#((cue life by the sea by tubbo))

[cable-salamder]

What's your favourite snake?

Can you open a jar?

Sea or mountains?

Hognoses!! (It’s also the one I know the most about morph wise. God bless Snake Discovery)

If you give me a knife, yes

Mountains. Unless I have to hike them. The seas I like are usually far too cold to go swimming in, but at least the breeze is nice

[shyrose57]

Apparently Starlit Boutique is on the brain today. Anyways, ideas!

1. The actual terminology for crocheting equipment is “crochet hook” not “crochet needles” (sorry, nitpicky stuff but I actually crochet). Tommy knows this. All of the people online that he talks with on the sewing forums know this. Unfortunately, most people that walk into his shop don’t know what crochet is and call it “knitting” and his hooks “needles”. One afternoon he had had enough of it and showed the offending customer the difference by attacking them with a knitting needle and a crochet hook to show them the difference. Said customer was a fae and tried to complain to Eret who just sat there sipping her tea and told their advisor to look into getting Tommy more crochet hooks.

2. The only time that Tommy thought that he had found something that was completely unnatural, it was a completely normal butterfly. A bit unusual in that area but there was absolutely nothing magical about it. Tubbo tried to tell Tommy this but Tommy swore up and down that it must have some sort of powers, how else would it have gotten into the shop. (Tubbo looking around at the various open windows that a bird and a ladybug fly in through: Ah yes. How on earth would a butterfly get in here.)

3. Tommy learns about the new fad of digital fashion and is very confused about why people would turn to that when he can actually make pieces like that. This makes its way out of his normal sewing forums and over to the costumery and high fashion forums as well as a few pictures and of his more recent pieces (pictures are without the “specialty” fabrics but he has learned that some of those fabrics show through on video well enough for marketing purposes). Cue Tommy getting dozens of orders of specialty costumes, commissions for high class events and seemingly endless invitations to fashion shows around the world.

4. While Tommy’s main skill is tailoring, he also has tried making any number of other things: hats, boutonnieres and corsages, lace-making, tatting, wire craft, stuffed animals, making buttons… you name it he probably has tried it once or is planning on trying it at some point in the future

5. A lot of the more obscure rumors about what Tommy was were started by Tubbo just because he wanted to create chaos. These included: sea monster that learned that breathing air is better, a dozen raccoons, a sentient stuffed animal, two small trench coats in a boy and literally just “Tommy? Doesn’t exist. Never heard of him before in my life. Oh him behind me that’s making that jacket, that’s Tomathy. He’s a new hire ever since that last guy left”

6. Customers come into his shop with weird requests all the time and he always thinks that he’s heard the weirdest thing only for a new request that’s even odder to come in. One time a customer ordered a scarf and gloves set made with the sound of the universe, promising to get the fabric to him that week. The fabric literally made sound every time he touched it but he figured that it was just his synesthesia. (Also I just decided that tailor!Tommy has synesthesia in this because it gives him even more ways to ignore the weirdness going on. What do you mean that touching that fabric shouldn’t make you hear the sounds of your happiest memories? Of course it would, it always has with him.)

7. Tommy started teaching Michael how to sew whenever Tubbo and Ranboo brought him to the shop. He likes to lay in the scraps of whatever project Tommy is working on and try to thread the giant plastic needles Tommy gets him, just like Tommy himself did when he was younger.

8. Sam helped Tommy to figure out a portable workshop that doubled as a wardrobe so that he could make clothes and alterations while out with clients that couldn’t come to him for whatever reason. It has just as much time and care put into it as any of Tommy’s individual works as well as holds far more than it logically should be able to.

Might send in more ideas later today. Just know this was getting long on its own

Starlit Boutique is always on the brain.

1: Eret's out there just condoning violence. Oh? Tommy stabbed a man? What a guy, let's give him more things to stab people with. It's very neat of them.

2: That meme, but it's Tommy looking at the somewhat rare butterfly while his wide variety of supernatural friends are in the background: Is this magic?

3: He just keeps tripping into fame and fortunate. At this point, a magic lamp might as well fall out of the sky and smack him in the head, and he'd accidentally trick the genie into giving him whatever he wants without twisting it against him.

4: A plethora of talents-did he pick these up because of some odd request? Did he just decide to do it out of spite or boredom? Who knows.

5: At some point he slips in the 'rumor' that Tommy's just a really oblivious human-it's the only one that people immediately dismiss, despite literally considering every single other one. Tubbo refuses to explain why he's cackling.

6: Ah, I love that! I don't know much about it, but it's a very cool idea.

7: Adorable! Maybe Michael picking out a favorite fabric of his own to lay in and practice with. What's a baby eldritch's favorite fabric?

8: We're all for defying logic around here, and how better to do that than magical wardrobes? Also, Sam and Tommy bonding, we love to see it!

[itskatastrophe-x]

Far Off Places (CH5)

Chapter 4 , Chapter 5 , Chapter 6

Word Count : 2,748

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

You blinked a few times as your surroundings came back to you and Ranboo was kneeling in front of you, shaking you gently. “Hey, sorry we took so long. We both can kinda talk for… Well hours.” You looked out the window to see the setting sun and you cursed yourself for being asleep for so long. You thought back to your dream and debated on whether or not to tell Ranboo about Dream visiting you. He seemed to catch on to your thoughts though and asked if you were ok. “Yeah, I’m just groggy and in pain from sleeping on stairs.” He apologized again but you waved him off as you stood and stretched. “Where is Foolish?” You looked around for the totem-god but he was nowhere to be seen or heard. “He went back to his summer home for some supplies but said he��d be back before morning. He told us to go home and not to wait around.” You nod and he takes that as his cue to lead you both out of the building.

The air outside was biting and small snowflakes found their way onto your shoulders. You wrapped yourself tighter in your coat and shivered. Off in the distance you could see the eerie glow of lava from the silhouette of the prison. You stared at it as you walked and ended up tripping, only just barely catching yourself, the snow on the ground slightly buffering your fall. Ranboo was quick to help you up and you thanked him, still staring at the prison. He caught onto your stare and cleared his throat. “Did you want to see it?” You look at him but he couldn’t meet your eyes. You said a short ‘yes’ and apologized. “No, it’s ok. You’re new and have never seen it. Of course you’d want to see it. It’s honestly pretty impressive once you forget there’s a murderer and manipulator locked in it.” He heads towards it and you practically have to jog to keep up with his fast pace. 

You’re slightly winded as you finally approach the looming towers. There’s a shallow pool of water separating you and the grim walls, an ocean beyond it. You stare up at it in awe, admiring the handiwork and intricacy of it all. You wondered how long it took to make and what it looked like on the inside. “It’s called ‘Pandora’s Vault’,” Ranboo says in a small voice. “Have you been in there?” He nods, not able to look at the building in front of you. “I’m sorry if this is a bad topic, but what is he like? Dream, I mean. If you don’t want to-” “No, it’s ok,” he cuts you off. He finally looks up at the walls and sits down, patting the spot next to him. “He’s… He’s ruthless and cold. He acts like he cares about people and what they have to say, but only really cares about how it makes him look. The more power, the better. He’s killed people in cold blood and laughed about it. He… He’s in my head. He knows how to use my enderwalk to his ability, and even I don’t know what it is.” He pauses for a while and you both sit in silence, the sky clearing so the stars and moon shine down brightly on you. 

“He used to be a mentor. Someone to look up to. He helped us with so many things. Taught us how to fight and protect ourselves. But then he snapped. I’m not sure exactly what caused it, but it might have been L’Manburg. People wanted freedom from his rule so they created a new country. He got power hungry. Killed Tommy and Tubbo over stupid discs.” You could see him fight back tears but then he steeled himself again, showing no emotion. “Tommy, Tubbo, and a whole bunch of other people ended up cornering him. Tommy took two of his lives and they threw him in there,” he gestured towards the prison. “Dream and Tommy were locked in there for a week together because…” He trailed off and his eyes glazed over. You watched as he sat there thinking, spacing off completely. He shook his head and looked over at you, finally meeting your gaze. “He beat Tommy to death with a grin on his face. Sam said he was laughing the whole time.” You stared at him in shock. “So, why didn’t Sam stop him?” Ranboo shrugged and looked away again. “Something about protocol. Not being allowed to let guests out when the prison was placed under lockdown.” You thought for a moment, a slight breeze making you shiver. 

“Do… Do you think he can be saved? Like, do you think he could ever be the person he was before? I don’t know him, of course, so I wouldn’t know, but do you?” He chuckled. “Y’know… I never really thought about that. I’d say… Probably not. He’s done so many horrible things. I don’t think he can be redeemed.” You nod, silence falling over the two of you again. You don’t know how long you both sat there before you fell asleep, the sound of gentle waves splashing against the sand and a gentle breeze wafting the smell of flowers and sea salt to you. The moon shone brightly against you, basking you in a comforting glow as you slowly slumped over onto the beach below. Ranboo, too, was slowly falling asleep, barely able to keep his eyes open. The only thing that alerted him was you bumping his shoulder before descending slowly to the sand. He brought up his inventory sheepishly and brought out supplies to make a small tent for you, figuring carrying you in his tired state this late in the night would be too much of a strain. When he finished your tent, he made his own right next to yours and crawled in to fall asleep.

The smell of flowers carried into your dreams and you woke in a start. There, standing above you, was the man in green with the smile mask. The full moon positioned behind him cast a beautiful glow on everything around you. You looked around to see yourself laying in a field, the trees far off in the distance and a city in the opposite direction. Their tall buildings decorated in an oriental way and a giant dragon statue resting on a hill. You look back up to see the man has extended a hand to you. You bring yourself to your elbows but stay that way. He shrugs and drops his hand as he turns, steps sideways, and falls backwards. “I may have lied to you,” the man says. You look back at him in curiosity. “About what part?” He takes a second to decide whether or not to tell you. He takes in a small, hissed breath before answering. “My name. I may look like Dream, but I’m actually DreamXD. A separate entity, but the same in a lot of ways.” “So what does that mean? The same but separate?” He shifts slightly. “Well, I’m a god, essentially. I can do almost everything.” 

You lay back down and put your hands behind your head and look up at the stars. “So why do you want me to help Dream?” He sits up and bounces slightly. “I’m boooored,” he drawls. “And… I’m not allowed to let him out. Or… I can’t.” You look up at him as he brings his knees to his chest and wraps his arms around them. “Can’t? Is that the ‘almost everything’ you said?” He nods. “Sam made the prison to keep Dream in… But also to keep me out.” He looks back at you, mischief hidden in his eyes behind his mask. You hum and close your eyes. “I’ve heard the things he’s done. I’ve never heard of you. Why is that?” There’s a low growling and you open your eyes to see the air around him ripple and sparkle. This only lasts for a couple seconds before he takes a deep breath and recollects himself. He falls back down and the air around him feels cold and lonely, and for a split second you feel bad for the man. 

“So, are you saying you're bored of things that are happening? Is Dream really as bad as people make him out to be?” DreamXD laughs shortly. “Absolutely. Dream is horrible. He deserves to stay in prison, but the server… The pawns are boring me.” You furrow your brows at his wording but brush it off as just you being confused. The people here might call things by different names and words. “What happens if I do somehow manage to break him out? Why should I do that?” It’s his turn to hum. “Well, you don’t have to. Breaking him out could be suicide. Or it couldn’t. No one knows who you really are here. I doubt anyone really trusts you yet either. But Dream? Dream would see you as an ally if you break him out. You would have power. People would fear you. You could have your own land to call your home. Riches that no one else has. He would probably grant you immunity for his freedom and he would protect you so long as you don’t betray him.” You mull all of this over and sit up slowly, looking down at the man beside you. “And why should I trust you?” He sits up as well, facing you now and crossing his legs. “Why shouldn't you? I mean, really, who can you trust? You have so many choices you can make, you just have to take a leap and trust the fall. And if you could come across me in the real world… Well… Again, I’m a god. If you do this for me, you could have anything you wanted. It’s just all up to you.” 

You run your hands through your hair before standing up and start pacing back and forth in front of him. You stop and look down at him. You can practically feel the grin on his face. “And if I don’t?” He shrugs and stands as well. He’s tall and menacing, but the energy radiating from him raises your adrenaline and excites you. “Who knows? He could get out on his own and you would be in his way. Or maybe he stays in and you get to live your secret life with Ranboo, Techno, and Phil. You just have to jump and fall. You’re an outsider. A nobody. Do you want to stay that way, or do you want to be known? You were royalty. You could be again, if Dream allowed it of course.” “If,” you repeat. “This is a lot relying on an if.” You turn and look out over the field leading to the city below. “Let me think on it.” You turn back to face him but he’s gone. You hear his chuckle and turn in various directions, soon realizing his voice is now in your head. “I’ll come back in a week. Have an answer by then and maybe I’ll have a reward if you choose to let him out.” 

And just like that he’s gone. You stand there, body vibrating from excitement of now having something on the line. It isn’t until that second that you realize you don’t know your surroundings. The past couple of dreams you’ve had, you knew where you were since you had been there before. But this time was a new setting. The edges of your vision rippled and waved a green hue before everything faded to the bright color. 

Warm. You were overly warm and sweaty as you rolled over. You noticed the sun wasn’t burning into your eyes when you opened them. Instead you were met with the sight of a large woolen blanket thrown over some logs as a makeshift cover. You sat up and a coat rolled off of you and onto the sand below. Everything was covered in a light dusting of mist and dew from the morning air and you could hear the gentle lapping of waves coming from a few feet past your tent and the crackling of a fire. You slowly crawled out of the tent, the chilly morning air combined with the breeze coming off of the water chilling you. Ranboo sat next to the fire, book in hand but not moving, totally spaced out. You crawled the rest of the short distance and Ranboo looked up at you and smiled. “Good morning! Did you get much sleep?” You sat across from him, the fire now in between the two of you. “Yes, actually. I never used to get much sleep because of my dreams, but lately they’ve been somewhat bearable.” He smiled politely at you and you smiled back, happy from the warmth coming from the fire and the thought of his kindness.

You both sat there talking for at least an hour about random little details about your lives, relishing in the sweet breeze. He asked questions about your dreams and you explained them the best you could. He listened intently as you recalled details about your life that you got to relive in your dreams. A lot of them were horrible stories to relive, but the dreams helped you resolve a lot of conflicts through the years. When the conversation finally switched, Ranboo told you stories about his life. He admitted to not remembering a lot of it, but he had been doing research and keeping track of things by writing them in his books. He flipped through a couple pages and let you look at a few. There were scratches of pictures and notes written in another language across various pages. He didn’t let you look much longer and shut the book quickly, seeming to realize something or had seen something. He went idle for a moment and you sat there in silence, the fire long forgotten about as the embers glowed. 

“Ranboo?” His eyes glazed over, staring off towards the prison. His mouth made small movements, seeming to be whispering quietly to himself. “Ranboo,” you said again, this time reaching out to touch his shoulder. He looked at you slowly, mind clearly stuck in a fog. He looked at you inquisitively but said nothing. You remembered hearing him say something about an enderwalk state and assumed this is what he meant. It didn’t last very long though as his eyes came back into focus, regaining their vibrant hues. “Well, we should head off,” you said, happy to have him back but wanting to play it off in case it made him uncomfortable. He stared at you for a moment longer before nodding his head, getting up, and packing away the tent supplies. 

The trip back was quiet and slightly tense, but still comfortable. There was a sense of calm and trust, but also caution and doubt. He didn’t ask what happened and you didn’t mention it. If he wanted to talk about it more, he would and that would be his choice. He seemed to shy away from the topic in passing anyway so why bring it up on purpose? Same went for your previous dreams. Thinking back on what DreamXD had said made you question so many things. You wanted to trust these people, but why should you? He made a very good point about that. Ranboo seemed to be the only one you could currently trust. But what did you want? He mentioned power, but it was never really about that… Right? Why were you a figure head before? You thought back about your time as a ruler, remembering certain details that pointed to you loving the power you had. The way everyone loved you and did as you told them to. The way you could get your hands dirty and still have people trust and fear you at the same time. People knew not to get in your way, but they also knew they could trust you with their problems and count on you to resolve things quickly without error. Maybe it really was about power? Or maybe you loved the thrill of being in control of so many people’s lives. Or maybe you just loved how people bent to your will without it being questioned. Whatever it was, you had a week to think about it before having to give DreamXD your answer.

[words-in-the-wind]

Chapter 5 - The one where Tommy and Tubbo get run away, find a dad, and the Captain is worried (but realizes they’re okay)

Previous: Chapter 4

“We don’t want your kind here!”

“Get out!”

“No one here to protect you two anymore!”
“Scram!”

The leaders of the newest merchant caravan the Mianitians had been hired to protect were far less tolerant of non-humans than the Captain had expected. And so, while the four adult adventurers were away getting supplies for the journey, Tubbo and Tommy found themselves getting thrown out of the group.

“C’mon Tubbo, we don’t need to deal with these dickheads anymore.” Tommy griped, tugging Tubbo, who’s hood had been practically shredded by the hostile humans, away from the carts. His vocabulary had been significantly expanded by a trip guarding a sea merchant, who’s sailors had no qualms about swearing in front of the children.

“But, but the Captain, and the rest of the Mianitians, they’ll be worried.”

“Its fine, big man, we’ll wait for them near the general store or something.” Tommy kept tugging, before walking into a strangely soft wall with an oomf.

The wall laughed.

Wait.

“Tommy!” Tubbo cried out, looking up at the Aarakocra. “I’m sorry about that, sir. He didn’t mean it.”

The bird-man let out a soft trill of laughter, “It’s fine, no harm done to me. Your friend’s alright?”


“Only hurt his ego, don’t worry.” Tubbo tugged Tommy to his feet, the other boy rubbing his head in irritation.

“Where’s your parents? You two seem a little young to be wandering.”


“Don’t got no parents.” Tommy huffed, making to walk away from the taller bird-dude.

“Woah woah woah, who the hell’s looking after you two then?”


“We’re adventurers!”


“Sure you are.”


“Seriously, we are!” Tubbo looked up at the man, a charming smile making its way across his face.

“Adventurers that need a bit of food, methinks?”
 As if on cue, Tommy’s stomach let out a rumble, and the boy flushed red.
 “C’mon, Wilbur, my son, is waiting at a place, you two can have some food, and as payment, tell me what you’re doing here.”

Tubbo elbowed Tommy in the side as the younger of the two opened his mouth to protest. Tommy shot him a faux-hurt glare, but shut his mouth anyway.

They followed the Aarakocra (Phil, he’d introduced himself) to a little hole-in-the-wall, where a half-elf had already ordered some food, and was digging in.

“Wilbur! I thought I told you to wait!”
 Phil scolded, going towards the half-elf.

“Was hungry,” the elf muttered out around a mouthful, “Who’re those.”

“Tommy and Tubbo, I’m waiting for them to tell me what they’re doing here.”

-x-

At the same time, Jordan was running around frantically, attempting to find the two before something else happened. He’d left Syndicate and Jericho to threaten the merchants, though he really wished nothing more than to kick one in the face. Hearing familiar laughter trickle out from a restaurant, he peeked in, finding Tubbo and Tommy laughing with two others, a very familiar Aarakocra, and some other non-human. Good, they were safe. Far safer than they had been with the Mianitians. They should stay that way, no matter how heartbroken he was to leave them behind.

Besides, the Angel of Death was known to protect children.

Slowly, quietly, he backed away, turning back the way he came to find the rest of his group.

When he explained what was going on, they all nodded seriously. It was better for the two young boys to have a stable home, not traveling around being in danger. They could live with that.

-x-

By the time Tommy or Tubbo remembered about that they had to go back to their group, it was dark out.

Kindly, Phil escorted them back to the place where the carts had sat before, but the caravan had clearly left already

Tubbo sat down hard in the packed dirt, staring at the empty space.

“What are we gonna do now, Tommy?”

Tommy clutched his bag to his chest, glad he’d thought to take it along for the day.

“I-I don’t know.”

“Boys!” Phil called from a few feet away, waving a piece of parchment, “I think your group left you two a note?”
Tubbo darted over, hands plucking the parchment delicately from Phil’s hands.

“Dear Tubbo and Tommy,” He read out loud, for Tommy’s benefit. “I think we all know it was time to part. The Mianitians’ were contract bound to protect this caravan, even after what they did. I’d like you two to stay with the Aarakocra, he’ll protect you better than we ever could. We’ll come visit, I swear. From, Jordan.”

Tommy felt tears well up in his eyes. He’d liked the Captain, Jericho, Syndicate and Fire-Fox, even if they were a little eccentric at times. It felt like a home, traveling with them.

At least he still had Tubbo, his best friend, with him.

-x-

Phil had failed to mention a second letter, addressed to him.
Well, not Phil exactly, but to the “Angel of Death,” a moniker that he’d during the same war he’d met Techno in.

The note was fairly straightforward, Captain Sparklez, the leader of the Mianitians, wanted him to look after the two boys. Which, honestly, wasn’t too much of a chore. Tommy and Tubbo already integrated themselves well with Wilbur, who was showing more positive emotion towards the kids than pretty much anything else in his life.

Techno wasn’t due for a visit any time soon either, so the attic room was empty for the foreseeable future. Yes, having children around might even be good for Wilbur, make him a good role model something.

Doubtful, but Phil had hopes.

-x-

Having no other real option, Tubbo dragged a more reluctant Tommy back to Phil, their guardian for the foreseeable future.

“Right, you two ready to head to my home?”

Tubbo planted an elbow into Tommy’s ribs as the stubborn expression on the other boy’s face deepened.

“Yes, sir.”

“It’s just Phil, sir makes me feel old.” Phil started walking to the outskirts of the town, towards his house.

“That’s cause you are, old man.” Tommy muttered under his breath.

Tubbo tensed, there was no way Phil hadn’t heard the snark. Thankfully, the other man just trilled in laughter.

“Compared to a child like you, even Wilbur could be considered old.”

Tubbo stifled a snort at the offended look on Tommy’s face.

“Excuse you! I’m a big man now! Right Tubbo?”
Tubbo could only nod in response, to busy fighting off the giggles.

“Whatever you say, Tommy.” Phil said brightly, in the way people do when they’re humoring a child.

Tommy clearly didn’t pick up on that, and Tubbo cared too much for his peace of mind to inform Tommy of that development.

Next: Coming Soon (i hope)