#<in regards to the helping techno bit

[houxe]

Regarding my SBI/DSMP Fics

TW: Abuse, Trauma, and Mentions of Suicide.

With all that has happened, I did want to come out here and make my stance clear. I will always stand with Shelby (Shubble) and all of the victims who are speaking out against Will Gold (Wilbur Soot). If you still support that bastard, unfollow me and leave my blog and whatever small community I made.

I've already stated this is my Discord channel, but I want to put it here too.

For me, c!Wilbur is so far removed from cc!Wilbur that I don't connect the two. The characters are vessels for my own characterizations and stories. It's a bit like writing Supernatural*, Twilight, or Hazbin Hotel fanfics. I don't support the guy, monetarily or otherwise, he does not interact with fanfics, I have plans to be very vocal that I'm on Shelby's side no matter what/make it clear that what Will did is wrong, and I don't use his real life events as plots in my stories. At least, I certainly don't try to. It's why I typically change traits about the characters. (I.e. Tommy is shorter, Phil is taller, Techno is bulky, and Wilbur always has golden/hazel eyes.)

I'm aware that it's a tad different because it's rp and not something like a full on book or an actor in a movie, but DSMP has also been over for over two years and the characterizations I make for SBI are not at all based on the CCs. Real life Techno isn't a literal terrorist, Phil ain't a father married to a goddess, Tommy is not a traumatized child soldier, and Wilbur isn't suicidal and blowing up countries.

I think I'll likely focus more on Techno, Tommy, and Phil for a while, but I'm not gonna let one dude ruin a fandom and things I've made for myself. Nothing I write is ever made for Wilbur, as I've seen people saying. Additionally, Wilbur was not the only writer. Technoblade, Philza, TommyInnit, and so many others made that story what it was. Not him.

However, if any CCs come forward saying they don't want their old characters interacting with his, I will respect that.

Though I do think there is a tendency to take real life events (i.e. Techno's cancer, LJ's music, Tommy's real life parents, etc.) and put them into fiction about DSMP. I, however, don't try to do that and have stated before that I don't feel comfortable doing so. The truth is that we have not gotten any genuine SBI content outside of DSMP for years. The dynamic in real life is very different from what was presented in the DSMP. Did personalities still bleed over? Yes, I'm not going to deny that, but I'm not going to act like they're exactly the same between character and person either. We've had that conversation like in 2021, it's why we have C! and CC!.

The rather sad truth is, SBI is what got me really into writing and it's a comfort for me that nothing can compare to. Obviously, I don't think it's appropriate to be writing certain types of stories right now or to be involving characters made by CCs outside of the DSMP. I think it's up to everyone else to decide on what they want to do, however, rushing it also isn't the way to go either. Give yourself time to heal and think it over first instead of throwing away something that gives you comfort and has not been associated with by the creators for over two years.

Anyways, fuck Will Gold. Fuck the fact that he hurt so many people, and fuck that he lied and manipulated his way around the damn internet. ESPECIALLY fuck the fact that he tried to diminish what he did and not take proper accountability.

Go and support Shelby so so much, she and everyone who spoke out really deserve it. I'm glad silence on these types of issues is not being normalized.

Here is a list of (American) resources for DV help:

TNLR

RAINN

WOAR

Love is respect

The Trevor project

Futures without violence

National domestic violence hotline

Resource on what DV and abuse looks like

*Changed it from Harry Potter to Supernatural because Harry Potter is a significantly worse and more problematic franchise, even just within the content of the books. It'd be better left in the dust. I've talked about it before, but it was the first thing that came to my mind at the time and was a poor comparison on my part, I'm truly sorry for that.

[earthstellar]

Earth Music on the Lost Light: Human Music That Cybertronians Like

we know for a fact that the Lost Light has access to human media, primarily movies, TV shows, and music-- and we know they generally seem to fucking love most of it, or at least find it interesting

but what would everyone's tastes be, in regards to Earth music?

time to talk about music for a long time!!! strap in, enjoy some tunes

we already know Cyclonus has impeccable taste and enjoys some of the best jams the 80s had to offer.

I can't help but imagine Rodimus being given a media archive of Earth tunes to approve for the Earth Dance would only result in chaos

(it's not like he would say no to anything, he absolutely blanket signed it all, it's just an obligatory thing-- or Ultra Magnus tells him it is, solely to keep him away from Important Captain Things that he would rather handle himself or hand off to Megatron, lmao. the shit that really needs to get done)

and this is how Rodimus discovers the somewhat questionable yet amazing genre of "mid-90s underground techno rave mix tapes"

(somewhat related, I still think Testarossa might as well be Rodimus' theme song, although it's not a 90s track and has more of an 80s synth vibe)

Rodimus would love that "computers are the future, fuck yeah let's make Digital Cool Future Music" mid-90s shit, there is no way he would not. it has the exact energy level that appeals to him and is also cheesy and weird and chaotic. and has like 500 different sub-genres, so his selection is endless, lmao.

he would probably find it cute that this is what humans imagined to be the peak of "digital sound" at the time. like lmao this was the best humans could do when asked to create music that sounds like it was made by robots or other mechanical space future cyber lifeforms--high concept!!! he would probably find it interesting and endearing. this is what organics think non-organic music is like!!

anyone acting as DJ at Swerve's on any given night would be so, so mad that Rodimus keeps requesting shit like "DJ MASSIMO ITALO DISCO BEST RAVE TUNES LIVE FROM LONDON 1995" or "DJ ARMPIT SLUDGE FEST HOUSE-RAVE-DRUMS N BASS SET 1996" for them to play, lmao

not individual tracks. the whole album. entire mix tapes of random, somewhat questionable mid-90s techno house rave bullshit.

that having been said, that good ass early 90s trance techno might send him into a spiral depending on his mood at the time, lmao (it's been known to happen)

but at the same time I can imagine him sharing tracks like Solar Quest - Space Pirates with Drift and they'd both just sit there and jam out, but quietly, thinking about shit while sitting in a port window next to each other (this was peak sleepover party techno, Back in My Day-- many deep conversations were had while listening to stuff like this, lol)

Drift would probably find some of Rodmus' recommended stuff to be pretty good for meditation-- although once he finds out about the human drug culture involved and certain concepts of experimental consciousness etc. that surrounded techno/rave and other related genres, it might cause him to pull back a little bit

(until he finds out about kandi culture, in which case, Drift would love the idea of hand-made unique bracelets and sentimental trinkets being made and exchanged at warehouse shows purely out of Good Vibes and Love for Fellow Beings and it turns out actually he fucking loves this shit, a chill vibes based "expand your mind" kind of music subculture appeals to his Spectralist sensibilities and he likes sharing tunes with Rodimus in return)

Drift picking tracks on his own would likely lead him down more of a classic rock road, but more of the chill side of things, more of the folksy type of classic rock -- I can see Drift really enjoying Spirit in the Sky - Norman Greenbaum or California Dreamin' - The Mamas and the Papas. or like, Incense and Peppermints - Strawberry Alarm Clock.

I mean, Drift might even go Full Earth Hippie and end up liking Green Tambourine - Lemon Pipers, lmao. in fact I am fairly certain of this.

I can see Drift loving Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In - The 5th Dimension. the whole vibe would probably appeal to him.

he'd quite possibly also like I Need a Dollar - Aloe Blacc, but it hits him in a place that still hurts to think about. so it's in rare rotation.

meanwhile Ratchet would probably be fine with classic rock too, like the good Dad Rock shit, just a lot of tracks from the 70s/80s -- a couple tracks he and Drift could probably agree on would likely lean more into the experimental/psychedelic rock side of things, like White Room - Cream or something like Wheel in the Sky - Journey

Rodimus tries to troll Ratchet by recommending Old Time Rock n Roll - Bob Seger, but joke's on him because it turns out Ratchet loves it, lmao

Swerve would go all out on classic bar jams for the evening playlist. Chill, good shit like Do It Again - Steely Dan.

Megatron would love Sinnerman - Nina Simone; He'd send it to Drift in a command crew level secured data packet, and they would both feel the hell out of this song. They don't need to talk about why. They never mention it to each other.

Megs would also probably love These Old Bones by Dolly Parton (mostly due to the lyrics, rather than the upbeat tune, but he would find it relatively relaxing), as well as 9 to 5 (of course), and similar music. Country from back in the day when country music was more about the struggle of poverty and the working life of rural people. Country music from back when songs told all the untold stories. He can respect that.

He'd listen to You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive by Patty Loveless and it would get him right in the fucking spark. Megatron is the Cybertronian equivalent of an Appalachian miner, god dammit. He understands.

Megatron would also like Johnny Cash; He would overthink Ghost Riders in the Sky and it would depress him, partly because it reminds him of Seekers... sigh.

I think he'd also like Cold War - Janelle Monae. He'd be way into good lyrics; What's being said in a song matters most to him. "This is a cold war, you better know what you're fighting for..." Indeed.

anyway I like thinking about what jams Cybertronians might like from their available selection of Earth tunes

[viktorscane]

🐦‍⬛👑

‘in the bedroom after the war’

when technoblade left the dream smp. phil adjusted relatively quickly. after all, the two had spent plenty of time away from each other in the past and he knew it was only a matter of time before they would see each other again.

one thing he would never quite get used to though, was the quiet. while techno was never a super talkative person the creaking of the wooden floorboards, the mumbling to himself, the front door opening and closing often as the piglin hybrid went about his daily chores, the dogs barking, the scribbling of quill on parchment. all sounds that were inherently technoblade were suddenly gone.

the first few days were hard, a grief settling over phil’s heart as he tried to navigate the silence and understand why his closest companion left so suddenly. on the fourth day, though he awoke to the usual caw-ing of his crows outside. he rolls over, the sun streaming in through the window bathing the room in a beautiful pink and golden glow. it was peaceful and quiet as his new life typically was.

he stirs more and finally pushes himself up out of the large, empty bed. pushing himself down the stairs to the still smoldering fire. he throws a few logs on top, adding water into the kettle perched atop it. reminding himself to add only enough for himself, as he had been making enough to serve two the last few days.

he rubs his eyes sleepily, giving a crow a light scratch on the head as he passes it. it caws shrilly, staring pointedly at the seed bag in the corner of the kitchen. “i know, i know.” he mutters. “let me make my tea first, mate.”

he opens a cabinet to grab a mug from the shelf, he notices that most of the clean mugs were on the highest shelf. most of them being varying shades of red and pink, belonging to techno. phil sighs and pushes himself onto his tiptoes and reaching almost blindly to get one. the shelf buckles a bit under the weight and the closest mug tips and down it goes.

it hits the ground with a loud thud, phil swears and rubs his temple with annoyance.

dropza LOL dropza dropza OLD AGE LOL fallza E

he pauses, quiet voices echoing around his brain. he takes a step backwards looking around the room to find the source of the voices. only being met with more quiet chants of ‘PHIL!’

it took a moment for his tired mind to process that these voices existed in his mind, but were very much real. he wracks his brain for some sort of explanation, he hadn’t hit his head recently right? was the events of the last few weeks finally taking a toll on his psyche?

he listens to the chants for a second longer, the mumbling blended together mostly but some things stuck out to him. one phrase in particular was very very familiar.

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!

it was a phrase that techno mumbled to himself often and had mentioned that the voices in his head spoke that phrase like a mantra. from his understanding, when technoblade had ascended to godhood the voices were a side effect. they mostly rambled about whatever he was doing in the moment but they also helped him during combat to give him information about the other party. they were bloodthirsty and violent but techno always regarded them as a part of him.

phil bends down and picks up the mug, it remarkably hadn’t broken in the fall. he turns it over in his hands brushing the dust off of it. he runs his fingers over the crown that had been carved into the front of the clay. he remembered techno sitting down with his dagger on the steps of their home and working at the clay. it was clumsily made and the crown was crooked, lines shaky and uneven. but it was so inherently techno that it made phil smile fondly.

the voices rumbled on about what felt like nonesense in the background as phil sets it down on the counter, bracing himself against it.

he could only take this as a sign from his long time companion, friend and ally. sending his greatest assets to phil as if to tell him that he’s okay. his heart ached but he persevered, tipping the boiling water into the mug and adding the tea bag in. he pushes open the curtains, staring out the window towards the brilliant pink and gold that was slowly fading away from the sky as the daylight began to filter in.

“hello there, old friend.” he says softly.

[vilevenom]

Hello @90svn!! Thank you for your request and sweet comment ❤️

I took this request as a personal challenge, because Trollex has a whole 5 minutes of screentime in World Tour, and only maybe eight voice lines. Very hard to get a good read on a character with such a short appearance, but I did my best!

Hope you enjoy!~

To say that Clay felt overwhelmed was putting it mildly. Reuniting with his brothers had been one thing. Heck, even reintegrating the putt putt trolls with pop village had been a drain on his mental and social batteries, but he'd muddled through. However, following Viva along to royal meet and greets and council meetings was just too much. He felt out of his depths in so many ways. Sure, he'd helped co-run the golf course, and a lot of the rules and regulations that kept the place stable had been his doing, but there was just so much more to all of the other kingdoms. Not to mention the fact that he didn't really feel like the other leaders necessarily took him and Viva seriously. He was an ex-boyband member with no political background, and Viva had been unintentionally usurped as queen by her younger sister. They didn't exactly fit the standard leader stereotypes.

This latest meeting, to discuss territory laws and transportation between kingdoms had initially intrigued Clay, and when Viva all but begged him to go with her so she wouldn't be bored, he'd happily agreed. Now he sort of wished he'd stayed home. As much as he had thoughts on what was going on, absolutely no one in the room paid he or Viva much, if any, mind. They were treated more like Poppy's entourage than leaders of a subdivision of Pop trolls. Even Branch was getting asked more questions than either of them.

He was about to suggest to Viva that they leave, since no one seemed to really care what they had to say, when the door to the meeting room burst open, and the king of the techno trolls floated in, grin on his face.

"Sorry I'm late," Trollex laughed as he moved across the room to take his seat, "Last nights rave went on a bit longer than I had anticipated."

Clay rolled his eyes, sinking down further into his seat. He'd seen the techno king from afar a few times before, but he never struck Clay as the type to take anything seriously. He was always talking about the parties the techno trolls threw, never seeming to have a serious thought in his head. He figured, from here, the meeting could only go further downhill.

He, of course, hadn't been paying attention to what was being said due to his miserable ruminating, so hadn't caught that he'd been directly addressed. Not until Viva elbowed him squarely in the rub cage, anyway. He grunted, sitting himself up with a quick frown shot to his best friend, who simply grinned back at him. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I said," Trollex waved his hand at Clay to get his attention, his previous grin and chipper attitude seemingly gone, "What do you think about the implication of having trolls of multiple genres potentially staying all in one place? Since regional customs and attitudes are so wildly different, it opens up a massive amount of safety concerns. Viva said you were the best troll to talk to, outside maybe Branch, about what sort of measures could be kept in place to make sure everyone stays happy and healthy."

Clay perked up as Trollex spoke, not having expected the king to ask such an insightful question, especially not to him. Perhaps his first impression of the king had been all wrong. "Well, there are a lot of different things we'd have to keep in mind for such an undertaking…"

~

Trollex, it turned out, was an incredibly insightful king. Throughout the entire meeting he lobbed questions to several of the kingdom rulers, and directed most, if not all, concerns in regards to safety to Clay. All in all, he felt pretty good when the meeting came to a close, as they had several rough documents drafted up for new inter-kingdom laws.

So, it threw Clay off a little when Trollex floated past him, wide grin on his face and headphones over his ears, flipping a glowstick between his fingers, like he hadn't just been discussing transgenre rights barely five minutes prior. He froze when the kings eyes landed on him, his shoulders unconsciously hiking up to his ears as he was approached.

"Hey, hey! Clay, my man," Trollex crowed, only lowering his volume once he pulled his headphones away from his ears, "Nice work today, yo. Usually Branch is the only one who can figure out all that nuance-y regulatory stuff."

"Yeah, well. Boring legal stuff is my jam," he said with a little laugh while throwing up a peace sign and sticking his tongue out without even realizing what he was doing. He quickly straightened up, a flush forming on his cheeks as a grin slowly spread across Trollex's face.

"Yeah, bro! Nice," Trollex laughed, reaching over to shake Clay's shoulder gently in a friendly gesture, "Live your best life, yo. Speaking of, you should come on by Techno Reef sometime soon! We've got some bangin' raves comin' up. Would love to see how you unwind."

"Haha, yeah," Clay forced a smile onto his face, giving the king a little nod.

"Sweet! I'll send word to Pop Village with dates for the next big one! It's gonna be LIT," Trollex called out, earning whoops from some of the trolls milling near the meeting hall. He laughed as he put his headphones back on, tossing Clay a glow stick as he began to bob his head in time with his music, shooting him finger guns before floating away.

Clay didn't even register when Viva appeared next to him. "Ooooh, does Mr.Clay have a date?"

"Cupcakes!" Clay dropped the glowstick in favor of slapping a hand to his chest, "Viva! Ugh…we seriously need to get you a bell, girl."

Viva simply cackled at him, poking him in the side until he couldn't hold back his laughter and swatted her away. "Well?" she prompted as she took a step back to let Clay catch his breath.

Clay sighed and bent to pick up the fallen glowstick, shrugging a bit. "Pretty sure it was a general party invitation, Viv. Not a date request."

"Well, you gotta start somewhere," Viva chirped, wrapping both of her arms around one of Clays. "What do you think about him, anyway? He totally seems right up your alley."

"What?! How?" Clay asked with a laugh, arching an eyebrow at Viva curiously.

"Oh, well, you know," Viva hummed, resting her head on Clay's shoulder, "He's a party guy, sure, but you saw him in the meeting. He seems like he really takes his responsibilities seriously. I figured you'd admire him for that."

Clay gingerly twirled the glowstick between his fingers. "Yeah. I guess that's true…"

~

"Hey! The party has arrived!"

Clay couldn't help but cringe at Trollex's shout, offering an awkward wave as the king swam over to greet the small group of pop trolls that had travelled down to Techno Reef. Clay had been the one to officially receive the invitation, surprisingly, but it had said that anyone from Pop village was welcome, so he'd asked Poppy to spread word that any troll who wanted to could go. In the end, Clay, Viva, Poppy, Branch, and a smattering of villagers had all decided to go.

"Welcome to Techno Reef! We've got glow sticks for days, and the party's always poppin'," Trollex called with a laugh, tossing a handful of glowsticks out, which gently floated down into the waiting pop trolls hands. "If ya'll would follow Leguna, she'll show you to the accommodations we've prepared for your stay."

A purple techno troll swam forward and gestured for everyone to follow her, which Clay was about to do when he was stopped by a hand on his wrist. He paused and turned in surprise to find Trollex with a large grin on his face.

"I'm really glad you accepted my invitation," the king hummed, releasing Clay's arm and floating backwards slightly.

"Uh," Clay said smartly, glancing around quickly to find Viva shooting his a thumbs up while giggling with her sister, "Thanks, man. Me too. I'm real curious about your culture and it's really cool to finally get to see some of the other kingdoms."

Trollex chuckled, nodding a little as he pulled a glow bracelet off from around his own wrist, swimming forward to secure it around Clay's. "Well, if you've got any questions, you know who to come find," he said with a little wink. Clay was endlessly glad for the darkness of the water around them as his cheeks flushed, just before Trollex swam away.

"I think he likes you."

"VIVA! A BELL! Damn."

~

Raves were, apparently, not Clay's cup of tea. Perhaps when he was younger, before, well, everything, he would've loved a good rave. But older, serious boy Clay was not having the best of times. Branch wasn't, either, but Poppy had dragged him and Viva off almost the moment they had reached the large area that the party was taking place in (He had a feeling the sisters were conspiring against him, somehow). Which left Clay, alone, at the edge of the dance floor, awkwardly watching and wishing he could covers his ears from the loud bass. Unfortunately, the helmets the visiting pop trolls had to wear in order to even be down in the reef impeded his ability to do so.

He was debating on heading back to the rooms the techno trolls had prepared for them, when Trollex appeared out of the crowd, swimming over once he spotted Clay.

"Heyyy, Live Wire!" Trollex shouted over the music with a grin, "There you are!"

"Live Wire?" Clay echoed, arching an eyebrow at Trollex, who grinned wider, his cheeks glowing slightly.

"Yeah, man! Your rave name! Everyone's gotta have a rave name, and you've got the best hair. So, Live Wire," the king explained, swimming forward to tap at the side of Clay's helmet, where his hair was bunched up against the glass.

"I assume you're making fun of me, 'cause my hair stands up like I got electrocuted?" Clay snarked, folding his arms over his chest, not looking the least amount amused.

"What? No? Why would I make fun of you?" Trollex tilted his head like a confused cuddle pup. This gave Clay pause, dropping his arms to his sides.

"I, uhm…I guess I don't know," Clay admitted, shrugging a little. He chewed on his lip a little as Trollex gave him a contemplative look.

"Let's get out of here," the king said, just loud enough for Clay to hear, before he reached out and grabbed both of Clay's hands. With a smile he began to swim backwards, pulling Clay up along through the water after him.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Clay yelped, kicking his feet to try and keep himself from dropping back down through the water and onto the dancefloor. This pulled a delighted laugh from Trollex, who shook his head.

"Just relax. I've got you," Trollex hummed, sliding his hands down Clay's arms until he had a hold on the green trolls elbows, while shifting his position so he was half swimming beneath Clay. "You'll be okay, Live Wire. I won't let you sink."

~

Trollex let Clay's feet hit solid ground again once they'd reached what Clay could only describe as a palace; a huge building near the center of the reef, standing prominently above all the other structures of the town, with twisting spires and glowing accents that lit up the surrounding area.

"Wow," Clay murmured, admiring the architecture, while also noting that they were far enough away from the rave that he could speak at a normal volume.

"Yeah. It's pretty lucky Barb only targeted the DJ booth when she attacked. I'm not sure how well we could've reconstructed this," Trollex said, floating next to Clay with an easy smile.

"Wait…she attacked you? Like, actually?" Clay turned his head sharply towards Trollex with a frown. He'd heard plenty about Barb's world tour, but the finer details hadn't really been openly shared. He supposed it would make sense that Barb would have to attack trolls to gain what she wanted, but knowing it was enough that the techno trolls had to reconstruct buildings was a lot. Barb had been at their meeting, and no one had treated her like she'd terrorized them.

"Yeah. But it's all good. Things worked out," Trollex said with a little shrug.

"But, what if they hadn't? You would've lost all this," Clay declared, gesturing widely at te palace and surrounding buildings.

"True. But we didn't," Trollex swam in front of Clay, taking his hands in his own with a light laugh, "You can't dwell on the 'maybes' in life, bro. You just gotta focus on the here, and now, and what you can do in the moment." Clay felt his anger dissipate at Trollex's words, though he still frowned.

"'Maybes' are what keep people safe," Clay insisted, unconsciously squeezing Trollex's hands.

"Future 'maybes', totally. But past 'maybes' can't be changed. You gotta go with the flow, bro," Trollex chuckled, tugging Clay forward a bit, "But enough of that. C'mon, I'll show you around."

Clay sighed heavily and followed after Trollex, taking note of the fact that the king had only let go of one of his hands.

~

"This is all really impressive," Clay praised with an easy smile while pulling his helmet off. The last stop on the tour of the palace was a series of rooms dedicated to visiting dignitaries from other kingdoms. Much like the rooms arranged for the visiting pop trolls, these rooms had been made air tight and drained of water to allow for other genres to visit without the need for helmets.

"Thanks, man," Trollex said, taking the helmet from the green troll to set aside on a table. "We've only had a few trolls come to visit so far, so it's nice to know our efforts aren't in vain."

"I thought the whole world tour thing was a while ago?"

"Oh, yeah, it was," Trollex shrugged, floating over to a couch and patting the spot net to him in invitation to Clay, "But, we're a bit harder to get to, being underwater, an' all. Plus, as much as I'd love to extend more open invitations to other kingdoms, we haven't finished hammering out all the necessary laws to make sure everyone stays safe."

"Man," Clay said with a little laugh, flopping himself onto the seat next to the king, "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Just…so easily flip between being dead serious and being a party guy? How do you make sure people still take you seriously?"

Trollex watched Clay for a moment, before letting out a little breath and curling his fins beneath himself. "You're talking about the whole 'fun boy' thing, aren't you?"

Clay startled, leaning away from Trollex with wide eyes. "How'd you know about that?"

"Queen Poppy gave us a bunch of pop records when the kingdoms first started talking to each other again. There was a BroZone record in there. Which, by the way, makes for some killer mixes and spinbacks! But, uh…yeah. Not hard to put two and two together when Branch was talking about his brothers, meeting before last. Poppy also might have mentioned that I shouldn't call you 'fun' before we met," Trollex said with a light laugh.

Clay groaned, dropping his face into his hands. "Is that what this is, then?" he asked, slightly muffled, "Some sort of weird intervention to show me that I can be fun and serious, not just one or the other?"

"What? No. Man, you sure do jump to a lot of conclusions," Trollex chuckled, gently taking Clay's hands away from his face. "You just genuinely seemed like a cool troll. Is it so hard to believe I might wanna get to know you better, without any ulterior motives?"

"Yes."

That startled a burst of laughter out of Trollex, making the techno king reel back and wave his hands through the air. "Oh! Oh, man. Clay," he snorted, wiping at his eyes, "Bro. Trust me, it shouldn't be hard to believe. You really made an impression on the council with your ideas at the last meeting, and Viva told me about everything you did at the golf course. You're a really impressive troll, Live Wire."

"Oh. Well…thanks," Clay chuckled awkwardly, his cheeks flushing.

"It helps that you're real cute, too," Trollex added cheekily, shooting Clay a grin.

"I-What?!" It was Clay's turn to reel back, his back hitting the arm rest of the couch as his cheeks practically caught fire.

Trollex simply laughed, leaning his arm on the back of the couch so he was a bit more in Clay's space. "Okay, so maybe I had one ulterior motive," the king admitted, "I thought, maybe, you and Viva were a thing, but I overheard her teasing you about me."

"You had headphones on!" Clay squawked, shaking his head slightly.

"Yeah. I didn't have any music playing. Sometimes it's nice to be left alone because people think you can't hear them. Plus, I get to hear things that people might not want me to know," the king confessed with a little shrug. "But, y'know, if I'm reading you all wrong, just tell me to back off. I won't take offense."

"I…okay?"

"That was definitely a question, and not enthusiastic consent," Trollex chuckled, reaching out to gently take one of Clay's hands in his own. "You gotta say the magic word."

"Please?"

Trollex snorted. "I was looking for 'yes', or something to that effect, but I suppose that works, too." With that he leaned forward and cupped Clay's jaw in his hand, his smile turning soft. "You just do what you gotta do if this doesn't feel right, okay?"

Clay gave a little nod and let his eyes slip shut as Trollex pressed their lips together. He genuinely couldn't remember the last time he'd been kissed. Was it all the way back when he'd been in BroZone? Probably. He'd always been too busy at the golf course to ever entertain the idea of getting involved with anyone. And, as much as he and Viva were teased for being in each others back pockets all the time, there really wasn't anything more than close sibling feelings between the two of them. So, as the kiss broke and Trollex shifted back, he had no real idea if it felt right or not. He did, at least, know it didn't feel wrong. He opened his eyes to find Trollex watching him intently, a nervous little smile on his face.

"Well?"

"Repeat experiments must be run in order to ensure the results are valid and consistent," Clay muttered, pulling his hand free of Trollex's in order to take the kings face in both hands and draw him in again. He smiled into the kiss at Trollex's surprised little grunt, pleased as he felt the techno king all but melt into him.

When they pulled apart the second time, Clay took note of the dumbstruck expression on Trollex's face, feeling a little curl of satisfaction in the pit of his stomach for putting the look on the kings face.

"One more? To, uh, make sure the results are consistent?" Trollex asked, his cheeks glowing a faint pink as he leaned in again.

"Just to make sure," Clay easily agreed, tugging Trollex closer so the techno king was half in his lap as their lips met again.

~

Clay smirked as he fixed his hair and adjusted his romper as he glanced back at Trollex, who looked like a ragdoll on the couch, one arm over his face and one fin flopped onto the floor.

"Live Wire is a perfect nickname for you," Trollex sighed, sitting up as Clay picked up his helmet. Slowly he rose from his seat and floated over to the green troll, resting a hand on the top of the helmet. "I hope…I really hope this wasn't a one time thing?"

Clay blinked, a bit taken aback by the question. "It isn't?"

"I mean," Trollex floated backwards, twisting his fingers together in front of himself nervously, "If you wanted it to be, that…that's cool. I just…I know we don't know each other super well yet or anything, but I really like you, Clay. And I'd really like to get to know you better. I know you've got all your responsibility with the pop trolls and Viva and stuff, but…I'd like to see you again. I'd like to see you more."

"Oh," Clay breathed, oddly somewhat startled that anyone would want to see him again, let along a King. "You mean that?"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't."

"Okay. Okay! Yeah," Clay nodded, shifting the helmet in his hands to rest on his hip so he could reach out and take Trollex's hand. "Next time, you come to ours. You can stay with me."

Trollex's face lit up in a giddy grin, his cheeks flushing bright pink at Clay's words. "Already looking forward to it."

[catsandgoodbooks]

I’m sorry, I just have to talk about c!Techno and c!Punz because I can’t stop thinking about them. Please let me talk about c!Techno and c!Punz. They literally interact once, with the Butcher Army/attempted execution fiasco, and they don’t even talk then. They are almost completely unrelated. There’s no reason to think (or talk) about the two of them and their relationships with each other, at least not based on what is explicitly stated in canon.

But they’re surprisingly similar, and the way other people see them mirror each other. They are both extremely loyal and are deeply involved with c!Dream and are seen as weapons, tools that can be bought and used without any regard for their opinions on the matter. But the way their loyalty is expressed is different, and their relationships with c!Dream are different, and the way they react to be dehumanized are different, and I want to talk about that a little bit because I just can’t stop thinking about them please help.

c!Techno doesn’t like c!Punz. He doesn’t like the fact that they’re complicit in just about everything (including multiple governments and completely unrelated public executions) and the goodwill they got from saving him from the Butcher Army didn’t last very long, especially because he knows they only got involved because c!Dream told them to/paid them to. His opinion of them only further sours after the Eggpire, because, even if they weren’t there for the Red Banquet, they were still working with the Egg. In AUs where c!Punz ends up helping c!Techno (especially if c!Dream is involved), Techno does not trust them one bit and suspects they’re just playing the long con so they can sell him and Dream and the Syndicate out. In versions where Punz tells Techno everything, including the Staged Finale, he thinks they were stupid for not saying no, you can’t do that, to Dream. 

So c!Techno doesn’t like, or trust, c!Punz. But it’s more than just that. c!Techno sees c!Punz as the opposite of him, the person he would hate to be and the person he fears he is, the person who everyone treats him as and expects him to be. A tool, a weapon, something you can buy with some coins or a sob story and point in the direction of your enemies. c!Techno fights so hard against the dehumanization that he faces, reinstates over and over again that he’s a person, not just The Blade; c!Punz accepts that conception of them, leans into it, because it keeps them safe and stops people from asking questions and provides plausible deniability. But, for c!Techno, c!Punz is exactly what their facade is, and that means c!Punz is exactly what he refuses to become.

c!Techno doesn’t like thinking about c!Punz.

c!Punz doesn’t like c!Techno. They don’t like the way that c!Techno broke c!Dream out of prison just to take away his armor and abandon him; they don’t like the fact that he broke c!Dream out so late. They’re tightly strung and hold grudges and need someone to blame so they can distract themself from what the hell is going on, what the fuck was happening in that prison, especially because they don’t know who they can blame for this but Sam and themself and everyone who let them happen. c!Techno’s a better target for their wrath because he’s safely out of reach and c!Punz knows they could never act on it. Just bottle up your anger and stick to the plan.

But it’s not just that they hate him either. c!Punz hates c!Techno, sure, but they’re also jealous of him. c!Techno can be angry and get upset and let other people know about it. c!Techno can get revenge. c!Techno can protect the people he loves. c!Techno can assert his humanity. And c!Punz can’t do any of those things, or, at least, they’re not allowed to.

c!Dream thought that c!Techno was powerful enough to be openly aligned with. c!Dream thought c!Techno was powerful and dangerous enough that he would let him break him out of Pandora’s, banked on c!Techno getting him out, and c!Dream would never let c!Punz do anything like that. c!Dream calls c!Techno a friend despite everything he’s gone through and struggles so much to do the same to c!Punz.

(Deep down, c!Punz almost wishes they were c!Techno)

[lookinghalfacorpse]

Okay so I've been insane about this for A While now, but I rly wanna talk about it now. Like, the parallels between cQ & cSam and cPhil & cTechno in regards to cDream. Like with how one in each pair is a mostly humanoid bird hybrid(the duck hybrid!Q hc) who's smaller than cDream and the other a giant mob hybrid. The way one of those pairs made cDream a wreck(okay he was a wreck before that but yk what I mean) and the other pair is helping him heal from being a wreck. But then it's like, you look at both pairs and how they are with cDream, or literally just in general. And they couldn't be anymore differant. Like the initial parallels between the pairs could make sth feel too familiar in a bad sense, but then realizing, that it's just cTechno and cPhil, he'll calm down. In itwall, you even mentioned the parallells between cQ and cPhil and like how cDream could mistake them for each other and stuff.

Hope this makes sense and that I got the point of my little ramble across lol

YES this is big-brained. i can't believe i've implied this so many times yet never said anything outright about it.

techno and sam, both giant mob hybrids, serve as guardians. these are the people dream is most physically comfortable with, and who he trusts most. techno moreso guards dream himself while sam guards "the prisoner," if that makes sense, and techno encourages freedom while sam denies it. in ttdtn, techno jokes a bit about their roles being reversed ("think of it as a visitation system"). i like the idea of techno being the tallest on the server and sam being the second tallest; the competition between them is palpable.

phil and quackity, both bird hybrids and both shorter than dream, are more active agents of change. quackity was more, uh, "hands on" with dream in the cell, and i wrote philza as being the more knowledgable and active healer in itwall. these are the ones who create either pain or comfort, and unfortunately for dream, they're easy to mistake for each other. dream struggles with things like that. i particularly like designs where phil has massive wings (that are broken) and q has small, useless wings.

[boopshoops]

hi hi!! may i throw in 💬 for ezra? :00

Ezra had read many stories about the nocturnal fae throughout his life. On and off and on again, his interest in his own history died in and out throughout the years.

He would read a chapter, attempt to take notes, see if he could find any sort of relation to himself besides the usual: pointy teeth, ears, and varying elongated lifespans.

He would take those notes, start skipping sentences, try to reread them only for it not to click.

Then he would give up for years on end. Even decades.

No no, he held no attachment to them, not one single bit. If anything, he was more put off. Conflicted.

A large majority of information regarding nocturnal fae came directly from nocturnal fae themselves. Usually he would LIVE for the flare of dramatic romanticism in the retelling of tales of old, but these... they just... held so much hatred. So much hatred for humans.

The historical documents were from two hundred years before his birth, regarding the wars between the fae of Briar Valley and neighboring human kingdoms.

OBVIOUSLY, the humans were in the wrong. It didn't take much brainpower to recognize the greed, but-

As he sat in a cozy cottage, beams of morning sunlight pouring in through an open window. The breeze ruffled his curly hair from his spot on the window sill, and when he heard the laughter of his nieces children echoing from where they played outside in the grass, he snapped the book shut.

-But the way the fae referred to humans in these texts made his stomach churn. It was like they were seen as beneath them. Like pests. Mice that scurried around beneath ironclad boots.

Ezra had been raised by humans since the moment he was born.

His family had always treated him with kindness.

Even as he watched as his adoptive parents and adoptive siblings gradually grow old and pass away, not once did he see any greedy, vicious tendencies foretold in those books. They were just... people.

He once found a tale of a fae from the same subspecies as him, a changeling:

To summarize, a family took a changeling child in. They figured out that the child was a fae by catching them attempting to shape-shift, and they drove them out of the village. The village claimed they were a vile creature, far too dangerous to keep alive.

Ezra rolled his eyes and eccentrically threw the history book to the side.

How dull... what a waste of perfectly good linen, using it for paper like that. He didn't quite understand why his species villainized humans so, without questioning the reasons WHY changelings were almost ALWAYS taken in by humans. Raise your own children if the humans are so untrustworthy, goodness.

The children outside called his name excitedly, waving at him from where they ran. One tripped and fell straight on their face- only to pop up a second later and continue eagerly waving at him while covered in grass stains and dirt.

Ezra couldn't help but giggle. He returned the wave with a cheerful smile.

Ahhh yes, what "greedy" young sprouts those were... Well, he supposed a quick game of tag with their great uncle Goldspire couldn't hurt.

Tags!

@techno-danger @lowcallyfruity @skriblee-ksk @twsted-canvas @distant-velleity

@thehollowwriter @kitwasnothere @cecilebutcher @justm3di0cr3

[dingbatnix]

Mcyt Oneshots

A collection of all of my oneshot fics regarding Mcyt

Under a cut cause dang it's getting long xD

Rescue...?

Sapnap finds a tiny, injured Dream after he's been broken out of prison

tiny!Dream, giant!Sapnap

Breakout (noms)

Techno finds a way to escape prison with Dream

tiny!Dream, giant!Techno

Hyper-Focus (noms)

Dream gets too focused on his work to eat. His tiny friends try to help him.

tiny!Sam, tiny!Bad, tiny!Ant, tiny!Sapnap, tiny!George, giant!Dream

Leap (noms)

George...falls

tiny!George, giant!Dream, giant!Sapnap

Betrayal (noms) (collage of creator works)

Dream, shrunken and vulnerable, gets eaten by Punz to protect him from the rest of the server. Dream doesn't know that it's safe.

tiny!Dream, giant!Punz, giant!Smp

Betrayal (noms) (single post) (my part of the full Betrayal fic)

Better (noms)

Sam realizes that the prison conditions are a bit...shit.

tiny!Dream, giant!Sam

Eel

Sapnap runs into a colorful octopus mer. Or, more accurately, he runs into Sapnap. It seems he's fleeing from something...?

giant!Dream, mini-giant!Sapnap?, mini-giant!George?, tiny!Karl

Dream, Sap, & Goggy designs

Karl design

Fanart

Bees

Sapnap is just trying to garden, but two brightly colored bees won't leave him alone! Thankfully, he manages to swat one...oh shit.

giant!Sapnap, tiny!Dream, tiny!George

Where's Karl?

Fanart (by Cyncerity)

More fanart! (by Kayla)

Dream and George reference compared to Sapnap

Is Sapnap still scared of bees?

Squish

Dream forgets to watch his step...

giant!Dream, tiny!Antfrost

Imprisoned (noms)

Sapnap finds Dream a couple weeks after he breaks out of prison, and attempts to enact his promise to be the one to take his final life.

It doesn't go too well.

tiny!Sapnap, giant!Dream

Art/Continuation??

If Sapnap gets sick

Shift

Dream reveals to George that he can shift into a giant from his blob form

Inspired by wendy130

tiny!George, giant!Dream

Deity (noms)

Dream is the God of the Overworld and the End. As such, he often gets human sacrifices, which taste delicious.

Well, he's handed a cage with two mortals trapped inside, and fuck, he knows these two.

giant!Dream, giant!Karl, tiny!George, tiny!Sapnap

Rest (part 2)

Goddess of Death confrontation

Tiny Dream noms ask

Lasagna

Sapnap just wanted some cheese, but, uh, whoops, he accidentally falls into the pasta pan.

tiny!Sapnap, giant!Dream, giant!George

Captive (story with pictures) (noms)

George is a naga who is held captive in a cave. Poor guy. And then the rest of the dteam get shoved in the cave with him.

giant!George, tiny!Bad, tiny!Dream, tiny!Sapnap.

Slime

Karl gets stuck in his slime form, and his fiancés don't know that he's a slime. Oof.

giant!Sapnap, giant!Quackity, giant!Charlie, tiny!Karl

Scales

George is just a marine biologist that wants to study his mer friend, but his friend is determined to be...difficult.

tiny! George, giant!Dream

[ritunn]

Fabula Ultima: High Fantasy Atlas Review

Emmy award winning TTJRPG, Fabula Ultima, just released its first sourcebook in English! The High Fantasy Atlas is already a best Electrum seller on DriveThruRPG and at the time of writing, the best selling book on the platform this week... all within one day! But, if that hasn't convinced you, let me offer you my review.

What do you get in the High Fantasy Atlas? Well you'll find the following:

Chapter 1 - Introduction: This section covers how the pillars of JRPGs work in High Fantasy games and offers more details and examples on how to implement them. Very useful for session 0 world design.

Chapter 2 - The World: This introduces 10 sample high fantasy locations you're likely to explore in a high fantasy world of Fabula Ultima game along with advice for creating new Arcanum for the Arcanist class, details concerning the creation of gods and demons, how the Stream of Souls functions, and info on tech and magic. The latter part of the chapter has new rare item rewards and artifacts you can give players!

Chapter 3 - Protagonists: This chapter includes sample PC ideas with info on them along with the new custom weapon, quirk, and zero power optional rules. The latter part of the chapter includes 4 new classes, the chanter, commander, dancer, and symbolist, along with heroic skills for classes new and old.

Chapter 4 - Antagonists: The first part of this chapter explores how to use antagonists in High Fantasy games while the latter half offers 5 villains from levels 10 - 60 you can use in your game or as a jumping off point to make your own!

Overall, 200 pages of content useful for not just High Fantasy games, but any really! Let's go over some of my favorite bits in each chapter.

Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter, though the shortest, is incredibly helpful. Having examples and additional explanation for how to implement the pillars is useful for groups, especially those coming from systems like D&D and Pathfinder who might not be used to having such power to shape the world. Otherwise, it offers a solid introduction to the genre as well.

Chapter 2: The World

By far the longest chapter, there's a few notable things that aid immensely, but let us begin with how the sample locations work.

Each of the 10 locations starts off like this with an intro and an "at a glance" sidebar. This really helps you conceptualize what the area is supposed to invoke feelings wise and offers you nice reference for travel rolls and what kind of enemies and discoveries you may find here. I highly recommend doing this for locations in general your group makes, it helps a ton.

After this, each location has some example quests and questions to ask your players to flesh out this area and areas like it. Perfect for giving others the ability to add their own flair to the area and to get them started with playing when they enter the area. These story hooks also often have a villain described with tactics they use and any relevant clocks, but they have no stat blocks, so you can make them to fit with your group's playstyle for combats.

Afterward is a section on how to run conflicts and make them memorable, helpful if that is something you've been struggling with. It also has some nice ideas regarding how to run fights against armies, which is certain to come up here and there in games.

Lastly, we explore the magic and tech of High Fantasy. The advice for making new Arcanum, whether for world building themes or for the Revelation heroic skill, is greatly appreciated as it's one of the hardest things to balance and get right without a good understanding of the game. Advice on how the afterlife and Stream of Souls works thematically in your game is also useful and it offers some nice plot hooks you can use with the ideas presented I've put into practice even before the release of the Atlas to great effect. Lastly, the section on technology is short but appreciated, exploring how it differs from a Techno Fantasy game.

The new rare items are mostly geared towards enhancing specific skills for classes rather than general use, but it's handy for figuring out how to price similar items focused on certain skills when making your own. The new artifacts are also grandiose and powerful additions to any game, magnificent rewards if your party can acquire them. My favorite is a book that contains all knowledge up to the present moment in time, but was sealed away in the far reaches of space... supposedly.

Chapter 3: Protagonists

The main course! This has the 4 new classes and a bunch of optional rules we saw in the playtest. But, first I want to take a look at the sample PCs.

Each of the 10 sample PCs has a profile like such. It covers the usual Identity, Theme, and Origin, along with a Quirk and signature weapon. Quirks are a new rule that work as backgrounds, but suped up with powerful game changing and character altering effects ranging from gaining some spells to being able to choose to make costs for a spell or Ritual free at the cost of eventually summoning a supreme villain... that will come eventually whether you like it or not. Ones like those typically give you a free heroic skill when the big event comes and you lose the quirk. Preparing you to face a new horizon or final foe.

Back to Raisa however. As we can see here, it has info on her backstory, classes, what she gets to decide about world building wise, and how they'll grow in their own character arc. Useful for someone who wants to jump right in with a somewhat premade character, but even more useful for showing your players what you need to know about their characters if you're a GM. This should also help direct and inspire players during world creation. Which I greatly appreciate. Now, for the new optional rules (besides quirks).

Custom weapons are pretty simple. They're essentially weapons you design mechanically as a player. They're always two-handed, cost 300 - 400 zenit, can be any weapon type you want along with being melee or ranged, and deals [HR + 5] physical damage with a [DEX] + [INS/MIG] accuracy check depending on what you choose. You can then pick a few traits, like Powerful for extra damage, Defense Boost for extra armor and to make it count as a shield, or Transforming to let it switch between two different modes. Depending on what traits you pick, it may also become martial. This rule can be used by anyone who wants to use it without fuss unlike quirks and zero powers, as it adds no extra power and is fairly balanced. Some people could play with custom weapons, some without. But, it allows for you to add a lot of style to your character if you choose to do so.

Lastly, zero powers are a mechanic I've been using for half a year from the playtest and it's loads of fun! Want a limit break or perhaps combo attack in vein of Tales of Arise? Zero powers have you covered. When using this rule, you gain a 6 point clock that fills whenever taking damage, spending a Fabula Point to invoke a trait or bond, or via special Zero Trigger you pick when making your power. Then you pick an effect to go with the trigger you can unleash with an action when the clock is full, like Zero Limits which boosts all your stats by 1 die size or Zero Triangle to allow you and 2 allies to make a free attack with a +5 bonus to accuracy. Zero Powers are loads of fun and you can even allow for players to charge them up together for combo attacks with a variant rule for 4 or less player parties.

Welcome to the show! The Chanter is your premier bard. Chanter's main skill is Magichant, which allows them to sing or play songs you compose yourself by picking a volume (to determine number of targets), key (to determine damage types, attribute, status effect, HP/MP), and tone (to determine the effect with info filled in by your key). It's an amazing support class with high MP usage, but they can easily target enemy Vulnerabilities or act as a debuffer too to tear their foes apart. Their other skills allow them to perform hearing-based illusion Rituals, increase damage or regain MP when enemies are hit, give damage reduction to themselves, or get a free attack with low and medium volume magichants.

Being a chess master is the name of the game with Commander. Gaining access to martial weapons of all types, the Commander has skills focused on creating conflict scene wide buffs and debuffs to everyone. Use Bishop's Edict to double MP costs or increase all damage or King's Castle to increase HP/MP recovery or null it entirely. Their other skills allow them to command allies to make free attacks with handy bonuses and chain together their skills when doing so, leading to a flurry of activations. But be careful, one wrong move can lead to your downfall. Commander works best as a sort of Warlord class, they're a support martial pure and simple, but if the player using it isn't very smart about how they use their skills they can put everyone in a heap of trouble.

Swift of step, Dancer's main skill is well... Dance! Dance allows you to spend 10 MP before or after an action to perform a dance (5 MP if you used Dance last turn). Dances provide a variety of effects but most give you resistance to a damage type or allow you to alter all your damage to that type until the end of the turn or give the enemy a status condition, or another different one if they already have it. There's also healing and haste dances if you want those too! Their other skills allow them to apply dances to others they have affection towards, dance and use the equipment action for free, get bonuses towards rolls involving acrobatics for Objectives, or increase the damage of their weapons or spells after dancing. Dancer is primarily another support class, but their ability to change damage types and increase damage makes them amazing at targeting Vulnerabilities and denying enemies damage by gaining Resistance.

Symbolism has always been the heart of magic and the Symbolist knows this best. An IP focused class like Tinkerer, Symbolist's main skill is Symbolism. By spending 2 IP, you can create a symbol and attach it to an ally or make a free attack and apply it to every enemy you hit (amazing with multi). Symbols range in effect from halving recovery, providing one free IP expenditure, or even changing the creature type. Their other skills allow allies with a symbol cast your spells, make sight-based illusions with Rituals, track enemies with symbols, and increase damage or recovery on those with your symbols. The Symbolist, like the Tinkerer, is focused on IP usage and as such will need a class like Rogue, Merchant, or Wayfarer to help keep that up. However, symbols allow for a lot of strategy and creativity in character building that you can use to your benefit. Picking your symbols will be paramount to your build, so be smart about what you pick and smarter about who you apply them too. Sharpshooter and Weaponmaster are also great picks if you intend to apply symbols to enemies.

Lastly, the new heroic skills are all solid. Most focus on using specific types of weapons, now rewarding you for sticking to them as your signature weapon. There's even a few only available to level 30 and higher, notably, Bimagus, which let's you dualcast spells and Grand Summon, which allows you summon Arcanum as separate entities to help you rather than merging.

Chapter 4: Antagonists

Compared to the last two chapters, there's less to say here but there is some great content. This chapter includes 5 villains of levels 10, 20, 30, 40, and 60 that make for fun inclusions in any High Fantasy game. The villains range from a pirate queen to the incarnation of narrative tragedy itself and each comes with a statblock, minions (if they have any), and advice on how to run their encounters. Some even have multiple phases, which is a great example of how to build your own multi-phase boss fights, after all... this isn't even their final form!

One thing to remember when using these enemies (and the book points this out thankfully) is that Fabula Ultima is designed in a way where you, the GM, have to make monsters your party can reflect upon and has the tools to fight effectively. So, when using these, change up the affinities, give them a makeover to connect to the heroes if needed, and use them as you see fit!

Final Thoughts

If you have been loving Fabula Ultima, pick up this book. There's so much great advice for running games and new content for players and GMs alike. You won't be disappointed! There's also some more beautiful JRPG style art within just like the Core Rulebook. If you enjoyed Bravely Default, FFIV, FFIX, FFX, or Tales of Arise, this book will let you live out the same fantasies and journeys featured in those games and gives you even more tools to be your very own heroes of High Fantasy and challenge tragedy itself on the Final Days.

You can purchase it on DriveThruRPG for $14 USD ($20 CDN).

[anarchy-and-piglins]

Hii! I was wondering something about cTechno, but I don't understand that much about his lore, so since you're the oficial Techno specialist I'll ask you. (to be honest I have like a million questions about cTechno, but I'm not gonna annoy you with all of them at once, I'll just ask the one I'm curious about right now)

Who do you think is his favorite/least favorite between Wilbur and Tommy?

I mean, Techno has a complicated relationship with Tommy (and I gotta admit, I'm not sure what's his opinion on Tommy, if he hates or cares for him, or maybe is just upset with him), and Wilbur was a president (government) and a traitor. So like, which one of these two do you do you think he liked (or maybe dislike, if he doesn't like any of them) the most?

Hehe, Official Techno Specialist. I'm not sure if I'm worthy of that title but I will do my best o7 I certainly adore him a whole lot and have thoughts about him constantly. I also love talking about cTechno and answering questions so definitely don't feel scared you'll annoy me. I could talk about that man all day <3

Regarding this specific question though, what matters somewhat is 1) obviously Techno's relationship with both Wilbur and Tommy changes over the course of the story so it kind of depends on what point in the narrative we're looking at and 2) human relationships are very complicated, probably too complicated to boil down to just 'like' and 'dislike'. Especially since his relationships with Wilbur and Tommy are some of the more complicated ones in Techno's lore (especially Tommy).

When it comes to a character like c!Techno specifically, in wanting to know if he likes somebody it's often a lot more useful to look at whether he trusts them.

During Pogtopia, Techno clashes more with Tommy's abrasive attitude and the way he constantly uses Techno for help, with little regard for what Techno actually wants. It's probably safe to say Techno liked Wilbur a bit more at that point, mostly because they were on the same page, though he didn't dislike Tommy necessarily. Techno also felt as if Wilbur was using him to some extent, but since their goals aligned, he was less bothered by it. After the Red Festival, Techno's trust in Wilbur was severely damaged though. And then Nov 16th happened, which Techno regarded as an even bigger betrayal.

After Nov 16th Techno shows fondness and a soft spot for Ghostbur, but also for Tommy in taking him in after exile. Techno clearly doesn't hate either of them but also doesn't trust them (again, especially Tommy). It should be noted that out of all the characters, Techno has a more consistent record of treating Ghostbur as a separate entity from Wilbur. Which is why Techno is able to be pretty chill around him, despite his feelings toward Wilbur's actions.

During this arc, he grows closer to Tommy and a measure of trust builds between them. Again, it's safe to say Techno liked Tommy more than Wilbur (or even Ghostbur) at this point. until the Green Festival, which was another instance of personal betrayal for Techno and one he actually was more hurt by than Nov 16th still.

There are little hints throughout the rest of the story that Techno still does not hate Tommy but he definitely does not trust him and was very hurt by his actions. And that carries a much greater weight for him. The same thing goes for Wilbur - after he was revived, Techno made it pretty clear he didn't trust Wilbur at all. Though again, I wouldn't say he disliked him either. He was pretty neutral about the whole apology thing, though appreciated that Wilbur took responsibility for disregarding Techno's autonomy and using him as a means to an end.

Both relationships are ones where Techno cares about the person involved to some degree, but they also hurt them in such a way that it's impossible to trust them. He neither overtly likes nor dislikes them, the relationships are volatile and that means Techno will guard himself and keep a distance.

Overall though, I'd lean towards saying Techno both likes AND dislikes Tommy more than Wilbur because their relationship was more intense in both directions.

[crivalsduo]

when "daisy" pass to be "rabbit" i wonder if hh!dream will still hide how he prefers to be treated as, no as cdream but about him, like would he be more comfortable with the syndicated make him open up about this or he would be so scared of them being mad at him he'll not correct them when they call him "she" like that guy when he was just brought to the club

yeah, he's pretty hesitant to out himself in any regard even when it bothers him. the name thing is a little more simple because they assume 'daisy' was a stage name given to him which. it was.

but a lot of the other stuff he doesn't want to fight because this whole identity is a bit of a shield. (which is something the syndicate use later to their advantage in basically blackmailing sam and quackity.) dream has no idea what they'd do if they knew it was him. even if he explains the story - and they've seen firsthand what was done - dream thinks there's a good chance they'd just be like 'welp, it's dream so better turn him back in'.

so yeah, he doesn't really correct them but techno picks up on some things and tries to help mitigate some of his clear discomfort.

[starfyhero2]

The Indie Underground AU

So y'all are familiar with underground music scenes? In this au, the idea is taken more literally. Originally founded by the Almighty Trollmir and some of the ancient critters, the Indie Underground is a haven for the misfits and outcasts of the tribes, as well as smaller genres and sub-genres in the troll kingdoms. Now, did I mention that the Underground is sustained with the help of Trollmir's magic? More info under the cut regarding those two new troll ocs and why Poppy and Branch look like that!

(I'm gonna say right now though, that this au is probably gonna be my most complex/dense one yet, probably even beyond the upcoming harmonic heroes au; this story is taking some old ideas of mine from past aus I made outside of this fandom)

So, there are various kinds of citizens in the Indie Underground:

-monochrome trolls: trolls that were born gray, but otherwise is like any other colorful troll; the techno troll pictured above is a Monochrome Troll by the name of Monna!

-robot trolls: with the assistance of magic, trolls have been able to engineer robots not only with self-awareness, but some of these robots also harbor the souls of trolls that perished 'too soon'. The robot funk troll is named Shelly!

-acapella trolls: normally mute trolls that wear face masks pretty much all the time. They are the experts at making sounds with their voices and bodies. They love to provide backup instrumentals to other's songs, but maybe you'll be lucky to get one to sing...?

-alt. rock and grunge trolls

-trolls with physical abnormalities for their tribes (feral trolls fall under this category)

-the general outcasts

-trolls that went gray (note: the leaders of the underground have been trying to invite branch for years but for some reason something always happens to the invite...)

-trolls that prefer a different lifestyle than what's acceptable to their tribe

Monna and Shelly were originally designed to be Broppy adopted children but then I realized that there's something much more fitting for those two that I have in mind!

As for the hand signs Monna, Poppy and Branch are making: it's a common symbol for the trolls of the underground to use. Basically, their motto is: "When you call, we'll always be there." They're the definition of a community coming together like a big family.

Now why does Branch look like a monster?

Now there's quite a bit of plot-related reasons, but basically:

-the place Trollmir resides is basically the 'Heart' of the magic in the troll kingdoms, north of the classical mountains

-over the years, she would select specific trolls to take on the role of Light Keeper, trolls that hold the power to protect their world and to guide their people in times of crisis; it's also a way to help protect the sacred Heart

-Poppy, Branch, and a few others were identified to have been given the title, alongside the magic associated with it

-Poppy was also given the role of the Mediator: she's an expert healer and magic user and has the ability to see Biosouls (I'll explain them another time), she’s also able to ‘control’ Branch in his Attacker State (a major reason as to why she's primarily wearing blue), and make sure he doesn't get too animalistic or feral.

-Branch, instead of the Mediator, was instead also given the role of the Attacker: he has the ability to not only see Biosouls but can transform into a powerful beast. While in this 'attacker state', he can't really physically speak, but thanks to a bit of telepathic magic, Poppy can hear his voice in her head, so to speak. He can somewhat control himself as a monster, but is more prone to go berserk. Other than that, his job is to be able to protect his gf.

[otakween]

Digimon Tamers - Episode 49

Another "build-up" to the finale episode. Juri's moved onto a new stage of grief/depression from catatonic numbness to screaming despair (and then a little bit of hope at the end). Definitely beyond the scope of emotions most kids shows get into.

Notes:

I was annoyed with the fake out death they did for Beelzebumon. It's not that I want him to die, but don't pretend you're gonna kill him off when it's obvious it's not actually gonna happen. Pretty messed up that they showed Mako and Ai watching him fade away on TV but not him getting saved! Hopefully they caught that part lol.

Juri mentions wanting to die via her hand puppet but Culumon snaps her out of it. This is the second time we've seen this kinda scenario since BlackWarGreymon wanted to die in 02. Definitely hits harder when it's a little girl of course.

Sakuyamon cradling a wounded Impmon was touching. We didn't really see him again post-battle, but that's probably coming later.

The UN shows up (with their Engrish) and use jammers instead of bombs/traditional weapons. I'm not entirely sure what that was meant to accomplish because the explanation was a bunch of techno-babble. Well, it didn't do much.

Evil Juri shows up again and tells Juri that her sorrow feeds the D-Reaper. Is that the motivation for keeping Juri around now that they've learned enough from her or did she just say that to screw with her?

Imagery is getting very spooky and Evangelion-like. The D-reaper's new "Goddess" form is super cool. The bloody tentacle room (lol sorry, dunno what to call it) Culumon and Juri are in looks cool too. I probably would have dug this show a lot in middle school.

Cute seeing everyone in their puffy winter clothes. It's always a nice break when cartoon characters that have a default outfit do something different.

I was kinda shook when they revealed that Juri's been in her bubble for a week!? Uhhh guess I'll just suspend my disbelief regarding food, water and bathroom stuff. Maybe it's like the digital world where that stuff isn't required? Let's go with that...

Kai shows up from the movie! (Didn't see that coming). I feel like anime doesn't show extended family relationships (cousins) too often, so it's kinda refreshing. Does his cameo have a purpose?...maybe not. But I enjoyed it anyways :D

Renamon confirms that digimon don't have genders and Ruki's mom is like "but you're totally a girl" lol. Said every digimon viewer ever. It's a little hard to think of characters as genderless when they're treated as feminine in every way possible. Then you have the other side in Pokemon where they do have gender and super masculine-presenting pokemon can be female (or vice versa). Either way, mon-series are gender non-conforming which I support.

Juri's finally on the road to recovery because she asks for help and wants to leave her bubble. Heartwarming to see. Final battle here we come!!

[found-wings]

qPhil flock headcanons because :D SILLIES AJAJAJA

People I headcanon to be part of Phils flock eventually now:

Fit, Missa, Etoiles, Tubbo, Forever + all of the Eggs. I imagine with Cellbit & Bad there is an instinctive part of Phil that wants to call them flock so badly but he’s not quite ready to embrace that part yet so while he treats them as flock, he doesn‘t quite drag them into anything really.

I will say that I headcanon varying flock types : mainly we have chosen & instinctive flocks.

Chosen flocks are flocks that consist out of people that are not perceived as flock instinctively, however are still treated the same as if they were - the main difference is that they were consciously chosen and trusted to be flock.

Instinctive flocks are flocks that are latched onto instinctively. This isn‘t really controllable, however chosen flocks can become instinctive flocks and the same the other way around.

There is a bit of a higher chance for instinctive flocks to awake any avian instincts in an avian, though.

Fit, Missa, Chayanne, Tallulah and Etoiles are all people who were instinctive flock first.

Forever, Tubbo and all the other Eggs were chosen flock first before eventually becoming instinctive probably. The time it took for them to be instinctive varies.

Phil is incredibly suffering with Cellbit & Bad being also instinctive flock technically, however he is still in partial denial about it and chooses to ignore it for now WHEEZE-

Now to the sillies:

Fit is the most knowledgable and used to everything. He probably knows a lot surrounding what it means to be flock, what‘s okay with Phil and what isn‘t, any instinctive responses , etc - he‘s basically the og of the flock, if you don‘t count Techno in their shared past.

I imagine Missa & Etoiles are the two people that literally had to be told by someone else that they are considered flock by Phil.

With Missa it was probably one of the Eggs that told him, most likely Chayanne. Missas first reaction I imagine is to just gasp quietly, then break into sniffles and sobbing. He is flock??? FLOCK????? WAAAA -

Now with Etoiles. I LOVE THESE TWO SO MUCH. Etoiles figures it out because of Baghera mentioning it on the side when they briefly talk. Something something about Baghera referring to Etoiles‘ flock and he immediately knows who she is referring to, but stops himself in the middle of the sentence as he processes what she said. 'Wdym flock?' 'Aren‘t those from your flock?' '?????'

Also 100% Etoiles is on the edge of everything feeling so natural with being considered flock - nothing really changes or has changed between them, he feels just as comfortable and close to Phil & the others - but also this uncertainty that sometimes creeps up on himself on upsetting anyone of said flock because he’s not the most aware of traditions and do’s ‚ don‘ts ( little does he know everyone is so patient and understanding with him about it, especially Phil. I have an unfinished writing that I‘ll probably never finish where Phil is in his silly birb brain and Etoiles does something that is considered rude in Avian standards - Fit has a small talk with Etoiles before dragging him back ).

Next up, Forever!

For some reason I can see that Forever is also one of the more knowledgable people around Avian stuff as well. He wants to be the best of help for his friend whenever he can, which has probably caused him to gather as much information as he can about it.

Mans became a literal light at when he learned more about what flocks are in avian culture and he just immediately brightens up so much.

Tubbo. Least knowledgable majority of the time but he has the spirit!!

He doesn’t quite understand the concept of flocks and stuff like that really but he absolutely loves it & supports Phil in anything really (just please keep those claws away from him, he is not ready to be latched onto again AJAJAJA)

Also has surprisingly good ideas sometimes when brainstorming ideas together with the rest of flock in regards to dealing with certain issues Phil occasionally has in his instincts.

I imagine his first reaction is confusing, then bragging about it but in secret being so grateful for this.

Not gonna get into any specific Eggs, Cellbit nor Bad because I am very eepy

[starified-lizzy]

Are you seriously fucking kidding me right now.

TW// very broad mention of abuse, venting

First the issues with smile bitch, now…

God I don’t even wanna type his name because what the fuck…

Dude- I grew up watching his shit, as most of us did, and- once again- like most of us- he kept us from just… not being here anymore.

Now with the whole situation that I literally just found out about today because I don’t watch twitch anymore- or watch MCYT in general anymore besides occasional Hardcore survivals from unrelated creators, and now I just… I feel like my entire world is ending.

He seemed like such a kind guy, and on paper- with what we were shown, he was.

Hell- I even wrote old ass fanfics relating around that motherfucker because he was such a comfort for me.

First- we loose Techno, then we loose Dream from the allegations, and now we loose him from a confirmation from himself that he has abused someone he claimed to love.

I don’t think I’ll be around online much after this, at least for a little bit. I think I’m in denial right now, as im sure most people who viewed him as a comfort in the past are right now. It’ll only get worse from here, I can tell. I can’t even imagine what his- now past- friends are feeling right now. If im feeling whatever the fuck this is right now, I can only imagine how they feel, as they were the closest to him…

The fact I’ve considered continuing and finishing some old fics that included him hurts so fucking bad, because those fics are my babies, I loved them, but now- because he’s in there, I’m practically forced to shove a 10ft pole between us because it’s just a- damned if I do damned if I don’t situation. I’m damned if I do because, personally, it’ll hurt me beyond words, but if I do try to continue them, I’ll be damned because then I’ll be seen as a supporter.

I don’t support people who’d abuse others for their sheer amusement, and that fact hurts, because I have so much merch and related things that I got because of him. I don’t want to get rid of it, because that would hurt, and I don’t want to have to explain to my parents that the CC that I used to adore and look up to is an abuser, but I don’t want to keep those reminders of him visible in my room.

I have a comfort character… Saline… who was based off of him. I can’t let them go like that. I’m not gonna just… scrap/trash a character because one of the guys they’re based off of is an asshole… especially when that character has helped me with my own shit so many times… if I have to get rid of anything regarding him, Saline is the one that stays. I refuse to get rid of them.

I support Shubble, and, while I may have never watched her content, I always will. Letting him go as someone I severely looked up to will hurt like hell, I know that. But… time will hopefully lessen the pain as it goes on…

(Please don’t reply with “tips” on what I should do. I wish to handle this how I choose to, and there’s a good possibility that your suggestions will just hurt even more and for longer)

[callsigned]

𝙽𝙸𝙺𝚃𝙾

𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑

nikto  grew  up  in  nihzny  novgorod,  russia.  though  the  city  was  named  gorky  in  his  actual  childhood,  it  was  renamed  when  in  1990  due  to  shifting  ideologies  at  the  time. 

he  had  no  pets  nor  siblings,  and  was  predominantly  raised  by  a  single  mother.  through  her  he  learned  how  to  read  people,  extract  favors,  and  provide  for  himself  -  all  skills  he  would  later  use  as  a  deep  cover  agent  for  fsb. 

he  was  a  bit  of  a  neighborhood  fixture,  because  he  made  it  his  business  to  know  what  was  going  on.  a  helpful  young  man  who  was  trusted  by  the  community  came  to  know  much  -  something  he  did  not  out  of  the  goodness  of  his  heart,  but  simply  because  he  could.  he  could  endear  himself  to  these  people  in  exchange  for  secrets,  for  protection  for  his  mother,  for  resources.  he  could  threaten  to  expose  secrets  to  start  a  domino  effect  of  relationships  falling  apart,  and  he  could  remain  kingpin  of  that  web  of  trust  and  lies  for  as  long  as  he  saw  fit.  he  could,  so  he  did. 

𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚌𝚎

though  nikto  holds  little  regard  for  his  country's  state  at  the  public  national  level,  he  is  someone  who  enjoys  action,  and  being  able  to  make  a  tangible  difference.  his  skillsets  in  manipulating  people  and  circumstances  served  him  well  when  he  enlisted  with  the  fsb. 

his  tenure  with  them  was  effectively  cut  to  a  premature  end  after  he  was  betrayed  in  the  field,  and  was  taken  and  tortured  at  the  hands  of  zakhaev. 

this  torture  led  to  severe  disfigurement  in  his  face  and  body,  to  the  point  of  some  limbs  and  other  structures  needing  to  be  replaced.  a  cybernetic  spine  fused  biology  with  technology  and  allowed  nikto  to  become  a  highly  trained  cyborg,  with  both  bio  and  techno  aspects.  this  was  done  to  save  the  body  and  the  unique  skillset  he  had  -  his  mind,  however,  was  already  gone. 

with  both  de-personalization  and  de-realization,  nikto  often  thinks  of  the  world  as  being  something  he  is  not  a  part  of,  but  can  still  affect  and  control.  this  developed  as  a  dissociative  coping  mechanism  during  his  torture  but  became  something  he  simply…can't  control  anymore.

his  arrogance  and  charm  from  his  youth  have  taken  on  new  appearances,  but  remained  impactful  in  shaping  this  point  of  view.  when  lucid,  nikto  remembers  his  teammates  and  can  see  the  world  for  what  it  is.  when  having  an  episode  -  which  is  his  default,  more  often  than  not  -  nikto  thinks  of  those  around  him  as  being  projections  from  the  real  world,  brought  to  his  current  location  by  his  own  mind.  they  are  but  voices  in  the  radio  channel,  nothing  more,  nothing  less. 

𝚗𝚘𝚠

after  his  torture,  he  became  a  pmc  where  he  works  under  kortac  in  counter-terrorism  capacities.  long  gone  are  the  days  in  which  he  could  blend  into  a  city  and  do  deep  cover  work;  the  very  machinery  keeping  him  alive  now  marking  him  as  something  distinctly  other. 

when  not  in  all  his  armor,  he  most  closely  resembles  his  dark  side  mobile  skin.

most  of  his  internal  organs  are  not  bionic,  but  his  brain,  larynx,  and  several  large  musculoskeletal  structures  are,  such  as  his  spine,  pelvis,  right  thigh,  large  parts  of  his  skull,  right  arm,  etc.  he  does  have  mostly  organic  lips,  tongue,  his  original  eyes,  his  genitals  (because  he  does  still  need  to  eat,  albeit  much  less  frequently  than  most  humans  do,  and  a  colostomy  bag  was  not  an  option).  his  left  limbs  are  essentially  intact  as  well. 

he  often  has  his  touch  receptors  dialed  down,  which  does  not  help  with  his  dissociative  tendencies,  as  touch  and  general  physical  sensation  is  almost  numbed  out.  however,  it  is  helpful  (and  dangerous)  in  combat  scenarios.

he  was  6'5"  before  his  transformation;  now  he  is  6'7".