Knack
May. 27th, 2025 07:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redwolfGoblins were exceedingly good at breaking things and, as not everything they encountered succumbed to being pushed off a ledge or beaten with a blunt object, they had a talent for finding the fastest way to take anything apart. Conversely, those skills at destruction also served them well as creators.
One of the major export streams that the Goblin Kingdom supplied to the Underground was the bulk of people’s everyday wares. While other realms specialised in high end luxury goods, their works were narrow focused and couldn’t compete with the huge array of household linens, ceramics, cookware and furniture, along with larger equipment like farming equipment and tools. There would be few people who didn’t own at least one of the many well made and ubiquitous products that left the Kingdom.
Trades didn’t always follow family tradition, with Goblins tending to gravitate towards endeavors that suited their individual talents, but there were occasional outliers.
Sarah shared studio space with the goblins who designed the domestic ceramics. They were a colourful, gregarious bunch who were currently tied up with a commission that was causing them headaches. She’d seen the specifications and wasn’t certain it was possible for anyone to create something elegant from a clashing colour scheme that looked like the pavement outside a pub at closing time, but she wished them the best.
With the design team otherwise engaged, it was left to Sarah to figure out what to do with a young goblin who had a shown passion for ceramics. When he’d started his training, he’d so far proven incapable of colouring within the lines to produce identical items. He hadn’t been able to articulate what he wanted and Sarah was at a loss as to how she could help him.
Ignoring the good natured background cursing of fae with poor taste, Sarah watched the young goblin tentatively reach up to the shelf where she kept her owl shaped glazing samples. As he stroked them reverently, it gave Sarah an idea.
She had him select the glazes he wanted to work with while she retrieved a tray of bisque fired mugs. Setting the tray down on a workbench, Sarah asked him to decorate the blanks however he saw fit.
With an excited grin that showed far too many sharp teeth, the apprentice potter dived into the project with enthusiasm.
Sarah watched in delight as each mug was treated differently. There were splashes and drips on some and clever, precisely painted geometric designs on others, all of them unique.
Admiring his ambition when the glazes bore no resemblance to their fired states, Sarah followed his work, ensuring a clean base to each mug. She slotted letter blocks into a holder and neatly stamped the artist’s name underneath, before returning them to the tray for a later firing.
If his work was as impressive as she expected, this was a goblin whose talents may not be appreciated when it came to Underground dinnerware, but they would definitely find an audience Above.
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labyfic — drabble #211: long
Part of the Balance!verse
One of the major export streams that the Goblin Kingdom supplied to the Underground was the bulk of people’s everyday wares. While other realms specialised in high end luxury goods, their works were narrow focused and couldn’t compete with the huge array of household linens, ceramics, cookware and furniture, along with larger equipment like farming equipment and tools. There would be few people who didn’t own at least one of the many well made and ubiquitous products that left the Kingdom.
Trades didn’t always follow family tradition, with Goblins tending to gravitate towards endeavors that suited their individual talents, but there were occasional outliers.
Sarah shared studio space with the goblins who designed the domestic ceramics. They were a colourful, gregarious bunch who were currently tied up with a commission that was causing them headaches. She’d seen the specifications and wasn’t certain it was possible for anyone to create something elegant from a clashing colour scheme that looked like the pavement outside a pub at closing time, but she wished them the best.
With the design team otherwise engaged, it was left to Sarah to figure out what to do with a young goblin who had a shown passion for ceramics. When he’d started his training, he’d so far proven incapable of colouring within the lines to produce identical items. He hadn’t been able to articulate what he wanted and Sarah was at a loss as to how she could help him.
Ignoring the good natured background cursing of fae with poor taste, Sarah watched the young goblin tentatively reach up to the shelf where she kept her owl shaped glazing samples. As he stroked them reverently, it gave Sarah an idea.
She had him select the glazes he wanted to work with while she retrieved a tray of bisque fired mugs. Setting the tray down on a workbench, Sarah asked him to decorate the blanks however he saw fit.
With an excited grin that showed far too many sharp teeth, the apprentice potter dived into the project with enthusiasm.
Sarah watched in delight as each mug was treated differently. There were splashes and drips on some and clever, precisely painted geometric designs on others, all of them unique.
Admiring his ambition when the glazes bore no resemblance to their fired states, Sarah followed his work, ensuring a clean base to each mug. She slotted letter blocks into a holder and neatly stamped the artist’s name underneath, before returning them to the tray for a later firing.
If his work was as impressive as she expected, this was a goblin whose talents may not be appreciated when it came to Underground dinnerware, but they would definitely find an audience Above.
labyfic — drabble #211: longPart of the Balance!verse
Brilliance
May. 20th, 2025 05:38 amredwolfSarah spun the rock across the table towards Jareth. He caught it and held it up between two fingers.
It was a pale grey, river smoothed pebble with a rough spiral of iron on its broad flatter side. The size fit comfortably in a hand and it had a pleasing tactile quality when a thumb was rubbed across its surface. Overall, it was a very nice rock.
“It’s the stone of choosing,” Jareth skated the rock back to Sarah’s waiting palm, where it lit up like a torch, the glow bright enough to obscure its surface features and light her face.
Sarah had been walking through Goblin City earlier in the day when a shy, but excitable goblin had handed her the glowing rock before scampering off. She’d since discovered that it only glowed when she was in close proximity to it.
“Choosing what?” Sarah closed her fist around the rock, watching as the light bled through her fingers.
“Choosing you as keeper, of course.” Jareth smiled in amusement at the glare Sarah directed at her glowing fist.
“Of course.” Sarah was quietly pleased that she wasn’t grinding her teeth in frustration. “How silly of me? It is now my lot in life to be a night light.”
She’d already learned that if she was too far from the rock she was overcome with a sense of dread until she picked it up again.
Jareth’s soft laugh wrapped around her like a warm blanket. “It’s not forever.”
Sarah looked up sharply. “It’s not?”
“No.” Jareth shook his head. “You’re the keeper for a week and in seven days it will lead you to its next keeper.”
“How will I know who that is?” She placed the rock on the table and idly spun it with a finger.
“You know how it felt to be separated?” Sarah nodded. “It’s not dissimilar. You’ll know the new keeper when you meet them.” He waved at the glowing rock. “Obviously, the light is a giveaway that you’re on the right track.”
Sitting back and folding her arms, Sarah stared at the glowing rock that was apparently in her custody for the rest of the week. It should make her slate of meetings slightly more interesting, especially the few with guests from outside the Kingdom, who would likely assume it was her unstable magic at work.
“You’ve been its keeper?”
“Many years ago now.”
“I just need to carry around a glowing fiddle toy for a week and then give it to someone who feels just right?” When she said it out loud, Sarah could only suspect that it sounded like one of those joke weapons from D&D that everyone agreed was silly, but the players were so attached to it that it had featured in campaigns for years. “And what purpose does it serve?”
“Beyond ensuring that it passes between keepers and lights up, absolutely none.”
Every time Sarah felt she had a handle on the Underground, the Labyrinth showed her a new weirdness.
labyfic — drabble #210: shy
Part of the Balance!verse
It was a pale grey, river smoothed pebble with a rough spiral of iron on its broad flatter side. The size fit comfortably in a hand and it had a pleasing tactile quality when a thumb was rubbed across its surface. Overall, it was a very nice rock.
“It’s the stone of choosing,” Jareth skated the rock back to Sarah’s waiting palm, where it lit up like a torch, the glow bright enough to obscure its surface features and light her face.
Sarah had been walking through Goblin City earlier in the day when a shy, but excitable goblin had handed her the glowing rock before scampering off. She’d since discovered that it only glowed when she was in close proximity to it.
“Choosing what?” Sarah closed her fist around the rock, watching as the light bled through her fingers.
“Choosing you as keeper, of course.” Jareth smiled in amusement at the glare Sarah directed at her glowing fist.
“Of course.” Sarah was quietly pleased that she wasn’t grinding her teeth in frustration. “How silly of me? It is now my lot in life to be a night light.”
She’d already learned that if she was too far from the rock she was overcome with a sense of dread until she picked it up again.
Jareth’s soft laugh wrapped around her like a warm blanket. “It’s not forever.”
Sarah looked up sharply. “It’s not?”
“No.” Jareth shook his head. “You’re the keeper for a week and in seven days it will lead you to its next keeper.”
“How will I know who that is?” She placed the rock on the table and idly spun it with a finger.
“You know how it felt to be separated?” Sarah nodded. “It’s not dissimilar. You’ll know the new keeper when you meet them.” He waved at the glowing rock. “Obviously, the light is a giveaway that you’re on the right track.”
Sitting back and folding her arms, Sarah stared at the glowing rock that was apparently in her custody for the rest of the week. It should make her slate of meetings slightly more interesting, especially the few with guests from outside the Kingdom, who would likely assume it was her unstable magic at work.
“You’ve been its keeper?”
“Many years ago now.”
“I just need to carry around a glowing fiddle toy for a week and then give it to someone who feels just right?” When she said it out loud, Sarah could only suspect that it sounded like one of those joke weapons from D&D that everyone agreed was silly, but the players were so attached to it that it had featured in campaigns for years. “And what purpose does it serve?”
“Beyond ensuring that it passes between keepers and lights up, absolutely none.”
Every time Sarah felt she had a handle on the Underground, the Labyrinth showed her a new weirdness.
labyfic — drabble #210: shyPart of the Balance!verse
