerve to speak to Cleo- not after what she’d done to take the Prince’s hand. He barely restrained himself from cussing her out, or crying.

He finished talking to her and then left as quickly as he could. He managed to bump into Scar again, and he was fine- cordial.

The moment he leaves the ballroom is a moment of relief.

And then he speaks:

“Knight? Have you seen the Prince?”

Ren.

“No,” Martyn says, voice shaky. “No, apologies, Mi’lord.”

And what a strange way to speak to him, after months of him being Ren, and familiar, and- and his.

“Ah… He’s later than I thought he would be,” Ren muses. “I suppose I still can’t go into the ballroom like this.”

“Or,” Martyn says before he can stop himself. “You don’t have to go into the ballroom at all.”

Too blunt, Martyn thinks. Too much- he doesn’t know you.

“Excuse me?” Ren asks, ears flicking up in surprise.

No where to go except forward, Martyn decides.

“The prince doesn’t… love you. He has half a dozen other suitors, and it’s going to break you to try to keep him.”

“I’m not- what are you implying?”

“I’m not implying anything, mi’lord,” Martyn says, steadying himself and staring Ren right in the eyes. “I’m saying exactly what I mean. You won’t like how it goes, to keep trying to chase after him if he tries to leave you.”

“Is that a threat?”

Ren’s jaw is clenched. His hands are hidden under his cloak. He’s ready to fight.

Martyn forces himself to relax. “No,” he says, soft. “Not a threat. It’s… a warning, I guess. I’ve seen how he acts. I’ve seen how- how you act. And I really do wish for you to be happy. And I don’t think he can do that for you.”

I think I can, rests under his tongue.

Martyn is slow as he holds his hand out. Ren doesn’t seem to even notice, as he places his own hand on top.

“I recognize that this is overstepping my station but… Whatever you choose, I would be willing to stand behind you. This was my advice, but if you continue to go after him, I could- I would help you. I pledge to keep you safe.”

As safe as I can.

Ren, dead in his arms. A box that asks him if he wants to start over. Waking up at the start of it, again.

It’s habitual - he’s done this to Ren, all the time, so it’s easy. He presses his lips to the back of Ren’s hand, then pulls back. “Thank you for the audience, Ren.”

Martyn turns and opens the door back to the ballroom and leaves.

(He doesn’t realize his slip up until ten minutes later, and hopes he hasn’t fucked his chance up terribly by being too familiar with the king.)

-

Ren sucks in a slow breath, cheeks red and warm in the darkness of the halls.

He feels like he’s burning.

He thinks he could get used to it.

The kiss is hot on the back of his gloved hand, and he rubs a thumb over it, tail wagging slowly behind him.

He didn’t trust it, at first. He doesn’t know if he should, even now.

But he does. Someone who knew his name, who used his name, who cared enough to press a kiss to his hand, when everyone else would avoid touching him like he was death.

Ren considers the knight’s words.

He could have been trying to flirt himself into royalty.

… Ren isn’t sure he would stop him if he kept trying.

(How could he not fall in love with him, every single time?)

IM GOING TO LOSE MY FUCKIJG MIND HELLO?????????????

THIS IS SO COOL. THIS IS SO SO SO COOL. OHH YOU UNDERSTOOD TJE ASSIGNMENT PERFECTLY FANTASTIC PERCECT MARKS EXTRA CREDIT

ohh there’s so many fun details in this. “i don’t think he can do that for you” (i think i can) is going to make me insane. i feel insane. that last line is going to make me cry actually. ohhh man. oh this is lovely. i absolutely adore this. i am reeling also thank you so much for writing this and sending it to me

[Pt 1] [Pt 2] [Pt 3] [Pt 4] [Pt 5] [Pt 6] [Pt 7] [Don’t Let it Reach the Heart]

Doc and Xisuma despairingly endure the fallout of Etho’s violent boot up at the dawn of a new season—but only barely.

[This fic concludes the Destruction short comic series, which follows the chaos and panic that erupts after Doc and Xisuma try to get Etho back online at the start of Hermitcraft Season 9 after a very rough Season 8 finale leaves him glitched and broken. The comic is set to Joywave's Destruction, but this fic is inspired loosely by Overwerk and Jordan Macdonald’s Feedback and Bassea’s fever dreams / by your side.]

Aight ranting time, can we appreciate how revolutionary Double Life was for the Life Series fandom.

The introduction of the soulbound mechanic introduced another potential method to interact and collaborate with different members of the community. In the previous canon Life Seires, most alliances were built of the members previously collaborating or being close friends (for majority of alliances, and this is not discounting that all the participants of the Life Series weren't already friends), but with the randomized pairing of Double Life, it forced new collaborations and interactions. Resulting in the mechanic transferring into the fandom's version of their Double Life, Woven Life.

Involving dozens of participants from authors, artists and animators such as rusty_courage, cherrifire, xmaruu, kitsuneisi, mudboowl etc.

(Non RPF)

But what stirred up the fandom into an absolute frenzy was the shipping potential of Double Life. We had Box Boys (Ren and BigB), the Homewreckers (Bdubs and Impulse) which were previously a ship in Hermitcraft and the Divorce Quartet (Pearl, Martyn, Scott and Cleo) which were pretty substanial new pairs but don't scale to the sheer amount of popularity the subsequent pairing recieved/s.

We got Scarlet Pearl which is not a ship but a fan favourite persona with her pairing with Tilly.

We got Boat Boys which are Joel and Etho which was a due no one initially expected but blew up to the fascinating dynamic they had.

Then we got Desert Duo again after the escapades of Third Life which produced lore upon lore of angst and tension which further fueled the shipping train for Scarian.

And finally we got the Ranchers, Team Ranchers or Rancher Duo consisting of Tango and Jimmy. Another pair the fandom did not expect but are instantly attached to. The amount of potential and ideas from this duo grew in number from their light-hearted dynamic to the angsty moments in the subsequent sessions was intense. Lore-wise, their pairings were eventually reunited during the Hermits x Empires Crossover in Season 9.

So basically Double Life was big for the Life Series fandom.

Theories and Headcannons Pt. 19

So the ore snatcher has struck again in Doc's latest Hermitcraft episode (24) during his vacation in France revealing the peace treaty and return of the stolen deepslate diamond ores were a hoax implanted by an impersonating hermit as a way to coax Doc from flooding the whole world of Hermitcraft Season 10.

So this concludes that JoeHill wasn't the intitial or prime as the "true" ore snatcher but a acquaintance or assistant to the original ore snatcher. Leaving three signs as final goodbye message to Doc after returing the stole deepslate ore thanking him for the fun from the conducted shenanigans.

So the signs were crafted from warped wood stating :

I return from holidays and find imposters $

Sorry GOAT... We put them back. Thank you for the fun!

Laters GOAT. I have new targets now $

So with this new revelation of information there's still two main question unanswered that are, who is/are the ore snatcher and who are they aiming for next?

From the evidence gathered, in Sign 2 it used the pronoun of "we" compared to the other adjecent signs using "I" so this would suggest that the ore snatcher is an overmind of sorts. Controlling and manipulating others as a leader. With the previous peace treaty, that would mean as a futile, last ditch effort to halt Doc's efforts to flood the server was an impulsive move made by one of the employers without the Ore snatcher's permission. Effectively JoeHills could've been one of the minions commissioned or ordered to act as a punching bag to Doc's wrath.

So who is the leader or the Ore snatcher? Leaeding speculations and Doc conclude that Cub may be the man behind the escapades due to his nature of being the Jingler. But previous signs placed in the stall have also being signed by $, concluding that the leader would have been the face of the Ore Snatchers and the others as backups or assistants. Another leading clue is in Sign 1, "I return from holidays" but I have no clue who have returned from their break besides Doc. So that question still remains a mystery.

Another inquiry would be who would be the next target(s) for the Ore Snatchers? The use of plurals could mean these series of events would be already preplanned or loosely planned like guidelines in a story. But who knows. Maybe the next big technical redstone project would be the next target of the Ore Snatchers.

your not gonna the next theories or headcannons until next week cause HA procrastination struck again

*taps on window glass* pspsps hi! so a ycao sequel dropped a few days ago

WHAT!!!!!!!!