#well he did have this one job where he dusted off the stuffed poodles of that one old lady he worked for...

[marimayscarlett]

Does Richard have any pets?x

Well...He already brings a lot of cat energy to the table himself (like the type of cat who comes up to you purring and cuddling, yet knocks your vase off the table in the next moment 👀)...🐈

...and seems to have a devoted and cuddly puppy...🐕

But in all seriousness, I haven't heard him mentioning a pet or know anything about him having one in the past. I know that his daughter Khira has a dog, but I don't know about other points of contact with pets 👀

[themurphyzone]

Spend the Day with Someone You Love Ch 4

My friends are insane. In one Skype chat we went from discussing Storm in the Room to posting Invader Zim memes with “You lie!” in big letters. At least they’re just as excited for the new Tangled series as I am! 

Ch 4 - Love is a Song that Never Ends (Whether this is Sweet or Annoying is Entirely Subjective)

“I am very disappointed in you both,” Balthazar paced back and forth in front of Vinnie and Arohbeohte. Vinnie feigned interest, popping a piece of dark chocolate in his mouth. Arohbeohte watched an old lady feed squirrels, snapping back to attention when Balthazar cleared his throat. “Arohbeohte, you made it more difficult to cover our tracks. Sometimes property damage is an inevitable factor in certain operations, but you almost destroyed an innocent family’s house. If they are not holding pistachios hostage, then we leave them alone. We cannot risk discovery. Is that understood?”  

Arohbeohte nodded. 

“Vinnie, you neglected to inform Arohbeohte about why her behavior is unacceptable. This is going to reflect badly on us when we report to headquarters,” Balthazar said. 

“You mean if you report it,” Vinnie suggested. “If makes it so you have a choice in the matter, but when is definite.”

Balthazar’s anger drained for a moment. “You may be onto something. Maybe I can just fabricate a report and blame her behavior on faulty engineering.”

“Or you don’t put effort in at all,” Vinnie said. “They shove all the reports they receive into the garbage bin. Never bothered reading them.” 

Balthazar’s mouth dropped open, arms flailing as he struggled to find the correct words to express his outrage. All the time I’ve spent writing extremely detailed accounts for future protectors to peruse, wasted, he thought. He shook his head. He could lament later. There were more pressing issues in the present.

“I’m getting off topic,” Balthazar said. “As much as I want to let out all my steam and you and Arohbeohte, it can wait until after we secure the pistachios at the mall. Now, the mall will be busy since it’s a weekend, so getting around will be difficult, especially with a giant robot in tow.”

“It’s also Valentine’s Day! Which means half-price chocolate sundaes!” Vinnie exclaimed, giving a high-five to Arohbeohte. 

“Valentine’s Day?” Balthazar looked at his watch. Feb 14, 21st century. Your horoscope today: The planet Venus burns in the 3rd house. Just kiss already, idiot. You don’t need this astronomy junk for love., it read. “That blasted holiday?”

“I just like it for the candy,” Vinnie shrugged. “Making a day all about love is pretty awesome though. What do you think, Arohbeohte?”

Arohbeohte thought for a moment, then began to flatten the grass with her feet. She stomped out a crude circle, bending down to carve a smiley face in the center. Then she drew a giant rectangle with the letter ‘P’ on it. Straightening to her full height, she created a torso with two spiky protrusions on the sides. Finally, Arohbeohte added two circles on the bottom, then pointed to the drawing.

“Is that you? Looks good for abstract,” Vinnie commented. Arohbeohte shook her head, though no letters came loose thankfully.

“I’ve seen 2 year olds draw better on nursery walls,” Balthazar grumbled. 

Vinnie elbowed him. “Come on, Balthy, be nice.”

“How many times have I told you to never call me that?” Balthazar glared. 

Vinnie shrugged. “I dunno, once, maybe twice. I forget. So Arohbeohte, who is this? A parent, sibling, friend, or none of the above?”

Arohbeohte drew a heart and a question mark next to the robot, then shrugged. 

“So, you’re in love with another robot but can’t figure out to say it?” Vinnie asked. Arohbeohte nodded, then hid her head in her massive hands. “Well, just say it! Wait, you can’t talk. That complicates stuff if there’s a lack of communication.” 

“As interesting as a robot’s romantic woes are, we need to-where did you get that phone book from?” Balthazar stared at Vinnie, who was quickly flipping through the pages with interest. 

“Well, it’s hard to explain it to Arohbeohte with just words,” Vinnie said. “What’s the phone number for the Danville chapter of the Backup Singers Union?” 

“Why don’t you just get the Swamp City branch? They’ll be here much faster. And cheaper too,” Balthazar suggested. 

“Quality over quantity. Oh, here it is,” Vinnie said, pulling out his cell phone and dialing a number. “Hello, Backup SIngers Union? Oh, they’re busy today? Never mind then. Thank you.” Vinnie hung up. “They’re booked solid. Something about all the singers doing a gig for some pharmacist. They say he pays well.” 

“That’s a shame. A musical number would have been good exercise,” Balthazar said. 

“I have another idea. Arohbeohte, can you do this?” Vinnie made a heart with his hands, and Arohbeohte tried copying him. She could only form them into a circle. Arohbeohte carefully picked Vinnie up so he was sitting comfortably on one massive palm. “Now, I want you to put your thumbs together and point them down,” he said, scrambling for her wrist when the surface began to tilt. “Like this,” he awkwardly managed to make a triangular shape while he was gripping the metal tightly. “Good! Now curl the rest of your fingers and put them together!” he grinned, finishing the heart shape. Arohbeohte copied him, raising her hands to her eye and peeking through it. 

“That’s perfect! Now just form the heart the next time you see your crush! I’m sure they’ll understand! Balthazar, catch me!” Vinnie offered a thumbs-up, then suddenly jumped off her wrist. 

Balthazar dove forward in his attempt to catch Vinnie, tripping over a rock and hitting the ground face-first. He yelped as he felt something incredibly heavy crush his spine. Moaning in pain, he turned around to glare at Vinnie, tapping his fingers on the ground in annoyance. Vinnie laughed sheepishly. “Thanks for being the throw pillow.”

“Don’t mention it,” Balthazar stood up, dusting himself off. “We’ve wasted enough time. Let’s just get to-” he caught sight of two teenagers wandering around, appearing to search for something. The boy pointed to them, and Balthazar’s brain went into panic mode. “Our position’s compromised! Abort mission!” he fled, realizing that Vinnie and Arohbeohte were running in opposite directions. 

At least the teens lost interest in them. Balthazar was glad the boy in the sweatervest hadn’t followed them. He and Vinnie tended to lose their pistachio stands for some reason when they did business with that guy. 

He was able to track Arohbeohte down easily, her massive size making it hard to blend in the city. He sat on her shoulder, holding on to a protrusion that extended from her neck. “Let’s find Vinnie,” he told her. “Locate the nearest street vendor.” 

Arohbeohte’s eyes glowed green, scanning the city. Then she took off towards a side street, finding Vinnie paying for his food at a bratwurst stand. “Man, bratwurst street vendors need more appreciation,” Vinnie said, stepping onto Arohbeohte’s hand. Balthazar rolled his eyes. He would never understand these constant detours for food. 

“Let’s just get to the mall,” Balthazar said.

When they arrived, Arohbeohte reduced the size of her limbs and torso so that she was human-sized. The pistachio stand folded into a compartment on her head. Balthazar wished he’d known that earlier. It would’ve saved so much grief. 

“Mama! Mama, what is that thing?” a young girl shrieked, pointing at Arohbeohte. She hugged her pink stuffed poodle tightly in case Arohbeohte would snatch it out of her arms. 

Balthazar held Arohbeohte’s arm, silently warning her to not make any sudden movements. 

“Chloe, don’t point. That’s rude. Now apologize,” the mother chided. She shot Balthazar and Vinnie an apologetic look. “Sorry about my daughter. She can be a handful sometimes.” 

“It’s cool. Don’t worry about it too much,” Vinnie shrugged. “Chloe, right?” 

“Sorry,” Chloe lowered her head, studying the ground. “I didn’t want to sound mean.” 

Vinnie smiled. “Do you want to meet Arohbeohte? She likes people.” 

“Um, sure?” Chloe slowly approached Arohbeohte. “Hi?” 

Balthazar pulled Vinnie aside. “Is allowing that child to be so close to Arohbeohte really a good idea?” he whispered, glancing over his shoulder. Chloe was just teaching Arohbeohte patty cake for now. 

“She’s fine. The more social interaction Arohbeohte gets, the better,” Vinnie said. “Are you worried about what headquarters might say?” 

“What?” Balthazar yelled, wincing at his own outburst. Luckily, Chloe and her mother hadn’t noticed. He lowered his voice so that Vinnie could barely hear his response. “I just don’t want people calling her a ‘thing’,” he said, blushing. 

“So you do have a heart after all!” Vinnie smirked. “I never would’ve guessed!”

“Sh-shut up! As her mentor, it is our job to make sure that she learns to control herself so she doesn’t harm anyone, including herself,” he said, nodding to reassure himself.

“Uh-huh,” Vinnie raised an eyebrow, but said nothing else. They walked over to Chloe’s mother, watching the two play together. 

“Thanks for letting Chloe play with your-um, companion,” she trailed off. “We should really be going now.”

“Bye, miss!” Chloe waved and skipped over to her mother. They entered a department store, leaving behind Arohbeohte and the pistachio protectors. 

“Well, that’s sorted out,” Balthazar pulled out a clipboard, jotting down a few details of his plan. “It occurred to me that we can’t exactly steal the grand prize when the mall is so crowded. We’ll have to enter that contest and do our best to win. And for that we need disguises.” 

“Can I choose the disguises this time?” Vinnie asked.

“Sure. Let me make sure we have the correct currency for this time period,” Balthazar said, flipping through his wallet. He needed to make sure they didn’t pay for necessities with ancient Lydian coins again. He pulled out a crisp hundred dollar bill, handing it to Vinnie. “I’m just going to rest here. You and Arohbeohte go pick out clothing. The contest begins at 2 pm.” 

“Will do!” Vinnie said. “Come on, Arohbeohte!” 

Balthazar opened his notebook, dating the top of the page. “Finally. Now I can write a few haikus in peace,” he muttered. 

Thirty minutes later, Balthazar was staring incredulously at the yellow tropical shirt and shorts Vinnie had picked out for him. “Not my style,” he fingered the collar, grimacing. 

“You never specified,” Vinnie shrugged. He had already changed into a black T-shirt and jeans. 

“Fine. I’ll wear it, but I won’t like it,” Balthazar grumbled. “Young lady, is that any way to dress in public?” he scolded Arohbeohte, who was wearing a red tank top and a white miniskirt. 

“She’s a robot,” Vinnie pointed out. 

“Still,” Balthazar grumbled, walking into a restroom to change. 

It took a lot of persuasion and blackmail for Vinnie to coax Balthazar out of the stall. Balthazar reluctantly came out, wondering if he could an anonymous letter to whatever corporation that created gaudy tropical shirts asking them to recall their monstrosities. They headed towards the center of the mall. 

Vinnie smiled at the sight of all the couples in the mall, pointing out a pair who were gazing dreamily into each other’s eyes while sharing a chocolate sundae. “See, Arohbeohte? If you’re successful telling your crush how you feel, then you might be able to act like that too!” 

“Vinnie, don’t encourage Arohbeohte to be completely brain dead,” Balthazar warned. Arohbeohte tilted her head in confusion. 

The contest sign-up was extremely busy. Most of the participants consisted of teenagers dressed in elaborate costumes, with a few adults sprinkled in. Balthazar waited impatiently, stuck behind someone in a cartoony duck outfit that quacked with every step. 

Finally, they were called by a bored-looking attendant. “Names,” he said. 

Balthazar realized they needed cover names. Any of these people could be rival time travelers seeking the same prize. “Arthur. That fine-looking gentleman in jeans is Frank. And the young lady’s name is Rebecca.” 

“Arthur, Frank, and Rebecca,” the attendant repeated, leaning on his elbow as he wrote. “And your group name?”

“Blast! We needed a group name?,” Balthazar cursed his lack of foresight. 

“I’m putting you down as Blastweneededagroupname,” the attendant said, writing it on the entry slip. “Your entry number is 6. Good luck and all that. Next!” He handed the slip to Balthazar. 

“So, what kind of contest is it anyway?” Vinnie asked. Balthazar gave him an odd look. “Dude, don’t tell me you entered this contest without even knowing what we’re supposed to do. If it’s a beauty contest, I want out.” 

Arohbeohte pointed to a flyer. “Let’s see,” Balthazar said, scanning it. He froze. “Re-enact a love scene from any famous movie, TV show, or Broadway play?” he said, indignantly. “Can’t they just hold a raffle like normal people?” 

 “’Participants will be judged for acting and presentation by a panel of three judges. Please be aware that children are watching, so keep everything G-rated. Phantom of the Opera-based performances are banned due to last year’s incident that consisted of a bully, a diaper, and a chandelier. Thank you!’” Vinnie read. “After this blows over, you wanna travel to last year’s contest and see this incident?” 

“I’m having second thoughts,” Balthazar muttered. “We won’t win anything in presentation points.”

“So we need to come up with something that involves all three of us, right?” Vinnie asked. “Here’s my plan.”

Ch 4 is finally done! Hope y’all enjoyed!