POV it’s two am & you’re a twenty-something washed up millennial desperately trying to find the fanfic you originally read on your shitty ipod touch as a high school freshman
Howdy howdy, this is my official first upload ever on toobyoo ~holy crap~
Anyway uh, sketchy wip is sketchy and messy. This is mostly uploaded as a test and a preview, if the title doesn't make that obvious already, but yeah, that's the explanation for sketchy messy quality of the animatic? PMV? idk
To whoever few people watching this pls explain to me what's the difference between a PMV and an animatic, advanced ty.
This WILL be finished. At some point. Idk, maybe subscribe if you wish.
ACTUAL EXPLANATION AND DESCRIPTION -
Norma-ler thing + AU/theory that she and oncer were childhood friends and such.
Also sorry for the off-timing and messy handwriting, like I mentioned already, this is still just a test/wip :v
plus i got lazy with trying to sync things at movie maker at the end lmao
Follow-up headcanon to that apron one: his old worn-out apron was the one he always wears when cooking with his dad.
Bonus Norma-ler with special thanks and inspiration from @tadashi-ler: when Norma ends up wanting to take up cooking lessons from him, he wants to give her the pink apron that was supposed to be for his mom, seeing as it had more effort and weeks of saving up of allowance put into it for buying the fabrics and stuff. So he felt that would be a better gift for Norma. But she insists that she have his old one, saying that she sees more love from it. Though slightly reluctant at first, Once-ler ends up trusting the old apron to her anyway, because all the memories and love he held so dearly and associated with that apron are all something that he would entrust to her because he loves and cares for her that much.
Lost And Still Missing - 2: A Dustland Fairytale Beginning
Fandom: The Lorax
*Norma-ler/Once-lerXNorma fanfic :'^)
Track the tag #LASM fic-ler or #LASM ficler to keep updated on Tumblr!!
You can also read it here on Wattpad
and here on Fanfiction.net!!
First Chapter here
~+~
It was a bright and sunny morning as usual in the Truffula Valley. The Barbaloots were out and about, gorging themselves on the delicious truffula fruits. And the Humming Fishes sang and danced to and fro in the long, flowing, and pristine crystal clear river. The Swomee Swans frolicked in the sky, and would occasionally come to roost on top of the fluffy truffula treetops.
The wind always carried a soft gentle breeze. It was calm and soothing to the soul, with the sweet scent of butterfly milk mixed along the way. The sky was pure and blue, and the clouds up above looked very similar to cotton candy, and they give you the impression that you could just reach up and touch them. And let's not forget the soft, colorful pink and orange truffula tufts lining the hills and mountains as far the eye can see.
It was yet another peaceful day in this paradise, and everyone within it didn't have single care in the world...
"Wooo-hoo!"
...And that included a certain young woman, speeding down from a fairly high hill riding a wooden sled of sorts that worked even with no snow. Her own little joy and laughter filled the air as she expertly leaned left and right, avoiding all the truffula trees down the way. Her dark brown eyes sparkling with excitement as adrenaline rushed through her system, the wind brushing fast past against her.
"N...! ...a!"
"What!?" the young woman looked back towards the voice, spotting her blonde little friend from a distance frantically pointing and waving her hands.
"Look! Out!" her friend shouted at the top of her lungs in exasperated breath.
But it didn't do much good, by the time the young woman had noticed the rocky obstacle on the way, she was already too near to swerve away, and she was coming down fast. So she got up and promptly jumped off her makeshift sled, the latter crashing onto the rocks and having bits and pieces of it breaking and flying off.
The young woman in the meanwhile landed square on her feet on the grassy ground, clean and unscathed.
"Whew! Well, that was fun!" she exclaimed proudly, running her hand through her curly auburn hair, only to have it get stuck mid-way.
"Speak for yourself, Norma!" the woman in a red plaid flannel and denim overalls from before commented loudly, jogging slowly up to her before stopping to catch her breath. "Aren't you... huff... aren't ya a little too hot-blooded to be a florist?" she added, panting heavily.
Norma simply let out a good laugh as she got to successfully untangle her hand from her hair, replying, "Oh, Carmen, don't be such a stick in the mud! Me being a florist has absolutely nothing to do with how hot or cold my blood is; Also, you should've gotten your own sled so we could've rode down the hill together!"
"Oh, and get myself nearly killed?" Carmen replied with a slightly apathetic-but mostly tired-look on her face, crossing her arms, and side-glancing at the sled's carnage, "No thanks. I'd rather read a book, y'know, so can we go home yet, please?"
"What? No way! Come on, we barely just got here!" Norma said as she interlocked her arm with Carmen's, then tugged on her slightly.
Carmen rolled her eyes at her saying, "Well yeah, but I'm already super tired from running and screaming after you,"
"Pfbt, well nobody asked you to!" Norma shot back, and the two started to slowly walk on forward while talking and bantering along the way.
The two had been fairly good friends for a while now. And they were both contrasts in all the possible ways. Norma was a pretty small person, but quite fierce and jumpy and just full of energy; and she lived for adventure of all sorts and trying new things. Carmen on the other hand, would rather gladly prefer the quiet life just reading a book all day if she could. She was much taller than her chubby little friend, but for some reason she would always be the one getting dragged around into Norma's endeavors. But they looked out for each other nonetheless.
They stopped to rest by the riverbank after a while, and as Carmen was sitting by the riverside admiring the humming fishes, Norma opted to climb up one of the trees to get her hands on some fruits to eat.
"Norma. For God's sake, please get down from that tree before you hit your head on the ground," Carmen told her in a sternly monotone voice, not even glancing.
"Nah, I'll be fine, don't worry about it!" she replied while hanging upside-down on the tree and grabbing a couple truffruits. "I've done this like a billion times already, and these truffula fruits are just absolutely worth it!"
By this time, a couple barbaloots were starting to gather around their little commotion, and Carmen was up to her feet, looking up at Norma with an "I'm so done for today" look on her face. Which is pretty much her expression eighty-five percent of the time she hangs around with a girl like her friend up here. "Norma, please. You're wearing a skirt."
"Relaax, I've got shorts underneath!" Norma told her as she tossed a fruit at her worryful companion, then proceeded to jump down from the tree in a somersault fashion, then took a bite from the fruit she held.
Carmen couldn't do anything else but smile, rolling her eyes, and taking a bite from her share as well.
The two then continued to walk on farther, with a bunch of the valley's creatures following them or watching them close by.
It had become the two women's routine to walk around the forest by now during the weekends on their day-offs. Maybe even help water or fertilize some of the trees and play around with the animals. Not many people really come here, so not much changes when they visit. Norma had practically memorized most of the places they've been to, so she's become fairly familiar with their surroundings.
The two would usually stay till sunset before heading back home to town. It's like their little hangout custom now. After Norma pulls off some "life-threatening stunts" according to Carmen, they would just idle on by in this little paradise, free from worry and seemingly hidden from the bustling and busy world around it.
Until one day, during their next visit...
"Carmen... are you seeing...?"
"Yeah, I see it girl,"
Both of them had been standing in silent shock for a good minute now, staring at the first lone tree stump they've ever encountered. A few animals had gathered around their feet as well with just as much concern circling their thoughts.
"That's... weird... No one's ever chopped down any of the trees here before..." Norma noted quietly.
Carmen pursed her lips and took a deep breath in and out before replying, "Well, face it girl - it was bound to happen at some point,"
"Don't be like that!" Norma told her, placing her hands on her hips, "There's... there has to be something we can do...!" Norma added determinedly, pounding her fist against her open palm.
Carmen sighed and swiped her hand aloofly against the air, "Oh come on, Norma, what is there we can do to help, anyway?" After which she started to walk off, "It's not like we can get those industry people to stop, 'might as well just accept the bitter reality of it all," she added sourly.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" Norma exclaimed as she ran to catch up with her fairly disappointed-looking friend. "You can't just be all cynical and give up like that!"
"Oh please, Norma; this is the real world, nothing good ever lasts in the real world. Why else do you think I prefer to read a book?" Carmen replied while kicking a pebble along the way.
"Well I'm disappointed that you would just pack up and quit just so easily without even trying!" Norma shot back, practically stomping her feet at this point.
"Try to do what, Norma?"
"To at least try to keep this place protected from the 'real world'! " Norma said with quote-unquote signs. To which Carmen just clicks her mouth and quickly dismisses her off, striding away.
Norma quickly tried to catch up with her bitter companion, continuing her rant while gesturing around the colorful forest around them, "So what? Is that it? Are you just gonna give up and quit like usua-oof!" she yelped shortly after bumping into Carmen, who had now stopped mid-track and appeared to be staring blankly at something. The animals following behind them ended up bumping into Norma too from the abrupt stop.
"Hey, what's with the sudden...!?" the feisty redhead began, before trailing off and following the blonde's stare, "...Oh."
In front of them stood a house of sorts. But it was unique, in a way that it seemed to be held up in the same manner as a tent would be.
"Is... that a house, or... a tent?" Norma thought out loudly with her head tilted to the side, observing the curious structure despite the circumstances already at hand.
"I dunno, but one thing's for sure," Carmen said blandly as she walked up to the other side of the house, with Norma and the other animals following suit. "...This is our culprit right here,"
Norma gasped as there lay on the ground, just right next to the house itself, the fallen truffula trunk. The tufts appearing to have been harvested, as only a few, gloomy, lifeless strands of trufts remained on the top end of the fallen tree.
"This is horrible!" Norma exclaimed, kneeling on the ground near the tree, grief written across her face as a couple barbaloots went up to her. "Why would anyone chop off a tree just to gather the tufts...?" she muttered as Carmen went over to the front of the house to investigate further.
"Well, apparently whoever set up this house-tent thought it was a good idea," Carmen called out as she stood by the front door, "Come 'ere,"
Norma slowly got up, carrying a small barbaloot in her arms, and went on over to where Carmen was.
"...'The... Once-ler'...?" Norma read out from the signboard hanging by the door. "What the heck's a Once-ler!?"
"Probably the company's name or whatever..." Carmen replied nonchalantly.
"Well they must really suck at coming up with names then," Norma remarked scornfully under her breath, "That's the most ridiculous company name I've ever heard!"
Carmen chuckled slightly at Norma's blunt remarks, "Heh, well, whatever the distasteful name choice..." she then turned to Norma with a serious, but somewhat forlorn look, "You do know that there's nothing we can do to stop 'em... right?"
Norma stared back at her cynical companion and replied, "W-Well..." she paused, hugging the small barbaloot a bit tighter, "We can always try, Carmen. And I will! For the sake of this beautiful forest, and for all of the animals that live in it!" The redhead declared proudly, earning soft little cheers from the creatures around them.
Carmen gave out a deep sigh, "Is there really no convincing you otherwise...?" she asked, almost sounding as if it were a rhetorical question.
"Nope!" Norma asserted, chin raised up and full of determination.
Carmen let out another sigh before complying with her friend's endeavors once again, "Alright, alright... But since nobody's home at the moment anyway, can ya at least come with me back at my place for a bit? I have something I need to do first,"
"Oh! Well, alrighty then!" Norma chirruped as she placed down the baby barbaloot, telling him in a gentle voice that they'll be back soon.
As the two were on the way back to town, Carmen couldn't help but note Norma's unusually high concern for something. That something right now being the preservation of the truffula valley. And when she says "unusually high" - that's actually saying something.
"Hey Norma?"
"Yes~?" Norma replied in a sing-song voice, skipping along the way as Carmen walked aloofly with her hands in her pockets.
"Why do you care so much about what happens to this place anyway?" Carmen asked.
"What place? You mean the valley?" Norma said, looking at her companion.
"Yeah, I mean... don't get me wrong, but-you're usually so... how do I put this?" Carmen paused, waving her hand in the air as she thought up of a fitting term, "Complacent. Or... calm. About, y'know, matters-big matters that you know you really don't have much control over,"
That made Norma stop to think for a bit. She was right though. Whenever things seem too out of reach for her, Norma would just let it be on her own. She was adventerous and ready to do anything, sure, but even she knows where her limits are. And stopping the potential deforestation of a valley sounds like the kind of matter that even she can't prevent in the long run. What power does she have against all those big-time industry companies, anyway?
And yet...
"It's because I love that place, Carmen," Norma replied in a soft and sure tone, with a small hint of happiness lingering in it.
She smiled a small smile and added, regaining her fiesty confidence, "That valley is important to me. And that's why we're gonna try to do everything we can in our power to protect it!"
Carmen simply smiled, noting how amazingly passionate Norma could be for something she truly cares about, "I see..."
And after which, they fell quiet, walking along the grassy path.
When they arrived back in the usually quiet town of Greenville, the two girls couldn't help but notice the rather... cheerier aura about the town. Almost everyone seemed to be huddled in groups, talking and laughing about something. Or in this case, someone.
"Hey, what's all the commotion about?" Norma asked a group of teenage girls they encountered along the way.
"Oh, there was some guy playing his guitar around the center of town just a while ago!" one of the girls replied, still giggling.
Her friend decided to chime in with a few more details, "Yeah! He was hilarious! He sang this pretty ridiculous song trying to sell this weird thing or whatever!"
"Some kids started throwing tomatoes at him, and everyone around just kinda followed suit, you should have seen it!" added another.
"Isn't that kind of mean...?" Norma muttered, sounding a bit concerned for whomever that poor fellow was.
"Oh come on, you know how this town works with new and eccentric people," Carmen whispered to her with a disinterested, deadpan expression on her face.
"Hey, come on, with how that guy carried himself, he was practically asking for it!" the first girl told them.
"Yeah, I mean, really? That... that theedie-mahookie? Who would buy that? It's just some stupid thick scarf that doesn't even look good!" the second one added in a scoffing manner.
"It was kinda too bad, though... he was a crummy salesman, but he was pretty hot!" one of the other girls teetered, making the whole group roar in laughter before walking off.
"...Aaand, that's about one minute of my life I'll never get back," Carmen remarked coldly as she looked at her left hand, checking her nonexistent watch, "Let's go, Norma," she called out as she started to walk off to their destination, and Norma followed suit without another word.
When they arrived at Carmen's place, she told Norma to just wait outside since she won't be long.
The redhead then went to take a seat by the nearest bench, remembering the first time she arrived in town herself. It was a fairly quiet town; a bit isolated from all the other bustling cities and the like, but it had every basic need you'd, well, need. The townspeople in the meanwhile, were, well, quite the unruly crowd. Most were cold or uncaring towards new people, but they would eventually warm up to you as time passes on. Norma guessed that was just how things were around here.
Just then, the sound of a vase crashing nearby pierced the air, causing Norma to wake from her thoughts, making her literally jump from her seat and inevitably bump onto the passerby walking in front of her.
"Ow!" both parties yelped in unison.
"Hey, watch it!" the other person said in a very irritated tone.
"Sorry!" Norma immediately apologized sincerely.
But it seemed as though the young man before her wasn't having that. "Look before you leap next time, shortie," he muttered under his breath in a condescending manner.
"What was that, buddy?!" Norma exploded as she looked up-and she really did have to look up-at the very tall, thin man before her, "I'm short, but not deaf! And I said I was sorry, bub! I don't think I like your crummy little attitude!"
"Oh who cares what you think? Don't whine around like some stinky baby, lady," the young man replied, his arms crossed and his apathetic stare not meeting that of the furious redhead. "It's not like anyone would care what you think around here..." he added that last part rather bitterly.
Of course, that response just made Norma all the more furious. "And just who the heck do you think you are, huh?! Just because you're so bitter about hell knows why, doesn't give you an instant free pass to be some stuck-up prick!"
"Look, I just had a nasty day today, alright!?" the young man snapped back through gritted teeth, and deep, bright blue eyes were now glaring down at her, but she did not shrink down one bit.
The young man leaned back and took a deep breath, then started rubbing his forehead. His eyebrows were furrowed heavily, and he was muttering something incoherent to himself. This made Norma stop for a bit, and she took this silence as an opportunity to take a closer look at the man.
His clothes appeared to have red stains in various spots, almost as if they were thrown or splattered there then just hastily brushed off of him. He wore a very thick-looking pink scarf around his neck, and there was what appears to be a black and white electric guitar strapped around his shoulder and back.
"Oh... you're... you're that new guy everyone's been talking about..." Norma said, her anger beginning to subside.
The young man took another deep breath before replying, waving his hands about in a mocking manner, "Yeah, you must've missed it, woo-hoo, meet the new town fool, am I right?"
He then kept his head low and crossed his arms again, biting his lower lip.
"I'm sorry," Norma said in a softer and gentler tone.
The young man's composure seemed to loosen a bit as he shot a surprised stare towards the young woman, "...What?"
"I'm sorry, y'know? On behalf of what everyone else... how everyone else treated you... I'm really sorry for that..." she added, staring back at the young man with sincere, dark brown eyes.
"I..." This seemed to have caught the man at a loss for words, and he fumbled over what to say before replying coherently, "It's... alright, you really didn't do anything, and... none of that's your fault..." he said, breaking off his stare, taking his fedora off and running a hand through his soft-looking black hair.
"I'm the one who should be sorry... I, uh, shouldn't have taken all my anger out on you..." he added in a quiter tone.
"Apology accepted." Norma said with a fairly proud-looking smile. "Do you... wanna take a seat?" she then asked, gesturing to the bench behind her.
The young man simply went and sat down next to her, landing down with exhaustion and exasperation, all rolled into one as he buried his face into his hands. After which Norma sat down afterwards. By God does this man have long legs, she thought to herself, noting how his knees were already bent whilst her feet just about touches the ground.
She shakes that thought off for now and decided to call the young man's attention, "Hey,"
The other responded and looked up slightly.
"I heard that you did a bit of a performance with your guitar or something,"
"Oh. Well, yeah, I did..." he replied, lifting his head up a little higher, "I don't even know why everybody hated me... I mean... come on, my skills can't be that horrible, can it? I've been playing for years!" he continued with a slight chuckle, a small, rueful smile forming on his face as he glanced at his newfound acquaintance.
Norma giggled slightly, "Well... the people here are a pretty unruly crowd... they don't take to new... unique things lightly with open arms... nor much of an open mind," she explained.
"Is that so..." the young man muttered, looking down once again.
"But! Hey!" Norma piped up, mustering a reassuring smile, "Y'know, maybe after some time, and... y'know, patience and effort... I bet the town'll warm up to you eventually! I mean, that's how things kinda worked out for me when I first came here!"
This made the young man's eyes sparkle with hope, and a big smile made its way across his face, "Really?"
"Yeah!" Norma affirmed him, even though she herself wasn't exactly too sure if what she was saying would be true for his case.
"I mean... that's always been this crazy town's pattern! Why else would it be different for you?" she added, trying to reassure not only her companion, but also herself.
"Oh man! That's such a relief to hear!" the young man exclaimed, jumping up from his seat and stretching his long arms up into the air. Then he placed his hands onto his hips and declared proudly, "Just you wait, ol' Greenville; someday soon, me and my thneed'll take you all by storm! Haha!"
Then he turned to face Norma, his big, proud grin disappearing slowly as a sincere and thoughtful look replaced it.
"Um... thanks," he said in a soft voice, then flashed her a small, grateful smile.
Norma gave him a smile back, "You're welcome."
The two of them exchanged sincere looks with each other for a brief moment, before being interrupted by a mule neighing loudly a short distance away from them, calling their attention.
The young man let out a rueful sigh, uttering the name "Melvin" under his breath. He then turned to face Norma, gesturing towards the mule saying, "I uh... gotta go now, I guess,"
"Friend of yours?" Norma replied, raising a brow.
"Travelling companion," he stated. After which the mule neighed once more, biting onto the nearest topiary it could find its teeth on by the town square.
"H-Hey hey hey! Melvin! Don't eat that!" the young man shouted as he raced towards his so-called travelling companion, who had now begun to munch on the once perfectly cube-shaped topiary.
"Oh come on! We don't want this town hating us more than it already does for crying out loud!" Norma could hear him yell as he reached the black-furred mule, yanking it away from the leaves to prevent any more further damage, earning a short chortle from her.
"So," Carmen suddenly began, who was now standing right next to Norma and effectively calling her attention, making her jump for the second time around already.
"Who's the new guy?" Carmen continued in a bland tone of voice.
"Oh? That guy? Uh..." Norma stuttered, looking slightly flushed in the cheeks, glancing at the lanky man arguing with a wagon mule not too far away from them.
"The new town clown, I'm guessing?" Carmen continued for her.
"Uh, yep!" Norma confirmed aloofly, still looking at her newly met acquaintance from afar with amusement as the mule snatched his fedora away from him with its mouth, and downright refusing to let go as the young man struggled to yank his hat back.
The two looked on for a short while before Carmen spoke up once again.
"He's an asshole."
Norma couldn't help but laugh, "What?"
"He's an asshole; I heard you two's argument from inside my house, y'know," Carmen explained.
"Oh that? Well. Yeah. He is kind of an asshole," Norma replied with a slight chuckle, "But... I don't think he's a bad guy... y'know, in general,"
"Uh-hunh," Carmen hummed nonchalantly. "Whatever you say, flower girl," she added with a hint of a teasing tone.
Norma placed both her hands on her hips and looked up at her friend, "And just what the heck was that supposed to imply there, missy?"
"Oh, nothing..." Carmen replied with a small playful grin, rolling her eyes.
"Pfsht, would you stop that?" Norma said, punching her friend lightly by the arm. "We barely just met, jeez..."
"Yeah, but if he's staying in town for a while, I know just how flirty you're gonna get with him,"
"Hey! A girl's gotta strut her stuff every now and again, y'know?" Norma replied, striking a pose, making Carmen laugh at her.
"Oh by the way, I kinda broke Nana's vase, so you gotta go help me find a replacement of sorts for it," Carmen then told her.
"You what!?" Norma exclaimed, remembering the sound of porcelain crashing earlier, "How the heck did you break it!? And more importantly-how are we gonna find us a replacement!?"
"Oh just chill first, will you? I accidentally knocked it over while I was looking for something,"
"And as for replacing it!?"
"Pfsh, we just gotta find a vase just the same size as it to fill up the missing space; Nana won't notice the difference,"
Norma gave Carmen a deadpan expression, "And what about the money for it?"
Carmen breathed in through her teeth, "Yeeaah... we'll talk about that when we get there, yeah?"
"Oh that's always the case with you, isn't it!" Norma exclaimed as she pushed her playfully, and the two girls laughed.
And as the redhead's eyes glanced back to the direction of the town square, she caught the young man, who had now successfully retrieved his fedora, looking at them from where he stood. But as he and Norma made short eye contact, he immediately retracted his gaze from them, turning away and pulling Melvin along with him as they slowly left the town.
"So that was how you met gramps?"
Ted inquired, to which Grammy Norma simply gave a small nod, smiling with her face cupped in between her hands as she told the story like a little girl lost in her daydreams.
"Did you two ever get close after that though?" Audrey eagerly prompted.
"Well-" Grammy was about to reply, before being interrupted by Mrs. Wiggins bringing in their meal.
"Heey kiddos, it's chowtime!" she declared proudly, placing four soup bowls on the table and noticing that the two 'kiddos' looked rather upset.
"Oh! Was I interruptin' somethin'?" she continued, "Was Mom telling you kids one of her fantasy stories again?"
"Umm... kinda?" Ted replied meekly, shrugging his shoulders.
"A story, but... not exactly fantasy," Audrey chimed in.
"Well whatever the case, y'all can continue it after we eat, m'kay?" Mrs. Wiggins said, taking her seat right next to her mom.
As they were eating their meal, Audrey piped up, restating her earlier query, "So... wait, you two must've gotten closer after that, right? I mean, you obviously know more about him, don't you...?"
Grammy Norma simply gave a small chuckle, "Oh deary, that meeting doesn't even cover up half of our relationship,"
"So you'll be telling us more stuff, right?" Ted chimed in. To which his grandma simply gave him a small nod.
"If you kids don't mind, that is - I might babble on without noticing it, y'know,"
"No, of course not!" "Not at all!" the two said in unison.
In which Ted's mother took quick glances in-between the two parties, "What y'all going on about now? And who's this person that y'all are asking Mom about?" she asked, raising a brow.
"Umm..." Ted stuttered for a brief moment, thinking what would be the right words to say. That is, until Grammy replied bluntly on her own.
"Oh, just about the Once-ler, dearie," she said, surprising the two a little.
"Ohh that story, alrighty then," Mrs. Wiggins replied casually, surprising the two further.
"Mom. You've heard Grammy's story about gr-about the Once-ler before?" Ted inquired.
"Yeah, of course I have! He's that guy that supposedly came and chopped down all the trees or whatever despite all the consequences he knows that'll happen; your gramma likes telling that story a lot to me since I was a kid, y'know," his mother replied, twirling her spoon around.
"O-Oh..." Ted mumbled.
"But... did she tell you everything there was to tell, Mrs. Wiggins...?" Audrey suddenly asked, getting the feeling that she didn't know the whole story.
"What else is there to tell about? It's just some fairytale mom made up, ain't it?"
Ted and Audrey immediately glanced at each other.
"But, Mom..." Ted started, to which his Grammy started twiddling her fingers and pouting innocently, as if she already knew what would happen next.
"We met Mr. Once-ler," Audrey continued.
"Grammy was telling us about how she knew gramps-er, him. He was the one who gave me that seed; he's the friend I've been visiting every now and then," Ted explained further.
His mother looked very surprised, and, well, speechless, in disbelief to say the least. And after shooting a glare towards her guilty-looking mother for any confirmation, all she could muster for a rebuttal was, "What!?"
"Because when a guy does something stupid once, well, that's because he's a guy.
But when he does the same stupid thing twice... that's usually to impress some girl."
*Norma-ler/Once-lerXNorma fanfic :'^)
(Track the tag #LASM fic-ler to keep updated on Tumblr!!)
You can also read it here on Wattpad
and here on Fanfiction.net!!
~+~
The thumping sound of light footsteps could be heard, making their way quickly down the flight of stairs in a certain household.
The footsteps belonged to a particular young boy, who raced and rushed from one side to the other, fixing his dark brown hair with his hands as he searched hastily on each nook and cranny for his belongings. His dark chocolate-brown eyes darting to and fro, eyeing each item in front of him.
"Mooom!! Have you seen my backpack?" he then called out after seemingly running around for thirty minutes.
Sitting at the dining table, a fairly middle-aged woman holding a coffee mug replied, "Last time I checked, you left it in your room, and I have nothing else to do with it!" She told him with a rueful yet bemused sigh, stirring her drink.
"I already checked my room a hundred times!!" Ted groaned, raising his face to the ceiling.
"Try checking again, sweetie," his mom prompted before taking a sip.
Ted let out a loud, tired sigh before starting off to head back up to his room again.
"Alright fin--aH!?" the young boy exclaimed, jumping back in shock due to the fact that a certain sneaky old lady was now standing right in front of him.
She chuckled and held out a black rucksack with both her hands in front of her, "Looking for this, dearie?"
Ted was rubbing his chest with his hand, trying to calm down his heart, "Oh. Grammy... Shoulda known it was you," he said in a slightly exasperated voice. He never could really get used to his Grammy's sudden pop-ups. He then took the rucksack from her hands, mustering up a small yet questioning smile, "Um, thanks?"
His smile shifted however when he noticed that his bag felt somehow heavier. He opened it up to check what was inside and took out a bag of marshmallows that hadn't been there before. He glanced back at her with the same questioning appearance.
She chuckled again and replied, "Well, you're going to see him again after all this time aren't you, why not bring a housewarming gift while you're at it?"
"Heh. Yeah, thanks Grammy," he said as he returned the pack of marshmallows into his bag, zipping it and slinging it on his back.
"Well, I'll be heading out now, bye Mom, bye Grammy, catch you all later!!" Ted declared as he raced out the door and hopped onto his scooter, driving out into the streets.
His Grammy walked out to the doorway, waving goodbye to her grandson, and she looked on as he sped through the streets, greeting everyone that he met along the way. And when he was no longer in sight, she then retreated back into their house, closing the door with a wistful expression on her face.
Meanwhile, Ted was zipping through town on his scooter, exchanging good morning's with some of the people he saw along the way.
And speaking of the town; one could say that it was getting better. The townspeople had removed all the concrete that was covering the soil, and that gave grass the opportunity to thrive and to grow again. Flowers and plants that people could hardly remember anymore had started to spring up all over the place.
And in the center of the town? There stood the still fairly small and growing truffula tree.
As Ted arrived at the plaza, there was a certain redheaded girl diligently watering the tree and the other plants surrounding it.
"Hey Audrey!" he called out to her as he got off his scooter, his little heart fluttering a tad.
Audrey looked back from where she stood, and she immediately smiled upon seeing the young boy, "Oh, hi Ted!"
"So... you're watering the tree again, huh?" Ted asked, which was a rather silly question in all honesty, as Audrey had been coming here everyday without a miss ever since they planted the seed, and had been taking good care of the tree since then.
"Gee, really, Ted?" He thought to himself, cringing internally immediately after what he had said. Honestly, even Ted could see the stupidity in his pitifully pathetic attempt to strike up a conversation with this woman.
"Yes of course! You know just how important this is for me!! And to think how amazingly fast the tree is growing in like, what? Only two or so years? This is a really beautiful thing for everyone!!" Audrey replied with a cheerfully gentle demeanor, nonetheless.
Maybe that was the main reason why Ted had come to like her so; she was pretty, bright, and had a good heart.
"What about you? Where are you off to?" she asked Ted, catching him drifting off into daydream land again.
"O-Oh! W-Well, I'm heading off to the valley for a bit!" he replied, shoving his hands in his pockets trying to play it cool. "I'm uh... visiting a friend there,"
"Really? You have a friend living all the way out there in the valley?" she asked, her curiosity and fascination obviously piqued, as it was very unusual to have anyone living all the way out there.
"Yeah! He's... actually the same guy that gave me that seed in the first place, actually,"
"Really?!" Audrey gasped with widened eyes, "How did he get that seed? Where did he get it from?"
Ted scratched the back of his head, reminiscing some rather old memories, "It's... kind of a really long story,"
"Oh my gosh, how come you never told me any of this!?" Audrey asked, excitement filling her as she wanted to hear so much more about this mysterious friend that just so happened to have a truffula seed after all these years. And why has he not planted it sooner?! Why wait this long? It would be pretty impossible if they had just so happened to stumble upon a seed and just give it to Ted all willy-nilly! So many questions raised! And Audrey was already itching to know the answer to each and every one of them.
"Well, I guess the conversation never got brought up till now..." Ted replied with a shrug. "Sooo, do you wanna come with? To his house, maybe? You could probably ask him more about that seed if you'd like,"
Audrey's eyes practically sparkled with excitement at Ted's invitation, "Yes, I'd love to!!"
"Oh! Okay! Um, neat! So um..." Ted practically mumbled, awkwardly gesturing towards his scooter.
After several other little moments of awkwardness that of which will no longer be relayed, as it is an act of sparing one from secondhand embarrassment, the two proceeded to ride through town, and past where the barrier once stood. The barrier that once successfully isolated the town in a shied of denial and blissful ignorance from what was actually happening around them.
They arrived at the valley quite soon enough, just outside of town where grickle grass used to grow, where the wind once smelled slow and sour when it blew, and no birds used to ever sing excepting old crows.
But now, things were starting to get a little bit brighter.
Bright green grass was slowly starting to grow all over the place again, and the sky was clearer and bluer than before. Soft, gentle breezes would come pass by more often again, and you can occasionally see birds flying past over the horizon just as they used to way back when.
Eventually, Audrey spotted a rather odd-looking building of sorts, and it seemed as though they were indeed heading towards that direction. She couldn't talk her eyes off the strange little, well, not really "little" so to speak, rather tall tower.
"Hey Ted?" Audrey suddenly called.
"Hm?"
"What's your friend like?"
That made Ted hum a little, "Well... he's... pretty old,"
That earned a soft chortle from Audrey, "Is that really all you have to say about him?"
"Ehh, you'll just... havta meet him for yourself to get your own idea of the guy," Ted simply replied.
Shortly after that, they stopped at the front of the house and hopped off their scooter.
"Hello?" Ted called out loudly, stepping onto the house's front porch with Audrey following him close by.
They stood by the doorway as Ted tried calling out some more, but with no response, and the young woman simply took her time eyeing the rest of the place. It was old, kind of a rusty place. The walls were discolored and had several cracks here and there. But there were also plants and vines growing and crawling around the crevices and corners. It kind of gave off that whimsical feeling, which was pretty nice. The door was most peculiar, however, as it had this signboard with the words, "The Once-ler" engraved on it. This simply made Audrey wonder what on earth that could be, but she kept her thoughts to herself for now.
Ted in the meanwhile was looking if his old friend was outside nearby doing something else, that is, until Audrey found the doorbell switch.
"Hey, why not try the doorbell, doesn't it work?" Audrey prompted as she reached for the switch, immediately making the young boy's heart drop in horror.
"What? Wait! NO!!" Ted yelled as he ran back and tried to stop her, but as he pushed her away (as gently as he possibly could), it was already too late. The doorbell rang, and before Audrey could even try to comprehend what was happening, the door flipped to reveal a contraption of sorts. The device worked in a way that as the door flipped, it would cause this scissor attached to it to cut a piece of string placed in-between the blades, and as that string was cut, a small catapult of sorts launched a plate of pie directly at the person standing in front of the doorway. In this case, that was poor Ted Wiggins.
"Not again...!" was all Ted could say before being hit square in the face with a plateful of fruit pie, falling flat onto his butt along the way.
"Omigosh, Ted!!" Audrey exclaimed in concern as she ran up to help the boy. "What the heck was that all about!? Are you alright!?"
Poor Ted mumbled for a bit, taking the plate off his face and wiping some of the pie off of him. "Eh, yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine, just some prank..." he mumbled rather bitterly.
As Audrey helped him get up to his feet, a rather tall, scraggly-looking figure ran up to them, "Hey, what's with all that racket?" the person asked in a rather irritated, raspy sort of voice.
The two of them looked up and saw the strange old man. Strange, in the way that he looked. His tall worn-out top hat and thick, bushy mustache were what seemd to have caught Audrey's attention the most. He looked quite cross with their presence at first, but as Ted greeted him a "Hey old man," his expression quickly shifted into amusement, and then shortly to that of laughter.
"Well Ted, I expected you to fall for my little traps once or twice, but I never would've guessed you'd fall for it the third time around!!" the old man jested.
"Ex-cuse me!" the young boy exclaimed while quickly wiping off a large amount of pie bits from his cheek, "But this time I actually took it on purpose for someone! So it doesn't count!!"
"Hmm I see..." the old man, Once-ler, said as he turned his attention towards Ted's companion. "So, are you his babysitter, little missy?"
"Gramps. Stop." Ted said apathetically.
"Wait, he's your grandpa?" Audrey asked, a little puzzled.
"What? Oh, no, I just call him that to make it easier and less awkward to call him by his name," he replied casually.
"Pfsht, isn't that a little rude?" she said as she playfully punched the boy on his shoulder.
By this point, the Once-ler was starting to catch on, and a playful little smirk danced across his face.
"Oh no, I really don't mind," he chimed in, "Besides, it's this loverboy here the one being rude, not introducin' me to his little... girlfriend here,"
At this, Ted's face was practically flushed in red, his mouth opened agape and he couldn't yield a rebuttal, but his glare at the Once-ler basically screamed "traitor."
"Oh, I'm not his girlfriend! Ted's just a really good friend of mine," Audrey laughed, almost too obliviously. That helped Ted save face, but he couldn't help but feel a little heartbroken inside.
"My name is Audrey, sir, and it's really nice to meet you!" she introduced herself, shaking hands with Once-ler.
"It's very nice to meet ya too, Audrey, just call me Once-ler or whatever nickname suits your taste. Oh, and Ted's actually been telling me a lot about you!" he replied, instantly making the young boy glare daggers at him, but he only smirked it off.
"Really? That's hardly fair! Ted only pretty much told me about you today!" Audrey explained as they let go of their handshake. "He told me that you were the one who gave him that truffula seed, is that really true?" she asked with her eyes sparkling in anticipation.
"Well... yes," the Once-ler replied simply.
"Oh gosh, where did you get it from? And since you live all the way out here in the valley, were you around long enough just to see the truffula trees here?" Audrey asked, trying very hard to contain her curiosity.
The Once-ler muttered for a bit, trying to process her questions and just how to go about in answering them before replying, "It's kind of a long story, actually! Would you, er, like to come in, maybe?" he asked, gesturing somewhat awkwardly to his lerkim.
Audrey said that she'd simply love to, and Once-ler said that he simply hopes that they aren't in a hurry or anything at all. Of course Audrey was only more than eager to listen.
They sat by some rather old chairs that the Once-ler had propped out for them, and so began the retelling of the Once-ler's tale for the second time around as Ted simply just made himself busy with cleaning himself up. The Once-ler sang a few songs, and even played his old guitar, surprising Audrey. But it was a good surprised.
They went on with their storytelling, as well as several question and answer portions between the old man and Audrey.
He was strangely happy with having such company around, Ted noted, but he couldn't help but feel happy for the lonely old man's sake. Ted recalled inviting the Once-ler to come and move to Thneedville, but he said that it was a place with far too many... rather melancholic memories to go back to. And he felt that he wouldn't be that much welcome anymore.
Which was pretty ridiculous, Ted would recall blurting out, he lived the rest of his days in this valley that he practically destroyed for pete's sake, there was hardly any logic with his reasoning!
But nonetheless, the old man simply insisted that he was already doing fine here in the valley on his own.
Hours passed, and their storytelling finally came to a close.
Everything was pretty much exactly the same as Ted had heard from him, save for his new addition about a certain boy that he met, a boy whom, he would say, cared a whole awful lot, and eventually helped him get better with his life, and ultimately the lives of everyone else in town.
That earned a small smile from Audrey and Ted. And the room fell peacefully silent for a good minute.
Suddenly, Ted remembered something and reached for his rucksack, saying, "Hey! I almost forgot!"
Once-ler and Audrey both looked back at him as he unzipped his bag and pulled out a quite large pack of marshmallows, "Ta-da!" he presented the little gift proudly.
This made the old man practically dance with glee, and he excitedly skipped on over to Ted, eyeing his favorite snack.
Ted passed the pack of marshmallows on to him saying, "Sorry I nearly forgot, but to be fair, I could've remembered it sooner if you hadn't teased me earlier for nuthin',"
"Hmph, fair enough, loverboy," the Once-ler replied with a sly smile as he opened the bag and immediately started eating a few mallows. "Thank you anyway, Ted,"
"You should probably be thanking my Grammy though, she's the one that always goes out to buy you those things whenever she hears I'll be coming for a visit, or at least doesn't forget to remind me," Ted explained.
"Hunh, really...?" the Once-ler replied, his voice sounding somewhat distant and solemn.
"Yeah,"
"Hmm, hey Ted? How'd you know how to find Mister Once-ler by the way?" Audrey asked, "I mean... it's not like anyone in the valley knows that he still lives here after all these years,"
The old man seemed to stiffen.
"Oh, well, strangely enough, Grammy told me! Which was kinda weird, since she only started talking about you after I mentioned something about where to find a tree..." Ted explained, looking at their host, who now for some reason has started to look rather forlorn and quiet.
This made Ted rather concerned, "Hey gramps, you okay?"
No response.
"Mister Once-ler...?" Audrey called out in a concerned tone as well.
It took them a couple more seconds before the Once-ler finally snapped out of his trance, "O-Oh! Eherm, sorry 'bout that! I, er, getting old stuff, you know? Haha!" And shortly after he was back to his bubbly demeanor, but it felt sort of forced, in some way.
"Phew, you had us worries there, gramps, ya sure you're okay?" Ted prompted.
"Yes yes, yes, I'll be fine! I'm fine!" he replied with dismissive hand gestures.
Audrey was still silent though, and looked like she was thinking deeply about something.
"Hey Ted... What's the name of your grandma again?" Audrey asked.
"Hm? Uh... Norma Wiggins, why?" Ted replied, glancing at Audrey, at which she instantly glanced at the Once-ler again, who now seems frozen in place once more.
Ted noticed this behavior as well, but wasn't quite sure what to make of it, "Hey... gramps... did you happen to know my Grammy?"
"I feel like they know each other Ted, I mean how else could your grandma know about Mister Once-ler after all these years!!" Audrey exclaimed in a way that sounded like she just cracked the code to some riddle.
"I never really thought of it that way... hey gramps--"
"Oops! Would you look at the time, you youngsters should really be startin' to head back home before dark now!" Once-ler suddenly declared quickly with his face held low, and then proceeded to have the two leave despite their objections.
He abruptly closed the door as soon as the two were outside. This made Ted and Audrey awfully confused, but it also compelled the curious redhead to want to know more. And even Ted was just as piqued.
And so they both agreed to have a little Q&A with old Grammy Norma.
As the Once-ler watched the two zip off on their scooter from his window, he let out a huge sigh.
He was practically trembling at this point, and as he raised his face on normal levels again, one could see the old man's cheeks burning a flustered red.
Shortly when they got to Ted's house, Mrs. Wiggins was cooking something in the kitchen, and Ted's Grammy greeted the two home.
The three sat at the table and Grammy asked them on how their little visit went.
"So, did anything new happen with you, Tedster and Audrey dear?" she asked while playing with what seems to be a pink string of yarn with both her hands.
Ted and Audrey stared at each other for a brief moment before nodding.
"Yeah... and um, I know it's kind of out of the blue, but me and Ted were wondering if you and Mister Once-ler know each other, maybe?" Audrey asked as respectfully as she could.
This caused Grammy to stop in her tracks, and she had a mix of a surprised and blank expression on her face.
"Um... it's okay if you don't feel comfortable telling us though, Grammy..." Ted added, somewhat reluctantly. He really wanted to know at least more about their connection, for some reason, but didn't want to push her if she didn't want to.
A small, thoughtful smile then crept onto Grammy Norma's face, and she began playing with her yarn again and said with a giggle, "Did he tell you anything about that?"
Audrey replied, "Um, no he was just kinda... he just kinda acted pretty nervously when we talked about you and mentioned your name and stuff,"
"Aaand he kinda kicked us out after trying to directly ask the same question," Ted added.
This earned a good laugh from Grammy, "Oh, he was always such a nervous card! It looks like he still hasn't changed much... Okay, well maybe that's not actually the case, but..."
She was trailing off, and she had this reminiscing little look on her face.
"So you two really do know each other!!" Audrey exclaimed, leaning forward on her seat.
Grammy Norma simply smiled a little wider.
"Soo... considering gramps ain't gonna tell us anything, can you be the storyteller this time, Grammy? Please?" Ted pleaded, leaning forward on his seat as well.
His Grammy chuckled lightly and began, "Alright, dearies, but I hope you're not tired or anything, because this is gonna be a long one!"
The two simply smiled and nodded in unison, getting in a comfortable position on their chair.
