Grian used to be tall, but then the cloning happened. With each clone they stole a little bit of his height making him the short man he is today. He needs to capture those clones and get his height back.
That is the single most hilarious motive for clone gathering imaginable, thank you so much - I'm not entirely sure how that would work, and I don't think Grian is either, but consider it canon!
Hivemind Etho, Hermitopia AU, Hivemind Etho Collection by @respectable-username
I tried to illustrate a scene from Chapter 4, in which undercover Beef visits Etho’s actual home and meets three Ethos of the hivemind... This fic is so so good! I love the way respectable-username (sorry for the @! >_<) portrays the Etho hivemind and other characters. I can’t express it with words! So I thought I’d just draw it.
The drawing is off a little from the actual fic, I composed it in a way I thought would best display the information I want to show: drawn window blinds, identical jackets, three Ethos in various outfits, etc. I only drew one Etho face to show that albeit being contained in multiple vessels, they’re all essentially “Etho” — a single entity, not a monster. (and I quote Etho from Chapter 3: “It's just me. I'm just one me. I'm not a monster.” Me: yes etho and we love you :”))
Gah! Sorry for the long rant. I just love the fic so so much!! >o<
Here's my quick piece for the @hermitcraftheadcanons Hermitopia AU. I just really hope there hasn't been new canon to invalidate these events in the few hours since I started drafting...
TW blood, injury, death (kinda sorta not really death though?)
---
This Etho lay bleeding in the street.
There was also an Etho in a meeting with the NHO, an Etho spying on the entrance to ConCorp, an Etho tinkering with the ventilation system atop the Town Hall, and an Etho reading a book on a couch at home.
But this Etho was laying in a pile on the ground, having been unsuccessful in retrieving the phone of a high ranking ConCorp agent that would have granted them access into the secure portion of the network.
This Etho wasn't worried though. They knew this body would soon be disconnected from the hive, as bodies often do. It's not pleasant, but the Etho at home was already marking their place in their book with a sigh, getting up to gather the resources needed to make a fresh body.
This Etho heard a shout. They turned their head, fixing their good eye on three figures down the road. Hmm, those three are Government heroes, right? Would be good to have them shut down this body sooner.
The Etho atop Town Hall paused their tinkering to search up the new arrivals and confirm. Team ZIT, the trio called themselves. Government hired heroes. But the yellow one, Impulse, was a known friend of the NHO.
Hmm, that could be... unhelpful.
"Etho, listen to me. Etho, stay with us," Impulse said, tapping Etho's face as he knelt down beside them.
He shaped a barrier out of light and pushed it against the hole in the side of this Etho's abdomen. A wince made its way through the hive.
("You ok?" asked Beef to the Etho in the NHO meeting.)
("I'm fine," said that Etho. "Just one of my other bodies.")
"Here, let me cauterise it," said Tango. "That should at least stop him from bleeding out."
Flames leapt from Tango's fingers. Impulse moved out of the way, reaching out to hold down this Etho's arms. Zed did the same with their legs.
"This is going to hurt," Tango said.
Tango was correct. That body disconnected from the hive.
***
The Etho Hive slowly entered a new body. The Etho at home frowned. The new body they were creating shouldn't come online for another few hours. And why did this new body hurt? Unless...
The Etho opened their eyes. They seemed to be lying on a bed in some sort of secret bunker. Well, they assumed it was secret as none of them had infiltrated it before. And standing over them were three figures.
This Etho groaned as a flash of pain passed through their body.
"Easy, easy," Impulse said, patting their hair. "We patched you up the best we could, but we're not exactly trained beyond first aid."
"Do we have any painkillers for him anywhere?" asked Zedaph, eyebrows furrowed.
"I don't think an aspirin is gonna help with the whole bleedificating half to death thing," said Tango.
This Etho tilted their head forward as much as they could. Their jacket and shirt had been removed and their entire midsection wrapped in bandages, though thankfully they could still feel their mask on their face. They moved their hand across their body, prodding gently at their injury.
"Why?" said this Etho. Their bodies had been captured before to try to discover how the Etho Hive worked, but this felt different.
"Just because you're a villain doesn't mean we're gonna let you die," said Tango.
Oh. Right. They kept forgetting how attached others were to their bodies.
"What now?" said Zed. "We can't exactly take a known villain to a hospital."
"We could change how he looked?" Impulse suggested. "I mean, most of him is usually covered in public. If we cut and dye his hair, and take his mask off–"
Etho's hand shot up to slap Impulse's hand away from their mask. They closed their eyes as another wave of pain rolled through their body and into the hive.
("What's going on with the other you?" Beef said with concern.)
("Just raging battle against Government agents," that Etho said as they grimaced.)
("Should we go help?" said Beef.)
("I've got it handled," said that Etho.)
"So I guess we're just harbouring a known criminal in your basement now," said Tango.
"What else are we supposed to do?" said Impulse.
"Haven't you got contacts with the NHO?" Tango asked.
"No... maybe..." said Impulse.
"Perfect, we can make him their problem then," said Zedaph.
"Ok ok, give me a minute," said Impulse, ducking out of sight.
"Of course, Etho could just report everything about this place back to the NHO and call them down to attack us later," said Zedaph.
"Uhhhhh, blindfold!" said Tango, rummaging around for a spare piece of cloth.
Of course this only peaked Etho's curiosity. The Etho at home reached for a notebook and started to note down everything this Etho had seen.
"Here," Tango said, gently lifting this Etho's head to tie a bandage around his eyes. "It's not that we don't trust you, but, well, we don't trust you."
This Etho nodded.
"Ok, somebody from the NHO will be meeting us at, uh, the usual spot," said Impulse.
"There's a usual spot?!" said Tango.
"Look, allies are useful!" Impulse said.
"Only when they're not also our enemies," said Tango. "So, where is this usual spot?"
"Uhhhh my kitchen," said Impulse sheepishly.
"You... what the... gah!" said Tango.
"Just help me get him onto this will you?" said Impulse.
"Can you make him lighter, Zed?" asked Tango.
"You know my power's too risky to try on people," chided Zed.
"It was worth a shot," said Tango. "You take the other end then."
A pair of hands went under this Etho's armpits while another grabbed their ankles.
"Three, two, one, lift!"
All of Etho's bodies staggered as this Etho exploded with agony as they were lifted across to a platform of solid light.
("Etho!" Beef shouted.)
("I'm fine," said that Etho, holding Beef's shoulder for balance. "Let's just get there before they do anything else stupid.")
The platform of light weaved throughout the building with this Etho on top of it. The Etho at home took careful note of the path they took. The platform seemed to double back several times to throw them off. The attempt was noteworthy but ultimately unsuccessful.
Finally, they reached a location where the blindfold was removed. This Etho took in the small living room they'd seen several times before. They were hovering over a sofa, on which Zedaph was arranging a set of pillows.
The light platform was dispersed and this Etho fell onto the soft cushions with a moan.
"Sorry," said Impulse. "Uh, want something to drink? I've got water, coffee, AHA–"
He was interrupted by a knock at the door. Tango went over and opened it part way, leaving the chain in place.
"We're here to speak to Impulse," said Beef, looming above him. Behind Beef, looming even larger, was another Etho.
"Uhhhhh," said Tango.
"Door. Open. Now," said Beef.
Tango quickly did as instructed, letting the two newcomers inside.
Team ZIT couldn't help but stare at the exact copy of Etho that walked into Impulse's house.
The newly arrived Etho quickly walked over to the Etho on the couch.
The Etho on the couch bared his neck towards the other Etho. The other Etho pulled out a needle and pushed it into the offered skin, gently injected their clone with its contents. They sighed and relaxed their shoulders as the broken body left the hive for good.
"Is there a dumpster nearby?" asked the other Etho as they scooped up their now unused body.
"You... you killed him?!" said Tango incredulously.
"The body was broken," Etho said. "I just disconnected it."
"They're a hive mind," Beef clarified to the shocked Team ZIT.
"But we saved him," said Impulse.
"You shouldn't have," said Etho. "It hurt more."
"But... but... but..." stammered Impulse.
"Come on, let's get out of here," said Beef, clapping Etho on the shoulder. "Thanks for trying. The NHO appreciates the effort."
The two left behind Team ZIT, standing with their mouths agape in shock and horror at what had just transpired.
The Etho with Beef followed a path charted by the Etho at home to the nearest body dumping location. They expertly disposed of their former vessel, though not before carefully removing all valuables and weapons still concealed on them first.
"Well, that was eventful," said Beef, turning to head back to the NHO headquarters.
"Remind me to carry a proper kill switch in future so this doesn't happen again," the Etho said.
"That still sounds so morbid," Beef said. "Your bodies still creep me out, no matter how many times we do this."
I'm challenging myself to write a bunch of little 500 word minifics to get better at conciseness (and just to have fun with all my Hermitopia brainrot.) Here's the first one! (I’ll reblog this post when I add more)
Tango coaxes a slightly-nervous Zedaph into trying out his new gravity powers
“Maybe we’ll see each other again by accident. Let’s just not make it on purpose.” - Quote from “good” guy
Ever since I wrote “good” guy, I haven’t been able to get Hermitopia!False out of my head so I decided to give a shot a designing & drawing her outfit! :D Favorite thing here would probably be her short swords. They’re just,,, really cool and also very shiny ;w; Also! There are three (technically four, but one is pretty obscure) secrets in this piece! You’re welcome to try to find them. :3c
Hermitopia AU is a community AU created & organized by @hermitcraftheadcanons
For this piece I used these three stock images as references for anatomy:
https://www.deviantart.com/adorkastock/art/Angel-of-Death-Dual-Blade-Pack-Preview-434214030
https://www.deviantart.com/adorkastock/art/Chair-Pack-Free-Preview-871781822
https://www.deviantart.com/adorkastock/art/Let-The-Storm-Rage-On-Pose-Ref-for-Drawing-557998173
hi, @hermitcraftheadcanons has another community au and so i’m writing fics for it again. this time about joe, whose powerset i helped design!
stained glass is a short piece about what joe gets up to in his everyday existence, being a man that doesn’t exist. you can read the fic here (that’s right, i’m porting these to AO3 this time, go me).
