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he, tommyinnit, was not mortal, and he didn’t know how to feel about it.
he had been part of the sky gods for as long as he could remember. watching them play with mortals and seeing what happens when a mortal is given power. it was fascinating. mortals were fascinating- it was curious, and he decided he either wanted to be mortal or mess around with them.
a particular mortal interested him- one by the name of wilbur soot. they’d set him in a random world- skyblock randomizer- and he’d taken immediately to worship. he was a most curious case. at some point, he’d been cursed (or blessed , the sky gods said) with the gift of voices. it was interesting to watch him struggle yet keep persisting.
he got attached to animals fast- naming them- yet ruthless when he needed to be. mortals were fascinating in that way, in their nature. they formed silly attachments like such- they cried when their animals died, even if they weren’t at all equal.
wilbur soot was fascinating. he was quick to temper, maybe- he kept grudges as well. he jumped at the chance to destroy with the tnt given and adapted when he destroyed his treasured items.
he was willing to do anything for what he wanted.
but he was willing to forgive after some time, too. after some time, he was okay with it all.
after everything- for the second command the sky god gifted him with, he used it, not for himself, but for milo.
out of everything, everything wilbur could’ve done- he set milo free. he let that silly fish free, let him swim forever.
so of course tommy jumped at the opportunity to host a world of his own with the very own wilbur soot. and his friends, of course. he was excited. it was exhilarating, the thought of being able to walk among them and learn from them. he was nervous, of course, but the sky gods reassured him he was ready. and if he wasn’t? it would be okay, because they could always wipe their memory.
and he was able to give some of them power. tommy split it between wilbur, of course, and a random mortal named tubbo. tubbo was fascinating. he was cursed. 21 out of 24 hours, he was fast asleep. tommy thought it’d be funny to give it to him , of all people. he was eccentric and funny and had plans, even though he only had 90 hours to finish them all.
tubbo decided to keep it secret. tommy stepped down from his power temporarily- he wanted to understand the mortals.
and wilbur?
he gave himself 64 trap doors.
tommy could see why wilbur was the sky gods’ favorite- honestly, tommyinnit himself, a young sky god- was getting attached to him the same way that wilbur got attached to those stupid animals. it was strange, it was- he wasn’t sure. but.. he liked it.
and the mortals were interesting. some were cautious, and some were ruthless. jack manifold, one called himself, brought upon the first death. to ‘charlie slimecicle.’ for stealing a stack of seeds. it was interesting- somewhat horrifying, but fascinating, the way he was driven.
ranboo was ever so protective of tubbo- the one with so little time but so much to say- and he was somewhat of a pleasure to be around. the same could be said for everyone, if tommy had to be honest. it was strange. it was strange.
but.. two days in…
wilbur killed phil. he- he didn’t mean to, didn’t want to. he turned to tommy and begged for him to exchange their lives. and he, tommy innit, had no words, at how selfless, mortals could be.
he said yes, and wilbur jumped off, and he watched- and he contemplated the fickleness of mortals. he wondered- he wondered why they spent their life chasing after silly things and were willing to give it up for others. and tommy admired it- it was stupid, he didn’t understand- he kind of hated it- but he admired it. the way mortals were willing to risk it all.
and.. it was strange, because phil rejected it. he was alive, but he said it didn’t feel right, and he left.
phil was given another chance at life, and he set it aside. he said it wasn’t right, that wasn’t how death worked , that wasn’t how hardcore worked . and tommy didn’t understand- couldn’t understand- he wanted to understand. he wanted to- but he didn’t.
so he brought wilbur back to life again, and he asked the sky gods why. why were mortals like this?
they only said they didn’t know.
but.. soon wilbur died again. to a creeper- to ranboo, even if accidentally. in the afterlife, wilbur explained- he planned to worship the clock until the end, planned to center his life around it- planned to create a church of worship. tommy thought of sky block, and wondered if this happened often, if he put his hope on one thing and one thing only. he thought it was stupid…. but it was nice.
tommy wondered how mortals could live like this, knowing that everything could be torn away in moments. he wondered how they were okay knowing that in 30 days time, everything would come to an end, including themselves, yet still formed attachments and bonds and made friends and created silly hot air balloons. he hated it because he didn’t understand.
he understood that everything was temporary because he wasn’t. he and the sky gods would be around until the end of time (if that was even real) and had come to terms with it. all he needed was him and the sky gods, they created what they needed, and the mortals were below them.
how, how could the mortals push off everything, knowing that one day they could die? how could they be okay with that? how could they not feel the sickening dread that comes from knowing that everything is temporary? how could they form attachments knowing they would all turn to dust?
why didn’t they understand it wasn’t worth it?
was it worth it?
tommy tried not to form bonds to what wasn’t necessary. after all, he was a god. he created and destroyed and studied- he wasn’t meant to do anything else.
so why did these mortals- who got attached to buildings, and made up countries, and items, and animals not even close to their intelligence level- do these silly things when it didn’t even matter?
did it matter?
and, despite the fact he’d only known them for a little bit- he cared about them. he cared about this stupid, small group of mortals. he hated it, he hated it so much- but at the same time-
( maybe it wasn’t entirely out of nowhere, because he remembered watching the sky gods’ experiments and although entertained, found himself rooting for the players. he hoped for their success and frowned and their losses despite it just being how it is . maybe tommy was always a little soft for a god. maybe too soft, maybe he needed to learn a lesson. )
tommy came to the sky gods, and he asked what happened to the ones that die. they said, ‘same as the others. they’ll be back- reincarnated- memories wiped, a new life.’
he asked, ‘would that ever happen to me?’
they said no, he wasn’t like them. he was a sky god- and tommy frowned and asked again if he could ever experience what it was like to truly be a mortal, even if temporarily.
they said yes. they said that after the 30 days- they’d let him try it. they’d let him stay in an smp- memories wiped and powers locked away temporarily- they’d let him be mortal. be human . they told him he’d be with the others- at the only cost of it being temporary, and him having to return eventually.
and tommy smiled. he thought of understanding mortals, thought of living properly with wilbur, and tubbo, and ranboo, and phil, yes, phil too- all of them- and being mortal, being human- whatever that could ever mean. he smiled and hoped for the future, and he returned to the server- ready.
sitting on the balloon that once belonged to wilbur with tubbo and watching ranboo transform the limited ground into a farm- he spoke.
“when this all ends, it’ll be alright.”
tubbo and ranboo looked to him, curious. “what do you mean, boss man?”
tommy stood up- staring at the clock, at the small world they lived in, at the world past the border- at the sun- and smiled. “no matter what happens, i’ll find you again. in your next life or world, i’ll find you- and we’ll be the best of friends.”
“you really think so?” ranboo asked.
“no,” tommy replied, voice sure, “i know so.”
and he didn’t tell them it wouldn’t last forever, because they knew that. he didn’t tell them that eventually he’d leave all of them. tommy thought they’d be alright with that.
( at the end of thirty days, their world would split and it’ll be gone. would it be for nothing? would it all have been worthless? did it matter if it was all gone? )
tommy leaned against tubbo, closing his eyes and letting the breeze wash over him. he thought he’d like to find out.