#ellieloves2read

sighs dreamily.....

8.) what’s a podcast where you mix up the characters voices? I've honestly never really had that problem! Every podcast I've listened to has done a really damn good job of keeping their character voices distinct. Now, I might occasionally mix up the actors' voices (we won't discuss how long I thought Cam Collins was the voice of Glory Ann Boggs), but never the characters.

13.) what do you like to do while listening to a podcast? "Like" is a strong word, but I usually listen to them while I'm working. If I'm listening off the clock, I crochet or cross-stitch while I listen. Just something with my hands that I don't have to think too hard about so I can focus on [REDACTED].

16.) what songs do you associate with a certain character/ podcast? Oh, boy, this is a List™. In no particular order:

"Bones in the Ocean" by The Longest Johns is inextricably bound up with Zolf Smith in my mind. (I know I used it for a TMA fic too but it's a Zolf song.)

"All the Wasted Time" from Parade is the ultimate JonMartin song and you cannot convince me otherwise.

Similarly, "You and I (The Story of Chess)" from the musical Chess inevitably makes me think of TMA. You and I We've seen it all Chasing our hearts' desires Yet we go on pretending Stories like ours have happy endings...

Maybe it's cheating to say "Lower Lights/Throw Out the Lifeline" is now forever associated with Martin Blackwood, since I did that to myself, but I did it and now it's true.

Apart from all the music that's been the weather, which doesn't count, "Weekend in New England" by Barry Manilow always makes me think of Welcome to Night Vale, and in particular Carlos and Cecil during that period where Carlos was trapped in the desert otherworld.

"Walk Through the Fire" from the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will never not make me think of Hamid and the fight against Guivres ever again.

"Sixteen Tons" (originally by Tennessee Ernie Ford but I like Geoff Castellucci's version) has been associated with Old Gods of Appalachia in my mind since the first time I heard it and that isn't changing any time soon.

Less podcast and more fanfic, but the first time I listened to "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri this whole animatic unfolded in my head of JonMarTim's relationship arc in leaves too high to touch (roots too strong to fall) and now it plays across my mind every time I listen, which means I can't listen to it too often or I start seriously lamenting my lack of artistic skills.

Alright second prompt done :D I went with the c!tubbo and michael one, and it went over 1k by uh. well. well I hope you like it :D!!

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For the Arctic, Tubbo had expected it to be a lot colder. Even as the wind bellowed against the windows and snow piled in front of the door, the inside was a burning haven of peace.

Things were very different from Snowchester. The snow fell heavy, for one, and was continuous. There were few hours in the day where it wasn't at least slightly snowing—and even then, the wind would be kicking it off the ground. Aside from that, the closest body of water was a river. Watching an oceanside sunset was no longer a possible pastime, not that Tubbo frequently did so.

But some things were still the same. Tubbo was still able to eat a hearty meal and tuck his son into bed. He was still able to fall asleep in his own soft bed, knowing he was safe for another night.

Alone, but safe.

It was enough, and Tubbo had always scraped by on enough. 

He tried not to think about it. With the syndicate helping him settle, he wasn't in the mood for complaining. Like most mornings, Tubbo stomached his doubts and grit his teeth, ready to bear it for another day.

But unlike most mornings, Tubbo was greeted by a front door that wouldn't open.

He tried the button and—figuring the thing had simply broken as the door whined but didn't move—went to force it open. He'd be sure to thank Ghostboo for deciding that an iron door that opened outwards was perfect for below freezing temperatures and definitely didn’t sting like a bitch to press against.

The door didn’t budge an inch despite his best efforts, and as Tubbo noticed that his curtains were doing a surprisingly good job at keeping light out, the reality of the situation revealed itself to him. Tubbo ran upstairs as fast as he could, rushing over to his bedroom windows.

Much like he thought, and to his dismay, there was snow blocking the door.

At second glance, as his eyes adapted to the light of the morning sun, Tubbo realized it wasn’t just his door. Around his house all the way across the field to Phil and Techno’s cabins was a layer of snow at least six feet tall.

Ah.

That certainly soured his plans for the day.

Tubbo was quick to hurry over to his bedside table and grab his comm. He sent a message to Phil. Thankfully, the man was punctual enough that day, responding in just a moment.

Ph1lza - Hi m8

Tubbo_Beloved - o/

Ph1lza - o/

Tubbo_Beloved - I'm stuck in my house

Tubbo_Beloved - there's too much snow

Ph1lza - can't dig out?

Tubbo_Beloved - doors jammed

Ph1lza - K. In basement, probably have to dig out

Ph1lza - I’ll get you after

Tubbo sighed. As much as he trusted Phil to follow through, chances were it would take at least an hour for him to dig himself out, and even if he flew over the snow and just focused on giving Tubbo’s door enough room to open, it would likely still take most of the day. At least the hours with sunlight.

With reluctant acceptance of how things were going to go today, Tubbo set his comm down and made his way back to the stairs. It wasn’t the first time his plans had been thrown to the wind, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

His first priority was breakfast and waking up Michael. There were still things to do inside.

Michael's room wasn't very big and neither was the house, but all things considered, Tubbo thought it was for the best. Though the house in the commune was built for just one person, Tubbo had had no choice but to live there. With Dream free from prison, Sam and however many others looking for ways to control people—well, suffice to say that living around the blood god and the angel of death made people less likely to target Tubbo.

Besides, Snowchester felt far too empty to properly live in. Jack had run off, Foolish was back to work in the desert, Puffy was just never around. It wasn't a thriving commune anymore, and with everything going on, the last thing Tubbo needed was to have less access to people.

And the mansion itself was too empty. That home made for three would've been so much worse than a tiny house in the snow.

So Michael had a small room, something Tubbo had hastily dug out and decorated. It was warm at least, with a comfy bed and plenty of pillows. Michael didn’t seem to mind that it was dug into the mountainside that was the back wall of their house, as much like all mornings, Tubbo found the little guy peacefully resting.

Tubbo approached his son quietly, resting a hand on Michael's shoulder and gently shaking him awake. The boy blinked once then twice, slowly coming to as Tubbo gave him a soft smile.

"Morning, buddy."

Michael yawned softly and stretched, curling up in the warm red blanket.

"What do you want for breakfast?"

Michael didn't reply, simply grunting and burying his face in the soft fabric.

Tubbo ruffled the kid's hair. "Come on, it's a snow day. We can make something together."

At that, Michael shot up, tiredly doing his best to sign back a question.

"Snow day?"

Tubbo nodded. "Yeah, uh—we're not really going anywhere."

Michael smiled after a moment, sleepily giggling as he hopped out of bed, grabbing his dad's hand and dragging him out into the hall.

"Oh—okay! Okay!" Tubbo laughed, letting Michael drag him along to the kitchen. "We'll just make some pancakes, alright?"

Once the two were fed, and both fully awake, Tubbo stepped away from the table.

Even though they were trapped inside, that didn't mean the world would stop turning. There were farms in the basement that needed upgrades, and it had been a while since Tubbo had gone mining. Some new resources could certainly be helpful considering the state of most of his items. Not to mention that there were redstone machines Tubbo was considering making that needed to be planned out.

Tubbo began to clean up quickly, washing off plates and setting them back into the cupboards before turning for the stairs.

There was still a lot to do, even—

At the sound of knocking against wood, Tubbo turned again. At his spot at the table, Michael titled his head, his brow furrowed.

"I thought it was a snow day." Michael signed.

Tubbo nodded. "Yeah, there's too much snow to go out."

Michael only looked more confused. "Why are you going upstairs?"

Tubbo paused for a second, his hand lightly pressed to the railing, trying to understand what was bothering Michael. It wasn't like Tubbo never left the house to do work, he certainly wouldn't say the five year old had attachment issues. Even back at the mansion, back in Snowchester, Michael never complained when Tubbo left home.

Of course, snow days happened there every so often and Tubbo always liked to stay home with Michael during them, but…

Oh.

Michael didn't want Tubbo to leave since he always played games with his dad on snow days.

Tubbo took a step back from the stairs, letting his hand drop to his side.

Could he spend the day with Michael? It would be nice to relax but there were a lot of things that had to be done.

Granted, none of the chores or house maintenance needed to be immediately taken care of, but with his free time, Tubbo could easily get it all done.

But the world had basically forced him inside. It had forced him to slow down.

Maybe… maybe Tubbo could just relax for a day. It wouldn't be the end of the world, after all. And it would make Michael happy.

Tubbo forced a soft smile. "Well, I was just gonna get dressed. We can play hide and go seek after."

Michael smiled as well, quickly scoffing down the rest of his pancake and rushing out of his seat.

As ridiculous as it felt to spend the entire day playing games with a five year old, Tubbo couldn't find it in himself to dislike the decision. Michael was smiling, and the chores could wait.

Tubbo dressed quickly and hurried back downstairs to help Michael get dressed as well. Once they were both ready for their day, Michael tapped Tubbo on the face and gave a quick sign of "you're hunting!" before running off into the hall.

Tubbo sighed softly, covering his eyes as he counted to thirty. From elsewhere in the house, he could hear a sharp clattering, and he cringed as he could simply hope that wasn't any of his work-in-progress projects.

When he reached thirty, Tubbo stood and hurried off into the main room of the house. Michael had obviously gone into the workroom upstairs, if that noise was any indication, so Tubbo hurried up. He reached the room in seconds, looking around the small space.

There wasn't much there in the first place, mostly a desk, work table, and a few sliding drawers against the wall. Only a few places to hide.

Tubbo marched around slowly, putting just a little bit of extra weight down with each step on the quartz.

"Now," he hummed, "where is Michael?"

From just behind Tubbo, there was a little laugh, just enough air slipping through one's nose for him to hear.

Tubbo turned slowly, continuing to step sideways across the room. He eyed the work table and the sheet covering the sides with a barely contained smirk.

Tubbo approached the cupboards, bending down and opening one.

"Is he here?!" Tubbo loudly exclaimed, sighing dejectedly at the emptiness.

He waited a moment before continuing, repeating the search as he heard yet another giggle from the table.

Taking another minute to pace the room, Tubbo walked over to the door, letting out a loud groan.

"Guess he's downstairs." He mumbled, opening the door and shutting it.

After a few seconds, the table broke out in a fit of giggles. Tubbo wasted no time stepping as lightly as he could right over to it.

He let Michael think he'd succeed for just one more sweet second before he threw the cloth up, starling the boy underneath.

Michael yelped as Tubbo grabbed him, pulling him out from under the table and up into his arms.

"Hey!"

"I guess I found you." Tubbo laughed, ever so slightly pleased by the overdramatic frown on his son's face.

"You cheated!"

Tubbo chuckled as he lifted Michael up higher, setting the young piglin down on his shoulders. "Oh, I'm just so evil."

In some form of protest, Michael leaned back, letting himself fall against Tubbo's back. Thank Prime for Tubbo holding Michael by the legs when he did so, only straining for a moment to not drop the boy.

Michael huffed softly, earning another little laugh from Tubbo as he glanced over his shoulder.

"Do you want to be the hunter this time?"

Michael seemed to light up at the idea, and Tubbo set the boy down carefully.

Nearly instantly, Michael covered his face and Tubbo took a moment to realize he was meant to be running.

He was gonna do his very best, for sure.

A few knocks rang out against the metal door as the sun was just beginning to dim on the horizon, starling Tubbo from where he sat in Michael's bed.

He stood, setting down his book and hot chocolate with the promise he'd be back in just one moment.

Outside the door was Phil, who offered a gentle smile underneath his scarf and patterned toque. In one hand was a large rectangular shovel, and every part of him from his coat to his wing covers looked like they'd been dusted in snow. But there was a large gap in the snow that allowed Tubbo to open the door.

"Phil!" Tubbo cheered, looking at the snow wall. "Thank you boss man, really."

"Yeah, 'course mate. You two doing alright in there?"

Tubbo nodded.

"Glad to hear it." Phil glanced at the snow, reaching out to tap it with his knuckles. "This is really why you need a roof that isn't flat and actually goes over the front of your house."

Tubbo chuckled awkwardly, shrugging a little. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that.”

“Need any help with resources or planning?”

Tubbo paused for a moment, considering his options before shaking his head. “No, I’m reading with Michael right now. I’ll get to it later.”

Phil nodded and headed off, leaving Tubbo standing in his cold doorway for a few moments. He closed the door with a sigh, turning and walking back to Michael’s little bedroom.

The boy was all curled up in his blankets, shyly sipping on the steaming cup of cocoa. He smiled softly when Tubbo entered, and Tubbo smiled back, crawling up in the small bed next to him and picking the book back up.

Zane would stay with Nya and Lloyd! Just like Zane stays with Wu during s11 when the others leave for the never realm.