XB Miiiight Be Going A Bit Crazy.

the thing about hermitcraft and evil doppelgangers is that they ARE pretty normalized. barely anyone bats an eye at evil xisuma literally joining the whitelist for season 8. helsknight is just off doing his own thing and wels doesnt seem to pay any mind to it. so the fact false felt the need to keep hers contained in a lab reflects very poorly on one of them and i cant decide which /hj

☀️The Sun God☀️

boy i cant wait to have a normal afk session at my megabase i hope no mischievous british men come to disturb the peace

british hermits, most to least normcore, by my own whims (normcore here associated with arranging and participating in social events, often with the lads, and or fitting in at an office dayjob):

grian. he's the most normcore british hermit. they're all strange, but he's the one most likely to be assimilate into the real world. can be imagined going to nandos with the lads (Jimmy, Joel etc.)

falsesymmetry. ok getting weirder. false is a little deranged but she gets things done. you can look at her and assume she's normal and being weird is a hobby for her

stress. stress IS deranged but she does run a fitness channel which decreases her weird points. she's also responsible and prioritizes her children over her minecraft, so I'd trust her with real world responsibilities

rendog. there is something wrong with him (affectionate), but i think he'd get enrichment from being introduced to the lads at spoons

xisuma. he has tried so hard to be normcore that he's fallen out of the other end. this vibe is almost overwhelming in an xisuma stream when you're listening to cleo sigh and go 'oh x'. would perplex the lads at spoons and refuse to eat at nandos

cleo. try and introduce cleo to the lads and they'll dissolve. loner energy. perfectly suited to being online. hermit most likely to understand joe hills. with enough prep will approach the lads like a cat sniffing through the door (and then get involved in a series of death games)

mumbo jumbo. it's quite simple really. redstone whizz who cycled the whole way across europe for fun. mumbo is a special flavour but it's not normcore (idk what it is tho)

zedaph. least normcore. why is he like that? it's wonderful, but why? he perplexes even the gamecode. phenomenal work

“I don’t need weapons to hurt you”

The idea of an evil/moon Gem was just too good not to draw. With all the hermitcraft stuff, sculk lore and spooky vibes happening in Empires rn I wanted to try design a corrupted version of Gem! Perhaps she isn’t as warm and innocent as she seems?

For the design itself I took inspiration from the sculk, soul fire, phantoms and blue butterflies (with a little bit of puppet Zelda thrown in there for good meatier). I tried making the dress look like parts of a butterfly chrysalis as well as giving it the rib cage/insectoid shell vibes.

Overall I had a blast making this piece and it may be my favourite Empires piece I’ve done so far :D

comfort doodle in an artstyle I haven't used in a while

Jimmy was doing just fine, thanks for asking.

It's not like, y'know, the few people who ever actually supported him were leaving.

He couldn't even blame them. Why would they want to hang around with the laughing stock of empires, the toy sheriff? He wouldn't want to hang out with himself either!

He just- it was nice. It was nice when Scar made a villager hall, just for him. When he built a whole train in tumble town, and a nice little village as well.

And Tango? Tango wasn't just nice (although he was very very very nice), Tango was amazing. Tango was wonderful and kind and smart and handsome and funny and creative and compassionate and so many things, and yet he chose to stay with Jimmy. Tango could have gone anywhere, done anything- hell, two other empires were already trying to get Tango to stay with them, and yet Tango chose Jimmy.

But now he wasn't. Now Tango was leaving because why shouldn't he? There's no soulbond to keep him at tumble town, so why would he stay? Everyone else decides he's not worth it, so why wouldn't Tango? What sign does he have that Tango would choose him again?

Except that Tango called the ranch his home. Except that Tango woke up early in the morning to feed the chickens. Except that whenever Jimmy slept past when Tango had to leave for Gobland, he left a note on the counter to say bye. Except that Tango spent what probably took hours getting Sing horns like they had back at the ranch.

Was it too far-fetched to think that Tango would choose to stay at tumble town- to stay with Jimmy? The hermits hadn't left yet, he could still ask him to stay. If Jimmy asked him, he might. But what if he still left? What if Jimmy begged Tango to stay, and he still chose to leave? Would the small chance that Tango might choose to stay be worth the much larger chance that he would reject him? Jimmy... Jimmy couldn't risk it. Everyone else turned on him. Everyone else tossed him aside for something new. And Jimmy didn't think he could handle looking Tango in the eyes when he inevitably turned away.

So he didn't ask. And Tango left.

Squeeshed

THIS has been driving me insane /pos

Like. Satan below you cannot just drop that on me.

Fucking. Yeah Jimmy knows Tango was excited to see him again. There were tears shed in that tunnel and horns blown and they were so overjoyed and borderline overwhelmed to find each other again.

The smile Tango had when he promised to "ranch it up" soon? And the way Tango's face lit up when Jimmy showed him the ranch? Surely Tango wanted to be Jimmy's rancher again.

But there was something in the way Tango's face fell when confronted with the fact that he hadn't told Jimmy about his arrangements at Gobland. The way Tango stepped away and picked at his cuticles, refusing to meet Jimmy's eyes while he explained what fWhip had promised.

It activated Jimmy's flight response, for whatever reason. He wanted to run and hide away from everyone, but also drop to his knees and beg Tango to stay. Maybe apologize for ever thinking to build the ranch. He'd clutch at the thick fur cloak and tell Tango he'd take the ranch down, to forget about everything that happened, apologize for wasting his time.

But he didn't. He stood in place and made a compromise with Tango. He'd keep his work and home separate, do whatever fWhip wanted and live in Tumble Town, at the ranch.

And Jimmy was fine with it! He was estatic! He couldn't stop thinking about his rancher living with him again. His soulmate, in Tumble Town.

Except Tango hadn't visited since the day he unveiled the ranch.

Jimmy would check in every day, finding no signs of visitors except himself. The place was collecting dust - faster than normal as it was the mesa - but dust nonetheless. Jimmy starts to wonder if maybe he forced Tango to play into his wishes of being soulmates again.

What if Tango had completely moved on from Double Life? He certainly seemed like it. Working for and possibly living with fWhip, completely changing his look, barely associating with Jimmy at all even when he promised - he promised - he would? What if Jimmy was stuck in the past. Stuck missing someone who wanted nothing to do with him anymore, missing the only smidge of a good life he would get with the one person who genuinely loved him.

He was always stuck in the past though. Constantly thinking about where he went wrong or what could've been or what he should've said or shouldn't have said. He just couldn't get with the times. He couldn't grow up and accept life.

Jimmy sobbed. The force of the noise nearly sent him backwards into the sand, though it wouldn't have been that much of a fall.

He was currently sat on his railroad tracks, just in front of the train Scar built. His communicator sat in his hands with Tango's name pulled up, ready to send a whisper to. He was online. Jimmy could easily send the message. But his hands were shaking too much.

Jimmy sniffled and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. He sucked in a breath and typed as quick as he could before his body let out another sob.

You whispered to Tango: do you still like me?

He wanted to drop or even throw his comm but he held it tight, waiting for Tango to respond. He didn't expect anything immediate. He was sure Tango was busier than busy right now. He hated bothering him with such a stupid question.

As Jimmy went to wipe his eyes again his comm buzzed in his hands.

Tango whispered to you: that's an odd question to ask out of nowhere

Tango whispered to you: of course I do. is something wrong lovely?

Jimmy hiccupped, sobbing harder. The nickname was too soft, too domestic for him. This was a whole different world. Tango didn't have to call him pet names or even pretend to care anymore. They weren't soulmates anymore.

You whispered to Tango: i'm sorry i'm still stuck on the ranchers. you can live with fwhip if you want to and forget about me

Jimmy gasped in a breath. He's forgotten to breathe. He needed to breathe. He couldn't suffocate now, the death message would show up in chat and Tango would come check on him and he didn't want to see Tango right now.

Tango whispered to you: songbird are you ok?

Tango whispered to you: why would i do that why are you sorry?

Tango whispered to you: talk to me please

Against his better judgement, Jimmy typed back. Maybe it was some stupid child-like hope he had yet to let go of.

You whispered to Tango: it's ok if you moved on from the ranchers you don't have to pretend because of me i'll live

Tango whispered to you: can i come over?

Jimmy hiccupped and shook his head, replying far too quickly for his own comfort.

You whispered to Tango: no

Tango whispered to you: alright

Tango whispered to you: why would you think i moved on?

Jimmy shivered as the sun began to set and the mesa grew terribly cold. Still he didn't move from the tracks.

You whispered to Tango: you haven't visited and you went to live with fwhip we haven't even talked until now

You whispered to Tango: if you don't want to live at the ranch just tell me

Jimmy watched his comm for a while after that. The minutes that passed dragged on for phantom hours. Jimmy felt a panic rise in his chest that maybe Tango was coming over. But Tango wouldn't break that boundary would he? Even when Jimmy had been so clear on it?

His comm rattled against the rails and Jimmy nearly jumped out of his skin.

Tango whispered to you: jim i absolutely do want to live at the ranch and with you

Tango whispered to you: why would you think i wouldn't?

Tango whispered to you: i'm sorry i haven't been over, fwhip gave me a massive project and i totally got caught up in it

Jimmy sniffed and wiped his eyes. The tears were slowing and he was able to breathe without breaking down into sobs.

Tango whispered to you: you're my rancher jimmy

Tango whispered to you: i'm sorry i made you feel like you weren't

Jimmy finally picks himself up and begins the walk back to his home with weak knees and shaky hands. And he hears nothing in the tunnel.

You whispered to Tango: it's ok. sorry for bothering you with my dumb brain

Tango whispered to you: hey don't put yourself down and you don't need to apologize to me

Tango whispered to you: how about we spend a whole day together to make up?

Jimmy shucks off his dirty boots and shrugs off his vest, hanging it on a coat rack. His hat goes along side it.

You whispered to Tango: just the two of us?

Tango whispered to you: just the two of us

Jimmy snakes his belt from under the loops and drops it next to his boots.

You whispered to Tango: ok

Tango whispered to you: thank you

Tango whispered to you: get some sleep buttercup i'll see you soon

You whispered to Tango: goodnight tango