A collection of stories, drabbles and plot bunnies.
Writing and Art Sideblog of Kneoria aka Erif_Of_Taloma or just Min.
I welcome unsolicited art, podfics & translations of my works, just yaknow send me a note or sommat about it.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
An AO3 account is required to read Magical Emergencies of the Big Moon Variety: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52460020/
Have you read Magical Emergencies of the Big Moon Variety (Hermitcraft)?
I have read it
I haven't read it, but I plan to now
I haven't read it, but I'm in the fandom
I haven't read it, but I'm not in the fandom
Voting ended onJan 31, 2025
Summary:
Not everyone adjusts well to being unceremoniously ejected from a collective simulation. Even if it only lasted for approximately 6 months ship time, it certainly felt a lot longer. Some of the adjustments that need to be made are minor in nature. Others... are a bit more serious and require outside assistance which you'd think would be hard to come by in space.
There is something about the path. It beckons. It calls. I could not begin to explain why. There is nothing remarkable about it. All it is is a single step. A grey rectangle. A concrete box. One step. Followed by another. and then another after that.
but still it sings. and I look. I am seeking, trying to see where the path may go. For a moment I can see others. I dont know how long they waited. If they waited at all. For unlike me they are all walking. One step at a time. Through buildings where cars cause the wind to roar where they speed past. Through buildings where the only light is the one floating above their palm. Through buildings where the only light is the multitude of candles someone else lit, lighting the way afore them. Through water, through fire, through forest and field. Across chasms and oceans and endless plains. Through caverns, shaped either by hand or forces greater. Across bodies, bridges, planks and vines.
I blink, and they change. Theyre machine, contributing to a whole. Theyre a lil mushroom. They're just some guy. Theyre part of a community bringing back spoils. Theyre alone, as a result of their actions. Theyre just a individual in a crowd of people like them. Theyre chasing someone, they're being escorted, theyre walking side by side with a companion. Theyre encountering a challenge, be it a fight, chains, a narrow bit of the path. Theyre enjoying the serenity of the world around them, the community they're apart of, a day like any other. Theyre dreading the monster they can see in the distance and they cannot shake the feeling that it knows that theyre there. Theyre machine, mushroom, human, flame, weasel, beetle, mage, knight, soldier, sailors dead and they're gone.
They've left.
I cannot see them anymore. theyve turned a corner, gone where I cant follow.
Team is mostly normal people, who are just fine with +anima
Vin is a Hawk +Anima and uses this to get places and help out with busts and such. His +anima are on shoulder blades, and he got them when he was in his early teens
Ezra is the still the sneaky undercover man and is also an +anima, specifically an iriomote cat, but is very private about this factoid, as he does not remember how he became a +anima, but suspects it has to do with why he knows nothing about his father. He has had his +anima since he was about 3 and cannot remember being anything but, and is able to completely control his +anima to the point that he can go from human into animal form and any combination in between. His +anima is located on the tops of his feet, more towards the ankle.Ā
The rest of the team discovers Ezra is an +anima when a joint bust goes wrong and Ezra vanishes, only to find a strange injured cat at someones house. Said member of team takes care of the cat for a few days while the rest of the team goes ballistic trying to find ezra. During this time, the cat is healing and is almost completely healed when the group goes to meet at Chrisās ranch and the cat decides to tag along. Someone, (Nathan or Josiah) recognizes the cat, and everyone is like, what is that animal doing here, but decided to start figuring out what to do with Ezraās disappearance and how the other agency is treating it, because of the accusations from the FBI. The cat wanders off to apparently explore, just after the team starts postulating what could have happened because none of the team believes Ezra betrayed them, when Ezra walks in wearing comfortable but rather loose clothing that are still somehow clearly his. Everyone is elated until JD notices that Ezra is hurt, and Buck wonders aloud how he got there when he was clearly barefoot, yet not bleeding and where did the cat go? Vin immediately gets it, cause he too is an +anima, and Ezra explains to the best of his abilities.
The group, relived to have their member back, immediately start trying to figure out how to get the dealer who was supplying the group Ezra had infiltrated who also managed to escape and save ezraās rep. It takes a little bit of effort but they manage it eventually.Ā
I want a fic where everyone in xmen is a few years older and events happen later. bobby is adopted, knows it, but his parents donāt know that he does so when the group leaves the school he suggests that they go visit his twin, Steve Jinks, who knows heās adopted cause his mum told him, in North Dakota for a bit and the following changing of the movie from there.
Iām Bored and Anxious So I Slapped Together a List of Fan Fic Writer Asks
1. Share a song that makes you think of [fic title]
2. Do you read/reread your own fics?
3. Whatās your favorite fic that youāve written?
4. How many WIPs do you have right now?
5. Whatās a fic idea youāve had that you will never write?
6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?
7. How many ideas for fics do you have right now?
8. What project(s) are you currently working on?
9. Do you write every day? If you wrote today, share a sentence of what youāve written!
10. Is there a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?
11. Do you have specific playlists for writing fics?
12. Do you have a playlist for your current WIP(s)? Share it!
13. How much planning do you do before writing?
14. If you could see one of your fics adapted into a visual medium, such as comic or film, which fan fic would you pick?
15. How do you come up with titles for your fics/chapters?
16. At what point in the process do you come up with titles?
17. Whatās something youāve learned about while doing research for a fic?
18. Whatās one of your favorite lines youāve written in a fic?
19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.
20. Whatās a favorite title for a fic youāve written?
21. Have you ever deleted an entire scene after spending hours laboring over it? If so, why?
22. Do you know how your fic will end before you start writing?
23. How do you choose where to end a chapter (if you have multi-chapter works)?
24. Share a moodboard for (one of) your current WIP(s).
25. Have you ever upset yourself with your own writing?
26. Is there something youāve written that you would never want your family to see?
27. Is there a fic you were nervous to post/share? Why?
28. Have you ever tagged a fic āDead Dove: Do Not Eatā?
29. Share a bit from a fic youāll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. (If you donāt have either, just share a random fic idea you have that you donāt plan on getting to.)
30. Ask anything!
We're running an interest check for a Hermitcraft tarot card zine titled, "The Hermit Arcana"! This project would be dedicated to creating a series of tarot cards featuring the hermits, their builds, iconic moments/arcs, and more! Ideally this means making all 78 tarot cards, but that entirely depends on the interest of the involved artists and, of course, you!
Here's our interest form! If you'd take a second to fill it out, it would be greatly appreciated:
This check is to gauge interest in The Hermit Arcana: A Hermitcraft Tarot Card Zine! As the name suggests, this project would work towards c
Asks are also open for anyone seeking more info about the concept! Thanks for reading :)
Watching a streamer I like compose music, and its paintin such a picture in my head I wanted to save it.
Magenta fades into peach into pale pink into blue as the clouds whisp in. They dont roll, but start as light little whispy things that just chase each other across the early mornin sky colliding until they build up into a dusky puffy cloud that hides the pink behind it, causing the surrounding sky to pale further in comparison as the cloud grows darker and whisps out, spreadin slightly as it dissipates and a light sprinkle early mornin sunshower starts. the edge of the large cloud fuzzes and dissipates, with a whispy playful nature loosing its clean edge as the rain slowly falls on coastal scrub mountains, bringing for the scent of creosote, sage and petrichor washing away the dust and enhancing the various subtle shades of green found in the desert from the waxy evergreen of some of the shrubs to the velvet grey green of the sagebrush, to the yellow green and cream of the yucca and the soft blue green of a succulent. The dirt beneath slowly drinking in the winter rain, revealing all of the different shades of brown from a deep dark grey that turns into the best kind of mud to play in, to a rich red brown full of clay, to a sparkling pale tan as water runs down a rock face accenting the quartz and mica, causing them to sparkle in the sun. and above it all, the clouds continue to chase and build and spread across the sky, over the land, bringing depth to a new day.
18.How similar are the things you enjoy writing to the things you enjoy reading?
19.Do you tend to take into account hybrid characteristics (avian, enderman hybrid, dragon hybrid, etc) when you are writing cubitos?
20.Which project have you poured so much of yourself into that it resembles more an original work than a derivative mcyt work?
21.What cubito have you stared from afar like a weird bug and thought "If I knew what was up with you or your world I'd try writing for you"?
22.Any popular fanfic you heard a lot of buzz around and thought "eh it's fine" just to read it later and decide "oh it does deserve all the hype it gets!"
23.What work of yours would you like to have the biggest impact on the fandom?
24.What work would you like to talk more about?
25.What works and/or authors in the fandom do you recommend?
PKMDSky Body Swap - As much of it as i have, which isnt much at all and entirely unedited.
Nanu sighed as he stared at the child, who remained annoyingly still under the sheets of the hospital bed. Still out cold and only the persistent metronome of the heart monitor indicated that all was well. Or, as well as it could be given that there was a child unconscious in a hospital bed.
The kid was an enigma. He'd been receiving reports for months about them, the petty theft and the minor vandalism they had been causing. When he had asked around, no one claimed to know them. No name, no parents, or where they had come from. No one he had talked to could even remember having heard the kid speak. It was as if they had simply appeared, fully formed, and started causing trouble. Slightly Feral were the words someone had used, and they hadnt been exactly wrong. The Kid had been living in the woods, surviving primarily off of a small stash of berries, fruits, and a large amount of poke beans of all things, which had matched with the reports of the things that had been stolen. He had intended on bribing the kid with food to stop stealing, but then this happened.
It had been years since he had seen an Ultra Beast and he had not been prepared for the reminder of his old life when the kid had scrambled out of the bushes, mimicking a pokemon's cry and very clearly trying to lead UB-01 away from something. What, he didnt know, as the kid, triumphant in their success had charged the damn thing. It had been slightly awkward to watch, foolishly brave, stumbling and uncoordinated as if the kid wasnt entirely sure where their limbs ended. And whatever they had been trying to lead the Ultra Beast away from had been important enough to try to tackle what most reasonable people would consider a monster. And then, to his horror, the kid missed. Overshot really, and then tumbled over the roads edge and down the mountainside, assisted along by a single hit from the Beastie. It was that part that finally snapped him out of his shock induced stupor. He would not let another person die on his watch. Not again.
He still wasn't sure how exactly he did it, but the Symbiont was gone, his pokemon were fine and he had managed to get the kid to the hospital. And now it was a waiting game. The kid would be fine. He just had to keep telling himself that and wait. He hoped to hell they had believed him about the silica spines and the neurotoxin they normally contained. The kid would be fine, he repeated to himself again, tilting his head back to rest against the wall. They'd be just fine.
Some unknowable amount of time later, the door to the room opened with a soft click and Nanu blearily opened an eye. "Hey Ace. Whatcha got there?"
"Uncle Nanu!" Acerola chirped, arms cradling something. "I found her!"
"Found who?"
"The girl who was screaming mad"
"Ace."
"Yeah?"
"What girl are you talking about?"
"The one who's been crying in my dreams! She needed help cause she got lost and separated from her partner!"
"Ah. You found her?"
"Mmhm"
"And got her back to her friend?"
"Im working on that part!"
Nanu opened both eyes to look at his adoptive niece. "Then where is she?" No answer was given, and instead Acerola held out the pokemon she had been cradling towards him, hands positioned securely under the little foxes front legs. Brown eyes peered up at him from beneath slightly matted golden orange fur and a fan like tail hung loosely
"Thats not a girl, thats a Vulpix." Acerola simply stared at him apparently not comprehending and Nanu continued. "A Kantonian Vulpix."
"Is that why shes orange?"
"Yeah. That would be why she's orange. But why did you bring her here?"
"I just told you! Cause she got lost! She was looking for her partner who separated from her to make the weird Frillish stop attacking them."
Nanu blinked. He could have sworn he misheard that. "Ace, is the lost girl a vulpix?"
Vaguely invited to play by @norcumii who simply tagged anyone who wanted to play. and I do? Maybe? Idk, if i put it out there, maybe Ill finish em?
Rules: In a new post, post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.
GS 1.2 e1
James/Clint Soulmate Thing
Stardew Bunny
HSR plotbunny
PKMDESky Aftermath - Galar
PKMDESky Body Swap
We'll Meet Again
Impact
Building Up, Digging Down
PKMDESky Alt
PKMDESky Alt 2
WATO - Dressrosa
Yeah... I think thats all of em right now. I too suppose I will tag whoever wants to do this but also specifically @k2ntwo
Tagged by @bluemaskedkarma, these are pulled from my most recent attempt at housecleaning files, by which I mean Iām trying to tackle older projects like the Bingo card I have or Applesā sub!Jango collection.
Nothing of the main stuff because I have to go to other locations to hunt that down and I am out of spoons.
Rules: In a new post, post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.
Summary: Not everyone adjusts well to being unceremoniously ejected from a collective simulation. Even if it only lasted for approximately 6 months ship time, it certainly felt a lot longer. Some of the adjustments that need to be made are minor in nature. Othersā¦ are a bit more serious and require outside assistance which youd think would be hard to come by in space.
Look familiar? Unedited Pt 1, Unedited Pt 2,
Read the edited version on AO3
Tango spread his fingers against the glass his hand flexing absently as he greedily drank in the sights of his friends and family. He couldnāt tell if the relief that he was feeling was from the simple joy that his family were all in fact alive and in, uh, various states of wellness or from the more selfish realization that he hadnāt failed in his quest to blow up the moon. Ā The simulation had ended quite abruptly, moments before moon-fall. Ā If Tango had to guess, the resulting cataclysm had catapulted them back into their bodies and awareness of the real world without so much as a by your leave. From his vantage point it was very obvious that some of them had not handled the transition well at all.Ā
His eyes drifted down the line of Hermits as they all waited, with varying levels of patience, for the Pods to finish draining and equalize to the internal atmosphere of the Hermitheius. Bdubs was pressed up against the glass, as close as he could get to the center of the room and by default the rest of the hermits, eyes wider than normal. Their gazes met and Bdubsā grin nearly split his face in two, eyes watering. Tango flashed him a quick smirk and a thumbs up. His focus wandered again, this time seeking out the third member of their trio. Keralis was sitting peacefully on the floor of his own pod making faces at XB, but he offered a wave of his own when Tango managed to catch his eye. Basemates accounted for, Tango turned his attention to the rest of his friends. From where he was already looking, it was easiest to find Zedaph, skipping over and noting a few empty pods in the process. Heād been a bit concerned for Zed, isolated as he had been for the entirety of the simulation but there was no way to tell what was going through his buddyās head normally let alone right now. In fact, Zed was still sitting back to the room and staring out the window closest to his pod into the void of space, just as he had been since Tango had awakened.
A fine mist of condensation floated across the room before dissipating. Tango traced it to its source finding what looked like a joyous cacophony of noise as Bdubsā upon release from his pod had launched himself into the arms of a mildly surprised Etho. Tango was unsure exactly why as he had spotted the other man hovering near Bdubs pod for as long as he had been aware.Ā Etho hadn't been the only one present either, even if he was the only one currently lingering. Iskall, Stress, Wels and TFC had left the simulation early and Tango had seen all of them as they wandered through, checking in on everyone before wandering off again. Wels had even stopped to chat when Tango had waived him down while waiting for his pod to finish draining.
It was hard to communicate through glass without communicators but luckily his pantomimes and pidgin sign language had been fairly easy to understand. At least Wels had gotten the gist of what Tango wanted to know, and had been fairly obliging in his explanations. The five hermits who had ended up leaving the simulation early had simply opted to remain out of the simulation rather than constantly hopping back in and out again during the long trip to Season 8. Heād also managed to convey that he and Stress had had been working on a project with Iskall. It was when Renbob had wandered through that Wels had left to chase the hippie back to his bed. Tango wasnāt put off by the abrupt ending to their acted out conversation. Earlier Wels had indicated that both Renbob and the Goatfather had worked themselves to exhaustion trying to make sure that Boatem had made it out safely as they had been last group to get booted. It had been a much more complicated and trying process than anyone had been prepared for and none of them were sure exactly where the problem had originated. Something, something, resetting respawns, sleep deprivation and maybe the void but there wasn't much of a chance for any elaboration before Wels darted off to play nurse in shining armor.
Even with the heads up, Tango would have probably been the most concerned about the members of Boatem. Pearl had swum to the top of her half-drained pod and was floating on her back, legs pressed up against the glass and watching the room upside down seemingly giggling at random. Scar seemed entirely unperturbed and unphased as he waited for his pod to drain, not that he was paying any attention to the rest of the group. Instead, he was sitting cattywampus on the floor of his pod, legs stretched out in front of him, cooing at Jelly who was batting ineffectually at his fingers through the glass. Mumbo on the other hand was standing straight up in the dead center of his pod, nervously running his hands through his hair and avoiding all eye contact despite the fact that he couldnāt seem to stop glancing around at all the people in the room with the exception of Grian. Speaking of Grian, he was also standing in the center of his pod, blank and expressionless, seemingly staring through everything but still watching it all. It was rather eerie and reminded Tango uncomfortably of how Grian had been when he had first joined their merry band of misfits. Still, that was a problem for another time and quite possibly another bunch of hermits. Tango was going to have his hands full as it was, trying to help Zed who was still staring out the window; and that didnāt even account for Impulse.
Out of everyone, it was Impulse who was concerning Tango the most not that he could put his finger on what exactly was sending up the alarm bells. He didnāt look worse off than anyone else in Boatem sitting as he was on the far side of his pod. His buddy was slouched slightly with his back against the glass and one arm loosely resting on a bent knee. From where he was across the room, it was impossible to make out any sort of expression on Impulseās face but from how it rested against the glass, turned upwards and eyes closed it was probably safe to assume that there wasnāt one.
Tango frowned slightly, as he made eye contact with Jevin and gestured over at Impulse. Jevin thankfully, got the picture and after a moment put his hands together on one side of his tilted head in a pantomime of sleep. Tango let out a sigh of relief but his worry did not abate and he continued to stare. While he wanted his buddy to get some much-needed rest, really Mumbo how was sleep deprivation supposed to help prevent Moon Big at all, Devs sometimes Boatem made him despair, something was still wrong. Something justā¦ felt off. He could feel it in his bones, as Impulse would say. Still, he couldnāt put his finger on what exactly it was.
Another puff of condensation due to the release of pressurized air floated through the room. Another Hermitās pod had finished equalizing. Probably Cub? Tango glanced over, and yep, that was definitely Cub, sharp teeth, tattered wings and overly blue eyes and all, moving as if he was expecting there to be simultaneously more and less gravity than there actually was. That was certainly interesting. Hadnāt Cub also attempted to escape Moon-fall by going to space? Thoughts wandering, Tango jumped when his gaze returned to Impulse only to find one cracked eye blearily peering at him.
Tango couldnāt help himself as he threw his arms up and cheered, āIMPULSE! Hey! There you are!ā
There was no response, not that Tango had expected one. He knew Impulse wouldnāt be able to hear him but still a wave or something would have been nice. His arms fell as Impulse continued to stare, not at him but through him, before the heavily lidded eyelid slid shut.
āImpy?ā Tango said, mainly for his own benifit.
Both eyes opened this time. Had he not been so worried, Tango would have lost it laughing. Trust Impulseās hatred of that nickname to cause a reaction even when the other couldnāt hear it. Tango didnāt relish the hilarity of that for very long however, as Impulseās head dropped ever so slightly, the lights of the room hitting at exactly the right angle for him to catch an unobstructed view of eyeshine from not normally yellow glassy eyes.
Oh.
That.
That was bad.
That was so very very bad.
āImpy?ā he tried again mentally cursing the slowness of the tubeās equalization cycle, as he caught his buddy's gaze.
One eye closed, followed by the other before opening again, one after the other in a strange facsimile of a blink. That was weird, even by his standards and the feeling that something was wrong only grew. But Hey! He definitely, somehow, had Impulseās attention. Because that? That was a response. It had to be. Tango watched as Impulse blinked, once more, this time a lot closer together and looking a lot more like normal. Progress!
āCāmon Impy!ā Tango crooned. Heād take Impulse being annoyed with him if he could actually get a coherent response. āUp an attem buddy! You can do it!ā
Impulse could not in fact do it, and Tango watched in horror as Impulseās eyes closed and he listed sideways, sliding down the glass and smashing his face on the floor of his pod.
Chapter 2: Simulations still have Consequences - Now on AO3
Itās a stinging ache in his hand that brings him back to himself. Tango blinks, absently notices that there is the taste of ash in his mouth along with a sharp pain in his throat.Ā Also a slight ache in his wrist, a wet pain in his knuckles and a mild headache now that he is thinking about it. He blinks again. Heās lost time, but he doesn't know how much or why. Ā There are more empty tubes than there were before and no one is around in the central bay which means getting everyone else out has been put on pause for a moment because....
He goes down the line. Ah. Doc's out. And given the number of prosthetics and other cybernetics the man has? Well, the hermits on welcoming duty are probably having a time of it wrangling the good doctor away from his lab and or into medical. Depending. Ok. So, he's lost some time, but not as much as he thought but why did he?
Frantic motion draws his eye and he turns slightly to see Jevin waving at him. Confused he waves back. Jevin goes formless for a moment, slumping slightly before literally pulling himself back together. Itās... relief? Tango thinks as he watches Jev pantomime breathing at him. Which is good if a bit weird, given that Jevin is quite literally a slime and breaths through diffusion and not with lungs on account of not having any? Tango himself is breathing normally, despite the weird taste in his mouth and the pain in his throat.
He sees the moment that Jevin realizes that heās not comprehending. The slime pulls in on himself condensing ever so slightly before wibbling and pointing to the pod kitty-cornered from him. The pod where all Tango can see is someoneās back from where they're splayed-out face down on the floor.
Short term memory kicks in. Ā It hits him.
Impulse.
Impulse collapsed.
Impulse collapsed and Tango is trapped. He's stuck waiting for his tube to depressurize and THERE ARE NO HERMITS OUTSIDE THE PODS IN THE MAIN BAY.
He breaths in, breaths out, ignores the little jet of flame that escapes through his clenched teeth. Jevin clearly sees it and pushes himself closer to the glass, watching unblinking with unmistakable worry.
Ah. Ok. That's what happened last time. He lost his cool, lost control, and probably burned off the extra oxygen in his pod. Right. That tracks. It also explains his sore throat and mild headache. He breaths in again, holds it, and exhales a long steady stream that this time, thankfully, comes out flameless.
He points at Impulseās pod, cocks his head in question, and makes exaggerated breathing motions. Jevin nods and flashes him a thumbs up.
Right. Ok. He runs his clawed through filamentous blond hair, before tugging slightly on the strands as he thinks. Impulse will be fine, he tells himself. He's breathing normally, or so Tango is choosing to believe. Jevin would...wellā¦probably notice if he wasn't. Hopefully.Ā Maybe?Ā Dang it, there has got to be something that he can do other than just waiting.Ā
Staring vacantly across the room Tango starts mentally running through his options, discarding most of them just as quickly as he thinks of them.Ā His eyes suddenly refocus on Impulse's Pod. Had Impulse moved? Ā Tango couldnāt be sure. Was what he thought he saw just the product of wishful thinking? No. There it was again. That was definitely movement. Tango held his breath and leaned forward, hoping that it was Impulse pushing himself upright before jumping back as far as the pod would allow. Ā The back of Impulse's shirt started writhing and roiling as if something was trapped and trying to escape. Had Impulse somehow managed to pick up a bit of the void?Ā Was that even possible?
He waved at Jevin and pointed at Impulses pod, head cocked in a questioning matter. The shrug and mildly disturbed look he got in response did not fill him with confidence in the slightest.
As suddenly as it started, the movement stopped. Tango held his breath. One, two, three... And when nothing happened, he let it out. Clearly whatever that had been, it was over. Unfortunately, it being over didn't seem to be bringing Impulse any relief however. Tango winced in sympathy as Impulse endured a full body shudder before rolling over, seemingly curled over his knees in discomfort or pain. The entire thing was hard to watch and Tango laid his hand upon the glass wishing yet again that he could do something.
His hand clenched reflexively as he observed Impulseās suffering through yet another spasm.Ā He now could see a visible wet patch spreading on Impulseās back. A glossy black mass oozed out from under, or was it through, the shirt. It sat there mostly contained before it ungulated violently, throwing itself outwards, shredding the shirt in the process.Ā It collided against the walls of the glass tube with, what was probably audible in the main bay, a wet squelchy thud. The mass rose up and strained against the glass and hung suspended for a moment before collapsing inwards completely hiding Impulse from view.
Startled red eyes met his shocked black ones and Tango didn't need to be able to hear to hear Jevin's startled exclamation of "What in the Hels?"
The black mass obscuring Impulse from view surged upwards yet again, this time punching through the glass as if it were mere paper. Glass and warped copper framing seemed to hang suspended in the air as time seemed to crawl to a stop.Ā Tango was frozen in place as he watched the scene advance in fits and starts like bad stop-motion animation. Ā The dark mass continued to expand upwards. Flashes of light caught and rebounded off of the slowly falling shards of glass reminiscent of torchlight on deepslate diamond ore or nether stars on black concrete. Despite being unable to hear through the tube Tangoās mind conjured the sound of distorted chimes as fragmented metal and glass hit the grating on the floor one by one.
Jerkily the darkness expanded and finally seemed to reach its fullest extent.Ā It unfurled from its previous amorphous mass to reveal, not some sort of void parasite, but instead a pair of massive wings. The wings flexed slightly into a stretch of some sort. The odd angle and lighting of the room highlighted wing bones of gold tipped with gilded claws and dark purple swirling patterns within the wing membrane. Tango could only stare in awe.Ā While he knew Impulse had wings, heād never seen them. Not like this. In fact, he couldnāt recall when he had last seen Impulse's wings at all.
Suddenly, time seemed to snap back to normal like a broken tripwire. Everything came crashing down all at once to the floor; glass, metal, wings and all. Tango stared, uncomprehending as he watched the wings falling, heading straight for the jagged edges remaining on the broken pod. To his horror there was no visible attempt at all from Impulse to control their descent.
Tango slammed his hand down on the emergency release button, clutching the console as his legs threatened to give out under him. He didnāt know if he had made it in time, or how he had managed to get out of his pod in the first place. The new ache in his knuckles gave him some idea about that, however. Ā He turned, relived to see that his not at all thought out action had in fact worked. The broken remains of Impulseās pod were receding into the floor with a grinding whine.
The rest of Hermits sat or stumbled out of their own pod ports as the emergency release sequence continued. Ā He didnāt pay much attention, certain that they would be able to get his, or someone elseās, attention if another medical emergency occurred.Ā Ignoring the noises as the pods released and retracted he pushed forwards, limping towards Impulseās pod.
Distracted as he was by examining what he could see of Impulseās wings for punctures and tears, Tango completely missed stepping over the lip of the pod dock and pitched forward with a startled noise. Only a quick twist prevented him from landing atop his buddy. Ā Luckily now that he was down on the floor it was Ā the work of a moment to brace Impulse's head with his legs while using his clawed fingers to press themselves against Impulseās neck, just below his pointier than normal ears.
He waited, a moment, now two. There was nothing, nothing at all that he could feel under his fingers. Not even the up down motions to indicate breathing. And then, Impulse let out an audible whimper despite the clear lack of a pulse.Ā He pushed his head into Tango's hand and Tango wishes for an extra hand so he could smack himself in the face. Right. Ok. Nonstandard biology. He manages to shift his position slightly, detaching his shirt from Impulseās horns, before moving his hand to the middle of Impulse's back, right between the wings. He waits, steadying his own breathing as he focuses on the movement under his hands. There. Breathing. Andā¦ Thud-bump. Thud-bump. Thud-bump. Heartbeat. Faster than normal, but steady. Breathing itself is also shallow, but unobstructed and regular and Tango hisses out a sigh of relief. Right. Now that heās found it he can monitor the pattern.
"That sounds promising, dude." Comes Jevin's voice from right beside him and Tango jumps. Or well as much as he can situated as he is letting out a splutter of sounds. He twists slightly, and there Jevin is, standing at the lip of the pod dock. "Sorry. Impulse alright?"
Tango shrugs and moves his hand from Impulseās head, sketching a couple of glyphs into the air. "Probably not?" he offers as orange and blue sparks follow his fingertips forming two disconnected corners that he separates with a quick flick. He waits for the parallel lines to start to form between them before he continues. "I mean, heās breathing and his heart rate is steady even if itās faster than a one tick pulse but this really isn't normal so clearly somethings wrong"
"No kidding."
There's a pause and when nothing more seems forthcoming Tango's attention returns to the floating design in front of him and the words spilling across it, scrolling almost faster than he can read them.
"...thought he was human." someone else murmurs from behind him and Tango snorts at that.
"Impy? Human? Well he does like his glamours." He says offhandedly then freezes. Glamours. Shit. Maybe? And scrolls back several lines. "Someone call Skizz." he demands, frantically scanning the code in front of him, all humor gone from his voice.
"Iām on it" another voice says
Tango does not pay attention as he rereads that last line of code. He vaguely notices a gentle be-doo-do be-doo-do comes from behind him, getting closer. Ā Tango still isnāt really paying attention, focusing instead on Impulse's spine as he gently taps down it.Ā He swears slightly as pale lavender and gold glyphs glimmer into existence. They look ragged and worn down. None of them appear to be at full strength with a few only barely visible. Some of the glyphs that Tango knows Impulse should have are either shattered or have disappeared entirely.Ā Thatās clearly not good. Ā As he watches, another fades out, then breaks with a sort of audible snap, and Tango can feel Impulse's jaw start to rearrange itself from where its pressed against his leg. Oh Crap!
Tango breaths in then breaths out a steady stream of white blue flame. He reaches into the conflagration and twists a thread free and looks at it for a moment "Devs beyond I hope this works" he mutters and brings it down, touching it to the weakest of the glyphs. Blue white meets gold, and the entire line flares. It pulses, once, twice as the lilac that should be royal purple is overwhelmed and replaced but now a regularly flickering blue as Tango feeds more of the fire woven thread into it.
It seems his action was just in time too, as a number on the main display for Impulse ticks over to zero.Ā
Suddenly an excited "PERALIEPOP" sounds right next to his ear. Ā "Whazzup Buddeh?"
"Skizz." Tango all but growls cutting off any response Pearl, of course its Pearl, might give.
"Top?" comes the confused voice of Skizzleman from the comm next to him.
"Can you call Impulse?" He asks, watching the depleted number, waiting, hoping that it'll tick up.
"Dippledop? Sure, why? Isn't he with you?"
"Nonono, I mean Call Impulse," he says, emphasizing the last two words.
He can almost hear Skizzleman's blink before what he has asked for clicks, "OH! Oh. Yeah. What's wrong with Professor Dippledop?"
"Best guess? Cascading Glamour failure? With," he squints at the lines he'd highlighted, "Aural exhaustion and a compounding geas? I think? I'm not fluent in this, man. His glyphs and mine are very, very different things."
"But are they holding?" Skizz asks over what sounds like chests or shulkers being flung open.
"No. I'm holding them for him. He's out, Skizz," Tango mutters.
Tango breathes a surreptitious sigh of relief as the number finally starts to tick upwards.
"Right." The sounds of more shuffling comes over the line. "Ok. Iāve got everything. Give me 5 minutes to set up then drop your hold, unless you wanna come with him."
"Canāt. Someone's gonna have to summonificate him to season 8 when we get there."
"Gotcha, gotcha buddy. Right, set a timer, I'm doing this on the dot, Catch ya later Pop n Top."
There was a click as the call disconnected and Tango took another glance at the glyphs on Impulse's back. They were pulsing now, in time with the slowing heartbeat.
"Ok." he announced to the room at large, "Now he'll be Ok." he looked up at the crowd of hermits who had gathered around him. "Or he will in 5 minutes. No one suffering decomp sickness? I didnāt bother to check what the levels were at before I hit the release."
"I've set a timer," Said Pearl. "And we're fine, but you need some bandages, mate"
Tango blinked at her, "What?"
"I got it," said Zed pushing through a group of hermits carrying a small white box.
"But I'm fine?" Tango protested as Jevin gestured towards his foot.
"You're really not dude, you left a trail."
"I left a what?"
Jevin doesnāt answer, just gestures. Tango looks back at the rest of the bay. Itās more of a mess than he realized. Shards of metal and glass are scattered across the room, radiating outwards not only from Impulse's pod but also from his own. A strange colored goopy trail of footprints appears on the concrete by the central console and then disappears again on the grating. He squints at it, confused to see what looks like blood mixed with suspension fluid.
"Who's bleeding?" he asks confused.
"You, Tango. Foot. Now!" Zed says.
Well that answers that question Tango thought.
"Kinda attached to those Zed."
"And we're kinda attached to you. Foot. Now."
Tango's prevented from answering as Pearl states, "Tango, let go whatever it is youāre holding for Impulse in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1" and an alarm goes off, shrill and right in his ear.
Tango winces and pulls his hands back, swiping through the thread thatās now trailing off into nothing and it fades. The glyphs on Impulses back fade slightly, but no one gets a chance to see by how much because moments after he's let go, thereās a āvworpā and all thatās left where Impulse was is a shower of purple particles, redstone dust and a few gold nuggets.
Thereās a moment of stunned disbelief, and Tango can feel everyoneās eyes on him as he stands, scooping up the redstone and gold which he pockets. He'll figure out the enscryption on the gold later so that he knows where heās gonna have to summon Impulse from, but his job is done now and he is very aware that his foot hurts.
"Ow!" he says looking down at it, and at the smear of blood that is oozing out from under his right foot.
Itās his ow that breaks the spell apparently, as the hermits around him start clamoring for answers as Zedaph tugs him to sit grabbing his foot and holding it hostage. Looking at this crowd of goofs that he calls family itās all Tango can do to not laugh as most of them try to reign in their curiosity as they take turns making sure everyone else is all right some of them clearly itching to address the winged elephant which is no longer in the room. He knows he needs have to give some sort of answer for them eventually but it can wait, he thinks with a wince as Zedaph removes a piece of glass from his foot.Ā He just hopes he can come up with something reasonable explanation wise until he has a chance to talk with Impulse and figure out just how much his buddy is ok with the other hermits knowing.
Hello hello! I dont know if ive been here yet but!! Dont mind me spreading some moss etho arctic bdubs propaganda here :> for the fanon swap that is pffffffff
(if i have been i apologize! Ive got some memory issues going on and ive been sending a lot of these out ehdhehdhrh)
Hi hello! Youāve not sent me anything yet and I appreciate the hermit propaganda. I am a writer tho and not much of an artist and the idea of moss etho was so very very fascinating that Iāve now written a bit on my phone as I sit in transit. Iāll be adding it on to this post via my writing tumblr in like a couple of minutes. Couldnāt do much for the arctic Bdubs bit though, sorry about that. Heās not one of my hermits and I do not trust myself to get his voice right. Iām not even sure I got Etho down, but I hope you like it anyway.
He leaves bits and pieces of himself behind everywhere he goes.
Sometimes itās intentional, a slow steady creeping thing as he relaxes and sprawls and takes his time investigating and incorporating the new resources that he finds. He wanders through the structures of himself, part of but separate from the world he lives in, emerging where he chooses depending on what he wants to look at. It startles the others sometimes, when he decides to check on his far flung pieces. After all, to them, he simply appears from nowhere and past experiences have taught him that redstone is much easier to explain than his own workings. Not that he hasnāt tried. Doc and Stress were the only ones to even slightly understand the last time he tried.
Other times itāsā¦ really not. Intentional that is. Heā¦. Sheds. for lack of a better term and as embarrassing as that sounds. those bits are carried off by the winds and the rains, settling wherever they find a place. Most times, they land in places already familiar. New to him but places heās already existed. Those he leaves alone to grow for the most part. Sometimes they land and anchor in interesting places. The Badlands, the Modlands, the Deep End once or twice, and when the whim takes him heāll do as he always does and grow himself anew then wander off to explore once more. Sometimes, he ends up being carried, unintentionally for the most part. Those normally die off on their own but others he maintains. Not much, or to any great depth, but itās a very unobtrusive way to keep track of his friends. Very few of them know enough to notice the green fuzz he leaves behind when he inhabits an area for too long. Those that doā¦. Well. He knows Doc for one, has simply forgotten or doesnāt care if he hasnāt.
Interesting places and interesting people doesnāt always mean things are safe for him to grow. Still the risk and reward are often worth occasionally losing pieces of himself. Life is like that sometimes. He stares down at the book in his hand. Grianās Life experiments even more so. 3rd life had been a happy accident, he had simply been curious to see what so many of his friends had been doing in those unassuming plains away from Hermitcraft. Last Life had been happenstance. Double and Limited life had been intentional. The chance to play, to grow, to experiment, without worrying about wasted resources because he would loose that piece anyways? And the knowledge gained? Itās worth the emotional stuff he thinks as he signs the invitation book to let Grian know heās accepted.
Task done, he relaxes spreading his toes into the dirt beneath him once more leaving minuscule traces of himself behind. One thing still puzzles him as he turns back to digging up clay for the bricks he needs. Given everything that happened in the life experiment He still doesnāt know how to feel about Cleoās awareness and apparently willingness to continue to carry him.
Summary: Not everyone adjusts well to being unceremoniously ejected from a collective simulation. Even if it only lasted for approximately 6 months ship time, it certainly felt a lot longer. Some of the adjustments that need to be made are minor in nature. Othersā¦ are a bit more serious and require outside assistance which youd think would be hard to come by in space.
Look familiar? Unedited Pt 1, Unedited Pt 2,
Read the edited version on AO3
Tango spread his fingers against the glass his hand flexing absently as he greedily drank in the sights of his friends and family. He couldnāt tell if the relief that he was feeling was from the simple joy that his family were all in fact alive and in, uh, various states of wellness or from the more selfish realization that he hadnāt failed in his quest to blow up the moon. Ā The simulation had ended quite abruptly, moments before moon-fall. Ā If Tango had to guess, the resulting cataclysm had catapulted them back into their bodies and awareness of the real world without so much as a by your leave. From his vantage point it was very obvious that some of them had not handled the transition well at all.Ā
His eyes drifted down the line of Hermits as they all waited, with varying levels of patience, for the Pods to finish draining and equalize to the internal atmosphere of the Hermitheius. Bdubs was pressed up against the glass, as close as he could get to the center of the room and by default the rest of the hermits, eyes wider than normal. Their gazes met and Bdubsā grin nearly split his face in two, eyes watering. Tango flashed him a quick smirk and a thumbs up. His focus wandered again, this time seeking out the third member of their trio. Keralis was sitting peacefully on the floor of his own pod making faces at XB, but he offered a wave of his own when Tango managed to catch his eye. Basemates accounted for, Tango turned his attention to the rest of his friends. From where he was already looking, it was easiest to find Zedaph, skipping over and noting a few empty pods in the process. Heād been a bit concerned for Zed, isolated as he had been for the entirety of the simulation but there was no way to tell what was going through his buddyās head normally let alone right now. In fact, Zed was still sitting back to the room and staring out the window closest to his pod into the void of space, just as he had been since Tango had awakened.
A fine mist of condensation floated across the room before dissipating. Tango traced it to its source finding what looked like a joyous cacophony of noise as Bdubsā upon release from his pod had launched himself into the arms of a mildly surprised Etho. Tango was unsure exactly why as he had spotted the other man hovering near Bdubs pod for as long as he had been aware.Ā Etho hadn't been the only one present either, even if he was the only one currently lingering. Iskall, Stress, Wels and TFC had left the simulation early and Tango had seen all of them as they wandered through, checking in on everyone before wandering off again. Wels had even stopped to chat when Tango had waived him down while waiting for his pod to finish draining.
It was hard to communicate through glass without communicators but luckily his pantomimes and pidgin sign language had been fairly easy to understand. At least Wels had gotten the gist of what Tango wanted to know, and had been fairly obliging in his explanations. The five hermits who had ended up leaving the simulation early had simply opted to remain out of the simulation rather than constantly hopping back in and out again during the long trip to Season 8. Heād also managed to convey that he and Stress had had been working on a project with Iskall. It was when Renbob had wandered through that Wels had left to chase the hippie back to his bed. Tango wasnāt put off by the abrupt ending to their acted out conversation. Earlier Wels had indicated that both Renbob and the Goatfather had worked themselves to exhaustion trying to make sure that Boatem had made it out safely as they had been last group to get booted. It had been a much more complicated and trying process than anyone had been prepared for and none of them were sure exactly where the problem had originated. Something, something, resetting respawns, sleep deprivation and maybe the void but there wasn't much of a chance for any elaboration before Wels darted off to play nurse in shining armor.
Even with the heads up, Tango would have probably been the most concerned about the members of Boatem. Pearl had swum to the top of her half-drained pod and was floating on her back, legs pressed up against the glass and watching the room upside down seemingly giggling at random. Scar seemed entirely unperturbed and unphased as he waited for his pod to drain, not that he was paying any attention to the rest of the group. Instead, he was sitting cattywampus on the floor of his pod, legs stretched out in front of him, cooing at Jelly who was batting ineffectually at his fingers through the glass. Mumbo on the other hand was standing straight up in the dead center of his pod, nervously running his hands through his hair and avoiding all eye contact despite the fact that he couldnāt seem to stop glancing around at all the people in the room with the exception of Grian. Speaking of Grian, he was also standing in the center of his pod, blank and expressionless, seemingly staring through everything but still watching it all. It was rather eerie and reminded Tango uncomfortably of how Grian had been when he had first joined their merry band of misfits. Still, that was a problem for another time and quite possibly another bunch of hermits. Tango was going to have his hands full as it was, trying to help Zed who was still staring out the window; and that didnāt even account for Impulse.
Out of everyone, it was Impulse who was concerning Tango the most not that he could put his finger on what exactly was sending up the alarm bells. He didnāt look worse off than anyone else in Boatem sitting as he was on the far side of his pod. His buddy was slouched slightly with his back against the glass and one arm loosely resting on a bent knee. From where he was across the room, it was impossible to make out any sort of expression on Impulseās face but from how it rested against the glass, turned upwards and eyes closed it was probably safe to assume that there wasnāt one.
Tango frowned slightly, as he made eye contact with Jevin and gestured over at Impulse. Jevin thankfully, got the picture and after a moment put his hands together on one side of his tilted head in a pantomime of sleep. Tango let out a sigh of relief but his worry did not abate and he continued to stare. While he wanted his buddy to get some much-needed rest, really Mumbo how was sleep deprivation supposed to help prevent Moon Big at all, Devs sometimes Boatem made him despair, something was still wrong. Something justā¦ felt off. He could feel it in his bones, as Impulse would say. Still, he couldnāt put his finger on what exactly it was.
Another puff of condensation due to the release of pressurized air floated through the room. Another Hermitās pod had finished equalizing. Probably Cub? Tango glanced over, and yep, that was definitely Cub, sharp teeth, tattered wings and overly blue eyes and all, moving as if he was expecting there to be simultaneously more and less gravity than there actually was. That was certainly interesting. Hadnāt Cub also attempted to escape Moon-fall by going to space? Thoughts wandering, Tango jumped when his gaze returned to Impulse only to find one cracked eye blearily peering at him.
Tango couldnāt help himself as he threw his arms up and cheered, āIMPULSE! Hey! There you are!ā
There was no response, not that Tango had expected one. He knew Impulse wouldnāt be able to hear him but still a wave or something would have been nice. His arms fell as Impulse continued to stare, not at him but through him, before the heavily lidded eyelid slid shut.
āImpy?ā Tango said, mainly for his own benifit.
Both eyes opened this time. Had he not been so worried, Tango would have lost it laughing. Trust Impulseās hatred of that nickname to cause a reaction even when the other couldnāt hear it. Tango didnāt relish the hilarity of that for very long however, as Impulseās head dropped ever so slightly, the lights of the room hitting at exactly the right angle for him to catch an unobstructed view of eyeshine from not normally yellow glassy eyes.
Oh.
That.
That was bad.
That was so very very bad.
āImpy?ā he tried again mentally cursing the slowness of the tubeās equalization cycle, as he caught his buddy's gaze.
One eye closed, followed by the other before opening again, one after the other in a strange facsimile of a blink. That was weird, even by his standards and the feeling that something was wrong only grew. But Hey! He definitely, somehow, had Impulseās attention. Because that? That was a response. It had to be. Tango watched as Impulse blinked, once more, this time a lot closer together and looking a lot more like normal. Progress!
āCāmon Impy!ā Tango crooned. Heād take Impulse being annoyed with him if he could actually get a coherent response. āUp an attem buddy! You can do it!ā
Impulse could not in fact do it, and Tango watched in horror as Impulseās eyes closed and he listed sideways, sliding down the glass and smashing his face on the floor of his pod.
Summary: Not everyone adjusts well to being unceremoniously ejected from a collective simulation. Even if it only lasted for approximately 6 months ship time, it certainly felt a lot longer. Some of the adjustments that need to be made are minor in nature. Othersā¦ are a bit more serious and require outside assistance which youd think would be hard to come by in space.
Look familiar? Unedited Pt 1, Unedited Pt 2,
Read the edited version on AO3
Tango spread his fingers against the glass his hand flexing absently as he greedily drank in the sights of his friends and family. He couldnāt tell if the relief that he was feeling was from the simple joy that his family were all in fact alive and in, uh, various states of wellness or from the more selfish realization that he hadnāt failed in his quest to blow up the moon. Ā The simulation had ended quite abruptly, moments before moon-fall. Ā If Tango had to guess, the resulting cataclysm had catapulted them back into their bodies and awareness of the real world without so much as a by your leave. From his vantage point it was very obvious that some of them had not handled the transition well at all.Ā
His eyes drifted down the line of Hermits as they all waited, with varying levels of patience, for the Pods to finish draining and equalize to the internal atmosphere of the Hermitheius. Bdubs was pressed up against the glass, as close as he could get to the center of the room and by default the rest of the hermits, eyes wider than normal. Their gazes met and Bdubsā grin nearly split his face in two, eyes watering. Tango flashed him a quick smirk and a thumbs up. His focus wandered again, this time seeking out the third member of their trio. Keralis was sitting peacefully on the floor of his own pod making faces at XB, but he offered a wave of his own when Tango managed to catch his eye. Basemates accounted for, Tango turned his attention to the rest of his friends. From where he was already looking, it was easiest to find Zedaph, skipping over and noting a few empty pods in the process. Heād been a bit concerned for Zed, isolated as he had been for the entirety of the simulation but there was no way to tell what was going through his buddyās head normally let alone right now. In fact, Zed was still sitting back to the room and staring out the window closest to his pod into the void of space, just as he had been since Tango had awakened.
A fine mist of condensation floated across the room before dissipating. Tango traced it to its source finding what looked like a joyous cacophony of noise as Bdubsā upon release from his pod had launched himself into the arms of a mildly surprised Etho. Tango was unsure exactly why as he had spotted the other man hovering near Bdubs pod for as long as he had been aware.Ā Etho hadn't been the only one present either, even if he was the only one currently lingering. Iskall, Stress, Wels and TFC had left the simulation early and Tango had seen all of them as they wandered through, checking in on everyone before wandering off again. Wels had even stopped to chat when Tango had waived him down while waiting for his pod to finish draining.
It was hard to communicate through glass without communicators but luckily his pantomimes and pidgin sign language had been fairly easy to understand. At least Wels had gotten the gist of what Tango wanted to know, and had been fairly obliging in his explanations. The five hermits who had ended up leaving the simulation early had simply opted to remain out of the simulation rather than constantly hopping back in and out again during the long trip to Season 8. Heād also managed to convey that he and Stress had had been working on a project with Iskall. It was when Renbob had wandered through that Wels had left to chase the hippie back to his bed. Tango wasnāt put off by the abrupt ending to their acted out conversation. Earlier Wels had indicated that both Renbob and the Goatfather had worked themselves to exhaustion trying to make sure that Boatem had made it out safely as they had been last group to get booted. It had been a much more complicated and trying process than anyone had been prepared for and none of them were sure exactly where the problem had originated. Something, something, resetting respawns, sleep deprivation and maybe the void but there wasn't much of a chance for any elaboration before Wels darted off to play nurse in shining armor.
Even with the heads up, Tango would have probably been the most concerned about the members of Boatem. Pearl had swum to the top of her half-drained pod and was floating on her back, legs pressed up against the glass and watching the room upside down seemingly giggling at random. Scar seemed entirely unperturbed and unphased as he waited for his pod to drain, not that he was paying any attention to the rest of the group. Instead, he was sitting cattywampus on the floor of his pod, legs stretched out in front of him, cooing at Jelly who was batting ineffectually at his fingers through the glass. Mumbo on the other hand was standing straight up in the dead center of his pod, nervously running his hands through his hair and avoiding all eye contact despite the fact that he couldnāt seem to stop glancing around at all the people in the room with the exception of Grian. Speaking of Grian, he was also standing in the center of his pod, blank and expressionless, seemingly staring through everything but still watching it all. It was rather eerie and reminded Tango uncomfortably of how Grian had been when he had first joined their merry band of misfits. Still, that was a problem for another time and quite possibly another bunch of hermits. Tango was going to have his hands full as it was, trying to help Zed who was still staring out the window; and that didnāt even account for Impulse.
Out of everyone, it was Impulse who was concerning Tango the most not that he could put his finger on what exactly was sending up the alarm bells. He didnāt look worse off than anyone else in Boatem sitting as he was on the far side of his pod. His buddy was slouched slightly with his back against the glass and one arm loosely resting on a bent knee. From where he was across the room, it was impossible to make out any sort of expression on Impulseās face but from how it rested against the glass, turned upwards and eyes closed it was probably safe to assume that there wasnāt one.
Tango frowned slightly, as he made eye contact with Jevin and gestured over at Impulse. Jevin thankfully, got the picture and after a moment put his hands together on one side of his tilted head in a pantomime of sleep. Tango let out a sigh of relief but his worry did not abate and he continued to stare. While he wanted his buddy to get some much-needed rest, really Mumbo how was sleep deprivation supposed to help prevent Moon Big at all, Devs sometimes Boatem made him despair, something was still wrong. Something justā¦ felt off. He could feel it in his bones, as Impulse would say. Still, he couldnāt put his finger on what exactly it was.
Another puff of condensation due to the release of pressurized air floated through the room. Another Hermitās pod had finished equalizing. Probably Cub? Tango glanced over, and yep, that was definitely Cub, sharp teeth, tattered wings and overly blue eyes and all, moving as if he was expecting there to be simultaneously more and less gravity than there actually was. That was certainly interesting. Hadnāt Cub also attempted to escape Moon-fall by going to space? Thoughts wandering, Tango jumped when his gaze returned to Impulse only to find one cracked eye blearily peering at him.
Tango couldnāt help himself as he threw his arms up and cheered, āIMPULSE! Hey! There you are!ā
There was no response, not that Tango had expected one. He knew Impulse wouldnāt be able to hear him but still a wave or something would have been nice. His arms fell as Impulse continued to stare, not at him but through him, before the heavily lidded eyelid slid shut.
āImpy?ā Tango said, mainly for his own benifit.
Both eyes opened this time. Had he not been so worried, Tango would have lost it laughing. Trust Impulseās hatred of that nickname to cause a reaction even when the other couldnāt hear it. Tango didnāt relish the hilarity of that for very long however, as Impulseās head dropped ever so slightly, the lights of the room hitting at exactly the right angle for him to catch an unobstructed view of eyeshine from not normally yellow glassy eyes.
Oh.
That.
That was bad.
That was so very very bad.
āImpy?ā he tried again mentally cursing the slowness of the tubeās equalization cycle, as he caught his buddy's gaze.
One eye closed, followed by the other before opening again, one after the other in a strange facsimile of a blink. That was weird, even by his standards and the feeling that something was wrong only grew. But Hey! He definitely, somehow, had Impulseās attention. Because that? That was a response. It had to be. Tango watched as Impulse blinked, once more, this time a lot closer together and looking a lot more like normal. Progress!
āCāmon Impy!ā Tango crooned. Heād take Impulse being annoyed with him if he could actually get a coherent response. āUp an attem buddy! You can do it!ā
Impulse could not in fact do it, and Tango watched in horror as Impulseās eyes closed and he listed sideways, sliding down the glass and smashing his face on the floor of his pod.
