Work Text:
“Hey.”
A hand is on Techno’s shoulder, gently shaking him. He feels as if he’s floating, vision dark and mind fuzzy. There is a dull ache in his skull. Where is he? What happened…?
“Can you hear me? You, uh… you aren’t dead, are you? Please don’t be dead…”
The voice isn’t one Techno recognises. Whoever is speaking, they’re rather quiet, and their voice is slightly shaking. When they speak again, it sounds like they’ve gotten just a little closer.
“You’re kind of starting to freak me out, man… C’mon, I don’t think we want Grim to pay us another visit anytime soon.”
‘We’? ‘Grim’? What the hell is going on?!
Several moments pass, and Techno finally manages to muster the strength to blink his eyes open, squinting when his vision is flooded with a bright light.
“Ah—“ Some rustling, and the lights overhead dim. “You’re awake. Um… how are you feeling?”
As Techno’s vision adjusts, the image of an unfamiliar person comes into focus. At a glance, they look to be around his age, though their appearance is… peculiar, to say the least.
The stranger scratches the back of their neck, averting their gaze. “Ah, this is awkward… Okay, change of plans— Blink twice if you’re okay.”
Techno blinks. He blinks again. It’s slow, but it seems to get the desired point across.
“Good, that’s good…”
It’s at this point that Techno’s gaze wanders, drifting up towards the top of the stranger’s head. He doesn’t expect to see anything out of the ordinary, but is proven wrong the moment his eyes land on a floating three-dimensional diamond that is bright green in colour.
A Plumbob.
“Heh?!”
Techno sits bolt upright and scrambles backwards, only for his head to collide with a wall and send a shooting pain through his skull. The stranger reaches for him, grabbing hold of his shoulders and tightening their grip when he fights. When their eyes meet, Techno takes note of their concerned expression.
“You—“ Techno blinks rapidly, half expecting to wake up back in his home. The environment doesn’t change, however, and he forces himself to choke out the remaining words. “You’re a Sim.”
The stranger nods. They release their grip and run a hand through their hair, standing upright as Techno pushes himself to his feet, back pressed against the wall. “Yeah.”
“Explain. Actually, no—“ Techno shakes his head, brow furrowing. “First, you’re goin’ to tell me who you are. Then you’ll talk.”
Techno expects some resistance, but to his surprise, the stranger simply smiles. “That’s fair.” They extend a hand towards him. “Call me Ranboo.”
“Ranboo? Weird name…”
“I get that a lot. It’s more of a nickname, to be honest.” A beat. “What’s your name?”
“…Technoblade.” He has no idea why he’s freely disclosing this information to what’s essentially a lump of pixels, but he can’t take it back now. Ranboo opens his mouth to say something, but Techno cuts him off. “No more questions until I ask a few of my own. Where are we?”
Ranboo blinks. “The realm of the Sims, obviously.”
“You say that as if I have any idea what that means!”
“Oh yeah, you’re not from here. My bad.” Ranboo moves towards a couch sitting in the middle of the room, motioning for Techno to follow. Once the two are seated, Ranboo speaks again. “Without going into all the technical stuff, this place exists in your world as a video game. I’m gonna assume you know about it.”
Techno leans back, sinking into the cushions and looking over at Ranboo. “The Sims 4, yeah?”
Ranboo nods. “Believe it or not, you’re not the first person from that world we’ve seen. Dimension hoppers show up pretty frequently.”
“Oh, so travelling between worlds is a thing now. Cool.” It’s not the weirdest thing he’s discovered. Far from it, in fact. He can go along with this.
Ranboo laughs. “There were apparently attempts to keep the worlds separate, but whoever was responsible for that gave up pretty quickly. Nothing bad really happens unless the Sims without any preexisting autonomy gain free will as a result of the other world’s meddling, which is a whole other can of worms that we don’t have time to get into.”
Considering the situation he’s in, Techno is a little surprised that he still feels so calm. Maybe it’s because this is small fry compared to the several godly pacts he’s made back home.
“Ranboo?”
An unfamiliar voice calls out. Techno’s body tenses while Ranboo’s face lights up.
“In here!”
A few seconds later, another person steps through a nearby doorway. Like Ranboo, they have a bright green Plumbob floating above their head. They stop in their tracks the moment they see Techno, and their gaze immediately snaps to Ranboo.
“You didn’t tell me he was awake.”
Ranboo scoffs. “I was a little preoccupied. Sorry, dad.”
The new person rolls his eyes in response to Ranboo’s remark before approaching the two of them, taking a seat on the armchair situated across from them. He looks at Techno and smiles warmly, the action so genuinely kindhearted that it catches Techno somewhat off-guard.
“You’ve recovered really well. That’s good.” The man leans back in his chair. “My name’s Philza, but you can just call me Phil. We found you unconscious outside the house, so we decided to bring you inside.”
“Hey, don’t take all the credit!”
“…Okay, I’ll admit Ranboo had to grovel at my feet to convince me. For the record, I was only being cautious because of the Player.”
Another one of those weird terms again. This one seems to be a bit more self-explanatory, though. However, amongst all of this, there is one outstanding concern.
“Kings, I gotta ask… What the hell are you guys wearing?!”
Ranboo bursts out laughing, nearly rolling off the couch in hysterics. Phil gets a good laugh out of it too, though it doesn’t come close to matching the level of Ranboo’s overflowing euphoria.
“I knew he’d ask eventually!” Ranboo wipes tears from his eyes and shifts back into an upright sitting position, resting an arm on the couch’s armrest. They look over at Phil, smirking. “What did I tell you, dude? We look ugly.”
“Not helping, Ran.” Phil folds his hands in his lap, pointedly ignoring Ranboo’s spluttered protests as he shifts his gaze back over to Techno. “We didn’t exactly get a say in what we wear. When we were created, the Player decided to just randomise our appearances. They didn’t care too much about how we looked, so… yeah.”
“Wow.” Techno places his hands behind his head. “If that were me, I would’ve spent at least a few hours coming up with all the different outfits. Who needs a randomise button when you can waste three hours of your life specifically crafting outfits for each Sim?”
“I wish we were that lucky,” Ranboo interjects. “We just exist to suffer for the Player’s sick form of entertainment.”
“Oh, God.” Techno’s eyes widen. “This is one of those households.”
“Unfortunately.”
“You have my sympathy. And, with that in mind—“ Techno stands, moving so Ranboo and Phil are both within his field of vision. “How about we make a deal?”
“That escalated quickly,” Ranboo says. Meanwhile, Phil plucks a glass of water from the nearby coffee table and takes a long sip, swirling the ice cubes around.
“I’m not gonna consider it if it’s stupid.”
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that.” Techno moves over to the lone armchair and claps a hand onto Phil’s shoulder, placing the other on his hip. “I happen to have a lot of experience with this sort of thing. I’m about to make you an offer you can’t refuse.”
“...Did you just—“
“If,” Techno continues, as if he wasn’t interrupted at all, “I help you revolt against the Player who’s decided to make your lives Hell, you’ll help me figure out how to get back to my own world.”
The room falls into complete silence. Ranboo stares at Techno, a bewildered expression on their face. Though Phil doesn’t react as severely, he shakes off Techno’s hand and runs a hand down his face, sighing. A lot of Techno’s deal proposals seem to have this effect on people. He can’t imagine why that is, especially considering that they always involve some of his best ideas.
“Mate…” Phil’s voice is muffled by his hand. “I guess it’s not your fault because you’re not from here, but that has to be the worst idea I’ve heard in a while.”
“Heh? I’m giving you a chance to get back at the person responsible for making you guys suffer, how is that not tempting at all?”
“Don’t get me wrong, it is tempting. At the same time, though, it’d be super risky.”
“That’s half the fun! I’m sure Ranboo agrees with me.” Both pairs of eyes move to Ranboo, whose expression is deadpan. “C’mon, dude, back me up here.” Techno only receives a raised eyebrow in response.
“I have the right to remain silent.”
“...Thanks.”
“No problem, happy to help.”
“Okay, both of you shut up for a second.” Techno and Ranboo’s mouths snap shut. “Talk of rebellion aside, Techno — Ranboo and I will make sure you get back to your world in one piece. You have my word.”
“But that’s no fun,” Techno huffs. “As if I want to just be sent on my way without confronting the malevolent god that’s pulling the strings.”
“I gotta be honest, you’re sending a lot of mixed messages,” Ranboo says. “Also, your lack of a sense of self preservation is… scary.”
“I’m just tryin’ to kill two birds with one stone.” Techno moves over to the nearest wall and leans against it, crossing his arms. “You’re willing to help me get home, so I intend to repay your kindness tenfold. If direct contact with the Player isn’t an option, I want to at least help you guys take charge of your lives.”
Another bout of silence fills the room. Quick glances around the space reveal to Techno that Phil appears to be deep in thought, while Ranboo is fidgeting nervously. After some time, Phil speaks up. “Okay, fine,” he says. “As long as this stays between us and nobody is murdered, you can go wild.”
“Am I invisible over here? Why don’t I get a say in this?!”
“Democracy’s cruel like that, Ranboo. You would have agreed with me anyway so it doesn’t even matter.”
Ranboo huffs and rolls his eyes, but it’s clear they aren’t actually bothered by this turn of events. Techno is a little surprised the two of them have given in so easily, but if it’s going to give him the opportunity to screw with this world’s higher power, he won’t complain.
“We’re at least gonna come up with a plan first, right?”
Ah. Ranboo makes a good point. This… could take a while.
The trio venture out onto the streets several hours later. Phil and Ranboo take the lead while Techno trails behind, fidgeting with the ring that has been slipped onto his left index finger. Its design vaguely resembles an eyeball, giving it an extremely unnerving vibe, but the other two insist that it is a vital component of their carefully crafted scheme.
“You still haven’t mentioned where we’re goin’.”
“Need-to-know basis,” is Phil’s response.
“…And our destination isn’t somethin’ I need to know?”
“You’ll figure it out when we get there.” Phil glances over his shoulder at Techno, smiling. “It’ll click when you see it, trust me.”
They continue walking. Barely any words are exchanged, save for Phil and Ranboo greeting other Sims along the way. It’s only now that Techno is realising they’ve been speaking proper English the entire time, because they switch effortlessly to Simlish to communicate with passers-by. He doesn’t comment on it. Getting hung up on small stuff like that will only distract him from the task at hand.
“My goodness, is that… Phil and Ranboo!” The unfamiliar voice pulls Techno from his thoughts, and he realises that they’ve come to a stop in front of a large mansion. The colours and overall style remind him of all those dark academia aesthetic boards he’s seen on Pinterest. It’s a nice place, and it also starts setting off alarm bells in the back of his mind because this looks familiar—
“Mortimer!” Ranboo rushes ahead and bounds up the front steps, stopping in front of the man standing on the porch and exchanging a handshake. “How’ve you been?”
Mortimer. That name, and this house… it’s the Goth family. It isn’t too startling a revelation, considering the Goths are a default family within the game, but Techno didn’t expect to actually encounter them.
“Oh, you know, the same as usual. I take it you and Phil haven’t been doing too badly yourselves.” The man’s gaze drifts over to Techno. “Ah, and who is this young man—“ Techno notices the man’s eyes move upwards slightly before widening. They probably should’ve addressed the fact that Techno sticks out like a sore thumb without a Plumbob. “Oh.” He clears his throat, attempting to compose himself. “Well, this is… I certainly didn’t expect you boys to spring such a sudden surprise on me today!”
Phil steps forward. “I’m sorry we’re asking this of you again, but we’ll need your help opening the portal so Techno can return to his world. We’ve already made what preparations we can in advance.”
Mortimer’s brow furrows. He begins looking around, as if he’s surveying the area. After a moment, he looks back at Phil and nods. “Of course. Come inside, all of you.”
With Mortimer taking the lead, the group enters the mansion. Techno feels absolutely no shame in admitting that he recognises the interior as being a perfect recreation of its game counterpart. Yes, he’s aware that it’s probably impossible for any discrepancies to exist here, but still. Win.
They are all led to a table with two long couches on either side. Ranboo and Phil move to take a seat, and Techno squeezes in next to them. Mortimer sits on the one opposite to them, folding his hands and placing them in his lap. “The children are at school and Bella is at work, so we should not have to worry about being disturbed.” He looks at Techno. “You have the ring, yes?”
Techno nods, extending his left hand and wiggling his fingers to show the accessory off. “Good. It would be best to proceed as soon as possible to minimise the potential risks. Preparations on my end shouldn’t take too long, so—“
“Hold on,” Techno interjects, turning to look at Ranboo and Phil. “Before we do… whatever it is we’re doin’, we still need to talk about that other thing.”
“Well, we don’t need to—“
“Ranboo.” Phil places a hand on Ranboo’s shoulder. “It’ll be fine. I wouldn’t have agreed if I thought it was completely out of the question.”
“Sure…”
Mortimer raises an eyebrow, frowning. “Is something the matter?”
Techno rubs his hands on his knees and takes a breath. This is a risky gamble, but if he gets Mortimer on his side, the chance of things going smoothly will increase tremendously. The old man must know a thing or two about all the inner workings if he’s the one Phil and Ranboo consult.
Filling Mortimer in on the necessary details takes a little longer than Techno expects. Phil and Ranboo chime in when appropriate, providing additional context to help create a clearer understanding of the situation.
“I see…” Mortimer looks Techno dead in the eyes. “Normally, I wouldn’t even entertain such a scheme. Drawing the Player’s attention could spell disaster for both worlds. However… I can see that you three have put a lot of thought into this, and it’s clear you’ve already formed quite the bond if Techno is willing to take such risks for people he met only hours ago.” Smiling, Mortimer leans forward. “I think I might know how we can go about this.”
Techno takes back what he said about the Goth mansion having no discrepancies between the game and ‘real’ versions. Turns out this version has a whole basement dedicated to kooky science stuff. Who would’ve thought?
“This is where we’ll activate the portal to send you home,” Mortimer explains as he and Techno descend. Phil and Ranboo have not followed, opting to steer clear in case their presence causes some sort of interference. “But of course, before we do that, we need to make sure your end of the deal is upheld.”
Techno nods. Mortimer walks over to a corner of the room where a cluster of computer monitors sits and begins typing with inhuman speed, lines of code and console commands whizzing by so fast on the screens that Techno doesn’t even bother trying to keep up.
“I’ve never used the console for this purpose before, but,..” Mortimer hits the Enter key, grinning when the screens change. “If I had to guess, all of these operations utilise similar formulas.”
“…You’ve lost me.”
Mortimer doesn’t respond. His gaze is fixated on the computer screens, fingers flying across the keyboard at lightning speed. After some time, a large pop-up appears, catching Techno’s eye.
[FORENAME DATA NOT FOUND] Beloved
[FORENAME DATA NOT FOUND] Craft
ERROR: Authorisation required to access character files.
Mortimer throws a glance over his shoulder, motioning for Techno to approach. “Hold your ring up to that camera,” he says, pointing to a small camera sitting nearby. Tabling his many questions for another time, Techno does as he’s told, watching curiously as the camera slowly scans the ring.
Access granted. [FORENAME DATA NOT FOUND] Beloved and [FORENAME DATA NOT FOUND] Craft files are now unlocked.
A lot of what comes after is complicated coding stuff, so Techno will admit he tunes out for a little while. He spends most of the time thinking about everything that’s happened. He’ll need one hell of a good excuse to tell everyone once he’s back in his own world, that’s for sure. There’s no way anyone will believe he randomly woke up in the Sims universe and immediately engaged in shenanigans.
[FORENAME DATA NOT FOUND] Beloved > Ranboo Beloved
[FORENAME DATA NOT FOUND] Craft > Philza Craft
Confirm changes?
> Yes
No
Nothing seems to change. At the same time, however, it feels like something has shifted. Mortimer steps back from the monitors, looking satisfied, and Techno hears two pairs of footsteps thundering down the stairs towards them.
Ranboo Beloved and Philza Craft. Their Plumbobs have changed from a bright green to a deep blue, and their outfits now look like something a human being would actually wear.
“I’ll be damned,” Phil breathes, stepping forward. “You actually pulled it off.”
“Didn’t take you long,” Ranboo says. “Don’t tell me it’s been that easy all along?”
Techno shrugs. He gets the feeling it’s not really his place to comment on such a thing, considering he’s unaware of the prior context — if there even is any at all.
Mortimer clears his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “Based on the information the console provided, your code should now be detached from the Player’s save file. I believe the change in your Plumbobs means you are now authorised to roam wherever you wish without any abnormalities being detected by the system. Think of it as… admin privileges, in a sense.”
Oh, so Phil and Ranboo are basically now gods in their own right. All it took was pressing a few keys on a computer and messing with some files. Techno has to wonder how nobody ever discovered this was possible prior to his arrival. Seems like a very handy mechanic.
“Turns out saving you wasn’t a horrible idea after all,” Phil says, chuckling. “I’m impressed that you were able to adjust and help achieve all this in less than a day.”
“Personally, this has really put into perspective just how incompetent some of these people can be,” Ranboo mutters. Their gaze flicks to Techno, and he sees a small smile on their face. “…Thanks.”
Well, that’s Techno’s part of the deal fulfilled. As for his friends’ half…
“Techno.” Techno turns his gaze to Mortimer. “Now that there are no other pressing matters to attend to, I’m going to prepare the portal over there for human transport.” Mortimer points towards the wall on the far side of the room, where a large circular device sits. “It won’t stay open for long, so I would recommend not leaving your goodbyes to the last minute.”
Techno nods, watching as Mortimer crosses the room and gets to work. He mutters a few phrases in Simlish while rummaging through a pile of papers on a table; Techno is convinced they’re curse words of some kind.
He turns around. Phil and Ranboo are still standing there, waiting patiently with smiles spreading from ear to ear. He reaches out, pulling both of them into a warm embrace. Their arms snake around him, and for a moment, the rest of the world falls away. It’s… a strange feeling. Techno has only known these people for a day, and yet he already feels so close to them. Maybe he just clicks with video game characters more than real people. It’d explain his lack of friends back in his own world.
“Let us know if you come back and want a place to stay, mate.” Phil’s breath is warm on Techno’s neck. “We’d love to have you.”
“You’re a cool guy, Techno,” Ranboo chimes in. “I’d love to hang out more, if you decide to visit.”
Reluctantly, the three of them pull away, just in time to see the portal flicker to life. Techno removes the eyeball ring as he approaches, but Mortimer shakes his head when he tries to return it. “Keep it,” he says. “Should you ever wish to return, it will act as your key.”
The portal whirs loudly, sending colourful sparks in various directions. Techno moves to stand in front of it, staring into the swirling mass of magical energy. He takes a breath and begins slowly walking forward. When he’s close enough, he reaches out, letting his hand be swallowed by the mystical cloud. It’s a strange sensation, but he hardly notices it as his attention is pulled elsewhere. He looks over his shoulder, meeting the eyes of the people — er, Sims — who were kind enough to help him in his time of need, despite him being a complete stranger to them. Grinning, he uses the hand not yet within the portal to throw them a goofy salute. He steps through completely, and his body goes cold.
When he wakes again, he is inside his bedroom. In the corner of the room, his main PC monitor lights up, displaying the title screen of The Sims 4.