UPDATED 7/18/2022
After a nearly two-year hiatus due to writer's block, I've returned to my story with a renewed sense of vigor. It was fun picking up where I left off. I've grown a bit as a writer. It was nice to review my old work: see what I did right; see where I can improve. For the most part, I seem pleased with the results, but I did some tinkering: I fixed a few typos here and there and added a few bits of color. Overall, the storyline stays the same. The only thing new you might notice when re-reading old chapters apart from improved grammar are the horizontal lines and the author's notes. I thank "Punisher's Apprentice" and "TheWangY" for taking time out of their busy schedules to beta-read my work and for suggesting that I add commentary in bold to help the reader understand my reasoning and encourage interaction. I greatly appreciate your help.
The center of my story is the Annual Spring Gala.
The Park just turned 100. Maellard, for once, invites his staff to attend the Annual Spring Gala as his guests of honor. This event takes place towards the end of season 4 but before Margaret gets her acceptance letter to Milton University.
I chose that timeframe, as I wanted to explore the Mordecai x Margaret relationship. In my view, the canon fails to do it justice: The series spent 3.5 seasons building up to it and 3 more seasons teasing them getting back together. Yet, only a handful of episodes in season 4 feature them as a couple. We know the relationship got serious at some point: Season 5 kicks off with Mordecai finding her dirty sweater in his laundry pile— seems odd for it to be there if she never spent the night. Yet, we know little of the details of how the relationship unfolded, as it was so compressed. In contrast, they spent 1.5 seasons on Mordecai x CJ. Seems ironic to me; it's one of the dominant themes in the series. Thus, I was inspired to write this tale as a means to fill this gap.
Having worked in the nonprofit sector and being a member of several professional societies, I've worked and attended a few galas myself. I figured it would be an excellent opportunity to showcase the ensemble cast and their personalities yet still have room to explore some of the canon ships in a romantic setting.
Since I am writing fanfiction, I am not bound by the rules of Cartoon Network censors. Thus I went for an "M" rating in the interest of realism. The characters will smoke weed, drink real beer as opposed to "soda," have sex, use profanity, and do pretty much anything else you'd expect from two slacking 25-year stoners working at a park in a surreal universe that is anything but regular. Given the adult themes of JG Quintel's prequel ("2 in the AM/PM") and sequel ("Close Enough"), I feel my choice is justified. That said, I will try to stick to canon personality as much as possible, so expect plenty of "YOU'RE FIRED!", "GOOD SHOW", "MY MOM" and "STOP TALKING!" to go alongside the S/B/A/P/F/D
I wrote this as a multipart fan episode, but in narrative format, so there will be plenty of dialogue, some tracking shots, and hopefully a montage. So expect the pacing to be different. For verb conjugation, I used a simple convention: "past" forms in flashbacks and "present" forms in the present.
For ships, expect to see the usual pairings you'd find in Seasons 4/5:
- Mordecai x Margaret
- Starla x Muscleman
- Rigby x Eileen
Plus plenty of screentime for the core "Regular Show" cast such as Benson, Fives, Maellard, Skips, and Pops. I even threw in some important cameos for some of my favorite minor characters.
One last thing, a quick synopsis/bumper to get us started:
It's the 100th Anniversary of the Park's founding! In celebration of this momentous occasion, Mr. Maellard invites the Park staff to attend Spring Gala as his honored guests. To ensure things go smoothly, he put Benson in charge. Can Benson keep it together, or will chaos ensue? Benson isn't the only one with ambitions at the Gala. Mordecai has hopes of his own to fulfill. Will this event prove to be the lucky break he needs to take his relationship with Margaret out of the friendzone and onto the next level? Of course, that assumes she says yes to being his date first. Meanwhile, Rigby learns that the mayor's son, an old nemesis from high school, will be attending. Can he keep his cool for the sake of the Park, or will he risk everything for a chance at revenge?
Please read and review. Feedback is greatly appreciated, especially as it pertains to characterization and dialogue. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!
~ J. HILL
