Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
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"I see the danger, it's written there in your eyes" by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: Hermitcraft SMP, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series, Empires SMP
06 Oct 2023
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Summary
The worst part was the last few moments.
Straining for all he was worth, wings burning and aching with exhaustion built up to the roots. When his talons brushed the dirt, he felt the warning signs, pinpricks racing around his collar, letting him know he was about to make a mistake. Which wasn’t his fault. Grian was well aware of that much.
He’d crash-land anyway.
{In which Grian is suspicious of his new masters, Scar and Mumbo have zero clue how to take care of avians, the world is there to hurt, be hurt, or get stolen from, and in the end, someone always has to get lucky. Grian's hoping this time around, it'll finally be him.}
(Whumptober 2023: 4 - Shock)
Series
- Part 4 of Amethyst's Whumptober-ish 2023
- Part 1 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
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"See the chains around my feet" by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: Hermitcraft SMP, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series
03 Nov 2023
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Summary
It was always the most pathetic little thing.
It was never an ache in her back, or a weakness in her knees, nor the pain that would build up in her talons from being stuck standing by the wall for hours and hours now.No. None of that.
Instead, it was an itch. Pointedly pulsing and annoying. But when her fingers twitched outward on instinct to adjust it, pinpricks of pain circled her collar and pressed in deep, a threat diving into her bones. Reminding her pointedly that was under such a casually cruel order. Unable to do anything but watch the negotiations, the exchanges, and witness the oddity of the elf who'd just paraded in. She was small, thin, and willowy. Like a strong breeze might blow her over, yet she carried herself like she'd sooner lop off someone's head. The more she watched, the more Pearl realized that was actually quite likely.
{In which Pearl gets to take a few deep breaths, Gem lives for gold coins and bloodlust, an unlikely friendship takes root, and they share some unexpectedly delicious campfire soup.}
(Whumptober 2023: 21 - "Don't Move")
Series
- Part 21 of Amethyst's Whumptober-ish 2023
- Part 2 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
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"You're the lump in my throat and the knot in my chest" by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series, Empires SMP
28 Oct 2023
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Summary
Jimmy had gotten used to staying quiet.
He wasn't a good fighter. He wasn't particularly strong or fast, nor did he have incredible eyesight from thousands of feet up. So when he'd been sold from his colony as a kid, he'd bounced around between various masters, markets, and otherwise. It's at this most recent market that he meets Scott, a mer painfully new to the sick system Jimmy had spent his entire life intimately familiar with. At first, he was unsure of how to handle it. How to deal with someone showing him the kindness most avians were never afforded. Because Avians were killers. Taciturn, violent, unfeeling weapons that didn't even have their own names.
That's just how things were.
But maybe with Scott, they didn't have to be.{In which Jimmy figures out how to express emotion, Scott refuses to quit, Avian rules and trauma get in the way of everything, and maybe making a run for it is a lot more poetic than it seems.}
(Whumptober 2023: 17 - Collar)
Series
- Part 17 of Amethyst's Whumptober-ish 2023
- Part 3 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
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“And I can hear him break, and he doesn’t understand.” by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: Hermitcraft SMP, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series
29 Oct 2024
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Summary
Grian had given them his name. Why? He couldn't have explained it, he still didn't understand it himself. All he knew was that he was trying to understand this, understand any of this, even as it continually seemed to slip from any kind of explanation. Even now, he'd been given a task after over a week belonging to them, and what was he doing? Being to leisurely. To comfortable.
Who had told you that was alright? Had they? Was everything they did implying it? You know you can’t trust those words, those intentions, they’re always dual, always conflicting and you know that, you do, so why?
Why are you daring to look them in the eye and hope it's all wrong regardless?
{In which Grian panics, Mumbo needs to work on his communication skills, Scar gets an A+ in avian comforting, and cookies fix everything}
(Whumptober 2024: Day 29 - "Who said you could rest?")
Series
- Part 29 of Amethyst's Whumptober 2024
- Part 4 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
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“With this heart of mine that’s guilty, not remorseful” by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: Hermitcraft SMP, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series
15 Oct 2024
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Summary
It was like coming home. Coming home in the sense of something familiar, because Pearl had never understood home as something warm. She’d always understood it as somewhere she could feel at least, if nothing else, useful. Useful to her Master, because what else was she good for anymore?
Talons breaking skin.
The heat, the spray, the spatter, the thud of a body suddenly so much heavier hitting the floor. It was like home, but then again, Pearl knew she wasn’t a very good frame of reference. It was familiar in the way an ache was after a long day of work, for previous Masters who had rented her strength out by the hour to adventurers who wanted to pack some extra muscle. It was familiar like the itch rising between her wing roots after hours and hours and hours of staying still.
Did it feel good? No. But it felt like home. And that was enough for her to manage.
{In which Pearl steps in, Gem steps up, and as per usual when it comes to these two...heads roll.}
(Whumptober 2024: Day 15 - "I did good, right?")
Series
- Part 15 of Amethyst's Whumptober 2024
- Part 5 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
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“I could've showed you all the scars at the start, but that was always the most difficult part.” by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: Hermitcraft SMP, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series
11 May 2024
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Summary
The ocean breeze was salty.
The brilliant blue water stretched as far as she could see. Pearl was an avian, she was used to her view being obstructed long before her actual vision ran out, and yet she saw all the way to the horizon. It was balmy and hot, salty air she could taste, and her dark eyes continued tracing the horizon line with some sort of swelling sensation in her chest.Gem had brought her here just to see the ocean, she was sure that's why she'd taken the job. The nature elf was kicking and splashing through the water with her skirt hitched up to her knees, without a care in the world. And Pearl's hands were scarred and callused, but so were Gem's. And Pearl's talons were blood-stained, but so was Gem's sword. Yet Pearl thought Gem was beautiful.
Then what, stars above and earth below, did that make Pearl?{In which Pearl tries to try new things, Gem goes splish splash, and really, sometimes all it takes is a happy coincidence.}
(Hermit-A-Day May Day 11: Pearlescentmoon)
Series
- Part 11 of Amethyst's Hermit-A-Day May 2024
- Part 6 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
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“Let our shadows fall away like dust.” by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: Hermitcraft SMP, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series
03 Feb 2024
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Summary
Grian had never had an issue before with obedience. As an avian, growing up in his colony had been a series of following orders and obeying rules. Breaking them, intentionally or not, resulted in brutal punishment. By a conscious retaliation or by a failure or a flaw, it didn’t matter. Grian had learned very quickly that obedience meant minimal suffering. When he’d been sold at fifteen years old, off into the wider world of the old continent, it had been more of the same.
Obey. The rules and expectations, the orders in the collar around his neck, it wasn’t hard. Grian hardly questioned it anymore.
That was why this was just so strange.
“Eat. You must be hungry.”
{In which Grian can't understand, Scar and Mumbo want to understand, and dinner is on the table, so why is it so difficult to take a seat?}
(Febuwhump 2024 - 4 - Obedience)
Series
- Part 7 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
- Part 4 of Amethyst's Febuwhump 2024
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"I thought I was getting better" by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: Hermitcraft SMP, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series
17 Oct 2023
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Summary
Grian had thought for the longest time that it’d never be his turn to get lucky.
Now that he's here with Scar and Mumbo, he's trying his best to take things at face value. It's difficult, he'd spent his entire life being conditioned for so much worse, and he'd certainly experienced those pains with other masters. Slowly, though, he's letting his lists and rules fade away. Bending them further, and further, and seeing that Scar and Mumbo are everything they promised they'd be.
That doesn't mean there won't be setbacks. He still struggles to admit to them when something is an issue, and their nonexistent knowledge about avians is sometimes inconvenient in that regard. Mumbo seems to grasp that quite well. But it'll be ok.
Sometimes, you have to take one step back to take two steps forward. Or something like that.{In which Scar is overprotective of his little birdie, Mumbo vows to buy a book on avian rules and culture the instant they arrive in the next city, and Grian learns to fly just for the fun of it.}
(Whumptober 2023: 31 - Setbacks)
Series
- Part 31 of Amethyst's Whumptober-ish 2023
- Part 8 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
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"You just bleed you, and I'll stay with you" by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: Hermitcraft SMP, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series
07 Feb 2024
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Summary
Grian didn't know yet, if he understood it. He wasn't going to pretend like he did. His new masters were strange for as kind as they were, an oddball combination of a rogue and a nature elf swindling their way over the old continent. That sort of activity drew attention...sometimes that attention made them a coin; other times it made them trouble. So far they'd been taking care of everything without issue, and Grian was an avian, he had been trained to serve as a bodyguard, if necessary as a killer. He hasn't been made to keep his skills sharp as before, the constant work an ache no longer present.
When he hears the twang of a bowstring, maybe he's already moving to late.
{In which Grian sees red, Mumbo calls on shadows, Scar is still the emotional core around here, and feelings sometimes seem like they just aren't worth it.}
(Febuwhump 2024 - 7 - Alt - Human Shield)
Series
- Part 7 of Amethyst's Febuwhump 2024
- Part 9 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
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"I was walking home on broken cobblestones" by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series, Hermitcraft SMP
25 Dec 2023
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Summary
Gem has a perfect completion rate.
She's known as the Slayer of the mercenary guild, sent on jobs where all others have failed, and she takes care of them with sometimes concerning ease. She's got five hits to take out in the city today, three down, fourth in pursuit, and one to go.
Lucky for her, she's got a little help, a set of eyes in the sky.{In which Gem is a completionist, Pearl gets lucky, this poor guy never stood a chance, and a few backflips between headhunts never hurt anyone.}
(Amethysts Scribbling Corner: 1 - for dunmanticarchivistsmain)
Series
- Part 10 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
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“And I'll use you as a warning sign, that if you talk enough sense, then you’ll lose your mind.” by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series, Hermitcraft SMP
27 Jan 2024
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Summary
A street rat and an orphan, Martyn had been taken in by a coven of witches in the royal capital. They raised him, and he could probably make himself a wealthy man within the span of a few years if he stayed here, but even still, all he wanted was to get out of the city.
Then he could finally be alone. No longer having to dial his social skills up to 11 day in and day out as he frantically ran the crowded front for his teachers famous apothecary. He's finally proven himself worthy of being a full-fledged witch, earned his emblem, and now it's time for the journey to a remote village that's been seeking a witch of their own for a long time. Open his own apothecary and pass the days peacefully without the stress of the city's roar all around. Unfortunately, the roads are treacherous, and a young beautiful witch traveling alone was a coveted prize. Martyn has a plan, though.
Shame plans never turn out how they're supposed to.{In which Martyn wants to be left alone, Ren can't decide which mask he needs to wear, they're no strangers to the cruelty of the world, and this is the first day of something neither could have dared to hope for.}
Series
- Part 11 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
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“These golden ashes turn to dirt” by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: Hermitcraft SMP, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series
20 May 2024
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Summary
Yes, Gem was a nature elf. Yes, she was also a mercenary. Specifically a bounty hunter. Her borderline obsessive interest in studying swordsmanship had been quite unpopular in the Southern Elven Territories, where she was from, and eventually, she’d struck out from there to make her living in the human kingdom of the old continent. She’d learned the basics of her nature spells, and despite common misconception, the spirits didn’t abandon you for murder.
Their love was unconditional. Unlike most people. Elves were a solitary sort. It wasn't that Gem necessarily disliked that aspect of their society. It was more that she was sick of getting looked at in such an odd way for having a blade on her hip. Besides, elves didn't exactly live in villages...they didn't exactly live anywhere, really, they drifted through the forests. They only really gathered at the spirit wells or some other villages for the education of the young, and that was rare.It was all very liminal. Gem didn’t like that. She preferred cold hard coin.
{In which Gem breaks a record, a legend is born, and all she really cares about is the pay raise.}
(Hermit-a-Day May Day 20: Geminitay)
Series
- Part 12 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
- Part 20 of Amethyst's Hermit-A-Day May 2024
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“High achiever, don’t you see? Baby nothing comes for free.” by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series
05 Oct 2024
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Summary
The golden glow in the bottle beamed for a brilliant hopeful moment, raising hope in his swelling heart.
Then it died out alongside his chances when she pulled the stopper.
Martyn had been trying to graduate from witch apprentice for three years now. This was the third time he’d spent months upon months carefully curating ingredients to create the highly powerful healing potion that was the final hurdle he needed to clear.It was brutally difficult, hair-thinning in it’s finickiness, in how easy it was to screw up.
And he’d screwed up. And he was used to screwing up. But the city was so loud, and the work was so frustrating, and at this moment the last thing he wanted to think about was having to try again. But he would. Because in the end, what other choice was there?
{In which a potion is brewed, a light goes out, and Martyn starts all over again}
(Whumptober 2024: Day 5 - Healing Salve)
Series
- Part 5 of Amethyst's Whumptober 2024
- Part 13 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
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“We’ll burn a hundred theaters if it meant we get the wallpaper right” by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: Hermitcraft SMP, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series
28 Oct 2024
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Summary
It was pointless.
But Ren knew that his Master knew that. After all, the whole reason he was wearing the stars forsaken thing had nothing to do with securing his fangs or keeping him quiet. The arena was roaring around him, and he just pressed further into the wall, leaning back to knock his head off the bricks behind him lightly. The temporary coolness through his thick, already dirty and matted dark hair, was a momentary comfort. He took was he could get these days. The press of the leather digging into his cheeks, around the back of his head? Less so. The uncomfortable bit pressed into his mouth and it always made the corners of his lips chafe till they bled. Then again, muzzles weren’t exactly designed for comfort.{In which Ren prepares for another show}
(Whumptober 2024: Day 27 - Muzzles)
Series
- Part 14 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
- Part 27 of Amethyst's Whumptober 2024
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"I don't need you to help me, I can handle things myself" by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: Hermitcraft SMP, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series
25 Dec 2023
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Summary
Grian supposed his new masters were good people.
Every time he pushed a fraction further, fully prepared to be forcefully corrected in such blatant assumption…punishment would never come. Sure, he hadn't preened properly since he'd been at that hybrid market, to the point where he still had dirt caught beneath some of his primaries from the crash-landing he'd made in the yard about a month ago. Scar and Mumbo weren't bringing up the issue, he doubted they knew the intricacies of caring for an avian, and they hadn't noticed, considering how hard he'd worked to suppress his discomfort.
He didn't want to risk bothering them. He enjoyed his morning flights, his comfy nest, his warm red sweater, and no matter how hard he tried to believe they wouldn't take it for him, he still couldn't bear to be a nuisance. After all, his wings had been itching the entire time, but the sunrise had been beautiful.{In which Grian ignores his health, but what else is new, Mumbo is rather the unhelpful mercenary guild member, Gem needs a stiff drink, Pearl needs it more, and someone really does need to publish an avian care manual.}
(Whumptober 2023: 15 - Suppressed Suffering)
Series
- Part 15 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
- Part 15 of Amethyst's Whumptober-ish 2023
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“Don’t rip the heart off of your sleeve” by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: Hermitcraft SMP, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series
10 Feb 2024
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Summary
It wasn’t easy trying to be honest when the world was already convinced you were a liar. Mumbo was homeless, broke, orphaned, and worst of all? He was a rogue. With ruby red eyes and shadows dancing beneath his skin, exposing his true nature to all the world...or at least, that's what the world believed. He didn't want to believe it. He wanted to look up to the nobles and knights, upstanding gentlemen who were poised and brilliant, whom he saw in the parades through the city as he lurked in back alleys scrounging for another meal. He'd tried to get an honest job, truly, he had...but they'd all turned him away. And it seems like no matter how hard he tries, he can't run away from a blood-soaked fate.
Strange that the blood isn't his, though.
{In which we meet Mumbo Jumbo, age thirteen, who really does wish someone had heard of a gentleman rogue before.}
(Febuwhump 2024 - 10 - Killing in Self-Defense)
Series
- Part 11 of Amethyst's Febuwhump 2024
- Part 16 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
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“You never miss the flowers till the suns down” by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: Hermitcraft SMP, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series
01 Feb 2024
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Summary
Helplessness was unique in the dark.
It’s not like Tango had much option to suffer it in the light, either. He didn’t have any options at all. The creak of the redstone wagon sounded like a thunderclap. The vague murmur of voices from other hybrids in the wagon was crackling in his ears. It wasn’t joined by his flares, nor by the hiss of his blaze-rods, because they were barely smoldering. That was entirely the point as he sat kept in the dark, fear lacing each breath, unaware of how much longer he'd remain here.
Keeping quiet was the best option, though. It wasn't like he'd receive an answer if he called out for help, either way.
{In which Tango is traveling the old continent, and as a nether-born slave, the humans have twisted ways of keeping him docile.}
(Febuwhump 2024 - 1 - Helpless)
Series
- Part 1 of Amethyst's Febuwhump 2024
- Part 17 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
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“But you talked till you laughed till you cried out so loud ‘Someone save me’” by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series
12 May 2024
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Summary
Martyn didn’t want to imagine it.
The thought that he might, in any small way, see Ren in some fashion similar to the people who’d left those scars made his stomach churn. He was grappling with it on the daily, and it had only been a little over a week since that night at the inn where he'd helped the dog hybrid wash his hair. Seen him unwind just barely, release so much of the tension he seemed to carry, and yet again, the witch thought there had to be something that he was missing here.
Ren was...gorgeous. He must have suffered so much before because of that simple fact. Martyn couldn't claim he understood it, yet he wished to fix it, but what sort of a hypocrite was he? After all, he was seeing Ren, and seeing Ren in such ways, knowing there was a contract floating somewhere in his inventory that meant he could do anything he wanted...it was all just too much to bear.
And Martyn couldn't relate...he'd never have wished too. Stars above or earth below had decided he would be made to see things from Ren's perspective, anyway.{In which Ren closes his eyes, Martyn sees the other side of the coin, and the forest hides dangers just within the shadow of the trees.}
Series
- Part 18 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
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“But how am I supposed to love when I don’t know who I am?” by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: Hermitcraft SMP, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series
01 Jun 2024
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Summary
It was quiet, which was nice. It gave him the space the breathe. The space to not worry about who he needed to be at that very instant. The space to think.
Ren had been bought by Martyn for the sole purpose of protecting him. And what a terrible job he'd done, letting his Master get kidnapped and assaulted by bandits, badly beaten and bruised, robbed of nearly all his precious charms and pendants.
Yet when he’d finally gotten that rag that had been tied around Martyn’s head, silencing him, off, what had he heard?
“Thank you.”
And no, Martyn hadn't made any sense this entire time, not since Ren had first met him at the arena. Who he wanted, who he needed, all these questions swirled in his mind, and Ren sometimes thought he might shatter from his lack of understanding. All these things he grappled with, but as he tried to get some rest, he supposed it all would have to align...at least he hoped. Sooner or later.
{In which Ren looks for a key, Martyn gets some rest, and we lay down the masks, but at this point, who's even behind them?}
(Hermit-a-Day 31 - Rendog)
Series
- Part 26 of Amethyst's Hermit-A-Day May 2024
- Part 19 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}
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"I tend to deflect when I'm feeling threatened" by Amethystfairy1
Fandoms: Hermitcraft SMP
13 Oct 2023
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Summary
Tango wasn’t sure where the myth that keeping nether-borns blindfolded kept them docile even came from.
He didn't know who'd come up with the idea, nor how long it'd been the norm, but it'd been that way ever since he'd been kidnapped from his pyre and dragged to the over-world, forced into a sick system and unable to escape. After a decade, you'd think he'd get used to the dark. Unable to see, clutching fingers to the floor or against his hair or his clothes, trying to stay grounded. The world got way too loud, everything against his skin felt like it was rubbing him raw, and there was nothing for him to do but sit and wait and hope they wouldn't leave him in the dark for days or weeks this time. That'd happened before.
Now that he's with Zed, he's caught hoping this human who'd been nothing but kind wouldn't do that to him. But then, he knows not everyone is like Zed, he's very well aware. And the last thing Tango could bear is to cause him any problems.{In which Tango can't just say what he means, Zed is confused and supportive, and flexing your influence isn't something Zed necessarily approves of, but there's no way he's leaving Tango in the dark.}
(Whumptober 2023: 18 - Blindfold)
Series
- Part 18 of Amethyst's Whumptober-ish 2023
- Part 20 of Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU}