My Life Is Perfect Actually

My life is perfect actually

Oh right uhhhh

Some ponies. For your consideration

Where did winged!grian come from? I love him but want to know why everyone's art has him with (quite pretty) wings.

came from a lot of things! as it is with many things in the hermitcraft fandom, keep in mind some of this originates from “the hermitcraft fandom really likes non-human characters, as well as giving characters Recognizable Character Trait to make them visible in art, especially if their skin is kind of plain otherwise”. (that has generally been my observation at least, keep in mind that i’m new around here.)

so, anyway: season 6! it was grian’s first time using an elytra, and he started out pretty bad at it! however, over the course of the season, he got so good at flying it basically became his whole thing. elytra course was very hard and the speeds he could complete it at were impressive. he just… really liked flying, man. he also played a “"superhero”“ character called poultry man, who would fly around and throw eggs at people. and, hey, chickens have wings, right? (if you’ve seen him as a chicken man, hey, now you know who that mysterious chicken man is! nice!)

and sometimes that’s enough, you know? however, also big during season six - and i know some people don’t like blaming this fic for everything because newer fans haven’t read it but from everything i’ve heard it’s still important - there was a popular fic called "and the universe shifts”. (it’s still the third most kudosed fic on ao3 under the tag, under shells in the foam and a tommy superhero fic i haven’t read that apparently must have grian in it.) in it, we find two things that stuck around in fandom: the most common watcher tropes and design, and the original popular “hey grian has wings” fic, where his wings were because he was a watcher. (note that i have no idea if this is the first fic where grian had wings; i wasn’t around then. i just know this was the first stupidly popular one.)

if you’ve seen grian’s wings as purple, this is probably the origin point, and at that point, a lot of people started giving him purple wings.

however, then season 7 started! not only did new fans start to come in during season 7, but grian picked up new bird imagery! namely, the entire “pesky bird” thing started to happen during season 7, as well as all of his parrots. grian being a pesky bird (parrot) in the jungle was all a lot of fans needed to start shifting the design - his wings became the parrot wings that are probably his most common wing design because of that during season 7. plus, he was still clearly one of the best fliers out there and enjoyed it, which was enough to keep giving him wings.

at this point, i’d say that within the fandom, the original atus part was lost - new fans just saw people give him wings and were like “heck yeah its a guy with wings, haha, pesky bird” or “ooh watchers have wings” and didn’t know there used to be a Big Fic that made that stuff popular fanon. so then, and then especially during season 8, fanon started shifting more directly just… assuming grian has wings.

since then, there have been little things that affirm to the fandom that grian should have wings. he refers to them as such, some comments he made during 100 hours about needing his wings, i think doc just outright called grian a pesky bird in his april fool’s episode in season 9 which is really funny to me for some reason. it’s become a pretty established part of grian’s design, to the point that i’m pretty sure it’s known to all of the hermitcraft creators and to the point that some people can’t recognize a grian if you don’t put wings on him, lol, even though that’s not really an aspect of his skin.

i’d say at this point also the wing designs tend to just… vary by artist and what they like! i’ve seen a lot of people trying to take them from stuff he does every season because it’s more fun that way. i know i’ve joked about grian’s wings being shaped wrong and the wrong colors to actually be any real bird, and also the thing where they have eyespots, so that’s a thing in my design, although i’m not an artist! at this point the why grian has wings varies too: some will tell you it’s because he’s a watcher, some will say it’s because he’s very good at flying, some will say it’s because he’s a pesky bird. up to the individual, and technically he also doesn’t need to have wings! it’s just sorta like philza in that it became really established fanon that keeps on skirting the edge of just sorta being canon at this point.

anyone who’s been in the fandom longer than me can add to this and i’ll reblog it

Some stuff and nonsense from the MCC Pride 22 Yellow Yaks!

CPK and Oli hanging out in order to record the event

Shubble being unsure whether Grian is alive while they wait for him to show signs of presence

Scott reassuring his chat that Owenge is in fact a streamer too, and not a random man he pulled off the street to watch him play MCC!

Grian decreeing that they have the "world's strongest Build Mart team!"

Grian freaking out that he's "forgotten all of Pete's training already!" at the start of Grid Runners.

"Grian's just gonna ragdoll and see where he lands, it's like in Gangbeasts." -Scott

"Pete's gonna be so proud of me, figuring out strategy!" -Grian

The gang deciding on positioning and Gem calling herself "Basement Girl."

Gem then promoting herself to "Ground Floor Girl".

Scott making a clock and everyone around him throwing redstone at him, just in case

Grian falling behind and running towards the exit door and everyone cheering him on, semi sarcastically

"You're doing amazing sweetie!" -Scott

"C'mon, emotional support straight!" -Gem

The bakery being so depleted from all the players devouring the cake supply that now they're just asking for them to make cakes for them, please

None of the builders being able to figure out the redstone for the final room right away

Everyone being so conditioned from previous GRs that they have to reload their definition of "beasts" for the chicken room

New drinking game! Take a drink every time Grian mentions his favorite MCC buddy Pete! It's happened 3 times so far!

Grian watching the Simmers do the redstone room and just saying "redstone is hard..."

Everyone getting so invested in Blue that they start shouting at the screen

"Grian has like, PTSD from being one coin behind in a Pride MCC." -Scott

Gem disappointingly saying they didn't get cosmetics this time, just breakfast...

Grian relating how one time he went to a US restaurant and ordered a child-sized serving of pancakes, and he had "far too many left over!"

"CHILDREN, HOW MANY PANCAKES ARE YOU EATING??" -Grian

Gem waiting to see when Grian would see the rainbow chicken in the cosmetics section and holding a running bet with her chat

Grian admitting he doesn't watch the update videos, getting lambasted by Scott, and demanding "I didn't start my stream until 8 minutes after the event, you think I have my life together??"

"My content is so poor that my cat can't even stand it!" -Grian

Scott lamenting that he can't call people hitting him a hate crime this time around, because almost everyone is queer!

"How can I weaponize my sexuality now??" -Scott

The Pridebowl PKT map being inspired by a League of Legends piece of art in which the flags were incorporated throughout the background

"Gimme some 🌶 spicy 🌶 callouts!" -Gem about PKT

Gem carrying the second round against Lime!

Everyone being terrified of Jojo hunting them

"I was humbled by that other team because I couldn't catch them." -Shubble as hunter

Gem suddenly becoming British while complaining about PKT?

"I like being British!" -Gem

Scott saying that Vixella "appeared below me like a shark hunting her prey!"

Grian admiring how good Zeuz is

Grian getting mixed up with Shubble and Gem's names many many times

"One of the girls!" -Shubble

"There's no way I should be alive right now, just so you're aware!" -Scott, fighting for his life against TapL

Scott somehow winning against TapL, getting in his head, and everyone surviving that round??

"Just so everyone knows, I have physically peaked tonight! Whether I go home with a coin or not, I've won!" -Scott

Scott then ascending in the decision dome, and being forced to give his Love Bow to Shubble

"Someone in my chat said . That, contrasted with another saying " -Scott

Scott calling the SG remix Pokémon!

Gem and Shelby being on the same wavelength today, The Girls™

Yellow being sacrificed for the Greater Gays in SG

Shubble reassuring everyone to not let it get to them, and Grian responding "it's gotten to me already! It's sitting on my spine!"

Scott and Shubble cheering on The Girls, and Scott saying that Jojo can make it solo, she doesn't have "solos" in her name for no reason

Scott trying to spectate Kara and continuously getting doors shut in his face

"This is very rude." -Scott

Grian warning Shubble "if you're a runner in Build Mart, our friendship might be on the line."

"I am no longer sure." -Shubble

"During Build Mart, our friendship goes into a little box. Afterwards it comes back out." -Grian

Everyone gathering and ascending into the flamingo together

The BB map only half loading, and Scott calling it a trust fall experience

Everyone planning to ride Grian during Terra Swoop Force in TGTTOS

Shubble and Geminislay carrying in the first round of BB!

"I really need to learn how to pvp." -Grian (please, sir)

"I killed Jojo, so it's like the equivalent of killing Dream, right?" -Grian

"I lost my plot armor, Dream killed me." -Grian

"It's fine Grian, it's non canon! It's the equivalent of another universe in comics!" -Scott

"I hit a man!" -Gem

Scott going out against Pink in a kamikaze potion of harming

"You get style points for that one." -Grian

Scott getting an ace against Orange! He's a PVP god!

"Grian's like, I aged 13 years, just in these last few games." -Scott

Grian and Scott both getting 420 coins in BB! Ayyyyy!

Grian scheduling himself to go to Ghana, and getting a little nervous about meeting with Nana and the village, as he is "a socially anxious man who has spent his mid 20's behind a computer screen".

Grian rambling about editing and his videos during the break so long that he completely forgets to get his anticipated glass of water

Everyone responding "Aye aye Captain!" to Grian directing in BM

Y'all I'm actually just watching in awe with my jaw dropped while Yellow absolutely dominates BM. I'm so impressed. They didn't move from first place ONCE.

Scott talking about how he and Shubble always hold hands during SOT

"I smell. I didn't smell before this, but now I smell." -Grian

Gem deciding she'd going to punch and be a menace this TGTTOS, and everyone telling her it's fine, it's non canon, it won't hurt her vibe.

Wilbur joining the vc on Shubble's account and talking with Grian and Gem during AR, because he heard "it's Ace Race time."

"Scott sounds a little different." -Gem

Wilbur beginning his AR podcast in his "sensual voice" with Grian and Gem listening in shocked horror while he talks about "doing" her, how he's "a bit of a demon" with both AR and SOT, discusses the intimate workings of his complex relationship, and him and Grian agreeing to both put each other down for teams next MCC

Shubble giving her account to Wilbur for AR, and Scott giving his account to Owen, saying if Owen gets top 3 he'll donate 1000 pounds (he did)

Gem getting her best AR performance yet with Wilbur in her ear

"I just want Wilbur to know that my chat did not enjoy that. He was talking to Ace Race, but it was a little bit charged." -Grian

"When the wall says Gay, you shout Gay!" -Scott about HITW

Gem and Scott missing the yellow platforms this time around, while Shubble is glad to have the HITW she knows and loves back

"Yellow! That's...the color of the wall. I'm not speaking again." -Shubble

Everyone calling the Green wall "Grian, Grian, Grian."

"Shelby it's Hole In The Wall, not Ace In The Wall, so you had your game." -Scott

Shelby tragically dying to a zombie and saying "that's it, I'm getting toxic with my eggs now."

"Noo there's so many mobs!" -Gem

"You're welcome!" -Scott

Grian winning the second round and SCREAMING into the mic!

"Grian is reaching octaves previously unknown to man!" -Scott

"Grian just picks a new game each MCC to pop off this time." -Scott after Grian gets in the top 5 players of HITW

"When the stars align, I'll pop off in every game!" -Grian

Scott introducing everyone to the Hard Button™ in Terra Swoop Force

The NPCs in TGTTOS being the straight MCC players

Scott and Shubble getting into a cycle of getting on top of each other

"Me and Shelby keep mounting each other!" -Scott

Owen and Scott reading out Gumi's message demanding which "BOOT LICKING BEAN SLURPING FELLAS" HIT HER in tandem

Owen encouraging Scott to be nice, and then watching him get hit and doing a heel turn straight into KILL THE MAN

Everyone continuously mourning that if they'd just gotten a normal Survival Games...

Geminislay carrying TGTTOS!

Scott and Gem getting wings, becoming " a gay butterfly" and "a pride fairy!"

Shubble and Scott calling for donations to them, two gays

"They say charity starts at home, and home is me!" -Scott

Shubble breathing heavily and murmuring "Let us in." about 20v20 DB

Grian asking "is this what is was like to watch me?" during Red's 1v3

Grian taking a moment to address this one guy Brady in the chat who has been consistently asking how Maui and Pearl are doing the entire tournament, and saying "they're doing great, they're my cats, they're all cute and snuggly!"

Gem just admiring her pride wings and comparing them to her Empires wings

Grian killing his one-sided arch nemesis, Zeuz, in the 20v20

"I ate it." -Grian after dying

"That one almost came for me, I felt it on my chin!" -Shubble

Shubble almost rounding out her MCC story by doing a Shubble once again in the 20v20, but losing to Jacksepticeye

"He's an ally, he's carrying a gay!" -Scott about Grian's gay chicken buddy

Yellow Yaks finished MCC Pride 22 in 4th place!

He

The B in LGBT stands for British

HELP??