MSPA fan fiction 2

[orngjce223]

Andrew provided the lyre, but Layra plucks one string and everything comes crashing down about our ears.

[Shadow of the Lotus]

That was fantastically done! I love how you handled adapting the story and used John's voice for Rose's section, Rose for John's, etc... I think that really brought out the story.

I still nearly lose it every time at lizard Dave's funeral. Still such a fantastic story.

Yes, that was RogerMexico's idea! And I love that scene too, it was a lot of fun to act. Such an awesome story! I just finished making a list of other fics I'd like to voice sometime. (I am really hoping someone will help me do the Aragorn/Arwen-Dave/Jade fic you wrote a while back. That was so hilarious.)

Can I just say that I would love to listen to something like that? It's petty cool of you to go around and voice the fics; just a really nice thing, you know?

[arianadream]

Can I just say that I would love to listen to something like that? It's petty cool of you to go around and voice the fics; just a really nice thing, you know?

It's a pretty common pasttime on the MSPlayers Vent channel. People will often pull out a fic and just voice it cold. It's also really good practice for some of us to narrate a fanfic and post a recording of it, plus it's just fun. I'm glad people enjoy having their fics voiced, and it's a lot of fun to translate this sort of thing to audio!

I may have people lined up to voice your fic, I just need a Dave.

[catharticCarnifex]

oh hey! I've been meaning to get into some VA practice. Mind if I give it a shot? I don't have a mic here at work, but I think I can supply a sample later today if you want. I'm not sure I'll make a good Dave, but I'll give it a try.

[arianadream]

oh hey! I've been meaning to get into some VA practice. Mind if I give it a shot? I don't have a mic here at work, but I think I can supply a sample later today if you want. I'm not sure I'll make a good Dave, but I'll give it a try.

That'd be great! Let's talk more about this in the VA thread. Post a sample when you get a chance!

[Sushi Database]

The Note Desperation Plays, part three (RuDe AnD sAlTy EmOtIoNs)

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"Golden brown, texture like sun
Lays me down, with my mind she runs
Throughout the night
No need to fight
Never a frown with golden brown" -The Doors

TG: its not funny
TT: Come on. It's a little funny.
TG: fucking consorts
TG: so tired of consorts
TG: you say jump your turtles fuck off to distant lands and parts unknown
TG: all waddling away and hiding their eyes
TG: yes seer no seer three bags full seer
TT: That's still not the same as them actually jumping.
TG: yeah everyones consorts suck but you're not in the slammer because of yours
TG: so i think we can conclusively declare my consorts the worst consorts
TT: So why don't you break out and make an example of them?
TT: You have to be strong with your consorts if you want them to listen to you. Fear and respect go hand in hand with them.
TG: dont think i havent thought of it
TG: but it would be like beating up the mentally handicapped
TG: also they froze my assets
TG: all my funds are tied up in lohacse right now and i want those boondollars back
TG: i didn't grind all that shit out for nothing
TT: What do you even need it for? I should think that by now you've bought all the fraymotifs you need.
TG: well yeah for this play-through but once i reverse this shit is going to be useful
TT: Are you sure you can take boondollars back with you?
TG: of course i can why wouldn't i be able to
TG: it goes with me when i reverse
TT: I think that's because your funds are gaming abstractions tied to your echeladder. But they should cease to exist once you self-prototype, no?
TG: well
TG: maybe that's true and maybe it isnt
TG: but i still want my money back
TT: What about your lawyer? You never told me how the arraignment went.
TG: oh god
TG: dont even get me started
TG: he tried to eat the judge and contempt of court was added to my charges
TG: a fair cop since i have nothing but contempt for these braindead reptiles entire society
TG: have you made any progress figuring out who set me up or have you been busy playing pattycake with your cat
TT: Neither, unfortunately.
TT: I've been focusing my efforts on a slightly more important matter. If you recall, we were going to try and track down a route to Jade's planet.
TG: that's a waste of time
TT: Isn't our goal to track down Jade's unused kernelsprite and protect it from some unspecified threat?
TG: no
TG: well yes
TG: do you think ive been hanging out on lohac all this time because i like the weather
TG: dont forget were playing an incomplete game
TG: the gates that would lead to jades planet dont do anything
TG: so i cant go forward and if i tried to take a gate to your planet id be stuck there like you
TT: Does that mean that Jade's planet actually doesn't exist, or that we're just not supposed to have access to it?
TG: who the fuck knows
TG: and for that matter who cares, if jade has a kernelsprite its still on earth
TG: and believe it or not i maybe have a plan for that but first i gotta spring myself from this friggin cell
TG: and i have to do it legally
TT: Any reason we have to do it legally?
TG: they confiscated something i need
TG: i gotta get it back
TT: You're not making a convincing argument, Dave. Couldn't we just as easily burn their civilization to the ground and retrieve the object from the ashes?
TG: jegus rose thats a little dark dont you think
TG: seriously what the fuck
TT: I'm just trying to think outside the box. Jade is waiting on us, after all.
TG: alright well
TG: lets make that like plan z
TG: anyway i'm pretty sure i can beat this rap on my own
TG: but that means you gotta work on a project for me in the meantime
TT: The project you've been keeping a secret? Jade's thing?
TT: What will I need to do?
TG: h28rl9y2
TG: use that code in the alchemizer
TT: That's all I need to do?
TG: no
TG: but any additional steps will seem pretty obvious after you make it
TG: alright i gotta go to my deposition, good luck
TT: Thanks. Good luck to you too, Dave.

~

Knock Knock.

Sollux glanced away from his screen. He had been in the zone for about an hour since Terezi had messaged him. Right now he felt like his brain had been surgically removed, assaulted by a swarm of mind bees, and returned to his skull. He had a splitting headache. This wasn't exactly uncommon since they'd entered the Medium. It would be fine, he'd just need another spoonful...

That makes three spoonfuls in one day. Pushing it a little hard, aren't you?

It didn't matter. They'd be dead in a week, at most. What was the big deal if he fried his brain on honey? It wasn't like he was saving it for something special, anyway. Maybe GZ had the right idea...

He doled out one spoon, swallowed it, and put it away. It was so easy to hold back the surge, now. For a moment he savored the numbing tension building up in his mind, and then-

Knock Knock Knock

Someone was at the door. He rubbed his eyes and put the jar of honey away under his desk. She wouldn't be happy if she saw him with it. Not angry, because she understood the situation they were and she had no illusions about it. But... she wouldn't be happy. "I'll be right there," he said, and he got up to open the door.

It was her. Of course. "Finally, Sol, I only knocked like fifteen times!"

"Oh," Sollux said mildly. "Thorry, I wath in the thone. How'th, um, Nepeta?"

Feferi shrugged with exhaustion and set her things- a bag of art supplies and her portable computer- on his desk. "She's... well, she's Nepeta. We didn't get much done. But it was fun, you know."

"You think you guyth will be able to finith it? Before..."

"Eh. Maybe. I hope so. But I suppose maybe it doesn't really matter. So long as we're working on something, staying active... I don't think anyone had spent any time with her. ---Equius is busy, you know, so they dont really talk much." She poked Sollux in the ribs playfully. "You need to get out of this room, Sollux. You weren't at lunch..."

"Yeah. I know. I wathn't trying to be antithothial, FF, I jutht wathn't hungry. I wath at breakfatht."

She tried to look over his shoulder to get a glimpse of his code, but Sollux shifted in his seat to block her gaze. "What are you working on? Do you... have a new project? It's okay if you skipped lunch for that, I know you get wrapped up in things."

This was exactly what Sollux had done, but for some reason he didn't want to admit it to her. "Uh, it'th nothing." Sollux closed the window where he had been poring through the new universe's code. He was a little private when it came to unfinished projects, and this one he wasn't even sure how to explain. His coding skills had been put to use a few times during their campaign, like the time they'd rigged the fairground games in the Land of Tents and Mirth, but it had never been a real challenge.

Not like this. "I mean... no, yeth, it'th a project. But it doethn't matter yet. I'll thow it to you onthe it'th ready. It'th really nothin to thpeak of right now, though. Jutht trying to thtay ative. Like you thaid."

Feferi nodded. "So, hey! Are you still up for swimming with me tomorrow?"

Sollux grimaced a little. He liked Feferi, a lot, but he hated swimming. Most of the trolls did, in fact. Blame it on conditioning- the most fearsome lusii lived in the ocean, and even in this day and age purpleblooded seagrifts were notoriously vicious towards landdwellers. Their veil home had a small pool, and Feferi was the only one who used it. "I dunno FF I pretty much am gonna think like a thtone. Dunno what you're really exthpecting."

"Silly, that's how you learn!" She bent over until she was between him and the computer screen and stole a kiss on his cheek. "Don't worry, I'll hold you up, you just kick your legs and you'll be fine. It's really easy!"

"Thounds like a date then," Sollux smiled, kissing her back. "Eel jutht keep kicking and pray to cod that you don't let go. Otherwithe..."

"Otherwise?" Her eyes lit up playfully.

"I could croaker," he said, and she collapsed into giggles. She pushed his keyboard away and his chair back, cuddling up against him.

"I was thinking we could just stay in tonight..."

"Oh," Sollux said. He liked having Feferi leaning on him, and hated himself for what he was about to say. "Uh, actually. Eridan wanted to hang out tonight."

Feferi drew back dramatically, and raised an eyebrow. "-Eridan."

"Yeah. Uh. We were gonna go to Gamzee'th and have thome brewth."

She stared him down, waiting for him to blink. Sollux would never go so far as to call the girl spoiled- she always put everyone else's happiness before hers, certainly- but she was dangerously used to getting what she wanted. Princesses. You took the bad with the good. "----Eridan. Sollux. I don't want you fighting."

"We're not going to fight, really," he said, honestly. "It'th kind of a hathle, but the dude'th in a bad way, FF. Needth emothional thupport."

"Eridan." She shrugged and got up, sitting down on the bench connected to Sollux's recuperacoon. "You know how I feel about him."

"It'll be fine, he'th totally leth of a bulgehead now. He jutht needth a friend, you know?"

Feferi sighed. "...Promise you wont drink too much?"

"Of GZ'th thtuff? Don't worry about that."

~

"so wwhat did you tell the princess?"

"I told her you were in a bad way," Sollux said, eyeing the drink Gamzee had passed him suspiciously. "And that you needed emothional thupport."

"oh yeah," Eridan said with a snort. "i'm fuckin beside myself."

It was difficult to understand how Sollux and Eridan became friends. They certainly hadn't started out that way. Still, we will try to understand.

The two had briefly crossed paths in FLARP, without much incident. Neither was very interested in the game. Eridan was being an asshole, so Sollux had used an aggro hack to train several red-named mobs on Eridan. Eridan had been understandably pissed, but it wasn't really a big deal. Time had passed. Eridan started talking to Kanaya, and then eventually Terezi, through Vriska. Sollux started talking to Feferi, mostly through Gamzee. The rare conversations between Eridan and Sollux before the game didn't really endear either to the other. And then Feferi dumped Eridan and had started dating Sollux, in a completely different quadrant, to boot.

Things had escalated. There had been an epic battle, which had ended in Feferi, Sollux, and Eridan all losing a life, and a brief but extremely vicious blackrom tryst between Feferi and Eridan. Sollux had auspiscitized the two, with some help from Kanaya, and they stabilized into a hostile truce. In the final battle, they had all relied on each other to defeat the Black King. And there had been trust.

After all that, Sollux and Eridan were on awkward friendly ground. They had each screwed over the other in a few ways, but the two had a lot in common. They both were notorious for cycling between egomania and depression. They both considered Karkat their best male friend, which was a sad commentary in of itself. They both had been used by Vriska for nefarious means. They both thought Karkat's plan to troll the humans was stupid. They both had funny accents.

And of course... there was Feferi. They had that in common too, though they tried not to talk about it. Sollux still couldn't believe that Eridan had somehow summoned the maturity to let it go. He'd never seemed to have that kind of emotional strength before. The truth was that Sollux didn't know why Eridan had suddenly became less of a raging bulgehead. They'd both become okay with each other begrudingly by the Endgame, but the friendship seemingly came out of nowhere. Overnight, Eridan had seemingly gotten over Feferi and Sollux. Feferi's theory was that he'd hooked up with one of the other trolls, and it had mellowed him out a little. But who? And how? No one knew.

But the neww and improvved Eridan was a lot easier to deal with, at least.

Especially when he'd had a few drinks.

"Gam no more prevvaricatin on me here," Eridan said, leaning a little too far over the bar. "All I'm askin is for you to be straight-up honest wwith me."

"mAn YoU kNoW i'M hErE fOr A mOtHeRfUcKeR. lAy It On Me, InVeRtEbRoThEr. wHaT's AlL uP oN yOuR fUcKiN mInD?"

"Wwhat are these things, seriously?" Eridan pushed around his frothy brew. It was bright pink and had the consistency of a milkshake, but it had a carbonated bite to it. It tasted like... strawberries and vanilla and something else he couldn't identify. "Basically wwhat I'm saying is howw did you make this."

"It doethn't thmell like thopor thlime," Sollux said, sniffing it cautiously. "Maybe all the fruity thtuff ith jutht mathking the thmell. Hath anyone elthe drank thith thtuff?"

"wElL, yOu KnOw, ThAt SpInNeRet GiRl WhO iS aLl AbOuT tAvRoS hAd OnE lAsT nIgHt AnD sHe SaId It WaS tHe MoThErFuCkIn ShItTy BiTcHeS." Gamzee absentmindedly sipped Eridan's brew, then started pouring another one. "oH mAn WaS tHaT jUsT lAsT nIGhT? iT's LiKe tImE iS jUsT tHe CrAzIeSt MiRaClE oF aLl. It JuSt KeEpS hApPeNiNg WhEn YoU aReN't EvEn PaYiNg AtTeNtIoN aNd JuMpS uP oN a MoThErFuCkEr."

Sollux sipped his drink and shrugged. "It doethn't tathte bad."

"No, wwait, wwere you talking about Vvriska?" Eridan pushed away the drink Gamzee had started sipping from and took the new one, keeping it protectively close. "D'you seriously still not knoww all our names by noww?"

"MaN, dOnT bE lIkE tHaT," Gamzee said. "iT's JuSt A wHoLe FuCkIn LoT tO kEeP sTrAiGhT, yOu KnOw?"

"GZ," Sollux said. "Pop Quiz. What ith my name."

"YoU'rE sOlLuX mAn, I kNoW, yOu CaNt TrY aNd SnEaK uP aNd AlL fUcKiN aMbUsH mE bEcAuSe I'm PrEpArEd LiKe A mOtHeRfUcKiN mEmOrY nInJa."

"Wwhat's my name, then?"

"UuUuUhHhHhHhH," he said. "yOu'Re ThE gUy WiTh ThE sEaMuScLeBeAsT aNd aLl ThE eMoTiOnS, rIgHt?"

Sollux cracked up and Eridan face-palmed. "Hahaha, you gotta admit ER he'th got you pegged!"

"Eridan!" Eridan drained his frothy brew in one, enraged chug. "Eridan! Fuckin! Ampora! Howw can you not knoww my name, Gam, this is total irredeemable bullshit. Do you remember wwhen I saved your life? That Prospit broad wwas goin to cut off your head, and I blasted her awway?"

"Oh," Gamzee said. "MoThErFuCk MaN i ThOuGhT yOu WeRe EqUiUs. ThAnKs FoR tHe ReScUe I gUeSs BrO."

"If you wweren't tripping horns the wwhole fuckin advventure you wwouldn't have needed a rescue, you pisspoor landdwwelling excuse for a purp-"

"C'mon, dude," Sollux said, putting a hand on Eridan's shoulder. "Chill. It'th Gamzee, like, what did you exthpect."

Eridan took a deep breath, scowled, and then exhaled. "Yeah. Wwhatevver."

"mAn BrOtHeR i NeVeR wAnTeD tO gO aNd MaKe A fRiEnD fEeL uNaPpReCiAtEd AnD sHiT, tHaT's ThE lAsT mOtHeRfUcKiN tHiNg I'd Be WaNtInG tO gO aNd Do. Is ThErE aNyThInG i CaN dO tO mAkE yOu FeEl LeSs LiKe A mOtHeRfUcKeR aLl FuLl Of RuDe AnD sAlTy EmOtIoNs?"

What he said was: "You can pour me another of those frothy fruity fuckin cocktails already."

But what he thought was: I'm not your fuckin friend, I'm Dualscar Fuckin Orphaner.

[KarneWarrior]

Gamzeelol

Also, I want to write but I have no ideas! This has never happened before!

Help me!

[Summergale]

More Voices because the Summergale HASS the plot bunny.


Voices: Chapter Two

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There are crystals here, the large ones taller than any troll and the small ones the width of one hand. They're bloodstained in places, marks of where the wild beasts roaming the caverns triumphed over the young trolls. They still glow, a pale light that bathes Sollux and Aradia as they slouch near a larger crystal. Sollux tries not to look at the blood - it seems fresh, and he'd rather not think about that possibility - and he settles instead for looking at the sleeping girl a few feet away. Aradia mystifies him, this young girl who hears voices and talks to them. The voices he hears don't bother him quite so much, they're ignorable (is that a word, Sollux thinks) and can be tuned out most of the time. In the caverns, it's mostly screaming, wailing incoherently and sobbing. It's all cut off short, as if he stops being able to hear them.

She shifts and groans quietly, and Sollux snaps out of his thoughts to look back at her. She's grimacing, flinching every so often as if struck by an unseen hand. There's a part of Sollux that wants to reach out and hold her close, but he stays his distance. She seems nice enough, but he's ran afoul of far too many backstabbing trolls to get too close. Aradia mumbles and curls up a little further, and Sollux returns to keeping watch. He knows wolfbeasts roam the caverns, behemoths with dark fur and bloodied teeth, eyes glowing in the darkness. He's seen more than one and has seen them in action, leaping into the fray and tearing into flesh.

He'd like to say he's not scared, that he's sure he can fend off a hungry wolfbeast, but that would be lying. He's exhausted, and he's not sure he could even lift a pebble right now. Instead he leans against the rough walls and lets the tiredness wash over him, his eyes half-closing as he wonders what Aradia is dreaming of.

She dreams of darkness. She dreams of voices, some louder than others, all saying the same thing - words she does not understand. She is adrift in this void, and it enshrouds her. A chill spreads along her body and she shudders, but then the darkness retreats and she lands on hard, smooth ground. From the darkness other trolls emerge, eyes closed and skin pale. It's stretched over them, like there isn't enough flesh to cover the bones. They reach out with twisted gnarled fingers and breathe her name, over and over. Aradia. Aradia. She stifles a sob and tries to flee but the darkness wraps itself around her. Suddenly she's falling, falling, falli

Aradia wakes with the feeling that something is horribly wrong. Sollux is sprawled against the wall and her heart leaps into her throat. She scurries over and realises that no, he's not dead... yet. She senses something approaching and shakes the other troll awake, and he blinks fuzzily at her. She can see his eyes aren't focused on her at all, and she hisses through her teeth. She turns around and spreads out her arms, glaring into the darkness. She's not sure if her powers - weak as they are - will be enough to fend off whatever is stalking them, but she's damn well going to try. The voices are quiet now, understanding the need for concentration. Aradia takes a few deeps breaths and begins to lower her arms.

Suddenly something leaps out of the shadow and snarls so loud that it's a roar. It's huge, easily twice her size, with a muzzle full of dagger-like fangs as long as her arm. The fur of the beast is matted and dark grey, stained in places with technicolour blood. Narrow eyes focus upon her but Aradia stands her ground, feeling the shift of a warm body behind her as Sollux surfaces from the haze of sleep. The wolfbeast snarls at her and Aradia ducks, grabs Sollux's hand in hers (warm skin against her own, a new sensation and one she tries not to focus on right now) and runs.

The wolfbeast pursues, paws slamming against the rocky ground and caverns resounding with the monster's snorting breaths. Aradia keeps running, her own feet starting to hurt with the weight of her steps. Sollux runs behind her, and he shouts something that is lost in the background noise. The voices are talking again.

keep running oh gog don't sto just get eaten no you idiot keep running keep goi shut up and let her do this

Finally Aradia makes up her mind and dodges sideways, pulling Sollux in close before shoving him into a small alcove. He yelps and reaches out but she's already gone, running the other way. Never mind that he probably could have helped her fight it off; there's a voice telling her this is meant to happen and this is the way it should go, and who is she to argue? Her feet are bleeding now, she thinks, and her breathing is getting heavier, but the wolfbeast took the bait. It's following her.

This is meant to happen, but that doesn't stop her from being terrified.

[KarneWarrior]

More Voices because the Summergale HASS the plot bunny.

Summergale HASS the plot bunny.

Summergale HASS the plot

DAMMIT SUMMERGALE YOU STOLE MY RABBIT

[JNJ]

Possible Inspiration/ Idea for writers:

What happens when Robo-Aradia eats mind honey? She's 0kay with things, I know, but someone has to go crazy. Why not the voices that plague her and Sollux? Then you can have them start saying perfectly ridiculous things, such as clear, timely, and useful descriptions of future events. Or maybe they're silent for a while. Or they start blatantly referencing other fanfics. Whatever. You pick.

[ShayCaron]

About two days ago my mind was wandering, and out of nowhere bits and pieces of this conversation started waltzing into my head and refusing to leave until I got them typed up and connected to each other. I'm really not that confident in my characterization here, but if I start second-guessing myself now, I'll never stop. So I'm just going to throw this out onto the forum and then run and hide.


Rose/Kanaya, set right before the mysterious blackening of the viewport. Find all the callbacks to canon pesterlogs and win a fabulous prize! Warning: Prize may not actually exist.


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-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began trolling tentacleTherapist [TT] --

GA: Hello Rose
TT: This is the moment, isn't it?
GA: It Is
GA: In Approximately Seventeen Minutes You Will Vanish From Trollians Timeline
TT: Which would make this the last conversation, for both of us.
TT: Unless your future self stows another one in between etc etc.
GA: I Assure You I Intend For Her
GA: That Is To Say Me
GA: To Do No Such Thing
GA: The Timeline Of Our Conversations Has Been Tangled Enough
TT: Agreed.
TT: And at any rate, I would remember it if you had.
TT: But I'd rather not waste these last few minutes talking about temporal inevitability.
GA: Agreed
GA: I Wish You Luck Rose
GA: I Hope You And Your Friends Will Find The Success That We Could Not
TT: Thank you, Kanaya.
TT: Before I do this, however, I have a question for you.
GA: Really
TT: This will probably strike you as an odd moment for me to ask this.
TT: But I'm afraid I have been procrastinating on the matter, and this may be my last chance.
GA: Alright
GA: What Is It
TT: Well.
TT: I've gathered from our conversations that... a past flushed relationship of yours did not end well.
TT: Please correct me if I'm mistaken, or if I'm being too presumptuous.
GA: Um
GA: No
GA: That Is Basically Correct
GA: Although Calling It A Relationship Would Imply That It Was
GA: Not Entirely One Sided
TT: I'm sorry to hear that.
TT: Anyway, my question is this:
TT: Has there been anyone else who has recently caught your eye as a potential matesprit?
GA: Has
GA: What
TT: It's a simple question.
GA: Yes But
GA: Why Do You Want To Know That
GA: And Why Now
TT: I've already explained why now.
TT: As for why... I need to hear your answer before I can say.
GA: Sigh
GA: Very Well
GA: Yes
GA: There Is Someone
TT: I see.
TT: And may I ask you who that someone is?
GA: You May
GA: And I Expect That You Will
TT: You're being deliberately obtuse, Kanaya.
GA: Yes
GA: I Am
GA: This Is A Difficult Topic For Me To Discuss
TT: My apologies.
TT: I didn't intend to make you uncomfortable.
TT: What if I were to answer the same question for you?
GA: What Do You Mean
TT: As it turns out, I happen to be tentatively interested in a certain individual as well.
TT: Would it help if I told you who that person is?
GA: I Cant Imagine Any Possible Way That It Would
GA: Rose I Am Going To Be Honest
GA: This Last Conversation Is Not Going How I Thought It Would At All
GA: Really We Should Be Discussing
GA: Ur
GA: I Dont Know
GA: But Anything Else
TT: I am sorry that I'm being so pushy, Kanaya.
TT: But I really do want to know this.
TT: Need to know it, even.
TT: And we have only a few minutes left.
GA: ...
TT: This is the last request I will make of you.
TT: One last exchange of ignorance.
TT: We will both reveal our scandalous hidden flushed leanings.
TT: On the count of three, perhaps?
GA: If It Is So Important To You
GA: Alright
GA: On Three
TT: One.
TT: Two.
TT: Three.
GA: You
TT: You.
GA: I
GA: What
GA: Really
GA: ???
TT: Yes, really.
TT: I must admit to some considerable fear that I was misreading your signals. I'm glad to see I wasn't.
GA: I Wasnt Aware I Was Sending Signals In The First Place
GA: Rose I
GA: Im Sorry I Have To Pause Trollian For A Moment I Will Be Right Back
GA: Alright Im Back
TT: Take your ti
TT: Never mind.
GA: Are You Sure That You
GA: I Mean
GA: I Never Really Believed That You Might Return These Feelings
TT: To be scrupulously honest, I cannot yet call it more than a compelling attraction.
TT: But the potential for more is assuredly there.
TT: And I would like to find out if that potential could be realized.
GA: I Would Like That Too
GA: Very Much
GA: This Is So Overwhelming
GA: And So Odd
TT: There are not many moments I've experienced on this journey which wouldn't qualify as odd.
GA: We Have Never Even Met
GA: Now That I Think Of It
GA: I Know What You Look Like Obviously
GA: But You Have Never Even Seen Me
TT: Indeed.
TT: But there's an easy way to fix that, no?
GA: True
GA: I Will Be Right Back In A Moment Of Your Time
GA: There

-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] sent tentacleTherapist [TT] the file "KanayaInAStateOfShock.Jpg" --

TT: Intriguing.
TT: This confirms several of my hypotheses.
GA: Really
GA: What Would Those Be
TT: 1) Trolls and humans differ superficially in appearance, but are similar in general anatomy.
TT: 2) Your good taste in fashion applies to what you wear yourself.
GA: Thank You
GA: If My Wardrobifier Had Not Been Destroyed I Could Have Shown You A Better Example
TT: 3) Despite -- or indeed, perhaps partially due to -- those superficial differences, I find you very attractive indeed.
GA: Oh
GA: Gosh
GA: Thank You Again
GA: I Find You Very Attractive As Well
GA: Your Hair Is Quite
GA: I Think Exotic Is The Word Im Looking For
TT: Is there little variance in troll hair color?
GA: Almost None
GA: It Is Comparable To Human Blood Color
TT: I find myself continually intrigued by you and your species, Kanaya.
GA: As Do I By You And Yours
GA: Maybe If We Had Been Able To Enter Your Universe After All
TT: Anything might have happened then.
GA: Yes
GA: Thank You Rose
GA: Its Not Like Were Ever Going To Meet In Person
GA: But Im Glad To Know That There Could Have Been Something Between Us
GA: When I Spoke To John Recently He Informed Me Of A Human Saying
GA: "Tis Better To Have Loved And Lost Than Never To Have Loved At All"
GA: At The Time I Thought It Was Trite
GA: But I Think I Understand It Now
TT: John said that?
TT: I'm impressed. Perhaps he's more sensitive to these matters than I would have given him credit for.
GA: Perhaps
GA: Im Sorry
GA: I Wish We Could Keep Talking Like This
GA: But Were Out Of Time
TT: So it would appear.
TT: Time for me to perform an acrobatic pirouette off the rails.
GA: I Hope You Will Find What You Seek
GA: Goodbye Rose
TT: I intend to.
TT: Goodbye, Kanaya.
TT: See you soon.
GA: Wait
GA: What

-- tentacleTherapist [TT] is no longer online --

[arcaneCalligramancer]

About two days ago my mind was wandering, and out of nowhere bits and pieces of this conversation started waltzing into my head and refusing to leave until I got them typed up and connected to each other. I'm really not that confident in my characterization here, but if I start second-guessing myself now, I'll never stop. So I'm just going to throw this out onto the forum and then run and hide.


Rose/Kanaya, set right before the mysterious blackening of the viewport. Find all the callbacks to canon pesterlogs and win a fabulous prize! Warning: Prize may not actually exist.


Exchange

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-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began trolling tentacleTherapist [TT] --

GA: Hello Rose
TT: This is the moment, isn't it?
GA: It Is
GA: In Approximately Seventeen Minutes You Will Vanish From Trollians Timeline
TT: Which would make this the last conversation, for both of us.
TT: Unless your future self stows another one in between etc etc.
GA: I Assure You I Intend For Her
GA: That Is To Say Me
GA: To Do No Such Thing
GA: The Timeline Of Our Conversations Has Been Tangled Enough
TT: Agreed.
TT: And at any rate, I would remember it if you had.
TT: But I'd rather not waste these last few minutes talking about temporal inevitability.
GA: Agreed
GA: I Wish You Luck Rose
GA: I Hope You And Your Friends Will Find The Success That We Could Not
TT: Thank you, Kanaya.
TT: Before I do this, however, I have a question for you.
GA: Really
TT: This will probably strike you as an odd moment for me to ask this.
TT: But I'm afraid I have been procrastinating on the matter, and this may be my last chance.
GA: Alright
GA: What Is It
TT: Well.
TT: I've gathered from our conversations that... a past flushed relationship of yours did not end well.
TT: Please correct me if I'm mistaken, or if I'm being too presumptuous.
GA: Um
GA: No
GA: That Is Basically Correct
GA: Although Calling It A Relationship Would Imply That It Was
GA: Not Entirely One Sided
TT: I'm sorry to hear that.
TT: Anyway, my question is this:
TT: Has there been anyone else who has recently caught your eye as a potential matesprit?
GA: Has
GA: What
TT: It's a simple question.
GA: Yes But
GA: Why Do You Want To Know That
GA: And Why Now
TT: I've already explained why now.
TT: As for why... I need to hear your answer before I can say.
GA: Sigh
GA: Very Well
GA: Yes
GA: There Is Someone
TT: I see.
TT: And may I ask you who that someone is?
GA: You May
GA: And I Expect That You Will
TT: You're being deliberately obtuse, Kanaya.
GA: Yes
GA: I Am
GA: This Is A Difficult Topic For Me To Discuss
TT: My apologies.
TT: I didn't intend to make you uncomfortable.
TT: What if I were to answer the same question for you?
GA: What Do You Mean
TT: As it turns out, I happen to be tentatively interested in a certain individual as well.
TT: Would it help if I told you who that person is?
GA: I Cant Imagine Any Possible Way That It Would
GA: Rose I Am Going To Be Honest
GA: This Last Conversation Is Not Going How I Thought It Would At All
GA: Really We Should Be Discussing
GA: Ur
GA: I Dont Know
GA: But Anything Else
TT: I am sorry that I'm being so pushy, Kanaya.
TT: But I really do want to know this.
TT: Need to know it, even.
TT: And we have only a few minutes left.
GA: ...
TT: This is the last request I will make of you.
TT: One last exchange of ignorance.
TT: We will both reveal our scandalous hidden flushed leanings.
TT: On the count of three, perhaps?
GA: If It Is So Important To You
GA: Alright
GA: On Three
TT: One.
TT: Two.
TT: Three.
GA: You
TT: You.
GA: I
GA: What
GA: Really
GA: ???
TT: Yes, really.
TT: I must admit to some considerable fear that I was misreading your signals. I'm glad to see I wasn't.
GA: I Wasnt Aware I Was Sending Signals In The First Place
GA: Rose I
GA: Im Sorry I Have To Pause Trollian For A Moment I Will Be Right Back
GA: Alright Im Back
TT: Take your ti
TT: Never mind.
GA: Are You Sure That You
GA: I Mean
GA: I Never Really Believed That You Might Return These Feelings
TT: To be scrupulously honest, I cannot yet call it more than a compelling attraction.
TT: But the potential for more is assuredly there.
TT: And I would like to find out if that potential could be realized.
GA: I Would Like That Too
GA: Very Much
GA: This Is So Overwhelming
GA: And So Odd
TT: There are not many moments I've experienced on this journey which wouldn't qualify as odd.
GA: We Have Never Even Met
GA: Now That I Think Of It
GA: I Know What You Look Like Obviously
GA: But You Have Never Even Seen Me
TT: Indeed.
TT: But there's an easy way to fix that, no?
GA: True
GA: I Will Be Right Back In A Moment Of Your Time
GA: There

-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] sent tentacleTherapist [TT] the file "KanayaInAStateOfShock.Jpg" --

TT: Intriguing.
TT: This confirms several of my hypotheses.
GA: Really
GA: What Would Those Be
TT: 1) Trolls and humans differ superficially in appearance, but are similar in general anatomy.
TT: 2) Your good taste in fashion applies to what you wear yourself.
GA: Thank You
GA: If My Wardrobifier Had Not Been Destroyed I Could Have Shown You A Better Example
TT: 3) Despite -- or indeed, perhaps partially due to -- those superficial differences, I find you very attractive indeed.
GA: Oh
GA: Gosh
GA: Thank You Again
GA: I Find You Very Attractive As Well
GA: Your Hair Is Quite
GA: I Think Exotic Is The Word Im Looking For
TT: Is there little variance in troll hair color?
GA: Almost None
GA: It Is Comparable To Human Blood Color
TT: I find myself continually intrigued by you and your species, Kanaya.
GA: As Do I By You And Yours
GA: Maybe If We Had Been Able To Enter Your Universe After All
TT: Anything might have happened then.
GA: Yes
GA: Thank You Rose
GA: Its Not Like Were Ever Going To Meet In Person
GA: But Im Glad To Know That There Could Have Been Something Between Us
GA: When I Spoke To John Recently He Informed Me Of A Human Saying
GA: "Tis Better To Have Loved And Lost Than Never To Have Loved At All"
GA: At The Time I Thought It Was Trite
GA: But I Think I Understand It Now
TT: John said that?
TT: I'm impressed. Perhaps he's more sensitive to these matters than I would have given him credit for.
GA: Perhaps
GA: Im Sorry
GA: I Wish We Could Keep Talking Like This
GA: But Were Out Of Time
TT: So it would appear.
TT: Time for me to perform an acrobatic pirouette off the rails.
GA: I Hope You Will Find What You Seek
GA: Goodbye Rose
TT: I intend to.
TT: Goodbye, Kanaya.
TT: See you soon.
GA: Wait
GA: What

-- tentacleTherapist [TT] is no longer online --

I like this!

[kmsumrall]

There is talk of recording fan fiction? I'm up for that. I can voice but I'm a terrible producer.

[Metaflare]

About two days ago my mind was wandering, and out of nowhere bits and pieces of this conversation started waltzing into my head and refusing to leave until I got them typed up and connected to each other. I'm really not that confident in my characterization here, but if I start second-guessing myself now, I'll never stop. So I'm just going to throw this out onto the forum and then run and hide.


Rose/Kanaya, set right before the mysterious blackening of the viewport. Find all the callbacks to canon pesterlogs and win a fabulous prize! Warning: Prize may not actually exist.


Exchange

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-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began trolling tentacleTherapist [TT] --

GA: Hello Rose
TT: This is the moment, isn't it?
GA: It Is
GA: In Approximately Seventeen Minutes You Will Vanish From Trollians Timeline
TT: Which would make this the last conversation, for both of us.
TT: Unless your future self stows another one in between etc etc.
GA: I Assure You I Intend For Her
GA: That Is To Say Me
GA: To Do No Such Thing
GA: The Timeline Of Our Conversations Has Been Tangled Enough
TT: Agreed.
TT: And at any rate, I would remember it if you had.
TT: But I'd rather not waste these last few minutes talking about temporal inevitability.
GA: Agreed
GA: I Wish You Luck Rose
GA: I Hope You And Your Friends Will Find The Success That We Could Not
TT: Thank you, Kanaya.
TT: Before I do this, however, I have a question for you.
GA: Really
TT: This will probably strike you as an odd moment for me to ask this.
TT: But I'm afraid I have been procrastinating on the matter, and this may be my last chance.
GA: Alright
GA: What Is It
TT: Well.
TT: I've gathered from our conversations that... a past flushed relationship of yours did not end well.
TT: Please correct me if I'm mistaken, or if I'm being too presumptuous.
GA: Um
GA: No
GA: That Is Basically Correct
GA: Although Calling It A Relationship Would Imply That It Was
GA: Not Entirely One Sided
TT: I'm sorry to hear that.
TT: Anyway, my question is this:
TT: Has there been anyone else who has recently caught your eye as a potential matesprit?
GA: Has
GA: What
TT: It's a simple question.
GA: Yes But
GA: Why Do You Want To Know That
GA: And Why Now
TT: I've already explained why now.
TT: As for why... I need to hear your answer before I can say.
GA: Sigh
GA: Very Well
GA: Yes
GA: There Is Someone
TT: I see.
TT: And may I ask you who that someone is?
GA: You May
GA: And I Expect That You Will
TT: You're being deliberately obtuse, Kanaya.
GA: Yes
GA: I Am
GA: This Is A Difficult Topic For Me To Discuss
TT: My apologies.
TT: I didn't intend to make you uncomfortable.
TT: What if I were to answer the same question for you?
GA: What Do You Mean
TT: As it turns out, I happen to be tentatively interested in a certain individual as well.
TT: Would it help if I told you who that person is?
GA: I Cant Imagine Any Possible Way That It Would
GA: Rose I Am Going To Be Honest
GA: This Last Conversation Is Not Going How I Thought It Would At All
GA: Really We Should Be Discussing
GA: Ur
GA: I Dont Know
GA: But Anything Else
TT: I am sorry that I'm being so pushy, Kanaya.
TT: But I really do want to know this.
TT: Need to know it, even.
TT: And we have only a few minutes left.
GA: ...
TT: This is the last request I will make of you.
TT: One last exchange of ignorance.
TT: We will both reveal our scandalous hidden flushed leanings.
TT: On the count of three, perhaps?
GA: If It Is So Important To You
GA: Alright
GA: On Three
TT: One.
TT: Two.
TT: Three.
GA: You
TT: You.
GA: I
GA: What
GA: Really
GA: ???
TT: Yes, really.
TT: I must admit to some considerable fear that I was misreading your signals. I'm glad to see I wasn't.
GA: I Wasnt Aware I Was Sending Signals In The First Place
GA: Rose I
GA: Im Sorry I Have To Pause Trollian For A Moment I Will Be Right Back
GA: Alright Im Back
TT: Take your ti
TT: Never mind.
GA: Are You Sure That You
GA: I Mean
GA: I Never Really Believed That You Might Return These Feelings
TT: To be scrupulously honest, I cannot yet call it more than a compelling attraction.
TT: But the potential for more is assuredly there.
TT: And I would like to find out if that potential could be realized.
GA: I Would Like That Too
GA: Very Much
GA: This Is So Overwhelming
GA: And So Odd
TT: There are not many moments I've experienced on this journey which wouldn't qualify as odd.
GA: We Have Never Even Met
GA: Now That I Think Of It
GA: I Know What You Look Like Obviously
GA: But You Have Never Even Seen Me
TT: Indeed.
TT: But there's an easy way to fix that, no?
GA: True
GA: I Will Be Right Back In A Moment Of Your Time
GA: There

-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] sent tentacleTherapist [TT] the file "KanayaInAStateOfShock.Jpg" --

TT: Intriguing.
TT: This confirms several of my hypotheses.
GA: Really
GA: What Would Those Be
TT: 1) Trolls and humans differ superficially in appearance, but are similar in general anatomy.
TT: 2) Your good taste in fashion applies to what you wear yourself.
GA: Thank You
GA: If My Wardrobifier Had Not Been Destroyed I Could Have Shown You A Better Example
TT: 3) Despite -- or indeed, perhaps partially due to -- those superficial differences, I find you very attractive indeed.
GA: Oh
GA: Gosh
GA: Thank You Again
GA: I Find You Very Attractive As Well
GA: Your Hair Is Quite
GA: I Think Exotic Is The Word Im Looking For
TT: Is there little variance in troll hair color?
GA: Almost None
GA: It Is Comparable To Human Blood Color
TT: I find myself continually intrigued by you and your species, Kanaya.
GA: As Do I By You And Yours
GA: Maybe If We Had Been Able To Enter Your Universe After All
TT: Anything might have happened then.
GA: Yes
GA: Thank You Rose
GA: Its Not Like Were Ever Going To Meet In Person
GA: But Im Glad To Know That There Could Have Been Something Between Us
GA: When I Spoke To John Recently He Informed Me Of A Human Saying
GA: "Tis Better To Have Loved And Lost Than Never To Have Loved At All"
GA: At The Time I Thought It Was Trite
GA: But I Think I Understand It Now
TT: John said that?
TT: I'm impressed. Perhaps he's more sensitive to these matters than I would have given him credit for.
GA: Perhaps
GA: Im Sorry
GA: I Wish We Could Keep Talking Like This
GA: But Were Out Of Time
TT: So it would appear.
TT: Time for me to perform an acrobatic pirouette off the rails.
GA: I Hope You Will Find What You Seek
GA: Goodbye Rose
TT: I intend to.
TT: Goodbye, Kanaya.
TT: See you soon.
GA: Wait
GA: What

-- tentacleTherapist [TT] is no longer online --

FUCK YES.

HELL

FUCKING

YES!!!!!!!!

[Ember]

Shay, that is tooth-achingly sweet! It's got that young love swept-off-your-feet-for-the-first-time feeling Lotus was describing on the RomArt thread a while back, and it's fun to see that shining through even Rose's sardonic sesquipedalianism. And Kanaya here is pure concentrated adorable, right down to her choice of file name. I can just picture her face in that image.

[Burdge]

About two days ago my mind was wandering, and out of nowhere bits and pieces of this conversation started waltzing into my head and refusing to leave until I got them typed up and connected to each other. I'm really not that confident in my characterization here, but if I start second-guessing myself now, I'll never stop. So I'm just going to throw this out onto the forum and then run and hide.


Rose/Kanaya, set right before the mysterious blackening of the viewport. Find all the callbacks to canon pesterlogs and win a fabulous prize! Warning: Prize may not actually exist.


Exchange

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hide spoiler

-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began trolling tentacleTherapist [TT] --

GA: Hello Rose
TT: This is the moment, isn't it?
GA: It Is
GA: In Approximately Seventeen Minutes You Will Vanish From Trollians Timeline
TT: Which would make this the last conversation, for both of us.
TT: Unless your future self stows another one in between etc etc.
GA: I Assure You I Intend For Her
GA: That Is To Say Me
GA: To Do No Such Thing
GA: The Timeline Of Our Conversations Has Been Tangled Enough
TT: Agreed.
TT: And at any rate, I would remember it if you had.
TT: But I'd rather not waste these last few minutes talking about temporal inevitability.
GA: Agreed
GA: I Wish You Luck Rose
GA: I Hope You And Your Friends Will Find The Success That We Could Not
TT: Thank you, Kanaya.
TT: Before I do this, however, I have a question for you.
GA: Really
TT: This will probably strike you as an odd moment for me to ask this.
TT: But I'm afraid I have been procrastinating on the matter, and this may be my last chance.
GA: Alright
GA: What Is It
TT: Well.
TT: I've gathered from our conversations that... a past flushed relationship of yours did not end well.
TT: Please correct me if I'm mistaken, or if I'm being too presumptuous.
GA: Um
GA: No
GA: That Is Basically Correct
GA: Although Calling It A Relationship Would Imply That It Was
GA: Not Entirely One Sided
TT: I'm sorry to hear that.
TT: Anyway, my question is this:
TT: Has there been anyone else who has recently caught your eye as a potential matesprit?
GA: Has
GA: What
TT: It's a simple question.
GA: Yes But
GA: Why Do You Want To Know That
GA: And Why Now
TT: I've already explained why now.
TT: As for why... I need to hear your answer before I can say.
GA: Sigh
GA: Very Well
GA: Yes
GA: There Is Someone
TT: I see.
TT: And may I ask you who that someone is?
GA: You May
GA: And I Expect That You Will
TT: You're being deliberately obtuse, Kanaya.
GA: Yes
GA: I Am
GA: This Is A Difficult Topic For Me To Discuss
TT: My apologies.
TT: I didn't intend to make you uncomfortable.
TT: What if I were to answer the same question for you?
GA: What Do You Mean
TT: As it turns out, I happen to be tentatively interested in a certain individual as well.
TT: Would it help if I told you who that person is?
GA: I Cant Imagine Any Possible Way That It Would
GA: Rose I Am Going To Be Honest
GA: This Last Conversation Is Not Going How I Thought It Would At All
GA: Really We Should Be Discussing
GA: Ur
GA: I Dont Know
GA: But Anything Else
TT: I am sorry that I'm being so pushy, Kanaya.
TT: But I really do want to know this.
TT: Need to know it, even.
TT: And we have only a few minutes left.
GA: ...
TT: This is the last request I will make of you.
TT: One last exchange of ignorance.
TT: We will both reveal our scandalous hidden flushed leanings.
TT: On the count of three, perhaps?
GA: If It Is So Important To You
GA: Alright
GA: On Three
TT: One.
TT: Two.
TT: Three.
GA: You
TT: You.
GA: I
GA: What
GA: Really
GA: ???
TT: Yes, really.
TT: I must admit to some considerable fear that I was misreading your signals. I'm glad to see I wasn't.
GA: I Wasnt Aware I Was Sending Signals In The First Place
GA: Rose I
GA: Im Sorry I Have To Pause Trollian For A Moment I Will Be Right Back
GA: Alright Im Back
TT: Take your ti
TT: Never mind.
GA: Are You Sure That You
GA: I Mean
GA: I Never Really Believed That You Might Return These Feelings
TT: To be scrupulously honest, I cannot yet call it more than a compelling attraction.
TT: But the potential for more is assuredly there.
TT: And I would like to find out if that potential could be realized.
GA: I Would Like That Too
GA: Very Much
GA: This Is So Overwhelming
GA: And So Odd
TT: There are not many moments I've experienced on this journey which wouldn't qualify as odd.
GA: We Have Never Even Met
GA: Now That I Think Of It
GA: I Know What You Look Like Obviously
GA: But You Have Never Even Seen Me
TT: Indeed.
TT: But there's an easy way to fix that, no?
GA: True
GA: I Will Be Right Back In A Moment Of Your Time
GA: There

-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] sent tentacleTherapist [TT] the file "KanayaInAStateOfShock.Jpg" --

TT: Intriguing.
TT: This confirms several of my hypotheses.
GA: Really
GA: What Would Those Be
TT: 1) Trolls and humans differ superficially in appearance, but are similar in general anatomy.
TT: 2) Your good taste in fashion applies to what you wear yourself.
GA: Thank You
GA: If My Wardrobifier Had Not Been Destroyed I Could Have Shown You A Better Example
TT: 3) Despite -- or indeed, perhaps partially due to -- those superficial differences, I find you very attractive indeed.
GA: Oh
GA: Gosh
GA: Thank You Again
GA: I Find You Very Attractive As Well
GA: Your Hair Is Quite
GA: I Think Exotic Is The Word Im Looking For
TT: Is there little variance in troll hair color?
GA: Almost None
GA: It Is Comparable To Human Blood Color
TT: I find myself continually intrigued by you and your species, Kanaya.
GA: As Do I By You And Yours
GA: Maybe If We Had Been Able To Enter Your Universe After All
TT: Anything might have happened then.
GA: Yes
GA: Thank You Rose
GA: Its Not Like Were Ever Going To Meet In Person
GA: But Im Glad To Know That There Could Have Been Something Between Us
GA: When I Spoke To John Recently He Informed Me Of A Human Saying
GA: "Tis Better To Have Loved And Lost Than Never To Have Loved At All"
GA: At The Time I Thought It Was Trite
GA: But I Think I Understand It Now
TT: John said that?
TT: I'm impressed. Perhaps he's more sensitive to these matters than I would have given him credit for.
GA: Perhaps
GA: Im Sorry
GA: I Wish We Could Keep Talking Like This
GA: But Were Out Of Time
TT: So it would appear.
TT: Time for me to perform an acrobatic pirouette off the rails.
GA: I Hope You Will Find What You Seek
GA: Goodbye Rose
TT: I intend to.
TT: Goodbye, Kanaya.
TT: See you soon.
GA: Wait
GA: What

-- tentacleTherapist [TT] is no longer online --

You

just



YES

[arcaneCalligramancer]

ShayCaron you write a sequel

You write a goddamn sequel or i will

[chronicallyCrafty]

Shaaaaaay that was really cute :O!

[arianadream]

There is talk of recording fan fiction? I'm up for that. I can voice but I'm a terrible producer.

I'll just make this suggestion for any fanfic writers who would be interested in having their work voiced. If you are up for this, I recommend heading on over to the voice acting thread and posting a link to the story you would like voiced, and say that you give permission and would love if someone was interested in voicing it. Many of us VAs are always on the lookout for new material, especially if we usually like to play characters who don't actually have that much dialogue in the comic itself so far. Pesterlogs in particular are ideal for voice acting purposes, of course, but I'm sure most of us are creative enough to adapt most other types of fanfic to something that can be voiced.

[Graven_Image]

This is a short one.

OPEN TALKLOG

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twinArmageddons [TA] began talking to carcinoGeneticist [CG]
TA: diid you remember two get the diiced chiicken with broccolii and not 2hredded
CG: YES.
TA: even though the menu 2peciifiie2 2hredded
CG: YES.
TA: diid you get brown riice and not whiite riice
CG: YES.
TA: diid you stop at the korean grocery and get the good hot mu2tard
CG: YES.
TA: diid you piick up the low-2odiium 2oy 2auce from the market
CG: YES.
TA: thank2
CG: YOU'RE WELCOME.
TA: what took you 2o long
CG: JUST PARK IT AND EAT.
TA: fiine
TA: ...
TA: what ii2 thii2
CG: ALRIGHT, IT'S SHREDDED. WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?
TA: ii want you two check the food before you hand over the money
CG: SORRY, JEEZ.
TA: were you dii2tracted by thte po22iibiiliity that terezii and 2triider might matesprit duriing theiir date tonight
CG: ...
CG: HE'S NOT GOING TO MATESPRIT WITH TEREZI.
TA: then there2 no excu2e for thii2 chiicken

[FordDent]

Shay, that is tooth-achingly sweet! It's got that young love swept-off-your-feet-for-the-first-time feeling Lotus was describing on the RomArt thread a while back, and it's fun to see that shining through even Rose's sardonic sesquipedalianism. And Kanaya here is pure concentrated adorable, right down to her choice of file name. I can just picture her face in that image.

I don't normally comment on things, and this has very little to do with anything, but the use of the word sesquipedalian to describe Rose's speech is the best use of the term, just the best.

[GEMPadre036]

Personally, I think I got the identity of Lord English figured out.

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hide spoiler

Spades Slick grumbled as he began to see the last and only remaining stars begin to fade. How long had it even been? 1 year? 100 years? 1,000,000 years? Spades had lost track of time long ago.
Why couldn't the Felt just kill me? Why did they have to leave me here with this shiny-headed douche?!
Spades Slick's sanity was beginning to wear thin.
"Hey jackass! THIS IS BORING! When are you going just get it over with and kill me!?"
"The Demon needs a mortal witness to his entry, Mr. Slick."
"I DON'T CARE! Just kill me already!"
"Patience, Mr. Slick. The grand finale is about to begin."
And with these words, a powerful green energy sprayed out of the only star left in the sky. It began to fill everything, overtaking the entire horizon. Spades on remaining eye looked on in awe at the unspeakable power as it began infecting the entirety of the universe. It glowed brightly, each crackle of energy searing with unknowable power. The image burned itself into Slick's brain. The site was both disturbing and beautiful. Nothing mattered anymore. Not the Crew. Not Snowman. Not even himself. Nothing meant anything anymore.
"Quite beautiful, isn't it Mr. Slick?"
Spades didn't respond. He didn't even hear Doc Scratch. Not that Doc Scratch didn't already know this. Or cared. He didn't have to care about anything anymore now that his master had finally been summoned. With his duties as both a servant of Lord English and a First Guardian completed, he could finally be at peace with the universe and rest. Doc Scratch gave a slight wave at a now approaching green bolt of energy, and with his duties fulfilled, faded into oneness with paradox space as all first guardians do once they have completed their job. This left only Spades and Lord English on the the green moon, or rather, green planetoid, since Alternia no longer existed for it to orbit around. Slick's mind had been broken. He could no longer remember a time before this. Why would he want to? Nothing he had ever experienced could ever compare to the beauty and power of the Demon. Soon the bolt of energy arrived on the moon. English needed to grab on thing before heading back in time. He need his overcoat. Spades just stared as the beautiful and terrifying being as he walked towards his containment unit. Next to it sat a giant coat hanger designed specifically for the Cairo Overcoat. English grabbed the the glowing green garb and put it on. Now he could slowly pick the universe apart at his leisure, waiting until the next universe he had chosen was ready for destruction. He turned towards Spades Slick, who's mind had been completed absorbed by English's power.
What a pathetic creature. It is kind of sad in a way.
Lord English could barely keep the disgust off of his face as Spades stared in admiration.
I don't have any more time to waste on this despicable thing.
It was with this that English began to surge with energy. His body began to fade as he moved himself to a different point in time. The process slowly worked its way upwards until only his head was left. He knew that the universe, along with Spades, would be completely destroyed upon his departure. Even if Spades were able to prevent this, he would still die after being denied the presence of the Demon. All those who experience the power of the Demon found themselves unable to cope afterwords and promptly killed themselves. Spades Slick was left only with these parting words:

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"Yo Holmes, smell ya later!"

Will looked at his kingdom; the Demon was always there, to sit on his throne as the prince of Bel-Air.

Spades Slick's heart promptly stopped beating just as the last bits of the universe faded into oblivion.

[Graven_Image]

Oh nooooooooes.

[chronicallyCrafty]

Well guys, this is the end. Sorry to keep you waiting! I was having a spot of trouble finishing but that latest update really helped :3

Previous parts in the sig!

Momentum, Part 8

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Twenty-one music boxes. Twenty-two. Twenty-three. Twenty-four. Twenty-four music boxes visible from her vantage point, atop the remains of her destroyed hive. It seemed that even though Aradia had abandoned it, the game had decided she had not. It was just as well. She could operate from here as well as from anywhere.

Nepeta was a skilled player and even better at taking direction, just two of the many reasons Aradia had chosen her as her server player, but her quick actions in getting the dead girl into the Medium meant that Aradia had been waiting here in the Land of Quartz and Melody for an excruciatingly boring twenty minutes before her client arrived with her robot body. Equius fell from the portal above her, the present tucked carefully and securely under one arm. As he straightened from his descent, she listlessly inspected the body from her lofty vantage point several feet off the ground.

It was well-made, that much was certain, and though she noticed all the blue additions…whatever, it didn’t matter. A robot body was a body after all, and she would have a difficult time getting through this game and towards their final destination without it.

Equius seemed agitated upon arrival, and only grew more so the longer he stared at her floating, froggy, dead form. She decided it would be best to spare the both of them another moment of awkward staring back and forth and headed towards the robot. The voices had made it clear enough that they would have plenty of time for awkwardness as they adventured together through the game.

Slowly, like viscous honey, she dripped into the robot, filling in the spaces within the metal frame. Strange sensations she had forgotten began seeping just as slowly back to her: the feeling of being real, physical; having hair and horns and a metal surrogate of flesh. Activated by her presence, the blood within the robot body began to pump and flow, fueling movement, allowing her to grasp things and alter things and experience, in a strange way, breathing again, being alive again.

“How does it feel?” he asked her, and Aradia took little time to consider her answer. “Different,” was her response, quick and easy. But it was more than that. The feelings took longer to come back than that sensation of being alive did, but slowly they too were returning. He prompted her, encouraged her to turn her gaze inward and recognize what she had gained back since her death. The more he spoke, the more she realized there was, perhaps, something stirring within her, something…something…

Suddenly it hit her, hard, the two patron feelings of the concupiscent quadrants at once, rattling her with their sudden strength and disparity. There was hate there, at the very center of her, a core of anger and fury and retaliation that she had forgotten existed. There was love there, coupled with it, or something like it, a shell of gratitude for reminding her of what she had misplaced all those weeks ago when she died. And then there was a strange sort of love stamped into the part of her chest where her blue heart pumped blue blood, pulling her in a direction she had never even considered. And then there was, around that, a strong casing of hate that lingered from the days when her red heart had pumped rusty red blood, shoving her along in yet another direction.

“Oh my god what did you do!” she cried, confused and torn in so many ways. With one hand and half her focus she took hold of him, kept him from running away; the other clenched by her chest, the source of all this insane, tormenting turmoil. He began babbling, half-choked by her power, explaining what he’d done, offering to remove it. By the time he was finished she couldn’t hear him anymore over the swirl of emotions tangling up inside her, old anger clashing with new; fake love at odds with true appreciation.

“Get it out!” she gasped, losing sight of reason. “Get it out get it out get it out get it out get it out get it out get it out get it out get it out get it out get it out get it out get it out!!”

Equius watched, helpless, as she plunged her strong robot hand into her apparently less-strong robot chest and tore from it, in a splash of blue blood, the heart he had so painstakingly and lovingly created, and ruined with one final poor decision.

“This…disgusting…piece of garbage! Trash! Worthless vile filth!”

Unable to intercept her, he could only look on as she pounded it to pieces on the platform of her alchemiter, ignoring his cries for her to stop.

She only did so when the heart was an unrecognizable pulp of blood and metal on the pure white surface, the chip completely decimated along with it. But then she turned her attention on him, grabbing him by the collar of his tank and shaking him, slapping him.

“And you, you’re even worse! You stupid hypocritical blue-blooded SNOB!!” Any other troll would have broken much like that heart beneath her hand, but Equius held on, managing to take her assault without fracturing. For once his freakish strength was coming in handy.

Her grip tightened further, physical threat turned verbal barrage, and she screamed into his face from point-blank range.

“You think you can just do whatever you please? You think you can mess with my emotions like they’re your toys?! I AM NOT YOUR PLAYTHING, EQUIUS ZAHHAK! I AM NOT YOUR PAWN TO MOVE AND CHANGE AT WILL! I AM AS MUCH A TROLL AS YOU ARE! SO FUCK YOUR STUPID CHIP, FUCK THE HEMOSPECTRUM, FUCK THE POWER YOU THINK YOU HAVE OVER ME, AND FUCK YOU!!”

And then she was kissing him, and Equius didn’t care why. He wrapped her tight in his arms, and her grip around him was just as strong, just as passionate. Barely daring to breathe for fear this was all a dream, he just let it happen, reveling in its existence, too afraid to question it.

When an eternity later she broke away, glassy red eyes revealing nothing, he could only watch her helplessly, afraid to make a move before she did.

“We have much to do,” was all she would say, however, turning her sights away from him and onto the music boxes riddling her land. “We should get started.”

“Y-yes,” he managed to answer, feeling very much as if he had just awoken to a dream that would not go away. “Let us do that.”

Equius would have agreed to anything at that point, the feeling of helplessness before her strange but inviting. Where she went, he would follow, and though he had little idea of where she was headed and why, he made up his mind to go with her, fight with her, protect her if necessary. And for once he didn’t stop to wonder over silly things like propriety or respectability.

Aradia knew he would follow her, without him needing to say a word. The voices told her as much. They also told her of an item, something that could help her deal with this nasty tangle of emotions that had suddenly taken over her core. While her eventual goal remained the same, she now had a secondary one, and Equius would help her until she reached it. Together they set out, into the Land of Quartz and Melody, with enemies looming on the horizon.

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Aradia watched with a blank expression as Equius tore the final imp limb from limb from limb from limb from limb from limb. Six limbs: four horse, two frog. He had insisted upon dispatching this batch of them himself, and she found his stubbornness and vacillating take on whether he wanted to lead her or vice versa positively infuriating. Emotions were a double-edged sword, she was finding. On one hand, they were powerful, potent ingredients in any sort of relationship—black, red, or otherwise—but on the other, they could be crippling. Or confusing. She assumed this vacant face to try to quell them, while finding that the process was not so simple.

“It’s safe now,” he reported breathlessly, wiping his forehead with the singular, already soaked towel he had recovered from his hive before abandoning it. “Are you alright?”

“None of them even came close enough to touch me,” she reminded him, setting him with a glassy-eyed stare. “Do you think you can stop being so ridiculous? We’ll get farther in this game if you do.”

A wave of panic passed over his face. “I don’t know what you mean. What am I doing that’s ridiculous?”

“This idiotic and overwhelming desire to protect me is what’s ridiculous. Ribbit,” she added.

The towel passed once more over his brow. “I’m afraid I still don’t understand. This is what we agreed upon, you being the secret leader over me, and me—”

“Being a leader doesn’t mean you don’t get to do anything.” He took a step back, knowing what that flash in her red eyes meant. “We’ve been at this for three hours already and you’ve refused to let me touch so much as an imp. Isn’t this more like you bossing me around?”

“I-I—”

“I’ve had enough!”

“Very well!” he interrupted, holding up his hands in surrender. “If you want to be the one to defeat the imps—”

“NO!” she cried, robot hands clenching powerfully around nothing. He winced, remembering the feeling of that grip dangerously close to his throat. “You just don’t get it! Have you never heard of teamwork?”

“Well I—”

“Without stabbing each other in the back?”

“That’s not really how blue-bloods do things—”

“That’s what’s ridiculous!”

Equius watched as Aradia slowly schooled her expression back to a neutral form and let her speak.

“We will work together from now on, on everything. To defeat these enemies, and to progress in the game.”

“If those are your orders, then—”

“They’re not orders.” Reigning her emotions in formed a tight feeling inside her robot chest, where he’d furnished her with a new, chipless heart. “Just something that would be nice if you wanted to do.”

“Because…it’s something you want me to want to do?” Equius pondered slowly, growing more confused with each word he spoke.

“I…wait, no, it’s…”

They grew silent, staring at each other.

“Ribbit,” said Aradia.

“This is extremely perplexing,” said Equius.

“Yes.” She turned her attention to the closest music box, around which a gang of ogres was watching them with bloodthirsty eyes. “How about this, why don’t you try it and see how you feel about it?”

He noticed them, too, and he swallowed his exhaustion from the last three hours once more, making fists. “Ok, we’ll try that.”

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Equius Zahhak did not get tired. That was going to be his claim from now until the world ended, ignoring the fact that it was already about to, and no matter what he was not going to give up that assertion for all the boonbucks on this strange planet.

“You look exhausted, Equius.”

“I don’t…get…tired,” he panted, leaning against a golden structure amidst the quartz.

“Uh-huh. Why don’t you take a rest?”

He scowled at her. “Without a proper…recuperacoon filled with sopor slime? And with ogres, lichs, and…imps shuffling around everywhere? Jokes are…unbecoming of you, Aradia, and you’ll…stop.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Is that an order?”

“Was me taking a rest an order?”

“Ok, fine. It’s not an order, but you’re not going to get very far in that state. And I wasn’t joking.

“Sleep,” she repeated, a little kinder. “I can’t do much about the nightmares, but I can keep watch.”

“You…you fought just as hard as I these last few hours,” he stated, sounding confused by the very existence of the words.

“I’m a robot. I don’t need sleep.” She took him by the shoulders and pressed him firmly against one of the music boxes, grateful that any new sweat that action may have caused went indistinguishable from what was already there. In his state, he had little energy to protest, though he attempted to anyway.

“This is most…irregular, Aradia, you…shouldn’t be…”

“You should sleep,” she murmured, stepping away from him. Before he could finish his sentence, exhaustion had won out, and the vision of her before him blurred into the ice blue of the land as his eyes closed. He didn’t have to tell her he was only obeying. Some habits were simply necessary, but others were hard to break.

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Sometimes they just wandered, side by side, when those nearby enemies had caught a glimpse of what the pair of them could do and chose wisely to leave them be. Sometimes they remained silent, only guessing at what the other was thinking. Other times they spoke.

“Where did Aurthour get to, anyway?” he asked once, long after he had had to abandon his one rag of a towel.

“He will be able to join you later,” she explained, counting music boxes again in her head.

He stopped to wipe his brow with the back of his hand, and to look at her carefully. “You seem to know an awful lot about this game.”

“When I prototyped myself into the kernelsprite, I gained an enormous amount of information about the game’s inner workings.”

“Then why have you remained silent about it?” Equius demanded incredulously.

“You didn’t ask.”

He paused. “So if I ask you a question, you will answer?”

“Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

Aradia stopped to inspect one of the smaller music boxes protruding out from the crystal of her world, noting its features dismissively. “That is also a construct of the game. Answers are not meant to come easily.”

“Why not?”

“Because.” The music box was partially encased in quartz, and she couldn’t captchalogue it easily.

Equius ground his teeth a little, ignoring the feeling of more little bits of them breaking off. “What is the point of this game?”

“It is an elaborate attempt to save our race.”

“You’ve already expressed the fact that we would fail. Why are we still playing?”

“Because some of us still believe we can succeed.”

“Then why are the rest of us still going?”

“Why do you keep living despite the fact that you will eventually die?” she countered.

“Your answers are unbearably ambiguous,” he told her, annoyed. “I demand that you stop.”

Her focus shifted briefly, sending a psychic pulse towards the music box. The quartz around it shattered violently, freeing the device.

Aradia calmly captchalogued the music box, and it disappeared into the ether amongst her other items, held in the sway of the spirits that spoke to her. “I can’t really control the ambiguity. And even if I could,” she added, turning towards him, “your demands are useless.”

Equius, however, seemed to have lost track of the conversation with her sudden display of destruction. Sweat shone again on his forehead and the side of his neck. “Why…why did you do that?”

She tilted her head at the crater in the quartz that the music box had left behind. “I felt like it,” was her only answer.

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“You look exhausted,” he panted, leaning against a tall crystalline spire. Between them their sudden assailants, a pair of Quartz Giclops, had finally gone down in a shower of grist, but not without quite a bit of difficulty. Aradia had gone unscathed, and he was merely bleeding lightly from a scratch on his shoulder, but the fight had taken its toll nonetheless.

“I am a robot. I do not get exhausted. You, on the other hand—”

“I am…Equius Zahhak. I do not…get tired.”

“Your attempts are duplicity are both impotent and unimpressive.” Aradia settled on an outcropping of quartz and rested her metallic chin in a metallic hand. “Rest. I will keep watch as before.”

“Aradia—”

“Rest,” she insisted, and not for the first time Equius did not regret making a robot as strong as he was. He had little energy left to argue, and even less left to fight with her, and in some strange way it felt almost gratifying to comply, so he leaned obediently backwards until he was nearly horizontal on the quartz surface of the planet.

But sleep, even ignoring the lack of a proper recuperacoon and the soothing feel of the sopor slime around him, was difficult to come by. He remained awake, staring up at the starless, moonless, blank sky of her world. As he listened, she settled nearby to keep watch for underlings. She was so close, yet so far away. His eyes refused to close, still straying towards where she sat motionless, eternal, waiting. So close…

“Is…there anything nearby?” he asked, his breath returning slowly now that he was motionless.

“No. Perhaps they’ve taken the hint from our defeat of those two.” She pointed to where the bodies of the giclopses would be, if they had remained behind, even if he couldn’t see.

“Then maybe you could…”

“What?”

Grinding his teeth again, Equius passed the back of his hand over his brow, still soaked in blue-tinted sweat. “Perhaps you could…stop keeping watch…”

“I told you I’m not tired—”

“…and join me,” he finished, “maybe.”

She stared at him. “What.”

He shrugged to contain the way his body was trembling from exhaustion (or was that nerves?), keeping his gaze pointed at the sky. “Maybe you could join me. With your head,” he patted the upper part of his chest, by his collarbone, “right here.”

As he watched the sky, slowly her form came into view, looming over him. Her arms were crossed. “Is that an order?” she asked, sounding expectant, annoyed.

He closed his eyes, and for a while he didn’t know how to answer.

“It’s not an order,” he finally discovered. “Just something that would be nice if you wanted to do.”

“Ribbit,” was all she said, and Equius soon abandoned the line of thought that had led to the suggestion. It was probably too late. Maybe her feelings ran too black for him after all. She was too much a blue blood to take orders from him, and too much a red blood to happily comply with them anyway. Too much a red blood to issue any orders herself, and too much a blue blood to believe he’d go along with anything she ordered him anyway. What had he done to himself, bringing this strange being into the world—one who was so much a member of both worlds so as to be a part of neither?

As if to further confound him, while sleep continued to elude him, he felt her settle onto his chest, warm metal a hard but strangely comforting weight upon him. He reached up between her curved metal horns and stroked her thin metallic strands of hair, and she didn’t retreat from him, didn’t slip away as subtly as she’d come. He didn’t ask her why, or what had caused her to grant his wish. She was too much a red blood to resist the intentions of the game, and too much a blue blood to give him a straight answer anyway. Feeling his eyes close heavily, he went to sleep dreaming of the mix of red and blue that she was, and woke up immediately in a land awash with purple.

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When he came to, she was gone. Panic shot through Equius’s chest as he leapt up, ignoring the residual exhaustion as he cast around wildly for her. But she was merely a dozen or so yards away, dispatching a Gold Basilisk neatly with a wave of her hand, and collecting the cascade of grist that resulted. She stood still, moving her fingers carefully as if trying to calculate something.

“Aradia,” he began hesitantly, walking over to her. She stopped counting and turned slowly to look at him, take stock of him.

“It was attempting to sneak up on us,” she explained.

He shook his head, dismissing that line of conversation. “I dreamed,” he told her, “of a place entirely clad in purple. Is this another part of the game? What does it mean?”

“So you did wake up,” she acknowledged, in lieu of an answer.

“What does it mean?” Equius had little patience for the game’s ambiguity. In his dream he had glimpsed a world full of sleeping…sleeping friends, he supposed, all clad as equals, all dreaming what dreams he could not fathom. But she was not among them, her fellow blue-team members. Why?

She looked away from him, down at the spot where the basilisk had once stood, and eventually refused to answer. “I would like to discuss what you saw in your dream with you, Equius, but at the moment I’m short on time.”

“What do you mean? What’s—”

“I need to find a return node. There’s something I need to make.”

“Aradia, explain yourself!” She had begun to head towards a deep red portal just visible above a high cliff of quartz, but he took hold of her arm, stopping her. “You insisted that we work together in this game; are you going back on that now?”

Her robotic face was impassive as she turned her head a little to look back at him. The voices assuaged her that he would not hinder her until she had finished her task, and that he could not afterwards. “You may come with me,” she finally said, “but this has nothing to do with you.”

When he stared at her, unsure how to take this, she took it as consent and, with an arm around him, she lifted them both up into the air and towards the portal.

“So you’re not going to tell me what you need to make, or why it’s so important that you do it immediately?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because it does not concern you.”

They floated with ease through the return node and blinked back into existence upon Aradia’s ruined hive. It looked as if Nepeta had been kind enough to make most of the available upgrades to her alchemiter in the time she had been gone.

“You’re wrong.” Equius stepped out of Aradia’s grip the moment his feet hit the ground, and she let him, already turning her attention to her task. Her first step was to get that music box’s code, so she activated her sylladex. “I am fairly concerned. Rather concerned. Your actions are very concerning.”

“Nevertheless, they are none of your business.” The spirits were being very cooperative. They spelled out the captchalogue code on her Ouija modus and the voices told her how to change it to fit her needs.

She could feel Equius’s agitation from where she worked, feeding the altered code into the alchemiter and funneling in the proper amounts and types of grist, but she had to ignore him for the time being. Just a little bit longer…

They appeared, finally, on the alchemiter’s platform, twin sets of music box parts mounted on stages of quartz. The last things she needed in order to exact revenge long overdue.

“Aradia—” He cut himself off before he said something he regretted, issued her an order that didn’t feel right anymore, somehow. But in his voice she sensed what he had intended to do, and his struggle with it, and took one last moment with him. After all, with these she had all the time in the world.

“Equius, thank you. What I am about to do I never could have done without your help. You…” She approached him, the music box time machines floating on either side as reminders of the work to be done. And though he waited for her to continue, for the first time she lacked the proper words. “You’ll understand eventually, what I’m doing, and why I’m doing it.”

The kiss she gave him this time was brief, but it lacked the harsh, messy fury of their last embrace. Their lips barely touched, his fingers barely skimmed over the smooth, cool surface of her arm, before she was gone in a flash of blue light.

The world she left behind felt empty, as empty as that from which he had left to find her. The Heir of Void could bring himself to remain here only briefly before he had to move on, the loneliness too encompassing. And besides, he figured, if he kept moving, eventually he would find her.

-Epilogue

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Every time he watched those blue metallic lips move, to pronounce hollow words or to form small, half-smiles that were cheap imitations of their former selves, something inside Sollux died. And that was worrisome because Sollux had already died twice, literally, and many times more than that figuratively, so it was fairly likely that there was very little left in him that was capable of death, and he would rather not find out exactly how much.

It was bad enough their session had turned fruitless, that their reward had been snatched away from them the moment they thought they’d finally won. It was bad enough they were stuck here on this stupid asteroid, spinning out in space light years away from anything else resembling life, and it was bad enough that Karkat’s plan to do anything at all about it was to scream at the aliens they’d created like some newly-hatched grub hungry for more lusus milk. But to have to sit here cycle after cycle and watch her pantomime life, speaking almost exclusively to that freakish blue-blooded snob and having become that which she used to despise…

“Sollux? What’s wrong?”

He turned his head an inch and glanced up. Feferi’s usually excited features looked genuinely concerned as she watched him watch Aradia across their laboratory hide-out in the Veil. He had stepped away from his own console to clear his head, but he could only stare at her from over here, conversing quietly with Equius.

“It’th…I don’t know. It’th thtupid, I gueth.”

“Your face is what’s stupid!” she countered brightly, trying to cheer him up.

“Uh…thankth, Feferi.”

The princess’s smile fell as she reached over to Kanaya’s vacant console and borrowed her chair. “Okay, serious time. What’s going on?”

“Well…” Resting his hands on his knees, Sollux nodded over to where Aradia was seated. “You know, Aradia and I uthed to be really good friendth. And then a lot of thtuff happened and thhe died—”

“Yes, I remember Kanaya telling me a little about it when that happened.” Turning, Feferi glubbed in quiet disapproval at Vriska’s also empty chair.

“…Yeah. And thhe wath never the thame after that. At firtht I thought thhe wath mad at me but thhe’th jutht a completely different perthon now. And it thuckth becauthe even though thhe’th not really…dead anymore, thingth’ll never be the thame between uth.”

“Were you two flushed?” she asked, plastering innocence all over her face.

The mustardy color of Sollux’s blood seeped through to reveal itself on his cheeks. “Feferi…!”

“I’m being serious, glub! Because it certainly sounds like roemance is what was going on there. Or at least it was for you.”

Sollux gave her an uncertain look.

“Don’t worry, I won’t be shellfish and jealous like some people.”

“…Maybe. Yeth. I don’t know,” he sighed. “Maybe we were angling for that, but everything happened too fatht.”

A contemplative expression worked its way onto Feferi’s face. “Well, maybe you were, and maybe you weren’t. No use letting it eat at you, what would be the porpoise? People change and relationships change, and this is just another one of those times.”

“I gueth you’re right…”

She watched him carefully, her lips bent into a frown. “But it’s still krilling you that you can’t talk to her the way you used to.” He nodded. “That can be pretty roughy, but, sometimes you just have to reel in what you caught! You can’t always throw it back!”

“…Uh.”

“Oops, did I go overboard again?” Despite her sheepish grin, Feferi leaned over and took Sollux’s hand. “Sorry. Look, why don’t you just go talk to her? It’s got to be betta than ignoring each other, right?”

Together, the two of them glanced back over to the far side of the room, where Aradia and Equius were still quietly conversing.

“It’th not that eathy. Every time I go near her that athhole giveth me a fithhy look. I don’t need two high-clath bulge-thnifferth on my bad thide. No offenthe.”

“None taken,” she promised him, shaking her head. “But don’t you worry about Equius, I’ll take care of him!”

Before he could stop her, Feferi had stood and made her way over to the other side of the room, dodging the various items strewn about the floor.

“Equius! Can I talk to you for a second?”

Sollux would have been lying if he’d said the way Equius’s entire body froze up at the sound of their former empress-in-waiting calling him wasn’t absolutely hilarious, but he knew he’d have little time to spare laughing.

“Y-you wanted to speak to me, your highness?” he asked, already beginning to sweat as he made his way over.

“Yes, I was just thinking that despite being on the same team and all it’s a shame we’ve never really talked before!” she said brightly. “Don’t you think so?”

“I admit I was rather busy with the game, and I’m sure your majesty was as well, though had I known you had an interest in speaking to me, I’d—”

“Oh, hey, Equius, you should call me Feferi, right? I’m not reelly ruling over anyone anemonemore, am I?”

“I-if that’s what you wish, you—I mean, F—…Fefer—…”

“Oh wow, your face is really glubbing blue! Heehee! There’s really no need to get so worked up!”

While Feferi lured Equius away from his console, Sollux carefully made his way over to his own and sat down gingerly.

“Hey Aradia,” he managed to get out.

“Hello Sollux.”

He froze, watching her click around the humans’ timelines uninterestedly.

“Did you need something?” she prompted.

“I gueth…maybe…I don’t know.”

She turned her head to blink at him blankly. “Um.”

“It’th jutht that we don’t really talk anymore.”

“We have been speaking pretty regularly since the game started.”

“Yeah but that’th been jutht all kindth of thit about the game. I mean we haven’t talked like we uthed to.”

She blinked. For the first time, Sollux noticed her eyelids didn’t close at the same time when she did. He shuddered.

“I don’t really remember how we used to talk.”

Words died on his tongue, along with a good deal of whatever was left of him inside that was still alive.

“…Oh.”

Equius turned his face away from the former princess to hide his blush, but he started when his gaze locked onto Aradia’s new conversation partner. “What the heck—!” he muttered, taking a solitary stomp towards the side of the room from which he’d come.

Feferi grabbed his arm before he could get far and quelled his anger with a knowing smile. “Hey, let’s just let them talk, okay? Just for the halibut! Glub!”

He gave her a despairing look but consented, still watching the pair carefully. Aradia had her head tilted to the side as if in confusion.

“Maybe you could remind me. If that would make you happy.”

Uncomfortably, Sollux clenched the seat of his chair with both hands and looked down at the floor between them. “I don’t know, you alwayth uthed to pethter me about all kindth of thit that you were exthited about, and you’d athk me my opinion about them like it meant thomething to you.”

“I see.”

“But you don’t really get exthited about thingth anymore, do you?”

“It’s hard to get excited about anything when you know everything’s ending and when.”

“Thee, that’th what I’m talking about! You were never thith deprething before…before you died.”

“No, I don’t imagine I was.” Aradia blinked one eye, then the other, not quite in sync. “I believe I understand how to proceed. Actually Sollux, there’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“Yeah? What’th that?”

“Prospit,” she said quietly, her eyes falling half-lidded. “And Derse. You were on both of them… What were they like?”

Sollux blinked. “The voitheth never told you?”

“I never had a dreamself. There was never any reason to know.”

“Right…” Gathering himself, he sorted through his memories of the now-destroyed moons, trying to figure out how to describe them. “Well, Derthe bathically thucked. When I wath there no one elthe theemed to be awake, and the voitheth were louder than ever, tho I pretty much got out of there ath thoon ath I could. But Prothpit…” His mouth tilted into a half-smile at the memory despite himself. “Prothpit wath kinda nithe. It wath loud and KK wath thtupid, taking forever to wake up, but it wath almotht fun.”

Aradia listened with an intensity only she could employ, alive or dead, and if Sollux didn’t look at her directly he could trick himself into missing the dull shine of the lights off her metallic carapace. In fact, if he closed his left eye, she almost looked the way she had in life, red where she now was blue, healthy and flushed where cool metal now encased her body.

Feferi was right, he thought. People changed, and they could never really go back to the way things were. But as he spoke about Prospit, about sitting in Karkat’s tower with Terezi and Kanaya, watching him sleep, about his shock at seeing Vriska so genuinely happy for Tavros’s newfound flight, about the time Gamzee had nearly gotten away with riding his unireal air through the White Queen’s throne room, he began to think that perhaps he finally had the answer to his old question. Any Aradia, even a blue-blooded one who was often creepy and depressing to talk to, was better than none at all, and even if she could feel the remotest of emotions stirring in her mechanical robot heart, then at least that part of her was the same as the Aradia he once knew.

Author's Notes

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Well, that's all she wrote! (Literally!) For something that started off with me wanting to write...well, the first scene in part 8, this certainly got out of hand! But in the end I'm quite happy with it. I love fics that fill in the gaps Hussie left behind, so writing all this and figuring out how all the trolls' relationships evolved over time was a lot of fun for me.

One quick note about the title, it's named after the song of the same name by Vienna Teng, which was kind of what inspired this fic/my characterization of bot!Aradia in the first place. You can find the lyrics here, if you're curious.

In the end, I managed to write a little over 61 pages and the 10 trolls I don't suck at (Karkat, Gamzee, I'm lookin' at you :|). I feel fairly victorious. Over what, though, I'm not sure

All in all it's been an excellent experience writing for you guys! I hope to do a lot more of it and a lot less lurking in the future

Don't worry, concrit, I haven't forgotten about you! You'll always be my #1 baaaaaaybeeeee

[Chrysolith]

This is a short one.

OPEN TALKLOG

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twinArmageddons [TA] began talking to carcinoGeneticist [CG]
TA: diid you remember two get the diiced chiicken with broccolii and not 2hredded
CG: YES.
TA: even though the menu 2peciifiie2 2hredded
CG: YES.
TA: diid you get brown riice and not whiite riice
CG: YES.
TA: diid you stop at the korean grocery and get the good hot mu2tard
CG: YES.
TA: diid you piick up the low-2odiium 2oy 2auce from the market
CG: YES.
TA: thank2
CG: YOU'RE WELCOME.
TA: what took you 2o long
CG: JUST PARK IT AND EAT.
TA: fiine
TA: ...
TA: what ii2 thii2
CG: ALRIGHT, IT'S SHREDDED. WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?
TA: ii want you two check the food before you hand over the money
CG: SORRY, JEEZ.
TA: were you dii2tracted by thte po22iibiiliity that terezii and 2triider might matesprit duriing theiir date tonight
CG: ...
CG: HE'S NOT GOING TO MATESPRIT WITH TEREZI.
TA: then there2 no excu2e for thii2 chiicken

*knock knock knock* TA: terezii
*knock knock knock* TA: terezii
*knock knock knock* TA: terezii
GC: WH4T!

ninjaedit: Also wanted to say that I'm really enjoying Momentum and can't wait to read that update! An ShayCaron, your fic was really great too! Loved it!

realedit: chronicallyCrafty - Momentum was absolutely amazing, I loved reading every bit of it. I always thought it was a shame that we never got to see more of Sollux and Aradia's relationship, or just of Aradia. You've really outdone yourself with this fic - it was well written, people were in character, and it was very entertaining. That epilogue though, oh man it was heart wrenching! It's really sad to think about Sollux's and Aradia's relationship post-Aradia death. You have Sollux who misses how she used to be, and Aradia who just can't miss anything. Anyways, really loved your story. Thanks for writing and sharing it with us!