Chapter Text
When Scar had alerted Bdubs that something was up with the Boatem crew, he didn’t expect it to be this bad.
To put it simply, when Bdubs so much as said hi to Grian, he looked like he was about to pass out. Of course, he didn’t, but he was constantly shaking, stuttering, and if Bdubs looked into it enough, Grian was more than likely on the verge of crying after talking with someone for more than a minute.
“Not good. Not good at all.”
Luckily, Bdubs and his good buddy, Keralis, had lots of practice getting fellow hermits to sleep, whether that included the threatening of snuggles or the promise of them—it really depended on if it was Doc or Xisuma.
How stubborn said hermits were wouldn’t be the problem. It would be helping them fix the habit of not sleeping for (that was some of them) weeks on end.
Maybe first would be Impulse. He probably wasn’t too dedicated to the whole “Mooners” thing or whatever that was. But if that were the case, he might’ve taken a nap even if it was on the grass or against the wall. So while his case was a concern, it was an immediate need.
Grian and Mumbo however…
The problem was, Bdubs wasn’t entirely sure why the two weren’t sleeping. Sure, it was good to keep up with the moon, but to obsess over it? Constantly? And it wasn’t helping their mental state, that was for sure. The not sleeping and the obsessing.
Bdubs knew what anxiety and stress did to a person. Example? Xisuma. While he’d gotten better about it (to an extent), it wasn’t uncommon to hear he was overworking himself again. It wasn’t rare to help the other work through stifled emotions after too many weeks of constant work and stress.
So stressing out about the moon wasn’t going to help in the slightest.
Now, Bdubs was no therapist, all he knew was experience or what he got off of the internet. But he knew everyone’s hyper focus on the moon was due to fear, and reacting on fear typically didn’t have good results. And considering that was how Boogeydubs himself worked—well, it showed fear was easily exploited and literally controlled the victim of it.
In this case, Mumbo was obviously controlled by his fear, and if Bdubs was to make a guess, Grian was too.
Meaning Bdubs would have to be sensitive when walking around this topic and very considerate to the others’ feelings.
After a bit of searching, Bdubs found Mumbo to be hanging around at his base, finishing up details on the inside of the mountain. His work was slow, incredibly delayed, and as soon as Bdubs made noise by walking around, the man nearly jumped ten feet in the air. Ok—maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but the point still remained: Mumbo needed sleep.
“Oh, hello Bdubs.”
“Hey, Mumbo. What’re you working on?”
“Interiors for a few days. The sun’s gotten brighter—might be getting jealous of the moon with all its new attention. But our Lunar Neighbor deserves all the praise!”
He’d gone insane, that was for sure. And Bdubs wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“So you think the sun’s getting bigger too?”
“I—I haven’t looked. That’d hurt too much, but it might be. It’s gotten hotter lately yet it’s getting closer to winter which is why I suspect something weird going on.”
The thing was, usually Mumbo was logical. He wasn’t like some of the other hermits—Scar for example—Mumbo was very by the book, what you can observe is real, while Scar believed in magic crystals and vex magic. So believing in a sentient or even an angry moon and sun seemed very unlike Mumbo.
“What got you thinking the moon was angry with us?” Bdubs asked carefully. Angering Mumbo wasn’t his goal. Not even making him believe that’s not how the moon was. He just wanted to see Mumbo get a little bit of rest.
“It’s getting bigger. It’s fighting for our attention. For our affection. It brings down flying friends to remind us of the great night—both to be loved and feared,” he rambled, almost like he was under the control of Evil Xisuma. “Impulse thinks the moon just wants a hug, or a friend, but I can understand how the moon feels… to feel overlooked and out of place.”
Perhaps an identity issue?
Perhaps an anxiety issue?
Bdubs didn’t know Mumbo super well, but h’d heard this cult of sorts had been started while he was growing up from a death. Perhaps mixed with an edgy-angsty teen stage and a fear of the moon, this was what Mumbo came up with?
It didn’t matter how it was started. It just mattered that Bdubs treated Mumbo with patience, because to Mumbo, this whole ordeal was his life.
“You look worn. Maybe you should take a break,” Bdubs said, avoiding the topic of sleep, understanding that it was sensitive.
“I am exhausted. But if I take a break—I could—I could fall asleep and… the moon… would be angry. Grian would be disappointed too, you know he’s trying to measure what’s going on. I’m sure the moon loves the attention we’ve been giving it, but measuring it almost sounds invasive. Disrespectful.” Once again he was on with his random ramblings and Bdubs wasn’t sure how to take it.
Well. Maybe he could try to show Mumbo other people’s perspectives on this whole moon thing first.
“Have you ever thought of what other people might be feeling? Besides the moon. I know this whole thing means a lot for you and the moon right now, but—even not being accepting of the other ways we’re trying to study the moon is going to push everyone away.” Start off simple. Not the whole rant of “we’re worried about you”, just the start of saying “maybe this isn’t what’s really going on and maybe it’s time to listen to someone else”.
“I— I haven’t thought much of it, no.” He looked almost downcast at the thought that he had forgotten to think of his friends as well. “I—I obsessed over this too much, didn’t I?”
Instead of confirming or denying, Bdubs came in for a hug, accepting the fact that there was an obvious height difference. If he could just get Mumbo to see the problem, then maybe there was a chance they could fix it, and right now that could be effectively done by being there for him.
“You worried about all this moon business too?” Bdubs asked.
“Yeah… I hoped that… maybe doing all this would make the moon shrink or get back into orbit or whatever is happening. And maybe the earthquakes would stop.”
“So we’re appeasing the moon?”
“Yeah… you could call it that.” As Bdubs released the hug, Mumbo sank down to the floor. Bdubs sat directly in front of him, making eye contact.
“And that’s why you won’t sleep.”
“I can’t sleep. Can’t. It’s not—it’s not really a choice.”
“What happens if you sleep?”
Mumbo looked startled at the question. His only response was, “It’d obviously be furious with even the consideration of skipping the night.”
Bdubs moved from in front of Mumbo, to beside him, leaning against the taller. “Well, what about sleeping through the day? You could focus on the moon all through the night while still getting the rest you need!”
For a moment, Mumbo heavily considered it. “But—but the phantoms.”
“What about them?”
“The moon sends them, as friends. They won’t come down if I sleep.”
Bdubs didn’t know where all this nonsense was coming from. “Well, if the moon wanted you to have friends, it would send them down. But by never sleeping, you’re sending away the friends that matter. The friends that will be there even if the moon does really crazy stuff that we can’t control.”
He heard a sniffle. He hitch of breath. “I—I didn’t think about that.”
“It’s easy to overlook things when you’re tired. I’m sure they’ll forgive you. And I’m sure they’ll be there even when all this nonsense gets worse.”
Mumbo nodded, and it was such a relief to think that he was finally getting to the man.
“Now, since it’s day, and you obviously need rest, how about we sleep until nightfall? Then we can stay up through the night and you can reconnect with everyone. You need people just as much as you need sleep.”
And it seemed Mumbo would continue to relent, as he followed Bdubs in search of beds. Bdubs wasn’t surprised this was a case of more talking sense into him than stopping the stubborn. Mumbo really wasn’t easily angered or difficult to sway. And he didn’t have an excessive ego that kept him from admitting help, so he was actually really open to sleeping when it boiled down to it.
Bdubs set up the beds while he waited on Mumbo to get changed into something more comfortable. It had taken a little insisting on his part to convince Mumbo that he’d be much better off in something like a t-shirt instead of suit and tie.
It wasn’t long before they were curled up in the darkness of the cave. Bdubs had his arm flung around Mumbo in a grip, keeping any potential of him leaving very small. Though it was unlikely. He was seriously out like a light. And despite this being more of a nap then proper sleep, Bdubs found himself falling fast soon. And it only helped to be pressed against someone else.
He’d done his job—well, at least, one fifth of his job.