a polite way to ask someone not to do something
Hey, uh, Gorgamon. Um... Would you mind not putting your feet on my chair today?Onward · 2020 — Chapter 2 of 16 · 2'21" · B2
Ian's Awkward Party Invite, Explained: was wondering if
Ian is trying to invite some classmates to a party, and every sentence comes out wrong. "I'm, uh, having a party tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to come over," he manages, then ruins it with a slang line nobody uses. Under the nervous laughter is a kid who just wants to fit in.
What happens
On his sixteenth birthday, Ian works up the nerve to invite a group of classmates to a party at his house. He opens with the wrong slang, gets corrected mid-sentence, and keeps fumbling until someone finally asks if he is inviting them. It is a small scene about how hard it is to say a simple hello when you are afraid of looking foolish.
Listen for
Would you mind notpull overfit inWhat up
00:00 / 02:21Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it
Phrase of the scene
Would you mind not
a polite way to ask someone not to do something
伊恩被后排同学把脚架在他椅子上，挤得坐不进去；他不敢硬来，只好用 Would you mind not 小声请对方把脚放下。
Would you mind not calling me after midnight?
Also in this scene
- pull over
to drive to the side of the road and stop
- fit in
to belong and be accepted in a group
- What up
a casual greeting, short for what's up
Everything marked in this scene
15 notes across 48 lines
Got to keep them elevated.It just makes it a little hard for me to fit in there.Well, if I don't have good blood flow, I can't concentrate on my schoolwork.You don't want me to do bad in school, do you?It's nice and fast.Just merge into traffic.to drive to the side of the road and stop
Pull over.I'm, uh, having a party tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to come over.I'm, uh, having a party tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to come over.and get down on some cake.That's not something anyone says.What? What I was trying to say is if you're not doing anything tonight...Are you inviting us to a party?I guess we can just take the bus over to my house.Ian's Awkward Party Invite, explained
What's really going on
The joke is that Ian can explain a magical quest but not a birthday invitation. He rehearses a cool-kid script and it collapses the moment it meets an actual audience, which is why the slang line gets answered with a flat note that nobody talks like that. The same fear shows up in smaller moments: he asks a classmate to move his feet with a painfully polite request, and admits that the chair situation means "It just makes it a little hard for me to fit in there." On the surface these are tiny social problems. Underneath, they are the same worry — that he is on the outside looking in, and one wrong word will prove it. Barley's coaching does not fix the nerves; it just shows how badly Ian wants to belong.
Theme
IdentityIan tries on a cooler version of himself and fails in public, showing how much of the scene is about figuring out who he is.
FriendshipThe whole effort is aimed at making friends and being included, even though every attempt at small talk goes sideways.
What you'll learn
- Use in there in the same situation
- Hear merge into traffic as pressure, not small talk
- Catch who the line is aimed at
- Notice how "in there" changes the exchange.
- Listen for the attitude carried by "in there".
I'm, uh, having a party tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to come over.An invitation delivered with maximum hesitation: the speaker wants to sound casual but keeps stumbling, which makes the ask feel more vulnerable than confident.
It just makes it a little hard for me to fit in there.On the surface it is about a seat; the phrase 'fit in' quietly doubles as the character's real problem — belonging.
Hey, uh, Gorgamon. Um... Would you mind not putting your feet on my chair today?A painfully polite request to a classmate, showing how hard it is for the speaker to ask for even the smallest thing.
but I'm sure you probably are doing something tonight, and you like cake like I like cake.The invite falls apart as the speaker talks himself out of it, over-explaining and assuming rejection before it comes.
Questions about this scene
Why is Ian's invitation so awkward?
Because he is nervous around the kids he wants to impress. He plans a casual script, then panics and fills the silence with slang that does not fit him, which makes the whole thing more awkward.
Why does Barley tell Ian not to say 'dudes'?
Barley is coaching him through the invite and can tell the slang sounds forced. He is trying to sound like a cool older brother, but his fix is just as scripted as Ian's original attempt.
What does 'fit in' mean in this scene?
It works on two levels: fitting into a chair, and fitting into a group of people. The double meaning is the point — Ian's literal complaint is really about not belonging.
What is the point of the party invitation?
It shows that Ian's real goal is connection, not cake. He wants a normal teenage social life, and the clumsy invitation is the first step he is brave enough to take.
Onward · 16 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 3get byDad Leaves Ian a Wizard Staff
Chapter 1wiggle out ofIan's Sixteenth Birthday Morning
Watching · Chapter 2was wondering ifIan's Awkward Party Invite
Chapter 3get byDad Leaves Ian a Wizard Staff
Chapter 4Whatever it takesDad Comes Back as Just Legs
Chapter 5followed my gutThe Manticore Refuses to Help
Chapter 6took the easy routeBarley Picks the Path of Peril
Chapter 7go bonkersLaurel Asks the Manticore for Help
Chapter 8wear offThe Growth Spell Backfires
Chapter 9not what it used to beThe Manticore Explains the Curse
Chapter 10With all due respectIan Talks His Way Past Bronco
Chapter 11chin upBarley Trains Ian With the Sword
Chapter 12the worst that can happenIan Crosses the Trust Bridge
Chapter 13to the count of threeIan Tries the Arcane Lightning Spell
Chapter 14don't have a clueIan Blames Barley for the Detour
Chapter 15gauntletIan and Barley Take the Wrong Path
Chapter 16looked out for meIan Thanks Barley for EverythingChapter 2 of 16 · about 75 min to go