#one ask scripted and two or three with promise in the askbox

[seigyokus]

Producer Letter #14

Same old 80% translation, 20% paraphrase mix as usual. Hit the jump to read more!

To everyone supporting Idolish Seven,

This marks the first producer letter of 2018! We have just finished releasing Part 3 in the game, and episode 15 marks the end of our regular airing schedule for the TV anime. (TL Note: no fear, the anime's not over yet! more on this later)

The Idolish Seven Exhibit has been open for about half a year following our second anniversary, and the exhibit closed yesterday. We are very happy that we were able to tour various cities with everyone's help, and we thank everyone for your support!

There is currently an event going on at VR ZONE called "PRISM NIGHT", hi-resolution versions of our music* are available at SONY, and our idols will be acting as the advertising representatives for JR Tokai Tours's "OFF/Journey Campaign!" 

We are happy that our talents are getting so much work, and we truly feel as if we've taken a step towards the future we envision for our project.

PRISM NIGHT　 SONY Hi-res Audio  JR Tokai Tours　

*TL Note: not sure if this encompasses the entire i7 discography but a side note, "hi-res audio" refers to .flac files aka God Tier Lossless A+++ Sound Quality, whereas most tracks available for digital download are in mp3 or m4a format, which are great but not fully lossless! I actually can't watch the video rn because I'm a fool and forgot my earbuds but I believe that is what's going on!

Today, we'd like to talk about the following topics...

【The Project as a Whole】

◆ Part 3

Thank you for walking alongside our idols all the way from April 27th, 2017 through Chapter 20! 

We've received continuous support ever since we started releasing Part 3, and we are truly happy we were able to deliver all of Part 3 to everyone without fail.

Part 3 is a turning point within the work, as we've stated in previous producer letters, and the characters have undergone various changes as they confronted hardships and advanced forward within the story.

It took a long time to deliver all of Part 3, and we'd like to thank you for your patience from the bottom of our hearts. Although it took a long time, we've gleaned equal amounts of confidence and were able to present a lot of stories and carefully craft the songs as a result.

We hope to continue crafting this project with the utmost care, and we thank you for your continued support.

◆ The Anime

Looking back, we spent about a year working on the anime script with TROYCA. As for the anime series composition, the last episode of the anime’s regular broadcast aired yesterday with episode 15. 

The image of Director Bessho declaring, "Let's do a good job on episode 15*, and make episodes 16 and 17 one episode!" still firmly remains in my memory. While I cannot go into great detail as some of you may not have watched episode 15 yet, we firmly believe that viewers will be able to enjoy episodes 16+17 precisely because of everything that has happened thus far and because of everything that we have built up through episode 15.

We hope you keep watching until the end!

Episode 16・17 will be broadcast during the following dates and times (JST):

TOKYO MX　2018/5/19 Saturday, 19:30～ KBS Kyoto　2018/5/22 Tuesday, 23:00～ Sun TV　2018/5/22 Tuesday, late night 1:30～ TV Aichi　2018/5/20 Sunday, scheduled for late night broadcast TV Hokkaido　2018/5/19 Saturday, scheduled for late night broadcast TVQ Kyushu Broadcast　2018/5/20 Sunday, late night 3:35～ BS11　2018/5/24 Thursday, late night 1:30～

※ In the case that any changes are made to the broadcasting schedule, please check the TV anime's official site or the official Twitter for the anime.

Volumes 1 and 2 of the Blu-ray/DVD are currently on sale as well!

◆ 1st LIVE 『Road To Infinity」

We announced this concert back in January of this year, and holding this concert is one of our many dreams regarding this project.

It has been in planning for two years now, and it is thanks to the anime production committee that we are able to have our idols take such a grand stage. Not just that, we are truly overjoyed that we have the opportunity to have all three groups (IDOLiSH7, TRIGGER, Re:vale) perform live together.

We have one more important announcement to make regarding the concert!

People who have cleared a certain requiremnet in-game will be given the opportunity to enter the lottery for concert tickets. We will be revealing more details on this soon.

The campaign start time, requirements, and specific website for this campaign can be found via "In-game Announcements" and we plan on releasing this soon. Please remember to log into your game, and we hope you look forward to it!

◆ Fan Thanksgiiving Event* *TL Note: kanshasai for anyone used to the romaji form

We started holding these events back in 2017, and this time we'll be holding Volume 3 of "Kimi to Motto ×2 Ai wo Kataranai to!"

Additionally, we will be holding live viewing sessions for Vol. 3, and we hope to have tons of fans enjoying the event in real-time!

Live Viewing Ticket Reservation Time Period April 7th, Saturday, 12：00 (JST) - April 22nd, Sunday, 23：59 (JST)

More details can be found here at the official site!

◆ Music

How is everyone enjoying the songs from the anime?

We've included tons of surprises so all fans, both new and old, can enjoy the anime!

We would be delighted if people became more interested in the world of Idolish Seven because of the songs that adorn the franchise!

Additionally, the BGM for each scene from the TV anime will be included in the OST, "SOUND OF RAiNBOW" (on sale April 25th, 2018)!  

There are two comprehensive CDs filled with songs, so we hope you purchase it!

Furthermore, "Nanatsuiro REALiZE" by IDOLiSH7, the last unlockable song from Part 3 of the game story, will be on sale on June 20th, 2018.

We have also started on the "12 SONGS GIFT" series of birthday songs for each idol, and we thank everyone for the high praise it has received. 

We hope everyone continues to enjoy this series as we show more sides to each idol, and we will be doing our best to ensure this.

◆ Music Videos

The full version of the music video MAPPA produced for us has been released, and we hope everyone watches it!

Additionally, TRIGGER's newest music video, "DIAMOND FUSION," will also be released soon.

We hope to continue to create more videos for everyone's enjoyment, so please look forward to it.

"Nanatsuiro REALiZE" marks the 7th installment in the Idolish Seven Music Video Animation Project. We hope to deliver more to everyone and try a different format from YouTube, so we hope everyone looks forward to it!

◆ Comicalization & Novelization

We will soon be finishing up the comicalization of "Banri Ikkuu!" 

"Senko Fuma" and "Hyakusai Mukyuu" will also be released for a limited time only on Hakusensha Novels, and we also intend on comicalizing these parts as well.

We thank you for your continued support!

【About the Game】

We hope everyone is enjoying the game alongside the anime!

We have tons of new songs, events, and scouts prepared. The anime's finale will be airing soon, and we hope everyone will enjoy it!

【Future Game Adjustments & Additions】

◆ Events

As we mentioned in the previous Producer Letter, we are focusing up on making the game easier to understand. For example, clearing up which items are necessary for helping your idols grow and where to get them, what the requirements are for moving an idol to the Waiting Room, etc. 

As we approach the two and a half year mark, we hope to make game functions and each type of event easier to understand, and improve upon each.

With regards to this topic, we will be giving more details through each subsequent update, in-game announcements, and the official twitter rather than here in this letter.

◆ Questions, Comments, or Concerns about the Game In the case that you would like to express your opinion to the staff, please contact us through the official site.

Thank you for reading all the way through this letter! 

I'm sure some of you may be thinking, "You didn't answer my question!!" 

But in response to that, there's one thing we'd like to promise you: 

We guarantee that we will deliver only the best to you!

Last but not least, we would like to thank all of our hardworking staff, and we hope to continue working with everyone.

Let's all watch the anime! And let's all play Ainana!

TL Notes/comments:

I, too, would like to thank everyone for reading this far too! I am a day later than I would’ve liked for putting this out, so thank you for guys your patience.

As for other translation stuff, 9.5 will be posted later today and Chapter 10 is currently in the works! Now that Part 3 is over, I can finally catch up without fear of the next part dropping! Woohoo!!!!

As always, if you see any mistakes/mistranslations/etc, do not hesitate to drop me an ask! I don’t check tumblr chat messages as often, so if you’d like to bring something to my immediate attention, the best avenue to do that is via askbox!

Once more, thank you for reading!

[askguyslikeus]

oh shit yall send lots of questions hoo nelly answering almost all of them under the cut ,,, im gunan try and answer more technical ones first then fun ones and ones about the mod later so u dont gotta scroll all the way to the bottom for the good deets

Hi! I'm still kinda new to the blog and I was wondering what are the 'do and do-not' kind question I should do? Because im sure theres always that one ask thats just Innapropiated, like that one of Michael 'taking advantage og high Jeremy' that was just not cool.  i got this ask a lot so ill be clear with yall. im just not a big angst fan? so sending michael asks about his anxiety nonstop and about how he had a panic attack in the bathroom over and over again wasnt that fun. usually if it pertains the musical though you should be find sending an ask about it? but sometimes i get asks that are like “jeremy ur nothing and how does it feel knowing u fucked everything up” like homie how i think its feels? how u think hes gunna react to that? i made this blog to negate a lot of negativity in my own life so i can promise u im going to be answering asks mostly positive always forever. that being said tho i sometimes get asks pertaining to a few things that ive dealt with in the past and these topics make me very very uncomfortable. dont send asks about these topics please. this is the no no list

-self harm, cancer, suicide, rape, parent death, car accidents, sudden death.

What was your inspiration for this blog? hoo boy well,,, ultimately i thought of them rooming together and got emotional and made a huge list of headcanons and was like ,,, why not run an askblog for a bit ill just abandon it after three asks lets have some fun. but somehow im still here and i got sucked in by the complexity of michael and jeremy. i know that sounds kinda silly but just, as someone who is dealing with a lot of similar things, like dependency issues and abandonment issues and depression and anxiety, having these fun functioning character to explore was such a gift for me. i believe honestly thats why im still here and doing this. being able to try and portray a healthy relationship and a healthy way of coping and growing has helped me a lot this past month and given me an outlet i didnt have before. TBH THO the main reason i made this blog if imma be real with u guys id because i didnt like the treatment of a lot of these issues in the fandom. it made me very upset to see depression used as an plot device and michaels dependency issues treated as romantic so i wanted to make a blog that had little to no angst. ANYWAYS somehow im still here ,,, gvrkjvrnkjfd sorry i rambled

honestly I just wanna say first that I love his blog and your art and you're so cool and kind!! a question would be (I'm not sure if you've answered this before or not) but is there like an on going story here, or is it mostly just answering questions with the characters set in this universe? (if that makes sense I'm sorry!) thank you, you're super awesome! ❤️  djrnjg first off thank u so much aaaa,, ive kind of answered this before but its ok its been a while since then! but um i do kinda have a story but how howdy i sure am dragging my feet. the story isn a hUGE OVERARCHING EPIC OF WOE AND THIS PERSON IS UPSET AND THIS PERSON IS MAD AT THIS PERSON its just michael and jeremy getting together. i have a plan and ive talked to a few people on how i want it to happen but ive gained like ,,,, 6,000 followers since then and im kinda nervous BUT ILL DO MY BEST but also please understand that i do this for fun for myself and if i dont get to it im so so so sorry woops

i know this has been said before but i'm really really happy w how you're handling so many aspects of their characters. i.e. michael being trans, michael and jeremy's anxiety, michael's dependency issues, and other stuff i'm too tired to think of. you made the characters have even more depth than they did in the play and i'm rly grateful for the way you're dealing w my favorite boys. (also your richjake is suuuper adorable) ahhhhhh thank u so much? i talked a bit about this on my main but im really glad people are happy with my decision on this blog because im suPER SUPER NERvous anytime i post an ask dealing with these things. (ask hachi or nate i always message them like freaking out and send them my scripts and asks and wait for them to tell me its ok before i post it omg) also like i talked about before i love,,, having these fun stoner gamer boys to explore these issues with. im honestly shocked by how many people also deal with dependency issues because when i first listened to the musical i was so overwhlemed by the song michael int he bathroom because i had never heard someone basically write “dependency issue: the song” and it felt so so so good to realize i wasnt alone in this pit of despair i fall into so easily aha. but im!! glad everyone is ok with this wild ride im on right now (also thank u so much i struggle writing rich and jake but i get so emotional cause they would TOTES call each other babe)

how come you just use sketch form for most of your drawing (sketches and uses sketch for the final result)? im ,,, not really sure what this is asking but i thnk its along the lines of why do i only sketch my answers?? and i do that because dude do u see how often i post and how lONG some of them are. i made this blog for fun and i love doing comics but i hate lineart and coloring and if i tried to churn out finished pics for every post id defs have given up a few asks in,, shrugs

I want to say I love your little comics they're so funny! How long does it take you to make a comic? Are any of them based on your experiences? Ok have a nice day!  thank you! i love my little comics too! it usually takes me anywhere from an hour to five hours if im dragging my ass or talking on discord while im drawing. it can be kinda exhausting but since i took my break ive also been like, starting long comics one day and finishing them another day which, before i would do it all in one sitting then post it hahha. AS FOR EXPERIENCE the first half of the lifeguard comic was based on real life! we were stuck stoned up there for like an hour or two? but we didnt have anyone to help us but we got down eventually!! the wendys comic is also something i did because man!! i need to compliment food workers if they do a good job!! ummmmm just like jenna i also have a friend that said HAHA BYE and moved to cali and she is also lIVING IT UP and doing really well for herself and shes very independent and shes very inspiring to me! hmm i think thats it besides i used to have movie nights with my dad all the time too except we would watch my fave animated movies and sometimes lord of the rings cause my dad loved that

What kinds of things can we NOT ask ? What kinds of things do you WANT us to ask ? i covered the what not to ask in the first question so!!! um if my askbox is open and u want to respond to previous asks ive answered for the boys that would be so so so rad. sometimes im done with a certain ask and i have nothing to add but sometimes ive got more to say but am looking for an opportunity! that being said it made me really happy that i got a lot of asks about pj? shes not going to the main focus of any more asks but!!! i was nervous to introduce her and im glad u guys like her shes fun to write. but overall just general asks i can make a big ol fun story out of so!! dont worry too much about what to ask, if its something ud ask a real person and not like “lol what if ur dad died” ur gunna be fine probably

Hi! Not a question but your blog is so sweet and refreshing! I actually really appreciate that you refuse angst, that stuff tends to rub me the wrong way in fandoms... Keep taking good care of these boys ! gggg thank u!!! it means a lot to me that a lot of people are backing me up on this! i mean if u are an angst fan there are a lot of askblogs that explore that!! so its not in short supply bmc askblog fandoms got something for everyone

Which drawing program do you use?? i use paint tool sai and my tablet is a cintiq !!

this isn't really related to the faq but that bakunawa boy reference was great I LOVE THAT FIC MAN!!! the line was originally a little diff in that ask but i changed it cause ,,,, i could,,,,

an art style question. how do you keep the design of characters consistent from frame to frame? my characters they look a lil different every time I draw em (or a lot different) and it tends to disrupt the flow of my comics/animations ohh boy hoo wee props for doing animations im too scared to give that a whirl but!! it helps that i draw all the panels for an ask on one canvas! so if my next panel is going to be the same character in the same spot just in a diff pose i keep the lower layer on just at low opacity so i can use it as a ref! that helps me a lot!

Sorry if I'm nosy or rude, but are you reflecting Micheal Anxiety, Panic attacks and depence? iii think this is asking if i reflect my own issues onto them boys? and if so then yes i do. i dont place any of my own personality or anything on the boys but i do use them as a way to help me learn how to cope with my own shit and i try to deal with their issues in the healthiest way possible while also keeping in mind they are flawed individuals aaa

what are your pronouns??? and maybe your main blog??  im a cis girl so she/her is good! and my main is squigglegigs! also that being said IF YOU SEE THE USERNAME SQUIGGLEGIGS ANYWHERE JUST?? ASSUME ITS ME?? i have a twitter and an instagram and my tumblr account 

((Hello mod will Michael and Jeremy eventually someday get together. I love them.)) if all goes according to plan yes! if i get overwhelmed and stop having fun on this blog then no! sorry thems the breaks but! i do want them to get together so HOPEFULLY

going off on that confrience on pornogrefy for birds, Im geussing jeremy has played Hatoful Boyfriend. am I wrong? well it wasnt intended as that ref and i dont know anything about hatoful boyfriend but i can see jerm finding it and playing it so, sure homie! the pornography for birds thing is a my brother my brother and me reference! i love that show and them boys so give it a scope!

I'm crying bcuz Michael said he's in love with Jeremy and it's beautiful yeah that boy is DEEP IN love with his bro bro

Any advice for running an ask blog?? (Ps i love this blog keep it up) personally whats worked for me so far is doing just sketches for art. honestly ive been able to work so much more and post so much more often while also trying to work on my expressions and poses! also taking my own experiences and shaping them to fit the characters has been SO MUCH FUN. th most important thing tho is,,, dont overwork urself dude. if ur having a fun time it shows. if ur just forcing urself to churn out material and its not fun? like shit we doing this for free dont push urself? idk idk overall being looser with my art and writing the dialogue before hand has been the most helpful for me for this askblog! ive run a bunch before including @ask-maz and ive run that sporadically for ,, three or four years? its so funny cause u can see my art style juMP AROUND SO MUCH but i love that blog and i only update it like every other month or so but?? i still like doing it and no on likes those posts but it makes me smile so ANYWAYS

~ok from here on its mostly just me replying to nice messages or people asking me personal questions that dont pertain to askguyslikeus so!!~

I just wanted to say I really really love your blog and just your art in general!! Keep up the good work and hope you're having fun! thank u!!! i am having fun and im glad u enjoy it!!

What other musicals do you like? :0  i really like heathers A LOT. i also like doctor horrible i know thats not technically a musical but i just relistened to it and im emotional. i like dear evan hansen but it makes me really sad so i can only take it in moderation! ummm rent? chicago?? music man? now im just naming musicals i was in rip. being in a musical fandom is a new thing to me? i was really into heathers last year but didnt really interract with the fandom at SO THIS IS SUPER NEW?? ive never been into a musical as much as im into bmc and heathers tho

tell us a little bit about urself!! u seem v cool i am squigs or fork!! im 24 and work fulltime as a barista at starbucks! i get high on the beach with my friend gwen a lot and drink wayy to many slushies, my tv shows are brooklyn nine nine and bobs burgers right now! i table at conventions sometimes and sell my art as merch and whatnot and i cosplay as a hobby as well. im pretty boring but i draw a lot and always carry my big sketchbook with me and im pretty sure its given me back issues BUT OH WELL HAHA also i am very not cool THE TRUTH COMES OUT

Who do you most relate to from bmc and why? like ,,, a mix of michael and christine with a sprinkle of jeremy i guess ahaha i relate to michaels dependency issues and overarching positive attitude and love of music, i relate to christines bright disposition and the need to not stick to one set thing? like she loves theater cause she can be sO MANY PEOPLE and like same homie thats why i cosplay. and jeremys need to be likes while also ability to put himself out there is very relatable. i also identify strongly with his dad issues idk idk whats good

Also -- just thank you for how you handled all the panic attack and anxiety attack asks. I used to deal with anxiety attacks multiple times a day and it just was really nice that it was positive and not them having one. Thank you, sincerely. ahhhhhh ur so welcome i,,, have anxiety and it sucks and i deal with panic attacks like everyday at work so i dont really wanna come home and draw someone having one i guess? im glad its helping other people too tho!

Dude- I love your art? Actually so much? It's... I love it. The whole sketch-ish way your art style is, and the way you color, and the expressions! I'm so glad I found your work - you've given me so much inspiration. Keep doin what you're doin and I hope you have a good day! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ANytime any one compliments my expressions i die cause i legit made this blog to help with that as well ,,, like dam

im lvoe ur art style b o i :0 !!!!!!

Mod, I love you so much I love you you have my soul and my love and my eternal gratitude thank you and I love you (This is the guy who was excited about PJ on your ig live stream a while ago and I love you) !!!!!!!!! im so happy u like my content omg and that u like pj im so glad!! shes a good bean

I just wanna say... I'm crying over that post about Michael and his anxiety? cuz I know how it can feel that you're only your flaws and weaknesses, but Michael just tells that to screw off in the most wonderful way and I'm?? thank you so much for that post, I bookmarked it for future times when I can't look past my depression... honestly, that post made my day (along with every other post on this blog), thank you for being such a lovely part of this fandom ,,,, im,,,, im scared of a lot of this fandom tbh but if i can be something good that come out of it and my love of these boys and desire to show them functioning together in a healthy way can help other people its so much more than i ever thought id ever be able to do. i am blown away everyday by the support ive been given on this blog and i might be crying right now because i never thought id be able to touch other people like this and i just. im really glad yall are here with me for all this.

(To the mod: You are a beautiful person that I highly respect. I love this blog and what you set out to do. thanks for giving something that makes me smile and gives me something to look forward to everyday, keep up the good work! ❤ ) hey im still crying from the previous ask aaaaa im honestly so emotional

what are ur true feelings for wendy's??? i fucking love wendys man thats some top tier fast food right there

what fast food restaurant do you think has the best nuggets WENDYS HANDS DOWN

do you have a favorite movie? paranorman makes me very nostalgic and ive seen it like eighty times and used to watch it with my dad a lot and i love it

I would just like you to know that your Wendy's comic prompted me to pull the same thing with a bakery in the town I'm visiting and the baker got so excited and happy, so thank you for making that comic because I made that woman's day. GOOD GOOD GOOD GOOD GOOD I LOVE WHEN PEOPLE COMPLIMENT ME WHEN IM WORKING DUDE LIKE IM SO GLAD IT MADE U DO THIS!!! IM SMILING REALLY BIG!!

chocolate milk or strawberry milk? or plain? woops i hate milk im so sorry

do u love michael mell with all of ur heart, mod?  i really truly do man what a fucking good ass character

hi squigs i love you! i love your content too and i hope u have a good day pal :>  WHAT A SWEET BEAN!!! THANK YOU?? OMG

I'm just saying that recent ask you did with Michael really hit me hard because I really related to it and I started crying because it made me realize that I've been pining my self worth on everything my anxiety causes and I'm so much more than that. Thank you, so much for that I really needed it because I'm in a really bad place right now. <3 -for the mod i legit cry everytime i get asks or dms like this cause once again the idea that im helping other people is so ovwehelming i love you??? i let myself just be”depressed” for ahwile and by that i mean i just,, let my sadness consume me and i was scared of getting better cause the sadness was all i knew for so long and just. its so easy to think u are ur illness but you are so much more. soooo much more man.

I relate A Lot to Michael so the way you portray him in the blog is really good, and I think it's really awesome you refuse to like?? do terrible stuff and answer bad questions just bc people wanna see that. You run this blog really well 👌  AHHHH THis is the biggest compliment thank u so much ,,, i get real anxious bout this blog soemtiems but then yall send me sweet things like this and its worth it man

Hey mod, just know you're a really cool person. Thanks for running this blog in the first place. Keep doing the great work.  thank you!!!! for ur support!!!! 

not really a question!! i just wanted to say your posts on this blog always brighten my day and you're really an incredible artist and person, keep rockin on my dude!! *clutching my heart* the fuck this is so sweet

1 .I just wanted to say your blog is really awesome! It's very lovely. I also like how you made michael trans and like handled it? (just with how all the characters treat him and stuff its v nice). Your art is super duper! Thanks for running this awesome blog! 2. Hey! This isn't a question but I wanted to say that I appreciate michael being trans!! As a trans boy it's just rly awesome to see something like that casually thrown into an ask blog without making it a huge weird deal :D immm,,, i kinda really love the idea of michael being trans cause a lot of my trans male friends are actually pretty confident in their skin and michael is a very confident character? and u rarely see that with trans representation and its so refreshing to see it portrayed well. im trying to do that here but again if! i do anything wrong let me know!

how did you first get into art? (also i really love your blog, it's amazing!) ive been drawing as long as i remember! ive got mad adhd and wasnt diagnosed until late in ym life so i would just draw nonstop in my classes ahaha i used to read the sunday comics a lot and they really inspired me to try and make comics of my own too!! (and omg thank u) 

someone also asked me if i went to church or was religious but tumblr ate the ask but i used to go to church a lot as a kid but im currently not religious at all aaa

ok holy shit that was a lot but thanks again to everyone i legit cry a lot about how supportive u all are thank u so much aaaa

[iasipspec-blog]

#IASIPspec. Season 12, episode 10.5. “The Return of Dennis”

As written by: Taylor

A trailer of sorts to the official spec scripts. A prequel written in prose format. While in North Dakota, Dennis and Mandy have a talk.

[ CLICK ‘READ MORE’ TO READ !! ]

Questions? Concerns? Clarification needed? Head right over to our askbox and give us some feedback!

DISCLAIMER: IASIPspec is a fan work, and as such is not officially associated with RCG or anyone else affiliated with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

“You’re not happy.”

It comes suddenly, quickly. Brian Jr. is playing with some little dollhouse (Dennis had raised an eyebrow at that, but Mandy had replied with something about “A gender neutral upbringing!” which had shut him up) on the floor, and the two of them have been kind of blankly watching 60 Minutes for about a half hour at this point when she finally looks him dead in the eyes and tells him.

And he doesn’t know what to say, so he says “What?” like he didn’t hear her, but he did, but he doesn’t want to have heard her.

“You’re not happy,” Mandy repeats. When he first met her he remembers thinking God that accent is grating, but after a while it started to grow on him. Just a little, though. “Here. With us. You’re not, I can tell.”

“What makes you say that?” he asks. His stomach sinks.

“You know, contrary to what you seem to think, I’m not stupid,” is all she says. “You love Brian Jr., I know that. And he loves you too. But you don’t love me, and you don’t love North Dakota.”

As if on cue, Brian Jr. raises his little blonde head and smiles widely, gurgling “Mama an’ Dada,” at them. He raises one hand and waves at this kid. Brian Jr. wraps one chubby fist around a wobbling Weeble fireman figure that had been sitting placidly in the attic of the dollhouse and thrusts it at them proudly, as if to say, “Look at me, I can hold things now!”

But Dennis doesn’t know what to say to her, so he just focuses his stare onto the TV, watching the balding host of the show describe some groundbreaking Broadway musical that’s changing the world or some other shit.

“You can’t just ignore me because you don’t like what I’m saying.”

He’s starting to remember why he didn’t like her voice, and it wasn’t because of her accent. She had this uncanny ability to know things about him, like when he had told her his name was Brian Lefevre and she hadn’t bought it for like, point-two seconds.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Well you either do or you don’t.”

“I don’t,” and it feel weird to say it out loud, like he’s breaking some seal or soiling something precious. What was it about parenting that made you not want to say what you really felt? Shove everything under the rug, go around behind your partner’s back, but to their face pretend everything was going fine.

That was all his Mom did. That was all his Dad did. They snuck around, but in public they just smiled at each other. He could imagine his parents in this exact position, sitting on the couch while he and Dee played with some toy in front of the TV. And they had behaved exactly the same as he was acting with her right now, distant and quiet, watch the kid play with their toys and pretend nothing was going wrong.

It was refreshing to hear someone try to understand what was going on inside their partner’s head instead of burying it underneath. Maybe all partnerships didn’t have to be like his parents’.

“I just don’t know how it would work.” Dennis says it lamely, grasping at straws. “I mean, different states? He’s barely three.”

“We can work something out,” she told him earnestly. “He can spend some holidays with you. We can fly to Philly for a few weekends a year, you can pick him up at the airport. I don’t mind.”

All he can muster out is a hoarse “Why?”, because the thought of anyone giving two shits about him or putting him first is frankly disturbing and a bit strange to him.

And Mandy just replies, “Because it’s not fair to either of us if we’re both unhappy here. Unhappy parents raise unhappy children. And I’d rather Brian Jr. have a father in another state than an unhappy father with him 24/7.”

“Are you sure you’d be --”

“I’m more than sure.” She waves her hand. “I didn’t come to Philadelphia to trap you with me.” Suddenly, her eyes grow big (The same doe-eyed look that’d seemed so goddamned cute when he had seen her across the room in that Applebee’s), and she asks, “That’s not the impression I gave off, did it? I swear, I didn’t come to Philly to try and trap you with me.”

That gets Dennis chuckling, sardonic. Laughter out of madness. He can’t believe what’s happening now. “No, you didn’t.”

“Then why’d you come?”

Deep breath. He looks at Brian Jr. “I guess I didn’t want him to be without a dad.”

“And he won’t be.” Mandy smiles with her lips closed. She’d told him it was force of habit, because in the eighth grade she’d been embarrassed about having braces, and he hadn’t really been focusing on the words coming out of her mouth at that moment, but in hindsight that was kind of a cute story. “I promise, he won’t be. Like I said, as long as you’re willing to work with me here, we can figure out how to best get a system working.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s lucky to have a mom like you,” he tells her, thinking to himself that this is the most sincere he has ever been speaking to a woman. “Willing to co-parent across state lines.”

“And he’s lucky to have a Dad like you,” she replies. “Willing to move away from everything he’s ever know just to be a good father.”

They smile at one another. He swears he can hear cheesy, tinkling Full House-style synth music, the kind of song they’d play whenever a Tearful Moment happened on screen. Brian Jr. tosses one of his Weebles at the television, which gets them all three laughing.

Two hours later he pulls his cell phone out of his pocket, and after staring at the contact page for twenty minutes he finally presses his thumb to the ‘call’ button and prepares the best way to broach the topic of returning to Philly, and hopes to a God (that he’s still not entirely sure if he believes in) that Mac doesn’t hang up on him when he does.

[ask-the-ghostbusters]

ooc;

classes have started, in case you fine folks were wondering. i have a couple of asks lined up for art, so when i get the chance i’ll work on them. the school workload piled up surprisingly fast, so apologies for the wait. thank you for your patience!