Hot Tires. Hot Burgers

"Now I believe in ghosts."

"You know that I wouldn't lie."

"Did you ever love me, baby?"

"He's mine, you can't have him."

"It looked like he'd been crying."

"Is love just a form of delusion?"

"I gotta be careful of who I let in."

"It's all whiskey under the bridge."

"I'm getting better at being alone."

"Is it really worth all your dreams?"

"Trying to change you changed me."

"I want you so bad, it ain't even funny."

"Don't tell me you miss me, I don't care."

"Yeah, I'm the loneliest girl in the world."

"All we could ever really do is speculate."

"I've done my fair share of shit talkin' too."

"It's just me and me, and that's all I need."

"I'm tired of keeping my hands to myself."

"I had to call you to see what was all true."

"I don't have to navigate nobody's drama."

"I could go days without seeing someone."

"Did she break your heart like he did mine?"

"A few years ago, you'd have set me on fire."

"Ironic time of the year for you to disappear."

"They walk in the room and you feel the cold."

"You've got your version of how it went down."

"I'm happy to be the loneliest girl in the world."

"We're gonna ride this wave 'til it breaks, yeah."

"So tell me, what's a self-respecting girl to do?"

"But, baby, let me in and at least just let me try."

"I'd ride in on my high horse, you'd still be higher."

"I don't think you really know what you do to me."

"It's kinda hard to say what the trigger really was."

"It's cold as hell, and the work ain't gonna do itself."

"You got me shakin' my ass in my hot-pink shorts."

"Forever and always, yeah, that's what they all say."

"It may be a disaster, but it doesn't matter anyway."

"I tried to be your angel but you made it hell on me."

"I saw you down the bar, looked like you were crying."

"But I saw him last night, he said he's found the light."

"Put me on a poster of somebody who's living the life."

"All of the leaves, they were changing and so were you."

"Hands always getting cut from picking up the pieces."

"But I just got back in town and I'm over by your house."

"He's caused so much pain, but this time he's changed."

"Y'all don't need to worry 'bout what I might be missing."

"You're only gonna hurt yourself, holding out your hand."

"I'm not sure I can stand my heart getting broken, again."

"So much I never knew, now I can see right through you."

"I got too close and now I understand… now I understand."

"I don't have to act like I like all your friends or your mama."

"Hey, I know it's been a minute, hope I didn't wake you up?"

"Same old shit every weekend, everybody's looking the part."

"I wish that you were dead to me. You're better off a memory."

"I can't defend the way I've been or the shadows where I hide."

"Out there on the edge of the world, way past common sense."

"Pretty things that can't be held, can't return the love they felt."

"And if you tried to call, I wouldn't call you back even if I could."

"Are you still haunted by the way you couldn't look me in the eye?"

"You say you've always had to be so tough, but not in front of mе."

"I don't hate you… tried to make you into someone you couldn't be."

"But I still think of you sometimes and the flash of fear in your eyes."

"You'rе gonna have to duct tape it back together when it falls apart."

"Maybe I'm just naive, but I truly believe that he really means it this time."

"Gettin' all dressed up just to get knocked down in front of the whole town."

"You think you really know somebody, then they up and walk right out the door."

"'Cause you didn't even have the balls to tell me goodbye and look me in the eye."

magic? magic's not real.

the other night, we did something awful.

we don't know the truth.

we fought about it, and we fought some more, until finally i just… took off.

you. it was you in my dreams.

what were you two doing?

not everyone can appreciate the intricacies of a free-form jazz odyssey.

they did everything together. they were best friends.

now you're just showing off.

having a child means being scared for them 24/7 and doing it anyway. it's the whole damn job description.

something is wrong. something is very wrong.

i foolishly walked into a trap.

you can't do this alone. you need help, and i can help you.

look, i get it… you're scared. i am, too.

are we playing poker, or am i playing solitaire?

i'd been left for dead.

is that why you didn't go to ____'s funeral?

you know this is about the complete opposite of real magic.

come out, come out, wherever you are! you can't hide forever.

i'm sorry about everything.

it's not what you say. it's how you say it.

you drive like an old grandma.

i taught you everything you know. i didn't teach you everything i know.

i don't have a choice here.

we'll hide in the basement, like sensible people.

finally, a smile! i was starting to think you were incapable.

you should have seen me before the war.

i'll take what i can get.

you can tell me.

you went through something awful during the war. we all did.

don't just stand there!

she missed you. she talked about you all the time.

you know how i said there were no rules? actually, there's one rule.

she thinks she's smarter than me because she's got more college degrees.

you're gonna have to be brave.

can you feel that?

i'd give you a nasty look, but you've already got one.

whoever said i died?

this is no place for a kid.

what are you doing here? where are all your friends?

for a small price, of course.

is this place haunted?

well, i'm gonna drown my sorrows in some hot cocoa. you want some?

you've seen this code before?

you're lonely, huh?

you know, i didn't think this is how i was gonna die.

why won't you talk to me?

look, ____ drives me nuts. and he doesn't always smell so terrific. but he's gotten me out of more tough scrapes than i care to mention.

i thought you'd want this.

it's not safe for you here. i was wrong to ever think that it was.

okay, this is no time for jokes.

why can't you help us?

well, for a boy who loves words, you're sure at a loss for them.

raising the dead? now, that would be a trick.

you could stick it out. but no no, when the going gets tough, you get going right for the exit!

i'm gonna need your help on this one.

what are you doing here? i told you it's not safe.

well, what are we waiting for?

please don't make me butcher him.

go ahead, yell at me. call me some names.

just leave me alone, okay?

i like being your mom.

depends on what you mean by "bad." i'm nice, but i'm not that good.

i don't know the word yet, but thank you.

so… how are you making out?

maybe another time.

wow. that was really really terrible. i mean, just awful.

i just think it might be easier for you if you acted a little more… you know .... normal.

are you wearing a robe?

i can't do this alone.

you always were a lousy liar.

oh, come on. don't kill yourself before i've had a chance to meet you.

it's creepy that you know that.

i played it perfect. he suspects nothing.

you can eat cookies till you throw up, for all i care.

you're responsible for keeping a human child alive?

why are you always wandering around at night?

i see weird stuff out of the corner of my eye, and… i feel like… i almost feel like…

you're a coward.

seriously, are you almost done?

please. there must be some part of you that doesn't want this.

i was dead long before i died.

this is my fault.

we're all very proud of you.

you look like an insect. i mean that as the highest compliment.

i got hurt one time. pretty badly. and even though my outsides got better, my insides never did.

sometimes i get over-enthused. i'll admit that.

life is like a bicycle. to stay balanced, you've got to keep moving forward.

you can look that one up.

children make mistakes, they get in trouble. that's why they're children.

have you seen anything creepy?

no, we gotta do the responsible thing: lie to the kid.

oh, i slept peachy. like a baby. like a big, peachy baby.

you gonna saw a lady in half?

now you're just showing off.

your mom was my sister, so that makes you family.

you are indomitable.

calling that a poker face is an insult to faces.

look, i don't know how to take care of a kid.

i know something's wrong.

you've got to get up! you've got to get up right now!

i'd give anything to be with you again. you know that, right?

death's been good to him.

i just wish that i met you a long time ago.

if you tell anyone i was there, i'll break both your arms.

am i gonna be okay?

are you gonna axe murder me?

i've found that all one really needs in this world is one good friend.

i'll— i’ll make it up to you. please.

i think i'm smarter than you because i'm smarter than you.

i'm going to bed. you're welcome to stay up as long as you like.

i'm sorry you had to see that.

she looked up to you. she needed you. and now she's gone.

we just have to hold it together.

how come you left home?

this is me. i'm not brave.

here, let me help you with that.

there's very few problems in the world that can't at least be helped by a good chocolate chip cookie.

this is over.

i'm sorry you lost your family.

what the hell were you thinking?!

and no, to answer that look you're giving me, ____ and i aren't anything kissy-faced.

i learned from the best.

there must be something we're not thinking of…

i'm not gonna axe murder you.

"Woah......"

The globe was WARM to the touch. The  surface  of  the  globe  ripples  out  again from  where  Tim poked.  The  surrounding  area  became  slightly  more  detailed,  more  golden  ridges  formed  to  simulate  the  terrain  of  the  location.  In  tandem,  the  ceiling  zooms  in,  now  showing  that  specific  destination  from  the  sky.

Munkustrap  says  nothing  at  first.  He  didn't  really  bare  any  attention  to  the  mechanisms  working  as  intended;  he  was  used  to  it.  He  only  watched  Tim's  reactions  with  an  ADMIRING   smile.  It  is  quite  the  honor  to  show  another  person  something  so  MAGICAL  to  them.

After  enough  silence  had  passed,  he  spoke.  "  Let's  see  what  we  are  working  with  here.  "  Munkustrap  waves  his  hands  over  the  Globe,  commanding  the  ceiling hologram  to  zoom  in  even  more,  now  showing a  more  personal  view  through  the  tree  tops.  Looks  like  Tim  had  choosen  a  random  rainforest  somewhere.  Munkstrap  squinted,  CAUTIOUSLY. 

"  What  on  EARTH  is  that  creature  ?  "  Looked  like  a  little  monkey.

"Pft- heh! I think that's called a......pygmy marmoset....? Yeah? I think they're the world's smallest monkey.....?" Tim suggests after a few seconds.

All those afternoons falling asleep to Nation Geographic documentaries were really paying off now!

This was not the spaceship interior that Tim expected AT ALL. But he also couldn't imagine Mununstrap having anything else, once he saw it?

An impossible study, looking rather cozy if he was being honest. The grill cook looked around with a grin, curiosity leading him to the seeming centerpiece of the place. The massive desk with fancy glowing globe.

"  Uhm  .  .  .  Sure  !  I  suppose  you  could  call  it  that.  "  He  chuckles.  Munkstrap  walks  his  way  over  behind  the  desk  housing  the  globular  device.  He  takes  a  seat  and  POKES  the  globe.  It  ripples,  as  if  the  surface  was  momentarily  made  of  liquid.  With  each  wave  that  spreads  across  the  sphere,  more  and  more  recognizable  patterns  of  Earth's  continents  became  embedded  in  its  gold.  The  ceiling  also  changed,  and  now  showed  a  pretty  hologram  of  Earth  as  seen  from  space

"  This  is  what  controls  it.  See,  thats  where  we  are.  "  He  spins  the  globe  to  point  at  a  tiny  white  glowing  spec  marking  their  location.  "  You  can  pick  anywhere  on  here  to  go.  "  He  gestures  towards  the  globe,  offering  Tim  to  touch  it.

"Woah......"

Like, did he want that or was it just something that happened with Tim thinking it'd be a fun idea and snowballed from there?

Is there significance to Tim and Billie having noses/face markings colors other than the classic red?

Would Penny be considered attractive by clown standards since she looks the most like one with her face paint on???

Also, IDK I don't think a body suit be enough material to make 3 shirts for adults?

I totally believe their final look is the end result of a long game of 'Yes, And?' but I still wonder why Steve would roll with that??

"Oh, man! How did you DO that?!" He exclaims, not really expecting a proper answer but having to ask anyway. Steve never explained any of the stuff he did, after all.

" I read the manual. " Not really an ANSWER, but it was at least an acknowledgement. Soon the spinning ring around the base started to GROW. It rose like a shell around them, creating a COCOON of sorts. It was pitch black; the kind of black that made it hard to even know if your EYES were open.

The darkness didn't last long, because SUDDENLY the room they confided in glew with a warm golden light. Once their eyes adjusted, the room reveals itself to them. Instead of a cock pit youd expect in a science fiction movie, it was more like a regular ROOM, like a personal study, but with red curtain walls like a circus tent. There were fairy lights and book cases loaded with heavy novels and papers strung about. In the center, a desk with a golden globe, but the planet was blank; hologramming from the sphere, was a diagram of pretty stars and galaxies, none of which looked like the MILKY WAY.

" Make yourself at home. "

This was not the spaceship interior that Tim expected AT ALL. But he also couldn't imagine Mununstrap having anything else, once he saw it?

An impossible study, looking rather cozy if he was being honest. The grill cook looked around with a grin, curiosity leading him to the seeming centerpiece of the place. The massive desk with fancy glowing globe.

He needed to start taking runs in the morning again-

A small part of him is put out that the clown lets go of his hand.

The clown's confession makes sense, and Tim gives him this look that's a mixture of sympathy and understanding. When that hand comes up to pat his shoulder, the blonde reaches up to take hold of it once more. And gives a light squeeze.

"You're a good guy, Munk. I.....I get it. Really. And I mean....as long as it's just for a few hours, I don't mind taking a trip with you. We already left the truck....heh....so might as well continue? If you're okay with that...?"

He tries, smiling at the clown warmly.

A small breath from behind his teeth as his hand was taken once again, and SQUEEZED. It was odd, he felt like a CHILD being so excited to be called a GOOD GUY. He WAS a good guy; at least, he really was trying to be. It brought a smile to his face and he squeezed Tim's hand back.

" EXCELLENT ! Then I shall show you mine !! Mind your step. " Munk steps onto the platform, assiting Tim by pulling him up. He sings a little tune, golden notes visibly coming from his mouth magically. The craft reacted to the sound and started to BUZZ with life. It started to slowy rise off the ground.

The more the platform rose, the more the ring bordering around the floor started to SPIN, like it was starting up POWER. Wind picked up, blowing their hair and the dirt underneath.

"Oh, man! How did you DO that?!" He exclaims, not really expecting a proper answer but having to ask anyway. Steve never explained any of the stuff he did, after all.