constellacoding:

embulalia:

dubsdeedubs:

embulalia:

concept: a totally serious portal Ford fic, except that every chapter is named after and themed around a line from Smash Mouth’s “All Star”

“Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me” -> painful flashback to Bill’s betrayal as Ford realizes his own insecurities and illusions are what blinded him and made him so easy to manipulate

“The years start coming and they don’t stop coming” -> Ford starting to feel his age in the ache of his joints and the shortness of his breath, he finds a single greying hair and wonders suddenly if his brother is feeling that same dull shock right now, a dozen universes away

“My world’s on fire. How about yours? -> in the parallel dimension, Ford learns about how his life could have different – how he could have gotten the fame he had always wanted, how he could have salvaged his friendship with Fiddleford.  If only Stanley had just taken the journal and left.  If only Stanley had just listened to him.  If only Stanley, for once in his life, hadn’t been so selfish.

“I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed” -> Ford relives the time of his betrayal, remembering how he ignored every warning from Fiddleford and every sign that he was being manipulated.

“It’s a cool place and they say it gets colder / You’re bundled up now wait til you get older” -> Ford, stranded in a dimension clutched by ice age, searches for warmth and is faced by mortality in a cruel situation. He wonders if he will ever live to see his home again. While feebly attempting to prevent frostbite in his fingers, he tries to come to terms with the fact he might grow old as a hunted vagabond.

“I could use a little fuel myself and we could all use a little change” -> Ford makes a feeble friend in a fellow wanted grifter, and they bitterly reminisce over how they got in their situations. They daydream about getting away from the wasteland they’re stranded in, away from their hunters, to somewhere safe. Neither of them believe it will happen.

“Hey now, you’re an all star” -> Ford gets a tattoo he will regret for the rest of his life.

ah, i didn’t need my heart tonight or anything