Fearless Fables

Waiting for Joy

This story is an Inside Out crossover told from the perspective of Erick's emotions, particularly Joy.

Everything used to be so much better.

But that was before it happened.

Sometimes I wander over to the core memories and stare into the glowing yellow light of the only one not marred by another color. Sometimes I squint and pretend the other colors aren't shimmering nearby. But to pretend that they aren't there, well... that would be wishful thinking. And you can only do that for so long.

Oh sorry, I bet I'm confusing you. My name is Joy and I belong to the most conscientious, creative, intelligent little boy named Erick.

I'm not the only one here in his head, of course. There's also Fear, who keeps him safe, Anger, who makes sure everything's happening the way it should, Disgust, who keeps him from getting poisoned, and Sadness, who... well, he's sort of the boss of all of us.

Don't get me wrong, Sadness is important, he's vital to what we do! Without him, my memories wouldn't be as bright as they would otherwise. Sadness brings meaning to my job and for that, I am really glad he's around.

But sometimes, I wish he'd give it a rest. Unfortunately for me, life isn't working that way. My job isn't as important anymore.

It was fine until that Snoggletog. It was perfect. You should have seen us before it happened. Not all of Erick's memories were bright yellow but most of them were. I kept everything upbeat. The whole place was decorated with streamers and banners and confetti because not only was it Snoggletog, it was Erick's birthday!

I love birthdays, they're the best. And this one was particularly good. I got to take down the idea bulb I'd been saving and polishing and staring at for years. Mistletoe was above our heads and I wasn't going to let that opportunity go to waste. I skipped over and jammed it in the console. And for a moment, everything was perfect.

Let me take a second to backtrack and tell you all about Erick's best friend. Her name is Adrianna but I call her Annie. And she is the most beautiful girl in the whole world. I should know, I picked her. Out of all the kids Erick could have set his sights on, I knew she was special. Sometimes I'd direct Erick to places I knew she'd be so I could stare at her. Something about Annie reminded me of, well, me! And I wanted Erick to have the perfect friend. The best friend ever! I stared at her and I memorized things like how she always liked to wear purple and she would hiccup every time she giggled. Disgust was the one who stopped me from making Erick run over and profess his undying love for her. I mean I supposed it was a little bit early. The middle of the village isn't the best place for that kind of interaction. He probably would have been pretty embarrassed.

But then one day, Annie was sad about something so I gave Erick the perfect idea. I had him draw her a picture in purple ink and give it to her. Fear was going crazy that day but I didn't care! I knew Annie needed to be Erick's friend and I knew this was the perfect time. And she loved the drawing!

That's when they became friends. And the bright yellow glow of a core memory flashed in the headquarters. We watched as it rolled forward and positioned itself in the center. And then a new island showed up: Friendship Island.

And for ten years, that was one of my favorite islands. Sometimes at night, I'd sit and watch through all the best memories with Annie. Discovering a bridge with a troll underneath (it was really a Gronckle taking a snooze and snoring loudly) and reading books with her and playing games and making up stories and talking about life and... well we had a great time! And those bright yellow memories kept on rolling through! Everything was perfect! And then it was Snoggletog ten years after she and Erick became friends and they were under the mistletoe and... well you can probably guess what happened. I inserted the best idea ever and before we knew it, sensors were going off, Erick's heart pounded so loud it shook us like an earthquake, and even Sadness smiled, which is really saying something.