hey ya'll name's aqua. 28, she/her, queer ace who loves cartoons. fanfic writer primarily focused on hermitcraft/life series smp, tangled: the series, and anything animated
A masterpost of links for my and @lunarcrown‘s angsty Tango-centric Hermitcraft/Double Life SMP au. If you want to just scroll all content for the au in chronological order, start here! Otherwise, find specific links below.
Intro comic and art by Lunarcrown
Fic (main fic series from eden, plus miscellaneous drabbles):
from eden, part I
from eden, part II
from eden, part III
from eden, part IV
from eden, part V
from eden, part VI
from eden, part VII
from eden, part VIII
from eden, part IX (act I)
from eden, part IX (act II)
from eden, part X
from eden, part XI (act I)
from eden, part XI (act II)
Asks: about characters, worldbuilding, and miscellaneous
Shiny duo magical girl au for day 18 of hermit a day May!!!
Yap under cut 👇
Gems design is very much inspired by her season 11 skin ANND this epic fit worn by the goat Alysa Liu (yes it was that long ago that i designed these)
Gems main themes are dragon/fire/fantasy and i think this outfit perfectly encapsulates that vibe
Pearls main themes are dreams/sleep/space and i really like the pearl designs with the ena like/half moon face so def had to include it
shoes are pending but I think i like the idea that she can just float so she doesnt really need them
Also eventually i may just get around to designing weapons for them too but we’ll get there when we get there
Since designing the buttercups as magical girls I’ve gotten more into the lore of it all lol +lots more hermits/hermits friends i want to makes designs for
so needless to say you’ll def see more of this au once I finish the hermit a day challenge :)
Dragon Striker is out on Disney + since today! It's a wonderful anime-inspired serie that has completely stole my heart from the moment I started working on it. It's definitely worth the watch so please check it out!
I haven't been posting much these past years, well, it was because of these two trouble makers above, the drama twins, Casper and Callista! It feels silly to say, but, they have come to mean so much to me in ways that is hard to explain. I'm so excited to be FINALLY able to share these HUNDREDS of fanarts and comics i've made of them these past years and couldn't show you until now!
But most of all, I hope that you will enjoy the show, and that you will love them too.
i interrupt this block posting with a brief interlude about dragon striker. new animated show out on DTVA, they just dumped the whole first season on disney plus (inquiring minds may find other sources online if ye have anti virus software). basically, it’s a sports anime inspired show set in a magical fantasy world (some aspects of That Dreaded Wizard Franchise and some aspects of superhero school for kids like my hero academia and sky high) and uh. it was a LOT better than i was expecting going into it. and i’m tryna get more eyes on it cuz if they don’t get a second season greenlit after that cliffhanger then i’m gonna… idk go set DTVA studios on fire or something. maybe.
out of context/vague mildly spoilery liveblog continued below the cut
I'm having Feelings™ about Bravo so im gonna dump it all in here. Enjoy.
Anyway, I think Bravo is one of my favorite villains of all time, if not THE favorite. The part I love most about his character is how well the story balances his tragic backstory and how his actions hurt others.
Because, no doubt about it, his story is a tragedy. He builds up all these impressive skills and just when he's been welcomed onto Hermitcraft, into a new chapter of his life, he gets thrown face-first into literal hell. He's forced to learn the rules of this new world all by himself, with no other overworlders to talk to and as far as I know, no other friends. He's stuck like this for presumably YEARS.
It gets worse when he meets Atlas, who reveals that Bravo's arrival wasn't just a coincidence: it was caused by a player. Someone trapped him here, in hels, but revenge isn't all he's focused on. More than anything, he wants to get back home and get his old life back; capturing Tango was more so Atlas' goal than his.
But when he gets back to the overworld, he sees that Tango had not only ripped Bravo's life away from him, but also took it for himself. All these people rush to defend him, despite the pain he has inflicted on Bravo (from Bravo's perspective, anyway), and on top of all that, he can no longer trust Atlas and is left alone, once again. But this time, he brings Timmy along, which is better than nothing.
In the end Bravo finally understands that Tango hadn't done any of this on purpose, and was just trying to do the same thing he was. So Bravo is left with all this anger and hurt with no one to redirect it on. He's back in the overworld, and Atlas has been defeated, but what now? He can't go back to Hermitcraft: they've already taken Tango in and likely aren't fond of him, given what he's done. And he can't just move on, it's not that simple; he's spent years in hell, and there isn't any reversing what has already been done. His entire life and person has been torn apart for seemingly no reason, besides the possibility that the universe decided to sacrifice him for the good of everyone in Hels.
Plot summary aside, It's driving me nuts just thinking about how all this has affected him. Yeah, he's a villain, but frankly I think he's done better than the majority of people would in his same situation. And he still has his morals! He hates the needless violence in Hels; He stands up against Atlas when he tries to kidnap Jimmy, even though Jimmy had hurt him prior; He tries to help Timmy with his starvation even after coming back to the overworld.
Bravo didn't have to help Tango, the person he had spent so long hating. He (probably) could've taken off running the moment Tango arrived with a portal. But he stayed to help, even though Atlas could've captured him like he knew Atlas had captured Tango before.
Bravo tries to do the right thing. He has morals and avoids fighting with Tango's allies, who are overworlders. He has had so much rage festering inside of him for so long, but doesn't take it out on anyone besides Tango, who he had believed was responsible for this whole mess. The closest he came to something of the sort is when he tried to change Timmy to be more like Jimmy, though it was clearly his own way of coping.
But it still hurts them. Bravo still hurts Tango, Jimmy, and Timmy, despite his typically good intentions. He's still a villain, and the narrative doesn't let you forget it. Many stories tend to coddle tragic villains, refusing to let them take proper accountability for what they've done. But despite Bravo being an incredibly tragic character, the story doesn't coddle him the slightest. It shows him at his worst without making up excuses for it, and shines a light on what it has done to other people. While Tango eventually forgives him, he isn't magically welcomed "into the squad" or whatnot, instead left on his own for the main characters to heal, partially from what he has done to them.
Conclusion: Bravo is an impossibly well-written character and still be rotating him in my mind like a rotisserie chicken until the end of my days. Thank you so much for blessing us with such a thing <3
thanks so much for sharing this. it couldn’t have come at a better time for me. life has been so busy as i prepare to move (again) to work at a new hospital (again), and i’ve been so frustrated that i haven’t been able to write as much as i want to. and that preys on inevitable fears that people are losing interest in my work, esp when i do manage to write something that doesn’t get the engagement i hoped for.
but this right here? this was a great reminder of why i do this. bravo is such an important character to me and it means the world to know he had such an impact on you. it was challenging to make an oc that was also sort of based in canon without just writing Tango LiteTM. and it was so important to me to balance his tragedy with his own shortcomings and accountability and unapologetic villainy. i wanted people to be feeling sorry for him one moment and then screaming at him in the next, and your analysis captures that perfectly.
you’ve completely hit the nail on the head regarding his character and purpose in the story, and i’m so excited for u to see what’s next for him (if ur willing to stick around for who knows how long til i get that written, that is). much appreciated <3
Title: i bet on losing dogs
Word Count: 2,635
Warnings: Canon-typical violence and death, descriptive blood/injury, mild language, somewhat toxic relationship dynamics (be chill tho this is characters not cc’s) and implied shipping
Summary: Pearl's no stranger to being a lone wolf. That's just how it goes, sometimes, in a death game, despite how much she wishes otherwise. So when a new world starts with Gem and Grian's promises of belonging, she leaps at the chance to be part of a pack again. But she quickly finds herself pulled into dark, cold depths that have her struggling to keep her head above water. And at the end of it all, she faces a haunting question: what do they actually want her for?
A/N: Introducing the long-awaited (by me lol) dramatized Past Life retelling through Wolf!Pearl's eyes, with a focus on a somewhat toxic Villies dynamic (with GemPearl undertones) and mob hybrid instincts galore. Every line of dialogue is pulled directly from canon, but I’ve cut bits and taken some liberties for the sake of a better/more coherent story. Hope y’all enjoy :3 - Aqua
(Follow the above link to read on A03 for complete tags, or continue reading below. Link to Spotify playlist here.)
~
i bet on losing dogs, part I - oh apricity, you’re calling out to me
~
Pearl is knee deep in a sand pit, digging out a spider spawner dungeon, when her ears prick at the sound of distant footsteps.
She falls still, turning her face to the wind. Two familiar scents nip at her. One is a strong, earthy sort of musk with a sharp-sweet tinge, like freshly stripped birch wood- which can only be Gem. The second one is milder and a little dusty- that ‘old jumper mixed with feathers’ smell she’s come to associate with Grian.
“Hello? Hello!” she calls, quickly climbing out of the sand pit and glancing around.
Gem and Grian’s arrival brings mixed feelings. She’s known them both a long time, and they’ve generally maintained a good friendship. If this were Hermitcraft, she’d be anticipating some light-hearted shenanigans or a consultation about a new build, maybe even some playful combat that ultimately has no consequence. But these worlds are different. She’s ended up on the opposite side of a battlefield from them before, and they’re both formidable foes in their own right. This early in the game, it’s impossible to know their intentions.
Grian hops off the overlooking hilltop, fluttering to an abrupt landing in front of Pearl. “Who are you talking to?” he asks urgently.
“Who are you with?” Gem asks from the top of the hill. Her ears rove in every direction, nose wrinkling as she scents the wind; gathering information about her surroundings while she keeps her eyes on Pearl.
It’s the most natural thing in the world for Gem to keep Pearl in her direct line of vision. Her species is technically prey to Pearl’s- a deeply buried piece of data they’re both aware of but pay little mind to. Pearl doesn’t take any offense by the way Gem sometimes stomps the ground and snorts in challenge, no more than Gem takes offense to the way Pearl’s eyes dilate when she breathes in her scent. There’s no easy prey here and they both know it.
Pearl turns her head so she’s not making eye contact with either of them, signaling no threat. “I’m just with myself,” she hums, “I’m talkin’ to me.”
Gem’s face brightens. “You’re by yourself? Well, that’s great news!”
“That’s great news,” Grian echoes. He tilts his head in little twitches and jerks that snatch Pearl’s attention. Rapid movements signal prey behavior to her wolf code, but he always stares at her head-on like a predator.
And it’s not to do with the fact that his eyes are set into a human skull. Jimmy’s an avian, too, and he doesn’t stare at her like that. He almost always views her out the side of his eye. Face slightly turned away, feathers slightly ruffled. Like a part of him is always waiting to take flight.
Grian looks like he’s always waiting to strike. And Pearl finds herself wondering, not for the first time, just exactly what kind of bird he is.
“Pearl,” Grian chirps eagerly, “I just explained to Gem, I’m tryin’ to like- I came into this series for the first time ever with a team in mind, and it’s you, it’s me, and it’s Gem. What do you think?”
Pearl’s heart skips a beat. “I like that team,” she says, her tail starting to wag low and loose. She looks at Gem, mouth falling open into a wolf’s grin. “That’s a great team.”
At the same time, she’s already reminding herself not to get her hopes up. She’s cautious out of habit. She’s learned over these games that it’s hard to find a pack, a true pack, in a world where only one of them can make it to the end. But that doesn’t stop her from wanting it. Wanting to find somewhere soft to curl up and call home, warmed by bodies pressed against her, comforted by the scents of safety and good hunting. Wanting to be wanted.
Gem smiles back at her, satisfaction glimmering in her green eyes, before she exchanges a knowing look with Grian. She pats Pearl on the head as she trots past her, and Pearl has to fight the urge to lean into it. “Good. I think so, too.”
Grian is watching them with a certain glint in his eye. “I just said- I’m gonna find the strongest members, and here we are.”
“Already found a spider spawner,” Gem says appraisingly.
Pearl ducks her head. “It’s a good start,” she amends, and then because she physically can’t help herself- “But you know everyone dies when they’re with me, right? You know that?”
“We turn up,” Grian continues talking to Gem, as if Pearl hasn’t spoken, “and she’s already proven to be the most competent player.”
Pearl’s lips press into a tight smile. None of them are strangers to tragedy, it goes hand-in-hand with these games. But if Grian and Gem want to pretend things will be different this time, want to ignore her warning, she’s happy to let them. She’ll be the sole keeper of this knowledge until its inevitable conclusion.
They fall into an easy rhythm, then. Gathering supplies, cobbling together a crude base, venturing down into the mines. All the day one things that need to be done in every new world, regardless of a death game going on. It’s comfortable and fun- if not slightly undercut by the thrum of anticipation that permeates the air. It’s as if the entire world is holding its breath, waiting for the fragile peace to shatter.
“Okay but like, socially, what’s the plan?” Grian asks eventually. “Are we… ‘cause, you know, there’s not really rules, they’re more like… suggestions.” His gaze darts between them, head jerking and bobbing, wings ruffling. “Are we just- can we just, like… take every- everyone else’s stuff?”
Pearl pauses. There’s a strange, almost guarded tone to his voice. Like the first slow, careful step onto a frozen lake, testing to see if it cracks. She lets out a heavy breath through bared teeth. “I mean… you’re the rulemaker,” she murmurs, reluctant to leave the shoreline.
Gem springs onto that lake, crashing through the ice with powerful hooves. “We should just go ahead and full on do it and make enemies, ‘cause everybody on the server already doesn’t like me very much.” She idly flicks an ear, unbothered by the cold. Steam curls from her mouth. “I know people don’t like me. So I think we should lean into it, we should be three villains.”
“We should just- that’s what I was thinking,” Grian exclaims, eyes flashing with excitement as he follows her in deeper. Water droplets roll down his feathers like moonlight. “We just be the villains. Like, everyone’s too scared to be the villains- I’m not scared to be a villain. You scared to be a villain?”
Gem lifts her chin, tossing her antlers back with a spray of water. “Let’s be the villains.”
Their gazes turn expectantly to Pearl. She shrinks under the weight of it. This path is one she’s walked before, back in a time of red strings and red eyes, bloodlust and bitterness. It’s not something she’s keen to return to. Not even for the temptation of another win. She can see a watery grave beckoning, and every instinct is telling her to run. Every instinct warns her against the too-hungry eyes of a deer and a bird that look upon her without fear, in affront to nature.
But they want her. And she wants to be wanted.
“Alright,” she breathes, wading into the icy depths.
Let’s be villains.
~
Grian takes first blood that night. Unprovoked, green on green. He claims he wasn’t actually trying to kill Martyn, but the alternative isn’t any better; if their plan was successful, it would’ve been a multi-kill on Jimmy, Joel, Skizz, and Bigb. Trapped like foxes in a hole. Just because.
Pearl watches it happen silently, tail stiff and stomach tight. Even the instant karma of Grian tumbling down the exact same hole to his death isn’t enough to dispel her uneasiness, not even when everyone is all jokes and laughs afterwards. She can’t help but feel that some invisible line has been crossed. Can’t help but feel the sluggish ripples of an icy lake lapping at her paws.
“I do like you as villains,” Cleo hums. But when their dead-eyed gaze drags over Pearl’s form, there’s far too much awareness in it to be entirely friendly, and her nose fills with the scent of rot.
~
As the daylight begins to fade, they venture out to explore the world, see what everyone else is up to, and- incidentally-steal all the torches from around the other bases so more mobs will spawn. Typical villain behavior.
They just so happen to be catching up with Skizz, all of them crowded inside his tiny cobblestone house, when there’s a shout from outside- shortly followed by Jimmy hitting the ground. Apparently the shallow water below wasn’t enough to spare his life.
Grian immediately swoops out the door to loot the dropped items, Pearl and Gem in tow. Pearl’s a little reluctant to follow as they wade into the pond, wary of the mobs surrounding them, but eventually she jumps in and manages to get away with a few diamonds, among other various belongings. They quickly retreat back to their own base, with Jimmy and Joel hot on their heels.
“Pearl,” Joel starts, climbing up the hill, “we’re here to kindly request that you return Jimmy’s stuff, please.” He stops in front of her expectantly. Jimmy’s standing a little way behind him, watching nervously out of the side of his eye, feathers ruffled.
Pearl pauses. She gives him a shrug. “I don’t have ‘em, mate.”
Joel’s antennae twitch. “Give Jimmy his stuff back!” He punctuates his demand with a swipe of his sword.
It’s the flat of the blade that lands against Pearl’s head, but it still hurts. “Ow!” she yelps, ducking her head as she scampers around the house, tail tucked. “What the heck!”
Gem charges over, darting in front of Pearl with flat ears and a stiff tail. “Don’t hurt Pearl!” she snaps. Her sword comes down on Joel in a flash. He returns the hit before they break apart, still glaring.
“No,” Grian flutters over, his voice warning, “steady, steady, steady…”
“Hey, c’mon,” Jimmy says, grabbing Joel’s shoulder. “Come on now, guys-”
“Shush,” Joel shrugs him off. He levels his sword at Gem, eyes narrowed. “Okay- give him his diamonds back. Give him his diamonds back.”
Gem paws the ground with her hoof. “How dare you.”
“Guys,” Jimmy holds his hands up, “I’m here for my diamonds, alright?”
Grian tilts his head. “I- I believe the term is ‘finder’s keepers.’”
“I believe the term is ‘you’ve stolen,’” Joel deadpans.
Grian exchanges a look with Gem before he hums noncommittally, turning back to their farm. Reluctantly, Gem lowers her sword. She blows a sharp exhale through her nose before following.
Jimmy, evidently seeing they aren’t going to budge, decides to help himself to some of their belongings, rooting through the various chests they have lying around. Then he lets himself into their house, and Pearl is spurred into action. She lunges forward and strikes him with her sword (and she can't help but think about how in another time, it would've been her teeth).
He whirls around with wide eyes. “I’m on three hearts.”
“You better get outta that house, there, Jimmy!” Pearl barks, stepping through the doorway. She leaps onto the chest in the corner and stares down at him. Her tail moves side-to-side; too intense to be friendly.
Jimmy sputters for a moment. His wings flap haphazardly as he backs himself against the wall, talons scratching through the sandy floor. “I’ll- I’ll have my diamonds then, please, thank you!”
Grian pokes his head inside. “Are the diamonds worth more than your life?” he asks softly, hopping on top of the furnace in the corner opposite Pearl. His talons grip the edge of the stone as he leers over Jimmy.
“Yes,” Jimmy answers without hesitation. “At this moment in time, yes.”
Grian catches Pearl’s eye, a smirk spreading across his face. “I mean, one swing of the sword, and that’s true.”
“It is,” Jimmy allows, dipping his head. “You can swing, and I will die. But-” He puffs out his chest, wings flaring out behind him. “-green on green, my friend! There will be trouble!”
“No,” Grian says, casually preening a wing, “I already- I already killed Martyn by accident, so.”
Jimmy pauses. “Oh,” he says, shrinking back down. “That was you.”
Before anything else can come of it, Joel sets fire to their base from outside. It’s not completely made out of wood, but there’s enough of it in the lower layers to get a blaze roaring, and Pearl’s kicking herself for using it. She joins Grian and Gem in their desperate attempts to put out the flames, but despite their best efforts, it quickly grows out of control. They concede defeat, merely watching the fire spread as Jimmy and Joel take their leave, considering the score settled. Pearl’s nose wrinkles at the scent of smoke. Her ears twitch when the wood splits and pops.
Gem looks over their burning base with pursed lips. “Guys, being the villains is really hard.”
“It is actually really hard,” Grian laughs, running a hand through his hair. “‘Cause I- I neither feel like a villain- I don’t feel like a good villain, you know?”
Pearl rubs her head. “Kinda feels like we’re being picked on, at this point,” she murmurs.
But it seems like Gem and Grian’s response is that they need to be better villains, rather than give up on the whole idea like Pearl wants to. So she keeps her reservations to herself and follows them in deeper.
~
They all sleep on the same bed that night, cloaked beneath the moonlit sky above their roofless hovel.
Grian’s perched on the headboard, curled in on himself and tucked beneath his wings. Pearl’s never understood how he can sleep comfortably like that, but it seems to work for him.
That leaves the rest of the bed for Pearl and Gem, the latter carefully resting her sharp antlers on the pillow, long legs folded gracefully beneath her. Pearl moves to curl up at the foot of the bed, but Gem chuffs softly. Her eyes shine with stray beams of moonlight as she holds her arms out, silently inviting Pearl to come closer.
Pearl does so gratefully, trembling from the force of trying not to break out into excited full-body wriggling, her tail held carefully still. She crawls forward on her stomach, nuzzling Gem’s face before curling against her, head tucked beneath Gem’s chin. She can hear Gem’s heart beating, can feel the pulse of her jugular pressed against her lips. An errant thought occurs to her: it’d be so easy to sink her teeth into Gem’s throat. To rip through skin and muscle and sinew ‘til her teeth glance off bone made slick with blood.
But Pearl merely turns the thought over in her mind before letting it slip from her fingers, drifting forgotten into the inky depths. She hasn’t seriously entertained bloodlust like that for several seasons, now. Maybe she never will again.
She closes her eyes and inhales deeply. She’s content just like this, warm and safe and wanted. She’d gladly forsake the taste of blood if she could just live in this moment forever.
Gem sighs, too, but there’s a different tone in it. In the eye of Pearl’s mind, she can almost imagine Gem’s breath fogging in the air, its sting as sharp as any teeth.
(Pearl curls up tighter and pretends she can’t feel the sudden chill breathing down her neck.)
Title: i bet on losing dogs
Word Count: 2,635
Warnings: Canon-typical violence and death, descriptive blood/injury, mild language, somewhat toxic relationship dynamics (be chill tho this is characters not cc’s) and implied shipping
Summary: Pearl's no stranger to being a lone wolf. That's just how it goes, sometimes, in a death game, despite how much she wishes otherwise. So when a new world starts with Gem and Grian's promises of belonging, she leaps at the chance to be part of a pack again. But she quickly finds herself pulled into dark, cold depths that have her struggling to keep her head above water. And at the end of it all, she faces a haunting question: what do they actually want her for?
A/N: Introducing the long-awaited (by me lol) dramatized Past Life retelling through Wolf!Pearl's eyes, with a focus on a somewhat toxic Villies dynamic (with GemPearl undertones) and mob hybrid instincts galore. Every line of dialogue is pulled directly from canon, but I’ve cut bits and taken some liberties for the sake of a better/more coherent story. Hope y’all enjoy :3 - Aqua
(Follow the above link to read on A03 for complete tags, or continue reading below. Link to Spotify playlist here.)
~
i bet on losing dogs, part I - oh apricity, you’re calling out to me
~
Pearl is knee deep in a sand pit, digging out a spider spawner dungeon, when her ears prick at the sound of distant footsteps.
She falls still, turning her face to the wind. Two familiar scents nip at her. One is a strong, earthy sort of musk with a sharp-sweet tinge, like freshly stripped birch wood- which can only be Gem. The second one is milder and a little dusty- that ‘old jumper mixed with feathers’ smell she’s come to associate with Grian.
“Hello? Hello!” she calls, quickly climbing out of the sand pit and glancing around.
Gem and Grian’s arrival brings mixed feelings. She’s known them both a long time, and they’ve generally maintained a good friendship. If this were Hermitcraft, she’d be anticipating some light-hearted shenanigans or a consultation about a new build, maybe even some playful combat that ultimately has no consequence. But these worlds are different. She’s ended up on the opposite side of a battlefield from them before, and they’re both formidable foes in their own right. This early in the game, it’s impossible to know their intentions.
Grian hops off the overlooking hilltop, fluttering to an abrupt landing in front of Pearl. “Who are you talking to?” he asks urgently.
“Who are you with?” Gem asks from the top of the hill. Her ears rove in every direction, nose wrinkling as she scents the wind; gathering information about her surroundings while she keeps her eyes on Pearl.
It’s the most natural thing in the world for Gem to keep Pearl in her direct line of vision. Her species is technically prey to Pearl’s- a deeply buried piece of data they’re both aware of but pay little mind to. Pearl doesn’t take any offense by the way Gem sometimes stomps the ground and snorts in challenge, no more than Gem takes offense to the way Pearl’s eyes dilate when she breathes in her scent. There’s no easy prey here and they both know it.
Pearl turns her head so she’s not making eye contact with either of them, signaling no threat. “I’m just with myself,” she hums, “I’m talkin’ to me.”
Gem’s face brightens. “You’re by yourself? Well, that’s great news!”
“That’s great news,” Grian echoes. He tilts his head in little twitches and jerks that snatch Pearl’s attention. Rapid movements signal prey behavior to her wolf code, but he always stares at her head-on like a predator.
And it’s not to do with the fact that his eyes are set into a human skull. Jimmy’s an avian, too, and he doesn’t stare at her like that. He almost always views her out the side of his eye. Face slightly turned away, feathers slightly ruffled. Like a part of him is always waiting to take flight.
Grian looks like he’s always waiting to strike. And Pearl finds herself wondering, not for the first time, just exactly what kind of bird he is.
“Pearl,” Grian chirps eagerly, “I just explained to Gem, I’m tryin’ to like- I came into this series for the first time ever with a team in mind, and it’s you, it’s me, and it’s Gem. What do you think?”
Pearl’s heart skips a beat. “I like that team,” she says, her tail starting to wag low and loose. She looks at Gem, mouth falling open into a wolf’s grin. “That’s a great team.”
At the same time, she’s already reminding herself not to get her hopes up. She’s cautious out of habit. She’s learned over these games that it’s hard to find a pack, a true pack, in a world where only one of them can make it to the end. But that doesn’t stop her from wanting it. Wanting to find somewhere soft to curl up and call home, warmed by bodies pressed against her, comforted by the scents of safety and good hunting. Wanting to be wanted.
Gem smiles back at her, satisfaction glimmering in her green eyes, before she exchanges a knowing look with Grian. She pats Pearl on the head as she trots past her, and Pearl has to fight the urge to lean into it. “Good. I think so, too.”
Grian is watching them with a certain glint in his eye. “I just said- I’m gonna find the strongest members, and here we are.”
“Already found a spider spawner,” Gem says appraisingly.
Pearl ducks her head. “It’s a good start,” she amends, and then because she physically can’t help herself- “But you know everyone dies when they’re with me, right? You know that?”
“We turn up,” Grian continues talking to Gem, as if Pearl hasn’t spoken, “and she’s already proven to be the most competent player.”
Pearl’s lips press into a tight smile. None of them are strangers to tragedy, it goes hand-in-hand with these games. But if Grian and Gem want to pretend things will be different this time, want to ignore her warning, she’s happy to let them. She’ll be the sole keeper of this knowledge until its inevitable conclusion.
They fall into an easy rhythm, then. Gathering supplies, cobbling together a crude base, venturing down into the mines. All the day one things that need to be done in every new world, regardless of a death game going on. It’s comfortable and fun- if not slightly undercut by the thrum of anticipation that permeates the air. It’s as if the entire world is holding its breath, waiting for the fragile peace to shatter.
“Okay but like, socially, what’s the plan?” Grian asks eventually. “Are we… ‘cause, you know, there’s not really rules, they’re more like… suggestions.” His gaze darts between them, head jerking and bobbing, wings ruffling. “Are we just- can we just, like… take every- everyone else’s stuff?”
Pearl pauses. There’s a strange, almost guarded tone to his voice. Like the first slow, careful step onto a frozen lake, testing to see if it cracks. She lets out a heavy breath through bared teeth. “I mean… you’re the rulemaker,” she murmurs, reluctant to leave the shoreline.
Gem springs onto that lake, crashing through the ice with powerful hooves. “We should just go ahead and full on do it and make enemies, ‘cause everybody on the server already doesn’t like me very much.” She idly flicks an ear, unbothered by the cold. Steam curls from her mouth. “I know people don’t like me. So I think we should lean into it, we should be three villains.”
“We should just- that’s what I was thinking,” Grian exclaims, eyes flashing with excitement as he follows her in deeper. Water droplets roll down his feathers like moonlight. “We just be the villains. Like, everyone’s too scared to be the villains- I’m not scared to be a villain. You scared to be a villain?”
Gem lifts her chin, tossing her antlers back with a spray of water. “Let’s be the villains.”
Their gazes turn expectantly to Pearl. She shrinks under the weight of it. This path is one she’s walked before, back in a time of red strings and red eyes, bloodlust and bitterness. It’s not something she’s keen to return to. Not even for the temptation of another win. She can see a watery grave beckoning, and every instinct is telling her to run. Every instinct warns her against the too-hungry eyes of a deer and a bird that look upon her without fear, in affront to nature.
But they want her. And she wants to be wanted.
“Alright,” she breathes, wading into the icy depths.
Let’s be villains.
~
Grian takes first blood that night. Unprovoked, green on green. He claims he wasn’t actually trying to kill Martyn, but the alternative isn’t any better; if their plan was successful, it would’ve been a multi-kill on Jimmy, Joel, Skizz, and Bigb. Trapped like foxes in a hole. Just because.
Pearl watches it happen silently, tail stiff and stomach tight. Even the instant karma of Grian tumbling down the exact same hole to his death isn’t enough to dispel her uneasiness, not even when everyone is all jokes and laughs afterwards. She can’t help but feel that some invisible line has been crossed. Can’t help but feel the sluggish ripples of an icy lake lapping at her paws.
“I do like you as villains,” Cleo hums. But when their dead-eyed gaze drags over Pearl’s form, there’s far too much awareness in it to be entirely friendly, and her nose fills with the scent of rot.
~
As the daylight begins to fade, they venture out to explore the world, see what everyone else is up to, and- incidentally-steal all the torches from around the other bases so more mobs will spawn. Typical villain behavior.
They just so happen to be catching up with Skizz, all of them crowded inside his tiny cobblestone house, when there’s a shout from outside- shortly followed by Jimmy hitting the ground. Apparently the shallow water below wasn’t enough to spare his life.
Grian immediately swoops out the door to loot the dropped items, Pearl and Gem in tow. Pearl’s a little reluctant to follow as they wade into the pond, wary of the mobs surrounding them, but eventually she jumps in and manages to get away with a few diamonds, among other various belongings. They quickly retreat back to their own base, with Jimmy and Joel hot on their heels.
“Pearl,” Joel starts, climbing up the hill, “we’re here to kindly request that you return Jimmy’s stuff, please.” He stops in front of her expectantly. Jimmy’s standing a little way behind him, watching nervously out of the side of his eye, feathers ruffled.
Pearl pauses. She gives him a shrug. “I don’t have ‘em, mate.”
Joel’s antennae twitch. “Give Jimmy his stuff back!” He punctuates his demand with a swipe of his sword.
It’s the flat of the blade that lands against Pearl’s head, but it still hurts. “Ow!” she yelps, ducking her head as she scampers around the house, tail tucked. “What the heck!”
Gem charges over, darting in front of Pearl with flat ears and a stiff tail. “Don’t hurt Pearl!” she snaps. Her sword comes down on Joel in a flash. He returns the hit before they break apart, still glaring.
“No,” Grian flutters over, his voice warning, “steady, steady, steady…”
“Hey, c’mon,” Jimmy says, grabbing Joel’s shoulder. “Come on now, guys-”
“Shush,” Joel shrugs him off. He levels his sword at Gem, eyes narrowed. “Okay- give him his diamonds back. Give him his diamonds back.”
Gem paws the ground with her hoof. “How dare you.”
“Guys,” Jimmy holds his hands up, “I’m here for my diamonds, alright?”
Grian tilts his head. “I- I believe the term is ‘finder’s keepers.’”
“I believe the term is ‘you’ve stolen,’” Joel deadpans.
Grian exchanges a look with Gem before he hums noncommittally, turning back to their farm. Reluctantly, Gem lowers her sword. She blows a sharp exhale through her nose before following.
Jimmy, evidently seeing they aren’t going to budge, decides to help himself to some of their belongings, rooting through the various chests they have lying around. Then he lets himself into their house, and Pearl is spurred into action. She lunges forward and strikes him with her sword (and she can't help but think about how in another time, it would've been her teeth).
He whirls around with wide eyes. “I’m on three hearts.”
“You better get outta that house, there, Jimmy!” Pearl barks, stepping through the doorway. She leaps onto the chest in the corner and stares down at him. Her tail moves side-to-side; too intense to be friendly.
Jimmy sputters for a moment. His wings flap haphazardly as he backs himself against the wall, talons scratching through the sandy floor. “I’ll- I’ll have my diamonds then, please, thank you!”
Grian pokes his head inside. “Are the diamonds worth more than your life?” he asks softly, hopping on top of the furnace in the corner opposite Pearl. His talons grip the edge of the stone as he leers over Jimmy.
“Yes,” Jimmy answers without hesitation. “At this moment in time, yes.”
Grian catches Pearl’s eye, a smirk spreading across his face. “I mean, one swing of the sword, and that’s true.”
“It is,” Jimmy allows, dipping his head. “You can swing, and I will die. But-” He puffs out his chest, wings flaring out behind him. “-green on green, my friend! There will be trouble!”
“No,” Grian says, casually preening a wing, “I already- I already killed Martyn by accident, so.”
Jimmy pauses. “Oh,” he says, shrinking back down. “That was you.”
Before anything else can come of it, Joel sets fire to their base from outside. It’s not completely made out of wood, but there’s enough of it in the lower layers to get a blaze roaring, and Pearl’s kicking herself for using it. She joins Grian and Gem in their desperate attempts to put out the flames, but despite their best efforts, it quickly grows out of control. They concede defeat, merely watching the fire spread as Jimmy and Joel take their leave, considering the score settled. Pearl’s nose wrinkles at the scent of smoke. Her ears twitch when the wood splits and pops.
Gem looks over their burning base with pursed lips. “Guys, being the villains is really hard.”
“It is actually really hard,” Grian laughs, running a hand through his hair. “‘Cause I- I neither feel like a villain- I don’t feel like a good villain, you know?”
Pearl rubs her head. “Kinda feels like we’re being picked on, at this point,” she murmurs.
But it seems like Gem and Grian’s response is that they need to be better villains, rather than give up on the whole idea like Pearl wants to. So she keeps her reservations to herself and follows them in deeper.
~
They all sleep on the same bed that night, cloaked beneath the moonlit sky above their roofless hovel.
Grian’s perched on the headboard, curled in on himself and tucked beneath his wings. Pearl’s never understood how he can sleep comfortably like that, but it seems to work for him.
That leaves the rest of the bed for Pearl and Gem, the latter carefully resting her sharp antlers on the pillow, long legs folded gracefully beneath her. Pearl moves to curl up at the foot of the bed, but Gem chuffs softly. Her eyes shine with stray beams of moonlight as she holds her arms out, silently inviting Pearl to come closer.
Pearl does so gratefully, trembling from the force of trying not to break out into excited full-body wriggling, her tail held carefully still. She crawls forward on her stomach, nuzzling Gem’s face before curling against her, head tucked beneath Gem’s chin. She can hear Gem’s heart beating, can feel the pulse of her jugular pressed against her lips. An errant thought occurs to her: it’d be so easy to sink her teeth into Gem’s throat. To rip through skin and muscle and sinew ‘til her teeth glance off bone made slick with blood.
But Pearl merely turns the thought over in her mind before letting it slip from her fingers, drifting forgotten into the inky depths. She hasn’t seriously entertained bloodlust like that for several seasons, now. Maybe she never will again.
She closes her eyes and inhales deeply. She’s content just like this, warm and safe and wanted. She’d gladly forsake the taste of blood if she could just live in this moment forever.
Gem sighs, too, but there’s a different tone in it. In the eye of Pearl’s mind, she can almost imagine Gem’s breath fogging in the air, its sting as sharp as any teeth.
(Pearl curls up tighter and pretends she can’t feel the sudden chill breathing down her neck.)
