1001 meri lin #142: conversation	Meri Lin isn't so much liking her new job because she's bored and not feeling fulfilled, and being away from her son while he's in daycare hurts--especially when he learns things that aren't from her world and expresses a preference for some things he's encountered there. She's worried her mother was right about how she shouldn't go back to work, but she does not want to admit it.
1002 ivy #310: ambassador	Ivy and Alix are called into a meeting with Adele, who gives them some vague introductions to her plan to get an architect to design their house and what will happen after. Ivy finds herself a bystander to Alix and Adele arguing about Adele's apparent plan to build a structure and fill it with human strangers. Ivy likes the idea of having friends or an expanded family, but Alix isn't so thrilled at the idea. (Which makes Ivy think it's probably even cooler.) She wants to understand, and likes the idea of being the connection between their home base and the outside world.
1003 weaver #157: girly	Ivy asks Weaver for help looking up information about what girls are supposed to be like in books, because nobody in the group will help her understand how to properly be a girl. Weaver doesn't want to push Ivy to think "girl" is anything beyond what she is, but she gets him to understand that even he has used "girly" as an insult against Alix, which has taught her that there are specific traits each gender isn't supposed to violate. Weaver reluctantly agrees to connect Ivy with some women's magazines so she can understand more about femininity.
1004 ivy #311: for people my age	Ivy looks at teen magazines with Weaver and has trouble relating to the world of the girls: cute boys, movie stars, zits, and embarrassing moments at school. Weaver seems determined to help her find something that she's interested in, though, and they end up considering jewelry and hairstyles. Ivy is actually interested in the hairstyles and decorations these girls have in their hair, so Weaver suggests they could get some hairstyle magazines. Ivy is happy with this since she has noticed this does appear to be a feminine pursuit and she's interested in learning more about those.
1005 adele #247: all that matters	Adele finds Ivy's list of "girl things" and worries about Ivy pigeonholing herself. She investigates by asking her what it's about and Ivy gets defensive, finally saying that it doesn't matter whether others have ever thought she is boyish; it matters more if SHE'S worried about it. With that, Adele realizes you can't talk a tween out of insecurity, and offers to give Ivy money to buy some accessories if she wants to after a mission. Ivy is grateful to have been heard, and Adele is grateful that Ivy told her the truth.
1006 dax #149: some backup	Dax is playing along to Tab and Thursday's imaginitive scenarios, but after a princess-rescuing, Weaver recruits him to come in and referee a disagreement between himself and Adele. Weaver is upset that Adele is sending Ivy into human cities without even running it by the other adults, and Adele assures him that Ivy is safe. Dax mediates, asking if Weaver really things Adele is endangering Ivy or whether he'd just like to be part of discussions about her, and he agrees that that's what he was worried about. Adele understands. But then Tab and Thursday speak up wanting to know why they never get to do anything that adults would debate over. Dax understands where they're coming from, too.
1007 ivy #312: my new excuse	Ivy goes to the mall on her own for the first time as a reward for completing a mission, and she's overwhelmed but excited by all the sights and sounds. She follows some teenage girls around to try to see what they like to do, and ends up trying to buy a movie ticket but gets denied because she can't prove she's thirteen. Ivy finds that claiming to be from a foreign country helps explain not knowing how things work. She tries again to get into the movies and buys a kids' movie ticket they'll sell to her without an ID, but she's too confused and creeped out by the movie theater to sit down inside, so she leaves and worries that she's "failing" the mall mission.
1008 ivy #313: follow the rules	Ivy's adventure in the mall continues as she looks for a place to buy fun hair accessories. A security guard stops her and tells her she needs to be wearing shoes, so she buys some flip-flops in a surf shop. Then she is dazzled by all the accessories in a bangle store.
1009 adele #248: being in the world	Ivy comes back from the mall and shares her stories (and her fun purchases!). Adele praises her and reassures her that she didn't fail any mission and may have had her best success yet; she's learned more about how to solve problems and interact with humans. Adele is very proud of Ivy.
1010 weaver #158: their systems	Ivy wants to practice counting money with Weaver, but he doesn't know enough about it to help her. She auditions for him with her walking in flip-flops, but Weaver's not sure if he can assess it by human standards. They take their questions to Alix and he thinks it's weird Ivy was asked for ID at the movies, because in his experience kids don't have IDs. They argue about it and Weaver worries that Ivy may run into troubles being undocumented if she wants to join their world.
1011 ivy #314: resistance	Ivy asks Alix to critique her walking and help her figure out a country to pretend to be from. He seems a little brusque and insensitive while addressing her worries, but she's grateful for it because he helps her see what humans might be mean to her about and wants a chance to fix it. When Alix suggests Ivy should make her walking look authentic by actually learning to walk without her energy, she accepts his challenge and sits down hoping to be able to stand up again without her energy helping her, but is a little startled to find she wasn't even SITTING up without using it. When Alix coaches her on standing up, Ivy struggles to separate what her energy does from what her muscles do, and finds the experience of challenging her muscles very unfamiliar and painful. She wonders if it's worth it.
1012 dax #150: released	Ivy asks Dax on perspectives on whether it would be weak of her to decide not to try to beef up her physical abilities. She values his perspectives on strength. Dax elects to avoid encouraging Ivy to pursue this kind of strength because he senses she's too vulnerable right now. He tells her if she doesn't inherently want to pursue that goal, she shouldn't have to.
1013 adele #249: blending in	Ivy comes to Adele to ask her opinion about various things that will help her blend in and interact with regular humans. Adele resists the idea that Ivy needs to focus on such things--at least not now--and encourages her to realize that the people she'll be establishing relationships with will think her unusual qualities are good. She thinks any attempt Ivy makes to minimize her differences will just be a pale imitation of "normalcy" which also won't work out well for her.
1014 ivy #315: be a jerk	Ivy and Tab do laundry together and Tab expresses interest in Ivy's sparkly new products. Ivy wants Tab to request items that are her own style so she can get them next time, and Tab wonders why Adele won't let her go out herself. Ivy tries, with limited understanding herself, to explain to Tab that being nonhuman is disqualifying for going out in the world, and that faking it is hard for Ivy herself. Tab suggests she should just be mean to people who are mean to her. Ivy wonders if she's kind of right.
1015 weaver #159: by chance	Weaver attends a "grownups" meeting where Adele brings up her plan to invite a man named Robert to the beach to design their house. Weaver has some feelings about it but chooses to joke around and say snide things about his past experiences with humans. Adele tries to reassure him, but it's Dax who's able to put it into perspective for him: that this human is not one they're meeting by chance, and they should be able to trust him because they trust Adele. Weaver promises to think about what kind of emotional support he needs and asks them all to just not push him into interacting with a new human before he's ready. Weaver continues to be impressed by Dax when he asks about how they can all support Adele's emotional needs.
1016 adele #250: to be seen	Adele continues the discussion of how she might feel being looked at by a human. Dax feels more encouraging about it--his experience was a little alienating but friendly--while Weaver felt it was pretty terrible and doesn't want Adele to get her hopes up. Adele shares a bit of her feelings and speculates about her worries about being responsible for speed bumps going forward, but Alix interrupts and says he'd like to share his perspective on being looked at by humans too.
1017 dax #151: a different "we"	The group of adults continues their discussion of how they will feel with a typical human interacting with them and seeing them, and now we get Alix's commentary. He shares his experience being different as a child, the fact that his parents made him have surgery on his webbed fingers to make him more normal (though the webs grew back--which he preferred), and the fact that although he struggled being different, he didn't want to be like humans either. Dax realizes he is thinking a lot like Alix about humans who might be different in a less external way, and thinks perhaps if this new man Robert is that kind of different, he will belong there just like Alix does.
1018 ivy #316: noticeable	Ivy goes on another mall-related mission and gets annoyed that some of the hairstyles she sees in magazines would be impossible to show off if she has to cover her ears with head coverings. She decides to find out if anyone gives her trouble or looks at her weird if she just takes her headband off. She is able to interact with shopkeepers with no comments or anyone treating her strangely, but then some other girls are staring at her in the jewelry store and she doesn't know why. She goes into a bit of a spiral wondering if they're staring at her for something she knows about or something she doesn't.
1019 ivy #317: a deep, dark feeling	After confirming that a couple girls are staring at her for some reason in the jewelry store, Ivy makes a sarcastic comment to them and they just walk away. She's not sure how she feels about it, and then on top of that the cashier seems to have some kind of reaction to seeing her hands. And even though nobody even said anything mean to her, Ivy begins feeling so self conscious in the mall that her mood tanks and she wants to go home. She can't help but think about how other people's reaction would feel if they saw her using her energy. She has no idea whether she should learn to hide whatever makes her self conscious or if she needs to get used to (and get over) being stared at.
1020 ivy #318: so what	Ivy brings her problems to Alix because she thinks he will understand, though she fears he'll make her feel worse. But Alix gives very good advice and teaches her how to think about saying "so what?" if people have problems with her differences. It takes some back and forth, because Ivy is worried following Alix's advice will make her into an unpleasant person like he often is, but this does change how she's been thinking about her issues. She wants to adopt the notion that she doesn't want or need the approval of people who would insult her--and it's even easier to envision not caring about their opinions if they were to reject or insult her family. She'll just need to treat herself with as much love and worth as she would her companions.
1021 meri lin #143: best friends	Meri Lin wants to take some miscellaneous photos of Benjamin with his friends Kenneth and Rafael, but when she wants them to "pose like best friends" with their arms around each other, Ben objects and says neither of these boys is his best friend and it's some kid Meri Lin has never heard of at his daycare. This upsets Kenneth as he thought he and Ben were best friends, and Ben changes his mind and says they're best friends after all when he doesn't want Kenneth to be upset. Meri Lin is glad she has a compassionate son, but she doesn't want him to feel like he owes anyone a specific relationship.
1022 weaver #160: he's grown	Weaver and Ivy take a flight and Ivy surprises Weaver by saying Alix gave her some useful advice. He's even more surprised to find that he agrees with her that it was good advice. He's happy that Alix is encouraging Ivy to take pride in herself and her differences. Maybe it's finally time to acknowledge that Alix has grown as a person. (Or not.)
1023 ivy #319: a whole arm	Ivy presents Tab with a cute necklace and five bracelets, and she's delighted. She wants to have a whole armload of bracelets. Ivy describes for Tab how her words and attitude about "being a jerk" actually helped her out in a real situation. Tab doesn't quite get it and comments on Ivy getting weird looks in public, and when they discuss how Tab's green hair would be similarly odd to humans, she expresses that she loves her hair but would like to try changing her hair's color and texture for fun. They decide they should ask Adele whether that's possible.
1024 adele #251: an unearthly color	Ivy and Tab come to Adele to ask if they can change the texture and color of their hair. She comes up with some options and suggests colored hairspray. The kids are excited at the idea, but Tab is confused by why humans would allow strange colors if her own hair color would be strange in human society. She comes to the conclusion that her hair color, like Adele's, makes her special, while Ivy's hair color is "boring." Adele tries to put that idea to sleep, though she has some thoughts about it.
1025 ivy #320: princess hair	Tab and Ivy use a flattening iron and a curling iron to change their hair and then spray colors on their hair--Tab going with gold and Ivy going with pink. Tab is excited that her hair is even longer than Ivy's when it's smoothed out. They listen to music and Tab compliments Ivy's singing as well. Tab gets excited about the prospect of showing off their hair to others.
1026 dax #152: toxic	Thursday has a temper tantrum when he finds out he can't sit on Tab's head when her hair has become interesting. Dax restrains him while Adele explains that the chemicals in the hairspray the girls used would be toxic to him--his skin and his antennae would be sensitive to it. (Thursday remarks that he thought his antennae were called horns.) When Adele tells him a more permanent but not-toxic-to-him hair coloring option does exist, Thursday wants Dax to do it. He refuses and thinks about why he prefers to not make those kinds of changes.
1027 weaver #161: our spot	Ivy and Tab come to show Weaver their hair since he was not at lunch. He thinks the change is interesting, but when Ivy casually puts Tab in the tree and expects to hang out there, Weaver bluntly asks Ivy to take Tab out of the tree since it's their spot. Ivy complies, making a strange sideways comment about how the tree is WEAVER'S and they're not allowed in it, giving him an odd look as she takes Tab away. He's regretful, and feels he should have avoided making a comment like that even though he felt like Tab's presence in the meeting spot he always shared with Ivy was an invasion.
1028 adele #252: misfired	Weaver comes to Adele for advice, specifying that it's not just venting--he would have come to Dax for that. Adele wishes others came to her for companionship more than advice. Weaver asks Adele how to handle his misunderstanding with Ivy over whether Tab should be in "their" tree, and Adele advises him that coming to Ivy with his confusion is the only thing that will work; she can't give him any special insight.
1029 ivy #321: just you and me	Weaver and Ivy have a talk about why she was upset that Weaver wanted Tab out of the tree. Ivy finds the tree to be a special place with Weaver but wanted to share it with Tab at that time and didn't think it should be off limits. Weaver is sorry he upset Ivy, but emphasizes that he's been trying to create special exclusive spaces with her and wants to remain special in her life. One day she'll grow up and want her own life, and is worried that without special effort, it won't include her. Ivy dislikes that Weaver thinks she'll just leave one day.
1030 adele #253: small talk	Adele approaches Alix and Dax to ask them for help thinking up low-stakes missions for Ivy to practice engaging with strangers. She gets upset that they both seem initially inclined to just leave it to her, but Dax quickly coaxes Alix into helping when Adele expresses her annoyance. Alix borrows an idea from his family's business where they would let a man gather small donations and would drop by every so often to pick them up. Adele decides to swipe the idea.
1031 dax #153: exclusivity	Dax and Weaver have a chat after the kids are in bed. Dax fills Weaver in on the plan for Ivy to learn some social interaction through periodic food donations, and Weaver is okay with it. But he wants to talk to Dax about how he handled his feeling of exclusivity regarding the tree he shared with Ivy. As Weaver expected, Dax did feel more like Ivy is free to share a space that belongs to both of them, but he has trouble imagining a place's importance depending on exclusion of others.
1032 ivy #322: one time	Ivy and Tab find their hair returned to normal after a bath, and Tab is upset about it even though she knew it would happen because she perceives that straightening it took longer than the amount of time she got to enjoy it. Ivy counters her observation and Tab begins to take her anger out on Ivy, leading to Ivy having to stop a physical attack. At that point, Tab asks if she can just have one opportunity to push Ivy since Ivy is always pushing her. She finally just lets her do it, and Tab admits that it didn't help at all because she had permission. It's annoying to Ivy.
1033 weaver #162: friendly	Weaver encourages Ivy as she shows nervousness about her upcoming mission to go to various businesses with Alix and establish charity food bins. She feels that if Adele wants her to practice interacting with people in the outside world, that must mean she's not very good at it, and she doesn't feel Alix will make it easier for her. Weaver sees what's going on and encourages Ivy to embrace forging her own relationship with people once Alix is out of the way. He thinks she wants to define herself without adult supervision.
1034 ivy #323: small towns	Ivy and Alix venture into the outside world together, having brought some plastic boxes for their donations. As they walk to their first destination, Ivy and Alix have a tense exchange where Ivy expresses doubt about why this situation will allow her to comfortably talk with people and Alix antagonizes her with strange statements about small towns that he then doesn't seem to want to explain. He does eventually tell her that people in small towns are very friendly but can also be less welcoming to outsiders, and that worries her.
1035 ivy #324: a chance to talk	Alix and Ivy go to their first public place, a small privately owned bakery and café owned by a Ms. Murphy. Ivy's a little perplexed by how nice and personable Alix is able to be, and he gives her a chance to talk to the owner as well, so she tries to make nice in the same way. Ms. Murphy grants permission for Ivy to leave her charity food box there and gives them some day-old muffins for free while they hang out. Ivy doesn't understand the rules at all.
1036 weaver #163: true things	Ivy comes back from her mission and talks to Weaver about how it went, and wonders how she's supposed to learn to talk to people at all if it seemed like the most important thing to do was pass as normal. Weaver disagrees, saying Ivy may need to pose as human for the experiment to work but that there are plenty of true things about herself that she CAN share when she begins to get friendly with others. Weaver wishes he could guide and protect her.
1037 adele #254: personal matters	Adele helps Ivy with a bellyache she got from weird food during her errands, and Alix mistakes her hot water bottle as a sign that she might have gotten her period. He asks Adele about it because he's afraid to ask Ivy directly under the assumption that she'll be "hormonal" and not appreciate the question, and he confesses to Adele that he fears how emotional fluctuations might affect someone like Ivy during puberty. Adele finds his phrasing and assumptions misogynistic and asks him to stop treating women and girls like their periods make them irrational, though she does finally tell him that Ivy has not started her period and she isn't sure she ever will. Adele does not know how maturity will work for Ivy and sees nothing concrete that will be happening in the near future.