Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Trope is In Universe examples only
Deleted line(s) 85 (click to see context) :
* YouKeepUsingThatWord: Tommy uses "nappy" to mean nap, when really it means diaper.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* AdaptationalSkill: Chuckie Finster learns to speak to the adults, since he's a year older.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 62 (click to see context) from:
* {{Nephewism}}: Aunty Celeste is Zack's primary caregiver, [[WordOfGod unlike the real world]].
to:
* {{Nephewism}}: Aunty Celeste is Zack's primary caregiver, [[WordOfGod unlike the real world]].world.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
This Troper-like description ("this author has a headcanon that" ); making the description briefer
Changed line(s) 1,25 (click to see context) from:
'''''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10413935/1/Rugrats-and-the-Gray-Plague Rugrats and the Gray Plague]]''''' is a fanfiction of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' written by the same person who wrote ''Fanfic/{{Prerugrats}}''.
It is the author's first fanfiction, and is sort of "important" among that author's fanfics because it introduces the OC Zack who features in ''Prerugrats'' and the majority of the author's other ''Rugrats'' fanfictions and gets alluded to in many other of the author's fanfics (a fanfiction where the babies answer readers' questions has one of them be "What was worst about the gray plague?" for example.)
And while the author is not afraid to occasionally write about sickness (she has a headcanon that Tommy had [[TheFoodPoisoningIncident food poisoning]] while he said, "no" for the first time) or dark topics (after all, ''Prerugrats'' had a TragicStillbirth), it is probably the darkest of that author's stories due to focusing on Tommy having a serious flu. In fact, the initial version of it was so dark that the author decided she had to rewrite the last chapter.
The author wrote it because, while in university, she caught several colds, which weren't serious, but they gave her nightmares about Tommy dying from a disease, so she wrote the fic to reassure herself.
The plot can be summarized thusly: The Finsters are visiting Chas's parents, the [=DeVilles=] are staying with Betty's brother Freddy, Tommy, Dil and his parents are at the beach, and Angelica and her parents are on a business trip, when a broadcast comes on about a serious flu epidemic called the Gray Plague that can be fatal to small children. Tommy meets a sickly, homeless boy named Chongo and the kids have to go home early to get vaccinated.
However, there is a limited amount of shots and Tommy ends up not getting vaccinated.
The next day, the kids visit with Tommy and Taffy takes them to the park, but Tommy seems out of sorts. He gets pushed into mud by a mean boy and they go to the Finsters' early, where Angelica throws the Reptar doll onto the roof of the tree house. While trying to fetch the toy, Tommy falls and is knocked out, then the adults discover that he is sick. Stu and Didi take their boys home, but at night, he has trouble breathing and is taken to hospital where they discover that Tommy does have the gray plague.
The babies look for Tommy and find that he's in the hospital. They make get well cards and sneak into an ambulance to visit Tommy. They reach the hospital and try unsuccessfully to take a weak, sickly Tommy home.
Tommy gets invited to Chuckie's third birthday party and takes medicine, but in a nightmare, an anthropomorphic version of the plague tells him that the medicine has horrible side effects.
Turns out that the side effects are just a bit of sleepiness and irritability and Tommy gets his appetite back and loses most of his cough, so he is able to go to the birthday party but must keep taking the medicine. Before the party, they meet a cheerful boy named Zachary, aka Zack, and his aunty Celeste. Zack likes Chuckie and Kimi but thinks Tommy is "depressed" (due to the medicine's effects making him gloomy) and Phil and Lil are "disgusting". He shows up at the party, but Tommy is asleep and can't go, so Zack asks to be Chuckie's new best friend.
Then, Betty and Kira argue. Phil and Lil tell Tommy this and think this means that the Finsters aren't their friends anymore, which makes Tommy cry but the adults think it's just the medicine. They then go to Reptar live but Tommy has trouble bonding with Zack and misses it due to falling asleep. He decides he's had enough of being out of sorts and wants to stop taking medicine (which is also partly due to a dream he had where Reptar told him not to take it).
Then, Tommy gets mad and argues with the babies and has a dream that changes his mind about taking the medicine but pours it down the sink. The next day, Tommy makes up with Chuckie and Kimi and makes friends with Zack and Tommy and Chuckie go to the basement to retrieve the screwdriver while Kimi, Angelica and Zack play fashion show, but Tommy gets sick again. Stu tries to help but accidentally drops Dil and makes him bleed. This makes Didi mad at Stu and they decide to get a divorce. Dil gets stitches and he is fortunately not brain-damaged, but Tommy's only chance is to wait for the vaccinations again.
Didi lives in an apartment with her sons, Phil and Lil turn two, Betty wants Stu and Didi to be back together and she and Kira have made up, but Tommy has lost his spirit of adventure. Tommy turns two and goes to the movies and then he gets a vaccination, goes back to normal and his parents get back together.
It is the author's first fanfiction, and is sort of "important" among that author's fanfics because it introduces the OC Zack who features in ''Prerugrats'' and the majority of the author's other ''Rugrats'' fanfictions and gets alluded to in many other of the author's fanfics (a fanfiction where the babies answer readers' questions has one of them be "What was worst about the gray plague?" for example.)
And while the author is not afraid to occasionally write about sickness (she has a headcanon that Tommy had [[TheFoodPoisoningIncident food poisoning]] while he said, "no" for the first time) or dark topics (after all, ''Prerugrats'' had a TragicStillbirth), it is probably the darkest of that author's stories due to focusing on Tommy having a serious flu. In fact, the initial version of it was so dark that the author decided she had to rewrite the last chapter.
The author wrote it because, while in university, she caught several colds, which weren't serious, but they gave her nightmares about Tommy dying from a disease, so she wrote the fic to reassure herself.
The plot can be summarized thusly: The Finsters are visiting Chas's parents, the [=DeVilles=] are staying with Betty's brother Freddy, Tommy, Dil and his parents are at the beach, and Angelica and her parents are on a business trip, when a broadcast comes on about a serious flu epidemic called the Gray Plague that can be fatal to small children. Tommy meets a sickly, homeless boy named Chongo and the kids have to go home early to get vaccinated.
However, there is a limited amount of shots and Tommy ends up not getting vaccinated.
The next day, the kids visit with Tommy and Taffy takes them to the park, but Tommy seems out of sorts. He gets pushed into mud by a mean boy and they go to the Finsters' early, where Angelica throws the Reptar doll onto the roof of the tree house. While trying to fetch the toy, Tommy falls and is knocked out, then the adults discover that he is sick. Stu and Didi take their boys home, but at night, he has trouble breathing and is taken to hospital where they discover that Tommy does have the gray plague.
The babies look for Tommy and find that he's in the hospital. They make get well cards and sneak into an ambulance to visit Tommy. They reach the hospital and try unsuccessfully to take a weak, sickly Tommy home.
Tommy gets invited to Chuckie's third birthday party and takes medicine, but in a nightmare, an anthropomorphic version of the plague tells him that the medicine has horrible side effects.
Turns out that the side effects are just a bit of sleepiness and irritability and Tommy gets his appetite back and loses most of his cough, so he is able to go to the birthday party but must keep taking the medicine. Before the party, they meet a cheerful boy named Zachary, aka Zack, and his aunty Celeste. Zack likes Chuckie and Kimi but thinks Tommy is "depressed" (due to the medicine's effects making him gloomy) and Phil and Lil are "disgusting". He shows up at the party, but Tommy is asleep and can't go, so Zack asks to be Chuckie's new best friend.
Then, Betty and Kira argue. Phil and Lil tell Tommy this and think this means that the Finsters aren't their friends anymore, which makes Tommy cry but the adults think it's just the medicine. They then go to Reptar live but Tommy has trouble bonding with Zack and misses it due to falling asleep. He decides he's had enough of being out of sorts and wants to stop taking medicine (which is also partly due to a dream he had where Reptar told him not to take it).
Then, Tommy gets mad and argues with the babies and has a dream that changes his mind about taking the medicine but pours it down the sink. The next day, Tommy makes up with Chuckie and Kimi and makes friends with Zack and Tommy and Chuckie go to the basement to retrieve the screwdriver while Kimi, Angelica and Zack play fashion show, but Tommy gets sick again. Stu tries to help but accidentally drops Dil and makes him bleed. This makes Didi mad at Stu and they decide to get a divorce. Dil gets stitches and he is fortunately not brain-damaged, but Tommy's only chance is to wait for the vaccinations again.
Didi lives in an apartment with her sons, Phil and Lil turn two, Betty wants Stu and Didi to be back together and she and Kira have made up, but Tommy has lost his spirit of adventure. Tommy turns two and goes to the movies and then he gets a vaccination, goes back to normal and his parents get back together.
to:
It is the author's first
And while the author is not afraid to
The author wrote it because, while in university, she caught several colds, which weren't serious, but they gave her nightmares about Tommy dying from a disease, so she wrote the fic to reassure herself.
The plot can be summarized thusly:
The Finsters are visiting Chas's parents, the [=DeVilles=] are staying with Betty's brother Freddy, Tommy, Dil and his parents are at the beach, and Angelica and her parents are on a business trip, when a broadcast comes on about a serious flu epidemic called the Gray Plague that can be fatal to small children. Tommy meets a
The next day, the kids visit with Tommy and Taffy takes them to the park, but Tommy seems out of sorts. He gets pushed into mud by a mean boy and they go to the Finsters' early, where Angelica throws the Reptar doll onto the roof of the tree house. While trying to fetch the toy, Tommy falls and is knocked out, then the adults discover that he is sick. Stu and Didi take their boys home, but at night, he has trouble breathing and is taken to hospital where they discover that Tommy does have the gray plague.
The babies look for Tommy and find that he's in the hospital. They make get well cards and sneak into an ambulance to visit Tommy. They reach the hospital and try unsuccessfully to take a weak, sickly Tommy home.
Tommy gets invited to Chuckie's third birthday party and takes medicine, but in a nightmare, an anthropomorphic version of the plague tells him that the medicine has horrible side effects.
Turns out that the side effects are just a bit of sleepiness and irritability and Tommy gets his appetite back and loses most of his cough, so he is able to go to the birthday party but must keep taking the medicine. Before the party, they meet a cheerful boy named Zachary, aka Zack, and his aunty Celeste. Zack likes Chuckie and Kimi but thinks Tommy is "depressed" (due to the medicine's effects making him gloomy) and Phil and Lil are "disgusting". He shows up at the party, but Tommy is asleep and can't go, so Zack asks to be Chuckie's new best friend.
Then, Betty and Kira argue. Phil and Lil tell Tommy this and think this means that the Finsters aren't their friends anymore, which makes Tommy cry but the adults think it's just the medicine. They then go to Reptar live but Tommy has trouble bonding with Zack and misses it due to falling asleep. He decides he's had enough of being out of sorts and wants to stop taking medicine (which is also partly due to a dream he had where Reptar told him not to take it).
Then, Tommy gets mad and argues with the babies and has a dream that changes his mind about taking the medicine but pours it down the sink. The next day, Tommy makes up with Chuckie and Kimi and makes friends with Zack and Tommy and Chuckie go to the basement to retrieve the screwdriver while Kimi, Angelica and Zack play fashion show, but Tommy gets sick again. Stu tries to help but accidentally drops Dil and makes him bleed. This makes Didi mad at Stu and they decide to get a divorce. Dil gets stitches and he is fortunately not brain-damaged, but Tommy's only chance is to wait for the vaccinations again.
Didi lives in an apartment with her sons, Phil and Lil turn two, Betty wants Stu and Didi to be back together and she and Kira have made up, but Tommy has lost his spirit of adventure. Tommy turns two and goes to the movies and then he gets a vaccination, goes back to normal and his parents get back together.
----
Added DiffLines:
* AppetiteEqualsHealth: One of the early signs Tommy has the titular ailment is him not wanting his sandwich.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 5,7 (click to see context) from:
And while the author is not afraid to occasionally write about sickness (they have a headcanon that Tommy had [[TheFoodPoisoningIncident food poisoning]] while he said, "no" for the first time) or dark topics (after all, ''Prerugrats'' had a TragicStillbirth), it is probably the darkest of that author's stories due to focusing on Tommy having a serious flu. In fact, the initial version of it was so dark that the author decided they had to rewrite the last chapter.
The plot can be summarized thusly: The Finsters are visiting Chas's parents, the [=DeVilles=] are staying with Betty's brother Freddy, Tommy, Dil and his parents are at the beach, and Angelica and her parents are on a business trip, when a broadcast comes on about a serious flu epidemic called the Gray Plague that can be fatal to small children. Tommy meets a sickly, homeless boy named Chongo and the kids have to go home early to get vaccinated. However, there is a limited amount of shots and Tommy ends up not getting vaccinated. The next day, the kids visit with Tommy and Taffy takes them to the park, but Tommy seems out of sorts. He gets pushed into mud by a mean boy and they go to the Finsters' early, where Angelica throws the Reptar doll onto the roof of the tree house. While trying to fetch the toy, Tommy falls and is knocked out, then the adults discover that he is sick. Stu and Didi take their boys home, but at night, he has trouble breathing and is taken to hospital where they discover that Tommy does have the gray plague. The babies look for Tommy and find that he's in the hospital. They make get well cards and sneak into an ambulance to visit Tommy. They reach the hospital and try unsuccessfully to take a weak, sickly Tommy home. Tommy gets invited to Chuckie's third birthday party and takes medicine, but in a nightmare, an anthropomorphic version of the plague tells him that the medicine has horrible side effects. Turns out that the side effects are just a bit of sleepiness and irritability and Tommy gets his appetite back and loses most of his cough, so he is able to go to the birthday party but must keep taking the medicine. Before the party, they meet a cheerful boy named Zachary, aka Zack, and his aunty Celeste. Zack likes Chuckie and Kimi but thinks Tommy is "depressed" (due to the medicine's effects making him gloomy) and Phil and Lil are "disgusting". He shows up at the party, but Tommy is asleep and can't go, so Zack asks to be Chuckie's new best friend. Then, Betty and Kira argue. Phil and Lil tell Tommy this and think this means that the Finsters aren't their friends anymore, which makes Tommy cry but the adults think it's just the medicine. They then go to Reptar live but Tommy has trouble bonding with Zack and misses it due to falling asleep. He decides he's had enough of being out of sorts and wants to stop taking medicine (which is also partly due to a dream he had where Reptar told him not to take it).
The plot can be summarized thusly: The Finsters are visiting Chas's parents, the [=DeVilles=] are staying with Betty's brother Freddy, Tommy, Dil and his parents are at the beach, and Angelica and her parents are on a business trip, when a broadcast comes on about a serious flu epidemic called the Gray Plague that can be fatal to small children. Tommy meets a sickly, homeless boy named Chongo and the kids have to go home early to get vaccinated. However, there is a limited amount of shots and Tommy ends up not getting vaccinated. The next day, the kids visit with Tommy and Taffy takes them to the park, but Tommy seems out of sorts. He gets pushed into mud by a mean boy and they go to the Finsters' early, where Angelica throws the Reptar doll onto the roof of the tree house. While trying to fetch the toy, Tommy falls and is knocked out, then the adults discover that he is sick. Stu and Didi take their boys home, but at night, he has trouble breathing and is taken to hospital where they discover that Tommy does have the gray plague. The babies look for Tommy and find that he's in the hospital. They make get well cards and sneak into an ambulance to visit Tommy. They reach the hospital and try unsuccessfully to take a weak, sickly Tommy home. Tommy gets invited to Chuckie's third birthday party and takes medicine, but in a nightmare, an anthropomorphic version of the plague tells him that the medicine has horrible side effects. Turns out that the side effects are just a bit of sleepiness and irritability and Tommy gets his appetite back and loses most of his cough, so he is able to go to the birthday party but must keep taking the medicine. Before the party, they meet a cheerful boy named Zachary, aka Zack, and his aunty Celeste. Zack likes Chuckie and Kimi but thinks Tommy is "depressed" (due to the medicine's effects making him gloomy) and Phil and Lil are "disgusting". He shows up at the party, but Tommy is asleep and can't go, so Zack asks to be Chuckie's new best friend. Then, Betty and Kira argue. Phil and Lil tell Tommy this and think this means that the Finsters aren't their friends anymore, which makes Tommy cry but the adults think it's just the medicine. They then go to Reptar live but Tommy has trouble bonding with Zack and misses it due to falling asleep. He decides he's had enough of being out of sorts and wants to stop taking medicine (which is also partly due to a dream he had where Reptar told him not to take it).
to:
And while the author is not afraid to occasionally write about sickness (they have (she has a headcanon that Tommy had [[TheFoodPoisoningIncident food poisoning]] while he said, "no" for the first time) or dark topics (after all, ''Prerugrats'' had a TragicStillbirth), it is probably the darkest of that author's stories due to focusing on Tommy having a serious flu. In fact, the initial version of it was so dark that the author decided they she had to rewrite the last chapter.
The author wrote it because, while in university, she caught several colds, which weren't serious, but they gave her nightmares about Tommy dying from a disease, so she wrote the fic to reassure herself.
The plot can be summarized thusly: The Finsters are visiting Chas's parents, the [=DeVilles=] are staying with Betty's brother Freddy, Tommy, Dil and his parents are at the beach, and Angelica and her parents are on a business trip, when a broadcast comes on about a serious flu epidemic called the Gray Plague that can be fatal to small children. Tommy meets a sickly, homeless boy named Chongo and the kids have to go home early to getvaccinated. vaccinated.
However, there is a limited amount of shots and Tommy ends up not gettingvaccinated. vaccinated.
The next day, the kids visit with Tommy and Taffy takes them to the park, but Tommy seems out of sorts. He gets pushed into mud by a mean boy and they go to the Finsters' early, where Angelica throws the Reptar doll onto the roof of the tree house. While trying to fetch the toy, Tommy falls and is knocked out, then the adults discover that he is sick. Stu and Didi take their boys home, but at night, he has trouble breathing and is taken to hospital where they discover that Tommy does have the grayplague. plague.
The babies look for Tommy and find that he's in the hospital. They make get well cards and sneak into an ambulance to visit Tommy. They reach the hospital and try unsuccessfully to take a weak, sickly Tommyhome. home.
Tommy gets invited to Chuckie's third birthday party and takes medicine, but in a nightmare, an anthropomorphic version of the plague tells him that the medicine has horrible sideeffects. effects.
Turns out that the side effects are just a bit of sleepiness and irritability and Tommy gets his appetite back and loses most of his cough, so he is able to go to the birthday party but must keep taking the medicine. Before the party, they meet a cheerful boy named Zachary, aka Zack, and his aunty Celeste. Zack likes Chuckie and Kimi but thinks Tommy is "depressed" (due to the medicine's effects making him gloomy) and Phil and Lil are "disgusting". He shows up at the party, but Tommy is asleep and can't go, so Zack asks to be Chuckie's new bestfriend. friend.
Then, Betty and Kira argue. Phil and Lil tell Tommy this and think this means that the Finsters aren't their friends anymore, which makes Tommy cry but the adults think it's just the medicine. They then go to Reptar live but Tommy has trouble bonding with Zack and misses it due to falling asleep. He decides he's had enough of being out of sorts and wants to stop taking medicine (which is also partly due to a dream he had where Reptar told him not to takeit).it).
Then, Tommy gets mad and argues with the babies and has a dream that changes his mind about taking the medicine but pours it down the sink. The next day, Tommy makes up with Chuckie and Kimi and makes friends with Zack and Tommy and Chuckie go to the basement to retrieve the screwdriver while Kimi, Angelica and Zack play fashion show, but Tommy gets sick again. Stu tries to help but accidentally drops Dil and makes him bleed. This makes Didi mad at Stu and they decide to get a divorce. Dil gets stitches and he is fortunately not brain-damaged, but Tommy's only chance is to wait for the vaccinations again.
Didi lives in an apartment with her sons, Phil and Lil turn two, Betty wants Stu and Didi to be back together and she and Kira have made up, but Tommy has lost his spirit of adventure. Tommy turns two and goes to the movies and then he gets a vaccination, goes back to normal and his parents get back together.
The author wrote it because, while in university, she caught several colds, which weren't serious, but they gave her nightmares about Tommy dying from a disease, so she wrote the fic to reassure herself.
The plot can be summarized thusly: The Finsters are visiting Chas's parents, the [=DeVilles=] are staying with Betty's brother Freddy, Tommy, Dil and his parents are at the beach, and Angelica and her parents are on a business trip, when a broadcast comes on about a serious flu epidemic called the Gray Plague that can be fatal to small children. Tommy meets a sickly, homeless boy named Chongo and the kids have to go home early to get
However, there is a limited amount of shots and Tommy ends up not getting
The next day, the kids visit with Tommy and Taffy takes them to the park, but Tommy seems out of sorts. He gets pushed into mud by a mean boy and they go to the Finsters' early, where Angelica throws the Reptar doll onto the roof of the tree house. While trying to fetch the toy, Tommy falls and is knocked out, then the adults discover that he is sick. Stu and Didi take their boys home, but at night, he has trouble breathing and is taken to hospital where they discover that Tommy does have the gray
The babies look for Tommy and find that he's in the hospital. They make get well cards and sneak into an ambulance to visit Tommy. They reach the hospital and try unsuccessfully to take a weak, sickly Tommy
Tommy gets invited to Chuckie's third birthday party and takes medicine, but in a nightmare, an anthropomorphic version of the plague tells him that the medicine has horrible side
Turns out that the side effects are just a bit of sleepiness and irritability and Tommy gets his appetite back and loses most of his cough, so he is able to go to the birthday party but must keep taking the medicine. Before the party, they meet a cheerful boy named Zachary, aka Zack, and his aunty Celeste. Zack likes Chuckie and Kimi but thinks Tommy is "depressed" (due to the medicine's effects making him gloomy) and Phil and Lil are "disgusting". He shows up at the party, but Tommy is asleep and can't go, so Zack asks to be Chuckie's new best
Then, Betty and Kira argue. Phil and Lil tell Tommy this and think this means that the Finsters aren't their friends anymore, which makes Tommy cry but the adults think it's just the medicine. They then go to Reptar live but Tommy has trouble bonding with Zack and misses it due to falling asleep. He decides he's had enough of being out of sorts and wants to stop taking medicine (which is also partly due to a dream he had where Reptar told him not to take
Then, Tommy gets mad and argues with the babies and has a dream that changes his mind about taking the medicine but pours it down the sink. The next day, Tommy makes up with Chuckie and Kimi and makes friends with Zack and Tommy and Chuckie go to the basement to retrieve the screwdriver while Kimi, Angelica and Zack play fashion show, but Tommy gets sick again. Stu tries to help but accidentally drops Dil and makes him bleed. This makes Didi mad at Stu and they decide to get a divorce. Dil gets stitches and he is fortunately not brain-damaged, but Tommy's only chance is to wait for the vaccinations again.
Didi lives in an apartment with her sons, Phil and Lil turn two, Betty wants Stu and Didi to be back together and she and Kira have made up, but Tommy has lost his spirit of adventure. Tommy turns two and goes to the movies and then he gets a vaccination, goes back to normal and his parents get back together.
* AuthorAvatar: The author based Aunty Celeste on herself.
Changed line(s) 19 (click to see context) from:
* BirthdayEpisode: Kimi turns two, and later on, Chuckie turns three.
to:
* BirthdayEpisode: Kimi turns two, and later on, Chuckie turns three.three, then the twins and Tommy turn two.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: If Tommy stops taking his medicine, there's a ''chance'' of the gray plague coming back---it does.
Changed line(s) 31 (click to see context) from:
** Zachary gets called Zack.
to:
Added DiffLines:
* DownerEnding: Subverted. The author was going to end it with Stu and Didi divorced, but she rewrote it.
Added DiffLines:
* {{Fainting}}: When Tommy gets the gray plague, he passes out from lack of oxygen.
Added DiffLines:
* HappyEnding: Even though it was a DarkFic, it ended with Tommy getting better and the parents making up.
Added DiffLines:
** Zachary gets called Zack.
Added DiffLines:
* {{Nephewism}}: Aunty Celeste is Zack's primary caregiver, [[WordOfGod unlike the real world]].
Added DiffLines:
* OpinionChangingDream: Tommy has two: one which convinces him ''not to'' take his medicine and another that convinces him ''to'' take his medicine.
Added DiffLines:
* OutOfCharacterMoment: Stu punching Drew in the face and Drew giving up on him.
Added DiffLines:
* SiblingRivalry: Downplayed. While the siblings have tiffs, they also have a very strong bond.
Added DiffLines:
* {{Sleepwalking}}: Apparently, Stu sleepwalks through Betty's yard when Didi isn't living with him.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
'''''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10413935/1/Rugrats-and-the-Gray-Plague Rugrats and the Gray Plague]]''''' is a fanfiction of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' written by the same person who wrote ''Fanfic/{{Prerugrats}}''.
It is the author's first fanfiction, and is sort of "important" among that author's fanfics because it introduces the OC Zack who features in ''Prerugrats'' and the majority of the author's other ''Rugrats'' fanfictions and gets alluded to in many other of the author's fanfics (a fanfiction where the babies answer readers' questions has one of them be "What was worst about the gray plague?" for example.)
And while the author is not afraid to occasionally write about sickness (they have a headcanon that Tommy had [[TheFoodPoisoningIncident food poisoning]] while he said, "no" for the first time) or dark topics (after all, ''Prerugrats'' had a TragicStillbirth), it is probably the darkest of that author's stories due to focusing on Tommy having a serious flu. In fact, the initial version of it was so dark that the author decided they had to rewrite the last chapter.
The plot can be summarized thusly: The Finsters are visiting Chas's parents, the [=DeVilles=] are staying with Betty's brother Freddy, Tommy, Dil and his parents are at the beach, and Angelica and her parents are on a business trip, when a broadcast comes on about a serious flu epidemic called the Gray Plague that can be fatal to small children. Tommy meets a sickly, homeless boy named Chongo and the kids have to go home early to get vaccinated. However, there is a limited amount of shots and Tommy ends up not getting vaccinated. The next day, the kids visit with Tommy and Taffy takes them to the park, but Tommy seems out of sorts. He gets pushed into mud by a mean boy and they go to the Finsters' early, where Angelica throws the Reptar doll onto the roof of the tree house. While trying to fetch the toy, Tommy falls and is knocked out, then the adults discover that he is sick. Stu and Didi take their boys home, but at night, he has trouble breathing and is taken to hospital where they discover that Tommy does have the gray plague. The babies look for Tommy and find that he's in the hospital. They make get well cards and sneak into an ambulance to visit Tommy. They reach the hospital and try unsuccessfully to take a weak, sickly Tommy home. Tommy gets invited to Chuckie's third birthday party and takes medicine, but in a nightmare, an anthropomorphic version of the plague tells him that the medicine has horrible side effects. Turns out that the side effects are just a bit of sleepiness and irritability and Tommy gets his appetite back and loses most of his cough, so he is able to go to the birthday party but must keep taking the medicine. Before the party, they meet a cheerful boy named Zachary, aka Zack, and his aunty Celeste. Zack likes Chuckie and Kimi but thinks Tommy is "depressed" (due to the medicine's effects making him gloomy) and Phil and Lil are "disgusting". He shows up at the party, but Tommy is asleep and can't go, so Zack asks to be Chuckie's new best friend. Then, Betty and Kira argue. Phil and Lil tell Tommy this and think this means that the Finsters aren't their friends anymore, which makes Tommy cry but the adults think it's just the medicine. They then go to Reptar live but Tommy has trouble bonding with Zack and misses it due to falling asleep. He decides he's had enough of being out of sorts and wants to stop taking medicine (which is also partly due to a dream he had where Reptar told him not to take it).
!! ''Rugrats and the Gray Plague'' provides examples of
* AfraidOfNeedles: Chuckie mentions being afraid of shots because they sting.
* AmbiguouslyAbsentParent: Chongo's dad is not seen and we don't know why.
* AmbiguousSituation:
** When Angelica turned the fan on, was she really trying to destroy the get well cards or was she just stirring the pot? However, it is very doubtful that, if she ''was'' trying to destroy the get well cards, it was because she didn't want Tommy to get better. She may be a brat, but she's not evil.
** Did Tommy really catch the gray plague from Chongo like he thought or did Chongo just have a cold or asthma?
* BabyLanguage: The babies have their own language, and when Chuckie turns three he can speak to both babies and adults.
* BabysittingEpisode: In the third chapter, the kids are babysat by the Pickleses, then Taffy, then the Finsters, then Dil is babysat by the [=DeVilles=].
* BabyTalk: The kids say babyish words like "prettyful".
* BeachEpisode: In the first chapter, Tommy, Dil and their parents go to the beach with Lou and Lulu.
* BestFriend: Chuckie and Tommy are best friends. Zack tries to be Chuckie's new best friend, but he turns into just one of his friends, not like Tommy.
* BirthdayEpisode: Kimi turns two, and later on, Chuckie turns three.
* BrattyHalfPint: Angelica is her normal grumpy self.
* CheerfulChild: Kimi remains optimistic even when the going gets tough. Tommy is gloomy, but it's frequently mentioned that this is only because of the plague and he is generally a cheerful boy. Zack is also always willing to play.
* ContinuityNod:
** Chuckie refers to Phil and Lil's uncle Freddy as "that guy who claimed brothers and sisters are monsters". This references the episode "Brothers are Monsters", although technically it was Stu who said that about brothers, and both of them were talking about specifically ''[[BigBrotherBully older]]'' siblings.
** Tommy remembers learning about his and Chuckie's family trees. This happened in the episode "The Family Tree".
** Charlotte mentions Stu and Didi bringing Angelica to the Grand Canyon, which happened in the episode "The Grand Canyon".
*** Didi's reply includes mentioning Angelica demanding chocolate pudding at three in the morning. This references "Angelica Breaks a Leg".
** The fanfic is set directly after "Kimi Takes the Cake".
** Charlotte mentions that she can't believe they let Miss Carol back on TV. Miss Carol was fired from her show in "The Word of the Day" for swearing onscreen.
** Chuckie mentions getting lost in the forest. This happened in the movie.
** Susie mentions getting her tonsils out, which happened in "No Place Like Home".
** Zachary gets called Zack.
* DarkFic: ''Rugrats'' is a cheerful, comedic show but this fic deals with a baby getting a serious disease.
* TheDiaperChange: In the third chapter, Taffy changes the diapers of Kimi, Phil and Lil.
* DisappearedDad: We never see Chongo's dad.
* DoesNotLikeSpam: Tommy doesn't like grape juice.
* EatDirtCheap: Phil apparently eats dirt with his own spit in it a lot but is disgusted by the idea of eating dirt with Dil's spit in it.
* EmpathyDollShot: Played with. When Chuckie sees Tommy's plastic screwdriver lying abandoned, he ''thinks'' that means Tommy died or disappeared or whatever, but really Tommy's still around.
* ExtremeOmnivore: Phil and Lil eat dirt, but Phil will only eat dirt with his own spit in it, not Dil's. Dil also tries to eat a crayon.
* FeudEpisode: Zigzagged. Tommy and Chuckie don't so much stop being friends so much as have a misunderstanding that makes them ''think'' they're not friends. Betty and Kira do have a little spat but they get over it.
* FilthyFun: Phil and Lil mention that mud makes them happy when they are trying to cheer Dil up. Tommy's mentioned to like mud too, but not as much as the twins.
* GenkiGirl: Kimi is very perky, she can even do somersaults.
* GreenAroundTheGills: Apparently, Tommy's face turns a "funny green colour" as one of his first symptoms.
* HowUnscientific: One girl is telekinetic in a mostly-realistic fanfiction.
* IDontThinkThatsSuchAGoodIdea: Chuckie once says that he doesn't think the shots are such a good idea.
* InSeriesNickname:
** Phil and Lil's real names are Philip and Lillian.
** Angelica calls Tommy "Melon Head" and Dil "Drool Boy".
** Nurse Happy calls Francine "Commander Nora Nebulon".
* InsomniaEpisode: Exaggerated for when Stu and Didi are kept awake taking Tommy to the hospital, Dil and Chuckie are kept awake worrying about Tommy, and Phil and Lil are kept awake by Dil's crying.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: Other fanfics mention that Tommy gets the gray plague.
* LittleProfessorDialogue: Subverted with Chuckie, who once says the word "attempt" in a sentence, but follows it up with "losted".
* LovableCoward: Chuckie is still sweet and nervy like usual.
* TheMedic: Several doctors and nurses, and one telekinetic girl who vaccinates Dil despite not having a medical degree.
* MindOverMatter: The nurse's little sister Francine is said to be able to lift things with her "brain waves".
* MisterStrangenoun: One of the nurses is called Nurse ''Happy''.
* NightmareSequence: While sick, Tommy has recurring nightmares about an anthropomorphic gray plague.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Kimi is concerned when the normally fearless Tommy is scared.
* OriginalCharacter: This fanfiction introduces the Original Characters Zack and his auntie Celeste, and also the ragtag group of nurses and Chongo and his mother.
* ThePollyanna: Kimi stays positive even when Tommy is at the hospital.
* PsychicDreamsForEveryone: Subverted. The anthropomorphic gray plague in Tommy's dreams claims he will die and although some of her predictions sort of come true, Tommy doesn't die.
* RedIsViolent: The mean boy who pushes Tommy into mud wears a red shirt.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Angelica correctly predicts that Tommy will get the gray plague, but says it's because it's more likely in bald babies.
* SayMyName: On Tommy's first night of his illness, Dil calls his name.
* ShoutOut: One of the doctors calls herself [[WesternAnimation/DocMcStuffins Dr. McStuffins]] and when Didi says that she thought she only worked on toys, the doctor says that Didi is thinking of her daughter, who they call "Doc".
* SickEpisode: The main plot is about Tommy getting a serious flu.
* SicklyGreenGlow: In Tommy's first nightmare, he almost drowns in green liquid.
* SoupIsMedicine: Tommy is fed soup while he has the flu.
* SpeakInUnison: Chuckie and Kimi shout, "Yay!" in unison when they hear Tommy is coming home.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Betty is called "Beddy", Kimi "Kimmi", Miss Carol "Miss Carrolle", Wawa "[=WahWah=]" and Shirley "Shirly" or "Sherly".
* StrayingBaby: In the fourth chapter, the babies sneak off to find Tommy twice.
* TemptingFate: Tommy says that he won't catch the gray plague. He does.
* UnnamedParent: Chongo's mother is not named.
* YouKeepUsingThatWord: Tommy uses "nappy" to mean nap, when really it means diaper.
* YouWontFeelAThing: One of the nurses says this line before sedating Phil and Lil. Later, Kimi repeats it, then Bobby Walker.
----
It is the author's first fanfiction, and is sort of "important" among that author's fanfics because it introduces the OC Zack who features in ''Prerugrats'' and the majority of the author's other ''Rugrats'' fanfictions and gets alluded to in many other of the author's fanfics (a fanfiction where the babies answer readers' questions has one of them be "What was worst about the gray plague?" for example.)
And while the author is not afraid to occasionally write about sickness (they have a headcanon that Tommy had [[TheFoodPoisoningIncident food poisoning]] while he said, "no" for the first time) or dark topics (after all, ''Prerugrats'' had a TragicStillbirth), it is probably the darkest of that author's stories due to focusing on Tommy having a serious flu. In fact, the initial version of it was so dark that the author decided they had to rewrite the last chapter.
The plot can be summarized thusly: The Finsters are visiting Chas's parents, the [=DeVilles=] are staying with Betty's brother Freddy, Tommy, Dil and his parents are at the beach, and Angelica and her parents are on a business trip, when a broadcast comes on about a serious flu epidemic called the Gray Plague that can be fatal to small children. Tommy meets a sickly, homeless boy named Chongo and the kids have to go home early to get vaccinated. However, there is a limited amount of shots and Tommy ends up not getting vaccinated. The next day, the kids visit with Tommy and Taffy takes them to the park, but Tommy seems out of sorts. He gets pushed into mud by a mean boy and they go to the Finsters' early, where Angelica throws the Reptar doll onto the roof of the tree house. While trying to fetch the toy, Tommy falls and is knocked out, then the adults discover that he is sick. Stu and Didi take their boys home, but at night, he has trouble breathing and is taken to hospital where they discover that Tommy does have the gray plague. The babies look for Tommy and find that he's in the hospital. They make get well cards and sneak into an ambulance to visit Tommy. They reach the hospital and try unsuccessfully to take a weak, sickly Tommy home. Tommy gets invited to Chuckie's third birthday party and takes medicine, but in a nightmare, an anthropomorphic version of the plague tells him that the medicine has horrible side effects. Turns out that the side effects are just a bit of sleepiness and irritability and Tommy gets his appetite back and loses most of his cough, so he is able to go to the birthday party but must keep taking the medicine. Before the party, they meet a cheerful boy named Zachary, aka Zack, and his aunty Celeste. Zack likes Chuckie and Kimi but thinks Tommy is "depressed" (due to the medicine's effects making him gloomy) and Phil and Lil are "disgusting". He shows up at the party, but Tommy is asleep and can't go, so Zack asks to be Chuckie's new best friend. Then, Betty and Kira argue. Phil and Lil tell Tommy this and think this means that the Finsters aren't their friends anymore, which makes Tommy cry but the adults think it's just the medicine. They then go to Reptar live but Tommy has trouble bonding with Zack and misses it due to falling asleep. He decides he's had enough of being out of sorts and wants to stop taking medicine (which is also partly due to a dream he had where Reptar told him not to take it).
!! ''Rugrats and the Gray Plague'' provides examples of
* AfraidOfNeedles: Chuckie mentions being afraid of shots because they sting.
* AmbiguouslyAbsentParent: Chongo's dad is not seen and we don't know why.
* AmbiguousSituation:
** When Angelica turned the fan on, was she really trying to destroy the get well cards or was she just stirring the pot? However, it is very doubtful that, if she ''was'' trying to destroy the get well cards, it was because she didn't want Tommy to get better. She may be a brat, but she's not evil.
** Did Tommy really catch the gray plague from Chongo like he thought or did Chongo just have a cold or asthma?
* BabyLanguage: The babies have their own language, and when Chuckie turns three he can speak to both babies and adults.
* BabysittingEpisode: In the third chapter, the kids are babysat by the Pickleses, then Taffy, then the Finsters, then Dil is babysat by the [=DeVilles=].
* BabyTalk: The kids say babyish words like "prettyful".
* BeachEpisode: In the first chapter, Tommy, Dil and their parents go to the beach with Lou and Lulu.
* BestFriend: Chuckie and Tommy are best friends. Zack tries to be Chuckie's new best friend, but he turns into just one of his friends, not like Tommy.
* BirthdayEpisode: Kimi turns two, and later on, Chuckie turns three.
* BrattyHalfPint: Angelica is her normal grumpy self.
* CheerfulChild: Kimi remains optimistic even when the going gets tough. Tommy is gloomy, but it's frequently mentioned that this is only because of the plague and he is generally a cheerful boy. Zack is also always willing to play.
* ContinuityNod:
** Chuckie refers to Phil and Lil's uncle Freddy as "that guy who claimed brothers and sisters are monsters". This references the episode "Brothers are Monsters", although technically it was Stu who said that about brothers, and both of them were talking about specifically ''[[BigBrotherBully older]]'' siblings.
** Tommy remembers learning about his and Chuckie's family trees. This happened in the episode "The Family Tree".
** Charlotte mentions Stu and Didi bringing Angelica to the Grand Canyon, which happened in the episode "The Grand Canyon".
*** Didi's reply includes mentioning Angelica demanding chocolate pudding at three in the morning. This references "Angelica Breaks a Leg".
** The fanfic is set directly after "Kimi Takes the Cake".
** Charlotte mentions that she can't believe they let Miss Carol back on TV. Miss Carol was fired from her show in "The Word of the Day" for swearing onscreen.
** Chuckie mentions getting lost in the forest. This happened in the movie.
** Susie mentions getting her tonsils out, which happened in "No Place Like Home".
** Zachary gets called Zack.
* DarkFic: ''Rugrats'' is a cheerful, comedic show but this fic deals with a baby getting a serious disease.
* TheDiaperChange: In the third chapter, Taffy changes the diapers of Kimi, Phil and Lil.
* DisappearedDad: We never see Chongo's dad.
* DoesNotLikeSpam: Tommy doesn't like grape juice.
* EatDirtCheap: Phil apparently eats dirt with his own spit in it a lot but is disgusted by the idea of eating dirt with Dil's spit in it.
* EmpathyDollShot: Played with. When Chuckie sees Tommy's plastic screwdriver lying abandoned, he ''thinks'' that means Tommy died or disappeared or whatever, but really Tommy's still around.
* ExtremeOmnivore: Phil and Lil eat dirt, but Phil will only eat dirt with his own spit in it, not Dil's. Dil also tries to eat a crayon.
* FeudEpisode: Zigzagged. Tommy and Chuckie don't so much stop being friends so much as have a misunderstanding that makes them ''think'' they're not friends. Betty and Kira do have a little spat but they get over it.
* FilthyFun: Phil and Lil mention that mud makes them happy when they are trying to cheer Dil up. Tommy's mentioned to like mud too, but not as much as the twins.
* GenkiGirl: Kimi is very perky, she can even do somersaults.
* GreenAroundTheGills: Apparently, Tommy's face turns a "funny green colour" as one of his first symptoms.
* HowUnscientific: One girl is telekinetic in a mostly-realistic fanfiction.
* IDontThinkThatsSuchAGoodIdea: Chuckie once says that he doesn't think the shots are such a good idea.
* InSeriesNickname:
** Phil and Lil's real names are Philip and Lillian.
** Angelica calls Tommy "Melon Head" and Dil "Drool Boy".
** Nurse Happy calls Francine "Commander Nora Nebulon".
* InsomniaEpisode: Exaggerated for when Stu and Didi are kept awake taking Tommy to the hospital, Dil and Chuckie are kept awake worrying about Tommy, and Phil and Lil are kept awake by Dil's crying.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: Other fanfics mention that Tommy gets the gray plague.
* LittleProfessorDialogue: Subverted with Chuckie, who once says the word "attempt" in a sentence, but follows it up with "losted".
* LovableCoward: Chuckie is still sweet and nervy like usual.
* TheMedic: Several doctors and nurses, and one telekinetic girl who vaccinates Dil despite not having a medical degree.
* MindOverMatter: The nurse's little sister Francine is said to be able to lift things with her "brain waves".
* MisterStrangenoun: One of the nurses is called Nurse ''Happy''.
* NightmareSequence: While sick, Tommy has recurring nightmares about an anthropomorphic gray plague.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Kimi is concerned when the normally fearless Tommy is scared.
* OriginalCharacter: This fanfiction introduces the Original Characters Zack and his auntie Celeste, and also the ragtag group of nurses and Chongo and his mother.
* ThePollyanna: Kimi stays positive even when Tommy is at the hospital.
* PsychicDreamsForEveryone: Subverted. The anthropomorphic gray plague in Tommy's dreams claims he will die and although some of her predictions sort of come true, Tommy doesn't die.
* RedIsViolent: The mean boy who pushes Tommy into mud wears a red shirt.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Angelica correctly predicts that Tommy will get the gray plague, but says it's because it's more likely in bald babies.
* SayMyName: On Tommy's first night of his illness, Dil calls his name.
* ShoutOut: One of the doctors calls herself [[WesternAnimation/DocMcStuffins Dr. McStuffins]] and when Didi says that she thought she only worked on toys, the doctor says that Didi is thinking of her daughter, who they call "Doc".
* SickEpisode: The main plot is about Tommy getting a serious flu.
* SicklyGreenGlow: In Tommy's first nightmare, he almost drowns in green liquid.
* SoupIsMedicine: Tommy is fed soup while he has the flu.
* SpeakInUnison: Chuckie and Kimi shout, "Yay!" in unison when they hear Tommy is coming home.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Betty is called "Beddy", Kimi "Kimmi", Miss Carol "Miss Carrolle", Wawa "[=WahWah=]" and Shirley "Shirly" or "Sherly".
* StrayingBaby: In the fourth chapter, the babies sneak off to find Tommy twice.
* TemptingFate: Tommy says that he won't catch the gray plague. He does.
* UnnamedParent: Chongo's mother is not named.
* YouKeepUsingThatWord: Tommy uses "nappy" to mean nap, when really it means diaper.
* YouWontFeelAThing: One of the nurses says this line before sedating Phil and Lil. Later, Kimi repeats it, then Bobby Walker.
----
