Bdubs’ Mailbox!!

@bdubs-mailbox

Unofficial Bdubs roleplay blog!

401 posts

Aha! Finally got this- stupid thing set up ‘n working. I have a mailbox now! Come and talk to me! Please.

Etho:

@ethos-mailbox

Affiliated mailboxes can be found here!

More info below!

#Bdubs Mailbox #hermitcraft ask universe

Someone’s standing at the side of your bed. It quickly becomes evident who woke you— he’s got a pretty distinctive figure, and the glowing red eye doesn’t leave much up for question.

Ey, man.

Rather quiet for someone who seems to want you awake.

You got a minute to spare for your nHo buddy?

@docs-mailbox

Bdubs grumbled something, shifting to bury himself further under the duvet. After a few moments he opened an eye, then realised who had woken him.

“Doc?” He mumbled, letters all slurring together. “Doc!” the next time he sounded more awake, shoving himself up to sit. “Oh, yeah, yeah I got time, what’s up?” Bdubs yawned, pulling his moss tighter around himself. He didn’t bother to fix the rest of his clothing or hair, too much effort!!

It’s about your cloak.

You still giving tours?

Bdubs’ eyes lit up.

“Really?!” He stumbled out of his bed, beaming. “Yeah- oh, just a warning, you might grow an extra limb… but it’s fine!” Bdubs shrugged off the cloak and parted the moss, revealing a milky white rift with pink and purple marbling. “Hop in!”

So long as I don’t lose another horn, I’m sure I’ll be fine.

His horn isn’t fully healed, of course. But there’s progress.

He’s swift to enter, with his primed fishing rod tucked safely in his inventory.

Bdubs waited a few moments to giggle excitedly before following Doc in. There was no solid floor, here, but it was easy to float and move. The air was comfortable (if a little suffocating when you focused on it too hard) and warm.

Bdubs could feel himself getting tired already, he’d be in for a very long, very pleasant nap. He flapped his wings lazily a few times to propel himself over to Doc.

“How’ve you been, anyways?” He mumbled, eyelids already drooping and words slurring together.

Everything feels a bit warm and hazy. As if he were lost underneath a warm blanket.

Been fine mostly. Somebody messed up my redstone, and I seem to have misplaced my communicator…

It dawns on him that this endless expanse of a place doesn’t have many spots to hide a device like his comm. Which is great! All the more reason to brush off all those silly anxieties about what BigB said.

Still, nothing’s been confirmed, one way or another.

…but other than that, everything’s been great. Projects ‘n’ all, and my wings are back in action too.

He flutters his as well. Matching motions!

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘s rubbish.” Floating a little bit closer, he embraced Doc tightly. “But it’ll be okay, y’know why? The moss is here to help us.” His tone dropped to a sort of purr. “The moss is safe, and very, very wonderful.” There were some more mumbles about the moss, and how it was going to take over but it was too quiet to clearly make out the sentences.

Yeah, you and your moss, it’s…

Indistinct.

Doc leaned into his embrace with a faint smile. His eyes, though, were fixed on something else. Far out in the distance.

And, even knowing the nature of the situation— his comm being missing, with Bdubs probably not being the culprit— I mean, come on, he’s my friend, obviously I can trust him more than famed liar BigB— he can’t help but entertain the idea of Dubs having it on him.

Less in the sense of Dubs having stolen it, and more along the lines of Dubs just having it on hand for no particular reason. A cosmic convenience of sorts.

And it’s the push that drives him to ask—

…don’t wanna accuse you of no’n, but do you happen to have my, uh, my comm? Or know where it is?

“Mmm? No, no- why would I know?” Bdubs blinked, peering up at Doc. That was weird, he’d been asleep for god knows how long, why would Bdubs have it anywhere near him?? Oh well. “You should just sleep instead of worryin’ ‘bout all these small things.” He yawned.

Someone told me you had it. Didn’t believe them, but I wanted to double check.

BigB’s not a very reliable source of information, I’ve found.

In other news, lapis is blue.

Yeah, I knew I was probably going to get caught up in this… idea, I guess, unless I confronted you directly. ‘s part of why I visited. That, and, y’know, we haven’t talked in a while.

Wanted to see your face.

All the warm, hazy air…

He nodded along.

“Yeah, no communicator here.” Bdubs closed his eyes for a moment before forcing them to reopen. Naps were important, but so was speaking to his friend. “Aw, I missed you.” He beamed. “What’ve you been upto?”

Ah, you know, the usual. Digging holes. That’s kind of been my M.O. for the past, what, three seasons? At the very least.

This hole’s a secret, though. Nobody knows where it is except for me. And it’s gonna stay that way for awhile.

Something skitters through the holes in his crocs— a bug? Some kind of beetle? But it isn’t there when he takes off his shoe for inspection. Strange.

A moist quality permeates the air.

Smells vaguely of petrichor and cocoa.

He tilted his head.

“Why? It’s just a hole, isn’t it?” Bdubs frowned, why would anyone hide just a hole, unless- “ooh, does it have all y’ stuff in it?” Honestly, he’d really like to sleep right about now, and wants to give Doc a little ‘nudge’ into doing so because the man doesn’t seem that tired! He hugged Doc tighter before pausing.

Wait. No, this was weird. As much as he enjoyed having Doc here, having someone appreciate his existence, having someone offer to nap with him, Doc just wasn’t the type to want to nap with him for days on end. He had that whole grind thrive grind some more acronym that Bdubs couldn’t really remember at this time. “…You do know we’ll be asleep for days, maybe even weeks, right?” He should check, it was the right thing to do even if it’d hurt when Doc left because no, he didn’t know how long they’d be asleep.

Doc shrugs.

Hole’s still gonna be there when I get back.

And there’s a solace— that sort of solace one could see in another’s eyes— in knowing that his fishing rod was tucked away in his inventory. He knew he was the one in control here. Doc’s wings flutter for a few moments.

Worst comes to worst, you, uh, you can’t exactly grief a hole without making a bigger hole, so… yeah, I don’t have to even worry about that.

If anything, you should be the one who’s worried. You’re the guy they put in charge of the Nether hub, and you’re out here taking week long naps.

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘n I don’t think anyone’s crazy enough to fill it back in.” Well, some people were but they then weren’t crazy enough to mess with Doc. Unless you were Martyn.

He went quiet for a few moments. “I don’t think they miss me.” Bdubs looked away.

Wh—

No— they—!

Doc’s wings tense.

Listen to me. We do miss you, why do you think— I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you’d be here. ‘S the whole reason I came down here in the first place.

He can feel something brushing up against his fur. Sharp leaves or… maybe it’s vines of some sort, he’s not entirely sure what it is.

We are not doomed, this doesn’t have to be your life.

I’d say it to Etho too, but we haven’t found him yet.

You ain’t alone here, man.

Really? Bdubs shot a wary glance at Doc. It didn’t feel like he was missed much anymore. His antennae fell low as Doc continued. ‘Doomed’?? Bdubs was feeling a bit low, that was normal, but doomed seemed slightly dramatic.

And Bdubs was alone most of the time, which really was his own fault for sleeping so much recently. People didn’t tend to want to spend a lot of time with someone who was asleep. He curled up tighter.

“I- uh, thank you. Yeah, we’re together.” Something felt a little off with Doc but he couldn’t quite place what.

And with Etho nowhere to be found, Bdubs’ company was everything to him.

So, of course, when he picked up on the odd look in Dubs’ eyes, he adjusted accordingly, as best as he could. Not that he was fully sure what it was about he said that warranted that, but surely he could figure this out along the way.

This fucking jungle, man.

He couldn’t quite tell whether he was floating or walking, but he nearly tripped over a log, which would have been a bit inconvenient.

How’s this guy managing to stay so sleepy during all this, this is the most awake I’ve ever…

…been…

Is there…

He hesitates. There’s an idea floating around his head, and he hesitates, because am I really going to bail on him this early on? Maybe “bailing” isn’t the right word, I’ll come back as soon as I can, but it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in his mouth.

He ruminates for a moment.

Bdubs furrowed his brows as Doc began ‘walking’ away.

“Where y’ goin’?” He quickly buzzed his wings and followed after Doc, really trying to stick close, clinging to the interactions he craved. “Doc?”

I’m right here, I’m right here, what, can a guy not stretch his legs or sum’n?

Like, I know this is your, uh, place, but… c’mon.

Doc forces out a bit of a chuckle. Is he not worried about—?

No, he’s definitely worried about Etho. Maybe he just doesn’t want to think about it right now.

…ah! That’s it! That has to be it, it’s so obvious when you really stop and think about it. Bdubs has had all the fuckin’ time in the world to think about Etho— he’s been looking all over for the guy, no one’s seen him—

It always feels nice when things fall into place like this.

–so by coming down here and immediately trying, like, to passively look for Etho… it’s kind of an asshole move, isn’t it? Bdubs needs support too! Of course! Obviously! How did I not think of that sooner?

As much as it did make him feel like a bit of an idiot, it was equally as vindicating, being able to think logically about a situation. Especially given the circumstances!

But that did leave one problem.

There’s only one thing in his possession that he knows could quell the incessant pounding in his head, demanding he get ahold of Etho and Dubs and take a mad dash out of this fucking labyrinth— weakness potions.

Which just so happen to be at his house— which of course, is not here.

So the plan of action involves somehow sneaking out of here without Bdubs realizing it, getting some potions, and coming back. This, of course, is going to be really fucking difficult if he can’t even pace around without getting called out for it.

And… are there even lakes in the jungle anyway?

Bdubs’ antennae flattened.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jeez, he was so needy, no wonder Doc was walking off somewhere. He stuck a little further behind him now, but didn’t dare take his eyes off of him.

“Do ya… want me to wait here for you?” Bdubs paused, that’d be less annoying, right? And Doc would come back for him. Doc would definitely, most certainly come back for him. He really, really hoped Doc would come back for him. “I can stop followin’ after ya, yeah, yeah.”

Well shit, that was easy.

Yeah, um, yeah, I was just checking to see if there was a lake around. Wanted to see if I could catch something, it’s nice and grounding, you know?

He takes out his fishing rod. His heart slows to a resting rate, looking at it.

If you’ve, um, seen a lake around here, it’d be nice if you could point me in the direction of it. I’ll fish you up something nice, we could— we could chat over a campfire, that’s always fun.

Yeah! Good save!

“A lake?” Bdubs frowned. A quick glance around confirmed they were still in the weird pocket dimension. He laughed, Doc must be joking. “Where are ya findin’ a lake here?”

He yawned, blinking a few times. “Why don’tcha come back over here ‘n we can finally shreep, it’ll be-“ he was cut off by another yawn. “A nice rest.” Bdubs finished in a mumble.

No lakes.

That complicates things.

I mean, it’d be nicer if we had, like, a bonfire going or something. And— and yeah, I guess we’re obviously not gonna find any lakes here, but…

Think of something, think of something—

…I could… pretend… to fish something up?

??????????

“Or we could finally sleep…”

Bdubs nodded along. “If you want to?” He didn’t see why it mattered too much, but if it was important to Doc, then fine. “We can have a little fire ‘n stuff when we’re out of here.” He promised.

Yeah, honestly I probably need to lie down at this point.

He casts the rod out, and—

…

He’s not—?

He’s. Still here.

Mumbles something about junk treasure, he’s not even sure what he’s on about, and he casts again, and it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work.

–and yeah, so here’s the fish…

It didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

…and we can just… lie down now.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

Yeah, and it’s— yeah. Sleep time.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work IT DIDN’T WORK IT DIDN’T—

Bdubs stared at Doc, yeah, okay something was really wrong. He moved over to Doc, grabbing his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Did he do something wrong? He didn’t intend to make Doc go all weird.

No everything’s fine nothing is wrong.

Spoken with the swiftness and tact of someone who has just witnessed everything going wrong at once. There’s really no hiding it.

Bdubs was pretty awful at dealing with emotions, not qualified at all. Hugs seemed the safest route, maybe? He hesitantly embraced Doc.

“What happened?” He tried instead.

He drops the rod on the floor.

His fingers curl. The only thing outpacing his heart’s rate are his own thoughts, a cyclone— a sandstorm— some sort of unprecedented disaster that wrecks him from the inside. And as he tries to speak he can feel his throat closing and this ache in his chest and he hates the way he can feel his fingers shaking and when he looks at his mechanical arm being co-opted by this fucking sensation in his head he just wants to tear it out and—

I—!

He nearly chokes on it.

And he starts talking, too low and too soft and too fast for either of them to make out.

–anniknow you’re doing your best anni appreciate you’re here but—

He tries to breathe. It’s stifled. It’s shaky.

We need to find Etho.

Andweneedafindhim before Beef goes lookinfor’im.

Bdubs is quiet for a few, trying to work this all out. He did make a mental note to check up on Doc more, aswell. Wait- was this all about season five?

How on earth does he deal with this- well, for starters, he pulls away to grab Doc’s wrist and drag him along. After a bit of searching the opening was found and Bdubs led them through it.

He rubbed at his eyes, orientating himself before refocusing on Doc.

“Etho’s probably in his base, or off with Joel somewhere.” Both hands planted on Doc’s shoulders. Was he doing this right?? “…We can, I dunno, go check if you want?”

The prospect of leaving the jungle without Etho by his side leaves a pit in his stomach, but…

Bdubs needs this.

And so he fights off that paralyzing— that thing, that feeling, coursing through him, and nods along.

Yeah, I’d be… fine with that.

Bdubs offers a smile and instead grasps his hand to lead him out of his house. He supposed his nap could wait for a little bit in favour of this.

He hadn’t seen Etho in… uhm, he didn’t know. Time had sort of melted together recently, wasn’t really sure when was what ‘n stuff. But it’d been a while! Luckily he still remembered the way to his base because- well, he was Bdubs. It was his job to be weird about Etho.

Bdubs wound through the path until they reached Etho’s base, this Japanese-looking thing, still had that ugly bright purple roof.

“I reckon he’s in here.” Bdubs nodded.

There isn’t exactly a door to knock on, nor is there any sort of doorbell. Dust bunnies are scattered along the creaky wooden floorboards— Doc had figured Etho would be busy with Frogger, but this is ridiculous.

Still, he takes the liberty of inviting himself in. Maybe he’s just been in the basement? That’s where all the utility’s located.

Cozy place. The smell of honey and overgrown produce wafts through the air, and the scintillating refractions of the lake are… they’re very strong. It certainly keeps him grounded.

And the sounds are rather peaceful as well. Between the beavers, the rustling leaves, and the ebb and flow of the water, it’s anything but empty.

But Etho’s nowhere to be found.

Etho?

He’s got to be here, right?

Etho, you in here?

Bdubs frowned.

“He’s, uhm. Probably at Joels, or Ravager rush, yeah.” He hated the fear crawling up his spine, because it was definitely irrational. Etho was somewhere, he was sure of it!

Joel’s. That place is… well, it’s huge. Really went all out with his debut base, it’s as if nobody told him about the resets.

But the way that Bdubs said it… Doc couldn’t help but tense his shoulders.

Bdubs wouldn’t leave without Etho, right? Surely he knows where he is.

Should we—

He clears his throat.

We should check Frogger first. Get that out of the way.

Bdubs was pulled out of his thoughts when Doc spoke. He nodded.

“Yeah, he’ll be there, I reckon. Lost in the redstone.” He snickered. Bdubs equipped his elytra (his own wings weren’t strong enough for long distance flight).

A minute or two later they were poking around the wiring of Frogger.

“Etho?” He called, same as before there was no response.

Doc squints at the machinery standing before him.

Of course, with each month, the game has to endure upkeep, including occasional balance updates to keep it fresh. But some of the circuits seem… out of place.

This doesn’t even look like Etho’s redstone— he wouldn’t wire it like this.

He points to a circuit on the ground, which has guiding gridlines beneath it. The floor is polished tuff.

Like, look at this. He wouldn’t go out of his way to do this, he’d just leave the floor as stone.

Bdubs frowned, prodding the redstone with his shoe. Doc’s belief that Etho had actually gone missing was getting easier to believe, and it scared him.

“That’s… nevermind, maybe he’s at Joel’s base?” Bdubs suggested, as much as saying it put a bitter taste in his mouth (why, why Joel? Why not him, he was just as good as Joel, why couldn’t Etho see that?) they was likely true.

Doc does a sideways wavey motion with his hand.

I mean, it’s a pretty big place, that sounds— it sounds plausible.

His wings start to flutter.

To Magic Mountain, then?

“…yeah.” Bdubs nodded, stepping outside of frogger.

Why couldn’t it be him? He wasn’t- Bdubs wasn’t a bad person, was he? He hadn’t done anything to Etho, no, no. He wouldn’t do any thing to Etho. So why?

Bdubs jumped, setting off a firework rocket to propel him towards the stupid mountain.

Joel squints, trying to see who the two players flying towards his base are. Doc is obvious, but the other one- He catches a glint of moss. Bdubs. He waves, trying not to get his excitement at human interaction be too apparent.

Doc, Bdubs! Good you see ya, good to see ya. Why’ve you decided to pay me a visit? Missed me or something? I know, going without my presence for so long is painful.

He gives them a playful grin as he waves them further into the city.

It’s hard to stick a landing with the high-power rockets. An effort’s made, but he can’t help but wonder why he committed himself to using such inconvenient boosters.

Ey man.

The city’s even bigger up close. How Joel has managed to pull this off is beyond him.

Just wanted to stop by and, y’know, look around. Get a feel for the place.

His eyes fall on Bdubs.

“Hi.” Bdubs muttered, not in the best of moods suddenly, scuffing his foot along the ground.

Then he remembered what they were here for, because Joel had clearly done something to Etho, clearly kept him from Bdubs.. and Doc. He marched forwards, thrusting an accusatory finger in Joel’s face.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO ETHO, DID YA KIDNAP HIM? SPILL.”

He shouted, waving his free hand around in vague gestures.

@joels-mailbox

Joel’s expression shifts from confused to something colder, on edge, at the mention of Etho.

I’ve not blummin, kidnapped him- you think I’d keep that a secret? I’ve not done anything to him.

Etho’s not here. I’ve not seen him since-

Joel cuts himself off, switching his tone to something curt, clearly trying to brush the two of them off.

I’ve not seen much of anyone. Been a bit busy. I still am, if you let me get back to work.

…not seen him since…?

Doc interlocks his fingers, face dropping somewhat as well. Because if Joel of all people doesn’t know where Etho is, then—

Well, um, did he… say anything? Before going?

He’s not entirely sure how Joel would know that.

Bdubs grumbled and steps back to stand beside Doc, glaring daggers at Joel.

“Yeah, he said anything?” Bdubs echoed, scowling.

Joel stares back.

He did.

Eefo…he’s not dead, if that’s what you’re worried about.

His tone switches to something more playful, but there is something strained about it.

We’ve all been a missing persons case before, haven’t we?

He lets out a similarly strained laugh.

It’s uncomfortably true.

I could…

He clears his throat.

Yeah, I could… certainly name a time where I was…

It trails off into a mumble.

…

Doc isn’t sure if it’s showing on his face, but at this point, he doesn’t care. There’s a haunting familiarity at play right now. This is how it started. It’s exactly how it started.

And sure, Etho likes his off time, but if Joel- Frog Champion Joel, hadn’t heard from him, something was most definitely amiss.

It might be too late to save him.

He glanced between the pair before swiftly returning to Doc’s side, clumsily grasping the man’s hand.

“So you know nothin’?” Bdubs tilted his head, significantly less accusatory.

Joel lets out a huff, his expression a mix of frustration and concern. Something about the lack of hostility in Bdubs’s voice gets to him.

Look- it’s been a couple weeks since I’ve seen from him, alright? He’s not told me where he’s staying, or why wherever it is is so blummin far. I uh- was a bit ‘sick’ when he moved out, but he checked in. Bit surprised to learn he could cook- back in Double Life he was hopeless you should’ve seen him he-

Something clicks in Joel’s eyes. He’s realized he said something he shouldn’t have. What he thinks you shouldn’t have said is unclear, but there is the distinct look of ‘I fucked up’ in his eyes.

That’s a bit off topic though, I’m rambling a bit

Joel begins admiring one of the signs on the building next to him, unsure of what to say next.

Doc grasps Bdubs’ hand as well.

It’s nice.

Keeps him grounded.

Alright, um—

There’s something stirring inside him, though. He needs to leave. He needs to leave he needs to leave he needs to leave because it’s dangerous staying here.

Rationally speaking, he knows now that it’s not. But that doesn’t change a thing. He needs to leave.

And he can’t help but grasp Bdubs’ hand a bit harder now, just to be sure he’s safe.

I appreciate, the… the input, thank you.

His wings twitch.

And, um, I really hate to cut this short, but, like, there’s things I need to attend to, and…

He can’t quite finish the sentence before glancing at Bdubs again. Trying to read that look on his face.

Bdubs stared blankly past Joel, eyes fixed on a point.

At first he could write off Doc’s worry about Etho as just paranoia, but it seemed to just slowly become the more likely option.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, we gotta go like, right now. Bye Joel!” He grinned,

#bdubs mailbox #hermitcraft ask universe #docs mailbox #joels mailbox

Someone’s standing at the side of your bed. It quickly becomes evident who woke you— he’s got a pretty distinctive figure, and the glowing red eye doesn’t leave much up for question.

Ey, man.

Rather quiet for someone who seems to want you awake.

You got a minute to spare for your nHo buddy?

@docs-mailbox

Bdubs grumbled something, shifting to bury himself further under the duvet. After a few moments he opened an eye, then realised who had woken him.

“Doc?” He mumbled, letters all slurring together. “Doc!” the next time he sounded more awake, shoving himself up to sit. “Oh, yeah, yeah I got time, what’s up?” Bdubs yawned, pulling his moss tighter around himself. He didn’t bother to fix the rest of his clothing or hair, too much effort!!

It’s about your cloak.

You still giving tours?

Bdubs’ eyes lit up.

“Really?!” He stumbled out of his bed, beaming. “Yeah- oh, just a warning, you might grow an extra limb… but it’s fine!” Bdubs shrugged off the cloak and parted the moss, revealing a milky white rift with pink and purple marbling. “Hop in!”

So long as I don’t lose another horn, I’m sure I’ll be fine.

His horn isn’t fully healed, of course. But there’s progress.

He’s swift to enter, with his primed fishing rod tucked safely in his inventory.

Bdubs waited a few moments to giggle excitedly before following Doc in. There was no solid floor, here, but it was easy to float and move. The air was comfortable (if a little suffocating when you focused on it too hard) and warm.

Bdubs could feel himself getting tired already, he’d be in for a very long, very pleasant nap. He flapped his wings lazily a few times to propel himself over to Doc.

“How’ve you been, anyways?” He mumbled, eyelids already drooping and words slurring together.

Everything feels a bit warm and hazy. As if he were lost underneath a warm blanket.

Been fine mostly. Somebody messed up my redstone, and I seem to have misplaced my communicator…

It dawns on him that this endless expanse of a place doesn’t have many spots to hide a device like his comm. Which is great! All the more reason to brush off all those silly anxieties about what BigB said.

Still, nothing’s been confirmed, one way or another.

…but other than that, everything’s been great. Projects ‘n’ all, and my wings are back in action too.

He flutters his as well. Matching motions!

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘s rubbish.” Floating a little bit closer, he embraced Doc tightly. “But it’ll be okay, y’know why? The moss is here to help us.” His tone dropped to a sort of purr. “The moss is safe, and very, very wonderful.” There were some more mumbles about the moss, and how it was going to take over but it was too quiet to clearly make out the sentences.

Yeah, you and your moss, it’s…

Indistinct.

Doc leaned into his embrace with a faint smile. His eyes, though, were fixed on something else. Far out in the distance.

And, even knowing the nature of the situation— his comm being missing, with Bdubs probably not being the culprit— I mean, come on, he’s my friend, obviously I can trust him more than famed liar BigB— he can’t help but entertain the idea of Dubs having it on him.

Less in the sense of Dubs having stolen it, and more along the lines of Dubs just having it on hand for no particular reason. A cosmic convenience of sorts.

And it’s the push that drives him to ask—

…don’t wanna accuse you of no’n, but do you happen to have my, uh, my comm? Or know where it is?

“Mmm? No, no- why would I know?” Bdubs blinked, peering up at Doc. That was weird, he’d been asleep for god knows how long, why would Bdubs have it anywhere near him?? Oh well. “You should just sleep instead of worryin’ ‘bout all these small things.” He yawned.

Someone told me you had it. Didn’t believe them, but I wanted to double check.

BigB’s not a very reliable source of information, I’ve found.

In other news, lapis is blue.

Yeah, I knew I was probably going to get caught up in this… idea, I guess, unless I confronted you directly. ‘s part of why I visited. That, and, y’know, we haven’t talked in a while.

Wanted to see your face.

All the warm, hazy air…

He nodded along.

“Yeah, no communicator here.” Bdubs closed his eyes for a moment before forcing them to reopen. Naps were important, but so was speaking to his friend. “Aw, I missed you.” He beamed. “What’ve you been upto?”

Ah, you know, the usual. Digging holes. That’s kind of been my M.O. for the past, what, three seasons? At the very least.

This hole’s a secret, though. Nobody knows where it is except for me. And it’s gonna stay that way for awhile.

Something skitters through the holes in his crocs— a bug? Some kind of beetle? But it isn’t there when he takes off his shoe for inspection. Strange.

A moist quality permeates the air.

Smells vaguely of petrichor and cocoa.

He tilted his head.

“Why? It’s just a hole, isn’t it?” Bdubs frowned, why would anyone hide just a hole, unless- “ooh, does it have all y’ stuff in it?” Honestly, he’d really like to sleep right about now, and wants to give Doc a little ‘nudge’ into doing so because the man doesn’t seem that tired! He hugged Doc tighter before pausing.

Wait. No, this was weird. As much as he enjoyed having Doc here, having someone appreciate his existence, having someone offer to nap with him, Doc just wasn’t the type to want to nap with him for days on end. He had that whole grind thrive grind some more acronym that Bdubs couldn’t really remember at this time. “…You do know we’ll be asleep for days, maybe even weeks, right?” He should check, it was the right thing to do even if it’d hurt when Doc left because no, he didn’t know how long they’d be asleep.

Doc shrugs.

Hole’s still gonna be there when I get back.

And there’s a solace— that sort of solace one could see in another’s eyes— in knowing that his fishing rod was tucked away in his inventory. He knew he was the one in control here. Doc’s wings flutter for a few moments.

Worst comes to worst, you, uh, you can’t exactly grief a hole without making a bigger hole, so… yeah, I don’t have to even worry about that.

If anything, you should be the one who’s worried. You’re the guy they put in charge of the Nether hub, and you’re out here taking week long naps.

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘n I don’t think anyone’s crazy enough to fill it back in.” Well, some people were but they then weren’t crazy enough to mess with Doc. Unless you were Martyn.

He went quiet for a few moments. “I don’t think they miss me.” Bdubs looked away.

Wh—

No— they—!

Doc’s wings tense.

Listen to me. We do miss you, why do you think— I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you’d be here. ‘S the whole reason I came down here in the first place.

He can feel something brushing up against his fur. Sharp leaves or… maybe it’s vines of some sort, he’s not entirely sure what it is.

We are not doomed, this doesn’t have to be your life.

I’d say it to Etho too, but we haven’t found him yet.

You ain’t alone here, man.

Really? Bdubs shot a wary glance at Doc. It didn’t feel like he was missed much anymore. His antennae fell low as Doc continued. ‘Doomed’?? Bdubs was feeling a bit low, that was normal, but doomed seemed slightly dramatic.

And Bdubs was alone most of the time, which really was his own fault for sleeping so much recently. People didn’t tend to want to spend a lot of time with someone who was asleep. He curled up tighter.

“I- uh, thank you. Yeah, we’re together.” Something felt a little off with Doc but he couldn’t quite place what.

And with Etho nowhere to be found, Bdubs’ company was everything to him.

So, of course, when he picked up on the odd look in Dubs’ eyes, he adjusted accordingly, as best as he could. Not that he was fully sure what it was about he said that warranted that, but surely he could figure this out along the way.

This fucking jungle, man.

He couldn’t quite tell whether he was floating or walking, but he nearly tripped over a log, which would have been a bit inconvenient.

How’s this guy managing to stay so sleepy during all this, this is the most awake I’ve ever…

…been…

Is there…

He hesitates. There’s an idea floating around his head, and he hesitates, because am I really going to bail on him this early on? Maybe “bailing” isn’t the right word, I’ll come back as soon as I can, but it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in his mouth.

He ruminates for a moment.

Bdubs furrowed his brows as Doc began ‘walking’ away.

“Where y’ goin’?” He quickly buzzed his wings and followed after Doc, really trying to stick close, clinging to the interactions he craved. “Doc?”

I’m right here, I’m right here, what, can a guy not stretch his legs or sum’n?

Like, I know this is your, uh, place, but… c’mon.

Doc forces out a bit of a chuckle. Is he not worried about—?

No, he’s definitely worried about Etho. Maybe he just doesn’t want to think about it right now.

…ah! That’s it! That has to be it, it’s so obvious when you really stop and think about it. Bdubs has had all the fuckin’ time in the world to think about Etho— he’s been looking all over for the guy, no one’s seen him—

It always feels nice when things fall into place like this.

–so by coming down here and immediately trying, like, to passively look for Etho… it’s kind of an asshole move, isn’t it? Bdubs needs support too! Of course! Obviously! How did I not think of that sooner?

As much as it did make him feel like a bit of an idiot, it was equally as vindicating, being able to think logically about a situation. Especially given the circumstances!

But that did leave one problem.

There’s only one thing in his possession that he knows could quell the incessant pounding in his head, demanding he get ahold of Etho and Dubs and take a mad dash out of this fucking labyrinth— weakness potions.

Which just so happen to be at his house— which of course, is not here.

So the plan of action involves somehow sneaking out of here without Bdubs realizing it, getting some potions, and coming back. This, of course, is going to be really fucking difficult if he can’t even pace around without getting called out for it.

And… are there even lakes in the jungle anyway?

Bdubs’ antennae flattened.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jeez, he was so needy, no wonder Doc was walking off somewhere. He stuck a little further behind him now, but didn’t dare take his eyes off of him.

“Do ya… want me to wait here for you?” Bdubs paused, that’d be less annoying, right? And Doc would come back for him. Doc would definitely, most certainly come back for him. He really, really hoped Doc would come back for him. “I can stop followin’ after ya, yeah, yeah.”

Well shit, that was easy.

Yeah, um, yeah, I was just checking to see if there was a lake around. Wanted to see if I could catch something, it’s nice and grounding, you know?

He takes out his fishing rod. His heart slows to a resting rate, looking at it.

If you’ve, um, seen a lake around here, it’d be nice if you could point me in the direction of it. I’ll fish you up something nice, we could— we could chat over a campfire, that’s always fun.

Yeah! Good save!

“A lake?” Bdubs frowned. A quick glance around confirmed they were still in the weird pocket dimension. He laughed, Doc must be joking. “Where are ya findin’ a lake here?”

He yawned, blinking a few times. “Why don’tcha come back over here ‘n we can finally shreep, it’ll be-“ he was cut off by another yawn. “A nice rest.” Bdubs finished in a mumble.

No lakes.

That complicates things.

I mean, it’d be nicer if we had, like, a bonfire going or something. And— and yeah, I guess we’re obviously not gonna find any lakes here, but…

Think of something, think of something—

…I could… pretend… to fish something up?

??????????

“Or we could finally sleep…”

Bdubs nodded along. “If you want to?” He didn’t see why it mattered too much, but if it was important to Doc, then fine. “We can have a little fire ‘n stuff when we’re out of here.” He promised.

Yeah, honestly I probably need to lie down at this point.

He casts the rod out, and—

…

He’s not—?

He’s. Still here.

Mumbles something about junk treasure, he’s not even sure what he’s on about, and he casts again, and it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work.

–and yeah, so here’s the fish…

It didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

…and we can just… lie down now.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

Yeah, and it’s— yeah. Sleep time.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work IT DIDN’T WORK IT DIDN’T—

Bdubs stared at Doc, yeah, okay something was really wrong. He moved over to Doc, grabbing his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Did he do something wrong? He didn’t intend to make Doc go all weird.

No everything’s fine nothing is wrong.

Spoken with the swiftness and tact of someone who has just witnessed everything going wrong at once. There’s really no hiding it.

Bdubs was pretty awful at dealing with emotions, not qualified at all. Hugs seemed the safest route, maybe? He hesitantly embraced Doc.

“What happened?” He tried instead.

He drops the rod on the floor.

His fingers curl. The only thing outpacing his heart’s rate are his own thoughts, a cyclone— a sandstorm— some sort of unprecedented disaster that wrecks him from the inside. And as he tries to speak he can feel his throat closing and this ache in his chest and he hates the way he can feel his fingers shaking and when he looks at his mechanical arm being co-opted by this fucking sensation in his head he just wants to tear it out and—

I—!

He nearly chokes on it.

And he starts talking, too low and too soft and too fast for either of them to make out.

–anniknow you’re doing your best anni appreciate you’re here but—

He tries to breathe. It’s stifled. It’s shaky.

We need to find Etho.

Andweneedafindhim before Beef goes lookinfor’im.

Bdubs is quiet for a few, trying to work this all out. He did make a mental note to check up on Doc more, aswell. Wait- was this all about season five?

How on earth does he deal with this- well, for starters, he pulls away to grab Doc’s wrist and drag him along. After a bit of searching the opening was found and Bdubs led them through it.

He rubbed at his eyes, orientating himself before refocusing on Doc.

“Etho’s probably in his base, or off with Joel somewhere.” Both hands planted on Doc’s shoulders. Was he doing this right?? “…We can, I dunno, go check if you want?”

The prospect of leaving the jungle without Etho by his side leaves a pit in his stomach, but…

Bdubs needs this.

And so he fights off that paralyzing— that thing, that feeling, coursing through him, and nods along.

Yeah, I’d be… fine with that.

Bdubs offers a smile and instead grasps his hand to lead him out of his house. He supposed his nap could wait for a little bit in favour of this.

He hadn’t seen Etho in… uhm, he didn’t know. Time had sort of melted together recently, wasn’t really sure when was what ‘n stuff. But it’d been a while! Luckily he still remembered the way to his base because- well, he was Bdubs. It was his job to be weird about Etho.

Bdubs wound through the path until they reached Etho’s base, this Japanese-looking thing, still had that ugly bright purple roof.

“I reckon he’s in here.” Bdubs nodded.

There isn’t exactly a door to knock on, nor is there any sort of doorbell. Dust bunnies are scattered along the creaky wooden floorboards— Doc had figured Etho would be busy with Frogger, but this is ridiculous.

Still, he takes the liberty of inviting himself in. Maybe he’s just been in the basement? That’s where all the utility’s located.

Cozy place. The smell of honey and overgrown produce wafts through the air, and the scintillating refractions of the lake are… they’re very strong. It certainly keeps him grounded.

And the sounds are rather peaceful as well. Between the beavers, the rustling leaves, and the ebb and flow of the water, it’s anything but empty.

But Etho’s nowhere to be found.

Etho?

He’s got to be here, right?

Etho, you in here?

Bdubs frowned.

“He’s, uhm. Probably at Joels, or Ravager rush, yeah.” He hated the fear crawling up his spine, because it was definitely irrational. Etho was somewhere, he was sure of it!

Joel’s. That place is… well, it’s huge. Really went all out with his debut base, it’s as if nobody told him about the resets.

But the way that Bdubs said it… Doc couldn’t help but tense his shoulders.

Bdubs wouldn’t leave without Etho, right? Surely he knows where he is.

Should we—

He clears his throat.

We should check Frogger first. Get that out of the way.

Bdubs was pulled out of his thoughts when Doc spoke. He nodded.

“Yeah, he’ll be there, I reckon. Lost in the redstone.” He snickered. Bdubs equipped his elytra (his own wings weren’t strong enough for long distance flight).

A minute or two later they were poking around the wiring of Frogger.

“Etho?” He called, same as before there was no response.

Doc squints at the machinery standing before him.

Of course, with each month, the game has to endure upkeep, including occasional balance updates to keep it fresh. But some of the circuits seem… out of place.

This doesn’t even look like Etho’s redstone— he wouldn’t wire it like this.

He points to a circuit on the ground, which has guiding gridlines beneath it. The floor is polished tuff.

Like, look at this. He wouldn’t go out of his way to do this, he’d just leave the floor as stone.

Bdubs frowned, prodding the redstone with his shoe. Doc’s belief that Etho had actually gone missing was getting easier to believe, and it scared him.

“That’s… nevermind, maybe he’s at Joel’s base?” Bdubs suggested, as much as saying it put a bitter taste in his mouth (why, why Joel? Why not him, he was just as good as Joel, why couldn’t Etho see that?) they was likely true.

Doc does a sideways wavey motion with his hand.

I mean, it’s a pretty big place, that sounds— it sounds plausible.

His wings start to flutter.

To Magic Mountain, then?

“…yeah.” Bdubs nodded, stepping outside of frogger.

Why couldn’t it be him? He wasn’t- Bdubs wasn’t a bad person, was he? He hadn’t done anything to Etho, no, no. He wouldn’t do any thing to Etho. So why?

Bdubs jumped, setting off a firework rocket to propel him towards the stupid mountain.

Joel squints, trying to see who the two players flying towards his base are. Doc is obvious, but the other one- He catches a glint of moss. Bdubs. He waves, trying not to get his excitement at human interaction be too apparent.

Doc, Bdubs! Good you see ya, good to see ya. Why’ve you decided to pay me a visit? Missed me or something? I know, going without my presence for so long is painful.

He gives them a playful grin as he waves them further into the city.

It’s hard to stick a landing with the high-power rockets. An effort’s made, but he can’t help but wonder why he committed himself to using such inconvenient boosters.

Ey man.

The city’s even bigger up close. How Joel has managed to pull this off is beyond him.

Just wanted to stop by and, y’know, look around. Get a feel for the place.

His eyes fall on Bdubs.

“Hi.” Bdubs muttered, not in the best of moods suddenly, scuffing his foot along the ground.

Then he remembered what they were here for, because Joel had clearly done something to Etho, clearly kept him from Bdubs.. and Doc. He marched forwards, thrusting an accusatory finger in Joel’s face.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO ETHO, DID YA KIDNAP HIM? SPILL.”

He shouted, waving his free hand around in vague gestures.

@joels-mailbox

Joel’s expression shifts from confused to something colder, on edge, at the mention of Etho.

I’ve not blummin, kidnapped him- you think I’d keep that a secret? I’ve not done anything to him.

Etho’s not here. I’ve not seen him since-

Joel cuts himself off, switching his tone to something curt, clearly trying to brush the two of them off.

I’ve not seen much of anyone. Been a bit busy. I still am, if you let me get back to work.

…not seen him since…?

Doc interlocks his fingers, face dropping somewhat as well. Because if Joel of all people doesn’t know where Etho is, then—

Well, um, did he… say anything? Before going?

He’s not entirely sure how Joel would know that.

Bdubs grumbled and steps back to stand beside Doc, glaring daggers at Joel.

“Yeah, he said anything?” Bdubs echoed, scowling.

Joel stares back.

He did.

Eefo…he’s not dead, if that’s what you’re worried about.

His tone switches to something more playful, but there is something strained about it.

We’ve all been a missing persons case before, haven’t we?

He lets out a similarly strained laugh.

It’s uncomfortably true.

I could…

He clears his throat.

Yeah, I could… certainly name a time where I was…

It trails off into a mumble.

…

Doc isn’t sure if it’s showing on his face, but at this point, he doesn’t care. There’s a haunting familiarity at play right now. This is how it started. It’s exactly how it started.

And sure, Etho likes his off time, but if Joel- Frog Champion Joel, hadn’t heard from him, something was most definitely amiss.

It might be too late to save him.

He glanced between the pair before swiftly returning to Doc’s side, clumsily grasping the man’s hand.

“So you know nothin’?” Bdubs tilted his head, significantly less accusatory.

#docs mailbox #bdubs mailbox #joels mailbox #hermit mailbox ask universe

Someone’s standing at the side of your bed. It quickly becomes evident who woke you— he’s got a pretty distinctive figure, and the glowing red eye doesn’t leave much up for question.

Ey, man.

Rather quiet for someone who seems to want you awake.

You got a minute to spare for your nHo buddy?

@docs-mailbox

Bdubs grumbled something, shifting to bury himself further under the duvet. After a few moments he opened an eye, then realised who had woken him.

“Doc?” He mumbled, letters all slurring together. “Doc!” the next time he sounded more awake, shoving himself up to sit. “Oh, yeah, yeah I got time, what’s up?” Bdubs yawned, pulling his moss tighter around himself. He didn’t bother to fix the rest of his clothing or hair, too much effort!!

It’s about your cloak.

You still giving tours?

Bdubs’ eyes lit up.

“Really?!” He stumbled out of his bed, beaming. “Yeah- oh, just a warning, you might grow an extra limb… but it’s fine!” Bdubs shrugged off the cloak and parted the moss, revealing a milky white rift with pink and purple marbling. “Hop in!”

So long as I don’t lose another horn, I’m sure I’ll be fine.

His horn isn’t fully healed, of course. But there’s progress.

He’s swift to enter, with his primed fishing rod tucked safely in his inventory.

Bdubs waited a few moments to giggle excitedly before following Doc in. There was no solid floor, here, but it was easy to float and move. The air was comfortable (if a little suffocating when you focused on it too hard) and warm.

Bdubs could feel himself getting tired already, he’d be in for a very long, very pleasant nap. He flapped his wings lazily a few times to propel himself over to Doc.

“How’ve you been, anyways?” He mumbled, eyelids already drooping and words slurring together.

Everything feels a bit warm and hazy. As if he were lost underneath a warm blanket.

Been fine mostly. Somebody messed up my redstone, and I seem to have misplaced my communicator…

It dawns on him that this endless expanse of a place doesn’t have many spots to hide a device like his comm. Which is great! All the more reason to brush off all those silly anxieties about what BigB said.

Still, nothing’s been confirmed, one way or another.

…but other than that, everything’s been great. Projects ‘n’ all, and my wings are back in action too.

He flutters his as well. Matching motions!

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘s rubbish.” Floating a little bit closer, he embraced Doc tightly. “But it’ll be okay, y’know why? The moss is here to help us.” His tone dropped to a sort of purr. “The moss is safe, and very, very wonderful.” There were some more mumbles about the moss, and how it was going to take over but it was too quiet to clearly make out the sentences.

Yeah, you and your moss, it’s…

Indistinct.

Doc leaned into his embrace with a faint smile. His eyes, though, were fixed on something else. Far out in the distance.

And, even knowing the nature of the situation— his comm being missing, with Bdubs probably not being the culprit— I mean, come on, he’s my friend, obviously I can trust him more than famed liar BigB— he can’t help but entertain the idea of Dubs having it on him.

Less in the sense of Dubs having stolen it, and more along the lines of Dubs just having it on hand for no particular reason. A cosmic convenience of sorts.

And it’s the push that drives him to ask—

…don’t wanna accuse you of no’n, but do you happen to have my, uh, my comm? Or know where it is?

“Mmm? No, no- why would I know?” Bdubs blinked, peering up at Doc. That was weird, he’d been asleep for god knows how long, why would Bdubs have it anywhere near him?? Oh well. “You should just sleep instead of worryin’ ‘bout all these small things.” He yawned.

Someone told me you had it. Didn’t believe them, but I wanted to double check.

BigB’s not a very reliable source of information, I’ve found.

In other news, lapis is blue.

Yeah, I knew I was probably going to get caught up in this… idea, I guess, unless I confronted you directly. ‘s part of why I visited. That, and, y’know, we haven’t talked in a while.

Wanted to see your face.

All the warm, hazy air…

He nodded along.

“Yeah, no communicator here.” Bdubs closed his eyes for a moment before forcing them to reopen. Naps were important, but so was speaking to his friend. “Aw, I missed you.” He beamed. “What’ve you been upto?”

Ah, you know, the usual. Digging holes. That’s kind of been my M.O. for the past, what, three seasons? At the very least.

This hole’s a secret, though. Nobody knows where it is except for me. And it’s gonna stay that way for awhile.

Something skitters through the holes in his crocs— a bug? Some kind of beetle? But it isn’t there when he takes off his shoe for inspection. Strange.

A moist quality permeates the air.

Smells vaguely of petrichor and cocoa.

He tilted his head.

“Why? It’s just a hole, isn’t it?” Bdubs frowned, why would anyone hide just a hole, unless- “ooh, does it have all y’ stuff in it?” Honestly, he’d really like to sleep right about now, and wants to give Doc a little ‘nudge’ into doing so because the man doesn’t seem that tired! He hugged Doc tighter before pausing.

Wait. No, this was weird. As much as he enjoyed having Doc here, having someone appreciate his existence, having someone offer to nap with him, Doc just wasn’t the type to want to nap with him for days on end. He had that whole grind thrive grind some more acronym that Bdubs couldn’t really remember at this time. “…You do know we’ll be asleep for days, maybe even weeks, right?” He should check, it was the right thing to do even if it’d hurt when Doc left because no, he didn’t know how long they’d be asleep.

Doc shrugs.

Hole’s still gonna be there when I get back.

And there’s a solace— that sort of solace one could see in another’s eyes— in knowing that his fishing rod was tucked away in his inventory. He knew he was the one in control here. Doc’s wings flutter for a few moments.

Worst comes to worst, you, uh, you can’t exactly grief a hole without making a bigger hole, so… yeah, I don’t have to even worry about that.

If anything, you should be the one who’s worried. You’re the guy they put in charge of the Nether hub, and you’re out here taking week long naps.

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘n I don’t think anyone’s crazy enough to fill it back in.” Well, some people were but they then weren’t crazy enough to mess with Doc. Unless you were Martyn.

He went quiet for a few moments. “I don’t think they miss me.” Bdubs looked away.

Wh—

No— they—!

Doc’s wings tense.

Listen to me. We do miss you, why do you think— I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you’d be here. ‘S the whole reason I came down here in the first place.

He can feel something brushing up against his fur. Sharp leaves or… maybe it’s vines of some sort, he’s not entirely sure what it is.

We are not doomed, this doesn’t have to be your life.

I’d say it to Etho too, but we haven’t found him yet.

You ain’t alone here, man.

Really? Bdubs shot a wary glance at Doc. It didn’t feel like he was missed much anymore. His antennae fell low as Doc continued. ‘Doomed’?? Bdubs was feeling a bit low, that was normal, but doomed seemed slightly dramatic.

And Bdubs was alone most of the time, which really was his own fault for sleeping so much recently. People didn’t tend to want to spend a lot of time with someone who was asleep. He curled up tighter.

“I- uh, thank you. Yeah, we’re together.” Something felt a little off with Doc but he couldn’t quite place what.

And with Etho nowhere to be found, Bdubs’ company was everything to him.

So, of course, when he picked up on the odd look in Dubs’ eyes, he adjusted accordingly, as best as he could. Not that he was fully sure what it was about he said that warranted that, but surely he could figure this out along the way.

This fucking jungle, man.

He couldn’t quite tell whether he was floating or walking, but he nearly tripped over a log, which would have been a bit inconvenient.

How’s this guy managing to stay so sleepy during all this, this is the most awake I’ve ever…

…been…

Is there…

He hesitates. There’s an idea floating around his head, and he hesitates, because am I really going to bail on him this early on? Maybe “bailing” isn’t the right word, I’ll come back as soon as I can, but it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in his mouth.

He ruminates for a moment.

Bdubs furrowed his brows as Doc began ‘walking’ away.

“Where y’ goin’?” He quickly buzzed his wings and followed after Doc, really trying to stick close, clinging to the interactions he craved. “Doc?”

I’m right here, I’m right here, what, can a guy not stretch his legs or sum’n?

Like, I know this is your, uh, place, but… c’mon.

Doc forces out a bit of a chuckle. Is he not worried about—?

No, he’s definitely worried about Etho. Maybe he just doesn’t want to think about it right now.

…ah! That’s it! That has to be it, it’s so obvious when you really stop and think about it. Bdubs has had all the fuckin’ time in the world to think about Etho— he’s been looking all over for the guy, no one’s seen him—

It always feels nice when things fall into place like this.

–so by coming down here and immediately trying, like, to passively look for Etho… it’s kind of an asshole move, isn’t it? Bdubs needs support too! Of course! Obviously! How did I not think of that sooner?

As much as it did make him feel like a bit of an idiot, it was equally as vindicating, being able to think logically about a situation. Especially given the circumstances!

But that did leave one problem.

There’s only one thing in his possession that he knows could quell the incessant pounding in his head, demanding he get ahold of Etho and Dubs and take a mad dash out of this fucking labyrinth— weakness potions.

Which just so happen to be at his house— which of course, is not here.

So the plan of action involves somehow sneaking out of here without Bdubs realizing it, getting some potions, and coming back. This, of course, is going to be really fucking difficult if he can’t even pace around without getting called out for it.

And… are there even lakes in the jungle anyway?

Bdubs’ antennae flattened.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jeez, he was so needy, no wonder Doc was walking off somewhere. He stuck a little further behind him now, but didn’t dare take his eyes off of him.

“Do ya… want me to wait here for you?” Bdubs paused, that’d be less annoying, right? And Doc would come back for him. Doc would definitely, most certainly come back for him. He really, really hoped Doc would come back for him. “I can stop followin’ after ya, yeah, yeah.”

Well shit, that was easy.

Yeah, um, yeah, I was just checking to see if there was a lake around. Wanted to see if I could catch something, it’s nice and grounding, you know?

He takes out his fishing rod. His heart slows to a resting rate, looking at it.

If you’ve, um, seen a lake around here, it’d be nice if you could point me in the direction of it. I’ll fish you up something nice, we could— we could chat over a campfire, that’s always fun.

Yeah! Good save!

“A lake?” Bdubs frowned. A quick glance around confirmed they were still in the weird pocket dimension. He laughed, Doc must be joking. “Where are ya findin’ a lake here?”

He yawned, blinking a few times. “Why don’tcha come back over here ‘n we can finally shreep, it’ll be-“ he was cut off by another yawn. “A nice rest.” Bdubs finished in a mumble.

No lakes.

That complicates things.

I mean, it’d be nicer if we had, like, a bonfire going or something. And— and yeah, I guess we’re obviously not gonna find any lakes here, but…

Think of something, think of something—

…I could… pretend… to fish something up?

??????????

“Or we could finally sleep…”

Bdubs nodded along. “If you want to?” He didn’t see why it mattered too much, but if it was important to Doc, then fine. “We can have a little fire ‘n stuff when we’re out of here.” He promised.

Yeah, honestly I probably need to lie down at this point.

He casts the rod out, and—

…

He’s not—?

He’s. Still here.

Mumbles something about junk treasure, he’s not even sure what he’s on about, and he casts again, and it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work.

–and yeah, so here’s the fish…

It didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

…and we can just… lie down now.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

Yeah, and it’s— yeah. Sleep time.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work IT DIDN’T WORK IT DIDN’T—

Bdubs stared at Doc, yeah, okay something was really wrong. He moved over to Doc, grabbing his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Did he do something wrong? He didn’t intend to make Doc go all weird.

No everything’s fine nothing is wrong.

Spoken with the swiftness and tact of someone who has just witnessed everything going wrong at once. There’s really no hiding it.

Bdubs was pretty awful at dealing with emotions, not qualified at all. Hugs seemed the safest route, maybe? He hesitantly embraced Doc.

“What happened?” He tried instead.

He drops the rod on the floor.

His fingers curl. The only thing outpacing his heart’s rate are his own thoughts, a cyclone— a sandstorm— some sort of unprecedented disaster that wrecks him from the inside. And as he tries to speak he can feel his throat closing and this ache in his chest and he hates the way he can feel his fingers shaking and when he looks at his mechanical arm being co-opted by this fucking sensation in his head he just wants to tear it out and—

I—!

He nearly chokes on it.

And he starts talking, too low and too soft and too fast for either of them to make out.

–anniknow you’re doing your best anni appreciate you’re here but—

He tries to breathe. It’s stifled. It’s shaky.

We need to find Etho.

Andweneedafindhim before Beef goes lookinfor’im.

Bdubs is quiet for a few, trying to work this all out. He did make a mental note to check up on Doc more, aswell. Wait- was this all about season five?

How on earth does he deal with this- well, for starters, he pulls away to grab Doc’s wrist and drag him along. After a bit of searching the opening was found and Bdubs led them through it.

He rubbed at his eyes, orientating himself before refocusing on Doc.

“Etho’s probably in his base, or off with Joel somewhere.” Both hands planted on Doc’s shoulders. Was he doing this right?? “…We can, I dunno, go check if you want?”

The prospect of leaving the jungle without Etho by his side leaves a pit in his stomach, but…

Bdubs needs this.

And so he fights off that paralyzing— that thing, that feeling, coursing through him, and nods along.

Yeah, I’d be… fine with that.

Bdubs offers a smile and instead grasps his hand to lead him out of his house. He supposed his nap could wait for a little bit in favour of this.

He hadn’t seen Etho in… uhm, he didn’t know. Time had sort of melted together recently, wasn’t really sure when was what ‘n stuff. But it’d been a while! Luckily he still remembered the way to his base because- well, he was Bdubs. It was his job to be weird about Etho.

Bdubs wound through the path until they reached Etho’s base, this Japanese-looking thing, still had that ugly bright purple roof.

“I reckon he’s in here.” Bdubs nodded.

There isn’t exactly a door to knock on, nor is there any sort of doorbell. Dust bunnies are scattered along the creaky wooden floorboards— Doc had figured Etho would be busy with Frogger, but this is ridiculous.

Still, he takes the liberty of inviting himself in. Maybe he’s just been in the basement? That’s where all the utility’s located.

Cozy place. The smell of honey and overgrown produce wafts through the air, and the scintillating refractions of the lake are… they’re very strong. It certainly keeps him grounded.

And the sounds are rather peaceful as well. Between the beavers, the rustling leaves, and the ebb and flow of the water, it’s anything but empty.

But Etho’s nowhere to be found.

Etho?

He’s got to be here, right?

Etho, you in here?

Bdubs frowned.

“He’s, uhm. Probably at Joels, or Ravager rush, yeah.” He hated the fear crawling up his spine, because it was definitely irrational. Etho was somewhere, he was sure of it!

Joel’s. That place is… well, it’s huge. Really went all out with his debut base, it’s as if nobody told him about the resets.

But the way that Bdubs said it… Doc couldn’t help but tense his shoulders.

Bdubs wouldn’t leave without Etho, right? Surely he knows where he is.

Should we—

He clears his throat.

We should check Frogger first. Get that out of the way.

Bdubs was pulled out of his thoughts when Doc spoke. He nodded.

“Yeah, he’ll be there, I reckon. Lost in the redstone.” He snickered. Bdubs equipped his elytra (his own wings weren’t strong enough for long distance flight).

A minute or two later they were poking around the wiring of Frogger.

“Etho?” He called, same as before there was no response.

Doc squints at the machinery standing before him.

Of course, with each month, the game has to endure upkeep, including occasional balance updates to keep it fresh. But some of the circuits seem… out of place.

This doesn’t even look like Etho’s redstone— he wouldn’t wire it like this.

He points to a circuit on the ground, which has guiding gridlines beneath it. The floor is polished tuff.

Like, look at this. He wouldn’t go out of his way to do this, he’d just leave the floor as stone.

Bdubs frowned, prodding the redstone with his shoe. Doc’s belief that Etho had actually gone missing was getting easier to believe, and it scared him.

“That’s… nevermind, maybe he’s at Joel’s base?” Bdubs suggested, as much as saying it put a bitter taste in his mouth (why, why Joel? Why not him, he was just as good as Joel, why couldn’t Etho see that?) they was likely true.

Doc does a sideways wavey motion with his hand.

I mean, it’s a pretty big place, that sounds— it sounds plausible.

His wings start to flutter.

To Magic Mountain, then?

“…yeah.” Bdubs nodded, stepping outside of frogger.

Why couldn’t it be him? He wasn’t- Bdubs wasn’t a bad person, was he? He hadn’t done anything to Etho, no, no. He wouldn’t do any thing to Etho. So why?

Bdubs jumped, setting off a firework rocket to propel him towards the stupid mountain.

Joel squints, trying to see who the two players flying towards his base are. Doc is obvious, but the other one- He catches a glint of moss. Bdubs. He waves, trying not to get his excitement at human interaction be too apparent.

Doc, Bdubs! Good you see ya, good to see ya. Why’ve you decided to pay me a visit? Missed me or something? I know, going without my presence for so long is painful.

He gives them a playful grin as he waves them further into the city.

It’s hard to stick a landing with the high-power rockets. An effort’s made, but he can’t help but wonder why he committed himself to using such inconvenient boosters.

Ey man.

The city’s even bigger up close. How Joel has managed to pull this off is beyond him.

Just wanted to stop by and, y’know, look around. Get a feel for the place.

His eyes fall on Bdubs.

“Hi.” Bdubs muttered, not in the best of moods suddenly, scuffing his foot along the ground.

Then he remembered what they were here for, because Joel had clearly done something to Etho, clearly kept him from Bdubs.. and Doc. He marched forwards, thrusting an accusatory finger in Joel’s face.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO ETHO, DID YA KIDNAP HIM? SPILL.”

He shouted, waving his free hand around in vague gestures.

@joels-mailbox

Joel’s expression shifts from confused to something colder, on edge, at the mention of Etho.

I’ve not blummin, kidnapped him- you think I’d keep that a secret? I’ve not done anything to him.

Etho’s not here. I’ve not seen him since-

Joel cuts himself off, switching his tone to something curt, clearly trying to brush the two of them off.

I’ve not seen much of anyone. Been a bit busy. I still am, if you let me get back to work.

…not seen him since…?

Doc interlocks his fingers, face dropping somewhat as well. Because if Joel of all people doesn’t know where Etho is, then—

Well, um, did he… say anything? Before going?

He’s not entirely sure how Joel would know that.

Bdubs grumbled and steps back to stand beside Doc, glaring daggers at Joel.

“Yeah, he said anything?” Bdubs echoed, scowling.

#docs mailbox #bdubs mailbox #joels mailbox #hermitcraft ask universe

Someone’s standing at the side of your bed. It quickly becomes evident who woke you— he’s got a pretty distinctive figure, and the glowing red eye doesn’t leave much up for question.

Ey, man.

Rather quiet for someone who seems to want you awake.

You got a minute to spare for your nHo buddy?

@docs-mailbox

Bdubs grumbled something, shifting to bury himself further under the duvet. After a few moments he opened an eye, then realised who had woken him.

“Doc?” He mumbled, letters all slurring together. “Doc!” the next time he sounded more awake, shoving himself up to sit. “Oh, yeah, yeah I got time, what’s up?” Bdubs yawned, pulling his moss tighter around himself. He didn’t bother to fix the rest of his clothing or hair, too much effort!!

It’s about your cloak.

You still giving tours?

Bdubs’ eyes lit up.

“Really?!” He stumbled out of his bed, beaming. “Yeah- oh, just a warning, you might grow an extra limb… but it’s fine!” Bdubs shrugged off the cloak and parted the moss, revealing a milky white rift with pink and purple marbling. “Hop in!”

So long as I don’t lose another horn, I’m sure I’ll be fine.

His horn isn’t fully healed, of course. But there’s progress.

He’s swift to enter, with his primed fishing rod tucked safely in his inventory.

Bdubs waited a few moments to giggle excitedly before following Doc in. There was no solid floor, here, but it was easy to float and move. The air was comfortable (if a little suffocating when you focused on it too hard) and warm.

Bdubs could feel himself getting tired already, he’d be in for a very long, very pleasant nap. He flapped his wings lazily a few times to propel himself over to Doc.

“How’ve you been, anyways?” He mumbled, eyelids already drooping and words slurring together.

Everything feels a bit warm and hazy. As if he were lost underneath a warm blanket.

Been fine mostly. Somebody messed up my redstone, and I seem to have misplaced my communicator…

It dawns on him that this endless expanse of a place doesn’t have many spots to hide a device like his comm. Which is great! All the more reason to brush off all those silly anxieties about what BigB said.

Still, nothing’s been confirmed, one way or another.

…but other than that, everything’s been great. Projects ‘n’ all, and my wings are back in action too.

He flutters his as well. Matching motions!

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘s rubbish.” Floating a little bit closer, he embraced Doc tightly. “But it’ll be okay, y’know why? The moss is here to help us.” His tone dropped to a sort of purr. “The moss is safe, and very, very wonderful.” There were some more mumbles about the moss, and how it was going to take over but it was too quiet to clearly make out the sentences.

Yeah, you and your moss, it’s…

Indistinct.

Doc leaned into his embrace with a faint smile. His eyes, though, were fixed on something else. Far out in the distance.

And, even knowing the nature of the situation— his comm being missing, with Bdubs probably not being the culprit— I mean, come on, he’s my friend, obviously I can trust him more than famed liar BigB— he can’t help but entertain the idea of Dubs having it on him.

Less in the sense of Dubs having stolen it, and more along the lines of Dubs just having it on hand for no particular reason. A cosmic convenience of sorts.

And it’s the push that drives him to ask—

…don’t wanna accuse you of no’n, but do you happen to have my, uh, my comm? Or know where it is?

“Mmm? No, no- why would I know?” Bdubs blinked, peering up at Doc. That was weird, he’d been asleep for god knows how long, why would Bdubs have it anywhere near him?? Oh well. “You should just sleep instead of worryin’ ‘bout all these small things.” He yawned.

Someone told me you had it. Didn’t believe them, but I wanted to double check.

BigB’s not a very reliable source of information, I’ve found.

In other news, lapis is blue.

Yeah, I knew I was probably going to get caught up in this… idea, I guess, unless I confronted you directly. ‘s part of why I visited. That, and, y’know, we haven’t talked in a while.

Wanted to see your face.

All the warm, hazy air…

He nodded along.

“Yeah, no communicator here.” Bdubs closed his eyes for a moment before forcing them to reopen. Naps were important, but so was speaking to his friend. “Aw, I missed you.” He beamed. “What’ve you been upto?”

Ah, you know, the usual. Digging holes. That’s kind of been my M.O. for the past, what, three seasons? At the very least.

This hole’s a secret, though. Nobody knows where it is except for me. And it’s gonna stay that way for awhile.

Something skitters through the holes in his crocs— a bug? Some kind of beetle? But it isn’t there when he takes off his shoe for inspection. Strange.

A moist quality permeates the air.

Smells vaguely of petrichor and cocoa.

He tilted his head.

“Why? It’s just a hole, isn’t it?” Bdubs frowned, why would anyone hide just a hole, unless- “ooh, does it have all y’ stuff in it?” Honestly, he’d really like to sleep right about now, and wants to give Doc a little ‘nudge’ into doing so because the man doesn’t seem that tired! He hugged Doc tighter before pausing.

Wait. No, this was weird. As much as he enjoyed having Doc here, having someone appreciate his existence, having someone offer to nap with him, Doc just wasn’t the type to want to nap with him for days on end. He had that whole grind thrive grind some more acronym that Bdubs couldn’t really remember at this time. “…You do know we’ll be asleep for days, maybe even weeks, right?” He should check, it was the right thing to do even if it’d hurt when Doc left because no, he didn’t know how long they’d be asleep.

Doc shrugs.

Hole’s still gonna be there when I get back.

And there’s a solace— that sort of solace one could see in another’s eyes— in knowing that his fishing rod was tucked away in his inventory. He knew he was the one in control here. Doc’s wings flutter for a few moments.

Worst comes to worst, you, uh, you can’t exactly grief a hole without making a bigger hole, so… yeah, I don’t have to even worry about that.

If anything, you should be the one who’s worried. You’re the guy they put in charge of the Nether hub, and you’re out here taking week long naps.

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘n I don’t think anyone’s crazy enough to fill it back in.” Well, some people were but they then weren’t crazy enough to mess with Doc. Unless you were Martyn.

He went quiet for a few moments. “I don’t think they miss me.” Bdubs looked away.

Wh—

No— they—!

Doc’s wings tense.

Listen to me. We do miss you, why do you think— I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you’d be here. ‘S the whole reason I came down here in the first place.

He can feel something brushing up against his fur. Sharp leaves or… maybe it’s vines of some sort, he’s not entirely sure what it is.

We are not doomed, this doesn’t have to be your life.

I’d say it to Etho too, but we haven’t found him yet.

You ain’t alone here, man.

Really? Bdubs shot a wary glance at Doc. It didn’t feel like he was missed much anymore. His antennae fell low as Doc continued. ‘Doomed’?? Bdubs was feeling a bit low, that was normal, but doomed seemed slightly dramatic.

And Bdubs was alone most of the time, which really was his own fault for sleeping so much recently. People didn’t tend to want to spend a lot of time with someone who was asleep. He curled up tighter.

“I- uh, thank you. Yeah, we’re together.” Something felt a little off with Doc but he couldn’t quite place what.

And with Etho nowhere to be found, Bdubs’ company was everything to him.

So, of course, when he picked up on the odd look in Dubs’ eyes, he adjusted accordingly, as best as he could. Not that he was fully sure what it was about he said that warranted that, but surely he could figure this out along the way.

This fucking jungle, man.

He couldn’t quite tell whether he was floating or walking, but he nearly tripped over a log, which would have been a bit inconvenient.

How’s this guy managing to stay so sleepy during all this, this is the most awake I’ve ever…

…been…

Is there…

He hesitates. There’s an idea floating around his head, and he hesitates, because am I really going to bail on him this early on? Maybe “bailing” isn’t the right word, I’ll come back as soon as I can, but it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in his mouth.

He ruminates for a moment.

Bdubs furrowed his brows as Doc began ‘walking’ away.

“Where y’ goin’?” He quickly buzzed his wings and followed after Doc, really trying to stick close, clinging to the interactions he craved. “Doc?”

I’m right here, I’m right here, what, can a guy not stretch his legs or sum’n?

Like, I know this is your, uh, place, but… c’mon.

Doc forces out a bit of a chuckle. Is he not worried about—?

No, he’s definitely worried about Etho. Maybe he just doesn’t want to think about it right now.

…ah! That’s it! That has to be it, it’s so obvious when you really stop and think about it. Bdubs has had all the fuckin’ time in the world to think about Etho— he’s been looking all over for the guy, no one’s seen him—

It always feels nice when things fall into place like this.

–so by coming down here and immediately trying, like, to passively look for Etho… it’s kind of an asshole move, isn’t it? Bdubs needs support too! Of course! Obviously! How did I not think of that sooner?

As much as it did make him feel like a bit of an idiot, it was equally as vindicating, being able to think logically about a situation. Especially given the circumstances!

But that did leave one problem.

There’s only one thing in his possession that he knows could quell the incessant pounding in his head, demanding he get ahold of Etho and Dubs and take a mad dash out of this fucking labyrinth— weakness potions.

Which just so happen to be at his house— which of course, is not here.

So the plan of action involves somehow sneaking out of here without Bdubs realizing it, getting some potions, and coming back. This, of course, is going to be really fucking difficult if he can’t even pace around without getting called out for it.

And… are there even lakes in the jungle anyway?

Bdubs’ antennae flattened.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jeez, he was so needy, no wonder Doc was walking off somewhere. He stuck a little further behind him now, but didn’t dare take his eyes off of him.

“Do ya… want me to wait here for you?” Bdubs paused, that’d be less annoying, right? And Doc would come back for him. Doc would definitely, most certainly come back for him. He really, really hoped Doc would come back for him. “I can stop followin’ after ya, yeah, yeah.”

Well shit, that was easy.

Yeah, um, yeah, I was just checking to see if there was a lake around. Wanted to see if I could catch something, it’s nice and grounding, you know?

He takes out his fishing rod. His heart slows to a resting rate, looking at it.

If you’ve, um, seen a lake around here, it’d be nice if you could point me in the direction of it. I’ll fish you up something nice, we could— we could chat over a campfire, that’s always fun.

Yeah! Good save!

“A lake?” Bdubs frowned. A quick glance around confirmed they were still in the weird pocket dimension. He laughed, Doc must be joking. “Where are ya findin’ a lake here?”

He yawned, blinking a few times. “Why don’tcha come back over here ‘n we can finally shreep, it’ll be-“ he was cut off by another yawn. “A nice rest.” Bdubs finished in a mumble.

No lakes.

That complicates things.

I mean, it’d be nicer if we had, like, a bonfire going or something. And— and yeah, I guess we’re obviously not gonna find any lakes here, but…

Think of something, think of something—

…I could… pretend… to fish something up?

??????????

“Or we could finally sleep…”

Bdubs nodded along. “If you want to?” He didn’t see why it mattered too much, but if it was important to Doc, then fine. “We can have a little fire ‘n stuff when we’re out of here.” He promised.

Yeah, honestly I probably need to lie down at this point.

He casts the rod out, and—

…

He’s not—?

He’s. Still here.

Mumbles something about junk treasure, he’s not even sure what he’s on about, and he casts again, and it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work.

–and yeah, so here’s the fish…

It didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

…and we can just… lie down now.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

Yeah, and it’s— yeah. Sleep time.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work IT DIDN’T WORK IT DIDN’T—

Bdubs stared at Doc, yeah, okay something was really wrong. He moved over to Doc, grabbing his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Did he do something wrong? He didn’t intend to make Doc go all weird.

No everything’s fine nothing is wrong.

Spoken with the swiftness and tact of someone who has just witnessed everything going wrong at once. There’s really no hiding it.

Bdubs was pretty awful at dealing with emotions, not qualified at all. Hugs seemed the safest route, maybe? He hesitantly embraced Doc.

“What happened?” He tried instead.

He drops the rod on the floor.

His fingers curl. The only thing outpacing his heart’s rate are his own thoughts, a cyclone— a sandstorm— some sort of unprecedented disaster that wrecks him from the inside. And as he tries to speak he can feel his throat closing and this ache in his chest and he hates the way he can feel his fingers shaking and when he looks at his mechanical arm being co-opted by this fucking sensation in his head he just wants to tear it out and—

I—!

He nearly chokes on it.

And he starts talking, too low and too soft and too fast for either of them to make out.

–anniknow you’re doing your best anni appreciate you’re here but—

He tries to breathe. It’s stifled. It’s shaky.

We need to find Etho.

Andweneedafindhim before Beef goes lookinfor’im.

Bdubs is quiet for a few, trying to work this all out. He did make a mental note to check up on Doc more, aswell. Wait- was this all about season five?

How on earth does he deal with this- well, for starters, he pulls away to grab Doc’s wrist and drag him along. After a bit of searching the opening was found and Bdubs led them through it.

He rubbed at his eyes, orientating himself before refocusing on Doc.

“Etho’s probably in his base, or off with Joel somewhere.” Both hands planted on Doc’s shoulders. Was he doing this right?? “…We can, I dunno, go check if you want?”

The prospect of leaving the jungle without Etho by his side leaves a pit in his stomach, but…

Bdubs needs this.

And so he fights off that paralyzing— that thing, that feeling, coursing through him, and nods along.

Yeah, I’d be… fine with that.

Bdubs offers a smile and instead grasps his hand to lead him out of his house. He supposed his nap could wait for a little bit in favour of this.

He hadn’t seen Etho in… uhm, he didn’t know. Time had sort of melted together recently, wasn’t really sure when was what ‘n stuff. But it’d been a while! Luckily he still remembered the way to his base because- well, he was Bdubs. It was his job to be weird about Etho.

Bdubs wound through the path until they reached Etho’s base, this Japanese-looking thing, still had that ugly bright purple roof.

“I reckon he’s in here.” Bdubs nodded.

There isn’t exactly a door to knock on, nor is there any sort of doorbell. Dust bunnies are scattered along the creaky wooden floorboards— Doc had figured Etho would be busy with Frogger, but this is ridiculous.

Still, he takes the liberty of inviting himself in. Maybe he’s just been in the basement? That’s where all the utility’s located.

Cozy place. The smell of honey and overgrown produce wafts through the air, and the scintillating refractions of the lake are… they’re very strong. It certainly keeps him grounded.

And the sounds are rather peaceful as well. Between the beavers, the rustling leaves, and the ebb and flow of the water, it’s anything but empty.

But Etho’s nowhere to be found.

Etho?

He’s got to be here, right?

Etho, you in here?

Bdubs frowned.

“He’s, uhm. Probably at Joels, or Ravager rush, yeah.” He hated the fear crawling up his spine, because it was definitely irrational. Etho was somewhere, he was sure of it!

Joel’s. That place is… well, it’s huge. Really went all out with his debut base, it’s as if nobody told him about the resets.

But the way that Bdubs said it… Doc couldn’t help but tense his shoulders.

Bdubs wouldn’t leave without Etho, right? Surely he knows where he is.

Should we—

He clears his throat.

We should check Frogger first. Get that out of the way.

Bdubs was pulled out of his thoughts when Doc spoke. He nodded.

“Yeah, he’ll be there, I reckon. Lost in the redstone.” He snickered. Bdubs equipped his elytra (his own wings weren’t strong enough for long distance flight).

A minute or two later they were poking around the wiring of Frogger.

“Etho?” He called, same as before there was no response.

Doc squints at the machinery standing before him.

Of course, with each month, the game has to endure upkeep, including occasional balance updates to keep it fresh. But some of the circuits seem… out of place.

This doesn’t even look like Etho’s redstone— he wouldn’t wire it like this.

He points to a circuit on the ground, which has guiding gridlines beneath it. The floor is polished tuff.

Like, look at this. He wouldn’t go out of his way to do this, he’d just leave the floor as stone.

Bdubs frowned, prodding the redstone with his shoe. Doc’s belief that Etho had actually gone missing was getting easier to believe, and it scared him.

“That’s… nevermind, maybe he’s at Joel’s base?” Bdubs suggested, as much as saying it put a bitter taste in his mouth (why, why Joel? Why not him, he was just as good as Joel, why couldn’t Etho see that?) they was likely true.

Doc does a sideways wavey motion with his hand.

I mean, it’s a pretty big place, that sounds— it sounds plausible.

His wings start to flutter.

To Magic Mountain, then?

“…yeah.” Bdubs nodded, stepping outside of frogger.

Why couldn’t it be him? He wasn’t- Bdubs wasn’t a bad person, was he? He hadn’t done anything to Etho, no, no. He wouldn’t do any thing to Etho. So why?

Bdubs jumped, setting off a firework rocket to propel him towards the stupid mountain.

Joel squints, trying to see who the two players flying towards his base are. Doc is obvious, but the other one- He catches a glint of moss. Bdubs. He waves, trying not to get his excitement at human interaction be too apparent.

Doc, Bdubs! Good you see ya, good to see ya. Why’ve you decided to pay me a visit? Missed me or something? I know, going without my presence for so long is painful.

He gives them a playful grin as he waves them further into the city.

It’s hard to stick a landing with the high-power rockets. An effort’s made, but he can’t help but wonder why he committed himself to using such inconvenient boosters.

Ey man.

The city’s even bigger up close. How Joel has managed to pull this off is beyond him.

Just wanted to stop by and, y’know, look around. Get a feel for the place.

His eyes fall on Bdubs.

“Hi.” Bdubs muttered, not in the best of moods suddenly, scuffing his foot along the ground.

Then he remembered what they were here for, because Joel had clearly done something to Etho, clearly kept him from Bdubs.. and Doc. He marched forwards, thrusting an accusatory finger in Joel’s face.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO ETHO, DID YA KIDNAP HIM? SPILL.”

He shouted, waving his free hand around in vague gestures.

@joels-mailbox

#bdubs mailbox #docs mailbox #joels mailbox #hermitcraft ask universe

Someone’s standing at the side of your bed. It quickly becomes evident who woke you— he’s got a pretty distinctive figure, and the glowing red eye doesn’t leave much up for question.

Ey, man.

Rather quiet for someone who seems to want you awake.

You got a minute to spare for your nHo buddy?

@docs-mailbox

Bdubs grumbled something, shifting to bury himself further under the duvet. After a few moments he opened an eye, then realised who had woken him.

“Doc?” He mumbled, letters all slurring together. “Doc!” the next time he sounded more awake, shoving himself up to sit. “Oh, yeah, yeah I got time, what’s up?” Bdubs yawned, pulling his moss tighter around himself. He didn’t bother to fix the rest of his clothing or hair, too much effort!!

It’s about your cloak.

You still giving tours?

Bdubs’ eyes lit up.

“Really?!” He stumbled out of his bed, beaming. “Yeah- oh, just a warning, you might grow an extra limb… but it’s fine!” Bdubs shrugged off the cloak and parted the moss, revealing a milky white rift with pink and purple marbling. “Hop in!”

So long as I don’t lose another horn, I’m sure I’ll be fine.

His horn isn’t fully healed, of course. But there’s progress.

He’s swift to enter, with his primed fishing rod tucked safely in his inventory.

Bdubs waited a few moments to giggle excitedly before following Doc in. There was no solid floor, here, but it was easy to float and move. The air was comfortable (if a little suffocating when you focused on it too hard) and warm.

Bdubs could feel himself getting tired already, he’d be in for a very long, very pleasant nap. He flapped his wings lazily a few times to propel himself over to Doc.

“How’ve you been, anyways?” He mumbled, eyelids already drooping and words slurring together.

Everything feels a bit warm and hazy. As if he were lost underneath a warm blanket.

Been fine mostly. Somebody messed up my redstone, and I seem to have misplaced my communicator…

It dawns on him that this endless expanse of a place doesn’t have many spots to hide a device like his comm. Which is great! All the more reason to brush off all those silly anxieties about what BigB said.

Still, nothing’s been confirmed, one way or another.

…but other than that, everything’s been great. Projects ‘n’ all, and my wings are back in action too.

He flutters his as well. Matching motions!

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘s rubbish.” Floating a little bit closer, he embraced Doc tightly. “But it’ll be okay, y’know why? The moss is here to help us.” His tone dropped to a sort of purr. “The moss is safe, and very, very wonderful.” There were some more mumbles about the moss, and how it was going to take over but it was too quiet to clearly make out the sentences.

Yeah, you and your moss, it’s…

Indistinct.

Doc leaned into his embrace with a faint smile. His eyes, though, were fixed on something else. Far out in the distance.

And, even knowing the nature of the situation— his comm being missing, with Bdubs probably not being the culprit— I mean, come on, he’s my friend, obviously I can trust him more than famed liar BigB— he can’t help but entertain the idea of Dubs having it on him.

Less in the sense of Dubs having stolen it, and more along the lines of Dubs just having it on hand for no particular reason. A cosmic convenience of sorts.

And it’s the push that drives him to ask—

…don’t wanna accuse you of no’n, but do you happen to have my, uh, my comm? Or know where it is?

“Mmm? No, no- why would I know?” Bdubs blinked, peering up at Doc. That was weird, he’d been asleep for god knows how long, why would Bdubs have it anywhere near him?? Oh well. “You should just sleep instead of worryin’ ‘bout all these small things.” He yawned.

Someone told me you had it. Didn’t believe them, but I wanted to double check.

BigB’s not a very reliable source of information, I’ve found.

In other news, lapis is blue.

Yeah, I knew I was probably going to get caught up in this… idea, I guess, unless I confronted you directly. ‘s part of why I visited. That, and, y’know, we haven’t talked in a while.

Wanted to see your face.

All the warm, hazy air…

He nodded along.

“Yeah, no communicator here.” Bdubs closed his eyes for a moment before forcing them to reopen. Naps were important, but so was speaking to his friend. “Aw, I missed you.” He beamed. “What’ve you been upto?”

Ah, you know, the usual. Digging holes. That’s kind of been my M.O. for the past, what, three seasons? At the very least.

This hole’s a secret, though. Nobody knows where it is except for me. And it’s gonna stay that way for awhile.

Something skitters through the holes in his crocs— a bug? Some kind of beetle? But it isn’t there when he takes off his shoe for inspection. Strange.

A moist quality permeates the air.

Smells vaguely of petrichor and cocoa.

He tilted his head.

“Why? It’s just a hole, isn’t it?” Bdubs frowned, why would anyone hide just a hole, unless- “ooh, does it have all y’ stuff in it?” Honestly, he’d really like to sleep right about now, and wants to give Doc a little ‘nudge’ into doing so because the man doesn’t seem that tired! He hugged Doc tighter before pausing.

Wait. No, this was weird. As much as he enjoyed having Doc here, having someone appreciate his existence, having someone offer to nap with him, Doc just wasn’t the type to want to nap with him for days on end. He had that whole grind thrive grind some more acronym that Bdubs couldn’t really remember at this time. “…You do know we’ll be asleep for days, maybe even weeks, right?” He should check, it was the right thing to do even if it’d hurt when Doc left because no, he didn’t know how long they’d be asleep.

Doc shrugs.

Hole’s still gonna be there when I get back.

And there’s a solace— that sort of solace one could see in another’s eyes— in knowing that his fishing rod was tucked away in his inventory. He knew he was the one in control here. Doc’s wings flutter for a few moments.

Worst comes to worst, you, uh, you can’t exactly grief a hole without making a bigger hole, so… yeah, I don’t have to even worry about that.

If anything, you should be the one who’s worried. You’re the guy they put in charge of the Nether hub, and you’re out here taking week long naps.

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘n I don’t think anyone’s crazy enough to fill it back in.” Well, some people were but they then weren’t crazy enough to mess with Doc. Unless you were Martyn.

He went quiet for a few moments. “I don’t think they miss me.” Bdubs looked away.

Wh—

No— they—!

Doc’s wings tense.

Listen to me. We do miss you, why do you think— I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you’d be here. ‘S the whole reason I came down here in the first place.

He can feel something brushing up against his fur. Sharp leaves or… maybe it’s vines of some sort, he’s not entirely sure what it is.

We are not doomed, this doesn’t have to be your life.

I’d say it to Etho too, but we haven’t found him yet.

You ain’t alone here, man.

Really? Bdubs shot a wary glance at Doc. It didn’t feel like he was missed much anymore. His antennae fell low as Doc continued. ‘Doomed’?? Bdubs was feeling a bit low, that was normal, but doomed seemed slightly dramatic.

And Bdubs was alone most of the time, which really was his own fault for sleeping so much recently. People didn’t tend to want to spend a lot of time with someone who was asleep. He curled up tighter.

“I- uh, thank you. Yeah, we’re together.” Something felt a little off with Doc but he couldn’t quite place what.

And with Etho nowhere to be found, Bdubs’ company was everything to him.

So, of course, when he picked up on the odd look in Dubs’ eyes, he adjusted accordingly, as best as he could. Not that he was fully sure what it was about he said that warranted that, but surely he could figure this out along the way.

This fucking jungle, man.

He couldn’t quite tell whether he was floating or walking, but he nearly tripped over a log, which would have been a bit inconvenient.

How’s this guy managing to stay so sleepy during all this, this is the most awake I’ve ever…

…been…

Is there…

He hesitates. There’s an idea floating around his head, and he hesitates, because am I really going to bail on him this early on? Maybe “bailing” isn’t the right word, I’ll come back as soon as I can, but it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in his mouth.

He ruminates for a moment.

Bdubs furrowed his brows as Doc began ‘walking’ away.

“Where y’ goin’?” He quickly buzzed his wings and followed after Doc, really trying to stick close, clinging to the interactions he craved. “Doc?”

I’m right here, I’m right here, what, can a guy not stretch his legs or sum’n?

Like, I know this is your, uh, place, but… c’mon.

Doc forces out a bit of a chuckle. Is he not worried about—?

No, he’s definitely worried about Etho. Maybe he just doesn’t want to think about it right now.

…ah! That’s it! That has to be it, it’s so obvious when you really stop and think about it. Bdubs has had all the fuckin’ time in the world to think about Etho— he’s been looking all over for the guy, no one’s seen him—

It always feels nice when things fall into place like this.

–so by coming down here and immediately trying, like, to passively look for Etho… it’s kind of an asshole move, isn’t it? Bdubs needs support too! Of course! Obviously! How did I not think of that sooner?

As much as it did make him feel like a bit of an idiot, it was equally as vindicating, being able to think logically about a situation. Especially given the circumstances!

But that did leave one problem.

There’s only one thing in his possession that he knows could quell the incessant pounding in his head, demanding he get ahold of Etho and Dubs and take a mad dash out of this fucking labyrinth— weakness potions.

Which just so happen to be at his house— which of course, is not here.

So the plan of action involves somehow sneaking out of here without Bdubs realizing it, getting some potions, and coming back. This, of course, is going to be really fucking difficult if he can’t even pace around without getting called out for it.

And… are there even lakes in the jungle anyway?

Bdubs’ antennae flattened.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jeez, he was so needy, no wonder Doc was walking off somewhere. He stuck a little further behind him now, but didn’t dare take his eyes off of him.

“Do ya… want me to wait here for you?” Bdubs paused, that’d be less annoying, right? And Doc would come back for him. Doc would definitely, most certainly come back for him. He really, really hoped Doc would come back for him. “I can stop followin’ after ya, yeah, yeah.”

Well shit, that was easy.

Yeah, um, yeah, I was just checking to see if there was a lake around. Wanted to see if I could catch something, it’s nice and grounding, you know?

He takes out his fishing rod. His heart slows to a resting rate, looking at it.

If you’ve, um, seen a lake around here, it’d be nice if you could point me in the direction of it. I’ll fish you up something nice, we could— we could chat over a campfire, that’s always fun.

Yeah! Good save!

“A lake?” Bdubs frowned. A quick glance around confirmed they were still in the weird pocket dimension. He laughed, Doc must be joking. “Where are ya findin’ a lake here?”

He yawned, blinking a few times. “Why don’tcha come back over here ‘n we can finally shreep, it’ll be-“ he was cut off by another yawn. “A nice rest.” Bdubs finished in a mumble.

No lakes.

That complicates things.

I mean, it’d be nicer if we had, like, a bonfire going or something. And— and yeah, I guess we’re obviously not gonna find any lakes here, but…

Think of something, think of something—

…I could… pretend… to fish something up?

??????????

“Or we could finally sleep…”

Bdubs nodded along. “If you want to?” He didn’t see why it mattered too much, but if it was important to Doc, then fine. “We can have a little fire ‘n stuff when we’re out of here.” He promised.

Yeah, honestly I probably need to lie down at this point.

He casts the rod out, and—

…

He’s not—?

He’s. Still here.

Mumbles something about junk treasure, he’s not even sure what he’s on about, and he casts again, and it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work.

–and yeah, so here’s the fish…

It didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

…and we can just… lie down now.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

Yeah, and it’s— yeah. Sleep time.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work IT DIDN’T WORK IT DIDN’T—

Bdubs stared at Doc, yeah, okay something was really wrong. He moved over to Doc, grabbing his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Did he do something wrong? He didn’t intend to make Doc go all weird.

No everything’s fine nothing is wrong.

Spoken with the swiftness and tact of someone who has just witnessed everything going wrong at once. There’s really no hiding it.

Bdubs was pretty awful at dealing with emotions, not qualified at all. Hugs seemed the safest route, maybe? He hesitantly embraced Doc.

“What happened?” He tried instead.

He drops the rod on the floor.

His fingers curl. The only thing outpacing his heart’s rate are his own thoughts, a cyclone— a sandstorm— some sort of unprecedented disaster that wrecks him from the inside. And as he tries to speak he can feel his throat closing and this ache in his chest and he hates the way he can feel his fingers shaking and when he looks at his mechanical arm being co-opted by this fucking sensation in his head he just wants to tear it out and—

I—!

He nearly chokes on it.

And he starts talking, too low and too soft and too fast for either of them to make out.

–anniknow you’re doing your best anni appreciate you’re here but—

He tries to breathe. It’s stifled. It’s shaky.

We need to find Etho.

Andweneedafindhim before Beef goes lookinfor’im.

Bdubs is quiet for a few, trying to work this all out. He did make a mental note to check up on Doc more, aswell. Wait- was this all about season five?

How on earth does he deal with this- well, for starters, he pulls away to grab Doc’s wrist and drag him along. After a bit of searching the opening was found and Bdubs led them through it.

He rubbed at his eyes, orientating himself before refocusing on Doc.

“Etho’s probably in his base, or off with Joel somewhere.” Both hands planted on Doc’s shoulders. Was he doing this right?? “…We can, I dunno, go check if you want?”

The prospect of leaving the jungle without Etho by his side leaves a pit in his stomach, but…

Bdubs needs this.

And so he fights off that paralyzing— that thing, that feeling, coursing through him, and nods along.

Yeah, I’d be… fine with that.

Bdubs offers a smile and instead grasps his hand to lead him out of his house. He supposed his nap could wait for a little bit in favour of this.

He hadn’t seen Etho in… uhm, he didn’t know. Time had sort of melted together recently, wasn’t really sure when was what ‘n stuff. But it’d been a while! Luckily he still remembered the way to his base because- well, he was Bdubs. It was his job to be weird about Etho.

Bdubs wound through the path until they reached Etho’s base, this Japanese-looking thing, still had that ugly bright purple roof.

“I reckon he’s in here.” Bdubs nodded.

There isn’t exactly a door to knock on, nor is there any sort of doorbell. Dust bunnies are scattered along the creaky wooden floorboards— Doc had figured Etho would be busy with Frogger, but this is ridiculous.

Still, he takes the liberty of inviting himself in. Maybe he’s just been in the basement? That’s where all the utility’s located.

Cozy place. The smell of honey and overgrown produce wafts through the air, and the scintillating refractions of the lake are… they’re very strong. It certainly keeps him grounded.

And the sounds are rather peaceful as well. Between the beavers, the rustling leaves, and the ebb and flow of the water, it’s anything but empty.

But Etho’s nowhere to be found.

Etho?

He’s got to be here, right?

Etho, you in here?

Bdubs frowned.

“He’s, uhm. Probably at Joels, or Ravager rush, yeah.” He hated the fear crawling up his spine, because it was definitely irrational. Etho was somewhere, he was sure of it!

Joel’s. That place is… well, it’s huge. Really went all out with his debut base, it’s as if nobody told him about the resets.

But the way that Bdubs said it… Doc couldn’t help but tense his shoulders.

Bdubs wouldn’t leave without Etho, right? Surely he knows where he is.

Should we—

He clears his throat.

We should check Frogger first. Get that out of the way.

Bdubs was pulled out of his thoughts when Doc spoke. He nodded.

“Yeah, he’ll be there, I reckon. Lost in the redstone.” He snickered. Bdubs equipped his elytra (his own wings weren’t strong enough for long distance flight).

A minute or two later they were poking around the wiring of Frogger.

“Etho?” He called, same as before there was no response.

Doc squints at the machinery standing before him.

Of course, with each month, the game has to endure upkeep, including occasional balance updates to keep it fresh. But some of the circuits seem… out of place.

This doesn’t even look like Etho’s redstone— he wouldn’t wire it like this.

He points to a circuit on the ground, which has guiding gridlines beneath it. The floor is polished tuff.

Like, look at this. He wouldn’t go out of his way to do this, he’d just leave the floor as stone.

Bdubs frowned, prodding the redstone with his shoe. Doc’s belief that Etho had actually gone missing was getting easier to believe, and it scared him.

“That’s… nevermind, maybe he’s at Joel’s base?” Bdubs suggested, as much as saying it put a bitter taste in his mouth (why, why Joel? Why not him, he was just as good as Joel, why couldn’t Etho see that?) they was likely true.

Doc does a sideways wavey motion with his hand.

I mean, it’s a pretty big place, that sounds— it sounds plausible.

His wings start to flutter.

To Magic Mountain, then?

“…yeah.” Bdubs nodded, stepping outside of frogger.

Why couldn’t it be him? He wasn’t- Bdubs wasn’t a bad person, was he? He hadn’t done anything to Etho, no, no. He wouldn’t do any thing to Etho. So why?

Bdubs jumped, setting off a firework rocket to propel him towards the stupid mountain.

#bdubs mailbox #docs mailbox #hermitcraft ask universe

Someone’s standing at the side of your bed. It quickly becomes evident who woke you— he’s got a pretty distinctive figure, and the glowing red eye doesn’t leave much up for question.

Ey, man.

Rather quiet for someone who seems to want you awake.

You got a minute to spare for your nHo buddy?

@docs-mailbox

Bdubs grumbled something, shifting to bury himself further under the duvet. After a few moments he opened an eye, then realised who had woken him.

“Doc?” He mumbled, letters all slurring together. “Doc!” the next time he sounded more awake, shoving himself up to sit. “Oh, yeah, yeah I got time, what’s up?” Bdubs yawned, pulling his moss tighter around himself. He didn’t bother to fix the rest of his clothing or hair, too much effort!!

It’s about your cloak.

You still giving tours?

Bdubs’ eyes lit up.

“Really?!” He stumbled out of his bed, beaming. “Yeah- oh, just a warning, you might grow an extra limb… but it’s fine!” Bdubs shrugged off the cloak and parted the moss, revealing a milky white rift with pink and purple marbling. “Hop in!”

So long as I don’t lose another horn, I’m sure I’ll be fine.

His horn isn’t fully healed, of course. But there’s progress.

He’s swift to enter, with his primed fishing rod tucked safely in his inventory.

Bdubs waited a few moments to giggle excitedly before following Doc in. There was no solid floor, here, but it was easy to float and move. The air was comfortable (if a little suffocating when you focused on it too hard) and warm.

Bdubs could feel himself getting tired already, he’d be in for a very long, very pleasant nap. He flapped his wings lazily a few times to propel himself over to Doc.

“How’ve you been, anyways?” He mumbled, eyelids already drooping and words slurring together.

Everything feels a bit warm and hazy. As if he were lost underneath a warm blanket.

Been fine mostly. Somebody messed up my redstone, and I seem to have misplaced my communicator…

It dawns on him that this endless expanse of a place doesn’t have many spots to hide a device like his comm. Which is great! All the more reason to brush off all those silly anxieties about what BigB said.

Still, nothing’s been confirmed, one way or another.

…but other than that, everything’s been great. Projects ‘n’ all, and my wings are back in action too.

He flutters his as well. Matching motions!

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘s rubbish.” Floating a little bit closer, he embraced Doc tightly. “But it’ll be okay, y’know why? The moss is here to help us.” His tone dropped to a sort of purr. “The moss is safe, and very, very wonderful.” There were some more mumbles about the moss, and how it was going to take over but it was too quiet to clearly make out the sentences.

Yeah, you and your moss, it’s…

Indistinct.

Doc leaned into his embrace with a faint smile. His eyes, though, were fixed on something else. Far out in the distance.

And, even knowing the nature of the situation— his comm being missing, with Bdubs probably not being the culprit— I mean, come on, he’s my friend, obviously I can trust him more than famed liar BigB— he can’t help but entertain the idea of Dubs having it on him.

Less in the sense of Dubs having stolen it, and more along the lines of Dubs just having it on hand for no particular reason. A cosmic convenience of sorts.

And it’s the push that drives him to ask—

…don’t wanna accuse you of no’n, but do you happen to have my, uh, my comm? Or know where it is?

“Mmm? No, no- why would I know?” Bdubs blinked, peering up at Doc. That was weird, he’d been asleep for god knows how long, why would Bdubs have it anywhere near him?? Oh well. “You should just sleep instead of worryin’ ‘bout all these small things.” He yawned.

Someone told me you had it. Didn’t believe them, but I wanted to double check.

BigB’s not a very reliable source of information, I’ve found.

In other news, lapis is blue.

Yeah, I knew I was probably going to get caught up in this… idea, I guess, unless I confronted you directly. ‘s part of why I visited. That, and, y’know, we haven’t talked in a while.

Wanted to see your face.

All the warm, hazy air…

He nodded along.

“Yeah, no communicator here.” Bdubs closed his eyes for a moment before forcing them to reopen. Naps were important, but so was speaking to his friend. “Aw, I missed you.” He beamed. “What’ve you been upto?”

Ah, you know, the usual. Digging holes. That’s kind of been my M.O. for the past, what, three seasons? At the very least.

This hole’s a secret, though. Nobody knows where it is except for me. And it’s gonna stay that way for awhile.

Something skitters through the holes in his crocs— a bug? Some kind of beetle? But it isn’t there when he takes off his shoe for inspection. Strange.

A moist quality permeates the air.

Smells vaguely of petrichor and cocoa.

He tilted his head.

“Why? It’s just a hole, isn’t it?” Bdubs frowned, why would anyone hide just a hole, unless- “ooh, does it have all y’ stuff in it?” Honestly, he’d really like to sleep right about now, and wants to give Doc a little ‘nudge’ into doing so because the man doesn’t seem that tired! He hugged Doc tighter before pausing.

Wait. No, this was weird. As much as he enjoyed having Doc here, having someone appreciate his existence, having someone offer to nap with him, Doc just wasn’t the type to want to nap with him for days on end. He had that whole grind thrive grind some more acronym that Bdubs couldn’t really remember at this time. “…You do know we’ll be asleep for days, maybe even weeks, right?” He should check, it was the right thing to do even if it’d hurt when Doc left because no, he didn’t know how long they’d be asleep.

Doc shrugs.

Hole’s still gonna be there when I get back.

And there’s a solace— that sort of solace one could see in another’s eyes— in knowing that his fishing rod was tucked away in his inventory. He knew he was the one in control here. Doc’s wings flutter for a few moments.

Worst comes to worst, you, uh, you can’t exactly grief a hole without making a bigger hole, so… yeah, I don’t have to even worry about that.

If anything, you should be the one who’s worried. You’re the guy they put in charge of the Nether hub, and you’re out here taking week long naps.

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘n I don’t think anyone’s crazy enough to fill it back in.” Well, some people were but they then weren’t crazy enough to mess with Doc. Unless you were Martyn.

He went quiet for a few moments. “I don’t think they miss me.” Bdubs looked away.

Wh—

No— they—!

Doc’s wings tense.

Listen to me. We do miss you, why do you think— I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you’d be here. ‘S the whole reason I came down here in the first place.

He can feel something brushing up against his fur. Sharp leaves or… maybe it’s vines of some sort, he’s not entirely sure what it is.

We are not doomed, this doesn’t have to be your life.

I’d say it to Etho too, but we haven’t found him yet.

You ain’t alone here, man.

Really? Bdubs shot a wary glance at Doc. It didn’t feel like he was missed much anymore. His antennae fell low as Doc continued. ‘Doomed’?? Bdubs was feeling a bit low, that was normal, but doomed seemed slightly dramatic.

And Bdubs was alone most of the time, which really was his own fault for sleeping so much recently. People didn’t tend to want to spend a lot of time with someone who was asleep. He curled up tighter.

“I- uh, thank you. Yeah, we’re together.” Something felt a little off with Doc but he couldn’t quite place what.

And with Etho nowhere to be found, Bdubs’ company was everything to him.

So, of course, when he picked up on the odd look in Dubs’ eyes, he adjusted accordingly, as best as he could. Not that he was fully sure what it was about he said that warranted that, but surely he could figure this out along the way.

This fucking jungle, man.

He couldn’t quite tell whether he was floating or walking, but he nearly tripped over a log, which would have been a bit inconvenient.

How’s this guy managing to stay so sleepy during all this, this is the most awake I’ve ever…

…been…

Is there…

He hesitates. There’s an idea floating around his head, and he hesitates, because am I really going to bail on him this early on? Maybe “bailing” isn’t the right word, I’ll come back as soon as I can, but it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in his mouth.

He ruminates for a moment.

Bdubs furrowed his brows as Doc began ‘walking’ away.

“Where y’ goin’?” He quickly buzzed his wings and followed after Doc, really trying to stick close, clinging to the interactions he craved. “Doc?”

I’m right here, I’m right here, what, can a guy not stretch his legs or sum’n?

Like, I know this is your, uh, place, but… c’mon.

Doc forces out a bit of a chuckle. Is he not worried about—?

No, he’s definitely worried about Etho. Maybe he just doesn’t want to think about it right now.

…ah! That’s it! That has to be it, it’s so obvious when you really stop and think about it. Bdubs has had all the fuckin’ time in the world to think about Etho— he’s been looking all over for the guy, no one’s seen him—

It always feels nice when things fall into place like this.

–so by coming down here and immediately trying, like, to passively look for Etho… it’s kind of an asshole move, isn’t it? Bdubs needs support too! Of course! Obviously! How did I not think of that sooner?

As much as it did make him feel like a bit of an idiot, it was equally as vindicating, being able to think logically about a situation. Especially given the circumstances!

But that did leave one problem.

There’s only one thing in his possession that he knows could quell the incessant pounding in his head, demanding he get ahold of Etho and Dubs and take a mad dash out of this fucking labyrinth— weakness potions.

Which just so happen to be at his house— which of course, is not here.

So the plan of action involves somehow sneaking out of here without Bdubs realizing it, getting some potions, and coming back. This, of course, is going to be really fucking difficult if he can’t even pace around without getting called out for it.

And… are there even lakes in the jungle anyway?

Bdubs’ antennae flattened.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jeez, he was so needy, no wonder Doc was walking off somewhere. He stuck a little further behind him now, but didn’t dare take his eyes off of him.

“Do ya… want me to wait here for you?” Bdubs paused, that’d be less annoying, right? And Doc would come back for him. Doc would definitely, most certainly come back for him. He really, really hoped Doc would come back for him. “I can stop followin’ after ya, yeah, yeah.”

Well shit, that was easy.

Yeah, um, yeah, I was just checking to see if there was a lake around. Wanted to see if I could catch something, it’s nice and grounding, you know?

He takes out his fishing rod. His heart slows to a resting rate, looking at it.

If you’ve, um, seen a lake around here, it’d be nice if you could point me in the direction of it. I’ll fish you up something nice, we could— we could chat over a campfire, that’s always fun.

Yeah! Good save!

“A lake?” Bdubs frowned. A quick glance around confirmed they were still in the weird pocket dimension. He laughed, Doc must be joking. “Where are ya findin’ a lake here?”

He yawned, blinking a few times. “Why don’tcha come back over here ‘n we can finally shreep, it’ll be-“ he was cut off by another yawn. “A nice rest.” Bdubs finished in a mumble.

No lakes.

That complicates things.

I mean, it’d be nicer if we had, like, a bonfire going or something. And— and yeah, I guess we’re obviously not gonna find any lakes here, but…

Think of something, think of something—

…I could… pretend… to fish something up?

??????????

“Or we could finally sleep…”

Bdubs nodded along. “If you want to?” He didn’t see why it mattered too much, but if it was important to Doc, then fine. “We can have a little fire ‘n stuff when we’re out of here.” He promised.

Yeah, honestly I probably need to lie down at this point.

He casts the rod out, and—

…

He’s not—?

He’s. Still here.

Mumbles something about junk treasure, he’s not even sure what he’s on about, and he casts again, and it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work.

–and yeah, so here’s the fish…

It didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

…and we can just… lie down now.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

Yeah, and it’s— yeah. Sleep time.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work IT DIDN’T WORK IT DIDN’T—

Bdubs stared at Doc, yeah, okay something was really wrong. He moved over to Doc, grabbing his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Did he do something wrong? He didn’t intend to make Doc go all weird.

No everything’s fine nothing is wrong.

Spoken with the swiftness and tact of someone who has just witnessed everything going wrong at once. There’s really no hiding it.

Bdubs was pretty awful at dealing with emotions, not qualified at all. Hugs seemed the safest route, maybe? He hesitantly embraced Doc.

“What happened?” He tried instead.

He drops the rod on the floor.

His fingers curl. The only thing outpacing his heart’s rate are his own thoughts, a cyclone— a sandstorm— some sort of unprecedented disaster that wrecks him from the inside. And as he tries to speak he can feel his throat closing and this ache in his chest and he hates the way he can feel his fingers shaking and when he looks at his mechanical arm being co-opted by this fucking sensation in his head he just wants to tear it out and—

I—!

He nearly chokes on it.

And he starts talking, too low and too soft and too fast for either of them to make out.

–anniknow you’re doing your best anni appreciate you’re here but—

He tries to breathe. It’s stifled. It’s shaky.

We need to find Etho.

Andweneedafindhim before Beef goes lookinfor’im.

Bdubs is quiet for a few, trying to work this all out. He did make a mental note to check up on Doc more, aswell. Wait- was this all about season five?

How on earth does he deal with this- well, for starters, he pulls away to grab Doc’s wrist and drag him along. After a bit of searching the opening was found and Bdubs led them through it.

He rubbed at his eyes, orientating himself before refocusing on Doc.

“Etho’s probably in his base, or off with Joel somewhere.” Both hands planted on Doc’s shoulders. Was he doing this right?? “…We can, I dunno, go check if you want?”

The prospect of leaving the jungle without Etho by his side leaves a pit in his stomach, but…

Bdubs needs this.

And so he fights off that paralyzing— that thing, that feeling, coursing through him, and nods along.

Yeah, I’d be… fine with that.

Bdubs offers a smile and instead grasps his hand to lead him out of his house. He supposed his nap could wait for a little bit in favour of this.

He hadn’t seen Etho in… uhm, he didn’t know. Time had sort of melted together recently, wasn’t really sure when was what ‘n stuff. But it’d been a while! Luckily he still remembered the way to his base because- well, he was Bdubs. It was his job to be weird about Etho.

Bdubs wound through the path until they reached Etho’s base, this Japanese-looking thing, still had that ugly bright purple roof.

“I reckon he’s in here.” Bdubs nodded.

There isn’t exactly a door to knock on, nor is there any sort of doorbell. Dust bunnies are scattered along the creaky wooden floorboards— Doc had figured Etho would be busy with Frogger, but this is ridiculous.

Still, he takes the liberty of inviting himself in. Maybe he’s just been in the basement? That’s where all the utility’s located.

Cozy place. The smell of honey and overgrown produce wafts through the air, and the scintillating refractions of the lake are… they’re very strong. It certainly keeps him grounded.

And the sounds are rather peaceful as well. Between the beavers, the rustling leaves, and the ebb and flow of the water, it’s anything but empty.

But Etho’s nowhere to be found.

Etho?

He’s got to be here, right?

Etho, you in here?

Bdubs frowned.

“He’s, uhm. Probably at Joels, or Ravager rush, yeah.” He hated the fear crawling up his spine, because it was definitely irrational. Etho was somewhere, he was sure of it!

Joel’s. That place is… well, it’s huge. Really went all out with his debut base, it’s as if nobody told him about the resets.

But the way that Bdubs said it… Doc couldn’t help but tense his shoulders.

Bdubs wouldn’t leave without Etho, right? Surely he knows where he is.

Should we—

He clears his throat.

We should check Frogger first. Get that out of the way.

Bdubs was pulled out of his thoughts when Doc spoke. He nodded.

“Yeah, he’ll be there, I reckon. Lost in the redstone.” He snickered. Bdubs equipped his elytra (his own wings weren’t strong enough for long distance flight).

A minute or two later they were poking around the wiring of Frogger.

“Etho?” He called, same as before there was no response.

Doc squints at the machinery standing before him.

Of course, with each month, the game has to endure upkeep, including occasional balance updates to keep it fresh. But some of the circuits seem… out of place.

This doesn’t even look like Etho’s redstone— he wouldn’t wire it like this.

He points to a circuit on the ground, which has guiding gridlines beneath it. The floor is polished tuff.

Like, look at this. He wouldn’t go out of his way to do this, he’d just leave the floor as stone.

Bdubs frowned, prodding the redstone with his shoe. Doc’s belief that Etho had actually gone missing was getting easier to believe, and it scared him.

“That’s… nevermind, maybe he’s at Joel’s base?” Bdubs suggested, as much as saying it put a bitter taste in his mouth (why, why Joel? Why not him, he was just as good as Joel, why couldn’t Etho see that?) they was likely true.

#bdubs mailbox #docs mailbox #hermitcraft ask universe

[A Guardian in a boat has been mysteriously left on the tennis court. It doesn't make a very sportsmanlike opponent.]

@pearls-mailbox

Bdubs frowned, where did this guardian come from? He didn’t remember bringing one here, but then again, he doesn’t remember much.

Maybe he could try playing tennis with it?

He grabbed a racket and ball, heading to the other half of the court and serving the ball.

…

Which was instantly punctured on the guardian’s spikes.

“You CHEATER!” Bdubs shouted, flinging the racket at the guardian, who let out a series of noises that didn’t sound particularly happy. He sniffled, tugging his cloak tighter around his shoulders.

#he’s on his period chat #bdubs mailbox #hermitcraft ask universe

Hi all :)

I am aiming to nab a code to get on Vgen as an artist and would be very grateful for interactions on this post!!

I need 100 likes + five unique comments!

Here is some of my work :3

he/him!!

Someone’s standing at the side of your bed. It quickly becomes evident who woke you— he’s got a pretty distinctive figure, and the glowing red eye doesn’t leave much up for question.

Ey, man.

Rather quiet for someone who seems to want you awake.

You got a minute to spare for your nHo buddy?

@docs-mailbox

Bdubs grumbled something, shifting to bury himself further under the duvet. After a few moments he opened an eye, then realised who had woken him.

“Doc?” He mumbled, letters all slurring together. “Doc!” the next time he sounded more awake, shoving himself up to sit. “Oh, yeah, yeah I got time, what’s up?” Bdubs yawned, pulling his moss tighter around himself. He didn’t bother to fix the rest of his clothing or hair, too much effort!!

It’s about your cloak.

You still giving tours?

Bdubs’ eyes lit up.

“Really?!” He stumbled out of his bed, beaming. “Yeah- oh, just a warning, you might grow an extra limb… but it’s fine!” Bdubs shrugged off the cloak and parted the moss, revealing a milky white rift with pink and purple marbling. “Hop in!”

So long as I don’t lose another horn, I’m sure I’ll be fine.

His horn isn’t fully healed, of course. But there’s progress.

He’s swift to enter, with his primed fishing rod tucked safely in his inventory.

Bdubs waited a few moments to giggle excitedly before following Doc in. There was no solid floor, here, but it was easy to float and move. The air was comfortable (if a little suffocating when you focused on it too hard) and warm.

Bdubs could feel himself getting tired already, he’d be in for a very long, very pleasant nap. He flapped his wings lazily a few times to propel himself over to Doc.

“How’ve you been, anyways?” He mumbled, eyelids already drooping and words slurring together.

Everything feels a bit warm and hazy. As if he were lost underneath a warm blanket.

Been fine mostly. Somebody messed up my redstone, and I seem to have misplaced my communicator…

It dawns on him that this endless expanse of a place doesn’t have many spots to hide a device like his comm. Which is great! All the more reason to brush off all those silly anxieties about what BigB said.

Still, nothing’s been confirmed, one way or another.

…but other than that, everything’s been great. Projects ‘n’ all, and my wings are back in action too.

He flutters his as well. Matching motions!

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘s rubbish.” Floating a little bit closer, he embraced Doc tightly. “But it’ll be okay, y’know why? The moss is here to help us.” His tone dropped to a sort of purr. “The moss is safe, and very, very wonderful.” There were some more mumbles about the moss, and how it was going to take over but it was too quiet to clearly make out the sentences.

Yeah, you and your moss, it’s…

Indistinct.

Doc leaned into his embrace with a faint smile. His eyes, though, were fixed on something else. Far out in the distance.

And, even knowing the nature of the situation— his comm being missing, with Bdubs probably not being the culprit— I mean, come on, he’s my friend, obviously I can trust him more than famed liar BigB— he can’t help but entertain the idea of Dubs having it on him.

Less in the sense of Dubs having stolen it, and more along the lines of Dubs just having it on hand for no particular reason. A cosmic convenience of sorts.

And it’s the push that drives him to ask—

…don’t wanna accuse you of no’n, but do you happen to have my, uh, my comm? Or know where it is?

“Mmm? No, no- why would I know?” Bdubs blinked, peering up at Doc. That was weird, he’d been asleep for god knows how long, why would Bdubs have it anywhere near him?? Oh well. “You should just sleep instead of worryin’ ‘bout all these small things.” He yawned.

Someone told me you had it. Didn’t believe them, but I wanted to double check.

BigB’s not a very reliable source of information, I’ve found.

In other news, lapis is blue.

Yeah, I knew I was probably going to get caught up in this… idea, I guess, unless I confronted you directly. ‘s part of why I visited. That, and, y’know, we haven’t talked in a while.

Wanted to see your face.

All the warm, hazy air…

He nodded along.

“Yeah, no communicator here.” Bdubs closed his eyes for a moment before forcing them to reopen. Naps were important, but so was speaking to his friend. “Aw, I missed you.” He beamed. “What’ve you been upto?”

Ah, you know, the usual. Digging holes. That’s kind of been my M.O. for the past, what, three seasons? At the very least.

This hole’s a secret, though. Nobody knows where it is except for me. And it’s gonna stay that way for awhile.

Something skitters through the holes in his crocs— a bug? Some kind of beetle? But it isn’t there when he takes off his shoe for inspection. Strange.

A moist quality permeates the air.

Smells vaguely of petrichor and cocoa.

He tilted his head.

“Why? It’s just a hole, isn’t it?” Bdubs frowned, why would anyone hide just a hole, unless- “ooh, does it have all y’ stuff in it?” Honestly, he’d really like to sleep right about now, and wants to give Doc a little ‘nudge’ into doing so because the man doesn’t seem that tired! He hugged Doc tighter before pausing.

Wait. No, this was weird. As much as he enjoyed having Doc here, having someone appreciate his existence, having someone offer to nap with him, Doc just wasn’t the type to want to nap with him for days on end. He had that whole grind thrive grind some more acronym that Bdubs couldn’t really remember at this time. “…You do know we’ll be asleep for days, maybe even weeks, right?” He should check, it was the right thing to do even if it’d hurt when Doc left because no, he didn’t know how long they’d be asleep.

Doc shrugs.

Hole’s still gonna be there when I get back.

And there’s a solace— that sort of solace one could see in another’s eyes— in knowing that his fishing rod was tucked away in his inventory. He knew he was the one in control here. Doc’s wings flutter for a few moments.

Worst comes to worst, you, uh, you can’t exactly grief a hole without making a bigger hole, so… yeah, I don’t have to even worry about that.

If anything, you should be the one who’s worried. You’re the guy they put in charge of the Nether hub, and you’re out here taking week long naps.

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘n I don’t think anyone’s crazy enough to fill it back in.” Well, some people were but they then weren’t crazy enough to mess with Doc. Unless you were Martyn.

He went quiet for a few moments. “I don’t think they miss me.” Bdubs looked away.

Wh—

No— they—!

Doc’s wings tense.

Listen to me. We do miss you, why do you think— I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you’d be here. ‘S the whole reason I came down here in the first place.

He can feel something brushing up against his fur. Sharp leaves or… maybe it’s vines of some sort, he’s not entirely sure what it is.

We are not doomed, this doesn’t have to be your life.

I’d say it to Etho too, but we haven’t found him yet.

You ain’t alone here, man.

Really? Bdubs shot a wary glance at Doc. It didn’t feel like he was missed much anymore. His antennae fell low as Doc continued. ‘Doomed’?? Bdubs was feeling a bit low, that was normal, but doomed seemed slightly dramatic.

And Bdubs was alone most of the time, which really was his own fault for sleeping so much recently. People didn’t tend to want to spend a lot of time with someone who was asleep. He curled up tighter.

“I- uh, thank you. Yeah, we’re together.” Something felt a little off with Doc but he couldn’t quite place what.

And with Etho nowhere to be found, Bdubs’ company was everything to him.

So, of course, when he picked up on the odd look in Dubs’ eyes, he adjusted accordingly, as best as he could. Not that he was fully sure what it was about he said that warranted that, but surely he could figure this out along the way.

This fucking jungle, man.

He couldn’t quite tell whether he was floating or walking, but he nearly tripped over a log, which would have been a bit inconvenient.

How’s this guy managing to stay so sleepy during all this, this is the most awake I’ve ever…

…been…

Is there…

He hesitates. There’s an idea floating around his head, and he hesitates, because am I really going to bail on him this early on? Maybe “bailing” isn’t the right word, I’ll come back as soon as I can, but it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in his mouth.

He ruminates for a moment.

Bdubs furrowed his brows as Doc began ‘walking’ away.

“Where y’ goin’?” He quickly buzzed his wings and followed after Doc, really trying to stick close, clinging to the interactions he craved. “Doc?”

I’m right here, I’m right here, what, can a guy not stretch his legs or sum’n?

Like, I know this is your, uh, place, but… c’mon.

Doc forces out a bit of a chuckle. Is he not worried about—?

No, he’s definitely worried about Etho. Maybe he just doesn’t want to think about it right now.

…ah! That’s it! That has to be it, it’s so obvious when you really stop and think about it. Bdubs has had all the fuckin’ time in the world to think about Etho— he’s been looking all over for the guy, no one’s seen him—

It always feels nice when things fall into place like this.

–so by coming down here and immediately trying, like, to passively look for Etho… it’s kind of an asshole move, isn’t it? Bdubs needs support too! Of course! Obviously! How did I not think of that sooner?

As much as it did make him feel like a bit of an idiot, it was equally as vindicating, being able to think logically about a situation. Especially given the circumstances!

But that did leave one problem.

There’s only one thing in his possession that he knows could quell the incessant pounding in his head, demanding he get ahold of Etho and Dubs and take a mad dash out of this fucking labyrinth— weakness potions.

Which just so happen to be at his house— which of course, is not here.

So the plan of action involves somehow sneaking out of here without Bdubs realizing it, getting some potions, and coming back. This, of course, is going to be really fucking difficult if he can’t even pace around without getting called out for it.

And… are there even lakes in the jungle anyway?

Bdubs’ antennae flattened.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jeez, he was so needy, no wonder Doc was walking off somewhere. He stuck a little further behind him now, but didn’t dare take his eyes off of him.

“Do ya… want me to wait here for you?” Bdubs paused, that’d be less annoying, right? And Doc would come back for him. Doc would definitely, most certainly come back for him. He really, really hoped Doc would come back for him. “I can stop followin’ after ya, yeah, yeah.”

Well shit, that was easy.

Yeah, um, yeah, I was just checking to see if there was a lake around. Wanted to see if I could catch something, it’s nice and grounding, you know?

He takes out his fishing rod. His heart slows to a resting rate, looking at it.

If you’ve, um, seen a lake around here, it’d be nice if you could point me in the direction of it. I’ll fish you up something nice, we could— we could chat over a campfire, that’s always fun.

Yeah! Good save!

“A lake?” Bdubs frowned. A quick glance around confirmed they were still in the weird pocket dimension. He laughed, Doc must be joking. “Where are ya findin’ a lake here?”

He yawned, blinking a few times. “Why don’tcha come back over here ‘n we can finally shreep, it’ll be-“ he was cut off by another yawn. “A nice rest.” Bdubs finished in a mumble.

No lakes.

That complicates things.

I mean, it’d be nicer if we had, like, a bonfire going or something. And— and yeah, I guess we’re obviously not gonna find any lakes here, but…

Think of something, think of something—

…I could… pretend… to fish something up?

??????????

“Or we could finally sleep…”

Bdubs nodded along. “If you want to?” He didn’t see why it mattered too much, but if it was important to Doc, then fine. “We can have a little fire ‘n stuff when we’re out of here.” He promised.

Yeah, honestly I probably need to lie down at this point.

He casts the rod out, and—

…

He’s not—?

He’s. Still here.

Mumbles something about junk treasure, he’s not even sure what he’s on about, and he casts again, and it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work.

–and yeah, so here’s the fish…

It didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

…and we can just… lie down now.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

Yeah, and it’s— yeah. Sleep time.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work IT DIDN’T WORK IT DIDN’T—

Bdubs stared at Doc, yeah, okay something was really wrong. He moved over to Doc, grabbing his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Did he do something wrong? He didn’t intend to make Doc go all weird.

No everything’s fine nothing is wrong.

Spoken with the swiftness and tact of someone who has just witnessed everything going wrong at once. There’s really no hiding it.

Bdubs was pretty awful at dealing with emotions, not qualified at all. Hugs seemed the safest route, maybe? He hesitantly embraced Doc.

“What happened?” He tried instead.

He drops the rod on the floor.

His fingers curl. The only thing outpacing his heart’s rate are his own thoughts, a cyclone— a sandstorm— some sort of unprecedented disaster that wrecks him from the inside. And as he tries to speak he can feel his throat closing and this ache in his chest and he hates the way he can feel his fingers shaking and when he looks at his mechanical arm being co-opted by this fucking sensation in his head he just wants to tear it out and—

I—!

He nearly chokes on it.

And he starts talking, too low and too soft and too fast for either of them to make out.

–anniknow you’re doing your best anni appreciate you’re here but—

He tries to breathe. It’s stifled. It’s shaky.

We need to find Etho.

Andweneedafindhim before Beef goes lookinfor’im.

Bdubs is quiet for a few, trying to work this all out. He did make a mental note to check up on Doc more, aswell. Wait- was this all about season five?

How on earth does he deal with this- well, for starters, he pulls away to grab Doc’s wrist and drag him along. After a bit of searching the opening was found and Bdubs led them through it.

He rubbed at his eyes, orientating himself before refocusing on Doc.

“Etho’s probably in his base, or off with Joel somewhere.” Both hands planted on Doc’s shoulders. Was he doing this right?? “…We can, I dunno, go check if you want?”

The prospect of leaving the jungle without Etho by his side leaves a pit in his stomach, but…

Bdubs needs this.

And so he fights off that paralyzing— that thing, that feeling, coursing through him, and nods along.

Yeah, I’d be… fine with that.

Bdubs offers a smile and instead grasps his hand to lead him out of his house. He supposed his nap could wait for a little bit in favour of this.

He hadn’t seen Etho in… uhm, he didn’t know. Time had sort of melted together recently, wasn’t really sure when was what ‘n stuff. But it’d been a while! Luckily he still remembered the way to his base because- well, he was Bdubs. It was his job to be weird about Etho.

Bdubs wound through the path until they reached Etho’s base, this Japanese-looking thing, still had that ugly bright purple roof.

“I reckon he’s in here.” Bdubs nodded.

There isn’t exactly a door to knock on, nor is there any sort of doorbell. Dust bunnies are scattered along the creaky wooden floorboards— Doc had figured Etho would be busy with Frogger, but this is ridiculous.

Still, he takes the liberty of inviting himself in. Maybe he’s just been in the basement? That’s where all the utility’s located.

Cozy place. The smell of honey and overgrown produce wafts through the air, and the scintillating refractions of the lake are… they’re very strong. It certainly keeps him grounded.

And the sounds are rather peaceful as well. Between the beavers, the rustling leaves, and the ebb and flow of the water, it’s anything but empty.

But Etho’s nowhere to be found.

Etho?

He’s got to be here, right?

Etho, you in here?

Bdubs frowned.

“He’s, uhm. Probably at Joels, or Ravager rush, yeah.” He hated the fear crawling up his spine, because it was definitely irrational. Etho was somewhere, he was sure of it!

Joel’s. That place is… well, it’s huge. Really went all out with his debut base, it’s as if nobody told him about the resets.

But the way that Bdubs said it… Doc couldn’t help but tense his shoulders.

Bdubs wouldn’t leave without Etho, right? Surely he knows where he is.

Should we—

He clears his throat.

We should check Frogger first. Get that out of the way.

Bdubs was pulled out of his thoughts when Doc spoke. He nodded.

“Yeah, he’ll be there, I reckon. Lost in the redstone.” He snickered. Bdubs equipped his elytra (his own wings weren’t strong enough for long distance flight).

A minute or two later they were poking around the wiring of Frogger.

“Etho?” He called, same as before there was no response.

#docs mailbox #bdubs mailbox #hermitcraft ask universe

Someone’s standing at the side of your bed. It quickly becomes evident who woke you— he’s got a pretty distinctive figure, and the glowing red eye doesn’t leave much up for question.

Ey, man.

Rather quiet for someone who seems to want you awake.

You got a minute to spare for your nHo buddy?

@docs-mailbox

Bdubs grumbled something, shifting to bury himself further under the duvet. After a few moments he opened an eye, then realised who had woken him.

“Doc?” He mumbled, letters all slurring together. “Doc!” the next time he sounded more awake, shoving himself up to sit. “Oh, yeah, yeah I got time, what’s up?” Bdubs yawned, pulling his moss tighter around himself. He didn’t bother to fix the rest of his clothing or hair, too much effort!!

It’s about your cloak.

You still giving tours?

Bdubs’ eyes lit up.

“Really?!” He stumbled out of his bed, beaming. “Yeah- oh, just a warning, you might grow an extra limb… but it’s fine!” Bdubs shrugged off the cloak and parted the moss, revealing a milky white rift with pink and purple marbling. “Hop in!”

So long as I don’t lose another horn, I’m sure I’ll be fine.

His horn isn’t fully healed, of course. But there’s progress.

He’s swift to enter, with his primed fishing rod tucked safely in his inventory.

Bdubs waited a few moments to giggle excitedly before following Doc in. There was no solid floor, here, but it was easy to float and move. The air was comfortable (if a little suffocating when you focused on it too hard) and warm.

Bdubs could feel himself getting tired already, he’d be in for a very long, very pleasant nap. He flapped his wings lazily a few times to propel himself over to Doc.

“How’ve you been, anyways?” He mumbled, eyelids already drooping and words slurring together.

Everything feels a bit warm and hazy. As if he were lost underneath a warm blanket.

Been fine mostly. Somebody messed up my redstone, and I seem to have misplaced my communicator…

It dawns on him that this endless expanse of a place doesn’t have many spots to hide a device like his comm. Which is great! All the more reason to brush off all those silly anxieties about what BigB said.

Still, nothing’s been confirmed, one way or another.

…but other than that, everything’s been great. Projects ‘n’ all, and my wings are back in action too.

He flutters his as well. Matching motions!

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘s rubbish.” Floating a little bit closer, he embraced Doc tightly. “But it’ll be okay, y’know why? The moss is here to help us.” His tone dropped to a sort of purr. “The moss is safe, and very, very wonderful.” There were some more mumbles about the moss, and how it was going to take over but it was too quiet to clearly make out the sentences.

Yeah, you and your moss, it’s…

Indistinct.

Doc leaned into his embrace with a faint smile. His eyes, though, were fixed on something else. Far out in the distance.

And, even knowing the nature of the situation— his comm being missing, with Bdubs probably not being the culprit— I mean, come on, he’s my friend, obviously I can trust him more than famed liar BigB— he can’t help but entertain the idea of Dubs having it on him.

Less in the sense of Dubs having stolen it, and more along the lines of Dubs just having it on hand for no particular reason. A cosmic convenience of sorts.

And it’s the push that drives him to ask—

…don’t wanna accuse you of no’n, but do you happen to have my, uh, my comm? Or know where it is?

“Mmm? No, no- why would I know?” Bdubs blinked, peering up at Doc. That was weird, he’d been asleep for god knows how long, why would Bdubs have it anywhere near him?? Oh well. “You should just sleep instead of worryin’ ‘bout all these small things.” He yawned.

Someone told me you had it. Didn’t believe them, but I wanted to double check.

BigB’s not a very reliable source of information, I’ve found.

In other news, lapis is blue.

Yeah, I knew I was probably going to get caught up in this… idea, I guess, unless I confronted you directly. ‘s part of why I visited. That, and, y’know, we haven’t talked in a while.

Wanted to see your face.

All the warm, hazy air…

He nodded along.

“Yeah, no communicator here.” Bdubs closed his eyes for a moment before forcing them to reopen. Naps were important, but so was speaking to his friend. “Aw, I missed you.” He beamed. “What’ve you been upto?”

Ah, you know, the usual. Digging holes. That’s kind of been my M.O. for the past, what, three seasons? At the very least.

This hole’s a secret, though. Nobody knows where it is except for me. And it’s gonna stay that way for awhile.

Something skitters through the holes in his crocs— a bug? Some kind of beetle? But it isn’t there when he takes off his shoe for inspection. Strange.

A moist quality permeates the air.

Smells vaguely of petrichor and cocoa.

He tilted his head.

“Why? It’s just a hole, isn’t it?” Bdubs frowned, why would anyone hide just a hole, unless- “ooh, does it have all y’ stuff in it?” Honestly, he’d really like to sleep right about now, and wants to give Doc a little ‘nudge’ into doing so because the man doesn’t seem that tired! He hugged Doc tighter before pausing.

Wait. No, this was weird. As much as he enjoyed having Doc here, having someone appreciate his existence, having someone offer to nap with him, Doc just wasn’t the type to want to nap with him for days on end. He had that whole grind thrive grind some more acronym that Bdubs couldn’t really remember at this time. “…You do know we’ll be asleep for days, maybe even weeks, right?” He should check, it was the right thing to do even if it’d hurt when Doc left because no, he didn’t know how long they’d be asleep.

Doc shrugs.

Hole’s still gonna be there when I get back.

And there’s a solace— that sort of solace one could see in another’s eyes— in knowing that his fishing rod was tucked away in his inventory. He knew he was the one in control here. Doc’s wings flutter for a few moments.

Worst comes to worst, you, uh, you can’t exactly grief a hole without making a bigger hole, so… yeah, I don’t have to even worry about that.

If anything, you should be the one who’s worried. You’re the guy they put in charge of the Nether hub, and you’re out here taking week long naps.

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘n I don’t think anyone’s crazy enough to fill it back in.” Well, some people were but they then weren’t crazy enough to mess with Doc. Unless you were Martyn.

He went quiet for a few moments. “I don’t think they miss me.” Bdubs looked away.

Wh—

No— they—!

Doc’s wings tense.

Listen to me. We do miss you, why do you think— I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you’d be here. ‘S the whole reason I came down here in the first place.

He can feel something brushing up against his fur. Sharp leaves or… maybe it’s vines of some sort, he’s not entirely sure what it is.

We are not doomed, this doesn’t have to be your life.

I’d say it to Etho too, but we haven’t found him yet.

You ain’t alone here, man.

Really? Bdubs shot a wary glance at Doc. It didn’t feel like he was missed much anymore. His antennae fell low as Doc continued. ‘Doomed’?? Bdubs was feeling a bit low, that was normal, but doomed seemed slightly dramatic.

And Bdubs was alone most of the time, which really was his own fault for sleeping so much recently. People didn’t tend to want to spend a lot of time with someone who was asleep. He curled up tighter.

“I- uh, thank you. Yeah, we’re together.” Something felt a little off with Doc but he couldn’t quite place what.

And with Etho nowhere to be found, Bdubs’ company was everything to him.

So, of course, when he picked up on the odd look in Dubs’ eyes, he adjusted accordingly, as best as he could. Not that he was fully sure what it was about he said that warranted that, but surely he could figure this out along the way.

This fucking jungle, man.

He couldn’t quite tell whether he was floating or walking, but he nearly tripped over a log, which would have been a bit inconvenient.

How’s this guy managing to stay so sleepy during all this, this is the most awake I’ve ever…

…been…

Is there…

He hesitates. There’s an idea floating around his head, and he hesitates, because am I really going to bail on him this early on? Maybe “bailing” isn’t the right word, I’ll come back as soon as I can, but it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in his mouth.

He ruminates for a moment.

Bdubs furrowed his brows as Doc began ‘walking’ away.

“Where y’ goin’?” He quickly buzzed his wings and followed after Doc, really trying to stick close, clinging to the interactions he craved. “Doc?”

I’m right here, I’m right here, what, can a guy not stretch his legs or sum’n?

Like, I know this is your, uh, place, but… c’mon.

Doc forces out a bit of a chuckle. Is he not worried about—?

No, he’s definitely worried about Etho. Maybe he just doesn’t want to think about it right now.

…ah! That’s it! That has to be it, it’s so obvious when you really stop and think about it. Bdubs has had all the fuckin’ time in the world to think about Etho— he’s been looking all over for the guy, no one’s seen him—

It always feels nice when things fall into place like this.

–so by coming down here and immediately trying, like, to passively look for Etho… it’s kind of an asshole move, isn’t it? Bdubs needs support too! Of course! Obviously! How did I not think of that sooner?

As much as it did make him feel like a bit of an idiot, it was equally as vindicating, being able to think logically about a situation. Especially given the circumstances!

But that did leave one problem.

There’s only one thing in his possession that he knows could quell the incessant pounding in his head, demanding he get ahold of Etho and Dubs and take a mad dash out of this fucking labyrinth— weakness potions.

Which just so happen to be at his house— which of course, is not here.

So the plan of action involves somehow sneaking out of here without Bdubs realizing it, getting some potions, and coming back. This, of course, is going to be really fucking difficult if he can’t even pace around without getting called out for it.

And… are there even lakes in the jungle anyway?

Bdubs’ antennae flattened.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jeez, he was so needy, no wonder Doc was walking off somewhere. He stuck a little further behind him now, but didn’t dare take his eyes off of him.

“Do ya… want me to wait here for you?” Bdubs paused, that’d be less annoying, right? And Doc would come back for him. Doc would definitely, most certainly come back for him. He really, really hoped Doc would come back for him. “I can stop followin’ after ya, yeah, yeah.”

Well shit, that was easy.

Yeah, um, yeah, I was just checking to see if there was a lake around. Wanted to see if I could catch something, it’s nice and grounding, you know?

He takes out his fishing rod. His heart slows to a resting rate, looking at it.

If you’ve, um, seen a lake around here, it’d be nice if you could point me in the direction of it. I’ll fish you up something nice, we could— we could chat over a campfire, that’s always fun.

Yeah! Good save!

“A lake?” Bdubs frowned. A quick glance around confirmed they were still in the weird pocket dimension. He laughed, Doc must be joking. “Where are ya findin’ a lake here?”

He yawned, blinking a few times. “Why don’tcha come back over here ‘n we can finally shreep, it’ll be-“ he was cut off by another yawn. “A nice rest.” Bdubs finished in a mumble.

No lakes.

That complicates things.

I mean, it’d be nicer if we had, like, a bonfire going or something. And— and yeah, I guess we’re obviously not gonna find any lakes here, but…

Think of something, think of something—

…I could… pretend… to fish something up?

??????????

“Or we could finally sleep…”

Bdubs nodded along. “If you want to?” He didn’t see why it mattered too much, but if it was important to Doc, then fine. “We can have a little fire ‘n stuff when we’re out of here.” He promised.

Yeah, honestly I probably need to lie down at this point.

He casts the rod out, and—

…

He’s not—?

He’s. Still here.

Mumbles something about junk treasure, he’s not even sure what he’s on about, and he casts again, and it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work.

–and yeah, so here’s the fish…

It didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

…and we can just… lie down now.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

Yeah, and it’s— yeah. Sleep time.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work IT DIDN’T WORK IT DIDN’T—

Bdubs stared at Doc, yeah, okay something was really wrong. He moved over to Doc, grabbing his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Did he do something wrong? He didn’t intend to make Doc go all weird.

No everything’s fine nothing is wrong.

Spoken with the swiftness and tact of someone who has just witnessed everything going wrong at once. There’s really no hiding it.

Bdubs was pretty awful at dealing with emotions, not qualified at all. Hugs seemed the safest route, maybe? He hesitantly embraced Doc.

“What happened?” He tried instead.

He drops the rod on the floor.

His fingers curl. The only thing outpacing his heart’s rate are his own thoughts, a cyclone— a sandstorm— some sort of unprecedented disaster that wrecks him from the inside. And as he tries to speak he can feel his throat closing and this ache in his chest and he hates the way he can feel his fingers shaking and when he looks at his mechanical arm being co-opted by this fucking sensation in his head he just wants to tear it out and—

I—!

He nearly chokes on it.

And he starts talking, too low and too soft and too fast for either of them to make out.

–anniknow you’re doing your best anni appreciate you’re here but—

He tries to breathe. It’s stifled. It’s shaky.

We need to find Etho.

Andweneedafindhim before Beef goes lookinfor’im.

Bdubs is quiet for a few, trying to work this all out. He did make a mental note to check up on Doc more, aswell. Wait- was this all about season five?

How on earth does he deal with this- well, for starters, he pulls away to grab Doc’s wrist and drag him along. After a bit of searching the opening was found and Bdubs led them through it.

He rubbed at his eyes, orientating himself before refocusing on Doc.

“Etho’s probably in his base, or off with Joel somewhere.” Both hands planted on Doc’s shoulders. Was he doing this right?? “…We can, I dunno, go check if you want?”

The prospect of leaving the jungle without Etho by his side leaves a pit in his stomach, but…

Bdubs needs this.

And so he fights off that paralyzing— that thing, that feeling, coursing through him, and nods along.

Yeah, I’d be… fine with that.

Bdubs offers a smile and instead grasps his hand to lead him out of his house. He supposed his nap could wait for a little bit in favour of this.

He hadn’t seen Etho in… uhm, he didn’t know. Time had sort of melted together recently, wasn’t really sure when was what ‘n stuff. But it’d been a while! Luckily he still remembered the way to his base because- well, he was Bdubs. It was his job to be weird about Etho.

Bdubs wound through the path until they reached Etho’s base, this Japanese-looking thing, still had that ugly bright purple roof.

“I reckon he’s in here.” Bdubs nodded.

There isn’t exactly a door to knock on, nor is there any sort of doorbell. Dust bunnies are scattered along the creaky wooden floorboards— Doc had figured Etho would be busy with Frogger, but this is ridiculous.

Still, he takes the liberty of inviting himself in. Maybe he’s just been in the basement? That’s where all the utility’s located.

Cozy place. The smell of honey and overgrown produce wafts through the air, and the scintillating refractions of the lake are… they’re very strong. It certainly keeps him grounded.

And the sounds are rather peaceful as well. Between the beavers, the rustling leaves, and the ebb and flow of the water, it’s anything but empty.

But Etho’s nowhere to be found.

Etho?

He’s got to be here, right?

Etho, you in here?

Bdubs frowned.

“He’s, uhm. Probably at Joels, or Ravager rush, yeah.” He hated the fear crawling up his spine, because it was definitely irrational. Etho was somewhere, he was sure of it!

#bdubs mailbox #hermitcraft ask universe #doxs mailbox

Someone’s standing at the side of your bed. It quickly becomes evident who woke you— he’s got a pretty distinctive figure, and the glowing red eye doesn’t leave much up for question.

Ey, man.

Rather quiet for someone who seems to want you awake.

You got a minute to spare for your nHo buddy?

@docs-mailbox

Bdubs grumbled something, shifting to bury himself further under the duvet. After a few moments he opened an eye, then realised who had woken him.

“Doc?” He mumbled, letters all slurring together. “Doc!” the next time he sounded more awake, shoving himself up to sit. “Oh, yeah, yeah I got time, what’s up?” Bdubs yawned, pulling his moss tighter around himself. He didn’t bother to fix the rest of his clothing or hair, too much effort!!

It’s about your cloak.

You still giving tours?

Bdubs’ eyes lit up.

“Really?!” He stumbled out of his bed, beaming. “Yeah- oh, just a warning, you might grow an extra limb… but it’s fine!” Bdubs shrugged off the cloak and parted the moss, revealing a milky white rift with pink and purple marbling. “Hop in!”

So long as I don’t lose another horn, I’m sure I’ll be fine.

His horn isn’t fully healed, of course. But there’s progress.

He’s swift to enter, with his primed fishing rod tucked safely in his inventory.

Bdubs waited a few moments to giggle excitedly before following Doc in. There was no solid floor, here, but it was easy to float and move. The air was comfortable (if a little suffocating when you focused on it too hard) and warm.

Bdubs could feel himself getting tired already, he’d be in for a very long, very pleasant nap. He flapped his wings lazily a few times to propel himself over to Doc.

“How’ve you been, anyways?” He mumbled, eyelids already drooping and words slurring together.

Everything feels a bit warm and hazy. As if he were lost underneath a warm blanket.

Been fine mostly. Somebody messed up my redstone, and I seem to have misplaced my communicator…

It dawns on him that this endless expanse of a place doesn’t have many spots to hide a device like his comm. Which is great! All the more reason to brush off all those silly anxieties about what BigB said.

Still, nothing’s been confirmed, one way or another.

…but other than that, everything’s been great. Projects ‘n’ all, and my wings are back in action too.

He flutters his as well. Matching motions!

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘s rubbish.” Floating a little bit closer, he embraced Doc tightly. “But it’ll be okay, y’know why? The moss is here to help us.” His tone dropped to a sort of purr. “The moss is safe, and very, very wonderful.” There were some more mumbles about the moss, and how it was going to take over but it was too quiet to clearly make out the sentences.

Yeah, you and your moss, it’s…

Indistinct.

Doc leaned into his embrace with a faint smile. His eyes, though, were fixed on something else. Far out in the distance.

And, even knowing the nature of the situation— his comm being missing, with Bdubs probably not being the culprit— I mean, come on, he’s my friend, obviously I can trust him more than famed liar BigB— he can’t help but entertain the idea of Dubs having it on him.

Less in the sense of Dubs having stolen it, and more along the lines of Dubs just having it on hand for no particular reason. A cosmic convenience of sorts.

And it’s the push that drives him to ask—

…don’t wanna accuse you of no’n, but do you happen to have my, uh, my comm? Or know where it is?

“Mmm? No, no- why would I know?” Bdubs blinked, peering up at Doc. That was weird, he’d been asleep for god knows how long, why would Bdubs have it anywhere near him?? Oh well. “You should just sleep instead of worryin’ ‘bout all these small things.” He yawned.

Someone told me you had it. Didn’t believe them, but I wanted to double check.

BigB’s not a very reliable source of information, I’ve found.

In other news, lapis is blue.

Yeah, I knew I was probably going to get caught up in this… idea, I guess, unless I confronted you directly. ‘s part of why I visited. That, and, y’know, we haven’t talked in a while.

Wanted to see your face.

All the warm, hazy air…

He nodded along.

“Yeah, no communicator here.” Bdubs closed his eyes for a moment before forcing them to reopen. Naps were important, but so was speaking to his friend. “Aw, I missed you.” He beamed. “What’ve you been upto?”

Ah, you know, the usual. Digging holes. That’s kind of been my M.O. for the past, what, three seasons? At the very least.

This hole’s a secret, though. Nobody knows where it is except for me. And it’s gonna stay that way for awhile.

Something skitters through the holes in his crocs— a bug? Some kind of beetle? But it isn’t there when he takes off his shoe for inspection. Strange.

A moist quality permeates the air.

Smells vaguely of petrichor and cocoa.

He tilted his head.

“Why? It’s just a hole, isn’t it?” Bdubs frowned, why would anyone hide just a hole, unless- “ooh, does it have all y’ stuff in it?” Honestly, he’d really like to sleep right about now, and wants to give Doc a little ‘nudge’ into doing so because the man doesn’t seem that tired! He hugged Doc tighter before pausing.

Wait. No, this was weird. As much as he enjoyed having Doc here, having someone appreciate his existence, having someone offer to nap with him, Doc just wasn’t the type to want to nap with him for days on end. He had that whole grind thrive grind some more acronym that Bdubs couldn’t really remember at this time. “…You do know we’ll be asleep for days, maybe even weeks, right?” He should check, it was the right thing to do even if it’d hurt when Doc left because no, he didn’t know how long they’d be asleep.

Doc shrugs.

Hole’s still gonna be there when I get back.

And there’s a solace— that sort of solace one could see in another’s eyes— in knowing that his fishing rod was tucked away in his inventory. He knew he was the one in control here. Doc’s wings flutter for a few moments.

Worst comes to worst, you, uh, you can’t exactly grief a hole without making a bigger hole, so… yeah, I don’t have to even worry about that.

If anything, you should be the one who’s worried. You’re the guy they put in charge of the Nether hub, and you’re out here taking week long naps.

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘n I don’t think anyone’s crazy enough to fill it back in.” Well, some people were but they then weren’t crazy enough to mess with Doc. Unless you were Martyn.

He went quiet for a few moments. “I don’t think they miss me.” Bdubs looked away.

Wh—

No— they—!

Doc’s wings tense.

Listen to me. We do miss you, why do you think— I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you’d be here. ‘S the whole reason I came down here in the first place.

He can feel something brushing up against his fur. Sharp leaves or… maybe it’s vines of some sort, he’s not entirely sure what it is.

We are not doomed, this doesn’t have to be your life.

I’d say it to Etho too, but we haven’t found him yet.

You ain’t alone here, man.

Really? Bdubs shot a wary glance at Doc. It didn’t feel like he was missed much anymore. His antennae fell low as Doc continued. ‘Doomed’?? Bdubs was feeling a bit low, that was normal, but doomed seemed slightly dramatic.

And Bdubs was alone most of the time, which really was his own fault for sleeping so much recently. People didn’t tend to want to spend a lot of time with someone who was asleep. He curled up tighter.

“I- uh, thank you. Yeah, we’re together.” Something felt a little off with Doc but he couldn’t quite place what.

And with Etho nowhere to be found, Bdubs’ company was everything to him.

So, of course, when he picked up on the odd look in Dubs’ eyes, he adjusted accordingly, as best as he could. Not that he was fully sure what it was about he said that warranted that, but surely he could figure this out along the way.

This fucking jungle, man.

He couldn’t quite tell whether he was floating or walking, but he nearly tripped over a log, which would have been a bit inconvenient.

How’s this guy managing to stay so sleepy during all this, this is the most awake I’ve ever…

…been…

Is there…

He hesitates. There’s an idea floating around his head, and he hesitates, because am I really going to bail on him this early on? Maybe “bailing” isn’t the right word, I’ll come back as soon as I can, but it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in his mouth.

He ruminates for a moment.

Bdubs furrowed his brows as Doc began ‘walking’ away.

“Where y’ goin’?” He quickly buzzed his wings and followed after Doc, really trying to stick close, clinging to the interactions he craved. “Doc?”

I’m right here, I’m right here, what, can a guy not stretch his legs or sum’n?

Like, I know this is your, uh, place, but… c’mon.

Doc forces out a bit of a chuckle. Is he not worried about—?

No, he’s definitely worried about Etho. Maybe he just doesn’t want to think about it right now.

…ah! That’s it! That has to be it, it’s so obvious when you really stop and think about it. Bdubs has had all the fuckin’ time in the world to think about Etho— he’s been looking all over for the guy, no one’s seen him—

It always feels nice when things fall into place like this.

–so by coming down here and immediately trying, like, to passively look for Etho… it’s kind of an asshole move, isn’t it? Bdubs needs support too! Of course! Obviously! How did I not think of that sooner?

As much as it did make him feel like a bit of an idiot, it was equally as vindicating, being able to think logically about a situation. Especially given the circumstances!

But that did leave one problem.

There’s only one thing in his possession that he knows could quell the incessant pounding in his head, demanding he get ahold of Etho and Dubs and take a mad dash out of this fucking labyrinth— weakness potions.

Which just so happen to be at his house— which of course, is not here.

So the plan of action involves somehow sneaking out of here without Bdubs realizing it, getting some potions, and coming back. This, of course, is going to be really fucking difficult if he can’t even pace around without getting called out for it.

And… are there even lakes in the jungle anyway?

Bdubs’ antennae flattened.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jeez, he was so needy, no wonder Doc was walking off somewhere. He stuck a little further behind him now, but didn’t dare take his eyes off of him.

“Do ya… want me to wait here for you?” Bdubs paused, that’d be less annoying, right? And Doc would come back for him. Doc would definitely, most certainly come back for him. He really, really hoped Doc would come back for him. “I can stop followin’ after ya, yeah, yeah.”

Well shit, that was easy.

Yeah, um, yeah, I was just checking to see if there was a lake around. Wanted to see if I could catch something, it’s nice and grounding, you know?

He takes out his fishing rod. His heart slows to a resting rate, looking at it.

If you’ve, um, seen a lake around here, it’d be nice if you could point me in the direction of it. I’ll fish you up something nice, we could— we could chat over a campfire, that’s always fun.

Yeah! Good save!

“A lake?” Bdubs frowned. A quick glance around confirmed they were still in the weird pocket dimension. He laughed, Doc must be joking. “Where are ya findin’ a lake here?”

He yawned, blinking a few times. “Why don’tcha come back over here ‘n we can finally shreep, it’ll be-“ he was cut off by another yawn. “A nice rest.” Bdubs finished in a mumble.

No lakes.

That complicates things.

I mean, it’d be nicer if we had, like, a bonfire going or something. And— and yeah, I guess we’re obviously not gonna find any lakes here, but…

Think of something, think of something—

…I could… pretend… to fish something up?

??????????

“Or we could finally sleep…”

Bdubs nodded along. “If you want to?” He didn’t see why it mattered too much, but if it was important to Doc, then fine. “We can have a little fire ‘n stuff when we’re out of here.” He promised.

Yeah, honestly I probably need to lie down at this point.

He casts the rod out, and—

…

He’s not—?

He’s. Still here.

Mumbles something about junk treasure, he’s not even sure what he’s on about, and he casts again, and it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work.

–and yeah, so here’s the fish…

It didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

…and we can just… lie down now.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

Yeah, and it’s— yeah. Sleep time.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work IT DIDN’T WORK IT DIDN’T—

Bdubs stared at Doc, yeah, okay something was really wrong. He moved over to Doc, grabbing his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Did he do something wrong? He didn’t intend to make Doc go all weird.

No everything’s fine nothing is wrong.

Spoken with the swiftness and tact of someone who has just witnessed everything going wrong at once. There’s really no hiding it.

Bdubs was pretty awful at dealing with emotions, not qualified at all. Hugs seemed the safest route, maybe? He hesitantly embraced Doc.

“What happened?” He tried instead.

He drops the rod on the floor.

His fingers curl. The only thing outpacing his heart’s rate are his own thoughts, a cyclone— a sandstorm— some sort of unprecedented disaster that wrecks him from the inside. And as he tries to speak he can feel his throat closing and this ache in his chest and he hates the way he can feel his fingers shaking and when he looks at his mechanical arm being co-opted by this fucking sensation in his head he just wants to tear it out and—

I—!

He nearly chokes on it.

And he starts talking, too low and too soft and too fast for either of them to make out.

–anniknow you’re doing your best anni appreciate you’re here but—

He tries to breathe. It’s stifled. It’s shaky.

We need to find Etho.

Andweneedafindhim before Beef goes lookinfor’im.

Bdubs is quiet for a few, trying to work this all out. He did make a mental note to check up on Doc more, aswell. Wait- was this all about season five?

How on earth does he deal with this- well, for starters, he pulls away to grab Doc’s wrist and drag him along. After a bit of searching the opening was found and Bdubs led them through it.

He rubbed at his eyes, orientating himself before refocusing on Doc.

“Etho’s probably in his base, or off with Joel somewhere.” Both hands planted on Doc’s shoulders. Was he doing this right?? “…We can, I dunno, go check if you want?”

The prospect of leaving the jungle without Etho by his side leaves a pit in his stomach, but…

Bdubs needs this.

And so he fights off that paralyzing— that thing, that feeling, coursing through him, and nods along.

Yeah, I’d be… fine with that.

Bdubs offers a smile and instead grasps his hand to lead him out of his house. He supposed his nap could wait for a little bit in favour of this.

He hadn’t seen Etho in… uhm, he didn’t know. Time had sort of melted together recently, wasn’t really sure when was what ‘n stuff. But it’d been a while! Luckily he still remembered the way to his base because- well, he was Bdubs. It was his job to be weird about Etho.

Bdubs wound through the path until they reached Etho’s base, this Japanese-looking thing, still had that ugly bright purple roof.

“I reckon he’s in here.” Bdubs nodded.

#bdubs mailbox #hermitcraft ask universe #docs mailbox

Someone’s standing at the side of your bed. It quickly becomes evident who woke you— he’s got a pretty distinctive figure, and the glowing red eye doesn’t leave much up for question.

Ey, man.

Rather quiet for someone who seems to want you awake.

You got a minute to spare for your nHo buddy?

@docs-mailbox

Bdubs grumbled something, shifting to bury himself further under the duvet. After a few moments he opened an eye, then realised who had woken him.

“Doc?” He mumbled, letters all slurring together. “Doc!” the next time he sounded more awake, shoving himself up to sit. “Oh, yeah, yeah I got time, what’s up?” Bdubs yawned, pulling his moss tighter around himself. He didn’t bother to fix the rest of his clothing or hair, too much effort!!

It’s about your cloak.

You still giving tours?

Bdubs’ eyes lit up.

“Really?!” He stumbled out of his bed, beaming. “Yeah- oh, just a warning, you might grow an extra limb… but it’s fine!” Bdubs shrugged off the cloak and parted the moss, revealing a milky white rift with pink and purple marbling. “Hop in!”

So long as I don’t lose another horn, I’m sure I’ll be fine.

His horn isn’t fully healed, of course. But there’s progress.

He’s swift to enter, with his primed fishing rod tucked safely in his inventory.

Bdubs waited a few moments to giggle excitedly before following Doc in. There was no solid floor, here, but it was easy to float and move. The air was comfortable (if a little suffocating when you focused on it too hard) and warm.

Bdubs could feel himself getting tired already, he’d be in for a very long, very pleasant nap. He flapped his wings lazily a few times to propel himself over to Doc.

“How’ve you been, anyways?” He mumbled, eyelids already drooping and words slurring together.

Everything feels a bit warm and hazy. As if he were lost underneath a warm blanket.

Been fine mostly. Somebody messed up my redstone, and I seem to have misplaced my communicator…

It dawns on him that this endless expanse of a place doesn’t have many spots to hide a device like his comm. Which is great! All the more reason to brush off all those silly anxieties about what BigB said.

Still, nothing’s been confirmed, one way or another.

…but other than that, everything’s been great. Projects ‘n’ all, and my wings are back in action too.

He flutters his as well. Matching motions!

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘s rubbish.” Floating a little bit closer, he embraced Doc tightly. “But it’ll be okay, y’know why? The moss is here to help us.” His tone dropped to a sort of purr. “The moss is safe, and very, very wonderful.” There were some more mumbles about the moss, and how it was going to take over but it was too quiet to clearly make out the sentences.

Yeah, you and your moss, it’s…

Indistinct.

Doc leaned into his embrace with a faint smile. His eyes, though, were fixed on something else. Far out in the distance.

And, even knowing the nature of the situation— his comm being missing, with Bdubs probably not being the culprit— I mean, come on, he’s my friend, obviously I can trust him more than famed liar BigB— he can’t help but entertain the idea of Dubs having it on him.

Less in the sense of Dubs having stolen it, and more along the lines of Dubs just having it on hand for no particular reason. A cosmic convenience of sorts.

And it’s the push that drives him to ask—

…don’t wanna accuse you of no’n, but do you happen to have my, uh, my comm? Or know where it is?

“Mmm? No, no- why would I know?” Bdubs blinked, peering up at Doc. That was weird, he’d been asleep for god knows how long, why would Bdubs have it anywhere near him?? Oh well. “You should just sleep instead of worryin’ ‘bout all these small things.” He yawned.

Someone told me you had it. Didn’t believe them, but I wanted to double check.

BigB’s not a very reliable source of information, I’ve found.

In other news, lapis is blue.

Yeah, I knew I was probably going to get caught up in this… idea, I guess, unless I confronted you directly. ‘s part of why I visited. That, and, y’know, we haven’t talked in a while.

Wanted to see your face.

All the warm, hazy air…

He nodded along.

“Yeah, no communicator here.” Bdubs closed his eyes for a moment before forcing them to reopen. Naps were important, but so was speaking to his friend. “Aw, I missed you.” He beamed. “What’ve you been upto?”

Ah, you know, the usual. Digging holes. That’s kind of been my M.O. for the past, what, three seasons? At the very least.

This hole’s a secret, though. Nobody knows where it is except for me. And it’s gonna stay that way for awhile.

Something skitters through the holes in his crocs— a bug? Some kind of beetle? But it isn’t there when he takes off his shoe for inspection. Strange.

A moist quality permeates the air.

Smells vaguely of petrichor and cocoa.

He tilted his head.

“Why? It’s just a hole, isn’t it?” Bdubs frowned, why would anyone hide just a hole, unless- “ooh, does it have all y’ stuff in it?” Honestly, he’d really like to sleep right about now, and wants to give Doc a little ‘nudge’ into doing so because the man doesn’t seem that tired! He hugged Doc tighter before pausing.

Wait. No, this was weird. As much as he enjoyed having Doc here, having someone appreciate his existence, having someone offer to nap with him, Doc just wasn’t the type to want to nap with him for days on end. He had that whole grind thrive grind some more acronym that Bdubs couldn’t really remember at this time. “…You do know we’ll be asleep for days, maybe even weeks, right?” He should check, it was the right thing to do even if it’d hurt when Doc left because no, he didn’t know how long they’d be asleep.

Doc shrugs.

Hole’s still gonna be there when I get back.

And there’s a solace— that sort of solace one could see in another’s eyes— in knowing that his fishing rod was tucked away in his inventory. He knew he was the one in control here. Doc’s wings flutter for a few moments.

Worst comes to worst, you, uh, you can’t exactly grief a hole without making a bigger hole, so… yeah, I don’t have to even worry about that.

If anything, you should be the one who’s worried. You’re the guy they put in charge of the Nether hub, and you’re out here taking week long naps.

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘n I don’t think anyone’s crazy enough to fill it back in.” Well, some people were but they then weren’t crazy enough to mess with Doc. Unless you were Martyn.

He went quiet for a few moments. “I don’t think they miss me.” Bdubs looked away.

Wh—

No— they—!

Doc’s wings tense.

Listen to me. We do miss you, why do you think— I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you’d be here. ‘S the whole reason I came down here in the first place.

He can feel something brushing up against his fur. Sharp leaves or… maybe it’s vines of some sort, he’s not entirely sure what it is.

We are not doomed, this doesn’t have to be your life.

I’d say it to Etho too, but we haven’t found him yet.

You ain’t alone here, man.

Really? Bdubs shot a wary glance at Doc. It didn’t feel like he was missed much anymore. His antennae fell low as Doc continued. ‘Doomed’?? Bdubs was feeling a bit low, that was normal, but doomed seemed slightly dramatic.

And Bdubs was alone most of the time, which really was his own fault for sleeping so much recently. People didn’t tend to want to spend a lot of time with someone who was asleep. He curled up tighter.

“I- uh, thank you. Yeah, we’re together.” Something felt a little off with Doc but he couldn’t quite place what.

And with Etho nowhere to be found, Bdubs’ company was everything to him.

So, of course, when he picked up on the odd look in Dubs’ eyes, he adjusted accordingly, as best as he could. Not that he was fully sure what it was about he said that warranted that, but surely he could figure this out along the way.

This fucking jungle, man.

He couldn’t quite tell whether he was floating or walking, but he nearly tripped over a log, which would have been a bit inconvenient.

How’s this guy managing to stay so sleepy during all this, this is the most awake I’ve ever…

…been…

Is there…

He hesitates. There’s an idea floating around his head, and he hesitates, because am I really going to bail on him this early on? Maybe “bailing” isn’t the right word, I’ll come back as soon as I can, but it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in his mouth.

He ruminates for a moment.

Bdubs furrowed his brows as Doc began ‘walking’ away.

“Where y’ goin’?” He quickly buzzed his wings and followed after Doc, really trying to stick close, clinging to the interactions he craved. “Doc?”

I’m right here, I’m right here, what, can a guy not stretch his legs or sum’n?

Like, I know this is your, uh, place, but… c’mon.

Doc forces out a bit of a chuckle. Is he not worried about—?

No, he’s definitely worried about Etho. Maybe he just doesn’t want to think about it right now.

…ah! That’s it! That has to be it, it’s so obvious when you really stop and think about it. Bdubs has had all the fuckin’ time in the world to think about Etho— he’s been looking all over for the guy, no one’s seen him—

It always feels nice when things fall into place like this.

–so by coming down here and immediately trying, like, to passively look for Etho… it’s kind of an asshole move, isn’t it? Bdubs needs support too! Of course! Obviously! How did I not think of that sooner?

As much as it did make him feel like a bit of an idiot, it was equally as vindicating, being able to think logically about a situation. Especially given the circumstances!

But that did leave one problem.

There’s only one thing in his possession that he knows could quell the incessant pounding in his head, demanding he get ahold of Etho and Dubs and take a mad dash out of this fucking labyrinth— weakness potions.

Which just so happen to be at his house— which of course, is not here.

So the plan of action involves somehow sneaking out of here without Bdubs realizing it, getting some potions, and coming back. This, of course, is going to be really fucking difficult if he can’t even pace around without getting called out for it.

And… are there even lakes in the jungle anyway?

Bdubs’ antennae flattened.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jeez, he was so needy, no wonder Doc was walking off somewhere. He stuck a little further behind him now, but didn’t dare take his eyes off of him.

“Do ya… want me to wait here for you?” Bdubs paused, that’d be less annoying, right? And Doc would come back for him. Doc would definitely, most certainly come back for him. He really, really hoped Doc would come back for him. “I can stop followin’ after ya, yeah, yeah.”

Well shit, that was easy.

Yeah, um, yeah, I was just checking to see if there was a lake around. Wanted to see if I could catch something, it’s nice and grounding, you know?

He takes out his fishing rod. His heart slows to a resting rate, looking at it.

If you’ve, um, seen a lake around here, it’d be nice if you could point me in the direction of it. I’ll fish you up something nice, we could— we could chat over a campfire, that’s always fun.

Yeah! Good save!

“A lake?” Bdubs frowned. A quick glance around confirmed they were still in the weird pocket dimension. He laughed, Doc must be joking. “Where are ya findin’ a lake here?”

He yawned, blinking a few times. “Why don’tcha come back over here ‘n we can finally shreep, it’ll be-“ he was cut off by another yawn. “A nice rest.” Bdubs finished in a mumble.

No lakes.

That complicates things.

I mean, it’d be nicer if we had, like, a bonfire going or something. And— and yeah, I guess we’re obviously not gonna find any lakes here, but…

Think of something, think of something—

…I could… pretend… to fish something up?

??????????

“Or we could finally sleep…”

Bdubs nodded along. “If you want to?” He didn’t see why it mattered too much, but if it was important to Doc, then fine. “We can have a little fire ‘n stuff when we’re out of here.” He promised.

Yeah, honestly I probably need to lie down at this point.

He casts the rod out, and—

…

He’s not—?

He’s. Still here.

Mumbles something about junk treasure, he’s not even sure what he’s on about, and he casts again, and it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work.

–and yeah, so here’s the fish…

It didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

…and we can just… lie down now.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

Yeah, and it’s— yeah. Sleep time.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work IT DIDN’T WORK IT DIDN’T—

Bdubs stared at Doc, yeah, okay something was really wrong. He moved over to Doc, grabbing his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Did he do something wrong? He didn’t intend to make Doc go all weird.

No everything’s fine nothing is wrong.

Spoken with the swiftness and tact of someone who has just witnessed everything going wrong at once. There’s really no hiding it.

Bdubs was pretty awful at dealing with emotions, not qualified at all. Hugs seemed the safest route, maybe? He hesitantly embraced Doc.

“What happened?” He tried instead.

He drops the rod on the floor.

His fingers curl. The only thing outpacing his heart’s rate are his own thoughts, a cyclone— a sandstorm— some sort of unprecedented disaster that wrecks him from the inside. And as he tries to speak he can feel his throat closing and this ache in his chest and he hates the way he can feel his fingers shaking and when he looks at his mechanical arm being co-opted by this fucking sensation in his head he just wants to tear it out and—

I—!

He nearly chokes on it.

And he starts talking, too low and too soft and too fast for either of them to make out.

–anniknow you’re doing your best anni appreciate you’re here but—

He tries to breathe. It’s stifled. It’s shaky.

We need to find Etho.

Andweneedafindhim before Beef goes lookinfor’im.

Bdubs is quiet for a few, trying to work this all out. He did make a mental note to check up on Doc more, aswell. Wait- was this all about season five?

How on earth does he deal with this- well, for starters, he pulls away to grab Doc’s wrist and drag him along. After a bit of searching the opening was found and Bdubs led them through it.

He rubbed at his eyes, orientating himself before refocusing on Doc.

“Etho’s probably in his base, or off with Joel somewhere.” Both hands planted on Doc’s shoulders. Was he doing this right?? “…We can, I dunno, go check if you want?”

#bdubs mailbox #hermitcraft ask universe #docs mailbox

Someone’s standing at the side of your bed. It quickly becomes evident who woke you— he’s got a pretty distinctive figure, and the glowing red eye doesn’t leave much up for question.

Ey, man.

Rather quiet for someone who seems to want you awake.

You got a minute to spare for your nHo buddy?

@docs-mailbox

Bdubs grumbled something, shifting to bury himself further under the duvet. After a few moments he opened an eye, then realised who had woken him.

“Doc?” He mumbled, letters all slurring together. “Doc!” the next time he sounded more awake, shoving himself up to sit. “Oh, yeah, yeah I got time, what’s up?” Bdubs yawned, pulling his moss tighter around himself. He didn’t bother to fix the rest of his clothing or hair, too much effort!!

It’s about your cloak.

You still giving tours?

Bdubs’ eyes lit up.

“Really?!” He stumbled out of his bed, beaming. “Yeah- oh, just a warning, you might grow an extra limb… but it’s fine!” Bdubs shrugged off the cloak and parted the moss, revealing a milky white rift with pink and purple marbling. “Hop in!”

So long as I don’t lose another horn, I’m sure I’ll be fine.

His horn isn’t fully healed, of course. But there’s progress.

He’s swift to enter, with his primed fishing rod tucked safely in his inventory.

Bdubs waited a few moments to giggle excitedly before following Doc in. There was no solid floor, here, but it was easy to float and move. The air was comfortable (if a little suffocating when you focused on it too hard) and warm.

Bdubs could feel himself getting tired already, he’d be in for a very long, very pleasant nap. He flapped his wings lazily a few times to propel himself over to Doc.

“How’ve you been, anyways?” He mumbled, eyelids already drooping and words slurring together.

Everything feels a bit warm and hazy. As if he were lost underneath a warm blanket.

Been fine mostly. Somebody messed up my redstone, and I seem to have misplaced my communicator…

It dawns on him that this endless expanse of a place doesn’t have many spots to hide a device like his comm. Which is great! All the more reason to brush off all those silly anxieties about what BigB said.

Still, nothing’s been confirmed, one way or another.

…but other than that, everything’s been great. Projects ‘n’ all, and my wings are back in action too.

He flutters his as well. Matching motions!

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘s rubbish.” Floating a little bit closer, he embraced Doc tightly. “But it’ll be okay, y’know why? The moss is here to help us.” His tone dropped to a sort of purr. “The moss is safe, and very, very wonderful.” There were some more mumbles about the moss, and how it was going to take over but it was too quiet to clearly make out the sentences.

Yeah, you and your moss, it’s…

Indistinct.

Doc leaned into his embrace with a faint smile. His eyes, though, were fixed on something else. Far out in the distance.

And, even knowing the nature of the situation— his comm being missing, with Bdubs probably not being the culprit— I mean, come on, he’s my friend, obviously I can trust him more than famed liar BigB— he can’t help but entertain the idea of Dubs having it on him.

Less in the sense of Dubs having stolen it, and more along the lines of Dubs just having it on hand for no particular reason. A cosmic convenience of sorts.

And it’s the push that drives him to ask—

…don’t wanna accuse you of no’n, but do you happen to have my, uh, my comm? Or know where it is?

“Mmm? No, no- why would I know?” Bdubs blinked, peering up at Doc. That was weird, he’d been asleep for god knows how long, why would Bdubs have it anywhere near him?? Oh well. “You should just sleep instead of worryin’ ‘bout all these small things.” He yawned.

Someone told me you had it. Didn’t believe them, but I wanted to double check.

BigB’s not a very reliable source of information, I’ve found.

In other news, lapis is blue.

Yeah, I knew I was probably going to get caught up in this… idea, I guess, unless I confronted you directly. ‘s part of why I visited. That, and, y’know, we haven’t talked in a while.

Wanted to see your face.

All the warm, hazy air…

He nodded along.

“Yeah, no communicator here.” Bdubs closed his eyes for a moment before forcing them to reopen. Naps were important, but so was speaking to his friend. “Aw, I missed you.” He beamed. “What’ve you been upto?”

Ah, you know, the usual. Digging holes. That’s kind of been my M.O. for the past, what, three seasons? At the very least.

This hole’s a secret, though. Nobody knows where it is except for me. And it’s gonna stay that way for awhile.

Something skitters through the holes in his crocs— a bug? Some kind of beetle? But it isn’t there when he takes off his shoe for inspection. Strange.

A moist quality permeates the air.

Smells vaguely of petrichor and cocoa.

He tilted his head.

“Why? It’s just a hole, isn’t it?” Bdubs frowned, why would anyone hide just a hole, unless- “ooh, does it have all y’ stuff in it?” Honestly, he’d really like to sleep right about now, and wants to give Doc a little ‘nudge’ into doing so because the man doesn’t seem that tired! He hugged Doc tighter before pausing.

Wait. No, this was weird. As much as he enjoyed having Doc here, having someone appreciate his existence, having someone offer to nap with him, Doc just wasn’t the type to want to nap with him for days on end. He had that whole grind thrive grind some more acronym that Bdubs couldn’t really remember at this time. “…You do know we’ll be asleep for days, maybe even weeks, right?” He should check, it was the right thing to do even if it’d hurt when Doc left because no, he didn’t know how long they’d be asleep.

Doc shrugs.

Hole’s still gonna be there when I get back.

And there’s a solace— that sort of solace one could see in another’s eyes— in knowing that his fishing rod was tucked away in his inventory. He knew he was the one in control here. Doc’s wings flutter for a few moments.

Worst comes to worst, you, uh, you can’t exactly grief a hole without making a bigger hole, so… yeah, I don’t have to even worry about that.

If anything, you should be the one who’s worried. You’re the guy they put in charge of the Nether hub, and you’re out here taking week long naps.

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘n I don’t think anyone’s crazy enough to fill it back in.” Well, some people were but they then weren’t crazy enough to mess with Doc. Unless you were Martyn.

He went quiet for a few moments. “I don’t think they miss me.” Bdubs looked away.

Wh—

No— they—!

Doc’s wings tense.

Listen to me. We do miss you, why do you think— I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you’d be here. ‘S the whole reason I came down here in the first place.

He can feel something brushing up against his fur. Sharp leaves or… maybe it’s vines of some sort, he’s not entirely sure what it is.

We are not doomed, this doesn’t have to be your life.

I’d say it to Etho too, but we haven’t found him yet.

You ain’t alone here, man.

Really? Bdubs shot a wary glance at Doc. It didn’t feel like he was missed much anymore. His antennae fell low as Doc continued. ‘Doomed’?? Bdubs was feeling a bit low, that was normal, but doomed seemed slightly dramatic.

And Bdubs was alone most of the time, which really was his own fault for sleeping so much recently. People didn’t tend to want to spend a lot of time with someone who was asleep. He curled up tighter.

“I- uh, thank you. Yeah, we’re together.” Something felt a little off with Doc but he couldn’t quite place what.

And with Etho nowhere to be found, Bdubs’ company was everything to him.

So, of course, when he picked up on the odd look in Dubs’ eyes, he adjusted accordingly, as best as he could. Not that he was fully sure what it was about he said that warranted that, but surely he could figure this out along the way.

This fucking jungle, man.

He couldn’t quite tell whether he was floating or walking, but he nearly tripped over a log, which would have been a bit inconvenient.

How’s this guy managing to stay so sleepy during all this, this is the most awake I’ve ever…

…been…

Is there…

He hesitates. There’s an idea floating around his head, and he hesitates, because am I really going to bail on him this early on? Maybe “bailing” isn’t the right word, I’ll come back as soon as I can, but it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in his mouth.

He ruminates for a moment.

Bdubs furrowed his brows as Doc began ‘walking’ away.

“Where y’ goin’?” He quickly buzzed his wings and followed after Doc, really trying to stick close, clinging to the interactions he craved. “Doc?”

I’m right here, I’m right here, what, can a guy not stretch his legs or sum’n?

Like, I know this is your, uh, place, but… c’mon.

Doc forces out a bit of a chuckle. Is he not worried about—?

No, he’s definitely worried about Etho. Maybe he just doesn’t want to think about it right now.

…ah! That’s it! That has to be it, it’s so obvious when you really stop and think about it. Bdubs has had all the fuckin’ time in the world to think about Etho— he’s been looking all over for the guy, no one’s seen him—

It always feels nice when things fall into place like this.

–so by coming down here and immediately trying, like, to passively look for Etho… it’s kind of an asshole move, isn’t it? Bdubs needs support too! Of course! Obviously! How did I not think of that sooner?

As much as it did make him feel like a bit of an idiot, it was equally as vindicating, being able to think logically about a situation. Especially given the circumstances!

But that did leave one problem.

There’s only one thing in his possession that he knows could quell the incessant pounding in his head, demanding he get ahold of Etho and Dubs and take a mad dash out of this fucking labyrinth— weakness potions.

Which just so happen to be at his house— which of course, is not here.

So the plan of action involves somehow sneaking out of here without Bdubs realizing it, getting some potions, and coming back. This, of course, is going to be really fucking difficult if he can’t even pace around without getting called out for it.

And… are there even lakes in the jungle anyway?

Bdubs’ antennae flattened.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jeez, he was so needy, no wonder Doc was walking off somewhere. He stuck a little further behind him now, but didn’t dare take his eyes off of him.

“Do ya… want me to wait here for you?” Bdubs paused, that’d be less annoying, right? And Doc would come back for him. Doc would definitely, most certainly come back for him. He really, really hoped Doc would come back for him. “I can stop followin’ after ya, yeah, yeah.”

Well shit, that was easy.

Yeah, um, yeah, I was just checking to see if there was a lake around. Wanted to see if I could catch something, it’s nice and grounding, you know?

He takes out his fishing rod. His heart slows to a resting rate, looking at it.

If you’ve, um, seen a lake around here, it’d be nice if you could point me in the direction of it. I’ll fish you up something nice, we could— we could chat over a campfire, that’s always fun.

Yeah! Good save!

“A lake?” Bdubs frowned. A quick glance around confirmed they were still in the weird pocket dimension. He laughed, Doc must be joking. “Where are ya findin’ a lake here?”

He yawned, blinking a few times. “Why don’tcha come back over here ‘n we can finally shreep, it’ll be-“ he was cut off by another yawn. “A nice rest.” Bdubs finished in a mumble.

No lakes.

That complicates things.

I mean, it’d be nicer if we had, like, a bonfire going or something. And— and yeah, I guess we’re obviously not gonna find any lakes here, but…

Think of something, think of something—

…I could… pretend… to fish something up?

??????????

“Or we could finally sleep…”

Bdubs nodded along. “If you want to?” He didn’t see why it mattered too much, but if it was important to Doc, then fine. “We can have a little fire ‘n stuff when we’re out of here.” He promised.

Yeah, honestly I probably need to lie down at this point.

He casts the rod out, and—

…

He’s not—?

He’s. Still here.

Mumbles something about junk treasure, he’s not even sure what he’s on about, and he casts again, and it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work.

–and yeah, so here’s the fish…

It didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

…and we can just… lie down now.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

Yeah, and it’s— yeah. Sleep time.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work IT DIDN’T WORK IT DIDN’T—

Bdubs stared at Doc, yeah, okay something was really wrong. He moved over to Doc, grabbing his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Did he do something wrong? He didn’t intend to make Doc go all weird.

No everything’s fine nothing is wrong.

Spoken with the swiftness and tact of someone who has just witnessed everything going wrong at once. There’s really no hiding it.

Bdubs was pretty awful at dealing with emotions, not qualified at all. Hugs seemed the safest route, maybe? He hesitantly embraced Doc.

“What happened?” He tried instead.

#docs mailbox #bdubs mailbox #hermitcraft ask universe

Someone’s standing at the side of your bed. It quickly becomes evident who woke you— he’s got a pretty distinctive figure, and the glowing red eye doesn’t leave much up for question.

Ey, man.

Rather quiet for someone who seems to want you awake.

You got a minute to spare for your nHo buddy?

@docs-mailbox

Bdubs grumbled something, shifting to bury himself further under the duvet. After a few moments he opened an eye, then realised who had woken him.

“Doc?” He mumbled, letters all slurring together. “Doc!” the next time he sounded more awake, shoving himself up to sit. “Oh, yeah, yeah I got time, what’s up?” Bdubs yawned, pulling his moss tighter around himself. He didn’t bother to fix the rest of his clothing or hair, too much effort!!

It’s about your cloak.

You still giving tours?

Bdubs’ eyes lit up.

“Really?!” He stumbled out of his bed, beaming. “Yeah- oh, just a warning, you might grow an extra limb… but it’s fine!” Bdubs shrugged off the cloak and parted the moss, revealing a milky white rift with pink and purple marbling. “Hop in!”

So long as I don’t lose another horn, I’m sure I’ll be fine.

His horn isn’t fully healed, of course. But there’s progress.

He’s swift to enter, with his primed fishing rod tucked safely in his inventory.

Bdubs waited a few moments to giggle excitedly before following Doc in. There was no solid floor, here, but it was easy to float and move. The air was comfortable (if a little suffocating when you focused on it too hard) and warm.

Bdubs could feel himself getting tired already, he’d be in for a very long, very pleasant nap. He flapped his wings lazily a few times to propel himself over to Doc.

“How’ve you been, anyways?” He mumbled, eyelids already drooping and words slurring together.

Everything feels a bit warm and hazy. As if he were lost underneath a warm blanket.

Been fine mostly. Somebody messed up my redstone, and I seem to have misplaced my communicator…

It dawns on him that this endless expanse of a place doesn’t have many spots to hide a device like his comm. Which is great! All the more reason to brush off all those silly anxieties about what BigB said.

Still, nothing’s been confirmed, one way or another.

…but other than that, everything’s been great. Projects ‘n’ all, and my wings are back in action too.

He flutters his as well. Matching motions!

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘s rubbish.” Floating a little bit closer, he embraced Doc tightly. “But it’ll be okay, y’know why? The moss is here to help us.” His tone dropped to a sort of purr. “The moss is safe, and very, very wonderful.” There were some more mumbles about the moss, and how it was going to take over but it was too quiet to clearly make out the sentences.

Yeah, you and your moss, it’s…

Indistinct.

Doc leaned into his embrace with a faint smile. His eyes, though, were fixed on something else. Far out in the distance.

And, even knowing the nature of the situation— his comm being missing, with Bdubs probably not being the culprit— I mean, come on, he’s my friend, obviously I can trust him more than famed liar BigB— he can’t help but entertain the idea of Dubs having it on him.

Less in the sense of Dubs having stolen it, and more along the lines of Dubs just having it on hand for no particular reason. A cosmic convenience of sorts.

And it’s the push that drives him to ask—

…don’t wanna accuse you of no’n, but do you happen to have my, uh, my comm? Or know where it is?

“Mmm? No, no- why would I know?” Bdubs blinked, peering up at Doc. That was weird, he’d been asleep for god knows how long, why would Bdubs have it anywhere near him?? Oh well. “You should just sleep instead of worryin’ ‘bout all these small things.” He yawned.

Someone told me you had it. Didn’t believe them, but I wanted to double check.

BigB’s not a very reliable source of information, I’ve found.

In other news, lapis is blue.

Yeah, I knew I was probably going to get caught up in this… idea, I guess, unless I confronted you directly. ‘s part of why I visited. That, and, y’know, we haven’t talked in a while.

Wanted to see your face.

All the warm, hazy air…

He nodded along.

“Yeah, no communicator here.” Bdubs closed his eyes for a moment before forcing them to reopen. Naps were important, but so was speaking to his friend. “Aw, I missed you.” He beamed. “What’ve you been upto?”

Ah, you know, the usual. Digging holes. That’s kind of been my M.O. for the past, what, three seasons? At the very least.

This hole’s a secret, though. Nobody knows where it is except for me. And it’s gonna stay that way for awhile.

Something skitters through the holes in his crocs— a bug? Some kind of beetle? But it isn’t there when he takes off his shoe for inspection. Strange.

A moist quality permeates the air.

Smells vaguely of petrichor and cocoa.

He tilted his head.

“Why? It’s just a hole, isn’t it?” Bdubs frowned, why would anyone hide just a hole, unless- “ooh, does it have all y’ stuff in it?” Honestly, he’d really like to sleep right about now, and wants to give Doc a little ‘nudge’ into doing so because the man doesn’t seem that tired! He hugged Doc tighter before pausing.

Wait. No, this was weird. As much as he enjoyed having Doc here, having someone appreciate his existence, having someone offer to nap with him, Doc just wasn’t the type to want to nap with him for days on end. He had that whole grind thrive grind some more acronym that Bdubs couldn’t really remember at this time. “…You do know we’ll be asleep for days, maybe even weeks, right?” He should check, it was the right thing to do even if it’d hurt when Doc left because no, he didn’t know how long they’d be asleep.

Doc shrugs.

Hole’s still gonna be there when I get back.

And there’s a solace— that sort of solace one could see in another’s eyes— in knowing that his fishing rod was tucked away in his inventory. He knew he was the one in control here. Doc’s wings flutter for a few moments.

Worst comes to worst, you, uh, you can’t exactly grief a hole without making a bigger hole, so… yeah, I don’t have to even worry about that.

If anything, you should be the one who’s worried. You’re the guy they put in charge of the Nether hub, and you’re out here taking week long naps.

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘n I don’t think anyone’s crazy enough to fill it back in.” Well, some people were but they then weren’t crazy enough to mess with Doc. Unless you were Martyn.

He went quiet for a few moments. “I don’t think they miss me.” Bdubs looked away.

Wh—

No— they—!

Doc’s wings tense.

Listen to me. We do miss you, why do you think— I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you’d be here. ‘S the whole reason I came down here in the first place.

He can feel something brushing up against his fur. Sharp leaves or… maybe it’s vines of some sort, he’s not entirely sure what it is.

We are not doomed, this doesn’t have to be your life.

I’d say it to Etho too, but we haven’t found him yet.

You ain’t alone here, man.

Really? Bdubs shot a wary glance at Doc. It didn’t feel like he was missed much anymore. His antennae fell low as Doc continued. ‘Doomed’?? Bdubs was feeling a bit low, that was normal, but doomed seemed slightly dramatic.

And Bdubs was alone most of the time, which really was his own fault for sleeping so much recently. People didn’t tend to want to spend a lot of time with someone who was asleep. He curled up tighter.

“I- uh, thank you. Yeah, we’re together.” Something felt a little off with Doc but he couldn’t quite place what.

And with Etho nowhere to be found, Bdubs’ company was everything to him.

So, of course, when he picked up on the odd look in Dubs’ eyes, he adjusted accordingly, as best as he could. Not that he was fully sure what it was about he said that warranted that, but surely he could figure this out along the way.

This fucking jungle, man.

He couldn’t quite tell whether he was floating or walking, but he nearly tripped over a log, which would have been a bit inconvenient.

How’s this guy managing to stay so sleepy during all this, this is the most awake I’ve ever…

…been…

Is there…

He hesitates. There’s an idea floating around his head, and he hesitates, because am I really going to bail on him this early on? Maybe “bailing” isn’t the right word, I’ll come back as soon as I can, but it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in his mouth.

He ruminates for a moment.

Bdubs furrowed his brows as Doc began ‘walking’ away.

“Where y’ goin’?” He quickly buzzed his wings and followed after Doc, really trying to stick close, clinging to the interactions he craved. “Doc?”

I’m right here, I’m right here, what, can a guy not stretch his legs or sum’n?

Like, I know this is your, uh, place, but… c’mon.

Doc forces out a bit of a chuckle. Is he not worried about—?

No, he’s definitely worried about Etho. Maybe he just doesn’t want to think about it right now.

…ah! That’s it! That has to be it, it’s so obvious when you really stop and think about it. Bdubs has had all the fuckin’ time in the world to think about Etho— he’s been looking all over for the guy, no one’s seen him—

It always feels nice when things fall into place like this.

–so by coming down here and immediately trying, like, to passively look for Etho… it’s kind of an asshole move, isn’t it? Bdubs needs support too! Of course! Obviously! How did I not think of that sooner?

As much as it did make him feel like a bit of an idiot, it was equally as vindicating, being able to think logically about a situation. Especially given the circumstances!

But that did leave one problem.

There’s only one thing in his possession that he knows could quell the incessant pounding in his head, demanding he get ahold of Etho and Dubs and take a mad dash out of this fucking labyrinth— weakness potions.

Which just so happen to be at his house— which of course, is not here.

So the plan of action involves somehow sneaking out of here without Bdubs realizing it, getting some potions, and coming back. This, of course, is going to be really fucking difficult if he can’t even pace around without getting called out for it.

And… are there even lakes in the jungle anyway?

Bdubs’ antennae flattened.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jeez, he was so needy, no wonder Doc was walking off somewhere. He stuck a little further behind him now, but didn’t dare take his eyes off of him.

“Do ya… want me to wait here for you?” Bdubs paused, that’d be less annoying, right? And Doc would come back for him. Doc would definitely, most certainly come back for him. He really, really hoped Doc would come back for him. “I can stop followin’ after ya, yeah, yeah.”

Well shit, that was easy.

Yeah, um, yeah, I was just checking to see if there was a lake around. Wanted to see if I could catch something, it’s nice and grounding, you know?

He takes out his fishing rod. His heart slows to a resting rate, looking at it.

If you’ve, um, seen a lake around here, it’d be nice if you could point me in the direction of it. I’ll fish you up something nice, we could— we could chat over a campfire, that’s always fun.

Yeah! Good save!

“A lake?” Bdubs frowned. A quick glance around confirmed they were still in the weird pocket dimension. He laughed, Doc must be joking. “Where are ya findin’ a lake here?”

He yawned, blinking a few times. “Why don’tcha come back over here ‘n we can finally shreep, it’ll be-“ he was cut off by another yawn. “A nice rest.” Bdubs finished in a mumble.

No lakes.

That complicates things.

I mean, it’d be nicer if we had, like, a bonfire going or something. And— and yeah, I guess we’re obviously not gonna find any lakes here, but…

Think of something, think of something—

…I could… pretend… to fish something up?

??????????

“Or we could finally sleep…”

Bdubs nodded along. “If you want to?” He didn’t see why it mattered too much, but if it was important to Doc, then fine. “We can have a little fire ‘n stuff when we’re out of here.” He promised.

Yeah, honestly I probably need to lie down at this point.

He casts the rod out, and—

…

He’s not—?

He’s. Still here.

Mumbles something about junk treasure, he’s not even sure what he’s on about, and he casts again, and it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work.

–and yeah, so here’s the fish…

It didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

…and we can just… lie down now.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work—

Yeah, and it’s— yeah. Sleep time.

–it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work it didn’t work IT DIDN’T WORK IT DIDN’T—

Bdubs stared at Doc, yeah, okay something was really wrong. He moved over to Doc, grabbing his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Did he do something wrong? He didn’t intend to make Doc go all weird.

#docs mailbox #bdubs mailbox #not sure might need to check again #hermitcraft ask universe

Someone’s standing at the side of your bed. It quickly becomes evident who woke you— he’s got a pretty distinctive figure, and the glowing red eye doesn’t leave much up for question.

Ey, man.

Rather quiet for someone who seems to want you awake.

You got a minute to spare for your nHo buddy?

@docs-mailbox

Bdubs grumbled something, shifting to bury himself further under the duvet. After a few moments he opened an eye, then realised who had woken him.

“Doc?” He mumbled, letters all slurring together. “Doc!” the next time he sounded more awake, shoving himself up to sit. “Oh, yeah, yeah I got time, what’s up?” Bdubs yawned, pulling his moss tighter around himself. He didn’t bother to fix the rest of his clothing or hair, too much effort!!

It’s about your cloak.

You still giving tours?

Bdubs’ eyes lit up.

“Really?!” He stumbled out of his bed, beaming. “Yeah- oh, just a warning, you might grow an extra limb… but it’s fine!” Bdubs shrugged off the cloak and parted the moss, revealing a milky white rift with pink and purple marbling. “Hop in!”

So long as I don’t lose another horn, I’m sure I’ll be fine.

His horn isn’t fully healed, of course. But there’s progress.

He’s swift to enter, with his primed fishing rod tucked safely in his inventory.

Bdubs waited a few moments to giggle excitedly before following Doc in. There was no solid floor, here, but it was easy to float and move. The air was comfortable (if a little suffocating when you focused on it too hard) and warm.

Bdubs could feel himself getting tired already, he’d be in for a very long, very pleasant nap. He flapped his wings lazily a few times to propel himself over to Doc.

“How’ve you been, anyways?” He mumbled, eyelids already drooping and words slurring together.

Everything feels a bit warm and hazy. As if he were lost underneath a warm blanket.

Been fine mostly. Somebody messed up my redstone, and I seem to have misplaced my communicator…

It dawns on him that this endless expanse of a place doesn’t have many spots to hide a device like his comm. Which is great! All the more reason to brush off all those silly anxieties about what BigB said.

Still, nothing’s been confirmed, one way or another.

…but other than that, everything’s been great. Projects ‘n’ all, and my wings are back in action too.

He flutters his as well. Matching motions!

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘s rubbish.” Floating a little bit closer, he embraced Doc tightly. “But it’ll be okay, y’know why? The moss is here to help us.” His tone dropped to a sort of purr. “The moss is safe, and very, very wonderful.” There were some more mumbles about the moss, and how it was going to take over but it was too quiet to clearly make out the sentences.

Yeah, you and your moss, it’s…

Indistinct.

Doc leaned into his embrace with a faint smile. His eyes, though, were fixed on something else. Far out in the distance.

And, even knowing the nature of the situation— his comm being missing, with Bdubs probably not being the culprit— I mean, come on, he’s my friend, obviously I can trust him more than famed liar BigB— he can’t help but entertain the idea of Dubs having it on him.

Less in the sense of Dubs having stolen it, and more along the lines of Dubs just having it on hand for no particular reason. A cosmic convenience of sorts.

And it’s the push that drives him to ask—

…don’t wanna accuse you of no’n, but do you happen to have my, uh, my comm? Or know where it is?

“Mmm? No, no- why would I know?” Bdubs blinked, peering up at Doc. That was weird, he’d been asleep for god knows how long, why would Bdubs have it anywhere near him?? Oh well. “You should just sleep instead of worryin’ ‘bout all these small things.” He yawned.

Someone told me you had it. Didn’t believe them, but I wanted to double check.

BigB’s not a very reliable source of information, I’ve found.

In other news, lapis is blue.

Yeah, I knew I was probably going to get caught up in this… idea, I guess, unless I confronted you directly. ‘s part of why I visited. That, and, y’know, we haven’t talked in a while.

Wanted to see your face.

All the warm, hazy air…

He nodded along.

“Yeah, no communicator here.” Bdubs closed his eyes for a moment before forcing them to reopen. Naps were important, but so was speaking to his friend. “Aw, I missed you.” He beamed. “What’ve you been upto?”

Ah, you know, the usual. Digging holes. That’s kind of been my M.O. for the past, what, three seasons? At the very least.

This hole’s a secret, though. Nobody knows where it is except for me. And it’s gonna stay that way for awhile.

Something skitters through the holes in his crocs— a bug? Some kind of beetle? But it isn’t there when he takes off his shoe for inspection. Strange.

A moist quality permeates the air.

Smells vaguely of petrichor and cocoa.

He tilted his head.

“Why? It’s just a hole, isn’t it?” Bdubs frowned, why would anyone hide just a hole, unless- “ooh, does it have all y’ stuff in it?” Honestly, he’d really like to sleep right about now, and wants to give Doc a little ‘nudge’ into doing so because the man doesn’t seem that tired! He hugged Doc tighter before pausing.

Wait. No, this was weird. As much as he enjoyed having Doc here, having someone appreciate his existence, having someone offer to nap with him, Doc just wasn’t the type to want to nap with him for days on end. He had that whole grind thrive grind some more acronym that Bdubs couldn’t really remember at this time. “…You do know we’ll be asleep for days, maybe even weeks, right?” He should check, it was the right thing to do even if it’d hurt when Doc left because no, he didn’t know how long they’d be asleep.

Doc shrugs.

Hole’s still gonna be there when I get back.

And there’s a solace— that sort of solace one could see in another’s eyes— in knowing that his fishing rod was tucked away in his inventory. He knew he was the one in control here. Doc’s wings flutter for a few moments.

Worst comes to worst, you, uh, you can’t exactly grief a hole without making a bigger hole, so… yeah, I don’t have to even worry about that.

If anything, you should be the one who’s worried. You’re the guy they put in charge of the Nether hub, and you’re out here taking week long naps.

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘n I don’t think anyone’s crazy enough to fill it back in.” Well, some people were but they then weren’t crazy enough to mess with Doc. Unless you were Martyn.

He went quiet for a few moments. “I don’t think they miss me.” Bdubs looked away.

Wh—

No— they—!

Doc’s wings tense.

Listen to me. We do miss you, why do you think— I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you’d be here. ‘S the whole reason I came down here in the first place.

He can feel something brushing up against his fur. Sharp leaves or… maybe it’s vines of some sort, he’s not entirely sure what it is.

We are not doomed, this doesn’t have to be your life.

I’d say it to Etho too, but we haven’t found him yet.

You ain’t alone here, man.

Really? Bdubs shot a wary glance at Doc. It didn’t feel like he was missed much anymore. His antennae fell low as Doc continued. ‘Doomed’?? Bdubs was feeling a bit low, that was normal, but doomed seemed slightly dramatic.

And Bdubs was alone most of the time, which really was his own fault for sleeping so much recently. People didn’t tend to want to spend a lot of time with someone who was asleep. He curled up tighter.

“I- uh, thank you. Yeah, we’re together.” Something felt a little off with Doc but he couldn’t quite place what.

And with Etho nowhere to be found, Bdubs’ company was everything to him.

So, of course, when he picked up on the odd look in Dubs’ eyes, he adjusted accordingly, as best as he could. Not that he was fully sure what it was about he said that warranted that, but surely he could figure this out along the way.

This fucking jungle, man.

He couldn’t quite tell whether he was floating or walking, but he nearly tripped over a log, which would have been a bit inconvenient.

How’s this guy managing to stay so sleepy during all this, this is the most awake I’ve ever…

…been…

Is there…

He hesitates. There’s an idea floating around his head, and he hesitates, because am I really going to bail on him this early on? Maybe “bailing” isn’t the right word, I’ll come back as soon as I can, but it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in his mouth.

He ruminates for a moment.

Bdubs furrowed his brows as Doc began ‘walking’ away.

“Where y’ goin’?” He quickly buzzed his wings and followed after Doc, really trying to stick close, clinging to the interactions he craved. “Doc?”

I’m right here, I’m right here, what, can a guy not stretch his legs or sum’n?

Like, I know this is your, uh, place, but… c’mon.

Doc forces out a bit of a chuckle. Is he not worried about—?

No, he’s definitely worried about Etho. Maybe he just doesn’t want to think about it right now.

…ah! That’s it! That has to be it, it’s so obvious when you really stop and think about it. Bdubs has had all the fuckin’ time in the world to think about Etho— he’s been looking all over for the guy, no one’s seen him—

It always feels nice when things fall into place like this.

–so by coming down here and immediately trying, like, to passively look for Etho… it’s kind of an asshole move, isn’t it? Bdubs needs support too! Of course! Obviously! How did I not think of that sooner?

As much as it did make him feel like a bit of an idiot, it was equally as vindicating, being able to think logically about a situation. Especially given the circumstances!

But that did leave one problem.

There’s only one thing in his possession that he knows could quell the incessant pounding in his head, demanding he get ahold of Etho and Dubs and take a mad dash out of this fucking labyrinth— weakness potions.

Which just so happen to be at his house— which of course, is not here.

So the plan of action involves somehow sneaking out of here without Bdubs realizing it, getting some potions, and coming back. This, of course, is going to be really fucking difficult if he can’t even pace around without getting called out for it.

And… are there even lakes in the jungle anyway?

Bdubs’ antennae flattened.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jeez, he was so needy, no wonder Doc was walking off somewhere. He stuck a little further behind him now, but didn’t dare take his eyes off of him.

“Do ya… want me to wait here for you?” Bdubs paused, that’d be less annoying, right? And Doc would come back for him. Doc would definitely, most certainly come back for him. He really, really hoped Doc would come back for him. “I can stop followin’ after ya, yeah, yeah.”

Well shit, that was easy.

Yeah, um, yeah, I was just checking to see if there was a lake around. Wanted to see if I could catch something, it’s nice and grounding, you know?

He takes out his fishing rod. His heart slows to a resting rate, looking at it.

If you’ve, um, seen a lake around here, it’d be nice if you could point me in the direction of it. I’ll fish you up something nice, we could— we could chat over a campfire, that’s always fun.

Yeah! Good save!

“A lake?” Bdubs frowned. A quick glance around confirmed they were still in the weird pocket dimension. He laughed, Doc must be joking. “Where are ya findin’ a lake here?”

He yawned, blinking a few times. “Why don’tcha come back over here ‘n we can finally shreep, it’ll be-“ he was cut off by another yawn. “A nice rest.” Bdubs finished in a mumble.

No lakes.

That complicates things.

I mean, it’d be nicer if we had, like, a bonfire going or something. And— and yeah, I guess we’re obviously not gonna find any lakes here, but…

Think of something, think of something—

…I could… pretend… to fish something up?

??????????

“Or we could finally sleep…”

Bdubs nodded along. “If you want to?” He didn’t see why it mattered too much, but if it was important to Doc, then fine. “We can have a little fire ‘n stuff when we’re out of here.” He promised.

#docs mailbox #bdubs mailbox #hermitcraft ask universe

Someone’s standing at the side of your bed. It quickly becomes evident who woke you— he’s got a pretty distinctive figure, and the glowing red eye doesn’t leave much up for question.

Ey, man.

Rather quiet for someone who seems to want you awake.

You got a minute to spare for your nHo buddy?

@docs-mailbox

Bdubs grumbled something, shifting to bury himself further under the duvet. After a few moments he opened an eye, then realised who had woken him.

“Doc?” He mumbled, letters all slurring together. “Doc!” the next time he sounded more awake, shoving himself up to sit. “Oh, yeah, yeah I got time, what’s up?” Bdubs yawned, pulling his moss tighter around himself. He didn’t bother to fix the rest of his clothing or hair, too much effort!!

It’s about your cloak.

You still giving tours?

Bdubs’ eyes lit up.

“Really?!” He stumbled out of his bed, beaming. “Yeah- oh, just a warning, you might grow an extra limb… but it’s fine!” Bdubs shrugged off the cloak and parted the moss, revealing a milky white rift with pink and purple marbling. “Hop in!”

So long as I don’t lose another horn, I’m sure I’ll be fine.

His horn isn’t fully healed, of course. But there’s progress.

He’s swift to enter, with his primed fishing rod tucked safely in his inventory.

Bdubs waited a few moments to giggle excitedly before following Doc in. There was no solid floor, here, but it was easy to float and move. The air was comfortable (if a little suffocating when you focused on it too hard) and warm.

Bdubs could feel himself getting tired already, he’d be in for a very long, very pleasant nap. He flapped his wings lazily a few times to propel himself over to Doc.

“How’ve you been, anyways?” He mumbled, eyelids already drooping and words slurring together.

Everything feels a bit warm and hazy. As if he were lost underneath a warm blanket.

Been fine mostly. Somebody messed up my redstone, and I seem to have misplaced my communicator…

It dawns on him that this endless expanse of a place doesn’t have many spots to hide a device like his comm. Which is great! All the more reason to brush off all those silly anxieties about what BigB said.

Still, nothing’s been confirmed, one way or another.

…but other than that, everything’s been great. Projects ‘n’ all, and my wings are back in action too.

He flutters his as well. Matching motions!

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘s rubbish.” Floating a little bit closer, he embraced Doc tightly. “But it’ll be okay, y’know why? The moss is here to help us.” His tone dropped to a sort of purr. “The moss is safe, and very, very wonderful.” There were some more mumbles about the moss, and how it was going to take over but it was too quiet to clearly make out the sentences.

Yeah, you and your moss, it’s…

Indistinct.

Doc leaned into his embrace with a faint smile. His eyes, though, were fixed on something else. Far out in the distance.

And, even knowing the nature of the situation— his comm being missing, with Bdubs probably not being the culprit— I mean, come on, he’s my friend, obviously I can trust him more than famed liar BigB— he can’t help but entertain the idea of Dubs having it on him.

Less in the sense of Dubs having stolen it, and more along the lines of Dubs just having it on hand for no particular reason. A cosmic convenience of sorts.

And it’s the push that drives him to ask—

…don’t wanna accuse you of no’n, but do you happen to have my, uh, my comm? Or know where it is?

“Mmm? No, no- why would I know?” Bdubs blinked, peering up at Doc. That was weird, he’d been asleep for god knows how long, why would Bdubs have it anywhere near him?? Oh well. “You should just sleep instead of worryin’ ‘bout all these small things.” He yawned.

Someone told me you had it. Didn’t believe them, but I wanted to double check.

BigB’s not a very reliable source of information, I’ve found.

In other news, lapis is blue.

Yeah, I knew I was probably going to get caught up in this… idea, I guess, unless I confronted you directly. ‘s part of why I visited. That, and, y’know, we haven’t talked in a while.

Wanted to see your face.

All the warm, hazy air…

He nodded along.

“Yeah, no communicator here.” Bdubs closed his eyes for a moment before forcing them to reopen. Naps were important, but so was speaking to his friend. “Aw, I missed you.” He beamed. “What’ve you been upto?”

Ah, you know, the usual. Digging holes. That’s kind of been my M.O. for the past, what, three seasons? At the very least.

This hole’s a secret, though. Nobody knows where it is except for me. And it’s gonna stay that way for awhile.

Something skitters through the holes in his crocs— a bug? Some kind of beetle? But it isn’t there when he takes off his shoe for inspection. Strange.

A moist quality permeates the air.

Smells vaguely of petrichor and cocoa.

He tilted his head.

“Why? It’s just a hole, isn’t it?” Bdubs frowned, why would anyone hide just a hole, unless- “ooh, does it have all y’ stuff in it?” Honestly, he’d really like to sleep right about now, and wants to give Doc a little ‘nudge’ into doing so because the man doesn’t seem that tired! He hugged Doc tighter before pausing.

Wait. No, this was weird. As much as he enjoyed having Doc here, having someone appreciate his existence, having someone offer to nap with him, Doc just wasn’t the type to want to nap with him for days on end. He had that whole grind thrive grind some more acronym that Bdubs couldn’t really remember at this time. “…You do know we’ll be asleep for days, maybe even weeks, right?” He should check, it was the right thing to do even if it’d hurt when Doc left because no, he didn’t know how long they’d be asleep.

Doc shrugs.

Hole’s still gonna be there when I get back.

And there’s a solace— that sort of solace one could see in another’s eyes— in knowing that his fishing rod was tucked away in his inventory. He knew he was the one in control here. Doc’s wings flutter for a few moments.

Worst comes to worst, you, uh, you can’t exactly grief a hole without making a bigger hole, so… yeah, I don’t have to even worry about that.

If anything, you should be the one who’s worried. You’re the guy they put in charge of the Nether hub, and you’re out here taking week long naps.

Bdubs nodded.

“Mhm, ‘n I don’t think anyone’s crazy enough to fill it back in.” Well, some people were but they then weren’t crazy enough to mess with Doc. Unless you were Martyn.

He went quiet for a few moments. “I don’t think they miss me.” Bdubs looked away.

Wh—

No— they—!

Doc’s wings tense.

Listen to me. We do miss you, why do you think— I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you’d be here. ‘S the whole reason I came down here in the first place.

He can feel something brushing up against his fur. Sharp leaves or… maybe it’s vines of some sort, he’s not entirely sure what it is.

We are not doomed, this doesn’t have to be your life.

I’d say it to Etho too, but we haven’t found him yet.

You ain’t alone here, man.

Really? Bdubs shot a wary glance at Doc. It didn’t feel like he was missed much anymore. His antennae fell low as Doc continued. ‘Doomed’?? Bdubs was feeling a bit low, that was normal, but doomed seemed slightly dramatic.

And Bdubs was alone most of the time, which really was his own fault for sleeping so much recently. People didn’t tend to want to spend a lot of time with someone who was asleep. He curled up tighter.

“I- uh, thank you. Yeah, we’re together.” Something felt a little off with Doc but he couldn’t quite place what.

And with Etho nowhere to be found, Bdubs’ company was everything to him.

So, of course, when he picked up on the odd look in Dubs’ eyes, he adjusted accordingly, as best as he could. Not that he was fully sure what it was about he said that warranted that, but surely he could figure this out along the way.

This fucking jungle, man.

He couldn’t quite tell whether he was floating or walking, but he nearly tripped over a log, which would have been a bit inconvenient.

How’s this guy managing to stay so sleepy during all this, this is the most awake I’ve ever…

…been…

Is there…

He hesitates. There’s an idea floating around his head, and he hesitates, because am I really going to bail on him this early on? Maybe “bailing” isn’t the right word, I’ll come back as soon as I can, but it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in his mouth.

He ruminates for a moment.

Bdubs furrowed his brows as Doc began ‘walking’ away.

“Where y’ goin’?” He quickly buzzed his wings and followed after Doc, really trying to stick close, clinging to the interactions he craved. “Doc?”

I’m right here, I’m right here, what, can a guy not stretch his legs or sum’n?

Like, I know this is your, uh, place, but… c’mon.

Doc forces out a bit of a chuckle. Is he not worried about—?

No, he’s definitely worried about Etho. Maybe he just doesn’t want to think about it right now.

…ah! That’s it! That has to be it, it’s so obvious when you really stop and think about it. Bdubs has had all the fuckin’ time in the world to think about Etho— he’s been looking all over for the guy, no one’s seen him—

It always feels nice when things fall into place like this.

–so by coming down here and immediately trying, like, to passively look for Etho… it’s kind of an asshole move, isn’t it? Bdubs needs support too! Of course! Obviously! How did I not think of that sooner?

As much as it did make him feel like a bit of an idiot, it was equally as vindicating, being able to think logically about a situation. Especially given the circumstances!

But that did leave one problem.

There’s only one thing in his possession that he knows could quell the incessant pounding in his head, demanding he get ahold of Etho and Dubs and take a mad dash out of this fucking labyrinth— weakness potions.

Which just so happen to be at his house— which of course, is not here.

So the plan of action involves somehow sneaking out of here without Bdubs realizing it, getting some potions, and coming back. This, of course, is going to be really fucking difficult if he can’t even pace around without getting called out for it.

And… are there even lakes in the jungle anyway?

Bdubs’ antennae flattened.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jeez, he was so needy, no wonder Doc was walking off somewhere. He stuck a little further behind him now, but didn’t dare take his eyes off of him.

“Do ya… want me to wait here for you?” Bdubs paused, that’d be less annoying, right? And Doc would come back for him. Doc would definitely, most certainly come back for him. He really, really hoped Doc would come back for him. “I can stop followin’ after ya, yeah, yeah.”

Well shit, that was easy.

Yeah, um, yeah, I was just checking to see if there was a lake around. Wanted to see if I could catch something, it’s nice and grounding, you know?

He takes out his fishing rod. His heart slows to a resting rate, looking at it.

If you’ve, um, seen a lake around here, it’d be nice if you could point me in the direction of it. I’ll fish you up something nice, we could— we could chat over a campfire, that’s always fun.

Yeah! Good save!

“A lake?” Bdubs frowned. A quick glance around confirmed they were still in the weird pocket dimension. He laughed, Doc must be joking. “Where are ya findin’ a lake here?”

He yawned, blinking a few times. “Why don’tcha come back over here ‘n we can finally shreep, it’ll be-“ he was cut off by another yawn. “A nice rest.” Bdubs finished in a mumble.

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