Chapter 2 — We're Not From Here (Tourists, Truths & Television)
Ted Mosby believed reinvention made you interesting.
Barney Stinson believed reinvention meant lying creatively.
And Ivar Scherbatsky? He believed reinvention was just a mask for people too afraid of who they really were.
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The Setup
At MacLaren's, Barney slammed a stack of fake guidebooks on the table.
"Gentlemen, tonight we are… tourists!"
Ted frowned. "Why?"
Barney grinned. "Because tourists get sympathy. They're exotic. They're mysterious. Also, they don't know what 'restraining order' means in this country."
Marshall muttered, "This sounds terrible."
Megan deadpanned, "Correction: this sounds like every scam in Times Square."
Yvonne added, "And you're not even good at scams."
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The Disaster
Ted and Barney hit the bar dressed in Hawaiian shirts, cameras dangling, shouting phrases like, "Gee whiz, where's Times Square?"
The women they approached?
One called them "creepy dads."
Another snapped a photo for Instagram with the caption: "Found two lost boys."
A third asked if they were in a prank show.
Barney, undeterred, whispered: "They love it."
Ted hissed: "They don't love it!"
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Ivar's Entrance
Watching from a booth with Megan and Yvonne, Ivar finally stood up.
"Correction: you look like rejects from a discount travel brochure."
Ted winced. "You're not helping."
"I am," Ivar countered. "Helping you realize you don't need costumes. You need confidence. And you don't have it."
Megan clapped. "Ouch."
Yvonne smirked. "Truth bomb detonated."
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Robin's New World
Meanwhile, Robin debuted her first NS Entertainment field piece — covering an international fashion expo.
Ivar had positioned her perfectly.
Megan teased her on-air timing.
Yvonne adjusted the lighting setup like a pro.
Robin returned to MacLaren's glowing.
"That was… incredible."
Ivar raised his glass. "Correction: it was the first step."
Ted, watching Robin's success, felt the weight of his own failures.
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Closing Beat
By the end of the night:
Ted & Barney's tourist act crashed and burned.
Megan & Yvonne roasted them without mercy.
Robin found her new footing at NS Entertainment.
And Ivar? Calm, steady, sipping whiskey.
Because reinvention wasn't about accents or costumes.
It was about stepping into the role you were born to play.
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End of Chapter 2 — Season 3.
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👉 Next is Chapter 3 ("Third Wheel") — canon has Ted almost having a threesome. Do you want to keep that beat but play it for full comedy, with Megan, Yvonne, and Ivar heckling from the sidelines, or twist it into Ivar teaching Ted what "real confidence" looks like?