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Theseus was already in his thirties when he was murdered the first time, thrown off a cliff by a king he had trusted, Lycomedes. He had lived a fulfilled life, Hero of Athens, King of Athens. He had a son before that he had foolishly exiled. Sure he had lost popularity in Athens in the end, but he had the pleasure of living for a long time. He could not say that he regretted death, only his trust in someone like Lycomedes.
Thomas was only six when the Black Death swept over England and he succumbed to it. It was a bloody sad life. His parents had been poor and he had worked in the fields for a little while before it hit him. He had shared one room with his siblings and parents and the taxes kept rising. He could not say he regretted death, only that he couldn’t live long enough to relish life.
Theodore was already in his sixties when he died of pneumonia. His parents in this life had been rich merchants from England and upon displaying signs of artistic talent, he had been sent to Italy to live through the age of the Renaissance. He had met da Vinci who had inspired him to pursue the arts. His art had made him rich and his marriage to the Medici family even more. He could not say he regretted death, only he wished he could have made his own life.
Terrence was only fifteen when he died at sea. He had boarded a ship to the Thirteen Colonies and never made it there. The promise of a new life had tempted him to leave behind the streets of his beloved hometown and while he had heard of the greenest fields and the most beautiful skies, he would never see them for death came in the form of a wave. He could not say he regretted death, only that he wouldn’t see those fields.
Timothy was already in his late eighties when he died of old age. He had lived a fulfilled life. The Age of Enlightenment had resulted in new manners of thinking and he had thrived in that. He had personally met several philosophers: Rousseau and Voltaire just two examples out of dozens. He had gotten on especially well with Voltaire who wrote praises of England. He had been capable of witnessing the fall of France’s monarchy and the American Revolution. He could not say he regretted death, only he wished he had contributed more to philosophy.
Tom was only eighteen when he died on the battlefield. War had raged over Europe and he had been drafted to fight for his motherland. His mother had given him a vest for the cold winters he would never wear. His father had given him a clock to wear on the battlefield. He was shot just months into the battle and he died just months short of victory. He could not say he regretted death, only he wished men weren’t selfish.
Trevor was already in his late fifties when he died of heart disease. He had lived his childhood days with rationing and soon later had watched as several of his friends joined the military in the various conflicts that Britain was involved in, especially in the Cold War. His parents never allowed it, his title of nobility always tying him down to his motherland. Many of his friends were gone by the time he died. He could not say he regretted death, only that he wished that the world would be more at peace.
Tommy was born on the 9th of April 2004.
He did not cry when he opened his eyes for the first time but looked around the room with curiosity. Tommy was born to simple parents in a simple home.
Yet he was anything but simple. He spoke his first word at two months and started walking at four. By the age of one, he was already reading books. By the time he joined a nursery, he drew semi-realistic drawings. The doctors called him gifted and a child genius. His parents called him their little genius. He was expected to finish uni at just nine.
Tommy was odd months reaching nine when he stood on the stage as valedictorian of his university year. Tommy was thousands of years old as he held up his doctorate but only twelve in physical appearance. Tommy was fifteen when he was knighted for outstanding achievements for his country for his research towards various cures, specifically the one towards cancerous cells. Tommy was sixteen when he received a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Tommy was nearing seventeen when he realised he had thrown away his first normal childhood because he was too smart. Tommy was the same age when he started Twitch.
Twitch was an easy escape. It didn’t require him to actually showcase his intelligence and he easily slipped into an outgoing and loud persona. He felt at ease just joking around and being a child. He may be wasting important time that could be spent at a lab, but he was happy.
“What is up, chat?! Welcome to another stream!” He laughed as an array of greetings bombarded him. “Yeah, I’m back with another stream on the Craft! Some Bedwars, trying to get the most wins in all of Bedwars!” He waited another few seconds as more comments came in. “‘Technoblade has the highest win streak who is Technoblade and how can I get rid of them?” Then he burst out into laughter again as several people came in offended. “Ok ok ok. Joke joke. I am not going to get rid of Technoblade, whoever that is.”
He logged into Minecraft and then joined the Hypixel server. “You won’t believe what happened today, chat! So I was talking to this guy and he is kind of famous because he’s a biochemist. He does structural biology which is so cool! We were talking today about his research on 3D structure determination in solution by NMR and the first thing he said was, ‘I thought you would be smaller, you look short in your photos.‘ The prick really called me short and tall in the same sentence!“
There were a few seconds of silence while Tommy mined the bed from some team. He glanced at the chat when he died to see comments like ‘WTF????’ ‘Yk biochemists?!’ ‘SmartInnit POG’ fuck
He exhaled. “Oh yeah, Dr Clore is a family friend of my gran’s. Forgot to mention it.” He laughed it off. “And I just want to become a biochemist someday. They are cool fucking people.” Tommy decisively left out that he was an award-winning biochemist and met the professor and doctor as a fellow of the Royal Society.
“Anyway, new lobby. Who is in here?” He pressed the key to look at the lobby. “Oh, Technoblade is in here.” It was true. He was in a lobby for three-player teams and in the red team, it was listed as ‘Technoblade, WilburSoot, Ph1LzA’. “Well time to end them.”
While his chat freaked out about what apparently were big names in the Minecraft community, he focused on getting the pig down. He forgot he was in a match of one vs three. The moment he had even advanced enough to mine the blocks around the bed, the green man, Ph1LzA had swooped in and killed him. And the moment he had respawned, Technoblade had come to take his bed. All he could do was run from the pig in a crown and hide while his bed was mined and his teammates killed. “Fuck.” He laughed as he ran from the sword-swinging pig and stumbled over the bridge. “Chat! This is a matter of all that is holy!” he screamed as his character ran from the arrow being shot at him. “Holy fuck!”
Tommy ended up hiding in their base. “Ok chat. No one says anything.” He shifted and went into F5 to watch them walking around, very obviously searching for him. “Chat are they streaming? Can someone confirm whether they’re streaming?”
He glanced to chat to see messages like ‘Phil is streaming’ ‘Wilbur is live!’ ‘Techno is on YouTube’. “Well fuck so I assume this is going to fucking suck for me. Thanks, stream snipers.” He grumbled but before he could wallow in self-pity, something orange came flying. Before he could even react, it exploded and sent his character flying backwards and right off the island. “Fuck!”
TommyInnit was fireballed by WilburSoot
Tommy sighed as he slid down his chair. “This sucks! Did anyone clip that? I want to see it from their point of view!” Apparently, someone did because he was sent a link by one of his mods. He would watch it later but for now, he joined a new lobby. “Alright boys, another round, another luck!” He snorted and leaned back. Right at that moment, a loud noise made itself very apparent and Tommy just realised what noise it was. “Thank you Philza for the raid with 9k viewers!” Another one came. “Thank you Wilbur Soot for the raid with 32k viewers! Holy shit!” He stared at his viewer count which was far more than he was used to. Then he glanced to the chat where hearts were sent with messages that all said ‘Technoraid’. Tommy was fucked.
Even more so at the Minecraft chat message he received.
Friend request from [Pig+++] Technoblade
Click one: [Accept] [Deny] [Ignore]
He frantically accepted the friend request.
[Pig+++] Technoblade invited [MVP] TommyInnit to the party. They have 60 seconds to accept.
Fuck. He started typing.
You have joined [Pig+++] Technoblade’s party!
[Pig+++] Technoblade: Good job, kid.
[MVP] TommyInnit: Thanks, Technoblade. You sucked.
[Pig+++] Technoblade: HEH????
[YouTuber] WilburSoot: I want to keep him
[YouTuber] Ph1LzA: Join the call, mate! I sent you a link on Twitter.
Tommy blinked, puzzled by all happenings. Then he opened his Stream Twitter on another tab and went to DMs. He quickly found the link, the man was verified, and clicked on it. It led him to a server called ‘SBI’.
[MVP] TommyInnit: on stream????
[YouTuber] Ph1LzA: whatever you want, mate.
Was he comfortable joining on stream? Not really, no. Therefore he bid his chat goodbye and tried to prepare himself mentally for the call. When he joined, it was to bickering.
“We can’t just adopt a random child!”
Tommy blinked. “What the fuck.”
“Hello, Tommy, mate!” The green-iconed man greeted him. “Glad you joined the call!”
“What was about adoption?”
“Nothing,” a more monotone voice answered. The pink icon with the pig. “I’m Techno.”
“And I’m Wilbur!” The last icon said.
“I’m Phil.”
“Tommy, but you know that.” He frowned. “Anyway fancy meeting y’all.”
It was quiet following that, none of them really knowing him enough to ask him anything and him not knowing them enough to ask them anything.
“So uh… what do you study, Tommy?” Phil finally questioned
“What do I study?”
“Yes. What do you study at uni?”
He blinked several times. “I don’t go to uni.”
“Oh, so you’re taking a gap year?” Wilbur asked.
Fuck what do 16-year-olds do? “I’m doing my A-Levels right now.”
His statement was followed by silence. “So you’re not an adult?” Technoblade asked.
“Nah. I have a few months before I’m 17.”
“Ok. Then what do you do for A-Levels, Tommy?”
Tommy took a few seconds to respond. He had obviously taken his A-Levels but that was when he was seven. “Biology, Chemistry, and Life and Health Sciences.”
“Oh wow. A STEM student.” Wilbur whistled. “I don’t think I could do any of them.”
“You’re not very smart, are you?”
“Ok, that’s it, Phil! I’m adopting him!”
“You’re doing none of that, Wilbur!”
Technoblade sighed.
And Tommy laughed because these three men were hilarious.
Wilbur never did get around to officially adopting him but it seemed that way anyhow.
Phil treated him like a son, listening to him ramble about stem cells and Bedwars even if he only understood one of those. He asked him questions about the stem cells, even if he could not follow the conversation, and Tommy gladly told him more. He would encourage him to pursue biochemistry and would send him words of advice.
Wilbur treated him like a brother, bickering with him and exchanging insults like candy. On good days they would hop on a server Phil created for the four of them and continue building the literal palace Techno had begun someday. On bad days they would talk through the night, Wilbur missing some band practice in the morning, and Tommy calling in sick to the lab.
Technoblade had hesitated to treat him like a brother, staying a bit further away from him despite being the first to reach out, yet with time he came around. He would tell Tommy of his philosophical discourse all while slaughtering him on Hypixel. Tommy would in return tell Techno about all the chemical stuff while building another cobblestone tower. They would meet in the middle with history. Sure, Tommy once knew the best philosophers in history, but he never really invested in philosophy after the Age of Enlightenment. To listen to Techno talking about anarchism was worth getting murdered.
By the time June rolled around, he had turned seventeen in the meantime, they were not only friends but also family.
“Hey, Tommy. How’s A-Levels going?” Phil asked him on stream someday.
“A-Levels?” He blinked. “Oh yeah, A-Levels. Pretty well. Pretty well. The exams are starting next week so I look forward to getting A*A*A*.”
“You’re so full of yourself, Tommy.” Wilbur rolled his eyes, at least he could see from the stream open in his tabs. “Three A*? Where did you apply to?”
“I mean, my parents and I filled out applications for all the big ones.”
“What do you mean by ‘all the big ones’?” Techno snorted.
“Harvard, Cambridge, Stanford, Oxford, the likes. Sometimes I think you are stupid, Techno.”
“Not all of us can do biochemistry.” Techno sounded like he was rolling his eyes.
“L.”
“+ Ratio,” Wilbur added.
“Phil, they are bullying me.”
“Boys, don’t bully your brother.”
“But Phil! Bullying Techno is fun!” Wilbur pouted.
“We don’t encourage bullying, boys!”
“It’s fine if it’s Techno!” Tommy laughed in response.
“Phil!”
“I actually applied for UC.”
Technoblade seemed to pause. Then he asked him, “You applied for the University of California?”
“Berkeley, yes.”
“Why? Do they even have a biochemical program?”
“Not really. They do molecular and cell biology but with an emphasis on biochemistry.” Tommy knew he wouldn’t end up pursuing another degree, or he would but not in the same subject. Maybe he could get into philosophy to honour his former friend.
“Then why did you apply?”
“Well, you live in San Francisco, Techno,” Phil remarked
“That doesn’t mean he should move to San Francisco! Heh?!” He practically yelled in that iconic panicked voice.
“They have a cool curriculum!” He protested. “And I hate America! Americans are wronguns! Wronguns, I tell you!”
“Why do you even hate America so much?”
Tommy blinked and then looked to the right, Terrence being the reflection he saw. “Because we never made it to America.”
“What was that?”
Tommy turned back to the screen. “Nothing. Just thought I heard someone.” He laughed. “But America just sucks! There are too many people!”
“There are too many people everywhere!”
“Yee motherfucking haw,” Tommy responded, leaving Techno with a massive question mark.
The months passed quickly, too quickly in fact. Soon it was August and Tommy was chilling in a discord call with the rest of SBI. He was tired from a day spent looking at stem cells and he wasn’t very attentive to the subjects spoken about. Tommy just found comfort in listening to them talk to one another.
“Tommy?”
“Hm, what’s the matter, Wil?”
“What did you end up getting on your A-Levels?”
“Triple A*,” he murmured. “Wasn’t very hard.”
“Holy shit, congratulations Tommy!” Wilbur smiled at the same time Phil and Techno expressed their pride.
Tommy just smiled tiredly. “It’s nothing, Wil.”
“What do you mean nothing? Triple A*! Not many can do that.”
“I can.” He yawned.
“Where are you going to go, Tommy?” Phil asked him.
“I don’t know. Might take a gap year. Technically all unis would accept me but I really don’t know.” He tapped his desk. “Not really one for academics.”
“Didn’t you want to study biochemistry?”
“You know, Techno, I have the qualifications to teach biochem but I don’t think I have the will to study biochem right now.”
“You have the qualifications to teach biochem?”
Tommy blinked, suddenly jolting awake. Fuck. “I meant that in the figurative sense, Blade! I could totally teach biochem with my two A* in biology and chemistry! I am just the biggest man alive!”
“Sure, Tommy.” Techno seemed to indulge him if the smile on his face was any worth. “Tell me about the structure of a cell then.”
“The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.”
“Wow, I would have never known.” Techno deadpanned.
It was funny, watching their expressions through the screen. Wilbur seemed to be trying to hold back his laughter, Phil was listening with a smile as he was likely on the Minecraft server, and Techno was still looking rather dismayed about Tommy. It was like that, that he could enjoy moments of his childhood. Just joking around with his friends, having no specific agenda in mind other than a certain need to annoy them. It gave him the illusion that he was neither a so-called child genius nor millenni-old.
It was too easy to forget.
“Hey Toms, I don’t want to be rude or anything but when are you going to face reveal?” Wilbur asked.
“Face reveal?” Tommy frowned. He had never realised how weird it must be to see only an icon while he could see the other three. “I–“ he hesitated. His face was well-known. Sometimes on the streets he would be stopped by some science nerd and asked for a picture. He knew none of them were science nerds but he knew that Techno kept up with the Nobel Prize winners just in case he would be stopped on the streets with the opportunity of winning a few bucks.
“You don’t have to, mate. But if whatever is holding you back, is insecurity, then I can promise you that we won’t mind.”
“No! Phil! It’s just–“ he paused. “I’m not really a fan of the whole ‘people on the internet knowing my face thing’, right? I mean, you are all like family to me but it just kind of feels… weird.”
“Hey it’s fine if it’s a little weird, Tommy,” Techno said. “It took me a while to trust you guys with my face as well. We won’t force you to reveal your face to us if you don’t want to.”
“Thanks, Tech.” He glanced down at the keyboard, his finger hovering over the face cam shortcut he had set so long ago. Then he sighed. “Thank you, everyone.”
“There’s no need to thank us!” Wilbur grinned, though it held a subtle sheepishness.
Tommy smiled. In the end, no matter what happened, he would have the three of them.
“And this is it, chat! Thank you for all your twitch primes and subs! If you haven’t yet, if you have Amazon Prime, you will have a free twitch prime sub! Just check if you have one! Bye-bye!”
It was a solo stream so none of the other sleepy bois were there. Tommy leaned back in his chair with a content smile.
“What are you doing?”
Tommy jumped at the sudden voice, yet when he turned to look to his right, he only saw a small child. “Who are you?”
“Thomas be my name” the child answered.
It took a moment for Tommy to collect himself. Because what he saw was the shadow of himself, a poor child wrapped in awful cloth caked in mud. “You’re me.”
“I’m you from a long time ago!” Thomas declared. “And you are me now.”
“I know.” Tommy blinked. “But why are you here?”
“Because She thought that today was my day.”
“Your day?”
“The day where my wish is fulfilled.” Thomas smiled and Tommy was tempted to smile if it weren’t for the buboes and the shadow over his eyes. “So what are you doing?”
“I was just streaming.”
“Do you enjoy it?”
“I do. I’m enjoying my life a lot right now. Lab work sucks but I’m glad to be able to hang with my friends and entertain people.”
Thomas smiled and nodded his head. “I’m glad.”
For a few moments, there was nothing. Yet when Tommy blinked, his shadow was gone. The happy laughter of a child remained.
It was a boring day. He had spent the last three days slumped over a microscope, trying to get cells to behave the way he wanted them to. He had slept in the meantime, but the adrenaline he got from the lasting supply of coffee was enough to make him last a good 48 hours before he crashed and slept for seven hours, only to return to his research.
The sun was out in jolly good rainy London and his back ached as he walked past the V&A museum to his sad flat in Chelsea. Today was a Thursday so it wasn’t too busy. London was not yet in a rush and his Chelsea flat, which had belonged to a certain Baron Trevor of whatever, was only a few streets away. So it came as a surprise when he ran into someone. “Fuck!” And fell right down.
“Oh shit, are you alright?”
Tommy groaned in pain. “I feel like shit.”
“Same.”
He opened his eyes to look at who that comedic fuck was and came face to face with a familiar face. “Wilbur?!”
“Damn I ran into a fan.” Wilbur laughed and then reached out a hand to help him up. “Ayup?”
“What are you doing in London?” He took the hand and helped himself up. “I thought you lived in Brighton?”
“Just some YouTube stuff.” He then became serious. “But are you alright? You did fall pretty hard.”
“I think my appendix just burst.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m alright.”
Wilbur chuckled before taking a look at his phone. “Shit. I’m late. Do you want anything else? An autograph? A picture?”
“A picture would be cool.” He tucked out his phone. They took a quick picture together before Wilbur ran off with a goodbye.
Tommy snickered to himself and then switched to his professional Twitter page.
Tommy Simons PhD FRS ✔︎ @TommySimons
Just met @WilburSoot
[image depicting Tommy and Wilbur next to one another, Tommy smiling brightly with his teeth showing, and Wilbur giving a peace sign with a more hesitant smile]
“You met Tommy Simons and you didn’t even know?!”
“I am sorry, Techno!”
It was far later in the day when he hung out on a call with his brothers. Phil couldn’t make it as he had plans with his wife– simp.
“He just walked into me! I don’t know every Nobel prize winner!”
“He is the youngest Nobel Prize winner in the world!”
“Why are you all talking about Tommy Simons now?”
“Are you kidding me, Tommy?” Technoblade threw his hands in the air. “He’s a genius!”
“What did he do?”
“Stem cells! He researches stem cells and focuses specifically on the chemical manipulation of cells. If his research succeeds, diseases would be prevented so much easier!”
“Sounds sick.” Tommy snorted.
“He changed the way cells can be viewed forever!” Techno yelled.
“We got it, Techno. You’re a huge fan of Tommy Simons.” Wilbur pouted. “What? Did you want an autograph? You can tweet it out to him so maybe he’ll actually give you one.”
“I’m sure he’s busy with his research.”
“It’s worth a try, Tech,” Tommy tried to encourage him.
Technoblade went silent after that.
“Techno?”
Just then, he received a notification.
Technoblade ✔︎ @Technothepig
May I have an autograph @TommySimons?
“You did it, Techno!” Tommy cheered for his brother.
“I hope he actually sends one because otherwise, it will be the most embarrassing tweet I’ve ever sent.” Techno glanced at his phone again and then set it aside. “What were you up to, Tommy?”
“Went to the Imperial College of London and had a tour of campus.”
“We could have met up, Tommy!” Wilbur exclaimed. “I was literally in the area!”
“You wouldn’t have recognised me, Wil.” He wouldn’t know how much truth was in his words.
“Did you meet Tommy Simons as well?” Techno questioned exasperated.
“Nope! Sadly I did not.” He grabbed a piece of paper and a sharpie. “I was in a whole other part of Imperial.”
“At least one brother did not disappoint me.”
“What do you mean, ‘disappoint’?!” Wilbur gasped.
While the two started bickering, Tommy drew a small doodle of a pig in a crown and gave his signature next to it.
Tommy Simons PhD FRS ✔︎ @TommySimons
Replying to @Technothepig
For my biggest fan
[image depicting a doodle of a pig in a crown with a signature next to it]
To hear Techno’s happy squeal and see his smile upon seeing the tweet was enough to make the last three days worth it.
“We should do a meet-up someday!”
“A meet-up?” Tommy frowned. “When?”
“Someday!” Wilbur grinned as he shot a fireball at Tommy’s character. “We could title it ‘SBI meet-up’ and gain millions of views!”
“I would totally capitalise on Phil,” Techno agreed.
“What?!”
“I don’t know. I’m pretty booked for the next few months.” His view was caught by the calendar strung over his monitor. He had been invited abroad for a few months to continue his research therefore a meet-up would take a while.
“Techno will need a visa anyway to come here for a longer time.”
“Phil, who is saying I will be coming to the UK? You should all come to the US!”
“What are you going to be busy with, Tommy?”
“Well, Wilbur, I am a busy man with a busy life.” He chuckled. “Nah, my parents are going on vacation and taking me with them.”
“You’re lucky. I wish I could get a paid vacation.” Wilbur sulked. “It’s so bloody boring here!”
“You could come up to Newcastle to be with Kristin and me. Go to the zoo. The only child action.”
“I get to hang out with both Mumza and Dadza? I’m going to be the favourite child by the end of the stay!” Wilbur grinned.
“Hard pass. We all know that Tech is their favourite.” Tommy shot a fireball at Wilbur.
“Actually, Tommy is Kristin’s favourite.”
“What the fuck?! So I’m no one’s favourite?!” Wilbur bemoaned his sorrow. “This sucks.”
“At least you get to spend time with Phil and Kristin. I’m left all alone in the United States!”
“I’m…faceless.” Tommy voiced his thoughts monotonously. It was silent for a few seconds, then the call broke out into laughter.
“Quotebook! Quotebook!” Wilbur yelled.
“Tommy please never get a filter.” Phil laughed as he tried to dodge a player coming for him.
“And get rid of my awesome jokes? Never!” And then he screamed when he was pushed off the Bedwars island by someone.
“Skill issues,” Techno said.
“Oh fuck off, Techno.” He sighed and then glanced up at the calendar again. ‘USA trip’ was written across it.
“You all must be bored as hell by everything I’ve said. Scramble already.” Tommy released his students. Said students quickly left, either just happy to be gone from their young professor, some genuinely needing to get to another lecture. Either way, the hall was empty within moments.
Tommy sighed bitterly. Teaching was more stressful than lab work. He had accepted a teaching offer as soon as he got one. He had hoped that by accepting it, he would be granted a break but not only did he have lectures now, but he was also still furthering his research. And adding on to that, he had calls with the rest of the Bois almost daily.
Luckily it was only for the fall semester.
He stepped out of the lecture hall himself and walked out of faculty building. Berkerly’s warm October weather greeted him. For a second he stopped to inhale the air.
When he exhaled, Terrence sat on the stairs next to him. “So we made it?”
“This is California. It isn’t one of the original thirteen.” He looked at the boy who looked so similar to him but lived not more than fifteen years. “We won’t find the green pastures we were looking for.”
“But we came to America? We’re here?” He asked again, the cloth barely hanging over his shoulders, too small for a boy his height. His blonde hair was dirty with dust and grime. His blue eyes were shadowed by a horrible childhood.
“We are here. We made it.” Tommy gave a quick smile. “This is America. It’s not the perfect land we have dreamed of, but it’s America.”
Terrence smiled and nodded his head. “I’m glad.”
For a few seconds, the echo of a terrible storm rang in his ears. The sound of waves crashing against the meagre walls of the ship. Tommy blinked and Terrence was gone, leaving behind nothing.
Tommy turned his head away, decisively walking towards the grocery store he had wanted to reach anyhow.
When he walked in, he was first greeted by the AC. Then he grew dizzy from seeing the sizes of everything around him. Despite a week spent here, he could never get used to the portion sizes.
He was contemplating between a salad and a sandwich when he suddenly heard a voice behind him. “Tommy Simons.”
Oh well. He turned around and his eyes widened as he came face to face with another familiar figure. “Technoblade.”
“You know me? Like my face?!” His brother wore the same disbelieving look.
“I’ve watched some of your videos. You’re really good at Minecraft PvP.”
“Thank you.” The answer came out in a breath, rather than from his voice.
Tommy smiled. “Could I have a picture?”
“A picture?” Techno nodded rapidly. In fact he was so fast that Tommy feared his head may fall off. “Sure!”
“Nice.” Tommy tucked out his phone and took a quick picture with Techno before Techno asked for one in return. They took that one as well and then Techno just stood in front of him.
“So… uh… what are you doing in Berkeley?”
“I’m teaching. At the University of California.”
“So you live here now?”
“It’s just for the autumn semester.”
“Oh…” Techno seemed disappointed at the revelation.
“But I’m probably going to be making several visits afterwards to visit staff or give a lecture or whatever,” he added quickly.
Techno perked up at that. “Sounds good. I think I’m not going to be in San Francisco all the time anyway, that with me maybe going to visit the others.”
“SBI meet-up?”
“Exactly.”
“Sounds cool.” He reached to the back to grab a random sandwich. “I’ve single-handedly met 2/4.”
“You’re one step closer than I am.” Techno then took a step back. “Am I holding you back? I don’t mean to waste your time. I’m so sorry.”
“Hey, it’s fine.” Tommy laughed. “Besides, I’m a huge fan of yours too.” Then he walked away, leaving behind a flabbergasted Techno. He paid for his sandwich and then left to walk to another lecture hall.
Prof. Tommy Simons PhD FRS ✔︎ @TommySimons
Just met @Technothepig
[image depicting Technoblade and Tommy, Tommy smiling brightly while an intricate digital drawing covered parts of Techno, including a crown, cape, boar mask, and a few strands of pink hair]
Technoblade ✔︎ @Technothepig
Replying to @TommySimons
Just met @TommySimons
[image depicting Technoblade and Tommy, Tommy smiling brightly while Techno was smiling nervously]
Technoblade ✔︎ @Technothepig
Replying to @TommySimons
Also, why can you draw, bruh
Prof. Tommy Simons PhD FRS ✔︎ @TommySimons
Replying to @Technothepig and @TommySimons
Skill issues
“How was your vacation, Tommy?”
“Exhausting. How can people be so stupid?” He sighed. He was hunched over exam papers, marking another wrong answer.
“As stupid as you are?” Wilbur quipped.
“Fuck you, Wilbur.” He grumbled before falling back in his chair. He had told them he had returned after two months, as it was November now, but he was still teaching students that slowly reached burnout. And he kept bumping into Technoblade.
“But now you’re back, how about we do the meet-up?”
“In November? London is bloody soggy in November.”
“But there are beautiful lights all over.”
“I don’t know.” Tommy looked at his calendar on which USA trip still took up the rest of the year. “Maybe we could meet in Spring? And somewhere entirely foreign to us all.”
“Where?” Techno asked.
“How about Paris?” The last time he had been to Paris, he had witnessed the fall of the monarchy. Yet at the same time, he had enjoyed sitting in his drawing room with his philosopher friends.
“Paris?”
“Paris is pretty neat. Smells like piss everywhere but I like to believe that it has hopefully changed.”
“Are you ready to reveal your face reveal to us, mate?” Phil asked him in that fatherly voice of his.
“No.” He didn’t hesitate. “I’m not ready but I think I want to meet all of you.”
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Techno said. “You could turn up in a box and we would be alright with that. You may not get into the louvre like that though.”
“If you don’t feel ready, you don’t have to face reveal, Toms. It’s solely your decision,” Wilbur encouraged him.
“I know… I’m probably going to think about it again.” He sighed.
“Take however long you need.”
Soon after, he hung up the call, thoroughly exhausted from grading papers. He sat up from his chair and walked out of his office towards his bedroom, only to find a boy sitting on his bed. “It’s you.”
“It’s me.” Tom smiled as he stood. The uniform on his body seemed too large on him despite his height. It was torn at one side from what Tommy knew was the knife of an enemy. “You look good.”
“I’m the best,” he agreed. “What are you here for?”
“Well, you already spoke to Thomas and Terrence.” Tom looked around the room. “It is my turn now. This isn’t England, right?”
“No, we are in the United States. And your turn with what?”
“My wish. I wished for less selfishness.”
“And I fulfilled that?”
“You fulfilled selflessness but your friends did so too. I know enough people who would insist on you showing your face.” Tom reached a hand out to him. “You found good people.”
“They are the best.” He took his hand.
Tom smiled and nodded his head. “I’m glad.”
When Tommy next blinked, the boy was gone. And Tommy was glad he did not have to look at singed blonde hair, empty eyes, and a burnt face anymore. Yet the ringing in his ears remained.
“We will miss you, Professor Simons.”
“Hey, I’ve only taught you all for the autumn semester.” He laughed as a bouquet was handed to him. “Just because I’m your favourite professor, it doesn’t mean I’ll be gone. I will still do guest lectures.”
“Yes but you are at least entertaining.”
“Yeah because I’m not old. Come on now, off you go. I’ll be back for your graduation.”
His class for freshmen bid their goodbyes and left him in the lecture hall after a few more presents and a few more hugs. He almost regretted leaving when he saw some of their expressions but he was just not a teacher.
“Professor Simons, huh?”
Tommy looked up to see Technoblade standing at the entrance. “How did you even get in?”
“Got a visitor’s pass. One of my relatives goes here.” He walked into the hall and came down the stairs to him. “The semester is over now?”
“It is.” He logged out of his PowerPoint presentation. “But I’ll be back next semester for guest lectures.”
“So you’ll have to take the Prof out of your Twitter name?”
“Oh fuck off, Technoblade.” He reached into his bag to hand over a paper to him. “I was hoping I could meet you one more time.”
Techno took the paper from him. Then he gasped. “Is that the autograph?”
“The original.” He relished in the way Techno seemed a lot brighter than before, practically glowing with happiness. “You should have it.”
“Tommy, if I didn’t already have a brother named Tommy, I would adopt you.”
“Shut up, Techno.”
“I’m serious! You’re a genius but still one of the most kind-hearted people I know.”
“Are you surprised?” Tommy grabbed his keys and walked towards the door leading out of the lecture hall.
“I shouldn’t be. But for a famous kid, you are very humble.” Techno followed him.
“For a famous YouTuber, you are very humble. You haven’t capitalised on me yet.”
“What can I say, I’m a humble man.” Techno shrugged. “And I don’t capitalise on my little brother.”
“I have a PhD and you would capitalise on Tommy.”
“I wouldn’t capitalise on Tommy, if anything he would capitalise on me! And even though you have a PhD, I am definitely older and therefore your older brother.”
“I fear the day SBI breaks into my house.”
Techno laughed at his comment and Tommy couldn’t hide his smile. During his stay in San Francisco, he had spent several times meeting with Techno, even if the other didn’t know he was the same Tommy he would speak with on Discord. Hell Techno had even taken him to Disneyland and then they had a terrible realisation that there were indeed too many people and so they left not even five minutes later.
“You are such a child.” Technoblade patted his hair. “You remind me of Tommy.”
“Hey, maybe I am actually Tommy in disguise.” He gave a horrible wink.
“I would know if you were Tommy.” He smiled. “My Tommy hates the US. Would never set foot here.”
“Maybe you’re right, Techno. But I’m still Tommy, innit?”
“Again, you’re such a child.” Techno then stopped him. “I also wanted to give you something before you go.”
“Something before I go?”
“Yes. See. I…” Techno paused, suddenly running red. “I’m not social enough for this. Here.” He handed him a piece of paper. “ItriedtodrawapictureforyoubutIdon’tkmowhowtodrawsopleaseIhopeit’salright.”
Tommy blinked, speechless at the word flow. But he got the general gist of it. “Thank you, Techno.” He accepted the gift and his eyes widened. “Oh wow.” It was a sketch of him. Not everything was perfect and some lines were blurred. Some parts were not correctly shaded. But he knew it came from the heart and that was all that counted. “Thank you…” he whispered.
“I tried following one of those fancy YouTube tutorials.” He fiddled with his hands. “I hope you like it.”
“I–“ he hugged him, careful not to squeeze him too hard. “Thank you, Techno.”
“You like it?!” Techno wrapped his arms around him.
“I love it, Tech!”
“Good. It took me a few hours.”
“Skill issues.”
A few days later, Tommy was on the plane back to the UK in his comfortable Business class seat. He was sipping his orange juice, which was apparently the alternative to champagne, and reading a newspaper article about some scientific discovery in the Arctic. The drawing Techno had done for him was safely stowed away in his suitcase in a picture frame and the other gifts he had received from his students were already shipped off to his Londoner home. No research was waiting for him at home but instead small chocolates and beautiful bouquets and if anything, it eased him.
“So it’s my turn now?”
Tommy looked to his left to see an elderly man instead of the empty seat. “I suppose so.”
“I can’t believe you would decide to be a child genius instead of living a normal life after mine.”
“Being trapped in a baby’s body while being millennia old gets old sometimes.” He set the newspaper down. “And it wasn’t exactly my decision. I did balance it with Twitch.”
“That you did. How do you feel?”
“I didn’t pay for a therapy session when I booked the flight.”
“I’m not a therapist.” Trevor rolled his eyes. “I was a baron.”
“Involuntarily,” he added. “So what was your wish?”
“Peace.”
“I didn’t achieve world peace.” He unfolded the newspaper again. “I doubt anyone ever will.”
“No one will ever achieve full world peace. But that’s how the world goes.” He hit him with his cane. “But you have something that I didn’t achieve.”
“Fuck you. Not die from heart disease?” He rubbed his head.
“Very funny.” Trevor adjusted his suit jacket. “No. You’ve achieved internal peace.”
“Fuck internal peace, you just hit me with your cane.”
“You ungrateful child.”
“I am you!” Tommy sighed. “But… I suppose you’re right. I think I’m at peace with myself. I have Wilbur, Techno, and Phil to rely on.”
“You do. And you finally do what you’ve always wanted.”
“What is it?”
“You finally get to live a normal life. Sure you may be famous but you get to be a child.” A hand petted his hair. “You’re at peace, kid.”
“I’m too old to be called kid by you.” He looked away and then sighed with a smile. “But I suppose it’s true. I’m at peace.”
Trevor smiled and nodded his head. “I’m glad.”
Tommy looked back and he was gone. It was unnerving to see the reflection of himself but at a very different time. Yet the faint music, he recognised as a Vera Lynn song, in his ears was a pleasant reminder.
“How are you doing today?”
“As well as any day.”
“I hear you don’t do research anymore?”
“Not really.” Tommy took a sip from his tea. “But you can’t really fault me, Dr Campbell.”
“I’ve told you several times to call me Clementine.” She rolled her eyes at his snickering.
Professor Clementine Campbell had been his professor at his university and had mentored him throughout his bachelor, master's, and PhD. She retired soon after he had won his Nobel Prize but they still met whenever he had time to catch up and have tea.
“I’m glad though. You seem happier.”
“I do?” Tommy grabbed a biscuit from the pile on the plate. “I’m not much happier, Professor.”
“No. You clearly are.” She smiled. “You stopped explicitly doing research and got a lot happier. I’m happy for you, Tommy.”
“I found people that made me happy.”
“I’m happy you did. But I need you to know to not rely on others for your happiness. You alone can make yourself the happiest person. Sometimes being selfish is ok.”
“I know.” He lowered his eyes. “I always thought I had to do Biochem to make everyone happy because I was a genius but I enjoy entertaining people more. I enjoy talking more than I enjoy hunched over a microscope.”
“I am glad you prioritise yourself now, Tommy. You know, I started teaching because I didn’t want to sit hunched over a microscope anymore,” his professor admitted.
“You did?” He took another sip of tea.
“I enjoyed my job of course. But you can only do something for so long before it gets boring.” She handed him another biscuit. “Eat more, boy. You’re going thin on me.”
“It comes with the stress of teaching.” He laughed and then took it gratefully. “Why did you choose to teach though?”
“Well if I didn’t do the research, then I could at least teach the generation of tomorrow.” She poured more tea for herself. “But frankly, I enjoy retirement a lot more than I did enjoy teaching.”
“Everyone enjoys retirement. I would enjoy retirement too.”
“Retirement would be boring without you, Tommy.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“It’s terribly boring having nothing to do, Tommy.” She huffed. “All I can do is watch the telly and hope not to see today’s politics fall onto itself.”
“Don’t they always? And Professor, you could also watch me.”
“I already do that, Tommy. Don’t be silly.” She smiled. “You’ve always been my favourite after all.”
“I’ve decided to meet up with you.”
“Are you sure, Tommy?”
“I’m sure,” he reiterated.
“4/4 Sleepy Bois Inc!” Wilbur cheered.
“Four out of four.” Tommy smiled. “How about we do it in Paris? Sometimes in April, maybe?”
“How about we meet on your birthday? Your birthday is in April, right?” Techno asked.
“It is. April 9th.”
“Then let’s meet in Paris on the 9th of April.” Phil was smiling into the camera. “Proud of you, mate.”
“Thank you, Phil.” He couldn’t fight off the warmth that spread through his chest when he received a compliment from his father figure.
“But where are we going to meet?!” Wilbur yelled.
“How about the Louvre?” Techno suggested. “I quite enjoy art.”
“The Louvre is probably the best place to meet up,” Tommy agreed. “We get to bicker about art!”
“What do you think, Wilbur?” Phil inquired.
“I think that I want to steal the French Crown Jewels so I wholeheartedly agree with Techno and Tommy!”
“Then it is settled!” Phil announced. “We will meet on the 9th of April in front of the weird pyramid thingy of the Louvre.”
“I should start getting ready for all the bureaucratic things that come with being an American.” Techno sighed. “Do you think 90 days is enough for us to make content that lasts a few months? Or else I won’t come.”
“You never upload anyway, Techno,” Wilbur complained. “But you are still somehow the second most popular out of us all.”
“What can I say? I’m better than you.”
“The first thing I will do once I meet you is dye your hair pink.”
“That would be on brand though and I will always do everything for the brand.”
“You’re such a sellout, Techno! A sellout!”
“Boys, don’t argue!”
Tommy chuckled to himself. The bickering and bantering were starting to grow on him. He loved the way Techno and Wilbur would exchange insults and how Phil would try his best to intervene while silently enjoying it himself. He stood up and silently marked the 9th of April.
‘Family reunion!’
“You’re going to Paris?”
“That I am.”
“Why not Florence? It is a much more beautiful city.”
“It is. But you didn’t enjoy Florence, Theodore.” Tommy cast a look at the man dressed in the finest Florentine clothes. “You enjoyed the art, but not the marriage tying you down.”
“Art is a beautiful thing. Being part of the Medici, much less.” Theodore walked towards him to peer into his suitcase. “You should pack more shoes.”
“I will. I will.” He rolled his eyes. “Now why are you here?”
“The fulfilment of my wish.” He picked up the picture Techno had drawn for him. “Not very flattering.”
“God I forgot I used to be a douche.” He snatched the picture right back and set it on the desk again. “What was your wish?”
“You should know, you’re me.”
“I know. And I know you were unhappy, asshole. But why are you here?”
Theodore huffed. “How can someone be happy if they never had the chance to make their own life? I mean, mother and father sent me off before I had the chance to express myself! I enjoyed drawing with Leonardo but that was it! How can art thrive in the fruits of a loveless marriage?”
“It can’t.”
“That you are right about.” Theodore rolled his eyes. “Anyhow. My failed marriage is not the reason I am here. The reason for my presence is that you have made your own life.”
“My own life?” He raised a brow.
“How can a child genius be so stupid? Yes, your own life, idiot. You are going to Paris because you have friends you care about who you want to meet. You are not going to Paris for business or whatever it is people do nowadays.” He patted his head. “You have done more than I could have hoped for.”
“I think… yes. I have made my own life.”
“Good. Now pursue it.”
“I will if you stop nagging me!” He tried to kick him but his shadow self stepped out of the way. “I hate you.”
Theodore smiled and nodded his head. “I’m glad.”
The next thing he knew, he was gone. The slow Florencia music was all that remained, paired with a brush over a rough canvas.
“Here you go. Have a good flight, Dr Simons.”
“Thank you. Have a lovely day.” He gave a quick nod to the British Airways staff at the counter and then hurried off towards the security check. He hadn’t had a good time on flights within the EU ever since the UK decided to up and leave. Therefore he wanted to reach the gate as soon as possible.
He did not account for the old man.
“Tommy Simons!”
“Philza Minecraft! Now if that isn’t the biggest crossover.” He tried briefly to make himself look presentable. “What are you doing at Heathrow Airport?”
“Flying to California to visit some of Kristin’s relatives.” Phil smiled with a well-meaning smile.
Only then did Tommy realise the other person. “Kristin Minecraft!”
“What’s up, Tommy,” Kristin greeted him. “Techno is a big fan of yours.”
“Oh, I know. I’m friends with him. Met him too many times in my semester of teaching.” Then he shook his head to gather his thoughts. “It is so cool meeting you here!”
“It’s cool meeting you here, mate.” Phil smiled warmly. “Can I get a picture before you have to go?”
“Sure! My flight to Paris doesn’t leave for another two hours.”
“Paris? What a coincidence! Techno, Wilbur, Tommy, and I wanted to meet up in Paris.”
Tommy paused. Fuck what could he say? It was still February so it wasn’t as suspicious. “I have a conference concerning stem cells there and then I will be doing guest lectures at PSL. Otherwise, it’s largely research.”
“Sounds like a busy schedule for a young man.”
He took the picture with both parental figures and then asked for one in return.
“You’ve successfully met three out of four, Tommy!”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Tommy here meets Tommy before all of us do.” Phil smiled. “You’ve literally met Technoblade.”
“Not very hard when both of us were in the same city for months.” He returned the smile. “Thank you, Phil, for being so cool.”
“Aw, mate. No need to thank me.” He patted his shoulder. “You’re good.”
“Philza Minecraft. You are so cool. If I had a dad as cool as you, I would be the happiest boy on Earth.”
“Phil, you have another son!” Kristin was smiling from ear to ear before holding Tommy in a side hug. “And I have got another son as well!”
“Kristin, we can't just adopt every single child we see.” Phil held a content expression anyway.
“I am not a child, I am a Nobel laureate.” Tommy rolled his eyes before looking at the huge sign. “Fuck. I’m going to be late.”
“Isn’t your flight in two hours?”
“Yeah but the EU and UK don’t meet well.” He groaned. “And my name is rather well-known so I end up having to speak to science nerds and while that is lovely, I also do not quite feel like speaking to every single one of them.”
“Must be tiresome,” Phil commented.
“It is!” He sighed. “Well then, have a safe flight, Phil and Phil’s wife!”
“Have a safe flight too, Phil’s son!” Kristin snickered.
“Kristin!”
Tommy waved until he couldn’t see them anymore and then made a run for the gate. He had plenty of time left, he had just been paranoid, but he indulged himself in the free biscuits he received in the lounge.
Once he was settled in the air with his laptop open and people notified of his arrival, he went on Twitter.
Tommy Simons PhD FRS ✔︎ @TommySimons
Just met @Ph1LzA and @trixtin
[image depicting Tommy smiling brightly with Phil smiling that dad smile and Kristin mirroring Tommy’s smile]
Philza Minecraft ✔︎ @Ph1LzA
Replying to @TommySimons
Little shit
Trixtin @trixtin
Replying to @TommySimons
Son <3
“Nous avons arrivés, docteur Simons”
“D’accord, merci beaucoup, monsieur.” He paid his fee and got out of the car, dragging his suitcase with him towards the beautiful house. It was just outside of the French capital which was making it even more surprising that it had survived the Second World War. Yet the chateau was still standing and while it had undergone several renovations in the names of different Tommies throughout the history, it was still standing.
Tommy looked up at the beautiful facade and admired the well-cut landscape around him. Before his arrival, he had asked some companies to take care of the estate before he would move in for his stay in France. Furthermore, he had his electronics delivered and dedicated a room to the newest technology.
Not wanting to waste another second, he entered.
Immediately memories hit. The last time he had been here, he had sat in the drawing room with his friends, sharing thoughts on the future of the world and drinking wine one of them had purchased. He could still hear the laughter, the excitement, and the joy for the future. The weight of Voltaire’s arm still sat on his shoulder.
Tommy shuddered and continued walking. Paris was never his permanent resident. He had always been born in England, therefore unless he moved away, he preferred staying there. Yet Paris was the place where he knew he would return to someday so each room was filled with something one of his previous lives really appreciated or wanted to share with the future.
He arrived at his current room and opened the door to find his electronics already in place. For a moment he admired it, who couldn’t if the latest tech was in one room, and then he turned away to head towards his old library. It still contained knowledge. It contained the works gifted to him by his philosopher friends. It contained the books he collected at that time. It contained works spanning from the time the Ancien Regimé fell, to the present time. By contrast, it seemed rather funny to put the Encyclopaedia Britannica next to the Hamilton playwright.
For a second he hesitated before he finally took the book out. “Letters on the English.” He sighed and sat down on an armchair. It was Voltaire’s work, a series of essays that had them arguing about its legitimacy. At the time, he had thought himself to be special as he deemed his perspective correct. He could still hear Voltaire telling him to start working on his own philosophy if he wanted to argue. Then he never got around to doing it because he had to return home for years and by the time he had returned, Voltaire had written the Essay on the Customs and the Spirit of the Nations, and Timothy could say nothing.
Yet he had always wanted to explore philosophy more. He had always wanted to sit down at a desk and write down beautifully strung words that compiled his thoughts. Maybe, he realised, he could do it now.
He had two months before he would meet the rest of SBI and for someone who lived millennia, two months would be enough to pen some proper philosophy.
Therefore, he got to work.
“What have you been doing lately, Toms?”
“Not much. Playing Minecraft, getting better at PvP, you name it.”
“What? Do you want to beat Techno in a duel someday? That’s not going to happen.”
“Shut the fuck up, Wilbur.”
He had no idea why, but he was in a call with Wilbur streaming a Just Chatting Stream with literally nothing to talk about.
“No but seriously, we haven’t heard a lot from you in recent days. Where’d my little brother go?”
“Knees deep in shit.” He looked at the papers strewn over his desk. “Just visiting my grandparents on their farm. Stressing me the fuck out.”
“Aw is the city boy too troubled on a farm?”
“Mimimimimi. I am Wilbur and I’m criticising my brother all while being a city boy myself, mimimimimi.”
Wilbur laughed and Tommy felt just slightly better about his misery. “Tommy, you idiot!”
“You are the idiot, asshole!”
“Chat! I think I know something we can do now!” Wilbur typed something on his keyboard. “You Laugh You Lose with Tommyinnit!”
“Oi! Are you even listening to me?!”
“We’ll just ignore him!”
Tommy sighed to himself and then looked at the papers again. He had one more month.
The finished papers laid out before him. The finished papers were finally laid out before him.
“Oh thank god.”
It was the end of March and he had finally come to a final draft that was up to standards with Voltaire. He brushed an inexistent dust particle away.
His work was a take on today’s modern society and the difference in value people nowadays saw in science and language. Furthermore, he criticised several governments, without naming any country directly, and criticised several people, again without naming anyone directly. Generally, he did a lot of criticising and a lot of philosophical texts about life, love, and family.
Now all that was left to do, was to publish it.
“I’m proud of you.”
Tommy looked up from the position he was in to come face to face with an old face. “Timothy.”
“I’m sure Voltaire would have been proud as well.” An old hand reached out to pat his golden hair. “I like your work, Tommy.”
“You are the sixth now. How many of my old personas had a wish unfulfilled?”
“I like to think the others got it quite wrong, Tommy.” Timothy sat down on his old armchair. “None of us were here for a wish. We are all here for a regret.”
“A regret?”
“Humans regret, even in death. You’ve eased the regret and realised something none of us could have done.”
“What was your regret?”
“That I never did end up doing anything philosophy related.” Timothy sighed. “I’ve always wanted to do what Voltaire did and realise a work that he would be proud of.”
“Your regret was philosophy?”
“People regret a lot, Tommy.” He smiled at him. Out of all shadows, somehow he was the most unnerving because he seemed normal. “You should know. You are all of us.”
“Right. Yes. Will this work help you?”
“It is already. I am here after all.”
“I think I’m going to release it. Like Voltaire did with his works.”
Timothy smiled and nodded his head. “I’m glad.”
Tommy didn’t want to blink, but when he did, he could hear laughter ringing through his ears, music following soon after, and voices exchanging prose and poetry.
For a moment, he heard him speak.
“I’m proud of you.”
“His work is so good!”
“Techno, we know, mate.” Phil laughed. “You‘ve said that several times.”
“I didn’t know a biochemist could pen such beautiful sentences!”
“Techno, we know what you think of him so please shut the fuck up,” Wilbur exclaimed exasperated.
“‘The deprivation of a carnal instinct such as love may lead to extinction.’ Just listen to the sentence, Wilbur!”
“I got it!”
“How’s settling in Paris for you guys?” Tommy asked.
“Finally! I’m doing wonderfully in my overpriced hotel room.” Wilbur exhaled. “I look forward to meeting all of you tomorrow, not you though, Toms!”
“I’m doing great. They offered me champagne today.” Phil chuckled. “They saw Kristin and me and thought we would need champagne for the stress our children give us.”
“We’re not even that stressful!” Tommy laughed.
“Sometimes I think I will get white hair because of you three.” Phil sighed. “You three plus Tommy Simons. He really did just write a whole book within two months.”
“But it’s such a good book!”
“Techno I will rip out your vocal cords.” Wilbur was absolutely done.
“Do you think I can get a signature? Tommy may still be in Paris.”
“Don’t you have his phone number, Tech?”
“Yeah, but isn’t it a bit weird to ask for a signature by texting him?”
“You were literally gushing about his work on Twitter! I think nothing can top that.” Tommy looked at the monitor that held a Twitter thread made by Techno discussing his newest work. “You called it worthy of a Nobel Prize in Literature. He already has one in Chemistry.”
“It is a good book!”
“They usually award them to the authors, not the books. There aren’t many books by Tommy yet.”
“Yet. Yet! I will ghostwrite for him.” Techno announced.
“How about you do that after the meet-up, mate?” Phil asked him.
“No.”
“Well damn.”
Tommy snickered.
“Tommy, actually, could I speak to you for a moment?”
“Ooooh. Tommy is in trouble with Dadza!”
“Shut the fuck up, Wilbur.” He then hummed. “VC 2?”
“Sure thing, mate.”
They switched over to VC 2 and Tommy drummed his fingers against the desk. Whenever someone asked to speak to him, it was never a good scenario. The last time he had been asked that he had been scolded for his reluctance to continue research like he had no will to choose his own life.
“Tommy, concerning tomorrow… are you ok?”
“What? Why would I not be ok?” For a moment the anxiety stopped and he was filled with disbelief instead. “I’m fine.”
“I just wanted to make sure. I thought that meeting us might be super stressful for you since you’ve never shown your face before.”
“I am stressed out. But being stressed out doesn’t mean that I’m not ok. I just… it’s a lot to take in at once.”
“Aw, that's fine, mate. Take your time.” Phil was wearing that dreadful dad smile again. “If you need to take a little longer, that’s fine as well.”
“I know, Dad. I know,” he murmured.
“You’re going to be fine, mate. And you’re also going to turn 18 tomorrow.”
“I know, Phil.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m aware I’m going to be an old man like you.”
“What?!” Phil gasped. “You child!”
“Yeah yeah, you say that Dadza, because you are old. You are an old man, Dadza. An old man with a wife. One day, Phil, I will steal your wife.”
“Ok, I will deck you once I meet you tomorrow.”
“You can try, Dadza but your bristle bones don’t work on me.”
“You are such a child, Tommy!” Phil laughed.
Tommy just smiled. The anxiety still swirling in his stomach made him want to cry.
“Merci pour votre temps, Docteur Simons.”
“Je vous en prie. Je suis à Paris de toute façon.” He smiled.
“Et bon anniversaire. Vous avez prévu de faire quelque chose aujourd'hui?”
“J’ai une réunion avec mes amis dans une demi-heure.” He looked at the car waiting for him. “Ah oui. Voilà ma voiture. Au revoir Docteur Leroy.”
“Ah bon. Jusqu’à l’année prochaine.”
Tommy waved until he got into the backseat of the car. He sighed and adjusted his seatbelt.
“Où aller, Docteur Simons?”
"Le musée du Louvre, s’il vous plaît.” He got comfortable looking out of the window.
The sole benefit of being a genius was that he was provided travel when he was going to something within the frame of research. Like how he had received a car taking him to PSL and then was allowed to take the same car to the museum.
He watched the scenery of Paris– or at least he tried to but Paris sucked and everywhere were traffic jams. Why you may ask? Because Parisians can’t drive.
Yet he saw the Louvre long before they arrived. It was hard not to see the Pyramid. He gave his driver a tip and walked out to see dozens of tourists meaning to see the Mona Lisa. He grimaced and then took a deep breath.
He was going to meet his brother figures and parental figures. They knew his face as Tommy Simons, not as Tommyinnit. And he had met them several times before. It was stressful. Just as he wanted to turn and run back to his car, he heard the tell-tale noise of British tourists.
“Philza Minecraft!”
“Wilbur!”
“Me!”
He barely turned around to see Wilbur hurdling into Phil with Kristin filming the entire ordeal. “Philza Minecraft you haven’t aged a day since 1500!”
“I’m not that old, you’re just a child.” Phil smiled. “How are you doing?”
“Paris sucks. I was trying to buy a chicken burger at McDonald’s and I haven’t got a clue about French and the lady kept yelling quatre-vingt-troi.” Wilbur sighed. “But at least it’s 4/4 SBI, right? Where are Techno and Tommy? Oh and hi Kristin!”
“Hi Wilbur,” she greeted him.
“Hullo.”
“Technoblade!”
“It is I, Technoblade, bow down to me.” Techno grinned.
“Oh my god, it’s little brother Technoblade.” Wilbur threw an arm around him with a strength that made Techno sack for a moment.
“You suck, Wilbur.” He rolled his eyes and then looked at Phil and Kristin. “Hullo.”
“Techno!” Phil hugged him and then stepped away to allow Kristin to hug him. “How are you, mate?”
“Jetlagged.” He grumbled. “But how could I say no to meeting you, Philza Minecraft?”
“Not you too, Techno.”
Tommy felt lost in his position. He felt like he was not meant to be there with them. They all seemed to know each other well while he had told them plenty of lies to make sure none of them would suspect him of being Tommy Simons. Maybe they would hate him after that?
“What are you waiting for?”
His breath hitched. He didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. “They will hate me.”
“They could never.” A comforting hand set itself on his shoulder. “They love you.”
“They may not once they find out I lied to them.”
“They were alright with speaking to you almost daily and not knowing your face. I think they would not mind you.”
“They knew me twice. As Tommy Simons and as Tommyinnit.”
“They love both versions of you.”
“Do they really?”
“Just go to them, Tommy.”
“I–“ he hesitated. Then he inhaled, trying to gather his courage. “I will.”
“I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you.” He smiled and then started walking towards the group.
Techno was the first to see him. “Tommy Simons!”
“Hey.” He waved.
“What are you doing here?” Techno walked towards him. “Did Phil invite you to the SBI meeting as well?”
“Oh my god, Phil adopted another child,” Wilbur sighed. “Oh Philza, how could you?”
“No. I…” he looked down and tried to find where his courage went. “I need to tell all of you something.”
“Aw mate, don’t stress yourself too much. Tell us when you’re ready.” Phil smiled.
“Yeah so… uh…” he groaned. “How can I pen a whole book within two months, fight in several wars, slay the minotaur, be one of the biggest artists of the Renaissance and still not do that.”
“What do you mean you fou–“
“I am Tommyinnit,” Tommy yelled.
It seemed like everything suddenly collapsed on him. His earlier hesitance felt stupid now. Everything felt lighter around him like a big weight had been lifted. The burdens did not sit on his shoulders anymore and had instead been freed into the sky like tiny birds. All that was left was their response.
“Oh, that’s great. I don’t have to buy two separate presents for you!” Wilbur scooped him into a warm hug. Tommy gasped.
“None of us are mad that you hid your identity, mate.” Phil ruffled his hair. “If anything, I’m very proud and surprised you could handle being a scholar all while being a Minecraft Streamer and a good friend.”
“You’re not mad?” He asked with wide eyes.
“We could never be mad at you, Tommy.” Kristin tucked him into a hug for which he had to stoop. “You’re still as much part of the family as before, right? Techno?”
Tommy turned to look at where Techno stood. He was staring down at the ground. “All this time I was gushing about you and your work and you were just there to listen?!”
“Uh… yeah?” Tommy blinked.
Techno took a deep breath while he walked towards. “Tommy. I’ve met you in San Francisco before?! I’ve called you my little brother before?!”
“Uh yeah.”
“Oh my god.” Techno then sighed and wrapped an arm around him. “Alright then, little bro. You’re good.”
“I am?”
“Yes, you are. I will have to listen to the story behind the wars you’ve fought but I am too tired to care right now. Happy birthday.”
“Oh, that’s right! Happy birthday, Toms!” Wilbur tried hugging him again but was pushed away by Techno. “Hey!”
“I claimed him first.”
“I met him first!”
“Boys, don’t argue.” Phil put an arm around him. “How about we just enjoy Paris for now and then Tommy will have plenty of time to tell us about what the hell he meant earlier.”
Only then did he realise that he had most definitely just blurted out his biggest secret. “Oops.”
“Yeah. But it’s ok, mate. Happy birthday. Let’s head down to the Louvre, shall we?”
“Yeah…” he agreed reluctantly. Yet he could not deny the smile that crept up on his face.
Tommy Simons PhD FRS Gamer ✔︎ @TommySimons
4/4!!! @Ph1LzA @WilburSoot @Technothepig
[image depicting all four of them in front of a statue, both Techno and Wilbur flanking Tommy and Phil was to Wilbur’s side]
Philza Minecraft ✔︎ @Ph1LzA
Can’t believe my boy’s a genius.
[image depicting Phil and Tommy. Tommy was pointing at a naked statue while Phil looked into the camera with disappointment]
Wilbur Soot ✔︎ @WilburSoot
Child
[image depicting Tommy using Wilbur’s shirt as a napkin in the Louvre cafe]
Technoblade ✔︎ @Technothepig
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[image depicting Techno and Tommy standing back to back with crossed arms in front of Mona Lisa]
“I think I’m starting to get tired.”
“Do you want to lay down, mate?”
“Nah.” Techno yawned. “Let’s go on.”
“I want to steal the Crown Jewels!”
“No Wilbur!”
Tommy laughed at the chaos all around him. It was a joy to be with everyone.
He stopped when something caught his eye. It was a painting, beautifully done with oil. Yet it was not the art that made him hesitate, it was the man pictured.
“Are you happy?”
Everyone seemed to be gone in the blink of an eye. All the tourists were gone, only the other man and himself remained in the room.
“How do you define happiness?”
“Have you achieved what you’re looking for?”
“I would say so.” He walked towards the bench on which the man sat and took his seat next to him. “It has been a while.”
“It has.” A heavy hand messed up his hair. “But for me, not one day has passed.”
“You are a hero in people’s eyes. A mythical hero, but a hero.”
“I know. Hard not to know when I keep being portrayed in paintings or statues.” He laughed faintly. “I am here now. That means you’ve found people you trust?”
Tommy thought about Phil, with his fatherly warmth, about Techno, with his heartwarming smile, about Wilbur, with his attentive eyes, about Kristin, with her motherly love, and he realised he trusted them wholeheartedly. “I do.”
“Then you have done well, Tommy.” He felt himself being pulled into a hug. It was almost unbearably warm and yet at the same time, it was the kind of warmth he felt he needed. “I’m proud of you.”
Tommy inhaled. “Thank you. I hope you find peace now.”
“It is a lot easier with everything you have done.”
Tommy smiled and nodded his head. “I’m glad.”
“Thank you, Tommy.”
He closed his eyes and for a few seconds, the wind was blowing around him, catching him like a mother would catch her child. He could not deny the tears despite the smile.
“Goodbye, Theseus.”
In the evening, Tommy would bring the rest of his family to his chateau and they would talk.
Tommy would talk to them about his reincarnations. He would tell them of the tales of Theseus, of the short life of Thomas, of the arts of Theodore, of the journey of Terrence, of the philosophies of Timothy, of the battles of Tom, of the heart of Trevor, and the life of Tommy.
If it had been anyone else, they would have never accepted it. It was insane, approving of several theories people had made up about the afterlife, and worthwhile a visit to the mental hospital. But they accepted it. They listened without a word and listened to everything he had to say. Sometimes there would be questions but those were answered quickly. And in the end, they accepted it.
“I mean, my brother is a Nobel laureate at 16, I wouldn’t even be surprised anymore,” Techno had joked.
With them, he would live the rest of their lives. Techno would decide to move to England to join them. They would attend conventions together and travel together, and they had front-row seats for Tommy’s first TED talk. They would see many more cities. Tommy would return to Florence with them and show off where he had stayed as a young artist. He would sail the Atlantic with them and land in New York City, where he had always wanted to go.
Someday, they would grow more independent. They wouldn’t talk to each other daily but that was quite alright because they were always around the corner. He could call them in an emergency and at least one would come running.
And someday, long in the future, when Tommy fell asleep for the last time in this life, he would be met with the face of his goddess.
“Prime.” He smiled. “We meet again.”
“It is the first time you see my face, my young Theseus.” She held him in her hands. “You’ve done it.”
“I did, Professor Campbell.” He bowed his head lightly. “I didn’t know you were watching me all this time.”
“What can I say? You were always my favourite.” His former professor, Clementine Campbell, smiled as he was set down on the floating island in the middle of the void. “How do you want to continue?”
“I thought I was meant to reincarnate again?”
“You are, my dear. You are going to wake up soon in a new body. But I wanted to ask if you wanted to take your new companions with you?”
“I can do that?” He tilted his head.
“You can. Their souls have been waiting for you, my dear.”
“It would be an honour for me to travel with them for the rest of eternity.”
She smiled warmly. “Then so be it.”
By the time he woke up again, he was reborn as a baby. Yet it was quite alright. Because he would always meet his family again.
Tommy was already in his nineties when he died. He had lived the most fulfilling life out of all of his lives with his family by his side. He had travelled the world and lived his life instead of bowing down to foreign whims. He had done everything he could have never done in his past life and had done them with happiness throughout. He could not say he regretted death, for he regretted nothing.
Trevor found inner peace.
Tom found selflessness.
Timothy found the philosophy of his life.
Terrence found the land he searched for.
Thomas found joy in life.
And Theseus, Theseus found people he could trust.