Hermitcraft Oneshots and Requests

Laughter

Another chapter? :O

How obvious is it that I'm really, really enjoying this challenge? Thank you once again, FandomsUnite05

TW: angst, self loathing, a thought or two of self harm and permadeath.

If you thought my previous stories were sad and angsty, just wait until you read this one. Self doubt and self loathing are two things I really know how to write
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Theme - Laughter
Word count: 2130

Laughter. It was a very common sound on the hermitcraft server. A smile so genuine it starts to crack, until the laughter escapes. Where there were fun and games, laughter always followed.

However, laughter tended to sound even when there was nothing fun about a situation. People could point at an insecurity and laugh at it. Cruelly. Simply because they don't realise that it's a big deal. So, you laugh with them, to cover it up. You laugh at your own insecurities so that no one figures it out. So that you couldn't be seen as weak.

That was how it was for Bdubs. He was a prideful man, afraid of weakness. Of being seen as anything less than confident. He was a master builder, proud of his creations, and ashamed of himself. He was ashamed of who he was, because he wasn't who he wanted him to be. Who he was expected to be.

He wasn't who he wanted to be.

So he put on the largest smile, and let out the most infectious of laughs. Cheerful. Happy. That was all he needed to be. Even if it wasn't really him.

Underneath thick plasters of pranks and jokes and the most magnificent builds, he hid the hideous truth. Just under the surface, yet too deep to be seen. He was nothing more than his own facade. Someone far better than he could ever hope to be.

-

When the season first started, he lost one of his best friends. Bdubs had put on his plaster incorrectly, and Doc had gotten upset. A fire raged underneath his eyes, one that Bdubs could see clearly. It burned with hatred, in an intensity he couldn't comprehend.

Still, it was nothing more than fun and games.

So Bdubs simply laughed.

And built up a fence between them both so that Doc couldn't see the way his smile had dimmed.

His facade began to crack.

-

He held his breath when Etho approached with a diamond sword and a murderous glance. His other best friend came forth to end his life prematurely. Bdubs braced himself for a horrible death.

Only to be met with some cake and more laughter. Etho didn't intend to hurt him. What had Bdubs been expecting? Of course he wouldn't. He was Etho, one of the nicest guys he know. Or rather, he thought he knew. It was all just a joke. A prank.

So when Etho began to laugh, Bdubs simply laughed back.

There was no malice in his actions. There never was when it came to the hermits. They were all friends, and everything they did was just fun and games.

So why did he struggle so much to feel safe amongst them all?

-

Doc hated his guts, didn't he? He very genuinely hated Bdubs, and everything that he stood for, didn't he?