#even though I'm alone with my nonexistent fandoms here | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

by-kilian · 3 years ago

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(if this ask makes u uncomfortable in any way, feel free to ignore it, delete it, whatever u need to do. ur happiness matters more to me than anything else. however, i am specifically sending this not on anon, despite my incessant urge to do so as i barely ever send off anon, to give u the chance to reply to this privately if u want to. but that is if u want to! i don’t need, or want, anything from u. ur comfort outweighs any sort of recognition or interaction. i am also extremely unsure if this is gonna send properly bc i am on the tumblr app n the character limit seems to be nonexistent now? when did this happen HAHA…)

i went looking for u (scrolled thru the keyword of ur old user on tumblr, found an older ask that includes it) bc That App is talking abt That Story again. it always troubled me how things went down - i’ve experienced writers taking down their works before but never like that. orphaning works, sure. deleting ao3s, yep. but NEVER thru what u went thru. i don’t even generally go here (here being x readers), but That Story got pushed my way when the whole situation was in its hayday n i never properly paid attention to things until i caught wind of what u had to do. i had no idea it was that bad until maybe a week after the situation had been over n done with by ur actions. n i don’t blame u in the slighest. fandom culture is both extremely fun n extremely damaging - the fact u got the shortest end of the stick that i’ve ever seen is truly smth awful.

all of that aside, i am so extremely overjoyed to see ur still writing. truth be told, i hadn’t known of u before That Story, since again, my aversion to x readers. but ur writing is clearly smth special - n maybe this is extremely crude to say, i’m extremely sorry if it is - considering the way ppl acted over it. above it all, i am just happy to see that ur ok. everything is fine, as much as it can be. that fact alone leaves me content. i am SO glad u were able to push past it.

tldr, since i know this is a lot. i am so happy to see ur still kicking it, despite it all. content creation in any form is deeply personal if u put ur heart into it, n it seems like u do. i am so sorry for the way ppl treated u over That Story. i am doubly sorry if this made u feel upset in any way, shape, or form. that was not my intent, feel free to do whatever it is u need to do with this silly ask if this is the case. n maybe this is corny, but i hope more things fall in ur favor, instead of otherwise. have a nice day!

This is actually a really kind and considerate ask. I'll answer it under a cut since my response is pretty long though!

Firstly, I just want to say thank you for being thoughtful enough to consider my feelings in all of this. It's really kind of you and I'm not saying that just to say it. ❤️

Secondly, yeah. It all was a bit of a hell fire. While I wish it never happened, it obviously did but I'm happier now than I was then. Even before ThatStory blew up, my old writing blog was getting out of control and people were feeling super entitled to me, my works, what I did, and who/what I wrote about so in a way, I'm not surprised it headed that way although I never expected it to go THAT way lol. And yes, it was pretty bad but luckily it is done and over with. Fandom culture can be super fun and that's initially what it was for me--just fun before it unfortunately tipped over to the other extreme side of fandom which is toxic. It is what it is.

But to touch on your main point, thank you and it's not crude at all. I don't see your comment that way. In a way, I've come to think of it as much as well (that it must have resonated with people in some weird way) but not just with that particular story but other stories, too so it is really sweet that someone who doesn't read these kinds of stories thinks that of them as well. It also means a lot to me that someone cared enough to think about how I was doing after all this because that really hasn't been the case apart from loyal readers. Most ppl never think about me in this situation 😂 which is probably why what happened, happened. So thank you for the kind words. I'm fine. Like I said, happier now than I was in my previous blog. I've come to think that it's all meant to be. I get a lot more freedom here, I have the sweetest, most loyal readers, and no one feels entitled to my works, my time, or what I do.

Also you didn't upset me at all. While it's admittedly irritating to see people still talking about that shit a literal year and three months or so later, that has nothing to do with you so no worries. I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to check up on me, and thank you for being so kind. Content creation is super personal and I do put my heart into it, so it means a lot to me that you see that 🥺! Truly.

I'm touched that there are still kind, good, decent people out there because for you to take the time to look for me and send me something lovely truly means a lot, especially considering you weren't necessarily a reader of mine--just clearly a kind, thoughtful human being. I can't express how much I appreciate it. Honestly. Thank you so so much for the lovely sentiments, and I hope all is well for you in the future as well. ❤️❤️❤️

#asks

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kitkatt0430 · 3 years ago

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Armageddon Revised - Episode Four

Welcome to the penultimate episode of my rewrite of the Armageddon miniseries. The time for the big showdown against Thawne has arrived, but there's another villain waiting in the wings.

When I started this, I thought I'd write something a lot shorter than five separate and very long posts. But I realized pretty quickly that there was so much I wanted to do differently that tackling this in a single weekend just... wasn't going to happen. I'm pretty pleased with how this all turned out, though; well worth all the time it took to write it all up.

In a way this is my farewell to keeping up with the show. Though I intend to keep writing fanfic and participating with fandom, I've hit my limit when it comes to the show's writing. There's been a noticeable drop in quality since the early seasons and at some point I have to stop hoping it'll improve and admit that it won't.

I do hope that those of you still finding enjoyment in the show continue to do so. There is still a lot to love about the show - though I think what I've come to love most about it is the other people in the fandom it's connected me to.

What Went Wrong - Episode Four

Continuing to push the Frost/Chillblaine and the Allegra/Chester romances was a big problem. Blaine is a poorly written character and while this show has repeatedly shown that a good actor can make up for bad writing... that's not the performance we're getting for this guy. Having Blaine go shirtless makes it worse. Dude really needs to keep his shirt on.

Then there's the Allegra/Chester pairing that the writers have been hinting at here and there, but the actors chemistry together is nonexistent. They're somewhat believable as friends, but their energy together is so awkward that trying to ship them is repellant, at least for me and I know I'm not alone feeling this way. Not every character needs to be in a romantic relationship in order to have interesting side plots. And if the writers really want Frost, Allegra, and/or Chester to have a romantic ship happening... this would be the time to finally have a main character on the show be openly queer.

Make Chester bi. Have Frost figure out she's pan. Allegra realizes that she's queer. The show really missed the mark by writing out having a canonically queer main cast member from the get go by removing Hartley from the original pilot script; keeping David Singh as a recurring character (David being Hartley's love interest in the comics) didn't really help. Especially as David's recurred less and less as the show marches on. This could have been a good episode to make it clear they were rectifying the lack of canonical queer representation on the show during the course of the latest season and... instead we get a lesbian character shilling for a straight couple with zero romantic chemistry and spouting some of the most aphobic bullshit I've heard in an Arrow-verse show ever. Alex should know better than to say any of that and if she'd been written by the Supergirl writing team then she would have.

Then there's Eobard's plan. Every scene with Eobard in it sizzles because Tom Cavanagh is a scene thief. He's a great actor with pretty much instant on screen chemistry with everyone - something he has in common with Carlos Valdes and Candice Patton. It's a great reminder of how much we lost by him leaving as a series regular. But unfortunately not even Tom can make Eobard's plan, as revealed in this episode, work.

So Eobard was trying to ruin Barry's reputation as the Flash. Wait, no, he was trying to swap fates with Barry so that now Eobard's the Flash and Barry's the Reverse Flash. Wait, no, he killed Barry as a baby, set himself up as the Flash, and Barry doesn't exist anymore (yet is somehow still the Reverse Flash until he fades from existence???). It's a mess, it's incoherent, it's... what the hell happened to Eobard the chess master from season one? Or season five? If someone finds him, please let me know.

Damien Darhk just happens to have the time stone that convinces him immediately that Barry's telling the truth about his daughter. Normally I'd let something like that slide, but atop all the other plot problems with the episode in general and the whole story arc as a whole... it's just another instance of what's started to feel like the writing staff themselves were phoning this whole thing in.

And because Barry's never actually interacted with Nora Darhk, they used a flashback from the Legends... but a flashback with Barry interacting with Nora after her marriage to Ray would have worked a lot better in context.

I also wonder how Barry's suit changed into the Reverse Flash suit too when he clearly arrived in the Flash suit. Much like with Damien's convenient magic trinket, I'd probably let this point go in an episode that wasn't already teaming with plot holes. While I love Barry being forced into a role he isn't meant for and trying to make the best of it, if Barry is still the 2021 version of himself then why isn't the suit that came with him still the 2021 version too?

It's also odd that Cecile can sense Barry feels he's telling the truth, but doesn't notice how weirdly smug Eobard is about all of this. There was room here for an interesting story about Team Flash falling apart around Eobard because he can't actually live up to being the Flash all while blaming Barry for his little fantasy falling apart. Because he can never quite seem to understand that the real problem isn't Barry, it's Eobard. (And yet somehow they went with the red string strangulation?)

Once again, if Barry causes Armageddon as the Reverse Flash then why did Despero think the Flash was responsible? I know I keep bringing this one up, but it just bugs me so much. He didn't know the identity beneath the cowl until Barry told him. Three whole episodes fall apart when fridge logic is applied, all because of this giant plot hole.

Then there's the ending. Eobard appears in the Time Vault, gives an excellent mini-speech, and appears to be telling Gideon she's going to help him. It's a great stinger... and it gets no pay off in the following episode. Knowing there's no actual payoff makes the scene flop on rewatch in a way it didn't the first time through.

Armageddon: Revised - Episode Four

On the roof deck of Jitters, Barry and Iris meet. She tells him about the first time she met the Flash there and asks what their first meeting was really like. So Barry tells her they were children and how much he'd adored her. She was always brave and knew what she wanted in life and he'd been awed by her convictions. It took him so much longer to find his own courage and calling in life. When she'd met him as the Flash on this rooftop for the first time, Barry'd promised Joe not to tell her the truth. Keeping that promise was, in retrospect, one of the biggest mistakes of Barry's life.

Iris asks about their daughter and Barry tells her about Nora. And about Bart. Their time traveling children... not even born yet in 2021 when Barry's from. But he knows they'd have at least Nora already by 2031, if not Bart too. By then Iris has heard more than enough. She hands Barry an audio transmitter and tells him that if he confronts Eobard - if he can get the man to brag about what he's done - she can use that to turn Team Flash against Eobard. And she tells Barry that he'd better do whatever it takes, no matter what, to fix what Eobard's broken. Barry tells her he'll need the PED to do that and Iris promises to retrieve it for him.

In 2021, Cecile and Top test run the device meant to let them take out Xotar. But Cecile is overwhelmed by the input from the device and struggles to make it work. Similar to the show, Top tells Cecile that if her emotions are turning into a liability then she needs to bury them. She does no one any good if she's being controlled by her emotions instead of her controlling them. Afterwards, though, Caitlin talks to Cecile about losing Ronnie and the two of them have a nice bonding moment, similar to the one seen on the show. Cecile finally admits to the toll her powers take on her as Iris joins them.

Allegra asks how Frost's search for Chillblaine went and Frost tells her that she gave up on the search after running into Lisa Snart, Captain Cold's sister. The two of them hit it off and now Frost's questioning her orientation and confused. She's afraid Caitlin won't approve of her feelings for Lisa any more than for Blaine, especially given Lisa's flirty history with Cisco. Allegra seems to take an instant dislike of Lisa and seems jealous. When she goes to talk it over with Chester, though, he's busy doing science with Ryan, which Allegra also reacts uncomfortably to.

In 2031, with Deon's help they retune the Still Force detector to locate the source of the Negative Still Force. Now all they need is the Time Stone, the PED, and to destroy the artificial Still Force. Then Barry should have a straight shot at fixing the timeline. The problem is, Barry realizes, that the speeds and distance required will lead to the world tearing itself apart if he fails. The consequences will already be noticeable within minutes of him starting. Meaning once Barry starts... there's no going back. And while Barry's connection to the speed force has been slowly regenerating since Jefferson's forced attack on him... he's still not fully recovered. And in this timeline, Eobard's faster.

In 2021, Cecile and Top track down Xotar and use their own empathic abilities to try to short circuit Xotar's telepathy. Xotar tries to lure Top over to her side and at first it seems to be working. But Cecile comes through with a burst of power, knocking out Xotar and all of Xotar's mind controlled minions. She thanks Top for distracting Xotar while lending Cecile the strength of her powers and Top blows it off, saying having Team Flash owe her a favor is a lot more useful in the long run than having Xotar's non-existent gratefulness. After Rosa leaves, however, Cecile notes there's a lot more going on under the surface than Rosa wants to admit.

Jefferson and Iris wind up talking about Joe, whom Jefferson wishes he could have had the chance to know. He hopes that when the timeline is restored that, perhaps, he'll have that chance. Iris gets a chance to really talk about her relationship with Joe and her grief over losing him, something she's been struggling to let herself experience because she feels like she has to be strong for everyone. But not even knowing that soon she won't even remember him being dead doesn't make that grief easier to bear. And without Barry there as her support, it's even harder. Jefferson tells Iris that she doesn't have to be strong for everyone. It's okay to let herself take those vulnerable moments for herself, to let her friends be the ones who give her strength. Not just Barry, but everyone she holds dear.

In the STAR Labs cortex, Kamilla asks Cisco if he thinks Eobard will fix the timeline and return soon. Very carefully, Cisco tells her that he's sure the Flash will come back to them soon. Cisco then mutters to himself that Barry had better hurry up. They're running out of time.

Back to 2031, Barry returns with a stolen Time Stone and hands it off to Damian. He then sends Deon to Iris, to let her know that Barry's about to confront Eobard, so she'd better be ready to transmit the audio to all of Team Flash.

At STAR Labs, Alex confronts Allegra about her lies in the previous episode and Allegra finally admits the truth. Frost's relationship with Lisa had caused Allegra to realize she had a crush on the other woman, but she'd also had feelings for Chester. They'd played a late, and perhaps a bit lusty, D&D campaign, one thing led to another, and the two of them slept together. But Allegra hadn't really known who she'd really wanted and when she woke up alone that morning, she'd panicked. Even though Chester left a note saying he'd be back soon, Allegra left... ruining her friendship with Chester. And when she realized that Frost was too interested in Lisa to notice her, Allegra ran away to London to escape a bad situation she'd created herself. She'd never meant to hurt Chester, but by the time she realized she'd messed up by running away from him... the damage was done. The truth is that at twenty-two she hadn't been ready for a committed relationship and it was easier to tell herself it wasn't her fault than to admit that she'd made a mess. Alex tells her its not to late to salvage her friendship with Chester, but she's going to have to be honest with him which she owes him - and herself - after all this time.

Outside STAR Labs, Barry taunts Eobard into a fight, only to be surprised when Despero joins in too. Seemingly on Eobard's side at first, it quickly becomes clear Despero intends to kill both speedsters. Either one of them could be responsible for destroying the world that evening and Despero doesn't care which it is. Iris pipes the transmitted audio over the STAR Labs speakers and Team Flash heads out to join the fight, clearing the way for Iris to get the PED to Deon. Of course... Team Flash doesn't know who they should be helping anymore, as Eobard's comments were suspicious and shady. Barry risks injury protecting Allegra from Despero's attack and Team Flash rallies around him.

Together with Team Flash (and assorted allies) Barry is able to disrupt Despero's connection to the Flames of Pytar and Despero's angry rant afterwards reveals the truth. He's an imposter playing at being one of the very people who deposed him, the true ruler and tyrant of Kalanor. And with Kalanor currently beyond his control... his true intentions are to conquer Earth so he might use the peoples of this world to retake his own. Can't conquer a planet that's been destroyed and as he has no way off Earth or fallback plan... after his little villainous breakdown, Despero leaves rather than allow himself to be captured. Alex notes that she'll need to put out the DEO's equivalent of an APB for Despero and recall Kara from her second honeymoon with Lena off planet, something Alex's sister in law won't be happy about.

Eobard rages at Barry for turning 'his team' against him and Barry admits that he was just the distraction for Eobard while Iris and Deon stole the PED and Damian destroyed the artificial Still Force - there'd be a cut here to Damian ripping apart the negative Still Force tech gleefully before Deon shows up to take both Damian and the PED he acquired from Iris back to Damian's apartment. Back with the extended Team Flash, Barry points out that Eobard's façade was never going to hold up because all Eobard cares about is himself. He doesn't see people as being real, they're just prizes to win. And his biggest mistake was treating Iris that way, because Iris has always been more important than Eobard would ever willingly acknowledge. Saying that without Iris West there would be no Flash wasn't just sophistry, it's the truth. Because without Iris West, there'd be no Speed Force. But Eobard's complete disrespect for the importance of the people around him means he's missed the obvious flaws in his plans.

Right as Eobard's about to attack Barry, Iris shoots him with the anti-velocity gun and tells Barry that if he's going to undo Eobard's plans it needs to be now, while Eobard's incapacitated. Barry nods and returns to Damian's apartment, swapping the Reverse Flash suit for the Flash suit he arrived in and donning the PED + Time Stone device Deon and Damian put together. It'll suck up all the negative Still Force in the timeline while Barry runs, but it'll keep glowing until Barry's got it all. So he can't stop - even though it'll mean over-shooting 2021 - until the glow is gone. By then Barry's connection to the Speed Force should be repaired entirely and Barry should be able to just run back into the Speed Force and go home. Barry nods his understanding and heads into the street outside before taking off.

Armageddon starts and Team Flash + Alex appear on the Central City Citizen video network to warn Central City that the Flash isn't who he seems to be and that all citizens should steer clear for their own safety. Eobard runs after Barry, but Barry's renewed connection to Iris is already strengthening his connection to the Speed Force. In the end, Eobard just isn't fast enough to stop him... but he does follow Barry into the Speed Force.

They eventually arrive in the past outside a hospital. It's storming outside and the hospital is shown to be located in a small town not far from Central City. Barry's forced to chase after Eobard to stop him from throwing a fit and harming anyone in the hospital. Their fight causes the electricity to flicker as two different families prepare to have babies. One family being quite familiar, as Nora Allen's contractions grow closer together and she squeezes Henry's hand. When the obstetrician arrives, however, he introduces himself as Dr. Gilmore. He leaves to go check on the nurse after Henry accuses the man of being drunk.

Barry's able to force Eobard back into the Speed Force where Eobard escapes. Frustrated, Barry returns to 2021 and everything seems relatively back to normal. However Barry quickly learns that while Cisco's back to having no powers and Joe, Ray, and Nora are alive and well again, Barry's still under FBI investigation. Also he apparently missed out on Cecile kicking Xotar's butt with Rosa's help, though they all remember him being there for that.

Iris fills in Barry on what they've found out in their investigation of the photographs the FBI think prove Barry to be a mole. The phone number spoofed by the anonymous caller had once belonged to one Dr. Gilmore. He had tried to get in touch with Barry while he was in college, which was why Iris recognized the number. Gilmore's associate had reached out to Joe and Iris for help contacting Barry while he was out of state. Barry remembers coming back over a long weekend to meet with Gilmore, but the man had passed away the night before and Barry never learned what the man intended to tell him.

On the other side of Central City, Eobard falls out of the Speed Force in the tattered remains of his Flash suit. The Speed Force was not pleased with Eobard and he's clearly in pain as he drags the cowl off his face. A shadow falls over him and Eobard looks up. He say's Barry's name, but the person standing over him just laughs.

"Not even remotely."

"Savitar?"

"What does a Hindu god have to do with anything? My name is Malcolm Thawne. And I've been looking for an opportunity like this for a while, Eobard."

Wrapping Up the Episode

I rather like the idea of Rosa subverting the expectation that she betrays Cecile; in the real third episode it was pretty obvious from the get go that Top would turn on them when the time came. The switch up would give us that villain and hero dynamic that the show writers were aiming for with Chillblaine and Frost, but with a villain who is more interesting than Chillblaine and who actually knows what shirts are for. (I hate Chillblaine's costume so much...) Rosa's also turning into such a complex character, it'd be a shame if we don't see her again for another season. And because the fight with Xotar still happened in the fixed timeline, Top's interactions with Team Flash haven't been erased here.

This revised episode brings us full circle on the events of the teaser from the first episode, filling in the gaps as to why Team Flash was denouncing the Flash in a live broadcast. It also gets us that fun revelation that Barry has to destroy the world to save it. But things don't just end there with Eobard, with the fight scene in the hospital meant to be a bit of a call back to event that set things in motion for Barry at the very start of the series: Eobard's fight with the Flash at the Allen family home that ended in Nora's death. Only this time they're fighting at the hospital where Barry was born, avoiding impacting history... for the most part, anyway.

And while I couldn't keep Jefferson and Barry's conversations, I was able to work in a similarly themed discussion between Jefferson and Iris. While it's a shame neither of them will remember it, perhaps thanks to Iris being a little unstuck in time, the advice will stick with her. She doesn't always have to be the strong one; it's okay for her to lean on her loved ones for support.

The FBI investigation still being in play opens up space to introduce another one of the Flash's enemies from the comics. Malcolm Thawne, Barry's long lost evil twin. I think it'd be fun to give Grant another chance to play both the hero and villain simultaneously. And Malcolm's powers as Cobalt Blue are pretty fascinating.

With the events of Armageddon basically wrapped up in this episode, that just leaves episode five as a sort of epilogue, closing out the last of the plot threads from the episodes up until this point and opening up Malcolm Thawne as a dangerous, recurring villain. Picking up the baton, as it were, from Eobard. Though maybe stealing the baton from Eobard might be a better turn of phrase.

This episode is basically it on the Allegra/Chester romance drama for now, though if I were to go on to do a full season from here I probably would have the drama Allegra describes about her feelings for Chester and Frost confusing her and leading to that ill-fated D&D campaign actually happen. But unlike the bad future, Chester does talk to her. And they both come to realize that sleeping together was a mistake - their friendship is more important. Maybe things are still awkward for a while, but their friendship comes out of it stronger than ever. Much as I don't like the Allegra/Chester romance, there aren't enough examples of people staying friends after a romantic entanglement ends, so using them to create a healthy example of that would be nice. Especially if it's not fraught with the will-they won't-they nonsense that Laurel and Oliver had over on the Arrow. Can we please show that exes can be friends without having to drown them in sexual tension?

In the larger season we'd also get more Lisa showing up as she returns to Central City, finally ready to face the city since her brother's death. She'd be there reforming the rogues and courting Frost and Lisa's first choice in new Rogues might even be the lovely Rosa Dillon. If Chillblaine ever did reappear, I think Lisa in particular would take offense to his knock-off Captain Cold style. I don't really specify a lot for her to do here, but she'd be taking part in the big fight against Despero alongside Frost and generally treating Caitlin as her sister-in-law.

I think the only thing I'm really unsure about is that future Allegra likely comes off as unsympathetic here. Not that she was particularly sympathetic in the actual future episode from the show. But in this version she was having feelings for two very different people, one of whom was causing her to question her sexuality, and Allegra handled it very poorly. That's kind of why I like the idea of similar circumstances happening in the full season, but showing that with some support and friendship that Allegra can pull herself together and both make up for her mistakes with Chester as well as learn a little self acceptance with regards to her feelings for Frost. And given Allegra's on screen chemistry with Frost is a lot more obvious than with Chester (admittedly, your mileage may vary), at least one of those two crushes isn't coming out of left field.

#ArmageddonRevised #the flash #the flash meta #fanfiction #episode rewrite #armageddon revised episode four #outline-ish format

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lefaystrent · 5 years ago

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Everyone's talking about Virgil Angst but meanwhile I'm sitting here thinking about Roman because like?? Presumably he's on Broadway right? And to wake up finding you're a known broadway star has to be a dream come true even if it's jarring that suddenly finding yourself so much older. But like Roman has no memories of the years between hs and now. He wakes up, finds he's performing in a show that very day. bUT NOT ONLY THAT, it's a new show, one he's never heard of so he has no lines 1/?

no lyrics, noblocking memorized. And he's expected to perform. So a thespian's nightmareright there. Maybe for extra Angst points the understudy is out sick. Or hejust forces himself to perform, not wanting to disappoint or miss this"chance" to be on Broadway. Either way it doesn't go well and Romanis left with his spirits crushed and still completely lost as to how he endedup in the future. 2/2

Back to theFuture, part II

Fandom: Thomas Sanders,Sanders Sides

Pairings: platonic LAMP

Word Count: 2620

Masterlist Link

_______________________

Roman wakes up with a pillow beingthrown at his face.

“Chop, chop! Time to go.”

Roman groans, “Is it time forschool already?”

The person laughs.

It’s then that Roman realizes thatit’s neither of his parents, nor one of his friends who would sometimes sleepover.

Roman sits up, shirtless but that’susual. What’s not usual is the man fixing his hair in the mirror of a largevanity table.

“Who are you?” Roman asks,instantly suspicious. He snatches up a hair brush that’s lying on the bedsidetable, wielding it like a sword. “Where am I? What do you want with me?”

The man meets his eyes in themirror, sees something funny, and rolls his eyes with a laugh. “Alright, Mr.Big Shot. Save the acting for the stage. We’re gonna be late if you don’t hurryup and get dressed. And Dot will have both of our asses if we’re late foropening night.”

Opening night?

Stage?

Cute guy?

Oh, this had to be a dream.

Roman was good at dreams.

“Very well then. Wouldn’t want todisappoint all of my adoring fans, would I darling?” Roman boasts, to which theguy snorts and tells him to hurry up again.

Roman slips away and finds thebathroom. He’s debating whether or not to snap his fingers and conjure up amagnificent outfit. That is, until he catches a glimpse of himself in themirror.

He screams like he’s in a horrormovie, which maybe he is.

“What—what’s wrong?” the no-nameguy from earlier yells, banging on the bathroom door but Roman had locked it.

“I’M OLD!!!”

He’s over thirty now, and to a guywho was just seventeen yesterday, that’s pretty old my dude.

Frantic, Roman throws open thebathroom door and demands, “What magic did you cast on me?”

“What?”

“My face! Look at it!” Roman screeches,looking into the mirror once again and rubbing at his face as if the signs ofaging would disappear. “I mean, I’m still gorgeous, BUT I’M OLD!!!”

The guy looks at him like he’scrazy, which maybe he is but wow, no need to judge. “Uhhhh, are you going througha mid-life crisis right now? Because can you do that later? When, ya know, wedon’t have somewhere to be?”

“I was just seventeen yesterday,”Roman tells his reflection mournfully.

“Okay, if this is the kind ofbaggage Roman Prince has, remind me not to sleep with him again.”

Roman chokes at that.

“E-excuse me? We did what?!”

“Just cut the crap already,” theguy grunts and leaves. “I’ll be waiting outside,” he calls before a door slamsclosed.

Roman is left alone with hisreflection.

He snaps his fingers, but nothinghappens.

He gives a grin anyway. “Just gottaget into the swing of things is all.”

Roman meets the guy outside. Hedoesn’t bother asking for his name, since it’s not important to the dreamanyway. And really, this isn’t unlike a lot of Roman’s other dreams. Waking upto a cute guy? Check. Performing in a Broadway musical? Check.

Being the headlining actor for saidBroadway musical?

Super big check.

They’re in the theater now, andRoman is smiling and greeting a bunch of people who seem to know him. He goesalong with whatever they’re saying. He runs into the director Dot that theno-name guy mentioned earlier. And somewhat confusingly, he finds his dressingroom. It’s amazing and wonderful and in such detail, and sitting on the chair bythe dressing table is the script they’re performing tonight. Roman picks it upwith a wide grin.

He nearly drops it.

He’s the headlining actor for aplay he’s never even heard of.

Okay. Okay, okay okay.

Roman is in his dressing room—HISDRESSING ROOM ON BROADWAY. This whole place is designed by him to work how hepleases. If he just looks away and looks back again it’ll change—

Nope, that didn’t work. He squintsdown at the font, hoping to place the title.

“A New Lease on Life.”

From a skim through it’s somethingabout a parasitic demon trapped in the body of a magically gifted human?Roman’s character is the parasite.

“I know musicals are weird, butwhat in the name of Julie Andrews,” Roman says to himself.

But this is a dream. It’s okay. Hecan just…get up on stage and have the time of his life!

That’s not how it happens though.They do last minute run throughs. Roman is not magically landing the lines.Hell, he doesn’t even know them! The director yells at him to stop messingaround, and Roman is honestly hurt and disoriented enough to start crying rightthen.

But this is supposed to be hisdream! He can’t cry. He’s a Broadway actor! He’s got this!

Remember when he said ‘he’s gotthis’?

Yeeaaah . . .

The evening is upon them, theaudience files in, and Roman is standing on stage with no clue as to what he’sdoing.

He skimmed the script earlier,curious because usually he couldn’t read things in his dreams. He says thelines he remembers, but he misses a cue, and then the actor who’s playing therole of the character he’s possessing hisses under their breath what his lineis. It’s appreciated, but Roman can’t hear it over the thundering roar in hisears. The audience is waiting for something incredible to happen and Roman . ..

Roman’s waiting too.

This isn’t one of Roman’s dreams.

This is a nightmare.

Roman is a deer caught in theheadlights. He’s sweating and breathing so loudly that surely the audience musthear it. The lights are too bright and he’s standing on the edge of the stagein the middle of what’s supposed to be this sinister monologue.

This isn’t working. He just needsto take a breath, take a step back, listen more carefully to his costar’s constanthissing, and maybe things will get back on track.

Roman’s leg buckles when he triesto move it. He’s too close to the edge of the stage. He thinks for a momentthat he can catch himself, but his palms are slick with sweat and he slipsright over. He lands on his back, the wind knocked out of him, and he doesn’tremember much after that.

He wakes up, not in his bedroom athome but in his Broadway dressing room. Someone’s there, someone that Romandoesn’t recognize.

“Sloan picked up where you leftoff,” she says. She’s looking at Roman with pity.

“Sloan?” he questions. In thedistance, he can hear the muffled noises of the show going on.

She looks pissed off now. “Youknow, your understudy? Maybe if your head wasn’t shoved up your ass all thetime, you’d remember the names of us little people.”

She storms out of the room.

Roman lets his head thump back downon the bench someone laid him on.

He could wallow in his misery. Hecould let this nightmare beat him down. He could curl up and have himself anice cry. Princes are made for bawls after all.

“Sorry, but this prince has toleave before midnight,” he says.

He hops up to his feet. His headhurts and there’s a painful twinge in his leg and arm from where he must havefallen on them. But he can still move. He has to.

Roman turns his back on Broadway togo search for answers.

As he’s walking down the sidewalk,he ignores the busy city life. He pulls out his phone, immediately searchingfor his emo sidekick’s number.

He doesn’t find it.

What he does find though areseveral missed calls from Patton.

“Curiouser and curiouser,” hequotes. He calls Patton up.

“Roman?!” Patton answers after thefirst ring.

“Hey Padré! I hope you’ve got sometime to chat because you will not believe where I am right now!”

Roman was all the way in New York.

That’s a little more than a carride from Florida.

Logan had known that Roman became aBroadway star. He’d even told Roman that he would one day become one, but thatwas back in high school when Roman was an upset seventeen-year-old and Loganwas an eleven-year-old kid who knew too much. The news might have given Romansome form of comfort when he was figuratively down, but he certainly hadn’tbelieved it as Logan foretelling the future.

When Logan woke up as twenty-nineagain—after the initial freaking out period—he decided to contact his friendsto test a hypothesis. He needed to encounter someone who he’d never been affiliatedwith before in his future time, people like Roman, Virgil, and Patton.

Roman was too far off however. Notto mention it’d prove difficult to request a celebrity’s time, one that wasn’tsupposed to know you.

And Logan did doubt that any ofthem knew him. He suspected that he hadn’t been pushed forward through time butreplaced back into his own time, a timeline separate from the past one he’dbeen in. Nothing in his house had changed, no signs of his friends. No texts orcontacts on his phone to match.

So Logan searched for the othertwo. Virgil proved to be all but nonexistent upon his initial online researching.Patton immediately garnered results.

“An advice columnist,” Logan hadsaid to himself, unable to smother down the smile that tugged up his lips.Patton had made quite a name for himself in northern Florida. He’d been hostedseveral times on talk shows and was working on promoting his second self-helpbook that had recently released.

Logan had set off to find Patton,and find him he did.

And Patton . . . Patton had rememberedhim.

And even though Logan felt trulysorry that this disorienting situation caused his friend a great deal ofdistress, he couldn’t help but feel a wash of relief knock into him at the factthat his friend was still his friend. That those memories weren’t worthless ora vivid dream.

And then, once they had workedthrough establishing the existence of time travel, Patton suggests that theothers might be in the same boat.

“What boat? We’re not in a boat.”

“Figure of speech, Lo,” Pattonsmiles a little, despite himself.

If he and Patton are here afterjumping through time, it’s not impossible that Roman and Virgil could be thesame.

“They might not be here,” Logansuggests, swallowing down a sharp feeling of disappointment. “Whatever happenedto us, they may not have been a part of it.”

“Or they might have,” Patton pushesstubbornly. He can see the same hope welling in him, the same selfish desire tonot be alone. “We’re always hanging out together. They might have . . . gottencaught up in it? Whatever it is.”

“. . . and you already tried callingRoman?”

Patton tries all day. Logan wandersthe house a lot, investigating what kind of person Patton grew up to be. It’s .. . interesting to say the least, seeing his friend who had previously been ateenager suddenly as a grown adult, older than himself at that. Logan pondersover whether Patton feels the same amount of puzzlement. Although, Patton doesn’tseem to be interested in much that requires moving from the couch.

Ever since Logan theorized them notbeing friends in this timeline, Patton has become lethargic. Logan is ill-preparedto deal with this kind of Patton.

That night, Logan hears Patton’sphone ring. Logan doesn’t pay it much mind. The phone had been ringing off andon ever since Patton had run away from work that morning. Logan continues to pokearound the kitchen, relishing his normal body and the height that allows him toeasily reach into the tall cabinets.

“Roman?!” Patton screams from theliving room.

Logan immediately abandons any notionof dinner.

“Did he call you?” Logan blurtsout, racing into the room. It’s an unnecessary question, because what elsecould have happened? Patton waves his hand at him to shush him.

“Where are you kiddo? Are you okay?”Patton asks. He clutches the phone to his ear with both hands as if he couldhold Roman there.

Impatient, Logan sits right besidePatton and leans in to eavesdrop.

“Where else would a star like me beother than Broadway?”

Yes, that’s Roman’s proud voicefiltering through.

“Broadway?” Patton repeats, lookingat Logan questioningly.

“He’s in New York,” Logan affirms.

“What is he doing there?” Pattonasks.

“Is someone else there?” Roman interrupts.“You’re talking to someone else when you have me on the phone?”

“Sorry, Ro. I was just talking to—um . . .”

“To?”

“To, um . . . Logan.”

“Oh, well tell that nerd that I’mon Broadway and I’m fabulous, even if I am old now.”

Patton and Logan share a look.

Logan pries the phone out of Patton’shold and puts it on speaker. “You remember who I am?”

“Who? Wait, who’s that?”

“That’s Logey, kiddo.”

“That doesn’t sound like the littletwerp I know. Wait, is he super old now too? Are we all old geezers? Man, thisis a really weird dream.”

“Yes, it’s me. Yes, we’re older,”Logan answers. At least Roman is understanding the situation they’ve beendropped in. “Roman, I need you to answer a couple of questions for me please.”

“If I’m older now, why do I have toput up with more study sessions from you?”

“This isn’t school-related, Roman.”

“Please, Ro. It’s important,”Patton urges.

“Fiiine, if you must.”

“Did you wake up today in anunfamiliar setting with no memory of how you got there?”

“Yeah? Nothing too unusual.”

“How—how is that not unusual foryou?”

“Happens all the time in dreams,duh. Use that big brain of yours, Jimmy Neutron—wait, you’re not a kid geniusanymore. I’m going to have to come up with new nicknames. Not to worry, I’mgreat at improvising!”

Great at ignoring reality as wellit seems.

“Um, Roman?” Patton prompts. “Whatdo you mean by dreams?”

“This isn’t a dream,” Loganpresses.

“What else could it be?” Romanlaughs, and it doesn’t matter that the sound is slightly distorted through thephone. Both Logan and Patton can tell that there’s something off about it.

“Roman, that’s not—” Patton starts,but Logan cuts him off.

“Roman, do you have Virgil’scontact saved perhaps?”

“No, I don’t actually. Weird,right? Oh, I know! He must be hidden away from us in a tall tower in amonster-filled forest. Never fear, we shall rescue our emo in distress!”

Patton bites his lip, staring atLogan. “He doesn’t have his number either? What does it mean, Logan?”

“It could mean that Virgil doesn’thave a phone,” Logan tries, but neither of them buys it.

“Virge . . .” Patton whispers, eyeswelling up.

Logan focuses back on the phone.Roman keeps asking if they’re still there. “Yes, we’re here. And that soundslike an excellent idea, Roman. Why don’t you meet up with us here in Floridaand we’ll brainstorm a plan of action in order to locate Virgil.”

“Can do!”

Later, after Logan has helped Romango over how to book a plane ticket (“No Roman, you can’t just teleport here.Think of this as a . . . side quest, like in the video games you like.”), heends the call and turns to Patton. Patton’s sitting there, arms wrapped aroundhis legs and face buried in his knees.

“We’ll find out what happened tohim,” Logan tells him.

Patton doesn’t respond.

_____________________________

General Tag list: @spectralheartt @a-pastel-pan @notalwaysthevillian @rose-gold-roman @ijustrealizedhowdumbmynamewas @katie-the-noble-fangirl @yourroyalydramaticanxiousness @aroundofapplesauce @merlybird500 @beach-fan @jemthebookworm @whats-going-on-kiddos @randomsandersides @gamerfreddie @unring-this-bell @analogicallythinking @lilygold23 @punsterterry @levy-the-b00kw0rm @tacohippy56900 @accio-hufflepuff-power1 @just-another-rainbowblog @georganabanana @grey-says-heck @crookedlyoptimisticdestiny @thesynysterunknown @idont-know-what-im-doing @idioticsky @fadingglowcloud @whizzie72 @theinvisiblespoon @greyyy523 @opaque-puppet @just-fic-me-up @wowimsogoddamnoriginal @sos-fandoms @loganeatsbooks @trust-is-overrated @theitalianalchemist @im-crunchie @mourning--star @4amanxiety @hogwarts-my-love @enby-phoenix @justanotherpurplebutterfly @internet-or-sleep @absolutesandersidestrash @seaspider10 @nonasficcollection @small-words-to-say @satanblessi @an-absolute-failure @analogical-mess @noisyeggpizzapatrol @hamilsandersfam @cefinitely-rolo @thgjclw @knight-shives @no-no-no-no-6 @savingshae @rabbitsartcorner @buddypallady @midnight-tragedyy

Kid Logan AU list: @under-the-blue-moonlight @broadwaytheanimatedseries @joyful-milkshake-observation @absolutesandersidestrash @midnightmagi @justcallmepancake @nerd-in-space @thestrangedino @deathshadowrules @entitydark @vintage-squid @max-is-tired @deceitfullyanxiousprince @shai-uwu @teacupfulofstarshine @the5thcoy @occasionally-pauciloquent @oakskull @teepee-honesty @mrtacothethird @fandomobsessed-nerd @mychemicalcheezwhiz @that-smol-tired-gay @skittlesun @caterpiller-tea @sanders-sides-rebloger @penguinkool @its-the-cat-queen @liz-a-bell @theresneverenoughfandoms @i-know-im-smart @ever-after-aaa @007ardra @starbucks-remy @lovebug5151 @yyeeeeeeeeett @adoratato @theobsessor1 @soijusthavetoask @ab-artist @always-in-a-fandom @iris-sanders-athena @doing-my-demibest @connors-writing-sux @lizziepopanime @charakitcat @dall-off-weekes @wowimsogoddamnoriginal @sign-from-god-complex @pumpkinminette @cosmic-melodies @sullycreatesstuff @lovesupportandcookies @som3thing-cr3ativ3 @unicornlogansanders @rainysharkfreaklover @potato--justpotato @ghostscantdie @virgilneedsahug @thatonenerdphotographer @the-cactus-lord @cocobearthe4th @neverasherpoetry @midnight--fox @falsehoodx @crazy-rat-man @lokinas @rosiepupper @insert--self--hatred @dorkoverse @herestheanxietea @spirits-in-my-thoughts

#sanders sides #kid logan au #roman #roman sanders #patton #patton sanders #logan #logan sanders #virgil #virgil sanders #platonic lamp #back to the future #Anonymous

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joshay98 · 3 years ago

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Eh why not. Special day needs a special post. Probably not gonna be a single option all the time. Also gonna put under a readmore because I tend to write way too much for own good. ^^'

1. Fave location have to be Queen's Gardens and Greenpath. I only heard of Hollow Knight weeks before it's release and obviously looked at concept art for it. One of those was the Queen's Garden one and as soon as I reached Greenpath, and later Queen's Gardens, I just feel in love with those places. They made so many shades of green look so gorgeous.

2. Fave music from the normal area themes has to be City of Tears. Entering that place for the first time and only hearing muffled music in the entrance area. But once you take the elevator down to the outside area and the music gets loud and clear just leaves a big impression.

Fave boss music is Grimm's theme. The second half blaring a e-guitar and drums at you is such a big contrast to any other piece in the game.

3. Fave boss are the Mantis Lord. That fight is peak Hollow Knight combat. The entire fight has such a good rhythm that it borders on a dance ( more so than the actual "dance" with Grimm.)

4. Fave character... hard choice. All of them left a lasting impression on me over the course of the game and how the fandom interprets them, to the point where this is a genuinely difficult question. Elderbug, Tiso, Quirrel, I don't even dislike Zote. Everyone has their place. Gotta say though that Hornet has to be near the top. Personality wise she is the kind of person who you form of dislike at the beginning because of her cold nature, but later on you warm up to her just as much as she seems to warm up the Knight. Ingame wise she acts as a guide to the player, always showing where their next potential goal is.

5. Memorable character quote: "Ho there, traveller. I'm afraid there's only me left to offer welcome..." Generally his entire dialouge at the beginning. He is the first person you actually meet and that's when you get to know that you aren't alone here, unlike how it's in typical metroidvanias. And returning to him after reaching a big milestone for new dialouge is always a joy.

6. How I found it is actually a pretty big coincidence! I found it from a YouTube channel, Graeme Games, who sometimes test played indie games. One happend to be a Hollow Knight Demo video, released on the 4th of Febuary 2017, just a couple of weeks before release.

7. Least favourite... how dare you imply I wouldn't love all these bugs with the entirety of my nonexistent soul! I couldn't possibly hate any of them. No, not even Zote.

8. A memory from Hollow Knight. Does the entirety of the first playthrough count? I still remember thinking how big the game was. You think you finished exploring one area and bam there is a completely new area after it. The game just kept me in its spell throughout.

For a single memory though it has to be the first time defeating Radiance. Just getting up those platforms and landing the final hit. I was completely shaking at this point and didn't realize at first I had to deal those final blows. As the final cutscene was playing and I managed to calm down a bit, genuinely feeling relieved but also incredibely sad that it's now over. Seeing the sad tone and bittersweet ending and all those emotions connected to it is definitely something I won't forget... OH YEAH AND THE GAME SHOWING MR. MUSHROOM AFTERWARDS WITH "TO BE CONTINUED." I WAS LIVID!

Anyway thanks for reading this. Good feeling to got down memory lane sometimes. Hope you have an awesome day yourself! :D

Happy 5th anniversary Hollow Knight!

Can you believe that? It's been 5 years since the launch of this wonderful game! So here's an ask game for you! I'd love to hear your opinions on that one!! 1. Your favourite location in game 2. Your favourite piece of music 3. Your favourite bossfight 4. Your favourite character 5. Most memorable character's quote 6. How did you find Hollow Knight? 7. Least favourite character 8. A memory which includes Hollow Knight!

#Hollow Knight #About me #I guess #This is such a long read. Better bring some water

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wikiaeater · 7 years ago

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Building Trust

A Zak Storm fanfiction

Synopsis: Making friends always takes a while, but when you’re a poltergeist trying to befriend an alien who’s afraid of ghosts, this while may be longer.

Why I am throwing a fanfiction into an almost nonexistent fandom

(One-shot)

- This ship is… Quite unusual. - Caramba looked around. The Chaos seemed like a good ship, but its high speed would make the alien unstable. The way the ship would change the sail's position by itself and the skull on its front were also things that scared Caramba.

The newest crew on the Bermuda Triangle had just fled from Marituga, leaving a bunch of defeated skeletons behind. They still needed a name.

- No need to worry! The Chaos is the best ship on the Triangle! - Clovis showed up from the floor. He was excited to meet the new members aboard. - Hello, fish girl!

- My name is Chrysta Coraline Lejune and I am not a fish!

- Hello, viking dude!

- Hi!

- Hello… Robot? Are you a robot?

Caramba stared at Clovis for a while, unable to move. There was a ghost right in front of him, talking to him, and slowly approaching. He already felt uncomfortable with the Chaos, and now it turned out it was haunted.

He was frozen, scared.

- Hello? Can you hear me? - The child was confused. Why wasn't the newcomer answering him?

As he tried to touch the robot, Caramba runned backwards, almost falling from the boat.

- G-g-ghost!! You're a ghost!! Stay a-a-away f-from me!! Stay away!! Stay away!! - The alien runned, screaming, towards the cabin. He locked the door as soon as he got there, no longer screaming, but with a heavy breath, and stayed as far from the door as he could.

- Wait, please! - The spirit kid passed through the locked door. - You don't need to be afarid of me! I am not bad!

- Ghosts aren't real!! You're not real!!

- Yes I am!

- No no no no… Step back!! Don't come any closer!! - Both of them started crying at that moment.

- Why are you treating me like this?!

- Clovis, come here!! - Zak called him. He obeyed, leaving the alien alone.

- Zak, is it something I've said?? Why doesn't he want to talk to me??

- He may be… Afraid of ghosts.

- But I didn't do anything!!

- I know! It's alright, I will talk to him. Stay here with the others, okay?

The child nodded and wiped his tears.

- I am Crogar, and Crogar is not afraid of ghosts! Crogar is not afraid of anything! - The viking approached in an attempt to make Clovis feel better, succeeding.

Seeing that the other newcomers were going to keep Clovis distracted, Zak knocked on the cabin's door. - Caramba? It's me, Zak Storm. Could you open the door?

- Is the ghost still there? - He replied with a jittery, tearful voice.

- Yes… But he's not coming in. Just me and Calabrass.

The teenager expected another reply, but all he got was the sound of the door being unlocked.

- Hey, buddy, what was that? - He said as he entered the cabin.

- You didn't tell me that this ship was haunted. - Caramba locked the door again. - You didn't tell me there was a ghost in the crew.

- First of all, he is not exactly a ghost, he just lost his body. And second, I had no clue you were going to freak out!

- I'm afraid, Zak!

- You two will have to get along eventually! - Calabrass said. They were going to be part of the same crew after all.

- It's okay, I won't judge you for being afraid; but look, Clovis just wants to be friends with you. How about we get out and you say hi to him? - The young captain suggested calmly.

- NO!! I… I can't.

Zak sighed. This was going to take a while.

4 days after that, the crew was already named “7Cs”. Caramba didn't get out of the cabin a lot, but whenever he did, he would take a look on the scenario to make sure Clovis wasn't around. If he was, he would go back to the indoors.

- Hey Zak… - The kid flied away from the sail and kept floating near his captain. - How long is it going to take?

- Excuse me, what are you talking about?

- Caramba! You told me that befriending him would take a while, but whenever he sees me, he flees! How are we ever going to be friends if I can't even say hi?!

- I know you didn't do anything to him, but he's afraid, and we must respect that. - Cece approached and answered the question for Zak. - Encouraging to face it, sure, but respecting. Caramba will get used to your presence sooner or later.

- It sounds like it's going to take forever… - Clovis replied in a bored tone.

Zak thought for a while and had an idea. - Look, I know something you can do to help! - He said before explaining his plan. Clovis didn't really like the plan, but it was an effective way of showing Caramba his good intentions, so he accepted it without hesitation.

The next time Caramba got out of the cabin, Clovis made sure to disappear before he closed the door.

- Where did he go? - The alien asked.

- Who knows! - Zak said, smiling. - But he's not here, so you can come!

Things stayed like this for about a week. It didn't matter if Clovis was having fun or in the middle of a conversation: as soon as Caramba showed up, he would go away. Sometimes disappearing with a poof, sometimes diving into the floor, sometimes flying to the top of the sail. Even though Caramba was actually enjoying it, it was starting to concern him.

- Captain…

- Yes?

- Why does the ghost get out whenever I come? I may not be comfortable around him, but that doesn't mean I want him to isolate himself or to stop being around the others.

- Oh, don't worry! He comes back when you get out. It's just that he wants to make sure you're comfortable aboard the Chaos.

Caramba felt bad for the situation. - That's… Really nice of him.

- You should give him a chance. - Calabrass said before Zak could say anything.

The engineer took a deep breath. - I will.

On the following day, Caramba got out of the cabin to eat the lunch Crogar had cooked. Clovis was around, but not eating, and sinked into the floor with the sight of the ET.

- Wait! Come back, ghost! - He said.

Clovis came back and kept floating in front of the robot. He didn't expect that, and with the large smile, anyone could notice how happy he was. Caramba felt the sensation of being frozen again, but he wouldn't run away this time. The two stared at each other for a while, all the other crewmates watching.

- We didn't have a proper first meeting. May we have one now? - Clovis broke the silence and approached the robot a little. Caramba's reaction was to take a quick step backwards.

- Not yet.

Clovis sighed. - Fine… Take your time. - Well, at least that was a beginning, right?

Caramba was no longer bothered by Clovis' presence, but he still wouldn't talk to the poltergeist.

The talks started gradually and slowly. A hi here, a how are you there, a joke, and it took more than a month for Caramba to treat Clovis normally, like he would treat Cece and Crogar.

Clovis? Yeah, sure, he was very happy, but he still asked himself one thing.

“Has the fear been fully erased? Or is he still afraid but trying hard not to demonstrate it?”

The answer came eventually.

- Hey Clovis… - The kid was, as usually, sitting on the sail when Caramba approached during a random evening.

- Yes? - He flew down.

- I'm… - Caramba clearly wasn't happy. - … I'm sorry for how I treated you in our first meeting.

- Oh, it's alright!

- Really?

- Of course!

- Well, this is not our first meeting, but we should make believe it was, so we can have a proper one! - Caramba was happier now, and the robot's screen showed a smile.

- Sure! Ahem, I am Clovis! I am not a ghost and I like jokes! - The boy reached out for a handshake.

For his surprise, the robot opened, revealing a cute small green creature inside of it.

- My name is Caramba, and I'm a Wahoolian! I like, uh… Technology, I guess? Nice to meet you! - The green alien reached out for the handshake as well, but his arms were so small he couldn't reach Clovis'.

- You're… Not a robot?!! - The child asked, still not believing his eyes, while allowing Caramba to have the handshake with just one finger.

The ET giggled. - No, I am not a robot.

- What is a Wahoolian?

- Is how those who are born in the planet Wahoo are called!

- So you're an alien! This is so so so cool!!

- Thanks!

- You're… Small! And cute!

- Thanks…?

- You look like a toy!! - Clovis started laughing, not realizing Caramba was slightly embarrassed.

The robot closed itself. - That's why I always stay inside my robot. Wahoolians are very fragile, and the Triangle is a very hostile place. - A bit of fear was noticeable in his voice.

The two kept talking about the Triangle, but that's not the point. The point is: that situation made Clovis feel sure that Caramba truly trusted him.

If he used the robot to protect himself from danger, and opened it in front of Clovis, that could only mean that he didn't see any danger in Clovis.

The fear had been fully erased. They were friends.

#guys can you believe I spent hours on this trash?#and Idk if this is good or bad #because this fandom barely exists so I bet I wrote this for like 3 people to read #why did my new hyperfixation had to be so obscure? ugh #but the good point is #I missed my days as a fic writer #and this helps me practice my English #sooo good bargain I guess?#writing in my home language is still more comfortable tho #fanfiction #fanfic #one-shot #zak storm #caramba #clovis #me writes #(< woah look writing tag)#(in case I decide to go wild and write shit in English again)

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sarcasticgaypotato · 8 years ago

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Oh my *god* I didn't know people were still active in this fandom/ship and I'M SO HAPPY!! If you're still doing requests would you mind doing something small where Chell takes off her shirt to shower or something and GLaDOS realizes how alarmingly thin she is from all that time asleep, and does her best to casually apologize for the comments about Chell's weight.

(( Indeed there are! Unfortunately it’s a precious few who still make chelldos content, but I try to be somewhat regular! Please enjoy! ))Let it be said that, for all the things GLaDOS had done, she hadn’t ever watched the cameras in the test subject showers while humans were in there. Not out of any concern for their privacy; she spied on them in practically every other way. She supposed she just had no real interest in watching naked humans cover themselves in soap to make their disgusting bodies slightly less disgusting. And besides, every human was dead anyway, so the cameras were nothing more than a formality. Well, every human except for one. Chell, her former test subject. She had let the girl go, but Chell had found herself back here regardless. In a world where everything was dead, it only made sense to return to live with a robot.

So with a human finally living in its halls again, not being confined to test chambers, Aperture’s shower room finally got some usage.

GLaDOS had no real reason to check the camera when she noticed Chell walking in there, but a spark of curiosity tempted her to just… look. To see this whirlwind of a woman, powerful, stoic and unshakable, finally let her hair down. Quite literally- GLaDOS didn’t think she had ever seen the human with her hair out of its ponytail. Chell walked to the very end of the room, picking the shower stall farthest from the door. It wasn’t as if there was any other humans in there for her to be avoiding, but perhaps it was just habit. GLaDOS watched with interest, the cameras whirring to life for the first time in years.She could not tell if Chell had noticed them, but the AI assumed she had. There were several very obvious cameras lining the walls, though they didn’t look inside the stalls. Made the humans notice them, and assume there weren’t any more. That wasn’t true. Slightly more hidden ones were in each stall, providing a view of anything the test subjects did.GLaDOS hadn’t designed this area, but she could only assume the scientist who did was incredibly desperate.So, both the outer and inner camera tracked Chell’s movements, watching as she grabbed soap and shampoo, disrobed, tested the heat of the stream of water, then got in.There must’ve been at least a hundred things GLaDOS could have been looking at or studying. She could’ve thought about how Chell relaxed under the hot water- how foolish, to let her guard down- or perhaps she could’ve noted how the human had accidentally gotten soap in her eyes when trying to wash her hair for the first time in many years.But she didn’t. All GLaDOS could seem to notice about Chell in this moment, was her body. And, not in the way that the scientists who installed these cameras might have.She did not stare at the girl’s long legs, or gawk at the way her silky, dark brown hair clung to her back when wet. Instead, there was a distinct twist of uneasiness in her non-existent stomach how just how… skeletal Chell seemed. Years of being asleep, time spent on the surface with likely little to no food source, and constant exercise resulted in a very clear outline of the former test subject’s ribs starkly showing against her skin.GLaDOS supposed she ought not to care, it wasn’t her problem. Yet, guilt coiled inside her, and she found herself nervously tapping the armrest of her chair as she watched, wanting to look away but unable to tear her gaze from the screen.

Do you pity her?

Echos of a woman long dead rung in GLaDOS’s ears, causing her hand to twitch and her expression to shift, repressing the urge to verbally respond to a voice in her head.Did she pity Chell? Was that the sole reason for her uneasiness? No.She knew full well why she felt guilty. It was the comments, coming from herself, and at times, a certain, space bound moron. Teasing the girl for her weight, only in the opposite direction. Not once had GLaDOS ever made mention, or hell, even look all that closely at the girl’s form, especially not when it was hidden by baggy clothing. She had teased and poked at something so nonexistent, it was frankly ridiculous. She pondered over this for a few moments, her mind swimming with thoughts, and her feelings uneasy.Part of her wondered if Chell was aware of all this. If she knew what a bad state of health she appeared in be in. If so, why wouldn’t she say something? Well, maybe not SAY anything, but GLaDOS knew the girl was stubborn and seemingly quite fixed on keeping herself alive, so why not make some kind of indication that she needed something?Was she simply not aware of the poor condition of her own body? Did she actually believe GLaDOS’s sarcastic comments? Surely not. Even GLaDOS herself had always known the insults were a stretch, but they were cheap, easy, low blows. They could dig deep and cause insecurity, and at the time, that had been her goal.Now though, she found herself… regretting her words.That thought alone caused her to recoil, her artificially constructed face to scrunch up with a mixture of confusion and surprise. That never happened. She didn’t take things back. She was always right; she was the smartest being alive. This was her facility. She could do and say whatever she wanted, and she was justified.To regret her comments over a pathetic feeling of guilt wasn’t right. The queen of Aperture had no reason to feel guilt. She would simply ignore it. Any problem will go away with enough time if you don’t think about it.The android huffed, forcing her gaze to a different screen, staring at Orange and Blue testing with as much intensity and focus as she could muster.However, the shower room camera screen remained in the corner of her eye, never leaving her peripheral.Minutes passed like hours, and GLaDOS was not thinking about Chell. She was thinking about science, and she was not distracted. Any traces of guilt were gone, replaced by the cool, calm indifference of a true scientist. No, she was not digging her fingers into the armrests of her chair. She was perfectly content.…Chell had finished her shower, GLaDOS noted. The water had been turned off, which prompted the core to glance at the screen just to… make sure there weren’t any problems with the plumbing.The android couldn’t tear her eyes away this time, the feeling of unease that had lingered in her stomach only getting worse the more she stared.Chell grabbed a towel and started drying her hair, slowly stepping out of the shower stall and into the open area where a clean set of clothes awaited her. She faltered as she moved, GLaDOS caught it. A small, barely noticeable movement, but seen by the core’s keen eye. For a second, the human’s legs shook, and she seemed unsteady. Tired. Exhausted even. Had she been like this the whole time?GLaDOS did a quick scan of any footage of the test subject over the past hour or two, and found her answer. Chell was stubborn and determined, but not immortal, and most definitely human. Her breathing had been shallow all day, and she took frequent, very short breaks. No longer than a minute, but it seemed the girl was stopping far more often than GLaDOS remembered.She wasn’t lazy, she was genuinely unable to keep going like this. And yet, she did nothing to change it. She went about her day with her head held high, as prideful as a lioness, strutting around Aperture like she owned it.At first, it didn’t make any sense to the robot. Chell was so hyperfocused on her own survival, facing anything the world threw at her just to keep her own life. She’d take down a god for her life and freedom, only to waltz right back on her own terms when she needed it. So why not seek help? Why not request assistance from GLaDOS?Then, it dawned on her.The AI’s comments actually got to the girl. Whether she believed them or not, they had an effect. Maybe she believed the core completely, or maybe knew she needed help but expected more cruel comments from the core if she asked for help.It seemed impossible, that petty, little insults were enough to get under Chell’s skin when she appeared so unshakable and collected in the face of said comments when they were thrown at her, but the evidence lined up.Before the core even realized what she was doing, she had turned her mic on, and started to speak.“Of course. You always manage to cause problems, don’t you?”GLaDOS hardly knew what she was saying before it came out of her mouth, the words tumbling out with little grace.Chell looked up at the camera, a shirt halfway over her head and a confused expression on her face. She hadn’t done anything.“I really do hate being wrong, and it isn’t my fault you humans are so fickle.”The android felt a rush of heat surge to her face as she scrambled to explain herself without actually apologizing. She felt this overwhelming urge to relieve herself of this guilt, but she couldn’t apologize. She couldn’t. She didn’t know how. It made her feel weak, human.Quickly and vainly trying to compose herself, she spoke again, trying to sound as professional as possible.“For the sake of being an accurate source of knowledge at all times, we at Aperture Science… temporarily take back any comments on excessive body mass on your part. Aperture Science will aid you in fixing this inaccuracy, after which you will be required to properly maintain your mind and body in order to qualify as a viable test subject. You are dismissed.”Slowly, the feeling of uneasiness lessened. GLaDOS let her shoulders relax, and found herself checking to see if there was any cake mix laying around.

#under a read more #chelldos #chell #glados #portal #portal 2 #kinda angsty #little bit

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