Richard Ayoade's Disenchantmentplace

Chapter 45

As they floated away on the hot air balloon, Bean shouted back to Mora on the submarine.

Bean: (shouting) I love you, Mora!

They continued to drift higher into the sky.

Bean: (determined) Okay, grab the rope and pull down. Teamwork makes the dream work.

Zog: (reflective) You know what was good teamwork? You and that Mora there. I swear, you two are like the lady army I never had.

Bean: (with frustration) Yeah, I mean, it just sucks that every time we get together, some jerk comes along and yoinks us apart. Jealous mermaids and a freak show owner. Mora does it! Fate!

Y/n(Alva), who had been quietly observing the conversation, finally chimed in, his voice filled with a mixture of wisdom and humor.

Y/n(Alva): (smirking) Fate, my friends, is the true jerk of all.

Bean: (nodding in agreement) You're right, Y/n. So, how do you deal with it? Who do you punch?

Y/n(Alva): (chuckling) Well, you see, sometimes you don't punch anyone. You let fate deal its own punches. But when you do punch, make sure it's someone who serves you well or those who easily irritate you. It's better to be loved and lost than never to have been loved at all.

Zog: (nodding) Yeah, sometimes you're deeply in love, and then somehow, you're pulled apart.

Y/n(Alva): (sympathetic) I know what you mean. My kingdom doesn't even approve of real love, just arranged marriages and political alliances.

Bean: (looking at Y/n(Alva)) That sounds awful.

Y/n(Alva): (smiling) Well, it is, but it brought me here, to new adventures and new friends. And I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Bean: (grinning) That's the spirit! We'll face fate together, no matter how many jerks it throws at us.

Freckles: Don't worry, Zog, I won't leave you.

Freckles the dummy hopped on the hot air balloon.

Zog: Well, Freckles, you'll save the day.

Bean: Freckles will not be saving any days. And that's final. The mentally stable people in this gondola have spoken.

Freckles: Ooh! Gondola. Fancy word for princess fancy pants.

Bean playfully held Freckles, but Y/n(Alva) couldn't shake the feeling that Freckles was up to something. Without hesitation, Y/n(Alva) dropped Freckles overboard.

Bean: Thanks for that, Y/n.

Bean yelled down to Freckles as he floated away, "Have fun drowning!"

Freckles, unfazed, responded, "I'll have you know, wood floats!" as he floated on his back, leaving everyone in the gondola amused by his resilience.

Bean: So, Y/n, tell me more about your adventures in Steamland. I heard you were quite the filmmaker.

Y/n(Alva): Oh, you heard about that, huh? Well, I dabbled in various types of films, from the comically absurd to the, well, let's say, naughtier side of things.

Zog: Naughty films, you say? Tell me more.

Y/n(Alva): Well, you see, there was this one film called 'The Steamy Steamland Affair.' It was about a group of misfit inventors who accidentally built a contraption that, well, caused quite the chaos.

Bean: Sounds like a typical day in Dreamland.

Y/n(Alva): And then there was 'A Night at the Saucy Saloon.' It was a wild-west-themed film with a lot of, uh, adult humor.