I totally understand about writer’s block, if that’s what you’re struggling with! There are times I can’t get my writing to work, too. It’s always hard to believe, when it happens, that I’ll ever be able to write again, but it does happen, eventually, each time!
And if you are just concerned about being a non-writing member of the fandom in general–the content consumers are important, too! Likes, reblogs, comments; it all matters! ❤ ❤ ❤
Ah, good! Thank you again!! 💖💜💖
Was it the one I just published my response to? If it wasn’t that one, then I didn’t get it!
❤ ❤ ❤ This was a really lovely message to get; thank you so very much! ‘I hope you always have everything you need to be as happy as you make people’. Ah, that is a wonderful thing to be told!
My fic December was written for the 2016 Megamind Days event. The prompts for the week were:
December 17th – Birthday/Parents
December 18th – Charity/Storm
December 19th – Relationship/Presents
December 20th – Change/Story
December 21st – Invention/Christmas Dinner
December 22nd – Xmas Shopping/Surprise
December 23rd – Star/Wish
Bonus Day: December 24th – Christmas/Hope
I found out about the prompts in November, and immediately started trying to work out how I could use the prompts in a single story, which was a really interesting challenge! As was the fact that I actually wrote it as I was posting it, rather than ahead of time, writing a chapter a day (one day had two chapters).
I’d written in several of my other stories that Megamind’s birthday, and Christmas, are a rough time for him, but I’d never actually set a story during that time. The Megamind Days event seemed the perfect time to do that.
So that is some of what was going on behind the scenes with this one. Now, on to the story itself!
Chapter 1:
December 17th— the first day of Saturnalia, an ancient Roman festival during which gifts were given and ordinary social norms were overturned.
I thought it was quite interesting that Megamind’s birthday falls on Saturnalia, and since this story is about receiving and giving gifts, and definitely about the overturning of social norms, this seemed like a good note to include.
“It’s your birthday, isn’t it?” Roxan—Miss Ritchi says, interrupting Megamind’s painstakingly rehearsed monologue about the (carefully designed and extensively safety-tested) mechanized whirling vortex of blades with which he is attempting, unsuccessfully, to menace her.
And right away we have Roxanne breaking the usual social norms of their kidnappings by interrupting his monologue not to complain or to point out a flaw in his plan, but to ask him a personal question. We also have Megamind stumbling over calling her Roxanne, rather than Miss Ritchi (his social norm) in his mind.
Megamind’s internal monologue of self-hatred is even worse during all of this conversation, establishing that he really is having an exceptionally rough time, emotionally and mentally.
(Minion knows Megamind doesn’t feel much like celebrating anything, pretty much the whole month of December. Megamind has always felt guilty about that: the screaming black despair that hits him every winter, without fail—it’s not like it wasn’t Minion’s planet, too, and Minion copes all right; he gets a little melancholy around the actual date, but if it wasn’t for Megamind and his inability to function like a rational being, Minion would be able to enjoy the general atmosphere of festivity and christmas and—everything. Instead of trying to make sure Megamind doesn’t have another breakdown.)
Not only is Megamind struggling with depression and survivor’s guilt, he’s also feeling terribly guilty for feeling this way. He feels as if his feelings are an imposition on other people, which is a theme throughout the story.
Through the whole conversation, he’s mentally beating himself up, and, to make it hurt even more, he’s imagining that these are the things that Roxanne wants to say to him, or is thinking, or would say if she knew how he felt about her.
waiting for her to ask the next, obvious question: why do you kidnap me every year on your birthday; Megamind; is it because you have some sort of sick fascination with me, you disgusting alien freak—
This is not the most obvious question to Roxanne at all.
ready for some sort of attack or criticism from her, wondering what kind of insult she’s going to spin around his birthday, around his not celebrating his birthday.
(a joke about how he’s never managed to accomplish anything at his age? a comment about him not celebrating because he doesn’t have anyone to invite to any party he might have? a—)
Meanwhile, Roxanne is trying to come up with a casual, non-awkward way to ask if she can celebrate Megamind’s birthday with him. (and not really succeeding; she feels she’s doing so badly during this whole conversation, and Megamind’s stiff, clearly uncomfortable responses are not helping her confidence at all. The fact that she keeps going is a testament to how important he is to her.
She doesn’t look up—he should put his hand under her chin, should force her to look up, should make her look at him.
He drops into a crouch in front of her instead, looks hard into her face.
Megamind is so tired of trying to make himself fit into the part of the confident, domineering supervillain. That kind of behavior doesn’t come naturally to him. He kneels in front of her instead of forcing her to look up–he wants, so badly, to be allowed to be soft, and to have people treat him gently in return, which is also a major theme in the story.
Chapter 2
A flashback to December 13th, and a Roxanne point of view chapter. It was important to me that she realize very early on that she was in love with Megamind, so that everything she does for Megamind in the story is clearly and deliberately an expression of love. Megamind feels that he is unlovable and unloved, so we get to see how very not true this is. I wanted her to be very gentle with him in this story, because he’s exceptionally fragile in it.
She picks out a blue dress for christmas specifically to complement Megamind’s clothing–clothing is very important throughout this story.
She figures out her feelings by creating what she thinks of as a giant Wall of Megamind–it’s quite a lot like the idea cloud in the film, and she ‘figures out’ her feelings in the same way that canon Roxanne figures out the idea cloud, by taking a step back and looking again.
Her Wall of Megamind also, by its similarity to Megamind’s idea clouds, demonstrates that the two of them do think alike.
Yeah, okay, it looks a little like she’s lost her mind, but it’s not like she has friends over to comment on it, and it’s easier to think, with everything in front of her like that.
The story is primarily about Megamind getting what he needs, but it’s also about Roxanne getting what she needs. We see here that she’s lonely and alone; by the end of the story she has Megamind and Minion with her and she doesn’t have to be alone anymore.
Chapter 3
The December 17th kidnapping again. Megamind sabotages the deathtrap deliberately, and they eat cinnamon rolls together instead. Already things are going off script for their usual social interactions. Things are already beginning to change.
He sits in his chair, across from Roxanne, and holds a cup of coffee in his hands (he can scarcely feel the warmth through the material of his gloves)
The theme of warmth that threads through this story is both literal and also a metaphor for feeling loved and happy. Megamind can’t feel the warmth of the coffee because of his gloves–and Megamind’s villain clothing is also a metaphor for the way he has barricaded himself off from the rest of the world. He’s not going to be able to feel literally warm until he takes off his villain clothing, and he’s not going to be able to feel metaphorically warm until he finally lets his defenses down.
The next day, and Megamind goes to Roxanne’s apartment, lands on her balcony, and, since she’s not home, refuses to go inside because he feels it’s necessary for him to follow ‘the rules of normal social interaction’. This is him drawing back from her emotionally, trying to distance himself, as well as keeping physically distant from her space. And again he ends up hurting himself more by drawing back from her–he falls asleep in the snow and gets so cold that he very nearly freezes to death. Just like his refusing to attempt emotional closeness or to allow himself to feel his emotions without guilt has hurt him so badly that he almost doesn’t care whether or not he dies. It’s both a literal and a metaphorical freezing.
Chapter 4
Roxanne finds him and drags him inside. It’s her voice, and his concern/love for her, that finally wakes him up–it’s love for Roxanne and from Roxanne that saves him in this story, both literally and metaphorically, love that finally makes him warm.
He very nearly died, and his first words upon regaining consciousness are him worried that Roxanne is in danger.
Roxanne begins to cry, and Megamind is ‘frozen in place’, not sure how to respond, but wanting to make her feel better. He cares about her so much that he’s actually willing to reach out to her, in the hopes that it will make her feel better.
Roxanne looks at him for a long moment, almost glaring at him through her tears, her ragged breathing evening out. Then she reaches up to scrub the tears from her face almost violently.
Megamind lets go of her arms immediately, suddenly aware that he is crouching extremely close to Roxanne. He moves back quickly, giving her space.
She shoots him an absolutely filthy look.
Megamind curls his body inwards, trying to make himself smaller.
“I thought you were dead,” she says, voice accusing.
Megamind shrinks in on himself a little more. God, he really has screwed this up, hasn’t he? Even worse than he usually screws things up. Walking out onto your balcony to find what you think is a dead body—no wonder she’s angry.
“Sorry,” he says, dropping his eyes to the floor.
“You must have been out there for hours! Why didn’t you just come inside?” Roxanne demands, “I left the door unlocked!”
“—I didn’t want to be impolite,” Megamind says in a small voice.
(and look how that turned out; doesn’t get much more impolite than leaving a dead body on someone’s doorstep)
“Jesus,” Roxanne hisses.
She’s angry because she was afraid that he was dead; Megamind misinterprets this, and thinks that she wasn’t actually worried about him, specifically, only upset about finding an apparently dead body. He almost died, and now he feels bad for traumatizing her. And he shrinks in on himself, tries to make himself smaller, drops his eyes, makes his voice small–he’s drawing back again, but not, interestingly, by going into his supervillain persona. That outer layer has already disappeared because of Roxanne’s efforts to connect with him.
He then starts shivering, and Roxanne, wanting to help him get warm, actually starts to undress him. (Again, Megamind’s clothes are a big thing in this. With every piece of his villain uniform that she removes, he gets more and more emotionally vulnerable.
When she actually touches his skin, though, he draws back again–because it was an especially intimate touch for him, and because he feels as if he doesn’t deserve to be touched. Roxanne’s hands are described specifically as warm–again, physical warmth and love/kindness/intimacy are linked. And Megamind curls up into a ball, trying to hide “so that she doesn’t have to look at him, so that she doesn’t have to see him”. He feels that his presence, that his emotions and emotional vulnerability, are an imposition on her.
Roxanne asks his permission to touch him; she thinks that it’s possible he dislikes being touched, or doesn’t want her to touch him–but of course it’s quite the opposite. He wants to be touched, and wants her to touch him, very badly, but he doesn’t feel like he deserves it.
Damsels aren’t supposed to—they aren’t supposed to care about their villains. They aren’t supposed to invite them to their apartment, aren’t supposed to help them out of their wet clothes when they’re shaking too badly from cold to handle zippers and buckles; they aren’t supposed to look at them with worried eyes and ask them are you going to let me touch you like they’re—like they’re something worth touching—
(like he’s something worth touching)
He’s trying to mentally distance the two of them, referring to them as ‘damsel’ and ‘villain’ in his mind, even though they have gone well past that kind of simple relationship.
But he’s so completely emotionally and physically vulnerable, now, and so very cold and miserable, that he tells her she can touch him.
Chapter 5
Roxanne brings him shorts to wear–a piece of clothing that covers very little of his skin. This is important for skin-to-skin contact and physical warming, but also symbolic of the way he’s still very much in a state of emotional vulnerability.
She also changes into a pair of shorts, herself, and a tank top and sports bra, and actually takes the tank top off in front of him–the story is about Roxanne making herself emotionally vulnerable so that she can help Megamind.
Roxanne also makes him hot chocolate, and helps him to drink it, in an attempt to get him warm. Her helping him drink is an added layer of intimacy–as is her actually using her discarded shirt to wipe the spilled cocoa from his hands.
She lies down on the couch and has him lie with her, wrapped in her arms, both of them wrapped together in a blanket, and Megamind starts, at last, to get warmer, though he’s by no means actually warm. He refers to it as a “battle with his own body”, and getting him to a point where he feels able to accept love is definitely a battle with his own mind.
Megamind crying in her arms is his moment of supreme emotional vulnerability, the moment where he finally can’t keep his emotions held back any longer. The fact that he does fall asleep like that indicates that he’s beginning to trust her, and beginning to get closer to being able to accept love and feel loved, although he isn’t there yet.
The next morning, Minion arrives at Roxanne’s apartment, and she and Minion bond over worrying about Megamind. We also learn that Megamind claimed the coldsleep was a much less serious occurrence than it actually was–again, he’s trying to dismiss himself, trying not to be an imposition.
Roxanne won’t let him draw back from her, though; she reaches out and touches him, asking him to stay.
Megamind argues with Minion, and, after his emotional vulnerability last night with Roxanne, he’s in a mental place where he’s able to actually feel and express his emotions, to actually verbalize how he feels and what he wants, which is a very important step in the right direction.
Chapter 6
Roxanne takes a shower, has a quiet freak-out about the possibility of Megamind being in love with her, and, again, quite deliberately chooses to accept emotional vulnerability.
She chooses her clothing carefully, dresses herself in blue–Megamind’s color.
Minion is making breakfast in Roxanne’s kitchen; she tries to convince him he doesn’t need to, but he insists–Roxanne’s life is already starting to be less lonely.
Roxanne leads Megamind upstairs so that he can take a shower.
Megamind feels like crying again, is so tempted to just give in to the tears—would she put her arms around him again, if he wept? Would she hold him again, if he asked her to?
(you are so disgusting, he thinks savagely at himself, wanting to manipulate her like that)
He wraps his arms around his chest, takes half a step back from her.
“I’m fine,” he says.
Roxanne’s fingers twist in the hem of her robe; for one breathless moment of wild, uncontrollable hope, he thinks that she’ll reach out for him.
She doesn’t, though.
Of course Roxanne would hold him again if he asked. He wouldn’t even have to ask, if she knew that he wanted her to. But Roxanne doesn’t know he does, and it is important to her that she not force Megamind into anything he doesn’t want. Again, he thinks of the expression of his emotions as something imposing and negative, calls it “manipulating her”, and he draws back from her again.
She lets him because, again, she doesn’t want to force him, but she doesn’t go far, and waits for him in the bedroom.
The shower is warm, and also a place where, in spite of continued negative thinking, Megamind edges a little closer to recovery. Although he tells himself that Roxanne probably felt dirty after touching him, and probably asked him if he’d like a shower because she feels he’s dirty, he then thinks:
But then she’d touched him again, of her own volition, and for no apparent reason, ran her hand along the curve of his head, told him to stay, and why?
He’s finally beginning to question his own assumptions about Roxanne’s motivations and feelings towards him.
Stepping out of the bathroom into the bedroom wearing only a towel is a big moment for Megamind–physical vulnerability and emotional vulnerability. And it’s important that he chooses to do it even though it’s difficult. He fights the urge to hide, this time, and doesn’t hide from her. He’s getting closer to recovery.
The clothes that Roxanne chooses for him are important–they’re visually similar to the clothing that he usually wears, indicating that she’s trying to make him comfortable, but still softer and looser than his usual clothes, indicating that he hasn’t emotionally retreated from her again.
Chapter 7
They have breakfast! And Roxanne makes sure that Minion has a seat at the table–she wants Minion to be a part of things, and she wants to be friends with Minion.
Roxanne holds Megamind’s hand while discussing his need to be physically warm, and she and Minion talk about Megamind’s tendency to underrepresent his own distress.
“You were—working from the assumption that my—that my physical state was as dangerous as it would be if you found a person like that and I wanted to reassure you that this was an erroneous conclusion—”
“—human,” Miss Ritchi says, still looking hard at him.
“—what?” Sir says, brought up short.
“I was working from the assumption that you were in as much danger as a human would have been,” Miss Ritchi says, not looking away from his face.
“…that’s what I said.”
Miss Ritchi tilts her head, looking thoughtful.
“No,” she says, “no, you didn’t. You said a person.”
Sir’s eyelids flicker.
“—a slip of the tongue,” he says dismissively.
“Megamind—”
“Don’t,” he snaps, “stop—stop with the—the nosey reporter thing, Miss Ritchi!”
Megamind’s walls are still down, which is why he makes that slip, saying ‘person’ instead of ‘human’, revealing how he really feels about himself. He tries to withdraw it, but she won’t let him. Then he attempts to withdraw even harder, calling her ‘nosey reporter’ and ‘Miss Ritchi’.
Roxanne, angry, tells him that she started CPR–rejecting his attempt to distance them, to put the two of them back in their usual roles–and then turns to address Minion.
Megamind, who is so afraid of her attention, but wants it so desperately, calls it back to himself deliberately.
“I can hear you two talking about me. I am right here, you know.”
And Roxanne immediately gives him her attention, softening as soon as she realizes that he wants it, smiling at him, and thanking him for staying–for not insisting on retreating completely from her.
Megamind doesn’t know how to handle her attention still, though, and tries to throw another wall up when she asks him if he has plans for Christmas, telling her he won’t reveal his evil plans to a reporter, and again calling her ‘Miss Ritchi’.
Roxanne is hurt by this, but she deliberately chooses emotional vulnerability again, and clearly asks him to spend Christmas with her, tells him outright that she wants him with her.
Chapter 8
Megamind retreats physically to the living room, but it is, notably, only a physical retreat this time–he doesn’t withdraw from the conversation and he tells Minion that he can tell Roxanne about their planet. He’s choosing to allow her to be emotionally close, this time.
When Roxanne reaches out for him, Megamind stays still deliberately and lets her, and finally gives up all of his assumptions about her motivations and just asks her why she’s doing all this.
Even though he is very agitated at this point, it is notable that he gestures with his free hand, not with the arm she’s holding. He’s upset, but he has finally stopped pulling away from her.
She tells him that she’s in love with him, and Megamind is so shocked that he doesn’t know how to respond, and sits down abruptly on the floor. Roxanne reads this as him trying to withdraw from her again, but it really isn’t this time. He’s just shocked and overwhelmed.
It’s Minion who explains this to her–Roxanne can’t do all of this on her own, she needs help, too, and gets it.
Megamind looks at the idea cloud and understands what it signifies, and finally, for the first time in this story, he feels happiness.
“Sorry,” Megamind hears Roxanne’s voice say quietly, from behind his shoulder, “that’s—this is—probably pretty—weird.”
Megamind turns to her.
“No,” he says, breathlessly, tears rising in his eyes, “no, it’s—this is—wonderful.”
Roxanne is worried about being so vulnerable, now, and takes a little emotional step back by saying that the idea cloud is probably weird to him. It’s Megamind’s turn to give her emotional reassurance.
She asks him to stay and help her decorate, and he is honest and tells her that he wants to. Which means she feels comfortable enough to be honest and ask for the emotional closeness that she wants, requesting that he call her Roxanne.
“Good,” she asks. “That’s—I’m glad. And—” she bites her lip a little shyly. “And—would you call me Roxanne? I’d really like you to.”
(a pulse of joy goes through Megamind’s entire being in a swift burst of light, like an entire sunrise compressed into a single beautiful instant.)
“I—I would like that very much, Roxanne,” Megamind says, and reaches out to brush his fingertips lightly over her wrist.
She smiles at him like he’s given her a gift.
Finally, he really reaches out for her, not only consenting to her request of emotional closeness, but telling her that he wants it, too. She really does feel like he’s given her a gift.
Megamind is slowly edging closer to really being able to accept love–he wants to kiss her, and, though he doesn’t do it, isn’t quite ready, yet, he lets himself realize that Roxanne wants it, too.
Roxanne has made him a cake for his birthday, is worried that it isn’t good enough, but:
Megamind looks up at her, and his expression must show what he’s feeling, because she smiles at him, slow and soft, candlelight dancing warm and golden in her hair and in her eyes.
“Make a wish, Megamind,” she says softly.
(the thought darts through his mind with a fierce kind of joy: this, always, please.)
He’s reached a point of allowing himself to feel happy, of giving himself permission to want to be with her.
Chapter 9
Megamind takes an extremely important step towards recovery and being good to himself when he tells Minion that he wants to stop being a supervillain, and decides that he’s actually going to try it.
And he takes another very important step when he asks Roxanne for help, asks for something that he wants.
Roxanne finds out a little of what Wayne was like to Megamind in school, and defends Megamind by guilting Wayne into eating another disgusting cookie in punishment. Megamind is clear about what he wants. And, because he’s more in touch with his emotions, now, he’s able to help Wayne get more in touch with his emotions, and understand that he wants to retire, too.
December 23rd: The last day of Saturnalia, the ancient Roman festival celebrating liberation and role reversals.
And Megamind is liberated from supervillainy, at last, such a terribly vital piece of him working towards being happy.
Importance of clothing, again; for Christmas, Roxanne gets Megamind a sweater, still wanting, instinctively, to warm him up. Megamind specifically notices the softness, and is so happy to wear the sweater–finally, he’s starting to allow himself to have good things, to enjoy things, to feel like he deserves them.
Megamind has never worn something this soft. / this is his new favorite piece of clothing, now.
“You’re still allowed to feel sad, you know, Megamind,” she says quietly.
Megamind looks over at her, startled at her perception.
(but of course—of course she would understand. Roxanne has always seen him better than anyone else.)
“…thank you,” he says, voice low.
She smiles at him gently and squeezes his hand.
“But—you’re also allowed to feel happy, Megamind,” she says.
Megamind laughs this time, quiet and amazed.
(yes, she always has seen him better than anyone else.)
“Thank you,” he says again. “I love you, Roxanne.”
He has accepted the idea that he’s allowed to feel, that his emotions aren’t an imposition, and that he’s worthy of love and happiness. Finally, he’s able to tell Roxanne that he loves her, too.
He gives her a necklace, something very emotionally important to him, and explains to her the emotional importance–it’s in the shape of a constellation from his planet; he’s finally able to remember his planet in a positive way.
And it’s Megamind, who, at last, chooses to stand under the mistletoe, who chooses to ask Roxanne to kiss him–allowing himself to be loved, and to feel worthy of love.
Okay, so I think the ‘future’ chapter of Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue would, when you sent this, have been Chapter 10, so that is the one I am covering!
“Oh, my god,” Roxanne breathes, her eyes wide.
Megamind, watching her face, grins.
“You liked the hoverbike so much,” he says, “I figured you might like this, too.”
Roxanne moves around the motorcycle, looking it over appreciatively. It really is very, very pretty—small and light, as far as motorcycles go, all gleaming silver chrome and black paint with the same pattern of blue lightning bolts as the hoverbike. It looks a little like the hoverbike, really, a little like all of Megamind’s inventions—the ones he actually cares about enough to make them look good.
“You made this,” Roxanne says.
It’s more a statement than a question; she’s not surprised when Megamind makes a noise of assent. “It’s gorgeous.”
Megamind is starting to figure out the things that actually impress Roxanne, which is terribly important and extremely enjoyable for him!
She glances at Megamind. “But we’re not going to be able to go shopping on it,” she says, with real regret.
Megamind blinks, his expression going uncertain, like he’s suddenly afraid she’s going to laugh, or say something cutting.
“Packages,” Roxanne says, as gently as she can, “All of the—shopping bags and stuff.”
Roxanne is actively trying to be as nice as she can–she’s realizing that her opinion actually is important to him. They’re both trying so hard to be good to each other.
Megamind’s expression clears.
“Oh!” he says. “That’s—you don’t have to worry about that; I brought the de-gun!”
Brought the—?
Roxanne laughs.
“—unexpected mundane uses of supervillain weaponry,” she says.
Megamind arches an eyebrow, a smile at the edges of his mouth.
“Well, you know the gun has a decoupage setting, don’t you?”
Roxanne laughs again.
“You’re kidding!”
Megamind grins at her.
“No, it really does,” he says.
Roxanne shakes her head, snickering.
He really enjoys making her laugh–and he enjoys telling her about his inventions, too. Since she’s being so very nice to him, he feels comfortable enough to tell her about the slightly silly decoupage setting on his de-gun, and make her laugh.
“So the motorcycle is really okay, then?” he asks, “I brought you an extra helmet.”
“The motorcycle is great,” Roxanne says, and then gives him a teasing kind of smile. “Although I definitely wouldn’t have minded finally getting to actually see the invisible car.”
Megamind, handing her the helmet, tilts his head, frowning slightly.
“You’ve never seen—?”
Roxanne gives him a wry look as she puts the helmet on.
“Megamind, I haven’t ever even seen the front seat of it.”
“—oh,” he says, looking surprised. “That’s—I—I suppose you haven’t.”
She’s such a huge part of his life that he didn’t actually realize she hasn’t seen the invisible car. Like when you forget to tell someone who is really important to you something because your brain glitches and thinks that if you know it, obviously they must know it, too. And it never occurred to him that she would be really interested in the invisible car–it’s one of his more basic, and less flashy inventions.
Megamind is being so good to her that Roxanne feels comfortable enough to tell him that she is interested in seeing the invisible car, that she is interested in one of his inventions.
We get to see how the very-important-to-the-storyline disguise watch deals with Megamind’s head, and some of the limits of the technology.
“Exactly how does the watch deal with your head, anyway?” Roxanne asks, fascinated. “I didn’t even think to ask before, but there’s no way it actually shrinks your head, right?”
Megamind laughs.
“No,” he says, “there are limits even to hard-light—it makes it look like my head isn’t there, but—here, touch.”
He bends his head forward and Roxanne reaches up to put a hand on the top of the helmet. Her hand stops, though, in the air several inches away from what looks to be the top of the helmet.
“Hard-light can mimic most textures,” he says, “but—”
“But it can’t make something feel like nothing,” Roxanne finishes, running her palm over what looks to be empty air, but feels like a motorcycle helmet.
“Exactly.”
“So I should probably not put my hand on the top of your head when you’re in disguise,” Roxanne says.
There’s a momentary pause before Megamind answers.
“—ah—well—no,” he says, “um. Probably not.”
The fact that she’s asking about touching his head is a little…awkward for Megamind. Because it reminds him that he still hasn’t explained about the fact that the back of his head (/neck and shoulders) is an erogenous zone…
“So you need a wedding present, a bridal shower present, and a bachelorette party present?” Megamind asks, sounding fascinated. “That’s a lot of presents.”
Roxanne, critically regarding a set of greenish-yellow dinnerware, nods feelingly.
“I know,” she says, “and the bride gives the bridesmaids all a present, too. And I need to buy cards for the wedding, the shower, and the bachelorette party. And they keep a list of presents and send you a card later, thanking you for whatever you gave them. It’s a whole gift-giving production.”
Megamind really is interested in weddings as a social phenomenon. (Weddings are weird. The sheer amount of traditions and behavioral guidelines.)
“This dishware’s really ugly, right? I’m not just imagining how ugly it is?”
“It’s extremely ugly,” Megamind says.
Roxanne makes a face.
“Oh, well, I guess at least we’re not the ones who have to live with it,” she says.
Notice the way she says “we’re not the ones who have to live with it”. As if she and Megamind are a real couple, who would be sharing a set of dishware.
“And the bachelorette party?” Megamind says, pushing the cart and following Roxanne.
“The bachelorette party?”
“Which one do you want for the bachelorette party gift?”
“Er—no,” Roxanne says, stopping in front of the shelf of kitchen appliances. “That’s, uh. You don’t—you don’t give gifts like these at the bachelorette party.”
Megamind, pulling a boxed-up, coral colored food processor down from the shelf, gives her a look of innocent curiosity.
“Bachelorette parties aren’t like wedding showers,” Roxanne says.
“But both parties are only for women?” he asks.
Again–Megamind is honestly interested in this wedding thing.
“Yeah,” Roxanne says, “but—I mean, wedding showers are like—you play cutesy games and drink lemonade and talk to the bride’s grandma. Bachelorette parties are like—uh, I mean—you all wear penis shaped jewelry and go out drinking and dancing,” she finishes in an awkward rush.
“What—you wear—what kind of jewelry?” Megamind asks in a strangled voice.
This is the kind of thing I’m talking about; wedding traditions are weird! And such an awkward topic of conversation to have to explain to someone you’re attracted to…
Roxanne feels her face heat, but she waves a hand as airily as she can.
“Penis shaped,” she says again, and pretends she doesn’t want to die just a little bit, “the—uh—everything is penis shaped at bachelorette parties—party favors and decorations and—that’s what I’m talking about, bachelorette parties, you give gifts that are, you know—”
Megamind stares at her with saucer-wide eyes.
“—sex—joke—gift. things,” Roxanne says, and dear god, why did she ever start this explanation?
(so awkward)
Megamind’s eyes go, if possible, even rounder.
“Like lingerie or fancy lubricant,” Roxanne says, aware that she’s babbling, but somehow unable to stop herself, “or blindfolds and handcuffs—”
(shit sHIT SHIT why did she mention BLINDFOLDS and HANDCUFFS to MEGAMIND—)
And things just got MONUMENTALLY MORE AWKWARD. Roxanne’s mind goes to blindfolds and handcuffs because–well, she is into that kind of thing–but also because she is talking to Megamind, specifically, who blindfolds and handcuffs her on a regular basis, and who she has just recently realized she’s attracted to.
“—handcuffs?” Megamind asks faintly.
And you can bet that Megamind is now thinking about the fact that he blindfolds and handcuffs her on a regular basis, too, and realizing the–ahem–sexiness of that is not just entirely him imagining things…
“Sex handcuffs!” Roxanne says quickly, which definitely doesn’t make anything better in any fucking way oh god.
“Let’s pick out cards!” she says, making what is probably the most abrupt conversational handbrake turn in the entire history of the universe, and fairly flees towards the card display aisle.
conversational handbrake turn; I was so pleased when I came up with that description, LOL.
“Oh!” Megamind says.
They’ve been looking at cards (and very carefully not at each other) for five minutes in silence, so Roxanne is able to glance over at him without blushing too terribly much.
He’s smiling—almost laughing, and Roxanne finds herself smiling back even though she’s not sure of the joke.
He’s really cute and she really likes him.
He shows her a card with an umbrella and glittery raindrops on the front of it.
“Shower!” he says gleefully, as if the pun is the cleverest thing he’s ever heard.
Roxanne laughs, shaking her head, and reaches for the card.
Megamind liking puns is definitely dear to my heart. As is him not conforming to gender norms.
“And it’s pretty, too!” Megamind says.
Roxanne looks up at him again, and sees, with amusement, that there’s glitter sticking to his fingers.
“Yeah,” she says. “This one’s nice. Which one do you think for the wedding?”
“Oooh!”
Megamind turns to the card display again with every evidence of actual excitement.
Roxanne’s not surprised when he picks out the gaudiest card of the bunch—ivory colored, edged with lace, a wedding cake picked out on the front of it in rhinestones and imitation pearls.
Megamind’s ability to really throw himself into things and have fun is important to the story–as is the fact that Roxanne has trouble letting herself have fun.
(god. when did she get so—so boring?)
She leads the way to the register.
(was she ever actually not boring?)
“Can I pay for half of this?” Megamind asks.
“What? Roxanne says distractedly.
(maybe she was always this boring, maybe she just never noticed before)
Note that he says “Can I?” not “Should I?” or “Do you want me to?” This is something he wants to do.
“No, you don’t have to pay for anything, Megami—Mi.”
Megamind frowns.
“No,” he says, “that’s not—I’d like to.”
“What?” Roxanne says with an incredulous little laugh, “Why would you want to?”
“Well, I—I mean—” Megamind gestures with one hand, lowering his voice, “—the—wedding gift, at least, is supposed to be half from me, isn’t it? If we were actually—we would be buying it together, wouldn’t we, Miss Rit—Roxanne?”
If we were actually dating, he almost says, but can’t quite let himself.
“Yeah, but,” Roxanne says, “I’m not—it seems kind of unfair to make you go through all this and make you pay, too, Meg—ah—I mean—Mi.”
“You’re not making me do anything,” Megamind says in a forceful whisper. “I don’t understand why you keep—If you recall, I’m the one who suggested this, Miss Ri—Roxanne.”
“Only because I made you tell me your idea, Meg—damn it—Mi!”
“It was still my idea, Miss—fuck—Roxanne!”
Of course Roxanne would have difficulty using Megamind’s ‘fake’ name–she likes him; she wants this to be Megamind that she’s with. And Megamind would have trouble remembering that he’s allowed to use her first name.
“Okay, so we’re both really bad at this,” she says, “and we clearly need to practice arguing before we do it in front of other people.”
“I—I don’t want to argue,” Megamind says. “You don’t have to let me pay for any of it. I apologize; I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
He really wants to pretend that they’re actually dating, which is why he wants to pay for half. And he really doesn’t want to argue with her, or make her uncomfortable. He’s worried that she’s uncomfortable letting him pay for half because it would make this seem more like they’re actually dating.
Roxanne has no idea what he means by ‘uncomfortable’.
“I’m—I’m not—uncomfortable,” she says, “I just—I’m not going to make you go through all of—” she gestures, indicating the store, the cart, herself, “—this, and spend money on it, too.”
Hoooo boy, notice that she gestures to herself, there. She sees herself as a chore.
“Why—” Megamind’s hand flutter in a frustrated kind of way. “I told you, I want to do this. I’ve never—I’ve never gotten to do anything like this before.”
He’s struggling not to also say that he’s so excited to get to spend time with her.
“I’ve never exfoliated with a cheese grater before,” Roxanne says, mouth twisting, “that doesn’t mean it would be fun.”
Megamind makes a dismissive noise in the back of his throat and rolls his eyes.
“I assure you, Miss Ritchi, I’ve a very thorough working knowledge of torture and torment, and this is nothing like either of those things!”
Roxanne raises her eyebrows sardonically.
“Oh, have you exfoliated with a cheese grater before, then?” she asks.
“I’m not allowed to cook anymore,” Megamind says, giving her a look of exaggeratedly offended distain.
Roxanne gives a little laugh and makes a face at him, and he drops the pose. He half turns away, lips quirked in a small smile. He glances at her out of the corners of his eyes.
Roxanne is insulting and dismissive of herself, here, and Megamind turns it around and reassures her, and also deliberately makes her laugh.
“Are you really not having any fun?” he asks, his voice a little wistful. “Is there—something I could be doing differently?”
He wants, so badly, for Roxanne to enjoy spending time with him.
“No!” Roxanne says guiltily. “No, that’s—I—I am kind of having fun, actually, I just—”
She shakes her head. Megamind gives her a questioning look and she pulls a face.
“Nothing,” she says, “I’m being stupid. You can pay for half if you really want to, Megamind.”
She just feels like ‘having’ to spend time with her couldn’t really be a fun thing.
His face lights up like she’s the one who’s doing him a favor, and Roxanne’s heart does a stupid little flip.
He’s really sweet, and he does feel like she’s doing him a favor–allowing him the full experience of this.
(they’re halfway to the register line before she realizes she’s used his real name again)
Like I said, she really wants this to be Megamind that she’s with. She doesn’t want “Mi”, she wants Megamind.
Oh, but Highway to Hell is about going to literal, actual Hell, I’m pretty sure!
“one way ride”
“going down, party time”
“hey, Satan, paid my dues, playing in a rocking band”
“my friends are gonna be there, too”
I really think it’s a play on the old idea that ‘the devil has all the best tunes’, ‘rock n roll is the devil’s music’ and the tradition of linking musicians with the devil–the devil went down to Georgia and bet for Johnny the fiddler’s soul, there’s a legend that the musician Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads for the ability to play the blues, the song take me down by the pretty reckless is about the singer selling her soul to the devil for the ability to play the guitar. (these are just a few examples of this; there are more)
Highway to Hell is about going to hell and not being sorry about it–because that’s where all the good musicians are, and that’s where all the singer’s friends are.
Megamind playing “Highway to Hell” at that moment is, I think, him trying to send the message “I’m evil and I’m not sorry about it! I’m damned and I don’t care!”
❤ ❤ ❤ HEH I would love to be able to do that!
AHAHAHAHAHAAAaaaaaaa
but really it is a lot like that; this is one of the reasons Megamind feels so relatable to me.
I almost always feel driven to be working on something; I get restless and twitchy when I’m not; I feel it like a static hum. I have periods of hyperfocus and extreme productivity, too, during which I feel even more driven than usual, and everything just seems to flow quicker and easier and better. And I do enjoy it while I’m doing it–it’s not just ‘having written’ that I like, it’s the actual writing, too. (same goes for drawing/photomanipulations/various other art forms.)
((I do also go through periods of time of depression and exhaustion, where I can’t work on anything, and trying to work on things is extremely not enjoyable.))
setepenre-set 