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There’s a new video, uploaded only 2 hours after the previous one, titled “my heart hurts”. A rather out of place title considering the recent trend with these videos, but it seems rather interesting! Considering the rather dark turn the previous one took, it seems like anything could happen.
The video opens up with Monarch sat atop the staircase, staring off into the distance. For the first two minutes of the video, they sit there, on the ground, just looking at the scenery. But around the end of the two minutes, Monarch starts to stir when they hear Sammy and JellyBear chatting happily, but where their voices were coming from specifically, I’m not entirely sure. Monarch doesn’t exactly do more than just suddenly shake their screen before walking up the staircase and heading inside the house.
I’m going to be honest, it seems like Monarch is starting to reach their limit. Their investigation on who the demon is was going nowhere and Monarch knows that they’re running out of time. What else have they not tried yet? They’ve spoken to everyone one on one, and the hidden rooms don’t provide any groundwork to build off of. They stop at the top of the red staircase, looking down on the ground. If it wasn’t obvious that they were in low spirits then it sure does now. Which, hashtag fairs. I would too if I knew one of my friends were actually a demon and I had no clue who it was and that my mind was being played with by said demon which made it so that any progress I made on figuring out who this demon was— You get the idea. Admittedly, they’re stumped at the moment. Which means that the longer they remain stumped, the sooner the demon was going to strike. And Monarch is scared to lose another person, another friend in not just death, but in their memory.
It truly doesn’t help that everybody else is starting to feel the tension, straining every single interaction they have with them. Monarch’s noticed that Loretta has been a bit more distant, Sam keeps eyeing them every time he thinks they’re not looking, and JellyBear…
JellyBear… Well… It’s just… Okay yeah, JellyBear is creepy as hell. Listen, they tried. They tried really hard to be nice about the way JellyBear is because he’s just as much of a friend as Loretta and Sammy are. But with the weird awkward advances he makes on them in passing, the way that his touch lingers for a second too long, and the whole yumeshipping thing—
Monarch shakes at the thought of what was inside JellyBear’s room. They haven’t been able to look at JellyBear in the eye after that in all honesty. At least it explains the somewhat sketchy behaviour around them as of late. As weird and uncomfortable as it is, they would much rather JellyBear be in love with them rather than want them dead.
Man, that was something that they’re going to have to think about sooner or later, wasn’t it? At least right now they could excuse the constant dancing around the topic with being occupied with hunting down this demon. But when all is said and done…
Does that mean that they’ll have to go on another date with him…?
You know what, they can think about that later.
Monarch then investigates the room that leads to JellyBear’s room. While they do stare at the entrance, occasionally getting close to the door before stepping back and returning to looking around the brewing stands, they never really enter the room. At least, not yet. They really don’t want to go back there right now. But considering that they have virtually made no progress whatsoever, they were starting to get desperate. Grasping at straws, Monarch approaches the door one more time. Faking a deep breath in and out before reaching for the doorknob hesitantly.
Monarch pushed on the door. Then pushed again. And again. And again.
The door is… Stuck? Was it possible for doors to get stuck? To their knowledge, only iron doors needed some sort of contraption to be opened. But right now, it seems that no matter how hard they twist the door knob, it just won’t open. Monarch lets go of the doorknob, staring at the door as if it offended them.
It seems no matter how much they tried to open the door, it won’t budge. Which is strange since this was a wooden door of all things. If it was an iron door, it would make more sense, but there is no indication of a hidden button or lever that could open the door. But, since we know that his room was spawned in through JellyBear’s will, could it be that JellyBear was using his own will to prevent anybody from entering?
If he was, then what is he hiding behind that door…? Sure it could just be the questionable art made by JellyBear. But we know that the whole yumeshipping ordeal was a ruse to convince Monarch to not pry into his room any further. Perhaps now that JellyBear was under the impression that they wouldn’t pry any further, JellyBear has left their secret laying out and about inside their room. The locked door might be a precaution in case someone did decide to enter! Monarch rubbed the side of their TV head before checking their inventory. They look for a few seconds before pulling out their netherite axe. It was a wooden door at the end of the day, it might not cave into the whims of their hands but it will to a blade.
And it seems that Monarch has realized this as well as they prepared to break down the door themselves. They bring the axe down with all of their might, then find that the axe bounced off of the door like a player jumping on a slime block and—
With a yelp, they duck down. Monarch loses their grip on the axe and almost finds themselves getting hit on the blunt end of the axe, dodging just in time for it to barely miss their TV frame. For a moment, they stayed kneeled on the ground, a hand covering the top of their TV head while the other hand rested over their chest. Slowly calming down from getting a concussion after attempting to break down the door. Thank god it wasn’t a double sided axe because that would certainly spell a whole other disaster.
Oh dear, it seems like that was a bust as well. But now it raises the question, just what exactly is JellyBear capable of doing? He’s capable of manipulating time and memories, and now it seems like he’s capable of manipulating the way the game functions as well. What exactly can he not do? The odds are really against these group of friends, but at least now we know for sure that JellyBear is the demon!
Okay, change of plans. Perhaps checking out Sam’s or Loretta’s room would be a better idea than trying to bruteforce their way into a room that they swear didn’t exist up until the incident. Slowly, they pushed themselves onto their feet, the sound of metal clinking quietly as joints heaved from the movement. A shame that they couldn’t make any further progress, but that’s just how the cookie crumbles.
Monarch walks towards the staircase, turning around the corner— then found themselves face to face with JellyBear. They jumped backwards, raising an arm out to defend themselves and put distance between them. He doesn’t say anything immediately, which they’re not sure if it’s better or worse. JellyBear just stares at him with a knowing look, a lazy smirk resting on his face as if he had caught them. Wait, he just did, didn’t he? Wait, no, maybe he didn’t. There’s still hope.
They nervously laugh, rubbing the back of their neck. “Hey JellyBear,” they say. “What’cha doing here…?”.
“Sneaking around my back, Monarch?” JellyBear said, tsking Monarch as if they had stolen a cookie before dinner. They’ve been caught. Oh they’re so cooked. It was truly nice knowing you Monarch, I hope the next POV is Loretta’s because that’d be pretty cool. “What were you doing, hm? Trying to get into business that isn’t yours?”
Monarch took a step backwards. “Wh—What do you mean…?” They said, nervously laughing. This was the absolute last thing that they needed right now. Of all times too! The worst part was that they had no clue how long he had been standing there. Fuck, why is he so weird and creepy?
“Acting innocent now?” JellyBear laughed, full on belly laughed, bringing a hand to wipe the tear forming in the corner of his eye from how hard he was laughing. “Oh Monarch, Monarch, Monarch. What do I do with you? I should beat your ass up for trying to pry into my privacy.”
He definitely knows, he definitely knows—!
“But you’re just so cute. So you know what? I think I won’t do that this time.”
“Ah… Hahaha….” Monarch nervously laughed, rubbing the back of their head nervously. “Thank… You…?” They said, unsure on how to respond. Their other hand nervously playing with their blue cape. He didn’t say that they’d let them go, but at least there is some reassurance that they won’t get hurt. But if they aren’t going to get hurt, just what did he have in mind…? Humiliation? Labour? Or worse. Well, Monarch can’t think of an even worse fate at the moment but they know for a fact that there is worse.
JellyBear stepped closer, leaning forwards ever so slightly. Not enough to actually invade Monarch’s personal space, but enough to threaten it. “You’re welcome! But that doesn’t mean I’m done with you. No no no, someone needs to teach you a lesson.”
Then, JellyBear took a step closer with Monarch responding in kind by taking a step backwards. Was this another test? Or was this a trick? But there was no time to think any further on it as JellyBear continued taking step after step. Then, Monarch soon found they could no longer back up. Stuck in a corner, all that Monarch could do was watch as JellyBear stalked closer, and closer. And all that they could do was prepare for the worst as JellyBear lifted brought his hands closer and—
“Uhm, what are you planning to do…?” Monarch asked as they tried to press up against the wall as much as possible. Eyes darting everywhere as they tried to plan their escape. They could throw a punch and dart for the door and look for backup through Sam and Loretta. But Sam said that he’d be out for a while to look for endermen and they have no clue where Loretta could be.
Monarch let out a small gasp when JellyBear reached out suddenly and grabbed their hips harshly.
JellyBear slid his paws over the smooth curve of Monarch’s hip before letting it rest on Monarch’s waist. Class curling inwards, just enough to threaten to pierce through the metal and delicate writing of their torso. Their ‘breath’ hitched nervously as they placed a metallic hand over one of his paws, tensing slightly under his touch. Their mind went blank for a moment, caught off guard from the surprisingly friendly (or, well, as friendly as claws could get anyways) touch. They were preparing for oil and blood spilling, for dents and bruises, not– not whatever this was.
Huh? What on earth was going on?
“J—Jelly—?” Monarch stammered out, eyes widening in uncertainty as they looked back into Jellybear’s stare.
“Shh…” JellyBear brought their body closer, until the two were flushed against one another. “I won’t hurt you, I promise,” he said, voice gentle. This… Was unravelling in the most unexpected way possible. I’m not even sure what JellyBear’s intentions here are! But, what I do know is that this was starting to get a little freaky and I’m starting to get a little bit worried about the direction this is heading.
The grip that he had on their waist loosened in response, still tight enough that Monarch wasn’t able to wriggle around but enough so that the claws no longer felt like they would scratch the metal plating. Monarch nervously placed a hand onto JellyBear’s shoulder, attempting to create some space in between them. They’ve hugged and held hands before in the past, an interaction that Monarch had accepted with grace, but never has it ever made them feel this nervous before.
JellyBear let out a pleased hum, their left paw beginning to knead at the grooves and screws that allowed Monarch to bend and move the same way a normal person would. The squeak of surprise followed up with whilst they melted into the touch without much thought. As terrified as Monarch was at the possibility that JellyBear was the demon and that they practically handed themselves over to said demon, they didn’t want JellyBear’s paws to come off them yet. It feels as if they had gone their whole life incomplete and they just now noticed it when JellyBear started holding them as if they were his entire world. Okay, this was quickly becoming very not family friendly. Am I going to need to censor this—?
They let out a small sigh as they slowly rested their head on JellyBear’s shoulder, their TV box suddenly feeling as if it weighed like a thousand bricks. JellyBear’s canines (did he always have canines?) gently brush against the curve in their neck that’s meant to be the clavicle if they were human. Oh my god. What is happening? I’m confused, scared, and horrified right now.
JellyBear furrowed his brows before tentatively planting a kiss on their jugular. Monarch tried to speak but all that came out was static. Just how were they so touchstarved that even the smallest of touches from JellyBear is making them act so pathetic. Needy? They try to search for the right words but find that their mind keeps drifting back to the way that JellyBear is practically pawing at where their waist and abdomen would be.
“You’re so sweet, Monarch. If I had known earlier…” JellyBear chuckled. “I could make you feel like this forever. You and me for eternity. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Monarch’s TV head whined unintentionally. It was true, this was nice and they— they wouldn’t mind caving into him like this. Wait a minute… What on earth were they thinking? This was surely another one of JellyBear’s mind spells that they had mentioned to Sam!
Monarch lifted their head, “N–No, JellyBear, we can’t—” They stammered out, weakly pushing away JellyBear. What was this?
“But we can,” JellyBear smoothly interrupted, the paw that wasn’t being held by Monarch’s hand shifts until his hand was sprawled across their lower back. “We could spend every day like this. You and I. Do you want this?”
Monarch shouldn’t, their lives were in danger right now and they were too exposed. They shouldn’t.
“I need an answer, Monarch,” JellyBear cooed. “One word, and I’ll stop.”
They really shouldn’t. There were a thousand reasons why they shouldn’t be doing this, he was dangerous and could kill them right now. But the thought of letting him have his way with them overpowers everything. But before Monarch could respond, they felt a paw grab the corner of their head, lifting it so that they would look JellyBear in the eye.
Monarch tried to speak once more, managing to wrangle out a garbled staticky whine. JellyBear chuckled lowly,
“Whaaaaat the fuck man.”
Monarch snapped their head away from JellyBear’s paw, meeting Loretta’s and Sam’s shocked gaze. Immediately, Monarch scrambled to get JellyBear off of them to preserve the little dignity they had left. But the other seemed to have the strength of a thousand bulls and no matter how hard they pushed, they couldn’t get JellyBear to get off—!
Now that’s awkward. Yikes. The lack of rizz on top of the fact that he can’t read a room is kind of killing me.
Thank the gods, JellyBear lets go of them, allowing Monarch the ability to create distance from JellyBear. Monarch coughed awkwardly into their hand while JellyBear placed a hand on his hips.
“It’s— It’s not what it looks like—?”
Loretta sneered as Sam hid his snicker behind the back of his hand. Yeah there’s no way they believed that at all. I mean, would you if you caught your friends in such a scandalous position? “Sure Monarch, you totally weren’t about to make out with Jelly man here. I’m sure that all you wanted to do was have some bro time with him. Sure.” Sammy teased, very obviously making fun of Monarch. Thank god for the fact that their face is a screen because at least they could explain the heat on their face with the fact that they’re mechanical.
Monarch swept the metaphorical dust off of their body, their body still shaky from the situation after that comment. JellyBear was suspiciously quiet the entire time, but they could tell that JellyBear was not pleased with being interrupted (hahaha… Oh god…). Awkwardly, Monarch wrapped their arms around their body, looking down at their feet, trying to come up with any response. Just any response would do!
“It’s… Well…? Uhm, we were having a conversation…?”
Quickly, Loretta raised a hand, signalling for them to stop talking. “No, no, no need to make excuses. If you want to be… Affectionate with each other, you can, but can you at least have the decency to do it privately? Frankly, that was quite disgusting to see and I do not need you two smacking faces together to become a regular thing around here.” Loretta snapped, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms. Sam nodded in agreement, although visibly less annoyed by the whole situation. Oh god, this was so embarrassing, all they wanted was the earth to swallow them whole and to suffocate underneath the dirt and gravel.
“Sorry Loretta, we’ll keep that in mind,” JellyBear said, placing a hand on Monarch’s shoulder. They tensed up out of instinct before forcing themselves to relax and lean towards the touch. “I just happened to get a little carried away, I’m sure you understand.”
Loretta stared at JellyBear in disbelief before scoffing at him in annoyance. She turned to Monarch and gave a look that they’re not quite sure what she meant by it before turning around on her heel, heading back where she had just come from. Sam gave a thumbs up and a wink before following behind her— Sam what the fuck did you mean by that?!
Monarch groaned out loud, covering their screen with their hands in embarrassment. Never mind, forget about being swallowed whole by the earth, they hope that the demon from the circle cross game came and killed them themselves. At least then everybody would forget about them, which also makes them forget the absolutely humiliating conversation they had to endure. In fact, they would much rather JellyBear beat them up for trying to sneak into their room over whatever had just transpired!
“So,” JellyBear said, interrupting Monarch’s little session of wallowing in misery. “Mood’s ruined, what a bummer.”
Monarch blinked at JellyBear’s casualness. Then, they suddenly slapped JellyBear’s arm harshly, causing the other to yelp in pain, jumping back from the sudden hit. JellyBear winces as if he was a stray dog on the street that just got kicked. Just, what was this guy’s problem? First he corners them into a wall, starts touching them everywhere, and then acts so casual about it all. Unbelievable!
“Next time,” Monarch said sharply, stopping JellyBear from saying anything further. “If you want to do this again, ask me instead of springing this onto me out of nowhere. And only when we’re in your room.”
“Wh—?”
Monarch ran away, clearly flustered, while chasing after Loretta and Sam. Leaving behind an equally flustered JellyBear standing in the hallway... There’s a lot to unpack here. Starting from the weirdly intimate embrace, the near kiss, and Monarch suggesting to recreate what had happened under different circumstances…? Was this even about hunting down this demon at this point? Since when did Monarch start reciprocating whatever feelings JellyBear has for them?
Wait a minute, do they even like each other like that? Are they actually in love or are they experiencing a secret third thing? What we do know for a fact is that JellyBear likes Monarch back. With the way JellyBear went about enacting his homoerotic thoughts—
“Okay, that's enough talking!” JellyBear shouted, to no one in particular. He rubbed at his face, gathering his composure before walking off to see where Monarch had gone off to this time.